Another Ancester Certified

My mom is continually getting requests to go to the courthouse in Sherman to pick up another certified copy of a birth, marriage, or death certificate and is making friends with the county clerks now.  it keeps her busy and out of trouble.

She has, however, lost her co-pilot license.  Forever.  Never again will I pay attention to 'I remember that so we are going in the right direction'.  An 8 mile trip took 40 minutes in the dark, hilly, windy road, heavily treed single lane road somewhere west of Pottsboro TX without cell reception.  And the iphone couldn't find us on the map.  Nice scary road for Halloween but I wanted to drop her off and get home to the kitties.   I bet during the day it would have made for a great motorcycle or motorscooter ride.

Seems like of lot of my female ancesters live well into the 90's.  And generally speaking, have been healthy as horses.  Some are still driving because they live in small towns where that is more acceptable than in a large city where even drivers under 50 drive like idiots and don't know how to use turn signals but instead use the one finger salute as they turn left in front of your car to make the exit that they should've changed lanes a mile or so back but missed because they were doing 80 in a 35 and missed the signs of their impending turnoff.  long sentence but you get my point?

I just spoke with 2 lively still active 90+ relatives - the distant distant relatives.  As in, I had to explain who I was by saying 'I'm Carl and Minnie's granddaughter - Jerean is my mom'.  I enjoyed the talks and they were both named Hazel!  Well, I thought it was funny.  But they are more active than me - oh but that is probably why they are so healthy and mentally alert too.   I did get to hear a story about Mom going down to their farm with her sister to ride the mule.  They lived in a small town in western Kansas near Boot Hill.  Yes, the wild wild west.  So why are we such a boring bunch?

Any way, here's a picture that has nothing to do with this post:  It is Sam taking one of his daily snoozes (the sound of the camera woke him up - oops!)

Geneology Fun & Games

Hot Dog! I just returned from getting copies of my great grandparent's death certificates.  They are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Fort Worth TX.  Oswald was buried nearby.  We have other relatives on my mothers father's side buried there as well.  We visited the cemetery last summer and took some pictures of headstones but I would still like to go back. 

Mom returned from her homework assignment yesterday with her mom's birth certificate.  Grandma Minnie was born in Grayson County, died in Denison TX and was buried in Cimarron KS.  Grandma Minnie and Grandpa Carl (born in Lamasco TX and buried in Cimarron KS) were too young to get married in Texas so they crossed the state line and got married in Choctaw County OK.  He was 17 and she was 16 at the time.  We have their marriage license.

So now we have birth, marriage and death certificates of my maternal grandparents.  I'm not sure we're going to find birth or marriage certificates for my great grandparents though. 

Mom should be getting her birth certificate any day now.  She was born in Cimarron KS and now lives in Denison TX.  I found her marriage license & certificate when cleaning out some of my dad's files.

I foresee some more cemetery visits in my future.  While I am alive!!!  I don't think cemeteries would like a visiting casket although I guess I could still visit cemeteries and just haunt them!  That would be fun.

I'm fortunate to be a Native Texan.  Born in Fort Worth TX - that's where the West begins in case you didn't know.  Lot's of Native Texan relatives too.  I used to love listening to all the old stories my grandparents would tell.  So searching for their history is fun.  And I'm grateful to my great uncle & his wife who got interested in geneology a long time and ago and prepared a book with family lines and pictures for my each of my grandmother's siblings.  I will start posting some pictures when I get my photo scanner hooked up.  It's pretty cool - you can put several pictures on it to scan and it will scan each picture individually!

Early Halloween Squealing Practice Session

Ok, we had some excitement this evening.  Enough excitement that I will skip exercising today... oh wait... I don't exercise.  


Sam, my hunter manly cat, caught a mouse/rat outside.  And he wanted desperately to bring it in the house to add to the food bowl (he puts in his rubber bands and other toys too).   I just as desperately was absolutely positively not going to allow that dead creature in my house.  Dead ants and spiders are acceptable in the house - well - just barely acceptable as I would prefer they not invite themselves in either. 


We were just lollygagging around the yard, admiring the plants that survived the Texas Fried Summer and all of a sudden, my 2 cats go racing by and the squealing starts.  First, it's the mouse/rat, then me, and then Millie.  Sam is tracking, hunting, and attacking all at once - I just want the mouse to get free.  


Sam proceeds to the back door with the mouse/rat and tries to get inside the house.  I'm hanging on the door knob desperately trying to make sure he doesn't get in the house with the creature.  It's a stare-down.  He sets the creature down once but I move too soon and he picks it back up.  Finally Millie distracts him by starting to chase something (I don't even want to know what) and he carefully lays down the creature again and takes off.  I wrap the dead mouse/rat in a towel I left outside and carefully took the creature to the garbage bin in the garage (and yes, I said a lovely funeral prayer - I really did feel sorry for it).

Sam & Millie come back inside to get their treat.  Poor Sam got a warm washcloth pass by bath afterwards.  Now I'll spend the next few days watching Sam to make sure he is ok and doesn't get sick.  He's already been moaning (I'm convincing myself it is because I took away his trophy).  


In the mean time, we aren't going outside anytime soon.


No pictures because I was protecting the back door and didn't realize I was going to need a camera!

Is that Fall that I smell?

Ahhhh.  It feels great outside.  This morning the cats stayed out for a bit (reminder: they are ONLY allowed outside when I am there to supervise) while I chopped down the sunflower tree.  But of course, there wasn't a single paper sack (the recycle kind that we must use) to be seen anywhere.  So we grudgingly came inside so I could go to the store and buy some bags.

Some plants are burned beyond belief but others are doing great.  This rose (on the left) was given to me by my dad.  At least it is growing at the bottom and not completely dead.  It is the only hybrid rose that I have in my yard.

This rose (to the right) is a Knockout rose in yellow.  No aroma but a steady bloomer. 


Then there is the tomato plant....usually I get 1 or 2 tomatoes a year.  It was so hot this summer that after I got my crop of 2 tomatoes (1st ever from the upside-down planter), I didn't pull the plant.  And lo and behold... look hard and you can see a 2nd crop.  Wow what a year!

Well, I did say you had to look hard!

Here's my owl that protects my back yard.  That is a Texas Bird of Paradise - it's a tree not a bush.  Or it is supposed to be a tree.  I had one that cracked due to all the snow we had this winter.  It bent completely over twice and the 3rd hard snow and ice broke the trunk.  It was about 10 feet tall and the trunk was only about 2 inches.  So I am trying again!  So far, this acts more like a bush than a shrub but we shall see...