SURRENDER TO SPRING...

It has been a waiting game here

 in the foothills

 of the Sierras...

...we have gotten a

 very little bit

 of this...

...and none

 of this...

...and a whole lot 

of this...

...and these have come

 and almost gone...

...and these will be 

around again,

 shortly.

So, 

the time has come

 to change my way of thinking,

 to forget about "Sprinter" 

and to surrender to Spring! 

 Because no matter if I mourn winter,

 or the lack thereof,

 I have to admit 

our 75 degree weather yesterday

 was a joy to behold.

"Rejoice in the things that are present;

All else is beyond thee."

Michel de Montaigne

We spent a delightful weekend 

with our little friends, 

Roxie and Izzy, 

and saw Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer,

 in person and on stage.

He is such a charming man

 and can really teach

 an old dog new tricks 

right along with their humans.

We have been long time fans of his

 and his teaching methods were very helpful

 in our training of Buddy.

 He had his beautiful pit bull terrier, Junior,

 with him and brought a few dogs from local animal groups on stage

 to showcase how his techniques work on all dogs. 

 It was a very informative, interesting and amazing show,

 but we were not allowed to take any pictures.

Cow bucket and Chick with wagon - Shops in Modesto

Butterfly plates - Tuesday Morning

I did just enough shopping

 to make it all worthwhile...

You know the feeling!

Some things that are happening

 around the Cottage:

The three different camellia bushes

 are almost through blooming...

...and the hydrangeas

 are coming to life once more.

I think the squirrels

 must have entered the fairy kingdom

 and raised a ruckus...

...but no fairies appeared to be injured..

she just got back up,

 dusted herself off,

 and after blowing a kiss to show she holds no ill will,

 went on to make magic elsewhere.

I haven't quite come to terms

 with spring yet

 inside the Cottage...

...but with St. Patrick's Day

 fast approaching...

...I have changed the parlor mantle

 to reflect that...

...it's a simple display,

 featuring green...

 ...which can be changed quite easily

 to welcome spring

 when the surrender is final.

In the meantime

 work is progressing, 

slowly but surely,

 on upcoming transitions.

  Stay tuned.

...Judy...

FYI update:

I would like to thank Debbie 

 at DebbieDabble  

for featuring my hair

 in her 57 Shades of Gray post.

 It still looks the same

 and I am still contemplating

 whether it will stay

 looking the same.

 Thanks so much, Deb.

While you are there

  check out her in- depth review of

 Mr. Selfridge on Masterpiece Classic. 

If you haven't watched this series

 you really should start. 

It is a great show.

 If you loved Downton Abbey you will love Mr. Selfridge as well.

I would also like to take this time to thank Stephanie

 at The Enchanting Rose 

for having me as one of her featured posts

 at last week's party.

Thanks so much, Stephanie.

I did take advantage

 of a free two week session on Ancestry.com

 and was able to find out the following

 on my great-grandmother, Susie.

 You can read the original post (here) 

if you would like.

Her given name was Suzanna

 and her maiden name was Roach.

She was born in 1863 

and died in 1953, at the age of 90. 

 If I am correct

 in surmising the picture was taken in the early part of 1920,

 she would have been around

 57 years old then.

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GENERATIONS...

The history of a family is so important.

  When your history is known to you

 there is knowledge of fulfillment and contentment. 

 A knowledge of your place in the world.

  When there are missing pieces,

 and no one left to fill them in,

 you are at a loss as to what those pieces mean to you.

This was my great-grandmother, Susie, on my father's side. 

 She is shown above with my dad as a young boy. 

 My dad was born in 1912, 

so I am guessing this photograph was taken around the early 1920's. 

 Beyond that I don't know much about my great-grandmother,

 but before I get into what I do know,

 let me take you through the years 

of five generations

 that came after her.

This is her son,

 my grandfather,

 John William.

This is her grandson,

 my dad,

 Thurman.

This is her great-grandaughter,

 me. 

 What you don't know about me is

 that I have a new look,

 or an old look,

 however you want to think about it.

Debbie shared with us her new look a while back 

and I told her I would too!

 Talk about your 50 shades!

 I don't know yet 

if this will be my shining hour!

This is her great-great grandaughter,

 Tami,

 and her great-great-great grandson,

 Jake.

There were more generations before her

 and there will be more to come.

I have very vague memories of Susie. 

 From what I have heard over the years,

 and these are quite blurred, 

she was a sort of an eccentric.

 Whether those are accurate truths

 or someone's version of the truth,

 I do not know,

 but could account for why nothing much was told about her. 

In other words, 

she could have been a sort of outcast.

 Can't you just envision 

a woman of her tiny stature

 with attitude!

 I find that to be more endearing

 than,

 possibly,

 the real thing.

I have a perception of a large, yellow farmhouse

 across the road 

from this above stand of trees...

...and through the haze,

 I seem to be holding my mother's hand

 and talking to Susie outside her door

 next to a lilac bush.

 Maybe that is why lilacs

 are at the forefront 

of my most favorite flower.

I do know for a fact though, 

that Susie and my great-grandfather, John,

 (I think this was his given name but he passed before I ever came along)

 came from English stock and settled on, what became, the family ranch in Soquel. 

 At this time, and throughout the time that the property was in the family,

 it was just a winding road off the main road, 

over a bridge 

and past the old barn. 

 It wasn't until the property was sold in the 1960's 

that the new owners put a name to it.

Susie's husband was a smithy 

and worked from this little shop on the property.

  The shop was torn down when I was very young 

but I do recall it being on the property.

Their home burned to the ground 

when I was a small child 

and whether my memories

 are from what I had seen

 or what I had been told,

 I truly do not know.

Parlor stove that sat in my great-grandmother's parlor before the fire.

Over the years

 I have acquired a few precious momentos

 that did belong to Susie

 and which had all survived the farmhouse fire.

(In foreground) a fancy little porcelain cup

Commode with marble top

Wheeler & Wilson treadle sewing machine

Small double barrel, double trigger, hand gun

This little hand gun

 evidently was used for protection. 

 I assume it was Susie's 

as it is small and appears made for a lady's hand. 

 The stock was evidently made of wood

 and burned up in the fire. 

 There are no distinguishing markings that I can see. 

 For some reason this weapon intrigues me

 and I tried to look it up online 

but couldn't find any information regarding it. 

 I think I will try a gun shop 

and if I find out anything I will report back,

 or, if in the meantime,

 this little weapon looks familiar to any of you out there,

I would love to hear about it.

 This is my latest project 

and what inspired this post.

 ( I can sure ramble on when talking about one little chair!)

 It belonged to Susie. 

The seat was originally hand caned

 but was broken out

 so we replaced it with a fibre board panel and I painted it.

I love the charming design

 of it's back and the petite size of it. 

 It is definitely a ladies chair...

...and now it resides in the guest room 

and I can see Grandma Susie 

( or as everyone referred to her: Ma)

 sitting there,

 removing her slippers,

 whenever I pass by.

  

This is my last piece of the puzzle. 

 It is the original document for Susie's final resting place.

  Since it is dated 1918,

 I think it must have been procured before the photo

 of Susie and my dad was taken,

 but I wonder,

 at what age

 a person would consider doing this

 back then.

I know there are good places to check out your ancestry

 and someday I will follow up,

 but it would have been so much more fulfilling

 if all these questions could have been answered

 by the ones

 who knew.

...Judy...

Happy March to everyone.

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