While I'm traipsing down memory lane of life in the South I thought I would ruminate on Memphis for a moment. It's been years since I've been there but only one local haunt I used to linger at has closed up shop. 

If you have never been to Memphis a must see is Beale street. In the tradition wandering from bar to bar this has got to be one of the best places to catch a show, get some drinks, and have a late night snack. 
Beale Street

One thing I liked to do when I was in Memphis was go for a trolly ride. This historic pastime will take you through downtown, down by the Mississippi river and over by the Memphis Pyramid which is a sight to not to be missed. We used to love to walk the bridge nearby and stand over the Mississippi river overlooking the pyramid at sunset. 
Memphis Trolly Rides 

If your looking to make a lasting memory while your in town make sure to call ahead to Ramesses Shadow. This tattoo parlor is notorious for being one of the best in the south. The artists that work here are amazing and the entire place is clean like a doctors office. 
Ramesses Shadow Tattoos 

Aside from my time I spent working downtown or hanging out at Ramses Shadow, I liked to kick it with the hippy scene over in Midtown. 

The Overton park shell, now the Levitt Shell is a historical landmark that has gone through various stages of neglect and repair. Now fully remodeled and hosting a regular schedule you catch a show outdoors at an old fashioned  amphitheater.
Levitt Shell

To rainy to play outside? Make your way down to Otherlands for all your hippy needs. They have an adorable shop, coffee bar, an outdoor patio in the sun, and live music.
Otherlands Coffee and Exotic Gifts 

If you find that is too mellow of a scene for you though, check out The Edge Coffee shop. The food is tasty, the coffee is strong and the kids are hip. 
The Edge Coffeehouse
From The Edge Facebook page:
The Edge serves only the best hot and cold coffee and espresso beverages, including the signature "Avalanche, "World Famous Highly Addictive Double Espresso Milk Shake" as well as a wide selection of soft drinks, energy drinks, vitamin water, etc. 
Over the years The Edge has been Memphis first: • Internet café, • Originals only music venue, • Specialty Coffee drive-through window, • Mobile Coffeehouse for off-site events, • Twenty-four hour Specialty Coffeehouse, • Text Order Drive-By-Coffee

Last but not least the Cooper Young district. A tight knit group of businesses with a hopping summer festival every year. 
Cooper Young 

I was thinking about what I should blog about today and decided to do a kind of historical piece about my Grandmother. I am named after her and have always been fascinated by her life. She was born in 1930 and spent her childhood living on a farm in Mississippi during the great depression. She had 9 brothers and sisters and was the oldest girl. They didn't have any toys when she was a child and I remember her showing me how to make corn dolls when I was little and telling me those were the only toys they had when she was young. They also used to take berries and smear them on their lips and cheeks pretending it was makeup. The clothes the children wore were made of flour sacks. 

When my grandmother was 15 years old she married a farm hand her father had hired who was living in the house. The marriage was not looked upon with favor by her family and so the two of them moved out on their own and became share croppers in the Mississippi Delta. This was a hard life and I remember her telling me how they lived in a small house with kerosine lamps and a wood stove. After several years my grandmother gave birth to my uncle who she would have to leave alone most of the day in a playpen while both of my grandparents worked in the fields picking cotton. My grandmother hated leaving him this way so they moved uptown to Shelby MS and my grandfather got a job at a service station and my grandmother worked at a 10 cent store.

They lived in Shelby for 2 years and my grandmother got pregnant with my mother. When my mother was only a few months old they moved to Chicago for a better life. Grandfather had a very difficult childhood being one of 13 children, and had been rendered blind in one eye as a child while building a fence on his families farm when he was very young. This made it difficult for him to do many jobs but he had always dreamed of owning a grocery store. They worked at several jobs over many years until they were able to open one. They had the store for about 3 years when my grandfather got sick and they were forced to sell the store.

At that time my grandmother looked for work in a factory. I remember her telling me that she went for a job interview and the only position they had available was very physically intensive. You had to kick a machine when it came to the end of it's cycle to make the parts fall down. The people who were hiring didn't think she was fit for the job but she insisted since she was desperate to find work. They gave her a shot and she kicked and kicked that machine. The people supervising her were so impressed with her determination that they offered her a job doing quality control work. This company was called Cinch Manufacturing which became TRW and made parts for aerospace engineering. Over time she moved up in the company and by the time a contract came around to make parts for the first mission to the moon, my grandmother had moved up to being a supervisor. The space race was on and she worked long hours inspecting parts to beat the Russians. Some of the parts that were used to make the Apollo went through her hands. She worked at TRW for 28 years before retiring. There was a huge banquet that was held in her honor. 

Postscript:

When I was 14 years old we moved back to Mississippi so my grandmother could spend time with her aging parents, and also so that us children could get to know them better. My parents bought some land and my grandparents bought the lot right next to them. I spent my high school years going between the two houses and drinking coffee with my grandmother in the day and eating late night bowls of ice cream with her. When I was in high school I left home and was having difficulty making it to my classes. My grandmother came up to the school and begged me to graduate. She had never had the opportunity to graduate high school and it was very important to her. She offered to have me come and live with her and I did. I'm so glad I got to spend the time I did with her before leaving Mississippi altogether the day after I graduated high school. 

Since then I have moved clear across the country and live in Oregon. I have had to go many years without being able to see her but we talk often on the phone. Last summer she flew out for the first time with my brother and his family and we got to spend some real quality time. She is now in her 80's but still gets around fairly well. We took her to the Oregon coast and Multnomah falls. She was astounded by the beauty of our state. I hope that she lives comfortably for many years to come and that she is able to return to Oregon again some day.

I've always liked to reuse and repurpose things which is now fashionably called upcycling. I enjoy making Holiday ornaments. There are many great things about them. They are fun to do with kids and they can be a work in progress over a period of time. They can help hold a memory of a certain time or they can make a great gift. I made some that reflect my daughters interests over the past few years. Whenever she gets a gift she really likes I take a look at the box and see if there is anything that I can use from it. I cut it out and depending on the sturdiness of the card board I may use a different piece of decorative cardboard from say, a tissue box for the back side as seen here:

Once that dries you can paint the back with a layer or two of shimmery acrylic. After that has dried it's on to the front again. You cover the entire front in a layer of clear glue for a glossy look. You can apply glitter after that if your making Christmas decorations anything shimmery and shiny will reflect more light. After that you can set beads down in the glue if you want the look of the one pictured above. After that it's just a waiting game. Let it completely dry flat and it's ready to go!

These can be made for boys are girls. Here is one that I'm only about halfway done with. It glued nice and flat on the recycled tissue box I used. I made holes with a needle early on here and fed embroidery floss through. I think I just need a little shimmery paint to make this one work. Maybe I won't need to use as much glue for this one! 

New year new blog. I've been online for a long time and yet somehow, putting together a blog has eluded me. Now for the first time I'm going full tilt to the wind and attempting to put my varied thoughts from around the web here. I plan on having all kinds of content, though currently I'm not sure what type of organizational format can contain such a varied sampling of the randomness that is me. Join me in the journey of figuring out just exactly what I'm doing, and by all means make suggestions.