Category: Sunday Report

Posted in Sunday Report

What’s goin’ on…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

April has been its usual cruel self, teasing with warmth and sun, then raining all over my parade. We’ve accomplished quite a bit in the garden – new fence! new trellis! – I’m impatiently waiting for the wind to calm down and the warm to come and stay. But that’s Spring, isn’t it? I’m at my happiest when I’m working in the garden with Casey, so these days find me quite chuffed.

During my blogging break, I had several doctor appointments and some labs — all is well, but… It seems my cataracts are now ripe! I’ve been having increased difficulty seeing, but thought it was probably all in my head, so I’m grateful for the validation. We have scheduled the surgery on the right eye for May 27th and the left on June 10. Currently I keep reading glasses in every room of the house, around my neck, in my purse, in the car — I’ll be happy to donate them after the operation! The fancy lens I’m getting even corrects the intermediate vision, so I can even toss the special pair of lenses I use at the piano. I’m kind of scared of being able to see myself clearly in the mirror; right now I see a smeary blur with lipstick, but I suspect the details aren’t pretty…

I started seeing a chiropractor who is using myofascial release to unstick some neck problems I’ve had. He’s killing me, but it hurts so good. I think I’m getting more blood to my brain, too, but that may be my imagination. To be honest, it hasn’t helped my shoulder/neck at all, but I have hope that continued manipulation will work. I’m going a couple of times a week, eating a lot of ibuprofen. I really like the doc, so for now I’m trusting.

It’s Derby Week! and Baffert is Back! I’m just now getting around to studying up on the contenders and it looks like all my favorite trainers are represented. I’ll be putting out an Extra Extra Edition of The News on Thursday to discuss this year’s strategy, which will, hopefully, be more successful that my usual “Bet all 20 horses to show”. I am quite challenged by decision-making, even fretting over which bourbon to sip. Maybe a flight?

Check back this Thursday and see if I’ve made up my mind…

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report, The Saga of Sonnystone Acres

Short Report and Part 5

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

Happy Easter and Passover and whatever Holy Day you celebrate today! We’re having an early breakfast with the Jrs and then spending the day in the garden. I hope your day is full of peace and love.

I hope to get the Garden Blog started up this Thursday and I’m excited to share the new features with you. The plan is to finish up the first six episodes of the Sonnystone Saga this Wednesday and have the second six-part season when things get boring again. I was stunned to discover that the Kentucky Derby 151 is two weeks away! Will I break my losing streak this year? I have hope.

 We are now on Part 5 of The Sonnystone Saga, the genealogy of our Old House. Here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and Part 4 in case you missed them. The Reed Family lived here for 60 years and require four separate posts to tell their story. It’s a real page-turner, so I hope that you will watch for the last installment to be posted this Wednesday. 

The Will

The will was signed and sealed on 12 January 1881.  John Reed died 14 January 1888, age 72. 

I wonder if his family were aware of the stipulations of John Reed’s Last Will and Testament before he died. The Will starts off quite normally:  Being of sound mind but failing body, Thank the Lord for his Goodness, pay all the debts, etc.  He leaves his beloved wife, Mary, all of his personal property and 1/3 of his real estate.  He dictates that she should keep all the income from all of the property for the first year.  Later in the Will, he names her as executor.

Then it gets convoluted, and of course, it’s about Jack.

“I give and devise unto my son, John Reed, a sum of money equal to 1/15 in value and amount of this devise shall be ascertained in the following manner to wit:  Within ninety days from my death, two reputable free-holders of Vanderburgh County, state of Indiana, wholly disinterested and not of kin to any of my devisees shall be selected, one of my said son, John, the other by Thomas Reed, George Childs, Minnie Olmsted, and Ada Belle Van-Dusen, to appraise the whole of the real estate of which I may die seized.”

I don’t think he trusts them..  There’s more…He says if any of them fail or refuse to select an appraiser then one should be chosen by his wife Mary along with the Vanderburgh County Court Clerk…and if they fail to agree with that choice, a third should be chosen and the majority rules. Old John was definitely expecting an argument!   So once they finally agree and get it appraised, John’s 1/15 is to be a lien on the property of the others and paid in a very specific manner

“Within ninety days from the day of my death and each of every ninety days thereafter on demand, the sum of twenty-five dollars, until the amount is fully paid; said sums so paid to be a credit upon my said son John’s legacy. “

He goes on to say that if the full amount isn’t paid within two years, interest of 4% should be paid to Jack.  If Jack dies before the full amount is paid, the rest is to be given to his grandchildren (Jack’s daughters) Alice and Mary Reed.  He also wills 1/15 of his real estate to Alice and Mary, to be held as joint tenants. No other grandchildren are mentioned.

Thomas Reed, George Childs, Minnie Olmsted, and Ada Van Dusen are each given 9/60 (nine sixtieths).  He stipulates that’s only if they give John his money.

Furthermore, he states:

“It is my further will that in case any of my devisees or legatees shall object to the provisions in this my will made for them and shall institute any legal proceedings for the purpose of setting this my will aside or in any manner interfering with the disposition herein made of any of my property, then and that case the devise of legacy herein made to the objector or objectors shall immediately become null and void and the share, or shares of the objector or objectors shall be divided equally share and share alike among those of my devisees or legatees who are satisfied and content with the provisions herein made for them.“

Phew! Old John was sure an enabler, wasn’t he? His son, Jack, was obviously a problem and my life experience makes me suspect there is alcohol involved, but general laziness seems to be present, as well. Why would you make your other children basically support the wastrel? I’m of the opinion he didn’t do right by his wife, either. Mary was only 64-years-old at the time of her husband’s death and he should have just left his entire estate to her and let her sort it out — but I suppose Mary would Not have been so generous to Jack.

In 1889, Thomas, George, Minnie, and Ada did go to court against Mary, the grand-daughter.  Her sister, Alice, had died before her grandfather.  Mary had claimed that the Will gave she and her sister Each 1/15 and that she was her sister’s legal heir. However, the case was found in favor of the plaintiffs and grand-daughter Mary was given only 1/15…which is what it seems to me that her grandfather wanted.  The land is partitioned off in that document, giving Jack’s daughter, Mary, about 14 acres, leaving 100 or so to the Big Four.

Sonnystone proper belonged to Mary Inwood Reed as part of her 1/3.  It consisted of the house and about 60 acres.  Thomas Reed and George Childs sold their share of the land to their sisters and George bought a place in Chandler, IN.   The Van Dusens and Olmsteds pretty much stayed in the homes where they’d always lived and continued to farm through the decade of the 1890s.

By 1900, Charles and Minnie Olmsted and their three teenagers were living at Sonnystone with Mary, age 77.  Louis and Ada Belle Van Dusen lived just down the road and Louis’s 84-year-old mother lived with them.  Both families had a servant living with them.  Both men are listed as gardeners…!

George and Anna Childs were still in Chandler.  George is listed as an “agent machines?”.  The machine part is pretty clear, but I can’t read the first word well. Son John, 25, was a schoolteacher like his Mom.  19-year-old son Leslie was a day laborer.

Thomas Reed was still on Goodsell Street, still working as a drayman.  He had a houseful: four children, Harry, 24; Ben (also called Inwood), 21; Thomas, jr., 18; and Sarah Belle, 13;  and one niece, Ella, 30 (daughter of cousin James Inwood, who had died in 1884).  But that’s not all..  Thom’s wayward brother, Jack Reed, 55-years-old, is also living with him, not working… What a guy…

Mary Inwood Reed died 17 April 1908.  Her death certificate states cause of death as senility.  She was 85-years-old.  The following month court papers were filed stating that Thomas Reed, George Childs, and Ada Van Dusen gave up all their claim to Mary’s property and giving it to Minnie Reed Olmsted.  It is the first time that I see the property listed as our address on Stringtown Road, though it is still a rural route.

Minnie Reed  Olmsted was now the proud owner of her family home, Reedmont, aka Sonnystone Acres.

Stay tuned…

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Sunday Report, The Saga of Sonnystone Acres

Wee Sunday Report & Part 3 of the Saga

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

My favorite plant store opened yesterday and I was first one there! I’ve bought tomatoes and sweet peppers to baby until it’s time to put them in the ground. I’m going back today to get more tomatoes, as I am going to do some experimenting this year with partial shade…

You’ll learn all about it in a couple of weeks when I start the garden blog, Growing Every Season.

We are now on Part 3 of The Sonnystone Saga, the genealogy of our Old House. Here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 in case you missed them. The Reed Family lived here for 60 years and require four separate posts to tell their story. It’s a real page-turner, so I hope that you will watch for the next installments to be posted on Wednesdays and Sundays. I could have worked it into longer posts, but I’m too busy right now to do much more than a cursory edit.

I hope you enjoy the tale and that you’re also enjoying Spring as much as I am! If you need me, I’ll be out in the garden!!!

Meet the Reeds

After twenty years living here on Stringtown Road, Jacob and Maria Miller sold their property to one Mr. John L. Reed and his wife. Mr. Reed was born in England in 1815, but Try as I might, I find no record of his parents or when he arrived in the area. In those days, the village of McCutchanville, just three miles northeast of the Miller farm, was referred to as the British Community, so it seems logical a Brit arriving in the area would gravitate there.

I know much more about the background of his wife, as her parents were among the earliest settlers in Southern Indiana. William and Hanna Inwood were from Godalming, Surrey, England. When they arrived in the USA in 1821, they already had three children: Harriett, b. 1815; John, b. 1817; and Sarah, b. 1820; and three more were born after their move to Indiana:  Mary, b. 1823; George, b. 1826; and William, Jr. b. 1828.  The Inwood family settled land between Stringtown and McCutchanville along the state road, now Petersburg Road and became prominent citizens of the village community.

So it happened that in 1841, John Reed married Sarah Inwood, the daughter of William, Sr. and Hannah.  John and Sarah had three children together:  John “Jack”, b. 1842; Thomas, b. 1846; and Mary J., b. 1849.  The 1850 census shows that the family lives in Kratzville, a small community near Stringtown.  John was working for a trucking service as a drayman (driver of a beer truck). He owns real estate valued at $1100.  The kids were ages 7, 4, and 1.

Something very unexpected occurred between 1850 and 1860…John and Sarah Inwood Reed divorced.

Divorced?! you say, Divorced in the 1850’s?!  Unheard of.  I don’t have record of the actual divorce as those are hard to come by, but I discovered — to my amazement — that divorce was not as uncommon as I thought in those years.  In fact, Indiana had such lax divorce laws in the 1850s that coming to the state was a popular quick way to shed your spouse.

From “The Indiana Magazine of History” : [From 1852 ] until 1873, Indiana used to have one of the most liberal divorce laws in the country, and unhappily married individuals flocked to the Hoosier state in order to bring their unions to a quick—and relatively painless—end. According to Garber, in those days judges were inclined to grant a divorce decree “as a matter of course in every case where the defendant did not appear and oppose it.” The applicant had only to provide “proof of residence” and swear under oath that there was “statutory cause” for their petition.

Still, Divorce was considered quite scandalous in polite society… It appears that Sarah Inwood Reed was the first to stray which was even more sordid.   Sarah gave birth in 1856 to a son named William Green and in 1858 had another son, Benjamin Green.  I have no clue who their Daddy was, though I’ve looked everywhere for him.  The only candidate I’ve found would be a married man!  I’ve not ruled it out…

As if that weren’t scandalous enough, guess who John took up with and married? Sarah’s younger sister, Mary Inwood Childs! Mary had married Stephen Childs in 1842 and they had two children:  Sarah, (ironic that she named her daughter after her sister…) b. 1843; and George, b. 1847.. I do not see a record of Stephen Childs’ death — or his life, for that matter, other than the record of his marriage to Mary, but let’s just assume that he died since the children were always with Mary.

The situation caused great family dissension as well as scandal, so John and his new wife, Mary, moved to Richmond, Indiana around 1855 or 56 and lived there for the next four years. While there, they had two children, Minnie in 1857, and Ada Belle, born 1859. Mary’s children, Sarah and George were living with them, as well as John’s sons, Jack and Thomas, but their daughter disappears during that decade.

So it was that in 1860, John and Mary Inwood Reed returned to Center Township, Vanderburgh County. Post office of McCutchanville, and moved back into the bosom of Mary’s family.  They named their estate Reedmont.  Mary’s brother, John Inwood, and his family lived on the farm just south of them.  Her brother, George, lived two farms north.  Welcomed back into the fold?  By some, perhaps, but the Inwood family reunions must have been a bit awkward…

The family had moved in by the June, 1860 census and it shows that the property is valued at $2700, personal property $120.  They had a full house:  Sarah Childs, 17; George Childs, 13; Thomas Reed, 14; Minnie, 3; and Ada (Belle), 7 months.  Jack., 18, is also counted as living with them, working as a farmhand.

John’s ex-wife, Sarah Inwood Green. and her two sons, ages 5 and 3, were living with her youngest brother, William, a grocer who lived in downtown Evansville.  Guess who else is counted as living there in the 1860 census?  Her son with John Reed, Jack, is listed as a drayman. It would seem Jack went back and forth between his parents, a sign of things to come.

I can’t find a record of Jack serving in the Civil War, though he was just the “right” age for it.  Thomas Reed was only 15 in 1861 when the War started, but he managed to get in at the very end, joining the Indiana 42nd Regiment, Company A in February of 1864.  The 42nd met up with Sherman to fight the Battle of Jonesboro and were part of the March to the Sea and the Siege of Savannah.

By the end of the war, all were back home and the decade of the 1870’s was a bright one for most of the Family of Reedmont.

Stay Tuned…

 

 

 

Posted in Sunday Report

ketchup time

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

I missed you last week, but our projects were in full throttle forward. After spending Saturday moving everything off of the shelves and most of the furniture, Michael came by Sunday and helped his dad with the heavier stuff and Casey started pulling up the embarrassingly filthy carpet. He also had to put back the quarter-round trim and paint that and the baseboard. Then I cleaned and polished the wood – which still is not great if you look closely. Finally, we moved the furniture back in, cleaning it all as we went. I feel so much lighter!

We have to do the same back in our “family” room, which will entail removing the door to get the couch outside and to the heavy trash. That’s high on the list to be done this month because I need to move out of the house and into the garden.

I planted peas and potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day, which just whetted my appetite for digging.

I can move around some of the perennials in the Peace/Bird Garden this month, but planting warm-weather crops has to wait, sometimes until mid-May. I will begin posting at my garden blog Growing Every Season 2 in the next couple of weeks, as we buy seeds and shop for plants

I completed almost everything on my March Dopamine menu. Thanks to RSV, I didn’t have any lunch dates, but we’ll make up for that in April. I have been to Central and North Park Libraries and last week I visited my beloved Willard.

I must confess that I prefer reading on the Kindle, but I have enjoyed being at the libraries so much that I want to visit at least once a month.

After 22 years of service, Casey finally quit fixing his Husky lawn tractor and bought a new Troy-bilt. It is bigger and perkier, so he’s been flying around the meadows and into the woods every chance he gets. (Naming the tractor “Troy” would be too obvious, but would anybody get it if we called her Helen?)

The weatherman says storms today. Don’t let the wind blow away your blooms!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Feelin’ Alright

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

The coughing has stopped! I’m not taking any medicine! I feel normal again!

Yesterday Nova and I went out to JoAnn’s, then for lunch at Fazoli’s and I forgot to take pictures. I assure you my face is still old, but my #2 grandie is getting prettier every day. Here’s a picture of her after a recent speech meet.

This week is full of St. Paddy’s and Equinox celebrations with appropriate food and drink. I’ve got my Medicare Wellness appointment on Tuesday – always a treat! What problem will they find this year? The monthly market auction in New Harmony is this Saturday, and I’m hoping Lana and Charley can meet us for lunch at the Friday preview.

I’ve got my taters chitting, my peas are soaking, and the ceremonial Planting of the Green will be tomorrow. This year’s garden is going to be better than ever, thanks to my obsessively watching Youtube gardeners. Intensive planting is my theme.

Even though Ostara/Spring Equinox is a time of New Beginnings, it does seem to me to be the same old story every year – corned beef and cabbage on the 17th, quiche on the 20th – and a long wait for Spring to warm us up. As the storms blow across the country, I hope you stay safe!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Evening Edition

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

The week started out Great! I went to the library and checked out some good books and CDs, then took a walk around downtown, soaking up the almost-spring sun.

Unfortunately, Casey was at home, feeling like crap, coughing, and blowing his nose. All of Eville seems to be covered with the Big Winter Viruses: Covid, Flu, and RSV. I guess the the poor old common cold has been overwhelmed by those guys. I felt kind of smug that I was feeling fine, but took good care of him with comfort food and medicine. He was still sick for Mardi Gras, so the festivities were curtailed (there’s a lot of leftover jambalaya in the freezer).

By Wednesday, he was a little better, but I was starting to weaken, and by Thursday I was the sicker of us. Since he’d gotten better in three days, I expected the same, but this morning (the fourth day) I was still wheezing and feeling increasingly short of breath, so off I went to the Urgent Care. It was as pleasant an experience as you can have at the doctors’ office – short wait, friendly nurses, smart doctor, and effective breathing treatment. It seems I have RSV. Huh. That’s the vaccine I didn’t get this year. Huh. I meant to go back for it after I got the first two, but didn’t make it. I bet I will next year. I picked up my prescriptions on the way home – Steroid, inhaler, antibiotic – and now I feel slightly worse, but hopeful.

So that’s it. I’m just lying around reading and blowing streams of snot from my nose between fits of productive coughing.

I’m going to feel better tomorrow, by golly! I’ll also be wearing a mask if I see you next week, ’cause I really don’t want to spread this around. It’s quite miserable. I hope I have more to report next week. Take care of yourself, dear Reader.

Peace

Posted in Monthly Dopamine Menu, Sunday Report

March Dopamine Menu

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

March has marched in quietly and the weeks ahead look mild, so I’m suspicious. You know the old saying “In like a lion, out like a lamb”? It’s my observation that March is just as often “In like a lamb, out like a lion”. I’ve been fooled before by the early Spring-like weather, only to face Wintry Weeks as we exit into April. I’d just as soon get the winter all over with, but my requests are obviously falling on deaf ears in the heavens.

The Church year finally rolls around to the Lenten Season with a late Ash Wednesday on the 5th. Having spent 25 years playing the organ for the local Lutherans, I like to use this season for a little fasting and Lord knows I need to curtail my appetite. The six weeks are also marked in the High Churches with extra Wednesday services and I like that. I guess I’ll have to see what sort of extra contemplation I can do.

You can’t have Ash Wednesday without Mardi Gras, now, so I’m gearing up with fixins for Jambalaya, King Cake, and Hurricanes. Since this will be my last night of reveling until Easter, I’m doing it up with All the Calories. My Ash Wednesday fast may be because my stomach hurts, but at least it will be humbling.

It is not at all fair that the Church gave us a Drinking Holiday in the middle of Lent, but they did, March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, the most Irish of American Celebrations. I’ve heard that the Irish don’t actually eat corned beef on the Saint’s Day, but I do and look forward to it with a side of cabbage. Jameson and Ginger is okay with the Irish, I hope, as that will be my drink of choice…

The Pagans celebrate a Big Event this month = The Spring Equinox, aka Ostara, is happening March 20-21st. 12 hours of Sun! We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? I hope we get to see the sun on those days, but we’ll celebrate through whatever Mother Nature sends us.

I’ve always been a voracious reader and have used an e-reader since whenever it was they put out the first Nooks. These days, I read daily with my Kindle, mostly non-fiction with a smattering of mysteries. My old eyes do better with the back-lighting, but I miss reading actual books – holding them in my hands, turning the pages- and I have always loved going to the Library, so March is going to be Library Month. Our neighborhood branch of the public library just got a major remodeling, so I’m excited to see how it turned out. Willard Library is in a league of its own, housing our local genealogy groups as well as a fine collection of books; if they don’t have a title, they will order it for you. The historic building, smelling of Murphy’s wood soap, is a treat to just sit in, soaking up the sun in front of the 150-year-old windows, but I’ll be sure to check out some tomes.

The remainder of the Menu looks like this:

Thrift Shop shopping – Look out Goodwill, here I come!

Old Crow Medicine Show is in town 3/13/25 and we’ll be there!

The Auction House in New Harmony is always a pleasant way to spend time. This month previews are 3/21. I hope Lana and Charley can meet up with us there!

I am planning at least three Lunches with the Ladies, but there’s room for more!

Angel Mounds is presenting “Astronomy at the Mounds” on 3/22 and I hope the skies are clear that evening.

I’m still staying away from engagement with media, but I am fully aware of what’s going on. We all need to take care of our mental health, and these kinds of Plans are helpful for me as I strive to keep Peace and Love in my heart and mind.

Fat Tuesday will be here before you know it! My stereo will be pumping out Dr. John, Neville Brothers, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, North Mississippi All-Stars, and Buckwheat Zydeco. Let the Good Times Roll!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Rolling through February

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s week 2 of Birthday Month here at Sonnystone Acres, and we started off right with a lunch date. Dee and I held court for 2.5 hours on Monday. I love yakking with her so much!

The bathroom project concluded…

Casey has now moved on to the stair landing and stairs. I don’t want it carpeted again, but it’s pretty rough. We’d not seen the naked steps in a while, so were pleasantly surprised to find none have to be replaced. Hopefully, we’ll just clean, sand, paint, add some of those carpet things on the treads and voila! better than new.

For Valentine’s Day, I baked a quiche, a loaf of bread, and a cherry pie. I was planning the quiche, and when I took the frozen pie crusts from the freezer, they were broken up, so I had to let them thaw and put them back together. I just happened to have some cherry pie filling and that seemed a fitting present for my handsome, hard-working Valentine.

My Valentine on his birthday, November 2024

Cousin Lana and I were really looking forward to seeing today’s performance of “Clydes” at UE Theatre, but last evening we decided to reschedule. Lana is not feeling too well and we were a little bit afraid of the weather for her drive from Grayville. We thought we were being overly cautious last night, but Surprise! Surprise!

Though the weatherwoman predicted a “dusting” of snow, we got all of this!!!

I ‘m going to try to rearrange the theatre tickets for later, but there is some hint of more snow toward the end of the week, so we may have to miss it. Bummer.

The Jr family have been sick with flu the last several days, but I’m hoping Samantha is well enough to go birthday-ing Monday. I have a lunch planned for Thursday, and Haley’s wedding reception is Saturday. I still have a couple more birthday lunches to plan, and I could add more if you’re interested! We’ve got 12 more days to celebrate!

Stay warm and safe, friends!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

It was 61 years ago today!!!

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It’s been a somewhat boring week here at Sonnystone Acres, though my social life is about to pick up. To celebrate my #72 Birthday on the 23rd, I’m rounding up friends to meet me for lunch.

It all starts tomorrow with my former sister-in-law and always-friend, Dee. I usually see Dee once each year in the hottest part of August, while Melissa and her family are here, so I’m curious to see how she looks in cold February!

I have several other lunch dates in the planning stages, all of them at my favorite bar/grill, and I’ll be reporting in as they occur. (If you’d like to grace me with your presence, shoot me a DM and let’s get together, yeah yeah yeah.) Until then, I thought I’d re-blog this post from 2020. Hope you enjoy!

On This Day…

Posted on  

On this day in 1964, the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, as teenage girls screamed hysterically in the audience and 73 million people watched from home — a record for American television at the time.

I know where I was:  about a foot away from our black-and-white console TV in the basement of our quintessentially 60s finished basement with whole family present.  The first song they did was, “I want to hold your hand” and I didn’t think their harmonies were very impressive, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them.  When they came back out, they did “I saw her standing there” and I did a bit of a scream, if I remember.

Of course, I watched the next three weeks as well and was as obsessed as any other.  I think my friend Karen and I watched at least one of them together.  In 1964 the Beatles released Seven albums, the first two in January before the Big Arrival to be in Ed Sullivan.  I was given “Meet the Beatles” for my birthday that year.  “The Beatles Second Album” was released 10 April 1964; it was their third release, but who was counting?  In June their movie, “Hard Day’s Night” was released to more screaming fans (including me).  In July came “Something New”.  The November release was “The Story of the Beatles” with interviews and discussions of Beatlemania”.  In December “Beatles 65” was released– perfect Christmas present!

Beatlemania was followed by the British Invasion and Ed Sullivan was bringing them all in, though he did censure Mick Jagger, of course.  It was a grand time to be memorizing song lyrics.

“Rubber Soul” came out in December 1965, another Christmas present, but it wasn’t shake-your-hair and scream music.  The Beatles were growing up, too. .

By 1966, the Beatles had grown tired of live performance.  George Harrison was the first to burn out on Beatlemania, though Paul Thrived on the Adulation.  McCartney finally gave in to his band mates’ insistence that the group stop touring toward the end of their August tour of the United States.  Afterward, George informed manager Brian Epstein that he was leaving the band.  However, he was persuaded to stay on provided there were no more tours

Shortly after the USA tour in 1966 ,the album “Revolver” was released and by that time you could see that The Beatles were definitely moving in a different direction that was more cerebral.  They’d been to India and their music showed their journey.

In 1967, June, The Beatles changed the world of music again with the album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.   That same year they made another movie, “Magical Mystery Tour” and I missed a lot as we were moving around from here to California.  I did get Sgt. Pepper for my birthday in 1968, though.

During the second half of the Beatles’ career, the members began to assert individual artistic agendas. Their disunity became most evident on The White Album. Ringo briefly quit the group while it was being made.  They were divided over who would be their manager after the death of Brian Epstein and never came to an agreement.

They launched into a multi-media project called “Get Back” that later became “Let it Be” and it was a disaster.  The dysfunction of the group, the arrogance and ego of John and Paul are on full display and it’s tough to watch.  Yoko is like hiding under the seats, warbling.  George briefly left the band during this time.  The situation was so bad that the project was not released for several years after the band had already broken up.

Abbey Road, the album that is my favorite, was released in October 1969.  They weren’t actually working together, but their producer had a way of making us think they had.

The final time that the four members recorded together collectively was the session for Abbey Road‘s closing track “The End” on 18 August 1969. Lennon privately informed his band mates that he was leaving the Beatles on 20 September, although it was unclear to the other members whether his departure was permanent. On 10 April 1970, McCartney issued a press release that stated he was no longer working with the group, which sparked a widespread media reaction and worsened the tensions between him and his band mates. Legal disputes continued long after, and the dissolution was not formalized until 1974.

The Fab Four who performed on Ed Sullivan lo those many years ago were not the same group who sang me to sleep with the dark “Golden Slumbers”  or who surprised me with “Her Majesty”.  John’s heroin addiction and Paul’s controlling personality were Bound to Explode.  George was always my favorite, anyway, and the Beatles demise freed him to create his own music, which I consider the Best and many of which have become part of my soundtrack.  Ringo?  Ya gotta Love Ringo…and he really is a good drummer.

Back to the present…

I have The Beatles well-represented in my CD collection, so today I’m lining them all up for a listen: Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper, White Album, and Abbey Road. I’ll finish up with George, my fellow Pisces: All Things Must Pass and Brainwashed, fitting for the current era.

The day is gloomy, perfect for catching up on my reading, baking some bread, and fussing over my coleus plants. Hope you’re finding some fun over in your neck of the woods.

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report

Get the Party Started

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

It is a beautiful Imbolc Week-end here at the Acres, sunny and mild; I definitely saw my shadow, so we can look forward to six more weeks of winter. These next four weeks promise fun for all, filled with birthdays, rollicking comedy with cousins, and lunches at fancy places.

I have a new sink in the upstairs bathroom, thank-you, Casey! As usual, I forgot to get the “before” picture, but we are quite a ways from the finished project, so these photos will have to do.

I completed January’s dopamine menu with the exception of visiting the Zoo and the Museum. Let’s just start the February Menu with those:

Visit Zoo

Visit Museum

Finish up the bathroom project.

U of E Theatre is presenting “Clydes”, a “riotous” comedy this month, so Lana and I (and flat Ronna) will go on the 16th.

Grandie #4 will move into double digits (10) on the 22nd. She’s going to have an ice-skating party with her friends on 3/1, but celebrate with me on the 23rd.

Also on the 22nd, Cousin Lana’s grandie, Haley, will marry her fella, Logan; we’re invited to the dinner/dance following the civil ceremony! There will be at least five cousins there at the Carmi VFW, so look out!

The 23rd is my Actual Date of Birth, and the Jrs. will be around to help me celebrate.

Currently, I only have one lunch planned, so I can fit a lot more people on my lunch card. Seriously, if you live nearby, DM me and let’s meet up. We could walk at the mall, too, if you’re interested; I’ll be there a couple of times a week.

These next couple of weeks, the weather forecast is as good as it gets for February. Fingers crossed that the mild trend continues.

Keep on the Sunny Side…

Peace