Tuesday is Louise's Day - Time to Celebrate Our Sister

 Here we are - all spiffed up for the first day of school.  I was beginning sixth grade - note the penny loafers with the penny in each one.  Louise looked so put together with her matching brown and white dress and shoes.  Didn't we look grand?  Dwight was ever the "poser" and picture taker - thank goodness for his passion for pictures so that our family history is more complete.  (You really did do Family History work, Dwight.)

 This is a favorite picture of my beautiful older sister.  This was excerpted from a picture of friends who were working on the high school annual.  About 1948-9?

 And I love this picture! Is this a pleased look or a quizzical one? - but where is our paradise of Penrose remembered?  We really must have had fun playing in the dirt.

And this is my quilting mentor.  Louise always paved the way for me.  She was tidy, I was not, but later in life, I realized that was the only way to go.  She wanted to be a teacher, and cut pictures out of all of the magazines to save for future use, so I had to find pictures in the discarded ones and do the same.  She loved paper dolls, so I loved them.  She loved to do puzzles, but wouldn't let me put a piece in her first 1,000 piece puzzle.  Oh, well.  But, it was the quilts that got me.  She made quilts for her first babies, so when I was going to become a mother, I had to do the same.  Louise was always there to help me when I became stuck on a project.  One example she is to me is that she has such a funny sense of humor, and, in spite of a tough life, looks on the bright side.  She is a fantastic Mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and is very blessed to have children close by.  She earned it!
And, to cap it all off, Louise continues to set the example for all of us, by living a full life, with enthusiasm for new projects to do.  I wonder if she ever counted how many quilts she has made????
A Very Happy Birthday to You, Sister Dear!

But, how could I forget our dishes sessions?  She was the boss, so she washed, and I dried.  Lots of important conversations and topics were covered during this time.  Always remember that doing dishes together is a a wonderful together time?

Four of Six Siblings

Pictures are still waiting to be sorted into their proper places, but that job has been put on the back burner while I do other things, like harvest zucchini logs.  These pictures represent a time in the fall of 2000 when Dwight, Velna, Ann, and Louise all came to Preston together.  One of the things that we did was to get out Mother's old photograph album and Dwight scanned those pictures and others as fast as he could make his scanner go.  We did take time to pose on the front porch.  The top picture is a winner, but Ann has the most winning smile in the bottom picture - Louise was looking at something else, and I was dreaming or something.  Anyway, I remember this as a very nice time - just missing Judy and Steve.

Belated Birthday Wishes for Louise

Where did we all go?  Can't believe that we let the 14th slip by without a mention on the blog of the birthday of our family matriarch.  (Is that what you are, Louise?  At least, you have the most years of all of us.)  Hope your day went well, and that you got to celebrate.  You have cultivated a happy disposition, conquering your fears and forging ahead in life being responsible for yourself.  I love the way you have paved the way for me in so many aspects of my life - from being neater than I was (am?) to teaching school, to making quilts, to writing your story, etc., etc.  We are fortunate to have had you leading the way, so that when we wanted to go pick pears, it wasn't such a shock to our dear parents. (Well, maybe not?)   We did all grow up together, didn't we?  Anyway, I've always felt fortunate and secure to have a "big" sister who has tried to show me what to do in life, even if I didn't always follow. Thank you for your steadfastness.  Much love to you on this day after.

Louise's letter from the past

You must click on this letter to enlarge it.  I apologize for the dark parts - when I copied this about 20 years ago, my printer wasn't very good.  Ann may have put this on the CD she gave us last year, but I confess that I haven't checked it for all letters on it.  Dad was gone to Edmonton, Canada with his carpenter's tools to work in a plant to aid in the war effort.  His stay was short-lived - he contracted pneumonia, and came home to recuperate.  We wrote letters - I can only find one page of Dwight's, where he talks about trading off his comic books - hope he has the rest of it.

Judy and Louise by the Shoshone River

A little while ago, I put Louise's picture by the river, and should have included this one of Judy and Louise. The wool scarves tied around our heads for warmth were always part of our winter wear. We never worried much about what they did to our hair - not much vanity in our family. I still can't remember why I asked everyone to sit or crouch in the snow to take these pictures. Oh, well! This is the best I can do this morning. Where are you, siblings dear? We need to have some rejuvinating of the blog. Happy Sunday to all.