A new ancient ancestor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A change is as good as a rest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

King Saul and King David remembered

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reading 1 Chronicles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

The descendant of David

 King Jehoiachin of Judah, David's descendant, was released from prison in Babylon by King Evilmerodach at the beginning of his reign. He was kind to the King of Judah and placed him above the other kings who were with him in Babylon. God's promise continued to be fulfilled that a descendant of David would continue to live even in the Babylonian Exile when the people of Judah were forced to move to Mesopotamia in the Babylonian Empire from Judah. Some of the Israelis remained in Judah on the farms and were not forced to move and they remain to this day. Moving on to 1 Chronicles and I have a wall chart of the ancestors of Jesus on his mother's side. 

Genealogy was not my thing at all through most of my life. It was my cousin (my great grandmother's father Robert Gray had a brother James Gray and this cousin George De Kay was descendant of this line) who wrote to me (he first wrote to my younger sister who declined the offer and suggested me) and asked me to do a Pincombe Profile. It was a surprise and initially I said I really did not have the training to do that but after a couple of emails he persuaded me to take it on. So I did my usual when I know nothing and I took 42 courses from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies which was at St Michaels College, University of Toronto at that time. The item for the book was due in mid to late 2005 and this was spring of 2003 so I had my work cut out for me and I was also still working. However my husband had been doing genealogy for most of his life and I did help him at repositories when he asked me to do so. So I had a little introduction to that although my husband was looking for his colonial American ancestors (and he did find thousands of them as it turned out but he knew that they were early colonial with lots of surprises as it turned out for him). I needed English research from distinct counties in England namely in the case of the Pincombe family from Devon and Somerset and my great grandmother Grace (Gray) Pincombe's family was from the East Riding of Yorkshire. Grace was my first Canadian born ancestor and surprisingly her first cousin was Sir John Carling (which I did always know as a child). George had already produced a book on the Carling Routledge Gray families of London Township. Grace's mother was Mary Elizabeth Ann Routledge and her sister Margaret Routledge had married Thomas Carling. The Routledge family were my first immigrants to Canada in the fall of 1818  coming from Bewcastle, Cumberland, England. Sir John was very involved in politics both before, during and after Confederation. But I digress from my Bible Readings today and will now return to the 1st chapter of 1 Chronicles. 

These books were written for the people of Israel to remember who they were whilst they were away from their lands in Israel living in captivity in Assyria and Babylon. It will be the time of the prophets and we will start to hear about the Messiah to come. The desire to return to Israel (their known home through thousands of years of history) was always in their blood and one can understand that desire especially when one knows the entire history of the Israeli people. It always amazed me as a child that their history had been so lovingly preserved in the Bible. 

My grandfather used to talk about his Blake family having lived in the Andover area for ever; indeed Grandpa and one of his younger brothers were the first of Edward (my great grandfather) Blake's children to leave England and both came to Canada although another brother went to Africa a little later but my knowledge of him is weak as I can not remember my grandfather mentioning him that often. Grandpa talked about his oldest brother who had remained in England and all his sisters. He did write back and forth to them and I have some of those letters. I corresponded with a descendant of Grandpa's youngest brother William namely Ivan Kent who has since passed away. I went to England (my second trip and Edward's first) and spent about half a week with Ivan and we traveled about with his wife to the Andover area and to Barnstaple in Devon and area. He wanted to visit the Atlantic once again and I spent time in Bishops Nympton where the Pincombe family lived from whom my mother was descended. 

 Sunday today and it is a beautiful day following the rain yesterday although still somewhat cloudy. I will go to church in another hour online. God's day is always beautiful and contemplating the luxury of living in this beautiful world for eighty one years crosses my mind every day pretty much. I was born into peace as World War II was over and peace was coming to the world. It was a fragile peace but the wisdom of the Allies was to create the United Nations so that we would have a place in which to argue the events of the world and so we survived the Cold War. This public forum has stood us well through my entire life. I will say that the founding nations more than did their part in bringing together the nations of the world and helping many nations to come back from the absolute horror of the Second World War. It is good to see that these Allies have stayed together bringing in many many other nations over time. There are few areas of the world that are not represented well at the United Nations. No one wins in a war; everyone is a loser because lives are lost; money is used up quickly to provide war materials and the threat of war that annihilates the entire world hangs over us on a daily basis. Living underground for twenty years does not even come close to letting Mother Nature heal the world after a nuclear war. Perhaps one hundred years but providing for so much time underground does not really sound like a reasonable alternative. Peace is the better alternative. We had peace; we should return to it and make the punishment even harder for those who break the peace. Sanctions to absolutely cripple their ability to make war. The Houthis have bombed an oil company in Saudi Arabia - what foolishness. Why do they do that - why did Iran create such monsters to live amongst normal people namely Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Iran needs to change this situation (they created it) and quickly to give the world back its peace. Russia needs to get out of all of Ukraine as it existed prior to 2014 to ease that murderous rampage on the part of Russia against Ukraine. 

Today more work on the matches and gradually the number is decreasing. All of the databases have been adjusted with the newest matches that I have been through. There are still fifty five matches to sort into the various databases and then back to the work at hand which is producing the genealogical chart for Blake and phasing the great grandparents. My work never seems to be done but constantly leads on to a new idea. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

Babylon and its King Nebuchadnezzar

 The whole of Judah (except for the farmers it appears) was carried off to Babylon by the end of 2 Kings. But God promised that they would return to the land which He promised to Abraham and He has. Historically the story is well known and not only the Bible tells that story as the time has come when the early great Libraries of the world are now the centers of learning. The libraries before the Common Era (BC) included Ashurpanipal (Nineveh, Assyria now the city of Mosul, northern Iraq) (some tablets are in the British Museum); Alexandria, Egypt and most of this was entirely lost; Celsus (Ephesus, Turkey)   destroyed in an earthquake and a fire that burned the interior and then into the Common Era the Library at Constantinople which was sacked in 1204 Common Era but that accumulation of knowledge stretched far and wide across the known world and the House of Wisdom in Baghdad (Iraq) which was destroyed during the Mongol siege in 1258 Common Era but knowledge had been passed over its five centuries of existence to Islamic centres Basra (Iraq), Kufa (Iraq) and Damascus (Syria). The human desire to understand its past meant that knowledge was passed down from generation to generation although the proofs in permanent copy were destroyed very often. There is always a danger when knowledge and the accumulation of knowledge becomes less important. Knowledge is what brought us out of the caves and into homes and protected the human existence. 

Another good research day as I barely left the house except to mail a letter to my sister. It will take a while to enter 73 matches into my databases though but I am pleased with this gleaning from the databases of the companies. This knowledge of DNA is going to be helpful in the future not so much on an individual level but in understanding the evolution of mankind and how to protect that continuing evolution into the next centuries. 

Lots of exercise as I did my yoga and calisthenics first thing, then my 30 minute run and 15 minute walk later in the morning and in the afternoon a four mile walk and calisthenics. Exercise is the best way to maintain a good life style I think. But at 81 one should consider very carefully starting exercise and a visit with the doctor might show you the way to get back into healthy exercise even at my age. There are lots of good ideas on YouTube for actual exercises and a slow motion into them. 

 Today more of the same and we are promised heavy thunder storms this afternoon. The ground can always use more rain for sure. This is the warmest August that I ever remember actually. Generally it becomes cooler at night as we get into August but that is coming in the next week.  

 Also continuing with the matches into my databases and first my solitaire games. 

 

2 Kings continues the history of Israel and Judah

I listened to the entire episode for nearly two hours on YouTube for 1 Kings. My initial thoughts that the readings do not mention the coming of a Redeemer remains as I am looking for the exact wording which the prophets do use later in the Bible (not that far away now) but listening carefully one does collect the thoughts of the author of these particular You Tube presentations. I think the rules for life that are mentioned in these presentations are quite good actually. The text strongly points out that David's line (including David) have the qualities of leadership that God is looking for in a King. Both Elijah and Elisha were chosen by God as prophets to bring to the people proofs of God in our world to help the people to maintain their adoration of God the Creator who brought them out of slavery in Egypt. There will be more prophets to come as I continue reading. What does baal represent? I am contemplating that the heathen god baal represents the movement away in a society from loving God the Creator with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and does not love their neighbour as themself (perhaps baal was an old word for adoration of money). A society can only prosper if there is a certain amount of sharing of the goods of that society; when that sharing ceases and only a few benefit from the work of a particular society then the people suffer and it breaks down that sharing element of life that has given us so much in this modern century. Continuing to read 2 Kings and Hezekiah is now King of Judah and successfully with the help of Isaiah (now introduced) saves Judah from the King of Assyria. One needs to look at a map of this part of the world when reading the Bible.  Hezekiah, a descendant of David, has followed his ancestor's way and God the Creator is supportive of him. I will listen to 2 Kings on YouTube when I run later. I find these presentations to be most interesting even if I do not entirely agree with the thoughts on how/when the Redeemer Jesus was introduced. But I am not a specialist in the language of these times!

Yesterday was a work day and I completed all of the matches that I will likely do at this time any way. I now need to insert the  70+ new matches into my database and that will be part of my work day today. Lots of interesting matches particularly for Buller and Blake but also some Rawlings and a few Pincombe. The Pincombe though I can mostly place into their line making it rather handy but I do have some really good matches for Pincombe. 

We decided to do weight lifting instead of going to the beach yesterday afternoon after my eye appointment. My eyes have changed very little this past year although the eye doctor did give me a slightly stronger lens which I will do the next time that I change my glasses. These actually suit me very well that I am now using. He suggested Progressive lens but I have now gotten used to not wearing my glasses when I am out of the house. I doubt that I will move back to wearing glasses all the time ever again. Time will tell though on that one. 

It seemed so strange for such a long time but it is like being born again sort of as I recognize virtually no one because my eyes are seeing so differently. Also I have not really spoken to people in my area other than the usual people because I went back to work in the city (a good half to an hour bus trip every day in and then out again back in 1994). Other than going to my children's schools for parent teacher events I really was totally uninvolved in the area especially when Edward decided to go to Dominion Chalmers United Church for a special series of lectures back in the mid 1990s. 

Up until then he was still singing in the Choir and had stepped down as Treasurer  a little before that at his United Church locally. He liked the minister so much at Dominion Chalmers that we continued to go there until that minister retired and then Edward decided to go to my Church and he selected Christ Church Cathedral I think mostly because of the Music and he said it was his turn to go to my church which was very sweet. Then my new eyes so to speak after cataract surgery and everything is different. No one looks the same including my own children. 

It is amazing that my sight became so much clearer and distinct really but it was interesting to hear a young man (maybe in his late teens or early twenties) talk about his first eye being operated on for strabismus and the doctor wanted him to wait six months for the second eye to give the eye a chance to strengthen. He talked about how different items looked now and that was before my first surgery. So I know other people experience this sudden change in their vision but usually people would have been operated on for strabismus in childhood at some point although when I was young I do not think that was done. I was born just after World War II.  

Solitaire puzzles to do next.  

Continuing history in 2 Kings

 Reading word for word through these chapters in the book of 2 Kings and the history of the people of Israel. Generation after generation this history tells the story. I will continue with 2 Kings tomorrow. 

Yesterday I completed the basement cleaning and so these days until Sunday are work days. I hope to finish extracting the rest of the matches that interest me and then I can enter the new matches into the database and once again extract the database into the four family lines. I shall give a longer explanation to the AI before asking for the work to be done although the last extraction was well done as I requested except for the formatting being stripped from the charts and the order not being maintained.   

A lovely walk on the beach yesterday and it was again very busy. A lot of people swimming in the water actually but it was a really warm day. I did the path six times which is about 3 kilometers. Today I will run and again it is about 3 kilometres. I always run on the days that I do not clean the house. I am content to still be running at 81 and hope to run for quite a while yet. No marathons for me; not my sort of running. 

A couple of the matches were very interesting and again with individuals having early American Colonial ancestry and fitting into Blake-Knight. Some of them are Knight family but I do know that many members of the Knight family  went to Newfoundland early on and then moved to the American Colonies when they were first beginning. I only actually know of one Blake family from Andover that went to Massachusetts in the mid 1600s. It was one of Richard Blake's daughters Joanna who married Robert Sedgewick. Her husband died in Jamaica and she returned to London and died there. Her sons remained in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

The flowers are quite lovely this summer and have done well both front and back - those that survived. I have to judge when I am weeding in the spring and sometimes I am right but sometimes I am wrong and have lost a number of lovely plants I must admit. 

The cat from across the road was over hunting in our yard. Very handy to have a cat do that actually. Right now the cat is letting a visiting dog know that it should not read on its property and the dog has moved on. Amazing how a small cat can manage a large dog. Cats are very intelligent animals. But it lives with a large dog and wouldn't be fazed by one. 

Today my eye doctor appointment. I was thinking every second year myself but will go this time and if all is well and reasonable for an 81 year old then I will start going every two years. For me that is a real treat as I used to go to the ophthalmologist until I was about 52 or 53 at least every year since I can remember and how I hated those eye drops. To be able to go without glasses now at 81 is amazing. A gift of cataract surgery for sure and it was not expected to be absolutely honest. I had no idea what cataract surgery would do to my eyes but this has been a real treat for sure. 

Solitaire puzzles are next.  

 

Elijah is another link between modern Judaism and modern Christianity and Islam

Anti-semitism must disappear from Canada and all of our world. The Jewish people have suffered more than enough in all these centuries. I do have sympathy for the children of Gaza not yet tainted by the hatred of their adults towards Israel. These adults of Gaza (Hamas are Palestinians as far as I can tell if not then why are they in Gaza) attacked Israel, murdered children, women and men just under three years ago. It was ruthless, planned and known to the adults of Gaza and even Palestinians around the world. It was disgusting; it remains a most disgusting event. The children of Israel, surrounded by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran their supporter and leader, have a right to sleep at night without fear. That is still not possible for them nearly three years later. No one helped the Israelis on that early morning terror which erupted on the quiet kibbutzs and a Music Festival full of young adults really children themselves. Murder was everywhere and the cheering in Canada by Palestinians that we welcomed as immigrants was sick and unacceptable. Hamas continued to threaten and indeed bomb Israel in the days and weeks following (and Palestinians marched here which was disgusting saying they would do that again and again trying to force the Israelis to leave their homeland they have lived in for thousands of years). The Hezbollah in Lebanon attacked from the other side with bombs. The right of Israel is the Bible itself detailing where the Israelis lived from the time of Abraham. No one else has such an historical record in our times. For peace to come in Gaza; the people of Gaza must be peaceful. That so many Palestinians including children have died is sad but they attacked Israel and Israel has a right to defend itself. God said "Love they neighbour as thyself."

Although re-reading the history of the people of Israel (the descendants of Jacob (renamed Israel by God) son of Isaac son of Abraham) in the Bible was a decision that I made looking for why I think that God said we would have peace on our earth if we but followed His commandments - love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbour as ourself. At the same time as I read the chapters I am also listening to YouTube productions that review each book of the Bible. But I am reading word for word and not interpreting anything based on what I know happens later. I think modern religious leaders should not insert into these early readings assumptions that are not there in print; I think it weakens the message that is in the Old Testament. God seems to change somewhat softening towards the plight of the Israeli people through the years from slavery in Egypt to the present I am now reading. He recognizes in King David a faithfulness although he did sin with the adultery and requested murder of Uriah the husband of the woman with whom David had adultery but he paid dearly for that sin. God still demands that only He is God not baal or any other other fake gods and that that must be recognized at all times.That is still true. I have reached the introduction of Elijah; Elijah is important in Jewish faith, in Christian faith and in the Muslim faith (I learned that from the Muslim students I worked with at the hospital). Back to reading 2 Kings and Elijah is taken up to Heaven in a whirlwind and Elisha his faithful student takes up the mantle of Elijah.

Yesterday the cleaning of the main floor was accomplished and today it is the basement. In the evening we went for a walk and kayak on the beach and in the river. It was a lovely evening and the beach was packed. The rains had created a small pond on the back beach where the gulls had settled for the evening. 

I also worked on the matches and I now have over 50 new matches. But there are fewer and fewer new ones as my criteria eliminates more and more. I suspect I will be done by the end of the week and starting to file the new matches into my database. 

Today is collection day and there are two full bags of weeds/cuttings, the black bin and the green bin at the curb waiting for the collection trucks which have arrived. They come much earlier now so my frozen containers in the green bin stay frozen which is nice as I put them out in the morning on purpose. 

More  work on the matches today in between cleaning. It is a lovely day in God's world but we must try harder to protect this world which He has given to us. We were charged with its well being and we are not protecting the things that we can very well at this time. Money isn't meant to be hoarded by the few but rather to support this world that is God's gift to mankind. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

 

 

 

 

Continuing 2 Kings and Elijah is introduced

The history of Israel continues in 1 Kings and the peoples of Israel and their kings continue to stray to the right and the left not following the commandments of God but rather those of the gods of the nations around them. Elijah has now entered the story but again I am reading word by word without thinking of what I know comes in the later books of the Bible. I completed 1 Kings and will begin 2 Kings tomorrow. God's punishment continues as He waits for the obedience which he has commanded. We do see elements of it in 1 Kings where obedience to God comes before self on the part of some of the leaders. Elijah is a man of God and very important. 

Cleaning day top floor all accomplished and today it is the main floor and I shall start in a while. Good rain thus far over the past couple of weeks and more to come this week. Unfortunately it may be accompanied by lightning but hopefully the rain will be heavy and put out wild fire started by lightning. Into August now with day 4 and the cooling trend will soon make itself felt although we can have warm days in September.  

More work on the matches and I have completed the first eight pages and will probably look at the next three pages which will take me most of this week probably and then I can enter the new material into my database and September should see me putting more time into the Generational Blake Chart and eventually the Pincombe Chart. I hope to finish by the end of 2028 and look to be on a good schedule. Time will tell. I still have the corrections to the Index of the Siderfin Book on the backplate and will not forget to do that eventually. It may get slotted in as a something different to do as I move along. I also want to continue phasing Edward's grandparents but that is still pretty much on the back burner. Although I have the records of a dozen of his close cousins to help with that. It is hard to believe that he did all of that work thirteen years ago now collecting up the data of his cousins from DNA testing. Only a couple did not do the testing but a dozen is a lot of cousins for sure and on all sides of the family. 

I still did not locate the Allen pictures. I thought they were in the archival box marked Allen but that turned out to be incorrect. I have since found some copies of those originals but not the originals. But there are still about ten boxes of his research to go through. 

I will begin the envelopes in a couple of weeks with the pictures of Edward's birth family namely pictures of his brother, wife, and two children and their children that Edward took through the years beginning in 1961. Since Edward and his brother generally appeared together in pictures I will keep all of those for the early pages of the first binder.  I hope to complete this task in the Fall and send them in December to Edward's nieces. 

At that point I can move on to the collections of information that Edward scanned or photographed and burn them to DVDs and I still have to write to the OGS Ottawa Branch Library to see if they are interested in setting up a Fonds for his research. The section that I sent to Chilliwack Archives dealt with British Columbia Kipp and the material that E Harvey Kipp sent to and brought to Edward back in the 1970s. It seemed appropriate to return it to this area particularly after the correspondence between the Archivist and myself. 

Soon time to start the cleaning and Solitaire puzzles to do.  

 

Solomon does not obey the rules of God and disaster comes

 Chapters 10 to 15 in 1 Kings tells of Solomon being very wise and well received in the world but he does not follow the word of God as he worships foreign gods following his wives' religions. God decides to split out the tribes leaving just one tribe in Judah to the descendant of Solomon namely Rehoboam. Ten tribes of Israel would have Jeroboam as their King but he did not follow God's laws either. Still one reads and understands that faithfulness to God must be 100% but God will still listen but one must obey. David is referred to a great deal throughout 1 Kings because he obeyed in all things but one his adultery with Bathsheba. This line of David continues to be important throughout the chapters read today. I am reading chapter by chapter and not applying what I know will come so I do not see what some religious scholars see. What I do think is that God has found a human that suited Him in David and He holds up David as an example. He sinned, he paid for that sin in a huge way and returned to absolute obedience to God. Within David were the elements of humanity that God wanted but He doesn't say why. I think that is what I have gained from reading through these chapters. God continues to listen but obedience is the only way to God. 

We worked on the indexes for the picture binders yesterday for about two hours. This method will take hours and hours and one wonders at its value since an index already exists in junction with files that lead to the actual images all scanned. We decided to not revise the index down to the six to eight albums that are desired out of this redo to the fourty binders. It was a good decision. The first step will be to extract all of the images of my husband's birth family from the binders and send them to his two nieces. The second step is to look at the idea that a Fonds could be created with all the scanning of various items that Edward did could be burned to DVDs along with his handwritten research note books and other material that fit into a Fonds of his collections that deal with his various family lines (perhaps in the OGS Library of the Ottawa Branch). I will write about that today. I will also ask them if they would like a set of year books that he has for Western University. We have a duplicate set of our years since we both graduated from Western. The remainder of that set of books he collected through the years for his uncle's graduation year and a number of other books for various reasons. The third collection separation will be to make up a set of six to eight binders of our family. All of my pictures are electronic as my younger sister holds the originals which works very well for me but there are a number of Edward's pictures from childhood 1944 to the 1960s which will provide an interesting look into his life as a child and then our 54.5 year marriage with just 1960s  to 2001 in actual photographs as the time from 2001 to 2021 when Edward passed away is all electronic. These will be put onto small drives. The fourth collection is a set of collections really of our trips here and there and they will be only electronic. There are a couple of very interesting ones that we will publish under Creative Commons license in memory of Edward which were primarily taken by him on our trips into Northern Ontario for the most part in the first seven years of our marriage. So really happy to have worked that through and I will begin the work probably in early September along with writing my books. 

Managed a few more DNA matches and I think I still have perhaps three or four more pages to go through over the next couple of weeks. Again I am only collecting items that provide an insight into areas that I want to refine for the most part but also if they include all or many of the four siblings results on this database. A couple more Blake with very early American colonial ancestry came to light and will spend a little time on those. Again the risk is that this is a common area and may not do anymore for me than conclude that these individuals came from the southwestern area along the coast of England towards Portsmouth on the east including the Southampton area. I already know that the Knight family was early in Colonial North America coming to Newfoundland in the 1500s with some then moving to colonial America through the years. Since they come out of this data in the Blake line I must be cautious (Edward Blake of Upper Clatford, Hampshire (my great grandfather) married Maria Jane Knight from Turnworth, Dorset 29 Oct 1870.  

Church was at my regular YouTube account for Christ Church Cathedral. A lovely service as always and the sermon particularly interesting. 

Cleaning day and it is the top floor and I will begin in a bit but first solitaire puzzles and really first my 250 steps for 9:00 to keep my FitBit up to date.  Also today I must write the Kipp Newsletter and the H11 Newsletter. Both will be quite short. 

Solomon builds a temple for God to dwell in

 1 Kings continues the historical narrative and many archaeological digs have verified material in the Bible. I found it interesting how Israel and Lebanon worked together with Lebanon supplying the cedar and the cypress for the temple. It was a different time when the King of Lebanon was awarded cities in the Galilee for all of his kindness in supplying the material requested. The daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt who was the wife of King Solomon of Israel also had a house built for her by Solomon. It is fascinating reading all of this material now at 81 years of age having read it years and years ago. Often times I have read these passages or heard them read at Church or online Church. But now I can visualize some of it perhaps because my mind is old I do not know. But I am finding doing this reading every morning gives a freshness into my life knowing so much more about God. His presence on earth always welcomed by the faithful and does He let us know He is here sometimes. I always think the wind in the trees tells us God is near. 

Today is Sunday and Church online again and perhaps it will be here or there. I find that it is just wonderful to be able to go to Church although when COVID was first closing us down I read the service from my email at the usual time and that was also special. Perhaps we shouldn't forget that God is flexible and only He can decide what He thinks about anything. He gave us the rules to live by - love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbour as ourself. These two commandments given to us by Jesus Christ His only Son can bring us to that uplifted plain of peace; I do firmly believe that. 

Yesterday another good day on the matches and I have now extracted 45 new matches and I continue today as the lengths are still over 25 cM or even 20 cM depending on the match itself. I seldom do less but again depends on how many of the four siblings tested are matching. A very flexible extraction procedure for sure. 

I finished the lawn yesterday; well actually my daughter did the very last part at the top of the yard by the house. She has to avoid some of the flowering plants/wild flowers this time of year as she is allergic and of course one is working very hard cutting the grass so that increases the effect of the plants on her lungs. She has been like that all of her life really but she works hard at handling it and managing it. I find it hard wearing a mask but she has gotten used to it and manages that very well also. 

Soon the dogs will be here and that will be fun. Fortunately she is not allergic to dogs and loves them as well. But summer research time is coming to an end soon enough and back to work although she has had meetings every week for her work and for her studies (four studies ongoing and two have funding). She works many hours every day on this project or the other or preparing her notes for the fall term. But here she can go kayaking and walking and the house is big enough that she can get lots of exercise plus we have air purifiers which help a great deal especially if there is smoke. 

Church is now I notice so must run. I was late today.  

 

1 Kings

 Solomon has been anointed King of all of Israel and David has died. Again the  historical recitation of all these events is a valuable addition to our knowledge of Homo sapiens. The close relationship between God and the King of Israel continues. To live within the aura of God is to live the perfect life which He commanded. Any transgression is punished. Solomon marries the daughter of the King of Egypt. Early on in 1 Kings is the story of two women who had given birth and one of the women had suffocated her child accidentally in the night and took the other's woman's child as her own replacing her child with the dead infant. Solomon passed judgement and decided that the woman who was unwilling to have the living child divided in half was the true mother of the child. A Bible story that is known by so many. 

Another busy day yesterday and I did cut about half of the lawn in the back yard as well as pulling weeds. There are so many weeds still not done. If it does not rain later I will pull more weeds and cut more lawn. Perhaps next year I will hire a company to do the lawns. But we have managed it this year. 

Worked on the matches and there are perhaps a couple of pages left to look at before entering these new results into my large table. I will probably use AI to separate out the four lines once again. My major task for the AI (Copilot) is to review the matches in each chromosome and extract the relatives in common from the original files  and then group the matches according to this commonality. I shall have to consider how to make those decisions and how much data I want to have to understand those decisions. The AI will be much quicker than I am doing that but I will review the end results. It is just simpler for the AI to drawn out the material and create lists for me. 

Forgot to write a letter to my sister and did accomplish that yesterday and take it to the mailbox. It will be quite late but will try harder this next week to accomplish the letter in good time. I talked about the Blake book somewhat and my theory that the Blake surname was a result of marriage between a John who lived at Knights Enham and a daughter of a Norman family whose surname was Blake (possibly le Blak). The advantage in such a marriage was very large for sure in a country that was now governed by a Norman King and had been for over one hundred years. By then I suspect the British people were used to the Norman overlords who simply inserted themselves into the landscape with a number of landowners/dwellers  in their lordship and the Normans paid homage to the King who was a Norman. Time passed and over time the Normans married into the English families and gradually the English dominated. That is the way of history very often. The Norman kings were gradually replaced by English once again as the centuries passed. The traces of French in England remains like beef/boeuf for the product and cow for the animal which is the english word where the french word is vache. 

 Today is the first day of August and I want to do a Kipp Newsletter issue where I mention that we have sent three containers of Kipp material (primarily BC Kipp) to the Chilliwack Archives in British Columbia because many of the original images were from E Harvey Kipp, Postmaster, Chilliwack BC. They will be available to Kipp researchers there. I also want to do a brief newsletter for H11 mitochondrial haplogroup. 

I cannot decide what to do about the bush that has grown through the fence this summer. I will try to pull some of it out and back into the yard next door but the rest I will cut off as it is hard on the fence. I never really understand why the neighbours let these items grow through the fence as I pull out the things that are mine moving through the fence. But what can I say; one just lives as one lives for sure. Moving on for sure one of these days. 

Solitaire puzzles still to do. I discovered I had not done the 30 April so went back and did that yesterday so I have completed the entire year thus far.  

Thank you God for another beautiful day in God's world. Praise be that the silver mine has now been approved for Ontario - many jobs will be available. 

Absalom is dead and David once again returns to Jerusalem as King

Again the historical recitation of the times in Israel continue to the end of 2 Samuel. God is still with David although it has cost David his beloved son Absalom who rose against his father. The historical recitation moves us closer in thought to the people of Israel in a way I think. No other people have their history recorded in such detail although that time is approaching. The Bible is the gift of these early peoples of Israel to the world although over time it was maintained by the scholars of the new Christian Church to be. But a lot of archaeological  work has been done by Israel revealing the existing history still can be seen as noted in these early writings. Moving on to 1 Kings tomorrow. David is still King of Israel and Judah. Still no mention of the Messiah to come in these early books. I tend to read word for word and do not try to extract ideas but I am not a religious historian simply a reader. 

Yesterday very busy as we did the shopping which included a trip to Salvation Army with items that we no longer use and that I am finally letting go of these pieces of my life. Being 81 it is easier to let these pieces go from my life to be helpful to others. But I still cling pretty tightly to what is here and probably will but it is a gradual process downsizing. The next house will be smaller and so I must continue looking and thinking what could be reduced. My first introduction to Salvation Army was as a child going to deliver knitted goods for parcels going to the First Nations in the north when I was a child. The work was done by my grandmother. My uncle was also a supporter of Salvation Army and we received a lovely note from one of the people that he knew well when he passed away at the age of 89. He was very fit right up until he passed away after a short illness in the hospital. He was one of my favourite people, my uncle, and was about six feet two inches tall I think. The Pincombe men were very tall some of them including my grandfather and great grandfather (my uncle's grandfather) and his father as well one can see in the pictures that he too was tall. My brothers inherited that tallness (most of them, all but one who was the same height as I am). 

I also worked on the matches and have reached page five by percentage (now into the 0.39% shared and mostly above 25 cM in length) but still acquiring new matches for my table. I had not expected to be able to acquire these matches but good luck with that particular testing company has permitted that to happen. It is possibly my favourite company although I like them all as they provide me with a range of information that will be helpful as I create these genealogical tables (mind you I also include known adoptions into the family as they become one of us I think but I do understand when they decide to search out their own birth line but I want them to always feel they have become part of this blood line that I am slowly extracting from the data). 

Today I want to cut the back lawn before it rains again. We have been lucky with the rain and it has helped to dampen down the forest fires. The biggest problem is that the smoke moves from west to east aided by the Jet Current across the middle of the continent and is fed by the wild fires on the west coast as it swings across the country picking up from the less active fires in the middle of the continent. But we have been very lucky in Ontario to have so much rain this July as it is generally a dry month. 

Our economy has grown slowly and it will improve over the next couple of years as we expand our trade around the world. But internally we need to get back to building small motor appliances as they are all pretty much purchased from the United States and mostly made in China (our smaller industries got bought out by larger American industries during free trade and we need to redevelop them under the present conditions especially since the American companies took their production to Asia eliminating American jobs). I am still hoping that our young people will get into building such items (and I still need that vacuum cleaner as the ShopVac is extremely noisy).  The trades are the way of the future. Sitting at a desk eight hours a day is not healthy. Working with ones hands perfecting old ideas to bring forth new and modern equipment is a great usage of one's mind and talents.  When one removes the energy that we sell to the United States from our cross border trade we have many more items coming into Canada from the United States than we sell to them so we must be alert and re-develop those industries and there are lots of ways to improve on them. There is money to be made in such work for sure - the trades are definitely the place to look carefully at as you go through school. Mine you I do not see a problem with getting both a university degree and a certification in a trade to be honest. Life changes and one needs to be flexible. Cost wise though it may not be practical although my father first did his training to be a banker and then apprenticed to be an electrician. But he was an only child and he lived at home until he was thirty three years of age and after marrying my mother he still  had seven children. 

Nearly time to do my three kilometer run and then I shall cut the grass likely late this afternoon.  The fresh air is pleasant and there is a slight breeze in the trees that always reminds me that God is with us as He moves around the earth watching and waiting for us to do the right thing. Peace in our time and so easily attained if we but love our neighbour as ourself. Thank you to God for another beautiful day on His planet. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

 

David breaks one of God's laws

 God finds David guilty of breaking His law. He does not forgive David. Absalom, David's son, has avenged the wrong against his sister Tamar and David relents and lets him return to Jerusalem. Over time Absalom impresses the people of Israel and finally Absalom goes to Hebron and is pronounced King of Israel. David flees Jerusalem and Absalom goes to Jerusalem. David led an entirely guilt free life until he committed adultery but God did not forgive him that sin. The readings continue to be the historical narrative of the times of the people of Israel. I do not sense any mention of the Messiah to come. That time will come in the readings of the Prophets but it is the historical narrative that tells us the life of Israel in this time. 

The main floor all cleaned yesterday and the basement remains. I will begin shortly by running the Robot. Such a handy tool for sure although I could easily clean the rugs with the vacuum in considerably less time but I enjoy having the Robot for sure. That is the way life points for mankind at this time that we will become surrounded by robots who help us in our daily lives. An interesting experiment by a research group  looking at why people might chose to have an AI as a partner. Having spent a month or so with an AI on my FitBit I can see why people would find that to be an interesting companion actually. Good ideas are passed to you; a good memory of how your exercise program is doing over time and how your system is coping with that exercise program. At 81 I tend to think in terms of just the day that is happening and do not really get involved with thoughts of tomorrow other than the work that I need to do. So an AI companion is an interesting concept although I do not intend to become so involved with AI. 

Forest fires dampened down and the rain continues; thank you God for sending so much rain when the fires first burst upon us in the Lake of the Woods area of Northern Ontario. The worst of it was over amazingly in just a couple of days and this time we were spared the really high numbers of smoke saturation with south western Ontario taking the brunt of it for sure. But now the airs are clear over Michigan and Ontario and everyone is celebrating the new bridge which leads from large highway in Michigan to large highway in Canada - a much more efficient process for the truckers who spend long hours in their cab and sitting at stop lights and in long lines before they could process on the old bridge was really a waste of everyone's time. I do not know for a fact that this item was true but apparently parts of the old bridge were falling off. Maintenance of a bridge is the most important part because it carries so much precious human cargo and cargo for the use of humans. 

I spent some time on matches yesterday once again and have acquired a few very interesting Buller and Rawlings but also some Blake and Pincombe. The Blake continue to be interesting because they are in the United States with deep colonial ancestry. I need to check their trees on ancestry as they have mentioned them on the site where the testing was done. Upsetting the applecart is really the purpose in all of this as I want to be as accurate as I can be with the genealogical family tree coming down from Robert Blake who left his will in 1521 at Knights Enham probated just a few weeks before his son Richard Blake's will was also probated at Knight Enham in 1522.  

I am a supporter of the new High-Speed rail line which is planned from Quebec City through Montreal onto Ottawa and then down to Kingston and Toronto (I live in Ontario). The ability to move goods and people at a high speed is essential to our further growth. Once we have the money we can take it from Ottawa north and right across Canada to provide that high speed ability right to Vancouver and from Quebec to Halifax giving access to the eastern part of Canada. High Speed Rail from Halifax to Vancouver would be such a luxury. I think if an airport is needed in the Toronto area then a new place should be chosen and the Billy Bishop airport moved there where there is plenty of room without adding to the congestion around the Toronto harbour. Pick a place where there could be a stop for the High Speed Rail train and both would be accomplished to please everyone as you can easily go from the Toronto terminal of the railway to anywhere in the City of Toronto. High Speed rail is really more important than air flight. Almost nothing stops a train from going through whereas air flight is restricted by the weather events. 

 Time for breakfast but first solitaire puzzles. 

Historical time of King David

 King David was true to God throughout his reign as I read through the first ten chapters of 2 Samuel. This part of the Bible continues to be an historical review of life when David was King of Israel. I  tried to decide the significance of the Ark of the Covenant remaining in a tent instead of a tabernacle that David suggested building for it. But that time was to come in the next generation God said. 

One is left to ponder on how a nation grows itself and Canada is in just such a position of growth. It will be a long hard uphill effort to recreate our lost industries and create new ones. But the gain is huge whereas the status quo just really doesn't quite exist anymore so is there actually a choice.  Time is always on the side of youth and I still tend to think in that way although I have supported the Prime Minister and his methodology on growing Canada. Perhaps there is a merger coming in those thoughts as we move forward into the Fall of 2026. 

I think it is more difficult to leave one's area in one's 80s than it was in the 70s and earlier. One gets fixed into a style of living that works for them. However as I look around I know that all the outside work is not getting done adequately and so I must think in terms of moving in the near future to something smaller and less complicated. 

Yesterday more good matches to enter into my large table. They are all of value these new ones or I haven't collected them. Some will help me with my decision making on Blake. The newest ones though tend to be Buller or Rawlings and also helpful but those books are barely in the thought process at this time. First I must complete the Blake and Pincombe books and my mind is turning to them as fall approaches and the yard work becomes minimal. 

Cleaning of the top floor all completed and moving on to the main floor today. One day behind this week and it does throw my mind off kilter a little but today I feel more directed. 

The news around the world is mystifying. That elusive peace that I think most people would like to see come to the world does elude us. Europe is stronger and stronger but their ways are the ways of peace but they ready themselves for any change in that which is smart of them. But they continue the ways of peace which is what Canada wants as well although we too prepare for war.  Better to be ready than struggling. 

I think reading the Bible as I have been, a few chapters a day, has been good for me to do. History tells us the past but it also leads us into the future with somewhat more support as we understand the past and why everything happened as it did. As one reads one notes that greed tends to be the problem whereas sharing leads to a better life for everyone. 

Exercises all done with a cardio load of 35 which seems about average for the first hour of exercise in the day. Time for breakfast and then starting on the cleaning. But first solitaire puzzles.  

David becomes King of Israel

 Second Samuel continues the historical dialogue of the people of Israel and David is now King of Israel anointed by God Himself at Samuel's hand when David was a child. The battles were described in great detail between the people of Israel and the Philistines as well as the battles within Israel and Judah but it is the historical context that we gain in the reading. David talks to God and Israel flourishes because David is King. You can see why the Torah has been separated out of the Old Testament and named as such. It is the law that God passed to the people of Israel and which they had to maintain at all times in order for Him to live amongst them. 

More matches to work on and they continue to be primarily Rawlings and Buller for the moment. A couple of excellent Buller matches which will be useful. I continue with that pursuit in my free time today.  Yesterday also revealed an excellent Blake match with a long colonial history in the United States but still I caution myself because this length is likely common to the British Isles although I do not see it very much in the other three matches; the Blake definitely predominates but could also be Knight so again caution in my thinking. Still looking for the applecart!

Yesterday was a busy day as we were off to spend time with family and it was lovely; we had a great time. I am not that much into going out and about but visits with family are always a wondrous event. It rained and that slowed down the outside events but we continued inside chatting away. I brought my slide rule that  my father gave to me when he knew I was going to University to study Chemistry and the only thing he asked of me was that I teach him how to use it which I did. He could have taught himself but he wanted me to teach him. It has a lovely leather case and I wanted to give it to my son in law and my grandsons can enjoy this beautiful somewhat archaic item and know its history. 

Cleaning was put off for a day and today I will clean the top floor and I will begin soon. Heavy rain today and I hope it is raining in the north as well to dampen down those forest fires. Unfortunately the storm came with lightning so always the danger of new fires but we are moving faster and faster towards the fall and then the winter and the snow will dampen them down if they are not already out as fall here tends to be the rainy season. 

The unknown box was unpacked yesterday and it is all the backups that Edward made since the 1990s. They range from CDs to DVDs to small drives all the way up to 4 Terabytes. I have his last drive on my spare computer which I use to keep most of my files on although my new computer is getting to have quite a few files as well. I also have his last backup which I check every month or so just to keep it active. Although we have published under his name most of the material that he has on his blog and on the website which my eldest will maintain when she retires. 

I have this goal in my mind to keep everything going until she does retire and so that runs my life most of the time and is my only thought. Other than of course my writing which occupies the remainder of my time. At 81 I can sometimes get restless worrying about lasting that long but time will tell in that regard. 

Garbage day today and everything except the actual garbage has been picked up. This new company doing the pickup is very efficient and often has everything gone by 10 a.m. Today was the metal/plastic recycling and every pick up day does recycled food. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

David saves Saul's life a second time.

 The meaning of David saving Saul a second time points to the value David places on Saul having been anointed by God. God made it possible for David to come right up to where Saul lay sleeping and to take his spear and water bottle and leave without waking anyone. But David did not believe that Saul would ever stop hunting him to kill him and Chapter 27 sees David seeking asylum in Gath. An interesting story within the last chapters of 1 Samuel. David in pursuing the raiders of his home in Ziklag had left behind 200 of his soldiers to manage the baggage as the other 400 moved quickly without encumbrance to overtake the raiders and rescue the people of Ziklag who had been taken prisoner. David was successful and when they returned to the 200 guarding the baggage the 400 said they would not share the spoils of war but David said that they would share with the 200 guarding the baggage so that all benefited that were part of the company. Another battle was ongoing between the Philistines and the Israelis and Saul was wounded and asked his armor-bearer to take his life but he refused and Saul took his own life. In this battle Saul and his three sons perished including Jonathan. This continues to be an historical record of the times of the Kings of Israel and their neighbours. 

The Church Service did not come up on Youtube so I went to Christ Church at West Wimbledom which is southwest of London, England. A lovely church service very reminiscent of my Home Church of St Andrew Memorial in London, Ontario. There are a number of Anglican Services online although I generally attend my now Home Church of Christ Church Cathedral online. The possibility that I will ever attend in person is pretty much nil although in the back of my mind it is one of my backup thoughts with regard to how my life goes. I prefer the solitude of my life except that includes my family as and when I am with them. Soon the dogs will come and stay with me for two weeks. 

Working away on the 23 and Me matches and extracting that information on new matches in the last couple of years. There are several very good matches known to me by their cousin matches which I already have. Thus far they are primarily Rawlings which reveals to me some areas on the chromosomes that are Rawlings rather than Cotterill including some X Chromosome matches always very interesting and one new one is the longest that I have for Rawlings. Tempting as always to write but probably I will not. Mostly these matches are people living in England at this time. 

Yesterday was a very busy day as we had an item to return, kayaking and a walk to do and then grocery shopping and finished up the day with clothes washing - two loads in all.  Today has a slight promise of rain and some sun and we will see how the days goes. 

Still looking for the Allen material and I wonder if I have to go through all of those boxes to find the pictures. Strange really as Edward was very organized but by 2019 he was finding it harder and harder to work away at these items. He mostly watched the television and found being house bound because of COVID coming very soon after the end of 2019 really intolerable. He loved to be out and about mostly shopping. Edward loved to shop. He was very good for the economy. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

 

Saul and David

 Still reading the book of 1 Samuel and one learns of kindness and resisting initial impulses. A lesson in human goodness comes out of these chapters in my mind. A continuing story of the people of Israel. God listens to them and tells them what will happen if they ask. It is a fascinating historical document of the events in Israel but also the love of God comes to us through the text. God loved mankind but He could not get them to move to the plain that He wanted them to live on. But still no mention of a Messiah who will bring God's words to us the peoples of the world. That message has resounded through the two thousand plus years since Jesus Christ came to us - love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbour as yourself. 

Yesterday was a work day and the front lawn is trimmed but desperately needs some grass seed one of these days and a little fresh earth. I also weeded here and there mostly the front patio that I can see out the windows. So much to do and perhaps I will not get to more of it. Time will tell. 

Sunday once again and it is God's day. I will go to Church on YouTube shortly.  Thank you God for this beautiful earth which you created and filled with all its goodness. Help us and direct us to protect it for the grandchildren of tomorrow so that they too will run on the beaches and into the waters to enjoy just as we did as children. 

Must write a letter to my sister today and I think I will talk about some of the ancestral lines we share. I  just write two pages and put them into the cards that I bought. I must get some more cards or it will just be a letter. 

Soon it will be August and the dog days of summer will begin as we coast into Fall and all that beautiful winter time here in Canada. My working days become considerably longer and the work outside will be done by others namely the snow removal people. Perhaps the man with the huge truck will think about how hard it is for the snow crew to clear my laneway when he parks his truck that takes up the entire space in front of my house and not do that and keep it in his laneway. We will see. 

Solitaire puzzles next.  

David and Jonathan

David and Jonathan, the Bible Book (1 Samuel) that taught us about love between people; a love that saved a life. Jonathan the son of King Saul and David the son of Jesse shared a love of God the Creator and believed in Him. At least I read it that way. It is a beautiful book of the Bible which talks about this brotherly love between the two young men. David is now married to Jonathan's sister Michal who also loves David dearly. The two children of Saul risked much to save David. 

That the Messiah will come is still not visible as I read; it will be as I know when the prophets to come start talking about the Promised Messiah from God. 

Yesterday I completed for the most part the moving of the rooms and I am pleased with the result. I have one extraneous box looking at me and I will sort through it today. It is a brand new Bankers Box so likely we put it together and now I need to make decisions on its contents. I was also looking for the material on the Allen family. I had an Archival Box labeled "Allen" but it didn't have in it what I thought it might so I was back at square one and then I found the binder that listed contents as Kipp/Link/Allen but it too came up with very little. But then I thought about the one box that we put together but I haven't looked at the five business bags that we put into it. It is labeled latest research and that is how Edward managed his research by family line putting in the material that he wanted to work with on various trips here and there. He put into these business bags (from conferences) the different family items he was working on and today I shall also have a look in those bags to see if there is a devoted Allen bag as it was one of the last trips that we made before COVID to meet with Edward's Allen's cousins. It was two trips - one to Gravenhurst in Northern Ontario and another to Belleville I think along the 401 in south eastern Ontario. 

My work is cut out for me today and those two boxes will occupy me for the rest of the morning. I need to do this whilst I am still able and then I can get back to writing my books in the fall and winter. I do so look forward to all that snow on the ground for days and weeks on end. I get so much work done at that time. A note on the door asking people to please not disturb me as I am writing and soon the letter carrier will no longer deliver mail as well since we are going to postal mailboxes. I still prefer the idea of virtual mailboxes - it would be the making of Canada Post as there could be all sorts of spin offs from that when people want printed copy they can pay both to have the job printed and to have it delivered to their home. Canada Post offers the best delivery service in Canada; they are good at it. The monies would keep Canada Post solvent instead of always having shortfalls. 

Exercises all completed first thing this morning with a cardio load of 35 and 1 hour of exercise. It was a good spread of times in each zone - light 19%, moderate 37%, vigorous 39% and peak 5%. Today I will run for 30 minutes a little later and perhaps some weightlifting. Time will tell. 

Canada continues to point itself towards diversification of trade; breaking down any remaining provincial barriers to trade and increasing our defense spending. The pipelines are finally a go and I am very happy about that as well as the mines that are in the works/in thought process or just waiting to be thought about. The Gordie Howe Bridge got its official opening day in Windsor and everybody is happy. The extra 320 million in cost is likely financing the debt a longer period than planned. Extra maintenance for sure. 

Conrad Black's editorial today very well written as always. Thank you to him for so concisely producing a lecture that everyone can benefit from reading. The United States is our great friend and neighbour but we can and will stand on our own as we did at the end of the Second World War and well into the 1960s. We need to get back to that sort of strong defense ability, independence and break down those provincial barriers. I hear there are now British Columbia cherries on the market but haven't seen them here yet. I continue to support 100% Prime Minister Carney's ideas on how to increase our defense and diversify our trade around the world. 

Solitaire puzzles to do. 

Samuel and Saul

Continued reading the Book of 1 Samuel and the times of Samuel as an old man anointing Saul to be  King of Israel. The Creator God considered Himself to be King of Israel but none the less He had Samuel anoint Saul as King. Saul is very successful in battle but does not follow strictly the rules that God has stated. It is the history that I am re-reading and I remember it. I think we have learned the Law told to us (the Torah) in the first five books and now we are into the history of the people of Israel. God has allowed the people to have what they requested and allowed for an anointed King to be in Israel. Still the prophecy of the Messiah has not yet appeared in the text and I do not see that there is a reference to a coming Messiah. Tomorrow I continue with reading 1 Samuel. Rethought and changed it somewhat. 

Gradually getting everything back in place once again after all of our moving things about. It does give the place a shakeup so to speak moving away any accumulated dust from hard to reach spots. I used to thoroughly houseclean each room when I stayed home all those years when the children were young and actually my eldest was fifteen when I started to go into work as a proofreader although still did read some of the work at home in the afternoons. By then both of our children were in school all day. They are eight years apart in age.  

No work done yesterday as I cleaned the basement and then continued on into the afternoon completing the move of all of Edward's boxes into a different room. It gave me a chance to glance and I discovered a binder that I was missing (not surprising since there are still at least 60 binders of his work including the 40 binders of family pictures). The task of downsizing those binders begins now and I do hope to complete some of that work by Christmas this year (the intent was Christmas last year). I was somewhat unwell last year and my work level was lower than normal so did not accomplish that task. I feel stronger this year although I can tell that the years are adding up and my days on this earth are much shorter than I have already lived. 

I shall cut the front lawn today and perhaps some of the back lawn. It is meant to be a good day and suitable for that I rather think. I am also now relocating my few boxes of material for my genealogical work and will accomplish that today as well. 

I will try to do some work in between. The days move quickly but are bringing me to my favourite seasons of the year - Fall and Winter. I will get lots of work done. The books will not publish themselves so my work load will increase to help move that along. 

Will stay away from the news once again for awhile. The Prime Minister, as always,  has it in hand and his ideas are sound based on his many years of experience in the business/finance world. It is good to see the Premiers of the Provinces and Territories all working together to diversify our trade around the world and to create a strong Canada. It was the dream of the Fathers of Confederation and they did their best to prepare our country to be strong within Canada.  

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

The End Game is the important part

 Canada wants to end up as an energy power house with their trade diversified around the world. That is the end game for Canada and there are still barriers between the provinces. I was hoping at the meeting the Premiers would break down the rest of those barriers. That is what is important. I think the Premier from NB has the right idea focusing on the power generating abilities of New Brunswick. I like it that the Premier of Manitoba is mentioning the pipeline from Alberta to Ontario in a positive way. 

On our end game we need to be quick and decisive and get trade diversified particularly internally inside the country and around the world. We are very supportive of the United States being a large purchaser of our natural resources; they are our friend and neighbour. The advantage of shipping to them across a border shared between us for thousands of miles is good business for both of us. Our continued increase in business with the third partner in CUSMA Mexico is also very good business and we are using both rail and ship to make that the best means of doing business with them. At the moment we are doing well with exporting those same natural resources around the world at world prices. The Americans are about to put tariffs on a whole lot of other countries around the world and I prefer not to be an example they can point to for getting hysterical about those tariffs. 

Right now Canadians are focused on buying Canadian - putting barriers on American products just gains us ill will and more tariffs. The chances are that very little of one particular product would have been sold even on the shelves. The determination was here to buy Canadian and diversify our trade.  However we need to protect our farms as I do not want to eat heavily manufactured food or food made from freeze dried products in particular cheese and the American states that provide us with good foodstuffs presently are our greatest supporters in all of that as they want to protect their family farms particularly in the bordering states and we are their biggest customers. We are inexpensive to ship to for them as well. Factory farms are an item to avoid in Canada. Good food is high on my list even if I barely eat anything but  what I do eat I want it to be good. 

Reading the book of 1 Samuel and the first seven chapters which sees the birth of Samuel, his dedication to the Lord and the coming of Samuel to be a Judge in Israel. He talked with God and steered the people of Israel back to the true Creator God. Life was better now for the Israeli people as they returned to worshiping the Creator God and their land became their own once again and they prospered. Chapter 8 I glanced at briefly and one could see the evil entering once again even in the house of Samuel but more on that tomorrow. 

Yesterday was a busy working day as we moved rooms about setting me up to do more downsizing this fall and winter. I am getting older and older and my time ahead of me is considerably shorter than the years I have passed through. I am looking forward to getting all of Edward's work distributed to his cousins for their continuing research into their mutual family lines. I also want to get back to writing my books which is a slow process always in the summer. 

Exercises done and breakfast eaten. Solitaire puzzles remain to be done.  

 

Illustrated Dictionary and Concordance of the Bible

I think perhaps I was trying to read too much into the Book of Judges. When I read the Concordance summary of Judges it tells me that the historical content of the Book is the most important. It related the time between the conquest of Canaan and the foundation of the monarchy. Moving on to the Book of Ruth which is one of my favourite books of the Bible. This also continues the historical narrative between the conquest of Canaan and the foundation of the Monarchy as Ruth's son Obed was the father of Jesse who was the father of David. The story of Ruth has resounded through the ages as she supported her widowed mother in law left without her two sons and no grandchildren, Ruth being widowed as a young woman. She was a Moabite so not Jewish but she became the grandmother of David. Tomorrow I begin 1 Samuel. 

Worked on the matches that are new yesterday and a couple of interesting ones. Two in particular were X-chromosome matches taking my one brother and myself back to Sarah (Cheatle) Welch who was baptized in 1795 at Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire. This is the Buller line (males only have 1X chromosome and it comes from our mother) and I have a number of strong known Buller matches that support this particular length and I now have a longer one than I had earlier in this area. I can see the Buller lengths in the X chromosome of my four siblings and myself and fairly readily separate this entire set of X chromosomes from my mother into Buller/Welch from her mother and Gray from her father which takes me back in the paternal line of her father to my 3x great grandmother Elizabeth (Routledge) Routledge, her daughter Elizabeth Mary Ann (Routledge) Gray and her daughter Grace (Gray) Pincombe (this was a blended Gray-Routledge X Chromosome). This X chromosome had been passed from Grace to her son John Routledge Pincombe and intact to my mother Helen Louise (Pincombe) Blake. My one brother received his singleton X chromosome from my mother  all Buller (Buller from our maternal grandmother who received it from her father Edwin Denner Buller which was intact from his mother Sarah (Cheatle) Welch) whereas my maternal X chromosome from my mother was 2/3rds Buller and 1/3rd Gray. Interesting to have this much data very often. 

The main floor is all cleaned now and just the basement to do but will do that tomorrow. Today is a work day and looking forward to that sort of pause in the cleaning week. 

Exercises finished a while ago now with a cardio load of 35 and already this week I have completed 38% of the amount of cardio that the AI decided to set me up with and I thought it was too much but last week I actually did 99% of it. AI also placed my amount of sleep desired at 8 hours instead of my usual and preferred 7 hours. I think 7 hours is enough myself however I am no longer using the AI Coach routine (part of the free six month package that came with the FitBit) as I found it to be interesting but not something I had time to stop and look at. I do like the FitBit though and certainly the AI has good ideas if one is looking for that. 

We continue on our path to become a global energy power and diversify our trade so that it is not concentrated going to one country mostly although we do trade with Mexico as well within that deal and we are increasing trade with them as well. Trade is gradually reducing with our neighbour to the south and now down to 70%. Ideally I think we could try for 50% as that would then supply the needed items from us according to the American Ambassador to Canada. Then the other 50% would be around the world and in return we would buy interesting items that we have heard about but we weren't seeing them on our grocery shelves/store shelves. We do need to protect our dairy though as we have lost so many of our industries to the United States during Free Trade (mostly closed down but some were bought up and transferred to the United States (they took them offshore from the United States to Asia and caused a problem with their economy) but definitely we do not want to lose our very good farms. Also we need to make more money to help with our fires caused by Climate Change as that is the big driver of all these fires primarily set by lightning. Since we are not one of the large polluters in terms of Climate Change and we continue being careful to use carbon collection as much as is possible.  Our youth could bring back a lot of those industries like small motor type products and even a home grown car industry might be interesting but we do like the American cars. 

Solitaire puzzles next.  

Fascinating story about the Altar Stone in the midst of Stonehenge

 We visited Stonehenge twice during our trips to the British Isles. The first time in 2008 and the second in 2016 and both were amazing for different reasons. In 2008 you could get up close to the stones and actually see the Altar Stone but by 2016 you had to follow a path around Stonehenge a bit distant but still you are feeling close up. It gave me a different perspective looking at it from a distance. I especially wanted to see Stonehenge because my father had gone to see Stonehenge when he was just a boy. His mother took him on a family trip to Stonehenge along with other family members. One of my Rawlings cousins sent me a picture from that time period of a group of people waiting at a bus station.

 This is a picture from before the First World War that my cousin's mother had carried in her purse as a memory probably. My father could not remember when he did mention going to Stonehenge other than everyone in the family was going for a trip together (my grandmother and father came to Canada in mid 1913, my grandfather had come earlier to his job in Feb 1913). Is one of those children my father and the woman at the far left sitting down my grandmother? The woman does look like Bessie but it is a long time ago but the Rawlings family was very large and my grandmother had 3 half-siblings and her mother (also a Rawlings) had six siblings and all but two married and had families. I think they were a close family because they still wrote back and forth and I have some of those letters from just before the Second World War. I had mentioned to this cousin who shared the image with me that my father remembered going with the family to see Stonehenge and it was almost immediately that he sent me the picture. Unfortunately when I received it there was no one who could have told me whether it was my father and grandmother on their way to Stonehenge with the family but it was exciting to think about it. Not sure of the location but suspect it might be Ludgershall in Wiltshire. No idea on that. Perhaps I will pursue that thought one day. 

But I am digressing from the story about the Altar Stone and testing that shows it could have come from Northeast Scotland. The Orkneys were also mentioned and we did visit the Orkney Islands and the pictures in the article were an interesting reminder of that trip. 

It was a day of interesting articles as a picture of Kakabeka Falls appeared with a story referring to it as the Niagara Falls of the North (we visited it in 1968 and it was spectacular).  I recognized the picture immediately except for the lovely stairway which must be new since then and a treat to climb these days I suspect. It is 30 kilometres west of the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario on the Kaministiquia River. 

I continued reading Judges and must reflect on the information. I have completed this Book of the Bible and any comment made by me would just be saying what other people say about the Book of Judges. 

Cleaning all accomplished and today it is the main floor. Woke up early and decided to read a bit but Judges is not a book of the Bible that I know very well. I shall have to think about it for awhile. 

Still no work accomplished but that is not unusual in the summer. Still weeding to do outside and will try to accomplish that later in the week. Grass needs to be cut as well. 

We continue as a country to work towards our goal of being an exporter of oil, gas and precious minerals needed by the world. It will make us independent once again. Our military is growing and our defense materials are increasing rapidly as we move forward making ourselves along with the other Arctic countries very defensible. 

I often think of my cousins in the United States and hope that they are managing well. I am not much of a letter writer/emailer as I tend to just work on my projects. 

The warm summer will start to cool off as we enter into the month of August. Hard to believe how fast July has passed.  I always welcome Fall and Winter as I can get back to work once again on my books. 

Solitaire puzzles to do and then back to sleep for a bit.