Old Photos

In going through some old photos I found a few worth publishing. Getting them into my Blog post has been difficult but I did it and hope they show up on my next post. Let me known.

Photos taken during Thanksgiving while in Port Townsend, Washington.

Grandpa with Nathan walking through the leaves.

Fall on Normandy Drive.

Marge with Eli in August, 2008.

SUP Meeting

Tonight mom and I went to the Mapleton chapter of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers ("SUP") meeting and dinner in Spanish Fork. Almost all of the attendees are like us -- older than dirt. We saw the Nixons, Batemans, Haines, Everetts, and others some of you may remember. Our speaker was Frank Madsen who for many years was the Administrative Assistant to Senator Orin Hatch when he was first elected. Frank had some very interesting experiences brought about by his contacts with embassys and other congressional offices while also serving as a Bishop in the Washington, DC area. He told of helping the church become established in Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland and other countries which were part of the old USSR. When the Jerusalem Center was 85% completed the ultra-orthodox jewish community in Israel threatened to stop construction have the church divest its holdings. It was only through letters from key US Senators and US Congressional leaders including a threat from the key committee chairman who controlled aid to Israel that the Kinesset approved the BYU center and allowed construction to be completed. He mentioned something I did not know--that the center is built on land leased from an Arab owned for 50 years. Most interesting talk.

Mom continues to have trouble with her right knee. She has good days and bad days. Today was bad. However, I don't think she is ready for a replacement yet.

I am on a serious diet and hope to get down to at least 180 lbs. so I can begin training for our July fun run. I am struggling to get below 200 lbs. Right now I weigh 202. Breaking t he 200 lb barrier will be a day for celebration. You thin family members--John, Ami, Becki--may mock me but I will get there and will kick butt when we meet for the race. So there!

For some reason today both mom and I slept in. She was up between 3 and 5 a.m. I was up between 7 and 9 a.m. But we both then slept until noon. I can remember the days when I was an early morning person. I'll bet you Becki and you Ami would love to sleep in until noon some time. Just know that when you can do it and no one cares it's not as much fun.

Mom and I are starting an 8 week sunday school class on February 1. The class outline follows:

Outline for PV 6th Family History Program
Eight Weekly Classes During Sunday School
Classes to be Held Every Sunday During February and March (Except March 1)

RESEARCHING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY ON-LINE

Instructors: B. Ray Anderson
Margaret Anderson


One:
Introduction.
Complete a brief written family history survey:
Why are you enrolled in the course?
What do you need help with?
Tell us about your genealogy and temple work.
What countries are you ancestors from?
What were the approximate dates of immigration to US?
Have you hit a brick wall? Describe?
5 Step Research Process
The Top Sites for Researching On-Line:
Three page handout – Check out the sites at home
We will examine briefly in first class and in depth at later classes.
Local Centers and Libraries – What is available:
(Regional Center in Provo, BYU FH Library)

Two:
LDS RECORDS (www.familysearch.org.; Accessing the Temple Ordinance Index; TIB; Pioneer Records; Mormon Immigration Records, Etc.)
Introduction to Maintaining a Data Base: PAF & Other Programs
Research Guides for Each State

Three:
Primary Sources & Vital Records (Birth, Death, Marriage)
Census Records
www.Ancestry.com
Other Census Source Internet Sites
Forms for Census Extraction
Other Countries

Four:
Death Records
Social Security Death Index
Military Records

Five:
Newspaper Records
Immigration & Naturalization and Passenger Records
County & Town Histories & Other Books

Six:
Detailed Review of Remaining Valuable Internet Sites

Seven:
Researching in British Isles/Scandanavia

Eight:
Research in Other Select Countries & Areas


THE COURSE MATERIAL WILL BE ADJUSTED TO THE PARTICULAR NEEDS OF THE ATTENDEES

That's it for now

Su Padre

Stuff for January 21, 2009

I have been having some problems when I walk or jog with my left leg. The upper part goes numb after walking, jogging or even standing on hard surfaces. I had an MRI on Monday and found out that I have some arthritus in the lower spine. For now I will get a shot in the spine and do some therapy at the wellness institute in Provo. Nothing too serious.

Marge and I went to the BYU vs. UNLV basketball game tonight unhappily BYU lost. It's only the 2nd home loss in 56 home games. The other was against Wake Forest, a team rated #1 in the nation. BYU had a big lead--16 points--and slowly lost the game. Bummer.

Watched a webinar on Ancestory about a product called "mycanvas" which helps with the development of a book. Right now I'm looking for some software I can use to do a couple of family history books. Any ideas?

Normally on Wednesday evening Marge and I go to a religion class at BYU. We played hooky tonight in favor of the basketball game. With the loss I now feel bad we didn't go to our class which continues through April and is all about "Joseph The Seer". Good stuff about Joseph Smith. What an extraordinary man he was.

Yesterday we had Nathan here for most of the day. He is a great kid. We only wish we could also babysit periodically for Sophie, Ellie, Nico, Ben and/or Eli as well.

I love the blogs from John, Becki and Ami. Very creative and informative. Sophie is getting so cute John. Looks like Ellie runs the known universe. Is Ben still stuck on Caroline?

That's it for a while. I will try and do better John.

Su Padre