It is hot indoors and outdoors. I don’t want to move; I don’t watch TV; I’m not “climbing trees.” Correction: Currently “not climbing trees.” My last research project left me exhausted!! I won’t complain because I believe “mental gymnastics” are good for this old lady.

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Masks indoors and outdoors?? That’s the new normal? I’m not nearly as handsome as “the Lone Ranger,” and I can’t ride a horse and shoot a gun.  I’m pretty good at “climbing trees” but I’m really confused with one individual. I’m “the lone researcher” because I can’t locate another Ancestry subscriber who has researched this woman; her name is listed but details are lacking. For me, this is so frustrating because she appears to belong to a different set of parents. I’ve searched every imaginable way for information. I’ve added the siblings; I’ve added parents and grandparents. Quite possibly one-hundred (or more) individuals added to my tree–and hundreds of “sources.” The two men who might be her father are not siblings so not a case of the niece visiting in the other home at the time of the 1900 Federal Census. (1900 Federal Census for one family but unable to locate for the other family.)

L-O-R-R-A-I-N-E

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An entire day was spent researching and documenting this family. These images were prepared in an effort to correctly record the children. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles took seven children into their homes after the death of their mother. Many subscribers to Ancestry.com listed incorrect relationships. (Why don’t they look at the records?)

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I was feeling good about my detective skills until I encountered a MAJOR discrepancy. I don’t have a subscription to sites with obituaries so I reached out to the cousin who showers me with obituary information. Within a couple of hours, I received a copy of the newspaper obituary I requested. I was astonished to see that it contradicts the information I have documented with Ancestry.com sources. This reminds me of Rod Serling and the Twilight Zone. ~~~ It’s midnight and I’ve been researching this family for fifteen hours!! Time to go to bed but my mind will be wide awake attempting to resolve the peculiarities.

Projected “feels like” temperature: 105 degrees. Projected projects accomplished: 10. Have you heard: NBC reports that fewer folks are watching the Olympics. I’m not watching; I’m not interested. With a broken toe, “feels like” a good reason to sit at the computer and “climb the family tree.” Excuses, excuses!!

Postscript @ 11:00 AM:

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1. Wash
2. Dry
3. Fold
4. Sort
5. Shred, 6. Write a check, 7. Take a nap (because “up” at 1:30 AM), 8. Document the obituary

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…or a dream?

Picture this in your mind’s eye: A Spartan house-trailer pulled by a 1938 Packard hearse was stopped on the highway en route to the Raton Pass. It was late at night, freezing cold…. Whatever the reason, the highway was too steep, the load too heavy—the Packard was stalled. Suddenly a “big rig” truck swung around our vehicles, backed up, and began to chain our vehicle to his. The truck driver towed us to the top of the mountain. The year was about 1958.

Why was this in my thoughts in the middle of the night? One, or all, of three things: (1) Praise for a Heavenly Father who has taken good care of Lorraine through the years. (2) A behemoth beautiful, expensive motorhome arrived yesterday and is my “new” neighbor. (3) An “old” neighbor has lost his mind and is shackled to a bed in the hospital.

Funny how our mind works?!

Oh, you want more details? My Army husband was transferred from one duty station to another. With our two small sons, we were en route from California to Fort Devens, Massachusetts. Why were we on that highway? We wanted to visit Carlsbad Caverns.

Every day, a hundred times a day, I see the (Carol gift) “suncatcher” in my kitchen window. I’m reminded that “out of sight” is not “out of mind.” Here is a link to my friend’s blog message. More suggested reading. Furthermore, looking back two years, my blog message hasn’t changed much! One-track mind?

Except for a couple of naps, I’ve been at the computer for twelve hours. It started because I was wide awake and mildly annoyed with “Unreliable security.”  Then I launched into the documentation of an obituary for a “cousin.” (One obituary can lead to documentation of several hundred Old German Baptist Brethren “cousin” individuals!!) Allow me to brag about being “hot stuff”—a champion. Along the way, I saw acquaintances and found myself humming “Precious memories, how they linger. How they ever flood my soul.”  No accolades for Lorraine, no trophies, no metals—“my treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue.”

Confession: “Potpourri”  was prepared over the course of several days (and scheduled for Tuesday afternoon). A “last” place thought on this “hot topic” afternoon. The potato–onion–cabbage soup wasn’t prepared today but it was my delicious noon meal.

Saturday

Too many hours sitting at the computer. Now “the old lady” can hardly walk! One chair in favor of the other. Too hot and humid to work in the yard.

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Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Seven years ago, for the security of “5-Star,” I selected “Jitterbug” by GreatCall. I’ve never used “5-Star” (but good to have). Several months ago, I added the advertised benefit of the button and “fall protection.”