Friday, November 18, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-18-11

TGIF

Wow am I glad today is Friday!! 
Grocery shopping is done!!
Time to get ready for 
 Thanksgiving Day
Hope everyone has a Great Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-17-11

Just a week til Thanksgiving Day! I am thankful that we have been blessed and are able to look forward to a Thanksgiving dinner with family. I've already bought the turkey and many of the fixings for the dinner. Need to get my recipe folder out with my holiday recipes, to see what else I need to buy.
My husband has told me not to over do, there aren't that many of us, but I try to fix a favorite dish for everyone. How can I choose to leave something out?

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-16-11




I am thankful for the Great new deck my husband has put up.  I'm looking forward to enjoying the birds at the bird feeder this winter.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-15-11

Thankful for the memories!!

Sometimes it is hard to be thankful, when you are in a situation you can't always find the good. When my husband and I married he was in the Army. He was stationed at Ft. Devens, Mass. which seemed a world away to me. It was hard and there were many lonely days but I think it made our marriage stronger since we learned to count on each other. There was no running home to mom and dad.
We lived in Leominster, Mass for the first year then we moved on base. Over the years we have been able to look back at our time there and enjoy the memories.  We had one of those moments over the weekend when cleaning out a bookshelf. I found Albert's Almanac we had saved from 1988. Dick Albert was the weather man on WCVB TV in Boston while we were living up North. We lived in Mass. for 3 years.

Monday, November 14, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-14-11

November 14, 1981, thirty years ago today my grandfather died. He was a man of few words, calm. We always knew he loved us, he would pinch you and smile and wink.
My grandmother died just 8 months before him, they were married almost 65 years. He missed her so much. He had several small strokes and his mind wasn't clear at times. He would ask my mom "When is you mom coming back home?"  He asked if they had put up the tombstone for my grandmother and mom and I took him to see the tombstone. He seemed happy to know this had been done. He had a stroke the end of October and was in the hospital for 2 weeks before he died.
We took turns staying with him at the hospital. Mom stopped in the gift shop at the hospital several times to pick up something needed. She saw a set of turkey salt and pepper shakers  in the gift shop.
Dad was with her and knew she liked them so he bought them for her. At Thanksgiving we always stop and remember where they came from and think about my grandfather.
I am thankful to have memories of two wonderful grandparents, John and Hattie Ziegler.

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-12-11 and 11-13-11

I'm so thankful that we (daughter,husband and I) were able to get some furniture moved Saturday. We have some home improvements coming up after the first of the year and it requires the living room be free of lots of furniture and clutter. We emptied a large bookshelf and move it downstairs. It has been so much fun going through all the things that have gathered on that shelf in the 20 years it has been in our house. I am finding that most of the stuff will be kept.
I have also discovered the bookshelf looks better downstairs and I like the smaller table in the living room.

Friday, November 11, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-11-11


Thank you Dad and Uncle Eugene.
Veterans Day, November 11, 2011 History of Veterans Day
I am thankful for all the Veterans who have protected our country!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-10-11

As the weather becomes colder and winter will be here soon, I am thankful for
l. A warm house
2. Food
3. Clothes

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-9-11

I am thankful my husband and my children encouraged me to get on Facebook! Through Facebook I have connected with family and friends. I found my next door neighbor way back when we were kids, she and her mother are both on Facebook. We've had a lot of fun reminiscing. I found another girl who lived up the street for a couple of years we were good friends but lost contact since her family moved around the country. Sadly I found a friend from high school but didn't send her a friend request at the time, a few months later on a memorial page for our high school, I discovered she died Dec. 2010.  I had not heard from her in many years.

Many of my cousins are on Facebook and I am friends with them, it is a great way to stay in touch. A group of Kelley cousins have connected through Facebook. We  have a Kelley Family group page which has been so much fun, we have shared pictures and stories about the family. Many of the cousins have posted pictures of their families now. Most of us in the group are great grandchildren of Hiram and Nancy Kelley. We had an online family reunion during the month of September and many of us posted pictures.
My dad has been dead 10 years and I often wonder what he would think about me connecting with all of these cousins. He would probably think it was neat! He would be giving me names of others to search for. It is a wonderful time to be doing family research.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-8-11

Today has been a rushed and busy day!! I would just like to be thankful that the Lord has blessed us with such a Beautiful day and thank the Lord for keeping us safe!

Monday, November 7, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-7-11 Blogoversary!

I am thankful today for starting this blog and for the Many people who I have come to know online because of this blog. Most of the people have genealogy blogs but not all.
I would like to thank Lisa at Are You My Cousin for the link on her Friday Follow post. Thanks to Teena at Teena In Toronto for reminding me of my Blogoversary on Friday. I can't believe I forgot. It has now been 3 years, WOW!
I hope this next year I'll have more time and will be able to improve on my blog.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-6-11

I'm thankful for the beautiful fall colors. The leaves have been gorgeous this year and the weather has been nice. We haven't been out to the mountains to  see the leaves but I try to enjoy the leaves around me.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-5-11

Today I am thankful for my home! My house isn't new, or big, or fancy. It is old, built in 1968, just an average size house for that time period, and it is as some would say plain. But it is a home, my husband and I feel like it is and hopefully our children do also. There is a difference between a house and a home. To me it has always been more important to have a home. Our house is filled with STUFF as we are all pack rats and we have lived here for 21 years. Our home is filled with memories!!
I have to say it again I am thankful for my home!!

Friday, November 4, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-4-11

November 4, 2011, I am thankful for my two fantastic children. They put up with mom dragging them off to an old church and cemetery.  I think they do kinda enjoy seeing where their ancestors lived. At different times, we have pictures made of my great aunt, mom, me, my children on the steps of this church.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-3-11

Today I am thankful that the Lord blessed me with a terrific husband. We have been married almost 26 years, Dec. 21, 1985.  He is my best friend.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful 11-2-11

On this the second day of November, I am thankful for my wonderful mother. She is 87 years old, can't get around very good, can't do all the things she once did but she is still the most wonderful  mother.  I love her very much. Thank you for being such a Great mother.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

November a Month To Be Thankful

My blog has been pushed to the side this year, I can't believe it is November already and I have only  29 post for the entire year! Today on Facebook I saw where one of my friends Margaret Ann Tull had a post 30 Days of Thanks. This got me to thinking, it is always good to find something to be thankful for and this might help me to post on my blog for the month of November, so here goes 30 days of thanks!

Today is T1Day with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation you can find out more information here http://www.jdrf.org/ .

I changed my profile picture in an effort to raise awareness to Type 1 Diabetes. The JDRF asked people to change their profile picture and in your status tell "Who's your #one?" My number one is my daughter and son who both have Type 1 diabetes. My daughter since she was 26 months, for 18 years now and my son who has had diabetes 10 years the 30th of Oct. He was 8 years old. There is no cure, insulin only treats diabetes.

Since I'm starting a month to be thankful on the Type1Day, 11-1-11 my first things to be thankful for would be insulin, meters to check blood sugar, and the insulin pump. All the things that keep my sweet children alive.

 

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

Some Halloween pictures from a few years ago!




Sunday, October 30, 2011

Buttram Methodist Church


We made a trip up to McMinn County this past week and stopped by the Buttram Methodist Church and Cemetery. The fall colors were beautiful. 
We were even able to get a picture of  the inside of the church through the window.  My Great Great Grandparents Jacob and Annabelle Ziegler are buried in the cemetery here. They lived less than a mile from this little church.
We didn't have the time to go through the cemetery but I did walk up by the gate to see if it was locked and all the cows in the field next to the cemetery started to stand up. Guess they thought I was there to feed them.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Fall Leaves


Dogwood Tree

Redbud Tree


Redbud Tree


Bird at my new bird feeder!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Beautiful Day in Chattanooga




View of downtown Chattanooga from the North side of the Tennessee River

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Thankful Thursday - How Did Your Ancestors Survive?

One of the most important things to have this summer with the extreme heat is air condition so that is what I'm thankful for today. Do you ever wonder how our ancestors survived the heat? I remember my dad said they would work in the morning and then go swim in the creek across the field from their house.
Mom said that her brothers put their bed on the screened in porch during the summer. We didn't have AC in our house when I was growing up, until I was a teen. I can remember some very HOT nights and the windows open.

A funny story about AC. My great grandmother Ziegler lived to be 98 years old she didn't understand all the modern things (Wow! would she be shocked now!). She came to my grandparents house in the summer and they had the AC on and Grandma was next to it. She was getting cold and said if Will Ziegler (her husband) was here he would stop up all the holes in the house so it wouldn't be so COLD!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Chickens!! Help!


I think this is one of my first memories. I remember being afraid of the chickens my grandparents had and I would run from them.
Granny to the rescue!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Brothers

Eugene Douglas Kelly and Tom Franklin Kelley

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Family Search!!

Last night was  the most productive time ever spent on genealogy research. Family Search is  a wonderful research site for those of us that don't have the money for the other paid sites. https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1417505
I haven't done much on Family Search in a while and discovered they have the Tennessee, Death Records, 1914-1955 and what made it great was the fact you can view and save the Death Certificates.
I was up until 1:00 AM looking up family and saving! I know it may sound crazy to some to be excited over Death Certificates but sometimes there is information on there that we don't know, like the father and mother's maiden names. I found 22 certificates which I saved!
One example is that of my husband's Great Grandmother, Cora Ransom Brumley, who died in 1940, her parents were Granville Ransom and Emma Baker. This we already knew but now I've found Emma Ransom also buried at the Mt. Etna Cemetery in Marion County, Tn. Emma Ransom died 1915 and her parents are listed as Henry Baker and Betsie Sexton. We didn't have these names, they would be my husband's Great Great Great Grandparents.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Help! Is There Anyway Out of Here?

This must be the way out!
Getting somewhere
Maybe up?
I can see the yard!
Still can't get out!

Friday, June 24, 2011

50th Wedding Anniversary

John  and Hattie Ziegler
This photo was taken by a friend of the family on my Grandparents
 50th Wedding Anniversary, April 1966.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Kelley Family Reunion

Kelley Family Reunion
December 1983
Dad, Mom, me, sister-in-law, and brother
I am so happy to get this picture. I had not seen it until just recently.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Memory Monday!

I guess the reality that my children are grown is hitting me! My daughter is 20 and just completed her second year of college. She is taking a summer class and has been busy doing homework since the class meets 5 days a week and a lab 2 days a week. My son,almost 18, just graduated from high school and will start college in August. He just started working at Papa John's Pizza, which we love. I just have to say he smells so good after he has been making pizza.  Even though they are still living at home I know they are no longer children but young adults. It seems strange at times. There are so many memories of their childhood all around, as we are all pack rats and save almost everything.

Over the weekend my husband, daughter and I went out to eat. After we ate we went to Books-a Million to look around. Well just inside the door was the summer reading display.Wow! This is the first year that we haven't had to go out and buy books for the summer reading. I wish I could say that my kids love to read but I can't. Hopefully they will enjoy reading when they can pick the book and read at their own pace. After all the books and work they did in high school it may be awhile. It was for me and my husband.

There were also the craft kits! This brought back so many memories of making things with my kids. It was always so much fun. The crafts didn't always turn out perfect but we had fun.

My husband's niece posted pictures on Facebook of her boys playing this summer. More Memories!
They grow up so fast. Where have the years gone? Not that long ago my kids were playing on the water slide in the front yard and going to the park to play.

I keep reminding myself there are new things to enjoy with my young adults! Watching them get through college and have successful jobs. I guess this is the start of the empty nest!  They are still here, just missing the fun times. I'm glad I don't have to live through some of the things that have come our way so I would not like to go back. I'll just enjoy the memories!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Face of Genealogy

There are many faces which come to mind when I think of the Face of Genealogy. In fact I had another photo here and changed my mind. This photo was in a group of photos from my Aunt. They had been my grandmother's photos. The back of the photo says Mr.and Mrs. Davis and family and is addressed to L. A. Newby. My Great Great Grandmother was Lydia Newby but when I first saw the photo I didn't know who the Davis family was. After doing some research I found that Mrs. Davis in the photo was the grandaughter of Lydia.Her name was Ida Thurman Davis. Ida's mother was Bettie Newby Thurman the daughter of Lydia and King Newby.
To me This is the True Face of Genealogy, being able to take an old photo and learn who they were, how they were related and a little about them.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Edgemon Family

Left to right: Hattie, Lettie, Becky, Harden's wife, Liz (sister-in-law), Polly, and Harden
looks like there maybe someone between Lettie and Becky but can't tell who.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

April 1910 Postcard


Hello:Grandmaw. I recived your pretty Easter card glad to get a card from you. Say Grandmaw you must be shure and com to see this sprang. We will have strawberries ripe by the last of this weak. Say Grandmaw you give this card to Uncle Tom and see if he has forgoten who this is one it. Well good by will write soon. Your granddaughter Liddie
postmarked April 5, 1910
Rossville, Ga
addressed to L. A. Newby in Denver
names of the men on front are ? Hollingsworth, John Long, and Quitman Long

Liddie was my grandmother's sister. Liddie would have been  15  years old in 1910. She was writing to her grandmother Lydia Newby (her father's mother). Lydia Newby was living in Denver, where her daughter Mattie Newby Burdick lived. From this postcard it appears that her son Tom Newby was also living  in Denver in 1910.
John Long and Quitman Long were Uncles on her mother's side of the family. Since she was asking if Uncle Tom remembered who the men on the front of the card were, they must have been friends. We are not sure when the Newby family moved from Franklin County,Tn  to the Walker County,Ga. area, maybe this will help.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Easter 1960

Easter 1960! I don't remember 1960, I'm the little one here! Easter was always lots of fun. We went to my grandmother (Mama Kelley) house. We had a big family dinner. Then the little kids had to stay inside while the older cousins would hide the Easter eggs for us to hunt. We would hunt them over and over I guess til the older kids got tired (bored).

Friday, March 18, 2011

Something To Think About As We Rush Into Spring

When spring arrives after a long cold winter we all want to get out and have a million things to do but we need to slow down and be safe. I got the following in an e-mail recently and read it just after I was almost hit by another car at an intersection about a mile from my house. I had slowed down at the intersection as I always do even when I have the green light. My light turned green as I approached and green as the other car went through the intersection. If I hadn't slowed down the other car would have hit me on the driver's side. It scares me I'm not sure either of us would have survived the accident.

Read This Slowly
Jack took a long look at his speedometer,
Before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone.
Fourth time in as many months..
How could a guy get caught so often?
When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour,
Jack pulled over, but only partially.
Let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard..
Maybe some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror.
The cop was stepping out of his car,
The big pad in hand..
Bob? Bob from Church?
Jack sunk farther into his trench coat
This was worse than the coming ticket.
A cop catching a guy from his own church.
A guy who happened to be a little eager
To get home after a long day at the office..
A guy he was about to play golf with tomorrow..
Jumping out of the car,
He approached a man he saw every Sunday,
A man he'd never seen in uniform.
'Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like this..'
'Hello, Jack.' No smile.
'Guess you caught me red-handed
In a rush to see my wife and kids.'
'Yeah, I guess.' Bob seemed uncertain.
Good.
'I've seen some long days at the office lately.
I'm afraid I bent the rules a bit -just this once.'
Jack toed at a pebble on the pavement.
'Diane said something about roast beef and potatoes tonight.
Know what I mean?'
'I know what you mean.
I also know that you have a reputation in our precinct ...'
Ouch.
This was not going in the right direction.
Time to change tactics.
'What'd you clock me at?'
'Seventy. Would you sit back in your car please?'
'Now wait a minute here, Bob.
I checked as soon as I saw you.
I was barely nudging 65.'
The lie seemed to come easier with every ticket.
'Please, Jack, in the car'
Flustered, Jack hunched himself through the still-open door Slamming it shut, he stared at the dashboard..
He was in no rush to open the window.
The minutes ticked by.
Bob scribbled away on the pad..
Why hadn't he asked for a driver's license?
Whatever the reason,
It would be a month of Sundays
Before Jack ever sat near this cop again.
A tap on the door jerked his head to the left.
There was Bob, a folded paper in hand
Jack rolled down the window a mere two inches,
Just enough room for Bob to pass him the slip.
'Thanks..'
Jack could not quite keep the sneer out of his voice.
Bob returned to his police car without a word.
Jack watched his retreat in the mirror..
Jack unfolded the sheet of paper.
How much was this one going to cost?
Wait a minute.
What was this? Some kind of joke?
Certainly not a ticket. Jack began to read:
'Dear Jack, Once upon a time I had a daughter..
She was six when killed by a car.
You guessed it - a speeding driver.
A fine and three months in jail, and the man was free.
Free to hug his daughters, all three of them.
I only had one, and I'm going to have to wait until Heaven
Before I can ever hug her again.
A thousand times I've tried to forgive that man.
A thousand times I thought I had.
Maybe I did, but I need to do it again.
Even now.
Pray for me.
And be careful, Jack,
my son is all I have left.'
'Bob'
Jack turned around in time to see Bob's car
pull away and head down the road.
Jack watched until it disappeared.
A full 15 minutes later, he too,
pulled away and drove slowly home,
praying for forgiveness and
hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived...
Life is precious.
Handle with care.
This is an important message;
please pass it along to your friends.
Drive safely and carefully.
Remember, cars are not the only things
recalled by their maker.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Cats

Bentley
March 2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Proud Mom

Like all mom's I am proud of both of my children. I've never liked to be one bragging ALL the time but there are times that they need to be bragged on! Last night we attended the Superintendent's Honors Banquet at the Chattanooga Convention Center this was for the students and their parents. The top ten percent of the senior class from each high school in the county. He is 6th in his class! Keep up the good work!
We attended this banquet two years ago when my daughter was a senior!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - Surprise at the Birdbath!

Not my cat but it is my bird bath! The birds got a surprise when they came to the birdbath this day!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

March In Like a Lion!!

I surely hope that a Feb. 28 storm counts as March coming in like a lion!  I would hate to think we have to get another bad storm. We didn't have the damage that many people in our area had but this is a picture of our driveway which looked like a river. Thanks to my husband and son's hard work last spring we didn't get any water in the house. In the past we would have gotten water in the house with a rain like yesterday.

The Electric Power Board said there were 37,000  people without power after the storm. Many trees were down on power lines and houses. Our power never went out but Mom's was off for 19 hours! If you want to read more about the storm go HERE

Even our cat Starsky (6years old) knew what to do during a storm, when it was over I found him coming out of the closet. Bentley who is just one slept peacefully through the whole thing on our bed. I guess he hasn't lived through enough storms to know he should go hide! You may be asking how does Starsky get in the closet? If the door isn't open he will work until he can slide the door open just enough to get in.

I'm happy that today is a BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY!!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Forest Hills Cemetery - part 4- Lindsey/ Cooke graves


Where has time (my time) gone! I've only made 5 post for the entire year of 2011. I really need to do better!

Often times we forget a few minutes is all we need to get a lot done. I'm excited that my few minutes to run by the Forest Hills Cemetery was so successful! Cemetery map and information in hand on where my husband's Great Great Great Grandmother, Sarah Richardson Lindsey and two of her daughters were buried, I started my search. I've been once before looking for Sarah but didn't have any luck.

I found the graves fairly quickly and to my surprise my husband's Great Great Grandmother, Ada Lindsey Cooke was buried next to her mother and sisters. Wow! I knew from Ada's obituary she was buried at Forest Hills, however, she didn't appear on their website search. I had thought it would be necessary to go by their office with a copy of the obituary to have them check it out.





















I can tell next visit I need to carry a broom to brush off the dirt from the markers and take new pictures.

I was also pleased to find the grave of my Mom's friend who died last year.