One thing I find most frustrating about being relatively young and tracing family history is that I don’t hold much of the actual history in my own memory. Someday I will, I suppose. Now, however, I rely a lot on older relatives and old books that have bits and pieces of the puzzle. Unfortunately, I’m…
Let me just say it out loud … I love this Coca-Cola commercial and the stance they take with its contents. I am American … but I came from somewhere, rather my family did. I have a teeny tiny drop of Native American Indian in my DNA and the rest is German, Scottish, English, French…
My mom bought me this cute little egg cooker for Christmas … it’s made by Dash. I wanted to use it for awhile before writing a review and, come to find out, they’ve release a new one! Oh, well. Amazon has the new Dash DEC005BU BLUE 6 Egg Rapid Cooker w/ Poaching Tray & Measuring…
One thing I have learned in the short month of writing 52 Ancestors is that I know very little beyond vital information about my ancestors. It’s amazing how much genealogical information we have and equally amazing how much we’re missing. It’s the difference between our history and our heritage. I’ve heard the name James Madison…
I have greatly enjoyed watching Ree Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman show over the years. I ran across her blog several years ago not realizing she had a new TV show at the time. She is one of my favorite Food Network “chefs” … she’s family oriented and down to Earth, and she fixes simple and…
Let me preface this post by telling you how much I love MPG’s Daddy … I’m sure they’ll both read that title and wonder about me! MPG and I have been together for 15 years. In those early days when I was trying to get to know the family, I would ask questions about family…
Tonight, I’m missing my daddy and all the crazy stories he told about growing up in Harrisburg, Illinois in the 1950s. So, I’ll share one with you about his grandfather. First, I have to tell you a little about Great-Grandpa Moore. What I know about George Melvin Moore George Melvin Moore was born on June…
My Dad’s grandfather, Charley Jones, was always one of those conundrums in the family … the genealogy brick wall that I could never get through. Until recently. About 6 months ago, I was able to push through the brick and start tracing my Jones family history … all the way back to early settlers of…
Jacob Heinrich Mueller is my 4th great grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born in Darmstadt, Germany in 1798 to John George Mueller and Anna Maria Rhutz (1800-1844). He immigrated to America in 1828 and settled in St. Clair County, Illinois. He was employed as a blacksmith after he arrived in St. Clair County. Jacob married Mary Margaret Weber…
Margaret Ellen Lindsey is my 2nd great grandmother on my mom’s side. She was born on November 17, 1841 near Pomona, Illinois to Lewis and Nancy (Sumner) Lindsey. The Lindsey family settled in this area in the early 1800s. She was among the first generation of Lindsey’s born here in Southern Illinois where much of…
I had a lot of fun with my genealogy blog in 2013. I’ve managed to combine all of my favorite past times – writing, genealogy and cooking – into one space. While I’m not a New Year’s Resolution kind of girl, I did read a Facebook update from Lisa Ling that talked about how she…
My third great grandmother on my dad’s side was Veronica (Veronique) Voirol. She was born in Geneva, Switzerland on August 18, 1829 and came to the United States sometime before her marriage to Joseph LeMaitre on December 24, 1852. Veronica is one of my family history brick walls. Family records provide information on her birth…
I found this on Tumblr this morning and reblogged it. I love it. The painting, titled Family Tree, is by Vladimir Kush. Everyone interprets art differently, but this definitely represents the building of family and ancestry to me. My favorite part is the string of flags flying between branches … representing the diversity in all…
Biscuits and gravy was a staple breakfast item when I was growing up. It’s food that sticks with you during long work days. My daddy loved these, my grandpa loved these! I remember my mom and my grandma getting up early in the morning on the weekends to pull together breakfast of big fluffy…
I introduced Noodle to “A Christmas Story” tonight … she just turned 7 and I think I was 8 or 9 when I first saw it at the theater in 1983. She laughed all the way through it, and kept asking me if Ralphie was going to shoot his eye out! As I was tucking…
When I first saw the clip of Megyn Kelly telling all of us that Santa is White, I thought, “Hmmm, …” and I won’t repeat what followed. I haven’t really followed the drama since her statements … it was an ill-fated piece of political satire … but this came to my attention again today while…
When I was a little girl, portraits of my dad’s grandparents and great grandparents hung on the wall outside my bedroom. These are from the early 20th century and earlier … a time when it wasn’t appropriate to smile in photographs like it is today. These portraits scared the crap out of me! Especially the…
For as long as I can remember, Mom would make batches of snow ice cream in the winter … weather permitting. I don’t really remember exactly how she made it, but I do remember being sent out into the snow to retrieve the main ingredient. There’s just something about making ice cream out of fluffy…
Even as an adult I get excited on snow days … and still let off a little squeal on the inside when I get the word that Noodle’s school is closed. Then, when the university I work at closes (which is rare), it’s a double fun day. Noodle let of a loud squeal this morning…
Are you tired of eating Thanksgiving leftovers? Most of mine went into the freezer … which is great because I’ll be hungry for it all again in about … next year! Seriously, I love having food in the freezer for weeknight dinners in a pinch. I also love recreating leftovers because MPG and Noodle hate…
It might seem odd that I’ve been married almost 12 years and never, until today, hosted a family Thanksgiving. It’s pretty simple, my Mom had the monopoly on that and wasn’t giving it up … nope, never. At least not until she had the chance to do a kitchen remodel. I’ve hosted plenty of…
I am going to admit something. I strongly disliked cranberry sauce when I was a kid. I always pressured Mom into buying jellied cranberry “sauce” in a can to put on the Thanksgiving table. I can still vividly hear the “swoosh thump” sound it makes as it slides slowly out of the can and lands…
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays … and it is, of course, all about the food! Okay, it’s not totally about the food. Our family has a lot to be thankful for and we celebrate that on this holiday by coming together and taking time out just to be with each other. There will…
I grew up on potato leek soup; a traditional Scottish dish. My family recipe has been passed down from traditional Scottish grandmas … and grandpas … for at least 4 generations that I know of. I had “create” this recipe, because it’s one of those meals I just make … no book, no recipe card, nada. So, I…