11 May …
Good morning …
~~~
Seems I did a no-no last week in not being more descriptive about a long-time friendship.
“Wow! You make that visitor from (when you worked at) the New Mexico Insane Asylum 62 years ago sound like a long term lunatic you will have underfoot when you are on duty July 4th!!! I’ll have to wear a sign that says ‘I wasn’t a patient, I WORKED with Wilma. ‘ ”
True, but I still like the ambiguity … who was the patient and who the attendant?
Actually, we were part of an American Friends Service Committee group of young people spending the summer working as attendants. That’s Liz in the middle row second from the left.
George (center back row) was the “old man” of the group at 26. I was 24 (that’s me in the front row second from right). All the other were aged between 18 and 21.
My … how time flies.
~~~
Last week at the Family History Center was busy.
I have definitely proven that my forte is research, not use of the on-line Family Search World Tree.
A young Sister from Portland was here to help us learn how to use the Family Search program now that it is open to all. As she explained it, it all seemed so easy … a no-brainer.
Well, I guess I am a “no brainer”. I’ll work at it. Maybe I’ll get better. In the meantime, I’ll continue to use RootsMagic as my main file and leave explaining the use of Family Search to the other volunteers.
The laugh of the session was when a researcher found a cousin whose given name was “Onion”. I wonder what that new mother was thinking?
~~~
Still on the subject of genealogy … I spent time during the last rain finishing the notebook of information about my paternal grandmother, Anna Etta “Belle” Hall Tyler – 1866 to 1952.
That was an interesting few days. I thought I knew my Grandma. But as I organized what information I had, and added to it what had become available since I last collected, my picture of her expanded.
She had been 64 when I was born (same age as I was when my first grandchild was born), so I never knew her as “young”
Now that I know the challenges she faced, I love her more than ever. I had always seen her as strong, but now I know she was STRONG.
Next project … Grandpa, Laben Jehiel “Elmer” Tyler.
Want to know your grandparents better? Genealogy …
~~~
We went after chicks (and straw for the garden) last monday. The Mountain is looking beautiful …
and the chicks are settling in.
~~~
Lilacs are in almost full bloom. I’ll be drying blossoms for potpourri.
However, the iris are still reluctant.
~~~
I picked fresh asparagus and rhubarb yesterday. The asparagus went into my salad (George doesn’t eat asparagus unless forced and I like it so …).
The rhubarb went into an Eaglesmere Rhubarb-Nut Bread. It is a recipe I got from my mother-in-law’s aunt sooooooo many years ago. Still smells and tastes great.
~~~
John is due to arrive this afternoon. We had tentatively planned to start preparing the ground for planting. However … rain began last wednesday with gully-washers (and flood warnings) on wednesday, thursday, and saturday.
It might be time for Plan B.
We are rethinking straw bale gardening. Seems the use of herbicides on straw and hay fields may have down-the-line results on garden plants, not only directly by the use of contaminated straw, but through manure contamination via feed given to manure producing animals.
Life does get complicated.
There was a report on NPR about the idea of a Secretary of the Future. Sweden has one. Her job is to evaluate the impact of whatever is happening on the coming generations.
Indigenous peoples knew the value of this a long time ago with their appreciation of the phrase (translated to English) “To the Seventh Generation”.
But then, maybe it’s too late for us already. News report last week noted that five islands in the Solomons have already been lost to rising sea levels. And the food situation is getting scary.
~~~
Finally, in re all the hooha over trans use of toilets …
“The path to the dark side fear is. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Yoda
So … ’til next week …