March 30, 1984

Here I am holding my tiny new baby girl, Ellie.

What a little bundle of possibilities. Looking into her face for the first time, I didn't know who I was meeting. All I knew then was that something in my life had changed for the better.

I was right.

Love you, little girl. Happy Birthday!

I Seek Dead People

Morbid, much? Not really. It's a hobby, not a fetish.

I'm an amateur genealogist. I came by this interest through the hard work and diligence of my now-deceased ancestor, Archie C. Talboy, who did a lot of research on one branch of my family back in the days when you really had to work at it.

A few decades later, it's all so much easier: internet sites, email, and online ordering for vital records makes the research so much more accessible. Fortunately, there are still so many mysteries to pursue that the scope of the project can expand to fit your available time and interest. In the unlikely event that you run out of relatives, you can always borrow someone else's!

So on the topic of honoring ancestors who are no longer with us, I suggest you check out this site: findagrave.com. Go to the non-famous search and type in a name. You might be surprised at what - or who - pops up.

Bits & Pieces

I started my day by getting all shined up at the dentist's office, and then I went to breakfast/lunch with my sweetie at TK Maguire's. After that I picked up my car, which got a new weatherseal on its door this morning. Then it was just work, work, work... ~sigh.~

Okay, I'll confess that it wasn't all "work, work, work." My friend Stephanie in Snoqualmie, WA sent me a fun link: Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History and distracted me a bit from my conscientious work ethic.

I grew up in Washington but didn't get much of a chance to enjoy it. Now I like to go back and be a tourist from time to time. Maybe this summer....

Following in Mel's footsteps

My friend Melnell is one of a kind... but that doesn't keep me from copying her from time to time. Some of her better ideas:

• Scrapbooking club
• Girlfriend trips
• Slip-on shoes (yay Dansko!)
• custom t-shirts
• adopt-a-diva

So now we'll see if blogging makes the list!