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Posted on May 16, 2011 by rhondakalkwarf

Have you lived in a lot of places in your life or just a couple?  How has where you lived influenced you and your life?  I moved around a lot when I was younger.  For some people, that might instill a wanderlust and sense of adventure.  For me, it had the opposite effect.

My kids are going to have to sell our family home someday because I’m not moving anywhere again. At last count, I’ve had 26 different addresses in my life. Considering I’ve spent the last sixteen years in this house and thirteen in the one before, you can see how often I moved earlier in my life.

A few years ago, when we were considering an addition to our house, my husband suggested it might be better to move to a new house instead. I told him if he wanted to he could, but I would miss him. And besides, the addition turned out great.

Perhaps this attachment is at the root of my propensity to nest. I want fresh flowers on my desk and throw pillows on the couch. I need to personalize (read “claim”) my space. I like to travel to new places, but then I want to come home to my own house.

I’ve read stories about the rich and famous who have six different houses on different continents. That would make me crazy! I can’t imagine having my things spread out like that. I just know that if I were looking for the scarf to go with my dress, the scarf would be in one country and the dress in another. Besides, I don’t think you can have more than one real home.

My home is my refuge. It’s my safe space. I know where everything goes (well almost everything…) I break out in a cold sweat at the thought of packing everything up and moving somewhere else. This is where I belong. And it’s where I’m staying.

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Family Expectations

Posted on May 2, 2011 by rhondakalkwarf

What were some of the expectations in your family? I remember a time when I learned more about my family’s expectations for me. I was in third grade.

I started the year at a new school and I was happy there. Second grade had been a tough year for me with a teacher I didn’t like. She didn’t like me either and I didn’t excel.

When the first report cards came out in third grade, I was excited. I had B’s and even a couple A’s and only one C. I rode my bike home as fast as I could so I would catch my mother before she left for work. I was breathless as I met her in the driveway and proudly handed my report card to her.

She reviewed it and the first grade that caught her eye was the B I got in conduct. She let me know she was disappointed. As a good girl, she said, I should always have an A in conduct. She didn’t care about the other grades, but I should never get a B in conduct again. I wasn’t punished, but I knew she was disappointed.

I understood that day that the expectations for my behavior were very high. I didn’t back off on the academics because I was competitive and always wanted to succeed. But I also made sure my behavior was its best to be sure I maintained the A in conduct that was expected.

What were some of the expectations in your house when you were growing up?  How have they affected your life and who you became?  What expectations did you set for your children?  Do you think they would answer the same way you do?

Posted in Family, Home, Memoir, Personal History | Leave a comment

Daughters of the American Revolution

Posted on April 26, 2011 by rhondakalkwarf

When I was a girl, my mother told me about the Daughters of the American Revolution and how members could trace their heritage back to an ancestor who had fought in the Revolutionary War. I was just a girl and I don’t remember how it came up, but my mother made it sound really special. Unfortunately, I am an unlikely prospect. My pedigree on my mother’s side is a patchwork, sprinkled liberally with divorces. My father is adopted.

Still, on a recent trip to Washington DC, I decided to check out the DAR headquarters. I’ve visited Washington enough that I’ve seen the major attractions and I wanted to try something different. This seemed like a good choice.

It was a cold November day and there were only two of us on the tour. Our tour guide was wonderful. She was a black woman who had traced her heritage back to two free great, great, great, great, great grandfathers who had fought in the Revolutionary War. She was really proud to be a member. I was a little jealous as I explained to her how unlikely it is that I would be eligible for membership.

However, last month on a visit with my brother, he introduced me to ancestry.com. I was amazed at what is out there. Frankly, it is addictive! We spent hours working together with my mother. We even called my grandmother to get information to include in our family tree. By the time we called it quits for the night, we had traced our lineage back several generations.

Best of all, we found relatives in the Virginia area. There’s a lot of work to do but, just maybe, I could be a Daughter of the American Revolution after all. The requirements for documentation are stringent, but if I can find the basic information, the DAR has an amazing library of references available. I’m going to give it a try!

For more information about the Daughters of the American Revolution visit www.dar.org.

Posted in Family, Geneology, Memoir, Personal History, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

My Kindle is Back!

Posted on April 21, 2011 by rhondakalkwarf

It’s here! My new Kindle arrived today. I was without it for three days and I’m so glad to have it back!

When friends raved about their eReader devices, I didn’t really see the point. The tactile experience of holding a book in my hands isn’t important to me, but I really like having books to keep on the shelf or lend to a friend when I’m done. Still, my list of user friends grew. Eventually, I decided to give it a try

Well let me tell you, I LOVE my Kindle! The device itself is small, but I can adjust the font size to suit my needs. It is lightweight. For me, it’s easier to hold and read than an actual book. I can do it with one hand.

Shopping for books is a breeze; I do it directly from my Kindle or from my computer. I used to keep a list of books to read on my iPhone, but now I can just buy the book or add it to my Amazon wishlist when I hear of it. Even better, I can download a free sample and then decide if I want to buy the book after I read a little of it. Another real advantage is being able to carry so many books on the little device. I like to read when I travel and I recently ran out of books on vacation, far from a decent bookstore.

So imagine my chagrin when I settled in on the train the other day and I couldn’t wake my Kindle screen! I’d even charged it up the night before to be sure it was good to go. I pulled out my iPhone and googled “Kindle won’t wake up.” None of the advice helped, so I was left to read a book from the app on my phone. Effective, but not as comfortable or aesthetically pleasing.

When I returned home, I called Amazon for support. They ran me through a few tests and then decided to replace the unit. My new Kindle went out for overnight delivery and they emailed me a postage paid label to use to return the old one. The replacement took a couple days longer for me because of the weekend and I missed having it. I was surprised how quickly I’ve become attached to my Kindle!

Posted in Books, Kindle, Reading | Leave a comment

Hello world!

Posted on April 14, 2011 by rhondakalkwarf

Today I’m launching my first blog. I’m very excited to be making my entrance into the online world. I’m also nervous about the commitment to blog on a regular basis.

First things first

A little about me. I’m a personal history writer. I help people turn their memories into a book they can share with their family and friends. We do a series of interviews and then I edit and organize the stories, add family pictures and lay it all out into a keepsake book. It can be a personal memoir or the story of a family business.

Often my clients are worried they’ll lose track of their family stories and their connection with the past. They want to preserve that heritage, but they don’t know how to go about it or they just don’t have the time to do it themselves. That’s where I come in.

Future topics

As I envision it now, future topics will fall into four categories: my own memories, samples from others memoirs (used with permission, of course), topics in personal history and other topics that interest me. I’m sure to stay safely away from politics and organized religion because there are enough other people writing on those topics, but anything else could show up from time to time.

Let me know what you think. Also, be sure to check out my book recommendations page.

I’m glad you’re here!

Posted in Book recommendations, Book reviews, Books, Business History, Family, Memoir, Personal History, Politics, Quotes, Religion, Topics, Uncategorized | Leave a comment