"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! March 15th - 17th, 2024 [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

You and my wife, M. She can eat anything. This new diet is to identify the triggers that mess me up on occasion. I hope it works!

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@ David: Be cautious if they run to the safe with their money. Or just ya know stop rubbing your hands together. People might get suspicious of that. Sure it's cold but....

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Pip, sorry to read about your stomach issue. If this diet is to identify the triggers, then it's probable you can eat more differently soon again and "only" have to leave out the triggers.

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Pip, hydrate! I hope your doctor recommended that as well as the FODMAP diet. That kind of weight loss from a stomach virus is dangerous. There's a bad one going around here which has sent some folks to the hospital and caused a nursing home to disallow visitation temporarily. Haven't had to turn on our AC yet. That expected "cold snap" is coming this week. Take care, cuz!

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Hey Pip Sorry to hear you were sick. I do hope you get your stomach feeling better soon. It is no fun being sick. I will be praying for you.

About doing Genealogy with the church I would have to go back to Johnstown PA. I know have of the family stayed Catholic the others went Orthodox back in the 40's(?) but they stopped speaking to each other when the churches spit,

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Sorry to hear of your intestinal troubles.  Hope you are feeling better now.  On the FOD MAP, I don't envy you.  I looked into it once related to my gluten insensitivity and did not like the idea.  My functional medicine doctor said I didn't need that, thankfully.

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I just got good news that My. Doctor is happy with my latest test results my gut is much improved and I am so happy

Sending you good gut bacteria like found in yogurt.  When I owned a spice company I had a lady who had horrible stomach problems ask me if I had anything that worked for the modfod diet so I researched it and created 2 new blends. She really liked them so I added them to our line. When I sold the company I sold the name the inventory and the recipes.  She could not have garlic onion any pepper and due to other medical issues no salt or sugar either. So that eliminated most popular blends.  Think bland.  So used some bright herbs and experimented with amounts. in prior centuries parsley sage rosemary and thyme were used for stomach issues so I blended them and created our Scarborough Faire blend which she loved and could eat. I think the new owner has continued to make that and the no salt no sugar blends. We had over 20 special needs blends. She is a chef and has added to what we had created. she told me the special blends are still some of her best selling products

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Today in St Louis, Missouri area it is a lot colder than it had been. It is 42F a good 30 degrees colder than last week. But sunny and warmer weather is supposed to be returning so I will enjoy the outside via my windows stay toasty in my house. My better half mowed the law today. Too early in my opinion but he is master of the lawn and decreed it must be mowed.     

I am thrilled I had good news from my Doctor on Thursday. We also had 5 EF0 tornados touch down around our area later Thursday. I was home well before the storms hit. One car dealership lost 300 cars to hail the size of baseballs. I love spring but the weather is always somewhat unpredictable in Spring.  

Getting presents together for my to be 7 year old granddaughter. We celebrate her birthday next weekend. My sainted husband is at church right now. I can’t negotiate the stairs so like the old lady I am I watch it on Tv tomorrow morning.

Everyone else who posted on the chat this week seems focused and busy. I am doing nothing but relaxing and thinking about how lucky I am to be happy and find people so fascinating and love reading all the posts. Sending big hugs to all.

Had an interesting conversation with someone about being an intelligent driven female in 725 Mexico.  This person was exploring what he thought might be a past life.  I have incredibly diverse friends and love that about my life.  

My 5 year old grandson is suddenly very interested in leprechauns so I bought him 3 books on the topic an Ron gathered jewels and gold wrapped chocolate to put in a big pot of gold to act as a leprechaun trap  They set the bait Tuesday night and went to bed a leprechaun figurine appeared in the trap before before my grandson woke up  he immediately said it’s a trick this is not a live leprechaun  we agreed they are sneaky and tricky and we will try again next Tuesday  But he was happy he got to eat some gold covered chocolate and had some jewels to add to Mickey Mouse pirate ship so it was a good time after all

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Pip, I think you still might be contagious. I think you gave that bug to your computer which in turn gave to my computer which in turn gave it to me. I wish I could get my colonoscopy scheduled for this afternoon; I think I am ready.

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Sorry I will missed this chat. I was running a 4 day  3-Cushion Billiards tournament for 24 players from across the USA. I am the Billiards Chairman for Oregon

Answer 1

This Week Enjoy a New Parody!

Chattin' With The Peeps

Sung to the Tune of Cheek to Cheek written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35 specifically for Fred Astaire. The song was nominated for the Best Song Oscar for 1936! The song spent five weeks at #1 on Your Hit Parade and was named the #1 song of 1935

**Parody by Dave Draper: I always wanted to do a song by Sinatra: This is it!

Frank Sinatra WikiTree: Sinatra

Here is the music by Frank Sinatra:

Frank Sinatra - Cheek To Cheek (lyrics) (youtube.com)

• Click on the link and the music should play, then come back here and try to sing along
  • Or, open the link in a new window

• Chatt'n' With The Peeps"
• Chattin'
• Weekend Chattn'
• And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
• And on Weekend Chat I'm seein' all the "Peeps"
• When we're all together chattin' 'bout the week
• Chattin'
• Weekend Chattn'
• And the cares that hung around me through the week
• Seem to vanish when I see the Wikipeeps
• When we're all together chattin' 'bout the week
• Oh, I love to break a brick wall
• And my CC7 to peak
• But it doesn't boot me half as much
• As chattin' with the "Peeps"
• Oh, I love to go out searching
• In a graveyard by a creek
• But I don't enjoy it half as much
• As chattin' with the "Peeps"
• Chat with me
• I want to hear about you
• That charm about you
• Will carry me through to more...
• Chattin'
• Weekend Chattn'
• And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
• And on Weekend Chat I'm seein' all the "Peeps"
• When we're all together chattin' 'bout the week
• Music
• Come on and chat with me
• I want to hear about you
• That charm about you
• It will carry me through
• To see you Chattin
• Yes, I'm Chattin'
• And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
• And I seem to find that happiness I seek
• When we're all together chattin
• All together chattin'
• All together chattin' 'bout the week!

More Weekend Chat Parodies HERE!  4 Albums now! WOW! 48 parodies...who knew it would go this far!

Comments

Very cool, very cool, David!

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Another great song!

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It really is a special time getting all the "peeps" together, chatting about the week. Makes me feel like singing!!

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Love those lyrics keep them coming every weekend.

Answer 2

Top of the morning from Little Dixie.  My conquest of enmeshing genealogy and history continues to be productive although most names will mean absolutely nothing to most people who are unrelated or unfamiliar to the border war. Written history continues to reveal prejudices that are hard to fathom. A pleasant distraction (rabbit hole) has been detected. Several Longacre’s rode with Quantrill and served in the Confederate army. The two distraction came quite accidentally. The first was a James B Longacre https://www.coincollecting.com/chief-engraver-of-the-u-s-mint-james-b-longacre and his encounters of corruption and politics (symbiotic/synonymous) at the U S Mint around the time of the Civil War. His connection to the Longacre’s of the border war should be determined with little effort. The second distraction is somewhat less pleasant or interesting. I came across some local news, a couple years old, that a descendant of one of the Longacre’s was involved in a theft. This day and age, as then, theft is as common as it is to be expected. This Longacre’s name was familiar to me as he used to be on supervision out of my office, located in what is known as the “Burnt District”, one of the four counties annihilated by Order #11 and Federal Troops. It seems probable cause exist to believe he was in possession of stolen property at the time he was arrested for possession of controlled substance. Case in point, it is reported that he was in possession of several pounds (140-150 lbs) of a metal valued at $20 per once, $320 per pound, or almost $5,000. (Do the math, the numbers used in the report do not compute). $ 3.20 per pound is $480, $320 per lb is $48,000.That’s almost enough $$$ to temp a preacher to steal but, circumstantial evidence will suggest, not quite. Although the case was presented as grand theft, the value of the metal was actually .20$ per once or $3.20 per pound. This case is a couple years old and the ‘facts’ stand uncorrected. The truly sad part of the story is the metal recovered was smashed beyond its original form which was an ornate brass bell that had rested atop a church in Gunn City, Mo for the last 141 years and its origin probably much older. This proves my point of several preachers resisted the temptation to steal the bell themselves.

   Although not part of Order #11, Gunn City’s foundation was built on the ashes of the former town of the Civil War. I contemplate which action is the worse of the two as both were avoidable. The one committed by a government against its people, or the one committed against the people by one of its drug using members. Anyway, you decide. I don’t need to insinuate which is the less of two evils by the use of adjectives.

  For more on this episode of Fun Fact’s to Know and Forget, see the Kingsville Massacre committed by Wm C Quantrill and Co on June 11, 1864. This was a military action where the Union Army was outmanned and defeated. Would it have been described in the annals of history as a massacre had it been the other way around? The official military record of Sep 6, 1863, describes a military action where known combatants were killed by Union troops. No mention of the fact the victims were not military men, nor were they of military age. No mention of a massacre although they were unarmed and executed. Six Man Cemetery in Missouri - Find a Grave Cemetery You will have to dig just a little bit more to learn that this military action (Kingsville) was committed by Quantrill’s irregular army against Union troops was in retaliation for two members of the Longacre family being removed from their home and executed in their front yard in front of their family. Although Quantrill was credited for this raid, by some, he was not involved. This raid was led by Dick Yeager and Wm ‘Bloody Bill’ Anderson. Yeager was noted as being a Col in the ‘official’ report, but Anderson was clearly the leader of the majority of guerrillas affairs upon their return from Texas in the spring of 1864.

   Side note- Dick Yeager’s dad, John Yeager, was a presiding Judge in Jackson County and a wealthy man. In 1861, upon his return from teaming one of his dad’s wagon trains out west, Yeager (aka Yager) found his dad’s farm plundered by Jennison and his men. Yeager joined Quantrill’s band by July 1862.

Comments

Write. The. Book! Holp top, K! I'll buy the first copy.

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If I were a young man, I might be swayed into being a historian instead of criminal justice major. It is much easier seeing what motivated those that lived almost 200 years ago than those that live today. Neither history or CJ pay well enough to get fat, so I had a side hustle where I would work for food.

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Write the book! You have it well underway already! Thank you for sharing, K, as I always love reading these posts, cousin!

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I have water on the brain, the spawn will be on, and my boat is not ready. A lot of new electronics to research since I have rigged my last boat.

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Hi are you by any chance related to the Yeager family of West Virginia? I do a lot of research on that line and it woul d be nice to work with someone.

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Dick Yager-1155 is like a 13c5/6r. I am related through his mother. His father Yager-36 was from Kentucky, probably from Virginia, before the trail grows cold. His father being politically connected was accused and arrested for allegedly being a member of KGC. From his Wiki profile: Judge Yeager imprisoned in Gratiot street prison in St. Louis and not allowed to see or speak to anyone for a month. Suspected of being a member of the Knights of the Golden Circle he was brought before the provost marshal. He said the only organization he belonged to was the Masonic Order and had been a member for 33 years. He was released and returned to Westport where he lived the remainder of the war. Many bribes were offered to him during the reconstruction years.

Judge Yager said "As far as this world's goods are concerned, I am a poor man; but I am rich in the knowledge of the fact that I am trusted by my constituents. I would rather die and fill a pauper's grave, than to accept one dollar of your ill-gotten gains"

Answer 3

¡Buenos días a todos from the Old Pueblo! It is 7am and 51F (9.4C) with an expected high of 62F (16.7C) and thunderstorms.

 

My brother called on Wednesday with some exciting news for our family. My grandniece, Bailey (my brother’s granddaughter) has been accepted to the U.S. Air Force Academy. Acceptance standards are quite demanding. They include a minimum 3.8 (of 4) grade point average (GPA); it is the hardest branch to get into in terms of academic requirements. The acceptance rate is 13%. She had to complete a rigorous application process that also included interviews by U.S. state senators and house members, extracurricular activities and such. She had been captain of her state Civil Air Patrol and has participated in other extracurricular activities. After completing her degree, she will be a commissioned officer and will be expected to serve for eight years, the first five of which will be active duty. I do not know if she will choose Air Force or Space Force. This was not a ‘legacy’ selection, either. Bailey did it on her own merit, which is why we were all waiting to hear with fingers and eyes crossed. I have a cousin whose granddaughter was accepted several months ago. Her uncle graduated from the Air Force Academy and was in the astronaut program. She got to list her uncle’s name. Of course there is a downside (sort of). Baily was offered a full scholarship to the Mathematics Department at the University of Arizona (my doctoral alma mater). Even though we will not have another Wild Cat in the family, she has achieved her heart’s desire.

 

I spent time this week reviewing and finally purchasing a new mattress that is on the hard side to improve back support. The new frame and mattress were delivered yesterday. I love the mattress, but not the new frame. I think it is made on the cheap side and it is difficulty to tuck in the bottom and top sheets, the down coverlet and the bedspread all held at the end of the bed by a crappy ‘rail’ that is almost impossible to insert into tabs and openings in the bedframe. I might see about returning the frame for a better one.

 

Today my time will be spent waiting for a Best Buy Geek to install a new, slightly larger TV in my office and smallish TV in the front bedroom. I will be donating the older TVs to Habitat. My internet provider is Xfinity (aka Comcast), one of only two cable games in town (the other is Cox Cable). These providers could use more competition to bring prices down! I do not have cable given that I do not have $150+ to shell out per month! I have had nothing but problems with ‘streaming’, particularly because these small ‘smart’ TVs do not clear cache (whatever). I think of this in ‘nurse’ terms, and do not have the technological wherewithal to do ‘enemas’ on these TVs, and then reload the streamed programs. I got a ‘free’ Xumo stream box and had to pay $5 for the other box such that I will be able to access programs like the old days (listed by headings rather than trying to search for something on Peacock). My bill will go up $20/month for the privilege of having NOW TV, which is Xfinity’s cheapest cable (and very limited lineup); however, it includes Peacock, so I can stop paying for that as a separate cost, which is $7/mo.

 

I cannot access local stations, so my neighbors invited me to watch the Academy Awards on Sunday. I was really pleased for Oppenheimer, which I thought was an excellent film. I have seen five of the nominated films, and felt “Oppie” was the best of the bunch. Tucson was represented among the winners! Tucsonan Cord Jefferson won for best adapted screenplay for American Fiction (https://kjzz.org/content/1873836/tucson-native-cord-jefferson-wins-oscar-american-fiction-screenplay). I was hoping that Lily Gladstone would win for Best Actress; however, the gold man went to Emma Stone (a Phoenix native) for Poor Things.

 

I signed up for the April Thon last evening and went with my long-time pals, the Mighty Oaks. Since I am now the Team Leader for Buckinghamshire, I would feel like a traitor to go with another team. I finished the Bradbury’s of Maine and am back to another Whitten family when I am not working on the Bucks Baldwins. I have also been adding to/improving Bucks profiles in general. Between Judi Hopcroft and me, we were able to bump Bucks into 2^nd place for improvement last week!

 

Pip, as ever, thank you for leading the Weekend Chat. Another week closer to seeing you! I also want to wish all my WikiTree friends and family a great THIRD weekend of March 2024!

Comments

Great news about your grand niece! Hope the bed makes you a happy camper in the mornings! (or a lot of Ibuprofen)

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Cousin Carol,
How wonderful that the girls have been accepted to the Air Force Academy. And the one who was accepted on her merit shows the outstanding minds of your family. You must all be so proud!

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Hi Candyce, we are very proud of Bailey. Thank you for your kind words. Women are very suitable as jet pilots given their body builds!!! I am not sure what her direction will be. She might not know either, but will grow into her future as she attends the academy.

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What a wonderful honor for your grand niece to be accepted into the Airforce Academy. Just the thought of the possibility of going into outer space would be thrilling. You have to be so proud of her.

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Well, I just peed away an entire day waiting for the Geek to show up to install the new TVs and he was a no show! I am not going to renew my total tech membership with Best Buy. It's just not worth it! I got a message that the tech will be coming on Tuesday. How nice...I have two doctors appointments that day. I should tell them to take their TVs and shove them where the sun doesn't shine.

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I don't recall verbatim, or author, of words of wisdom taught to me by my dear grandma when I was quite young. We cannot control everything that will happen to us in life but, we do have control how we respond. I would go about my day Tuesday and cancel IF they call to confirm the appointment. If not, leave a note on the door apologizing for not being able to be there.

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Hi K, my grandmother had a similar saying...Grandmother wisdom. The problem is that the TVs need to be installed and connected with wifi and I am unable to do it myself because 1) I do not have the strength and 2) I do not have the technological knowhow. I contacted WikiTreer Cindy Cooper and after the TVs are in, I am turning to the person she knows to help me with technology. Being a Best Buy total tech customer is getting more expensive for less and will turn to other options. Thanks, K for the feedback.

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Oh, I know, I have relegated myself to what I can do or afford to do, and let some stuff go. Fortunately, I have a few younger capable friends I can depend on to get some stuff done. There is a reason why those that can grow old gracefully should be held in high regard. It's tougher to do than it appears! Fight 'em fair, but try to win.

Answer 4

Hi from southern Ontario,

Chez moi/at home: what's been happening? We had 2 days of warm about 20C almost summer like weather, today will be about 10C, tomorrow rain and wet snow on Monday. 

I had an eye doctor appointment on Monday and my eye sight is improving! Oh, I still need bifocals but my distance sight is better. New lenses have been ordered. 

The grackles are back from their southern winter holiday, the juncos are still here, this area is their winter vacation spot they migrate north for the summer. 

WikiTree and family history: Not much got done, I’ve been looking at Alton area families that I can add family members to for the Connect-a-thon, some of them are very messed up on other sites, especially Family Search. It takes as much time or more to fix the FS profiles than it will to add the family members on WikiTree. I also found some large UEL( United Empire Loyalist) families that have almost no representation on WT, and of course some are ancestors of people from the Alton area. 

Edit to add: How could I forget, a short while ago Cindy Cooper connected my ex Son-in-laws mother Claire Beaulieu to her New France/ Québec ancestor Pierre Hudon dit Beaulieu (abt. 1648 - 1710). Yesterday I looked for a connection between our friend who lives in Nelson, BC he is the person whose mother Marie (Goguen) Cunningham died in Sept 2022 at age 106 and Claire, it turns out the 2 mothers are 9th cousins 1 R. 

It also turns out the person in Nelson BC is also connected to Robbie through a 4C1R of Robbie's, also the 4C1R has old Québec ancestors and is connected through many families to both the Beaulieu and Goguen families.

This morning I received a message from someone requesting a merge approval, and I will approve the merge. 

What I disapprove of is that this person created 7 duplicates in this particular family in August 2023, and we had a lengthy conversation about how to check for duplicates back then. The logic actually lack of logic behind this person’s approach is ‘I like to create a person that I found on a record, baptism, marriage, census etc. then I create other profiles for people on the same record, if I find other people later that might be the same person I don’t worry about it. They said you (me) are far more picky than I am’.

What else: I booked our ferry tickets for travel between St John, New Brunswick and Digby, Nova Scotia on 1 July. Taking a 2 hour ferry ride will save us about 6-7 hours of driving. 

Comments

I have bifocal glasses, and I cant wear them reading these posts or typing this message! I have to use the $1 reader glasses I got from the discount store! Thanks for sharing!

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I'm with you! As Wikitree-ers, we should ALL be as 'picky' as possible.

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Hi M, I have had issues with two people creating duplicates and worked with another WikiTreer this week to get these two to start paying attention to what they are doing. Very frustrating.

I was watching our Public Television station and they were reporting that areas that should still be getting cold weather are experiencing spring-like weather. This is being attributed to climate change. I think it will be another scorcher this summer, likely worse than last year.

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Our temps, or more accurately the forecast changes almost hourly.

The 7 day forecast at 9 am this morning is: Sunday 5C and wet flurries, Monday 3C and wet flurries, Tuesday 2C and wet flurries, Wednesday 1C, partly sunny and -4C over night, Thursday -2C as a high, partly sunny and -7C overnight, Friday 0C partly sunny, and Saturday 3C and scattered flurries, this forecast is much colder than most of the weather we have had all winter, but at least 10C warmer than most winter temps.

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Hi M I had my eyes tested recently too and like you was told they had improved. I ordered the new glasses at one of the 2 for 1 places. When I refused to get new reading glasses (as I never use them) it was suggested I have different glasses for the computer so I got those as my second pair. The computer glasses are the ones I seem to use all the time and not the supposed regular pair.
Thankfully I rarely find too many profiles to merge but I have issues with people who think they need to reformat others work or those that over use certain categories.

Answer 5

Good morning, the Ides of March are upon us! It is my day! I graced the world with my appearance 74 years ago today. Nothing special planned. My one daughter and I will go out for dinner.

I have been very busy creating profiles for the USBH 1880 census project. I have lost count of the total number. I still do sourcing on Tuesdays to rid the lists of eight western states of all new profiles added to the list in the last week.

We will be having warmer that usual temps this weekend, so my hope is to get into the garden and move some of my hardy fuchsias. They are already sprouting new life and I need to move them where they will get a tad more sunshine each day. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Comments

I have an Ides of March story too! You are two years ahead of me! And your are my 17th cousin! Hugs!

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Happy Birthday!

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David, we are birthday twins then! I am also a birthday twin to my great niece, 60 years ahead of her.

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I dont have any Isle of March stories but my neighbor swear by planting her potatoes on St Patty's Day every year. It is supposed to be a high of 61 on Sunday so we will see if she gets out.

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Happy Birthday Nancy I hope you had a wonderful day

Answer 6

Howdy folks! Greetings from chilly and windy central Oklahoma USA! The weather has been a bit up and down. 70s and 80s for a few days, 30s and 40s for a few. All of the warm weather and sunshine has every plant, tree, blade of grass thinking it's late April. When we came back from Brook's conference, we were surprised to see that the asparagus had popped out while we were gone! Some are as big around as my thumb. This is the last year of letting them go to seed, and man, its tough to watch them do that.

Tuesday I got all of the mowing equipment out and changed oil and filters, sharpened blades and all that fun stuff. One of the back tires of the riding mower went flat over the winter, so I put a can of green goop in it and aired it up. The old Cub Cadet is 15 years old now, but when I turned the key, she fired right up! Then I mowed. So it begins.

Tomorrow we are going to a cookout that a guy who was a paramedic with me back in the day is putting on. He is now a PA, a Lt Colonel for the US Army, and just got home from being deployed for a year in Africa. He asked me to make my regionally famous Smokey BBQ Beans. I never say no to America's heroes.

Thanks Pip for being the host with the most, and I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Comments

Hey cousin John, can you sharpen my John Deer riding mower blades? (I'm old and lazy) Can I sharpen them without taking them off? How do I get under it?

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In '76 I went to Kamloops (dry climate) and in the spring was surprised by huge asparagus shoots popping up, in the sand, around the drippings from the diesel refueling tank......took them home, tenderly boiled, buttered and ate them......mmmm good!

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Hi cousin David.

If I was in IL, I'd give it a shot! I know there is a place in El Paso called El Paso Outdoor Center that offers blade sharpening. You might give them a shout and ask. If you have a hydraulic deck, going there or a John Deere dealer might be the way to go.

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I agree John. Fresh asparagus is fabulous! One way I like to cook it is to wrap a couple stalks with bacon and grill. Delish!

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I'm hoping that this year the asparagus in my front garden will be old enough to harvest.

I'm also hoping that my very difficult neighbour doesn't realise the plant is asparagus, there aren't any rules about growing veggies in front gardens, but she feels she is in charge of the entire street.

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Thanks John! El Paso is 14 Miles north of me!  I'll just hop on my rider today, attach the trailer with 50 gas cans, and drive up there!  Should take about 8 hours one way!  Bahahahahah!

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Hi M.

Just tell her they are green peonies, then pick them when they're ready. 

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Cousin David there is another George Jones song brewing in a trip like that! 

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SHHHH It is too early to mow.  Global Warming does have some benefits but one big drawback is that you have to pay he lawnmowing guy more money.

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Hi Chris.

I've actually been mowing about once a month all winter, since we've had really mild temps. Since I'm the lawnmowing guy, the price is right. 

Answer 7

Checking in from Beautiful Bloomington, Illinois USA (where watching corn grow is about all the fun there is!) 43F Sunny with a forecast of 60F Today!

Home Front: I had to mow the grass! Got out the John Deer riding mower...out of gas!  I hate getting gas at the station as it stinks up my car!

Genealogy Front: Answered a post in PHOTOS and found a Notable in the process that was not on WikiTree!  Got her profile made with sources and Wikipedia references. Checked her pedigree on Family Search, compared those names to Wikitree and I will be able to connect her to the tree four or 5 generations back! I'm not waiting for the Connect-A-Thon...I'm starting today!  Lots of profiles to create! Right now, I have 1,863 contributions for March!

Signed up on the NEWT Connect-A Thon Team! I want to help newbies get up an running with WikiTree Sourcer. I created a Free Space page Sourcer Tutorial. I have all the settings listed that I use for Sourcer. I have a pictorial "Step-By-Step made which should make it much easier to learn.  (now I see Rob P. updated it with more toys) All are welcome to view the page! Just private message me.

The Book: Stalled due to research! If you have been following these posts, the story is a fictionalized account of my 2nd great grandmothers' journey through life in the Underground Railroad. But there is so much more!

Today is the infamous "Ides of March" (Shakespear) But it is also the day my "Book" starts on:  March 15, 1781 at the Revolutionary War Battle of The Battle at Guilford Courthouse, Greensboro, NC, USA.  The British secured the area with very heavy losses. However, the good news is I had two 4th great grand fathers, and their siblings, and a 3rd great grandfather in that battle that lived to tell the tell! Robert Means and his son, William, (both my granddads) fought in that battle. William goes on to marry the daughter of Elijah Joyce, Susan, as Elijah was also in that battle and my 4th great granddad!  Susan will be 18 when she marries 40-year-old William!  Such an interesting story, I had to start the book there. My 2nd great grandmother, Celia Means Draper is a product of that marriage, and this is where the fun really starts!  

At this point in the writing of my story, I have Celia getting married into the Draper family just south of Indianapolis, Indiana in 1836. But Now I have so many new characters to research and reveal in a way that doesn't confuse the reader!  Lot of thinkng out how to accomplish this right now!

One of these days I will have to reveal the title. 

Thanks to Pip for hosting the Weekend Chat, and to all who share! WikiTree Hugs!

Comments

Hmmm, drove by a freshly ploughed cornfield yesterday......Chilliwack Corn.......I'll be watching it grow.  

Answer 8

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps!

How is everyone doing? On the genealogy front, I wrote a post about achievements. Not all of them have to do with money, ya know: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2024/03/52-ancestors-week-11-achievement.html

I found a new Penta cousin and introduced him to Wikitree. He has a profile up but he hasn't connected to his tree, yet. I hope he does soon. I've been showing him the ropes and so far so good. He did give me some pics from the Italians in Haverhill book and I put them on the right profiles.

Other than that, there's not much else to report on. On the non genealogy front, we're going to be going out for my mom's birthday tomorrow. Should be fun. The day after we'll have our traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. Yeah, I know I'm not Irish but we still like the food! =D

Oh and I am also getting ready for the thon coming up. I'm assembling the team and getting things ready. Should be a fun weekend as always! I hope everyone is doing well. Have a great weekend!

Comments

Glad to hear you are up an running on the Connect-A-Thon teamwork! Sorry, joined the NEWTs.  I don't care about the numbers, I want to help the newbies have fun! Thanks for all you do ahd share with us, cousin Chris!

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No problem, David! =D

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Hi Chris, I know you and your team will do great. Although I have family from Piemonte, I will be doing the Thon with the England Team. Now I am kind of obligated given that I am the Team Leader for Buckinghamshire. Interesting blog, as always!

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Thanks, Carol! Tell ya what. You and Kathy can be our special ops team. :)

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Ciao Cousin Chris! Ooooh, I like that...Special Ops team!

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Glad you like it! =D

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Nothing from San Pietro lately, Chris?

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Not yet. But, soon I am sure. At least this time the number they gave me was in the triple digits.

Answer 9

Virtual Vacation!

While we were visiting Tucson, we visited many interesting places in the area. One fascinating place is the Titan Missile Museum, https://titanmissilemuseum.org/   The site was deactivated in 1987, we were told that the site’s deactivation was part of a weapons reduction treaty, but Wikipedia says the missiles were simply aging victims of a weapons modernization program.

It is a fascinating place, though quite scary if you think about what could have happened here in the 1970s. The 45 minute guided tours include 55 metal grate stairs, you have to go both up and down the stairs. There is no elevator. The tour includes viewing the last titan missile in its silo, it is deactivated. On the surface are many planes and other pieces of equipment that were used for missile fueling and maintenance. 

The missile is now covered by a glass dome that covers the top of the missile silo. We were told that the glass cover was required by the terms of ‘the treaty’ so that satellites can see if the missile is being reactivated. The missiles were 103 feet tall and weighed 330,000 pounds.

Looking down into the silo from the surface, with my hands holding the camera on the outside of the dome over the missile.

Looking up from inside the silo.

This is the truck that would have transported the re-entry part of the missile, the white part that covered the operational part of the missile.

This is a Bell rescue helicopter that would have been used if a person or more people had to be evacuated in a hurry. 

This is the re-entry vehicle adaptor, I think it was between the re-entry part of the missile and warhead and connected the two parts until the re-entry part was jettisoned. 

And this is the vehicle that transported nitrogen tetroxide which was used as a propellant somehow in the fuel.  

We saw the room where the military staff worked and the equipment that would have been used to launch the missiles. After receiving a launch order and verifying the order they could be launched from within their silos in less than a minute. We learned about the many security procedures and safety measures. 

This picture of the launch centre is from the missile museum website, I took all the other photos.

Comments

Funny how today a Lap top could do all of that!

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lol so true Dave. My Dad worked at Nase in its Hayday.  I just wish I remembered when he took me here as a baby.

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Hi M, thank you for the guided tour of the museum. I have taken family there when they visited me in the past. Did you tour the Pima Air Museum as well? Your photos are really excellent, particularly the first two 'looking down' and 'looking up.'

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Thanks Carol, we went to the Pima Air Museum in 2011. It was very good especially for a reader of military and spy books.

I included pics from there and the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in my January 2022 Virtual Vacation post.

All the VV pics are here: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Virtual_Vacation

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January 2022? I cannot even remember what I did yesterday...oh, yes, I spent all day waiting for the Geek Squad from Best Buy and they never showed up! Today they informed me they will be out on Tuesday between 7am and 7pm. I have to change a medical appointment on Tuesday just to accommodate Best Buy. This stuff has been sitting in my house for nearly a week. I'll be saying 'good by and good riddance' to total tech come June. Just not worth it any longer.

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So we will be corresponding by snail mail ?

And you will be listening to the wireless?

Answer 10

Greetings from Interlaken, Switzerland.
I know we have March now, but the weather does like April. This afternoon at 4, I had to put on the light, but now close to 6, I have to find a working place where the sharp evening sun is not disturbing. But tomorrow another day and the weather will be different - or not.

This afternoon I did my duty, vacuumcleaning the apartment while my wife attended a lecture at the University in Berne about chatbots and medicine. These lectures are part of a programm for senior people (>60). On friday's.

This week we had to prepare our trip to the Netherlands coming September with 6 schoolteacher-colleagues of my wife. Every second year they go for a trip, they went to Hamburg and northern Germany twice, Toscany also 2 times and once to Bretagne, France, and now we plan the 2nd journey to the Netherlands. All nice ladies, about same age and retired teachers. So I can be very quiet - they will do the talking. I just have to be their guide as I am from the Netherlands no matter that I left my home-country in 1969 to live in Switzerland. Next weekend we will be in the Netherlands for the 80th birthday of my sister - she invited 80 guests!

Since the moment I read about the Died at Sea project the last week of February I am working on a project which covers a catastrophy that happened 5/6 March 1883, where 17 of a fleet of 22 fisherboats were lost in a storm around the Dutch Isles Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. 83 fishermen lost their lives, only 1 could be saved. I made a Free Space Page Ramp van Moddergat with all the men and I added their profiles in WikiTree. Of these 83 men 37 are cousins, and 23 of their surviving wives also. 34 of the men are descendants of my 7th GGPs Henricus Schregardus & Hiltje Wolfganck. I am now looking to connect them to eachother, because in those small fishery-villages they married mostly within the same group. Anyway the mark of 1000 contributions in March is passed already. This page is just in Dutch as advised to use one's own language, but I think this will reduce the group of readers - but I will see.

I think we will have a coffee now and talk the dinner for tonight. Have a nice weekend.

Comments

Sounds like a fun trip you have planned yo will have to take photos to share with us.

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Chris: yes we are planning a trip with a variety of themes. Nature, modern architecture, sea defence struggle and historical towns. It will be tiresome!

Answer 11

On this day:

1767: The US-President Andrew Jackson is born

1954: The French novel Bonjour Tristesse (Hello Sadness) is published

1961: The Republic of South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth of Natins

Comments

I'll go with the Republic of South Africa today.

Answer 12

Good evening from Germany

where the weather is ok (it might rain currently, but I don't see it because it's dark outside) and quite warm for this time of the year. Tomorrow it's gonna be raining when we're going to Cologne for the Celebration of Life for the friend that died last month. We're taken by car there, so no need to stand on train stations in the rain.

Mum is a huge fan of the "Little House in the Prairie" TV-series. It's running every day here in a TV-station and when it's over it starts the next day with 6-year old Laura again. A few years ago, mum had a look on Amazon if the books from Laura Ingalls Wilder are available in German. They aren't. When mum talked about the books again a few weeks ago, I said: "They're only in English." "I know, but I don't care. I want to have them." (Remember, she only started to learn English systematically about 11 months ago on Duolingo, although she was able to get along reading a standardized website even earlier.) So I ordered the books in America. They arrived this week, and mum started "to poke around in the books here and there" (quote by her) and gets along quite ok.

Genealogically, I wrote another biography for one of the profiles the Germany Project wants to suggest for the Connection finder week in mid-May, which is currently planned to be the German week. I continued to create more profiles in my little project. I also decided to finally work on the biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe when I reached the 1000 contributions for March. I should get there during next week. And I managed to get my 16 missions completed for the 16 for 16 thingy. This is what I wanted to get, I won't continue to work it through to 32 for 16. I didn't think I would finish it before the end of March, but here I am and that's it now.

Seems it sounds as if I was busy, and I was. Have a nice weekend and stay healthy.

Comments

Hallo Jelena, I was surprised you couldn't find the book series of Laura Ingalls-Wilder in German, but I guess you wanted them in new print. Here are some used books:

https://www.zvab.com/buch-suchen/titel/kleines-haus-silbersee/autor/ingalls-wilder-laura/antiquarisch/

I have the books in Swedish from when I was a kid.

I think the series also is broadcasted on some Swedish tv channel over and over again.

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And a bit newer.

https://www.ueberreuter.de/authors/laura-ingalls-wilder/

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I loved Little House when I was growing up. I grew up with Laura. It was one of the first chapter books I first read.

Answer 13

Hello all from Christchurch, New Zealand. Still whittling down my watchlist and trying to avoid temptations of adding new profiles. I have got some of my working personal categories down a bit and also completing some missions for the 16 for 16 challenge. Haven't decided yet if I stay with my current Thon team or switch it up and go elsewhere for a change.

Comments

I been working on my 16 x16 missions as well. Good luck with yours.

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Bahahahaah, Darrin, I had over 4000, got frustrated and deleted them all, including my pedigree! I'm slowly adding them back in, and fixing them up that way.

Answer 14

Hello, WikiTree Cousins!

After near-perfect weather this past week we had a tremendous amount of rain this morning along with a strong thunderstorm. It's supposed to get cold again.

I got the results of the two biopsies my dermatologist took last week. The one from my scalp was cancerous and I will be having Mohs surgery on the 27th. This will be the second skin cancer surgery on my scalp. The other biopsy, which was from my shin, was precancerous and will be treated with liquid nitrogen spray in mid-April.

WikiTree work is going well. I've been doing some prep for the Connect-a-Thon along with some fairly routine daily profile creation and/or improvement.

Hope all is going well with all of you and that you have a great weekend!

Comments

Hi Nelda, hope your skin treatments go well and the cancer is removed!

We have our first really spring like day where I live. The crocuses are flowering and the warmth from the sun can be felt.

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Best of luck with your surgery. I will ad you to my prayer list.

Answer 15

Good morning WikiTree friends!  It was a low of 37 here, too cold for mid-March in Tucson.  Apparently our dinner party tonight will be inside, not on the patio as I had planned.  Going to squeeze 10 of us about a table that is better for 8.

My sister is not better but steadfastedly refuses to see her problems, refuses treatment, continues to pursue the delusions (i.e. filing an insurance claim for a non-burglery).  We can't help her much.  The lengthy call with her last weekend resolved nothing other than we aren't running to her rescue every time she says there is a problem.

On to genealogy front I have tried out Ian Bacalls new One Name Study app.  Very interesting.  I've used it to correct location errors (using the Statistics box).  Then I can add the Bourque ONS sticker as I go.  Still chugging away on the Bio Check too.  Someone posted a very nice source for Yamachichi (Québec) on one of our Acadian profiles.  I love that name.

This week I have a dinner for the new neighbors, lunch for some girlfriends, Happy Hour for some neighbor girlfriends and taking a meal to a couple at church.  I guess this my Week of Food!  I normally don't like cooking but I do like having people over.

Comments

Got up to 60F here, now its suppose to drop to 32 by the first of the week!

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Cindy, is Yamachichi another name for Machiche which was a Loyalist Refugee Camp on the north shore of the St Lawrence, near Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

My husband's 5 x GGF William McClellan and his wife and I believe 3 children were at Machiche in 1783, I have 2 sources but one seems to be currently missing from where I expect to be in my McClellan file.

Found it in Gavin Watt's book Loyalist Refugees.

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Yes I think so.

https://www.uelac.org/SirJohnJohnson/eastern-townships.php

It's interesting that the British treated their own loyalist refugees to Canada poorly.

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Yes I have that map!

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Hi Cindy I didn't know there was a One Name Study app. I'll have to have a look. I started a ONS last year as part of the 15 missions

Answer 16

Hello my Wikitree Cousins. Happy National Panda, Driver Instructor, and No selfie day!

Here in Canton Ohio it is supposed to be nice day with a high of 60 but by Monday we are supposed to get some snow. Go figure. Thursday night the weather radar lit up and we had a few bad storms. They had a tornado about 90 minutes from us. Did a lot of damage to the town.

On Tuesday my sister and I went to see the movie Cabrini. The Historical part of that movie was amazing. What that sister had to go through and how was treated by the men of New York at that time. It does how all the immigrants were treated when they first came to America.

Genealogy wise I been working in different parts of my own tree. I want to start getting approved for my pre 1700 certification.

Answer 17

Hello, from a sunny and warm Kentucky!! 63 degrees here and the trees are all blooming--that is why I am inside working on WikiTree--my allergies are in full gear!!

Just finished helping mom make potato salad. My mom makes the best potato salad!! She is 86 and still going strong.  I am trying to learn all her recipes while I still can. I've mastered her meatloaf and her homemade banana cake. My brothers can't tell the difference between hers and mine!

Comments

Day just got even better!! I was able to give 2 unsourced infants back their names. They were listed as Infant Male  and Infant Son. Also, sent the info to Find A Grave to get their names changed there. No one should be without a name.

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I agree Judith, no one should be without a name. It's always special to be able to give a name back to someone

Answer 18

Greetings from Brightlingsea, Essex, England

Have been more active on Wikitree this month. Have been looking at profiles that had not been looked at in ages and checking for any further information to add. Those with surnames starting "H" have come under attention this month and have made some updates.

In other aspects have been busy. Attended the AGM of my Foresters Court - Court Lifeboat 4390 Ancient Order of Foresters. Was re-elected as Chief Ranger - I chair our meetings and represent our Court at events. In addition I was selected to attend the High Court Meeting & AGM in Scarborough later this year.

Generally keeping busy with life here in Brightlingsea.  More next time...

Answer 19

On this day:

1774: The English navigator and cartographer Matthew Flinders is born

1871: In Algeria, the Mokrani Revolt occurs

1900: The Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre is born

Comments

Hi Jelena, I'll go with both Freyre and Flinders today!

Answer 20

Had to take advantage of the summer weather for this weekend.....79F on the south side of the house under a brilliant blue sky......swapped my black t-shirt for a white one before starting yard chores and trimming shrubs in time for lawn mowing season.