Friday, July 22, 2011

Tika & German Potato Salad

Yes, Tika is a German-dachshund-dog but she looks at German Potato Salad just about how this big guy above would view it:  No way. I attended the annual national convention of the Germans from Russia yesterday here in Spokane. One demonstration was showing how to make authentic German Potato Salad from a century-old recipe. It began with red potatoes ("russets get too mushy!") and the dressing included white wine, white vinegar and lemon juice and chopped green onions. NO bacon but she said it was optional. NO fried-in-bacon-grease onions. It was quite yummy. And, she said, it is great for a camping trip or picnic for it can sit at room temp for hours...... even days in a coolish place. (No dairy, no eggs, no mayo.)

So is a German dogger supposed to like German food? If its bratwurst, sure! Otherwise, no way! No problem, I'll eat her share.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Tika's Family Is Growing!

This is grandson Justin proposing to his Grethe at her summer work place, a day-care center. Isn't it great to see proposals being done down on one knee old-fashioned-like? Grethe ("gretta") is a VOGEL so hooray and hallelujah I'll have a new line to work on! And a German one at that. (By the by, she did say yes.)

Makes me reminisce about John's proposal to me and our wedding, etc. Gosh, me thought, have I written down that story for my posterity?  We may not have 1000 photos like today's young couples, but we still have the words and we are the only ones who can write that story. So there is Tika's advice for today: Write the story of your meeting your spouse, your engagement, your wedding, etc. They'll be glad you did.

Wouldn't you just love to read that sort of account from your great-great grandmother who got married in upstate New York in 1854?

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Tika & Grass & Some New Stuff

Being close to three years old, you would think that Tika had learned that "if you eat grass you will upchuck." Even the Dachshund book says, "Often dogs eat grass, which, because it's indigestible in its pure form, irritates their stomachs and causes them to vomit." She was looking so cute sitting in my flower bed, chewing on whatever was there and the next she was below the rocks doing you-know-what. Will she ever learn?

We humans, especially we genealogists, can learn new things, bring them on!   Here are three new things for your learning pleasure:  (1)  The New Jersey Archives has posted a full dozen new databases, containing millions of name entries, to their website.  Check it out:  www.njarchives.org ;   (2)  FamilySearch offers you the opportunity to "Take a research consultant home, VIRTUALLY, on the new FamilySearch Wiki. A Wiki is a quick tutorial on just about anything you want to know and the FamilySearch Wiki contains information on all things genealogy. Click to http://wiki.familysearch.org;  (3)  Want to try a new search engine? Mocavo.com seeks to index and make searchable all of the world's free genealogy information. A friend reported to me that using this new genealogy search engine she found a tidbit of information that she'd never found before. Score!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Tika & Learning

Tika knows that I am a collector of words, especially words arranged into meaningful patterns. For instance:

Where there is a NEED there is an ABILITY to learn.  This was a quote from Lisa Louise Cooke in the opening address of the Colorado Expo. Thinking about this, she is so right! When we need to learn something, we can and we do! Lisa Louise was mainly talking about genealogists using new technologies for learning and said, "You may think you're not up to using this new techie stuff but review your history.... you have already progressed! You used to do everything on paper! And then floppies! You can learn!"

She continued, "Using new tricks (meaning that "techie stuff") makes us realize and appreciate old tricks.... think of the progress in citing sources.  And the benefits of embracing these new tricks, this new techie stuff, are worth it..... saves time, you find more and more quickly, and you connect with others."

Her parting admonition applies to all of us in all of our day-to-day activities:  "Don't be a prisoner of stagnation."  I really liked that.

Tika has learned that if she bangs open the cupboard door with her nose, she'll likely get a doggie treat. And she's learned to stop at the open back door and wait for her leash and not get scolded. Good doggie.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Tika stayed home; I went to the Family History Expos!

I snapped this photo from my window in the hotel in Loveland, Colorado, where I was attending and helping with Holly Hansen's Family History Expos. I first went to Sheridan, WY, to help, and then CO, and then drove home through Salt Lake City. These Family History Expos are held at many different locations all across the country. The next one is near Kansas City, MO........ if you live near consider attending. (Click to www.familyhistoryexpos.com for all the details.) Lisa Louise Cooke was the keynote speaker and her talk was on Tips to Teach "Old Dogs" New Tricks. She was targeting we older genealogists and encouraging us to use the fabulous Internet resources to further our research. (Yah, you've heard this before; do you believe it yet?) I intend to explore the product from one vendor:  www.ages-online.com. This service allows you to keep your tree, and all your documentation, online. This is good! Just consider it as a "cloud" back-up or storage system. So click and consider this "new trick."

I was gone only a week but Tika gave me 100 kisses when I returned. Hubby only gave me one. Hummm.