by jennifer | Jan 28, 2016 | Family History, Thursday's Things
An ashtray? Who even smokes anymore? And those few folks who do still smoke, don’t do it sitting inside, where an ashtray is there to catch that ever growing length of ash. No, today people smoke outside, hovering just beyond the posted limit (“No smoking...
by jennifer | Jan 14, 2016 | Family History, Food, Thursday's Things
I don’t know if you guys remember this post, the one in which I bemoan the lost family recipe of kichel. It was a treat my great-grandmother made that my mom adored. And I wanted to make it. Problem was, the recipe was nowhere to be found. My mom bought bakery...
by jennifer | May 11, 2014 | Family History, Writing Life
Recently I went to New Orleans for a girls’ weekend, and geek that I am, I took a few hours for myself to sneak over to the New Orleans library to research my family in the Times-Picayune. My grandfather was a real estate developer in the area, so I knew there...
by jennifer | Sep 10, 2013 | Family History
One of the genealogical mysteries I’ve had is how to figure out from where people come. On my father’s side, he was always told his grandmother’s family was from Vilna. But that same grandmother had a half-sister who told her grandchildren that they...
by jennifer | Aug 22, 2013 | Family History
Why is it all my good finds come after 11 p.m.? I’m following trails that lead to dead ends, frustration after frustration, and then, right when I say, “It’s late! Screw this, I’m going to bed!” WHAM! A find that keeps me up another hour...
by jennifer | Jun 11, 2013 | Family History
This past weekend I went to New York for a getaway with friends. Once a year, my parents get together with my dad’s fraternity buddies, leaving the apartment for me and my friends. I try to go up a day earlier to see them and to spend a day in the city on my...