Gingersnap

This past Friday's "First Friday" was beautiful- weather wise! Colorful leaf piles were something to treasure, especially walking around in the lovely neighborhood of the Oregon District- that perfect, historical strip of classical architecture near downtown Dayton. Leaves! Yes! I jumped into a bunch of crunchy madness, skipped on through, and photographed like a crazy madwoman. Short, bittersweet autumn simply brings out the childish relish in me! Saw amazing paintings, handmade vintage product, and tasted delights from local artists. Ah, little old Dayton, your surprises always astound me.... I went inside of a neat place called Grassroots. It's not entirely new, having been opened since July, but they have started joining in on the First Friday craze sometime ago. In the boondocks of the Oregon District, it was a place I missed on previous occasions. Glad to have spotted this cozy down/upstairs business that not only features a gallery and DIY shop, but has after ...

For a couple of years now, I've been researching the good ole family tree and have only gotten as far as finding out the names of both maternal/paternal grandmothers' birth parents. I don't want it to stop there and need to keep going further back. I'm simply fascinated by my family's history and yearn to see where the roots stem from, where that tree was planted. In talking to my mom about it, she too finds herself enamored with the idea of discovering where we hail.... A good friend of mine, G who was also learning about her personal origins/genealogy helped me find beneficial sites like myheritage.com and 23andme.com. Myheritage.com was a place where I could plot down information I had about the family tree. I have some of my parents, grandparents, and great grandparent's information due to knowledge, obituaries, and my aunt (dad's sister) gave me further. As a site member, she also added cousins, siblings, and other Glaspers I had never heard o...

Whose responsible for making me trek 3 miles in the night to see pumpkins? Judy? *gasps* But I don't even know a Judy. Hahahaha..... Ah, the end of lush, autumn October is finally upon us. So what's Halloween without a lil pumpkin carving, eh? Behind the Dayton Art Institute on Stoddard Avenue in the Grafton Hill District resides a tradition known to many and I must admit last year was the first I've ever heard of the The Stoddard Avenue Pumpkin Glow! Having had a splendid time, I couldn't wait to go again! So alas not Judy's fault- it's my own. Heehee! As I walked along fallen leaves and branches, the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin wafted through my nostrils, letting me know that I'm close to my destination! Here's just a sampling of the glowing pumpkins with their sweet scented tea light surprises inside! From traditional face carvings to intricately detailed witches, cats, Simpsons, celebs, comic book characters, villains, and Sesame Street puppets! Th...