Or do you wish you were Irish?First of all Happy Saint Patrick's Day. I am sure there are many celebrations going on around the world. During the great potato famine, many Irishmen had to leave their homes and friends in search of another home and another place to be able to survive. Thinking about it, it sure must have been hard leaving your homeland for destinations unknown. I often talked about our ancestors coming to North America to make a new life. What was their first reactions? Strange lands, native people, unknown animals. It must have been scary! And for the Irish who remained in Ireland during the great famine, it sure must have been hard times. Have you ever been to Ireland? I have never been there but I saw many images and what I saw were beautiful sceneries. I don't have any Irish ancestors that I know of. I do know there was a Roger Kuessy or Casey who came to Acadie from Cork Ireland so many Caissie's are descendants of his. So if you do have some Irish blood ,be proud of it and of who you are. Without your Irish ancestor you would not be here today. I love Celtic music, it has an eerie haunting sound to it. To all of you celebrating, stay safe, drive very carefully, if you drink get another driver who isn't drinking. Better to be safe than sorry. Now changing the subject, I am going to add a few items here which you can find at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* If you plan on stopping by, have your favorite beverage handy because there is lots to see. There are folders inside of folders so enjoy. Have a great day or night.........
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Pioneers
Have you ever wondered what kind of places or houses our ancestors lived in? What the inside of their homes looked like? What did they have for furniture? Well browsing through some of my books and papers, I can across the following notes that I wil l share with you. This is relating to the Acadians, but I imagine many pioneers probably had similar methods.In 1731 Robert Hale of Beverly wrote the following entry in his journal. "They have but one room in yr Houses besides a Cockloft,Cellar and sometimes a closet. Their bedrooms are made something after ye manner of a Sailor's Cabbin, but boarded all round about the bigness of ye Bed, except one little hole on the Foreside,just big eno' to crawl into ,before which is a Curtain drawn and as a Step to get into it, there stands a Chest. They have not above 2 or 3 chairs in a house and those wooden ones,bottom and all. I saw but 2 Muggs among all ye French and ye lip of ym was broken down above 2 inches. When they treat you with a strong drink they bring in a large Bason and give you a Porringer to dip it with. " So can you picture it? Remember this was in 1731 ,these pioneers did not have much to work with back then. They didn't have chain saws, or electrical tools. Now we are moving to the year 1795 the following was sent to Desbarres from Captain John MacDonald describing the Acadian abodes: " The premises of every one seems to be a house from 18 to 25 feet long and as many in Breadth without a porch or partition but the other door opening immediately into the sole room. There are generally 2 doors, the one being that which is used. The chimney of which the lower part is stone and clay and the highter part is clay wrought upon cross bars of wood between a wooden frame is in the remotest part from the door. The Beds are on both sides of the house from chimney to the doors. In the end of the house, opposite to the chimney, the pots and water vessels lie on the floor, and the milk and milk vessels are disposed of on shelves together with their bowls, muggs etc. As they all sleep, eat ,cook ,wash etc in this house or room, I need not say it must look black and dirty enough particularly as the houses are now old. Behind the chimney on the outside is an oven of clay, the opening to which for bread & fire in on the inside back of the chimney. The oven rest on a square wall of loggs or stone around an appartment three or four feet in the square, where a few pigs enter on the outside, and lie warm from the heat of the chimney and oven. In their barns they are more sumptuous. They are from 40 to 50 feet in length, from 20 to 30 in breadth and from 10 to 15 feet high, the lower story destined for the cattle, and the upper for the corn, hay and threshing floor. At a distance they sett off the whole place and I forgot to mention that their houses have a cellar underground for the roots etc to which they descend by a trap door in the floor."
You must have seen movies about a trap door under the table that would go down to the cellars. I remember seeing the movies. So our pioneer ancestors were smart, they had to learn to survive any way they could. This is something that is good to pass down to our children and grandchildren. Compare our nice warm homes to those of our ancestors ,some big difference huh? I hope you have enjoyed today's blog. Now I would like to share a few products that you can find at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* and at http://www.zazzle.com/booteek* Chow for now!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Family Trees and stuff
I am sure there are many of you readers who are doing your family tree or would like to do your family tree.I got hooked on it way back around 1976, that is also around the time that Alex Haley had his mini series called Roots on television. So yes I got addicted to genealogy. Once you start digging and find something ,you will want to dig some more. I have been doing my acadian side for a long time,and found lots of interesting stuff, like fur traders,guides,bakery owners,tragedies and more. It is sort of like a history story book. Then I connected with my english roots, wow I am finding ancestors who died in workhouses, well what were workhouses? Do you remember Oliver Twist? This gives you a sort of an idea. Workhouses were for the poor,sick,orphans and the elderly. Some workhouses had men in one area, women and children in other parts. They had really rigid rules, be up at a certain time, certain chores to be done, food was rationed. Think about it? Could your ancestors have been in one of these places? Mine died in one, not sure how long he had been there. He was old at the time. He had six children and when his youngest was around one year old he lost his wife. I don't know what happened between the time he lost his wife and the time of his death. I am curious to know. Now they have a show on TV every friday called Who do you think you are!. They trace family trees for the celebrities. It would be nice if they would choose a modern day person like you and I and take us to the land of our ancestors and find information that we haven't found yet. I keep hoping that through these celebrities one of my ancestors might surface. grin. A few pointers I would give to people who are just starting to trace their family trees or planning to do so. First of all take a pen ,paper, even a tape recorder , and talk to your parents, grandparents,aunts,uncles,cousins. Listen to their stories, get as much information from them as you can, with names,dates,places,and stories. Next check on obituaries , sometimes you find a lot of information which gives you clues where to go from there. The census are great too, but remember that sometimes the dates on the census for births, may be a year or two off, your great grandmother could have been 22 and may be listed as 25 and so on. Ancestry.com has lots of infomation but you have to pay. Family Search has a lot of information free, and there are now many censuses online. And you may also come across others who's line you branch into. But be very careful, check the information you find online out. There are mistakes, and errors online. There are folks who think they have found an ancestor way back that no one else has found, that can be correct and that can be wrong. Find out where they got that information. Another think you should do is mark all your sources down as you find stuff. Very important . I hope this blog has maybe inspired you to find out who you really are and where you come from. And remember by doing your family tree, you leave something behind when you pass on, something for your children, grandchildren, nieces ,nephews and their descendants. It is a good feeling. Now changing the subject, am adding a few thing for you to see, you can find these at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* and http://www.zazzle.com/boot_eek* Have a great day>
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
What's new?
Hello everyone,well I am wondering what would be interesting to chat about. Have any of you had cataract surgery? Well I had my surgery a few weeks ago, and Monday I went for a follow up. I felt so good, thinking my eyes were ok, the lady ahead of me came out of the doctor's office with a big smile on her face, all had gone well for her. Next it was my turn. Oh boy I thought I will be so glad when this appointment is over. So he looks into my eyes and (not romantically either) grin and said you are going to need laser in both eyes. Yikes!. He said it doesnt hurt. Fine for him to say that, I was the one having it done. So he continued, I want to do them on Wednesday (today). Well I didn't know what to say so I said that often used word. YES!. Today I went in, my knees were shaking, my hands full of sweat. And then his secretary put some drops in my eyes. OUCH. That burns I said. So I waited and then she called me into another room. Again more drops, to freeze my eye. Yikes again it burns. The third time I felt nothing. So here I am waiting for him to walk in. Gulp!. Here he comes. Then I started ,1,2 ,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. I had heard that if you get angry you count to ten and it makes it better. The doctor said why did you do that? I said, I did it hoping that I would relax. He laughed. So then here comes the eye laser. gulp! Follow the light he said. I thought to myself ,will the light go into the other room. grin. Anyway I got all nervous for nothing, it was a breeze, in less than ten minutes both eyes were done. Whew!. So the moral of this story is if you need cataract surgery or laser, take it from me, it is nothing at all.
Now I want to let you in on a sale. Until February 28 all wedding invitations,wedding stickers, postcards are 50 % off at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* and at http://www.zazzle.com/boot_eek* And if you decide to order ,use code WEDDINGAISLE at the checkout. Have a great day or a good night. Until next time.
Chow for now.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Souvenirs and nostalgia
As most of you know Queen Elizabeth is celebration her diamond jubilee, meaning that she has been on the throne for sixty years. Did you also know that she got married in 1947 and she first met Prince Philip when she was only 13 years old? They met at the wedding of one of Prince Philip's relatives. And did you know that her father King George V1 was not suppose to be the king? His brother Edward V111 gave up the throne for the love of a woman, so George was made king. The reason I am talking about the royal family, is because a special lady gave me some old papers of the Royal Family. Seeing as this is a special year for the Queen, I have created a few souvenirs .Her birth, marriage, and other products such as mugs, postcards,stickers, you can find them at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* I also have a lovely postcard of the marriage of King George V and Queen Mary. I will share a few items with you. I have also added a cute genealogy tee shirt .Hope you like today's blog even tho it is short. Until next time have a great day.
Allicor
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Stories from my Mom.
Hello, I have not blogged for a while but today I feel like sharing a story or two with you. My Mom is 93 years old, she says everyday "Don't look at me as 93, look at me as me." Makes a lot of sense to me.
My Mom has a memory like you wouldn't believe. I can sit and listen to her for hours and hours. Today we were sitting at her kitchen table, and she said: " When I was newly married, I used to make my bread ,and once it was made I would wrap the loaves in a cheesecloth or dish towels, and this paticular day, I went to get a loaf of bread, as I was unwrapping the loaf, didn't this little mouse run up my arm!, I was so scared that for years after that I could still feel those little paws climbing up my arm. Another story she told me, when her two oldest children were little, she had bought a big bag of buckwheat and she had to go hang her clothes on the line, so she told my sister to watch my brother, well when she came back in from hanging her clothes, my brother had gotten into the bag of buckwheat flour and had flour all over her kitchen floor. She was not too pleased with my sister that time. Mom told me stories about when I was a baby in a crib that their house was so cold at night, there were cracks in the wall and ceiling and at night time she would pin my blankets with clothes pins so that I would stay wrapped up. Now all these stories to me are treasures to keep and to share. And that is what I am doing. When we lose my Mom we lose her memories, so we need to savor all her memories and share with her descendents. My brother was telling me today, that Mom sees 17 fifth generations, can you believe it? Seventeen!. So I would like to say, if your parents share stories with you, save them, share them. Future generations will want to know about them. Now changing the subject I am adding some images of new products that you can find at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor*
New products include placemats, messenger bags, iPad Sleeves, and more.
Enjoy and have a great day
Alicor.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Cataracts and Surgery
First of all Cataracts are changes in the clarity lens inside the eye that slowly degrades vision clarity. If you have see blurred, or if you see as if you were looking through a foggy windshield or if you drive at night and see halos or glares around lights, then you should go see your eye doctor. He will be able to determine if you have cataracts or not.
Cataracts affect more than 2.5 million Canadians every year and and about 60 % of people over sixty years of age get them. People who have diabetes, smokers or certain meds can also lead to cataracts. Cataract surgery is the most highly safe and successful proceedure in medecin. Now I have just had cataract surgery the last two weeks, and I know some of you are probably scared about having the surgery. But speaking from experience, there is nothing to it. This is what happened to me, I went to my eye doctor who referred me to a specialist who told me I needed the surgery. Well I will be honest I was scared, even if my both sisters and a cousin and some friends had theirs done and told me the same thing I was still scared. Anyway I was told to start taking drops in one eye two days before my surgery, of course at first I missed my eye and caught my nose ,grin. Then I was told I could have my breakfast and my pills (depending what you take). The morning of my surgery I went to admitting then to a waiting room where there were others just like me, so I figured instead of shaking and showing I was scared, I should make the others laugh and more comfortable, which I did and it made me feel good. Then it was my turn to go into the surgery room. I sat in the chair and had drops put in my eye to freeze it and my chair was lowered, I had this gown over me and a little tube under the gown for oxygen and then the nurse placed something over my face and it covered my eyes but they the doctor came in and he opened the opening for the eye he was doing, by then I could not feel my eye at all, he said look at the light above, well let me tell you I would have rather still be sitting out in the waiting room with the others but I looked at the light, there were two of them, keep looking he said then I noticed the two spots were the lights were, had gone black for a second then I seen it coming again, and it seemed as if the doctor was trying to line the light with the two black spots, once he had the lights lined up he said OK all done. Whew! Then he put a shield (patch) on the eye, told me to leave it for 2 hours, remove it, add drops, then only add the shield at bedtime or if I took a nap. So there my eye was done. Would you believe that when I returned for my next eye it was a lot better because I had been there done that and it was easier the last time. So if you are afraid and need them done, do so. I cannot get over the colors that I now see are so much brighter and vibrant, what I thought was cream was really snow white. I now don’t have to wear glasses ,except for reading and on the computer. I am honestly so happy I had them done….I do hope you enjoyed today’s blog. Now I would like to change the subject and let you know that we now have new products, one of the is a
Custom Rickshaw Bagworks Zero Messenger Bag. Take it biking, take it on a trip, or take it to work; the custom Zazzle and Rickshaw Zero Messenger Bag is the only bag you’ll need for your daily adventures. Designed with rugged/weatherproof construction, Handmade in San Francisco with a focus on environmental sustainability, this bag combines beautiful form, function, and a small ecological footprint. The bag has a large
Main compartment and two front pockets and you can accessories to it. Another new product is the Ipad sleeve compatible with I Pad and IPad2 it protects your iPads from scratches and weather. It has a foam padding And there are new products to be added in the days to come. I am sharing a few of my designs. You can find them at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor and http://www.zazzle.com/boot_eek
Also be sure to check out my year of the dragon mugs, stickers ,children tee shirts .
Chow for now
Allicor.
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