Monday, June 16, 2025

Two Thought Provoking Sermons

Yesterday I did attend both Anglican Services - one here at Christ Church and one at St Peters and St James Hereford. Both had two extremely thoughtful sermons which provoked a good deal of thought in my brain throughout the day and this morning I found myself going back to the thinking pattern and contemplating Solomon and his wisdom once again (although the sermons themselves looked at the Trinity but one of the readings in the week was about Solomon and his talk with God). Greed and hate have raised their ugly heads once again in our world and although it has been sitting as an undercurrent for quite a while especially in the case of Iran's hatred of Israel but the Russian desire to commit genocide against the Ukrainian people is also a long lasting plan on their part dating back over the century past. Iran has created three sycophants to carry out their satanic plots against Israel namely Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. This satanic murder of six Palestinians who were helping with the US food distribution group is just the continuing usage of the Gazan peoples as collateral damage in the Iranian war against Israel which has been relentless throughout the last couple of decades. That a people would allow themselves to become willing to be the collateral damage and even allowing their children to be killed in order to satisfy the hatred of the Iranian government for Israel continues to confound the world (why did they not send them to safety!). Palestinians need to destroy Hamas not the other way around - they must stop being willing victims. Then the equally satanic leadership of Russia has destroyed the glory of the Russian people for their extreme sacrifice during the Second World War as they fought night and day to cast off the Nazi invaders in their country. Satanism must be gone from our world - the Iranian leadership and the Russian leadership (and North Korean leadership for that matter); so long as it endures then there will be useless waste of people and property namely the Israelis, the Palestinians and the Ukrainians. The picture is constantly coming into clearer and clearer view of the need of the world to eliminate these satanic peoples so that we can have peace.

More work on the Living DNA matches yesterday and some interesting ones that have three out of four of my grandparent lines appearing to come together in another family (very occasionally generally just two lines). Given my own lack of first cousins, few second cousins but all known to me and hundreds and hundreds of third cousins I do anticipate the possibility. However I always find this a little suspicious but I must remember in England in particular many of my lines became quite large in the 1800s (John Blake and Ann (Farmer) Blake (my 2x great grandparents) had 54 grandchildren many of whom had large families). The Buller families in Birmingham (particularly the daughters marrying into other lines) had a dozen children in some lines. The Knight/Butt families that went to Lancashire in the late 1800s also had large families (again my 2nd and 3rd great grandparents). So it is possible but some of the lengths are quite long but again I do have endogamy in those Knight/Butt lines where two different Knight/Butt lines come together as sticky lengths of chromosomes giving me longer lengths than one would anticipate in third or fourth cousins. The possibility of marriages between my lines is much greater in England than here where the proportion of English descent is smaller and in particular 100% as mine is.  But I will continue with that today along with the cleaning. Basement today and it is already set up to run the Robot vacuum cleaner. I have to establish the perimeter for the vacuum to remain on the rug which I must set up each time and that takes perhaps four minutes give or take. 

Drinking my lemon ginger tea and will do my solitaire puzzles.  

 

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Living DNA Results

 I have been intent on the matches but today I noticed my map on Living DNA. In the past I have had a bit of colouring outside of the British Isles but the latest result shows 100% Great Britain and Ireland with 

23.3% from South Central England; my father was born at Eastleigh and his father at Upper Clatford and going back in time about four generations this male line was in Andover and back into Knights Enham (part of Andover) and by yDNA thousands of years in the British Isles which bears the comment from my grandfather - we always lived in the Andover area. But there is a 50% other side of every story in his line with my father's mother born at Kimpton and her line going back to her mother born near Enford, Wiltshire where the Rawlings line is found for a number of generations and then Netheravon, Wiltshire back to Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire. The wives of these men were always from local areas to Enford. My father's father's mother Maria Jane Knight was born at Turnworth Dorset and both sides of this family lived in the areas around Winterborne Stickland, Dorset including the Arnold family at Milton Abbas, Dorset the Molton family at Winterborne Whitchurch, Dorset, the Butt family near and at Winterborne Stickland. 

 14.9% from Lincolnshire was a bit of a surprise actually as I do not have anyone actually born in Lincolnshire.

11.9% from Devon and my mother's father's family were from Bishops Nympton, Devon (and area) going back to the late 1500s. 

11.8% Central England and I am thinking of Leicestershire looking at the map which is the area where my Welsh and Cheatle families lived (the parents of my 2x great grandmother Anne (Welch) Buller born at Longdon by Lichfield, Staffordshire and baptized at Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire. My maternal grandmother's grandmother.

 9.7% Southeast England and this includes London and particularly Bermondsey where my Buller and Beard families lived in the 1700s into the early 1800s. My maternal grandmother's father's family. Henry Christopher Buller married Anne Welch at Birmingham in 1838. 

8.1% South England and this area captured above with my Blake family at Andover and my Knight family at Turnworth, Dorset and their areas as mentioned above. 

5.8% East Anglia is a teaser as I do not have anyone from this area.

5.4% Ireland and just family lore about my maternal grandmother's mother being of Irish descent (only  the Republic of Ireland is coloured for this percentage).

4.1% south Yorkshire which is the area of the East Riding of Yorkshire which was home to my Gray family found at Holme in the Wolds and before that Cherry Burton which is close by. 

 3.3% Northumbria which is also a teaser as I do not have anyone from this area but do have my Routledge family from nearby Cumberland.

1.7% Cumbria which does seem very small as my Routledge family were at Oakshaw, Bewcastle  back into the 1500s and likely earlier. This is my maternal grandfather's maternal grandmother's line (Elizabeth Mary Ann Routledge was the daughter of Thomas Routledge and Elizabeth (Routledge) Routledge. 

I must look at my four siblings to compare their map to mine. 

Yesterday I continued drawing out the matches to a third sibling and did get a bit bogged down with one which I shall quickly resolve today having given it some thought. 

It was a busy day though with grocery shopping and then a walk on the beach which was lovely. It was busy enough but soon will be packed with people enjoying the swimming, boating and picnics on the beach. 

Sunday and two Church Services to attend online. Soon I will do that. The Bible Reading today was about Solomon and one would wish that all the leaders of the world would be wise like Solomon and bring us to a peaceful co-existence where hate no longer rules and no one goes hungry.  

 

Saturday, June 14, 2025

What is Freedom?

 Freedom is the right of everyone to exist in this world in a country that supports its citizens unless you are breaking the law. At least that is how I do see it. Under such a system worldwide hunger would disappear unless we are all hungry; hate would disappear and it does need to and respect would be the first and most important rule. The United Nations had all of those desires when it was formed in 1945. But I think the most important part of the United Nations is the ability to stand back and circle the wagons and provide a place where discussion can happen. That is why we formed the United Nations to provide a sounding board for grievances. We all can listen to what each side can say and we need to do that; everyone needs to be at the table that is involved. Only then can we find that peaceful uplifted plain that God wants us to reach. But most importantly blatant aggression whether it be by proxy (Iran using Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis to attack Israel) or by one country (Russia) invading another country (Ukraine) has to stop and retreat has to happen so that there is a forever deterrence to such actions. Then peace can flow like a gentle river but this time Canada has to keep its eyes on military support; it must not diminish. I do like the approach of our Prime Minister Carney and we will see. He is a money manager for sure and that to me is probably the most important item in the government - the careful scrutiny of how the finances are spent. The days of bonuses in government work need to be gone (brought in by Prime Minister Harper). You are paid to do a job in the Federal Service (the personal credit which you obtain especially from a job well done will have to be a sufficient award because that is a place where your value in a service is noted publicly and congratulated); that is a sufficient bonus and if that doesn't work for you there are jobs in private companies that might suit you better. This giving of bonuses can be abused much too easily. More money would remain in government coffers to spend on defense and other items as needed. On the other hand, companies that are awarded contracts and given support by the government owe the Canadian government and the people of Canada and their support for Canadian projects should be first in their minds not making a profit for their shareholders at the expense of Canadian projects. When we help to fund a company they owe Canada first and foremost. 

Good progress yesterday on extracting matches from Living DNA and I now have completed myself and one of my brothers to the end of page 8 of the matches. I do need to look at the three new ones and will do that before I begin the third sibling's matches. I think another couple of weeks or so should complete the process although there is a lot of gardening to do. Still the Pincombe Newsletter is in its stages of development and must spend time on that today. After a lovely walk in the afternoon I cut the front lawn as it did need doing. I am becoming entranced by the wild flowers but eventually the lawn needs to be cut and will try to keep it trim for the rest of the summer. The back lawn will be today; it is another beautiful day. The sunflowers have broken through so we need to weed that as well. The hostas are beautiful this year; huge plants possibly because I left all the wilted greens from last year to rot away and improve the soil. I need to pick up branches from the maple tree at the back as it has shed a few more. 

Another beautiful sunny day; thank you God for the beauty of this day. I was thinking about lifestyle of the two Hemispheres in our world. In the Western Hemisphere where I live the First Peoples lived in unison with nature through the centuries and in the Eastern Hemisphere where my families came from (100% from the British Isles going back many generations) the desire to acquire seemed more important than living in unison with nature but time has been kind and this desire to live in unison with nature has taken a hold in the Eastern Hemisphere where Canadian Beavers are carefully increasing the providing wetlands to help protect the environment. It is wise to look to the ways of the First Nations to make the most of Canada for all of its people. 

Tea drank and now solitaire puzzles and the day begins.  

Friday, June 13, 2025

Down with the Satanists of the world

 I made my first train trip yesterday on the light rail from here to South Keys where I was meeting the train from the airport. My daughter made five trips back and forth in May/June to accomplish a number of items that needed to be done. Normally she has a quiet May after all the marking is done and then out kayaking every day that it is possible just for a brain refresher while getting into her research term. But this year there was just a lot to do culminated by her first PhD student completing her thesis defense and attaining the pinnacle of achievement in her chosen profession - a PhD. She has been on a lot of committees for PhD but this was her student that she was chair of her committee from day one and it was wonderful to see that happening even if from afar. Congratulations to her student for all her hard work. So yesterday I decided to meet her train at South Keys and I had not taken it to date. I walked to the bus as our train is not yet ready to function out this far. Then on to the train after the bus ride and change to the train to the South Keys line and there I was quite quickly actually waiting for the incoming train from the airport. She landed just a few stops before I reached South Keys so the wait there was just a few minutes. Worked very well and look forward to the completion of all the lines crisscrossing our city and out into the country. Ottawa is finally catching up with major world cities with our light rail. The ride was excellent and the views of the city spectacular as we moved along.

But it was a huge day around the world with so many happenings as Iran finally got what is coming to it - after all they killed nearly 100 Canadians (many children, women and men) when the plane they were on returning to Canada was shot down as it left Tehran all those years ago now. Iran is a Satanist country along with their sycophants Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Hamas has just shown their  satanism when they murdered in cold blood the six members of the staff of the food group (Palestinian hires) that the US set up to deliver food in Gaza. Hamas does not realize their time is past; they have spent these last twenty years grooming the population of Gaza to die for their satanic cause and it is ending finally one prays as these people realize there is more to life than hatred of Israel. Hamas is using this fear tactic to try to bring the Palestinians back under their control. It mustn't happen - Hamas must go from Gaza. The Palestinians for three to four generations has been in this hate mode and they murdered Jewish children in the school yards when I was a child. The world needs to be free of Satanism and that includes Russia attacking the free independent country of Ukraine which is into its third year. The Russian ignorance goes on and on and they too are Satanists unless they get rid of Putin and his adherents all of whom are Satanists. There is hope for Russia if they just rid themselves of these ignorant savage satanists that lead their government.  Satan always comes with sick promises hoping to lure away the honest good people of the world. One must be wary. 

Prayers continuing for all the lives lost in the crash of the plane in India yesterday both in the plane and on the ground. How sad for India and the countries that all these people belonged to including one from Canada who will be very missed I am sure.  

Some work done on the matches yesterday and I have begun the process of looking at the matching data between siblings at Living DNA to compare it with the data from Gedmatch and 23 and Me that I have used for phasing in the Past. I have a different population in the Living DNA results - one that better compares to my actual results as I am 100% English descent in the last six generations at least with Scot and Irish working their ways in earlier and in the 1400s French Huguenot some of which show endogamy with my matches which I knew would be there in both sides of my family particularly in the Routledge (Scot Highlander) and the Knight families in the modern era and Blake (two distinct lines back into the 1500s and likely into the 1300s) from earlier times which does show up surprisingly in American colonial lines as a few Blake members came to the American colonies very early on. Having the five siblings makes it a lot easier process and so many 3rd cousins have tested over time. Would love to have more 2nd cousin results but testing is a personal thing so I do not ask anyone particularly to test although I will mention it to them especially if they ask about it. However the endogamy in the lines is very particularly situated and exists back in the 3x great grandparents lines particularly so that the pieces that come down may sometimes be large and sticky with two different Knight pieces coming together in particular.  So the work continues but when I do do the genealogy of the Blake and Pincombe families I want it to be as accurate as possible. I worked pages 5 to 8 of my matches to extract the 2 segments and 1 segment people that I had not yet looked at and I am up to 102 new matches now to insert into my database along with the perhaps 20 existing matches that I updated with the Living DNA results (people who had tested at other companies earlier). Not that many really most of the testers appear to be new tests that are matching us.

I do need to put the revised version of the original Siderfin book into the repositories as I discovered some errors when my eyes had cleared from surgery and I need to upload the Charting book for Siderfin. A few tasks to get caught up on as this time has passed quickly the past year since I completed the books. It is nearly six months since I started writing the Blake and Pincombe books. Today I must finish the Pincombe Newsletter - it is very late this month. Other than that the gardening is constantly in my mind but my love of gardening is very slight - the flowers are lovely but I love wild flowers too and they do not need my help!

Drinking my tea and solitaire games to play. The day is a little late starting but will be a sunny one. Perhaps kayaking and walking - we will see. The air quality is 39 today. It is 11 degrees celsius and it has been a cold June here but that hasn't kept the forest fires down but the rain is finally helping with that. 

 

 

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Back to work

It seemed I did not accomplish a lot of work this week just cleaning. But today I return to the Living DNA matches and I will go back to my account and search for 2 segment and 1 segment matches from 5 to 8 and see what I glean from that. I decided I should do it as I have already noticed that there are still some matches I am missing. 

Still not reading the news very closely as life has been incredibly busy. A slow time must be coming as it usually does by July as the heat/dry spell will be upon us. The gardenias started blooming with the rain but they are nearly one month late. My husband Edward commented on the seasons shifting maybe ten years ago as he was truly a gardener in his spare time and noted such items with respect to the blooming of the flowers in particular. The hostas are huge this year no idea why but I did not clear away last years leaves but let them rot in place. I wonder if that improved the soil and encouraged them to grow larger. Interesting. I mostly did it because I thought in the forest no one clears away the prior year's growth; it just rots away and maybe the result is the beautiful forests that we have full of plants and flowers as well as trees. 

A few more items to do around the house and then the cleaning is done for another week. It is soon time to begin again. A never ending cycle for sure but it is part of the tune of my life and I am enjoying it. Just the quiet and the work and the life around me. 

Late playing the solitaire games today and that is next.