Faces From The Past

I have been looking into my family history - on and off - for over ten years. It's a bit like working a puzzle. You start out with a few pieces that fit together and search through the random pieces until they fit. Just when you think you've put it together...you realize that you, sort of, crammed a piece in where it really doesn't belong.


This is one piece that I've been working on. It's one of those classic family photos in which nobody thought to write down who the people are.  I can identify a couple of them but the rest remain a mystery...for now.


So while things in the garden have dwindled down for the season, I'm getting into my winter project of organizing all of the photo's and letters that have been thrown into various boxes over the years and continuing to piece together the puzzle of my history.

New Music...Tuesday???

Ok. So I havent been posting much lately...what can I say...there's a lot going on.  But I thought I'd bring you a new video from Kate Westfall. She's a very talented artist/musician in the Mansfield area. The video was shot by another talented local artist, Luke Beekman.  So check it out by clicking the link below.

Photo by Bryce Millikin

http://vimeo.com/14954264

You can find Kate at: www.myspace.com/vokatemusica

Unlocking Old Secrets With New Technology

Over ten years ago I began the search into the history of my family - before Who Do You Think You Are became a television success leading millions of people to search for their roots. I don't remember ancestry.com even being around but there were a few other genealogy web sites. It was fairly easy to track down my father's family (or most of it anyway) but the history of one man on my mother's side has eluded me for years. My mother's grandfather, Harry.

I knew that my grandfather's parents were divorced in the late 1920's. Scandalous - or so I thought. Through all my research I've found more stories of divorce in the newspapers of that time then I imagined.

This is what I knew: 

My grandfather's mother died from a stroke when he was fourteen. His mother, Martha, was only 38 years old and had been bed ridden for two years. He and his sister were sent to different family member's homes to be raised. The father never came back for them.

My grandpa only saw his father once after he left the family in 1926. It was  during WWII and grandpa was sent to Camp Cooke in California. His father was living near Los Angeles. They saw each other for a few hours before my grandpa was sent to war. I do not know what they talked about but they had to have thought that it might be the last time they would speak. I wonder what was said. 

Since my grandpa was raised by his mother's family, we were just absorbed into them. My grandpa never kept it a secret that his folks were divorced but he never talked about it either. I knew that he occasionally sent and/or received a Christmas card from his father but that was the extent of their relationship.

Back in 2000, curiosity got the better of me. I put a note on a genealogy forum asking for information on my absentee great-grandfather. All I had was his name and where he lived.  It wasn't long before I received a reply from a woman in California. Her mother-in-law was my grandfather's first cousin.

The woman sent me loads of family history back to the very beginnings of recorded Welsh history.  I had dates and names but still didn't know any more about the great-grandfather who had headed west and never looked back. Then the woman sent me this photo...the first photo that I had ever seen of him. She didn't know anything about him other than he was listed in the 1910 census as an artist. There was also a bit of mystery surrounding this man's mother. It was told in the family that she was the illegitimate daughter of a prominent Philadelphia restaurateur of Spanish origins.

Excited about my discovery, I sent the pages of family history to my grandpa. He seemed to enjoy learning of his ancestry but still did not offer up any information about his father. I sort of let the matter drop and went on about my life. I would occasionally look up his name on the Internet but nothing really ever came of it...until now.

You Never Know What You'll Find

My house is built on land that was once on the outskirts of town. It was part of a farm and we are apparently located on the old burn pile. When I was a kid, we used to have little archaeological digs behind the garage where we would turn up old bottles, pieces of china and all sorts of interesting things. Last spring, this bit of bottle came up in the garden after the frozen ground forced it to the top. I think it's beautiful. It has to have been there for over 85 years since that is the age of my house. The cool thing about it is...you never know what you'll find.

Crooked Fingers - Sleep All Summer

I found this song through the blog, "Even Cleveland" and it's perfect for New Music Mondays. Be sure to check out Even Cleveland. It's a fabulous blog and the link is on the right.

Funky Summer Fashion

I love these pieces from Soul Flower.

Mixtape | Tift Merritt

Photography

This is a hidden alley in our downtown...beautiful.

New Art

It's hard to see in the photo but the texture on this piece is really cool.

Donavon Frankenreiter - Free

Things I've been playing with

What I'm Reading

Following Living Oprah, I started Julie Powell's newest book. It's been out for a while but I just got around to it.

This is a story of Julie's apprenticeship as a butcher but it's not just about that. Things are never about what they are about. Right?

There are many mixed reviews of this book. You can google them to read. I'm not a professional book reviewer. I can only give you my opinion.

I loved the Julie/Julia project (Julie's blog and subsequent first book). In fact, I credit Julie Powell with inspiring me to explore new things. That inspiration led me to a few freelance writing jobs, a fairly successful local blog and a new attitude about the second half of my life. So I guess some of my success as an accidental writer is because of Julie Powell.

I tried to keep this fondness for Julie from skewing my view of her second memoir. So here goes... I have never read a writer who was so brutally honest in my life.

I read the book in only a couple of days, stealing a minute to read whenever I could. All I kept thinking was, " The chicks got balls". As a writer it is incredibly hard to not want to present yourself in the best possible way. This could have been a rather boring book about butchery -which is interesting to me but, possibly, not to the masses. Instead, Julie explored and exposed almost everything about herself on the pages. She was completely honest, vulnerable, and self-deprecating. She had to know that this honesty could damage her career considering her squeaky clean image in the Julie and Julia movie yet she wrote it anyway. I finished the book over a week ago and am still thinking about it.

While I found parts of it pretty graphic and disturbing, I had to read on. Whether you end up loving Julie for her honesty or hating her for it, I think the book is worth the read.

By clicking the image above, you will be taken to Amazon if you want to purchase the book.

You can find Julie Powell at: http://juliepowell.blogspot.com/

New Music Mondays - The Wandering Bards

On new music Mondays, I'll bring you a link to a new group that I've been listening to. While the group or song may not be "new" they are new to me.

This past week or so, I've been obsessed with The Wandering Bards; particularly, the song, "Spam in a Can". I can't get enough of it. Love the harp licks.

So check them out at http://wanderingbards.com/home.html

Vintage Pic Of The Week

They gave me a uniform to do this?

-caption by Mike

ReadyMade magazine

I love Readymade magazine! Many of my favorite mags have "ceased to be" during the recession. I was in deep,deep mourning (still upset over Country Home) but ReadyMade has eased some of the pain.

If you have not read it....be sure to pick up a copy or check it out online.

In fact, it was through one of their blogs that I found out about the free music from Levi's.

http://readymade.com/magazine/

Free Music from Levi's

http://www.levispioneersessions.com/


This awesome website is brought to you by Levi's (as in jeans). They invited pioneering musicians to re-create the songs that inspired them. The free downloads are available by following the link above.

There are some incredible musicians including:

The Swell Season (one of my personal favs)
John Legend and The Roots
She & Him
The Shins
Dirty Projectors
and many more.

What I'm reading now

Living Oprah - My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk

by Robyn Okrant





This week's library book has been both entertaining and thought provoking thus far. As a "sometimes" watcher of Oprah and occassional reader of her magazine, it's been a lot of fun to read Robyn's adventures while she is trying to live out all of the suggestions that Winfrey makes through her show, web site, and magazine to encourange women to live their best life.

I'm all about the encouragement but I'm finding out that to truly "Live Oprah" it takes a lot of time and money.

Anyway... it's worth the read so pick up a copy or borrow it from your local library. Great summer read.

Hoarders

Has anyone else had the Hoarders inspired cleanout? Every time I watch the show, more clutter gets hauled out of this house by the bagfuls. My husband - a minimalist- is loving it.

The first thing to go was butter tubs and Cool Whip containers as this seemed to be a common trait of the shows participants. We threw away a large bag of them as move were not the type of plastic that can be recycled.

Next, I started going drawer by drawer and closet by closet, organizing and clearing out. My linen closet has never looked better.

I am slowly working my way through some old magazines that are stored neatly but I don't really have to keep them all. I could tear out the pages that are important, store them in a folder and recycle the magazine. So I started that project on Monday while watching...you guessed it...Hoarders.

I sympathize with those who suffer from this disease. It's tough when you have so many emotions wrapped up in stuff. It's hard to let something go that has a precious memory attached to it but we only have so much space. It's also hard to let something go when it's in perfectly good condition even if you don't use it.

So the rule now is this: When something new comes in...something must go out. It has to go into the yard sale pile or be immediately donated. I have to say that it's nice to open a cabinet or drawer and not have to dig through a bunch of stuff to find the one thing that you're looking for.

Can't wait to start organizing the yard sale. The stuff is in the garage until I get it together.

So let me ask? Do you watch the show and has it inspired you to clear the clutter?

P.S. You can watch episodes and clips of Hoarders at A&E's website

Vintage Pic of the Week

Last summer, I posted a vintage pic of the week featuring some photos of summer fun. Now that the summer season has officially begun, I thought I'd start posting them again. Enjoy.

This picture was taken at Lake Erie in the late 1940's. My grandma is pictured on the right. She had that bathing costume for a long time. I used to wear it in high school.

Please do not copy or reproduce this picture. It is part of my personal collection. Thanks.

Lettuce Entertain You

Here's a pic of some lettuce that we planted. It's a pot on top of a pot. The top pot has rosemary planted in it and when the lettuce has all been devoured, I'll fill in the empty space with herbs.

It's edible and beautiful.

Love these flats

Recently (Ok. Maybe it's been about six weeks ago) I went to Easton in Columbus for a great day of window shopping. The picture above is of the flats that were built in the area of the mall.

I'm curious what they are like inside but from the outside they are reminiscent of London.

It would be a tough choice. Take the first floor with the cool windows or the third with the adorable balcony.

Love this light fixture

This is the Meridian Pendant from the Sundance catalog. Love it and the price is great at $175.00 (buy 2 or more at $150.00 each). Check it out at http://www.sundancecatalog.com/

Baby Boxwoods

It's still a little early to plant most flowers since we could still have frost but I was itching to get my hands dirty. I picked up these tiny boxwoods instead. Planting them satified my desire to be outside in the dirt and I can bring them in if it gets too cold.

Spring Lilacs

Stair Problem Solved

Thanks to Cherish Toronto (one of my favorite blogs), my painted stair dilemma may be solved. When we tore the old carpet out of the house, we found that the stairs had been painted - not only on the treads but on the risers as well. Not exactly what I had hoped for. We toyed with the idea of stripping them but had concerns regarding lead paint and we weren't sure what type of wood was underneath. A fresh coat of white paint seemed to be the answer and I have been looking for the right carpet runner since. Then I saw this picture posted on Cherish Toronto of the stairs from the HGTV show Sarah's House 3 and I think we've found the answer in this clever,fresh idea.

Be sure to check out:www.cherishtoronto.blogspot.com

Photos: Top is from www.hgtv.com . Bottom is our staircase, currently.

More Restoration Love

Here are a few more pieces from Restoration Hardware that caught my eye. I think I was literally drooling in the store the other day. The colors and textures of everything in the latest collection were very soothing and homey to me. Wish I could decorate the entire house from there. Oh well...maybe someday.

www.restorationhardware.com

Chair Love

Photo from www.restorationhardware.com

As much as I try not to be materialistic, every once in a while something comes along that really turns my head. Restoration Hardware's 1950's Leather Copenhagen Chair is my current obsession. The Mid-Century design paired with rich leather....oh yeah.

Check This Out

I could see myself driving around in one of these. Really cute and roomier than I thought.

A Day Off ...

As much as I love living in Mansfield, sometimes I need a city fix. Yesterday was the perfect day to escape with a trip to Easton Town Center in Columbus. I'm not really a mall person but since Easton is outside, it was ok. I came home armed with decorating inspiration and catalogs from Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn. Here are a few pictures from Easton.

I purchased this bell jar and the air plants at Nest, a new store in Easton Town Center. The store features new and vintage items. Other purchases included a cool little Mexican tile and two vintage diner coffee cups.

The Future of Cars?

This is the the AIRPOD-Ultra light urban transporter by Tata Motors. Powered by compressed air, the three seater tricycle, may provide the answer for those of us who make short trips. The driver steps in through the windshield and the passengers through the rear window.For gaming and Sci-Fi geeks, like myself, you may find it interesting to know that the car is steered with a joystick. One cannister of air will provide enough for a 120 mile trip at 30 miles per hour.

This innovative vehicle has many advantages over electric or biodiesel cars but I don't see head/tail lights and am curious if it has seat belts. I'm left wondering if they will be able to produce this vehicle for the U.S. in terms of safety. I guess, we will wait and see.

No Impact Man

No Impact Man, the movie, finally arrived in the mailbox. I placed it in my Netflix queue months before it was released and it finally made it's way to the top of the list. Now halfway through the book, No Impact Man, I am re-energized about our lifestyle choices and am becoming even more committed to reducing our consumption and living a simpler life.

Colin Beavan and his family embark on a one year journey from their Fifth Avenue apartment in Manhattan to live sustainably for one year. What this translates to is: no cars or any other transportation that leaves a negative impact on the environment, no food that comes from anywhere more than 250 miles from NYC, no electricity and no garbage.

Both the book and the documentary are inspiring and thought provoking. In trying to apply it's lessons, I can see how some things would be challenging in NYC and other things easier than in my rustbelt city. For instance, the farmer's market shown in the film offers a much wider variety of goods than our newly formed downtown market. When I inquired about cheese at last years market, I was informed that health codes would make it difficult and expensive for vendors to sell. We do, however, have many local produce stores but then the problem is sprawl/transportation. It is very difficult to exist in our city without a car. Cycling is an option for many short trips but our public transport is lacking (to put it mildly).

The big issue is over-consumption which then breaks down into a series of smaller issues that have to be tackled individually.

I know I can't change everyone's love affair with their cars but I can change mine. In an effort to tackle our transport problems, we have implemented a few things:

1.
We only have one automobile. It is a four cylinder that gets great gas mileage. Purchasing a new hybrid is not in the budget even with a tax credit. In the beginning, it seemed impossible to survive with only one car but it's been seven years and it's fine. When we lived in Florida, the car would remain in it's parking place for days. Not the case now but we each have several bicycles and working legs to supplement the car. It is important to note that maintenance is important to insure optimum gas mileage and to increase the life span of our vehicle.

2.
We combine trips for errands. A little planning goes a long way. Sometimes my mom and I will go shopping together which saves a trip for one of us. One major challenge is my work schedule. Although work is less than 2 miles from home, I come home from work at midnight. The neighborhood that I must pass through is not safe to walk or cycle through after dark (although I've done it a few times, the stress just isn't worth it). In 5 1/2 years we have only put about 30,000 miles on our car and that included a few long trips.

3.
We have purchased a carbon offset for our vehicle. Since we have accepted the fact that we cannot live here without a car, at least we can invest a little money toward an eco-friendly project to try to undo the damage it is contributing to the environmental problem.

It's apropos that No Impact Man arrived now. April 22nd marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It's the perfect time for us to renew our committment to a life of simplicity.

Thanks to Colin, Michelle and Isabella for the inspiration.

For information about No Impact Man go to: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/

Goth Glamour

Who could forget the glamorous Goth style of the Addams Family?
Even in black and white...it's fabulous.

photo from Sitcom Style

Sitcom Style

I picked up this book at the library today. It has some awesome pics of TV sitcoms.

This kitchen is from 3rd Rock From The Sun.
Carrie Bradshaw's Sex and The City bedroom and entryway.
Check back for more photos.

Images from Sitcom Style ISBN1-4000-5178-9 2005 by Diana Friedman