Follow Friday- Olive Tree Genealogy Blog

In keeping with the unexpected theme of gravestones this week, I thought I would mention November's Genealogy Challenge at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog. The challenge is a spill over from October's challenge, which is to spend 15 minutes photographing tombstones at a local cemetery, then post them. Finding a photo of an ancestor's tombstone can give you valuable information for your research, such as death dates, birth dates, and if you are lucky names of other relatives.

There are a couple of cemeteries that I want to photograph. I'd like to do this challenge, but I'm not sure I'll make the November deadline. Next week is Thanksgiving week and my kids are out of school the whole time. We have quite a few things scheduled for the week. On an up note the boys don't mind looking around a cemetery and causing general havoc, so it might be a good opportunity for an outing. We'll see how the weather holds up.

Sunday Blog Reflections

After a stint of chores this morning and a quiet house, I decided to take a look at the new genealogy blogs that Geneablogger listed on Saturday. There are a few that caught my eye and are off to a good start. I should say here that I have not blogged for very long and am by no means an expert on what makes a good blog. In fact I'm still trying to figure out the gadgets for mine.

What surprised me were the number of bloggers who did not include a name for themselves or some sort of photo/picture. I understand the desire to protect one's identity, but for goodness sake throw me a bone! Go by a first name and put a picture of your great aunt. In general genealogists are pretty nice people and friendly. Part of relating to people is giving them a name to go by and not just a blog name. Dear Myrtle's blog has done this very nicely. She goes by Myrtle or Ole Myrt and has a lovely drawing of a woman as her id photo. This is not her real name but it works. I am able to relate to her and have a sense of who she is.

I was also surprised by the lack of joining/following options. Some of the blogs only offered one way to follow them as a RSS feed. Everybody has a preferred way to follow the blogs they subscribe to. I think if you only offer one or two ways you limit your readership. Case in point, there was a blog I thought would be interesting to follow. However, there was only one option given to follow, that I don't use, so I didn't sign up. Life is busy, I can only remember to keep track of so many sites on a daily basis.

If you are looking for advice or help on genealogy blogging Amy Coffin of The We Tree Genealogy Blog has just written and released The Big Genealogy Blog Book. Amy has been blogging for a long time and has written about blogging in her blog many times. It is on my list of reads.

*Amy has not asked me to review her book nor do I get any compensation for the mention. I just thought it noteworthy and useful.

Follow Friday (a little late)

Since yesterday was Veteran's Day I posted a blog appropriate to that day. However, I read a blog earlier this week that was thought provoking and I have continued to think about it since. So I decided to share it a day later than I normally would. Greta at Greta's Genealogy Bog (yes Bog) wrote a blog earlier this week titled Why I Want To Remain An Amateur.

It was interesting to read Greta's thoughts on why she does not want to be a professional genealogist and is happy being an "amateur." I liked that she supports remaining an amateur but pursuing quality work and learning. There have been many people that I have met through ProGen, institutes, and conferences that want to learn the proper techniques of research, but have no interest of working for anybody other than themselves. I admire this dedication.

Follow Friday-They Came To Montana

I needed a little something to pick up my spirits today (it's just one of those days), and so I went to Geneabloggers to check out Friday Funny posts. I came across Jennie's blog They Came To Montana. She has posted some very amusing photos on her blog.

They struck me not only because I love photography, but they are just so unusual. Not often do we see "old timey" photos of people acting silly let alone even smiling! They capture great personality. I hope she posts more of these photos in the future. I enjoyed them.

National Blog Posting Month-Alrighty Then!

Okay, so the big theme today I've been reading about in various blogs, is that November is National Blog Posting Month or NaBloPoMo. The idea is to post a blog every day in November. It sounds like a daunting task and I'm a little hesitant to commit. Then again the worst that could happen is that I miss a day or two and I don't think the blogging police will come and get me if that happens.

So I'm jumping in. There are plenty of prompts to be had from Geneabloggers and from BlogHer if I draw a blank (which is sure to happen). I was inspired by Michelle at The Turning of Generations and Valerie at Begin With Craft. Sometimes knowing there are others sweating along with you makes it a little easier. Anybody else with me??

Follow Friday- A Few Selections

Okay, so I came across a few interesting things this week and couldn't pick just one. The first pick I'd like to pass on to you is a website. If you are doing any research related to New York City then you want to check out this New York Public Library site. You can find out the history of buildings/homes that your ancestors lived in or near. I found this particularly intriguing as just last week I was trying to search out the history of a building in NYC from the 1900 city directory.

Next, Valerie over at Family Cherished had a very interesting blog about you, the genealogist, as a brand. I've never thought of myself as a brand, but it makes sense. It is a thought provoking post that has lingered in my mind all week. How do you brand yourself?

Finally, Jennifer Shoer at the Scrappy Genealogist has a series on "How Does She/He Do It?" This is a series of guest bloggers discussing how they handle family (a.k.a. kids), genealogy, blogging, and life in general. I found this blog appealing as, 1) I have small children with only one being in school full time  2) My husband is very supportive of my endeavors, but other than him, I have no support system (think coworkers), of genealogists that I gather with on a regular basis to talk shop 3) It is interesting to hear how other people (genealogists) handle it all.

So there you have it. I hope you find the above as interesting as I did!

Follow Friday- Are You My Cousin?

There are a number of blogs I enjoy reading for various reasons. Some are just pure entertainment, some educational, some have really good stories, and then others are thought provoking.

This week Lisa's blog Are You My Cousin? had two topics that got me thinking. First, Lisa is having a Postcard Bonanza on August 31st. I collected postcards as a kid and still add to it from time to time. I love looking at old postcards, and in the past Lisa has posted some really nice ones.

The topic Lisa blogged about today was how distracting genealogy can be. There have been a couple of times things have gotten burned, because I had a sudden thought related to genealogy and had to jump onto the internet. Or a few times I've been thinking through a particularly tough ancestor, that I didn't hear what my husband was saying to me.

Mostly the genealogy distraction gets me through my workouts. I went for a 3 mile run today. It was more challenging than usual, as I underestimated the heat and humidity outside. So I thought about my research and what needed to be done. I made a mental "to do" list. It's long. I also thought about the blogs I want to write and BCG certification. At some point I realized I needed to write down this "to do" list and then the run was over.

So as Lisa posed, "Genealogy might be to blame for..." What is your answer?