I have committed to getting family stories written this year and am using prompts from a variety of websites to get started. They all seem to suggest starting with ‘your’ story so here goes. I am publishing this ‘stream of consciousness’ rambling in the hope that I can convince others to write about their life story as well. I’m hoping that my relatives from the various families of my tree will take up the challenge and forward their story for...

Glen Tay Saw Mill Compiled by Diane Miller Duncan, 2017. To readers of this blog: I am primarily writing from a ‘story’ perspective. For primary sources check out David Taylor’s paper listed below. If you can add more info to any of my posts please contact me. The Glen Tay Sawmill was located north of the Tay River adjacent to the dam. Logs could no doubt have been floated across the river from the wood yard where it would be...

Capt. Joshua Adams – The Glen Tay Oat and Grist Mills Compiled by Diane Miller Duncan, 2017 The original saw and grist mills at Adamsville are believed to have been built by Abraham Parsall, an early settler, on the north side of the Tay River, Bathurst Concession 2 Lot 20 E1/2. When Parsall died in 1820, Joshua Adams was willed the property and assumed operation of the existing Glen Tay grist mill and saw mill. He did not get clear title...

A week or so ago the Fibre Optics Group experimented with some novel ways for dyeing silk scarves. I love the results! Dyeing with Bleeding Tissue Have you discovered how to use bleeding tissue paper to colour some scarves? I did and love the results. I used the ‘cool’ colour package that has a variety of blues and greens with purple blue as the really dark colour. Experimenting with different ways to use the tissue and to fold the...

Last winter and spring I was laid low with a series of viruses followed by a bout with pneumonia. Let me just say that my art required too much energy and wasn’t on the agenda!  Being a person who can’t sit still without doing ‘something’ I decided that although the only way to control the cough was to sit still, I could tackle the second of my life goal and could sit at the computer to update the family genealogy and...

Bear with me. There is a bit of 2017 introspection here… Looking Back to 2016 As 2016 wound down I found myself restless, rudderless in my art. For some time I’ve been wanting to branch out, expand into new ventures, try new techniques and perhaps define a new style of work. I have stuck a toe in the water here and there but nothing has super-charged my engines! It is one of the first years in some time that I have not picked my...

I’m trying to pull all the bits together as we coast towards the end of 2016. We are in the middle of a deep freeze here in Calgary and I am being a wimp! If I don’t have to go out, I don’t! The ground is white, the weather forecasts are full of warnings and the accident count is high. One of the joys of being in ‘retirement’ mode is not ‘having to do’ a lot of things! Go Away Flu! I still have the...

During a summer of ‘arting’ while hubby was away, I turned the main rooms of the condo into my studio.When he returned we left for a month of travel with a couple of major show deadlines hanging over my head. Need I describe my past month? On my return I needed to prepare for my first-time-ever participation in an artisan show. The Contextural show in mid-November required me to create items that would mainly be in the range of...

This is just an advance peek at what is happening in the studio. I’m battling a flu bug at the moment so haven’t taken the ‘official’ exhibition photos for submission to the Fibre Art Network (FAN) ‘Botanical Reflections’ exhibition and sale to open at Van Dusen Gardens in Vancouver on 27 January 2017. These were quick shots taken with my tablet under low light conditions after I completed the framing this...

Introducing Thomas and Sarah Poole Thomas Poole and his wife Sarah Duffield raised a family of ten children in Lanark County, Drummond Township, Concession 4 Lot 6 (near Wayside). Thomas and Sarah are buried in the Elmwood Cemetery, Perth, ON. Sarah (c. 1803) died in March 1877, Thomas(c. 1797) in January 1888,  both after living long lives. John B. Poole, a son, was my 2Greatgrandfather. Thomas and Sarah were married January 1827 in the...