Low Tech Person In A High Tech World!!!

I'm pushing myself too, TOO much. And I know it. Trying to learn all this technology is making my BRAIN hurt and my body ache. I'm taking an online social media marketing class that has been helpful but truthfully? I don't want to spend hours on social media marketing. Some of their methods can't see the trees for the forest.  Some of it I find useful, most I find a pain in the butt. If someone wants to do this marketing as a full time job, that's great. I don't...just pick up a few tricks and tools here and there to use and let this grow organically.  If I'd just post more and share those posts in links here and there, just what I've been doing, I think I'd accomplish the same thing. Alas I never post regularly and I forget to share what I do post!!  My bad.

Tonight I'm frustrated, I can't get their program to work...plus every time I learn a program, they change it!!! So I will do what I'm good at and that's put a blog update on here. People who are suppose to find me will. Still have to get this blog changed over to a website. Already have the name purchased. That will be another week in the future. These days it is just too much going on to shake a stick at. Friday night sat about 6 hours at the ER with my son. He's having vision and pain problems. ER's on Friday nights are really INTERESTING places. Bless those people manning those ER's. I'd of pulled my hair out I had to work that every weekend!!! Not sure what is going on with my son, he has a referral to an eye specialist. Blessings and prayers would be appreciated.

Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum is having their 20th Anniversary celebration, Saturday September 17th and I've been trying to help on the history timeline and identifying pictures. Blasts from the past and realizing so much history because of this one little site.  Yep I've already caused an uproar with my Jenny Wiley posts. BUT dag gone it.... so many of the history books are WRONG and of all the stories that need to be told, the history of the early Europeans and Native Americans need MUCH more scrutiny in Appalachia than what has been written and taken as fact.  Especially when in fact, a lot of what has been passed as history of our area is absolute BS. WCIV is a place for those conversations and beginnings. So life goes on.

Next....When Appalachian Service Project crews were here, repairing my home, I felt so grateful, I made some corn husks dolls and such as gifts. They were not great and accomplished in a hurry and I used every dyed corn husk I had.  I had to get some more and dye them quickly!! I promised to try to demonstrate at the Mercer County Heritage Festival coming up here in a couple of weeks.  Here is one of the little ladies I made for a member of one of the crews.

This one went to a Pittsburgh Steeler's fan who saw what shucks were dyed in my box, wanted black and gold.  Did it, though the flash on the camera makes it look much lighter. Need to work on my photography too. 

So last week, I began the process of dying corn husks to replenish the supply. I'm trying to write a how to book on how I do this, and give directions on how to make all kinds of corn husk crafts. It's in progress!! Thus why I was interested in Social media marketing. I'm just not interested in going that in depth to spend days on it to do what I could figure out with a Google search! But it did get me to work on my twitter account, open a bitly account, get on Linked in and Klout and Hootsuite and explain the concepts which is a good background to know. I just don't like using the programs they want us to use. Big Data is a bit intrusive and scary...I just want to sell a corn husk craft book later! I'm one of those people that believe things will come to you when you want or need them. Don't need to push it, so much as let it be found. 

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Anyway, I use all kinds of things to dye shucks: Kool-aid, food coloring, cold water dyes, rit dye, natural dyes. The brownish black above was accomplished using black walnut husks.  What ever I have on hand. It's been so damp and humid, I was having a time after they were dyed, getting them to dry for storage on the dining room table.  Outside we kept having the "monsoons" every day so the ground was damp and the wind would pick up and then die down. Laying them out on the ground on black plastic usually works on a hot day....IF the wind is not blowing. I finally resorted and used the old pickup truck bed as a drying rack. THAT worked beautifully.  Hillbilly ingenuity.

I always use salt as a mordant. Think of dying Easter eggs, it is the same concept. So here are some pictures of that process and a flyer for the Mercer County Heritage festival. I'm going and will be demonstrating as long as I can hold out. I start getting veritgoey or washed out I will have to quit...but I think I'm in better shape this year than last. Last year I was VERY sick and I hope I hold up much better this year. 

BUT, I NEVER KNOW! Like I've said before, I can tell myself, "I'm going to do such and such today!" And my body replies, "HA! YOU WISH!"  Such is the life of chronic illness.  But it's always a good day.....I WOKE UP!!! Just have to roll with it. 

Took 3 days to dry these on the table.

Purple UNSWEETENED Kool-aid with salt as a mordant

Taking over the sink for a couple of days!

I use mason jars filled with water for weights.

Setting overnight.

BEST IDEA all year. Black Truck bed liner with sides, didn't blow away and dried in one afternoon.

End of POST. Blessing all and back to this CRAZY class. I'm so far behind.

Jenny Wiley - The DNA Way

So much going on in my world. Old Blog is suffering.  My son is very ill. His illness is as weird as mine and wondering if it might be environmental. Asking for prayers as he is much too young for this to be hindering him in life. It's taking many doctor's visits to sort out. He hasn't beat my record of eight doctors yet but getting there. My man Ed has also had his brush with hospitals and doctors. That's kept us busy.

Then my FAVORITE website, Native Heritage Project, that includes Eastern Native American history research, posted a link to my blog about my Jenny Wiley posts. Link to the article click here. That made my week!! I've spent hours reading the posts on that website. For anyone interested in the uncovering of records, stories, DNA on so many different tribes that existed in the East it is the most valuable website for the information being compiled on one site.

My Ed hears so much about Jenny Wiley from this obsessed woman. While in Ceres I took a picture
and he had this sign he made, "Ginny Wiley slept here!" Such a kidder!!

The Native Heritage Project post is an awesome post!! Roberta goes into detail about DNA requirements in the Jenny Wiley research in proving the connections between the families claiming Native heritage!!! I'm sending that link on to anyone in the groups that are working on researching the Jenny Wiley saga. I expect in the next few years the true story of Jenny Wiley will come to light.  I am excited about that!

One I have in the bottom of my box
Not the best example but I keep giving away all the good ones.

I also ventured out. I volunteered some time to show corn husk doll making for Ceres Day in Ceres, Virginia. Many of my ancestors were from around Ceres. I haven't demonstrated in over 3 years since this illness hit me full force. I learned a bit about this illness and myself. Was a bit scary. My hands gave out and just quit working on me. When you are use to just doing what needs to be done and your body quits...just quits working...it's unnerving!! I had to stop when I didn't want to and was very frustrated with the unreliability of my body.

As a matter of fact that is the most depressing, aggravating thing that pisses me off about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ ME.  Does not matter what you think in your mind you can do, it does not work that way over your body with this illness. That is why it is alarming and scary.  I've always believed in mind over matter. My mind says, "We will do this today". My body says, "You wish!" Things you want to do, family outings, projects all suffer because of this illness.  I am unreliable to myself, much less to others and don't want to be.

But still it was a good day. I learned I will have to rest more, compensate more and just do what I can do. When the old body quits, so do I. Thankful I was volunteering and not being paid for the service as they would not have got their money's worth!!  I came home and crashed for 5 hours. The fatigue of Chronic Fatigue.

I took pictures at the last of the event. Sorry I don't have pictures of any of my demonstration. I am looking into making a video with various corn husk projects. I was introduced to this craft when I was very young. My great grandmother and my mother giving us something to do by playing with corn husks after shucking corn. Over the years I've developed to make hats, mats, baskets, dolls and bags out of the material.  By making a video I can share what I've learned and only have to demonstrate it once. If the old hands quit you can turn off the video and start it back up after a long rest.

That's a plan for the future.....something to look forward to. Hope all is well in everyone's world.

Appalachian Bag Ladies - Dolls

Trying to be useful with this illness is trying beyond words. Trying to remain active. Keep my mind active and fight this illness is a full time job.  I have not the stamina nor the strength of what I used to but that doesn't mean I don't try to at least function on some level. Takes me forever to do what I once did quickly. Some days the old hands won't work. Some days it takes FOREVER to remember how to do things. The brain fog is truly a fog.

Bless my family. They do so much for me. My son and daughter take care of me in so many ways. Without my son I'd have no internet and he is my chauffer, the person that keeps me from burning the house down, forgetting things, on bad days so many things, making sure I'm ok.  They really come through especially when house taxes, insurance and the anniversary month for the electric are all coming due.

But it hurts me to see them struggling to take care of me. I rack my brain on how to help myself. I still have knowledge on how to do things. If I take my time, and have time to take, I can do things.  Wishing I would be strong enough to do a full time job again doesn't make it so. In my shape I would not hire me. But still I have hope that one day I will be well enough to function on a greater level because Lord knows, as anyone who became disabled and tries to live on disability does, I miss my job and my JOB MONEY!!

So what to do? Is there a way I can help them help me? I used to be quite a craft person. LOVE crafts. My son in law brought some corn grown from his parent's garden the other week for Sunday dinner. It was very good sweet corn.  I kept the corn shucks. I left them in a pan on the porch to dry.

I used to be known as the Corn shuck lady at Crab Orchard museum. I would take corn husks and demonstrate how to make different crafts with them. You can make dolls, hats, mats, bags, brooms all kinds of things out of just corn husks.

My goal was to make a doll or two and give them to my son to sell. They don't sell for much but it was a way to keep me occupied and anything is better than nothing.  Well that idea went the way of the wind, literally. I had a bad week and forgot the husks were on the porch. First the outside kitties made a bed out of them and then a good windy day blew them away through the yard.  Sigh!!!


I was telling my beloved partner Ed about it. (For those of you curious about that, we are an older couple with two separate houses. Works for us!!) He has watched me make these dolls. He said, "Doesn't it look like plastic grocery or garbage bags have the same consistency of wet corn husks? He asked me, "Do you think you could make a doll out of plastic bags?"

Wow, I thought that's recycling on a different scale. I took that suggestion, dug through the grocery bags and tried it. Took me about a week. I really notice the old brain drawbacks and muscle differences when I work on crafts. I used to make 6 or 7 dolls in a demonstration in an afternoon! It is so strange believe me. I get tired easily. BUT I DID IT!!! Really the pictures don't do them justice. Since it is before Halloween, I made a flying witch and the other just a doll with a broom. These two dolls are made like corn husk dolls but out of plastic grocery/garbage bags, string, little bit of tape, wood and some linen waxed thread. 

Both are made to hang up somewhere. The witch does fly, though I wouldn't leave her in a really stiff wind outside. Rather I would hang the witch over a table display like on a ceiling light fixture or by the door so that when you open or close the door she moves. Being light she flies pretty well. The little yellow dress doll will stand up. Some folks like to hang corn husk dolls on trees and I was trying to add something for her to do that. You can't tie it around her waist she is a bit top heavy. So there is a thin thread around her neck, that does not show too badly. This can be cut to just have her set on a table. I was going to put a rope but then it looked like a noose!! That's too morbid for me. We took a little video of them hanging on a tree in the back yard.  See video below.

I then gave them to my son to sell in his store on eBay. I think it's sort of crazy but then they sell some crazy stuff on eBay. I watched on a show where they sold a green pepper that looked like it had a face..... for $155? I don't understand buying some thing that would rot like that much less paying that much for it!! But each to his own. At least these dolls are made out of plastic bags and they say plastic bags have a life in the ground of 100 years.

Also Ed was sitting on the porch the other day and made a primitive wooden fish hook necklace. He carved and heated the wood into shape and made a corded necklace rope. He gave that to my son to sell for the cause. He's so sweet.

Appalachian crafters have a history of taking whatever is available and making something out of it. It's in our blood!
They sold very quickly. Need, I reckon to one day make a few more.

What to Post on a Blog?

As I see this the world has much in common but Appalachian people definitely have their own take or view of it. We are said to be "funny turned" referring to creating a spindle or leg of wood on a lathe that doesn't quite fit with the other legs of a chair. Good enough analogy. I just realized this endeavor is going to be some work to it. This is not as easy as I thought it might be. But it will be interesting.

I will try to focus on one subject at a time but life crosses over and it's amazing what you learn while doing something else. Maybe it would be best to create an outline and see what works and what doesn't. Might sit down tonight and tell a couple of the old scary stories I remember (if I can remember them) that grand daddy Burress told sitting under his hickory tree since it's Halloween this weekend.

Later this weekend I will start with a craft. How about good ol' Corn husk dolls? It's fall. Then maybe the Civil War since I'm trying to unravel this story of a grandfather that is pretty tragic. Then how about an article on old versus new Appalachia? This high speed is awesome though we did not get access to it until last Fall.