The Life Box (Part 31)

Suburban Chicago, 1965. Our grade-school art class encouraged seasonal drawings.

The Life Box (Part 30)

Suburban Chicago, about 1964. I believe Dr. Seuss inspired me.

The Life Box (Part 29)

Sparks, Nevada, October 1979. A friend worked at a Reno, Nevada, casino as a stage lighting technician after he graduated from college. I was scheduled to visit him, and I bought tickets for the Liberace show. Circumstances later prohibited me from making the trip, but I saved this ad.

The Life Box (Part 28)

I used to sew many of clothes. It seemed like everyone sewed in the 1970s. It was easy to find fashionable patterns, and there was a fabric store in nearly every shopping mall. Mom and I sewed the ensembles we wore during our European vacation, and I later sewed the garments I packed for my trip to Stuttgart. I think I sewed every bridesmaid gown I wore. Oh golly, I once even sewed a swimsuit.

I saved many of the sewing patterns I used. I was looking today for the pattern for my senior-prom dress, but I could not find it. It was a wraparound halter dress that I made in a silver fabric. I intended to show the pattern to Mom because I wondered if she'd now think the dress was too risqué. It didn't seem daring in 1975 or 1976. (This is not the pattern, but it is very close to it.)

I did find several other patterns from that era, so I wonder if I didn't lend the wraparound halter-dress pattern to someone. I recall I went through a "Cossack phase" during which I sewed many billowy blouses and dresses. I still have those patterns. Here's one:

I made a grey blouse out of the pattern, and I sewed a pink and grey bias-plaid, A-line skirt to match.

I even wore that outfit to a school dance:

Suburban Chicago, January 1975. Dad catches me before the party.

The Life Box (Part 27)

Suburban Chicago, December 1963. The grade school encouraged us to craft greetings with religious themes.

Related by Marriage: Handmade Greeting

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Suburban Chicago, about 1965. Here's an item from Mr. Irene's Life Box.

The Life Box (Part 26)

Suburban Chicago, 1964. I create a Dad-inspired scrapbook page.

(I still use Dad's tripod. It was handy when I was photographing the crane family.)

The Life Box (Part 25)

Suburban Chicago, November 1965. Someone else had a hand in this.

The Life Box (Part 24)

Suburban Chicago, August 1964. I record my memory of the ride on the big boat.

The Life Box (Part 23)

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1964 or July 1965. Vacation memories focus on fishing.

The Life Box (Part 22)

Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada, July 1964 or July 1965. Here's my interpretation of a Walleye.

Father's Day Card

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Suburban Chicago, June 1966. "Father's Day" didn't become a national holiday until 1972.

The Life Box (Part 21)

Suburban Chicago, 1966. I document a family hike from our first Glacier Park vacation.

The Life Box (Part 20)

Suburban Chicago, about 1964. It looks like I was trying to imitate a still life by the artist Murinas.

There's a price for that.

Suburban Chicago, 1964. I record my memory of the Lake Nipissing chipmunk.

The Life Box (Part 19)

It's been a while since I did a "Life Box" post.

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Suburban Chicago, 1963. Here's a memento from my Grandmother's French-language lessons.

(We used to sing "Frère Baci" to that lullaby melody when Baci was a puppy.)

The Life Box (Part 18)

I don't have many political buttons. My lunch sack filled with "Nixon's the One" buttons vanished during a move. I still have a "Think Ahead: Impeach Reagan Now" button that someone gave me.

The Life Box (Part 17)

In the mid-1970s, I found a tree branch that resembled a perched squirrel. I don't know why I saved it for nearly forty years, but it's an object to which I developed an attachment. Nutty!

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The Life Box (Part 16)

After I'd watched Dad whittle wood, I asked him to craft something for me. He made a little boat that floated in the bathtub. He named the boat "Irene," and I assigned the number "165" to it (I don't remember why I chose "165"). The boat had a peg on which I placed a sail.

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Dad made the dinghy in 1963 or 1964. I stood with him in the bathroom waiting for the paint to dry so I could see how it did in the tub.

In Progress

Suburban Chicago, December 1972. Dad captures me working on the Mount-Olympus-crossword-puzzle project.