Wee Jasper Journal - "Nell"

Her name was Ellen Mary, but she was known as "Nell".. to me she was Nana Grace, my great grandmother. she lived in a house built by the men in her family. timber cut from the bush, dirt floors, walls papered with newspaper & magazine pages to keep the draughts out .no running water, it was carried from the river in  buckets made from kerosene tins. no electricity, there was a fuel stove but most of the cooking was done on an open fire. light was from  kerosene lamps or candles. there was always a garden......flowers, fruit trees & vegetables. she made jams, pickles & preserves in jars, sewed clothes & furnishings. her days were full of work but she found time to embroider.
 i found the images that relate to her life in magazines, the hollyhocks a photo from my sisters garden. a copy of one of her old pot holders she had made from old "cretonne" kitchen curtains. (if you click onto the photo you will see where i have added stitching over her original stitches on the pot holder).her "waste not, want not" ways have stayed with me.
i have used some soluble crayon to soften some of the images.tea chests were used as storage boxes. there was always a kettle boiling for a cup of tea. the butterflies represent the freedom to play outside without fear,(except for the turkeys that used to chase me every time i needed to use "the long drop" which was on the other side of the fence surrounding the house). the cat represents the animals that were always at her house......my first home on the Goodradigbee  river , Wee Jasper. (raylee).