Reflecting on 2010

Happy New Year! Every new year, I feel simultaneously excited and melancholy. I'm excited about the coming year and the opportunities to grab hold of. However, I am always melancholy as I reflect over the year and what didn't happen for whatever reason, or things that did happen that were not on my list. So 2010 is no exception.

I started 2010 optimistic. I was deep in my search for my grandmother, and I decided that I needed to take some creative workshops. I did take some creative workshops - drawing, soldering, metal etching. They were all fun and well worth it.

I also began to get quite good at researching my ancestors and finding living descendants of them. That was both scary and exciting. I reached out to several and that has proven valuable. To date, no one I've established contact with knows anything about Lola. I found the living people once I found obituaries. I would then search on-line obits and Facebook. I even found someone via her website. I have received some pictures of two of Lola's brothers and am anxiously awaiting pictures of Lola's father, George!

In summary, the living people I've been lucky enough to find and establish contact with follow:

NM - A fourth cousin of my dad. She is a descendant of great great great (is that right) grandmother Leah. Leah was the mother of Wells and Wells was the father of Effie (my very interesting great grandmother) and Effie was Lola's mother. This woman had been searching Effie's family for her tree and gave me a lot of information that I was then able to run with.

WP - Her grandfather Adolph and Lola's brother William (aka Bill) were both adopted by the same family in Iowa. Turns out, WP and my sis and I were all looking for Bill. Bill outlived his first two wives and was survived by his third wife. Once I had the names of the wives, I began the search and found three people.

Bills' second wife Edith had a brother Arthur. Arthur had a son Charles and a son AS. I found Charles' obit and found his daughter via Facebook. She gave me contact info for AS. We have talked on the phone and I have sent him pictures. Will need to re-establish contact with him in the new year.

Bill's third wife Ann had a sister Ellen. They were very close. Once I discovered (thanks to WP's detective work) that Ellen was now gone, I found Ellen's daughter and had the opportunity to meet her earlier in 2010. We shared stories and pictures and she gave me pictures of Bill and Ann. She also sent me some pictures from their wedding day. Turns out, AS and Charles were in the pictures.

LB - Lola's brother George died in 1968. He had lived in Chicago and my sister thought it would be good to search newspaper archives for Chicago to see if we could find an obit for George. Score! We did and it mentioned George's daughter Betty and her husband. I then searched for Betty and her husband (Google search) and found Betty's husband's obituary. The kids were listed and a Google search led to LB's business website. I called her on Easter Sunday! I know that was a call that truly caught her off guard but we remain in touch via Facebook, as I do with WP and some others I've yet to mention.

BB - BB's mother was my dad's aunt Edna. Edna was Red's younger sister. I was going through boxes of photos that I had taken from my parents' home and came across a Christmas card. This card was from Edna and contained a handwritten letter. In this letter, Edna mentions her daughters, Edna Mae and BB. Well, I immediately googled them and found that Edna Mae had passed away in 1999 just a few months before her mother Edna did. I found BB on Facebook and made contact with her. She has pictures and I can't wait to meet her and go through the pictures. You see, her mother Edna lived in (or was visiting) my grandparents in Iowa in 1920 and was on the census that year as being in the household. I know some of the old pictures I do have of my dad as a toddler came from Edna.

GJ - GJ's mother Rosetta and Lola were first cousins. I was doing some research via Findagrave and began to find Rosetta's family in the database. Rosetta's mother Grace, was Effie's sister. My sister and I reached out and have established contact with him. I was able to send him several newspaper articles on his mother and his aunts. He also offered to escort me to cemeteries when I make my trip to Illinois. I was supposed to go in 2010, but really wanted to make contact with people before going. Now that I've established contact with several people, I need to wait until the spring when the weather is more conducive to travelling.

MD - MD's paternal grandmother was Effie's sister, Edna. I knew from the obituaries of Effie and her parents (Wells and Emma), that Edna and her family lived in Laramie, Wyoming and that one of Edna's sons, Everett, died in 1943 in Northern California but was buried in Wyoming. On a whim, I searched the message boards for Laramie and Cheyenne, WY and found that someone had posted an offer to take pictures of headstones in cemeteries there, so I replied. Well that was a good decision. This woman Kathy not only took photos, but went to her library and found obituaries for Edna, Edna's husband and other family members! She was just amazing. One of Edna's daughters had a son who lives in Southern California. I found him on Facebook and sent him a message. His daughter MD contacted me and we are now in touch.

LB - Lola's father George remarried a woman named Grace. I'm not exactly sure when they married but do know that they were on the 1930 census as spouses. Grace was a widow and mother of two daughters, Katherine and Mary. One day I began a google search of Mary and much to my amazement, I found an on-line family tree that gave the name of Mary's daughter and her sons! I couldn't believe my luck. I found then one of the sons on Facebook and one on Ancestry (he had the start of a family tree). My sister reached out via Ancestry and I did via Facebook. Contact was made and LB and I have emailed and talked on the phone. She just sent me an email and told me that her cousin (Katherine's daughter) found an old black and white photo of "grandpa"! I can't wait to see that!

DL - Lola's sister Bessie married a man named Ben. I am still trying to determine when Ben died but did begin to focus on Ben's family. Bessie's 1976 obit listed two of Ben's nieces (Grace and Lillian) as Bessie's survivors. I began to focus on them and found tons of articles and names. That led to my finding a great granddaughter of Grace and a grandson of Lillian. Contact and communication has been happening, but slow. DL has an aunt in Illinois that knows of Bessie and thinks she has pictures. He is going to look into that!

So, eventful researching, yet still nothing on Lola. I have hope that someone knows something.

I also took a business trip in July to the Gulf of Mexico. I spent one week in Pensacola, FL and one week in Mobile, AL. That was busy and interesting. The other work thing that happened was I stepped into a new role, one that I've struggled with. I was quite content with my previous role and was looking forward to expanding that.

I finally listed items in the Etsy shop I opened in 2009! So far, I've only had two sales and must now focus on marketing so that I can get more sales. I also need to list more art as right now I don't have much in my shop.

I also made contact with some cousins on Red's side of the family. They also have pictures, so I can't wait to go through those. They just might have pictures of Lola and do not know who she is.

Towards the end of 2010, three of my contemporaries (a former co-worker, the son of a colleague, and a high school classmate) died. This hit me rather hard and has really made me think about my life and consider how I must make changes in order to really live life and not just "go through the motions". I am becoming more aware of the fact that I don't have my whole life ahead of me any longer and need to stop wasting it.

I also had a milestone birthday. I turned 50! Had a blast really. Some friends threw a fun-filled birthday bash for me. I haven't had a birthday party in so long that I really enjoyed it. I forgot how much fun they are.

Overall, 2010 was good. Many discoveries and challenges. I keep reading that everything is in right order. This is in spiritual literature, by the way. So, does this mean that my work challenge is supposed to be? Does this mean I was just too complacent and this is going to make me take inventory of my life? I think so.

Here's to looking forward to 2011 and what it has in store for me.

Yudu and Gocco

 I am a long time user of the Print Gocco, a table-top printing system developed in Japan in 1977. This fun little machine works using flash bulbs, carbon based artwork and an emulsion-coated screen.  When you manually flash the bulbs, the carbon artwork burns the image into the emulsion-coated screen.  Sadly, in 2005, Riso (Print Gocco's parent company) citing decreased sales caused them to end production.  That started an internet campaign to save Gocco or find a new home for Gocco.  Now the supplies are getting harder to come by and therefore more expensive than ever! This crisis has forced me to look for alternatives.

About a year ago, I heard about the Yudu.  I was pretty jazzed and HAD to go get one.  I bought it along with additional supplies.  And now, almost one year later, it is still in the box.   The "similarities" in the name (Gocco - Yudu) did not go unnoticed by me.  This Yudu came with an instructional DVD which was, to say the least, pretty darn goofy.  Since it also comes with one screen and two (rather pricey) capillary emulsion sheets, I kept putting off using it.  I would read the posts on the Yudu Forum for tips and occassionally search for videos on YouTube.  Then I discovered a place in the L.A. area that was teaching Yudu workshops.  I wrote on my 2010 goals that I'd take the workshop.  I posted those goals.  I then called to sign up and was told that the workshop was sold out.  NO!  I was told that they offer it every month, but, in February it was being offered on a weeknight and with my work schedule, plus the hideous traffic involved in getting from point A to point B, I couldn't do it.  I asked to be put on the wait list.  The laws of attraction, I gather, were at work.  I got a call a few days later that someone cancelled the workshop and I was in.  I went last Saturday.

One of the class requirements was to email the artwork to the instructor.  I chose my Guitar Cat, thinking I could not only burn a screen of the detailed drawing to print in black, but that I could also burn a second screen sans the detail for the first run in a different color.  That wasn't really a part of the class.  The class was quite good and focused on how to properly transfer the emulsion sheet to the screen (apparently the hardest part of the process), burning the screen in the Yudu, removing the excess emulsion after the screen has been exposed, drying the screen and then printing.

I brought T-shirts, flour sack dishtowels and card stock with me to class to print on.  We were given a piece of scrap fabric for our first print.  The Yudu comes with 110 mesh screens.  These are really for printing larger areas.  My finer line artwork lends itself well to 220 mesh (smaller holes per inch) and Gocco screens are 220.  Yudu now offers 220 mesh screens, FYI.



Once all the prep work was done, we got down to printing.  Yikes!  Way too much ink.  This is the scrap fabric provided by the class for our first print. 




I then started to print on the floursack towels. These towels are pretty big and I encountered a little problem due to the limited work area - kept accidentally getting the towel in the ink (not good).  Also, my prints on the cardstock were equally "runny".  I wasn't too pleased due to the lack of detail, but my hip, young instructor liked the look.  She even called me a "perfectionist"!

After several runs the image began to look how I wanted it to look.  I think it didn't have anything to do with the mesh count, but rather the amount of ink.  In the class, we also determined the cardstock was just too glossy and that could be why they were so blurry.  Maybe, or maybe it the screen was just too overloaded with ink.  This was quite fun and I fully plan to get the hang of it soon.  Stay tuned. More to come.

Historic West Adams District

When I wrote out my 2010 goals, one is to have more fun. In keeping with that, I went on a fabulous bus tour of the Historic West Adams District of Los Angeles. The tour was offered through a local company called Esotouric. If you're in the LA area, I highly recommend them. This was the second tour they offer that I've taken. Well worth the time and the price. It was a beautiful, rain-free day (after nearly an entire week of rain) and just perfect for some photo ops.

We toured neighborhoods, viewing beautiful homes and beautiful architecture. Just amazing. We would also stop in front of various homes to hear tales of a murder or a crime that happened at those exact locations decades ago. We also stopped in front of the house where Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father. A particularly disturbing fact was that during the 1920s, child abduction, molestation and murder, seemed quite prevalent. Made me think of the movie "The Changeling".

Near the end of the tour, we paid a visit to Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery. What a magnificent place! Founded in 1884, this is the resting place of many notable characters such as Louise Peete (convicted serial killer) and Fernando Lamas. The grounds are kept well and are peppered with flowers and tall palm trees.



What intrigued me the most about this cemetery was all the headstones and mausoleums. I felt like I was in New Orleans. I had no idea that a cemetery with so many headstones exists in LA. These became my photo op.

Massive headstones of winged angels and towering crosses with possible guardians on watch:





I can only imagine back at the turn of the last century these amazing sculptures were handmade and surely quite pricey. However, I haven't researched this and could totally be wrong and possibly molds were in existence. After all winged angels, guardians, crosses, and the like, surely was common cemetery decor. Of all the wonderful headstones, the one that mesmerized me was the one I call "The Mourner":



This is something I don't think I've ever seen. I have seen footage and photos of cemeteries, but none that contained anything quite like this "Mourner". It was as if I could feel her pain:



I think I shall have to make another trip there in the future for more photo ops and to see if I can find the graves of the notable "residents". This trip found me so caught up in photographing the cemetery "art" that I didn't think to look for the famous.

Hello 2010

Happy New Year! So now is the time to list some goals for the new year. I may have to be accountable to them the minute I hit "publish post".

Take art workshops
I'm happy to say that I've signed up already for two! Currently enrolled in a fab mixed media drawing/painting class at Suzi Blu Les Petite Academy (on-line) and will be taking an etched metal workshop next Thursday at the Pasadena Bead and Design Show. I will also take a workshop at the end of January in Santa Monica. This workshop is all about The Yudu Screen Printer. I bought this last year when I became fearful of my "precious" Gocco supplies becoming obsolete and have never touched it. I must now take the workshop and break it out.

Travel to Iowa and Illinois for family research
I hope to do this in the spring as the Mid-West is in the midst of insane weather. This has been on my list for many months now. I do use Ancestry.com and Rootsweb.com as means of this research. Several months ago, I found a thread of messages on Rootsweb that addressed my family. I replied to this, but have yet to hear back. I plan to pursue this contact and make a trip. His/her grandfather was my grandfather's (Lola's husband) brother. Apparently, he/she is from a larger segment of the family than I. He/she may have information that I would benefit from. Now I just must convince myself that this new and very scary full body scan crap at airports is NOT really a personal violation and that the TSA screeners are REALLY professional. I traveled to Virginia in November of 2008. Not being a seasoned business traveler, I was devastated when the TSA screener threw away my newly opened toothpaste tube and facial cleanser. I don't REALLY think that my background or look presents a threat, but I lost money that I spent to buy items, yet the "underpants" bomber has no problem boarding planes. I'm having a hard time with that, so maybe I'll drive.

Start exercising again:
Break out those DVDs I bought in 2009 and use them. The fact that you feel so much better, both physically and mentally when you exercise is no mystery! I grew up with a mom that practiced (off and on) yoga, and I do that too - yoga practitioner off and on. I just love yoga and need to bring it back into my life. Flexibility is one key to maintaining "youth".

Start building Etsy site
I have created the Etsy shop and have been "writing" the shop policy. Now, I just need to finalize that and list items! Really, the items to list do exist. Time to stop lolly gagging!

Keep blog current and interesting
Yes! Mandatory. Wish me luck here.

Have more fun
Indeed. This is a milestone year for me. A birthday I could never imagine as a teenager! The big 5-0. I plan to have a fun party, go to art exhibits, other things, and just have fun.

Volunteer
I have always wanted to do this but my life seems to get in the way. I plan to volunteer at the holidays - serving food possibly. I have also wanted to volunteer with animal rescue organizations, but have always thought that would be hard. You see, I love animals and become attached. Also, I really struggle with the kill option attached to some of the rescue organizations. I need help with this. Can I really volunteer and be a part of the life of a cat or dog, only to learn that maybe because the animal was NOT a baby, no one wanted it, therefore, euthanasia? Don't think we treat people that way. Oh, no. We actually seem to cheer for women that take drugs to have unnatural multiple births that they can't afford. Octomom is a fine example. What's up with that? (Oops, soapbox made an appearance here).

Stay in touch with family and friends
I really don't think any day job out weighs this and I need to make this a priority. I must say goodbye to the "old me". I pretty much missed my nieces and nephews growing up and really don't want to miss their kids growing up. What does anyone have to show for that, really?

Do something creative daily
No comment necessary here.

Be a better housekeeper
OMG yes! I have had to fire way too many imaginary "cleaning ladies"! Must get that under control.

Get a gas stove
Hell yes. I have always cooked with gas. Sadly though, I have had an electric stove for the past four years that is older than I am. It is just hideous. I feel I have suddenly lost my ability to cook. I even had the landlord send out a repairman last year. The obviously "talented" repairman said nothing was wrong with my stove! Yeah right. I don't know about you, but, stove completely shutting off in the midst of cooking is not normal in my opinion.

I think I will need to revisit the goals on a quarterly basis in order to track what I have done as well as add to the list.

Goodbye 2009

I have said it many times and I've heard others say it many times. Where did the year go? I guess it's true what my mom always said back when I was a teenager, "don't wish you life away, it'll go by fast enough." How true. I think the year has gone so quickly that I really can't recall all the highlights that manifested.

I did accomplish a few things that had been on "my list" for many years. I started this blog and I opened my Etsy shop. Blogging is cool because it is not only a means of documenting thoughts, feelings and things, but also a way to write, which is something I loved doing as a teenager. It kind of has that long-lost sense of excitement over being "published".

As for the Etsy shop, it is created and that is it. I must now gather the hand-made inventory and list items. This is a goal for 2010. I should add that I don't want to just list things, I want to sell things that are listed.

I finally joined Facebook and have been lucky enough to reconnect with family and friends I lost touch with over the years. I'm very happy about that.

I had the opportunity to travel to and stay at a beautiful place for work. I am lucky enough to have great co-workers that are smart, funny and very encouraging.

I survived the biggest fire in the history of LA (to date). Mind you, my home or person was never in any danger, but the Station Fire was huge, and it was close to both home and work.



I was also lucky enough this past year to encourage and support two friends on their path to vegetarianism! I have tons of favorite sites loaded with information and recipes as well as an out of control collection of cookbooks at my fingertips to loan my friends.

This past year also found me rescuing a cat that started hanging out on my patio. He "moved in", if you will, to my patio on Thanksgiving day. For me, the process of introducing a street cat into a house of indoor cats has not been easy. This is not something I'm used to as all the cats that have come into my life were either young and interegrated well with the older cats or were mellow. This guy is not a kitten (maybe two years old), is not so mellow, and has exhibited aggressive behavior towards my little Petey. As of now, they are still kept separated. I may need to contact an expert for help with the intro and integration.



I began to seriously research my family tree and my grandmother (Lola), in particular. I have started to learn much and look forward to this journey. Someone asked me if I was at all worried about what I might learn (considering how adamant my dad was about NOT talking about her). Interesting question, but, I am not worried as I really would rather know what happened and am finding the search as frustrating and as rewarding as searching for antiques or vintage items to add to a collection.

My older sister became a grandmother for the third time and it was her first granddaughter! My younger sister started post graduate studies!

I didn't take many art or jewelry making workshops and plan to get back in the groove in 2010. I found plenty to take, just didn't seem to have the follow through. I also plan to get back in the exercising groove. That just somehow slipped my mind in 2009, yet it didn't stop me from buying various excersise DVDs.

I saw three great local stage productions in 2009. In August I saw "Louis and Keely Live at the Sahara". What a fab show that was. The next best thing to seeing the real show had I been alive in the 50s. In December I saw "Baby It's You", another fab show and I ended the year (December 30th) seeing "A Vegas Holiday! Songs from Live at the Sahara". This was the Louis and Keely live show from August sans the drama.

So, goodbye 2009. It was a very good year!

Latina Style

Some people accomplish so much in such a short amount of time, while others accomplish little. What is it that drives some to achieve their goals while others can’t seem to get it together? I tend to fall into the latter category, I’m afraid. Not a great place for someone with dreams. I recently checked the alumni page of my high school senior class and was shocked to see how many classmates are now deceased. One in particular caught me by such surprise that I was immediately motivated to Google her.

Anna Arias (aka Anna Maria Arias) was in my class. We didn’t run in the same circle, but I knew who she was - a cheerleader, a class officer, and a loyal friend (from what I’ve read). She passed away October 1, 2001, succumbing to the illness aplastic anemia.

She was someone that had the drive to see her dreams become reality. She went to Hawaii once and fell in love with it. She told her mom that she was going to move there. She got a summer job and saved her money. She moved there! While in Hawaii, she worked and went to college. She graduated college and then moved to the DC area and found herself in politics. Seeing a need, she became a driving force for the economic empowerment of Latinas. She started a magazine called Latina Style. In 1998 she created the Latina Style Business Series as a way to give back to her readers. What she contributed in her 41 years is impressive. Her drive to help others succeed was, and is, commendable.

I did go to my local Borders Books to pick up the latest issue of Latina Style. Although they had the current issue of Serial Killer Magazine, sadly, they did not have Latina Style Magazine. I wonder if that is a sign to move to a new city.

Teachers come to us in many forms. Anna’s time on earth (in my opinion) helped, promoted and improved the lives of so many - and not just Latinas, but women and people in general. What she and her magazine offers can help anyone. She is proof that a dream and drive can produce desired and positive results.

This is my small tribute to an amazing woman. Please read more about her here where her life is better documented.

If you knew Anna, are familiar with the magazine, or are just inspired, please feel free to comment.