More genealogy research - more interesting stories. One of my Dad’s female cousins married 4 times and divorced 3 in the 1950s. One man also married and divorced many women, the other two later married and stayed married for decades, she stayed with her 4th husband for decades.

Gail has decided that the storm is so bad she has to be in my lap. She has abandoned the safety of under the table. Don’t think I am getting up to go to bed soon.

My son called me to clarify the make and model of my convertible.

I just saw that the FDA approve the first mRNA flu vaccine - I might have been part of that trial and am very proud.

I have some sump pump questions if anyone here knows about them.

I have a working sump pump again. Gail cannot attest to the quality of my workmanship because she was not allowed to supervise.

“Hotly contested” = one candidate won by over 50 pts.

If you have only 1% of the vote in you should not be talking about results at all.

Gail had some of the zucchini pancake tonight and licked some of the utensils from the blueberry/zucchini bread - now she wants a whole piece and is very disappointed that it is not being offered.

Got out my copy of from the cook’s garden by Ellen Ecker Ogden tonight. Her recipe for quiche is one of my favorites and I have made it so many times I don’t even open the cookbook any more. Today, it is time for blueberry zucchini bread and to browse the beet options.

Looks like I am going to replace my sump pump tomorrow.

My Village that has not notified me of a single street closure that affects my neighborhood in years just called me at 8 am on a Saturday to notify me of a street closure a mile away that doesn’t start until August 7.

Gail has decided that International Mutt Day means that she can nudge Lennie away from his food dish before he is completely done. Good thing he recognizes her right to celebrate.

More genealogy - it is interesting to trace name changes through generations. You have the changes in spelling - fish and fisch appearing interchangeably - and the actual changes in name - Goldfish becomes Goldwin or Goodwin.

In today’s genealogy adventure - I found a woman who married at 18 and had a child - splashy newspaper engagement announcement, three articles about the wedding, announcement of baby’s birth - then a few years later in 1950 she and baby are living with her parents, no husband.

Variations in spelling of names 100 or so years ago are wild as are transcriptions of handwriting both by AI and by humans. Anyone who claims accuracy especially in English translations of names in other languages is wrong.

I have been going through hints for ancestors on Ancestry - just found a death certificate for a distant cousin that explicitly says he drank himself to death.

If you are holding an evening training session for 40+ volunteers, there is no need to have them of around the room and introduce themselves. If you want to know who has volunteered before and who is new, you can have them raise their hands.

I have been motivated to work on my family tree again. My father spent a lot of time insisting there was only one way to spell his mother’s last name - I knew he had changed his mind a few years ago. I didn’t realize until tonight it was because he connected with someone else.

Gail is convinced it is going to rain tonight. The weather report is not sure but I gave her a tranquilizer anyway. Lennie came down to see where his pill was - guess the Benadryl aren’t as bad as he pretends they are.

My father has been complaining that none of us will help him with anything. My son responded that he will be happy to help him with anything he needs but he would prefer calls or texts over emails. My father’s response is he doesn’t text and can’t hear well enough to talk on a cell phone.

I just saw the post from the parents of one of my son’s friends commemorating his birthday - he contracted meningitis and died about 7 years ago. Vaccinate your kids.

It is Friday night and I have to meet people at 7 am to start a bike path cleanup - I do not want to investigate what Gail sees outside the front door. She can’t tell me if it is a rabbit, coyote or someone walking their dog.

Variation on a spicy margarita.

Just had someone come to compete stop in an eastbound lane on I90, make a hard right turn in front of me and exit onto 294S. No turn signal.

Lennie saw the canine cardiologist today - no abnormal heart beats, no enlarged heart. Rated excellent personality, great dog, and should win first place in every costume contest.

Gail survived her trip to the vet and her vaccinations, slept under the desk during an on line book discussion, at dinner and is now recovering.

If your grandchildren are in the 30s and you have not spoken to them, or acknowledged their birthdays, graduations, accomplishments, or any holiday since they started college - it might be your fault that they don’t visit.

iPhone camera stopped working - which is tragic because I can no longer take and share pictures of Lennie and Gail in silly costumes. While I am troubleshooting, I discover it is still under warranty - so I contact Verizon. They send me a new one - set up instructions are wrong, of course.

The vast neighbors. Very good at sidewalks and crosswalks,