"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! January 15th-17th, 2021 [closed]

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CHANGE TO BEST ANSWER PROCESS:  After much discussion we have come to the conclusion that all answers in the Weekend Chat are of equal importance and weight.  So we are going to discontinue the Best Answer portion as it adds points and then takes them away from posters and is causing some hurt feelings.  So in the interest of everyone is equal and valued we will delete any best answers given which will deduct those points because it has been pointed out that to give everyone best answer is also not a viable option. 

Weekend Chat is for everyone. It's a place to catch up on what people are up to and to share what you've been doing.  New members can say hello, introduce themselves, ask questions, and meet each other.  Our seasoned members can share progress or successes from their projects, give tips and advice, or chime in on hot topics.

Post as many answers and comments as you wish. It doesn't hurt anyone to post a lot and enjoy the multitude of topics.

Enjoy yourselves and spread the love!

Comments

Welcome to another Weekend Chat, everyone! And greetings from Cathey’s Creek where the skies have been relatively clear this week with nighttime temps in the 20s and in the 40s during the day.

On the Home Front: We had our elder daughter here this week for three days (woohoo!!). She is transitioning to a new job that will, over time, give her better benefits. She is developing a new EMT program at the local vocational-ed high school, and needing some expert advice, she droved up here to sit with my wife hours each day on getting prepped. She starts next week.

Arriving this weekend are my step-sister and her husband from Atlanta. We truly enjoy having them visit here (they’ll be staying at Dad’s). As far apart as we are politically, the four of us realize that there is one thing that rules over all: love.

On the Genealogy Front: I took Susan Smith’s suggestion to look at my watchlist and revisit profiles that had not been edited in forever (embarrassingly). I picked one to work on, my grandfather’s aunt Mary Ellen Underwood and her husband, Felix Thomas Beaty.

My grandmother’s mother was a Beaty, but when I asked her how Uncle Felix was related, she responded, “Oh, he was a South Carolina Beaty.” My grandmother did this regularly for people whose ancestry or relationship to her she didn’t know. South Carolina got lost of blame for all of those. I made that connection between Uncle Felix to Grandma’s Beaty ancestors long after she died.

On a sad note (and I knew it was coming), as I was working on my aunt’s and uncle’s descendants, I resisted getting to one particular one, but finally decided to forge ahead and create a profile for my third cousin, Richard Leon Beaty. Rick was born just a couple of months before me, and though I had heard of him, I didn’t meet him until we both entered college in the fall of 1976.

We immediately became extremely close friends. Even after he transferred to another college in 1978, we saw each other regularly. The last time I saw him was the day before he moved to Nevada about 1999, and then we lost touch. Some time shortly thereafter, he moved back to where we grew up. He died of AIDS related complications on 4 January 2005, and it was several years before I found this out. I was crushed, partly because I had not done my duty to keep up with him, mostly for the loss of someone who had a special place in my heart.

Working on his profile was very difficult, not for lack of sources; there were only two, an obituary and his FindAGrave memorial. It was emotionally wrenching. I did not have a good night’s sleep after finishing his profile, lying in bed, depressed as hell, thinking about how rich our relationship was at an earlier time in our lives, and kicking myself for not having kept in touch.

May I gently suggest that if there is someone still living who made a significant contribution to your life, make that phone call.

And… love your fellow WikiTreers.

Enjoy the Chat!

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That is a nice profile of your cousin, Pip. =( So sad to hear about what happened. But, good work on that profile and the other stuff. Keep it up, buddy! And here's hoping things go well for your daughter!

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Thanks, my friend!

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No problem! =D

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There is a person, not a relative someone who used to be a very good friend, I have never been sure what happened somehow I became a person described as 'intolerably bad mannered and rude'. I asked many times what I had done and the only response was 'you know what you did' and 6 years later I still have no idea.

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Hey Pipster, I am very sorry to hear about your cousin, Rick. We all have these experiences and while it is small comfort, we can still hold a personal ritual for the loss of a loved one. You cannot, or should not at any rate, kick yourself. Perhaps a share memory on his profile from you might soften the two-death related sources. What you have already written on his profile is actually a beautiful tribute to his life.

I posted a Covid death on my chat today and it is not unlike what you describe with Rick. My daughter, in particular, has been devastated hearing of the death of this beloved classmate.  She (and we) are very much in a situation like your cousin Rick. And to add to your loss and our loss is the loss we have all experienced with the concern for our Republic last week and this week. I can only send healing light for this next week and the future for all. And you are correct, we must love one another. Hugs!

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Sounds like you need a great big hug, so here's one! {{{{{Pip}}}}}

My cousin Jeannie was five days older than me, and we were besties while growing up though our families didn't live close. After marriage and children, we didn't speak as often (we still lived very far away), but I really looked forward to family reunions when we could catch up. She suffered a small stroke before she turned 60 and was gone before 65. I haven't tried to do a profile for her - don't think I have it in me! I truly empathize!

Thanks for hosting!

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Thanks, Carol. Much appreciated.

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Diane, the hardest profiles I’ve had to do are hose who have gone before that I knew. Some of them I have done little to, but I need to (unless I can get other relatives involved).

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I'm sorry about your cousin, Pip. I, too, have regrets about not keeping in touch with people whom I liked, respected, and enjoyed being around, but not doing anything about it until it was too late. I really must get into the habit of calling or emailing one person per day, just to keep in touch.

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M, your story about being told that you were 'intolerably bad-mannered and rude' reminds me of a scene from the movie War Games. One character has no social skills whatsoever, and another character says to him, "Remember you told me to tell you when you were acting rudely and insensitively? Remember that? You're doing it right now." That scene has haunted me ever since, because I'm pretty sure that, like the nerd in that scene, I am constantly annoying the people around me and completely oblivious as to how or why.

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Greg several years later, I thought I might have a reason, I was the organiser of a community event, the person asked to attend, during the event I needed to attend to some organisational details and therefore was not able to spend every minute with the person. It did not occur to me at the time that this person would be upset, I did ask if this was the issue and was told ' you know what you did' so I still don't know. And reluctantly have decided that I will never really know and it still upsets me.

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One of the hardest and best things I've done to stay "solid", M. Ross, is to "Let Go." It isn't easy but it is a personal discipline that doesn't include any judgment on myself or on the other person. I don't let anyone else involved know about it AND It also doesn't forgive myself for whatever ignoble act of mine might have occurred in that encounter. Perhaps most important, it doesn't put me in that "one-up" position of forgiving the other person, which is the worst possible place to inhabit at the end of a difficult situation.  Just a thought. Eventually a healing thought.

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Morning Pip and M., I lost  a good friendship (I thought it was) to that "if you don't know, I'm certainly not going to tell you, you insensitive, inconsiderate b*****d". After great thought and deep consideration, my response was "I've been called worse by better", and walked away.

Have a good rest of the weekend.

James

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Hello James! I am sorry about the friendship, but must congratulate you on an outstanding response! Cymryd gofal (I hope I'm writing 'Take care' in Welsh)! Carol

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Cymerwch ofal, there are many variations, but it's the  thought that counts, thank you Carol

James

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James...Diolch! Cymerwch ofal!

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Mae croeso mawr i chi, lechyd da, Carol. For the lessons, no charge, haha

James

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Rydych chi'n rhy garedig, James! Especially about the 'no charge.' I've forgotten so much of the iaith Gymraeg.

And not back to a task in Spanish! So much easier!

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Que tengas una beuna taede!

James

Answer 1

Hails and horns, friends, Romans and invited Wikipeeps!

This has been a crazy week on the genealogy front. Check this out. This week's 52 Ancestors post was about family legends https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2021/01/52-ancestors-week-2-family-legends.html

I already posted about some. So, I thought about talking about some legendary and probably no so healthy cooking from my grandma and her sisters. Good, quality stuff there. You guys are going to be hungry, I am sure. Check out the blog!

I'm currently on the team sprucing up the tree for genealogist CeCe Moore and I volunteered to work on the tree of Jennie Cole, her 2x great-grandmother. I've been doing the basics. I connect the main lines and I built it up and connected her to the world tree.

Along the way, I discovered I have a couple connections to CeCe which is amazing. Some of her lines go to colonial NH and that rang a few bells in my head. This site amazes me sometimes.

I'm still having a bit of trouble getting sources for Jennie's paternal grandparents. I'll try my best soon. I did collect four bounties so far just on that branch. I connected the tree up as far as I could. There's still more people to add. I will get to it when I have time. 

Not much is going on on the non genealogy front. Just working on my comic and getting ready for #genchat over on Twitter tonight. If you have the chance, please stop by. Hope to see ya there!

Have a great weekend!

Comments

“ I really think that anything can make anyone a legend. Small acts of kindness can have huge ramifications for someone. It doesn't have to be gigantic and world-saving. Little things like making food can be legendary because it brings people together. That's what breaking bread is all about..” Chris, I couldn’t have said it better myself! Right on target.

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Thanks! Anything can be legendary. I also had so many options for the blog's header. Went for the Avengers font because....why not? =D

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Appropriately! The Avengers rock!!

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Hey Chris, I just checked Jennie Cole and we are 20th cousins. Even Better, her ancestor was married to William Phelps and he and are are 6th cousins through MRCA William Phelps. My dad's line has a long Phelps history and we have a Phelps page on FB. The Y DNA has to be R-M269. I worked on CeCe's line that goes to Northumberland, England. Fun, huh?

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@ Pip: Yep. I wanted to do a tribute to the first Avengers logo seen here: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/84/Avengers-1.jpg/250px-Avengers-1.jpg

I can't find that font. So, I went with the more modern logo.

@ Carol: That is really cool. It has been fun. I've been doing the New England stuff and that's been great. =D

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Enjoyed reading your blog and, yes, it did set my mouth watering. Oh, my! My Mammaw's cooking was legendary and she passed the skill on to my Daddy. I am not so talented in the kitchen. I do have a few of my Mammaw's recipes, written in her own hand, she sent to me after I got married the first time. One was for lemon meringue pie. I tried following her directions, but the filling of my pie never set. I never tried again. Perhaps I should dig out that old recipe and give it another try. I know for sure, I should put scans of the recipes on her profile.

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I'm sure you are a decent cook. =D

As for me it was surprising to learn that Sandra had her grandma's recipe all this time and that I thought it was her mom who made the eggplant parm.

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Nelda, I'm sure your grandmother's pie recipe called for homemade cooked pie filling.  I remember, as a learning teenager, I made a pie for a 4-H dinner using instant pie filling.  When I went to get the pie from the refrigerator I had a soup on my hands.  My mother suggested I check the package, sure enough it was for cooked pie filling.  A box of
cookies filled my picnic basket and no one but the two of us knew, certainly not my three brothers.  The story of another under baked cake with almost a pint of frosting filling that center cavity, unfortunately, had a different ending.

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Beulah, yes, her filling is cooked from scratch. I've had many cooking snafus. One memorable one was when I made biscuits not knowing baking soda and baking powder were not the same thing. The irony is that I won the Betty Crocker award in high school and was a college graduate with a degree in science. I never took a home economics class, however, and I didn't pay enough attention to my Daddy when he was cooking. (My Mother was an adequate cook, but not a good cook.)

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Your mother and I sit in the same chair.  We always got a chuckle about my daughter's trip to Chicago for national 4-H.
We lived on a dairy farm and she entered the local county dairy princess contest.  She did not win but all of the girls were "embassadors".  She won her trip by accumulating points based on her participation in the dairy princess program that gave credit for crowds of 1000 or more observers of the parades she was in on the floats.  Guess who sponsored her trip?  COCA COLA

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Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom. Chris and Pip start planning shenanigans against the others of weeken...My bad wrong comic universe

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@Paul: First we'll take over a town using nothing but cyborg dinosaurs! COBRA!!! (Man, Dino Riders was a weird concept. Cool. But, weird.)

My great-grandmother, Clementina, had several recipes she gave to many of her grandkids. I think we have a few.

Oh and we used to have a Coke bottling plant in my town. Now it's an office park.

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I missed out on Dino Riders. It was just to weird for me. Yet I watched Centurions, and if course Thundarr The Barbarian. I believe his catch phrase was Demon Dogs! He was from a dystopian future where an age of magic reigned and technology was mostly lost.

Answer 2

Had a really ghastly week so we've done nothing interesting at all. Working on improving things.

However my project to get everyone in the family to leave something about 2020 has been interesting. People have talked about achievements, loneliness and confusion, just a couple of lines. Must ask some others. Of course just because it interests me doesn't mean it will interest posterity.

Comments

Sometimes, you just have to walk away and take a break, and sometimes other things just get in the way. Time for ourselves and others needs to be high on our list. (I need to remember this more often, C. I was reminded of this by a fellow WikiTreer these past couple of weeks.)

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Oh, I think "posterity" will want to know about how you and your family coped in 2020. I am always excited to find a letter or article in which someone to whom I was related coped during challenging times. I even enjoy reading about what they did during their ordinary lives. Hope things will improve for you soon!

Answer 3

Good morning all. I just had a wonderful laugh, my groceries were delivered. I had ordered Iceberg lettuce, I was charger for iceberg lettuce, but I received green cabbage. I called the store and the manager was very kind and offered to send a head of lettuce. I just laughed more and let her know that I had only called so that they could explain the difference between lettuce and cabbage to the person that  had filled the order. Now I need to find something to make with a head of cabbage.

For me it has been a frustrating week, I have been trying to break a wall that has stumped me for almost 10 years. My 2xgreat grandmother Sarah (Alford) Hamell. I thought I had a crack yesterday and spent most of the day chasing a will only to find it and realize it was not a relation. I am back at it this morning.

On the weather front, we are in a blizzard warning until at least 6pm today. We have received almost 6 inches of snow overnight. But right now it is 33F (1C) so am very happy to stay home and work on walls.

Comments

Deborah, my wife says this sounds like colcannon. She’s going to try your recipe today (or maybe me!).

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I hope you like it. It is a good way to repurpose St. Pat's leftovers as well, adding bits of the corned beef into the mix.

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Different from Colcannon. Colcannon is a freshly cooked dish, mashed or  with spring onions and cabbage.  It's soft and creamy.

When I was a child, bubble and squeak used the left overs. It was fried like a thick pancake in a pan, or as individual patties but the important bit is to leave it to get it brown with crispy crusts. You used dripping to fry it in. Everyone in the 1950s had a dripping pot with  all the drippings from roasts and bacon added, just occasionally clarified! I don't remember any meat in it but we often had it on Monday  with left over cold meat and pickles. (lots of potato, not much meat)

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Deborah, went out and bought what we needed to make your dish. I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks!

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I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

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You people are making me hungry

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Deborah, we loved it! Thanks for the idea. Very filling!

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Wonderful, happy that you enjoyed it.

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I see that her father was English I have come across that surname if you need help with where he may have originated in England.

I haven't had Bubble and Squeak for years. I remember my mother having dripping around as she grew up during the war.

Mine would not be the same as others don't like cabbage and we are vegetarians.

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Hilary, thank you for the offer and I may take you up on it.  First I need to figure out who her father was. I have had a few leads over the years, but so far everything I have been able to find does not tie to my Sarah.

Answer 4

This has been a very busy week with taking the week-long online Missouri class with SLIG (Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy).  The instructors were awesome and I learned so much! It will take me awhile to go through all the places they say to check for information.

I also helped with the AJ Jacobs tree challenge. I noticed that one of his great-grandfathers, Gerson Friedenheit, lived for a short time in St. Joseph, Missouri during the 1860s. I worked on this family and I was able to locate Gerson on a document that said he served in the Enrolled Missouri Militia for a couple of months.  I was also able to locate them on the 1860 census, even though the family was horribly indexed.  I will see what I can find for this week's tree.

Comments

Hooray for your contributions to the Al Jacob's tree! The online class sounds very interesting.

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Michelle, I should have taken that course. I regularly lose family once they get to Missouri!

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It is amazing how many resources are available online for Missouri.  The Missouri State Archives, Missouri State Historical Society, the private Missouri Historical Society, among others have digitized so many items and record sets.  Many are available via Missouri Digital Heritage https://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/ 

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Gerson Friedenheit was indexed as Geo Fredinlule, but I found him by looking for his wife and searching for someone born in Pennsylvania about 1840 and living in Buchanan County, Missouri in 1860, and there the family was.  Geo, Fany, Isaic, and Tany Fredinlule for Gerson, Fanny, Isaac, and Fanny Friedenheit. Success! It is amazing the rush you get when you are able to locate something you have trouble finding.

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Thanks, Michelle! I’ll check those out. I might be able to work on a lost family of Underwoods.

Answer 5

Hello, fellow WikiTreers! Happy Friday!

Here in north Georgia, the day started damp and cold, but now the sun is out and the sky is blue, but it's still on the coolish side--currently 43 degrees Fahrenheit and not expected to get much warmer.

Pip, before I forget, thank you for hosting Weekend Chat. I always look forward to reading about your week. I read the biography you did for your cousin. It is a nice tribute to him. I'm sorry he was stricken with such a horrible illness at such a relatively young age.

One of our family members who is National Guard has been sent to Washington, D.C. I hope you will pray with me for the safety of him and all the men and women who have been tasked with helping to keep the peace. I really hope and pray that there will be only calm and peace there and elsewhere in our nation in the coming week.

I finally was able to get our Covid-19 vaccine scheduled and we received the first of our two injections yesterday morning. Our arms are slightly sore. Yesterday afternoon I was extremely sleepy and chilly, but I'm not sure if that was due to the injection or not. We both feel fine today. With so many people in our area sick, we are going to voluntarily quarantine for the next six weeks--until two weeks after our second injection, only going out for necessary errands. Our hair stylist has it now, so that appointment which was scheduled for this coming week is cancelled. Our close friend who was in the hospital is home, but will be on oxygen indefinitely for breathing difficulties.

I made my 1000th contribution to WikiTree for the month of January just a few moments ago. I went over 25,000 contributions total this past week. One family I worked on this week was that of Elbert Lonnie Curenton. Elbert was a rural mail carrier. He and his wife Lillie Mae were the parents of six children, only two of whom made it to adulthood. Today would have been the birthday of one of the children who survived--Donald Adrian Curenton--so I will be working on improving his profile after I complete this message. I woke up really early this morning and have already updated the profile of another of my relatives who would have had a birthday today, Benjamin Earl Grimes. All of these are connected to the Hildreth side of my family which I just can't seem to get away from. Yesterday I did work on someone from my Gilchrist side--my Great-Aunt Jessie Mae Gilchrist Savell. I remember her because she didn't pass away until 1979. We visited her home from time-to-time when I was a little girl. Her father (my great-grandfather) lived with her in his latter years. My last conversation with Aunt Jessie was not a particularly happy one--she was upset with me because I had divorced my first husband and divorce, to her, was a sin (never mind the circumstances.) It was shortly after that conversation that Aunt Jessie died and we never got to repair our relationship. Nevertheless, I still love my Aunt Jessie.

On that melancholy note, I will close this epistle...

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

Comments

Hi Nelda, I will keep your family member and all National Guard and others in my positive healing intentions for this next week and the future.

Congrats on getting the first of your Covid shots! We are waiting (impatiently) for our shots to occur here in Arizona where we are in the lead with Covid. The roll out here seems to be haphazard. You take care!

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Congrats on your double achievement, Nelda! 1000 and 25,000 contributions. Well done!

Glad to see Georgia is tolling out the vaccine. We are still waiting for our first shots. I have no idea how long that will take.

You still love your Aunt Jessie, and that is what counts most of all.

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Thank you, Carol! I, too, hope you can get your immunizations soon. I see in the news how bad the infection rate is in your state.

Answer 6

Buenos dias from the Old Pueblo! It's 47F (8.3C) with clear skies at 8:30-ish am. The expected high today is 74F (23.3C). And we are still incarcerated in our homes as Arizona continues to lead in Covid.

Might as well get my really bad news right up front. A classmate of my daughter's from their Florida State University days died of Covid on January 8 in Nashville. He was 51 with no medical conditions. He left a wife and 12 y/o son. We are devastated because he was a sweetheart of a man. Covid really doesn't care if we're naughty or nice! My daughters is really saddened. Her birthday was on the 10th, she's back in the classroom and tasked with teaching and simultaneously staying safe. She wants to go to London and I am trying to save up to fly both of us there for 10 or so days after the pandemic gets under control to celebrate our freedom from the pandemic prison. I am referring to us as Prisoners 24601! (Let me know if any of you get this)

I got a chance to see my mum through video chat. She looked all happy to see me, smiling and telling me she hadn't seen me in forever. She had no clue as to who I was and garbled words like stringing unmatched beads believing she was talking in cogent sentences. My sister looks beyond haggard, yet is not ready to place mum in a home because Covid still rages. There is no medicine for Alzheimer's, only keep something to keep her calm so that she doesn't strike out, which happens with the disease.

On the up side, about a month or so ago, a newsgroup from our university had me do an interview via written answers with a woman from Spain who is a reporter for El Pais, a leading newspaper in Mexico. The topic was on sleep in the era of the pandemic. I was notified that it was published yesterday and it is a very fine article. Her questions were inciteful and crisp. Our university news team is very pleased with the outcome and I am happy for that.

Personally, I am also still reeling from the happenings at our nation's capitol last Wednesday. All of us do genealogy and many of us have Revolutionary War Patriot ancestors who fought and died for our Constitution. I thought of my 4X great grandfather, Pvt. Josiah Baldwin, who was at Fishkill, his brother uncle Capt. Isaac Baldwin, who died from wounds following Bunker Hill, and uncle Col. Jeduthan Baldwin, who constructed the armaments at Mount Independence across from Ft. Ticonderoga. They must be rolling in their graves. Two days ago, we made history again with a second scoop of impeachment.

From history to genealogy. I am still working on cleaning up the Fiske aisle. This is the family that had a couple of members with 3 to 5 profiles that needed merging. I'm almost done with them and really want to get back to Cornwall and work on my mum's line there. I also signed up to work on CeCe Moore's family. I edited some of her family in Canada adding photos and sources, then followed and built profiles for a line that goes back to Northumberland, England. I'll work on Jen Baldwin's line in two weeks. I'm curious to see if we share any Baldwins in MA and/or CT.

My sincere wishes for all to have a productive and healthy weekend. You all take care! Perhaps we'll have a virtual vacay this weekend chat???

Comments

Virtual vacation coming up!

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Just took my vacay! Thanks so much!

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Like you, I wonder sometimes what our ancestors would think of what is happening in our world today. I am so sorry for the loss of your daughter's classmate. So horrible what Covid-19 is doing to the world's population and to each of us individually. Too much sadness. I understand totally why your sister is reluctant to place your mother in a nursing home but I also understand how challenging it is to be her care-giver at home.

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Howdy neighbor! Hope your plans for London reach fruition just as I hope my plans to visit Ohio do. LOL

With all the chaos, my fourth great-granduncle General Rufus Putnam has been on my mind a lot. I was also reading a very pricey book about him (wasn't anything new in it, just a rehash from other old histories which are available for free!). Even back then, some men were so driven by power or greed, they did horrible things.

First, there's the men who comprised the Scioto speculators. Rufus and his veterans wanted to settle the Ohio land. The Scioto men only wanted money and swindled French settlers - selling land they did not own, but was owned by Rufus and the veterans!

Second, there's Thomas Jefferson who tallied his own vote into the White House. Even though there was a problem with the Georgia vote (how ironic!), he counted it for himself.

Don't think this is "new" history, as it does repeat itself.

Take care & stay healthy!

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You’ve had an up and down week, Carol, but I’m glad to see you still upbeat as usual. I know it’s was difficult to talk with your mom, as I remember trying to talk to my dad at the same stage of that cursed disease.

Congrats on the successful interview! You seem to remain on the forefront of educating people about sleep deprivation.

I’m looking forward to the virtual vacation, too. I need that get-away!

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24601? Is that an American thing? I don't get it

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A zip code, maybe?

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Two(2) travelers for (4) $601air fare?

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@Pip - well, if you think of prison as a zip code

@Jelena - definitely not an American thing - origins in France

@ Beulah - such a kidder and creating a new math

The CLUE is thinking of us each of us as Prisoners 24601. Although your comments are amusing, nope, nope and nope for each of you.

Prisoner 24601 was Jean Valjean in the musical Les Mis! Right now, we are all prisoners of the pandemic. And some, in the US at any rate, have been caught stealing bread (not money, real bread) because they have been out of work and food pantries are emptying quickly.

My sister and I went to NYC 3 years ago because I found out that my favorite Phantom (and the youngest ever to play Jean Valjean in London), John Owen Jones, a Welshman, would be finishing the musical on Broadway. I love him! He has the best voice ever! I saw him as the Phantom in 2011. I was first in line at the Stage Door at Les Mis. We spoke for about 10 minutes and got photos with him. I can look at the two of us while working at my computer. I still send him Starbucks gift cards wherever I travel (um...not so much this past year) and he always writes back. A truly nice person. I know that up until this past year he had also performed at the annual Eisteddfod. In the meanwhile, I play his CDs.

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Hi Nelda, thank you for the kind condolences for my daughter's classmate. So much sadness with this pandemic.

Answer 7

Hi from southern Ontario;

Weather not so good; above 0C mostly, but lots of cloud which makes it very dark in the mornings. Not too miserable to go walking, I saw a huge coyote on Sunday while out for a walk with a friend, she took this photo and said I could use it

Family history progress: I spent a whole day improving the profile of a military relative, Llewelyn Wyn Griffith, brother in law to my great aunt Hilda. This included searching many old newspapers, WW1 historical websites and military documents to fill out his biography. He was both a writer and a soldier. He served at the Somme where his younger brother Watcyn was killed, as an officer he blamed himself for his brother's death. 

He was awarded O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire), the French Croix de Guerre and had three mentions in dispatches.

He wrote many books including 'Up to Mametz' his memoir which is considered one of the classic World War 1 stories

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Griffith-8524

Other stuff: I started to add my son-in-law's Québec ancestors, the oldest family member was in Ile d'Orleans in 1661, and many of his descendants are already on WT, the connection to the currently living members is missing. At some point I will definitely need help from the Québec project. 

I found a great quote from Benjamin Franklin " “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” I think it applies perfectly to how WikiTree works. 

Another quote from very distant cousin " "Just as genealogy without sources is mythology, a family tree by itself is not history. Life stories and photos play a critical part in today’s genealogy." I agree with him. 

I'm still scanning old pictures and many have been emailed to relatives in England.

What else? The Ontario government has issued a 'Stay home' order which the police say is unenforceable. 

Vaccines are being airlifted to far north indigenous communities, most of which do not have year round road access, the only roads are ice roads in the winter, flying in the vaccines and medical staff is the only option and as the winter progresses the weather will become dangerous so it's being done as quickly as possible. 

Got an email this morning from one of my sisters, she is a retired public health nurse, she is going back to work fulltime as a Covid 19 case manager. She will not be on the front line; I think she will be organising plans for patients either for people who are not sick enough to be in hospital or plans for what happens after someone is discharged from hospital. 

And just to make life more complicated my older daughter has been diagnosed with a rather strange auto-immune disease and rheumatoid arthritis at age 42. 

And I thought this week had been relatively uneventful until I reread this before posting. 

Comments

HI M! I love his name and figured he was from Wales! Your profile for him is fantastic! Would he be considered a Notable? I think so! He has a Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llewelyn_Wyn_Griffith

My guess is that he is written up in a Canadian or British recognition journal as well. Let me know if you would like for me to add a Notable Sticker to his profile, or you can do it in his honor!

Love the coyote photo. We have lots of them here in Tucson, along with javalina, bobcats and even a puma. We don't have our cameras at the ready though1

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That photograph is awesome! Please tell your friend how wonderful I believe it is. She could win awards in a photography competition with it.

I like that Benjamin Franklin quote.

All the best for your daughter. Hope they are able to manage her illness successfully. She is so young to have this happen.

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M, I will hold positive healing intention for your daughter. These last couple of decades have seen unusual auto-immune disorders occurring particularly among women. I am curious. Just for the heck of it, if you don't mind, ask your daughter if she ever feels 'ill' (however she defines ill) from common odors like paint, gasoline fumes, carpet glue, perfumes/colognes and such.

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Thanks Carol, I will ask though I don't think she has ever been affected by odours or fumes. It is thought that auto-immune diseases have a genetic as well as environmental component, she has not ever worked in any sort of industrial setting.

My mother had a exceptionally unusual auto-immune disease 'cold agglutinin disease' it wasn't her COD but did make her life very complicated, especially living in a cold climate. Another of my mother's descendants has fibromyalgia.

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Nelda-my friend does win photography competitions, she is very technically competent, as well as having a good eye for the artistic aspects of a photo. I will tell her.

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M, funny that you should post this photo. This week, my brother in Arizona took a photo through a window in his home of a coyote trotting through his back yard.

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I added the Notables sticker for Llewelyn. Actually two of his siblings were also well known.

Does a notable have to have a Wikipedia entry. I am thinking that my dad's cousin, I wrote about him on last weekend chat is a very worth while person.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Page-12285

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We had a Llewelyn in my high school class.  He went by the nickname Bunny (because of his ears some one said) and
most people didn't know his real name, let alone how to spell it.

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Hi M,

Yes, a notable needs to have a Wikipedia page. Llewelyn definitely fits in this category. If you don't mind, I am going to review his profile and make sure that the viewer KNOWS why he received the notable sticker. You can check my work and make any revisions when done. I will send a private message. I will also check out his siblings.

Well done, you!

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Hi M,

Check Llewelyn. Also, please check with the England Team to find out about British resources that would provide biographies of 'notable' people in the UK. Wikipedia is one source; however, I do know that there are such biographies specific to UK notables that can be sourced.

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Hi Carol, His sister Dorothi (Doli) Mary Griffith was one of the first women barristers in England. I was contacted by a researcher from I think St Mary's University in Feb 2020, her thesis was/is about women barristers, I can provide you with the research she conducted about Dorothi.

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Hi M! I would be interested! I'll check with Scott to see if this might warrant a Notables.

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Okay! I will let you know when I hear from the researcher, her work is for a PhD.

M

Answer 8

Weather ... so far it's just been a goofy winter.  Wednesday was 60 degrees now we're back in the 40's.  Yesterday was wind ... 70-80 mph.  Reminds me of a visit with a waitress a few years back.  We go to Northern Wyoming where my wife grew up.  Usually stop in Wheatland for a late breakfast.  One time we were there when there were hurricanes in the South East.  The waitress, who was pretty old (60-70), said she didn't understand what all the fuss was about with the 80 mph winds ... "We get those kind of winds all the time!"  We just laughed ... and it's true ... they just don't always come with rain and ocean surge.

Got our first vaccine shots a couple weeks back.  Second one is due the first of February ... I see going out to dinner on the horizon!  My wife is also excited about going back to work.  She helps out at a local kitchen store a few days a month that's owned by a friend.  She's done that for 30 or 40 years.  To be safe, they have kept all of the older folks off the work list.  Ah, but now having been vaccinated she will start back again in March.

On the genealogy front ... the Jewett book is done.  I ran across another Jewett grave where my Jewett grandparents are buried in Puyallup, Washington.  So, I went back on Find A Grave until I came across a profile I'd already done and then used FAG to get names and dates and FamilySearch to get sources.  Still working on that little branch.  I may do that again to get more names to work on.  I do need to go back and review all those profiles I've done over the last few years as well.

Take care all ...

Comments

Well youse guys are getting out of the Covid Purgatory ala the grace of the vacine(s) ... blessed release it is

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Congratulations on completing the Jewett book! Wow, you had some dramatic weather this week. I'm hoping more and more of us are able to resume some normalcy soon now that vaccines are being administered. I know it will still take a while, but there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnerl.

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You finished the Jewett book!! Congrats to you, Bob. You’ve been working on that for some time. I’m impressed with your perseverance.

Answer 9

Virtual Vacation!

This week we're going to the beach! Not just any beach, the beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park, on the north shore of Lake Ontario east of Toronto. Why do I know so much about this park? We took kids camping at the park at least twice every year from 1986 -2011. 

The main beach is over 3km long, with very shallow water and a gentle drop off, the dunes are 7.5 km long. The sand is fine, the lake bottom is sand with no rocks or weeds in the water. The beaches are considered some of the best in Canada.  The dunes are the world’s largest freshwater, baymouth barrier dune formation.  

A view from the beach

Part of the beach

The open woodland behind the beach is carpeted in white trilliums in the spring

I took this picture after having walked out into the water far enough that the water was up to my shoulders while I held the camera up out of the water. It shows how shallow the water is and how great a place it is for small children, they get tired of walking out into the water before it gets too deep. 

The next 2 pictures are of the massive sand dunes slightly west of the main beach, many of them are over 100 feet tall some even higher.

Comments

YAY! Hi again M! I was just whining about hoping for a virtual vacay and here you are! Thank you so much. These photos are gorgeous. They're so crispy clear that I can almost hear the waves lapping along the beach and gulls screeching. Thank you so much!

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 MRoss I am guessing that the lake(s) are not situated in such a place that hurricanes can scour off the sand ? Some beaches on the Gulf Coast have suffered such striping 

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No, the last hurricane we had was 1954, Sandbanks is at the south end of a-not a peninsula-a land mass that protrudes south out about 50km from the north shore of Lake Ontario. 

Because it is a relatively small land area, the weather is often very different from the main lakeshore. We have often sat on the beach, watching lines of thunderstorms moving along the main lakeshore.

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Beautiful images! Thanks for sharing.

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Lovely photographs! Thank you for sharing! I grew up near Gulf beaches. I now live in the mountains and miss the coast (but not during hurricane season.)

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Makes me want to take a road trip! Thanks for the Virtual Vacation, M!

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Thank you M 

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MRoss I REALLY like the map, that made the day for me as a context for the pictures -- the waters you spoke of and seen in the pix seem to be well-sheltered from the ocean itself

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Susan, apologies in advance if you already know this. Geography lesson, the first map the one above is part of Lake Ontario, one of the Great lakes not the ocean.

 Lake Ontario is almost 200 miles long, Sandbanks Park is on the north shore, about 800 miles from the ocean.

On this map the park location is approximately where the red star is in the centre of the map, the ocean starts about where the red star is on the right side of the map.

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MRoss, wow, no I did NOT know, I'm one of millions of folk who are geographically challenged. We're also challenged in the Earth Sciences.

I am "familiar" with the coastal waters of the United States, Pacific, Atlantic, and the Gulf and the maps thereof that depict them so I see a large body of water, and some islands, and bingo, it's ocean / coast

Answer 10

THE WORLD   or  and I have not decided which -- but I am more or less prepared for another YEAR in purgatory (due to Covid) -- and Japan, bless their booties, are going ahead with the 2020 Olympics now renamed the 2021 Olympics, and are depending on the vaccine(s) to keep "everyone" safe ... or "safe" from Covid, anyway - they have a past, present, and future monetary investment in carrying on ... I read somewhere that no Olympics held in any country has been a financial win-win for any host nation at which point the article's author dragged out into the open etc ... I think the biggest problems I've heard of, other than mis-behavior of the competitors, is being over-budget and under-organized .. 

On the Home Front:  Weather this AM is FOGGY, good ole Tule Fog - we DO get an occasional respite from this AM fog and when we DO have a foggy morning it tends to be burned off by noon-ish 

Electric utility bill seems to have doubled so we are discussing what we will shut off during what hours ... 

Some of the Meals delivered have been Adventuous, like fish sticks and some other surprising meals ... I have figured it out, if I eat the veggies FIRST, that ensures I WILL eat the veggies. 

Not my "thing", I assure you, I've never in the whole of my life LIKED veggies unless they were in a soup, salad or a casserole ... and with the Meals, this ... well, the "soups" tend to be a veggie ... spinach puree is the favored offering, gah .. but if I smother any other veggie(s) in the sauce that the "meat" has been served in, .. I'll eat at least 80% to 90% and sometimes 100% ... We gave up using the veggies offered as part of a second meal soup .. not a "turn-on" for either of us 

There is the discipline of "eating what is set before you" and "eating what is healthy for you" and these are not Horrible Things, and yes, we are better nourished ... 

But there are days, when after peeling off the cellophane covering, that my heart sinks into my stomach and then my stomach wildly searches for the nearest exit because, ye gods, it's that d*mned spinach puree again !!!! 

"Remember the Alamo" does not sound right -- think it is more "Onward, mes enfants, onward"  -- don't recall what book or film that was in but the leader and his band were in dire straits ... might have been a scene from a battle ... BUT it certainly does describe my feelings at "mealtime" 

GENEALOGICALLY SPEAKING ... went to Contributions and set to view 500 per page, this included 15th Jan (current day not yet complete) back to 10th January ... 41 profiles Created, and 68 Added ... and I hooked some up to other PMs' works so I think that hooking up is included in the Adding ... 

Ah, Took a LONG horrified look at my Suggestions ... Computer hath gone berserk ... I am many things but I do not have the god-like powers it would require for me to CORRECT the ERRORS pertaining to Slow response of some website, the Timed Out of some website ... and other such .. not sure what word to use that will not get me into deep or so deep into whatever I can't get back out ... 

okay, well, anyway, I don't have those god-like powers and so I have taken to marking them False Suggestion  ... I mean, Seriously?? 

AND there were the usual blunders with the inline ref ... my goodness, if I could only produce that sort of chaos deliberately, on demand, some industries would pay me to do so .. 

I will say that for the lack of a < or a > or too many of them, the results can be quite impressive 

"For want of a horse the rider was lost. ... For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail." 

"For Want of a Nail" is a proverb, having numerous variations over several centuries, reminding [us] that seemingly unimportant acts or omissions can have grave and unforeseen consequences.

Comments

Spinach sauteed in olive oil with garlic

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No generator Susan, I do have a backup battery and solar panel but they are only used during blackouts.

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We have time of use electricity billing, 3 different rates based on when demand is highest. In the summer higher rates during the day when AC use is high, in the winter highest rates in the morning and the early evening.

Weekends and after 7pm are always the lowest rate so if you do laundry or vacuuming or batch cooking meals after 7pm or on the weekend the cost is much less.

Though maybe the biggest difference is natural gas heating and water heating, about $60/ month in the winter and almost non existent in the summer.

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PIP, others, as a child growing up and a young adult I LOVED canned spinach (child) and fresh spinach (adult) but I'm pretty sure whomever is "dosing" the spinach puree is using vinegar or something similar ... gah 

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Dale, others, I tend to think when one's utility rate suddenly blossoms that funding is required for some project in mind by the company ... might be debt repairs replacement etc but to be sure the funding is required by the company and taken from the customer ... rather like governments in that respect

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So, Dale, if due to some situation or condition that leaves your home without electric power, you have a generator.  

Blackouts are not the only reason for loss of electric power. Explosion, earthquake, flooding, and so forth. There are a number of ways electric power can be interrupted.  California even has regulated "rolling blackouts" or brownouts even that can affect the entire state if your utility is PG&E ... ours is not.

But with fueled generator and carefully stored extra fuel one may pass the time in relative comfort

I've read instances where a mountain loses a portion of itself and avalanches down to and over a power station and electric is disrupted for a few weeks until the station is dug out and repairs are made and etc -- fortunately this is not a common event

Very Large Trees have been known to fall and disrupt service for a week at least due to repairs required ... read about that sort of thing

Aircraft falling onto the ground and electric power kaput

But with a generator for emergency electric supply you should be "okay"

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MRoss have heard about this sort of billing from others here in Modesto so I suppose it is a well known secret in that MID is NOT making a point of INFORMING its customers of their best-clock-time use for their kilowatts ... hmm .. 

We'll just do without fewer lights overnight .. and a few other "tricks"  sorry, electric power bill "life hacks" ... nowadays there are 1,000+ "life hacks" for this that and anything else you can imagine ... most recent I saw was one for that famous chest rub comes in a blue jar ?  there's a list for empty toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls and cat litter (clean) and ... 

Life hacks. What HAS this world come to??  

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Susan, You are talking to an active of Amateur Radio Emergency Services. We train for disaster response and the first action is to make sure you are safe. A generator is good but solar and batteries are better, unless the sun dies you never run out of fuel and most gas stations need electric to pump fuel or fill propane tanks. In December we had no power for days and we survived just fine but we had problems getting kerosene for our backup heat source because the pumping stations had no power to pump fuel. Way back during the infamous Northeast blackout of 2003, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003 , We never missed a beat. In fact when the power went out I turned on the TV to see what had happened and then decided to move to our camper for a few days until everything was restored, no generator there either but again battery power for backup. I called friends on the radio to report I was fine but would not be doing security work that week for a local fair because my families safety took priority.

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Okay, Dale. Is good to know you are prepared.

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MRoss have heard about this sort of billing from others here in Modesto so I suppose it is a well known secret in that MID is NOT making a point of INFORMING its customers of their best-clock-time use for their kilowatts ... hmm .. 

Susan maybe the biggest difference in electricity rates is that we have a provincial hydro company, Ontario Hydro supplies the electricity for the entire province, we all pay the same rates. 

Answer 11

Penwythnos hapus i gyd, Happy weekend to all in Welsh, crazy weather, snow then rain and rain and more rain. Thus is the only place where the sheep have webbed feet.

Genealogically turns out my cousin Preston Smith Brooks, got a mention on CNN for caning Senator Charles Sumner on the Senate floor of that venerable institution on May 26, 1856. Who knew!

Also, turns out my 13th great grandfather, Richard Cave (1464-1538) was a "friendly intimate" of Cardinal Wolsey, and Cromwell, King Henry V111's enforcer, and was High Sheriff if Northampton in1530. Unreal, for a swamp rat from Nee Orleans, (and South Alabama). Not to mention the rather large estate in Leicestershire. Better have a look at the old boy's will!

As always, great chat, thanks Pip.

Comments

Carol if you ever make it across the pond come up to North Wales. It may be wet at times but that is what keeps it so green and beautiful. There are worse places I could be during the lockdown.

When we finally get to see our family it will be so nice.

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That's a big 10-4, Hilary!

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Hillary! I would LOVE to come to North Wales. I was there in 1977 and loved it...wet and all. I especially remember going through Llangollen! I was up early, stood in line at the baker's for fresh bread, got a container of milk and walked around the town. I have black and white photo of some Welshmen coming home from work (drinking bottles of beer). I watched as the cross an old Roman-like bridge. They stopped, looked back and burst into song! That, for me, summed up the beauty of Wales. I'll see if I can snap an android of that photo and include it on a future chat. It is quite old and I have no idea where the negative might be.

I would love to be in lockdown in Wales!

And I haven't seen my family, or anyone come to that, for a year now!

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Noswaich  dda Carol, the best view in Llangollen is on the bridge looking up the river Dee rapids, with the steam train station in the morning when they are steaming up,  on a cold misty morning, with the hills on either side, and a hot coffee and those donuts we were talking about above, can't be beat.

James

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Bore da, James! If I can upload a copy of this photo, my guess is that it is the bridge you are referring to. The river Dee sounds familiar. My guess is that this is the bridge crossing the Dee! This experience was a highlight of my travels, which is likely why I wanted the photo memory. And yes, the bread/donuts were outstanding. Diolch, James!

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Yes, the Dee splits the town down the middle.The steam trains run up to and end at the village we are just north of, Corwen, great ride about 12 miles all along the Dee, round trip 12 quid, much more tranquil than driving. Nice walk around Llangollen, fish and chips, tea for my english lady commander (ask Pip about that) and coffee for me. Perfect day out, and hand dipped handmade ice cream for desert.

James

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Ah, Llangollen, I don’t remember it well. After all, it’s been 40+ years since I was there. I do remember a market.

Lady commander! I have one of those (or she has me).

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Yes, the open air market is/was on Tuesdays until lockdown.

As to commander, when we met 15 years ago, I immediately gave up thoughts of being the boss, so you don't wake up 6 months later and go "when did that happen".

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I shoulda been so smart. I had to learn the hard way.

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Don't we all at one point or another.

You might like to check my response to "if you don't know I'm certainly not going to tell you", in the first set above the answers, it's always worked for me.

James

Answer 12

Greetings from beautiful southeastern Arizona! This morning has been lovely and warmer.  The colder than norm weather has continued, and I had to bring the hummingbird feeder inside to thaw twice this week! *shakes head*

A woodpecker keeps trying to get something out of the feeder. I decided to take a pic, but whenever I got close to the patio door, it would fly away. Finally, snapped a shot yesterday, making sure I didn't get too close -- but you can't even tell it's a dang woodpecker. LOL

WikiTree: I wanted to work on grandma Hildebrandt, but the week disappeared! Since today is already so far gone, I'm going to make time to do it today!

Writing: Been struggling a bit this week. Made a few sales flyers for the release of Dr. Increase, but having a hard time getting back into the actual writing for book 3. Am I putting too much detail into writing about building a Conestoga wagon for their journey to Ohio? Does it add anything to the story? I may end up chopping it out and starting over!

Comments

Hi neighbor! Great to hear from you. Stay safe!

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I see your woodpecker! We have many here. We live in a log house and during certain times of the year they like to peck on our logs where insects have laid eggs which have become larvae. Very destructive! Good luck with your book writing!

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Your book reminds me of a somewhat similar book titled, A Journey to Ohio in 1810 by Margaret Van Horn Dwight. It was about a trip from New England to Ohio and it was not intended to be a book initially. Margaret Dwight intended to document her experiences and the notes were intended for only one person who was a close friend. About 100 years after the trip was concluded, it was decided to make the documented trip into a book. The Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio has a copy, a cousin of mine has a copy and I have a copy. I think it is probably available from the internet at no cost. Margaret Dwight is my 7th cousin four times removed. She got a ride on a covered wagon for part of the trip and walked for a portion of the trip. There were few bridges over rivers between CT and OH, and crossing a river could be a dangerous event.

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Hello Frank,

A limited edition of Dr. Increase's 1798 journal and the Mathews/Matthews Family Record was published in 1932 and given to family members. So, yes, very similar.

I found his journal a fascinating glimpse of history and originally planned it to be the starting point. After learning more about the family and obtaining transcripts of personal letters, my focus changed, and the first book was about his family, including Rufus Putnam.

Yes, crossing a river could definitely be dangerous. Increase wrote that his horse lost a shoe, and he almost had to cross the Ohio to get around a swollen creek. During the trip to Ohio, one horse was injured as he and his two companions crossed through mountains. One man went ahead with a teamster, and the other two journeyed at a slower pace, so the horse could heal.

Traveling 600+ miles took them 4 weeks, but he made the solo return journey in about 3 weeks. Many times they spent the night with strangers. Increase also wrote about fleeing flea-infested homes. It is difficult to imagine because our lives are so different now!

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I swear I thought that was a squirrel at first look, Diane!

Details: I’m guessing with all the stuff you’ve amassed, you have to pick and choose what to include. Too much and readers get bored; too little and readers are lost. I don’t envy you. I have a hard enough time keeping my Chat intro to one page of a Word doc. Then edited and re-editing up to the moment I have to post it. Gah!

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Hi fellow “zonie” I’m up in Phoenix enjoying our beautiful weather. I have woodpeckers swinging on the hummingbird feeder all the time. They are quite noisy!

Stay safe.

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Dinane that is just totally fascinating about the journey, not only to ride along but to do some of the walking ... in some accounts I have read the woman pulled the cart along while the man scouted out and around "on guard" -- much easier in many ways if you have oxen and water and grass for them

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@Nelda, That woodpecker loves to chatter whenever he stops to visit. Like he wants me to know he's there! LOL Hope he doesn't peck a larger hole into the feeder! Thanks for the luck wish!

@Pip, yeah it's hard to distinguish the bird but was afraid to get closer, or it would fly off! I have a hard time stopping editing. Eventually, I tell myself, "Enough is enough!" I do love being able to have Word read the document out loud. Really helps me catch some problem areas.

@Susan Ellen This one is certainly noisy for sure. Sometimes he'll just still on the balcony column and chatter away like crazy.

@Susan I've thought it strange that Increase didn't mention encountering any wild animals. Maybe this was so common, he didn't think to write about it?

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Consider, Diane, the time-frame --  Dr. Increase's 1798 journal and the Mathews/Matthews Family Record was published in 1932 

I googled <1798 ohio wildlife list> and wikipedia article indicates wolves, coyotes, bobcat, cougar, bears, foxes -- and I am supposing that the Mathews family was part of a passel of people ALSO migrating at that time maybe as many as 20 wagons maybe only ten or as few as five but unless the "cats", bears and wolves were very hungry they would be more likely to avoid the caravan 

Unless you were experienced and on foot and the party is limited to equally experienced people, adults usually, caravans were the way to travel 

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@Susan, Increase traveled on horseback with 2 other men on the trip to Ohio. He traveled alone going back to Massachusetts. Even when he returned to Ohio in 1801, brining his wife and infant daughter, he didn't travel in a caravan.

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Never read the material, myself.  But his mode of travel does not change the list of possible feral predators and other wildlife

Answer 13

Yesterday I received an antiglare screen I am using right now I like it. I usually like crystal clear. I guess most people could careless but oh the dreadful PCs so here we are! I am thinking of upgrades being home more often than usual keeps me online being more creative than ever. Which I usually come to resent. Sometimes when I think I am staying home on a special occasions day I use contacts to invite people to events that I know they would not go to if I wasn't, I usually end up going because -of selfperjury- moms are moral police. I didn't come up with new ones and I won't until my old idea wears out of my brain they basically have to be literally deemed useless.. which makes birthday wishing That much easier. The weather here is gorgeous by the way, I have so many movies I am about to savagely dig into. When you see something new and its old to someone else but to you its precious anyhow its my time I waste! Still don't miss physical stores.  So I have been in New Year New You mode and lately I have been glow up shopping. I swear I will put it away just 2 more no wait- 3 more things my birthdays coming up. I don't use any of this and it makes me giggle like a school girl watching it stack up! When I grow up I obviously am going to work at Golden Girls. I want to read reviews and preview genealogy tools and apps this weekend. Other than that my brick walls are basically booby traps for egocentricism (Don't at me). FamilyTree DNA should know I live for status updates. If nothing comes up maybe eating fruit at the park is cool too? On a serious note I have been thinking about smart activities like I used to do as a kid and now its manifest maybe its not too late for 'chapter reading playing instruments and sketching'. I usually stream "history channel videos" all day so that will be a cool switch. Anything beats my black and white movie binge watch addictions. Which is so tempting right now that and all this cake. Maybe a new genre forget sports camera and the loudest instrument I can find, my plan.

Comments

Old movies are great! I especially enjoy the musicals. Enjoy your watching!

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Guadalupe, I envy you your warmer weather. Only got to 47 here today with a chilling wind. No fun outside.

Like you, I keep waiting on FTDNA updates. They come too far between.

I love history movies and documentaries. Today, I watched Patton for about the 10th time and still love it. Now I’m watching a Netflix series in the Gunpowder Plot.

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Texas is warm and I love a real winter too. Are you a war movie fanatic? Most men around here are movies or books anything GI makes me cry like a little girl! I sure could get into Patton -but I don’t have Netflix.

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Speaking of FamilyTree DNA I just received this in my email:

We are thrilled to announce that FamilyTreeDNA and our parent company, Gene by Gene, have merged with myDNA, a leading genomics company that is revolutionizing the field of pharmacogenomics

I just was wondering about my kit status! Great now they are gang related, Congratulations. Did it get mailed correct though- Something?

MyDNA is subscription based health and fitness ‘coaching’ it sounds cool. I like the meal plan thing. Disappointed it’s not a genealogy app though.

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Guadalupe, all the full days you describe -- who needs the World, your life is very full

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Where did the winter go mom is talking beach on my birthday and I am ready! I had Texas BBQ today and a chile the size of both my thumbs- side note it almost made me cry! For dinner mother made caldo. I was so unproductive today and am glad for it because I am needing to go local wholesale and pick up things not even China has. Which makes me stressful I hate warehouse shopping ...especially if it’s near a warehouse strip. I buy late that’s my thing, buy late the sales price goes cheaper. Buy early and all the merch looks too primped! I am thinking of starting a YouTube channel. Everything I swore off it’s all coming back to me much stronger and faster. I follow trends; nobody goes out I don’t go. Just like back when I knew everybody was going somewhere and I had to be there just like that. I think “trendy” now is more curbside and pickup... I am more of a homebody than this undertaking- literally ‘Send Me’!

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 You're an awesome people, glad you are with us here at the Chat ... I really like reading your postings ... 

Answer 14

Late to the party again. I guess better late than never.

On the weather front,It has actually been nice most of the week with temps about what Pip was getting but that will change soon. They are using the S word for the next 8 days.

On the home front, Let me just say this week is a strange one for sure. The son who is buying a new house is a member of the National Guard and his unit is number one for rapid deployment here in Ohio. He got deployed Thursday so moving this weekend is not an option, his wife works on the weekend. The youngest daughter of the same son went to the Emergency Room Tuesday night with abdominal distress. She came home early Wednesday morning with over the counter medications prescribed but orders to follow up with her regular doctor soon. Wednesday the son signed the final papers for his new house but then had to take his daughter back to the hospital for severe abdominal cramps again. This time they went to a different hospital, one near their new home and also close to us. She was discharged later the same night but there were many more tests done because she could keep nothing down and was dehydrated along with no bowel movement for 5 days. I really feel sorry for her but there is not much anyone can do right now. I have been asked to drive the rental truck for when the move takes place because the son will be on active duty until at least the 21st and his wife does not feel comfortable driving a big truck. I feel comfortable driving anything from a motorcycle up to a class A motorhome so it should be no problem for me.Thursday was driving the F650 26 foot box truck moving the important furniture to the son's new house. Today I took the truck back, I will not miss that truck but driving it was no real problem. I am done with the moving for a few days but now I need to let my body recover.

On the genealogy front, Same old things. Adding sources, editing biography's and setting some profiles free from my watchlist but Thursday and today I will not get much done due to helping with the move in.

Comments

Dale, I will be in prayer for both your son and your granddaughter. I certainly hope they can find out what is making her sick soon so she can get some relief.

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Nelda, The granddaughter is doing better now. She has had a virtual appointment with a new doctor and may be having other tests done soon but the blockage has passed for now.

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Eight days of “S”?!?! Please say it ain’t so, Dale. We’ve never had anything close to that.

What an up and down week for you. I hope your granddaughter gets some resolution to her illness soon. As one with chronic stomach problems, I feel for her.

Are you the #1 Byers contributor yet?

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Dale, I'm glad to hear your granddaughter is doing better. When I was in the hospital back when my son was born (in the days when mother's were kept in the hospital longer) the young lady who shared my semi-private room was there because of bowel blockage. She was in extreme pain. I went home before she did. I've always wondered how she got along.

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Pip, I was the number one contributor for the Byers surname in 2020. We do not get the standings until after the end of the month so I don't know where I will stand for January yet.

As for the s word, They are not saying every day but most as of the latest forecast. They are saying no flaky white stuff next Saturday but every other day there is a good chance.

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Dale, very very difficult times of transition for all of you and we all hope the medical problems clear up pronto

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The son is in Columbus, Ohio and should be home by the 21st. We are not living with his family and have no plans to move in with them so that house will only have a family of 4 living in it. We are just a short distance away, in fact today we went to the store and picked up a few needed items and then drove just a couple of blocks away to their new home. I would say the total distance is about 7 miles by car so close enough but separate enough for privacy.

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I heard they have 25,000 national guard in Washington, D.C.
Estimated cost of the coming week protection was "over $25,000,000"  That has made what should be an unnecessary  expense of funds not be able to be used for so much that needs to be done.

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Beulah, I truly hope you are correct that these troops and the expense of them will have been "unnecessary." I have a relative among them and I want him safely back home to his family and his regular life soon.

Answer 15

Greetings from Everett, Washington.  Your respectful secretary has submitted minutes continuously for the past week and has lost track of the suggested revisions and corrections.  Just finished the minutes from Part 2 of the Historical Society board retreat last Saturday.  Still to be done are the minutes from last night's general meeting.  Financial reports are the worst as the treasurer keeps sending revisions to the whole board via email.  Keeping track of the timeline of emails in this virtual era is very confusing.

Item: Last Wednesday morning, husband and I were to have presented a history of the Mukilteo Lighthouse, complete with beautiful Power Point and florid script (well, my script was florid anyway), for the docents at the Admiralty Head Lighthouse on Whidbey Island.  But then--we had a powerful, lashing storm Tuesday night which knocked out all the power on the island (a not infrequent occurrence), so the meeting was rescheduled for this coming Thursday.

Item: Tomorrow I am meeting with board members at the Mukilteo Lighthouse to walk down to the brand new ferry terminal and investigate the condition of the historical signage.  We want passengers to notice that a walking tour of historic Mukilteo is available to them, and where they can log in and how long it will take. Some of the signs need to be replaced, either by the city or the U. S. government.

Item: last night I made a presentation for the virtual meeting about the first car in Mukilteo, a 1912 Stanley Steamer, and why that type of car was perfect for the locale and for her driver.  I say "her" because the car was formally christened Susan, after her owner.

After I submitted my latest article for the Mukilteo Monthly magazine, about changes in the timber industry from the 1870s-1890s, I made myself a mojito and went up to bed and scrolled through G2G.

I find comfort in rereading the biographies I have written on profiles for relatives I knew.  In the morning when I need a reason to get out of bed, I trigger memories of them and fortify myself to get going with my day.

In addition to the mojitos, I have been making little chicken and veggie tacos using jicama wraps.  Spinach is supposed to be a mainstay of our diet.  We can have unlimited amounts of fresh spinach and lettuce.  Needless to say I am jaded by now.  I do still like those frozen spinach souffles I used to eat, which is the pureed spinach in a lighter, drier form.  Just make sure they are microwaved properly.

Yesterday I worked successfully on a profile of a cousin who was born a Smith, and married first a Brown and then a Jones.

Comments

Margaret, you lead such an interesting and busy life. I'm sure I would enjoy your presentations if I ever had the chance to attend one.

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Margaret, I had a lot of relatives leave the mountains of North Carolina to move to Washington for the logging industry. Most of those who did already had some experience in this area.

Jicama wraps? My wife is intrigued. Do you make these or buy them? We have never heard of these (though we have eaten jicama raw).

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Margaret, really? Smith, Brown and Jones? That must have been fun (not?) to research ... apparently you succeeded.

I like the sound of your menu, too

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Our diet counselors told us about jicama wraps.  We get them at Trader Joe's (a West Coast specialty grocery).  I got one package and we liked them pretty well so I will get more.  Next experiment is to try to microwave or pan-fry them. They are made of fresh jicama so I imagine they don't keep terribly well.

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Yes, it was successful.  The trick was finding the right Brown and the right Jones she was married to, and the proper order.  They are fairly recent records so I used newspapers online as well as FamilySearch.

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Margaret "finding the right x and the right y ...." Yes, well, that seems to be  one of the major hurdles we face 

 Went through rootssearch for Terry Joe Martin, hey, who names their kid Terry Joe Martin, right?  Ought to be easy to find.  Not.  There was something line a half dozen scattered across the nation.  Some are dec'd and some still alive.  Sigh.  It AMAZES me, it's a "popular" name !! 

Answer 16

I had some sad news this afternoon. My aunt by marriage died last night from complications of Covid-19. Another cousin had talked to her earlier this week and she was not even sick. Everyone is in shock at how quickly she became so ill and died. Now my uncle is in quarantine and I am very much hoping he doesn't get sick also. I know he is just devastated--he and my aunt were such a devoted couple. They are not that much older than me because my uncle was the next to the youngest in the family--he was only 12 when I was born. There won't be a funeral at this time. It just breaks my heart that so many families are going through this same scenario all over the world. Please take care everyone!

Comments

Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family 

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Sorry to hear  about your aunt, commiserations to the family, hopefully this will get better soon.

James

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Please accept my condolences. That is such sad news. Prayers for your family.

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So sorry to read of that c... . I have to call it that way. Condolences from me to you.

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Nelda, I am so sorry to hear this. When will all the sadness that besets us end?

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Nelda, that is so sad a situation. Your family has our condolences and prayers

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Such sad news! I'm so sorry to hear it and send hugs and prayers to you and yours!

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Hi Nelda,

My most sincere condolences. You and she are in my daily positive intentions.

Answer 17

On this day:

1759: The British Museum was opened to the public

1776: Landgrave Friedrich II. of Hessen-Kassel and George III. of England signed contracts to send Hessians into the Revolutionary War

2001: Wikipedia was launched

Comments

If you suspect (or know) you have people from Hesse in your tree that fought in the War, you might be able to find them here.

If there are ancestors from Hesse that were "simple" immigrants to the US without fighting in the War, you may find them here.

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Thank you, Jelena, for posting these interesting historical anniversaries.

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The British Museum is my task tonight. Thanks, Jelena!

Answer 18

Happy Friday from beautiful, sunny, warm Phoenix Arizona

I’m trying to get myself together and plan a kitchen remodel. I had a contractor here on Monday who told me that painting the cabinets is cheaper than staining them...I wanted to stain them because I like the wood look and am worried about the paint chipping etc. By the way he is a painter and doesn’t do wood staining.

Do I paint or stain? Anyone have an idea or want to share a personal experience...

My 37 year old son has COVID-19 FEET. Apparently some people develop a rash on their feet during and after they are sick. He has not felt sick. Unfortunately, he was at my house for dinner last Friday. I am praying that I didn’t catch it... I have an appointment for a Covid test Sunday morning.

I wish everyone a very wonderful weekend. Stay safe!

Comments

Hope you test negative! And hope your son recovers with no further symptoms!

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I'm hoping you didn't catch it either, Susan Ellen!

Kitchen remodel: We did this over a couple of months last year, and even in stages we hated the process. It all turned out great though. We did not do any of it ourselves. Things just turn out better that way.

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Thank you Nelda!

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Thanks Pip, I am not looking forward to this but the kitchen is 30+ years old and it’s time... I am also not DIY!

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Best hopes for your health ...  

Now, as to stains etc 

> While there are water-based stains on the market, I prefer to use oil-based for cabinets because they are generally high-traffic pieces that get a lot of wear. Oil-based is the most durable finish to hold up to the highest of traffic.Mar 26, 2018 and the URL for the tips Our Best Tips for Staining Cabinets (or Re-Staining)

> How to Stain Cabinets - Bob Vila

Whole lot more articles online, no decision need be made until you are stuffed full of information and have digested it -- it's about Making Informed Decisions 

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Hope everything is fine! Please stay healthy!

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Hi Susan,

Hope you are doing well. I haven't a clue about staining cabinets. I wish my brother was here as he is a fantastic handyman. Please keep in touch. I sent my phone number. Hugs!

Answer 19

It's 4˚ C and raining in Fort Erie, heading for a predicted low of -1˚ C overnight, with the possibility of snow flurries in the morning.

There was screaming, there was happy dancing, and there was bouncing. I'm happy to report that the light of my life and the delight of my eyes' Christmas present finally arrived this week. I said, "I'm sorry you don't like it, baby. I'll send it back."

She said, "No!!!"

Success! There is no sound in the world I like better than the sound of the light of my life and the delight of my eyes making happy noises.

(I asked for and received a refund on the last part of the present for her son. According to the tracking from USPS, it's been hanging out in the seedier parts of Atlanta since Christmas Day, panhandling, dumpster diving, and smoking cigarette butts it picks up off the street. And it had so much potential, too. Such a waste.)

I also received the left fan for my old MacBook, so I'll probably be installing that next week. If it solves the noise issue, then I'll be checking to see if I can afford to replace the hard drive with a nice high-capacity SSD so it will run faster, and I can take my library of software patches with me when I travel, so I can install patches on other people's computers. (Microsoft, Apple, et al assume that everybody has always-on, fast, reliable internet connections, but it just ain't so. Some people in more remote locations are still on dial-up modems [over lousy phone lines, too], so downloading a multi-gigabyte operating system upgrade is next to impossible for them. And there are still places in the world where you have to pay for your internet access by how much you download. I'm hoping that things will improve once assorted internet-via-satellite systems get launched and go live. [And that various governments won't ban their use to protect the market share of their government-run internet carriers.] We'll see.)

A lady in our church has offered to give us her car. She can't drive it anymore, and doesn't want to pay the insurance anymore. It's not exactly the kind of car that you'd find guys cruising in, but since I don't cruise, that doesn't bother me any. As long as it gets us where we want to go and carries our groceries, I'm happy. It will be the first time I've actually owned a car since 1992, so I'm kind of jazzed at the promise of actually being mobile. (There are buses here, but getting to the cheaper grocery stores would entail a full day getting there and back. It will be extremely nice to be able to shop where we want, because the grocery store that's within walking distance has the second-highest prices in town.)

On the genealogy front, I'm still working through the "Let others know what locations you're working on" page, checking for branches that have been connected, and bringing it back up to at least five unconnected branches per jurisdiction for people to work on. It's slow going, because I'm trying to restrict myself to one jurisdiction per day, so I'm not spending the whole night genealogising when I should be doing stuff around the house. On this pass, I've gotten down to Pennsylvania, and yesterday, I added a new section for Belarus, since Belarus got its fifth unconnected branch on the page, and five is the threshold for me to add a new jurisdiction.

Comments

Great shirt, Greg!

Get that car! You've been needing one for too long now. Life will just be so much easier for you both.

How is it that you know where are these secret pages are? You regularly include links to things I never knew existed.

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Oh, I said yes, Pip. It will probably cost between $500 and $1,000 to pay the sales tax on whatever value the department of transportation assigns to the car, pay the licence fee, insure it, and get some work done, and it's pretty old, but we definitely need wheels. And who knows? I may just paint the stars and stripes on one side for the light of my life and the delight of my eyes, and the maple leaf forever on the other side for me. (Or maybe just paint the red ensign on the roof and call it the General Brock. )

Secret pages? They're not secret, they're just... poorly marketed. I started most of them. Just look at my watchlist to see my "secrets".

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Greg, you missed a major opportunity there to film her Happy Dance complete with sound and then to post it on YouTube as an example of the way one should receive a present

Hmm. Well, considering some the material other people have posted there and in other media, this would have been an Innocent Joy to behold.  

She looks like a cheerful woman anyway long may you both smile

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Love the shirt. Beautiful color which flatters her. You did very well! (My husband's Christmas finally came this week, too. He didn't scream, but he was happy with it.) ~ Wonderful news about the car! God bless your generous friend.

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Sorry, Susan. Google locked my account a couple of years ago, and won't tell me why. (Actually, they won't talk to me at all.) So don't expect any YouTube videos from me, ever.

But yes, the love of my life and the delight of my eyes has a wonderful capacity to enjoy life. This is why I spend so much time and effort on doing little things to make her happy. The reward is so great and the effort is so small.

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Nelda, she does love the colour (her favourite colours are blue and green, so anything in the turquoise or teal realm is pretty much guaranteed to please her). But what we didn't anticipate is just how soft the material is. Now the light of my life and the delight of my eyes says that this hoodie has spoiled every other hoodie she owns. So if I don't want to have her wearing that hoodie all the time, I should probably look for more made out of the same material.

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So I was getting a clean pair of pants out of my dresser this morning, and noticed that there were coins in a pocket with a Velcro™ closure. The good news is that Velcro™ is really good at keeping things from falling out of your pockets, even during a trip through the washing machine and the dryer. The bad news is that I am now guilty of money laundering.

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 Exactly the sort of pun-ishment (money laundering) I need to make my day brighter -- 

Answer 20

Been reading up on two individuals: Sir Victor and his grandson de Vic. Both are/were bailiffs of Guernsey. Sir Victor being the spouse of one of my 1C5R and de Vic subsequently a 3C3R

Comments

History and biographies are far more interesting when we have a personal connection to them.

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You sure do have wide-ranging research, Richard.

Hope you are feeling well.