Framed Memories

Framed memories

 

As my friends and I prepare for our little brocante sale, the wedding, and as I continue with physical therapy I am finding myself a bit busy, especially going about business with one hand.

 

Notice how the woman in the image up above is standing with one hand behind her back… I wonder if she had a secret up her sleeve? I wonder if she had a cast on and was trying to look chic by hiding it. I wonder if she wonders what I am talking about.

I wonder if she was taking a break in the middle of calculated chaos?

 

 

Round-frame

 

Anyway… the next few days are going to be hectic to say the least. There will be two brocante tour groups coming by… yes, after years of being asked to take people around on antique buying trips, and asked to be a guide to the brocantes I finally decided to say…

Why not come to my neck of the woods?

Two groups are coming by this weekend.

Should be fun, if not busy.

My friend Jill and Mimi will be leading the groups; if you ever need a guide to the brocantes they are the ones you want to contact. They do not work together but have two separate activities.

 

 

Round glass locket

 

 

In the meantime I thought I would ask you to pick a theme, any theme (keep it clean Franca Bolla!) and over the next few days I will dig around in my photo archives and post images that correspond with a theme you mentioned.

Today the theme is "Frames: Framed Memories.

Each day I will pick a theme that someone mentioned in the comment section.

 

 

Nap III frame

 

 

Then I will ask you my faithful readers to write about it.

Your comments enrich many, and as I have said before, they are one of the best parts of this blog.

I will pick one comment a day and send a little gift from my online brocante.

 

 

Top of frame

 

This guy (in the photo above) doesn't want to play.

That's okay he can tag along anyway.

 

 

 

Small oval frame with bow

 

 

So pick a theme and add it to the comment section please.

 

 

Small frame locket

 

Framed with out a memory to hold, or maybe it was too small to hold the memories gathered.

Maybe as it stood empty it held more.

 

 

Locket

 

 

Relic holder, full of medals.

 

 

Locket man with beret

 

Happy, sad, memories nevertheless.

 

 

Locket with girl

 

Do you have photos around your house? My Grandmother had walls of photos, my mother has some in her bedroom, I have a few, most are not framed.

 

 

Small round frame

 

Many of my most favorite memories I have framed in my mind's eye.

One of them is watching falling stars with Sacha at five in the morning when he was a little boy. Another is when my mother and I gave ourselves facial mask we were not suppose to move any facial muscles. My mother cracked a joke and we ruined our facial by cracking up laughing. Another was when I was hugged by Mother Teresa in Italy during the first Youth Day at the Vatican. Another one of favorite framed memories was when my grandmother and Aunts were volunteering at a second hand shop and my grandmother found a pair of earrings for me. I wore those earrings to each of my brother's weddings.

Memories that bring a smile to my facce everytime I think of them.

I especially love memories that at the moment didn't seem monumental, or that I would remember them over and over but have, and in doing so found them to be healing aids on dark days.

IMG_2075.JPG

Sometimes that which we are looking for finds us instead.

Sometimes we see what we are missing caught in a reflection.
Often an object tells more than one story.
Never is there one way of looking at it.

 

Small frame with laurel wreath

What are some of your most favorite memories that can lift your spirit just thinking about them?

 



Comments

59 responses to “Framed Memories”

  1. Jacqueline

    I love your theme idea Corey! My suggestion would be clocks and watches. In my area of Connecticut, American clock manufacturing was revolutionized hundreds of years ago. The beauty and artistry of different clocks so appeals to me, whether they are wall, tower, mantle, etc. I also love that they have “faces”. This month, as I turn 50 (yikes!), their symbolism of time passing seems especially poignant.

  2. Marie-Noëlle

    Memories of the time with my great-grand-parents (well, with 4 of them, as I haven’t met them all) .
    the themes I’ve picked :
    – characters (your mum, Annie, …)and their lives, their thoughts, ….
    – stories you build up from one of your pictures, or from of a detail in them.
    – the places and
    landscapes you like and enjoy.

  3. Sneaking out for pizza with my brothers, the big one would hide me in his coat, I was meant to be in bed. Pretty sure my parents knew anyway, lol.
    I am bad at this, I like the frame idea. How about boxes?

  4. Here’s a happy memory that makes me smile: When my kids were little, my parents had a home in Florida for the winter and one in Ohio for the summer. One day, before the Disney movie Hunchback of Notre Dame came out, I was explaining to Grace what a gypsy is. I told her they move place to place and don’t really have a homeland. “Oh, like Nena and Gran,” she said. So my kids thought their grandparents were gypsies.
    Gypsy theme? Travel theme? Kid theme?

  5. christine

    Hi Corey – how about bridges as a theme. I am fascinated by them architecturally but even more so metiphorically…..

  6. Massilianana

    Such lovely frames ! For a next theme I would love the theme of…love. I loved your words “that which we are looking for often finds us instead” : felt reassuring for me .
    As for memories…yes here are a few: allowing my kids to decorate the whole house with the band of a video tape that they pulled out, chasing Easter eggs and marzipan animals in my grand-parents garden,admiring the bay of Rio de Janeiro, playing with dogs I emt on the beach in Ireland,any of my kids words ( for instance : my son when he was about 5 tasted a couple of sesame seeds i was sprinkling over a salad and he said : But…this is for chickens !!),…I could go on and on !!!

  7. A theme that fascinates me, especially where you are, would be salvaged architectural items! I love seeing them incorporated into decorating.
    My minds picture frames include the years of staying home with my two sons. Encouraging their imaginations and creativity, pulling out all their good qualities. Enjoying their love and seeing the looks on their faces when they expressed it so innocently. So many pictures!

  8. How about past loves, or things that you didn’t see when they were in front of you? I sometimes think about my first love, who was an exchange student from Berlin. I gathered all the nerve I could muster and invited him to the high school dance. He was so happy someone reached out to him, and I felt like I was going with James Bond! His passion was art and photography. He gave me a photo of himself and drew something on the back. At the time I didn’t understand it’s meaning and thought it was funny. When I was moving this summer, I found the photo at the bottom of a drawer and turned it over. He had drawn a cute little elephant with this look of surprised wonder on his face, staring at a beautiful flower. It suddenly hit me that he was the elephant and I was the flower. It’s amazing how clueless you can be when you are young. I have wondered what would have happened if we were older when we had met…

  9. Oh boy, which theme to choose? There are so many! Would love to see a theme revolving around Autumn in France, as it is SO extraordinarily beautiful here in New Hampshire and I love to see it in other parts of the world…also old buildings…
    I have LOTs of memories that make me smile, like riding on the Cape May Lewes ferry with my dad when he had to visit customers in Rehobeth beach, Delaware, taking walks to Rydal Water when I lived in the English Lake district, and taking warm bowls of food up to stray cats who sheltered in our old barn over the years during some of the worse winters I’ve ever experienced. Those are just a few of hundreds!

  10. I love your “framed in the mind’s eye” memories, Corey. They bring my own to mind as well. My theme would be Opening Doors, Imagining the Possibilities.

  11. I love your “framed in the mind’s eye” memories, Corey. They bring my own to mind. My theme would be Opening Doors, Imagining the Possibilities.

  12. A theme about mirrors would be fun…reflections of time.

  13. amylia grace

    Theme: Smiles.
    Theme: babes/babies

  14. My choice for a theme: longing or secrets – many possibilities!

  15. lace wrought by hand.. always a favorite of mine.. who created the piece, from where did it come, does the design tell a story……… this is gonna be soo much fun! xo marlis

  16. My favorite memories come mostly from being with my grandmother. We’ve all seen maps of the US where each state is a different color. My grandmother used the mini colored marshmallows in my hot chocolate and pointed to each color telling me which state that color was. Jeez, I thought she was brilliant. Brilliant in my heart still.
    My theme suggestion is “Longing”.
    Have a great day, everyone!

  17. Yikes, I just noticed Gretchen already suggested longing so I’ll go with my second choice “forgiveness”. Sorry about that Gretchen !!!

  18. A memory that sticks in my head is so simple. It was about 6:PM in the winter and I was giving my two little boys their bath with bubbles. I think e had a fire in the fireplace going. I guess I must have been at perfect peace during that bath time that it stuck forever.
    Theme? hmm. how about instead of an object a feeling of coziness.

  19. I want all of those frames, I truly do. They are so beautiful, as are your memories. They are framed in our minds.
    My theme suggestion is the French rusty heart shaped mourning markers. Do you ever see those? Find those? They are so beautiful.
    My favorite memory is the one where my baby brother would wait for our parents to leave so he could drive my 60’s white Volkswagon bug car. My sister and I shared it for high school. That kid sat on two phone books and wrapped a wooden block around each pedal. Cracks me up every time I think of it. He never got caught.

  20. I was going to do watches, but Jacqueline beat me to it. So, how about fairies. Do you have fairies in France?

  21. Hi Corey, glad you are healing well. Is the picture of the young child in the round frame in the leather box our little Kate? Sure looks like her doesn’t it? Life in a monestary is a great theme you could surely share a story or two by now? Take care….

  22. I was three or four, sitting on the front steps of the house, alone and looking at the beautiful big trees that lined the street. It was my first strong feeling of being an individual and independant from others.
    For a theme, I would like to suggest antique fabrics: table and bed linens and boutis. Antique provençal fabrics perhaps?
    xo

  23. Dawn Keelin

    Corey, say hello to the tour group from Minnesota. Deb owns a shop I love. I can’t wait to see what she brings back. I so wished I could have traveled with them. Maybe, next time. So kind of you to help them in their search of French treasures!

  24. Memories can wind up being bittersweet, if not sooner then at least later. I enjoy looking ahead to the next big (or small) thing in life (like this weekend!) 🙂

  25. In perusing my memory for happy occasions, I would suggest an accomplishment theme. We all love to hang our diplomas and other major accomplishments don’t we? I have a picture that was taken by a friend when I graduated from grad school. OMG, the smile on my face says it all- happiness, joy, relief, look out world. I felt on top of the world of reaching this milestone and when I look at this picture I get that same feeling all over again. Funny thing when I look at a picture from my graduation from Kindergarten I have that same big smile!

  26. In one word, “Anticipation!”
    (I know, I know. Now some of us are thinking of the Carly Simon hit that Heinz Ketchup used for its iconic commercial).

  27. Brother Mathew

    Theme: Brocante Vacations; Oh the Joy

  28. The first memory that came to mind is being a child of 6, playing leap frog on the living room couch with my sister and brother, 7 and 8 respectively, out of mom’s line of sight, laughing hysterically, the only care in my world was when is it my turn? My siblings were and still are my best friends. My suggestion for a theme would be doors. I’m thinking of what they may represent for some of us…opening and closing, beginnings and endings.

  29. I love old worn steps. I often wonder where they lead and who has walked on them…
    Old mirrors are fascinating also. I have one on my house that was my gggrandmother’s and it was in a hotel. How many people must have used that mirror to clean up after a long journey to East TX from who knows where. That was the time of the oil boom in East TX and there was a lot of people moving through to work the oil fields.
    My best memories are from when I was a child and spent time with my grandparents. They loved me very much.

  30. Roads, Corey. Open roads, back roads, scenic roads, high roads, low roads, paved, unpaved and road signs, let’s see some french road signs.

  31. Mmd. Tortoise

    When I was 13 and in grade 8, I received a gift from my dad’s sister who happened to be my favorite aunt. It was in a most beautiful pink and gold striped box filled with pink tissue paper. In it I found an exquisite black silk velvet evening bag: an interesting gift for someone so young. It was immediately treasured because it came from her and made me feel very grown up. She was one who always treated me as an equal rather than a child.
    She died on Christmas day when I was in grade 10. I hope she knows the memory of sifting through more pink tissue than I had ever seen, to find her precious gift has stayed with me all these years.
    I still miss you Aunt Dodo.

  32. Wait, wait, wait!!! Please tell us about hugging Mother Teresa!!!

  33. Fingerwave curls tucked beneath a scarf. My Grandmother would tie it under her chin for warmth in the winter and behind at the nape of her neck in the summer. It is my most vivid memory of her.
    A theme idea..
    Beauty.

  34. How about “Rain!” …Rain on sidewalks, on windows, objects through wet windows, rain storms… A memory is of childhood looking out through a wet window at a wild rain storm in late October. It was so cozy, peaceful and safe.

  35. The one memory that always calms, always makes me feel so much better and so eternally loved, even on those darkest, worst days (you know the kind?) is this:
    Of being held on my grandmother’s lap and rocked and sung to. Grandma had the best lap in the entire world. And she would rock and sing old hymns until we both fell asleep. I can still feel my face pressed up against the warmth of her, feel and hear her voice, hear the little creek of the rocking chair.
    I’d like to see some musical-themed / instrument-themed photos, Corey.

  36. Linda Kay

    I would love to see a series of photos on the theme of old mirrors. There is something so beautiful about old, silvered mirrors. I have an old one that was my parents – it’s small, has some etching on it, and has lost a little of the backing but it’s so beautiful to me with so many memories. Thanks for the chance to
    share the thought.
    Linda Kay

  37. One of my favorite memories is arriving in Salamanca, Spain in time to see a procession through the streets on a Holy Day. So, my suggestion for a theme is “Holy Days.”

  38. I like the theme of letting go. My daughter is 25 now and it seems since she was 18 I have slowly but surely let go of those apron strings and given her enough freedom to fly but held on to just enough string for her to find her way back home. This has been one of the hardest lessons in my life and I find I am still learning it.
    “Never is there one way of looking at it” – yes yes! I was just thinking that only by letting go can our hands be empty enough to receive other gifts.
    I would LOVE to have you for my tour guide. Will be waiting for full reports. Was thinking of you yesterday as I begin to prepare for my trip to China next week!

  39. Love!! That would be a fabulous theme with which to work, don’t you think? With your busy days ahead, you need a quick and easy theme and ‘love’ will be the easiest of all! Photos speak to us of love…whether they whisper love, scream love, or give love a quick nod, love is almost always there.

  40. I loved when you blogged about the cookbook you made when you were first in France – it would be wonderful if you would feature stories and recipes from it – I loved how you drew and pasted in pictures and told where you got the recipe.

  41. Memories of family vacations first as a child later as a mom. Love your vacation photos and stories of world travels and my favorite was you riding a motorcycle joyfully clinging to your husband and singing while taking videos of the scenery. Traveling is freedom!

  42. Two things came to mind. One was when I was five and Grandfather’s giant hand held mine as we crossed the busy road. And the second was the lady who lived next door and who let me decorate cakes with her. Grandfather liked cakes but always scaped the icing off and gave it to me. So my themes are little cakes and busy hands.

  43. Ha Ha Brother Mathew!
    Me being maybe 7 in a rickshaw,my dad pushing it and singing at the same time on crispy November Saturday, going to another village to make apple cider.
    Doors, windows, deserts.
    I also loved when you showed us pictures of windows with people looking out behind curtains.
    Oh, curtains, lace,fabrics.

  44. My children were little and we were at the lake. It was a perfect summer day with the sun reflecting off the water. I listened to my children’s happy voices calling and splashing in the water and as I watched them I was so full of happiness I thought I will always remember this day.
    Themes, Musical memories!

  45. Sigh..at the memory of my eight year old daughter, Sarah , laughing, pony tail bobbing, feet wiggling ,hands flapping, , riding her pony around and through mud puddles. Captured in my minds eye and heart forever, I will ever forget it. So my suggestion is …childhood wonder.

  46. I love when you post pictures of religious medals, relics, santos, and rosaries. In my mind’s eye, I remember going to church with my family, holidays in the church with family, finding my faith again, and the sad times each family endures at the time of loss. My theme would be Holy, Holy, Holy.

  47. So so many wonderful memories but the first that comes to mind is
    Breast feeding my children.
    They would greedily gulp away when they first attached themselves to that magical milk machine. But as they started to get full, they would stop, look me deep in the eyes, and smile. Oh my gosh I melted every single time. During those moments with them, nothing else in the world existed. It was truly magical.
    So my theme suggestion would be the bond between mother and child.

  48. The first thing that popped into my head was Glamour’s Do and Don’t”. As a teen, that was the first article I would read and the women always had a black bar across their eyes as if we wouldn’t recognize them. Do the oh so chic French women ever have don’ts? The hand behind the back photo brought a not fond memory for me. I cut my hand badly opening a can of creamed corn. It required stitches and a huge gauze bandage. It was the night before my first formal dance. All the posed photos are with my hand behind my back. Try doing the twist with your hand hidden! Memories – so many! I remember asking my Gram before she dies what one thing I could do for her. She wanted me to finish knitting a hat for my brother that she had started. I cried the whole time I knitted that hat and the Christmas tag read to Jim from Gram. We all cried then. Another time we were at my aunts. All the aunties decided they needed perms, so we set up an assembly line of giving each other perms. This was when they all wore the steel wool perms (I declined). There were six of us giggling, teasing, and enjoying being together. Some are still with us and we still laugh and remember those who are gone.

  49. jend’isère

    A theme of windows could be a complement to framed memories. Views opening towards the future.
    A liberating memory is giggling hysterically while rolling down a grassy hill then staring up at clouds to search for forms.

  50. I love the little frame with nothing!!Is that for sale?I will purchase!I forget now what I’m supose to write!OH MY GOODNESS!This is happening a lot to me!Some thing about memories I think………
    Very exciting you taking around a few groups!Wish I could be there!
    Magazine going out today!Hope you enjoy it!

  51. I always tell friends that when I travel I am creating memories for a time in the future when I can no longer travel. They are treasures. My children’s births are dear memories also. I love your frames and your memories. I wrote recently of spending time with an elderly gentlemen as he told me stories of living in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. That was a memory I almost forget until I looked into the reflection in a mirror and reflecting remembered.

  52. Hi Ardi
    A Fairy is called a fee in French. Though a mouse brings the gift when a child looses a tooth.
    c

  53. Hi Toni,
    the photo is not of Kate, but I agree it does look like her!
    x

  54. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    theme 1: silliness
    theme 2: bright colors
    short and sweet.

  55. How about “light”?
    (or the absence of…)
    One of my favourite moments was when I was sitting outside, feeling sorry for myself after a tough day, and then my husband (who didn’t know I was out there!) turned off the lights for outside. Suddenly I was in total darkness and I looked up…saw the amazing stars in the sky…and realised the smallness of me…and my problems…it was like God’s little reminder.

  56. Gee, I don’t think this will surprise you… Paper, or ephemera. As you know, I am obsessed with old paper. Especially that with hand writing. The older, the better. I wonder about the person that wrote those words, how the world was and the type of clothing they wore. It fascinates me.
    I love the memories that you shared. Thank you. One that popped into my head involves a photo I have of my grandmother and I on a picnic blanket. She was laying on her back, looking up at me, I was on my stomach with my face in my hands, elbows bent, looking at her. I remember how she rubbed a dandelion on my chin and told me my chin would turn yellow if I liked butter. She was so dear to me. Yesterday was her birthday. She would have been, I think 94. My last memory with her was when my husband drove me to see her. She was sick and in the hospital. I had my oldest daughter with me. She was only a couple of weeks old. It was our last moment together. Her, meeting my first child. My last words to her, “I love you Gran-ma”. Her last words to me, “I love you too”. Gosh I miss her!

  57. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    Another idea, suggested by your photos from Thailand:
    Photos from your many travels this year, or maybe a photo journal of your year: one photo per month, your favorite from that month. I’d love a recap of your year. And one photo of The Cast as well…

  58. Weddings! Just went to my niece’s it was gorgous! Everything was perfect! From the bride to the small white pumpkins on the tables!!! And a dessert table that didn’t stop!!!

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