Nuts From the Family Tree: February 2014

I seriously don't know why anyone reads this blog. Really. But they do, or rather you do, whoever you are. And thanks for stopping by even when I'm off doing something else I call life and can't do my blog. So thanks.

I don't know why but it warms my heart to look at the stats and see that so many people looked here and even left comments which takes a couple of minutes out of their day. So thanks to the comment leavers especially.

I miss writing this blog when I have no time to do it because of important matters. Sometimes, and this will sound outright silly, I even pop in to read it and mostly like what I see even though I have to resist the urge to edit and rewrite the whole thing. Reading my own blog might sound either vein or ridiculous but it's a way of returning my mind to the wonderful world of genealogy when time doesn't permit me to actually work at it.

I'm not one of those hyper-serious genealogists who would rather spend the family vacation visiting graveyards. At least I'm not right now. Maybe later again. I kind of envy those who do because I know that I'd be further along if I did. And, truth be told, maybe a tad guilty about that too.

Where I am investing my time, genealogy-wise, is getting Mom's stories into book form and then soon taking it to the local quick printer for printing and binding. Presently the photos are all being tweaked for contrast and crispness. They need to look as good as possible on my screen because when they go into the book and get printed they will lose some measure of quality at each step.

I've had a couple of friends who know what's what in the graphic design area take a look and they made some small suggestions that improved the look of it. Lucky to have their input. Now feel like I'm coming down the home stretch of the project!

After that's finished, I've promised a short article on my/our experience with DNA testing for the Old Pike Post, the newsletter of the Allegany County Genealogical Society. Mom and I have written a couple of other articles for them and I look forward to doing this one too. I enjoy writing because it helps me organize thoughts and stories in a useful way instead of them simply rambling around my noggin.

Because I now have an appointment with the metabolic genetics clinic at UCSD, I feel more free to spend less time researching my rare inborn error of metabolism and devote more time to these backlogged genealogy projects. Did I tell you about this? I found out about a problem that's been bothering me for years, no decades, and was left undiagnosed, through a 23andMe DNA test. It was the first clue as to what wasn't working on me. I'm missing one little enzyme! Too bad the FDA has told 23andMe to stop giving health results. They could be helping so many people if they were free to.

And to the good, I did get out a Winter 2014 edition of "What Virginia Knows", our family history newsletter. It does take a chunk of time but it's so worth it to keep family history stories alive and share new finds such as the photo of my second great grandmother. Now all the Kelly cousins know what she looked like.

There's so much more to share. I feel like genealogy happens all around me even when I'm not paying 100% attention to it. A second cousin found me through this blog recently and I'm so glad to be in touch with her and her son who is working on a genealogy project for school. Genealogy is family... and it lives in us now.