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Chicken Stew: A Southern Recipe, Tradition, and Digital History Project

If you guessed, by the title of my blog, that I’m a northern transplant to the south, you’d be correct! There are so many differences between the culture I grew up in (think rural New York and Italian) and the South (particularly North Carolina). I love the saying, “I wasn’t born in the South, but I got here as fast as I could!” Please don’t take this to mean I don’t love where I come from - I just love learning about and experiencing the history and culture of where I live now. Every once in a while, I encounter a southern tradition that is completely and totally new to me. Several years ago, one of my closest friends mentioned that we should have a chicken stew. Okay, I thought, sounds great. I thought it meant a trip to the grocery and breaking out my slow cooker.  I wasn’t even close. What he meant was, let’s have a big cookout that involves a black cauldron and open fire; a chicken stew is an event as much as it is a dish – and a particular dish, at that! Traditional ...
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Digital History: First Impressions

I've spent the last few days reading articles and essays about what digital history is, how it has evolved, and where it might take us in the future. I typically place what I consume as a student in the context of three things: Education - how does this content affect educators and students, and as a sideline item, what aspects of it might affect what I do as an academic advisor? Genealogy - are there ways that I can apply this thinking, or technology, to family history? History - as my academic discipline, how do I incorporate what I'm learning into my historical research; are there new directions and connections I am making? Each of the websites we reviewed -  the Center for History and New Media , Digital History: University of Houston , the Virginia Center for Digital History , and Digital History - University of Nebraska - all include some element of what it means to teach and learn about history in the digital age. These web projects include numerous resources for ...
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While I enjoy my morning coffee, why not reminisce a little?

When I was small, my Grandma Sullivan would fix me coffee. I don't know if she offered it to me first, or I begged to have it. Probably the latter, since I saw it was something most people in my family enjoyed. It was coffee for a child - mostly milk and sugar, and a little coffee - enough to taste it. I loved it! Grandma would serve the coffee in a special mug. I remember it made of orange plastic, but I think it was really something like melamine. It was durable and made to serve hot and cold beverages, with a pedestal at the bottom. The mug had an alligator on it with the words, "Florida, the Sunshine State." That was my favorite mug, and I wish I knew what happened to it! Mental note - ask Grandma about this later. Little did I know then that Florida was where my husband was growing up, with the alligators and all that sunshine. As I got older, coffee continued to be a staple in our home, but I didn't begin drinking it regularly until roughly my eighth grade ye...
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Five. Years. Later.

It's been five years since my last blog post. Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. In all seriousness, the time has come to resurrect my web presence and contribute my thoughts and ideas to the world once again. My graduate history course this fall is History in the Digital Age, taught by Professor Aaron Shapiro. A portion of our work in the course requires blog posts, and I'd like to use this external platform to post my work. I'm excited about the course and opportunity to develop a digital history project of my choosing. I have yet to zero in on a thesis topic as well, so this project may help me get some ideas sorted out. Aside from this particular course, my interest in genealogy is as strong as ever, and I'm certain some of the stories and artifacts I've come across will be of interest as well. Of course, I'm sure I'll have some random, yet entertaining thoughts to share. Your comments are welcome and I look forward to them! Until next time, Tra...
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We're not old, we're classic!

Recently, someone close to me lamented the fact she's getting older. One reason: Cyndi Lauper is now relegated on a particular music service to the oldies genre. I'm not sure I necessarily agree with the categorization, but that's not what this dialogue is really about. I wrote previously about how age is a relative thing. To a five year old, thirty seems impossibly old. Once you've reached that milestone, the bar gets pushed further, and suddenly old is something like ninety-five. Assuming music genres work the same way, it's not a surprise that some nineteen year old doing the programming at XM/Sirius considers Cyndi Lauper worthy of the oldies designation. I prefer the term classic , myself. My reasoning is that classic implies something better than old, and that's exactly what I think we become as we age! The true definition of classic describes someone or something as having recognized value, as well as lasting significance or worth. For the most part, I ...
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Saturday's Adventure

This past Saturday surprised me. I wasn't really looking forward to going to a "tea party" for my sister-in-law's birthday. I'm not a big fan of typical "girly" activities, or of bonding with other females in general. The thing that excited me the most about this little outing was going with my almost 10-year old daughter, Morgan. We went to Two Leaves and a Bud , a quaint little eatery in downtown Concord, NC. The food was surprisingly good. I had a sandwich called The Clucker - seasoned chicken breast with melted cheddar, onions and mushrooms - and instead of the kaiser roll, I opted for toasted rye. Delicious. I sucked down about 4 glasses of their sweet house tea, Front Porch. Morgan enjoyed some tuna salad (her favorite), and we shared dessert, a truly delicious slice of chocolate mousse cake. We all had a nice time together! Now thoroughly caffeinated, I promised Morgan a trip to the local Goodwill for a little thrift shopping. We had a BLAST. See,...
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It's hotter than Hades around here!

I've checked the date four times already today. It is too early in the season to be this hot. Temperatures have been just below 100 degrees fahrenheit for the last three days. The heat wave is predicted to go through Sunday - with a bit of a break coming Monday through Wednesday at a -brisk- 95 degrees... I hate the heat and humidity. It isn't even officially summer yet! What worries me even more is the lack of rain. We've had some rain over the last several weeks, but nowhere near enough to lift drought restrictions. NOAA's local forecast runs through Friday of next week, and doesn't mention a drop of rain. Last summer seemed so long, so hot, and so dry. It seemed to take forever for the coolness of autumn to arrive. Ultimately, I realize I shouldn't complain so much. There are places far hotter, and far drier, and people who have no air conditioning - no relief from the heat or drought. Despite my level of comfort, I can't help shake memories of years wi...
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