TBT: just one of those English days circa 1972

Another one of the TLP scrapping challenges from March 2019. This one was to take a photo, split it and frame it as if it were two different shots. Yes, 1972 on my beloved red  couch, with the forest green walls in the background. How trendy I was with my velour animal print pillow covers! Old is new again.

One thing I hadn't noticed that a fellow scrapper pointed out...the extra large cuffs on my son's shirt. Yep, it was the 70s and I imagine his collar had had 'matching' long points. And his overalls were on trend then too. His hair was his own and I imagine he'd be glad to have half of that 50 years down the road.

What I love about challenges is that if often gives me a chance to tell old random heritage stories before I forget a lot of them.

TBT: England Summer 1972

Every time I think I have found all the photos that need sorting AND scanning I find more...aaargh. But this one tickled me as I'd forgotten just how large our side yard was in England. We were down at the bottom of the Close and had a much larger yard than many of the other houses. Nice, except when it was grass cutting time! Fortunately, not my job! lol

Travel With Me Tuesday: Day 13 Farewell to England

This first page is a match to the December 6 page showing  our departure from the US. I felt like giving it a visual feel to the book, bookends of a sort.

But then I added this one to show the various pins across England for our three locations and some of the food delights we had. Nothing posh but food that fit us on this trip. All shown are MY meals!

And finally my feelings, wishful feeling but it's how I feel about the United Kingdom, and England in particular. Will I ever move? You never do know do you what the future could bring!

Travel With Me Tuesday: Day 12 Evening in Bath

We were happy to wander around a bit more but our last day on this English trip meant packing up to go home. Fortunately we found a calming event for the evening and a time to visit Bath's gorgeous Cathedral.

A children's Christmas Pageant. I'd seen these in my earlier years in England but Dick had never seen one. Oh the excitement and the anxious parents hoping that their child/children would do well, remember their parts and all that kind of things parents worry about. There were the occasional criers but only their parents seemed to mind. The arrival of the donkey really did seem to be the highlight of the show. So much fun and such tender feelings for me.

Next day it would be an early departure for our train to London/Heathrow and on home. A very good trip rounded out with the joy of children and the ever inspiring Christmas story.

Travel With Me Tuesday: Bath Day 12

Day 12 of our trip started with an overcast day. Dick was happy to go out early in day and enjoy the river and the many architectural sights. Bath IS a beautiful city.

Travel With Me Tuesday: Bath Day 11

After our time in Avebury, it was time to head onto our 3rd destination on this England trip. Dick had been the one interested in seeing Bath, though it was never clear to me why he felt this draw. He's certainly not a reader of Jane Austen. But Bath seemed just fine to me and so we chose this city as Spot #3. Our guide had picked a lovely place for lunch and then it was down into Bath. I do mean down. Why had I not looked at a geographical guide to be aware of the hills.

Once we got settled into our gorgeous flat and were ready to go out it was drizzling. No big deal but it was still nice to get into this bookshop. I could have spent the night there! But it had been a long day and an early night was called for.

Darn! Two Days Early

Back in March of 2009, we were on a trip to the SE area of England. Canterbury and the environs of Kent. It gave my dh a chance to experience what I had meant when I said that in the years I lived in the North of England, I might go out for a day and only cover 5-10 miles. There was so much to see and so many lanes and hedgerows and cemeteries with graves to examine and by then it would be time for lunch or at least tea.

I had never driven in this corner of England and despite the short days, the damp and the fog, we made a go of it. He minded the damp chill much more than I did but then I had learned the necessity of layers decades ago. But back to the fish...no we didn't get any. We saw this sign on a Wednesday. Our loss.

TBT: 1971 Birthday Party

1971 in England. My son's 4th birthday party with some of the neighbor children. I don't recall the boy in the striped shirt but suspect he was a schoolmate from my son's pre-school class. While this is August, he is the only one dressed for summer. But then again, this was an English summer.



What you probably would not see at a children's birthday party these days (I hope!) is the father smoking a cigarette with all the children and, as you will see in the next image, a newborn.



Outside our front window is another image - my dark green Hillman Minx, aka 'the pig car' as it was extremely sluggish and chugged up the many hills of Yorkshire, always making me wonder if it would die then and there. Also, here's ruddy British Mum and children.



I was just talking to a friend about the Wedgwood china you see in the back cabinet. My xh has that set which included almost all the pieces made in the Black Florentine pattern. It was one of the benefits of living in England when the $ was strong. And yes, a cake dotted with Smarties.



Not the greatest photo but one in which you can see the clothing of the era. Note the length of my dress. I had others that were shorter...

TBT Christmas circa 1970

Looking at some photos and thinking of December Daily already, I found this one. Probably 1970 in Knaresborough England. My then husband pulling a face while I just look at the photographer. I think it was my mother who came to visit around that time. But as there is no date on any of the photos and some of them are in all kinds of chronological order, it's hard to say for sure.

I do know that my Nana made us pajamas and nightgowns for each Christmas. I always liked the nightgowns that were rather like the Lanz ones. Good heavy flannel and long enough to tuck my feet up inside the gown during the cold Yorkshire nights. I didn't have so much fat to keep me warm back then! Look at that collarbone!

Travel With Me Tuesday: Afternoon in Harrogate

As I was looking through my England layouts to see where I was with the intention of starting again, I saw that I had missed an afternoon up in Harrogate. Not sure why or how that happened but I set to it and got these layouts done by using a large photo of my husband on the left and then a set of photos that rather cover the rest of the day on the right. These two went pretty quickly as the paper on the left had a good bit of brick work and other designs on the top. I was glad there was a transfer of the bit on the far right of this paper which more or less duplicated the part in the very center - the tanned the hazy purple.

With that transfer on the right, it does look a bit like a Rorschach test image in the center. I'm fine with that! 

Now I can continue with my layouts of London and then Bath. I really would like to see this trip in print - soon. 

Travel With Me Tuesday: A Day Out in York

I don't often do a double page that is pretty much designed as a double from the start. This one was done that way, more or less, even though when it's printed you won't really know that. It's fun to do once in a while but let me tell you, the number of layers gets to be beyond me!

In any case, here's how the pages look on their own.

Wordless Wednesday: Seen in York, UK

Travel With Me Tuesday; That Night in Harrogate

The first evening was a great evening with settling in and then going out to dinner with the woman who was my first neighbor back in 1968. It turned out that we had been in high school together even earlier in the US. Amazing. We each had different husbands than we had as neighbors but that made no difference. Some times, the years just don't matter.

TBThursday: I Know That Outfit!

You know how when you click an ad in any social media these days, you then see that ad everywhere you click. "The Google" knows... Well, I saw a navy dress that had a white collar, very prim looking, and while I don't need anything like that as my working days are over, it appealed to me. Today looking through old images, old like in 1971, I saw this.

It's no wonder I liked it. I had a pants suit like it back 46 years ago. gasp. Here with my eldest son and only one at the time, I believe I'm at the airport. It looks like my mother is going back to the US. I wonder how much he remembers his grandmother who died 10 years later of cancer. But here she's whispering to him ...last minute love?

I remember that suit of hers and the mink hat. I thought she was so old. She was 54. Oh how our perspectives change with time. Now that age seems so...young?

Travel With Me Tuesday: My Beloved Valley Gardens

Back to my trip to England. Once up in Harrogate, our first morning was spent walking through the Valley Gardens and up into town. I had traveled this path so many times in the summer of 1968 with my firstborn. #2 son, though born in Harrogate, had his daily pram ride up the hill into Knaresborough. It's a good thing I did all the practice work for that hill with my Valley Gardens walks. I also now have arthritic knees which make the uphill walks a lot harder. Maybe age has something to do with it too. Ya think?

Travel With Me Tuesday: York Minster

For outside of the Minster, we passed this garden. So enticing to me. Imagining what it would be like to live outside this magnificent cathedral.

The vast soaring arches above us at every spot. What would it be like to sit under these any time one wanted?

Oh the windows! Even on this dark dreary day, the light could shine through. These were windows that really ask for time to look often and look intently.

Our guide pointed out many things to Dick because he had never been here. How blessed I am to have had so many many visits. But really they are never enough. I could visit the Minster every day of my life. Maybe in another life time...

Travel With Me Tuesday: Oh York, I Love You So

Our day started with a pickup by our driver and then later a switch to a shuttle bus to take us into York. We passed the train station and started to walk walk walk.

The River Ouse flowed quietly along the trees and endless green.

I have a strange look on my face but at least there's a photo of me with the Minster showing its towers . I love this view.

This entrance into the city of York is full of views that go back hundreds of years. The wall, the towers, the gate keepers home...all images that hint of the Norse city, the Roman city and on and on.

Dick and our guide look at building after building while the Minster waits for our arrival.

So many buildings that I have seen many times in years past but on this day we had no time. York is worthy of so  much more time.

I catch up with our guide who appears to check the sky. More rain or not. You never can tell in England.

One last glimpse of another place that we won't visit on this day and then we go to the Minster, the centerpiece of our day in York. The place I visited Saturday after Saturday when I took my boys shopping in the market. A Saturday routine over 40 years ago. On this day, just a taste of what was.

Wordless Wednesday: English Winter Twilight

Harrogate Bus Station