Who are your people?

My mother-in-law had a funny phrase that I hear from time to time when she would first meet someone. She'd say, "And who are your people?" I think this is an old Southern term coming from the days when knowing someones family had a lot to do with the person's identity and character. Of course that just doesn't fly with today's independent thinkers.

For the past couple years, I have been chipping away at my geneology. I mentioned before that my maternal grandmother was divorced in the 1920's--a most unusual circumstance for that time era. I had always heard, "He left her for another woman!" Scandal! My grandmother had 3 small children, the oldest of whom was my mother. So there was very little I knew about my mother's family on her father's side. But the best thing about this continuing saga was finding my mother's half-sister, Earline Vass Wallace. What a discovery.

It is amazing how much she and my mother have in common. The last time Earline saw my mother was when she was 6 years old and my mother was probably in her mid-20's. Although they weren't in contact, the similarities are many. Red is their favorite color, both owned ceramic shops, I used to catch the city bus to VCU right near Earline's ceramic shop--in fact we lived very close to each other for several years unknowingly! Their sweet loving dispositions are so similar. My mother was the type of person that could keep a secret and would never do anything to hurt or harm another's feelings or well-being. Earline is the same way.

Earline and I have enjoyed getting to know each other. We've gone hunting for headstones--and found John J. Davis's (my Great Grandmother's father) tombstone. We've toured Stomping Branch Farm--the old Davis homestead, and the handsome Victorian house that Luther Vass built in Elmont, Virginia where my mother and her sister and brother were all born. We have traveled to various courthouses and museums looking for any scrap of family history available. And we still have a long way to go. Earline grew up in the area and had the privilege of knowing Aunts, Uncles and relatives. This has been a huge advantage. And along the way, we've met wonderful people who have helped us, as well as discovering "new" relatives like John Henry Taylor! It's been a fun adventure.

Monday we are going to visit a relative that Earline knows but had lost touch with. I can't wait. It's a good life!

Great Scott!

It was warm out today and the robins were hopping around the yard in searching for worms. All intentions have been to get outside and clean up the flower beds and join in the annual neighborhood yard competition. I've been thinking about this for 3 weeks but the taxes, etc. has diverted my attention. On the way back from getting my car serviced today, I thought about how I needed to get some nutrients on the lawn and shrubbery soon--it is supposed to rain tomorrow. So, I went by Sam's Club to see what lawn products they might have.

Scott's is our brand of choice and I pushed my cart as close as it would get to the stack of bags, wrangled one bag off the top and slid it into the front of the basket. No matter that the yellow bag was draped over the front lip because that way I could flip it into the back of my Sienna van. From the opposite end of the isle, I spied a stack of Scott's lawn products in white and green bags. It was Scott's with the crabgrass killer! Just what I was looking for...maybe. I rolled a bag over to read the features and directions and tried to compare it with the Scott's with weed control I had already put in my basket. As I perused the information, a voice said, "Do you have any questions?" I looked up and standing in front of me was a tall soft-spoken man with a beige hat and green polo shirt bearing, no less, the Scott's logo!!!

"Yes", I replied. This knowledgable man shared exactly the information I needed to make my lawn beautiful this year now that I had just about missed the timing for the crabgrass preventative. His suggestion was something that wasn't on the bag so without his miraculous appearance, I might still be there trying to decypher gardening codes. He also recommended getting a Scott's Deluxe spreader--the one with the side guard feature. He said to make sure to rinse it out after every use. And to keep the receipt in case there was ever a problem, Scott's was stellar at backing their products. Jimmy and I had been discussing this very spreader this morning with different viewpoints! Jimmy said you didn't need the deluxe spredder--to just space the spreader from the driveway, sidewalks, etc. I wanted the guard because HE is the one who gets fertilizer all over the hard surfaces and the cost/waste factor would more than pay for the upgrade. Yeah, I've been vindicated!

Sometimes the unexpected has remarkable timing. Thank you Mr. Scott's representative! It's a good life!

The Easter Parade

Now you have to realize I grew up in a time where Easter (besides the religious holiday) was celebrated with families dressing up in new spring outfits. Typically as a little girl, I got a new dress complete with a full skirt and big bow in the back, new black patent leather Mary Jane shoes, white socks with lace trim, a purse, white gloves and a hat! During the fifties, this was the typical annual rites of Spring for most middle class American families. After receiving our chocolate bunnies and basket from the Easter Bunny, our next treat was the annual Easter egg hunt. I remember when I was 5 or 6, I found the treasured golden egg. An older boy snatched it out of my hand and claimed the Grand Prize! (I was a shy little girl and the bully got away with it then. Today he'd have a harder time.) In elementary school, we glued paper flowers on a paper hat. There'd be an Easter Program on the stage wearing our paper hats singing all the ole favorites, "In your Easter bonnet..."

Several years ago we went with good friends for a fun weekend in New York City. The food was fantastic--saw the Rockettes with their Easter Extravaganza--Central Park--Museums--and topped it off on Sunday going to the Easter Parade! So when we arrived at 5th Avenue, I expected to see a lot of sophisticated New Yorkers parading around in their fashionable finest!!! WRONG. Near Rockafeller Center, I did see one group of 4 or 5 beautiful young women wearing spring dresses, hats, heels and Italian sunglasses looking fabulous. But they were the only ones. Today's Easter Parade has evolved into something that is a cross between Halloween and a circus! One man was walking around with a hat with a 2 foot plastic statue that resembled a chocolate bunny perched on top. Others had hats with odd plumage attached but the piece of cake was the lady with 2 live iguanas tied to her canvas chapeau. Everyone thought that was cool. Is this the new meaning of the Easter Parade? This morning I looked at the Richmond newspaper only to see 2 photos of Sunday's Monument Avenue Easter Parade--one featuring a clown on stilts and the other had a dog with rabbit ears!

You'd think the Easter Parade would be a "shoe in" event for those people that love the expensive designer bags and shoes! For all the money spent, you'd think these fashionistas would be out showing off their good taste. But where are these trappings of couture in the Easter Parade? Why do people spend vast fortunes on expensive fashion and accessories only to miss a holiday parade that was created for them!

Long gone is the elegance of yesteryear. It goes to show that now you can wear your old painting clothes just about anywhere or anytime. From someone who loves their creature comforts and hasn't worn high heels for years, this is still disconcerting. Is there a double meaning to the quote, "There is a time and place for everything!" Maybe it should read, "There is a time and place for certain things" meaning everything isn't meant to be everywhere all the time. Have I made myself perfectly unclear?!

Out of Touch

Wow. I've tried many times to log into this Blog but somehow the settings changed and I couldn't seem to be able to reset it to enter. Maybe this is my lucky day!

This last year has been quite a change of pace for us. We took custody of an eleven year old grandson. He had been somewhat neglected for the past 2 0r 3 years and came with a potfull of issues. In my naive belief structure, I thought if we provided a warm, welcoming home with structure, boundaries and opportunities, he would thrive. WRONG! His behavior became too radical for us to manage effectively so after therapists, research and much sole searching, we entered him into a residential program. We pray that this will be his saving grace and that he will emerge next year being able to make better decisions to allow him a promising future.

Did I ever have my eyes opened to how the world has changed for the youth of today!!! I can't say that all of it is for the better... They have so much more than we did but I also see that many kids are missing the core values that come with having less. Parents are working more, added stress, technology, etc. You know it is not about having "things". It's about being kind to others, having compassion and giving from the heart level. Being part of a family is not what everyone can do for you but learning to share and involving yourself in the responsiblities of living together for the good of everyone. Understanding your role in the universe is important but know God and his ability to guide and help you.

Yes, it's a different world. I've since had a birthday that frankly I don't totally accept. Sure, the math adds up, but I feel physically and mentally tops. I keep my mind open for new ideas, look forward to travelling to new places and anticipate the joy of new friendships. As the title of my blog reads--It's a good life INDEED!

Retreat

Hooray! Off I go to an artist's retreat. I love getting away and emersing myself in art. Jewelry is the focus of this trip. I'm loading up all the tools, beads, treasures, etc. for four days of artistic adventure. I'll be doing some soldering, sawing, riveting, beading and having some fun! It seems the packing is never ending. I've been assembling and grouping various elements all night. I haven't even started packing clothes. Those I can sling in a suitcase, but forget a tool, and I'm stuck. I'm taking 2 classes so I hope to come home with several finished projects. I'll let you know how I do.

Sweet Baby

Who's Who?

For the past couple years, we have had an ongoing geneology search. My mother was a Vass from Elmont, Va, and I never knew her father and his family. Her mother had divorced when she and her sister and brother were toddlers back in the 1920's. I started with what little knowledge I had--a relative was on the Civil War Memorial at Hanover Courthouse. This proved to be Henry Jackson Clay Vass who survived the war all the way to Appomattox with Lee. Since then I have found my mother's half-sister who is a wonderful lady. And others, to boot! It's been a great journey although there is more work to be done. When I met Earline, it was at a restaurant. I could feel the gaze of her husband. Then he said, "She has a smile just like Luther!" Luther was my great grandfather. Here I'm almost 60 and I've wondered why I don't look like anyone I know. I guess that's because I never knew 25% of my family!

Another bonus was an aunt who had duplicate photos of my mother, her sister and her brother. She let me have one of my mother's baby photos and a studio portrait of her when she was about 3-1/2 years old. They have instantly become my favorites!

Life Flies By

Well, let's get caught up on today's news. Last Thursday I went to UVA and saw Dr. Padgett, a dermatologist. She removed the basal cell I had on the bridge of my nose. She said this and the freckles on my shoulders were the evidence of my youth in the Floriday sun. Getting older has its not-so-fun times! But she did a great job stitching me up and I doubt there will be much of a scar.

The end of February I went to the QuiltFest in Hampton, Va. It's an annual trek where I see old friends and look at all the exciting quilts. This year I took a "Snowball" class from Liza Prior Lucy, partner of Kaffe Fassett. The use of color was the emphasis in the class. I loved it. Hopefully the quilt I pieced in the class will upload so you can see my progress. To me color is everything and I love the bold reds. My mother would have loved it, too.

I'm going to try and post on at least a weekly basis. I had great intentions of blogging my trip through Europe this past fall, but access to the internet was not as free as I was led to believe. It was truly the trip of my lifetime. I'm still mesmerized by the photos that take me back to the beauty of the places I visited. Especially Venice! I'll give some highlights of those fabulous times.

A World Away...

My intentions when creating this blog was to provide my friends and family a way to follow my 6 week tour in France and Italy this fall. Well, the technical issues didn't work out as I had thought. When we arrived in the medieval town of Durfort, France, my first week's stay, there was no internet availablity. The following weekend we found an internet cafe in nearby Revel. I finally eeked out an email using a French keyboard (boy, it that confusing) and there was no way to download photos--a problem that exists when you don't have your own laptop.

Everyone had said, "the internet cafes are everywhere in Europe". Not necessarily so! It was a case of feast or famine. Not to mention I paid from $5 to $16 per hour for internet services. So my blog intentions were not fufilled.

Needless to say, my trip was fabulous and full of insights and adventures. Most were wonderful. One day from you-know-where, but I survived! I will break my trip up into small chunks and share them one at a time. I took probably 2,000 photos with my Nikon D-70 so I'll include a few choice shots of the local landscape.

A well used phrase says it all...wish you were there!!!

 
 
 
  

Misty of Chincoteague

Well, I did it. I went to the pony swim at Chincoteague. It was hot and crowded, as expected, but the people were so nice. I got there about 7 AM and the actual swim didn't begin until 10:55 AM so what could have been 4 hours of misery was actually 4 hours of reassuring observation of human nature. Luckily, I had a spot under a tree on the shoreline where my feet could dangle over the side--just like a chair. With my sciatica, this was heavensent. My neighbors were wonderful parents with active kids who entertained themselves looking for muscles and kelp for hours. Kids, Parents and Staff alike--all deserve medals for good behavior.

The first reports said that the swim would be at 9:30--I wish! They wait for the tide to be slack-not high or low. They brought the herd of about 100 out to a landing and grazed them for a couple hours prior to the swim. It seemed like eternity before they moved them up to the point and into the water. Once in the water, the horses heads were obscured by the floatella of boats lined up on either side of the channel. The whole swim took 4 minutes. They let the herd rest on the shoreline for about an hour before rounding them up and driving them to the carnival grounds where they were auctioned off on Thursday. Some mares and foals had already been delivered to the pen a couple days earlier. Not all are auctioned and the remainder are returned to Assateague Island on Friday.

I promised Jimmy I wouldn't bring home a pony. True to my word, I didn't. But I did make a donation so that some other lucky kid could have their dream come true.

It's in the Stars

My buddy and cousin, Kay Cole, (who is a respected professional astrologer--people come from all over the states, even the world, to see her) says that "Mercury is in retrograde". She said that there are some strange things going on the sky. I told her about my interesting week--my losing not one but two offline computers loaded with our financials in two days, my sudden case of painful sciatica, the big 7 car accident on Rt460 I just missed being in Friday, and today my car battery went dead (thank goodness for AAA Plus membership). Not to mention our big real estate closing that's delayed. She just said, "Yes, that's what it is!"

For now I have conscientiously put myself in "slow" mode and am trying to stay out of everyone's way. I didn't used to give much credit to things like "Mercury in retrograde", but I've come to realize there are many things beyond our control that obviously DO have an effect on things around you. The power of coincidence is another. I respect it and do my part to try and stay out of harm's way.

  

Life is a Parade!

Once again we made our annual trek to Scottsville to the best Americana parade in the country. It was in the high 90's and standing on the asphalt and the high humidity made for a meltdown. But seeing the fire engines, horses, princesses, soldiers, gorillas, Civil War reinactors, etc., made it all worthwhile.

Afterward, we all met at Carey's new house and dined on homemade faire of fried chicken, black bean salad, spinach salad with strawberries, deviled eggs and coconut cream cheese pound cake with blueberries, strawberries and ice cream. I think that will hold us over until next year. Hopefully next year the James River won't flood so we can spend the 4th at the cabin and swim in the river.

When Pops asked Reagan and Bart their favorite part of the parade, Bart quickly replied, "The fire trucks!" He can spot one a country mile away. But Miss Reagan said, "The candy." We were at the beginning of the parade route and all the trucks and marching people threw beacoups of candy to us.

A Golfer at Three!

  

Bart is a natural athlete. At three he can swing the club and hit the ball like a pro. He keeps his eye on the ball, his head still and has a great rotation of his shoulders. I know adults (including me) who spend lots of time and money trying to learn what he can do naturally. I'll be interested in seeing his game develop as he matures. (Although most of the other men in the family haven't matured and are still boys with bigger and more expensive toys!!!)

When I took these photos 2 or 3 weeks ago I was standing in front of Bart trying to get a good pic. The thought struck me, "If he hits this ball clean, it will hit ME. And it did! OW! I still have a goose egg on my left shin! But he did say, "Sorry, Grammy."

Gone Fishin'

Jimmy is determined to buy a new fishing boat. He set up a trip to Florida (his 5th to FL this year) for us to see a flats boat manufacturer followed by 2 days of fishing with a guide using one of the boats he's considering buying.

I haven't fished in at least 2 years! Our guide, Ron Harter, was great. He's an expert in fishing the mangroves for redfish. I was the first to catch a fish...a redfish that was around 5 lbs. This was followed by a nice speckled trout. Then I caught about a 5 lb. Snook! Ron said this trio was the "Grand Slam". Jimmy caught several catfish, and we each caught an oyster!

Sunday I caught 2 more redfish and a snapper. Jimmy finally caught 2 redfish, one of which MIGHT have been bigger than mine. And I managed to get a little sunburn even with a sunscreen. We had to quit at noon due to a thunderstorm.

Ron said some friends of his were in a Redfish Tournament nearby on Saturday and only 8 fish were turned in that day with 60 some in the tournament. Probably due to the wind, high tide and low pressure system. He said I would have won $3,000. with my big redfish. Oh, well. Money isn't everything!?!

All the fish were safely released and we arrived home safely last night. Although I had a wonderful time, I'm glad to be home.

Good Advice on Deaf Ears

Graduation. It's one of those "markers" that you use to measure things in your life, large and small. I still remember the politician who was our speaker at my high school graduation saying, "The world is your oyster..." It was 1965 and I thought the message was so cornball and uncool to say.

My daughter's high school graduation on the other hand had Willard Scott for a speaker. He was most entertaining and told the girls that they had been given much and, in turn, had much to give back. A great message! He also seriously instructed the girls, "When the temperature is 78 degrees, and the sky is clear and blue with a slight breeze, it's perfect to walk around nude!" How could you forget that!!!

Carey's college graduation featured the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, Don Beyer. Beyer illustrated the importance of a written "Thank You" note citing when his family's Northern Virginia car dealership was looking for a new manager for Customer Service, after the hundreds of aggresive and innovative applicants and dozens of interviews, the person who got the job was a lady who was the ONLY one to write a hand-written "Thank You" note. I'm not sure how many deaf ears this message fell upon in that gymnasium but it is the backbone of the way Jimmy and I conduct our Real Estate business. Emails are a great way to share facts and casual information, but a hand-written note takes personal time and thought--something lacking in our busy lives. I've never had anyone comment on the email I sent them, but they'll go out of their way to tell me how they appreciated the note. I know I cherish the few I receive and can't bear to throw them away but have never felt the same about any emails I've received.

  

Life's Celebrations

I'm getting ready to leave for Reagan's graduation. She is five years old. This is the first of many. After all, this is preschool! Next year it will be Kindergarten. The only graduation I ever attended of my own was high school. Being an art student, I was too avant-garde to attend my college graduation. It was in the Richmond Colliseum and they just said, "School of the Arts, stand up". Most of these people I didn't know since there were only 25 (out of 75 our sophomore year) in our department graduating with a BFA in Interior Design. I didn't see the sense of dragging everyone downtown and paying for parking, the gown, etc. for that. So I picked up my diploma a couple weeks later. And I never have felt like I missed a thing!

The Assateague Lighthouse from afar.

  This is the painting I did a week ago at the Chincoteage National Wildlife Refuge. If you look really hard, you can see the lighthouse in the distance behind the trees.