It's a gorgeous day out there today, and it's been a wonderful day for my birthday too.
21 again? LOL, yep, that's right. 3 times over. 63! It's such a WOW for me. Mentally, I feel the same as I did when I was younger, just a bit more worldly and wiser ... physically, well, I guess most days I feel A HUNDRED nad sixty three!
Hubby and I had lunch at Hu Hot Mongolian Restaurant in Greenville, It's my favourite place to go and the folks that work there treat us like family. We then stopped by to visit my granddaughter before she had to go to work.
We dropped off (and picked up) library books, and then drove through to Simpsonville and stopped by Southern Eyecare to pick up my new glasses.
Now just lazing around, trying to catch up on all my birthday "thank yous" and other things.
When you're disabled, you learn to appreciate the small things ... particularly when it comes to accomplishments. Those small things, to normal people, may be quite like reaching the mountaintop, for those of us with challenges. This weekend has been a busy one for me. Saturday, running errands, I did a lot of walking with my rollator, and then hubby and I defrosted and cleaned one of the fridges. We stripped the bed and he did laundry so we had lovely fresh scented linens on the bed. That's def one of life's pleasures! Then, today, we have done the other fridge. I have to sit, as I cannot stand up straight, but he took the shelves out, and I washed and dried them. Team effort. We've always worked pretty well together. Now, we just have to delegate me to the tasks that I can do sitting down, and he does the rest. Def been a good weekend though!
Hello, Mr Rogers, why is your "it's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood" playing in my mind this morning? Although it most definitely is. The sun is out but the day is still cool and comfortable (despite that it may reach the high 80s later), the birds are twittering happily outside and all my 4 legged fiends are snoozing. I love my quiet mornings. I get on and do a lot of my online "stuff", my Facebook birthdays (it's the only platform that reminds me), catching up on emails and messages, blogging (seems my thoughts are more ordered when there's no background distractions), place advertising posts, connect with my team members and such. Then, once my doggies re-awaken, my doggie doh-si-doh begins. They are all let out at 5.3am and brought back in just as hubby leaves for work a short while later, and then they just collapse into heaps on the floor and head into dreamland, sometimes mumbling in their dreams or legs walking them someplace nice.
One will awaken. If it's my boy, Max, he will whimper to let me know he wants to go out again. If it's Boo, she shakes her head as she wakes, so I hear her ears flapping. Angel pants. Mystery will yap. I then trek down to the front door and let them out. Boo was the ringleader this morning, and the others followed sit, so theyre now all enjoying the sunshine, and I'm enjoying the fresh air from the front door being open. Plus, when I head that way, I go into the living room and pedal for a bit on my elliptical bike (usually 10 minutes) and read some of the latest book that I've got my head in. I've loved reading since I was about 5 or 6, my nan used to buy me all the "Ladybird" books
and I later bought Ladybird Books for my kids when I taught them to read as toddlers. I love that they were memorialized on stamps a couple of years ago (and I just ordered me this presentation pack!).
Now, my tastes vary from medical and legal thrillers, to Native American based stories, to Victorian England and onwards stories, so I'm pretty much easy-to-please. If I discover a book by an author that I've not read before, and enjoy it, then I seek out other titles they have written. I recently finished Margaret Coel and am now enjoyinng Edward Marston, but hubby is picking up a James Patterson for me, that I have on reserve at the local library.
I also love English history, particularly reminiscences about growing up in the areas of London that I knew, so I also love factual and photgraphic books on those, and old newspapers. Well, my day is getting busier, ye phone is ringing, and I must away ! Enjoy your day
Today has been beautiful weather-wise, bright and sunny. I was blessed to spend a couple of hours with my granddaughter and 2 of my great-grands, Daniel and Sami. We had fun. Me and the kids waited in the car while mummy went into the places, and we played being silly while she was gone. 4 year old Daniel is already a character, and 2 year old Sami is destined to follow in his footsteps. Their silliness is genetically passed down from their greatgrandmother - ME!
My weight-loss took a day off, courtesy of my granddaughter buying 10 packs of minis from Chick-Fil-A ... I didn't realise I'd munched over 1000 calories ...ooops ... not good. I've been pedalling on the elliptical bike, but unless I pedal a few hours, today is a bust. It's ok, tomorrow is another day!
I was without my Ancestry subscription for 3 weeks, and boy! Did I suffer withdrawals! I am so addicted to my family history research. I've always loved history, and the more I find out about my family members, the more inquisitive I become.
Yesterday, I was able to use my AVON money to order hubby's DNA kit, and then they offered me a 6 month worldwide subscription for $79 ... how could I refuse, LOL. So, today I was back doing research, and lo! I hit paydirt.
I started working on my hubby's family, and in searching info about his mum, I found her High school yearbook from 1947!
She is 4th from the left on the top row. I was struck by how much Mark's sister, Pam, looks like her mum. I also found one of my hubby's cousins, and we started messaging back and forth. They haven't seen each other since they were kids over 40 years ago. I also found a descendant of my great-grandmother's brother and am awaiting a response, as I am very interested in our shared great-great-grandfather who had a bird shop at 1 Rathbone Street in Canning Town. I am wondering what info they might have to share that I may not already be aware of. I'm so happy to be able to continue my explorations for at least the next 6 months and expound on all that I already know. I find this journey fascinating!
My nan was born in Plaistow and grew up in Canning Town, so when I started on my family history journey, that was where I began. Growing up, she had told me stories of her childhood, so I felt like I knew some of the places she spoke of. I also remember her taking me to her parents grave in the East London Cemetery, the bus ride and ensuing walk to get there, and - stuck in my mind - a narrow cobble stoned street with a cobbler shop on the corner, that we'd pass as we walked.
She had worked at Achille Serre's dry cleaning company, and is shown 2nd from the left, in this picture.
It's where she met my granpop, who (obviously) she later married.
My nan was born Rose Poyser on 9th January 1908, and was the eldest of 5 children, her siblings being sisters Ivy, Lily and Alice, and brother Harry.
Her parents were Samuel Poyser, known as Sam, and his wife Mary Ann (nee Hunt) who was known as Polly. In those days apparently, many girls named Mary Ann were known as Polly. My nan was christened February 7th in St Luke's church, Canning Town, which was known locally as "the Cathedral of Canning Town". Later she went to Sunday School there, and to school.
My great grandmother died suddenly in 1936, of a stroke. She was only 50. Sam never remarried and died 17th October 1955, when I was just a few months old. They were buried together.
Sam had worked hard all his life. He was one of 8 siblings and began his working life at the Thames Ironworks, the 1901 census showing him aged 15 as a "carrier for a rivettor" there. He worked there until the shipyard closed, and in later years was known as a carpenter and a wheelwright. Apparently, he had a little yard off Fox Street (behind Rathbone Street) where he made the wheels for the costermonger's barrows, and also for the Romany vardoes (there being quite a large gypsy population in Canning Town down at Cherry Island).
My nan spoke of us being related to the famous Queen of the Gypsies, Rose Lee, and so I had always thought we were descended from her and had Romany blood, particularly as Sam making the wheels for the vardoes was often mentioned as "retaining his connection to" them. Further investigation though provided that Polly's younger brother, Danny, married Urania Lee's (Gypsy Rose Lee) granddaughter, Louisa. I know my nan spoke highly of Urania, so it seems that much of the non-gypsy family members were accepted into Louisa's family.
I am certain that Danny is among the mourners here and, because of the respect held for her, I have wondered whether my nan, Sam and Polly are here, too.
I had struggled to figure out how Danny and Louisa had met. Danny's father, at that time, having a shop at #1 Rathbone Street in Canning Town, and previously had conducted business out of a smaller location off Hallsville Rd on Satterton Street, my original thoughts had been that they must have met there. However, later research of my family's addresses showed Forty Acre Lane, which led down to Cherry Island, so I began to surmise that maybe the lads from Forty Acre Lane and Cherry Island may have hung out together, and thus Danny met Louisa through Sam (after Polly had married him). Sadly, the truth will never be known as all who would have known are now long gone.
Danny and Polly's father was Charles Hunt, whose business was listed in the 1912 Kelly's Directory as a "bird shop". Although we have no definite information, there was a huge preoccupation with imported songbirds in the Edwardian era, so my assumption is that it was that, somewhat of the beginnings of a pet shop as we now know them.
