#weekendcoffeeshare – #156 – March 15, 2024

Good morning and welcome to my #weekendcoffeeshare #156! So glad to see so many of you. I have several kinds of brews waiting on you, so just help yourself. I am a tea drinker and don’t drink coffee, so there are a couple of nice teas as well. Grab a mug and have a seat and let’s catch up.

As many of you know, I am mostly retired. I find myself, just about every day, wondering how I ever found time to actually work. Even retired, it seems that almost every hour of the day is filled up with something. Most of it good. Some not as good and I’d rather not deal with that! Do any of you who are retired feel the same? That there isn’t enough time? There is so much left that I still want to do.

I have a lot of writing to do as well as reading. I’m trying to read all the classics along with some of the newer stuff. Some traveling, though not a lot, is on my mind too. There are still a few places I’d like to see, a little traveling that I have left to do. I would love to visit New Zealand. There are also only two European countries I haven’t seen. One is Switzerland and the other is Scotland. I especially want to go to the Scottish Highlands since one half of my DNA comes straight from there., Another fourth of my DNA comes from the Hebrides Islands off the west coast of Scotland. The last fourth is from Sweden and I have traveled there several times. I still have cousins in both Scotland and Sweden who I would love to meet in person. I don’t know if I’ll be able to travel to any of these places in the coming years, but I certainly hope so. Where would you like to go on your travels?

Scottish Highlands

Stockholm, Sweden

Isle of Lewis, Scotland

My ancestors came from each of these places.

A funny story. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s mother emigrated from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland to America.

Do any of you engage in genealogical research when you aren’t writing? I have worked on my genealogy off and on since I was 18 years old. I’m interested in exploring so many of my family lines. I’ve developed family trees for my paternal grandfather’s line (Sweden) and my maternal grandfather’s line (Scotland). My maternal grandfather’s ancestors were in America before the Revolutionary War that split the U.S. from Great Britain.

My paternal grandfather’s family were new immigrants in the early 20th century, immigrating from Sweden to the state of Michigan in the U.S.; northern Michigan to be precise.

Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park in the Upper Peninsula of MIchigan, US.

Other than dreaming about traveling and writing, my week has been pretty quiet. Unfortunately, I’m dealing with some illness in my family and am consumed with concern and involvement with that. It’s one of the disturbing things about getting older. Family and friends start to get sick.

If you are ever curious about the state of Kentucky in the U.S., I have a book for you. One of the things Kentucky is known for is thoroughbred horse breeding and racing. We are only a few miles from the Bluegrass region of Kentucky where the limestone in the ground turns the grass blue in the spring. It is particularly good for horses. The horse industry has thrived here since the 1700s. I am reading a wonderful book depicting the history of the horse industry in Kentucky set in a wonderful story. The book is called “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks. I highly recommend it. What are you reading?

Thank you for joining my #weekendcoffeeshare. It’s been wonderful to see and spend time with all of you. Have a great upcoming week!

Thanks to Natalie the Explorer for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare!