"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! February 22nd - 24th, 2019 [closed]

+18 votes
2.8k views

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New Members Saying Hello (our favorite!)

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"Today Is" 

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Members Checking in via "All About the Weekend Chat"

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Click here if Interested in Hosting the Weekend Chat and earning a Guest Host Sticker? 

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: Weekend Chat closed for February 22 - 24, 2019
in The Tree House by Pip Sheppard G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
closed by David Selman

Greetings, my fellow WikiChatterers!

Of course it’s raining here in Rainsylvania County, North Carolina! We worked several days getting more riprap into the creek that runs along our property (closest to the house), but we’re losing banks further down the property line. That’ll just have to wait. All I can say is, “The more we lose, the more I don’t have to mow!”

On the genealogy front: This past week I spent untold hours going through early profiles I created last year and sourcing them, even writing a few biographies. If did find one eye-popper. I’ve always wondered where my gg-aunt Emma got all her money (as evidenced in her 1936 will). Well, her husband was the sole heir of his father’s estate as it passed down to three other children who had no children themselves. Aunt Emma’s husband was the last survivor of them all. His will left everything to Aunt Emma, and they had no children either. An orphanage, a church (for perpetual care of her gravesite), and all of the nieces and nephews got the residue. An interesting trail to follow though all the records in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, from 1825 to 1936.

I hope all is well with you and those you love. Chat away! I love this feature of WikiTree, sharing lives and getting to know each other. We really do have a wonderful community, don’t we?!

Blessings on all of you!

Thank you, Pip for hosting, it is appreciated by us all. Wish I would find a windfall as your Aunt Emma did, sounds like you had a fun time following all the trails.
Adding my thanks to Pip and looking forward to everyone who comes in to share their last week activities!!!
Hello to all from SW Fla where it is a partly cloudy day and at noon is 80 degrees and humid with a slight breeze. I'm a native Floridian and although I've spent my entire life living in the Sunshine State, my heart truly yearns to be somewhere in the mountains, surrounded with beautiful trees and wildlife and with the changing leaves and snowfalls and fires burning in a fireplace. My mother always said I was born in the wrong time zone because I love cold weather. I love to bundle up and breathe the crisp air, but having never experienced living in the northern climates full time, I'm sure than it isn't always as delightful as I imagine. But, then again, it is always from one's own perspective and point of view. One can choose to look at things negatively, complaining about all that is wrong or they can look at things positively and see the beauty that is all around them and how fortunate they are to be able to experience it all.

Thinking on things like that makes me appreciate what it must have been like for our ancestors who traveled great distances to come to this country and experience what they left behind and to have survived such trips and often at great personal sacrifice. I think my heart and soul must have belonged to someone who came from the past because I often feel that I relate and understand and feel more emotionally connected to those from times long ago, much more so than I do to those of the present.

Forgive me, I've been without much sleep of late and my mind often wanders and I begin to reminisce.

One last thing, I think that this site, WikeTree, has some of the most wonderful people involved in bringing us and our one tree together. You are all fantastic. And I'm so fortunate to have found so much information about my ancestors because so many of you have helped make this all  possible. Though our world seems so vast and at times impossible to find a connection from one's own place on the map to another, you've made it possible for us to reach out and touch one another in a wonderful community of lives, history past and present, compassion and understanding and expanding our world experiences. Thank you.
@David: Haha! Would you believe that that windfall hasn’t yet made it down to me? One of those nieces was my grandmother.
@Blaire: I agree with you wholeheartedly! This is a most wonderful community! And I’m so glad to see you here in the Chat!
Hi Piip! Thanks for hosting the chat this week! Rain! I hear ya! Pretty bad here, too. Glad you're feeling better! Interesting about your Aunt's inheritance and how you were able to trace it back.
Thanks, Nelda! It was fun tracking that family.

Glad to see you in the Chat!
Thanks for hosting, Pip! The weekend snuck up on me.
Time has a way of doing that, Doug!
Hi Pip - thanks for hosting.  It's been awhilesince I've joined the chat but am glad to be here this weekend.  Hope you are feeling better!!
There you are, Nicole! Glad to hear from you. Now if we can just get Susan to post, the Three WikiTeers will all be accounted for.
You closed early!  I have a dead computer.
Yes, I did. Typical Sunday for trying to get admin tasks done. Did one too many. It’s back open now.

Our power is out. Tree down in saturated soil and now high winds. No telling when we’ll be back on. I’m using my phone now. No computer here.
Pip,  Bad storm in my area. Power is intermittent. Surges killed my computer. Stuck with my phone as well.

22 Answers

+17 votes
Hi Pip, hope all is well with you. I think I read somewhere last week you were not feeling well, and if that is the case, hope you feel better.

Between cleaning snow off my neighbors sidewalks and my own, and spreading ice melt, I have been heavy into reading and research this week. Getting ready to enter those sources on all the profiles affected from that task.

Hope everyone has a safe weekend, and remember, we can not leave footprints in the sands of time if we are not moving forward.
by Rodney Long G2G6 Pilot (871k points)
Hi Rodney! It’s always great to hear from you!

I’m complaining about the rain, and you folks really got it with the snow! One thing about the bad weather is that it opens up time for other things we like to do. Reading and research: my week after the rain started.

I am well, actually even better after following the doc’s order for the past couple of weeks (and a wife to enforce them!) I’m beginning to enjoy the “rest” and rain-supplied time for the things I love to do when I can’t do something else.
+15 votes

"Today is" ....

NATIONAL COOK A SWEET POTATO DAY

                   

National Cook A Sweet Potato Day is celebrated across the United States each year on February 22nd.  The sweet potato is eaten and loved, each day, by millions of people across the nation.

Either Central America or South America is thought to be the center of origin and domestication of sweet potatoes.  It is known that in Central America, sweet potatoes were domesticated at least 5,ooo years ago.  Peruvian sweet potato remnants dating as far back as 8,000 BC have been found in South America.

The sweet potato is an excellent source of vitamin A, which supports good vision, the immune system and bone growth.  Sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin B-6, magnesium and vitamin C.  It’s also great for the complexion.

High in fiber and low in fat and calories, this root vegetable is a healthful alternative to snack foods when prepared without added butter, sugar or salt.

Unlike other potatoes, sweet potatoes like long, hot growing seasons. This might explain why it is the state vegetable of North Carolina.  

HOW TO OBSERVE

Give these sweet potato recipes a try:

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Louisiana Sweet Potato Pancakes
Sweet Potato Pecan Pie
Sweet Potato Casserole with Crunchy Pecan Topping
Sweet Potato Pineapple Casserole
Sweet Potato Cake

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)

Thank you, Dorothy, for your "Today Is" post. I ate so many sweet potatoes (because they were cheap)  when I was a kid I no longer eat them in any form. laugh

I remember my grandfather growing sweet potatoes on his farm and my grandmother baking them and serving them up with lots of real butter. I still love them!
Baked with lots of butter, please. Yum! Add in some fried okra and I'm all over this!
Fried okra! Absolutely the best: my mother’s! We grew okra on our farm, and had it year-round.
Thanks for sharing this Dorothy. I love sweet potatoes, like Pip and others, baked with lots of real butter. I've had them all the ways you've listed except for cake. Never had sweet potato cake. Guess I'll have to try that. A while back I had some sweet potato bread, like banana bread, and it was delicious. But, for the life of me I can't remember where. Lol

Molly has some sweet potato every day

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What a beautiful dog!!
Love sweet potato in just about any form.
Thank you Dorothy for your post - I love sweet potato as well and will try the cake... have not done that before.

@Kay - Molly is beautiful, she looks very sweet tempered.
+13 votes
Hi Pip!

Thanks for hosting this week. Sounds like you're getting more rain than we are here in the Pacific Northwest. I'm in the Portland area, so we missed the snow and ice from the last few weeks, but our rain has been nowhere near where it should be.

Our family booked a little trip to South Dakota to get together for my daughter's 4th birthday this summer and I'm very much looking forward to that. I'd love some input on odd-ball things to do in the Sturgis / Custer State Park area.

This week in my genealogy research, I've been delving further into the McClure of my husband's family. I've also been clearing random errors when I get a chance.

Looking forward to a great weekend!
by Patricia Ferdig G2G6 Mach 3 (36.5k points)
Welcome to the Chat, Patricia! So the snow didn’t get that far down?

Probably not related to you, but McClures settled en masse in what is now Mecklenburg County where I grew up. Several of my families married into that large clan.
Hi Patricia! Sounds like a fun trip you're planning.
+15 votes

Our headlines here in Nashville:

Next round of Nashville rain may break record set in 1880 and  prompt more flooding....

More rain forecast in Nashville and Middle Tennessee may set record for February that dates back to 1880 with more flooding and severe storm concerns.

National Weather Service: Residents should prepare for possible life-threatening flooding as rain continues Friday, Saturday!!

They are telling us that this is a serious situation. Residents in flood-prone areas should prepare to evacuate, just in case water approaches your home. Do not even think about driving across flooded roadways.

One man already killed as his truck rolls down a 200 foot embankment... look at this, wow... 

 

Looks worse then what we had in 2010 that overflowed in the city especially around Opry Mills and down town Nashville..but not really. Then nearly 11,000 properties were damaged or destroyed in the flood, and 10,000 people were displaced from their homes. The flood caused more than $2 billion in private property damage and $120 million in public infrastructure damage in Nashville. 

The last couple of days this time, the rain spread around various counties around Nashville instead of just near the Cumberland river. Schools closed today in various counties. In my area, Sumner County including Hendersonville, Tn; especially Stop 30/Drakes Creek roads and Saundersville/Station Camp Creek roads were flooded out. Everyone is on edge!! 

We had the city out cutting tree branchs around where I live for fear of them falling and damaging more homes. Not a fun time especially if you work or have to do errands including walking the dog lol. Anyway, if you have similar problems please share with us so we can keep everyone in our thoughts and prayers!!!!!!

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
edited by Dorothy Barry
Oh, Dorothy, you stay safe! That’s lots worse than what we’re getting. I remember that 2010 flood. Please keep us posted on how you are.
Yikes, Dorothy! Lots of rain here in north Georgia, too. Lots of trees have come down which means property damage and loss of power. Everyone is really tired of all the rain. Hope you stay safe!

Nelda, you’re getting that same rain we are, just a little before we are. And yes, we are tired of the rain here in Brevard.

OMGoodness !! stay safe Dorothy.
+14 votes

Happy Weekend to All!

In addition to being George Washington's birthday, it is also National Margarita Day....Cheers!

by Doug Lockwood G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
I’ll have one in honor of Old George!

Well as the song suggests, it's 5 o' clock somewhere....

"Pour me something tall and strong 
Make it a hurricane before I go insane 
It's only half past twelve but I don't care 
It's five o'clock somewhere"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPCjC543llU

Woo Hoo! I'll join you gentlemen. A toast to George & Margarita Day!!

All I need now is some country style pork ribs on the grill, sweet corn on the cob with lots of butter, baked beans, good ole potato salad and some pie for dessert. Gosh, for a moment there, I thought I was on my back porch with my husband enjoying a nice weekend together. Yard mowed, cool breeze, sun not quite down for the day, some Jimmy Buffet playing in the background and just sitting back having a quiet, relaxing moment together. Really missing him. Hard to believe some days that he's been gone now for five years. We were married for 33 years. Our youngest child, our son, turns 35 tomorrow. He had just returned home from South Korea, where he was stationed in the Army for 7 years. Hadn't even been home with us for a year when my husband died. My boys took it real hard. They were really close to their Dad. And it's taken a lot for me to get out of a deep funk that I was in. Lost everything, him, my home, my health, but it's getting better everyday. We are only given today, never promised tomorrow or the next or so I've heard.

My apologies, didn't mean to go off & spoil the mood. All's good, no worries. Enjoy your weekend everybody. I'll check back in again later.
Blaire, you have a community here that cares about you. So, you go ahead and share your life, the good and the not so good. We’re with you!
No need to apologize like Pip said. We're here for you. If you want to vent, it's perfectly fine!
+14 votes
Rain, rain, and more rain here in north Georgia, too. Rivers are near flood stage. There's been localized flooding already. Many trees have come down. Up the mountain from us, several trees came down and took down power lines and snapped off a power pole. We were without power most of Wednesday. Lightning took out cable in our neighborhood on Wednesday night. Over last weekend Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker were not communicating with one another. So, with all this, it has not been a good week for genealogy work for me. But I did get another C.J. Box book read. The next one is waiting at the library for me.
by Nelda Spires G2G6 Pilot (563k points)

My wife loves CJ box! 

With all the soaking rain, we are expecting trees down. So far so good, but I may be speaking too soon. We have lots of “leaners” on he edge of our property. I still haven’t cut up all the ones that fell in the December snow.

After year-before-last summer's hurricane remnants came through we had leaners too close to the house. I'm so glad we had them cut down last year because they would surely have been on the house with this one. Saturated ground, a little wind, and leaning trees are not a good combo. Hope you don't have any to fall!
Pip we have  been busy completing Irma repairs. I live in Key West Florida and other than some rain and fronts coming through we are happy to make the most of the weather while it's good for painting outside. If it rains we are still able to paint inside with the windows open after the rain passes.

Happy Weekend to all! And I was happy to complete February 100 this week as I am decluttering as well and haven't been on Wikitree as much.

Angela

Boyer-3525
Boy oh boy, you are right in the path, aren’t you. We adjust our chores to fit the weather, just like you.
+12 votes
Hi all,

it was an exciting week on and off Wikitree. Mum and I booked a trip this spring to Amsterdam to see the big Rembrandt-exhibition in the Rijksmuseum. This year is 350th anniversary of his death and for the first time ever the museum took out all of the stuff they have of him. That is a now or never opportunity and now everything is fix.

Genealogy-wise I am still fighting a bit with the whole Hindenburg-family. The stupid thing is that I don't find primary sources to source them.  I also added a few more of my ancestors and I had soooo many PMs this week, incredible. I suspect it's because I am the Member of the week this week.

Btw, Pip, thanks for your comment about my interview. I really appreciated it :)
by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.5m points)
I need a good bio of Hindenburg. I’d be interested in seeing what sources an author would use. Maybe I’ll order one, if I can find one. If I see anything source-wise, I’ll let you know.

And you did have a fascinating interview and story to tell. I enjoyed looking over your tree!
Hi Jelena! I enjoyed reading your interview. Wow, so much history! I didn't know that Hitler made people supply their genealogy before they could marry. I suppose if the government didn't approve your pedigree, you were forbidden to marry or worse?

Nelda, here is an wikipedia article about the Hitler race-laws. 

32 degrees!  But no relationship within 30 generations.  Congratulations, Jelena!
To have a real relationship to me you would need to have deep early roots in Germany, Herbert.

The connection finder works different now for me than before I had met my Texas cousin. Before I met her it mostly ran up to Martin Luther to then build the connection to the other person. Now it jumps over to Texas and builds the connection from there.
It's interesting to think that while Rembrandt was painting there were already colonies in the New World scraping out an existence and building a remarkable society!
Hi Jelena-are you  in Germany now? My  wife and I lived in Worms am Rhein for three years while stationed with the US Army.  It always amazed me to walk by the cathedral and think that Martin Luther had walked there too!  We are Presbyterian but so interesting to think that the roots of the Reformation are nurtured in that little town!   Regards from Oklahoma City
Hi Ray,

yep I am German living in Germany. When I studied in Palatine I still didn't know I am related to Martin Luther. But after I found that out and mum and I went to a family reunion with the branch that is connected to Luther, we took a break at the Wartburg. This is where Luther hid himself and translated the New Testament into German. To be in the room where he sat and wrote that (and to know he belongs to my family, even though only through marriage), THAT was something really special.
+13 votes
Happy weekend everyone.

On the home front: we've been doing a lot of organizing. Our unused dining room is being turned into an office/school room. The switching around of furniture and supplies is flowing to the rest of the house. Mostly the "guest room," and the kitchen.

I've been cleaning out drawers and cupboards in the evenings. First and foremost, the goal is to get rid of or pack away a lot of stuff. About half of our food storage containers and half of our "kids' dishes" have not been put back into their cabinet or drawer of origin.

I swear, the cheapest food storage containers are reproducing like rabbits.

On the genealogy front: I have done very little at WikiTree this week. I have mostly been concentrating on trying to make use of my DNA matches over at Ancestry. I'm getting good confirmation of a good chunk of my tree, but so far I'm not really adding to the branches. I have developing a hypothesis about which branches of the family I have inherited more DNA from. So that's something, I guess.
by Thomas Fuller G2G6 Mach 9 (93.9k points)
Hello, Thomas! We have thousands of food storage containers, too. All of them originally held Cool Whip. Typical of the South. All unlabeled. My wife knows what is in each one, but it just baffles me. I have to open five to find the one I want. We have stacks of these just waiting for some leftover.
+13 votes
Greetings, Wiki Cousins!

Hey, Pip, thanks for hosting!  Glad to hear you are on the mend.

Still cold, still knerping, still tax season.  Spent some quality time this week underground chasing Savage rabbits.

Neighbors returned from Fiji, just in time for wicked cold and snow karma.  All dogs survived my caretaking.

Cheers,

Herb
by Living Tardy G2G6 Pilot (767k points)
Wo, Herbert, now much longer is the season of knerping for you? Your snow season seems endless!
I usually get a little snow mid-October, and I've seen it snow as late as 16 May.  The ground is usually covered, at least partially, from mid-December thru February.  It varies a lot.  This year, I'm sure I will still have a few patches of snow on the ground in April, if not May.  I repeat the New Mexico mantra "We need the moisture, we need the moisture."
+14 votes
Greetings from Everett, Washington!

It's snowing again. My children said so. I do not want to look outside. I do not want to see and drive in more snow.  I have had enough.

The plum tree is not broken that I can see, just tipped over in all the soft soil from the last snow.  Maybe there's some life in the old tree yet. Spring will tell.

Dishwasher still not fixed.  Vinegar and baking soda is what we'll try next.

I got my air bag fixed yesterday.  It was free due to a Toyota recall.  Air bag failure happened only at high temperatures.  Now I don't need to drive down to Arizona to find out--and it's raining there too.

I got an article written and submitted to the Mukilteo Monthly.  I'm writing for three publications now.  Deadlines just sneak up.

I would have posted a big and complicated problem finding parents of an Oregon Vandergrift/Vandegrift on G2G but I found he already has a profile, so I am taking it up with the profile manager.  I have been plugging away at Monongalia and Marion Counties in West Virginia and making more use of categories than I used to.  Categories are very helpful when dealing with many interconnected surnames.

Still not ready to upload to G2G my family photo for this week's 52 ancestors challenge.  Other priorities.  But I'm not in a rush.  Must take things easier.

Going upstairs to confer with the young adults (non-driving) about transportation for this afternoon and evening.

Yours faithfully,

Margaret Summitt
by Margaret Summitt G2G6 Pilot (320k points)
Margaret, welcome, and... how do you find all the time?!?
My daughter does all the housework.  L.O.L.
+12 votes

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps!

Just got back from going to Dave and Busters with one of my friends, her husband and the kids. Was fun. Jennifer (my friend) and I talked genealogy a bit because she knew I was getting involved with all of that. She's thinking of doing a DNA test and she didn't know what company to use. Ancestry or 23andme. I said Ancestry right away. Not because I'm on there or anything. It's more to do with the the fact that like me she's half Italian. She's curious about all of her percentages because she has Russian ancestry as well.

Then we had this convo.

Me: You know we could find out we're related.

Jen: How do you figure?

Me: Your dad and my dad both walked the same way and had the same attitude.

Jen: Oh, my god. You're right!!

Me: DNA is scary.

Jen: Yeah. 

She'll order a kit as the price came down. Told her if she needed help to let me know.

It was a great afternoon. I like going out. Cleaned up on Marvel: Contest of Champions. No surprise there. Wish the characters weren't randomized.

On the genealogy front, we are getting close to Rootstech and the top genealogists out there keep teasing awesomness coming from AncestryDNA. What will happen? We'll see soon enough. Too bad they can't invite Tom Hiddleston to play Loki in a Hall H style conference.

I found more cousins this week using some good old fashioned FBI style investigation. I actually got a new DNA circle on Ancestry today for my 2x great-grandfather, Antoine Legault. I guess talking to people and sending awkward private messages paid off! I have a few cousins from his kids. And there are a lot of 'em. 

Pretty good day today. Snow wasn't too bad. Went on the VR ride in Dave and Busters. Was really cool. =D

by Chris Ferraiolo G2G6 Pilot (766k points)
Very well. I shall get off your lawn. For now. :)

And yes I have met several cat ladies.

laugh  If only nitr0gal meant 'nitromethane.'  More likely nitroglycerin, sublingual.  laugh

I was thinking more American Gladiators. Remember that show? =)
Chris since you like Transformers so much, that Navy ship that was in the first one, I got stationed on it right after they wrapped up filming part of the first movie on it. I just missed it but the crew was so thrilled about it and couldn't shut up about it.

Get Off My Lawn on youtube. And every time I see Ferraiolo I think Lou Ferrigno

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iu7p-tl9Es

Never heard of that person Steven, I think of Ferrari.

LOL. So now I'm the Hulk? Can't I just be Mark Ruffalo instead?

Note how I totally passed over Edward Norton? Haha.

Very cool, C and thanks for your service. Just hope people got out of the way when someone drove that boat. =) And there's my Captain Ron reference.

So now people think of Ferrari, too? Hmm. You know that is an Italian car. I wonder.....

Oh! I had a remote controlled ferrari once. It was so cool!
Thanks Chris, I like your upbeat g2g attitude. I have no idea how to pronounce your last name! Ferrayola, Ferraylo, ummm....
Here. This'll help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzXFq_m9hQ0

"Ferry-oh-low"

Glad you like my attitude. =D
Chris, wouldn't it be more "Ferra" and then "yolo"? Or do I pronounce it too much Italian for the North American tongues?
+12 votes
Hi Cousin Pip,

Just to help with our EuroAristo research remember to do relationship to me ( Boyer-3525  ) out 30 generations as we are 19th cousins one generation removed via Maud (De_Campania-1) your 18th Great Grandmother and my 19th Great Grandmother and we now have 159 common ancestors in 30 generations!

Cousin Angela Boyer Cortner

Boyer-3525
by Angela Cortner G2G5 (5.7k points)
Cool! I love this feature of WikiTree, Angela! I use it all the time. Great to know another cousin, even if so far out.
I can't even go that far back. The farthest real cousin I got to know here is someone in Texas. She is my 6th cousin twice removed. Her ggrandparents emigrated from my ancestral village to the USA.
Jelena, I have started to hit the 30 generations search quite often if I suspect someone may be related to some of the same last names as I run into the same Wikitreeers as profile managers  while I am working family branches and fellow DNA matches on profiles. Oftentimes we are related in 15 generations but even then I will search deeper to 30 as that is how you find your deep roots and sometimes even Nobles and various Aristocracy which often have interesting biographies to read. It is the easiest way to reach ancestors of many generations ago.The further out the generations the numbers are too many to really research how far your own branch has connected on our One World tree. The drop down of the common ancestors is a wonderful interactive feature to check who you never knew you traced back to as you find more  Great Grandfathers and Great Grandmothers!!

Angela
+12 votes
Friday, finally!  Busy week again, with more faculty search interviews and some "wintery mix" midweek that led me to shift the exam for one class to Monday and run my evening class online.  But I finally squeezed in a little more skating time Thursday and Friday, which was nice.  The house is once again (or still) a wreck so that's the main plan for this weekend.

I've finally managed to download all of my kits at Ancestry and FTDNA using DNAGedcom's client program, so I'm hoping to play with the clustering function this weekend.  I'm excited that it now works with FTDNA.  Maybe I can find those Killingsworth or Robertson matches I'm hoping for... And I also need to get all these new Swedish ancestors over to WikiTree... I may be asking for help there since I'm completely unfamiliar with the records and don't speak Swedish.

Glad you're feeling better, Pip!
by Lisa Hazard G2G6 Pilot (264k points)
If only I had a last name like Killingsworth in my tree. Sigh....You know me. I'd go crazy with that. Perhaps I'll make a character with that last name. Ironic thing would be that he's a pacifist. =)

Meanwhile someone with the last name "Angelo" will be someone with like a ton of guns.

My imagination goes to weird places. Sounds like a busy week, Lisa! Good luck with the kits and all the matching and organizing and clustering. Clustering is fun once you get used to it.
Hi Lisa! Glad to see you checking in despite all of your busyness! Good to see you finding ways to work around the weather. You truck still running ok?
Chris- I get all the good names!  Hazard, for one... I say that I'm the family biological Hazard.  My uncle is a construction Hazard, my dad was a chemical Hazard, my aunt used to be a travel Hazard...  My favorite Killingsworth so far (and likely 4G grandfather) is named Manlove Killingsworth.  (One of those surnames that became a middle name and then a first name.)  Nice change from all the Johns...

Clustering is fun!  I did a lot with it already but needed to start mostly from scratch to get all the DNAGedcom data into a single database.  Plus now I've got my uncle and brother's info to work with.  Might get back to DNA Painter soon, too.

Pip- Truck is good... it sounds like a small jet when I start it up, but that's been true for a long time.  If I start attracting guys in fluorescent safety vests trying to guide me in and out of the driveway with oversized flashlights I'll know it's time to take it to my favorite mechanic.
Just watch out for the twins Fire and Water Hazard. =)

Manlove Killingsworth? He the new Bond villain?!

It is a nice change of pace. I have so many Hannahs on the English side and Marie Madelienes on the Quebecois side.

I did a cluster with my great-aunt and it was awesome. =D I wonder if I should with my great-aunt on my mom's side. Might not need to as I have my mom, my mom's cousin and a few others. Mom's side is well established.
Lisa, you can be the Hazard. But I'm the Jester!!

Hi Every one. Haven't been her for a while.
Hi, Lynette! What going on with you these days?

Up to my eyeballs causing T    um... make that trying to stay out of trouble.  I think I made a WTer angry... so I'm waiting for the shoe to fall on that one. But If I ain't making someone angry somehow, I ain't doing my job. 

Liza, you know there is a famous soccer family Hazard? Three Belgian brothers, one playing clubwise in England, the second in Germany. The youngest one is not yet that famous, but that might come, he's still quite young.
Jelena, I didn't know there were three of them!  Wonder if we're related.  It would have to be pretty distant... my Hazards go back to the early 1600s in Newport, Rhode Island.

Massive progress on my Swedish ancestors today thanks to some very helpful Wikitreers.  I've got nearly complete info for Peter Lundquist's parents and a lot of pieces fell into place.  They've got several other kids I didn't know about so now I'm trying to track their descendants in addition to working their ancestors back further.  Getting the hang of the Swedish archives, though it would help if I could read Swedish!
+10 votes

Continuing to reduce the number of profiles on WikiTree, last night added another page to my pending merges tab.

Continuing to work on the descendants of my 6th Great Grandfather John Parker Mosley, (not QE II or myself by the way).

Finally returned to a war that I'd started fleshing out but never completed.

Also, beginning to question whether to stay with WikiTree or to leave

by Richard Shelley G2G6 Pilot (247k points)
Richard, you’ve done a massive amount of work in your nearly three years here. I’d hate to see you move on.
Richard, never start a war you don't intend to finish!  Stay in the fight, brother.  What can we do to help?

It is a combination effect of:
*My initial list of ancestral discovery is basically crossed off far earlier than I had anticipated
*Forgetting to drink while dealing with members who aren't reading the full context of comments I've made in collab discussions
*Before anyone asks my watchlist isn't a problem (he says even though it is sitting at 2197 (some being living which I technically can't drop without data issues)) 
*Plus a few things going with my life which I have to keep as quiet as possible

Note: The reference I made about returning to a war is due to converting the Crimean War into a project

Go and get on with life, Richard; you have your whole life ahead of you. You can just do a bit less here but stay connected. Those dead people aren’t going away and will still be here when you have the time and energy to recommit. Kia kaha!
I agree with Fiona, you are very young and need to be active in the land of the living! But I can glean many things about you from my time here on Wikitree, so maybe try harder to hide your true self, haha! But don't go too far, it is better than any other social media!
+9 votes
I just learned something new, I knew nothing about... If you are from South Carolina or ever been to Myrtle Beach, did you know that there is an underground tunnel under Ocean Boulevard at 13th Avenue South??  It was built in the mid 1980's that allow pedestrians to avoid Ocean Boulevard traffic.  Guess we need to take a trip back down there to Myrtle Beach; wanta see the new updates to the Hollywood Wax Museum anyway!

There was an article in "The State" today about it. See it here online at: https://www.thestate.com/news/state/south-carolina/article226622984.html
by Sandra Davidson G2G6 Pilot (190k points)
Hi Sandra! Myrtle Beach was the vacation destination we always looked forward to as kids back in the 60s.I never heard about the tunnel, even though i was there in the 90s. How out of the loop can I get?!?
+10 votes

Hello fellow weekend chatters. I have decided not to participate in the weekend chat so you can't actually read this. So this won't be posted at all unless it is.

That being said I've had a bout of depression due to loneliness so I figured the best way to be happy and no longer lonely was not to talk to anyone. So since I'm not talking to anyone I can't reveal my new diet. I eat constantly, exercise little and lose all kinds of weight. Of course my scales are going to lie to me and show the number rising but I won't be deterred. This is caused because the Earth is slowing it's rotation and centripetal force is decreasing, not because I'm gaining weight.

I have also decided to give up watching TV because the more I watch, the less entertaining it is. Therefore if I give up watching TV it should become extremely entertaining. I will again wonder and possibly care who won the Oscars. Maybe I'll even go out and ask someone. Imagine verbal communication again. If I'm lucky, I might even catch a cold doing it.

Speaking of cold, I've come up with a great idea to combat it. As a child we often tried to dig a hole to China. As an adult I'm aiming for Australia and then installing a high powered fan. In the winter I can pull some of their summer air through and in the summer I can get some of their winter air. Win-win.

Having spent years online I guess I have seen everything. I finally ended up getting this. click here  So now I am at a slight loss on what to do with all the time I will now have for life. What a scary thought.

I wish all of you well and if you still happen to see me online there are only 3 possible answers. Either it is me, It isn't me, or it is an alternate version of me. Either way feel free to say howdy and either I will or won't answer you back.

I hope I accomplish much in this life I've been given and enlighten, amuse, and uplift many people along the way. I guess either I did or I didn't. But I have rapidly over the course of many years reached the point where I am too busy to do anything. I have the need for lack of speed. This being said, I am typing this with only 1 finger so it will take longer and I can finally get it finished.

As some of you know, I find out about my family from alternate sources. I found out my father died through Ancestry 3 1/2 years after he died. My Grandfather's death was an obituary 2 years after he died. My Uncle was an obituary 13 months after he died, My grandmother was 6 months after she died. A cousin actually told me that my grandmother's second husband died 2 weeks after it happened. At this rate I might find out about my own death in less than a week and my son's death on the same day it will happen. Of course I'll already be dead for that last one so I probably won't care.

As many of you know, I spend LONG MINUTES each week making sure the spreadsheet for the weekly data doctor challenge is updated and I have yet to see so many people on it that it crashes. I must be doing a great job with no crashes in well over a year.

I would look forward to all the comments generated by my answer but since I didn't post it, you won't read it. Just think of all the time saved from constantly hitting refresh wondering if someone actually responded? (darn, this finger is getting a blister) 

So since you aren't seeing this I won't say goodbye, Auf Wiedersehen, Yasou, Aloha, L'hitraot, Namaste, Viszlát!, Vertu sæll!, Sampai Jumpa, Slan, Arrivederci, Sayōnara, Annyeong, Vale, Uz redzēšanos!, Atsiprasau, Zài jiàn, Namaste, Ha det bra, Khodaa haafez, Żegnaj, Adeus, Alweda, La revedere, Do svidaniya, Zdravo!, Dovidenia!, Nasvidenje, Adios, Adjö, Poitu varein, Laa Gòn, Görüşürüz!, Do pobachennia!, Khuda hafiz, Tạm biệt, Hwyl fawr, or even Hamba kahle. I'll just say "until next time" cheeky

by Steven Tibbetts G2G6 Pilot (410k points)
edited by Steven Tibbetts

Although not as elegant, I am not replying to your non-post. The reason you have or have not had crashes, is that I may or may not have been working those suggestions as I should. Been piecing a puzzle together for the Drew's and Harrises ????  That being said, I need to backspace over all these musing, so as not to confuse others by the ramblings. 

Until next time. cheeky 

Steven, you’re description of Ancestry... all I can say is.... hahahahaha!
Loretta, excellent riposte!
Strangest non-post ever. Depression sucks. That's all you can say. Glad you didn't show up, man. We didn't miss ya?

....Wow. That sounded bad. I don't think I can pull this off this early in the morning. Maybe try again later.

Good to see you, Steve. Hope you feel better soon?

I do like the description of Ancestry. But, you forgot the multiple birth places for one guy!!!

Steve, I found out on ancestry that my 3rd great Jester grandparents had 18 children, togather (They had 7), this grandfather had been married previously and had a son (he had not). This grandmother was also married 3 times, and was living with a husband in IN or IL, having 11 children while she was married to 2 men in SC and had 11 children simultaneously. (She had been married previously and had had 4 daughters). 

My 3rd GGM Elizabeth Ellen Ward was married to 2 different men on 2 different continents and had numerous children simultanously on two continents.  One of the ancestry trees tried to bring her here to wikitree. She was married at age 11 in England according to this guy, She no longer belongs to him, I was at least able to separate her. 

And I just found out I descend from a fictious 5th ggm on my Bullard line. I just love ancestry and myheritage! And other multi-tree pay-me sites!!!  NOT!!!

I just cleaned up a cousin's ancestry tree of duplicates She only had 167 and I got down to 80 so far, and will probably end up sourcing it for her, she and I not only descend from the same Davis and Bullard, but also share a Shipp progenitor, when I'd rather just add them to her tree here where I can source them from familysearch.org.  I don't mind a source link having the name of where you find it, its supposed to. but it doesn't have to look like an ad for the pay site. 

And thats just this week.

Although I'm Still not here and thus ecstatic due to not talking to anyone, I am curious or at least would be if I cared how many people actually clicked the link which is semi-crucial to the post I didn't post here. Feel free to let me know as they closed my paypal account so I can't charge you for the privilege of telling me. cool

Upon not reading your post and not clicking on the "click here".  It reminded me of a saying by Chuang Tzu who enlightens the reader about the something and nothing, the beginning of no beginning and perhaps a something in the nothing or nothing at all or maybe something.  This is badly paraphrased but worth not studying.  I am really impressed with your ability to convey your comments that have not been posted.

 

+9 votes

The week certainly got past me this week. Happy Saturday, It's snowy and cold but the snow isn't much, just enough to make it white. It is supposed to start warming though so that will be nice.

Quite a bit of WT stuff done but all in the background. Updated a few profiles and did some categorization work. I do wish that when people estimate dates for birth/death, that they actually look at all the data. Fixed a couple of profiles where just looking at all the data would change the estimates of death by 20 years. I'm still working on a report for a cousin but starting on pulling together what I need for a sort of family reunion in 2020 started to become urgent.

I did start a new art class this week essentially studying how to work with the color "yellow" which can be tricky to get to look good. This is going to be an intense but really good class.

Since I mentioned classes, I signed up for Tom Jones's week long "Mastering the Art of Genealogical Documentationin June. My wife took it a couple years ago and learned a lot. I think this is the only way I'll  learn enough to just "do it" with citations. Tom is a great teacher and has started the process of retiring. He's retired from SLIG. Not sure if this is his last year at IGHR but apparently will be teaching Documentation again next year at GRIP.

Hope all are well and enjoying the weekend.

by Doug McCallum G2G6 Pilot (534k points)
Followed the link, Doug, and it looks like a good course. Others looked good, too. Where do you take your art classes. Comm college?
All of those classes are really, really good. Tom Jones recently retired as co-editor of the NGS Quarterly. Closer to home for you would be the ones at IGHR (ighr.gagensociety.org) although for the price difference you could fly. We like both but the Pittsburgh institute is a bit more relaxed environment.

Pip, I take classes at the School of Botanical Art and Illustration that is run out of the Denver Botanic Gardens. Classes are small (max 12 students) and emphasize technique.
Yeah it does look good. but then he probably didn't have the teachings of the "Widder" Lela Jester and her thrice married sister Ms. Elza Davis holding a cast iron skillet over your head and staring bore holes thru you with icy blue eyes that would melt ice cubes should you cross them.

smiley

He could teach in sign language. He used to teach at Gallaudet University.

+11 votes

Today is....

NATIONAL BANANA BREAD DAY

            

February 23rd annually recognizes a well-known food holiday, National Banana Bread Day.

A moist, sweet, cake-like quick bread, banana bread is made with fully ripe, mashed bananas.  There are some recipes where banana bread is made with yeast when it is then usually sliced, toasted and spread with butter.

It was with the popularization of baking soda and baking powder in the 1930s that banana bread first became a standard feature of American cookbooks and appeared in Pillsbury’s 1933 Balanced Recipes cookbook. Banana bread later gained further acceptance with the release of the original Chiquita Banana’s Recipe Book in 1950. 

The United States saw the arrival of bananas in the 1870′s, but it took a while before they appeared as an ingredient in desserts.

The Vienna Model Bakery advertised banana bread as something new in the April 21, 1893, edition of St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  An early restaurant/bakery chain owned by Gaff, Fleischmann & Company, The Viena Model Bakery was known for their baked goods and was likely one of the first to produce banana bread in the United States.  The recipe was made with banana flour, which is made by drying strips of the fruit, then grinding it to a powder.  This process had long been used in the West Indies.

In Hawaii during World War I, there was a surplus of bananas due to very few ships to export the fruit.  In order not to waste the fruits, alternative uses for bananas were developed.  The bakeries started incorporating the fruit into their bread.

This recipe was printed in The Maui News on April 12, 1918, for banana bread:

2/3 banana
1/3 flour
Yeast, coconut milk or water

There was also rationing of staple food items such as flour.  Banana flour was a suggested substitute.  It was touted as a health food and recommended for a vegetarian diet.

This, of course, is not the quick bread we know today.  A recipe submitted by Mrs. Dean in the February 18, 1918, issue of The Garden Island paper for a banana muffin might more closely resemble the quick bread we think of today.

1 cup cornmeal
3-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 sifted banana
3/4 cup rye flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon Crisco

Mix dry ingredients, add banana, milk and egg and Crisco.

The difference between a quick bread and a muffin in baking has a lot to do with the type of fat and how it is mixed creating a different crumb or texture to the bread.

In 1927, Unifruit (a wholesale produce company) offered a free cookbook called From the Tropics to Your Table full of banana recipes including banana muffins and breads.  This little cookbook would have been handy during the Great Depression which was just around the corner. Throwing out overripe bananas was not something a family could afford to do.  Utilizing every bit of food and stretching meals was a daily practice.  Overripe bananas, as well as other fruits and vegetables, were baked into breads, stews and other dishes when flavor and texture were not as appealing raw.

There are many different variations of the traditional banana bread, a few of which include Banana raisin bread – Banana nut bread – Chocolate chip banana bread.

HOW TO OBSERVE

To participate in National Banana Bread Day, try one of the following banana bread recipes:

Buttermilk Banana Bread
Banana Sour Cream Bread
Applesauce Banana Bread
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
A favorite of my wife (along with carrot cake). I’ll go for the chocolate chip one. Good one, Dorothy!
I love banana bread and carrot cake, xxx
Mmmmm, carrot cake.  When is Carrot Cake Day?

I like banana bread, too.  Highest and best use of bananas, in my opinion.

Herbert and others: National Carrot Cake Day is observed annually on February 3rd. I did post it on that weekend's chat but here is a brief wording of it:

Carrot cake closely resembles a quick bread from its preparation to its final consistency. Quick breads mix the wet and dry ingredients separately before combining, and the final product is coarser than a traditional cake.

 Carrots with their natural sweetness may have been selected as a substitute in the Middle Ages when sugar was hard to find or expensive. Carrot cake most likely developed from a carrot pudding which could be savory or sweet. Carrot cakes may also include spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg, raisins or nuts. Following are a few recipes for you to enjoy:

Frosty’s Carrot Cake 
Sam’s Famous Carrot Cake 
Carrot Cake Trifle 
Lemon Frosted Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Ah, I missed banana bread day. I like the applesauce recipe, which is similar to the Fanny Farmer Cookbook recipe I use; made one last week.
+8 votes
And in New Zealand, we have rain too.....but it is a blessing after weeks of hot, sunny weather. Down our way, we had 20mm which is a start and might have helped dampen down the Nelson fire a bit. The last residents have finally been able to return home after nearly three weeks.

WikiTree-wise, I have been having a lovely time down a rabbit hole with Lincolnshire and Taranaki families very loosely connected to my great grandmother. I’ve also been a bit annoyed about the ‘drop it and dash’ antics of a member who created a number of profiles around one of mine. I have done a bit of sourcing for them, and have made contact and offered help, but I don’t think they can be bothered looking for sources, which frankly are easy to find. I might just leave those profiles for a few weeks, then just source them myself.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend, despite the weather.
by Fiona McMichael G2G6 Pilot (209k points)
I’ve had to deal,with those, too, Fiona. Whole families created a while back that are poorly sourced and no bio. But you’re right, easy leash (usually) to source them. Bios take more time if there are lots of sources.
+9 votes

Today, Sunday is...

           

NATIONAL TORTILLA CHIP DAY!!  A day set aside for the crunchy snack loved by millions across the nation, is observed annually on Feb 24th.  

     The tortilla chip is most commonly served with salsa, chile con queso, guacamole, cheese dips or other dips.  Tortilla chips are made from corn tortillas that have been cut into wedges and then fried.  The corn tortillas are made from corn, vegetable oil, salt and water.  Typically made with yellow corn, tortillas can also be made with white, blue or red corn.

     Even though tortilla chips have always been considered to be a Mexican food, known as tostados, they were first mass-produced in Los Angeles in the late 1940s. It is said that the triangle-shaped tortilla chips were made popular by Rebecca Webb Carranza as a way to use the misshapen tortillas that were rejected from the automated tortilla manufacturing machine that she and her husband used at their Los Angeles deli and tortilla factory. 

Carranza realized that once the discarded tortillas were cut into triangle shapes and fried, they became a popular snack.  She then sold them for a dime a bag at the El Zarape Tortilla Factory.  Carranza received the Golden Tortilla Award in 1994 for her contribution to the Mexican food industry.

     Another favorite dish made with tortilla chips is nachos.  The dish was first created around 1943 by Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya. Nachos are tortilla chips served with melted or shredded cheese, and often additional toppings are added, such as meat, salsa, refried beans, tomatoes, diced onion, lettuce, olives, jalapenos, guacamole and sour cream.

     So today go out and get your favorite dip and enjoy some tortilla chips!!

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
edited by Dorothy Barry
What a great story! My wife said she never saw any chips in Mexico, not the actual chips anyway, but pieces of fried tortillas would be stuckminto a bowl of refrigerated black beans, so similar, but not the same.

I looove tortilla chips, all different ways.
Love tortilla chips but they are mostly the delivery mechanism for eating various types of salsa.

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