Dear Readers,
I am happy to report that I have embarked on writing my next book, a how-to on writing family history, based on my workshop
"Shaping Family History into Compelling Stories." I've been asked several times now whether I have any handouts or notes, and so I figure there is a need and it's time to put something together. I want this book to be as useful as possible, and so, if you've ever attempted to write family history or tell family stories, please reply to this email and let me know what your challenges were. What did you struggle with? What stumped you?
I've kept notes on what workshop participants asked, such as where to begin when you have lots of material, or what to do when a relative's memoir paints too rosy a picture, or how to handle the plethora of names without confusing the reader. Let me know what you would wish for in such a book, and I'll try to make it happen. I truly want this to be a product that serves
you.
My father's family at my great-aunt's for New Years, early 1940s,
To build on that, I'm also
organizing an advance reader team for this book project, so please let me know if you're interested in joining. This would mean that later this summer you'd get a draft pdf to read and provide feedback on (within 2-3 weeks, depending on the length). Less for proof reading, although that's appreciated, and more for content. I don't expect this to be a lengthy book; I'm currently thinking the pdf might be about 30-40 pages, letter-size.
My family with our guide on a walking tour of the French Quarter
in New
Orleans
In the spirit of making memories, we took a weekend family trip to New Orleans earlier this month to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. The kids were
pleasantly surprised that we wanted them along but we figured the times that they're still willing to go on trips with us are probably numbered. Only my husband had been to New Orleans before and that was 40 years ago, so it was a discovery trip for all of us. I can't say we fell in love with the city; for one, the famed Cajun cuisine offers slim pickings for us as we do not eat seafood, pork nor chicken fried in buttermilk.
My favorite shot from our trip to New Orleans, taken in the French Quarter
The French quarter, where we stayed, was cute, but we're not into clubbing or walking around with
cocktails-to-go in 90+F heat. I didn't find the bayou that impressive either, at least not when compared to the Amazon, and I think alligator viewing is more fun in Florida's Everglades. Not to be a complete downer, we absolutely loved the National World War II Museum, and I wish we'd had more than a day to spend there.
I realized, once again, that I don't know enough about the Pacific theater of World War II. If you have any book recommendations for that, please send them my way! Our tour of the bayou around New Orleans brought back memories of our trip
to Manaus and the Brazilian rainforest (for the 2014 World Cup). Here,
some floating shacks on the Amazon.
Our house is in upheaval right now; in fact, I'm typing this newsletter while new beds are being delivered. How odd that my creative juices should be flowing again
while I have a big housekeeping project going on, but maybe one hustle-bustle begets another? Or maybe there's just a lot of good energy in our house right now. Even the cactus by my desk is blooming (see header picture)! We decided that our boys, both grown men now and more than 6 feet tall, have definitely outgrown their childhood bunk beds. These past few weeks I've been clearing out our younger son's room so that the older one, who's home from college for the summer, can move in, while the younger one is at his summer camp job and then leaves for his gap year in Israel. Since the boys used to share that room, I was
weeding through 20 years of childhood. This was bittersweet in many ways, but less so than I thought. I guess I caught myself in the right clearing-out mode! Yesterday my daughter and I hauled another load of stuff to Goodwill, and again I found that getting rid of things in a meaningful way isn't that easy. On my first run to the Jewish thrift shop we've been donating to for years, I found that they weren't accepting donations anymore! Thankfully I found a Goodwill close by. Yesterday it turned out that Goodwill doesn't take bedding, but with a car full of baby blankets, I remembered that the Anti-Cruelty Society might
take them, and thankfully, they did. Driving back home with an empty car was a great feeling--each time I do this, I am surprised how good it makes me feel to clear out stuff and donate it in a meaningful way, even if that is a hassle, or maybe because it is. Box of German children's books and CDs - donated!
Thanks to the wonders of Facebook groups, I found one for Germans in Chicago, where, within minutes of posting the above picture, I found someone happy to pick up the box of German children books left over from our kids' bilingual education.
Now it's time to wrap up this newsletter and ready the house for the arrival tonight's house guest. On to cleaning and cooking!
Happy summer to you, and I hope that, if there's a bit of bustle in your life as well, it brings on good creative energies!
Greetings,
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