A Line in the Sand

Here's something that comes up often - probably for most people.  And I'm having a toss-up with myself over it:  I'm the supervisor at work. And I had one of the women I supervise call me at home because she "needed to talk".   In the voicemail left, it was clearly not about a work issue, and it was something she said she didn't want to bring up at work. 

I didn't call her back.

And I'm going back and forth with whether I should?  or shouldn't? 

I don't want to be the "girlfriend" who's holding someone's hand over every little crisis.  Don't get me wrong, I'll be there, I'll be supportive, if there's a bigger issue at hand than, say, trouble with grown children, or grandchildren, who aren't "behaving". 

Where do you draw the line?

I know that I don't want to be the kind of supervisor who is seen as "playing favorites" with anyone.  I also don't want to be the one who is so "supervisory" that I seem unapproachable - which is a challenge for me because I'm very focused on my work in the workplace, with very little on the social side of working.  I take my lunches away from the break room so that others don't feel like they need to "censor" their behavior or comments for this reason as well.

Which brings me back around to my original question: 
Should I have called her back to be her shoulder to cry on?

My instinct in the moment was "no",
and I think that's going to be my line in the sand. 

It's one thing to allow it when it relates to work issues,
or major life changes, but I'm not up to being that shoulder
when someone around her has issues.
No matter how much I like her.

Losing Thoughts

I've been thinking a lot about television today.  I watch very little commercial TV any more.  When I turn my TV on, it's because I'm wanting to watch a particular show.  And while I enjoy many broadcast shows, I don't enjoy enduring all the commercials needed to get through an hour sitcom.  Which is why I'm willing to watch older season episodes of shows - commercial free.  (Thank you Netflix!)

The last thing I need is to watch commercials filled with women who have a) lost weight with this miracle product;  b) the family enjoying a delicious calorie-laden meal at a restaurant; or worse yet, c) those campaign ads who resort to knocking each other down.   Life is difficult enough without feeling the .... slight guilt complex that's implied in commercials.  "Use this shampoo and your hair will be long, blond and full of gorgeous curls that last all day". 


But what I realized as I sat there watching my episode of NCIS is that TV is designed to keep our mind occupied so that any thought we might have goes out the window.

I went shopping this morning, and thought of a topic for my blog.  I arrived home, prepared my lunch, watched 20 minutes of NCIS and promptly forgot about the blog topic.  Which is just as well, because when it came back to me, it was obvious that it would be a judgemental piece that wouldn't sit well for very long.   But in that single moment, I noted that watching TV took away moments of real thinking. 

I'm not anti-TV by any means.  It keeps me company on days when I'm indoors doing chores, or exercising, but it can be a hindrance to thinking something through.  Even if it chatters on from the other room, your mind follows along and it's easy to lose focus of the topic that needs thinking through. 

 
While this graph is from 2015, it's probably relative to today's figures.  I'm in the 55-64 group .... do I watch a little over 3 hours of TV a day?  My TV is ~on~ that long, but I don't actually sit and watch it for that long.  I might.... if I didn't have Sadie, who requires a lot of hands on attention after I get home from work!  lol 




I usually watch about 40 minutes while prepping/eating dinner, and then an hour or so after I'm ready for bed but not ready for sleep.  During summer, while we're stuck indoors in the AC, it's probably 3-4 hours a day --- because that's our "winter" !!!

TV can provide hours of entertainment, but it can also hinder other things in your life.
As always, have balance, or try for balance.

Hurricane Rosa

Arizona is a dry state; there is no "coastline".  And yet, today I was informed at work that we're beginning preparations for Hurricane Rosa.  It's expected to make landfall sometime Monday. 

Fox news says:  "Tropical storm, tropical depression characteristics are moving into Arizona and bringing in heavy rain, as well as the threat of flooding.  We've seen it 16 times since 1950. And now heading into the weekend, we're tracking Hurricane Rosa currently churning in the east Pacific."

Only 16 times in the past 65+ years.  Yikes!

I have no idea what that'll mean here for us.  We're not equipped to handle large amounts of rain.  Growing up in the Bay Area, we have waterways leading to the Bay to drain off excessive water.  Since we don't have a coastline, I guess we just wait for it to soak down into the aquifer. 

If we get that much rain, my backyard will accumulate a load of water.  I'll have to pull up my rugs and move my lawn furniture under cover.

This will certainly be a new experience for me! 

When I lived in Ohio, if a snowstorm was predicted,
people ran to the stores and bought up all the milk, eggs and bread. 
Is that what they'll do here?? 

Should I????
I'll keep ya'll posted!

SS Palo Alto

SS Palo Alto was a concrete ship built as a tanker at the end of World War I.  It was built by the San Francisco Shipbuilding Company at the U.S. Naval Shipyard in Oakland, California. It was launched on 29 May 1919, too late to see service, so it was mothballed until 1929 when it was towed to Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California.

My family stopped here in Dec 1976, and she's still in one piece! 



In 1930 the SS Palo Alto was towed to Seacliff State Beach by the Seacliff Amusement Corporation and sunk a few feet into the water. A dance floor, swimming pool, and a café were added transforming the SS Palo Alto into an amusement ship for two years until, with the help of the Great Depression, the company went bankrupt.

Seacliff State Beach bought the boat for $1.00   The foredeck of the ship was closed to the public in 1958, but the afterdeck is closest to the beach and remained open until at least the 1970s and possibly the mid-1980s, when access was completely closed off for safety reasons. Today she serves as an artificial reef for marine life.

In 2017,  there was a storm; the waves reached a record height: 34 feet, according to a National Weather Service buoy in the bay, more than a foot taller than the previous record set in 2008. With the tall waves came destruction. The pounding surf snapped a section of the Palo Alto nearest to shore from the rest of the ship.

This next photo was taken just before the storm hit, and the second photo was just after the roughest part of the storm (I borrowed them off the internet!)  There are plenty of videos and articles about this wonderful part of our local history.

Spring Cleaning!

Here in the Valley of the Sun, our seasons are backward from other places.  We just had our "winter" -- 3+ months of temps over 105 every single day.  We even had a streak of 22 days over 110!  Now that's some summer! 

But for us, that's winter.  We hunker down in our air conditioned houses.  We park our cars not closest to the entrance, but under the nearest tree for that little bit of shade!  We do outdoor activities either late at night or in the early morning hours, before the sun heats things up even more!

Which is why we do some kind of "spring cleaning" as soon as the temps start dropping.  Those days when you can air out with open windows are the best!  The AC doesn't run, and you can actually touch things, or walk outdoors, without feeling like a blast furnace bearing down on you. 

That's what I did today.  I opened up, Sadie and I spent some quality time in the morning sunshine.  After our walk, I disassembled my shower, taking the sliding doors outside for a good washing.  I soaped them up with CLR, brushed them with a stiff brush, then hosed them off.  It's amazing how much soap scum and what have you builds up and you don't realize it --until you give it a good cleaning!  And now, my shower sparkles again -- like a spring morning!

I also hooked up my Epson scanner, and have resumed scanning slides again.  I'm at that point in family history where Dad quit taking slides, and Mom was taking photos so at some point, I'll have to resort to digitizing the rest of things.... A little bit every day gets the job done eventually!  (But I have a *LOT* of photos!)

So we're resuming here, Family Photo, Easter 1977

I look at these old photos and ... wow, where has the time gone?  40+ years ago.  And some days, it feels as if we're all still this age.  I know we're not.  I'm older now than my parents were in this picture.   Time is a funny thing, it's not always linear, sometimes shifting.  Like, when I visit the home I grew up in, my Mom still lives there and 50 years have passed since we moved in.  And as soon as I arrive, I'm still that girl.  I look in the fridge, I peruse the photo frames to see what pictures have changed, and head back to my old room.  It's changed, but the memories haven't! 

Amateur Photography

I like photographs, but I like *taking* photographs even more!  And some days I'm torn.  Go somewhere special and just take photos?  Or ... making a photograph out of something ordinary?  It's never an easy choice.  Either one of them takes some kind of effort.  And it takes practice to engage yourself, and sometimes in many ways you're putting yourself into the photograph. 


With camera phones and all the other technology available these days, it's easy to take some pretty amazing photos, but it's an effort when you're trying to create a photo of something out of an ordinary thing.  Last weekend I stopped off at my local park and was just snapping photos. 


I was attempting to get a few things that were a little more eclectic than the usual of finding something to focus on and take a photo.  Like, if there's a bird on a pond, it's an obvious choice to take a photo. 

Here's an example of one that I might have tossed, but as I looked at it, I liked the whimsical angle of the cactus reaching for the sky - not as if they're standing tall, but as if they were ... perhaps, dancing in the wind?   Ok, maybe that's a stretch, or my fanciful imagination, but not all photos should look ... hmmm... staged.









And this second photo,
while there's nothing really
in the photo - no bird -
I was fascinated by the way
they sky and clouds were
reflected in the
(not so clean) water.





Another thing I like to do is make comparisons.  Take this old fence post.  You can see in the color photo that it has a little age, and some rusty barbed wire.  But convert it to black and white, it can take on a whole different look.  I'm not sure which is my favorite of these; I tend to favor black and white photos, but the soft green in the color photo gives it a nice look!

























So if you enjoy taking photos, try new things,
explore, even get a little edgy if you want. 
To me, it makes life just a little bit more interesting!

Beautifully Broken

Beautifully Broken:  have you heard this tune by Gov't Mule?  It was released around 2001, I believe, but I didn't discover it until after 2004.  The melody and lyrics are haunting and yet beautiful at the same time.  The guitar licks and riffs in the beginning and closer to the end draw you in.  The steady beat of the drum is like a heartbeat - not too fast, not too slow -- the sort of heartbeat you feel when you're about to have that first kiss with a new man. 

But I'm haunted by the lyrics.  Because I've always felt "broken".  There are things within me that are broken, but the flaws aren't usually visible.  I keep them closely hidden, waiting for the right man to draw them out and tell me it's ok, that I'm ok.   and yes, still waiting!  haha

To be a beautifully broken girl means to see our brokenness not as a punishment but as someone's misuse of our own empathy and kindness.  Someone who is beautifully broken doesn't really have much to give other than the broken pieces of their heart they hope is enough.




The Japanese have a word: kintsugi. Wikipedia describes it as the art and philosophy of repairing a broken object with elegance and grace using gold or silver, not hiding the imperfection but honoring and embracing it as part of the history of the object. This “golden joinery” turns the flaw into something unique and quite more beautiful than before because now, something precious shines through the cracks. 



I think that could apply to most of us.  We've all had mishaps, things go wrong, bad things happen.  Mostly through no fault of our own.  And yet when we repair the broken, we almost always want to  make it invisible.  Or, we can celebrate the brokenness with something beautiful, such as gold or silver. 

Life is what we make it.  We have to believe in ourselves, flaws and all. 
And sometimes, we just need to be a little more open to others
and not mind the flaws that are exaggerated in our own minds.
Just because we were broken in the past,
that doesn't mean we're still broken!

I'm so beautifully broken,
mysterious,
blown in with the night
all this beauty
captured in a frame
visibly shaken but never stirred

I Got Bobbed!

I don't know exactly when my life took a turn.  Was it gradual?  Or was it just something that went poof?  Some days, I have a hard time deciding which it was.  Maybe a little of both -- a little gradual slide, then a few giant steps and then more of a slide.  Seems about right because life is like that:  constantly changing, sometimes in little ways and sometimes in giant leaps.

I've become a little more housebound than I used to be.  I've tried to analyze it, work it through the ol' brain, but there's no easy answer.  Some of it started with having my gallbladder removed.  That was definitely the start of the process.  But the question is whether or not the anxiety comes from being afraid to be too far away from a bathroom?  Or does the anxiety begin, and brings on a bout of needing the bathroom in a hurry?


Luckily, I have meds to help out with it.  But it doesn't wipe it out entirely.  So I'm sensitive to what I eat, and where I spend my time.  Or is it a control thing?  As long as I'm on the move, know where I'm going and when, I seem to be able to keep things in control.  If I am stuck somewhere, or I have to wait, the anxiety type "attack" begins. 




Which brings me to getting bobbed!  I haven't had a haircut in a year's time.  I was going to the same wonderful hairdresser for seven years.  But I found that the anxiety of sitting in a chair for two hours was becoming too much for me.  I would start dreading it the day before.  I had to watch what I ate for the 12 hours preceeding my appointment, and make sure I took my meds.  It's not an easy way to live, but it's become how things are for me and I accept it.  Most of the time.  So on the spur of the moment, I went to a salon where you don't need an appointment.  I told her about my anxiety and she said "no problem, we'll just cut your hair dry, it'll take about 20 minutes."  She ended up cutting off eight inches of hair!!   It'll be more work than just pulling it into a ponytail, but that's ok. 

Sometimes, it's good to take a chance --- go get bobbed!

Annoying Work Week

What a frustrating week!  I've known for some time that this construction and remodeling of my BigBoxStore would make me crazy because of all the extra people inside, all the extra activity and all the changes taking place.  But for some reason, the past three days -- well, let's just say that it only takes the first five minutes of my day to find myself feeling totally annoyed and losing my patience.

Monday started the week off.  It's a day when two of our five-member team is off as scheduled.  But then a third person called in sick, so that meant me and my newest team member to handle all five jobs!  Yep, it can really be crunch time when that happens.  Luckily?  or is it UnLucky?  that I know all five positions - it either makes me a huge asset, or a real dummy!  Naw I'm mostly joking, I do what needs doing because there's no one else, and the job has to get done.  Somehow. 

But that doesn't mean I'm always happy about it!

Late in the day, after I'd been working for 7 hours straight without a lunch break, my boss saw me delivering some packages to other departments, and in his usual teasing, said "Smile!"  I flashed my teeth, but it wasn't a real smile.  I was just too tired to make the effort!!  That night, I was home and in the shower by 5:30pm, and stretched out in bed with "Sex and the City" dvd's by 6pm. lol  Yeah, I'm that old some days!


Tuesday wasn't much better.  The new "app" for doing my job was down for about six hours.  And it was truck day, so I was in a hurry to have things prepped and ready to go.  On top of that, a pool chemical vendor came in and started to prep a "buy back" of overstocked pool chemicals.  Mind you, now that the hot weather will be clearing out any day, our pool weather is just picking up again!  Most folks will be in their pools from September into November, depending on Mother Nature.  But back to the annoying:  this vendor created 11 shopping buggies full of the crap and then wanted *me* to box it up, palletize it, and make the claim.  With all the whining and such, I stuck it out and didn't get my lunch break until 12:30pm.  Boy was I starvin' by then!  I do a lot of walking on Tuesdays, and had already hit my 10k steps before lunch time!

And Wednesday didn't start off much better!  The "app" was iffy most of the morning.  A few of my co-workers were a little "needy" today (My printer doesn't work!), and I was backed up on paperwork.  At the same time, another task dropped into my email:  An entire drawer full of Environmental Records was being revamped.  There went nearly 3 hours of making new labels and resorting all this junk into the new way of filing:  Manila folders within each pendaflex folder. 

It's amazing how the little stuff can really irk a person when they least expect it.  I thought today would be one of the easier days.  I should never plan on it being easy! 

In keeping with the theme of the week, tomorrow's gonna suck too!

Monday Blues on Sunday

Sunday is my first day of the week, my actual "Monday" if we're tracking the work week.  As usual, there's a lot to do in the morning, and then very little to do because management schedules three of us on the same day.  Usually I can find things to keep myself busy, always plenty of paperwork to get done.  But I whipped right through it this morning, and this afternoon, I ended up washing down some dirty shelving.  Looks a lot better, and some days a mindless menial chore gets you through the day!

I had high hopes for getting to the gym during lunch, but I flaked out, it was 102 at 11am, and I just didn't have it in me to get into a hot car so that I can go get hotter and all sweaty for an hour.  So I spent my lunch hour reading a pretty engrossing story.  Sometimes I find I can lose myself and am able to ignore all of my surroundings.  I just need to learn to do it somewhere else, some place where I can eat a more nutritious, less calorie-filled lunch! 

A few months back, I started trying out this Pink Drink by Plexus.  I've seen many testimonials from people who are able to lose weight and feel better.  So far, I've had issues taking all three products in the "triplex" formula.  I've been able to work up to taking my Pro-biotic each night, and have tolerated it very well lately.  So I decided to try adding the Bio pills that most folks take during the day.  I've not been able to take them much because they have me running for the restroom too often.  And in my position, I'm not always able to just go when I feel the need.   So I've been pretty reluctant to even try it.  So I'm trying it out taking it as soon as I get home from work, an hour before dinner.  We'll see how that goes!  Maybe if I can get my tolerance levels up ......  I'm crossing my fingers!

Dreams are a common thing in my life, and many times I remember them.  Sometimes more details than most, other times, it's just a vague recollection.  Last night's dream:  A good friend of mine, his stock market purchases paid off and he became a bazillionaire overnight!  And three different women were stalking him, each of them chasing him down with ...... a putty knife!  I know, it sounds really weird!  It's the kind you'd use to spread spackle on drywall.   I have NO idea where this stuff comes from! 

If we dream during REM sleep, why are we so tired when we wake up?  Sometimes I find that I feel physically exhausted from some silly dream - especially the ones where you're trying to run away from something.  Although, many times in my case, I'm swimming away, but same concept.  haha I guess I'm just weird that way. 

Now back to your regularly scheduled work week......
Happy Monday to the rest of ya'll !!

Hot Weekend!

Here it is, my Saturday morning.  Yes, working retail can be a pain, so my "weekend" is Friday-Saturday, but at least they're both together!  And frankly, a day off during the work week makes running errands less of a chore.

I've cleaned my house top to bottom, walked the dog, washed the bedding, took out all the trash, and last up is the kitchen -- which always seems to need to be cleaned!!  All of this needs to be done  early in the morning because we're still in summer temperatures here!!

Yesterday, it was 109 at 4pm as I was driving home.  Oddly enough, I thought the temps were *great* when I got up this morning - only to discover that it was a warm 82 degrees!  I guess any relief is better than no relief!  Looking ahead, we should be closer to the 100 mark by next Weds because of clouds.  With clouds comes humidity though, and 98 can feel like 105! 

I didn't make it to the gym on Weds or on Thursday.  With a bunch of remodel construction going on, there have been regional management suits walking around for two days.  Because of my position over the hazardous waste station, etc, I didn't feel comfortable leaving the building in case I was needed on Thursday. 

On Wednesday, I caught a nail in my tire on the way to work.  I drove slow and steady, watching the pressure reading on the dash, praying it wouldn't drop until I made it to work where I could get this taken care of pronto.  Well, not so pronto, but I'm in the building all day, so no real hurry to get the job done!  I was happy to learn that it was a small nail and I could have it repaired for $10!  woot! and even happier to be able to report back that the tire didn't go flat overnight! hahaha


All that to say this Gal won't be doing much outdoors again on her weekend! 
Time for a good book, and a cool drink!

I Gym'd Out

Why do we put it off, instead of just "doing it"? 

For me, I've been waiting for the heat to leave the Valley - if not totally gone, at least getting below 100 again!  But that isn't going to happen.  At least not any time soon.  And I totally need to be at the gym and getting more exercise into my days.  And less foods that aren't good for me, as well! 

Today, I decided that in spite of the high temps, I was going to the gym.  No.  Matter.  What.  Sure, it was hot, but I survived!  I walked on a treadmill, with an incline level of "2" (each machine can vary differently!) My goal was 30 minutes, see how far I could go and ended with 1.52 miles in 30 minutes.  I increased my water intake by 34 oz, and decreased my Diet Coke addiction down to 2 cans:  one in the morning, and one with supper.  Yes, I know, it's bad for me.  But if I go cold turkey, the caffeine withdrawal could be painful.  And very poor for my work situation! haha


Not my best I've ever done, but pretty good for this ol' Gal!

I keep telling myself it's a process, it won't happen over night, but darn it! Why does it take so long to see results?  If I was trying to gain weight, I could easily put on 5-10 lbs on a 3-day weekend!  But this is my life, it is what it is.  I think it's easier to work at something when you admit that this isn't a diet, it isn't temporary, and it isn't a quick solution to losing a few pounds.  Instead, it's more about being healthy, rather than thin -- or in my case, just a chubby goal I haven't been able to reach. 

Another reason for the walking and water increase is because it's nearly time for a doctor's visit to check the blood levels and blood pressure.  Last time it was slightly elevated and of course given my age, the doc is all about medications to control whatever issues are on the horizon.  Me, I dislike taking any meds, and I'm terrible at it.  So whatever I can do to put that off into the future, that's what I need to keep as my goal.

After the gym, an awesome county song came on the radio, Kenny Chesney and David Lee Murphy:  Everything's Gonna Be Alright  

Come on an' sing it with me: Everything's gonna be alright

That.  Is going to be my theme for the rest of the week.
If you're down, don't worry, everything's gonna be alright!

Retail & Change

This is my second weekend in a row off work!   - ok, not really *on* the actual weekend, but having Friday and Saturday off is a pretty good thing.  In the retail sector, we work so many crazy days because there isn't ever a time when the stores are closed any longer, so we're expected to be available for the times when shoppers are there.  But if we went by that, most would have Tues/Weds off, because weekends are truly the busiest times.  Which is why I'm glad I'm off!  lol

I'm trying to come to terms with the new schedule, although my boss doesn't seem to like it much.  I'm training two new people in my area, and he thinks I should be there more to guide them.  But I've been working without weekends since March 11th (Elvis' D-Day!) and frankly, I'm old and need my recuperating time alone, away from work.  I'm just a phone call away *if* my girls need me. 


But what's in the future for retail?  It has me a little bit worried.  There are rumors (in every big corporation, not just retail!) that my position will be ending in one year.  That figure was pretty exact, and I'm mostly writing it down here so I can come back later -- and hopefully laugh at my fears!  Or cry because I won't know what my future holds after that.  In the past, when positions were eliminated, severance packages were offered.  Sadly, I'm not anywhere close to retiring, or I might consider it. 

In Jan 2018, the National Retail Federation claims the [retail] industry isn’t dead at all and in fact it’s on the verge of a turnaround with more jobs and innovation expected by 2020.  “I think there will be more jobs that will be opened than there are now,” Cristina Cersoli, NRF senior vice president for retail strategy told FOX Business on the future of industry. “We’re already seeing more jobs in advanced analytics and artificial intelligence.” 

“It will be a highly interactive and highly immersive from a technology perspective,” Cersoli adds. “So, whether it’s using augmented reality to test new makeup or if you’re one of the outdoor outfitters like Nike, where you can try on a pair of sneakers and then run on a treadmill or try on a coat and step into a giant refrigerator. These are things you can’t replicate on your couch in your jammies and it will draw more customers back into stores.”

Ok, so that's a bright spot on the bleak horizon being painted about all shopping being e-commerce, not actual retail stores.  So now it's just a matter of getting to know there's a different direction, and being willing to learn and anticipate some of those moves so that I can keep with my job for .. oh, 8 years, 6 months and 3 days --- but who's counting?????

So cross your fingers, or send me some good thoughts, good vibes! 
I'm going to need them in the upcoming weeks!

Retail news media seems to be stuck 

in a cycle of doom and gloom, 

with relentless headlines proclaiming the death of retail. 

Relax, already. Breathe.

Genealogy Huntress

I consider myself a genealogist, amateur, but I'm pretty good at being patient when hunting and searching the internet for anything and everything I might get my hands on for my family history.  

But what happens after that?

I'm still trying to come up with something that will work for all of my data, my documentation, and mostly for the stories that I do have, few that they are.  

I don't want them getting lost in a shuffle of papers after I'm gone.  So I guess going digital is the best way to handle it.  I have been putting my stories into one little blog blurb after another.  My sister was getting an email every time I posted, and she told me I needed to put these on Facebook.  Well, I spent all last summer posting a photo every day, putting what little I knew about each photo, or persons, in some kind of story.  But the family?  eh.  They looked but barely acknowledged the efforts.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this for some kind of kudos or a thumbs up "like" from folks.  I just think it's information that needs to be recorded, to be shared.  Because I honestly believe that it's hard to know where you're going if you don't know where you come from.  

Or maybe I'm just some kind of "not your ordinary" person who thinks all of this is important.  Does it matter where the family came from?  Or who did what and when?  Maybe not.  But I'm very interested in trying to locate our history.  Maybe it became ... ok, I'll admit it ... an obsession when none of my grandparents were willing to discuss anything of the past.  At all.  Grandma Myrtle would always tell me "just let sleeping dogs lie".  Grandpa Pape, he never even got the name of this father's sister correct.  We always thought it was Anna.  Turns out it was Emma!   Or that they traveled here with their Uncle when then emigrated.  What's the big deal? And Great Grandpa's wife, no one truly knew her maiden name, and there wasn't any discussion as to why she was committed into Fergus Falls State Hospital -- back then it was because you weren't .... stable enough to live a complete life?

All these little oddities that come up -- I have always looked for answers.  Haven't gotten many, and some of the research has been difficult, because in many cases, farming families were too poor to even have a burial or a headstone, so that data just disappears as well.  

It always makes me wonder if somewhere down the line, some great grandchild of mine will inherit my genealogy bug.

I hope so.