Brisk & Beautiful -- It's All Fall . . .

What can I say -- 30s in the nighttime and mid 70s during the day, how enjoyable is that . . . this has to be our favorite season of the year except for the other three . . .

It used to be that growing up I associated fall with the return to school and with very cold and often snowy weather. At our current home we hear the school kids during their recess and lunch periods and then still baseball games going on in the evenings and weekends -- all in all pleasant background sounds.

Above are some of the fall colors that are so abundant around the country. These pictures are certainly worth many millions of words and evoke very strong feelings. I actually feel as though I have driven through the above numerous times and quite surprisingly we can drive just a short distance and find ourselves surrounded by the fall palette.

From Our Tree -- Birthdays This Past Week

With the many folks celebrating birthdays in this first week of November most of us are familiar with many names on the list. We wish them all a Happy Birthday!

From Our Tree -- Other Dates & Anniversaries This Past Week (and Statistics)

Eight couples celebrate wedding anniversaries and for one relative John Hiles III, my Gr Gr Grand Uncle, marks the day that he went into the Army during the Civil War.

The right side of the chart shows some of the statistics of the tree as it is on the HILES website. The numbers change all the time as I try to add things each week.

There are nearly 3600 individuals in the tree with 8 folks living well over 100 years. There are almost 800 unique surnames and over 750 photos attached to these folks. You can always check out my most recent changes and/or additions by looking a the "What's New" page.

While the website requires being a registered user that is there to keep privacy issues intact. It is easy to acquire an I.D. and then once obtained you can just take your time to explore the site.

If you want to visit:     Hiles Website  and let me know "what you think" . . .

The Automobile Attraction(s)

Over the years it has been fun to see pictures of the automobiles that we find from the family. And this week I was treated to a really fun video from the Ford Family of Racing. (thank you Marilee & Bill)

The above is the 1901 Ford that could exceed 70 miles per hour -- what a beauty. I can only imagine trying to hold on around corners . . .

You can check out the Henry Ford Museum at:  The Henry Ford Museum and explore automotive history.

Webinars This Week

Again this week I was treated to two webinars offered by Legacy Family Tree Webinars. The one on Wednesday was about doing research and the various steps involved in several reader submitted scenarios. I always learn from these presentations and this was no exception. It is valuable to see others work through a brick wall or tough situation.

Marion Pierre-Louis did a great job walking us through the steps to solve typical research questions.

The webinar on Friday morning was presented by Marlo Schuldt who worked through how to utilize the GPS features to aid in presenting your family's history. He demonstrated how GPS added value to research and made it not only easier but more enjoyable.

Fortunately, Legacy has announced already some of the 2014 webinars and their topics.

Across the Pond (folks from our tree)

A couple of years ago I briefly mentioned some facts about one of my Mother's favorite cousins. His name is Keith Bumgardner and it took me some time before I realized his full name was actually Charles Keith Bumgardner but he went by the name of Keith.

Keith was orphaned early in his life and lived with various relatives while growing up. Ultimately Keith joined the Army during World War II and found himself stationed in Japan (as was Gail's father).

Unlike Jimmie Bouldron -- who returned to the U.S. after the war -- Keith found work that allowed him to live in Japan and of course he ultimately married a Japanese woman and they started a family. Mariko was their daughter. She was born in the early 1950s -- she would be my 2nd cousin.

In the latest batch of pictures that I have scanned -- one was of Mariko and her husband Tatsuo Otani on their wedding day. I of course have never met Mariko but knowing that there is a "Bumgardner" kin in Japan is interesting -- maybe, just maybe we'll meet . . .

And by now there are probably little Otanis -- I wonder if any of them have the "Bumgardner" nose . . .

What is on Our Nightstand

Our reading habits include an eclectic library -- but there is usually a theme -- biography. We finished the Manson book and then lightened that up with Linda Ronstadt and now we are halfway through a very interesting tale:  Johnny Carson.

Like a lot of folks I spent a lot of time watching Johnny on "The Tonight Show" and I thought that I knew most of the key facts -- but again I have been proven wrong with many surprises. The "bombastic" Bushkin as Johnny used to refer to his lawyer has written a real eye-opener, for me anyway.

In the first half of the book we have been surprised several times -- I wonder what is going to be uncovered in the second half . . .

Speaking of Second Halves . . .

There is soo much enlightenment that comes with age and if only we could have known the things that we know now . . . when we were going through other phases of life -- but such is the state of living.

One thing that would really be nice is if "Google" or some other high tech company would invent the pill or the button that when pushed or taken will just make everything "Okay".

And then I found it:  

A new button added to the everyday keyboard -- well I ordered that right away and it is now up and running -- as you can see . . .

And Everything is Okay!


So that was a bit of our week. And tonight being Saturday night we are in line for burgers stir-fry. It is "Stir-Fry Saturday Night" -- just thought we mix things up a bit . . .

See you all in a few!