Archive for May 2015
Women in industry. Aircraft motor workers. A million dollar baby, not in terms of money but in her value to Uncle Sam, twenty-one-year-old Eunice Hancock, erstwhile five-and-ten-cent store employee, operates a compressed-air grinder in a Midwest aircraft motor plant. With no previous experience, Eunice quickly mastered the techniques of her war job and today is turning out motor parts with speed and skill. Note protective mask and visor, two vital safety accessories. Office of War Information photo, August 1942.
Here are pictures of my mother and each of my grandmothers … to the extent of the archive. Click on the photos to read the captions where I identify the relationship with each.
Here you see my mother, my two grandmothers, my four great grandmothers and one great step grandmother, seven of my great great grandmothers, and two of my great great great grandmothers.
Letha Marie Shull Mowry, my mother. 1987.
Ruth Mary Decker Shull (1906 – 1977), my mother’s mother. My Grandmother.
Juanita Boring Mowry (1900 – 1987), my father’s mother. My Grandmother.
Cora Samantha Baugher Shull (1882 – 1976), my mother’s father’s mother. My Great Grandmother.
Matilda Rebecca “Tillie” Swartz Decker (1880 – 1946), my mother’s mother’s mother. My Great Grandmother.
Mary Effie Barrett Mowry (1880 – 1936). My father’s father’s mother. My Great Grandmother.
Mary Elizabeth Haynes Mowry (1902 – 1970). My father’s father’s father’s second wife. My Great Step Grandmother.
Frances Emaline Miles Boring (1875 – 1955). My father’s mother’s mother. My Great Grandmother.
Martha Ellen Mast Shull (1856 – 1915). My mother’s father’s father’s mother. My Great Great Grandmother.
Samantha Cook Baugher (1853 – 1931), my mother’s father’s mother. My Great Great Grandmother.
Ruth Alice Morgan Decker (1841 – 1900). My mother’s mother’s father’s mother. My Great Great Grandmother.
Mary Ann Skaggs Swartz (1851 – 1927). My mother’s mother’s mother’s mother. My Great Great Grandmother.
Irena Norman Mowry (1848 – 1937). My father’s farther’s father’s mother. My Great Great Grandmother.
Elizabeth Hannah Milla Keith Barrett (1853 – 1940). My father’s father’s mother’s mother. My Great Great Grandmother.
Elizabeth Piles Boring (1826 – 1928). My father’s mother’s father’s mother. My Great Great Grandmother.
Mary Cyphers Cook (1832 – 1901. My mother’s father’s mother’s mother’s mother. My Great Great Great Grandmother.
Elizabeth McDonald Morgan (1796 – 1866). My mother’s mother’s father’s father’s mother. My Great Great Great Grandmother.
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My Father And My Grandfathers
Spring is a wonderful time to visit Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey. Located just 26 miles from New York City’s Times Square, the refuge consists of 7,768 acres of varied habitats, and the refuge has become an important resting and feeding area for more than 244 species of birds. Fox, deer, muskrat, fish, and a wide variety of wildflowers and plants can be found on the refuge – like this cute little red fox kit. Photo by Matt Sullivan. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 5/1/15.
In January I hit a huge milestone. A bucket list item, if you will.
My husband, roommate and I flew to Florida to run the Disney World Marathon. The trip was a dream. We spent a week in Orlando playing at Harry Potter World, the Magic Kingdom, and Epcot. We ate every piece of food we saw and tried to drink around the world (we stopped in Germany).
And for some reason, we decided that every vacation should end with a 26.2 mile run…right? Well, here are 17 thoughts (a little late, I know) I had while running my first marathon.
In the hotel:
1. Next time I decide to do something that involves waking up at 2am, I need to remind myself not to.
2. Maybe one of these days I’ll actually want to eat before a race. Doubt it.
At the starting line:
3. How is Florida so cold?!? Isn’t this a tropical state?
4. Star Spangled Banner time…don’t mind the crying girl.
5. The race is starting. The race is starting. The race is starting. Pace yourself. Pace yourself. Pace yourself.
Running with the pacer:
6. Six miles already! This is going to be a breeze. OH WAIT THE CASTLE IS RIGHT THERE. THERE ARE PRINCESSES IN THERE.
7. Why did I think that?! I am an idiot. Where is the pacer?! I lost her! There she is! I caught up! Why did I run so fast. I think I might die.
Crossing the 13.1 marker:
8. I’m only half way done. Oh. My. God. Why did I commit to this? Why on earth did I decide this was a good idea?? (Cue emotional breakdown.)
9. I wonder where Roommate is. Maybe I’ll see him! (Nope. Never did.) I mean, how many people are running in Mickey Mouse boxers? Hmmm…kind of a lot, actually.
Mile 16:
10. I still have 10 miles left. That’s double digits. I really, really don’t want to run any more. (Mrs. Mowry has hit the proverbial wall. Cue emotional breakdown #2.)
Mile 17-19:
11. If we have to run one more step in the World of ESPN I am going to scream.
Mile 20:
12. SIX LEFT. POWER THROUGH, LEGS. YOU CAN DO THIS. DRINK ALL THE GATORADE!
Mile 23:
13. Rain?!? Are you effing kidding me!?!? (Cue strange blink attack as the salt in my hair ran into my eyes.)
Mile 25:
14. (I’m trudging along at this point, until a park employee calls out my name.) “Brianna! You’re almost there! You got this!” Maybe I AM almost there! Maybe I do “got this!”
Mile 26.16:
15. Where is that stupid finish line? It better be right here. I want to be done. Please let it be here. Please please please. (Turns corner, see finish line ahead.) IT’S RIGHT THERE!! DEAR SWEET JESUS! (Cue emotional breakdown #3.)
Finish Line:
16. I AM THE MOST AMAZING PERSON IN THE WORLD! LOOK AT MY FANCY MEDAL! LOOK AT MY FABULOUS ACCOMPLISHMENT! Oh man, I think I might puke. Am I going to puke? Maybe I should walk around a little bit. Or drink some Gatorade. Is that Roommate? ROOMMATE! (Continue celebration.)
Holding pen, waiting for Husband…still raining:
17. How hard can a person shiver, really? (Furiously checking runner update on cell phone.) IT SAYS HE CROSSED! Where is he?! Why can’t I see him!? HE’S THERE!!! WE DID IT!!! (Cue final emotional breakdown and incoherent yelling. Three entrants, three finishers, three PRs. Life is good.)
Best. Vacation. Ever.
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My First Marathon
In no particular order…
Stuff Mom Never Told You (SMNTY): This podcast, hosted by Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin, is a women-focused show that I credit with introducing me to feminism. These ladies tackle women’s issues in a very approachable way and aren’t afraid to tackle the biggest taboo topics. This week the ladies focused on our society’s obsession with baby bumps and how we’ve deemed pregnant women the opposite of sexual. This show is a fascinating listen that really opened my eyes to some of the amazing women in the world.
Call Your Girlfriend: Hosted by Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow, is a show for “long distance besties.” Coincidentally, I was introduced to this show by my soon-to-be long distance bestie and listened to all 24 episodes in two weeks. These women are intelligent, hilarious, and also love to talk about modern women’s issues. Each week they start with agenda that covers a variety of topics from politics to Beyonce, Menstruation News and beyond. In a recent episode these ladies begged journalists to stop reporting on Hillary Clinton’s wardrobe, as this is not something essential to any of her potential policy-making. A great listen for all the baby feminists out there or even just devout T. Swift fans.
The Nerdist: Hosted by Chris Hardwick. I absolutely adore this show. Chris hosts a variety of guests with whom he sits down for simple conversations. No scripts, no direction, just a lovely chat. He has a way of getting celebs to open up to him and I find myself surprised when the hour is over. Every time I listen to a new guest I’m always dying to see the show they’re promoting and I’m usually not wrong. Recently Billy Crystal visited Chris and spent the hour telling amazing stories from his experiences as a comedian. You’ll hear actors, producers, cartoonists, casting agents, technology gurus, comedians, you name it! You don’t even need to be a nerd to enjoy listening to the show!
Freakonomics: Hosted by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. I haven’t listened to every episode of Freakonomics, but the episodes about our current education system are absolutely fascinating. These two economists, well a journalist and an economist, look at societal issues from a different angle. They aren’t afraid to make controversial claims and talk about issues without holding back. In my favorite episode, they talked about the state of tipping in our nation. Because we are a country that runs on tips, we are basically corrupt. Good service doesn’t guarantee a great tip and bad service doesn’t guarantee a bad tip…but what exactly does a ‘good tip’ even mean? To hear their argument stated in a much more eloquent way, give the show a listen.
TEDTalks: As an educator, I adore TED talks. The simple story is that a TED talk can be given by any knowledgeable person on any topic. These 20-ish minute presentations are designed to make a person think, or to wonder. To question the status of things or marvel in the current technology we use every day. My favorite TED talk was given by Rita Pierson, titled “Every Kid Needs a Champion.” Her positive attitude and incredible kindness are just mind blowing. I can’t say more, just watch it. She is a gift to education and greatly missed
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The Board Chronicles is an ongoing series of articles about the adventures of Mrs M’s Handmade as a vendor at community festivals & craft fairs. Mrs M’s subsidiary, Mr M’s Woodshop, has been approved to create this chronicle for the good of vendorkind.
Velda’s had this theory that cheese boards should be sold where wine is being consumed. She’s had this theory for some time. I know, because she’s shared it with me.
And, since we’ve not scheduled a wine-centric event, that means I have heard the theory … regularly.
No more. Last weekend, Mrs M’s Handmade made the trek northward to the Livermore Wine Country Festival to be one of their 300 vendors. 150,000 people attend this event, with many local wineries and craft breweries (beer is also sampled) providing the lubrication to make this public alcoholic celebration a success. More than a few wine drinkers had necklaces holding their wine glasses, just so they wouldn’t be bothered with holding them.
For what it’s worth, beer drinkers saw no need for such adornment.
Oh, and on Saturday, I sold 4 cutting boards and not one cheese board.
This event was more formal than many street festivals … many of the ladies were wearing dresses. Maybe people have to dress up to feel right to sample wine.
But then there was the lady wearing combat boots with a 1″ spike little finger nail….
I only saw one group that I thought had been over-served. Other than that, it was a great event.
New Ideas
- Before we left, I laid out all of my boards in the family room (Velda loves it when I do this) to check pricing on all items. I made sure that cheese boards, small boards, cutting boards, end grain & edge grain boards – every category, in other words – was priced appropriately and comparatively. And, yes, some prices went up. Top priced board is now over 4x what it was when we started 15 months ago. Of course, the boards are bigger and better, too!
- We only took one car to this event, and we drove the farthest we have gone for a festival. We packed the Jeep full, put the canopy on the hitch carrier and left everything else at home. This meant that I didn’t take the step units for board display for the first event since I made the step units. It also meant that the basket we keep the pre-made-up bags for lotion sales in didn’t fit in the Jeep … we had to go to Walmart to buy a new basket. Cargo capacity is a definite issue.
- Mrs M’s lotions took a price increase as well. No one blinked … we were even complimented on our fair prices. Prices should be fair … that doesn’t mean cheap!
- Velda was getting sick on Friday, but insisted on going. She was miserable in the heat on Saturday, and actually agreed to stay in the hotel and sleep on Sunday. I got to solo all day. Sunday’s sales almost doubled Saturday’s, when Velda was there to “help.” Hopefully, she won’t read this, or she may never go to another event.
Observations
- For all of the specific directions on how to enter the event area for set-up, I was shocked that no volunteers were manning the barricade. We drove right in. Anyone could have.
- The specific directions on how cars must vacate the street by 8am were ignored, too. Policing vendors exceeding their booth sizes? Not done. It’s so hard to get good volunteers these days….
- Vendors can’t read and event producers can’t be trusted. The vendor packet clearly stated that vendors “must” remove their products on Saturday night, as the event security isn’t responsible for loss. I checked with other vendors who didn’t know, and the event producers who had to check … oh, just kidding. You can leave the products over night.
- We had an interior 10’x10′ booth, meaning we were surrounded on 3 sides. Tight quarters. It’s good when you have good neighbors … and we had one of those. (sigh)
- Velda met Veldon, who got his name from his Grandmother, just like Velda got her’s from her Grandmother (whose maiden name was Gavelda).
- Sold one of the 16″x20″ boards that I just started carrying last week (and as you know, that means the boards get carried). Had a couple ask me if I had anything bigger. Will it never end?
- No more pigs. I’m out of the pig business, at least until a new litter is born. I even agreed to a discount, because the earnest young man came back to the booth with his money in his hand, and I think it was all he had for a Mother’s Day gift. It was for his mother, so OF COURSE I said yes.
- Got very busy doing solo sales on Sunday. People came in waves, it seems, and I had many people waiting to talk to me while I was wrapping a purchase for another customer. Busy is good.
- As I have said many times, I’m doing this for fun. I don’t yell at my neighbors for minor encroachments. I don’t yell at annoying people in my booth. I smile. I’m having fun, and assume everything else will take care of itself. So far, that’s exactly right.
- Tear down & load out complete at 6:48pm. Not bad for a solo act … though I did use Velda for dead weight (she qualified) as I tore the canopy down.
- My new slogan is “Cutting Boards: pretty enough for your kitchen, ugly enough to use.”
The Food
Friday Dinner: The best meal on the trip by a very wide margin. We went to Sauced in downtown Livermore for some great BBQ, served with their house bourbon (!), Hawg Wild. The bourbon was nothing more than a happy hour well drink special … but then, that’s what it was. The pulled pork was wonderful, and the second glass of bourbon was better than the first. Of course.
Saturday Breakfast: Sara Lee’s Everything Bagels & cream cheese. The best bagels in your grocery store, IMHO.
Saturday Lunch: Spring rolls & dumplings. Not the best fried food, for sure, but there was no line to buy it.
Saturday Snack: No time.
Saturday Dinner: Some Italian cafe that was barely OK. Certainly not good enough to be memorable … no clue what the name was.
Sunday Breakfast: Holiday Inn Express biscuits & gravy.
Sunday Lunch: I got 4 nuggets of beef jerky as a free sample. The jerky was $20/packet, so I elected to starve. No lunch. No time. No fun.
Sunday Snack: No time.
The Facts
- Total miles driven: 630
- Booth cost: $375 + $39 city business license
- # of people we met during the event from the producer: 1, who only verified we had our reseller’s permit and city business license on site. Just including photocopies & numbers with the vendor application was not enough here.
- Total sales: $1,763 – our 3rd best event, and better than all 2014 events. Maybe we are upping our game this year!
- # containers of product taken: 15
- # boards available: 55
- Saturday alarm: 5:45am
- Sunday alarm: 7:00am
- # transactions: 40
- # soap & lotion vendors: unknown
- # woodworking vendors: unknown
- Edge grain vs. end grain: 9:6
Boards sold: 15
- Cutting Boards: 6
- Cheese Boards: 6
- Small Board: 1
- Pig Board: 1
- Engraved Board: 1
Clearly, I need to keep making edge grain boards. I finished a batch two weeks ago, including four large (translation: high priced) boards … and most of them are now gone.
The pigs took longer, but not by much.
I love my sous chef boards, but I’ve still got 7 of the 18 after two months. Wait. I sold 11 in two months. Hmmmmm.
Cutting Board # 15 – 037. Hard Maple, Cherry and Jarrah End Grain. Juice Groove with resevoir ends. 16″ x 20″ x 1-1/2″.
Pig 15 – 04. Cherry, Hard Maple and Purpleheart. 12″ x 19″ x 1″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 001. Black Walnut, Hard Maple and Jarrah Edge Grain. 12″ x 16″ x 1-1/8″.
Small Board # 15 – 019. Hard Maple and Jarrah. 8″ x 12″ x 1-1/4″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 018. Honey Locust, Purpleheart, Black Walnut and Cherry Edge Grain. 9″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Cutting Board # 15 – 033. Hard Maple, Purpleheart and Honey Locust End Grain. 14″ x 18″ x 1-1/2″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 010. Black Walnut, Hard Maple, Padauk and Cherry. 8″ x 11″ x 3/4″.
Cheese Board # 15 – 011. Black Walnut, Cherry, Hard Maple, Padauk and Yellowheart. 8″ x 9″ x 1″.
I have received many compliments on my price tags, which identify the woods in each board. Some have told me my prices are reasonable; others have definitely communicated the prices are too high. Who should I believe?
Livermore’s Wine Country Festival, 2015. This is a land-locked 10×10 booth, surrounded on three sides.
The 31,000 acre Granite Mountain Wilderness, a part of the BLM’s National Conservation Lands, is located in California’s eastern Sierra near Mono Lake and Lee Vining. The area has a varied landscape of open alluvial basins, basaltic plateaus and granite ridges, and sagebrush steppe. Photos by Bob Wick, BLM. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 4/29/15.
Women in industry. Flare gun production. “What’s new about women working in war industries?” asks Mrs. Annette Caines of Detroit, who manned a milling machine in a gun factory during the last war and hasn’t stopped work since. Now employed by a Midwest vacuum cleaner plant which has been converted to war work, Mrs. Caines processes flare gun parts on a drill press with the vigor of an eager, youthful worker. With a thirty-two-year-old son in the Army, Mrs. Caines has a deep personel interest in her job. “We women want to fight with our men folks,” she says. “Maybe we can’t shoot guns, but we sure can make the stuff for them to shoot with.” Eureka Vacuum, Detroit, Michigan. Office of War Information photograph. July 1942.
California’s Yosemite National Park. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 4/19/15.
Meet B327 and B326 – 3 to 4-week-old baby bobcats at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in California. The park’s biologists recently ear-tagged these kittens as part of a 20-year-long study of how urbanization has affected bobcats in the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding area. Biologists have been tracking the mom, B255, since 2010 and tagged her kittens while she was away from the den. The ear tags will help identify the cats in remote camera images. Photo by National Park Service.
