Bartender of the Month

18 March 2009
Laura with a bottle of St. Germain at the bar at Mambu

That’s right, Laura’s bartender of the month!  So, head on over to Mambu on Hayes Street here in Nashville so she can mix up a masterpiece for you :)

  Personal Read More


More Major Updates to the Family Archives

14 March 2009

Today I went ahead and made another major update to the family archives.  I organized, labelled, tagged, and uploaded 90 images from the 1930s-1940s.  Almost all of the images come from the Ekwall Family.  It looks like there are a few pictures of Louis and Velma’s place in Michigan, and a couple pictures of one or more of their children.  Also, there are several images of Ken and Fran from what appears to be a series of dates they may have taken together.  There are two particular images (which I will feature below) that I just love.  I hope you love them too.

Click below to go directly to the archive in Flickr.  Enjoy!

  Family History Read More


Major Updates to the Family Archives

13 March 2009

It’s been quite a long time since my last blog entry, and a lot has happened. First and foremost, I’ve made some pretty serious headway with the family archives. I’ve been scanning, documenting, archiving, and uploading hundreds of new pictures. I’ve got new pictures from both the Spencer and the Ekwall sides of the family. My primary focus has been on items from the 1870s through the 1920s. Also, I’ve decided to make all of the documented images visible to the general public. If you want to comment, you’ll still need to log in to your Flickr account. But, if you want to browse the collection you can do so without logging in. Also, in order to more easily find what’s new, I’ve added a set in Flickr called “Family History - RECENT ADDITIONS.” Anything new will go in this set and stay there for a week or so.

I’ve also updated the family tree. I’ll have to re-export the tree and re-upload it to my site. I’ll talk more about that in a future blog post.

For now, head on over to Flickr and check out the most recent uploads to the family archives. Enjoy!

  Family History Read More


Happy Birthday, Dorothy!

06 January 2009

Dorothy Harding Spencer (my great grandmother) was born 115 years ago today - January 6, 1894.  Happy Birthday, Dorothy!

  Family History Read More


A Splendid Reception

21 December 2008

A Splendid Reception

Today Laura and I were the guests of honor at our very own wedding reception. As you may or may not know, we eloped for our wedding. To celebrate the occasion my parents decided to throw a wedding reception in our honor. We had an amazing time. It was wonderful to see so many friendly faces and to celebrate with such good friends. Everyone did such an amazing job preparing for the big occasion and we are truly blessed to have them as a family. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you. We love you all so dearly and we certainly felt special today :) 

  Personal Read More


Once A Fan, Always A Fan :)

11 December 2008

Today I got an email from my father in law with a link to a video he made to accompany a song he wrote. I’ve always known him to be an incredible song-writer, and here’s another quality example of his writing. Here’s what Ken has to say about the song:

“i just finished this song i started back in 2001 - it’s my “imagine” - i love life - i love peace - spread it around and give someone a hug that’s different than you - happy holidays and peace on earth - ken”

Enjoy :)

Kudos to Ken, Drew, Jeannie, and Lori for the video :)

  Personal Read More


A Road Trip Through Time

09 December 2008

Laura and I celebrated Thanksgiving in Colorado this year. Our plan was to fly to Denver and then drive my Supra back to Nashville - another 1,200 mile road trip for the year 2008. This year shall be known as the year of the road trip. When we first embarked on the return trip I had no ambitions to unearth family history. However, once we pulled into Topeka for our first night on the road, it occurred to me that Emil and Ella Ekwall had mentioned several places in Kansas in their courtship letters. So, without hesitation, I logged on to the computer at the Super 8 to find my Google Map of the Emil and Ella letters. I quickly had an itinerary of places to visit in Topeka, Leavenworth, and Kansas City. To see the Google Map I created, click here. I took a total of 11 spherical photographs in the three cities we visited (Topeka, Leavenworth, and Kansas City). Each location is specifically referenced in the Emil and Ella letters. Here’s a sample of the photos:

Spherical Photograph at the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas

Spherical Photograph at the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas

Spherical Photograph at the Corner of Delaware Street and 3rd Street in Leavenworth, Kansas

Spherical Photograph at the Corner of Delaware Street and 3rd Street in Leavenworth, Kansas

Spherical Photograph of the Union Train Station in Kansas City, Missouri

Spherical Photograph of the Union Train Station in Kansas City, Missouri

Spherical Photograph of the Union Train Station in Kansas City, Missouri

  Family History Read More


Adam Working in His Yard ...

26 November 2008

Owning a home is a lot of work. Lately, my obsession has been maintaining the yard. All of the leaves have fallen off the trees and have filled our yard and our gutters with the remains of Autumn. I tried my best to rake and rake and rake, but finally had to throw in the towel and buy a leaf blower. I had no idea it could be so much fun, as I spent five hours blowing and blowing and blowing the leaves away. Upon hearing of my leaf blower adventures my mom spotted this comic in the paper and thought of me.  This is Laurie’s vision of her son in the yard.

  Personal Read More


Wedding Pictures

11 November 2008

On October 16 of this year Laura and I got married. We had been planning and preparing for quite some time, yet still managed to elope. 16 is a special number for the two of us. Our first date was on August 16. We officially declared ourselves a couple on September 16. So it seemed appropriate to us that we get married on October 16. For a long time we planned on getting married in New York, and for me I thought it would be a lovely seal after having met and fallen in love in New York. However, after moving to Tennessee and settling in to our new house, it seemed best and most wonderful to start our new life here with our marriage. The day was beautiful, Laura was stunning, and the start of our new life together felt amazing. Here’s a glimpse into our elopement.

  Personal Read More


Update To The Family Archives - The 1910s

11 November 2008

Today I finished scanning every single negative I have from the 1910s! I’m really excited about the progress, as it means we now have a complete decade of early film negatives online and ready for viewing. There are, of course, many more images out there, but this is a really big head start, in my opinion. And, I’m sure we’ll find more pictures from the 1910s as work on the family archives continues.

I added a total of 11 images today. Here’s a quick glance at today’s additions:

  Family History Read More