The More Things Change,
The More Things Stay the Same


Tonight our family will gather as it has for years.

(Prunie, Kim, Lisa -- and Paul, Ringo, George & John's legs 1967-68)

We'll eat Christmas candy and open the most exciting presents, perhaps you will not receive a life-size poster of the Beatles, but whatever this year's jewel is, I'm sure it's wrapped under the tree and waiting.

Grandma Pack

By the end of the night, there will be one tired hostess


Laurie
Babies then, babies now must be kept from breaking ornaments and rearranging the tree.

1969
Grandparents will visit to see what Santa brought.

1971 Kim, Laurie, and Lisa

It will be fun times.

Merry Christmas to all

seis meses

Six months ago Scott said his good-byes

Watched his last 20 minutes of tv

Packed his bags

Checked in for his international flight to Brazil

And boarded a plane.

more Retro Thanksgiving

Thanks for the comments. I only remember the screaming wire coat hangers scene from Mommy Dearest. The movie I think reminds me of my childhood the most is Apollo 13. The first time I watched that movie I was mezmorised. The engineers were all using slide rules and pocket protectors just like my dad. And don't you think Kathleen Quinlan resembles my mom in that movie - they even stole the clock we had hanging in the kitchen. Just proves how hip and stylish my mom was when I was little (and still is).

my parents are on the left. (Do you think Scott resembles my dad?)

I like how Prunie's hair is now sporting the Twiggy look. (straight behind me - I'm the one with the roll stuffed in my mouth) ((and no, Prunie is not her real name, she's legally Laura, but it's always been Aunt Prunie to me))



Great Aprons!

What does a typical Thanksgiving table look like for my family 39 years later? Traditional setting and casual people The Perfect Mix
Looking back on these photos - is it any wonder I have an obsession with dishes, serving pieces, and table linens. I recently pulled out all of my tablecloths, refolded and arranged them -- let's just say I have a lot (easily over 50). I doubt that you would ever come to my house and be served on paper plates. I have everyday dishes, Sunday nice dishes, and china. I have enough clear glass plates to feed the whole extended Marx family. If I was in charge of a ward Christmas dinner - yeah, we'd bust out all those plates in the church kitchen for sure. (for a ward dinner you're spending over $50 in paper goods, when it takes 3 people about 20 minutes to wash all the dishes, spend the extra $ on the food...) Just a little quirky like that.

still to come: Lisa & Kim's many matching dresses, '50s and '60s nick-nacks, birthday parties.

Retro Thanksgiving

Ron & I headed out to the sand dunes for Thanksgiving. The kids had dinner with their inlaws. I lost my camera....

Lacking current Turkey day shots, I share with you Retro Thanksgiving:

Left to right around the bird: Bill (my grandfather, who we've always called by his first name), Virginia (?), Mom, Uncle Leonard, LoLo - great-grandmother, Aunt Prunie, Kim, Lisa, Grandma Pack.

Oops, we couldn't see the baby, Grandma Pack and Kim switched places.

This is my great-grandmother Laura who we called Lo-Lo and one of her 4 sisters, I believe it's Virginia, I know it's not Blanche or Anna Belle, but my mother will have to comment and correct me. This is why I love this picture:

• My mother's wedding portrait is hanging in the background
• The Chopin bust on the piano, I miss that! I totally should have requested that momento
• Grandma's piano. One day she redecorated and decided the piano should be refinished in an off-white with antiqueing look. It looked fabulous when she finished and it was always the center piece of her livingroom.
• the glasses
• the dresses
• the sweet potatoes that were eaten at this meal. Lo-Lo always made the sweet potatoes.
  

Enjoy this shot of my mother and me. I was only allowed in the livingroom for photo-ops. At first it was because just to the left of us in the picture was the big stereo cabinet usually playing a record, and when I would stomp or run through the livingroom (their words, not mine "stop running" "Don't stomp so heavy, can't you just walk?") it caused the needle to skip. As time went on numerous expensive fragile items were added to the livingroom that little girls just didn't need to run around and break.

After recovering from Thanksgiving, I am trying desperately to get the house decorated and festive looking. Something I learned from my youth:

Tune in tomorrow for a peek at Christmas from the 60s. And birthday shots. Classics.

Thanks so much to my brother who scanned all of my dad's slides into digital files!