Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Hope your day was full of family, friends, tradition and great food.

On the subject of my ongoing research of our family tree... I found that one of Jeff's relatives is Ireby Barrow, who is buried with his family in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where a lot of big time famous Hollywood stars are buried (for those of you who don't watch a lot of TMZ). I was thinking that he might be the father/grandfather of some famous actor or studio magnet or something, so I researched his history in a bit more detail. Turns out he was an early Los Angeles settler in the 1870's. His farm was bounded on the north and south by Rosewood Ave. and Beverly Blvd., between Vermont Ave. and Normandie, currently right in the middle of the city. Interesting!


Saturday 9: The Man in Black (1971)Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Black is this week's signature color, because Friday, November 24, is "Black Friday," when retailers cut their prices and consumers flock to the stores. Did you score any "Black Friday" bargains?

Not yet. If I do, it will be online. I don't like to be in stores on Black Friday, unless it's with others for a "shopping adventure" activity.

2) Among the biggest the Black Friday advertisers are Target, Kohl's, Macy's and Best Buy. If you could have a $100 gift card to any one of those stores, which would you choose? What would you buy?

Target. I would buy the same random $100 worth of stuff I always seem to buy when I'm there.

3) Feasting and football are also popular Thanksgiving weekend pastimes. Do your Thursday-Sunday plans include pigging out or watching a game?

Definitely pigged out for Thanksgiving. If Scott's cooking, you've got to pig out! We watched the Dallas game yesterday. We'll watch at least the A&M/LSU game on Saturday.

4) Thanksgiving weekend is a major time for travel. How far did you venture from home for the holiday?
Down the street to Scott-n-Julie's. Kirsten is visiting, along with her boyfriend and his mom. Super fun! Lots of amazing food.

5) This week's song, "Man in Black," is about a singer who refuses to wear bright colors. What color are you wearing as you answer these questions?

purple

6) Johnny Cash first performed this song at Nashville's Vanderbilt University.When were you last on a college campus? What brought you there?

Kathy and I were at Bass Concert Hall on the UT campus in April to see Phantom of the Opera.

7) The average American man wears a 10.5 size shoe, the average woman wears a 7.5. Johnny Cash wore a size 13. Are your shoes bigger or smaller than the national average?

Bigger. I have the hands and feet of a tall person. Just missing the height.

8) He preferred his coffee very strong. To make sure what he was drank was to his liking, he carried a jar of instant coffee with him and would ladle it into his cup in restaurants. What about you? What's your standard coffee order?

I like it strong with sugar and a little milk. 

9) While in the air force, Cash wrote short stories under the pseudonym "Johnny Dollar." Make up a pen name for yourself.

I gotta go with "Effie Tidbits" here.

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Wait.

I'm supposed to "string" celery before serving it? Have you all been doing this or is it just a crazy rumor? I've never done such a thing. I guess it would make for a more pleasant experience... if you can call eating celery "pleasant."

Hmm.

I've finally come across a sliver of fame in my family tree! Joseph J. Mansfield was in the U.S. House of Representatives 1916-1947. (There's a big ol' dam named after him here in Austin.) Well, back in the late 1800's, he was the county judge for Colorado County, down the road, Columbus way. Also - a pallbearer for my great-great-great grandfather's nephew at his funeral. Hmm! I'm surprised I even made the connection when I read it. Interesting!

Sunday Stealing: First Things First

{1} First thing you would do/buy if you won the lottery:
I would move to a smaller house with lower taxes.

{2} First person you call when you get amazing news:

Other than Jeff/Lauren, probably Laura

{3} First thing you do when you've had a bad day:

turn up the music

{4} First movie you went to without your parents:

Wow. I can't remember exactly which one was first. We went to sooooo many movies! Can't believe I don't know.

{5} First sport you played (Little League-style or in school):

basketball, then volleyball

{6} First major injury:

Stepping on a nail when I was about 5, through the shoe and almost through the top of my foot. It was sticking up through a 2x4 piece of construction wood I was walking on at our apartment complex.

{7} First product I use in the shower:

shampoo

{8} First apartment or house on your own (away from you parents!):

my grandparents' garage apartment in College Station, where I lived rent-free through undergrad

{9} First Roommate(s): 

I've never had a roommate!

{10} First Time Living Away from Home: 

at Texas A&M in College Station when I was 18

{11} First magazine subscription:

Seventeen, although I had been buying every single Tiger Beat and Teen Beat for years at the store before I had an actual subscription to a magazine

{12} First real piece of jewelry you owned:

My mom and dad bought me a pretty gold necklace with a pearl pendant when I was a freshman in high school. I lost it (or it may have been stolen) my senior year at senior musical practice one night. I thought I had put it in my purse, but it wasn't there and I never saw it again. So sad!

{13} First time staying home alone:

I don't remember. This question does remind me of the time I was home with a babysitter and we were watching a scary movie when we heard a noise in the attic. My mom was the Homeowners Association treasurer, so I knew all the association board members, one of whom was a district attorney or something, who drove the "community watch" vehicle around and checked out reports of mischief and such. I called him and he came over and checked the attic. All the neighbors came outside with us when he was there. It was fabulous. Mom about died of embarrassment. No more watching scary movies when an adult wasn't home. Ahaha.

{14} First thing I reach for in the fridge:

tea

{15} First car accident or traffic violation:

My registration sticker (or my inspection sticker) was out of date. I was about 20, in College Station.

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Hello World

Holy moly, it's been forever since I blogged. Greetings!

Was just working on indexing genealogy records for FamilySearch. (That's taking historical document images and entering the data that is on them into digital format, for searching and attaching to people online.) I find it to be super interesting. I just entered a record for a woman from 1927 named Effie Tidbits.

EFFIE TIDBITS!

What a great stripper name. She wears a dirndl and stilettos.

Okay, it was Effie Tibbits, but I read (and typed) it as Tidbits and about coughed up a lung giggling about it. THAT is entertainment, folks.

Another amusing thing is little 5 and 6 year old kids from the 1920's, with names like Oma and Grady. Heh.

Anyhoo... I was working a lot last month. Also indexing and family tree-ing. My tree is pretty filled out, but there are definite holes I need to research.

We went to the Texas Museum of Science and Technology in Cedar Park (or TXMOST, for the cool kids) last weekend. It is deceivingly small. It took us about 2.5 hours to really go through it and see one of the planetarium shows. The current exhibits are "Leonardo da Vinci: Machines in Motion" and "Drugs: Costs and Consequences." Nifty machines were built from some of daVinci's drawings, and you can interact with them. Fun for kids, and grown-ups as well. The drug exhibit didn't look great online, but it is actually very interesting. There is a ton of information, and we learned a lot.

The planetarium shows are every hour and they are different each time. The one we caught was about dark matter. The museum is in an interim facility in an industrial park at the moment, but it's worth a trip for sure.

I went a whole week without checking Facebook recently. I only ever get on there anymore if someone specifically addresses me, or I wish someone a happy birthday, or I'm checking the neighborhood group for entertainment purposes. Otherwise, I'm pretty much over it. I'm the person who used to drive me nuts, who has an account, but doesn't ever do anything with it. Annoying! Right? It's like visiting an out-of-date website. What is the point.

Speaking of FB, here's a Couples Survey from there this afternoon:

Who's older? me
Age difference: almost two months
Who was interested first? me
Who's taller? him, by 8 inches
Worst temper? him
Most sensitive: me
Loudest? him
Funniest? me
More social? me by a slight margin
Most stubborn? him
Falls asleep first? me
Cooks the best? I'm the only cook, so me!
Better singer? me
Most adventurous? him
Who enjoys traveling the most? me
The most organized: me
Stresses the most? him
Better driver? we're the same quality drivers, but he has way more tickets
How long have you been together? 31 years in January, married 28 years next May

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