Hiya Blogland!!! How is everyone doing? It has been HOTTER then you-know-where here in Maryland. We had like 3 days of a nice spring and then ZAP--the humid blowtorch turns on. And I am not a hot-weather lovin' gal. I actually LOVE cold weather! You can put on more clothes to get warm...but you can only take off so much in hot weather. Unless you wanna scare small animals and children or get arrested. Although the hot pants and tube top ensemble is ALWAYS appropriate for a trip to Wal-Mart!
I'm still in the midst of paintapalooza 2011. The hall and living room are painted and next up is the dining room. They all flow into each other so it looks a bit weird to have a half painted wall!! Pictures will follow when done. I have to say I LOVE the color "Peaceful Habitat". In some lights it looks greenish, sometimes it's taupish and other times a kind of goldish tint. I can't BELIEVE how much difference a color makes as opposed to the boring white walls.
My new best friends are Rustoleum Heritage White 2x Coverage Spray Paint and my never-ending can of Ralph Lauren Glaze in tobbacco. (I brought a gallon on clearance like 2 years ago and maybe have used 1 inch out of it)
I have been painting all the formerly prim black stuff Heritage White and then glazing over it with the tobbacco glaze. It's AMAZING the difference it makes. I'm just remaking alot of the stuff I already have to get the "cottage" look.
After it's all said and done- I'm going to let my daughter "shop" my stash. I'm going to introduce her to the fun of thrift shopping and remakes. She has some black lamps she's wants to become silver. Hello Hammered Silver Spray Paint!! At the end of the summer I'm going to offer the prim stuff to some friends. I do not need to keep it---LOLOL
What little time I've been online has been spent (other than reading everyone's blogs- I've not been able to comment much due to Blogger Crap) has been on Ancestry.com. I fell down that rabbit hole researching my mom's family history as a gift for her upcoming birthday.
We both enjoy the show "Who do you think you are?" and she mentioned there were things about her family she wanted to know. She's really hard to buy gifts for (she doesn't need any more STUFF) so I decided to do the research and write it up as a gift to her. I cannot recommend Ancestry.com enough as a good starting point. Yes, you pay a monthly fee but it has been WORTH every penny in my search.
WOW!!!! What an adventure this has been. I do have to say--have an online encyclopedia open as you research to verify dates, names and maybe flesh out the history. I came across so many entries that were completely incorrect historically. (Ex.--noting a relative was born in Annapolis, MD in 1620. WRONG--Maryland wasn't colonized until 1634..little stuff like that)
What did I find? We are a direct descendent of Mary Queen of Scots. We have two direct descendents that came over on the Mayflower. Our 8x great grandmother was burned as a witch at Salem. We owned slaves. And we are a direct descendents of a slave. We have Piscatataway Indian Heritage. We were some of the first colonists in Maryland. We were titled gentry in England and poor laborers in Scotland. We were some of the first German settlers in Pennsylvania. We fought on both sides in the Civil War and actually met in battle on Culp's Hill Gettysburg.
One of the most poignant moments was learning my 5x great-grandmother's name. We never knew anything about her. I knew that my paternal grandfather's family had come from Scotland. I discovered that James (my 5x great-grandfather)and his son, Thomas had arrived in America in 1779. I knew they were from Drainie Parish, Morayshire, Scotland. Using the old parish records, I learned that Thomas was born in 1775--making him but 4 years old when he arrived in America. This was where I learned the name of my 5x great-grandmother, Jean Brander. The records showed she married James in 1769 and Thomas was their only living child. The immigration records did not list her as arriving in America, and there is no record in any parish in Scotland or England of her death. As far as I can surmise, she must've died on the way over-most likely (as was common of women her age during that time) from the complications of pregnancy/childbirth.
I am not who I thought I was. And I have a lot more researching to do.
Thanks for stopping by!
Tamera
