These photos were taken by Joan and Sid in June of 1979 while they were on the Isle of Capri, Italy for my parents' wedding. Film photography does an excellent job of capturing the Capri light and the colors...As amazing as digital photography is, it just can't quite compare.
Jonathan and I traveled to Capri in August of 2010. You can see some of my own photos of Capri here.
We recently inherited Joan's piano. If there is such a thing as a family heirloom, this piano would be near the top of our list. Joan received the piano from her dad for her 12th birthday on September 10, 1945. It was her most prized possession. When the family relocated from Ohio to Southern California in 1960, the piano moved into my great-grandmother's living room because it wouldn't fit in Joan's apartment. Here's a photo of my mom playing the piano before her junior prom in 1973:
After my great-grandmother passed away the following year and Joan moved into her new house in the nearby suburb of Cerritos, the piano moved into a corner of her living room. You can see it in the background along with the chandelier that now hangs in our foyer:
For the thirty years she lived in the house, the piano occupied that space. When my sister and I were kids, we loved playing the piano. It was one of our favorite pastimes as children. After we sold Joan's house in October 2011, the piano moved across the country to my mom's house in Oxford, where it stayed until this spring when my mom decided to downsize. It now lives in our living room:
We still have some work to do in this room, but we are excited to have Joan's piano in our home. Jonathan is already practicing his piano-playing skills. Porter sings along!
I love the muted colors of these early 1970s photographs of my great-grandmother's garden. Photoshop has some awesome filters, but nothing is quite like the real thing. These photos feel like a summer garden should feel....warm and soft with flowers and trees everywhere. Add in palm trees and the most breath-taking views imaginable, and you have summertime perfection.
Happy Friday, everyone. I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend and a good week. We've had some family concerns around here the past few weeks, and they have forced blogging to take a back seat. If you are the praying kind, please keep our family in your prayers.
Today I wanted to continue the summer vacation series by sharing some photos of my grandparents, Joan and Sid, that were taken in the late 1970s. Sadly Sid lost his battle to liver cancer in 1984 at age 50. Ironically Joan would pass away from the same disease 19 years later. Despite their blissful life being cut short, they were the perfect example of a couple who loved a lifetime. They lived each day to the fullest and made every moment count. Their home was a happy place, and they enjoyed traveling, camping and boating. They knew how to have fun.
Their story can teach the rest of us a great lesson -- have adventures, enjoy every day, stop and smell the roses and laugh....You get the picture.
You'll notice their dog Pookie on the left side of the above photo. I will always remember my grandma and their yard like this. I often wonder what would we do without photos to remind us of special people and places. They continue to keep them in our hearts and minds decades after they're gone. I am so grateful for these precious memories.