In preparation for leaving for one year, we have had to cancel the TV/Internet bundle. Well, we do not miss the TV very much, but the internet is another ball of wax. I found myself running in to check something on the 'net' only to be reminded that the 'net' is unavailable. Talk about withdrawal! Panic set in quickly - questions about "how many emails need immediate attention and I cannot access the net?", " Where else can I search for answers if I cannot access the net?" and other questions plagued me.
.
I had to think of places I could go to access the 'net'. there are many Internet Cafe's here in our town but the chance of a virus creeping in the back door and fooling my antivirus program and infecting my computer is a very real thing. So I went down to the Family History Center and used their connection.
We have gone to I-phones and for $20 per month, we have a "HOT-SPOT" connection, which I am using as I write this. Tricky thing to first try to use, but once we have the circuits figured out, it works really well. Ah, what a blessing to be able to be on the internet again. This Hot-Spot is downloaded or activated to Bill's I-phone, and then we fire up our computers, and hey presto, we have access to the internet. They tell us that we can access the internet anywhere we go that there is a Verizon Tower. We pray for the Towers!
Last year I was introduced to this wonderful technology when one of the patrons came into the FHC and he could not access the net on our system, so her took out his hot spot technology and was able to be on the net. He told me that he got this wonderful little gadget for his particular laptop so that he could do wonderful things online while tramping around a cemetery and he needed to copy down the info he found. I was fascinated with the prospect of being out in the city, away from our desktop and modem, and using my computer to access the net. How is it possible? Well, after we severed our ties with the land line, Bill began to think of getting the Hot Spot for our travel across the nation. At least we would not have to go to the public computer at the motel, or log into the Motel connection with its little warning popup message that our computer may be at risk using their open connection. Another aspect of Hot Spot use is that we would not have to contract with any local company for internet connection, but could just use our own connection through the phone.
I wonder what is coming next in Technology? Perhaps a computer that will type the blog for me while I just speak to it? Perhaps a device that will store my thoughts for me so that I will not forget what it was I was thinking about - age has taken over and there is difficulty remembering why I went into a room to get something - why did I go there and what was I seeking? The I-phone will keep track of my daily appointments, tell me what time it is, what month and year it is, all my telephone numbers, tell me the temperature in the various cities that I have interest in, allow me to find where I am going in the car, acts as a walkie talkie from I-phone to I-phone with picture, provides time wasting games, allows access to the internet through Apple's 'Safari' so that I can check my email and a lot of other things that I don't know yet how to use. What did I do before we purchased the I-phone? Will our next phone do more? What?
Well, the technology age is here to stay and many wonders await us. In my wildest dreams I did not imagine such wonders.
Technology will figure greatly in our life during this next year - we may be using a Microfilm camera or even a digital camera to capture the images on the documents. Imagine! Imagine! Imagine! The technology age is here at my age and I am learning how to use it.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Loss begins
Well, we have lost our TV access - or rather had the service canceled prior to leaving for our mission. I guess the only good thing is that I will not be treated to the parade of human woes and political activities and endless minutia about the effects of the hurricane - but then there are many people who thrive on that.
One news item that caught my attention was the damage done to the state house in Montpelier, Vt. I hope that the archives were not in the basement because the flood waters had invaded the state house and so there is a chance that the records are now damaged and not be able to be photographed by our missionary team there. When records are lost, so are family connections with the past and that is a huge loss. I viewed a microfilm from Australia some years ago, while looking for the naturalization record of my Great Great Grandfather August Friedrich Trost. The film came from the archives in Brisbane, and they were in very sad shape. They had been stored in the basement of a building in Brisbane and had been rescued from one of the many floods that Brisbane has endured. I could see how damaged the document was and could see the mildew that had almost obliterated my ancestor's record. True, for some people it was just a name and a record, but to me there is a genetic connection, a very real and tangible connect with a generation gone from mortality and the only way I can get to know him is through such a record as this.
I guess the next loss will be access to the internet through our phone line. We are going to try the Verizon Hot Spot that comes with our cell phone. I never cease to be amazed at our opportunities for connectivity in this day and age. I recently wrote to my friend in Australia that he and I seem to have crawled out of the dark ages where there were Royal (brand) typewriters, a copper tub where water was heated out doors for washdays (laundry), and for bath water, home gardens, chickens in a coop in the backyard, few automobiles (we did not have one) and to balance this, holidays at the beach where we could play all day and have no fear of molestation. A big loss for me, will be to leave my quilting and sewing activities here at home, along with other craft activities. Creativity is a big thing in my life.
Another loss is the trips I made to be with our grandchildren. We will see them on the way to our mission assignment, but not see them personally for a year. We will have to settle for Skype contact and phone calls. As a grandmother, it is hard to not be in close physical contact with these three little millennial children, to talk to them and to follow their thoughts about the sleep fairy, 'nastics, scouts, camping, fishing with Dad and possible piano lessons.
Along with loss, comes additions. From this vantage point this morning here in Arizona, I can see the addition of new contacts, making new friends, seeing new places, having new experiences. We will be assigned to the State House Archives in Augusta, Maine and we are going there when Fall is in full swing. Ah, the beauty of fall in New England - the myriad shades of yellow, rust, brown, orange and everything in between that is an intrinsic part of fall and deciduous trees. Then comes the nakedness of winter but that is relieved by hoar frost, snow fall, and ice storms that turn the trees to spun silver in the morning sun. Then comes spring with the promise of new life in trees, birds, animals and flowers. This distinct change of seasons was not a part of my growing up in Australia, but was part of my 20 years of living in Pennsylvania; but I will miss living in the High Desert of Arizona.
And so the loss and gains of life are upon us. Other losses are history, gains are present and in the future who knows what is in store for us? Did the flood thing in Pennsylvania in 1977, not fun. Did the trek from Pa to Az and decided that a Hertz truck holding all our belongings, while more commodious than the handcarts or Conestoga wagons of the pioneers on the Oregon Trail, I did not want to spend my life crisscrossing the USA, but here we go, back east with our few worldly belongings stuffed into the car and no Hertz truck with furniture and possessions. This is what they call downsizing. Think of us doing 500 miles a day and pray for a comfortable bed in a new motel for the 5 nights we expect to be on the road.
One news item that caught my attention was the damage done to the state house in Montpelier, Vt. I hope that the archives were not in the basement because the flood waters had invaded the state house and so there is a chance that the records are now damaged and not be able to be photographed by our missionary team there. When records are lost, so are family connections with the past and that is a huge loss. I viewed a microfilm from Australia some years ago, while looking for the naturalization record of my Great Great Grandfather August Friedrich Trost. The film came from the archives in Brisbane, and they were in very sad shape. They had been stored in the basement of a building in Brisbane and had been rescued from one of the many floods that Brisbane has endured. I could see how damaged the document was and could see the mildew that had almost obliterated my ancestor's record. True, for some people it was just a name and a record, but to me there is a genetic connection, a very real and tangible connect with a generation gone from mortality and the only way I can get to know him is through such a record as this.
I guess the next loss will be access to the internet through our phone line. We are going to try the Verizon Hot Spot that comes with our cell phone. I never cease to be amazed at our opportunities for connectivity in this day and age. I recently wrote to my friend in Australia that he and I seem to have crawled out of the dark ages where there were Royal (brand) typewriters, a copper tub where water was heated out doors for washdays (laundry), and for bath water, home gardens, chickens in a coop in the backyard, few automobiles (we did not have one) and to balance this, holidays at the beach where we could play all day and have no fear of molestation. A big loss for me, will be to leave my quilting and sewing activities here at home, along with other craft activities. Creativity is a big thing in my life.
Another loss is the trips I made to be with our grandchildren. We will see them on the way to our mission assignment, but not see them personally for a year. We will have to settle for Skype contact and phone calls. As a grandmother, it is hard to not be in close physical contact with these three little millennial children, to talk to them and to follow their thoughts about the sleep fairy, 'nastics, scouts, camping, fishing with Dad and possible piano lessons.
Along with loss, comes additions. From this vantage point this morning here in Arizona, I can see the addition of new contacts, making new friends, seeing new places, having new experiences. We will be assigned to the State House Archives in Augusta, Maine and we are going there when Fall is in full swing. Ah, the beauty of fall in New England - the myriad shades of yellow, rust, brown, orange and everything in between that is an intrinsic part of fall and deciduous trees. Then comes the nakedness of winter but that is relieved by hoar frost, snow fall, and ice storms that turn the trees to spun silver in the morning sun. Then comes spring with the promise of new life in trees, birds, animals and flowers. This distinct change of seasons was not a part of my growing up in Australia, but was part of my 20 years of living in Pennsylvania; but I will miss living in the High Desert of Arizona.
And so the loss and gains of life are upon us. Other losses are history, gains are present and in the future who knows what is in store for us? Did the flood thing in Pennsylvania in 1977, not fun. Did the trek from Pa to Az and decided that a Hertz truck holding all our belongings, while more commodious than the handcarts or Conestoga wagons of the pioneers on the Oregon Trail, I did not want to spend my life crisscrossing the USA, but here we go, back east with our few worldly belongings stuffed into the car and no Hertz truck with furniture and possessions. This is what they call downsizing. Think of us doing 500 miles a day and pray for a comfortable bed in a new motel for the 5 nights we expect to be on the road.
Leaven, lumps and pennies
LEAVENING THE LUMP FOR A PENNY A DAY
The title of this blog is "Leavening the Lump for a Penny a Day" probably poses a pile of questions for the scripturally challenged, but I am not going to explain it. There are some questions that should remain until education catches up and the light goes on.
We have been called to be records preservationists for one year in the Manchester new Hampshire Records Preservation Mission. At this point, 20th August, 2011, that is all we know about it. I have seen pictures of people doing records preservation and it looks very interesting and I am sure there will be a steep learning curve to accomplish before we become proficient.
After 12 years of service in the Prescott Family History Center, one thing I have learned that is set in stone is that these records are vital for family history research. Our efforts will aid someone in the future to accurately identify their family ancestor and will bring much joy to their heart when they access the records. I have been directly involved with family history centers (genealogy) now for upwards of 20 years in the various places I have lived, and I clearly remember the overwhelming joy of finding my Great Great Grandfather in Llandinham, Wales on a microfilm. I would not have found him at all if I had not inherited the marriage certificate of his son, my Great Grandfather who eloped to Australia with his new bride. It is not hard to imagine the joy countless others experience when they encounter certificates etc. of their elusive family members who lived long ago and in faraway places. My husband and I feel honored to be asked to help with this important work.
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