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Saturday, October 12, 2013

Major League Seasonal Colors

We actually used the heater a couple of times this week to "take the edge off" in the morning. The afternoons were back to warm temps and the early to late evenings were back to edgy.  Major league baseball division and league championship series are underway as we speak. We have watched some of the games and have renewed our enjoyment of the slower paced games.

The colors of the MLB and the season are abundant. The array around the yard continues and the clear skies are creating some visual masterpieces in the air:


Most of the above are from the yard -- there are four photos though from the family room. In the bright sunshine there is plenty of glowing leaves and petals to enjoy and inside the basket of Himalayan salt crystals glow with a brilliant orange. The basket looks like live embers and is pleasing to see. There is supposed to be a slight soothing fragrance given off as well -- I have not noticed that but I'm sure it is there.

Dates & Anniversaries from our Tree

Besides the numerous birthdays this week there are nine wedding anniversaries as well. Also one of our cousins joined the Union Army during this week in 1862.


We wish all the best as we remember those on the above list.

TV Genealogy this Week

The Genealogy Roadshow, for me has been really refreshing. The series is three quarters done and there is just one more show this season.  This past Monday night they featured requests from San Francisco folks.
We hoped that we would see someone that we knew maybe -- a long-shot of course and it did not happen.

We did though see several folks that were able to have their genealogy questions answered. The show took place at the San Francisco Mint in downtown.


Next week -- Monday night the 14th -- the last of the four shows this season will air. It will be from Austin, Texas and it promises to be very interesting with a variety of different genealogical questions solved.

Of interest too is that The Genealogy Roadshow is calling for applications to be "in the show" next season. So that means if you have a story to confirm or a brickwall maybe to solve -- go to the website and fill out the questionnaire.

Check out their website:    Genealogy Roadshow  and supply the needed information on the provided forms and maybe we'll see you in the next season -- that would be fun!

Civil War Cousins from our Tree

We have several folks that have fought in the Civil War who are from our tree, but today I am reminded of two who supposedly joined on the same day back on October 11, 1862. Amos Hiles joined the 114th Ohio Volunteers, Company H as did his Uncle, John C Hiles.


Click on the charts above to see the relationship to me for each man. Amos was just seventeen when he enlisted and sadly about six months later he died somewhere near St Louis. He is buried in Jefferson Barracks Cemetery, in St Louis (I have been there for another service).

John C Hiles, the Uncle of Amos, was a musician attached to the 114th Cavalry and did make it through the war, serving through June of 1864. He died in 1896.

Columbus Weekend

When we heard on the news that this was a "three-day weekend" we had to stop and think about that. What holiday was it -- then our school day memories kicked in and we realized that it was Columbus Day or as some of California calls it -- "Indigenous People's Day".


Right away we wondered what we were going to serve for dinner on the Holiday and so we looked up a typical meal on board the Santa Maria as shown above -- who doesn't love Cod Cakes. I'm sure it is better than the Norwegian Cod -- Lutefisk . . .

Usually this might be a mid-fall break for the Federal working group -- but then we remembered that they were already "off" and would gladly work on the 14th . . .

There is much controversy about Columbus Day.  Growing up we accepted the day and went about our business as usual. Today some states do not recognize the day at all and others have a variety of names for the day.

Still Working on Pictures

I utilized my portable scanner -- the Flip Pal -- and while watching Monday Night Football and also a MLB championship game I scanned a ton more of the photos that I recently received. My fingers were blackened from cutting many of the photos loose from a hundred year old scrapbook that must have belonged to my maternal Grandmother.

My maternal Grandfather owned and operated a dental laboratory in Chicago and while not certain I think my Grandmother must have used some sort of dental adhesive to affix the photos as a lot of them could not be freed from their black backings.



Since the book was my maternal Grandmother's, above are just "some" of the many pictures of my Mother that I can identify. I had never seen these photos before. I have to guess that most of them were taken in Marinette, Wisconsin and some others in Iowa. Of course others were taken in Chicago.

I can usually recognize my Grandmother, Hildred -- Hildur -- Mamie, easily in the photos with my Mother. As to some of the others with her -- it is only a guesstimate.

As my Mother was born in 1912 many of the photos I have scanned are over 100 years old.

On Our Nightstand for Reading

Well, we finally finished "Manson" none too soon for Gail -- I enjoyed the detailed writing a lot and had mixed feelings when it came to a conclusion. That story and era seems so long ago but not so much when we get news about "Charlie" still in prison. His next parole date opportunity is when he is about 94 . . .

But we have started another book -- this one a biography and we have stayed in the entertainment field again. It is fun to read about folks that we have come to know and enjoy from music or film or TV. And this person we actually met -- albeit briefly:


Gail and I were attending a party at the home of Philip Adams -- her former Father-in-Law. Also attending was George Lucas and his current lady-friend, Linda Ronstadt. At one point we did meet both George and Linda and mostly talked briefly about George's two children.  It seems so long ago . . .

We are enjoying her book so far and are at the point where she has left her home and is making her start into the music world. We look forward to reading more about her life -- we always enjoyed her singing.

And Lastly

We actually have decorated the house a bit for the upcoming Halloween time -- we are way ahead of the game and almost ahead of the rest of the block. We also have tons of candy at the ready (and we have not opened any as yet to my knowledge).


Halloween bunting . . . amazing and so easy to hang -- too bad it didn't match the size of the flag bunting. Oh well, Dino is impressed.

In the early night sky the other night the setting sun reflected off some jet trails but by the time I retrieved my camera the plane was almost out of sight.

A slight half-moon can be seen in the lower left picture as well -- we are enjoying the displays . . .


That is a bit of our week -- we hope that you had a good week as well. Burgers tonight! See you in a few!














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