Singing In The Rain

Don’t you love the movie, Singing in the Rain? Especially the title song with Gene Kelly hopping in and out of puddles?




I’m in Northern California where we are being drenched by “the storm of the century.”

It’s been quite the letdown. Here we were supposed to get 40-50 mph wind, 4-5” of rain. It’s just been constant rain, but nothing spectacular. What a letdown! At least the schools closed for yesterday and today!

Of course, some of us weren't so lucky.

To my doggie- woggins, however, it is a totally different story. She hates the rain. And the wind. But yesterday and today, it’s been nothing but rain. Each time I take her out to “do her duty,” she trots out there and looks around for a few seconds. After that, she turns around and stares at me…pathetically.

Poor, pitiful thing

“Oh, I don’t need to go potty, Mommy.” she says.

I repeat, “Go potty, Miko.” and she looks at me more pathetically. If that’s possible.

Next she tries to sit on the soggy lawn, her signal for “I don’t need to go potty.” But that is thwarted by the puddles in the backyard.

She shivers, she shakes herself off numerous times, tries to look more pathetic. Greta Garbo never did it so good in Camille.

Finally, after 3 or 4 minutes of this, she starts looking for a place to “do it.” This includes going in the deepest grass in the backyard to get much more wet. But then finally success!

Here I have a dog who hates rain, hates to get wet who will stand in the rain for 3 to 4 minutes getting drenched just to try and convince me to let her come in the house.

I just don’t get it. I don’t.

Mish Mosh Monday #5: Happy Anniversary

Twiddling your thumbs sometimes comes up with a good idea. 

I started thinking about common everyday objects. I wondered how long these ordinary things had been around. I looked it up. Presenting to all those interested dear readers is my "Happy Anniversary List"!
 

1. Post It: 46th Anniversary: Invented in 1968 (source)
It's been described as the solution to a problem nobody realized existed. source



2. @: 43rd Anniversary of common usage source
Once a rarely used key on the typewriter, the graceful character has become the very symbol of modern electronic communication source

3. Automatic Transmission: 74th Anniversary of first common AT w/ parts still used today source
Today I think we will give a little depth to the history of the automatic transmission.  It really is a marvel to behold and yet we take it for granted, just as we have come to expect the sun to rise and set with regularity. source

4. Game of Baseball: 175th year anniversary source

 source
The sport that evokes more nostalgia among Americans than any other is baseball.


5. Game of American Football: 138th year anniversary source
“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” –Bill Shankly source

6. Quilting: 56th century anniversary source



To quilt is to live. source




7. Camera: 514th years anniversary source

“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.”  Ansel Adams source
 
 


8. Oatmeal: 15 centuries anniversary source
It is not true, as the humor website Cracked satirically suggests, that oatmeal was invented by a research scientist at Britain's Royal Academy of Adhesives and Sealants during an experiment in search of new forms of industrial glue. But if your idea of oatmeal is the pasty variety made in a microwave from a packet, the story can seem plausible. source


9.  Lawn Sprinklers: 202nd anniversary source
An 18th century fancy of the royals and wealthy in Europe, the love of lawns spread to places where they could not be maintained with natural rain. It became necessary to carry water to areas that needed supplemental supplies and as the popularity of lawns spread, this required more and more extra effort. Sprinklers, invented in 1871, made lawns possible for everyone. source

10. Envelope: 5,524th year anniversary source

The oldest envelope found, made of
clay to enclose a contract

…there are certain people out there, who live, breathe, eat and drink envelopes. source

A little bit more recognizable envelope

Listed In Chronological Order (oldest first)

Quilting  56 centuries
Envelope  55.5 centuries
Oatmeal  15 centuries
Camera  514 years
Sprinkler  202 years
Baseball Game  175 years
Football Game  138 years
Automatic Transmission  74 years
Post It  46 years
@ sign (in common use)  43 years

Mish Mosh Monday #4: The Great Mosquito Contest

Camping is a great love of mine. I haven’t camped out enough, but there were a couple of years that I went with my kids.

The kids and I always had fun. We played card games, swam in the river, told stories at night in the tent, and ate food you would only eat while camping.

R: Our overloaded car for camping, Middle: Noel Heart cooking, L: Noel Heart & I riding in our boat

When school was out and summer school was over, the kids and I would pack up in the summer and go camping. The first year, we met my Sisty Ugler and her daughter at Chetco River campground, just over the border in Oregon. 

Playing in the sand & water at Chetco River, We weren't much good at pole tents!

The campground was ideal. It had a beautiful, clear river flowing right next to it, there was beach to play on and plenty of space to ride bikes.

Another reason the campground was idyllic was the lack of other campers. The big attraction in camp-grounds in the area was down in Brookings on the coast.
 The Chetco River campground was just used as overflow when the coast campground filled up. Consequently, the river campground was only full on Fridays and Saturdays.

Salamanders! TGS playing Solitaire

The second year, the kids and I went alone. We 
brought our two man boat and would sail, two at a time, on the river. The water was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom, 8-10 feet down, and see salamanders walking on the sandy river bottom. There were wonderful places to swim too.

Nancy Drew in a tree, TGS & Nancy Drew building a fire, Noel Heart

We were getting our fair share of mosquito bites too. Every night, I would be awakened two or three times by someone needing me to put Campho Phenique on their itchy bites.
 For fun, I announced a contest. During the week we 
were there, we would see who could get the most mosquito bites.

The rules were: As soon as the mosquitoes came out in the evening, everyone had to put on long-sleeved shirts and pants, then put mosquito repellent on all exposed skin. At the end of the week, the one with the most bites would be declared winner.
 The week we spent camping was the best vacation I've ever been on. I had worked my first year as instructional aide at Montgomery High. Being on vacation with the kids restored my spirits and I found the perspective I needed to continue on.
The end of the week came too soon, but we were anxious to count bites and find our Great Mosquito Contest Winner. 
The turnout was funny: 
1st place: Nancy Drew had over 70 bites
2nd place: TGS had 30. 
3rd place: I had 20 bites. 
4th place: Noel Heart had less than 15
No one even came close to Miss Drew!

We knew then that Nancy Drew must have some
mighty sweet blood to make mosquitoes risk that yucky tasting repellent!

TGS wading in river, Noel Heart & Nancy Drew eating berries they picked, TGS ready for the river

We still talk about that week and laugh about The Great Mosquito Bite Contest and how Nancy Drew won. She always won…even when winning wasn’t good!

Mish-Mosh Monday #3: Pictures, Families, Ancestors, and More

That's my Dad in the middle, but who are the other people? Mom talked
a lot about favorite friends Lou & Schoonie. Is that who it is? Or is it
Jim & Arlyss, or Donna & Ray?

I was labeling family photos today. Really labeling them. Like storing information inside each photos properties so it can’t be lost. And you may breathe…… now. That’s it for techy.

That's my Uncle Elbert on the left, my grandpa, Francis James Christensen,
at the end on the right. Who are the two in the middle? Is the young boy
my Uncle Francie? Who is the other man?

There are lots of people in the same predicament as I am. I have family photos. A few have a date written on the back, very few tell who the people are in the picture. Ugh! I hate it. I have pictures of my ancestors and have no idea who they are.

This is someone in my Mom's family. It could be her. It could be one of her
five brothers or sisters. I might never know.

And that is why I am tackling this behemoth project, so my children, grandchildren and beyond will know the who, when, & where of our photos.

My sister, Jan

What was written on the back.
So sweet.

I have also written 3 “books” for my children and their descendants. Two of them are stories about when they were young. The third one is stories about myself up until I was eight. I’ve also made digitized copies of journals that I kept at different periods of my life.

These are two hats that belonged to my grandpa, Joseph Eldred Christensen.
I have written about my memories surrounding these hats.

 I would love to find this type of information on my ancestors. I may. The amazing amount of information coming through the internet is increasing.

There are probably some of you who are interested in genealogy, or family history. It’s become a huge interest in the last 5-10 years. We don’t have to go to libraries and search through musty books and papers, strain our eyes on microfilm and microfiche. The internet has opened up research to an unbelievable level.

Not my family tree...but nice picture of one!

I have lots of my branches, and twigs filled in on my family tree. I’m actually starting on my husband’s side and also my Uncle Elbert’s wife, Marie’s side. (The Marie of Marvelous Marie!)




Ancestry.com is a huge site and has lots of ads on TV, lots of subscribers and huge amounts of data for people to learn about their family.

The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah

Another extensive site is  FamilySearch.org. It is a family history/record/picture/family memory site run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They are doing an amazing amount of work to digitize old records: census, Parish records, ship manifests, etc.

You don’t have to be a member of their Church to access the records. The records are non-denominational. It costs nothing. Just go to the site, enter and name and start finding information.

This digitizing work, called “indexing” is done by-and-large by volunteers. Pages of old records from all over the world are photocopied and then made available for volunteers to go through them and enter the information into a computerized form. After the volunteer is done, it is saved for an “arbitrator” to check the form for accuracy.

You’re probably thinking of some little old ladies sitting down at their computers and peering at records on computers. Maybe 100 in every state, maybe. 

Here’s the stats! Since it began in 14 years ago, 1,188,905,640 records have been completed. In this year, already 85,299,504 records have been completed! And they’ve just are hitting their stride! Not just 100 little old ladies.

This is what a census from looks like. Indexers
get a copy of the record on their computer.

And now, why am I devoting Mish-Mosh Monday to Family History? Let me tell you!

In 2012, the Family Search site held a Worldwide Indexing Event. In 24 hours, 49,025 individual contributors went online and indexed records.

This year, on July 20, Family Search is doing another Worldwide Indexing Event. They are trying to break the record for the most indexers and arbitrators in a 24 hour period.

Think of all the new people that can be added to the digital records! Wonderful! So many relatives of people living today!

I’ve done indexing and it is great! I love doing it. I’ve done mostly census records and it draws you in as you read a record on a family at one period of time. I keep wanting to do more and more.

Since lots of my family records and genealogy has been done, I like to index. I think of a person who might have been searching and search for just this individual I'm indexing for their family tree. Every name I enter is a relative of someone. And someone must be looking for them!

Want to do a good deed?

Next Sunday, July 20th, sit down at your computer and do 1 batch of indexing. You will be helping someone in the world to find a relative that they’ve been looking for. A batch is usually 20-25 records from your source.

During the week go to the Indexing Site and take a little time to learn how to do it. Very easy, very little time. Click on Test Drive. After that, click on Get Started.

Then this Sunday, DO IT! Start time is 6:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. It closes 24 hours later at 5:59 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time

You can choose any of 100 current indexing project available, such as:

Brasil, Recife—Registro Civil 1900-1920
Colombia, Bucaramanga—Registros Parroquiales, 1649-1959

Norge-Tinglysningskort, 1640-1903

UK, Essex,—Parish Registers 1538-1900

Osterreich, Oberosterreich, Steyr—Kirchenbucher, 1601-1906

plus U.S. Obituaries 1980-2014, U.S. Passport Applications 1795-1925, U.S. New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820-1902, UK Manchester Parish Registers, 1787-1999.

If you speak a foreign language, there are records that need to be indexed in other languages.

“Everyone deserves to be remembered and you can help make this possible. No special skills or time commitments are required. Together, we can help people from around the world find and trace their ancestry for free.”
quote from Family Search Indexing site

Mish Mosh Monday #2: Giddy-Up Cowboy!

As Colonel Sherman Potter in Mash said, “It’s got the three things that make a movie great: Horses, cowboys and horses!”

I love a good cowboy movie. Good Guy vs. Bad Guy. The Hero who saves the day. The Gunslinger. Eating grub. Sleeping on bedrolls. The Showdown. The Card Shark. The Good-Hearted Woman.

I’m in heaven when I’m watching a good cowboy flick. I have a list as long as your arm of cowboy movies on Netflix and Amazon.

The Early Years

I was inducted into cowboy-don when I was a wee child. My mom was raised listening to cowboy songs on her dad’s 78 records. She knew a lot of them: Cowboy Jack, When the Work's All Done This Fall, I've Got No Use for the Women, The Wreck of the Old Number 9, and on and on. 

My family says (frequently) that my Mom never sang a happy song. Just because a cowboy died at the end of nearly every song doesn't mean that... okay, I'll just move on along here.

The family favorite: Cowboy Jack. Yes, unfortunately Jack dies in the end.

"He was just a lonesome cowboy,
With a heart so brave and true,
And he learned to love a maiden,
With eyes of heaven's own blue."

You can't miss this! Here is a good video of a woman singing Cowboy Jack.

Then there were those cowboy sayings of Mom:

“I feel like I’ve been rode hard and put away wet.”

“He’s hell bent for leather.”

Getting Hooked

What really got me hooked though was a 1985 cowboy revival movie:

Cowboy Movie Themes

After that, I was hooked! I’ve found that there just a few themes in all cowboys movies:

1.  Mean person/s is running the town and wants to get rid of the farmers or ranchers. An unwitting cowboy comes to town and gets involved and saves the town.

2.  A member of a family needs to be avenged because the bad guy wants their land or has taken their land.

3. A cowboy helps a woman because someone wants to take her land. They fall in love and get married or cowboy rides into the sunset.

4. Buddy cowboy movies where the duo does good for town or people or bad duo who rob or kill.

5. A military theme. Soldier/ex-soldier in conflict with or helps military with Indian attacks/bad guys. Or group of people need military.

6. A stagecoach movie where riders get caught up in a bad situation. 




7. Reforming a person, usually a drunk, but sometimes a gunfighter. 


Almost all cowboy movies end up with the good guy winning and justice being done. And that, I think, is why I love them so!

My Favorite Cowboy Movies

My three favorite old-time movies are Destry Rides Again (1939), Sons of Katie Elder (1965) and She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949). How can I choose just one?

A very young Jimmy Stewart who refuses
to use a gun. (Forget the picture!)

It had teenage heartthrob
Ricky Nelson and Dean
Martin. This one is a kick!

Dueling soldiers for
the love of a pretty woman

I can't help myself...there are lots of John Wayne movies in my list. We all remember this John Wayne: 

But do we remember this one?

Taken when he was 23 years old. He
was quite the hunk! You have to
remember that John Wayne was born
 in 1907. He was 72 when he died.

My favorite “newer” movie is, hands down, Silverado. My family is always teasing me about how many times I’ve watched the movie! 

And what about Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig? 

Forget Indiana Jones and James Bond! There's Cowboys and Aliens. Somebody shure knew how to make a cowboy film!

(Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my chin!)

My favorite John Wayne movies:

The Cowboys (1972)

Rio Bravo (1959) (picture above)

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949) (picture above)
True Grit (1969)

Nobody does it better than the Duke!

And don’t forget these:

Others I want to mention because they are so cool!

I saw "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" as a double feature in 1969. The other movie was "They Kill Horses, Don't They?" What a combo!

"True Grit" & "Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid" were released the same year!

Shane is a classic cowboy movie. It was actually shown when I was in school. I was taking American Lit. It was about the archetype of the savior/hero in literature.

1953

Man Without A Star (1955) (picture above)

The Man from Laramie (1955)
Jimmy Stewart, a top-of-the-list favorite of mine made some top-drawer westerns.

The Proud Rebel (1958) is one I just recently saw. I liked the plot about a man who is willing to go to no ends to find a doctor to cure his son's inability to speak.

Seven Samurai (1954)—the movie that inspired an American re-make, The Magnificent Seven. I like Seven Samurai much better!

3:10 To Yuma (1957). This is the original that follows the verity of "you cannot remake a classic!"

I think I've given you enough cowboy movies to last a month! Get the popcorn! Get a soda! Put up your feet and enjoy some very fine movies!

Tell me! What is your favorite(s) cowboy movie?

And now, it’s time I got on my horse and bid you farewell. Happy Trails to You!