THE "BIGGER" PICTURE

You may ask, "what does a picture of an afagahn have to do with the "bigger" picute"? It all starts with my "intention" in making the afagahn. This particular one, I made with lots of intention. I wanted to replicate one I had as a child, which was made for my Dad. I had cherished it - it was very old!! It was also, becoming extremely thread bear - beyond repair!! Hence, I think, it was thrown away!! Any way, there was intention, and also, love, positive energy, and I feel that it is alive!!

Now, you may ask, "how can an inanimate object be alive"? It is alive, because all of the ebove emotions are emitted from it!!!

Next, wrap your heads around this thought!! A rock or stone is not really inanimate. Why? It has molecules inside it that are moving around!!

The "BIGGER" picture is so small and yet so much bigger than us mear humans!!

Just something more to be in awe of this Christmas!!!!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!!

ANCESTRAL PERSONAL NOTES

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! For me it was a day, of really being thankful that I am here in this wonderful country!!!!

The reasoning behind my prior statement is, a part of my ancestry comes from the arrival of the Mayflower Pilgrims. I watched the documentary of the Pilgrims journey to this country from England. There wasn't any Hollywood embellishment in this. They had such a difficult journey, if not, alsmost impossible. It also took them a whole year at Plymouth MA to get established. During that year they lost approximately half of the original 102 Pilgrims!! It is truly amazing that almost half survived!! I almost cried for them - what they endurred - what they established in the name of FREEDOM IS REMARKABLE!!! What it is more remarkable, is that this testament to FREEDOM still stands today - 391 years later!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL

MORE ADVENTURES IN ANCESTRY RESEARCH

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Welcome back to my one huge obsession!! Included in this blog is a small slideshow on how, where, and what to get started on ancestry research!

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ANCESTRY OBSESSION

Well, I have found another way to simplify this jurney through my ancestry! First, let me say, I come from a very small family (no extended family to speak of - both my parents were only children!! So, I had to be ingenious in researching my ancestry! I started with Ancestry.com, tracing my ancestry back as far as possible. However, I ran into several roadblocks! In overcoming these roadblocks, I tried to find distant ccousins on ancestry.com, and find the ancestor we have in common. This has helped a great deal, as I have come up with four distant cousins. Two of which are helping me fill in the gaps of my family. Again, do not give up, just keep at it! It took me 6 months to get to this point.

MORE ADVENTURES IN ANCESTRY RESEARCH

This could also, be subtitled 'Don;t Give Up!'
Six months ago I started researching my ancestry! In the process, I found big wholes in the tree (branches that just vanish into thin air)! It seemed like there were a lot of ancestors that came from the 'Stork' - right out of the sky! No parents!
By not giving up, I mean two things. First, do not give up the physical search. And, almost as important, is the memory search! Going through your mind's memory for what you have been told in the past.
An example of this, for me is, in the case of one of my great grandfathers. The particular one in this case, is listed as William. Yet, there are not any records, except for one, listing this particular individual with the name William. Then, my memory came back to me. I had met two 2nd or 3rd cousins of my mother's from this side of the family. One, I was able to trace back and find the help on line of two of my distant cousins. The second one, I was able to trace directly back to my great grandfather. Between the two cousins, I have been able to verify that my great grandfather's name was actually George William
The best tips (through experience) I can give to you are as follows:
a. Don't give up.
b. Use all the computer information available. I use the following:
1. Ancestry.com. Usually has a 7 or 14 day free trial period but
after that you have to pay.
2. Familysearch.org is free.
3. RootsWeb.com is free. Also on it is a link to the Social Security
Death Index also free
c. All the information you remember, write it down.

I am introducing you this week to the last, but not the least cat of my four cats. He is a three year old nuetered cat. Unlike, the prior cats, he is not a "shelter" cat (I am all in favor of "Shelter" cats & dogs)! However, I had three from a shelter, and was on the look out for a specific breed of cat this time. I wanted a Siamese cat, and a co-worker had a litter of Lynx Point Siamese, which she was selling for a real reasonable price! This is how Clyde came into being with my husband and I.
You may not think he is a "true" Siamese cat, but two things will tell you he is. First, when he was a kitten he had all buff colored coat without any pattern. This is true of all Saimese. Also, he had and has blue eyes. The best way to show you this is in the pictures: the first picture is at 1 3/4 yrs old; second at 2.5 yrs old; the last at 5 months old.
The best thing about him is his very Siamese, endearing personality. Typical of his breed, he knows how to get your attention. It is kind of in your face until he has your attention! He has also, adopted me personally, and delegated himself to be my protector! He gets extremely possesive of me with the other three cats!
Finally, he gets along with Friday and Missy very well, but Thai does not appreciate his super-friendly attitude! We were in hopes this would change over time, but alas, it hasn't and she just tolerates him. Thankfully, there are not any serious cat fights.

It is now time to introduce you to kitty number 3 but, first, a better picture of Missy! Also, a few words more about her. She is very laid back, unless backed into a corner. Then, she will retaliate! However, she prefers to just eat & sleep! She is commonly referred to around the house as either "Miss Piggy" or the "Princess"! She was adopted from a local shelter up north as a distraction for our orange tabby mail cat, Friday. He was very high energy, and required something to occupy his time - she was just what the doctor ordered. While they were both kittens they paid a lot of attention to each other. Once they became adult cats, they no longer care for each other.
Now for the third cat, Thai (pronounced Ty). She is also, a spayed, *8 year old female, blue-cream dilute, medium hair length, part Siamese. She is a real cutey. I went to the local shelter (third time)! This time because, my husband fell in love with Missy. However, Missy was very much afraid of him (a rather large man)! I took pitty on him, and brought Thai home! She is not and has not been afraid of him at all. In fact, they take naps together!! She is referred to around the house as "Sweety Pie". This is because, that is the best way to describe her temperment.

LIFE WITH THAI

When we spoke last, it was of my Siamese cat, Clyde. A final note on him, he definitely believes he is human, and above is a picture to prove it!

The next picture is of Thai (pornounced Ty). She's 8 years old, spayed dilute tortie, short hair. However, she has the undercoat of a long hair cat. Her temperment is very, very sweet, hence her nickname, Sweetie Pie.

What stands out about her is she's a genuine "cat burgler" (an expensive one at that - to the tune of $15,000). You might ask, how this is possible? First, if you done't keep your purse closed, she will go through it. Then, if she finds something interestng she will take it out and drop it on the floor. This particular time, there was a $15,000 check in my purse as part of a downpayment toward a mortgage. I am at the mortgage company, and I am going through my purse (several times) looking for the check - it is not there. Now, the entire contents of my purse is on the table - and still no check! Long story Short: I knew this was Thai's habit, my purse was not closed; called back home and asked my daughter-in-law to check under the table where purse was last. Sure enough, on the floor was the check!!

ONE MORE OBSESSION - MY CATS!!!

Let me begin, by saying, "Cats are like potatoe chips - you can't have just one"! Having said that, I will introduce to my FOUR cats!! And NO I am not an animal hoarder. It is not fair to the animals to be a hoarder of them. In the wild, all animals are territorial!! There is just enough space for 4 cats and 2 adults in my house - that's it period!!

The cat today is Clyde, a 3 year old nutered male, Lynx Point Siamese. He definitely has the true Siamese temperment. Very sweet, when things are going his way. Very demanding, when they are not going his way! An example of the latter, if he wants to sit or lay in a particular spot, and there is something in the way, he'll just push it out of the way, and if it lands on the floor, oh well so what!! Herewith are 3 pictures of him:

The 1st:He is on his very, very best behavior. The 2nd, Clyde being Clyde. The last, Old Mr. Blue Eyes, aka Frank!!

9/11 OATMEAL RAISIN THANK YOU COOKIES

You may wonder what a plate of food has to do with "Life With Me"??? Well, as the saying goes, ... "It's not about me"! Every year on the anniversary of 9/11 I have done something to show my appreciation for our firefighters. This year it is a plate of homemade, oatmeal raisin cookies. The recipe is from www.bettycrocker.com/recipes. I have altered or substitued a few things for better health. The recipe calls for real sugar, and I use the same amount of Splenda; it also calls for butter or margerine, and I use SMart Balance Buttery Spread (again in the same amounts).

Tips: I ran out of time, when I started making the batter yesterday. So, I covered the bowl with foil wrap, hoping when I got it from the refridge this morning it would not be to dry. Unfortunately, it was but, I added 2 or 3 teaspoons of water and that made the batter perfect.

HOW TO DECORATE FOR LESS THAN $100

Well, I am back!!!! This time, I have found a new passion or obsession!! How to decorate my home for less than $100! I know, you are probably thinking, "sure, those guys on HGTV tell you how to do it, but they are PROFESSIONAL DECORATORS"! Well, I am here to tell you it can be done!! I did it for less than $100, and in only one weekend.

My living room was basically red and black with white walls (hospital white, at that - BORING)! So, I decided to make a change. I had been contemplating doing this for about nine months! Then one night, while in bed, it came to me the color scheme I want to change to. I want the walls to be a combination of soft blue and green. In other words, light blue-green. This was about one month ago. Next, I went into Wal Mart's paint section and looked through there paint chip samples. I found the right color. Another time, while shopping in Wal Mart, I found a new lampshade to replace the red one I had. Still, another time, I found two rugs for the living room floor in the right colors. Also, found material to cover existing pillows. I had material left-over, so I covered an old picture with some of material, made a table runner, place mats. The solid blue, pillow slip looked plain. I took an old doily I had and hand-sewed it on to the front of the pillow slip.

At this point, I had my dinosaur of a sewing machine out for most of the weekend, and figured this would be a great time to quit procrastinating and sew the valances for two other windows in the house. This material I had on hand for quite some time!!! The machine is a dinosaur both in size and age! It is heavy to move, even though it is portable, and I received it as a present in 1964!

The pictures tell the story. The cost: Lampshade $5; Rugs $60; Material $10; Total $75
I live in Florida, and it is way to hot to paint now!! Will wait until the fall!!
Thanks for viewing & following!!

My Obsessions

Where to start? I guess I will start with my latest obsession, which is searching out my ancestry. This has led me straight back to some of my older obsessions. These are history and travel.

I have found the best ancestry searching site is RootsWeb.com. It is free, easy to operate and thorough. I can spend hours on it, and in some instances have! It has opened my mind to a lot of historical questions. Such as, what exactly happened to cause all of these ancestors to die on the same day? Was it war-time, and if so, which war, or was it disease or famine? It has opened my mind to more travel related directly to me, rather than to others or in general. I know I can't afford to travel back to New England in person. However, with the aid of the computer (at least for the time being), I will travel through the computer.

Another one of my obsessions, crafting. I do crafts with stamping, coloring, jewelry, natural bath & beauty items, paper crafting. Love to do paper crafting. It can be easy to complex, but if you have left-over paper in your home you can use it!! No or Low Cost.

Paper Crafting: I do a lot with card templates & origami.

I will be posting more in the future!

Thanks for viewing!