A new ancient ancestor

 Interesting work being done mentioned in a study published in Science. Unlike Neanderthal and Denisovan this particular "ghost" ancestor appears in both African and non-African populations which takes the date of entry of this particular genus into the evolution of Homo sapiens further back prior to the time that modern humans spread into Europe and Asia. Unlike Denisovan which can be up to 5% of genetic inheritance although in Europeans closer to 3% or less or Neanderthal which tends to be in the 2% or less in modern humans of European descent, this earlier ancestor makes up about 0.5 to 1% of the Homo sapiens genome today for all carriers. The timeline then is at least 800,000 years ago as opposed to Neanderthal about 50,000 years ago as a European event and Denisovan also about 50,000 years ago but more of an Asian/Oceania event. The science is picking up all of these ideas with the test for my brother showing 2% Neanderthal and 3% Denisovan with ancient ancestry in the British Isles but that area was under a kilometre of ice until 12,000 years ago but the yDNA tells us that this was a group that wintered in the Balkans coming north early and probably crossing via Doggerland to the now British Isles 8,000 to 12,000 years ago. This was something that rather intrigued my brother who consented to have his samples done (I paid for it all but convinced him that I should do that by saying I would publish it although I was just wanting to save him any costs). I suppose in a way I have published it to a certain extent and far more in the Blake book. 

Dogs up early as was I and breakfast is all done and they are just waiting for the ground to dry up a little and their breakfast to be settled before a good run again outside. Walk for the older dog as she is still strengthening your leg. 

Continuing to read 1 Chronicles and the history of the people of Israel continues to be reviewed by the authors of this particular book of the Bible. David especially receives a great deal of study in these chapters. David spent some time preparing for the House of the Lord to be built (Solomon his son would build it the Lord said). Taking my time somewhat although a lot of it is the chronological descent of the various families. There is always this temptation to make tables but I am not sure that was the actual plan for people reading the text but rather to record the names as Israeli names for future naming of children. A thought on my part as forenames were very important in families through the generations and given very often for a reason. 

Yesterday a little more work on the matches with just thirty left to do. Once they are done then I move back to phasing the great grandparents and continuing to create the genealogical tree of the Blake family at Andover. Here and there in the records and in the literature I do get some help with that. 

Myself I am just moving along day by day doing the work that I would like to accomplish and thankful to God for all that He has given to us as a people of the world. We need to follow God's words in our daily lives and the world is a better place when we do. Love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and love our neighbour as ourself. 

Out twice already with the dogs and it is another beautiful day in God's world. We are blessed to have such a beautiful planet to live on. 

Solitaire puzzles are next. I must get to the Kipp newsletter and perhaps today is that day and then I can send them all off to the Chilliwack Archives. They are available to Kipp family members on FT DNA who are in the Kipp family study there. They were not something Edward ever planned or wanted to do. He preferred just to share his work in his blog. But I decided blogs can disappear and that I would put that work into newsletters that he had spent hours on and communicated with other researchers in The Netherlands and Germany to have their opinions as well. I always find when the dogs are with me I love the time with them and the work has more trouble getting accomplished. I also need to write a letter to my sister as I am trying to keep up a weekly letter to her.  

Well sort of, still working on that change is as good as a rest

 A bit tired today and will try for a nap in a couple of hours. Being 81 is hard work and need to prioritize the necessities for a couple of weeks. This is a fine adjustment period for me and I just have to work my way through it. 

Yesterday more work on the matches and down to just  thirty five to do. They are all interesting and that slows me down just a little bit. I chose most of them because they were unique as I have a lot of matches already. Some of them are fairly large for a person without first cousins and not too many second cousins but six siblings!

I did continue my reading of 1 Chronicles and I am up to Chapter 18. I can see that my time  is not quite so plentiful these days but I will always try to read at least one chapter. Before I started on this quest I was reading the Daily Bible Readings and so at least a chapter a day will fulfill that piece of my life. I am always grateful for the Israeli scholars who were the initial keepers of the word and this passage of so much historical material is a gift to mankind. God is in all the pages as one reads chapter after chapter. The Creator God who desired that all mankind would know Him and love Him as He loves us. Another beautiful day in God's world although last night the thunderstorm was something else. The older dog opened the curtains so that she could watch. I thought she was frightened at first but not actually she was curious about all the lights as was the younger dog. The younger dog has had a very lucky older sister who cuddled her close as an infant and guided her to the adult dog she has now become. God's words in the Bible always remind me that we were asked to take care of the world and all that is in it. Dominion over simply, to me, means being responsible for all the creatures of the world, all the plant life and take the best possible care of the world. 

Today all the cleaning has been accomplished for the week and generally this is my slow day whilst I relax and enjoy the clean house for a couple of days or maybe just one since the dogs are here although I do follow them about and pick up after them. They are very loving dogs to people they know and I am comfortable around them. 

Time to do my Bible Readings before I start my day of work. 

Solitaire puzzles to do. The dogs will soon be asking me to let them out for a bit. Mostly they are indoor dogs or porch dogs although they love a good run.  

A change is as good as a rest

 This old idiom has stood the test of time - A change is as good as a rest. It just takes a little time to get used to the change and at 81 it will probably be a number of days. The dogs have joined me whilst their home is being worked on so to speak - a few changes here and there. It will be fun for me and I already have enjoyed it but I do not get as much work done for sure. They are always in motion which also tends to be true of me. We quickly get used to each other every time that they come. They just want to be loved and that works well as I do love them very much. 

Certainly when my daughter arrives home each time to do her research time and be my live in caregiver instead of my far away caregiver I slip into that role very quickly; seldom takes more than a few minutes. Finally the person is here that will take me hither and yon to pick up items that I only buy a few times a year and help me with paperwork just to make sure that yes I did understand everything that is being changed. Life is always changing - insurance companies update their policies and all such and the like. The City is making changes and they involve my at least knowing that they are. Each time as my daughter's return to her in place work starts to be on my horizon then I must admit I do feel that change and it is not too long before she will retire and return full time but until then I must manage my life although my other daughter is here but she is very very busy as well so I always prepare myself for that change when it comes. The dogs will be with me which is wonderful; they are good for my nerves and we enjoy each other's company. But I can not get much work done when they are as compared to when my daughter is here. 

My daughter has hundreds and hundreds of students (perhaps even more no ideas on that) who have gone through her Metadata classes, Data Science classes, Relational databases, etc, Methodology in research classes that are working all over the United States now over the last nearly twenty years. Many of them write to ask her for references and others keep her up to date on how they are doing. Technology is so very important in every field now but especially in Libraries. It is important for Librarians to know all about the new tools and especially Artificial Intelligence because the youth wants to know all that and often enough libraries even in the smallest places are where they go to ask. Very important for librarians to be knowledgeable on computers and all the skills that come with computers. Lots of librarians come back and do courses in these new advanced studies so that they are able to help the younger students who come into their libraries with the newer methodologies (certifications are possible which doesn't hurt in one's job for sure).  I would have loved to have her here always close by but that was not to be; jobs were not available or in most cases Americans actually got the jobs here and when she was offered a job by an American University she took it and off she went. Her aim was to teach them all the skills that she knew from her years of education, she also worked in industry giving her that special edge I think of having been employed in that workforce (it was actually an American company here) that would eventually hire her students. It is her teaching that is most important to her and one of her research projects has developed out of the need for more technology in the field and she is an expert in that work. The research is primarily with former students and she is helping them to become resourceful and efficient scientists as she is. 

But I digress and my reading of 1 Chronicles continues. This renewal of the earlier Bible chapters was timely for the Israeli people, who had been forcefully and cruelly carried off to Assyria and Babylon far from their homes in Israel and Judah, reinforcing the stories handed down to them from their ancestors; clarifying those stories for them. 

I realized when I was looking for an email from one of my cousins in the United States that it really is a long time since I have corresponded with any of them actually. I see their comments on Facebook sometimes but I have not written to very many although have received emails from them occasionally. 

Must get some more work done. I have corresponded now with the Chilliwack Archives concerning this present issue of the Kipp Newsletter and will try to get that done today. I want the people on that list (Kipp yDNA group) to know that this material is available at that archive although it will take them awhile I am sure to get it into a Fonds for easy access. Such work takes a lot of time especially when it is the research of someone else. 

One item I think is true though; we need to rebuild lost industries (bought out by American companies and they took it offshore to Asia) by creating them again with lots of updates (there are so many industries gone from Canada that were here when I was a child). The youthful mind can come up with all sorts of new and interesting ways to create products (I still need that Canadian made vacuum cleaner!). This time we must always support them and help to keep them from being out competed and/or selling them to American companies. I love the United States but Canada is also meant to be a strong nation and the United States will always have a strong friendly partner sharing this huge border with them. We are meant to be great friends. We have been for a very long time.  

Solitaire puzzles to do and it is cleaning day and today is the basement.  

King Saul and King David remembered

Continuing to read 1 Chronicles and the genealogies of the families continues. This reminder to the exiled Israelis was timely to remind them of who they were and what had happened to them as time has passed and the children and grandchildren of the Israelis carried off to Assyria and Babylon have been born. The great libraries I mentioned a couple of days ago are now flourishing and the stories of so many of the peoples of the world are now written down but still the Bible with its reach far back into the beginnings is a story that resonates through the ages telling of God's love for mankind. The genealogies continue but now the text tells the stories of some of these families including King Saul. That Saul died because he was unfaithful to God is also mentioned. The important items of the history of Israel that the people needed to know to move forward as children of their loving God. Then the story of King David is again written down in 1 Chronicles. 

Cleaning all accomplished yesterday and today is the main floor. I also managed to get through another set of matches so just thirty eight matches left to put into the databases. Many of these matches are filling tiny holes where no one matched in particular lines. I have very few gaps overall but these matches have come along and they have filled some of them. I like all of the databases but I do have favourites for particular items and as it turns out each of the databases has a particular item that I find most useful which is interesting. 

Collection Day once again and I have one bag of weeds, two containers of recyclables and one garbage can. It feels like a waste to use a white garbage bag in the kitchen which is never full and a green bag to put it out to the street in the garbage can. The green bag is too big to keep in the house although I am considering it because it does seem like a waste to put a white bag into a green bag. Perhaps changes will come to rectify that particular circumstance. 

Just 16 degrees celsius today and the cooling trend has arrived. The birds are starting to flock as they prepare to migrate south and the training of the newly born this summer has begun. The animal and bird life are so methodical and such good parents as they tenderly guide their youth towards adulthood. One exasperated crow was trying to get the young birds into the air again having brought them down from the nest to the ground and finally the bird just ran at them and up they went soaring about. Perhaps they were teasing the adult bird. Hard to tell. 

My work is cut out for me the next few months as I return to downsizing the photo books. It is a huge task with over 40 large binders and that is just the photos from the beginnings of the lives of my husband and I to 2001 (we married in 1966 when Edward was 23 and I was 20). I was very young and Edward more of an adult and we spent the next eight years traveling about following the line of Edward's families as he sought answers about them primarily in the North Eastern United States but also Ontario and Quebec. But we also spent many many weeks with our canoe in the northern Ontario woods following the creeks and rivers as we enjoyed all that nature abounds in in Northern Ontario. It is a fantastic place to be although now it is many many years since we were there. Children arrived and campgrounds with lots of children items like swings and slides and wading pools became our life for a while but back to the woods again as they grew and they too love the outdoors. Now I am old, 81 is old, and have given my kayak to my grandchildren to enjoy and I just walk on the beach and enjoy the fresh air in the summer. 

Time for solitaire puzzles. I  must write the Kipp newsletter today mentioning the items that have gone to Chilliwack Archives for the Kipp family. I also need to write the H11 newsletter although with the new setup that FT DNA has introduced my breaking these lines down further is past tense; they have done a wonderful job but I will check the literature and see if there is anything new to report.  

Reading 1 Chronicles

Very slow reading the genealogies of the families of Israel and Judah in 1 Chronicles. Having such data is amazing really in family lines back to Before the Common Era. As I work on preparing my genealogical charts for the Blake family at Andover, I do marvel over this exceptional set of chapters. Coming down from Joseph who lived at Andover and moved to Upper Clatford is not difficult but going back one has to be very cautious putting together the Blake family at Andover and the areas around Andover. Coming down from the two sons of Jone Blake (widow) at Enham is also a major task although I have the work of Charlou Dolan to assist me in that regard. For the most part we are in agreement but we do have discrepancies between our charts. I am using the wills to keep me on the lines but also the land records. There is more available now then there was even a decade ago. 

Yesterday very busy working on AI with a project; mostly I was watching and learning as my daughter was putting together some work that she needed. The four research projects have kept her very busy this summer and prevented her from teaching metadata which did sadden her as she enjoys teaching. But she needs to rest in the summer as she is free to do her research at that time and give her some time to recharge and back into the fall term once again with two full classes. I am looking forward to her sabbatical which she is starting to plan now. She works very hard all the year really so I like it when she can get out kayaking and just skimming along enjoying the beavers and bird life for an hour or so daily. It is good for her. 

 For me I have a couple of items to resolve and will continue with that today whilst I am cleaning. It is the top floor today and I shall start closer to noon. I can spend the morning working on the matches. 

The day or two of smoke is long ago now and any new smoke is coming out of the far west and not as heavy as that day or two was here in the east. It is rare to have it actually still but that could change as the world continues to heat up without any attempts to trap the carbon which causes the heating. The carbon trapping done here to offset the carbon production from oil fields is effective. Plus we have increased the amount of forest management that we were doing because of the increased risk of wildfire with all the heat and electrical storms. 

One third of the way through August and the days are shorter and the nights are going to start to cool off as there is a cold front moving down from the north. Fall is coming and with it the polar vortex with all that lovely snow. I do love the snow. 

The Houthis continue their trouble making in the Red Sea. Why Iran founded and supports Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis is really a travesty against the world. They ask for a release of the sanctions being levied against them but because of Iran's violence against countries in the Middle East (and they shot down a civilian aircraft headed for Canada) they have shown no effort to curtail and eliminate Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. These terror groups have to be gone; they are ignorant people who do not know how to live in this world and belong on an island somewhere that they can do no harm. Personally I am ambivalent about the Hormuz Strait opening again especially if the countries that used to use it can find alternative methods of shipping. Then it will be just Iran that can not ship oil and that would be a good thing as they only use the money for evil purposes whilst their people starve. 

 Another beautiful day in God's world although it is cloudy but even through the clouds the birds fly, the flowers bloom and the sky is inviting. Thank you God for this day in your world.