Summer Stock Sunday - 44

Robin's Summer Stock Sunday meme invites all to post summery photos, and to visit other bloggers who share their feelings and memories about this magical season.













On this rather sombre day of remembrance on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, my family is celebrating my sister's first wedding anniversary.

She and her husband chose the date of Sept. 11th specifically to begin turning the energy of that date to something positive.

Their wedding last year at his family's cottage was filled with joy, love and dreams coming true.

May we all fill the world with these things, today especially, and every day of the year.





































Photo by Anita Coady

Summer Stock Sunday - 43

Robin's Summer Stock Sunday meme invites all to post summery photos, and to visit other bloggers who share their feelings and memories about this magical season.












Traditionally, summer has been the perfect time to hit the road and make a pilgrimage to visit faraway family and friends.

I have been the happy recipient on many occasions of summer visits from my friend of 23 years, Lisa. We met as co-workers in the late 80s and have been soul sisters ever since.












One of the earlier summer visits was this one, when she brought her little guy to see me and Brad when we lived in Toronto. Lisa and her husband had moved to Belleville at that time, and this was a two-hour trip into the city for a new mom, bringing a welcome interlude of reconnecting to herself as Lisa, while I had the fun of laughing with her son.













Her latest trip to see me was a few years ago. This time she traveled from Cobourg, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia.


























On Monday, Lisa will celebrate her birthday. I wish she was here for a hug In Real Life. Maybe next year!

My visits to Lisa seem to roll around in the fall and winter. Until then, my dearest friend...

Summer Stock Sunday - 42

Robin's Summer Stock Sunday meme invites all to post summery photos, and to visit other bloggers who share their feelings and memories about this magical season.

Normally my vintage summer offering would go back a little farther than last year - but no matter.

Last year at this time, my sister Michelle was attending two bridal showers given by each side of her family. The first was given by her best friend, our cousin Julianne. The second one was given by her sister-in-law Reta and mother-in-law Joan.

Something I really love about bridal showers and baby showers is the rite of passage element to them. I think deep down, people need these sorts of rituals. I know they make me feel connected, not only to my own community of women, but to the generations of women who came before me and who will follow. The multi-generational aspect of showers really highlights that for me.





Shower 1









































































Shower 2

Summer Stock Sunday - 39

Robin's Summer Stock Sunday meme invites all to post summery photos, and to visit other bloggers who share their feelings and memories about this magical season.
















Heading into our Way Back Machine, these shots were taken in the 1970s during an epic road trip out west.

My husband Brad and his family were born and bred in Toronto, except for his dad who hailed from Manitoba, one province west of Ontario.

One summer his Aunt Pat - the Aunt Pat who is always listed as the photographer whenever I post Brad kid pix - took my husband and his brother for a memorable vacation, about which he often reminisces.
















Aunt Pat took the two youngest, Jeff and Brad, and showed them the Rockies, Lake Louise, the Columbia Icefields, as well as touching base with family in Winnipeg.

Summer - a perfect time to dust off the suitcases and see the sights that stay with you for a lifetime.

Summer Stock Sunday - 38

Robin's Summer Stock Sunday meme invites all to post summery photos, and to visit other bloggers who share their feelings and memories about this magical season.












Summer - a perfect time to be silly.

This shot was most likely taken by my mom, while my grandfather took my sister and I for a ride on the lawnmower after a family barbeque. In the 1960s we lived in Michigan. We had both sets of grandparents nearby, and a host of aunts and uncles. So there were lots of family dinners.

There was also a lot of silliness, which was fairly evenly spread by everyone, really. We're a silly bunch.

My dad creeping up on the tricycle was par for the course.

Summer Stock Sunday - 37

Robin's Summer Stock Sunday meme invites all to post summery photos and visit other bloggers who share their feelings and memories about this magical season.














This shot was taken by my husband's Aunt Pat in the 1970s at the family cottage. They spent their summers in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, the cottage nestled along Lake Clear.

I got to spend a wonderful weekend there with my sister-in-law and two nieces about 14 years ago - it really is a magical spot.

Shown in the picture are my sister-in-law Karen, my husband Brad, my brother-in-law Jeff and my late father-in-law David.

Summer Stock Sunday - 36

Robin's Summer Stock Sunday meme continues - she invites all to post summery photos and visit other bloggers who share their feelings and memories about this magical season.

After a few weeks off of posting to this meme while I was away in New York City, I'm continuing with my vintage look at summer.













This shot was taken in the late 1960s on Centre Island in Toronto, Ontario.

My late father-in-law was a member of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, and every summer my husband and his brothers and sister would enjoy the union family day out at Center Island, an easily-accessible oasis of small-town vibe a ferry ride away from the downtown core of Toronto.

For the thirteen years I lived there, I always cherished every day trip out to Centre Island. It runs the gamut from an amusement park area to a serene wildness area, gorgeous beaches and a fairy-tale cottage village where residents have the best of both worlds - a lake view, a cityscape view, only foot traffic, century-ago peace-and-quiet, with all the amenities of a metropolis at one's fingertips.

Shown in the picture, L to R:

My sister-in-law Karen, brother-in-law Ken, peeking out behind is my husband Brad, brother-in-law Jeff, mother-in-law Joan and Brad's late Grandma Smith (otherwise known as Esther.)

Summer Stock Sunday - 35

Robin's Summer Stock Sunday meme continues - she invites all to post summery photos and visit other bloggers who share their feelings and memories about this magical season.
















This is a shot from the late 1960s, taken when my family lived in Michigan. That's me in the back row, waving at the camera.

We had a street full of kids who liked to put on little shows. This is a show presented by my best friend's sister Barb, my best friend Mary and our neighbor Kimmie.















Of course, when the 'kids' put on a backyard show, I'm sure the moms were the unsung heroes, setting up the chairs, making lemonade and finding sheets and streamers to decorate the stage.

Summer Stock Sunday - 34

For the third year running, here comes one of my favorite bloggy events - Robin's Summer Stock Sunday meme.

She invites all to post summery photos and visit other bloggers who share their feelings and memories about this magical season.

Last year I decided to post only vintage photos for this feature. They were so enthusiastically received that this year I'll keep 'em coming.










This shot was taken by my dad in the late 70s, while I was in my Little House on the Prairie obsessive phase.

I still have these phases. They're a part of my creative process. It's all good.

Anyway, because I used to obsess about Laura Ingalls' red calico dress and her 19th century boots, my mom indulged her sewing/costuming cravings and made me and my sister our own Little House dresses.

I still have this dress. It's hanging in my closet at this very moment.

Summer Stock Sunday - 33

My vintage look at summer for Summer Stock Sunday, hosted by Robin at Around the Island.

Robin's second summertime photo meme has once again been a favorite highlight of my blogging year - thanks, Robin! To bring 2010's version to a close, here's a picture that epitomizes summer for me.


















This is my dad as a kid, playing cowboy in front of his parents' store in rural Quebec in the 1940's.

Though social role play can occur indoors or out, in every season, for some reason the 'let's pretend' play in which I took part as a kid is far more vivid to me when it happened outside. I played non-storytelling games like skip rope, hopscotch, red light/green light, and hide and seek, but I far preferred all the times when we enacted scenes from shows like Little House on the Prairie, I Dream of Jeannie, Get Smart or Six Million Dollar Man.

When I was at Ryerson directing my student films, I often heard the echoes of my childhood self setting up scenes with my friend, my cousin and my sister:

"I'll be Mary, you be Laura and you be Nellie. Now let's pretend Nellie has invited us over to her house and she's being mean to us."

And in a bit of foreshadowing, Dad's social play which gravitated towards being an imaginary gunslinger was the precursor to his sharpshooter status when he served with the US army in the 60's.

Summer stock Sunday - 31

My vintage look at summer for Summer Stock Sunday, hosted by Robin at Around the Island.

Well - it finally dawned. The day my sister has been waiting for. The day she became a bride.

Today she joined a long line of women who were also brides. Here are the most recent links in this chain of descendents.




Emilie Meuse

who became a bride on July 21, 1909,

when she married Eugene Meuse.












Her daughter, Juliette Meuse

who became a bride on August 23, 1938

when she married Charles Doucet.












Her daughter, Paulette Doucet

who became a bride on July 7, 1962

when she married Norman Phillips.












Her daughter, Michelle Phillips

who became a bride on Sept. 11, 2010

when she married Newt Killen.

Summer Stock Sunday - 29

My vintage look at summer for Summer Stock Sunday, hosted by Robin at Around the Island.


















Yesterday and this afternoon, my sister is the guest of honor at two bridal showers - one hosted by our family, one hosted by her new family-in-law-to-be.

In the timeless ways of summer celebrations, another bridal shower was held for my mom in the summer of 1962 by her landlady, Mrs. Crete. Mom was rooming with her, while her family resettled themselves from a recent ping-pong move from Michigan to Canada and back to Michigan.

Here in this shot is the bride-to-be, my mom Paulette, and behind her on the left is her mom, Juliette, with her mother-in-law-to-be, Viola on the right. The two moms held a second shower in their daughter's honor in absentia, as Mom was already posted with my dad overseas during his three-year US Army service. They sent all of Mom's shower gifts through the army posting delivery to Europe.

I'll be posting pix of my sister's two showers this week for Thursday Thirteen, if you'd like to drop by.

Nessa says It was nice that so many people took care of your mom.

Naquillity says What great friends your mother had. Lovely picture. And congrats to your sister on her two bridal showers. May she always be happy.

Robin says As someone who lives far across the world from the rest of her family I can really appreciate this - friends really do become surrogate relatives when you're away from home. Congratulations to your sister!

Summer Stock Sunday - 27 / Poetry Train Monday - 165 - Expecting Someone Altogether Different

My vintage look at summer for Summer Stock Sunday, hosted by Robin at Around the Island.


















When my husband and I first began going out, he took me to the Exhibition in Toronto, known locally as the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition.) At one point we hopped in a photo booth and took the first of a series of summer photo booth pictures.

Once we got married, we moved our previous CNE tradition to our anniversary, and made sure to take a photo booth shot at some point during our day.

This one was taken here in Halifax a few years ago, just after we'd seen a movie. I'm looking forward to a lifetime collection of these.








Last week I mentioned my husband's suggestion that I write a sexy poem. And several of you wondered if I'd written one.

Here it is - it may actually be more romantic than sexy, but who's quibbling?


Expecting Someone Altogether Different


On my day off from work
I threw on my shapeless
Comfy black pants
My slightly-too-big
Cotton top
My grass-stained garden clogs

I shuffled into the car
To pick you up from work
And because the timing
Had been so close
With Mom not knowing
If she'd be back from the store
If you'd have to call a cab
I parked the car
I went in the store

With my day-off-from-work
Unwashed hair
Stained clogs
Shapeless clothing

How many women
I thought to myself
Would enter their
Husband's workplace
Looking like this?

When you saw me
Your eyes lit up
Your smile was not
For the customer before you
And she could tell
She turned to look
I'm sure she was expecting
To see someone
Altogether different
Attached to the smile
To the look
You gave me

© Julia Smith / Aug. 14, 2010

How to participate in the 3:15 Experiment

Starting on the night of July 31/Aug. 1, set your alarm for 3:15 am, wake up, write a poem in the midst of your sleepiness and go back to sleep. Repeat each night for the month of August.

Visit the originators of the project for more information:

Danika Dinsmore

Gwendolyn Alley

For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

Robin says What a wonderful poem - I love the honesty and the sentiment, and above all the love, that shines through it. I love your photobooth tradition too, what a great idea.

Jessica Sieghart says The photo booth shots are an awesome idea! I like the fact that you spend your anniversary in a similar way each year, too. You wrote that poem at 3:15 in the morning? You go girl!!!

Akelamalu Love the romantic poem - that smile says it all!