Laying Low

Got my stitches out this morning and he says I don't have an infection or dry socket but that some people take longer to heal and I happen to be one of them.  I can live with that. Have to admit I have had shorter periods of discomfort today.  Course I been keepin' myself medicated too.

Spent the afternoon working on...yeah...you guessed it...genealogy.  Posted a few pictures on my family tree and filled in various details like who married who, when, and where.  Always interesting to see the variety of names that end up being on your tree.  Some day I'll have to compile a least of the oddest sounding names.

Only pictures I have are the quail that walked across my deck and looked in my window again.

I had to laugh this afternoon when I picked up the twins after track.  We got on the subject of how old I was.  Maddie says:
"You're 69!"  tee hee    Hunter laughs.  "Yeah 69!"  har dee har har

Maddie tells me a story about their teacher saying 69 in regards to whatever subject they were on at the time.  The class giggled.  The teacher looks at them and says:  "Oh, grow up!"  And then she laughs.  Things have really changed since I was in junior high.  Or not.

Well, I got nothin!  As usual.  Guess I'll pay some bills online. That's always good for laughs. And then I'm gonna get my jammies on and settle into my recliner for a fun-filled night of nothing special.
I bought some flower seeds a couple days ago so maybe I'll get them planted tomorrow. And it wouldn't kill me to wash the car too. Let's hope the month gets more interesting as we go along.

Here's Bruno....I like him!

 And Paul Simon....

Time to change the calendar again

Seems like I was just setting up April 1st and here it is May already.  I had kind of a crummy day yesterday so I'm glad April is behind me.  My tooth extraction of last Thursday has been causing me a lot of grief, much to my surprise. I've had teeth pulled in the past and didn't have any recovery issues.  Maybe things don't heal as well when you're older.  At any rate, I went to Safeway and picked up some iboprofen 'cause the Tylenol just wasn't touching it.  I do feel better this morning, with only an occasional dull ache that comes and goes. I can live with that.  I'll get my stitches out tomorrow.

I sure did toss and turn all night.  And so many dreams.  All took place in Port Townsend.  In one of them I was rearranging rooms (it's what I do) and the house was a combo of my San Juan place and my F Street place.  Other people that showed up were my cousin, Linda, various friends and relatives, my kids, and Connie Okert.  Not sure how she got in there but she pointed out a hole in my sweater on the elbow.  Yeah, I'm definitely a busy person in my dreams.  I was at my funeral in one segment. I was either dead or preparing to be dead.  Ev and Patricia came along with Kate (work friends) and others.  No wonder I was tossing and turning.

Probably it's related to the fact that I'm working hours upon hours with genealogy and births and deaths are the mainstay.  Yesterday was also the 4th anniversary of my dad's death and my 11th anniversary of my last day at the mill.

I saw my first goldfinch outside my window yesterday so I ran to Swains and picked up a new birdfeeder.  I have two other finch feeders but they were filthy and I couldn't get the crap at the bottom out.  Decided to toss them in the trash and start over fresh.  Noticed "ready to hang" thistle seed bags so thought I'd try them out.  The package said birds enjoy them as they can grab on easily to feed.  I hope so. They look kinda dorky hanging out there and so far, no one has discovered them.

 

They have found the new feeder I hung in the backyard, though.  Lots of birds showing up this morning....robins, finch, crows, and quail.  Yesterday a quail walked across my porch and looked in my window.

Today is 'late start' at the kids' school so I'll be going over to pick them up in less than an hour. Maddie and Hunter have a track meet in Forks today.  Here's a picture I saw on Facebook of Maddie (on the right) at game practice in the field near my house. She got a little write-up in the paper a few days ago. -- "the game was complimented by good pitching from Maddy Dougherty and Aspen Millett. Boyd & Dougherty both went three for three at the plate."

I was hunting for my grandpa's marriage certificate on ancestry.com yesterday and found it, along with my brother Dana's.  Grandpa got married in Winlock in 1903 and Grandma Mae's sister and her husband were witnesses, (Orin & Mary Skaggs), along with grandpa's brother, James.

 

I've also been working on one of Grandpa's uncles--Charles Perkins Blankenship. He married Rachel Whittington in 1885 and after she died in 1896, he married her sister, Addline. Only waited about six weeks too but then he had five kids at home.

This picture was taken in 1895. Kids include Lewis G in back left, Mary & Ben (twins) in middle and on right; Charles holding Charles Loyd, Beryl standing in front, and Rachel (who died a year after this picture was taken.

And here's a shot of Charles with his third wife, Ida.

A cousin in Bend, OR emailed me yesterday that she has a subscription to newspapers.com and is going to look up obits for me. I'm excited. 

Washer just turned off so I guess I'll tend to the laundry. Might even try to mow the sides of the house this afternoon. Have to wait and see how Mr. Tooth is feeling.

 



 

Family Bios

I made an outline of sorts hoping to keep track of various relatives that I'm researching from time to time.  Still have a lot of digging to do but decided to post this today so I can share with whatever relatives might find it of interest.  I may end up starting a new blog dedicated to family history only.  I know this isn't going to cut & paste in the same format I typed it but hopefully, it's easy enough to follow.

Grandpa  Lew Gene’s aunts & uncles on his paternal side of the family:

Emma                   married Weir                               these nine were children of Zadock Blankenship

Hezekiah              married Pettit                               and Sarah Jones

Martha                 married Bolt    

Henry                   married Hinton

Joseph                  married Hinton, then Boaz

Elisha                    married Burris

Bolin                     married Gant, then Harris

Zachariah            married Davidson, then Poland, then Danforth

Benjamin             married Owens, then Yauein_________________________________________

 

George                 married James (Geo. W. Bolt-half brother--he was Eliz's son)

Lewis Marion    married Jane M. Downs of DE (parents of Lew Gene, my grandpa)

Mariah                 married Goodson

James                                                                              these were the children of Zadock Blankenship

John                      died in Civil War battle                                and Elizabeth M. Bolt

Harriett                married James

Charles                 married Whittington

 

Grandpa's girl cousins: Harriet, Isabel, Mary, Priscilla, Sarah, Martha, Mary, Cora, Addie, Dora, Belle, Minnie, Lucinda, Jane, Emma, Edith, Lydia, Margaret, Harriet, Sarah, Lutie, Ellen, Gertrude, Elta, Ethel, Evadna, Mary, Beryl, Annie

Grandpa's boy cousins:  James, Benjamin, Henry, Zadock, Jacob, Charles, Walter, Joseph, Truman, Charles, George, James, Lewis, Charles, George, Floyd, Benjamin, Louie, Marion, Charles

Grandpa's siblings:  infant boy, Jennie, Minnie Mae (all died young),Thomas (died at age 12), Charles ? and the following:

Georgianna         married Jacob  Stark (4 kids:Lola,John,Inez,Ailene)

or

Georgie:             1861-1935 (died in Eugene, OR age 74)

Elizabeth              married  William Thomason (3 kids: Chester,Ora, Ray)

or

 Lizzie:                 1863-1927 (died in Eugene, OR age 64)     

 

John                      married Lillie Thomason (5 kids: Juanita, Feral, Hallie, Ivan, John)

                              1865-1948 (died in Shedd, OR age 83)

 

James:                1867-1949  (died in Eureka, CA age 82)

 

Henrietta             married William Patton(2 kids: Waible, James)

or

Ettie                   1871-1957 (died in Pendleton, OR age age 86)

 

Martha                 married Arthur  Steele (3 kids: Grethel, Thelma, Arthur)

or

Mattie:               1873-1961 (died in Suver, OR age 88)

 

Zadock:              1875-1932  (died in Polk Co, OR age 57)

or

Zed

 

Lew Gene          married Viola Mae Holt (6 kids: Velna, Arthur, Elva, George, John, Jim)

or

Gene,L.G.          1877-1960  (died in Port Townsend, WA age 82

 

Short bios:

Georgianna & Jake Stark ran hotels in Independence, Baker City, Cottage Grove, & Eugene. He was a successful businessman and born in KY. He was also a veteran of the Civil War.  Their daughter, Inez, taught school in Oregon and Seattle. She is mentioned in stories about Alan Hart, doctor and author.

 

Lizzie’s husband was a farmer and I have several copies of poems she wrote. Some were published in the newspaper. Her husband (whose 1^st wife died) had a daughter named Lilly. This Lilly married John Blankenship, Lizzie’s younger brother.

 

John & Lilly came to PT at least a couple times or more to visit his brother, Lew Gene. Thanks to Facebook, I was able to connect with one of their grandsons who lives in Olympia. He told me that Ivan Blankenship(son of John & Lilly) changed his name to Ivan Arison because he couldn’t stand his mother.

From the Willamette Co. Archives:

Of the successful and highly respected farmers of the vicinity of Creswell, Lane County, none is more highly regarded than J. A. Blankenship, who is operating one hundred and seventy-six acres of well improved and highly productive land. He follows twentieth century methods and keeps in close touch

with advanced ideas in relation to his vocation, so that he has well deserved the prosperity which is now his.

 Mr. Blankenship was born in Illinois on the 30th of November, 1865 and is a son of L. M. and Jane (Downs) Blankenship. His father came to Oregon in an early day and located near Independence, where he rented a farm, and there he and his wife spent their remaining years, her death occurring in 1898 and he passing away in 1911. He was a successful farmer and stock raiser and was held in high esteem throughout the community. He was a veteran of the Civil war and while living in Illinois served several years an assessor and sheriff.

 

 J. A. Blankenship attended the public schools of his native state and in young manhood went to Tennessee, and later located in Kansas, where, at the age of twenty-one years, he took up a

 homestead. He proved up on this land, which he operated for seven years, when he sold it and, in

1888, went to Colorado, where he was employed in the cattle business two years. He then returned to Illinois and later came to Oregon, where he has since lived.

While living in Kansas, he was for a time employed as a driver of street cars in Kansas City, the motive power being a team of mules. He is now the owner of a good farm of one hundred and seventy-six acres near Creswell, to the operation of which he has closely devoted himself. He has ten acres in prunes, five acres in cherries and one and a half acres in pears, all of which are in full bearing. He also keeps twelve head of milk cows and three head of horses.

 

Henrietta’s husband was a barber in Pendleton.  Their son, Waible, was a barber for a while and also worked as an advertising salesman for the newspaper. He was noted for his photography and I have a postcard picture he did at the Pendleton round up.

 

Mattie Steele’s husband was a farmer and was born in Canada. They lived in Suver, OR and had two girls and a boy. The boy was a fraternal twin but his sister didn’t live.

 

James worked as a farm hand, as a fireman in a power plant and in sawmills. He died in Eureka where he had gone to mine for gold. He never married and his middle name is Summer (or Sumner?)

 

Zadock worked as a farmhand and died in Oregon at the age of 57. He never married.

Lew Gene & Viola Mae married on Xmas eve in Winlock in 1903. Mae was born in Nebraska and died at age 55 of pneumonia at St. John’s Hospital in Port Townsend. Gene’s WWI draft card registration lists his occupation as sawmill fireman. Most of his life was spent farming and he started work at the PT paper mill in 1928.  He came to PT because his son-in-law, Darrell Walker, told him there was work to be had.

Darrell ended up dying the same year that Mae died (1938) when he fell into the hold of a ship docked at the mill.  Gene and Mae “followed the crops” as all their kids were born in different towns: Velna in Salem in 1905; Arthur in Oak Harbor in 1908; Elva in Eugene in 1910; George in Albany in 1914; and the twins in Galvin (near Centralia, WA) in 1923. They were 45 and 39 years old when the twins arrived and moved to Port Townsend about 1928.  All of their grandchildren were born in Port Townsend except the two oldest-- Bob Walker, born in Suver, OR  and Joan Dubberly, born in Camas, WA.

 

A Saturday in April

Almost May Day already. Got all my chores done so the rest of the weekend is mine to do as I please. Course now that I think about it, all my days are pretty much mine to do as I please.   Sky is looking cloudy and gray so I imagine we'll have at least a little rain before the weekend is over.  I went out and mowed the front but I'll leave the back for Hunter to do. 

Noticed the mower was missing a lot so I'm thinking it needs spark plugs or maybe the spark plugs just need cleaning.  I suppose I could play with it and try to figure it out but I'll leave that for Wayne or Hunter.

My neighbor down the street got moved last week but had to come back tyesterday to sign some papers. She went into her house and discovered the movers had left several things in kitchen cabinets.  Like all her pans.  Also left a few things in the garage. She loaded up her car as best she could but will have to wait for her grandson to come with his pickup to get the rest.  And it wasn't cheap hiring those movers either!

We went out to Traylors for dinner last night. I didn't think I would be able to eat anything but soup this weekend but my mouth is healing so I had fish and chips. Brought half of it home for lunch today.  She spent the night and we watched a little TV before bed. Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and Doc Martin. I read for a while. Am working on Jane Eyre and one I just got in the mail about the Secret Service. It's really interesting. Especially the juicy parts about the presidents, vice presidents, and first ladies.

LBJ was portrayed in an especially bad light.  Really bad!  Nixon too.  And Carter.  That's as far as I've gotten so far. Sadly, it doesn't say much for our system of electing presidents. We've had a lot of losers.

Got a couple email pictures of the kids at the Mariners Game last night. The second one is "Bill and Kissy Bear" that Mary and Andy take pictures of as they travel around the world or around town.

 

My kitchen sink was leaking so I called a plumber on Thursday. Unfortunately, I got a jerk. All that was needed was a tightening of the valve around the hose. (and he used my tool to fix it!)  He was here under five minutes and as he was leaving, I asked him what I owed him.  I wasn't feeling good as I had just had a tooth pulled or I would have spoken up.  He said:

 

Well, I won't  charge you a full fee for a call. Do you have any cash?  (I said yes)  Okay. $40 ought to cover it.  I don't think he'll get my return business. And I don't think he was the owner of the company either as he introduced himself with a different first name than the one on the truck. He also didn't give me a receipt.  Betcha' anything he just pocketed the cash.

 

After Yvonne left this morning, I decided to rearrange the kitchen and living room.  I really like it better. No one sits on my bar stools at the kitchen counter much (I never do) so I put my craft table in that spot. I'm working on painting rocks right now but I may set up a jigsaw puzzle soon.



Well, the sky is getting more and more gray and now the wind is picking up. Perhaps we will get rain afterall. I plan on doing a little genealogy research and then I'll fix lunch.

And here's to  George Jones... singing the best dang sad song ever sung!

A really funny video

Getting ready to head over to Walmart but got this in an email so decided to share it.  I so identify.

Ending a blog

I think I'm gonna write my final 'Town Kid' blog today. It's been over two years and I'm kind of running out of subject matter.  Course as soon as I write off, something will probably come to mind. Or not. I've already covered a few subjects twice.

I started my first blog (Gupster Granny) in 2009 and finished that up to start this one in August of 2011.  For two years I've kept a running diary on my days' activities, likes and dislikes, opinions, pictures, videos, and yes, complaints about my health and  aging body.  Sometimes my topics are enough to bore a person to death but it does help me keep track of what happened when. And I'm basically writing for me anyhow.

My 'Be True to your school' blog ran from May 2009 to Aug 2011 and then I started 'Town Kid.' I may end the 'Alumni of PTHS' too. I haven't actually put much on there in a long time, and I have other writing projects I want to work on.

Genealogy has kept me tied to the laptop for hours these past weeks and I can't see any end to that until I find the last of the few little things I'm looking for. There's about 8 things, and I don't plan on renewing my ancestry subscription in July so I'd better find what I want pretty soon.

I did go over to the Morman church yesterday and two very nice women helped me and gave me some further tips to follow while searching. I also went to the Clallam County Genealogical Society near the public library but that was pretty much a waste of time.  I figured out quickly the lady at the front desk wasn't going to be much help. She had me go to ancestry.com and then I had to teach her a couple things once we were in there.  She suggested I go to some Seattle library but that ain't about to happen. I can always go back to the Morman Library to use the ancestry website and others if I so choose.

I spent the morning cleaning up my office. If I don't take the time every few weeks, the paper chase gets out of hand.  I moved a few files and everything is looking pretty good now. Helps me organize in my mind better too.

I took a break to have some tomato soup for lunch and work the AARP crossword puzzle but it was too hard. I'll try again later. Found an envelope of yeast and decided spur of the minute to whip up a batch of cinnamon rolls. The dough is rising over a pan of hot water now.

Picked the twins up at 9 o'clock and took them to school. Also picked up Sammy and he's spending the day lounging on the back deck or sleeping in his bed in my back closet. I think he's part cat. I also stopped to get $2 worth of gas so Hunter can cut my grass one day soon.  I might even venture out there myself to do the front.  I'm thinking on it.

Almost called the coast guard last night.  They were apparently during maneuvers as I've gone through this with them before. Last night they kept flying over from about 9 to midnight.  I put up with it but I wasn't pleased. Especially when they kept waking me up after 11.

I didn't watch any tv last night. Went to bed to read and was surprised that I got over 100 pages read. Usually I'm lucky to get ten!  Have decided I need to start reading the classics. I've read very few. Right now I'm on Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre.'  My goodness but it's good!

Saw Pa Walton playing a priest on 'Days of our Lives' today. I usually turn off soaps the minute they come on but I had to stop and look him over. What a cutie pie he is with his white hair. I always did have a crush on Ralph Waite.

PTHS Alumni newsletter showed up in my email box this morning. As usual, Mary and Jan did a super job on it.  I'm kind of looking forward to the banquet and dance in June.

The cinnamon roll dough should be about ready to punch down and roll out so I guess I'd best get back to the kitchen.  Big day tomorrow. Gonna' have a tooth extracted at 9 a.m.  Highlight of my month.  And once it heals, we'll get a crown on the other side.  There goes my savings account.

The day looms ahead...

Set my alarm for 7 a.m. last night, mainly because I wanted to see if it was working, but also because I wanted to make sure I didn't oversleep as I have an 8 a.m. foot doctor appt this morning.  I seldom, if ever, sleep past 7 so there wasn't really a danger of that but still...you never know.  Course you still have to contend with waking up TOO OFTEN just because you know you HAVE to get up early.  Which was my case.  5:45 a.m. and I'm wide awake.  Annoying!

I got up and went through my usual routines of opening curtains, booting up the computer, putting on the coffee pot, and staring myself down in the mirror as I'm reminded, yet again, that I'm an old worn out hen.  Mirror images early in the morning are such a sad sight.  Fixed a bowl of dry cereal and toasted half a bagel, then made my way into the office (which I'm now trying to call the computer room).

Looked over my usual websites.  Didn't win any money, didn't find anything worthwhile on tv for tonight, didn't have too much email, and the news was the usual -- people acting mean and stupid.  Facebook has become one of my favorite stops now.  Always on the lookout for pictures people might post and now I'm cutting and pasting recipes into a special folder I'm building. Like these as the recipes are usually easy and the pictures always look mouth watering.

My hotmail had a message that I should download Explorer 10 as it's faster and better.  Anybody know if that's true.  I assume this d/l is free. Haven't looked into it yet.  I wrote to Google help yesterday on how to delete messages in my sent and junk mail quickly as I had over 1300 in the trash and I wanted to clear them out.  I finally just started deleting a page at a time and then a prompt came up telling me I could delete them all at once. My email this morning asked me if I really wanted to do that as I would lose all the conversations I had had with my friends.  Was kind of surprised I even got an answer. Too late, though. I deleted everything.  I often times regret doing this because invariably I'll want to look something up and I can't.  Too bad.  Out of sight, out of mind.  At least my mailbox is free and clear.

I've been spending a lot of time researching my g. grandfather's full and half siblings but I do intend to get back to my grandpa's siblings too.  There's still a lot out there I haven't found. I may drive over to the Morman Church library this week to find out their hours and what kind of information they can help me find.

I wanted to print out my pages of notes but knew my ink was getting low and I was trying to avoid putting in a new cartridge.  Then I remembered that my old printer was sitting nearby and had new cartridges in it.  Just had to print using my old computer instead of my laptop which doesn't recognize the old printer.  Anyhow, I transferred my notes onto a jumpstick (or whatever you call them) and plugged it into my old computer so I could communicate with my old printer.  Wa Laa!  So glad I remembered that as I have other things I want to print, as well.

Went to the dentist yesterday morning and unfortunately, my savings is going to be reduced shortly.
I opted to have one tooth pulled that might have needed a crown removal, root canal, and new crown.
Way more than I wanted to spend on that tooth that has already cost me money.  I told the dentist that another part of my mouth had been bothering me and I always thought that was the area we would find problems.  He took another xray and sure enough -- another damn cavity UNDER a crown.  This time I'll go through the motions and have the crown removed so he can dig out the decay (and hopefully not have to do a root canal before putting another crown in place.)  With my luck, though, I'm prepared for the whole show.  Big bucks.  Makes me sad.

Meanwhile, he was recovering from a cold and had two people out sick so we rescheduled my extraction for this coming Thursday.  Oh joy!  I haven't had a tooth pulled since the 70's.  He said he won't know until we get in there. It will either come out easily and we'll be done in under 15 mintues or if there's a tooth breakage or root problems, we could continue for an hour.    Believe it or not, though, I'd rather suffer through dental appointments than get an MRI!  And MRI's don't even hurt.  All in the mind.

I was going to write a Town Kid blog on learning to drive or teaching kids to drive but after looking over my past  blogs, I noticed I've already written enough on that subject.  Even if it's been two years or one year ago, I need to find something else to discuss.  And if I don't, well, then I'll conclude that blog and find a new hobby.

Hmmm...looking interesting out my front window. I've been trimming this one bush near the curb (that I'm not that fond of) but I see the birds are using it quite a bit so I think I'll leave it be and let it get bigger.  My other little tree next to it (that I was sure was dead) has come back to life and it's looking kind of pretty with his red/orange leaves.  Neighbor mowed his grass on Saturday so now mine looks shabby. Maybe I'll try to get to that this week since good weather is predicted.  Have seen a hawk come around almost every day too.  Lookin' for lunch in the field across the street.

My dreams last night were again vivid and interesting.  Noticed one segment was in color (this woman had a bright blue sweater on) and that part of the dream also had aroma.  This particular woman had strong perfume on and it annoyed me.  So much activity.  Mary and Jenni were running down the road (for exercise) and their hair was long and flowy.  I also burnt a hole in a wall (perfect half circle hole) by putting a burn barrel to close to it.  This particular burn barrel was made of cardboard but I didn't figure that out until I tried to burn trash in it outside. 

And night before last I dreamed I cut in  front of this guy in line to get on the ferry. (Ferries often show up on my dreams)  Funny thing was it was the 1940's and all the cars were from that era.  Probably related to all the genealogy searching I've been doing.  Okay. Enough on dreams. I know it's boring.

Time to turn off the tv.  I DO NOT want to hear one word more about the Jodi Arias trial.  I watched the first two episodes of the latest season of Mad Men but I'm leaning towards giving that program the boot, as well.  I don't know why they think we want to see all the main characters turn into sleeze balls who take other sleeze balls to bed.  There has to be a better story line to follow.  You can certainly tell the mentality of the writers involved.  I was enjoying 'The Americans' until they went off the deep end and brought in S&M activities to share with us.  BORING!

I seem to be losing interest in a lot of shows I used to tune in....The Amazing Race, American Idol, The Voice, House, Ax Men, and several others.  Here's a picture I saw on Facebook yesterday...

Dave and Mary Gaboury with their grandkids in Bonney Lake.