Fourth & 10 . . .

After 70 some "4ths" this is pretty much a favorite holiday -- ranks up there with Thanksgiving in that as Jimmy Kimmel put it " I don't have to wrap anything".  I agree. It is just a day to reflect and enjoy.
Usually we enjoy BBQ'd eats and a terrific fireworks display.

We can see some of the local fireworks without leaving our yard. We see some of the very high-in-the-sky ones -- and we mostly hear and feel the reverberations and concussions as they happen.

One plus is that while Dino hears them, he does not require medication or comforting while the show goes on. We are happy about that. And we don't miss attending the live show with the throngs of folks and the half-block long line up of porta-potties . . .

There has been about 240 4th of July celebrations since the original in 1776. I can claim about 30%.
If you get right down to it -- a lot of them are blurred and mixed in with each other.

We went "all-out" again with our decorating adding some new bunting on the front porch to the array including the authentic "13 Colonies" flag and some other banners. Growing up, I remember our father always displaying the old flag on this and other holidays. Our family did have the old flag from Samuel Martin's (Thorbjornsen) ship -- I wonder what happened to that flag . . .

While this week is "not-so-quiet" next week will surely be "a quite week". Why so -- the final edition of "A Prairie Home Companion" played last evening.

After 42 years, Garrison Keillor is wrapping up the weekly radio broadcast of APHC.

Over the years he has brought us so much enjoyment. I am a few months different in age as Garrison and I grew up in roughly the same geographical environment AND I am familiar with a lot of what he refers to as being "Lutheran" -- even though we were not Lutheran.

Parts of our family were Lutheran and even my younger brother attended a Lutheran school, so much of what Garrison described -- I recognized.

What will he do next. I doubt that he will just stop entertaining. I'm sure that he has "something up his sleeve". And we sure hope so!

Send Greetings to Garrison

The above link is to the PHC website where you can send a message to Garrison ( I already have).
When I write this weekly blog it so hard NOT to start it with "It's been a quiet week" . . .


I did manage to "squeeze-in" a webinar this week. One from Legacy Family Tree Webinars:

It of course was on DNA and that subject is still so confusing to me.

But, each time I attend a class or webinar about DNA it becomes a little bit easier to digest.

The speaker to the left, Diahan Southard is really enthusiastic and knowledgeable about DNA.

She made a very professional presentation and used really eye-catching slides which made the subject matter so much more understandable.

As I have mentioned before, I have tested with the three majors of DNA test companies -- Family Tree DNA, Ancestry DNA and 23 & Me DNA.  Each one has provided many connections and every day as more and more folks get tested -- more results.

Ancestry DNA for me now is providing the easiest way to see how each connection is related to me via folks in trees.

One of the most important messages from this and other DNA presentations is that -- do it now and start with the oldest folks in your branches for obvious reasons. The testing process is certainly simple enough -- who doesn't love "spitting" anyway -- in a tube that is.

As I wrote about last post -- I am spending a lot of tree-time in the "Thorbjornsen" branches:

Above is just the "tip" of the Thorbjornsen tourbillion -- tourbillion being a new word discovered just today on "Word of the Day".  It refers to a meteoric rise in the number of Thorbjornsens that I have been adding to the tree.

I actually have been able to add two photos of Samuel Martin's brothers -- I wish that I could find a good photo of Samuel -- hopefully that will happen.

But in the chart above, the arrows underneath the lowest folks indicate that I have already added many folks "to the line".  Eventually I will get to the "living descendants" and hopefully be able to communicate with them -- like I did last week with Alf Christophersen, who supplied some very detailed data on the family.

Now, with only 127 days until our Presidential election, who will be the running mates of the candidates.  Here are some of the folks on the lists:

It is going to be interesting in the coming days.

I never thought about the last person shown on Hillary's list -- I guess it could happen . . .

Some sites have said that Trump has already selected his running mate and so you have to ask why it is reported also that he is going through a "vetting" process this weekend . . .


And lastly, while this is not true for us at our house, I'm sure it is true for some:

That is a bit of our week -- enjoy the rest of the Holiday Weekend -- we'll see you all "in a few".