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????

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.

Tika is a Dachshund

According to my The Essential Dachshund book, dachchunds are curious, agile, single-minded, comical, fearless, sturdy and scent hunters. I can vouch for the fact that Tika is definitely a dachshund!  She is curious; I keep trying to get a photo of her sitting up on my footstool looking out the window for elephants. She is agile; she leaps up and down from our chair as we play throw-the-toy with her. She is single-minded; there is an old stinky something down the lane and she NEVER FORGETS to sniff it out. She is comical; she won't eat her dinner until we finish ours and she can have a lick or two...... hope springs eternal that we may leave more. She is fearless; I've seen her tear into two larger dogs and promptly show them who was boss. She is sturdy; so far so good, no broken bones. And she is surely a scent hunter; we could let her run with us in the yard but she'd catch a whiff of something and poof! she'd be beyond the fence.

All of which makes me think: genealogists are curious, agile in their thinking, single-minded in their thinking, comical at times, fearless mostly, sturdy all-weather souls and scent hunters......... put us on the hint or sniff of a trail of 4-great grandpa and we're off beyond the fence too.

I think dachshunds and genealogists have lots in common; at least Tika and I do.

Tika & "Her" New Birthday Blanket

Tika loves our new bedspread! To mark our 50th anniversary, our children presented us with this gorgeous Pendleton blanket/bedspread........we had told them NO PARTY........ and we all think it's quite snuggly and wonderful. Tika says it's a perfect birthday gift for her; she turned 3 on September 18th. Why argue with a dog?????

Tika & Elephants

While we did miss our little Tika, we so enjoyed seeing all the African animals on our recent trip...... this was a herd of elephants crossing a river (led by the matriarch) and very carefully guarding and helping this baby.

FAMILY, whether in people or in animals, is all-important. We saw that over and over....... mother baboons cradling their babies, "ellies" watchful of their babies ("if you get out of the truck right now, the mother WILL stomp you," said our guide), mother giraffes nuzzling their babies and mother wart hogs (Pumbaas on the hoof!!) herding their 2-4 babies.

So what did I learn to share with you that is "genealogy?" Only that families are central to life, period.  And Tika is a furry little member of our family!!!

Tika is NOT in Africa but I am!

This is the African Bee Eater bird........ bet you've seen them on nature shows. They are way more beautiful in the "real." I am in South Africa and while I miss my Tika I'm seeing wart hogs, kudu, wildebeest,  impala, giraffes, rhinos, ostrichs and dozens of new birds. It is barely the start of summer and it's already in the 90s I'd guess. I wish all of you could come visit South Africa but if you cannot be sure to watch every nature or "planet earth" type show that comes along. It is a beautiful place!