After reading Darcy’s eloquent post, and I completely agree, I want to expand on the self portrait topic.
My issues with creativity and weather and wussy-ness and courage and lighting for this week’s theme — they all don’t matter.
This is my dad with his grandmother, who is holding his brother
My oldest child is prepping a college scholarship application as we speak. The scholarship is awarded to students who appreciate genealogy. She is using my scrapbooks, among other things, for reference and tracing her family five generations deep. I have one book for my grandparents and one for my mom. My scrapbooks will never be finished, but the point is that we have something. These books are key to her application. Darcy writes that your granddaughters will thank you for taking photos of yourself, and I believe her.
If you look at my flickr account, you’ll see that I have two P52 2012’s going on. One is Darcy’s themed project. The other is themed, as deemed by me, “My kitchen table.” My hope is to record every day life. I’m doing better than last year — I used the same theme and I’m kicking myself for not finishing. With our kitchen being torn out, eating at my in-law’s down the street, having guests over, and living most of our lives in the kitchen, the “everyday” will hopefully be recorded.
Why the everyday? Because it’s every. day. Most of our lives are not dress-up occasions. Most of our lives are not family reunions. And one day while assembling my paternal grandparents’ scrapbook, I found myself drawn to the backgrounds of the photos — the cars and the furnishings. That’s how I mark the time and what I remember. The clock on my grandparents wall. The drapes in the living room always impressed me. The dishes we used at meals. The concave drawer handles that made upside-down images.
So here is my submission for the week.
This says plenty about my life without putting me at center stage (and I love attention):
- I’m working on a t shirt scarf (no surprise that I’m crafting, eh?) to wear later in the day.
- My computer is a laptop and I’m playing a podcast (I love history!). OK, you can’t tell that I’m playing a podcast from the image, but there is my history plug for the day.
- My Number Lock is on and my keyboard has a 9-key pad.
- And I’m sitting on the floor.
- We keep our hats and gloves in a cardboard box in the hallway and we can never keep them contained in the box, even though it is plenty big enough.
- I keep pocket packs of tissues under my sewing desk and they are peeking out.
- I am barefoot.
- I got a haircut the day before so it doesn’t touch my shoulders.
- Sun is coming through the window, so you know it is daytime. I crafted during the day.
- Plenty more “little everyday things” can be told from the scattering of needlework supplies.
Have you “read” your surroundings lately?
Here is the scarf before I finished the reverse applique part:
annette
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