Blooms Back, So is the Heat (in Healdsburg)

We welcome back the heat and the things that are nourished by the sun -- flowers and the garden things. This year we have planned to NOT have as many tomatoes as we did last year AND to my knowledge, there are NO zucchinis in our garden (or future). We do have some peppers though . . .

One of my favorite flower is the IRIS and they are back this week, so beautiful. Click on the middle view above to get more detail.

There are many other bloomin' things going on right now so it is fun to see the various colors showing up around the yard. Purple does seem to dominate right now but that will change a bit as the weeks go on.

Dino and the Gnome are in the above along with the other blooms. The Lavender plants were alive with numerous bees doing their work. As I took these pictures around 8 AM I could feel the heat starting, and it should make it over the 100 degree mark sometime in the afternoon . . . we may not feel it though as the A/C is working hard at the moment -- and we are not planning to leave the premises.

Going On Right Now 

As I write this, the Southern California Genealogical Society's 2013 Jamboree is going full swing. Each year I think maybe I'll be attending and then . . . like this year the "window has closed" . . .

And this year they added one more day to the event -- so it runs from Thursday through Sunday of this week. And the added day was all about the impact that DNA is having on the genealogical world. And it is amazing the number of  "well-known and well-respected" speakers they are having. Our society here in Sonoma had/has one speaker (always good) but Southern Cal (held in Burbank) has over 50.

And they have numerous exhibits staffed with popular genealogical folks & "stuff" -- WOW! I am a member of both the Sonoma County Society and the Southern California Society and hope to visit the Jamboree, maybe next year . . .

Webinar Wednesday

Again I was dragged kicking and screaming attended the Wednesday presentation from Legacy Family Tree Webinars and this one by Marian Pierre-Louis. She presented a most interesting webinar having to do with the "genealogy of a house".

Above are just a couple of the many slides that she used in her presentation. The first reason that is listed as to why people research their homes is to "learn about former owners". In our case and with respect to our current home -- we don't have far to go about researching the former owners because we still get mail for most of them despite taking stacks back to the "crack" postal office . . .

Now, for some of the other homes that I have lived in or my relatives have lived in -- that is a different matter. One home I know is listed in a book describing it as a "historic residence" another though (the newest of the homes I lived in up to that point) has been totally demolished and a grander residence built in it's place.

When I went to look at my maternal grandparent's home in Chicago, via Google Maps, the first view of the house was totally obscured by leaves -- all I could see was the steps leading up the walkway. But by moving down the street a bit and looking back I could get some good photos (just like being there).

I hope to be able to report in subsequent posts findings that I get concerning some of the houses -- we'll see.
Especially I'd like to get the details of who owned the house that my (our) Great Grandfather Samuel Martin owned in Racine, Wisconsin at 1745 N Chatham. I'm not sure if it was built for him or if there were other owners -- there certainly are other owners now . . .

Speaking of Houses

And we were . . . we had "another project" completed yesterday. We had ten windows given new window coverings. A couple of them have been "bare" since early January when the kitchen work began -- the rest had cloth roll-up type coverings, maybe original . . .

The above are three examples -- the prior coverings on the left -- the new on the right. It really makes a difference and the "fish-bowl" feeling is no-more . . .

We also get an unobstructed west afternoon sun, the new shades will assist in keeping us a bit guarded from that -- we are getting use to the "new look", so far so good.

What's New 

I have to admit that I was far-afield and way out there on some of the branches this week. I found tidbits of information on various folks not necessarily about "main-line" relatives though.The things I found will be put into the HILES website for possible viewing by interested folks . . .

But -- I did find out about a maybe fun thing to do (thank you Eastman's Online Genealogical Newsletter) and that is a contest that is being held by a website:  treelines.com  and they are looking for entries telling "your story" on how and why you became interested in family history.

First though -- if you click on the above -- you'll see a "real" family tree . . . not much room for growth though. This one came from WorldFamilies.net, a site stating "where Genealogy meets DNA testing  and I liked their photo.

But, on the right side is the treelines.com contest announcement -- and it is available 'til July 19th, so you might consider telling your story -- I am planning on telling mine, which I usually do at the "drop of a hat". Watch for it in a future post . . .

How Hot Is It?

We were sooo glad that the mailman had a package today so he brought the mail to the door . . . that saved us from going "out" that's how hot it is -- supposed to be over 100 -- probably about now . . .

Earlier in the week though it got warm but we weren't sure early in the morning. On Tuesday we had invited many of the out-of-state visitors (attending Olivia's graduation) to come over to use the pool and for lunch. In the early morning there were clouds and a marine layer making the day look bleak -- but just around lunch-time, that changed and the sun came out nicely:

So, happy participants sat around and in the pool. Lunch (grilled cheese panninis) was served along with cones and popsicles for afterwards and beverages included. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we were glad that the pool got used twice in less than a few days.

It may get used again SOON that is, if we venture into the back yard -- we'll see. We hope we have everything we need for tonight's burger and fries Saturday night fare . . .

That was bit of our week, see you all in a few.