Sunday 12 May 2013

Bonne Fête Maman!





Today we are honoring our
darling Mothers
and my mother Grace was
a real darling.
I still miss her sage advice
and wonderful stories she told me
about her family.


The gold chain and locket belonged to my great great Grandmother
was worn by my mother on her wedding day


Sadly my mother is no longer with us
she has joined my father
and most of her family in heaven.

She was an accomplished young woman.
Let me just tell you she made her
wedding gown and her trousseau.





My darling mother at 18.
I love this photo of her,
the crimped hair
the long string of pearls
and the beautiful sequinned
velvet gown.

At this time she was studying music
in Wellington and received her letters.
I have recollections from an early age
of listening to her playing works
of all the great composers.


My mother's family, she is seated far right

 My mother had six sisters
Ethel, Kate, Ellen, Cecelia,
Joan, Josephine
and one brother Jack.

My aunt Josie is the only one still with us
and she is 92.


Grace on her mother's knee

 My Grandmother Mary Elizabeth
with Cecelia and Grace.
You can imagine how I would love
to have those exquisite little dresses now!
I wonder what happened to them.



This sweet card arrived in the post on Friday
from my daughter in France
with wishes for a
Happy Mother's Day!


Wishing you all a very happy
Mother's Day
I hope someone is spoiling you today!


À bientôt

and be kind to one another


hugs


Shane 







24 comments:

  1. Enjoy a happy day Shane.....love from me...xxx...!!

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  2. che bel tuffo nel passato...e nella tua famiglia! molti non hanno più i ricordi che hai tu, sei fortunata!
    auguri, shane, come mamma e come nonna
    dalmazia

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  3. Oh Shane, how beautiful this post is.
    Happy Mothers Day to you!

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  4. Your mother is so very beautiful and each and every one of these photos is a treasure. Thank you for sharing them with us.

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  5. What BEAUTIFUL photos -- you are so blessed to have such wonderful pictures of your family. Your mother was lovely. Happy Mother's Day!

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  6. Thank you for sharing your beautiful Mother with me today.
    Dottie

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  7. A beautiful post dear Shane,-I love all your photoes of your loved family,- they are so precious I can tell.
    I hope your day have been lovely ,too- and sends you hugs and xx
    Dorthe

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  8. What beautiful old photos, Shane! Don't you just love the wonderful dresses that were worn in the early part of the last century? Your mother was a beautiful lady. My mother has been gone for nearly 20 years and I still miss her. There are so many things I'd love to ask her and talk with her about. I hope your day has been special. Blessings, Pamela

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  9. Hello Shane
    I enjoyed seeing the old photos you shared and find your pretty mother a prim and proper lady in her picture. Nice memories for Mother's Day.
    Hope you had a special day yourself.
    Judith

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  10. Thank you for showing these lovely photos, a tribute to your beautiful mother. The photo aged 18 is gorgeous, and very similar to one of my late mother, also aged 18, and I would say about the same time frame. My mother has been gone 5 years now, but of course never forgotten. Happy Mothers Day to you!

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  11. Dear Shane,

    I love your beautiful post today and what gorgeous family photos.
    Your Mother was very beautiful and love the sweet dresses and wouldn't it be lovely to still have them.
    Wishing you a beautiful week, and aren't we lucky with the gorgeous weather we are having.

    Hugs
    Carolyn

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  12. How lovely she is, Shane! This post is so very special. I enjoyed reading every word.

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  13. A very special post, Shane, dedicated to your lovely, talented Mother and I so enjoyed seeing the photos. A belated happy Mother's Day to you and every blessing for the coming days.

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  14. What amazing photos Shane.
    Precious images of your mother and the fondness you hold in your heart for her!
    No doubt some of these will appear in your book for her!!??
    Love and hugs,
    Suzy

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  15. Thank you so much dear Shane for sharing such lovely photos of your precious mother ...
    what a talented and beautiful lady she was ...

    You are lucky to have so many special memories and photos!

    Mr M and I are orphans too ...
    some days are definitely a little harder without our loved ones here to hug...

    I am sending lots of warm hugs your way dear one...

    Thank you again for sharing this beautiful tribute with us = so very special!
    oxo

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  16. Such lovely photos of family members. . . Isn't it wonderful to have some of those treasured things? I always look atht he pictures and am very grateful that my Grandmother kept such detailed journals. So wel have a written summary about their lives. I say smmary because she put in daily life details, but not so much about the emotional side of things. It's quite funny to read some of it! Some of them I wonder what their lives were like, knowing what I do know, makes me curious about more of it!
    Hope your Mother's day was wonderful!

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  17. Lovely photos of your lovely mother. I hope that you had a good day celebrating motherhood.

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  18. Shane, the family photos are precious - how lovely that you have them. Your mom Grace must have lived up to her name - she was so beautiful. The wedding pic is gorgeous, but the other one with the back view of her pearls and jeweled dress is breathtaking.
    The children are so neat looking in their white outfits and stockings - and your grandparents, like most old photos, are very serious looking! A handsome man though, and a mother who looks very trim after bearing eight children!

    Hope your Mother's Day was delightful - the card from France is so pretty and I know how much you wished your daughter could have been with you............not long though and you'll be together, right?

    Hugs - Mary

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  19. Shane...I adore this tribute to your mother, what a beautiful woman...she had poise and confidence, a very special Kiwi attribute, one that I noticed when I lived there. The names in your family sound like the characters from a Jane Austen novel... Mary Elizabeth, Grace, Ethel, Kate, Ellen, Cecelia, Joan, Josephine and Jack...just wonderful. I imagine it is much the same for the next generation...
    Best wishes Shane...
    Jeanne xx

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  20. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photos with us. It's so important to keep some memories. Have a good time.
    Magdalena

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  21. How wonderful to have these beautiful photos and necklace remembrances. Your mother was a gorgeous woman. And I love the family photo-I can't imagine so many children wow!
    Lovely Mother's Day card de ta fille. I hope you had a glorious day.

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  22. How precious all of this is!
    xox

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  23. Dearest Shane,
    What a lovely post, full of melancholy and indeed one wonders where such beautiful gowns have gone...
    Such a blessing for having these photos to look at!
    Hugs to you dear friend.
    Mariette

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  24. Dear Shane,

    your mum was a beauty! So lovely the photo with the string of pearls. It reminds me a little bit of Coco Chanel. The hair style, the beautiful dress, the pearls. Wonderful. I think the ladies in former times were much better dressed than today.
    Wonderful pictures, thanks for posting.

    Luv Babs

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