tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68571979719422811762024-03-05T10:35:14.711-08:00Healdsburg Heritage HoundA bit of home town happenings along with personal events and the current status of the genealogy search.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.comBlogger435125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-91956183514265461412019-01-05T07:29:00.000-08:002019-01-05T07:29:32.455-08:00♪ So Long, Farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu . . . ♪Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu!<br />
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After eight years of once per week posting, I am going to cease weekly posts and maybe, maybe if I get inspired, I'll post at infrequent times.<br />
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Thanks to each of you for your comments and for just "listening" to rambling thoughts on the current topics that came to mind.<br />
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So -- what happened to last week's post? There was none due to my being treated for kidney stones for five days . . . in the hospital.<br />
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I'm mending slowly and getting Gail and me back to a more regular routine. I do have to return for another procedure to actually remove stones from both the kidneys and bladder -- hopefully, I can<br />
have better preparations for home care this time . . .<br />
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So, without further "adieu" we wish you all the best! Hope to see you all "in a few"! 👫<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-29646817630967078622018-12-22T13:49:00.001-08:002018-12-22T13:49:53.905-08:00Reddish Sky This MorningDoes that mean rain or does that mean Santa is on his way . . . maybe some of both. We think that we have made all the preparations for the big day -- but there is always that nagging feeling that there is something else that needs to be done.<br />
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Around the house, this morning -- with "traditional" Christmas tunes wafting throughout, these are some of the decorations. We actually have three lighted and one unlighted trees albeit miniaturized.<br />
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Growing up we mostly had the tree and maybe a few Christmas candles scattered through the house. As I recall, the tree usually went up on Christmas Eve and came down promptly at New Year's.<br />
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Our decorations inside and outside are usually up for about a month. I think tonight we may cruise through town to catch a glimpse of the holiday show. There always are several award-winning displays around -- but it is best seen after dark.<br />
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Speaking of the tree, my father used to go on his own to get a tree. And it usually was on the day before Christmas.<br />
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I remember how nice it was to have that pine fragrance permeate the house. These days we have a couple of "pine-scented" sticks to try to recreate that smell. If you are up close, you can detect the pine.<br />
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The kids -- me included -- usually got to put on the tinsel -- but only if you did it "one strand at a time". We had a nice collection of ornaments and we were careful not to shatter any of them as we put them on the tree.<br />
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The lights were another matter -- that job was left to our parents. And it could be a frustrating experience when one bulb burnt out -- the whole strand might go out and then you'd have to check each bulb until you locate the one that needed changing. So glad that we have come a long way from that. I imagine that is what was said when candle-lit trees went out of use.<br />
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I do not recall seeing any presents until Christmas morning. I'm not sure where my parents stored them, probably my older siblings knew that kind of information.<br />
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But I do remember associating cigar-aroma with the Christmas Eve wrapping fest that my folks had.<br />
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Apparently, my father would receive a Christmas cigar each year from his boss at work -- and he would smoke it while wrapping the gifts. That is the only time of the year that a cigar was smoked that I recall even though I enjoyed the cigar fragrance a lot.<br />
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So traditions have changed dramatically since those days. I might purchase Christmas gifts throughout the year as things strike my fancy. Then I do wait until the last minute to do the wrapping myself -- no cigar though -- being retired I have no boss to gift me one . . .<br />
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Of course, we have a Christmas puzzle project going on. We are about a little over half-way and we have the hardest part to finish -- mostly various shades of bluish sky sprinkled with snow-covered branches AND the bulk of the decorated Christmas tree.<br />
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It has been an enjoyable puzzle and we are on track to finish about the same time that Santa arrives -- hopefully bringing us some new puzzles . . .we've put in probably 600 of the 1000 pieces.<br />
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There is a theme to this post . . . but our street today and most-likely all across the country is full of active Santas (UPS, FedEx, and the USPS)are racing up and down the street dropping off packages.<br />
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I have to say that not one gift that we purchased did we go into a "brick and mortar" store to do that -- online all the time.<br />
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When are we ever going to get "drone" delivery that we keep hearing about -- that will really be interesting, and a little creepy as well. Imagine seeing those devices descending from the sky to deliver our packages. What would our ancestors think?<br />
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And finally:<br />
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We do wish everyone the very best Christmas this year, 2018! Hope to see you all "in a few"! 🎅Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-1885115824985200902018-12-15T13:48:00.000-08:002018-12-15T13:48:38.909-08:00♫ . . . It's Rainy Outside . . . ♪Not to be confused with the controversial "Baby, It's Cold Outside" . . . but it is cold outside and inside as well -- at the moment (explanation later).<br />
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The birds are lovin' it -- they are filling up on seed and suet at our feeding stations. We enjoy watching them from the comfort of our couch . . . we're old.<br />
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That is a quick look at our backyard area this morning as the rain came lightly down and the birds went berserk in a feeding frenzy.<br />
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I am not sure what kinds of birds these are but do know that they are hungry. In the far right picture, one bird can be seen digging into the feeder while directly below is another bird catching the spillage.<br />
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We are really glad for the rain and are expecting more in the coming days.<br />
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So, why is it cold inside . . . well, we shut down the heat every night and open the bedroom windows to get a "good night's sleep" and when it is cold, we do.<br />
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Then in the morning, when the house temp is around 60° I turn on the heat when I get up so that it is warm when Gail gets up.<br />
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But this morning, somehow I turned on the a/c and went about getting ready and sitting in a cool family room reading the paper wondering why it was still cold in the house and passing it off as the outside rainy weather was permeating through the walls more than normal . . .<br />
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The situation got remedied when I went to check the thermostat and realized my error -- old . . .<br />
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This time of the season there is so much that I need to be reminded about that I don't think that the "string" is working all that well.<br />
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My concentration seems to be lacking in some of the details like things that need to be ordered. Things like items that are used up and need to be reordered like groceries.<br />
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Then there are the things like gifting that need to be taken into consideration and the assurance that everything and everyone is taken care of -- e.g. like the mail person, the paper person, the yard person, the pool person, and a few others.<br />
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Maybe I need heavier string or more fingers, it's getting bothersome though. At some point, I'll just probably shrug and say "it is what it is . . ." and move on -- maybe work some on the puzzle . . .<br />
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Speaking of puzzles, we finished the "Sam's Garage" after almost two weeks of struggling.<br />
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It was a difficult puzzle partly due to the fact that the pieces were small and there was 1000 of them and all showed up in the final effort.<br />
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Gail was convinced that we could never finish this one (but she almost says that about every one).<br />
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She also was convinced at one point that there were more pieces than we needed to finish the puzzle and then thought that there were missing pieces -- neither was the case, thank goodness.<br />
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We have started a new puzzle today and it is "Christmas" themed and should be done by Christmas.<br />
It has 1000 pieces, but the pieces are bigger which means more of the "evidence" is shown on each piece and therefore a bit easier to recognize . . . again, we're old.<br />
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More puzzling -- well -- certainly from this perspective, it looks like a gigantic puzzle.<br />
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It is the representation of our family tree which sprouts new growth frequently as<br />
I add (and subtract) things weekly.<br />
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And if you enlarge this you might see the branch where you and your family can be found . . . but most likely, not.<br />
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The work on the family tree is as rewarding as the other jigsaw puzzle -- the difference is that there is no finish in view. Every day there are changes and so the view is only as good as that particular day.<br />
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And as echoing what we hear from everyone else these days -- time is flying:<br />
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And that is not all that (who) is flying. Santa arrives in the time frames listed above and it is even shorter wait now . . .<br />
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I'm getting that "panicky" feeling again about "are we ready for Christmas" and what else needs to be done . . .<br />
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That is a bit of our week. See you all "in a few"! 👫<br />
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Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-14224296069684785322018-12-09T14:44:00.000-08:002018-12-09T14:44:31.042-08:00In the Interim . . .Okay, so it is Sunday, not Saturday I have a written excuse, but I think the dog ate it . . . we had too much on our plate yesterday for me to blog, so today is it.<br />
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Only 16 days until Christmas and all through the house, we're trying to prepare. That includes mostly shopping both for gift items and also essentials. We actually made it out to Costco after several months and made the round trip in 1 1/2 hours and got most of what we went for . . . primarily meat for the freezer and so we hope that PGE does not randomly shut off our power . . .<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVkHTPBHePPg_LzCyBvImWX7IXgwcESnkqMWMsfBYAUOL8Tl27_OK7vxKEZxKo2eYQd5YvgpR_b_pN4n-vjWR-FN-c9JdeeQbV9DgKgkdc4eobaStAcuFN26TbutVsPOEEMJQfIsM9Tvw/s1600/InterimShopping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="1600" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVkHTPBHePPg_LzCyBvImWX7IXgwcESnkqMWMsfBYAUOL8Tl27_OK7vxKEZxKo2eYQd5YvgpR_b_pN4n-vjWR-FN-c9JdeeQbV9DgKgkdc4eobaStAcuFN26TbutVsPOEEMJQfIsM9Tvw/s400/InterimShopping.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So now that we have some essentials taken care of in this interim period we will concentrate on gift purchasing, gift wrapping and mailing . . .<br />
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We are not interested in the retail blood sports so will focus on online sites, primarily Amazon and Costco -- so nice!<br />
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This week was a somber one for sure and we did manage to watch a lot of the arrangements made for GHWB. He was definitely a quality human being and so worthy of respect. For me, I was so grateful for the way he impacted many things especially Desert Storm.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLusN22FLQxv5zSFfn_rdu8PU4SJjXeD7L0Je1e6X6HH1uGPMqQB7kt5oqKbprDe9s7C6orOInJZo6lrNCX9Uh1RDoAvBP7g_Js9DuF9hRk8H9w2noFq1h5l4LVqCEwCxUl6NBplyBRw/s1600/SullyBushDec2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="1600" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLusN22FLQxv5zSFfn_rdu8PU4SJjXeD7L0Je1e6X6HH1uGPMqQB7kt5oqKbprDe9s7C6orOInJZo6lrNCX9Uh1RDoAvBP7g_Js9DuF9hRk8H9w2noFq1h5l4LVqCEwCxUl6NBplyBRw/s400/SullyBushDec2018.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For me, the above collage -- says it all.<br />
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But even though it is Christmas season there still are other celebrations to hold -- including two events for two special women in my branch of the tree: Lisa & Marilee have birthdays this week.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAbDFLLrAQBbdFs_eERi8UGJaQhYYDxdYLV1JKDhoGB-8DOM5iaMJMAB6957X1nowPQqPZRlsy8aDeVX4P-vErPVJ7oj9xPwUjKfSq6pV4SThgbiL6W_PoyKcpBfdB11p2OKlfYTJAm4/s1600/LisaHiles50.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAbDFLLrAQBbdFs_eERi8UGJaQhYYDxdYLV1JKDhoGB-8DOM5iaMJMAB6957X1nowPQqPZRlsy8aDeVX4P-vErPVJ7oj9xPwUjKfSq6pV4SThgbiL6W_PoyKcpBfdB11p2OKlfYTJAm4/s1600/LisaHiles50.bmp.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuOkxxFtrmOkmwI2ZGkw1Mh2y_XB7S0nFOl0pXBc6-lWUBngKU5KaATDfYZSVzwj7lZ5fH5AGEiwDoZU32WL_8Ur4ZT5czJ2YLWVWKbrVPWySjz2Wf6Io1tRapRTvrrL7EdfxiYc8dMA/s1600/Marilee81.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCuOkxxFtrmOkmwI2ZGkw1Mh2y_XB7S0nFOl0pXBc6-lWUBngKU5KaATDfYZSVzwj7lZ5fH5AGEiwDoZU32WL_8Ur4ZT5czJ2YLWVWKbrVPWySjz2Wf6Io1tRapRTvrrL7EdfxiYc8dMA/s1600/Marilee81.bmp.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT07eh0YK9mEevMqHKQSI5BvjLzqzelu_JiYoZwH80DUATaEgfsU7wlHiO-iWejpAN4zy78i7a6koPSszG91yij6R4sjnwOlrzBLog2emoZCmgR453a-V5UoW5sEYELmNCF5dyIRBteUc/s1600/HappyBirthdayWishes.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="643" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT07eh0YK9mEevMqHKQSI5BvjLzqzelu_JiYoZwH80DUATaEgfsU7wlHiO-iWejpAN4zy78i7a6koPSszG91yij6R4sjnwOlrzBLog2emoZCmgR453a-V5UoW5sEYELmNCF5dyIRBteUc/s200/HappyBirthdayWishes.bmp.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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For Lisa, it is her 50th -- wow! And for Marilee also a wow marker!<br />
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We wish them both the very best on their special days. It is unfortunate that they both live so far away and we can't share in the celebrations -- but we do send our love.<br />
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Lisa lives in a climate that is typically 15-20° cooler than here, and Marilee lives where it is typically 20-30° cooler than here (in the winter time). And they both live where there is much more precipitation than here.<br />
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So besides climbing in the family trees what have we been up to -- puzzling, of course:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZmgstSVdqbUzeX_eVEsIEN4XfFGtI4c41gBUCjVJbFtGWJW5p1lvpKxIfBP_zMRzP83GKx0JJAg1FVGifPczSqFXZw9VbpYiKOIUoXu_QWRsHRs7S8uQ-wvAElEyJzQvZebeSWsEdGc/s1600/MakingProgress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="1600" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZmgstSVdqbUzeX_eVEsIEN4XfFGtI4c41gBUCjVJbFtGWJW5p1lvpKxIfBP_zMRzP83GKx0JJAg1FVGifPczSqFXZw9VbpYiKOIUoXu_QWRsHRs7S8uQ-wvAElEyJzQvZebeSWsEdGc/s400/MakingProgress.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This started out as a very difficult puzzle for us -- it must be because the pieces are very small and so very little is exhibited in each piece. But little-by-little we have made significant progress and the above is where we are at this time.<br />
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We expect to finish sometime this week -- if we are lucky. I particularly enjoyed this one after getting more into it as I have owned my share of VW Bugs and have always liked them. Now they have announced again that the last VW Bug will be rolling off the line soon -- they have done this twice before and have always resumed production -- maybe this time too.<br />
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Working jigsaw puzzles is a lot like working on family trees -- one piece at a time and before you know it you have a tree full. This week I spent a lot of time adding to one of the trees that I created for a good friend.<br />
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Our friends, unfortunately, lost their home in last years Sonoma County fires and along with it all their personal things including old family photos and family genealogical information. I created two binders representing family information for two siblings to replace some of what they lost.<br />
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I found the experience satisfying knowing that they will get a lot of enjoyment from those binders.<br />
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And lastly:<br />
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Dino, is taking advantage every night of his canine-cave bed as we open the windows at night -- and the outside temperature gets into the 30s and inside the house, it is about 62° -- so it is chilly but oh so good for sleeping -- we turn our electric blankets on . . .<br />
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That is a bit of our week. See you all "in a few"! 👫Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-34757627529687376472018-12-01T14:14:00.002-08:002018-12-01T14:14:48.658-08:00December Begins, Rain . . .It was raining again on and off in our area this week. It is projected to rain again next week -- how did we get so lucky all of a sudden.<br />
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The beautiful December foliage is apparent on our street. Every shade of fall colors is displayed and we marvel at the distinctive colors as we peer out our kitchen window.<br />
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The December foliage is brilliant and it happens every year that the trees give us their brilliance. I took a quick shot during a rain break to -- let the dog out and to snap some photos.<br />
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Of course, little by little we are still adding some touches to our holiday decorations. Every year we start out slowly and then maybe feeling nostalgic we add some more "stuff".<br />
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So far it has just been the outside that we have actually done anything to do with decor.<br />
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Gail is adjusting the annual Christmas Wreath (thank you Damian) near the front door.<br />
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We notice that our across-the-street neighbors have a very similar wreath put up the same day that we did . . .<br />
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We have a few other outside decorations that we will hopefully be digging out and put up to round out the display for this year.<br />
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At the moment, we'll wait a few more days and then search the garage for where we stored the items and for the day to be more or less a dry one.<br />
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Of course, while the rain is really welcome -- and it has "put out the fire" it has also brought about a new disaster especially for the folks that have been thrown out of their homes and are camping . . .<br />
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Over in Butte County and the town of Paradise, displaced families are now having to deal with mudslides and water.<br />
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I can not imagine how uncomfortable it would be to be living maybe in a tent and have to deal with these elements.<br />
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Normal life patterns and everyday living for the thousands dealing with the loss of their homes, jobs and maybe loved ones is unimaginable.<br />
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It surely will be years before any sense of community living can be achieved. Good friends of ours came by this week who lost their home in last year's fire -- and are finally making the decision to NOT rebuild, but to buy a different home.<br />
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These folks lived on a street that had 21 homes, 20 of which were totally destroyed and now maybe two are thinking of rebuilding.<br />
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The rest may or may not rebuild. If someone is in their later years and experience something like this, two or three years may not be a time frame that is doable.<br />
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The new disaster that just happened in Alaska is another cruel reminder for Californians as well. It is always in the back of our minds about the "coming" earthquake . . .<br />
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We experienced our own "mini-crisis" the other evening. Fortunately, all's well that ends well, so they say.<br />
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We were happily watching TV the other evening when I thought there was a "beeping" maybe on the TV -- so I muted it, but I still heard the beep.<br />
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I have to say that both Gail and I have some hearing "issues" and while I heard something, Gail did not.<br />
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So, I got up and went to check on the rest of the house. When I got in the middle where the hallway is I definitely heard a periodic loud beeping.<br />
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We have a smoke detector unit, a carbon monoxide detector unit, and a glass breakage detector unit in that area and when the beep would sound I could not determine from which unit it was coming.<br />
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I figured that it must be the battery in the smoke detector so I climbed up and changed that, but there still was the beeping. I called ADT and they said that they saw an alarm from the smoke detector in the hallway and we reset it after my battery change -- but the beeping still continued.<br />
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I rechecked the stand-alone carbon monoxide alarm and it was indicating that we should evacuate quickly. ADT advised also that since they were not showing any more alarm from their unit, that we should evacuate and call the fire department.<br />
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This was at about 9 pm and it was raining -- so we did call (911) and the fire department was dispatched. Dino, Gail and I were waiting on the front porch when the fire truck pulled up and four firemen came in.<br />
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They used a monitor and quickly determined that there was NO carbon monoxide -- but they spotted the fourth detector down the hallway that I had forgotten about and it was the beeping unit.<br />
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Upon examination, they determined that the unit was beeping because it needed replacing -- not just the battery, but the whole unit, which is also hard-wired. Apparently, after so many years the unit expired and tells us by beeping, as if there was smoke or carbon monoxide in the air, that it was time to replace it.<br />
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We are so glad that it happened at 9pm and not three or four hours later when it would have really panicked us in the middle of the night -- which could easily have happened. To me there must be a better way . . . after 5 years of installing it, it had to be replaced . . . hard to remember to do that.<br />
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We have ordered another unit and will try to remember in about 5 years to replace it . . .<br />
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Well, it is just a little over three weeks till Christmas. It again has snuck up on us in plain sight.<br />
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It always happens that once Thanksgiving is over that Christmas almost immediately happens -- and it is happening.<br />
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We aren't planning any retail blood-sport holiday shopping trips. But we will be purchasing things our favorite way -- online.<br />
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The trick is to be able to track all the many different orders coming and to be sure and be home to ward off the porch visitors. So far we have been lucky and we try to keep an eye out in the neighborhood for unusual activity.<br />
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I still find it interesting to "shop" at this time of the year though it really is so different than when there were little ones to buy for and do things for . . .<br />
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And lastly, another look at DNA commentary -- this time in "Zits" comics:<br />
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How do they come up with this stuff? Some of it may bear resemblance to how some folks feel when they receive their analysis -- we are happy with our findings, so far. I just can't keep up with the huge numbers of matches.<br />
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That is a bit of our week, hope to see you all "in a few"! 👫<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-76160114840091624852018-11-24T14:01:00.001-08:002018-11-24T14:01:49.532-08:00. . . FINALLY . . .The fires are not completely out here in Northern California, but moving closer to that -- at least for now. The three days of rain have succeeded in a major assist.<br />
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Of course, there are thousands of other concerns as well related to this horrible event. Thousands of folks who like most of us usually enjoyed Thanksgiving around a well-set table and the warmth and comfort of friends and family were forced to spend this holiday at shelters and even tent cities.<br />
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The rains began here on Wednesday, the 21st of November. They lasted through Friday, but today, Saturday, it is bright and sunny -- at least in Healdsburg.<br />
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It is predicted that we will receive more rain next week beginning on Tuesday -- what a real "Thanksgiving"! We have an amazing gardener -- he showed up today along with the sun. We have had the same person -- Rafael -- for almost twenty years and he has only missed one week and that due to a heart attack.<br />
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Speaking of Thanksgiving, we had a great time spent with some of our loved ones (Gail, Dino and me) and enjoyed the complete dinner traditionally served on that day.<br />
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As a matter of fact, we had the exact same dinner last night as well substituting corn for green beans and adding a small dinner roll and cranberry sauce for Gail.<br />
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And guess what -- it was sooo good the last two nights we will repeat it once more tonight -- but that will be it for this year.<br />
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Helping the traditional day's activities, we watched part of three NFL games -- speeding through each so that we saw all the action plays in about an hour per game instead of the usual three hours per game. What a deal -- and we napped later in the afternoon . . .<br />
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This year it happened that while perusing the "Nextdoor" app for Healdsburg I came across an ad for gutter cleaning (which we really needed) and by the way putting up Christmas lights was available too.<br />
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We felt lucky that we got our gutters cleaned out just one day before the rain came. And the lights are up and on too.<br />
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We had the outline of the roof lighted along the gutter lines and when I took this picture at dusk, the full moon appeared off in the western sky. We have taken to turning off the lights when we retire and then they come back on the next evening at dusk. So far, so good -- no burnt out bulbs . . .<br />
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We have a few more decorations to put up in the coming days but who knows we may just be "okay" with the new lights . . .<br />
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And we haven't just been doing "nothing" in terms of puzzles -- we finished the one off to the right on Monday the 19th.<br />
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Besides being varied and fun-to-do, there were many nostalgic symbols displayed which made it interesting to do.<br />
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However, Gail hates to take down a puzzle after struggling to complete it -- so what we do after a day or so is to carefully slide it onto another board and start a new puzzle.<br />
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And that is what we have done -- one that is very similar to the above -- a lot of variations and color and interesting to work on.<br />
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What is currently on-our-nightstand you might ask -- the book off to the left -- "Becoming" by Michelle Obama.<br />
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We have been reading in that book for three nights and are enjoying it a lot.<br />
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The pages are full, smallish type and interesting. The details about a city that I know somewhat is good.<br />
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I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and even though I never lived in the city, I have some sense of living there.<br />
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Michelle describes city living well, especially the city on the South side as she saw it and I have only read about it.<br />
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This book will take "some time" to read and that is a good thing because it is well written -- I am always amazed when a writer can remember so much detail of things that happened years<br />
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before. We look forward each night to read and learn from this book. I'll most likely reference it again.<br />
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Lastly, and this is so often the case these days, I am finding out way after the fact about someone in our tree:<br />
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My paternal first cousin, Leslie passed away earlier this year -- March. He was 86 years old.<br />
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I'm not sure if I ever really met Leslie, but I sure did hear about some of his life, that is for sure. He is the son of my father's brother, Lloyd Jr.<br />
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One of the things that I always heard was that he was a champion swimmer in high school and was maybe destined for bigger things in that arena. But as sometimes happens that did not occur.<br />
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Just in doing research over the years I have gleaned some facts about Leslie, one being that he had joined the Marines after High School and that he married while in the service and had at least one son, Robert Hiles.<br />
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Robert Hiles, also my paternal first cousin but one time removed, has four children, my first cousins two times removed. I have been in contact over the years with two of Leslie's granddaughters.<br />
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Thinking about how it would be that I would have heard earlier about Leslie's passing, I'm not sure how it would happen since his grandkids were not in touch with him for years and so I found out while searching "Hiles" records in newspapers. Sad, in a way, for sure.<br />
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And that is a bit of our week, hope to see you all "in a few"!👫<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-23416270934614504262018-11-17T14:51:00.000-08:002018-11-17T14:51:28.456-08:00SMOKY HALF-MOON NIGHTSIt has been over ten days since the Northern California fires in Butte County have started to ravish communities there. We still -- over 100 miles away -- are reeling from the effects of the smoke.<br />
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The half-moon appearing these nights is obscured by the haze. People all over town appear wearing masks including the folks who come to our door for one reason or another.<br />
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When my kids were growing up in the Northwest they used to listen anxiously on winter mornings for any word that "today" would be a "snow day" and that there would be no school. In our neighborhoods these days I suppose the kids await word for "smoke-filled days" that will cause the schools to be closed -- and most local schools have been closed because of the smoke.<br />
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Not only regular school has been curtailed, but sporting events and other outdoor activities have been canceled due to the fires. We have pretty much stayed inside -- but that is what our norm these days is anyway.<br />
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We keep the furnace fans running and that seems to help a bit and we only venture outside when necessary. We definitely do smell the acrid remains of smoke and it may be having an effect on how we feel.<br />
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The TV news is almost all about the fires and it is certainly a "downer". We here in Sonoma County just last year had over 6,000 homes burn -- now there are nearly 10,000 homes that have burnt to the ground in and around Butte County -- more in Southern California.<br />
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In Sonoma County, there has only been a handful of homes rebuilt and most folks that have lost their homes are still battling the insurance people and other regulatory agencies that seemingly are making it impossible to rebuild.<br />
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The word about Butte County folks who have lost their homes is that first there is almost no way that the thousands of folks left homeless will be able to even find temporary housing until they can rebuild. It is truly a dilemma that one has to hope to never have to experience.<br />
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Our indoor activities during the day continue to be centered around puzzle management and we have used that to "block" out some of the reminders of smoke-related activities.</div>
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We have been taking about two weeks to work the average 1000 piece puzzle -- we usually spend an hour or so at the "grind" and then return maybe for a second session later. We almost always work on a puzzle during the evening news or a recorded sports event like Monday/Thursday Night Football.</div>
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We have discovered though that just because a picture is beautiful -- it does not always make a good puzzle. For example, the puzzle to the left in the collage above is a prime example of a beautiful scene but horrible puzzle material . . .</div>
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What is currently on our nightstand? Actually, it is on "Audible" and we read it on our iPad each night before drifting off to sleep.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhElWqY1vt8OFotC_JD6RNg2gMNjlwVQ6UNdmpWfVGSTIJzgUdEPODWQmCEI1HD9pNu9SEe2-tUpCVcPldkXlkfjPMnASbPK0j8sZTMfSBjnfFNmZtcxJqsU45lTQ4GlH1rFMOg3JhHc/s1600/Road2Tara.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="223" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhElWqY1vt8OFotC_JD6RNg2gMNjlwVQ6UNdmpWfVGSTIJzgUdEPODWQmCEI1HD9pNu9SEe2-tUpCVcPldkXlkfjPMnASbPK0j8sZTMfSBjnfFNmZtcxJqsU45lTQ4GlH1rFMOg3JhHc/s200/Road2Tara.bmp.jpg" width="130" /></a>Of course, the book is written about the author of "Gone With The Wind", Margaret Mitchell. She led a very interesting life and only wrote this one very impressive novel. Having grown up in the South she had heard tales about the Civil War era her whole life. We are only about half-way through the book and find ourselves learning a bit of her everyday life. Unfortunately, Margaret died fairly young -- at 49 years of age -- a victim of a speeding driver who struck her in 1949. "Gone With the Wind" was published in 1936 and went on to sell millions of copies and win numerous awards.</div>
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Of course, the movie starred Clark Gable and was one of my Mother's favorites as well as the favorite of many many others. After reading this book we might just watch the movie -- one more time.</div>
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Just like with puzzles, we have our next book "on its way" and we'll talk about that one soon. </div>
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A return of a favorite show is coming -- Who Do You Think You Are -- returns on December 3, a Monday.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HvQgZQzwh9geuPIs3_nIz3Nhq_iU3grWXGLvxsqpm4vLgiTsS4cNjiEL3Jx6rhq0LDvywDbqFQMNz0uNwLasGcKyZg1V5WdMQwjytJQ3FpeXfWbl_rDQ-IJe5Nk3lmIdMDrCrbhzgWk/s1600/WDYTYA2018.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="488" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HvQgZQzwh9geuPIs3_nIz3Nhq_iU3grWXGLvxsqpm4vLgiTsS4cNjiEL3Jx6rhq0LDvywDbqFQMNz0uNwLasGcKyZg1V5WdMQwjytJQ3FpeXfWbl_rDQ-IJe5Nk3lmIdMDrCrbhzgWk/s200/WDYTYA2018.bmp.jpg" width="198" /></a> This show has been on now for several years and is fun to watch. Unfortunately, this season I think there are only four episodes. The episodes are about a known TV or movie personality and the search into their family trees. The show originated in the United Kingdom and still is popular there as well (with their version). The show will air on TLC on Mondays at 10 pm -- we will set up a timer to record each episode and then watch them when it is convenient for us.</div>
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We are feeling the "holiday" season especially with the arrival of an impressive "edible" gift for the occasion:</div>
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Gail is checking out our holiday gift box -- thank you, Aura.</div>
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We look forward to enjoying all the goodies shown, from fresh fruit to salami, cookies, candies and other treats.</div>
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A nice way to begin the stretch of days coming up.</div>
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And lastly, next week is our favorite holiday of the year -- Thanksgiving Day. It again seems impossible that it is so soon and that some parts of the country will have a "white" Thanksgiving.</div>
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We wish all a very pleasant day on Thursday next week -- we are even forecast to have rain -- which is a real Thanksgiving this year.</div>
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That is a bit of our week, hope to see you all "in a few"! 👫</div>
Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-86220355457559119932018-11-10T14:27:00.000-08:002018-11-10T14:27:36.729-08:00EERIE SKY, SMOKEY SUN -- PARADISE LOSTOrangery sunlight filtering throughout our home and neighborhood the last few days. Most local schools were canceled and for sure outside activities discouraged due to the raging wildfires in Northern California.<br />
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Officially now, the "Camp Fire" is the worst in California's recorded history. We here in Healdsburg are having to breathe the smoke-filled air and deal with the light ash falling throughout the town.<br />
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There is a strangeness to the aura of the light caused by the smoke. The air also is strong with the aroma of the burning matter. Our eyes are itchy and our throats are scratchy. We have kept our windows closed for the last three days but the outside air has a way of seeping through and into our home.<br />
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Healdsburg is approximately 160 miles from the town of Paradise, Butte County, California and yet the smoke from that fire is as strong -- if not stronger -- than the fires locally last year.<br />
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There is no escaping the smell and the sight and sadly there was no escaping the flames for many folks in Paradise.<br />
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Paradise, California is being reported as having been destroyed.<br />
The town had just under 30,000 folks in it and all were evacuated or told to evacuate. Sadly because of the few numbers of escape roads some folks died in their autos trying to get out of the way of the fires.<br />
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Wildfires have been a constant battle for the whole time that I have lived in California -- about 45 years -- but only in the last few years have they threatened close to where I lived. Last year was very close and we live with that memory every time we hear a siren during a red-flag warning period.<br />
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As a matter of fact, Gail and I started married life being evacuated during our honeymoon in 1992 in Arnold, California from our rented cabin. We spent one night in a Red Cross shelter in the local high school gymnasium.<br />
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Since we were "just visiting" the area it was easier for us to pack up everything we brought with us and put it into the car and spend the night (on cots) in the shelter -- the Red Cross was really great and provided all the basics that we needed.<br />
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The next day, we drove to the Las Vegas area and stayed the rest of our honeymoon in a hotel there. We really were appreciative though of the services of the Red Cross -- they provided so much to all the folks that were in need and even provided services for the many animals brought in as well.<br />
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Our weather -- if it were not for the smokey air -- would be quite pleasant, somewhere in the mid to high 70s. But because the sun is not getting through to us, it is much cooler than the mid-70s.<br />
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However, it is shocking to see that where some of my family lives, there is snowfall this week.<br />
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Probably a little like the snow that fell in the picture to the left that shows the "Hiles Railroad" in Hiles, Wisconsin in 1923.<br />
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Having lived in the Chicago area growing up -- I remember those cold cold days, but it does seem a bit early for that weather -- it could almost have been -- "I dreamt of a white Halloween" . . .<br />
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I guess the moral of the story is that every part of the country "has its issues" and we are going through some of them right now -- we just keep our fingers crossed during this red-flag warning weekend (again).<br />
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A peek at some Hiles' from our tree -- a ways back . . .<br />
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The picture to the right (provided thanks to Teresa Hiles) is of Thomas Hiles and his great-grandson, Donny.<br />
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The occasion was on Thomas' 90th birthday and a get-together was held in his honor at the home of his granddaughter, Ethel, who is married to Robert Miles.<br />
(Hiles 2 Miles...)<br />
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Thomas is the brother of my Great Grandfather, John Hiles (who was married to Emily Adeline Gillett).<br />
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Thomas was a farmer near Sparta, Monroe, Wisconsin and lived to be 92 years of age. His brother David, also a farmer in the same area lived to be 97 years of age.<br />
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Both were similar in appearance -- tall and thin -- I wish that I would have met them growing up.<br />
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To the left is a group photo of the folks attending the Thomas Hiles 90th birthday celebration. (thanks again to Teresa)<br />
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While probably all in the photo are Hiles related, I am not sure of most of the identities.<br />
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Since this photo was taken in 1944, I would have been a toddler but then -- I was not in attendance.<br />
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Growing up, I can not recall ever hearing any reference to Thomas or his brother (s) at all -- what a shame.<br />
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Lastly, is a picture of Donny & Lois Hiles who are great grandkids of Thomas Hiles. (credit to Teresa)<br />
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They are 3rd cousins of mine and well could be still living today. I don't know but should know and will research that.<br />
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Their parents are Raymond & Lola (Burlingame) Hiles and their grandparents were Frank & Minnie (Thurston) Hiles -- none of whom I had any knowledge of before working on family history.<br />
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Donald is about the age of my brother, and Lois is about the age of my sister. I'll report back on my findings . . .<br />
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And finally,<br />
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In the scheme of things today, it, of course, is not THAT important -- but it is interesting that the New York Times carried an article about "the hammer" from Healdsburg.<br />
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It still remains a mystery and maybe, just maybe it will be uncovered . . .<br />
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That is a bit of our week, see you all "in a few"! 👫<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-91572458469537382732018-11-03T14:13:00.000-07:002018-11-03T14:13:57.896-07:00It's Time / Change TimeAnd of course, we are talking clocks. Tonight before heading to bed we might set some of our clocks back by one hour. Some of our clocks will automatically change and others we will one by one manually change.<br />
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For some reason, I am SO ready to "fall back". The last few weeks I have found it harder and harder to get up at the usual time -- around 6:30 am . . . Dino is already making the adjustment as I get up a bit later each day . . .<br />
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It is definitely fall around here though the temps a few days were very summerlike (the 90s). I think that I am not going to like "springing ahead" next year. In California, this coming election, Proposition 7 is on our ballot -- having to do with either keeping Daylight Saving Time or abandoning it.<br />
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It is confusing as to which way would be better, but I do know already that I am not looking forward to "losing" that hour of sleep in the coming spring of 2019 . . .<br />
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Speaking of "change", Tuesday is election day for the mid-terms.<br />
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We are going to vote this afternoon -- promises, promises. Then we'll drop off the ballots at our local USPS.<br />
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For whatever reasons, this year it seems even more important that we take the time to make our selections.<br />
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Wednesday will be a very interesting "news" day and probably will determine what to expect in the news in the coming two years. We continually are appreciative of the "fast forward feature" on our DVR -- we record everything that we watch.<br />
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Wednesday this week was of course Halloween. It is not a huge deal for us but we do recall our own days of trick and treating.<br />
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This year we thought that since we do not receive that many trick and treaters that we would be handing our "full-sized" candy bars.<br />
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And so that is what we prepared to do and did. The youngsters began at 5:30 pm -- two little ones dressed as a princess and a pirate happily took their full-sized treats.<br />
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The rush came later when we had 8 middle school types coming in one group. Then there were a couple of other small groups and by 7:30 -- that was all there was -- a total of 15.<br />
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The kids were appreciative of the large sized candy bars, but one problem for us is that we now have "full-sized" candy leftover and at the above rate, about two more years worth. We'll get through it . . .<br />
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We did purchase some of our favorites so that is a good thing, I think.<br />
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Football in our neck of the woods has not been so good this year. First, our local high school was not able to keep enough varsity players to continue the program and so look to maybe next year.<br />
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Next, the highly anticipated season for the San Francisco 49ers was thrown for a loss when the new quarterback was injured and the season deteriorated into a 1 win 7 loss status . . .<br />
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Across the Bay, the Raiders who have for many years been so questionable were expected to do really well with their new head coach, the return of John Gruden -- and they have a 1 win and 6 loss season.<br />
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So what could be more exciting than watching what some were calling the "Dog Bowl". But for us San Francisco Niner fans -- it was exciting. The new quarterback, Nick Mullens, starting his first ever NFL game after our second string quarterback was injured last week, turned in a spectacular show.<br />
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Niners 34 -- Raiders 3 . . . one thing that spoiled the sense of a "good game" was the pregame behavior of one of the cheer squad who chose to take a knee during the anthem . . . we need to be done with this . . . at least not show it or mention it -- just like they do not show people running on to the field interrupting the play.<br />
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We are though, enjoying our new puzzle project -- San Francisco Trolley.<br />
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We are about a third of the way to completing it and it does bring back the memories of living in that city for many years.<br />
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Once again though the sky colors are tough as they wind up being single pieces with no shapes or forms in them, just varying colors<br />
that takes perseverance.<br />
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We made a large pot of chili this week and enjoyed it for three meals.<br />
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We also made a batch of cornbread to accompany the main event which turned out to be equally good.<br />
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It makes my mouth water just thinking about making another batch and as the weather gets cooler -- so comforting.<br />
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It is getting time to replenish the inventory of meat choices for the freezer. We need to make a "Costco" run soon.<br />
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Some good news just heard today -- the Trader Joe's that burnt in last October's major fire is hopefully going to reopen in a couple of weeks -- we do like shopping there a lot, except for the parking . . .<br />
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That is a bit of our week, hope to see you all "in a few"! 👫<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-88651241988428441822018-10-27T12:53:00.000-07:002018-10-27T12:53:44.212-07:00Full Moon, Full SunIt has been a picture-perfect week, so-to-speak, in terms of weather. If we could choose this type of weather for the entire year, it would be "okay" with us.<br />
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And at night, for the last three or 4 nights -- a beautiful full moon. The moon shines through our roof window in the bedroom and gives quite a glow, creating lighted shapes and making it seem as though someone is shining a large-beam flashlight through the window.<br />
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"Hunter's Moon" must be named for the ability to enhance lighting while hunting at night, I suppose.<br />
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Whatever the reason, we see the moon in the early evening east of our house and then it crosses the sky and shows brightly just at dawn in the west -- amazing.<br />
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When we worked -- we could always sense when there was a full moon without having to check the skies. I'm sure that has not changed, but you have to wonder "why?".<br />
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Today is "day 300" in the year -- just 59 days until Christmas. Of course, we know Christmas is near because several stores have Christmas displays already up even though it is not Halloween.<br />
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Last night we watched game three of the World Series -- or should I say -- part of it.<br />
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We retired to bed in the 14th inning when the game tied at 2-2 seemed like it might go on for a while.<br />
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It did go on -- to the 18th inning when thankfully the Dodgers had a walk-off home run by Max Muncy to give the Dodgers their first win in the series.<br />
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For the people in Boston, the game went to about 3:30 am -- I wonder how big of an audience there stuck it out.<br />
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The game is the longest running World Series game ever and several other records were broken as well.<br />
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Our local paper delivered this morning also did not print the score as they went to press before the game was done. Fortunately for us, since we record the games and several shows that follow the game, we were able to watch the final inning and the big home run -- nice.<br />
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I am rooting for the Dodgers, but the Red Sox are a very impressive team. Apparently, the first time that these two clubs met it was 102 years ago and the pitcher for Boston was none other than Babe Ruth and the pitcher for the "Dodgers" was Casey Stangel -- wow!<br />
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<br />
So, I didn't get a lot of searches done on the family tree -- but did manage to spot the photo to the left.<br />
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Amanda Hiles, Rose Queen at the University of Texas in Tyler.<br />
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While I do see a lot more "Hiles'" in the news these days -- not all do I claim as being "family".<br />
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In this case, I'll do some research and see if I can make sure that she IS in our tree . . . somewhere.<br />
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Growing up, as I have said before, I just never heard of very many folks named Hiles in the news or anywhere for that matter.<br />
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We did make progress on our puzzle du jour as seen to the right.<br />
<br />
It consists of 99 smaller images of attractions from around the globe. All very fascinating and a surprising number that at least one of us has seen or visited.<br />
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The difficulty comes into play with the number of skies and the related hues of blue. Probably 70% of the pictures have sky in them so that is part of the challenge.<br />
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The other challenge comes from the appearance of the white framing lines throughout -- but we are probably going to finish today or tomorrow -- just in time for when the new puzzle arrives on Monday . . .<br />
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So, on our nightstand, is the book to the left. Sally Field, "In Pieces" and so far a very interesting book.<br />
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Part of the reason that it is so interesting (besides the fact that we sure do like her) is the fact that she grew up in California and specifically Pasadena in her early years.<br />
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I too lived in Pasadena, but several years after she did. But Sally mentions many places in and around Pasadena that I am familiar with -- including, PCC (where I went to school for a couple of years), Huntington Memorial Hospital (where I was an orderly for a while) and living two blocks from Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia (as I did as well).<br />
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There is even mention of Altadena and events there and I worked in Altadena too. So I find the book familiar from that standpoint. We are just in the beginning so look forward to getting to know more about Sally.<br />
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Lastly:<br />
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It should be obvious to all that -- no one in this house won the biggest lotto ever last week, Mega Millions, with one winner taking the $1.6 billion dollars big prize -- one person -- joining the ranks of the world's very rich.<br />
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And it may not come out publicly as who that person in South Carolina is because South Carolina allows winners to remain anonymous -- but it probably will be known around "those parts".<br />
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Apparently, the winner tried going to work normally the next day -- but quickly gave that up . . . who wouldn't?<br />
<br />
So -- tonight though there is another chance at maybe winning "chump change" as a newscaster referred to it because it was only $750 million instead of over a $Billion -- we are going to make a trip to the dispenser of lotto tickets and "take a chance" . . .<br />
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That is a bit of our week, see you all "in a few"! 👫<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-48979168301204137512018-10-20T14:11:00.000-07:002018-10-20T14:11:04.350-07:00It's All-Fall Again . . .This has been pretty much a perfect weather week -- for a change. We only had to use the a/c once briefly and the rest of the time we did use the heater briefly in the morning -- "to take the chill off".<br />
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Our windows and doors remained open throughout the day mostly -- and that was so nice. Dino enjoys that too as he looks out an open door at the variety of things that interest him.<br />
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We have had small piles of leaves in the last week or so but unlike days of old, we could not burn them. The smell of burning leaves is something that I remember so well -- I even bought a candle that replicates that fragrance.<br />
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The vineyards are starting to turn and the landscape here in wine country is stunning. We do know that some parts of the country are forecasting winter soon along with even S-N-O-W -- can that be, it just seems like those areas were going through heat waves.<br />
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And if it is snowing in some parts of the country, we need to get ready for some rain -- and we welcome that.<br />
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Maybe this year we will get the appropriate amount of rain to keep us from being in a "drought" period.<br />
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I think we are ready for the rain -- except for some of the gutters and maybe parts of the roof -- next year we need to address the possibility of replacing the roof . . .<br />
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Just with owning a home, there is always something that needs attention. This week we had our share of things needing attention -- 1) Our stand-up freezer was acting up and not performing correctly 2) Our dishwasher would not drain & 3) Our wave responding kitchen faucet was on the "Fritz" . . .<br />
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It took three visits from the professionals, but all is back working nicely again and we can "sleep better" . . . what's next?<br />
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Many years ago, "what next" might have been the news that Sears was filing for bankruptcy and closing most of their stores.<br />
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Growing up in La Grange, Illinois in the 40s and 50s our usual Saturday consisted of my father driving my mother and some of us kids into town.<br />
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Mother did not drive in those days, so it had to be Saturday. Often while she cruised through the aisles of the A&P store, we kids (and our father) might head over to Monkey (Montgomery) Wards or Sears.<br />
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Sometimes we would take our allowance and head to Kresge's or Woolworth and look for "stuff".<br />
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Our father usually went off by himself into maybe the "Craftsman" tool department at Sears while I might have purchased a quarter pound of Spanish peanuts at the candy section -- to tide me over till lunch or dinner.<br />
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Sears though has not often been a destination in the last several years for us except for once in a while peek at their appliances. Too many other retailers both brick & mortar and online have replaced them.<br />
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Sears though did outlast Mongomery Wards as they "bit the dust" in 2001. I wonder what stores took their place in our old home-town . . . it is amazing to think that a store such as Sears, that may have even produced a home-kit that was used in building the home of my grandparents in the late 1800s, is going out of business.<br />
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The only people that should be interfering with our elections is "us".<br />
<br />
This year may just be the year that voters will register AND vote in huge numbers -- at least that is what some are saying.<br />
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There seem to be so many reasons to vote against something more than to vote for something.<br />
<br />
We will vote by mail again this year -- it is so much less of a hassle. But I still remember going to the ballot places even as a child, along with my parents for sure. It is hard to imagine such a complex and protected system that we have and yet the elections are being impacted by outsiders.<br />
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Maybe the influence just came about in unsophisticated ways in previous elections. It is something to think about.<br />
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But we have other things that need our attention.<br />
<br />
We have watched many of the playoff games leading up to the World Series and tonight we will watch the final playoff game between the Dodgers and the Brewers.<br />
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<br />
The game tonight will, of course, determine which team will play against the Boston Red Sox in the World Series that starts next week -- Tuesday.<br />
<br />
No matter who wins tonight, we will be watching the Series and rooting for the "best playing" team.<br />
<br />
I always like it when the series goes the limit -- that is a full seven games. It is not satisfying to see one team "win in four". So, we look forward to the games and we often make a lot of progress on whatever our current puzzle happens to be . . .<br />
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<br />
<br />
Winning "a $Million" would be unbelievable -- BUT, winning "a thousand $Million" would be unimaginable -- yet, it could happen for someone -- in the next few days.<br />
<br />
We had/have tickets for the MegaMillions that ran last night and did not have a "big" winner. The Powerball runs tonight so we can dream a little about that as we still have that opportunity.<br />
<br />
Tuesday of next week brings another shot at the MegaBillions drawing . . . it would really be nicer if 1000 folks won a $Million rather than one person winning it all unless it was "yours truly" . . . just kidding.<br />
<br />
And last but certainly not least:<br />
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<br />
Always a "Nay-Sayer" when it comes to genealogy . . . and as one forgotten politician used to say:<br />
"Nattering Nabobs of Negativity" . . .<br />
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That is a bit of our week, hope to see you all "in a few"! 👥<br />
<br />
<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-30781561735844143162018-10-13T13:51:00.000-07:002018-10-13T13:51:14.187-07:00Mornings, Cool -- Evenings, Cool -- Finally . . .The middays though are still somewhat warm to hot. That'll end soon we hope -- it is so nice to just leave the windows and doors open to catch a fall breeze.<br />
<br />
The leaves are starting to turn and some of them are finding their way onto the deck and into the pool. It seems like just yesterday that the buds were appearing on the branches and now . . .<br />
<br />
We're picking apples too, lots of them. Makin' pies, tarts and drying them -- NOT, but we think about it. The apples, too, drop and find their way into the pool allowing us to "bob" for apples if we really wanted to do that. Maybe someone would like to try that, just not us.<br />
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And there is a harvest type moon coming around the end of the month -- the 24th or so. We always look forward to that as we go out back on a business trip with Dino in the late part of the day.<br />
<br />
And the old "farm" outbuilding is looking good in the fall colors. There is something to be said for the seasonal changes and the effects on structures -- but I'm not sure what that is. Maybe I'll "Google" it . . .<br />
<br />
Found while searching through old newspapers:<br />
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<br />
I've posted other photos of a "Bumgardner" house and related recollections that I had of that house when growing up in the Chicago area -- Dayton Bumgardner's house -- my maternal Grandfather.<br />
<br />
This house has a similar setting -- and appears quite grand and substantial. It is located in Virginia but while I'm fairly certain we are related to that Bumgardner family -- I just have not proven that.<br />
<br />
Our known Bumgardner ancestors came from the counties in Virginia near the above residence. Hopefully, I will be able to make the connection -- but if not, the story and the house are interesting.<br />
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♫ If I had a Hammer ♪ . . .<br />
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<br />I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in the evening . . .<br />
<br />
That is what "our town" is saying today.<br />
<br />
Sometime last weekend, someone somehow stole the artwork -- hammer, from in front of the Healdsburg Community Center.<br />
<br />
The Hammer weighs around 800# and it would take major work to remove it.<br />
<br />
And then you have to ask what someone is going to do with that hammer -- the local police thought it might be a high school prank or something, but have not found out about that as yet.<br />
<br />
Will the mysteries ever cease?<br />
<br />
Here is what the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat article stated:<br />
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<br />
And that is the "big" local news story, aside from the everyday op-eds re local elections . . .<br />
<br />
The big news in the nation is of course "Michael coming ashore":<br />
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<br />
My family has ties to Florida. I've lived there, my brother has lived there, my sister lived there and my folks lived out their final days in Florida.<br />
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It is a beautiful state -- but Michael has changed how some parts of it look today. Millions are without power or other basic needs. The images of destruction are non-stop on TV.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure how people can get "whole" again, for a very long time -- sort of like the thousands here in Sonoma County rebuilding their lives after the year ago fire destruction.<br />
<br />
I can not imagine trying to just make it through the day without the bare necessities. We were without Internet and Cell phone service for a short while last year and felt totally vulnerable and unable to do much -- for us we were back in service in a short period.<br />
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Forget most football teams in our part of the country if you are looking for winners and professional like play . . .<br />
<br />
Instead, we're concentrating on baseball -- at least for about three more weeks.<br />
<br />
Last night's MLB playoff NLCS game between the Brewers and the Dodgers was exciting -- probably not-so-much for the Dodgers, but certainly for Milwaukee.<br />
<br />
The game went right to the last out of the Dodgers in the top of the ninth to determine that it was not going to turn out well for them. I was rooting for the Dodgers but, the Brewers were so impressive including their pitcher hitting a towering home run off the Dodgers best pitcher . . .<br />
<br />
We'll see how today's games go -- we've recorded them (or will) and then watch probably as we finish up yet another puzzle.<br />
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And again, Earl, of the Pickles, has the last say in this post:<br />
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The news this week is reporting that even if you never turned in a saliva sample to one of the DNA companies, your identity can be found -- that to me is obvious since I'm sure that the "Golden State Killer" never submitted his, nor any of the other recent captures or soon to be captured villains.<br />
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Anyway, that is a bit of our week, see you all "in a few"! 👨👩Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-19347554468136342652018-10-06T15:24:00.000-07:002018-10-06T15:24:45.522-07:00Happenin' NowIt is one year since the fires in Sonoma County changed the lives of so many residents forever. Thousands of homes were lost, many people have chosen to rebuild and some have chosen to move and start over elsewhere -- who could blame them. There are just a small number of houses that have been rebuilt, it is hard to imagine coping.<br />
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And today's weather is eerily similar to one year ago and as a matter of fact, there are red flag warnings for the same areas as last year. It is mildly warm, somewhat windy and lower humidity -- all the wrong measures.<br />
<br />
And -- just in -- the Senate vote is complete, 50-48, so we have a new Supreme Court Justice. No matter in favor of or not, it is good to be OVER with this process -- until the next one . . .<br />
<br />
It will be interesting to see the reactions this week starting today. The vote could have gone either way as late as yesterday.<br />
<br />
So, the least extreme activity going on just now are the post-season playoff games of the MLB. Unfortunately, a favorite team -- the Cubbies -- did not win their wild-card game so they will be looking to next season for another chance.<br />
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And if last night's RedSox/Yankees game is an indication there most likely will not be a classic Yankee/Dodger World Series . . . such is the sporting world.<br />
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Sadly, just after publishing last week's post, we received the startling news that Gail's younger sister, Jenifer, had died.<br />
<br />
Apparently, she developed pneumonia and could not overcome that. She had also been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's.<br />
<br />
Gail and her other sister Laurii are both in shock and Gail goes in and out of the realization that Jenifer is gone. She was 74 years old and had lived with Sandy, her mate, for over 30 years in Seattle.<br />
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We will all miss her "being there" even though we did not have the chance to see her that often. Whenever we did visit it was always a fun time.<br />
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<br />
One of the activities that we engaged in again this week especially was with puzzles:<br />
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<br />
The puzzle on the left is one that we just finished and enjoyed every bit of -- there were so many different objects and colors. It was also smaller than most of the puzzles that we have recently worked being "only" 500 pieces instead of the usual 1000.<br />
<br />
The artist, Aimee Stewart, did a great job recreating "Brown's General Store and Emporium". Every conceivable type of snack, flowers and other food items were represented.<br />
<br />
So, we started another Aimee Stewart Americana collection puzzle -- another general store relating to all the requirements needed for the family vacation for fishing, camping, surfing, and so many other activities -- this one though has 1000 pieces, so it will take a few extra days to complete.<br />
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The picture on the right is of the puzzle that we completed a few weeks ago and because it came out so nice and we did not want to dismantle it, we had it framed.<br />
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It is "The Dream Garden" by Maxfield Parrish and we love it and especially how it appears in the frame that we now have hung above the table where we work on puzzles so that we can enjoy it daily -- we're old . . .<br />
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Once again, I have to say how impressed I am with CeCe Moore who has solved another decade's old awful crime via the use of DNA matching.<br />
<br />
The same year that Gail and I were married, 1992, a young woman, Christy Mirack in Pennsylvania was murdered. She was just 25 years old and was recently starting her dream job of being a school teacher.<br />
<br />
The murder happened in her apartment before she could leave for work and has been a cold case for 26 years. The detectives on the case were still attempting to solve the case.<br />
<br />
CeCe got involved with the case, and in just TWO days found a suspect through matching DNA left at the crime scene.<br />
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A well known 49-year-old "family" man and DJ active in the community was identified and arrested<br />
and shocked the community that he had been living a "normal" life amidst them all these years.<br />
<br />
I applaud the use of DNA and if I was a younger person I would love to be a part of the DNA team that could solve these types of crime. CeCe says that there are many more certain to be solved cold cases coming up . . . we can hardly wait to see that happen!<br />
<br />
And lastly,<br />
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<br />
Luckily I found another "Pickles" comic related to DNA. I too love broccoli, but if offered "Cheetos" I'm not sure that I'd say "nope" . . . have that DNA checked.<br />
<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-73304873916841284322018-09-29T13:00:00.000-07:002018-09-29T13:00:11.126-07:00Cool & Rainy . . . What's That?It's hard to believe in this first week of autumn that we have weather in the high 90s and then today it will be about 70° and it is supposed to maybe rain . . . I actually can not remember the last time that it rained here. I know that is hard to believe for other parts of the country, but maybe, just maybe it will actually rain some here today.<br />
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And that's not all -- it is supposed to maybe rain in a couple of other days this coming week. Maybe the vineyards will appear as above and we'll see umbrellas out not just shielding us from the sun.<br />
<br />
It did feel colder this morning and the newspaper was delivered in a rubber-banded bag -- so that pretty much ensures it . . . we'll see.<br />
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So, how to warm up?<br />
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This past week I received a great DIY kit (thank you, Lisa/Bob). It reminded me of a chemistry set from my younger days. But this set included everything that I needed to make my own "hot sauce". And I did.<br />
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It took about an hour to complete the mildest of the offered chiles and recipes yielding the two bottles above -- about a cup's worth -- and a small amount I put into a dish. The two chiles in this recipe were some chipotles and some pasillas.<br />
<br />
The process includes soaking the dried chiles and then adding a spice blend that smelled like cumin and then adding vinegar and cooking for a bit. After all was softened up and warm, I blended it with my hand-held blender.<br />
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It turned out very tasty and not too hot for me. For Gail, that was a different matter, she tasted it on the end of a spoon and liked the taste and then the kick arrived . . .<br />
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I have grown to like hot sauce a lot. Growing up we never experienced hot sauce. The kit has what I would describe as dangerously hot chiles -- I'll be conservative with those. I remember several years ago using a small bit of a "scotch bonnet" in something and when I tasted it, I could not stop the burn.<br />
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So, if it gets cooler and rainier, the hot sauce will play nicely into keeping warm -- just thinking about it warms me up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KvmIBW30KQIG1cU_5gwpGkVyBphVHhR5a-AevYxvwCvyzXy651iwqhb7TKkiSmxD-f5McvdeKBBKuV3Kwf3yiaIhUqWtIF4wY7ac6DE7K2qRwCj18lfmEJq9JaWRXcoSlWOL1JfgKjo/s1600/GailNeedlepoint26Sep2018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1447" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3KvmIBW30KQIG1cU_5gwpGkVyBphVHhR5a-AevYxvwCvyzXy651iwqhb7TKkiSmxD-f5McvdeKBBKuV3Kwf3yiaIhUqWtIF4wY7ac6DE7K2qRwCj18lfmEJq9JaWRXcoSlWOL1JfgKjo/s200/GailNeedlepoint26Sep2018.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
While I was preparing the hot sauce, Gail was working on her latest needlepoint.<br />
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This pic shows her just after she tasted the hot sauce and before the kick arrived . . .<br />
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Gail has enjoyed working on her needlepoint when she feels up to it. She has two pieces finished so far this year and a few more planned.<br />
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*** Breaking News *** As I am writing this a fine watery mist is coming down, so the predictions are true -- we are getting some precipitation -- I hope it keeps up. If only last year at this time we had received some precip . . .<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXk2dYbvmuCBwXSIzHLGIX3UF-1QnAbySSllHf_6nOfDJE9Vaj6eG1b3VVHfto1EJJFGNf5YBMT_egm76QINXT048t7b29-vtAriiNxodv1hDhnMgwdXE-wXZoyXAIqiic1qwwo0njiA/s1600/ScenicUSTravelsPuzzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXk2dYbvmuCBwXSIzHLGIX3UF-1QnAbySSllHf_6nOfDJE9Vaj6eG1b3VVHfto1EJJFGNf5YBMT_egm76QINXT048t7b29-vtAriiNxodv1hDhnMgwdXE-wXZoyXAIqiic1qwwo0njiA/s320/ScenicUSTravelsPuzzle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The other activity this week included the puzzle to the right.<br />
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Both of us enjoyed working this for the last several days and yesterday evening, just before dinner, we completed it.<br />
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It was challenging at times but always engaging. There is a sense of accomplishment coupled with completing it. Gail now thinks she wants to leave it up for a while to just admire it.<br />
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But, eventually, we will pack it back up to work another time. After all, we have more puzzles to complete that are enticing us as they sit in their sealed boxes. What a nice pass time.<br />
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Something else I received this week appears to the left. It is a small device with which I can scan various types of film -- such as slides, super 8 movies and/or other negatives.<br />
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Then I can produce picture prints from those. In my early trials I see that there is a huge learning curve to get things done correctly.<br />
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Partly the learning curve comes from very poor instructions included with the kit and just my inability to grasp some of the instructions -- but I'm getting there.<br />
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So far I have succeeded in making prints of two slides and a print from one Super 8 film. I have a ton of Super 8 movies to work with as long as they hold out enough quality.<br />
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And Gail has a ton of 35 mm slides to use. The interesting fact about the two slides that I was able to actually print is that Gail is not sure if the girl in the pic is her or not -- and since I did not know her when the pictures were taken -- I'm not sure either -- maybe yes, maybe not, we'll hopefully find out.<br />
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The tricky thing is to be able to squeeze in the time needed to do this activity as it does take time. And I would really like to do it. So many things to do, so little time . . .<br />
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And another activity that I need to squeeze more time into is -- researching my DNA matches.<br />
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Just this week, I poured over 125 pages (each containing 50 names) of DNA matches -- that is over 6000 just from AncestryDNA.<br />
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Then there are the matches from FTDNA, 23& Me and MyHeritage . . . I need to employ help . . .<br />
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And again, speaking of DNA, our friends at "Pickles":<br />
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I'm sure a lot of families -- including this one -- can identify with the above sentiment . . .<br />
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And that is a bit of our week, hope to see you all "in a few"! 👨👩<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-63570489873767097342018-09-22T11:34:00.000-07:002018-09-22T11:34:30.561-07:00Autumn Leaves (Actually Arrives)It is Day 265 of this year. The weather here in Northern California in our town of Healdsburg has been mostly in the 90s again this week, with some more of the same next.<br />
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The days do seem shorter though and the mornings and evenings cooler. The sounds of "Fall" are around us if that makes sense. We don't actually hear the leaves falling, but yet they do. Soon the trees in the back will be bare.<br />
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Somewhere close to us this is how "fall" will look again soon -- that is if we do not have a repeat of the events of last fall. The nearly 7000 homes that burnt to the ground near here are slowly being rebuilt. In today's paper, there was a report that many of the homes being rebuilt are being constructed using concrete instead of wood -- seems to make sense.<br />
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The second full day of Autumn brings another event close to us -- Dino:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__E4HOth2v68OLAmfUTf1dSr9U-4IVbZyAeKfSzjvMx9hrGs-7nv_S8r_ead9-vb8OHOW9b6MDTpxnBboROZksKLtlsbpaI0mzKt1FJ7Z0h6sWkDxPuqJ84FnoGma19n69bOLTFHMtdQ/s1600/DinoTurnsSeven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="1600" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__E4HOth2v68OLAmfUTf1dSr9U-4IVbZyAeKfSzjvMx9hrGs-7nv_S8r_ead9-vb8OHOW9b6MDTpxnBboROZksKLtlsbpaI0mzKt1FJ7Z0h6sWkDxPuqJ84FnoGma19n69bOLTFHMtdQ/s400/DinoTurnsSeven.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Dino turns seven years old on Monday -- amazing. Only two of the above pictures are actually of Dino the middle two are very similar appearing dogs that could pass for him at first glance.<br />
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Dino is still like a puppy to us in that he is such a good dog -- never barks never chews up anything that is not his, always eats his breakfast and dinner and stays by our side throughout the day.<br />
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So we celebrate Dino's big day with maybe a few extra kibbles and other special attention.<br />
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Then also, on the first official day of "Fall" are the "76" Trombones that led the big parade . . . a big day for someone (me) who actually fake-played a Cornet during all the parades -- but who would ever have known that.<br />
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It was hard marching and playing the horn at the same time -- I can explain in more detail if anyone wants to know . . .<br />
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Wow! 76! Who would have ever thought . . .<br />
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Did someone speak of "DNA"?<br />
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Just a couple of days ago, another major cold case was hopefully solved via the use of DNA.<br />
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A serial rapist who committed his crimes for many years and has gone undetected for years and years was identified.<br />
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This man was hiding in plain sight and worked for a major university in some capacity for many years. He was unmasked and identified this week.<br />
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And in the article listed above, CeCe Moore predicts a huge number of crimes will be "solved" using this technique -- it must be a very nervous time for those that know they are guilty and have not been id'd as yet -- but soon may be. It is very encouraging.<br />
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And lastly, again speaking of DNA:<br />
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Our favorite comic strip -- "Pickles" presents their thoughts on DNA -- again. I might have to recheck our DNA results given the activities of Dino . . .<br />
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That is a tiny bit of our week, hope to see you all "in a few"! 👨👩<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-39373887445078795832018-09-15T13:51:00.000-07:002018-09-15T13:51:02.084-07:00Ides of SeptemberIt is the "ides" so-to-speak and whatever the official definition is, that is the feeling that I get. The west coast is still hampered with wildfire threats and the east coast is inundated with water, wind and amidst the hurricane Florence -- even tornadoes are possible . . .<br />
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It is easy to see why September is named "Disaster Preparedness Month". I never really thought of it that way preferring to think of September in much more glowing terms.<br />
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But the news says differently and constantly. Almost every news hour contains a high percentage of storm and fire coverage. The only bright side to that is the fact that we see less of "other" news but even that has hints of "ides" to it as well.<br />
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I do have to say though that right now -- finally -- our weather here in Healdsburg is pleasant in terms of the temperature. It is in the low 80s to high 70s recently and that is pleasing. We do not need the a/c on for a change.<br />
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One more week of summer and then the "fall" (certainly not good to mention fall to seniors). But what few leaves that we have will start to land on the deck soon and in the gutters.<br />
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What is on our nightstand these days -- well, Bob Woodward's new book is in our iPad in "Audible" on the nightstand.<br />
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We started listening as soon as the book was released (on the 17th anniversary of 9/11).<br />
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The first several chapters are so far about the pre-election happenings and doings.<br />
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A lot of that information has been shared over and over before now and what I really look forward to hearing about is what Woodward's premise is for the book -- i.e. "what's going on behind the scenes in today's White House.<br />
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Of course, the book is being touted as "fake" and all that, but let us make our own decisions and reactions. So far we haven't heard anything new -- but, maybe soon.<br />
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To take our mind's off the news events, we turn to work on our current puzzle "Napa Valley Wine Train" and stuff. It is truly the most difficult puzzle that we have worked on -- and both of us have threatened to quit more than once.<br />
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But we are sticking with it and are about 70% finished. What makes this puzzle so difficult is that almost every piece is a variation of the same shape and it allows for individual pieces to be placed wrongly and appear to be correctly placed . . .<br />
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This puzzle has taken us longer than any other one in recent times. We will have a true sense of accomplishment when and if we finish.<br />
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Still looking into the "old newspapers": look at how at least one model of the Chevrolet has evolved both in appearance and price in 80 some years.<br />
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The ad for a 1933 or 1934 Chevy was $445 back in 1933. It is hard to believe that for that amount of money you got a full car with all the features of the day.<br />
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With the 2018 version of one model of the Chevy Camaro, there is a price tag that is almost 140 times the 1933 price. Granted there are other versions of the Camaro that are not as expensive -- only about 50 times as expensive ($25,000) as the 1933 model . . .<br />
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Then again, if we located a fully-restored 1934 Chevy -- what would that sell for today?<br />
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That's a bit of our week, hope to see you all "in a few"! 👨👩<br />
<br />
<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-87670695161545962452018-09-08T12:41:00.000-07:002018-09-08T12:41:39.445-07:00Back 2 School (It's an Op-Ed)Last week was the first full week (excluding the Labor Day Holiday) in our area. The youngsters seem to be having a great time in the school behind our house as we here the sounds of playground fun along with the electronic bells announcing the start of classes.<br />
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Along with school, we've noticed that the days are beginning to be shorter in terms of sunlight as well. And it definitely is cooler in the mornings and the evenings which we are thankful for . . .<br />
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The yearly cycle of events changes rapidly and it seems as though school just "got out" for the year. And it will soon be the holiday breaks and thereafter another ending of the season and on it goes.<br />
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The rhythm somehow stays with me as I sense the yearly events as if they still impacted my daily life which they don't really other than remembering.<br />
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It seems like everything these days is in reference to an "op-ed". This week especially is filled with articles reflecting all aspects of what is "going-on" in Washington, D.C.<br />
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There are so many new books to read that it is hard to keep up with them. I have ordered the new book "Fear" by Bob Woodward that is supposed to be released next week. (I've ordered it on Audible)<br />
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Currently, we are reading the "A Higher Loyalty" by James Comey and finding that very interesting AND we are listening to "Elon Musk", his book on Audible -- and after watching last night's news showing Musk taking a "hit" of a pot loaded cigar, we can understand a bit why that stock is reacting.<br />
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It is seemingly a world of extremes right now and with the coming mid-term elections, it is certainly going to capture most if not all of the reportable news. What will the next op-ed be?<br />
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I have spent part of my week going through "Newspapers.com" and "GenealogyBank.com" searching for "op-eds" re our family -- a lot of fun:<br />
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This first "find" is not about family (no it is NOT Dayton). But I found the story interesting. The young truck driver shown in the picture was featured in a Washington Post article, September 6, 2018.<br />
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He has worked for a trucking company in Wisconsin and just recently found out that one of his "buddies" in the company is actually his father.<br />
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They have worked together for about two years and did not know that they were father and son.<br />
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This time it was not DNA that revealed who they were -- it was good timing and just plain luck.<br />
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It'll be interesting to read follow-ups. A lesson to be "nice" to those around you, you just never know.<br />
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Then I stumbled upon the obituary of Vivian Hiles, who is my Uncle Lloyd's daughter (so a first cousin).<br />
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I knew of her passing but what I found interesting was the picture.<br />
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I never would have recognized her if the picture was all that was shown to me. My memory of how Vivian looked was so different from her photo.<br />
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I did get the opportunity to speak to Vivian (by telephone) shortly before her death and I'm so glad that I did.<br />
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I actually was looking for articles about her brother, Leslie, when this popped up. I do not know at this point if Leslie is still living.<br />
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I will continue my search . . .<br />
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Still "noodling" around I came across an interesting article about another cousin of mine, Bruce Bumgardner -- he is the son of my mother's brother.<br />
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This apparently happened in 1965, but I do not recall any family mention of this event.<br />
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According to the article, Bruce received a less than acceptable report card and took off into hiding.<br />
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His parents, mostly his father, Stewart, believed that he surely was hiding out in town and could have been with relatives as well.<br />
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After eight days though, his parents appealed to the public for assistance in finding their twelve-year-old son.<br />
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The article does not reveal the outcome of this "missing boy" case and as far as I know -- he could still be missing as I have not seen him since that time . . .<br />
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I'm being facetious for sure as we would have heard if he had never returned home to "talk" about his report card or NOT to talk about it as the case may be.<br />
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Still, I'll be checking to see if the newspapers have a follow up to the story.<br />
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And lastly a peek into the life of my older brother -- hard to believe some forty-eight years ago as it seems "just like yesterday" probably to him as well:<br />
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I was living in Southern California at the time (Arcadia) and our family made frequent trips to the San Diego area to visit.<br />
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It is strange how my mind reacts to some of these articles that I find in the old newspapers. But thank goodness we have them to research into and bring back some of the memories -- even some that we are having for the first time . . .<br />
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That is a bit of our week -- see you all "in a few"! 👨👩<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-48671598187092560172018-09-01T14:32:00.000-07:002018-09-01T14:32:56.428-07:00September MournLittle did I realize that the front of our house features a large display of the rose named "September Mourn". And the fact that earlier today we spent watching the coverage of events in the Capitol just all tied together.<br />
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Until today I just thought of these as some white roses but they are in fact named "September Mourn" and it is so fitting.<br />
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This week started out with cooler days and cooler nights but has transformed into more heatness, not as much as the East coast and not as humid -- but again in the 90s . . .<br />
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We have now reactivated the a/c and are appreciative that it is working enough to keep us somewhat comfortable and somewhat able to enjoy daily activities.<br />
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The last couple of days we have watched the services being held for John McCain.<br />
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We have been reminded of so much of what he stood for and what hopefully his legacy will bring.<br />
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His voice and sentiments came out loud and clear by not only what was said, but by how it was said and by whom.<br />
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He spoke volumes through his children as they spoke and through the many colleagues as they spoke. His message came through by not only who was in attendance but by who was absent.<br />
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It was amazing to see his mother in attendance and looking much younger than her 106 years of age.<br />
That is approximately how old my mother would be right now if she had lived.<br />
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We sat in awe as the services went forward and were surprised that we did not once think about "not watching" until the network stopped broadcasting. We will carry the messages and the warm spirit for a long time through reflections in the coming times.<br />
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We did do our regular activities throughout the week including working on "The Dream Garden" (by Maxfield Parrish) presented to us by Liberty Puzzles.<br />
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This is an absolute quality puzzle and who knows maybe worthy of framing if we can complete it and there are no missing pieces. Though missing pieces can be supplied by Liberty.<br />
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We are about two-thirds of the way done and it has been challenging -- but oh so rewarding when we find that elusive piece that we swore must be missing . . .<br />
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We do have another puzzle or two waiting in the wings, but this one is special.<br />
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Now, some local Healdsburg news:<br />
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Almost unheard of -- a high school with NO varsity football program. Apparently, there were only 18 players that qualified for the varsity squad and then after losing the first two games -- both shutouts, six players quit the squad and the remaining players voted to disband . . .<br />
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What happens to "Friday Night Lights" and "Homecoming" and other events associated with the varsity sport. Growing up, varsity football was THE activity that seemed to tie students together.<br />
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The Junior Varsity is still playing and the hope is that by next year, there will be enough players to restart the program . . . we'll see.<br />
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And then if there is no football, what happens to Starbucks "pumpkin spice lattes"?<br />
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We haven't actually had one but they are being offered again starting a few days ago which really signals that "fall" is almost here.<br />
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We feel the crispness in the morning and evening air and the urge to sleep in more -- even Dino is doing that.<br />
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We actually look so forward to the official start of fall and would welcome the weather that comes with that.<br />
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And lastly -- I can see clearly now:<br />
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Even though the photo is not totally clear -- the new pair that I picked up yesterday is the one on the bottom.<br />
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So far it is working nicely -- and I have a fairly good back up pair if I need them.<br />
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Gail's current prescription was still working well for her and she likes her current frames anyway.<br />
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So, that's a bit of our week. Hope to see you all "in a few"! 👨👩Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-79689217608782673982018-08-25T13:08:00.000-07:002018-08-25T13:08:58.092-07:00That's Cool . . .With temperatures below the norm, it is indeed cool. Well, not THAT cool, but cooler than the last several weeks. We only used the a/c a couple of times this week and it is so nice to have the air just coming through opened doors and windows. Even the nights have been better for sleeping, not perfect, but better.<br />
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And with the windows and doors open, the sounds of the newly returned school kids at recess come wafting into our space. We don't mind at all. We are glad for the school year to begin once again.<br />
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The above is "Dream Garden" by Maxfield Parrish. Beautiful and is what is in our mind's eye when referring to a garden. We do have a Maxfield Parrish -- not this one -- hanging in our "needlepoint" room.<br />
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It is nice to just envision things as Maxfield Parrish presents them. And then we see the latest news and are reminded that everyday life is not quite like that . . .<br />
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One of the things we see on the news these days is about the flooding in various parts of the country.<br />
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But of course, this sort of news has been going on forever. To the left is a blurb set in The Journal Times in Racine, Wisconsin almost 70 years ago.<br />
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The article lets folks in Racine know that some relatives connected to Racine are safe in the flooded areas of Texas.<br />
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The article does have the relationship backward though. Carrie (Martin) Palmer is the aunt to Muriel of course.<br />
These days, social media takes care of reporting most of the who is safe type news.<br />
Heaven help us if the internet is compromised.<br />
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To the right is some of the kind of relationships that I find throughout the week.<br />
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It is almost impossible for me at times to follow that path: father-in-law of sister-in-law of grand nephew of husband of 1st cousin 2x removed.<br />
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That is way too far out there for my brain to deal with -- and when I think of where that possibly might be of family interest, well I get lost again.<br />
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By the time I try to sort through that, I've lost the sense of all reality and simply move on to "the low hanging fruit" that gives satisfaction.<br />
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And speaking of "puzzles", after eight grueling days Gail and I (yesterday at 3:30 pm) finally put the last remaining piece into "The Olde General Store" puzzle.<br />
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Both of us thought that it was the most difficult puzzle to date -- but then we almost always think that whatever puzzle we are currently working on "is the toughest".<br />
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There is a sense of accomplishment and reward for sticking it out and finishing even when "you know" that there are pieces missing (which there were not any missing, thank goodness).<br />
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But then the question becomes -- what next. We'll work that out after admiring this one for a couple of days. I remember working on puzzles with my mother when I was young and how fun that was too.<br />
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And then the image of "the farm" pops back into my memory bank. For some reason that still holds some space in my recalling the days when our family used to drive to Wisconsin in the quest to "buy a farm".<br />
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Of course, that did not happen but it is fun to think about it. And then thinking about it makes me think that "the farm" would make a good puzzle and then thinking even more -- "The Dream Garden" too would make a very good puzzle.<br />
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So many puzzle ideas, we'll have to see how that works out. We almost feel like artists after completing a satisfying work. So we understand a bit how some of our really talented artists in the family (Marilee) feels after completing a piece.<br />
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Lastly, later this year my daughter Lisa turns fifty -- so hard to believe that I have a child that old.<br />
And so I have started perusing photos that I can share with her for that day:<br />
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I came across the photo above -- it was taken obviously almost 50 years ago. It was in the dining room of Lisa's Great Grandparent's home in Chicago.<br />
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In the photo are left to right: Ruth Bumgardner Hiles, Jon Hiles, Dayton Bumgardner (Lisa's great-grandfather), Lisa & Susan Carr Hiles. I believe that I took the picture.<br />
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That is a bit of our week. Hope to see you all "in a few"! 👨👩<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-60839689740946164442018-08-18T12:41:00.000-07:002018-08-18T12:41:43.204-07:00Too Close for ComfortIt used to be "polio" that was in the minds of many parents back in the 30s and 40s. Today here in the West it is "wildfires". Just two days ago -- Thursday -- our lunch period was punctuated with the sounds of sirens, planes, and helicopters. We could see smoke -- didn't smell smoke -- but it was very obvious that fire had to be nearby. Nearer than we wanted it to be.<br />
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We feel somewhat lucky in that the fire was quickly extinguished -- unfortunately, the danger still exists. The fire burnt some 13 acres, which in the scheme of wildfires these days is minuscule, never-the-less is frightening.<br />
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There were air drops of water and I believe retardant as well which I'm sure lessened the threat. We live about 5 minutes driving time from the area and have frequently driven through. There is a fine restaurant at that location -- The Madrona Manor -- we've eaten there a few times and that would be a shame to lose. And there are several homes in the vicinity -- the ones that were evacuated immediately -- and a ton of "fuel".<br />
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At this point, that fire is out and we can only hold our collective fingers crossed that another does not ignite -- they have not yet announced the cause of this blaze but it could be so many different things.<br />
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Today is day #230 of this year, way past the midway point in the calendar. Christmas is only 128 days away . . . time for some shopping.<br />
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Apparently, though today is also a coveted day and date to get married.<br />
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If you are "into" numbers today's date is a good one and also one that is associated with good luck and good fortune in many cultures.<br />
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But being a palindrome it would make it easier to recall -- I have to always look my anniversary date up to just "be sure" -- and that by the way is one week to go for our "26th" . . . it is so hard to believe.<br />
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I never really thought about the dates as being significant but to many, it must be. There are even dates that are not recommended for a variety of reasons. Go figure.<br />
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In hindsight, I'm sure that there can be many conclusions drawn as to the impact of the date . . .<br />
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So, in between doing random searches throughout various branches of family trees, we spent a lot of time working on our puzzle projects. We find it satisfying to at least be able to solve some pieces of some puzzles:<br />
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We have a nice setup now for working a puzzle. Above you can see Gail putting the finishing touches on the "Home Cooking" puzzle and then on the right the start of "The Olde Country Store" puzzle.<br />
The puzzle board covered in green felt is on a swivel base which really makes it handy especially when working alone.<br />
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"The Olde Country Store" puzzle has been really a tough one and for a while, I wasn't just sure of the reason -- but it is because the puzzle is a picture of a "painting" and the pieces are covered in brush strokes that obscure the items but become clearer when assembled. If the puzzle is a picture of a picture, then the pieces are easier to "see" where they fit in. We learn something every day. . .<br />
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And finally today -- what is on our nightstand? A lot of books, but the one we are currently reading has an interesting way that it came into our hands.<br />
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We both had our regularly scheduled dental appointments this week. While waiting we noticed an addition to the waiting room -- a bookshelf.<br />
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On the shelves were several books and a note posted on top stating that this was a lending library -- take one, read one, return when finished.<br />
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Initially, I ignored it -- but as time went on I started perusing the titles and found one that interested me -- "A Higher Loyalty" by James Comey.<br />
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Still very much in the news these days and seemingly a person of interest to read about -- I decided to take advantage of the book offer and so we are reading it.<br />
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We are finding it very interesting certainly with respect to this week's actions -- that being the pulling of security clearances of some folks and may include the author of this book as well -- but the interesting behind-the-scenes look at the goings-on in the White House.<br />
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There was another book that came out this week that I'm not sure I would read based on my impression of that author over the last few years -- but James Comey, I feel is a legitimate person to listen to and has the right to share his side of the story.<br />
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So, that is a bit of our week. Hope to see you all "in a few"! 👨👩<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-41064311674098204812018-08-11T12:45:00.000-07:002018-08-11T12:45:30.440-07:00Somebody "Cry Uncle" Already . . .Okay, we give up -- enough is enough. Our local paper "The Press Democrat" says Healdsburg was 103° yesterday. We have experienced several weeks now of 90+° days. Our a/c has been running -- it seems like forever and thank goodness for that at least. We have no memory of rain in the recent months.<br />
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The earth has been scorched over thousands of acres, the heat and the winds continue and the fires have complete control wherever they go.<br />
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We wake up to mostly diffused sunlight -- today was fairly clear -- and hopefully, that is a good sign.<br />
It looks as though an air force dropping retardant is needed at all times now. I'm not sure if the retardant is washable from the surfaces of the structures that it saves but it probably is or at least can easily be painted over . . .<br />
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Aside from the real fire dangers here, it is just plain uncomfortable -- last night the temperature stayed relatively warm throughout the night and so sleeping was sporadic -- again. And apparently, we haven't even gotten into the "fire season" yet.<br />
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One of my activities this week has involved the process of gathering all the folks from the tree into manageable units to be able to display them in charts like the above. It is a time-consuming activity and can only be done piece-meal.<br />
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One thing for sure about this hobby is that it is "never going to be completed". There are always things that need to be done or fixed or corrected or explained. But that is the beauty of this activity.<br />
Some of our other activities DO have completions, like our book reading and our puzzle working.<br />
But they too offer us their own form of "payback".<br />
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Linked closely to the genealogical activity is the DNA activity. While we have our DNA tested by four different companies and continually receive "matches" from those tests, we have not participated in the other very exciting aspect of DNA tests -- and that is -- making identifications.<br />
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To me, it is a wonderful use of this fairly new technological advance, i.e. the catching of decades-old criminals who probably thought that they had no chance of being caught. This week CeCe Moore aided in catching yet another cold case killer and has said that these cases are "only the beginning" of many cases already in the pipeline to be solved. We anxiously await the news . . .<br />
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If you are looking for something to do this weekend -- may be a drive along one of the world's longest garage sales will satisfy your quest for adventure and/or "stuff".<br />
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This event originated 19 years ago set into action by Linda Hiles and her husband, Frank -- I still do not know if we are related, but that doesn't matter. The "yard sale" goes on for some 160 miles or so and I can only imagine what it is like to drive that route. Who isn't tempted to stop when seeing a variety of items set up for sale at potentially below bargain prices . . .<br />
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We did manage to watch a bit of the two NFL pre-season games for the teams in our area. Both games seemed chaotic, as can be expected for first of the pre-season games. But both games had an element that ruined watching even chaotic play and that was the behavior displayed by some players during the national anthem.<br />
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Something needs to happen e.g. just not showing OR mentioning any of this activity during the TV broadcast. But once the image of this activity is shown it ruins the spirit of the game for me.<br />
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If it continues -- we'll just stop watching any NFL games this season and buy more jig-saw puzzles to occupy our time. We might just do that anyway.<br />
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The NFL may just go the way of pro boxing and pro wrestling in our home -- not ever watched. I remember in the early days of TV, boxing and wrestling were very big attractions, but not anymore.<br />
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I suppose that it is too much to hope for that "our town" is as just as "down-to-earth" as the above depiction. I like to think in terms of the above but recognize that it just represents a dream of sorts.<br />
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Our town is a small town -- but ever growing and changing. Why, we even have a functioning "roundabout" today (almost completed after a couple of years . . .) that change from a five-way stop is so much better, even from the first day of driving through the construction zones. And to think that in our town there were so many "doubters" . . .<br />
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Well, that is a bit of our week. See you all "in a few"! 👨👩<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-51815009274974297222018-08-04T12:36:00.000-07:002018-08-04T12:36:27.282-07:00August AlreadyIt may be August and it may still be HOT here and the "back to school" sales are booming. The youngsters around here get to return to school in a few weeks -- no longer is it the week after "Labor Day" for school sessions to restart.<br />
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But first, most everyone around here is tuned in to the status of the wildfires burning in so many locations around California and other states as well.<br />
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The "Carr" fire burning up in Shasta County now around 150,000 acres consumed is one of the worst fires in California's history.<br />
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While the fire is a couple of hours driving time to the north of us -- it still is of concern for a couple of reasons -- the conditions here are hot, dry and windy AND a fire like that could easily start here the way that it did by Redding -- i.e. by a flat tire or some other accidental means. </div>
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The sun seemed smoke diffused yesterday in the early morning though we have not detected a smoke smell -- yet. We check throughout the day and it is always in the back of our minds. The TV news is predominantly about the fires (the good news is that it cuts back on some of the other disastrous news that we have to deal with on a daily basis).</div>
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Our local newspaper -- the Press Democrat -- contains a large percentage of space devoted to the fire results of last October's disaster and now the new constantly featured fires this year.</div>
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The stories of the evacuations both mandatory and voluntary remind us that after just recently having "unpacked" our bags from last year that we might have to repack again this year . . .</div>
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The naming of the huge "Carr" fire was curious to me since we have a large number of Carr folks in our tree but it turns out that the "Carr" reference is to one of the highways on which the fire originated with the flat tire -- they surmise.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLOz82EsMNtXRjMXNEYgIqhmm_xdN949LblRvE4kwT7K4JXj43r7wzJYCgJdyVLAWzja_udGfoo2MwXD2rAIbCZPWKByq2ukioJsZB7AW1e0TV3qkZvzIJfVPqt962LY4OC74LyrF8xw/s1600/1973StLouisFireServiceRecords.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="1600" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLOz82EsMNtXRjMXNEYgIqhmm_xdN949LblRvE4kwT7K4JXj43r7wzJYCgJdyVLAWzja_udGfoo2MwXD2rAIbCZPWKByq2ukioJsZB7AW1e0TV3qkZvzIJfVPqt962LY4OC74LyrF8xw/s320/1973StLouisFireServiceRecords.jpg" width="320" /></a>Speaking of fires -- the 1973 fire in St Louis that burned about 90% of the military records of Army personnel including many members of our family tree (my father's as well) still frustrates the search in that area.</div>
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There is always some hope that alternative documents will be found that could recreate some of the millions of important files lost. In my father's case, it is frustrating to not be able to put together his military history from the 1920s and into the 1930s.</div>
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This is that time of the year that there are no holidays to celebrate -- but that doesn't mean we can't honor some of the lesser known "national" days. </div>
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For example -- today is supposedly "National Chocolate-Chip Cookie Day" and I think we can figure out how to celebrate that fairly easily . . .</div>
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Next week -- Wednesday -- is "National Sneak Zucchini Onto a Neighbor's Porch" day. We actually used to do this before we knew about the holiday and had a garden full of the stuff . . .</div>
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So there are ways to make each day special -- and that is what we try to do.</div>
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Our day might have been really more special if only we had seen the "light" a few years back and bought Apple stock . . . </div>
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Apple became the first officially recognized $1 Trillion sized U.S. corporation. Who would have ever thought that that would happen?</div>
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I do love Apple products and have used them for many years mostly via their iPad products -- I love to use that every day as does Gail. I would have used an Apple desktop if the software that I wanted was available to run on Apple -- today it is, but I'm entrenched in Windows too.</div>
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DNA still is capturing the headlines these days. To me, it is a welcome addition to the tools we use in genealogy -- but -- it is also fast becoming huge news to the crime-solving world. A few months ago we saw the start of many cold-cases being solved.</div>
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This week, we learned that even recently committed crimes are being solved via the use of DNA. One particularly satisfying result came in with the capture of a criminal who had taunted police and feeling secure with getting away with his crime -- until DNA use. </div>
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As I have mentioned in previous posts -- I receive a large number of DNA matches every week. The unfortunate detail is that it is hard to connect those matches "in the tree". To date, I have received over a couple of thousand matches with only a handful that can be tied to the tree -- hopefully, that will change.</div>
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Besides, "Zucchini Day", coming up this next week is the return of the NFL games. I will wait to see how enthusiastic I'll be watching this season if a couple of things happen -- especially if there are political "statements" happening during the games . . .</div>
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And then there are the "49ers" -- they finished last season very strongly and have given most fans some real reason to look forward to the start of this season -- except for the addition of at least one player who in my mind is a total distraction and could be the reason that I won't want to watch the Niners. We'll see about the above events . . .</div>
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That is a peek into our week. See you all "in a few"! 👨👩</div>
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Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-78657505339421893342018-07-28T13:30:00.000-07:002018-07-28T13:30:31.890-07:00Peek at the WeekThe last week of July 2018 -- today the 209th day of the year and that's the news -- just kidding though this week has high lighted the normal day to day mundane acts that happen through our typical week. Almost nothing is noteworthy but never-the-less it goes on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aW6Q4VrgDU23RIQfpCFpDUwIzyIuvOsu96Xa88RlQDnlUReCQDnkVDo22mRzDaKJiW0BuCBNsitQNWfUv2JCQX-GLbpK2kGBYAkHdkZmyfyY7ADejd2z4m8QKIdkUhWDZaU4P31W1C0/s1600/PeekWeek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aW6Q4VrgDU23RIQfpCFpDUwIzyIuvOsu96Xa88RlQDnlUReCQDnkVDo22mRzDaKJiW0BuCBNsitQNWfUv2JCQX-GLbpK2kGBYAkHdkZmyfyY7ADejd2z4m8QKIdkUhWDZaU4P31W1C0/s400/PeekWeek.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The above represents just some of the things that stuck in my memory in picture form representing this week. There are a ton more images that could be included that would define the week more, but this will suffice for now.<br />
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So just what does go on in the lives of a couple of shut-ins like us. This week is a good example of the activities that take up our daily routines.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyFDvNS3nDqfOc8UO_d7AcWlwLOw3yVOEL65NCO2GKoGt2JF2YLXraPu-_0h9jXbca5qNsjsz-Nj09KBXrm7PKnFjIm_44DxYJB7hbOqn3WC5b7jhO6BQWKPvI5Kp0hpM0ntXMOcIh-Y/s1600/DaysWeek.bmp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="336" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmyFDvNS3nDqfOc8UO_d7AcWlwLOw3yVOEL65NCO2GKoGt2JF2YLXraPu-_0h9jXbca5qNsjsz-Nj09KBXrm7PKnFjIm_44DxYJB7hbOqn3WC5b7jhO6BQWKPvI5Kp0hpM0ntXMOcIh-Y/s200/DaysWeek.bmp.jpg" width="172" /></a>Some of the highlights of our week are laundry day (Monday) with maybe some housekeeping as well e.g. vacuuming.<br />
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Garbage pick-up (Friday morning) means late Thursday hauling out the cans curbside.<br />
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In between those days, we have regular daily duties like meal preparation, puzzle work maybe, reading the morning paper, watching TV and of course napping.<br />
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I try to squeeze in some genealogical searching and communicating with cousins at different times during the day.<br />
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Then there are the administrivia duties that present themselves at various times throughout the week. Often after one of the highlighted regimens occurs, i.e. postal delivery -- we try to have as much sent to us via the internet as we have NO confidence in our mail service.<br />
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But, over all the many years we have lived here, there have been very few times that we did not receive any mail for a given day -- though we know that there has been a couple of days when it wasn't sleet or snow that prevented mail delivery -- but pure mismanagement on the part of the USPS that caused them to not deliver the mail that particular day . . .<br />
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Our car tells us the last date that we have driven the vehicle -- and the other day it gave us the information that it had been 12 days since we had gone out for a drive -- fairly typical for us lately.<br />
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We try to have as much shopping done on the web as possible and then it is receiving often daily shipments from UPS, FedEx and even the USPS with an increased need for cardboard management.<br />
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Basically, we have and try to keep a routine that allows us to enjoy the day with three squares, maybe an exciting sporting event, some puzzling work (or needlepoint), napping and keeping up with "Wheel & Jeopardy".<br />
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I almost forgot -- this week, another highlight was that we both got haircuts -- Gail in the salon from the woman who she has been going to for almost 20 years -- and me at home from me . . .<br />
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By now I'm sure you can tell that this has been an uneventful week (and that is a good thing).<br />
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The above comic is so representative of expressions. I wish that I had pictures of my great-grandparents -- I have a few but I need so many others. Gail has quite a few of her g g parents photos.<br />
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And looking into the future -- I have always felt that the things shared on social media sites will be there forever and I'm sure that future folks interested in family history will have a field day when researching those sites.<br />
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So that is a bit of our "regular" week, today is supposed to be "National Hamburger Day" so guess what is on our menu for tonight -- actually, tuna/noodle salad . . . we'll celebrate tomorrow.<br />
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See you all "in a few"! 👨👩<br />
<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-89742939338545553552018-07-21T13:07:00.000-07:002018-07-21T13:07:01.661-07:00Night & DayThe nights have been warm and the days a bit warmer . . . the other night the new moon was low in the sky off to the west -- beautiful and I was able to get a quick snapshot and it turned out. You can even make out the "fabric" of the moon's surface.<br />
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Then in the morning, Gail spotted the yellow gladiolas out front along with another flower that I am not familiar with and of course our favorite -- the irises.<br />
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The moon has risen higher in the sky each night but so far remains picturesque. While outside watching Dino during his "last business trip" of the day, the air is surprisingly cool, but inside we have managed to trap warmer air that will stay there through most of the night -- very uncomfortable.<br />
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Of course at night, right before sleep, we read and we are still about a little more than a third of the way through the book on Robin Williams.<br />
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We are amazed at some of the events in his life but not totally surprised.<br />
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I can't imagine living the lifestyle that he did at any of his different stages, from childhood on up through adulthood.<br />
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There is little to admire in a lot of his life. To round out the reading of the book, we took the advantage of viewing the HBO special last week, about the life of Robin Williams.<br />
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We found the HBO presentation disjointed and often depressing in so many instances. My following of Robin from those days consisted mostly of seeing him on late night talk shows and in a couple of movies -- mainly "Good Morning Viet Nam" which I enjoyed. So we were isolated from the "real" life of Robin as it was shown on HBO. I can see why some folks were not "sold" on him . . .<br />
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It'll probably be about two weeks before we finish the book and then on to the next one . . .<br />
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But looking at the day again -- how did we spend at least some of our time?<br />
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We decided to try a "regular" puzzle this time instead of our usual wooden one.<br />
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We chose a 1000 piece colorful and interesting display about one of our favorite topics -- books.<br />
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Of course, Gail announced for sure that there was "no way" we could do this puzzle as we started it last Saturday.<br />
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But -- as of this Saturday we are about 90% finished, in other words, we have managed to put together about 900 of the pieces and it -- even according to Gail -- is very doable.<br />
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And it has been fun and engaging. Even though the "piece" quality is not the same as the wooden puzzles we have been working, it is just fine -- we will probably keep mixing our choices of puzzles to keep the interest high. The next one we have lined up though has about 50% water, and so that will be a challenge for sure.<br />
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In between moon gazing and puzzle working I spent countless hours doing searches for even more family lore -- and I keep finding bits and pieces here and there.<br />
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I keep adding folks to the tree and even though some of them are really "way distant" it is fine.<br />
I communicated with 5 "cousins" this week about various branches of the family and traded information back and forth.<br />
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I received a rolled up scroll for one branch that will take me several days to add to the tree and to make sure that there are resources backing up the data. And that is what I find intriguing -- it is a lot like the jigsaw puzzle except that the family tree will never be completed, hopefully, that is not true for the wooden or cardboard puzzles . . .<br />
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And that IS a bit of our summertime week. See you all "in a few" ! 👨👩Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857197971942281176.post-64105498959914976402018-07-14T13:09:00.000-07:002018-07-14T13:09:43.800-07:00♪ ♫ Summertime & the Livin' is Easy ♪ ♫It truly is summertime but the livin' isn't always that easy due to the nonstop heat. We do feel lucky that our a/c has kept up with the heat to some degree . . . when it is 100° outside we are about 20 degrees cooler inside -- so still 80° . . .<br />
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This is what "summer" is looking like -- somewhat -- we actually identify the most with the picture of the blazing sun, the rest is wishful thinking.<br />
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For the youngsters, summer has about one month to go before the school bells chime for real again. I have mixed feelings about the summer vacation as it has evolved over the years.<br />
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Today, 14 July, is "Bastille Day" celebrated by France as the beginning of their revolution and the storming of that fortress.<br />
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I always feel sympathetic to Bastille Day, not so much due to politics, but due to every French class that I ever took always made a "big deal" of that celebration.<br />
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On my side of the family, I have not uncovered any French ancestors or relatives, there probably are some -- I just have never discovered them.<br />
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On Gail's side, she does have some French relatives, in fact, some of the few remaining examples of her maiden name -- Bouldron -- are found in France.<br />
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France has a "big" day tomorrow as they are in the final of the World Cup.<br />
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France plays Croatia tomorrow in Moscow. Have you been watching the games . . . we -- sadly to say -- have a hard time watching a complete soccer game.<br />
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The action on the field directly impacts our ability to concentrate or to stay awake for that matter. Scoring so little as every hour or so gets to be so tedious -- but we try . . .<br />
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I have spent my time mostly this week with sporadic searches -- following the hints that Ancestry.com puts into their "shaking leaves" in the tree.<br />
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Again, I have been all over the genealogical field and sometimes actually working on relatives that are closer than "grandchild of step-uncle's wife of 4th cousin three times removed".<br />
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If I find good information for relatives like the above example, I add it to the tree -- you just never know when you are going to hit "pay dirt".<br />
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And this week, too, I have been in communication with two cousins with whom I am exchanging family information -- again, you never know . . .<br />
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And did you know -- or remember that:<br />
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That July is "National Ice Cream Month".<br />
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That's right, President Reagan designated this month to focus on ice cream.<br />
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Every month in our house is focused on ice cream -- we mostly purchase our favorite half gallons these days.<br />
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And we mostly choose vanilla of some kind and then adorn it with caramel or chocolate sauce -- so good . . . but just tiny portions of course.<br />
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And actually along with a month of recognition -- the third Sunday in July is set aside as "National Ice Cream Day" . . . it is expected that appropriate celebrations happen -- we'll try to do our part.<br />
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And, "Oh, My" did you know that today is Day 195 of the year. That means that after today there are only 170 days remaining in 2018.<br />
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That means about 164 days 'til Christmas.<br />
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About 130 days 'til Thanksgiving.<br />
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About 108 days 'til Halloween . . . but who's counting?<br />
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So get busy and prepare for these events -- each has it's own<br />
preparation need.<br />
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And lastly, for those who are thinking about having your DNA tested and are utilizing the "swab", it is probably wise to take<br />
heed of the suggestion to the right.<br />
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I look forward to more of our tree folks testing -- it is a good thing to point out that even siblings can receive different markers in their results for a variety of reasons.<br />
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That is a bit of our "hot" week. See you all "in a few"! 👨👩<br />
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Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15021412961279120290noreply@blogger.com0