Go with Your Gut

Go with Your Gut: lots of good recipes for healthy digestion - sauerkraut, pumpkin muffins, coconut chewies. Some of the ingredients for the Black Bean Burgers: black beans, egg white, unsweetened shredded coconut...

The Underground Railway by Colson Whitehead new Oprah's Book Club pick

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is Oprah's new book club pick.

WeRelate.org Crowdsourcing Genealogy: Elizabeth Warren

We are crowdsourcing the family tree of Elizabeth Warren over at WeRelate.org. You can start by searching if either of her parents are listed in the Database:

Father: Donald Jones Herring b. 5 NOV 1911
Mother: Pauline Reed b. 14 FEB 1912

If the parents are already entered you can start working up the line.

Read more about Elizabeth Warren -

Wikipedia
her Twitter account

Is Elizabeth Warren Native American or What? The Atlantic

*Remember that we do not enter information about living people to WeRelate so we will not be creating a page for Elizabeth herself.

My first giveaway! Vintage Wayfarer Cat Eye Sunglasses

deeAuvil Blog My first giveaway! Vintage Wayfarer Cat Eye Sunglasses

I bought these cat eye sunglasses for a little summer fun and they look ridiculous on me. I can't pull it off. So I thought, why not give them away! How to enter: go to this Pinterest link and write a comment. If you win I will contact you through Pinterest. Good Luck and Happy Summer!

Contest runs until July 1st 2016

Congratulations Cheri!


You can also just buy them at Amazon.

Shawnee Chief with Abraham Lincoln Medal?

Shawnee Indian Chief with Abe Lincoln Medal

I am curious this morning about an antique photo up for auction at eBay. Written in pencil on the back is "Shawnee Indian Chief with Abe Lincoln Medal". Do you know who this is?

The Medal. Why does he have a Lincoln medal? I know that Civil War veterans, who joined the group Grand Army of the Republic, "GAR", some were given an Abraham Lincoln medal. Does this mean this man was a Civil War veteran? Search: Abraham Lincoln Medals on eBay

The Photographer. I think the photographer may be Aubrey Ewert Merryman, Pawnee, Oklahoma. I'm not sure yet. The subject looks to me like someone in a Wild West Show. It looks like a Wild West Show portrait to me. What do you think?

Please post here on this blog if you can help identify this subject.

Images used with permission from eBay seller: cashempirellc

Memorial Day Genealogy Puzzle

I have a Memorial Day genealogy puzzle for you. Can you tell me who sent this postcard? I am hoping we can find their family because I think they would like to have a copy of this postcard. Happy hunting!

*More information about the postcard manufacturer L. L. Cook of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Shaggy Mane Mushroom Patch

Shaggy Mane Mushroom Patch

I can't believe I accomplished this. I established a Shaggy Mane mushroom patch. Summer of 2014 we explored a lot of local areas just for fun. And when we were in the Cusick / Usk area we stopped at a home for sale on the Pend Oreille River. The yard was covered with large Shaggy Mane mushrooms. I picked 5 or 6 large ones and put them in a plastic bag. I brought them home and laid them on top of the ground on the top of a hill. I didn't bury them, I just thought the best idea was to put them on top of the dirt. Next summer: nothing happened. So I forgot about my project. Spring of 2016: I have two mushroom patches growing at the bottom of the hill! The spores must have dried out and were blown by the wind to the bottom of the hill.

Another project I have is to transplant some nettles closer to my house. I can go a ways to find nettles but it would be so much more convenient if some grew by my house.

If you want to grow a patch but you don't find any Shaggy Manes you can order a kit from Amazon.

Watching: The World at War narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier

The World at War narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier

We have some World War II recommendations. The World at War narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier is great especially when he reads a poem by Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov. (You can read the poem here.) We didn't really know that much about Russia during the war but we learned a lot here and Mike read Last Citadel: A Novel of the Battle of Kursk which he highly recommends. And lastly, we have been watching A French Village. We love this show, partly because you really learn what it was like in France during the war. And I can't think of any other depiction of what life was like for just regular people in Europe during the war. Now we're really wrapped up in all the characters and if they don't show all the seasons on PBS I'm going to have to buy the DVD set. Subtitled.

A French Village

Last Citadel

WeRelate Contest: Rosa Parks

The current subject of the WeRelate contest is civil rights activist Rosa Parks. The contest is a way to promote collaboration through crowdsourcing genealogy at the free website Werelate.org.

UPDATE 2/25/2016: The Library of Congress has digitized thousands of items from Rosa Parks's personal papers collection.

WeRelate contest: Richard G. Hendrickson

The WeRelate contest this week is Richard G. Hendrickson, volunteer weatherman.

WeRelate Contest: Nellie Mask

I was so fascinated by the story of Modern Family Ty Burrell's third-great grandmother Nellie on the recent episode of Finding your Roots that she will be the subject of this week's WeRelate Contest.

Read more about this episode at Diane Haddad's blog post.

Purple Pentode Radio Tube USB Flash Drive. Steampunk/Industrial style

Available at Amazon

You know I love all things vintage. Do you like this USB drive that looks like a radio tube? It lights up.

WeRelate Contest: Brian Francis Johns

Today's WeRelate Contest is Brian Francis Johns.