Vanchella Vagabonds

  This is the story of discovering the family of Giuseppe Ciacchella's mother, Giuseppa Moschitto. Giuseppe Ciacchella is John's paternal grandfather.  Photo from Giuseppe's naturalization papers and wedding photo As an outsider of the family, Giuseppe always appeared to be some kind of mystery to me. No one seemed to know much about him, aside from his birth and death dates. When I first started working on John's / Emily's genealogy, I received a little bit of oral history from one of John's older cousins, Frank. He told me the story of how Giuseppe and Benedetta met in Utica, New York. He also told me the background of how the Ciacchellas were connected to his grandparents (his mother and John's father are siblings; his father is the son of Agostino, a good friend of Giuseppe's). According to the oral history, Agostino and Giuseppe worked together at Ford Motor (around 1918). After the Depression (presumably their jobs were no more), they decided to go...

Living the al fresco life  We're been back to 'city living' in April and May with our latest tiny house being located in downtown Santa Barbara. It's fun being close to all of the action, many things in walking distance, as well as to have had a bit of a break on cost (as Santa Barbara standards go!). For that, we've had to forgo a kitchen.  At about 260 sq. ft., this studio falls within the definition of a tiny house, even with the additional 108 sq. ft. of patio space. High ceilings and the outdoor space contribute to a larger, more spacious feeling. With the lovely Santa Barbara weather, we're able to sit outside, as well as eat outside, on most days. When it is a little chilly, we just bring the little cafe table inside. The bed is very comfortable and the chair so-so. We have a folding camp chair for an additional seat when inside. The unit could be improved by having a love seat rather than a chair and / or a Murphy bed with either a dining table or sofa. ...