Tika & Jokes & Coyotes

A good friend sent me this joke; I hope I'm not infringing anywhere to share it with you. But it surely did make both Tika and me laugh!  We don't have a cat but we have coyotes here in our rural environment and even right in our backyard sometimes. One, looking much like this, sat right outside my window looking in at a dancing, barking Tika (who spotted him!) and drooling at the thought of what a nice lunch she would make. Needless to say, Tika only goes out on a leash and with us!

Well, back to "genealogy work".

Tika & Cold Case Genealogy

I usually take Tika with me when I go walking in one of our local cemeteries. And I never go so walking without a camera, pencil and paper for one of the things I most enjoy is tackling a "cold case genealogy" project.  For instance, on one walk I spotted a little metal plate resting near a tombstone:

The little plaque reads, "R.N. of A. In Memoriam."  Now I could guess that it means Registered Nurses of America but as yet I've not found out for-sure exactly what that means............. and that makes it an especially "delicious" cold case research project.

I usually pick a "story" of a person who died prior to 1935 so that I'll have some public records to search. From the cemetery file, death certificate, local city directories, and the U.S. censuses, I can usually find enough material to write up a personal sketch for the person. (It does help that Washington state has the most fabulous digital archives:  www.digitalarchives.wa.gov ) 

And what do I do with these projects? They will go posted to my local genealogical society's website (www.EWGSI.org) so that maybe-hopefully-possibly some descendant looking for that person will hit the jackpot. To me this is a warm-fuzzy thing to do.

Tika always enjoys the outings. (And I always have a little green baggy in my pocket, as should you.)

Tika & My Surgery Recovering

Recovering from total hip replacement surgery, and being "enthroned" in my La-Z-boy for weeks, I've been very grateful for my little Tika to watch over me and to bring me comfort. Dogs truly are "teddybears with a heartbeat." 

We all have stories in our genealogy about the long illnesses our ancestors had........ how they could be bed-ridden for months. Don't you want to bet that some little dog was right there with them to bring them comfort and cheer? I surely do hope so. A few weeks of limited activity is enough for me; I cannot imagine months............ and with no netbook or library books to occupy their mind as I have had.

Tika & Tomatoes

Don't think Tika loves eating tomatoes as much as I do but this I do know: When I fix nice thick slabs of beefsteak tomato broiled with melted cheddar, Tika is right there to do the lick-up-the-plate duty. Does summer mean tomatoes to you? Did you realize that it wasn't all that long ago that tomatoes were considered poisonous? (Google "tomato history")  After our forebears got over their fear, how did our ancestors enjoy eating tomatoes? Anybody have any pre-Civil War era recipes to share??? And tomatoes do not keep in root cellars so how wonderful when canning was invented (which was when???). I have midwest ancestry and I can just bet that they enjoyed oodles of summer tomatoes just like Tika and I do. Well, me anyway.