Recently, I learned there is a Red Hat Society chapter here in Waco–and one of the RV Park residents is a “Red Hatter.” When things “get back to normal,” perhaps I’ll be able to join the group? I still have a few purple outfits and two red hats. Years ago, I gave the majority of my Red Hat Society wardrobe to a thrift shop that supported a battered women shelter. ~~~ (“Old” pictures.)

.

.

Remember when I wrote about my garden? I would spend hours in the yard tending the plants. I miss my garden!! I “know” spending time outdoors enjoying fresh air and sunshine was good for me. The exercise was valuable. For several months, I have enjoyed neither. I have a pretty yard here in Waco; I have lots of blooms on lots of rose bushes. No maintenance required.

Before the Coronavirus pandemic, I seriously considered starting veggies in my two Garden Towers. At my several yard sales (in Livingston), they didn’t sell… and I have more than $1,000.00 invested in them. I wasn’t going to donate them to a thrift shop!! But, as you know, I haven’t “shopped” and I need organic planter soil, etc., etc.  Here’s a link to the blog messages I prepared while using my Garden Tower.

You agree with me that I have been “stuck in a rut“? Too much sitting!! DEPRESSION AGGRESSION.

.

I took a walk around the Park to (hopefully) improve the health of my unhealthy legs, ankles, and feet. My reward was in the mailbox in the form of a big white envelope with the 155-page high-quality publication of Mennonite Family History. I’m privileged to be a contributing editor. Frankly, I’m never certain which story “they” publish. To my delight, it is “Where’s Charlie?”  The topic fits the messages I’ve published on my blog recently. To my further delight, “they” published the “Prayer for Genealogists”  on the same page.

Where’s Charlie?

How many readers do genealogy “the old fashioned way”? I did–many years ago! Now I confess to “armchair research.” Do you ever ponder over individual family members? Do you linger awhile and speculate about their life? I do. I become “invested” in the person I am researching. I am meticulous about documentation and curious when “too little” information. Recently, I spent hours searching for a twelve year old girl in 1930 Federal Census.

Speculation (because I do not have verification) but I suspect she was the result of a rape. I’m calling her “Charlie” and her mother was only fourteen when she was born. No marriage record to be found and the father identified as a man the age of her grandfather. Charlie’s mother married at age sixteen and gave birth to four more children. She died at age twenty-eight shortly after birth of fourth child.

The 1930 Federal Census shows the step-father and her four half-siblings living with his parents. Where was “Charlie”? I diligently searched all 1930 Census records; I checked to see if she might be listed with grandparents. She was not with her biological father and his family. I checked the “neighboring families” of her relatives. Perhaps she was living with one of her four uncles? No record of her living with those families.

This eighth cousin touched my emotions so I used every available resource (on Ancestry.com) to develop her branch of the family tree. Woefully little information; no stories nor newspaper items listed on Ancestry. But I like to think “Charlie” was a strong woman who overcame tragedy and hardships. She lived to be one-hundred-one.

Smile as you read this short story because this genealogist is working simultaneously (feverishly?) with two computers. On one, the individual (“Charlie”) in Ancestry Lorraine Frantz Family Tree while “researching” on second computer. So many records! We just need to “search” and not rely strictly on “hints.”

This morning the NBC Today Show introduced the viewers to “virtual travel.”

I’m going to explore our National Parks. Perhaps I’ll (virtually) revisit the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur. (Yes, I lived in Paris, France, for several years.)

Oh no!! As if we don’t have enough problems with Coronavirus. Now we have Saharan dust called “Godzilla.”  A picture of air quality in my area of Waco, Texas. Here’s a link to check your air quality.

A couple of days ago, Dallas, Texas, was in the TV-news due to spike in Coronavirus cases. I’m living less than one-hundred miles from Dallas and may never visit that city. But I remember the time when I was a faithful viewer of the TV-series by that name. Remember that famous line “Who killed J.R.?”  Whatever happened to Larry Hagman?

Hypothetical: If I lived in the Dallas area, I would attend First Baptist Church of Dallas. I’m a follower (on TV) of the pastor: Robert Jeffress. (I’m a believer in the saving grace of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.)

Yesterday, I heard someone say “happy trails.” It reminded me of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Their home, in Apple Valley, California, was less than one-hundred miles from my home in Lancaster, California. For many years, a museum displayed artifacts–and Trigger–in Victorville.

When I walked to the mailbox (at 2:30), I sensed that there was something wrong with my legs. I looked down and was surprised to see that my legs and ankles are swollen. Simultaneous with that observation, the word “edema” came to mind. Yes, I’ve been “health-conscious” half my lifetime but I don’t remember learning about edema. I give God the glory because He put the word in my mind. I quickly went to the computer and did a Google search. OMG, the causes are scary!! I went from website to website reading about edema. I may be wrong but I think my answer is in the first paragraph of this article.

Fluid buildup (edema): It happens when the tissues or blood vessels in your legs hold more fluid than they should. This can happen if you simply spend a long day on your feet or sit for too long. But it may also be a sign that you’re overweight or don’t get enough exercise, or of more serious medical conditions.

Lately (as I have confessed in earlier blog messages), I’ve been sitting at the computer for ten to fourteen hours a day. I’d only move (occasionally) to prepare a second mug of coffee or second or third glass of iced tea. Truthfully, sometimes three days would pass before I’d walk to the mailbox. I seldom spent any time in the yard. I haven’t gotten enough exercise!!

Alarm bells are ringing and I am listening.

P.S. I walked in a circle around the RV Park but I felt compelled to get back to the air-conditioned trailer. The thermometer says 91 degrees (at 4:00) but the humidity makes it “feel like” 100 degrees. I used my brain and took my “walking stick” and had to rely on it a couple of times. The “walking stick” was purchased at a street Fair in Winter Harbor, Maine. I was driving toward Acadia National Park (2010) and saw the sign (on the highway) indicating Winter Harbor was having their Lobster Festival. I made the detour and had a marvelous day browsing the vendors, eating a “fundraiser” breakfast and lunch in the civic center. At five PM, I watched the hometown individuals in an old-fashioned hometown parade. A local couple put their lawn chairs near mine (watching the parade) and plied me with questions. (Obviously, I was recognized as a visitor.) “Where are you spending the night?”  Answer: “I’ll just continue driving until I get to a Walmart.”  I was invited to spend the night in their driveway. The next day the man showed me his boat and his lobster traps, and we shared more conversation. ~~ My travels—in 2010—through the New England states, and Canada, were inspiring!! I’m still in contact with a lady I met in Exeter, New Hampshire. (Thanks, Deb!!)  🙂

Within Ancestry.com, I find so many careless errors in Member Family Trees. Sometimes I spend hours searching for and documenting the accurate information. Frequently I write a polite message to a Member asking for details about one of their entries. “Please share your source with me.”  I seldom receive a reply. Yesterday, I used “print-screen” images to prepare a “preponderance of the evidence.” I felt obliged to “show” other researchers what I “saw”—what I “saw” without illustration. The 1940 Federal Census lists my eighty-one-year-old grand-uncle as “widower.” Members list his fifty-two-year-old daughter as his wife. First, I searched for the marriage while questioning “Why would a woman marry a man thirty years her senior?”  No marriage record. Furthermore, no marriage record for the daughter (my first-cousin-two-times-removed) and the man identified as her “husband” who was married to a well-identified (lots of records) wife.