Twins Days

(L to R) My sister and me in 1964

August 5th, 6th and 7th is the official "Twins Days" celebration in Twinsburg, Ohio.  Though not attending, I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed that it's a 3-day festival.  Doesn't it seems like 2 days would have been sufficient (and a little more apropos)?  

With our mom and dad at my grandmother's house.

For the record, I'm a twin - born before fertility drugs and the trend of older women having babies (apparently higher maternal age increases your chance of having twins).  I don't have any other sisters so I can't really speak to the uniqueness of the twin relationship, though at times it's definitely had its benefits.

My sister and me on my wedding day, June 1990.

If you made the rounds of the Twins Days festival, I'm sure you'd find countless multiples who would gladly share their own experiences. But I thought today would be a good day to share the questions I am most often asked about being a twin (though with less and less frequency as I get older):


1)  Did you dress alike as children?


Yes and no.  As you can see in several of the photos, when we were babies we were often dressed alike.  In particular, our grandmothers and parents' friends were most likely to buy us matching outfits, but sometimes in different colors. When we started school, my mother encouraged us to chose our own shoes and sometimes that was the only distinction in the way we dressed - though we sometimes chose identical pairs - hello red patent Mary Janes!  Because we were never in class together (except a lone math class in high school) it never posed a problem for our teachers.   As we got older (later elementary school on) however, definitely not.  


2) Did you have a secret language?


No.


3) When you are sick is she sick and vice versa?


No, again.  


4) Do you have mental telepathy?  


Sorry to disappoint, but again, no.  Although, one year (while living in different states) we did purchase and mail our mom the same birthday card.  And, we did once both (unknowingly) mail order the same pair of  pants.


5) Did you ever try to trick anyone?


Only once, on April Fool's Day in the 5th grade.  In truth, our classmates found the whole thing so humorous, they practically gave it away with their laughter.  


 6) Which one of you is smarter?  


I never really knew how to answer this one.  In many ways, I find this question most insensitive.  But I have been asked it enough to know that I had to include it.  The truth is, I think we're smart in our own unique ways.  Like any individuals, we have our distinct likes and dislikes as well as certain abilities and gifts that we've worked to strengthen and develop on our own.  


I guess my final thought on the subject of twins, and what I'd most like people to know, is that twins are independent and separate souls, who happen to have a unique bond (and in the case of identical twins like me and my sister, almost the same DNA).  But for whatever part nature has played in who we are, our environment and life experience have shaped us too.  We may look-alike but we're not exactly alike.  

National Day of the Cowboy

Because we live in Texas now, we're celebrating the cowboy today.

Moving Day

I've been noticeably absent from my blog and I've missed it.  But I have a good excuse, a really good excuse.  We moved.  And not just down the street or across town, not even intrastate.  This was a real honest to goodness, pack up all our worldly possessions, load up an 18 wheeler and have our accumulated stuff hauled 800 miles (from Georgia to Texas). 


From here

to here 

And who knew that all the things in our home consisted of some really good stuff collected over 12+ years settled in one spot, but also a lot of odds and ends and clutter acquired over the years?  Even now as we begin the unpacking process, this notion is crystallizing in my mind.  How many [insert the inane item of your choice here] does one family need, after all?  In fact, I don't doubt that there is some law of physics that says the stuff you own expands to occupy the space you have.  


Keep in mind, that I am no moving novice, having moved 8 times as a child, 6 times in my married life plus a few additions for apartment/dorm room changes in college. All total, I figure my relocation undertakings require almost two hands to count.  My husband's history is remarkably similar and nomadic.  So I'm shocked and a bit embarrassed to admit how many plastic food storage containers, Halloween decorations, board games, etc., etc., we own.  I thought I (we) would have known better.  


So, while on moving day (July 10, 2011), it looked like this

by July 13th, it looked like this 

and I'm cautiously optimistic every day will be a little bit better (and, hopefully, we'll own a little less stuff).


Don't get me wrong, this post isn't celebrating Moving Day - (which is turning into moving month) - 'cause it really is no fun, but it is a time of special significance particularly to our kids who only remember one home and I thought that it deserved a post of its own. 

Mardi Gras

Tomorrow is the last day of the Mardi Gras season.     

And though my husband spent his last two years of high school in Louisiana and a good friend grew up in New Orleans,  I have to admit, I was never intrigued by the celebration that is until our trip to Louisiana last fall when my interest was peeked.

My daughter and husband look out over Lake Pontchartrain.

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, celebrations outside of Louisiana are no doubt mostly limited to expatriates, though you can sometimes see evidence of those longing for life in the Pelican State (or maybe just those who appreciate a good party) in other places.   

For example yesterday, just a few streets over from my house, I spotted this:

 

I couldn't resist the urge to stop and take a few photos.  I bet these folks are fun!

In our local grocery stores at this time of year, you can find King Cake in the bakery section (or you can make your own) and this will be our own little taste of Mardi Gras.

I have to say, the notion of the King Cake and it's baby Jesus (remember my nativity infatuation?) is really special and a tradition, Louisianan or not, that I'm happy to adopt. 

"Laissez les bon temps rouler"

The Iditarod

I've written previously about my family's affinity for our 49th state, so I have to mention that today, the first Saturday in March, the Iditarod begins.

The Iditarod is a dog sled team race across Alaska.  Teams, typically 16 dogs and their dogsled driver (aka musher), cover more than 1,000 miles from Willow to Nome, Alaska, in nine to fifteen days.  

When my son was in the third grade his school placed an emphasis on the Iditarod, utilizing the details and facts about the race to interest the kids and making it part of a comprehensive curriculum - math, science, reading, etc. Which I have say, I thought was a really great idea.    One class even wrote the mushers and a few wrote back!

Irresistible

This year, in the spirit of the race (and an effort to be a little more active), I'm doing the Idita-Walk.  A fundraiser for the Nome, Alaska Boy Scouts.  Ten dollars buys you access to their tracking website so you can log your minutes (not miles, thankfully) and walk wherever you are. It's a really clever idea, your own version of the Iditarod and you won't be subject to white-outs or sub-zero temperatures!

The Louisiana Purchase - It was a Bargain

Louisiana has a rich and varied history; a fur trading center, Jefferson’s savvy acquisition, the Battle of New Orleans and one hundred and fifty years ago today its secession from the Union;  as well as its roles as the birthplace of jazz, as epicurean mecca and, of course, in Hurricane Katrina.


I fell under the spell of New Orleans (no Louisiana voodoo was involved) when we spent a long weekend there last October.  It was a first-time visit for 3 of us and my husband’s first trip back in more than 10 years. 


We especially appreciated the World War II Museum and a tour of the Katrina ravaged neighborhoods that are making some recovery. 


A quick side trip to Baton Rouge to see my husband’s old high school, Mike the Tiger at the LSU stadium and the Huey Long assassination site (no kidding) were fun too. 

Here are a few photographic highlights:

Jackson Square Park, with statue at center, and Saint Louis Cathedral

Fats Domino's house

A beautiful home  in the Garden District.

 

The inside is not as nice as the outside, but Hansen's is not to be missed.  Delicious!

Our kids on a stone bridge in New Orleans' City Park.

My husband at his Alma Mater.  "Look here, we're great.  We're the class of '78."

FDR

Seventy nine years ago today then New York Governor Franklin D.




 .

Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. 

The election would be held just 10 months later (my how things have changed) and Roosevelt, with John Garner (I know, who?) as Vice President, defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover. 

FDR went on to occupy the White House longer than any other president.
 
Though he was a New Yorker, FDR also had a long relationship with the state of Georgia.  Eleanor, his wife, had an uncle with a home here. And, even prior to his inauguration and many times during his presidency (a total of 41 visits) Roosevelt made the long train trip to Warm Springs, Georgia, hoping to find a cure for his polio (which may or may not have actually been polio, but that's a post for another day) in the natural springs there.

The Little White House

Last September, we made the 90 minute journey south to the charming and modest "Little White House" as it's called.  It was really fascinating.  

The Unfinished Portrait -- I love that it is a  watercolor.

It was in Warm Springs, while posing for his portrait on April 12, 1945 that FDR suffered a stroke and died. The “Unfinished Portrait” is still there, as are his 1938 Ford convertible with hand controls and many other items of historical significance.  

It is a surprisingly unassuming and plain vacation home for a president.  It's furnishings and fixtures, including the tiny servants' and guest quarters, all remain in tact.   

In the 20s and 30s, an entire rehabilitative hospital was built just down the road from the Little White House.  

The pools utilized by the hospital were built above the springs and are normally left empty to preserve them. But, twice a year (as a fundraiser for the historical site) the pools are filled and a limited number of visitors are allowed to wade into the 88 degree water (not as warm as you'd think) that  FDR found therapeutic, if not curative.  

It is like stepping back into time to visit his home and then wade into the pools that held so much hope for many.

My husband and son leaning against what was once used as a therapy chair.

Our kids at Warm Springs.

Happy Statehood Day Alaska!

 On Jan. 3, 1959, President Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Alaska to the Union as the 49th state.

Alaska's been in the news A LOT recently, particularly because of a certain former Vice Presidential candidate.  But, since this isn't a political blog (though I'm not saying I won't have one of those too, some day),  I wanted to write a little about the majesty of Alaska and celebrate the day it joined the Lower 48 as part of our great union.  

I can hardly believe it when I write that my family has a thirty year history (when you take into account that the state's history is just slightly more 50 years) with Alaska.  

My husband spent two long  summers working at a fishing lodge in Alaska during college.  

To this day, this fact still surprises me.  Not because my husband is a true southerner, born in Memphis and raised geographically almost as far from Alaska as you can be in the U.S., and not because my husband doesn't seem like the type to do this kind thing (because he does), but because I don't think I seem like the type of person that would marry a guy who did such a thing.  

The Brooks Falls in the Katmai National Park is famous for bear viewing.  My husband took this photo in 1982