Hello everyone.
The Ragtag Daily Prompt today was STILL. And since there are still a few hours left in this day, I’m going to write a few sentences at least, to let you know I’m still here, still relatively healthy, and still have noble aspirations about being a more faithful blogger. I want to say a hearty thank you to those who are still following me and reading what I have to say, when I do get around to saying it. 🙂 I’ve thought of many things to write about, but my musings would make awfully long articles!
I’m also still painting and enjoying it, though it feels like maybe the initial infatuation with my new hobby isn’t as keen. Hopefully the passion will settle down to a quiet and steady love in my life now.
I got back into doing some genealogical research in Sept and discovered that one of my Allen ancestors was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1632. That’s twelve years after the Mayflower landed and four years after the Confidence brought the Goodnow-Goodenow (etc.) family to America. Interesting to speculate whether my ninth gr-great Allen may have known my hubby’s thirteenth gr-great Goodenow.
He’s been reading the book Hillbilly Elegy by J D Vance. Vance writes about growing up in a depressed area, a hopeless setting that he was able to find his way through and out of. I gather the conversations have been repeated just as spoken and are littered with the colloquial obscenities.
I’d like to compare Family Tree roots with that James Vance someday. His ancestors possibly came to the US back in the 1700s and were well settled in Kentucky before the Civil War. My Vance ancestor and his three brothers came directly from Scotland around 1830. They obviously passed through New York state, where Joseph met and married Sarah Allen on his way to purchase land in Ontario. Whatever made her follow this widowed Scottish stranger with a small son? I hope they had a good life.
I’m reading the book Call the Nurse, by Mary J MacLeod about a forty-ish couple who were bored with their humdrum life in southern England and decided to pay a visit to the Hebrides island of Papavray, the place his father had left as a teen. They went for a holiday (in the 70s?) with their youngest two boys, fell in love with the remote isle and bought an impossibly run-down shack. Mary had been a home care nurse, so found more than enough work immediately. In this book she tells about the years they spent there, as well as the situation and culture of the people. It’s very interesting reading so far.
Another STILL in our world: it still doesn’t rain. Interesting cloud shapes drift over and catch the eye of this artist, but maybe only a few drops of rain fall once a week. I still put out water basins every day for the wild creatures. The robins seemed to be long gone from this land until a couple of weeks ago; suddenly there are lots of them again. I see them bathing every day in my tubs. At night some other creatures come to drink, mainly deer I’m guessing. I thought I saw a raccoon in our yard one night. Deer can drink from any cattle watering troughs that may be around, but smaller animals can’t, which may be why some mornings all four basins are licked right dry.
Well, enough for this time. I’m going to try again to post daily, even just a few lines. As FlyLady says, just fifteen minutes a day–that’s the key. Yesterday I conquered Mount Wash-more and today I’m chipping at the Ironing Hill. 🙂
Christine's Collection 
A DIL of mine loves to do genealogy research, and has found some really interesting information. I don’t have the patience for doing it, but it is interesting to read the results :).
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You can follow a lot of rabbit trails and be surprised where they lead. In one case the husband was “lost at sea” eight or nine months before their baby was born, so…
Nowadays a paternity test could determine if the husband and father were indeed one and the same.
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Good to see you back again! For years I’ve been thinking of climbing my family tree to see what’s out there, but like so many things, I keep putting it off!
I like the sound of that book. It would be a good read while I’m stuck indoors in Southern England waiting for the never-ending rain to stop!
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Climbing doesn’t work; all you’ll see in your grand-children. You have to dig, dig, dig through ancient archives — and wish people had kept better records. (Especially wish HMRN had kept some record of the boys and men they kidnapped.)
As far as reading this book during unceasing rain, they seem to have faced a lot of wretched weather up there, too, so you could commiserate. 🙂
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Wonderful return, Christine. Genealogy is fascinating (when done by others, in my case!)
Your book also sounds interesting. I watched the movie Hillbilly Elegy and would consider reading the book now (I like to do it backwards)
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I didn’t realize there was a movie made about the book.
Yes, genealogy is fascinating. I’m not sure how easy it is for the average French family to go back many generations. Bob’s grandmother’s family were Bigarels — originally Bigaree — from Alsace. He hasn’t been able to find out that much about them past his gr-gr-grandfather, a soldier in Napoleon’s army.
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Oh yes. Glenn Close plays Mamaw and Amy Adams plays his mother. I didn’t know the actor who plays J.D. – excellent movie.
Someone on my mother’s side did it. I have to find it. Of course, from France but I’ve a blank on where. But it goes back a good many generations.
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