What are you doing right now? Part 2 Showing 1,651-1,700 of 2,414

[Marina]

Rita, sorry to hear that, I hope it gets better soon. And by the way, glad to see you in this group, too :)

[Marina]

Rita, my grandma had Parkinson's so I know what you're talking about.

[Christine]

HAPPY WINTER EVERYONE!

[Christine]

Rita your in my thoughts and Marina I’m very sorry that your grandma had Parkinson’s

[LauraT]

Christine wrote: "Oh that’s very cool LauraT and I looked at both of those websites and they’re both looked very cool"

Thanks! Do come and give a look at it for real ;)

[Karin]

Rita wrote: "I am laying on a heating pad hoping to make my back feel better. At 3a.m. I had to go to the bathroom. Because of the way things were arranged in my bathroom, I couldn't take my walker in there. So..."

I hope you feel better VERY soon!

[Esther]

Rita wrote: "I am laying on a heating pad hoping to make my back feel better. At 3a.m. I had to go to the bathroom. Because of the way things were arranged in my bathroom, I couldn't take my walker in there. So..."

Ouch!! That sounds painful. I hope you heal quickly.

[Ruth]

I hope your back is feeling better Rita and I must admit I got a little chuckle out of the landing in the cat litter box.
Merry Christmas to all those that celebrate and Happy Holidays everyone.

[Christine]

Your welcome LauraT and I will give a look at it for real someday and aww thanks Ruth

[Christine]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

[LauraT]

Hope you've had a nice, cozy, Merry Christmas!
And the invitation to Perugia is extended to all who are interested!

Hope you fell a bit better Rita

[Christine]

Aww thanks LauraT and LauraT I can’t travel far but thanks for the offer

[LauraT]

Christine wrote: "Aww thanks LauraT and LauraT I can’t travel far but thanks for the offer"

You never know ...

At the moment I'm watching Mrs Maisel! Real fun

[Leslie]

LauraT wrote: "Christine wrote: "Aww thanks LauraT and LauraT I can’t travel far but thanks for the offer"

You never know ...

At the moment I'm watching Mrs Maisel! Real fun"

I really like that show! I still have the 3rd season to watch yet but soon...

[LauraT]

Me too Leslie!!!!

[Joan]

We enjoyed “The Brokenwood Mysteries” - & wish they’d hurry up with the next season.

[Leslie]

Joan wrote: "We enjoyed “The Brokenwood Mysteries” - & wish they’d hurry up with the next season."

Is that the one set in Australia (or is it New Zealand)? I think that I saw a few of them...

[Joan]

New Zealand- It has wacky stories, fun characters and good background tunes.

[Karin]

I have been very negligent in posting my page numbers for the readathon as I am suddenly involved in helping run a team reading game, but I will get there, I hope, in the next couple of days. I am coming in every day and posting the previous days updates here so I'll be able to go back and get the numbers. I've also been doing a fair bit of reading trying to get my year in books up to 3 figures as ti was a bit of a slow year for me. One more book to go to get it to 100.

[Christine]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[Pam]

I accidentally spent the whole evening playing around on Ancestry.com. My DNA results came in so I was looking through my matches and updating the paternal line of my tree. I’ve been working with FTDNA for the last year and recently tested on Ancestry. I found 8 close cousins that I don’t have in FTDNA. One match I am super excited about because she’s a person I didn’t know existed, whereas the others I knew about. Anyone else doing genealogy research? It’s so interesting to me but ridiculously time-consuming! I have to take a break for the weekend since my daughter is in town visiting. Hope everyone has a great weekend and get in most of reading!

[Pam]

Correction: Not “most of” but “lots of” reading!! I’m on my phone and couldn’t see the last line I typed with a typo.

[dely]

Pam wrote: "I accidentally spent the whole evening playing around on Ancestry.com. My DNA results came in so I was looking through my matches and updating the paternal line of my tree. I’ve been working with F..."

Once I met a painter that painted also his genealogical tree and he needed more than 20 years going back till the Middle Age or even more. He said it has been hard but worth.
I don't know if I would have all that patience. I would like to find out more about my ancestors and my origins, but I think they don't do that test here or it's very expensive.

[Christine]

What did everyone get for Christmas?

[Leslie]

Pam wrote: "I accidentally spent the whole evening playing around on Ancestry.com. My DNA results came in so I was looking through my matches and updating the paternal line of my tree. I’ve been working with F..."

My brother had his DNA tested through Ancestry.com & I was surprised to find that apparently my family was mistaken in thinking that my paternal grandmother's family had French ancestry. I traced my father's family tree back to the early 1700s (almost all born here in North America) so I guess that the French sounding last name misled us. It was an interesting project (which took me several months) which I undertook a few years ago as a gift for my dad.

[Leslie]

Christine wrote: "What did everyone get for Christmas?"

I got 3 books (Voss, Big Little Lies & Death at La Fenice) which I wanted very much! Plus some clothes & other things...

What did you get Christine?

[Christine]

Leslie I got 12 books for Christmas and Leslie that’s cool that you got three books for Christmas

[Pam]

Dely- I think that prices for DNA testing are more expensive outside the US. I’ve read that it is illegal in France. It seems that more Americans use Ancestry. I’ve heard that more Europeans use Family Tree DNA because of it’s price. You can also test on some sites, like Ancestry, and upload for free your raw DNA file to other sites, like FTDNA. But, not necessarily vice versa.

I haven’t broken through any “walls” yet with DNA testing but have met some cousins in Quebec, Massachusetts, and East European countries. It is a very interesting hobby! It’s crazy to think about how many people you are related to!

[Joan]

Although I have had my DNA tested, I did send my dog’s DNA to 2 different companies. Both reported that she is cross of dachshund and chow.

I’m not sure that cross is even possible ;-), and she doesn’t look like either.
She is, however, a marvelous dog.

[Leslie]

Joan wrote: "Although I have had my DNA tested, I did send my dog’s DNA to 2 different companies. Both reported that she is cross of dachshund and chow.

I’m not sure that cross is even possible ;-), and she do..."

lol!

[dely]

Pam wrote: "I haven’t broken through any “walls” yet with DNA testing but have met some cousins in Quebec, Massachusetts, and East European countries. It is a very interesting hobby! It’s crazy to think about how many people you are related to!"

Lol, if it leads to know new relatives in "real life", then I even won't start! I can't move from home going to sightseeing somewhere that my mother tells me: There we have relatives. Do you remember that and that? Well, in that town there is his daughter/cousin/aunt/any random relative.

My mother finds me already enough relatives scattered around the whole world! :D

[Karin]

Pam wrote: "I accidentally spent the whole evening playing around on Ancestry.com. My DNA results came in so I was looking through my matches and updating the paternal line of my tree. I’ve been working with F..."

No, but then we have my mother's family tree dating back over 1000 years already, and much of my dad's on both sides of his family for a few hundred years already. We had all of that before there was an Ancestry.com, etc--Icelandic citizens can access the national genealogical database since the country started in the triple digits (illegitimacy wasn't so hidden, etc there). Also, I'm a bit leery of letting Ancestry have the rights to my DNA. My mother knew all 50+ of her first cousins. There could be some we've never heard of on my dad's father's side who didn't escape, but really they kept in touch with many of them by mail. I know all of my first cousins even if we don't all keep in touch.

[Ruth]

My brother has been researching our family tree with some interesting results. He gave me a DNA kit for Christmas but I haven't done it yet because I was sick.

[Pam]

Karin- I think it’s different when you know your heritage, like in your case. Many Americans don’t know anything about their ancestry (not even surnames) or they have misinformation. All my life I was told we were part Native American on our French-Canadian side but my cousin proved that was not true. Also, a lot of us moved around and didn’t grow up having close relationships with grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles. I didn’t have the experience of hearing stories from the “old country”. Fortunately, I contacted a couple of older generation relatives 20 years ago and got some of those stories and details. Now I’m the one helping researchers who are just getting started.

[Leslie]

It is over 60 °F (about 17 °C) here today -- a virtual heatwave for January in New England! I have opened up my windows to let in the fresh air :-)

[Karin]

Pam wrote: "Karin- I think it’s different when you know your heritage, like in your case. Many Americans don’t know anything about their ancestry (not even surnames) or they have misinformation. All my life I ..."

Yes, I agree, If I'd been adopted like two of my brothers were, I might want to do this more strongly than my feeling that I hate to give up what little privacy I might have left in this world.

If it weren't for them keeping my DNA results and having rights to it, I'd still do it because of illegitimate kids (some of the men in my extended family were and possibly are cheaters and there may have been others I don't know about OR things could have happened before marriage back when it was taboo, etc). Plus, of course, women can cheat, I just don't know about any of that if it's happened but also my parents engaged is spouse swapping back when it was a kid ( I wish I'd never found out!!) but not before my sister and I were born. I don't think before my birth brother was born--I think it came later based on some story I heard about someone else they know.

[Christine]

Leslie I can’t believe it’s so warm outside

[Karin]

Leslie wrote: "It is over 60 °F (about 17 °C) here today -- a virtual heatwave for January in New England! I have opened up my windows to let in the fresh air :-)"

Yes, I'm in New England as well. It's going to rain and will be even warmer tomorrow! I have to drive to Cambridge tomorrow and it won't be fun in the rain, but at least it will be a Sunday.

[Leslie]

At least parking is easier in rain than snow!

[Pam]

I’ve been busy with family matters this weekend but just caught a little bit of the news this evening. I couldn’t believe all of the tornadoes and bad weather! We are lucky in NM to miss out on that weather. We had a light snow dusting Thurs pm and a drop in temp but that’s all. Hope you all are safe!

[LauraT]

Moaning aabout the end of the forst week end in 2020, in front of the unmissable soccer match: when Juventus plays, we could see nothing else!!!!

[Kim]

Sitting on the balcony of an apartment in Lanzarote basking in the sun on sadly our last full dsy of a week's break of R&R from the British winter, soon to finish my fifth book of the holiday. Temperature has been in the low twenties centigrade the last couple of days but have had a bit of cloud a couple of days (unlike last year when it was wall-to-wall sunshine). Beats the rain and cold of home anyway!!

[LauraT]

Kim wrote: "Sitting on the balcony of an apartment in Lanzarote basking in the sun on sadly our last full dsy of a week's break of R&R from the British winter, soon to finish my fifth book of the holiday. Temp...Beats the rain and cold of home anyway!!"

I bet it does!
Here in Italy these past month it has been fine weather: sunshine but freezing cold!

[Karin]

Recovering from an extra trip to Boston today to take care of bureaucratic ineptitude regarding financial aid at one of my kids' colleges. The college is excellent, but every single semester we have to take care of something and this one was the biggest. They are good about fixing things, but they act like it's just us when we know very well it's not just us because my son has heard other students talk about this sort of thing.

[Leslie]

Karin wrote: "they act like it's just us when we know very well it's not just us because my son has heard other students talk about this sort of thing...."

Bureaucratic CYA culture...

[Karin]

Leslie wrote: "Karin wrote: "they act like it's just us when we know very well it's not just us because my son has heard other students talk about this sort of thing...."

Bureaucratic CYA culture..."

Yes, you are correct. The financial aid department is the one we have the most trouble with. Sometimes grades that get posted don't make it all the way though, either. He has one of those, too, which we discovered once his account was unlocked. Worse, one of the people we were to email about it doesn't actually work there (could be anymore) and the email came back. At least his prof is going to take care of it.

As for the music faculty, so far they are par excellence.

[Milly Jane]

I am currently listening to the wind and rain lashing my windows on the Isle of Wight. I actually love winter, but its easy to say that when you are tucked up warmly inside.

[Leslie]

Milly Jane wrote: "I am currently listening to the wind and rain lashing my windows on the Isle of Wight. I actually love winter, but its easy to say that when you are tucked up warmly inside."

So true! But there's something so cosy and safe about being in a warm room looking out at wild weather outside.

[Joan]

Milly Jane, that sounds lovely - I hope you have a good book to enjoy on your rainy night.

[Milly Jane]

Hi Leslie and Joan, there's always something good to read on my kindle! We had gusts up to 82 mph at the Needles on the Island last night. Today seems so oddly calm!