Obsession

Today was the last day of Ancestry's sale so I ponied up and spent the whole day downloading Canadian records.

Time Flies

We've been home from vacation for a week now and I feel like summer is slipping away. I took the summer off so I could tackle several large projects that I've put off and I haven't started on a single one! I guess I should have worked after all - I'd be finishing up next week.

I spent way too mush time this week working on my family tree. I made some progress but I need to put it aside for the few good weeks we have left, unless I can find time to get to a courthouse or two to look for records.

Mike and Alex were here until late the other night and we had our first fire of the year. I was was nice but still a little cool to enjoy sitting out there for me.

The cool rainy summer is not making for a happy garden. It's been great that I haven't had to water but everything is blooming late. I planted zinnia seeds at the beginning of June and I haven't had a flower yet. I had big plans to redesign three beds and I did finally start on that. If the weather holds for the weekend I should get a lot more done!

Memory Lane

Mom was doing really well on Friday! However I was battling a cold and almost didn't go for fear of giving it to her. John stayed home to wait for a delivery so, not feeling like cleaning I suggested we go to the cemetery because she'd mentioned awhile ago that she'd like to go.

Mom almost never leaves the house except to go to the doctor or to stay a few days with my sister so I was quite surprised that she was willing. It was a drizzly day but the rain stopped and we headed out. It's been a couple of years (or more) since I'd been out to Onondaga Hill and on down to the Valley. She and I both we're pointing out all of the changes from years ago - new mini mansions and churches - or we'd remark as we drove by a place that we hadn't thought of them in ages or what ever happened to them?

She made sure to point out the Post Office to me, except they'd built a new one across the street years ago. The old one is a Chinese Restaurant now. As we started down Seneca Turnpike hill we both remember how Grandpa would always tell about how they tested the Franklin autos on the hill. The Dairy Queen at the bottom of the hill is now another Chinese Restaurant.

Heading out Valley Drive we quickly came to "the duck pond" and there were several geese on both sides of the road and Mom thought she spotted a swan.

It took me awhile to locate Grandma & Grandpa's headstone. It was right where it's always been ;-) but the last time we were there the two shrubs that Grandpa had planted partly obscured the stone. Somebody had either trimmed up the bottoms or the deer worked them over good and it just looked so different. (I need to find out how we go about having them removed altogether.)

After Mom paid her respects (from the car) we drove around and found Frank's uncle's monument and then drove through the older part of the cemetery picking out well known Syracuse names.

Mom was worried about the time and my getting back to work but we still had plenty of time and I was still looking to get of doing any cleaning. We headed over to our old house. We did the math and it's been 45 years since Mom moved into her current home. It was a good thing they hadn't changed the house number! When we lived there the attic was unfinished and they have since added on to the back.

I took the long way home. Mom wanted to see the new town hall building but I wasn't able to find it. We did drive by the golf course where both my father and brother worked in their teens and then past the park where I played when I visited my grandparents. We drove by their old house and it hasn't changed much, except for the color.

I'm sure this was boring to read but it was a fun morning for both of us.

Blues

I can't believe I haven't posted here for two full weeks! I had gotten behind with my letter transcriptions so I worked several days on them. Otherwise I have just had the blues.

Big stress at work. I was one of a very few that knew that we are going to have major route changes and loss of overtime next year. That was a huge weight but we had a meeting on Friday and now everyone knows what's what for next year. As a group they took the news much better than I thought they would. Some of those with the least seniority will be having their hours cut 25%. To keep their hours from being cut even further the senior drivers will be losing some of the overtime that they are used to and count on. I will be loosing my route but I will be keeping my hours. I'll find out next month just exactly what I'll be driving next year. I've worked with most of "my kids" for the last five years so as thankful as I am that I'll keep my paycheck, I'm very sad to be starting over with a new group.

I spent most of the week with a new driver, something I usually enjoy. We don't usually train at this time of year and for some reason it just wore me out everyday. The driver did fine so I don't know why it wore me down.

We took the training bus to the Fun Fair at one of the schools and had a huge turn out. I expected to sit around reading but we were busy the entire time. For many of the kids and their parents this was their first time seeing the bus and we got very favorable feedback. Definitely a bright spot in the week!

Everyone has been posting pictures of their spring flowers while I've continued to watch the snow melt. This was taken yesterday. We finally have more grass than snow but there is more than enough of the white mess left.

Yesterday was warm and sunny so I started on some garden clean-up on the beds that are snow free and John started shoveling off the shade bed in front. He found my wood poppy sending up new shoots under all that snow! He really had to work hard as most of it was ice.

The crocuses started coming up through the snow and started blooming a couple of days after the snow was off of them. I still have one patch that hasn't started blooming yet so I'll get to enjoy flowers longer.

I looks like a normal week coming up so maybe I can drag myself out of this funk I've been in.

Snowy Friday

I'm the guest author today at Shades of the Departed! I was very flattered to be asked. The focus there is on photography and is also home of the monthly photography carnival, Smile for the Camera. Be sure to check it out.

I had an appointment to get my stitches out this morning so snow did not fit in well with my plans! John had go to out and shovel so I could get to the car. He had cleaned the steps up well but they were still a little slick. The ramp at the doctors office hadn't been cleared at all. There was only about an inch of snow there. Of course I slipped but manged to grab the railing rather than fall.

The appointment went well. The stitches are out and I now have no bandage, just a compression stocking. Of course If I'd known that I would have taken a sock to the appointment. A walking boot is a poor substitute for a winter boot being open at the toe and all. I can now start walking on the heel and I'm getting around much better. John no longer will have to wait on me whenever I want something. He wasn't taking any chances on my hurting myself so when we left the office he took me to the car in a wheelchair. Both embarrassing and a relief. I did say something to my doctor and the office staff was trying to hunt up a shovel as we were leaving.

The district I work for closed early today but I'm not really sure why. They are predicting that the storm will intensify and we may have thunder snow near the lake but when we went through town this morning they hadn't gotten all that much yet. John has to get the boys off the bus this afternoon so I'm keeping an eye on the closing list for their district, so far it it doesn't look like they're going to close early and Angie said the sun was out there at noon.

Not much has been happening here. I've been transcribing letters and driving John nuts. I'm looking forward to being able to do more over the next couple of weeks. I suspect that my bulbs aren't going to get planted after all.

Will it Ever Stop?!

I am so incredibly sick and tired of rain. I got up this morning, saw the sun and put my shorts on thinking to get out while the getting was good. Right about the time I finished dressing it started raining - even though the sun was still out. Then the sun went away and it poured. It rained off and on all morning. I finally got out and cut a few things in the garden and staked a couple of others but it felt both muggy and cold at the same time. It's mid August and dang it, it should be hot! I have two weeks off and I want summer weather!

So I spent the day on the computer. I transcribed some more letters and spent a couple of hours hunting down census records.

Yesterday was our NYS mandated refresher at work and it was not the most interesting one I have ever attended. The topic was pre-trip and post-trip inspections which most of our drivers do very well. We did spend some time going over accidents that had made the news around the country. A good exercise to get us thinking for the start of the year. I have to get in and set up my bus and photocopy the stack of paper I'll need the first week. I may put it off until after Labor Day but then I'll be competing with everyone else for copier time.

John took Mike to the last session at the museum. Nikki was camping and didn't go. All the kids seemed to enjoy the program so I hope I can sign them up for it again next year. Alex and Liz made good use of the dress up box and they really loved the old switchboard and phones.

Two Weeks Gone Already!

Vacation is flying by and I haven't started on a single project that I need to get done yet.

We had a great 4th of July. The kids wanted to play kick ball as soon as they got here. I took a bunch of pictures but after that I was having such a great time I forgot to take any others. It was such a great day that Liz even played well with Sprout!

Monday we had to drop John's car off because it was leaking brake fluid. Turns out it was also leaking transmission fluid. Oh, well, repairs at this point are still less than car payments. Mom was doing well and in the mood to reminisce a bit. I didn't get anything done at her house either!

After I dropped John off, to pick up his car, on Wednesday, I signed the kids up for a history program at the local museum and I'm looking forward to that next month.

Alex got cut on his eye ball by a pool float earlier in the week. By the time we saw him on Thursday he was doing fine but he did show us a scary picture of himself wearing an eye patch.

When the weather has been nice I've been working in the garden. When it's been raining or too hot to work I've been transcribing letters. I've finally gotten ahead on them. About 35 done and 1,000 to go ;-o

Home to a Perfect Summer Day

I spent my spring break in Michigan researching my family history. I left Sunday and didn't get far before I had a tire problem that delayed me 3 hours. At least I was still in an area where I knew my way around and found a shop that could get me going on a Sunday. I crossed into Ontario at the Peace Bridge without even having to show my ID! I'd never been west of Hamilton before. A good portion of the trip was quite lonely and my cell phone didn't work. I was concerned about the tire but it got me through. Crossing back into the US took awhile. They were checking every car fairly thoroughly including taking my keys so they could look through the trunk.

My time at the Bentley Library at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, was amazing.... and extremely painful. I need surgery on both my feet and I have scoliosis so spending 2 1/2 days standing to photograph over 4 gigs of material was hard, but well worth it. You can read more about what I found at Apple's Tree.

Ann Arbor is a college town and there were things that reminded me of Syracuse. Ann Arbor seemed much more vibrant and a bit larger. The college kids were quite friendly, the other drivers patient and I quite enjoyed my time there. I loved having the opportunity to meet Jasia of Creative Gene. I felt bad that I didn't recognize her right off but she quickly forgave me and we had a wonderful 3 hour dinner at a pub.

I left Ann Arbor 1/2 a day later than planned and zipped across the state to Benton Harbor. The highway in Michigan was terrible in sections but I'm not complaining because they didn't charge me anything to drive across the state! In looking for information prior to my trip I stumbled across the Berrien County Genealogical Society website and found that another blogging friend would be giving a presentation on blogging. I wasn't going to miss that! Again I didn't recognize Juliane's granddaughter of Two Sides of the Ocean but when she was introduced she was easy to pick out ;-) We didn't have much time to talk then so she invited me to her home for a lovely luncheon and great conversation on Thursday.

I've been very fortunate in my meetings with other bloggers.

I spent a lot of time on Thursday lost on country roads. Berrien Co, MI borders Lake Michigan and is much like the New York counties that border Lake Ontario. There were tons of orchards and many more vineyards than we have in this part of NY. I had some disappointments in a couple of cemeteries and successes in others. By the end of the day Thursday I was exhausted and ready to head home.

Friday morning I had a short visit with my aunt and uncle. My uncle has Alzheimer's and had no idea who I was which was very sad. He had always been so animated when I had visited in the past. I enjoyed catching up with my aunt and learned that I have a new cousin that I didn't know about! I'm sure that Mom received the news of his birth but she sometimes forgets to pass things on to me. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't have any family pictures with me so I'll be sending some on to her.

I made a couple of other stops yesterday but most of the day was spent driving home. I chose to follow the south shore of the lake on the way home. It was a very long but uneventful drive.

John tells me that the last of the snow melted on Thursday. I had worked on cleaning up the sections of the garden that I could get to before I left but there was still plenty to do today. The weather was just perfect. We set a new record high temperature of 87°!

The boys will be here tomorrow and I'll be back in the garden. I'm anxious to start working with the documents that I found in Michigan but I'm just as anxious to be outside in the good weather!

Great Start to the Week!

Winter's back and the roads were a bit slick yesterday. I hadn't gotten much sleep between hot flashes and a cold. So of course that was the day they had picked for my annual defensive driving test. I don't know what got into my kids but as a group they were very good, with just a couple acting up so that I could show my skill at managing students while driving. I had no faults and don't have to worry about testing for another year as the behind the wheel test is biennial and I took that last year. Now the head driver thinks I have an easy route. LOL

When I got home I could here air leaking out of a tire so John put air in it and it seemed OK this morning. It wasn't totally flat by the time I got to work. One of the guys checked it for me and assured me I could get to the local tire shop with it. I got there to find they'd opened late and hadn't started the wood stove. It was just as cold inside as out. Which is just as well since they had to work on it outside. I was assured that it would only be about 10 minutes and I'd be on my way. Yeah, right. Did I mention that it was still snowing today and COLD? After several trips in and out to get a jack, an air hose and various tools it turned out I'd picked up a screw so he decided to fix it right on the car. This was about the 20 minute mark. He finally wrenched the screw out and then started to jam a large awl into the tire! I've never seen anyone fix a tire before. So, the tire is still on the car and he can't get the awl back out. Now he needs the power tool that takes the lug nuts off. He finds that, they came right off and then he stood up and started kicking the tire like a man possessed. I had no idea what had made him so suddenly angry but I was a bit concerned because we were the only ones there. He stopped kicking, now perfectly calm and went inside. He came back out with a sledgehammer! Uhoh. It made quite a racket as he banged away muttering about how bad the day was starting. He stopped banging and slid the tire right off. - I'm very glad I didn't have to try to change the tire myself on the side of the road! - So he was able to get the awl back out. Then he put the plug stuff on the awl but since he was holding the awl with one hand and balancing the tire with the other I had to put the glue on. After a total of 45 minutes I was back in my warm car and on my way home. Oh, the joys of country living.

OK, that wasn't so great. But after I got home and warmed up I checked my email and found that TK of Before My Time had left a comment on a post at Apple's Tree.

Woohoo, Apple! Your Ruby Camfield is the Featured Page this week on WeRelate's home page, how cool is that!

That is very cool indeed and I am tickled pink! I might have missed it if TK hadn't pointed it out. WeRelate is a wiki for linking family trees. It also allows me to add pictures, biographical information and notes. I'm especially pleased that they picked my Aunt Ruby's page to feature as she was very special to all of her nieces and nephews.

Let's hope the good keeps outweighing the bad this week!

Family History Month

I've been busy at Apple's Tree, trying to write down some of my mother's memories and a few of my own. This would be a good time for any of you to start jotting things down for your children and grandchildren.

If you need help getting started check out Miriam's weekly prompts at AnceStories2: Stories of Me for My Descendants. Start with one topic that interests you and then work on the others as you get time.

Julianna Smith, at 24/7 Family History Circle, has challenged everyone to record the answers to five questions each week on a specific topic. Week #1 was School Memories and week #2 is Fun and Games.

The theme of the 33rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy was weddings. Read some of the great stories and then write what you remember about weddings in your family. The topic for the next edition is Halloween and the Supernatural. This would be a great time to record your stories of trick or treating or maybe outhouse tipping!

Blog Neglect

Where have I been, you ask? The start of the school year is always crazy and this year has been a bit busier than most.

Family

We have resumed Kid's Night. Once a week we have the four oldest grandkids come here after school so they can play together and spend some time with us. Bean has even brought her two once and I hope she will again! Six kids and our house is packed full, loud and crazy. I'm exhausted by the time they leave and I love it!


We also went to Mike's Birthday party. I told him I'm not ready for him to be 9 already and so he couldn't have a birthday this year. He thought that was quite hysterical. He loved the game we got him and I hear that he continues to beat his dad at it.


Then there is weekend football. Mike plays on Saturday and Alex on Sunday. John has been going to all of the games and I have been going when I can. I'm not crazy about them playing but I am definitely a minority of one! Overheard at the game yesterday, "I want you to go out there and hit somebody this time!" Give me a break, they are just little boys. I'm lucky I didn't hurt myself biting my tongue!
Work

We had our car seat check the second week of school and we have two more fall safety events in the planning stages. Planning and meetings take up too much of my time. We also had our 1st training day of the year and I was asked to take on another volunteer position. I guess I will if nobody else will but I really need to learn to say NO.


We are so very close to raising what we need for the Training Bus that we also have a push on to finish up. I got way behind in updating the blog but I think I have finally caught up! I need to get a new picture of the thermometer.


I've also had all of the beginning of the year paperwork to deal with; student lists, route sheets, handouts, etc. I hate paperwork but I should finish it up today. (I'd better finish it up today, it's all due tomorrow!) With everything else going on I haven't taken any charters yet but I'll have my first field trip this week.

Gardening

Between rain drops and everything else I've been spending any free time I have I the garden. Country Girl and I spent a wonderful Saturday with Kerri & Ross, who filled our car up with plants. I have them all planted, finally! Then we spent a Saturday at a symposium in Rochester where I got more plants that I had to get in. There was also a plant exchange at our garden club so I have been moving plants around like a crazy person. I haven't started on the fall garden chores yet nor have I bought a single bulb so there is much to be done. Good thing that it looks like the weather will be great this week.


Genealogy

All summer long I neglected Apple's Tree and my research. The other genea-bloggers kept very busy without me. I have finally posted something for the Carnival of Genealogy and I'm trying to catch up with everything I missed over the summer. I was planning on participating in Scanfest today, thinking that Alex didn't have a game today. He is playing so I may only have time to stop in say hello. I hate scanning and this gives me something fun to do while forcing me to work on it.


I hope to get back to regular blogging shortly!

Sunshiny Day!

The sun! The sun! It's back! The temperature is above 40. We still have plenty of the white stuff but it's melting.

I'm working my way through the latest edition of The Carnival of Genealogy. Twenty-six posts on a myriad of topics from the serious to the silly. Check it out - there's something for everyone.

I'll be giving a presentation at my Garden Club meeting tonight. My topic? Our school bus project of course! Check out the latest pictures, it's really coming along and will hopefully be done by our June fundraiser. I'll be asking the Garden Club to spread the word and for donations of plants to use as raffle items. We received our incorporation papers and hope to eventually extend the use of the bus to the entire region. Tentative plans have several of us traveling to the County Fair, Roadeo in Albany and the State Fair with the bus.


This video just suits my mood today. Enjoy!

Happy International Woman's Day!

For International Womens Day I chose to write about my great-aunt, Ruby Camfield. She never had a family of her own but was so important to her nieces and nephews and their families that I wanted to be sure that she would be remembered.

Tammy has a very nice post up about her mother. Please check it out. If you have written something and I missed it please leave me a note so I can read it and link to you here.

As March is Womans History month you still have plenty of time to honor one special woman.

Here are some links for you to check out this month.

Jasia, at CreativeGene, has a couple of great posts. First there is her Women's History Challenge. She makes a great case for all of us to write something:

Because women were often at home taking care of the children while the men folk were out back in the garage inventing cars, or far away from home marching across battlefields, they often weren't in positions to accomplish noteworthy things... except for an exceptional few. But their lives were impacted by the events around them and they in turn impacted the lives of their husbands and children in the course of everyday life. This month we have a chance to honor women, not only the ones whose accomplishments have made headlines but the ordinary and extraordinary women in our own family histories as well.

She also has a great post about the Womens History Project with lots of information and links.

Carol is sharing a year in the life of her grandmother, not just in March but all year long. If you're not already reading the Ruth Campbell Smith Diaries go over and take a peek into the day to day life of a mother in 1926.

Becky, at kinnexions, has a whole list of wonderful Womens History links posted here.

Maggiemac, at Civil War Women has been writing about women in the Civil War for awhile now and has dozens of short biographical stories for you to chose from.

One Woman Event

I just read about this at CreativeGene and wanted to write about it here right away because I think Jasia has come up with a wonderful idea but time is short! I realize that many of you who stop by here are not very interested in genealogy but I urge you to read this as it is about honoring a special woman in your life or past. I hope many of you will participate!

A Women's History Challenge

Today, March 1st, is the start of Women's History Month. As genealogists and family historians, we often look to historical events to give context to the lives of our ancestors. Because women were often at home taking care of the children while the men folk were out back in the garage inventing cars, or far away from home marching across battlefields, they often weren't in positions to accomplish noteworthy things... except for an exceptional few. But their lives were impacted by the events around them and they in turn impacted the lives of their husbands and children in the course of everyday life. This month we have a chance to honor women, not only the ones whose accomplishments have made headlines but the ordinary and extraordinary women in our own family histories as well.

March 8th is International Women's Day. Here in America it's not a holiday typically celebrated with flowers and candy, though elsewhere in the world it is. From the Wikipedia entry for International Women's Day:

International Women's Day (IWD) is marked on 8 March every year. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women.

Started as a political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries (primarily Russia and the countries of former Soviet bloc). In some celebrations, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their sympathy and love to the women around them - somewhat similar to Western Mother's Day and St Valentine's Day mixed together. In others, however, the political and human rights theme as designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.

Personally, I think one of the best ways for anyone to honor the women in their lives (friend or relative) or their female ancestors, is in print. Here's an idea...

One Woman
Compose a poem, write a tribute, share a memory, post a photo, or create a digital scrapbook page for One Woman. Wouldn't it be a wonderful tribute to women's history if all bloggers everywhere took the time to write something about One Woman that impacted their life on International Women's Day, March 8th? (... and then submit it to the Carnival of Genealogy... even better!) We could fill the blogosphere with tributes to women who might otherwise have fallen into obscurity. Sisters, friends, aunts, neighbors, deceased or living... one blog post will get a woman's name in the search engines and make information about her accessible the world over, for years to come! You could give a woman fame, honor her. Think about it. I challenge you all to spread the word, let's start something new for International Women's Day. Let's all write a tribute about One Woman... let's start the One Woman event!

Let Jasia know what a great idea this is and then get thinking! You are all so creative and in many different ways. I would love to see your poems, photos and tributes!

Shelter from the Storm

When I first saw Jasia's prompt for this edition of the Carnival of Genealogy I immediately thought about our camp In Sylvan Beach, NY which is located at the east end of Oneida Lake. It wasn't beach front, it was very small and for ten years it was our wonderful summer home.


I used to love to take the kids to the beach as a storm was starting to roll in to watch the dark clouds form and the lightening flash. As the storm moved closer we'd retreat to the front porch to continue to enjoy the show. Storms were frequent, I remember well a hail storm that left dents all over our cars. I never thought of watching a storm from the porch as dangerous until the year of the tornado. It was a little one that did considerable damage just a block away. After that watching the storms from a narrow little room surrounded by glass never seemed like a great idea - at least not with the kids. To this day I love to watch a good storm.



There was virtually no back yard and the front yard faced the main street through town so our days were usually spent on the beach. We had a cart I used to carry all of the kids beach floats, sand toys and our beach blanket. I still have the beach blanket, actually an old quilted bed spread that came with the place. Every time I use it I think of days spent playing on the beach and evenings under the stars watching the fireworks displays or enjoying a fire and roasting marshmallows for smores.

There is a small amusement park in the village that we visited on occasion. We walked everywhere - to the grocery store, park, or down the street to get an ice cream.

The place came furnished, a real mismash of fabrics and styles that seemed just right for a camp. The two sofas with scratchy upholstery each pulled out to full size sleepers that were well used by friends and family. Card games were played here and many books were read. Laughter bounced off of the walls.


It had the smallest kitchen I have ever seen, too small for the refrigerator which sat in the dining area. We made good use of the outdoor grill and meals were made for the five of us and often a dozen more.


After moving to western NY the kids entered their teen years and we decided we were not using and enjoying our little haven enough. Trips to camp became a chore so we decided to sell. We found a buyer and closed in September. In October John was told that he was being transfered back to central NY. That seems to be how it goes for us.

I hope my children's memories of camp are as fond as mine. We haven't talked about the place in ages. Maybe next summer we'll take the grandkids to the beach and on a trip down memory lane.

Recipes and Memories

The 16th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is up over at Jasia's. I'm linking here because this month's prompt was family recipes and food memories. Check it out!

A Few Kitchen Treasures

This sugar bowl belonged to my paternal grandparents. I spent quite a bit of time at their house on weekends and during the summer until Grandma died when I was 10. This sugar bowl never had sugar in it. Instead it held marmalade which was always on the breakfast table. It is the only piece of Syracuse China that I own. I don't remember grandma having any other matching pieces, although she may have.


At their house there were always arguments over whether you should put the sugar on the cereal before or after the milk. I can’t remember which was correct, but whichever way grandpa said was the way you best do it! As kids we were always fascinated by their “milk door.” It was a pair of small doors. The milk man would open the outside one and put the milk and butter inside and my grandparents could retrieve them through the inside one. Being in the city they had huckster’s trucks come up the street on a regular schedule. Fruits, vegetables and bread brought right to your front porch.

This is my little pie bird / vent collection. My mother always bakes a little black bird into her pies. When we were really little we'd sing Sing a Song of Sixpence everytime she made a pie. None of these were hers, she's still using the ones she has!

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?
The king was in his counting house counting out his money,
The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey
The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!

In the next picture are three egg cups that also were Grandma's. Does anyone eat soft boiled eggs anymore? Just visible in the back is the sugar / creamer set that my parents had. The pitcher in the back has no story attached to it other than I need to do some polishing! The wooden thing is a butter mold. It has never actually been used but it is very similar to the ones we used on the farm.

After my parents divorced my Dad remarried and ended up on a small farm in Clayton, NC. Quite something for a city boy! I spent some summers there and my freshman year of high school. I learned where food really came from there. We had a mean guernsey that produced the sweetest milk I've ever had. One of the many things I learned to do there was to churn butter. Some other time I'll write more about my times on the farm. After my time there it's amazing that I'm trying to garden at all.

Goodbye, Aunt Margaret

John just heard from Ann that their Aunt Margaret has passed. We knew her time was near so it isn't a shock but it still makes us very sad. She lived a long full life; she turned 90 last month. She was a first generation American, one of eight children. She leaves a son, five grandchildren, several great-grandchildren, a sister, three brothers and many nieces and nephews. I wish I could have found a better picture this morning but this will have to do.

Carnival of Genealogy

I just recently discovered the Carnival of Genealogy and decided to participate. It was fun coming up with my post. Put in a good word for me with Santa please!

Thanks to Jasia, at Creative Gene, for hosting the Carnival! Also check out some of her beautiful ornaments.

Blogger is giving me fits today! It's showing that my comments aren't going through so I try again, nope. Sometimes I've been able to comment as Anonymous. Then I go back later and find both my previous attempts did post! Ugh. Now I can't delete the double comments!

Thank You Veterans!

Both John & my families are full of Veterans and I want to send a big thank-you each one. Two of my brother-in-laws served and the third is still active. Most of our uncle's as well as my father served in WWII & Korea.

There are two Vets that most others will not think about today. The first is my Mom. She followed her brother into the USN as a Wave. She worked for the weather service. At one time she worked on a top secret project that her children and grandchildren jokingly dubbed the great paper clip project. We later learned that there really was a "paper clip project" but to this day we have no idea what exactly she worked on but we can't help but speculate. She rarely talks about her military service but it was to change her life forever. She never again lived near her family, returning to Michigan only for brief visits. I wish she had had a happier life but then I wouldn't be here.

The other vet I'm thinking of today is a cousin, Richard Carlisle. Over the years my Mom lost touch with this branch of the family but she remembered that she had a cousin that served on the S.S. Robin Moor, a Merchant Marine vessel sunk by a German sub in May 1941. Anyone that thinks that the men that served in the Merchant Marine during the WWII era aren't Veterans needs to think again. If drafted by the army these men were released to continue serving aboard their ships. The Merchant Marine was crucial to the war effort. So please join me in thanking these men also today.