Rain beautiful rain

 Poured with rain yesterday evening and the trees show it as they quickly swell up and fill the sky. This year may see all of the view from my window obscured by trees. Still a little sky peeking through but not very much. the air conditioner does not run very much these days probably because of all the trees - they do tend to act as a cooling agent around us. 

Finished all the Gedmatch material and on to Living DNA. Like the other databases you have to work on one sibling at a time and I have decided to start with myself as is pretty usual. I had initially put one large match into the Buller family but I began to wonder as I was sorting but gradually I can see that it does belong there but I actually have no idea who this person is. I did write years ago now which is rare in itself but did not hear back. I have played a little with that data - I am the largest match which isn't unusual in the Buller line but I suspect it is my great grandmother Ellen (Taylor) Buller's line rather than Buller family itself. My Irish mapping appears to be from the Republic of Ireland rather than Northern Ireland which is very interesting but the mt DNA matches with several people who were on the Expedition headed by the Reverend William Martin to the Carolinas from Antrim in Northern Ireland in 1772 matches our line perfectly. So I am suspecting that this Taylor line was originally from Ayrshire/Argyllshire which is the location suggested for our mutations in mtDNA in the Blood of the Isles Database. There are a couple of matches that belong to people who trace back to a smaller migration from Ayrshire/Argyllshire down into the Cumberland area and then on to Birmingham, England. The father though of Ellen Taylor does appear to be Thomas Taylor and her mother Ellen (Roberts) Taylor who married 29 Jun 1857 at St Martin Birmingham. I did have a descendant of this Taylor family write to me on Ancestry so leave that possible connection as likely true with Edwin Denner Buller marrying Ellen Taylor sometime in the 1880s after he was medically repatriated to Birmingham from South Africa as a result of his injuries as a Medic during the First Boer War (he returned in 1882 and was a patient at the hospital in Aston). Still working on that theory actually but this match is quite large a likely 2nd to 3rd cousin or a very large 4th cousin. 

Finally watching the news once again and prayers for all those suffering because of the wild fires in central Canada in particular and all across Canada as Climate Change continues to aggravate the conditions under which fires are able to take such great costs on the Canadian people. 

Time to do solitaire as I got distracted early this morning as I drank my tea and thought about the matches on Living DNA.  

Groceries, the market and another quiet day

 The local market opened last week and we attended this week and found lovely local vegetables there plus the grocery store completed our hunt for food that we wanted. With two of us food is more expensive but we still buy pretty basic preparing everything we eat primarily from scratch. I do not like a lot of salt in my food so eliminates most commercial preparations. Although I would say that salt is a good preservative. It makes an interesting diversion in my year for sure though but I get very little work done this time of year. 

A few more of the Gedmatch matches sorted into my database leaving perhaps  nine still to work on and then I move to Living DNA. There are a lot of matches there for sure and they will likely be heavier on the side of British Isles people testing. Still no more news on the 23 and Me purchase and I am excited to think perhaps we will have person to person matching again. Time will tell. 23 and Me was an extremely good site and I really consider the invasion of that database to be terrorism and hope that the criminals are caught and punished to the full extent of the law. 

Other than that I did absolutely no work at all but the days move quickly as we get prepared for summer. My daughter deep into research these days which is nice to see. Research is the backbone of our existence as a people on this planet and each researcher brings to the table their skill sets and one never really knows which skill set is going to move us ahead each time. 

The Gold Dome is still creating interest around the globe. Considering the chances of a meteor strike always exist working on the dome is in everyone's interest actually. But as usual we have the people who are only interested in dominating the globe trying to destroy the idea. One is left with the impression that they fear the dome but really if you do not attack another country than you have no fear. The world would be better off if everyone was friendly rather than selfish and demanding and in some cases satanic like the Russians and Hamas/Hezbollah/Houthis along with Iran their funder. 

Tea drank, solitaire puzzles completed and just waiting for the fitbit to finish charging to 100% for another five day run. Must get a new one one of these days but it still seems to work well. I am going to look for a new computer though as Windows 10 is going archaic! 

Question Period

Glued to the television watching Question Period and a few thoughts emerged. First of all Prime Minister Carney was a natural I have to admit; he fitted perfectly into Parliament. He allowed his cabinet to answer questions in their pertinent area which is always a bonus I think. We have had a one man show for too long in the Liberal government. 

The subject of the lack of a budget for this short time period was raised but I think realistically when one considers that the Prime Minister is meeting with the Provincial and Territorial Premiers on the 2nd of June to discuss priorities (and summer break quickly follows) it is very difficult to prepare a budget prior to that meeting and it will take a while to decide which roads to follow as we move forward quickly to pipelines and everything else that will encourage industry; break down provincial trade barriers and stave off a recession. So I agree (although fundamentally I believe in a budget) it is not necessary at this time. 

Great job Prime Minister and I am looking forward to Question Period once again although I do tend to do one of my exercises at the time like rowing or running or yoga but I get the words without actually watching.  

A little work on the matches and the cleaning is completed for another week rounding out the day. No work outside; a day off as it is too warm mid day to work outside really and the blackflies can be nasty in the evening. 

 

The Throne Speech

There were a few really good items in the throne speech including becoming part of the European Defense System; we are already part of NORAD here. The only real defense against aggressor nations is to be more armed than they are unfortunately. I have argued for many years now that we need to put more into our military because they are the backbone of our defense system both against natural causes like flooding, fires, whatever but also against aggressive nations. We always need to be ready because aggressors have basically become satanists and the word "no" has no meaning to them. They are selfish ignorant people with no regard for anyone (including their own people) but themselves and their ambitions. 

A few really good takeaways in the Throne Speech included single release for each project; no prolonged haggling over implementing ideas. Of course breaking down the trade barriers between provinces will really help the economy as trade is just a small portion of business in the long run. The more we produce here ourselves the better off we will be. Trade is just a luxury that we enjoy when it happens but our first concern should be local production of all items especially those bought out/closed during NAFTA/CUSMA. Of course companies are welcomed to open up a manufacturing hub here if it works for both of us for that to happen. But really when I was a child everything was mostly made in Canada so we can do that again.  The car industry still up in the air here in Ontario - the tariffs do not work for us and it will hurt the American car companies that have been established here for as much as 100 years in the case of Dodge. We always bought Dodge in my family and we still have a Dodge but if it isn't made here by Canadian workers the resolve of 1965 was that it has to be made in Canada by Canadian workers and Canadian materials to a certain extent. We are a large market especially as owning a car here is a rite of passage to adulthood for sure; get your permanent license now at 18 (was 16) and buy a car and live at home so you can afford it. 

I really appreciated the enthusiasm which the King brought to the reading of the Throne Speech - it was a long read and he did it well with his fluent French. He does make a great King and the ability of him to have been a King earlier meant the loss of the Queen so one has to be happy that the Queen was Queen when she was and appreciate the King when he is King. I rather think William will also be a great King in his own time. He has truly been through the struggles of life from childhood even if his upbringing was wealthy.  

The Gold Dome System is interesting but useless against a heavy barrage it would appear judging from how it has worked for another nation. It can be overcome although one would think that if adequate sensors and defense manipulations can be built into the system it would be 100%. Definitely an interesting idea and joint effort to actually materially produce it would be in the best interests of everyone to keep the costs down. One wonders about its value during an asteroid storm - interesting concept actually. 

 Not much work done on matches yesterday but the lawns are both raked where they have been cut and more to do today. Weeding the garden was another project high on the list and did accomplish some of that. I asked the neighbour of they could cut back their lilac bush which hangs over our fence quite aways this year and we will see if that happens one of these days. A couple of hosta plants just do not get enough sun and are stunted thus far; they only need a little for sure but at the moment they get none! Still more weeding around the flowers to come and will try to get to that today as well. Fingers itching to work on the matches but the garden does tend to take up time in May and June. We want to plant the Sunflowers soon - seven rows I think will be lovely. 

Top floor to clean as I simply can not do two floors in one day and also work outside. So that is the next task after breakfast. Drinking my tea and doing solitaire. Another beautiful sunny day but rain and cooler weather is mentioned.  

 

 

 

The King of Canada

Glued to the Television watching the King's attendance in the Senate and reading the Speech from the Throne. Excellent speech and just collects all of the promises made by Prime Minister Carney during the election period. It will be a hostile public if anyone tries to bring the government down in the near future and a guarantee for a majority Liberal government if anyone succeeds. We do tend to be a punishing electorate if brought to an election prematurely in our opinion. The speech read like a Progressive Conservative speech from the throne actually; one would find it hard to differentiate from such speeches thirty years ago. However, I remain a Conservative supporter for the most part throughout my life. But I am enthusiastic for Prime Minister Carney to be successful; he did get the most support in the election and deserves the opportunity to bring his skill set to the table as it is extremely impressive. One can feel the vibes amongst our allies when he meets with them. They like him very much and that can sometimes be a real asset. 

Completed the review of the Gedmatch matches and they are now ready to enter into my databases and I have done one today already. But it is cleaning day and the main floor and I will be accomplishing that first. The matches are quite interesting and primarily Ancestry so take a little while as I check them in Ancestry as well to see if I can actually place the individuals and have their results for my known file. 

Beautiful day today and has been lovely here for the King's and Queen's visit which was really very well received. Any of the not interested people stayed away as the cheers for them were huge and made me wish I was there to add in my voice but I decided I would watch it on television since I would miss the Speech from the Throne if I went downtown. The King speaks three languages very well English of course, French and German. He also speaks some Gaelic and other languages unknown to me. He is a very well educated person having been the first to graduate from University in his family. I always find the Queen to be perfect at her task of support as she always have been from the first time of knowing the King way back years both either were married. Life doesn't always flow for two people the way they would like but in their case they finally found happiness late in life with each other. 

Back to work; much to do including outdoor work.  

More work on Gedmatch

I have just two left to place into the ready to add to database file in the Gedmatch search. This has gone very well and quickly. The set up of Gedmatch is perfect to look at five siblings in a rapid sort of way. I haven't used it too much in the last four years and it has many upgrades. Because I am solely looking at these five siblings and have my own database setup I have not registered for the Tier1 tools but may do that one of these days as they are very interesting.  At the moment though I am simply gleaning new matches from the past four years in the various sites where I have tested both myself and my one brother and a number of my other siblings have also tested at these sites making for a well rounded set of matches. 

We went shopping and spent a couple of hours at that and then returned and cut the lawns I was sad to do that in some ways as some dandelions were still blooming but they have had a good run through the month and time to get everything neatened up for the coming summer. I want to move Starry Solomon Seals to the back as there is a surplus of them out front. I have one Bleeding Heart to move as well. Lots of weeding to free up the plants to grow and we will plant sunflower seeds (seven rows of them) in the garden. They will be lovely. We will plant any leftover seed in the back behind the raspberries and the rabbits or any other four legged mammal can eat them up as they grow. We may plant tomato plants but we will see.  

Today the cleaning and it begins with the basement this week. Never a dull moment. The kayaks, bicycles are in the garage now and the golfing bags ready for our outings this summer. Life is busy with our research, both of us and rather fun that both of us will be working away on something that interests us very much. I am looking forward to long discussions on AI as I believe it is part of the future but its control must be very tight in order to make the best use of it as well as encouraging our own brains to become more sophisticated in how we deal with the world. Children especially can benefit from having a constant companion with AI that they can instruct and use for their own advancement in knowledge and there are strong safety aspects there as well that can be utilized by them in a world that has so much theft and attempts at theft. 

Tea finished, solitaire games next and then breakfast and start the Robot as it will then be finished when I have eaten. Sounds great and the day begins with sunshine. 

Gedmatch and 22 new matches

 A check through Gedmatch and in total I found 22 new matches - I already have gleaned this database a number of times and a couple of these I passed by the last time for whatever reason. One excellent one that was a surprise - a good Buller match including the X chromosome which I mentioned yesterday. I decided with the first phasing of the grandparents that I was right about one of my siblings having inherited the entire chromosome for Buller although I didn't really have any conclusive evidence; more negative evidence than positive. But this new match provides even further positive evidence that this is a Buller chromosome inherited from my mother intact from her mother. That is the nice thing about the X chromosome; sometimes it is intact from a parent like the X chromosome passed from a father to a daughter and in my case a Rawlings/Cotterill? chromosome intact from his mother Ada Bessie Cotteril (Rawlings) Blake and my paternal grandmother. But finding one on the maternal side is just a gift that keeps on giving in terms of figuring out the line for Buller actually for the tester. I have been able to break that chromosome down into Welch/Cheatle/Buller/Taylor and pretty much all of it taking me back to my 3x great grandparents. 

My eyes have taken this leap ahead once again and the snow in the picture now has an enormous amount of texture and fluffiness. One can only sympathize with a small baby as they learn to see or perhaps they are much quicker because their brain is brand new; no one knows they can not tell us their first year's experience for the most part although both of my children talked quite early and a lot. But when I was working I would always talk to them or read or sing to them so that words were always in their hearing all day long. Their little brains can handle an enormous amount in that first year for sure. But the eyes were a surprise for me because I always thought you were born with fully developed vision and perhaps you are I have no idea but this progress of acquiring depth of vision and clearer vision has been ongoing since the first surgery nearly one year ago now. The second surgery two and a half weeks later completed the task and I have spent the years gaining constantly in my vision. Amazing really. My eyes still do quite fascinate me because I could barely see that blue eye ring before surgery and now when I look it is quite large although the center of my eyes around the pupil remain a speckled brown. So likely I remain brown-eyed as I recall but my close up vision was somewhat limited for whatever reason - it got blurry when I was too close even with my glasses on before the surgery and all of my life.

Today is Sunday; two services once again and I shall soon attend the one at the Cathedral. Last week the sound was poor but it was fun to see the service and I could sing the hymns because I have the bulletin on the website to follow. I did not go to the service in North Yorkshire yet but will a little later. Usually I watch it pretty much first thing but I got working away on the matches and the time flew by and it is nearly time for Church here. 

Tomorrow the King and Queen are coming and I shall watch that on television. Hopefully the weather will be good as I am sure there will be many many people downtown to welcome him especially to his country; it is my English upbringing of course but I do think of him as my King in a more personal way than many perhaps because of that 100% English ancestry (with some Huguenot from the 1400s, Scots from the 1400s and maybe some Irish (still working on that as to whether it is Planters from Ireland during Cromwell). But the Irish in the DNA is actually showing areas in other parts of Ireland mostly. 

 Working through the GEDmatches as I extract mtDNA and any missed material for the other siblings as I collect them one sibling at a time so as not to miss anyone. 

Continuing with match searching

 Yesterday I moved to Gedmath in my pursuit of matches and found only a few really as I do generally check there as Ancestry matches are most likely to be found there but also it appears My Heritage is starting to pick them up as well. One excellent one for a third cousin known to me which proves without a doubt my original phasing of the 23rd chromosome for one of my brothers was absolutely correct as he received intact the Buller length of chromosome intact from my mother and probably just as she received it from her mother. I know that X chromosome the best as I can locate Welch, Cheatle, Buller, and Taylor areas on that chromosome - spectacular really as that takes me back to 3x great grandparent's additions to my DNA. Since my Pincombe line is male it is more difficult to separate out the families although have managed to locate Siderfin and Rew not too badly in the lines mostly with cousin's results although we all inherited a little Pincombe except for one of the test siblings. Mine is also primarily Buller 2/3rds and 1/3rd Pincombe plus I receive an entire Rawlings/Cotterill? chromosome and thus far I have not really separated it out at all. Perhaps I will begin to look at that - time will tell. 

No gardening as it was too wet although always tempting to go out in my rubber boots and rain clothes and pull weeds but I didn't do it. Perhaps today as we have the same weather. At least the King will feel at home here with all the rain but hopefully we have some sun to greet him and during his stay. I think if you are excited he is coming then that is wonderful and not so excited that is your right. But please do not boo him or anything just stay home and let those people who have come to cheer him have their day in the sun. We would do the same for you. I hate booing it is so juvenile. 

So continuing the Gedmatch searches and I am working on the second sibling; three more to go and then move on to Living DNA. I have never really used Living DNA so curious how that will come out actually since all of my people are either born in England (dying here) or lived in England their entire lives and died there except for those of us who were born in Canada. I was born a British Subject but grandfathered in my own right to being a Canadian citizen because I was born here before 1st of January 1947. I have always found that to be very exciting. I have to admit I could be equally happy being a citizen of Turtle Island; we did make mistakes we colonials but we are blessed with the opportunity to correct them as the First Nations are very generous people. It is a lovely word though - Canada. 

Praying that Hamas leaves Gaza  that would be great (and releasing the hostages still held for nearly two years now probably underground; Hamas is definitely Satan) so that the people of Gaza can get the supplies that they need. Hamas is responsible for all of the deaths that have occurred during this war and the difficulties which Gaza is presently facing. 

As I mentioned earlier, Satanic Russia does not understand the meaning of the word no - no you can not have Ukraine; they are their own people with their own land and have a right to exist. Stop committing genocide against the people of Ukraine.

Back to extraction and perhaps I will complete this in a couple of days. Then Living DNA and a quick check of My Heritage as it is now a while since I looked at that database. 

Tea completed, Breakfast eaten. Next weightlifting when I take a break. 

Cleaned out the dead wood in the raspberry patch

A busy day yesterday and I cleaned out the dead wood in the raspberry patch, quite of a bit of it anyway. It was a very severe winter because of the lack of snow cover during the early really cold period. Too bad but they are coming along. I also cleared away some of the weeds as we are going to plant that garden area full of sunflowers as I did find it amusing watching the squirrels collect the heads and take them away. Plus the birds come to peck at the seeds so is very interesting when I do look out the window which is probably not often enough!

I did not achieve the Cardio level selected for me yesterday but that is okay will work at it today. I never had a numerical readout before on the FitBit so am finding it interesting. I think it bases it suggestion on what I have done the day before and if it is cleaning then the cardio level is way above the suggested but once I am not cleaning the cardio level is not going to be as high for sure. Interesting though as an addition to looking at exercise. 

I heard from one of my 2x great grandmother's twin sister's descendants on Ancestry. That was nice as one doesn't actually expect to hear from people who are second cousin or greater as my cousin explained to me in England when I was visiting that second cousins tend to not be that close (we do correspond a little but the time flies so quickly and I am not a faithful correspondent). I should write her again and must make note to do that. It was her brother and I who had corresponded for probably twenty years by the time that my husband and I finally made it to England. I had been there about seven years earlier with my oldest daughter but we just toured London; I was definitely not interested in genealogy in 2001 and really knowing that Ivan lived in Dorset I was not making a trip there which I did tell him in my letter. He had suggested we could meet in London and go to Greenwich but we just didn't get that worked out so I promised I would come again as he wanted to meet me. I said come to Canada but that wasn't in his radar flying all the way to Canada. So it was fun spending a couple of days with him especially as he passed away sadly about two years later when we were coming back once again to spend time in London before going on our European trip to France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and back to France and home. We had thought we might make that trip to Greenwich that he had talked about so my husband and I did do that trip and it was fascinating. I actually do not have any first cousins so second cousins seem quite close to me! But I am glad that she mentioned that.

 So today I have just five matches left from FT DNA to work on and then moving to Gedmatch and then Living DNA and a quick look back at My Heritage and will make sure to keep that one up to date. 

Still cool here for late May and I hope the rain is gone by the time the King and Queen come for the Opening of Parliament. I am quite excited that he is coming although will watch it on television as there will be masses of people downtown. It is an ancient line in truth that sits upon the throne of the United Kingdom. They have returned that earlier bloodline to the throne with the marriage of Charles and Diana and their son William heir to the throne. Exciting really for the people of the United Kingdom and for us since he remains King of Canada as well. I realize that French Canadian descendants feel less attached to this King but I always think of the Norman Conquest of England by the French; that was life way back then and it is now and it is pleasant to have this continuing Head of State I think but then I am only descendant of British lines going back hundreds of years although I do have Huguenot ancestry (French) from the 1400s that came to England in the Somerset area. 

Teatime finished, solitaire games played and about to settle into working on the matches. Perhaps a bit of exercise first and it will be rowing today.

 

Another good working day

Basement cleaned and about an hour outside giving the hostas breathing room as I removed all the plants that are not Hosta around them. They are doing well now and with the roots of the other plants I pulled (but didn't always get the roots) will have lots of food for the coming dry spell! There is still lots to do and the lawn does need cutting. Probably this weekend will see the lawns cut. We are not quite the last ones on the street to cut the lawn but close. I do like the dandelions to bloom for the bees though. My husband is horrified for sure as he would never have let these dandelions live in his lawn. I used to help him pull them up but when the city suggested leaving the grass a bit so the bees could work the dandelion flowers I thought it was a great idea and went right into that thought and there I have stayed. 

I also spent time on matches; not as much as I would have liked but the cleaning does always come first and that was accomplished in good time and is getting easier and easier actually as I organize things into areas that work very well for me. Out of the way so that I do not run into anything and neat so they stay readily where they are put. Fourty more matches to sort from FT DNA and then I think I will move to GedMatch next as I have been going in and out of that file looking at items and there are some new interesting matches there uploaded from Ancestry. The last task will be Living DNA and a quick look at My Heritage to see if there are any new ones there. It took me a long time to extract all the matches from My Heritage and do not want to let that get behind again. Mostly I am using the DNA side of all of these databases and not so much time researching as I am back pre-census in most lines and I have pulled most of the BMB data from the records for my people back into those registers. I seldom use other people's trees other than to locate the likely relationship because of the DNA match. 

Some discussion on the Gold Dome yesterday and I continue with my opinion that it is a very interesting idea and I do think we should be all in on it. For the most part of our existence as a country we have been with the United States in terms of how to protect the continent and this idea continues to be in my mind a worthwhile expenditure of funds if only to halt items falling out of the sky before they do damage especially with so much being up there in terms of space craft and all such things. The new radar system we purchased from Australia will fit right into this scheme. 

The devil stalks our world in main time these days and we must do all we can do to cast the devil and his workers out whether figuratively or literally. God has given us a message that we should love our neighbour as ourself. If someone is not doing that then they are on the wrong side with God. I think one should read love as respect for our neighbours property rights and way of life (so long as it doesn't interfere with anyone for sure from a legal position). A devil free world is a wonderful ambition I think. 

Teatime finished, solitaire games played and it is breakfast time and I am late today. The fresh air and work outside saw me sleep in a bit I guess. It is raining so perhaps not a lot of work outside today although I have one full bag and a partial bag. I would like to fill the partial one as well and there is lots out there to put in it. The Starry Solomon Seal I transplanted last year actually came up and the hosta as well that I transplanted (both of them) and so I want to move more of the Starry Solomon Seal to the back corner as it is a perfect spot for it to grow and multiply. The gooseberry bush also survived the fence building and several other flowers that I had not expected to survive.

 

Cleaning, Gardening and some work on the matches

 A good day of accomplishment as the cleaning is completed for the main floor and will do the basement today. I am spreading it out over three days as I want to also do some gardening. There is only so much time in the day that I want to have in cleaning and gardening. 

I also worked on the matches and have reviewed all of the old ones now at FT DNA and I removed thirteen from active use as they were very small and I did not know any of the people in terms of their relationship to me. It is good to do that probably. I just haven't really looked at matches since 2021. The occasional glance but nothing comprehensive. I now need to add the fourty five new matches into the database as I also completed the task of collecting matches for siblings that were missing due to the process by which I picked up the new matches. So  fourty five matches to place into the database and all of them are a good size actually. Most of them have been assigned to a grandparent but this process will show me any problems with that earlier assignment. Sometimes I have not yet decided on the assignment as well. 

The gold dome certainly sounds like an interesting idea and the new radar system will certainly fit into that idea. North America is of course our prime concern with regard to defense along with our neighbour the United States. That was why we established NORAD after the Second World War. I am happy to see Canada once again put militarization at the forefront as we were very militarized back in the 50s when I was young. It is important for many reasons including protection from external events poised against us but also our military often helps during crisis situations here in Canada like hydro failures during freezing temperatures, flooding in the spring (we have a lot of rivers and lakes) and forest fires. They supply the expertise to manage and control disasters. 

So today is more or less planned with the basement cleaning a priority but not so much hands on there as the robot will do the rugs. Plus the basement compared to four years ago is almost empty which is good news for someone expecting to move one of these days to a smaller place. Probably still looking at four years or less but it is still a while away but I have a lot of material to still go through and pass it to cousins of Edwards in the different lines. I hated to break it up but there was not a natural successor to all that material. The many books he had will be extremely useful to people doing genealogy at the Ottawa Branch here in the City Archives (he was in the process of doing that actually as he was moving away from so much work on genealogy the last five years or so). I have passed information to the Rathbun family, the Schultz Family and I am preparing material for the Allen family. A lot of Kipp material also went to the Schultz family as Edward was a double cousin having links on both the Schultz and the Kipp side. That leaves me with the older Kipp material which probably should go in an archive of some sort to make it more available. Still thinking about that. The Link family material (his mother was a Link (mother an Allen)) was mostly passed on the Link-Rathbun side to a half-first cousin. When the Allen is passed that does complete that family pretty much. But there is still a surprising amount of material as Edward and I did a lot of collections before our first child was born and I think I should publish that material as an epub. The pictures are really very very good of various areas in Ontario that we visited back in the 1960s and early 1970s. But it all takes time and I am also involved in my own projects. Some of that maybe my older daughter might do when she retires. We will see as the years are passing in those terms as well. 

I do think my glasses are too strong as I am having some eye strain once again. I really do not think I can get any more comprehensive in my vision but then I didn't see well before so have no comparison. I just take the more indepth vision as a gift of the Almighty in my old age. God must be shaking his head as he looks down upon us wondering when the wars will stop. When will mankind love its neighbour as itself following the commandments that He sent to us. The satanic peoples of the world (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis and Russia, Iran) need to get rid of their hatreds or find a desert island for themselves to live on until they can live properly in society.  One should always withdraw when one's actions are unacceptable or could be unacceptable and not continue to hurt people; hold people hostage for nearly two years and all of those sort of things. The perpetrators need to stop their war mongering. That is why we have mental institutions to help people when they entertain such visions of violence against other peoples. Too bad that wasn't the first choice for Hamas and for Russia during these past few years - withdraw and let people live.

Tea drank and the solitaire is completed. Breakfast is next.

A bit of backtracking

As I worked my way through the 50 matches that I already had in my database for FT DNA I realized that some of them are rather small and will sort them into my interesting but not used filed. They are always there if they suddenly appear as an in common match but will  help to reduce the total number of matches in the used database. So an added item as I work my way through. I have looked at these 50 matches from the viewpoint of two siblings as I work my way through updating the new matches with all the sibling information. So one job produces a new job along with the current one; always exciting working with DNA for sure. 

Cleaning accomplished on the top floor and will do the main floor today. I am happy to have this constantly cleaning week in and week out as it minimizes the overall effort in the long run. I must say though that as the dandelions go to seed I need to get out there and do some work in that garden. I was meant for concrete for sure front and back! Gardening has never been my thing even as I helped my grandmother years ago and then my husband as he followed one of his many passions with his gardening. Perhaps that is what keeps me indoors on occasion as I know he would love to still be doing his gardening. Life though moves on and so must we; remembering though is always good. He did not want to be forgotten as he felt his father was. Although when we visited some of the people he worked for as a teenager or who were related to his families that was all they talked about so not really forgotten as he discovered over time. Little tidbits came his way which he greatly enjoyed. 

So today continuing on the FT DNA matches and perhaps that will be complete by the end of the week and I will be into either Gedmatch or Living DNA to extract those new matches. I also need to do the other three grandparents - Rawlings, Pincombe and Buller for the separate sheets in the Ancestry database. I will soon be ready to look at phasing grandparents/great grandparents - perhaps the end of June. We will see. 

I am also sad to see the suffering in Gaza but Hamas must go and they do not seem to care that they are the cause of all of this suffering (they even steal the food meant for the Palestinians). Hamas hold hostages for moving on to two years - underground perhaps and that is just the greatest sin against a people there ever can be. Their release of the hostages like some sort of a circus was disgusting. Release the hostages and the Palestinian people Hamas so that they can heal and make a real life for themselves not one that Hamas created of hate and revenge. The children of Israel also have a right to sleep at night without fear. They do not have that until Hamas is gone. I realize that danger exists in the world but this is planned, created and took place against the children of Israel in a barbaric and disgusting way and they do not say that they will stop committing atrocities against Israel. Hamas must go figuratively and in reality from Gaza; release the hostages Hamas - you are satanic people Hamas. Satan can not rule our world or set the pace for how our world lives. 

Teatime completed and solitaire games finished. Breakfast soon; I am early and it is three degrees celsius this morning. A cool spell has come (Climate Change as such long spells of cool weather at the end of May are uncommon) and the heat is on once again keeping the house at 20 degrees celsius although it drops to 19.5 before it kicks in. The air conditioning never did come on earlier though just the dehumidifying.

 

 

FT DNA almost complete

Nearly finished the extractions from FT DNA in terms of new individuals but will have to go in and collect the information for the other siblings matches although that will be quicker. There are 45 new ones that I have never looked at in the past four years plus. A few are quite interesting. None of them are really large and mostly 3rd to 4th cousins with a couple of second cousins which are larger matches.  

Today is cleaning day and it is the top floor so will be doing that in a bit. It is also just 6 degrees celsius as the cold weather returns for a bit. The first hot spell of the summer has come and gone and with it the dandelions are slowly dying down. The lawns need cutting and that will probably be my first venture although not today but soon. The dandelions were beautiful this year and listening to the bees contentedly working the flowers was music to my ears. Nature is beautiful and we need to let it determine the flow some days of the year especially in the spring. 

The Prime Minster has represented us very well in Europe once again. He has the contacts and we will see how that carries us forward these next few months. I do want to see shovels in the ground for that pipeline sooner rather than later. This is good building season and we should be taking advantage of it. It always takes so long to get things going; too long. So on to the pipeline soon!

The new Pope certainly follows his predecessor very completely and that is good to see. I liked Pope Francis and I am sure I will also like Pope Leo IV. I will always remember being in St Peter's Square and the Pope blessing the crowd. Being the Anglican I am I do see the Pope as the head of the Christian Church on earth. But I also know that my Anglican Church is very ancient to the British Isles and our excommunication was due to political events that were beyond the control of my ancestors to change without creating a difficult situation with regard to Queen Elizabeth I. I completely support the decision to support the Queen and accept excommunication from the Church of Rome. But I know that the Church of England has its roots deeply into the Isles long ago with the Celtic Church followed by the Celtic Christian Church and God loves us just as he loves all the peoples of the world.  That is what is important to me. I wonder sometimes how much truth there is to the family lore that the early peoples of the British Isles were members of one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. When one crosses the veil; one knows then and that secret of the ages is revealed. I just think that those early Western Hunter Gatherers had a vision of God in their minds as they set forth across the Isles to start a new life 8,000 to 12,000 years ago. It is exciting to contemplate how much we have learned about Homo sapiens with the advent of DNA into our lives. 

So cleaning but first breakfast and solitaire puzzles are already done. My beginning of the day is complete and now I just have to carry that forward. Yoga next and then breakfast. In between cleaning bouts I shall do more extraction of FT DNA results for the fifth sibling (almost done). Then the extraction of the other matching siblings for the new results and I can move on to Living DNA and Gedmatch. Not sure of the order yet as a foray into Gedmatch showed me that it has been quite a while since I looked at that database as well. I also need to think about the Kipp Newsletter - I am very late with it this month. I also need to create the separate grandparent pages in Ancestry for Rawlings, Pincombe and Buller; only Blake has been set up but still needs some massaging to make it effective as a tool looking at the phasing. I do want to complete the great grandparents this time as well. The wills too are in my mind and will probably work on those on the non-cleaning days. 

Just the fourth and fifth sibling to do for the FT DNA matches

 Continuing extracting matches from FT DNA yesterday and good progress. It does take a bit of time but mostly the matches sort themselves into a grandparent line which is great. 

Still no gardening done but the spring is rainy these days and not great for working in the garden. I want to leave the dandelions to bloom as long as possible for the bees to gather honey.  The bunnies are eating the clover quite happily and it looks very large fresh and green. Even the cardinals have returned for a bit but no food out. They find what they want though and that works. Birds are very practical although always happy to eat food put out for them. 

Sunday and Church is back in Cornwall this week online and also at my Church here online. I am feeling quite content having two services every Sunday for sure. It is working very well thus far. I enjoy going to Church very much and for me this is the best case scenario. The very quiet existence suits me very well; I discovered that as a child living in the attic and later when we first came here living quietly with our little one. I remember someone that I knew from University days was here with her husband and child and wanted to get together. She called about a planned engagement to let me know her son had a cold so I said no problem we could get together another time - really I didn't want anyone around me except family. I was never rude about it; just preferred my own people around me. 

Thirteen degrees celsius and we are in for a short cooling trend with rain most of the week. The growth cycle was very fast the last week and now the ground has a chance to get caught up with lots of rain. I do want to get the weeds pulled but there is lots of time to do that when the rains stop. The weeds are easier to pull then!

Today more extraction of matches from FT DNA and perhaps I will complete that initial part of the project. I will still have to go in and collected everyone's results for individuals who match above 22 cM for some of us in one length but below that for others as that will not show up in the first extraction. 

The Pope is giving his First Mass of his Pontificate today and it will be well attended by the leaders of the world I am sure including our Prime Minister Mark Carney. Then this week will lead into the Opening of Parliament with King Charles and Queen Camilla arriving a week Monday and the Speech from the Throne on Tuesday. Tomorrow is Victoria Day in Canada celebrating the birthday of the Sovereign here. 

Teatime and solitaire games.  Must fit in the Kipp Newsletter today; it is very late this month.

Must get new walking running shoes

My "walking" running shoes are very old now - actually ten years old and they have had a lot of wear but that is because they are a boy's running shoe. Very solid. When I bought them it was because Edward got tired of my trying to find a pair of running shoes that suited me so I showed him the one I wanted except it was a boy's running shoe (I just wear a size 7 in a teenage boy's shoe) so said help me to find a pair that are solid like this as I like my walking shoe to be solid on the ground so to speak and not so flexible. He wanted to get on though with more shopping and so I just bought them and have worn them ever since when I am out and about. But I do need new running shoes of some sort; I need a new pair of just plain dress shoes (flats) as well but I just never get to shopping like that. Perhaps this summer I will buy a new pair of runners (the new shoe laces are a bit too long (I couldn't get the right size length when I replaced them a few years ago!)). I am not very hard on shoes though and this pair has hardly any wear showing except on the lining a bit here and there but externally they look almost new.

Busy day yesterday that saw a few extractions but mostly working away at different items and getting my COVID shot so all caught up for six more months and then the next shot. Never had COVID but I am seldom out and about so not a surprise really. This one was Moderna and I have had one Moderna before but mostly Pfizer. I do not experience any difference and I always think from a chemical viewpoint it is good to challenge the system with different strains anyway. 

I did extract two siblings from FT DNA (minimum of 23 cM) and will work on the third one today. I am collecting perhaps eight to ten new ones from each sibling as I haven't done FT DNA since the fall before Edward passed away. It was a regular thing that I did extracting new results from all the databases for both Edward and myself. I would pass them on to Edward in a file and he would deal with them. He had asked about a dozen cousins to test for him just to show proof for his many lines and it was a very successful venture. Initially he did not have a lot of Kipp testers but that improved towards the middle of the 2010s around 2015/2016. He asked a lot of people but only a few responded but over time he acquired enough. He did a lot of good work with that but it is all personal so will not publish that work at all. It actually had no real effect on his tree that he had created which was actually quite thrilling for him to know that his paper research had actually taken him back in the correct lines. 

In time I think that the First Nations will be very solidly in the oil industry here and that would be a good thing. They love Canada (Turtle Island to them) and will always take care of all of it and not divvy it up like it is some sort of a card game that one plays and just wins or loses - Canada wins together for the good of all. Being selfish and wanting to take away from whole and leave is just childish and goes against the treaties that provided guarantees to the First Nations. 

Looks like rain so I may not get outside to work in the front garden. We will see but it is time to weed it and generally one weeding does the entire summer as the plants grow quickly and occupy all the space. The dandelions are in full bloom now and the buzz of bees is everywhere on the lawns. I just leave them to it and will cut it when the dandelions die down. 

Separating Ancestry results into grandparent line

It actually worked very well to separate out the grandparent line (I only did Blake thus far) but in four sheets I capture the four siblings tested there and there are four sheets because I always used the largest match to define a siblings matches with the rest simply a line entry beside that. The yield was great for Blake with 246 attached to my list (includes unassigned but likely paternal), and 78, 41 and 57 to the other three siblings. I expect there to be a lot with the 2x great grandparents Blake having 54 grandchildren in the  mid  to latter part of the 1800s. Rawlings, Pincombe and Buller still to separate out but will likely do that today. 

I also am working on extracting the matches from FT DNA and good progress there. Every company does their display differently but in the long run I do need to go into each account and collect the data. I like to do as much recognition as I can tell in the first run through and that generally works very well. Takes a little longer with the first time the match occurs but is quicker with the rest. 

Listening to all the comments by the Liberal and Conservative Parties (and the occasional comment by the Block) but no opinion really. I want to see this work well and the onus will be on working together as much as possible providing feedback to the party that has won the election (the feedback is good so long as it continues to support the overall aim of the platforms presented by the parties during the election cycle). There are worrying trends here and there like the huge deficit showing up in the Ontario Budget. But there are also bonuses as the Trans Mountain Pipeline is proving its worth with huge shipments to other customers than the United States. This pipeline built by the Liberal government at a huge expense will be a profitable venture for all Canadians as it was built with our tax money. The provinces need to work together absolutely. The resources found on Canadian land needs to be shared by all the people and the First Nations has been very progressive on that. Private companies make good money where they have put a stake into particular resources but only because of the Canadian people being willing to pay the taxes that provide the support to industry when it is needed to keep this country solvent (mining oil in particular has had very large government incentives through the years). If a province is short of money for health care I can highly recommend the Health Tax levied in Ontario; it brings in billions for health care offsetting the higher cost of providing medical care that exists in our lives due to so many new ways to deal with illness. But mostly staying away from politics these days. There is work to be done and at nearly 80 I just need to keep out of the way for sure (unless needed which is unlikely). 

So continuing with pulling the matches again today and I need my COVID shot so that will also be accomplished in due time. I also need to garden but the inspiration just hasn't come to me. I am looking at the lovely dandelions and watching the bees work the flowers and do not like to disturb them. The garden will get its work done in due course I am sure. 

 

Another good day on the matching

 A couple of new matches on Ancestry are quite interesting and I will still continue putting them all into order and creating the "grandparent" sheets for each of the four since 90% of the Ancestry matches can be placed into one of the four of them. I find it handy as I working on the phasing plus my 2x great grandparents on the Blake side had 54 grandchildren back in the mid 1800s and the number of descendants of those 54 is huge and all around the world. Many of them have tested on the different databases giving me quite a well rounded look at the DNA chromosomes in this line. With the five siblings I have two that shared a lot of Blake in the DNA passage from my father since the choice there was Blake and Knight and the other three shared a lot of Knight so a good picture of that family coming down and Farmer (John Blake and Ann Farmer were my 2x great grandparents) is coming much clearer these days which is amazing really but there were so many descendants. 

Today continuing on this work and extracting from FT DNA, Living DNA and GedMatch in between when I want a break. Very busy these days with thinking about gardening at least. The trees have burst into leaf pretty much overnight although the Black Walnut is always the slowest but also the messiest. We have six packages of sunflower seeds to plant and that will fill the middle garden. It will be pretty and the birds will enjoy it as well as the squirrels who do come and climb those stems and chew off the flower heads when they have gone to seed and then run away with them to their storage place. It is interesting to watch. 

The picture in the living room continues to amaze me as more and more tiny minute details are revealed to me. Hard to remember now what it looked like before. Not being that sort of person that looks at things it is just sort of amusing in my old age to now see so clearly without glasses. These glasses are a bit strong I think and I will get that fixed when I go for my checkup. They are not bothering me but I just do not need them this strong I do not think. Plus I need my letter from the Optometrist that I no longer need glasses to correct my eyes for driving as my test for 80 years is coming up. 

Cooler temperatures are coming back for a bit and it is raining again today. Back to work. Solitaire puzzles are complete and this is a special anniversary year for Microsoft Solitaire. I have not gotten into a lot of that; just too busy. So much to do that the days pass very quickly. Even without internet my days would be very very busy as I have so much information offline that I still need to pull for this book writing. But I do have internet and it works very well amazingly but that is the modern world in a big city.

Good progress on ancestry

 I did extract the new matches on Ancestry and just 18 new ones (I have changed my cutoff to 23 cM as just too many at 20 to 22 that I can not place. I glance at them to see if I can at a quick look but they are not really worth the time to put them into the database. 

I will continue with that today and get that entered and I also want to look at splitting this database into four on a regular basis which would take it back to a particular grandparent - it will then be easier to use when I am phasing. I will also continue pulling matches from FT DNA, Living DNA and GedMatch. 

A busy day ahead and probably I should attempt some gardening. We will see; I do not feel any real draw to do that but do need to actually as the front bed is looking all up now and I can see all the plants up so can pull any weeds. I need to straighten the fence up and must buy some tent pegs to hold it more firmly in place. 

I watched the entire cabinet being sworn in yesterday and I found the background of many to be quite interesting and we will see if the progress needed can move ahead quickly. We have a lot to do in this country to recreate our industries lost to Free Trade and time is moving along quickly. Free Trade, in essence in 1988 sounded interesting but quickly turned out to be a problem with our industries being bought up and closed and people out of work as I vaguely recall. The net result though in the long run was prosperity on both sides of the border until the American businesses went off shore and had goods more cheaply made in other areas of the world - greed for some people is the only way to live (and unions have in fact served people well but coming from a small business family they can also be a pain in the neck!). People need to realize that a 40 hour week is just that; lunch and breaks is nice to have but shouldn't begin early and end late. And especially when you are working that isn't the time to chat about the weekend. My gripes from working days but I am a workaholic I will agree with that. 

We need to restore our industrial base that existed prior to Free Trade as well as all of the new additions to the Market Place. We need to be part of all of that especially Artificial Intelligence and we do have an individual on the cabinet whose field of sphere will be that very thing. AI has a long way to go; I occasionally dip in and look at that when I am doing a search. But one needs to, like a child, keep it focused; keep checking to see if it has lost its way, check to see if it actually did understand the query etc etc. But taming Artificial Intelligence will be a step forward so long as we always realize that we need to be the ones in control. 

On to the day; lots to do. The time is too short some days; others, I am very tired by the end of the day but then 80 does approach for sure.

All accomplished

Tuesday and back to the work week (all work really but some is my strong interest). A glance at the will of Edward Blake (administration with just an inventory) yesterday did not reveal anything particularly new but will spend more time today on that. Sorting out these descendants of Nicholas and his brother Robert is the aim of this particular phase of the work. Others have assigned them particularly in the Blake Family Chart held by the Blake Museum in Bridgwater, Somerset and the Pedigree Chart created by the College of Arms but the object of the Blake Family chart was to prove the descent of the Somerset Blake family to the Blake family at Calne not particularly to do anything with the Blake family in Andover. Adding it in was perhaps an afterthought having discovered perhaps the Pedigree of the Blake Family created by the College of Arms in 1690 with additions into the 1700s. For the sake of this particular charting on the Somerset Blake family the William added to the family of Roger Blake and Mary (Baynard) Blake did not work well and so he added a line much earlier. The problem was dealing with Nicholas in the long run. Amazing really as the wills of this family were quite clear on their familial relationships with siblings being mentioned. Charlou Dolan did an excellent job of tracing down her Blake line which was from Robert brother to Nicholas although I do disagree with her on a couple of points as the wills and the timing do not work for Richard youngest son of William Blake (son of Nicholas Blake) whom she attributed to the Robert line. But I have dealt with that fairly thoroughly in the past. Lots of wills to look at in Hampshire. We do have the Blake family of Calne gradually moving south from Calne into Dorset and into Gloucestershire to the west. After Charles I had the manor house at Pinhills destroyed (home of the Calne Blake family at that time) their movement out was fairly rapid and smart of them for their own existence for sure. But that is the Calne Blake family and my primary interest is in the Andover Blake family. I do work on the Calne Blake family but only to the initial lines at Calne during the 1300s/1400s basically looking at the more likely link between these two families as being in this frame namely the early 1300s and not much later and not in the male line. 

I also need to get out there and do some weeding and will try to do some of that today whilst I can still recognize the plants. Fortunately plants do tend to come up first and the weeds are smaller but that will change - Mother Nature is powerful in her re-acquisition of what is hers.  I do like to let the dandelions bloom through the month of May but my daughter has returned to do her research term and will probably want to cut it down a little earlier than that as it is more difficult to get through the long thick grass with the lawn mower. We are going to plant the entire central garden with sunflowers - her suggestion and it will be lovely. The bunnies are back and we do not feed them but it is enjoyable to watch them enjoying all the fresh clover and other plants. The recycling bin at the back has not been emptied in years and we may try to do that and then take it down as it is difficult for me to manage it through the winter. 

Soon time to go kayaking once the waters recede somewhat at Petrie Island. It is still flooded at last look. This is a wonderful water area actually and so close to home. Ideally I would like to just walk out the back door and be at the water but that also means rats and mice and all sorts of little mammals in your yard for sure. I am not sure I actually mind them being in the yard but it is a health hazard for children so probably not a good idea. Perhaps better to have a small drive to get there! There are still a lot of children in the area as it is high density housing on my street. 

A whole day of research; how exciting. 

Teatime complete; solitaire games played perhaps a little work before breakfast.

 

Last Cleaning Day for the week

 Today the top floor and then my cleaning binge is complete. It is 6 degrees celsius and will be another sunny day. The plants are literally jumping out of the ground and the primrose has entered into its most beautiful state likely all summer as it is being crowded out by Starry Solomon's Seal. I need to transplant some of that somewhere else but just haven't done it. Gardening, at my best, is not really my thing but I am trying to maintain at least the front garden and let the back be mostly grass. The dogs will like that when they come. 

Yesterday I did get in a little time on Edward Blake's administration. He must have died suddenly as he did not leave a will which leaves one to suspect he may have been younger rather than older. I did not learn anything else new except his mother owed him 300 pounds which he hoped to get back. With his mother still alive she is either very old or he was fairly young as this is 1644. But some people lived a long time back then surprisingly. But the hazards were fewer if you did not travel for sure. Especially in England as this is now just under 600 years since the Norman Invasion and life has evolved in England in that time frame. The French have probably forgotten that they invaded England, conquered England and replaced the local British monarchy with Norman Kings who have now disappeared and been replaced by at this time the Commonwealth but Charles II and James II will return and they are descendant of the Scots just as Queen Elizabeth II was (her mother was a Scot). Charles III is really a King of the Isles as he carries a lot of English/Scot blood for sure and his son William will carry even more as Diana was very much a child of English descent. Which brings me back to the Blake family. Diana was descendant of the Blake family of Calne through a female line coming down and I have recited that before (although I suspect this is a Norman family). But there is also another Blake line which was at Finckley not far from Andover and Thomas Blake there was descendant of the Blake family of Andover (which I suspect descend from Western Hunter Gatherer so very much a son of the Isles) and Thomas was at least an 11x great grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales. What I set out to show was that this Blake family at Andover acquired their surname likely by marriage to a Blake female (why else would you pick the surname Blake I am thinking?; even by 1300 it was a very well known surname in England). Would have loved to have had my grandfather's opinion on that actually but there was no thought of Diana becoming the consort of the Prince of Wales way back in the early 1950s when my grandfather was still living. The Prince of Wales was technically Charles son of Queen Elizabeth but not yet officially created. That happened in his teens at Caernarfon Castle in Wales. Is that my main reason for doing Blake? No, I am doing it because I want to ensure that Nicholas is in the correct lineage and not in the lineage that was created by Horatio Gates Somerby an American Genealogist. The other part is purely accidental and results from the Blake Pedigree Chart which Daniel Blake of London (descendant of the Andover Blake line) asked the Royal College to create using information that does not fit the actual records (namely concerns William son of Nicholas!). Interesting that really the first incidence of the errors were spotted by a Blake researcher in Somerset (another Edward) who likely produced another Blake Family Chart found in the Blake Museum in Bridgwater (it is anonymous). These two charts (and a couple of others that are helpful) provide much of the "arguing" information that I have used in my blogs (plus my own family lore). Is there anyone else looking at this? Lately there has been at least one journal article by a couple of genealogists on the problems of using Nicholas (and William) incorrectly in these charts. So no big thunderous thoughts on this but rather carrying on the thoughts of my grandfather (and father although he was less interested in pursuing the idea of correcting it) into this century all the way from the late 18th century when the thoughts of Horatio Gates Somerby were picked up by many many Blake descendants in the United States. Blake as an extant surname in my lines disappears with my brothers (not one of the four had a son). However there are many many male Blake descendants of Thomas Blake and Sarah (Coleman) Blake who married in 1792 in Upper Clatford! So not a problem really. And what else do I have to do with my time at the age of nearly 80? Well there is also the Pincombe book which I am working away at as well although it has been Blake concentrating in my blogs at the moment. 

Politics and the wars. I will try to stay away from them and pray for an appropriate solution so that the deaths stop and commerce can once again flow around the world in a somewhat orderly fashion. The Israeli children will get to sleep at night and go to school without feeling threatened which in the long run is the desire of many many peoples in the world. I would also like to see the Palestinians work their land and create industries and make Gaza work instead of harbouring generation after generation a hatred for Israel. I feel the same way about Ukraine - they should have peace and their land. Hopefully India and Pakistan can get along or at least not fight.  We will be rescued here in Canada from our slow but sure loss of industry and restored to our industrial base as it existed before Free Trade. But yet Free Trade can also be a good thing; one just has to protect one's local industries. But I still see trade as a luxury item; our first need is to tear the provincial barriers down and get trade flowing east to west and back again (including the pipeline). Refine our own oil and not pay to have that done and returned to us. The money in our coffers once again and we will re-arm and be the militaristic country that we were at the end of the Second World War - it was a good thing. The most powerful way to find peace is to be able to defend oneself against the Nazis of the world that keep emerging time after time.

Time to do my solitaire and drink my tea and then complete my cleaning. 

 

Another busy day with accomplishment

 As I was walking to the store yesterday two young girls/teenagers said Hello to me and I responded with a quick "hello" for politeness as I was thinking isn't that lovely of these two girls to speak to every old woman walking down the street. However, I shall stick to my walking during school time and work time as the sidewalks were very crowded and no point in my adding to all that occupying the sidewalks on a weekend day. There has been a lot of mention of older people being alone these days and loneliness being a problem. For me, not a problem. I have a vast amount of work to do. But it certainly was very sweet of these girls to take the time to say hello to every old person they passed I assume. 

Basement all cleaned and the main floor today. But also there are two Church services that I will attend online but all can be fitted into my day. I will not get any of my book writing worked on though likely but soon. The next will is interesting; it is primarily an inventory of Edward Blake of Knights Enham dated 1644. I know who this is and it was an administration. That particular part of the document is about all that I will do but learned already that his wife was Elizabeth and his mother Mary. I am fairly sure who he is but his date of death was not known to be before. No children mentioned at a quick read but will transcribe it next and see if there is mention. Surprisingly Richard Blake who left his will in 1622 had a large family but the number of grandchildren carrying the Blake surname not very large. He was the youngest son of William Blake (son of Nicholas Blake of Enham). 

I am surprised that the first two wills are both Blake members known to me but I am in the Andover block so perhaps not surprising. As far as I have been able to determine all the Blake records and individuals up to the latter part of the 1800s at Andover were descendant of Nicholas Blake and his wife Margaret (Blake) Blake who as a widow married Richard Munday so the records show her as Margaret Munday and Nicholas' brother Robert Blake and his wife Agnes (this is not the Agnes whose will was probated in 1617 as this Robert died in 1543) who had six sons. I do not anticipate that it will be this straightforward once I get into the bulk of the wills but I want to review all of them to make sure I have not missed any Andover Blakes moving to other parts of Hampshire. There are a couple who went to the American Colonies. 

Conrad Black's Editorial was most interesting today. I too want to see Prime Minister Carney proceed quickly towards the many projects provincially that will support the ability of Canada to take its proper place in the G7 and support our growing population. It is good to see the First Nations so deeply involved in the forward process of all of this. I do not have an opinion on Prime Minister Carney other than he was a very effective Governor of the Bank of Canada; I did not follow nor do I follow his time in the British Isles but I think he has great contacts in the British Isles and Europe and they will stand him in good stead. I think that Prime Minister Carney and the presumptive Leader of the Opposition Pierre Poilievre working together can do great things in the next year.  Eighty five percent of Canadians voted for these two parties with a similar platform to get things done. The other Fifteen percent represented in Parliament just have to ensure that they do not get in the way of what needs to be done to bring down unemployment and support the re-emergence of our lost industries (lost to Free Trade because a country as small as ours competing against a country as large as our neighbour does not work well I personally feel). The rule of democracy must flow for sure and for a few years here without being dominated by minority causes. Free Trade can work well but we must be able to protect our industries central to our existence. We all want the environment to survive but our approach has to be more measured. Reducing taxes is a mistake especially the GST (it supports the federal government; that was its intention and we should keep it). Ontario with its Health Tax and graduated Provincial Income Tax sends more money per person to the federal coffers every tax season than any other province per person; other provinces need to keep up with that or stop whining about federal transfers. You can not transfer from the feds to the provinces unless they get money from the provinces (it is a simple fact of life). Ontario has never had a problem helping to support the other provinces when needed.

Teatime and solitaire. Sunday and two services online - a perfect day. Plus I am going to do the main floor cleaning today just to keep ahead on all of that - unusual for me to work on a Sunday. Flowers outside are blooming; spring is really here (no more snow one thinks). It is three degrees celsius and the sun is breaking through. 

 

Will of Agnes Blake, Charleton, Hampshire, England - 4 Apr 1617 and probated 5 May 1617

 This will was quite interesting. There is an inventory which I decided not to transcribe as it would not add anything to my research. But the Probatum revealed that her husband’s name was Robert and he was of Andover. So well worth the time and effort.

I should be able to place her and her relationship to the Thurman family would be anticipated with Robert Blake of Andover being her husband. Her maiden name is now known (Garle) as she identified John Garle of Chute as her brother. Sometimes a will can be a surprise as I did not expect to find anything helpful for the Andover Blake family with an Agnes Blake of Charlton widow’s will.

I may have to rethink these wills for the Diocesan Court - they will provide useful information for sure but the idea of publishing them with a Creative Commons License may disappear since the first one I am already not doing the Inventory as it does not provide any useful material and will take me a bit of time to transcribe it. I will add them to the Blake material held by the Guild of One Name Studies for sure as an electronic book. 

So a good beginning on this work and I shall try to do a few a week. It is awhile since I transcribed any wills. I need to put my efforts to the grindstone and just work away at this and not get distracted. A lovely walk up to the store today but the sidewalks are really very busy; much easier to go when I usually go when school is in and people are working. 

Transcriber: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 6 May 2025
Source: Hampshire Record Office 62475_3730550019_4556-00000
Testator: Agnes Blake
Place: Charlton, Hampshire, England
Type of Record: Will
Date of document: 4 Apr 1617, probated

[Wrapper]:

1    Memorand[um] that about the fowerth daie of Aprill
2    in the yere of our Lord God one thousand six hundred and
3    seventeene Agnes Blake of Charllton in the parish of Andever
4    in the countie of South[ampton] widowe beinge of p[er]fect memorie thanks
5    be to God did declare her last Will and Testament nuncupative
6    in manner and forme as followeth First shee bequeathed her
7    soule in the hands of the almightie and her bodie to Christian
8    buriall Item shee gave unto her brother John Garle of
9    Chute five shillings I[e]tm shee gave unto William Sweataple
10    her godsonne a brasse pan a candlestick and a chest I[e]tm
11    shee gave unto Murqerie Thurman her
12    little brasse pann It[e]m shee gave unto Agnes Drue her
13    god daughter the bed w[hi]ch shee laye upon w[i]th the furniture
14    upon yt Item shee gave unto five poore weomen viz[a vi]t
15    Margaret Framich widowe Sibill Carick Mary Rutt widowes
16    Johane Sam and Agnes Thurman widowe for their paines
17    vj d a peece Item more unto shee gave more unto Johane Sam her Russet
18    gowne It[e]m more unto Marie Rutt her old peticote It[e]m shee
18    gave unto Margaret Swetaple her best kercheife her
19    best partlett and her hollan aperon It[e]m shee gave unto
20    Marie Foster a hollan partlett and a lokrom aperon It[e]m
21    shee gave unto Johane Drue a hollan p[ar]tlett and her best gowne
22    and her best hatt It[e]m shee gave unto Johane Foster a
23    p[ar]tlett w[i]th cutt worck strippes It[e]m shee gave unto Jane
24    Foster a greene lace aperon It[e]m shee gave unto Gillian
25    Drue her best petticote and a lynsey wolsey wascote The
26    rest of all her goods she gave unto Robert Drue to have
27    all and paie all
28    Declared and pronounced
29    In the p[re]sence of
30    William X (his mark) Sweataple  Aliced Foster (signed mark)
31    Johanne Foster (signed mark)
32    Margaret Framich (signed mark)
33    Sibill  X (her mark) Carrick
34    Probatum fuit h[uius]modi test[ament]um noncupative in cor[am] forma prob[atum]
35    Rasphum Barlow Archim Archinatus Winton 5 die
36    Maij Anno d[omi]n[o] 1617 Commissa [etc] fuit admi[nistraci]o bonor[um] omniu[m] e[tc]
37    dic[ti] de fuit Robto Drue iurat etc sonal__ saluoau_d
38    _______________
39    Roberto Drue Supradict[us] ________
40    _______ Rob[er]tus de Andever husband:
41    de Petrus Payne de ____ ____
43    Yeoman
44    Wrapper
45    1617
46    Agnes Blake viz [a vi]t
47    de Andever
48    de Charleton
49    5 die Maij 1617
50    An Inventorie of the goods and chattels of
51    Agnes Blake of Charleton widowe deceased taken by us
52    Edward Thurman of Charleton aforesaid gent, Willm Sweatyaple
53    of the same yeoman and Richard Twyne of the same yeoman
54    the second day of may in the xv th yeare of the raigne of
55    ye Sov[er]aigne Lord James by the grace of god King of England
56    France and Ireland defende[r] of ye fayth etc and of
57    Scotland the fiftieth
58    In the chamb[er]
59    etc (the inventory is in good shape but I will not transcribe it)

Biggest accomplishment of the day - bought groceries!

 I did return to the will and I am still working on it. The Probatum is unusual so requiring a little more time to sort it through and then I will blog it. My Latin though lets me read it almost instantly just the missing characters that make it a bit obscure and I like it to be as complete as I can make it. Ever the perfectionist. I am pleased that I decided to take up Latin two years ago and I want to start using the readers that I have as the language is a bit more in line with what I am looking at on a regular basis. 

I do think my glasses are too strong so I have three purposes when I go for my eye checkup prior to renewing my drivers license which will require testing of some sort as I am turning 80 years of age. I want to get just reading glasses but will need to pay for them myself as they will not be covered by my insurance but I can claim them on my income tax. I can go without glasses (usually do except when driving as my license is restricted to having prescription lenses) so I need a letter stating that from the optometrist. I am still somewhat concerned about my eyes being bluer than they used to be - that blue eye ring seems somewhat more dominant but I could not really differentiate things like that readily before cataract surgery; really since childhood so I can not say if they look the same as in my childhood. I can remember saying to my mother that I thought I had a blue eye ring (but that was really my grandmother speaking because she said that I did). She said not really it was much too small and the definition of eye colour is either blue or brown. I would need a letter if the optometrist thinks my eyes are somewhat blue. We will see. I had two grey-eyed grandparents so anything is possible especially with our new knowledge of DNA and that eye colour is not a simple one gene item. Much more complicated. I just want to have that letter if I am ever crossing the border back into my own country. I doubt I will travel very often outside of Canada after 80. It just isn't something that I think that I will do. I would like to spend time with my daughter though so we will see. It is beautiful along Lake Michigan. As a child we spent time at Lake Huron and we used to visit my parent's cottage on Lake Huron with the girls when they were young. Time though took us elsewhere so it has been a long time since I was at Lake Huron. The Ottawa River is nice but it is not a Great Lake! and the same goes for the St Lawrence River. Very nice but it just doesn't have that feel of water as you can see land on the other side. 

One thing I have noticed about my vision is covering the strong eye (used to be and probably still a bit stronger) I can now actually see out of the weaker eye without shadows or a blurred area coming and going. I can actually see letters that aren't huge. I vaguely recall the ophthalmologist saying there was a problem with that cornea - so no ideas on that I am a long way from those records for sure and probably they do not exist anymore. I just have to go with the verbal explanation that I recall from childhood. But the lens was replaced not the cornea so I am perhaps remembering what was said way back when in bits and pieces because I was young then maybe eight or nine and I really didn't talk to the ophthalmologist after that time as he had students and they just checked my eyes for changes - they never really changed as I could still see using my infant glasses right up to before my eye surgery. I actually haven't tried; must look at that! The last time I was in his office I think he had retired so I just went for my usual checkup. I could see and never really thought about it.

So today cleaning the basement; a bit early this week but I have a plan in mind to have greater accomplishment for a spring cleaning. I will spread it out over three days. The benefit of cleaning every week without fail is not having big cleanings to do but occasionally one needs to really shake everything out and move everything around just to capture the dust that sits behind and under. The robot is already doing its task and I have about half of an hour left to work away. 

So today continue on the will and complete it and blog it. I see I have two wills that I completed back before my life changed quite a bit in terms of available time; spending time with Edward watching cooking shows and the like just seemed like the right thing to do. We chatted whilst we watched as well. He enjoyed watching the cooking shows and then experimenting cooking. The exercise doing that was certainly good for him as he could not be persuaded to take up exercise. In retrospect I think it was too big an effort and I didn't carry on about it. He was happy. 

Ceasefire in the India/Pakistan dispute is good to see. I was happy to see the Americans still involved in that thought process as they have been a power in the world for 80 years plus and the world has benefited from having their superiority for such a long period. But then it was peaceful for them too as the attack at Pearl Harbour was a wake up call for them back in 1941. One can be neutral but it doesn't protect you from Nazi type aggression. One must be ready and it is music to my ears to hear new purchases/money for our military. We also need to be ready. Am I afraid, no not really. But being ready is much better. 

Back to the will. Breakfast complete. Two sets of exercises done and soon the work of dusting and scrubbing the basement floor and everything there. Then tomorrow the main floor and it is Sunday so Church is online at my Church and also Sheffield which is close enough to my Holme on the Wolds in the East Riding of Yorkshire. We went through Sheffield on our way north one of those times. I counted it as being close to the East Riding of Yorkshire. Although it is fascinating to go back to the exact place I find that it isn't something that I am going to do unless it is fairly easy for me to do so. It seemed more apt to go to Upper Clatford directly because my grandfather talked about it so much. 

On to the day.

Welcome to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV

The choice of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV greatly welcomed by all the peoples in St Peter's Square and around the world. A Pope born in Chicago, United States of America and of the Western Hemisphere. The enthusiasm and spirit of the Western Hemisphere has been brought once again to the Vatican. Mind you there has also been plenty of enthusiasm and spirit from the Eastern Hemisphere to the Catholic Church through the millennia. 

Finished up the first batch of matches and starting to extract the matches from FT DNA and Living DNA (will also check GedMatch for Ancestry matches). I need to check Ancestry once again as more than a month has passed since I last extracted matches from there. 

The day ran away on me somewhat but I did get all the branches broken up and out to the street for pickup today. I watched some more of the latest documentary on the Blitz in England - the original reels added in here and there are quite amazing actually. One wonders how they ever survived all of that and yet London was beautiful when we were there. The stains of war were still there though when we visited the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Bermondsey but renovations were happening and already painted over and replaced but still more in the process. My Beard family was at St Mary Magdalene and my Buller family had been at the Church of St Olave but that burial yard had been moved to Bunhills in London when the extensions to London Bridge were added. There are plaques under the extensions showing the look of the area before the extensions including Tooley Street where Christopher Buller had his sail/slop shop. All in all, London was a marvelous experience. We walked 18,000 steps and more most days from the hotel near Waterloo Station into London as far as St Paul's Cathedral and then into Bermondsey and down Long Lane where the Buller family lived back to Waterloo Station and we did that several times with several different paths in mind. I had plotted that all out before we went on the maps. It was an amazing five days that we spent there that particular time in 2010 before we went on to a tour of part of Western Europe (France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France). Edward and I both liked to walk. 

I must finish off the will though first thing today and perhaps start another one. I would like to complete that task. I have a lot of different tasks on my plate now but it is good to always be busy at something that interests you. 

Monday we learn about the Cabinet I think although did hear on the Power and Politics series last night that it was the week of the 12th rather than the 12th itself so it may be later in the week. However Parliament opens on the 27th with the Throne Speech that date is set in stone now. I am glad that it is televised as I do not see myself going downtown. I much prefer to watch it on the television and have for quite a few years although I still love to walk and run for that matter and do do that but primarily at home. 

Kettle on and soon teatime.  

Good working day

 Yesterday was a good working day and I have just 10 matches left to sort. However I still have to extract matches from FT DNA and Living DNA (and I will look at GedMatch but only a few people in Ancestry transfer results) so this is a rather long process. I do need to pull the matches from Ancestry once again though as it is over a month since I last did that. 

Monday is the release of the Cabinet names of the Prime Minister and then in two weeks the Opening of Parliament and the reading of the Speech from the Throne by King Charles III. I actually think it is appropriate and the right thing to do to have the actual Head of State do that at least once in his time as King. The Queen in her long reign actually only did that twice. I like the Westminster Model of governance and it has served us well. Basically, the risks of bringing down the government when it is a minority are severe as the Canadian public always punishes the party that brings them down and gives a majority to the government in place. We do not like to go to the polls without a good reason plus it is expensive. But I believe that the Liberals and Conservatives will work together very well on this issue of trade (both external and internal) and that is really the most important item at the moment. Their platforms were remarkably alike going into the election and continue in that vein. I think once Pierre Poilievre has returned to Parliament and the Prime Minister with his world wide knowledge and Pierre Poilievre with the support of the youth in this country and the two combined will be formidable and bring Canada's industries back that were lost during Free Trade with the United States and Mexico. I really wonder why at this point in time we would even permit a non-Canadian company to purchase any of our utilities particularly oil. We need to protect our Canadian energy industries for quite a while and then we can return to our usual friendly approach to business. But we are under siege so to speak in the marketplace and must do everything possible to increase our internal spending between the provinces and find more markets around the world for the products that we export which are needed in many places. We are gifted as a country with so many natural resources. The First Nations are very intertwined into the government now and all of us working together will make Canada a strong and powerful nation trade wise and our increase in spending on the military helps to support all of that. Natural disasters often require the assistance of our military and for that alone spending the increased dollars is an absolute necessity. We are a huge country. 

Today I will clean up the will I transcribed and blog it and start on the next one. Probably I will do perhaps four to five per week thus giving myself editing time without overdoing it. I think my glasses might be too strong so will soon be in for the checkup and perhaps a redo of the glasses. I have spent the year strengthening my eyes as much as I can and it seems that they may be much stronger than in my entire life which is amazing in itself. These I will have to pay for myself since my plan only covers glasses every two years. But that is fine I can claim that on my Income Tax. 

Selling my house still uppermost in my brain as it would be a lovely place for a young family with the huge yard and all the schools nearby. With housing so limited it is a pity to waste any houses leaving them virtually empty especially when they are so close to schools. However so long as I am undisturbed in my working place it is unlikely that I will move any too soon. There are still five units in my set that are full of people!

Still waiting on Hamas to do the right thing and release the hostages and get out of Gaza so that the Palestinians can start to have a life. Their stranglehold on the Palestinian people is a crime in itself. The death of all of those children entirely the fault of Hamas. 

Russia withdrawing back into its proper border of 1990 is really a must. They are disturbing the peace and really no one should be permitted to disturb the peace as they have. Their ignorant threat of nuclear war continues to hang in the air - too bad that we, in our generosity, had to help them after the Nazis attacked them (after all they split Poland with the Nazis and took over the Baltic States). If one had a crystal ball that could have told how Russia would attack its neighbour in 2022 then we could have just left them without help since that is what they want for Ukraine so they can gobble it up and continue their genocide against the Ukrainian people. Truly disgusting what Russia is doing to Ukraine. I am surprised to see some countries in Europe support them (they must have Stockholm Syndrome after all Russia was in their countries for over 40 years with their military  treating them like slaves).

So today is a work day and it will include the publishing of this first will of the next set. Finishing up the matches. Extracting from FT DNA and Living DNA and pulling the matches from Ancestry. Another busy day ahead of exercise as well. I should do some gardening and will at least break up the branches. 

Teatime and solitaire.

Back online

 The system was still down so decided to write my blog offline. I did try to install Blogger on my other phone but it was just too much trouble to change things around. System down since yesterday about this time or perhaps just a little later.

Had a busy day already working on my phasing reviewing the existing Known matches. I did find a few that appeared to be outside of my original phasing so will see how that works out when I actually get to setting up the boundaries again. Sometimes it was a bit cloudy in that regard although generally everything looks great.

I also got started on the first will in the list  for Agnes Blake 1617 at Charlton. She is a widow but my purpose in doing the Blake wills is to do them all so that I do not need to go back to the will continuously wondering what is in it. It was an interesting one full of clothing details. Clothes were still handed on when I was a child. I had a lovely coat from my Great Aunt Ada (my grandmother's sister) that I truly enjoyed for a couple of years until I was too tall for it (she was rather short about six inches shorter than me).

I also did some online searching (on the phone which is really rather limited in its scope for sure) for H11 as I need to get that newsletter written. I think I am gradually becoming less stressed and it does not appear that I am stressed about the lack of internet as I am getting things done that I continue to set aside for whatever reason. Less interesting I guess than what I am currently into working on.

Interesting how relaxed the atmosphere is in Canada with the new parliament coming up even with a minority government. We have the two main parties Liberals and Conservatives with around 85% and the people have spoken. We want what they were saying during the campaign and for the most part they differed in their ideas of how to progress forward. The big difference was experience versus youth. Mind you Pierre Poilievre has been in parliament for twenty years so he can certainly help very much with this process of getting items organized, approved and on the ground working. Mark Carney has the experience and knowledge of interconnected inter governmental affairs that will really help to get us moving. Although, apparently, our trade not to the United States is now exceeding our trade to the United States. That works for us and the President has said that it is working for them I assume from the meeting in the Oval Office yesterday. The President and the Prime Minister got along very well which was good to see - I streamed it on the phone for a bit. The President was chatty as he talked most of the time but the Prime Minister had some things to comment on and he said them and we are proud of him as our representative in this present difficult situation involving tariffs. The President wants us to be friends and assuredly we have always been friends with the United States these past two hundred years plus.

It will be nice that the King is coming on the 26th/27th to Open Parliament and read the Liberal Message to us. It is also nice that the Queen is coming. I shall watch it all on the television. My daughter will be busy doing her research to take out so much time but will likely watch it with me on the television.

Other than that I will carry on with my exercise routines (time to row) and my work offline and I am making great strides in that regard as I just kept putting some of it off. I found sorting the matches into my various databases and other storage areas just so relaxing that I didn't want to set it aside. But now I am back into doing what I also need to do.

Moving along with the work

 Another good day of accomplishment although I never made it outside the door. Must do that; although it is raining today so maybe not today. Cleaning of the top floor completely accomplished and will do the main floor and basement today. 

I also am now down to 24 matches left to place in my filing system. This has gone very well and a few very good new ones. I was looking through my known file and of the 23 chromosomes only a couple do not have four of the great grandparent pairs represented by the results (although it is sometimes  2x greatgrandparents that the individual shares with me or rarely 3x or even 4x. I am still thinking about the H11 and Kipp Newsletters. They will only be about news for the H11 and yDNA for the Kip family of New Amsterdam/New York so pretty limited in scope. 

Listening to the comments of the Premier of Alberta on Equalization Payments from the Federal government to the provinces. Alberta has just a flat rate 10% Provincial Income Tax paid by its citizens. Given the times and the needs of our "Socialist" benefits I would think that they need to increase their  provincial income tax personally. Ontario has a graduated rate like the Federal system plus we have a Health Tax which pays around 5 Billion or more into the health system here (but our equalization payments do not come anywhere near how much tax is collected from us here in Ontario). If you want to provide for your people in your province then somebody has to pay for it (like the Health Tax here). Personally I think people should put aside money for teeth, drugs and the like themselves before traveling or buying luxuries but when it was decided that we would have "socialized" medicine I moved from the camp that said no to the one that said yes all because of a little boy with a foot that needed a simple operation that the family could not afford. He was a sweet little guy and quite won my heart and I moved from that space where I really did not believe in subsidized medical care to 100% medical care provided; just appear with your card. Children should not have to go through life with disabilities that can be fixed with just a little help. Taking Alberta out of Canada is unfair first and foremost to the First Nations. Haven't they suffered enough? They should be able to call all of present day Canada home; that was the guarantee. Alberta didn't even exist until 1905 and it is part of the original Rupert's Land which the Canadian people paid to purchase from the Hudsons Bay Company in order to bring that parcel of land into Confederation (Alberta and Saskatchewan were created from that land purchase plus extensions to the other existing provinces). Personally I think it should have just all been Manitoba from Ontario to the Rocky Mountains since Manitoba already existed. Then there would be less quibbling over the amount of transfer payments and representation. That purchase included all the guarantees signed by the Crown and the First Nations through the years. But instead Alberta has been a province that has seen good times and bad (the Great Depression was pretty awful there and the Federal Government was very helpful to them). I look to the south of us and see the states recovering from natural disasters get no aid from their federal government these days.

We were one of the founding nations of NATO in order to protect ourselves from the vengeful Russians primarily. We all lost people in the Second World War; the Americans lost people; Europe lost people; the British Isles lost people; the Commonwealth lost people (although still the British Empire in those days) and it was a particularly expensive war in the British Isles and Europe - World War II. The rebuilding was hugely expensive. Russia is just greedy (they signed a deal with the Nazis to partition Poland in the Second World War) and it still shows as they try to gobble up Ukraine by murdering its citizens. I do not actually think they want any Ukrainians; they just want the land; the minerals and everything else that is in that huge country (like ours rich in natural resources). We have put a lot of money into our NATO missions and not enough into our own personal defense but that is changing and rapidly, finally. 

I am a Netflix user and I begin to wonder will I get a bill that has a 100% tariff on any movie watched not produced in the United States above and beyond what I pay? I actually do not watch Netflix enough to really justify having a subscription (and I only watch documentaries) to be honest but I like it to be there when I have company. There is a new movie on the Blitz of the 1940s which was most interesting listening to the dialogue. The threats against England of destroying their economy were rather illuminating as the bombs came down wiping out industrial areas. That kept up for eight months but they survived to live another day by burrowing underground and just waiting it out. They sent their children to safety in the north and to Canada. At the end of the war they rebuilt and prosper still. It is just a matter of recreating industries lost by whatever means and moving forward. One doesn't have to trade with one's neighbour or even at all (it is a luxury to trade externally and luxuries are interesting but not actually needed). We have formidable trade barriers between provinces coming down rapidly now. The hit to our GDP is smaller than I imagined actually but does decrease our spending needs on military although personally I would like to see us spending 5% of GDP. 

Tea is in the process of being drunk and must play my solitaire games. Cleaning in a bit.