My Aunt

Oh the May Swirlydoos kit is just fabulous!!!  I love the rich colors!!  This is my dear Aunt Margaret for whom I was named.  She was the most amazing woman and I have so many wonderful memories of time spent with her.  I remember as if it were yesterday shopping at a fabric store when she and my grandmother taught me to sew.  We often played cribbage in the evenings when she came home from work  and sometimes I would win.  Wonder if she just let me win?

Journal:  I was named after Aunt Margaret but she always called me Princess. It really made me smile when looking through some of her photos of me and I found that she had labeled them on the back as “Princess.”

I think of Aunt Margaret as one of the pioneers of women’s liberation, not that she was involved in the movement; she just lived a liberated life. Throughout her life, she traveled the globe, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends.

She chose not to marry but in no way was she an “old maid.” She was engaged once but she found out that he was a two timing Mama’s boy so she sent him packing!

Aunt Margaret had a great job with NASA and attained a high pay grade for a female civil servant back in those days. Her NASA career began with NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) which was the precursor agency to NASA. One of my prized possessions gifted to me at her death is a large footed silver tray that is inscribed “from your friends at NASA 1973.”

My Grandmother lived with her in Hampton, VA, and I loved visiting them and helping to care for her beautiful rose garden. There were roses everywhere and in the evenings, we would clip them just as they started to open and fill the house with their fragrant beauty. They taught me to cook, sew, knit, and crochet.

I say she was liberated because she did so many things that woman just didn’t do back in her day. She achieved so much in her job and it speaks volumes that several of her male co-workers at NASA made a one-way 3-hour trip to attend her funeral, 30 years after she retired.

I used the beautiful May Swirlydoos kit for this layout that features Glitz Designs Laced with Grace collection.  The venetian lace at the top is from my stash that I sprayed with Olive Vine Glimmer Mist and the tiny bloomers around the photo are Tim Holtz sprayed with Yellow Daisy and Sunkissed Peach Glimmer Mist.  I also added the Prima SIIP.  Aunt Margaret had a large and beautiful rose garden so I thought these papers were just a perfect match for her photo.  TFL!!  I really appreciate your visit!