Exploring the Past to Improve the Future
By Eilene Lyon I’ve been nominated for a second Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you muchly to Dane at Bar Stool Talk for the honor. He has a great blog with a theme all related to bars (the kind you drink in, say, as opposed to monkey bars or candy bars). Fun historical bits mixed with... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon I just love signs written by people who don't speak the language they're writing in. They are so frequently unintentionally funny! It doesn't matter what language they speak or what language they're writing in - I just happen to "get" the ones written in English. But maybe someday this sign will be... Continue Reading →
Week 13: #52Ancestors – The Old Homestead By Eilene Lyon This is the story of four homesteads for four generations of Halses (my maiden name), going back to my immigrant ancestors, my 3rd great-grandparents. First Generation Robert H. Halse and Eliza Jane Drake immigrated in 1850 and eventually settled in Winneshiek County, Iowa. Samuel Drake,... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon I once asked a classroom of college biology majors, some of them pre-med, whether they “believe in evolution.” About half raised their hand. Ha! Trick question. Science is not about believing. Belief and faith are the realm of religion and spirituality. In fact, you could say that science is the antithesis of... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon As much as we were impressed with our time in the Galapagos, I believe the real highlight of our 2007 trip to Ecuador was our time in the Amazon basin, along the Napo River. The Sacha eco-lodge arranged our transportation from Quito by plane, van and motorized canoe. Smaller boats carried us... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon When you learn to draw, using a photo to sketch from, art teachers will suggest you turn the picture upside-down. That way, you focus on the shapes, rather than letting your mind tell you what you’re looking at (mountain, tree, bird, etc.). It’s a way of changing your perspective. Turning the familiar... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon My brother and I, along with our spouses, were visiting Mom in Oregon last week. Because she has rapidly progressing dementia, she lives in memory care at the retirement community she moved into 12 years ago. She’s doing pretty well physically, for now. I took her to see her regular physician so... Continue Reading →
Week 12: #52Ancestors – Misfortune By Eilene Lyon By all measures, my cousin Orville Bodtker was a very unlucky young man in World War II. But I think for sheer, unrelenting misfortune, I have to turn to the story of my great-great-grandparents, Robert Ransom and Emma Jenkins, the parents of Clara Pearl Ransom. Robert was... Continue Reading →
By Eilene Lyon I’m not a large person (5’ 4”, medium build), but my husband is 6’ 2” and prefers an extra-long bed to feel comfortable. Hence our California king-size bed, the largest standard-sized bed on the market at 72 x 84 inches (183 x 213 cm). I confess that I like having lots of... Continue Reading →
Where the locals go, because the locals know!
Exploring the twists and turns of Marie's mind and travels since 2013
Reflections of an inquiring retiree ...
The opinions expressed are those of the author. You go get your own opinions.
A Blog of Retirement and Related Thoughts
I write about genealogy on this site. Come see what's going on!
Fun With Genealogy
Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
Navigating the second half of my life
A history of the people of the Willamette Valley as revealed through their structures.
Doing the best I can to keep it on the bright side
You might think you understand what I said, but what you heard is not always what I meant.
Author, Speaker, Family Historian
thoughts about life from below the surface
... stories of significant others in the Allery, Cutting, McCulloch and Robertson tribes ...
Celtic, Mythical and More ...
Illuminating the Ancestral Journey
Tracing The Faces
Uncovering Family Legacies One Stitch at a Time
Myricopia 