Genealogy Journal Tuesday, December 1, 2009

This was one of the busiest days I've had in a while - lots of writing, answering emails etc.

• I was up early to make certain that the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories (ACCM) post was working. In case anyone is wondering, I might post about the technical aspects of creating the calendar image so you can click on each day of the month. This was done using the image map concept in HTML and it is pretty easy once you understand it. Genealogy bloggers may want to do this for family portraits etc. but I think there are not photo tagging applications that handle this.

• Posted at Destination: Austin Family my Advent Calendar entry on Christmas Trees. Most of my ACCM posts will be recycled from 2007. This is why - as if I don't have enough to do - I am posting my new Christmas novella - When Christmas Came Home - on a serial chapter-by-chapter basis between December 1 and December 24. I think folks will like this story. Stay tuned.

• I hadn't posted at my blog A Catskill Christmas in almost a year so I created a slideshow of photos from years past. I hope I was able to give some folks some ideas for decorations.

• I've also been busy with doing layout for the GeneaBloggers Holiday 2009 cookbook - recipe entries are coming in fast and furious!

• Today is also Data Backup Day and I wanted to make sure folks are not only backing up their genealogy data and blogs, but also thinking about what to ask Santa for in terms of external hard drives and backup subscription web sites!

• Before dinner, I did a review of the ACCM December 1 entries and highlighted a few at GB - I am amazed at the commonality among many of us especially when it came to Mom's who wanted tinsel placed on the tree one strand at a time. Yeah, right.

• Music: I am way in the holiday season in terms of music on my iPod - have created a Holiday Jazz playlist with Roberta Flack, Dave Koz, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck and more.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Monday, November 30, 2009

Crazy busy day - I think the lack of activity over the holiday weekend was responsible.

• Put the final touches on the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories main page which will remain at the top of the GeneaBloggers site through December 25th. I also pre-posted the first 15 posts which is a relief. All I need to do now is tag the posts each day and then select the "best of" for highlights.

• I fell behind on my Genealogy Journal here at Destination: Austin Family so I played catch-up.

• Posted May I Introduce To You . . . Katrina McQuarrie at GB.

• Spent much of the day completing paperwork for my new consulting gig which will take up most of my December including some travel.

• Later at night, I started working on a Christmas novella that I've had kicking around in my head for weeks. I think what I'll do is serialize it in 24 chapters here at DAF and see what the reader reaction is before I work to get it published if it is good enough to do that.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Catch-Up!

Somehow I've fallen behind on my genealogy journal posts. The most likely culprit is Thanksgiving preparations and then some out-of-town company over the weekend.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

• It was a very slow blogging day for most folks as they prepped for the big day tomorrow.

• I posted my annual I Give Thanks post over at Destination: Austin Family as well as A Heartfelt Thanks at GeneaBloggers. I can't believe that GB has had more than 500,000 hits since late February, 2009 - and every member of the genealogy blogging community is responsible for its success.

• I worked on entering my David Putman descendants into my new genealogy database on RootsMagic 4 as well as becoming familiar with the source citation templates. Although I've always felt more familiar with Family Tree Maker, I think I need to fully understand each of the major softwares for genealogy and I'm committed to doing this with RootsMagic as well as Legacy Family Tree and a few others.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

• A busy day in the kitchen for me - thank goodness for pre-scheduled posts!

• After cooking for close to seven hours (Roast Turkey basted in butter and Chardonnay, stuffing, potatoes lyonnaise, ginger glazed carrots, homemade refrigerator rolls, sweet potatoes, squash, homemade cranberry sauce), guests arrived and we had a nice leisurely dinner from 5:00 until after 10:00 pm!

• We did discuss genealogy and lots of family memories. There was also good news all-around from new employment opportunities to finally closing on the sale of the family house which has been up on the market for over three years! May this be a portent to a much better year and decade starting in 2010!

Friday, November 27, 2009

• I've come to the realization that I still have lots to do for pre-posting the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories posts and I better get cracking!

• At GeneaBloggers, I made sure the Weekly Events post was up - took more time than usual since there are special events such as ACCM, Holiday Cookbook and more!

• Since I am not a Black Friday shopper (and usually I am anti-consumerist but because of the economy I've been encouraging folks to spend as much as they comfortably can), I had lots of time for genealogy research!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

• Played Escape from Costco Island and got out of there in a record 11 minutes and under $100! Woot! Also picked up a few things at the grocer's but we'll be living on leftovers for the next week.

• Posted the New Genealogy Blogs post at GeneaBloggers - some great ones even though this was a light week with only six new blogs.

• Overnight guests arrived on their way home to St. Paul, Minnesota. We had appetizers and rolled out the bar cart before going off to Tapas Las Ramblas at the end of the street for tapas. Next was off to George's Ice Cream where I experienced the Kitty Kitty Bang Bang flavor: cheesecake with raspberry swirl and crushed Oreo cookies.

• Came home and saw that Randy Seaver had posted his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun which dealt with celebrity look-alikes. You know I couldn't resist participating! I was a bit surprised by the results - historically people say I look like Bruce Willis and he didn't even appear in my top eight celebrities!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

• Early in the morning (I was up until 4:00 am) I took care of all the Daily Blogging Theme posts for the week including Black Sheep Sunday. I am considering making some changes to the actual themes beginning in 2010. I think Tombstone Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday should stay since they are the most popular but others might change since new theme topics would allow others to participate. I may post a poll asking for feedback.

• Posted the SNGF rollup at GB since many folks participated - lots of fun to actually see the photos of bloggers!

• Made a huge breakfast for guests before they undertook the seven hour drive back to St. Paul. Spent the rest of the day napping and working on the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Tuesday, November 24, 2009

I can tell people are getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday - I've seen a drop in emails and web hits but it is nice to see folks are keeping up with their blog posts with lots of Tombstone Tuesday entries!.

• Posted Eyes of St. Joseph Part 1 at Destination: Austin Family and Resources for PDF at GeneaBloggers.

• Worked on pre-posting for the Advent Carnival of Christmas Memories at GB.

• Finished my work on client research and sent it via e-mail.  I wanted the client to have all my findings plus a pedigree chart and ahnentafel report in order to share them at Thanksgiving.

• Started to rebuild my own database - this time I am doing a parallel operation with Family Tree Maker 2009 as well as RootsMagic 4. Entering everything by hand, making sure all source citations are uniform and correct. Someone shoot me please!.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Monday, November 23, 2009

Typical of Mondays, very busy with lots of blog posts to read and writing to do.

• Went through the usual process of reading and answering emails as well as tagging blog posts for Madness Monday.

• Wrote article on Practical Tips for Genealogy Presenters for upcoming issue of Speak Up! - the newsletter of the Genealogical Speakers Guild.

• Seems to be a problem with the Submit a Recipe form for the GeneaBloggers Holiday 2009 cookbook and recipe contest. I need to monitor and see if others have submitted recipes but I've not yet received them.

• Posted MRUA at Destination: Austin Family about my 3rd Great Grandmother Elizabeth Wood.

• Posted in draft at DAF about The Eyes of St. Joseph - a somewhat supernatural phenomenon in Jersey City, New Jersey witnessed by mother and thousands of others in the Spring of 1953.

• Prepped a post at GB for Resources for PDF which will go up midday on Tuesday.

• The May I Introduce To You . . . post about Sandra Taliaferro went up at GB - Sandra is a great genealogy blogger and friend on Twitter.

• Am coming down to the end of my client research and will probably send an initial report tonite. I hope I've been able to provide the client information she didn't have.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Saturday & Sunday, November 21-22, 2009

A fairly quiet weekend - I love this time of year even though the holiday season can make it busy.  There is more time to spend on genealogy and research.

Saturday

• Managed to get the New Genealogy Blogs post up as well as pre-posted the rest of the Daily Blogging Theme posts at GeneaBloggers. Next week will be busy cleaning the house and getting set to have family over for Thanksgiving Dinner with yours truly doing the cooking.

• Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at my friend Erica's setting up her new Dell laptop. It is an Inspiron 15 series - very nice but too big and heavy for my tastes - I've become more of a netbook fan. The setup was no problem except for a glitch with the ISP where Comcast had to be called. After the setup we were served a great dinner of steak meat pies with green beans and cherry pie!.

Sunday

• Took care of reading blog posts - lots of nice Most Recent Unknown Ancestor posts as part of Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun. I need to work on my own post as well as do the SNGF rollup.

• Spent a few hours getting the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories posts for December automated. It will be a busy month for me and as much as I can do to automate the process, the better.

• A very quiet day - lots of time spent on client research for the GOIAS and MEDEIROS lines in Kauai, Hawaii. I am very impressed at the number of records and stories preserved for the migration of Portuguese from the Azores to Hawaii.

• At 11:30 am I had an online chat with the other students in the Jewish Genealogy class at GenClass. Again this was an hour that just flew by and was filled with information and resources. I think for the price, the classes at GenClass are a great value especially if you want to explore areas of genealogy research with which you are unfamiliar.

• At 1:00 pm it was time for Scanfest! We had a great crowd and I worked on scanning old letters from my mother and her siblings. One that caught my eye was from April 1953 and had news clippings of a "mystery light" phenomenon at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Jersey City. I will need to do some research on this.

• Dinner: broiled chicken breast and penne pasta with four cheese sauce, Caesar salad.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Thursday, November 19, 2009

A relatively quiet day - not much blogging in fact which is a surprise!

• I put the finishing touches on the big announcement over at GeneaBloggers - it is all set for 2:00 pm CST on Friday. Hint: if you remember those Advent calendars from your childhood you're really going to love what I have planned in December.

• The rest of the day was spent researching the GOIAS surname in Kauai, Hawaii. I thought I had it bad with my surname - ugh! I can't believe how many bizarre variations keep showing up in the census: GOERS, GOSIA, GOISA. And one fact that I found very interesting: middle names were not common among the Portuguese in Hawaii. So when they enlisted during World War II, you will often see they use the middle initial V. - for Victor.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wednesdays are always busy and I just needed to get over the hump - and I did!

• Reviewed all the great Wordless Wednesday posts over at GeneaBloggers. It is difficult for me to figure out if Tombstone Tuesday or Wordless Wednesday is more popular.

• Finalized and posted the Resources for Holiday Blog Decorating and even added two "screencasts" using the new Screenr application. I spruced up the Destination: Austin Family blog as an example and also helped Gini at Ginisology makeover her blog for the holidays.

• Worked with my new client on this consulting gig - it looks like final approval will come this week. I will be very busy in December but it is a great opportunity.

• Put the finishing touches on tomorrow's big holiday-related announcement over at GeneaBloggers. This will require quite a bit of work but I think with pre-posting it can be achieved and will really add value to the genealogy blogging experience for many.

• The rest of the day and evening was spent working some more on my client's Portuguese-Hawaiian research. In case anyone is interested, the main surname is GOIAS and when all is said and done, with the client's permission, there will be a series of posts.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A relatively quiet days with lots of time for research and writing - my kind of day.

• Went through the blog posts - lots of Tombstone Tuesday entries which I was glad to see.

• Posted Planning a Blog Redesign and Resources for Blog Design over at GeneaBloggers.  Also posted New Years Resolutions 2009 Check Up at Destination: Austin Family.  I am already working on my resolutions for 2010 since I am so much more focused on genealogy as a career than I was a year ago.

• Drafted a resources post at GB on holiday blog templates - many genealogy bloggers like to spruce up their blogs for the holidays so I want to make sure they have resources and, more importantly, understand how to back up their current template in order to restore it later on!

• Also worked most of the afternoon on my new "top secret" program at GB which has intrigued many folks.  Not sure the best time to make the announcement - probably this Friday, November 20, 2009.  Stay tuned.

• The rest of the afternoon - which was cold, chilly and damp - was spent on research for my Hawaiian/Portuguese client.

• Watched the first half of the movie The Hand That Rocks The Cradle - creepy and seems like no one can play a crazy b*tch like Rebecca DeMornay! Also watched The Good Wife on CBS.

• Music: well although I didn't play any of it, I organized all my Holiday music.  I am a firm believer in no "Christmas" until at least the day after Thanksgiving - the economy be damned.  No decorations, no music, etc.  I'm old-fashioned and I like it that way.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Monday, November 16, 2009

While this Monday was not busy in terms of emails and blog post reading, I did get quite a bit done in terms of writing future posts and working on a few new projects.

• Took care of the usual tasks such as email, reading and tagging posts for Madness Monday, etc. Also made certain the scheduled post of May I Introduce To You . . . was set for 2pm CST.

• I discovered that I had been awarded a total of four Kreativ Blogger awards over the weekend and during the day. So I made sure to post at Destination: Austin Family my "seven things about me" and pass award on to seven other genealogy bloggers. I also cross-posted at GeneaBloggers since that blog won two of the awards.

• Much of the afternoon was spent putting together posts and pages and graphics for the new Holiday 2009 Recipe Contest at GB. One of the biggest challenges was a way to automate the way in which recipes could be submitted and enforce some type of standardization in terms of information provided. I found a neat (and free - we like free) tool which I'll post about soon. The contest will run for about the next three weeks and the prize is a $25 Williams-Sonoma gift card. The goal is to produce a PDF printable cookbook the week of December 7, 2009.

• Also during the day I worked on some draft posts at GB: one on how to plan a redesign of your blog as well as a resources post for blog design tools (web browser testing, color palettes, etc.). Reminds me that I should do a special holiday post on holiday icons and templates - many bloggers like to "decorate" their blogs around this time of year.

• The rest of the evening was spent working on a major top-secret project for GB as well as catching episodes of Accidentally On Purpose and Two and a Half Men on CBS.

• Music: today was classical music in the morning, specifically Jacqueline Du Pré.  In the afternoon it was a 1970s blast from the past with Melanie, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dr. Hook and more.  Remember those?

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Saturday & Sunday, November 14-15, 2009

And I thought this weekend would be quiet. Despite several social engagements I was able to get quite a bit of genealogy research, writing and learning done!

Saturday

• Finished the New Genealogy Blogs post at GeneaBloggers with 24 newly discovered blogs just before I left to play Escape from Costco Island. If it weren't for the 100 Holiday Stamps, I would have kept the bill under $100!

• Speaking of holiday cards, if you are still looking for an easy way to get them done, consider VistaPrint! They have a 50% off sale with free priority shipping right now - I was able to get 100 cards preprinted with names and a message for $49.99. This is the best deal around - just be careful when you order from VistaPrint since they try to sell you almost everything else from return address labels to website design!

• Off to Elk Grove Village (a suburb near O'Hare Airport) for a niece's birthday party. A great family event with ages 2 months (Stephanie was the quietest, sweetest baby I've seen!) to mid-80s which is a genealogist's dream! Although these were all "in-law" relatives and not direct relations, I was able to get them talking about their own family trees.

• Came home and worked on my own SNGF - A Nice Thing post and did the roll-up post over at GB.

Sunday

• I was touched by all the expressions of kindness between genealogy bloggers and others after reading so many Saturday Night Genealogy Fun posts.

• Worked on my entry for the 24th Edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy whose theme is Tips and Tricks.  Posted about Surname Suggestion List which is a great piece of free software for genealogists.

• Received the next May I Introduce You To . . . post from Gini Webb of Ginisology. What a trooper she is! Despite having a laptop power cord which suddenly died, she used her husband's laptop to get the post to me. It will be up at GB on Monday afternoon.

• In the afternoon, I participated in an online chat as part of my Jewish genealogy class at GenClass. A small but wonderfully interactive group hailing from California all the way to Tel Aviv! I found out some interesting facts and we had such a good time that we will be chatting again next Sunday.

• Sunday evening was cold, chilly and damp - the perfect night for ribs at Twin Anchors! This place is a Chicago institution and one which I'd not yet visited. With only valet parking (the Lincoln Park neighborhood is not easy when it comes to parking) and no reservations, the meal was worth the wait as was the most-excellent beer menu. Of course, our friend Erica then "twisted our arms" and dragged us of to Dairy Queen afterwards. I rolled myself home after that.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Friday, November 13, 2009

A busy Friday and a big decision made - see below!

• I worked on the Upcoming Events post at GeneaBloggers and got that posted. It appears that genealogy activities slow down around the holidays and they probably will pick up in January I'm sure. Also got lots of traction on the Follow Friday theme which is nice to see - people are making some great recommendations!

• Off for haircuts - I only trust one person with my coiff and she does a great job every two weeks.

• I drafted a post about Evernote - more folks are asking me about the application and how they can use it to stay organized. I should have the post available next week.

• I made an important decision in terms of genealogy and education: I decided to sign up for the Spring semester program at Boston University for Genealogical Research. While the price is a bit steep, there is a 10% discount if you are a member of NGS or NEHGS. In addition, I did some research and it appears I can take the tuition and expenses as tax deductions. So I'll be in online classes from January 13, 2010 to April 20, 2010 - wish me luck!

• Off to one of our favorite watering holes near the house - Crew - for 1/2 price appetizers from 4 - 6pm. These "appetizers" really are entrees if you ask me so you can actually get quite a deal. Also tried a new "weiss" beer which is a wheat beer - this one was Ebel's made by the Two Brothers Brewing Company in Indiana. A great beer!

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Thursday, November 12, 2009

For some reason, this seemed like a short day - perhaps because I slept until 10am and then left at 4pm to go to the in-laws for dinner!.

• I performed my usual routine with emails and reading blog posts. Lots of requests this week to have blogs added to the GeneaBloggers blog roll - I think there are 23 new blogs so far!

• Besides the Treasure Chest Thursday post, also posted about Blogger and WordPress template resources at GB.

• I did some research on the Boston University Online Genealogy Research Certificate program - the registration deadline is December 20, 2009 and classes start January 13, 2010. I don't think I can get any financial aid to cover the cost since the program is considered less than half-time, but I was happy to find out that I can deduct the cost of tuition and supplies from my tax return for 2009!

• For my next ProGen Study Group assignment, I need to inventory my current genealogy library of books and catalog it - either using a spreadsheet or an online program. I opted for Google's My Library feature and I'm pretty much done with the assignment.

• I jumped back into research for a client project involving Portuguese and Hawaiian ancestry - very interesting and I really am enjoying it!

• Finally, off to the in-laws for homemade Greek food - it was wonderful.  Also had to fix my father-in-law's Internet connection which for some reason was having issues.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Another Veterans Day and I was up early so I could put out the big 8 foot by 5 foot flag on the back deck. I know it only faces the alley (in Chicago, all our services such as garbage, parking and electrical poles are in the alleys - makes the front streets much nicer), but it is out there for all days when the US flag should be flown.

• I waited until the pre-post of Wordless Wednesday was up so I could post A Day to Remember Veterans 2009 over at GeneaBloggers. I was overwhelmed with not only the number of blog posts (close to 200) but the quality. I should have kept a box of tissues on my desk since they were needed while reading some of the stories posted.

• I stuck to my Veterans Day tradition and posted about my cousin Kenny over at DAF.

• I worked on a few pre-posts for the next few days and weeks - it was a bit of a solemn day and I didn't want to post anything light-hearted or off topic.

• While I was disappointed that the CMA Awards pre-empted my usual Wednesday night television viewing, I happily discovered a POV piece on PBS - The Way We Get By. It is about a group of folks in Bangor, Maine who make sure that every plane of US Troops on their way to or from Iraq and Afghanistan are properly greeted. Very moving documentary that not only illustrates the commitment of these volunteers, but aspects of their personal lives as well. Check your local PBS schedule and see it if you can - a most fitting way to end Veterans Day.

• Music: more of my Mellow mix. What I am really liking lately are "covers" where the original like 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover is done in an unconventional style like bossa nova or jazz. Also, this may seem weird, but there is an entire genre of female Norwegian jazz singers who are simply amazing. Sidsel Endresen is an example

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A very busy day which is usually the case with Tombstone Tuesday - lots of blog posts to review and tag. TT has become the most popular of the Daily Blogging Theme days and with Veterans Day approaching even more so.

• I was able to get two other posts up at GeneaBloggers: one on setting up your options for email subscriptions at FeedBurner which finishes out the series and another resources post, this time on photo editing tools.

• I was proud of myself that I didn't let another carnival deadline pass me by! I managed to post about Mom and how she loved to travel especially by car for the Smile for the Camera carnival.

• The rest of the afternoon was spent working on pre-posting for Veterans Day both at GB and DAF.

• The evening was spent finishing a DVD we own called Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows. I am always amazed at the performance of the great Australian actress Judy Davis who seems to "channel" Judy Garland. Followed up with a great new episode of The Good Wife on CBS.

• I also became more familiar with my new iPhone while watching television. An ingenious product but I am glad I waited and didn't pony up $299 right away when it came out!

• Music: I was finally able to load my "Mellow" mix on my iPod today. For me, this is a combination of jazz, classical and what I call "classipop" which is classical crossover such as Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, and others. Very conducive to working.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Monday, November 9, 2009

Up late this morning and I was right in my prediction that today would be a busy day.

• Checked the blogs and marked the Madness Monday posts as well as answered emails.

• Posted the May I Introduce To You . . . post about Alice Keesey Mecoy of the John Brown Kin blog at GeneaBloggers. Gini Webb of Ginisology does such a good job with this series of posts - I'm glad I can count on her for some good interviews.  Can you imaging being a descendant of a famous figure in US history like Alice?

• Finally, finally, got to clearing out my To Do List on Evernote. Which reminds me that I need to do a post about Evernote which is a great online notebook program for clipping items on the web, capturing ideas, etc. I use it to keep notes for this journal as well as my blogging editorial calendar.

• As a result of list cleaning, I was able to get three GB posts in draft mode so I can post them as I see fit during the week.

• I also posted on GB a resource list of sites offering free icons. There will be quite a few more resource lists coming out in the next few weeks - all things like photo editing, blog templates, etc. that genealogy bloggers need.

• Amazon order arrived - getting ready for Thanksgiving. I ordered two packages of cheese cloth for basting the turkey. It seems that the price in the grocery store is way too high and they always run out. Which reminds me - I should buy fresh sage this weekend since that always runs out as well!

• And my new iPhone arrived but I spent quite a bit of time trying to activate it. Finally gave up at 2am and went to bed. Seems like I'll need to call AT&T in the morning.

• Music today: I was surrounded by voices of angels like Hayley Westenra.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Saturday and Sunday, November 7 - 8, 2009

This is my first dual genealogy journal post since - for the first time in a long time - this was mostly a non-genealogy weekend.  Imagine that.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

• Worked on the basics this morning including the weekly New Genealogy Blogs post. My favorite new genealogy blog name: Kickass Genealogy. LOL.

• Also pre-posted at GeneaBloggers for the rest of the week - these are all the Daily Blogging Theme posts the readers look forward to each day.

• Off to play Escape from Costco Island. Almost won - out in 15 minutes but unfortunately the damage was over $100. Must work on that but with the impending holidays it will be difficult. Bought the boneless leg of lamb and got it set in the marinade for tomorrow night.

• Wrote my review of Michael John Neill's Casefile Clues newsletter at GB. Let's just say that I was and still am very impressed! I love the way he deconstructs genealogy cases and the puts all the pieces back together. Very helpful!

• Worked on my Saturday Night Genealogy Fun post on Surname Distributions and also created the roll-up post over at GB.  

• After dinner finished the movie The Best Years of Our Lives - what a great way to get ready for Veterans Day!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

• Not much genealogy. Once I was awake, I did go through my usual routines of checking emails, reading blog posts etc. There were lots of participants in Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun so I had posts to tag.

• Also I remembered to turn the boneless leg of lamb which has been marinading in the ice box since Saturday morning.

• After that, believe it or not, I had a totally non-genealogy, non-computer and non-Internet day!

• Stopped in at Home Depot to pick up supplies to transfer houseplants. Since it was 71F degrees out in Chicago (in November? really?) I wanted to work out on the deck and transfer plants that were root bound as well as purchase new plants to nuture during the winter months.

• Got dinner going about 4:30 pm: roasted vegetables (onions, mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes with some of the lamb marinade) in the oven, made saffron rice pilaf and fired up the grill. While the weather was great, I am not a big fan of grilling in the dark which I had to do now with the time change. The lamb was wonderful!.

• Watched the latest Family Guy nonsense on Fox - I just don't know how they get away with some of the stuff on that show! Then watched a great piece in the American Masters series called Hollywood Chinese which traced the depiction of Chinese-Americans in movies - very interesting.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Friday, November 6, 2009

My main concern all day was trying to fight this cold which I may have picked up either at the nursing home or on the airplane last weekend.

• Post the weekly events post over at GeneaBloggers as well as a post on the issues involved with renaming a Blogger-based blog.

• Went through all the great comments on the post To Touch Mom's Face Again at DAF - I've been very moved by the stories that readers have shared about being caretaker for their own parents or relatives. It is great to know I am not alone.

• Caught up on laundry - it looks like it will be a nice warm weekend here in Chicagoland and who wants to do laundry on a day like that?  Besides I am grateful I can do laundry in my own home and not down the river on a rock like my ancestors.  Although I think catching up on the weekly gossip would be kinda fun, no?

• Not much genealogy after dinner - in tribute to Veterans Day we had rented The Best Years of Our Lives - for some reason I had never seen this classic movie. With Myrna Loy, Frederic March, Theresa Wright and other fine performers.

• Music today: I wish I could say I remember but I can't - I believe I was playing more blue-eyed soul.  I did spend time to finally fix my iTunes setup but for some reason I can't get the album cover artwork to show.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Thursday, November 5, 2009

A very busy day with lots of genealogy and other stuff thrown in.  I finally feel like I am getting back into the writing groove - I find it hard to do if I am behind on emails and reading blog posts.  There are just too many distractions that pull me away from my writing.

• I found some very nice Treasure Chest Thursday posts and took time to read them.  It is great when bloggers can post those photos about heirlooms and tell the story behind them.

• At GeneaBloggers I put up a guest post from Maureen Taylor of the Photo Detective blog about the proper ways to use photos in a blog.  Maureen always has sound advice and is one of the experts I turn to when I have questions about photographs.

• Also at GB, I made sure to remind readers to vote for their favorite genealogy blogs over at Family Tree Magazine since it was the last day to do so.  The winners will be announced in the May 2010 issue.

• To Touch Mom's Face Again was a very difficult post to write for DAF but I really needed to bring some closure to my weekend trip out to New York.  I am very glad I made the trek, glad that I posted about it and I can't believe how many loving, supportive people left comments.  There are times when I am just overwhelmed and amazed at the depth of caring in the genealogy blogging community.

• My friend Erica rang me up and wanted to grab dinner and drinks. Since it was Thursday, we knew the best deal was Casey Moran's right across from Wrigley Field: $3 microbrew pints (love my Belgian beer), 1/2 price appetizers and $2 burgers.  I also think the waitresses like to see us because we tip based on the full price, not the discounted prices!

• Home again and worked on indexing a week's worth of obituaries for the Obit Daily Times.

• Music today: There was too much going on today to fuss with music.  Plus I still haven't fixed my iTunes setup to access my 18,000+ songs.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Genealogy Journal Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I think I have finally found the secret (or at least one of them) to being more productive if you work at home like I do: shower/bathe as soon as you wake up, not later in the day. It really has made a difference so far this week - I jump right in to what I need to do!

• Worked mostly on my presentation for a contract position that I'm pretty certain I've snagged. I will know more next week but I am very psyched not only for the income but for the opportunities this will provide in the genealogy field.

• Inquired about the Boston University Online Genealogical Research program - received some basic information and I need to decide whether or not to enroll by December 20, 2009 for the January 13, 2010 start date or wait for the next iteration. Completing the BU program is part of my educational plan for genealogy.

• After the presentation, I got back to catching up on emails and blog posts I missed all day. Realized that I hadn't posted the Wordless Wednesday roll-up over at GeneaBloggers. Got that posted and also pre-posted the rest of the Daily Blogging Theme posts for the remainder of this week.

• I had some non-genealogy blogging to do - mainly for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's new opera company, Petite Opera Productions, here in Chicago. I've set up an ambitious social networking-rich marketing plan and it seems to be paying off.

• Watched my favorite new shows on television (Modern Family and Cougar Town on ABC). Then tried to sleep but couldn't. So I got up, worked on the badge for the Save The State Library of Massachusetts campaign and finally went to bed at 2:00 am.

• Music today: I am more and more in love with both Dusty Springfield and Joan Osborne the more I listen to them!

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee