January 2011

Jan 1 to 9
News Years Day was a bit wet with some rain which with the temperature being above 0 C washed away most of the snow. We went over to our daughter's place for supper on New Years day. Sunday the snow was mostly gone and the weather improved enough to give an hour of sun in the afternoon. The cold weather is returning. This was a day to do some backups of computer files for off site storage. We picked up our first new car in 10 years on Wednesday. We bought a 2010 Dodge Journey. We now have a reliable car in which to travel. It is exciting to have a new car. The radio system is connected to a hands free device for the cell phone. Also the entertainment panel has voice recognition control for the radio and hands free device.

The rest of the week brought some snow again. By Saturday we had received maybe 5 cm of new snow. The temperatures have been relatively mild for this area, hovering around -6 C. Saturday I learned how to use the voice recognition system in the new car to control the radio and set it up to accommodate hands free calling from our cell phone. It really works well! This week I have continued adding family data to my files from the Roger Williams descendants book III. I have also been adding Link family information from a correspondent. By Saturday afternoon there was just about enough snow on the ground to go cross country skiing, which we did. We skied along the Ottawa River! Of course the snow also required that we shovel the lane way. Oh well! Walked 64.9 km.

Jan 10 to 16
Cross country skied twice this week, along the Ottawa River. Tuesday I was back doing volunteer work at the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada book sorting. We had a bit of snow. Our daughter went back to teaching in Wisconsin. This week I have continued adding family data to my files from the Roger Williams descendants book III. Walked 51.8 km.

Jan 17 to 23
I general it has been winter here in Ottawa. We get 1 to 2 cm of snow when is does snow. This means cleaning off the cars and the driveway. We went skiing once this week. The last two or three days have been really cold with temperatures of -22 C at night. This should moderate next week. We have been working on creating a slide show in PowerPoint of our European trip last October. Next we will work on our London, England slide show. This last week I finished looking at the materials we photographed two years ago in Salt Lake City along with what I collected at the Allen County Public Library and also some items my wife collected in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I am also making a spreadsheet of Kip/Kipp deeds to Dutchess County New York from about 1726 to 1949.(FHL film). This weekend we looked after the two dogs Hogan and Jackson while their parents were busy. We also looked in on the two rabbits for a short time to make sure they had enough water and food. Sunday night was really cold with the temperature going down to -30 C. Walked 56.0 km.

Jan 24 to 30
This week started off cold but has warmed up considerably. I continue to volunteer at the book sorting group of the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada. I finished the spreadsheet on the Kip/Kipp deeds of Dutchess County, NY and posted it on my web site. We have been working on slide shows for our European, London, England and Canadian Maritime trips from last year. We are almost finished. Thursday we went skating on the Rideau Canal. The ice condition was good and we had a good skate. We have also been enjoying our new car and not having to worry if it is going to get us there and back again. Sunday we went cross country skiing. Walked 58.5 km.

In the January I have read the following books:
Pendulum: Leon Foucault and the Triumph of Science, by Amir D. Aczel. 2003;
Clothing The Colonists; Fashions in New Netherlands, by Friends of Crailo State Historic Site, 1995;
Our Young Soldier: Lieutenant Francis Simcoe 6 June 1791 - 6 April 1812, by Mary Beacock Fryer, 1996;
New York, by Edward Rutherfurd, 2009.

Dec 27 to 31

Another week which went quickly. We went cross country skiing once more this week. The snow keeps disappearing with no new snow in sight. It rained a bit on Friday and then the temperature went up to about 7 C and the snow started to disappear. I continue to add new sources and data to my Link and Kipp families. A number of cousins have contacted me with new information, which is great. The last day of the year we went out and bought a new car, which we have needed for awhile. Looking forward to driving it. As usual we watched the news years eve TV program in NYC, with Brian Seacrest. Walked 40.9 km for the week.

Dec 20 to 26

Having finished the two newsletters I have been working on, I am now back entering names into my Link family file from The Descendants of Rogers Williams Book III. Tuesday evening my wife and I went to a Christmas Concert put on by the Songmen Six, called Sing We Christmas. They also had opera singer Julie Nesrallah there. She sang three items including Ave Maria and Silent Night. This is the best version of Silent Night I have heard. She is the host of Tempo on CBC Radio 2 (Classical Music). We went cross country skiing a couple of times during the week. The day before Christmas we had the two dogs over for the day. They enjoy being out in our back yard. Christmas day we had our two daughters and son-in-law and the two dogs over for the day. We had a very nice turkey dinner with all of the fixings. Played a game or two and watched a bit of TV etc. Leftovers available for a few days. The weather has been rather good with some cloud and sun but no snow to speak of. Walked 55 km for the week.

Dec 13 to 19

Well we had more rain on Sunday followed by a freeze and then snow 5+ cm. Finally had enough snow to use my snow mover. It has been snow showering off and on all week. Tuesday I attended the monthly meeting of the Ottawa Branch Ontario Genealogical Society. We had our daughter and son-in-law and their two dogs over for dinner on Saturday. We put up our Xmas tree and decorated it. The Ottawa Genealogist has gone to the printer and so has The Royal Yorker. Sunday evening we have the two dogs over night while their parents celebrate their wedding anniversary. Sunday we
got out for our first cross country ski. Very good! I continue to add data to the Kip/Kipp family file and my Link family file. I am also working through one of the "Descendants of Roger Williams" books and adding all of my cousins to my Link file. The more names I have entered the better the possibility of finding other connections. I must be related to a very large number of people living in New England and also the other US states! Walked 58.5 km for the week.

Dec 6 to 12

Time seems to have gotten in the way this week. It just flew by. I have been working on the completion of The Ottawa Genealogist for Jan-Mar. I have also completed the December issue of The Royal Yorker. I am reading a book "George and Laura," by Christopher Anderson. Interesting read about my cousin! More rain and ice this week but not much snow. And all of this nice weather comes from our friend to the south. After it comes from Canada of course a week or so earlier and then in the meantime picks up all of that nice moisture from the mid west and the south and fires it back at Ontario and the East coast. On Monday my wife and I attended a Christmas reception for the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada. The money goes towards "Raise a Reader" program. Tuesday I attend the board meeting of the Ottawa Branch Ontario Genealogical Society. Saturday my wife and I attended the monthly BIFHSGO meeting. Walked 59 km for the week.

Nov 29 to Dec 5

This week has gone really fast. Tuesday I picked my wife up at the Ottawa airport. She had been away in Milwaukee visiting our oldest daughter. This week I have been working on the next issue of the Ottawa Genealogist. The Gene-O-Rama brochure has gone to the printer. I have also been working on converting my 8 mm home video tapes to digital format. This involves running the tape through the video camera and while watching it the signal from the camera goes through a converter device connected to a computer. The resulting digital file looks good. Monday evening a took my son-in-law to the Met Opera replay at Silver City. The opera was Das Rhinegold. We survived! Walked 55.9 km for the week.

November 22 to 28

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
We had some rain on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was sunny. Tuesday I was back at "work" sorting books for the Friends for the Library and Archives Canada Book Sale group. I have also been sorting through my e-mails and pulling out items for use in the next issue of The Ottawa Genealogist. I am also putting together the next Gene-O-Rama brochure for our conference April 1-2, 2011. I am also collecting items for the next issue of The Royal Yorker for the St. Lawrence Branch UELAC. Never a dull moment! I watched a couple of old Jack Benny TV issues I found on DVD. I used to watch that show when I was a kid. Kid, now that is a long time ago! It is still somewhat funny considering many things have changed in 50 years, including our views of humour. Also watched a video tape of the Opera "Das Rhinegold" by Richard Wagner.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Thursday I went to see the current Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part 1. I think this is the best one yet. Friday evening I went to Williamstown Ontario for a Christmas party at the Sir John Johnson Manor House Historic Site. The conversation was good and the food was good. All-together a good evening. The driving was good considering that we had had an ice, freezing rain and snow storm overnight on Thursday. Saturday and Sunday I spent some time watching TV and also watching and recording a couple of my Super 8mm home movie tapes into digital format. It was interesting to watch things from 1997/8. Now I need to do the other 40 tapes I have. This will take a few months. In my spare time I continued to work on the Gene-O-Rama brochure and registration form and The Ottawa Genealogist. Walked 49.3 km for the week.