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Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Look Out Back

The look in the back yard has changed in the last few days and not just from the growing garden plants. The changes now reflect (or not) a more practical -- we hope -- condition for the pool and it's evaporating water in the summer heat:

It looks really blue until the sun drains off the excess water on top and then it looks like a splotchy terrain map. The photo of Dino in the middle and upside down makes him look entirely different as well.
The really interesting thing (at least to us) is that Dino has never shown any interest in going into the pool other than a "definite NO"  when we were in the water and tried to coax him to join us . . . as a matter of fact he let out a loud bark -- only the third bark he has ever produced (that we know of).

But when the pool cover was finished being cut to size and adjusted for the shape and was floating on the surface for the first time -- Dino, in his mind saw a solid surface and started across the pool -- only to wind up very wet on his front legs and pulling back in time to look sheepishly and embarrassed on the edge. He has not tried to test the new surface again . . .

Webinars This Week

What would the week be like without webinars -- I hope that I do not find out. This week I attended two webinars from and about the same product -- Heritage Collector (HC) -- software to enhance the way to use the many photos that we now seem to collect -- or at least me. I have thousands on my hard drive and thousands on discs and then thousands of actual hard copies of photos.

So when I get the opportunity to learn more about photo management and other topics relating to the use of photos I am eager and willing to learn. Both of this weeks webinars dealt with a hands-on approach to showing us the way to accomplish more than we ever imagined with respect to images and pictures.


I am just getting started using this software and I am excited about the many things that I can hopefully accomplish with it. It is a complex suite of services and fortunately the developer is willing to put on a webinar almost weekly to cover the features and a "how-to" explanation for success.

The #1 and #2 Probable Reasons that I am NOT a Retired Farmer (in Wisconsin)

Besides the webinars and the usual working "in the trees" and I might add working in the apple tree on the side of the house along with Gail (we collected about 8 bags of apples that we will bring to the food donation center) I found time to visit some of my favorite websites as well. 

And of course if a website is one that offers interesting and thought provoking photos then it it really desirable -- and the following does just that for me and many others:


I found the above series of photos to be of interest for a variety of reasons. The top two are amazing looking
 structures -- for what they are. I just had never really seen any like those in actuality. The two on the bottom are more like what I remember and even those may be nicer versions . . .

Getting back to -- reasons -- in the 1950s it was my Father's dream to own a farm and we spent many weekends driving from Northern Illinois to parts all over Wisconsin looking at farms. My Mother was not as enthused about farming as was my Dad. 

So, the deal breaker on possible farms that we looked at was -- plumbing -- if there was no inside plumbing then my Mother had an "out" so-to-speak because that was the deal-breaker.

So this website brought out those memories when I looked at their "Old Picture of the Day" this week. It is a fun site -- and you can take a peek:    Old Photo of the Day     each week there is a theme to enjoy and conjure up thoughts and memories.

To finish the farming tale -- every farm we looked at had no inside toilet facilities -- but after seeing one farm that was desirable in every other way AND my father promised that his first project would be to "put inside facilities" into the house, we all went home to discuss it only to find out that someone else purchased the farm the next day . . . I believe that we never got that close again to owning "the farm".

Folks From the Tree


There they are -- our tree people. Actually we are going to have to scout out a bigger tree to support some of the families that we have. Today would have been the 109th wedding anniversary  of a family structured similarly as the above -- five girls that is:

August 24th, 1904, Henry John Rahman married Edna Marie Benson in Coupeville, Washington. Together they had five girls (a fact that Henry apparently did not share with his new wife in 1915 -- Jenny Jensen).

There are a lot of tales about the families shown above and some of those stories will eventually be told in future posts. If we were just looking at names and dates only it would never divulge the lively and interesting events of the two families. 

These families are from my wife's side of the tree so my knowledge is from what she has told me. Henry was quite the character and he and his wives produced nine children -- seven girls and two boys. Just to give a little insight -- one of the girls was my wife's Mother and another of those girls was the Mother of my wife's first husband . . . there are a lot of stories "from the tree".

A Visitor from the East SouthWest

She hails from Austin, Texas -- now -- but she used to be from here. She loves returning to visit Healdsburg and the many relatives and friends that she has here. We were glad to have the chance to visit with Romy at the house on two occasions this past week. 
Romy Stare grew up here and from an early age her family and Gail's were often together -- enjoying the Wine Country here in Northern California. 


Romy is the middle child shown above and the other two are Gail's kids, Jennifer and Geoffrey. Fortunately we can identify the beverage above as "Cragmont" ginger-ale . . . they seem to be having a great time too.

On & Off the Nightstand

We read (I read out-loud to G) each night before drifting off -- which may occur at any given moment depending on the rigors of the day and the interest in the book at hand. We just finished a book that we agreed was "pretty heavy" and are now seeking a lighter book to enjoy:



And we think we have found it -- "Manson -- The Life and Times of Charles Manson" okay so it doesn't sound like lighter subject matter reading, but we have read the first two chapters and at least I have found it very interesting.
The author has seemingly really done his homework and so far has presented the facts in a very interesting manner -- and if I wasn't so tired late at night I'd keep reading longer than usual . . . the stage is being set kind of like Truman Capote did in "In Cold Blood" years ago.

And Lastly

Many times as I look at the census records or other documents for early relatives (1700s/1800s) I gloss over the occupation listed for them because I have no idea really what they are and I do not feel like taking the time "to look them up". 

So I found this at Genealogy Bank a while back and found it to be helpful -- maybe you will too:


The answers are of course the upside-down letters in the key. It was an interesting look
at the explanations clarifying at least some of the occupations of our ancestors. There
might be a reason though that I have not seen "Margrave" attached to our people . . .

And so that is a bit of our week -- we hope that your week was good, see you all in a few . . .

Burgers tonight!























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