Digital Living

Hello, my name is Carol and I’m a digital hoarder.

My husband and I were running errands and listening to NPR recently and the interview we were listening to was absolutely amazing. A very serious business has been created by some bright young entrepreneurs to help folks with their “digital afterlife.” It took a few moments for these words to sink in. Digital afterlife.

My imagination still runs pretty fast, although as a boomer many other aspects of my physical being are slowing down. But, my real life imagination is popping out all sorts of thoughts. I post to a blog, I’m on Facebook, I joined a daily photograph album site, therefore I have an online life and I need to protect my digital legacy from my digital demise. Hey, these guys are talking to me!

So, in my mind I start to list my digital belongings. Blogs, social networking accounts, network subscriptions, programs to organize and store information for my genealogy hobby. But wait, I have stacks and stacks of folders on my desk top with hundreds of files with other information. I have saved emails that are important. Where would they go? What should I do with them?

Oh no! Reality strikes. The files and folders are trash that I’ve been collecting and simply don’t want to let go!

And in that final moment I knew, I’m a digital hoarder!

Splendours of Autumn Voyage – RMS Queen Mary 2

Arrived in New York City and spent the night before boarding the ship in Brooklyn. We took a taxi the next morning to Red Hook to board the RMS Queen Mary 2. The ship is huge, towering and magnificent and we haven’t boarded yet!

We settled in to our cabin. I’m so glad we had balcony. It was sheltered and provided a break from the cold wind

My best picture – Manhattan just as the sun started to set. I was a little disappointed, the Statue of Liberty looks so small!

The captain tells us the tide has to be just right for the ship to clear the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The clearance is only a few feet!

Leaving Red Hook, with a view of Manhattan

Statue of Liberty

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge just above the stacks

Splendours of Autumn Voyage – RMS Queen Mary 2

Bar Harbor was the next stop after Boston and it was gorgeous! Our ship was probably one of the last to visit.  The fall season for color is almost over. After Bar Harbor we sailed to Halifax. An incredible city. We hired a taxi to drive us around the city. He took us through the University campus and through old neighborhoods of beautiful homes. On to St. John, a little rainy but they have shopping mall within walking distance to get some medicine for John’s sniffels.

We head back to New York and arrive early in the morning and taxi to La Guardia airport for our flight home, relaxed and ready to go back to work.

View from the tender

The QM2 in Bar Harbor

Tugboat in Halifax

Splendours of Autumn Voyage, Queen Mary 2

Day 2 – Newport, Rhode Island

The Safety Boats served as tenders for our arrival in Newport. We toured the town on the local bus and marveled at all the beautiful mansions. Newport is a beautiful city.

Newport tender

Day 3 – We dock in Boston on October 31. Many of our shipmates are heading to Salem for some ghostly adventure. We settled for a walk through Quincy Market. It was very windy.

Our ship docked nose to nose with the Island Princess cruise ship. Of course the Queen Mary 2 is an oceanliner. I think the difference is the engines. Both ships are huge. The Island Princess left the dock before we did and both ships gave the customary 3 blasts on the horn. It was very loud. Passengers came out on deck and balconies to wave at each other. There must have been only 100 feet between the two ships and three tugs were working very hard to guide the Princess out to the harbor.

Stiff Breeze

Quincy Market

Island Princess

Time, Pike County, Illinois

Gazebo

In May of 2007  my husband and I drove from Denver to St. Louis, stopping in southern Illinois to research my family history. My great grandfather Robert Sidney ‘Sid’ Foreman was born in Time, Pike County, Illinois. This is a very small town. A church, two houses, maybe four mobile homes and this beautiful little park make up the entire town.  In the park is this amazing two story bandstand.

The only information on the internet I could find about this two story bandstand is shown here:

Time – Second smallest incorporated town in Illinois-population 36. An old two-story bandstand stands in the park. 

The residents of Time take pride in their old two story bandstand in the park. The park really comes alive on Fall Color Drive weekend.



Our Family

“Our family is a circle of love and strength. With every birth and every union, the circle grows. Every joy shared adds more love. Every obstacle faced together makes the circle stronger.”

On the occasion of my 41st wedding anniversary.

Four Generations

Four Generations - Bernard Hancock seated; Lois Emerette Goodell Totten seated; Standing on left Lulu Pearl Brace Hancock Baber; Standing on right Mary Phoebe 'Birdie' Totten Brace

50th Anniversary

50th Anniversary - Bernard Hancock and Mary Frances Foreman

Jerry Frempter Stalter and Grace Evelyn Hancock wedding portrait

Jerry Frempter Stalter and Grace Evelyn Hancock wedding portrait

March 18, 1968

March 18, 1968 - John Godfrey Singer and Carol Ann Stalter