according.to.kim

Daily scan: 05 Apr 1996

This photo was taken at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Neil and I had driven to Kansas and visited Dodge City and Meade, a town where some of my ancestors lived in the late 1800s. I did a bunch of genealogy research at the county courthouse there and the museum where the local historical society is based. On our way home from Kansas, we drove through Colorado and stayed in Colorado Springs for a few days. It's a lovely city with many sights to see. I recall eating fabulous Mexican food there!

I remember very well my first day back to work after this vacation... my union went on strike -- that day. We left work about 4:00 p.m. and were out for three weeks. That's when I went to work at The Plant Ranch; I walked the picket line weekday mornings and worked at the greenhouse afternoons, evenings, and weekends. Thankfully, I did not yet have a mortgage or other large financial commitments.

Daily scan: 20 Feb 1998

Simply happenstance that my first scan is of a photo taken 10 years ago this month. In February 1998, Neil and I drove to Salt Lake City for vacation. We did some skiing (Neil) and snowboarding (me) in Montana and near SLC in Utah. We stayed with my cousin, Nate (and his girlfriend at the time), who only lived in SLC for a year or two, I think. While there, Neil and I spent three days at the Family History Library and learned so many things about my ancestors on the Byrns side. It was great! I enjoyed piecing together the genealogy puzzle. Neil was very helpful and supportive. That library is such an incredible resource! We looked through many books and pored over microfilm and microfiche of very old documents.

And what about the photo itself? This is a sign for Trolley Square, a shopping centre in Salt Lake City. (I have just learned it is on the National Register of Historic Places.) I remember buying saltwater taffy and visiting a Williams- Sonoma store there. The theatre sign lists these movies: under "The Flick", Hard Rain, Kundun, Wings of a Dove, and under "Trolley Theatres", The Wedding Singer, LA Confidential, The Borrowers, The Replacement Killers, and Palmetto. (Of those movies, I've only seen The Wedding Singer.)

Daily pic: 20 Nov 07

Taco Cabbage Soup. I often consider taking a picture of the food we're eating just so I'll have a daily pic -- especially on weekday evenings when it's often challenging to take one -- but I usually don't for various reasons. This time was different because this particular food has a story. It connects me with family, memories, and a different place and time.

I got this recipe from my Grandma Byrns, who got it from her Aunt Cad, who got it from the Cabbage Patch Restaurant in Snohomish, Washington. I obtained the recipe in 1995 when I drove (by myself) to Redondo, Washington to visit my Grandma. On that trip, she took me to Snohomish where she was born. It's a lovely and historic little city, known for antiques, not far from Seattle. While in the area (I'm not sure of the exact location), we also visited Grandma's Aunt Cad (Clara V. Harrison, wife of Nils C. Nelson), who was 88 years old and still living on her own. She was a tall slim woman, and I recall a few other specific things about her:
(1) She married when she was only 15 or 16 years old, (2) she loved to run, and she jogged daily for most of her life (I think it's so interesting to think of a woman jogging during the 1920s, 30s, etc.), and (3) she loved making Christmas decorations of all kinds. When I was there, she gave me a red, green, and white crocheted potholder or hot pad. I still have it and it only comes out at Christmas time. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet Aunt Cad. She died the following year.

Now, back to the soup! My understanding is that the Cabbage Patch Restaurant in Snohomish, WA always had this Taco Cabbage Soup hot and ready to serve. I wonder if they still do; it isn't mentioned in their current menu online. I'm sure they had it when Neil and I went there in 1996 (shortly before my Grandma moved to Saskatoon). Anyway, we enjoy this hearty soup at least a couple times a year. It's an easy, old standby.

Taco Cabbage Soup

• 1 1/2 lb. browned hamburger [bison for us]
• 1/2 [small] head of cabbage, cut up
• 1 can kidney beans
• celery, sliced
• onions, chopped
• 1 (46 oz) can tomato juice
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning [or 4 Tbsp. VE Taco Seasoning, plus salt, for us]

Put in a crock pot and cook all day (or simmer on the stove for two hours). [We cook the celery and onions with the meat for a few minutes before mixing everything together.]

***

Isn't it neat how something as simple as soup can spark so many things?

Day 4: Lawrence to Tulsa, OK

This time I set an alarm for 6:30 a.m. and we managed to get to The University of Kansas Natural History Museum by 9:30. It was worth the visit. One of the more unique exhibits was Comanche, a horse that survived Custer's Last Stand (The Battle of the Little Bighorn). It was also interesting to drive through the university campus. Many of the buildings are very stately, and we'd never seen sorority and frat houses before.

After stopping at The Merc!, a wonderful "natural food" grocery store (I could have spent hours there), to pick up food for lunch, we started heading south toward Bartlett. About half way there, we realized we were on the wrong highway. There had been a fork in the road and we inadvertently went the wrong way. Fortunately, it wasn't a big problem; we were still heading south, just a little further west than planned.

Our new route was taking us straight to Coffeyville, Kansas. That name seemed so familiar to me and as soon as I looked in the guide book, I understood why. It was the place where the Dalton Gang met their demise after trying to rob two banks. I'm familiar with Dalton Gang stories because they hid out in Meade (another Kansas town where some of my ancestors lived), and Neil and I had visited the Dalton Museum there over 10 years ago. Well, it wouldn't seem right to go through Coffeyville and not visit the Dalton Defenders Museum. We didn't have a lot of extra time, so we made it a quick visit before heading to Bartlett, just a few minutes east.

A couple of miles outside Bartlett, we noticed a large cemetery, but we didn't stop as we thought we should try to find out if it was the only cemetery around before trying to find my ancestors. We drove into Bartlett -- a very small town -- and quickly realized that the bank, post office, and co-op were not open and there was no one around. The only people we saw were a couple putting up Christmas decorations in front of their house when we drove into town. We went back that direction and stopped to ask them about the cemetery. Now this is truly amazing...

I asked if the Lake Creek cemetery was the only one near Bartlett and the lady replied that it was. I mentioned that I was looking for the grave of my great great grandfather George DeCow, and she said, "Yes, he's there." I said something like, "Oh, that's great because we're from Canada and I was hoping to find his grave while we're in the area." She replied, "Well, if you have any trouble finding it, I have the cemetery records. I'm on the cemetery committee." (Seriously???!!!) So I asked if she could point me in the general direction because it's a large cemetery and there's quite a bit of snow on the ground. She went into her house and brought out the cemetery records for me to look at! And this wasn't some sort of printout, this was a binder of hand-written records from way back. Unbelievable!

Who keeps cemetery records in their house?! And what are the chances that we would come to Bartlett at that very moment when there was no one downtown and this particular woman happened to be out in front of her house which happened to be on the very street that we drove in on? A million to one, that's what. The genealogy gods were smiling on me today.

And there they were -- in Lake Creek Cemetery, Bartlett, Kansas -- the gravestones of my ancestors: George DeCow and Mattie (Martha Ann) Dorland, Abner DeCow and Sarah Duncan (George's parents), and Nathan W. Dorland and Mary P. McCormick (Martha's parents) -- my great great great grandparents! My children got to see where their great great great great grandparents are buried. That's pretty darn cool if you ask me.

I took many pictures of gravestones as the sun was going down and just before my camera battery died. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We had a quick supper at Sonic ("America's Drive-in") on the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma. (We wanted to find some local barbecue, but the opportunity didn't present itself.)

It was almost 8:00 p.m. by the time we checked into our hotel just south of Tulsa and right next to the Oklahoma State Aquarium which we plan to visit tomorrow. No swimming tonight. I did Christmas crafts with the girls instead. Sophia and Madeline were still awake at 11:00 p.m.

2006 census

I've just finished our 2006 census questionnaire -- finally! We received a long form (I think one in five households did) and it took me a solid 90 minutes to complete. Thank goodness I already had some information compiled, such as our annual expenses for electricity, gas, and water. I'm also very glad I could do the census online.

I sure hope everyone answered YES to the question:

"Does this person agree to make his/her 2006 Census information available for public release in 2098 (92 years after the census)?"

If not, your great grandchildren (and beyond) won't be able to find you in the census when they're doing their genealogy research! I can appreciate this because I've searched census data and found key pieces of information about my ancestors.

Speaking of surveys, I have to somehow find the time this week to complete a long questionnaire from the NICU regarding Georgia's development at four months.

In other news

Laurel and I managed to get our webcams working yesterday, so we could talk AND see each other. That was cool. The girls really liked it too. Sophia did not want to stop seeing Bronwyn. I think Laurel and I were both a little challenged in figuring out how to get our video connection going, but we'll get the hang of it. (Honestly, I'm still not exactly sure what to do!) It was really easy to do the instant messaging thing though. I had never tried that before.

***

Over the past couple of weeks, I've enjoyed "chatting" via email with my half third cousin who lives in LA. He's a descendant of my Great Great Grandfather, A.J. Byrns. He has a bunch of Byrns info and stories that I don't have, and likewise, I have information that he didn't. I get such a kick out of exploring my family history and meeting distant relatives through the internet (his sister came across my genealogy site and let him know about it). Wish I had more time for this hobby!

***

Just want to say... it pays to pay attention to your credit card bills and to retail prices when you're shopping! Just in the past week, I saved a bunch of money by paying attention to these things. Neil received a credit card bill with a pretty big charge on it from a local business he deals with regularly. I asked him what it was for and he didn't know so I insisted he call the business and find out. Well, the charge was a mistake! It was someone else's charge, so they reversed it on Neil's card. The other thing was at Walmart. I was purchasing a couple of things that had "Boxing week blowout" prices, but the regular price came up when they scanned it. The cashier had to do a price check on those things and I was right. It took a few extra minutes, but I saved several dollars.

Quick update

Lots of stuff on my mind....

Sophia was really good all weekend and today with the promise of a reward at the end of each tantrum-free day.  She started to have a tantrum a few times, but I quickly reminded her that she would lose her reward if she didn't stop it immediately. She was able to turn it off pretty quickly each time and I think she's getting even better at stopping it cold. Today, for example, she wanted mini marshmallows and pretzels before supper. She only complained for about a minute when I said no. That's practically a miracle. Her reward (her choice) has been some soda pop (not too much, about 1/3-1/2 cup; caffeine-free, of course) each evening shortly before bed. It actually drives me crazy to let her drink pop at all, but I figure if this is what motivates her right now, it's worth it. Plus, we brush her teeth soon after she drinks it.
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Madeline has been using the potty or toilet and has not had an accident for a whole week! I'm very very proud of her! And last night she slept for a full 12 hours and woke up with a dry Pull-up. She has never had a dry diaper overnight (and she usually sleeps for 10 hours, not 12). Craziness!
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I worked my butt off on Saturday around the house and with the kids. My feet and legs ached at the end of the day and I was really tired. My reward though was that I spent all day yesterday scrapbooking with my friends at one of their homes. I completed six pages and am really happy with that (haven't had time to scan them in yet, but will soon). I only have five pages left in "My First 10 Years" album! Can't wait to finish and start something new.
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While I was scrapbooking, Neil was home with the girls. He also took them to the Canada Games Festival for fun. The girls had their faces painted and jumped in a jolly jump thingy. Sophia also went on a ferris wheel and in a bumper boat. Sounds like they had a good time. My dear husband also did several loads of laundry and after the girls were asleep for the night (which was really early), he made two lasagnas and a Bison Torte (yum!) and put them in the freezer for me to eat while he's harvesting! How sweet is that?
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This is pretty cool! I had a phone message today from a lady in Kansas who said she's related to me because her Great Grandfather was Charles Byrns, brother to Robert Byrns, my Great Grandfather. I've had many email contacts and inquiries since I put my genealogy stuff on the web (summer of 1997), but this is the first phone call I've ever received! She said she'll phone again sometime and give me some info about that side of the family. Looking forward to it! I always wish I had more time to spend on genealogy research and documentation.
***
I am bracing myself for the school year. Sophia will be attending preschool on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. I'll have to pick her up at Sharon's during my lunch hour and take her to preschool, then I'll have to leave work to pick her up and take her back to Sharon's in the middle of the afternoon. I'll have to work late each of those days to make up for the time. Also, I've registered both girls in swimming lessons--Madeline on Tuesday evenings and Sophia on Thursday evenings. So there's something on every weekday. Ugghh. Not really looking forward to that. And with the sky-high price of gas right now ($1.06/litre), this is when I'd like to cut back on driving, not the reverse.
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Sharon told me today that she may have to quit babysitting if she doesn't get enough kids enrolled. This is not what I want to hear! Four of the mothers (with five kids among us) are expecting babies between September and January. I'm keeping one spot during my mat leave, so effectively that's four kids leaving. Another child is going to kindergarten (and won't be there at all anymore), and all of the other kids (four or five) are moving away between September and December. Her concern is understandable. I told Sharon I'll tell everyone I know that she has daycare spots open.
***
I'm amazed that I haven't had coffee for 10 weeks. I did have a decaf coffee today though because I wanted something hot to drink (it has been so cool out lately and it's really frigid in my office building). It tasted really good, so I certainly don't have an aversion to coffee anymore--but I'm no longer addicted to it either. I've saved more than $100 in the past 10 weeks, and probably a good chunk more on gas because I would drive to Tim Horton's at lunch time almost every day. I'm not saying I'll stay off coffee for good; in fact, I rather doubt it, but it's a good thing right now.

Genealogy

On Thursday, I received a great email message from a person whose ancestors lived in the same German community as my Wirth ancestors (Gelsendorf in the Galician / Galizien province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). He also provided a detailed genealogy document showing the family of Johann Philipp Wirth and Katharina Geistlinger (my great great great grandparents on my maternal grandfather's side). This is good stuff! This is the power of the internet. I don't even have to seek genealogy information--it finds me!

It's really the result of posting my family information on the internet. I've had my genealogy website up for seven years now. In the past few years, I've received about three to five inquiries a year, and sometimes, as in this case, people actually send me valuable information about my ancestors. I once went for coffee with my Dad's second (?) cousin who I met as a direct result of having a genealogy website.

I love studying my genealogy--connecting with family, solving little mysteries, learning about the past, performing the research and documentation that are so critical. I enjoy all of these elements. This is why it is also very frustrating for me to receive messages like the one on Thursday. It made me want to plunge right into it, but I just don't have the time!

I would really like to sit down and study the document I received (it's in German, so I need to interpret it; the fellow kindly sent a German-English legend to me as well) and enter the relevant information into my genealogy software (Reunion), but that would take several hours. It's just not going to happen right now. (P.S. If anyone in my family wants to take the time to interpret this document, let me know and I'll send the files to you.)

Even so, I did end up spending a couple of hours yesterday working on my genealogy site. For safety and privacy reasons, I decided to remove a lot of details about my living relatives. I also removed my original genealogy pages. Since March, I've had two sets of genealogy data posted--the pages I created in 1997 and those generated by Reunion. I decided to take down the original stuff. That was kind of sad for me. It took me a long time the create those pages, but now the software does it so quickly (though not quite as aesthetically pleasing, in my opinion).

All of this reminds me that I have in my possession huge amounts of genealogical data that I have not had time to enter into my software. *Sigh*

Busy week ahead

The next eight days are going to be crazy. Thank goodness Neil isn't terribly busy with the farm right now, so he'll be a big help with the girls (as he was last evening for the Marketing Barbeque at Candy Cane Park).

Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. my Grandma Byrns, Great Aunt Margaret Byrns (of Washington), and her daughter Sharon Streeter (of Oregon) are coming to our house for a brief visit. Their main purpose in stopping here (as we'll see them in Yellow Grass later) is to deliver the Byrns family bible. I'm very excited to get it, and honoured that my relatives who were in possession of the bible thought I should have it! My Dad's cousin Marilyn, who had the bible most recently, passed away last year and so the bible had to go somewhere. She had intended to give it to me--I guess since I had met her in 1995 and displayed my enthusiasm for family history.

Then at noon, we'll be heading to a paddling pool in Weyburn (or just to Y.G. if the weather is poor) for Ethan's third birthday party. After the party, we'll spend the rest of the day in Y.G. visiting Mom and Dad, Rob's family, Grandma, Margaret, and Sharon. Not sure if we'll stay overnight or not.

On Sunday, I'm going to my Clothing Club party (last one for this year) in the afternoon. It would be nice to get some yard work done on Sunday too.

I only have to work Monday to Wednesday next week, so that's not bad! Monday is the federal election day, so we'll have to vote. I'll have to go to the polling station either at lunch time or after work before 7:30 p.m. There's no clear winner at this point, so it'll be interesting to see the results.

Neil's planning to golf at Long Creek on Tuesday. He's really been itching to go golfing this year and try out his new driver, but this will be the first time.

Hmmm, Wednesday; I think Wednesday is free, unless we don't get the yard cleared sufficiently on Sunday, in which case, we'll have to do that because... Thursday at 7:30 a.m., we have a bobcat company coming to regrade our back yard. Yay!!! (This is another story, but I've had no luck getting a landscaper to do an estimate, so today I went to Waxy's and discussed the situation with them; basically, I'm cutting out the middleman (i.e., many landscapers would subcontract Waxy's to do the bobcat work and supply materials). It couldn't have worked out better (except to have had the work done before all of the rain) because I don't have to work (Thursday is Canada Day) and Neil can be home too. This is imperative so that one of us can have a decent conversation with the bobcat operator.

Friday we're going to a barbeque before the Rider game which is at 8:00 p.m. (The girls and I won't be going to the game.) The barbeque is being hosted by Aly, a woman who sits with Derek and Neil at the games (they have season tickets).

Saturday is Bronwyn's 4th birthday party at 3:00 p.m. That will be fun, of course, and perhaps an opportunity to get to know Bronwyn's Dad, Grant, a little better. (We don't see much of him because he lives in Toronto.)

There better NOT be anything happening on Sunday, July 4!