Whenever I hear from Pedro Oliveros, who lives in Peru, it is a special day. He has an uncanny knack of contacting me just when I need a pick up from the floor. I savor his words of wisdom. I have publish some of his works on my website, and I am sure that he would not mind my sharing his letter of this evening with you.

Gracias, Pedro, por ser un amigo especial. ~ Pat ~

Pat,

How are you? I suppose busy, as always.

Time really flies. This year is almost gone from our hands, like water, like air; and we are unable to stop it. Who could stop it?

Once, I saw a movie (of the James Bond’s era) in which the villainous character does not sleep. Instead, he wore a “dream machine.” So, in a very short period of time, he could rest and recover energy. His principal reason was “not to waste time”.

I know it is fiction, but I think that man, if he could, would invent something like that, in order to avoid the inexorable pass of the “silent tyrant,” whose mission is to be the watchman of the road which leads to Immortality. It is the cialis drug test (or cialis drug test herald who makes us remember that life is short and both our life and our works will really end some day, and we absolutely can do anything to avoid it.

So, we have to live, putting all our cialis drug testcialis drug testinto whatever we do.

Good thoughts. Thanks so much for sharing them, Pedro.

Patricia

Photos are probably most meaningful when they introduce someone to us, to whom we are related, but whom we have never met. While I never had the chance to know any of my grandparents, I am lucky to have photos of everyone except my mother’s father. For some reason, he doesn’t appear in any known photo. Perhaps I should check with other family members.

Below are photos of my father’s mother and father.

My father’s mother, according to family oral history, once worked as a pastry chef in the White House.

My grandfather, a descendant of Irish immigrants, was a trolley car driver in Manchester, NH.

My grandmother, standing next to her mother. My father is standing in the foreground. In all, Grammy would have seven children.

The picture above is one of only two images I have of my paternal great-grandmother.

Time moves along faster than we can ever imagine. Many of us who are “baby boomers” are grandmothers already! It’s fun to experience the joy of seeing a grandchild growing, at the touch of a button that connects me to photos, like the one below, and which I conveniently “lift” to show you. Just shoot me!

Our grandson, Patrick, amid the pumpkins at Schartner’s Farm. Eventually, he ended up with a Patrick-size pumpkin!

The challenge in the future will be how to store digital images so that they don’t get corrupted or lost, over time. Luckily, I hear that there are new archival “gold” discs for saving photos. They are most costly, but are said to store information for 100 years. That could be worth investigating, not that I plan to still be here then!

Patricia Cummings

The most intriguing photos in the family album represent people whom I have never met. Just a few of these images exist but are precious to me. They show just a glimpse of my mother’s grandparents, her uncle and his wife, and a few cousins, one of whom can be seen in a posed photo because he was a professional boxer.

Eddie Moad, my mother’s cousin.

All of those people were left behind when my mother, her siblings, and her parents left the poverty of Georgia and migrated north to Manchester, New Hampshire, in search of work in the mills.

My mother’s grandfather is seen here holding his son’s son, in Georgia. My great grandfather stayed behind when some of the family came to New Hampshire, and he later died in Tampa, Florida.

I am fond of the photo above because I remember the love my mother was given throughout her life, by her grandfather. He was crushed when the family moved north, yet felt too old to make any geographical changes. I wondered why he always wrote notes to my mother, in pencil. Just recently, my son remembered being told by his grandmother that her grandfather’s brother had worked at the National Pencil factory in Atlanta!

Her grandfather always called my mother “weency scrap” – that is how he wrote the words, in the short letters he mailed, scrawled on scrap paper. Later, my mother’s uncle would pick up the habit of addressing her in this manner, but by then she had children, so he would add … “and all the little weensey scraps.”

Another photo which I think is just “grand” is that of my mother’s grandmother.

This photo was obviously black and white, and was later touched up with color. I think she is beautiful.

My mother’s grandfather, when he was younger. Now I know where my brother’s red hair and blue eyes originated!

Without these images, I would have no clue whatsoever as to what my ancestors looked like. Photos can say so much more than words. Photo images tell it all. They capture “the moments of our lives.”

Rebecca Gorham and her son, Patrick, enjoy some fun at the seashore. photo by James Gorham. The two photos above are five generations removed from Patrick.

Just last year, at this time, we were expecting a new member of the family. Now, our grandson, Patrick, has stolen our hearts and is a healthy, growing boy, with bright blue eyes and a happy smile.

Yes, for those who were “there,” photos recall an event. For others, they are a chance to share the moment.

Patricia Cummings

I never know what will show up in my mailbox, or who. Today, I received two photos of Flat Stanley. Now, who is he and how did he become such an internet globetrotter? Well, first of all, let me show you the photos so that we have a common point of reference.

Above, you see a photo image taken by Charlotte Croft of Vermont. The little man in the woodpile is, of course, “Flat Stanley.”

According to , Flat Stanley is based on the main character that appears in a series of books for children, written in 1964, by Jeff Brown (1925-2003). Stanley Lambchop becomes flattened after a bulletin board falls on him, and then he has to adjust to his “disability.” There is a complete description of the character at the above site. Here is another image:

Here he is, ready to have a full course meal at E. Bethel Grange in Vermont.

Charlotte Croft first heard about Stanley from a friend who moved to Anchorage, Alaska. The friend’s niece teaches third grade and had sent Stanley to visit her aunt. When Charlotte expressed an interest in “hosting” Flat Stanley, he arrived in the mail.

Thanks Charlotte for these delightful photos and yet another point of cultural/educational/inspirational information that you are always sharing. What fun!

Best,

Pat Cummings

In Vermont and New Hampshire, we take our pumpkins seriously. I had to smile when a photo arrived in my mailbox tonight from my friend, Charlotte Croft, our volunteer roving photographer in Vermont.

“Pumpkin Totem” in Woodstock, VT

On her way home today, Charlotte Croft spotted the pumpkin totem seen above. What a clever way to celebrate autumn!

Previously, she had sent the next photo that shows pumpkins on display at a local fair.

Pumpkins at a Fair in Vermont

The more industrious women of New England make their own pumpkin pie filling from … pumpkins! I have only sampled this sweet treat made in this manner, only once. I usually resort to opening a can of pumpkin to make a pie.

Good Memories

Just seeing pumpkins makes me smile because I remember how much my own son loved Halloween and all that went with it. He would get pretty elaborate and even recorded some “scary” music using a keyboard synthesizer. He carved “jack o’ lanterns,” and put together a stuffed man, using old clothes, one year. The fall seemed to be his favorite time of year, as well as ours.

Autumn in New England

There really is nothing like the autumn in New England. This week, we have posted more photos of foliage on this blog and on our main website. Cider is being made at the orchards, and the last of crops are being harvested. The smell of wood smoke is again in the air. At this time of year, our thoughts turn “to batting down the hatches.”

Just today, Jim made a wonderful Borsch soup, using just a portion of a gigantic beet he pulled from our garden, plus other vegetables, such as parsnips and carrots, from the same source. It was very tasty with its homemade chicken broth base. I hope he will share his recipe with you.

Technically, we are on vacation, but since we love home more than anywhere else on earth, we are here, doing the work we enjoy the most. There is no place like home.

Thank you, Charlotte. We really enjoy your photos.

Pat and Jim