Vintage Family Fun!

Clarence & Clara DeChaine circa 1911

Melvina Rondo Forcier and Mary Elizabeth "Bessie" Forcier McAllister

Melvina Rondo Forcier and "her girls"

Melvina Rondo Forcier and Mary Elizabeth "Bessie" Forcier McAllister


These are some of my relatives that I've spent the past few months researching. I received the photos from a distant Forcier relative in Washington state. So excited to see these and thought I'd share.

The top photo is my grandmother Clara DeChaine and her twin brother Clarence. They were born in Brainerd, MN. My great-grandmother had sent a photo to her family in Washington.

The other photos are of my great-great-grandmother Melvina Rondo/Rondeau who was born in February 1850 in Vermont. The story is that she was a nurse and lost one of her legs during the Civil War in Vermont. She married Damase "Thomas" Forcier in 1866 in Vermont. They moved to Sauk Centre, MN in 1870. They eventually had 10 living children over a span of 25 years! The family moved to Seattle/White Center, WA in 1889.
At some point they moved to Redmond, Washington and were pioneers in that area.

I'd love to hear from anyone who is related to this line of Forcier's!
I'm a descendant of the Forcier, Peterson, Olson, DeChaine, Marineau and Paulson lines from the Brainerd, Minnesota area also.

My entire family tree is on Ancestry.com under Bergh/Peterson.

Penelope The Beagle

A few months ago my daughter Kristina moved from a house that she shared with roommates into a small studio apartment in Portland.
Her boyfriend had bought her a cute Beagle pup for her birthday the year before.
Long story-short: She couldn't take Penny to live with her.

Well, somehow we ended up with Penny even though I really didn't want another dog at the time. I have a hard time saying no to my kids!
It's been good times ever since and I say that with the utmost sarcasm!
Penny is a bit of a trial.
She's cute to look at but I never knew all the trouble an innocent looking dog could get into!

Despite promises of her being trained to potty outdoors.......she isn't......even when the back door is left wide open for that purpose.
But she is getting better.....we're working on it!

Since Penny went into heat for the first time she has taken to humping my loveseat cushions! Totally unacceptable and really....kind of gross too.
The worst part is......if you aren't careful....she drags them outside to do her dirty deed!
Much stuffing has been found! It looks like it snowed!
I think I'm going to buy her a large stuffed animal to be her new "friend".
Since Kristina likes to sew....I have a repair job for her!
You owe me, girl!

See that recliner she's laying on in the photo? Chewed up the arm rests on that!
Yes.....good times....good times!
Our back yard will look like a bomb blew up if we don't keep a close eye on her.
She likes to chew on things, dig holes, drag things around the yard, etc.
My cute yard flags were shredded within minutes of hanging them up.....yes, I should have known better!

I've often thought of finding her a new home but Kristina loves to see her when she visits and now my son Daniel is attached to her and so is our dog Daisy and well.....she IS cute.

Just not sure how much more I can take!

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Summertime and the Livin' is BUSY!

Nye Beach, Newport, Oregon

I really meant to keep up with this blog but I've been so busy with so many different things over the past month!

I've been to the beach....
I went camping....
I've been on the boat at the lake....
Went to my nephews high school graduation....
I went to 2 parades....
Spent the night in Portland at the Hotel Lucia.....
Had more BBQ's than I can count.....
Made lots of jewelry findings.....
Went to a rummage sale and found something incredible.....
Changed the focus of one of my etsy shops....
Walked in the Relay For Life Marathon as a Cancer Survivor.....
Spent lots of time with family....

It has been almost a year since I quit my full time job. I'm just now starting to feel the freedom in having done that. At first I was afraid it was the wrong thing for me to do. I thought my fears were correct when my husband was laid off around Christmas time and only working half of his normal hours. Yes, that was a struggle but we came out of it fine. I'm happy to say he is back at work full-time (he loves his job!).

My goal now is to work harder on my business and put more time and effort into making it more successful. I'm going to keep spending more time with family and doing the things that make me happy! Things are looking up!