Flashback Friday...Folk Art

On the second day of our Sister Weekend...we spent some time "searching thru thrift store jungles."

While certain sisters were busy checking out a booth and bookshelves full of cookbooks...

I turned around and found this one of a kind piece of Folk Art.

Yes, that is a fly on the head of the...whatever that is a head of...

and before you judge...take look at the price tag.

That piece of folk art reminded me of our own Vandercar Folk art...

and specifically, this piece.

I always thought it funny and sad that the hoofs of these deer were further humiliated into holding up the guns that shot them.

I never knew our house to be without this piece of "art." 

Yet, I never heard or thought to ask about where it came from and or who made it.

In my scanning of the family photos, I've come to see that it must have meant something and or been well loved, because before it came to live in mom and dad's bedroom, it held a prominant place in the household(s).

In 2003

Mom and Dad's room

In the 60's

In the Dining Room

and 1950's

Is this in the little red house (which then became Grandma Ferns)?

And what in the world is hanging next to the door?

Yet another deer hoof?

Keychain? Or should I say Keyhoof?

What?

As for the current location of this Folk Art, I believe it is in Bobby's basement??

So, there you have it...
my challenge to you next generation of hunters...
get out there and get your Game and dream up and design YOUR very OWN piece of Folk Art!
And you married deer hunters, good luck with getting your wife to let you hang it in the dining room!

Directions to here:

I also just noticed there is the lamp that I've been keeping track of on the 365 scan posts!

Also feedback on the location of the black and white photo and what YOU think the deer hoof was for!
Go!

flashback Friday...With Love and Honor

So glad we got to do this....

Before we had to do this....

All Because two people fell in love....

getting our kicks on 66....

Oh the places you'll go and the things you'll see!

Steph survived her first day on 66!

Elephants and spaceships and Muffler Men, Oh My!

We are tucked in at the Wagon Wheel motel.

More pics to come!

Entourage

Originally the Oklahoma trip was going to be a "sister road-trip."

But, due to me not getting the best week off and a little event called the "Turkey Supper," sister road-trip...got pushed back to "sister weekend."

After Sister Susie told me she could not go, here's the back and forth of the conversation:

I said...maybe I'll ask the sister-in-laws. 

Pause. (I can tell that she's contemplating if I really think Sandy would go on a road trip with me)

"No, not Sandy," I say..."Steph and Verna".

"Steph is not your sister-in-law."

"What? Oh, well, you know what I mean."

"I don't want them to go."

"Why?"

"If I can't go, I don't want anybody to go."

Well, alrighty then.

Turned out that Verna had doctor's appointments that she couldn't get out of...so my most favorite "non-sister-in-law," Steph took up the challenge of going on a Road Trip...with this meandering wanderer. 

Steph is one brave non-Sister-in-law!

Monday morning....only 1/2 hour behind schedule!

Oh how I've missed you!

Heritage Vacations

 "Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on." Baz Luhrmann.

A year or two ago...I made a decision to be intentional about looking up and spending time with our extended family on my Bucket List.

Too often I found myself at funerals wishing that I had taken the TIME to call, visit, get to know and listen to the person that had passed away.

Being the baby of the family means I came along too late to know a lot of those who had already left us...and with each year it seems our link to the past gets thinner and thinner.

It made and still does make me go a little crazy to know that when that person is gone...all those stories just fly away with them. ugh. I cannot even think about it...without getting agitated.

So...I have tried to plan, use and spend some of my vacation time making connections with our extended family.
I am calling them my Heritage Vacations.

So far I've made new connections with both His Side (Vandercar/Tiltons) and Her side (Turners/Bryants). I've met and got to know Ruby and Garland (His Side) and Turner/Spindler cousins (Her Side) and also spent time with family that I already know, but don't often see enough.

I just wish that there was more time OFF to go, go, go....talk, talk, talk, listen, listen, listen...write, write, write...scan, scan, scan...share stories, stories, stories.

I still need to tell you about my Turner Trip...and post some pictures from Ruby Palooza.

But next up, is a Heritage Trip and a visit to Tulsa with Aunt Mary!!

Flashback Friday...Flashback Road Trips

Cobbs to Vandercars

Vandercars to Cobbs.

Getting ready for an old fashioned road trip to go see the Cobbs!

Directions to here:

Powerwagon!
and I might have the matching Indiana Beach Sweatshirt that I now know probably belonged to Patty.

Mystery Tree

I am scanning pictures AND negatives everyday.
Working thru pictures and some negatives that are not mine, not moms....

I have a roll that I don't know who the negs belong to, but are probably either Dave's or Patty's.

Whose Christmas tree is this???

I remember the Foxfire books, but can't remember who had them!

Flashback Friday...29 ago.

Happy 30th Birthday week to Adam!

Flashback Friday.....I miss this face!

Happy Birthday Mom!

The words "miss you" are way to small to describe the emotions I carry around when I think of you everyday. 

Great happiness and joy that I had a wonderful person like you for my Mom...

and sadness that our time on earth together was way too short.

I love and miss you.

Directions to here:
This picture was taken in D.C. at Steve's wedding. My mom was trying to make one moody and surly camera obsessed teenager get over her surliness. Making faces usually worked : )

I miss this place.

Flashback Friday.......Same time last year.

Last year at this time....I was at this great place:

With these great people:

How I wish we were all there together again, same time this year.

I will be with the Turner/Spindler cousins again tonight....

not at the carefree oceanside....

but to gather at a family dinner to remember and honor David.

Pawley's Island will never be the same.

Directions to here:

As I post these pictures, I realize I never finished my series of posts about my Turner Cousin trip. Formalintroductions of the Carolina cousins will follow. I've got LOTS of posts and things to catch up on. Just need to stay home to catch up.

What I meant to say....

Two weeks ago, I had the chance and privilege to say a few words at Delia's Funeral.

Even as I type that, it just makes no sense.

Funerals are at the end of a life.

A life is a long time.

You go to honor and remember the life you have lived with that person.

I was not done with Delia.

None of us were.

I wanted more with her.

We all did.

So therein, lies the impossibility of it all.

I knew in my head what I wanted to say.

But after hearing the crack in my brother's voice and seeing the tears in my sister-in-law's eyes and looking over to see our little Shel-belle and James sitting there with the weight of the world on their shoulders, I could not get remember half of what I had wanted to say. 

But, having gone back to my notes and composed my thoughts...here is what I meant to say....

Delia Jean

I have the privilege of telling you a little about the lady that shared a middle name with Delia Jean. 

Helen Jean was my mom. 

She was Shel's Grandma. She was Delia Jean's Great Grandma. 

A couple years after our mom, Helen Jean passed away, we started having Sunday dinners.

When she was alive we would talk to her and she would keep us updated on each other.

After she was gone, we a realized that if we were going to stay close, it was up to us.

This is when we started having Sunday Dinners. 

I cannot tell you the amount of times that I have been at one of our dinners and thought: "mom would have loved this."

She would love to see us together.

She would have loved to see our family grow and to see all of these new great grand kids.

Go back to last spring, when we all learned the word "anencephaly" and heard the unthinkable,

that James and Shel were going to have to endure the hardest thing in their lives and be what seemed like a million miles from home.

I imagined them having to go thru all they have gone thru this week...alone with no family there in Korea.

Then it dawned on me...that if they must go thru it alone, that at least at Delia's home going...Grandma Helen Jean would be the first in the family to meet Delia Jean!

Although the news was still heartbreaking, I had some peace knowing that Delia would go from this world holding the hand of her family to the next, holding the hand of her family.

Now,

I know I'm in a church and I am supposed to believe there is nothing better than being with Jesus.

But, honestly?

The thought Delia Jean being held by Grandma Helen Jean, almost brought me more comfort than knowing that she would be with Jesus.

This may be a shock, but I don't think God is surprised.

Because God uses parents as Image Bearers.

Moms and Dads bear God's image to us.

He uses our parents to show us how much he loves us.

He used Helen Jean in our lives to show us what He is like.

This is one reason Shel and James chose Jean as Delia's middle name. 

Helen Jean bore the image of God to us...thru her love, strength and faith...

and because of this we were able to imagine a Greater Love and a Greater Strength and to HAVE faith in a Great God.

And I see Helen Jean's legacy continuing.

If you want to see the love of God,

look at these two parents:

Parents who love so much, they chose to go thru so much pain and face the inevitable, in order to give Delia Jean the best life possible.

When I told people the news that James and Shel found out back in May....almost everyone of them assumed that they would not go thru with the pregnancy.

I said no, they want this child to have a chance and as much love as possible, no matter how long her life. 

They were willing to sacrifice and embrace a world of pain and hurt in order to give a little girl and faith a fighting chance.

Shel and James are a mother and father who are mirroring the Image of God to a child they knew would never be able to return even one hug.

But as we've seen in the rainbows and shooting stars, she seems to be responding and returning her love in heavenly artwork.

The morning after Delia came and left us, I laid down to sleep for a few hours before going to work.

The alarm went off and the first thing I heard was the line:

"Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance..."

James and Shel, thank you for giving. 

Thank you for giving faith a fighting chance

Thank you for giving Delia a fighting chance.

Thank you for bearing God's image to your children and in so doing showing them and us what God is like.

Delia spent all of her life embraced by love.

She spent most of her life nestled in her mother's womb.

She spent ALL of her time on outside the womb cradled in the arms of a family that loved her and couldn't wait to hold her.

And she flew from this world safely into the arms of Jesus and to the arms of those who have gone before and wait for us.

She did not spend one moment untouched.

And that is a wonderful way to spend a life time.

Extra, Extra...Read all about it!!

Happy Anniversary!

Flashback Friday...Fourth of July Moon Dance

 July 4, 2009

 A very memorable Fourth of July

and definitely the most memorable first dance!

 Enjoy!

Directions to here:

watch Jerry at :27....this is where he thought the electrical box blew. sorry, Jerry, I should have warned you!

Flashback Friday...Six degrees to Dinwiddie

I've been to Arizona twice to visit Ruby (Dinwiddie) Lawson.

And most of you got to meet her during her visit to, um...Dinwiddie...

(Ruby at Sunday dinner)

but I have yet to officially explain why you should know her or care about her.

Have you heard of the game "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon?"
It was devised, when Kevin Bacon said he had worked with everyone in Hollywood or someone who's worked with them. Meaning, if you name an actor, you can probably get back to Kevin Bacon within six steps.

Well, it works with our ancestors and relatives too.
Especially on the Vandercar/Tilton side.
I've been meaning to chart this out, but didn't want to see Dave's eyes roll back in his head.
And honestly, with this one, even my eyes get a little crossed (reading about cousins)  and trying to figure out just how many ways Ruby is related to us.

Simply put: 

Ruby is our cousin.

or a little more detail:

Ruby is our first cousin, once removed:

Bob (our Dad), Gladys and Ruby are/were first cousins because....

   Bob's mom, Fern Tilton (our Grandma) and Ruby's mom, Phebe Tilton (our Great Aunt) were sisters.

 If you remember Aunt Phebe:

this might explain why Ruby looked familiar to you!

But that's not the end of the game.

There are a few more interesting degrees to add.

Those sisters? Fern and Phebe?

Fern married George Vandercar (our Grandpa)...and had Bob.

Phebe married Keith Dinwiddie (our Great Uncle)...and had Ruby.

What I did not know, is........and stick with me here, Dave...

Keith Dinwiddie's mother's name was Alice Shurte.

Alice

George Vandercar's mother's name was Hattie Shurte (our Great Grandma).

Hattie

Alice and Hattie were sisters.

(look for #13 and #14)

Alice married a Dinwiddie...and had Keith.

Hattie married a Vandercar and had George.

This made Keith and George first cousins.

So, not only is Ruby related to us on the Tilton side because of Fern and her sister Phebe,
but also on the Vandercar side, because of Great Grandma Hattie and her sister Alice.

On a side note:
Grandpa George had a sister named Lulu.
(she opens up a whole other, double related, mind bending scenario...which I will save for another Friday).

I mention Aunt Lulu to explain to you yet another reason why Ruby may have looked familiar to you.

Because Ruby looks a lot like Aunt Lulu...

...who looked a lot like Great Grandma Hattie.

I have no idea what that makes Ruby to us on the Vandercar side.
I'll have to call in the professionals on that one.

So there is your Six degrees to Dinwiddie answer in case anyone asks.
You're Welcome.

Can someone go wake up Dave and tell him I'm done talking about this now?


Directions to here:

This isn't even taking into consideration that Grandpa and Grandma lived in Dinwiddie (at the farm where the truck stop is now) and that many of you still live close by there. Just another degree to add to the game!

Flashback Friday...Our Dad...the long and short version.

When I think of my dad as "Dad" and not the "Grandpa" stage of his life, I have two versions in my memory...and they revolve around the length of his shirt sleeves.

I think I was probably 12 or 13 before I ever saw him wear short sleeves in public. And it wasn't until the late 70's that I ever saw him go anywhere without a cap on his head.

When I was little, He was always dressed for work: either at the Station or Farming.

This picture shows this perfectly.

The Farmer in the Mobil uniform shirt.

His hands and face were darkly tanned.

But his arms and top of his head were untouched by the sun.
That was, until he retired.

In his post Log Cabin life, he turned that tan into a normal farmer's tan by wearing short sleeves during long hours of fishing in Florida.

So there's the long and short of my two versions of "Dad." 

I suppose most of us remember him this way:

as Dad and/or Grandpa (Papa) Bob

But, if I have to sum up my memory of him in one picture...

this one is a favorite and might be it.

No matter what version,

I love and miss him on Father's day and everyday.

Happy Flag Day!

Flashback Friday...Twister

Back in January, I re-watched the movie Twister.
This was the third time seeing it.
The first was on the big screen in the theater...in which one of the key scenes involving a semi-truck, was ruined for me, due to loud talkers coming out of the theater.
The second time was watching it on a tiny screen with a wide-eyed South African named Heidi.
I remember after one of the first scenes with a tornado in it, she turned to me and said,
"this movie, where does it take place?"
I answered, "Oklahoma."
to which she asked with a little bit of fear in her voice,
"and this, (insert South African accent) Ok-la-ho-ma?, How far is it from In-di-an-a?"
I could tell there were certain American experiences that she was hoping not to partake.

But I'll tell you, after watching it the third time and then watching just a couple months later the REAL live heartbreak and destruction that this force of nature can bring....I'm not sure if I'll ever want to watch the movie again.

Especially after learning via Facebook that my family was undergoing the threat of dark skies last weekend.
I THANK GOD no one was hurt.
I am sad to see the pictures tho, especially the trees and the landscape that we grow so fond of seeing and enjoying. (see Sister Susie's FB folder named "Storm")

I was in Indy and missed the storm, so I have no first hand story.

And I knew that some day I would post the following pictures, but never knew or imagined or wanted to be linking this Flashback Friday to a current event.

I went thru this storm, I think. But have no memory of it...or first hand story. I believe I must have been cradled in someone's arms...and whoever you were, I thank you.
So, I'll just post the pictures with the captions that were written by my parents and brothers and sisters and I'll let your comments and your memories tell the story of the:

 It must have made quite an impression on these caption writers!

 Directions to here:
What do you remember about the Storm of '65?