Reunion

Reunion

(Lots of Fun!)

 

This was the second weekend in a row of family gathering. (Last weekend was for the Balloon Rally) This time we had a gathering of 50 people for an extended family reunion.

How do you like the view we had? This is in Dutchess County, New York State.

 

 

We had my husband's four 1st cousins, their children and grandchildren, his two brothers and sister and their children and grandchildren and one of our children and grandchildren. Oh, yes, spouses; plus a second cousin and a 3rd cousin, once removed. We had never met the 3rd cousin in person before.

 

I have our family tree on Ancestry.com. I really love that site. Not only does it have lots of information but I've been able to contact several of my cousins - twice removed. And we made contact with a 3rd cousin of my husband there too. We have been sharing old family pictures and other family "branches"  and finally met this weekend.  Here are some of those pictures:

 

 

 

 

This is a picture of the brothers and sisters that are their common ancestors. Their spouses are behind them.

 

The third from left in front row is my husband's  and his second cousin's great grandfather. The first on the left is the great great grandfather of our newly met 3rd cousin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I give up on the rest of the relationships. But you get the idea - relatives. Generations of them! I need my Roots Magic software program to keep them all straight. The habit of repeating family names occurs in all families, much to the confusion of following generations.

 

 

 

It was a great tradition in my husband's family to have large reunions. They traveled for hours to gather as we did this past weekend - in the same general area. However, there were no Interstate roads as we have and though the places they traveled from were really much closer it took just as long to get there. It only took us 3 1/2 to 4 hours to go about the about 200 miles from Massachusetts. (The extra 1/2 hour going was because of torrential rain and several accidents in the way.) We stayed overnight, too. The area is still as beautiful and much of it undeveloped. (See the first picture)

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a 50th anniversary picture taken 100 years ago. Fifty years married back then was a real feat. The couple in the middle are the same ones on the left in the picture above. See the white beard.

 

It does show how important family reunions were then as they are now.

 

 

 

 

I'm sure there will be many more such reunions. It is tradition!

 

I have a word of advice on family pictures for you. Before you go to a reunion, check the last picture of a family reunion to see what you wore. I had the same outfit on in the last two pictures though 3-5 years apart. I hope no one else noticed. Do I need to get some new clothes?

 

I hope you enjoyed accounts of my family gatherings. I should be more in jewelry mode by next week.

 

 

Until  next week,

 

Bev

 

website:http://ringbyringdesigns.com

 

Family Reunion Part 1

We just got back from a Family Reunion of about 40 people at my niece's in NJ. Weather was great (after all the rain we have had lately, you think about that). Food was good and it was great to see family we do not see often. My son flew in from CA with one of his kids, my oldest daughter and her family came from DC area. We drove down with my other daughter and her kids. (Her husband was at a national youth group gathering in TN) Various cousins, a second cousin, nieces and nephews, siblings and lots of kids made up the group.

Now it just happened to fall on our anniversary and our kids surprised us with two cakes (story to follow tomorrow) and the biggest surprise: one of my bridesmaids and her husband appeared. She lives in CT and she and my daughter planned the surprise. It was fun to hear how they accomplished this feat as we were totally surprised. Both fit in with the family reunion like a glove!

Our other surprise was the gift from our kids. Two tickets to see the Red Sox play the Detroit Tigers in Boston. Included is transportation to and from the park. That is a great part of the gift since Fenway is not easy to get to or leave. You may remember the trip when we went to see the Red Sox in DC.

So, stay tuned for tomorrow's explanation of the two cakes.

B


www.bevsjewelry.com and www.bevsjewelry.1000markets.com

Flight from Boston to San Francisco

Our flight to CA was uneventful and from Boston to Iowa (I know because the pilot told us so) we were above a thick layer of clouds. This is the view from my seat.

A word of caution when picking seats on an airline. Do NOT choose the row behind the exit row. They get extra room for the exit but YOU loose it. I've squeezed in smaller spaces in misaligned church pews!

I did take my Kumihimo ready to make a bracelet (though I found out later they let someone on with knitting needles.)

Because our ride to Logan Express had to be early we had several hours to kill at the airport. So, I pulled out my Kumihimo project. Drew lots of attention. "What is that?", "My that looks complicated" etc. Very interesting. I finished about 1/4 of the bracelet during that time period which was good since I had NO room to do any on the plane. If I had dropped any beads they would have been goners. The lady in the third seat with us took off her shoe and had to have the flight attendant help her to retrieve it.

Anyhow, the trip was good. I discovered that you get a l-o-n-g sunset going west. The plane really tries to catch up with the sun but doesn't quite make it.

I took several pictures of the sunset but the plane was not oriented just the way I would have liked it for a picture but for going to SFO - just right.






B

Up, up and Away!

We are off.... to California!


My son's birthday, a grandson's and granddaughter's birthdays are all in December. (Makes for interesting Holiday planning) Anyhow, we were invited to help celebrate this year and of course we said OK!


So, today we are on a flight to SFO. San Francisco. Only with a my raincoat - no boot, winter coat, scarf and gloves. Makes airplane traveling easier with out all those trappings. When you go in a car, you can always just throw those things in the back seat.


However, since it is a 6 hour flight, I'm disappointed not to be able to take some of my jewelery supplies with me. I've been told they frown on such things as wire cutters and pliers. Almost impossible to make something with out those items.

So, I'll be taking my Kumihimo disk, loaded with beads and bobbins. They are all plastic and the bobbins should keep the beads secure. My other, very real fear, is having little seed beads all over aisle. How embarrassing would that be?


So, I may be not posting for awhile as we enjoy our trip and family.

B

Balloon Weekend 2008

We have been sponsoring a Hot Air Balloon at the Pittsfield, NH annual Balloon Rally for 15 years. This year was not one of the best weather wise. We had only one flight (Friday night) out of a possible 4. Saturday morning, however, we were able to tether the balloon so at least we could get off the ground. Saturday evening, the skies opened up, to say the least. That was something not needed in the area. Just last week some of the near by towns had a tornado. It is impossible to show with a picture how the area looked. Trees wound up like tops, some sheared off 20 feet in the air, others untouched. Fortunately, only one life was lost. Trees and roads, that is another story. Since we did not fly much, I'm posting a nice picture from another year. Gray skies don't make good pictures. We did have a great time with family, however. Some of my husband's cousins came from NY State and other NH locals. Even the newest family member, a 3 week old baby, attended!

Now to get back to a routine and make some more jewelry. Christmas is coming!

B