Jacqueline’s Jaunts

CHRISTMAS WEEK  We spent Christmas Eve at relatives (see Jaunts). Christmas Day Renee came over for Christmas breakfast. This has become a tradition for us.    Adam and his girlfriend Bri, came over on the 26th and we had our Christmas with them. We had a great time. Barry BBQ'd steaks and lobsters. We also had baked potatoes and a great Caesar salad with Barbaras' (our neighbor) homemade Caesar dressing. She taught Barry and I how to make it a few months ago. This was the first time we made it on our own. We had her taste it and we passed the test. I can taste it now as I write about it.  JAUNTS  Christmas Eve we spent at Melissa and James' in South San Jose. Adena also helped host. This was the first Christmas we all spent together since Christmas 2019, right before the pandemic. Aunt Violet, David, Danny, Jo Ann, Adena, Shaylynn, Melissa, James, and Utah were all there. We had a wonderful time. It was so much fun watching Utah open all his presents. He w...

I finally did something I’ve wanted to do for years, visit my Uncle Eddie Griffin’s burial site in San Jose, CA but life just seemed to get in the way. Two months ago, we dropped our motorhome off at Leale’s RV Service Center in south San Jose. Two weeks ago, we went back to tour Leale’s facility and check on the work that is being done. A few days before we left, I mapped the directions to the cemetery, and surprisingly, the service center was only two miles down the road. I think my Uncle was calling me.  I took numerous photos of his burial site for my records. On the hill behind Eddie’s spot is a Pacific Bell tower. There is a memorial plaque commemorating when my Uncle Top (Columbus Utah Griffin) was killed while working on a Pacific Bell building in downtown San Jose, CA, but that’s a story for another time. I made sure the tower was included in a few of my photos. My mother, Wanda Lue (Griffin) Threet, had no idea the tower was there when she picked out the spot for Eddie. W...

In the 1990’s my Uncle Jimmie Griffin was ready to pass on the family genealogy research he was working on. I inherited the binder he had, and it was full of family group sheets. This was during the time when the internet had just begun. I started collecting documents; birth, death, funeral, funeral programs, graduation information and any other documents I could get from family members. I kept anything that marked a family event. I put these items in that binder or file folders I created, then forgot about them.  At some point I purchased the genealogy software Family Tree Maker. I started inputting the vital records information I had gathered and scanning items into Family Tree Maker. I still kept the paper versions if I had one. As of writing this post I still have A TON of documents I need to scan and update to Family Tree Maker. It’s a never-ending project.  Since I retired in August 2019, I have been working on my genealogy research and writing skills b...