Searching, scanning

Carol called me from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to tell me how much she was enjoying my Abbie posts.

Then she asked, "Are you going to write about Maggie?"

I said "I want to, but these posts are hard."

Carol asked, "How so?"

"Well," I told her. "It takes a lot of mental energy to think back on my life like that. It's hard to decide what to include and what to leave out. Also, it stirs up a lot of old emotions."

Then I paused and added, "There's also the matter of finding the pictures."

I can not write about Maggie without also writing about Seth's maternal grandparents, Frank and Vivien Gray, who he called Grand Dandy and Grand Bobby.

Tom and Chloe Buxton with their parents, August 27, 1966

But to write about them, I need pictures. 

Seth and Grand Dandy, undated

Specifically, I need one very nice picture that was hanging prominently in the guest room in Seth's parents' house in Texas. I know Seth and I had a copy at one point, but where?

Father's Day 2004
my mother-in-law, Chloe, her father and sisters

My digitized photos are very organized. I can find just about anything I'm looking for in a matter of minutes, often less.

Maggie and Darcy, 2011

The same can not be said for actual, hard-copy photos. 

Ryan and Abbie, 2001

Those are a mess.

Ryan and James, 2004

Complicating matters, we have a big tub of unsorted photos, cards and other papers that we got from Seth's parents after they left the Texas house.

Chloe and Tom, 1991

I've been looking for it in multiple locations on and off all month, but today, the search got serious.

Velthoen family reunion, probably 1985

I spent all morning looking at pictures.

Ryan and Abbie, 2000

I looked.

Sally and Jennifer, undated

And I looked.

Chloe and Grand Dandy, undated

I found a lot of pictures featuring Grand Dandy and Grand Bobby, but none of them were the picture.

Jason, Lucas, Jonas, Tom, Chloe, Grand Bobby and Grand Dandy, 2000

This one - which was part of Chloe's stash - was a surprise to everyone!

Frank and Vivien, undated

Along the way I also found pictures of Sally...

Sally, 1986

and Abbie that I wish I had found before I wrote their posts.

1999ish

Sometimes it's like that.

Sally and Jennifer, 1992

Of course, there were a million model horse pictures, too.

Those felt important at the time, but now I wish there was less of this...

RoughHouse, 2003

and more of that.

James, 2003

Sigh.

Buxton mens, 2003

That's how it goes, I guess.

Abbie and James, 2005

In addition to searching...

Tom and Ryan, 2001

I was also scanning.

Seth's other grandparents, Ruth and John Buxton

It was a lot of work, but I am really glad to have digitized - and organized - some of the mess.

James, 2003

Then - finally! - at the bottom of the last tub, I found the picture I was looking for.

High Tea, 1999

Now I can write about Maggie.

It won't happen today - and probably not tomorrow either - but soon. I promise!