Talking to my dad on the phone, making him laugh as he waits for my mom to cook his breakfast; bacon, biscuits, the works, pretending I'm jealous as he plays up how good it smells.

This brought me joy today....
 

morning
 

Love from Him..

and bacon.

*smile*

yup, life is goot...
 

Finally some good news, even if it interests only me ;).

I do genealogy as a hobby. On my father's side, I've been trying to prove for a couple of years that my great-grandfather was taken in or adopted by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. I had a lot of circumstantial evidence, but nothing that would impress the Perry Mason's of genealogy.

I knew the uncle was a Quaker, so for shits and giggles I wrote the Quaker group in Sparta, Ontario where they were from. I wasn't expecting anything, but a woman wrote back saying she was a cousin of some kind and that my hypothesis was right! Yay! She emailed me a memoir of his family, written by the uncle himself, pictures of his still-standing house, and other family pictures. That's genealogy for you; years of tedium with minutes of joy.

I still don't know what happened to his parents, or when, or where they were. But I hope that will come, too.

What hit me in the gut was that my dad and granddad were both named after this uncle, named Samuel. His something-great niece told me that he took in so many children from the town that he was known as "Uncle Sammy", whether related or not. My son is a Samuel as well-and I call him Sammy.

I'm honored to have Uncle Sammy even indirectly in my line.

And Day 2! At least genealogy-wise, I'm hitting it out of the park lately.

It was known that my father's mother was born in Scotland and came to Canada at age 7, where she was adopted by a family in Ontario. Nobody seemed to know how she got there, and I don't know how much she told my father. When I began my sleuthing, to make a short story long, I found the British Home Children. From about 1870 to the 1930's, there was a well-meaning attempt to give poor children in the U.K. a chance at a better life in Canada or Australia. These children, not all of whom were orphans, were turned over or scooped up off the streets and placed in orphanages. Quarrier's was a large orphanage in Scotland, and through contacting them (they are still a social service agency today), I found my grandmother and her brother's records and their birth certificates!

Their mother had died young, leaving my grandmother and the brother the two youngest children in a family of nine. Their father must have thought they would be better off in Canada and so turned them into Quarriers'. I can only wonder if my grandmother watched the coast of Scotland retreating from the ship, not realizing that she would never see her father or siblings again (there's more evidence that she and her brother could see one another in Canada). Did she think it was a big adventure, but that she would go back? I don't know. And how did her father feel? I can only imagine giving up my children to be adopted across an ocean, having known them up to age 7 and 8, so we're not talking little babies. I hope he knew that he made the only choice he could given the straights he was in.

Unfortunately, many of the BHC became little more than house servants or farmhands, not true children of the family. I hope both my grandmother and her brother lucked out and had good families, or at least a tolerable childhood. I do know my grandmother's family changed her name from Mary to Maud because they already had a daughter named Mary.

I was only seven myself when she died, and she had never spoken of Scotland to me. I have mixed feelings-jubilation at "finding" her, but sadness for being so uprooted.

Woke up feeling exceptionally good this morning. :)
Wondering what the day will present.

My bestustest friend just moved back to vancouver. We've both been globe trotting for... ah... 26 years? and we somehow always manage to wind up in, if not the same city, at least within a few hours of each other in the same country. we've lived together in four different cities too.

That is a real soul mate. I love my bezzi to bits. I'm so glad she's back.

she actually apologised to me for being crabby crusty pants yesterday. No. there's some people in this world that really don't have to apologise to me for moods. I don't give a fuck. She's one of them. My very old mates don't have to apologise for fuck all really. I know when they are sorry.

Oh. snap. I suddenly get that saying.

Being able to shut off the alarm and stay in bed as long as I wanted..... :)

Joy Factor! =)
 

The day is young and the sun it out (thank heavens!), but I came across a post out on the forum boards by Arwen and it's her signature phrase that entices me to adjust my attitude, which brings a bit of Joy to my life today.

And, I quote Arwen: "Seek Joy, Y'all!"


(Thanks Arwen!)

Finding out today that my custom woven tartan shipped from Scotland today. If all goes well, it should be here in 2 weeks!! *woot*

It's Rosie's 1st Birthday, Today!
 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1043376...5663/lightbox/

There are two pictures..one of her cake and one of her really enjoying her cake.


She's a sweet baby.

<3
 

my little girl calling me at work to tell me, that after two auditions, she made it into the school rock band. Instant tears. As good as it has felt at times in my life, when I had achievements or goals and accomplished them, it pales in comparison to how I feel today. I am so proud of her. *sighs*

I haven't relaxed , smiled or laughed this much in a while.
it's awesome

Seeing babies :cheer: