Tuesday, February 07, 2006

How Old IS That Camera?

This is a sort of 'Self Portrait Tuesday' post, with a little added....
In a previous post (http://colorsofthegarden.blogspot.com/2006/01/green-and-growing.html) I mentioned that we’d had our first Canon camera for a long time. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was old.
See….?

That’s the camera in my hands. I was the ripe old age of 22. Ross was 21. Yes, I'm 10 months older. He thinks he's very funny when he calls me his 'old lady' :)
These pics were taken in September of 1970, before we were married, when Ross was in Australia on 30 days leave from Vietnam. He was a US Marine and we had met the previous June when he was visiting the land of Oz for the first time on 6 days R&R. (rest & recreation). On this day we were touring the beautiful beaches south of Sydney.
We were first introduced at the wedding of a couple (Pat & Alan) who were close friends of mine (and now ours), but that’s another story :)
Our courtship (such a quaint oldfashioned word) consisted mainly of about a million letters! Our wedding was in April, 1971.
I should add, for those of you who haven’t read my profile, that I was born in Australia and left that wonderful country shortly after our marriage, to come to the US at the tender age of 23. You can probably guess that I miss the land of my birth very much, even though I love this country with a passion too. America is a wonderful place to live! I feel I’ve had the best of both worlds. In Oz I lived at the beach and here I live in the country. Who could ask for anything more?
But oh, how I miss those magnificent Aussie beaches! They’re the best in the world. Well, the Aussies think so anyway (and they’re right mate!).
I am now an American citizen (so I can vote!!) but my heart will always be at least partly, in ‘the land of droughts and flooding rains’. I always cry when I hear that song....."I Still Call Australia Home". Getting a bit sentimental here!
Ross and I have used that faithful old Canon camera through all our years of marriage…..for weddings, and all kinds of memorable occasions.
It began acting a little unreliable a few years ago, (although it still works fine…a good cleaning and servicing did wonders) so Ross surprised me one Thanksgiving with a neat little Vivitar camera. It too has been great, and very reliable. I hope I’ll still take the time to use both of these cameras even though we now have the digital Canon Power Shot.
I had some fun with it today taking pics of the birds and the farm in the snow.


There's our barn for you again Alice!
Those chickadees don't keep still for very long!
I'm still learning...with a long way to go!

9 comments:

Tanya said...[Reply]

Where was the picture of Ross taken? I used to live just north of Wollongong and the background looks very similar (though I lived there 30 years after this was taken, so may have changed a fair bit...).

And I am curious - what is your accent like? Do Americans think you have a bit of an Aussie accent still, or did it disappear long ago?

Alice said...[Reply]

Love the photos, Kerri. Not sure which is the more handsome, you and Ross or the farm buildings ...lol. Why are so many American barns painted red? Is it so you can find them in the snow? So what if you lose a white house? (just kidding).

Tanya - Kerri still sounds pretty much Aussie with a slight American accent.

The landscape behind Ross does look very much like Wollongong, doesn't it? I don't know how many places south of Sydney, other than Wollongong, where you would get such a high vantage point.

(Kerri - I've emailed AAPT but haven't heard back yet.)

WendyAs said...[Reply]

Kerri- I understand your tie to your native country. Memories of childhood are so sweet. Aust.is a lovely place and we feel real lucky to be here. We plan on getting our citizenship so we always have the option to live here (and for our children). When I get a chance I will link your blog to mine. Love the red barn!

Jellyhead said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri,

I thought I'd stop by and say thank you for your lovely, friendly comments on my blog.

The photos of you and your hubby are so sweet - you're quite the gorgeous young things, aren't you?! I bet you have some romantic stories to tell about your courtship.

It looks as though you live in a beautiful spot, too.

:) Jellyhead

Val said...[Reply]

I LOVE this post, thanks for sharing part of your past with us.

It would be good if more of us would do this in our blogs. We've got a scanner now, so just have to get out those ancient photos from the 60s...

Kerri said...[Reply]

Tanya,
I was hoping someone would give us a clue to the location of that beautiful vista behind Ross. We couldn't remember! Now, thanks to you and Alice, I'm almost positive we were at the highest vantage point which overlooks Woolongong.
As for my accent...it depends who I'm talking to. I thought I'd lost most of my Aussie 'sound' but Alice says I still sound like an Aussie with a slight American accent. (She's the one who called to wish me a happy Australia Day. How sweet is that??) Others think vise versa and still others can barely detect an accent. It's an interesting question!
Thanks to everyone for your great comments. I love to have you visit!

kylieps said...[Reply]

Mum! You're so gorgeous! And I love that picture of Dad. Sweet young things.

Miss Robyn said...[Reply]

Hi Kerri - wow ! an australian living in NY. I visited NYC in 2001 and loved it, however didn't get up your way. thankyou so much for the comment on my blog - look forward to getting to know you through our blogs. I have two grandsons - Thomas who is nearly 7 and Jack who was 2 last September.

sonia a. mascaro said...[Reply]

You are so beautiful Kerri and your husband too. You both are a lovely couple!

Love the barn's photo. Is this house near the barn your home?