Cleaning all accomplished of the basement and it is the main floor today. Routines are nice as they keep you focused I must admit. Just a couple of matches and this was another interesting one that had a huge tree to go with it. I actually wrote to the match in Ancestry which is very unusual for me but I note I have done a little more of that this past couple of months (I have had answers to most of them actually). The Rawlings matches often fill in spots where I do not have a known Rawlings cousin. For the most part the phasing has worked really well and there are no areas that I feel uncomfortable about in terms of choice. Moving back to the great grandparents is a good step as I start to work on the Generational charts. I know that I will not publish anything after 1900 in these charts but that catches the census in the 1800s for anyone using it.
Some discussion on boys not being as comfortable in school as girls. When I worked as a volunteer with the children at my youngest child's school I was helping them learn to use computers. They had only enough computers for three children to work at each of the machines (back in the later part of the 1980s. I suppose from the outside looking in; it perhaps appeared chaotic. But I had them working away in groups of three that they chose and the tendency at this lower level in grade school was for the girls to cluster quietly sitting in front of the computer and sharing the mouse. The boys were much more active, still three at each computer, but they were up and down and louder but still accomplishing the same work that I was assigning to them. They are more restless boys I think and perhaps standing up every half hour in class and doing some sort of exercises at the desk would be helpful. I think it is a lot to ask children to sit for hours working. It isn't even healthy. But I no longer help at school so I do not know what is happening now.
Perhaps this week I will get back to my Latin as the time has flown by these past couple of months. I want to finish off all the matches and then move to the wills and the genealogical table for the Blake book. I also want to do a little work on Pincombe so that I am ready for the Newsletter at the 1st of June.
Yesterday we did gardening for a good hour and cleared away more of the weeds particularly around the hostas which are starting to come through in the areas that tend to be cooler. There is still a lot of work to do. I think the elderberry bushes may be done as they are still not budding. Perhaps remove them and just put some bulbs in that circle. Another thought would be to put the roots of the lettuces that we buy in there to regrow and the bunnies can eat that lettuce. I must mention that; it is a good idea. I already have one started in the house.
I am pleased to see that tetanus shots can now be received at the pharmacy as I waited for simply hours last time that I needed one at the urgent care clinic. I seldom see a doctor other than the once a year that I generally go. That should be soon; must make an appointment and take my blood results from the Ontario Health Study with me as they match the results from last summer which confirms my thoughts on my medical condition. At eighty it is reasonably good; I get a lot of exercise of a beneficial nature (meaning I have a good amount of peak activity during each day of the week as well as strenuous activity along with moderate and light). It is good to have a reasonable amount of each level during each day. Mostly I do not eat any red meat (perhaps once every couple of weeks when my daughter is here) and then only a small amount. I tend to eat chicken and fish as they are my favourites. I have now moved back to skim milk all the time with the occasional 1% cottage cheese but always 0% Greek Yoghurt. I have small amounts of butter so still have some milk fat just not too much. It is nice to start to have fresh vegetables as I tend to use mostly stored vegetable (purchased) from the late fall until this time of the year with some fresh - lettuce and tomatoes primarily with the occasional pepper. Now that we have green houses locally I often have these fresh from the green house in the winter. I do not buy prepared food very often - perhaps a dark chocolate bar on occasion or granola by a new company in Quebec which is very good with absolutely no additives (all food product). Making everything from scratch gets me away from my computer which is very healthy especially baking any cakes (mine is always banana bread made with a mix of 100% whole wheat and all purpose flour in equal portions). It tastes really good, I butter it but I do not have a sweet tooth.
Wanting to learn more about the Sovereign Wealth Fund proposed by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. It is such an excellent idea and I like the idea of it being a long-term type of setup as it will benefit people in their retirement in the future. I need to understand how one passes this type of fund to one's descendants. The tax implications and all of that sort of information but it will take time to put it into place in terms of that type of usage but getting it going sooner rather than later is a good plan. I do like the idea that individual Canadian Pension Plans could also be part of that in order to reduce the amount that the government is setting aside from the budget to start the plan (namely 25B) (perhaps our huge grocery chains could also consider becoming involved with their profits benefiting from supporting Canada initially and then collecting the rewards of that trust). It would be nice if we could have this starter amount consist of some portion of existing Pension Plans (and businesses that would not be in conflict of interest) that are available for such investment. The quicker we are; the quicker the shovels are into the ground and we are on our way building the fortunes for the children of the future in Canada. I do not see this as something baby boomers will necessarily profit from (more of a gift to the future of our descendants) but rather it is a gift from us to the future. But it will probably start to produce returns in the near future but not right away. It is a good place to set money that you do not use at the moment and plan to be a profitable investment.
Travel is always the big cost I think for older people. At 80 I am not going to travel outside the country particularly not for any fear reason but rather I have been on so many trips I am just not interested in doing that. Keeping to some one else's schedule is no longer appealing to me at all. Sitting on a bus for hours not appealing. Flying for hours not appealing although I do love flying. Being in strange hotels and with strangers not appealing. So I am following what is best for me in my old age as the days ahead of me will be full of my writing year after year. Putting money into the Sovereign Wealth Fund is a very appealing idea I think.
The dog two doors up is so happy that I am out in the yard again; he likes routine. He had a long chat with me and for sure asking when my daughter's dogs are coming again. They had so much fun a year ago running races up and down the yard. He was unhappy I think with the neighbour in the middle as a day or so ago four strangers were clearing up the gardens and cutting the lawn upsetting his daily routine of just wandering about his yard guarding it as such dogs do. That was a conversation with just a little whine to it. He is a big dog like my daughter's dogs.
Tea drank and time to do the solitaire puzzles.