matching dresses | bleuwater

This is a pen and ink drawing I made of my home I lived in from second grade until I went to college. I took several art classes for the fun of it in college. I gave this to my mom, who had to sell the house after she and dad divorced. She couldn’t afford to live there on her own. When she moved into assisted living years ago, my brother mailed it to me along with a box of her journals and photo albums.

My dad was visiting our house in Palm Springs when the box arrived and we went through it together. He grabbed this framed sketch of mine and it’s been hanging on a wall of his home ever since. Ever since this past weekend that is — we moved him into assisted living. I told him I was taking it back. In fact, I wasn’t happy when he took it, because I didn’t give him permission. But I realized someday I would get it back, rather than make a stink over it.

He had it on a wall that got lots of sun and it is badly faded. I scanned it and used Adobe Camera Raw to get some life back into it.

Do I have a funny story about an art class in college! In addition to art, I took ballet. I was taking a drawing class and we were introduced to sketching nudes. Was I surprised when a male model was a fellow dancer from my ballet class! Did I turn red when he walked over to me during a 10-minute break stark naked and wanted to chat. I think I ran out of the room!

Here are a few other photos I scanned from “back in the day”:

A view of the Snohomish valley from our living room window.

A view from a living room window looking towards the road going down the hill. We lived on Lord’s Hill, Snohomish, Washington.

Our dog Hondo. I couldn’t find the photos of Hondo in our International Tractor trailer. I learned how to drive on the tractor and loved to carry Hondo along. Funny, I just showed those photos to my husband, which is most likely why I can’t find them.

Me and mom in matching dresses she sewed. I had a closet of more than 30 dresses that she whipped up for me. I wanted to wear jeans…

Nothing like putting a thick pair of glasses on a girl to turn her into an introvert. Oh well, I had my books as friends.

Contact lenses changed my life!

This looking back in time reminded me of a Simon and Garfunkel song:

Time, time, time
See what’s become of me

Time, time, time
See what’s become of me
While I looked around for my possibilities

I was so hard to please
Look around
Leaves are brown
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter