Yesterday my sister did some searching about on our Father's side of the family. That side is kind of vague for a whole host of reasons but she found out a boat load. We now know where our Father's Grandparents came from His Grandmother (our great-grandmother) came from Sicily. This was news to us. We knew that that side of the family came from Italy and everything but this is interesting. She came from a town called Mussomeli. Apparently known for some of its castles and an infamous mafioso lived there. They also have a festival that was brought to the US by immigrants and is celebrated in specific parts of the country. From what I have been able to figure Josephine (that's our great grandmother) came to the United States when she was a little girl. They were first in New York. (a number of siblings were born there) Then they came west to San Francisco. Her husband (our Great-grandfather) came from Calabria. I know that he was here as a boy by 1906 as he and his family survived the big San Francisco earthquake.
Hilarious Goodfellas moment. I swear there are like only three names for girls for a few generations. Grace, Rosalia and Josephine. Bonus points if you toss in a Mary in there somewhere. If you are a guy you get to be Lawrence, Anthony or Angelo. Maybe Vincent if you want to mix it up a little.
So there you go. I have now heard that one line from A Princess Bride a million times since mentioning this fascinating bit of family history. Who knows maybe it explains my predilection toward physical violence as a reasonable way of handling certain issues. *snorts*
Major points to my sister for finding this stuff out. Obviously we need to plan a trip to Sicily.
...
Mr. Jenner has been expanding his man cave empire (his words) with a workshop in the garage. He is in heaven. Many packages have been arriving for awhile now. He is a serious electronics nerd and he is bringing Senor Onion into the fold. He even got him a pair of goggles. Senor Onion likes to come downstairs and watch a drill press being put to work. He refers to his safety goggles as "safety gobbles". It makes us giggle.
He is one of the most maddening and delightful kids in the world. He will be king of defiance one second and then the next he is one of the sweetest and funniest people around. He certainly humbles the hell out of me some days.
Miss Biscuit said the word Mama in my presence. Yesterday I had to go and run an errand sans kids and she was at the gate looking sad. It seems she kept saying Mama after I left. She only really said Mama today because she was in distress. She won't say it any other time. It seems that if I am there and life is good there is no point. A girl who knows how to communicate.
...
Now I leave you with a quote from Mr. Jenner. He said to me tonight, "You are the Sherlock Holmes of nudity."
and how.
Hilarious Goodfellas moment. I swear there are like only three names for girls for a few generations. Grace, Rosalia and Josephine. Bonus points if you toss in a Mary in there somewhere. If you are a guy you get to be Lawrence, Anthony or Angelo. Maybe Vincent if you want to mix it up a little.
So there you go. I have now heard that one line from A Princess Bride a million times since mentioning this fascinating bit of family history. Who knows maybe it explains my predilection toward physical violence as a reasonable way of handling certain issues. *snorts*
Major points to my sister for finding this stuff out. Obviously we need to plan a trip to Sicily.
...
Mr. Jenner has been expanding his man cave empire (his words) with a workshop in the garage. He is in heaven. Many packages have been arriving for awhile now. He is a serious electronics nerd and he is bringing Senor Onion into the fold. He even got him a pair of goggles. Senor Onion likes to come downstairs and watch a drill press being put to work. He refers to his safety goggles as "safety gobbles". It makes us giggle.
He is one of the most maddening and delightful kids in the world. He will be king of defiance one second and then the next he is one of the sweetest and funniest people around. He certainly humbles the hell out of me some days.
Miss Biscuit said the word Mama in my presence. Yesterday I had to go and run an errand sans kids and she was at the gate looking sad. It seems she kept saying Mama after I left. She only really said Mama today because she was in distress. She won't say it any other time. It seems that if I am there and life is good there is no point. A girl who knows how to communicate.
...
Now I leave you with a quote from Mr. Jenner. He said to me tonight, "You are the Sherlock Holmes of nudity."
and how.