Meanwhile, Over at Modern Creative Life...

Please visit me over at Modern Creative Life  this week. The theme of this issue is "Escape." As you know, I'm escaping for a few weeks "across the pond" but I'll still be posting a few things here -- and at this week you'll find me at Modern Creative Life.

My big escape of the summer is always Art Camp, which you've read about here more than once. At Modern Creative Life you will find two back-to-back posts about art camp. The first post is why this time away is a real escape for me. The second post is actually inspired by Gypsy readers who said, "How do you go about setting up your art camp? Are there rules?" So, this post includes my art camp tips (and remember, it doesn't have to be visual art -- it can be writing, photography, you decide!) (It can also serve as good suggestions on getting along with any friend you might invite to spend a week or so with you, even -- on a larger scale -- a family reunion!)

Please do stop over and feel free to leave a comment there! I'll do my best to reply if I'm still around town to check in.

I'm sorry I won't be able to reply to comments or visit for a few weeks. I will be offline getting all sorts of great photos and inspiration for posts to come. But please do leave a comment if you like -- I read them all and they make me smile more than you know. We need all the smiles we can get!

I'm Writing Today at Modern Creative Life

We have a few more days until fall officially makes its bow and we welcome a new season with the autumnal equinox. But I'm still remembering summer.

Please join me over at Modern Creative Life this week while I reflect on summer's way of being an escape from the nine-month year, those months from September through May where our schedules seem to get out of control.

The theme of this issue is "Escape" and escape I do. It may involve a black and white cat, a walk down a wooded road, or a dip in the lake.

And of course, there will be a sunset.

I'd like to take you with me, so come on over, right HERE!

Sharing this week with:   Pink Saturday   

Something's Cooking at Modern Creative Life!

Today I'm writing over at Modern Creative Life on Cultivating a Creative Kitchen.

As the holidays come and go and summer wears on, chances are we will be stepping into the kitchen and whipping up something easy that doesn't require a lot of heat or is so "in your head" that you barely have to look at a recipe at all. It's summertime and the living is easy. And cooking should be, too.

I love cooking. In fact, I feel like I miss it when I travel. And it doesn't much matter what -- breakfast, baking, dinner. I collect recipes like a crazy person, make them once the way they are written (usually) and then more often than not, wing it, referring back for the essentials.

And I've been doing that since I was a kid because that was the way I was taught. In fact, I barely remember my mom opening a cookbook, though she had a more than a few.

I had to up my game when I started seeing Rick. The first time he had me over to dinner I realized that I had to kick it up a notch. Man does not survive by baked goods alone. I mean, he makes stuff that looks like this.

OK, he didn't do that until last year, but when he started baking bread, he took it on the way he does his cycling. All out. Do it right. Don't stop. He's never afraid to try new things.

Rick and I cook pretty well together. But then, I like cooking in the company of others.

Two of my favorite bakes were with friends -- making macarons with Kate and a fabulous Paris Brest pastry dessert with my Corkie friend Barb. That was a long affair -- making a gougere-type wheel, then the pastry cream and assembling it. I wrote about it here.You can find the tutorial for it there. And yes, it's a supersized wheel because it represents a bicycle tire.

 I believe cooks are made, not born. We are born to eat. We learn to cook so we can eat the way we'd like to. We can be helped along the way by parents who teach us not to be afraid in the kitchen, by friends with whom we share the interest or simply because we want to learn.

In the Modern Creative Life piece, I talk about cultivating a creative kitchen. I hope you'll take a few minutes to come by and check it out!

Linking to: Let's Add Sprinkles   /   Share Your Cup  /   Pink Saturday  

Self-Discovery on the Genealogical Highway

For more than a year now (as many of you know) I have been ambling down the genealogical highway, in search of stories of my family's history and knowledge of the times in which they lived.

My mother was born in this house that still stands in our city.

This quarter's focus on Modern Creative Life is "Selfies." Here's how the theme is described in its submissions page:

What does it mean to examine one’s self? Can self-portraits – and all versions of that such as memoir, personal essays, and such – heal us and help us grow as creatives? How do we make the space for blank canvases and blank pages if we ignore our need to create? Can we expect to fill those pages and canvases with our creations if we dive deeper into who we are?

Part of living a creative life is the understanding that we must refill our own wells in some way on a regular basis, otherwise, we find ourselves resentful of our own lives. Without the time or space to pursue our creative ways, we will burn out. Our souls demand that we uphold the responsibility of using our gifts. So how does looking at ourselves help us or hurt us?

Taking this road trip through history has been and continues to be a journey of discovery. But it isn't just names, dates and birthplaces I've discovered. I've also learned some stories about my ancestors and -- perhaps more important -- something about myself.

I'm sharing that in the current issue of Modern Creative Life right HERE. I hope you'll stop by and read it.

Which one do you think is my mom?

And if you, too, are on that journey, I encourage you to consider -- how has it changed you? How has knowing about your ancestors' lives affected how you feel about your family, your ancestors or you, yourself.

When we found this photo of our grandmother, we realized how much she looked like one of my cousins.

Not every story is pretty or happy. Hard decisions had to be made and some were heartbreaking. But so many are inspiring.

And if you haven't taken that journey (and I know -- many who read this blog haven't even considered looking into their past) I offer these suggestions for the "just in case" day that you take this journey on.

Eight Tips for Your Future Geneology Journey

•  Ask questions of your parents while they are here -- or your grandparents? Even better. Write it down somewhere and let someone know where it is. And consider printing it out -- electronic documents have a bad way of getting deleted or lost in a hard drive crash!
• Put labels on the backs of old photos while people are still around to identify them. 
• Get a file and toss in documents like funeral handouts with birth and death dates, newspaper clippings or obituaries of family members.
• If you have oral history on "old media" (cassette tapes, etc.) transcribe them or note key points, even if you keep the original. And of course back up electronic documents.
• If you have old family Bibles or cookbooks, check inside for notes or newspaper clippings. They often have birth/death dates and if you are lucky like me, you'll find a newspaper clipping describing your great grandparents' wedding reception!
• Remember, it's not just "all about me" but it's all about them, so before you throw out your sister's diary or your mother's old calendar -- all stuck in a box in the basement -- or a postcard sent from afar, check for the stories. 
• And finally, remember the line I first heard in "The DaVinci Code." "History is written by the winners." Stories "evolve" over time (usually for the better!), particularly those shared through oral history. Get as close to the original source as possible. Save the wills and legal docs long after the scores are settled. They are part of the story.

And then when you're ready to roll, your job will be loads easier than mine!

I never would have researched the fascinating story of the confectionery industry in 1800s Buffalo if I hadn't looked into the stories of my great grandfather.

Here's the link to my article on MCL -- A Journey of Self Discovery through Family History

Sharing with: Let's Keep in Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles 

The Moscow Rules

This week I am posting over at Modern Creative Life. The theme of this summer's posts at this site is "Refresh and Restore."

I'm reviewing how I discovered how to restore my soul after living under self-imposed "Moscow Rules" for the last two years of my long career and how I rediscovered joy, peace and happiness.

I hope you'll click over and check it out. Each post reflects the theme and posts are written by a number of bloggers and writers. (And while you're there, take a look down at some of the other posts and see the submission guidelines, too!)

Spirit Guides on the Ancestral Highway

Today I'm blogging over at Modern Creative Life (link below) and sharing a story the very long-ago Gypsy readers may have heard. It focuses on how a chance discovery of a vintage postcard at an antiquarian book fair brought me to tears -- and to the grandmother I never knew.

You can check it out here.

If you've read my earlier account on Marmelade Gypsy, this one is a little different, focusing not only on the discovery but more thoughtfully on those who "guide" us, past and present, and the fascination that grows when diving deep into family history.

Enjoy!

Finding My Creative Soul Over the Holidays

I'm delighted to sharing my tips on finding your creative soul during the busy holiday season over at Modern Creative Life.

Please stop by and say hello! And consider adding it to your blog reading list. There are wonderful and thoughtful articles about living a modern creative life with new ones every few days. Take a look at the submission page, too and join in!

The Calming Nourishment of "Same"

One of the things I've loved most about this past year is having the opportunity to share some posts with Modern Creative Life.

So, instead of sharing here today, I'm sending you there to enjoy a reflective look at "The Calming Nourishment of 'Same,'" which is a look at where and how I find peace and why sometimes different isn't always better -- just different.

I hope you'll stop by and read the post! (And thanks to editors Becca and Deb for publishing this one on my birthday! Yay, Medicare!)

And may I suggest you scroll down and check some of their other inspiring posts that touch on so many lovely things. You might want to check the submissions page, too! (hint, hint!)