Abundant Genealogy: Historical Books

So I am not quite on any schedule yet with when I want to routinely post to this new blog. As some of you may or may not know I also write the blog for my husband's business The WoodArt Studio (so be sure to stop by there and start to follow us there also). I really try to post there once a week and I am thinking that is what I would like to do here also but commitment is the real thing. Can I really make an honest to goodness appointment with myself once a week to post? And if so what day of the week is good? (Any suggestions?) The WoodArt Studio gets posted on Friday so maybe a day earlier in the week for Genealogical Appointments. But then again even though an appointment is usually for a set time doesn't that give me a little posting license?

So with that in mind on to today's post, which has nothing to do with scheduling. With so much to write in the beginning of one's genealogical blogging life it is hard to pin down what to write first. Subsequently I dashed over to Geneabloggers for some prompting. And there it was: 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 18: Historical Books. (Actually the article says that this prompt is for April 29th through May 5th so I am a bit early). Now I am not really sure if we could call this a historical book just yet as it was only published in 2010 but for me it just filled what I needed when I moved down here to the Shenandoah Valley. You see I had just moved out of NY, away from one of the best genealogy groups on Long Island (Patchogue Medford LibraryGenealogy Group), down to this wonderfully rich area of Virginia history and I was eager to get back into genealogy and also learn a bit about the area that I planned to spend the rest of my life in. So I headed over to our local library and asked them to recommend something for me. Eureka did they hand me a winner; Judy Yoder's, Vera's Journey. This 707 page book not only gave me the personal history of a Mennonite woman who passed away in 2008 it enlightened me to the area that we now moved into. I couldn't put it down and look forward in time to visiting the various areas that Vera in her 102 years of life walked through. I find that if you are searching around for information about the Shenandoah Valley area and life as a Mennonite woman this should be the book that you pick up next. It is a keeper. If your local library doesn't carry the book, recommend it of course or better yet you can purchase your own via Amazon.com.  You can also read a quick post at Harvspot.

So until the next genealogical appointment…read on my friend.

Hold Your Nose, Close Your Eyes and Just Jump In

Random thoughts keep circling my mind like runners on the race track. The committee is in session, Where do I begin?, My name is…, We’ve only just begun…, Titles, Time enough…, Commitment…Woodturning…and these are only the front runners on the track and field. Oh let's not forget to “Start at the very beginning..” from Do Re Mi. But I have to admit from the start that timelines, organized thoughts and overall conventional thinking were never my forte. I like to think of myself as out of the box a bit. I also think that looking beyond the four walls into the next field is what has helped me with my genealogy past, present and future.

So do I have a goal here with this blog thing that I am commencing with? Yes I think so. To express myself, share what I have found and learned through experience, educate myself and possibly others who may run across this little field of mine and to grow within my own genealogical appointments in life. Oh did I tell you that this is the second time in my adult life that I have written a blog? So be patient with me please my people because as most things I have done, I learn as I travel. I feel that sometimes you just have to hold your nose and jump into the stream of life. Lucky for me that I can tread water.

So back to that beginning paragraph up top and those runners…The committee is in session… is in the lead and is telling me that I need to give birth to this blog with a name…now understand that the business side of me has always said KISS (keep it simple stupid) but the crazy mind side says to heck with that.

So until the next genealogical appointment…