Double the fun, what we did Monday

Our last day with Gramma and Grampa, we were all a bit tired from Friday, Saturday and Sunday fun, but, we still went for a walk down at the lake, played Wii, played computer. We finished our weaving project with Gramma's help.


We also went out to the pole barn and helped Grampa hold this bench while he started putting it back together.


Post Script from Gramma: Thanks to the ladies for assisting me with my blog for the last several days. I believe we built some great family history memories.

Double the fun, what we did Sunday

Sunday afternoon Gramma and Grampa took us to Morenci to a small city festival. Almost as soon as we got there a helicopter flew RIGHT over us and landed. It was a medical helicopter, and we got to go see the helicopter, inside and out:

We took a short break and went and found a restaurant and had a great lunch, we were all so hungry we ate EVERYTHING! Then we went back to the festival where we went for a great ride.


No, we are NOT prisoners, we are just having a good time on the playground.


We had a good time riding rides, playing on the playground and having lunch out.

Double the fun, what we did Saturday

We went to Walker Tavern for a walk through 200 years of American history. First, tho, HOOLA HOOPS. Here is L:


And here is M:


And, here is Man:


Here we are, M is grinding corn for meal for cornbread, L is shucking the corn:

This nice lady was teaching us to weave.

Here is an Indian lady playing lots of different kinds of flutes.


After the walk through time, we went and had a nice picnic lunch and then Gramma and Grampa took us to a Pow Wow, here are some dancers we liked. We especially liked the little boy, he really loved to dance.


*Gramma said she was tired, we were too.

Double the fun, what we did yesterday

Our day started out with a little sunbathing time with the yorkies.

(From the top, Gallagher, L, Captain Hook, M, and Tilly, full names for the yorkies, initials for the twins.)

Next we helped Gramma and Grampa with yard work. We learned about putting egg shells down to keep grubs off Gramma's flowers. Then Grampa cut down a WHOLE LOT of limbs off some trees, and we helped him load the tractor wagon. We filled 4 wagons full of limbs. WOW, we sure worked hard!

It really felt good to go to the beach after all that hard work! We had a good time, and swam for over an hour.

What a nice surprise when Grampa took us out for pizza after our swim.

Thanks Grampa!!

Purple beauties brought to you by twins

This blog brought to you thanks to the WO's and the twins.

Last grandparent left standing

The twins (8.5 year old girls) will be visiting gramma and grampa starting tonight. So, it is time for lots of cooking, cleaning, dishes, food, excitement, giggling, beach time, maybe a local festival, reading, maybe some Wii, videos, well, you know, family time.

They sure keep us busy when they are here.

Man sometimes gives them "cart" rides. Here they are in 2006, down by the pond.


It is summer, the lake and swimming hole are about 4 miles away, where is my camera??? Opportunities for additional photos for the data base abound!

Who will be the last grandparent left standing?? Not sure it will be Moi, but, it is SO SO SO worth it!

Volunteers, escorted away??

The other day we decided to dig up THE Thistle, you remember, the one from the June 16, 2009 blog titled, Is your volunteer a bit prickly?
Goodness, it had grown MORE! It was taller than MAN, who is a tad shy of 6 foot tall.

Here is THE Thistle being escorted away by MAN. Pretty sure Man did not get all the root, so, THE Thistle will be back to haunt us another day.

I was not saddened to see THE Thistle leaving, but, was saddened when doing some research just before the digging of THE Thistle. I was looking for, hoping for, some biographical goodies about a man I was researching, he was a farmer, died 1938 in Kansas. Found him on census reports, including Kansas 1915 and 1925. In search of some color, I went to the GENWEB site for the county in Kansas, and to my delight, there was a link to some great biographical write-ups. Well, they sounded like great biographical write-ups. When I clicked on the link, I got the dreaded, 'this site does not exist' message. I followed up with an email to the name and address available, only to discover, that the email addy was no longer functioning either.

I could not help but think, oh, dear, another prickly volunteer bit the dust. Lost, gone. Have to wonder if they were escorted off the property like our prickly volunteer here. Gone to wither away. But, maybe to arise again, as I am sure THE thistle will.

Maybe, we could hope, that after a rest THE thistle will come back, as these pretty volunteers, also found in my yard???


Probably not, but, then, thistles do have this nice purple/pink flower, hmmmmmm, is there still hope?

Cemetery stomping, check list

For today's cemetery stomp, I packed:

• Hat
• Coffee (we started early cause it was hot, I needed MORE of this item)
• Cooler packed with several bottles of water and power bars, water cause of the heat, and power bars in there so they would not melt, did I say it was HOT??)
• Camera
• Bug Spray
• Sun screen
• 4 pair of shoes (can you believe it, one pair I had on, but would never do for stomping, one pair were for the wet grass and 2 pair were cause I need to change my shoes several times a day, I really only needed one pair of those 2, have no idea why I grabbed 2, ohhhh, go back to that coffee, ya, the gray matter was in need of more octane, errr caffeine.
• Clipboard and writing sticks
• Cemetery records

Even with the heat we got a few sections of this large cemetery done, hope to do more next week, keep this check list handy.

*We do not clean stones, so do not need any gear for that.

**This is a re-walk, so, no need for materials for rubbings either.

*** Thanks Mary for all the work you are doing on this and other cemeteries here in Lenawee.

****Moi thinks she needs a nap!

This 'n That, how Moi spends her time lately

Trimming bushes and weeding.

Cleaning windows.

Laundry.

A little research, a little input, linking those 145 scans I did a few weeks ago to help Wife of Son# 1 for 40th birthday slide show for Son # 1

Sweeping, scrubbing floors.

A little more input, have LOTS of that I could do.

Messing up my office, AGAIN.

Cemetery stomping, sun burns, bug bites, history, giving back, good stuff.

Family time, the best thing ON this list.

Deck time. As much as I can schedule in.

Combo times: Deck time, family time, input and linking time. Ya, that works! Add a glass of wine and some yummy munchies, that works even better!

Happy Father's Day to MOI??

What a great day, breakfast with Man, 3 sons, wife of Son # 1, fiancee' of Son # 3, grandchildren.

Later a nice walk along the Huron River with Son # 1 and his family. Then, a nice sit by the river with drinks and desert.

First day of summer 2009, and it is summer-like! Wahhoo!

Man has re-claimed ownership of the mowing machine after 5 weeks of recuperation from that Melanoma surgery.

Ya Baby!! Happy Father's Day to MOI!!

Welcome to Our Pad

Down by the pond:

A special welcome for the bull frogs who have been serenading us this past week or so.

Happy Father's Day to all Dads

This card is an another example of color of a different sort. I have been scanning greeting cards, adding to my data base. This one has the hand written inscription:

"When I saw this card I knew it was right because the picture on the front really shows the way I see you - - My father, a man above all men."

Signed, Son # 3.

Happy Fathers Day to all Dads, may your sons and daughters have the same opinion of you.

Ancestor Birthday Celebrations, Hezekiah Bowen

Hezekiah Bowen, born June 19, 1834, Bulloch County Georgia, died October 1, 1908 in Wayne County, Georgia. He married Martha Ann Sikes on February 15, 1857, we believe in Bryan County, Georgia. Hezekiah was the son of Hezekiah Bowen and Phareaby (Fereby) Fitzpatrick. He was the 3rd son and the 4th child born (that we have records of).

Hezekiah was a member of the Baptist Church, both in Bulloch County and Wayne County, where he had moved in 1895. He is buried at the Bethesda Primitive Baptist Church, Madray Springs, Wayne County, Georgia. His headstone is the only photo I have for Hezekiah.

Hezekiah served in Company K of the 54th Georgia Infantry during the War of the Rebellion. His compiled service record only has 7 pages. Hezekiah is not listed on the Amnesty Papers of Georgia. As far as I can determine (after two serious searches of the records), Hezekiah never applied for a pension from the state of Georgia for his service.

Hezekiah and Martha had 11 children, Matthew (AKA Math), America, Samuel J., Catharine, Fereby, Nathaniel, Joseph Eugene, Lela Rebecca, Harly, William Ashley and John Chester.

Hezekiah was a farmer for most of his life, but according to another family member, he did work as a laborer gathering turpentine for Richard J. Madray when he lived in Wayne County, Georgia.

And, the search continues - - -

Color of a different sort

In many of our discussions, the WO's chat about "Color" in our data bases. One of us, or all of us, collectively, came up with that terminology to describe facts, stories, photos, anything that adds to the data base over and above date and place of births, marriages, deaths and burials. We have chatted about it so much I don't think we remember who coined the term, and if we mention color, we all know what we are talking about. Several of us have given talks about color. We sure do love our color.

So, what would you consider to be color?? Here are two samples from my data base.

When my Dad found this in some of my Grandmother's possessions in 1986 he wrote on the note accompanying it: "Look what 3 cents could do in 1948"


This craft project was found hanging on the wall in my grandmother's room at the nursing home. The nurses told me it was the last craft project she was ever able to do, she died at age 91. I really have no idea when she painted this, or how much she really did, but it hangs in my office and this photo of it has been added to my data base, when I view it, I smile.


Come back and visit soon, I have some more interesting samples of different kinds of "Color" to share.

*Yaa, that birth announcement was for MOI.

Is your volunteer a bit prickly?

Is this your volunteer???

Gosh, I hope not, but, if so, why might it be that your volunteer got so prickly? Surely, when they started volunteering, they were not in such a state? What might have caused this morphing from a happy volunteer to a prickly one?

• They are not feeling well? Maybe they have an underlying health issue, known or unknown.
• They have family issues, again, might be health, might be a death of a close family member, grieving takes time and energy.
• Money??? The way the economy is, need I say more??
• Time? Maybe the time involvement is more than your volunteer bargained for? Or, since any of the above issues may have come into play, maybe their available time has dropped off dramatically. Maybe they changed jobs, new one is more demanding.
• Demands of their loving public. By this I mean, the researchers that are asking for assistance demand TOOOOOO much. Maybe your volunteer will hunt and copy obituaries from the local paper. You ask for one, you get one, you come back for another, maybe 2, you get more, maybe 2. Now you say, okkkkk, hitting the mother load here, I am gonna ask for ALL I need or want. All is how many?? 5, 10, 45??

Let's look at one more reason your volunteer is prickly - - DO YOU THANK THEM???

I read comments from volunteers all over the Internet, so many of them are never thanked. They take time out of their busy lives to do nice things for people they have never met and never will, and those recipients of their kindness never have the decency to say, THANK YOU.

No wonder the volunteers are prickly.

And, let me tell you, they go from prickly to MIA.

Volunteers are priceless, can we afford to loose them??

*Photo is of thistle in my yard. This prickly volunteer is not welcome, but it does make a great visual for this blog entry.

Hummer blur and gosling butt feathers

Aren't hummingbirds just the most fabulous and fun to watch? Since my blog on May 21, 09, about the horny hummer, I have been trying to get a photo of our hummers. I don't have hours to sit and wait for them, well, have hours, just not how I choose to spend them. The other morning while trying to get photos of the goslings butt feathers (see below), a hummer came to the feeder, ohhh, such luck, camera in hand, at the window, let me try. See results, ya, that blur in lower right, is the hummer speeding away. Hmmmm, maybe said hummer was disgusted with me, note the feeder was empty!


Been trying to get a photo of the goslings as well, these are a good two months old, look how much they have grown. They are loosing the baby feathers, they are getting butt feathers. You can compare them to the 9 Goslings in a Row blog, not even a month ago. They come much closer to the house now, but, I note, they are much more skittish. They must be camera shy, I swear, they can hear when I turn the camera on inside the house! Took days to get this photo, and it is not the best.


*Its been fun watching the goslings, we are now ready for them to stop visiting, tired of deposits. See ya next spring! And, yes, I filled the hummer feeder.

It takes a village, all residents invited to participate

"It takes a village", said one Darden cousin to Moi. She sure is right about that.

Last summer I was blessed to attend the Darden family reunion. During a presentation I was making to the family, I dropped a comment about how cousin Marilyn was so good at cold calls, even walking up to the front door of cousins she has not met, striking up a conversation and getting to know them. I personally find this a bit difficult, not the conversation part, anyone who knows me knows I seldom lack for something to say. But, the cold call, the knocking on the door part, well, I have trouble with that.

At this point in my presentation, I hear the words, from the back of the room, "It takes a village, Carol." I acknowledge same and continue with the presentation. However, as the weekend progresses and other presentations are made, I really start to get it! Marilyn is great at cold calls, organizing, book and photo projects. Connie is a terrific organizer and keeper of the contact data. I do research, others have done cookbooks, recorded interviews. Some of the younger set are whizs at computers, cameras, sound systems, and all kinds of digital "stuff". Marilyn, Connie, the others, had strengths I did not, some of the family have no time for the research that I do. By combining the talents of residents of the village we had a lot of great stuff we were able to share with the family.

It is summer, it is the time for many family reunions, are you tapping into the talents of your family village? Does Aunt Jane have a photo collection that goes WAYYYYYY back? Has Uncle John recorded distant family members telling stories? I would bet that Aunt Jane and Uncle John would be honored and tickled pink to share. Get the computer savvy nieces and nephews to help, maybe a slide show of the old photos, maybe a DVD with the voice files so others can have a copy.

Tap into your village residents, use their talents for the entire village, prepare for some great reunions!

Letter from Dad, in rememberance

Happy Birthday Dad, it would have been number 83. WOW.

My Dad was, well, interesting! He was, eccentric, professed to fully believe in the phrase, "He Who Dies With the Most Toys, Wins". Goodness he even had a plaque on his desk stating same.

He taught me ethics and manners, he was a child of the South, those things were important.

Dad wrote letters now and then, I have a few, very few, I think they told us a lot about him. He did not write and say, I'll be along for a visit next month, no, he wrote letters like this one, addressed to Man, Brother, Brother's Wife, and Moi, 1985. I have changed the names out to the above monikers.

"Moi, Man, Brother, Brother's Wife:
Now have the MOONEY running real good. This has caused money to run real bad. Is there no happy medium?
To Moi.: I believe you have missed a calling. How much does the camping club pay you?
To Man: Keep shirt on. Non compis mentis. (Don't let the Bastards get you down.)
To Brother's Wife: Are you certain you know what the hell you are doing?
To Brother: Whoever is responsible for the computer program that graphics the best wishes has a winner. Is there a program available for the I.B.M.? If so I would like to get one.
To the diligent parents: Emulate me. Avenge Yourself. Live long enough to be a problem to your children.
To the children: Remember that old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill.
I expect to try and bust out of town for a short visit to Michigan sometime in July. Having difficulty finding adequate co-pilot that conforms to other parameters. The plane trims better with the right chair properly balanced.
Connie quit. Except for 2 days per month. She is in love. You may have deduced. I am typing this. Bought a new program named TYPEWRITER. And to make things worse I don't really know how to make PFS WRITE percolate yet. Oh well.
Do not want Michigan co-pilot. Red neck controllers do not understand them because they talk funny on the radio.
See ya all in the spring.
Love,
Dad"

Dad and the Mooney:



Dad's memorial at Find A Grave is here.

Happy Birthday Dad, I miss getting those letters.

Are you part of a genealogical support group?

No, not a 12 step program, although those of us who are truly addicted to family research frequently say we could use one. Maybe someone has even written up a Genealogist 12 Step, if you have a copy, please forward!

No, what I am referring to is a group, small or large, of friends who are addicted as you are. I am part of such a group, the WO's. Several gals, related, distantly, although we did not discover all the relationships for years. OK, we are still discovering relationships.

We chat continuously via email, we get together several times a year, dinners out, picnics, trips to research facilities, funerals, weddings of our children, baby showers for same children. Great stuff, but here is the power of our support group:

We share war stories, success stories, research tips.

We compare research approaches, how we prepare for research trips, new data bases on line, books that help us learn and grow as researchers.

We compare our data bases - the programs, the ins and outs, the strengths and weakness, what we like and don't like. We share the different ways we record data, record sources, record documents (do you scan or transcribe, why?), how we handle photos, anything that has to do with data bases, we chat about.

We compare how we name computer files, and how we organize them. We talk about ways to back up our computer files, how often, what media, where we store the back ups. We discuss scanning techniques and photo digital enhancement, how to and should we??

We share organization tips, how we organize our hard copy files, as well as the computer files.

Now, we are all individuals, we approach this differently, for different reasons, and that is the power of the WO's. No, I don't source exactly the same as the other gals. Some of use are strictly "by the book" ("Evidence"), some of us do the book and do other ways of sourcing. Some of us want only the 3 best sources, some of us will list as many sources for an event as we can find. All different, NONE wrong.

The power of the group is that we share, discuss, sometimes rant and rave. We compare!!! By looking at the different ways we approach our sport and its tools, we sometimes "tweak" our approach. After some discussions, we find we really do like the way we have been doing things and that sure improves the "satisfaction" factor in our work. The sharing process is an "eye-opening" event for each of us.

Sharing, a very good thing. A support group, to share with, even better!

*Did a quick google on 12 steps, here is the first, I have changed one word!
We admitted we were powerless over genealogy—that our lives had become unmanageable.

Maybe that should read, our FILES have become unmanageable?? OK, WO's, lets discuss unmanageable files!

Spelling don't count, some examples

On April 23, 2009, I wrote about Spelling. Also on May 15, May 26, and May 29.

Spelling, good, bad, and indifferent, sure plays a HUGE role in our researching lives.

So, here are a few of my names, and the various spellings I have found, this is NOT to be considered a complete list for each name.

Gehrke, also found as Gerke, Sherke and Scherke. The last 2 were found in one obituary.

Canuet found: Canuett, Cannet, Connett, Connet and Canuel.

Not just limited to surnames, how bout this lovely example?? Czechoslovakia found spelled: Checzolovakia

Check back with me now and then, and I will share some more spelling oddities. I have some German surnames that have had as many as 25 different spellings, all traced back to one immigrant.

Are We Having Fun Yet??

Been clothes shopping lately??

Man and I did some yesterday, two stores, one the cheapy "W" place, the other store mid-range department store, "P".

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

I have been counting carbs since I was told I have the diabetes Demon. I am losing some weight, slowly, very slowly. After 2.5 years of this slowly dropping weight, well, the jeans were getting baggy. What a great thing for a gal to be able to say, the jeans were baggy!

Man wanted new jeans, cause his have HOLES in them. Course, he could buy NEW jeans with holes in them and pay $35.00 to $40.00. But, Man does not like holes in his jeans.

So, off we go to the store, even have a coupon to use. YAH!!!

First store, I find jeans, try on one pair, down one size from what I have been wearing. FIT. (Small tee hee here.) So, I go grab another pair, different dye, same style, same name on the hip, same size, well, so says the long sticker they put down the pant leg.

Tryed the dark pair on this AM, discover sticker does not match the size on the sticker they sew in at the waistline. GRRRR. Funny, the size on the waist line sticker is one larger, and fit, well, tighter.

So, two pair of jeans, and I am not sure what size either one of them is! SIGHH

Man looking at shirts at the "W" cheapie store, finds same shirts, same design, same color, some are marked 100% cotton, others marked 60% cotton. He bought some, we have no idea if he really got what he thought he was buying.

What is going on here??? Moi smells a quality control issue. Ya think??

And again - back to our regular scheduled blogs - - - -

Prayers going out to

Cousin Bob, who is needing a triple bypass.

Our thoughts will be with you and the doctors.

A Booking Supreme

More news from cousins, love this good stuff.

Cousin Marilyn, who used to work as stewardess and has the voice of an angel, is on her way to ROME to sing for the POPE!!

Now, THAT is a supreme booking, don't you think??

Congrats Marilyn, send photos!

It takes a village, another sharing experience

Just received a family update via email, births of two new little ones, descendants of Charles H. Darden (1822-1877).

Love hearing bout this twig of the tree, because less than 10 years ago, this twig was MIA to me.

I posted queries on email lists and web sites, looking for Osceola (Oceolia/Oceola) Darden of Hinds County Mississippi. I had him in Hinds County on the 1880 census, then POOF, cannot trace him. Lost to Moi. [Note: this is before you could search census on the net like you can now, this was when you had to go to the library and use film to search for ancestors.]

Several months later a descendant of Osceola/Oceolia/Oceolia (spelling don't count) contacted me. Flurry of emails, phone calls, sharing, LOTS of sharing.

The descendants of Oceola knew he was born in Virginia. That was it. They had no idea WHERE in Virginia. I did, I knew his parents, siblings, half siblings, but, I did not know what happened to Osceola. I even knew where Osceola was born, the house is still standing.

Several years later, after all this sharing, the descendants of Osceola planned a trip to Virginia to visit. On this trip were 3 of Osceola's grandchildren. Siblings, aged 90, 88 and 86 at the time of the visit. They were going home to the birthplace, the actual house and homestead where their grandfather was born, a place they did not know the name of just a couple of years prior to this visit.

The family invited me to join them. Yes, I went, yes, this had to be one of the most emotional 4 "family research" days I have ever spent, and probably ever will have.

Photo: the 3 siblings standing on the front steps of the birthplace of their grandfather.

We patched the family back together, it is now a strong tree.

Sharing, a village, good things.

More some day in this blog on "It takes a Village", what this family taught me.

Welcome to the new little Darden descendants.

Full moon?? Pretty, but - - -

Full moon last night, pretty thing. After being out and about this last week, running errands, driving, have to wonder about that rumor that it has affects on people.

Observations from behind the wheel of my car, seemed like they were all saying, or thinking, or acting out:

"Me, me, me. "

"Mine, mine, mine. "

"Me first, me first, me first."

"Cause I can, cause I want to, just cause."

"Get outta my way, I am in a hurry, I don't care if you are exceeding the speed limit, you are not moving fast enough ole lady!"

"I want THIS lane, even if technically it is YOUR lane."

Well, I am sure, you get the idea.

Geeshhhh, everyone was acting as if they were the only ones with some reason to be on the road, driving a car, and of course, talking on the cell phone as they pass me in a no passing zone, up a hill, on a 2 lane 55 MPH US highway. I was driving 57 MPH in that 55MPH zone.

"Me, me, me."

It really is the me generation, eh??

OKKK, lets just blame it on the full moon, then none of us have to take responsibility for driving like maniacs!

*Enough tongue in cheek and black humor, now back to our regular scheduled blogs - - - -

Lookie what I found part 2, don't always trust your brother

Still reviewing old slides. Still rediscovering family vacations, and family stories. This one WILL find its way to my family history data base. This is one great example of what the WO's call "color".

Summer 1982, Man, Moi, 3 sons, my brother and Man's mother all pile in vehicle for 2 week vacation to see family in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. We decide to drive part of the Shenandoah National Park Skyline Drive. Brother reads brochure, finds a "short" hike to a spectacular view, decides we need exercise and convinces us to stop.

Eldest son,(the one that turned 40 this week, was about 13 then), Man, Moi and Brother decide to take the hike, others refuse or are not allowed.

Brother leads. Brother, Man and Son #1 get a good bit ahead of Moi, all I hear are their peals of laughter. As I round the bend, all they hear is my moans and some choice words (not repeated here). I am wearing plastic shoes and find myself scaling rocks that are 10 to 20 feet tall.

Short hike, ya, maybe, short in distance, not short in time! Yes, the view at the top was pretty special.

Photo at top, Moi and Son # 1 on the way down. Photo at bottom, Brother, also on the way down. Miracle that day was that no one got hurt.

Now, all you researchers, go hunt up some good family stories, some color for your data bases. Ohhh, and don't always trust your brother, specially when it comes to hikes!

Bike again

Couldn't help myself (it is the badger attitude), had to try again. Color more intense, still dark.
.

Man, lookie what I found

Got old slides, got old photos?? When was the last time you pulled em out and had a lookie see??

I have been doing that the last few days, old slides, picking the cream of the crop and scanning them. Did not remember having this fun photo of Man on his Honda with BIG monster smile.


If you have ever been in one of my classes, I am sure you have heard me say, "Review, review, review." I used to say, "Start Over". But, "Start Over" caused students and listeners to all but stop breathing, so, now, it is a simple "Review".

Open a file, open a photo album, open your mind, then review.

You might be surprised what you find when you do,
BRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, start your engines, GO!

*Photo of Man, ca 1974, from slide. Note, best scan I could muster up, original was rather dark. I am no professional, would love to have better, however, happy to have what is shown, specially since it was a "lost and found".
.

Dryer sheets, RV & Yorkie style

Use 1: Place dryer sheets in all drawers and closets and storage areas of your RV. Theory, to keep mice out. Results, questionable, but, leaves a nice aroma.

Use 2: Use dryer sheets, wet, to assist in cleaning the nose cone of your RV. Theory, after a day of traveling when you have bug guts splattered all over that nose cone, this is supposed to get 'em off right easy like. Results, Man was not convinced and has abandoned the effort.

Use 3: Use dryer sheet to calm down yorkies who are traumatized by rain drops (with or without noise from thunder). Theory, supposed to take the static out of coat/hair of dog, which someone (no, I don't remember who) said really worked. I thought, ya, right. Results, actually better than I thought, stops much of the shaking and panting. Saves mom, err, Moi, from all the drool from said panting.

And, WHY did I post this? Cause I was up in the middle of the night rubbing down a yorkie. Results, excellent, he settled right down and we were all able to get some sleep!

Now, aren't you glad you read my blog today??

Iris, one of Mother Nature's rainbows

 The yellow/white was a gift many years ago from Mary.

Middle, my black purple iris, difficult to photograph, before fully opened the bud appears even more black.

Did a little google search, found that the Iris takes its name from the Greek word for "rainbow," and can be found in just about every part of the world.

Happy Birthday Son # 1

Happy 2nd annual # 39,

Which by mom's count is #40.


.