Reflections

Happy Birthday, Longfellow

Silently, one by one,
In the infinite meadows of Heaven,
Blossom the lovely stars,
The forget-me-nots of the angels.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
27 February 1807 - 24 March 1882

Finding Kinfolk at Findagrave

. . . and NO, I do not mean dead ones! . . . tonight I'm sharing another photo of my computer screen . . . I had another photo in mind, but this one was only happening today . . . so this one won . . . I recently sent a message to the person who created the page shown in the above photo of my computer screen . . . the photo shows the findagrave memorial page for my 1st cousin 4 times removed, James Jefferson Henry . . . the message I sent contained a link to the father of this cousin . . . that father is a brother to my 3rd great-grandpa . . . turns out this findagrave member is the wife of a great-great-grandson of this cousin of mine . . . and he still has family living back in Green County, Kentucky . . . which is where my 2nd great-grandpa, William Paschal Henry, was born in 1836 . . . so just saying thanks to findagrave and my deceased kinfolk for helping me find some living kinfolk . . . P.S . . . notice the date of birth on the memorial marker . . . today is his birthday! . . .

Morning Glory Seedlings

Not much to look at yet . . . but the morning glory seedlings are beginning to peak through the dead leaves and grasses . . . hope I have a good crop coming back from the seeds that dropped from the seed pods over the winter . . . since this is their first new spring since I planted the original seeds last spring (April 2010), I will let them do their own thing this year . . . if there is not a good crop, I will supplement with new seed for the Spring of 2012 . . .

Face In Space

Foggy Night

Milk Punch

Friday, February 22nd, 1861. To day I went home and found Bill at work on the mill house. In the evening the little woman & Florence with Father, Mother & Toby came up. They returned home late in the evening. This being my birth day I took a milk punch. weather changable & warm for the time of year. James Madison Hall

This photo shows the 500+ pages of my copy of the 1860-1866 Journal of James Madison Hall . . . on today's page, he mentions that he took a milk punch in honor of this being his birthday . . . what is a milk punch? . . .

Cool. From PETERSON'S MAGAZINE, March 1868 . . . Put two quarts of French brandy, eighteen lemons, three-quarters of a pound of best loaf sugar, and three pints new milk to two quarts of water. Strain this frequently through a jelly bag until it becomes clear and fine. Make two or three days before it is required, and bottle it off.

Warm. From PETERSON'S MAGAZINE, March 1868 . . . Throw into two quarts of new milk the very thinly pared rind of a fine lemon, and half a pound of good sugar, in lumps; bring it slowly to boil; take out the lemon rind, draw it from the fire, and stir quickly in a couple of well-whisked eggs, which have been mixed with less than half a pint of cold milk, and strained through a sieve; the milk must not of course be allowed to boil after these are mixed with it. Add gradually a pint of rum, and half a pint of brandy. Mix the punch to a froth and serve it immediately with quite warm glasses.

See also . . . Benjamin Franklin's Milk Punch Recipe . . .

Happy Birthday, Aunt Gladys

On the 21st day of February . . . in the year 1913 . . . Gladys Coreen Muston was born in Lee County, Texas . . . one of her five older sisters was my paternal grandma . . . this photograph shows a vintage image of Aunt Gladys from Grandma's photo album . . . I placed it on the February 1913 page in my old perpetual calendar book . . . Aunt Gladys is on your left . . . the girl on the right is probably their youngest sister, Pauline . . .

Knick-Knack :: Remembering Grandma and Grandpa

This little knick-knack was a gift to my Grandma and Grandpa many years ago . . . from me . . . they were both born on the 20th day of February . . . Grandma in 1904 in Massachusetts . . . and Grandpa in 1905 in Texas . . . following their deaths . . . Grandpa in 1976 . . . and Grandma in 1994 . . . this little knick-knack came to live at my house . . . thinking of them today . . . on their birthdays . . .

Texas Statehood Day

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that Dec. 29, 1845, was the date Texas was admitted [to the United States]. It was on this date that the newly written State Constitution was accepted by Congress of the United States. However, it was not until Feb. 16, 1846, that the first State Legislature convened at the call of President Anson Jones who yielded to Governor J. Pinckney Henderson. Three days later, on Feb. 19, the formalities of transition from nationhood to statehood were observed with the lowering of the Lone Star Flag of the Republic of Texas and the raising of the Stars and Stripes. This day, Feb. 19, was declared to be Texas Statehood Day by resolution of the Forty-Seventh Legislature in 1941.

The resolution adopted by the Forty-Seventh Legislature designated Centennial of Statehood years to be 1945 and 1946 and proclaimed that the historical events of that period should be appropriately commemorated with all sections of Texas participating. The momentous developments within the economic and social structure of the state during the last few years will leave Texas and Texans facing a situation with good and bad potentialities, as the war closes. The year, 1946, might easily be the opening of a new century in more than the passing of the century milepost.

The development of plans for Statehood observances will, of course, depend largely upon the progress of Allied military and naval effort during 1943-1945. Co-operation in the war and postwar effort has been and will be a major activity of the Statehood Commission.

From the 1943-1944 Texas Almanac published by the Dallas Morning News.

Dale Earnhardt 1951-2001

Little Scrubbers

Almost Full Moon

Vintage Perfume Atomizer

Racecars and Hearts

He trod upon the trees

High from the earth I heard a bird
He trod upon the trees
As he esteemed them trifles
And then he spied a breeze.

by
Emily Dickinson
10 December 1830 – 15 May 1886

Horse-Apple

Horse-Apple
and
One year ago today . . .

New Book!

Happy to find new civil war book in the mailbox today . . . ordered via Amazon a while back . . .

not so happy about the damaged pages . . .

Photo Albums

Wormwood & Teardrops

Til death us do part

08 February 1975

Thumb Piano

Queens Crown

Horse-Drawn Sickle Mower

Sunshine 'n Shadow

What to do with a boring photo

Coated With Ice

A Song for Candlemas
by
Lizette Woodworth Reese

There’s never a rose upon the bush,
And never a bud on any tree;
In wood and field nor hint nor sign
Of one green thing for you or me.
Come in, come in, sweet love of mine,
And let the bitter weather be!
Coated with ice the garden wall;
The river reeds are stark and still;
The wind goes plunging to the sea,
And last week’s flakes the hollows fill.
Come in, come in, sweet love, to me,
And let the year blow as it will!

Glad to be Home