Historical Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday.

Being the genealogy geek that I am, I thought it would be fabulous to spend the day visiting some Utah Ghost Towns including Silver City. Silver City was a booming mining community established in 1870 and was part of the Tintic Mining District. The area was rich in silver and at its peak had a population around 1500. The town was abandoned in the 1930's. All that remains are some foundations. It's my understanding that the remaining buildings burnt in a brush fire several years ago. My great great grandparents, Victor Reno and Nellie Bune are listed as living in Silver City in the 1880 US Census. I can't tell you what a thrill it was to think that I was standing on the same ground that they were on in 1880. My gg grandfather immigrated from France and my gg grandmother immigrated from the Netherlands, Holland. I would love the entire story as to how they got from there, met and married, and ended up in Silver City, Utah.


















We also visited Mammoth, Utah in which there are still some residents. Honestly, this is a creepy place. My husband pointed out a can which was rolling uphill. Scary stuff. Both Silver City and Mammoth are just a few miles south of Eureka, Utah. Eureka is populated and has that "small town" feel. There are also mine remains, enormous amounts of tailings and old buildings in Eureka. We visited the old mine where the old mine shaft is covered with metal mesh and steam escapes its vast depth. Throwing rocks down the shaft we never did hear them hit the bottom. I can't imagine climbing onto one of those OLD elevator cars and slowly being lowered into that shaft. Talk about frightening!












































































Our last stop of the day was to Dividend, Utah. Dividend was a very profitable mine of silver and lead just east of Eureka. Much of the old mine buildings remain although they are crumbling. The homes were moved around the 1940's after the mine lost all profitability.


Last but not least, if anyone is interested in investing in some property in this area we did find a nice little fixer-upper for sale. :)

Hooray for the high mountains !!

Provo River Waterfall in the High Uinta Mountains.

I do love my mountains. Cherish them, adore them. This past weekend we had the opportunity to stay with family in cabins in the High Uintas near the Utah/Wyoming border. It's been many years since I have been in this gorgeous area of the Wasatch/Cache National Forest. Words cannot describe how happy I was to see some of the sites from my childhood, exact locations that I have had burned into my memories...it was like seeing an old friend. The first thing my husband did when we arrived at the cabins was disappear. He came back with a handful of wild strawberries for me. I had told him that one of my fondest childhood memories was walking around lakes and the mountainside looking for wild strawberries with my dad. Boy, that brought a big smile to my face !!

The Uinta Mountains are dotted with many, many little lakes enclosed in densely forested areas covered with lodgepole pines and aspen trees. A lot of the lakes also have lily pads floating peacefully on them. There are also creeks and rivers, clearings with marshes and covered with wildflowers, and lots of wildlife viewing. Moose and deer are the main sitings. Well, not including the squirrels and chipmunks !! It's also fun to see the patches of snow high up on the mountain peaks because it never melts. We traveled along the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway which is only open from May-mid October. The road goes from Kamas, Utah (near Park City) to Evanston, Wyoming. In my mind, I am already planning a return trip very soon !!

My daughter at Mirror Lake.


My son fishing at Mirror Lake. He caught a lot of moss !


My mom and her husband at Whitney Reservoir where we were attacked by huge horse/deer flies.


My husband at Bald Mountain Pass. Elevation 10,687 feet.


The Provo River cutting through the Uinta Mountains.

xoxoxoxox

Oh the Drama...

I am frustrated. The frustration file in my filing cabinet has exploded. I have been divorced from the father of my children, my first husband, for over 10 years. I have nothing bad to say about him. He is a very difficult person, but we all have our downfalls. Honestly, I have no feelings toward him whatsoever. He is the one who left me but ultimately, it was definitely for the best. I want nothing more than to have my children have a good relationship with him and spend time with him. There is nothing I do to hinder their relationship. Schedules are provided, I try to encourage the kids to see him even when they are begging to stay home, when the kids complain about him and how he does things I remind them that everyone is different and I know it's hard to go back and forth between homes with different parenting styles. Plus, they are 12 and 13... a difficult age for kids anyway. My oldest child is nearly 20 and I have no control over any relationship he chooses to have with his father.

My frustration is this: I feel that I do everything I can to be a good mother, a good co-parent. Yes, I admit that I do sometimes forget things. I am human, I fail sometimes. I don't always inform their father of every haircut, dentist appointment and class they take. On the other hand, I believe it to be the responsibility of the other parent to communicate with the children and not just rely on the co-parent for all communication. However, it seems that the 'father' feels and lets it be known that I do everything I can to hinder his relationships with his children. Nothing is further from the truth ! And at this point in my life, I have grown a set of balls. I will no longer be a door mat. I will no longer be yelled at and belittled, let alone by someone who I am no longer married to. Tell me, am I wrong ? Should I put up with being put down, belittled, critiqued, yelled at and told how I do everything wrong- for the sake of my children ? I think not. No good can come when children see their mother yelled at and put down by their father, let alone the tension and stress it causes. I think it would do well for all adults involved in situations like this to grow up.

And that, is my .2 cents for the day.

Love to everyone !!! xoxoxoxoxox

~Wendy

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

Yep, just goofing around. :) Try it, it's kind of fun !!

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family reunion - Family name

~Wendy

Helicopter Parent ??

Lately I've been pondering about childhood and the impact that our society today has on our children. For many years, I have felt that the world seems to require that our children grow up too fast. Children have so many things thrown at them socially, personally, environmentally and educationally and often all at once. As adults, many of us have gained the coping skills to deal with these pressures but I feel that many children are lacking the needed maturity and experience to handle everything that is dealt to them.

I was listening to the John Tesh show on the radio recently when running my 'mom taxi'. He was talking about over-parenting. I, and many, like to refer to it as the helicopter parent syndrome. Now honestly, I myself sometimes behave like a helicopter parent. My husband has to remind me to let the kids deal with things themselves but it's hard to see them struggle even though I know it's necessary for them to learn. John Tesh, on his show, stated that "Carl Honore, the author of the book Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children From the Culture of Hyper-Parenting... spent two years investigating child-raising approaches around the world. What he found everywhere among middle-class and affluent families was that - despite parents’ best intentions - kids are over-scheduled, over-indulged and over-stimulated." In my mind this tells me that children are being encouraged to "be little adults". Although I want and encourage my children to be involved and try different sports and activities in church, community and school, I still want them to be children. Ahhh... parenting.... it's a toughie !!

On a side (somewhat related) note, my 12 year old son is involved in the scouting program. He loves it and it's a great program which I totally support. I was somewhat unenthusiastic, however, when I learned that they were planning a 50 mile hike in the mountains with full packs, tents, etc., everything needed to sustain life on the trail for a week- ON YOUR BACK. A few other parents were as skeptical as myself where their young boys were concerned. If they were a little older, taller, more mature I think it would be a great experience but at 12 years old, the maturity and strength to carry a 30 pound pack on your back for a week is, in my opinion, too much. The scouts did recently do a much, much shorter hike with the full packs and my son discovered that although he did enjoy himself, he decided that that 50-miler was for the birds. At least for THIS year.

Straight Cuts and Other Scissor Tales

Handmade, hand cut and hand designed dragonflies by yours truly. :)

I've had many people, over the past few years, ask me how my cuts are so "perfect". I say "perfect" because I am a perfectionist, I always think my own work can be improved and never think of my work as perfect. Nonetheless, people always ask how I get my cuts so smooth, even and straight. For me, there are 2 parts to the equation in getting nice clean scissor cuts...

1) Good, very sharp scissors that fit your hand well. For me, my favorite scissors are Cutter Bees from EK Success. They have an extra sharp tip, non stick blades and they're smaller - perfect for my hands and for getting into tight or curvy areas.

2) Move the paper, not your scissors. When I cut, I hold my scissors with my right hand and "guide" the paper with my left hand. Plus, I never make the scissor blades chop but rather make even smooth cuts.

Another tip I can offer is for matting. I have a wonderful tool called the Magic Matter by Puzzle Mates (PM Designs). It has different sized disks with a hole in the center. You place a pencil in the hole and gently trace the edge of whatever you want to matte and VOILA, perfect cutting lines for your matted piece ! It's perfect for getting an even matte around shaped, curvy and intricate designs. I have the 4 disk set which, unfortunately, has been discontinued. They do still sell a 3 disk set although I understand it is hard to find in stores.

I think I was also blessed with a very steady hand. Lemme tellya, that comes in handy when making scissor cuts !

Happy cutting, snipping and paper crafting !!

xoxoxoxox

~Wendy

Some Dumb Humor...

9:00 at night and it's 90 degrees. NINETY DEGREES at dusk ! It was 100 degrees here today. It's not Arizona heat, but wowie it's hot to me.

When summer is so hot you can:
*Go to McDonalds to get coffee and pour it on your laps -- just to cool off!

*Get a sunburn through your car window. YES, you can !

*You can make INSTANT sun tea.

*Pretty much wear shorts and a tank top to any function.

*Determine the best parking spots by amount of shade, not distance from the front door.

*Beg your husband to book a trip to Nova Scotia, Montana, Antarctica, anywhere cooler !! Yes, I tried. Yes, I got laughed at. :)

On a brighter, cooler note (and not dumb or humorous in any way *smile*)... check out one of my new pendants from Popalicious. It's a little hand painted pink tile pendant with an adorable bird. So cute !! It's very detailed and oh so deliciously hand crafted. Love it !!



xoxoxoxoxox

~Wendy