April 27th & 28th, 1910

April 27th, 1910


Arose at 5:30 and dug some sod before breakfast. Bess and I up to Etta Broms on Fulton street. Florence Hauer & M------- Kleiner, Mr & Mrs Lenz, N----- & Chet Daniels were there. We had a fine time.


W. Colder
R. 12:15


April 28, 1910


Stayed home and did some grading in the front yard. 

 W. Colder
R. 10:30
I might add that this is Thursday. Did he call in sick to work on the yard? I'm gathering that this is a new house because he has no yard. Also, previously he mentioned someone came up to see the house and he and Bess took a walk to see some other new houses, which are obviously in walking distance.


I also found this listing for a house at 417 Stinard Ave, the house was built in 1908  This should at least give us a frame of reference on what the house might have looked like. I did confirm that there was a  lot of new building going on in the area and many of the houses on that street were built in 1910.

An interesting tidbit that I picked up was that in the 1960's, Vice President Joe Biden and his first wife (who was killed in a car crash) lived  at 608 Stinard Ave while he attended  Syracuse Law school.

I'm not convinced I have the entire story on the house but that will need to be continued another day.

Parenting Woes, Garage Sale Misgivings.....

This morning I was running a  late to assist at my daughter's pre-school. Assistants come early, and at the pace we were going we would be lucky to make it by 9 am, when class starts.

As a result of the rushing, which at one point, included a very painful head butt while shoe-tying, we forgot our show-n-tell item for the day. I told my daughter to think of something she wanted to talk about.   The teacher, noticing this exchange noted that my daughter was wearing 2 pretty rings and suggested she talk about those.

At this point my panic set in. You'll notice that, like most people, my misgivings usually have something to do with the way we're raising my daughter. (More things they forget to tell you before you have children.)

My daughter got those rings this past weekend at a garage sale with my mother. She got a whole bunch of rings for a nickle. She also got a rather nice polly pockets set (uugh..... little shoes.....) with a case for $2.

If you are a regular reader or know me personally, you'll know that this is not a problem for me.  I have no issue with second hand items provided they are in nice condition.  I'm also not keen on spending large amounts of money on plastic crap. (Or anything really, for that matter.)  And finally, if we're going to have some of this junk, then from an environmental standpoint, I prefer secondhand.

This is also not a problem for my daughter. She is 5. She knows she sometimes gets toys from Target but will more easily get toys at a garage sale and that those toys may be bigger or nicer or more plentiful.  Heck, I bought her a bike for $10 at a sale at the end of the summer last year because her's was getting too small, with the intention that we would replace it with a new one this year. She doesn't want a new one now. We've asked. Most of her clothes come from the ever-mysterious (to my daughter) 8-Year old Evelyn. When I bring out something "new" she says with awe, "Was that Evelyn's?" When she moved into a big girl bed, she got a lovely sleigh bed, painted a creamy soft yellow. I trash picked it and painted it.  This is not a secret in our house. Doing so enabled us to afford an expensive, high quality mattress for her.  She loves it and sleeps very well in it. 

We live in a happy second-hand bubble.

And it was this bubble that I was afraid was going to burst today. Because I knew, I just knew, she would stand up there all proud and proclaim, "I got these rings at a GARAGE SALE!"

And then what would the kids say?

Turns out they could have cared less. Her teacher told us she frequently takes her grandchildren to garage sales.

But still in the back of my mind, I'm wondering if a day will come when someone makes her feel bad about being proud of her 2nd hand stuff.  When she looks at me with a look of skepticism, like I've somehow conned her in some way.  Deprived her of something everyone else got and she did not. She does in fact, have a lot of new things as well, I tell myself.  But I didn't grow up with second hand items so it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I'd also be a hypocrite if I made it sound like we don't buy anything new. We do. I'm not any kind of second hand martyr. 

It's the pride in her voice that I fear someone will take away from her. And I guess that's the way it goes with most things right?  We've all been made to feel bad about something about ourselves. And it feels bad.  She doesn't yet know that there are things about her that others will reject or will not like. That hurts me. That hurts me more than the thought that there are things about me that other people don't like.

She'll live. We all do.

I guess I should be happy that she can stand up in front of her peers right now and proclaim something (anything), but the knowledge that it may not always be so, made me a little sad today.

Parenting is by far the thing that taxes me the most, intellectually and emotionally.....

April 23-26, 1910

April 23, 1910 

I got 4 mattresses from Benjamin. Ray helped me sod after dinner but it rained every 10 minutes & it kept us busy.

Now no one needs to sleep on the settee when Kathy visits... 

April 24, 1910

Bess and I walked out to the wood at the end of the car line & over to the stone quarry & got some shrubbery for the front yard. It started to rain before we got back at 10:30. Over home to dinner and to our church at night.


W. ------ Cloudy
R. 11

April 25, 1910

We got notice that the vacation for the factory will be the first 2 weeks of August. Finished sod in the side yard. Bess up home and I mad until she came back. 


W. Fine, warm
R. 11:30

I think it's interesting that he's getting 2 weeks off from the factory. Sure, the factory tells him when to take it, but still, it's comparable to many jobs today.

I wonder why he was mad?  I don't imagine she's helping him with the sod and he needs her for that.Did they have words that prompted her to go "up home"?  I wonder if he really was mad "till she got home" because that would imply to me that as soon as she got home he stopped being mad, but mostly the world doesn't work like that does it ;-) 


April 26, 1910

Met Carroll Sanger at 6 & he came up to supper.  Kathy was also up and slept on the balcony.


Ah, putting the mattresses to good use already. My goodness, it must be pretty nice to be sleeping on the balcony at this time of year. I'm currently sitting next to a fire in the fireplace. Admittedly, it's probably the last one until fall but it's way too chilly out to be sleeping on my porch....

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

Now Go Plant Something! 

Up

Oh my goodness.

Up.

We watched it this evening for movie night (borrowed from the library and with homemade popcorn!) All I can say is:

"Wow." 

I spent much of this movie in tears. Big, fat, blow your nose loudly kind of tears.  I knew what this movie was about but I didn't KNOW what this movie was ABOUT. It's about love and grief and aging and adventure and friendship and finding your way when you are lost & when you have lost.

My daughter really liked it but there was an underlying  sub-text that she all but missed.  Not that it mattered, the talking dogs kept her entertained  (possibly a spillover from her Scooby Doo watching....)  It truly was a movie for everyone. 

Up.

See it!!!

April 22, 1910

After supper I dug some sod and B & I walked down to Coopers with Kathy. Mrs Kaiser over to see the house.
10 Hurt in Trolley & Engine wreck at W. B.T.

W. Fine, Full Moon
R. 10:15

Complete Randomness

I actually have a bunch of blog posts all in my head but they are being blocked by some complete randomness over here which may or may not make for a complete blog posts. I thought I'd just put them all in one and get it over with.

• My girl has another ear infection. ANOTHER one. So many. You would think I would figure this out by now. Usually (except the time before this one) she never feels any pain. We find them because she has a  fever and a cold. For the past 3 days she's hardly heard a word I said. I finally got so frustrated and asked her if she was even listening at all. Turns out she can't hear a damn thing. EAR INFECTION. Mother of the year award coming right up.

• I've been making delicious yummy dip. Like guacamole but lighter. Serve with Stacy's Pita Chips (Follow me now on Twitter  Stacy people)
•  1 Avocado
• 1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt
• 1Tbsp Mayo
• pinch of salt
• pinch of onion or garlic salt or powder.  Mash avocado together and mix until smooth. This is so good for you and so delicious. Except for the Avocado, I always have everything else. All I have to do is buy an avocado. 

• If it wasn't for you meddling kids......

I'm so picky about my child's TV watching.  We try not to watch a lot. We don't do commercials. We use Common Sense Media (Which I highly recommend) to pick out movies.   I turn my nose up a lot.....and yet....  My daughter recently fell in LOVE with SCOOBY DOO!!!  And I've been letting her watch them. I'm a complete hypocrite.  It's because I love mysteries and used to love  Scooby Doo myself when I was young. LOVED it!   Scooby Doo is kind of like junk food. This is payback because we're so strict about it, I just know it. The other night when we told her she needed to limit Scooby a little, she started crying and said " I need my mysteries...." This is completely my fault. I even have my favorite SD movie now. It's Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost. It has a living history museum in it. I'm such a sucker.....

• My garden is growing. Peas are starting to sprout along with kale and spinach seedlings. I'm growing rainbow carrots. They are little itty bitty sprouts right now. My Spring onions look beautiful. I have coffee outside every sunny morning while I water them.

• Last week I went out to dinner with Deanna and Leighanne at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Monte Alban. I remembered that I wanted to try the Horchata which I thought was a tea drink. Turns out I was wrong. It was a large iced milky looking drink. It was delicious. Deanna was wary because she thinks she may be lactose intolerant. (is that too personal to write on a blog??) Anyway the next day she was FINE. Which we both thought was great. UNTIL-Until I tried to make Horchata found it was made with RICE!! Not dairy!!! I made it though, it's pretty tasty. You have everything you need to make this at home-I guarantee it. 

•  I need a new blouse. I drove over to a plaza that has a lot of stores in it. You would think in the whole plaza I could find a blouse. Can I tell you how sick I am of ruffles and crap right down the front of shirts. To be frank, that is not a flattering look for a chesty woman. Neither is puffy sleeves. Besides, I think puffy sleeves look way too precious for anyone over 30. I need streamline. I don't need fluffy frills.... Also, can I also mention how shoddily made I think the clothes at Kohl's are. I swear, the stuff at Old Navy is better-At least you know what you're getting there. I really need this blouse though. I'm off to Talbots tomorrow where I know I will find something that looks good but will be overpriced. They do have good sales though so perhaps I will be lucky.

That's all folks. I can go to bed with a quiet mind now. 

W. Sunny and nice
R. 12:30 (Oh my!)

Edited to add-The Talbots gods are smiling on me this morning. I received a 20% off my entire purchase coupon via email! Hooray!  They send them regularly but I rarely even look at the emails because I don't shop much these days. What perfect timing though!!! 

April 21, 1910 & 100 Year Anniversary of the Death of Mark Twain

Bess and I ---- ------ at Coopers & Oscar came over and I made a cement roller.


W. Fine
R. 12 pm

Mark Twain

P.S. Samuel Longhorn Clemens (Mark Twain) America's greatest humorist & writer died at 6:30 PM.Born Florida, MO Nov 30, 1835. To be buried at Elmira, New York.


Seriously, this man has no idea how much I adore him. Really! Mark Twain. He mentions MARK TWAIN.....I really love this. Do you think he reads? I do... ( I think he reads, I mean.)

Mark Twain, is in fact, buried in Elmira NY.

Halley's Comet, Mark Twain. Adam was there....

A few weeks back I was reading up on Halley's Comet online and I came across this:

In 1909, Twain is quoted as saying:

I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.'

His prediction was accurate – Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut, one day after the comet's closest approach to Earth.


First of all, this is pretty amazing stuff from the mouth of Mark Twain. He apparently, also had a premonition of his brother's death as well. 

However, for me. I was reading this online and immediately turned to the 21st in the diary to see if it was there! AND IT WAS... 

It was a real WOW moment for me!  I am having so much fun with this diary project!

In honor of the 100 anniversary of the death of Mark Twain, I give you:

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Does anyone remember when they made this into an after school special? They did! I used to love those specials along with the ones that played on Saturday around noon after cartoons were on. Remember those???

April 20, 1910

Clara Merle, Oscar, Jake Sheer & Kathy up to supper to celebrate Clara & Kathy Birthday. Clara was the 10th and Kathy the 30th.

W. Colder, some rain
R. 11:30

Leek Gratin

Leeks. I love leeks.

I planted some last year and have been enjoying them since the fall. I bought one $3 pack of seedlings at the garden center and have enjoyed over 75 of them, at least. At Wegmans they are pretty expensive so I think that the leeks have given me the  biggest return on investment for all of my veggies.

Alas it is almost May and I have to clear out the garden to make way for new veggies. And since, I rotate my crops each year, I need to make way in the leek garden for something else. We've been eating a lot of leeks. Not just as ingredients, as side dishes. Yes, we probably all do have stinky breath right now.

My favorite side dish is crazy easy.  I got it from an old episode of Rebecca's Garden, which used to air on HGTV.

Leek Gratin
3-4 large leeks (Mine were considerably smaller than the picture so I used more.)
1 8oz containger heavy cream
2/3 cup Gruyere Cheese (I used plain old swiss this past weekend and it was fine.  Gruyere is just really nice Swiss cheese anyway.)
Salt & Pepper
Sprig or 2 of Thyme ( I have an herb garden, if you do not, skip this. Don't buy thyme just for this)

Cut the leeks into 3 inch pieces and slice lengthwise. Keep Leeks in half moon shape and lay cut side down in a 9-inch pie plate. Cover bottom of the plate with leeks. Pour heavy cream over the top and add a pinch of salt & pepper & thyme sprigs. Bake at 350 for 30 min  (45 if the leeks are really huge) min. After 30 minutes sprinkle with cheese and bake 15 minutes more.  This is SO DELICIOUS. The leeks are nice a sweet and the cheese and cream are warm and gooey. It is rich though.  You don't need a lot even though you'll want to eat a lot.

This makes enough for 4 people but you might need something extra like asparagus to balance the richness.

I just thought of something. One thing I've never mentioned before is the fact that we don't usually have a starchy side dish with our dinner. (As much as I love them.)  We usually have a main entree and then a vegetable side, sometimes 2 if it's a rich one like the above mentioned leek, but usually just one.  We cook good meals from scratch almost every night.  I'm convinced we can do this more easily because of the fact that we only make 2 things. Sometimes if there are leftover vegetables from the night before they get heated up, but mostly we eat only one side. 

Both my husband and I are from homes where dinner was a main entree, starch side dish and a vegetable. Sometimes my mom puts 2 or 3 sides on the table. At first when we tried to lower the amount of  rice/potato/pasta on the plates, our plates felt weird, like they were missing something. Now it's just normal for us and is so much more simple than trying to cook 3 things at once. 

We eat the same amount as before, just less starch. Since I tend to eat too much of any starch at the expense of my vegetable, this forces me (my husband does not  need forcing ever) to eat enough vegetables. It is more expensive to eat this way, as asparagus is more costly than rice, but it's a cost  that I am willing to pay. 

It's gotten dicey lately as my daughter has gotten more picky and often I'm making broccoli as a 3rd side a few times a week because it's her favorite, but that is a post for another day.

April 17, 18 & 19, 1910

April 17, 1910


Stayed home all day for it was cold & windy & rain. 


W. Bad
R. 9




April 18, 1910


Dug & laid some sod. 

W. Fine
R. 10


April 19, 1910 


Went up home to supper & it rained hard coming home. 

W. Fine day
R. 11

I hate it when it rains and it's dull and boring. In this diary and in real life too....Don't worry, it gets better this week!

The Internet is Starting To Creep Me Out

So now Sabra Hummus is back to following me on Twitter. Thanks Sabra Hummus people. I really wasn't going to Tweet bad things about you.

Gosh, you can't say anything anymore without someone hearing you.....

Social Media Loser

I think I may not be cool enough to be using Twitter.

The main issue is that most of my friends are not ON twitter and I have no desire to follow Whole Foods or Ashton Kutcher. I've never been in the cool group-I guess I'm still not.  I'm ok with that. I'm confident in my geekiness....

I got a message that Sabra Hummus was following me but then upon checking, saw that they were no longer following me. Perhaps it's because I said I did not Tweet the fact that Wegmans was out of my favorite roasted red pepper hummus. How fickle is that Sabra Hummus people??? Perhaps I'll Tweet that you dropped me.....

I gained 3 followers today. 2 friends. One was my friend Kristin who knows me in real life, reads my blog and sees me at preschool. She probably just joined as a favor to me. I can't imagine she wants to hear ANYTHING else from  me. The other was my friend Jen who was annoyed at me because I've been out of touch with her the past few weeks. She was going to Tweet her annoyance to me but didn't know how..... Thank god, how embarrassing, being bitch slapped on Twitter (Even just in front of just 16 people.) The other was morelmushroomer, a mushroom place in Canada. I have no idea why they would follow me or how they would even find me. Since I only have 16 followers, I'll take them. I even became a follower of them as a nice gesture back (take note Sabra Hummus people.....) besides I do like morel mushrooms.....

In other social media  news I was friended on Facebook by a boy whom I've never met before who graduated from high school LAST YEAR, possibly looking for some cougar action.  Seriously? I hate to tell him, but I'm not old enough to be a cougar.......

April 15 & 16, 1910

April 15, 1910


Closing Exhibition on at the gym in Association Hall. Not much of a crowd but the Exh was good. Barn dance in overhalls. Took Bess.


W. fine. cold
R. 12


April 16, 1910


Telegraph meet against Rochester. I did not go down. 


W. Fine
R. 9

Hmm...9 pm bedtime on a Saturday night. He must be tired out.

I Found Adam & Bessie

And I mean that literally.....

A few weeks ago, after finding Adam's obituary, I was able to determine where he was buried, though a website called,  Findagrave.com. I know, weird, right? Trust me, this is a dream site for genealogists.  At first I found the record of where they were laid to rest. They also have a feature on the site where you can put in a request for a photo and if someone near that grave site sees it, maybe they will do this for you. On a lark, not expecting a reply, I listed Adam and Bessie.

A complete stranger, named (ironically) Chrissy, picked up my request, went to the cemetery, and found them for me. She took this picture and posted it today. A COMPLETE STRANGER did this for me....
Wow. Just wow.

It gave me chills. I'm a little overwhelmed by it actually. 

And kind of a little sad.

I mean it's not like I expected to find him alive and well somewhere. I know he's 126. And I even know how he died. He had a heart attack. He was only 59.  He's in Watertown NY, not Syracuse.

It overwhelms me that my 26 year old man has no idea he is going to die of a heart attack at 59 and I do.  Bess has no idea she's to live the last 20 years of her life without him.

At this point I should note that my friend Deanna called today because she's thinks I'm going a little overboard in my devotion to (my) Adam. (It was that lap comment from last night.)

Sometimes when I read it, and,  for instance, he talks about his boss Bill, and then later Bill gets fired, it's almost comical-Like I'm omniscient or something. And I want to assure the February Adam that in April, Babcock will be his boss. It's all going to be ok. And on the night Bess gets mad over the shoes, I want to whisper in his ear, "It's ok, by Saturday you'll be sleigh riding with her and you have 'a fine time.'"  (I love his use of the word fine.)

I know all of our lives are like that.We have no idea what is around the next corner, and sometimes it's so far off from what we think or imagine. We never know. However, in this case, in a few instances, I DO know what's around the corner for Adam, a little of it anyway.

I know you can get all kinds of published diaries out there and experience the same thing, that's nothing new. It's his real handwriting on the actual pages that make such an impression on me. I don't know and it's a little hard to explain.

But I see that diary in my hands and then this picture above and hope the years between 1910 and 1943 were Fine ones....

April 14, 1910

Factory athletic meet at the gym. Monarch did not enter. Smith B won. I dug sod at home. 

 W. Fine
R. 9

Possibly they didn't enter because they should be building typewriters......

My Apologies Shel Israel. Or, I'm a Tedious jerk.

So yesterday I made an offhand comment regarding a new book I'm reading, Twitterville,  

"I read my new book, Twitterville, where the author swears with many many stories that Business Can Thrive in The New Global Neighborhoods. (It says so on the cover.....) but I put it down because it was feeling tedious (Twitter ROCKS, I got it....) "

This morning, not 12 hours later, that book's author, Shel Israel,  commented on my blog asking me what, exactly I found tedious about it.

It was then I realized that this Twitter thing is teaching me that I'm not only boring, but I'm also a jerk too..... 

Why didn't I see this coming? The gentlemanly, rose-growing English author, Anthony Eglin contacted me when I said nice things about his English Gardening Mysteries. Why would I not think a social media guru would not see that I said his book was tedious? Malcolm Gladwell didn't contact me when I pointed out a few things I found off-putting about Outliers, however, it's probably because I actually pointed them out. I didn't point to anything in Twitterville. Like a spoiled child, I threw it aside and labeled  it "Tedious."

Upon further examination, I realize that my Twitter experience, what with 85 NISO posts from Todd and all of those @'s and RTs and my own confusion at how to utilize it for something I'm thinking about and the books overwhelming support of this tool (which I don't completely understand yet)  is an experience I was finding tedious in it's entirity.  Twitter kind of gives me a headache.  I  know state of mind impacts your perception of a book. I must have forgotten that yesterday when I was throwing Tedious around.

Lest you think I'm back-peddling or pandering, I'm not. I've just given this a lot of thought today. I'm under no illusion that I've deeply wounded Mr. Israel. In fact, he probably finds me and my little blog and my tossing around the word tedious, well,  tedious.....

If I'm perfectly honest, the chapters I found tedious, regarding Dell Computers and Comcast, actually made me "follow" my favorite grocery store,Wegmans, and comment on their cardboard egg cartons. It was purely an experiment to test Twitter (and Wegmans) for customer service communication. Wegmans, Twitter and Twitterville passed in this regard.

The most striking thing of all about the whole experience is that Israel's blog comment alone drives home the message of the power of the internet. I've always been a reader. Authors have been some far-away magic entities to me. They don't contact me.... At least they didn't used to.

While I sometimes bemoan the electronic age as dividing us, making us more insular and seperate (after all, I don't need to talk to anyone to do my banking, mailing or purchase a book) it also brings us closer together and makes us more accessible. I can contact Shel Israel as easily as he can contact me.

His blog comment taught me more about Social Networking than his book (Which I fully intent to finish)


I'm also  following Shel Israel on Twitter now.

April 13, 1910

Before I get to today's post I'm going to tell you that I sometimes am really convinced that Adam is sitting on the arm of my chair or perhaps I'm sitting on his lap while he helps me figure out his life.  If you read yesterday's post you may remember that I was convinced that he did not have a phone. Just a minute ago when I picked up the diray for today's installment, it opened to a page in October where the FIRST thing I saw, reads:

"Did not wake up until 7 am and telephoned Bob"

Ok Adam, I understand, you DO have a phone. Thank you....This tickles me. It actually makes me smile. I think I'm going to sleep with the diary under my pillow tonight.

 On to today:

Went to Leaders Class and practiced dancing and  p--niced   until 11:35. 


W. fine
R. 11

I have no idea what that word could be....

Twitterville Day 1

It's the end of Day 1 on Twitter.

I have 11 (HA-12 since I wrote this an hour ago..) followers now and I'm following 11 people.

It would have been 13 but my dear friend ,(and Jr. Prom Date) Todd (815 Followers and 6,112 tweets (that is not a misprint) tweeted (seriously) no less then 85 times before lunch. Work stuff.... I clicked the un-follow button. (I think this is less insulting than unfriending someone on Facebook but I'm not really sure.) To be fair, he was at a conference. At one point his tweets were coming so fast I needed to Direct Message (Twitter lingo for short email) him to ask if he was, in fact, even listening to the presentation. Superior tweeter that he is, he responded promptly that he was, and went on to tweet some more. Lots more. I think I was done with him by 1pm. Sorry Todd, I'll catch you over on Facebook.

I have 6 direct messages (short emails) but they are mostly from the same person.

One person that I am following called to tell me that she hopes I'm not expecting any interesting Tweets from her because it's not going to happen. (At least she didn't say she was going to send me 85 tweets in one day.)

I have tweeted 8 uninspiring and meaningless things. No one cares what I had for lunch, and I feel like a pretty boring person having nothing better than "D@mn, Out of Roasted Red Pepper Sabra Hummus at Wegmans." to say today. Note, I didn't actually SAY that. My best tweet was a RT (re-tweet) from my friend's husband :
           
I question the premise that there ARE so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side.

But this is just because I like funny irony. I have no idea if anyone else thought this was funny. Probably they did not. How many people are actually out there who enjoy Muppets humor?

I read my new book, Twitterville, where the author swears with many many stories that Business Can Thrive in The New Global Neighborhoods. (It says so on the cover.....) but I put it down because it was feeling tedious (Twitter ROCKS, I got it....) and read a Charlaine Harris mystery for a while instead.  My husband, who is convinced no one cares what I had for  lunch saw the cover of the book (not the mystery) and shuddered:

"Twitterville, now that's a neighborhood I don't want to live in. I want to live in the old neighborhood."


God, he's such a History Teacher.

Actually I think he's still sore because the other day on Facebook he posted something about the tragic death of the Polish President along with his wife and many cabinet members. No one responded. His friend posted something about the death of Dixi Carter and he got all kinds of thumbs up. Now I'm not sure the death of the Polish president or Dixi Carter is something to thumbs up anyone over, but still. You would think a head of state would get something.....

Maybe my husband just has dumb friends who care more about 80's TV shows  than world politics, no disrespect to the beautiful and talented Ms. Carter mind you.

One day in and I'm not certain I've caught on yet.  Tonight I'm going to spend some time coming up with some tweets that make me sound more interesting to the world-at-large. (Or at least to my 11 followers)

At the very least I'll make sure I eat something interesting for lunch tomorrow.

Follow Me on Twitter.....Please.........

Ok, would someone please follow me on Twitter????

I only have 6 followers (of course I'm only following 4 people currently...)and I need some Twitter practice for an upcoming project....  You can click the link in this post or on the one I created over on the right side over my picture.

I'm not really sure how this is going to work, and I promise I won't tell you what I had for lunch. Ok, maybe I will tell you what I had for lunch....If it's somewhere interesting.

What will be interesting (for me anyway) is to see what can be done with only 140 characters-anyone who knows me or reads this blog can attest that brevity is not my strong point. I'm also not a fan of those Facebook status updates like "Picking lint out of my bellybutton while watching Sanford and Sons marathon" so rest assured, I'll try and come up with something more useful than that.

And what about all you tweeters out there? What do you actually tweet about? How many times per day do you utilize this? How often do you look at the tweets of others? How often do you re-tweet something you read? I need to know this info-PRONTO. Help a gal out now...

Loubird Handmade

A few weeks ago my friend Karley gave me these beautiful earrings from her shop at 1000 Markets, Loubird Handmade. 

They are even prettier in person!  The stones go really nicely with my coloring and give me a little (but not too much)sparkle, on a normal day.  She has a gorgeous collection and uses vintage and reclaimed materials in her work! She's selling online and at local boutiques! Check her out!

April 10-12, 1910

April 10, 1910


Went to S.S. & Mr & Mrs & Kathy & Art were up to dinner & supper. Clara Merle, Beatrice & Dave were over. 


W. Fine, Windy
R. 11

April 11, 1910

Babcock foreman. Started to work under Babcock who took Bill's place.

I think Babcock is his friend so this is promising.



April 12, 1910 

K & Bess out to see Gertie who came home sick. She said she had to sleep outside. Bess and I started out to Etta Broms's but the cars were tied up & we came home again. Bess stopped over home to sewing club. 


W. Fine, Cold
R. 12


Wow, I wonder where Gertie was that she had to sleep outside and got sick. Clearly her sleeping outside was something of note, I wish I knew what it was.

I think it's interesting to note that they had to change plans because the cars were tied up. My plans never change due to public transportation, do yours?  I wonder if this bothers him or if this is just a normal occurrence.  I wonder if they called Etta? Did they have a phone? That much is not clear. The telephone was already invented at this time.  In the back of the diary he has the addresses of his friends and family, I would imagine if there were phone numbers then perhaps he would keep them with the addresses.He never talks of calling anyone or receiving calls. A lot of face-to-face visiting goes on. I don't think he has a phone.

The thing I wish most is that Adam would elaborate on how these things make him feel a little more. Like,  "Gertie had to sleep outside, which was terrible" or "I felt really bad that we missed Etta because of the cars." He never does that though.

What I'm taking from this, and I may be wrong in this assumption, is that the things that he mention each day have stuck with him for some reason. Either they bothered or delighted or moved him the most. Certainly one does not  mention his mother is sick almost every day if it's not weighing on his mind. If you rode your bike home in in the rain on a cold April day, that's going to make an impression. In my mind, those are the things that he feels most strongly about.

April 6-9, 1910

April 6, 1910


Rained at 6 pm. I rode home in 16 min but was soaked. Bess and I took supper over home & ate with Ma. I did some developing & printing.

W. cold & rain
R. 10:30 


April 7, 1910

Colder and tried hard to snow some.   Bess home and I over to Ma's to supper. Went home at 8 and it was cold in house. I thought Bess had key and I locked her out & she woke me at 11:30 to get in. 


W. cold snow
R. 12


April 8, 1910

All the boys at the job went out early & I at 5:50. Bess had a headache and after supper we walked up to the reservoir. Babcock and his wife came up.
W. Fine Cold
R. 12

April 9, 1910


Arose at 4:20 to see Halley's Comet but it was too cloudy. Did some grading and sodding on the side yard. Kathy up.

Oh I have many things that I wish to say about these entries as they were long over due and there are some interesting things in there.  I also had a long over due chat with Stephanie tonight so I didn't get to those comments. I will let you draw you  own conclusions.  I will note that I am SURE now that his wheel is a bike because he got soaked when he road it home!

It's so late here that I just got an email from my friend in Finland who just got up!

Goodnight folks!

We Are All In This Together

I know it's a few days past, but we went to church on Easter.

We had not planned to but my daughter asked, and how often does that happen?  Father Tim is usually worth the price of admission. This Sunday, more so than normal though.

After the homily he stopped and said,

"Now we're going to do something different I tried last year, and well, I liked it so we're going to do it again."

I'll tell you, I'm not really about "doing different" things at church. I'm a somewhat self-conscious participant. Church is not always comfortable for me. I just want to sit and listen (not a good choice for a Catholic....) I practically get sweaty during the sign of peace. I don't really want to touch strangers and sometimes they hug a little. It's kind of uncomfortable for me. I don't know why. So the thought of "doing something different" wasn't a thrilling prospect.

I do not want curve balls at church.

After we quieted down he told us that he was going to ask us to stand at the appropriate time and to picture in our hearts the loved ones he mentioned. 

He then asked all of the people who had a lost a child to stand up.
Very quietly and slowly a small group of people, young and old stood up.
We all looked at them, most of us, hardly able to imagine the pain they've seen. 
Then he asked you to stand if you had lost your mother.
And then if you had lost your father.
It was all very quiet. More people rose.
Spouses were next.
Brothers and Sisters
By the time he reached Grandparents everyone was up.

And quietly and clearly and with reverence he said, "Look around you, notice we really ARE all in this together."

And for someone uncomfortable with the sign of peace, hardly being able to control my tears was a real shock to me. Crying in church is definitely harder for me than touching strangers. 

Maybe if you participated in this excercies before it would not be so emotional but there was something so moving about the energy in that room. Something so real.

And true.

We are all in this together and we are really all that we have.

It's so very easy to forget this sometimes. It was the best church service I've ever been to.

3 days later I'm still thinking about it.

Peace be with you.

A Possibly Perfect Plant

Let me introduce you to the current star of my garden. 

The Hellebore.

I only have one (they are rather expensive. $15-$25 for a normal size perennial. While I frequently spend more than that on my garden, I find it's much easier to purchase $25 worth of vegetables than one flower. The one I have was  a gift. I sure do wish people in my life would gift me more of these flowers. Someday I will have a yard full of these)

Deer WILL NOT EAT THESE!!!

Serious Beauty!

They are also known as a "Christmas Rose" or a "Lenten Rose" depending on where you live. Where I live it would be known as a "Lenten Rose." YES, this beauty is blooming in my yard RIGHT NOW!

Nothing else is. 

There are tons of blooms on it and the blooms last a long time.

Mine!

 I think of these flowers as unearthly beautiful and wonder how a seed geranium and hellebore can both even be called flower???  I have a special fondness for any flowers with green in them. I also love Bells of Ireland and Envy Zinnia. I grow Envy almost every year but I've never mastered Bells of Ireland.

They come in a gorgeous array of colors.

Not mine

Seriously, do these not look fake!!! These are almost too beautiful to look at.

The color of my  flowers remind me of a delicate filmy flowy dress that I would love to wear. Something 20's 

style with a hat with a large brim, possibly on a date with Adam. 

Unfortunately I don't look good in "flowy", look washed out in light pink and green, can't think of anywhere  that I would need to wear a hat & Adam is 126 years old now.

Oh well, at least I can enjoy the colors in my garden.

April 3-5, 1910

April 3, 1910

Arose at 6:30 & 7:30 Oscar, Bess & I walked out through the gully near gran may's. Very pretty and we got some fine pictures. Up home to dinner and Art and I met Pearce Smith downtown and we went up home & walked over to the gully again. Art and I back home to supper. 


W. Fine
R. 11

April 4, 1910

Went over home tonight and developed & printed. Clara & Bess to dress maker. Babcock told me Bill gets through Sat & he gets the job. 


W. Colder, some rain.
R. 11

April 5, 1910

Halley's Comet 1910!

Up at 4:30 to see Halley's Comet but it was not clear. Bill told me he gets through. Etta Brandt & Florence stopped me in front of the factory and Ethel Stanly past. I taped shoes. 


W. Fine, Hot
R. 10:30

Seriously, Halley's Comet!! I LOVE THIS! I simply LOVE this. Just this evening I told  my husband that I think this diary is  a great representation of 1910. In fact, I was reading a few things about the comet aloud to him and when I flipped to those dates in the diary, Adam MENTIONED those things in the diary on those dates! I can't tell you how excited that made me. I wish I could tell him how much I appreciate that accuracy!

I know I sometimes project onto Adam & family a bit but I really do love this man a little.  He goes to classes, builds things, gardens, takes pictures, and walks in gullys.

I hope he and Bess are somewhere reading this and turn to each other and say, "Remember that day we walked in the gully, that was a fine day wasn't it?" Sometimes when I stumble over a word & then it becomes clear I imagine him whispering in my ear something like, "It's PORCH, not port."  I'm the only person who can actually read this little book. I'm used to the writing is what I say,  but I wonder if it's not Adam helping me out.

When I think about him, I hold the diary in my hands and marvel that a real man held it in his hands at one time, recording a day from his ordinary life, never knowing that I would happen upon it & love it & share it with others 100 years later.  I think of the trip it made from his hand to mine, being tossed into boxes or drawers, finally ending up in a heap at an estate sale of someone whom I'm unable to ascertain if they are related. I drove back to the house where I bought it, noted the address and the looked up the prior owners. None were named Filsinger.

Although the entries are short and very often leave me wanting a little more information, I marvel at the fact that he did, indeed, write every day.  Is this his first and only diary, chronicling his first year of marriage or did he write volumes? Is there a Filsinger ancestor out there with every pocket diary Adam ever wrote with a gap where 1910 should be? If there is, I NEED to read the full set....

Find me Filsingers, find me! I'm looking for you!

I've discovered it is far easier to trace a family back in time than it is to trace them forward, but that is a discussion for another day!!

March 31- April 2nd, 1910

March 31, 1910


Sewing club at the house. Started the furnace fire again. 


W. Windy & Colder
R. 11:30

April 1, 1910


April Fool
Bill (Boss) got called to the office twice & Tooker mixed up & caught the girls with pepper candy. 
Ma better. 


W. Fine
R. 11:30

Wow, all kinds if hi-jinks going on at the factory.  I think people had more fun back then. Or were at least more amused by small things. We are really way too sophisticated now. I bet no one in your office mixed up the candy as a joke did they???  Further, this mixing up of the candy is actually something he's still thinking about at 11:30 in the evening. Would this make such an impression on you? We are all really too cool now.

April 2, 1910 (Saturday)


Brad came on the job at 11 & stayed and kept Bill after 12. I graded the side yard & did some ironing and pressing after supper. B & K to matinee. 


W. Fine Warm
R. 10

in small letters running up the side of the page (like he learned of this later) it says:
Brad kept Bill after 12 and fired him.

BIG NEWS!! Vindicated at last. Really, how often does your evil boss get fired?  Usually your evil boss gets a promotion.

Now Adam can continue his late arrivals to work without having to worry about Bill getting all in his face over it.....

Most likely the factory wonders why Bill has such a terrible time enforcing showing up to work on time.... I really wish I knew the whole story here. He's complained about Bill so many times but I'd really like more information on this whole situation.