Living History: travels to South Jersey

Four McAllister Generations

From Left: Harry, Grace, Francy, Betsy, Grandpop (Harry Sr.), Josh, Grandmom (Margie), Heidi and John.

John's Teaburning relatives - Alexander Moore, Henry Seeley and Josiah Seeley.

Grandmom and Grandpop McAllister

John and I spent a couple of days in New Jersey last weekend. John's cousin, Meredith, got married so it was a great reunion of family, most of whom I have met a couple of times. We enjoyed spending time with family, but one of my favorite parts of the trip was hearing stories from John's Grandmom and Grandpop and also from his dad, Harry. I deeply love John's family, his parents are always fun to be around and his grandparents are the sweetest people I have ever met. His Grandmom has Alzheimers and his Grandpop takes care of her. His Grandmom loves to tell stories...many of them over and over. I love hearing how they met: at church. His Grandmom was in the choir and she saw Harry McAllister, Sr. in the pews. She orchestrated a double date.

With John's dad, Harry, you hear the whole history of the family. On the way from the airport, we passed a bridge where John's ancestor fought during the revolutionary war. An ancestor of John's ran a Room and Board house with a tavern (see above picture). His name was Jacob Ware, which is on Grandpop's side of the family. I also saw where Harry's grandfather lived and where Harry grew up and went to school. John's Grandpop has not moved more than a two mile radius during his life. His Grandmom has always lived in Cumberland County. Many McAllisters populate the area.

I grew up on a farm that has been in my family for five generations and have always been interested in the history of the farm and family. There is something about the history in south jersey that is different for me than from learning about my family history. I can't figure out if it is the length of history: being in the revolutionary war and the civil war and everything in between, or if it is the fact that it is all brand new to me. Either way, I loved hearing the stories.

I look forward to the next time we go back. The area is like stepping back in time. So many houses are still in tact from the late 1700s or 1800s. And still beautiful. I would love a tour or even to live in one. Although, both John and his parents recommended that I not live in one.

It was a beautiful trip with a wedding, history, family and much, much laughter. My kind of weekend.

Urban Farming

For the past two weeks, I have been anxiously awaiting my vegetables to grow. Yesterday, I came home from a weekend away and found plants poking through the soil! Recently, I have been dreaming of what could happen with my parents farm when my dad cannot farm anymore.

My sister and I have been dreaming of creating an organic farm for the past few years. Two years out of college, my sister and I had a community garden plot that we created in the empty lot across from our apartment. I loved being out in the garden plot.

I add to the dream of the organic farm, the dream of creating a coop with our friends. Jamie and John could brew beer, Melissa and I could create a restaurant - create the barn to be a restaurant. We could plant an orchard and a vineyard. We could have chickens and goats and sheep for my friend Ellie to make yarn. Dreams....

One of my memories of growing up on a farm was getting up early in the morning and picking strawberries, beans, peas or some other vegetable in the garden. We had corn, zucchini, squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, lettuce, sweet corn, beans, peas, beets, and more! Another favorite memory was to carve our names in zucchini when they were small and then when they grew big, our names were still in it! There are great pictures of us with our zucchini.

I am so thankful to have grown up on a farm. I am so proud of my dad for working his butt off, making sacrifices, and loving his job on the farm.

Now, as an adult, I love coming home and climbing into my garden, pulling weeks, watering, talking to my plants, and cheering them on to grow and produce scrumptious treats!

This year, we have planted a feast: green onions, yellow onions, edemame, peas, carrots, beans, parsnips, many different peppers, cucumbers for pickling, and three kinds of tomatoes: roma, early girl, and beef. I also planted spinach, spring greens and arugula.

Oh, and this year, we have a mushroom log!

Last year, we planted strawberries, hops, and asparagus. The year before we planted rhubarb and Raspberries plus all the herbs. The asparagus won't be ready for a couple more years. The rhubarb has already made for some yummy desserts and the rest will soon be frozen for later delicious eating. We are hoping for a good crop of strawberries and raspberries for eating and hops for beer brewing!

Now if only I could have chickens, a brick oven and a picnic table in my back yard....John says the yard is too small......

It's Bob Dylan Day.

I have officially declared that today is Bob Dylan day in Heidi's world. The elusive Bob Dylan turns 70 years old today. In his 70 years of life, he has so altered the world that we live in. He has been a prophetic voice during the 1960s when culture was changing. He has captured the culture of the times and challenged people to think. And still in 2011, he is still prophetic. His message lasts through the ages. Thank you, Bob, for all you have done in this world.

Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan!

Lovely reminder

I am not into keeping up with the Jones, having the newest stuff, the trendiest clothes, the royal lifestyle, or anything to do with high society. I think it is pompous, arrogant, and fake. I think it breads greed and money and not the important things in life. I don't pay attention to pop culture much, who's who, what's in, and who is dating who. (can you sense that I am a little judgemental? I am working on that). That is why I didn't get up at 4:00am to watch the royal wedding. However, I did turn on the tube at 7:00am because I kept hearing about it on MPR at 6am.

That is when I watched the first kiss. I saw how stunning Kate was, how happy William was, and how intimate the relationship is between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. One word: Lovely. And I was converted. Then, I couldn't help not watching the whole ceremony on the Internet later in the day. Yes, I, too, was sucked into the royal wedding. Plus, the sermon was right on.

I do admit, it was so hopeful and lovely and beautiful to watch two young lovers (not so much younger than I) so excited to be together, so in love with one another, and ready for the next step on their journey together. Beautiful. What a great model and reminder for all of us to look to for how to be in relationship. Respectful, Gentle, Loving, and Protective of the one we adore. Thank you, William and Kate, for reminding us how relationships can and should be. And for reminding me that beneath money and wealth, there are other things that ring true.

Mistakes

We all make them. As intentional and deliberate as we try to live our lives, we still screw up. One of the hardest things for us to admit is when we are wrong. We want our spouse/partner to admit it. We want them to say "you were right."

One of the best pieces of advice that I ever received were from my friends Kelly and Susie. They have been great role models for me about love and relationships. Even thought our paths haven't crossed much lately, they are and will always dear to me. The piece of advice they gave me was to say to your spouse/partner that "you were right." To be able to say this is be vulnerable and open, to lift up the other person.

However, it is a bit harder to do in a professional capacity for fear of losing face, job, or people to your work. What I find interesting is the more honest and true leaders are in the mistakes they make, the more I respect them. This week, I made a bunch of mistakes, I admitted them and apologized for them. I learned and moved on. That is what is beautiful about life. We always have the opportunity to learn and grow. We can't run away from our mistakes, but face them.

Aspriations

I have all these aspirations! I want to paint my living room and dining room, make stained glass, knit and sew, make mosaics, garden, read, and more....I can't seem to find the time to do all of it. I have a to-do list a mile long at work, a to-do list a mile long at home to clean and keep things organized. I sit on a board of directors for a non-profit and a committee at my coop. Plus, I like to be around people. You could say that I am a bit of an extrovert.

This week, I have been feeling overwhelmed with it all. It is hard to choose between all of the wonderful things I want to and love doing, yet it is exhausting me. Having a husband in school is both fun because he loves what he is doing, but also very hard to be the only one cooking and cleaning, doing the laundry and keeping things organized.

I keep thinking that someday I can work part time and then be able to keep the house in order and do all the things that I love. I am trying to be mindful of not wishing that day to come too fast, but to be in the moment and enjoy this time of exploration that I can do with my time since John is studying.

Aspirations. They are a beautiful thing. Now let me find the time to make them happen.

Clean Shaven

My husband shaved his beard yesterday. He was in the bathroom for a long time, which is very unusual for him. I thought maybe he was cleaning and got very excited. I walked by and said, "What are you doing in there?" And I heard, "Shaving my beard." "Oh." It seems a little early this year to be shaving one's beard. I love beards. I find my husband sexiest when he is scruffy.

I tell John all that time that I love his beard and I am sad when he shaves his beard. He says, "while now you can look forward to the fall and winter." That is not what I want to do when spring hasn't even come yet. I know I will get used to a clean shaven John, but I do mourn the beard.

Kissing a man with a beard is a lot like going to a picnic. If you don't mind going through a little bush to get there!
Minnie Pearl

What a great quote! It made me laugh. Many people are annoyed by going through the bush for a kis, but it is an adventure for me! I like the exploration and the picnic all year long. Alas, I will deal.