A little bit of history

I started replying to the comments about the "Old Friends" son, and realized that I had more to say that what should fit in the comments section, so here's an entire post. I apologize if it's a bit boring - I love genealogy and am fascinated by my family's history, even though it is somewhat uneventful! I could go on for hours, but I'll try to keep this short!

I'm not usually one who listens to Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, but when I was looking for a song for my great-uncle's 90th birthday montage, I came across this, and it just fit!

The picture was taken at the farm where my grandma was born and raised just south of Chadron, Nebraska. It had been in the family over 100 years, since the Husak's came from Bohemia. Their daughter married a Summers from West Virginia, whose daughter married a Stewart from the Nebraska panhandle, whose daughter married a Southern from western Iowa, whose daughter married a Morris from southern Nebraska, who had me! My blog and etsy name actually came from this farm - I used the Summers name and combined it with "homestead", making Summerstead.

When I was younger, we would go up to Chadron twice a year for a week each time - once in the summer and once in the winter. Although I never lived there, that is the one place on earth that has always felt like home. It's one of those places that you walk into, and just feel loved. My husband has only been there once, for just a few hours, and he said the same thing (which is REALLY unusual for my hubby!) About 5 years ago, my great-uncle, Faye, woke up and was having trouble walking. In many ways that's not surprising - he was an 85-year-old man that had lived within 1 mile from that farm his entire life, and had worked that farm since he could walk! He was forced to go into an assisted living home, and when the cost of keeping up the farm started dipping into his savings, he decided he needed to sell the farm about a year ago. His sister-in-law's nephew bought it, and we know he'll take good care of it.

Faye has said several times over the last year that he wishes he had enlisted so he could have saved the farm. His older brother was in the Army fighting in WWII, so Faye was able to stay home and help my great-gramps with the farming. And, since he had the farm, he doesn't qualify for Medicare, so all he has to live on is his savings. I won't go into how rediculous and unfair I think this is, though!

Anyway...enough babbling...if you like old country songs and old pictures, and have about 9 minutes to look at pictures of people you don't know, you can check out the montage I put together for Faye's birthday last summer. (*You'll have to turn the volume up about 2 min 10 seconds in, then back down about 5 min 30 seconds in - the second song plays a lot softer than the first and last.)

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Forgive the poor video quality - it's much better on the actual DVD!

Weekend Wisdom

"Old Friends"
Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings

Old friends pitching pennies in the park

Playing croquet till it's dark old friends

Old friends swapping lies of life and loves

Pitching popcorn to the doves old friends

Old friends looking up to watch the birds

holding arms to climb a curb

Old friends

Lord when all my work is done bless my life

and grant me one old friend

at least one old friend

*The photo above is of my great-uncle (3rd from left), now 90, in his much younger years with some cousins and friends.

Pictures from the Barnstormer's Tour

As promised, here are a few pictures from the American Barnstormer's Tour. Since there are several, I uploaded them small, but you should be able to see them bigger if you click on them.

When we first walked in the gate, Landon saw this plane and yells, "Hey! That's how many I am!" So, naturally, we had to take his picture with it.


Then we came across this red plane with the number 7 - perfect for Taylor, who is 7 years old, and whose favorite color is red.



Mom and the boys matched (no planning involved!) - great minds think alike! I like to put the boys in the same colors when we go places with crowds because it's easier for me to keep track of them.

I don't know who this couple is, but they were probably in their 70's-80's, and I thought it was so cute that they were still holding hands. When I showed Jeremy, he joked "If they're married, there's no way they're married to each other!"

Now for the fun part! Here's Taylor, my dad, and the pilot as we're just getting ready to take off. Taylor wasn't too sure about the plane ride at first, but I think that once we were back on the ground, he decided that it had been fun.

Finally, here's Landon. He's the one I was worried about, and I think he enjoyed it the most! He's already talking about taking another ride when we see them again. Better start saving our money!

Flying High

Sorry about skipping the Weekend Wisdom this week - I've been way too busy! Thursday, I was gone all day taking my uncle to the airport in Lincoln. We got home just in time for Taylor's baseball practice, then my nephew's game. Friday, we took the Cub Scouts camping, but that trip was cut short by a storm (more about that later). Saturday, was a long but fun and exciting day.

I have been anxiously awaiting my apron from my very first swap ever. I decided to run by the post office before going to my parents' house (we had a surprise in store for the boys). I opened our box, and inside was a key to one of the larger boxes. When I opened the second box and saw a package with my name on it, I was so excited! I was barely inside the car before I had that package ripped open with my new apron! I saw this beautiful creation, and tears came to my eyes. It was like Adrianne was inside my head when she picked the fabrics and pattern. (I just realized that she posted pics of the fabric she picked on her blog on my 30th birthday!) It's impossible for me to explain how perfect this apron is for me - I LOVE it! I had my mom model it so I could get some pictures. Once I was done taking the pictures, I thought I was going to have to wrestle her for it - she loves it just as much as I do! Adrianne also made some beautiful coasters, barrettes, and the cutest pin cushion for me.

My parents and I took Taylor and Landon to the American Barnstormers Tour that was in Hastings. We had so much fun looking at all those planes from the 1920's and 1930's, and listening to the wonderful music from that era. The pilots and the others who were running it were even dressed up in the fashions, too. The highlight, though, was when we decided to take the boys up in one of the planes. We rode the 1929 D-25, which was perfect for John Deere-loving Landon since this plane was green and yellow! I'll post pictures from our adventure in a day or two. It's time to head to the in-laws' for an afternoon BBQ and a baseball game!

Open for business!

I opened my Etsy shop this afternoon! I'm going to start out with selling some of my photos and slowly add in crafty stuff. I just won't have time to actually get any kind of inventory compiled until after summer baseball is over. Hope to see you there!

Weekend Wisdom

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
George Bernard Shaw

In memory...

Josh Fennen, 13

Sam Thomsen, 13

Ben Petrzilka, 13

Aaron Eilerts, 14

I have been too busy to post anything lately, and it saddens me that my first post in almost 2 weeks is about a tragedy. A tornado hit the Little Sioux Boy Scout camp last night. Over 100 boys (ages 13-18) and staff were there at the time. There were between 40-50 injured, many of whom are still in local hospitals, and 4 promising young lives lost. My thoughts and prayers go to all the boys and their families.