polkadotzi

Before the carefree days of the polkadotzi gang there was the real wearing of the polka dot dress shown on the header.  It really is or was an old fashioned bathing suit made by me for a sort of weird Miss America contest (actually Miss Wing Ding but that takes a lot of explaining.) As well as making and modeling the old fashioned bathing suit, we had a talent contest, and here you see yours truly in her winning talent: Prinderella and the Cince . You can see here that half of me was in shambles and ashes, and the other half in a fairy tale princess dress. It was blue. I'm wondering now why the rag dress was used. Was that a dress I wore and sacrificed for the contest? I know it was a home made dress and now that I think of it, didn't we do a lot of sewing then. It wasn't at all the dark ages, but it seems to me if I wanted a new dress I had to make it,

A favorite childhood memory that stands very strong is the White Gift Service we would have every December on a Sunday evening at our church. My dad had constructed a large white cross. We would all bring canned goods or other food stuffs wrapped in simple white tissue paper.  After singing Christmas carols, and probably a short meditation, the lights would lower and all eyes would focus on the cross. Row by row we would move to the front and lay our white gifts at the foot of the cross. The food then was taken somewhere where there was a need. I don't remember that part, but I do remember the wonder of it, from a young child's perspective. Simple, but profound.

My Uncle (great, that is) Albert and his wife Minnie on the boat that took them to China. This must have been in the 30s. They were missionaries. My uncle never came home (I lost two missionary great-uncles in China in the 30s, one on my mom's side and one on my dad's side). He had a ruptured appendix and died from infection. I wonder what those boat trips were like for missionaries in those days. I know they did not go first class. Some were on the ships for weeks or even months. Probably a lot of soul-searching got done, Bible reading, study, reflecting, writing ... Most likely well rested when they arrived to face many challenges.

My grandma and her four girls. My mom, the eldest, is on my grandma's right. Twins are in front. Check out those awnings!  (Click on to see larger image.)  Note I have a grandma and a grandmother; this is not the Thanksgiving grand mother  seen below in her kitchen.)