Tag Archives: Weekly Wrap-Up

Sunday Report

By Posted in 2020, Winter at Sonnystone Tagged , , 2 Comments

As we took down the Christmas decorations and cleaned, I just had to move around the furniture.  Clears the mind…

It’s harder than I thought to buy houseplants in the winter.  I traipsed around town looking in the usual spots– grocery floral departments– and even tried a new place (to me) Fresh Thyme, but found nothing.  Finally I went down the street to my neighborhood store and bought an orchid and a kalanchoe.  Later I went by Zeidler Floral and picked out some tiny plants for my Wardian case and a lovely jade plant just because.

I’m still on the lookout, so if you know a good spot to shop, tell me!

Mostly, though, I have slaved over at the Ancestry blog writing up Casey’s family.  Remember last year when I started my subscription to ancestrydotcom and said I’d use it for about six months and let it go?  Well, my last post was in July and I was just about to cancel it when I decided I should give Casey’s family a shot.  I started seriously studying in October, but there was so much research to be done—300 years of it — and then came the holidays so I decided to wait until Now to write it up and get it published.

I plan a series of a dozen or so posts and I probably should publish them weekly, but I’m in love with the story and don’t think I can hold back.  I tried to post four last night, but it didn’t go well and I was up until 3am un-doing and re-doing.  >sigh<  One at a time will work best…

So I cordially invite you to visit All My Ancestors and follow along as I trudge through another January digging up the roots o our Family Tree…

Start right here with Preface

Peace

Weekly Wrap-Up

By Posted in 2019, Autumn at Sonnystone Acres, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged Leave a comment

It’s been a busy week here at Sonnystone Acres.  Monday the Casey Sisters spent the night. Olivia had Tuesday off of school, but Samantha went to preschool in the morning, After lunch at McD we all wound up at Barnes and Noble.  I bought a beautiful book, “Mythos” by Stephen Fry and I’m hoping it does for Greek mythology what Neil Gaiman’s “Norse Mythology” did for me.  So far, so good.

As a start to gearing up for holidays we’ve been Cleaning, deeply.  I really thought our 25-year-old refrigerator was beige. Lo and Behold, it’s quite white if you remove all those magnets and kid-pictures and Clean it. It’s inspiring to throw stuff out and reorganize, especially since we’ll be bringing the Christmas downstairs  and moving the mundane upstairs Friday.

O&S will be back for another sleepover this Wednesday evening so that we can jump up early TurkeyDay and watch the Macy’s Christmas Parade.  When Santa and the Mrs. arrive, we’re allowed to start singing Christmas songs.  The Jrs will go up to Dale to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with Jessica’s family in the evening, so we’re just having a meat and cheese tray here.

Casey’s birthday is Saturday, prompting my annual clothes drive to get him covered.  He hasn’t said that he wants to do anything or go anywhere to celebrate the occasion, but I have planned a Big Turkey Dinner (with a turkey that Jess’s company gave her) on Sunday — and maybe Balloons.

I’m still obsessed with the Ancestry to the point that I had to make myself stop and get some stuff done.  I tend to get all caught up in my imagination with these characters, almost as if I were reading a book.  It’s a story, but it may be a while before I can write it up.

 My African Violets are adjusting to their new homes – one is even blooming! The spider plants seem to be settling in pretty well, too.

Today the Sun is Shining! I think I’ll take a break and go for a stroll down in the woods to visit my Thoughtful Spot.

  No matter how Noisy it gets,  Remember: there’s an Off switch on that device…

Peace

Weekly Update

By Posted in 2019, Autumn at Sonnystone Acres, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged , , Leave a comment

Last week’s Member Appreciation Day at the Zoo was Super!  We had a beautiful day for feeding giraffes

and petting lizard-things and Not petting the Owl

and playing on the playground,

We walked the hilly loop and when we got to the top, an empty Tram was ready to leave.  We hopped on and took the entire Tour around and back to the Top.

Colonoscopy Week wrapped up with Casey’s procedure on  cooold snowish Tuesday morning. Everybody survived and between the two of us, twelve polyps were removed!!  Crazy, huh?

Wednesday morning the Turkey Hens visited to peck for bugs.  We counted 22!  They seriously need a safe and reliable source of birth control…

I have been working a lot on Casey’s Family Tree.  It seems that four generations of his Mom’s family lived all within what we call Boxtown here in Evansville, most of the homes since torn down.  Listening to him share his memories about these folks is as interesting as his ancestors are.  His tree has fascinated me and I’m working on getting it blogged, but I keep coming across new stuff — plus he keeps adding new memories of people I have to run down.  It is a Good Story and its perspectives have moved me quite deeply.  It will be a series, so stay tuned.

 Did I mention that we spotted the Rare Red-haired Pandagirl at the Zoo?

Peace

Monday, again…

By Posted in 2019, Summer at Sonnystone, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged , , 1 Comment

sigh< this summer has been a real bust for sunshine.  I can remember other summers that were this rainy, but I complained about them, too.  I have Not gotten to the point where I miss the every-day-above-90degrees-and-Humid summers, though.

My friend, Karen, …who I wrote about here… was in town last week; her Mom died on the 17th.  It’s most likely the last time she’ll be back to Eville, so our hugs were especially heartfelt…

I Really Will be down to Navarre sometime on our travels next year, dear friend, and we’ll get happier pictures then.

I saw the surgeon last week and he plans to do a little exploring and see how deeply the damned infection went into my leg.  He said it’s okay to go on to New Mexico, though, and we scheduled the surgery for Monday, September 23.  Because I’ll need to do some pre-op labs before then, we changed around our trip.

We’ve taken away the Colorado component at the end of the trip.  We’ll leave four days earlier, on September 4, and spend those extra days in Santa Fe.  Thanks to my high-school-homeroom pal’s suggestion,  I added a visit to Ojo Caliente, higher up in the mountains from Taos.  Our drives to Abuqui and Ojo will be much easier from the Santa Fe KOA. We’ll move down to the Albuquerque KOA on 9/10 just as I’d previously planned and have those five days to explore there…and loaf around.  We’ll be back on the 18th and I’ll get those pre-op labs on the 20th–voila!!

I admit I dread this surgery–who wouldn’t?  The doctor says I’ll be fine the next day.  I’m sure I will be…no worries.

But I’m super excited about the Trip…  The meaning of the Zia Sun Symbol speaks to my Heart…Perhaps my DNA doesn’t have Zia ancestry, but I believe my Soul does.

 

We’re slowly but surely pulling up the edible garden plants. Around on the Bird/porch garden, my begonias are still gorgeous, and the birds are enjoying the purple coneflower and black-eyed Susans.

See that wood up against the fence beyond the bird in the picture below…

That is what will keep us warm this year.  When a tree falls in our woods, Casey is there with his chainsaw to cut it into manageable chunks and bring it up where he can split it into woodburner-size logs.  This week he’s renting the splitter and will spend All Day working it.   In the past, he has moved the finished product from there to the north fence, then brings it in to the front porch as needed.

Weather can make that second move a bit risky for an Old Man like him, so we’ll put as much as we can (which should be a lot, if not all of it)  on the front porch.    I’ve come up with some ideas to store the wicker which will make it one-stop-stacking.  Our utility bills are amazingly low for this old house thanks to Casey’s work.  It is truly a year-round job…

He is Always Keeping busy, surprising me with this special Sign…

She is officially christened…a little late, but hey…

 Enjoy your week…

Peace

 

 

 

One Week at a Time

By Posted in 2019, Summer at Sonnystone, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged , 1 Comment

We’re resting after a busy week here at Sonnystone.  My thigh returned to its normal size after two weeks of antibiotics and I’m feeling much better.  That said, there is still some yuck left and I’m going to visit my NP next week and see if we need further treatment. This is a persistent bug I’ve been growing and I want it totally eradicated, never to return.

I may never go back to wearing pants… Unable to wear my usual uniform of shorts and shirts, I’ve bought several dresses and skirts that are so much more comfortable.  I feel a little like I’m walking around in my nightgown in the dresses, but I’m getting used to it.  Hell, I may burn my bras (again) and live in Total Comfort…

Casey, Michael, Olivia, Samantha, and I went out to Ellis Park on Friday.  I don’t think I have been to the track more than once each year in the four years since I worked there.  I was seriously burnt out after watching 300+ races per season x 5 seasons, but when I’m there I miss the days when Mom, Sister, or Cousins were likely to show up, too.  Olivia picked a winner and won $4.60–excellent payout for a $2 show bet, but the horse was 31-1! I came home po’.

I’m officially into Prep Week for the Upcoming Camp Sonnystone… Cleaning and menu planning, mostly.  Emma usually requests caprese using my garden’s basil and tomatoes under thick slices of fresh mozzarella drizzled with balsamic– which makes my mouth water thinking about it  Not all of the kids share my zest for tomatoes, but I have convinced them that my tomatoes are nothing like the tomatoes they eat in restaurants.  Everyone loves to pick the cherry tomatoes and pop them into their mouths right off the vine!

The best part of Camp Sonnystone is making the Sign with their handprintsand doing the annual height measurement.  The girls are growing 4-6 inches a year, forcing JoJo to acknowledge the passing of time. The sign has to be engineered to fit Large hands now.

We Will be painting birdhouses and there Will be Music and Dancing and Games.  Of course, we’ll have to go back to Ellis Park, too…and maybe New Harmony… Henderson is having their Bluegrass Fest the week-end the girls are here…  And you know, they are just such nice company!!!

I’m trying to stay calm…

So we’ll pick the Jose’ fam up next Sunday around 10:30am our time…

6 more days..

Peace

 

 

Monday’s News

By Posted in 2019, Summer at Sonnystone, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged , , Leave a comment

The Rain was unrelenting this morning, and I woke up to a Sonnystone Acres shrouded with drab drab.

But there’s a Bright Spot on my calendar, bright enough to dispel the Any gloom:  The New York City Girls and their Mother will be Arriving on August 4!!  Melissa will be staying until the 7th; Emma and Eliza will stay until I take them back to NYC on the 14th.

Because Olivia has to start school on the 7th, we’ll do an abbreviated Camp Sonnystone from 8/4-8/6.  We still haven’t decided on a Theme, but we’ll brainstorm once we’re all together. I haven’t seen Emma and Eliza since March at Disney, so I am Ready to give them some hugs and have them hang out with me.

I should probably insert the brag here that the Girls are Rocking the Irish Dance World.  Just last week Emma got her first 1st in champion level and Eliza got three 3rds in her new prelim level.

I am weaning myself off of Ancestry in prep for the Visit.  I am to a place of blogging the ancestors where I need to start a new line of research on several grandmothers’ families which will take weeks.  It’s hard to stop, though!  Check out my latest post great-great-grandparents Leander and Emma Mayne ,

Livvy, Sam, and I went back to the Zoo to visit the Budgies last week… I really love those Parakeets, but you have to be patient.  I have the Jr girls for a day this week and I wouldn’t be surprised if we went Again…and of course we’ll take the New Yorkers. when they are here.

I’ve got to open up the upstairs and get the rooms ready, but not much else.  I can hardly wait! I’m horrible at doing countdowns — does today count — but I think it’s about 12 more days..!

Peace

Rainy Day’s a Monday…

By Posted in 2019, Monday Musings, Summer at Sonnystone Tagged , 1 Comment

It’s been a tough week, guys.  What the H is going on with me?  It’s one weird malady after another. On the one hand, I don’t want to talk about it.  On the other hand, damn,  why shouldn’t I gripe…

Shortest version: A small cyst on my upper thigh suddenly blew up into a Giant Invading Mound of Infection and I had to go to the doctor and get it lanced and get a shot of Rocephin and take a bunch of doxycycline  and the swelling in my thigh was serious and cellulitis set in and I only had one dress (that fits) to my name so I have worn it out and bought three more but two haven’t arrived and it hurts when I walk and I’m worried we didn’t get all the goop out and it turned out to be a rare strain of staph and I prefer average everyday staph and nobody gives you good pain medicine anymore…   >stops to breath<  But it gets better every day…

Yeah, so I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired… Hmm…you didn’t need to know that at all, did you?  Judging by my productivity — 4 blog posts, about 5000 words — you never noticed and had no idea I took all those naps, did you?  Damn, I just blew my entire superwoman image…again…

I was heartened to be with my Jr. girls again.  Saturday we went out to the mall and messed around and I bought them some new shoes, at a real shoe store where they measure your feet and put the shoes on them and feel for your toe…  They both chose converse, Olivia’s in Orange and Sam’s in Rainbow.  I got a little carried away and got Samantha a unicorn dress and unicorn headband, and Olivia a sweet yellow top.  Their parents barely recognized them when I took them home.  I had forgotten my phone, so this picture is one I stole from their mother’s fb page…it does not show the cool shoes, just my pretty girls.

Sunday we got together again and went to Central Library.

We needed this rain today– I thought I’d never say that again after Spring! I’ve got more beans to snap and cook and the last of my cilantro is going into a lime marinade for some chicken breasts.  This year’s bell peppers have been the best I’ve ever grown and I’m dipping them and the cucumbers like a fiend.  I couldn’t do much in the garden last week, so it was all on Casey, and he came through like a champ and planted three rows of green beans.  If you’re not keeping with the Gardens at Sonnystone, you should!

I think I’ll take advantage of the rainy weather to do more Ancestry, as usual.  I was so relieved to finish up all the Eaton family work, but there is no real finish to it!  I’m ready to get back to the Maynes soon, and as long as I’m still solving mysteries, I’ll keep going. Check out Last Week’s Work…

  Peace

 

 

 

A spot of News…

By Posted in 2019, Summer at Sonnystone Tagged , , 2 Comments

My NYC grandies were in Vancouver, B.C. last week, dancing in the North American Irish Dance Championships.  They both have worked so hard to qualify and have practiced their little hearts out.  I am so proud of them and was overjoyed when Emma Placed #30 in the U13 group!!  These girls love Irish Dance and make friends as they travel around the World.

 

It’s typical Eville summertime now, humid and buggy.  I’m doing my best to keep up with the vegetables, cooking and chopping, snapping and slicing…  If you haven’t been reading my garden blog, you should visit the Gardens at Sonnystone.

The Jr girls are still at their Other grandmother’s this week, so Casey and I are having to entertain ourselves…super fun times, if you know us…

I’m still caught up in the ancestry, too. Come on over and Climb the Family Tree with me.

Peace

If it’s Monday, I must be musing…

By Posted in 2019, Summer at Sonnystone, Weekly Wrap-Up Tagged , , Leave a comment

I’m especially bored with The News right now…as there is so little news, even during this 4th-of-July-Week…  The NYC kids are in Vancouver, B.C. for the Irish Dance National Championships and I’m sending Strong Peace+Love vibes their way.  The Jrs kids are spending the week with their maternal cousins, in from Ohio or thereabouts, and I won’t be seeing them for a bit.

While I’m obsessed (still) with my ancestry research, I’m neglecting to write much other than timelines. Oh, I’m still going about my usual chores and duties to the house and gardens, spending plenty of time in the pool, reading and listening to music, and even playing the piano (12th Street Rag), but The News just isn’t happening…

So I’ve set some serious blogging goals here…

 1. Stop the genealogy research right where it is Now and write it up for All My Ancestors. That’s easier said than done, mind you, because one little question leads to hours of study.  For example, the blog I’ve been trying to write for weeks about Grandpa and the Button Factory has taken me in new directions regarding my German immigrant relatives.   I am thrilled and excited to share what I’ve learned, but I’ll have to accept that this work is never quite finished and go ahead and write it anyway.

2. Start a series of Proust questionnaire interviews here at The News. There, I said it.  I published a series of interviews back in 2006 or so and it was fun.  At that time I emailed friends and family members who were kind enough to fill in the blanks.  Many of those folks no longer speak to me, but I’ve made New Friends and maybe I can get some cool responses.  Are you familiar with the Questionnaire?  The questions were part of a Victorian parlor game called “confessions”.  The French writer, Marcel Proust, answered the questions first when he was 14 and gets a lot of credit for “inventing” them, but he really didn’t.  The questions have been changed by others throughout the years, so no one gets exactly the same questions.  Here’s an example:

HERE ARE DAVID BOWIE’S ANSWERS:

What is your idea of perfect happiness? Reading.

What is your most marked characteristic? Getting a word in edgewise.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? Discovering morning.

What is your greatest fear? Converting kilometers to miles.

Which historical figure do you most identify with? Santa Claus.

Which living person do you most admire? Elvis.

Who are your heroes in real life? The consumer.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? While in New York, tolerance. Outside of New York, intolerance.

What is the trait you most deplore in others? Talent.

What is your favorite journey? The road of artistic excess.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Sympathy and originality.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Chthonic, miasma.

What is your greatest regret? That I never wore bell-bottoms.

What is your current state of mind? Pregnant.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? My fear of them (wife and son excluded).

What is your most treasured possession? A photograph held together by cellophane tape of Little Richard that I bought in 1958, and a pressed and dried chrysanthemum picked on my honeymoon in Kyoto.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Living in fear.

Where would you like to live? Northeast Bali or south Java.

What is your favorite occupation? Squishing paint about a senseless canvas.

What is the quality you most like in a man? The ability to return books.

What is the quality you most like in a woman? The ability to burp on command.

What are your favorite names? Sears & Roebuck.

What is your motto? “What” is my motto.

Would you be interested in taking the questionnaire?  My readers are (nearly) as clever as Bowie, so I know it will be entertaining.  Lest you think I’m making You do all the work, remember that I will write a short bio and add a photo…I’ll be contacting as many of you as I can throughout the coming months.  Think about it, dear friends.  Maybe we could even meet up, face-to-face, which would be incredibly cool since I haven’t actually laid eyes on most of my FB friends in 20+ years…

We have no plans for Independence Day…perhaps I can get #1 goal marked off the list this week… then I’ll be in touch, pals.

Peace

 

 

 

 

 

Monday Musings

By Posted in 2019, genealogy, Summer at Sonnystone, updates Tagged , , , , Leave a comment

It is raining again … I’m fighting the gloomies, aware that some summers here in Eville have involved too much rain to suit me or my garden and this could be one of them…

Last week there were a kajillion activities around town…I had planned on getting down to see the Ultimate Air Dogs, my favorite feature of the Shrinefest Air Show, but the planes and dogs were rained out.

In between thunderstorms, we took the kids to the zoo…I adore the new Budgie Walkabout.  There are 350 Parakeets (did you know Parakeets are also called Budgies?  I didn’t) in a rainbow of hues flying in a roomy screen area.  You purchase feeding sticks (hey, it’s for a good cause), put out your hand and oila!

I took in an inside-fest: Midnight Madness at Willard Library.  Each day there was a speaker or two and the librarians were there until late to help with local and regional genealogy from their extensive collections.  I’ve attended before, but not since the Willard addition of The Browning Room.  The new room holds a lot more people comfortably and the  two days of presentations that I attended were excellent.  I immediately started using my new-found tools to run down some details and killed many of the rainy hours living in the Past…

I have always enjoyed planning Trips, so that’s another way I’ve piddled while I wait for the Sun.  I’m working on a foray into New Mexico.  We took a quick visit before Casey retired and Ihad a fall and injured my knee the first day out, to say nothing of the fact that we took the Wrong Road to Taos… We didn’t have enough time, either, so I’m thinking we’ll head back this September and do it right.  I’m also tweaking our March 2020 Getaway –Florida Keys, Naples, Melbourne, and (of course) Disney –Just another way to wait out the rain…living in the Future.

I’m failing to live up to my Motto:  Be Here Now… but Now is wet, dark, dusty, and just plain depressing…   Is the Sun still out there?

It is, it really is…

(Brush up on your Spanish as you sing along with George…and get outside if you can see the Sun)

Peace