MobiColour RESULT: MC #119 Theme: Good Memories - May 7-13

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Wonderful memories. My late wife. An amazing woman. Full of love and compassion. Animal - and some humans - rescuer. Stunningly intelligent. Modest. A phenomenal project manager. Funnier than a dumpster load of clowns. For almost twenty years the only important person in my life. These, my favorite, images were taken shortly before she passed away.
 
Habitat.
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1982. I first found our piece of land by noticing where the fog ended and the sunshine began (it’s a long story). A nice south facing slope, long ago farmland, now grown up and mostly wooded with some mature spruce and fir, but some clear area closer to the road, and a pretty nice view. It was perfect in every respect except you needed to wear rubber boots everywhere because it was so wet. The native plants included several wet ground plants such as these Small Blue Flag Irises blooming gloriously. However, there were also several well established plants, shrubs and trees that would not choose to be in wet ground. I took stock of the anomalies and asked a more knowledgeable friend for an opinion about the plants and their natural habitats. It never would have been farm land if it had always been so wet. We came to the conclusion that the wet condition was fairly recent - 5 or so years. Looking farther around I realized the neighbour’s house uphill was also fairly recent. I found that before they built their house they cut a ditch across the hill above their house site to catch the water running from various springs and diverted it to the edge of their property, directly uphill from the Iris patch. It was a bit of a gamble but we bought the upper corner 5 acres from a 25 acre parcel, and the very first thing I did was have a ditch made all along the property line to catch the runoff water from the neighbour’s place. Within a couple of weeks we could see the land getting back to normal. Shortly afterwards we started the basement foundation of our new house. There are still some places where the irises grow naturally and they remind me of the founding story of our house.
IPhone 5, a few years ago.

What a wonderful story Brian. Thank you.
 
Habitat.
View attachment 109323
1982. I first found our piece of land by noticing where the fog ended and the sunshine began (it’s a long story). A nice south facing slope, long ago farmland, now grown up and mostly wooded with some mature spruce and fir, but some clear area closer to the road, and a pretty nice view. It was perfect in every respect except you needed to wear rubber boots everywhere because it was so wet. The native plants included several wet ground plants such as these Small Blue Flag Irises blooming gloriously. However, there were also several well established plants, shrubs and trees that would not choose to be in wet ground. I took stock of the anomalies and asked a more knowledgeable friend for an opinion about the plants and their natural habitats. It never would have been farm land if it had always been so wet. We came to the conclusion that the wet condition was fairly recent - 5 or so years. Looking farther around I realized the neighbour’s house uphill was also fairly recent. I found that before they built their house they cut a ditch across the hill above their house site to catch the water running from various springs and diverted it to the edge of their property, directly uphill from the Iris patch. It was a bit of a gamble but we bought the upper corner 5 acres from a 25 acre parcel, and the very first thing I did was have a ditch made all along the property line to catch the runoff water from the neighbour’s place. Within a couple of weeks we could see the land getting back to normal. Shortly afterwards we started the basement foundation of our new house. There are still some places where the irises grow naturally and they remind me of the founding story of our house.
IPhone 5, a few years ago.
One “ordinary” thing can lead to such a an importante recollection! Beautiful flowers :)
 
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Wonderful memories. My late wife. An amazing woman. Full of love and compassion. Animal - and some humans - rescuer. Stunningly intelligent. Modest. A phenomenal project manager. Funnier than a dumpster load of clowns. For almost twenty years the only important person in my life. These, my favorite, images were taken shortly before she passed away.
Beautiful person and beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing with us :inlove:
 
I apologize for not being around much... this week is our biggest event, McDonald’s Gospelfest, and we have TWO shows this year - Friday & Saturday night. :eek::barf::eek::barf: So you may not see much of me until Sunday... I’ll pop in when I can. :D
 
Habitat.
View attachment 109323
1982. I first found our piece of land by noticing where the fog ended and the sunshine began (it’s a long story). A nice south facing slope, long ago farmland, now grown up and mostly wooded with some mature spruce and fir, but some clear area closer to the road, and a pretty nice view. It was perfect in every respect except you needed to wear rubber boots everywhere because it was so wet. The native plants included several wet ground plants such as these Small Blue Flag Irises blooming gloriously. However, there were also several well established plants, shrubs and trees that would not choose to be in wet ground. I took stock of the anomalies and asked a more knowledgeable friend for an opinion about the plants and their natural habitats. It never would have been farm land if it had always been so wet. We came to the conclusion that the wet condition was fairly recent - 5 or so years. Looking farther around I realized the neighbour’s house uphill was also fairly recent. I found that before they built their house they cut a ditch across the hill above their house site to catch the water running from various springs and diverted it to the edge of their property, directly uphill from the Iris patch. It was a bit of a gamble but we bought the upper corner 5 acres from a 25 acre parcel, and the very first thing I did was have a ditch made all along the property line to catch the runoff water from the neighbour’s place. Within a couple of weeks we could see the land getting back to normal. Shortly afterwards we started the basement foundation of our new house. There are still some places where the irises grow naturally and they remind me of the founding story of our house.
IPhone 5, a few years ago.
What a great story!! That was a brilliant solution... I’m quite sure I wouldn’t have thought of that. :notworthy: And what lovely flowers.
 
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Wonderful memories. My late wife. An amazing woman. Full of love and compassion. Animal - and some humans - rescuer. Stunningly intelligent. Modest. A phenomenal project manager. Funnier than a dumpster load of clowns. For almost twenty years the only important person in my life. These, my favorite, images were taken shortly before she passed away.
What a beautiful, heartfelt tribute, Jeffrey..... it actually brought tears to my eyes. These are wonderful images, so full of life. Thank you for sharing this. :inlove:
 
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Wonderful memories. My late wife. An amazing woman. Full of love and compassion. Animal - and some humans - rescuer. Stunningly intelligent. Modest. A phenomenal project manager. Funnier than a dumpster load of clowns. For almost twenty years the only important person in my life. These, my favorite, images were taken shortly before she passed away.
A deeply personal and meaningful story to share with us mere mortals. Thank you!
 
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Wonderful memories. My late wife. An amazing woman. Full of love and compassion. Animal - and some humans - rescuer. Stunningly intelligent. Modest. A phenomenal project manager. Funnier than a dumpster load of clowns. For almost twenty years the only important person in my life. These, my favorite, images were taken shortly before she passed away.
I can't say anymore than anyone else has said. Thank you for sharing such a personal memory, very touching.
Maybe it goes to show that even though we think of people on Mobitog as friends, we really know so little about each other.
 
A deeply personal and meaningful story to share with us mere mortals. Thank you!
Thank you Brian. It was your image and story that took me down that path. I got to thinking of something similar that happened to us, and how we laughed after the solution, one quarter the price, was presented. She was not afraid to be silly: something I find very attractive in people.
 
I can't say anymore than anyone else has said. Thank you for sharing such a personal memory, very touching.
Maybe it goes to show that even though we think of people on Mobitog as friends, we really know so little about each other.
Thank you John. I think it’s a good sign of how well we accept each other in MobiTog when we are able to share, such personal moments, without receiving caustic comments or remarks. This group has a fantastic track record in welcoming and nurturing new members, and uplifting established members in my experience. If I’m busy and can’t get enough time to post I feel like I’m missing a cherished family member :)
 
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Thank you John. I think it’s a good sign of how well we accept each other in MobiTog when we are able to share, such personal moments, without receiving caustic comments or remarks. This group has a fantastic track record in welcoming and nurturing new members, and uplifting established members in my experience. If I’m busy and can’t get enough time to post I feel like I’m missing a cherished family member :)
The sort of friendly nurturing atmosphere we enjoy here on MobiTog is just too rare. It’s something we need to remain aware of and nurture as well. Let us “make it so”.
 
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Wonderful memories. My late wife. An amazing woman. Full of love and compassion. Animal - and some humans - rescuer. Stunningly intelligent. Modest. A phenomenal project manager. Funnier than a dumpster load of clowns. For almost twenty years the only important person in my life. These, my favorite, images were taken shortly before she passed away.

Twenty years - what a gift. So glad you have such wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing these two precious ones with us :inlove:
 
I think it’s a good sign of how well we accept each other in MobiTog when we are able to share, such personal moments, without receiving caustic comments or remarks. This group has a fantastic track record in welcoming and nurturing new members, and uplifting established members in my experience. If I’m busy and can’t get enough time to post I feel like I’m missing a cherished family member :)
You’ve described this place perfectly Jeffrey. :inlove: It’s like no other I’ve ever seen, and it does feel like family. I feel like I could meet any one here in person, share a big hug, and start chatting like good friends (and I’ve been blessed to experience just that with several members).
 
When I had hair(!)
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This is just for fun since it isn’t really an iPhone photo except I photographed it from an old print made before the digital era.
I always find it quite a shock, or humerous, to see old pictures of myself when I still had hair and it was still red. And a beard! My beard hair was curly so when it got long it didn’t lie flat and smooth but wildly curled together like curly steel wool. It was better to keep it from getting too long so I wouldn’t look like a wildman - not that that bothered me much.
I’m sitting in the last Mini I drove. It reminds me of all the fun and adventures I had driving my different Minis through the years.
I’m wearing my Maritime Mini club hat which is another marker of a time period. I’m wearing it higher than normal to prevent too much shadow on my face. This was a self portrait with a tripod & self timer since no one else was around at the time. There’s another time marker - when I realized if I didn’t take pictures of myself then I didn’t exist at all in the family photo album. Even so there aren’t very many.
I see that I’m wearing one of the corduroy shirts my mother made for me. They were more durable than store bought stuff and really very well done. That’s another marker for a period in time.
I bought this 1971 Austin Mini 1000 in 1979 for $100. That must have been the second year Minis had roll-down windows. The engine had been ruined and the car had been left sitting in the grass for a couple of years so the floor was rusted out. I welded in a new floor and some of the trunk and rocker panels and put in a 1300 Austin America engine that I had rebuilt from a previous Mini I had. (The Austin America and the Mini were in the same parts family and swapping the engine was pretty much a bolt-on operation, if you picked the right parts) I also replaced the rear subframe from another Mini. I replaced the front drum brakes with Cooper S disk brakes. I had the same Minilite magnesium alloy wheels they used in the movie The Italian Job. Of course it needed some other work too but it ended up a very reliable car and I drove it year-round as my only car for another 12 years or so with only occasional repairs. It was very cheap to run. It never once failed to get me home. If it ever had any problem it was at home where I was able to fix it myself. In those days if your starter, or some other part, conked out you could take it apart and fix it yourself. Take 2 dead alternators and make one good one out of them. I needed to be quite independent since I lived far from town and there was nowhere that had Mini parts anyhow. I kept the most usual parts in stock as well as parts from a few dismantled Minis. The car was 22 years old when I decided to retire it in favour of something newer.
The first Mini came out in 1959 and was the first mass produced front wheel drive car. It had a sideways engine, which was very unusual at that time. It was the first car to have constant velocity joints in the axles - nowadays just about every car on the road has constant velocity joint axles, except trucks and rear wheel drive cars. Looking back I can see it was incredibly advanced for its time. I remember when I had my first Mini, 1968, people used to laugh when I told them that in the future there would be a lot more small cars, rather than the giant gas guzzling boats people used to drive, and that they would be front wheel drive. I wish now I had put some money on those predictions. So many of the Mini’s innovations have been copied by other cars people have forgotten where it all began - with a little British car.

Edit: I just had this notion so I’ll put it here. You could almost say, that no matter what make of front wheel drive car you have, if you look far enough back there is a Mini on one branch of the family tree.
 
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You’ve described this place perfectly Jeffrey. :inlove: It’s like no other I’ve ever seen, and it does feel like family. I feel like I could meet any one here in person, share a big hug, and start chatting like good friends (and I’ve been blessed to experience just that with several members).
Too far from everyone/everything! That has aldeãos been my destiny: living far and up on a hill :lmao: there’s no home (except for Saudi Arabia) of mine where I didn’t have to climb up and puff to get in the door, and both my permanent homes (Brazil and now Australia) are far from all. Oh well, good thing the internet compensates a bit for all that! :p
 
When I had hair(!)
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This is just for fun since it isn’t really an iPhone photo except I photographed it from an old print made before the digital era.
I always find it quite a shock, or humerous, to see old pictures of myself when I still had hair and it was still red. And a beard! My beard hair was curly so when it got long it didn’t lie flat and smooth but wildly curled together like curly steel wool. It was better to keep it from getting too long so I wouldn’t look like a wildman - not that that bothered me much.
I’m sitting in the last Mini I drove. It reminds me of all the fun and adventures I had driving my different Minis through the years.
I’m wearing my Maritime Mini club hat which is another marker of a time period. I’m wearing it higher than normal to prevent too much shadow on my face. This was a self portrait with a tripod & self timer since no one else was around at the time. There’s another time marker - when I realized if I didn’t take pictures of myself then I didn’t exist at all in the family photo album. Even so there aren’t very many.
I see that I’m wearing one of the corduroy shirts my mother made for me. They were more durable than store bought stuff and really very well done. That’s another marker for a period in time.
I bought this 1971 Austin Mini 1000 in 1979 for $100. That must have been the second year Minis had roll-down windows. The engine had been ruined and the car had been left sitting in the grass for a couple of years so the floor was rusted out. I welded in a new floor and some of the trunk and rocker panels and put in a 1300 Austin America engine that I had rebuilt from a previous Mini I had. (The Austin America and the Mini were in the same parts family and swapping the engine was pretty much a bolt-on operation, if you picked the right parts) I also replaced the rear subframe from another Mini. I replaced the front drum brakes with Cooper S disk brakes. I had the same Minilite magnesium alloy wheels they used in the movie The Italian Job. Of course it needed some other work too but it ended up a very reliable car and I drove it year-round as my only car for another 12 years or so with only occasional repairs. It was very cheap to run. It never once failed to get me home. If it ever had any problem it was at home where I was able to fix it myself. In those days if your starter, or some other part, conked out you could take it apart and fix it yourself. Take 2 dead alternators and make one good one out of them. I needed to be quite independent since I lived far from town and there was nowhere that had Mini parts anyhow. I kept the most usual parts in stock as well as parts from a few dismantled Minis. The car was 22 years old when I decided to retire it in favour of something newer.
The first Mini came out in 1959 and was the first mass produced front wheel drive car. It had a sideways engine, which was very unusual at that time. It was the first car to have constant velocity joints in the axles - nowadays just about every car on the road has constant velocity joint axles, except trucks and rear wheel drive cars. Looking back I can see it was incredibly advanced for its time. I remember when I had my first Mini, 1968, people used to laugh when I told them that in the future there would be a lot more small cars, rather than the giant gas guzzling boats people used to drive, and that they would be front wheel drive. I wish now I had put some money on those predictions. So many of the Mini’s innovations have been copied by other cars people have forgotten where it all began - with a little British car.
I absolutely love these stories! All the details! For a moment I feel myself in your lives, seeing what you guys are seeing and feeling, smelling... like reading a good book, but actually better! :)
By the way, Mark (my partner) ALWAYS puts his caps a bit higher to avoid shadows on his face and I’m always bugging him about it :D :thumbs:
 
When I had hair(!)
View attachment 109380
This is just for fun since it isn’t really an iPhone photo except I photographed it from an old print made before the digital era.
I always find it quite a shock, or humerous, to see old pictures of myself when I still had hair and it was still red. And a beard! My beard hair was curly so when it got long it didn’t lie flat and smooth but wildly curled together like curly steel wool. It was better to keep it from getting too long so I wouldn’t look like a wildman - not that that bothered me much.
I’m sitting in the last Mini I drove. It reminds me of all the fun and adventures I had driving my different Minis through the years.
I’m wearing my Maritime Mini club hat which is another marker of a time period. I’m wearing it higher than normal to prevent too much shadow on my face. This was a self portrait with a tripod & self timer since no one else was around at the time. There’s another time marker - when I realized if I didn’t take pictures of myself then I didn’t exist at all in the family photo album. Even so there aren’t very many.
I see that I’m wearing one of the corduroy shirts my mother made for me. They were more durable than store bought stuff and really very well done. That’s another marker for a period in time.
I bought this 1971 Austin Mini 1000 in 1979 for $100. That must have been the second year Minis had roll-down windows. The engine had been ruined and the car had been left sitting in the grass for a couple of years so the floor was rusted out. I welded in a new floor and some of the trunk and rocker panels and put in a 1300 Austin America engine that I had rebuilt from a previous Mini I had. (The Austin America and the Mini were in the same parts family and swapping the engine was pretty much a bolt-on operation, if you picked the right parts) I also replaced the rear subframe from another Mini. I replaced the front drum brakes with Cooper S disk brakes. I had the same Minilite magnesium alloy wheels they used in the movie The Italian Job. Of course it needed some other work too but it ended up a very reliable car and I drove it year-round as my only car for another 12 years or so with only occasional repairs. It was very cheap to run. It never once failed to get me home. If it ever had any problem it was at home where I was able to fix it myself. In those days if your starter, or some other part, conked out you could take it apart and fix it yourself. Take 2 dead alternators and make one good one out of them. I needed to be quite independent since I lived far from town and there was nowhere that had Mini parts anyhow. I kept the most usual parts in stock as well as parts from a few dismantled Minis. The car was 22 years old when I decided to retire it in favour of something newer.
The first Mini came out in 1959 and was the first mass produced front wheel drive car. It had a sideways engine, which was very unusual at that time. It was the first car to have constant velocity joints in the axles - nowadays just about every car on the road has constant velocity joint axles, except trucks and rear wheel drive cars. Looking back I can see it was incredibly advanced for its time. I remember when I had my first Mini, 1968, people used to laugh when I told them that in the future there would be a lot more small cars, rather than the giant gas guzzling boats people used to drive, and that they would be front wheel drive. I wish now I had put some money on those predictions. So many of the Mini’s innovations have been copied by other cars people have forgotten where it all began - with a little British car.
You were a 'hipster' before the term was coined Brian !
 
When I had hair(!)
View attachment 109380
This is just for fun since it isn’t really an iPhone photo except I photographed it from an old print made before the digital era.
I always find it quite a shock, or humerous, to see old pictures of myself when I still had hair and it was still red. And a beard! My beard hair was curly so when it got long it didn’t lie flat and smooth but wildly curled together like curly steel wool. It was better to keep it from getting too long so I wouldn’t look like a wildman - not that that bothered me much.
I’m sitting in the last Mini I drove. It reminds me of all the fun and adventures I had driving my different Minis through the years.
I’m wearing my Maritime Mini club hat which is another marker of a time period. I’m wearing it higher than normal to prevent too much shadow on my face. This was a self portrait with a tripod & self timer since no one else was around at the time. There’s another time marker - when I realized if I didn’t take pictures of myself then I didn’t exist at all in the family photo album. Even so there aren’t very many.
I see that I’m wearing one of the corduroy shirts my mother made for me. They were more durable than store bought stuff and really very well done. That’s another marker for a period in time.
I bought this 1971 Austin Mini 1000 in 1979 for $100. That must have been the second year Minis had roll-down windows. The engine had been ruined and the car had been left sitting in the grass for a couple of years so the floor was rusted out. I welded in a new floor and some of the trunk and rocker panels and put in a 1300 Austin America engine that I had rebuilt from a previous Mini I had. (The Austin America and the Mini were in the same parts family and swapping the engine was pretty much a bolt-on operation, if you picked the right parts) I also replaced the rear subframe from another Mini. I replaced the front drum brakes with Cooper S disk brakes. I had the same Minilite magnesium alloy wheels they used in the movie The Italian Job. Of course it needed some other work too but it ended up a very reliable car and I drove it year-round as my only car for another 12 years or so with only occasional repairs. It was very cheap to run. It never once failed to get me home. If it ever had any problem it was at home where I was able to fix it myself. In those days if your starter, or some other part, conked out you could take it apart and fix it yourself. Take 2 dead alternators and make one good one out of them. I needed to be quite independent since I lived far from town and there was nowhere that had Mini parts anyhow. I kept the most usual parts in stock as well as parts from a few dismantled Minis. The car was 22 years old when I decided to retire it in favour of something newer.
The first Mini came out in 1959 and was the first mass produced front wheel drive car. It had a sideways engine, which was very unusual at that time. It was the first car to have constant velocity joints in the axles - nowadays just about every car on the road has constant velocity joint axles, except trucks and rear wheel drive cars. Looking back I can see it was incredibly advanced for its time. I remember when I had my first Mini, 1968, people used to laugh when I told them that in the future there would be a lot more small cars, rather than the giant gas guzzling boats people used to drive, and that they would be front wheel drive. I wish now I had put some money on those predictions. So many of the Mini’s innovations have been copied by other cars people have forgotten where it all began - with a little British car.

I don't know if I like the portrait or the story better! Beautiful image! I love the color of the car, it totally goes with the color of your beard ;) and matching hat color!! Perfect shot, if you ask me :)
 
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