US Open of Surfing - Wordless Wednesday

While in Huntington Beach, California this summer for a softball tournament, we had the pleasure of spending time down by the pier while the US Open of surfing was going on. There were lots of people and interesting things to watch.

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Lima Beans and Peas - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & Family History

My parents made me eat them anyway. Gagging notwithstanding. Didn't matter if I waited until they were stone cold and Mom had cleaned up dinner and the family was enjoying the nightly TV show. I had to eat them.

Today, I love lima beans. I also love fresh peas picked right off the vine and eaten on the spot. Mmmmm... Cooked peas, they're OK.

Amy Coffin's series, 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History is a series of blogging prompts that "invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants."
© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Create an Editorial Calendar - 31 WBGB

Creating an Editorial Calendar is the perfect assignment. I've attempted to put together an editorial calendar 2 or 3 times but have never some up with the format that is right for me. I love Tonia's spreadsheet (I'm a spreadsheet kind of girl too) with the color coding but something was still missing. I need the visual of a monthly calendar so I ran with Tonia's idea and put it on an actual calendar.

I was able to use a Word calendar template and make modifications to it so the necessary information would fit. Then I used the same color coding scheme as Tonia. Hopefully this will work much better.

Here is an example of my calendar for October.

Remember this TIP: Click on the image to view a larger version and then click on the back arrow button to return to this post. If the larger version isn't big enough try this: Windows users: hold down the Control key (Mac users hold down the Command key) and press the plus key to make it even bigger (minus key makes it smaller).

To use this calendar, just click in the cell for the date you want to edit. Then type in whatever information you want to see on your calendar. To fill the cell with color, go to the Home tab in Word and look under Paragraph for the Shading option which appears as a paint bucket.


© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Hobbies - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & Family History

The top 8 hobbies (that I can remember) from childhood, in reverse order:

8. Weaving potholders. Brenda over at Journey to the Past reminded me of this fun hobby in her recent post.
7. Collecting shells, rocks and beach glass.
6. Collecting coins (well pennies anyway). I had one of those books with slots for each year and city where the coin was minted.
5. Growing vegetables (something Dad and I did together).
4. Walking the beach.
3. Reading: Nancy Drew and the Little House on the Prairie series were among my favorites.
2. Photography. Dad started me out with a really simple point and shoot that I had through college. Occasionally he would allow me to use his nice camera.

My number one childhood hobby that carried me into adulthood were my horses. If I start talking horses now I might not stop for a really long time, so I'll save that for another day.

Amy Coffin's series, 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & Family History is a series of blogging prompts that "invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants."

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas-31 WBGB

I’m playing catch up for last week’s assignment which was to use mind mapping to come up with 10 ideas for future posts, using our last five posts as a starting point. After completing this assignment, I didn't feel like I came with the best ideas so I extended the assignment. I keep a running list of ideas for future posts, so I took a look at that and selected several to mind map. I felt like I really got somewhere. The next step was to use the memes that are going around right now (99+ Genealogy Things and the Tech SavvyGenealogist) and mind map some of those. The result: plenty of great ideas for future posts.

My favorite idea: genealogical uses for my new smart phone.

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Mt Rainier - Wordless Wednesday

These photos fit in nicely with recent posts (Summer & Vacations and Water)that are part of Amy Coffin's 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & Family History.

Mt. Rainier and downtown Seattle from about 25-30 miles away.

Next summer, I would like to be at this spot on a clear day as the cruise ships are sailing by on their way to Alaska!

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Vacations & Summer - 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History

Have you ever been fortunate enough to visit a place that becomes part of your soul? A part of your very being? A place that is seemingly timeless? Enjoyed generation after generation? Well I have. As part of my 52 Weeks catch-up, I've decided to combine Summer and Vacation into one post and tell you about my very special place.

My special place is in Puget Sound, Washington; enjoyed by my parents and my father's parents before me, myself, and my children. Spending summers on the beach is one of those wholesome things I wish every child could do: going for long walks and collecting shells, rocks and whatever else may have floated up; throwing sticks in the water for the dogs, playing with your new best friend; building forts and sometimes learning how to overcome boredom.

Some things never change and to this day one of my favorite things is to walk the beach and see the products of hours of scouring the beach for driftwood that washed up during the winter.

Summer 1968

Wood Wars. Building forts is not without its challenges and controversy. Sometimes the kids would come inside all bent out of shape because the boys down the beach had stolen some pieces of wood from their fort. This usually resulted in much plotting and planning to retrieve their wood after dark. Back and forth it would go, with the kids keeping a close eye on their forts in hopes of catching the thieves red-handed.

Other years we would build more of a one dimensional village. It turns out that this was not our original idea.  The author, Alice McLerran visited my children’s elementary school one year. She read her book Roxaboxen, about a village she and her friends built near Yuma as a child. It sounded very familiar to me and captured the imagination of my own children who built their own version that they dubbed The Burrough. They had shops, houses, signs and even money (using beach glass with different colors representing a specific denomination). As the summer wore on, The Burrough grew and grew and became a bit of a tourist attraction for people walking the beach!

To this day, the neighbors still mention our beach fort creations. I can’t wait for an excuse to build more! I still enjoy helping build these beach creations. But alas, my children are now too old for such fun. I’ll just have to wait for some more little ones to come along! In the meantime, I walk the beach and enjoy the creations made by the current generation.

My favorite creation this summer. Someone went to a great deal of effort!

My second favorite creation. Built in the perfect spot to take a break while on a beach walk, and enjoy the ships, wildlife or just relax.

Amy Coffin's series, 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History is a series of blogging prompts that "invite genealogists and others to record memories and insights about their own lives for future descendants."

Disclaimer: Our family owns several of Alice McLerran's books. You could say we are fans of hers. The books were purchased with our own hard earned money (allowances in the case of the kids).

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum