151 Uniting ancestors

Uniting Ancestors on Findagrave.com

What a great way to spend Father's Day--linking grave records of my family!

I registered on findagrave.com so I could enter or correct information on cemetery records. "Find a Grave's mission is to find, record and present final disposition information from around the world as a virtual cemetery experience." (from the website) Right now, the site says there are 162 million grave records available to search.

I started off with my parents' graves--their urns are together in a columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery. 

It was great fun to add pictures to the record.

You can also leave virtual flowers on a record. I think I will start putting new flowers each Mothers' and Fathers' day. 

To link a parent, child or spouse, once you have the privilege to do so, you 

simply enter in the Find a Grave memorial number of the individual. The changes are pending until they are reviewed and approved.

When I went to my father's mothers entry, I realized that her relatives are buried all around her in the Peru Cemetery (Peru,pronounced PEA-roo, Kansas, southwest of Wichita). So I added her photo and then linked her to her parents.     

Grandmother Moore died when my father was just six so my Grandfather remarried and he and his second wife are buried in Missouri. So more linking! Find a Grave allows you to list multiple spouses. My grandfather is not listed in the above record because all edits are reviewed and do not show up until approved. Some edits seem to take a long time to be reviewed while other edits are immediately accepted.

I started in on my mother's family, but have not found her parents and most of her brothers and sister in Find a Grave. Lucky for you, you don't have more tombstones to view!

My husband (I haven't started on his family yet, either.) and I are childless, but I am hoping a few of our nieces and nephews and cousins will find this useful sometime in the future. Isn't it odd that we plan to be cremated with ashes sprinkled, yet I am obsessing on burial sites!

Trish                        

150 Summer fun, not!

Summer Fun Is an Oxymoron 

(for those of us who hate the heat!)

Okay, Dear Readers, SUMMER is not even officially here – not until Wednesday, June 21.

                      I didn’t like summer as a child. 

                      I like it even less now. 

                      This picture says it all.

I sound a bit like a Dr. Seuss character:

I do not like sand; I do not like bugs; I do not like sweat; I want no hugs!

Today it is 87º with 77% humidity. I don’t really feel like thinking about a blog. I believe my brain has shut down. Nothing clever. Nothing creative. Not even anything prosaic. I got nothing! Oh, yes, I do have my folder AND some cute cartoons my spouse reminds me. If you are a fall or winter person, too, I hope you will get a chuckle from my effort.

From the folder here are some oxymorons (contradictory terms) that I have gathered. And you may remember I really like lists, especially with a cartoon or some visual attached – so you end up with a new Listicle!

[Side note: Listicle is now an accepted word in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary!! Ta Da!]

1. 

2. Living dead – isn’t this a movie or TV title?

3. Now then – don’t we all use this one?

4. 

5. Sweet Tart – candy!

6. Taped live – oh, yeah, sure!

7. Rolling stop – sorry, officer!

8. Original copies

9. 

10. Exact estimate – what you get from your contractor?

11. Jumbo shrimp

12. Small crowd – as in “three’s a crowd?”

13. Least favorite

14. 

15. Passive aggressive

16. Unbiased opinion

17. or Samuel Goldwyn – didn’t know he was so clever!

18. Not quite an oxymoron, but how could this list be complete without a Yogi Berra-ism?

19. Clearly confused!

20. Genuine imitation - think Louis Vuitton knockoffs or

21.

22. 

Thanks for bearing with me this week. And, on a final note, our ice cream has “freezer burn.”

Stay cool. Glenne                    

149 Nail Savvy

Nail Savvy

Who knew!

I don’t remember the luxury or the availability of a pedicure and manicure in my younger years and well into my fifth decade. Somewhere along the way during the last decade or so, I became familiar with the amazing and relaxing procedure afforded at nail salons, that seem to be popping up on every block.

Was I totally unaware or have the services become more prominent? I am not sure, but I know it is something I enjoy about once a month, especially in the summer. The massaging chair, the extra care to make sure nails are ready for viewing, and other amenities, including a myriad of nail colors, music, TV, and drinks. All this make it very appealing.

This new world became part of my routine after my daughter, daughter-in-law, sisters, and granddaughters exposed me to this wonderful experience I had no idea existed. I must have been walking around with blinders on and not realizing what the potential could be.

I look forward to this luxurious time when I have no responsibilities, no cares, and sink into the magical chair that massages up and down the spine – this is an added bonus that I had no idea existed at these nail salons.

Most of them are about the same – foot soaking baths, hot wax on the legs, several types of lotions and potions. All of this is completed in the same order by very polite nail technicians who often engage in personal conversations and try to get you to have more services. I rarely opt for a manicure but I do love the pedicure. It is hard to say no to some of the technicians who try so hard to please.

After I became totally sold on my monthly visits, I came across an article that gave a history of the progression of the popularity and growth of nail spas.

About 40 years ago, the actress Tippi Hedren of “The Birds” movie fame, helped to start this trend. A BBC reporter told the story of how Tippi helped Vietnamese refugees in California find a skill and become trained as nail technicians.

In 2015, fifty-one percent of those in the nail business in the United States were of Vietnamese descent and some were directly related to that first group of women inspired by Tippi, according to the BBC web site, bbc.com.

That certainly sheds a new light on the culture of the nail salon and gives me a good feeling to think that refugees from Vietnam were given a chance to earn a living and start a business.

That military conflict defined the lives of many of us who attended college in the 1960s. Waiting to hear who was drafted or if someone got a high lottery number were factors hanging over our heads. I can still see the horrible footage as so many of them tried to escape as the U.S. and other countries pulled out.

Thank you Tippi, not only for enhancing a service that so many of us enjoy but also for affecting the lives of those who needed it!!

I will continue to enjoy this service and have learned how to navigate the salon world. Now that I am retired I can pick an afternoon in the early part of the week that is usually slow at the nail salons and enjoy the time almost totally by myself with little conversation. If you haven’t tried it, give it a whirl. You won’t be disappointed!

Nail savvy Frances

148 New conspiracy theories

I was going to write my blog yesterday but instead I dealt with an explosion of tissue lint in the washer and dryer. That is when I realized I too (like everyone else in today's world) could have MY OWN CONSPIRACY THEORY!

While I was shaking, rubbing, and cursing the idiot (me) who left numerous tissues in a blouse pocket, I could hear those little tissue voices plotting and laughing: "Bury yourself down deep--she'll never see you, Chortle, Chortle!"

Tootsie Inspecting the Lint! (A picture of just lint is Boring!)

The only difficulty with claiming MY OWN CONSPIRACY THEORY is that it seems to be widely shared. Turns out there are many folks obsessed with this problem. Suggestions ranged from soaking the laundry in hot water or in aspirin dissolved in water (what!) to using dryer sheets in the dryer (not perfect) to getting out the old tape and sticking it on the lint.

When you Google Dust Bunny Conspiracy, many images appear. My favorite is below. I added the text because I know that's what the dust bunnies in my house are plotting!

And Google Lost Socks Conspiracy for some great thoughts: for instance, lost socks turn into Tupperware lids, the lint in the dryer trap is actually cremated sock remains, and the dryer steals your socks to free house elves (Huh?). Anyway, there were some great cartoons:

I could go on with knives that nick, toilets that go berserk right before house guests arrive, vacuum cleaners that seem to clog every five minutes, computers and printers (don't get me started!), hangers that want to hang CLOSELY together, but that is only today's beef!

I do feel much better!

Not too Savvy Trish