The Lady's Thoughts

There are several things of which I have always been fond. These include, but are not limited to, in no particular order, aesthetics, writing, reading, history, art, music, cats... I never thought I would meet someone who would also enjoy all of those things, but here we are. Actually, my husband's knowledge base makes me feel like a casual dabbler in some--ok, many--of these things. Nonetheless, we are still able to bring unique skills and experiences to the table in our shared interests.

As you likely read on "The Beginnings," my husband's childhood Christmas tree always included a train going 'round the bottom. While my family did possess a train set, it was rarely touched, as if my father (who, surely, must've had interest at some point, as the train set was his) lost interest after having two daughters and no sons. Indeed, my sister and I were more interested in dolls, stuffed animals, and the like. There's a lovely picture of me coloring with my new art set, looking at the camera as if the photographer was interrupting me. So, though my parents took me and my sister to the Strasburg Railroad at least once when we were small, trains weren't nearly as large a part of my life as they were for my husband.

Still, I find myself gaining interest in the hobby. Partly, it is because of how excited my husband gets when we work together on anything, but especially when we work together on something he has always loved. Perhaps at least one other part is because it feeds into my love of aesthetics, particularly given that we have set our layout in 1910. "Titanic" premiered when I was about eight years old and I was allowed to watch, racy scenes and all. I realize that the actual ship was only under construction in 1910, but the fashion would not have changed much between 1910 and 1912, for the fateful maiden voyage. Don't get me wrong, I love the convenience of modern clothes, but there's still part of me hoping that high Edwardian fashion will come back in style. Everything was so much more genteel, so much more delicate, so much more ornate...it almost makes me nostalgic, longing for a time I will never truly know, rather merely attempt to emulate.

In addition to aesthetics, our mutual love of art will be vital to the construction of our layout. My husband is brilliant at painting models, so he will be painting many of our cars, as necessary. In high school, I worked on set construction for our school's musicals and am hoping to draw upon that experience (though the show in question was now about half my lifetime ago---good Heavens!) in creating a background for our layout. Combining our strengths should yield fantastic results!

So, what about the other things I mentioned? I imagine the tie to writing in self-evident, as I would not be writing this if I did not enjoy the activity itself. There is also a lot of reading involved in the making of this project. Not only do I have to read up on things related to trains and model railroading, but I also read and reread the content of this site for editing purposes, including the countless times I had to read the mockumentary, even after making my small contributions to the story itself. My husband is already poring over several pieces of music, trying to find one that is "just right" for us to use in our videos. He knows more about songs that would be period-appropriate, but kindly asks my opinion as well so we are both involved in some way. I have a very loving and thoughtful husband. As for cats, who knows? Maybe we'll hide at least one on our layout! It's amazing what they make in HO scale these days.

With all that being said, stay tuned for updates! We may have very limited funds and space at the moment, but we definitely hope to gradually build the collection and legend surrounding Pocomtuc Creek. One other thing I can say about my husband and myself, we tend not to do things half-heartedly. We will work to bring you quality content within all applicable constraints. We genuinely look forward to having you along for the ride.