Not enough sleep!!

I’ve tried all types of over-the-counter sleep aids and they don’t seem to work for me. I will not take prescription drugs!!

Today, I am so tired I don’t even want to “climb the family tree.”  I haven’t an ounce of energy for the most simple task. “Triple-digit heat”  per local TV meteorologist. I don’t want to walk out the door into the heat to go to the refrigerator in the laundry room. No rain today to cool the air.

The heat is almost unbearable. “Almost” because we somehow manage to bear it. My “life preserver” is the immersion in family history. I don’t think about “how hot” or “how tired” when my mind is examining birth, death, marriage, etc., etc.

Recently, I was working with surnames Wagner and Wagoner. So often the surnames have variations (Flory/Flory, Frantz/France, Gish/Giech, and others). The Wagner/Wagoner family had me questioning “Another baby in her forties?” The location was correct: Indiana and California. (I have a great-grand-uncle who is a Wagoner so [obviously] I’m documenting that branch of my tree. Not just a “branch”; they are entwined with Frantz and **all** the collateral lines.) My brain is spinning!! Repetition of given names, every son or daughter married into another branch of my tree. The challenge grows with a “Wagoner” woman marrying a “Wagoner.” (Many such cousin marriages.) I love the challenges and hope (and pray) the brain stimulation will ward off dementia or Alzheimers.

Late afternoon, we enjoyed a rainstorm. In a brief time, the temperature dropped from ninety-three degrees to seventy-three degrees. (Ninety-three but “feels like” ten degrees higher.) Both satellite connections were lost: Internet and TV. I was forced off the computer (lol) and prepared a meal.

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This is a blog message that I’m reluctant to publish. Miscellaneous thoughts typed at different times during the day. I lost momentum and didn’t develop a theme.

Interesting list of famous people related to Lillian Gish. Another “cousin“ in my family tree.

This laptop computer has been frustratingly slow. I could walk away from the computer and “do” an unrelated task before the computer was ready for the next request. So I ran “maintenance”… and nothing was/is wrong. Then, the bright idea: “Maybe the mouse needs a new battery?”  Yup!! The mouse responded quickly with a new AA battery. “Too late smart”  because this same problem occurred recently and I finally attributed the problem to the battery. Now I know a high-quality battery only lasts about a month. FYI: I “wore out” the “mouse” on the laptop mouse-pad (which I prefer) but was forced to purchase the auxiliary mouse.

This old computer is giving me problems. Maybe it feels overworked? This “old” laptop holds my collection of clip art and pictures. Blog messages are prepared here. Maybe “laptop” is indicating we need a rest. BUT I CAN’T REST!! Too much to do!! ~~ I didn’t sleep well and was “up” early. I was searching for more clipart and “laptop” responded at a snail’s pace. Searching for paper chain clipart for a blog message.

Yesterday I took the “unique journey” and it led me to a DNA cousin I wanted to document. Honestly, it takes hours to document–with sources–each family member. I find that both wife, and husband, are my fifth cousins. ~~ It’s 5:30 PM and I’m still in my pajamas and have not had breakfast!! (Glued to my chair?!)

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An eighth cousin refuses to accept my kind, thoughtful, considerate, pleasantly-worded email messages pointing out that there is an error on her “tree.” She maintains her information is correct. I do not understand (“Je ne comprends pas”). A total of five emails… but no more!! Hey, she has her grandmother listed as her mother so worth consideration (imho). I’m the expert on the Frantz family (with more than 22,000 Frantz and collateral lines); she has five people on her tree (possibly for DNA connections). This “cousin” must be as hard-headed as my landlady/neighbor (who refuses to allow her tenant to purchase a new hot water heater for “our” laundry room).

My brain is so-o-o-o-o busy!! I’m overwhelmed with information for my family tree. Not everyone will agree with my next statement but I believe it to be 200% true. I believe my Heavenly Father prepared me for the task of documenting my Old German Baptist Brethren (OGBB) ancestry and collateral lines. I had the same belief in the early 1990s as I computerized data provided by kind, thoughtful, considerate cousins. I published Frantz Families–Kith & Kin in 1996. During my years of research, I visited many OGBB communities. In 2004, I moved to Ohio’s “Miami Valley” where thousands of “cousins” reside/resided. I’m not an expert but I’m familiar with the names of towns and counties in Ohio, Indiana, and Virginia (as well as my home state of California). I’ve “worked” with the surnames for so many years I know them by heart. I’m “qualified” (by my Heavenly Father) to accurately document these precious people who are Christ-centered and Bible-believing. This is a task I take seriously. Now, this will sound like I’m digressing: I was a “proofreader” for many years. My brain was so well-trained mistakes jump off the page. My brain catches things before my eye does. Combine proofreading with a perfectionist and you find an old lady hopelessly addicted to “climbing the family tree.”

Gospel truth: While I was typing this blog message, I was notified I’d received a new email message (a little window popped up in the lower right corner of my screen). When I checked… a cousin sent another obituary. I quickly advised him (lol) that I hadn’t finished documenting the individuals–and collateral lines–of folks in the last obituary he sent.

For the first time, I visited Ancestry’s “DNA Story for Lorraine Frantz.”  That was extremely interesting!! Why did I go to that site? I wanted to see if “eighth cousin” had taken a DNA test (which would explain her presence on Ancestry but teeny-tiny “tree.” Saturday afternoon must attract a lot of folks to Ancestry.com. I got the message “Our backend services are overtaxed at the moment and we are unable to retrieve all your matches. We apologize for the inconvenience, please try again later.”  I did see “cousins by the dozens” but most have “no tree.” (How curious; “Je ne comprends pas”!) And then (disgustingly) there are individuals with a “private tree” that we can’t access. ‘Twas interesting but “a waste of my precious time.”

Next time I drive into Livingston, I’ll take the heavy (50#?) package to the Post Office. Love Packages is a Christian organization that sends Bibles and Christian literature to missionaries and Christians around the world. ~~ Next time I drive the KIA, I’ll put the bag of trash in the dumpster here at the RV Park. ~~ “Driven” indoors by the humidity!!

This email message (image #1) greeted me first thing this morning. Of course (of course?) I had to “check it out.”

Click each image to enlarge for better viewing.

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Last night, a total of twenty-two thousand names. Today: 22,031.