02 September 2009

finally, illinois




(this is my grandma)



from atlanta, we hitched a ride to the state where I was born, where I spent the greater part of my childhood. Illinois, where spectacularly flat land stretches out before you for days on end. this is where my parents live, the two greatest people in the world. this is also where the thrifting is so good you sort of want to cry.

a list of polaroids I did not take but wish that I had:

miles and miles of cornfields
olga and her house of stuff
the giant ice cream cone just off highway 55
my mom's sweet collection of white antique pitchers
my dad and the way he magically spins the basketball on one finger
lightning bugs, lightning bugs, lightning bugs

next time for sure.

26 comments:

  1. hula, your pictures make the world seem so magical...or maybe they just bring out the magic in the world. thank you for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. sounds like such a fantastic trip. this shot is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Queen Anne's lace reminds me of my hometown in northern Ill., for sure! Love your grammy's hands and arms. And, I'm guessing the Soy City motel is in Decatur (my college roomie at U of I was from Decatur and was always talking about the soy fields!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. incredibly
    beautiful.
    there's nothing like returning to your homelands... the place your soul was first born :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Andrea,
    Your Grandma's hands and the beautiful lighting made me tear up.
    Somehow so poignant.
    Wendy

    ReplyDelete
  6. Just beautiful images. Are these polaroids?

    ReplyDelete
  7. i miss the queen anne's lace of the midwest. i'm from wisconsin and miss it so...

    ReplyDelete
  8. your grandma looks like a lot of love.

    ReplyDelete
  9. we drove from charleston, sc to chicago once; i remember those flat fields that go on forever.

    i adore the photo of your grandmother and am thankful for how it makes me think of mine.

    ReplyDelete
  10. your grandmother's necklace made my week. just beautiful andrea - as always.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love your list of polaroids you did not take! And your grandmother's hands. And, just everything.

    ReplyDelete
  12. if marrying polaroids was allowed, i would soooo marry yours. i'm just sayin'.

    ReplyDelete
  13. oh, illinois. i'll probably never leave. lovely pictures. whereabouts are you from? i grew up in waukegan.

    ReplyDelete
  14. the photo of your gram is so divine. makes me wish i had one of my gram like that...i love the focus on her hands...and dress. when a face is included sometimes you don't notice those other so very important details. lovely lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  15. That picture of your grandmothers hands is pure magic.

    ReplyDelete
  16. oh thank you for sharing these! so personal...so beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  17. beautiful and warm. I love memories even though they tug at us. I think I might start a list of memories I would have liked to capture.
    thanks
    ann

    ReplyDelete
  18. Nostalgia for your home state shines through your photographs so beautifully. They call to mind how at times I cannot imagine living anywhere else. I love prairie land :)
    P.S. I have heard that there is a county in southern illinois that is filled with abandoned towns.

    ReplyDelete
  19. So Nice! I love the pics from Illinois! Especially your grandma, I used to visit my grandma in Kewanee IL every summer... the fireflies are so magical!

    ReplyDelete
  20. gorgeous photos, great post, it feels nolstalgic for me reading this post about you hitchin a ride to ur home town. reminded me of my own private idaho,

    ReplyDelete
  21. so nice to see your Grandma - I liked that you took a picture of her arms and hands. reminded me of mine (who i sorely miss...)

    ReplyDelete
  22. OMG!! this is from decatur? i am from there!!! i know this motel sign and i am a shopper at olga's when i visit home! let's chat?! just found you by chance today and seeing that picture of the motel sign brought me home for a minute (i now live in CA)
    say hi when you get a chance!
    jen smith

    ReplyDelete
  23. jen beat me to it! i knew i recognized that sign from somewhere! i grew up in decatur and have driven past that sign many, many times. and i love olga's house of stuff! she is such a unique person. i love how she keeps her change in her bra. haha, seriously. i wish you would have taken some pictures! i absolutely love your shots.

    cheers from chicago!
    -steph

    ReplyDelete
  24. can you put me on your list the nest time you visit?
    : ) im one state over. i can bring doughnuts and we can laugh until we cry, friend. oh yeah, love the flat land. : )
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  25. I can't sleep so I am looking at my favorite blogs and listening to the dogs snore. I am suddenly caught off guard at the photo of your grandmother. Oh, how I miss my grandmother and this picture could easily be her. I miss her. Thank you for reminding me just how much.

    ReplyDelete