Click on the link for an introduction to Intentional Communities. I’m researching… and hope to find my “eventual new home.” At my age (84) life is “too short” to continue to live next door to a nasty landlady!!

What are the different kinds of communities?

Every single day 1,400 people visit the online Communities Directory. That is about 2 unique individuals every single minute! About 40,000 people per month — About 1/2 million every year! People are searching for communities to learn about and to be inspired by. They want to connect to and visit places that have changed the rules and developed their own cultures. They want to find their next home or adventure. They want to find other founders to build community together. From over 1,000 intentional communities of a variety of types, focuses, philosophies, geographies, and methods, people are finding ways to gain perspective on and to act on sustainability, cooperation, and possibility.

Afterthought: I did my research regarding emissions from cell towers. I don’t want to live a very short distance from a tower.

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Half a day with limited time on the computer. I took time to prepare a large salad with organic spring greens, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber and bell pepper. I cleaned celery, and carrots. Tasks I neglected because I was (previously) “glued to the computer” (Ancestry.com). I emailed messages to folks I had neglected. Returning from the mailbox (snail mail), I picked up armfuls of limbs blown to the ground in recent wind storm. Added another ear of corn to the “twister“ for the squirrels. ~~ A step in the right direction as I accomplish additional projects this afternoon and evening.

An entire day without time on Ancestry.com. I feel like I’m half a person!! Compare this to a smoker without a cigarette, an alcoholic without a drink, a drug addict without drugs??

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The “help” cartoon is an exaggeration. My pile of paperwork wasn’t quite that high and I don’t need help. I just need to spend less time “climbing the family tree.”

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Yesterday, I received this email request (abbreviated for this blog message):

We are second cousins, connected by the most wonderful…

However, it occurred to me that we might be connected geographically and genealogically.  There was a fellow in the next town over, named Johnny Frantz.  He was a farmer’s kid and I roomed with him in college for a year.  He was great guy and I just wondered if he might be related to you.

He lived in Hartley, Texas in the Texas Panhandle in the 1960’s.  His family were farmers and that’s all I know.  They were pretty well off (at least compared to me.)

“Yours truly” laughed and said (to herself) “No suggested birth year? I’m supposed to search on this limited information?” I went to my Ancestry.com database and found seventy-four men named John Frantz. Going down the list, I found one man born in Kansas (not too far from Texas). Clicking on his name, I made the assessment “Too old.” Next: Check for his immediate family, and search Google to see if Hartley County, Texas, is in the “panhandle.” Location OK, and son named John Ray Frantz. (Bingo!) Shared the information with “cousin” and received this reply:

Dear Shirley, (because I referred to myself as “Shirley [Sherlock] Holmes”)

That was him!  He was an only child of a farming family in Hartley, Texas.  I remember that when I roomed with him in college, he didn’t know how to act in a group setting.  He wasn’t exactly spoiled but it was easy to see he was accustomed to the life of the only child.  It was great that you have been able to find an 8^th cousin.

Cheerio, Dr. Watson

Curiosity prompted me to THEN look at the Frantz ancestry of John Ray. To my astonishment (seriously!) he is on the same branch of the “tree” I was currently documenting for the “cousin” who contacted me two days earlier. What are the odds of such a “coincident”? Her pedigree chart was (at that moment) “up” on my second computer.

Wow, Lorraine that is eerily cool! Two requests for the same lineage from two separate locations. I bet you felt like you were in the twilight zone, same thing showing on both computers. Talk about synchronicity!

“Taxed”–but in a good way. I’m not billed for property or income, I’m “taxed” energy-wise by requests for family information. I thought about “Not Invisible Today” for the title of this blog but decided on alternate. In my mind’s eye, I see “cousins” lined up in the yard waiting for my time and attention (lol).

Of great concern for me: “Aging alone.” To my delight, this morning an email message from a dear friend (maybe a “cousin”?) with a link to this article. “Not invisible today” because someone listened to my concerns. I try to banish the fears but I sense my frailty more every day. Confession: Today I don’t have the energy to walk to the refrigerator/freezer (in the laundry room) for ice cream.

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Sometimes I say one thing but do another. I wasn’t “too tired” to go out in the rain and wind to take two pictures. The wind tossed a lot of things around; it created a lot of noise. I walked the yard and no damage (at brief inspection). ~~ At this rate, it will be a while before I’m able to burn those limbs and leaves. Another deferred project!

This morning, on NBC-Today, a story about “DNA trips.” Folks in the United States traveling to the homeland of their ancestors, meeting with their “cousins.” Because of the popularity of DNA tests, it was inevitable the travel industry would get involved. I did my traveling in the United States, visiting with cousins living in localities where my ancestors resided. ~~ Today, I just want to stay in bed!!  I’m very tired, and very hungry!! Old-fashioned, organic, steel-cut oats with raisins is slowly cooking (as I prepare this blog message). **If** the weather were Spring-like, I’d get some much-needed exercise.

Yesterday, all day, at the computer “climbing the family tree.” The day prior, I vowed to refrain from “doing” Ancestry.com. However, there was an email message at the very top of my messages. A very pleasant greeting and request for help with her Frantz family lineage. I love the challenge!! At first it looked “straight forward” but soon became a nightmare. I was looking at familiar names of “Daniel” and “Nancy” Frantz but erroneously attached  to a well-documented branch of “my” tree. “Who are these people?”  Indubitably, I needed to resolve the mystery. Father, mother, children, children’s spouse, children’s children; I documented them all. Eventually, the “Stauffer” spouse surname was the clue.

In genealogy, beginners hear the saying “three brothers came to America.” Not always true but an actuality in the Frantz family. **If** the information had been available (1989-1996) descendants of Immigrant Christian Frantz would have received equal documentation. I mingled with descendants; I attended their family reunions. I begged for details about their “branches” with surnames like Stauffer and Hershey. Here I am, decades later, seeing the names (on Ancestry) and opportunity to list them in my Ancestry database.

Frantz Families–Kith & Kin was published after dozens (hundreds) of people shared their information with me. I never miss the opportunity to “pay it forward”; I’m grateful for computer skills and genealogy savvy. Time well spent on cold winter day?

Two days “climbing the family tree” when I had planned to do other indoor stuff. Our weather is cold but nothing severe like many areas in the North and Midwest. Seriously, I have been glued to the computer(s) for three days. I’ve been in my pajamas, and robe, these three days. Today, I had two mugs of coffee and a bowl of ice cream. I was so involved with documentation surrounding two requests, I didn’t want to take time to prepare food!!! ~~ I’ve been smelling propane and discovered my tank is almost empty. I don’t know how soon the company will be out because in cold weather they are extremely busy. Moments ago, I went to the cargo trailer to retrieve the electric space heater. I “thought” Spring was here so stored the heater. My trailer home won’t be cozy warm but I won’t suffer. ~~ It was raining when I went to the cargo trailer and has rained off-and-on for three days. I haven’t checked the rain gauge because “I’ve been glued to the computers.”