Day 3

Spent yesterday in Lancaster doing the family research and didn't come up with too much. I had better luck today, online. I'm collecting a lot of local history books from my journeys and now it will be albums and books. The books had some bits of information but online I found that 11 generations back I had an ancestor who was a Baron. He fled from Switzerland with false accusations of treason and lost his title and wealth. He spent time in Alsace, France where he wed and had his first son. He was exonerated and could have returned and collected all he lost be he came to America instead and made a fortune here. Wonder how long that fortune lasted with all the kids he had. He arrived in 1696 in America and ended up in Lancaster County. I'm sure the fact that he was an Anabaptist didn't help his plight in Switzerland.

All this research is cutting into my novel reading time. I'm getting a lot of reading done but it's history which is my favorite. I did manage to fit in some time in the office and even had a settlement today.

Halloween and we didn't have a little scary creature show up at the door. It's been 20 years since that's happened. This house and the last one are too remote for trick or treat. Sad though! I miss the excitement of the evening. I don't even decorate for it anymore since no one sees it but us. I did drive through the country side and through some small towns where I saw lots of little ones trudging along with loaded bags. There was a small party at the office at lunch with a covered dish from all participants. I can't see doing that since I'd have to make a big dish of something just to get a plate of stuff in return. Not into socializing with the other realtors anyway. I slipped out the back door!

Tomorrow is my hubby's birthday!

Day 2

I finished the book "The Art of Mending" by Elizabeth Berg. Once again she did not disappoint me. So many authors can't stay consistant but so far this one has. I like that fact that so many of her characters are in their 50's during the storyline. I can so relate to so many things. I'm going to have to search for more of her books. This story covered the inconsistencies of a parent in the way she raises her children. The older two were treated differently than the younger and they never knew what the younger one went through until that child (now a grown woman) starts therapy and as part of her healing she has to disclose the truth about their mother. The revelations of what happened to her were doubted by her older siblings since they had never seen that treatment. The Mother had a psychological reason for what she did as far as she was concerned.

I attended my grandson's early morning football game. It rained buckets on those poor 10 year olds and what troupers they were. Unfortunately he didn't win and they were so close to the finals next weekend. Not being a big fan of football is difficult when you have one so young and enthused about the sport. Poor kid is probably still soaking the mud off of his puddle saturated body!

I've been researching family trees online to find missing connections to what I have. This search was for my children who are a product of my first marriage. There was a lot of information for me to add but I've run in to a dead end on some major points. I actually matched an ancestor from my "ex" to an ancestor on my side all the way back in Europe in the early 1700's. I don't think 20 generations will make us start counting toes and worry about IQ issues. My trip to Lancaster was postponed from Monday to Tuesday since a quick check online provided the information that the Lancaster Mennonite Historic Society is closed on Mondays. I was all ready for the trip. I've added almost 5000 names to my tree. There's so much more to find! All the books I ordered on family history came in today and so far all they've done is list names that came over by ship during the 1700's. I know which ship my ancestor came on but it's so confusing since they spelled the name how they heard it and it's not what it was. Makes me worry how many other names are being missed for the same reason. There were just too many first names that are the same: Christian, Hans, Jacob, Michael and Martin. You'd think those were the only names out there.

I'm new to blogging! I tried it on myspace but that's too busy with ads and nonsense. I like to talk about what I've read and how I've spent my day without going into too much detail about my work. Realtors have to be cautious! There would be nothing better than to spend hours telling about the horrors clients put you through in the pursuit of a simple livelihood.

I've got a great family! My husband's a wonderful guy and makes my world. The "children" are grown adults with full lives of their own. My daughter has provided me with grandkids. I have four stepchildren and more stepgrandchildren that complete my being. Fortunately they are all within an hour's drive except one who decided his life was in Hawaii. Too bad for us but good for him and his new wife.

I'm an reading fanatic. Can't read enough and am always finding another author to love and then I have to buy every book they've ever written just to be sure they are as good as the one I just finished. I don't go anywhere without a book so that if I find I'm forced into hanging out waiting for something to happen, I have a book to grab. I don't read more than one at a time but have learned that if it isn't good then I put it aside. I used to force myself to read it anyway but life is way too short and there are too many words to read to waste my time. I read some authors just because I always have even if their books aren't quite as good as they used to be such as Patricia Cornwell. If she strays from her main characters than she's doomed! Her last two novels weren't up to her usual standards but I'm hooked on the storyline and the characters so I'll get her new one due out now. Kathy Reichs is much better. My latest author is Elizabeth Berg. Every month I read James Patterson since he seems to write that many (even though he's got help now). My addicition is that I have to own the books I read. There are so many now that they are lining my walls and even the closets. They're like trophies! There's a list on the computer of what I've read and on the shelves the books are by author and title. When you read this much you tend to forget which ones you've read and it's best to carry a list. My list is now as thick as a book so I quite carrying it! Not to mention the fact that it changes a few times a week with additions. Amazon and Borders are my friends! Don't know why my kids have trouble finding gifts for me!

My other addiction (besides eating) is doing geneology searches. It stared with the death of my Dad and where to put all the pictures and memoriable that he had in addition to what I had. It's grown to 6 large looseleaf albums and is continually growing. I work with cousins on both sides of the family to do this research and it's wonderful. I'm headed to Lancaster next week to check out the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society to find any information they have on the ancestors that came from Europe in 1732. I've been lucky enough to trace some of the branches of the family back to 1530 in Switzerland and then on to Germany before coming here. They were Anabaptists on the run from persecution. The other side of the family comes from Ireland and we're in the process of DNA testing to determine if we can connect the dots to the 1200's. The albums will end with me as far as my input and then when my daughter inherits it she can add her family and hopefully a little on her brother. God bless the generations in the future who have to deal with all this information. Hopefully someone will care enough to hang onto it. I should buy a trunk with wheels and label it "Grammie's Family" for easier transport. At least I've noticed at family reunions that there is a renewed interest in keeping pictures and data. As Martha Stewart would say; "that's a good thing."