Genealogy Travels

It does appear that this is more a monthly, than a daily, or even weekly, blog. Hmm, well, at least I'm doing something.

I've had a little cold and that has kept me from staying on top of, well, anything! But I feel better now and ready to head to NGS in Raleigh, NC on Monday morning. I think I have most things packed (or on the list for the last minute) and have my schedule set, so now it's just a matter of making sure my alarm is set and I am up & on the way to the airport by 2:30 Monday morning. While I am not a morning person, I suspect that I will be too excited to sleep so it will be more an issue of leaving late Sunday than leaving early Monday!

This particular conference will be particularly special because it appears I will be installed as the new secretary for the Genealogical Speakers Guild (last I looked, I'm running unopposed). I really enjoy this group . . . they have an excellent newsletter and have given me some helpful networking opportunities. For genealogical speakers, I strongly recommend joining this organization: besides the networking, members each have their own pages to promote their genealogical speaking business. Check it out at <www.genealogicalspeakersguild.org>.

There is a lot of travel in my summer's plans and most is genealogy-related so this is just the first of many journeys (some longer than others). And most include living relatives, too, so that is another reason to look forward to them: I'll be visiting kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids in Utah, Arizona, Illinois, and Missouri.

Hope my readers are looking forward to their summer as well.

Life changes

It has been a long time since I have posted to my blog; guess I am just caught up in the "stuff" of life. Actually, there has been a change in my life, so it makes sense for me to "announce" it here.

I was installed as the new president of the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists. This is going to be quite an experience for me and I am looking forward to this new role. Gena Ortega was installed as my vice president and Anne Miller as secretary. Alice Volkert will continue in her role as treasurer, which is great as, since I am new to both the office and the board, I appreciate having around someone experienced with the operation of the group to help keep me on track (and Alice is great at that).

I continue to enjoy reading the Facebook postings of my friends and family, particularly the grandkids (we can finally keep track of them!). My husband has had a number of Facebook conversations with our grandson, Chris, in Iraq, so that has been particularly special.

So I am looking at spring as meaning new beginnings in my "social" life - on and off line. Hope spring holds good things for all.

folk music, facebook, friends, and family

It's been over 20 days since my last post. Well, I feel as if I'm right on schedule.

We just returned from the Glendale, Arizona folk heritage festival and it was a wonderful experience. The festival is run by young folks (so great to see young people embracing folk music and taking leading roles in making it accessible to the general public). I had the lingering effects of a bout with bronchitis so I spent much of the time in the RV, listening to the music drifting through the fence. It was a great way to recuperate! Butch had a wonderful time playing saw and teaching workshops in that and the spoons. We also did a half-hour show of Civil War songs and I taught a workshop on that subject. All were well received and we enjoyed meeting new musicians. We also were invited to camp at the home of a local "folkie" and that gave us more music at the potluck on Sat. night ... folks from all over Arizona joined together to share food and songs. We felt welcomed!

But now we are back home, ready for "real life." Both of us joined Facebook and are having some fun reading the comments by friends and family. Learned of a fire threatening our daughter's home in Arizona (while they were in Utah) and located an old friend from over 30 years ago. While I haven't gotten into the whole "comment" part of Facebook myself, I do enjoy reading the inputs of others.