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: I967 Maternity Clothing

Back from Texas in 1967, I was pregnant with my first child, the child who turned 51 yesterday! Oh how time flies. I guess I must be having fun, right?  I do like this photo for many of the things it shows, including the fact that at 5'7 my father is considerably taller than I am with his height. He was 6'4 which seemed kind of normal to me. Somehow I married a 5'9 husband in the first go round.  But that aside, I really like that dress too. It was one of my favorite maternity dresses. All gone, years gone but fortunately we have photos some time. And now there's a scrapbook page to tell some of the story!

TBT My Great Uncle or Grand Uncle, Your Pick

I am a Guest Creative Team Member at Designer Digitals for a couple of months and this was the easiest layout to do so far. I love almost anything Heritage but don't always use the subtle colors.This Vintage Mini Mix Kit No 07 called out to me and I was so glad I had scanned a bunch of images from one of my mother's old albums. Old, as the photos go back to the 1930s. I don't have a lot but I'm so grateful for what I do have.

Uncle Pete, as I called him, definitely did not want to go down the mines as so many of his male relatives did. How was it that he had the get up and go to go to New York and stay there for the rest of his days? I think there's always one in the family like that. Even though I'm an only child, I was one like that. I wish I had known more of the whys and wherefores of Uncle Pete's story while he was alive. But that's life, isn't it.

So here's Uncle Pete and his story or as much as I know of it.

click here for credits

TBT: Some Ways To Make It Happen

Thursday is my normal day to work on old photos or slides. Since I have a few pages that can now go from blogpost to scrapbook page and I have a tray of slides that need to be - ugh - scanned, I'll leave your with this post from Houzz. Me? I'll be on it. Bit by bit it can get done. Or so they say!

You Can Do It: 6 Steps to Organizing Your Loose Photos

TBT: When Downtown Washington DC Had Department Stores

While going through the many papers and photos that are involved in genealogy, lots of memories come up. Thank god for the internet so I can just google a place or a thing until I get a good answer or a good enough one. Sometimes, that can also show that my memory is skewed.

Woodward and Lothrop was a wonderful department store, in two buildings i.e. almost two full city blocks. MY memory told me that next to Woodies, as it was commonly known, was Hahn's Shoe Store. I had to go there all the time when we moved to Maryland because I had very narrow feet and my school uniform required brown lace up oxfords. I was always fascinated with the x-ray machine and if my mother was getting shoes, I would go and x-ray my feet. It's no wonder I have weak ankles! I probably fried them.

But, in googling images of Woodies, here is a photo that shows the North Building with, no not Hahn's next to it, but Rich's Shoe Store. Rich's is now Madame Tussards and Hahn's I realize is where I 'graduated' to when I could wear more fashionable shoes in high school. No not to school; that required brown and white saddle shoes.  Pretty shoes for weekends and dates eventually. Things like Capezio flats. Hahn's also has fallen victim to the riots of 1968, urban flight to the suburbs, the construction of the Metro etc. Businesses that were once stalwarts of the city are now just memories.

But Rich's ...I don't know what we would have done without you. You were the only game in town for my feet which have served me well over 70 years. I'm sure those well fitting brown oxfords helped!