Mystery Monday - Are these two pictures of the same guy?

So I was going through the pictures that I have saved on my computer, after my picture boo-boo that I talked about here, when I ran across something I hadn't noticed before. I use Picasa photo program to allow me to keep my pictures in some sense of order. The program has a really cool feature of face recognition, that I have played with a couple of times. It will show you the faces of people in your pictures and you can tag them with their names. Thus grouping pictures of identical people together for you.

Blog Caroling - My favorite Christmas Carol

The wonderful FootnoteMaven has invited all Geneabloggers to join her in a Christmas tradition of Blog Caroling.

This is my first time participating but it sounds like fun. On December 14 she will post all of the favorite Christmas songs that had been shared and you can sing a-long with all of us.

Anyway, my favorite Christmas carol is not really a carol at all, but it is my favorite Christmas song. It comes from "How the Grinch stole Christmas" and here is a YouTube link to it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzXKWKaxt3c&feature=related

Don't know if you could go caroling with it but here are the lyrics:

You're a mean one Mr Grinch

You really are a heel

You’re as cuddly as a cactus

You're as charming as an eel

Mr. Grinch

You’re a bad banana with a greasy black peel

You're a monster Mr. Grinch

Your Hearts an empty hole

Your brain is full of spiders

You’ve got garlic in your soul Mr. Grinch

I wouldn’t touch you with a

39 and a half Foot pole

You’re a vile one Mr. Grinch

You have termites in your smile

You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile

Mr. Grinch

Given the choice between the two of you

I’d take the a seasick crocodile

You’re a foul one Mr. Grinch

You’re a nasty wasty skunk

Your heart is full of unwashed socks,

Your soul is full of gunk

Mr. Grinch

The 3 words that best describe you, are as follows, and I quote

Stink, Stank, Stonk

You’re a rotter Mr. Grinch

You’re the king of sinful sots

Your hearts a dead tomato splotched with moldy purple spots

Mr. Grinch

Your sole is an appalling dump heap

Overflowing with the most disgraceful

Assortment of deplorable rubbish

Imaginable, mangled up in tangled up knots

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch

With a nauseous super naus

You’re a crooked jerky jockey and,

you drive a crooked horse

Mr. Grinch

You’re a 3 Decker sour kraut and toad stool sandwich

With arsenic sauce!

Trivia fact....Thurl Ravenscroft that sings this song is the same man that did Tony the Tiger "They're great!"

Happy Holidays!

{updated 9:50 pm. 8 Dec 2011...realized that this isn't really a caroling song. More of just my favorite Christmas song....I really need to lay off the eggnog!}

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)
 

The pictures epiphany!

{warning: I might have rambled a little more than I had planned on!}

Through a series of unfortunate events....well really just me not paying attention to details, but anyway.....I deleted a blurry picture from my digital camera.....OH! wait, I didn't just delete the one picture...I very quickly, very effortlessly deleted every picture that I had stored on that camera.

Now to give you an idea of how many pictures that included (I say "idea" because I don't really know exactly how many were on the goofy thing!), I have had the camera for about a year and a half. I have taken pictures with it on vacation, eighth grade graduation, hockey games, soccer games, interesting things out my window at work, etc. Anyway, I digress.

Sunday's Obituary - Parthana E Hutcherson Shofner

The other day I was going through a binder of family information that my father and I put together when we first started researching and found this obituary. Since it's been a while since I've posted an obituary from my family collection, I thought I would post it: 

Create a caption for this picture

OK, so I haven't added it as one of my hobbies on any of the networking or social sites, but I loving looking at pictures in magazines, books and yes old family pictures and giving them funny caption. I think some pictures are boring without them. I mean how many smiling couples, small children or animal pictures can you look at in a day with out yawning? I know I'm not alone in this entertaining pastime from examples I have seen over at the National Archives' blog: Prologue:Pieces of History  where they have a Thursday Photo Caption Contest.

So I had recently ran across this picture of my mom, apparently cooking, in her kitchen from the early 60's. I thought I would post this and see what kind of funny captions my dear readers could create.

Unfortunately, I don't have anything to give anyway to the most creative :(
I just thought it would something fun.

So, PLEASE, create away.

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Just added this to my genealogy wish list

Like a lot of people, every year I make a Christmas list to give to my husband and family so they know what I am "needing" for this Christmas' gift giving season. If I can't come up with enough "regular" items for my list, then I take one or two things from my genealogy wish list and add it to my Christmas list. So this year when I run out of things to put on my Christmas list and have to fill in, I think I will fill in with the Eye-fi memory card.

I stumbled across this product the other day while checking out the Evernote trunk page.

According to their website, Eye-fi is a memory card with built-in Wi-Fi.You install the memory card in your digital camera like you would any other memory card. Because it has Wi-Fi built into the card you will not need to connect the camera to the computer with a USB cable to upload your pictures. The card will automatically upload your pictures to your computer using your home Wi-Fi network. AWESOME!

Now I do tend to think of myself as a "techie" person, however, I DO NOT think of myself as a "techie" person capable of writing a product review. So rather then me writing a review that not only could possibly be confusing, but also be very boring of a product that I don't even own.....yet (fingers crossed!), please just check out the Eye-fi website.

As a side note, I know they advertise it for digital cameras, but I wonder if it could be used in the Flip-pal scanner that so many genealogists have been buying lately? Of course, that is another item that is on my genealogy wish list that hasn't made it to the Christmas list because of the price.....yet!


Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Cool use of Twitter!

Ok, so I don't have a smartphone and I'm not on Twitter. I know - how is that possible?

Anyway, when I see things like this it makes me want to at least set up an account so that I can follow along.

"RBS Group Archives is using Twitter to bring a unique account of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion to life. From today, they will tweet diary entries from John Campbell, the cashier in charge of Royal Bank of Scotland during the Jacobite uprising. His diary records how he paid the rebels in gold from reserves held in Edinburgh Castle and the first tweet will be his diary entry from 14 September 1745, the day he took the bank’s valuables to the Castle in anticipation of the Jacobites arrival in the city."

Read more >> http://tinyurl.com/3tdfyzc

All I can say is AWESOME!

I have also seen where this is being done with John Quincy Adams' diary. Question: why are more places/institutions/museums doing more of this and publising it everywhere? What better way to get kids interested in history than to show that people 100 even 200 years ago are just like we are today....well minus the computers, air conditioning, televisions, etc.

Thought I would just share this with you. I better go the new season of "How I met your mother" is about to start.

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and come back now ya hear! ;)

People LOVE genealogy - another Genealogy 101 Presentation

You all know that I volunteer at a local historic plantation called Farmington, and that I have given a Genealogy 101 presentation/seminar/workshop on 2 other occasions. These went over very well and at the time of the last one the Program Director said that a lot of people were very upset that they would not be able to attend so she wants to do another one. And they have asked me to give it!

So we came up with the wording for the email blast and she sent out the following:

20 MINUTES later, someone called wanting to make a reservation for 2 people for the presentation! Man o man genealogy is popular!

I'm thinking about having door prizes. Only about 3, maybe 4, really small items like a: pen, mousepad, coffee mug or keychain that have my GenSearchByDeb promo stuff on it. What do you think?
Well anyway, if any of you or anyone you know will be in Louisville on the 29th and would like to attend, please come join us. If not, stop by and say hi!

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Tombstone Tuesday - Picture in a picture

Ok, so I have seen this done on several other sites (such as flicker, blogto and makeuse. Using an old photo, you go to the place the old photo was taken and take a new picture with the old one in the new picture showing what the place looked like when the original was taken.......confused?

Well, here is how mine turned out...

In the original picture is my paternal grandmother, paternal grandfather and my father (you can't really see him in this picture, he's between his parents) standing behind my grandmother's parents tombstone. Both pictures were taken in Buffalo Cemetery, Larue County, Kentucky.

The original picture was taken after 5 January 1948, the day of my grandmother's father, Robert William Shofner, death. Maybe even Memorial day of that year, given the summer type of dress that my grandmother was wearing and that would have given them enough time to get the tombstone done.

I have posted the story of "Pa" Robert William Shofner's death here. I've also posted a close up of what the stone looks like now here.

Oh yeah, that's my son's hand holding the picture. Both of the kids where with me on this trip to the cemetery. I think they're starting to like going. Shh! don't tell them. 

Lining up the picture was a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be but after a couple of times I think it turned out pretty good.

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Seeing the Declaration of Independence in a new light!

I don't normally put videos into my blog postings, but this one is just too cute not to!

My son was telling me about this video at the supper table tonight. Not only did he bring it up he kept checking back with me to make sure that I had remembered to watch it. That is really out of the norm for him to be that adamant about me watching something that he had recommended.

Anyway, here it is. It's called "Too Late to Apologize - Declaration"

I love it when we can get our young ones to look at history in a different light, or for that fact any light at all!

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

My day at Farmington - whew!

As some of you know I volunteer at a local historic home called Farmington. I have posted about it a couple of times here, here and here.

My normal duties are anything with which the program director needs help. Which usually means giving tours, answering questions from visitors, helping with the register and other jobs.

Unfortunately, today it was helping clean up after a tree ripped an 8 foot by 18 foot hole in the roof of the visitor's center.

Follow up from Saturday's presentation

Well I made it! I did my Genealogy 101 presentation on Saturday at Farmington. Total number of people....18!

It doesn't sound like a lot but that was a good number because it allowed questions and discussion through out the presentation. This made it not feel like a lecture but something more personal. At least to me anyway!

Also, if we had gotten too many more people in there the room, would have started getting warm. And we know what happens in a warm/hot presentation room.....sleepy people!

I included a feedback form in their packets and got 12 of the 18 back. I have read through them and I think I have gotten some ideas for some new presentations that I could do. How exciting!

Lastly, probably the greatest thing that I can say about the presentation is that I didn't go over on my time!!!!! Yay!


Anyway, just wanted to let you all know how it went.

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Family Sayings Sunday - pound of soap!

Ok, I have missed the last two Sundays but I will not miss today! {said with determination}

Today's saying has to do with a person's size.

aunt saying to my grandmother, "Is Deborah feeling ok? She looks like she's lost weight."
my grandmother to aunt, "I haven't heard her complaining about not feeling well. She can't afford to lose any weight, she's no bigger than a pound of soap anyway!"

I've always wondered how this saying got started. Were they originally talking about a baby and how small it was when it was born? Or maybe how big around someone's waist is?

I don't know but I do remember always thinking that it was meant as a compliment.

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

GenSearchByDeb has a new website

For a while now, I have been doing client research on a referral basis. A couple of months ago, I started thinking about ways to increase my visibility outside the genealogical community.

From several sources I had heard about the website, Weebly.com as a very easy website creator and editor. I experienced designing and publishing websites from years ago. I won't say how long ago but let's just say I had to write the coding. :{ Since so much progress has been made with website design, I thought I would give it a try.

I have created the website, GenSearchByDeb. I truly welcome feedback, so please stop by and let me know what you think.

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Genealogy 101 Presentation at Farmington Plantation by me

I'm going to be giving another Genealogy 101 Presentation at Farmington Plantation on Jul 23 2011. Here is what the flier looks like:

Back by popular demand!

Genealogy and Research Workshop

At Farmington Historic Plantation

Saturday July 23^rd

10:00am-12:00pm

Tickets $10.00

Hosted by Louisville Historian and Genealogist Deborah Andrew  

Call (502) 452-9920 to reserve your tickets today!

Space is extremely limited, so order yours today. Tickets will not be sold at the door.

Diane N. Young

Program DirectorFarmington Historic Plantation

3033 Bardstown Road

Louisville, Kentucky 40205

(502) 452-9920

www.historichomes.org

"Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you." - Wendell Berry

I think Diane might have over-sold me as a "Louisville Historian" but the Genealogist is definitely accurate. If anyone knows of someone that might be interested please pass it forward.

*note: after I published the post I realized that the tree graphic wasn't working right and had to do a work around....thus the odd white around the graphic. That's what I get for working on this at work on my lunch. :P

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Thankful Thursday - FamilySearch.org has clear will images

I'm making a late Thankful Thursday post because I just ran across something that I am thankful for....so here goes!

I was browsing the FamilySearch.org latest updates and additions when I ran across the Tennessee Probate Court Books, 1795-1927 images. Now, even though they are not indexed, they can be browsed. So I decided to browse.

Upon browsing, I ran across a will that I had gotten a copy of years ago from the archives. However, the copy that I have is barely readable due to all of the scratches on the microfilm.

But this is what I am thankful for on the FamilySearch.org website:

Crisp, clear, and totally readable! Thank You FamilySearch.org!

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Sentimental Sunday - A mother's visit

My mother tends to come to my house about every two weeks or once a month to visit her grandchildren. The one thing I have learned over the years is to expect the unexpected from her. During her visits the subjects we cover are wide and ever changing.

One visit the topics are: Elvis, the kid's school, my job, why don't I have any pictures on my walls, Elvis and gotten leave. The next visit they are: how big the kids have gotten, Elvis, the weather, her sisters' health, Elvis and oh yeah Elvis.....have I ever mentioned that my mother is a HUGE Elvis Presley devotee? I haven't well she is!

Family Sayings Sunday - Stretching a mile

Well, here I am with another Family Saying.

I don't know if you have ever had one of those experiences where you are stretching and it feels so good to be stretching and if you could just keep stretching. Well, my father usually would say this saying after or during one of those stretches.

Family Sayings Sunday - Keep your powder dry

I figure that since today is Father's Day, I would post one of my dad's favorite sayings.

In the 70's a lot of people had CB (citizens band) radios. My father was no exception. He had them everywhere! In the house, his truck, my mom's car, my grandparent's house, my grandfather's car. He even had one on their boat!

He was a firm believer in being in contact with other people at any given moment, especially if you were ever in need of help. I just realized that if dad was still alive he probably would be Tweeting! Wow....well any way back to the saying.

Family Sayings Sunday - Month of Sundays!

Well, here I am again with another one of my family sayings. This week's saying is:

"Haven't seen [blank] in a month of Sundays!"

This is The Face of Genealogy!

Geneabloggers asked us to respond to an article published in the LA Weekly about the upcoming SCGS Jamboree.  I couldn't pick just one so I am posting this collage. This is just some of the wonderful things that I have that make up my genealogy!

The article contained a picture that, IMHO, is very childish and unprofessional as to portraying genealogists and our ancestors. Maybe my ancestors did have one or two missing teeth, maybe I have a couple of ancestors that married their 2nd or 3rd cousins but I also have ancestors that graduated from Princeton in the 1700's and blazed the trails that founded this country!

While writing this posting I was double checking all of the links and as of 3:15pm EST today (it looks as though on the same day that it was posted) the picture has been taken down and changed to the SCGS Jamboree Iphone app.

Little did the LA Weekly know what kind of hornet's nest they were going to stir up with one picture.

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

I get to see Elizabeth Shown Mills!

Hey guys,

I am soooo excited!

I just received a confirmation that my registration was received and I have a place reserved for the Annual KGS* Seminar scheduled for August.

What is so awesome about this seminar you ask?

Family Sayings Sunday - Checkity Apron

Oops, I missed yesterday! But I will go ahead and post today the next installment of Family Sayings Sunday.

This week's saying is:

"Don't let me turn you over my checkity apron!"

I know, I know "checkity" is not a word. My daughter pointed this out to me but again I didn't make up the news I just report it.

Anyway, my paternal grandmother would say this phrase to me when she felt as though I was getting a little too big for my britches or if I was back talking her. Something that I don't think happened all that often, but then I may be looking back through rose-colored glasses.

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Family Sayings Sunday - Can't swing a dead cat!

Well, I'm back again with the second installment in my "Family Sayings Sunday" prompt. Hope all has been well with you and yours since we last visited.

This week's saying:

"You can't swing a dead cat over your head down there, without hitting somebody that is kin to {insert prolific family surname}!"

Now the explanation:
An area has a lot of people with the same surname and they all are related either by blood or marriage.

Purely a rhetorical question: How far does a dead cat go if you swing it over your head?

Anyway, just another crazy saying from a crazy Kentucky family!

How about your family, what kind of sayings did they have?

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Challenge Accepted!

Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings has another one of his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Challenges. His challenge was:

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Go to the Wordle site - www.wordle.net and create your own unique Wordle  - it's a word cloud.  You can use either a clump of text, enter your own words (say, surnames, or given names), use a blog page address, or something else.  Your choice!  Be creative with the fonts, colors, backgrounds, and layout. 

2)  Save it as an image (I used Print Screen, pasted it to a Word document, used the Windows snipping tool to edit it, and saved it to a file).  Tell us how you did it.

3)  Show us your handiwork!  Add the image to a blog post of your own or on a web page of your own.  Tell me in a comment here where it is.  

Note: If you want to email it to me (rjseaver@cox.net), I'll put it up here on Genea-Musings for you as an update to this post.

I read this challenge and thought, "challenge accepted!"

I have used Wordle in the past and love the sight. The way that I have used Wordle in the past is to create a front cover for my family albums, so I know which families are contained within each binder.

New Series - Family Sayings Sunday - Fine as frog hair!

Ok, I think I have found something out about myself, I post on a more regular basis if I have a series for which I am posting.

So, with that in mind, I am going to start a new series for myself called, "Family Sayings Sunday." These postings will contain sayings that I have heard my family use while growing up and then an explanation/translation of the saying. Full disclosure: I've even been heard using most of these. ;)

Timetravel question

My husband and I were having a conversation this morning and as usually happens one subject led to another and it ended up with the following question being asked: "If the time machine really worked and you could go to any year and place in time where would you go?" 

It's any interesting question to ponder and I don't know that it has a simple answer. I know that the places and the people that I would want to visit and see is very diverse.

Would you just see your relatives and ask them questions about their lives and families?
Or would you only want to see famous people or famous happenings in time?
Or would you mix it up and see both?

Something to think about.

Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)


The graphic was found on the Graphics Fairy blog.

Torie O'Shea Mysteries - a great series of books!

Ok guys, I have started and almost finished reading a series of books that I just had to tell you all about.

The series is written by Rett MacPherson and is called the "Torie O'Shea mysteries" and the main character is a {drum-roll please} genealogist!

One Lovely Blog - lil' o me?

Lori at Genealogy and Me blog left me a comment to my posting of New Background-your suggestions telling me that I had been given the "One Lovely Blog Award." What? Me? Oh, how sweet!

Here is what it looks like:

Shortly, I will add it to my Awards page. Now that I have accepted the award here are the rules:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who granted the award and their blog link.

2. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.

3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are the ones that I am passing this award to: