Food of the ancestors: feels like love

I remember both of my grandmother's cooking and maybe you remember yours too. It was wonderful to be in their kitchens and smell the glorious scents of heaven nearby. My Grandma Kelly was an excellent baker and came from a German way of cooking. Breads, sweet cakes, pies, and those little scraps of pie dough sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar that had no name, except, "Yes, please!" The food of our ancestors lives on in many of our hearts even though those who cooked with love are now gone.

My husband's family came from Eastern European Jewish roots. When I married him and went to family food-based events, I noticed some similarities between Grandma Kelly's cooking and his family's cooking. In short, they both had German roots. For example, noodle dishes that were either sweet or savory were often on the table. At my core, I understood kasha varniskas, an Eastern European Jewish dish that combines kasha which is buckwheat groats with noodles, mostly bow tie pasta. A "Danish" pastry by any name is still a wonderful thing.

Recently, my husband received a link from an old buddy of his so he sent it on to me to enjoy, sending me to this video titled, "Deli Man". It caught my interest not just because the food looked mouth-watering but because it speaks to traditions in food passed down through generations, with love and respect.

I wish I had my Grandma Kelly's recipes. I often asked her how she made things and even attempted to take notes. Mom did too, more often than I did. We were both persistent yet gave up after many tries. You see, Grandma didn't follow any recipes. It was a handful of this and mix with your fingers just so until it looked like this. Just a little more because it didn't feel right. Now add a pinch of salt. Not a big pinch but a medium size pinch. If video was available then it would have been perfect to catch her on-the-fly brand of cooking!

So check out the video link, above, for Deli Man. And enjoy:)

Grandma Kelly in her kitchen with Grandpop and their youngest child, Louise.

 

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2014/09/food-of-ancestors-feels-like-love.html

Wisdom Wednesday: Faster, Please

Some days it seems like I don't know a blasted thing. Then other days the knowledge comes at me like a freight train and it's all I can do to keep alert. It's Wednesday again and I'm using GeneaBlogger's blogging prompt called Wisdom Wednesdays so that I'm sure to take time and evaluate how this beginning intermediate genealogist is doing. If I don't do this the learning will likely be willy-nilly and random so this feels like it keeps me focused, more or less.

Have to confess that I kinda like the knowledge coming at me fast. Keeps me moving along and on my toes. But here's the thing: I'll be working on a project, like the Biggerstaffs right now, and then my DNA results come back from 23andMe and I am on the freight train again. But that's a good thing, right? Here's what's been happening this last week, in no particular order.

OMG! DNA! My results came back from 23and Me. So much information and I want to devour it all at once. Must resist. Am using some measure of self-control and taking it one feature at a time. Have explored the "DNA Relatives" tool, which you can read about here. And before that checked out the "Countries of Origins Tool" and you can read about that here. Getting results back is an information 18-wheeler, but if you just chunk it down there's no reason to be overloaded. It's all right there and the learning tools are easily accessible so that you can explore and learn as you go. See a new report? Look, the tutorial link is there on that same page. This morning I've received the first reply from my DNA matches and will be getting back to her immediately so that we can compare ancestors. Will use Mom's Big Tree on Ancestry to do this. Handy to have it there:)

Cousin Bait Blog. At the beginning of the year set out a goal and crafted a strategy (sort of) to build in more cousin bait and you can see that popular post here. One of the best things I did was start doing a Surname Saturday post. Not only does it give me an opportunity to review our research, see holes, and take a close look at theories, it's the perfect cousin bait! Something is working because a Whetstone cousin contacted me last week and we immediately got on to discussing the biggest "argument" about the Whetstones. It was so much fun!! Cousin bait is working:)

Am reading Oh, Beautiful, a wonderful book by John Paul Goedes. Can't put it down. It flows from page to page, story to story, family to family. I've read a couple of family history narrative books before and I get into them and eventually find myself thinking, "I really should finish reading this." Not with this book! Each evening I can't wait to read the next section and stay up way too long doing so.

Got thinking about cemeteries and tombstones because of the first chapter of Oh, Beautiful. Part of the beginning is set in a remote mountain village in Italy where the people all live close together and are closely connected. When someone died and was buried all felt that they could go "visit" that person at the graveside, discuss issues of the day and review problems. So they were gone, but still connected. We've, many of us, lost that. Cemeteries for the general population are often the setting of spooky Halloween movies. I like it when an insight like that comes up unexpectedly in something I'm reading.

Looking forward to participating in RootsTech online this week. The Armchair Genealogist, who gets a big e-hug from me for the Family History Writing Challenge and a lot of other stuff, has a brilliant post about how to participate online which you can see here. I think that having your conference open to those who can't be there for whatever reason is exceedingly expansive and generous of spirit and is in the vein of all that is wonderful about the greater sharing posture and good will of the genealogy community, and why so may people are drawn to it. My Mom is 94 and she can't be there but she is online and can participate. I can't be there this year but I want to enjoy and benefit from it as I can, and I'll be watching online too. So thanks and an e-hug to RootsTech. Have a wonderful conference and I'll be watching the sessions as well as looking for blog posts from all the bloggers in attendance!!


Photo of the Day from the Archive:

Dad's Sisters: Chris, Helen, and Louise about 1989.

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/03/wisdom-wednesday-faster-please.html

Using FamilySearch

In a previous post I mentioned that my FamilySearch.org skills were wanting, or at least that's how I felt. And thanks from me to those of you who kindly offered suggestions to broaden my knowledge base:)

Someone suggested the tutorial videos in the Learning Center, and that sounded good to me. My objective was to start at the beginning and make sure I had a grasp of all that was there on the site and was using features to full advantage. And I do like watching videos so that's where I began.

It's paying off. I'm watching the introductory videos from the most basic onward. Have watched about a dozen and in just the first couple have picked up some good tips and tricks, mostly that have to do with features I've overlooked. Just these two tips, below, will make the whole effort worth it.

The first tips is about using filters in my search. By using a combination of search terms that widen the search as well as filters that limit the search I think that I'm doing a bit better of searching and finding. I liked it in the video when the narrator showed that just by x-ing the term out you could eliminate it. No need to start over. Cool!

The second tip that was totally new to me showed how to reverse the image in an effort to better and more clearly see the letterforms. The example was a census page that when reversed, that is when the dark writing on a light ground became light writing on a dark ground, sometimes the features of letters can be seen more clearly. Also cool! Honestly, guess I thought that reversing an image meant that everything was backwards;) Ha! But it was a tool that could help me out.

Now I'm starting to feel that I'm not missing the good features!

Here's a link to the videos mentioned in this post in case you want to watch some. Have fun!
https://help.familysearch.org/kb/videos/en/index.html


Picture of the day from the Archive:

Aunt Louise Kelly Chaney, about 1941
My Dad's youngest sister,
And just as beautiful as this photo!

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2012/09/using-familysearch.html

Some Shared Family Photos

You know how it goes: cousins can drift apart over the years. Until quite recently I'd been out of close touch with the first cousins but this family history thing has brought us back together again. I'm thankful for that.

Cousin Linda and I met last time I was in to visit Mom. She and I met up for breakfast at the Princess Restaurant in Frostburg, Maryland on a rainy Monday morning. It was a warm get-together on a cold morning and we laughed a lot. Poodle skirts got us chuckling. Then the memories flowed!

After a bit she brought out some family photos and I want to share them here in no particular order. I just now re sized them and adjusted the contrast so they are ready for their debut here on the blog:)

Here's hoping that you get a kick out of your family photos too!! Send us a link in the comments section if you like.

Grandma Helen Gertrude Zeller Kelly has a happy birthday! She loved pink!!

It was 1942 and the boys were off to WWII. Here are the ladies.

Grandma Kelly and Aunt Chris Kelly Fraley.

Grandpop John Lee Kelly (everyone called him Lee) loved the front porch. Heck, we all did!

Grandma Kelly loved the front porch... and pink!

Grandpop Kelly and a young Aunt Louise Kelly Chaney, Cousin Linda's Mom.

My Dad in the middle of his brothers. Delbert on the left ... but I have to check with Mom as to who that is on the right. Think it's Uncle Bernie.

Grandpop Kelly and his kids in the 1920s. The oldest boy is my Dad, second from the right.

Grandpop and Grandma Kelly with Aunt Louise in the grand's kitchen, 1965. Grandma would not be pleased with this picture as it's not her best... but I like all of the pictures of my family!

My grandparents were always in love. Can you tell?