A Haven for Vee

Friday, November 22, 2013

Enough Already


I know! I'm completely smitten by these George Boughton paintings. I don't know the name of this one so can not share; however, you may learn more about them at the John and Priscilla Alden historic site here. There's a fascinating discussion about the elevating of John and Priscilla to the level of stars. ☺ I'm sure that they would have been surprised.

 Just found this list of surnames of descendants of John and Priscilla this morning while visiting the site so thought I'd share. I must say that I see many of your names *on that list.* (None of mine, though.)

I have been puttering about this morning...moved the gigantic Easter cactus that isn't blooming out of the window so I could clear my table of the birch candle holders. They are still drying.


Yes, the rosemary is looking bedraggled. Yes, that is a dusting of snow. It reminds me of the sweetest vintage card Abby sent me several days ago.


A Christmas post card so lovely, so idealized. See how those oak leaves hang on forever and see those little boys? I often watch little boys playing beyond my window. I seldom see a sunset like that one though.

Fifty years ago, the country was in a tailspin. I can't allow the day to slip by without recognizing the anniversary. I have nothing to say other than that I remember. Do you?

36 comments:

  1. Do I remember? This is my Dad's birthday...he's gone now but I have lots of memories today. I got stuck on the page with all the descendants....I think I'll go back and look some more! Enjoy your day my friend. The note card party sure was fun! Thanks so much!

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  2. Vee, this is all very fascinating. I read your post yesterday (but didn't get a chance to leave a comment) and even clicked on the links for the other blog and read all about Hannah Dustin/Duston. Wow! What uncertain times to have lived in.

    I'm especially interested in your link today to the descendants of John and Priscilla Alden. My mom's brother has done their family geneology and confirmed their qualifications for my mom (and my sister and I) to be members of the DAR and the DAC. Just out of curiosity, I went to the link and found the surnames of both sides of my mother's family as far back as I know about. All the surnames are on there -- McGee, Little, Churchill and Stokes. I don't know the surnames besides those, but I'll have to talk to my uncle. This really is fascinating -- thanks for sharing!!

    I love the pictures inside your home; love the birch logs and the scene outside your window. Your house is so homey and your town is so charming. As always, it is a treat to read your blog posts. I hope you have a great weekend. :)

    Hugs to you,

    Denise at Forest Manor

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  3. Hi Vee, I love your birch log candle holders. Those will be beautiful on your table for the holidays!

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  4. A beautiful post, Vee. Sadly, I do remember- I can hardly bear to think of that day and I have a harder time watching it play out on TV than I have in years past. So sad! xo Diana Love the card!

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  5. I barely remember. I was 5 so that isn't surprising! Your birch candle holders are just wonderful. I could see those inside a fireplace year round.

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  6. Yes, I do remember,so sad. I enjoyed visiting your link and my Mother and Fathers' names are there,very interesting!

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  7. I love the view out your bay window! The dusting of snow and the big trees and house are beautiful. I wish I could get my hands on one of John's birch log candle holders! I suppose I wouldn't be allowed to bring the wood back to Canada - bugs and all. Ha! Yes, I too am remembering this famous date in history. I was 13 and was to go to my piano lesson after school but the teacher was so distraught that she cancelled my lesson. I remember watching it all on the news for days afterward. A tragic day for America. I checked out the list and see Harris and Whitney on the it. I don't think they are family though. It would have to be a very distant relation I think. :)

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  8. What a lovely post and painting. I do remember that day in Dallas. I was in history class in my school in Wisconsin. It didn't seem possible, just like 9-11 didn't seem possible. I've been watching the PBS documentary on Kennedy. It's been so interesting and sad. Makes one wonder what it would have been like in this country today if we could have avoided the '60s.

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  9. I see both Orrs and Olsens on the list - those would be names from Tim's side. But I don't think we're connected with this illustrious group - his family came over from Europe much later - in the late 19th century/early 20th, as did mine (but mine came from Mennonite Russia.) Still, very fascinating.

    The painting is lovely. I wonder about the bows on her collar/dress - so pretty. Just decorative, an invention of the painter, or useful closures?

    I remember. Grade Two. Sent home early from school.

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  10. As you know, from my blog post today, that it is my birthday. It was my 10th birthday, the day JFK was assassinated. I was home from school - teacher duty day maybe, and I heard my Mom say :Oh No!" and then she started crying. I was only 10, but I immediately understood that we would not be celebrating my birthday that day.

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  11. I was in the seventh grade in Spanish class. They announced it over the loudspeaker.

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  12. Yes, I remember. I was watching 'As The World Turns' on tv when they broke in with the news that Kennedy had been shot. Was it really 50 years ago.... I was already married with children in school. Wow.

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  13. I clearly remember the day. I was working for the telephone company and the switchboard went wild.

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  14. I was at lunch, as a 4th grader and everyone was dismissed early right after we got back to our classrooms. I also remember wondering why little Caroline and John-John had to go stand on the curb and watch their father's casket go by. Back then I remember that small children never attended funerals of their parents or grandparents or siblings...so it stuck out to me that they were there. Seemed like it was the first time I ever saw days and days of news coverage on anything.

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  15. I was 14 years old and in biology class. I don't think I'll ever forget it. Black and white television .... I can see why you love the George Boughton paintings ... they draw you right in. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  16. Also wanted to say I love the view out of your window. Not having fences wrapping around the houses makes the whole scene so much more friendly.
    Yeah, a couple of my ancestor's names are on the list but they are not in my line directly. Anyone who was in New England in the 1600s is probably eventually related to most everyone else that was there at the same time.
    A curious side note on the assassination: Three of my classmates were born on Presidential assassination days. My birthday is the day that Lincoln was shot, and also the day that the Titanic sank. My birth was a welcome bright spot for April 14 events.

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  17. Lovely post - and I was only 4 and my little brother was 2 and my little sister was just a 2 month old, so things were pretty sweet those days for me. Going to check out that recommended site now, thanks Vee. Hugs. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  18. I was 20 and at work in my Washington, D.C. office. I had only been in the states just over a year. We all rushed into my boss's office where there was a TV - grown men were crying.

    Love the vintage card Vee - and your view is lovely with the dusting of snow.
    Happy weekend - Mary

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  19. I do remember. I was a freshman in college, walking across campus to another class when someone ran up and told me. I absolutely thought she was making a joke in the worst possible taste, but soon learned I was wrong. Our resident adviser had on tiny TV in her room and we were all crowded around her trying to watch it.A heartbreaking time.

    Vee, I love the Pilgrim pictures! They are really lovely and I'm not at all familiar with this artist, so it's great seeing his work! (And how I love your verification free commenting! Thanks.)

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  20. That is a great old vintage post card picture
    and I was wondering why you had those pieces of white birch laying there LOL

    I was at my Grandparents house in Jacksonville Florida visiting them I was 16 when president Kennedy was shot and killed . It was unbelievable and scary

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  21. such a beautiful post, I was 8 years old, living her in Canada and to be honest I don't remember but I'm sure we knew about it, such a sad sad day,

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  22. this is one of my favorite posts. there is such
    a lovely, lyrical quality to all you say today.

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  23. Lovely view out your window, Vee. That's a great vintage card, too. Yes, I do remember that day 50 years ago.

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  24. Love your images today. I'm a lover of genealogy and enjoy tracing my lineage on both sides of my family. Fascinating finds. My second-cousin-once-removed (yeah, a little confusing) put together a genealogy book a number of years ago that has been most helpful. I'm also a member of ancestry.com and can trace parts of my lineage to the 1700's but nothing further back yet.

    As for this tragic day in history, yes I remember.

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  25. Vee, that's a perfect amount of snow! Love your birch candle holders - gorgeous!

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  26. Oh, I hope we get some snow this year! At least some that lasts a little longer than a couple of hours, LOL. I adore both of those paintings. Such talent to be able to create those. And yes, my surname is on the list!

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  27. I remember that day vividly, as you know,. I love that painting, too, and I have always had a fondness for Priscilla and John Alden. Love those birch candle logs. Xo

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  28. I love that painting - the detail is wonderful.
    LOVe her outfit and the sweet little bag dangling fro her arm - she is very elegant.
    Now that image looking through your lovely quarter pane windows will make the most beautiful note card dear Vee - please print it off!
    Happy weekend to you both and please tell John his birch candle holders are wonderful.
    Shane

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  29. Vee,
    I do remember..I was in 5th grade...a sad day.
    The view through your window is breathtaking..I long for a little snow..
    Love, Mona

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  30. I was in the fifth grade and so much of the sad event is still crystal clear in my mind--I shared on my facebook pages today. I was discussing the event with my daughter who worked from home at my house yesterday, as thankfully her two hour drive for a business trip was cancelled due to poor road conditions from the snow we received overnight. I told her how afraid we were of a nuclear war back then --I still remember feeling fear at the Cuban Missile Crisis even at my tender age of the time, and the assassination of JFK, then MLK and Bobby Kennedy, then Watergate, the attempt on President Reagan's life. life.... all events before my daughter's time. We've lived through so much history, haven't we?

    I love the painting of the pilgrim and the pretty view through you bay window. I had a window like that in Brooklyn and I miss it, as I had most of my plants there. All my windows here have flat windowsills. John's candle holders are beautiful!

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  31. I remember. We all do. It was unbelievable. 50 years, seems impossible.

    On another note, I love your picture at the window, and especially love John's log candle holders. What a perfect gift that will be.

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  32. I was only two so I wouldn't remember. I love the post card, and I hope you share a photo of candles burning in the birch candle holders.

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  33. LOVE the view out your window, and LOVE the card too! And yes, I was in the third grade and I remember well the teacher crying and all of the adults soo upset. My parents had the TV on for days it seemed and I remember watching in horror and thinking of their children not having a daddy. Guess at my age that seemed the most significant thing!

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  34. I remember. . .it was lunch break. I was in junior high. Suddenly, it was as if everyone was whispering to one another, but it was loud and then we were all in disbelief. There are some moments in history that we'll always remember.

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  35. Hi Vee,
    Just read your post about the Aldens. My mother-in-law descended from the Mullen (Priscilla Mullen Alden) side of the family and she had a sister who was named after Priscilla.I love Boughton paintings too. I have a Boughton print in my diningroom Going to Church see post:
    http://mysewwhatblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/my-antique-shop-discovery-and-purchase.html...

    Also, regarding the anniversary, I absolutely remember. I was 4 years old and my mother was crying. I remember my parents in front of the television and I remember thinking how very sad his wife and children must be. So on some level, I understood what had happened.

    Stay warm, a winter chill is definitely here!
    Linda


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  36. I don't remember much at all, I was just five. Love your views out the window- even with that slight smattering of snow. I am sitting here listening to sleet and wondering if the power is going to go off. Oh well, have a wonderful holiday week Vee!

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