New Look!! Same disorganized content.

You know, with a blog so named as my own, why would I leave it looking the same for too long?  Anyway, I played around with the look and feel over the weekend.  Kind of reminds me of a box of cereal with "New Look!! Same great taste!!",  written on it in big letters.  You have my solemn promise that it will remain filled with the disorganized and random thoughts that swirl in my noggin.  I will never sacrifice the quality you have noticed lacking in my posts.  I just love you all that much.
Insert smirk here XXX

A Beautiful Tribute

I have an amazing treasure trove of information about my father's side of the family.  Frank's (my great-great grandfather) brother, James, wrote a life sketch of their father, Burton Ayres.  The preface to that sketch is a loving and beautiful tribute.  I was so touched by it that I wanted to share.

A Life Sketch of Burton Ayres

Preface

The world's worthiest ancestry who were born to what the world calls "humble" conditions of avocation, and yet with noble traits and generous impulses, have too often passed away "unhonored and unsung."  Many a so-called ordinary folk who have hewn out a home and a character in the wilds of the West, and yet not for themselves alone, but for their posterity have just claims upon the gratitude and remembrance of succeeding generations, and the records on high may yet reveal who had the greater part and the highest credit in reclaiming the earth from its wild state to render it a fit and beautiful world for God's children.

  The cordon of history that surrounds such lives is a romance of itself, and may be the inspiration of children's children. Gratitude is the highest impulse of the soul, and ingratitude is an unpardonable sin.

  The Dower of a Christian home, a civilized community, religious and secular education, the evolution of a free state and nation proclaims a just eulogy upon the lives and character of our fathers.

  Such reflections have led the writer of this little sketch to undertake a work that from lack of materials, which might in other conditions been obtained, must of necessity be very imperfect, and yet, whose meagerness may not excuse from recording what we know of one whose life was a continuous exploit, whose trade made him an industrial necessity, and whose honesty made him honorable, and widely known among the earlier and later settlers of Northern Illinois.

  To not record even what is known of such a father would be ungrateful and unfilial.

J.C.A.

James C. Ayres

Oh, that I could someday be worthy of such a tribute.

House Update - Installment Two

So I told you all that we are going to be working on my grandmother's house in order to someday actually live there.  I love history and archeology, so this is a blast for me.  Yesterday dad and I worked out the original plan of the house.  See, the stairs have been reoriented and there are several additions.  The original house was a bit of a box and had four rooms.  A kitchen, dining room, sun porch, and additional bedroom have been added on.  Even the history of the additions is interesting.  For example, the dining room was extended a few feet just so great-grandpa Melton could sit in his chair and look out a window.  An addition just for the sake of a view.
Oh my, and lets talk about the layers and layers of floor covering going on here.  First is the original wood floor.  I love, love, love exposing this.  Just to know my great-great grandparents trod on these makes this history geek quite happy.  Then there is congoleum.  I now know more about this product than I ever though I would.  I had to research it when we uncovered it since I had no idea what it was.  Some of it is quite pretty actually.  But whoever put it down just added the next layer over what was already there.  The two downstairs rooms have many, many layers of carpet.  I for one am strangely excited to see them there.  It gives me a concrete view of the changes that have taken place over the years.

Last week we took out what was left of the chimney.  It had been partially removed when the house went from wood to gas heat.  What was left was weighing the house down.  As we removed the bricks the smell of a fire filled the room we worked in.  I couldn't help but let my mind linger on what it would have been like to see Lizzie at that fire, cooking the family dinner.  The chimney was the heart of the house for so long - providing heat and a way to cook and clean.  Now that it is out we plan to re-purpose it too.  It will be parcelled out to family who will use it each in their own way.  It has been given new life.  It is kind of cool to realize all the memories those bricks hold, and that they will go on soaking up family moments for years to come.