Friday, July 10, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Another Dutch Treat
Extra, Extra...read all about it....Grandpa Harmen Albertse Vedder and family buried in local Mall! Now, come on, how many people do you know who go to a mall to buy shoes, but instead grab a quarter-pounder and a coke and sit by their Grandpa's grave and chew the fat? Well I can and so could you if you lived in Schenectady, NY and shopped at the Rotterdam Square Mall. How neat is that! Cemeteries and malls don't usually mix, but at this mall, there is one right by the door and it belongs to our family. Supposedly the only way they could build the Rotterdam Mall was to leave the Vedder family cemetery be. They just built the Mall around it!
Grandpa Vedder came to America in 1663 from the Netherlands and was one of the original settlers in Beverwick (now Albany). Selling his land in Albany, he and 14 other colonists from Beverwick founded the city of Schenectady. It was pretty interesting to find out that of the 15 original founders, we are related to seven of the families. But a truly ASTONISHING finding a few days ago is the fact that Grandpa Vedder and two of our other Dutch Grandfathers were married to Mohawk women. This confirms my own convictions that we, indeed, have Native American blood running through our veins!! I just knew it...I knew it. Should get a good seat at the Casino now!
I am having my DNA tested ( an 85th birthday gift from my girls)..won't that be a "kick" of a letter when the Widow Grady "tells all" about her (and your) ethnic background!
OK get out of the pool you're getting as wrinkly as I am. Here's a little genealogical quip for the day. "She's descended from a long line her Mother listened to."
I love you, all my darling relatives....The Widow Grady
Grandpa Vedder came to America in 1663 from the Netherlands and was one of the original settlers in Beverwick (now Albany). Selling his land in Albany, he and 14 other colonists from Beverwick founded the city of Schenectady. It was pretty interesting to find out that of the 15 original founders, we are related to seven of the families. But a truly ASTONISHING finding a few days ago is the fact that Grandpa Vedder and two of our other Dutch Grandfathers were married to Mohawk women. This confirms my own convictions that we, indeed, have Native American blood running through our veins!! I just knew it...I knew it. Should get a good seat at the Casino now!
I am having my DNA tested ( an 85th birthday gift from my girls)..won't that be a "kick" of a letter when the Widow Grady "tells all" about her (and your) ethnic background!
OK get out of the pool you're getting as wrinkly as I am. Here's a little genealogical quip for the day. "She's descended from a long line her Mother listened to."
I love you, all my darling relatives....The Widow Grady
Saturday, July 4, 2009
They say these things come in Threes.
Happy 4th everyone!
What are everyone's plans for the holiday? I will be doing a little gardening. I have a few rubbermade containers setup outside my apartment and I am growing tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, habaneros(I cant wait), carrots, chives, thyme, catnip, and I have a container of mixed herbs but I am not sure what is growing in it yet.
Sadie and I are thinking about going somewhere for a picnic, but we will see how the weather is. Then we will be going to our town's fireworks display tonight.
My week heading up to our July 4th holiday has been interesting for me. They say that bad things come in sets of three, and I think I have had my three things.
It all started on Monday, I have been riding my bike to work mostly every day and I had gone to the grocery for some lunch. I was bringing it back to work and I was hit by a car while crossing a crosswalk. The driver had stopped and appeared to be waiting for me (since I had the right-of-way) so I crossed in front of him. When I was right in front of the drivers side of the car, he started going and knocked me off the bike. He didn't notice he had hit me and continued to accelerate to get over the bike and dragged the bike a good 30 feet or so before he realized what had happened. A tow truck had to be called in to lift the car off of my bike and I could tell right away that it was totalled. The frame was damaged so it cannot be repaired. The driver claimed that he never saw me or even noticed that he hit me, a few days later he told me that he turns 96 later this month. He has agreed to pay for any damages and once I get that payment I will be ordering a replacement bike.
My second issue occurred on Wednesday night. My computer monitor stopped working =( After troubleshooting, I determined that the problem was the monitor itself. Acer has asked me to ship it to TX to be repaired... I am just hoping that whatever is wrong with it is covered under my warranty. In the mean time I won't be able to use my computer for a few weeks while I wait for my monitor. Which of course really stinks, because I use it a lot every day.
And my third thing happened on Thursday. One of my coworkers needed a jump because he had left his lights on. Sadie and I received a roadside emergency kit for Christmas and we had not even opened it yet. I thought it was a great opportunity to use it. Unfortunately, the cables must have had a short or were just plain cheap, because it almost immediately started smoking and melting the plastic, so I reached down to remove the cables from my battery and burned my right hand pretty good right at the base of my thumb. I am fine but opening bottles is difficult.
All in all, I am just happy that I am alright. In the accident I hurt my chin, right elbow, and bruised both knees but I am healing well.
I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. Happy July 4th =)
What are everyone's plans for the holiday? I will be doing a little gardening. I have a few rubbermade containers setup outside my apartment and I am growing tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, habaneros(I cant wait), carrots, chives, thyme, catnip, and I have a container of mixed herbs but I am not sure what is growing in it yet.
Sadie and I are thinking about going somewhere for a picnic, but we will see how the weather is. Then we will be going to our town's fireworks display tonight.
My week heading up to our July 4th holiday has been interesting for me. They say that bad things come in sets of three, and I think I have had my three things.
It all started on Monday, I have been riding my bike to work mostly every day and I had gone to the grocery for some lunch. I was bringing it back to work and I was hit by a car while crossing a crosswalk. The driver had stopped and appeared to be waiting for me (since I had the right-of-way) so I crossed in front of him. When I was right in front of the drivers side of the car, he started going and knocked me off the bike. He didn't notice he had hit me and continued to accelerate to get over the bike and dragged the bike a good 30 feet or so before he realized what had happened. A tow truck had to be called in to lift the car off of my bike and I could tell right away that it was totalled. The frame was damaged so it cannot be repaired. The driver claimed that he never saw me or even noticed that he hit me, a few days later he told me that he turns 96 later this month. He has agreed to pay for any damages and once I get that payment I will be ordering a replacement bike.
My second issue occurred on Wednesday night. My computer monitor stopped working =( After troubleshooting, I determined that the problem was the monitor itself. Acer has asked me to ship it to TX to be repaired... I am just hoping that whatever is wrong with it is covered under my warranty. In the mean time I won't be able to use my computer for a few weeks while I wait for my monitor. Which of course really stinks, because I use it a lot every day.
And my third thing happened on Thursday. One of my coworkers needed a jump because he had left his lights on. Sadie and I received a roadside emergency kit for Christmas and we had not even opened it yet. I thought it was a great opportunity to use it. Unfortunately, the cables must have had a short or were just plain cheap, because it almost immediately started smoking and melting the plastic, so I reached down to remove the cables from my battery and burned my right hand pretty good right at the base of my thumb. I am fine but opening bottles is difficult.
All in all, I am just happy that I am alright. In the accident I hurt my chin, right elbow, and bruised both knees but I am healing well.
I hope everyone enjoys their weekend. Happy July 4th =)
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sure wish more people would write in....
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Irene
Irene
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