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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Gailabration & Dino Too

The week has really seen a variety of things going on . . . stuff and more stuff. The weather too has been a little of this and a little of that including a lot of wind . . . some rain and it seems a hesitation to really say that "it is now summer" though it officially is. June, always a nice month and this one is no exception, for it is the
month of Gail's birth. The "Gailabration" does take up the better part of the month and it is nice that today is the official day (Dino too celebrates with his ninth month)


These most beautiful of roses arrived in time to commemorate the occasion -- I wish that I could claim to be the sender but I can't -- so thank you Aura for brightening up both of our days . . .

Dino's Week and Experience

This training exercise was really a lot of fun -- but it had to be a lot of work to plan and "pull off" by our leaders of the club. Yesterday, Saturday, we boarded a ferry boat some 60 miles from here to cruise over to San Francisco. Usually when we go, we just drive . . . but the day was designed to give Dino and the other 11 pups that went a new experience. It was however a new experience for both Gail and me as well.


It turns out that the weather was perfect for the event -- neither too hot nor too cold. All 12 pups did very well on the ride -- most used the hum and vibration of the engines as a sign to nod off -- as did a few of the other passengers as well. Since neither Gail nor I had ridden the ferry here (we have in Seattle) it was interesting to view some of the sights from a different perspective. Cruising by two penal institutions gave one pause to think if our boat was being watched by inmates all wishing that they could be on board. San Quentin looked foreboding and old and very much an institution not unlike a factory looking set of buildings. We had just recently read about some of the inhabitants living out their sentences there . . .

The other penal institution -- Alcatraz -- of course does not have current residents. The whole trip from Larkspur to the Ferry Terminal in San Francisco takes less than an hour. The view of the GG Bridge and other recognizable landmarks was great. Immediately upon docking and getting off the boat we were in the midst of crowds -- for it was also a nice weather day in San Francisco AND it was Pride weekend . . .

We walked over to an area for the pups to feel free to relieve themselves -- not all of them did that, including Dino. Then we made our way over to the Embarcadero Center and walked the pups through a structure with many waterfalls and walkways and stairs. Most of the pups enjoyed the exercise and one (the youngest one) actually jumped in the water at one point.

We strolled around the Embarcadero and took many photos and then went into the Hyatt Regency -- a truly breathtaking lobby. We all took the pups up the elevators and around the site. All the pups did well and behaved well. Back outside we wandered through the maze of booths selling crafts and other items, took more pictures and eventually made our way back to the Ferry Terminal and went through the huge Farmer's Market there. It was wall to wall people again with many many people wanting to pet Dino or to ask about him and the other pups.

We stayed two hours in San Francisco and then headed back for a return trip on the ferry to Larkspur. We pretty much were tired as was Dino and the other pups. After a pleasant return cruise we went back on the freeway only to find bumper to bumper traffic and stop and go for many miles -- we got home at 3 pm and finally ate lunch and all three of us collapsed until 6 pm . . .

It was Saturday night and we were almost too tired to eat "burgers & fries", but we managed . . .

Other Project Progress


The week started with our favorite construction crew returning with "stuff" to work on. The pool house had been sitting quietly for several days while waiting for "stuff" to arrive. Finally it did and work went on all week getting "stuff" installed and ready for future enjoyment and use . . .


As you can see, "stuff" was happening and it was amazing how things can come together -- but they haven't totally yet . . . and as always with any project unforeseen things happen -- like the doorway -- it was a hair too small to allow the "stuff" in . . . so, the solution is -- a new door . . . that has been ordered and in the meantime plywood works.

Dino and Gail enjoyed the shade as work progressed and soon we will have our backyard to ourselves again. After the workers go home each day, we have re-introduced Quiddler into our daily activities -- if the wind isn't kicking up . . .

The Big Day


Today, Sunday is the "big-day" -- we started the day with a special treat for us -- breakfast out. We wandered over to "Omelette Express" in nearby Windsor and really enjoyed the huge omelettes. Dino was very good while we ate -- he stretched out under the table (on Gail's side) and was still the object of attention by many  of the other diners, some of whom stopped by to chat -- we have met more folks because of Dino.

After breakfast we wandered through the Windsor Farmer's Market which was very busy, very crowded and we even purchased some good-looking berries. Dino again got a lot of attention and questions and "pats" . . .


Back home, we celebrated with a few gifts -- Dino loves packages -- and had tea and coffee. Above you can see the "back then pics" of course in those days no color . . . and then some pics from today. In both sets of photos there is a family pet, gifts and flowers -- cake and candles may come later . . .

It is too hard to see but the framed item that Gail is holding is actually a four generation family tree of her maternal and paternal branches engraved in brass . . . she is also holding a couple of other special gifts as well . . . plus Dino.

Part of My Genealogical Week


I was involved with indexing again this week and I also attended two webinars from Legacy.com. The ability to attend these free webinars is really nice. I learn a lot and get enthused about different areas to pursue the search  . . .


As you can see the topics were interesting and the speakers were great as well. Legacy (and other sites) offer a variety of webinars and if you have the time it is time well spent. I have signed up for several more in the coming weeks.

If you would like to check Legacy out here is a link:   Legacy.com Webinars  They have some very interesting and knowledgeable folks lined up in the coming weeks.

The Other Part of My Genealogical Week

I have to say that it is not very often that this happens -- but I received a box of "goodies" containing old letters, old photos and an old bible pertaining to a branch of our family tree. It was from my brother who is thinning out some of his inventory and I was a very excited recipient of the "stuff"".

I have gone through most of the letters -- the bad thing is that they are all (except for one) in Swedish -- my Swedish is a bit rusty and in fact was never up-to-par, so I will look for ways to translate some of the letters.
And then too, the photo album contains a large number of photos of probable relatives -- none of whom are identified . . .

So I have my challenges -- but happily so. It has sparked my renewed focus on the branch of my maternal side that I suppose most of this material relates to:



In the above collage are a few examples of the letters that were there. Then some photos actually from my paternal branch that might or might not have anything to do with the cache. Never-the-less, I though I'd share the photos of Olaf Johnson and his parents -- who actually lived a few doors down form a paternal  great grandfather -- Samuel Martin.

So I have a renewed interest in checking out several of the branches of our tree because of receiving this box of goodies -- so thanks to Marv for supplying me with this. I hope to report back on some new information soon. I actually found in one of the letters, a piece of an old negative from the period of the late 1800s that I scanned and could see an image of a woman -- I just have to try to figure out who it might be . . . I do like the detective work though.

And so that was our week -- it isn't quite over yet, but you get a pretty good sense of it . . .


Have a good week, see you all in a few!
















Sunday, June 17, 2012

Hot Air -- Puppies -- & Balloons

Father's Day -- what better way to celebrate than to check out the Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic going on the previous two days . . . on Saturday, the hottest day that we have had so far this year at 103 -- you can believe that we had the a/c on . . . but this morning Dino and I wanted to beat the heat and also get a glimpse of the balloons. We went out early -- around 7:30 am and drove over to Windsor and while driving were treated to several low flying balloons.



These are some of the ones that we spotted -- there also was a balloon with a hang glider racing around it (top left) that was interesting. For some reason, this is most likely the closest we'll ever get to being inside one of those -- though I am sure the view is fantastic. When I used to travel a lot I would see the balloons over Albuquerque and I see their ad for that upcoming event in October of this year. There were always a huge number of balloons at that event.

Saturday, when Gail and I went looking for some sign of the balloons they had already flown and were down (11am) so we were successful earlier Sunday morning . . .

Down to Earth


Actually around the yard this weekend we continue to have new blooms popping out -- and some earlier ones leaving (early roses). It would be nice to know the names of everything.


The purple Irises are still great but you have to be fast to see them at times as they close up. New this week were the yellow versions and the flowers just in the bud stage.  Lavender looks and smells great  as does the oleander. Dino is all eyes and "ears" as I snapped the photos . . .

Just in Time for One Father, One Grandfather . . .


Gail was getting sentimental a bit as we all do from time to time (actually it was when we decided to move her "Hope Chest" to the garage temporarily) but she came across a couple of -- actually many things -- from her growing up days. One fits the category of this weekend:




The "boy" on the running board is her father, Jimmy Bouldron and the driver is Walt, her Grandfather. The picture was taken in 1923. I don't know the make and model of the auto but it looks pretty cool.


And since I have a large collection of business cards it was nice that Gail found one of Walt's cards. He was a Kent, Washington builder and contractor and built many homes and structures in that town including the still standing "Bouldron Building" in downtown Old Kent. I love the telephone number . . . so simple compared to today.


Dino's Week


There were a lot of activities for Dino this week, but on Tuesday evening we attended his GDB training session. This week had to do with "going to the mat" which is an important action in the life of a guide dog. Dino did fairly well but was probably more interested in making social connections AND checking out the three new pups that joined the group this week for their first training.




The three pups are across the top -- Fuji, Louisa and Hava -- two yellows and a black. All just as attractive as ever -- Dino seems so "grownup" compared to them even though he is only 8 1/2 months old himself.
He is shown going through the "mat" exercise and he keeps checking out other things . . .

The Search Continues

For a long time I have tried to locate my Mother's birth records -- to no avail. She was -- we know it -- born in Chicago on February 20, 1912. I have found her siblings birth information but not her's. This past week someone recommended that I might try looking in the actual record pages themselves. I had always looked in indexes. So I went to FamilySearch.org and started wading through hundreds of pages of births in the city of Chicago for the year 1912.


There are "thousands" of hand written pages to decipher -- and if my Mother's record was on the bottom of a page -- it might explain why her name never found it's way to an index -- so many bottom pages were torn and taped and mostly unreadable. Check out the above for examples -- and examples of almost impossible writing to figure out.

But -- after spending countless hours of eye-straining searching, I did NOT find her listed on the pages where she should have shown up.  So my search continues. It would be nice if one of my siblings could produce the record . . .

1940 Census 


Of course the indexing of this important census continues -- I indexed a few additional pages this week as well. The work is well over fifty percent completed and it will really be appreciated to be able to search the final index for all the folks in our tree . . .

At the1940Index.com site I happened on the following miscellaneous bits of information about living conditions in the '40s. And I included a couple of "ads" from that time frame as well.

 The glider ad struck me when I saw it because we were recently looking for gliders "like the kind my Grandparents had" on the front porch in Chicago . . . that's an amazing price -- $12.50 for a glider that today is a bit more. We haven't found the "right" one as yet, we are still looking.

Big News 


Several weeks ago I returned a DNA kit to Ancestry DNA for them to test my DNA for their new testing capabilities. And this week my results came back -- I was surprised and actually happy with the results so far -- I say so far because the results can change over time as the field of folks that are tested expands . . .


I have had my Y-DNA and Mitochondrial testing done several years ago. This new test that Ancestry is providing is far superior in the number of "markers" that are tested 700,000 versus under 100 for the previous tests -- so the results should be different. In the previous tests -- I never saw Scandinavian as the foremost likely ancestry -- even though I know that that is probable.

I have received several new "connections" that I'll have to follow up on -- 4th-6th cousins and beyond. It would really help if more HILES related folks would get tested. Comparisons could be made and probably more positive results shown.

You might check out Ancestry at Ancestry DNA to see more details of the program. It is really easy to do and fairly reasonable. This testing is in it's infancy and can be so helpful in determining family history. If you have watched any of the "Finding Your Roots" shows you've seen how they use it.

Lastly,  Found While Searching . . .


I check out a lot of different sites for a variety of things relating to our family's tree. This week while searching through old newspapers I found the following reference:




I know about the Hiles, Wisconsin -- actually two of them, I know about the Hiles,  in one of the Dakotas, and a few other references -- but I had not heard of the Hiles, California that is referred to in the above. If any one knows more and can substantiate this it would be appreciated . . .


And so went our week -- the aroma of slow cooking pulled pork has reached my desk and office.In about an hour we will enjoy pulled pork, twice baked potatoes and watermelon salad -- whew, now that's a Father's Day treat . . .

See you all in a few!









































Sunday, June 10, 2012

'tween Celebrations in Healdsburg

It is hotter today than it has been all week. We are "taking it easy" probably just like my cousin -- Elizabeth II, of course. She -- we haven't heard directly from her, has to be resting up for the next big events around her area -- the Olympics for example. We'll probably hear something as that time gets closer . . .
But the weather besides being windy all week has also been sunny all week with more of the same coming. The floral display in the neighborhood and in the yard is great:


We were not totally certain what all the flowers would be e.g. the Irises -- they started blooming earlier this week and it is good that I took the picture yesterday because today -- probably due to the heat -- they have closed up. The other flowers are just plain nice to see.
Our town is wrapping up the Jazz Festival today and as I wrote last week it has been fun. We will look forward to next year's festival and hopefully make plans early to attend the sessions that we would enjoy. The next event locally most likely is the "down home" 4th of July Celebration . . . this 'tween time is like the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas -- it moves fast.

Out of the Norm


We seem to have a regular habit when it comes to mealtime, especially breakfast. It is always easier to have "the same thing" every morning if it is agreeable to us. And so cereal is SO easy and practical and 99% of the time that is what we have -- but thank goodness for magazines and books and TV which provide ideas and possible changes in breakfast menus. Gail spotted a recipe (and a picture) of something that appealed to her and who am I to not agree . . . 
The pictures do not really do justice -- this was an exceptional taste treat. They are muffins made with corn meal and they have slices of bacon on top and eggs on the inside and topped off with a little butter and a little maple syrup . . . talk about a taste-treat -- wow! As you can see the muffin tin holds twelve and that
is what we made -- we each had two, so that leaves eight more for a couple of other days. I think it is probably  a little like the breakfasts that maybe some of our ancestors ate before going out to work on the farm . . . I made it as far as my desk and computer.

One Day This Week


We almost totally ignore political mail and political phone calls -- it is hard to ignore the front door though when they can see you . . . so we did engage just a tiny bit in current "political" things. What we do is to save up all the fliers and other things relating to ballot items and go over them the day before we go to vote.



So Tuesday of this week -- 5 June, we walked drove to our new voting location ( a couple hundred yards away as the crow flies). We rationalized the driving by combining several other errands with the voting trip. The new voting location for us is the school behind our house. The polls were "slow" in terms of the numbers of other voters -- but the probably eight poll workers all loved "meeting" Dino as he accompanied us to vote. Voting itself took all of a minute partly because we already knew how we were going to vote and the fact that there was little on the ballot.

Two propositions made the news and caused the most stir -- 28 and 29 -- one passed and the other was defeated mostly by the expenditures of large corporations likely to lose business if the measure passed. Many times in our household I have the feeling that on some things we cancel each other's vote . . .

The voting registrations of our ancestors can often be found and it is fascinating plus it clarifies time and location often. Sometimes the voting lists are the only record for a given person. So our action this week may be seen by those searching on our activities in the future . . .

Other News of the Week


So much happens every week that it is easy later to not even remember the events. I still am always "surprised" when during the Oscars e.g. the "in Memoriam" pictures are shown -- even though during the year I saw announcements of most of the folks it registers as a surprise many times.

This week there were a variety of things in the news that struck me -- for me because I do volunteer indexing for the 1940 Census (FamilySearch.org) the fact that over 50% of the census is now indexed is absolutely phenomenal. I worked on two states this week -- Illinois & Michigan. I was lucky to only have one page that was difficult to decipher -- it was the combination of poor penmanship and ethnic names that made it tedious. I only hope that folks researching "hard-to-spell" names try several spellings for their relatives to come up on any search.



The other news of the week was varied -- the loss of a well known, well respected author, Ray Bradbury.
And the disappointment of not being able to watch a possible "triple crown" winner . . . and to the lighter side of the news -- the "car talk" guys are scaling back their live show on Saturday mornings . . . there was a ton of other stuff going on but these stories stuck with me.

Summer Mode (for some of us)

We both have our "fun" things to do -- mine mostly stays the same throughout the year. Because Gail still works part of the year her summer activities take advantage of some of the activities she really enjoys. One such activity is puzzling -- that is working on a great challenging puzzle to block out such things as much of the news . . .

The above are a couple of the recent puzzles that Gail completed. They are NOT probably like the puzzles that our ancestors worked on because they are precision cut wooden puzzles employing some very interesting shapes. Dino can be seen just watching as she works tirelessly and with a determination to complete each one.

Click on the above and you can see some of the detail of the puzzles. The first one -- a gift on Valentine's day -- has to do with valentines. Since that day falls right at her busiest work time, now was the time that she could enjoy putting it together. The second puzzle -- one that was twice as big and had twice the number of pieces and came in two boxes, I thought would take her several weeks to complete and give her weeks of enjoyment  . . . she finished that in a few days -- but the puzzle will be left out so that every once in a while we can stop by and admire it.

If you'd like -- check out the website:    Liberty Puzzles   if you enjoy puzzles they have a beautiful product and are always coming out with new versions. Growing up my Mother often had a puzzle "going" some where in the house -- in my adult years I still love the challenge too!

The Last Two Days


Saturday and Sunday (right now) I would have loved attending Southern California's Genealogical Conference called Jamboree. Each year it is held usually in Burbank and offers a ton of classes and a ton of speakers -- all with one subject in mind -- guess . . .

But this year I was able to "stream" videos of several key speakers. And boy were they good. What a wonderful way to be able to enjoy and benefit from some very interesting (to me) people.



It felt just like being there when I tuned in. I have attended so many talks in hotel settings just like the above that I recognized all the physical features of the room and because I did not have the distractions of  "a lot of other folks" I got a lot out of the talks -- I can hardly wait to begin acting on many of the topics. My search for the tree dwellers can only be enhanced by what I learned during these sessions.

I thank SCGS for the opportunity to hear these speakers. One of these years maybe I can actually attend the live sessions. There are so many new and exciting things happening in the world of genealogy -- what a great way to spend my retirement days.  I look forward to what is coming next in genealogy. The digitization  of records and the innovative ways and means of accessing those records is unbelievable. It almost makes one want to get back into the work world . . .

Speaking of Innovative


Actually being retired, sometimes -- as I have mentioned before -- brings about a feeling of guilt over not having to go out to work and being productive and all. Of not having "goals and objectives"  being thrown at you and the prospect of the "evaluation" process. When I get that feeling I usually do one of two things -- I either go into the kitchen and bring a snack back to my desk, or I leave the desk and go take a brief nap. Sometimes I have done both  . . .I feel that I need to correct those solutions but probably not today.

Anyway, this week I stumbled upon a fun website. The site allows you to put pins into a map of the world. The pins represent events and/or people in your life. The pins can be as private as you like or they can spell out whatever you wish to share with the "world". The idea behind this is to foster possible connections with people from your past. For example, classmates maybe from grade school or co-workers from a long ago job. These folks just may stumble upon your pin and make a connection with you. There are some folks I think would be fun to connect briefly with and to see how life has treated them in the years gone by.

You can click on the above and maybe check out their website:  encounter me  I think it is fun for me so far to put some pins in relating to where I went to school, a couple of locations where my ancestors lived, a couple of places where I have lived, visited or worked . . . my map is on the lower left in the above.


So that is a peek at our week so far . . . coming up next week, project work hopefully will move forward and I can report "good" things about that. I guess we are never really through with things to do around a house but we think there comes a time when we will slow projects down . . .


We enjoyed burgers and fries last night, tonight it is ham steak Sunday night  . . .

See you all in a few . . .


















Sunday, June 3, 2012

Royal Jazz Jubilee Flotilla Project . . .

This was a holiday week carried over from last week . . . Monday was Memorial Day and for some reason for us -- it felt like a Holiday. Like the holidays from long ago growing up in the Chicago suburbs. I think I could even hear the faint sounds of the race cars from Indy just like we used to think we heard back then . . .


And in honor of the day we fired up the BBQ broiler and prepared some of the most delicious ribs in recent history along with some of the season's first corn-on-the-cob. To that we added cole slaw and our meal was complete -- later we would have the traditional dessert of ice cream and cookies. The pictures of the ribs along with sugar snap peas actually was for the next night's dinner as we had enough ribs for two nights -- that would probably not have happened in the past . . .

Keeping the Spirit of Memorial Day Going


The weather has been so nice and sunny lately that we felt it was a good day to renew our photographic endeavor for BillionGraves.com -- I believe that it is a very worthwhile project and it has been enlightening to us. There is a connection felt to others as we stand in a cemetery and take photos of the gravestones. We read each inscription and visualize the people and events that are carved into stone and metal -- some with pictures and some so hard to read due to wear over many decades.

So the three of us wandered around for about an hour or so in the very hot sun at Shiloh Cemetery in nearby Windsor. The name itself feels right and the cemetery is really well kept, clean and neat -- not like so many of the other nearby cemeteries, one within walking distance of our home for example . . .

Billion Graves (clickable) offers a very nice service and opportunity for volunteers. Using an iPhone or an iPad (after loading the free app) pictures are taken and then automatically sent to their website where the picture takers OR other volunteers can transcribe the names and dates.  For example, we took a little over 100 photos that day and when I got home and signed into the website -- some of those 100 had already been transcribed. I took some time away from the 1940 Census project to transcribe many of the photos that I had taken and so those 100 or more families that may be looking for where their ancestors and/or relatives are buried can just go in and do a search on the surname.

The nice feature of Billion Graves is that whenever I feel like it I can go in and transcribe a few graves . . . it might be something that any of you would want to do as well -- go visit their site and check it out.

Flotilla (I like mine steamed . . .) & Diamond Jubilee


Besides Memorial Day we have been caught up in some of the pomp relative to the celebration of the Queen having been on the throne for sixty years . . . I am feeling so much more connected to the British Monarchy for some strange reason and am enjoying the events. And it gives me a chance to use the word "flotilla" which is not a word that is used by me very often. I couldn't figure out why there was the need to have this huge collection of boats and all until I heard that it has been a tradition since the 1600s.




The celebration as shown above is so much more desirable than some of the events that we see from other parts of the world currently. I can not imagine living the life of "Royalty"  as we see it -- but some aspects of it would be fun.

Back to Reality


While those celebrations are going on, here at our house it is back to moving forward with a current project. We very carefully removed almost all the items that we had hastily stored in the pool house last August so that we could rid ourselves of a storage unit. Our now beautiful garage looks like the scenes of a "hoarding" show on TV -- needless to say we do not open the garage door for the neighbors or the rest of the world to see . . .



The above collage makes it appear that the room being worked on is quite large -- but it is rather small, but will be a vibrant addition to our home.  In these pics the bare studs can be seen as the electrical and plumbing are reconfigured to our plans. The previous use of this room was for a photography lab -- we all know what happened to photography and labs in particular ever since digital came about. The space now will be the bath associated with the "pool house".  We are several weeks out before completion but I have always believed in delayed gratification -- we look forward to that completion.

In the meantime we have some minor projects going on that include window coverings and that should also be completed in a few weeks -- the sun on our western exposed walls is harsh in the summer.

And Now the Royal Portion -- And a Happy Birthday . . .


This next piece came about as a result of my cousin Melissa (and yours as well). First, today is her birthday and I wish her the very best today! Melissa as you may know is the Granddaughter of Harold Hiles who was the brother of my Grandfather, Lloyd Hiles. This makes her a second cousin -- but to me a cousin IS a cousin -- and the number, whether it be first, second or even higher does not make any difference.

In keeping with that sentiment:


Can you believe it? A cousin is a cousin! I think the term "King of One's Castle" could take on a whole new meaning after discovering the above. If you click on the path above you'll see how actually I (and possibly you) find yourself much more connected to the "flotilla" earlier mentioned and possibly an explanation as to why I have been recently feeling more in awe of British Royalty . . .

Not along ago it was Reba, now Queen Elizabeth, I will be checking my mail more closely in the near future as word of this gets out. Thanks to Melissa for giving me the heads up to check this out and to Geni.com for putting the pathway together. Those Gilletts in out tree have really played a major role! If my parents only would have known . . .

A French Connection


Not in the tree sense but in a real down-home warm sense. Last night, Gail and I and Dino made our way to the French bakery in town -- Costeaux -- to hear and enjoy the experience of two Jazz groups. The bakery was the scene of one of the opening performances for the Jazz theme going on in town.

It is the 14th Annual Jazz Festival in Healdsburg.  Check out the details:  Healdsburg Jazz Festival (clickable)
The celebration goes on from June 1 -- through June 10th. We were lucky enough to be the guests of Dave & Lee Stare for the "New Horizon Stompers" a Dixieland group for which Dave plays the banjo. The several pieces they did were great!



After the "Stompers" performed, the second group, Mal Sharpe's Big Money in Jazz Dixieland Band performed -- both groups were excellent and we felt it was one of the most enjoyable evenings that we have experienced in a long time. Part of that was the fact that Dino enjoyed the performances as well by staying right by our sides for the two and a half hours without a whimper. It helped too that numerous folks came up to pet and admire him. Our thanks go to Lee & Dave!

What's on TV


Somewhat related to genealogy -- though not mine I don't think, was the current mini series this week about "the Hatfields & McCoys"  . . . we recorded it so we still have one more episode to watch tonight probably. But the series was well done -- though gruesome in parts -- it is hard to believe that these two families actually did exist and they did feud. Supposedly the feuding has subsided as evidenced by a 2000 reunion attended by both families.



The above thanks to History.com and Kimberly Powell of About.com shows the characters in the series. There are also a couple of websites -- one each for the Hatfields and one for the McCoys. I have to wonder how many other feuding families there are out there. In the news this week was a story in the Minneapolis area about the "neighbor from hell" as the news put it . . . we are so lucky . . .

Lastly


Just a card from wackywits.com that seems to fit the typical response lately for those of us retired folks . . .


I actually can relate to that as well as "I started out with nothing, and I still have most of that left" . . .

That's our week, since we were out and about last night, it will be "burgers and fries" tonight.

Have a good week, see you in a few . . .