Sentimental Sunday 3.29.15

When discussing the difficulty of balancing of our attachments to things with the desire to simplify our lifestyles, my sister-in-law, Janet, advised me to take photos of items I struggled with letting go. I have carried this dress with me for 30 years... it is a thing, but it feels like a part of me. I loved it when I first met it's twin, in a size 12, when a customer dropped it off at a dry cleaning kiosk where I worked in Old Capital Mall, Iowa City, in Fall 1985. I loved the color. I loved the fabric - a light weight, fine-waled, cotton corduroy - a bit like velvet, but washable and sturdier. I loved the design, very feminine, and now as I see it, very classic, almost Victorian, and also reminds me of 1800's prairie fashion. While it was completely impractical, I HAD to have this dress. By luck, I found it in (almost) my size in the same mall at the Mark Henri store, and bought it anyway. I shudder to think of the percent of my income that I sacrificed for the love of a dress, that now I realize was so much more than clothing to me even then. I had to hem it and take in the bodice to make it fit, but thankfully I grew up in a family of fiber artists and learned these skills as I learned to tie my shoes and ride a bike. I first wore it to the Cocoa and Carols holiday event at Hancher Auditorium, for a holiday photo, and then for my spontaneously planned Valentine's Day wedding in 1986. After that I wore it to work, church, and the December wedding of a friend, but until today, had not had it on since the 1990's. I'm the same size, but my body is a different shape, so it's not really comfortable. It still isn't practical for my lifestyle and Steven made it clear he's not in favor of a retro-look photo for our 30th anniversary. So I'm saying goodbye to this favorite thing with a photo and story, and a nod to Luis Maldonado, whom I thought of as I wrote this.
#itsallaboutthings

Iowa side trip 3.21.15

An unplanned side trip on my way back from returning Kaylie to Iowa... I paid a visit to my primary school, Pleasant View Elementary, and (I think) the first church, Pleasant View Baptist Church, where I attended Sunday school in Bettendorf. Both are still in the beautiful country setting I remember, though now are skirted by luxury homes and the road is paved. I followed what is now Crow Creek Drive to Valley Drive to the trailer court where I lived, astounded it is still there 50 years later. I would love to know the story of how this little property has resisted being sold to developers for so many years, and I wonder if the public library still sends a bookmobile to visit there.
#‎myfirstlibrarywasabookmobile ‪#‎growingupIowan