Well, That Came Out of Nowhere

Saturday I was dancing on a street corner with a frog at the Ice Out protest.  We had a normal weekend and Monday would have been another snow day for the children if it was a school day.  I have been tired all month after the influenza I contracted the first of December and was just chilling.  

Monday evening I was watching some high-brow television, Snapped, which features women murdering their husbands. Mr Merry went to bed. At 11 I checked talk show listings and realized they were all reruns because of the holiday.  I stood up, walked to the hall and felt my throat tighten, like I couldn't cough. I thought, I really should call the doctor tomorrow. Then I took about five steps and thought I think I should wake Mr Merry to take me to the ER. Then I got to the bedroom, shook his leg and collapsed.  

He called 911 and they sent 2 adorable little firemen within 3 minutes. I could not breathe and my oxygen level was 83, I could see their faces and assumed I would never come back home.  EMS arrived shortly after and raced to get me on the gurney. We had to take a long route to the hospital due to most roads near me being drifted shut. They gave me either breathing treatments or cpap in the ambulance. 

Then we got to the ER which only had one other patient.  I had five medical people in my room.  Anyway, lots of stabbing, lots of tests, lots of treatments. I did not realize that, right after I arrived, I suffered a NStemi heart attack.  Mr Merry arrived and did not bring anything like my phone or a coat (I was wearing my rattiest nightgown only) or shoes.  I assumed they would give me a shot and send me home.  The first concern was a pulmonary embolism but the cat scan ruled that out. 

They put me in a room and spent Tuesday doing all kinds of poking and prodding and testing.  My veins were not having it and I was blowing ivs and it would take 2-3 pokes for bloodwork.  In addition to normal labs I was having something tested every two hours and something else every three hours, all day and all night.   They were trying to squeeze me into an echocardiogram and heart ultrasound appointment before the end of the day.  And they made it. 

I was the first heart cath on Wednesday morning.  The long story short (and this is from me, a non health professional) is that the flu virus in December got into my heart and started killing muscle. My heart has not been beating properly and fluid had collected (and completely filled) my lungs. Then the torturous aorta in my heart (that I was born with) twisted and leaked blood into my heart.  The final diagnosis is Hypoxia/COPD, Acute systolic heart failure, hypertension and hyperglycemia and congestive heart failure.  I really had zero symptoms until I almost stopped breathing. 

My daughter who has a phd in nursing traveled in on Tuesday and was appointed boss of me. She listened to the doctors reports while I breathed and translated the information.  This is life changing and scary and makes me really really angry so I guess I feel better today. 

I passed the test of walking the hallway and was able to come home without oxygen.  My daughters went shopping and made us about 20 individual heart healthy meals in our fridge and freezer. I have appointments with every specialist in the system.  I have a person whose job title I didn't catch calling me every other day for 30 days to check up on me. My whole world is changing to focus on me and my health. And I don't like it. 

I know I am feeling better today because I am angry.  I have no trouble sitting in a chair because I have both arms in ice from all the bruising. I think I am permitted to shower tonight.  

So how was your weekend?

I want to apologize in advance because I am not thinking I will be sharing light posts for a while.  Actually, I do have some funny goofy hospital stories.  I will share those next time.  Right now it is all kind of a blur. 

Memory Mondays

For this edition of Memory Mondays I have decided to answer some genealogy questions. 

I want to start with how I began my research because it is something I recommend. I was afraid of the internet and sharing too much. When I started researching I used the Ancestry dot com subscription at our local library as well as the website Family Search. I also researched in collections of local libraries and the courthouse. 

When I found documents related to my family, like a census record or draft card, etc, I printed them on paper and put them in folders. I talked a friend into day trips to a Presidential library that specializes in genealogy where we researched newspapers in our state, first on microfilm and then computers when they digalitized them. These holdings include many newspapers not available on line and we are able to make copies of articles.  I made so many copies that it was worth buying a membership to get a reduced rate on copying, lol. 

I also made a spreadsheet for every generation so I could chart when I had copies of birth certificates, death certificates, census and military records so I knew what I was looking for. 

Having everything on paper was good for me as a visual person. And with my family traditions - very necessary. We like to name babies after relatives and, for example, in the case of my maternal great grandfather, he and two cousins who were all born in the same township in the same year shared the same first and last name. Having the paper copies I could compare all the information to make sure the documents I had belonged to the correct person.  

I developed my family tree for about a year before I joined Ancestry and put my tree online.  I have found lots of misinformation about my past relatives on line and people don't seem to respond to messages about it.  

Another example. One census lists my great grandmother Maud as Mary. Most people's family trees list Mary as a sister. There is no Mary. 

Same family, Maud's mother Isabell raised my grandfather after her death. People confuse his Isabell for my grandfather's mother even though she is listed as grandmother on most census records. After he married, Isabell lived with them and is listed on census records as "mother-in-law". This has lead people to assume she is my grandmother's (his wife's) mother.  You can imagine the mess this makes with the wrong family attached to the maternal side. 

I knew these people and know I'm right (lol) but people will disagree with me and keep sharing the wrong information. 

How do I store this information.   

I have files of all the information I find on paper copies. I try to attach it all to the tree on Ancestry. And I purchased Roots Web so I can have a copy on my laptop not attached to the internet.  I am a total failure at Roots Web and haven't updated it in a decade. I bought a newer version thinking that would inspire me. It didn't. 

So yes, I have a room of papers. Original documents are kept in acid free boxes I purchase from library supply vendor Gaylord. 

How do I share information or do I share information.  

Oh, lots of ways. First, I send portraits and pictures to Walgreens and print 4x6 copies which I attach to my china cabinets. I test the little grandchildren on who is who.  They are pretty good at it. 

Several years ago I made picture books from Shutterfly for all the grandkids. The first page has photos of them, then the next two pages are parents, then grandparents, etc. It goes back maybe 4 -5 generations.  I did do captions, especially with military information which the boys are particularly interested in.

I created a private facebook group for each side of my family where I share information, finds and photos.  I try to encourage other relatives to share too but it is mostly me. All my children are members of the groups, too. 

I have done a little research on my husband's tree which is challenging because he was born in another state and most of his grandparents and great-grandparents are first generation. Once I found a family picture on Facebook from his mother's side showing her father and his eight siblings as young adults. I thought this was so amazing that I made copies for all his siblings and his mother. The siblings loved it (except one) and his mother called me and informed me that this is NOT my family and I have no right to have this photo (that I found on Facebook). So that is one experience. 

On my mom's side there is a line that I had no information. I started with her grandfather's name, a family legend that wasn't true and all records in a small rural community in another state and not available on line.  I contacted a relative through DNA and we compared what we could find. Now move forward to a genealogy conference last spring and a course I took on using the new feature on Family Search that reads text of old court documents.  

My great grandmother was Lavantia and I wasn't even sure of her maiden name. Census records said she was born in New York or New Jersey.  I put in her first name and married last name and up popped about 12 pages.  

It was a lawsuit brought in the 1850's by Lavantia's mother Catherine which listed her husband's name AND all seven of her children listed with their spouses first and last names.  This was completely new information to my family. I printed all the papers because they are scans of handwritten pages from the 1850's and difficult to read. I got into messages on Ancestry and offered to mail copies to relatives I had identified who were THRILLED.  No one had figured out how to get past these walls and here it was! 

I also commented on a facebook post in my town which put me in touch with someone whose great grandmother was my great grandmother's sister.  And she was the keeper of the family photos! She came to my house one day and let me scan a rubbermaid tube of papers and photos. We later located the great granddaughter of one of their brothers and all met for coffee and discussion.  

I love to share resources and finds especially in person! 

The last question is where all this stuff will go. 

I sincerely doubt any of my five children will want to take custody of all the paperwork. Or even the original photos.  I am hoping to eventually convince one of my grandchildren to take over.  We do have a very active local genealogy chapter who would house some original items in their research library along with a self published book.  I would just need to put that together. In my spare time. 

Be Good Protest and Recipe Reviews

 

Hey, it's the Abominable Snowman at the local Be Good protest. Wait, that's Miss Merry with three layers, her insulated boots, new hat and freezing fingers and toes. Beside me is my portable speaker where I play 1960's protest songs.  

We didn't start planning until early in the week and were hoping for 20 and willing to settle for 10 with the 17 degree temperatures. FIFTY brave souls attended! 

I was at one end down by the frog with my speaker. My friend Kate who has the same speaker was at the opposite end playing 1990's music.  I know because people my age were gravitating toward me to sing along and I guess the younger people moved toward Kate. 

We started at the park across from the library and then moved up to the courthouse where there is an intersection of two highways. 

At the beginning. I was shocked so many attended. 

Photos screenshot from our local newspaper.  My speaker operates from my Spotify playlist on my phone and I am not smart enough to be able to play music and take pictures. 

Recipe Reviews:

If you see this reel about a quick and easy breakfast quiche in your air fryer, don't fall for it. 

You put a tortilla in a foil pie pan, mix eggs, cottage cheese, some peppers, I added sausage and top with cheese.  I baked it the allotted time and the eggs were raw. I believe I cooked it for the 3 times at the recommended time and temperature and then I gave up, cut it into wedges and put them the microwave with the raw middle toward the outside edge of the plate.  

It took almost an hour to cook two of the quiches. My husband's review "They didn't taste bad by the end".  

As I seem to be on a quiche kick, someone asked how the Hellmann's Mayonnaise quiches tasted.  

They were fabulous. Very light and creamy. They would be better with the recommended Swiss cheese but were delicious with the cheddar I had on hand. As good as I remembered them. My husband who ate them once a week the first year we were married (I had a limited repertoire) had no memory of ever eating them before but was crazy about them.  

We took the ten year challenge. Since we had our anniversary pictures taken in 2016, it's that time again!  

For our 40th Anniversary we traveled to Kentucky to see Miss Loretta Lynn, a long time dream of mine. We stayed in a little motel and ate at a home-cooking diner on a mountain. 

For the Big 50, we are going all out. World travelers that we are, we are going 78 miles to a concert I don't want to mention yet since I am hoping to snag really really really good (expensive) seats when they go on early sale this week.  I checked hotels and the very nicest one that isn't a Hilton (because I am boycotting Hilton) had limited rooms already so we went ahead and booked four nights.  We are going to have a wild time leading up to the concert visiting a few museums, doing a driving tour through a national park (not sure if I mentioned this is the end of July and hot. The car is air-conditioned). I am making a list of antique stores and thrift stores and restaurants.  We are very excited. And I have my fingers crossed on the tickets. I joined several groups that promise early release of tickets and I have alarms set on my phone.  

I'll keep you posted! 

Snow Day!

 Snow.  We got 7" inches overnight and it was still snowing this morning. Mr Merry waited until 11 am to start up his snow blower. He will be happily plowing and blowing driveways and sidewalks for his chosen few. 

He actually loves to be outside in freezing temperatures gently pushing his self-propelled snow blower.  His chosen few are anyone who is retired and single mothers (unless they have teenagers home from school) and people who had to leave early for work, do not have children over 12 years of age, and don't have political signs he disagrees with.  

He refuses any payment and is must mortified if he gets a thank you note with, heaven forbid, a gift card. 

I only take photos through dirty windows or a crack in the door. This photo means nothing if you don't know how many inches are under the bush, lol. 

And I realized I forgot this photo on my last miscellaneous post.  My middle son and daughter-in-law bought a house near me this fall. And they have adopted a new family member.

Winnie is the most spoiled cat in the world and knew what she was doing when she charmed them at the shelter.  She has works of art hung on the wall at her height by her food station so that she can enjoy them at dinner.  

Yes, 20 photos of my grandcat cuddling in blankets. 

Are We Getting A Snow Storm and More

The television weather professionals are forecasting 2" to 8" of snow tonight.  And then more snow tomorrow afternoon and all day Friday.  2" and 8" are a lot farther apart than 6".  Two inches is something to barely sneeze at. Eight inches of snow will close country roads (especially with wind) and that will cancel schools.  

I did go to Aldi yesterday so I would be prepared with my loaf of bread and gallon of milk.  I learned that Tuesday is the day before they stock the aisle of shame (if you know, you know). 

Husband had a doctor appointment this morning and we went to the Amish farm to stock up on eggs since some of those roads are dirt roads and we can't drive through eight inches of snow on top of dirt. 

And speaking of this morning, I got a call on our church phone chain. A family was asking for birthday cards for a card party for their dad who is turning 70.  SEVENTY?  He is a baby! I understand 80. And 90. And , God Bless her, a friend's grandmother-in-law is turning 100 this weekend.  But 70? So I spent a lot of the morning grousing about being considered elderly and mailed his card after the doctor appointment.  

In political news my kindergarten grandson was chosen to recite the pledge of allegiance over the loud speaker in the principal's office yesterday.  He was so proud and we recited the pledge as a group at home after school several times, too.  I was going to attend an ICE protest in a neighboring city on Saturday and was whining because it is four hours long. And it might be a lot of snow and will be really cold.  Now my Indivisible has organized a two hour protest in my town on Saturday so I can attend that one. And I guess now that I realize I am an elderly, I can better tolerate a two hour protest. 

Our Townhall last Saturday. 

I did want to briefly talk about our Indivisible. In November 2015 I thought I was the only person in my town that did not vote for the despicable person. My niece put me in touch with a private group called Pantsuit Nation who planned the Women's March in Washington DC in January 2017. I actually purchased a ticket on a bus 68 miles away that was leaving at 2 am. I had never ever done anything like this in my life. I had never been to Washington DC. I was a registered independent voter!  I knew no one in the group, but made friends on the bus. Our bus actually broke down in some state outside of Washington and we had to cage rides on other buses. My new friend Daisy and some college girls in the seats behind us boarded a bus with a random driver who got lost in the streets of Washington and started yelling at us. My new friend Daisy and some college girls from my bus tried to get off on a corner but only Daisy, me and one girl made it. It was an interesting neighborhood but everyone was so kind, helped us find our way to the march and we eventually met up with the other college girls. It was a day I will never ever forget and we all made it home safely.  

Photo from my camera. 

The Pantsuit put us in touch with people near us and I found out that a bunch of people from my town attended! We all met at a meeting in a living room a month later. The next month we formed a group in a borrowed store front and by spring had joined with the Indivisible organization.  We became very active with local candidates and issues, had petition booths at area festivals, marched in parades and held postcard parties weekly at my house.  We learned how to phone bank and printed matching t-shirts.  Then Covid.  

I had themed dinners for my postcard parties but do you think I could find a picture with a menu or people filling out postcards? 
 Of course not. 

And then I severely broke my arm and, as you read above, I became elderly.  I do help with promotion and phone calls and help with the facebook page.  I attend whatever someone else plans but I can't do set up and take down (remember the fall as a poll worker where I broke my nose?)  Locally they want to appoint me to a precinct chair position but I read the job duties and they include canvassing. And I can't do that and risk another fall.   So the end of this meandering is that I am too elderly to be as involved as I was. 

I guess I only take photos of food at postcard parties?

Can I make clear I am 69 and I personally think I am at least eleven years away from even mouthing elderly.  And this makes me feel like I am being a big sissy baby.  

2018 postcard party at my friend Kim's house, she is in the upper left, I am in the lower right. Kim and I were friends in the 70's & 80's and reconnected in the Indivisible. She was an outstanding art teacher and wonderful person. She had a breast cancer recurrence during covid and passed away. 

ANYWAY - I will finish this after dinner. For no reason a friend and I were talking about cooking when we were first married and I remembered a dish. I got a subscription to Good Housekeeping as a bridal shower gift and there was an advertisement for Hellmann's Mayonnaise. It included recipes and one was for Mini Shrimp Quiche.  I wanted this recipe. I searched online. I emailed Hellmann's who deny it's existence.  I then went to Ebay and looked through listings from the early 70's and advertisements for Hellmann's (yes you can buy a page out of a magazine from the 1970's) AND I found it.  Here is the recipe: 

And here they are! 

At first I was worried when they looked different than what I remembered. Then I remembered I had used cheddar cheese instead of Swiss cheese. 

And leaving you with another Miss Merry method of resistance I had by my front sidewalk. 

Memory Mondays

As I have mentioned before and will mention again, genealogy is very easy for me since my family has been in the United States of America since before it was the United States of America and in the very county where I still live since prior to 1800.  

But not every document is in our county courthouse.  

I have been able to attend a few genealogy conferences in my area and I come home and stay up all night searching using new techniques to quickly find documents before I forget the steps. 

Even better were online zoom conferences during covid where I could set up a second laptop and work with the teacher. 

For today I am showing off a document signed by President Millard Fillmore following the Bounty Land Grant of 1850 awarding my ancestor 160 acres in Iowa (stolen from Native Americans I am sure) for his service in the War of 1796. War of 1796? Yes, more wars against Native Americans, I believe. 

My 3rd great grandfather Simon's grandfather Jacobus was born in Freehold, New Jersey in 1721. His second great grandfather Albert was born in Flatlands, NY in 1675. Albert's dad Dirck arrived in "New Netherlands" from the Netherlands in 1650. 

For Christmas my husband bought access to international records on Ancestry (as in I said do you want to upgrade my subscription for Christmas and he said sure). I need to make sure to schedule time to work on these generations in Europe while I have access to records. 

You know, in my spare time. 

Happier

 After a rough Thursday, I decided I need a brighter post to start the weekend. 

My bonus granddaughter at the lamp lighting ceremony at her nursing school. She is currently working third shift as a nursing assistant in the ER at our local hospital while attending nursing school during the day. She is a hard worker and so very very kind. She will be a wonderful nurse. I think she graduates in May of 2027. 

This has really brightened my day. It seems that a caterer in a nearby town bought a shuttered restaurant about a year ago and turned it into a catering facility with optional hall rental. AND in January she is starting a monthly tea party on the third Sunday. This was my original retirement plan - going to tea parties!

And starting last fall, she opened the hall for a limited lunch on weekdays (one special pictured above). 

Another photo stolen from her facebook page. How I missed this I will never know. I am obviously not getting out enough! 

I have already talked my high school friends into a lunch date there in two weeks.  And I am looking for people who are free on the date of the tea party. I will report back!

Tomorrow I am joining my library retiree friends (I worked at our local library for about 10 years) for lunch. I was the youngest of the group so it is very important for me to attend and visit with my friends. 

Thank you Mary Engelbreit and Dr King.  

And after lunch my local Indivisible has a town hall scheduled. This took a lot of planning and donations and organization to rent a hall, donations of money and time and equipment from people to set up and take down, provide security, provide a sound system, a calm well-spoken moderator and a slate of candidates for state elections who are willing to come to our rural county so we can meet them. Of course members of the ruling party were all invited too but I guess they don't know where we live, how to use a telephone, fax or the internet to respond or decline. 

It is going to conflict with the spontaneous marches and vigils that are now scheduled all over my corner of the state and I hope it is more than the organizers, me and the candidates. 

And this is how my grandson arrived this morning (photo taken at home with their tree). He wasn't ready to get up and these are his portable night-time glasses.

What a day

I'll start this post with some adorable homeschoolers from a Facebook post five years ago when we thought Covid was a bad thing. Now we know it was an appetizer. 

What a day.  It was my day for our church charity office and I had 10 clients in four hours. 

I had families who had rent increases and can't afford them. I had families unable to pay the balances on their utility bills. I had a family who used paychecks to pay for their dad's funeral and can't pay bills.

I had a single dad with an 8 year old whose 20 year old daughter moved in with 2 toddlers. She doesn't work. He changed jobs and had a paycheck gap.

I had a young man whose employer had a 3 week shutdown. They are back to work and switching their payroll software so it will be three more weeks before he gets a check.  His rent is due.

I had a woman whose rental house burnt down due to faulty wiring the day after she paid rent for this month. Her full time job cut her hours this fall so she lost healthcare. She has picked up a 8 hour a month housekeeping job, a 1 hour a week cleaning job at a gym and is a substitute lunch lady on call in addition to her nursing home job. 

I had a woman whose hours at a restaurant were cut to 15 hours per week. 

I had lady who is in her mid-60's, but working 35 hours a week at Walmart. She makes about $100 less a month than her bills on a good day. She is afraid to file for social security because she will be penalized for working and have less spendable income. I am not an expert on that. 

I had a family that needed a past balance electric bill paid to move into an apartment. 

I had an interesting couple in their fifties. He recently quit a job (where my husband worked) of 28 years to start a construction business. It is slower than expected and he needs $1200 to fill his propane tank and $300 to keep his electric on.  Interesting because it was hard to get straight answers, he left a very high paying job where he could have retired at 60 with a good pension, and his wife doesn't work. Looking at the mortgage they have had for 20 years, I am guessing we refinanced at some point. It isn't adding up. 

I saw an automotive plant near us is laying off next month. 

And I accidentally turned on the tv and ICE has shot two people in Portland. 

Another grandchild (the one who was here on Tuesday) has tested positive for Influenza A.

This is not a good day. 

Keeping on Keeping on

My youngest son had a birthday on Monday. He was born at 9 pounds, 5 oz back when doctors didn't tell you what a baby might weigh at birth, thank goodness. At 3 or 4 weeks old he got a special fancy case of croup and spent a week in ICU at our small local hospital. We were having a blizzard and the helicopter to the children's hospital would not fly. Highways were closed and Mr Merry was 2 towns away and couldn't come home.  The hospital cafeteria was being remodeled but my mom and aunt both worked at the hospital and would bring me hot food and sneak me into the shower room in the ER.  Fun times.  When he was released, he weighed just over 7 pounds. 

All grown up now and a master griller. 

My grandson was having senior night (known as senior swim) this week and I spent Saturday and Sunday making this poster. 

For no reason I can figure, one of our school extended the Christmas break by one day so that we had children here on Monday. 

One of the volunteers at our church office went to Florida so I took the Tuesday morning shift. My son called with a sick child but swore he could pick him up before we needed to leave for the 180 mile round trip to the swim meet with the poster. 

My first client was a man who is in his late 60's who lives alone and cannot read or write.  He brought me his bills in unopened envelopes. 

My replacement was 30 minutes late. I came home and my son was 30 minutes late.  We arrived 8 minutes before it started. Whew. 

My middle son, his wife, and my youngest daughter also made the trip along with his parents, other grandparents and his dad's brother and his wife. Quite the cheering section.  

Senior Picture. Mom got the suit at Goodwill. 

We drove home and split a "biggie bag" from Wendy's on the road.  

I'm trying to catch up on blogs but I am still really tired from that stinking flu. I did get a flash of energy this morning so I went to the Amish to get eggs, went down a few more roads to the Amish butcher to get Brat patties which are only 3.95 a pound. I stopped at Aldi when I got back to town for bread and hamburger buns and picked up the ready to bake Apple Streusel that I saw on social media. I baked the streusel while I washed eggs and it looks delicious (breakfast before school tomorrow), put a roast in the crock pot for sandwiches, made a macaroni salad and did a load of laundry. I was then spent for the day. 

Then I witnessed the atrocity in Minneapolis and had to turn off the tv.  I am so scared and sad and angry. 

Tomorrow I am back in the church charity office for the day. Today all our snow melted and if the weather station is to be believed, it is supposed to be 60 degrees on Friday!  And back in the 30's by Sunday.