My Thoughts

Bib necklaces seem to be popular right now, and a simple search will yield several blogs, websites, etc sporting photos of some finished products.  I, of course, always want to make it for myself, so I have been looking around for examples and products.  I finally settled on a pattern I liked.  My ideal is a combination of the three pictures shown here.  I have already mastered making the flowers, so I just need to work on assembling. Since I finished graduate school, it seems all I want to do is make up for lost time and to craft, craft, craft.  I am finishing up the new chair cushions for my wicker chairs today, too.  I have made a couple of halter re-fashions, and I have my pattern ready to make some shopping bags since Austin is gonna be a plastic bag free city by 2013.  My true goal is to build my etsy.com store, but I have some reservations, fear maybe, that nothing really sells there.  All fear aside!!  Think this should become my new mantra..........All fear aside. Th

The true fragility of life became very apparent this week with the death of my 3rd cousin, Trinity Liebhaber who was only 2 months old.  Her family was involved in a very horrible car accident on Mother's Day.  So many times I have added my standard cherub icon to those family members in my tree who died as a child.  Even though my curiosity wanted more information, so often, there is just a blank space in that family line without explanation.  I thought about Trinity today.  A hundred years from now when someone is looking backward to figure out family histories, will information be available documenting the reason for her short life?  My work on the sixth of my 2nd great grandmothers has finally materialized into something comprehensible enough to document. Mary Edna Caldwell (Turner / Fry) was born February 28, 1846 in  Ouachita County, Arkansas.  She was the daughter of George Washington Caldwell and Elizabeth Shipp.  Mary Edna's mother died when Mary was only fourteen; s

My favorite shows growing up where "The Waltons" and "Little House on the Prairie".  I honestly believe that stored somewhere in our DNA are collective memories from those who came before us, and as I have worked on documenting the lives of my 2nd great grandmothers, I find myself reflecting back to these two shows very often.  The time frame for these women falls roughly between 1850 - 1950. Sitting here drinking my coffee out of the "MOM" mug Whitney gave me for Mother's Day last year, my emotions dance back and forth to a melody of long ago voices that only I seem to hear.  It is almost as though each of these women is sitting here at this table with me sharing coffee and memories.  I am multitasking too, browsing through pinterest and searching for summer dress patterns.  I think about where women are today..........the opportunities and privileges. I think often to one of the last conversations I had with my dad, GW Slayton.  He was angry and

Bennie Hall was born in April 1865 in Cass County, Texas.  The Hall family had settled into the Northeast Texas area approximately 15 years earlier as verified by 1850 Census records for Bennie's father, Benjamin Franklin Hall.  Prior to the move, the Hall family had resided in Georgia.   Bennie married Daniel Hardy Holt in 1883 in Cass County, Texas.  The couple had 10 children:  6 girls and 4 boys.  Bennie and Daniel slowly moved eastward before finally settling in Hazen, Arkansas.  The first 4 children were born in Cass County, Texas while the remaining 6 were born in Arkansas.  This movement to Arkansas is consistent with the Holt family migration patterns.  Most of Bennie's siblings remained in Cass County and are buried there.  Bennie died in 1926 in Hazen, Arkansas.  Within three months, her husband died.  In the next year, her son Seth and daughter Erma also died.  The reasons for families to move into Texas during what is called the Antebellum Era are outlined

The previous three 2nd great grandmothers were all women who lived long and full lives. Mary Jane Williams - Slayton 60 yrs Rebeca Lavinia Evans - Mitchell 81 yrs Josephine Carter - Hayes 61 yrs As this project has continued to document my 2nd great grandmothers, I realized I wanted to make a comparison chart to see them all side by side.  So much commonality.  I guess I think that by studying them, I will understand more about myself, or at least about where I came from.  It's not an easy task - delving into the past.  Romanticizing the information makes it interesting, and the reality is that I will never truly know these woman, their hopes and dreams.  All I can do is find facts.  This is the reality of being a historian. Arthasusan Ruth (1867 - 1896).  She was born November 14, 1867 in Cass County, Missouri.  This is 100 years and 1 day before me, my birthday is November 15.  She is the daughter of Mary Frances Teasley.  At the time, Mary Frances was married to William

I have been developing a "Stress and Telecommunicator" class to teach this summer.  All the research so far suggests that stress among coworkers stems from 2 main issues:  work ethics / integrity and personal hygiene / cleanliness.  Many other factors contribute to stress, but most people I've polled make point to issues with coworkers as the biggest stress factors.  I've been mulling this over in my mind for  a few days, and this morning, I kept hearing the expression "make a hand" whisper to me. Growing up, a strong work ethic was one of the major character foundations laid by my parents.  My dad was always busy, and when chores were assigned to the kids, expectations were that the chores would be done.  I remember my dad saying on more than one occassion, "make a hand".  When my siblings and I began to look for jobs, the advice given consistently was to "make a hand".  Because I grew up hearing this and saw it demonstrated in the acti

In total, I have 8 great great grandmothers, or as is more sophisticated to say, 2nd great grandmothers.  The first ones I researched were the 2 grandmothers to my grandfather GJ Slayton (1904 - 1989).  Yea, that's a mouthful.  When I was born, GJ Slayton was already 63 years old.  He had lived a long time and seen many things before I came along.  The few things I learned about Papa came from his wife, Gladys or from one of his many daughters.  Honestly, I never considered that Papa even gave a second thought to me. So, not knowing much about him or his family is not surprising. I have to say that my grandfather on my mother's side, Leo Stephen Hayes (1913 - 1984), fared little better.  Although I was so fascinated by him, Grandpa seemed so dismissive of me.  I was a teenager with acne and an attitude when both my grandfathers passed.  I knew my mother's parents moved alot.  I also knew that at one time, they lived in Kansas in an old Victorian style home in a town where