Recently I have found myself reflect on past family vacations and day trips. Years back we would take summer vacations with family friends or day trips back before my mom got sick and passed away.
When I was young I found myself wandering sometimes in museums or the places we were at and some of it was very interesting, and other parts I felt like someone had placed a shackle on my leg and I was being dragged around hell. I can remember sitting at the table with all the adults at family parties and they were talking about geneology and all this history about relatives. When I was kid I listened but never truly paid attention to the details.
I find now that my mom is gone I often want to know the answers. I of course have family members I can ask and get the answers, but it makes me take for granted all those times when I was young and had a chance to really learn something when I was in the museums or on whatever trip we were on.
My favorite memory from recently is when I inherited the locket of my mothers that was my great grandmothers. I knew my mom had told me over the years who it belonged to and I love this locket so much that it was the one thing I told my mom I wanted when she passed away. I thankfully found the courage to ask my mom before she passed who it belonged to and learned. I am so happy I did, because now I have the memory of my mother telling me.
I don't know if it's because I am 26 and "old" now that I like these things. But, I really have taken a longing to learning about history. I watched the Brian Boitano Project on Netflix. He goes in and restores and decorates an old family villa in Italy. It was short, but so amazing to see the old fixtures they found in the basement or the history he showed when furniture shopping. I have also gotten joy in watching my Aunt redo her home. Her house was built in 1784. She has updated things by making the bathroom a built in laundry room, converting one of the bedrooms into a walk in closet( old houses do not come with much storage) and is currently redoing the kitchen.
Its fantastic to walk in her house because the floors are old and uneven. In her dining room there is a door to the outside which is actual a Victorian Death Door. In history as we have found out, there have been superstitions against taking the deceased out the front door or main door of the home. It was also convenient when back in the old times the wake and funeral would often happen at the deceased's home instead of traditionally a funeral home as it is done today.
Earlier today I finished reading a very interesting e-book that was a mix of time travel, history, and story. The first book was free on Amazon and I want very much to continue with the series. Very interesting read. The book is called Time and Again by Deborah Heal. The first book as I mentioned as of 8-26-15 is free on Amazon Kindle. Book 1 is about a tutor spending the summer in a run-down old house. On the computer she and her student find a program called Beautiful Houses that is too amazing to be real. The program can rewind and fast forward the lives of all the people who ever lived in the house. The house in 1858, was a train stop on the Alton & Chicago line. It also happened to be a stop on the Underground Railroad.
I really enjoyed how the book has a good mix of history and story line. As this post says I enjoy history, but sometimes I feel with documentaries and books, too much information can be overwhelming. This was a perfect balance. Check it our for yourself at:
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Again-History-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B00BMUQAR4/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1440640154&sr=1-3&keywords=time+and+again
For now I am off to enjoy some history!
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