"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! July 2nd - 4th, 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

Happy weekend!
We are finally enjoying some sunshine today after days and days of cloudy skies and rains.  Early in the week areas in our state flooded and many roads were washed out.  Some docks on the lake next door ended up under the surface of the lake by three inches or more. These docks were not floating docks, of course.

On the genealogy front, having completed my first Voyage (see Charles Austin Bemis), I am on to my Fisher cousins ... Pembroke T Fisher (1815-1880) ... endeavoring to flesh out this biography as well.  However, I keep getting sidetracked by the other cousins on the Fisher side.  They keep shouting at me for equal attention!  

People who have contracted the new COVID variant have increased in number in New Hampshire.  I, myself, had COVID back in March and have since been vaccinated so I feel relatively confident that I won't get it again as I rarely leave the house.  My granddaughters, though, each are either at work or at school on a daily basis, so I worry about them.  They have each been vaccinated, though.

Enough about me.  May you each have a blessed weekend and that you accomplish enough of your To-Do list so that it becomes your Ta-Da list!

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Pfrayedrsa that all of your loved ones stay safe.   We are back under mask mandate vaccinated or not where I live.  If we could just get the unvaccinated vaccinated it will do wonders to stop this thing.   I honestly do not undertstand the resistance.   Everyone old enough in our family is vaccinated and it makes life so much easier to live.

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Can'tt be worse than a 135 pound malamute who wants to go the other way Or decides its time for  NAP UNDER A SHADE TREE....

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  Quite a 2020 2021 "summer" so far, if it has been flooded it's been scorched or even burned down and that's across the nation 

It's been Global in fact and all year long 

As far as dogs big enough to impose their will upon some weak human ...  it's better to have pocket sized dogs

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 Have no problem pointing out that if anyone has a tussle of wills with their most beloved and totally much too large dog, the dog is going to win. 

 

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I was alph female and hey did no noally challenge me because I was treat woman and they loved treats.   kODI WAS SO BIG WE had TO GO to  A Sddlemaker o get a large enough collar.   We command trained all the dogs.   Whwn you have over 600 pound of canine thundering through your house  training is essential.    Kodi could move my Grand Jeep Cherokee I hss from  dead stop..   no problemHe could walk ovefr our fence but never did.  He knew better.   Hwe took care of our neighbors too.  Three elderly women lived two doors down and if they had someone coming to work they came and got him to hang out with hem.  Fed him cookies.  He was very happy to visit.

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I translated that into American.  You REALLY need a new keyboard. Or new eyeglasses. 

 Well, better YOU have 600 pounds of Malemute and one of them Maine Coon cats than for US to have them -- there they are thundering through the living space, ... you must live in a house that is 1500+ sq ft (we live in 830 sq ft) 

Alpha female with a bag full of treats -- hmm I was going to say "a dominatrix" (in a nice way) but double checked the word definition and decided that won't work ... hmm ... so "alpha female" it is ...

So, you have six sumo wrestling Malemutes and a DanielBoone cat ...cats were originally bred (I read) to be hunting cats bring home the food cats for the humans. Awesome cats, frankly. 

EDITED EDITED EDITED heheheh

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using my husbands sysftem    not used to it  caps locks goes on if you r pinky waves over it...  very touchy..   dogs thought they were kids.  Cat thouht he was a dog and kids were part of the pack.  Took naps on dogs.  Never a dull moment   and no breakins....   kids got away with nothing...   dogs knew if they were up to no good and told us by howling like a wolf....  busted....   if we were mad at the kids dogs would stand between us they were all about taking care of them   if a kid got sick the dogs would let us know they would not leave that child's side...  did that with my Dad when he had cancer   they knew...i always had one with me when i was driving   no one bothered me

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 Okay, not going to get a new keyboard. Otherwise it sounds like you have the "good life".  Even still yet you have the thundering herd of six dogs? AND no one is allergic to the dogs.  This is good. 

You have lots of good memories there. 

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Hey Pip, you said in the Live Cast that you wouldn't wear an orange shirt.  And as it triggered a memory...

https://youtu.be/IVlbenGJ8u0
Of course its Irish and not Scottish.
Enjoy!!

Answer 1

Good morning Pip and the weekend chatters.

Weather:

• Monday and Tuesday had rain
• Wednesday and Thursday had no rain
• Today thru next week …flooding rains expected

Genealogy:

• Connectors Project: working to connect the unconnected Hornberger’s 
• GEDI Challenge: working to clean up my ancestors imported via the Pioneer Stock gedcom.
• US Black Heritage Connecting Challenge: continuing to add relatives in order to connect Carla Hayden

Comments

Tommy, you just can't seem to get away from all the wetness! Keep to the high ground.

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Hi Tommy, please tell the rain to head to Tucson, Arizona where it's wanted! Thank you!

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We got an inch of rain since 1pm this afternoon with more to come, and temps dropped to 16C about 62 F

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Let it rain! Let it rain! Let it rain! Over Tucson, Arizona.

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Haha! My brother sent me a video of rain in Tucson today. He said that everyone in the bar ran out into the rain.

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@Tommy

@Pip

Thank you Tommy for the rain intention! It worked yesterday. I didn't run out of a bar (why doesn't it surprise me that it would be a brother of Pip's running out of a bar...). I stood in the rain and stamped my bar feet in the puddles!

The downside (for me anyway) is that I lost connectivity in the midst of a Weekend Chat message to M and was offline until this morning!

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So far, the flooding forecasted for my area is happening off the coastline of Louisiana. It was forecasted to stall at the I-10 corridor. The heavy rain is about 131 miles southeast of me and still creeping in that direction.

Answer 2

An earlier than usual hello from sunny London this Wimbledon season! I'm hoping it won't rain tomorrow as all this week we've had lovely weather. It's most certainly sports season here with Wimbledon for the tennis, Euro 2020 for football (soccer) and the Darts Championship all going on at once. 

Genealogy wise I'm still untangling the great mess that are the ancestors of my 3x great-grandmother Margaret Hale. It is just such a mess that sometimes I feel more like I'm making a family roundabout than a family tree. Sometimes people come on the roundabout, some people go off but sometimes it just goes round and round in circles.

How are you telling me that two people named John Dives were baptised in the same small village within two months of each other. And why did everybody else on the internet pick the wrong one?

Still, all that madness got me the club 1000 badge for June so round and round I go for the badge for July!

Comments

Hi there, David! I have to admit that I also face those family roundabouts. It really will drive your contributions up.

England beat Germany 2-0!! Woohoo! And watching Wimbledon too. All those upsets. Gonna be a good one!

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David, I have also relatives in my tree who are namesakes, born in the same town within 3 weeks. The only way to discern them is via the women in their lives (mothers and wife of one).

Answer 3

Today is....

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE WAFER DAY

           

If you love chocolate, National Chocolate Wafer Day on July 2rd allows you to indulge in a delicately sweet cookie with a history. Have one for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Also called sugar wafers, these delicate snacks melt in your mouth. Made since the mid-1800s in the United States, makers called the cookies many names; wafer cookies, sugar wafers, sugar biscuits, fairy wafers. While many enjoyed them as snacks, they also became favorite after-dinner treats or served during teas. Lightly flavored and layered with a creamy filling, the thin cookies delight folks of all ages. 

Numerous companies produced them in North America. Regardless of the company, each one considered the production of these cookies an art form. They took pride in everything from their ingredients to the employees and the recipe to the packaging. Over time, companies merged. By the 1930s, the number of production companies dwindled.

Today, they remain one of our favorites. With a waffle surface pattern and thin layers, these cookies make an excellent addition to ice cream. Use them as an ingredient in cakes and cheesecakes. While you’re baking, use them to decorate, too. If you prefer pie, crushed wafers make a delicious chocolate crust. There are so many ways chocolate wafers can be enjoyed. If you’ve never tried them, this holiday is the time to give them a whirl.

No matter where or how you are eating your wafers, these tasty treats are positively worth celebrating!

Comments

Hi Dorothy of the Ruby Red Combat Boots! I hope you have a splendid 4th and thank you for your service. I love chocolate wafers. They are scrumptious!

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Chocolate anything!!! Yea, Dorothy!

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Where do I sign up for a weekly delivery?? 

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My Scottish granny used to make them for me and, no doubt, all the other children in her life. Her stove was in her living room as was her cavity bed and the kitchen sink. Wonder why, it was quite a big house. Anyway I clearly remember the day we cleaned the chimney, proper job with screw together chimney sticks and sheets and soot and just "go outside dear and tell me if you can see the brush". Afterwards we made "chocolate wafers". Amazing what she could fit into a day. Must be around 75 years ago.

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Chocolate wafers are a big part of the product line of Kraš, one of the major cookie/candy companies in Croatia. They were in all the grocery stores when I was working there. It surprised me no end the first time I saw Kraš wafers in a grocery store here in Canada. Not because they're not delicious, because they are, but because I would normally only expect to see products from such a small country in specialty Eastern European delis, not your basic average grocery store. But they do seem to have established themselves in the Canadian market, and I say more power to them, even though I can't eat stuff like that anymore.

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Love these.  Wish they came gluten free now.

Answer 4

We arrived home last Sunday from our holiday in Suffolk with family.

This week has been glorious if somewhat humid and misty at times. No rain since we got back as we were too far north.

I need to organise my photographs from Suffolk but will post those I am happy to share either later today or at some point over the weekend. Rain forecast for tomorrow and Sunday and next few days more unsettled so might spend more time indoors.

Sun is out and we are off to the pub soon for a drink.

Comments

Hi Hilary, I am looking forward to your Suffolk holiday. Meanwhile, enjoy a Guinness on my account. Wishing I could join you at the pub!

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Can’t wait to see your photos, Hilary! I’m with M… wishing I could join you at the pub.

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Here are 2 views that I took when we walked from Walberswick to Southwold on 21 June 2021 this was a day when the weather was a bit overcast and we had light rain and a breeze.

I will upload some more for posting next week.

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What a beautiful countryside, Hilary!

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Rather flat there compared to where we live.

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Still beautiful, even if flat. Of course, I’m a tree lover, but a change of scenery is nice once in a while. Now, Hilary, if you take a walk in your area, we’ll need pics since you have now set a precedent! 

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I will upload more as I think I missed the beach photos from the previous day.

Answer 5

Ah, quantum mechanics, those were the days or nights.  '63-'67 studying Physics and Math.

Similarly, it may rain today or maybe not ... Greeley, 20 miles away, got 3-4 inches of rain yesterday in an hour ... bit of local flooding.  The real problem areas are where the wild fires were last summer.  No vegetation to speak of to hold the water so they're getting mud slides.  I-70 near Glenwood Springs has been shut down off and on because of mud.

Still going over profiles I did many years back.  I run into some without any source listed ... ?? ... they're in the Jewett book so why didn't I list that?  Must have thought: "I'll get to that later."  Well, it's now 'later'.

Comments

Bob, I occasionally find those, too: profiles I need to get back to. Makes me wonder what in the world distracted me. Probably another family. Happens too frequently.

In high school, I took advanced math, but avoided advanced sciences like the plague. But, my real joy was in literature and history. I rode on those in college. Both are still passions.

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Yeah, Bob, I too have noticed that "later" has caught up with me ... boohoo ... 

As has been said, and I'm taking it to heart, "Do it right the first time and it won't come back to bite your bum later." 

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Bob - I'm with you 100%. If I'd only known then the things I do know now... But at least I can say I've learned a bit more, enough to do it better today than I did before. So I've got a bit of list of my early imports, first Gedcom, etc. that still need some TLC. If I can only find the time. I seem to pick them off one or two, then get sucked back into other things. Such is life.

Answer 6

I don't know how many people doing research ever see birth certificates in their research but I would like to hear possible reactions some time down the line to this one.  A local paper carried the story.

A soldier, his wife, 4 year old daughter and her maternal grandfather were returning home from a city 60 miles from home.  The wife came out of a gas station rest room and suggested he not plan on returning to work at home because she was having mild contractions.  They figured they had an hour to return home and continued on the trip.
About ten minutes later they started in earnest but all still thought she had time to return to their own doctors and hospital.   About 20 minutes later, while on the phone to the home hospital, she delivered her son in the car.  They got 911 help and arrived at the hospital 20 minutes later.  Every one was fine but the hospital required her to sign the birth
certificate as the "deliverer", not a doctor as traditionally would have.  If anyone notices this difference I wonder if it gives wikitreers problems?

We are getting rain finally.  I had my spring pumped out.  Now we need concrete work on the foundation to keep dirt
out when it rains and animals out all of the time.  It is slow recovering and I am being very careful with my water use.
I need a water barrel for my small raised bed garden.  I am
looking forward to some home grown lettuce, green beans and broccoli.

School is out and a granddaughter has  just taken her driving test.  I'm sure she passed.  I am looking for a newer used car and intend to donate my old one to her.  Then I will be out of so much grandma's taxi service.

I'm glad you enjoyed the mini family reunion.  We will have a 92nd one this summer for my mother's line.

Comments

I myself doubt IF anyone ever notices that the mother signed rather than a physician or midwife or local cop or fireman or ... I don't think most people are looking at the details when "surfing" or even searching 

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Susan, I hadn't considered all of the alternatives to doctors and mothers being deliverers.  I guess it isn't as rare a case as I thought.  There would be more cases of those others in today's news than a few generations ago, with all of our emergency organizations.

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I think that this increased mobility of the citizens due to the displacements of WW 1 and the Great Depression and WW 2 would also see an increase in other persons at the accouchement -- there's even some born in flight on an airplane 

Had a cousin said to have been born in the cook wagon while on a cattle drive 1904

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Perhaps the clerical staff could have thought of the mother and father as the people who knew where and when the child was born. The deliverer sounds like it was Fed Ex.

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The mother delivers the child from her body whereas the space allotted on the form is for the designation of the assistant, such as doctor, midwife, a young child or other relative, a policeman, firefighter, bystander, neighbor, airplane host(ess), co-passenger, a FedEx driver or UPS or USPS for that matter, whomever there is there at act as the baby-catcher 

Knew one woman who barely got out the front door to the top of the stairs going down to the parking lot when, oops, the baby started emerging (her 3rd or 4th) .. husband had to run up the stairs to act as baby-catcher -- woman noted for not having "labor pains" and instead she'd have 2,3, 5 cataclysmic contractions and out would pop a baby ... 

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Mom was her own baby catcher.  Dad kept driving.  Daughter and her father were in back seat.  All according to newspaper article.  She didn't even make much noise so not to scare the daughter.  I don't envy her.

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Well, everything came out okay, no one was petrified with fear to the point of incapacity, Mama is awarded the Daniel Boone bear-hunting cap ... and next time she's laboring she'll get to the hospital in time

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She had more guts than me.  In the late 1960s my ob let his mothers (me included) be under anesthesia so no labor pains were felt.  A delivery room nurse told me 20 years later that the epidural now lets the baby be so much more alert when they are delivered it has improved their health tremendously.  Both my children were ok but I did miss the
reaction of meeting my new baby immediately, rather than 6 the next morning.

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Beulah, my mom had the same complaint. Knocked out and not meeting all three of us us until later. This was 1956-60.

Answer 7

¡Buenos días a todos from the Old Pueblo! It’s 8am and 84F (28.9C) with an expected high of 92F (33.3C). Good News!!! It rained (deluge) for about 1/2 hour Thursday afternoon. The requests I made of some of you to send rain during last week’s chat along with my daily rain dance paid off! Thank you!

Speaking of weather, I have been very concerned for those of you living in our Pacific northwestern states AND British Columbia! I was speechless when I heard the temperature soared to 121F in Lytton! I have been very saddened to hear of the numerous heat-related deaths in Vancouver, Washington State and Oregon. Everyone has been in my positive healing intentions.

I heard from my brother and they are postponing their visit. Originally, Lev and Sue were to arrive on July 20^th. After hearing of our extreme highs during these summer months, they decided to delay their visit until November or December. While it is a wise move, I had looked forward to seeing them. PIP, I would suggest you postpone your visit to our Sonoran desert until it cools down. While it’s a ‘dry’ heat, it’s still heat! To be honest, I have not been faring well in this weather. These health problems, MS, cerebral arteriosclerosis and lumbar stenosis are leaving me beyond fatigued. I can be in the middle of a paper, or working on Wikitree and fatigue slaps me in the face such that I literally put my head down on the desk before it slams onto the desk.

Since State Fair is being held this year, I’ve arranged my flight to Milwaukee in August. I will spend a week visiting my mum in the memory center (she is going to outlive me), see daughter and grandson, my siblings, nieces and nephews. And, of course, stuff my way across the State Fair grounds. Corn on the cob dipped in butter, baked potatoes laden with butter, goat milk, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot fudge sundaes, cream puffs. Wisconsin rightly deserves to be known as ‘America’s Dairyland.’ In the past two of my nieces have entered various goods for judging, items such as jams and jellies, pies, cakes and so forth. They’ve done very well, too, winning 2^nd and 3^rd place ribbons and even blue ribbons. I don’t know if they are entering anything this year, but I hope so. I enjoy watching the judging. My sister tells me that some of the performers include Boyz II Men, Billy Idol, Brothers Osborne (never heard of them), Chris Young (who???), Hank Williams Jr (meh), and the BEACH BOYS! Now we’re talking! I saw the Beach Boys in concert in 1966. I wouldn’t mind seeing them again! Plus, the Wilson boys and I are 8^th cousins through Phebe (Baldwin) Richardson. The very best performances at State Fair, however, was Willie Nelson. He worked our fair for maybe four or five times in a row back in the 1980s. I was working in hospice and those of us who didn’t have to work were at the Fair as a part of Willie’s sold out crowds! And we ‘flicked our Bics’ during Amazing Grace. I love Willie. We only sang Willie Nelson songs to our patients in hospice when we were doing baths, and the patients would sing along.

As to genealogy, I added a few more profiles to the Phyfe family, my daughter’s paternal line. I then noticed that some of my Lister/Green family (Yorkshire) were more than a little wonk, so I spent the past few days initiating three merges for three definite duplicates. Plus, these profiles didn’t have decent profiles not to mention lack of sourcing so I dug around for that information. Then I ran into what I can only call a major cleanup on the Bolling aisle! I traced the male line found some six generations. I noticed that Jo Fitz-Henry PPPd one of the Bollings because of repeated duplication. I posted a message listing the generations from around 1450 to 1640-ish and listed four references that provide information on this clan. I suggested that some of the England team take on providing bios and sources to clean this family up. The 1450-ish profile was a trip. No sourcing, but someone (name withheld) wrote, “...based on personal information.” What! From a previous incarnation? From a past life regression? I grind my teeth when I see this sort of thing even in the 1800s, but the 15^th century is a bit far-fetched!

Pipster, again, thanks ever so much for leading us in the chat. I wish you and all of our chatters a very joyful and fun-filled 4^th of July. I’ll probably celebrate by installing a new drum in my old Brother printer so that I can print out information to add to profiles. You all take care, stay safe, stay cool!

Comments

HI, Carole, you are very strong to deal with those conditions and still working and doing genealogy.  Since I can drive now, we should try the Teaspoon meetup again.  I love your description of the State fair.

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Love the Beach Boys!  I saw them on the National Mall one 4th of July.  The concert was also being broadcast on the radio, and we were so far back on the Mall that we were hearing them on the radio before hearing them for real.  

My husband just left his teaching job after 29 years... I got him a copy of Endless Summer.

Stay cool!

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Hi Cindy Cooper, first sooooo very glad you are up and about. I'll be in touch as to Teaspoon. I wish you could join us for state fair. The downside is I am sick unto death for about three days after stuffing myself like a pig!

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Hi Lisa, no matter where we see them, they truly are a reflection of 'days gone by' and an Endless Summer for many of us! Nice present for your spouse. Peace!

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Howdy, Carol! My brother advised just that: putting or visiting until it was cooler. After seeing what y’all went through recently with temps over 110, that is advise I’m taking.

Your trip to the state fair? Those foods sound good enough to stand at the food booths and miss everything else. Corn on the cob dipped in butter?  OMG!

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Hi Pipster, so glad your brother is reinforcing what I suggested in my Chat Friday morning. My brother and sister-in-law are postponing their July 20th visit for the same reason. My bro was diagnosed with atrial fib about 2 months ago and the last thing he needs is this sort of heat to deal with on top of health conditions and his plan to do a 2K mile road trip to visit a family member in Santa Fe, then hop down to Tucson. Plus, there are still attractions that are limited due to Covid (e.g., dining at the famous Arizona Inn). You definitely don't want to be here in this heat. Plus, our monsoons are starting up and while I will not bitch at all whatsoever about the much needed rain, the temps pushing 100F and elevated humidity is like stepping into a Sonoran sauna when I leave for the grocers.

The grub at the State Fair is worth the wait in line! Since you mention corn on the cob, I will have to have a second helping and think of you as I munch every morsel! Here's how persnickety Wisconsinites are about being 'America's Dairyland.' I don't recall the full hoopla, but several years ago, the then WI governor, Scott Walker, outsourced the cream for cream puffs to Illinois. I can assure you that it was the worst tasting puffs EVER  and sales of the venerated Wisconsin State Fair cream puffs was a dismal failure. Wisconsinites picketed the puffs because 1) the taste was lousy, and 2) America's Dairyland dollars were going to 'da bears.' I didn't even finish one that year. I tasted one and the cream had a grainy/sugary taste to it.

One thing I never miss at the fair, separate from the food, are the pig races. All those little Wilbur porkers sure can run knowing that, win or lose, they will get an oreo at the finish line!

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I know all about oppressive humidity. When I lived on the coast, walking out the house at 7 am in 80 degree weather with 100% humidity.... sweltering before I even got to the car.

I'd have LOVED to see the piglet race!

Answer 8

On this day:

1566: The physician Nostradamus dies

1782: The Geneva Revolution ends

1900: The airship Zeppelin flies for the first time

Comments

I read the Geneva Revolution, Professor. All new to me. Thanks for that one!

Answer 9

Our family came through the heat wave, in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, fairly well with temperatures reaching 112F (119F on the south veranda) but it has now moved on to the East.  Unfortunately the town of Lytton, further up the Fraser River Canyon, in the rain shadow of the Coast Mountains where the Thompson River joins, is a natural hot spot with temperatures reaching 121F and went up in flames.  Smoke was observed by the rail bridge as a train passed and the town was engulfed in flames within 15 minutes with people evacuating at 23 minutes.  I tell this as I think about, not only these people, but others facing loss at this time........

Comments

Hi John, you, your family and all of the folks that had to face that dreadful heat dome and the catastrophes that came with it have been in my thoughts and healing intentions since last weekend. This has been a disastrous week of loss with heat in the west and the toppling of the high rise in Florida. So happy to see your post this weekend, though. It lets me know you are a survivor and still hanging in there. Take care, cousin! Yes, we are cousins (17th 2x removed, but cousins nevertheless).

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Incredible 121 degrees and spontaneous combustion

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The losses of the people related to the collapsed building have been on my mind, also, Carol......and, I have known my wife, Kathleen, is your 10th cousin 2x removed, through Thomas Carter.  

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I think, Susan, we might be in a little trouble.

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And so many in that region have no air conditioning/cooling.

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Thankyou, Cindy, for your concerns about air conditioning.......one of ours would kick the breaker at 104F, so we moved about part of the day in vehicles with A/C......can only imagine the discomfort of those without!  PS  My thoughts are with you regarding your recent loss.

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Hi Cousins John and Kathleen! Yes, this week has been tragic in so many ways. I've had to keep the news off several times this week because all I wanted to do was weep. I lost connection yesterday in the midst of a reply on Wikitree. It is back up today. No TV or landline, either, which is not always a bad thing. FB though had a tragic story about finding the 7 y/o son in the Florida rubble and it was his father's fire fighting crew that found him.

Really, I wouldn't mind some good news! Perhaps John Krizynski (spelling?, the newest Jack Ryan and I think he is on a TV show called Office) should bring back his SGN that he ran from home last year during the pandemic. SGN was 'Some Good News'. It was hilarious.

Give cousin Kathleen of the Carter clan a hug from this cousin. And hugs to you as well! Take care; stay cool!

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My son lives in a suburb of Portland, OR. He does not have air conditioning so I was quite concerned about him. He made it through okay but about 68 people died in Portland.

The dairy farm in Tillamook, OR (best cheese & ice cream) lost 1 cow because of the heat.

That heat is so very dangerous.

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SGN, Carol, Kathy and daughter are back, from shopping, with hot coffee and I passed on the, appreciated, cousin hugs.    As I have only one known branch of ancestors coming through the U.S., my cousin Kathy's U.S. ancestors generally cross cousin trails closer than mine.

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Susan Ellen,  I noticed, when checking temperatures below the border, that Portland was a hot spot......your mention of Tillamook brought back fond memories of driving through the area......also, something I didn't previously know......Pig-N-Ford-Races.  PS  From your Canadian cousins.........   

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John, I heard about the town going up in flames. How horrifying! I can’t imagine what that would be like, little warning and the loss of everything.

Answer 10

Thank You for hosting the Chat Pip,

Weather wet and cool, if we are lucky we may hit 70 today.

This week. Well actually last weekend that little 11 year old girl in the picture I posted did exceptionally well for her first Field Day after getting her license. The club had 349 QSO's, contacts for the non hams out there, and she was responsible for 211 of those. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82k1x35kBYA is a link for a very short video about the event. We did not have major numbers but we had the largest number of people visit our site in many years so that made the whole thing a success. Yes they count things and award points but the real reason for the whole thing is for us to practice for an actual emergency and show the public what we do. The decision was made to use the same location next year and see how that works out. There will be changes because some things did not work as well as we hoped but again that is part of the event, to find what works and what needs improvement. Monday I did very little but I did work on one of my radios. My recliner broke Monday as well but we have warranty so we called to have that fixed. The recliner will not be fixed until at least July 15th. We changed out 2 of our windows blinds on Wednesday and I was testing computers for compatibility with the new Windows 11 operating system that will be out in a few months, One will not run the new system so I am looking into replacing that one before 2022. They said there is no big need to switch but I like to keep things simple with only running one version of windows if I can. Nothing much else this week except I renewed my drivers license and my car plates, big pain in the wallet. That means I can legally drive until July of 2025 and my grandson can legally drive my car for another year, he drives it more than I do.

Comments

Glad to hear the Event went well, the pix were interesting to examine -- have not spotted anything untoward in the background  

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You had a busy week, Dale! With lots of different things. Glad to hear the event went so well, especially the practice for an emergency.

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God willing Pip next year I plan to address the issues that arose and hopefully have an even better event. I am already doing some planning for that.

Answer 11

Hi from southern Ontario; I'm a little grumpy this morning, I was awake half the night trying to create an email to a lawyer who has been 'working' on an estate case for me for 7.5 years. This includes 3 periods of more than 12 months when nothing has been done, the answers I get when ask for explanations sound a lot like 'the dog ate my homework'. The decision has been made, I have a new lawyer whose comment was 'You have been far too patient there is no justification for these delays'.

Chez moi/at home: the hot topic is weather, we had very hot weather here at the beginning of the week, up to about 39C. the last 2 days have been cooler, rain a total of about 2.5 inches maybe more. Of course, after the rain, the weeds grow like crazy, so I know what I will be doing this weekend. 

You may have heard of the extreme temperatures in British Columbia especially in Lytton where the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Canada happened earlier this week on Tuesday the high was 49.5 C, then yesterday a wildfire burnt 90% of the town. That fire has now grown to 90 square kilometres. Several other communities are on immediate evacuation alert. Floods are also forecast in the Upper Fraser valley, and Chilcotin river area due to the vast amount of snowmelt caused by the extreme heat.

On Wednesday Ontario moved into Step 2 of reopening, hair salons can open, groups of up to 25 people can gather outdoors and five unrelated people can gather indoors. Numbers of cases and deaths are lower than they have been in almost a year. 

Alton Cemetery, One Place Study, family history project: up to 220 profiles, 27 more this week, almost all of them are members of the Limebeer family. And again 2 Limebeer brothers married 2 sisters Jane and Margaret Ovens. 

After I get the weeding done, I will go back to the Clark family and see what the other 3 Clark brothers got up to. 

This picture is of the millpond at the Lower Mill, Alton, Ontario both the Upper and Lower Mills were owned by Robbie's grt granduncle. 

Comments

Hi M! First, thanks for your review of the Lawrence kin last week. Very much appreciated. And then first, I am sorry to hear of you slacker attorney. It is frustrating because they aren’t cheap. Here’s a joke from my kid sister, who works for a law firm (old joke, but relevant). Q: What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A: A good start!

I have been keeping tabs on the weather all along the Pacific coast and was truly saddened to hear of the extreme heat, spontaneous fires, cables to cable cars melting, deaths due to heat, as well as the toppling of the high rise in Florida. I heard on the news that many people surrounding the toppled high rise speaking of climate change, its effects and the building collapse being one of them (not to mention our serious need for attention to infrastructure). No matter what the cause, loss of life is just not acceptable and I grieve for all of these grievers.

It is great to know that your regions is moving to Step 2 and opening up a bit more. I am still wearing my mask and limiting meetings and grocery shopping to protect myself and others. I have concerns over the Delta variant and many of the folks in our southern states are not stepping up to the vaccination plate for whatever reason. Very frustrating. I sometimes wonder if we will have another ‘greatest generation’ in this country like we did following the Great Depression and WWII.

The photo of the mill pond is lovely. I keep staring at it as though I might be transported into it forever (kind of like the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits---speaking of quantum physics). It is a boon to body, mind and spirit. Might there be a virtual vacay for this 4^th of July weekend? You take care and stay cool!

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M, you did a whole lot more profiles his week for he Alton Cemetery. Good for you. You have a self-imposed deadline to get all those graves profiled?

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Perhaps about March probably later there are 1407 memorials on FAG for the cemetery so 1187 to go.

 I'm hoping that now I'm getting research help from Robbie's cousin that it will go faster. She sourced most of the Limebeers on Ancestry.

25 a week is 48 weeks.

I could create 1187 unconnected profiles just with the burial records, but that wouldn't help at all as the goal is to show how the people connect to each other and that is the time intensive part. Some of the family members of the buried people are not themselves buried there but some of their kids are, which means they all need research.

Answer 12

Hello hello,

this last week was in parts of Germany too wet. It rained so much that the firefighters had to do a priorization who to save first and whose cellars could wait a bit longer to get the water pumped out. Also there was so much hail that the snowcars (I mean those trucks that put the snow on the sideline) had to come out. Fortunately it wasn't THAT bad here, although we also had to save some of our plants on the balcony from too much water in them.

Personally, mum enjoys her little vehicle. Today she finally got the luggage box put on the backside of it, so now she can go shopping alone in case we don't have too much and too unhandy stuff. Just an hour ago or so called the doctor who is meant to have a look at her shoulder for the insurance company. We have an appointment with him on Monday am. On Tuesday I am off to my social sister to get my second Pfizer shot on Wednesday morning. I hope to be able to come home on Thursday, I want to party mum's birthday on Friday.

WikiTree-wise it was a great week. I managed to get my 1000 contributions, then yesterday I was able to connect Kobe Bryant. Yay, project done, he is available for any Olympic Athletes connections that may come for the Olympic games. And the Canada Project is looking for people who want to write biographies for living politicians they have under their protection. I agreed to write the biography for Stephen Harper. It's again a opportunity to dive a bit deeper in Canada's (political) history. That's one reason why I love WikiTree, there are hundreds of possibilities to learn so much.

Ok, off to Stephen and to the first football-quarterfinal.

Comments

Hi Jelena, despite the rain, it reads as though much positive came from the week. First, your mum and her transportation, then you 1000, which is quite a feat and then your wonderful connecting of Kobe Bryant. Well done, you!

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Your mum's cart has a canopy for rain and sunshine? And curtains in case it rains?

She might be out and about in cloudy weather but not rainy and come back outside and on the way back to home it might start raining

This cart is electric, yes? Rechargeable battery? Where do you park it and where do you plug it in? Do you bring it all the way into your living quarters to keep the thieves from taking it?

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Mum got a rain cape she can take with her to protect it from the wet. It is electric, we have a garage where it is parked. And in the garage we have a plug socket where we can charge the battery.

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Glad to see you’re finally getting your second shot, Jelena. That ought to sense your mind a bit. Haven’t seen a whole lot of cases of the new variant here…. yet. I just can’t furfural out why folks refuse to get their shots! 

So your mom is finally getting to see the doctor again. They have really dragged her out with these appointments. I know she is happy to have her cart with the new luggage box. Good for her!

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Forgot to tell you, Jelena, that my Martin Luther bio arrived a couple of days ago. I’ll finish up the series I’m reading now before starting. Thanks for the recommendation!

Answer 13

Greetings from Everett, Washington, where we have our marine layer back. Monday was BRUTAL. It was my son's birthday, however, and we were going to eat out that evening.  We get in the van and I almost can't touch anything. The interior was exuding that new-car smell on steroids. The outside temperature was 104 (other thermometers in the area were reading 128, depending on whether they were close to the ground or higher). We head down Everett Mall Way and we can't see the mountains; the dome is holding down a haze on top of us. The glaciers on Mount Rainier are melting. So are the people inside the Outback Steakhouse (our little bit of Australia) where the wait was 45 minutes.  We headed on to a teppanyaki place closer to the mall where we had no wait at all. My daughter at work was also finding that people were taking refuge in air-conditioned places, like the movie theater, full of kids and spilled popcorn. We prayed the rosary in the van in the theater parking lot with the A/C full blast while waiting for her shift to end.

The next day it was still sunny but 20 degrees or so cooler. I went to our local QFC supermarket and found the freezer section blocked off with tape and "Do not open" signs on all the freezer doors. And all the ice cream was gone. Everyone was asking the checker and she said that the freezer doors were opened and closed so many times over the previous two days that the compressor had started to fail. They were waiting for a tech to come fix it. I went back yesterday and all was as it should be.

Downstairs was much the cooler part of the house so I did Wikitreeing here instead of sewing up there. I am in the USBH Connectors Challenge so I started up the tree of an Adamson family. I discovered a Hollywood actor, William James Adamson https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Adamson-3464 with a substantial filmography. I also discovered that one record, World War I draft registration, had a false birthplace that got repeated all over the internet. I knew it was false once I triangulated it with his death certificate (parents' names) and census records for when he was living in Texas with his parents' family. Also, on the draft registration he said his father was born in England (!). But it gave his married sister's address and that confirmed it also. It is essential to read the details of a document. If the birth certificate says the mother delivered the child, it's time to dig deeper.

My daughter and I are doing this dance about scheduling a Dungeons & Dragons session about 40 miles south of here (Renton) in the apartment of a young man that I have met, along with a couple of other people--I keep telling her this should be an incentive to learn to drive--twice now I have had to say "not tonight, we have a meeting online" and she hates to disappoint him.  I think I will bring a book. D&D is notorious for having no time limit, so I will call a halt to it if necessary.

So, the sun is NOT shining, temperatures are back in the 60s; we are hoping for rain, as it usually rains on the 4th of July or just before. Judging from the test firings we hear every night, our neighbors are going to have a bang-up time on the 4th. Husband went to buy some at the Muckleshoot Reservation and was told it was a fund raiser for the Muckleshoot Fire Department (!).

Oh, and he is going to buy a combination A/C and heat pump for his mother's place and also for our house.

My job is to keep the dog indoors and help him relax during all the excitement.  I enjoy whatever I can see through my upstairs window (that's plenty).

Yours faithfully,
Margaret

Comments

Hello Margaret, I have been worrying about all the folks living along the Pacific Northwest region and hoping that they are surviving the heat. While we tend to be used to the hotter temperatures in the desert southwest, people and pets still suffer from the heat, access to groceries, sweltering autos and so forth. These are new types of emergencies for residents of Oregon, Washington State on up into Vancouver that are unexpected. At any rate, good to know your temperatures are behaving, and having family time and family fun! Stay cool.

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I noticed that although I used to live in Los Angeles, where in the summertime it could get over 100, that I am no longer acclimated to this kind of heat. Nor was a member of our Toastmasters club who is a native of Monterrey, Mexico.

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Your usual (fascinating) Saga ... D&D, heat dome, melting glaciers, upstairs and downstairs (sounds like an English Novel), published celeb biography full of hoohah (as per usual, I'm told) ... 

 

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Margaret,  When we were out and about, something happened that we hadn't expected, some eating establishments closed, as the kitchens became unbearable to work in and in others milkshakes became unavailable, when ice machines couldn't keep up.

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Margaret, we’ve been having “test firings” here for the past three days. Some people just can’t wait for the Fourth.

I was thinking of you during your heat wave, hoping you were able to cope. I’ve never experienced anything like that. I think the highest air temp I ever experienced was only about 103.

How’s the sewing machine. Still learning the new features?

Answer 14

Virtual Vacation! These photos were taken in July 2017 by me. We spent a day on Dartmoor before going further along the coast to a family wedding. 

Many roads on the moor wind across the open space however some are just like this one, the picture was taken from the front seat of our rental car, we had booked a compact car but ended up with a mini-van which was much too big for some roads. 

Small roads like this are usually signed ' 6.6 feet wide'. After spending far too much time trying to find the visitor centre, we were told on arrival that GPS should never be used on Dartmoor as the GPS looks for the shortest route and the program doesn't seem to include data about dead end roads, or roads that are only suitable for bicycles or horses, or that lead into farm fields.  

Dartmoor has been a national park since 1951. It is a large area of upland moor. The many granite outcroppings are called Tors and are the remains of the magma chamber from a volcano that erupted several million years ago. 

It also has the largest number of Bronze age remains and artifacts in Britain, plus many standing stones, stone circles and stone rows.  

Dartmoor ponies have lived on the moor since about 1500 BC. Dartmoor is also home to the Dartmoor prison which has been used since the early 1800s. About 6500 American soldiers taken prisoner during the war of 1812 were held at the prison until March 1815. 

This photo is of a village called Dartmeet where the East and West Dart rivers meet and then flow to the coast. 

Even though the land is owned by others registered commoners are allowed to graze their sheep and cattle on the moor. 

The Hound of the Baskervilles written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was set on Dartmoor and this pop up food truck has certainly taken advantage of the name. 

Comments

Virtual Vacay! Yup, that's what I'm talkin' about! Love these vacays, M! Love the Tors and other craggy formations. Those outcroppings look like I feel given my age!

That stone building in the Dartmeet village looks like the stone buildings in Cedarburg, Wisconsin! While the Dartmeet home is likely much older, many homes and factories (particularly the old woolen mill) were built in the 1800s by immigrants from Ireland, England and Germany. I lived in a now 150 y/o fieldstone farmhouse. We spent several years restoring the home. Our old fashioned general store was also housed in the old stone woolen mill much like the building depicted in your Dartmeet photo. Brings back lovely memories and makes me long for those days.

The Hound of the Basket Meals, while a clever pun on Sir Conan Doyle's work, jars and gives one a dose of reality among the photographic bliss.

Thanks for the vacay to another wonderful spot and thanks so much for sharing!

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The bridge in the photo was built in 1792, the house probably precedes it by 50-100 years,  the village was first referred to in a Duchy of Cornwall document dated 1616 where it was called – Dartameet, and yes Prince Charles owns the Duchy of Cornwall.

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"Hound of the Basket Meals" ... that is someone with a sense of humor 

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Hi M, my internet has been down for nearly a day due to weather. We've had some much needed rain that included storm warnings for flooding and high winds. They were, indeed, high winds!

Thanks for the history. The house is much older than our fieldstone farmhouse, yet the appearance is quite similar.

I knew about Prince Charles owning the Duchy of Cornwall. I understand it is a prime source of income for him and that William will eventually 'inherit' this Duchy.

I was in Cornwall years ago. My first trip to England was an organized tour in 1978 that went from Glasgow to Inverness to Edinburgh to Culloden to Hadrian's Wall to Beatrix Potter's Lake Country to north Wales to Stratford (where I saw Alan Rickman in Love's Labour's Lost) to Glastonbury, Winchester, Plymouth (my one time in Cornwall) to see where the Pilgrims left for 'the New World,' then traveled across the Salisbury plain (no ropes around Stonehenge at that time) to Windsor, then London. It was a great trip and I learned a lot!

I would like to return to Cornwall at some point because I discovered a couple of years ago that my maternal great great grandmother came from Sithney, Cornwall with her family ca. 1880 to New Jersey. Plus, I do most of my England Team/Mighty Oaks work in Cornwall and have gotten to know a couple of the OPCs pretty well. I have acknowledged them in some of the profiles I have done, particularly for the Orphan Trail.

Thank you again for the virtual vacay in my homeland (one of them).

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What beautiful photos, M. I had to laugh a bit about using GPS and those shortest routes, sometimes, it seems to work the same around here in the mountains. The shortest route is often NOT the shortest!

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I agree the default seems to be the shortest, regardless of the road type or condition, the theoretically fastest route often doesn't work well either, around here highways are usually suggested because they have higher speed limits, local knowledge will tell you otherwise, too much traffic to drive at the speed limit.

I've been waiting for someone to comment on the 6.5 foot wide road, they are not only very narrow but the apparent hedges on the sides are actually growing over stone walls so there is no give if you get too close.

If you meet a vehicle coming toward you, someone has to back up until the road is just wide enough for the vehicles to pass, usually where there is an entrance to a field.

Try this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqMp4AV_I1Q

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Oh my, on that video one would have to back up a long way before finding a space for vehicles to pass. Really in trouble if it's a lorry!

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Pip, you make me laugh, a Ford F-150 is too wide for that road let alone anything bigger.

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Guess that why there are so many small cars in England!  I’ve heard the same about some roads in Scotland.

Answer 15

I'm not going to talk about the weather in Fort Erie, because according to the news, people in British Columbia had it way worse this week. (If those temperatures don't sound extreme to you, even after you convert temperature scales, consider this: only 40% of buildings in B.C. have air conditioning, because it's extremely unusual for temperatures even to exceed 30˚ C in B.C. Never mind nearly 50˚ C, as happened in Lytton, just before 90% of the town burned.) I'm also sparing some sympathy for people in the Northwest Territories, where one place hit 38.6˚ C this week. I'd bet good money that almost nobody has air conditioning in the N.W.T. Who would even consider that necessary?

We've been in quarantine since the light of my life and the delight of my eyes returned from her trip to the Unexplored Southern Area. She's upset because Sunday School is starting up this week now that Ontario's lockdown is loosening a little bit, and she doesn't want to miss seeing her kids. I'm doing what I can to help her out in that department by acting as childish as I can. (Hang on a minute while I cry for my bottle.)

In the meantime, she's been working on repotting tomato plants, since they got rootbound while she was away. The tomato grove is coming along nicely, and the peppers are starting to come along, too. (No potatoes this year, alas.)

Since June is over, I have finished up working on Welches and Kiblers (for a while, anyway). This month's surname are Goodes and Hancock, with a side order of Phillips.

I don't really have the time to work on three surnames in a month, especially since Phillips is the surname from our family trees which has the largest number of profiles on WikiTree (29,688 as of yesterday), but no One Name Study. But even doing two surnames per month only gets 24 surnames done per year, so I'm thinking that I might spend two or three months each on the remaining 8 surnames as I have time. (Which I don't.) If anyone chooses to start a Phillips Name Study, I think that would benefit a lot of people who have Phillipses in their family trees.

Comments

Greg,  Since mid week, here on Coastal B.C., temperatures have moderated to a pleasant daytime 80/90F accompanied by a refreshing breeze.  

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“ I'm doing what I can to help her out in that department by acting as childish as I can. (Hang on a minute while I cry for my bottle.” I had to laugh at this, Greg. Sounds so much like me. My wife often gives me that look, the one that says, “Go to your room!”

Answer 16

Grüße aus der Pfalz!

I have transcribed and translated so many ancient scriptures. I can't even count them all. And there were some really bad manuscripts.

I always tell my children to write properly. That's good for later. And what do my children do? They show me an old exercise book of mine! And I can't read it! I can't read my own writing anymore!!!

I won't complain about old writing anymore.

Comments

Mum always complains about my handwriting. And actually, when I write some genealogical informations while I'm talking to someone, I really have to bring them in my program fast, because I write with a terrible handwriting and shortages and whatever more that I won't be able to decipher later anymore.

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My handwriting has changed so much over the years, Lothar, that I often don’t recognize it. And now that I generally type everything, I have to slow down when signing something so that it’ll be recognizable to others.

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Have been with my husband 33 years and I still have trouble with his sometimes.

Answer 17

Hi from Hampshire, weather's actually been pretty decent for June and we've been out and about quite a lot. Since we came out of lockdown in April we've been eating our way along the River Meon from shore to source and it's taken us to several place we've never been before. It's not much of a river, maybe 25 miles miles long but it's mostly very pretty, nice pubs and lovely churches.

Today we were at Droxford where they've taken to serving coffee and cakes in the churchyard, blissful, and it didn't feel at all irreverent, either. We found the grave I was looking for, of the curate in charge for many years of another parish. He was Senior Wrangler at Cambridge in his year (which means he was a brilliant mathematician) and he was apparently well thought of by the Bishop. However hints are appearing that while he was a curate he aided the local smuggler gang to hide stuff in the church! It has been said that many clergymen sympathised with the smugglers because the enormous taxes put things out of the reach of ordinary people. Those things were, of course, brandy, port, sherry, wine and tobacco, so others say the clergy and the landowners just liked to get the things cheap. Interesting times but it could get very violent. I'm trying to find more information on the one or two smuggler names I have so far. Lovely little project and we're planning to eat our way along the Hamble next.

Comments

Sounds as if you're having a good time out of lockdown.  I did a lot of walking in the Meon Valley when we lived in Fareham. Its a lovely area. One of my most vivid  memories is picnicking with the children, in the churchard at Wickham, on a snowy day.  ( Must have been Feb 1983 because  husband  was absent in the Falklands )
I read your answer last night and I now can't stop  mumbling to myself 'Brandy for the Parson, Baccy for the Clerk', more memories!

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Oh dear, Helen. How will my efforts match Kipling? He really said it all, didn't he? But you have to read that poem after dark by firelight.

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Curates helping the smugglers? Sounds like my kind of folks.

Answer 18

Greetings, fellow WikiTreers!

It's been an interesting couple of weeks, but at least there's a little time today to drop by and chat for a few. We've been having a bit of work done on the house lately, so it's been the endless parade of contractors. We had our front walk and half our porch redone, which was more involved than I would have imagined, but at least it's out of the way. And then the asphalt driveway people came and redid the whole driveway, so the front of the home looks much nicer now than when we originally moved in. I really do need to do some more work on the large tree out front, but did manage to knock off one of the larger branches that had got a bit out of control as a start. And then the garage door decided to not want to go back down - turns out the spring had snapped. So we had a new spring put back in, and the garage door guy showed us how to program the vehicle so that we wouldn't need the opener. But at the same time, we also ordered a new panel for the bottom of the door. When we bought the house, the owner told us she forgot to open the door and backed up into it, which put a small dent in the bottom. And after years of additional wear and tear, the metal strip that holds the weatherstripping has rusted and deteriorated away so that we don't have any way to block the rain. So we're waiting up to 12 weeks for this panel to come in - not because it's a "special order" - but because so many people have been off work that shipping is backed up severely and it just takes that long to get it here.

And to top all that off, Phil, our semi-resident groundhog, broke the rules the other day and decided hanging out at the base of the yard wasn't good enough anymore and thought it would be a great idea to dig up my garden next to my front porch and make a nice new burrow underneath my brand new concrete porch. My neighbor had a heart attack when she saw a huge animal tearing up the dirt under the porch and I wasn't all that thrilled either. Scaring him caused him to burrow deeper, so more drastic measures were needed. I did some internet research, and apparently groundhogs are not Italian. They dislike oregano, garlic, and crushed red peppers. So we bought some extra spices and thought that had a shot at getting him out. He sniffed at them, shoved some dirt over them, and kept digging. Hm. Maybe he IS Italian? Oh well. That didn't stop me. I also read that they equate ammonia smell to a large animal peeing on their territory. So I went to THREE stores trying to find it, and found some lemon-scented ammonia. Half a gallon in his secondary exit hole - half a gallon in his primary hole, and he seemed to dislike the ammonia, but continued to burrow. So he got a whole gallon straight up the hole. I think he was a bit upset about that. Just for good measure, I poured another entire gallon down the hole and bought another 7 just in case. Plus I got some granules that are supposed to make them go away. I will admit that I've not seen him since then, but now I've got this huge hole under my porch that I'm wondering how to get all the dirt, rocks, and sand back under to support the porch properly. Guess the answer is one shovelful at a time... So this weekend should be entertaining.

We also had a dear friend at the church pass away last week, and we just went to the celebration of life yesterday. You can always tell when someone is assured of heaven - while they grieve over the loss of the person, we're assured of seeing them again one day, so it's not goodbye, but farewell for now. Our pastor only got choked up once and even then he recovered quickly, which is a bit of a record for him. Her husband didn't speak, but had the pastor read a letter that was touching and hit me in the heart. Of course, when I went up and shook his hand at the end, I told him that anything he needed, to just ask. So he invited me to have dinner with him. LOL - guess I need to figure out what we're having now. :)

Genealogy-wise, I've been busy trying to move the living Notables to yellow privacy, and it's a slow and tedious process, but I'm through the G's now and moving into the H's. In general, those of us who help manage these thought it best to review them briefly before releasing them into the wild, and I'm finding all sorts of formatting errors, ones without the project template, many that the project account was never added to, and so on. The review is allowing me to do a quick cleanup on these formatting errors that have likely thrown a number of Data Doctor suggestions on them for quite some time, so I hope in the long run it makes for a cleaner profile and cleaner DD report. I've also found another Academy Award winner to connect - song and dance man George Murphy. I've added his family members and have been trying to find a little time here and there to add spouses of his family so that I can get a better look at where a connection might start to emerge.

Oh, and the Governor in Indiana lifted all restrictions yesterday, and the new Covid variant is starting to ramp up. So it makes me a bit leery of where everything is heading, but I'm going to continue to take some precautions without becoming completely paranoid. Hope everyone stays safe and that in the end, we're hopefully headed on the right track to keep everyone from going back to pandemic status.

Comments

Well that sounds like a week or two that will live long in your memories

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Hi Scott, I am mainly writing to express my sincere condolences on the death of your friend from church. I like to keep the 'farewell for now' in mind. It sounds like the service was a wonderful tribute.

And no matter what restrictions are lifted, I would always caution people to take care. Wearing a mask and distancing for a while longer, even if others choose not to, is much better than the alternative that could arise from a variant strain. You take care!

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A difficult social shift occurs when people get married, when people get a divorce, or when their mate dies or just disappears.  Other people now see them differently. 

Those who acquire a partner say that their former friends, singles, drop out voluntarily. People whose partner is gone for whatever reason say they find themselves on the outside of the groups (those with partners) they used to socialize with. 

Whether you acquire a partner or lose one, in the minds of others who know you, your position is shifted in their minds.  This new treatment by them is added to all the adjustments you are making at the same time. Been there, done that. It is a lonely place to be 

I'd suggest a dinner with that friend that also includes another single person or two and another couple besides you and your partner.  Is this man to be still a part of the social fabric he and his partner were part of? Or will he find himself "dropped" from the couples groups?  Or can you establish a casual meal event now and then with this person, so they still have a "connection"?  

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Yeah - his family was kidding him when he said it, as apparently he was inviting anyone who shook his hand that day to have dinner with him. Honestly, I do think he was wanting to meet with people, so while there might have been a little side-joke involved, I'm going to touch base with him tomorrow at church and set up a time when he's not busy and we can hang out. I really like him anyway and we served as Deacons together, so this is a good opportunity for us to reconnect a bit.

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I hope, Scott, it works out.  If he can build a network, if others will build it with him

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Scott, I wish I could get contractors to show up here. Typically a Brevard thing. We’ve got work that needs done!

Our groundhog is called Ralph. My wife thinks my grandfather would not have like for me to name a groundhog after him, but the name fits. Fortunately for us, he stays pretty far away from our house, though I did notice a few starter borrows in the front yard in our flower bed.

So sorry to hear about the death of your friend. Your thoughts are in target. It’s only for a little while before the reunion.

Answer 19

I still function!

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps! 

I had a stressful week this week. I just posted my 52Ancestors post about data conflicts in the tree: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2021/07/52-ancestors-week-26-conflict.html

I really liked the banner for this week's blog. It's done in the style of the "Challenger Approaching" screens from the Super Smash Bros series from Nintendo. In this case, the challenger here is none other than the fourth and current Lady Liberty from my Starbolts webcomic! 

 She's very appropriate as the 4th of July is upon us and who doesn't like patriotic comic book characters? Well, aside from John Walker aka US Agent aka the Avenger with the most punchable face.

 So, why am I late? Well, I had a week that threw everything into chaos.

Monday: I had a preorder on Amazon moved from August to October and that's odd because something else in that wave is still slated for an August release.

Wednesday: We lost power here in Salem. Several trees went down and that is the night I usually start my genealogy blog. We didn't get power back until Thursday night.

What happened was that there was a HUGE storm which knocked out power to the entire street. Several branches broke and a tree even went through some guy's garage at the top of the street.

Thursday I couldn't do much but watch the generator and do some other odds and ends before the power returned.

 So, today I am playing catchup. I made my blog and Saturday we're having my brother and his fam come up for a two week long visit. It was a crazy week. Off to work on this week's comic! Have a great weekend!

Comments

Lost power on Wednesday... have you had a chance to watch Loki yet?

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Ciao Chris,

We are twins! I lost power in the midst of a Weekend Chat comment yesterday morning and was off for the rest of the day! No wifi, sporadic TV, no landline. Very creepy, especially if 911 would have been needed. I didn't use my android at all. So, I caught up on reading my 'Dinner with Churchill' book. You take care!

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@Lisa: Yes, I did! We lost power at like 5pm on Wednesday.

@Carol: Power outages are a good time to catch up on reading. Caution: Be careful of reading things you know have a bad storyline. Sigh....

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Really cool pics in your blog this week, Chris.

Glad you got your power restored before the arrival of family. Unusually for us, we had only one short power outage this year… so far. Reminds me, I need to test our generator. The next one will be a Generac tied to our propane tank!

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Yes connect to the propane, they have really came down in price over the last few years. Well worth it.

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@ Pip: The pics were from the box my aunt gave me last year. The "Not-so" Rough Riders are pretty awesome.

Good luck with the generator!

Answer 20

There is a banner for "Work in progress" when you work on a profile and don't want others to jump in and actually erase your edits because you can't save them. Does anybody how to put that on a profile?

Asked in desperate need...

Comments

<div style="padding-bottom:5px;text-align:center;border-bottom:2px solid red;"><span style="font-size:250%;color:red;">UNDER CONSTRUCTION </span><br />Do not attempt to edit while this message is here.<br />more text if needed<br>Insert 4 tilde here to show your Wiki ID and a timestamp.</div>

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When the page is edited, you cannot see the tildes ~, only the result. 3 tildes show the wiki ID, 4 tildes show the wiki ID and the timestamp, 5 tildes show only the timestamp.

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It probably won't deter everyone, since there's no cure for stupid or stubborn, but it will probably be effective otherwise

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*runs to the profile of Stephen Harper to edit that in*... And it worked. Thanks a lot Lothar!

Edit: I also copied that code to my Navigation Page scratch pad, simply to have it available in case I need it.

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I now use several free-space pages because my nav-page is already full.

Of course, it is not a real protection, but at least a clear signal.

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@Lothar

@Jelena

This may not be Wiki-correct, but what I do is write:

{{Under reconstruction by [[Wiki-name]]}} So that people know the profile is being worked on and by whom so they know who to contact. I delete this message as soon as I am done; however, under Acknowledgements I generally write 'Biography written (or rewritten) with inline sourcing and photo added (if relevant) by [[wiki-name]] on date...so that people know who did it and who to contact. So far, so good.

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Thanks Carol, this is the second version now on my NavPage.