"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! January 1st-3rd, 2021 [closed]

Question

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CHANGE TO BEST ANSWER PROCESS:  After much discussion we have come to the conclusion that all answers in the Weekend Chat are of equal importance and weight.  So we are going to discontinue the Best Answer portion as it adds points and then takes them away from posters and is causing some hurt feelings.  So in the interest of everyone is equal and valued we will delete any best answers given which will deduct those points because it has been pointed out that to give everyone best answer is also not a viable option. 

Weekend Chat is for everyone. It's a place to catch up on what people are up to and to share what you've been doing.  New members can say hello, introduce themselves, ask questions, and meet each other.  Our seasoned members can share progress or successes from their projects, give tips and advice, or chime in on hot topics.

Post as many answers and comments as you wish. It doesn't hurt anyone to post a lot and enjoy the multitude of topics.

Enjoy yourselves and spread the love!

Comments

Farquharson today, Diane! 

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Hello from beautiful, warm, sunny Phoenix, Arizona! I am fairly new here and am hoping that I am responding to the Weekend Chat in the right place!

I’m wondering what the Votes are next to questions on the G2G. I’ve seen Points and Votes but I don’t know what that means. Would someone explain please. Thanks so much!

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Hi there, Susan! We seem to have a lot of Arizonans here in the Chat! Happy to have you join us. (Next time, click the 'answer' link under the initial post so more people will see yours.)

Here's the info on the point system:

All these actions generate points:

• Asking a question.
• Posting an answer.
• Voting up an answer.
• Having your question voted up.
• Having your answer voted up.
• Having your answer selected as the best.
• Selecting an answer to your question as the best.

Voting down a question or answer costs points.

The number of points in G2G earns you a title. You start as a G2G Rookie. At 300 points you're G2G Crew. From there, the sky is the limit.

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Susan, hi and welcome

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Pip, if my answer is chosen as best, then deselected (as seems to happen very often) are those points deducted or do I get to keep them?

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Thanks for your help! This site is complex and it’s taking me a bit to navigate.

Happy New Year!

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Nelda, this has happened to me, too. As I understand it, deselected answers lose their points.

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Kind of adds insult to injury, don't it? Oh, well...I'm not here for the points--I'm here for the PARTY!~

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The Laugh-Out-Loud-Award goes tooo....

Nelda!

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Thank you!

Answer 1

Happy New Year. My big event at the end of the year was to sell a car, red Suburu, I had since August 2006. I wasn't driving it  except to charge the battery which had run out. So I sold it to someone who can take care of it and use it for his family. No new car yet, no reason, I can share the car with my husband. Any new car would have the same low use problem. Maybe after Covid if we survive.

Comments

Sue I have the same low use problem with cars. I am hoping that one of the grandchildren want to take over my 2016 soon because I have only put about 294 miles per month since I bought it bringing the total to about 15000. Our new car is over 2 months old and we have only put about 800 miles on it so far with both of us driving it so there is really no need for us to have 2 cars anymore.

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Same here, Sue. Very low mileage on our cars. My wife still drives a 2006 Corolla that just this past year pasted 100,000 miles, and of that, only about 10,000 the last five years since we retired.

Answer 2

Hi Pip, WikiTree, and all my many cousins... happy New Year!

Warm thoughts to you all from Vermont (knee deep in snow)

Cheers

Comments

Keith, Welcome back to the chat. I have missed you.

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I bet you are deep in snow, Keith! I watch the Weather Channel only to see how my fellow WikiTreers are doing. So glad to hear from you!!

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Hi Keith, so glad to see you!! Hope your 2021 is a good year for you. Also hope to see more of you here!!!

Answer 3

I have never done a DNA test, primarily because so many cousins have done it.

They all show similar results. About 75% English heavily weighted in the West Midlands, 15-25% Irish, with varying % of Norway from 5% to 11%. I assume that the Norway comes from pillaging Vikings.

One 2 cousin 1 R is in touch with other extended cousins in Australia.

I do have second cousins in Australia and am in regular contact with most of them, Adelaide cousin from the Welsh borders, Melbourne, cousins from the West Midlands, England, Nelson Bay and the Blue Mountains, 50 % West Midlands and 50% North Wales.

Comments

My DNA results aren't so focused, M!

Answer 4

It seems that FamilySearch has decided that I need to work on filling out the children's profiles this weekend. No matter what I look for either there are no records or only available at a FHL. So, I guess I know what I will be doing to the next few days and the wall swill have to wait a bit longer.

Comments

Deborah, I've left me walls alone for a while now. I don't need the frustration with so much else to enter. Still, it's those people who get lost in census records because they don't have the sense not to move during the census year! 

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How about on honeymoon because married 2 June 

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There's a genealogy penalty for that! 

Answer 5

Currently, it's 2˚ C and overcast in Fort Erie. Tonight's predicted low is -2˚ C, and tomorrow's high is also 2˚ C, so if I could trust that forecast, we're going to have a symmetrical weekend.

I spent yesterday afternoon and evening running a Zoom chat for a virtual Slade family reunion, although most of the time, I was just keeping one eye on the Zoom window in case anybody popped in. If I have to do this virtually next year (instead of in person), I think I'd schedule a shorter time window, so it would be more likely that people would be online at the same time. (There were seven people in total, but not all at the same time.) 

But the cool thing was that I finally got to meet a second cousin that I didn't know before, because he didn't grow up in B.C., like most of the family. (He made it to one of our reunions about 50 years ago, but since I was just a kid at the time -- as was he -- neither one of us remember meeting.)

At some time in the next few days, I need to work up annual reports on the Westfalls and the Gerschefske. (Yes, that's right. There's only one on WikiTree. I'm pretty sure that the real name is actually Gierszewski, but I never did get the time to chase down some actual sources on that score. This month, it's time to work on Millers and Croziers. 

I've heard that it's hard to work on very common surnames, because you get so many hits in searches that finding the particular person you're looking for gets hard. What I hadn't figured out was the practical consequences of that. In the case of Millers, the percentage of Miller profiles that are not connected to the main tree is much higher than for WikiTree as a whole, or for any of the other surnames I've worked on so far. But that is much too big of a job for me to make a dent in in one month.

With Croziers, I have a different problem. ThePeerage.com has a huge number of Croziers, most from Ireland, that misty isle with no BMD or census records, and out of the whole bunch listed there, only four people have profiles on WikiTree. Without real sources, I'm going to have a hard time making any headway there, too.

And now, a New Year's toast:

May we all live this year in such a way that we bring honour to our ancestors, and, if they were able to see us and what we do, make them happy that their lives led to our own.

Comments

I've heard that it's hard to work on very common surnames, because you get so many hits in searches that finding the particular person you're looking for gets hard.

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Very hard. 

My England Paul line is stopped at a point where finding the one John Paul in amongst others is difficult. 

My England Smith line, likewise. 

My Scotland Gordon line likewise - especially as the last (semi) documented ancestor on that line qualifies as a Pod Person.

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I feel your pain on common surnames. Seems my family is filled with those. I will tell you, however, that I did finish up the descendants of Alexander Waddell, b. c. 1817. Got off track a couple of times when I saw connections to other families I'm familiar with.

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Oh, my word, Pip. First you had Welches up your family tree, then Waddells, and now I find Wests, too! We have to be cousins somehow. It's getting to the point where I'm surprised that you don't have any Croziers or Millers.

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Yes, Greg, lots of Wests, marrying into both my Underwood family and my Waddells. 

Answer 6

We just got an announcement from our assessor that cropland values will jump from a range of $200-$300 an acre  to $2800
per acre.  Do they think we are in the middle of New York City?  When you have to buy your milk, meat, eggs, and veggies from China you may wonder why.  Taxes will drive us out of business!.  How much is your front yard assessed for in proportion?  We have 100+ acres increasing==$280,000 value for taxation.

Comments

Beulah, the government will continue to find more ways to raise revenue, even if it means you'll suffer for it.

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I like living in Oklahoma. I owned a house here. My dad bought it in 1973 and we /I lived there until 2004. Three bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, about 1200 square feet, large lot. The taxes the last year I owned it, with homestead exemption, was $460.

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Beulah -

That's terrible! Have you checked that it's not a typo, adding an extra 0 on the end?

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No, that is what the assessor says we are going to have per tillable acre.  We have 100+ of 350 rated as cropland.  I may get some relief if I can get an agricultural exemption since it is rented to a nearby dairy farm family.  The 350 acres are now assessed at a value of $225,000 as a package, including the house  (but a no value barn) and we paid about $5500 in county, town and school taxes per year.  Aren't you glad you moved out?  New York estimated it lost 160,000 leavers by census counts, the largest total
in all of the 50 states.

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Certainly hope you get the ag exemption

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Me too.  Starting the hoops on Monday.  I need to file 16 form RP-305s and a five year rental lease with the Soil and Water Conservation Dept.

Answer 7

Happy New Year to all!

It was a grey day, here in Bramans Corners.  We had some sloppy snow last night, and the temperature has hovered around freezing, all day.

I'm still trying to sort out my Vader/Veeder ancestors.  Early Albany/Schenectady genealogy is pretty confusing.  Some existing wikitree profiles are pretty slim.  I've been adding records, as I find them.

We had a quiet New Years eve, just the two of us, A nice meal in front of the TV, with a bottle of prosecco.  We, of course, fell asleep, and didn't wake until after the ball had dropped.  Yesterday brought a Zoom session with Becky's brothers and their children and grandchildren.  It was great fun.

Thank you to all who have helped me, here on the tree.

Stay safe!

Comments

Sounds like you've had some restful time, Mike, excepting maybe the Vader/Veeder families. Dutch ancestry?

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Yes Pip, this is the second Dutch line, recently discovered.  The first was a Hudson Valley family, on my dad's side, This one is from my mom's side, and connects to Schenectady and Albany. It means a lot to me, in that I grew up in Schenectady's stockade district, with many old Dutch families.  My appreciation for Dutch history is visceral, in that it relates to a great many childhood class mates, co-workers, and acquaintances, not to mention that my wife spent her working life as the education director at Historic Cherry Hill, a museum devoted to the family of Philip Van Rensselaer.

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Good for you,  Mike. I feel the same way about my Ulster-Scots families who settled where I grew up.

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One of my brick walls is a Scots-Irish ancestor, Hector Douglas, [[Douglas-10589|Hector  Douglas (1803-abt.1870)]]

Btw, As a boy, I was a Scottish Highland Dancer, Highland Fling, Sword Dance, and 

Seann Triubhas, for which I won a medal.

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Forgive me, I hadden't intended the big bold reply, although I was very proud of my medal.

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You should be, Mike! Good for you. I’ve got very distant Douglas ancestry, so, “Hiya, cousin!”

Answer 8

Greetings to all from beautiful southeastern Arizona! The weather here has been much cooler than normal. Been so cold the sugar water in the hummingbird feeder has frozen a couple of times. I've had to bring it indoors and let it warm up enough to melt.

Haven't done any genealogy in ages. Tried to look up something on my fraternal grandfather but got errors on Family Tree. Figured out today it was due to the German characters included in his birthplace. A cousin has been providing me with info on this side of my family. I should have time in the upcoming week to work on this! *yeah*

Writing: Have the completed the sequel and working on proofing the paperback. Plan to publish paperback and Kindle version on January 17, 2021. I've also been trying to figure out how Pinterest works, so I can also advertise there.

Other stuff: A friend recommended Highway61 to me. It's a community of people over 50 who organize hourly chats on a variety of subjects. Doesn't need special software, just a mic on your computer. Here's a link to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/highway61community

Comments

Diane, our hummingbirds are long gone for Guatemala, and we miss them! Yours stay through the winter?

I've missed hearing about the updates on your writing. Glad to hear you're still at it. Who have you been sharing it with for input?

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Hi Diane,

Just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year from a fellow Arizonan! Hoping all the best for you in the New Year! Hugs!

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Yes, Pip, we do have a variety of hummingbirds throughout the year. As for sharing my writing, I found it a bit harder to get beta readers this year, but two of my last novel's beta readers did it. A member of my friends of the library group also read the sequel. An undetermined x number distant cousin who loved the first novel volunteered to beta read this one.

@Carol, Hugs and wishes heading back your way. The distant cousin mentioned above lives in your neck of AZ! Maybe one of these days I'll get myself up to Tucson to meet you both

Answer 9

 Genealogically ... requested to be put on the T.L. for Payton Barrington, it was granted, I beefed up his profile, added census, added a wife, profiled one of 7 children and called it a day's work done ... He's a cousin. 

Second request TO me about furthering a merge which involved us being on each other's T.L.  The profile is for a cousin, and the PM making the request is "merely" connected, long live his degrees. He's no blood kin of mine. 

 I was agreeable, and the merge was completed. Only surprise is that there are now 3 PM on that profile. And a 4th on the T.L. for that profile 

I'm now at 3,312 profiles. There's probably less than 10,000 of my blood relatives profiled at WT, but so many of them are under the management of other PM 

THEN I found a duplicated file, each one done by two diff. cousins, so I proposed a merge 

At this point, I am starting to carefully examine the hedgerows to see if there's a badger peeking out and some guy in an ankle-length dress waving a stick at me ... Merlin the Magician - King Arthur's Knights 

Comments

I knocked off about 35 from my watchlist, Susan, but I thought it would be more than that (did the all descendants thingy, but I bet that left all the spouses). Today, I added about seven new profiles to the list and will not be able to get rid of them until I finish with this prodigious family!

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Is okay PIP ...  I got rid of 4 what should not have been on my watch list and then added almost a dozen blood kin some other PM (Eva Church) had orphaned and that will take some doing on some of them she used a gedcom 

Debi Hoag then made a thank you and I replied they were blood kin and should not make more than the usual (select your own adjective) 

AND all that leaves me at the moment with 3,317 profiles

Answer 10

Buenos Dias from the Old Pueblo! Better late than never! It's Saturday afternoon, January 2nd and 61F (16.1C) and overcast.

My only contact for New Year's Eve was my daughter, Jennifer, who was starting out her new year with trials and tribulations. Her aunt by marriage had died of cancer and Jennifer's husband, Curtis, was headed for northern Wisconsin for the funeral. Meanwhile, Jennifer's friend/teaching colleague had a stroke (53 years old). She was admitted to a children's ICU due to the Covid overflow. Jennifer will not only be teaching her own three Language Arts classes, but will now be teaching her friend's 3 classes starting this Monday.

I looked for the Weekend Chat yesterday, but did not find a link. Much to my wondering and wandering eyes, I just happened to see the Chat just now as I meandered through the Tree House!

I have done nothing genealogy wise this week...well, maybe a few Baldwins. I did sign up for the Integrators and Sourcerers Challenges this month and have to get busy.

I mainly want to wish all of you a Happy and Healthy New Year! I'm looking forward to the Thons and have signed up for the all online RootsTech!

My sincere best wishes to all! Hugs (virtual, of course)!

Comments

Oh, finally! I've been wondering where you've been, Carol. I hope you have been getting at least a little down time, as you are usually so very busy.

A big, giant virtual hug to you, too!

Answer 11

Found another interesting show, "Cruising the Cut" about a man who quit his job, sold his house and bought a canal boat. He now spends his time living on his narrowboat and filming his travels along the canal's of England. Sounds like a dream to me. I can tell we have been watching entirely too much British TV, Diane made a comment about the main person of this series emptying his "loo cassette" and I knew exactly what she was talking about.

Comments

No such thing as too much British TV.

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Dale, did I just catch you dreaming of another life? 

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Pip, living on a narrowboat would be like full time living in a RV only on water. I would love to do that but I could not do that where I live because it is too cold and the water freezes.

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Time to move south, Dale! 

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Hi Dale, I lived on a 70 foot narrowboat for 14 years, I designed it, 2 bedrooms full bath, powder room, (2 pump out toilets, the tank was sealed and only had to be pumped out once a month). 15 foot living area and full kitchen, washer, dryer, dish washer and fridge and freezer. On the bow was an open porch with a removable cover and the stern was open with seating for 4. Satelite Tv.

Life at 4 miles an hour, and when you go you take your house with you.

If you don't like the neighbors just untie and cruise somewhere else, or wait til late, untie them and watch them drift away.

Answer 12

Greetings, from Everett, Washington.  Outside the wind is howling and the rain is slashing.  My husband is watching "Gettysburg" as if he could will the South to win.  I had to go grocery shopping today and I kept my head down.  I went to Mass yesterday for the Feast of the Circumcision and tomorrow I will drive an elderly old friend for the Feast of the Holy Name.  

I am checking in late because we had our virtual board retreat on Zoom all morning with the Historical Society.  Luckily we got it done sooner than expected.  I have 4 1/2 pages of minutes to type and send off.  We have enough operating reserves and expect to have the interior of the lighthouse painted with the help of a grant.  We plan to continue shopping by appointment which worked for us on Labor Day and Christmas shopping.  No word on when we can get back to live meetings.  Husband and I will be doing a presentation on the history of the lighthouse for the docents of Admiralty Head on Whidbey Island.

The new ferry dock opened December 29, meaning that the traffic near the lighthouse will be drastically different.  Used to be the lighthouse was in easy walking distance of the ferry.  Now it's almost a mile.  What waterfront restaurants will survive is anyone's guess.

Our favorite hairdresser finally got in touch with us.  We don't know the circumstances by which she was let go from her previous salon.  Daughter and I look forward to having our hair done by her again.

I look forward to Epiphany, January 6, when we will have a puff pastry with marzipan filling.  It's called a Gallette du Rois, and in the filling will be a little item that will be a reward for whoever finds it.  King for a Day.  And maybe some wine again.  Daughter drank too much of the Secret Squirrel and it made her a little sick.  I enjoyed the last of it at New Year's.

It seems that every week I hear from someone new who found something I contributed to WikiTree.  I plan to forge ahead in the New Year. I look forward to the "year of accuracy" and to reading the stories you all post.

Comments

Whew! You made it, Margaret. Wouldn’t be the same without you checking in.

It makes me happy, in spite of the restrictions, that you still keep up with all the local historical activities. I’m really proud of you.

I’m on your husband’s side. (Gettysburg)

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Margaret,

There have been several hairdressers  that I would have l  "followed" to their new place of employment.   Glad you were able to reconnect.

Here's where I admit,  my husband is my current hairdresser,  but he insists he's a  "hair stylist".  (I keep wanting to fire him but I'll wait until we get our vaccines.)

I too receive a lot of contact from non-WikiTree members about my profiles.  What fun,  I've gotten some incredible help with sources from them.

While I enjoy wine,  haven't heard of Secret Squirrel!

Answer 13

Happy New Year everyone! Things have been really crazy these past few weeks. I've been having a lot of problems with chronic fatigue. My doctor thinks I may have either fibromyalgia or lupus. Work has been super busy with the holidays, but I was given New Years day to Monday off.

Genealogy wise: Pretty much just Greeter duties, although I've been working on one of my more challenging brick walls (no luck though).

Comments

There you are, Chandra! Glad you stopped by. Sorry to hear about your health difficulties. I hope that they can be resolved some way.

If you get tired of your brickwalls, I have a few you can work on. 

Answer 14

 GENEALOGICALLY speaking, here I sit looking at the profiles I adopted, the ones that are blood kin ... some are gedcom, some are not, and each one to be examined to determine its "status" ... I have mixed emotions 

And another cousin put me on a trust list for a number of folks I'm not related to but they ARE ... so I am also putting those fish back into the pond.  She has a very generous heart and I mean that sincerely 

And a merge was approved (one I initiated) and has gone though and I looked at it and will have some housekeeping to do but it can be done later (o', Karma, Karma, wherefore art thou?) Yes, yes, do NOT procrastinate. 

BUT I HAVE AN EXCUSE ... I'm NOT the PM on the profile. I AM one of five (5) trusted to fuss with it and I have in fact contributed a chunk of info but ... there's only two PM and I'm NOT one of them 

Watch List count currently 3,346 

EDIT: later, later ... "CLEANING HOUSE" ... the down and dirty way to sift out the grit from the grain on my watch list ... there's a relationship icon next to the name and if you click on it, it will hunt with the Relationship Finder. 

So I lined up the watch list with the earliest edit date (col 4) at the top, and started down the list. When it said NO relationship was found, I clicked to open the profile. It was usually the spouse of a relative, but sometimes a sibling of the spouse of a relative or a parent of the spouse of the relative.  IF it was the spouse, I left it on the list, but the other two kinds were orphaned

Comments

Too many pm’s makes for a crowded house!

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Cute, Pip, but very very true, unless you relish power struggles. 

There's a range of effort? for PM -- they can be an ermabrombeck or they can be a marthastewart ... might be a "name" or two in between 

Erma Brombeck -- At Wit’s End: Tips for Writing Funny — From Erma Bombeck - Writer's Digest

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Susan, I work in a similar fashion. I  work from the oldest edit date and check every profile for sources first. If it does not have sources I try to find at least one. I then look at the relationship to me and even if they are related I check how close, if I kept every profile related to me my watchlist would be way over 5000 so I have to be very selective with those I keep on the list. There are a few exceptions but they are very few. As of this writing my list stands at 3038 but that will change in just a couple of minutes.

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PIP yes, that is my own general approach recently, old dog, new tricks thing, and while I will keep an Ancient up to the cutoff of 1700 AD , the rest is cousins and only to the 4th usually 

 I TRY to keep to the straight and narrow and now and then have to jerk on my choke chain  so I will let go of a 5th or 6th cousin x removals 

At the moment, subject to changes, I'm at 3,355 profiles 

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PIP, 

HOMEFRONT decided -- per force of circumstances  to spend my day in and out of the kitchen cleaning the oven, doing dishes, sweep the floor ... 5 min or so the back starts to hurt so its back to my chair ... starting to feel like the cuckoo bird "popping in and out" of the kitchen ... 

Still have those 3 filled hampers of dirty laundry, but the oven and the dishes and floor take precedence today 

WEATHERING  -- We are having foggy AM again, been a lot of those recently, and I do not complain every bit of moisture is a treasure -- on the other hand this IS the infamous Tule Fog Tule fog - Wikipedia and not something that's a pleasure to drive in or even "safe" ... done it a few times ... 

GENEALOGICALLY -- My "scheme", if that's the word, to adopt loose blood kin to the 4th cousin level is naturally taking a hit since some of THEM have spouse and kiddies.  For the nonce I now adopt the kiddies. 

To make sure I am comfortable with that idea  (if ever) I also decided not to sweat the INFAMOUS 5,000 "limit" that is mentioned because it is slow to load due to using the apps or slow loading for an app .. or whatever ... if it takes a minute more to load, ... you should have seen how the www behaved in 1997 and before that in 1994 or before that in 1990 ... talk about slow loading ... 

Right now the watch list is 3,364 which goes up, goes down, etc ... 

MENU for the day, 1/2 a small roasted chicken and a tater with butter and salt and some oatmeal with milk and canned peaches (or pears, or fruit cocktail) in it and a dab of salt .... the chicken gets shared with the house cats (per force) 

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Susan, yesterday was clean the kitchen day for us (and clean out the fridge, too, of all the leftovers before they started growing hair). Today, clothes washing. We have been remiss, and I noticed it when I started to run out of t-shirts and socks.

Menu: We ate out after church (because we can do that here). Mexican. I actually ordered something I hadn't had before. The wife thinks I'm too narrow when it comes to restaurants, ordering what is safe and familiar all the time.

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PIP we did make some progress on cleaning the oven, takes a "we" to do much of anything beyond lifting a fork or cup  but we are coping 

Rest of my week is devoted to top and front of stove, the work space counter, my laundry, and sweeping the floors in all rooms ... 

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Susan, I got one of those light battery-powered vacs and it makes that chore sooo much faster, we couldn’t figure out why we didn’t get one before.

Our house cleaning is also a we event, but some chores we divvy up. I do the dishes, the vacuuming, and the kitchen (all of it except the floors). I am not allowed to wash the clothes.

Answer 15

On this day:

1833: Great Britain takes control over the Falkland Islands

1851: Léon Foucault introduces the Foucault pendulum

1892: The writer J.R.R. Tolkien is born

Comments

I'll take Foucault. Thanks again, Jelena!!

Answer 16

Today is....

          

NATIONAL FRUITCAKE TOSS DAY

On January 3rd, National Fruitcake Toss Day challenges us to chuck the fruitcake as far as you can. (Occasionally, this fun holiday is listed as occurring on the first Saturday in December.)

Many people receive fruitcakes as gifts sometime during the holiday season. Some people eat this holiday bread while others may re-gift them. There are those who sneakily throw them away and others who will do so openly. 

But on the third day of January, another type of fruitcake, ahem, person comes out of the woodwork. These are the characters who have hoarded them, stored them and hid them so they can celebrate with a competition of sorts.

HOW TO OBSERVE Fruitcake Toss Day:

Host a fruitcake tossing competition. Invite family to join you outside with their respective fruitcakes (the ones made with flour, fruit and nuts) and take turns chucking them as far as they can. Make hot cocoa and prizes. 

Comments

I've had a few of those that I'll like to have tossed, but my mom would have shot me. She loved fruitcake! I, on the other hand, refuse to eat any of the store-bought ones. The only one I really like is my wife's bourbon fruitcake. I guess the bourbon saves it for me! 

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Fruitcake and hot cocoa!!! Regift this way people (as they are expensive) I have tried almost every kind. I like mine extra dense with extra fruit. Maybe some raspberry hot chocolate.

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Our newspaper recently carried a comic strip.  1st picture:
wife asks husband what he is doing (with shovel in middle of street)  Reply: fixing this pothole the city keeps ignoring.  2nd to 4th Use your imagination. 5th:  Reply:  The fruitcake your sister gave us last year.

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@ Pip -- one of the first things I discovered when I came to the US was WHY Americans make fun of fruitcake. It's because they have never had a truly good one.  (Rum is also a good ingredient .. and is my preference.)

American fruitcake is not like any fruitcake I have ever  eaten .. and I actually tried a few because one of the things I miss is good fruitcake.  Even my American wedding cake was a HUGE disappointment, because it was gack-covered SPONGE.  (gack is what I call the artificial covering that masquerades as icing.)

For some years I was able to buy a good Australian fruitcake, but then Big Sister went out of business.  I tried baking my own here, but the ingredients are all wrong -- I can't get half of what I would need, and even the flour is different.

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I like fruitcake, especially those from Claxton.

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Anybody who has a fruitcake you don't want, send it to me. I love fruitcake. (Although some people would argue that me eating a fruitcake would constitute cannibalism.)

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Melanie: gack covered sponge - did we share the same cake?

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Greg, you do funny!!!! 

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My aunt says people who come to her for weddings are superstitious about the cake somehow the taste is a factor in their actual married life. Has anyone heard of that maybe it’s a local thing? She owns a Mexican bakery and does large orders for my family. My largest birthday cake was buttercream hand whipped and white with Mexican floral theme. It made me cry- so pretty. That crunchy flavored stuff like fondant or something I to this day don’t know what it’s about except it’s super regal. It can be topped with icing which is how I prefer and added to the bottom of cakes to add height/ flavor between layers. My favorite cake the icing was shaped and airbrushed into tiny pink roses!

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Sticking a slice of yucky sponge cake under your pillow so you can dream of your future spouse would get awfully messy.

Also, how do you save the top tier of a sponge cake for the 1st anniversary, or the birth/baptism/christening of the first child (whichever comes first)?  It'd be mouldy within a month.  A good fruit cake will be just as good a year later, as it was on the wedding day (even a non-spirit-based one).  And I do mean as good as, not all dried out, or as hard as a rock, like many of the American fruitcakes I've tasted.

Answer 17

OK I am new here and do learn as I go how things work. Be Patient with me Thanks

Comments

Sylvie, everybody started here as newbie. WikiTree is not that easy to learn how it works and even after some time here you will still find stuff you don't know how it works. If you don't know how to move on, ask. There is a great bunch of people here that's always willing to help.

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Sylvie, at one time, all of us were new here. I've been a member for a little less than three years and I'm still learning things.

This is a wonderful community of very helpful members. You won't go wrong asking for assistance, so don't hold back if you need help. We are here for each other.

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Hi Sylvie, don't know what else to say which would not be a clone of what Jelena and Pip said, so I just add that it's nice that you found the weekend chat.

Greetings from Black Forest

Answer 18

Well, "surprise, surprise, surprise!" as Gomer Pyle used to say. This morning, as I was bemoaning the fact that so many of you hear from cousins out of the blue, I opened my email to find a message from the granddaughter my great-uncle Harrill Luther Neal, my grandmother's brother.

As I know so little about Uncle Harrill and Aunt Lillian, I invited her to join WikiTree and take over management of her grandparents' profiles. While I have Uncle Harrill's ancestry, I have nothing for Aunt Lillian. We'll see.

When visiting at Uncle Harrill once, this cousin was there, the only time I ever remember seeing her, even though I attended Uncle Harrill's funeral. She (the cousin) was much younger than me.

Interestingly, my Neal great-grandfather "daughtered out," but in this line, the Neal name has survived as a forename or middle name for several descendants, both boys and girls. (My own daughter's middle name is Neal).

Comments

Lucky you.  You deserve a return for all you do and give in your very capable job as host every week.  It's interesting that the number of answers seem to be larger than average during the last two weekends that were almost cancelled.

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I was surprised at the number of participants, Beulah, and I'm glad we did have the Chat both weekends. Thank you for your kind words!

Answer 19

Hello Everyone. So this is 2021? It does look much different to 2020, weather grey and wet, Covid is still restricting where we go and who we can see. Never mind it is warm and dry inside and the vaccine is being given to more people.

This week my wife and I were able to meet both my son and daughter for walks in our lovely Wiltshire countryside. Rather muddy underfoot but we saw a good variety of wildlife including deer and a hare.

On the genealogy front I have almost got a complete profile of Ethel Wagland, a first cousin twice removed, and along the way found out a lot about her husband, and visited five countries. Some of this was thanks to the wonderful Wiki family who found information I couldn't.

Next I will return to the Honor family and try to push beyond the 1700 barrier that is holding me up at the moment. It doesn't help that every male member of the family in the 17th and 18th centuries seems to be called William, George or Thomas, and the spelling of the surname changes at the whim of whoever is making the record. 

Also I must make a serious effort to catalogue all the family photographs I have found. Does anyone have a foolproof system? I am thinking of name_event_type_date; where name is the main subject or the eldest family member where appropriate and type is picture, document, certificate etc. At a rough estimate there are two thousand or more items to check, some are duplicates and many are of no importance (holiday snapshots etc), but all need to be reviewed then scanned and filed as required.

P.S. I forgot to add that among my Christmas presents was a DNA test. The swaps were duly taken and posted off on Wednesday. Now I just wait and see if that will link me to any interesting people.

Answer 20

Proschd Neijohr vun de Palz

Proscht, gemoie im Nei Johr!
Isch winsch Eisch e Brezl wie e Scheierdoor,
e Kuche wie e Waansraad.
Doo wer mer all minanner satt!

Almost too late, but I wanted to say this New Year's poem from grandma.

Happy New Year to everyone from the Palatinate.

Comments

Lothar I nearly feel like when I studied in Germersheim and heard the old people chat. I hardly understood them.

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Dir au e guetz Neues, Lothar.

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I'm going to need some help, Lothar. Google Translate butchered this one! 

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Pip, I believe you.

That's why I said I felt like a foreigner when I heard the old people chat in the town where I  studied. But actually even I don't understand everything Lothar wrote there.

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Well then, I'll be happy to help you.

Cheers New Year from the Palatinate

Cheers, good morning in the New Year!
I wish you a pretzel (big) like a barn door,
(and) a cake (big) like a wagon wheel.
Then we will all be full together.

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Hihi, I got everything right, except "gemoie"

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I love this! Thanks, Lothar!