Surviving Lock Down

A year ago today I signed up for Zoom and attended the first of many group meetings. As the time went on I attended many more such meetings with many different types of groups. With things advancing quickly with restrictions it was so nice to have a means of communicating and learning. The Genealogy community found a whole new method of interacting as almost all in person events were cancelled. Our local Genealogical Forum of Oregon went virtual, with general meetings, seminars and a week-long virtual Open House that included eighteen free presentations. The sixteen Special Interest groups provide a wide range of learning opportunities and I attended ten of them, some on a monthly basis and all for free and some with handouts. As the year progressed the GFO volunteers worked hard to provide virtual access to records and websites for the use of their members. The more recent attendance has grown into the hundreds. Familysearch, Ancestry and My Heritage sponsored the RootsTech Virtual Conference and it had attendance in the millions. Instead of racing down hallways, paying for airfare, motels and other expenses we met the challenges of planning our time around the classes, presentations, virtual vendors hall and so much more. By the time this occurred in February people had adapted to learning online. The truly adventurous attended presentations throughout the United States and around the World. My favorite was a presentation on the customs of food and drink of old England with the group from Lincolnshire, England. The most challenging part of the process was calendaring the events so that I did not double book a reservation or forget about watching those for which I had a reservation. So, what is your take on the massive growth of online virtual learning opportunities and the formats for attending them? Do you have a favorite presentation format? While Zoom was the new kid on the block, with some learning curves involved it is my favorite. It is especially great with children and older adults. The biggest blessing of the entire year was being able to communicate with family, friends and neighbors in a virtual format. What it did for our genealogy work was truly amazing.

Getting Out for Some Fun

 Had a nice day after having a hard night sleeping. Morning nap gave me an extra boost. After a phone appointment about my health issues I went to pick up a friend and we ran some errands. Dropped off the book that was due at the library. Took a drive up to St. Helens to see Halloween Town by the Court House. Not very many people or much traffic. Then we went to DariDelish for a soft chocolate ice cream cone, and a burger basket. The food was wonderful. We ate our cones while we waited. On the way home we stopped at Walmart and each of us got an electric shopping cart. That rarely happens to me anymore. We filled our baskets and headed for home. With social distancing, wearing masks and very few people we just took our time. I must say that DariDelish was a very busy place with people driving up to get their orders and paying in cash. Glad to support our local venders! Even the weather was perfect for our outing.

Clear Blue Skies and Encouraging Each Other

Today was wonderful. Clear blue skies and an escape from the house for a ride about town. My good friend picked me up and we made several stops. Even though we kept our distance, we were able to visit with two good friends, our daughter and two granddaughters. Then we made a stop at Dairy Queen to pick up lunch and get some blizzards. We dropped off three blizzards at our daughters and then came by our house to drop off lunch with plans to go for another drive around town. On our way we saw our Relief Society President visiting with one of her counselors. Our plans quickly changed when we discovered our oldest son was at our house dropping off mother's day surprises. My friend left for home and just as we got settled visiting my older brother came by. The best part was visiting on the patio. We so need these people in our lives. It was amazing how many people were out. It is wonderful to see our town thriving. We can be careful and follow social distancing while still encouraging each other in the current struggles. Thank you to all who were a part of my special day!!!

Mystery Woman

In September I attended the Family History conference at the St. Helens, Oregon public library. So many wonderful people. I even taught a class. There was one woman who spoke to me twice telling me she had to leave early to go to a baby shower. She looked so familiar, but I still can't think of her name. Please note that my brain processing is not so good when I am focused on other things. If this was you or you know who she is please let me know.

Birthday Greetings

Thank you to everyone who sent birthday greetings via facebook and in so many other ways. Turning 65 has an odd feeling and this has been a challenging week. The greetings came from almost as many genealogy friends as all my other friends combined. That is especially true as anyone who knows me well knows a little about genealogy. What a blessing to live in this time of easy communication and DNA matches. This year many of my important items on my bucket list have been accomplished. I am grateful for wonderful, supportive family and friends. We are blessed to live in a beautiful area. Our home is comfortable and our lives are busy! Thank you again for being apart of my daily life in so many ways.

My Friend from Oaxaca, Mexico

My friend of thirty years came to visit with her daughter and brought me these lovely flowers and vase. We met at school and been good friends ever since. We celebrated her getting her green card after living in the US for thirty years. It took her five years and thousands of dollars. She had several lawyers and many people willing to help her. It will take another five years to be naturalized. When she came to the US with her family, to be with her husband who was already in Oregon, she came with just one small suitcase full of documents and pictures of her family.

Now she can legally make a visit to Oaxaca, Mexico to visit her elderly parents whom she has not seen in thirty years. Two of her daughters became naturalized citizens. It is wonderful that they are now able to make a visit and be able to return to the US afterwards. I love these people. They have been hardworking, honest, caring and taught their children to appreciate the important things in life. She has certainly persevered and accomplished this major step forward!! 

I met her in the grade school at Clackamas, Oregon. They were registering her children for school and I volunteered to help them get settled here. They had four girls and one boy. I taught her how to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving that year. The school staff literally provided their Christmas, tree, presents and food! She has had a huge struggle these past thirty years. One thing we share in common is our love for the Savior.