It's Fall (ing) . . . the Sky

I have never been so interested in the activities of the moon until these recent years. I used to just acknowledge the existence and go about business as usual. The moon interest I guess started for me when I was in the tax business -- it seemed there was a change in the nature of business conducted at the time of a moon's fullness.

In the collage above the left picture is the "Man-in-the-Moon" a puzzle that we just finished this past week. The middle picture was taken on 23 Sep and shows the mottled ness of it all. And according to reports there will be a Supermoon this weekend -- all I can say is Wow!

This Week's Happenings

On TV this week more than half of the segments
featured the news surrounding the events to the right.

The wildfires in California are somewhat under control -- at least we don't smell smoke as much in the last few days.

And Pope Francis took up most of the rest of the news. It is amazing to us that someone his age (a bit older than us) can have so much energy and stamina to appear so confident and relaxed in what appears to be a very heavy schedule of events and appearances.

We are wiped out after a visit to the big-box store or as the case was this week for me, a visit to the DMV . . .

Webinars this Week

I was lucky enough this week to have two webinars to watch -- one on Wednesday and one on Friday.

The first one (on my birthday) was about researching ancestors in England & Wales.

It was excellent and since we do have some branches that we have identified as coming from England -- I am not sure about Wales -- the links, hints and examples will help in digging deeper into the tree.

The second webinar was also excellent and while we do not know of any of our ancestors fitting the category the process of using maps to aid in researching was really fascinating and useful.

One of the stimulants for me to start researching our roots was as the result of "Roots" by Alex Haley and reasoning that if he could find so much about his family then I ought to be able to find out about our family.

I have not yet found out some of what I'd like to find out -- e.g. where did the HILES originate and when did they actually first arrive in the U.S., but I'm still working on this work-in-progress.

The Beat Goes On

Well at least so far so good -- both Dino and I had birthdays this week. And probably the most nerve-racking aspect of this birthday was that in California, when your driver's license expires when you are passed 70 years of age, you have to come into the DMV office and be tested . . .

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at the DMV. I made an appointment for 2:30 on the day before my license would expire and I arrived at 1:59 pm. By 2:20 I was completely finished having taken the test, picture taken, eye exam and paperwork -- we were back on the road before even my appointment time -- the wonders never cease.

Above you can see some of the things that Dino and I celebrated over except that Dino did not seem to "get" the significance of the day that he turned four . . . but he loved his new chew toy and he keeps it near him during the day and does not fail to bring it over to me to hold for him several times per day. We are expecting the nylabone to last until Christmas when he'll get a replacement . . .

I received some great new reading and listening material (thanks Lisa & Bob) and also a new wooden puzzle and an exciting new product -- Amazon Echo (thanks Gail). If you haven't seen or heard of the Echo, it is a personal assistant that we both will use to provide us with entertainment and information as we ask for it . . .

The Searching This Week

I was able to do some research this week and an example of one result is off to the right.

The "Lemon" family again. Remember that Hannah Hiles (my 4th Gr Aunt) married David Lemon in 1812.

Her Grandson, Richard Lemon, is detailed with several bits of information off to the right. Richard is a 2nd Cousin (3x removed).

The LEMON family is given many different spellings and a lot of records show LEMMON and some show LEMONS or LEMMONS . . .

Richard survived his enlistment into the Union Army during the civil war and married and raised a family. I hope to uncover more about his situation and family members in the coming weeks.

From the Photo Shoebox

I found this photo among those that came from my mother's collection. On the back is written the name: Harald E Buhler,
Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Harald is the one on the right in the "golfing" outfit. How my mother knew him (or the other gentleman) I have no idea.

If anyone knows the answer -- please shoot me an email. The outfit is sure snazzy and might just fit into today's attire on the course . . .

I'd bet there are relatives of Harald that would love to have a copy of this photo.

I am happy to share any and all of the photos that I have -- just ask.





And Lastly, On Our Nightstand

We are fortunate that this week we finished reading and enjoying "To Kill a Mockingbird". We have adjusted the reading list.

We now have started to read "The Keillor Reader" of course written by Garrison Keillor -- one of my favorites.

Garrison is forty some days older than I am -- so I relate often to what he refers to in his writing.

AND, we both grew up in the Midwest and that adds another area of like experiences.  Plus he has some religious upbringing experiences that are not unlike what I can relate to . . . and there is the Norwegian factor as well.

In the book we have just finished reading the introduction, and that alone is worthy of great interest -- I learned many aspects of Garrison's life that I was not aware of previously.


So, that is a bit of our week. This is Saturday and it will be "dogs & burgers" later.

See you all "in a few"!