What a week, so much done, so much left to do, and so
much to share! Knowing what to tell you
and where to begin is my morning frustration it seems.
Week three of the
Family History Writing Challenge is
done. Last week I mainly worked on the
cookbook. I have decided that I will
need to beg for some more stories and remembrances from my family as well as
pictures of the people who passed down the recipes. It will make the book come to life much more
I think.
With all the editing and sorting of the recipes I only
wrote one story. This one is about a
clock that I inherited when I was 5 years old from my grandmother’s sister,
Beatrice Armstrong Norris. It is
included at the end of this post. Hope
you enjoy it.
Also, if you saw my post on Friday the
Going In-Depthdigital magazine was released. I have
never been involved with a project like this before and have been blown away
with the response the community has given to the magazine, its creators, and my
fellow writers. I am feeling truly
blessed this morning to be a part of such an amazing group of people. Let me
know what you thought of the first issue! Oh, and don’t’ forget to check out
the blogs and forums. There is lots of
wonderful information over there at the
In-Depth Genealogist.
Finally, I will be speaking on three occasions this year
and wanted to pass that information along to you. If you are in the Fredericksburg, Virginia
area I hope you will come out and listen plus say hi! First, I will be giving a presentation on
Blogs for Genealogy to the Fredericksburg Regional Genealogy Society (FRGS) on
April 10. It will be at the end of the
regular meeting which starts at 7pm in the Salem Church Library. Next I will be participating in a series of
Seminars (March 16 to May 11) presented by FRGS in conjunction with the Rappahannock
Regional Library. The topics I will speak
about are on genetic genealogy and lineage societies from 9am – 12pm at the
Downtown Fredericksburg Library May 11th. Finally I will be once again speaking at the
FRGS evening meeting on October 9th on the topic of genetic
genealogy at the Salem Church Library starting at 7pm.
Hope you all have a great week of discovery and research!
My Cinderella Clock
As a little girl I was fascinated by my visits to my grandmother’s
older sister Bea. Aunt Bea was born Beatrice
Armstrong in Martin County Indiana. She married
a man named Victor Norris and even though he died many years before I was born
my great aunt never remarried. Bea died
when I was 4 years old so my memories of her are scattered and jumbled to say
the least. They are more impressions of
what my senses told me about her.
I remember her sitting in a big fluffy chair a round,
happy, grey haired woman with her feet propped up on a footstool. She always had caramel candies in a dish next
to her chair that she would give me. Her
laugh was loud and strong to my little ears and she was a very animated
talker. However, the one thing I
remember the most was the clock she had on top of her TV.
This was no ordinary clock, it was a Cinderella
clock. Well, at least as a small child
that is what I thought it was. The clock was shaped like a grand carriage.
A large round cab set on top of 4 large delicate wheels. It was ornately designed and many flourishes
and embellishments. The face of the
clock was where the people would have sat and, well, I loved it. My grandmother told me I would sit for whole
visits staring at the clock. It was too
high for me to touch, but I still tried to.
To me it was the coach that carried Cinderella to the ball, a perfect
princess carriage.
When Aunt Bea died my grandmother brought the clock home
with her. She sat it on her TV and I
watched it again. Grandma told me it was
mine and when I was old enough I could take it away to my house. My grandmother died when I was 16 and the
clock was passed onto me.
I know nothing about this clock and I wish I knew
more. A wheel was been broken in our
first big move after college but other than that the clock still works, and
when plugged in keeps time. The face-plate says it was made in the USA by United Clock Corporation, Brooklyn,
New York.
It sits packed away for now. My boys have just become old enough where I
may begin putting things that are fragile back out into circulation. One day I hope it will sit out on display in
the house. Not on top of the TV though, they are way too thin now.
This year I felt extremely lucky to be involved with the ambassador program for RootsTech this year. As part of that program I was able to be a part of several "sofa chat" interviews (see my post about Paula Williams Madson) as well as do one-on-one interviews with people of our choosing. 
So… who wants to go to RootsTech? Last year was my first year and since it debuted I told myself I would eventually make it out to Salt Lake City. I had never been before so this sounded like the perfect opportunity, and it was. 
We want to know what you think! Please take a few minutes to complete a survey on this topic, so that we can be better prepared for this event.
So, be honest, how many of you have been religiously
watching the recent season of WDYTYA on TLC?
I only missed one episode, but I have a pass since I was camping in a
field in the middle of Pennsylvania at the time. No TV makes for a pretty good
excuse, and I just love my DVR. Here’s
another question for you: how many of
you knew that there were live twitter chats and an after show hosted by the
In-Depth Genealogist (IDG)? 
I was lucky that I grew up in the family I did. My parents and grandmothers loved to tell stories about our family. Their houses were decorated with heirlooms, pictures, and memories. Family dinners were peppered with old recipes adding to the flavors of the day. I have learned through the years that this is not the norm in most families. Yes, I do have family members who have attempted to run away from me or who not-so-politely sat through what I thought was a very interesting story. I am sure you all can think of several instances where this has happened to you. My goal as a genealogist mom is to, as Janet Hovorka states in her new book, zap the grandma gap with future generations.
Social media has changed the face of the world we live in. Pictures, videos, and instant access to our friends and families thoughts have all made staying in touch a bit easier. It is scary at times how easy information is passed on, but before you dismiss this new part of life as we know it, let me tell you an easy way that you can embrace a small part of the social media trend for your research. Have you ever thought about what you can do in 140 characters or less?
Many of us have had the duty of going through stacks upon stacks of papers and minutia when a loved one has passed. The filing cabinets of records, documents, and the flotsam that a person has collected over their life can be a daunting task for those who are left to sort through them. Worse, is when you have a crisis that calls for an important document which has been conveniently been put away for safe keeping that you can now not locate. What if there was a program that could help you keep your life, your family, you documents, and your history together in a way that is easy to pass along to the next generation? Would you jump on it? I know I have.
I have a confession: I love hand writing notes. Not only is the feel of pen on paper absolute bliss to me, but there is just something about pulling out a pad of paper and writing on it. Even if I just need to jot down a quick reminder, an idea, a grocery list, or a doodle to pass the time. I am also one of those people who if I write it down I tend to remember it longer than any other way.
Now that you have an app to try for your note-taking needs it is important to have a great stylus to make your words, and doodles, come to life. Recently I was introduced to a stylus that bears the closest resemblance to a ball point pen you can get for a reasonable price. It is called Jot and is made by Adonit. Amazingly enough the Jot works with all capacitive touch screens on the market. Instead of a clunky rubber tip that can be unpredictable in its line Jot gives you a fine point stylus with a disk on it. The disk provides the contact that the tablet needs to draw your line, but you have more precision and control with where you line goes and how you write. The one drawback is it works best with no screen protector or least a newer one. If your screen protector is old and scratched I found the disk has difficulty making the right contact and your words will not appear. Finally, there are 5 styles to choose from ranging in price from $19.99 to $99.99.
