Horse & Carriage (Go together like . . .)

And what could be more appropriate for Valentine's Day than Love & Marriage. This is a big day for most of us and for our loved ones. I remember those Valentine's days growing up and going to school where most of the kids shared cutout valentine cards with most others in the class. And who could forget the candy treats . . . some of the traditions continue -- do they still share cards at schools.

Of course most of us know the history of this day but we celebrate it anyway and in our own way determined by our current circumstances.  The inscribed necklace, for example, given to my loved one has a multiple purpose . . . and I even received one as well.

What could be a more natural extension of
Valentine's Day than the expression to the
right.

One thing leads to another and before we know
it we're talking DNA.

A cousin asked me this week about any results
that I might have received from Ancestry DNA.

Well, I have received a lot of results:

First, I have a map showing where most of my ancestors came from -- and no surprise here really -- 100% European.

But the secret is to figure which ancestor came from what country and when.

New in Ancestry DNA is something called "DNA Circles".

To the right is one of several that are shown for me.

It is a circle for my paternal side and is one including the folks who relate to William Abrigen Gillett and his wife Juliette Head.

So far Ancestry DNA has identified eight other Ancestry members who are related to both William Abrigen Gillett, Juliette Head and to me.

Ancestry called this the "Lloyd Hampton Hiles" Family Group.

The work is still in "Beta", but there are results that may lead to uncovering other "cousins" of mine.

Some of the cousins shown in the circle I am already familiar with, but there are some that are new to me.

This is all new to me and it is likely going to be a really nice feature.

For example, the left circle above is identified as someone named "dmjenkins53" and I have no idea who that person is -- except now because Ancestry is including this circle information I can see the most likely relationship that I share with "dmjenkins53" as shown in the graph to the right.

So, it appears that our relationship is that of 3rd cousin -- one generation difference. And the line
for both of us is shown.

This is very helpful information and hopefully it will lead to communication between previously unidentified cousins.

So far I have nine DNA Circles to explore and as more and more people get DNA tested through Ancestry there will be most likely more and more discoveries.  Ahhh, technology!

This week I also did a ton of "adding resources" as identified by the shaky leaves in Ancestry.

The book to the left is "on our nightstand" currently. Someone loaned us the "large print version" and it is very nice to read with the large font.

The negative is that the book is just shy of 800 pages so it seems to weigh a lot too.

The book is really written well with every detail you could imagine about this heretofore relatively unknown (to me anyway) sport.

It takes place in Seattle in the 1930s and eventually in Berlin, at the 1936 Olympics.

Having lived in the Seattle area for 10 years, and Gail having grown up there, we are familiar with the geographical references.

We are about two thirds of the way through the book and are just starting the most interesting section -- to us anyway -- and that is the involvement at the infamous Berlin games and the Hitler era and all.

So, what is the logical thing for us to have for a Valentine's Day dinner -- I think ribs would be the natural selection . . .

So that is what we'll do. I am going to dig through the freezer and I know that there is one more package of ribs tucked away in there (from Costco of course).

There is no major event scheduled on TV today in the sporting world but there are some movies that may be fun to watch.

We watched both debates this week. Things are heating up and I have to wonder what surprises are coming.

There are about 267 days left before the election and that time will go by quickly and before we know it we'll be addressing a new president.

Speaking of presidents, tomorrow is "Presidents Day" and that means instead of  late and mis-delivered mail there will be NO mail delivered.

So Tuesday's mail will be overloaded.

Thinking about presidents, there have only been forty some presidents since our country was founded, That number seems low to me.

Enjoy the holiday and we'll see you all "in a few"!