Writing Prompt: Family History

 It is pretty obvious to any that read this blog, that I am at best an inconsistent writer. I probably spend more time in my  head then I do putting words down. My dear friend, Faye sent me a book of writing prompts over the holidays. She picked up a copy for herself. In an effort to get the words out of my head on a more regular basis, we are going to pick a new writing prompt every Wednesday and then spending a couple of days to do something with it.  Faye has picked this weeks writing prompt.

Writing Prompt: Do you know any interesting facts about your family history, if so what?

I am loosely interested in genealogy.  Mostly I like to know where the bodies are buried and if I ever needed a kidney, who to go to.  This means I have done a little bit of genealogy on both side of my family tree. Someone on my mothers side of the tree at one time was very much interested in genealogy and completed almost 8 generations  of tracking that almost makes me feel like British royalty. They included a little bit of history on the starting point of the family.

I think that one of the most interesting points in family history is that Solomon Scholl who is used as the starting point in the genealogy was a farmer, cabinet maker and undertaker. I have to marvel at the different career changes through out his life and it gives me hope that if I ever feel stagnant that I can dig up the energy to change my direction.  It also give me a laugh that I got into genealogy to know where the bodies were buried and here is an ancestor that literally knew where the bodies were buried. 

A Walk In the Cemetery

My husband says I am spooky. He isn’t referencing XFiles, where Mulder’s nickname is Spooky.  It has more to do with touring cemeteries is part of my idea for an relaxing vacation. If anything, I probably see myself as more of a Marilyn Munster than a Fox Mulder. 

I like cemeteries.  They are quiet, peaceful and most of the time well maintained.  You would be surprised about the interesting sculptures and architecture you could find. 

Jon and I recently took walk in the Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston, and I would love to go back.   Below are several of the highlights from the trip. 

 

 

There are so many beautiful sculptures in the cemetery and it was much more vast and varied than I had anticipated.  If you are ever looking for a peaceful way to spend a day, I would highly suggest taking a walk in this gem. 

9 Board Games to Check Out

The day after Thanksgiving means lots of things to lots of people. For some people they are trying to recover from the turkey coma or trying to catch up on their NaNoWriMo word count, others get jazzed up about Black Friday Sales Shopping.  Black Friday for me means Game Day.  I am not a shopper. That is why they make the internet.  I am a board gamer. 

About a dozen years back or so it was established that the day after Thanksgiving was Game Day or BFGD.  Friends pop in throughout the day to roll some dice, count some cards or have mini war games with lovingly painted miniatures.  It is probably one of my favorite days of the year.   There are so many games to play and hardly ever enough time to do more than a dozen. 

I am fond of lists, and hinted in a previous post on a Games List. I am a person on my word.  Below are 9 games worth checking out. I like a wide variety of games, and tried to touch upon several game types.   

1.       Dungeon Run

• This is a tile based exploration game that ends in betrayal. You are exploring a dungeon with your trusty friends, and whoever finds the treasure first is corrupted. Your trusty team needs to kill the traitor before they can exit the dungeon and destroy the world.  
• Every time I say Dungeon Run, all I can think of is Finn and Jake.  This isn’t related to that but just a weird tangent and lots of fun to sing Finn’s dungeon crawl song. 

2.       Exploding Kittens

• This is a card game of chance and strategy. There are two versions of the game. A family friendly one and a definitely not family friendly one.  They are played the same way.  It is kind of like a game of war and go fish all rolled into one, but with kittens.  Nice quick game for those that don’t have a lot of time.  
• If you like the Oatmeal’s humor, I would highly recommend using the non-family friendly deck.  
  

3.       Dixit

• If you like strategy games, then this game might not be for you.  This game is a guessing game, where you have to deduct a person’s card based of their description in among everyone else’s cards that were put down based off that same description.  It is all about speculation.  The art in this game is beautiful and it is a lot of fun to play. 

4.       Smash Up

• This is a strategy card game that is a lot of fun and has several expansion packs to it. You are all trying to conquer different locations that are worth different points. You reach the set point value first through conquering, you win.  Simple, easy, and can quickly ruin friendships.  
• I don’t pay this game that often, because my husband says I have cheat moves.  I don’t. I am just friends with robots and aliens and they do my bidding. 

5.       Roll For It

• This is a dice and strategy game that I am actually good at.  Mostly because you are not expecting me to roll a D6 to try and heal you.  It isn’t going to happen. The dice hate me, which is clearly evident when I played Shadows of Brimstone.  Anyway, this game is about matching dice to cards that have values and when you get to a certain number you will.  Easy, quick fun that is good family fun. 

6.       Shadows of Brimstone

• If you are looking for an epic adventure game that can go on in several hour long sessions with a posse of friends, this game is for you.  There are lots of toggles and jimmies that go with the game and it is a miniature painters dream.   It is a lot of fun, and has strategy, dice, cards and group coordination involved.  
• Don’t leave me in charge of the dice. I won’t heal you, and will probably give you a cursed item or lose a weapon or change your son into a pig. 

7.       Ticket to Ride

• This game is a strategy game where you are a railroad baron trying to get your track down before else gets their track down.  It is an easy to pick up family friendly game that will have you gnashing your teeth as you try to complete your routes. 

8.       Pandemic

• This is a group survival game that I have yet to survive. I have been told it can be done, but have yet to see it. The came combines strategy with chance and is a lot of fun to play. 
• Ken- It’s your fault we get yellow fever every time and die.  I am not holding a grudge, just stating fact. Yellow Fever!!!

9.       Battle of the Electric Vikings

• If you like word games, you will love this game. The purpose of this game is to make heavy metal song titles based off of randomly drawn tiles. It is a little like scrabble, that you have to connect to tiles together, but no spelling is necessary, just your best growly throaty metal voice. 

Grave Robbers from Outer Space is not on the list, because my husband informed me that it is out of print, but they have a Version 3 that is available. I haven’t checked it out, so I don’t know if they changed anything.  Happy Black Friday Game Day!  

Let's Pretend They Are Dead

I once joked that I am of the product of when two black sheep get together and breed. Not actual sheep but the figurative family sheep. Both of my parents are not in the slightest bit what one would call close to their siblings or other bits of immediate family other than possibly me. And the only reason we are close is because  I am one part science fiction mixed with two parts rum. (I might have my ratios off, because I think you muddle up some charm in there and serve it over ice, kind of like a Caipirinha, but I could be exaggerating.)

It isn't easy to find the family connection. In fact it take quite a bit of effort and cheek biting. However I found a way around it, that doesn't make me go cross eyed. All I needed to do was to go back further and try and find the beginning. I am not talking about the beginning where the family ties got frayed, but the beginning of the family itself.  My family has an unspoken motto "Let's Pretend They Are Dead".  If there is something that ruffles our delicate sensibilities, if becomes easier to pretend that they are dead and keep moving than to do the difficult thing and work it out. Nothing cuts like family, and sometimes the cuts never truly heal. 

This motto has worked marvelously in daily life, but has made genealogy quite interesting. I am constantly amazed at what I discover when doing genealogy. I find flawed people in the pages of history.  They are messy with their marriages, rural in their location and tend to spread out like molasses in the sun.  Despite common beliefs, not every one is dead. When you stumble across the living, it is awkward messy and sometimes really beautiful. I am amazed that I found a strong family connection in the headstones of graveyards, and among old census records.  In a time of divorce, remarriage and seven degrees of separation, the realization that the endurance of a blood line lies with in the very breathe you take, is remarkable and humbling.

I think that I found myself a sort of inner peace that I didn't was missing until I took up genealogy. My family is still complicated. It is still messy and incredibly hard to connect with my family, and it may never get better or it might. Connecting the lines between the generations  and solving the mystery of my lineage makes coping with the living a little less horrible.  Nothing is truly ever written in stone, until you are under the stone, and then it is all left up to interpretation.

If you are interested in taking up the rewarding adventure of genealogy, I would highly recommend using Familyseach.org. It is an easy to use site, that does not cost anything. It is a great site for those that can only do genealogy in their spare time.