A Visit To The Westcott House 6/2014

Frank Lloyd Wright's

Westcott House

in

Springfield Ohio

I visited the Westcott House about three years ago so when I had out of town company this past week it was on my go to  list of places.  Touring a Frank Lloyd Wright Home is a very interesting and relaxing thing to do.    We had made reservations for the noon tour.  My favorite feature of this house is the upstairs master and mistress bedrooms.  They take up the entire front of the house and are mirror image each with their own bedroom, bathroom, and dressing room.  There is a door between them and each has a door to the hall.  I also liked the paint throughout the house which looks like leather.  One of the following videos will explain more about the paint.  Another of the videos tells of the Westcott family and the third highlights the restoration of the home.  If you click on the Westcott House name in the title above you will be directed to their website.  Anyone who is passing through the area of Springfield Ohio would enjoy a tour of the Westcott House.

Underground Rail Road Freedom Center Visit - 6/2014

June 2014

visit to 

The Underground Rail Road Freedom Center

Cincinnati, Ohio

My first visit to The Underground Rail Road Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio was in the fall of 2011.   During that visit I spent the afternoon experiencing the second floor of the museum, which is about the historical slave experience in the US.  I did get to the third floor but there was not enough time to spend there.   Yesterday when I went for my second visit to The Freedom Center,  I started on the third floor.  Again I spent the afternoon and again I not only became saturated but ran out of time before absorbing all the information.  This museum is a place to visit several afternoons in order to process the experience provided.  The displays are very well presented and I highly recommend it as a place for people to put on their list of places to visit.   Click on the link in the title of this blog to go to the site for the museum.  On the third floor is the area about slavery today.  The following video is over a half hour long but it is an important video.  Please take time to view it, even if you need to take more than one sitting to do so.

Princess Diana Exhibit/ Cincinnati/ June 2014

Princess Diana

1961 - 1997

Today a friend and I visited the Museum Center of Cincinnati to see the Princess Diana Exhibit.  It was wonderful.   It will remain there till August and I highly recommend anyone who has not seen it to do so if at all possible.  The history of her family and her life are well presented and one gets a lump in the throat in the room that has the film and artifacts of her funeral.  It was an enjoyable day that will be long remembered.  Please follow the link above and watch the videos below and learn more. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief

by

Markus Zusak

Every once in a while one comes across a book that makes one's hair stand up on their arms and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is one such book.   I listened to it on audio and the performer was outstanding.  The book is narrated by the grim reaper and is about a small town in Germany during WWII.  The main people in the book are not in agreement with The Third Reich.  They are poor,  every day people who all live on the same street.  The characters are well developed and the relationships between the people are bitter sweet.   One of the bombings described in the book made tears spill down my cheeks.  While listening to the book I felt I gained an understanding of what it was like to be in Germany during WWII.   This book was made into a movie for those that are not readers and want to enjoy the story.  Please click on the book title and authors name above to follow links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.  This book has been on my wish list for a  while and I was glad that the CC library book group chose it for their June 2014 selection.

Indiana/Michigan Visit 5/27-28/2014

Not having been back to NE IN or SWL MI since my move to SW OH 12/2013 I was getting a bit antsy to go and get my fix to see people.  So last week we traveled and used my new mother in law's home as a home base while I ran and visited people and hubby visited his mom.  I enjoyed CC library book club for lunch on  Tuesday and a visit with my dad afterwards.   Tuesday pm I picked up my grandchildren from a prior husband and took them for a sandwich and to see the new X Men movie in 3 D.   While it is not my genre of movie I have to say I enjoyed it.   It is a good movie to take tween grand kids to.  See the trailer below.  Wednesday morning I got better acquainted with my new mother in law.  On Wednesday pm I enjoyed dinner with my husband Bruce, my son Scott and grandson Tucker before making the return trip back to SW OH.

Memorial Day Blog 2014

The photo above is a monument in Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, New York called 

The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument

Memorial Day in The United States is about honoring those who have died in the armed forces fighting wars in defense of our country.  Those of you that know me know that I am all about peace keeping and not at all about war.  Never the less,  while I do not like it when our young people are put in harms way, I am very much supportive of and appreciate their sacrifice.   This year I wanted to post a blog for  Memorial Day that keyed in with my interest in family history and honored an ancestor that was killed in the line of duty.  While there are a fair number of people in my family tree that served in various wars,  and more than one were disabled as a result, I could only think of one that died in  a war.   My fifth great grandfather,  David Morris 1736 - 1779,  died on a British Prison Ship named The Old Jersey.    During our Revolution,  England used disabled ships to house their war prisoners.   Conditions were very poor on these non sea worthy vessels as the men were not fed adequately and the quarters were rat infested with very poor sanitation.   Disease took the lives of many men including my ancestor.    Please click on the links through out the text above to learn more and enjoy the video that follows.  Although it is a long video,  there is a short part that mentions prison ships in the beginning,  then if you wish, proceed to minute 7:30 and view on to the end to watch the part about British Prison ships in the American Revolution.  

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

House Rules

by

Jodi Picoult

On my way home from work this evening I finished listening to House Rules by Jodi Picoult on audio.   As with all of Jodi Picoult's books that I have read,  this novel deals with an ethical issue.  It is about a young man named Jacob with Aspergers Syndrome who is on trial for murder.  I really liked how the book makes the reader understands what life is like for Jacob.   One of the reviews I read before selecting the book was written by a child psychologist who wrote that Aspergers is well represented in the novel.   It becomes obvious fairly early in the story what took place surrounding the death of Jacob's tutor because the various characters in the story take turns narrating their perspective.   What I found frustrating was none of the adults in Jacob's life took the time to talk to him and find out what happened.   I also had little patience for the mom in the story.  Her name is Emma.  The total devotion she acts like she has toward Jacob and working with his problems has cost   her marriage and caused her to neglect herself and her other son's needs.  For all the effort she has put into her "project"  of managing Jacob's issues she doesn't really connect with him.   Rather than communicating with him she betrays him to the authorities before even confronting him with her fears.   The police in the book are not doing a very good job and Jacob's attorney is very inept.   For all the frustrations I found in the story line this book is really wonderful for the message it shares to the world about Aspergers Syndrome.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.