“Deb! You must go in there! You must! It’s horrible!” My writing colleague, Yvette, had just emerged from the ladies’ room at Osteria del Teatro, a restaurant in Cortona where we were dining during our writers’ retreat in Italy. I hesitated, but always up for a challenge, I obliged. I pushed open the door marked […]
Read MoreThis month’s topic for my writing group was to write an essay about our youth. I decided to focus on technology. I hope you enjoy my ramblings about eons past. The year was probably 1993. Our 4-year-old daughter, Caitlin, was busy doing something at our mid-century modern teak wall unit (which we still have, of […]
Read MoreOne of the top rules in genealogy is to avoid BSOs – “bright, shiny, objects.” I break that rule all the time and as a result I learn some pretty cool stuff. Ok, maybe I lose focus and don’t finish the actual task I was working on but honestly, life’s more fun this way! Today’s […]
Read MoreIt was a beautiful day in Connecticut today – mid-70s, low humidity. Perfect day to be outside. So, of course, today was the day I chose to finally go through the two boxes of my mother’s papers. In my defense, I already went outside a couple times this week! My mother passed away on Dec. […]
Read MoreAs I mentioned in my last post, my sister Betsy brought me a little “giftie” last night. Technically, this post is right in line with my genealogy theme for the year, “Our Stuff.” Hopefully, it will also signal my return to writing after a few months absence. This is a rather long post, but I […]
Read MoreI remember going to the lawyer’s office with my mother. It must have been sometime in 1963. The lawyer offered me a purple lollipop. It tasted like soap! Put me off grape pops to this day! I’m not sure of the purpose of the visit but my guess is my mother was filing the papers […]
Read MoreTwo family pictures have been hanging in our dining room for years. Rosa Weiss Oppenheim The first one is a portrait of my great-aunt Rosa Weiss Oppenheim. Rosa was born in Austria in 1868 and died at the very young age of 32, leaving two young children to be raised by their father Max. The […]
Read MoreThis week will be kind of a “cheat week” for me. I’ve been fighting a low-grade fever which has impacted my ability to focus (aka “thinking and writing!) As would be expected around Valentine’s Day, the most recent prompt for the 52 Ancestors challenge was “love.” Now, Valentine’s Day is probably one of my most-disliked […]
Read MoreThe prompt for the #52Ancestors challenge this week was “Surprise.” I planned on writing about why Scott and I were at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC last week, but as usual, another opportunity presented itself which is an even better match for the topic this week. A Seeley Surprise If you have been […]
Read MoreThe blog prompt for this week’s 52 Ancestors challenge is “At the library.” I planned on writing about my connection to all things “library-ish,” but I […]
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