Somewhere in Time . . . Mid June Actually

Certainly we never know exactly what a week or a month is going to bring. So far in this month of June we have experienced a huge variety of events, emotions and just plain every day things.
Mondays have a special sense about them -- as I was walking the dog this morning it was very apparent that it was "Monday". Somehow the days of the week are "trued" up on Monday and this day was no different with that in mind.

Looking back over the last two weeks the "main" event focused around a graduation taking place in our family . . . there actually were more than one family graduation but the local one is the one that got attended by us. There were guests from many places in attendance and the very special flavor brought to the forefront was a "reunion" of sorts too. And that is where genealogy comes into play for me. Even though this was from a branch related to me by marriage (or unmarriage) as the case goes, I have been very active in following up on those leads. The leads have added many branches to my "tree" and how I wish all these leads were for my direct line -- but -- there is satisfaction and learning that comes from the effort.

Through this process I have renewed some acquaintances and made several new ones. I am happy to report that "the smell of brimstone" never materialized. I am continuing to uncover leaves for this branch and loving it.

While in attendance at the graduation ceremony I suppose it is a natural thing to recall one's own graduation and that is what I did -- as best as I could since it was so long ago. Another event that we attended had to do with "close friend" status and that event also evoked many emotions and how to deal with good-bye.

Now looking at the farther away relatives -- it seems to be very quiet in all directions. It is vacation time but no plans have been made to do much in the way of travel. The weather here continues to be unseasonable in that it has been a lot cooler lately than what we would expect. That is okay with us.

Our hope now is that we have had our fill of "reality checks" for this month and the months to come. We wish to continue our games of Quiddler (on the deck) and most recently Dominoes (double twelves, on the deck) with wild abandon shortly before we "do" dinner and begin our evening's entertainment cycle . . . and we will squeeze in a little league game or two.

New Week, New Month, Maybe New Branch

This day starts June of 2009 -- it is a quiet day here and overcast which is just fine with me. There are scattered clouds which makes it appear as though it may rain . . . playing and staying indoors is the answer. Last month brought a variety of days -- the highlight though would have to be the down home Memorial Day parade and the accompanying fair.
June begs the sounds of graduations and birthdays and other things to celebrate along with BBQs and just relaxing on the deck . . .

Meanwhile, I have been climbing around the far out branches of my several genealogical trees. I seem to find that it is truly rewarding to "play it forward" that is, reaching out to find the living "leaves" that I was unaware of just a short time ago. So instead of only going to the fallen leaves of long ago I have stretched out to the "new growth". And it has been rewarding. New cousins have appeared along with possible discoveries of even more.

Today though, I am doing a little of both -- I am putting my arms around the most stable part of the tree and then with baby reaches stretching to see if I can find the new growth . . .

On the "folksy" side of things -- a fun time was had by all who attended the 17th birthday party of one of our "Daytons" and a long distance sharing of the celebration for Chris who had his 39th -- and Carolyn in his family who had her 10th . . . a nice variety. And Auggie turned 10 too!

We were visited the other day by one of Gail's former secretaries along with her daughter & husband and six month old daughter and spent a very pleasant afternoon -- the weather even cooperated -- not too hot, not too cold, just right.

We are looking foward to the events of this month -- Olivia graduates from eighth grade -- nice -- it only seems like she already did that. For that occasion it looks as though there will be out-of-towners arriving soon. Dina and family from Wisconsin and then mystery guests from Pennsylvania that will be fun to meet and greet -- I think they were the ones I mentioned in an earlier blog . . .

Gail and others too (Audrey) will be celebrating special days this month. So all will be fun. I'm collecting recipes for an upcoming BBQ yet to be announced -- but I'm thinking "pulled" pork sounds nice and maybe some smoked meats along with slaw and "Hiles Homeade Ice Cream" . . . we'll see. Gail and Silvia also will taxiing down the roadway to an event scheduled by Jennifer as yet not totally disclosed.

So, so goes the start of June -- so far really good! For me it is back to Ancestry, Geni, Footnote, GenealogyBank and several others always on the prowl. And when that is maxed out -- on to the deck for another round of Quiddler -- before dinner . . .