Sweet Eden

Sweet Eden, originally uploaded by confections.

I'm an aunt and now a great-aunt and I take the duties that go along with those titles seriously--just kidding! Pictured here in all of her innocent glory is the third of my four extraordinary nieces. I have five delightful nephews as well.

I was present at Eden's birth, as well as at the birth of one of her sisters and one of her brothers. It is a rare and special gift to be invited to witness a birth. I am bonded to her and her siblings and cousins, and since I have no children of my own, I claim them and am honored to do so.

Eden turned seventeen in June; she is a lovely young woman with many talents including photography and writing. The photo below shows her on a visit to us last September cleaning her newly found vintage Royal typewriter--a girl after my own heart♥

My Maternal Grandfather as a Baby (Restored Tintype) [two]

My Maternal Grandfather as a Baby (Restored Tintype) [two], originally uploaded by confections.

My maternal grandfather was born 130 years ago today on July 25th, 1878. I never knew this grandfather except through photos of him as an adult and my Mother's stories. I had never seen this small tintype photo of him as a baby until I visited my Aunt Margaret on her farm in Muncie, Indiana, at Thanksgiving 2001.

She generously let us scan some family photos, including this image. The original tintype was a bit faded and damaged. When I posted the scan on flickr, one of my long-lost Galbraith cousins saw it and restored it to the state you see here. Thanks, Al! The original photo is shown below and a sepia version is included as well.