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.  

 

 

 

Fires still burning all across North America

There are 940 active fires burning in Canada, 489 active fires in the United States (including Alaska),  and 301 active fires in Mexico. The worst area in Central Canada including the Mid North Western United States extends between Northern Minnesota and Northern Ontario through the Lake of the Woods region. The worst area in the United States is the Western part of the country. Global warming is the cause and reducing that needs to be urgent. The average temperature increase in Canada is twice that of the areas south of us and this is also true for Russia which has the same type of boreal forest. The ancient permafrost is melting and that is a huge problem. Interestingly though it does open up the Arctic Ocean for transit making the distance from Canada to Europe/Canada to Asia shorter through the ice free months which are becoming longer and longer. One wonders what the world will be like with the Arctic ice free part of the year. The rain has been very helpful with the smoke. 

I will continue to read Judges but probably not comment on it until I complete the Book. It is a difficult one to read as the Israeli society continues to move away from the strict rules imposed on it by God. Each new judge takes the society further down a destructive path. One still does not get the sense of a prophecy of the Messiah coming to save the people of Israel which appears in later books but rather God is softening slightly towards the plight of the Israelis when they come to him and at least try to follow His commandments but I need to continue reading to understand that. The Judges are Israeli and from one of the twelve tribes of Israel and there are many of them.  

Yesterday I attended Church online and the music was as always absolutely beautiful. My husband loved the music at the Cathedral and I really think that was why he wanted to go there when the new minister came to Dominion Chalmers replacing the older minister. The new minister was interested in a different sort of music. I was happy to be back in my Anglican Church as we were becoming empty nesters gradually although life presented a more interesting life for us as our son in law became part of our house family for a while until they bought a condo and moved on.  I highly recommend that having your children stay at home until they are ready financially to move out into the world. 

Today is cleaning day and it is the top floor and will be one of change as I am moving into the large room with everything just to make my book writing easier and my downsizing of all of Edward's material more top of the mind as I tend to get immersed in my own writing. The success of moving the British Columbia Kipp material to the Chilliwack Archives worked so very well. The material is now available to researchers and many of them live in the British Columbia area including down into the United States and east into Alberta and Saskatchewan. 

Exercises all done and the Cardio Load was 49 and it was one hour and five minutes of exercise. It really is a good start to my day. I have also had a nutritious breakfast - yoghurt, almond granola, mixed nuts and blueberries. Absolutely delicious and energizing. The blog is now written and solitaire puzzles to do.  

Continuing reading Judges

Judges is primarily a book about the individuals who followed Joshua as a leader generally appointed by God but not as effective as Joshua. Israel did not follow the covenant and take over all the lands of the designated Promised Lands. Instead they lived side by side with a number of different kingdoms and over time they forgot the stories of their ancestors and inter married into these other cultures taking up their worship of some gods namely Baal. A number of people became Judges but still the Israelites did not follow the word of God. So God permitted first of all the Midianites to oppress the Israeli people and the Israeli people called out to God to help them and an angel reminded them that they had not continued to honour God for delivering them from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land where they had stopped listening to God and followed the ways of the people who were not Israeli. The Judge appointed by God was Gideon. War followed and the land had rest for forty years with Gideon as their Judge.  But the decay was setting in and Gideon died with the Israelis returning to worshiping other gods namely Baal and forgot God who had rescued the Israeli people from their enemies. God's anger seems to have changed somewhat and He responds when asked to help. I do not believe I ever really understood the Book of Judges. I must read it noticing that the corruption continues and each time it becomes worse. There are many Judges. 

Yesterday was a smoke day and we spent it indoors. It was somewhat visible in the trees but the heavy rain seemed to wash it away. The bad smoke days of a couple of years ago have not returned again because of better management of the forests these past couple of years. The period of dense swirling smoke has certainly diminished. So long as the nations who primarily create the global warming do nothing about it Canada and other northern nations this time of year including Canada, Russia and the State of Alaska (United States) will continue to suffer from lightning strikes that create forest fires because of the very large boreal forests that exist in these countries (that includes the northern states like Minnesota to the south of Canada). However, some countries are working very hard to offset the items that create global warming. But with 555 fires burning in the United States and 658 fires burning in Canada that is a lot of smoke. Also the permafrost is melting at a rapid pace as the northern areas are warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world.  That is bad news. 

Sunday today and Church after a while. I also want to work on the Allen pictures and get them bundled up and sent off to the Allen family which is collecting up all of this material. It would be sad to have these original images lost from the pertinent families. I have given all of my original pictures to my younger sister to retain for the family as she is in an area much closer to everyone. 

Other than that the days move along and work is slowly getting done. 

Solitaire puzzles are next. 

About Global Warming

When I lived in southwestern Ontario I can not remember any alerts for smoke. Even as a young married woman (just 20 years of age) when my husband and I took our canoe up into Northern Ontario throughout the summer months we would still find snow hidden in the crevices protected from the sun. It was always cool at night but now with global warming (Canada is not one of the top ten nations that are considered to be the worst offenders causing global warming) the forest bed is hot and dry and with thousands of lightning strikes we are lucky actually with how few forest fires are burning as the potential is much much higher. The rain today will help to dampen the land and put the fires under control. We have massive forests having traveled in them by canoe and they are all over the northern part of most of the provinces as well as down into the south of many of them;  Canada has the second largest land mass in the world and the maintenance of our forests is high on our agenda but just one large maple tree in my back yard produces enough dead wood/leaves on the ground to fill thirty large recycling bags every summer. One tree and we have billions of them. The rotting dead lumber in the forests enriches the ground and helps to retain the moisture and keep the forest from getting to be too hot in the undergrowth. Nonetheless we do clear large swathes of the forests throughout the summer (good to make pulp with for sure; yet another industry that Canada has). There are fires burning all over North America at the moment but we do have the most forest and Canada is warming up twice as fast as countries further to the south of us because of global warming. But the trees capture carbon and help protect us from global warming; it is a difficult tradeoff actually but we are better off with our forests in this world but perfectly manicured woods are possible in City Parks, built up residential areas and that is why there are so many forest fires burning in Canada, in the United States and in Mexico (all of North America). It is called Global Warming and if one believes the scientists will lead us to a new ice age and then we do not have to worry about Forest Fires! However the last Ice Age likely killed off  Homo neanderthalensis so we continue doing the best we can controlling the fires, helping our neighbours to combat their fires as we are lucky to only have fires in the brief summer period whereas fires to the south of us burn all year round and the smoke travels where it travels (the air streams tend to be out of the southwest and into the northeast so we are not free of smoke either from fires to the south of us when our forest fires are dampened down for the long winter times). 

 Reading the first chapter of Judges and the Israelis continued to take over the Promised Land as God had commanded. Reviewing in my mind the intent of God the Creator throughout these first books of the Bible. There were many gods worshiped on earth by the early peoples but God wanted the people to know that He alone was the True God, the Creator God and He freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and brought them back to the Promised Land. The land which Abraham purchased and where Abraham had walked and talked with God and God had told Abraham that He would make a mighty nation of his descendants and they would always live in this Promised Land (Israel). In the second chapter already time has passed and God wants the heathens driven out of the Promised Land as He had made Convenant with Moses and Joshua that that would happen as the Israelis took over the Promised Land. God wanted no craven images of supposed gods/no altars built to celebrate these fake gods in His Holy Land which he had given to the Israelis. I will continue reading and tomorrow will think more on all these chapters. 

Having been raised Anglican I am knowledgeable of these thoughts on the Creator God. They were frightening to me as a child and it is only in my early 80s now that I truly can understand why the Creator God went to such lengths to teach the peoples of Israel, His chosen people how they needed to live in order for Him to live amongst them. Greed has to disappear from our world because it destroys; the desire to take what is not yours has to disappear from this world because it destroys and it was Jesus who brought us that message to encourage us to continue with our closeness to God and His Commandments and Jesus gave us the very basic knowledge that can bring peace to all the peoples of the world - Love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbour as yourself (that eliminates greed from our life).  It is greed that destroys the very fabric of life. 

Saturday and it is generally a quiet day as I avoid going anywhere. Today though is a rainy one and the air, although full of smoke, will be cleansed somewhat.  

Woke up early

 Still  need a couple of hours of sleep and will head back soon. Yesterday was good accomplishment as we purchased the lights for the electrician to install next week. That is a relief; life was much easier when lights weren't wired in; you just changed the bulb but my husband always enjoyed the new inventions and so there are wired LED lights. Hopefully all resolved and there are four new lights to install. 

Will read the Judges Book in the Bible later today. I like my brain to be rested so that I do not miss anything. I am into some of the more difficult Books in the Bible. The ones that tell of great sadness for the Israeli people. Because they tried to get along with the peoples who had inhabited the Promised Land before they returned from slavery in Egypt, problems arose. I have sort of forgotten all of the parts of the stories so this refresher will be very much appreciated. Joshua has died and the Israelis are now back in the Promised Land; first purchased by Abraham and then promised to Abraham and his descendants by the Creator God. Man walking with God must have been awesome and the Old Testament does give us a good picture of that life. It was not to last though as God's requirements for living amongst people were very very strict and punishment for not following the rules was swift. 

A little work on the books yesterday as I rechecked the latest matches to see if there was anything interesting and a couple became new files to enter. When I enter them is the question but mostly I am looking at them as supportive of what I already have. The database I have created suits me well and supplies me with the information I was looking for with regard to the deep past. 

Avoiding the news for the most part. Canada has a lot of work to do internally to make ourselves much more independent. We were extremely independent after the Second World War and we must get back to that independence. The Prime Minister has found the right path and all of these other items are just distractions that we have to move past. Whether or not the Gordie Howe Bridge opens is really in the hands of the United States. We are ready to open it and the truckers are probably very thankful to have a new bridge connected to the main highways in both countries available to them. We built it on our own using materials from both countries and workers from each country equally and we voluntarily agreed to share the profits if any once the bridge is paid for and what more can one say.  Profits are always somewhat empirical because the bridge will always need to be maintained and upgraded as needed so one never knows if there will ever really be profits if the bridge is properly maintained to protect the users from the United States and Canada - that is really the most important part for sure. Maintenance is the key really. 

Smoke again tomorrow and heavy rain - a combination that is beneficial certainly to the environment since we have so many lightning strikes on much too dry ground caused by global warming.  Hopefully the rain helps to bring the remaining fires under control. I think we are getting used to being threatened as we just carry on with our lives moving ahead with all of these new ideas to make ourselves a global energy power. The natural resources of Canada are huge as is the land mass. We just have to keep moving forward. Strange that in reality the only country in the last two hundred and fifty years plus that has ever attacked Canada is the United States with the last incursions into Canada made by the Fenians coming up from the United States in the 1870s/1880s. But peace has reigned pretty much solidly since the end of the War of 1812-1814. We generally sit down and talk about it as neighbours. That is what God wants us to do.  

Back to sleep for a few hours and then I will read Judges. I am looking forward to reading Judges as I know that of all the Books in the Old Testament it is one of the hardest ones to read in terms of the content. 

Solitaire puzzles all done as well - they are another calming tool for sure.  

During the summer

 In the summer months our only real problem is forest fires primarily caused by lightning strikes. Our winters are long and forest fires not a problem so just a very short period of the year. However we are not amongst the 10 largest polluters in the world and it is global warming that is creating this conundrum in Canada of much hotter summers caused by global warming which feeds forest fires because the forest is much drier and hence more at risk during lightning strikes.  It is difficult to control and generally over in a few days. Although that few days has stretched into longer periods the last couple of years. Last year the smoke was so thick it swirled and we practically never went outside for days. We use air purifiers to keep the smoke out of the house. 

Completed reading the Book of Joshua.  Chapter 22 Verse 5 includes God's commandment which Moses brought to the Israeli people and Joshua repeated: Take good care to observe the commandment and instruction that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, and to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." The last chapter in the Book of Joshua sees the tribes of Israel renew the Covenant. All the tribes gathered at Shechem and again reviewed the history of the people of Israel coming down from Abraham. Still there must never be a break in the Covenant or God's favour will be lost to the Israelis. I still do not sense any mention of the coming of the Messiah which will be told by the prophets later in the Bible. The Israeli nation must not break the covenant with God at all. Tomorrow I begin the Book of Judges. 

I needed to have some wired in LED lights replaced and was looking for an electrician. I discovered that Enercare offers that service and have joined it along with my furnace and water heater already there and next week will see those lights changed. We just have to go and buy them now. One light burned out about a year ago now and it is difficult to manage that with just lamps. So was happy to have finally discovered a way to get these types of things done. Coming from a family with a lot of electricians one suddenly realizes how differently one lives one's life away from where you grew up. I live it the same personally although different now that Edward has passed away but on a basis of acquiring skills needed to repair and replace items I had really no knowledge. So it is helpful to have these services offered as part of the user network that Enercare has. 

No work done yesterday although I received a note from my brother in law telling me that my sister is enjoying her letters I send every week. That is good to hear and I have every hope and prayer that her mobility improves to suit her. My father was bedridden from the age of 88 years on and confined to a wheelchair. He loved to walk and walked for miles on the beach at the cottage. He always said it reminded him of his childhood and the beaches along the English Channel that they went to when he was a child. So I thanked him in a letter but it didn't like the email address and I forwarded it to my nephew who sent it on to his father. My nephew sent me the new email address. I need to go to the Rideau Center here to look for nice boxes of cards with interesting pictures as I will run out of these cards I found locally. Perhaps we will do that in the next couple of weeks. I haven't been downtown shopping for quite a while. 

I graduated in Science from Western University way back in 1967 and they now have a Western Science Alumni Newsletter.  I just received an email copy today. Edward always donated to Western but I have not kept that up as he donated to a number of places and I added in the Ottawa Branch Library of Ontario Ancestors to celebrate the date of our anniversary as I rather thought he would like that. So I dropped a few of his donations. I shall think about it because I certainly used my knowledge of science through all of my working life and in particular Chemistry and Physics when I was proofreading the National Research Council Journals here for about fourteen years initially directly with the National Research Council and then when we proofreaders were the first to be laid off  by then Prime Minister Mulroney I was hired by the printers who printed the journal to proofread for the remainder of that time period. It was a great job as I went in to work a few days a week for a short period most of that time and than did the bulk of the work at home so I was able to be with my children all the time when they were little. In general no one local knew that I worked at home as I didn't talk about it at that time. 

If the smoke level is down low I shall go out and weed the front garden bed as I didn't get it done last week as the smoke moved in to our area. 

I will do some work on the books today as I have a few hours available now that are not in use. 

Solitaire games next.  

 

 

Joshua manages the division

 Continuing to read Joshua and the division of the Promised Land is recorded tribe by tribe coming down from the twelve sons of Jacob (Jacob was renamed Israel by God) and Israel was formed from the Promised Land. The path had been hard coming out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land; promised to them by God to their forefather Abraham, Isaac his son and Jacob his son. Now the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob dwelled in the land of their forefathers and they lived side by side with the peoples of that land. 

As I read I keep looking for the prophecies but they are not yet and I really do not think the language gives even a hint of the coming of the Messiah that appears in later books of the Old Testament. The need to live the life God commanded was the most important part of the life of the people of Israel. They could not break any of those commandments and survive. 

Yesterday was incredibly busy. I did not realize I could have a maintenance contract on my air conditioner so have done that now although I do intend to acquire a new one for next year but probably in the spring. Will get that set up in the winter time likely although when they come to do maintenance on the current machine which is working beautifully actually they will tell  me about possible air conditioners that I can acquire. This house is small and I keep it shrouded in the days when it is so very humid and hot. It does get warm and I have it set to turn on at 25 degrees celsius but it doesn't run a lot even on the very hot days. It appears to be very efficient. But it is old and needs replacing before I sell the house in a few years. 

The modem is working perfectly and the downloading is much more efficient with the larger modem and it doesn't get very hot like the last one but it was fairly old and needed replacing I gather. I had purchased the 500 MB  per second download option and it doesn't normally go that high but it is well into the 300+ range now which is quick. Mind you I do not do a lot of downloading but that includes all sorts of things like YouTube if you are watching different productions. I do not watch a lot and tend towards religious programs. 

Today will be a quiet day as there is still some smoke in the air and I will not work outside until it has passed. The forest fires burning are normal as the lightning strikes are numerous during the summer months. 

Hopefully some work today as the cleaning is completed for another week. Keeping the dust down is important especially when we also have to contend with smoke. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

 

Modem all fixed

 An interesting and remarkably busy time whilst the Modem was not working. Absolutely efficient the Rogers agent who came and replaced my modem. Working perfectly. Thank you Rogers. I need to buy a new phone though as my phone is over five years old now almost six years old. It is really my first phone as I just used his hand me downs as I seldom use the phone except for texting. I expect they are considerably more complicated now. 

Only read one chapter of Joshua yesterday but continued reading today and I have reached Chapter 14. This is a story of conquest, God's conquest for His chosen people. After the error made at the time of the taking of Jericho by one family the Israelites once again are obeying without question the rules that God has laid down for them to live by so that He can remain in the midst of their lives.  Still I do not see any comment that would lead me to think that a Messiah will come from God. The rules are the most important part of the daily lives of the Israeli and must be kept 100% at all times. 

Other than that it was simply a day to contemplate how to organize the house to best suit the work that we are both doing - me all the year and my daughter when she is here being my in person caregiver instead of being my caregiver at a distance. But she has a lot of projects on the go and her students are very busy doing a lot of work for her as well. 

I now have a large bin of paper to go through and shred if I do not need it for anything. I do find it hard to let go of paper even when it is no longer logical to retain it. But go it must as I will be drowning in paper otherwise. Being over 80 is rather lucky in some ways as one knows the days ahead are considerably shorter than the days that have already passed in my life.

What a change in life since I was a young child. We did have a family car as well as my father's trucks for his business. But most travel was by car for a family. It took almost twice as long to get to the cottage as it does now as speed limits were lower and roads less direct mostly passing through many many small towns and villages on the way anywhere. I remember when the St Lawrence Seaway was completed and my father wanted to drive and see it. He was like that. Mostly he just drove around the area but something new and spectacular was something that he wanted to see with his own eyes. 

My father traveled to Canada when he was just nine years of age with his mother. His father had already come six months earlier to take up a job with the now Canadian National Railway as a blacksmith. Grandpa loved his work although he only intended to stay ten years and then return to England - the railway had sent out a call for trained people and he answered that call. He had come in February and they could not land in Halifax as it was blocked by ice at their time of arrival so they landed in Maine. Grandpa was very nervous about that he said and the people headed for Canada were kept together and put on a train to Montreal which was where he was headed anyway. He had cousins in Montreal that he stayed with before he moved on to his job in southwestern Ontario.  

When we visited Ireland we went to see the Blarney Stone and I too kissed the Blarney Stone as my father had as a child when their boat stopped to take on water in Ireland on their way to Canada. He was surprised he always said when they stopped at Quebec where everyone who was not a British subject had to get off the boat and go through the usual investigation for arrival in a foreign country but being British Canada was generally thought of as an extension of Britain. Funny really when you think about it. But in 1947 Grandpa became a Canadian - he decided to be Canadian after all. When the time came to return to England after the ten years he had decided on the First World War was then over and the need for people to work was huge due to the tremendous loss of life that Canada underwent in the First World War. 

Must do my solitaire puzzles and then the basement to clean.  

Modem died

No blog today.

Joshua and Jericho

 The Ark of the Covenant was carried into the Jordan River and the waters piled up on the flow side and dry earth appeared for the Israelites to cross into the Promised Land. Ahead of them was the City of Jericho. Jericho is said to be at least 11,000 years old. In these modern days it is located in the West Bank. When the spies from Israel spoke with Rahab who lived in Jericho and protected the two spies from the government of Jericho, she spoke of God as He wanted the world to view Him. He had dried up the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could flee safely from Egypt and the pursuing Egyptians. The success of the Israelites against the Amorites had also told the people of Jericho that God was great. Chapter 2 verse 11 "....... The Lord God is indeed God in heaven above and on the earth below." are said to be the words of Rahab to the spies as she protected them and told them how to escape the city. She asked that her family be spared when the Israelites came and the promise was made and kept because she helped them. 

The story of the fall of the City of Jericho is also an early memory from Church and Sunday School. I think in  my mind I want to think that God early on wanted to send His Son Jesus to us and that He promised it early on but the reality is that those prophecies are still to come according to the scriptures. I think quite clearly God wanted the world to know that He was the only true God who had created this beautiful world. He insisted that the Israelites pay perfect obedience to His laws or suffer the severe consequences in order that He would remain amongst them. 

Am I right that Armageddon has come and we have actually survived; that World War II and the demonic Hitler did not succeed in bringing on the end of the world. The signs were so very strong in Revelations as seen in the world at that time it appears but was it something that came into my brain as a child. Why do I think that? I am I think working my way through my thoughts in that regard and whether God meant that peace would come to all the world and all the countries would work together with their people to make this a perfect home full of peace. That satan and the satanists would be forever banished from our world. That three of the Great Religions of the World (known to me) worship the same God - Judaism, Islam and Christianity - can exist in our world because only God decides how He appears to us through the ages. Jesus came to soften the very strict laws of the Torah and Islam has its own God given existence. 

I was finding the daily readings although appreciated did not clarify items in my mind that were being tossed back and forth between my thoughts. Reading the Bible from cover to cover will answer my questions I think. Choosing the Revised Version Catholic was always a personal choice as it includes Books that are not in the King James Version. 

The great discovery yesterday was most interesting. This family is descendant of Robert Siderfin and Grace Kent through their son Thomas as my line is descendant through his older sister Elizabeth (Betty) (Siderfin) Rew. The match as fifth cousins at 53 cM is large (not huge) but does vary between 0 and 117 with 25 being the most common according to Blaine Bettinger's Shared cM Project.  However that 53 cM match is on Ancestry and TIMBER does reduce the number of cMs if the particular length includes a common area (i.e. common to the British Isles or a particular area in the British Isles in this case). There is a noted pileup area between 44 cM and 53 cM on this chromosome. I do have a number of matches but this one that is traceable is very useful as it again definitively supports the idea that this Thomas is a sibling of Elizabeth (Siderfin) Rew. On Ancestry it is a single chromosome match following later in the chromosome so part of the deletion could be the common pileup area. Rereading and saw that I had put fourth cousin but I am a fifth cousin to the person on Ancestry. Age is catching up to me for sure. 

Today is cleaning day one and it is the top floor. We were busy yesterday moving some furniture around to make it easier to manage and so a good day to begin the cleaning just to clear away any accumulation caused by the moving about. 

We are into a very warm week this week with temperatures well into the thirties and the humidex as high as 48 right across Canada from Alberta to Quebec. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

 

 

An amazing match

 I was working on the Siderfin book and I do need to revise it unless someone else does as the index is incorrect with page numbers. Sometimes it is right but I think in general the further you get from the front of the book the less accurate it is. However, I had a match with a descendant of the Siderfin family in Ancestry. Her daughter has now tested at My Heritage and I am able to see how much we match. The match is smaller (actually more than 50% smaller) and with the use of TIMBER I have no idea how large the actual match was but we share 4x great grandparents Robert Siderfin and Grace Kent and this new match would be my 5th c 1xr. Amazing that the tester's mother was so much larger. Occasionally I did inherit Siderfin matches that were larger but primarily my other siblings inherited those matches. 

Church today was one of those special sermons that  was delivered by the Right Reverend Peter Coffin who is filling in for this part of the summer. It is very pleasant to see him back in the pulpit as he was Dean of the Cathedral when we first moved from Dominion Chalmers to the Cathedral as Edward decided that it was time that he supported me with my Church as I had attended his United Church for many many years. I was extremely flexible on the Church that I attended as my Uncle/maternal Grandmother had been United Church and I went with them as a child when I visited which was often enough actually. I was familiar with the United Church. But I must admit I was happy to go although I had been attending the local Anglican Church at early service for quite a few years and then went to the later service at Edward's United Church with all the family. The readings at the moment include Romans and the sermon addressed this very interesting Book of the New Testament and I found it most interesting to hear his thoughts on Romans. 

Well time to run and get my exercise. I will continue looking at the new matches in My Heritage as I have already marked two new ones that are interesting but will not add them to my database at this time but this new one for Siderfin I certainly will.  

The simplest way

I think it is a truism that the simplest way works best anything convoluted results in a meandering path that is difficult to follow. Deuteronomy points that out to us throughout the many chapters in this book. The rules of life that need to be there in order that God can continue to walk with man, in this case He chose the Israeli people whom he freed from slavery in Egypt. It was a hard and difficult path that the Israeli peoples had to follow and this Book of Deuteronomy was a continuation of how that path had to flow. 

 Although I was skeptical of the story that the early peoples of the British Isles were descendants of one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, re-reading the first five books of the Bible has reinforced my thoughts in that regard. It was just a thought that grew in the 1800s and was thought about and then shared with this granddaughter when she was just five or six and my grandfather was 75 years of age. As I continue to read I will learn more about the movements of the Israeli people particularly during the times of the Babylonian Empire and all the other Empires that have risen and fallen through the centuries but the Old Testament deals primarily with the time period up to the birth of Jesus Christ. 

 Joshua is the next book of the Bible and I will read that beginning on Monday. I must admit I am not yet seeing the promise of a Saviour/a Messiah but the people of Israel are following the laws of God as they enter into the Promised Land. Moses has prepared them well for the road ahead and Joshua will lead them following the laws that God has given them. That is how I see this by the end of the book of Deuteronomy. I think that fear of the words kept me from really understanding the flow of words in the Bible when I was younger. 

I awoke in the night and read my chapters a bit earlier than usual. I will go back to sleep soon but sometimes my mind becomes too busy and I can not sleep. A lot of items are in my mind at the moment. 

The best way to reach our goals with our military spending is also the simplest way. The GST should never have been reduced. It was done to buy votes and I absolutely hate that. Put forward a decent platform and defend it well but do not buy votes with stupid promises to reduce it in his case it was the GST to be reduced to 5% and it should have remained at 7% because it supports government expenditure and in this case it needs to be directed towards defense spending (we were even told that was always the plan to reduce it to 5% and there was no such plan announced by the then Prime Minister Mulroney and it was a fabrication). Raise it 1% every six months as the employment improves and our projects start to pay their way - no rush, the submarines are still a while off. We need to tighten the belt that keeps us on a good and straight path towards adequate defense and an adequate life for the people of Canada. The big item is to live at home when you graduate (unless you can not because you found a job away from home) until you are financially sound so that you can go out in the world buy that beginner home and live your life.  

The forest fires in Quebec are affecting the air here and we have a smoke day for today. I had planned to weed the front gardens but it will wait for another day. Hopefully it will pass quickly and we will be back to clean air once again. 

I did some work on the matches yesterday looking at My Heritage and Ancestry. There are some new large matches on My Heritage that may be helpful but I will use the note feature to attach them to a grandparent unless I see value in extracting the match into my files. 

Perhaps I will work a couple of solitaire puzzles to put me back to sleep once again.  

My waking up in the night and working was common during the period that I proofread at home when my daughters were young. I would just do a couple of hours of proofreading and then back to sleep. Now in my 80s it has become a somewhat rarer event. 

Sunday and off to Church in another hour and a bit. I have been watching some YouTube videos on the first five books of the Old Testament and there have been comments where the narrator has put forward the idea that within these readings there is mention of the Messiah to come and help the Israeli people with the heavy task that had been placed upon them. What I read is that the task set upon the Israeli people in order to have God live with them was very exacting and precise and any infringement was punished immediately. I do not see any movement away from that precise and exact adherence to the rules set down in the Torah. I do know that I am reading towards the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah.  

The trees

 All my life as long as I can remember I have loved trees. When the Dutch Elm Disease reached London back in the 1950s I watched as the disease took one tree after another all the way down Wellington Street. These beautiful trees down the middle of the road were gone so quickly and I think the city did truly mourn their loss. That is why London was called the Forest City and still has that nickname although heard less often now. 

In the readings today from Deuteronomy Moses tells us that God said:  Chapter 20, Verse 19: .... you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them ..... Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you?" Such beautiful words as we are now into the season when forest fires (many many of them natural caused by lightning strikes) are common throughout our forested areas. It is sad to see the trees burn but going to Obatanga Provincial Park just west of Wawa in Northern Ontario (nearly 10,000 hectares of wilderness) a couple of years after a forest fire we found fields full of orchids and other fascinating wild flowers Edward and I on our travels with our trusty canoe in the north. It was absolutely beautiful. Edward had never really traveled anywhere before we married and after we bought the car we went so many places like that to see the beauty of the world around us. The trees left standing were blackened but some recovering and new growth everywhere. It was both sad and beautiful all at the same time. 

Rereading the first five books reminds me of all the Laws that Israel was required to keep in the Promised Land. The last set of chapters continue with the laws and they were many. I still do not sense that God is yet telling Moses to tell us that He will send a Messiah to the people. To me the first Five Books of the Bible are telling me the ancient story of Creation and the length of time from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Deuteronomy is to me a very long period encompassing so much that has happened in the world since its beginnings. I remember as a child someone saying (I think he was a priest from another place (I was very young)) that a day at the beginning could have been many years as God created this beautiful world we live in. I think he might have been a student actually as I contemplate this individual and not yet consecrated as a priest (vague memory now from so long ago). I was a restless child always and my mother would hold me down in the seat to keep me quiet but this time I listened so carefully to what was said as I remember it still. I was maybe four years of age as I recall it was when I first went to kindergarten I think and was learning to sit still. But the laws that the Israeli people must obey are clearly outlined by Moses particularly in Deuteronomy. 

Yesterday a very busy day of weed pulling. The tomatoes are now free once again of all that weed that was amongst them. They continue to grow quickly with fruit upon them not yet ripe. We also planted an herb (Basil) in the shade that we bought grocery shopping. Still more weeding to do and perhaps some today; time will tell. 

I have not accomplished any work but did look at new matches as the beginning of the month passed and I did not do that. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

 

The Torah

The first five books of the Bible are called the Torah and are the foundational texts of Judaism - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Continuing reading Deuteronomy which, to me, represents Moses preparing the people of Israel to enter into the Promised Land and to hand over his leadership to Joshua. Perhaps one of my most vivid memories of Sunday School was the trumpets under Joshua that heralded that entry of the people of Israel into the Promised Land. At least that was the way that I saw it as a child. The reading is certainly not quite so direct but none the less it was Joshua who led the people of Israel forward into the land that had been promised to their forefather Abraham and continuing to his son Isaac and his son Jacob. In Chapter 10 of Deuteronomy the essence of the law is expressed by Moses to the people of Israel:  Verses 12-14:  O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. 

 Another busy day yesterday buying groceries and it poured as we rushed back to the car with our grocery cart but we had worn rain coats so somewhat ready for that. But it was a very heavy downpour. The tomato plants have enjoyed it for sure. Salmon for dinner with potato salad and lettuce salad. The summer meals are always somewhat simple but energizing. All of the vegetables are now grown in Canada as our growing season is now well past the length for producing food for the plate. So much of the year we must buy usually from the United States or use stored food which is fine but fresh is even better. 

No work done but winter is around the corner and lots will get done. I need to weed today and will do that. The heavy rain will make that an easy task. Perhaps two or three bags of gardening weeds for the pickup on Monday. 

One item we did get done was all that scanning that we needed to do and had collected up. We have a couple of big scanning projects - my husband's thesis still not yet done and some other items that he had done through the years but not published. Some pictures of flowers in the northern woods that I find to be exceptional we want to put into a book in his memory of all those travels we did by car and then by canoe into the backwoods of Northern Ontario. So much to do and time will tell how much I accomplish in that regard. 

Exercises done a while ago now as I awoke early. Breakfast soon but first solitaire puzzles.  

 

Obedience

 Chapter 4 of Deuteronomy and Moses is retelling the story of the Ten Commandments which God gave to the people of Israel to follow and in particular the first and second Commandments.

Chapter 5 of Deuteronomy  Moses knew he would not enter into the Promised Land and now as the time approached he repeated once again the commandments which must be kept at all times in all places through the generations beginning thus. 

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;  you shall have no other gods before[b] me. 

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 

Continuing to read and Chapter 9 details the consequences of rebelling against God. Moses again reminds the people of Israel that it is the wickedness of the nations that they are to displace because God is fulfilling his oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob their direct ancestors. All of the children of Israel are descendant of Jacob (God changed Jacob's name to Israel).  

These are stories I have heard and read so many times as a child and a young adult without really understanding I am thinking. At 80 plus I am reading once again the words of God as told by the writers of the Old Testament. As I looked at the news today there was an interesting article talking about "the Great Filter" and where Homo sapiens is with regard to existence in the universe. Scientists querying why we do not see other life forms like our own in the universe. Coming from a science background I am always mystified by stories like this as I always felt that the Bible clearly explained why we exist. To me it is a plausible story and the mystery that surrounds the first peoples of the world as told by word of mouth and later written down is exactly that a mystery to us that is solved as we read the words of the Bible. Belief in the Creator God has been for all time a lamp in the wilderness beckoning us back to the rules which God gave to the Israelis. The simplified story of Creation in Genesis was written to make us understand that we did have a beginning; the time frame totally unknown but is it something that can be reduced to a scientific explanation. Atheism is foreign to mankind as it blots out God and the words of our ancestors and must be avoided in my humble opinion. 

Yesterday I finished the cleaning and the basement is ready to go once again. Some shopping done and then a walk on the beach and kayaking completed the day. Dinner was late but greatly enjoyed as once again cold chicken and two salads to complete the meal. Summer is an interesting time with all the freshness around us. Because we live in a northern climate we really appreciate summer when it arrives although a lot of us have air conditioning which makes a huge difference. 

Solitaire puzzles to do. I did complete the Blake Newsletter yesterday and will submit it for review today.  

 

 

The beautiful world that the Creator God has given to us

 The last three chapters of Numbers organizes the Promised Land by Israeli tribes and includes the portion that lay outside of the Promised Land beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward. An interesting set of chapters as it is the final story of the first four books of the Bible talking about the family of Abraham, his son Isaac and his son Jacob's descendants whom God delivered from slavery in Egypt back to the Promised Land of their forefather Abraham. The Creator God has shown the world that He alone is the Creator and He continues to live amongst the Israeli people as said in Chapter 35, Verse 34: "You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell for I the Lord dwell among the Israelites."

 Deuteronomy is the next book of the Bible. The first chapter is a review of the happenings that caused the fourty years of living in the wilderness outside of the Promised Land. In the second chapter the land of Esau is ahead of them as the Israelites are living in the wilderness and God tells the Israelites to buy food and water from the descendants of Esau and to pass by them. As they continue in the wilderness the Israelities come to Moab but again they are to pass by as this belongs to the descendants of Lot given to them by God. Thirty eight years have passed in their travels in the wilderness and those who had disobeyed God were now dead and it is time once again for the Israelites to follow God's orders and return to the Promised Land. The review is very interesting and reading the Bible in this way one has a better picture than the daily readings. In my old age I am glad that I decided to re-read the Bible from beginning to end instead of just reading the Daily Bible Verse. 

The cleaning of the main floor was accomplished yesterday. Today is the basement and I shall soon set the Robot to its task of cleaning the rugs. This is still a warm spell and will likely last most of July if not all. July is our warmest month and the driest so I must water the tomato plants which are doing very well with fruit on them already. 

A walk on the beach last evening was most pleasant and it is the busiest that we have seen the beach thus far. It was very difficult to get a parking spot and one just appeared very luckily. We were rather late though as we had done some shopping. I needed a file box and file folders and that was accomplished. A cold dinner of salads (lettuce and broccoli with their extras folded into them) were delicious and cold chicken that we cooked yesterday and will last another day during this heat wave. 

Started a letter to my sister but did not complete it yesterday and will do that today. The time passes so quickly in the summer. 

Iran must not fire on the tankers and for that they have lost their right to ship oil once again. I agree with the Prime Minister on his statement. The NATO meeting sounds like it is going very well. The idea of NATO was totally defense against  aggression. Russia attacked Ukraine once again and killed people. Why do they not return to their borders of the 1990s which they agreed to. They have no right to attack the countries around them. They have plenty of land and there is no excuse for killing the peoples of Ukraine. They are satanists and not obeying the laws of God. 

God gave us such a beautiful world and my prayers are always that we can find peace in this world and live together as He commanded with love (respect) in our hearts for our neighbours.  

Solitaire puzzles are next.  

The commissioning of Joshua

 These chapters are very interesting in Numbers. Again women are mentioned as the only children of a line coming down from Joseph (Chapter 27) and the Lord has decreed that they should inherit their father's portion. God establishes the right heirs as sons and if no sons then daughters, and if no child then brothers and continuing back through the generations to establish the right heir. I never really understood burnt offerings before but the explanation in Chapter 28 is quite explicit and easily understood. These are pleasing offerings to God and in specific time frames, Sabbath offerings, monthly offerings, Passover offering, Festivals like the day of the first fruits. The idea of not working on the Sabbath at your occupations puzzled me as a child. For the burnt offerings it is mentioned that this is a pleasing odour to the Lord but not working is a holy convocation. A holy convocation is a sacred assembly or formal gathering of believers called together to worship God, for instruction or spiritual renewal. 

In the Christian world that I grew up in I was conflicted by this idea because people still did work and gradually it was defined as a needed service and so avoided conflicting with the holy convocation ideal. The Christian world has moved far away from that original concept of the holy convocation on the Sabbath (Chapter 28) (in the Christian world this is celebrated on Sunday for just the actual time of the service). I myself go to Church on Sunday with YouTube. I went through a period of time when I was nine and ten and found this idea of burnt offerings of animals that I saw on the farm and so many listed and I can see those reading now in Numbers. They were troublesome in my mind and I blocked out that idea of sacrificing animals and indeed refused to eat meat for a while. But hearing the stories of the First Nations and their thanks given to the animals which they ate was sort of a balm on that worrisome mind of mine. Moses is instructing the people of Israel because he knows he is not going into the Promised Land and must prepare them so that they continue to celebrate God as God has commanded. 

Packages mailed off to the Archives should arrive in the next week. The material that Edward carefully collected through the years can be useful to people researching the Kip/Kipp family name. He collected a lot of material in the United States where the Kip/Kipp families lived. Although I helped him to collect the material,  I did not absorb any of it particularly because I was not interested in genealogy but simply helping him with his collections. I do not know the Kipp families that he is related to and it just seemed practical to put it all in a repository where any of them can go and see it. At 80 my time is short ahead of me and I especially did not want to see any of it thrown away after all his work on it. 

Top floor cleaned yesterday and it is the main floor today. A huge amount of cardboard went out this week for the collection. We have replaced all of the drape rods and drapes in the house now pretty much. They were getting old and needed new ones. 

NATO will buy ten of the SAAB jets for reconnaissance which is good news as we had debated doing that as part of our fleet but really having them as NATO possessions is an advantage. Germany and France are very much moving to the forefront in NATO. France in particular is heavily armed and nuclear capable. The United Kingdom also increasing their military (they too are nuclear capable) and they too have an Arctic presence. I feel that NATO is progressing forward very quickly and in particular has command of the Arctic which is important as the ice melts. Canada will be part of that protection cover for the Arctic along with Norway, Sweden and Finland with Germany and France. The other countries in NATO are also committed but the heavy work will probably fall to the countries that neighbour on the Arctic plus France and Germany (and Denmark). We will hear at this meeting how much the United States will be involved I think as they too have an Arctic presence with Alaska. Greenland is also part of NATO and the protection plan but Greenland (protectorate of Denmark) has a very small population so need the support of the surrounding nations on the Arctic along with Denmark, Germany and France). I am sure we will hear quite a bit more on all of that. Russia continues to try and provoke NATO but NATO is a purely defensive organization. 

Russia still is living in the times of the 1800s with no concept of a world view that wants peace. I was pleased to see China say at the UN Security Meeting that it is time to wind down this war against Ukraine. Russia continues to murder the people of Ukraine and especially in Kyiv the capital. They are satanists. 

Probably not much work done today but time will tell.

Solitaire puzzles to do.