Bits And Pieces

The orange-painted dyed-blond idiot residing in the White House is keeping me upset...  I'm afraid that recently my most coherent thoughts are about how he is such a bizarre individual and how much damage he is doing to our country.   ...   But I'm trying to stay away from that.

   Luckily, all of my friends and family have ridden through all of the hurricanes, so far, with very minor water damage to their yards, and little, if any, damage to their homes.  All people and critters are safe and sound.  -  And that is a huge load off my mind.   Chincoteague may get swiped Wednesday, but I really hope it doesn't happen.  Fall and winter nor'easters are bad enough, without a tropical storm lashing the beaches, too.
   Beatrice and I visited a friend's Meet and Greet City Council candidates party Thursday evening.  Five candidates for the Boulder seats were there; they each gave a 3-minute talk and then we had two hours to mingle and chat with them.  I've signed up to help and support two of the women candidates - Mary Young and Cindy Carlisle.  I liked the other three people, but I didn't really feel totally supportive regarding their stands on a few issues.
   I've been in contact with a few of Beatrice's cousins, whom have never met, and I'm getting her family tree woven together a bit more.  The problem is trying to find the pasts of people who were enslaved.  I've looked at the Freedman's Bureau - and I have some Census records.  I also have plantation records, but very few slaves were listed by name.  I would really love to be able to find more information regarding Bea's great-great-grandfather, a slave named Priest Tickles, who was born in South Carolina in 1820, along with his wife, Charlotte (also listed as Sharlot), who was born in 1835 in Louisiana.  
   And, of course, I'd love to have more information regarding her great-great-grandfather, Luc DeClouette, and his management of his half-sister's plantation at Breaux Bridge.  It is so very difficult for me to image (especially since I'm white) belonging, as a slave, to another person - especially when that person is your white half-sister (with a shared father).  To run her plantation after the death of her husband, and to protect her from US Federal troops during the Civil War's intrusion into the Teche Valley...   I wish photos existed of Luc and his family - both sides.   I'm just a nosy old lady, I guess.  There are so many fascinating things to discover in the past...
   We had a dachshund staying with us for a few days; she's 8 years old, named Emma, has one brown and one blue eye, and has always been a purse-puppy and/or lap dog.  She hasn't been socialized with other dogs, and didn't know what to do the first time I removed her leash in a fenced-in yard.  Finally she started running in huge circles - her happiness was rather contagious.  In the past few weeks, I've been getting her to meet other dogs, and explore new places.  She climbed a tree with low-lying branches while chasing a squirrel; she was so intent upon the scent of a cottontail rabbit that it ran behind her, within 12 inches of her tail, and she didn't see or hear it; and she found a bird's nest hidden in a wood pile, and came out with feathers stuck to her eye lashes.  She's never caught anything, but she's having a good time looking and scenting....  She will chase a squirrel on sight, but is unsure about cats - which is a good thing, because Lovey would have eaten her alive, otherwise.
   I will try to get back into the rhythm of writing again - I need to express myself - and I need to stay away from the stupid man in Washington, DC....    I think I'm back among the living again.