Posts about both sides of my family
The geographical history of Europe often blows my mind. Areas, regions and even entire countries are seemingly juggled between various governments, with borders being drawn and redrawn at will. Both sides of my family have been impacted by the geographical history of the land which is now known as Latvia.
Although I gave away and threw out many of the things my parents collected, such as a large pile of magazines, unopened newspapers, recipe books and empty margarine containers, I kept my mother’s stamp collection, even though I have no idea what to do with it. It appears that, as
From the moment I could read and throughout most of my younger years I was a bookworm. I read all day and at night I would hide under the covers and read by torchlight. Books accompanied me everywhere – they sat next to my cereal at breakfast and I would
Unlike Ivnia, the estate owned by my maternal side of the family, which I wrote about here, Nurmhusen, the estate owned by my father’s family, has had quite the positive change in fortune. I’ve written previously about Nurmhusen here. Since my last visit in 2017, the estate has seen major
Millions died in Soviet Gulags during their time of operation from 1918 – 1953. Luckily my great uncle was not one of them. I have written previously about finding letters and documents concerning my great aunt, her husband and their daughter. However, I was interested to know more about my
Mental fragility – it can happen to anyone and is often triggered by traumatic events. Last week I wrote about my grandmother’s grief and depression, which gave me food for thought – perhaps she had always suffered from mental fragility? I thought I would explore this idea. I know my