August 17, 2014

Flickr Favourites: August 17, 2014





{1950s orange juice advertisement ~ Christian Montone}



{Summer School Spanish Language Program Festivities, 1951 ~ Duke Yearlook}



{Farm fresh ~ Magalie L'Abbé}



{Rose 'Love' raised in USA ~ naruo0720}



{57 Ways of Summer Eating with Heinz ~ alsis35}



{Beach Blanket Bingo 1930s ~ Vintage car nut}



{Vegetables ~ katinthecupboard}



{Beach Bum ~ Ross Harvey}



{Montgomery Ward summer 1959 catalog ~ Capricorn One}



{Sarasota Sun-Debs training at Lido Beach, Florida ~ State Library and Archives of Florida}



{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}






It's human nature to find ourselves constantly looking forward. Even the most die hard of nostalgists amongst us are prone to setting their sites on tomorrow far too often sometimes. I count myself amongst the guilty there at times, but this week isn't one of them. No, as we savour these last few weeks of summer, the worst of the dog days behind us now, though the temperatures still feel warm enough to bake a cake on the sidewalk, I am incredibly content to live right here in this glorious moment, the sizzling August breeze that blows off of Okanagan Lake some days tickling my skin through the open bedroom window.

Soon enough, it will be my favourite season, autumn, but as much as I madly adore it, I have no desire to turn my thoughts in that direction yet. I'm too busy buying succulent peaches and late season cherries, walking barefoot on the dry summer grass as the heat baked straight into the earth rushes up to caress my soles, and flat out delighting in the fact that I only need to wear one layer to be more than warm enough when I go outside.

I'm star gazing, yard saling, watching Annie jump merrily through the sprinkler, feasting on barbequed foods like there's no tomorrow, sitting in the sand at the many local beaches and holding my darling husband's hand as we gaze at the almost hypnotic little waves lapping eagerly at the shore, enjoying sunlight well into the early evening still, and reminding myself to soak up every last precious moment of summer while it's still here. That famous Canadian winter sets in swiftly and rarely shows mercy, and when it does, though I love that season in many of its own ways, I know that I will pine for these days immeasurably.

They, like fall however, are not now, and I am very grateful for that. No, now, is alluring, resplendent, and scented with wisteria, honeysuckle and generously sized roses. It calls for ice cream cones, boat rides, long walks as the wind rustles and plays with the still green leaves, and as many memories created in the great outdoors as humanly possible.

All of these things are reflected in today's Flickr Favourites images, which serve as a powerful visual reminder to let tomorrow be tomorrow. You and I and all of us need to just enjoy, appreciate and savour today. Glorious, sun drenched mid-August gem that it is. And on that note, I'm off to take my beach towels out of the dryer, pack a picnic lunch in advance, and spend another magnificent day out enjoying the Okanagan at its very best and most beautiful while summer is still here.

17 comments:

  1. It is so nice that you can live in the moment like that. Ordinarily I am very much a live-in-the-moment gal. Whilst I wait for my work visa, I confess, I have been wishing the months away! This post is a nice reminder to live in the moment. Each of the images you have posted are of a moment. I will strive to remember that today.

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  2. oh yes - still summer! thank you for the pretty pics, we had a bit autumnal rain/temp drop here, so a reminder is very welcome!!!!!
    wish you a great week my dear!
    <3

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  3. So much pretty! I want a yellow bikini...

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  4. I agree completely about enjoying summer knowing the wrath of winter. I'm just not ready to let it go, and thankfully the weather has remained on the warm side where I'm at. Still, I know it is time to get the cold frame ready for the fall/winter garden, and soon I'll be scrambling to get the last green tomatoes off the vine hoping to beat the frost. The Wards ad is interesting because the clothes look quite nice to a modern eye, but Wards was sort of a low-end department store. Don't get me wrong, I shopped there (like everyone else I knew) and my first stereo came from there (still have it!) but their clothes were the sort of thing you'd wear if you had to, not because you wanted to. I wonder if the store was already in decline by the 60's and 70's and I just missed their "good years?" That said, I'd be happy to get my hands on any of those dresses in the ad, though style "A" is my favourite.

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    1. That's very interesting to learn about Wards. We had at least a couple of chains during my youth here in Canada (Saan's and K-Mart, both of which are either almost or entirely gone now from coast to coast) that fell into that kind of camp, too (some folks felt the same about clothes from Zellers, another defunct Canadian chain, but I got a lot of good items over the years there for reasonable prices, at least a couple of which I still have to this day). Given how much of a monopoly the big box and department store chains have these days, I'd honestly welcome places like Wards back again - at least we'd have some variety once more! (You guys are better off on that front in the US, but still, the variety of such shops certainly isn't what it used to be a few decades ago.)

      Thanks for sharing this memory with me, dear gal!
      ♥ Jessica

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  5. So important to be able to enjoy the present, I totally agree! Now it is the season to slow down and love lazy and sunny days...yes, Jessica, there will be time for the beauty of autumn soon...

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  6. These pics are a dream! Thanks for sharing!
    http://balearaitzart.blogspot.com.au/

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  7. Let tomorrow be tomorrow - something I really need to remember! As it stands, one quote I have to remind myself of constantly is "Those were yesterday's feelings"...

    Actually, at the temps we've been having lately in Toronto I think Autumn has already arrived - even some of the trees here have gotten confused and started changing leaf colour1 :) Thanks for the lovely post - and I replied to your comment on my blog. Thanks so much for reading me *lol*

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  8. Wonderful images! I love the ladies in the swimsuits..in colour! Makes me yearn for summer (even though it is summer, it's so cold right now!). Thank you for sharing :)

    Have a wonderful day Jessica!

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  9. I can't tell you how much these lovely pictures made me smile. You have choosen perfectly for that summer feeling! (Is it me or was 1930's beachwear just the glamourous best?!). I want to hang on to summer too. We've had a cool week in the UK and it feels a little autumnal already, although I have hopes the sun will be back.

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    1. Yes, yes and yes some more! The 30s rocked beachwear arguably better - or at least more inventively (at the time) than any other decade. The lounge wear/beach pajamas alone were stop-you-in-your-tracks sensational.

      Fingers crossed that summer lingers a few weeks longer for you in the UK,
      ♥ Jessica

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  10. Hello dear Jessica, how are you?
    Lovely post! Thanks for sharing your favs which is always so inspiring for me ^^
    Have a great week!

    http://vintagepri.blogspot.com/

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  11. You are so absoutely right, dear. Let's enjoy the last few weeks of summer, although it has already gotten quite cold here in Denmark. But I insist on not wearing stockings and still wearing my lovely summer dresses. And speaking of summer dresses, just give me all three cotton knit dresses, please, since I cannot choose. Thank you for putting together this lovely reminder of summer, dear. :)

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  12. Your summer sounds fabulous. We seem to have lost ours here, I had to resort to hot chocolate this morning as I was chilly! So it sounds funny to read about you packing up a picnic! Enjoy your lovely sunshine!

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    1. Ours was rolling along merrily, la-la-la, and then pow! Earlier this week, it took a massive and immensely uncharacteristic (for this area) nosedive off a cliff. I don't know if this is just a strange cold snap of it summer really was truncated abruptly in mid-August, but either way, it's strange - and stranger still was wearing pants and a long sleeved shirt yesterday and still wanting the heat turned up inside in the summertime!

      Big hugs & happy weekend wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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    2. That sounds exactly like what happened here! I hope it warms up for you soon! Enjoy your weekend.

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  13. That photo of the dog on a beach blanket reminds me so much of our, my sister's dog, Casey. He had those deep sorrowful eyes that spoke volumes. Goldens are such wonderful dogs and IMO, think everyone should have one at least once in their lives.

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