"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! January 28th - 30th, 2022 [closed]

+26 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: See you next weekend. Please stay safe!
in The Tree House by Pip Sheppard G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
closed by Pip Sheppard
If I remember correctly. A Russian queen invited Germans to Russia to farm the land. I'm not sure of what her name was. Or all the circumstances surrounding the reason for the Germans immigrating to Russia for agricultural work. I probably could of looked it up.

Found the mention of this Event > Now Czarina Catherine II, a former German princess, offered a glittering proposal of privileges and free land. By her Manifesto of July 22, 1763, settlers were invited to build colonies along the sparsely settled Volga.Mar 17, 1999

Migration of Germans to Russia

Wow, Pip, I think it's colder in your neck of the woods than in ours up here in MI! Got up to 20F today, nice enough for a walk with Alice...fine as long as it's not too windy. Best of luck with your ongoing home preparations. When I came back after grad school, I vowed I'd never move again (never say never, though).

Interesting reading choices! I got Kathleen Norris's The Cloister Walk in a library book sale a few years ago and am just now reading it. Very calming and inspirational. Reinforces my faith in humankind, and full of surprises (for instance, the astonishing humanity and practicality of the Benedictine monastic community).
Susan.

For the first 10 years of my life, Farenheit was the norm; then centigrade  (Celcius) gradually took over. Now 60 years on, I think in C for oven temperature and for cold temperatures(sub zero sounds absolutely right for freezing temperatures, 20 farenheit doesn't sound thar cold ) Strangely I still think in farenheit for hot sunny days; 28 C becomes 82 F and it's warmer or colder either side if that marker. What I'm glad to have left behind in my junior schooldays  are when we used both and hence those horrible conversions; subtract 32 and multiply by 5/9 without a calculator.

Helen, Somewhat the same here, all my life (I'm 77) it was inches, feet, yards, pounds, ounces, miles, fahrenheit. 

And there was this strange decision on the part of the Authorities, in some decades past, to use decimal measures, like Europe did. Think it was tween 1975 and 1980, "they" thought to twist the world of of our born free measurements. 

Probably this desire of theirs was due to the inspirational force of the same sort people who introduced alternative math like base 8 and base whatever else, anything but 12 inches to a foot, etc. I have always suspected substance abuse was at the root of such inspirations but perhaps that's too harsh a judgment. 

We was doing okay, doing well in fact with inches and feet and fahrenheit, etc. and no reason to change over. They have, by the way, met with massive popular resistance ... I'm not the only one rejecting it 

Gather round, children, and a tale I will tell, they said, trying to sell us a pig in a poke: we, they cooed, in this country here would use kilometers and meters and ... 

I do not and never have thought -- having never been converted -- in terms of that foreign stuff. In my world it is still inches and pounds and ounces and miles and yards and ... and this despite have both systems of measurement before my eyes, year after year. 

And every time I do note that double standard printed on objects, I get an emotional stab of resentment. 

I do not "do" celcius, liters, meters, etc. I don't insist other use my standard measurements and I resent others trying to push me into using theirs. 

Same here, Susan. To me, 2 liters means that I get a lot of soda in one bottle. Half a gallon is the amount of water I should be drinking each day.

Spot On, Candyce, THAT is the proper way to see it. 

Although I don't drink soda so I don't buy it. But that's a minor matter. 

Helen, I never did memorize that formula of conversions. And since the introduction of all that foreign stuff I have only had occasion to hunt online for the formula something like 5 or maybe 6 times. 

I'm bothered. Here someone says 1 meter and I find out it is 3.28084 inches. Have you ever tried to figure out what to do with the leftover inches? You don't NEED but the 3 feet. So you end up with a pile of useless scraps, and that is WASTEFUL. 

It also means that Landfill areas are buried in left-over scraps of stuff, or soon will be. 

Gah. 

Americans get short-changed on their liquid measures, though. Your pint is only 16 ounces - the imperial pint is 20.  Work that out times 8 for a gallon. cheeky

laughlaughlaugh 16 or 20, still going to be singing "get me to the pot in time" to the tune of "get me to the church on time" Stanley Holloway - Get Me To The Church On Time - My Fair Lady - YouTube -- and since my "running" looks more like an arthritic turtle's progress ... 

Trying to remember the last time ... well, we buy bleach, white vinegar, laundry detergent ... but nothing to DRINK by either measure ... 

35 Answers

+22 votes

Good morning Pip and the weekend chatters!

Weather:

  • It’s overcast and currently 41°F.

macOS / Safari update:

  • currently updating the macOS and Safari. Highly recommended for all Apple users.
  • This video explains why you need to update immediately. https://youtu.be/ECX7jwt7J-I
Convention of States (COS) movement:
  • Jan 25th - Wisconsin became the 16th state to pass the COS resolution
  • Jan 28th - Nebraska became the 17th state to pass the COS resolution
by Tommy Buch G2G Astronaut (1.8m points)
edited by Tommy Buch
Tommy WAS going to ask you something and then discovered this COS is totally Political
COS is political, but it is historic too.
I got the iOS update on my phone. Also, I like the idea behind the COS.
COS was news to me! Interesting reading on the Net.
+21 votes
Happy weekend Pip and all Wikitreers, beautiful here in the northeast hills of Wales, boring weather, non discript pretty well describes it.

try to thinl of more later, the clutch sdeems to be slipping on thoughts of interest, as they say here, I'll put the kettle on and charge up the little gray cells, (Hercule Periot).
by James Brooks G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
M., Pwillheli is on the south coast  of the peninsula 2/3rds toward the point, Penygroes is 16.6 miles nothwest in the middle of the top of the peninsula.
James, Yes, you're right, I will have to ask my cousin, that's what she has on her  Ancestry tree, there is a place called Penrhôs just south of Pwllheli, or perhaps it was something to do with registration districts.

For now, I'll just assume Pwllheli town or district is the correct place, his baptism record says Rhiw, Caernarvon, Wales,

The 1841 census when he is about 3 months old says he lives in Parish: Llan iestyn; County: Caernarvonshire;
M, Rhiw is 11.6 miles south along the south coast, from Pwillheli.

Llan iestyn iss 11 miles west in the middle of the peninsula, and 6.6 miles northwest of Rhiw.

James, online there seems to be a distinction tween Cajun and Creole. And as MRoss says, Canadian French is not the same as French in France. 

Tsk. The list of places where French is the official language is long. And I am supposing the differences from one region to another and one country to another have been studied already. 

French is the official language in Belgium, Benin, Burkina, Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central, African, Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte, d'Ivoire, Democratic, Republic, of, the, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial, Guinea, France, Guinea, Haiti, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Monaco, Niger, Republic, of, the, Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu.

Baptism place doesn't have to be the place people lived. Obviously more research is needed.

Somewhere I have a link for a source for families in the Lleyn peninsula, I will have to find it again.
You're absolutely right Suzy, my trouble is english is enough trouble (U.S. english) here in the United Kingdom, try dealing with the spell checker that wants to put a u in flavo(u)r and z is zed and s instead of z, organise.

James, you could just roll with it, since it wants to use UK spelling. Spelling isn't really a problem so long as the MESSAGE is conveyed and understood.  Besides, using UKEnglish makes you sound Posh

let's not get insulting, I've still got the bumper sticker on my car (that drives on the wrong side of the road), "OIL FIELD TRASH, and PROUD of IT", IN San Fran when Di Fi was mayor, we had to add NOT in front of PROUD.
Ah, James, you sing the song of many from the depths of the strange and inspiring world of bumper stickers.

Used car dealerships spend HOURS of worker-time scraping off those things from their new inventory. Landlords refuse to return portions of deposits due to some enthusiastic plastering of these ubiquitous taglines on their properties, taglines that escaped from a fortune cookie maker

The range of sentiments that can be packed into pithy and sometimes obscene or profane, even scatalogical comment  is incredible ...
James, our weather is boring in the wrong way, cold all the time, and this was supposed to be a "mild" winter. I'd rather be bore with a lot warmer weather., Funny, I used to be able to stand it better. Another sign of getting old, I guess.
+25 votes
Hello everyone,

In southern Sweden it's windy, cold and sunny. Supposed to get even more windy weather during the weekend.

I'm not quite well from covid, but I'm up and doing stuff, so I should not complain.

Have a nice and cozy weekend, everyone!
by Maria Lundholm G2G6 Pilot (222k points)
Glad you're starting to feel better Maria!  Take care of you.
Hang in there, Maria.  Do not try to overdo things.  COVID can be a tricky disease.
Maria, is good to see you are recovering. Keep at it.
Thank you Laurie, Candyce and Susan, you make me feel cared about!
Sending good juju for your recovery, Maria! Folks here who have had it report good and bad days, kind of a rollercoaster, so please take the time you need.
Maria.....glad to hear your health is improving......Kathy appears to be recovering from bacterial pneumonia, with the only symptoms being weakness.
I'm wishing you a more speedy recovery, Maria! I'm sure that it being cold and windy doesn't help much.
+26 votes
Good Morning, Pip, and Everyone!

Pip, I do not envy your moving job. That is always a huge undertaking and very tiring!! I hope the rest of it goes well.

My genealogy week has been a mixed bag of doing a bit of sourcing, working on newly created profiles from the ConnectAThon and my DNA project. I am tracking down and have begun to message candidates for a mtChrondrial test for one of my lines to distinguish two of the three wives of one of my O'Neals.

Another genealogy project I finally started on is digging out my wills and a Bible record. I am listing the slaves willed to family members from each ancestor and to the children; also, the listed ones who might have been sold. I plan to either send these to someone in the Black History project or try creating the profiles and links myself. It sounds complicated with the links that must be created but maybe if I take it slowly I will get it right!!

Good luck to all in the way of the winter storm hitting the northeast here in the United States. I have to say I am thankful Texas is missing this one but I do not wish ills on anyone else! Have a great week everyone and may at least one brick wall crumble!
by Virginia Fields G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
I think your slave project is a worthwhile effort, Virginia.  One step at a time!
Hi Ginny, I think going through your wills and Bible record to eke out any information on the slaves to give them some semblance of family and a genealogical record is very worthwhile. I think the BH project would be a good one to connect with. There might be some genealogists 'out there' of African American heritage who might very well 'lend a hand' to help them find their and other's families.

laugh I sometimes think that Pip has embarked upon a journey through the vale of "if anything can go wrong, it will" with this relocation from one residence to another. It is not supposed to be this difficult, right? 

Hi, Virginia, sounds like an amazing and difficult undertaking. Some of my ancestors were Georgia yeomen farmers and small slaveholders. I was fortunate to find a family will listing some of the enslaved people's first names and ages, and became obsessed with trying to research what happened to them after emancipation. Did they move away? Did they stay around as tenants? A project I would like to return to when time permits. The 1870 census records have so far borne no fruit. Best of luck.
Well, Ginny, it was another long weekend moving junk (I consider it that... I'm ready to just throw stuff away!). But, I did source one Scottish profile!
I feel your pain, Pip!! The toughest moves are local ones when we are doing most of it ourselves. That is what my husband and I had normally done - with a local mover coming in to move the heavy stuff. Then, hubby was transferred from Louisiana to California. They came in and packed, hauled the stuff to the very large truck, and met us a few days later at our California house. Then, someone came in and unpacked some of the stuff! Wow! what a difference.
+22 votes

Hi from southern Ontario,

Chez moi/at home: what's happening here? In some ways not much, weather is frigid highs in the -10 C range, lows in the -18 C range, at 10 am this morning -18, wonderful blue skies and sun, but far too cold to be outside without multiple layers or Artic rated parka. 

Also related zippers; why have the zippers on all my outdoor winter clothing decided to fail at once? My down parka has a 2 way zipper, a very useful feature, the top works okay as does the very bottom, the mid-section doesn't want to function. I can zip it closed but then the mid-section decides to come apart. And then I can't get the zip tab to pull down, and I'm trapped in my coat!  With a lot of effort, I can pull/push it partway down, then I have to pull the coat off over my head! Getting it back on is a very interesting process. 

I have resorted to putting one hand on each side of the zip and ripping it apart, which does work some of the time, but I don't think it is a long term solution. 

Another coat and a fleece vest are similarly uncooperative. 

Alton Cemetery project and other genealogy: the cemetery project is once again underway at not quite full steam; some rearranging of the Ancestry research tree/trees has been necessary. 

Originally we, myself and cousin Sharon had created a tree where we could source the dead people, then profiles for them could be created on WT, with other sources from FS, Automated genealogy plus the Dufferin county museum-a real treasure trove of local history. 

The plan was to have an uncomplicated research tree, and work on one family group at a time. After the profiles were created those groups of people were deleted from the Ancestry tree, which worked okay until an unexpected connection was made to someone else. Then we were faced with having to recreate the deleted, that doesn't work well. 

A number of years ago I created an Ancestry tree that I hoped would show the relationships between those buried at Alton, but because it would only show relationships between the home person and the others, it was a waste of time and a duplication of some parts of Robbie's tree. 

So now I have resurrected that tree with the FTM backup, and it will be used as a library/backup for the Cemetery research tree. I can copy people from the research tree to the backup tree, then delete them on the research tree which can then remain uncomplicated. At least that is how it is supposed to work. 

What else: Some work has been done on trip planning for June, I'm hoping that some additional flights will be available as Omicron becomes less of a problem. 

Two sisters and a nephew have had Omicron in the past few days, no symptoms more severe than headaches, and sore throats. 

My younger daughter has been diagnosed with polychondritis; her 4th confirmed autoimmune disease. I'm beginning to think there has to be a genetic cause or connection in some way. Her sister has Sjogren's syndrome. As far as I know there is no family history of autoimmune disease on either side. It's making me worried about the grandkids, especially the special needs granddaughter as her problems are genetic in origin. Plus it means getting in touch with my ex, to ask if he has any information I don't have. 

by M Ross G2G6 Pilot (701k points)
After immense frustration with zippers on parkas, I bought a pea coat.  Buttons forever!
As a Canadian, I feel your zipper-frustration!  As the mother of an immune-compromised son, I'm sending you and your daughter a big, warm hug.  We've had luck with a diet rich in fibre, fresh vegetables, probiotics, and unprocessed foods, and various strategies for managing stress. I hope she finds some ways to find a better balance too.
Hi M, first, I'm with Mark Weinheimer as to zippers! After several failed zippers over the years, especially in freezing weather, I've turned to coats with buttons, which are much easier to sew back on (so the seamstress at Sparkle Cleaners tells me). Sewing is my Room 101 (and what is the name of the book???)

Importantly, I am very sorry to hear of all of these autoimmune issues. I do believe you should reach out to your ex and get a solid health history from him. In addition to my personal CVD issues, I have two autoimmune diseases to contend with (MS and lupus). I can fully relate to your concerns regarding children and grandchildren. Another avenue of research might be looking at background information on 'environmental illnesses' (e.g., fibromyalgia, Gulf War syndrome, etc.) I have a special needs grandson who just turned 20. He had surgery in December for a 'spontaneous' bowel obstruction. His needs, however, come from extreme prematurity (he was born at 26 weeks and weighed 1# 11oz.(0.7654Kg).
I do have what was once a very expensive sheepskin coat, it has buttons, but...they are so far apart and the sleeves are too wide meaning that any windy cold air has lots of openings to get in.

It's impossible to drive in as I can't bend my arms because it is too stiff.          I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it.
These are both LOL situations.  I think everyone   must have been trapped unable to get out or into a garment because of zipper problems.  The picture of you with your arms  out straight driving  in the sheepskin is so funny!

I moved to Arizona where I wear very few coats at all.
Thanks Laurie,

I can try to convince my daughter to include more fibre, fresh vegetables, probiotics, and unprocessed foods in her diet, it would be a good idea, her diet does not usually include any of those items.

It is very difficult to change her mind about anything, she has physical disabilities and permanent brain damage from 2 near fatal car crashes 20 + years ago and has the typical lack of mental flexibility that is a result of her brain injuries. Perhaps I can convinced her to research it, she loves Dr Google, if I suggest that I heard about a possible connection and that it might be helpful. It certainly won't make anything worse.
Sad to hear the tidings about your children ... it appears from what I see online that the cause of the autoimmune disorder is not known of a certainty but there are theories, ideas, that are being researched .. it is the same with multiple sclerosis, from what I see online
M, OI bought a very nice, heavy coat a couple of years ago. I read the reviews and questions on the website. One question that was asked was, "Did you fix the issue with the zipper?" Answer: "Yes, we did." My answer after the coat arrived: "No, you didn't." (But, it's still a nice heavy coat!)
+22 votes
Hails and horns Wikipeeps!

Well, the genealogy front has been interesting this week for a couple reasons. The first is me sending a message to a Pallaria cousin who is a DNA match and asking if he could help me identify the unknown Coppola I have. He said he can talk to a cousin of his in San Pietro and help me figure things out. So chances are good that the Unknowns won't be unknown for long. That's always a plus. He also talked to me about "WhatsApp". I need to download that at some point and check things out.

He also said a guy named Giuseppe Ferraiolo owns a bar in San Pietro. I kinda wanna know the connection!!

Other than that, I did post a blog about a relative of mine who was a national detective: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2022/01/52-ancestors-week-4-curious.html

Check that out when you have time. I talked about one of the cases he was involved in as well.

Preparing for the huge storm here this weekend. We should be okay. But, if you are in the path please stay warm and safe. Not looking forward to plowing and everything!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
by Chris Ferraiolo G2G6 Pilot (753k points)
I've used WhatsApp quite a bit over the years. Messaging and VOIP - saves on long-distance charges. There are lots of other options, but I don't see a downside to WhatsApp if your cousin likes to use it. Sounds like he wants to talk!  

Stay warm and dry
Well, he didn't exactly invite me to chat. But, I am downloading the app now.

Another great blog, Chris, which reminds me to remind you to... write the book! Love the photo of Paul and Lena!

Yup. It is a great pic. And thanks. I should!!!
+23 votes

Good afternoon from Sunny Wales

Almost at the end of January where have the weeks gone.

The weather is warmer than it had been but cold nights when it is clear. More wind is forecasted this weekend but we have, so far, had a mild winter. I prefer cold bright days to wet and windy.

No news here everything is slowly getting back to normal although we have too many restrictions compared to England. Politics get in the way sometimes.

I brought things into my new office but now that is getting cluttered so I am still going through things and deciding what to keep. Yesterday we started to clean and tidy my old room which had become the dumping ground. We call that room the library with 3 walls of bookcases. We want to get it reorganised before the warmer weather so we have a place to retreat to on the cooler side of the house.

I don't envy you moving Pip but at least you have had time to plan and clear. Last time we moved almost 29 years ago we had no time to go through anything. We only got our room decorated 2 years ago as it required us to move things out.

Just off out to the pub now so I will sign off.

by Hilary Gadsby G2G6 Pilot (312k points)
hello Hilary, if you put on channel 5, Kate Humble is walking around  your hometown.  it's been on for awhile so you might want to catch it on 5+1 channel 205. Enjoy

James
James it is not where I was born but will take a look on the catch up as it may give me some ideas of places to go walking nearby.
Oh lawd, Hilary, the new office! I have this feeling I'm going to be spending time in mine sorting through the last stuff I didn't file, just threw in a box.
+21 votes
Thank You for hosting the Chat Pip.

Musings form The North Coast of Ohio.

Weather, Let's see Monday snow and cold, Tuesday snow and cold, Wednesday snow and very cold, Thursday -4 F with wind chill advisory but thankfully no overnight snow, Friday Not quite as cold, in the low 20's and just a little AM snow so not too bad.

On the Home Front,

Monday, I cleared the drive with the snow blower, made a quick run to the store, watched some TV and did a very little on WikiTree. I did have a virtual ham club meeting in the evening but it was a lazy day in the afternoon for me.

Tuesday, I cleared the drive with the snow blower Watched some TV and did a very little on WikiTree.

Wednesday, Not enough new snow to fire up the snow blower but since it was payday we made a large grocery run and cleaned up for the arrival of the great granddaughter. She spent the night so not much else got done.

Thursday, With the great granddaughter here all day nothing much got done. Late in the afternoon I did start the process of converting an older Windows 10 All in one desktop computer to the Linux Ubuntu OS. I hate to throw out any computer and this change in OS just may breathe new life into this otherwise unused machine. I may put the computer on my desk and use the other desktop with an older TV for a monitor in the spare bedroom for use to stream online content in that room. This will also bring my household up to 6 Windows machines and 4 Linux machines, Sorry no Mac OS machines in my home. I did check into a radio net in the evening. Thing went better than last week on the net but still room for improvement. I already made some changes to the programming on the radio but it will be next Thursday evening before I find out if those changes are good enough or if I still have more work to do.

Friday, My big plans are to work on that computer listed above. To be more accurate I intent to test out Pop!_OS and a version of Debian to see which works best for me.

Genealogy, Just some sourcing and profile clean up. Important work but not anything to brag about.
by Dale Byers G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
I also decided not to participate in the Wales Ragchew Net with my radio this weekend. I want to get the local nets working without problems before I attempt an international net.
Ubuntu here - I dunno why, I just keep going back to it.

Ragchew is a great name for a gathering, don't you think?
Laurie, and for any non Hams out there, The Ragchew net is much like our weekend chat. the Hams just talk about anything they wish just to get together and talk.
Amazing. I did not credit "the north coast of Ohio" but checked it out online just in case and by gum and by golly it exists - it says online it is the biggest fun place in Ohio
Susan, My favorite radio station, FM, is 98.5 WNCX and they use the "North Coast Express" as their slogan. Around here we have several businesses that use "North Coast in their names because with lake Erie being a border lake we actually are a coastal border state here in Ohio with 470 miles of the international boarder. Also Erie is the 11th largest lake in the world. https://www.thenorthcoastofamerica.com/

Dale, I looked over the stuff online, and while I am sure I never heard of Ohio has having a coast. 

77 years and only now do I find out Ohio has a coast line. 

77 years and it was East Coast, Atlantic Seaboard, West Coast, Gulf of Mexico ... and now I find out the great lakes' shoreline is seen as a coast line ... 

WOW !!

Yes Susan the majority of the northern border of Ohio is a large body of water complete with beaches. But there is just no surf in Cleveland. https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-trp-001&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=trp&p=no+surf+in+cleveland+euclid+beach+band&type=Y167_F163_202037_010322#id=3&vid=3dbe2ee37789316f7a8cf41aa422060e&action=click

cheeky

Years ago I took the ferry to South Bass Island to camp and visit a winery. Naively thought that being an island, it would be quiet. Power boats roaring by all night, no sleep. Other than that, it was lovely.

Now US-6/SR-2 is my favorite route east so I can avoid the turnpike...unless I have to be somewhere in a hurry, which is seldom.

Dale, we shopped for the storm that didn't happen, but it's nice to be stocked up anyway. 

+27 votes

Happy Friday WikiTree friends and family!

Its -1C (about 30F) with Freezing Fog outside on the West Coast of Canada, so I'm staying In as much as I can today.  

Hawk in my yardWe have a new visitor to the bird feeders, I call him "hawk", and he's not interested in the birdseed - not directly.  The hummingbirds ignore him, but he can fly nearly as well as they do. A-mazing.

On the genealogy front, it was breakthrough week.  First, a distant relative returned from North Carolina with some land records and wills, which she kindly shared with me, that mention (former) brick-wall ancestor Samuel Andrews, and clearly give him an uncle.  Through his uncle, he now has a father and siblings. This is particularly important to my family because of genetic collapse - my line traces back to Samuel and Mary Andrews 5 times, through five different routes, so I have some North Carolina DNA y'all.

Second the magic of G2G provided the first ever rational suggestion for the birthplace of another ancestor, George Albrecht Mauser.   He was a German-speaker, whose entry in the passenger lists was recorded by an Englishman who didn't speak German.  The result has seemed nonsensical for 270 years because everyone has been looking in Germany for a place that doesn't exist.  Google even comes up blank & how often does that happen?   But G2G reached researchers who are familiar with that part of Europe, and it turns out he may not have been born in Germany atall - but in Alsace France. Hopefully the trail will now lead to a primary source.

I hope your mysteries come to light too, its a great way to stay warm and dry.

by Laurie Giffin G2G6 Pilot (104k points)
Thank you for sharing the photo of the beautiful bird! We do have some birds of prey even if I live in "the city" but the kinds that just circle the air from time to time, the Red Kite.
Laurie, we have a hawk (or hawks) you live in our area, and one thing for sure is when one gets near to our feeders, it's a mass stampede, birds/squirrels/chipmunks scattering in concert. Funny, in the summertime, our hummingbirds could care less.
+23 votes

¡Buenos días a todos from the Old Pueblo! It is nearing 10am and 49F (9.4C) in Tucson with an expected high of only 66F (18.9C) with sunny, but very windy skies.

 

I am later than usual in chatting this morning. I have been taking care of business in between preparing for my mother’s memorial service on February 5th. I heard from colleagues in Mexico regarding a booklet we have been preparing for teenagers on healthy lifestyles to prevent chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. The rates of diabetes are very high in Mexico. The booklet is just beautiful, easy to read with lots of stylized colorful images to which young people can relate. It is actually akin to a graphic novel. We have worked on this for nearly 2 years and are very pleased with the outcome.

 

I have also agreed to co-lead our next paper for publication on the health outcomes of nurses who work night shift (outcomes are not good). There are seven nurses working on various aspects of this next paper, including nutrient intake, circadian rhythm disruption, drowsy driving and the poorer health outcomes related to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, car crashes, poorer interpersonal relationships, etc. While specific to nurses, these outcomes are relevant to any night workers. I have to cancel my participation in the zoom call next week, as I will be en route to the Midwest for mum’s memorial.

 

Having gone through boxes of photos and my kid sister sending me images from a Memory Book I gave to mum in 1994, I have lit upon an idea for my part in her memorial. I also have to credit M Ross for her ‘family tree image’ idea that she posted last week on our WikiTree Chat. I printed out mum’s WikiTree ‘tree’ that starts with her and goes back about 5 generations, which will be the ‘centerpiece’ for the ‘Tree of Life’ poster that I am creating for her. Meanwhile, I had Bonny find the ‘memory book’ I gave to mum some 28 years ago. Bonny send about 40 days’ worth of entries that include questions such as: 1) “Mar 10 what was your favorite movie as a youth? Why? And 2) relate an experience or memory of a cousin.” These roughly 40 entries in mum’s handwriting provide a smorgasbord of her early history, ancestry, likes, dislikes and so much more. I purchased a yard of pink fabric (her favorite color) as backing for the poster board, and some imitation white roses (her favorite flower) to decorate the board here and there. I have gone through all the old photos I mentioned in last week’s post. I am going to select her entries and pair them with a photo on the poster board! Because I am now the eldest (17 trapped in a 77-year-old body), I have been asked (told, actually) to relate her early history at the start of mum’s Memorial. I will use the entries from mum’s memory book that do not make her “Tree of Life” as the ‘backdrop’ for the presentation. Therefore, there will be visuals with her handwriting and a presentation using her own words. It is a lot of work; however, it is genealogy, history, family dynamics and so much more that comes to life and gives meaning to her passing.

 

Now to genealogy, for this past week, I have turned to my dad’s family. There is a good, solid paternal line on WikiTree that goes back to Ireland and back through the PGM to England, Scotland and Wales, there is a shorter maternal line from Germany that needs much work. This past week, I focused on dad’s maternal Rathgeber/Grohnke genealogy. These families migrated from various parts of Germany to the United States circa 1880 and settled in North Dakota. Several of these family members have birth and/or marriage records from Germany, which are in German (of course). When I return from the Midwest, I will need to call on our good WikiTree friend, Jelena, to assist me with interpretation to that I am sure I have the correct name (as best possible) married to the proper person with locations, dates and so forth. I have not done much in Germany of late because I have been working on mum’s paternal line in Cornwall. In addition to adding some of these Rathgeber and Grohnke families to WikiTree, I have needed to take responsibility for their Find-A-Grave sites, many of which had little to know information and some with incorrect family members.

 

I want to thank Pip, yet again for herding the Chatters and to wish everyone a happy and productive last weekend of January 2022! Time truly does fly!

by Carol Baldwin G2G Astronaut (1.1m points)
When I read other members explorations of their family histories I am always amazed at the diversity of places that their ancestors came from, and the difficulties with tracking down accurate sources. Often in languages other than English.

It makes me realise how simple my family history is; out of 16 GGP, only 4 ancestors on my mother's paternal line were not born in England, and they were born in Galway and Roscommon, Ireland and moved to England between 1850 and 1860.

All of my dad's ancestors can be traced back to the 1600s in England, all of my mother's maternal ancestors can also be traced back the 1600 and 1700s in England.

Out of 32 GGGP, 24 were born in England.
Only the 8 parents of the 4 GGP not born in England were also not born in England, they were all born in Ireland and only 4 died in England after moving from Ireland.

I leave DNA research to 2 cousins who have found other family members like 3rd, 4th, 5th cousins in other places.

Your family history is perhaps simple to you, M, but not to me. laughTo me it sounds exotic. And my own is more boring.

M, I'm a pretty boring WASP, which is both a blessing and a curse! Most forebears from the British Isles, with a few French Huguenots thrown in (who also tarried in England before coming over). I do have the brick wall Dosters on my paternal grandmother's side, Germany to Pennsylvania to North Carolina. Gotta start digging around in that line soon.
Carol, I've been gong through stuff (like you going through photos) and I'm finding stuff I forgot about documents, photos. I really got to get a handle on my organizing skills, of which I have none! I think you will find exactly the right photos for your mom's Tree of Life poster.
Hi Pip, I just organized photos to take along for the poster. I have found some 'doozies' of my mum when she was a little girl (fortunately someone put names and dates on the back), her grandmother and her retirement party in 1986. I also found a little tiny photo of my dad's grandmother (!) in 1948 in North Dakota. Some rather unrelated treasures are journal stories of the 'old fashioned general store' we operated in a 100 year old woolen mill over 40 years ago. I hardly recognized myself In my "little house on the prairie" outfit that we wore when working. I've got everything all organized (for this event anyway) and will work on my verbal presentation on the flight and assemble the poster on Thursday. It sounds like our organizing skills are similar. You have a great week!
I hope to see some of pics, Carol. Have a safe trip. We'll all be there in spirit with you!
+21 votes

laugh Pip, your Optimism is a warm and cheerful light in a world gone whackko. Blessings upon you. 

HOME FRONT -- I am NOT in a struggle to relocate again, after nearly 90 such relocations due to parents and spouses. Hallelujah

Of course, at the age Pip is NOW, we did, I did, our final relocation so I can relate. 

I take comfort from being decrepit. (Sounds of a BetteDavis laugh from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane - What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Scene: What's for Dinner? - Bette Davis - Joan Crawford - YouTube  MEANING I ain't gonna have to pack and load and unload and unpack AGAIN ... tah rah rah boom tee ayyy

Usually, most years, we've had Spring has Sprung mid-Feb here in Modesto -- it's a time of Bulb flowers springing out of the ground and trees & shrubs putting out leaf buds. A few years it's been delayed up to 3 weeks later, into March

Sig O's black cat is hounding our tom cat (neutered) following him around, and since he mews chronically (very talkative orange angora since he was born) Sig O's cat picked up on the habit also and so I'm being treated to our tom trying to hide in my room closely followed by Sig O's cat ALSO in my room yowling and meowing, and this is at ANY time in the 24 hours cycle ... both of them mewing meowing yowling and etc ...this truly a cataphonic experience  .. 

Poor tom cat comes in sometimes at full speed and leaps and lands on HIS bed (yowling) and ... along come Little One (yowling) ... at times this escape and capture has woken me up - at 2 AM or 3 AM which is not an Event that will make me rise and shine cheerfully 

Still it's better than trying to deal with The Dog - I truly pity the dog, apparently unloved enough that note of its presence is neglected for as much as 3 full days -- however, I suspect it is a case Sig O's soft heart is being taken advantage of 

GENEALOGY -- I have had the greatest fun time working on a few really challenging family lines ... One in particular, where someone had taken the contents of the census and attached all of the people in the household  to AS CHILDREN of a couple who were nowhere in sight, and not at all related ... oy.  

Okay, took me a couple of days to figure out how to resolve this situation. Had to study the census to see if the members were on WikiTree - one of them, at least, was - and THEN I cross indexed them to the profile of the mother of the head of household Mrs Euphemia M Reed (1820-) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree 

I would not have bothered but for a some of the PM at WT who entered anyone cited in a hh in a census giving each their own profile. And as the famous Ethel Merman sang on Broadway Anything you can do - Ethel Merman - YouTube

Hah. After some really intense hours over several days I think I got it - 

"In the 1860 hh are Euphemia ( 40) Thomas her son (23, farmer), Elias Ridgway (23, trucker), Margaret Johnson (23, housekeeper), John Ramer (23, farm hand), William Harris (21, farm hand), and Henry McClow (15, Farm hand)"

The upheavals of the Civil War came about a year later and I don't doubt it disrupted all those lives 

by Susan Smith G2G6 Pilot (650k points)
90 relocations?!?!? I think I'd lose my mind, Susan!
+23 votes

Virtual Vacation! 

Some tech problems today sad

In 2016 we visited the Heart's Content Cable Station on the Baccalieu peninsula and part of the Baccalieu tourist trail in Newfoundland. This post is a bit different than planned when I looked for photos taken on our visit I couldn't find them, I remember vividly taking them, so who knows where they went, as a consequence the photos in this post are from both the Newfoundland government tourism website and other history websites. 

Prior to July 1966 any news from North America had to be sent by ship to London, about 10 days travel time. 

This is the cable station. The refurbished building from about 1900. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-335.jpg

Heart's Content was founded in 1677 and had a population of 35 in 1700. It is where the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable was pulled ashore in July 1866. There had been previous cables that failed in 1857, 1858, and 1865, the 1858 one only 3 weeks after it was laid on the seabed. The cable station was as a major cable relay station for almost a century. If you count the failed cables over a century. It is now a Provincial Historic Site. 

500px-Virtual_Vacation-339.jpg

And for the techie people some details, a 98-word message sent from Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan took sixteen hours to send.

500px-Virtual_Vacation-337.jpg

The many different machines or equipment types are fascinating, some of them still work, but the messages would go nowhere.

500px-Virtual_Vacation-338.jpg

The original cable can still be seen coming up out of the water, The information on story boards tells how the technology changed over the years

500px-Virtual_Vacation-336.jpg

In the main lobby there is a marvellous map on the floor, it is of the world wide telegraph network about 1870 perhaps earlier. I remember standing on the map and seeing the route a telegram would take from England to America. But I can't find a picture of it. 

It was interesting because there are suggestions that the steel manufacturing company that my 2 x GGF built into a world wide business supplied the Confederacy with parts for horse carriages, perhaps cannon wagons (is that what they were called?) and other related metal bits and pieces.

by M Ross G2G6 Pilot (701k points)
Hi M, thank you for this very unusual and unique Virtual Vacay! Imagine 16 hours to relay a 98 word message from London to WDC within the context of today's technology! I do think it is easier for me to understand given that I did my dissertation on an electric typewriter using carbon paper for a copy...and that was 1987!

I think those 'canon wagons' might have been called 'gun carriages or 'field carriages' but a Civil War or military wonk would know much better than I.

The 'gingerbread' on that cable station is really interesting and kind of gives the timeline for the building. I saw a lot of that when I was gathering information on my dad's ancestors whose homes still stood at the turn of the 20th century in Minnesota.
Thanks Carol, there is lots of information on the web about the site. I believe the first building was constructed in the 1870s, quite what they used before that I don't know.

One source I found discussed the technical capacities of the facility in comparison to today, obviously gargantuan differences.  

On the topic of theses, I paid to have my 1976 B.A. Hons thesis typed, it would have taken me weeks to produce a clean copy.
Hi M, my B.A. Hons. theses (I had a double major) were typed as well; however, I had to do them myself because I couldn't find anyone willing to do them for me. Plus, I couldn't have afforded to pay them anyway. Those were the days! Although I am able to word process and source scientific articles, this e-technology is beyond me. I have to turn to some 12-year-old to help me. I don't envy them when they get to be my age!
Hmm, I paid in kind for the typing, I helped with research on an unrelated topic for the typist, and when the typing was finished walked through a blizzard to deliver the thesis to the appropriate office on campus.

Me and my friend rented a macintosh computer to write our essays on, in 1989. laugh

We were economical and shared it.

M, that looks fascinating! I must add it to my list if I can ever get to Newfoundland (L'Anse aux Meadows has been on the bucket list for some time).

Um...the cannon wagon might be called a limber? Just now teaching myself about Civil War artillery.

LOL, in 2000 I got home from work to a message that my prospective grad school admissions committee had moved the due date for essays to...the next day. The library was closed, so I borrowed my landlady's son's old Royal manual typewriter (where the o's fall out of the page if you hit them too hard). Stayed up till 4, faxed it at the copy shop en route to work. (They still accepted me!)
Hi D: If you do find time and opportunity to go to Newfoundland, I like travel planning as much as I like genealogy and as I pat myself on the back, I'm good at it.  We were there for 16 days and saw almost the entire province.

Feel free to ask any questions.
@Maria Lundholm

@D Armistead

@M Ross

I am totally enjoying these stories about renting old Macs, manual typewriters, etc. to get essays, admission forms, etc. pulling 'all nighters' to get them done and in on time...and through blizzards no less.

M...you are definitely outstanding at travel planning and genealogy and you deserve lots of pats on the back.

And D, I think you are spot on about the 'limber'. I did a quick search and found this:

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

I learn at least one thing new every day, thanks to all of you!
I had plans to participate more this weekend both here and on the Saturday sourcing Sprint. But I fell down a huge rabbit hole, if I'm right I have solved a very old mystery. One of those misidentified parents issues that then lead to a wrong LNAB.

I haven't done much research on this part of the family, because there seemed to be no records that made any sense. Yesterday in my family activity feed there was a notification of a change to birth and death locations for a profile I manage,a profile I adopted in 2020  it didn't make much sense as I had not entered either birth or death locations, the change was from no status to a guess for those locations.

I was a little miffed mostly because there didn't seem any purpose to the changes. No additional information had been added. But there was definitely a hidden bonus, it made me go back and more thoroughly research the person profiled. There are I think 88 trees on Ancestry with the same mistake and the same error is on the FS tree.

No one including me had looked closely at the marriage and death records for the children of this woman, those records give a maiden name that is not the same as the people who have been given as her parents. Her actual maiden name makes far more sense and establishes a connection to 2 sisters and a brother, 1852 and 1861 census of Canada also provide additional supporting evidence. Plus a will dated 1843 that gives evidence of her father, mother and a sister, I had the will as a source for her now connected sister but with the wrong LNAB, there was no real reason to think these people were part of the same family.
I love unique places like this M. Thanks for posting these fascinating photos.
+23 votes
From Everett, Washington come greetings out of the fog that socked us in the first half of the week. Fog and the 5G network prevented smaller jets from landing at Paine Field; it seems that 5G plays havoc with altimeters.

Wednesday night we had a wonderful time with drinks and dinner and a friend formerly from husband's Boeing tours. The occasion was to celebrate our daughter's 29th birthday.

As my trip to California looms I begin to realize how much needs to be done in preparation. I need my vitamin supplements, a place for my morning meds, I need a new sleeping outfit, I need to locate the suitcase daughter took to Germany and start choosing what to take and what stays.

Breakfast of adults: coffee and pills. This is one of daughter's sayings.

I have been quilting more and spending less time at this computer. The watchlist is way bloated and I am pruning profiles. Working mostly on creating profiles for US Black Heritage.

Good week to you all.  I will not be checking in next weekend.
by Margaret Summitt G2G6 Pilot (313k points)
This is my fourth anniversary on WikiTree.
Hi Margaret, Happy Anniversary. I love the Breakfast of Adults. Sadly, in my case, it's all too true. Thank you for all you do on the US BH Project!
Happy anniversary, Margaret!!!!

I received the quilt from my cousin who says it was made by my g-grandmother. When I get a chance, I'll post it here for you to see.
+21 votes

Currently, it's 265˚ K and cloudy in Fort Erie. We're already over our predicted high of 263˚ K (thank goodness!), but tonight, it's predicted to go down to 258˚ K. These days, it's interesting listening to weather forecasts. When weather forecaster A says, "It's bitterly cold out there!" and weather forecaster B says, "Temperatures are about two degrees below seasonal normal", I'm forced to conclude that weather forecaster A either isn't from around here, or else has a really short memory. ("What do you think happens in the wintertime?")

It's been a particularly busy week, so I haven't gotten much done, genealogy-wise. But still working on
Kiblers and Millers.

by Greg Slade G2G6 Pilot (664k points)

Oh, wait. I did finally get a Connectors Update done. There have been other posts about connecting in G2G, too. I'm guessing that the Connect-A-Thon got people thinking about the subject, so yay for that.

Oh, right, Kelvin, it is.

We have 12 °Rø. (If I converted correctly from the normal, i.e. Celsius. wink)

Ooh! I'd gladly trade that for the weather here! (I worked it out to about 8.6˚ C.)

For those of you who don't hit Wikipedia by reflex every time you encounter something you don't already know, the temperature scale that Maria referred to is the Rømer scale, named after Ole Christensen Rømer. I am 27 degrees from Ole on WikiTree, through the light of my life and the delight of my eyes. (This comes as no surprise to me, because the first thing I fell in love with was her mind.)

(I was actually working on a "Quest for Great-Grandparents" challenge of people who invented thermometers or temperature scales, but never got it together before the Relationship FInder Quick Links page got deprecated.)

Oh, good, if you got it to about 8 C, I must have gotten my conversion right too! I'm quite close to Ole Römer, if you count that we have a street named after him, which I can find less than two kilometres from my home!

But weather wise, it is now at the freezing point here.

And the weekend is over too.
Rochester, Minnesota is in the same temperature range. By the way, I figured out to convert Kelvin to Fahrenheit. The chemistry class (last semester) was a Godsend.
Kelvin. Hmm... I think I'll stick with good ol' Farenheit, Greg! Bitterly cold? I hope you and your dear one are staying inside!
+22 votes
Good  MOrning.  It's chilly and windy here in Tucson today.  I'd still take my weather over most of yours!

The house is sold and I have some repairs in progress.  I found a place to live while the new house is completed.  This gives me time to work on my taxes and the pension paperwork for the business.  It never ends.

Just like genealogy, it never ends either, but is a lot more fun.  New suggestions never end so I continue to learn things like span citation entries.  We've had a couple of interesting profiles such as a woman who was born in Acadie, had children in Philly and died in Santo Domingo.  Possible, but she was only 13 when she married and would have had three children right away.  The putative husband traveled other places without her.  We've decided she could not be the wife and unearthed some very well written sources.  Does it sound like a tall tale that he told another man - this in the mid-1700's - that while traveling from Maryland to Connecticut he was captured by Eskimos (who did not live in that area).  They killed everyone else but he was so young and handsome they saved him.  Then he escaped after about 6 months.  We're not believing it either at the very least because the facts don't add up anywhere in this story.  I love puzzles like that!
by Cindy Cooper G2G6 Pilot (322k points)
Those are some pretty amazing stories.  Just the kind I like to de-construct.  Have fun with it.
Hi Cindy! It truly was a 'Nor'easter' in Tucson yesterday! Much better today! Glad to hear that your house is sold and things are coming along. That story of the man being captured by Eskimos might make for a great Netflix series. Maybe it could be called something like "Outsider" so as not to compete with the other series. If he had been captured by Japanese in the mid-1700s, it could be called "Gai-jin" (Japanese for foreigner); however, James Clavell already wrote such a story.

I will be returning from Mum's memorial on Feb 10. Perhaps we could meet for coffee or tea on the 12th or 13th if you have time? Enjoy the puzzles!
HI, Carol, I hope the service goes as you planned for your Mom.  Yes, I'm available on both of those days, probably prefer the Sunday.
Great stories, Cindy! And I agree they would make a great film or Netflix series. Reminds me a bit of the wild tales the old uncles tell in Secondhand Lions (one of my favorite films).

Maybe the indigenous captors were Pequots, or Mohicans? And the guy didn't know the difference? :)
Cindy, my brother has been sending me the temps all week just to torture me. I think I'd rather be in Tucson than here.

You're right, it never ends, it seems, but soon (hopefully) you'll be in your new home!
+23 votes

On this day:

1393: The Bel des Ardents occurs

1878: In New Haven, CT, the first Telephone Exchange is opened

2002: The Swedish author Astrid Lindgren dies

by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)
I had forgotten the Bal des Ardents,  That was an interesting interlude.

Here is Astrid's WikiTree profile:

Hi Jelena...My pick is Astrid Lindgren...my daughter loved it when I read Pippi Longstocking stories to her at bedtime!
+21 votes
Hi Everyone,

Here in Oregon it is cold and sunny, after a week of cold and overcast. The change is nice, sun is melting the ice.

I didn't exactly meet a new cousin, but close! Another wikiTree-er has a lovely space page about the town we are both from, where he still lives, and he sent me the link, (because I added a source to one of his connections) and correspondence ensued. Turn out our many x great grandparents were neighbors, and colleagues, and may have filed for naturalization at the same time, since the papers were dated the same week. And his relative started the first hotel in town, which my relative subsequently bought, anyway, there are connections. And when he got a copy of the naturalization (the local history center had them because they were so early, among the first in the county), he also requested for my relative, and forwarded it to me.

So that was an opportunity to gift a badge for gen-kindness, which I did!

What else? We have a new kitten, and she is living her life to the max! She is a climber and getting into everything. If we forget to close a cupboard door, the crashes will bring us running, lol. She sat on my phone and was texting my daughter this morning, much appreciated, no doubt.

This weekend is all about getting things tidied up for carpet cleaning, a carload of donations to go out, and laundry, but I'm sure some wikiTree-ing will happen around the edges!

Take Care!
by Momo Holmquist G2G6 Mach 4 (48.5k points)

Momo, lovely to hear about your new wikitree near-cousin, and stories about your kitten! Laughed out loud to your description of how it texted your daughter! laugh

I remember once you mentioned an interest in trying Hawaiian Brothers. Since there is not one in Oregon. I thought I would mention a couple that are. One of my uncles owns Local Boys Hawaiian Cafe in Corvallis. The other owns Noho's Hawaiian Cafe in Medford, and Portland.

I haven't talked to either uncle in over a decade due to family politics and other ridiculousness. Yet I hear both restaurants are very good. They're brothers and use my grandmothers recipes for there menus.
You've had a nice week, Momo! A new cousin, a new kitten. What's next?

The snow on one side of our home has melted; on the other side, always in shade, will never melt, apparently.
Glad I made you laugh! Hope you are feeling much better now. ( Since I'm so late to reply, maybe you've had some time to improve!)
Thanks Paul, Corvallis is only an hour from me, and I'm planning to head up there in the next month or so, so I will definitely check it out! Want me to leave a mysterious message addressed to your uncle, in an even more mysterious envelope on a table?
Pip, which home? Hope your move and house perfecting is going apace!
Momo, it's going... not as fast as I'd like, but we did get carpet installed today!
It would probably mess with him if he received a note addressed to him. Especially if it said.

Roy,

Your nephew Paul suggested I try this place.

Dude could possibly have a fainting moment.
+21 votes

Good evening,

Germany will inherit the storm the south of Sweden has tomorrow. Our (northern) coast will get the most of it in the night from Saturday to Sunday. It'll get windy off the coast too though.

The Covid situation is... our epidemiologist says, it's under control. I'm not really sure about it, 200k of new infections in only one day seems to me quite a lot. Oh well, you can only stay at home as much as possible. My twitter feed is full of people who say they got infected and to me it seems nearly that we are the only ones who still didn't get infected at all.

Mum: She is happy she has her comfy chair in which she spends much time of the day now. She comes over to help me cooking, but at least she says now consequently "I have to sit down" when she senses her back. So yes, I have to do a bit more now, but ok, that's life.

Genealogy: I found a book about my Eckstädt's town: "Who was what for Tangermünde?" There are portraits of people who had significance for the development of the town. From Gustaf Adolf, the Swedish King during the 30-years-war, to the man who build the organ of the church. There are no Eckstädt's mentioned in there, but still it'll be interesting to learn about the town.

WikiTree: I continued working on profiles that were leftovers from the Thon and along the way I was able to connect the author, after who the most important German literature prize is named. One profile less on the "Unconnected German profiles list", actually 4 or 5 profiles as some members of his family were already connected to him.

Stay safe, try to avoid the virus and remember in which boxes you put the stuff you pack.

by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)

The house is making creaking sounds and there is quite a noise from outdoors. So I will be happy to hand over this storm to you, Jelena. laugh

hmmmm, thanks. Thanks God here for me, it's going to be probably audible, but it's not as bad as it is in the north of Germany.
And louder it gets...

But the storm came with warmer weather.
Hi Jelena, I hope the storm headed your way is not too damaging. I am still aghast at what that flooding did in the Trier region! I, too, am continuing to connect people following the thon. It just doesn't seem right to me to not finish. I am glad to hear your mum is comfortable in her chair and that all is otherwise well with you.
Cool find with that book, Jelena. Some time ago, a fella wrote a book on my hometown, and not a single family member (at least directly related) mentioned in the book. It was a good read, though.

Really glad to hear you mum is doing better, even though you seem to have some extra duties.
+18 votes
Greetings, all, from Bramans Corners.  It's finally warming up a bit, but we miss the brilliant sun we had during the cold spell.  It's currently 26 degrees F/-3.3 C. The birds continue to be a source of pleasure, especially the crow who returns daily for a leisurely snack.  We're looking forward to having workmen here, next week to finish preparing for a spring scheduled concrete floor pour in the old wood shed.

My S.O.'s book club met here, last week.  They read A Gentleman in Moscow, so I made Latvian stew. It was better than I expected.  I had mine on a tray, upstairs, as spouses are not welcome.  They seemed to have a great time.

I didn't get to work on my newly found Mexican Pawling https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pawling-140, relatives, just some investigation of second great grandmother Charity Hovey, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hovey-2409, A brick wall.

Thank you all for the connections
by Mark Weinheimer G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
Hi cousin Mark...26 degrees F/-3.3C? No, no, nope, nopitty nope, nope, nope...

Mark! You were banned from the meal?!? For real? laugh

Yes, Pip, this is a women's book group.  Spouses are not welcome.  It's what my grandmother would have described as a hen party.  I got to eat the food, drink the wine and vodka, while WikiTreeing, upstairs.
Sounds like you got the good end of the deal, Mark!
+18 votes
Today the temp is in the mid-40s and sunny, which makes for a wonderful January day.  Can hardly believe it is already the end of January!  The month has flown by and I don't have much to show for it. By the time I am home from work, it is dark and I don't feel motivated to do much. I hope this changes with the increasing daylight.

My genealogy goal this month was to organized my research files on my computer, but that has not occurred and I doubt I will accomplish it this weekend. I did help with the connect-a-thon earlier this month, and took a week-long class on reading old German handwriting, so I am progressing in other ways.    

Hope everyone is doing well in WikiTreeLand.
by Michelle Enke G2G6 Pilot (407k points)
As Jelena points out in "On This Day," today is Kansas Day and the state's 161st birthday!
This month DID fly by, Michelle. I think being busy around here sped things up for us. My poor wife: she kept having to answer the question, "Just what IS today??"

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