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A Dull & Hopeless Summer: A Soprano’s Aria: Chapter 11

Wed Jun 3. Thu June 4 Busy days. Cooking and planning variety in ??? Friday June 5 Fish for dinner. Quite a fine change and no added expense. Jessie and Albert wrote me letters which I received later. Leo sent samples of his office blanks and also a Catholic standard which pleased my old lady […]

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Decoration Day: Why Family History Writing will make you a Better Genealogist

I can hear you mumbling, but I hate writing. That may be because you think it hard work. Maybe if you had to start out staring at a blank piece of paper or a white screen, but if you are a genealogist that isn’t the case. You have the rough outlines of hundreds if not […]

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Moving Days: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 10

April 1 Fools day. Celebrated by going down to the Em. [Emporium] and buying a sewing machine for $35.00. 2 down and 1 per week forever after. Sent Jessie 3 songs Aloha dream days and Sing me the vesper. Apr 2 Sewing machine came today. Made Lolita a little chemise out of a sugar sack […]

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Songs That Never Grow Old: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 9

Thu Feb 19 1914 Cloudy and sunny by turns. Heavy rain last night. Morning work done at 10:30. Will work on my crocheting before getting lunch. Fri Cleaned up old collection of fancy work papers and served them in assorted bunches Sat Baked white and raisin bread. Washed clothes and cleaned house. Went down town […]

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Good bye Old Year, More Joy to the New: A Soprano’s Aria Part 7

1913 Nov 3 Monday Went down town and did a little marketing. Bought a salt and pepper box. Nov 4. Tuesday Worked on rug all day. Rained some. Nov 5 Wednesday A blue day. Wrote to Emma and worked on my rug. Some sun and rain. 6, 7, 8 Unusually dull and monotonous. Nov 9 […]

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Gentle Genealogy: More Discoveries, more Delight, less Drudgery

Sounds great, right? Well I found this out as a side effect of becoming a Reformed Genealogist. All one needs is to shift your focus from collecting and researching: to resurrecting and writing. It’s  called a Paradigm Shift. I am telling you it will be the best thing that ever happened to you, as a […]

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FAMILY HISTORY WRITING Assignment #1: Pick a Heirloom

This is a very focused writing assignment but be forewarned it can lead to more than you expect. You will need to pick an item. It can be something of your own or something passed down through the family. INGREDIENTS: an item to write about (more on picking an item below) an interest in the […]

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Writing Stories: Writing Begins With a Title

“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.” Virginia Woolf For many beginning writers or future writers the two hardest things are “what to write about” and “how to get started.” Choosing a title helps me focus my writing and defines the parameters. Occasionally I may refine […]

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The Inherited Object Revisited

“Stories are a kind of thing, too. Stories and objects share something, a patina. I thought I had this clear, two years ago before I started, but I am no longer sure how this works. Perhaps a patina is a process of rubbing back so that the essential is revealed, the way that a striated […]

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