Random 5 for April 28, 2024 – ancestry research, spring, petunias, busy schedule, fall

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These are the wonderful pink petunias!

The dreaded rabbit hole – Way back when I first started doing ancestry research, I’d fall into a rabbit hole for hours surfacing only for food. I created a family tree that went back many generations. At that time, there was information online but not as much as today. Occasionally, I would get a message from a very distant relative who was also researching. They hoped I could confirm a piece of evidence. That would happen maybe twice a year. I haven’t heard from anyone lately until this past week. It was someone who thinks that my great-great grandfather may be the brother of his great-great grandfather. In a quick check, it’s possible. I was able to correct some dates he had wrong, but he opened an area that I hadn’t researched before. I could use a nice snowstorm to settle in and work. (Just kidding Mother Nature!)

Speaking of weather – We are predicted to have a nice warm week here. That means outside work. We have bags of mulch to spread and flowers to buy. There is always a flurry of activity in May. By July I’m wondering why I planted so dang many flowers that must be watered! Vicious cycle but I’m looking forward to it!

The elusive petunia – I found a petunia that works well in my yard. I planted it the last two years. It doesn’t take much care, is beautiful and grows fast. However, it’s one of those “patented” varieties that you can’t find just anywhere. I haven’t found available seeds for sale either. Last year two garden centers carried it. I’m hoping that it’s more widely available this year. It’s like a new drug. Outrageously priced when new but the cost calms down a bit as other varieties are introduced. Maybe.

If it’s Monday, I must be… — This was a busy week. I frittered away my free days and complained about being too busy for the rest. This is retirement.

How to ruin a free day — I had a lovely day with no appointments and the weather was nice. I was looking forward to a walk, catching up and just enjoying life. I started out on my walk and fell. I lay in the street wondering what happened. My feet weren’t paying attention or the curb tripped me. Still not sure what happened but I’ve got the bumps and bruises to prove it happened. I spent the rest of the day nursing my boo-boos and all my plans went by the wayside. Maybe a walking stick isn’t a bad idea.

So how was your week? What are your rabbit holes?

71 thoughts on “Random 5 for April 28, 2024 – ancestry research, spring, petunias, busy schedule, fall”

  1. So sorry that you fell. You were daydreaming. It happens. Trying to stay present is a full time job. Just ask my knees that if scars could talk they’d commiserate.

    I can’t help thinking of your old pond whenever the weather finally changes. Those mating ribbets live on in memory.

    Love the picture of your house. So pretty. You have the nicest taste Kate.

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  3. The dreaded F-A-L-L. I love how when you’re a person of a certain age and you go to the doctor, they always ask you if you’ve fallen recently. Talk about making someone feel old!

    Speedy recovery, Kate! And you should just tell people you rolled into a ball and somersaulted back into a standing position. Or better yet, tell the doctor that the next time you’re there.

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  4. My rabbit holes are researching plants and flowers. I start looking at garden photos and I’m lost. I like your petunias, but know how you feel about the price. We have wooden walking sticks, very stylish with leather straps that create an easy way to make sure you don’t drop one. I don’t use mine in the neighborhood but I do in parks.

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  5. Ugh, so sorry about your fall! I say go back the same way and show that curb, street, what you’re made of. Heal well! I think of you all the time whenever I see ads for ancestry.org or similar. I tried starting it during lockdown, but then somehow got frustrated and stopped. I should try again, though as you suggest, perhaps in the crummier months. – Marty

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  6. Nobody wants to know my rabbit holes. They run deep with lots of frightening tunnels.

    Scary about your fall. When I walk the dog, on occasion I’ll trip on one of those sidewalks squares that are raised higher than the rest. One time I did everything not to hit the ground, twisting and turning upright like a pretzel. I didn’t come home with bumps or bruises, but twisting like that threw my entire body out of whack and I was sore.

    I understand how a fall like that is scary and can ruin a day. Thank God you weren’t seriously hurt. Watch out for those raised sidewalks.

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  8. Ancestry investigations can certainly draw you down the rabbit hole, but when I was doing it, I certainly enjoyed it. 🙂 Sorry about the fall, and like everyone else has mentioned I see walking stick(s) being used by a lot of folks these days. Your annuals look lovely. What do you have in the planters by the door? I planted my cannas yesterday. 🙂

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    • That picture was from last year. I’m hoping I can get the same petunias. I have angel wing begonias in the pots which get very tall and a canna in the one between the garage doors. I love doing ancestry research. I find it fascinating. Wish I could have known more of my ancestors. I only knew one grandfather. All the rest were gone by the time I was born and the one left did not speak English. I don’t remember having a relationship with him. He died when I was 6 or 7. I have a soft spot for immigrants as my grandparents (all of them) emigrated here as young adults for a better life.

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  10. My friend Carol did my family tree and found out we are related some 11 generations ago through our grandfathers who lived in the Quebec area.. She is very big into ancestry and has a genealogist she has uses to track down relatives in Europe.

    And my friend/next-door neighbor Marge also spent a lot of time on Ancestry and while noodling around she found another “Marge Flanigan Aubin” and they weren’t related in the least. They connected and stayed friends for years.

    I have taken a few bad falls on uneven pavement in my day. I messed up my knee with a nasty scrape on my one knee and it got street dirt in it on top of it while running for the bus. I had to bandage my knee with gauze to keep the bandage on – it was Summer, so try working in the yard and you can’t bend your knees.

    I had a home page once and I wish I could remember the name – it had every type of info you could find to look at. Hundreds of different sites for “_____ of the day” or listing things on this date in history, as an example. I could get lost in that site for hours. Now we really don’t have a home page per se.

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    • A lot of the people who lived in the area I grew up, emigrated from the same place in Austria. When I did the research I was surprised to see the last names of my ancestors were the same as some of my classmates. There may have been a very distant relationship or maybe our ancestors were neighbors. I also learned that wineries were the big thing back there with most people either working in the winery, farming a small plot or the women worked in the “big houses” of the rich.

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      • That’s interesting. Do you follow Eilene Lyon, a blogger who does most of her posts based on her stories about her ancestors? She has very old photos, some which she travels to go to libraries to look up stories/pics on microfiche. She has written a book, maybe two about tracing her ancestors.

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        • I do not. When I started much of the microfiche had been transitioned on-line. We have an ancestry research room locally. I went once but I couldn’t find anything there that wasn’t already on-line. I’ve been able to get old photos from other relatives who are also researching. My maternal grandfather died in the flu epidemic of 1918. Obviously I never met him (my mom was a young child). A cousin had a wedding picture of his grandmother (my mom’s sister) and her dad (my grandfather) was with her. It’s the only time I’ve seen what he looks like. He looked just like my mom’s oldest brother. I was over the moon with that discovery. It also showed my aunt as a young woman. She was beautiful. I remember her as old with braids wrapped around her head, in a pinafore dress and with clunky tie shoes. She was much older than my mom who would never dress like that.

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    • I enjoyed doing the tree. I never asked my parents questions about their lives and parents so it was a way to understand them better. My grandparents emigrated here as young adults. Their stories were very interesting to me.

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  16. I’m sorry about your fall. It’s so easy to trip over something you didn’t even see. A few years ago, I tripped over a raised place in the sidewalk and fell. To my surprise, when I walked him to school the next day, someone (who must have seen me) had fixed the sidewalk with concrete.

    I love your petunias. They look lovely against the colors of your house.

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  18. Kate, that’s scary about you falling. I’m glad you got yourself picked up and only have bumps and bruises… nothing broken. Shaking my head over you laying in the street… don’t want anymore of that. We have raised areas of sidewalk in our neighborhood from the Oak tree roots pushing them up. I tripped over them too often and finally bought a walking stick and it has made a huge difference. I think it might just be the confidence it provides but it works. Lovely photo of your home and front yard!

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  19. Ouch on the fall…….I see folks my age around here with walking sticks and it seems like a pretty smart idea. If I was capable of walking (more than a few blocks!) I’d have one.  I have – at least so far – successfully put the brakes on my obsession to buy one or two of anything pretty I see in the way of outdoor plants. I just can’t keep up with them so I’ve cut back. I have deck boxes on the deck – some plants on the front porch and I plan to keep it that way. It will be tough – I really love plants and enjoy watching them grow and flower, etc. Sigh. 

    Hugs, Pam

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  20. Sorry about your fall! I swear I tripped over the same bump in the pavement in the dark multiple times. I’ve seen a lot of folks with walking poles–one for each hand. That doesn’t work when you have dogs, of course, but it’s becoming more common. Plus, you could fend off loose dogs and wildlife.

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  21. I have issues both with balance and with my ankles. I have a cane which my PCP suggested I get. I also have a Walkingstick that was handmade for me back in 1988. I don’t use either very much because my handicapped sticker allows me to park close at most places I am going to.

    I was recently given a good idea from my high school BFF who lives in California. She says that when she first turns on the shower and is waiting for the water to get warm, she always puts a bucket under the faucet and then uses that water to water all of her plants, inside and out. Maybe that might work for you?

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  23. Sorry to hear about your fall. Good to hear only bumps and bruises. So far no falls for me but I have stumbled a few times. I remember when my walks were long and fast. These days they are more like slow strolls but still exercise. Gotta keep on keepin on.😸

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  24. I’m still catching up on blogs. Blogs may offer many kinds of rabbit holes. I was reading about a visit to Helsinki this morning and remembering my trip to Alaska. And then I spent a long time trying to find the name of the kind of smoked salmon we ate there. It is soft and moist and delicious. Not meat leather. And then while moving on to something else, I remembered. Kippered. And now I’m talking about it to you. You should see the prices on the stuff now. Will prices ever get back to reasonable?

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    • I’m fine. I fell about two years ago and that one was worse as it was on gravel and downhill. I was just at my doc this week assuring her that I never fall! Well, I don’t go back for a year so I’m good.

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  27. So sorry to learn of your spill. It’s always humbling to get tripped up especially at our age. As much as I walk with the dogs, I’ve come to realize the need to be much more aware of the uneven sidewalks that are a hallmark of my neighborhood, lest I fall down and go boom. Take good care-hopefully another leasurery day will soon present another opportunity to enjoy a nice walk with a better outcome. Happy Sunday.

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  28. So sorry about your fall. I am so much more aware of the ease of falling as I get closer to 70, and the bad things that come from those falls. And don’t even think about snow please!!! I’m pretty sure Mother Nature isn’t listening away. Too busy creating chaos in the Midwest. All of April has been very busy for me– more like a June pet sitting month rather than a spring one. And I thought semi-retirement was going to be quieter. Sigh.

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