Raking completed

 It was a good working day yesterday. I accomplished everything that I had planned to do although I did mean to look into the Conference presentations but completely forgot (but it doesn't begin until today so not a problem). I will do that this morning. Not sure if I will attend anything but I can always watch the presentations another time. We will see  but I have the Zoom link open ready to go in 1.5 hours give or take. 

 I have one interest in this conference as my Grandmother was at Marston Green Cottage Homes in Soho for about two years (her father died when she was fourteen). She was Head Girl in the house and had secured a spot in the same house for two of her younger sisters (Ada and Sarah) and May and Edwin (her other two siblings were close by). Although she, herself, never really spoke about being in the Cottage Home the occasional comment comes back to my mind that I think referred to that. She was satisfied by her care after her parents both died; the Birmingham Union quickly took them into their care which given the times, the end of the 1800s, was probably a good sign. Her father had been a Medic in the Army during the First Boer War which probably helped in their care I suspect. Reading the notes on this family one is left with the impression that they genuinely cared about the children and sending them to Canada was felt to be helpful to them. The Birmingham Union checked on the children at least once a year and I do know from family stories that their placement was very good although, again, as a child this was not referred to as part of the Middleton scheme and in fact it was not; the Birmingham Union looked after its own apparently but did piggyback on the emigration facility that the Middleton scheme had set up using it to send the children to Canada. It was interesting reading actually after locating the information. I learned a great deal about a grandmother that I had revered and feared in my childhood. I learned even more years later when my oldest child was two years of age and Edward wanted to search a repository (University near by) near Ithaca, New York. I did know that my Great Aunt Sarah lived there so we added a trip to see her into that itinerary. I had met her as a child a number of times and she was thrilled that we came. She was just 80 years of age then, same as I am, and still a very active person with her children being on either side of the American continent, one in Connecticut and the other in Washington State. Both sons had served in the American Air Force during the Second World War. She had three grandchildren and amazingly one of her grandsons had been there for a visit and it was his last day there so we met him as well as I had not prior to that time. Craig Winters was 25 years old (I was 30 years of age at that time) and he passed away in 2009. My daughter called Sarah Grandma which quite thrilled her actually but she was only two and I had mentioned to her that we would visit my grandmother's sister so I guess she just thought she might be her grandma too. She was missing her grandparents very much. Although we used to go back at least six times a year when she was small to see her grandparents. 

I completed Chromosome 14 yesterday and came across several matches that I had not recorded in my Known file in all this rush to collect data. They were particularly helpful on the 14th Chromosome. I reduced the number of overall crossover points as the Living DNA data very closely resembles my families due to all of them being from England itself (although I do have Scot and apparently Irish but do not have any known connections but lots of matches). I sorted out Chromosome 13 ready to work on it today. There are quite a few crossover points but already a rough look at the data and there will be reduction there as well. I was very precise with the earlier phasing of the Grandparents but the data on Living DNA is permitting me to be much more lenient with placement when they are close together and as I review the data they share basically the same close area. Having so much data from Living DNA has been most helpful. But DNA splits and joins as suits it and phasing is best looked at from a slight distance. 

I must get the rest of the recycling out to the street as I generally do not put it out until morning except for the brown bagging of the garden waste (two big bags). I will try to do two bags worth each week until the snow falls. 

Tea is ready to drink and solitaire puzzles to do. Lots of items to accomplish before the Conference begins.