RGrandad Starts National Bird Feeding Month Right…..

February is National Bird Feeding Month – Who Knew?

So this morning I actually remembered to go out and feed the birds.  I did feed them last week, after the storm, but I only shoveled a pathway to two of the feeders, today after the thaw I was able to get to all of them. I must have known something (not really) because this evening I discovered that February is National Bird Feeding Month in the United States. February officially proclaimed National Bird Feeding Month, when John Porter (R-IL) read a resolution into the Congressional Record. proclaiming it such, on February 23, 1994. From Wikipedia…. Read More

Charles Messier catalogs M37 on Jan 31,1779

RGranddad explores the astronomer Charles Messier and his catalog…..

Over the last few days I have added a boatload of ancestors of my fifth great-grandfather Samuel Johnson and his wife Antje Anney Brower I have taken both of their family lines back to the early 1600s  in New York. Anyway, as I was looking over events that happened on January 31st this one from 1779. Samuel would have turned 19 that year. The event was Charles Messier’s addition of  M57 (Ring Nebula in Lyra) to his catalog. Since I didn’t know who Charles Messier was or what his catalog was I set out to find out about them! (P.S. I do know what a ring nebula is). I am always amazed at what the early astronomers were able to accomplish 300 plus years ago!) From Wikipedia….. Read More

Weekly Update – Jan 30, 2016 – The Reading…

While Sick Most of the Week – A Book was Finished and Some Started…..

So I have been pretty much wiped out this week. I babysat for Zoe on Tuesday and at the end of the day I felt lousy! I was coughing pretty badly even though I didn’t feel that bad. Anyway it got progressively worse during the night and by morning I knew two things one that I would not be babysitting Oliver and the other I would have to visit the doctor. By late morning both my wife and I were sitting in MedExpress waiting to see the doctor. My wife has been sick longer and worse than I have been. She has had a wicked sinus infection with extreme pain! Anyway she had another sinus infection and I have bronchitis! Since then we have both gotten progressively better and hopefully by tomorrow or Monday I should be back close to normal!! Anyway through it all I have kept reading and even added to my to be read (TBR) pile! Read More

Life’s Soundtracks – King King and Dave Gunning

King King’s Blues and Dave Gunning’s Folk Provide the Soundtracks for  my  Commute to Paulsboro

It seems that lately a good portion of the music I listened to is heard on my commutes to Paulsboro to babysit Oliver. Now as best as I can remember Wednesday soundtracks were a blues album Reaching for the Light from the Scottish blues band King King and the afternoon on the afternoon trip a folk album from Canadian folksinger Dave Gunning. The album was Lift  his 11th album. Read More

Weekly Update Part 1 – The Books

An Update of The Books I Am Reading and What’s on the Horizon!

So last week was as busy as I thought it would be! It started Monday with a short stint babysitting granddaughter Zoe. Then Tuesday at Target, Wednesday with Oliver, Thursday back to Target, Friday half-day with Oliver made longer by Da’s mistake of allowing Oliver and I to sit in the car for a few minutes, whereby he turned some light on that I didn’t notice, which left me with a dead battery, when I went to leave. Can you say those who don’t learn from the past, are condemned to repeat it! Anyway it  was back to Target on Saturday. Actually, it was pretty much a standard week wasn’t it….well, you can add in that by Friday I wasn’t feeling my best. I do believe that I have finally caught a milder version of the sinus and cold that his plagued my wife and daughter over the last two weeks. Anyway let’s recap what I did over the week past….. Read More

John Sherrington Gottlieb?? Who Knew!

RGranddad Adds  New Cousins from the Gottlieb Family!

So the name John Sherrington Ashton has a nice British ring to it, don’t you think!  Well, it should my family immigrated from Lincolnshire, England in 1851. But how about the name John Sherrington Gottlieb!! Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it does it. But through the wonders of Ancestry and DNA testing.  I have discovered that he does have a branch on my family tree! Read More

Hattie Caraway – First Woman Elected to the US Senate!

On January 12, 1932 – Hattie Caraway became the First Woman Elected to the US Senate!!

On this day, January 12th in 1932 Hattie Caraway became the first woman elected to the United States Senate!! Caraway was the wife of Arkansas politician Thaddeus Caraway. Her husband was elected to the House of Representatives in 1912 and served as a Representative until 1921,. He became a Senator in that year and served in that capacity until he died in office in 1931. It had been a precedent at that time that the widows were appointed to temporarily take their husbands positions. Following that precedent Governor Harvey Parnell appointed Hattie Caraway to the vacant seat and she was sworn in to office on December 9th of 1931. Caraway with the backing of the Arkansas Democratic party easily won the special election held in 1932 for the remaining months of the term and became the first women elected to the Senate! Read More

A Sunday Music and Reading Challenge Update!

A Busy Week – A Trip to Princeton Record Exchange, Two Books Finished and Books added to my Reading Challenges!

Last week was a busy one. My wife has been sick all week, most likely the result of kissing sick babies! Anyway I worked my two weekday and weekend shifts at Target, but since Oliver’s momma was home recovering from thyroid surgery I only babysat  on Friday! Read More