Family History

My mom was recently accepted into the Steel Magnolias organization, which is a genealogy group based on women who supported a Confederate Soldier by picking up all the slack and running the households while their male counterparts were off fighting in the war. We are from Texas, so the majority of our family fought with the Confederacy. It's just the way it was. 

So, my mom's great-great-grandmother was Sara Jane Moore Rogers Bennett (that's a lot of names).  She was married to Richmond Oliver Bennett who fought in the war. There are a lot of cool stories about Richmod and his time in the service. I will try to remember to record those later, but this story is about Sara. 

Isn't it wild that my mom's great-great grandparents were alive during the way? I mean, my kids have great-great grandparents. It just doesn't seem far enough back. That's only four generations back from me.  Wild.  Wait, four? Is that right?  Yes, if they were mom's great-great, they would be my great-great-great.  Insane! 

Sara lived to be 100 years old! My grandmother remembers her because she lived with her grandparent

..... Not sure where I was going with this post. But I am going to go ahead and publish it as a reminder to revisit it one day.

Welcome back old friend.....

Morning pages. This is a thing I am doing right now. I have been listening to The Artist's Way, and one of the tasks — the one I have embraced —is the idea of morning pages. Every day, you start your day with three pages of free writing. They recommend handwritten over typing. I started out with that for a week, but found myself thinking about this blog and wanting to revise it. I like the typing feel. The typewriter effect. So, since it is my Artist Way, I'm switching gears. 

 Over the years, blogging has been a wonderful creative outlet for me. I still mourn my original blog--the one that carried me through the pre- and post-divorce years. I lost it when I deleted the email address in my former name. I occasionally think of it and wish I could find a way to get it back. Since then, this new blog has taken on multiple forms: a travel blog, a hiking log, book reviews, personal stories from my early years, and stories shared by my grandfather. He is 99 now and still sharing stories! I haven't been consisten,t though, and I may not be consistent now. But it is time to revive it. It's been a minute.

So, let's dive into the morning pages. What's on my mind today? Thinking about my travel trailer and what to do with it. I want to set a permanent home for it. But the question is, where would that location be? If I set up something here on the property in Texas, it can serve as a guest room when (and if) my kids or grands ever decide to visit with me. Of course, I also like the idea of hauling it to Oregon and finding a permanent rental space on the coast or on a lake somewhere. That sounds really amazing-- and something I would get a lot more use out of! Something within an hour or two of my house--a place to run to for the weekend. The issue is getting it there. I need a truck for the haul, but don't want to buy a truck for reals. That means a rental. Problem solved! That was easy! The application will be the issue. Next thing on my mind--an Artist Date. That is another task in the book.

A weekly solo date to explore something creative. What does that mean for me today--my date day? I am having lunch with my cousins at 1:00, and then I will visit some Goodwills to take photos of the Lufkin murals. I always wanted to do that when I lived here full-time, but I never did. Today is the day. I have been painting pages in my art journal, getting it ready for other displays. I enjoy the process, and it is something I have been missing in Oregon. I don't have a designated space to keep my art supplies, so I can pop in quickly to paint a page or create a collage. 

 Here in Texas, I have the paint out on my table and can sit down quickly and complete a couple of pages between other events. I need to figure out a way to have this same environment in my Oregon space. I don't have much space, but I can figure out something. 

What is the equivalent of three handwritten pages in terms of typing? Have I met my goal today? This was a sporadic set of morning pages-- all over the place! I will get better with practice. I need to ease my way back into the routine. For now, let's head off for a day of exploring! 

 Thank you, my dear imaginary friend, for listening!