"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! May 31st-June 2nd, 2019

+18 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
in The Tree House by Pip Sheppard G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)

Welcome, WikiChatterers, to the Weekend Chat, and greetings from a pollen-covered Cathey’s Creek Township. Seems like no sooner than we clean the back deck, within three days we are back at it again. Sneezes, runny noses… and no, I don’t take anything for it. I am already taking enough meds now for other things. Off-set to the pollen: sitting outside and watching a new pair of white squirrels work there way under the bird feeders to face the gray competition. I really do have to get a camera. I just can’t get close enough with my phone or iPad to get a clear shot.

On the home front:  I many of you know, I live with a project manager, and it does no good for me to tell her that, “All work and no play makes Jack (Pip) a dull boy!” I just get that look. That look seems to accomplish more that other tactics, and I wish I could learn how to do it. My efforts at it seem to provoke laughter rather than my desired result. It’s gotta be a genetic thing! Our DNA experts will have to chime in on that one. In any case, I thought the backyard was done, but that look convinced me otherwise. Really, we are very nearly done, and work has overlapped with new projects out front.

On the genealogy front 1: Not much to report here. I did receive a great assist on G2G to one of my queries, looking for a burial, and now I have fallen in a rabbit hole of in-laws of the subject’s aunt. These involve German families in Pennsylvania, an area in while I am not familiar. Shoup, Shoop, Shupe... and please stop using names for your own children that are being used by cousins! (Reminds me of this hilarious thread on G2G.)

On the genealogy front 2:  John Stith Pemberton is our connection of the week here on WikiTree. I am 18 connection degrees away and he’s my 10c 6x. So, for all of you who enjoy Coca Cola, take note that you are drinking a Southern drink created by a great Southerner!! Ah, the Blessed Realm!

Question of the Week: Why is it, when you drop something small, the item looks for the most impossible place from which to be recovered? Couches, beds, refrigerators, cars, desks. This is not my idea of a lesson in patience and perseverance.

I was in an auto garage and I saw a "Murphy's Law for Mechanics," and the first item said, "If you drop a bolt, it will always roll under the car and stop right in the center."

Murphy rears his head and smiles every time something is dropped ;-)
Pip,

As my arms become too short to read a book, I find that the small items seem less important. Who needs an extra potato chip that finds it's way under the sofa? I can always buy another small screw or nail. And if the item is important, one can always find a grandchild to do the searching. Isn't that why you have them?
I love that SJ!

Thanks for hosting, again, Pip. I'm well familiar with 'the look' and it isn't limited to humans. One of the cats has mastered it as well. 

Have to agree with SJ about Murphy's Law.

Over 36 years of marriage, I have become familiar with that look.  I can give it as well as I receive it though!

I can’t do the Look with any effectiveness, Nat. My wife is too strong a woman to put up with that kind of junk! laugh

Strong Women Unite!!!!!!

You're a lucky man Pip.
Don’t I know it! The most fortunate man in the world. She’s a heaven-sent gift, and I never forget it.

Good to hear that! laugh

Weeel now, Pip. it is the way of the world, ya know, that we shoot for the stars only to find we blew the dickens out of the neighbor's porch light ... and ye'll n'er win a smile from yon lass you wedded, without a gift in hand to cause that smile ... not after all these years ...
Oh, so true, Susan!

36 Answers

+24 votes

It can't already be the weekend!?!?  Wow, week went by fast.  

Polllen - sorry to hear that.  Thankfully, no pollen here.

Its been a very busy WikiTree week for me, trying frantically to get all of my "M" surname bios finished for the Bio Builder's challenge - not going to make it.  I seem to get distracted doing research and when you find some new records, its like being a detective a bit.  And I've found lots this week:

I polished up Rev War vet John Miller: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Miller-53931
and then I found his will and spent a day transcribing it:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:The_will_of_John_Miller_Senior_1758_to_1819

I fixed up ancestor Anderson Mullins: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mullins-4139
and then created a space page to prove his (my) descent:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Proof_of_descent_from_John_Mullins_1718_to_SJ_Baty

And these "M" profiles all got a makeover:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/McCaslin-487
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Marbrook-2
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Manning-4955
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mullins-4138

And my 2nd kid turns 9 months today:

all and all, been a good week!

by SJ Baty G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
edited by SJ Baty
He is adorable! So cute!
What a cutie!!
What a handsome fella! Is he getting close to walking, or still using the pull-up-walk-around-the-furniture method?
Cutie...
He's cute. Sure got to hand it to you for tackling the Mullins! My brother-in-law is a Mullins from Wise County, Virginia -- I took a brief look and very slowly said no..... and backed away.
@ Pip - yes, he's been furniture surfing for the past 3 or 4 weeks and is starting to forget to hold the wall, ie - first steps.

@ Kay - oh yeah, the Mullins tree is a mess, especially the descendants of William Mullins aka "Grancer."  Turns out we're not related to that line and our Mullins line is quite narrow but there are so many in the records and they sure did get around a lot - makes it hard to research.  The DNA helps a lot.
Oh my, what a little cutie.
+24 votes

Today is....

              

NATIONAL MACAROON DAY

Each year on May 31, National Macaroon Day is observed.  This day celebrates the macaroon, a small coconut cookie.

The coconut macaroon is most commonly found in the United States. Most varieties of coconut macaroons are dipped in milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate.  Almonds, pecans, cashews or other nuts are sometimes added to the cookie.

We have Mrs. Esther Levy to thank for popularizing the great macaroon. In 1871 Mrs. Levy published the First Jewish American Cookbook. She originally published this recipe in the chapter of “cakes” as there was not a chapter on cookies.However, it’s understandable — as the texture of a macaroon isn’t very cookie like. It is soft and a little chewy, more like a cake than a cookie. However, the bite-size serving is most definitely cookie-like.

Macaroons deserve to be celebrated and recognized for their own characteristics. Coconut was substituted for almond flour when the first coconut palms planted in Florida began to yield fruit. Thus macaroons are not only tasty little delights, they were an early exercise in the locavore movement, eating produce grown close to home.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Following are two macaroon recipes for you to try and enjoy!

Coconut Macaroons
Chocolate Dipped Macaroons

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
MMMMmmmmm  someone mail some to me!
I do love a good macaroon, especially if dipped in chocolate.

Thanks Dorothy - did you make extra for us? laugh

@Doug: That’s my man... chocolate!

And Tuesday was National Hamburger Day!
Yummy! Much better than snails.
Oh Yummy!! Those look and sound delicious.

I love macaroons, they make me smile.

+22 votes
Hope all had a great and productive week. I'm not really ready for it to be the weekend.

Weatherwise, this has been a mild week. Today is expected to get quite warm and will be sunny. Basically settling into normal late Spring weather.

On the gardening front, after assessing the damage to the garden and replacing those plants we had a few extras held in reserve, we lost about 25% of the plants. Things planted from seed into the garden turned out fine. We also waited a while to assess the damage and nature is pretty resilient. Some plants we thought dead have sent out new leaves from the bare, slightly green stems. The rest of the garden will be planted this weekend. While the main garden is prepped, now need to add the couple of new beds my wife wants.

Genealogically, last weekend's WWI profiles I did for Memorial Day got a bit more involved and turned into an interesting rabbit hole. The soldier I was working on was taken as a prisoner of war. At the same time, he had a brother in the same regiemnt (Royal Canadian Regiment) who was killed in action. With the help of a couple other wonderful wikitreers, we've found more of the extended family and they are all now connected to the "tree." We have a bit more work to do to add the rest of the family and fill out profiles.

For something different, my wife and I started taking an 8 week class to learn weaving.
by Doug McCallum G2G6 Pilot (527k points)
Congrats on that WWI work Doug! Way to wiki
Always a new hobby for you, Doug. Busy, busy. Sorry to hear about the damage to the garden. 25% loss isn’t too bad, except for all the work you put into that percentage.

Mine vet was a WWII one, and he connected pretty quickly.

The next step is to get documentary evidence for my vet's paternal grandparents and all their children. One of the children is a notable not yet on WT. I'm trying to be systematic in adding. Another Scottish family where every family used the same names for children so need to be careful sorting out the various Angus and other names, all about the same age and all lived near each other. This has been a fun side project and I'm not related to any of them.

I loved my weaving class.  I took the class numerous times when my work was very stressful.  Weaving took my mind off of work and helped me to relax. I also met some wonderful people and made a few nice items!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
+22 votes

Sounds like a busy week Pip! Good luck on getting that backyard 'done.' And thank you for the reference to your ancestor post. I needed a good laugh...

I've been mostly working behind the scenes here on WT, trying to organize. I don't know if it's a Virgo thing, but I love a good messy list or profile to clean laugh. I'm also working with Sandy on the Cemetery Project's awesome coordination to post my Kentucky cemetery pics (thanks for the referral to her!). I'm so pleased that they are taking on that momentous task. I am working slowly on adding to the Cane Ridge cemetery as a family friend had kin there. I'm also enchanted with the Meeting House. I need five more pics there so will return when this dreaded rain stops.

As I sing.... rain, rain, go away, come again another day.

or

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the drive....♪ ♬ ♭ ♪ ♫  ♪

by Mindy Silva G2G Astronaut (1.1m points)

Mindy, thanks for all your work on those cemeteries. Tell me when your ready and I’ll send you over to Harrodsburg for some obscure ones. Lots of them! laugh

If the first song doesn’t work, the second will have to be the song of resignation! 

Your Welcome Pip! I just love a quiet walk through a cemetery with a camera smiley. Where in Harrodsburg? That's below Lexington. Not too bad of a drive - hour and a half. 

Today I'm staying inside and looking at old baptism records for a cousin. Some of them are fire damaged sad it makes me sad to see them that way. Others are just hard to read.

If my kids were here and I was singing they'd be rolling their eyes (haha) and saying moooom. Stooooooop it.

Oh, I'm sure you have a great singing voice, Mindy. I'd be recording it and asking Eowyn to put it on the Wikitree YouTube channel. >=)

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the drive....♪ ♬ ♭ ♪ ♫  ♪

Reminds me, last month my 4 year old said this to me:

Daddy, the song is wrong.  Row, row, row your boat, gently down the street.  Why is there a boat in the street?

It was so cute that we just couldn't tell her it was stream.  The next day, on the way to school, I heard her signing, "Row, row, row your car, gently down the river," followed by a girlish giggle.

Um, Chris......no. lol.
SJ that is just adorable! Yeah, I said drive cuz you can see the water streaming down the driveway (we're uphill from it. Sorry downhill neighbors). It was like a little river. I couldn't figure out what would rhyme with drive though
Mindy, your singing comment reminded me of an event back in 2002. My husband and I, along with our adult son, took our boat from San Francisco to Alaska. There is a place not far from Ketchikan that is a Bear experience. The Ranger at the start of the trail told us to make noise going up the trail to the Ranger Station and the bears would not bother us. So, I began singing camp songs from my youth and tried to get the husband and son to join in to no avail. Finally, from behind me, our son said,"Dad, I don't know about you but I'd rather just chance the bear attack"! That was it for the singing!!

image (still trying to catch my breath Ginny) - My girls would SO say that!!!

I used to mow my in-laws lawn on my days off. It was my 'therapy'... plug my headphones in, crank up my fav playlist, and ride the mower around in the sun. I pulled up to the back porch one day to grab a Gatorade and my husband said "You know we can hear you, right?" I just said yep, grabbed my Gatorade and went back to mowing. His mom and dad just sat there and grinned. (My second oldest daughter btw got the voice of an angel. Someone had to)
One of these days we'll make you sing, Mindy. One of these days.....

How can anyone hear anyone over a lawn mower? Weird.
SJ, that's just too cute!  When mine was about that age she kept insisting she wanted to ride on an angel boat one day.  We tried to figure out what she was talking about until she finally corrected herself... "Oh right, not an angel boat.  A fairy boat!"

Too cute; the Staten Island Fairy wink

+21 votes

Where the heck did this week go? surprise

Weather here is nice for the moment and my sister-in-law is here to visit. We are trying to find no-good to get up to. devil

by Deb Durham G2G Astronaut (1.1m points)
That shouldn’t be a problem for you, Deb! Get you!
I have a sister weekend coming up (we are 4 girls) in mid June we don't seem to have a problem in finding "no-good to get up to",  actually we are quite good at it.  Have a fun visit with your sister-in-law Deb.
+23 votes

My birthday week: Last week was my 70th birthday week and it was busy!! Monday a friend (fellow service member during the cold war) and I went out to eat at our newest pizza and sub sandwiches place. (1st pic)

On Wednesday my neighbor invited me over for a birthday dinner with chocolate cake and ice cream. (no pic) 

On this past weekend my goddaughter Evelyn, her mother Alyssa and her mother Pam. They were here until Monday at about noon. We ate and ate and went to the playground with Evelyn (next couple of pic), and ate again lol!   This time at the Chop House which is known for their awesome steaks. They gave me a free birthday cake to share with the others (Pic). 

Saturday we went to the Hendersonville Memorial Gardens and Gallatin Veterans park to honor those who gave their all and our veterans buried out there. Sunday we hung out at my place and at the hotel so that Evelyn could play inside and watch her cartoons!! 

Here are some photos: 

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
edited by Dorothy Barry
Love the photos, Dorothy! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Dorothy!

Cupcake

Happy birthday! =D Looks like you had a blast!
Happy Birthday, Dorothy. Great pics.
Happy Birthday, Dorothy!  Love the pics!
Great photos. Sounds like you had a great birthday, and lots of good eats. Nothing like playing with the little ones to make you want some time on the couch watching cartoons.
Dorothy, these are marvelous photos. Thank you so much for sharing here and your life with us. That birthday cake looks about like one serving for me! (Cake nut.) I am so glad you’ve had some wonderful times these past weeks.

I see your plaque in the last pic!
Happy Birthday Dorothy!!!!
What lovely photos Dorthy, thanks for sharing!
What a wonderful week Dorothy - and great pictures. Thank you for sharing!
Great photos, Dorothy and a very happy belated Birthday to you!!
Happy Birthday Dorothy, and great photos.  Thank you for sharing.
Nice photos!! Glad to see you all out in the park along with Dorothy's dog "Lexie"!  Evelyn is really growing and having fun, bless her heart!!

I love birthday get togethers!!  Looked like everyone was enjoying themselves. Have to do one in South Carolina next year!!
+20 votes
Hello Pip and fellow WTree'ers.

Had my first strawberry sundae of the year with my own strawberries. Tastes so much better.

Yes Pip, work around the house is never done. Always one more thing to do.

Been working updating profiles between garden and yard work. Plenty of work to do expanding profiles horizontally.

Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend.
by Rodney Long G2G6 Pilot (849k points)
Love fresh, home raised strawberries! Their flavor is amazing.

Never done. Once you think you're finished, it starts all over again.smiley

+18 votes
Today is finally sunny and calm.  The past several weeks had my house and car (and sometimes me) being powerwashed by Mother Nature.  My backyard is drying out and the birds will have to go somewhere else to take a bath! My iris are done blooming so will have to wait til next spring for their beautiful blooms and sweet smell.  I am off work this weekend and hope to get some WikiTree time.  And housework, can't forget about that.
by Michelle Enke G2G6 Pilot (417k points)

Oh, there was also that little 100,000 thing.  laugh  Congratulations!

Forget the housework, and make someone else do it! (At my house, that “some else” is me!).
+19 votes
To all of you effected by the horrible weather in the south and midwest.....do not read further.

Here is the Gold Country of California we went from a high temperature on Sunday of 50 with rain, to a predicted temperature of 80 today.  A lot of work to be done in the vineyard over the next 2 weeks (mowing, thinning the vines, pulling weeds, gathering wildflower seeds),  then we can rest until late summer when we start to harvest.
by Robin Lee G2G6 Pilot (852k points)

Robin, does that mean a summer full of WikiTree (you’re already doing that.)? laugh

“Gold Country.” That was a new one for me.

Robin, I am actually looking out at beautiful weather today, that will change tomorrow and Sunday but after the weekend we should have a few days that should be quite nice. I might even get the grass cut Tuesday.

Those were great pics! Gotta visit sometime. He first pic reminded me of a portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

+18 votes

I've had HVAC people in the house installing our new systems. Right now they are cranking the heat to burn off the oils on the new venting and it is hot and smelly at Nat's house. At least we know it works! Next, they plan to freeze us by testing the air conditioning portion. It's been a bit tough to work on WT stuff with constant banging noise, people in and out, etc. I hope to get back to some semblance of normal next week. laugh 

I CANNOT BELIEVE it's June tomorrow. Why didn't time fly this fast when I was in grade 5, counting the days until summer vacation?

by Natalie Trott G2G Astronaut (1.3m points)
Nat, my excuse is I got old. Now I dread the speed of time!
Pip, Wait until you get to my age. Growing up in the 60's was more fun than being in your 60's.
Hahahahaha! Touché!!
Dale I will be 60 in September 19 of this year.
+17 votes

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps!

What's up? Well, this week I talked about cemeteries in my All Roads Lead to Haverhill blog: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2019/05/52ancestors-week-22-at-cemetery.html

I also talked to some genealogy people on the Twitter about Roots Tech and how Levar Burton was the keynote speaker one year. They asked me if I'd like to see it. Let me think for a second. HELL YES!! I saw the presentation and the next thing I know Levar Burton liked my comment on the Twitter about it.

Man. First Kurt Busiek and now Levar Burton. Social Media, guys. It connects fans to creators. Sometimes in good ways. Sometimes....not so good. Friends have been hassled by real jerks on Twitter. I don't want to get into it. 

Last week, I talked about my genealogy comic. Here it is in case you missed it: https://starbolts.blogspot.com/2019/05/starbolts-434-two-years-in-making.html

Pretty neat. The context is that Sara's been helping her boyfriend remember his past since his memories were erased. What better way to do it than to do some research. Basically she's using an alien version of Ancestry.

Other than that, I've been looking to get interviewed for the projects videos here on Wikitree. I hope it happens. I'll be talking about Italian Roots and all that entails. Not much else to report. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

by Chris Ferraiolo G2G6 Pilot (756k points)
Now that is exciting, the project videos and the interview. How cool is that?!? Keep us posted.

(Book on the way. Keep an eye out.)
Nice. I've been getting packages here and there as I've been trading collectibles in a group. Mostly Marvel stuff. It'd be cool to see it in the mix with the Marvel things I've been getting.

Project video is going well. That reminds me. Pip, my grandfathers are WW II veterans. Do I really need to have the Military and War projects watch their pages? I have that in my suggestions.
No, you don’t. I’m surprised that you’re getting a suggestion for that!
Yeah. I was, too. I think I am gonna ignore them. Got it for a few other ww2 people, too.
Done and done.
Wait, you got a like from Kurt?  That's so cool.  And Levar Burton, wow.

Yes, I got a like from Kurt Busiek! =D I told him I was a fan of his run on Avengers and that I thought Marvels was awesome. I know he did Astro City. But, I never got that book. And Levar Burton is just amazing in general. =D Say "Butterfly in the sky" to anyone my age and they'll immediately have the Reading Rainbow theme stuck in their heads.

Oh! Check out this old Reading Rainbow kickstarter vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_x6QCWfCTw

Of course Brent Spiner trolling Levar is awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxD-Y0_XXLU

Astro City is great, too.  Check it out if you get a chance.  That bit with Brent and Levar was hysterical.
I'll definitely put it on my Amazon wishlist!
Oh, and speaking of Amazon... Good Omens, streaming now on Amazon Prime.  We've watched the first episode and so far, they've really got it right.
+16 votes

First anyone know what that bright light in the sky is?devil I am not saying we had a lot of rain but anyone have plans for an Ark? OK time to get serious now. I am sure many of you have heard about the storms and tornadoes we have had in Ohio this past week. I am fine and no damage to any property where I am but starting about 5 miles south of me and points below that across the entire state it is a very different story. Mahoning county was asking for Amateur Radio Operators to assist in damage assessment, Dayton was hit with at least 2 EF3 tornadoes and has major power grid damage and property damage so I have been on standby with the radio emergency service all week. I did do some work on WikiTree when I could but nothing major.

by Dale Byers G2G Astronaut (1.7m points)
Seems like an excessive number of tornadoes this year already. We've had a few out on the Plains but moving eastward from there it has been crazy. Even Idaho has had some (northwest of us). Stay safe and I hope they die down soon.
That's the day globe. Be careful. It burns!!!
The storms have really hit lots of folks really hard. Glad to hear that you are okay. Guess I need to check out that campground near you where we'll probably spend a night in July to make sure its okay.
Doug, Safe? when they issue warnings and tell others to take shelter I get texts and email's telling me to go out and look for trouble. But I have had years of training on how to do that safely and I have the equipment to help out when needed. I have spent many hours with the Red Cross learning about how to do damage assessment and many hours being taught what to look for by staff members of the National Weather Service so I hope some of that stuck in my brain
Kay what is the name of the campground?
At least you know what to do. I know some former tornado chasers (retired after years of doing it) and learned a lot from them.

We are prepared as much as you can be. The closest one came to us was about a mile. Our root cellar doubles as a tornado shelter (its in the basement away from any open areas. Well stocked with food/water. The architect designed it for the dual use. Doesn't matter that they are common, they are still scary.
I did create a profile for a deceased classmate. I plan to scan and add the program for the graduation ceremony of the Chardon High School class of 1969 to my free space page https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Photos_and_sources_for_Dale_Byers because sources for anyone on that list are almost impossible to find but my classmate is on that document, not to mention myself but in my case I actually have several valid sources for my profile, if I ever get around to adding them.
I kept worrying about you, Dale, what with the terrible storms y’all had up there. Glad to hear you’re safe.
Pip, I survived but a lot of places I have been to did not. Just to make things interesting right after the tornadoes passed thru the next day they had major thunderstorms and we were running around because a family member was rushed to the hospital, not weather related but important non the less. Now it is planning for the classes in Ham Radio I am teaching soon. I am printing out my instructors guide and a lot of handouts. I am also getting phone calls and emails about the classes because I am the instructor listed online. There are 5 of us but because I am the "Retired" guy I got nominated to be the contact person.
Dale -

We have two days to travel the 570 miles from NY to Elkhart, Indiana. Last trip we stayed at the Thompson/Grand River Valley KOA. It is about half way, and I'm guessing near you. Otherwise we have to leave a day early or drive to the other side of Cleveland.
Kay, That campground is Northeast of me and should be fine. My father has a cabin on the Grand River not far from there and I haven't heard of any problems in that area    Yet.
+18 votes

Greetings, WikiCousins!

Thanks for hosting, Pip!  I hope you can get a clear shot at those squirrels someday.  wink

Not much new here.  A couple of short but satisfying rabbit hunts, along with crusading in support of WikiTree necrocentrism.  I'll try to stay off the soapbox next week.  No promises, though.

This week's paper critter has no significance beyond I thought it looked like fun.

Pig by Jo Nakashima

Cheers,

Herb

by Living Tardy G2G6 Pilot (762k points)
Love the curly tail!
Grunt, grunt, grunt... I can hear him/her now.
Thanks, Natalie!  I like that part, too.

Thanks, Doug!  smiley

Hope you got lots of the evil little bunnies.
Haha!  I think I found more of them than requested!
“Necrocemtrism.” I gotta remember that one! Excellent choice of a word.

Thought you'd like that one, Pip!  laugh

I love your little piggy, reminds me of the nursery rhyme, "this little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home..."  I think in this case this little piggy likes Wikitree.  It is quite cute.

Thanks, cuz!  smiley

+16 votes
Weekend already! Thoughts for everyone who was near any of the terrible storms this past week.

My cousin visited for a few days, and we had a good chance to catch up, talk about family, and compare notes on the genealogy work we are both doing. There were no breakthroughs, although she had a 1918 newspaper clipping about our half uncles drowning at ages 7 and 9. Both my cousin and I have requested (different) records from New York State, in Nov and Feb, respectively. We are still waiting, but the state website says it can take 8 months or longer. It just struck me that that is almost long enough to make another ancestor!

Genealogy-wise I am still working on creating profiles for descendants of Mary Rood, and looking for sources. So far, two emails and one phone call to a town historian have gone unanswered, and am still searching for churches -- most seem to have been established too late.
by Kay Knight G2G6 Pilot (593k points)
The slowness of getting an answer: how frustrating! The good thing is that there are always other families to work on, even if you hate leaving one alone for a bit. Hang in there, Kay!
Really hope that I hear back from the town historian before my planned 600 mile trip to spend some time in that area.
+16 votes

Currently, it's 17˚ C in Fort Erie, and mostly sunny. The predicted low for tonight is 11˚ C, with showers late in the evening. Tomorrow, we expect thunderstorms, with a predicted high of 19˚ C.

On the home front, we're trying to drain the back yard so we can grow grass and flowers instead of frogs and mosquitoes. The light of my life and the delight of my eyes is also fighting the Battle of the Dandelions, not so much because we don't like them (actually, we do), but because certain of our neighbours seem to blame us for the dandelions in their lawn, despite the fact that the entire town and vicinity are infested with them. I've been looking for recipes that use dandelions, because I figure, "If you can't beat them, eat them."

Yesterday, we went to the dentist, where I got my last cavity filled. (The light of my life and the delight of my eyes has two to go, and then we start in on the extractions.) Perhaps only visiting the dentist once in the previous 27 years wasn't the best strategy I've ever come up with.

On the genealogical front, I'm still working on identifying Slades who are listed on both WikiTree and SladeGenealogy.net, and also seeing where I can make progress on the assorted Quest for Great-Grandparents and Can you help connect...? threads. Most recently, I've managed to nudge the percent complete on the Quest for Great-Grandparents: Archivist Edition up to 9.6%. If we can find one more great-grandparent from that challenge, then all of the Quest for Great-Grandparents threads will be at 10% complete or higher.

by Greg Slade G2G6 Pilot (669k points)
A number of good ways to use dandelion. We usually make https://www.mamaslebanesekitchen.com/mezza/sauteed-dandelion-recipe-sleek-mkalla/ but also search for Hindbeh for other Lebanese/Middle Eastern.

Greg, when we retired here, nary a dandelion in sight. Now we have thousands and the seeds get into our flower beds. <sigh> There are some good recipes out there, even one for dandelion wine!

Wow, I can't image 17 or 19.  The sea here is 20c and almost perfect for swimming.
Who was the wikitreer who loved dandelion greens who was so prolific a couple of years ago?  He worked with juvenile
justice cases and had ripped a door off from a car with his bare hands.  I think of him so often when I am tearing  dandelion deadheads off, trying to prolong the mowing while it is so wet.
I think that was Eddie King.
Ahh, Eddie. I miss him.
Yes, Eddie it is.  I'd like him to come and pick all he wants
in my front yard.
Yes Eddie King,   while we see him intermittently,  he does incredible work and is great fun!

I miss him, too, Chris! sad

Oh, P.S. I'm not any kind of cousin with John Stith Pemberton (at least, as of what's on WikiTree so far), but I'm only 20 degrees from him, which isn't too bad. (I can remember when all my connections to the connection anchors were in the mid-to-high 30s.)
+15 votes

Greetings from Everett, Washington!

On Monday we had our best Memorial Day event ever at the Mukilteo Pioneer Cemetery.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous.  I was the emcee and the face of the Historical Society for the program.  I got there early with my son so I could put the crinoline and skirt on over my miniskirt and then I met with the brass wind ensemble and the color guard and the VFW representative wanted me to make sure the brass knew when to start playing the national anthem.  There was a big microphone covered in fuzz and a video recorder (I have no idea who was recording it) plus before the historical society volunteers got there with the chairs people were already laying blankets on the grass and chairs facing every which way.  Then when the chairs were lined up they were facing the flagpole from another direction.  As speaker I had to position myself so that I could be seen by folks from both groups.  At the outset I gave an outline of the agenda, then I spoke for 3 minutes, introduced the color guard, led a minute of silence after the ceremony, then introduced the mayor, and after she spoke I re-introduced the brass for their final numbers.  I only forgot to point out that someone had brought a cooler full of water bottles.  Oh well. What a day! 

Today it is foggy and much cooler, although yesterday it warmed up to 81 degrees so it was very uncomfortable during Mass even with the fans going.

In genealogy, I am turning my attention to the Walker pioneers of Rockbridge County, Virginia.  Years ago, I used to lurk on the Wigton-Walker mailing list on Rootsweb (descendants of John Walker of Wigton, Scotland).  They have most of their stuff on WeRelate right now.  I was trying to find whether their Walkers of Rockbridge connect to mine (apparently they do not).  But they do connect to my Kelsos.  I therefore added some more Kelsos this past week and also a worthy Dr. Stuart https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stuart-5578, who went from Rockbridge to North Carolina to Georgia and back to the Tar Heel state. 

I have also added a personal category of unconnected profiles for Robe-79 (that's me) so that I can put more of the folks from the Pioneer Cemetery in there, in preparation for the Connect-a-Thon, so that connectors can find them more easily.  I have several French Canadians, Norwegians and Japanese that are a challenge.

Have a blessed week.  The rest of the family is going tonight to the movies to see "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" and I will be happily preparing my own dinner and seeking connections.   

         

by Margaret Summitt G2G6 Pilot (315k points)
Hey, Margaret! You had a busy week, but you’ve been preparing for this for a long time. I bet it was great! No pics for us to see?

The real question: Were you able to control the crinoline and skirt in the wind?

No wind at all!  The weather was perfect!

You asked for a photo.  No one that I knew took photos, but this photo was posted to the local paper's web page two days ago.  I have no idea whether it will upload. No, it didn't.

So try https://mukilteobeacon.villagesoup.com/p/honoring-our-past-and-those-who-served/1816733

I am in the second photo, in the big dress and hat.  Unfortunately it's not a close up.

Someday I will get the hang of posting a photo here.  Sigh. 

Wow! You got a lot of great press! Loved the dress and hat.
+15 votes

Greetings WikiKin,

Where did the time go? With the holiday on Monday, it didn't register with me that it was time for Weekend Chat all morning.

On the homefront: Last weekend was all about yardwork, grilling, and a trip to see my parents. Also illness recovery, we're getting there. Turns out all the kids had strep throat.

On Wednesday, we had a T-Ball game and the twins did pretty good. They actually remembered right away to run to first base after hitting the ball. Progress!

Last night the we somehow managed to get the kids to clean up their toys after dinner and ALSO get to bed EARLY - on the same night. My wife and I even had enough energy left over after their bedtime to actually make progress on a project that we haven't touched in a couple months. This is a miracle on par with the parting of the Red Sea - and we got to be the Israelites instead of Pharoah's army for once.

On the Wiki-front: I'm still sourcing like mad. Despite the holiday I've sourced just over 40 profiles this week, about 30 of them {{Unsourced|Michigan}}. That category is now sitting at 209 - 45 less than when I posted in last Weekend's chat. I'm currently excitedly anticipating when all the profiles fit on the first page of the category when we get to 200.

I did an okay amount today, but I took the time to try to delve into some more of those obscure Francogander profiles. That slowed me down, but I did manage to source at least one of those.

That's all I've got.

by Thomas Fuller G2G6 Mach 9 (93.3k points)
edited by Thomas Fuller
“Instead of Pharoah’s Army”.... hahaha! Know the feeling!

Did all the kids come down with strep? Used to be a regular occurrence for me growing up and even into adulthood. Haven’t had it about 30 years. My kids seems to have missed it, thank goodness!
+16 votes
Hi Pip and WikiChatterers,

It's such fun to read your comments again!    It's been  9 months since I've spent time on my favorite past time,  WikiTree.    I won't make excuses but rest assured it tormented me.    O.K.  O.K....... I'll mention the two hip replacements  (3 months apart) and then a 700 mile move from  Gladstone Missouri to Ringgold Georgia.   My husband was heroic in taking care of me post surgery  (I never mentioned he forgot to dust.)

Today,  I'm sitting in our new home (actually, it's 25 years old),  surrounded by boxes  (we moved over 150 boxes) and clusters of furnishing.   We finally have all our belongings under one roof,  have Georgia drivers' licenses and tags, and the critical change of addresses have been made.  By God,  I don't care how messy it is,  it's time to plug back in.

 There's a lot to explore around here but we've only been here a week and have been unpacking exclusively.

My message will be short this weekend,  but I'll certainly be reading everyone's comments.

We're getting used to the warmer weather, which has been mainly sunny and highs about 90 since we've been here.  While many things will take getting accustomed to,  at least they aren't metric!   I identified the  "nandia" bushes in our front yard;  I've always lived too far north for them to do well.  

Was having tea on my front porch this morning and an American Mink walked up the steps,  sniffed around the porch,  stared at me  (about 10 feet away), then strolled off.    We've often lived near large wooded areas, but this was a first for me.

Enjoy your weekend Chat!
by Peggy McReynolds G2G6 Pilot (470k points)
Wow!  Welcome back!
Take your time.  Those unused dishes will still be there like
those dead people.  Usage and memories will dovetail by Christmas if you are lucky.  Welcome back and good fortune with the recovery processes.
Oh Peggy! I really feel for you. We lived in the same house for 25 years. You can imagine how many boxes that made for us to move. Welcome to the Blessed Realm! (The South)
I know what you mean. Since I was 5 I have moved 5 times in my 59 years of living. Right now we are in our last move. I got everything of mine down in Loudon, Tn up to Jonesborough, Tennessee in my sisters old house except for my christmas stuff and a few things in our closet in the upper garage. But we don't have all of my mom's stuff at her house in Greeneville, Tennessee where she moved to as of November 12, 2018 and I moved up here in November 9, 2018. We moved so we could put my dad into memory care unit at Brookdale in Greeneville, Tennessee which is killing him literally so as of June 17th day after Father's Day we moving to John Reed's memory care unit in Limestone, Tennessee we believe he will get better care there. I haven't been in this because the last two weeks my dad had fluid built up and starting of pneumonia. So Friday I was suppose to stay with my mother and help here get some stuff put away and then next morning before lunch come home put I didn't because we had to put him in the hospital in Johnson City so he can have antibotics done by IV instead of pills which cause him to have Cifidad and be able to have diaylsis when he suppose to have it in the morning. He had slept constantly from Friday till today and they did not let him eat because he might aspirate in his lungs he has to drink things that is thickened because of it. My mom said he was alert and had his eyes open and talking and someone from my sisters church who knows us went to visit him and he didn't recognize him but he talked to him and at the end when the guy was going to leave the man ask if it was okay for him to pray with him and my dad said that it was okay if he prayed with them and he did.
Linda,

It's hard enough moving your own stuff,  but factoring parents into a move would certainly add complications.   If they're like my mom,  they'll miss their old routine and the stuff they left behind for years.  Hope  your Dad is made comfortable In Johnson City.
+16 votes
Hello Peeps,

I didn't have anything to report this week, until I sat down to have my family chat, which has just ended.

The good news is that my sister has finally gotten around to purchasing a DNA test. Only 12 months after me and my mother did our tests!! :)

So that would be good. I am curious to see how much she and I have in common and what we dont have in common.

She will be doing a My Heritage DNA test because they currently still have a sale going on and also they do the cheek swab and not the spitting.

So I am very pleased about that. She is also a family guest member here on wikitree, so it should not be any hassle for her to add her DNA details to wikitree once she gets her results back....
by Robynne Lozier G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
Good news on the DNA tests.  As soon as the budget allows, I plan to send to all the grandparents who are still alive.
Excellent (finally)! Let us know how it turns out. Enquiring minds will want to know.
+14 votes
I had to fly out late yesterday when my father in law died in Hilton Head. So today we packed up his stuff and got all the papers and will be sorting it the rest of the weekend.  We visited the funeral home to make arrangements for shipping his body north. On the good side, It’s good to experience some 90 degree weather since a Colorado has been so cool. We will head to Pittsburgh for the funeral in two weeks.
by Gurney Thompson G2G6 Pilot (443k points)
You and your wife have my sincere Condolences, Gurney.
So sorry for your family's loss.
Sorry for your family's loss; we'll add you to our prayers.
Condolences for your loss, Gurney.
Sorry for you loss, Gurney.
So terribly sorry for the loss of your father, Gurney.

I bet it was hot... and humid on Hilton Head. Lowcountry summer temps and humidity can be brutal, especially in the summer. You seemed to have missed the worst.

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