Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone got lots of genealogy goodies for Christmas. And hopefully everyone has been couponing and stocking up on supplies for the long winter ahead of us. January is a good month to hunker down inside your home with a cup of hot chocolate and get started on the new year's genealogy research. New  year, fresh start. There are a whole new bunch of ancestors out there waiting to be found. So get those pantries stocked so you don't have to stop your research to run to the store for dinner.

OGS 6th Annual Writing Contest. Do you have an interesting ancestor in your family tree? Do you have a story about a specific place in Ohio? Did you break through an impossible brick wall this past year? Here is your chance to put it in words and submit it to OGS for possible publication in one of their journals. The deadline for entries is 28 Feb 2013. For more information go to: http://ogs.org/writing_contest/index.php

I am not big on New Year's resolutions, but every year I promise myself that I will faithfully document all my research.  It has worked because over the years I have become much better at doing this. It is so easy to convince yourself that you will remember where you got "this tidbit of information". I know it is time consuming and annoying when you have a whole book full of information sitting in front of you that could solve that one mystery that has been bugging you for years. If nothing else, note where you found the information plus title and author/publisher. In most cases you can go back later and find an online catalog for the facility you visited.

This is a good time of the year to clean out your closet and declutter your house. Put these items up for sale on Craig's List or Ebay and use the extra money for society memberships or conference trips. All my funds for genealogy trips during the year come from ebay sales. Yes you can do it! If you can do research online you can learn how to sell on Ebay. Just remember the most important rule -- just because something didn't sell the first time doesn't mean it won't sell. It will, eventually!! Note. Ebay gives its sellers 50 free listings every month. That means no listing fee, just a final value fee.

This new year is also a good time to get involved with your local genealogy society. Benefits: meet other family researchers, find new cousins, learn new skills, exchange ideas, informative lectures and local trips. With all the research that is available online now, it is easy to just stay home and stare at  your computer. You really do need the interaction with other genealogists. Note. This year at the OGS Conference there will be a Social Media Gathering on Thursday April 25 at 6:15pm.

Welcome in the New Year tonight!
Relax and watch football tomorrow!
Find a new ancestor on Wednesday!





Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A Brand New Christmas

I sincerely hope that this Christmas season finds all of you together with your family and friends. As the years go by we lose touch with so many of our dear friends and family members.

I am getting ready for  Christmas all by myself this year. It has turned out to be the ultimate mufti-tasking situation. Somehow I managed to get all of my many outside Christmas lights up with the help of my many grandkids!! It looks great even though there are a few hiccups! Shopping is almost done: thank goodness for gift cards. May have to cut the cookie recipes in half this year or else live on Christmas cookies through February. That's  a money saving thought!

And this year I gave my kids the ultimate Christmas gift -- one less house to visit on Christmas Eve. I have decided to forget the traditional Christmas Eve dinner with all the trimmings and family members this year. Instead Winston (my Maltese) and I will have pizza and curl up on the couch to watch old Christmas movies -- just because we can! My kids are really happy because for the first time in many years they can all go where they want to on Christmas Eve. And they can get home in time for Santa. 

Of course we are all going to get together in the early evening on Christmas Day to just kick back and relax. I am really looking forward to this.

Sometimes Christmas needs to be changed.