"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! August 6th - 8th, 2021 [closed]

+27 votes
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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.

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Enjoy yourselves and spread the love!

WikiTree profile: Pip Sheppard
closed with the note: Closed until next Weekends Chat on August 13th - 15th, 2021
in The Tree House by Pip Sheppard G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
closed by David Selman
Pip I admire you for doing school again at this stage of life.  I hope they will teach you to stay out of that horrible weed!  I would get it on my arm and then lie on that arm at night and transfer it to my body.  I should have completely bandaged it to save the rest of myself.
Pip - I am also highly allergic to the dreaded Poison Ivy. I always end up driving to the doctor, where he prescribes oral steroids. Since you have to take such a large initial dose, I feel like Superman for about 3 days until the dosage starts to come down a bit. Once I had a bit of a "road rage" moment while in the grip of said steroids, and had to bite my tongue hard when I wanted to physically let someone know they had really ticked me off. Glad my brain was still in charge and not my 'roids at that moment, although I'm sure it would have taught him a lesson in manners.

Usually I prescribe to the Tecnu line of OTC medications for Poison Ivy. Their itch reliever is clear, relieves the itch, and conveniently flakes off so that it looks like you've got leprosy, which means no one will want to get near you. Always an added bonus to be left alone while in the grip of the Great Itch. Plus they have this amazing soap/wash that you use to scrub away the irishioil that is in your skin, and rinses it away so that it's no longer causing you additional grief. My daughter-in-law caught it a few weeks ago, and I can only THANK God I didn't manage to catch it while she was around last week. I know the oils aren't just pouring up onto the skin surface, but if they do, they can rub just about anywhere, so I'm usually changing clothes a lot more while I'm infected or around the weed, and generally paranoid.

Good luck, Pip!!
Good gracious, Pip! I admire your energy level, but I don't want to emulate your activity level. Thanks for continuing to fit Weekend Chat Hosting into your schedule. Your reaction to poison ivy sounds a bit like my reaction to red bugs aka chiggers. They love me! I have avoided an infestation this summer so far, knock on wood. My closest Presidential relations are George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, tied at 12th cousins twice removed. I need to find that pedigree collapse app of which you write. My paternal side has at least two episodes of cousin marriage. Good luck with the painting and the mower repair. I know you'll be top of the class in your new academic endeavor.
As a fellow sufferer of the poison Ivy plague,  I feel your pain.  As  a rural New Yorker, the pernicious weed is a constant companion.  and I sometimes abandon principle to deal with it.
I think I'm friends with the drummer of Satanic Manifestations. Good guy. He goes to lunch with his mother every Tuesday. I made that up. If there is a band by that name. They are from one of four places. Norway, Sweden,Florida, or New York. I think I am going to write a song called Emanation Of The Prince Of Darkness. I think I came up with a vocal melody already.

A lot of times. I have found in my travels. That smaller engines need to run on 91 octane, non ethanol gas. Including lawn tractors/mowers, generators, air compressors...etc...etc. I ran ethanol gas in an older lawn mower of mine. Thing died a lot and had no power. Of course the list of electrical reasons that could cause it to fail. Is a journey in to the depths of insanity. Or something so simple, that there is no way that it could be the problem. Like a loose battery cable. Oil pressure due to too much, or too little oil. Wrong oil. I could go on for days.

Taking classes? The only time you're to old to learn is when you reach the end of the journey of life. That's awesome. Learning is great. Whether it's the history of cheese whiz, or the science of propulsion through the vacuum of space. Or anything in between.
Youza! On the poison ivy ...I feel your pain cousin!  I have decided major yard work clearing brush is cheaper and less painful to hire it done as my allergic reaction to all of the poison various leaves. Instantly, almost, one bump runs making a zillion.  Only cure is presodone shot at the doctor. The oral ones after the shot. And other drugs don't cure it for me either, one doc gave something else and was back in a few days, it goes straight to my blood stream.

Congratulations on going back to school!  A major commitment on top of your busy life!

Thanks for taking time to chat with us each week, I always feel guilty about my lazy life, but I hear you give up sleep.  Careful about that we are selfishly wanting you to stick around with us for a very long time!!
I agree Scott. technically is the best. OTC for poison Ivy.       Beware.  Poison Hemlock is spreading in the USA and it is deadly.  Look it up.   It is not related to Queen Anne’s Lace which it resembles.   Pip hope you get relief soon
Thanks for hosting you are the best.   Explain what a Hreeter needs to do snd qualifications to be one. Maybe you will get some volunteers.  

Chocolate.  My 2nd great grandfather was a candy maker.  I make molded chocolate for Christmas every year.    Dark chocolate is the least fattening of the types

Genealogy.   Since my computer died I am not doing much.    But want to.
Cousin Loretta, we are now at the point where we are going to get folks to do our work for us. We just don’t have the energy nor the desire to worry about injuries any more!
I heard that!!!

38 Answers

+23 votes
Hi Pip

I will add some more photos and be back
by Hilary Gadsby G2G6 Pilot (313k points)
I am NOT a number! I am a FREE MAN!
@ Margaret and Hilary! OMG...for your viewing pleasure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osNmf_zmSyE

Be seeing you!
Nice photos. I think I might download that boats picture to try to draw-paint. All things nautical have been a theme for awhile.

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Portmeirion pottery is lovely. My parents love it and it always reminds me of them and home. It was named after Portmeirion, Wales. Here's the blurb about it.

I have some Portmeirion pottery it was my mum's. Also antique Wedgwood, from the early 1800s.

Gorgeous! laugh

@Frances Thanks for your feedback about Portmeirion dishware. I absolutely love mine. Yours looks a bit older than what I have and instead of fruit, the dishware consistes of various flowers (lilies, sweet william, pansies, forget-me-nots, etc.).

I have to be careful now if I want to purchase more items. I always check the bottoms of the cups/dishes to make sure it says 'Made in England.' There are some 'knock offs' that are now 'Made in China'!

It's not mine, Carol - I just borrowed it from Wikipedia. I just have one bowl - here:

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Hi Frances, yes, this floral design is the style I have. Love it!

I love it too. Classic. laugh

+23 votes

Today is...

         

NATIONAL FRIED CHICKEN DAY

Today, July 6th, chicken lovers across the country recognize National Fried Chicken Day by feasting at a nearby restaurant, home, or an outdoor picnic.

Scottish immigrants brought their tradition of deep-frying chicken in fat to the southern United States. After its introduction to the American South, fried chicken soon became a staple. Over time, cooks added seasonings and spices to enrich the flavor of the chicken.

Fried chicken is a dish consisting of chicken pieces floured or battered, then pan-fried, deep-fried or pressure-fried. The breading adds a crisp coating to the exterior of the chicken. Knowing how to get a good crisp on the chicken may seem elusive to some. 

However, some of the best cooks will tell you the keys to achieving the crispiest fried chicken involves seasoning well and early in the process, adding starch to your flour and frying your chicken at the right temperature. The oil should be 300°F. Finally, let the chicken rest before serving to allow the juices to be absorbed back into the meat. Just like beef and pork, the chicken will be more tender when we allow it to rest. Traditionally the chicken is fried in lard. However, corn oil, peanut oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil are also frequently used.

HOW TO OBSERVE National Fried Chicken Day:

Use this batter mix as you try this fried chicken recipe. Serve it with your favorite side dishes, too. Potato salad, cornbread, greens, or watermelon. And be sure to share! Invite some friends over, make some fried chicken, and share photos 

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
Locally, today is Microwaved Chicken Pot Pie day.
(Quick intake of breath!!!!) Wife says, "Yum," and so do I. You know how to pick 'em, Dorothy.
Hi Dorothy. Hope you are doing well! Mmmmmm...fried chicken! Love it! I wish my grandmother was still alive to make it for me. No one made or makes it better.

Sadly, my son-in-law is allergic to chicken. Rare, yet true. I cannot make any meal with chicken when they visit me or I visit them. How sad is that!?
I'll have four fried chickens and a coke. (Let's see if anyone gets that reference.)
Looks good enough to eat -- I started salivating when I saw the pix of that hot greasy crunchy chicken ... oh, for the lost years when I could scarf up ...
Chris, is it a line from one of the Star Wars movies????
Chris, I'll have just some dry white toast.
Thanks, Lis! =D Yes, that was a bit from the Blues Brothers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwcQ1j9k2r0
Is this a real thing? Maybe that's why my wife was craving KFC today...
Our local diner used to offer the most wonderful fried chicken.  One of the unfortunate results of the pandemic, is the curtailment of their menu, which replaced the real thing with "chicken tenders".  I mourn the loss of real food. and its replacement by processed garbage.
Tenders!  That's not chicken, that's McDonald's.
Milk is something a number of chefs I know used to swear by.    Made crispy coating
+23 votes

Good morning Pip and the weekend chatters!!!

Weather:

  • Rain: Monday and Tuesday (down pouring)
  • Dry: Wednesday and Thursday
  • Cool: Thursday and Friday mornings

Genealogy:

  • Working on the Meyer Weinglass descendant line for Week 31 of the WikiTree Challenge.

Ancestry Research Tip:

  • be sure to enter dates (precise as possible) to get more record hints
Reminder:
  • WikiTree Friday Date Night (come date some profiles)
by Tommy Buch G2G Astronaut (1.9m points)
edited by Tommy Buch
You actually had some dry weather down there, Tommy? Good for you!

Yeah, but Tommy is probably a really accomplished swimmer, all that water surrounding him .. Raindrops-Dee Clark - YouTube

+25 votes

Hello, from sunny London! The weather has been quite nice all this week and I've got a good bit of genealogy done.

Most excitingly I was able to break the brickwall of my 3x great aunt, Sarah Buck. It turned out she was born illegitimate as Sarah Kate Buck Cooper and married a man named Alfred Ladd.

Of course, Alfred wouldn't be your average Joe. In fact, six months before he married Sarah he was accused of staging his wife's suicide and put before an inquest. However, a famous handwriting expert (George Smith Inglis) was able to clear Alfred and a verdict of suicide whilst of unsound mind was affirmed.

The unfortunate thing about all of this is that I can't find any other trace of Alfred's first wife. Still, I'll continue to work on tracking her down and will hopefully be able to catch a break.

Now I'll sign off to try and track down the mysterious Mary Ladd.

by David Smith G2G6 Mach 7 (76.9k points)
edited by David Smith
I'll be really interested if you do find Alfred first wife, if only for the fascination of the case, David!
Ahhh, those family surprise's !
Indeed I have a lot of them. I should give an update though - no luck on the first wife but I did find something interesting. When Sarah died in 1904 her children were originally placed in the custody of Alfred Ladd but I later found that the youngest two were taken out of his custody and into homes of the Church of England Society for Waifs and Straifs. Unfortunately I can't find why - the other six children were left with Alfred.
Waifs and straifs....I and my siblings were taken and all adopted out (to great families, I might add).  But that's terms I hadn't thought about, guess we were.
It is indeed a very interesting phrase. I believe that officially it's "waifs and strays" but I think we Cockneys chose to 'translate' it. From what I've read the boarding schools (because really that's what they were) were quite nice although the boys were heavily pushed to join either the church (if they studied well) or the army (if they were good at sports).

Additionally, I found out that when the children turned 13 they were sent back home if the parent(s)/guardian could pass an inspection.
Interesting history, thanks David.
Possibly they were too young for him to be able to care for adequately and were placed in a public facility.
Fascinating story! Congratulations on breaking through. Wonderful feeling!
+22 votes

¡Buenos días a todos from the Old Pueblo! It’s 8am in Tucson and 85F (29.4C) with an expected high of 102F (38.9C) with a 40% chance of rain. As you can imagine with this heat and the humidity it’s like living and breathing in a sauna...very uncomfortable. I will not gripe about the rain, though. We need it very badly.

I haven’t had much time to really dig into my latest book, Citizens of London. I had a primary care appointment on Monday and now have yet another appointment to see a specialist, renewed anti-stroke drug and having trouble getting blood pressure under control. Growing old with a complex medical history is definitely not for sissies. Nevertheless, I will persist. The good news is that I have lost 16 pounds since last November 2019 despite the pandemic. I’ve gone from a size 14 to 12 and now starting to fit in size 10. One major contributor is replacing junk food with water. “Oh, time for a piece of cake...glug, glug, glug, several cups of water.” “Oh, time for pie (not blueberry, Chris F)...glug, glug, glug, several cups of water.” Here’s my trick for when I crave chocolate (I’m a chocoholic): I purchase about 5 1 liter bottles of Seltzer water each week and put them in the frig. When I crave chocolate about 6pm, I add about ½ inch of Hershey’s chocolate to the Seltzer, shake it up, let it set for a bit so it doesn’t explode all over the ceiling if I open it too soon after shaking and it’s like having a chocolate phosphate! For those of you far too young to remember, we used to go to the drugstore where they had soda fountains and order chocolate phosphates. If you add a dollop of ice cream, you have a chocolate ice cream soda! Anyway, the chocolate seltzer handles the cravings nicely without the worry of gaining weight.

As to genealogy, I have been sourcing and writing biographies for numerous Richardsons who were born in Maine (District of Massachusetts) in the 1700s. Most of these Richardsons are descendants of one of the three brothers (Ezekiel, Thomas Samuel). In this case, they are descendants of Thomas. I’ve been coming across a number of profiles that were added say 2013, some with only a first and last name, no birth/death...well, call them what they are...Gedcom Junk! Many of the profiles that I’ve come across like this still have their PM listed, but they haven’t done a thing since they ‘dumped’ the junk and without sources. What really frustrates me is seeing their selves listed under ‘Acknowledgements.’ For what? I especially like it when they list a birth year ‘About 1690’ and their source is ‘Personal knowledge.’ I saw a G2G post earlier this week by a WikiTreer who wrote her ire (in a nice way) about the same issues. I commented so that she knew she was not alone. The upside is that I worked on another Richardson branch that required a merge and the PM who did the merge has been wonderfully helpful and supportive with this Richardson branch.

Pip, thanks so much for hosting the Chat! Very much appreciated. And I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and productive weekend!

by Carol Baldwin G2G Astronaut (1.1m points)
Thank you for all the Richardsons, Carol!
Mark! Thank you for all of your wonderful help! All of your people have good information and I just added on. I am grateful for your help! Some of the early PMs from the early 2010s have been rather naughty about leaving a name and nothing else. Your work provides great information that helps immensely!

I just checked and we are 10th cousins through Katherine (Duxford) Richardson. You descend from Thomas Richardson (the family that you so diligently add to) and I descend from his brother, Ezekiel Richardson. They and their brother Joseph are all PGM and very early settlers of Woburn, MA!
I remember going to a drug store in the small town near us that had a soda fountain. It was a real treat for us when Mom bought a soda with ice cream in it!

I'm drinking more water now, too, Carol. I'm definitely a coffee man, but the caffeine is a diuretic... makes me run to the restroom too often and dehydrates me. So, water it is, and you are right: it DOES help one lose weight. Good for you on your weight loss.

Be looking for me this fall!
I will cheer you on, Pip! I'm a tea drinker, which has even more caffeine than coffee! I'm on a diuretic as it is to control my blood pressure, so now only drink tea during a zoom call.

Wasn't it a treat to go to the soda fountain? Our young people nowadays don't have that luxury or privilege. And did you 'spin around' on the soda fountain chair? Give the Hershey's and seltzer a try for a mock chocolate phosphate. The caffeine in the chocolate will be diluted enough that it won't have you running to the loo like coffee.

And I cannot wait to meet you in person for real hugs! Please give me an idea ahead of time as I will be traveling a great deal this fall and don't want to miss you!
Carol

Citizens of London sounds like a good read, I'll have to put it on my never ending list.

Now that everything seems to be more normal, I need to make a dentist appt, a hair appt, and see my GP, it's almost ragweed season and before long I will be in need of prescription meds.

I lost about 7 pounds when we had the grandkids here for 4 months last year, but most of it has returned in the past few months, more exercise and less Scotch might be the answer.
M...No, not the Scotch!

Citizens of London is an excellent read, but slow-going with medical appointments, preparing to travel and spend some time with mum (and her caregivers) at the memory center, etc. Author is Lynne Olson and I got it used for a nice low price at an independent bookstore (i.e., NOT Amazon). Covers Edward R. Murrow (one of my main men), Averill Harriman and John Gilbert Winant, and with a fair feast of their interactions with Winston Churchill (my 7th cousin through Hannah (Tuttle) Clark). I think you will especially like the B&W photos from the 1940s.
Oh, yeah, I did spin around on those stools. I ask my mom once why we didn't have them at home. No response, just a "look." We always went there right after the doctor's visit as it was right next door. The soda shop is still there, saved because it is now in the historic district of our small town.

Nooooo, M, NEVER less scotch!!! laughlaughlaugh

Hear, Hear, Pip!
Can't believe I'm just now seeing this. Believe it or not my go-to pie is actually Banana cream. =) Or apple. It depends on my mood. I do like pecan and yea we get some here in NH. But, it's so sweet as they use NH brand molasses. Out in Keene they take molasses and syrup VERY seriously. You don't mess with them!
Thanks for the new weight loss trick tips, Carol!  Chocoholic too, will try that.  I buy the little Atkins treats too they add a bit of extra ingredients that , well don't stick with you so ...no extra pounds.  And we do sugar free hard candy same.  We also love the flavor water, feels more like soda without a calorie!
@Chris F. Banana cream was my mum's favorite. My favs are triple berry, chocolate cream and pumpkin! Pecan pie is good, but so sweet it makes my teeth hurt!
+20 votes
Hello all from Colorado.  A week of rain helped the plants and the drought. Now my peaches stand a chance of producing something delicious.

On the genealogy front, I have been working the cemetery project this week for Cedar Hill Cemetery in Douglas county, Colorado.  I am up to around 320 profiles of the 3300 in the cemetery so I still have a long way to go. I am also enjoying the new Featured Connections. My closest one is 12 generations to Ben Franklin. And my closest presidential relative is Richard Milhouse Nixon at 15 generations.
by Gurney Thompson G2G6 Pilot (443k points)

I'm closest to Prez LBJ ... 17 generations and we're 7C1R (found on my father's side) and I'm 25C2R to Prez Obama (found on my mother's side) ... yes, and none of them has ever sent me a birthday greeting.  Well, to be fair I have not sent any birthday greetings to any President of USA laugh

I am 15 degrees from Joe Biden, but as with all my North American connections they are all through my husband.

If I take him 'the Robbie' out of the connections I'm 30 degrees from Joe Biden.
Ahhh, Gurney is off on another HUGE cemetery. I commend you for this, Gurney!!
Susan, I think the presidential Happy Birthday card is for the 100th year.  Some one has to notify them.  Line them up now!

Beulah, here I am related to them presidents -- relatives, by the blood, not by marriage, but by blood, Ancestors and Cousins it said, and not one of them has ever said Howdy and Happy Birthday to me. crying

And, to be fair, as I said, I didn't say Howdy and Happy Birthday to any of them either, but still, .... laugh

In the new connections app I am closest to fodr 19 then jfk 20 then Grant, Washington and teddy R.  All 3 at 21.  Furthest from Biden trump and Obama. All 29
+21 votes

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps!

How is everyone doing? On the genealogy front, I posted a blog about four names that either make me laugh or have helped me solve a few riddles: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2021/08/52-ancestors-week-31-favorite-name.html

I'm sure the Trekkies in the audience will enjoy the Picard reference. You knew that was coming. There was no stopping it! 

On the non genealogy front, my parents are on vacation this week so we went to Newburyport for a couple hours to check on the boat and a couple other things. We had lunch at one of our old haunts called "The Starboard Galley". The place has gone downhill. There was way too much batter on the fried calamari and fried shrimp. It wasn't that good and there was no taste at all to it.

It was still nice to go to Newburyport because we went down to Plum island to see where my great grandfather Alfred Hamel's house was and Austin Felker's. They're still standing. I guess in a way it was a genealogy field trip. But, it was nice. People were out enjoying the day. Though, we should have gone to Michael's Harborside.....

My mom made pesto sauce and I posted it on Facebook. My cousins in Italy and Switzerland all commented and suggested what to do with it. We have some ideas. It's only the first batch and it smells and tastes so good! 

I hope everyone has a great day!

by Chris Ferraiolo G2G6 Pilot (756k points)

laughWe are all probably doing some better than Pip ... WE are not covered in poison ivy, oak or whatever else (sumac?) although I and a number of others in the 6th grade class had it ... nasty stuff, poison oak ... scout troop field trip ... that and the skunk that sprayed ... 

Ciao, Cugino Chris! You? A Star Trek fan? I never would have guessed! Enjoyed the blog. And a topic linked to one of my main men..."A rose by any other name...". He's just my Bill.

Oddly enough, I descend from a man named Antonio Giorgio. When I worked at the College of Medicine in Tucson (maybe 25 years ago), I had a colleague direct from Italy, who taught me 'ci vediamo domani' and 'andiamo', which is the extent of my Italian. I introduced him to 'The Godfather' which I still have on DVD. For week, he talked like the Godfather and we took to calling him Il Padrino. Anyway, he insisted that there were no Giorgios in Italy and that it was a given name, not a LNAB. I knew I had a Giorgio ancestor, but little else. We used our office computers one day to search for surnames in Italy and 'voila'...well 'ecco' the surname Giorgio popped up in Northern Italy. As computers became more advanced, and I advanced slightly in my use of computers for genealogy, especially on WikiTree, I found (sure enough) that my Giorgio emigrated from Scarmagno, Torino, Piedmont, Italy (Turin, the Italian Alps) 

Antonio G. Giorgio

Oh...Anthony means 'worthy of praise' and Giorgio means 'tiller of soil, but I would say 'farmer', which he was!

@ Susan. I'm still not sure how he got poison ivy. He clearly got a bad reaction. If it gets worse, it's time to see a doctor! We have had poison ivy around here. Thankfully, whenever I did yardwork I always wore long pants and gloves. It sucks when it's warm out though.

I've never been skunked. But, I have petted an albino skunk years and years ago. This guy at the boat had an albino skunk. He was so cute. His stink gland was removed, too. Poor guy. No chance he'd survive in the wild.

@Carol: I know. Shocking, right? =D Well, when you grow up surrounded by all kinds of media it tends to stick with you. You can learn a lot from those shows and comics. Who said they were "Kids Stuff"? Yeah....They should read the Death of Gwen Stacy......

Very cool story about Giorgio. My dad had a hygienist whose husband's first name was Giorgio.  I don't think I've ever seen it as a surname. Interesting. So, The Godfather, huh? Did he like the movie?
We as a family all 6 of my siblings and my kids have Star Trek as a connecting force.

My younger brother VHS taped every episode of the original series, no idea where they are now, we still have a VCR but it won't play through a more recent TV.
@ Chris F...my colleague's given name is Stefano and last name was the Italian word for 'War'. Stefano LOVED The Godfather, became the Godfather, started to talk like Brando's Godfather, expected the researchers who shared the office to refer to him as Il Padrino and kowtow to him just like the movie, or he would 'make us an offer we couldn't refuse' (related to running data analyses). Stefano (um, I mean Il Padrino) ended up buying his own DVD of the Godfather. And he didn't have to fake the Italian accent. One of my fondest memories of him (and my colleagues) was Stefano, like clock work at 10am saying, "Your Padrino says 'tempo per il caffè' (time for coffee), andiamo, andiamo" and we would head to the hospital cafeteria like chicks following the gander. Always now when I watch the Godfather, I think of Stefano and my colleagues. Better than a comic book (although I am a big fan of the old comic books. We grew up reading them in the 1950s!).
@Ross: I still have VHS tapes of various TNG, Voyager and DS9 episodes from when they aired. No idea if they still play. Probably not. It's hard to say. I have nothing to play them ON.

But, that is cool he taped every ep of the original series. Stuff like that is what really saved whole swaths of '60s era Doctor Who. Though, some episodes are lost to time. Audios survive and so the BBC has animated some lost episodes from the first and second doctor's run.

@ Carol: So, Gwen Stefano is really Gwen "War". Yikes. I liked the Godfather. But, you know my dad rolled his eyes at the Ellis Island scene in Godfather II. Because names weren't changed there.

Comics in the 1950s were cool. Marvel at the time was doing a lot of Scifi, Horror and Romance stuff. It wasn't until 1961 when Stan Lee decided to jump back into superheroes. The rest is history. In November, the Fantastic Four celebrate their 60th anniversary.

I started reading comics in 1991 or so. So, I got to get the 30th anniversary FF, Spidey, Avengers and X-Men books.
Chris-the problem is something to do with the tapes being analog and newer TVs are all digital, it plays but flickers so fast you can't see any of the picture.

Another great blog, Chris, I hope folks will check out the photos, especially the one of Maria Giovanna Capobianco.   That was the best one of them all. Like I said, she had a face absolutely full of character.

@Chris F: You might want to watch this first episode of The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osNmf_zmSyE

Your interest in Sci Fi, quirky stories, etc. should be right up your alley. It's about an hour long.

@ M Ross: Thanks. I haven't tried it. I have some movies on VHS I'll have to get on different formats. That's gonna take some doing. Luckily I got some Trek dvds.

@ Pip: Yeah, she sure did. I still wonder a few things about the pic because I have no clue where my 3rd cousin got it. Or maybe I don't remember. She said it was "in the family" and so was her husband's pic. Everyone else said the same thing. I wonder when it was taken. Feel free to make your best guess.

@ Carol: Good stuff so far. Will watch more later! =D

How did the skunk happen ? Susan.... should be a good story there.
Loretta, girl scouts, field trip, camping, "wilderness", Raw Nature, porcupine, possum, birds, a zillion spiders, and a skunk that stunk

fortunately it was at a distant enough place that we escaped 90% of the spray itself, but by all that is sacred (Margie and Maria were Catholic, and Protestant me) we did stink ... cold water washing of hair and skin, change of clothing, more washing, being shunned and ostracized and ...

Nasty, really nasty

tub of tomato juice once home surprise!

cryingPity my parents had no tomato juice nor tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes or even raw tomatoes or pasta sauce nor any such tomato-y stuff. 

sadI did get a few comments like next standing upwind not downwind (father) and throw those clothes in the trash (mother) and put baking soda in the bath water (mother) and next time don't go near a skunk (father) and ... 

cryingBut not a bit of sympathy for my dual afflictions

cryingcryingcrying  I weep for your misfortune even now Susan, my poor girl.

 laugh Well, Loretta, you know how it is, it was something that happened like when I was 11 (66 years ago) that was so traumatic that I don't do scouts, wilderness camping or even civilized camping, nor nature walks, and which  caused me to freeze in place when I smell stinky airs until I can identify the source ... it's been a hard burden of woe to bear ...  

Ain't what caused me to quit scouts though, it was that damned revue we had to do, dancing the hula, in sarongs, and while Mary and Maria had wubbies to hold their sarong up, Ole Miss Flat Chest (the other 8 of us) had the devil's own time keeping the sarong in place -- with arms moving together left or to the right there was a hand that grabbed the sarong and hauled upward ...

I spent the whole damned dance hauling up my sarong, terrified it was going to drop to my feet in front of 30 or 40 people in the audience ... 

I have not enjoyed anything Hawaiian since then ... 

I also quit the scouts, having had the final straw land on me

 

cryingcryingcrying  Again, I weep for your misfortune  Susan, my poor girl.... Harder this time crying   What a picture .  Sorta same reasons I don't do buses.   And to think I had tickets ready to go for our Hawaiian trip, oh well .

I'm saddened to see that your life was traumatic ref to a bus or buses ... I could tell you a few tales of buses myself but ...

Bon Voyage, Loretta

I hope you can swim

I was lying about the tickets of course, although I do want to go someday.. and my swimming is well not real great.laugh Not lying about the school bus, bad deal being a girl on that bus.

Personally I agree with separation of the sexes by schools for children over the age of 10, in classrooms, on buses, in the gym, out on the playground at recess.  What they do when not in the charge of the school, let the law deal with it and the parents or guardians pay for it
+19 votes

Hi from southern Ontario: what's happening here? Weather is about normal for August, temps about 25-30C, with pop-up thunderstorms. 

We are going away from Monday to Saturday, staying at a very small cottage in the middle of nowhere, lots of walking and cycling planned, the area was settled about 1840 most of the settlers were unaware that the land is almost all thin soils over solid rock, farming was mostly unsuccessful. 

We will go to at least 1 local museum, some of the Robbie's ancestors were original settlers in the area. There are ruins of an abandoned settlement. An official ghost town!

Chez moi/at home: The veg garden is determined to take over the surrounding trees and shrubs, once again I think I will have cucumbers hanging from a tree next to the garden. 

So far, we have picked 4 litres of blackberries and the season is not even halfway through. Considering that local organic blackberries are about $4.50 for a 1/2 pint package, about 2 pints per litre, you can do the math. 

Tomatoes are starting to ripen, 3 butternut squash are becoming a squash tower growing on a very tall tomato cage. 

Alton Cemetery, One Place Study, family history: I went through my profile completeness suggestions for Error-458, birth location not set and reduced the total from 115 to 12, all that really means is checking off the certain or uncertain box on the profile, the remaining ones are for a family born in the 1600s in Scotland, they all require a lot more research. 

How many of us always check off the certain/uncertain boxes?

The other errors are death date not set, death location not set and short biographies. I'm going to ignore the death related errors as most of the profiles that need a death date and location are minor players in the family and I'm not that interested in when and where they died. The 733 short biographies will be a winter task, that is shorter than 500 letters.  Some of them are the minor players, but 500 letters is not a lot, this paragraph is 364 letters. 

I haven't done anything with the Alton Cemetery because we had the first non-family guests since March 2020, they came for dinner on Tuesday and then I fell down another rabbit hole. The Allen family of Napanee, Ontario, the 3 x Grt-grandparents of one of the guests.  I did not know that they have been involved in family history research. We had a long conversation about the research they have done and about various family history, genealogy websites.

The question of sourcing has come up again on G2G, lots of conversation about why people don't provide sources, don't understand accuracy requirements, don't know what a source is, don't know how to find 'proper' sources. 

We talked with our guests about WT, they seemed interested, we found an ancestor with a profile on WT. I am going to ask our guests to join and report back on the help pages for sourcing, it might help to shed a little light on why people don't source profiles.  

Covid: Ontario continues to have decreasing cases, kids are going back to in person school in September, and we have all our collective fingers crossed. 

by M Ross G2G6 Pilot (709k points)

laughI'm a great box checker --  i check the "uncertain", yes, I do, when I can't find a document (birth or death) to verify it --- 

Hi M, always a pleasure reading your Chats! I wish you all the best on what sounds to be a lovely and relaxing vacay!

If your 'cukes' take over the trees, send them my way! I have a wonderful recipe from my little Polish grandmother for cucumber salad.

And, yes, sourcing seems to have reared it's homely head a great deal lately (not that I haven't been guilty when I had started with Wikitree). I do try to go back, though, and correct missing information when I started in 2018. That is a far cry, I think, from a 'seasoned' WT veteran to is PM for profiles from 2013 and the profiles aren't sourced let alone not having any semblance of a biography.  So...your description of working with guests starting on WT and reporting back is a good way to get 'evidence' as to sourcing problems, especially for novices.

Again, wishing you a great and relaxing week!
Carol:

Would you be so kind as to share your recipe for cucumber salad?  Just the name of it makes me feel cooler.

Thanks!
Hi Candyce, my Polish grandmother's 'secret' recipe is quite simple:

2 medium cucumbers peeled and THINLY sliced (she insisted this made the flavor 'pop' in the salad.

1/4 C white granulated sugar

1/8 C distilled vinegar

1/8 C juice of fresh lemon (don't use that junk in a bottle)

Mix the sugar, vinegar and lemon juice. Add one heaping tablespoon of sour cream and mix. When it comes to the sour cream, we actually use a kitchen tablespoon and scoop a large helping of the sour cream. That's how we learned it from our grandmother. We figured out the other measurements by trial and error.

Add the thinly sliced cucumbers and mix well. You can add a bit of white pepper, but really not necessary. Let it set in the ice box for a couple of hours so the juice from the cukes mixes with the other ingredients and you've got yourself my grandmother's cucumber salad.
Thank you very much for sharing. We just harvested two cukes today, so I'll mic them up tomorrow.
+19 votes

Virtual Vacation! 

The Sawmill Valley Trail, Mississauga

I took these pictures February 2021, Mississauga, Ontario. 

Maybe these pictures will keep us cool! We walked this trail (about 6km) after a snowstorm. It is quiet even though it is close to several busy streets. The sun was shining and it was a lovely walk. Lots of wildlife including rabbits, foxes and coyotes plus various raptors and deer. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-161.jpg

Sawmill Valley is as seems obvious the site of 2 mills built in the 1840's. There was also a brewery which needed a reliable source of water. One sawmill is described in a local history like this 'as many as fifteen teams of oxen were sometimes being used to haul sleigh loads of logs to the riverbank by the mill.” It must have been a busy place. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-162.jpg

Neither of the mills are listed on the 1877 map of the area suggesting that they no longer existed, perhaps the trees had all been logged by that time. Actual locations for the mills are unknown. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-164.jpg

The Sawmill Creek runs through urban Mississauga close to the Mississauga campus of the University of Toronto. Some of the trees that grew later are now over a hundred years old. The trail is on municipal property and is maintained and some paved sections plowed by the city. The people who live in this apartment tower have a great view year round. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-163.jpg

500px-Virtual_Vacation-166.jpg

This photo was taken as a potential entry in a photo contest, topic Shadows on the Snow, its amazingly difficult to keep your own shadow out of the picture. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-165.jpg

by M Ross G2G6 Pilot (709k points)
Hi M, 'Cool' is the operative word! They are cooling photos in this desert heat (with humidity) AND they are 'cool' photos! Actually, these look much like photos that could have been taken in my home state of Wisconsin during the winter, perhaps in northern Wisconsin.

Thank you for the wonderful Virtual Vacay (and your photographic skills)!
These are wonderful pictures.  I don't want to live in cold places anymore, but I sure would like to take a walk on that road, in the woods and by the stream.  I might have to plan a short winter vacation in order to enjoy that again.
Such a refreshing 'vacation'.  I love your photos.  You certainly have a good eye for color contrasts and lighting.
Beautiful, M!
Thanks , those should cool us down some!!
Looking at these photos reminds me of how things look around here when we have a “good” snow which we didn’t get this last winter. I love the snow, my wife likes it much less!
+19 votes
Thank You for hosting the Chat Pip,

Weather,

Monday, A nice day weather wise so I just puttered around the house and yard. Just a minimal amount on WikiTree.

Tuesday, Paid bills for the month and did some shopping. The grandson cancelled on cutting the grass Monday but he came over Tuesday instead. I did manage to connect a few unconnected profiles so all was not lost.

Wednesday, Picked up a few groceries for one of the grandchildren, they gave us the money but we still spent more than they gave us. Then I got the schedule for Papa's Taxi for the next two weeks, 3 trips next week and 4 the following week, Thank God I have my car back again

Thursday, Babysitting for the great granddaughter, a long day so I did not get much else accomplished. I did order some special shirts for the radio group but they will not be in until the end of the month. I also ordered some toy's for the little one as well

Friday, Went to pick up the great granddaughter this morning so that means my computer time is limited again, the baby takes up most of our time and attention when she is here.

We have the great granddaughter most Thursdays and Fridays now and for the foreseeable future.

Genealogy, Just the normal adding sources and doing minor edits. As mentioned earlier I have made a few connections so that's something
by Dale Byers G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
Nothing on earth like being surrendered to the demands of a child ...

well, or the demands of a pack of hungry dogs if you have 2 or more, or 3 or more cats ... and in some households it's kids, dog(s) and cat(s) and you gotta wonder how they stay on top of it all
WikiTree or great-granddaughter… easy choice, and you’re making the right one, Dale!
+19 votes
Hi Folks, and thank you Pip, for hosting.  Thank you, too, for welcoming my BIL, when he signed up for the tree.  It's warm and pleasant, here in Braman Corners.  The neighbors are rushing around to get hay in.  The gutter guys came this morning and replaced some rusted out ones and put a new length on the back, all done in 3 hours.  I'm hoping to get the garden tilled, before the next deluge, then back to the endless mowing.

I've been working, a bit, on the families of James Duane and Sir William Johnson, two local notables.  I found baptisms for three of Sir W's children, at the Mohawk Chapel, and added profiles for his brothers and sisters.  I also did profiles for James Duane's brothers.  I was thrilled to find out about all of Carol Baldwin's work on my Richardson ancestors.  Thank you, Cousin!
by Mark Weinheimer G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
Hey Cousin Mark! Could not have gotten as far as I have on the Richardsons without YOU! Keep a lookout as I am adding some of John's ten sons wives!

laugh I'm thinking that with all the gardening and maintenance on it, that if you had the cash for it, you could use the labors of some young person who wanted to earn some cash between mid-March and mid-Nov ... BUT in the meantime, until you have the excess cash,  you are out there frolicking in the sunshine and dancing with the equipment used to be master of all you survey ... when there is some sunshine and it's dry enough to frolick

 

Oh, and Mark, we are cousins, 25C5R and that's on my mothers side ... I don't know if it can get more remote than that ... but on my side it falls apart or fails to be convincing, being whelmed by uncertain confidence
Susan, If I could find a young person willing to work, I would gladly pay for help.  Finding help for projects and routine maintenance is an ongoing challenge, for us.
Same here, Mark. The older we get, the more we need help with projects and chores that used to be so easy for us, even just a few years ago.
+21 votes

Happy weekend!  It looks to be a nice one here in New Hampshire, which is, in case you didn't know, is right next to Maine on the geographic map.  Somehow I'm feeling all that more close to you, Pip!  Best of luck in your studies.

Genealogy: It's been an exciting week of simply reading my original copy of Genealogy of the Billerica Massachusetts French family from 1599 to 1944.  The published book has been in our family for generations.  Sure, it can be purchased from Amazon I believe, but members of my French Family branch have held this one in their hands and have added to it and updated it until 1998.  My grandmother was the record keeper and now it falls to me.

On the Home Front:  My daughter and two of her daughters are in Boston for the Green Day, etc., concert.  Today they will take in the Aquarium and tomorrow, the Museum of Science.  It will be wonderful to hear all of their stories when they return home.  (Yes.  We all live together).  While they are away it falls to my wonderful son-in-law to watch over the chickens, take out the dogs, one of which is a new puppy, and keep up with the various bearded dragons that my granddaughters own.  He may grumble while he's accomplishing these tasks, but I know that he is enjoying them.  I am disabled, so it all falls to him.

That's about it for this week.  Let's all have a fantastic week ahead!

Candyce

by Candyce Fulford G2G6 Pilot (117k points)
Candyce, I  spent yesterday doing biographies, sourcing and connecting for Baldwins and their wives who lived in Billerica and moved to Jaffrey, New Hampshire about 1790! Found some great headstones and even a home that was built by Daniel Emery about 1799 that still exists. The John Baldwin who helped settle Billerica was a brother to my great grandfather Henry Baldwin, who was an early settler of Woburn! Such a wonderfully small world.
Don't you just love these serendipitous connections?  I guess that's part of what Wikitree is about, huh?
Candyce! OMG! Speaking of the French family!!! I just started in on writing biographies for very sparse to nil info on GedComs. 'French' sounded familiar. Just for the heck of it I checked.

Esther (French) Jaquith-Emery is one of the 'junk' profiles I corrected yesterday! She was born at Billerica, MA and died at Jaffrey, New Hampshire. I am about to improve her mother's profile as it is quite barren (i.e., no biography or proper sourcing). Anyway, I thought you might like to see this French ancestor. You can find her at  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/French-9376
How freaking fantastic!!  I'll have to look her up tomorrow. It's kinda late right now. THANKS.  I'll let you know if she's in the book.

I looked at images of bearded dragons  ...  indeed there is a multitude of variations and many of them have obvious whiskers at least laugh

Hi Susan.  You should see these dragons when they get upset!  Their necks flare out to make them look ferocious and bigger.  I think they are hideous, but then I'm not a fan of reptiles.
Candyce, the school is in Bar Harbor. I don’t know how close that is to you, but just taking courses from there will make it feel like I’m visiting. Did I tell you my daughter and her husband were in Maine recently? The loved it up there and are planning a Vermont-New Hampshire trip in the future. Probably in the winter time. Seems they love taking trips to northern climes when it’s cold.
+20 votes
Good morning Pip and all.  A warm and humid day here in Tucson.  Carol may have given the weather report, so I will only say that I got a nice walk in at 6:30am.  Able to walk 3 miles now with only a little discomfort - yay!  Now the work on my shoulder begins in earnest as I still have tendon damage from the accident and the walker.  What was necessary for my pelvis made the shoulder so much worse.  My husbands estate is almost wrapped up and at least all the anxiety causing elements have been resolved.  I can often remember him in a positive spirit now, really turned a corner on the painful side of grief in the last couple of weeks.

Genealogy - Ales created a suggestion of the presence of a middle name for any Acadian profile.  The French did not and still do not use middle names, often having several first names.  So we ended up with over 800 profiles that incorrectly had a middle name.  Working through those has been a little tedious but it offers a lot of opportunity for fixing other things and adding sources that verify the name.
by Cindy Cooper G2G6 Pilot (324k points)

surprise 800 profiles? That is daunting to contemplate. 

Hi Cindy Cooper! It is so wonderful to know that you are able to walk 3 miles! Well done!

I am in the midst of packing as I leave on Monday to visit family in Wisconsin. I will see mum for a bit. I have mentioned that she is in memory care now and thank the Buddha for all of the patience and talent that these caregivers have for persons with dementia.

My daughter just had knee surgery and will visit her on the mend. More troubling is my son-in-law's health. He has serious PTSD from his four tours of duty in the Middle East. He has undergone CBT and is on medication. Recently, he found out that he has the same genetic heart defect that his dad died from in his 40's. His sister had a heart transplant last year. Curtis has surgery this Monday, so I will be spending a fair amount of time with recuperating family. Fortunately, the family has a wicked sense of humor, which gets us through the worst and best of times.

You take care and I hope to be in touch for 'Teaspoon' when I return on the 20th!

800 profiles?!? Hoowee, that’s a lot of work. Hope this didn’t send you down any rabbit holes. cheeky

I'm trying really hard to stay on task.  Just at 100 left to go.  And I really really want to finish it in the next week.
Well, all I can say is, "Kudos to you!!!" Get 'r' done, Cindy!
+18 votes

Friday morning and I'm already running out of energy for the weekend. That's what happens when you get old, I guess.

Hello everyone.

Genealogy:

Been doing some sourcing today. Got quite a bit done. Had a sad bio to do though. Father, wife, and four of five children all killed when a tornado demolished their home in Oklahoma City in 1942.

Weather:

Speaking of here in Oklahoma, it's been hot and the forecast is for continued hot for the next 7 days. 99F plus each day.

Home:

I really need to finish cleaning my apartment. frown  I am thinking about making a nice tuna casserole tomorrow. Then I've got to do my grocery shopping. O well...

And on we go...

by Luther Brown G2G6 Pilot (545k points)
Sounds pretty good will have to wait till I get back to Florida and have a real oven, the motorhome oven isn't the greatest.  But the cheese croutons sound like a good idea!  Peanut butter, and tuna, ugh!
Loretta, peanut butter is a marvelous source of proteins oils and etc in hot cereal, mashed taters, any hot soup, on rolls and breads, in smoothies, and just about any other food

However, there are people who really like houmus and to them I say "ugh."

I agree love it on many items ... but you could leave it off my tuna, Susancheeky

laugh There are millions of hungry people on earth who would not reject tuna mixed with peanut butter. So that proves "Hunger is the best sauce." 

I HAVE put peanut butter on the bread and then the tuna salad (with mayo and a dab of mustard, pickle relish, hard boiled eggs) on there, and could be seen -- had anyone been there to see it -- happily scarfing up. 

I think I would balk at putting peanut butter in my hot coffee or hot tea, or even cold coffee or cold tea.  Pretty sure I would balk. 

If I were literally starving of course I would eat anything. Not primadonna .. just saying not a recipe I would choose to make. We all like different flavors together though . Peace out

laugh Loretta, others,  I think I read an article what said that a batch of people were tested for "salty", "sour", "sweet" -- something like that.   Then there's some travel articles on menus in different countries which include items? life forms? I KNOW I would balk at eating, unless I was starving and knew I was starving and was able to master my gag reflex 

Some articles here are fun to read 

Why Do Salty and Sweet Flavors Taste Good Together? - Eater

<The Five Basic Tastes - Newly Weds Foods

The Taste Map of the Tongue You Learned in School Is All Wrong | Science | Smithsonian Magazine

I learned to cook Texas, Italian, Mid-west, and Fussy ... mostly fussy -- I've usually cooked for two and cooked for 15 at a boarding house, breakfast and dinner ... really a good feeling there when they moan in pleasure at the taste and there's only a cup or two of leftovers ... hot dang it all made my day bright 

Live long and prosper

I thing I may have started something.

Loretta, Susan... as soon as I get it written up, I'll send it to both of you via PM.

Are we having fun yet?

laugh Luther, I look forward to seeing what you do with your tuna casserole .... I favor one-dish meals with meat, veggie, carbs etc ... laugh

Ramen noodles and a can of peas  and a can of tuna  and a can of cream of any flavor soup ... admitted, one-person household you are going to freeze some of it and eat the other half over two days ... you can use the water from tuna and the peas to dilute the cream of whatever flavor soup ... 

Or Ramen noodles and saute the "cooked" ones with chopped spicy sausage, some minced onions, some red and some green sweet peppers chopped up, AND if you want fancy, some undressed cole slaw (a handful or two) AND if you have some, chunks of roasted chicken or steak or whatever meat -- this is also something you might have to freeze some of it ... 

No rush, Luther, thank you!
Luther, y’all are a lot hotter than we are. It’s only been in the 80s most of the past week, but then again we are at 2300 ft above sea level.

Oh, how I wish I could share in the tuna casserole!!
+19 votes
Greetings from Everett, Washington. Today it is drizzling. It is not the soaking rain we need, but it is a welcome gift from heaven to the thirsty earth. Enough to wet the pavement and glaze the windscreens and make us run wipers at low speed.

Wednesday: I delivered my Toastmasters speech, "The Brown Mess," about my efforts during the recent Connect a Thon, and then--

Another road trip to an outdoor Shakespeare performance. Grinding through traffic for 45 minutes, right quad cramping from so much application of the brake. Once there, my daughter saw the director of the company, her former performance coach, and they hugged. When he welcomed the audience he was moved to tears, not only by the return of live theater, but apparently because he had lost someone dear to him in the pandemic. At the end, when we the audience applauded, I was gratified to hear my clapping joined in with everyone's, something not possible in a Zoom meeting.

I have been reading poetry by George Herbert, understanding it much more than I did while studying for the Ph.D. in English Literature. "The Temple" is the fruit of a lifetime of living the faith and makes me meditate on how to bring people I know to "The Church Porch," which is the title of the opening segment.

I have also been dipping into "Haunted Britain," by Antony D. Hippisley Coxe, a Baedeker guide to haunted castles, wells, manors, ruined abbeys and the like. He was able to visit about 80% of these sites.

The next article I will be writing for the Mukilteo Monthly will be about the house of ill repute in Mukilteo. I have photos of it now, dating from about 1914. The owner made his pile from bootlegging and from the whorehouse he had in Everett, which burned down in 1907, after which he "retired" to Mukilteo but continued his operations sub rosa. Sub Rosa is literally and figuratively what went on, as his mistress and former madam was named Rosa, and he gave her the surname De Rosier. Roses and fruits were grown in the greenhouse. The apple orchard on the property was used for hard cider, which the "housekeeper" sold by the glass to couples who spent the night. The bootlegger was deported to Canada in 1922 after losing numerous appeals. Anyhow, one of the buildings on the property now houses a beauty salon where I have had my hair done. I plan to get my hair cut there and take photos. The house, by the way, was across the street from the elementary school.

I have been pruning the Watchlist down and it's almost to 5000 now. I add sources as I go. These are some profiles that I created in 2018.

I pray that we all have a good change in the weather.
by Margaret Summitt G2G6 Pilot (315k points)

cheeky Are there actually any weeks where it is not raining at least one of 7 days? Well, if you see moss on rocks and toadstools in the lawn ... then it's too wet 

Today we have gentle rain as well.  We had not been with any measurable precipitation for over two months. The "heat dome" was the worst of it at the end of the June. It felt more like Modesto in the summer.
Margaret, I’m just glad to hear you are getting any rain! When I hear about home fires out your way, I worry.

How great to find another George Herbert lover! I didn’t discover him until just a few years ago. One really has to think deeply when reading his poetry.
+20 votes

On this day:

1620: The English ship Mayflower sets sails and starts its voyage to what is now known as America.

1661: The Treaty of The Hague is signed

1806: Emperor Francis II. abdicates as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire

by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)
Late for class, but I did read about Francis’ abdication. Thanks, Professor!
+20 votes
Happy weekend, everyone!  Weather's been ok here.  I've been enjoying the activity out my kitchen window- a shrub has been taken over by a porcelain berry vine and the pollinators are having a ball with it.  It's invasive and I'm planning to pull it before the berries ripen, but for now it's fun to watch the action.  Bumblebees, mud daubers, some honeybees, and one cicada killer have all been enjoying the flowers.  

Meanwhile, the cat has been keeping me busy... dropping into lower glucose numbers overnight, so I've been up late monitoring.  Some mornings I'm able to sleep in, at least.  One of the other cats had his teeth cleaned yesterday, which was awkward because I couldn't feed him the night before, but at the same time the diabetic cat was going low and needed some food.  Kept feeding him and then pulling the bowl before the other cat could get a turn.  He was rather offended.

On the genealogy front, I'm still working on the Bangs-Killingsworth stuff.  There's a related family, the Clowards, that isn't quite making sense to me and I'm trying to figure out if someone is maybe offset by a generation.  (Several generations of Williams, and sparse records...)  But I also just found and ordered a copy of William Bang's complete Civil War pension file.  If it's really thorough, there might be some answers there to a couple of mysteries.  So now I'll do whatever else I can while I wait to get that file.  Less than four weeks to the start of the semester, so I want to do as much as I can now!
by Lisa Hazard G2G6 Pilot (263k points)
=( I hope your furry friend is okay. I have never attempted to clean my cat's teeth. We have food that does it and trust me her fangs are nice and sharp. Yeah. You wanna stay away from the sharp end of the kitty!

I could have sworn I read that as "Cowards". That'd be an unfortunate last name. Good job with your work. You really did a BANG up job.

Ow...I'll see myself out. =)
That's why I have the professionals do it!  (Though they sent us home with a kittie toothbrush... that should be interesting.)  His fangs were fine; the molars were a mess.

Oooo... maybe I should be searching for Coward as an alternate name, just in case!  Already looking at Clower, Clowers, and possibly Klauer.
They really do have the teeniest teeth. Even Maine coons. But, the fans, man. Watch out for them! They are sharp! I dunno if she'd tolerate a kitty toothbrush, though. She isn't a fan of regular brushes. Only on her terms. And even then four paws become eight.

Researching "Coward" might work. Someone is bound to make a typo. Or a mistake in filing. You never know. I found "Ferraiolo" in the census as "Ferrario".

My cat wishes to say this ref to the toothbrushes: "Meow. Meow, Mrrrrrrw. Mert !! Mert !! Mau."   

You may supply your own translation.  cheeky

Your cat's got a dirty mouth, Susan. =O

cheekySo true Chris F. so true. Especially when you consider where a cat puts its mouth 

LOL! GOOD NIGHT, Everybody! Pip, play us out!
Lisa, my older daughter’s cat has just been diagnosed with diabetes, and apparently it was pretty serious. Now begins, as you know, the treatment. I hope she’s up for it. She loves her Sam.
Pip, the very best online resource for feline diabetes is www.felinediabetes.com.  The discussion board (felinediabetes.com/FDMB/) is incredibly helpful.  FD can be really overwhelming at first and the experienced board members can help new folks sort through all the info and treatment options.
Thanks for this. I sent is on to my daughter. Much appreciated!
+21 votes

Good evening!

Here in Germany, the Covid numbers rise slowly but steadily. Today the number of infections per 100000 inhabitants is 4 times as high as it was a month ago. It went from 5 to 20, so still a very low level, but still...

Personally: I watched loads of Olympics. Mum is happy when it will be over. Beside that, not much was going on.

Genealogically: I had to click off a part of my paternal tree. On the other hand, I found in this unindexed census some new persons that are connected to Eckstädts, who I created profiles for but I still cannot connect to the Big Tree. I also seem to do a bit more of project work by writing biographies for notable profiles that are in need of them. This weekend, I hope to start to write one for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Last week I read his German Wikipedia-entry. Well, an afternoon went by doing that... Now I'm still reading his biography in the German Biography. (Also quite long.)

Stay safe, wear masks, get your jabs and have a nice weekend!

by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)
Here in the USA it appears that the Covid cases confirmed are soaring into the stratosphere among the unvaccinated as are the deaths from it
Hi Jelena,

Did you and your mum have a nice time in Frankfurt?

Are your Covid cases rising due to the Delta variant or do you have a fair number of fools who refuse to get vaccinated only to regret it when they are hospitalized and intubated? That's what is occurring here and Louisiana, Florida and Texas are taking the lead. Sadly, I've been reading that when people are taken to the ICU with severe Covid (read likely hopeless), that's when they are begging for the vaccine and have to be told it's too late. The other troubling issue I've been hearing from medical colleagues in these other states is that the Delta variant is taking a toll on young people! This variant doesn't care about age.

Please let me know when you finish von Goethe. I will be interested in reading it! You and your mum take care.

The hospitalization numbers rise again too. And they are filled with far more than 95% people who aren't vaccinated. Christian Drosten said already weeks ago: "Either you get vaccinated or you will get Covid." This week he said something like: "If we want to have a calm fall, you better get vaccinated now. And I mean now." I simply don't understand people who don't get vaccinated (not considering those who cannot because of supressed immune system or other health reasons). One of my removed cousins in my Serbian family doesn't want to get vaccinated, no matter what. "It is experimental, I am young, this is a disease which hits the old, etc.pp." Please don't tell me any arguments, I know them all, I'm talking about that for seemingly years. I'm so sick of those discussions. Well, I *might* get another argument now. The first soccer club in Germany will only allow either vaccinated or survived people. I so hope that the others will do that too. Then I can tell him: "If you want to go to a soccer match with me, you have to be vaccinated." My social sister who gave me my shots told me: "I don't care why someone gets a jab, if they want to go on holidays or whatever. The main thing is they get it."

I will let you know when Goethe is done.

@Jelena...thanks for the feedback on your numbers and rise in cases. It is the same here...the persons who refuse to get 'free' vaccinations for whatever reason. I agree with your social sister...just do it, no matter what the reason. I saw a rather clever ad posted on FaceBook earlier this week for Americans to continue to wear masks. Years ago, we had a seat belt campaign to get people to use seat belts and reduce serious injury in auto accidents. The add read, "Click it or ticket,' meaning click your seat belt or get a ticket if you get stopped by a traffic office. The new one is 'Mask it or casket.' I like it!

Have a great week!
Jelena, we’ve been disappointed with he coverage of he Olympics here in the US, so have watched mostly onky our favorite sports. We do plan on watching the closing ceremonies tonight. Plus, it was harder to watch when there were so many other things going on around here.
+16 votes
Thanks for hosting again Pip.  My mother was lucky to not be allergic to poison ivy.  She used to have to carry water as a child,  She put the pail through the bars and rolled under the fence in both directions.  Her sister was sent one day and did the same thing.  The sister broke out like you.  On investigation it was found to be a patch of poison ivy my mother rolled through each day.  I have a fairly high tolerance for poison ivy but don't push it.  Poison oak gives me bumps though.  But my brother had a real case, you know where, when he worked on a road crew.  Almost had to go to the doctor for relief.
I just had a first cousin's daughter ask me about family on Ancestry.  I will help her all I can but do not belong to it.  I extended an offer to join wikitree.
Granddaughter waiting for our annual sewing adventure.  She picked a pattern with a full skirt.  I have to have her cut it out at my house because they do not have a large enough table to lay it out on.  I have one of the old extendable farm tables that has eight leaves that can be added to it.  And not six cats in the middle of where the cut lines go.
by Beulah Cramer G2G6 Pilot (565k points)
edited by Beulah Cramer

Well that might prove to be an interesting scramble, with you hunting down six cats while she's trying to hold down the material with one hand and cut it with the other ... 

Ideally you put out the six cats while she's in there. I've cut out cloth myself and it takes at least 3 arms and hands 

Susan, much to my disgust, the cats rule.  I've been invited to live there but they are a big reason I am dragging my feet and staying on my own as long as possible.  My biggest problem is worrying about not being able to get a health monitoring system at my home because there is no cell service for emergencies.  If I had not been in the city when my hip broke I would be dead.  No one would have found me in time to call the 911 guys.  My nearest neighbors are over a quarter of a mile away and I live
on a very low traveled road.

The obvious "solution" is to sell the property you live on now, if you own it, and remove to the more urban area, find a studio apt or 1-bdrm apt near a medical facility and shopping ... which means selling or donating a lot of furnishings and other items.  This solution has a lot of "issues" like someone to help sort out what goes with you and what will be sold and what will be donated.  AND someone to assist in the actual physical actions of relocation with furnishings etc and you

Another solution is one of those alert bracelets or necklaces, "life alert" if possible. That solution also has some "issues" like could it be integrated into your local system or whatever is involved. I don't think it is as easily done as the adverts imply, one phone call and you have a doodad tied into the local system ... 

I gather your county does not have a division dedicated to assisting seniors and disabled?  The county we live in does as well as the State itself.  There are sometimes agencies private as well as public that foster "independent living" and there's a wide variety of ways, styles, to live independently yet within "an arm's reach" of necessary assistance ... and again there are some "issues" such as what style is available and is it private enterprise or public (by govt) etc 

So, I do not know what alternative options are available to you or which could arranged to be obtained by you. 

 As you say, you could be ill or injured and die unnoticed because of your remoteness.  You have to weigh that possibility, perhaps probability, against remaining "independent".  

It seems to me you will need to investigate "independent living" as a concept while living in an urban setting.  

Beulah, I’m very near clear of the poison ivy. At least I can recognize poison oak growing on many of the trees I work around on the lot next door. I learned all about the vine several years ago… hands bloated so bad my fingers could barely move.
+18 votes
Greetings from Brightlingsea, Essex, England

Things are looking up.....  This weekend will see the Brightlingsea Free Music Festival take place on Hurst Green on Saturday & Sunday. Great to see it return this year. No doubt will attract a good crowd. It runs from the Lunch time to the evening on both days. Mainly contemporary music. But good to have such an event happening.  Will go along and have a look, just hoping the weather stays fair for the weekend....

brightlingseafreefest.com/lineup

Have a great weekend everyone
by Chris Burrow G2G6 Pilot (220k points)
Seems like… finally… you are getting to experience so many things that haven’t been on the docket for so long. I’m glad for you, Chris!

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