Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:
It’s Saturday Night again –
Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!
Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision. Here’s your chance to sit on Genea-Santa’s lap (virtually) and tell him about your 2023 answers to Linda’s 20 questions:
A) Linda Stufflebean sent in an update to her “December Meme” from last year. Copy them to your own post and write about them.
B) Tell us about them in your own blog post, in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook Status post. Please leave a link on this post if you write your own post.
Here are the 20 Questions:
1. What is one genea-accomplishment in 2023 of which you are proud?
I’ve managed to blog almost daily!
2. Which (realistic) genea-gift would you most appreciate this year?
A descendant of Alexander Crawford of Pulaski county, KY following thru with an order for a yDNA test that has been gifted to them.
3. What item on your not-so-realistic wish list for Santa would you most appreciate this year
Chromosome browser for Ancestry WITHOUT having to pay a monthly fee.
4. Have you written any genea-books (with mostly text) to give as holiday gifts?
Yes, I used an interview with my parents to put together a book of memories. Using Shutterfly, I was able to ‘print’ this book and give to my siblings, my nieces and my nephew.
5. Have you created any photo family history books to give as holiday gifts?
Yes, I’ve created a scapbook and then used Shutterfly to create a photo book.
6. What is your favorite holiday main course food?
While I don’t have a favorite, there is a dish that I miss from my childhood: Candied Sweet Potatoes. This is a fairly simple dish to prepare. The sweet potatoes are pre-cooked, sliced, dipped into butter and sugar and then fried.
7. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Pecan Pie
8. Which food do you eat too much during the holidays?
Any type of sweet or salty snack.
9. Share a favorite holiday memory.
My husband and I used to volunteer as ushers for Candlelight Christmas Eve at Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. We volunteered for every service on Christmas Eve but the 11 pm service. While we heard the same sermon several times, the music was different. We would even stay for part of the 11 pm service to hear the youth choir and orchestra lead that worship service. While most churches utilize candlelight at the end of their Christmas eve services, this service is different and hard to describe. However, experiencing this service has had a huge impact on my faith. (video from 2022)
10. Have you continued any ethnic food or cultural activities that have been passed down through the family?
If my family had ethnic or cultural traditions, they did not get passed down to my grandparents and thus did not get passed down to me.
11. Do you prefer warm sunshine or snow on Christmas Day?
While I love watching a beautiful snowfall, I cannot say that I prefer a white Christmas. This is because much of my family is traveling over Christmas and snowfall can make the highways treacherous.
12. Did you break through any brick walls in 2023?
Unfortunately, no.
13. Do you have a 2023 genea-goal which could have been accomplished, but over which you’ve procrastinated or from which you’ve been distracted?
Yes, I wanted to dig into Virginia records for my CRAWFORD line, but did not get that accomplished.
14. Have you ever gone holiday caroling?
While I likely did this in high school, I do not remember caroling.
15. Do you have any favorite holiday decorations?
I have the nativity set handed down from my grandparents to my parents.
16. Who is the singer you most enjoy listening to during the holiday season?
OK, your asking this question of someone who has over 1000 Christmas related songs in iTunes. Some of my favorite Christmas songs and artists include
- A Hallelujah Christmas by Cloverton
- O Holy Night by Chris Tomlin
- Little Drummer Boy by for King + Country
- Adore by Chris Tomlin
17. Have there been any Christmas Day calamities that you remember?
One Christmas, we had broiled steak for supper on Christmas Eve. My dad forgot to turn the oven setting back to bake after cooking the steak. Thus, when the turkey was placed in the oven early on Christmas morning, it was broiled instead of baked.
18. If Santa invited you to hitch a ride in his sleigh, where would you like him to drop you off?
If it meant that I could do some genealogy research, I’d pick Salt Lake, Fort Wayne or even Danville, Kentucky. However, Christmas day is not a day for research. Thus, I’m content to stay in Kansas.
19. If you had to choose right this minute – which ancestor would you most like to meet? Choose an ancestor about whom you’ve researched in 2023.
James Crawford of Garrard County Kentucky and Preble County, Ohio.
20. Share one of your 2024 genealogy goals.
My 2024 goals are still just ideas at this point, but one of them will likely be researching Alexander Crawford of Pulaski County, Kentucky and his descendants.