IT'S ALL IN THE DAILY NEWS

We record several news programs every day, and then wind up erasing them all to make room to record the next day's news programs . . . we don't watch all of the shows, but pick and choose to include a variety. Lately though almost all the news is surrounding the events in Washington.

And of course we all are included in the latest "twittering". I have sent out a few tweets over the years, but nothing to compare with the volume and content of today's tweets.

Actually lately the news programs are making the weather reports look more appealing even though those reports can get so repetitive and share way too much information.

And speaking of the weather:

We are glad that right now we live in Northern California and not near someplace like pictured to the right.

I do remember those years though and shutter to think about having to deal with those conditions.

When you are a kid and in school, it is not too bad because usually that kind of weather means -- no school today . . . but the parents.

But we do have weather related horror stories right here in Healdsburg, the plaza to be specific.

We often sit in this park and in the summer enjoy the shade of the many mature large trees.

There is now one less tree there and fortunately it collapsed they think in the middle of the night.


It will make us think more about those trees when we do sit near them this coming year. It is hard to imagine that a tree that appears so sturdy would just topple over . . .

We have taken advantage of the cold and rainy weather to enjoy comfort food:


Recently we made a large pot of chicken barley soup -- so good. While there was "no soup for you" there was plenty for us.

Soup is fun to make and certainly enjoyable to eat along with some biscuits or crackers.

We also made and enjoyed a large meatloaf this week and it served us well for three dinners . . . "no meatloaf for you either".

I did of course work on family history this week. I attended a webinar about DNA and how to discover missing folks from the tree via DNA.

DNA to me is often way more complex than I can deal with. I have received many many matches from the three services that I have tested with -- the trick is to then figure out how those matches relate to me.

Some matches I have been able to determine, but the majority of them I have no idea how they relate to me and it is a very intricate
process to prove the relationship.

Everyone is hoping that as the DNA process is perfected, that the identification of relationships will follow. Ancestry DNA has provided some relationships with the matches that they report, and that is helpful.

In Ancestry, the Hiles tree currently has just shy of 15,000 folks.

In the coming year I plan to focus on just the closest relatives and would like to be sure that the details for their lives are as complete as possible.

Sometimes, it is like photographs. I might assume that everyone knows everyone else like I do.

So, as I take the Write Stuff II class, I'll be working on telling that story -- or part of it anyway.

It seems that memory keeps reminding me of tales that have been dormant for awhile.

I have to learn how to piece them together so I can share them with others or just for my own satisfaction.

Actually I have a big missing piece of the puzzle -- I don't know (yet) where the Hiles originated. There are so many theories.

I do though, know where some of the other close relatives originated. It is what keeps driving me.

While bouncing around the Internet I did come across a recent photo (Google Earth) of my maternal grandparent's home in Chicago.

The middle house in the picture, where I spent so many memorable holidays, specifically Thanksgiving.



I can still remember so much about that house -- of course it loomed much larger in my mind than how it looks today, and also the condition of the house and grounds . . .

My grandfather, Dayton Bumgardner, kept the front lawn spotless and perfectly groomed. The grass was the same grass as used in golf greens (creeping bent) and I can still see Grandpa on his haunches using the hose to remove any debris and leaves from ruining the appearance. A little different in today's photo.

And then around the side was the "Koi Pond". The fish were kept all year round and in the winter months they lived in the laundry sinks in the basement. I loved looking at them in either location and was always fascinated with them.

I could go on and on, but will wait for another post or another vehicle to share those memories.

And lastly:

Who will be receiving Oscars in Sunday's event. It goes without saying, we have seen NONE of the movies nominated.

But maybe we will see one or two. From the trailers that we see on TV there are some that I'm sure that we'd enjoy.

I have wondered where the name "Oscar" came from. I remember that in one of my school pictures that, as usual, I did not feel like smiling on command, so the photographer called me "Oscar" and I smiled big-time.

Well that is a bit of our week. See you all "in a few"!