NORTHEN NEWS
A forum for members of the Northen family to share news, experiences, ideas and opinions.
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Family Members in U. S. History (4): War of 1812
Saturday, March 12, 2022
Northen Family Collage
The Northen News blog was originally created to share stories, information, pictures and other things of interest about the family almost seventeen years ago. A few things have changed since then, mostly family members. The collage below is one I created recently out of my obsession for turning collages into jigsaw puzzles that I work. It gives a fairly up-to-date picture of my immediate family – parents, siblings, children and their spouses, and grandchildren.
Anyone who can identify all 29 portraits deserves to be an honorary Northen family member – blood relative or not. (It is also kind of fun to see if you can recall where some of the pictures were taken.)
Sunday, March 06, 2022
Family Blogs - 3
This is the final post in my “mini-series” about the Northen family blogs. I want to sample the remaining four blogs, those that were not mentioned in the last post. Maura Northen Augelli describes some of the comments to avoid making when talking to friends with mood disorders. . Maura Madden Northen looks at how women are often reluctant to seek financial planners. Michael Northen describes a colonial ancestor who was sued by his wife for divorce. Maya Augelli Northen describes yoga as physical surrender.
Maya Northen Augelli – from Lilies and Elephants
“The Most Frustrating Things People Say To Someone With a Mood Disorder”It's no secret that there's a huge stigma surrounding mental health. I've blogged before about the myths of mood cycling conditions, and even some of the positives I've gleaned from mine, but I thought I'd address some of the other statements and negativity we get dealt with on a regular basis, just for being ourselves
- "You're way too emotional.
"I've actually been admonished for "being a baby" for tears that people didn't understand. Yes, I'm probably more emotional than a lot of people. But I'm not a baby. I'm not weak. I'm not spoiled. I have a big heart. I feel things greatly, deeply. It means if you were in trouble, I'd feel it so greatly I'd move mountains to help you. It means I also feel joy and excitement greatly too. Is that such a bad thing? - "You're unrealistic/delusional."
Mood cyclers have expansive brains. They stretch to extremes. They're often incredibly creative, imaginative, visionary. Did you know that Beethoven, Van Gogh, and Picasso are all said to have had (or were actually diagnosed with) Bipolar Disorder? Just because our dreams and brains stretch a bit further into areas some can't understand, just because our paths aren't always the same as yours, doesn't make us unrealistic or delusional. It may well mean we reach heights or discover paths others don't think to go.
(Continue reading about negative statements people with mood disorders deal with at http://liliesandelephants.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-most-frustrating-things-people-say.html)
**Maura Northen Madden – from Women + Money = Power
“Traditional Financial Planning Has Overlooked Women”
Within the traditional sphere of personal finance, which has its foundation in patriarchy, women are often ignored. When women are acknowledged it is as a target market. In industry publications you will see plenty of articles stating that more money is moving into the hands of women, followed by instructing on how advisors and planners can appeal to these female potential clients. There is frequent conversation on the financial planning topics viewed as “female”: Longer life expediencies, challenges of being a caregiver, the wage gap. It is necessary to recognize the differing financial needs of women. Unfortunately, that is usually where the conversation ends. Rarely is there any discussion of how to best provide service to women. Rather, the focus seems to be on how to manipulate women into behaving like men. (Sound familiar? I’m guessing that more than a few readers have experienced this in employment, education, consumerism, and many other areas of life.) I believe that this is where feminist financial planning can step in and actually address the needs of women through communication methods, relationship building, and topics of discussion.
((To see what feminist financial planning has to offer see https://mauramadden.com/feminist-financial-planning/)
**Michael Northen – from Northen History
“William Northen”
In doing research on the Northen family, most of the material that I run across are lists of names and dates, but occasionally something colorful comes along that shows what some of our ancestors were really like. That is the case with William Northen and his wife Abigail Minty. William was born in 1719. He and Abigail were married sometime between 1738 and 1742 and lived in Richmond County, Virginia. He was active in politics, voting for members of the Virginia’s House of Burgesses. He was also occasionally summoned to court, though much less so than his father. In 1753 he was made surveyor of the road from Clark’s Run to Totusky Bridge and Red Mill. This was just at the time when a younger George Washington was finishing up his stint as a surveyor, so it was a job that was accorded some respect. He also seems to have been acquiring property in addition to what he inherited from his mother and his wife’s family because on October 20, 1766 he is granted “a Certain tract of waist and ungranted land” in Richmond County. The will of another resident of Richmond County also gave William and his heirs unlimited fishing rights on his property. Then, In 1775 (one year before the Declaration of Independence), Abigail sued her husband. What happened? Apparently William posted a note on the courthouse door saying that he was selling four or five hundred acres of land long with all of his cattle, household goods and eleven slaves. Abigail went to court to stop him. Why would she want to do that? Well, they had seventeen children and he had not supported them in any material way for the past two years. Abigail claims he had not even given her linen to make clothes for the kids.
(To read about how the situation turns out for William, Abigail and their descendents continue at https://northenhistory.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/william-northen/)
**Maya Northen Augelli – from Maya Augelli Blog
“Surrendering Into What Serves Me Best”
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of surrender. Not surrender in terms of giving up but more in terms of an allowing, a letting go of some of the things we hold onto so tightly that it holds us back, a sinking into what serves us instead of resisting it. Last week I taught a Yin/Vin Pop-Up class, and I felt this surrender in a physical way. In Yin Yoga, we hold poses for significantly longer - usually somewhere between one to five minutes. When you’re holding a pose, say a hip opener like Pigeon/Sleeping Swan or Frog, the body’s natural tendency, or at least mine, is tense up so that you don’t sink into anything that feels uncomfortable. Sometimes, we even do this without realizing we’re doing so. But when you do this, you’re just holding tension in your body, which ultimately doesn’t feel better and often takes more energy and effort than just letting yourself surrender into the pose. If you do allow yourself to release the tension and to sink in naturally (surrender of this nature is not forced), you’ll find that once you get past the initial moments of discomfort, it actually begins to feel better. Additionally, in this practice we used props when needed/desired, which allowed us to sink in while still being supported. It wasn’t a “free for all” of forcing ourselves past what made sense in our bodies in that moment. We simply sank in, surrendered into the props or the mat or our bodies instead of actively resisting, which may sound easy enough, but can feel quite difficult in practice. (Caveat - of course if you have an injury or other reason to not go into a pose or variation, definitely listen to your body!).
(Much more can be read about yoga can be at https://maya-augelli.com/blog/2020/9/25/surrendering-into-what-serves-me-best)
In to the blogs excerpted above, the blog that are reading now Northen News has many stories, poems or anecdotes from and about family members. Just click on the links to the side to explore them.
Sunday, February 27, 2022
Family Blogs - Part 2
In my last post, I described the nine blogs that my daughters and I had initiated over the past decade or so, giving links to each of them with a brief description. As I also mentioned, I want to continue giving a feel for how these blogs read by sampling each of them. Since, excluding the one you are reading now, there are eight blogs, I am going to split this sampling in two, posting four here and four in a future post.
As I post the first four, I’m delighted by the diversity that these blogs portray. Maura Northen Madden writes about her first experience with chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Melissa Northen Cotter describes what it is like for first time parents to try camping with an infant. Maya Northen Augelli describes a trip as well but this one to Zimbabwe. Michael Northen (yours truly) tells about attending a reading by the late poet and playwright David Simpson.
Maura Northen Madden – from Staying (mostly) Upbeat
“First Treatment”
I had my first Chemotherapy treatment and my first Radiation treatment yesterday. All in all, it went pretty smoothly. The radiation will take a bit longer on Mondays because there is extra “positioning” and doctor reviews at the beginning of the week. The radiation seems like it will be a cinch. I just change my pants (no zippers allowed), lay on the table, wait 5-10 minutes, change back to my street clothes and head on my merry way.
The radiation seems like it will be a bit more time-consuming. Fortunately, I only need to get hooked up on Mondays. I have to get blood tests then sit there and wait for the tests to come back. Then they give the order to mix my special concoction in the pharmacy. I wait for a while for that to arrive. Then the nurse hooks me up and I am on my merry way.
So far, the worst thing is the bulk of the fanny pack. Plus, I cannot shower while I have it, so sponge baths only Monday through Friday. I am well aware that these are small inconveniences and that I am fortunate for all these marvels of modern medicine. But, it still does not mean I cannot be a bit grumpy about lugging this pack around (with greasy hair) for the next five weeks.
Fortunately, the Oncologist does not expect that I will have too many side effects from the Chemo. I have pills for nausea on standby, but have not yet had to use them. She anticipates that my hair will get brittle and thin, but will not fall out. I hope that she is right about that. I guess I just have to wait and see what comes next…
(To find out what does come next check back in at the blog home page https://mauraupdates.wordpress.com/2013/06/)
***
Melissa Cotter Northen– from Swell Notes
“Fourth of July Camping”
Yesterday,
we dusted off our gear to prepare for our first family camping trip in 2 years.
We love to camp. It is sad to think that it has been this long
since our last trip. Okay, that isn't quite accurate. My husband
and I love to camp, my children love to eat marshmallows. This is why we
have not been camping in 2 years.
When Amelia was 6 months old, we took her camping.
We packed and planned as we always did.
- 1 two person tent, two sleeping bags
- 2 vizsla dogs
- minimal clothes
- hiking gear
- small camp stove
- compact food
- random survival essentails
Of course, we added in Amelia's clothes, diapers,
a few small toys, an infant carrier and bedding. It sounded so simple.
The baby would enjoy the fresh air, sleeping close to her parents and
watching the dogs frolic around the campsite. The reality didn't follow
the dream. The baby cried. No, not cried, she screamed. She
screamed in the car. She screamed while we unloaded and set up, she
screamed while we (tag team) ate. At home, my salvation had always been
taking Amelia for a walk. So, around nap time, we strapped her in to our
Kelty carrier and set off for a hike. She screamed for 3 miles until we
gave up and turned around. She finally fell asleep about a mile from our
site. This was not camping.
Two years and one child later, we went on a group
family camping trip (maybe some of you were there with us?). Having
giving up the notion that we were authentic campers anymore, we came prepared.
We brought everything listed above and...
(The saga continues at http://swellnotes.blogspot.com/2011/07/forth-of-july-camping.html)
***
Maya Northen Augelli – from Chimera Travel Blog,
“Why I Went to Zimbabwe”
My most recent blogs have featured destinations that most others aren’t – either destinations I’ve visited, or want to, that I feel are worth sharing with others. Last year, I went to southern Africa for 16 days and I couldn’t pass up the chance to go to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Victoria Falls can be seen from both Zambia and Zimbabwe. Given the fact that Zimbabwe’s currency has fallen to the point that it’s no longer accepted even in it’s own country, and that the nation has suffered more than its share of political turmoil, most people would opt to see the Falls via Zambia.
My family, however, decided to go to Zimbabwe. Why chance it? First, I feel one has to separate the country’s politics and domestic turmoil with the way they treat foreigners. I’ve been given this respect when traveling to countries that didn’t like American politics and I like to do the same for others. Despite all of the hardship Zimbabwe has undergone, there had not, at least near the time that we were traveling, been an issue with trouble or violence towards visitors. We suspected, and were proven correct, that the locals loved having us there. After all, for a country whose currency is no longer legitimate, having Americans spending their comparatively strong currency must make them ecstatic (it did)!
(There was much more to Zimbabwe. Read about it at http://chimera-travel.com/blog/2010/09/22/why-i-went-to-zimbabwe/)
***
Michael Northen – from Dispoet
“David Simpson: The Way Love Comes to Me”
It is rare to come away from a book launch somehow feeling a little bit better about humanity, but that was my experience last night attending the first public outing for David Simpson’s collection of poetry, The Way Love Comes to Me. Those who know Dave Simpson’s work – which is probably most people likely to be reading this - know that he and his twin brother Dan, both poets and musicians, were born blind. Several years ago they combined their work to produce a CD called, straightforwardly enough, Audio Chapbook, but the volume being shown off last night was Dave’s first published print book of poetry.
Dave sat at a table in the front of the room, flanked on either side by poets Molly Peacock and Ona Gritz whose combined efforts had helped to see Dave’s book come to life through Mutual Muse Press. The line forming to have Dave sign books stretched back to the entrance of the room in Avianna restaurant where the event was held. Though the room was humming with activity, Dave knew just about every person who came up to have a book signed and told Ona what he wanted written down for each person as she signed the books for him. Dan, who was serving as emcee for the evening announced, after several attempts to break through all the conversation of the writers, musicians and lifelong friends, that Dave would be reading for twenty minutes or so at about 7:30. Dan himself was surrounded by people who came up to ask him about his own upcoming book.
(See more about David Simpson’s reading at http://dispoet.blogspot.com/2014/10/david-simpson-way-love-comes-to-me.html )
In the next post, I will bring in excerpts from the remaining four blogs.
Sunday, February 20, 2022
Family Blogs
For a family like mine that enjoys expressing themselves in writing, the first decade or two of the twentieth century has been a time of great opportunity. With the invention of Blogger in 1999, blogs provided an opportunity for individuals to put their own work out to the public without it having to be run through a gated gauntlet of publishers. Blogs were an invitation to families like mine to take hold of the issues that were important to them and put their thoughts out in a format that allowed them to express themselves without interruption but also allowed for comments and observations by others.
My three daughters – Maura, Melissa, Maya – and I have all taken a substantial stab at making use of blogs. Together, we have produced nine separate blogs. Some were time-limited, some (such a s this one) have essentially met their demise, but a few are still going strong. Taken together, we have covered quite a bit of territory. Before a new upgrade or transformation in computers makes all of this work inaccessible, I want to take a few minutes to list and describe the work we have done with the hopes that it might pique or rekindle interest. I’ll take a chronological approach, providing the name of the blog and blogger, the dates that frame it, the link to the blog home page, and a brief description.
Michael Northen – Dispoet (3/05-2/21) https://dispoet.blogspot.com/ This blog was established to promote the work of disabled poets. It describes the work of individual poets, promotes some of the activities in which they were involved and recommends work for interested readers to take a look at.
Michael Northen – Northen News ( 5/05-5-21) https://northen.blogspot.com/ When this blog was created, I envisioned it as a communal space where family members could post stories or information about their families or, basically, anything they thought might interest other family members. I chose family members to be blog facilitators. Initially it seemed to work and others like my sister Judi, brother Ed and daughter Melissa all contribute posts about the family, but interest waned and I ended up being the sole contributor.
Maya Northen Augelli – Chimera
Travel Blog,( 8/9-9/12) http://chimera-travel.com/blog/2009/08/
. This travel blog was launched in connection with Chimera Travel, Maya's
personalized travel business. It gave
useful information for potential travelers but also described places that Maya
herself had traveled with the intention of interesting others. A brief follow up to this blog is continued at Travel Luxe (2018) https://mytraveluxe.
Melissa Cotter Northen– Swell Notes (/6/11-7/12) http://swellnotes.blogspot.com Often tongue-in-cheek, Swell Notes explores the vicissitudes of being a “stay at home Mom” in the early twenty-first century, attempting to balance child rearing and creativity through a wide range of topics.
Maya Northen Augelli – Lilies and Elephants (8-11- Present) http://liliesandelephants.blogspot.com/ After being diagnosed with cyclothymia, Maya began advocating for mental health. In these posts she tries to support others with mood disorders through an exploration of her own experiences.
Maura Northen Madden – Staying (mostly) Upbeat ( 6/13-5/14) https://mauraupdates.wordpress.com/ Maura began this blog when she was diagnosed with cancer. It follows her through the year of her surgery and the beginning of her recovery describing not only the medical experience but the social, cultural and emotional ramifications.
Michael Northen – Northen History (11-2013-Present) https://northenhistory.wordpress.com/ As the family’s default genealogist, I was interested in getting out information about the history of the Northen and Wilkins branches of the family for family members to read and comment on.
Maura Madden Northen Blog – Women + Money = Power 5/21-Present) https://mauramadden.com/blog/ In May 2021 Maura launched her new business as a feminist financial planner. This blog works to counter male-dominated financial advice by empowering women to take charge of their own financial decision-making by providing them with the tools, knowledge and encouragement they need.
Maya Augelli Northen – Blog (6/20- Present) https://maya-augelli.com/blog . This blog accompanies Maya’s professional website putting a personal face on her various roles as a yoga & wellness instructor, health advocate, travel planner and writer by integrating them in relating her own experiences.
Clearly, these blogs represent a diverse number of topics, interests and styles. It is my hope that other family members will find their interest whetted enough to browse them. I think you will also agree that the three women whose blogs are represented here are all excellent writers. If there is interest, I am hoping to make further posts on this site sampling a few of the more thought provoking or entertaining blogs.
Monday, October 12, 2020
2020 Family Puzzle
Every year for almost the past decade, I have made collages that capture either a family vacation or events that occurred during the year. I often have these made into jigsaw puzzles that I enjoy working, for the activity itself and also because as I work the puzzle, it bring back the memory of the people and places involved.
As everyone knows, 2020 has been (and continues to be) quite a bizarre year. There has been little chance for in person contact with other family members. As a result, the puzzle is less a collage than an arrangement of disparate events. Rather than overlapping pictures, I have set them in isolation against a background that represents the planned trip to Arizona that we had to cancel. In addition, just to try to make it more interesting, each picture in some way connects to at least one other picture in some thematic way. I did have to fudge some and pull in some pictures from 2019 as well, and, of course, a couple are considerably older.
Here’s the picture that the puzzle is based on - 1014 pieces.