Peace
Go-getter
Peace
Author: Jo Mayne Casey
Diggin’ around Yellow Springs
We were late starting our drive to Yellow Springs, Ohio on Monday, but the drive was smooth and we were there in plenty of time. It was great weather for camping at John Bryan State Park, and wasn’t that SuperMoon Super?!
The next day we were up and at ’em, arriving at Emery Chapel cemetery early before the humidity and heat set in. We took a probe to check for buried stones and were met with immediate success!
I believe we could probe and find several more, but I’m not missing anybody on my family tree, so I think we’re kind of done there. We sprayed some cleaner over all of the stones and said our good-byes. I feel great joy at being able to do this for my greats.
I was wrong in my assessment last week — Despite Springfield’s current problems, the population remains steadfastly defensive of their bigotry… I spoke with the Pastor of the Chapel, who insisted that this is “not political”…that’s another story… but it still makes me very sad (and a little scared since they all seem to have guns) to see such visible hate, so I’m in no hurry to return there.
We don’t really have to go into Springfield proper, though, as the church is 4-5 miles outside of town, so we may visit the chapel again someday because we Love Yellow Springs. Adjacent to the JB State Park, just 5 miles west of the chapel, it is the sweetest small town, surrounded by beauty and history, including this lovely covered bridge.
We’ve not been able to take any significant hikes, but there are plenty there, as well as mountain bike trails that are immensely popular. It is an island of Harris/Walz signs, exuding inclusion and peace, with the faint aroma of cannabis wafting through the air.
The weather was perfect for sitting outside at one of many restaurants enjoying a nice meal, or strolling through the downtown shops. Yes, we might have to visit again!
We finally got some rain this morning! I’m ready for Fall, y’all!
Peace
genealogy, a cemetery, and a roadtrip…
I enjoyed the Genealogy Quest at Willard Library this week. The librarians always do such a great job of making us comfortable, and the speakers are inspiring. Thanks to a day of learning about FamilySearch, I’m going to start all over again with my Mom’s family using their website. FamilySearch is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and is closely linked to the church’s Family History Department. Many of their members work at the FamilySearch library and Family History Centers as missionaries when they’re young, or just volunteers later. They have been doing this- and doing it well – for decades, so the whole website is exponentially better than the last time I took a look and I’m excited to re-boot my genealogy experience.
I won’t be starting that this week, although I’m sticking with the Ancestors theme: we are leaving tomorrow to finish up the cemetery at Emery Chapel. My 4x greats and more are buried there and the church had let the gravesites get covered over with brush and dirt. Here’s what we’ve done so far…
We camped at a nearby State Park, and the morning we left we cruised by for one last look and some pictures. Casey nearly stumbled on a protruding rock and when he looked closer, he was able to pull out a piece of a stone with a clear A… Eureka! We marked the spot best we could, and now we’ll take a probe and our tools and pull his marker up! This is so exciting for me! I know, crazy, huh?
The picture on the left is my 3x great-grandmother’s grave before. As we dug, we also found the marker of the babies she lost before her death, just one marker, with three precious names on three sides.. On the right you can see after we set them up on level ground and reunited their stones…
Honestly, I feel their spirits when I remember them, and the veil thins when I touch their gravestones…
My 4x great-grandfather, Adam Mayne, founded the church and cemetery where he is buried. He settled in the area in 1820 and established a stagecoach stop, and owned many acres to farm. From the minute I arrived in the area, I felt like I had come home. That’s why I’ve taken it kind of hard this week to see the town of Springfield, Ohio, so maligned. This town of 60,000 is not dangerous (though it does harbor a lot of trumpers) and was peaceful enough until all these terrible lies were spread. These Haitian people are here LEGALLY, just like my Vietnamese nail girls, and my Ukrainian banker, and my my son-in-law’s Filipino parents. They were invited and welcomed by local churches and social organizations. They weren’t tricked into coming there, and they work for a living. And now they’re being threatened with deportation? Remember “Bring me your tired, your poor?” It’s an American Thing to help people who are “yearning to breathe free”, or it used to be. And if you really want to do something about the Southern Borders, pass that bill that’s sitting on the Speaker’s desk, or vote for someone who will…
Goldie is ready for a road trip and so am I. It’s about 4.5 hours, so our plan is to first shop at Heart of Antiques in Springfield, then head down Xenia Road to John Bryan State Park. The campground there is adjacent to Yellow Springs, a village we adore, and about 5 miles from the cemetery.
Hope you’ll be enjoying this last week of summer in your neck of the woods…
Peace
Including a tribute to my son, sort of…
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
Aunties and Ancestors
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…
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.
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).
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
Sunday Report
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
Out-of-sorts
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
And the Word is…
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.
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
Catching up, sort of…
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
A Day Late…
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
The News from Sonnystone Acres 