Via an email message, a cousin sent the obituary for Nancy Flory. She is my fourth-cousin-one-time-removed (Frantz ancestry). “Sully” Sullenberger is the 4th great-grandnephew of  [the] wife of  [my] 4th great-granduncle. I always document beyond the information in an obituary and the two images reveal the “before” and “after.” I’m approaching ninety thousand individuals in my Ancestry database. “Sully” Sullenberger was well-documented from an earlier research project. ~~ I love climbing the family tree!

Yesterday, I had a regularly scheduled appointment with my awesome woman doctor. She listens… and she affirms! I walked out of the clinic, and pharmacy, feeling positive about my future. Next: I dropped off a lot of donated items at Goodwill. Then: Grocery shopping at H.E.B. I’d barely gotten started, I was in the dairy aisle picking up Earth Balance margarine. A man started a conversation with me because he saw the cross I was wearing.

Trust me, the next statement is the gospel truth. I was ready to leave, already out the door (headed for the doctor’s appointment) when I had the thought to wear that “necklace” because (IMHO) it enhanced the skirt and shirt that I was wearing. That inspired the conversation.

The man is inspired by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to walk from state to state sharing the good news of Jesus. We had an extended conversation in the dairy aisle and then we moved because I was chilled to the bone (refrigerated dairy case). The life story is remarkable and I suggested he would be an asset to Chip and Joanna Gaines and their valuable contributions to Waco. Personally, I watch the Magnolia TV network, and I have small knowledge of their Magnolia shopping, and The Silos. For more than three years, I’ve wanted to visit the tourist attraction but I’ve been deathly afraid of Waco traffic. But I boldly asked the long-hair, bearded man, if he would like to go to Magnolia for lunch. “Yes.”

The sleeping bag and backpack were loaded in the back of my KIA–along with our few groceries. I undoubtedly spent an hour driving all over downtown Waco and suburban areas because I only vaguely knew where I was going. Eventually, I arrived because The Silos are conspicuous on the landscape. We walked the area; we sat and “people watched.” Hundred (thousands?) of people milling around, shopping, and eating items from food truck vendors. We spent time in the church that Chip and Joanna Gaines moved from a remote location and restored to simple elegance.

Long story short: My new acquaintance did not feel the Holy Spirit was leading him to linger in Waco. (Long story short because many more things I could write about in the following hours.) In the late afternoon, I drove him thirty–five miles East to Mexia, Texas.

**If** I had ignored the impulse to get the necklace with a wooden cross, I would have missed an immeasurable blessing. The man is a walking, talking, expositor of the Holy Bible from Genesis to Revelation. He has traversed the States and spent time in many of the same locations where I have lived or visited. Repeat: **If** I had ignored the impulse to get the necklace… I would have missed an immeasurable blessing.

That was truly a “good Friday” because (1) I did not spend the day on the computer. (2) I drove all over Waco and did not have a “fear” of the traffic. (3) Seventy–plus miles was beneficial for my neglected KIA which has experienced rare short trips to the doctor’s office, Walmart, and H.E.B. grocery shopping. (4) I enjoyed a good night’s sleep because of the fresh air and exercise. (5) Very little TV viewing with far too much negative news.

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Full disclosure: After publishing this blog message, I did Google searches for additional information about Chip and Joanna Gaines. I have been short-sighted because I didn’t look beyond the TV programming and the enhancement of the Waco economy. From the grapevine, I “heard” they are Christians and I accepted that as factual. The last word: “Magnolia”  got me out of my recluse rut so now I may be capable of doing the necessary downsizing projects.

Occasionally, the reader of my blog messages is treated to a message totally unrelated to genealogy. I believe God, my Heavenly Father, whispered in a cousin’s ear “Lorraine needs something to smile about.”  Yes, this had me smiling from ear to ear.

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A BIG “THANK YOU” to my California cousin.

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Several days ago, Shutterfly notified me that my pictures would be deleted at the end of the month if I did not renew my subscription. Several days ago, I tried half a dozen ways to download 1,457 pictures to external hard drives. The hard drives are several years old and not compatible with Windows 10. I tried to download the pictures to Google pictures and that did not work either. So-o-o-o, this afternoon I spent $134.00 in an effort to “save” the pictures. Some are very precious to me and, in my humble opinion, worth saving. I could have received the hard drive from Amazon in a day or two before the end of the month. Then I could download the photos and that would be the last of Shutterfly. I didn’t want to risk another download failure so I ordered two magnets and that satisfies the requirement to leave my pictures on Shutterfly. For the magnets, I chose pictures of my Class B motorhome in a field of California Poppies. At this time of year (usually), the California Poppies are magnificent in the desert areas near Lancaster. California (my former hometown).  ~~ I opted for magnets that don’t take up much space because  I AM SUPPOSED TO BE DOWNSIZING.

Lamebrain (all one word) Lorraine misspelled the title of the previous blog message. I’m supposed to be DOWNSIZING but I spend all my time on the computer—on Ancestry.com. Yesterday—fourteen hours—documenting the extended family of an eighth cousin. I didn’t know she was an eighth cousin until the thirteenth hour. I finally put the last pieces into the puzzle. ~~ If I’m not “climbing the family tree,” I’m napping in my easy chair because I don’t get a good night’s sleep. “Downsizing” is a daunting task that is overwhelming for lamebrain Lorraine.

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A woman contacted me via Ancestry messaging asking for help with her family. She said she “hit the proverbial wall” so detective Lorraine jumped right in. It has been almost one week and I’m finally to the point where I cannot find another piece of the puzzle. With the exception of one son, I was able to document their destination after the death of their father. Sadly, their mother was destined to live in a mental institution for forty years.

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That is not a gesture indicating something positive. I’m drawing attention to a very painful left thumb. One minute, it was fine. Suddenly, at the joint, sharp pain. Revelation: The thumb is involved in everything we do!! Who would imagine that the left thumb would put a stop to activities?

Two days of intensive research of the Martin family. Research… and creation of these collage images. It is impossible to get all the ancestors on one fan chart (impossible with Ancestry.com). I have to patch images together. I was fascinated with the number of “cousin marriages” in the Martin family. I’m only remotely related to the family; frankly, there’s no reason to add them to my Frantz family tree. But I was fascinated… and the more I documented the more I observed the connections. I say “observed” because another subscriber to Ancestry.com might not see—or remember—the repetition of names. I have more than thirty-five years of genealogical research behind me and I have never seen anything similar. There were numerous cousin marriages among my Coffin family ancestors living on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. There are cousin marriages between my Old German Baptist Brethren ancestors but, repeat, “I have never seen anything similar.”  I did a Google search on consanguineous marriage and that is an interesting subject.

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