Monday Genea-pourri, Week of Oct 10-16, 2022

I have completed one hundred thirty-six (136) weeks of semi-lockdown due to Covid-19. We finished our vacation this week and returned on Tuesday. I tested negative for Covid on Monday but I still get tired by the afternoon and have taken some naps this week. I am doing some shorter walks to begin to rebuild the walking strength I had while in New York City where I was walking 15K steps each day.

Genealogy

Blog Writing:

Passed Down: Nana's Cast Iron Pans . I wrote about the cast iron frying pans that belonged to my paternal grandmother. Highlighted on 52 Ancestor's email this week.

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: What Date Was Your Grandmother Born? I wrote about my paternal grandmother, whose birthday was on this day.

Meetings/Discussion Groups
I was busy on Wednesday, my first day back, with three meetings. I attended the Certification Discussion Group, Amigos, and hosted the Roundtable meeting. With the Amigos, we discussed our upcoming retreat by choosing which meals to prepare. I discovered I will be teaching my Foundations course while up there. I hope the internet is cooperative.

Volunteer/Client Work
I went to the History Center on Saturday and it was good to catch up with the happenings while I was gone. I accessioned several collections that had been donated while I was away.

I sent out emails and the syllabus to the students of my upcoming Foundations 2 class which starts on October 20. I had freaked out a moment as my paper calendar listed the class starting October 13 but a check with the website corrected that. Phew! I would have felt bad about not notifying the students earlier.

Webinars Viewed: I did a lot of catching up on webinars I missed while on vacation. The first six are from the Reisinger lectures I viewed in order to discuss with the Peer group. The two Judy Russell talks were from my local genealogical society’s fall seminar. The other two I just happen to have a chance to see. One of my takeaways from the Reisinger and Judy’s presentations is to figure out how to give my own “case study” presentations. That is a new goal of mine.

• When Wrong is Actually Right: Constructing Proof Arguments for Counterintuitive Conflicts by Meryl Schumacker
• Peeling the Onion: Getting to the Original Source by Gary L. Ball-Kilbourne
• The Hub of the Wheel: How Tracing a Brother with no Children Connected 10 Siblings by Mary Kircher Roddy
• Consult Via…Explore With…Discover Through…Literature Reviews by Jan Joyce
• Finding Henrietta: Reconciling Conflicting Evidence to Reveal a Woman's Identity by Nicole Gilkison LaRue
• Hidden Stories: Exploring the Unexpected in Family History Research by Jennifer Zinck
• No Vitals? No Problem! Building a Family Through Circumstantial Evidence by Judy G. Russell
• No Person Shall. . .Gallop Horses in the Streets by Judy G. Russell
• Mini Case Studies in Black Family History by Adrienne G Whaley
• Done the Research? Look Again! by Stephanie S. O'Connell

I am reading:

• The Trouble with Lemons by Daniel Hayes—FINISHED!
• Acqua Alta by Donna Leon

Other:
I did some model railroading this week by attending the board and business meeting of the Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society, where I’m the secretary. I also attended the Women in Railroading SIG on Saturday and it was nice meeting other women from the U.S., Canada, and England. On Sunday, I visited the Carquinez Model Railroad Society’s open house and had a nice discussion with an old friend who is a member there. They have a very nice railroad depicting Oakland through the Sierras.

Photos for this week: Some shots from the Carquinez Model Railroad Society

Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives but not so great at documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week. This idea came from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing, who started this meme.

Copyright © 2022 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.