Skip to main content

Day 166: TV Again!

Is it super lame to do two posts about TV in a row? Especially after you have just said you don't watch much TV? Oh well!

Yesterday when the boys were doing their bedtime stalling version of playing well together, I got sucked into an episode of Genealogy Roadshow. My husband left to go vote and returned to find me still staring mindlessly at the television, learning about how someone's three second-great-uncles died in 1872. (Spoiler: it was smallpox.)

I am a sucker for ancestry, even when it is not my ancestry, I guess. I really enjoy Finding Your Roots, too. I find it a bit lame that they always take some small detail and try to spin it dramatically, but it's TV, so I should expect that. Why is everyone so shocked that their ancestors owned slaves? It sounds awful now, but it was an accepted practice at one time and I don't think we should all reasonably assume our ancestors were the ones living counter-culturally. But I digress.

This is my stunning grandmother, Bess.
Definitely my favorite ancestral photo.
Isn't it perfect? 
I am always fascinated by the records they are able to find and the stories they can piece together. I would love very much for someone to do an in-depth family history for me. Ancestry research is probably the thing (besides reading all the books) that I would do if I had all the time and money in the world.

This is my grandparents and my uncle Skip in 1939.
Grandma had written "Grapes of Wrath" on the back.
Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. 
I did a photo book about my maternal grandparents a few years ago. I included as much of a family tree as I could piece together from the notes I inherited from Grandma, and what my mom and uncles knew. I think I can find which generations came from Europe, but I don't know much else and would love to delve into it someday. Grandma was a fantastic storyteller and I wish we'd written or recorded more of her stories.

Family histories are so rich and interesting, and I hope someday to know more of mine. In the meantime, I'll just watch strangers on Geneaology Roadshow.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Am A Blogger: CWBN 2017 Recap

The last weekend in March I had the great pleasure of attending a real life blogging conference! Like a real blogger! Cathedral of St. Paul Jacqui ,  Anna  and  Susanna  hosted the Catholic Women's Blogging Network Twin Cities get together at a stunning Summit Avenue mansion in St. Paul. Thirty-some wonderful Catholic women from the Twin Cities, the Midwest, and even Maryland joined up to talk blogging and really just to support each other and build each other up. My friend Monica encouraged me to go, and I signed up on a bit of a whim, figuring that if I paid for registration I'd be more inclined to go. If I didn't have a mutual friend link to one of the organizers, and if a couple of my most favoritest bloggers hadn't been speakers, I'd probably have chickened out.  In response to my evident nerves on the way, my husband wisely mused, "Well, if you're going to walk into a group of people you don't know, this is probably the best group yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hey! Remember me?

Hey! I'm still here! I haven't given up on ye olde blog just yet, but I haven't had much to write about. I've been spending most of my time reading, mothering, household-running, reading, watching Instagram stories, and house hunting. Whew. Summer is flying by at breakneck speeds and I can barely keep up. I've read more books already than I did last year, which I think is saying a lot because I read more books last year than any year since I became a mother. I didn't set a number goal, but I did list out 10 or 15 that I wanted to get to. I've finished most, including the Harry Potters, but not all. It's a good reading year! Right now I'm reading one by a woman who gave up the Internet for a year. Insert scared emoji face. House hunting will likely be a whole separate post...someday. I have a few other posts in the rusty old brain, so we'll see if they come to fruition. I just didn't want you to forget about me!
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 101: Shopping Spree

One of the lovely ladies from my mother's group organized a shopping party at Clothes Mento r for last night. About a year ago, I had a most excellent experience with their personal shopping consultation, and I was excited to get back, especially since my favorite jeans now have around 5 holes. We had the store to ourselves for two hours last night and I tried on all  the pants. I hate trying on jeans. With help I was able to find a couple pairs, along with a top, tank top, and cardigan. I got it all for $65, which I feel is a pretty good deal. I also tried on a dress, backwards (because I guess I thought the tags went in the front ), which accentuated my dry, Scandinavian white, flaky legs. All the NOs you can no. I know some people aren't into used clothes, but I definitely am, especially from a respectable store like Clothes Mentor or Thred Up . I KonMari'd my clothes at the beginning of Purgefest 2016, and now my closet has mostly  versatile pieces that I like and ...
Post a Comment
Read more