Living in the Past

Rock-ola 451 circa 1973

Sometimes we live in the past and there is nothing wrong with that. We do that through genealogy and collecting antiques to scrapbooking or anything else that brings back memories of times already gone. I collect anything Shirly Temple or Dionne Quintruplets as well as well as depression and pre-depression glass. As a couple I tend to collect very specific antique items that have a history or story to the piece whereas my husband collects "stuff". By stuff, I mean things related to his favourite sports team and yes we do have a room solely dedicated to that team but he also collects stuff as in travel trinkets and bits and pieces I can't even begin to understand. He likely doesn't understand my fascination for collecting things with a history so we are pretty much matched.

Now imagine my response when he calmly announced over his morning coffee that he was going to pick up a jukebox he had found. He had actually bought something with a history! Here we met a slight clash as the only spot this thing would fit into was exactly where my antique and fully functional EXP.B.T. sewing machine stood adorned with the antique and fully functional Underwood manual typewriter right beside the cabinet holding my depression and pre-depression glass. What the heck was he thinking?

It took him most of Saturday to get the jukebox home and after trying a few spots I agreed to move the sewing machine. The jukebox actually looks good in that spot. Then I agreed to help clean-up and restore the jukebox. Having restored antique pieces before cleaning the jukebox was almost no challenge other than the offending smell of nicotine. About 1,000 45s came with the jukebox and he immediately hauled out all his saved 45s. Oh yes, he does have a collection of records including picture records but those are usually out of sight. Talk about a direct contrast to the iPod! I'm just waiting for the old manual victrola that will play the cone records we have. It's only a matter of time now that he has come over to my side of collecting things that have a history.

Reflections

Storm Clouds

Have you ever had one of those days when you spend more time tweaking the tools than getting the work done? So it was with me today. I was up bright and early ready to do a lot of data entry. I restarted the Mac in Windows mode and fired up Legacy. No problems except I had forgot to transfer the image files over to the XP drive. From Mac that is fairly easy as all I have to do is click and drag to the hard drive icon. Anyway, I had forgot so decided to carry on. Then I noticed that the tagging was off. Legacy has a tagging system that will set 9 tags. Somehow in the change over the tags were lost! It was only 10 am and I was already getting frustrated! So I tinkled with the tagging and then left it alone to move onto the lap top. Now the lap top and desktop work together especially if I'm online. But Legacy on the laptop running through Virtual PC decided it was going to be a pain. It took about 3 hours and several reboots to finally get the gedcom to work only to discover all the tagging was missing from the file. Now I seriously love Legacy and it would take a lot for me to switch. Legacy's programers will likely have a Mac compatible program shortly as they are very progressive. I did install both Heredis and Reunion on the lap top just to see how they behaved and the reality is that if I find a Mac program that does exactly what I want, chances are good I'll use it if only on the lap top. Both are Mac programs so I'll test drive both of them and email Legacy for support as well. I did manage to get a bit of data input onto the desktop. It is performing nicely with the duo core so with a little tweaking things should be fine. The lap top may be floating in the water shortly!

Well, enough of the complaining. I went full tilt, one step ahead and two steps back from early morning to about 2:30 PM when I decided I really needed a break. The weather was unseasonably warm so I went down to the veggie store where I got a few good deals. I only went for mushrooms to add to the pot roast vegetables but what the heck. It was good to get out into the sun and mild weather. When I got back I put the vegetables in with the roast for dinner, decided what I was going to put up for the night then sat by the water's edge to simply listen.

Sometimes life gets so hectic or we get so frustrated we forget to just simply be. We forget to listen and truly see. Quiet reflective time is so important because it helps to ground us so we can make connections. A peaceful calm passed over me and even though I could hear the calling of my ancestors there was peace as the water methodically swept the shore. It became clear the path I should follow yet I was at peace.

Long Nights

Frost on Branches

I woke with a start and through groggy eyes tried to make sense of the digits on the clock. It couldn't be! It was only 3:20 am, way to early to be rising yet I was wide awake. I knew the notepad I kept on the bed stand wouldn't be enough. The dream had been so very vivid in true Kodak colour but it also triggered something else. Every fiber of my body was vibrating with thoughts of my second great grandparents. Their very being had haunted my dreams enough to waken me and now I had to get those thoughts and feelings in writing. Their very existence tugged at and enter-twined my soul begging the story be told.

The early hours of the morning flew by with me only taking a few moments to capture the sunrise. It was after lunch before I decided to take a break marveling at how far that book had progressed. The problem is this couple is tugging at my soul but my focus is supposed to be on my seventh great-grandparents' story yet the other story is just flying from my fingers. One of my kids is my advisor for the first book and will be for the sequels so being very concerned that what should be a sequel was actually progressing quicker than the initial book I made a frantic phone call. Apparently the way things are progressing is not as much of a problem as I thought. The advice to get what I could written then go from there. Well that means that one sequel will likely be finished before the original but what it should do is trigger telling the stories of other ancestors. So complicated!

I took a short break to go grocery shopping. That was not really good as I only needed a couple of things but bought a lot of meat on sale. So I was trying to vacuum seal the meat but as ideas popped into my head I had to stop and type a little. It's funny how these particular grandparents are speaking to me. It's like they want the story told and they are going to haunt me until it is told. It is honestly the weirdest feeling I've ever had. I've had feelings about my ancestors before but not like this. These are usually nice peaceful, a subtle awareness not like this. Right now the feelings are so intense!

Sunset

Genealogy research can be frustrating to say the least sometimes. Some days the information just seems to fly at you from all directions then without any warning then information suddenly dries up. So it has been with the latest round of research. I have many new leads to follow and a lot of data entry to do. I'll like spend much of my genealogy time this coming week on data entry until something stands out needing further investigation. My second great grandparents continue to haunt my thoughts. Out of the blue and just by shear luck I found where one of their daughters lived after their death. She was only four when they died. That was a pleasant discovery.

I'm making progress on my book so that's a good thing. Every so often I have to stop to do a bit of research to clarify a point or add more detail. That means I'm bouncing between two computers, a PDA, written notes and documents and online. My desk is so congested that even my husband asked how I could find anything. To the side but in front of my desk are two wooden tv tables. Each one holds a huge binder stuffed full of family group sheets, documents, pictures and family stories. I can easily swivel from computers to binders as needed. And so it goes.

Brick Walls

Genealogists often speak of brick walls in reference to reaching a point in their research where finding any information appears to be impossible. The key work here is "appears". With enough tenacity, determination, careful research and attention to even the smallest of details along with a healthy dose of patience it is often possible to break through these brick walls. In most brick wall instances the hit with a sledgehammer approach won't work unless you happen to get extremely lucky. The more likely scenario is the small chisel approach chipping away at the mortar bit by bit to find the hidden information. Sometimes you have to get to the information in a round about way. For that very reason it is extremely important to keep meticulous genealogy research records.

I've been researching my family history and genealogy for well over 30 years but it was somewhere around 1994 that I became a very serious genealogy researcher. I took the scientific approach careful observation, careful documentation and proving through more than one source. Anyone doing genealogy research always speaks of sources. There are three basic types of sources. Primary sources are those sources in which the individual was actually present. These are the original records. These include marriage license, wills, death certificates, baptisms, census records, and etc. The key point is the person was present at the time the document was produced. Secondary sources are those sources created after the event has passed. These include obituaries, death notices, birth notices, wedding notices, and using for example a marriage certificate (primary source for marriage) as a source for the birth-date (secondary source) as the birth-date has passed some time ago. So sources can be both primary or secondary depending on their use. Tertiary sources are those sources where there has been one or more persons interacting between the event such as the International Genealogical Index (IGI) or online family trees. The goal with each and every individual in your database is to have as many primary sources as possible back-up with secondary sources. Tertiary sources should only be used as starting points not as proof.

My system of research organization sounds complicated but it isn't. I use 4" wide binders to store my paperwork which is divided into lines. At over 6,000 people in my database with supporting documentation, I have a lot of paperwork! Every piece of information is recorded in pencil on Family Group Sheets. Supporting documentation is recorded on custom made print-outs then stored with the appropriate family group starting with the parents records then followed by each child's records. The child's records are further divided as such: the parent has 13 children, so there are 13 additional family group sheets labeled 1 to 13 inside a circle. The child's information is entered in pencil if not confirmed and transferred into the computer database or pen if the previous conditions have been met. This serves as an immediate visual of what needs to be added to my computer database. When the child is married and has children the process repeats with the child, now parent's number in a circle followed by - number of child. So if I have one labeled as 2 in a circle - 1 - 2 that is the second child of the first child of the second child of the starting parents in that line. As I enter information into the computer database the pencil is overwritten in ink. The computer database contains all sourcing information, scans and images of all names, dates, notes, research notes, documents, pictures, video, sound and anything else that helps me tell my family history.

Hitting Pay Dirt

Lake Huron

The Great Lakes waterway was not only an important transportation route for my ancestors but it also supplied them with a valuable source of food and livelihood. Many of my earlier ancestors came from Quebec to this area as a result of the fur trade. They were voyageurs and interpreters. Some settled in the fertile lands surrounding the Great Lakes especially those areas around Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron. It was in these areas they found land that would provide them food and a living. To this day many of their descendants are still working the land.

The Great Lakes were generous not only in providing fertile land. They provided a plentiful source of fresh water fish like bass, perch and pickerel. The water attracted larger game animals like deer and bear. Smaller game animals like muskrat and jackrabbits along with the all important beaver were plentiful. The rich diversity of the marshlands along the waterways provided a plentiful source of water fowl. While bear no longer roam the area today except in the northern Great Lakes region, deer are still quite common as are most of the smaller game animals and water fowl.

I've been on a genealogy roll the past couple of days, working long into the night. I have a Deluxe membership on Ancestry.com that I bought specifically for the Ontario Vital Statistics content. One rule I have about online genealogy research is I never, ever trust anyone's published family tree. I've seen too many errors, omissions, wrong relationships and just plain horrid stuff so I seldom if ever look at family trees. That removes a whole section that I don't use at Ancestry. What I focus on are those things like OVS when I can download and print the exact same image I would if I had printed the image from the microfilmed record. Being able to do this has saved me countless dollars and time. The closest Family History Centre is about forty minutes away and if it is busy you might not even be able to get onto a microfilm reader. There is a time limit of two hours, most of which is spent loading and unloading microfilm. Only one of their machines prints so they want you to confirm the record you are looking for is there on a non-printing machine first so as to not tie up the printing machine searching. Printing is 25¢ per sheet even though the quality is poor. They are only open three days a week, two of which are afternoons only so that really limits research time. I'm so pleased that I can access many of the microfilmed records using Ancestry, PRDH and National Archives online and certainly don't mind paying for the services!

Over the past couple of days I hit genealogy pay dirt. I decided to focus on one brick wall but instead of focusing directly on that one individual, I searched only OVS with just the last name and province. Sometimes you can get the necessary information by going through the records of relatives. Sometimes it will be the smallest tidbit of information that will give a clue where to start chipping away at the brick wall. In this case, the brick wall is my second great grandfather. Census records has him as born in the USA but one has him born in Canada. Nothing new here as that happens quite a bit. His death record shows him as born in Michigan and one US census record shows him living in Michigan but with the household members it is difficult to tell who's who but I think I have it somewhat figured out. OVS revealed more details especially critical dates and locations but I also notice one surname of a female that had married yet that same surname appeared in one of the census records as a nephew which means I may be able to get at my brick wall in a round about fashion. Checking the border crossing records led to another clue. I noticed that all individuals with the brick wall were visiting one of two basic areas. One was the known locations in Michigan but the other was Illinois, so again another clue!

Tangents

Tangents

Tangents are mathematically important but I'm not talking about those tangents. I'm referring to the red herring type of tangent where the topic is almost unrelated to the main topic but has a point in common with it. In other words you are nicely going along one path, get distracted and going off on a tangent yet both the original path and tangent are somehow related. Now tangents can be either beneficial, neutral or bad. At best they lead to discovery and at worst they are time wasters.

The past week has been full of tangents. My husband left for hunt camp leaving me with a whole five days to do exactly as I pleased and I fully intended to spend as much time on genealogy and my book. Two of those days were spent in such discomfort that there was little room for intellectual output and the last three weren't much better. Over those two days I started reading The Hundred Year Lie by Randall Fitzgerald that almost immediately sent me off on a couple of tangents. Then flipping the tv channels late at night I came across a program with a similar theme that our food is killing us and how much food had changed from our ancestors times. The following day brought me back to analyzing the Agricultural Census of my second great grandparents.

This is an extremely interesting couple as they died within a month of each other leaving eight children under the age of 13. The youngest son died a couple of months later leaving my great grandfather the baby of the family at a ripe old age of 2. It is still a mystery as to where these kids lived as they simply disappear from the following census then some start reappearing on the next census. And just as I typed that last sentence an idea I had not considered before popped into my head! I had made the assumption that some type of illness had gone through the family causing the demise of the parents and infant son. I should know better than to make assumptions when it comes to genealogy! My second great grandmother died nine days after giving birth so her death is much more likely to be due to complications from childbirth. So now after this entry is posted I will be off on another tangent.

The information on this census is amazing as a lot of what kinds of foods were stored were noted. They lived very near the water as within less than a 5 minute walk in a location about thirty minutes from where I live. The interesting thing about this was they had no fish stored in barrels as their neighbours did! My question is why? Food was food then and people ate what was available and when you lived by water that naturally meant fish. Now I'm heading in the right direction even though it was in a round about way except in comes another tangent followed by another.

Crystal Blues Waters of Indian Cove, Georgian Bay, Ontario

No those are not pebbles in a crystal clear pond, they are huge rocks and boulders in the crystal blue waters of Indian Cove on Georgian Bay.

By Monday morning my face was swollen on the infected tooth side, the pain had increased significantly, I could only move my teeth about a quarter of inch apart and I was running a fever. My dentist wasn't in which his normal of just being in the office when it strikes his fancy. That usually works out to an afternoon or two per week and this tooth obviously had no intentions of waiting so I got into see my doctor but not until the late afternoon. She gave me course of antibiotics (Clindamycin) with instructions to double up the dosage to get six caplets in me for the rest of Monday then drop it to four caplets per day until the course is finished. She also said my dentist had given me wrong information and the tooth needs to be extracted as soon as the abscess is cleared preferably by a more responsible dentist. She gave me referrals to two dentists. There has been little change today but it's early yet. Hopefully there will be more improvement tomorrow. So that is the ongoing saga of the impacted tooth.

Feeling Under the Weather

The Wake

This is really what I would love to be enjoying right now but the weather is now too cold.

This weekend was the much planned baby shower for soon to be new grand daughter. About 2 am Friday morning I awoke in a lot of pain in my jaw. It will pass I told myself as I rinsed my mouth well with warm salt water. This was a bad weekend for anything and I mean anything to go wrong. By Friday night I knew there was a problem but was determined to go ahead with the weekend plans of Remembrance Day and the baby shower. Saturday wasn't too bad even though I knew things were worsening despite the counteractive measures I was taking and I was getting no relief from extra strength acetaminophen. This morning, the day of the shower, the right side of my face was swollen and my cheeks flame red not a really good look for a new to be grandma. So I took a Tylenol 3 (prescription) and it did nothing! No pain relief and a face that was steadily getting redder by the minute. The shower went well and a good time was had by all. I only wish I could have enjoyed it a bit more. There was a lot of food yet I could barely open my mouth enough to even take small bites. Soup and hot tea sounded good but I had to wait for everyone to leave and by then the only thing I really wanted to do was sit down and have a good cry.

What the problem looks to be an infected and impacted wisdom. This thing has caused problems for a while but never this bad. My dentist does not want to pull it because it is half in and half out and because of my medical history. However it is now obviously infected if you take the cheek flushing, fever, swollen lymph nodes and extreme pain into consideration. Maybe he will change his mind but I'm not taking any chances as I will be seeing my doctor in the morning.

Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

WE SHALL KEEP THE FAITH
An answer to Lt.Col John McCrae by Moina Michael - 1918

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders' Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders' Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders' Fields.

---

IN FLANDERS NOW
An answer to Lt.Col John McCrae by Edna Jaques

We have kept faith, ye Flanders' dead,
Sleep well beneath those poppies red,
That mark your place.
The torch your dying hands did throw,
We've held it high before the foe,
And answered bitter blow for blow,
In Flanders' fields.

And where your heroes' blood was spilled,
The guns are now forever stilled,
And silent grown.
There is no moaning of the slain,
There is no cry of tortured pain,
And blood will never flow again
In Flanders' fields.

Forever holy in our sight
Shall be those crosses gleaming white,
That guard your sleep.
Rest you in peace, the task is done,
The fight you left us we have won.
And "Peace on Earth" has just begun
In Flanders' now.

Anxiety

These are anxious times for me. Things have been in an uproar with the fridge, carpet cleaning, kitchen disruption and idiot neighbour. But the main anxiety is coming from the baby shower I'm hosting for our soon to be born granddaughter. I got caught up with the planning and getting things sparkly clean that somehow the baby shawl got pushed to the back burner. I thought it would be a quick knit except the knitting machine is refusing to co-operate and I don't have time to fiddle. So yesterday, I grabbed a crochet hook and the yarn to start on a baby shawl with very limited time and a very ambitious project. I'm frantically crocheting while reminiscing all the times I made homemade baby shawls for my own kids. The picture is gorgeous so now all I need to do is focus and finish it before Sunday morning. Things get more complicated from here as my husband is leaving for hunt came on Tuesday which mean there are certain meals like a lasagne and venison chili that need to be made. Too many things to do and not enough time.

This time of year my mind tends to be more focused on my ancestors who served in the wars over the years. Because of them I have the freedom to enjoy my family and host parties and simply just be. So I thought I would share a couple of stories of a couple of my ancestors who made notable differences but to me they all made a difference.

Some of my ancestors were Soldats du Carignan so perhaps that set the pattern for future generations. One ancestor went to Fort Detroit and has been rumoured to be the first white man in that area before Cadillac arrived. He was a very notable person being not only a friend of Cadillac but also for community endeavors. His sons followed in his footsteps. During the war of 1812 - 1814 one of them dressed in a English uniform and solely saved the Fort and Amherstberg, almost across from Fort Detroit. This story in itself is truly amazing! But the story doesn't stop there. Throughout history, my ancestors have answered the call of Canada.

My great uncle fought in WWI. He was reported as missing in action and presumed dead. I can't imagine how my great grandparents felt over the news. They even had a memorial service for him. Later he was found alive at a hospital in France, came home and went on to a successful life. His story had a happy ending yet many that answered the country's call did not. Many gave their lives for our freedom. That's why we wear a poppy! Given the ultimate sacrifices, wearing a poppy is the very least we can do.

Why Wear a Poppy

"Please wear a poppy," the lady said,
And held one forth, but I shook my head,
Then I stopped and watched as she offered them there,
And her face was old and lined with care;

But beneath the scars the years had made
There remained a smile that refused to fade.
A boy came whistling down the street,
Bouncing along on care-free feet.

His smile was full of joy and fun,
"Lady," said he, "may I have one?"
When she'd pinned it on, he turned to say;
"Why do we wear a poppy today?"

The lady smiled in her wistful way
And answered; "This is Remembrance Day.
And the poppy there is a symbol for
The gallant men who died in war.

And because they did, you and I are free -
That's why we wear a poppy, you see.
I had a boy about your size,
With golden hair and big blue eyes.

He loved to play and jump and shout,
Free as a bird, he would race about.
As the years went by, he learned and grew,
And became a man - as you will, too.

He was fine and strong, with a boyish smile,
But he'd seemed with us such a little while
When war broke out and he went away.
I still remember his face that day.

When he smiled at me and said, 'Goodbye,
I'll be back soon, Mum, please don't cry.'
But the war went on and he had to stay,
And all I could do was wait and pray.

His letters told of the awful fight
(I can see it still in my dreams at night),
With the tanks and guns and cruel barbed wire,
And the mines and bullets, the bombs and fire.

Till at last, at last, the war was won -
And that's why we wear a poppy, son."
The small boy turned as if to go,
Then said: "Thanks, lady, I'm glad to know.

I slunk away in a sort of shame,
And if you were me, you'd have done the same:
For our thanks, in giving, if oft delayed,
Though our freedom was bought - and thousands paid!

And so, when we see a poppy worn,
Let us reflect on the burden borne
By those who gave their very all
When asked to answer their country's call
That we at home in peace might live.
Then wear a poppy! Remember - and Give!

-Don Crawford

Keeping Home Fires Burning

Home Fires

I had an idea for today's entry but then decided on this. The day is grey and dull much like many November days but this time I have an inner spirit to brighten the day. Our new grand-daughter is scheduled to arrive by C-section the first week of December. I'm hosting a baby shower this weekend.

Things are still in an uproar. The new fridge is in but the water line to it is being installed this morning. It hasn't gone smoothly! Once it finally gets in I can return the cabinets to their original over stuffed state and at least clear a path in the kitchen. Can I just have a little more chaos please?

Onto the baby shower. What I want is balloons outside on the one tree maybe two trees. I want the inside lightly decorated. I think I have the menu basically set but I still need something sweet and I don't do sweets very well. I still need some baby shower games. My DIL is a total godsend! She lives in a city so can get things I can't get here and she is helping with the planning, giving me ideas and picking up things. I want healthy foods that will keep well over a 3 hour period. So I think I have the menu relatively set but other things need to come into place.

It is especially important right now to keep the home fires burning. We need a bit of peace and calm to get away from the busy days. Yesterday, I made a cheesy cream of cauliflower soup. It didn't seem like much by my husband loved it so I'll post a picture and recipe on my cooking blog.

Wonderment

Tundra Swans

Today has been one filled with a lot of emotions, not all good but most were good. I decided to focus on the new little one soon to be born so this picture reminded me of that. The mommy and daddy swan protect their little ones while gliding over the smooth water. I've photographed them several times. Male swans can be quite aggressive and the females even more so but this couple seems to like me. It is almost like they pose for me when I take the pictures. Over the summer we have watched this family grow much like we have watched our own little ones who will now become parents shortly. It has not come without a struggle for them but they do have excellent family support.

Each time there is an ultra sound, I get another picture so I'm thinking of making a small scrapbook with the theme "Watch Me Grow". One knitting machine came down and is ready for use this week. I need at least one baby blanket before Sunday when I host a baby shower. I should be able to get two baby blankets done by then. The main blanket is done on the knitting machine but the edging is hand crocheted. I'm more concerned about the actual hosting but my daughter-in-law is helping with some of that. She is such a blessing! She has a few nice fresh ideas so that is a true help.

Much of the focus this week will be preparing for this shower. I think it will go over well if I can just calm down and focus.

Calming Thoughts

Under the Falls

This picture was taken under the Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls, Ontario this past January. Icicles have always intrigued me. I love how they form and how the light bounces off them creating thousands of little sparkles.

Today, I need calming thoughts! The furniture store called yesterday after over two weeks to say that they would be delivering the new fridge tomorrow! Just great considering the carpet cleaners were scheduled for 9 am this morning. The only way that fridge will get into the house is over the freshly cleaned and still wet carpets. Yep, why not just have everything happen at once. A lot of furniture has been stuffed into the kitchen which presents another problem.

Calming thought, that's what I need right now. Breath deeply and enjoy the moment. Relax everything will be ok. These are my calming thought for today.

Turmoil

Things have been in a turmoil here for a couple of weeks. The new fridge is scheduled to arrive tomorrow between 2 and 5 pm. The problem comes in that it was supposed to be delivered last week and I scheduled the carpet cleaners for the Friday. Since the only way to get the fridge in is over newly cleaned carpets, I have a problem BUT that is not the worst of it. In order to hook up the fridge a contractor has to come out to install the water line. That means one cabinet under the sink and the corner cabinet with lazy susan has to be cleared.

I'm hosting a baby shower for one of my kids. It is the first grandbaby on both sides and their first so a very special event. I know diddly squat about hosting a baby shower. I'm always a good host so I'm thinking I can pull it off ok as far as food and hospitality goes. The invitations have been sent out so all that is left is the final planning. Apparently if the last shower was any indication you need games. Now, this is just smacks of being a huge problem so I go to google and find a bunch of baby shower games. Some are possible others are just "no way". I'm learning the quick hard way how to scan images and make a DVD. I think that showing in the background will be a nice touch.

Needless to say, my book has taken a back burner although I did work on it for an hour or so last night in the wee hours of the morning. Until the grandbaby arrives safe and sound, I doubt a lot will be accomplished yet sometimes I just have that urge to write. My ancestors would be proud of the way my kids matured and kept the family honour. They would more than welcome a new little one. It seems like such a little thing. After all it is only a baby BUT it is our future!