Friday, April 6, 2012

Sepia Saturday: Sleeping Beauties

SepiaSaturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.




Alan threw me a curve ball.  I was working away on the Sepia Saturday theme of “Sleep” when I saw the newly revised theme “Library.”  Although I COULD go with the new one as I do have a little sum’in sum’in, my Sleep pictures are more in keeping with my overall emphasis of family history.  Not more interesting, but certainly more true to my mission.  So YAWWWWWWWWN , here we go.

THE CRIB:  Do you think our daughter was ready for a big girl bed?

Anyone who can sleep like this can sleep anywhere!

Her big girl bed was a ¾ antique cannonball rope bed.  The bed frame has knobs around which ropes historically were tied to support a mattress.  People had to routinely tighten the ropes for better support.  The expression “Sleep tight” comes from these beds.  Of course, we didn’t use ropes – we attached metal braces to hold the mattress which we had to have cut down from a full mattress to ¾.  You might consider it “custom,” but it wasn’t expensive to do.  The bar at the foot end rolled so that people could roll their blankets and quilts onto it.  When she was little, we used a safety rail since that mattress was pretty high off the floor.

Whew what a mess -- must've been the day the maid
didn't show up. Snicker Snort
I wonder what moment I was capturing with this shot?

I have inherited two high-back oak beds. My mother used them after inheriting them from her Aunt Violetta.  After my girls moved out, the beds moved in to make pretty little guest rooms, perfect for sleeping.

The purple and yellow quilt was made by my grand aunt Velma.



And speaking of SLEEP, here are the best:

1983
Daddy loves his girls.  My arms would have been broken.

1989
Nothing better than a car ride to induce sleep.

If you’re still awake, slip on over to to Sepia Saturday.  Shhh!  People are sleeping or they’re in the library. 
 



©2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

15 comments:

  1. Alan is an expect in sending curved balls and you are an expert at not only catching them but translating them into delightful posts.

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  2. Wonderful! These could be my family shots Wendy. I love the one of your daughter with her legs sticking through the crib frame.

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  3. Oh yes, we all love those curve balls! It keeps us on our toes, and with two themes and other people's sepia moments it keeps this so darn interesting. Your little ones look so adorable too! Great sleep post....which I do remember many a (usually) sorry guys, but boys sleeping when they should have been reading!!!! It all rounds out!

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  4. Those high sided cots were OK until our kids could stand. As luck would have it there was a join between two strips of wall paper. I think you can guess the outcome! Great post Wendy.

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  5. Just looking at that last picture is making me sleepy!

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  6. I wonder if your daughter still sleeps as well as she did in the first picture!

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  7. hahahaha! No Christmas pictures of Jordan sacked out on Momma's sofa in a sea of people opening gifts?

    I love these pictures. Jordan and Zoe really are the prettiest girls. Love Jordan's rope bed. Is it with her?

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  8. Aww- that first one is adorable- nice set of sleepy shots!

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  9. I love your antique beds, and the girls look like "they could sleep on a washing line" as we say here!

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  10. That first photo is hilarious. It took me awhile to notice her legs sticking out of the bed. That's a definite keeper.
    Nancy

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    1. Wendy, these are precious. After I saw them, I just thought of two that would qualify of my girls, already scanned, but I suppose it is too late now. Maybe I'll do a SS catch up next week, since I was off theme this one.

      Your guest room beds are beautiful, and I think you are blessed to have inherited them.

      Happy Easter,

      Kathy M.

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  11. Love the daughter photos. Those antique bed are beautiful. I had a couple when we first married 52 years ago but they did last as long as we did. I love oak. You did a nice job with this post. Enjoyed it a lot.
    QMM

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  12. Enjoyed the photos of your sleeping beauties. The one of daddy and his little girls is precious. The antique beds are lovely too.

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  13. One of my earliest memories is of being in a cot whose base collapsed at one end - leaving me lying on an incline! LOL

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  14. Great pics, but the first two reminded me of my own sleeping habits when I was young, going to bed my head pointing west and waking up pointing east, when I hadn't clearly fallen off the bed and still slept on the floor... I would have needed that safety rail, to remain in bed!!! BTW: I still move a lot in bed, still no rail...
    :)~
    HUGZ

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