I'm going to do 3 entries of Adam's diary per day until I catch up.
May 19, 1910
Started to spade the garden. Dad's birthday. Clara had her class over to the house and we went over.
W. ------- and fine
R. 11:30
May 20, 1910
Mr & Mrs and Art came up to the house to supper to see the comet but it rained hard. K, A & I played hearts. And K stayed all night. It poured hard at 11:30.
W. Warmer, Rain
R. 12
I believe Mr & Mrs are his in-laws. Bess also has a brother one year younger (according to the 1900 census) whose name is J Arthur Witham, so I am guessing this is the Art he is referring to. Bess's father is also named Arthur and her mother Katherine. Bess is the only one who doesn't share a name with her parent.
May 21, 1910
It was warm. The sun shone bright at 6 am. Spaded and sowed lawn seed & to gym at 6:30. Uncle John started in. We played 4 g--- hand ball. Indoor B. B. Steam shower bath and swam for over 1/2 hour. & we had to ---- him out & he treated us to soda & at the Baltimore we had chicken ----- coffee, pie & ice cream (over) We left at 11 and I met Bess at Cooper and we walked home.
W. warm. fine
R. 12
This entry spills over onto the next page. I wonder if Adam drinks. He has never once mentioned that he does (or does not) I think this is the first reference to any drink at all. He socializes a lot but never mentions alcohol. It's too early for prohibition so his drinking or not would be a matter of choice. Must investigate further... Must go to bed....
R. 1am
Monday, May 31, 2010
The Power of Less
I'm so behind with Adam and Bess lately. Actually, I feel behind in a great many things lately. My job as chair of my daughter's pre-school is done this week and I have, perhaps, 5 things that need to get done in order to close it out and pass it on. Why are those 5 things taking me 5x longer than any other 5 tasks I've performed for this job all year? I don't know...I planted the urns for my front porch and some other planters but my tomatoes are still not in. I got off to a great garden start this year but now I need to finish up the planting. I'm painting my daughter's bathroom and only have a little tiny bit left. The first part took a week. The tiny bit has been waiting for me for 2. (It's the part behind the toilet. I hate that part. Next time I will paint that part first.) I think I have too many things going at once.
I've been reading The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential, in Business and in Life by Leo Babuta, the Zen Habbits Blog Guy. If you've never read anything by him or seen his blog check him out. I don't think there is a person I know who could not benefit from slowing down or paring down just a little.
Mr Babuta has a nice system for getting things done. He has one (only one!!) big goal and then 3 little projects at a time. One of your projects should relate to your goal. Then each day he makes a list of the 3 most important tasks to work on to achieve these things. And he does them. You don't even get to add a new project until ALL 3 are complete! I like this idea. I'm game. The key is figuring out your big goal and your 3 little projects. I bet you can think of a bunch of goals and projects (I know I can) . That is the whole problem isn't it? Not enough time to focus on just one big thing. They all kind of seem big to me. I want them all. Perhaps accomplishing them one at a time is a better strategy.
My garden is on the list for tomorrow!
Mr Babuta has a nice system for getting things done. He has one (only one!!) big goal and then 3 little projects at a time. One of your projects should relate to your goal. Then each day he makes a list of the 3 most important tasks to work on to achieve these things. And he does them. You don't even get to add a new project until ALL 3 are complete! I like this idea. I'm game. The key is figuring out your big goal and your 3 little projects. I bet you can think of a bunch of goals and projects (I know I can) . That is the whole problem isn't it? Not enough time to focus on just one big thing. They all kind of seem big to me. I want them all. Perhaps accomplishing them one at a time is a better strategy.
My garden is on the list for tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Dark Side of Trash picking
Since I've already chronicled some of my less-than-fine moments of trash picking here and here you might be under the impression that I have stopped looking at random strangers garbage piles with a critical eye. You would, in fact, be wrong.
However, sometimes you get more than you bargained for.
Yesterday I was driving home with my daughter in the car when I spotted a lovely red painted cabinet and a black shelf. I screeched my breaks and stopped. While I was perusing the pile a nice woman came out and I politely asked if she was getting rid of said items (see, I have learned....) anyway, she was. She had just closed down her garage sale. She said I was welcome to the stuff and the she would get her son because the cabinet was heavy.
As her son and I were loading the cabinet into the truck, her husband pulled into the driveway. Momentarily distracted by this, part of the cabinet slammed on my finger. Really. Hard. So hard that I believe I looked on the ground to see if part of it was laying there. It was not. However, I was bleeding. A lot. And my daughter was there so I was trying not to alarm her. Tears were pooling in my eyes but I kept smiling and holding my finger.
Her husband came over and I saw that he was a policeman. I also saw that he was putting on plastic gloves as he approached. Yes, I looked that bad. He didn't touch me at all, I think the gloves were just in case he had to.... The wife asked if I would like a bandage. What I really would have liked was to leave but I really needed to stop the bleeding. The son, sensing his job was done, ran off so as not to contract anything from me. The wife came out with a large band-aid and helped me put it on (without gloves, she must be braver than her husband) The whole time I think I was seeing stars and assuring my daughter that I was "just fine." When that was over the woman gave me some religious material. To be fair, I may have looked ripe for a conversion, what with my mortal finger wound and all... I thanked her for my cabinet, the bandage, my religious conversion kit and for praying for me.... They really were a very nice family and were nothing but friendly.
However, that is the most trouble I've ever had trash picking and my finger still hurts to prove it.
The cabinet does look nice on my side porch though. It has a shelf I still need to put in it and I may put some vintage lemonade glasses in it for summer so that we look like people who drink lemonade on the porch in the summertime.
However, sometimes you get more than you bargained for.
Yesterday I was driving home with my daughter in the car when I spotted a lovely red painted cabinet and a black shelf. I screeched my breaks and stopped. While I was perusing the pile a nice woman came out and I politely asked if she was getting rid of said items (see, I have learned....) anyway, she was. She had just closed down her garage sale. She said I was welcome to the stuff and the she would get her son because the cabinet was heavy.
As her son and I were loading the cabinet into the truck, her husband pulled into the driveway. Momentarily distracted by this, part of the cabinet slammed on my finger. Really. Hard. So hard that I believe I looked on the ground to see if part of it was laying there. It was not. However, I was bleeding. A lot. And my daughter was there so I was trying not to alarm her. Tears were pooling in my eyes but I kept smiling and holding my finger.
Her husband came over and I saw that he was a policeman. I also saw that he was putting on plastic gloves as he approached. Yes, I looked that bad. He didn't touch me at all, I think the gloves were just in case he had to.... The wife asked if I would like a bandage. What I really would have liked was to leave but I really needed to stop the bleeding. The son, sensing his job was done, ran off so as not to contract anything from me. The wife came out with a large band-aid and helped me put it on (without gloves, she must be braver than her husband) The whole time I think I was seeing stars and assuring my daughter that I was "just fine." When that was over the woman gave me some religious material. To be fair, I may have looked ripe for a conversion, what with my mortal finger wound and all... I thanked her for my cabinet, the bandage, my religious conversion kit and for praying for me.... They really were a very nice family and were nothing but friendly. However, that is the most trouble I've ever had trash picking and my finger still hurts to prove it.
The cabinet does look nice on my side porch though. It has a shelf I still need to put in it and I may put some vintage lemonade glasses in it for summer so that we look like people who drink lemonade on the porch in the summertime.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Mommy Musings
Oh today was full of mommy stuff for me.
1) I feel like I reached some kind of mommy milestone when I was told in Wegman's today that I'm the "worst mommy ever." Hmmm...That only took 5 years. How did I earn this moniker you ask? I would not purchase cotton candy for my daughter and she's never had it before (both true.) Seriously, this child followed me around the store for like 15 minutes moaning, whining and crying constantly. I have a very low tolerance for this type of badgering so personally I felt like it was a really good example of how I am a very good mommy that I didn't just leave her in the bulk section of Wegaman's and go get a Starbucks. A very good mommy indeed.
2) I wish someone would tell the people behind me at the trial Karate class that my daughter attended today that girls can, indeed, attend Karate. (I would have told them myself but I didn't think I could pull it off without a death look) The little girl kept pointing and saying "That's a boy's class and there is a girl in it, why is there a girl in it?" and the mom kept shushing her. Seriously? I didn't really care about the child, it irritated me that the mom didn't explain that anyone can take Karate. The people down the aisle from me kept whispering about how cute the girl in Karate class was. Seriously people, it's 2010.... I'm only writing about 1910 on my blog.....
She loved the class and we signed up for a summer session. She loved it so much that she ate her chicken and blueberries for dinner (separate food items, not a strange recipe) with chopsticks! She marches to her own beat, that one, and that is one thing I adore about her, terrible mommy that I am.
3) It's our last week of pre-school. I say our because it's a co-op and we've been there for 3 years. All of the parents assist in the class 2x per month and each have a job there in addition to that. When I attended the orientation I did not know a soul, had never been a part of anything school related and was still pretty overwhelmed by the fact that I was now someone's mother. Much has changed since then. Since the time commitment is rather large, there is a real sense of community at her school.(it's hard NOT to get to know people.) The best thing we've done this year is re-vamp the playground with mulch, landscaping timbers and 2 new pieces of equipment. No one ever told me before how fun and fulfilling something like that can be.
This year my daughter learned about Native American Culture, Korean Culture, Chinese Culture, Japanese Culture, met a blind woman and her guide dog, met a Native American story teller, went to the Rochester Philharmonic tots concert, visited the Science center, visited a pizza place, visited a farm, learned about dinosaurs and space and the natural world (we are currently hatching a butterfly on the kitchen counter!) and much more! Her teacher, Mrs Gerardi, has been doing this for 25 years and she is a true gem.
When I worked, one of the best things about the morning was getting my coffee and chatting with the people I worked with before settling down to do my job. Because the school is such a nice community, morning drop-of serves roughly the same purpose. I bring my own coffee now and sometimes I'm not showered but everyone is always friendly. Some of these people will have children in my daughter's kindergarten class, and I am grateful of that. However, I really value the experience that we have had the past 3 years and I will miss it!
1) I feel like I reached some kind of mommy milestone when I was told in Wegman's today that I'm the "worst mommy ever." Hmmm...That only took 5 years. How did I earn this moniker you ask? I would not purchase cotton candy for my daughter and she's never had it before (both true.) Seriously, this child followed me around the store for like 15 minutes moaning, whining and crying constantly. I have a very low tolerance for this type of badgering so personally I felt like it was a really good example of how I am a very good mommy that I didn't just leave her in the bulk section of Wegaman's and go get a Starbucks. A very good mommy indeed.
2) I wish someone would tell the people behind me at the trial Karate class that my daughter attended today that girls can, indeed, attend Karate. (I would have told them myself but I didn't think I could pull it off without a death look) The little girl kept pointing and saying "That's a boy's class and there is a girl in it, why is there a girl in it?" and the mom kept shushing her. Seriously? I didn't really care about the child, it irritated me that the mom didn't explain that anyone can take Karate. The people down the aisle from me kept whispering about how cute the girl in Karate class was. Seriously people, it's 2010.... I'm only writing about 1910 on my blog.....
She loved the class and we signed up for a summer session. She loved it so much that she ate her chicken and blueberries for dinner (separate food items, not a strange recipe) with chopsticks! She marches to her own beat, that one, and that is one thing I adore about her, terrible mommy that I am.
3) It's our last week of pre-school. I say our because it's a co-op and we've been there for 3 years. All of the parents assist in the class 2x per month and each have a job there in addition to that. When I attended the orientation I did not know a soul, had never been a part of anything school related and was still pretty overwhelmed by the fact that I was now someone's mother. Much has changed since then. Since the time commitment is rather large, there is a real sense of community at her school.(it's hard NOT to get to know people.) The best thing we've done this year is re-vamp the playground with mulch, landscaping timbers and 2 new pieces of equipment. No one ever told me before how fun and fulfilling something like that can be.
This year my daughter learned about Native American Culture, Korean Culture, Chinese Culture, Japanese Culture, met a blind woman and her guide dog, met a Native American story teller, went to the Rochester Philharmonic tots concert, visited the Science center, visited a pizza place, visited a farm, learned about dinosaurs and space and the natural world (we are currently hatching a butterfly on the kitchen counter!) and much more! Her teacher, Mrs Gerardi, has been doing this for 25 years and she is a true gem.
When I worked, one of the best things about the morning was getting my coffee and chatting with the people I worked with before settling down to do my job. Because the school is such a nice community, morning drop-of serves roughly the same purpose. I bring my own coffee now and sometimes I'm not showered but everyone is always friendly. Some of these people will have children in my daughter's kindergarten class, and I am grateful of that. However, I really value the experience that we have had the past 3 years and I will miss it!
May 18, 1910 Una Marries
;';';May 18, 1910
W. Clean Full Moon.
R. 1AM
Gertie stayed with us.
Oh can't you just picture it all! Everyone up all night after the wedding reveling and looking for the comet on the porch. (He does have a porch, remember?)
I think that the fact they got married as the earth passed through the comet is momentous. There was actually a lot of hysteria surrounding the comet in 1910 because the earth was to pass through it and because comets contain poisonous gas. Therefore there were a lot of people running around scared of the comet. (More on that another day) Perhaps Una and Audrey were thumbing their nose at it, daring the comet to ruin their day. Or perhaps that is when their pastor was free....We may never know.
Gertie is related to Adam as I'm assuming that she's the Gertie Filsinger from Philadelphia listed in the address section of his book. I really think they must be related to the Coopers somehow. I feel a full blown family tree coming on people... I really do.
And it looks like I'm not the only one who noticed how many showers Una had. I like how the subtitle on the first article reads "Bride Elect entertained at many showers and parties." That made me chuckle because I was thinking she had been to quite a few well before I found the article! They even talk about the kimono shower! And there is Bess, listed as Mrs A.E. Filsinger! It's hard to read but if you click on the pictures they will get bigger.
All of the information was published in The Post Standard in Syracuse.
I think it's pretty fortuitous that I found a diary whose participants have actually done things that have been mentioned in the paper. I could have found a diary whose participants are impossible to trace. These people are all right there. And I'm not even looking that hard. Una's wedding was the first time that I searched for someone besides Adam and Bess. It clicked with me that possibly a wedding would be mentioned somewhere! Love it. Now I feel like I should check on everyone and anyone mentioned in this.
I know a bunch more about Adam and Bess, even things that happened after 1910. And while I can't wait to share it with you, you'll have to be patient!!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Adam & Bess and what about Una!
I actually have a great Adam & Bess update planned but I'm having some technical difficulties!!!
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