Gifts

The most significant gifts are often the ones most easily overlooked. Small, everyday blessings: woods, health, music, laughter, memories, books, family, friends, second chances, warm fireplaces, and all the footprints scattered through our days.
(Sue Monk Kidd, Firstlight, p. 113)
5 December 2015

Friends

Panama - Pollera (dress)

Everybody wants friends. Everybody needs friends. No one wishes to be without them. But never lose sight of the fact that it you friends who will lead you along the paths that you will follow. While you should be friendly with all people, select with great care those whom you wish to have close to you. They will be your safeguards in situations where you may vacillate between choices, and you in turn may save them.
(Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand A Little Taller, 18 November)
12 May 2015

Good Books

Little Free Library at University Park, MD

Photo by Mr. Dickie

Good books are as friends, willing to give to us if we are willing to make a little effort.
(Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand A Little Taller, 16 January)

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I'm working on a project to extract Nicknames from the Notes of my Conger genealogy file.  RootsMagic defines a Nickname field. It's a slow process.

Mr. Dickie

6 September 2014

Friends

Friends

I could not imagine who I would have been without them, nor can I imagine it to this day because they are in so many ways a part of me still.
(Frederick Buechner, [Remembering people who have been part of his life.], Listening To Your Life, p. 290)
23 April 2014

Friends

Friends are people you made part of your life 

just because you felt like it.

(Frederick Buechner, Listening To Your Life, p. 293)

9 March 2014

Showing Interest

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. (Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, American Motivational Writer in Pocket Positives, no page numbering) 20 February 2013

So Long

... you must be willing to leave some people behind.

(Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today!, 2 May)

15 July 2012

Pick Yourself Up

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 26 May)

Whatever may happen today, I will think of it as a challenge which I am well able to meet. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon, 27 May)

Life is tough enough even when we have friends to encourage us. What would it be like if we had to do it alone? (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 439)

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This morning I'm listening to some Dave Brubeck music downloaded from the library today. I also listened to the Bluegrass CD I purchased yesterday, The Pathway Home an album by Keith Arneson and Wayne Taylor and friends.

There were four library books due this morning. How convenient it is to be able to use the Internet to renew materials when they are due.

Mr. Dickie

13 June 2011

Make Yourself Necessary

Today appreciate the tremendous value of having an understanding friend. (Helen Steiner Rice, From The Heart, 24 March)

Make yourself necessary to somebody. (Ralph Waldo Emerson in The Book Of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 153)
20/May/2011 8:03

One Of These Days

One of these days is none of these days. (English Proverb in The Book of Choices by Mike Magee, M.D., p. 67)

Today accomplish at least one act of kindness no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. (Helen Steiner Rice, From The Heart, 22 January)

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Yesterday I made three new Facebook friends: a niece in Panama; a distant cousin in Illinois; and a Yoho researcher in Ohio. I haven't met any of them face to face. I'm looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with my genealogy researcher friend and to getting to know my two relatives better.

Mr. Dickie
25/Feb/2011 8:22

Friends

Finding and keeping good friends is hard work. (Toni Sortor and Pamela McQuade, The Word On Life, 17 Jul)

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I didn't post anything to my blogs yesterday. We left the house early and went to breakfast at Friendly's in Crofton. Afterwards we drove around Bowie looking for garage and yard sales. We saw a few signs but never spotted any good sales. During the day Melva worked on a house plant that had grown to touch the eight foot ceiling in the dining room. She's trying to make two plants, one from the root and one from the top.

I continued to work on my Conger GEDCOM edit project. I started the project on the first day of July. I think I have fixed the word wrap problem in most of the notes. At least I'm not finding many lines that still need to be modified. Most of the edits to the county names are also done. Now I'm working on adding people's names to the second line of their notes. This change improves the readability of the notes in reports.

Mr. Dickie
1/Aug/2010 8:54

A Natural Crisis

One incident of lawlessness can cause a natural crisis. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Bible Commentary, p. 153)

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Yesterday former coworker Bill Hamilton and I enjoyed a very nice three-hour lunch at The Red Lobster in Lanham, Maryland. We covered lots of topics. When we said goodbye in the parking lot we agreed to get together again in June.

Today Melva plans to work for a few hours before going to the Hair Cuttery in Edgewater, Maryland for a class. She is familiar with the two roads she will be using.

Senator Arlan Specter of Pennsylvania, who didn't know whether he was a Republican or a Democrat, was defeated in the primary yesterday. I take my hat off to the citizens of Pennsylvania for sending this message to Senator Specter and the other politicians. We must hold every elected official accountable. Historically we have plenty of evidence to illustrate what happens when we don't.

Mr. Dickie
19/May/2010 9:18

Breaking Bread

The contented, well-adjusted person has no need to look for flaws in others. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 1 April)

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Sometimes I ask myself why I work on the genealogy of families that aren't my relations. I've never come up with what I consider a good answer. The closest I've come is, "I like working on the puzzle and enjoy seeing how many families of Monroe county, Ohio I can link together." A second possibility is that it's a way to avoid doing the things I should be doing.

Yesterday we stopped at the Vista Gardens shopping center to eat lunch at the Panera. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked behind us, just after we placed our order, and noticed former colleagues and union board members Tim and Linda. We enjoyed the opportunity to eat lunch together.

Mr. Dickie
5/May/2010 7:57

Back in Touch

It may be difficult to break a long-established pattern of depression, doom-sayings, and complaining, but it's worth the effort. (Courage to Change, 5 October)

When we allow ourselves to grieve, we release the negative thoughts and emotions that make it easier to accept the change. (Iyanla Vanzant, Acts of Faith, 30 September)

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Recently I enjoyed getting back in touch with two friends I made through the genealogy hobby. I appreciate that the Internet, Email, Facebook, websites and so on makes it more likely that we won't lose touch with people we enjoy.

Mr. Dickie