Search This Blog

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Made in the Shade . . . 10° of Separation

Okay, so it was hot -- what else is new for Healdsburg in July? A lot I suppose, but we did have two or three days of 100° weather and NOW for the last two days it has been at least 10° cooler. Actually as I write this post and sit by the opened window there is a very refreshing, cooling breeze.

Unfortunately while the weather climate is more agreeable other climates like tension around the globe is not cooling off and then there is the political climate -- more on that later.

Made in the shade . . .


The above floral group is found in the shade out back. We venture out only a couple of times in the day choosing the indoors for comfort.

About 54% of this year has passed. We are one day shy of 200 out of 366 for 2016.

But we have only 113 days to go until the Presidential Election on Tuesday, November 8th -- and that time will fly by.

For these first 200 days this year we have seen and heard tons of new approaches to campaigning.

We can only imagine what these next days will bring.


So what will we do next week -- like my Mother used to say:  "You get three guesses, and the first two don't count" :


So, who doesn't like balloons. Actually I have always pretty much enjoyed watching the convention activities. There will be no shortage of TV coverage. One could spend 24/7 listening in on the goings on.

What surprises will there be and how will the crowds be behaving both indoor and outside the Cleveland Arena.

So next week is fairly decided as to what to watch, but there will be many options as to which point of view you want to hear about and see.

Years ago I used to always check the comics for "Dennis" and a couple of others -- just like today I read three different comics and skip the rest.

I have to agree with the question that Dennis poses and I make it a practice to spend a large amount of my disposable genealogical search time just climbing the tree.

Some times when I am in the tree, just as in an actual physical tree, I feel as though I am so far out on a limb that there is potential for some sort of trouble.

I sometimes take a break from climbing "our" tree and seek out other trees to climb or I watch someone else climb their tree.

I almost feel that climbing the tree gives me a special insight into the "leaves" or people found there . . .



Following are some examples of this week's tree climb:



On the left is an example of climbing in Gail's tree. I started with George Calhoun, who is one of the brothers of Captain Rufus Calhoun. George is Gail's 3x Great Uncle. He, like his brothers, had a full beard and it is nice that I could find his photo.

I did not find a photo of George's son, but I did find a photo of his grandson, Grant Glen Calhoun who is Gail's 2nd cousin and I identified his son to be Scott Calhoun a 3rd cousin.

The 3rd cousin actually died in Santa Rosa in 2000 -- close to home for us. Maybe I can find out more about Scott and possible offspring that may still live in the area.

Next -- in the middle section -- I took a break and went climbing in the tree of my brother's wife, Nancy.

I know some basics about Nancy's family, but I stumbled across a photo of her Great Grandfather,
Philip Sheridan Francis who was born one year after the Civil War in 1866.

Obviously his parents gave him his name in honor of Philip Henry Sheridan the Civil War General.
General Sheridan was a career Union Army officer and played a large role in the war and in subsequent activities.

It is rare to find photos of our relatives from that generation. I have found only a handful of folks from that time period, but I know that they probably exist somewhere.

And lastly, I'm still climbing around the Madsen/Matson branches though the "low-hanging fruit" has been picked, so-to-speak. I'm getting close to getting a handle on some of the living folks that maybe I can communicate with -- we'll see.

And I can't stress this sentiment enough -- we are
for all intents and purposes --

A Nice, Normal Family . . .

And after climbing the branches for awhile and seeing the diverse number of families, it is very much the fact -- we are within the norm.

So we keep at it, at least for another week, in- between convention coverage, crisis and other horrific reporting, the climb.

It is Sunday and it is beautiful outside, probably chicken for dinner.

See you all "in a few"!



No comments: