I don't carry my camera around all the time so sometimes I cheat. I see something and think ooooh I want a picture of that and then I stage a photograph to recreate whatever it was that I wanted to capture in the first place.
Like these two photos. I walked into the closet yesterday to get socks (I have chilblains again on two toes - what is up with that?) and noticed something glinting in the laundry hamper. Was that a... ?
It was.
It was a camera lens poking out of my laundry hamper because Edward - for mysterious reasons of his own - was hiding in there furtively photographing things with Patrick's camera. Weird? Sure. Hilarious? Definitely. I now know what it feels like to be relentless stalked by the press but I'll bet even Cleopatra never had paparazzi hiding in her laundry basket. Of course she probably kept asps in there.
Anyway I was sorry to lose this moment so I asked him to get back into the hamper while I went to get my camera. He obliged. We repeated. Now it's like we were all there together. Hooray.
Oh and here is one of the shots from his photo expose
You can see Caroline's arm as she approaches stage right; which means Edward's skulking paid off as he nailed rush hour in my closet by managing to photograph a staggering two (2) people. I didn't realize the camera had a fish eye setting but it must and Edward activated it by stabbing at all the buttons. I really like the effect. I mean, if you were hiding in a laundry basket taking photographs wouldn't you want them to look all bulgy and distorted like that? Me too.
Here's another posed photo. Caroline and Edward were sick most of last week. Correction: Edward was sick (all high fevers and listless apathy and gacking) and Caroline was "sick" by which I mean she realized that she was on her way to preschool while Edward would be staying home with the library books and a warm TV she said, "Cough."
And I said, "Oh please" and she said, "No really. Cough. Cough cough cough."
The thing about being a twin is there is always the possibility that your mother might conclude it really is not worth the effort to send just one of you to preschool, especially when she hasn't packed lunches and she hates to pack lunches.
She stayed home with her cough.
So they were both sick to varying degrees and I took this picture to commemorate the pathos of it all.
Good, right? Sad and waiflike and brimming with invalidism? Well in truth this is a retake because when I first approached the couch with a camera they did this
Do you know what that is? That is a picture of at least one child who should have gone to freaking preschool that day, that's what.
Patrick and I are on book three of the....
wait! Books. Very important.
You may recall that one of my readers, Katelyn Sinclair, has written a book called "The Golden Ball" (available through her website or here at Amazon) which Kirkus Review described as "playful poetry that begs to be read aloud." I hosted a book giveaway, some of you received copies, we all faithfully swore to report back for... oh heavens what did they call them? workshop. that's it. awful word... we promised to constructively criticize and now the time has come to do so. If you received her book or have read it through other channels I would really appreciate it if you would leave a comment here about what you liked and what you think could use some tweaking. thank you...
So Patrick and I are on book three of Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books (starts with Wee Free Men) and we are enjoying them beyond measure. The other day Patrick said, "Who're ye callin' a banana ye scunner?" and I fell over laughing. God it was funny.
Huh. I read that over and maybe you had to be there but it really was very funny and we're now conversant in Discworld and the books are excellent and I thank you - emphatically - for the recommendation.
Coincidentally I have just recently become obsessed with the ancestry dot com website and the Mac Nac Feegles are tying in beautifully with the line I am poking at which extends back beyond forever in Scotland (minus the hundred years or so in Ireland - damn Cromwell) so we are all about the knowing of the Scots right noo. I have never mentioned this before because I am rightly ashamed of it - but genealogy is a secret passion of mine.
When I was 14 - and this is true - I used to take the subway downtown and pay my $4 guest fee to use the library at the D.A.R.
I was easily the youngest person in there by about 70 years and my fellow genealogists were fascinated by me. Or maybe they wanted to drink my blood. I don't know.
I will never forget when one brittle and no doubt well-intentioned but seriously icky woman asked if I attended college. I said no, I was still in high school. She asked what school and I named the DC public edifice of middling learning that had the honor to claim me as one of their own.
She paused.
She blinked.
She said, "But aren't there black students there?"
Seeing as how my high school was over 85% African-American and WHAT THE FUCK LADY I said why yes, yes there are.
She said, "But honey, don't you mind?"
The DAR, ladies and gentlemen, purposefully narrowing their horizons since the flood. Good LORD. I thought at the time and I am thinking it now just... GOOD LORD.
Where was I? Oh yes. I was confessing the fact that I am fascinated by begats even though I know, I KNOW, it is the single most boring subject anywhere, ever. No one is interested in your family history. Absolutely no one. Even other genealogy squabs don't care about your finds and it is rare for two of us to exist within one family so even the person who really should care, and say, oh DO go on Julia, you know, my brother, does not.
He was bored by it when we were teenagers and he continues to be bored by it today. Which is odd because he is the one who stands to benefit the most, being all male and older than me, should I discover our claim to an ancient Peruvian title plus castle plus 800 goats due upon demand. But he just makes a kind of uhhhmmmmming noise when I mention the first school teacher/veterinarian in Tennessee or the Cherokee Nation or the Battle of Dunaverty and if I persist in hypothesizing about a maternal line while he's driving I can hear him slamming his head against the windshield and pouring hot coffee on his lap in an effort to stay awake. So I know, it's boring.
But my grandmother liked genealogy and she told great stories and I remember being really really little and hanging on her every word as she talked about her family and who did what when and I love looking at these names and dates and thinking oh yes, her and him and that one. There's the story about how my grandmother's mother died (oh I know I've already told you this one. just imagine how many times Steve's heard it) from influenza when my grandmother was a toddler and how her father was left to raise five children. Being a practical although perhaps not very romantic man he waited a few months and then marched next door to where a spinster named Willie kept house for her brothers.
(Willie was unmarried, my grandmother explained, because she had had a horseback riding accident and, well.... was believed to be barren. Crivens)
"Willie," said my great-grandfather, "I feel sorry for you."
And she said, "Why Mr. N, whatever do you mean?"
(they were in Alabama so feel free to go really lavish on the accents. I do)
And he said, "I feel sorry for you because you are going to have to marry me and raise my children."
Sigh. And she did. And had five more children in the process, so go figure.
Anyway I love that story and just the other day I was bumbling around on the ancestry site and found that somone had posted a picture of Willie. I had never seen one before and I was all a'flutter. I mean, there she was. Amazing.
Oh oh OH! Or the fact that both of my grandmother's grandfathers fought together in the Civil War. There were lots of stories about them but my favorite was the one that hinted that one of them deserted when his son was born but returned to his regiment six months later. It was all terribly romantic in a war is stupid and they should have all been farming sort of way but I thought about it as I was looking at records this week and sure enough, there he was. Present, injured, present, awol, and then... back again.
Wow. I seriously have no idea why I brought this up. How funny. I am even more boring on the subject that I realized. Once I get started it is impossible to get me to stop. At least when I am writing I am able to look up and find out where I started. Poor Steve just goes glassy-eyed and waits for me to trail off indefinitely.
Right. Scots. Mac Nac Feegles. Tiffany Aching. Good books, thinking about starting the Bartimaeus trilogy next. Will advise.
And apropos of nothing, Patrick drew this comic and I find it delightfully subversive. I don't know why it posted sideways. Sorry about that. Enjoy your weekends - we have a sitter tonight and I asked her to come at four in the afternoon. Not because we have anything to do but the idea of missing the entire pre dinner, dinner, post dinner was too lovely to miss.
PS So, and I am asking this in the whisper of one tentatively seeking out fellow deviants, do you, um, ever check out the censusii of 1850 and 1860? Does the word tree convey anything thrilling to you? I mean, socially, of course. Take it or leave it. Quit any time you like.
PPS I fixed the link to Patrick's comic.
Love the Feegles, love Genealogy, only liked the Bartimaeus trillogy :)
Most of my family has lived in the same small county in AR since before the Civil War. There are pages of the census where I am related to every person listed.
We can swap nerdy stories any time you want.
Posted by: Allisone | February 10, 2012 at 04:15 PM
ooh, can't see the comic. I like hearing the genealogy stories, but loathe doing the research myself.
Posted by: Sharon | February 10, 2012 at 04:52 PM
I love genealogy too. I just wish I had time to use that ancestry.com subscription I'm paying for.
Posted by: Darlene | February 10, 2012 at 05:02 PM
I generally read your blog at home, where it doesn't matter what kind of reactive noises I expel... and now the DAR nearly costs me my job....
Sadly, I can't see the comic either - are you perhaps re-posting?
I love and adore geneaology and all associated stories and the treasures of Indiana Jones are of less interest than those of my greats and great-greats... as long as I am not the one who has to go spelunking for them. Share on, fair Julia - it's interesting.
Edward's photos are wonderful, btw... I see a future in photo journalism. (NOT espionage. Necessarily.)
Posted by: melissaK | February 10, 2012 at 05:12 PM
i love geneology too and see myself someday digging deeper into ours...those damned scotts and the castle i could have inherited if my great great grandmother had been a boy instead! however, no need to check the 1850 and 1860 cencus (cencii?) because none of us were here yet! ellisisland.org is cool...i've found the ships manifests from when my grandfather on one side and a great grandmother on the other came over from europe...the rest all came through ellis island too, but i haven't manage to track them down - yet :)
Posted by: katie | February 10, 2012 at 05:12 PM
I adore geneaology. I am lucky that I can trace many lines too far back for it to even matter. I found out my grandparents were related so many times that I stopped counting (my parents are too, I guess RI was small back in the 1600s). I have connected to people that figured out road blocks for me. Oh, and I found out an great uncle about 6 generations back had an entire second family through a relation of his mother's. I love to hear about it, so IMO feel free to post all your neat finds. I will definitely ooooh and aaaah over each and every one!
Posted by: Laura | February 10, 2012 at 05:13 PM
My mom's a historian and genealogy freak, so just about every family trip included stops to check out ancestors' military records, etc.
My grandmother-in-law was similarly obsessed, and did a lot of great work on my husband's family tree. I hope to continue with her work one day.
Any chance you'll post a pic of Willie? What a great story!
Posted by: Jen | February 10, 2012 at 05:18 PM
No idea about census trees, but both of my kid sized readers love Bartimaeus, and have you checked out the Dark is Rising series? Susan Cooper? I never read them as a child, but my 7 yo is making her way through the Newbery medal list, and the third one is on there. So she is reading the series, and I picked it up one day out of, oh I don't know what, a nagging sense that I should glance through things my 7 year old is reading with the word "dark" in the title.
It is really, super fantastically, great. Narnia, only better written, more interesting, and less with the sort of awkwardly layered on Christianism themes. I love it a lot.
Posted by: Stephanie | February 10, 2012 at 05:35 PM
Confession - when I'm having a really bad day at work I sneak onto the geneology websites using our super fast internet to find all the relatives who had it so much worse than me.
I've found tales of relatives who survived scalpings on TWO lines. A line to a convicted witch in NE who was hung for murder because she was accused of cursing the idiot who shot another man in the back during militia drills. The idiot himself got off with a slap on the wrist, only prohibited from owning a firearm for a year. Of course immediate generations were not quick to claim her so it's unclear if she was a second wife/aunt or direct matriarch.
Gotta love those geneology-obsessed Mormons. Even if they only create such worldwide databases in order to posthumously baptize everyone they find.
Posted by: MustangSally | February 10, 2012 at 05:39 PM
I absolutely love the idea of genealogy, but either I am complete crap when it comes to the research or I'm hampered by the fact that I'm only the third generation of my family born here. Maybe both? Anyway, Ancestry.com hasn't been a huge help in turning up records from the tiny Irish and Italian villages of my ancestors, so I mostly just look forward to watching "Who Do You Think You Are?" while wistfully thinking about someone doing all of the research for me and then sending me on a lovely tour of western Europe where helpful historians tell me all of the interesting stories. (I am such a dork with how much I love that show.)
Posted by: Kate | February 10, 2012 at 05:40 PM
the genealogy stuff is amazing (love ancestry.com) & am enjoying their countdown to the 1940 census being released!
Posted by: afc | February 10, 2012 at 05:48 PM
I'm a genealogy freak, too. It seems we're all here, lurking in the woodwork, waiting for someone to mention a census. My husband, too, gets all glassy when I mention my great-great-great-great grandmother, but when I'm talking about his Revolutionary War ancestors, he's all ears. Incidentally, he thought everyone had Revolutionary War ancestors and could not understand why I got so excited when I found his. I explained about immigraiton and the potato famine (I'm Irish) and he pretended to understand, but pranced around saying he was here first. Men.
Posted by: VirtualSprite | February 10, 2012 at 05:50 PM
My great aunt did a big book of family geneaology, so we have a book with a lot of wonderful information on my mother's side. I think it is great to figure all this stuff out.
Posted by: SarahB | February 10, 2012 at 05:50 PM
**dryly** There. see? You're not alone after all.
I, along with most of the rest of us apparently, too, adore genology. Thanks to an extraordinary amount of diligence (and travel back to the lands of the antecedents on geneological quests) one generation back I've got my family plotted back a good 1200 years. This is nice and restful, as it means I can peruse the pages (and pages) of handwritten trees (entire forests, really) without having to actually exert myself.
Posted by: Ellie | February 10, 2012 at 06:05 PM
I got the bug at age 13, due to a totally tone-deaf eighth-grade project assigned by our genealogy-crazed English teacher. It was the LDS library in Golden Valley for me. I will say, I found family reunions far more enjoyable after I was bit.
OH! I was transcribing names from the 1860 census (or perhaps the 1801 Norwegian census -- the details have faded a bit) when my water broke and I went into labor.
I did not just make that up. Tis true.
I am anxiously, ANXIOUSLY awaiting the 1940 census. I've gone back about as far as I can, so tracking down fourth cousins is what's left to me. 52 days.
Posted by: Jody | February 10, 2012 at 06:18 PM
I may just be the one person on the face of the Earth who actually LOVES other people's genealogy research. (Your stories sent my heart to fluttering with joy.) In fact, if there is an antique I am considering buying, it's a "done deal" if there is a name/date/some history attached to it so I can do genealogy research on the person or family who owned the item. (Help me.)
Posted by: Susan | February 10, 2012 at 06:22 PM
I can't see the comic.
Posted by: julianna | February 10, 2012 at 06:23 PM
I love genealogies too - even other people's! Our family is still quite proud that my socialist great-grandfather was politely asked to leave New Zealand so they wouldn't have to charge him with sedition. He abandoned his family, went to Australia, became a bigamist and had another 6 kids. What a gem! But gone are the days when you'd sweep him under the carpet.
Whole-heartedly endorse the recommendation above for the Dark is Rising series - its brilliant. I read it as a kid and loved it, revisited them a few years ago and loved them as an adult.
Posted by: Jacqui | February 10, 2012 at 06:24 PM
I used to take two buses to the closest Mormon church in college and order census microfiches. One of my dad's uncles hand drew me an awesome family tree of their huge extended Italian family covering several generations. And we have a document that traces my husband's maternal line back hundreds of years. If it were handy I would post some of the great old Puritan names.
Also, one of my best friends is in DAR. She is the youngest by at leasr 20 years and a flaming liberal. So at least one member is not a wizened Aryan matriarch clutching her pearls.
Posted by: Alyssa | February 10, 2012 at 06:24 PM
Oh man I love Who Do You Think You Are? Please tell me you watch it! Twice the show has revealed stuff about our ancestors that I didn't know. Once Ashely Judd got to look at the manifest for the Mayflower and the name of DH's ancestor was the one below her ancestor! OMG. And then Tim McGraw's family came to America in the same migration as mine and the nice historians on the show told the whole story that I'd spent months wondering about (I knew my ancestor came to America in 1700 from Germany and I had no idea why). I joined Ancestry dot com and used it for a bit and found others had done most of the hard work for me (including tracing two of my lines back to pre-Revolution) but I didn't have the time to justify the cost. Maybe soon!
You are not alone Miss Julia. ;)
Posted by: sarah | February 10, 2012 at 06:30 PM
I adore genealogy. One of my mom's cousins did their genealogy and it turns out . . . ahem . . . their grandfather was probably born on the wrong side of the blanket. She was very worried about telling my grandma. (!)
Also (on that same side) one of my ancestors came over with the puritans on the Good Ship Anne. (He was not a Puritan. He opened a tavern.) That kind of stuff is fun.
Posted by: Davida | February 10, 2012 at 06:31 PM
I have been a genealogy fanatic since I was young. I will listen anytime!
Are you watching "Who Do You Think You Are?" on NBC? Great show, that takes a celebrity and helps them trace their family tree.
Posted by: Heather P | February 10, 2012 at 07:06 PM
You already got my comment, but I wanted to post again to say that my daughter - unprompted - demanded The Golden Ball again this evening out of the blue, and we both enjoyed the rhyme just as much again. I feel I was mean about the font, and my husband had no issue with it, but I do think, on the whole, something slightly lighter, even in the same type of script, would look less dense.
Posted by: Christine | February 10, 2012 at 07:22 PM
Just like the previous commenter, I was going to suggest "Who Do You Think You Are?" as a fun show. The most recent episode (not including the one airing tonight) was Martin Sheen.
I'm a big fan of genealogy, but I'm spoiled. My Dad is a huge buff, but a lot of the leg work had been done by his Great Aunt Helen back in the 1930s (she was an amazing Victorian lady in her later years when she did this work) and augmented by a cousin in the 1970s. My Dad has input everything into ancestry.ca, and in doing so has uncovered a whole bunch of info on my inlaws' family. We can trace my Dad's side back to 16th century Scotland and Ireland, as well as the founding of New France.
We have a similar widower story in my family. My paternal great-great-grandfather had 6 kids when his wife died. He married another woman who died not long after. Then, he married the younger sister of wife #1 and proceeded to have 6 more children, the oldest of whom was my great-grandfather. Those kids were both half-siblings and first cousins. ???
Posted by: Sarah in Ottawa | February 10, 2012 at 07:31 PM
Where's Willie? And I can't see the comic either.
Tease.
Posted by: Jen | February 10, 2012 at 07:36 PM
Keep the genealogy stories coming! I love hearing stories like that.
Posted by: Allison | February 10, 2012 at 07:55 PM
Summon hol' me cote! Gude! Noo! Summon hol' his arms!
Drinkin', fightin', and snaflin' coobeastie.
I could go on and on.
Incidentally, they first appear in, I think, "Carpe Jugulum", but you would thank yourself to start with "Wyrd Sisters" and go on through the Discworld Witches books til you get to Carpe, as it's much funnier that way.
I do like genealogy too, though I generally leave the actual work up to my great uncle, who's traced our surname to Denmark via Cumberland and Wexford.
Posted by: QoB | February 10, 2012 at 08:06 PM
I actually am helping to transcribe some of the UK census from that time period. I don't really like geneology, but I like the work because hey! That could be someone's person! And this 30 year old widow with five children, how sad! And this 12 year old boy is a coal miner! As an occupation! Coal. Miner.
Posted by: craftyashley | February 10, 2012 at 08:13 PM
Uninterested in geneology, honestly, but, you know, more power to you and the many other enthusiasts. I am curious, though, to know where/how the experience of infertility shapes your interest, if at all. I mean, obviously, genes get passed on and few are as aware as you of how tricky that can be but -- is geneology about, you know, genes, or social parentage, or some of each? Just curious and hope the question comes across as friendly both to you and others reading here; it's intended as such.
I am, however, very interested in Patrick's comic and, tragically, among those who can't view it. Help!
Posted by: Alexicographer | February 10, 2012 at 08:29 PM
Other people's genealogies are definitely far more interesting than other people's dreams. I am moderately interested in my genealogy (which I know something about thanks to the efforts of various relatives) but fascinated by my dreams, but I know if I ever want to talk about them in much detail I will have to hire a therapist and pay her to listen. Nobody else will listen, and fair enough!
Posted by: Leah | February 10, 2012 at 08:29 PM
Pratchett has a couple of earlier series as well - Johnny and the Bomb, Johnny and the Dead, & Only You can Save Mankind; and Truckers, Diggers & Wings (sometimes packaged together as the Bromeliad). There's also a stand-alone called The Carpet People, which is one of my favorite books ever. Not Discworld books, and definitely an earlier writing style, but I think you'll enjoy them. The Truckers books might be a little young for Patrick, but they're still fun, and the little kids will like them.
Patrick would probably like Nation too - another Pratchett stand-alone
Posted by: Jenn | February 10, 2012 at 08:49 PM
BTW- I Shall Wear Midnight starts out with some pretty hefty themes (physical abuse, teenage pregnancy.) You might want to give that first part a listen so you can be prepared.
I'm relistening to Carpe Jugulim right now.
Posted by: Allisone | February 10, 2012 at 08:57 PM
I listened to the Tiffany Aching books--loved every minute and, since I listen in my car, needed to find far away errands so I could keep listening. They are brilliant. Highly recommended!
Posted by: AnnWS | February 10, 2012 at 08:57 PM
Christine,
Thank you so much for both of your comments - I sincerely appreciated everything you had to say and I actually agree with you about the font. I didn't think it was mean at all and I truly am seeking constructive criticism. (There are some things I'm learning as I go, including better design choices!)
I'm so glad your daughter is enjoying The Golden Ball, and thank you again!
Katelyn
Posted by: Katelyn Sinclair | February 10, 2012 at 09:29 PM
I *HEART* genealogy and ancestry.com and everything similarly tree-related!!! Literally 48 hours ago I tracked one tree branch to a founding family of LA and another little offshoot was executed in 1841 for murder (!!) and... while I understand that many are bored by this I am riveted. The worst part is that I got the ancestry.com subscription for my parents to try and get them to do it, but somehow I seem to be the one with the new hobby.
Also, those pictures of C & E are terrific but the one of Edward and the camera in the laundry basket... priceless. I cannot stop laughing...
Posted by: kara | February 10, 2012 at 09:38 PM
A distant relative of mine self-published, in 1984, (which means it was all typed on a typewriter) "The Bruce Web." It starts with James Bruce, who was born in 1768 in Virginia. (Or came to Virginia from Scotland.) It is a huge book and it goes through the early 1970's. It is fascinating. I can't even imagine the amount of time he spent on this book, but I love looking back and tracing my particular little pod all the way back to James.
L. E. Bruce
Posted by: L. E. Bruce | February 10, 2012 at 09:40 PM
My sister is the one most interested in genealogy in the family, but I actually find it interesting too, albeit in an abstract and unmotivated sort of way. My great grandmother's grandmother crossed the plains as a girl on a wagon train. My great-grandmother had to flee across state lines or the river or something to marry her first husband, who was a "foriner" (hailing all the way from Norway, gasp!). I like to think that if I could trace my lineage back through its Scandanavian lines, I'd find Vikings in there somewhere. It's the stories that make it fascinating. For a while, we thought one of my great-something grandparents had founded a small town in Northern California (turns out it was a different Willits). Seriously, why WOULDN'T you want to know about stuff like that?
And you might have gotten to it already, but don't neglect Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. Gives Pixar's Ratatouille a run for its money in generating sympathy for vermin.
Posted by: Rbelle | February 10, 2012 at 10:18 PM
you must have fixed the link to the comic just as i was trying it for the 3rd time because all of a sudden...there is was!! any way.. i worked for the census in 2010 and let me tell you.. lots of people did not want to tell me anything (we went out to the people who did not send in their forms). especially old people who are sure the government is out to get them.. so when people can actually see the 2010 census stuff will be missing! i would tell people..if you don't give us the info we just have to go to your neighbors and ask.. you would think they were all harboring criminals or something..
Posted by: kris (lower case) | February 10, 2012 at 10:37 PM
I now have severe closet envy.
Posted by: Karen O | February 10, 2012 at 10:47 PM
If you are enjoying Scottish accents and your iPhone , and need a laugh, check out this Siri spoof on YouTube. Watch out go earshot of little ones, as there are some naughty words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGxKhUuZ0Rc&sns=em
Posted by: Kelly | February 10, 2012 at 10:58 PM
My sister and I have been on Ancestry.com all week! Today I was tracing my husband's family back to the 1600s. I can only get a few generations back on mine, because I'm unwilling to pay for the online records that may or may not be relatives of mine in Ireland. I guess I'll have to make a trip there ('cause that would be MUCH cheaper!). I just wish I knew how to find the stories... Although, my grandfather did write some sort of memoir, and it's supposed to be in the files of the Chicago Public Library, but they couldn't find it with what little information I gave them.
Posted by: a | February 10, 2012 at 11:10 PM
I like genealogy also...but I am kind of resistant to paying to access things like census records. I mean, come on, shouldn't those be free public access? Maybe 6 years ago, when I first got into it, I was still able to track some of those records down on county/state websites, but then ancestry.com bought the rights to all of them, it seems. So for now, I've done the best I can using the free features of that site, and maybe when I finish veterinary school and actually have time to play around on there, I'll actually break down and pay for a subscription.
Posted by: Taryn | February 10, 2012 at 11:15 PM
My mom dove right into ancestry.com, due to an obsession with the tv show "Who Do You Think You Are". For Christmas, she made bound photo and anecdote-laden editions of the family tree for my sister and me (I'm sure it's some up-selling deal on the website). Anyway, it was extremely thoughtful because it meant so much to her, and it's a cool thing to have, no matter how boring it may appear on first blush.
Posted by: Megan | February 10, 2012 at 11:20 PM
If you think the DAR is bad, you should hit up a chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. I LOVE genealogy. I can't afford a full-time ancestry.com membership, but took full advantage of the trial over the summer. I compiled an extensive family tree just before our big family reunion in October. I admit that I got really excited every time a "shaky leaf" showed up!
Posted by: Hannah | February 10, 2012 at 11:43 PM
Came back to check on time of earlier, curt posting.
Realized I just lost about 4+ hours of my life on ancestry.com
But it was soooo fun!
Posted by: Jen | February 11, 2012 at 12:14 AM
I also love genealogy! My father has spent the first few years of his retirement diligently researching our history. When he sweetly asked if he could fill out a DAR application for me, I didn't have the heart to say no.
My children really like to hear about the ancestry stuff, especially when they found out they were related to a native american princess.
Love the comic...he's smart in so many ways.
Posted by: girlseven | February 11, 2012 at 12:19 AM
HAH! I've been bending your ear about Pratchett for ages now (a year? two years?) so I'm glad you finally tried his work. Yes, it's terrific, and after you meet Granny Weatherwax in a few more of his books she will become The Woman You Want to Be When You Are Ninety. (Okay, probably.) Did I mention that my husband and I had lunch with Pratchett once? He's absolutely delightful. As great as his books.
Speaking of really old women . . . the DAR commentator grew up in a completely different time period from us. This is not an excuse, but an observation. Most old people find it difficult to change themselves, even should they want to.
Posted by: Hetty Fauxvert | February 11, 2012 at 01:38 AM
Why on earth would you be ashamed to admit that you have a passion for genealogy?
I heart you even more now.
And count me as someone else who can't. freaking. wait for the 1940 census to be released!
Posted by: Melissa | February 11, 2012 at 01:43 AM
Genealogy is interesting, whole television programmes argue for that. I like doing the research but sometimes it freaks me out. When I found my great-grandfather's records on the Ellis Island site, it was incredibly freaky. My grandmother was born in April 1903 and there he is arriving in New York in December 1903 on his own. Perhaps she had some excuse for being so bloody painful!
Posted by: Vicky | February 11, 2012 at 02:02 AM
Yawn... :-)
Not really... I am totally with Leah. About genealogy and dreams alike. Perhaps my favorites are the dreams in which I find hidden rooms in houses. Oh, and I dislike any attempts at finding symbolic meanings in dreams.
See, Julia? We can digress just as well as you.
Posted by: tgsdmom | February 11, 2012 at 03:42 AM