Gaining Control of My Time – HA-HA!

My cousin Jan and I were talking the other day about about the frustration of never having enough time to work on our genealogy/family history projects… I think Jan said something like:  “So much to do, so little time.”  Ain’t that the truth!  So OK, I said to myself, if I can just get a better handle on the “rest of my life” there will be lots and lots of time to work on family history, right?  Yah, right. It’s an attractive thought but reality dictates that  laundry still has to be done, floors cleaned and scrubbed (we have a new puppy), meals prepared and planned for, grocery shopping done, etc, etc, etc,…  you know the drill:  “So much to do, so little time!”

While Jan and I were talking I made a foolish statement about my plan to set aside at least parts of every Thursday, Friday and Saturday to work on family history. Silly girl..having a plan and  following that plan are two different things, and it’s easy for me to see right away that family history gets put aside until all other “necessary” tasks get done.  That way my guilty concience doesn’t kick in.  Aha! There’s the problem… family history is relegated to second place on the priority list.  But, hmmmmm, what can be done about that?

That’s a darn good question!

In thinking about this time issue I realized that one of my problems is not being “on task” enough when I do get to working on family history. I tend to dwaddle a bit, reading this and that post that might be useful, or doing piddly little genealogy tasks instead of working to move my project forward .  For example right now I’m wanting to review the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 Agricultural Census documents for Deleware County Iowa where my Shane Great-Grandparents farmed and raised their family.  But in order for those Ag Census to be useful they need to be compared and analyzed with an eye to what the Shane’s life was really like, were they prosperous or not so, which kids old enough to work on the farm, and many other questions.  The only way for me to do this is to, YES, set aside the time!  Well “duh” on me!  This is my great “light bulb” moment… set the time aside and do it!!

So now it’s time for me to sign off and (even on a Monday) push my guilt aside and start studying those Ag Census documents.  Posts will be coming…just as soon as I get the time to do them!!  Aaaaggghhhh!

Susan J. Edminster, Granite Falls, Washington, July 19, 2010.  All Rights Reserved

Good-bye Miss Poppy

It’s with a sad heart that I pass along the news that our darling dog, Poppy, crossed the Rainbow Bridge on June 8th.  It was so hard to see her go!  But we knew the time had come and she can now see and hear and have a great time chasing around with her canine brothers Rider and Miles.  Enjoy yourself Miss Popper-Girl our sweetheart dog. You’re now young again.

Susan J. Edminster, Granite Falls, WA June 24, 2009, All Rights Reserved

Picture is the sole property of Susan J. Edminster

Check it Out!

footnote Maven has provided me with another excuse to show off my handsome dad, Frank Shane.  Isn’t he a hunk?  This picture was probably taken about 1940 and during those years our family took a yearly trip to the town of Long Beach Washington, which of course has a Looooong… Beach.

The irony is that dad didn’t especially like to swim, but here he is in his “suit” anyway!

Written for the Carnival of Genealogy, June, 2010

Susan J. Edminster, Granite Falls, WA, June 26, 2010.  All Rights Reserved.

Picture is the sole property of Susan J. Edminster

Ozzie and the Crate

Little Mr. Ozzie has amazed us with his willingness to sleep in his crate…. several friends feel it’s very unfair that he’s adjusted so quickly.  (Smile) The first night Ozzie did put up a fuss when I went in to have a nice soak in the tub, but after I climbed into bed and his crate was right beside me he settled down.  It seemed to help to put my hand down beside the door….he nuzzled and licked my fingers then went to sleep.  First night was a five hour sleep and it’s been pretty much the same after that.  I know he’ll go longer when his bladder is a little larger!

We’re using a borrowed crate right now, a smaller one than he’ll grow into later and have four to choose from so size won’t be a problem for Ozzie.  But why sleep in a crate when you can cozy up on Mr. Ed’s lap?

Susan J. Edminster, Granite Falls, WA  June 25, 2010.  All Rights Reserved

Picture is the sole property of Susan J. Edminster

New Walker Family Picture Albums

Good Evening,

After a long period of fiddling with it I’ve finally managed to add two new items to the Walker Family information.  Both posts are photograph albums… one is general photos of the family going back to William Alexander Walker, the other is photographs of Walker family graves.

Just to let you know… I have many, many more pictures that could be posted but instead of waiting I wanted to open up the photo pages right away and additional pictures will be posted as time permits.

I’ve also changed the way to access the articles and family information, including the genealogy.  Instead of having to search through a variety of posts,  you can now click on the Walker Family tab and get a list of all the files associated with the Walker Family.  Click on an item you’re interested in and the link will take you directly to that article.  The two new photograph albums are the last two on the list.  I was surprised to see that I’ve posted 21 articles about the family (so far) plus the photograph albums.

Back to the new picture albums: When you access the photograph pages you’ll see some options in the lower left corner of the screen that allow you to look at the pictures in a variety of ways, as a grid,mosaic, carousel or slide show.  Also, if you click on the text below a picture it’ll expand with a more complete title.

The other modification I’ve made is more cosmetic:  A new collage header and the denim background, generously provided by our “cousin” Patti Davidson-Peters.  Thank you Patti!

Hope you enjoy the pictures and new format!

Sue

Susan J. Edminster, Granite Falls Washington, May 29, 2010, All Rights Reserved.  Pictures are the sole property of Susan J. Edminster

The Most Funnest Thing Ever….

For the last few years Mr. Ed has been thinking about writing his life story.. his memoirs so to speak.  He even started, then stopped several times.  But this year was THE year, and it was a lovely experience for him and for me, editor-in-chief (ha-ha) to work it through.  Most people we told about the project were very positive.  Many supposed that I had learned lots of new things about my dear husband’s life experiences,  but no… there were no new revelations involved.  But somehow seeing the whole story together had a different impact and was a revelation in itself.

Here’s the process:

Mr. Ed and I have always enjoyed conversation with each other so it was natural to talk about childhood experiences and grown-up experiences as well. So the way we started was for him to just sit at his computer and using the Columbus method (find it and land on it), simply type out memories of his life as rolled through his recollections.  We kibitzed back and forth with no particular order in mind, just a putting down of memories, which generated even more memories and life stories.  Now I should tell you that Mr. Ed has had a very interesting life, but that’s not the only thing that makes his story a good read.  He has the story-teller’s gift of gentle humor poked mostly at himself, along with good explanations of what was happening.  My task as editor was to clean up grammatical and spelling errors, bring some orderliness to the timeline and ask clarifying questions to flesh out some parts of the story all while maintaing Mr. Ed’s “voice” as the teller of his story.  Sometimes this brought on gales of laughter, sometimes tears.

The second phase of the project was adding pictures and articles about the times and the impact of world events.  Since Mr. Ed served in WWII as well as the Korean War, world events had a very profound affect on his life and that of his family.  Pulling out pictures, scanning them and adding them in appropriate places was a delightful exercise again bringing on a lot of tenderness and laughter.

After the pictures, graphics and articles were inserted it was time for another edit, and another edit, and another edit, .. etc., etc., etc..  Believe me I have the utmost respect for people who are able to proof-read. I have no such ability so each read through brought another amendment or addition to the text and we could easily still be editing today, but decided to call it quits.  That may mean things aren’t quite perfect, but then that’s life, right?

The book contains 97 pages (8 1/2 x 11) in roughly chronological  order.  Babyhood, childhood, parents, school, young adulthood and military service, life after the Navy, other employers, and finally retirement.  I asked him not to incude me in the story as this is his story. But he wanted me to be part of the book so I finally agreed that it was OK to include one picture of the two of us readying for a trip.

Our plan is to have ten copies made and insert them into binders complete with a cover image, dedication information and publication month.  We also copyrighted the book even though it’s not going to be placed in the public domain, but will be a Christmas gift for our kids this year (2010).

The main thing that came out of this exercise for me was a renewal of my love and respect for Mr. Ed.  It was somewhat like traveling our road of life all over again… a wonderful ride!

My recommendation is for all couples to write their history both individually and together.  You’ll be surprised at the joy it will bring.

For me it really was “the most funnest thing ever…”

Susan J. Edminster, Granite Falls, Washington, May 23, 2010, All Rights Reserved

Final Report on Geneablogger Winter Games

Hi Friends,

Well, I started off strong but ended with a whimper.  Comparing my performance to the Winter Olympics you might say I crashed on the slalom course.  Nonetheless, I did participate in some of the events and  learned a lot along the way.  So here goes with the final tab:

Back Up Your Data event:  I backed up my data to my Mobile Me iDisk account and investigated the possibility of using Google GDrive as well, but opted not to go that route.  So I completed task “C” earning a Silver Medal

Organize your research event: I began the task of organizing my blog using the WordPress “pages” feature to provide indexes for each family.  I completed one family, the Shanes. No medal earned, (boo-hoo).

Expand your knowledge event: This was a very enjoyable event!  I created a surname visualization using Wordle and posted it to my blog, started a time line for Robert Shane using TimeToast but haven’t finished it yet.  So I completed one task earning a Bronze Medal.

Reach out and perform genealogical acts of kindness event: I read and commented on three blogs, (task A),  created memorials and posted photos for four ancestors in my Boss line, (Task B) and earned a Silver Medal.

So Thomas, there you have it.  Beyond my rather paltry list of task completions above I dabbled with some of the other tasks and all in all had a great time along the way.  Thank you so very much for organizing the event!

Regards,

Sue Edminster

GeneaBloggers Winter Games

Hi Friends,

Have you ever noticed that every task takes about four times as long as you expected?  I thought that was only true of household repairs, but I know now that it can also apply to my Winter Games progress.  But today I did accomplish the following:

Sorted and upgraded some photos to be posted in my Walker Family Photos album.  This was the most tedious of tasks and I had to give up after awhile as there were well over 100 that needed attention before posting.  So I’ll pick off a few each day and see where it goes.

Uploaded four memorials to “Find-A-Grave, two that included pictures.

More tomorrow!

Sue

Winter Games Progress….Well a Little Anyway…

Hello Friends and Fellow Winter Games Contestants,

Tonight I’ve been working on organizing my blog “Echo Hill Ancestors Weblog.”  I’ve been frustrated over the time I’ve had the blog that the user has to sort of sift through everything to get to the files they’re interested in. So I’m taking a “Pages” approach by having an Index Page for each family so that the reader only has to click on “The Shane Family” or “The Walker Family” etc. to get a list of files categorized for that name.  It’s a tedious thing to put together and I tend to make mistakes with my links!  Aaarrrggggghhhhh! Had to do some over.  But at least I now have two families indexed, The Shane Family and The Walker Family.  Tomorrow maybe I’ll take a break and do some scanning before indexing the other families. Right now my eyes feel crossed and I’m listing to the north!

Sue Edminster

Echo Hills Ancestors Weblog

Geneabloggers Winter Games

Hi Everyone,

It hit me this morning that I forgot to write a post about my progress toward all those wonderful medals! Luckily it’s still at the beginning so I don’t have a LOT to report yet. Honestly, remembering to post my progress  might be the hardest part of participating in the Games.

But having said that I did get started yesterday organizing my online storage “cloud” and I want to make sure it really contains what I think it does… so easy to forget what I put there.  I have a MobileMe account to use for this purpose as well as sharing ancestral pictures.  So there’s one project in process.  Also checked out GDrive storage space from Google.

As you see from my blog I created a Surname visualization on Wordle.

So that’s it for this morning… later today there will be more… much more?

Sue