3rd Annual Valentines At The Ballantyne

Good afternoon my dears,

A few weekends ago we had our 3rd annual Valentine's high tea at the Ballantyne. We go to the Ballantyne every month or so, so we know recognize a lot of the staff, and they recognize us. I guess that's the benefit of living in one town for three years. It was delightful, as always.

Then, on Valentine's Day we went for dinner at Brio's, at the Piedmont Town Center. I had a delicious chicken and sweet potato risotto, and we shared tiramisu for dessert. Afterwards, we went to Pier One and Kirklands to peek at the Spring décor. It was a lovely evening.

We've just come back from visiting hubby's family in Texas, so I'll update my blog, and you soon.

Have a blessed week,

~ Kiki Nakita ~

You can follow me on Instagram, Pinterest or Bloglovin'.

The Thawley Family (9 Generations)

Good morning my dears,

Today, I wanted to document the findings of the Thawley family. 9 generations of my maternal grandmother's line.

Thawley, (Thorley) is an ancient Norman name meaning 'clearing in a thorn wood' that arrived to England after the Norman conquest of 1066.

Thorley's church, which is dedicated to St James the Great, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, dates from the 13th century. From 1594 to 1610, the rector was Francis Burley, one of the forty-seven translators of the King James Bible, which was first published on May 2nd, 1611.

Our ancestors, the Thawley's attended Thorley Church and had the rector Francis Burley preach to them. By the 1700's they were settled in Staffordshire, a county about two hours north of Herefordshire.

St. James Church, Thorley, Herefordshire

Our line of the Thawley family goes back to the year 1715. Introducing:

William Thawley

b. Abt 1715  d. Unknown

 married for unknown years to

Anne

 b. Abt 1720 d. Unknown

(8th great-grandparents)

Places lived: Staffordshire, England

William Thawley

b. 1739  d. Unknown

 married for unknown years on May 20th, 1754 to 

Elizabeth Green

 b. May 21st, 1732  d. Unknown

(7th great-grandparents)

Places lived: Brewood and Walsall, Staffordshire, England

St. Matthews Parish Church, where Elizabeth Green was baptized.

Joseph Thawley

b. 1757 d. Unknown

 married for unknown years on October 3rd, 1779 at St. Mary's Church to 

Margaret Saunders

 b. 1757  d. Unknown

(6th great-grandparents)

Places lived: Walsall, Hints and Weeford Staffordshire, England

James Thawley

b. 1786  d. December, 1863

 married for fifty-one years November 5th, 1812 at Polesworth Parish to

Mary Lunn

 b. 1792 d. March 1871

(5th great-grandparents)

Places lived: Measham, Derbyshire, England
Polesworth, Warwickshire, England
Kingsbury, Staffordshire, England

1841 Census

William Thawley

b. 1814 d. 1863

 married for twenty-eight years on March 2nd, 1835 to 

Susanna Allcot

 b. 1814  d. 1887

(4th great-grandparents)

Places lived: Dosthill, Warwickshire, England
Wilnecote, Warwickshire, England
Tamworth, Staffordshire, England

1851 Census

William Thawley

b. July 1838 d. March 6th, 1918

 married for fifty-one years in April 1867 to 

Mary Ann Pallett

 b. April 1846 d. September 1922

(3rd great-grandparents)

Places lived: Wilnecote, Warwickshire, England
Tamworth, Staffordshire, England
Bolehall and Glascote, Warwickshire, England
Okehampton, Staffordshire, England

Mary Ann Pallett, birth index 1846

Mary Ann Pallett, 1851 Census

Mary Ann Pallett, 1861 Census

William and Mary Thawley, 1871 Census

William and Mary Thawley, 1891 Census

William and Mary Thawley, 1901 Census

William and Mary Thawley, 1911 Census

Arthur Thawley

b. July 19th, 1872  d. 1943

 married for thirty-five years on June 7th, 1897 to 

Ada Elizabeth Walters

 b. October 1876 d. June 1932

(2nd great-grandparents)

Places lived: Tamworth, Staffordshire, England
Wilncote and Castle Liberis, Staffordshire, England

Ada Elizabeth Walters, baptism record, October, 1876

Arthur and Ada Thawley, 1911 Census

William Thawley

b. December 27th, 1905  d. October 7th, 1980

 married for forty-nine years on December 27th, 1930 to 

Daisy Baker

 b. August 22nd, 1911  d. August 11th, 1984

(great-grandparents)

Places lived: Wilnecote, Belgrave, Kettering, Tamworth, Staffordshire, England.

To William, Daisy was the girl-next-door. They attended the same schools, and were married after Daisy graduated high-school. 

William was a creative, and a potter for the Staffordshire Pottery. Daisy was a homemaker, and took in tailoring as an extra income. Together, they had two daughters, my Nana Mabel in 1931, and Barbara in 1934.

 William Thawley, my maternal great-grandfather

Mabel (my maternal Nana), Daisy (my maternal great-grandmother), and my uncle John.

Ernest Thawley (William's brother), Hilda Thawley (Ernest's wife), and William Thawley, my maternal great-grandfather

Mabel Thawley

b. May 27th, 1931  d. August 17th, 2009

 married for fifty-four years on December 12th, 1954 to 

Michael Idris Bird

 b. July 14th, 1934 d. March 2009

(grandparents)

Places lived: Tamworth, Staffordshire, England
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England

My maternal grandparents, Nana Mabel and Granddad Michael's wedding day.

~ Kiki Nakita ~

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Updated February 2019.

German Food Like My Granny Used To Make

Good afternoon my dears,

This past weekend, we revisited a local German Restaurant called Waldhorn. We ordered off their appetizer menu, and shared the platters. The first appetizer was an array of sausages; hotdog, Polish, and bratwurst served with sauerkraut.

The second appetizer was German potato pancakes served with applesauce. My paternal Granny used to make homemade German potato pancakes, and she taught my mum, who used to make them when I was growing up.

So, I looked for a recipe on Pinterest, and found this old newspaper clipping from Thursday, March 6th, 1958. The pin added this note:

"No need to soak the potatoes. Grate with onion, stir, top with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of flour and let them sit 1-2 hours. Stir and then fry (be sure the oil is really hot)."

I'll have to try it sometime!

For dessert, we shared a slice of Black Forest Cake. Back in 2001, when I was fifteen, I went on my first trip to Germany, and one of the places we visited was the Black Forest.

While there, we stopped at this cabin-style restaurant where they served generous helpings of Black Forest cake, and gateau. During dessert, I  shared stories about my trip with my Hubby, hoping someday we'll go together.

Before I go, I wanted to share some blooms from our garden. Our holly bushes have red berries for the first time since we moved here, although, I don't know what we've done differently.

And lastly, our daffodils have also started to bloom in our forest. They're one of my favorite flowers, all sunshiny, and a promise that Spring is on its way.

Happy February,

~ Kiki Nakita ~

You can follow me on Instagram, Pinterest or Bloglovin'.