Friday Findings:

This week was too busy to get regular research done. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a genealogy-free week!

First and foremost was my presentation Wednesday evening of "Frugal Genealogy or How Not to Spend a Fortune on Your Family Tree" at the Tri-City Genealogical Society in Richland, Washington. What a fabulous group they have there and I am looking forward to reconnecting with their members next month at the state conference! I had a chance that afternoon to stop by Sunset Memorial Gardens in Richland where my husband's maternal grandparents are buried and was able to stop for a bit and photograph their shared gravestone. I also inquired at the office whether a sibling of the grandfather was buried there, and was informed that he was not.

Although I was enjoying my time in the area, unfortunately, I became ill with fever and chills later that evening and woke up the next morning knowing that I was too sick to make the 2 1/2 hour drive home. My gracious hostess, Anne, invited me to stay as long as I needed to recuperate and generously offered Tylenol, chicken noodle soup, and everything in between to make me comfortable and rested. Yesterday evening, although weak, I felt better and took her up on her offer to accompany her on a visit to Richland's oldest cemetery, Resthaven Pioneer Cemetery. The cool evening air was refreshing and I enjoyed looking at all the varieties of tombstones, as I do in any cemetery. What was most interesting was the tales that Anne told me about the individuals buried there. Every year on the weekend before Hallowe'en, the CREHST Museum hosts Tombstone Tales, a living history tour of the cemetery. Tour groups are lead by the Grim Reaper to individual gravesites where actors in period costume give a brief monologue of their life as an early Columbia Valley pioneer. Anne has played a Grim Reaper numerous times and has also done research on many of the individuals buried there and so is quite familiar with their stories. It was a fascinating visit and a good non-strenuous diversion that I needed. (Only a genealogist would understand how visiting a cemetery when you're not feeling up to snuff is rejuvenating! Thanks, Anne!)

When I got home late this morning, I was delighted to see that my desktop computer is working again two months after the electrical system shorted out...and even more delighted that all my data seems to be intact, although I did have it backed up with Carbonite. There was so much that I was unable to do, genealogy-wise and blogging-wise without that main computer, and it's hard not to mourn the lost time of a whole summer, when I tend to do more blogging and research. Sometime next week, I'll be back in the classroom preparing for our new students even though my official first day of work isn't until August 25th. UPDATE: Bummer...the computer shut back down after being on for a few hours. (sigh)

Lastly, the Summer 2009 issue of New England Ancestors arrived in the mail today. Randy Seaver did a post about the details, and like him, I have Vermont ancestors that settled in Western New York, making the articles personally interesting.