Author: Jo Mayne Casey

Posted in Sunday Report

Including a tribute to my son, sort of…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks here at the Acres. I’ve been see-sawing between feeling not-so-great and not-so-bad; nothing serious, just low energy. I’ve gotten behind on housework, yardwork, writing, while spending a lot of time laying around with a book. I’m still slow.

Last Sunday we met up with my son and his family for little something to celebrate his 43rd trip around the sun. His wife, however, could not attend because she was feeling bad from Covid. Her symptoms sounded vaguely like mine, but I haven’t been around her and I don’t test for those things.

I was tired and my food was horrible and the very-bad server didn’t even bring him a brownie bite, so it wasn’t much of a celebration, though it was nice to be together. But it’s not her fault that I forgot to take any pictures!!!

I did not get a picture! Not one! No selfie for his birthday! No blow-the-candle-out photo! I was very disappointed, naturally, and too tired (and sick-looking) to run over to his house and stage one. I assure you, he did not care… However, this failure on my part led me on a search through old pictures, and I remembered that I cry easily…

My Boy-Child…

I think he’ll like these better than a selfie anyway. My son is such a mensch and I love him like a rock.

While I’m not quite back to my normal bounce, I’m currently feeling Fine. Samantha and I started back to Jojo’s Academy of Music yesterday – this is her third year and she’s very good. We’re scheduled for every Saturday, but the good thing about having your Grandma teach you piano is that she can be very flexible. Well, not literally, but you know what I mean.

Willard Library and the Genealogy Society are having a seminar this week and I’ve signed up for 2-3 of the speakers. I have been attending this gathering for years and recently they’ve added Food Trucks which I appreciate!

It’s cool today and I’m going to get some mums planted…slowly… Hope you’re feeling perky in your neck of the woods.

Peace

Posted in All My Ancestors, Sunday Report

Aunties and Ancestors

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Pictured above are my Great-Aunts Bernie and Ruth…

My brother, who is downsizing, has been steadily bringing me medium-size boxes of family photos and other ephemera that he’s unearthed. Because we’ve been so busy with garden, family, and travel I am just now getting around to pilfering through the photo albums.

If you know me well at all, you have heard many “Aunt Bernie” stories, starring my grand-aunt Bernadine Mayne Harrison, who lived to be 100 years old. Born in 1903, she was 19 when she married Uncle Harry, and they were married for 50 years before he died in 1972. Bernie and Harry traveled a lot and in 1950 they loaded up their car on a ship and sailed to Italy, where they disembarked and proceeded to tour. In one of the boxes Brother brought me is a full album of that trip. I am fascinated and have fallen in love with my Auntie all over again.

She was the Best Dresser! Check this out. Her purse has a hook for her gloves…

Aunt Bernie and Uncle Harry in Italy. 1950

There’s more of that sort, as well as pictures of Bernie’s sister, my beloved Aunt Ruth (who first took me to the cemeteries). Here’s the sisters – not Italy, most likely the Gulf of Mexico.

GrandAunts Bernie and Ruth

There are other old albums with pictures of Grandmother and Grandad (Bernie and Ruth’s parents, my great-grands) that I’ve never seen before, and a daguerreotype, marked! as my great-great-great grandparents, Eliza and Orlando Harris (Grandad’s grandparents).

Eliza Jane and Orland Harris, 1850s

Call me crazy, but I believe these folks are here with me. Of course, I actually knew and had a relationship with my aunties and grandparents, but all of the greats have become so familiar to me as I researched and wrote about their lives and times. I love telling the tales of my tribe and I draw them down to help me sort through the photographs of their happy times.

The oppressive heat is back and the garden is wrapping up, so it’s a good time to stay in the a/c and do some writing over on the Ancestry blog. I’ve got some stories to share…

Stay cool!

Peace

Posted in Camp Sonnystone 2024, Sunday Report

Sunday Report

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Hi, kids! It’s been a busy week here at the Acres, mostly garden and housework, mundane chores and such.

To celebrate our wedding anniversary we visited a new eating spot in downtown Eville, Patsy Hartigan’s Irish Pub. I really liked the atmosphere – horse racing and soccer on the TVs – and the food was not only delicious, but also reasonably priced. I’m excited to return and try everything on the menu!

I did manage to figure out the microsoft chipchamp program well enough to put together a short video of Camp Sonnystone. It’s really much better than what I’ve been using, but my brain was shorting out a couple of times trying to move and trim; I figured out that AI will fix everything for you…well, not everything but a lot…

It’s just under two minutes. Enjoy!

Giggle, guffaw, chuckle, chortle – however you express your amusement – Let’s All Laugh! (it seems to make some people cray-cray)

There’s a Super Moon coming up tomorrow and we’ll be out howling!

Peace

Posted in Editorial Page

Out-of-sorts

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

I was just too blue to write up a Sunday Report. While there’s always a fair amount of sadness when summer vacation is over, this Last Camp stirred up all my feels and put my mind in time-travel mode. I was trying to make a video of both the Disney Trip and Camp, a venture that resulted in frustration and irritation, so out to the Garden I went to get back my peace and feel the presence. It takes me a while to sort through, but here I am on Tuesday, just a little moody and ready to write.

Well, I’ve actually been writing…I was inspired to write several poems last week. They jumped out of my mind and now I’m rearranging the words for optimum expression. My first writing ambition was to be a poet — back in the 1960s that seemed such an honorable profession — but I am very, very uncomfortable sharing my poems with Anyone. I have a Lot of them, too, and I hope that after I’ve shuffled off this mortal coil, my daughter and grandgirls will compile them into a lovely tome and get rich, going on all the talk shows introducing Me to the masses…

I loved the Olympics. Watching our Women’s Gymnastics Team receive their medals was the first time I’ve teared up at the National Anthem in a while. It felt good to be proud of our country, though our news networks’ coverage left much to be desired.

I’m Pumped up about the upcoming Election! If you are hell-bent on taking us back to the 1950s, let’s not talk until after November. Since there seems to be an active plan to contest and cheat Again, it may be we won’t speak until 2025 or so… I’ve only expressed my politics on this blog a couple of times since 2015, and I lost several FB friends, and a handful of family members who took offense to my views. It’s sad that this has gone on this long, but If you are still offended that I don’t like tRump after everything that’s happened in the last almost-ten years, then please just turn back to your Fox echo-chamber and leave me to my own thoughts and prayers… I understand the assignment and the joy of the Harris/Walz ticket is infectious! Bring on the Convention!

The weather’s beautiful and I’m going for a walk.

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

And the Word is…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Camp Sonnystone’s Word of the Year is

Laugh

It’s a wrap, folks! The long-awaited, highly-anticipated visit from the NewYorkers lived up to its hype. Both the “Last Camp” and the Disney Trip were wildly successful, and despite the efforts of the weather gods to sabotage our plans, we danced in the rain… I have a newly-installed video editing program and will be creating a couple of movies to chronicle the Fun.

Emma, Eliza, Nova, and Samantha snapping beans…

We’re taking a breather, but our August calendar is beginning to fill in. The Bluegrass in the Park Folklife Festival is coming up this week-end over in Henderson. Sunday, the 11th, is my dil, Jessica’s birthday and Thursday, the 15th is my sil, Eric’s birthday — that’s a lot of cake right there. We will be celebrating 44 years of wedded bliss on the 15th and if weather permits we’ll be camping in New Harmony again.

It feels good to get back to the old routine, and I am looking so forward to doing more writing across all of my blogs. Follow me, kids, and you’ll have plenty to read this month…

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Catching up, sort of…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Two Sundays ago, we were arriving in Disney World, meeting up with the Jose Family for 5 days of Fun. Despite the hellish weather, we had a Great Time!

Last Sunday, we were arriving home from our Trip, overwhelmed with laundry and catching up with the gardens. Now This Sunday, we’re waiting as patiently as we can for Melissa, Emma, and Eliza to arrive to spend the next 5 days with us!

This is most likely our last Camp Sonnystone, but it’s going to be Super. I will share with you next week. Thanks for following me, dear Friends.

Peace

Posted in Monday Musings

A Day Late…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Sorry I’m late with this weekly report, but the last several days have been confusing and somewhat distressing for me…

The confusion stems from Ellis Park, our local thoroughbred racetrack, and my old stomping grounds. Old is the operative word here. Our poor little track has changed owners several times in the past five years, with Big Plans and No Progress, leaving the facility in really rough shape. Churchill Downs bought it back a couple of years ago and now has (allegedly) started fixing structural problems and while the buildings/grounds are still a work-in-progress, they’ve added several new stakes races, bringing in more Horsemen and $$. The 2024 racing season at Ellis was scheduled to open July 4, but there was a big storm the night before with Zeus throwing lightning bolts around like confetti, and one hit the pump in the water tower. An early-morning announcement shut the show down on Thursday. Reports were sketchy and we heard that the Friday race card had been moved to Monday. We’d planned to visit on Friday, so just moved our plans to Monday. We heard wrong. I realized yesterday evening that they were open and running on Friday, and consequently closed on Monday, so I won’t be able to get to the track until after our WDW trip. I remain confused because they’re running on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday this year–what’s with that? –except for this one Monday…

The Distress occurred when I went shopping…for clothes…because I’ve outgrown all of my frocks…which were really old anyway. Convinced that the tight waistbands and clinging tees were all due to years of washing, I blithely went into the dressing room at Kohl’s to try on some shorts. I was intimidated by the tri-fold mirrors in the fitting room, and when I removed my old shorts to try the new and could see my figure from front, back, and side, I stopped in my tracks, staring at an image that strongly resembled my mother; I’m used to that from the neck up, but this time it was Mom’s thighs and butt that I saw… I struggled to pull the new shorts past my massive ass and did get the zipper zipped, but could barely breathe. Yes, I have advanced a clothing size, and yes, I now wear the same size Mom did when she was 71. What’s a girl to do? Process it over drinks, I say…and I did. I think we’ll just call it a Promotion. I look “fine” in my new clothes and nobody knows but us, right? While I Should eat in a more healthy fashion, my dieting days are long gone. I’m on my way to Disney where decadent snacks and exotic drinks are a beloved part of the Experience. I have an arsenal of Disney tees and they still fit okay, mostly. Besides, the weather is supposed to be hot, humid, with daily rain, so if people are being critical, they’ll probably laugh and point at my hair. I guess if that’s my biggest problem, I should be grateful….and I am…

We’ll be meeting up with The Jose Fam next Sunday to begin our five days at the Disney Resort. This trip means quite a bit to me, as I have tried to arrange it for the last four years. I thought it might never happen, and it’s very likely it will never happen again, so I want to savor each moment as we run ourselves ragged from ride to ride and park to park, making magic memories. We will have a blast and it should make a great movie.

The countdown begins… Soo excited!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Hometown Amenities

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s been a good month; the gardens have been carefree, we spent plenty of time with the Jr. girls, watched our #1 graduate, camped in NH, danced in Henderson, enjoyed a Fathers Day, worked on our tan, and now we find ourselves on the cusp of July.

As we gaze into the yawning abyss of heat and humidity that we call “July in Eville”, I long to escape the inevitable sweaty, bad-hair days. You’re thinking Michigan? Maine? Mountains? After all, No one in their right mind would want to leave this Southern Indiana Sauna for the Hellhole of Central Florida where there’s Even Worse heat/humidity, plus daily rain showers that add a layer of steam to your sweat and frizz your hair into actual tangles that have to be professionally removed…

So, yeah, we’re going down to Disney World July 15-20, meeting up with the New Yorkers; it’s the only time they can go, so who cares about the weather. It’s been five years since they visited The Mouse, and there’s so much for them to see! Being the Veteran Disney People we are, this isn’t the first time we’ve been there in July – or August, as that month is just as bad. The crowds tend to be lower (less locals) and most of the ride lines are under roof, so we’ll pack our neck-icebags and have a blast.

Until then, our schedule is open. The Jr. girls are spending time with their maternal Nana, Pa-Pa, and cousins, so our usual Entertainment is unavailable. I was grumping about that, planning a getaway nearby, maybe St. Louis Zoo or Art Museum, when it dawned on me that I haven’t been to our Hometown Zoo or Art Museum in quite a while, and have let my memberships lapse. Maybe I should avail myself of our nearby amenities before I go wandering off.

As I thought this over yesterday, I realized it’s been even longer since I strolled along the riverfront and took in a nice sunset, so we jumped up and drove downtown a little late, just catching the final drop…

My Awe as I watched Sun’s kiss good-night was cut short by the buzz of a boat engine as some Typical Eville river rat came careening into the ramp area, spraying a flume of water on the kids fishing, and roaring off…

*sigh* well, that’s my hometown…

I may put off the Zoo visit, but the Museum is a great area for viewing the fireworks, so I’m definitely going to renew my membership this week and will be there on the 4th, weather permitting. It’s predicted to be miserable, so I can practice my endurance sweating for the Disney marathon…

Stay cool! Hydrate!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report, The Way-Back Machine

Ghosts of Junes Past

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

I didn’t listen to the weatherman yesterday, so I was shocked! to awaken to the sound of rain pounding on the back porch roof. It’s a nice change and I hope it cools things down for a spell.

We’ve been doing a lot of nothing and resting after, so there’s not much to report. For your entertainment, I have dredged up a few posts from past Junes.

These pictures/posts are from 2010 to 2015. Sorry, Samantha…we’ll do a 2015 forward post sometime. The featured Family at Disney picture is from June, 2012…Eliza was just perfecting her Zombie walk, so Minnie had to hold her back for the shot.

Step into my wayback machine…

Here’s an excerpt from 2010, when the Jrs. were a threesome up in Lafayette, IN, and Casey and I made a visit…

…..  After making our way through the Farmer’s Market, we headed on over to Imagination Station, where I took these pictures:

Ooh, here’s a nice picture post from June 27, 2011…

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Here’s a quick peek at June 23, 2012,

after donning pajamas, we roasted marshmallows for s’mores…

June, 2014 was pretty boring because my grandies didn’t show until July, but 2015 was full of memories. Here’s one, or actually two:

June 9, 2015…a Dispatch from Manhattan

Last night was Eliza’s Pre-K 4 show, themed “We heart the 80’s”.  She had been practicing her moves for “Holiday”, the old-school-Madonna tune, but I was surprised that her group also sang, “The Greatest Love”…

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Today is Eliza’s last day of school, so their Summer Vacation will officially begin.  We’ll walk the Park, stroll the museums, eat some hot dogs and ice cream, and enjoy a free week before we head back to Sonnystone.

And these from June 28, 2015, in Eville…

Here’s some pictures…

That’s enough nostalgia for now. The rain knocked down a lot of my flowers, so I’m off to prop them back up before they start growing wonky.

Hope your Sunday is restful!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Evening Edition

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

My #1 grandie, Emma, graduated from Trevor Day School in NYC on Thursday, June 13, 2024. All the feels were felt, intermingling and filling my heart until they overflowed my eyes. It was not a commencement like our local public school presents, no valedictorian or special honors, no keynote speaker, instead giving each student a chance to speak if they wanted to commit to preparation for six weeks prior to the ceremony. I think there were about ten or more speakers and I was prepared to settle in and snooze until Emma’s #6 oration. I did not snooze. These kids were so inspiring that by the time Emma spoke I was worried that she might not do as well!!! She showed up and was brilliant, truly the best, but put together with the others bolstered my confidence that these kids can change the world.

My NYC girls do soooo much Irish Dance that it seems sometimes that’s all they do. Emma took advantage of every opportunity that was afforded her at Trevor, (more stuff than I can possibly tell you because her mother (ahem) hasn’t send me the list) and was President of her Senior Class. She plans to study environmental something at Colgate University beginning this fall, perhaps becoming an environmental lawyer. She is awesome.

We are officially under the Dome of Heat. We have so enjoyed having the windows open, waking up to the swelling of the Dawn Chorus of birds, but have to give in and turn on the a/c. We’ll celebrate the Solstice this week, but somehow a bonfire doesn’t sound so fun.

Stay cool out there!

Peace