Let’s see….not much of anything.  Time outside with Donovan.  Haven’t started moving the lilies yet.  That starts today.  Looking forward to it and not looking forward to it at the same time.  Alot of work, but will be worth it when the new front walk is finished.  And the lilies will be in a better place than in holding areas.

Painting some in the kitchen.  Just taking it piece at a time.  No rush.  Sort of fun that way.  Got the shelves where my jars go painted and shelf liner put down.  I don’t use canisters but a variety of empty jars instead.  Kinda gives it that old kitchen feel in a way.  Besides, I like having my flour in the big gallon glass jars I can see through.  I have labels on them for now, but will come up with a design I can use for all of them based on the colors in the kitchen and the Heart’s Keep theme.

My favorite job of the week has been the ancestry search.  I’ve found information I never thought I’d locate and have been talking to a distant cousin I didn’t know existed.  Found out afterward that my grandmother talks to her great uncle on a regular basis.  Shows how in touch we all are sometimes.  We’re going to make an attempt to get together and search some cemeteries.  There’s some information we both want and it seemed like a nice idea to get together and search.  May drag Mom along, too.

When I was younger, none of this seemed so important.  In fact, I laughed at the idea of researching all of this.  Now, it’s like finding pieces of my family.  I know I could pay someone to do it, but seriously, it’s so much more fun to search through the records myself.  I get so so excited when I find something new.  And I’ve researched things that I never thought about.  I mean, when I read that one of my ancestors was a mechanic on a base in 1850, my first thought was, “What would a mechanic do in 1850?”

Putting the pieces in place myself has been such a fantastic experience.  And through it, I’ve met some people that I know will be  a part of my life for a long time.  Like Harold, who is related to me from ages back before one of my ancestors changed the spelling of my maiden name.  Christmas cards every year.  Emails about family members from his side.  Someone who actually may have information on my paternal grandmother’s family.  And a relative who, like me, is searching for someone they know exists but has a huge gap in their information.  Have to love those.

I’ve made mistakes.  Like marrying someone to two different brothers and in the process of trying to fix it, causing breaks in my tree it may take me YEARS to figure out.  And the occasional mix up in who really is related and who isn’t.  But I think that’s just all part of the fun.  And someday, maybe the boys will have an easier go at figuring out who they are.