Thanks

Thanks to my niece, Jeanie, for helping me change the face of my blog! I couldn't have done it without her input. Something I thought would be hard was very easy thanks to her! You're great, Jeanie!

Court Cases

One of the ongoing projects at the genealogy library is flat folding the 1900-1960 circuit court files, getting them ready to be microfilmed. We have been working on this since last fall. My main task is to proof the files after they have been processed--unfolded, put in order in a folder and the plaintiff/defendant listed as well as cause of action. I have to be sure that names are spelled correctly, pages are indeed in order, cause of action is correct, and any pertinent information is listed and how many pages are in each folder. Eventually I will be putting this information into a database that will be available to researchers. It's a very interesting project and some of the cases are hilarious, while some are very sobering and sad. We have processed railroad cases where people are suing the railroad because of shipping problems. I read one case where someone was shipping horses and the railroad forgot to hook the car to the train. Another train went by and the sparks from the wheels started a fire in the car with the horses. And then there are the cases where a railroad worker was killed on the job, or a passenger was hurt. There was even a case where the railroad was being sued because it had closed a depot for a few days. Of course there are a lot of liquor violations--and with prohibition of the 30's we are seeing a lot of "hootch" and "moonshine". We have several search warrants where the court is looking for stills. These cases give us a glimpse of what the past was like. We have murder cases, prostitution (bawdy houses), divorces, and lots of cases dealing with land ownership. I have somewhere around 12 boxes of files that are to proof and more are added each week. I have already done at least 25 boxes. Each box holds approximately 100 folders. After proofing the files are sorted by years so I have boxes sitting everywhere. It's definitely a work in progress!

Now, what's so important about this project. It's a gold mine for the genealogist. I now have proof that my great great grandfather Stiles was a Justice of the Peace for Polk County. I have the actual signatures of my great grandfather Mann, gr. gr. grandfather Stiles and of a grandmother's uncle. I have a copy of a deposition given by my great grandfather Mann in a case as well as other cases concerning my ancestry. (None of it bad, by the way! No bootleggers have been found--yet!) It's just another piece of history coming to life.

A visit with the doctor

Dr. Gass has been on vacation this week and she took a couple of days to come down and spend it with her mum and poppy. We were so glad to see her. She hadn't been home since Christmas. We spent a quiet Wednesday at home and yesterday afternoon she and I, along with our friends Lois and Lori, were in Springfield. This is that three generational friendship that we have. My mom and Lois' mom were friends, Lois and I are friends, and our daughters, Lori and Valary are friends. And it is a special friendship. Lois is the sister I never had. I love her and would do just about anything for her. Anyway, we met at Lori's apartment and then went to Cheddar's for supper. We laughed and giggled and laughed some more all night long. The food was fantastic, as it always is at Cheddar's. Then we went to a new store that has dollar jewelry. After that it was a trip to the DAV thrift store and Deals. Big spenders we're not! But who needs money when you're rich with friends like Lois and Lori. We're hoping that we can plan a weekend in KC to spend with Valary sometime this spring. Valary went home this morning. I miss her already!

Charles and I went to the Lawn and Garden show in Springfield this afternoon. We weren't there very long, just walked through. We didn't see anything that caught our attention. I did buy some day lilies and iris. Now if I can just figure where to plant them and remember to plant them! I bought some lilies a couple of years ago but we couldn't agree on a place to plant them so they died in the pot. I have a couple of ideas where they would look good. I just have to get him to agree.

I hate this one day warm, the next day cold weather. I will be glad when spring finally gets here. Just hope it doesn't bring a lot of stormy weather. Spring and fall are my favorite seasons. The new growth, the warm/cool weather and the beautiful colors make me happy. I don't like heat and humidity and ice and cold.

Cookies

I've been baking. I love to bake but don't do it very often any more because Charles and I do not need to eat all those sweets. So any time there is something that I could bake for and not have to eat them, then I'll do it. I have some friends that are going on a mission trip next week. They are the cooks for the group. The comment was made about people making cookies for them and I jumped at the chance. I'd been wanting to make some but knew that I would eat way too many of them--even if I took them to the library to share, I would still eat too many. Sunday afternoon I made "Double Tree Chocolate Chip Cookies". These are like the cookies you get at a Double Tree Hotel. I found the recipe on the Internet one time and they are yummy. Big, too! My friend who is the head cook mentioned that her favorite cookies were the macadamia nut ones at a local restaurant. I volunteered to make some of those, too. I didn't have a recipe so I used the same one as the chocolate chip but substituted white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Look good, don't they? I have not sampled one yet so I can't tell you. I know if I eat one I will want to eat more. It's taking some will power but I am not going to eat one. There are 3 dozen of these on the counter right now.

I wish I were going on this mission trip to help in the kitchen. I really didn't think about it until these friends started talking about the preparations. They are going to New Orleans for a week to help rebuild a church. A group has gone for the last several years. I've never really wanted to go until now. So maybe next year I'll be able to go. It's a goal I have set for myself.

Another goal I should set is to lose weight. That is so much easier said than done. But after a visit with my gynecologist yesterday, I really need to make the effort. He has put me on some medicine that I don't want to take but because I am so heavy he says it is needed. He said that my risk of endometrial cancer is much greater because the fat is producing an estrogen like harmone. So pray for me that I will be able to accomplish this goal. I am so afraid of failing that I can't make myself start.

Just another day...

That's what Charles would say about Valentine's Day. It's just another day. So I certainly didn't expect any card, flowers, gift and I wasn't disappointed, if you know what I mean. I didn't even ask about going out to eat. I had steaks in the freezer so that's what we had. But it's been a quiet evening at home with the man I love so it's not all that bad. I don't remember much about my childhood and valentines. I do remember that in second grade we had a post office and all our valentines had to be addressed to each of our classmates. After I had my own group of second graders, I could see that it wasn't just a fun time for us, our teacher was actually using the post office to teach us letter writing skills. What fun it was.

For several years I kept all the valentines that I received from my students and eventually made a huge collage with them. I used it for a long time as a decoration in my classroom. I still have a bunch of valentines from students--somewhere in the basement. The valentine party was my favorite one as a teacher. I loved the looks on the faces of my students as they opened their valentines. They would ooh and ahh over each one and go to that person and say thanks for the neat valentine, or show one to a friend. No games were needed for this party!

I let the week get away from me and didn't realize that it had been a week since I posted anything. I've had something on my schedule every day this week. Next week will be as busy. I did make it to Springfield one day. I went to see about scanners for the library. I also went to Sam's and Target. I needed to be home so I could make cornbread for lodge meeting so I kind of rushed myself. The most difficult thing about the trip was to figure out where I would eat lunch. I didn't want a big lunch because I knew I would be eating out with a friend. So I finally ended up at Panera Bread. They make the best frontega chicken sandwiches! Yum-yum. I could eat chicken three times a day, seven days a week! Love it!

Valary is supposed to be home a couple of days this week. It's finally vacation week for her. She gets three weeks a year. She can't take them all together and the week she has off is chosen for her. This is her second week. I haven't seen her since Christmas so I am looking forward to getting to spend a little time with her. I think she and I are going to meet our friends in Springfield for supper one of the nights she's home. That will be fun.

My Sunday School lesson is calling me. I need to go over it again before morning. I wish all those who read this a happy valentine's day. Know that you are loved.

Sunday Afternoons

I like Sunday afternoons. Church is over, dinner is done and it's time to relax. I don't ever feel rushed on Sunday afternoons. I enjoy the calm of the day. I spend time reading the Sunday paper--I love all the ads, although there is hardly ever anything I would buy. I just like to look. Saves money that way! I work, or play, on the computer and usually have a good book to read. I don't know why Sunday afternoons are so different from any other afternoon, but for some reason I look at it differently. I thought about going to Springfield this afternoon. We need to make a trip to Sam's and I want to do a little comparison shopping on a scanner for the library. But I decided I will wait until Tuesday, or Thursday. I have a new computer waiting for installation at the library and we decided to get a couple of new scanners, too. One will be for the downstairs and one for my desk upstairs. That way I won't have to take mine back and forth. Installation is scheduled for the 16th because our techie is on vacation this week.

Speaking of vacations, the doctor is scheduled for a vacation this month. I thought it was for this week but her poppy says it's the week of the 16th. Either one, I'm looking forward to getting to spend a couple of days with her. Haven't seen her since Christmas. Hope whichever week it is the weather cooperates and she has some beautiful days to relax.

A New Toy

My new dryer came today. Now I have a matching washer and dryer. I am excited. I just put the first load in the dryer. It's supposed to take only 35 minutes to dry a load of jeans! Wow! I waited until today to do my laundry so I could get to use the new dryer. I have several loads to do. It will actually take less time to dry the clothes than to wash them. And I no longer have to bend over and practically crawl into the dryer to get the clothes out. Now if I can just get Charles to decide it was time to install the wall cabinet in the utility room I would be a very happy camper! The cabinet has been sitting in the basement for at least 5 years! Of course, it's been put to use downstairs, holding all kinds of stuff, albeit being upside down!

I am feeling a little better. I am not coughing as much but still having quite a bit of sinus drainage and a gigantic sinus headache. It hurts to change the elevation of my head, to cough or clear my throat or blow my nose. At least I am feeling better. I have been able to get a good night's sleep and that helps. But by noon I'm pretty worn out. I'll be glad when this runs its course.

I am going to have a new computer at my desk in the genealogy library. I am excited about that, too. I am using an old computer that has been refurbished and using Windows 98--which is okay, but if I bring anything home to work on, which I do frequently, it sometimes isn't compatible with XP or some of the later version programs, like Access. And with having a new, up to date computer--but not with Vista!--I can transfer things to a flash drive and bring it home to work on if I want. I've been working on the inventory. Upstairs I had part of it on the desktop and the rest on my laptop. Trying to combine the two has been very frustrating. The same goes for the downstairs inventory. Hopefully this year I will get it all together in one place. That will even free up space on my laptop. Yeah!