About Me

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Lake Mathews (Perris), CA, United States
Born in Illinois, I grew up in Wilmette, a northern suburb of Chicago. I have one sibling, an older brother. I am married, for the 2nd time now, to Butch & got 4 children in the deal. They have gone on to make me grandmother 25 times over & great-grandmother to over 20!. After many years working in industry, I got my bachelors and masters degrees in speech communication, & was a professor in that field for 13 years. I retired in 2001 & returned to school & got my doctorate in folklore. Now I meld my two interests - folklore & genealogy - & add my teaching background, resulting in my current profession: speaker/author/entertainer of genealogically-related topics. I play many folk instruments, but my preference is guitar, which I have been playing since 1963. I write the "Aunty Jeff" column for the Informer, newsletter of the Jefferson County NY Gen. Soc. I work in partnership with Gena Philibert-Ortega & Sara Cochran as Genealogy Journeys® where we focus on educating folks about Social History. More about that: genaandjean.blogspot.com. More on our podcasts: genjourneys.podbean.com. More about my own projects: Circlemending.org.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Where, oh where has that little blog gone . . . yet again!

Excuses, excuses . . . well, I do have a few, but you probably don't want to hear my tales of woe regarding a house needing cleaning, deadlines for other projects (seminar submissions, articles, etc.) looming, and more bookings than I can stay on top of. It's not that bad . . . as some of my Facebook friends will tell you, I've also spent more time than probably necessary playing Words with Friends. (I believe in that old adage: "all work and no play . . . blah, blah." So, in an effort to avoid dullness, I have been allowing myself some "down" time.)

I will be heading to SLIG in January so have also been working on my project for that (said project being due the end of this month). This will help me, hopefully, tear down a brick wall that was constructed with iron rebar. It has been interesting visiting this part of my family that I have often given up on, only to return to a few years later with new leads, most going nowhere. (Decided, also, that it was time to work on my own family history a bit . . . who knows, I may get an article or presentation out of it!)

In early November I'll be going to Mesa, Arizona to spend the weekend with my daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, granddaughters-in-law, close friends, extended family, and a great-granddaughter, too. I don't have the latest count of attendees, but it should be an amazing weekend with very little sleep, I am sure.

Meanwhile, there have been other exciting things taking my time. All my efforts on my Certification renewal, which I did back in May, have paid off and I have been renewed for another five years. Yay! Articles I have submitted have been accepted for publication (in NGS Magazine, Family Chronicle, and SPEAK!). These have all cut into blogging time. And now, to add to blogging diversions: I have just been called as the new director for the Corona Family History Center. I hope to include more blogs for that facility - most dealing with FamilySearch - so this should actually provide me with more blogging, not less. But, until I get acclimated to the new responsibilities, my blog may feel the pinch. But, be patient. I shall return, and will include more of those NARA films.

I do want to add here that I am also going to be doing some "guest blogging" at the recently assembled SCCAPG (Southern Calif. Chapter of the Assoc. of Professional Genealogist) blog; most posts there will deal with SCCAPG particulars. Everyone is welcome!

So, please be patient with me . . . more will be coming.

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