More than 800 jars of soil from lynching sites across the country will be exhibited in the museum that traces the history of enslaved black people in America from the horrors of slavery to the terrors of lynching, the humiliation of Jim Crow and the current crisis of police violence against blacks.
I told David I wanted to get this written down for posterity.
He said, "just in case you die this week, we will know it is the 8-year-old".
Mason likes to explore. Yesterday, she went through every drawer, every little box, every odd jar of shells to inspect, opened every drawer in the little chest, went through the drawer of incense and candles - smelling them all.
After we discussed it all, she stepped back, spread out her arms to embrace all she saw in front of her and said "Just think, all of this will be mine some day".
LOL
David surprised me last night with tickets to An Evening with Fran Lebowitz. She did not disappoint.
“Fran Lebowitz’s trademark is the sneer; she disapproves of virtually everything except sleep, cigarette smoking, and good furniture. Her essays and topical interviews on subjects ranging from the difficulty of finding an acceptable apartment to the art of freeloading at weekend houses have come to be regarded as classics of literary humor and social observation.” —The Paris Review"
I think I have mentioned on this blog that I lived in Scotland with my parents in my late teens early twenties. It was a great experience. We lived in Aberdeen, then in cold, rainy, windy Dundee (not too different from the climate I live in now). While in Dundee, I worked at Boots Pharmacy selling fragrances.
We later moved to a small cottage in Rait, outside of Dundee. That was during the blackouts and every day after sunset, the electricity would go out. My brother was sure there were ghosts in this old house and he would always get scared in the dark, where the candles would flicker because the house was so old and drafty. Not so much hot water, I remember 3 of us sharing a bathtub full of hot water. I am pretty sure my poor brother was the last to bath. Our dog would regularly kill rabbits in the field and it would be a grisly sight every morning.
Eventually I moved to London with some friends where I worked (illegally) at Lucienne Phillips on Knightsbridge until I got caught. I sold expensive designer clothes to lord, ladies and very wealthy Arab woman with rolls and rolls of money hidden beneath their black robes (the daughters never wore traditional robes). Lucienne was this incredible woman, with perfectly french manicured fingernails with an obsessive love of roses and high-fashion, like Jean Muir, Betsy Johnson The boutique was a couple of blocks away from Harrods, across the street from Hyde Park, it was really magical. I could take the train home to Dundee when needed but mostly we explored London on the weekends, with my older and much wiser friends that I lived with.
Of course, I did not completely appreciate how magical it was then. I don't understand how I got that job at the time, I did have really nice clothes at the time. It was when the British Pakistanis were moving into London and the height of punk rock in London, with pink, spiky hair and lots of safety pins hanging from noses. I worked with lots of girls of different nationalities. Below is the outside of what was Lucienne Phillips.
Anyway, I was in love with London. The international community, the history, the museums. But it was hard to survive there, even back then. In the beginning I lived in a house with 8 people, then we moved closer to London in a flat with 4 of us. As much as I did not want to leave, I was feeling like I was losing time and needed to get back to school. I had 2 years of college under my belt. I did manage to get a work permit there, and I don't understand why, but I left London to got back to the states to attend school.
I strayed way off the point here. My parents bought a house in Scotland called Emerald Banks, in Insch, then stupidly sold it when they were going through the pre-divorce time of their lives. Mom was so happy in that place. I wish she could have kept it. At the time, I thought I would always have access to Scotland but then their marriage fell apart, and continued to do so stateside.
We did go on several driving family vacations, looked for the Lock Ness monster in Inverness and saw lots of castle ruins, but as I travel around Scotland via Google, watch British mysteries based in the Hebrides, I realize how little we actually saw. I feel ashamed and disappointed I was not more curious back then.
I feel fortunate to have Google and YouTube to do a little traveling when I am feeling nostalgic for Scotland. I ran across a few the other day and was so absorbed with the beauty! As I remember, I was not as much into nature as I was in fashion and partying, stupid me. I did have a couple of opportunities to get married to locals and I wonder how my life would have turned out if I had pursued and accepted. But all and all, I had such a great experience, fun, learning, living, I was very lucky. Mom and I would drive 27 miles over to St. Andrews to have a day out and lunch, attended extravagant dinners in castles with men playing bagpipes at the entrance, joined exclusive clubs created by the petroleum companies for Americans, played golf, met traveling Mormons trying to convert us, and had lots of friends from all over the world. Did I mention lots of parties and dinners? (Why wasn't I collecting sand then?)
From I could be wrong
When will old men stop fighting wars with the young bodies of other people’s sons and daughters? That is the question that I have been asking for over 20 years. That is also a question that is pretty much a question that has no answer. I posted that question on Facebook and one of my friends came back with when they start having the minimum draft age of 55 years old. Won’t happen, but it is funny in a sad way.
Old men have been fighting wars with other people’s young sons and daughters for centuries. Maybe for as long as man has walked this Earth. Show me a war when it wasn’t true. Also for as long as man has been walking this Earth the people that are doing the fighting will not be the ones that win anything. It is always the old men that sent them. It is also always the old men that profit from it, never the soldier. The soldier’s job is to fight and die for some unknown person or group that has something to gain from the violence. Many time these old men benefit financially win or lose as some did with the Vietnam War. There is money to be made from war. Every bullet shot and every bomb dropped will have to be replaced no matter who won or lost. They always say follow the money and that I think that has always been true since the invention of war.
Has there ever been an aggressor for war that was actually leading a noble cause? I am sure history has some but I can’t think of one off hand. The invasion of Kuwait is not some noble cause. They are just lies to bully a smaller country. It also cost the lives of about one hundred thousand of his people that were there for his gain and not their own. Liberating Kuwait may have been noble but it shouldn’t have even started in the first place. World War II and Hitler. What was Hitler’s noble cause? World War II what was Japan’s noble cause? Was there any noble cause about any of World War I that so many should have died for? Our Civil War started to defend a way of life dependant on Slavery. Yes Slavery! Most wars are fought for the benefit not of the ones doing the fighting but for the ones doing the ordering.
When the war is over what happens to the soldier? The victorious soldier may go home to an appreciated nation and the soldier that is not victorious goes home to an uncertain future and the bitterness of defeat. Over time though there is no real difference between the victorious and the not victorious. They both will be forgotten by the people that sent them. The help that both will need from experiencing the horrors of war just won’t be there. From the effect of Agent Orange to the pollution that was being spewed by the burning oil wells their country will turn their backs on them. The mental health aspect of war and what it does to men over time is often forgotten. The help for them, by that appreciated government, is not there as the number of homeless veterans hear in America prove. We honor them a few days over the course of a year, where they should feel honored ever day of the year. Every time I see a Wounded Warrior Project Commercial I question why do we need a charity to take care of our wounded veterans? This country will always owe them and when new technology comes out that will help them they should be first and not dependant of a charity. If you don’t want to help them after war don’t send them in the first place.
The aggressors throughout history, I don’t believe, have started a war for noble a causes with one exception that is our own Revolution. Our Revolution was fought to stop our young and old to be beholding to a ruling class. They envisioned a free republic decided by the people and not by nobility. Yes, this was a noble cause that the average person had as much to gain as the wealthy. The right to choose who would govern and the right to change that every election. Over 200 years later that noble cause that was fought by our Fore Fathers is under attack from a group that want to establish a ruling class. They tried to put a Dictator on the throne of the United States. A man that did not want to be President but a man that wanted to be King. As Hitler betrayed his thugs, the SA (the Brown Shirts), on the Night of the Long Knives and how the Communist betrayed the Bolsheviks, Trump would do the same to the people that would have brought him to power. Evil men do evil things and then discard them to appease the people they want to share power with. That power will never be in the hands of the people like our Fore Fathers envisioned.
Yes we need to have old men stop fighting wars with the other people’s sons and daughters. Our young people have to be stopped being sacrificed for the benefit of old men and their profits.
I keep suggesting that we have soup (maybe sandwich) night at the house and play games, cards games.
Joanne was talking about making soups and this favorite came to mind.
This is the Instant Pot version of Thai Coconut Carrot Soup, the Thai red curry paste gives it a warmth that soothes all the way down your throat.
Another version: Creamy Thai Coconut Carrot Soup! This savory, spicy soup is perfect for spring! Pureed carrots in a coconut-curry broth. Vegan & Gluten-Free.
Another favorite, Black Bean soup. Mom made it back in 2009. Here is an Instant Pot version
"Mom made this Black Bean Soup With Spinach soup tonight for dinner. Delicious. She used can beans. We decided she would chop the spinach into smaller bits. Topped with sour cream, lots of cilantro and a side order of warm corn tortillas with butter. ;0 Yummy. Served in my new china on sale at Crate & Barrel, made it taste even better."
Another must to make - French Onion Soup.
We have really been craving French Onion Soup and mom whipped up Julia Childs version last night. Perfect for a rainy, blustery night! You just MUST cook those onions until they are almost burnt! From this post way back in 2010.
Honey roasted parsnip soup is thick and creamy, with a touch of sweetness, and plenty of earthy parsnip flavor, sounds good.
I started mom a cooking blog, The Cook's Blog so many years ago but she lost interest pretty fast. I really miss mom's cooking.
Then maybe Bloomin' brilliant brownies, Rich dark chocolate, nuts & sour cherries for dessert.
Got so hungry talking about soup, I broke out some of David's store bought lobster bisque with crab added.
Beetlewing, or beetlewing art, is an ancient craft technique using iridescent beetle wings practiced traditionally in Thailand, Myanmar, India, China and Japan. Notable beetlewing garments include Lady Curzon's peacock dress (1903) and a costume dress worn by the actress Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth, depicted in the painting Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth (1889).
Not sure how I feel about this, but it is interesting. Beetle-wing embroidery: a colonialist fantasia and exotic fad in nineteenth-century England and America.
I am back to crying late at night, and waking up startled with fear for our country. Majorie Taylor Greene is one of many odious politicians in D.C. She spoke at a White-Nationalist Event yesterday, America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), introduced by Nick Fuentes
The shitshow Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fox news backing putin, Tucker Carlson giving putin some love and basically defending the invasion, trump calling putin a genius. Seems today, a bunch of republicans are backtracking on their pro-putin stance today.
All the lies and bullshit going on at CPAC this weekend in Florida, the line-up of speakers makes me want to throw up. (Meanwhile, in “CPAC Central,” the conference’s main marketplace, one
vendor set up a life-sized cardboard cutout of Trump resembling Rambo,
while a cartoonish gold statue of the former president stood in the
background.)
Make guns great again, again... This past week a bill was introduced in the Tennessee legislature that would make some gun owners members of law enforcement if they have an “enhanced handgun carry permit.” All it takes to get such a permit is a $100 fee and an eight-hour handgun safety course certificate.
I think Putin thinks this invasion will help the GOP in mid-terms AND help to get trump re-elected.
Trump is going to get away with all of his crimes. His J-6 crimes and all of the players are refusing to show up the J-6 investigation to give their testimony. As if we thought they would actually show up?
We have yet another truck convoy heading to D.C. this time, demanding the end of mandates. Or course, let's don't ignore the fact that they all have confederate flags, "Fuck Biden" and trump flags flying from their vehicles.
I watched a movie about Soviet spy during the Cuban crisis. It made me think about when I was a kid and "duck and cover" at school was all the rage, like that was going to save us. Are we going to go back worrying about nuclear war again?
So these are just some of the stories the last part of this week. As hard as I try to distract myself, I just can not stop thinking about our democracy in jeopardy, majority of the GOP are rotten to the core.
Covid has not gone away, yet. Mandates are being lifted. Yesterday - Deaths +2,809, about the same the day before. The two days before that around 400 per day. The first site I check every morning.
Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and my husband are the only things keeping my mind from exploding.
GOP has lost it. Praising Putin. Tucker is a treasonous piece of sh*t. I am really trying not to let this take over my all day but I really can't help it. Looks like a full assault has started.
Rae Missigman, create art that are often a juxtaposition - both chaotically vivid and serenely understood. "My studio is my sanctuary, a tapestry of life and art, where each fiber of an idea is woven into existence as I imagine them into works that are strong and vibrant. Welcome to my world where i am surrounded by family, a growing tribe that encourages me to do what i love and has all but taken my fear of self-growth and cast it aside, helping me to weave a story that is as rich and colorful as the art I create."
Found on Where Women Create Instagram
Living in knee-deep our collections makes me appreciate these videos. I have started to back off collecting, where David is still purchasing ducks and hiding them around the house, to slowly bring them out like I won't notice. LOL
A house I wished I had not peeked into. What a boring, vacuous home ... just like the owner 🤮 But from the comments, her fans adore her
I hate to admit, but I am a peeping Tom while driving past houses at night and peeking in. Walking past a house in the dark, when curtains are open is even better. The magical warm glow always draws me in.
That is what I love about these quick glimpses into someone's house. Most of these are in Britain, now we need to do more American peeking.
"you want the things you have to have some feeling" when she was talking about the furniture she was has for a long time
Mudlarker probably appeals and fascinates me because I am the person always picking up weird broken objects off the ground, putting them in my purse, keeping them forever. Always finding pennies, have a penny bank full of them. On my basketball shooting trip with Robin, I found a coin in every location where we shot.
A group of lead Cracker Jack toys found in excavations over the years, circa 1900 - 1920s.
Scott Jordan, Digging up history in Old New York since 1969
The Evans Case Company was a prominent manufacturer of metal accessories in America, between 1920 and 1960. Colonel Obed Robinson who was a skilled blacksmith & clock maker began a jewellery / jewelry business in Attleboro in 1807.
Robinson and his son, Otis, established the first American button making company.
During the War of 1812, the company supplied America’s soldiers with uniform buttons as well as neck chains for US Navy dog tags.
Button manufacturing became a huge business and the Robinson factory soon became the hub of a community comprising its workers and their homes and the area became known as Robinsonville (later, Attleboro Falls).
At the end of WW1 meant the end for the need for war materials. The company began the manufacture of metal vanity cases, which toilet goods manufacturers were starting to look for as the preferred packaging medium for compact face powder and rouge. The company branched out and made novelty items such as lighters, picture frames and their most recognizable 1920s era Vanity Cases, which led to the manufacturing of powder compacts in the 1930s-40s such as this pressed brass gold plated Leaping Gazelles compact.
Source: collectingvintagecompacts.blogspot.com Belle Costes, Treasure hunting in Old New York. Where old things become new things.
Never found a Greek coin until last week! Here’s a King George 1 of Greece currency of a 5 Lepta circa 1894. The crown and wreath patterns were issued between 1893-1895 in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 Lepta. These coins are made of copper and nickel
Florrie, Art historian, gallerist, mudlarker.
Seems to be many old glass ink bottles found and Poison Bottles
Because I have been blogging on my Something Sand blog, I have run across this. We will use and abuse and completely deplete every natural resource until there is nothing left of this beautiful world we have.
Vanishing Sand
Mary Victoria (née Leiter), Lady Curzon of Kedleston, (1870-1906), Vicereine of India; first wife of Lord Curzon of Kedleston (later 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston).
The Peacock dress of Lady Curzon is a gown made of gold and silver thread designed by Jean-Philippe Worth for Mary Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston to celebrate the 1902 Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra at the second Delhi Durbar in 1903.
The gown was assembled from panels of chiffon that had been embroidered and embellished by Delhi and Agra craftsmen using the zardozi (gold wire weaving) method.[3] It was then shipped to Paris, where the House of Worth styled the dress with a long train edged with white chiffon roses. The worked panels were overlapping peacock feathers that had a blue-green beetlewing at the center.
Over time, the metal thread in the dress has tarnished but the beetle wings have not lost their luster. The gown weighs over 4.5 kilograms (9.9 lb).
The Viceroy, Lord Curzon, organized the second Delhi Durbar in 1903 to celebrate the 1902 coronation of King Edward VII, "the grandest pageant in history", which created a tremendous sensation. The dress was featured in a Chicago Tribune article because Lady Curzon was from Chicago. State portraits were ordered from the artist William Logsdail, but Lady Curzon's portrait was completed in 1909 after her death in 1906. The peacock dress is preserved, together with the Logsdail portrait, at Kedleston Hall.
Lady Curzon was instrumental in promoting the use of Indian embroidery in Western fashion, and many of her friends ordered gowns from Worth using such decorations, though they generally used much less metal threadwork which weighed her dress down. Another of her embroidered court dresses, assembled by the House of Worth in 1903, is on display at the Fashion Museum, Bath.
Caring for Lady Mary Curzon's Peacock dress
There is a good piece in the NYT about the epic period piece, The Gilded Age.
"The HBO series speaks mostly to the Gilded Age of our imagination, full of grand families, sumptuous furnishings, lavish entertainments, stringent social rules, massive fortunes and sky’s-the-limit ambitions."
"It as a time when corruption, exploitation and graft were rampant, but also when the culture, lifestyle and institutions of the city began to take shape, cementing New York’s sense of itself as the center of everything." ... So not much has changed.
Also found this podcast The Gilded Gentleman Ephemeral New York explores the servants of the Gilded Age in a new podcast - Gilded Age new rich and old money families had one thing in common: they all employed an army of servants to clean their mansions, mind their children, prepare their meals, drive their carriages, and take care of any other task members of elite society deemed necessary. But who were these butlers, chambermaids, laundresses, cooks, valets, and coachmen—and what was life like for them?
The Gilded Age on HBOMax, The Who's Who, and The History and Timeline.
Virtual tours of the extravagance of the NEWPORT MANSIONS and their YouTube Channel is interesting.
So this might not mean much to you, but Matt and I listen to Eminem a lot during our (his) teen skating years. This was one of our favorite songs. The other night, Stephen Colbert had this on his show and I almost woke David up to come watch. I laughed so hard, I thought I might wake up the entire house. I think I have watched this about 10 times. I almost have it memorized.
It was David's birthday yesterday. We drove to Seattle to run errands, meet some friends at Starbucks. Our favorite shop, Mort's Cabin, was closed so we did not get to go shopping. Ordered so much Chinese food, we will be eating it all week. A Baskin-Robbins cake, and at his request, just one candle. We are both in shock how old we are this year. You know, it just sneaks up on you and you are 67! That fast!
Tonight I found our next weekend getaway! Rock City, Montana. 12 hours, we could be there.
Filled vials with the sand I collected on vacation. That is exciting, I added around 30 new samples to my collection.
Talk to another sand collector to make sure he wanted my extra sand from the trip. I love having another crazy sand collector as a friend, although we have never met, only on the internet for almost 10 years. I always send him my extra sand, we met on Pinterest. He lives in New York.
I am really missing New Mexico. David and I have talked about moving there. We are probably too old to move all of our crap to a new house, but I miss being in New Mexico.
I saw this on Facebook, seems very important. I have a few more documents I need to put into place for David and me. I went through much of this when my mom passed away. Definitely want to put the kids on the bank account. That was a pain in the ass for me. A good estate plan is comprised of five key elements: Will, Trust(s), Power of Attorney, Health Care or Medical Directive and Beneficiary Designation. A will is a legally binding document that directs who will receive your property and assets after your death.
"We’re all dying, not one of us can escape it. Not one. Let’s talk about it…
I learned a lot losing mom and dad, both suddenly and unexpectedly. I learned more about the documents below than I ever wanted to know. Feeling like a “grown-up” this weekend having completed all of them for myself. Tim has also completed them.
Several friends and family have asked what I’ve done for myself after going through the process of burying both parents, having to empty and sell their home. Well, the documents below are just a start. They’re also not near as expensive to have completed as one would think.
Important things I’ve learned and would encourage all of my friends to do ASAP: -
Make sure all bank accounts have direct beneficiaries. The beneficiary need only go to the bank with your death certificate and an ID of their own.
- TOD = Transfer On Death deed if you own a home. Completing this document and filing it with your county saves your heirs THOUSANDS. This document allows you to transfer ownership of your home to your designee. All they need to do is take their ID and your death certificate to the county building and the deed is signed over. Doing this will avoid the home having to go through probate.
- Living Will: Allows one to put in writing exactly what you want done in the event you cannot speak for yourself when it comes to healthcare decisions
- Durable Power of Attorney: Allows one to designate a person to make legal decisions if one is no longer competent to do so. - Power of Attorney for Healthcare: This document allows one to designate someone to make healthcare decisions for their person.
- Last Will and Testament: Designates to whom personal belongings will go too. - Funeral Planning Declaration: allows one to say exactly one’s wishes as far as disposition of the body and the services.
- If the above documents are done, at least in MI and Indiana, you can AVOID probate. If all the above is not done, you have to open an estate account at the bank. All money that doesn’t have direct beneficiaries goes into this account. You have to have an attorney to open the estate account. The attorney also has to publicize your passing in the paper etc., to allow anyone to make a claim on your property. - It’s a complete PAIN.
- Make a list of all banks and account numbers, all investment institutions with account numbers, lists of credit cards, utility accounts, etc. Leave clear instructions as to how and when these things are paid. Make sure heirs knows where life insurance policies are located.
- Make 100% sure SOMEONE knows your Apple ID, bank ID account logins and passwords!!!! (Mom had a little binder with all of this! ) - Make sure you have titles for all vehicles, campers, etc!
- MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!! - Talk with those closest to you and make all your wishes KNOWN. Talk to those whom you’ve designated, as well as those close to you whom you did not designate.
- Do this to explain why your decisions were made and to avoid any lingering questions or hurt feelings. We were fortunate that dad had almost everything in order. A huge blessing g to us was that he had pre planned and prepaid his funeral just a couple of days after mom died. Sadly, he had planned on doing a TOD deed for the house the Monday after he died. Had he been able to complete that, it would have saved thousands in attorney fees and we could have avoided having to probate the estate.
Hope this helps! Hope this lights a spark to encourage all my friends and family to take care of these things to make it easier for those we’ll leave behind!
*** I am NOT an attorney. The above is all simply lessons that I’ve learned on my own. Of course only you can make decisions for yourself! My hope is that the above list at least helps you start an important conversation with your loved ones and an attorney that can help you complete all the necessary steps. ***"
What Happens to Your Digital Presence After You Die? Is it worth buying this: Peace of Mind Planner: Important Information about My Belongings, Business Affairs, and Wishes
I definitely need this: The Personal Internet Address & Password Logbook
