"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! January 31st - February 2nd, 2020 [closed]

Question

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CHANGE TO BEST ANSWER PROCESS:  After much discussion we have come to the conclusion that all answers in the Weekend Chat are of equal importance and weight.  So we are going to discontinue the Best Answer portion as it adds points and then takes them away from posters and is causing some hurt feelings.  So in the interest of everyone is equal and valued we will delete any best answers given which will deduct those points because it has been pointed out that to give everyone best answer is also not a viable option. 

Weekend Chat is for everyone. It's a place to catch up on what people are up to and to share what you've been doing.  New members can say hello, introduce themselves, ask questions, and meet each other.  Our seasoned members can share progress or successes from their projects, give tips and advice, or chime in on hot topics.

Post as many answers and comments as you wish. It doesn't hurt anyone to post a lot and enjoy the multitude of topics.

Enjoy yourselves and spread the love!

Comments

People were certainly creative in finding a water supply.     

If you were only 6 when you dropped the clean clothes,  I doubt your grandmother was truly irritated.     My grandparents had cows and pigs too.    Mom says I would rub noses with the pigs through the fence when I was young.   (I like dogs and horses noses too.)

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They were, yes. She wasn't really angry, just a bit miffed that everything had to be rewashed, and it was all done by hand, she did have a mangle that i loved to use xxx

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i gotta ask.

What's a mangle?

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It is a metal frame with 2 rollers and a handle you turn to wring the water out of clothes, super fun to use  xxx

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Ummm. It sounds really bad for clothes. Does the mangle have a gentle cycle?

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No, it's used manually not electrically xxx

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That image of a mangle brought back instant memories of my mom's ringer washing machine. I remember getting the sheets jammed in the ringer when my mother was sick and I did our laundry. Urgh! Glad those days are long gone

@Pip: Thanks for hosting. Wonderful write-up as usual

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So am I, I wouldn't like to go back to those days again, but I do have happy memories from it xxx

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I definitely remember helping my grandmother washing with the wringer washing machine............   The  "toys" we had to play with at her house were cut out pictures from magazines like  Sears catalog.... and card games.   (We mainly just tried to go hiking in the woods instead of sticking around the house.)

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At my other nans, she had a mangle too, and like you it was card games, cut out pictures, and she had a box of spare sewing machine bits, and I used to love playing with them xxx

Answer 1

Temperatures forecast for Central Pennsylvania over the weekend, and going into next week should be in mid 50F. That will feel good this time of year.

Since tomorrow is the first of the month, time for me to work on suggestion lists. I keep the suggestion list of people I manage at zero, but I try to complete at least 10 suggestions a month on the suggestion list of people I am related to. Some of them are very simple, and some take some research. Along with that first of the month activity is checking my orphaned family list.

Also this morning, I was working on getting my income tax documents together to visit the tax man next week. I think I would rather work on my WikiTree monthly routine.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, travel safe my friends.                                   

Comments

Hi Amy, good to hear from you. Yes, the sun will be welcome.

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Huh. Haven't had any suggestions in forever. Weird. Good luck with your suggestions!

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You are a lucky man Chris. The suggestion list of people I am related to has plenty for me to work on.

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I am just convinced the data doctors had enough of me typing in Italian names and me telling them it's accurate. =)

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Rodney,

I admire your goals for the suggestions list!    Perhaps you'll inspire me to improve my performance.   

I ignored the  "TAXES" topic  before our trip in January..... guess it's time to get back to the real world.

Enjoy the moderate weather.

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I was doing pretty well keeping my suggestions list down, till all the "hide forever" FindAGrave ones came back to haunt me. Now I'm dealing with the errors on FindAGrave one at a time, so they won't come back to haunt me - 33 left, so hopefully I'll have them cleared away soon.

Maybe ... its a good idea to deal with the taxes now and put them behind me. I'll consider your suggestion :)

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Hi Peggy hope all is well. I have certain things I do each month, and the first of the month is my work on suggestions time frame. Yes, time to get tax documentation together.

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On the Find A Grave suggestions, I have had good luck with filling out Edit Suggestions on their site, and having them corrected. I am finding many of those people has the same desire to have accurate information as we do. Have a goos rest of the weekend Laurie.

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Hi Amy. I'm in eastern Ontario too. And I swear Mother Nature is PMSing with this warm and sunny during the week and snow storms every weekend. I'm done with winter! Hope the one forecaster is right and things will start warming up next week ( not holding my breath though lol).

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Hi Teressa!  It is nice to see our region represented on WikiTree! I will look forward to seeing you in the branches 

Answer 2

Today is....

NATIONAL HOT CHOCOLATE DAY

Each year on January 31, National Hot Chocolate Day warms up people across the country by celebrating the timeless cold-weather beverage.

Hot chocolate is a warm beverage made with ground chocolate, heated milk or water, and sugar. In America, we often use the terms hot chocolate and hot cocoa interchangeably. However, the two beverages are different.

Cocoa vs Hot Chocolate 

We make hot cocoa with cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar. We’re able to do this thanks to a process developed by father and son chemists. The thicker, more flavorful beverage, we make hot chocolate from ground chocolate containing cocoa butter. It’s also called drinking chocolate. Hot chocolate has also been around longer than hot cocoa. In the early 1800s, Casparus van Houten Sr. developed a process to separate the cocoa solids from the butter. His son, Coenraad Johannes made those fats more soluble in water. Together their processes made cocoa powder possible.

But before then, everyone drank hot chocolate. This thicker, creamier beverage often offered medicinal benefits for stomach ailments during the 19th century. In fact, long before the beverage’s popularity in Victorian times, it served in ceremonial culture. 

2000 years ago, the Mayans likely created the first chocolate beverage. A cocoa beverage was also an essential part of Aztec culture by 1400 AD. Europe popularized the drink after it was introduced from Mexico in the New World.

Make it and Benefit

Hot chocolate can be enjoyed in a variety of combinations, topped with whipped cream or marshmallows. Sometimes a sprinkle of cinnamon or a dash of peppermint makes the chocolate extra special. In the United States, an instant form of hot chocolate is popular. It is made with hot water or milk and a packet containing mostly cocoa powder, sugar, and dry milk. People enjoy topping it with marshmallows or whipped cream.

There are health benefits to drinking hot chocolate. Cocoa contains significant amounts of antioxidants that may help prevent cancer. It has also been shown that the cocoa beans help with digestion. The flavonoids that are found in the cocoa also have a positive effect on arterial health.

HOW TO OBSERVE National Hot Chocolate Day:

Enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. You can make it with dark or milk chocolate. While you’re at it, try experimenting, too. Add some cinnamon or other flavors to your chocolate. Of course, inviting a friend to join you is essential to the celebration, too. Try adding these toppings.

• Whipped cream
• Marshmallows
• Sprinkles
• Candied fruit

Comments

Perfect day for it here, Dorothy! Snowing unexpectedly!

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Hot Chocolate is a staple in our home from October to March!

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I NEED hot chocolate today. Warmer than it has been at -13c but still it's kind of chilly out. Mags

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Great Idea!

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Thank you for Dorothy!  I was going to get another cup of coffee, but maybe a hot chocolate break will be more productive on a cold wet Friday.

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I love hot chocolate! I need to buy me some.

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Oh, that sounds perfect for today!

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A day late...  but still so good!

Answer 3

Hi WikiKin!  I hope everyone is having a super start to their weekend.

This week is turning out to be sunnier than last.  The weather is warm and sunny; I met clients last night after dark and I wore flip flop shoes and a t-shirt.  While standing outside I just couldn't believe how warm and balmy the weather is.  

The family buried cousin Harvey yesterday.  I have had a chance to meet some of the extended family and to share some genealogy with them.  It is nice to meet new family as we put our beloved cousin to rest.

To that end, Harvey had his paternal line on WT but not maternal so I started added him mother's family.  His maternal grandfather's profile is nearling completion:

Walter (Nowak) Novak (1868 - 1939)

I've also been working on a few other lines of my genealogy and I've had some breakthroughs here and there.

I'm looking forward to reading everyone's replies.  Happy weekend!

Comments

Howdy, SJ. Great to hear from you!

Sad that sometimes it's only at events we get to see some extended family. Is that a uniform that Walter is wearing. I can see that hat on the table beside him. A handsome gentleman.

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Yes, he served in the Army for two years.  The area he was in, Posen, was (at the time of his father's birth) a Grand Duchy of the Prussian Kingdom.  During his life it was the Province of Posen in the Kingdom of Prussia.  Later, it was annexed by Poland, then taken by Germany, then given back to Poland after WWII.  So Posen is currently in Poland but has had a back and forth for some time.  So I suppose that he was in the Prussian Army or some version of the provincial militia that was an auxilliary to the Prussian Army.  I don't know too much about it but it has piqued my interest and it is in my sandbox as something to research.

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How in the world did you find such a treasure of a photo?

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Cousin Harvey of course 

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Thanks go to Cousin Harvey once again.    That is certainly a great photo.

Enjoy the hunt.

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Nice profile for Cousin Harvey, SJ!

Answer 4

Thanks for hosting Pip.

So we thought it would be warmer weather in Florida but it's dreary and in the 60sF here. Maybe it will warm up enough for some hot tub time next week. Today we plan to try and find some fresh strawberries.

I didn't expect to be able to work on much genealogy, but so far we have decent campground WIFI. I was able to tackle a couple of the 133 suggestions, but need to set the iPad away and use the laptop to get much done.

Comments

Hi Kay! I find hat I have to switch over to my laptop or desktop for more serious WikiTreeing. My iPad I usually use for just WikiCommunication!

Snowing for two hours now. Sticking everywhere. Glad you a little bit better weather at the campground.

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Enjoy your camping,   between you and Rodney..... I'm definitely checking my suggestions...... I  "permanently" have about 10,  that are mostly Find A Grave problems,  perhaps I should finally address them.

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Fresh strawberries sound very nice. Maybe with some of Dorothy's hot chocolate until things warm up?

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Unfortunately the strawberries don't look great. Probably because it's been cooler than usual in Florida.

I have one suggestion - waiting for findagrave to fix their error. But there are probably many false suggestions that will come back to haunt. I really enjoy clearing the 133 from the suggestion list, but I do easy ones usually targeting born about 1875.

Answer 5

Thanks for hosting Pip.  We’re headed out of town for an appointment and it’s pouring rain. The weather forecast is for snow and rain so I’m glad Lens driving today.

I had a cousin contact me that has new names where I have a brick wall so I’m excited to see what she has!! It’s so hard to stay on one section of my branches with so many that need work.

Comments

I know the feeling, Mindy. I tend to hop around the tree, but what I really need to do is sit on one branch and get it done. Hard to do when there's a cool "find" leading to another branch.

Y'all please be safe on your travels. It's starting to stick on the roads here, so we're staying inside!

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Stay dry, Mindy! Have a great weekend. I hope your cousin has great info for you!

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Good luck with the new brick wall lead....   The last brick wall I solved,   a  distant cousin suggested a key surname and then many things began falling into place.

Answer 6

Thanks again Pip for being our host.

Genealogy:    I had great news last week.   David C. Plunkett,  my third cousin, has joined WIkiTree!   David has been doing family research at least since he was 20.  I’ve been impressed with his very thorough research posted on Rootsweb; which is where I first heard of David circa 2014.    He’s incredibly detailed and has impressive computer skills.  He’ll certainly be a great addition to the WIkiTree family with his collaborative attitude and skills.   Both David and my first Cousin Iver Jacobson  (who joined WikiTree last fall) are on my maternal grandmother’s side.   I’m delighted to have them interested in solving some brickwalls. 

Travel:  We drove to Florida and then took a two week Caribbean cruise on the Sky Princess.  Once on a cruise ship, my husband becomes the perfect travel companion.  The ship stopped at ports we’ve been to numerous times before, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Princess Cays, Belize, Cozumel, Grand Cayman.  We had a few days of “rough seas”,  but by no means the worst we’ve experienced. Good Food, Good Entertainment and Great People. There were many Canadians, trying to escape the winter cold for a time. The itinerary for this trip was established so we could spend a day at Grand Cayman with a friend we’ve known since 1971.  She had decided to spread 1/3 of her husband’s ashes on the beach where they shared wonderful memories.  It was a beautiful day when we joined Janet and 5 others on the beach. Pip could probably provide the perfect words to describe the comfort we all felt being together. 

Football  (The NFL, AFL, American type):   Having lived in “Chief’s Country” for decades,  I don’t need to point out who we support for the Superbowl.   While on the Star Princess, we watched the first Chief’s playoff game in our stateroom.   If you follow football, you already know how suspenseful (almost depressing), the first half of the game was…. But our quarterback pulled out a decisive win.    We watched the second Chief’s playoff game on the ships top deck by the huge pool with probably 300 passengers, where Movies Under the Stars are played on an overbearing screen.  The weather was perfect.  We spotted a small group of Chiefs fans (who had packed their Chief’s t-shirts) and lounged near them……. forming our own mini Chiefs fan club.  As the game progressed, absolutely everyone was involved in the game.  (Not that the alcohol added to their enthusiasm.)     Sunday we’ll be watching from home.

Trips are rejuvenating but it’s always great to return home.   Looking forward to reading your posts for the weekend.

I've got a lot of genealogy work to catch up on!

       

Comments

Peggy, that trip sounds absolutely perfect. And, congratulations on having your cousin join us! I just had a second cousin who joined a few months ago get started. I turned over his grandparents to his management.

I'm pulling for KC, too! (Sorry, Californians, I just can't support any team from Cal.)

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I'm looking forward to the commercials. I have no horse in that race. I do like this commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85iRQdjCzj0

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Welcome home Peggy!  I'm glad the trip went well.

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The trip sounds like it was great. A memory to cherish.

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Yes Chris the commercials are always great!

Laurie,  I thought of you when we were dining with so many Canadian couples.....   I often ask if they've seen "Argo" and surprisingly some haven't.....  Just another reason for the U.S. to love Canadians.

Kay,  we hope to still be cruising when we're 90..... every trip has it's own character and adventure.

Answer 7

Winter here in Colorado continues to be just strange.  There was snow in the area last night ... an inch or so but we got zero.  Today it's in the 50'sF and on Sunday it's supposed to be pushing 70!!  Ah, but then Monday night into Tuesday we get snow again ... I'm so confused!  I know, my normal state of mind ...

Genealogy wise ... I'm still pluggin' along with my Jewett history books.  They have 11 generations ending in the early 1900's.  I'm working on generation 10 with about 35 more families to go.  Then there are only 20-30 families in the 11th generation.  There's a non-connected section too with folks that couldn't be linked up ... suppose I should take a peek at them.  Anyway, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel ... hope it's not a train carrying a brick wall!!

Comments

Bob, your weather sound like ours. Too many changes. We can't even put summer clothes away for fear we'd need them, even in winter.

I can imagine that the Jewett books are keeping you busy. I see that you've passed 100,000 contributions, including 1600 this month!

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Yep, those books have information on 11042 people with 9596 of them connected ... whew!

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That's a huge accomplishment, Bob!

I've come across some very thoughtful, sourced profiles you've prepared for New Brunswick ancestors, so kudos to you also for not rushing through it.

I wonder if WikiTree and modern research tools may help us to connect some of your 1900-era unconnected? Not that I need another project, its just that puzzle addiction taking over my keyboard.

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One great thing about winter for retirees,  it clears up some time for our genealogy projects.   Sounds like you're making headway.

Answer 8

After last weekend when I answered we got more snow. We are still running a deficit in the snow and rain area but this will be one of the top 10 warmest January's on record, possibly one of the top 5! The forecast calls for mid 50's F by Monday so is it any wonder that a lot of schools in the area are closed due to illness? Nothing major to report on the genealogy front this week. I have been working on a couple of Linux computers to try to get them doing something useful but that is going to be put on hold for a while because the monitor I have been using for them is too small for me to work with. One of those is going to be for amateur radio and the grandson who is a ham likes that project.

Comments

We're at about an inch of snow now, Dale. Very wet and bending limbs. I checked our generator to make sure it would start. When this kind of snow happens, power outages are expected.

Just how many computers do you have, Dale?

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Pip, We have 2 Linux machines, 1 Windows 7 machine, 3 Windows 10 machines, 1 android tablet, and 2 smart phones. That does not include the 3 smart TV's.

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Talk about high tech! We have one desktop, two laptops, one iPad, and two Smart Phones. Standard stuff.

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The Windows 7 machine is a desktop, our only one, all the Windows 10 are laptops, one of those is a laptop/tablet combo. The phones are android OS. The one Linux machine will be a radio hotspot for my ham radio work and the smart TV's are for streaming because we have no cable service and no over the air antenna.

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Dale - have you considered using a Raspberry Pi? My husband has one for D-Star and one as a music server.

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A few years ago, I was on my way through airport security, and encountered an agent who was feeling frustrated with inexperienced travellers who didn't know they had to take their computer out of their carry-on. He saw my white hair, assumed that my bag was full of knitting, and remarked, "I bet I won't have to go through that whole speech with you, ma'am."

I agreed with him, because well, he was a security agent, plus I knew the routine and didn't need the whole speech. Then I pulled two laptops, a tablet and two smartphones out of my bag. He was still chuckling when I put my shoes back on and headed to the gate.

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Kay, I have a Pi zero w that I am setting up as a hotspot. It will be able to be used for Fusion, DMR, D-Star, and other modes but I only have a DMR radio. The other Linux computer I am working on is a Pi 3+. I an still deciding what to do with that one but I bought a book called " The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book" so I will be reading that soon. At under $ 50 for the computers I might just buy more. I saw a Pi 3, case power supply and book for $40 today so they are not that bad to use a separate computer for each project.

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I also have a sign that I keep by my desktop that reads " Beat the system, Unplug the Computers"

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Laurie - too funny. About 1976 my coworker Patty and I were really hassled by airport security since we had an (American Tourister Luggage) tote bags full of DEC tapes for the system we were going to work on.

Answer 9

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps!

On the genealogy front, I posted a new blog for #52Ancestors about my 3x great-grandmother, Eulalie Bibeau: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2020/01/52-ancestors-week-5-so-far-away.html

I hope someone has pics or letters or SOMETHING. That would be so cool. Fingers crossed!

I've also been using my World Explorer pass on Ancestry to its fullest. I'm basically accepting correct hints left and right and not accepting various junk. Like gifs. I have a feeling I might have some duplicates. Whatever.

Millennium files are going to be the first to get nuked when I get to them. =)

I made some slight edits here on Wikitree and got an e-mail back from the commune office in San Pietro a Maida. It was about the birth of a relative who connects to the Coppola side. I DID however send a new letter. That last one took a while. I sent it in September only to get info a couple days ago. Weird. Well, they are busy over there and it IS a government office. So, it's okay. 

On the non genealogy front, I've been working on a few projects here and there. Apparently Newfoundland got hit with a major snowstorm. How that missed New Hampshire is anyone's guess. Either way, glad it missed us.

Hope everyone is doing good. Have a great weekend!

Comments

I’m with you, Paul. Road trip? Pick me up in the way!

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Pip, We can use my company truck, and company credit card to get their. The truck is super comfy.

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Perfect!

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What a couple of troublemakers. Alright. You two can come up. Have the subs AFTER you see the sights. Trust me.

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Sounds like a plan!

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Sub first, sights later

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No problem! Meanwhile the DNA matches are flying in over here.

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My DNA results should be in on the 28th

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Let us know what the results are when you get them!

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So far there’s 2 for my dad and one for my mom.

Answer 10

After it being a beautiful sunny day yesterday, a storm blew in last night and left about an inch of snow! Today, in the 40's then two days of 50's coming up! Love New Mexico weather! 

Trying to focus on finishing the last 27 cemetery photos uploaded during the Scan-a-Thon. 

Found another interesting person that was a sister and daughter to some of my cemetery photos, that I had to add. Mildredan "Danny" (Harp) Ward youngest principal in California school district at 25 (in 1950). Pretty interesting obit read if you are interested.

Then more work on the Ihda/Ihde/Ida and Peasley/Peaslee/Peisley surname projects. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Thanks Pip for hosting again!

Comments

What a tribute! "Danny Ward Loss of a Living Legend To say that Danny Ward was a legend in the San Bernardino City Unified School District would be an understatement. In her 52 years with the school district and 49 years as a principal, she earned a reputation for her brilliance and keen ability to lead children, parents and educators, and for her determination that all children have equal access to a quality education." The rest of it was just as wonderful.

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Wow, she was a high achiever for sure. And she raised a family. Quite a character to stumble upon, and you did a nice job with the sources, too.  Thank you for sharing!

Answer 11

On this day:

1797: The composer Franz Schubert is born.

1850: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia was adopted. It was considered far less liberal than the one of 1871.

1953: The North Sea flood floods big parts of the Netherlands. As far as I know the Netherlands, being located under sea level, improved their levee system afterwards.

Comments

What a fascinating document, the Prussian Constitution.

I see you are working on the von Bülow family. Good for you, Jelena!

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Happy birthday to Schubert!  

I think the Deltaworks may have been a result of the 1953 floods.

Answer 12

Hi! from Sunny,Alberta, Canada

 Today it is my youngest Daughters Birthday 28th.

 I am making her a supper tonight for when she comes home from work, Family will be here. I hope the cows don't decide to all calf at once her on the farm.  On tuesday we went to a Funeral of my husband Great Aunt She was 98 years young and was still as sharp as ever.  and live on her own up until the last.  Got to see some people we had not seen in a while. Bye for now

Comments

Alberta!!  I remember a couple of weeks ago when the local weather forecaster posted the wind chill temperatures in Alberta ... I remember Edmonton at -61F ... brrrr.

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Yes It was very cold after minus -40C the school bus don't go to town and that cold snap lasted to long for us. But we got our cows feeded and watered.  we had to check on them every two hours.  We put our tractor at the brother's heated shop to keep it running. As ours doesn't have heat.

Glad to see it warm up here for now.

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Ahoy from sodden BC!  Happy birthday to your daughter, and enjoy the gathering :)

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Happy birthday to your daughter, Sharon! Mine turned 28 last fall. Hope all of you have a great time tonight.

Answer 13

Pip,

Your home projects are always suspenseful to read about.   Glad you were able to find the right cabinet design!    New counter tops are always fun.

Comments

We can't wait! We are so tired of our mis-colored, damaged counter tops. We easily agreed on color and style. It'll be about six weeks.

Answer 14

Meet Winterface, wearing my nor'wester. He needs it more than I do.

Luckily, its too cold and wet to go out, because I've been busy with work and school ... and fun.  The local musical theatre is putting on Mamma Mia this weekend, and that's always uplifting. 

On the WT front, this week I've heard from two members who are busily adopting and sourcing Nova Scotia profiles, and I've been able to whittle down my own watchlist as a result (yayy!)  Next week I have a tea date with a friend who is starting to work on her own genealogy. She's just received her DNA tests and wants to know what I'm doing with mine. So we'll be a couple of modern ladies taking an afternoon for centimorgans and tea.  

Stay warm and dry, and enjoy your hot chocolate!

Comments

Sounds like you have a prospect for WikiTree there, Laurie! And... it sounds like a lot of fun. Y'all two enjoy yourselves!

Answer 15

Hello all!  I am finally done with my travels for January.  I attended SLIG for a week in Salt Lake City on Advanced Hispanic Research.  It was a wonderful class and I learned so much.  My college Spanish really helped me out with the records, and most of the powerpoint presentations were in Spanish, too.  I then went to the Midwinter meeting of the American Library Association in Philly.  I am on the planning committee to host a one-day genealogy class for librarians.  We had a wonderful day of learning how to read old German handwriting and learning how to find our German ancestors in American church records with Dr. Roger Minert.  

With all these travels, I was unable to meet my goal of 1,000 contributions this month, oh well.  I did work on Ritchie Valens maternal grandparents a bit and will try to take them back further to use some of my new genealogy research knowledge.

The weather will be wonderful this weekend in Wichita. It will be sunny and near 70 degrees on Sunday.  We will either go to the art museum, walking at the nature center, or the zoo.

Comments

Michelle, you find the most fascinating things to do, whether genealogy-related or not. I'd hang out with you, just for the fun of it!

Answer 16

Hi Pip and Wiki-peeps,

I am still in Wisconsin mum-sitting. I was supposed to leave for Phoenix on Wednesday morning and my brother was to take over; however, mum is very demented and it takes two just to remain sane when dealing with this 24/7. So I got to the airport and talked with the ticket lady. She arranged for a change to return Saturday when the family returns from vacation. My brother (a retired sheriff) and I both stayed here so we could be comic relief for each other.

So, it's 34F, cold, snow all over the place, ice and I miss Tucson weather. I binged on Season 3 of The Crown whenever mumsy slept, which was rarely at night! My brother is reading Blood and Thunder, a history of how whites took the Western US during the Polk administration. People often forget that the four border states were actually Mexico and the west was home to our many Indigenous groups.

I've been trying to catch up on my university work and in my spare time, when I wanted to relax, I worked on Wiki-profiles. I've focused on Baldwin kin from the 19th century because I don't have the resources here that I have at home for going back in time to the 17th and 16th centuries.

We did see my cousin, Bob, and his wife Sandy. Bob is the cousin who wrote an email about 4 years ago on Ancestry asking me if I knew any Baldwins. Turns out that his father was my dad's younger brother! When my uncle returned from Iwo Jima in 1945, he took up with a neighbor girl. They wanted to marry, but my grandmother wouldn't have another Lutheran son marry a Catholic girl. This was the 1940's. So, Bob was born in Indiana and his mum eventually married another man (Catholic), just as Uncle Jim married another woman (Lutheran). Bob didn't know that his father was actually step-father until Bob was in his 60's! His wife told him to try Ancestry. He contacted me and we have been kin ever since! We all met for breakfast several years ago when I was in Milwaukee. Mum is his only remaining aunt through marriage. All the other family, including his dad, my dad and others are all dead. She was cogent those 4 or so years ago and could tell Bob about his biological father. Now she recognizes people, but doesn't know or recall names. She doesn't know that my brother and I are her son and daughter, or our names. She knows we're nice (and that I'm nicer than my brother).

I also found a memory book that mum completed in 1994. She wrote that the most famous person she met was John F. Kennedy when he was campaigning in Milwaukee. She worked at Allis Chalmers and that she shook his hand. She's got some nice memories in the book that the family can draw from because her memory is pretty much gone.

Well, enough hilarity. Leverett is going to a local pub for fish fry for all (it's Friday, it's Milwaukee...that's what one does here). I want mine with potato pancakes!

I hope you all have a good weekend introducing us to February of 2020. Take care and have a splendid week.

Comments

Fish fry with potato pancakes? I'm in!

I know what you struggle with as I watched my own father slide into dementia. One or two of us had to be with him at all times.

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Hi Pip,

My thoughts for you with you dad. It is very sad and with people living longer, there will be an epidemic of elders with cognitive issues. We need more people going into the caring professions and more empathy.

Speaking of empathy, I thought of you as I ate the fish fry and potato pancakes!

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Heehee. You get some of my favorite food and I’m on a diet.  I do love fried fish and taters (in any form!!).

Answer 17

Hello everyone. This is my first time posting on the weekend chat topic. I am not online or on WikiTree on Saturdays or Sundays. Just thought I'd say hi and that everyday I love WikiTree more and more! ❤

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Welcome to the party Greta!

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Hi Greta! Enjoy your weekend!

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Thanks for checking in, Greta! See you in the greet.

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Hi SJ! :) Thanks! I'm glad to be here!

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Hi Laurie! You too! :)

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You're welcome, Pip. See you in the greet!

Answer 18

I'm kind of saddened to see the end of January, however also glad that it is now February (in this timezones). It now marks the beginning of transferring all the notes I'd written up over the month from loose paper over to digital (it isn't just wikitree related) now that I have a functioning PC ( Personal Computer not Project Coordinator). 

I'm awaiting a reply from a couple of cousins regarding their research on a webpage and a few corrections I'd offered.

Started looking again in the brickwall that is the identity of the parents of a namesake forefather in. (To brutalize a reference, "is this the John I'm looking for?") Basically, we (Shelley family researchers) know that the father's name is John and our knowledge

Outside of that, my roll of honor continues to evolve with slight adjustments or with additional people added to particular conflict panels. At this point, I figure I have 5 conflicts remaining to add and probably 4 layout changes to implement over the month. 

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"is this the John I'm looking for?"

Richard, if I haven't written that a few times, I have thought it all the more. Confusion in sources is a bane of my research.

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"Is this the John I'm looking for?" is the decent writing of: ".... are you the guy I need??"

Having tons of namesakes which are only discernable by birthdate or even only by name of the women in their lives, I know that situation well.

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That line has been a huge pain to try and research right back from day 1. For whatever reason a previous generation (around the 2nd or 3rd great grandfather) decided to destroy all family records. I started off using what my grandfather had collated (discovering a number of holes/errors along the way). For me this was never ever about finding out whether I was related to the Shelley poets (I had no idea they had existed until I joined Wikitree), it was only about where did the Shelley line come from. Having said that, if the suggested parents are indeed accurate, I've got a couple of space pages to update...

Answer 19

Greetings from Everett, Washington!  Here it's cold and drizzling and damp, a penetrating cold dampness that gets into my joints.  All day I have had a headache and aches in the lower back and bum knee. I spend a while napping this afternoon and feel a bit better this evening.  Strong wind is blowing now.

The long board meeting last night left me with two sets of minutes to transcribe, one for the Historical Society and one for Toastmasters.  

The month being over, it's time to renew my license plate tabs for one car and also to get a brand new drivers' license using my birth certificate, so that I can travel by air to visit my native California and other places.

I am glad to be working on WikiTree.  Until I get a request answered to open a private profile I am hanging onto a branch that bloats the watchlist over 5000 again.

Please excuse the mixed metaphors.  I am going to add some new profiles now.

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Margaret, I get those same pains when it's wet and cold. My mother used to say that all that farm work set me up for that.

Time for me to get one of those driver's licenses. I know the deadline is approaching.

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Hi Margaret I have some relatives that live in Everett , Wash.

years ago I think they all moved or passed away or time I think a few still live the area yet.

Answer 20

Happy weekend, everyone!  Another long teaching day. Students got their projects organized enough that I know what critters we need to order.  (Brown anoles, cane toads, and Cuban treefrogs.)  Meanwhile, my father-in-law's apartment has been totally cleared out.  We spent about 10 hours there last weekend, sorting and purging, then had the junk guys come take what we didn't keep.  This weekend we have absolutely nothing on the calendar, so we can finally relax a bit and catch up on house stuff here.

On the genealogy front... still chasing that mystery Rinehart/Potts/Conard DNA cluster.  This week I've been building out the tree sideways for my Tovell ancestors.  I've found three different Rineharts associated with them (one by marriage, two just living with Tovells) and I'm guessing there's a family connection of some sort.  I'll probably post on G2G to see if fresh eyes can spot something I haven't found yet.

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I hope your weekend is relaxing, Lisa. I know those six-hour sessions can get awfully long. You need a break!

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Hope you have a good, relaxing weekend!