Fun with Family History

I heard from a member of the San Rafael Ward that attendance is way down in the Famiy History Center. Were all my efforts in vain? I thought I made myself perfectly clear. Do it or die!

OK, OK I am kidding, sorta.

I thought I would share a little success story to inspire. I know a lot about my ancestors and to me it is difficult to imagine not knowing the details of their lives.

The first family I ever worked on was a family by the name of Vandersluys. I didn't really know what I was doing for several years, but I stumbled along and found this and that. The family were in England from about 1732 and I have tried several times to find the Dutch connection. So in about 1750 I have a Lambertus Vandersluys, soldier, named as father on a christening record in Exeter, Devon, England. Just last week I found a contract, dated 1710, for a Lambertus Vandersluys to build a theater in the Kaatsban in the City of Utrecht, Holland. I don't know the exact connection yet, but this is a first step that has taken 15 years to make. Are they related? Probably!

Now the fun begins to find a birth/baptism record for a Lambertus Vandersluys, son of Lambertus, in a city the size of Utrecht. I know this might sound daunting, but oh the joy when I do find that record.

The Price of Beauty

I have been thinking about the beauty I left behind in Marin. I have had moments of despair over the insane cost of living and the toll it takes on the inhabitants. When I lived in New York City there were many transplants from the Caribbean living in the gritty city. I wondered why anyone would leave a tropical paradise behind for a life in New York. Now I know. You can't eat the scenery.

The cost to live in beauty is that the individual risks becoming ugly. Road rage, anger, stress, and impatience are byproducts of treading water and only barely keeping your head above the surface. I miss Marin, but the price was much too high.

Dining Area

The dining area is an awkward spot in the kitchen. The entrance from the garage forces us to walk through this area to get anywhere in the house. For months we did not have a table, but we did have a chandelier and after months of people banging their heads on the chandelier I decided we better get a table even though it would be a tight squeeze. My original idea was to put a bench up against the wall with a couple of small bistro tables to create a cafe look. I could not find a suitable bench and most affordable bistro tables look outdoorsy. We originally bought a heavy wooden table that was stunning in the showroom and looked dark and clunky in this space. We decided to look for a glass table which would have less visual weight and would not clash with our wood cabinets. I found a table I loved at DWR for $1600 and then I remembered that Ikea had a similar table for about $200.

http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=0856

The chairs, also from Ikea, fit a theme we had going. The legs are a brushed stainless which matches the table legs and the natural woven seats compliment our rattan woven bar stools. The materials are similar enough and different enough to sit right next to each other without clashing and without looking matchy-matchy.

The photos were taken by our friend Terry Miller on our trip to St. Louis last January. The area was experiencing an ice storm and the tree branches were encased in ice. The pictures have meaning for us and we love them.

Guest Room

The guest room was a lot of fun to put together. The bedspread and bedskirt are leftover from California. Now the story behind them is not a proud moment in my life. I bought them because they were something like 95% off in a store going-out-of business sale. Even though I did not love them I bought them because they had originally been $800 and I got them for $50. I think they are some high end boutique item, but I only bought them because of the price. Well I figured that I might as well try and make them work. I decided to go with a red, white and blue room, which is totally not my style. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the end result. The bedside tables were first. They were the only ones I could find after two months of looking that were as tall as the bed. I bought them at Ikea and then I found the bench in the "as-is" area of Ikea. The bench as it turns out is a great idea for a guest room. It offers a place to put a suitcase and a spot to sit and put on your shoes.

We then bought the dresser which matched the nightstands and a white framed floor mirror to fill up an awkward angled wall. A couple of lamps which were unbelievable bargains were the jewelry for the room. The lamps are both Restoration Hardware and I got each one for $20.

Powder Room

The house is coming together slowly. This is the Powder Room on the main floor. The cabinet is from Pier 1 and what i love about it is it has a hidden drawer inside the door. Perfect for hiding feminine items.

Full Moon Ride

Sorry I don't have pictures for this one as I forgot my camera. Every month during the summer Sundance Resort opens the chairlift to riders during the full moon. What a cool experience! Jerry's grief over his mother's death made it a surreal, spiritual experience. Riding along in the pallid glow of the moon created a dream-like feeling of flying. Jerry declared this to be the best summer of his life. He added that the loss of his mother created a real physical pain in him and yet a sense of joy that her suffering is done. We talked about the beauty of the Plan of Salvation. Oh how grateful I am to be blessed to know what I know.

In Memoriam

Jerry's mom passed away this morning after eleven years of suffering the effects of cancer treatment. Believe it or not a couple of weeks ago she told her son that she did not want to die, because she was afraid she would miss out on something. This after years of excruciating pain.

Jerry was a lucky kid. His mom never fought with him, never gave him any trouble and forgave him for everything. Jerry could not take an inch with his dad, so he took a mile with his mom. As an adult he apologized many times for his behavior. His mom's stock reply: "Oh, I don't remember you ever doing one bad thing. You were an angel." Trust me when I say that Jerry was no angel, especially with his mom. One of his mom's favorite stories, that she repeated often, happened when Jerry was in about second grade. He returned home from school in a foul mood. He threw his lunchbox on the table and stomped to his room. His mom found that his entire lunch was still there and untouched. When she questioned Jerry about why he hadn't eaten his lunch he said, "You put mayonaise on my sandwich and you know I don't like mayonaise." She again asked, "But why didn't you eat the rest of your lunch?" He looked at her incredulously and said, "You put mayonaise on my sandwich, so it ruined my whole lunch." She handled this very sweetly as she handled most things in her life.

How do you sum up a person's life? She died too soon at only 71. As a kid she lived a poverty stricken existence and yet she was always neatly dressed in every photo. She had a keen awareness of her surroundings and her person and kept both immaculate. Jerry says that he never knew the bathroom faucet could develop spots, because every time he walked up to the faucet to brush his teeth it was sparkling. Her linen closet was so neat that it looked like a store display. She was a knockout beauty and showed unconditional love to everybody. At times Jerry would arrive home to find a former friend, no longer in his favor, sitting at his mom's table gabbing away with her. Jerry would say, "Mom, that guy is a loser." His mom would say, "He is a nice boy." No matter what evidence you presented she refused to see the "truth" of a person. She saw what she wanted to see.

At an early age she experienced tragedy of the highest order. Her family lived in the rear of their second hand furniture store. The brick building which soared two stories, without support, collapsed in an earthquake, burying the entire family. The parents escaped quickly, but Lois, one sister and two brothers were buried beneath the rubble together for a couple of hours. Three other sisters perished along with a friend who was spending the night. All of the children were hospitalized for weeks and many people recount how the father's hair turned white practically overnight. Forever after Lois was afraid of the dark and slept with a nightlight. The only relief from our grief is to think of the happy reunion she is having with her three little sisters and her parents.

Lois had a long hard life full of endless health problems and more times than I can recall we were told this was it, she is not going to make it through this one. At least a dozen times or more we rushed to her bedside to say our final goodbyes. She was given a year to live, six or seven years ago. In the end she weighed 68 pounds and was too fragile for surgery. Her husband loses his partner of 57 years today and we shall see if he recovers from the effects of ten years as sole caretaker.