Tikas @ Ancestry.com

 

You noticed I typed Tikas (plural)?? BIG NEWS! According to Ancestry.com and their Surname Distribution page, in 1920 there were three families named TIKA in the U.S......... one each in NY, IL, and WV. Going back to 1880, there was only one TIKA family and they were in New York. Then in 1880 there were no TIKA families.

The surname TIKA originates either in Norway or Austria, according to the New York Passenger Lists (according to Ancestry.com).

And at Ancestry.com there are 358 historical documents and family trees for the name TIKA.

My, my, my. I would never have guessed that my little Tika dogger might be part of such illustrious pedigrees. Maybe she and I will have to check out some of those little wiggly leafs......think so?

Tika & Daffodils

Tika and I are watching the ground eagerly looking for the first signs of daffodils poking out. The little Tete-a-Tete ones are usually first and they are so adorably little and cute. Daffodils, and especially this varitety, are my favorites. Here is a bit of daffodil history, courtesy of the University of Illinois Extension Service:

Daffodils were brought to Britain by the Romans who thought that the sap from daffodils had healing powers. Actually the sap contains crystals that can irritate the skin. Greek mythology gives us the term narcissus. There was a young Greek named Narcissus. A nymph called Echo was in love with him, but Narcissus broke off the relationship. Heartbroken she hid in a cave and died. Later Narcissus, who was very handsome and quite taken with himself, saw his face in a pool, and as he leaned over to see better, fell in and drowned and became the flower.

Do you think YOUR ancestors enjoyed daffodils in their gardens? Bulbs would have been fairly easy to transport when they migrated. Does anybody have any documentation of their family enjoying these bright yellow spring blooms way back when???

Tika & Big and Small

When we bought our Tika, in November 2008, she was two months old and weighed less than three pounds. I keep remembering that as these days she's both struggling and enjoying her new chew-bone. Our dogs seem not to like boughten-bones but real-animal bones and since Handy Man is a hunter we have real-animal bones. He'll save the "knuckle" parts and our girls will chew on them until I throw them away. And if Dolly (25 pound German Shorthair) tries to take her bone, Tika will in short order show Dolly who is boss! The bone she's working on today probably weighs over a pound and it's so funny to watch Tika pick it up and haul it around...... head held high to clear the floor. And when she tries to jump up into my chair with it.... ohmy. Tiz a real comedy show.  I thought you might enjoy a baby picture of Tika, albeit a fuzzy one.

The doxie charm I found in the Erwin Pearl gift shop in the San Francisco airport and of course, had to have it. It came in a black form too. It's much cuter in real life and the eyes aren't quite so buggy as they appear in this copied-from-website photo. This company offered a huge number of different "doggie pendants" and if you're as silly as me about your boy or girl, check it out:  www.erwinpearl.com

So no genealogy nor family history today; just doxie fun.  Thanks for reading!

Tika & Kilauea: Not Really

We are on the Big Island of Hawaii, standing at an overlook on the Crater Rim trail of Kilauea Caldera and watching Halema'uma'u Crater and Pele belching her white, sulphur-smelling, glass particle laden, beautiful white smoke. Visitors could only walk on the upwind side of the crater; the windward side was closed to driving and certainly walking.

This is a real-time camera shot down into Halema'uma'u Crater and then a comparison of daylight and nightime.............. the red glow in the sky was awesome.

In the lower picture, the white arrow points to two little dots representing two people in size of the immense crater. Don't know about you, but I would not want to be that close!! (And you cannot.)

Now we're home, Tika is happy, and it's time to resume life and genealogy!!

Tika's not here in Kona.......................

Tika is home in Spokane with "Grandma Kay" and we're sunning ourselves in Kona, Hawaii. I did my first SNUBA dive! This is where you have on a mask and flippers and breathe through a 20 foot
tether going up to a little boat. It was awesome and the most interesting thing I spotted was this green Crown-of-Thorns. This is a poisonous and obnoxious relative of the humble sea stars (starfish). I Googled and read about it and wondered if after the tourist-snorkelers are gone if they go back and pluck up these rascals for (according to what I read) they can decimate a reef. But it was neat to spot one. Would I recommend or do SNUBA again? You betchya!!

Tika & RootsTech Trivia

Tika did not view any of the RootsTech presentations but I told her all about them. Some 4500 people from a dozen countries and nearly all U.S. states attended and in the main auditorium the speaker was in the center and there were two huge screen to the left and two to the right so everybody could see. It was awesome.

What did I learn about Evernote:  "It is no improvement to go from a mess to a filed mess..... it's still unorganized and you still can't find what you want."  Meaning, stuffing binders, filing cabinet drawers and file folders is no answer; using a computer genealogical program, or putting your tree up on the cloud, or using a super online note keeping program (like Evernote) makes good sense in this digital age.

What did I learn about Facebook? "Facebook has 845 million active users per month and only 8% of them are in the U.S. Genealogy is about people; Facebook is about people."  If you think of Facebook as a way to connect with cousins and not just a wuzz-wuzzing forum, you'll see Facebook in a new light.

What did I learn about Ancestry?  Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry, used the term "bag of words." They use this term in-house to mean "we have this bag of words that is meaningful and how are we going to make it accessible and useful to genealogists?"  Ancestry has a team of several hundred engineers working to develop new techniques in content recognition and record linking; they're working to make more data "searchable, hintable, recognizable and attachable to your tree."

Was RootsTech worth the effort, the time and the expense to attend? Absolutamentally. Will I attend next year (21-23 March 2013)? Absolutamentally.  Will Tika miss me? Absolutamentally.

Tika has no clue about the 1940 census.

This was taken at RootsTech but in the Family History Library where on Friday evening they remained open until midnight for eager researchers............ and they had cookies at 8pm and pizza at 10pm and showed the Martin Sheen episode of Who Do You Think You Are? on the main floor. There were balloons and everybody was in an upbeat mood. The big thing right now, stressed both at RootsTech and in the FHL, is the coming soon availability of the 1940 census and getting us all onboard and signed up to help index those millions of names. The images will be available on April 2nd, but the indexes will be available as soon as we.... you and me........ get the indexing accomplished. Anybody and everybody can help do this....... all you need is computer access and a finger or two for typing. I know Tika would help iffen she could.

Tika & RootsTech

It's that time again, early February and time for the second annual RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City and I'm off tomorrow morning before sunrise. I am excited about all the learning I'll get to do and I think Tika is glad in a way to have me gone. It's that time of year here when the snow and ice are melting and the ground is muddy and after our daily walks Tika must be bathed in the laundry tub and she does not like it at all. Handy Man walks her but not where she can play and get down-and-dirty. Me, I plan to get down-and-dirty at RootsTech and dig right in and learn all I possibly can absorb! Several sessions are being streamed live on the Internet for those who cannot attend. Google it, tune in and learn along with me!

Tika & Trivia

We finally have some snow and Tika does so love to dig-dig-dig into the snowbanks. Can't imagine that she smells much of anything through a foot of packed snow but dig she does. Really funny to watch.... and I do not mind because she does not get dirty from snow digging!

I am a consummate collector of words, of trivia and I like to liken everything to family history. So:

The "Gas Law of Learning," is that any amount of knowledge, no matter how small, will fill any vacuum of ignorance, no matter how large."  (Hugh W. Nibley)

Did you know that the word fiction derives from the same word as fictive and refers to the shaping of the imagination??  That must be why I do so enjoy reading good historical fiction and you?

"A river of thought is always running out of the invisible world into the mind of man." (Signboard)

Recently we went to see the movie Iron Lady, the biography of Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of England for eleven years. Here were some quotes/thoughts from that movie:   "We used to be about trying to BE someone; now it's about trying to DO something..... Americans are unafraid of success; their philosophy is formed by what can be done..... What's crucial is that you told your course and stay true to who you are.... What kind of a leader am I if I didn't try to get my own way??............. It's best not to push our colleagues' loyalty too far.... All the years of talking and making tough decisions, what does it matter now?............If you take tough decisions today, people will hate you today and remember you in the future or throw you out with the rubbish..... You're going to be alive on your own; you always have been." 

Tika and I hope that you enjoy some of these trivial thoughts.

Tika & Airplanes & Thoughts

Tika is a funny girl. She sits in my chair keeping watch to alert us to "dangers" outside the big window and those "dangers" usually include anything that moves. Since we live only three miles due north of the airport, we often see airplanes taking off and "going by" our windows in their launching flight path. Now dear Tika does not know a thing about airplanes; all she sees is something moving and is moved to bark and alert us to the "danger."  She puts a doggy 2 and 2 together and gets 13. Do we do that in our genealogy?

Found a great and thoughtful quote the other day from Richard Lloyd Anderson, Professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU. I paraphrase a bit:  "Local historians and genealogists deal with highly specific data and careful standards of proof. If quality evidence is not carefully considered, today's avalanche of information will certainly mix the new bits of information with misinformation. So the answer is to have more awareness of what makes first hand sources, more determination to gather all the major ones, and more care in judging sources fairly on the basis of their broad agreements."

This really smacks me; I've recently worked on several cold-case research projects for folks. In all those cases, I started with very little "for sure" information and added 2 plus 2 and got 13 in two of the tree cases. What could I have done different? Obtained more facts from the primary or original source. These experiences humbled me and the above words put words in my mind regarding future such projects. I vow and promise to be a better researcher! With Tika's help, of course.

Tika & New Year's Resolutions

Tika and I were discussing New Year's Resolutions. She yawned and stretched and dictated this to me:

"Why think hard about resolutions that you likely will abandon, ignore or break by the end of January? Don't you know that if you live to be a happy person that everything will fall into place? And that what you do everyday matters more than what you do once in a while? So from today on, realize and tell the folks that what you do today and everyday matters as long as it's the right thing and it makes you truly happy. Now you may have to step back and ask yourself what is the right thing to do? and what does make you truly happy? what do you want to be doing every day?"

After a lengthy but one-sided discussion, Tika and I decided to just strive every day to be better "people", to be happy, and to try and bring a smile to somebody else. You agree??

Tika & Postcards

Don't we all love old postcards? Especially of places dear or interesting to us? Our morning newspaper carried a bit extolling the appeal of old postcards of Spokane (Paul Turner, 3 Jan 2012, www.spokesman.com). We here in Spokane are so very lucky for there has been a book compiled of a great many of these wonderful old scenes. Vintage Postcards from Old Spokane, 2005, by Duane Broyles and Tony and Suzanne Bamonte, is a book we each can have (Google it) for our own enjoyment. And this makes me wonder.........have similar books been compiled about other places where I've lived or where my ancestors lived?? Hummmmm.......... 

Tika, unfortunately, could care less about vintage postcards from anywhere. But as we sit together in our chair looking at them I'm thinking that I'd like to go walk past that building today or the Falls today and see what's changed and Tika (who can read my mind, of course) yips her interest in trotting along! Think I just might.

Tika & Her "Cousins" & Cookies

 On Christmas eve day, Tika rode with Handy Man and Nice Lady south to Pullman, Washington, to spend Christmas eve with her "cousins" and to paint Christmas cookies (a long time family tradition).

Her "cousins" are Dolly, Cody, Bentley, and OneSpot. Tika was not thrilled with this line-up and Handy Man had to "convince" her to join in.

And what helped convince them to pose so nicely? The promise of a cookie! What else?

Our family has been making sugar cookies and painting them since the 1970s. We make the cookies the day before (using a butter and sour cream recipe)
and on The Day we mix up frosting (powdered sugar and water) and use actual tiny paintbrushes to do the
decorating. Of course a few noses are painted! After the frenzy of imagination is over, there is a judging....
prettiest, most creative, grossest, etc. A fun time is always had by all...... even the doggers.

Tika..... hope she makes it this long.

As Tika sat by my side in our chair, I read to her the sad news that the world's oldest dog (according to the Guinness World Records) has died in Japan at the age of 26 years and 8 months. Her owner told reported that Pusuke, a fluffy tan Shiba mix, died Monday (5 Dec 2011) after suddenly falling ill and refusing to eat. According to Guinness, the dog was born 1 April 1985. Pusuke was recognized as the world's oldest living dog last December. Click on the USAToday link below if you'd enjoy seeing a photo of Pusuke.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/story/2011-12-08/Dog-Worlds-oldest/51726488/1

Domesticated animals have always been with mankind. Dogs especially have been near and dear to us. We always mourn that our beloved pets don't live as long as we would like. But my friend Cecily gave me a good perspective on this. "It gives you a chance to love another dog," she mused. And I guess I do agree. Tika is now 2 1/2 and I want her to live to be 25!  Fingers and toes crossed. I wish the same for your chair-mate.

Tika Surely Misses Me ??

In a class taught my Thomas MacEntee I just learned about a free photo website, Wikimedia Commons. Any photo you find on this website can be freely used without any question of copyright. It is NOT that way with Google Images, by the way.

Anyway, I'm in Salt Lake City on the 27th annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour and while having a great time some of my thoughts (especially at bedtime) stray to my Tika. While I did not find a picture of her on WikiMediaCommons, I did find this most darling photo. We all can emphasize, right?

Remember: WikiMediaCommons for totally free photos.......and Thomas told us that they have millions so surely you will find what you need. (Except one of my Tika.)

Tika & the Family History Library

It's December (almost) and time for me to fly away south to Salt Lake City to spend a week at the Family History Library. This wonderful huge painting hangs on the stairway between floors and always is a delight to see again when I visit. Tika is not coming, as you might would guess. But she'll hear all about it when I return.

How have I prepared to spend a research week? Everybody's preparation is different but I look over my pedigree and pick some dead-end problems. Then I print out the family group charts and pedigree charts for just that problem. These charts go into a folder. This year I've picked about six problems....... including a very cold case from local history so I have six folders and that's all I take with me to the library. Yes, onto those family groups (printed from my Legacy genealogy program) are summarized all my notes and my research finds, so why would I need to take anything else?? (I do take a flash drive with my entire Legacy file in case I need or want to check something else.) These folders are a statement of "I know what I know and I can see what I want to learn" and that works for my research.

Tika and family and I will share a wonderful Thanksgiving and then I'm off........ who will I miss most, hubby or Tika??? Hummmm............ And will Tika miss me? Do dogs miss us????

Tika's German Roots......... Maybe

This past November weekend a good friend and I drove the 300 miles west across Washington to Whidbey Island to spend a day with genealogy friends there and attend their all-day Irish Roots seminar. It was a very good day and as I drove home I got to musing about Tika's German roots. Once home, I turned to Google and learned something about Tika's maybe ancestors. And WOW did I find interesting stuff! Tika has Gunnar LongRed and Ursula ShortLegs in her family tree!  She also has Heinar GreatNose, Bertraud BadgerChaser, and Valentinius HoleDigger on her father's side. On her mother's side she has Anna Maria BrightEyes, Anna Catherina FloppyEars and Anna Elizabetha FeatheredFeet. Every pedigree has a rascal or an outlaw hiding somewhere and Tika has hers. Way, way back I found Lancelot LongHair!  Surely this was a French influence???? I've always suspected that Tika had very interesting ancestry and now I know she does.

Tika & Her Nose & Our Research

Look at the size of that darling little black nose! If you want to learn some fascinating trivia (and if you're a dog person) do a Google search on "how dogs smell." The abilities of their noses are amazing.  Tika finds new things to sniff at every single day even when we're walking the same route most of the time. Everything is deserving of a sniff to a dog. Everything is worth "checking out."

How to apply this to genealogy? We have been watching the new TV series, "Person of Interest." Last night's episode had a quote that I quickly scribbled down:  "We only see what we choose to look for."  Or that quote could be amended thusly: "We only find what we choose to look for."   If you're seeking an answer to a family history mystery and you choose not to look at all the available places, even the same-old-same-old places, you will not "see" answers and you will not find answers. Choices rule our lives in everything.  Might you agree or disagree????