Wisdom Wednesday - It's Last Leaf's Blogiversary!!

Holy smokes...it's my blogiversary!  Here's a shout out to the fabulous Thomas MacEntee for providing a platform for anyone who wants to post about their genealogical trials, tribulations, and triumphs...thank you!! And, it's pretty darned incredible to think that I started this blog two years ago. It's been a topsy-turvy couple of years, but fortunately my 'house of horrors' has morphed into more of a 'Tilt-A-Whirl'. Still a ride, but a lot more fun. Here's a bit of an 'update':

My garden is producing nuclear-sized cucumbers and soon I'll have a bumper crop of tomatoes and bell peppers. There's little to do in the garden other than water and weed occasionally, and enjoy its bounty. The same goes for my yard; the perennial flower seeds I planted in the early summer have grown into a nice little green oasis with specks of purple and white flowers. Next year they'll put on quite the show. The other flowers I planted, those the bunnies didn't eat into nubs, are doing fairly well also. 

My house is once again more of a home. We're looking forward to doing some minor repairs and lot of cosmetic work to clean and freshen it up. There'll be plenty of painting in my spare time, along with some other updates that will happen when time and, of course, funds are available. 

Our kittehs have provided a unifying source of comedy. They are growing into their personalities and adult kitteh bodies. Villy is a mix of sweet and salty; her purr is epic and she has become my own ironic love (I swore I disliked girl kittehs, and every day I munch on those words.) Goober has found a bit of a voice, albeit a very "peepy" one. He's our long, lean oozer who loves to leap from behind the couch and grab our legs as we walk by. Fortunately, the 'frown' he was born with (not anywhere near as epic as Grumpy Cat, but still) is slowly turning into a hint of a grin. Yay for good livin'! And, Conway is just the sweetest 15lbs of kitteh you'll ever meet. Actually, we're pretty sure he doesn't know he's a cat because he acts more like a dog. He loves people and he loves talking even more. He's particularly fond of sharing his philosophical views, which he shares quite intently. He hasn't quite grown out of the habit of 'nursing' on my neck (we've termed it 'getting schnecks') which is a bit of a challenge because he weighs 15 lbs and leaves a kitteh hickey when he does it. I'm pretty much the antithesis of the kind of 'mom' I wanted to be: I'm overly indulgent and they know it. And our house has much more love in it because of them. (Can you tell? I mean, really, I could talk about them for hours. It's sad. And so funny).

As for myself, the last 10 months have been incredibly challenging for me physically. I've been suffering (and I don't use that word lightly) from what appears to be rapid onset osteoarthritis in my hands. Basically, I went from some minor pain in my left hand (I'd had a cortisone shot in July last year) to significant pain in both my hands. It's challenging to openly discuss this because I work with my hands and I didn't want to leave the impression that I wasn't able to work. While I scaled back the more physical aspects of my work, everyday chores like doing the dishes became a nightmare. The good news is that I've had shots in my hands again, and I'm feeling significantly better. I still have some pain, but that comes with the territory. I'm hoping to be able to get back to a regular course of exercise, which I miss terribly.

Ironically, all of the above has caused an inverse reaction of less time spent on blog posts, something I truly am hoping to remedy. I'm rushing to get ready to head to FGS, and I plan on Tweeting and blogging as much as I can. My week is incredibly full and I simply can't wait!  Here's a quick run-down:

Sunday: I leave in the early after noon to drive to Delphos, Ohio. Depending on time and traffic I may make a quick stop in Van Wert to get the lay of the land and go to a cemetery or three (Heh). I'm staying in Delphos.

Monday: Up bright and early to head to Marysville, Ohio and the Union County Court house. Then, I have an appointment with the Archivist at the Union County Historical Society, where I'm hoping to learn more about my Beightler and Amrine family members. Again, time permitting, I'll be hitting some of the local cemeteries to locate ancestors.

Tuesday: Librarian's Day!! I'm super psyched to have the opportunity to enjoy this day, which I'll be enjoying with one of my co-volunteers from the Fox Valley Genealogical Society and a Librarian from the Oswego, Illinois library where we provide research assistance once a month. There's some really great things planned for our day. Then, I'll get to meet up with my roomie for the week before heading off to the FamilySearch bloggers dinner with (hopefully) a quick break for a photo-op with my ProGen Study group alum. Oh!! I forgot to mention I finished ProGen! Heh.

Wednesday - Saturday: I'm immersing myself in all things genealogical. I hope to have the chance to hear some of the people I know on-line speak and just generally hang out with people who love genealogy as much as I do!!

Sunday: I'm rising bright and early to drive down to Bloomington, Indiana to the home of my cousin, Stephen Baer's son. He has kindly offered to allow me to see all of the material his dad had accumulated and although he describes it as a bit of a jumble I suspect its very organized. I'm just hoping for a few more clues to the very early origins of our shared family. 

So, that's it. I'll be starting my third blogging year with a research trip and conference followed by a family visit to see some of my family's material. I'm working overtime to not get too excited about all the great people who I know from social media but that I'm going to be meeting for the first time. I'm also going to be missing a few of my genea-friends who can't make the trip. I'll cross my fingers I'll see them, soon.

Thank you again, all of you, for taking the time to read my posts. I know you're inundated daily with all types of genea-information and other information as well, and the fact you take the time to read what I post is greatly appreciated.