Lazy Weekend

Early Saturday morning we were all relaxing and taking it easy...

...when there was a knock at the backdoor. It was Keith! He decided to surprise us by driving over from Austin for the day. It's a 3 1/2 hour drive each way, so we were surprised.

I think he really wanted to see for himself how Jim was doing. Since he's been feeling a whole lot better lately we took Keith to our favorite German restaurant for lunch. (I wish I had remembered my camera.)

He left around 3:30 for the drive home. I managed to get Jim, Reid, and Keith to pose for a picture.

And then he was off!

Alphabe-Thursday..."A" as in APPLE Bites

OK...I'm going to try and keep up with Alphabe-Thursday this time, but sometimes real life gets in the way and in spite of good intentions I don't get a post written in time. I'm starting with A and I'm hoping to finish with Z this time!

I want to thank our teacher Ms. Jenny Matlock for sponsoring this event. For information on how you can participate and for a list of this week's participants head over to Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."

One evening I was reading some of the blogs on my reading list and came upon one that was participating in one of these weekly events. (I don't remember which blog.) I became interested and decided to click on the blog that was hosting it. (I no longer remember this blog either.) From there I started clicking on links and came across a recipe for Bite Sized APPLE Bites at a blog called Lady With The Red Rocker. She in turn said she found the recipe on a blog called Cookin' Up North and that lady said the recipe came from Taste Of Home. OK...did you follow all of that?

Anyway, I've now made them twice and we love them! I made them again this morning just so I could post a picture of Bite Sized APPLE Bites.

Here they are about to go in the oven...



And here they are fresh from the oven...




If you want to see beautiful photographs and step by step directions click on the links to those two blogs. If you think you can figure it out without beautiful pictures and step by step directions just follow the below recipe.

Bite Size APPLE Bites

1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. of cinnamon
1 pkg. (14.1 oz.) refrigerated pie crust (let stand out for about 15 minutes or so)
3 tbsp. melted butter, divided
2 medium tart apples, each cut into 8 wedges

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, set aside 1 tbsp. On a lightly floured surface, unroll the pastry. Brush with 2 tbsp. melted butter, sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.

Cut each sheet into 8 one inch strips, about 8 inches long. Wrap one strip around each apple wedge, placing sugared side of pastry against apple.

Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Bake at 425 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve warm. Makes 16

Note: I soaked some raisins in a little warm water while I got the apples sliced and added a few to each of my APPLE BITES. I found it took 18-19 minutes in my oven. DON'T skip the parchment paper!

Another Note: One of the above ladies said that it was easy and only took her about 20-25 minutes to make. Well, I will agree that they were easy, but it took me a whole lot longer than 20-25 minutes. Perhaps I'm a slow worker in my old age. Cleaning up the mess and doing the dishes took me almost 20-25 minutes. :)


Now head off to school and visit with the rest of the classmates listed on Ms. Jenny's blog.

Pumpkin Time

If it's Fall then it must be pumpkin time. I love anything pumpkin except pumpkin pie. Don't ask me why, but I've never been a fan of pumpkin pie. This is the time of year I head to Sonic for a pumpkin milkshake, Einstein's for pumpkin bagels, I-Hop for pumpkin pancakes, etc. The list goes on and on.

Back in 1998 someone shared a recipe for Crockpot Pumpkin Dessert on an old AOL recipe board. It's low fat, easy to make, and something I enjoy. I guess it's kind of like a pumpkin pudding. I thought I'd share the recipe here.

Crockpot Pumpkin Dessert

16 oz. can of pumpkin

2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1 -12 oz. can evaporated skim milk

¾ cup sugar

½ cup reduced fat Bisquick (I use Pioneer Low Fat)

Egg substitute to equal 2 eggs (1/2 cup)

Spray inside of crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Beat ingredients together until smooth with hand mixer. Pour into crock pot.

The original directions said to cook it on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. I have never cooked it that long. I’m sure cooking time varies from crockpot to crockpot, but I cook it on low for two hours and then I check it every fifteen minutes or so until a knife inserted in the center comes out looking a little moist, but with none of the pumpkin adhered to it. (Yesterday it was probably 2 1/2 hours.)

I like to eat it warm with some fat free whipped topping. I keep the leftovers in the refrigerator and then reheat it in the microwave.

I haven't been very good lately about keeping up with correspondence or reading blogs. Things have been a little hectic lately and then I spend Monday and Tuesday evenings watching Dancing With The Stars. Is anyone else disappointed with the show this season? Personally, I thought Maks was abusive towards his partner in the clip they showed last night. I'm disappointed in the producers and ABC for even showing it. Instead, they should have dealt with the situation immediately. That kind of conduct should never be tolerated. (OK...I'm off my soapbox now.)

Last week Reid was down at MD Anderson and got the results of his latest CT scan. I thought he wasn't going to be scanned again until December, but I had forgotten about the scans he must have for the clinical trial. They only had the CT scan of his neck and abdomen. They were still reading the chest CT scan. Since we haven't heard anymore we're assuming it was OK. They went ahead with the clinical trial anyway, and I don't think they would have if there had been a problem. In the past the results have always been ready the next day.

Meanwhile, Jim has also been going down to MD Anderson for treatment of his prostate cancer. We were told that his case is unusual in that you wouldn't expect the quantity of cancer in relationship to his PSA score. Last month he received two injections to stop the cancer and begin to shrink it. It seems to be working and today he received another injection. We still don't know if he'll eventually have surgery and/or radiation. The doctor didn't want to commit to the exact treatment yet. He had a bone scan and an MRI last week. He does have some tiny spots of cancer in his back, neck, rib, and some nodes. We're hopeful that the injections will clear up the cancer in those spots.

While we were down there today we went ahead and bought our Christmas cards. We've actually been buying the MD Anderson Children's Art Project Christmas cards since we first moved here in the 1980's. They've really expanded over the years and in addition to the cards and ornaments they sell jewelery, iPhone covers, dishes, etc., decorated with the children's art. Funds raised are used for various programs to help benefit patients lives.

I also went into the gift shop and bought an adorable Christmas street lamp that will be perfect for a Christmas doll scene...assuming that I ever get around to setting up a new scene. I still have my dolls set up in some scenes from last Christmas. I never got around to taking them down.

We've also been getting in touch with our German heritage lately. Some months back we discovered a German restaurant in the next town. Actually, we saw it right after they opened, but it was located in an industrial type building behind a car wash. I know that seems like a strange location, but we looked online and found their menu and decided to give it a try. We have really enjoyed going there. Once you get inside it's got atmosphere and the food is delicious. They don't advertise because the place has become so popular and now they're expanding the building. In September the Houston Chronicle did an article about businesses that are a combination car wash and something else and they wrote about our German restaurant. We were afraid the place would get even more crowded!

Recently Reid and I decided to drive down to Galveston for Oktoberfest and a little more German food. We enjoyed it, but decided the place in the next town is better. I should have brought my camera and taken pictures, but I didn't feel like lugging the camera around. Maybe next year!

We've been able to turn off the A/C off a little lately, but this evening I turned it back on again to get the humidity out. I'll probably turn it off before we go to bed. It's really not that warm. It's probably only in the 70's right now. Did you see the snow in the northeast? I was envious!

Can I ask you to vote?

Can you help? It will only take a few minutes. Tragedy struck the Berry family of Houston, Texas this past summer. While returning to Houston from a vacation in Colorado another vehicle veered into their lane and hit the Berry mini van head-on. Josh Berry, 41, and Robin Berry, 40, died and their three young children were injured. Peter, 9, and Aaron, 8, both suffered spinal cord injuries. Their sister Willa, 6, was less severely injured.


The children are now living with their uncle and his wife. Their babysitter and family friend Tessa Gerral has put her life on hold to stay with the children and help support their physical and emotional needs. She has been nominated for a Jewish Community Heroes Award, but first she must garner enough votes to move onto the next level.

You can read about Tessa Gerral and vote for her here. You'll be able to vote once every 24 hours until November 10th.

I try and vote every day and it only takes a few seconds. Just bookmark the page and you'll be able to return daily.

Thanks for your vote.

Updates...

I know I've been absent lately, but things have happened and I haven't been able to post on my semi-regular basis. More about that later.

Around six or seven years ago, I found an old childhood friend's E-mail address on our high school's alumni site. Brigid and I had known each other a long time. We were in Brownies together and I believe we actually met for the first time in Kindergarten. That would make it around 60 years that I've known her. We even played Ginny dolls together. In fact, Brigid wanted a Ginny doll so badly and went snooping around the house before Christmas one year and found the Ginny doll her mother had bought. She would play with it in secret and then wrap it back up before her mother got home from work. On Christmas morning she acted surprised when she opened the package.

This is Brigid probably around the time we met. She's on the left...


Since Junior High she has called me Durg and I've called her Boh. For some reason we called each other by the first few letters of our last names. I can no longer recall how that happened, but when we reconnected we picked up right where we had left off. I was Durg and she was Boh.

Brigid was the class clown all through school. She had a very quick wit and I can remember laughing so hard my sides would hurt. We fooled around way too much and neither of us were very good students. However, whenever the teacher would try to catch us by asking a relevant question about what we were supposed to be studying Brigid would always know the answer. The teacher could never catch her. She was so smart. Sometimes we would have to stop her in mid conversation to have her tell us what a particular word meant. She had quite a vocabulary. To say she was an under achiever is putting it mildly.

At the end of our Junior year Brigid announced that she wanted to go to college. She went to the guidance counselor and asked to be allowed to repeat her Junior year. We all thought she was crazy. "Come on Brigid, stay with us and graduate next year." No, Brigid had made up her mind. She always thought everything through and she knew this was what she wanted. So, she ended up graduating in 1965 instead of 1964.

I know I posted this picture not too long ago. This was one of our many excursions to the Jersey Shore and Brigid is the one in the middle. Poor Boh...she had red hair and very white skin. If she wasn't covered up she'd burn to a crisp.



After high school we stayed in touch and for a while she and I both worked part time at a local grocery store. She was a full time student and I had a full time office job, but she was saving for college and I was buying a Mustang. Then in 1968 she sailed for Europe as part of her studies and a few days later I got married. Eventually, we lost touch with one another. Then maybe six or seven years ago I found Brigid's E-mail address on our high school's alumni page. I quickly wrote and she quickly replied. She still lived in New Jersey and I now lived in Texas, but we did manage to see each other a couple of times over the years.

Brigid had finished college, worked for a while, and then went on to law school. She told me one time that her mother had read in the Ladies Home Journal that law was a good career for a woman in the early 1970's. While I had kids and raised a family, Brigid had practiced law.

She had also battled breast cancer and received a stem cell transplant as part of her treatment. Needless to say, she was a wonderful support system for me the last two years as Reid battled cancer and also had a stem cell transplant.

Brigid retired almost ten years ago. She was a lawyer for the Federal Government working in the vicinity of the World Trade Center. She was working from home on 9/11 and shortly thereafter decided to retire early. I think cancer and terrorism factored into her decision.

I always enjoyed her E-mails. She was the voice of reason when I expressed my fears about Reid's treatment. She stood by my side. She never let much time go by without writing and asking how Reid was doing. Her caring E-mails and loyalty meant so much to me. I can't even begin to express how much I appreciated her support. She was there when I needed her the most. That's a very, very special friend.

All of a sudden I didn't hear from her. I wrote and never heard back. I knew she and Brian often took off on trips or cruises, so at first I wasn't too concerned. On occasion a couple of weeks might go by without any word from her, but then she'd write and say they had gone to Florida, Las Vegas, or on a cruise. When the hurricane was headed up the east coast in August I wrote again and asked if she was ready for the storm. I never heard back. I was starting to get a little concerned, so I E-mailed her last week and told her I was worried. Still no word.

Last night something told me to google her name. I did and pulled up her obituary. She had died on August 15th of a heart attack at home. The obituary said she died peacefully. For that I'm grateful, but I'm heartbroken too. I miss her. I'm glad we were able to reconnect for a while. I just wish it could have been longer. I no longer have anyone in NJ that would have seen the obituary and recognized that she was my friend, so I didn't know. Today I found Brian's business E-mail address online and wrote to him to let him know how sorry I am right now. He's certainly in my thoughts and prayers.

This is a picture of Boh taken in 2004. She's meeting my travel doll, GinnyFaith.


Good bye Boh. I'll miss you more than you'll ever know. Thank you for being such a special friend.





Now on to a couple of updates. Reid had his latest scans a couple of weeks ago and this time he lit up on the PET scan in a lymph node under his right arm. However, it was very slight and the doctor told us that it can happen to anyone with a cold, sore throat, cough, or even a scratch on the arm. Normally, it wouldn't mean much but because of his history of Hodgkin's they will keep an eye on it and he'll be rescanned in three months. He continues with the clinical trial, but we're fairly certain he's getting the placebo right now.

The same week Reid got his scan results my husband had a biopsy. He's been diagnosed with prostate cancer. On Monday we meet with his Urologist out here to see what he recommends and on Tuesday he'll be seen at MD Anderson for their take on the situation. We really need to get some kind of treatment started soon as he hasn't been feeling well at all lately.

This week we had a new floor put down in the dining room and entryway. I had ordered this floor a year ago and then my Dad died and Reid relapsed and the company was so nice about waiting. We're enjoying the new floor, and I'm glad to have it down before Jim starts any treatment.

I think I'll probably be hit and miss around here for a while. I'm hoping to catch up on some blog reading this weekend if time allows.

Alphabe-Thursday..."U" as in United We Stand

It's time again for Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny over at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent." Today we are studying the letter U.

The first thing I thought of was the motto:

"UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL"

I think it's sometimes forgotten lately and I find that really sad. According to Wikpedia the basic concept is that unless the people are united, it is easy to destroy them.

Almost ten years ago we were united as one during one of the saddest days in our history.







United We Stand was also a song back in 1970 and sung by Brotherhood Of Man. When I looked at the You Tube Video I couldn't help but wonder what they must think now of the outfits and hair styles they wore forty years ago.



Now head over to Ms. Jenny's blog for a list of this week's participants and for information on how you can join in the fun.

Welcome Fall

The last couple of days have been wonderful! Very low humidity and the temperatures have dropped into the 80's and low 90's. Granted, we still have to run the A/C, but the low humidity is a real treat.

I had already decided that I'd put up some fall decorations in early September. After the 100+ temperatures I wanted to pretend it was fall. On Saturday I ran to Michael's and bought what I needed to make a new wreath. The silk leaves have a tendency to act like blotters and absorb moisture from the air. In no time they mildew, but I still use them for a while. Real leaves aren't perfect, so I figure the black spots are OK for a couple of  years.  It was now time for a new wreath and some new leaves.

Here we have our artificial fall foliage, artificial pumpkins, artificial gourds, etc. I've given up on the real stuff...it rots too quickly. And our leaves don't turn pretty colors. They just dry up and fall off over the winter. They need cooler temperatures to trigger the pretty colors. So, we use pretty make believe leaves.

I know it will get hot again, but for now I'm enjoying what we've got.  I just wish we'd get some desperately needed rain to put out all the Texas wild fires.  It's really getting bad.

Flag Of Honor for 9/11

Have you seen these flags? We got our 9/11 flag at Lowe's. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but then I read that a portion of the proceeds will go to The Voices of 9/11 Museum at Ground Zero, the Flag of Honor Fund, and the Wounded Warriors Project. This is just a quick scan of the folded flag.



It's an American flag with the names of everyone who perished as a result of 9/11 as the stripes on the flag. We also purchased the yellow banner that says Honor & Remember. I'll fly it on the 10th anniversary this year and then every year afterwards.

With the 10th anniversary approaching I'm finding myself a little down in the dumps. It makes it all seem as if it just happened again. I'm flipping channels and seeing some of those awful images again. I'll never forget, but I think this flag and banner will help make me feel like I'm doing something to honor and remember the people we lost that day when I fly it each year.

I do have a problem with companies and individuals profiting from this tragedy and I realize the flag company will be making some money. It is an American company however. Anyway, I have mixed emotions. How do you all feel?

Update on Ridgefield, CT

On a follow up to my previous post you'll be glad to know that 84% of Ridgefield, CT now has power. By Monday 99% should have their power restored. Those of us who have been through hurricanes before would probably say they're very fortunate. I hope they remember to thank the kind people that came to their assistance.

I found something written by a lineman for Center Point Energy in Houston who worked at restoring power for people after Hurricane Ike in 2008. It was very interesting to read how things were from his perspective. For three weeks he worked from 5:30 AM until 9:30 PM every single day. After that he worked 12 hour days for two weeks. He said he was just as anxious as every one else to have all the power restored so he could go back to normal working hours.

He did have to deal with one angry man and some fool that called the electric company and said a child had touched a live wire only to find that it was a ruse to get a crew there. He also spoke of how much it meant to him when a group of people showed their appreciation and an elderly lady gave him a hug.

You can read his account of events here. It's a very interesting and informative read.

We sure take electricity for granted until it's gone. I think the people that work long, hard hours after hurricanes and other natural disasters deserve our thanks and appreciation.

Ridgefield, CT...what is your problem???

I couldn't believe what I heard on NBC news tonight. The people of Ridgefield, CT are upset because their electricity isn't back on yet since the hurricane. The electric company linemen are receiving police protection from the angry citizens. You can see the story here:

NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams - Crews Still Working To Restore Power In The Northeast

I just hope the story is incorrect or there's some reasonable explanation.

It hasn't even been a week! After Ike in 2008 we were without electricity for a week and other residents of our community even longer. Our next door neighbors had their electric meter torn off the house by a tree that went down. They had to get an electrician to repair the meter and then wait for the electric company to come back, so they went another week or more without electricity.

What really upset me was seeing trucks from Pike Electric Company of Mt. Airy, NC in the background of the news report. This is the company that came here after Ike and worked for weeks in the heat and humidity restoring electricity. We welcomed them with open arms and they didn't need police protection. After all they left their homes and families to come and help us and we were grateful.


I noticed it was 75 degrees in Ridgefield this afternoon. I'm assuming it goes below 70 at night. They need to try sleeping in 90+ degree weather with high humidity and no A/C.

Someone needs to explain to the citizens of Ridgefield that this is what's called a natural disaster. Perhaps someone from New Orleans can explain to them what it's like to lose not only your electricity, but everything else along with it.

Please excuse my rant. The fine people from Pike Electric deserve better. I will always be grateful to them.

ALPHABE-THURSDAY..."T" as in TREES

Welcome to Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny over at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent." Today we are studying the letter "T" as in TREES.

In Texas we are in the middle of a drought. I know that's probably hard for the folks along the east coast to believe, but in Texas it is dry! We've also had record high temperatures. I guess in the last 25 days or so we've had one day where it didn't go over 100, and that's because we actually got a little badly needed rain that day. We've had temperatures as high as 109 and then when you factor in the humidity it feels even hotter.

It's really started stressing the water supplies. We're fortunate in that our town has voluntary water restrictions. We can water every other day during certain hours. Some of the surrounding towns have very strict water restrictions.

All of this is hurting lawns, shrubs, and TREES. I water as much as I can, but it's never enough. Over the years I've been trying to grow a forest in the backyard with seedling that were given away on Arbor Day. Some of the smaller ones are a few years old and they're suffering the most. Can you see the little one in the center of the picture? It's only a couple of feet high and it's losing leaves. I guess it's competing for water with the big Live Oak in the background.

And one of my little Pine TREES is starting to droop...

Our last water bill was $400!

I don't have St. Augustine grass back there because of the shade. It's just monkey grass that I let grow all over the yard along with the weeds. Monkey grass is normally used as an edging around the base of TREES and along flower beds and grows kind of tall. I leave it tall around TREES and beds and then mow it short every place else. Right now the yard needs mowing, but I'm waiting for the temperature to go below 100 before I mow. I have someone that mows the front, but I do the back myself. For the most part I've managed to keep the grass and shrubs green.

Anyone that's every flown into Houston will tell you how green it is when you look down from the plane, but it's not as green this year. In parks and natural areas large trees are dying. I try and give my large trees a deep watering every once in a while by leaving the hose run slowly under the tree for a couple of hours.

All over the area TREES are dying. I went to a local park today and took some pictures.

There are areas a lot worse, but it was over 100 and I didn't want to stay outside too long taking pictures. I've noticed a lot of pine TREES dying, but I read in the paper that when they're stressed from the drought the pine bark beetles move right in.

The good news is that the temperatures are expected to drop towards the end of the week...all the way down into the 90's! Brrrrrr. They also say it may even rain. I sure hope so because I'm tired of watering. I also want to get outside and do something. I'd love to take a nice long walk. I find myself avoiding going places because of the heat. I've been putting off regular grocery shopping and running into the store for one or two items at a time. I just don't feel like lugging a lot home in this weather.

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's for a list of this week's participants and for information on how you can join in the fun!

CRAZY WEATHER

I'm always glad when a hurricane doesn't come this way and then I feel a little guilty for wishing it on someone else. Actually, I wish this crazy weather would leave everyone alone.

Last year it seemed like most of the tropical storms/hurricanes headed off into the Atlantic. I'm wondering if this is some new weather trend. Time will tell. It's usually in September and October that the storms start popping up one after the other.

It looks like a lot of flooding along the east coast, but things weren't as bad as originally predicted. Thank goodness. Sadly, there was loss of life, but I guess it could have been so much worse.

Right now there are many people without electricity. I know the electric companies are very good about helping each other out. After Ike an electric company from Mt. Airy, NC came and got our lights turned back on within two weeks. Last week crews from here left in a caravan for the Washington, DC area. Hopefully, electricity will be restored along the east coast quickly.

I was concerned for the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. It is densely populated with roads that were never meant to handle the traffic that they do on a normal day. All things considered it appears evacuations went fairly well.

I remember trying to evacuate the Houston area for Rita. In 19 hours we traveled 45 miles and finally turned around and went home. This was right after Katrina and everyone was still on edge. City and county officials were on the air telling everyone to get out. Then the hurricane took a turn and we didn't even get a drop of rain. Fortunately, lessons were learned and now they tell only the people in mandatory evacuation areas to get out. The rest are told to shelter in place so the ones that need to get out can move away from the coast. The Houston area has a lot less people than New York and New Jersey, so I was concerned about how things would go for the folks up there.

As you can tell from this picture we had no traffic when we turned around and went back home. We were home in 25 minutes! The moral of the story...never tell an entire metropolitan area to evacuate.


My husband says he'll never evacuate again. I never say never, but probably won't either. We are in a mandatory evacuation area for a four or five, but our home has never flooded although a lot in our neighborhood have in the past. Our block and one other have never flooded in thirty years, but we're at the highest point.

I'm wondering what the insurance companies will do. Here they refused to insure against hurricanes after they had so many claims from Katrina and Rita. You pay your premiums for years and then when they have finally have claims they pull out. Doesn't seem fair, but that's how it works.

On Saturday we tied the record for the hottest day since they started keeping records. It was 109 degrees in Houston. In the last 25 days or so we've only had one day where it didn't reach 100 and it rained that day. Thank goodness! The drought is really taking a toll on the trees and shrubs. I've put out an extra water dish for the wild creatures and every morning it's bone dry. I'll be glad when winter comes and it finally cools off here. We have two seasons...a long summer and a little bit of winter.

Good news...

I'm on my blogging break, but I just received some exciting news and had to post. Today, the FDA gave accelerated approval for Seattle Genetic's ADCESTRIS for the treatment of Hodgkin's Lymphoma in patients that relapse after an autologous stem cell transplant.

Right now Reid is participating in their clinical trial, but for people that aren't in a trial and relapse this will give them access to the drug too. Over the years there hasn't been a lot of research done since Hodgkin's is a rare cancer with a normally high cure rate. It's when people relapse that the options are limited and this is a cancer that effects mostly young people. It's my understanding that this is the first new drug since the 1970's that's been approved for Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Thank you Seattle Genetics.

Alphabe Thursday..."P" as in Penmanship

It's time again for Alphabe-Thursday sponsored my Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent." Today's assignment is the letter "P" as in PENMANSHIP.

Is PENMANSHIP becoming a lost art? So many things are going by the wayside with computers. Even the post office is in trouble because mail volume is going down due to E-mail. How often to we drop someone a handwritten note?

I was reading about vintage autograph books that Cheryl over at My Sister's Cottage had and it prompted me to go looking for my grandmother's autograph book. Back in the 1980's I became interested in genealogy and worked on it for quite a while. My mother would find pictures and other memorabilia that she thought might help me in my quest to learn more and I guess I somehow became the official family historian. One of the things she sent me was my grandmother's autograph book. I've recently become interested in genealogy again and I'm slowly but surely entering all that 1980's information into Family Tree Maker and hope to eventually jump onto Ancestry.com to try and learn more. All of my research was done before I had Internet access. Meanwhile, I'm also digging out my mother's old notes and the little treasures she sent me.

You can click on the pictures below to enlarge them...

Here's my grandmother's old autograph book and some examples of PENMANSHIP. Sadly, as I was scanning some of the pages the cover fell off. I'm afraid that was inevitable considering the years. The first autographs were written in 1905. I have no idea what the April dates on the left hand page mean. I think Willie Volz might have been her cousin. Perhaps those are the dates her cousin and Uncle John died? Maybe I'll discover something when I dig into the family roots again. I think the book might have been a gift from her Momma?

Here's another page from June 15, 1905.

And the page on the right is from my autograph book and written by my sister in 1954. Obviously, that poem had already been around for a long time. Do children still have autograph books today? If so, they might be still writing this poem.

I found this page from my grandmother's book interesting. In the poem she talks about dipping her pen in the ink. I'm afraid that's something that's long in the past now.

And this was written by my grandmother's cousin. I did know that one of her father's sisters was married to a man named Grode and this must have been their daughter.

I was also surprised by some of the artwork people took the time to include with their autographs. (In the first picture that's a real four leaf clover that my grandmother had between the pages of her book.)

I also came across a newspaper clipping my mother had sent me. It was from my grandparents wedding on January 1, 1919. (You'll have to click on the article in order to enlarge and read it.) The article talks about the PRETTY wedding.




And here's their PRETTY wedding.




I think I'm going to take a vacation from posting on Blogger for a couple of weeks. I'm having trouble putting pictures in posts since Blogger made the changes to Blogger In Draft and I went back to the previous version. For some reason my pictures will no longer appear in the post where I put the cursor. When I upload them they appear at the very top of the post and then I try and drag them or I have to go into the html version and copy and paste where I want them to go. It's also messing up the spacing and although I fix it I find that when I publish it's still sometimes wacky. It's taking way too much time to put up a simple post with pictures, so I'm taking a break in hopes that things will magically improve while I'm gone. I had intended to show more pages from my old autograph book, but decided to save it for another time when things might be working better.

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's blog and visit some more Alphabe-Thursday posts!