Memorable Times

This springtime has truly shown us a variety of weather changes. This week it has been A/C, on again, off again . . . today it is in the middle range -- do we or don't we, probably we won't . . .

It is Memorial Day weekend and of course, Monday is the 29th of May and the 4th Monday in May,
so we commemorate.

Originally, Memorial Day in the U.S. was Decoration Day and it was mostly to remember those who lost their lives in the Civil War. It was commemorated on May 30th, whatever day that happened to be.
These days, it is Memorial Day, 4th Monday in May and it commemorates all those who died in all the wars we were involved in -- that changed in the 1970s. In my mind, I hadn't remembered that it changed in the 70s during the Vietnam era.

To me, what would Memorial Day be without the "Indy 500". Though I've never attended, I've enjoyed watching for many years.

These days though, since I record the race, I usually watch the beginning and the ending and maybe some of the middle. 

I can't imagine watching for almost three hours. Maybe it would be different to attend in person, but we're happy to watch from the couch.

With some of the cool nights this week Dino was enjoying his "nighttime bed".

Dino is fairly good-size and weighs about 85 pounds -- in this snapshot, he is exposing maybe one pound or so.

He comes to bed when we retire and he crawls into that bed and stays most of the night that way. 

He absolutely loves that bed and the comfort that it gives him.

We love seeing him enjoy it!

Also during this week, Gail finished working on one puzzle and started a new one.

These are great puzzles and we have several of them and just might find the need to purchase another or two.

I've enjoyed putting puzzles together since I was young. Sometimes it is just relaxing to struggle with finding just the right piece or series of pieces.   Lately, we listen to the Giants lose another game while working on the puzzle . . .

And this is the season to celebrate the memorable occasion of graduation.

I am aware of three graduations in a close branch -- there are probably more that I don't know about.

But, congratulations to Jessica Hiles, Amanda Willmes and to Olivia Hiles for completing this stage of their education.

We look forward to hearing great things from each of the graduates.

And lastly -- What is on our nightstand currently:

We are currently about halfway through reading Megyn's book:  "Settle for More". Actually, it might very well be an excellent book for each of the current three graduates to read.

We are enjoying the book very much. Recently, Megyn is settling for more by moving from CNN to NBC. And her new show "Sunday Night" begins June 4th.

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

Comin' Up Roses

Almost everything. Inside and outside. We must have several thousand rose blossoms in the front, most of them white, some of them do have a pinkish tint to them.

But they last for only a specified time and then they rejuvenate as they are trimmed and pruned -- thank you, gardeners.

As I said, almost everything -- the purple vase contains the gardenias which will be blooming in their time.

It is hot today,  90° or so forecasted. The a/c is working hard to keep the inside temperature doable. So far that is working -- we'll see come 4 pm . . .

Dino is sooo lucky. He is taking the heat in stride. or in his favorite position.

He looks so peaceful and only an occasional whimper over maybe something he is dreaming about.

He has four beds in the house and one crate. He alternates with all of them throughout the day.

Often we'll wonder where he might be and we'll find him in his crate feeling comfy and secure.

When he does go out (on a business trip) he usually wants back in soon -- just like when it rains. And sometimes we take him with us on an errand -- and he rides in the back -- in another bed . . .

With the a/c on, sometimes we might put on a light sweater in the house.
Or wear a pair of snazzy socks or leggings to ward off the cool.

We avoid having to go outside if we can help it and are always glad when the mail includes a package that is too big to fit into the mailbox, in which case all the mail is brought to the front door.

We try to keep it comfortable inside and lately it has been even more comfortable as we have been able to reduce a large number of nuisance calls by signing up for "Nomo Robo"

 service through Comcast.

Since signing up, very few sales, political or phishing/spam calls are getting through. We also have a couple of other remedies if some do get through.

This week was great for me with respect to WEBINARS. Legacy Family Tree had three new ones,
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday:

Talk about eating up the clock . . .  but they were worth it. It focuses my time and as I have always said, I learn something from each presentation.

Little by little I am feeling more confident when dealing with DNA and genealogy. And each webinar aids me in that.

Lifestreaming is not something that I was very clear on, but Thomas MacEntee's presentation cleared things up.

And if I can get a handle on and my arms around, Legacy Family Tree 9 -- that would be nice not to mention have Family Tree Maker 2017 up and running as promised for March of this year . . .


And wonder of wonders -- the USPS actually has come out with a program that looks to be something for the 21st century . . .

I signed up for it so we'll see how it takes some of the pain out of the horrible mail service that we get here.

We actually had two days in the last 30 days when we had NO mail service.

Apparently, per the Post Office, our route is a very complicated one . . .

But what this new service does is to give you a peek (via online) of what letter sized mail is supposed to be arriving that day. Yesterday was when I signed up for this service and I did get a peek of the day's mail coming . . .

The service was tested and opened up nationwide in the last few weeks. There are things I hope that it does -- like let me see mail that is addressed to me and then if I do not receive it, I can follow up. In our neighborhood, we get a large amount of misdelivered mail, usually on the day off of the regular carrier.

And the second leg of the Triple Crown happens today -- The Preakness.

We'll do what we did for The Derby, record the whole show and watch the last few minutes to see the main event.

It is always nice to have a chance to have a Triple Crown winner. I'm not actually sure why for us shut-in type folks that it matters, but we try to make it fun . . .

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

And It's Great Sleeping Weather Too !

This week the weather started out hot, but then went cool and especially at night. With the windows wide open and a little warmth from the electric blankets, conditions were great for sleeping, at night and even a late-afternoon nap.

The days have been mostly sunny and breezy and have nurtured the trees and plants all over our yard. There are even little apples appearing on the recently pruned apple trees. It looks like another bumper crop. The lemon tree though still just has blossoms -- but that will change.

The two left side pics show the newly produced apples, as they looked this morning. The rest are various flowering plants around the yard.

Over our fence, just beyond the apple tree, a little league game was going on earlier this morning.

The intermittent cheering can be heard mingling with the cheering from a second game on the other diamond.

We do hear cheering during the week as well when the youngsters are out for recess. That will end soon and it is amazing that this school year is almost over.

During this week one of the things that took up my "spare" time was searching in the old newspapers for articles -- Hiles articles mostly.

To the left is just some of the more than fifty or so tidbits of Hiles newsy items that I located this week.

Now the job is to deal with each one, i.e. filing each one and connecting each to the correct family members -- a fun, but time-consuming activity.

An early Mother's day gift arrived for Gail the other day and is pictured to the right.

It came from Aura who worked with Gail for many years and has remained a good friend over the years.

It is a Gardenia and will eventually have fragrant blossoms covering the foliage.

It will enjoy a prominent place for all to enjoy.

Speaking of baseball, this has to do with not over-our-fence baseball, but baseball "over-the-top".

Yikes ! For $4, a four-ounce serving of apparently delicious fried grasshoppers can be munched on while watching a Seattle Mariner's game . . .

What will they think of next -- I'd have a really hard time getting those down, I think.

I enjoy the traditional "Cracker Jack" or peanuts and this might call for a change in the lyrics of "Take Me out to the Ballgame" . . .

Since currently, the Giants are the losingest team in baseball, maybe besides shaking up the lineup they can make the snacking menu more crunchy.


Happy Mother's Day and the following fits my sentiments:

Well, that's a bit of our week. See you all "in a few"!

What's Up With Blue (& Gold) ?

Like a lot of folks, BLUE is a favorite color of mine. Back in 2009 a couple of scientists in Oregon discovered a new vibrant shade of blue. It seems to me that every shade of every color would have already been identified -- but no. YinMn is the scientific name assigned to it.

It has become commercially available in 2016 and now is beginning to appear more and more.

The pigment color is shown second from the left. It appears in the next photo as well. The Gold coins are a favorite design of many, including me. The "American Buffalo" one-ounce gold proof coin complements the new blue nicely -- unfortunately, I will settle for pictures of the coin to enjoy . . .

Now, I may be able to enjoy owning some of the "new blue" though. Crayola is replacing "Dandelion" with the new blue
soon so we can all enjoy it.

They are also holding a contest to name the new color. The winner to be announced in September of this year.



Continuing to speak of "blue", Kentucky is "The Bluegrass State" and while we do not have too many folks in the tree from Kentucky (we'll have to work on that), there is a lot to like about the blueness of the state. 

The music for one, I have always enjoyed "bluegrass" music. And then later this afternoon, about 3:45 California time is the 143rd running of the derby:

The "Kentucky Derby" has been running at Churchill Downs in Louisville since approximately 10 years after the Civil War. The TV coverage today goes on for hours -- the race takes about two minutes . . . we record it though and usually just watch a portion of the pre-race and then the race itself.

The Dog of the Week:    BLUE  Buttercup

This dog belongs to Lisa and Bob up Seattle way and they snapped her picture on their new "Oriental Rug".

The picture looks great as does Buttercup. Could there be treats involved?  That's the look that Dino gets when he hears the treat bag crinkling or the treat bowl cover . . .

While there is no blue in the photo, the shade of red looks great as does the complementing white of Buttercup.

Maybe the scientists are working on finding another red pigment, could happen.

So, the second webinar this week was about the brand new "9" version of Legacy Family Tree's genealogy program.

It offers a lot of new features and there is a learning curve to adjust to them. (Very nice Blue logo)

I spent some time investigating and look forward to utilizing the power of the features.

This webinar was on Friday, the Wednesday webinar I was lucky enough to win one of the door prizes that were offered -- a book entitled  "150 Years Later: Broken Ties Mended" an historical mystery solved encouraging a great family reunion . . . more about that later.

And lastly this week:

Costeaux French Bakery in town had a "drive-in" visitor. Fortunately for all, no one was injured.

There are seating tables right where that car entered and people nearby -- we have eaten and sat at that exact spot ourselves . . .

It just proves that "anything is possible" and in this case it was.


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