Yesterday and today I began working on a project that I've been procrastinating about. It seemed like such drudgery; I've been surprised and amazed at how much fun it's been.
Gwen's and my life can be measured in photographic eras. First there are black and white pictures taken with box cameras; these are of our parent and grandparents. Then came our own black and white pictures taken with Kodak cameras, then there were color photos. Next came polaroids.
When we lived in Oregon we spent what was then quite a bit of money on a Canon TX 35 mm SLR camera, which I still have safely ensconced in its original leather case, I don't know if I could still find film for it. It took some great pictures from Oregon to New York. We took mainly slides with this camera, yet another era in our life as portrayed in photographs. Then came all the Instamatic cameras, followed by simple digital devices.
Gwen and I spent two weeks in Florida a few years ago, and , to celebrate that occasion, we bought a Canon Power Shot SD850 IS that still works very well A year or so ago, when I set out on my journey of self discover, I bought a Canon SX 30 digital camera, which, if I still lived on the farm, could probably be programmed to milk cows and feed the chickens. Just when I thought that was as far as this Luddite would be able to progress in the world of technology I became eligible for an upgrade on my i-Phone. So now I have a telephone with a camera that far outstrips that early Canon TX, and, along with it comes a woman named Siri who could call the cows and chickens by name. (I hope Gwen's not reading this part; she was never too keen on all these new gadgets.)
Over the years we took many slides with that old Canon SLR. They were put into carousels that are put into a projector for showing. (The projector still works, and someone, probably Gwen, had the foresight to buy an extra bulb for it that we still have.) Yesterday I opened the storage bin that contains the slides that portray several years of our life. The bin was filled with carousels, each one filled with 100 slides! There are 21 of them. Do the math. The project I've begun is one of scanning those slides into my computer, where they are magically turned into pictures. The scanner can handle four slides at a time. Do the math. If I do one carousel each day, as I've been doing, it will only take three weeks to complete the task; it seems manageable when looked at that way.
As I've progressed through this task I've become aware of why I procrastinated on it for so long. These slides were taken during a period in our life when we were doing wonderfully exciting things. I've been afraid to see them because of the fun time in our life they chronicle. One of the slides I found is of Gwen standing with Chicaugoan Lake in the background near her home in Gaastra. I have it as wallpaper on my computer. She is so absolutely beautiful in it. Maybe I'll post it on a Silent Sunday. The good part of this project is that I'm able to organize all these slides into folders that make sense and that our children will be able to enjoy. Of course, the slides will always be there with the projector.
Lots of good times and memories in those slides, Dear; tears are good--and necessary.
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