Restored Portrait of My Two Older Brothers

Restored Portrait of My Two Older Brothers, originally uploaded by confections.

Through a very generous offer that I learned about through Photojojo, ScanCafe restored this old 1950's portrait of my brothers for free. The service was fast (considering the huge response) and I'm very pleased with the result.

ScanCafe handscans negatives, photos, and slides, in addition to their photo restoration services. I've been wanting to scan my old carousels of slides, and this just may be the answer to who's going to tackle that task. Thank you, ScanCafe and Photojojo!

Great-Aunt Emily and Aunt Margaret

Great-Aunt Emily and Aunt Margaret, originally uploaded by confections.

My mother's older sister Margaret (about age four) is seated here on the lap of her Aunt Emily, circa 1927. Aunt Emily was born in December of 1869 and lived until 1944. Aunt Margaret was born in 1923 and is alive and well. This was taken at my maternal grandparents' farm in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Vintage Cameo Collection Portrait in Frame

Vintage Cameo Collection Portrait in Frame, originally uploaded by confections.

This vintage Cameo Collection framed portrait is of Hungarian Graefin (Countess) Szchenyi-Seilern (Crescence Seilern) by M. M. Daffinger. I found this one last spring while browsing some of my favorite thrift stores.

In an odd twist, my sister's mother-in-law's mother once worked in the household of the aristocratic Szchenyi's in the early part of the 20th century.

Synchronicity is the rule rather than the exception, I have found....

"Theta Brainwave Sound Journey" Meditation

While browsing YouTube for a meditation tool, I stumbled across this powerful audio/visual journey into the theta brainwave state. Please be sure to click on the box twice if you want to go directly to YouTube to see the images in a larger size. Enjoy!

The Coveted Wolf Dress Form

The Coveted Wolf Dress Form, originally uploaded by confections.

My sister and I are taking a patternmaking class this fall in San Diego with the irrepressible Joan McKenna, professor extraordinaire. We are about a third of the way through the very demanding course which will result in a dress sloper that can be used to create custom-fit dresses.

This elegant Wolf dress form presides over the class in the back of the room near the three-way mirror. She is quite lovely and I lust after this indispensable industry tool.

I have a brand-X dress form in the deep, dark recesses of my garage, a relic from my own dressmaking days in the 1980's. I'm going to dig her out this weekend and see if she can be transformed into a reasonable facsimile of my body shape so I can get a head start on some draping skills.



Our instructor has told us that it is a custom among dressmakers to keep a religious object on the worktable while you are drafting. So I brought along a Madonna & Child prayer card....and believe me, patternmaking will drive you to prayer! Appropriately, she is Saint Mary of Perpetual Help, St. Maria du perpetuel Secours, Maria von der immerwaehrenden Hilfe. Amen!

Collage of Vintage Japanese Salt & Pepper Shakers

Collage of Vintage Japanese Salt & Pepper Shakers, originally uploaded by confections.

I kept seeing this little set at one of my favorite antique malls on my jaunts.

Finally, I brought them home; they fit very well into my growing collection of pink-and-green kitchen items.

They complement my wedding dishes, which are the discontinued pattern Metlox Poppy Trail "Sculptured Berry".

1950's Interior

Uncle Buddo, My Dad & My Oldest Brother, originally uploaded by confections.

More from the family photo archives: a living room gathering of my Dad's cousin, my Dad, and my brother, probably taken in 1950 or 1951. The biggest clue: the radio is still prominent (directly behind my Dad), and there is no sign of the television which came very soon after this.

My Mother says the drapes were made of beautiful tobacco-leaf-print barkcloth. The chair that my uncle is sitting in was turquoise and the couch (not seen) was a soft gray-green.

There are lots of storytellers in my family, and when my Dad and his cousin Buddo got together--as they did often during my childhood--they were two of the best.

Veggies at My Local Co-Op

Veggies at My Local Co-Op, originally uploaded by confections.

A line-up of veggies at OB People's Food Co-Op in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California: I'm embarking on a mostly raw diet this month and these veggie-folks are becoming my favorite companions....

Vision-Made-Reality Inspiration

Etsy has been down for maintenance overnight, but several videos were made available for viewing. I clicked on this one and was inspired. Enjoy!

NaNoWriMo 2009

NaNoWriMo 2009, originally uploaded by confections.

National Novel Writing Month begins on November 1st, 2009. I'm planning on participating again this year. I hope to get some new ideas percolating on long walks this month in anticipation of the writing season....

Hand Mannequin (2)

Hand Mannequin (2), originally uploaded by confections.

Just playing around with a pop-art feature at bighugelabs: here is a view of my hand mannequin photo posted a few days ago.

My Brother & I, Summer 1958

My Brother & I, Summer 1958, originally uploaded by confections.

Here's the backstory on this image: it was probably taken by my Dad in the summer of 1958. We were at our cabin in the Pennsylvania mountains for a summer vacation. I finally had a baby sister (after three brothers) and a new puppy.

One of the first rituals after arriving at the cabin was driving up the mountain road to a crystal clear spring with our Dad and bringing back a huge cooler full of drinking water.

On this particular day I had gotten a new balloon, and just moments before this photo was snapped, our new puppy had burst my balloon--and I burst into tears.

Luckily, I had a lollipop (a Tootsie-Roll pop, nonetheless), which helped me get over my disappointment at the burst balloon. My almost 9-year-old brother is putting on his tough Little League game face.

I remember those fun little girls' playsuits with elasticized waists and ties at the shoulder, icons of the 1950's. I'm seven-and-a-half in this photo, about to enter 3rd grade.

My Mom & Youngest Sister, 1969

My Mom & Youngest Sister, 1969, originally uploaded by confections.

Today is my mother's 84th birthday. Happy Birthday, Mutti! Looking forward to your visit in November.

This image of my Mom and baby sister was captured circa June 1969 by my eldest brother, gms.