As my Great Grandmother Lizzie Belle Flanagan would say...

spoken in an Irish brogue, "Sit ye self dune and stay for a while"!
This is the one
the only..
photo I have of her, Lizzie Belle Flanagan.
The date on the back is 1894.

Taken by a photography shop in Turner Falls, Ma.
The handwriting on the back (I'm assuming my Grandmother's)
simply states "Grandpa Flanagan ...Mohawk Trail".
I searched, with earnest,
all yesterday and finally...
{amazingly}there it was
in all its' tattered splendor.
Wanting to scan in the photo, crop it
and for the first time...
I saw my Great Grandmother's face.
True, blurry

but my heart

saw a clear picture of love
and pride for her little
family.

What was MOST exciting for me was that
I could pick out the features of her
face that I knew from my Grandmother Laura's.

And that "wee lit'le girl"? The toddler
in the cute long dress and her hands folded together;
today...
is/was
her birthday!
Born March 5th, 1891.

Happy Birthday Nanna!!!

In honour of a beautiful,
strong, enduring
woman; I made this
layout with her
and her Mother Lizzie Belle
in mind.

This house, that
became the foundation of strength
...of love
...and family ties that bind.
Even today.
120 years later.

At the time of this photo, 1894 little did

anyone KNOW that
my Grandmother Laura would
only have 7 more precious years to be
with her Mother.

For little Laura, it was enough to build
a lifetime of wisdom for
raising 4 children of
her own someday.
Enough to learn how
to cook a meal to satisfy
4 hungry children and a
hardworking husband
when
there was almost
nothing in
her depression era
cupboards.

Enough love
and
Charity to give
to others
and
praising God she
had "something" to
give!

Thanks for all
you did Lizzie Belle.
Thanks for all you gave
to many people
yet to be born.

It all started here

In the house that
built...

Me {too}

p.s. I remember my Grandmother Laura as a great
seamstress. Her Mother must have taught her
sewing too. The "crazy quilt" pictured in the circle
above (machine needles) is the other "only one"
physical thing that I have of Lizzie Belle's.
It's(quilt) not finished. Perhaps put aside too
soon when she became sick and died at a young age.
She did a great job...I like it just the way she
left it.