Mama of Letters

Practice Portrait Sessions

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:44:19 -0400

Note: After I posted this, my cousin informed me that she’s ill and needs to postpone the portrait session. So I’ll be following up at a later time.

Lately I’ve been yearning to get more practice taking portraits and to find out what it would feel like to be a real photographer. That is, would I really like it? Taking photos of my son is easy. I have all the time in the world for that. But thinking on my feet at a real photo session is going to be another thing.
In order to get more practice, I sent out an e-mail to some family and friends offering “free portrait sessions.” I know this won’t be the same as photographing strangers, but it’ll help me figure out many things:

can I complete the project in an hour or so?
can I think on my feet and direct people?
can I create good photos in that short of time?
what else am I not thinking about in regards to taking portraits?

Tomorrow is my first session, and I’m very excited. My cousin has asked me to take photos of her granddaughter, who is a very active toddler (another challenge) and also her animals - she’s got goats! Of course, Aidan is coming with me. He must see the goats! (And I’m not making any money for a babysitter yet.)
I am packed and ready to go:

camera w/ lenses
tripod
battery charged
model release forms
white sheet, if needed
two, white poster boards to use as reflectors, if needed
bubbles (for the toddler to play with)
snacks for Aidan

If I need anything else, I guess I’ll be learning about that too! Wish me luck.

What’s Your Play?

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:41:02 -0400

I’ve finally gotten around to participating in Laura of Dolcepics’ What’s Your Play? What we’re suppose to do is download the photo and post process it any way we like. Above is Laura’s photo of her adorable little girl. It was really hard to process because I thought the original was so good! I played around with turning it into a black & white, but I decided I loved the color too much. So all I did was increase the black a little and add a vignette!
I use Aperture for my post-processing.

To Write With Light

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:42:09 -0400

I miss writing and then again, I don’t miss writing. I’ve been taking a break from writing fiction, and it’s been good for me. As you all know, I’ve been sinking my teeth into photography lately, and it’s been a joy....so much so that I know it’s something I need to keep doing.
But I miss writing on a regular basis, so I’ve been thinking about other kinds of writing I can do (and maybe even better). I also want to do more with this blog, and as I have time, I’ll be brainstorming and sharing my ideas with you.
But last night as my son was taking a bath, I began reading John Fielder’s book, Photographing the Landscape: The Art of Seeing, which I keep in the bathroom just so that I don’t get too bored while my son splish splashes the equivalent of at least a mile.
And I came across a passage explaining that the word “photography” is derived from the Greek, and it literally means “to write with light.” My heart stopped, and I couldn’t read anymore because I couldn’t stop repeating that phrase in my mind. Not only is it beautiful, but it occurred to me that I have not stopped writing at all, but instead, I have been “writing with light.”
That fills my heart with joy and wonder. Because lately I’ve been realizing that the most important thing for me to do in order to stay happy is to dive into my creative pursuits in whatever way I feel the urge and not worry about the outcome. I have always wanted to be a writer, and I have always had a deep interest in photography. Now I see these two things, for me, are interchangeable.

Selling Photos at Heritage Day

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 14:55:11 -0400

Heritage Day was a success, and not just for me but for my cousin who runs the Homestead and directed the best Heritage Day ever. Someone said 600-800 people came, which is unprecedented. I think they had a parking and food shortage! I truly hope the Homestead raised some good money because it’s a beautiful place for the public to learn about American history.
As for me, I sold all my photo books, and I even had to order one more last night. And I made enough money to cover my expenses. Whew! I still have some matted photos and postcards at the Homestead. If I happen to sell any, I’ll start making a little profit. You have to start somewhere, don’t you?
The best part of the day was meeting all the people and seeing some distant cousins who are the true descendants of William Harris. I’m so happy for them that they have such an incredible place to visit and know that their ancestors played and walked in that yard.
I also had two people inquire about me doing some future photography projects. I would love to do so, so we’ll see what happens. It’s all about networking, isn’t it?
You can see my station pictured above. I was on the porch of the house, which was a perfect spot, and I could see many of the other vendors who were there selling goods that day.
I had a short break when my husband brought my son and sat at my table for me so that Aidan and I could walk around. Aidan was mostly interested in all the animals, and I have to admit, I thought it was pretty cool to be able to pet some oxen too. If you have never been close to an ox, let me tell you - they are HUGE.
I didn’t get to see any of the activities taking place, such as the sheep shearing or the Civil War Reenactment, and I missed it when my son got to ride a real pony for the very first time. But that’s okay. It was a work day for me. And a good one at that.
Thank you to everyone who sent me good thoughts and wishes for my first time selling photography. I truly appreciate your support.

Selling Photos for the First Time

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 14:57:53 -0400

Tomorrow is a big day for me. I’ve already mentioned it, but I’m going to be selling my photo books, prints and postcards during Heritage Day at the William Harris Homestead. Like I’ve said before, I think if I sell anything, it may be to the people who are related to the Harris family, which is fine by me. And it’s also okay if I don’t sell much because I’m just so excited that I’m getting out and doing this! Of course, making enough money to cover my expenses and then some would be great too!
This has been a good learning experience, and I’m sure I still have much to learn. But it feels good to have this particular experience where I’ll be around family and people I’m acquainted with as opposed to selling for the first time at a big art fair or something.
It’s amazing what all you have to consider when you are going to set up shop and sell your art. First, I had to decide what to sell. Just the books or some prints too? I decided to try selling some prints, but only if I liked how they turned out. (I did not have the money or time to go to a printer who specializes in printing fine art photos for photographers. I ordered my prints from Apple.) I did think the prints turned out good, so then I had to consider: frames? matting? mounting? etc. I don’t have the money to purchase a lot of frames, so I only framed two of them. Then I shopped around for good prices on pre-cut mats (again, it’s not in my budget to do custom sizes right now). Next step: what do I put over the prints and mats to protect them? I discovered that art stores carry those nice, plastic sleeves. I also asked the woman at the art store what was the best way to attach my prints to the mats. She sold me some special “tacky” tape that won’t damage the photos, if they’re pulled off the mats at some point.
I also wanted to sell postcards, and I won’t tell you how hard it was to find a decent online service to create quality postcards at a decent price. I finally settled on ordering them from Moo, and I LOVE them, though they were a little more expensive than I wanted to pay.
I won’t tell you how nerve-wracking it is to settle on prices for my photos. Yikes.
So, I have all my goods, but then I began to think of all the other things I would need to take with me to set up shop during Heritage Day:

business cards (I ordered these from Moo too - they look fantastic)
receipt book
lock box to keep money
money to make change for people
calculator
order forms (I won’t have too many books on hand)
signs w/ my name and prices
small easels to hold up signs, a couple of matted prints, one display book & postcards
a basket to hold my matted prints so that people can easily browse
something to hold my business cards
some plastic bags in case someone actually buys something!
table cloth (because I’m not sure what will be available)
extra pens, tape, scissors (just in case)

Of course, I can’t forget these items either:

pack lunch w/ plenty of drinks
my camera!

Whew. Can you think of anything I’m forgetting?

I’ll be sure to tell you about it next week! Wish me luck!

My New Friend: Nikkor 35mm f/1.8

Sat, 30 May 2009 16:01:04 -0400

This past week I finally received a new lens that I ordered at the beginning of April. It’s a lens that Nikon recently put out, so it was on back order for a long time. It was worth the wait. I can already tell that I’m going to love this little, prime lens. It gives me the ability to have a very wide aperture (1.8) which allows for a narrow depth of focus and all that lovely blur you see in some photos. Also having a wide aperture makes this lens ideal for taking photos indoors or in the shade where there is less light.
It’s also a wider lens than my 50mm prime, and best of all, the auto focus works on my camera! (A D60 does not have an internal motor.) I bought the 50mm prime used from my friend Maya, and I knew the auto focus wouldn’t work on my camera, but it’s been a great little lens anyway. Having the auto focus work on this one will be a big bonus, and it’ll allow me to capture more photos of a constantly moving, squiggling little boy.
Want to see a photo I snapped with this baby? Here it is. And I’ll be posting more in the coming days on S P Photography.

Harris Homestead Photo Book

Sat, 23 May 2009 19:39:38 -0400

After I finished my photo project of the William Harris Homestead, I created a book with my photos using Aperture and ordering from Apple. To my delight, the book is beautiful. The quality is wonderful, and my photos were printed just the way I envisioned them.
This June 6th, the Homestead is hosting Heritage Day, and I’m happy to say that I’m going to be selling my books there! I am sure that it will be mostly Harris family members who buy the book because the Homestead is a special place for all of them. For me, this is exciting because it’s the first time I’ve ever sold any of my photos.
With a bit of luck (time is pressing) I’ll also be selling some matted prints and postcards.
I’m also posting a page on my photography site about the book and its price. You can view more photos of the book there.
Wish me luck!

I ♥ Faces

Mon, 18 May 2009 21:48:19 -0400

I just discovered this wonderful blog, www.iheartfaces.com, and I thought I would enter one of their weekly contests. I have a couple of photos of Aidan that I’d like to enter. It’s a tough choice! But I am settling on this one. Wish me luck!

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I Heart Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I Heart Faces web sites.

the green pinky, issue 3

Tue, 5 May 2009 15:48:10 -0400

This year I’ve been able to enjoy some gardening, and my biggest accomplishment so far is my lettuce garden!! In the past, I waited until the threat of frost had passed to plant my lettuce, but since it’s a cold weather crop, I found that by the time the lettuce had grown to a good size, our hot Georgia weather had quickly soured it. So this year, I planted it in February! (Also, I just bought some plants because I didn’t want to deal with seeds this year.) I planted green leaf, butter crunch and red leaf.
I wasn’t sure the lettuce could withstand a frost, so I watched the weather and covered them whenever there was a threat of frost. This was a pain, but it paid off. Then we had that freak snowstorm in early March, and I thought the lettuce wouldn’t make it. Fortunately, I think the snow insulated the lettuce, and it survived! Now I’m enjoying a surplus of salad greens!!
I’ve also planted two tomato plants and two banana pepper plants. I may get some cucumbers, but since I’m due to have a baby in August, that’s all I’m going to attempt this year.

Post Processing

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:45:17 -0400

On Shutter Sisters today, they have invited us to share what we do in post processing. I thought I’d use the photograph that I have posted today on S P Photography for you. On this particular photo, I did minimal post processing, but it’s a typical example of what I do.
I use Aperture for all my post processing. I used to use iPhoto, which is a very simple and easy to use program. Aperture had a learning curve, but I’m beginning to enjoy it very much. It’s also a great program for storing and sorting photos with keywords and other metadata. (I own Creative Suite CS3, but I haven’t had time to learn how to use it!)
On this photo, I cropped it slightly, and on the histogram (or levels), I pulled the black control tab over to the right, which made the color pop. (For a more technical explanation, please click on these links. Apple has posted some wonderful tutorials for Aperture.) This is what I do most often in photos - I adjust the levels. Also in Aperture, I adjust the black point, which I do sometimes, though not in this photo.
So, unless I’m converting a photograph to black and white or sepia or adding a vignette, etc., I don’t do a lot of post processing. I do often play with many of the options that Aperture gives me, but usually I come back to just adjusting the levels or black point and sometimes the exposure.
Below you can see the sooc (straight out of the camera) image for this photograph. I like it a lot, but after playing with it in Aperture, I decided to go with the post processing.

Happy Easter, ya’ll.

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 09:06:23 -0400

I’m Twitterfied

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 09:32:04 -0400

I have been avoiding Twitter because I thought it would be yet another way for me to waste time on the computer, but then my husband told me yesterday that he joined Twitter, and he wanted me to join so that he’d have at least one follower! Ha Ha. So now I’m officially Twitterfied!

Please Twitter along with me, if you like! I’m “mamaofletters.” And my husband wouldn’t mind some more followers too. He’s “missifloodman.” (That’s Mississippi Flood Man - because that’s what he does his research on.)

Guess What?

Mon, 6 Apr 2009 15:49:06 -0400

So I don’t think I’ve shared with all of you my good news: I am having another boy! And my due date is has been changed back to the original date of August 12th. We are very excited, and I can hardly wait for Aidan to have someone else to play “cars” with him!

My New Homeschool Blog

Sat, 4 Apr 2009 14:13:27 -0400

I know that the few folks who read my blog might not be interested in homeschooling, but I did want to let you know that I’ve included a new homeschool blog to my website. My husband and I are considering homeschooling our children, and I thought this would be a good place to collect my thoughts and gather resources as we make this decision.

5, 6 Pick Up Sticks....

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:20:21 -0400

To Do List (in no specific order):

Write a journal entry for Speaking of Faith by Krista Tippett. (Excellent book, btw.)
Clean the bathrooms which haven’t been cleaned in how many months?
Mop the floors which haven’t been mopped for even longer.
Organize kitchen cabinets. Store some stuff away.
Potty train the child.
Create a book of my photos for my own keepsakes.
Get more exercise.
Stretch and do yoga.
Take more photos.
Upload photos to Flickr.
Read more blogs.
Cook....Well, never mind.
Revise novel #3.
Maybe revise novel #1.
Go visit the grandparents, not to mention the great-grandmother, who hasn’t been visited in how long? For shame.
Revise short stories. Make a new submission list.
Add more CDs to my iTunes playlist. Update iTunes. Listen to more podcasts.
Write a blog entry. Write two...once I think of something to write.

What’s Getting Done (in no specific order):

Updating S P Photography every morning with one photo.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and the dishes.
Most of the laundry.
Grocery shopping.
One failed attempt at potty training in which the little boy refuses to sit on the pot.
The garage got cleaned out a couple of weeks ago...if only the house were as clean.
The flower beds are finally weeded.
Meandering walks.
Doctor’s appointments.
Reading books.....A History of God, The Homeschool Handbook, and occasionally dipping into Fried Green Tomatoes when I want to visit an old friend.
Lots of oversleeping and long daytime naps.
Swing time (for child, not that I’m complaining...).
Play time (for child).
Book time (for child).
TV time (for child and husband...I complain a little here).
Missing my old writing routine and wondering when I’ll have more energy.

Snow in Georgia

Wed, 4 Mar 2009 18:50:51 -0500

As you probably heard on the news, we had a freak snowstorm here on Sunday. It does snow in Georgia every few years, but I’ve never seen it like this. And I’ve never seen such big snowflakes - the size of silver dollars! Our power was out for seven hours, so we were camped out in front of our fireplace for a while, but we were lucky. I know some people who didn’t get power back for two days. I’m very grateful that I’m married to a man who thinks ahead and keeps provisions for emergencies such as these....some of our neighbors weren’t so prepared. So, word to the wise, if you don’t already have one, go buy yourself a kerosene heater and buy some fresh kerosene every year. Unless, of course, you live in the tropics or someplace like that.

My December Prizes from Shutter Sisters

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:42:05 -0500

I have been remiss to share with you some treats I received during the Shutter Sister’s December Giveaway. I was lucky enough to win two prizes. The first was this beautiful book of photos by Stephanie C. Roberts, whom, I found out, is a Georgia girl too, and as she said, she could have driven her book to me! Her book is a welcome addition to my bookshelf.
My second prize was a bucket tote from Snaptotes. You can see mine pictured above. I have to admit, this isn’t something I’d probably buy on my own, but how could I resist from putting my favorite little person on this bag? I also think it would be a very cool way of displaying one’s artwork or other photography. I almost picked some other kind of photos for my bag, but nothing quite satisfied me in my archives. I was concerned about how the photos would look once they were printed on the bag. As you know, what it looks like on my computer screen and what it looks like in print can be vastly different. What about a bag? So I selected the images carefully, hoping they would print well. And they did. My only complaint is that the photo on the right, of Aidan’s eyes and forehead, made his skin look slightly redder than the original photo. But it’s not bad, and I’m not dissatisfied with the bag. The other photo printed perfectly.
I’m impressed with the bag too. It’s not a cheap bag. It’s very sturdy and high quality. There are pockets on the inside, and even a string with a clip for keys. Also, I was able to pick out that green interior color. On top of all this, my bag came with a storage bag.
So this is my thank you to Shutter Sisters, Stephanie, and Snaptotes! It’s always a treat to win something.

I received several coupons from Snaptotes for 10% off a future purchase. If any of you think you’d like to order something from them, just send me an e-mail at shelli (at) mamaofletters (dot) com, and I’d be happy to send you one. I’ll give them away on a first come, first serve basis.

The William Harris Homestead

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 09:01:38 -0500

The William Harris Homestead, located in Monroe, GA, dates back to 1825 when the first white settlers began to inhabit this part of Georgia. The main attraction is the log house, which has been restored and filled with items that a nineteenth century farm family would have owned and used. On the grounds there is also an original smokehouse, corn crib, salt house, and barn. You can also walk down to the natural springs that the early Harris family used for fresh water. The family cemetery is also on the property.
In the 1980s, Hubert Harris owned the property, and he and his wife, my Great Aunt Jesse Ginn Harris, built a marvelous home across the highway from the Harris Homestead. When they found the original homestead, it was not in the best condition, and my great aunt decided to restore the house and the outbuildings. She is also responsible for having this property and the entire farm listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is due to her hard work that this Homestead is now a museum and open to the public. My mother’s cousin, Dotty Harris Zazworsky, is the Managing Director, and it’s because of her hard work and dedication that over 30,000 school children have toured the grounds during field trips over the past 10+ years!
It is also because of Dotty’s generosity that Aidan and I are allowed to visit the Homestead whenever we want to (I don’t go nearly as often as I’d like to), but recently I decided to begin a photographic project of the site. Please visit S P Photography over the next few weeks as I post my photos of the Harris Homestead.
Below I’ve written a history of the homestead and how it’s used today. You can also find out more information by visiting their website at www.harrishomestead.com.

***

HISTORY

In 1818, the state of Georgia bought 1.5 million acres of land from the Creek Indians for $120,000. The state divided the land into counties, and this was when Walton County was born. In order to entice people to the largely unpopulated areas, the state conducted six land lotteries to distribute the land. According to Anita Sams’ Wayfarers in Walton, people who wanted to draw in the lotteries had to meet certain qualifications. One such example was a soldier of Indian wars who was a resident of Georgia during or since military service. Some widows and orphans also qualified with certain stipulations. 1
During the third land lottery of 1820, a Mr. James Gardner of Richmond County drew on lot #149, and a widow, Barbary Wilson of Washington County, drew lot #122. Each lot was 250 acres and would later make up the Harris land. Soon after, a Mr. William Carr bought both tracts of land, and it is thought that he built the log house now known as the William Harris Homestead sometime between 1821 and 1825.
Mr. Carr also won land in the sixth lottery, known as the Cherokee Lotteries of 1832, which may be a reason why he sold this land on October 29, 1836 to John D. Harris and Willis Kilgore. John was William Harris’s older brother, and Willis was their brother-in-law. John and Willis deeded the land to John’s mother, Milly Harris, a widow, and she and her son William, who was 21 years old, moved into the log house. The property has been in the Harris family ever since.
William Harris married Harriet Amanda Davenport of Athens, and together they raised twelve children and worked the land. Much like any family in the 19th century, they provided for themselves, and “raised row crops, wove wool and cotton cloth for clothing and household linens; raised livestock for milk, butter and meat; raised chickens, ducks and geese; grew their own wheat and corn for flour and vegetable gardens and orchards; preserved fruits and vegetables for the winter; and they kept small formal gardens for flowers and shrubs.” 2
William Harris was a successful farmer who owned slaves, and his cash crop was cotton. During the Civil War, when Sherman marched through Georgia with the intention of destroying the rail system, his unit passed by the homestead a mere 17 miles away, spending one night in Social Circle. Though Sherman’s march did not directly affect the Harris homestead, it affected the farmer, who depended on the railroad to ship his cotton to Savannah and other places for export. Through inventories and a census every ten years, it is clear that the Harris farm never fully recovered. Though they maintained a certain standard of living, it did not improve further. After William’s death in 1879, his property was appraised and according to the Walton County Estate Returns 1885 (p. 270), his land, which at the time consisted of 365 acres, was worth $2,000. 3
The log house is a “plantation plain-type house” with two rooms upstairs and two downstairs. It was similar to early Virginia architecture, and it still has the original 6” x 8” oak timbers, which at the time were insulated with homemade chinking. The log house possesses its original floors, and visitors can see some of the original wooden pegs on the upper floor. The doors are also original.
At the time when William lived in the log house, the kitchen would have been built away from the house and connected with a breezeway. This was because fires could easily ignite in the kitchen, and they did not want the house to burn down. During the restoration, which took place between 1986 and 1990, over two feet of mud was removed from the cellar, and this revealed the original stone floor and more of the log house’s foundation, which is made of handmade bricks and fieldstones. The cellar was a very important place for William’s family because it remained cool, and they could store milk, butter, fruits and vegetables there.
The house and land passed through more generations of the Harris family until 1935, when Hubert Harris and Mell Harris bought the land, and then in 1956, Mell Harris conveyed his portion over to Hubert.
Jessie Ginn Harris worked for over two years and succeeded in getting the William Harris Homestead listed in the National Register for Historic Places in 1982. Her original application submitted in 1980 requested that the log house and surrounding four acres be considered for the register, but when the property was surveyed, much to the delight of the Harris family, the entire farm was put on the National Register. This is because the land had been owned and farmed by the same family for several generations. Not only does the property represent life in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it “constitutes the major portion of a farm that has been in continuous operation for nearly 150 years and, thus, it represents the initiation and evolution of farming practices in the Georgia piedmont.” 4

HOW THE HOMESTEAD IS USED TODAY

Today, the children of Hubert and Jessie Ginn Harris own and operate the property, and in 2001, they created the William Harris Homestead Foundation. Several acres of land have been placed under the protection of the Foundation. “My sisters and brother and I all had the same favorite haunts – places we remembered playing as children – so adding this land to the Foundation is our way of preserving our memories as well as our ancestor’s home,” says Dotty Zazworsky, managing director.
In the spring and fall, many school children tour the homestead to learn about “A Day in the 19th Century.” The children are split into groups and rotate in four 30-minute segments.
One huge hit with the children is learning about the daily life of a Civil War soldier. Robbie Mitchell, a Civil War interpreter, dresses in a Confederate uniform and shows the students how a soldier lived day to day and from battle to battle. Not only does he tell them such things as what the soldier might have carried with him in his ruck sack and what they ate, he shows them how the soldiers lined up in formation and the different commands they used and also the loading steps of a musket-rifle. He ends the lesson by firing it into the air.
Mrs. Zazworsky shows the children the house and how women in the 19th century spun cotton and wool on a real spinning wheel. The term “spinster” came about because it was usually the unmarried women who had the task of sitting for hours and hours spinning cotton. She also shows them how then the thread is woven into cloth on a real, working loom. At the fireplace, whose original mantel is a simple “Federal-style,” she talks about how they cooked their food. Upstairs, she shows them the “rope beds.” At night, someone had to tighten the ropes with a key, and this is may have been how the term “sleep tight” came about. On top of the ropes lay mattresses filled with feathers or cornhusks.
Another segment of the tour involves the house garden, where children learn about medicinal herbs and how they were used in the 19th century and also how William Harris and his descendants preserved their food and made their own candles from beeswax. The fourth segment includes a walk to the Harris spring, a lesson about the Creek Indians who at one time fished and camped near the Apalachee River, and also a hayride along the banks of the river.
Aside from being recognized in 1982 on the National Register for Historic Places, the Homestead has also received the Citation for Excellence Award, 1990, by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation; the Centennial Farm Award, 1993, by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources; and most recently it has received a “bricks and mortar” grant from the Georgia Heritage Program offered through the Georgia Department of National Resources’ Historic Preservation Division. With this grant, the Foundation has been able to replace the log house’s porch stairs and roof, and also restore the corncrib.

1 Anita Sams, Wayfarers in Walton (The General Charitable Foundation of Monroe, Georgia, Inc.) 46-47
2 Jessie Ginn Harris, National Register Nomination Information Form (1980) 3
3 Jessie Ginn Harris, National Register Nomination Information Form (1980) Exhibit P
4 United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form, June 22, 1982

My Photo....

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 08:27:10 -0500

...has been picked for the Shutter Sister’s “one word” project today. Thanks, guys!

Granny

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 15:35:12 -0500

My father’s mother: Francis was born in August 1912, the fourth of seven children. She was the youngest of the three girls, so she didn’t have to work inside the house. Instead, she used her time to ramble around on the farm with her younger brothers and a cousin. She said they liked to “cut all kinds of tricks,” and later she would tell her grandchildren stories such as The Peach Tree and The Pine Tree.
When she was a teenager, she was crowned “Miss Hull” because some boys (one “liked” her) persuaded everyone to vote on her. Telling this story at eight-five years old, she said she wouldn’t want it to get out who that boy was because she never did go out with him, and he was married now and living not far away.
She completed high school at fifteen years old and attended business college where she learned short-hand, typing and bookkeeping, and she got good grades.
She met my grandfather when she worked in downtown Athens at the Frigidaire. (You can still see the faded paint on the side of the building that says “Frigidaire,” though it’s been a bar for several years now.) She was eighteen, and he was about 20. He worked at the ice plant. “We were sort of in competition,” she said.
They talked about getting married at Christmas, but Doyle, my grandfather, persuaded her to marry him on Thanksgiving Day. They had dated only 6-8 months, and she says that she shouldn’t have gotten married, but when you’re 18 years old, you’re foolish and do things without thinking. But she doesn’t regret it either.
They didn’t tell anyone they were getting married. They planned to go to Atlanta on Thanksgiving with some friends, and on the way there, Doyle stopped at his pastor’s house. The pastor married them, and his daughters were their only witnesses. Doyle and Francis continued on to Atlanta and had a fabulous day tolling around and visiting Stone Mountain. When they returned to Athens, Francis went back to her apartment where she was living with her sister, and though he didn’t want to, Doyle went home to Danielsville where he was living with his parents. He wasn’t supposed to tell anybody they were married, but, of course, that’s exactly what he did. Francis’ sister found out from some friends that she got married.
“If I’da known that Doyle was gonna broadcast it over Madison County, we woulda announced it in the first place,” she says.
They lived with his parents for the first year and later they moved into their own house on the Bond Farm. She says her mother-in-law is the person who taught her everything she knows about cooking and sewing and keeping a house because her own mother never taught her since she had the two older sisters.
Francis had four children, but the first one was stillborn and lays in the same graveyard my grandfather is buried in. My father came next and then my Aunt Carolyn, and then my Aunt Joan. She said once she didn’t want to have a third child, but the Lord knew better. Joan never married and has lived with and cared for “Granny” most of her life.
When Joan was born, Francis wanted to name her Joy Ann, and Doyle wanted to name her Joanne. When Doyle filled out the paperwork, he was going to write down Joanne, but he misspelled her name and it stuck.
My grandfather moved his family around quite a bit and changed jobs several times. When Francis’ brother’s opened a business and decided to build some houses on Glen Carrie Road, she said she wanted to buy one. She was working and could afford to pay the $500 down payment. Doyle said, “You can count me out!” She looked at him and said, “I wasn’t going to count you in!” She and my Aunt Joan still live in this house to this day. Her parents, Glen and Carrie, lived in a house across the street for many years before they died.
My sister nicknamed Francis “Granny,” and I was told once that she didn’t like the name, but everybody in the family calls her that except for her children, who call her “Mother.”
Granny is still alive. She’s ninety-six years old, and I don’t visit her as often as I should. She’s mentally alert, and up until the last few years, she’s been physically fit too....despite her diet. (Once my husband went over to their house in the morning to help them with something, and he said she was eating chicken fried steak for breakfast.) She has six grandchildren, 11 1/2 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. I have heard her say that she’s ready whenever the Lord is willing to take her home.

Getting Back to the Basics

Wed, 4 Feb 2009 10:15:46 -0500

I was watching The Actors Studio on Bravo a few years ago when James Lipton was interviewing Whoopi Goldberg. I’ve always loved that show and find it a great source of inspiration, but in all the interviews I watched, I only remember one thing that Whoopi Goldberg said. It was during the question and answer session at the end of the program when Whoopi sat in front of the young acting students. Each face in the audience was beaming at her, trying to gleam some kind of magic advice that would help them propel their acting careers forward. I will paraphrase what Whoopi said because, of course, I can’t remember her exact words: “If you want to act, you can act. There are countless opportunities for you. I don’t mean that you will become a famous Hollywood movie star, but if you want to act, you can act. It may be in off Broadway. It may be in your local theatre. If you want to act, you will act.”
These words stay with me because I apply the same advice to writing. If I want to write, I’ll write. Whether I’m going to publish with a reputable press or with my iWeb blog software, I have opportunities to write and share my work. Trouble is, I’ve spent my life like those dreamy-eyed acting students who thought, “But I’m going for the big time.” And there’s nothing wrong with that. Without dreams, we’d accomplish nothing.
But there does come a time when the effort and constant failure feels more like a chore than like the fun it’s supposed to be. And sometimes when I’m working on my novels, I put so much pressure on myself to make them publishable that I forget why I’m writing in the first place: because I love it. So how do I balance that dream of accomplishment with the love of doing? For me, I think it’s taken time to come to a place where I’m happy with my life as it is and anything else would be icing on the cake. Everyday I find myself caring less about the outcome and more about the process....of writing, creating, photographing. If I need a break from it all, I want to take a break without feeling like I’m losing time. If I don’t want to finish one project, I want to let it go without feeling like I’ve wasted time. I want to shower myself with creativity energy and not drown in it.
So this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to follow Whoopi’s advice and write because I want to write and not because I want to get published. And who knows? Maybe the end result will be even better than it was before!

Hibernating can be a good thing.

Sun, 1 Feb 2009 17:15:23 -0500

It’s time for me to come out of hibernation. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing too, in a way. Winter has been extra cold here in Georgia, and I’ve been spending every free moment on my bed, napping or reading. I even abandoned the corner upstairs that I call my office, and I brought my laptop into my bedroom too. It’s the warmest room in the house. But the main reason for my hibernation is that, well, I’m pregnant! And I’ve been exhausted, having chills and at times feeling sick. Not too sick, thank goodness. But enough to make me stop doing anything but the most necessary chores. And my creative juices have dried up too, which is why I don’t have much photography or writing to post. I’m tapped out.
But, yes, I’m very happy and excited, and I hope everything continues to go well. The due date is August 12th.
I’m still not back to feeling 100%, but I miss writing, and I miss taking photographs, so I want to try to get back into my old routine. We’ll see how it goes. I’m not promising anything.
So I hope I haven’t lost my few meager readers that I have for this blog. Please tell me what you’ve been up to this winter!

Hiatus

Mon, 5 Jan 2009 11:56:43 -0500

I just realized that I haven’t posted anything in over a week, so I should probably put a note here explaining that I’m taking a hiatus from this blog for a while. I’ve got a lot going on, so it’s time for a break.

I hope all of you are having a great new year. I’ll be back!

The Old Bull

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:26:56 -0500

This is another story told by Nanny:

One day when we were living in the house on the corner of Bloomfield and Talmadge Avenue, I decided to walk downtown and visit my mother at work. She worked in your Great Uncle Van’s furniture store, located above where Jackson Street Books resides today.
I had to walk along Bloomfield and turn onto Lumpkin Avenue to get to the store, and back then, there was pasture land all along Bloomfield. One of our neighbors owned a bull. I called him Old Bull. Well, on that day, Old Bull was on the wrong side of the fence! He was standing in the middle of Bloomfield, staring right at me, nostrils flaring. I was just a little girl, and that bull scared me to death. I turned around and hightailed it home! And you know what? Old Bull hightailed it right after me! I didn’t know what to do. Nobody else was home that day.
Then I remembered that there was a small space underneath our house in the back that I was just small enough to crawl into. I knew Old Bull was too big to come in after me. So that’s exactly what I did, and that Old Bull stayed right there in our back yard all day! I had to wait until my mama came home, and she called on our neighbors who owned the bull to come get him. It wasn’t until then that I crawled out of that hole!

Merry Christmas

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:33:59 -0500

Wordless Wednesday
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