Dec 21 to 27

Monday sun and cloud. Still cold, like -18 C at night. A couple of cm of snow Tuesday night. We have been recovering from the wedding and also working on Christmas shopping. Over the late evening of December 25th and all day December 26th and also into Sunday the 27th we received a bad ice and rain storm which came out of the mid west US. They blame Canada for US Storms but some of the worst ones we get come from the mid west US. Sunday it is about 2 C which means some of the ice is melting. The tree in our front yard is hanging quite low but is slowly looking better. I must get it trimmed this winter.

Thursday the three of us went for a short snow shoe hike, but with the ice, that and skiing are on hold until we get more snow.

With Christmas and Boxing day shopping we have not had any time to work on genealogy. I have lots to do so will try to get started again in January.

Walked 11.9, 12.7, 7.9, 11.6, 7.5, and 9.9 km

Dec 14 to 20

More snow this week, so more shovelling. Our small electric snow-blower does a fantastic job of moving snow. We have been rather busy getting prepared for the wedding of our youngest daughter on Dec 19th. I did manage to finish The Ottawa Genealogist and send it to the printer. Tuesday evening I attended the monthly meeting of the Ottawa Branch OGS. Three people presented their show and tell. Very interesting talks. The one that stood out was about the Heintzman family who manufactured pianos. Tuesday evening we picked up our oldest daughter at the airport. She is home for her sister's wedding and a few weeks break from teaching. Monday I purchased a new cross-country ski set for myself to replace the one that gave up last winter. We have also been working on a Christmas newsletter with some photos, which we will send out. Walked 8, 7, 9, 12 km

Friday
Today of course we had to have some home renovation going on. We had 5 windows replaced on a very cold day (16 C). Good thing they all faced south. This evening Elizabeth, Margaret and I worked on decorating the cakes and cupcakes for the wedding. It took all evening but they are all ready for Saturday.

Saturday
A very cold and crisp day today and sunny. This is the wedding day for our youngest daughter. We picked up the flowers in the morning and delivered them to the groom and bride. We then picked up the two dogs so we could look after them for a few hours and then deliver them to the wedding site, Beantown near Wendover, Ontario. By two in the afternoon, we had the van packed with our wedding cloths for the day and also return cloths for Sunday. The cakes and cupcakes were loaded. Had to removed one seat from the van. The dogs cages were loaded so we put the dogs in the car and headed east. We arrived at Beantown just before three delivered the dogs for pictures, then dropped off the cakes and then went just down the road to O Genet B & B to check in, drop off our cloths and get dressed for the wedding. A very nice place. The wedding took place between 5 and 5:30 pm. A very nice ceremony with lots of the grooms relatives present. We only had three on our side. The dinner we excellent, as was the slide show about Kathy and Rick. They then had a dance outside on the pond ice. Then the inside dancing started with a father daughter dance. We did quite well considering we had only practiced once for about 10 minutes. Dancing was not something we did a lot of! After that the party really got moving. The cake was cut about 10:30 and we headed for the B & B for the night. The party lasted until around 2 am. The whole thing was quite successful! Walked 5.9 km.

Sunday
This morning we woke up about 7:30, got dressed and read our e-mail. About 9 am we went upstairs for a very nice breakfast of eggs, bacon, meat pie and toast with homemade strawberry preserves. We also had juice, coffee and tea. I would recommend this B & B to others who are staying in the Wendover-Plantagenet area. We headed next door to Beantown to pick up the remaining cakes and flowers etc. We then headed home to Orleans arriving home around noon. We spent a few hours unpacking and relaxing before we headed off to Christ Church Cathedral for a service of Nine Lessons and Carols. Now we can work on getting ready for Christmas. Walked 9 km.

Dec 7 to 13

Monday
Snowed a bit last evening. I have not done any genealogy for a while now. Today I did a lot of revisions on the advertising brochure for our Gene-O-Rama genealogy conference next March. It needs to be printed this week and it will also go into The Ottawa Genealogist which I am working on. Walked 8.3 km.

Tuesday
Today we spent the afternoon cleaning out our bedroom closet. A job well done! This week I have started doing regular exercises inside, which include 20 minute sessions on the elliptical trainer, weight training and some basic Tae Bo. Not all on the same day of course at my age, but spread throughout the week. I finished the Gene-O-Rama brochure and sent it off to the printer. Now I just need to finish The Ottawa Genealogist. Walked 7.1 km.

Wednesday
Today we spent most of the day inside watching the snow storm pass through. We did go out early in the morning to do some shopping but got back without incident. Walked 6.4 km.

Thursday
Well today was the day to recover from the huge snow storm that passed through. We got winter all at once with who knows, perhaps 20 cm of snow. We cleared out the driveway and the back patio this morning. We spent an hour recording Elizabeth's DNA talk on our relatively new digital video camera. The resulting video was quite good. We used a tripod. Watched a lot of video today. We are watching issues of Stargate along with Lovejoy and an older British serial called Rumpole of the Bailey. we are nor sure about Rumpole yet!. We also watched a video titled "Contact" with Jody Foster and Matthew McConaughy. I think I have seen parts of it before but not the whole thing. Walked 5.3 km.

Friday
Some sun today but a bit cool because of a light wind. Didn't do anything spectacular today. Spent several hours working on the Census references for my Ontario Kipp Family genealogy. We watched issues of Stargate, Lovejoy and Rumpole of the Bailey. Walked 8.1 km.

Saturday and Sunday
Received about 5 cm of snow Sunday. Cleared it away in the evening. We spent the afternoon dusting and housecleaning in preparation for our daughter arriving and also for the Christmas season. We watched issues of Stargate, Lovejoy and Rumpole of the Bailey. Walked 7.4, 4.9 km.

Dec 1 to 6

Tuesday to Sunday
This has been a week of recovering from our trip west to Milwaukee. The round trip took us through 3,557 km, including twice through Chicago. We have been working on cataloguing and rearranging our books. As well, we have been shopping almost every day. I have not had time to work on genealogy for about a week. For the next week I will be busy finishing off The Ottawa Genealogist which is the journal of the Ottawa Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society. I am also finishing the brochure for our genealogy conference called GENE-O-RAMA which takes place in Ottawa on March 26-27, 2010. In about a week we are getting new windows installed, followed by a wedding in
the family. Saturday I put up some outdoor Christmas lights. Biked 9.6 km. Walked 7.9, 11.8, 8.6, 6.8, 8.8, 6 km.

Nov 23 to 30

Monday
Cloudy and hazy today in Milwaukee. We drove into downtown Milwaukee to visit The Domes at Mitchell Park. They are also referred to as the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory. The three domes include a Tropical area, a Desert area and a Show area with changing exhibits. The Show area was set up for Christmas. We took about two hours to wander through the Domes and view the many types of plants. We saw the largest Jade plants we had ever seen and they were all in flower. I managed to keep a jade plant growing at home for over 30 years and it never flowered. It finally died from a rotted stem probably from over watering. After that we found our way over to Marquette University where we had a look at the historic 15th Century French Chapel which was moved first to Long Island and then to Milwaukee and reconstructed. The Chapel is dedicated to St. Joan of Arc. This is a very worthwhile item to see. We then visited the Haggerty Museum of Art on the Campus. We took a quick walk in downtown Milwaukee to see briefly the Milwaukee Public Library. I also took a picture of the statue to George Washington which stands in the middle of the road near the library. They also have a large Civil War monument in the same area. Worked for a couple of hours on the census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. Walked 10.4 km.

Tuesday
Cloudy today with rain in the afternoon. We spent the day shopping around Milwaukee. The shopping centers are not really that exciting. However, we did find one really good shopping center called Bayshore located a I-43 and Silver Springs Dr. in Glendale. Worked for a couple of hours on the census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. Walked 7.4 km.

Wednesday
Cloudy with some rain today. We decided to visit the Milwaukee Public Museum. In the lobby we found the Hebior Mammoth which was uncovered in Wisconsin. We had time to visit the first floor exhibits: Streets of Milwaukee, European Village and the Butterfly Garden, with a quick glance at the Rain Forest exhibit. We also had tickets for the Daniel M Soref Planetarium and Humphrey IMAX, where we saw the film "Ice World" and also a brief talk on the night sky around Milwaukee. We bought a few things in the Museum store. So in one afternoon we barley scratched the surface of this museum because we did not finish the first floor and there are two more floors beyond that. This is a good museum to visit. We saved a few minutes of light outside to walk a couple of blocks to see the front of the Milwaukee Public Library which takes up a full block. Worked for a couple of hours on the census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. Walked 6.2 km.

Thursday
Thanksgiving day in the US. The day was cloudy with a few patches of sun and wind. We went for a walk in Lake Park alongside Lake Michigan. The rest of the day we stayed in and had our thanksgiving dinner and watched a couple of videos. Worked for several of hours on the census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. Walked 6.4 km.

Friday
The day was clear with sun. We headed off across Wisconsin to visit Madison, their capitol. There was hardly anyone there because of the Thanksgiving day holiday. However, we did see Lakes Monona and Mendota. The Capitol building was open, so after a lunch at Subway just across the street, we had a guided tour of the Capitol building. We then did a quick driving tour of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. This is one huge university campus. Very nice. Back in Milwaukee after dark, we went shopping at the Pick and Save before retiring for the night. Walked 8 km.

Saturday
The day was very nice with lots of sun and it was quite warm in the sun. We helped our daughter take some books into her office at the University in the morning. After lunch we went to visit the North Point Lighthouse, which is an old Milwaukee lighthouse that has been restored. This was followed by a long walk in Lake Park and down to the beach on Lake Michigan where we dipped our digits in the water. Cold! We then headed back to the apartment for a brief stop. Our daughter and I then went to visit the Man at Work Collection at the Grohmann Museum on North Broadway. This museum is part of the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The displays in this museum are excellent with paintings and sculptures dealing with the working man. The displays dealt with: Iron and Steel, Agriculture and Construction, and Physicians, Quacks and Alchemists. For supper we drove out to the Cheescake Factory at the Bayshore Shopping plaza off of Silver Spring Road. Great meal as usual but too much. Walked 10.4 km.

Sunday
The day started off cloudy with rain. Headed home to Ottawa from Milwaukee, starting out about 8 am. We had foggy and rainy weather all of the way to London, Ontario where we stopped overnight since the whole trip takes about two days. We managed to get through Chicago again. Walked 3.5 km

Monday
We had a short snow shower first thing in the morning in London and then the rest of the drive home to Ottawa was great. We had a combination of sun and cloud all the way. The traffic was quite reasonable for a change, even in Toronto. We arrived home about 4 pm before dark. Walked 5.4 km.

Nov 16-22

Monday to Thursday
Sunny but cool. We have spent most of our time rearranging things in our house. Rain Friday evening. Worked for several hours on the census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. Walked 12.3, 10.8, 5.5, 12.2km. Biked 10.1 km. This was probably the last bike ride before winter.

Friday
Headed off about 7:30 am from Ottawa driving west towards Milwaukee, Wisconsin to visit our daughter. We took the 416 then the 401 and finally 402 to arrive at the Sarnia/Port Huron boarder crossing about 5 pm. The rest of the drive to Lansing, Michigan for the evening took about 2 and a half hours. Had a nice dinner at Denny's. Walked 5.9 km.

Saturday
The day started off foggy in Lansing, Michigan. As we travelled west and south towards Indiana the weather improved. We travelled around the end of Lake Michigan and took the Chicago Skyway through Chicago. We saw the "old" Sears tower pass by and then headed north to Milwaukee. Chicago was very smoggy, you could smell the air! Arrived in Milwaukee about 2:30 pm CT. Milwaukee has very unusual street parking regulations. Have a look at their web site. Went grocery shopping and took a late afternoon walk along Lake Michigan before retiring for the evening. Worked for several hours on the census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. Walked 7.7 km.

Sunday
The day started off Sunny over Lake Michigan. Just before noon we took off on a drive into the north sections of Milwaukee and then out into the north country. Some of the "big" houses in Shorewood, Whitefish Bay and Fox Point are fantastic huge houses. They almost look like castles and must be worth several million each. We stopped for a Subway lunch at Saukyville and then headed further north to Sheboygen where we stopped at the water front for a break. The wind was blowing from the east and the waves were up. By this time it was mid afternoon so we headed back to Milwaukee. After a stop at the apartment we drove over to Lake Park which was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, who also designed Central Park in New York City and Eisenhower Park in Nassau County Long Island. We have visited all three parks. Central Park is still the best.
We walked for about an hour in Lake Park and viewed a statue of Brig Gen Erastus B Wolcott, Surgeon General of Wisconsin during the Civil War. We then saw the North Point Lighthouse built about 1855. Further along on our walk we saw the very ornate North Point Watertower built in 1873. We then returned to the car to go home for dinner. Worked for several hours on the census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. Walked 6.0 km.

Nov 9-15

Monday
Sunny and warm today. Did a bit more on final yard cleanup. Next week I plan to put up my two short lengths of snow fence. We practiced our dance steps today. Our final dance lesson is on Wednesday. We think we might go on to level two of ballroom dancing. Did some more work on the Census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. This is a slow but rewarding process. I do plan to update my Kip Family in America file but need to do a bit more work. Because of the new information I have added over the past year I will have to reduce the number of generations I put up because I am adding data on living people. Walked 11.3 km.

Tuesday
Sunny again today and warm. Worked for several hours on the census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. Had the dogs over for a few hours in the evening while their masters were out. Biked 10.7 km. Walked 6.9 km.

Wednesday
Sunny again but a bit cooler. We went down to the cenotaph in Ottawa for the Remembrance Day Service. We usually watch on TV but the Prince of Wales and Dutchess of Cornwall were there today. A very large crowd attended. The weather was great and the service excellent. My two uncles served in WW I and returned. One of my cousins was almost set to go overseas when WW II ended. We went to our last dance class for Ballroom Dancing 1. I feel that we accomplished something. I can now do the basics for three dances (rumba, fox trot and waltz) and need a lot of practice on two more triple swing and cha-cha). Walked 8.7

Thursday & Friday
Sunny both days but cool. Thursday we spent the day shopping and running errands. Friday was taken up with yard work, putting you my two short lengths of snow fence, cleaning eves trough, and unpacking a couple of purchases that need to be put together. We also rearranged some of our curtains and put up one new curtain rod. Biked 10 km. Walked 11 km and 8.6 km.

Saturday
Cloudy with some rain today. Practiced our dancing today. The classes are over but we will practice a couple of times a week to ingrain the basic steps. Worked for several hours on the census references for my Canadian Kipp family genealogy. Walked 7.4

Sunday
The day started wet and foggy. Rained a bit. The day went too fast. I did get to an afternoon tea for members of the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada. Had a chat with a few people and munched some great snacks. At home we had our daughter and fiancee and their two dogs over for supper. Cranberry brie to start, salad, spaghetti and meatballs, and garlic bread. We were full after! Walked 5.1 km.

Nov 2 to 8

Monday

Sun and cloud today. Worked part of the day getting ready for our research trip to the State Library and Archives in Albany, New York. Watched some Lovejoy and Waiting for God. We went to a Monday dance session to make up for missing our Wednesday session. Different instructor and different techniques. Walked 13.2 km

Tuesday

Headed off to Albany, New York, today to attend a New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYGBS) Research session, three days searching in the NY State Library and Archives. We prepared a spreadsheet of items to look at from their online catalogue. We had about 100 items. Plus there should be consultations with the NYGBS staff experts. We took the Hill Island bridge from the 401 and I-81 to Syracuse and then I-90 to Albany. Took about 7 hours with several stops. We stopped at Cicero, New York (Exit 30) for a buffet turkey dinner at the Plainville Farms Restaurant. A great meal if you are ever travelling that way. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel about two blocks from the Capitol Building and about the same from the Empire State Plaza where the NY State Library and Archives are located. There was some rain in the morning but it cleared for a while and then sort of clouded in later. We arrived in Albany just before dark. Walked about 5 km.

Wednesday

A clear day, partly sunny in Albany, NY. Spent from about 8:30 am to 5:00 pm in the State Library and Archives. Took a break about 1 pm for lunch and had a walk in the concourse under the Empire State Plaza. We took about 427 pictures of document pages today which we transferred to our computers. Cleared off the Memory cards and recharged the Camera batteries. At the reference desk today I met someone I know from the Palatines to America, New York Chapter. A bit of a surprise for both of us. We attended the NYGBS research group banquet this evening. We had Stuffed chicken breasts with apple pie for desert. The speaker was Bernard Margolis the new NY State Librarian. Previously he was the president of the Boston Public Library. We had seen and met him before when we were researching at the NEHGS in Boston. His talk title was "Born April 21, 1818". The date refers to the NY legislature and the date it approved the setting up of a state library. Walked 7.7 km.

Thursday

The day started off with some light cloud. The precipitation started about 5:30 in the afternoon after we got back to our hotel. Lunch was at Subway today. We had a very busy day at the NY State Library. Elizabeth and I took about 1189 images of document pages. The camera batteries really needed charging! Went to a wine and cheese for the research group. If we had any snow in Albany we didn't see it! Walked 6.8 km.

Friday

A day with alternating sun and cloud. We headed off to the State Library for 9 am opening. The two of us took over 900 page images today. It is good we are not staying longer or we would attempt to photograph the whole library collection! . Lunch at Subway again. Had dinner at Kelsey's in the hotel. Walked 6.2 km.

Saturday

The day started off sunny in Albany, NY. We had a short walk in downtown Albany and out to the Hudson River before leaving for home. The drive home was uneventful and we arrived home about 4:50 in the afternoon, just before dark. We stopped at Plainville Farms restaurant for a turkey dinner at lunch time. Good meal as usual. Walked 6.9 km.

Sunday

Sunny today and warmer. A good to do the final yard cleanup. Went to Christ Church Cathedral this morning for their Remembrance Day Service. Went for a bike ride this afternoon. Biked 9.7 km. Walked 6.2 km.

Oct 26 to Nov 1

Monday

A little sun but mostly cloud. Cool. Worked on the Canadian Census to update sources on my Canadian Kipp file. Went and got my regular flue shot, only for those over 65 at the moment. Watched some MASH and Lovejoy. Biked 9.7 km. Walked 6.3 km.

Tuesday

Cloudy cool. Took one of the cars in for a checkup. Brought in the solar garden lights and turned off the last outside water tap. Worked on the Canadian Census to update sources on my Canadian Kipp file. Watched a DVD I purchased at the Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. It was about 4 hours long, but it gave an excellent overview of the Kennedys. Walked 7 km.

Wednesday

Cloudy today. A bit of rain in the afternoon. Went shopping at the Bulk Barn today. Did some more yard work to clean up leaves and dead plants. Practiced dancing and then went to our dancing lesson. We reviewed the Waltz and did some practicing with music. We did well! We then had an introduction to the Cha-Cha. A bit confusing but we did well on this also. We are noticing that other couples are not picking things up very quickly. No one ever taught me to dance until now! To bad! Besides doing things as a couple it is also good exercise. Did some work on my Kip family files tonight, with the purpose of updating my web pages. Walked 7.9 km.

Thursday & Friday

Mostly cloudy with a touch of sun. Did some more work on my Kip family files tonight. Cut up and cooked a whole pumpkin. This gave us a very nice pumpkin pie and five bags of pumpkin to freeze for use during the winter. Watched some MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Walked 7.5 and 7.6 km.

Saturday

Rain today with clearing in the late afternoon. Spent a couple of hours taking down some old blinds in the living room and installing a new curtain rod and curtains. It looks very nice. Practiced our dancing: rumba, fox trot, waltz, triple swing and cha-cha. This is a good work out. I like ABBA for their music but we are finding their music is good for dancing. The rain and wind today has taken down most of the leaves, so tomorrow is a raking day. Watched some MASH and LovejoyWalked 7.8 km.

Sunday

Sunny with cloud today. Spent a couple of hours in the morning raking leaves. This is the last major cleanup for the fall season. Biked 9.7 km. Walked 6.9 km.

Oct19 to 25

Monday
Some sun today and warmer. Worked on the Ottawa Branch News. Went to visit our daughters dogs in the afternoon. Practiced our dancing. Walked 13.3 km

Tuesday & Wednesday
Warmer today with a bit of sun. Worked on filling the cracks in the driveway pavement. Worked on the Ottawa Branch News. Went to visit our daughter's dogs in the afternoon. Went to our dance lesson on Wednesday. Started on the Waltz. Lots of fun! Walked 9 & 6 km.

Thursday
Rain today. Went to the City of Ottawa Archives this morning for a lesson on cataloguing the OGS Branch Library with the Dewey Decimal system. Sent the Ottawa Branch News to the printer. Went to visit our daughter's dogs in the afternoon. Watched some MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Walked 7 km.

Friday
Cool today some sun. Went to the groundbreaking ceremony for the new City of Ottawa Library and Archives facility near Centrepointe. The weather was better than last year about the same time, no wind. Went to visit our daughter's dogs in the afternoon.

Saturday
Rain overnight & today. Practiced our dancing. Worked on the Canadian Census to update sources on my Canadian Kipp file. Watched Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Pedometer reset itself so I lost the track of my steps taken!

Sunday
Some sun today. Worked on the Canadian Census to update sources on my Canadian Kipp file. Visited the place where our daughter is getting married in December. It will be a wedding out in the country. Nice place. Came home and did about two hours of yard work in order to get the recycling out to the curb by Monday morning. Had our daughter and fiancee and two dogs over for supper. Walked 9 km.

Oct 12 to 18

Monday
Some sun and cool. Spent most of the afternoon raking leaves, cutting the grass and applying dolomite to the lawn to counteract acidity. Very tired after that. Watched some MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Practiced dancing. Walked 6.7 km.

Tuesday
Rain over night, cool, a bit of sun late afternoon. Housecleaning today. Practiced dancing. Walked 8 km.

Wednesday
Cold today. Spent time searching the US and Canadian Census records for my Canadian Kipp family file. Went for a bike ride (cold). Our daughter came over with the dogs and spent a couple of hours with us. Watched some MASH. Went to our dance class tonight. Practiced the Rumba and Fox Trot and then they started us on the Triple Swing. Biked 9.5 km. Walked 6.5 km.

Thursday
Had a frost overnight. Cold and sunny. Started cleaning up the gardens as the frost killed a lot of the annuals. Leaves were falling like crazy this morning when the sun came up. Practiced dancing this afternoon. We are getting good at the Rumba. We are not bad at the Fox Trot but need help on making turns. We had the dogs tonight for a couple of hours while our daughter and her fiancee went out for supper. Watched a couple of issues of MASH. Walked 3.7 km.

Friday
Cool but sunny today, frost. We went to the City of Ottawa Archives today to help the Ottawa Branch OGS sort through their reference section to weed out old and not relevant items. After that we scanned a number of images from a microfiche into digital format. This makes the old documents easier to read because on the computer you can zoom in and change the contrast etc. After that we went out to Montana's for lunch then did some grocery shopping. At home again I vacuumed the cars and put a few things away in the storage shed for the winter. Walked 7.7 km.

Saturday
Cool but sunny today, frost. We went to the BIFHSGO monthly meeting today to listen to the speaker, Lady Teviot from England. She gave a very good general talk entitled: I Never Thought of That - A Second Look at Problems. After that we came home and I did some gardening. I spent some more time on Ancestry.com searching the Census for my Canadian Kipp file. I have finished with the third generation for now and will move on to the 4th generation soon. This search is rewarding but slow. It is really difficult to find people on the census for many reasons not the least of which is transcription error. Sometimes they just disappear for a ten year period! Practised our dancing lessons, Rumba, Fox Trot and Triple Swing. We then watched some more Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Walked 9 km.

Sunday
Cool but sunny today, frost. Went to church this morning. Afternoon, I did some more cleanup in the garden. The frosts over the last few days have done their work. Went for a bike ride in the sun. Starting working on my Ottawa Branch News again. It has to go to the printer by Friday. Biked 11 km. Walked 6.2 km.

Oct 5 to 11

Monday
Got up about 5 am, early enough to have breakfast and get to St. Laurant Plaza to catch the Queensway Tour Bus. Our daughter drove us there. We were headed for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Boston and Plymouth, MA. The weather was mixed with a lot of cloud, a bit of rain and some sun. No problem crossing the border at Ivy Lea. We arrived in South Yarmouth, MA about 5:30 pm. We had time to look over our room and walk around the hotel several times. At
6:45 we headed off on the bus to a local restaurant for supper. The bus and driver were from Healey Bus Lines of Smith Falls. I had seen him before twice when we used Healey for a couple of bus tours we helped organize in 2005 and 2007. He remembered me. Supper was at the Riverway Restaurant in South Yarmouth, MA. We both had poached salmon. The dessert was tapioca pudding, which I hadn't had for years. Tasted OK but not a super meal. Walked 6.9 km.

Tuesday
Got up about 6 am. Breakfast at 7:15. On the bus by 8:10. This was the day we went to Hyanis, Cape Cod to catch the Hi-Line ferry to Martha's Vineyard. The trip is about 1 hr and 45 minutes each way. Arrived at Oak Bluffs about 11 am. We then took a bus tour down island to see some of the sights and stopped in Edgartown for lunch and a brief shopping session. Lots of tour buses around at this time of year. The weather was breezy in the morning on the boat but we stayed up top. On the island it was quite warm. We had a take out lunch at the Quarterdeck so that
we would have time to look around the town and also look in the stores. Nice place but it must really be busy in the summer months. Got back to Hyanis about 5:45 and then stopped at a liquor store. Out to Christopher's Restaurant for supper. We had chicken francaise. Good! Much better meal than Monday. The entertainment was great. Two guys singing and playing piano, guitar and fiddle. Walked 9.2 km.

Wednesday
Not a good day for weather on Cape Cod. It started raining about 5 am and didn't stop until about noon. The winds were high enough to cancel all whale watching tours from Provincetown, MA. So we toured in Hyanis to St. Francis Xavier Church, the Vietnam Memorial and the Kennedy Memorial. We then travelled up the Cape to the Cape Cod National Seashore Park where we visited the interpretation center. Then we saw Naussett Lighthouse and went down
to the beach. The waves were really rolling in. Then off to Eastham to see the windmill in the rain. We then travelled to Provincetown where we spent the rest of the day. Had a lobster roll for lunch. Very good. Did some shopping. Walked up the Pilgrim Monument, all 168 steps to the top. I really don't like heights. After that we had a ride in the dunes around Provincetown. Interesting ride. Would rather have seen whales. At night we had supper at Michael Shays. I had stuffed pork chop. Nice dessert of chocolate covered ice cream. Much better meal and nicer
atmosphere! Walked 11.9 km.

Thursday
Sunny and mostly clear today. After breakfast we headed off to Boston by the Sagamore Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal. Took a bit longer because of construction. In Boston we first visited the J. F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. It was very well done and it is really worth visiting. Next we headed of to the Back Bay area of Boston for a brief tour and then over to the Charlestown Navy Yard to visit the USS Constitution and museum. We were then dropped off at Quincy Market for 1 1/2 hours. I chose to walk back along the Freedom Trail towards the State
House where I wanted to take some pictures of the statues. I also stopped at the Old Burying Ground to take photos of Winthrop and Dyer tombstones. We were back on the bus by 3:00 pm and we then headed south towards Plymouth to see Plymouth Rock and The Pilgrim Monument. Lots of other things to see there as well. We had about 45 minutes to wander around. Back at South Yarmouth about 6:00 pm where we stopped for a lobster supper at the Lobster Boat
Restaurant. Great meal! Walked 12.1 km.

Friday
Headed home on the bus. Bags out by 7:00 am. Breakfast at 7:00 am. On the bus by 8:00 am. No incidents and the Canadian Customs was fast. We were home by 7:15 pm. Walked 6 km.

Saturday
Sunny but cool today. Rain overnight. Today I went golfing for the first time in about 20 years. It was the day for the Bachelor party for my future son-in-law. We went to the Champlain course in Aylmer, Quebec. The wind was cold and the course was soaking wet. Didn't do too badly hitting the ball! They had a BBQ after. One spot of turf on the golf course was so wet that it looked like a wavy water bed when someone stepped on it. I didn't stay for the evening session. Raked some of the leaves from our trees. Will do more of that on Monday. Walked 14 km.

Sunday
Sunny but cool today. We are having our Thanksgiving dinner today with one of daughters and her fiancee and their two dogs. Our other daughter is away in the US. Walked 5.3 km

Sept 28 to Oct 4

Monday
Rainy today. Watched more MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Worked on the Canadian Census today for several hours for my Canadian Kipp Family. Did some more house cleaning and cataloging of books. Walked 8.4 km.

Tuesday
Rainy with some clearing later in the afternoon. Worked on the Canadian Census today for several hours for my Canadian Kipp Family. Did some more house cleaning and cataloging of books. Watched more MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Practiced dancing the rumba. The rain and wind have caused our Locust tree to drop most of its leaves in about three days. Biked 9.6 KM. Walked 7.0 km.

Wednesday
Cloudy and windy with a bit of sun today. Some brief rain showers. We went to the City of Ottawa Archives today to help the Ottawa Branch OGS do some weeding of their bookshelves. After that we took a short walk around Rideau Falls. Also did some scanning of Microfiche images into digital images. Did some gardening and yard work. It is getting cold, so time to clean up. Went to dancing class tonight. Reviewed the rumba and started on the basic steps in the Fox Trot. We are doing well. Watched more MASH and Waiting for God. Worked on the Canadian Census today for my Canadian Kipp Family. Walked 7.7 km.

Thursday
Cloudy with rain showers. Watched more MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Worked on the Canadian Census today for my Canadian Kipp Family. Walked 10.0 km.

Friday
Cloudy with a tiny bit of sun today. We went shopping in the downtown market area of Ottawa today. Also went shopping at Place d'Orleans in the evening. In the late afternoon I went to the driving range with my future son-in-law. Wanted to see if I could hit the ball. Not bad! Watched more Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Biked 13.3 km. Walked 13.7 km.

Saturday
Cloudy with sun today. Watched more MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Practiced dancing the rumba and the Fox Trot. Worked on the Canadian Census today for my Canadian Kipp Family. Did some more cataloging of books. Walked 6.4 km

Sunday
Cloudy rain shower. Watched more MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Practiced dancing the Rumba and the Fox Trot. Worked on the Canadian Census today for my Canadian Kipp Family. Walked 5 km.

Sept 21 to 27

Monday
Went to the dentist today. Finished watching JAG Season 10. Watched some videos: MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Walked 7.9 km.

Tuesday
Did some more house cleaning today. Went to the Family History Library today for several hours of searching microfilms. Watched some videos: MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Walked 5.4 km.

Wednesday
Rained today. Supposed to get roof shingles replaced, delayed by rain. My wife catalogued more books. Watched some videos: MASH, Lovejoy and Waiting for God. Went to our first class of Ballroom Dancing tonight. We made it through the first hour. A good experience and I learned something. Now we need to practice. Walked 6.9 km.

Thursday
Sun and cloud. Watched more MASH and Waiting for God. Practiced our dance steps in the evening. Biked 9.6 km. Walked 7.7 km.

Friday
Sunny today. They finally came and replaced the roof shingles today. Watched more MASH and Waiting for God. We were out for supper and visiting friends. Walked 9.5 km.

Saturday
Sun and cloud. Did some more cleaning today and cataloguing books etc. We got up early and went on a bird watching trip with the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club. We have been members for years but have not attended many events. It was fun and we will try to do it again. We went out to Montana's for lunch. Watched more MASH and Waiting for God. Walked 10.6 km.

Sunday
Rainy today. Did some more cleaning today and cataloguing books etc. Had a Gene-O-Rama meeting at our house this afternoon. This is the genealogy conference the OGS Ottawa Branch holds each year in March. We are changing our location in 2010 to the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. Out for supper at our daughters place. Practised our dance steps.Walked 5.8 km

Sept 14 to 20

Monday
Fog at the start of our morning trip. Started off early in the morning and drove home to Ottawa via the 401. The traffic in Toronto was heavy but not bad. We stopped for an hour to have a quick look at some records in the United Church Archives in Toronto. Didn't find what we were looking for. Arrived home about 6:30 pm. Watched the first issue of JAG season 10. Walked 7.3 km.

Tuesday
Cloudy this morning. Some sun in the afternoon but cool. Went to the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada (FLAC) to sort books. A slow day with most of it spent planning for the book sale this weekend. Watched some JAG Season 10. Walked 8.3 km.

Wednesday
Cloudy this morning. Some sun in the afternoon but cool. Spent about 4 hours in the evening supervising the loading of the FLAC books onto a huge truck for the book sale. When we finished the truck was packed from stem to stern with about 25,000 books and miscellaneous gear. Biked 11.5 km. Walked 8.2 km.

Thursday
Cloudy this morning. Some sun in the afternoon but cool. Watched more JAG Season 10. Walked 10.5

Friday
Cloudy this morning. Some sun in the afternoon but cool. Went to the St. Laurent Shopping Center to look over the books at the book sale. We bought two. Watched more JAG Season 10. Walked 4.0 km.

Saturday
Sunny today. Spent the morning reading e-mail and updating the Sir Guy Carleton UELAC web page. In the early afternoon we cleaned some more cupboards in the kitchen. Later in the afternoon we met some friends and we all headed off to Long Sault on the St. Lawrence River for the Charter Night Dinner of the St. Lawrence Branch of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada. Excellent dinner. The speaker was great: Marc Jodoin, author of The Shadow Soldiers. Walked 5.3 km.

Sunday
Fog this morning. Sunny later on. We headed off to the BIFHSGO Conference (genealogy) at the Library and Archives Canada building about 7:50 a.m. Had a slight delay getting there because some of the Ottawa streets were blocked for the Terry Fox run etc. I had volunteered to work on the Ottawa Branch OGS marketplace table for the morning. My wife was giving a presentation on DNA Case Studies at the conference. We had lunch together and then headed
home. Watched some more JAG Season 10. Biked 11.5 km. Walked 5.8 km.

Sept 7 to 13

Monday
Sunny today after a cloudy start. We did some house cleaning on the kitchen cupboards. Watched some JAG Season 9. Walked 8.6 km.

Tuesday
Sunny and warm today after a cloudy start. We did some more house cleaning on the kitchen cupboards. Froze more tomatoes. This has been as really good year for them. Watched more JAG Season 9. Walked 9.3 km.

Wednesday
Sunny today. Watched more JAG Season 9. Biked 13.7 km. Walked 6.4 km.

Thursday
Sunny today. Watered a bit of the lawn today because it was drying out badly. Helped my wife make a pound cake. Packed for the trip to the Schultz family reunion in my home town of Princeton, Ontario. Watched more JAG Season 9. Walked 10.0 km.

Friday
A travel day to Brantford, Ontario where we were staying for the weekend. We left Ottawa early so that we could spend several hours at the Archives of Ontario in Toronto. We wanted to do some searching in the Ontario District Marriage Registers. Didn't find what we were looking for. Walked 6.6 km

Saturday
Sunny today. Drove to Princeton from Brantford to visit the local cemetery. We placed a pot of fall mums on my mothers grave and also one on the graves of my grandparents and great-grandparents. After that we drove through the country side. We stopped at St. John's Anglican Church at Eastwood, and then Woodbury where my grandfather Link lived and my mother also. Back in Brantford we had a lite lunch and then visited the (Alexander Graham) Bell Homestead at Tutela Heights. In the evening we visited with a cousin David Kipp. We went out for supper to a small Italian restaurant "Juliana," which was very good and had a nice conversation afterwards. Walked 8.8 km.

Sunday
The day started off cloudy in spite of the forecast. The sun came out about 2 p.m. We went to my Schultz reunion in Princeton, Ontario. We had a really good pot luck lunch. This was followed by a business meeting. My wife and I are the President and vice for the reunion next year 2010. It will be held in Princeton again. I presented my findings on my Schultz and Nieman ancestors. I think the family was quite surprised that we had taken our ancestry back about three generations into the German records. Previously we only knew the names and birth and death dates of my great grandparents William Schultz and Frederika Nieman and the fact that they had come from Germany. We stayed all afternoon and left about 6:30 after a second round at the remaining pot luck dishes. About 22 family members attended. After we got back to Brantford we went for a walk. We then watched the last of JAG Season 9. We also watched the TV presentation Wolfe and Montcalm The Battle for Quebec on the History Channel. Very good! Walked 6.4 km.

Aug 31 to Sept 6

Monday
A sunny day. We decided to start dusting the house today. Watched a movie "Charlotte Gray." Excellent movie about the Second World War. Started to read a book about Mercator. Biked 12.6 km. Walked 8.9 km.

Tuesday
Sunny today. This was my day to volunteer at the book sorting facility of the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada. We spent most of our time organizing things for the book sale. The Annual Book Sale is set for Sept. 18, 19 and 20 at the St. Laurent Shopping Centre in Ottawa. In the evening I attended the executive meeting of the Ottawa Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society as Editor of the Ottawa Branch News. This is my 8th year as editor. Walked about 8.1 km.

Wednesday
Drove my wife to the Family History Library to spend several hours on some English parish records. Meanwhile, I picked up our vacuum at Sears, stopped by the Services Canada office to give them my passport renewal stuff and ran a few more errands. In the afternoon we went for a bike ride. The weather is warmer today and sunny. Watched JAG Season 8. Biked 15 km. Walked about 5.1 km.

Thursday
Sunny and warm today. This was our 43rd anniversary. We went to downtown Ottawa and had a nice lunch at the FreshMarket in the Rideau Centre and also did some window shopping. Got back to the images I took at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I plan to get through all of these before I update the Kip file on my web site. Watched more JAG Season 8. Walked 11.5 km.

Friday
Sunny today and warm. Watched more JAG Season 8. Froze more tomatoes from the garden. Biked 14.3 km. Walked 7.1 km.

Saturday
Sunny again today but a bit cooler. Watched more JAG Season 8. We worked on my Schultz and Nieman genealogy in preparation for a Schultz family reunion. Finished formatting all of my remaining 3 1/2" diskettes (about 150). I did about 300 last year. They and some old software diskettes will all go out in the trash this fall. The next thing to do is weed the old software DVD's which are not longer useful. Walked 8.6 km.

Sunday
Sunny and cooler today. We went for a 17.3 km bike ride this morning. Watched the last of JAG season 8. The last issue was a cliff hanger. Did some more work on the images I collected at the FHL Salt Lake City. We had our daughter and her fiancee and their two dogs over for supper. Walked 5.5 km.

Aug 24 to 30

Monday
Started watching Season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small.Biked 10.5 km. Walked 6.9 km.

Tuesday
My wife and I made a batch of Fruit Chili Sauce today. We have lots of tomatoes this year due to the excessive rain in June and July. The recipe is one that my grandmother Kipp used to make and my mother made it as well. It is an excellent product. Watched more of Season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small. Walked 11 km.

Wednesday
Much cooler today. My wife and I made a second batch of Fruit Chili Sauce today. Watched more of Season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small. Walked 8 km.

Thursday
Sunnay and cool today. Did some gardening and shopping today. Finished watching Season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small. Biked 12.6 km. Walked 9.2 km.

Friday
Pickled some beets and froze some tomatoes today. Watched a movie "88 Minutes." Kind of scary.Watched more JAG season 7. Biked 12.1 km. Walked 6.2 km.

Saturday
A wet and cool day. Did some shopping today. We worked on my Schultz and Neiman genealogy in preparation for a Schultz family reunion in September. Watched more JAG Season 7. Walked 6.4 km.

Sunday
A cloudy day. Went to church today. We worked on my Schultz and Neiman genealogy in preparation for a Schultz family reunion in September. Watched more JAG Season 7. Biked 12.6 km. Walked 3.1 km.

Aug 17 to 23

Monday
Watched a movie, "Knowing" with Nicholas Cage. Biblical references are very strong. Walked 7.6 km.

Tuesday
Finished watching Season 7 of JAG. The last for issues were all about Afghanistan. Walked 5.1 km.

Wednesday
Went canoeing today at Petrie Island, east of Ottawa. The weather was good in the morning. Watched a movie, "Archangel" with Daniel Craig. Walked 6.4 km.

Thursday
Weather cloudy and a bit of rain. The morning started off cool. Had a brief thunderstorm overnight. Fortunately Ottawa did not receive the bad weather that had passed over Southern Ontario. Biked 11.6 km today. Walked 3.9 km.

Friday
Got up at 5:15 this morning to take our oldest daughter to the airport. Way too early but a good morning. We waited until she was through US Customs and then headed home to get ready for the party tonight. We are having a small engagement party for our youngest daughter. Home by about 10 p.m. Zonked! Went for a bike ride of 12 km. Walked 6.3 km.

Saturday
Still humid today. Spent the day setting up a new desktop computer for my wife. This is her first new desktop. Biked 12.6 km. Walked 5.1 km.

Sunday
Today my wife and I spent about four hours with our daughter and her fiancee and their two dogs learning how to control them and their barking. This was a company called Bark Busters. The guy was good. His technique worked on both dogs. Now we have to practice daily until it becomes second nature to us. So now we are trained!! Watched a couple of issues of All Creatures Great and Small Season 4. This was not a good week for genealogy. Walked 7.5 km.

Aug 10 to 16

Monday
Very hot and humid today. Didn't do much except go to the post office. I spent part of the afternoon working on the images taken last week for my Schultz and Neumann families. It is looking good. I need to order the Parish register film for Warlin next. Biked 14 km. Walked 4.5 km.

Tuesday
Very hot and humid today. Did a bit of work on my genealogy. Walked 4.6km.

Wednesday
Hot and humid today. Went canoeing this morning for about 2 hours at Petrie Island. Good trip. Worked on the Canadian Census on my Link family. Sent my Ottawa Branch News off to the printer. Watched a couple of issues of JAG Season 7. Walked 5.1 km.

Thursday
Very hot (30 deg C) today and humid. Did a couple of hours of gardening this morning. Stayed in this afternoon and finished watching All Creatures Great and Small Season 3. Drove my wife to the Family History Library to look at Microfilm. Did some searching of the 1861 Canadian Census to fill in sources for my Kipp and Link families. Walked 6.6 km.

Friday
Very hot (30 deg C) today and humid. More gardening in the morning. Stayed in this afternoon and finished watching All Creatures Great and Small the movie. Watched more JAG Season 7. Did some searching of the 1861 Canadian Census to fill in sources for my Kipp families. Biked 12.5 km. Walked 7.8 km.

Saturday
Very hot (32 deg C) today and humid. Painted the front porch today. Added a bit of silica to the paint to try and make the porch less slippery in wet and icy weather. In the afternoon painted the picnic table. Did some searching of the 1861 Canadian Census to fill in sources for my Kipp families. Watched about 5 issues of JAG season 7. Walked 3.8 km.

Sunday
Very hot (35 deg C) today and humid. Watched more of JAG season 7. They are into Afghanistan stuff (first time around). Biked 13.2 km early this morning. This has not been a good week for walking, unless you do it first thing in the morning. Walked 4.6 km.

Aug 3 to 9

Monday
This was the end of a holiday weekend in Ontario called the Civic Holiday. Monday August 3rd was Colonel By Day in Ottawa, a day to honour the builder of the Rideau Canal and the founder of Bytown which became Ottawa. We had a day of excellent weather for the celebration and lots of people turned out. My wife and I and our daughter Margaret went downtown and looked around at the exhibits around the Bytown Museum and then went for a walk along the path below Parliament hill. We ended up at the Library and Archives Canada building where we took in a couple of exhibits on Karsh and Living Sounds of the Inuit. We then viewed the Garden of the Provinces and the flower beds and headed back across Parliament Hill to the Col. By Day celebrations before having lunch in the Rideau Centre and then home. We watched more of JAG Season 6. Walked 12 km.

Tuesday
We spent three hours looking at microfilm at the local Family History Library in Ottawa. I am working on my two German families Schultz and Neumann. I borrowed the Churchbooks from Schoenbeck and Staven in Mecklenberg-Strelitz, Germany and looked through one of them today. I found my Neumann family. Walked 4.1 km.

Wednesday
We spent another three hours looking at microfilm at the local Family History Library in Ottawa. I am working on my two German families Schultz and Neumann. Watched more JAG today. Worked on the next issue of the Ottawa Branch News for the OGS. It should be finished this weekend and then off to the printer next week. Walked 7.7 km.

Thursday
Today the weather started off OK then it rained around mid day then cleared up. Cold tonight. Just before the rain I finished cutting about half of the lawn. Watched more of JAG season 6 today. I did some more work on the Ottawa Branch News. Had our daughter, her fiancee and their two dogs over for supper. We had a nice BBQ. Biked 10.8 km. Walked 5.4 km.

Friday
Finished cutting the lawn. Watched more TV. Walked 6.3 km.

Saturday
Finished the next issue of the Ottawa Branch News. Went for a canoe ride at Petrie Island in the late afternoon. Spent about an hour at it. First time out this years so we didn't over do it. Watched more JAG Season 6. Started watching All Creatures Great and Small Season 3. Walked 5.9 km.

Sunday
Printed off a copy of the Ottawa Branch News for proofreading. Watched more All Creatures Great and Small Season 3. The heat and humidity are starting. Spent the afternoon driving to Morrisburg, Ontario for an executive meeting of the St. Lawrence Branch UELAC and driving back. Watched more All Creatures Great and Small Season 3. Walked 6.1 km.

With the two newsletters finished I started working om my genealogy again. I plan to post updates to the Kip/Kipp Family in America soon.

July 27 to Aug 2

Monday
We continued packing our daughters household goods for her move. My wife had done most of this in May. Long Island was really hot and humid. Just a walk to the store a few blocks away was enough to make your cloths feel soaking wet. Walked 10.7 km.

Tuesday
Today after doing a few errands in the morning we went into Manhattan on the Long island Railroad for a final visit. We spent the afternoon in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This place is a treasure! We did a quick tour of a number of areas in the museum which took us to closing time. We then did a short walk through Central Park and then took the subway back to Penn Station and a ride on the train back to Mineola. Walked 17.9 km.

Wednesday
We did the final packing for the move early in the morning. The movers arrived about 9:30 and they finished moving everything out by about 12:30. We then had lunch, did a bit of shopping and headed off to Kingston, New York for the night. Being late in the day to start off from Long Island we ran into traffic of course. Traffic is the normal way of life on the New York area! Arrived in Kingston, NY about 6:30 pm after a brief stop in New Paltz for a short walk on the Historic Huguenot Street. Had supper at Roudigans at the hotel and then the rain came down. It rained all night. The weather channel had even issued flash flood warnings for the area. Walked 11.3 km.

Thursday
It was sunny in the early morning. The day turned out to be great for travelling. We headed off from Kingston, New York about 11 am and headed north on I-87. We passed around Albany and got off I-90 at Amsterdam, NY. We then drove along route 5 N slowing to look at Guy Park, Fort Johnson, the Montgomery County Courthouse in Fonda, NY, and Tribes Hill intersection. We turned off onto route 10 at Palatine Bridge and made a pass through my favourite NY town, Stone Arabia. We have visited the two churches in this tiny hamlet many times and the view of the Mohawk Valley is fabulous. We continued along 5 N through Nelliston passing by the Old Palatine Church, Fort Klock, the Nellis Tavern and the field where the Battle of Fort Klock took place. After that we continued along 5 N to Little Falls and past the Herkimer Home Historic Site where we got back on the freeway. The remainder of the trip was just a long drive, passing through Syracuse, Cicero and Watertown, New York. There was a slight delay at the Canadian border and then a dash for home arriving about 7:30 pm. We unpacked the van and then went grocery shopping to restock our empty refrigerator. Walked about 7.5 km.

Friday
Went to see Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. Good movie. I still think you need to have read the book before watching so you know what is going on! Walked 5.3 km.

Saturday
Sunny and humid day. Did a bit of gardening and cut the grass. Biked about 15 km. Walked 6.3 km.

Sunday
Raining and humid today. Got out and fertilized the lawn. I know why fertilize, it just makes it grow. If I don't do it I end up with bags of spare fertilizer which I have to get rid off. We watched more JAG season 6. Finished one of my newsletters, The Royal Yorker, for the St. Lawrence Branch UELAC. Will mail it out next week. Walked 6.8 km.

July 20 to 26th

Needless to say, I have not had time to work on the Kip/Kipp family stuff for a while.


Monday
First full day of the Rathbun family reunion at Fort Wayne. We took a bus tour to Shipshewana which is a sort of commercialized Amish town. Lots of stores to shop in and lots of eating places. We visited a store called Yodders which has lots of interesting foods, including grain and grass fed beef, pork and lamb. The day was enjoyable. Our daughter Margaret defended her PhD thesis in information science successfully. So now we have two Dr. Kipps in the family. The third one will happen later but she will be a medical doctor. Walked 9 km.

Tuesday
Spent the day researching at the Allen County Public Library. They have lots of books and micro text to look at. Took a some images of books with the digital camera. I wouldn't go all the way to Fort Wayne just to use their library, but if you are going that way have a look in their catalogue to see what they might have that would assist your family research. Walked 7.5 km.


Wednesday
Visited the Cord-Auburn-Duesenberg museum at Auburn, Indiana. A great auto museum for cars of the 30's. This was the family banquet night and it went well. Prime rib for supper - delicious! Walked 7.4 km.


Thursday
Drove from Fort Wayne to London to pick up our daughter Margaret, then we drove to Ottawa arriving about midnight. On the way we passed through some rain and watched a spectacular rainbow for perhaps half a hour as we drove along the 401 East of Belleville, Ontario. A very long day. Walked 4.3 km.


Friday
Rain, rain and more rain! The weeds are growing faster than the lawn. Walked 6.5 km.


Saturday
Did some catch up gardening and then relaxed bit. Walked 6.5 km.

Sunday
Took off from Ottawa headed for Mineola on Long Island. We decided to take a different route this time because of the problems with the Cornwall border crossing. We headed south on 416 then west along 401 to the Hill Island/Alexandria Bay crossing. We stopped at Cicero, NY just above Syracuse, NY and had a delicious turkey dinner at Plainville Farms Restaurant. We then headed south on I-87 through Courtland to Binghamton, NY. We continued south through Scranton, PA where we hit about 20 miles of road construction. We thought this was bad! We then headed into New Jersey on route 80 where we hit more traffic. The best was yet ahead of us! When we were about 4 miles away form the George Washington bridge to Manhattan we came to a stop. The traffic was so bad that we took about two hours to get to the toll booths at the GW bridge. After getting through that we took about another hour in the rain and dark to get to Mineola where my daughter lived. We left about 9:30 in the morning from Ottawa and arrived in Mineola about 10 pm. A long trip! Walked 5.2 km.

July 13 to 19

Sorry! I haven't posted for two weeks. We have been travelling.

Monday
Started reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Walked 11.6 km.

Tuesday
Volunteer work sorting books at the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada.
Walked 9.4 km.

Wednesday
Finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Hope the movie is as good as the book. Worked on The Royal Yorker summer newsletter for the St. Lawrence Branch UELAC. Our daughter and her fiancee brought their two dogs over tonight for a visit. Watched more JAG season 5.
Walked 8 km.

Thursday
Cut the grass. Watched more JAG season 5.
Walked 9 km.

Friday
Finished watching Season 5 of JAG.
Biked 13.6 km . Walked 6.8 km.

Saturday
Started drive to Fort Wayne, Indiana, by driving our daughter to London, Ontario. She is to defend her PhD thesis next week.
Walked 7.1 km.

Sunday
Left London, Ontario about 11:45am and drove through Michigan via Sarnia and arrived in Fort Wayne, Indiana about 6:15 pm. Had a wait of about 50 minutes at the border.
Socialized a bit at the Rathbun Family reunion.
Walked 5.7 km.

July 6 to 12

I have been trying to work on my two newsletters with some success. I have spent a couple of hours working on the Kipp names in the 1850 US Census. I have also been working on creating a file of captions for the last two batches of B/W negatives I scanned. The captions are already hand written but need to be typed into a word file next to the corresponding file name of the scanned image.

Monday Walked 10.6 km.
Tuesday Walked 7.1 km.

Wednesday
We watched two movies: The Dutchess which is based on the life of the Dutchess of Devonshire and The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice. The three Librarian movies are fun adventure. Sort of like the Indiana Jones of the information world.
Walked 8.7 km.

Thursday
Cut the grass and did some gardening. Watched more JAG season 4.
Walked 11.4 km.

Friday
Joined the new genealogy social networking site called GenealogyWise. www.genealogywise.com
We started watching season 5 of JAG.
Biked 10.5 km.Walked 4.7 km.

Saturday
Everything was rained out for the day, although we did get in a short half hour walk later in the day. Walked 6.7 km.


Sunday
The weather turned out better today. It was supposed to be sunny all day but it clouded in. We did get to Upper Canada Village and walked around the encampment and looked at sutlers row. We also visited at the St. Lawrence Branch United Empire Loyalists' booth. We then attended the War of 1812 Grand Tactical reenactment. It was a great show this year. They didn't do a particular battle but did display costumes of the period along with battle tactics etc. The Crown forces won!
Walked 10 km.

June 29 to July 5

Monday
Rained last night. The day gradually improved with some sun in the afternoon. We then had a fairly heavy rain shower in the early evening. I decided to exercise on the elliptical machine today. So I did 20 minutes. It felt good, since I haven't done that now for almost 4 months. We went over to our daughter's place for supper. Good chicken supper! Did some more negative scanning today. This is moving along nicely. Also continued work on Kipp families in the 1850 US Census. Walked 5.8 km.

Tuesday
A variable weather day, cloud, rain and sun. Did my work at the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada. Scanned more negatives. Watched a movie on TV, Strategic Air Command, starring James Stewart and June Allyson. Great movie if you like to watch airplanes flying! Walked 10 km.

Wednesday
Another variable weather day, more cloud, rain and sun. Canada Day! 142 years old! We basically decided to do nothing today. My daughter and I visited the National Air Museum for a couple of hours and that was it. Our local TV stations decided not to cover the fireworks on the Hill, which was disappointing. Scanned more negatives. Also finished off season 4 of JAG. Walked 9 km.

Thursday/Friday/Saturday
Weather was variable all three days. Cloudy with rain anytime. Started to clear Saturday so cut the grass in the afternoon. Watched more JAG. Since the next Harry Potter movie is due out soon we watched the video for the last one, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. We will then read the next book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince before we see the movie. Walked 5.6 km; 6.7 km; 8.5 km. Biked about 13 km on Saturday.

Sunday
Weather was better today, sunny and warm. Scanned more negatives. Watched more JAG from Season 4. It doesn't look as if I will get any more done on the Kipps in the US 1850 Census now until August. So there will not be an update to my files until September or October. I have two newsletters that I need to work on over the next few weeks and I will also be watching the Tour de France on TV. Biked 21 km. Walked 8.6 km.

Kip/Kipp Family DNA Project

If you are a Kip or Kipp male you can order a Y-DNA test by clicking on The Kip/Kipp Family in North America on my web pages.
www.kipp-blake-families.ca/edwardmain.htm

Go to The Kip/Kipp Family Y-DNA Project and click on Click here to join the Surname Project
Edward Kipp
Group Administrator
my blog: http://kipkippfamilyinamerica.blogspot.com/

----- Forwarded Message ----From: Bennett Greenspan To: ekipp@rogers.comSent: Thursday, July 2, 2009 5:33:46 PMSubject: Family Tree DNA - Y-DNA37 for $119
Dear Group Administrator
This message has the double purpose of thanking you, and announcing a July offer.
So, first, let me thank you for helping us make our recent Y-37+mtDNA sale the most successful in the history of Family Tree DNA. While our lower Y-DNA37 prices combined with the free mtDNA test played an important role in this success, your efforts had a significant impact in this achievement, which made some projects increase their membership by a two-digit number.
The many Group Administrators that used our BULK E-MAIL system saw how easy and good of a tool it can be to inform your group members of the sale. We encourage those who did not make use of this tool, to use it and see the difference that it can make.
We expect that the kits will begin to be returned for processing this week and that results will start being delivered to your project by the end of July or early August.
In light of this success and in conjunction with many reunions or events where one of us will be speaking, including the Clans Gathering 2009 and the Highland Games in Scotland, we have decided to offer for the month of July a variation of our recent promotion:
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IMPORTANT: since this promotion will run through the month of July, we encourage you to spread the word starting now, as the natural tendency is for people to order at the last minute, and we will not extend it beyond this month.
We thank you for your continued support and look forward to the sustained growth of the Family Tree DNA matching database.
Bennett Greenspan
President
www.familytreedna.com
713-868-1438
"History Unearthed Daily"

June 22 to 28

Monday
Start of a hot and humid week. Continued to work on the 1850 US Census for Kip and Kipp. Biked 13 km. Walked 8.5 km.

Tuesday
Very hot today. Did my volunteer work at the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada. The had an outdoor book sale under the shade trees. Watched more JAG. Watched a movie in the evening, Valkyrie, with Tom Cruise. Walked 13 km.

Wednesday
Very hot today. Did some weeding and gardening early. Took the chain saw to a tree stump. Hard and hot work. This will take a few days. Watched more JAG. Watched a movie, Brideshead Revisited. Went shopping and bought a new fan to help circulate the air from the AC. A very modern fan with a remote. It moves a lot of air. Walked 9.5 km.

Thursday
Very hot today. Did some weeding and gardening early. Had to put up a few more bunny barriers this week in the garden. There is an adult and a young bunny eating off of our garden. We have to put wire cages over some rows to allow the plants to grow big enough so that we can all share in the produce. Continued to work on the 1850 US Census for Kip and Kipp. Walked about 4 km.

Friday
Another hot day. Watched the third movie that we had rented, Flawless. We had our youngest daughter and fiancee and their two dogs over for dinner. We managed to get some fresh local strawberries this morning. When we got to the stand about 11 am we discovered a long line up waiting to get strawberries which were not yet there. It was worth the wait but a bit expensive. Walked about 10 km.

Saturday
Another hot day with a little rain. Did a bit more gardening to get rid of weeds.Worked on the tree stump with the chain saw again. This will probably take about two more sessions. We went for a 16 km bike ride in the morning. The previous days it was too hot to do this. Watched more JAG season 4. Walked about 8.5 km.

Sunday
It rained in the evening, after I had spread my lawn fertilizer. Watched the more recent Untouchables movie on TV. Continued to work on the 1850 US Census for Kip and Kipp. I did a lot of scanning today. I am trying to finish the scanning of all of our photo negatives. The colour are done except for a few strays here and there, which I will do as I find them. I am working on a book of BW negatives and should be done with that by the end of July. In the fall I will start on my colour slides. We just bought a small scanner which will do a good job on the slides. Biked about 20 km. Walked about 5 km.

June 15 to 21

Monday
Waited around for the AC guy to come and check over our air conditioner. Check was OK. Did some gardening. Read over and edited my talk for Tuesday evening. Watched some more JAG. Walked about 10 km.

Tuesday
Went over my talk for this evening a couple of times. The talk was titled "Finding My American Ancestors." I selected about six different families who had some unusual family history and talked about them. I finished up with some comments on various archives and libraries we
visited. My wife ran the slides for me. She also helped prepare the talk.
Walked about 9 km.

Wednesday
Sort of a relaxing day. We went shopping at the Bulk Barn and Canadian Tire. I did some more gardening including making additional wire cages to keep the bunnies from eating all of the plants. Watched a couple of issues of JAG. Walked about 8 km.

Thursday
Cloudy and damp today. Again did some gardening before the rain took over. Watched more JAG. Walked about 9 km.

Friday
Went and sat in the urgent care clinic for 2 1/2 hours. One of my ears has been blocked for about two weeks. So I finally found time to use Murine and went to get it flushed out professionally. I sure can hear better now.
Finally got around to working on the Kip Family in America file again. I am working on matching the Kip/Kipp families in the 1850 US Census with my file. Not an easy task. Walked about 8 km.

Saturday
Had the dogs over a good part of the day. Daughters took us out for dinner tonight for father's day. Nice touch. Walked about 6 km.

Sunday
Finally got around to cleaning the house. Very humid today. The AC came on. Watched more JAG season 4. Walked about 8.6 km.

June 8 to 14

Monday June 8
Did some tidying up around the yard to get ready to go away for a few days. Had car repaired.Walked 10.4 km.

Tuesday June 9
Left about mid afternoon by car for Toronto. Arrived at motel about 9 pm. Walked 4 km.

Wednesday June 10
Attended the Launch of the Canadian Census records and index for 1851 to 1916 at the Ontario Heritage Centre on Adelaide Street. It was a good event with a chance to meet some friends. Ancestry.ca always put on a good lunch. In the afternoon we toured the Royal Ontario Museum. They have really changed this place for the better. Walked 11.4 km.

Thursday June 11
We spent the day researching at the Archives of Ontario. The new facility at York University is really nice and the equipment is really up-to-date. We enjoyed the day and made a few discoveries. Had supper at Perkins near our motel. Walked 5 km.

Friday June 12
We spent most of the day again researching at the Archives of Ontario. I looked at the Township Papers for the first two concessions of my home townships of Blenheim, Oxford County and Burford, Brant County. We left Toronto about 4 pm and because of traffic problems did not arrive in Brantford, Ontario until 7 pm. Three hours on the road which should have taken about an hour. Walked about 9 km.

Saturday June 13
Today was the day of the Public School reunion in Princeton, Ontario. We started off the day by visiting the Congregational Cemetery in Burford, Ontario and taking the GPS readings on several family related tombstones. After that we did the same thing at the Harley, Ontario Cemetery.
We then headed for Princeton where we visited family plots. Then we were off downtown for a quick driving tour. We parked at the school and took a short walk to visit a friend and then it was time for the big event. It started off slow but by mid afternoon there were crowds of people registering. Estimates are that about 500 or so came. I saw quite a few people that I knew, some I recognized some not without their name tag.
The beef BBQ was great and the beef was quite tender. I had watched it cooking earlier in the day. Walked about 11.6 km.

Sunday June 14
We had the Sunday Brunch at the Motel and then did a 15 minute walk to get the body exercised before we left Brantford. The trip went well with no blockages on the 403 or 401. Near Gananoque we saw a vehicle fire in the other lane of the 401. Sort of exciting with lots of fire trucks etc. Arrived home about 3:30 pm. Went for a walk this evening. Considering that we drove for about 6 and 1/2 hours today we walked about 10 km.

May 30 to June 7

Saturday May 30
We visited Cumberland Village Museum at Cumberland, Ontario east of Ottawa, because there was a special steam and country show taking place. Haven't been there for years. The country show was a bit weak but the village was interesting enough. We watched them cutting logs with an old saw mill set up. We also watch teams of horses pulling a dead weight on a sled. They were up to 6500 pounds when we left and they were about to increase the weight to 8000 pounds.

Sunday and Monday May 31 & June 1
went quickly. I was tired so didn't get much done. I almost finished planting the garden. Of course all last week it was wet and cold from the rain. Monday I got the tires replaced on the van.

Tuesday June 2
I did my days work sorting books for the Friends of the Library and Archives Canada. After getting home I cut the lawn and then did some weeding in the flower beds. I can now plant the rest of my annuals.I am almost done hand weeding the lawn as well. Walked 10 Km.

Wednesday June 3 walked about 6.9 km.

Thursday June 4
This week we finshed off season two of All Creatures Great and Small, James Harriott.Walked about 8.5 km.

Friday June 5
I went to a 35th Anniversary get-to-gether at my former place of work, the Library (CISTI) at NRC here in Ottawa. It was nice to see some of the people I used to work with. We contiued to watch season three of JAG.Walked about 12.7 km.

Saturday June 6
I went for a walk in the Gatineau hills with my daugther and one of her friends and their dogs. It was a good walk. We walked about 6km. Got rid of some surplus household items at the Ottawa give-away day. Walked a total of 11.5 Km during the day.

Sunday June 7
I reseeded a patch of the front lawn that had been winter killed.Walked about 10.5 km.

May 29

Friday
Today went fast as well. We looked in on the dogs about noon and took then for an outing in the rain. They were really happy to see us and a bit sad to see us leave. We dried them off with towels.

We spent a hour or so working on my talk for June 16th on Finding My American Ancestors. Finished a rough draft of the ancestors section. Now we work on the resources section and then some slides. Then I need to pare it down to about an hour.

Today we set up a new web page using our shared domain name.
The new web URL is: www.kipp-blake-families.ca/
My section is up and running. My wife will update her part on Saturday. The reason we are doing this is that Rogers is phasing out our web pages on Yahoo sometime this year. They are also making it difficult to update those pages.

We watched more issues of JAG Season three.
Walked about 8 km.

Orelans May 22-28

May 22
Got started gardening today. Bought some black earth to mix in before planting.
Finished a book called The Spanish Doctor, by Mat Cohen, who is a Canadian. It took a bit of effort to get into the book but once it got going the plot was good. It is a story of the Jews in the late 1300s and early 1400s in Spain and France.Walked about 9.2 km.

May 23
Did some gardening today. I need to plant next week, so that means going to a garden centre to buy some plants. Continued to wage war on the dandelions and plantains in the lawn. My wife and oldest daughter walked the 10K Marathon for Race Weekend here in Ottawa. We had our youngest daughter and fiancee and their dogs over for supper tonight. Walked about 7.5 km.

Sunday to Thursday May 24-28
Sunday my youngest daughter ran the Ottawa Marathon and finished.

The week has gone fast and I don't seem to have accomplished much. We are working on a talk I am given at the Ottawa Branch OGS on June 16th. Title: Finding My American
Ancestors.

Monday I spread some black earth on the gardens and them roto-tilled the ground again. We went and bought some plants at the garden centres. I planted about seven new perennials. Walked about 9 km.

Today Thursday and last night it is raining. During a break in the clouds I managed to plant most of the annuals. So I won't have to water much.
This week we have been watching issues of All Creature Great and Small, James Herriot. Walked about: Tuesday 9 km. Wednesday 5 km. Thursday 6 km.

May 19-21 Orleans

Tuesday
My wife and I went with the Friends of Library and Archives Canada for a tour of the Gatineau Preservation Centre. The tour was about two hours long and included a look at the building structure plus tours to several of the storage vaults including one containing historical paintings and portraits. We were shown several miniature portraits including a very small locket portrait of a member of the Mohawk Valley Claus family. This is a great tour.
We also restocked our food supplies after being away for a few days.
Walked about 7.4 km.

Wednesday
We did a bit of shopping today. We watched two issues of session 3 of JAG.
Walked about 8.7 km.

Thursday
Today was a very warm day 26 deg C. Jim and I went for our morning walk in Orleans along with a stop at the local Drug store to pick up a birthday card. After that my wife and I went for an 11 km bike ride on the bike path along the Ottawa River.
In the afternoon I went into my former work place to visit for a while and drop of a CD of most of the pictures I took at work over the 29 years I was there. On my way back home I bought some local asparagus which we had for supper.
Later in the afternoon we went to see Angels and Demons at the movie theatre. The movie plot was quite similar to the book with some differences. In general it was a good action movie. Worth watching!
Walked about 8 km.

Saturday/Sunday/Monday May 16-18

Saturday we stayed in Mineola and packed more items for the move. We had a fog bank pass over us late in the afternoon. Very damp and humid in Mineola. Finished reading Deception Point today. Great book a real thriller. Walked about 6 km.

Sunday we headed out from Long Island about 9 am. We had a nice uneventful drive and arrived in Ottawa about 8 pm. It is nice to be home. Walked about 7 km.

Monday
We were lucky to have some food in the freezer and some fresh asparagus from our garden to eat. We forgot that being a holiday there were not supermarkets open. It's a good thing some of the drug store carry some food! Walked about 10 km.

New York City May 11 to 15

Monday
Today we stayed around Mineola and did some book packing for the move. Early evening we went for a drive to Jones Beach and walked the 2 mile health walk on the boardwalk. The wind was cold but we survived. Did some work on collecting pictures for possible use at the CISTI reunion in June. CISTI is where I used to work and this year the current building is 35. We walked about 11.3 km.

Tuesday
We all went into Manhattan and spent the day visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We spent most of our time in the Egyptian Art wing and viewing the Temple of Dendur. We had lunch about 2:30 pm and then went through Medieval Art, Euorpean Scultpure and Decorative Arts and ended with the Arms and Armour exhibit. Very interesting. We have visited this Museum several times and still have not been around to all of the exhibits. Leaving the museum we walked across Central Park by the obelisk, the Great Lawn and Belvedere Castle to catch the Subway to Penn Station. We walked about 14.7 km.

Wednesday
Today Margaret and I went into Manhattan and spent the afternoon visiting the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. We viewed all of the decks that were open and also walked through the Concorde. The Intrepid is one massive beast. We both sat in the Captains chair. It would be like driving a city block. We walked about 13.70 km.

Thursday
Today we essentially did nothing. I started reading the book Deception Point by Dan Brown. This is a really fast moving thriller as well. The weather was a bit damp so we didn't go for a long walk. In the evening we went to the AMC theatre and saw the new Star Trek movie. It was full of action. I found it a bit odd, because the graphics which are quite different than any used in the other Star Trek series. Total walk for the day about 7 km.

Friday
Today we stayed on Long Island. Margaret and I took a drive towards Huntington on the Long Island Sound side of the Island. At Huntington we visited The Heckscher Museum of Art and park. The art collection was good but small. We viewed some art by April Gronik. The park was quite interesting also. We noted where the Huntington Historical Society was but it wasn't open. In Huntington we found the Nathan Hale memorial and also an historic local cemetery dating back to the Revolution. We then drove further north on Route 110 towards the sound and stoped at Halesite, where we talked briefly to couple of volunteer firemen about historic sites and looked at the harbour. We drove a bit further looking for the Nathan Hale marker on the sound but didn't find it. Another time! In the evening we did a 3 km walk in Eisenhower Park at Garden City. Continued reading Deception Point and hope to finish it tonight. Total walk for the day about 9 km.

New York City May 7 to 10th

Thursday
We travelled by VIA Rail from Ottawa to Montreal and they took Amtrack to New York City. This is a 16 hour trip. Plus we then had to take the LIRR to Mineola on Long Island.

Friday
We stayed home and late in the afternoon drove out to Jones beach on the Atlantic side of
Long Island. It is about a 20 minute drive. Jones Beach is a great place to walk on the 2 mile
boardwalk. The beach is great also. They are getting ready for the Memorial Day weekend as they have put out a few thousand wire garbage containers. It is always interesting to walk along the seashore edge and watch the waves roll in.

Saturday
We went into Manhattan on the Long Island Railroad and viewed the Frick Collection at 5th Avenue and 71st Street. This is a fabulous painting collection from the Frick family who were into Steel producton. Lots of old masters paintings. This is worthwhile seeing.

It was warm and humid and there were lots of people out in Central Park just strolling and taking in the almost summer like air. We walked around Central Park for about an hour. One item we noticed was the pond called Conservatory Water. People were sailing minature sailboats on the pond. There was a guy there renting the model boats. Everyone seemed to be having fun.

Sunday
Today we went for a drive across Long Island towards New York. We traveled into Brooklyn on the Belt Parkway past JFK and then took the Varrezano Narrows Bridge to Staten Island. The idea of the trip was to visit Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island. A few of my Huguenot Ancestors lived there in the early 1700s. Their surnames were Perlier, Renaud and Rezeau.

It took use about 1 1/2 hours to get there. We thought the return journey would be longer but it only took an hour. Heavy traffic both ways but not to bad a drive. We had a guided tour and since it was Mother's Day my wife got in free. The tour guide was great but the historic village itself was just OK. Maybe I have seen too many of them. Anyway, we did see inside the Voorlezer's House built c. 1695, where some of my Rezeau ancestors lived later in the 1700s.

The Staten Island Historical Society has a room there as well. I will have to write them and see if I can gets copies of some baptisms and marriages from their records.

The weather today was sunny but rather cool due to a strong west wind.