Genealogy and Weather

Genealogy:  I spent all day last Friday and Saturday at the Genealogy KC 2014 Conference where I was immersed in not only finding my roots but what to do after I find them. For a genealogist, or someone who aspires to be, it was heaven. There were about 700 people there - up from 350 who attended last year.  People were there from all over Missouri and Kansas which surprised me since I thought it was a local event. They had some really good speakers on a variety of topics.  However, my favorite speaker was Kathleen Brandt who is very knowledgeable but also a very entertaining speaker.  She did research for Tim McGraw when he was on the TV show "Who Do You Think You Are?". Thee were a couple of speakers from Ancestry.com. All "classes" were 1 hours long and it was a hard choice to pick the classes since there were over 50 of them offered over the 2 days in various class rooms. Some speakers were better than others but I learned something in every one of them. In some classes it was how better use genealogy software or how to improve research at the National Archives or how to do a digital scrapbook of our family finds. Vivian went with me on Saturday and I think she was on brain overload after the first couple of speakers... 8-)

Weather: Yes, there was a tornado about an hour north of greater KC yesterday but we only got pea-sized hail for about 2 minutes. Yes, it has been bitterly cold for days in a row since I have been here.  Yes, it was 70 one day and snowed the next. But....that is just the way it is and what you put up with to get 4 Seasons back here. I knew what I was in for since I lived in Missouri for 27 years when growing up, etc until I started moving west. I have gotten good use out of my sweaters and warn scarves that I  bought before I came back here. I haven't worn a heavy coat and gloves so much since I left Utah in 2002. I really appreciated having a garage or I might be singing a different song.... 8-)  Now for the tornado season that is approaching....  As with the ice, I have a healthy respect for them.  I listen to the weather on the TV and radio, am prepared and take precautions.  I can't remember the difference in a tornado watch and a tornado warning so yesterday put it in my cell phone so when I hear it on the radio I know which it is. The weather forecasters here really do a good job informing the public on the severe weather exactly where it is and when it will hit.  I bought a twin size comforter recently to cover Morris and me with in the bathtub.  They say to pull a mattress over you but that is just not doable for me. My plan is to grab Morris and put his leash on, grab the cell phone, grab a little emergency bag, grab the comforter and crawl into the bathtub. Then I have to leave it to the man upstairs.... What will be will be....

Catching Up

You may need 2 glasses of wine or coffee to get through everything I have written today....  I promised myself that I would not get so far behind again on the blog but I have just been really busy.  I don't know how I ever had enough time to work full time....  Enjoy!

The Furniture has Arrived !!!!!!!

All my furniture was delivered last Tuesday so now I feel like I am really moved in. After sweating out the color/pattern choices and then loosing sleep wondering if I made the right choices - I LOVE IT!

 

 As I have said before, the floor plan for the kitchen, living room and dining room is open and everything is visible. The pattern chair (in the middle) is my rocker/recliner and fits my short body perfectly. The chair with the stripes is a rocker/swivel chair and Morris has claimed it.

 

You may remember that the "Bottles" picture was the inspiration for the colors in the space. The fabric on the chairs is a sandy color but has little threads running through it that are the same colors as the bottles in the picture. It all goes perfectly together.

 

 I LOVE my bedroom and it is very colorful. When I was a kid, my bed had an iron bedstead and I never expected to ever have one again.  However, my new headboard is iron and I love it.... I forgot to take a picture of the dresser in the bedroom. 8-)

 

"It's about time I got my own bed!"

St. Patrick's Day in a Small Town

Vivian lives in Belton which is a suburb south of Kansas City with a population of around 26,000 people. They are famous in the area for their St. Patrick's Day Parade so of course, I had to attend with the family. I was not only surprised by how many people turned out but I couldn't believe how many were dressed up for the occasion. People brought lawn chairs to set on and other's set on the curb.

 

 Left to right: My three nieces who also were the one's who did the kitchen - Karen, Sheryl and Vivian. In front is Sheryl's granddaughter.

 

Vivian's daughter and grandson. Angie is a lot older than she looks here. 8-) Yes, his hair is green.

 

Lucy is a granddaughter of Vivian's and is just adorable. I have never seen her smile in all the pictures I have seen of her nor have I seen a smile in person.  Her eyes say it all.

 

How is this for getting in the spirit?

 

 The Honor Guard was made up of members from the Sons of the American Revolution organization.

 

There were the usual politicians in the parade. The kids set on the curb to catch the candy that the people in the parade throw out to them as they go by.

 

This guy was good - especially when he was going in circles, figure 8's etc.

 

And a special "float" for me was this one which was by the Donate Life organization that promotes organ donation.

A new look in the kitchen

Three nieces came over a couple of Fridays ago and we/they decorated the space above my kitchen cabinets. They spread everything I had pulled together out on the floor, sorted it and started in. Most of the greenery was supplied by a niece but we had to go to the store and get a bit more. My job was to keep the glasses full of Mimosa's and say "yes" or "no" as it was going together. I LOVE how it turned out.

When I moved in, the kitchen looked like this. I have never had an island in a kitchen before and have mixed feelings about it. I like it but find myself cluttering the top up and am constantly putting away stuff that ends up there. I tend to "cook" on the counter space which is what I am used to. There are shelves on the backside and that is great for storage. The space atop the cabinets is 2 feet high and 12" wide so it is a big empty space.

This is how it looks now. The books on the island shelves are part of the cookbooks in my collection. They range from one that was printed in the 1930's to  some printed last year. Putting stuff above the counter made the whole open floor plan kitchen/dining/living room space more "cozy and warm".

We broke the space above the cabinets into three spaces/themes. I used a lot of items that I have collected over the years and only bought a few items. An example is that the large pasta bowl with the sunflower is one that Larry and I got in 2003 and used for the pasta when we had friends over and he made his "famous" spaghetti sauce.  The rooster is new.

The clay urn on the left is from Tucson and one of very few "southwest" items in the apartment. The tray was given to me by 2 very dear friends when we went to San Diego on a trip together. It is from a winery we visited.  The bottle on the right was originally a bottle of Pinot Grigio from Italy that a friend brought and we all drank it at one of the monthly HOA "Meeting after the Meeting" (snacks, drinks and friendship) that Larry and I hosted.

The sign is new and  is a good goal for life:

 To Do List:

Watch a Sunrise

Snuggle On The Couch

Read a Good Book

Take a Long Nap

Watch the Sunset

The tall bottle is new. The wine glasses and their holder that sets on a bottle of wine was given to me by a friend in 1990. The wine bottle container on the right held a bottle of wind that was brought to one of the Meeting After Meeting by one of the ladies.

 

So......the items not only add a lot of personality to the house, but brings smiles when I look at them and remember good times with friends.

Morris Update

Last summer when we were here, Morris refused to even stick his nose out the door.  I think part of it was that I tried to carry him through the outside entry ara and he thought we were going to the car. In this apt, we have a normal door which opens to our sidewalk. This week he started looking around me when I opened the door and seeing the outside.  So....on when the leash and he walked outside. Here he is starting to explore his yard which is a good sized grassy area. Loud noises bother him so when he hears something, he runs for the front door but then ventures back outside when the noise passes. Of course, now he wants to go out every time I open the door.....

I was in Michael's last week and saw this miniature hanging basket that I thought would be PERFECT for his tree house and it is.  He already had the metal hanging cat. He spends hours perched up here watching the comings and goings at the office park next door. In the afternoon, he moves down to the lower perch and takes a nap in the sun. His next favorite spot is in the dinning room where there are 2 large windows where he sits and watch's the traffic going by on the street.

We had a mini thunderstorm Tuesday night complete with thunder, lightening, rain and about 15 minutes or more of hail. It wasn't long after it started before Morris headed to the bedroom and hid under the bed until it was over. The wind was blowing so the sound of the hail hitting the windows was pretty loud.

My furniture is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday - except for one chair that had not come in as of yesterday. They have everything except the sofa, which was due yesterday and the accent chair. I CAN"T WAIT!!!!!!

Penguins and Kangaroos

It seemed like a good day to go to the zoo yesterday since the forecast was for a high of 70+. It actually got up to 74 which was the warmest day of the year so far. It was also a Monday so I figured not many people would be there.  WRONG! It was packed with families and kids of all ages.  I didn't know until last night that it was the first day of Spring Break. I have a yearly pass so wasn't planning on staying very long - just to check out the new penguin exhibit and see the kangaroos again. I have said it again and will say it again - in my opinion, the KC Zoo is better than the San Diego Zoo.  The San Diego Zoo is not as clean, many of the exhibits are old fashioned and the admission price is over twice as high as the KC Zoo.

The new penguin exhibit is really awesome! It is large and you can see 3 sides of it.  There is only glass between you and the water so they come up close. Ledges are also right by the window so you can see them up close and personal.  In all the zoos I have seen in my life, and it is a lot, I have never seen an exhibit of penguins. They are absolutely adorable  - especially when they are waddling along with their stiff-legged walk. Reminded me of me walking sometimes after I have been setting for a long time.... 8-)

The pool in front extends up to the window. The white they are standing on is not really ice but looks like ice. There are at least 2 ice making machines in the exhibit that make ice so they can go play or just get in it. I didn't see a lot of melting so the temperature must be pretty chilly inside the room. The pool goes under the "ice" and extends to the other side. The "rocks" are artificial but look pretty real.  Then the wall is painted with the mountains, snow, sky, etc.

There are 3 different kinds of penguins in the exhibit.  These are the King penguins and the most common we see in movies, etc.

This guy was checking out those funny looking things on the other side of the glass - otherwise known as humans.

Then there are the kangaroos..... What amazes me about this exhibit is that they are loose in a large fenced in area and will come right up to you. You walk through the area on the trail and they are wandering around.  These are the Red Kangaroos and no, I don't how many different kinds there are, etc.

Fun day with lots of sunshine and exercise! 

Daylight Savings Time

One of the things I did like about Arizona was that the state did not do Daylight Savings Time. For almost 9 years I have sympathized with family/friends in other states who had to go through the Spring Ahead or Fall Back events each year for the time changes. A problem in AZ was remembering if I was 1 hour behind, 1 hour ahead or in the summer, the same as the west coast but 2 hours behind those in the Midwest.  This was especially trying when I was working since so much of my contact was with people either on the West Coast or in the Midwest. So.....now I can quit being smug about not having to set my clocks since I had to do it Saturday night.  The good thing is that so many of my clocks automatically set themselves including the new radio I recently bought at WalMart. Morris refuses to get up before the sun comes up which is now 7:37 a.m. instead of 6:37 last week. And since he won't get up, why should I? Actually I have noticed that I am sleeping later and staying in bed longer since I have been back here even though I go to bed around the same time. Some of it could be the time change but I think a lot of it is the new mattress - I can stay in bed longer without my back hurting. I'm embarrassed to say that it was 8 a.m. when we got up this morning. I don't set an alarm anymore but wake up around 7 and listen to the radio for awhile to get the weather, news, etc before crawling out of bed. To me, being the person who was up at 6:30 whether I needed to be or not, this is just totally decant!

 

Odds and Ends

Another store observation: I was in a local Michael's yesterday for the first time. In Tucson, I HATED going there because it took so long to get checked out. The store here is at least twice as big as the one I went to in Tucson.  There were very few customers in the store yesterday and when I got ready to leave, both cashiers were not busy. In contrast, the Hobby Lobby that is about 1/2 mile away is always very busy and has long waits to check out.

Weather: I heard a person on the radio comment this week that "we can have all 4 seasons in a week" which is almost true this week. We have had rain, snow, sun with a high ranging from 6 degrees to 60 degrees.  A light snow is forecast for Saturday and then 70 is forecast for Monday. Not the boring "always sunny" that there is in some places.... 8-)

A change from furnishing/decorating the apartment: My brain is on overload with fabrics/colors/styles/accessories, etc so I decided to take a break and think about something else. The choice was photography or genealogy since those are my hobbies.  I was online and discovered the Johnson County Genealogy Society (the county I live in) so decided on genealogy.  I also discovered that there is a big 2-day KC Genealogy Conference later this month which Vivian and I are attending. I'm going both days and she is going on Saturday. Anyway, I unpacked some of the boxes that have the genealogy stuff in them that I was working on in Tucson.  I have a lot of catching up to do since there is stuff I got in 2010 that has not be entered into the data bases yet let along the stuff from 2011 in Arkansas and last year here in Missouri. So a lot of catching up to do..... The Johnson County Genealogy isn't too far from me and I'm looking forward to visiting their library and checking it out.  My ancestors were from the Missouri side but Larry's paternal grandparents were from Kansas. I also want to check out their list of volunteer duties, etc as a possibility. I don't think I realized how much time I spent on the HOA stuff in Tucson until now I have all that open time that I need to do something else with. I just can't set around doing nothing.

Store Observations

I always find it interesting to go to the same store brand in different cities to see how they vary, different products/styles that they carry etc.  Today I found a couple worth mentioning....

Trader Joe's: The 1st Trader Joe's in Kansas is just a couple of miles from me and I finally made it there today for some of their spices. The store is big, well lit and has wide aisles. I kept trying to figure out what was REALLY different and then realized it was that there was no wine in the store. In Kansas, you have to go to a "liquor store" to buy wine, hard liquor, etc - they are not allowed to sell it in grocery stores. So....no 2 Buck Chuck....

Bed, Bath & Beyond: This is the other store I was at today and what a difference! The selection of "fine china" was 2-3 times larger than the selection of the one I went to in Tucson. The store also has a full drug-store in it with hair spray, pain killers, etc - like you find in a Walgreen's, etc. But I did finally find a vanity stool/bench that I have been looking for.  I never expected to have a bathroom counter with space for a vanity stool in an apartment. So, my bathroom is done!!!!!!!!!!!!

Morris Update

 

Morris is settling in and getting into his routine. It made a difference when I moved his tree house into the office/guest room.  In Tucson, he would lay on Larry's desk which was in front of the window while I worked at my desk which was to the right of Larry's.  I brought Larry's desk with me and left my desk in the house.  Now, I don't have enough room for him to sprawl out on the desk plus the view doesn't seem to interest him and it doesn't get direct sun. However, he LOVES his tree house in this window.  He gets sun in the afternoon for a nap, he looks over my shoulder plus he keeps track of the comings and goings at the office complex next door.  

 

 

When I go out to the garage to get boxes or to move them around, he is right with me.  He liked to go out into the garage in Tucson so going out in the garage here isn't new.  What is new is that this garage door has windows and he can look out the windows from on top of the car. Morris has always liked high spots and this works nicely for him.

 

I usually find him on the bed for his afternoon nap if he isn't on his tree house. Again, there are windows by the bed so he can see out. He also stays "in bed" when I get up in the morning and am taking a shower, etc.  When I head for the kitchen, then he gets up.

 

And finally, my buddy.......  Only in the last year has he started snuggling up against my face as opposed to just curling up in my lap like he did with Larry. He is usually on my lap anytime I'm in the recliner and gives me really dirty looks when I have to move him to get up. The only time he is not in the same room with me is when he is sleeping - otherwise he follows me room to room while I'm doing things like he did with Larry.

 

A Cold, Snowy Sunday

Yes, I know I am on record as having missed living where there were 4 seasons and I still prefer a climate with 4 seasons.  However, I have had enough of the winter season and like everyone else in this area am anxious for the next season - Spring. I have to admit that I was disappointed to get up this morning and not see the 4-6" of snow they were forecasting. As you can see, we might have

2" of really small beads of sleet in my front yard. It is still coming down very lightly and they are saying we might get a lot of snow this afternoon. The sleet woke me up last night when it was really coming down and hitting the bedroom window. The temperature this morning at 8:30 a.m. was 2 degrees with a high of 5 forecast which will be the coldest high for March 2nd in KC history. There is some wind blowing and I don't want to know what the wind chill is and am not sure I want to know. I am loving being able to wear heavy sweaters! Needless to say, Morris and I are staying indoors today. I have a crock pot of chili cooking and will be unpacking more boxes today. Maybe I'll do some reading while drinking hot chocolate.... 8-)