Family History Pages

Well I haven't had any time for research on my Family Tree but I did find some time to preserve some of the stories of my ancestors and me.  I made some scrapbook pages of my Grandparents Corkish.  It took me all week to make these 7 little pages, but they are done and I am happy with them.  I will write one of my second cousins and see if she can find and send me a picture of my grandparent's home. 

So here are my pages.

 

 

Last Friday while at the Scrapbooking Convention I found these fun design templates and I purchased some and these pages are my first fun with the templates.  You use the templates to shape your pretty paper.  They are from Kiwi Lane Designs.

 

These two pages face each other.

 

Yup that is me as a kid.

 

Our last trip to Nantucket Island. Scanned and printed pictures.

 

Original pictures.

 

 

Some memories.

 

More memories and a picture of my friend Miriam and me at the beach.

 

A lot of the story is in this post, for easier reading.

 

Happy searching!

 

 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:* Tell us about your "other" hobbies or interests outside of genealogy and family history research, writing, speaking, etc. Be mindful of your family's privacy, though!

* Write a blog post of your own, respond with a comment to this post, or write a Facebook status post or a Google+ Stream post.

Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings has a Saturday Night Genealogy Fun and this one is an easy one for me, so here goes.

 

Many of you know I am also a quilter, and I have had my quilting blog since Thanksgiving day of 2008.  I enjoy all aspects of quilting, and I do many different quilting methods.  I took my first quilting class with a friend, that was in the summer of 1995, and the rest is history.  In 1997 my friend opened a quilt stop and she asked me to teach quilting, I knew how to paper piece, a technique she didn't know.  I have been teaching ever since.  Right now the only class I am teaching is a quilting software class.  The software is called Electric Quilt or EQ for short.  I have taught a variety of classes.

 

My other new interest is scrapbooking.  I this about two years ago to document my parents' lives, and share stories that I know about my ancestors and to save my genealogy in an interesting format.  It has almost taken over my quilting time.  I like the hands on experience of using paper and punches.  My latest project has been a wedding album for my daughter and her husband.  It isn't finished yet but my daughter saw it at Christmas and she really liked it.  You can see some of the album pages here.  That is only the beginning of the album, there is a lot more. 

 

Another picture from the Wedding Album

I am also active at church, go every Sunday and have a calling.  I am a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It was one of my smartest decisions I ever made in my life.  I joined the church at age 29 and severed a welfare mission to Santa Cruz Bolivia. 

 

My main job now that I am retired, I was a nurse for 46 years, is to be a wife.

 

Well there you go a little bit more about me.

 

 

Yes today is the day my blog turns 3 years old.

It has been a great trip. 

 

I did just received a wonderful Blogiversary gift. I was contacted by a second cousin once removed on my Hartmann (Dad's) side.  This is my hard to find relatives and even some I do know I can't find any documents, well some but not the ones I want like a marriage certificate or death certificate of the wife.  He gave me some new info on a great uncle's side.  He will be visiting with his Dad soon and we hope to gleam more information. 

Here is hoping to new doors opening and brick walls falling down!!

 

This last year has been a little slow for me.  Work commitments kept me busy.  I finally retired and was looking forward to do more quilting and genealogy.  Well life throws you curves and mine are always big ones.  

 

The day I retired I became a guardian of two delightful little girls ages 7 & 9.  So I am very busy being a stay at home Mom.  They have me doing things I haven't done in 20 or 30 years, like bike riding and horse riding.  I have the sore knees and a nice saddle bruise on my right thigh as proof.  

 

I am still looking for family but at a very slow rate. I still plan to post great finds when I find them but in the meantime I am playing with the living!

 

Thanks for all your support and friendship it is appreciated!

 

 

Blog Caroling 2012

I am sure I am a little late for this event this year but I still want to contribute. foot Marven have this event every year and I have been thinking about posting but you know life just sometimes takes over.

I have been reading this book I borrowed from the library, Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins.  I saw it on the shelf with other Christmas books and grabbed it.  One of my best impulse grabs in the library.  I have enjoyed it immensely and I would recommend it.  I learned of one new song that when I heard it song it didn't grab me. 
When I saw I Wonder as I Wander I remember it right away but I hadn't heard it for a long time.  When I did a Google search I found several versions.  One by Julie Andrews which I bet my Dad had as a Christmas album and one by Barbra Streisand, that I had as a Christmas album.  I am sharing it here. 
 
 

I am so grateful for the Christmas miracle of our Savior's birth and all that it provides for me.

In case you are wondering why I have fallen off the face of the earth very suddenly.  It is because on the day I retired from work (November 16th) I became the temporary legal guardian of two beautiful girls ages 9 & 7.  So I became a stay at home Mom.  It is a wonderful experience and hard work.  They need my attention so other things fall to the way side. Including blogging and genealogy.  I understand there is a time and a season for all things.  So I am enjoying this season.  And enjoying all the hugs and kisses and holding little girl hands.  

I hope your Christmas was magical and my very best wishes to you and yours for the New Year.    

Gratitude # 13

I am grateful for Friends. I have had many good friends in my life. I have learned a lot from all of them and have had many hours of fun, living, loving and lots of good company with them all. Even with all the miles that separate some of us they are still near to my heart. I wrote about one last night and I will share more in the coming post of those who are extra special, but they are all special to me.

I even appreciate those friends who are gone from my life. They are gone because our paths have changed or we moved and lost contact. You know how it goes. At the time they were in my life they added to my life with their friendship. Some of the friends that are gone are not forgotten, I wonder how they are and how their life turned out. I hope they are well and life has turned out good for them.

I enjoy and am grateful for the new friends that I am making and how they enrich my life also.

Isn't it wonderful to have friends in our life and not to be alone. They help us grow and do things we won't do by ourselves. I hope that they view me as a good friend like I view them.

Miriam and Mary

Here is a picture of one of my friends from Nantucket, I meet while visiting my grandparents. We wrote for many years even up until high school. Gone but not forgotten.

And I just love that social media thing that has allowed me to

re-connect with lots of old friends.

 

Gratitude # 12

For my friend Karin, she was my hiking buddy. Because of Karin I worked out like a crazy women and backpacked the Grand Canyon down the South Kaibab trail and out the Bright Angel trail. I slept in a tent during a freezing night up on the rim and carried my 50 pound backpack down and out.  Remember going out means going up!   This was the first hike we did together.  I weighted the backpack when I returned to work and it weighed 40 pounds without the water.

 

Karin and I at Havasu Falls

The night before the hike down in to the canyon we sleep in our tent on the rim and it was 32 degrees when we woke up in the morning.  Thank heaven for a sleeping bag good enough for freezing weather.

 

Our second night we had camp at the Bright Angel Camp ground and the third night at the Indian Springs Camp ground. A storm had moved in the evening we were at Indian Springs and it was raining and cold. We didn’t pack a tent down because we didn’t want the weight to carry. We had two tarps which was fine at the bottom but not fine at Indian Springs. We slept under a picnic table and it was a miserable night.

 

Sleeping in freezing weather was never on my list of things to do in this life but I am so glad I did the hike. We did our hike in April so the lower levels of the Canyon won’t be so hot. It was a wonderful adventure!

 

We have hiked the Havasupai Canyon two times together. We got smart on these trips and let the horse pack our supplies down.   We camped in style with a Coleman stove and a 2 man tent.  We had a great time hiking.   

Gratitude # 11

 

Today and every day I am grateful for my lovely home in a nice neighborhood. I love coming home to my home, it just makes me feel good inside. I sigh a sigh of relief when I pull into my garage. It is my haven from the world. I pray that all that enter here come with peace and love in their hearts and I hope they feel our peace and love when they enter.

Richard & I made it a good home, not just a house. It is just the right size and close to the things I need. I also have nice neighbors and a great ward (church) Community. It isn’t big and fancy but it is warm and comfy. It meets our needs.

Richard closed in our patio and made it a lovely room for computers and my short arm quilting frame. He is so talented with his building skills. It was fun to see him work & learn when he built this room. Plus the end results are wonderful. He is also did a great job on his Man Cave. We even use it for Thanksgiving dinner as an over flow, the kids love to eat out there.

And I make the quilts to cuddle with and decorate with.

Such a good fit.

Plus this year our home has had an almost complete remodel inside so it is even more beautiful!

 

Gratitude # 10

I am grateful for nature and all the marveles it holds. My favorite is the ocenn. I love the ocean and the marvels it holds. I love the sound of the waves on the sand as they lap in and out. I love the feel of warm water on my body and the ablity to float.

I have scuba dived in the Atlantic Ocean around the Florida Keys and in Bimini. I have seen fish and coral of many colors. I have taken a night dive in a ship wreck and saw fish sleep in the ribs of the ship and night shrimp dance on the bottom of the ocean. I have seen waters so clear that you think it is 6 feet to bottom and it is 12 feet.

 

Scuba Diving in the Florida Keys

 

I have hiked the Grand Canyon and every time I see the Canyon I marvel at it’s beauty and majesty. I have huffed and puffed as I climbed out of the canyon but every step and every pound of that backpack was worth it. I have sat behind Mooney Falls at Havasupai Canyon and swam out from the falls. I have felt the power of the water falling. I had an under water disposible camera with me and took pictures as I floated out from the falls.

 

Climbing down to Moody Falls 1995

 

I have hiked the Grand Canyon once, Havasupi Canyon three times.

 

I enjoy seeing all the beauty that has been created for us to see and enjoy.