A few years ago,while exploring Ancestry.com for more genealogy information on our family lines, I came across a woman who had listed my maternal grandfather in her data. I left her a message and asked her to contact me regarding him. Aine got back to me fairly soon, and we began an email correspondence, comparing notes and learning much from each other. When she told me she was planning to take a trip to East Hampton to discover more on her 'people', I offered suggestions as to historical societies, libraries, Suffolk County records, cemetaries, etc.
It was an easy early friendship. As time went on, we shared about our personal lives, and our husbands. As 'fate' would have it, both our men have similar interests as well as Scots bloodlines. We continued to write, until it got closer to the time of their trip to my hometown. At that time we felt comfortable enough for a face to face meeting, so with the approval of our husbands, we planned to share a rental place in East Hampton,if we could find one. Having a good childhood and Facebook friend who owned a cottage that haden't rented that summer, we were in luck! It was a huge risk, but we took it, and haven't been sorry.
Aine and I hunted for our families' hidden treasures among the records available from Riverhead to the grave yards of Amagansett. We were non-stop chatter boxes! We are very different in looks and stature, but bound by bloodlines that joined 7 generations earlier! We are family! As for our men, they hit it off from the first handshake, comparing books they'd both read, enjoying quiet conversation about the weather, the boats that sailed past the cottage, and anything else that appeals to men to talk about.
During the days, we did a bit of sight-seeing while we wandered around the east end of Long Island. We enjoyed our evenings cooking suppers and sharing them and learning more about each others' lives. We wiled away the hours of the week together, finding that taking the 'risk' was well worth it.
These days, Aine and I are still corresponding. The men are still wishing for each other's company and conversation. In due time,we hope to arrange another visit, in a 'half-way between' spot. Meanwhile, we will just wait and remember the 'chance' finding of each other.
*watch for another post about Aine & Bruce, and their Mysterious Ways occurance... to come soon in this blog.*
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Friends
For nearly six years,we've lived in a subdivision of newly-built homes. We've met all those who bought their houses at about the same time. Some have been quieter folks who stay to themselves, some are in everyone's business, some are neighborly, and some have become our best friends.
We've seen babies born to some families. We've watched young ones become teenagers, and a few who've left for college. We've seen the angel of death visit one or two homes. We've seen jobs found among some,and some who have lost their jobs. There have been some familes who have moved out of our neighborhood to other new residences, and we've seen a few who have lost homes to foreclosure in the failing economy. As in all neighborhoods, many changes come and go.
The latest change is one I never wanted to see. Our best friends who live next door have sold their home and are moving back to 'cold country'. Our lives have been woven together since before we met, when my brother told me that they had bought their place, and we were still living in NY,while waiting to move. I wrote them a letter and mailed it to my brother to deliver for me. Netty answered it and mailed a response. Letters went across the miles until we met face to face in October of that year.
We knew,on the spot, that the Lord had brought us all together. There also were so many similarities in our lives... we both have daughters named Amy. Netty and I both are partial to cobalt blue, with red being a close second. We even have the same pattern of Pfalzgraf ironstone...and to beat that, we both have the same pattern of china!
While those things are incidental and perhaps coincidental, our friendship has been forged by other things. Each of us feels that we would be 'there' should the other need us. It's been proven over the last few years.We've shared it all...tears,laughter,family things, life, in much the same way that a family is 'there' when needed. Even our kids...at least some of them, have formed friendships where they visit from eastern Long Island to New York city....and when their son is here to visit his parents,he has gone to Georgia to visit my daughter and her family there.
On Wednesday, our times together...dinners at each other's tables, or at a restaurant, impromptu day trips or porch visits...will end. No,the comradary will not stop...our love and caring will not cease. But things will change. We'll stay in touch through letters, through emails, on the phone and on Facebook.....and we'll visit. They will still have their Amy here in the area, and we both have kids in NY. We'll visit Iowa when it's not the dead of winter...their visits here will probably be at that time, in order to escape the snow and the cold.
I wish they could stay close by forever,as they thought they would when we first met. But life has brought a different turn, and they must follow. We will stay here, reporting to them on the neighborhood goings-on, and on the young couple who have bought their house and will make it their home. We will attempt to be good friends to the new neighbors, but they will never fill the empty places we'll feel with the leaving of Dan and Netty.
We've seen babies born to some families. We've watched young ones become teenagers, and a few who've left for college. We've seen the angel of death visit one or two homes. We've seen jobs found among some,and some who have lost their jobs. There have been some familes who have moved out of our neighborhood to other new residences, and we've seen a few who have lost homes to foreclosure in the failing economy. As in all neighborhoods, many changes come and go.
The latest change is one I never wanted to see. Our best friends who live next door have sold their home and are moving back to 'cold country'. Our lives have been woven together since before we met, when my brother told me that they had bought their place, and we were still living in NY,while waiting to move. I wrote them a letter and mailed it to my brother to deliver for me. Netty answered it and mailed a response. Letters went across the miles until we met face to face in October of that year.
We knew,on the spot, that the Lord had brought us all together. There also were so many similarities in our lives... we both have daughters named Amy. Netty and I both are partial to cobalt blue, with red being a close second. We even have the same pattern of Pfalzgraf ironstone...and to beat that, we both have the same pattern of china!
While those things are incidental and perhaps coincidental, our friendship has been forged by other things. Each of us feels that we would be 'there' should the other need us. It's been proven over the last few years.We've shared it all...tears,laughter,family things, life, in much the same way that a family is 'there' when needed. Even our kids...at least some of them, have formed friendships where they visit from eastern Long Island to New York city....and when their son is here to visit his parents,he has gone to Georgia to visit my daughter and her family there.
On Wednesday, our times together...dinners at each other's tables, or at a restaurant, impromptu day trips or porch visits...will end. No,the comradary will not stop...our love and caring will not cease. But things will change. We'll stay in touch through letters, through emails, on the phone and on Facebook.....and we'll visit. They will still have their Amy here in the area, and we both have kids in NY. We'll visit Iowa when it's not the dead of winter...their visits here will probably be at that time, in order to escape the snow and the cold.
I wish they could stay close by forever,as they thought they would when we first met. But life has brought a different turn, and they must follow. We will stay here, reporting to them on the neighborhood goings-on, and on the young couple who have bought their house and will make it their home. We will attempt to be good friends to the new neighbors, but they will never fill the empty places we'll feel with the leaving of Dan and Netty.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Vanity Plates
Down south they call license plates "Ve-Hicle Tags". We have all sorts of options in SC as how the 'tag' looks....we chose the simple one...white,blue letters/numbers, and our country's flag in the center. I could have gotten one with a palm tree on it, but I kind of hate palm trees.(sorry if any of our Palmetto State folks see that bit of truth.) I do,however, love our flag and all that it stands for.
If we want to choose our own special vanity plate,we have that option too. I have thought about it, but haven't come up with something yet that will be catchy, cute, or give a message that I'd like to present in 8 characters! I've given it lots of thought, and after reading my friend Barbara's blog, I'll be putting more thinking into it.
Should it be a Bible reference because that's a message I'd love to see spread, and try to live by? Should I be tagged "PunnyOne" because I'm well known for coming out with puns often? Probably not, because someone might read it as PUNY...and there's not a cell in my rotund,short body that is puny! What about some form of our old hometown nickname, Bonacker? I could kill two birds with that one, given my aging self and my aches and pains. I could put "BonAcher" on the tag.
Maybe it'll be "N-corager", (ecourager) or 'Trnsplnt'. (Did you get Transplant out of that?) I won't do anything that would offend anyone, which I've seen from time to time when trying to decipher coded tags on the highways. Of course, it's entirely possible that I've decoded something incorrectly, and that the car owner didn't mean that at all. But I want it all to be perfectly clear, and with no chance of misinterpretation. So...I can see that I'll need to continue to put thought into this. I'm open to suggestions, if you care to offer any. Stay tuned...and after I update you on the name I chose, be watching for the van my kids call 'the Wonder Bread mobile' (because looks like a loaf of white bread) .
If we want to choose our own special vanity plate,we have that option too. I have thought about it, but haven't come up with something yet that will be catchy, cute, or give a message that I'd like to present in 8 characters! I've given it lots of thought, and after reading my friend Barbara's blog, I'll be putting more thinking into it.
Should it be a Bible reference because that's a message I'd love to see spread, and try to live by? Should I be tagged "PunnyOne" because I'm well known for coming out with puns often? Probably not, because someone might read it as PUNY...and there's not a cell in my rotund,short body that is puny! What about some form of our old hometown nickname, Bonacker? I could kill two birds with that one, given my aging self and my aches and pains. I could put "BonAcher" on the tag.
Maybe it'll be "N-corager", (ecourager) or 'Trnsplnt'. (Did you get Transplant out of that?) I won't do anything that would offend anyone, which I've seen from time to time when trying to decipher coded tags on the highways. Of course, it's entirely possible that I've decoded something incorrectly, and that the car owner didn't mean that at all. But I want it all to be perfectly clear, and with no chance of misinterpretation. So...I can see that I'll need to continue to put thought into this. I'm open to suggestions, if you care to offer any. Stay tuned...and after I update you on the name I chose, be watching for the van my kids call 'the Wonder Bread mobile' (because looks like a loaf of white bread) .
The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways-1
It's been said that the Lord works in mysterious ways. I've had confirmation of that a few times in the last few days. This blog entry will let you know of one instance.
We've had our 12 year old granddaughter with us since the beginning of July, and she's kept us quite busy. We've not minded that one bit, but suffice it to say that the normal routines have been cast to the winds. After all, why would one give up a crafting partner for a dumb old computer keyboard?
That said, you will now understand why I hadn't checked one of my email accounts since sometime in mid-June.
That particular email address is almost exclusively used for my genealogy pursuits. I went there to see what junk mail needed to be cleaned out of the 'box' and to see if there was anything worth reading. Imagine my surprise when I saw a mail waiting (from an unknown woman) dated June 23, with a subject title of "Waygood Family Album." I opened it to read it,with some doubt as to whether it was legit.
Reading through it, I learned that this woman who lives in Idaho had been on vacation in Oregon, had visited an antique shop there, and in her attempt to add to her collection of old photos, she'd purchased an album of family photos.
After scanning the pages into her computer so that she could keep them, and without removing them from the album, she began a search for a family member who might want the album. She attempted to contact two or three other folks with our family name, with no response. She also checked the genealogy boards where she found an inquiry I'd left there in 2000 about a family name. Since my inquiry named someone she'd found obits for in the scrapbook, she took a chance that my email on the message board would still be good. It was. (That is precisely why I NEVER change my email names or addresses.)
So began an email and telephone communication from coast to coast. Carol is a lovely woman, about my age, and so thoughtful as to gift with this family scrapbook. She won't let us reimburse her for the money she's spent to purchase the book or to ship it to us. What a random act of kindness on her part!
She will be gifted with many antique photos as I find them in my haunting of junk, thrift and antique stores!
The album should arrive here on Thursday. We are delighted and excited as the photos she scanned and emailed to us are definitely my husband's family. There are some of his Dad when he married for the fourth time. (!!!) and some of his great-grandfather, etc. There are others who we can't identify, but with the help of a 78 yr old cousin in the southwest, we may get to that. We are also faced with other mysteries concerning this book of pictures. How did it end up in Oregon when the majority of the family lived in Wyoming? Who put the album together in the first place? What made Carol start to leave the antique store without the album, and suddenly retrace her steps and change her mind,going back to buy it? Why did she feel compelled to track us down and get the album to the family? What are the chances that she'd find us...the only ones in the family who really care about genealogy? We might never know. What I do know is this....we are most grateful!
The Lord does, indeed, work in mysterious ways!
We've had our 12 year old granddaughter with us since the beginning of July, and she's kept us quite busy. We've not minded that one bit, but suffice it to say that the normal routines have been cast to the winds. After all, why would one give up a crafting partner for a dumb old computer keyboard?
That said, you will now understand why I hadn't checked one of my email accounts since sometime in mid-June.
That particular email address is almost exclusively used for my genealogy pursuits. I went there to see what junk mail needed to be cleaned out of the 'box' and to see if there was anything worth reading. Imagine my surprise when I saw a mail waiting (from an unknown woman) dated June 23, with a subject title of "Waygood Family Album." I opened it to read it,with some doubt as to whether it was legit.
Reading through it, I learned that this woman who lives in Idaho had been on vacation in Oregon, had visited an antique shop there, and in her attempt to add to her collection of old photos, she'd purchased an album of family photos.
After scanning the pages into her computer so that she could keep them, and without removing them from the album, she began a search for a family member who might want the album. She attempted to contact two or three other folks with our family name, with no response. She also checked the genealogy boards where she found an inquiry I'd left there in 2000 about a family name. Since my inquiry named someone she'd found obits for in the scrapbook, she took a chance that my email on the message board would still be good. It was. (That is precisely why I NEVER change my email names or addresses.)
So began an email and telephone communication from coast to coast. Carol is a lovely woman, about my age, and so thoughtful as to gift with this family scrapbook. She won't let us reimburse her for the money she's spent to purchase the book or to ship it to us. What a random act of kindness on her part!
She will be gifted with many antique photos as I find them in my haunting of junk, thrift and antique stores!
The album should arrive here on Thursday. We are delighted and excited as the photos she scanned and emailed to us are definitely my husband's family. There are some of his Dad when he married for the fourth time. (!!!) and some of his great-grandfather, etc. There are others who we can't identify, but with the help of a 78 yr old cousin in the southwest, we may get to that. We are also faced with other mysteries concerning this book of pictures. How did it end up in Oregon when the majority of the family lived in Wyoming? Who put the album together in the first place? What made Carol start to leave the antique store without the album, and suddenly retrace her steps and change her mind,going back to buy it? Why did she feel compelled to track us down and get the album to the family? What are the chances that she'd find us...the only ones in the family who really care about genealogy? We might never know. What I do know is this....we are most grateful!
The Lord does, indeed, work in mysterious ways!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
I Told You So...
Didn't I tell you that those sun glasses would show up when they got ready? Uh-huh, I did. After writing the blog entry yesterday, I did one more sweep of the first floor, knowing I hadn't been upstairs in days. I looked briefly into each area of each room without success.
I sat down, thinking about what I'd done when I got home on Friday. It was a mental retracing of steps, even though I wasn't sure at that point exactly what I'd done other than change my clothes. So, back to the bedroom I went. I checked the floor around and under the bed. No, not there. I looked on the ironing board, which stands ready, near the door of the walk-in closet..... not there. I checked once more on the bathroom counter, and scanned the basket between the sinks where I keep my make-up and little gadgets every woman must have. No luck.
Aha.... I'd put a load of laundry into the machine before we'd left the house to pick up our new prescriptions from the pharmacy. I wonder.... Yes, there they were, patiently waiting for retrieval, on the top of the washer. I think I heard a soft giggle coming from the glasses when I picked them up!
Oh well, all is not lost....or at least, the sunglasses aren't any longer. I'm sure I'll be repeating this searching again sometime in the near future for some other 'lost' item. It seems to be becoming my 'modus operendi'.
I sat down, thinking about what I'd done when I got home on Friday. It was a mental retracing of steps, even though I wasn't sure at that point exactly what I'd done other than change my clothes. So, back to the bedroom I went. I checked the floor around and under the bed. No, not there. I looked on the ironing board, which stands ready, near the door of the walk-in closet..... not there. I checked once more on the bathroom counter, and scanned the basket between the sinks where I keep my make-up and little gadgets every woman must have. No luck.
Aha.... I'd put a load of laundry into the machine before we'd left the house to pick up our new prescriptions from the pharmacy. I wonder.... Yes, there they were, patiently waiting for retrieval, on the top of the washer. I think I heard a soft giggle coming from the glasses when I picked them up!
Oh well, all is not lost....or at least, the sunglasses aren't any longer. I'm sure I'll be repeating this searching again sometime in the near future for some other 'lost' item. It seems to be becoming my 'modus operendi'.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Where Did I Put My....
SUNGLASSES?!
I had them yesterday...just yesterday, for goodness sake! I know I did, because after being at the eye doctor and having drops that dilated my pupils to full Iris size, I was painfully aware of the sun's glare. In fact, I was so aware that I put my second pair of shades over the first pair, which by the way, worked wonders for shielding my eyes from the brilliant light of day.
Where might they have gone? I always keep one pair in the house so that I can put them on to sit outside on the porch. Another pair is always in the car. Of course it is my newest and best and most favorite pair that has disappeared! I'm sure they will turn up ...eventually...and probably in some obscure, non-rational area, like the back of the toilet in the guest bathroom or something. I just wish I knew where to find them.
When things like this happen, when I put something down and immediately forget where, I get fearful that I'm getting old too fast. Otherwise, I rarely think about aging. Oh yes, I speak the number of years that I've lived... quite often, in fact, and it never upsets me to say those numbers. But when I do something dumb, or can't find an object, or lose a word mid-sentence, THEN I begin to fret.
Well, I'm not going to wander around this house for one more minute today, wondering what I've done with those sunglasses. I'm not going to give myself any reason to fret and stew about my years. I'm going to put on the other pair of eye protectors and I'm going to go outside and rock in the chair on the porch. How's that for 'old', huh?
Those doggone shades will make their appearance when they're ready, and I'll either kick myself because they've been in plain sight all along.... or I'll giggle with the stupidity of where they've been found. Maybe I'd better check the shelf in the fridge.... it might be the only place left that I haven't looked yet.
I had them yesterday...just yesterday, for goodness sake! I know I did, because after being at the eye doctor and having drops that dilated my pupils to full Iris size, I was painfully aware of the sun's glare. In fact, I was so aware that I put my second pair of shades over the first pair, which by the way, worked wonders for shielding my eyes from the brilliant light of day.
Where might they have gone? I always keep one pair in the house so that I can put them on to sit outside on the porch. Another pair is always in the car. Of course it is my newest and best and most favorite pair that has disappeared! I'm sure they will turn up ...eventually...and probably in some obscure, non-rational area, like the back of the toilet in the guest bathroom or something. I just wish I knew where to find them.
When things like this happen, when I put something down and immediately forget where, I get fearful that I'm getting old too fast. Otherwise, I rarely think about aging. Oh yes, I speak the number of years that I've lived... quite often, in fact, and it never upsets me to say those numbers. But when I do something dumb, or can't find an object, or lose a word mid-sentence, THEN I begin to fret.
Well, I'm not going to wander around this house for one more minute today, wondering what I've done with those sunglasses. I'm not going to give myself any reason to fret and stew about my years. I'm going to put on the other pair of eye protectors and I'm going to go outside and rock in the chair on the porch. How's that for 'old', huh?
Those doggone shades will make their appearance when they're ready, and I'll either kick myself because they've been in plain sight all along.... or I'll giggle with the stupidity of where they've been found. Maybe I'd better check the shelf in the fridge.... it might be the only place left that I haven't looked yet.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Cupcakes
No one seems to know why, but cupcakes have made their way on to the current list of best-loved foods. They're everywhere....even put together on cake stands to be used as wedding cakes!
(That seems to me to be 'sacreligious'. Wedding cakes should be tall, multi-layered, mountainous things with beautiful decorations,icing pearls and sugar flowers! I don't think that a hand-held cake, no matter how pretty, is fit...or formal...enough for a fancy wedding. )
I have no problem with cupcakes in a brown bag lunch, or a picnic, or a church supper. They travel very well, and are fairly easy to eat without creating a mess, unless they're chocolate or a preschool child!
Old-fashioned cupcakes are really quite convenient for birthday parties. They're about the right size for most people, not too big, not too small. Now-a-days, with the current rage over these treats, they seem to come in all sizes. I've seen pans for making them, and some of them are huge! Others are about the size of a half-dollar. I prefer the routine cupcake size, thank you.
These cakes are causing a good deal of competition among bakers. Let's see who can, not only make the tastiest of all, but the most uniquely decorated as well. During the week prior to Superbowl Sunday, someone in (I believe it was) New York came up with the idea of a cornmeal cupcake, with a spicy sauce in the icing and a chicken wing on top! That, in my opinion, is a bit obsessive..... but, that bakery made a lot of money on those things for Superbown, so obviously I'm dancing to a different band.
All that being said, my daughter is hosting a birthday party today for her friend's one year old. She was present at his birth, and he's special to her. She created these cakes for the guests.... and I think THOSE are pretty cute! I guess everything has it's place, and since the house of the hostess this afternoon will sound much like a zoon, these will be perfect!
(That seems to me to be 'sacreligious'. Wedding cakes should be tall, multi-layered, mountainous things with beautiful decorations,icing pearls and sugar flowers! I don't think that a hand-held cake, no matter how pretty, is fit...or formal...enough for a fancy wedding. )
I have no problem with cupcakes in a brown bag lunch, or a picnic, or a church supper. They travel very well, and are fairly easy to eat without creating a mess, unless they're chocolate or a preschool child!
Old-fashioned cupcakes are really quite convenient for birthday parties. They're about the right size for most people, not too big, not too small. Now-a-days, with the current rage over these treats, they seem to come in all sizes. I've seen pans for making them, and some of them are huge! Others are about the size of a half-dollar. I prefer the routine cupcake size, thank you.
These cakes are causing a good deal of competition among bakers. Let's see who can, not only make the tastiest of all, but the most uniquely decorated as well. During the week prior to Superbowl Sunday, someone in (I believe it was) New York came up with the idea of a cornmeal cupcake, with a spicy sauce in the icing and a chicken wing on top! That, in my opinion, is a bit obsessive..... but, that bakery made a lot of money on those things for Superbown, so obviously I'm dancing to a different band.
All that being said, my daughter is hosting a birthday party today for her friend's one year old. She was present at his birth, and he's special to her. She created these cakes for the guests.... and I think THOSE are pretty cute! I guess everything has it's place, and since the house of the hostess this afternoon will sound much like a zoon, these will be perfect!
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