Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Christmas Past; memories of my grandmother


Jessie Gaebele, right an left
  These are photos of my grandmother.  The one on the left isn't one we used in the sequel to A Flickering Light called An Absence so Great.  It's one I wanted to save for moments like this.  I suspect it might have been her "traveling dress"  after she married.  She looks pretty happy in this photo.  The photo of her in the lovely white dress was used in A Flickering Light (which was named to Library Journal's Best Books of 2009, a lovely honor for my grandmother.  She's a little older in the traveling dress photo, had owned her own studio at this point.  She'd walked through fire, too and been strengthened by the process.
  I'm just thinking of her as I prepare to write my annual Christmas letter, something I didn't do last year because I had atypical pneumonia.
  this year, I'm feeling fine and I'm ready to send Christmas greetings your way.  It seemed appropriate to do that with some pictures of my grandmother where I spent nearly every Christmas during my growing up years, at her big house in Minneapolis.  I miss her.  But that's what the holidays can do for us, remind us to remember.
  May all your memories of Christmas past nourish and transform.

4 comments:

Sheila Deeth said...

I've got to work on our Christmas letter too. Lovely photos.

Linda's World said...

I just love these old pictures. I am blessed to have so many of my family. I have a precious one of my paternal grandmother when she was about 2 years old, it would have been taken in 1894. I think maybe they were better about getting formal pictures than we are today. Linda in Lakewood, WA

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Jane -

My Mom has many photos of my grandparents and other relatives. Your post made me think how nice it would be to sit down with her and put some of them in albums.

Blessings,
Susan :)

travelswithwile-e said...

I am looking forward to the new book. My father was a photographer years ago when tinting and mixing chemicals was what you did. I remember watching him with the little tiny brush tinting photos.
I need to ask....did your husband die over the summer or last spring. If not good. If so I am so sorry.