Sage Gardens

moving the blog

2011-02-18T07:24:00.000-09:00

I've recently taken the opportunity to update my website and decided to incorporate the blog with the site. Hope you'll visit the new "digs"

Sage Gardens has a new home

2011-02-09T14:08:00.001-09:00

My blog is moving to a new home on the Sage Gardens web site, I hope you'll come visit. To subscribe, click on the RSS feed at the bottom of the blog page.

The Christmas Can-can

2010-12-14T08:23:00.001-09:00

Another Christmas tradition

Retirement is harder than I expected!

2010-12-07T08:34:00.004-09:00

There are so many things to occupy your time, it’s a chore to balance creating a necessary structure, with not becoming too regimented. I’ll be sure to let you know when I figure out how it’s done. I need to take the mornings, when my energy level is the highest and make that my “work time”. Afternoons seem to be better if I can fit in a short nap, and then I’ll have some energy to make

When Sanity Reigned

2010-10-29T12:06:00.001-08:00

Might be the sanest day that DC has ever seen, (or perhaps ever will see). Although I do have to add that the Metro System was understandably over-taxed: ) My sister and I were sitting just beyond that white tent. Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear Closing Remarks: “I can’t control what people think this was. I can only tell you my intentions. This was not a rally to

The 2010 Berge Family Reunion

2010-10-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

After several years of contemplating the idea and more than several months of preparation by an enthusiastic committee, we did it!August 14, 2010 .... and a good time was had by all.flickr photos

Planning a family reunion

2008-05-07T09:38:00.005-08:00

The time has come to move from casual conversations about getting the family together for a reunion, to a focus on the logistics that will make it happen. The first step is to gather contact addresses for the far-flung members of the family, so a letter can go out to gauge the real interest for the project.Another part of the first stage is to put together a planning committee, so I'm calling on

How Many Have Your Name?

2008-04-17T18:55:00.000-08:00

HowManyOfMe.comThere are 9 people with my name in the U.S.A.How many have your name?

Honoring Irish Ancestors

2008-03-13T17:37:00.012-08:00

My Irish born ancestors were part of the "famine immigrants", and I'm just beginning to delve into their histories. So far I've identified James Langan, (born abt 1805), whose daughter Catherine married my ggGrandfather Frederick Berge and Lawrence McNally (born abt 1828) and Bridget Heron (born abt 1830), whose daughter Mary Teresa married my great grandfather Charles D. Sanders.Catherine Langan

Playing with family photos

2008-03-13T07:47:00.004-08:00

I ran across this web based slide show editing application. You upload about 10 photos, then choose from a selection of music to accompany the 30 sec. slide show that is generated. The service is free for the 30 sec. show, and fee based if you want a longer presentation.

Civil War ancestors

2008-03-13T06:33:00.012-08:00

Frederick William BergeMy great great grandfather, Frederick Berge was born in Hesse-Kassel in 1838; at 17 years old, he immigrated to the United States, settling in Scranton, Pennsylvania.When Fort Sumpter was shelled by Confederate forces, and fell in early April, 1861, the new president Abraham Lincoln asked the states to call up volunteers for 90 days. On the 27th of April, Frederick Berge,

Finding Family Photos

2008-03-13T05:56:00.009-08:00

I've been taking a short break from winter in Anchorage with a visit to family in Pennsylvania. This past Saturday I spent time with an aunt and uncle in New Jersey and enjoyed hearing stories of their memories of WWII. My aunt spent some of the war in Hawaii with her parents and sister, when her father worked at Pearl Harbor. She related the story of traveling there with a destroyer escort. My

Carnival of Genealogy - technology?

2008-02-25T19:35:00.011-09:00

March's Carnival of Genealogy wonders what technology we rely on most to assist with genealogy and family history research.one piece of hardware (besides your computer)one piece of software (besides your internet browser),one web site/blogSince I won't be able to wax poetic about my new MacBook (it is the center, after all, of my tech universe), I think the scanner would be my pick for the

Taking a break.....

2008-02-24T15:36:00.002-09:00

Taking a break from family research this afternoon to walk down the block and see the dogs run by.

What can I learn about Charles D Sanders?

2008-02-18T09:50:00.007-09:00

My interest in researching family history started when my mother's sister Clare returned from a trip to the National Archives with copies of the civil war records of two of our ancestors. One of those ancestors was Charles D. Sanders and today I looked again at the census forms that I've collected for his family.In 1850, ten year old Charles was living in Pittston, PA with his parents Jesse and

Where were you during the census?

2008-02-10T10:32:00.000-09:00

Gen Lady poises the question-where were you during the US census? It's an interesting one and I wonder how many are like my family and were in different locales during each 10 year enumeration?I was born in 1944 in Miami Beach, Florida. By the time the 1950 census was taken, my folks had returned to their home state of Pennsylvania and we were living in Sunbury, Northumberland county. In 1956,

One of my favorite pictures

2008-02-09T18:44:00.001-09:00

Taken, probably in 1938, in New Cumberland, PA. This photo shows my grandparents Bill & Flossie Sanders, surrounded by their off-spring: Jane, Marjorie (my mom), Clare, Marie, Bob and Jane's twin Jean. I liked it so much I had it made into a poster so I could see it every day.

100 year timeline.....

2008-02-08T13:17:00.000-09:00

Just a few major events in the lives of some of my direct ancestors:1840----Charles D Sanders (great grandfather)---born---Broome Co, NJ1840----Catherine Langan(g-great grandmother)---born---Ireland1840----Margaret Hunter(g-great grandmother)---born---NY1845----US-Mexico War1848----California Gold Rush 1849----Mary T McNally(great grandmother)---born---Carbondale, PA1850----Nathaniel

Where were they in 1908?

2008-01-27T10:06:00.000-09:00

Recently I came across a blog post that raised the question "Where was your family in 1908?" I find this question intriguing for the very reason that draws me to genealogy. I enjoy genealogy not simply as an exercise in collecting as many generations as possible, but even more because it provides a way to know history by imagining my family in a particular time and place. Investigating the

LibraryThing

2008-01-21T11:57:00.000-09:00

Having a bit of fun today with a tool suggested by the folks at LibraryThing.LibraryThing is an online book cataloging site that I started using a year or so ago. One of the users created a photomosaic of himself using all the covers of books in his library - "you are what you read".I used a free photomosaic creation program, MacOSaiX for the Mac (a free PC program AndreaMosaic is also available)

Sage Gardens and snow

2008-01-16T14:19:00.000-09:00

Shoveled another 6 inches or so of new snow this morning- no plans to go out until tomorrow, but the mailman will be happier.The rest of the time this morning, I worked a bit on the next stage of my web site design. I've played around with a new background, while trying to determine the scope of the content.

Family History Timeline

2008-01-14T10:49:00.000-09:00

Burr... -3 degrees for the high in Anchorage today. Sounded cold to me until the high for Fairbanks was announced at -30. I'll be happy to spend the morning inside "doing genealogy".I'm working up time-lines for some of my family groups. After locating ancestors on federal censuses and then pulling together, birth-marriage-death records, I've found that a good way to help put their lives into

Butternut Squash Soup

2008-01-12T14:20:00.001-09:00

Beautiful sunny morning in Anchorage. The trade-off for sun is the temperature drop. The high today is expected to be about 8 degrees. But the sun shinning always makes me happy, so on with the long underwear and let's make some soup.I picked up the ingredients for "golden winter soup", featured on the cover of the latest issue of Cooking Light. It uses butternut squash, potatoes and leeks,

January brings snow

2008-01-11T13:51:00.001-09:00

View out the kitchen window....Five more inches of snow yesterday and we're finally catching up to the normal snowfall amount for the winter.

Laundry day in Anchorage

2008-01-05T11:45:00.000-09:00

I set out this morning just after 7am (my preferred time to go to the laudromat). The sky was as dark as midnight, and with temperatures overnight in the single digits, it was COLD.I got the laundry bag into the car on the passenger side, but when I went around to the driver's side to start the car and let it warm while I scraped the ice-covered windshields, the door lock wouldn't open. I wasn't

winds of change...

2008-01-03T19:31:00.000-09:00

Just finished watching Barack Obama's speech after his caucus win in Iowa. What a historic and hopeful event! Barack's win and record numbers of caucus participants speaks to a real desire for major change in the country. I'm anxious to participate in Alaska's caucus in just about a month.

Welcoming a new year!

2007-12-31T22:13:00.000-09:00

Thought I'd try a few new things in 2008. This is one of them.My days in Anchorage have settled into a routine. Since dawn is barely breaking by 9:30 am, I'll take time to post to this blog while I get my plans for the day finalized. Since retiring last Jan, I mistakingly expected to finally have enough time to do everything I wished/wanted to. Hah! I think it's a law of physics that the things