Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Normally butterflies is more beautiful on the other side of the wings. But this one is it on the outside.


They have just showed a series of programs that is called ”Who do You think You are?”. It´s all about genealogy. Famous people gets a chanse to know where their familys comes from. Now they are showing the Brittish original. Today it´s the famous writer/ aktor Stephen Fry.










Both me and my oldest brother have been wondering if we should do the same with our family. It´s quite easy to go far back in history here in Sweden. The churches has hold records of us since they came to this country. But it will take a lot of time and we are both rather lazy. Some I already know. I don´t know who my fathers father was, no one does. My fathers mother refused to say who he was. But all my grandparents came from the county Blekinge in sothern Sweden. A part of our country that once belonged to Denmark.



Geranium pyrenaicum. If You have sandy soil like I does, never put this in Your garden! It spreads enormously. Nowdays my neighbours have it and it has started to spread in to the forest too. Beautiful but devilish.

I also know that, on my mothers side, that my grandmothers grandmother came from abroad. No one really wants to say anything about her. Some say that she was hungarian, some that she and her family came from India and that my grandmothers grandfather brought her and her family with him home when he was a sailor. My grandmother on the other hand said something completely different.

Common Solomon's seal just about to open its flowers.


I loved my grandmother more than anything and I never heard her tell a lie in all the time when I grew up. One day she told us that her grandmother indeed came from abroad, but she was neither hungarian or indian. She was in fact a gypsie (or Roma as we should say now). I can´t for my life belive that this was something my grandmother just said. Even today many people look down on gypsies and only twenty years ago it was even worse. I think that it´s great that I possibly is a sixteenth part gypsie :-) So I usually talks alot about it with relatives that wouldn´t be especially happy about it :-)

Stylophorum diphyllum (Celandine poppy). maybe You that live in north eastern US have this in Your neighbourhood? I have it in my garden :-)



Looking on old pictures of my grandmother and her siblings, as young, I would say that she was right. But still today we don´t even know my grandmothers grandmothers name. So I think that when summer and vacation comes I´ll have to start looking back in history. There are pages on the internet that helps a lot and one can ofcourse get help from an organization that does this. But until knowing for sure this partly danish/gypsie sweed says by and have a great day now!

Wild gooseberries out in the forest.

10 comments:

jaz@octoberfarm said...

that would be so cool if you had gypsy blood. just like the movie "chocolate"! joyce

Anonymous said...

When I first saw your picture I guessed "Gypsy" then I thought, well may be he's from Bronx . . . I love those flowers today Christer. The Solomon Seal is gorgeous. Would they grow here in Florida? I would plant an entire bed of them if I knew they would survive. We have five days of rain in the forecast and it's a bit cold today, 67 degrees which is cold for us. The winds off the ocean will increase to 25 mph so it will be an evening to stay home out of the bad weather. You have a great day!

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi joyce!
I think so too! Great movie by the way. So I think I´ll have to look back in history this summer.
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

:-) :-) :-)
Hi Z&M!
I don´t think we even reached 67today :-)
I know that the Solomons seal grows in sothern England, so I actully think that it can grow in Florida. It spread slowly by it self by its roots.

We are getting thunderstoorms here tonight and most of the day tomorrow. Good thing I woun´t be blogging tomorrow since I probably can´´t use my computor then.
Christer.

jaz@octoberfarm said...

i have a similar circumstance. my family is dead so i have no one to ask about my history. in america immigrants just wanted to be americans. so, they did not talk about their past easily. the big "melting pot" melted away a lot of people's pasts. i would not even begin to know where to start searching for my past. hey, i noticed you like the movie "fried green tomatoes"? hmmm.....have i watched that at least 50 times? shhhhh...a bit embarrassing! hehe!!! send me some rain!! i am watering all the time.

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Christer, you should look up your History. I have a lot of mine already given to me by my mother...but I think sometimes things get a wee changed by our folks too.
I would hope future generations are curious about me. I am terrible about leaving notes or keeping a journal..but everyone should. I wish someone in my past had done that...how wonderful to know who you came from.
You are living in a wonderland of beauty...and it just gets better and better as the Spring gets in full swing..I love watching it all unfold.
Mona

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi joyce!
One can´t se that movie to much :-)
It´s really great!

In The US I think that the easiest way to start searching for ones past is to kontact the Mormons in Utah! I think that they for instance have all notes fro the churches in Sweden. Ask them if they can help You if Your interested.

Have a great day now!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Mona!
Yes, I belive that history changes a bit to the better for every passed generation :-) I´m useless in keeping journal too. I did so for a long time, but it sort of died out.

Now it´s really getting beautiful here. It´s so big differenns from winter to spring so we really notises it here :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.

Anonymous said...

Wow a gypsy do you have a golden earring or can you play the violin I heard these are the tests to see.hahaha
No I shouldn't laugh Alice is deeply into genealogy and has traced our roots deeply into the past. My line is into Scotland and hers into France.But no gypsy probably thats why I can't dance. Good blog and as always nice flowers.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

:-) :-) :-)
Hi Woody!
If it´s up to dancing and violinplaying there´s no gypsieblood in me at all :-):-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.