So if you’re like me you may be running out of things to do around the house about now, as what we thought would be a couple of months at home may turn out to be a year or more! And with winter here, gardening and yard work are mostly off the table. Like many of you I continue to work but find myself with more time when I’m off, as vacations, travel and even day trips are minimal this time of year anyway. So a few ideas come to mind.
One thing I traditionally work on in the winter months is my family history. I have memberships to Ancestry.com and use a program I like a lot, by another company (that will link to Ancestry) called Family Treemaker. It allows you to create a tree and add vital information, media, and extensive notes about each person in your tree. Over the past few years I have traced my Barnwell genealogy back to Scotland and Ireland in the 1200s, and my son-in-law’s family directly to Ann Boleyn’s sister in England. But it doesn’t really matter if you find royalty or rogues-and I have found both-as any family would expect over the course of history. But, rather, it’s just a lot of fun. You become the family detective figuring out links and relationships. That leads you researching the history of the time for added perspective on their lives. And you can pursue it to any level of interest and stop and move on to something else when your interest wanes. It’s also a great thing to share with family.
Along those lines might I suggest doing an audio, or video, recording of some senior member of your family? I started that in our family with my daughter when she was doing an elementary school project and interviewed my dad. He was flattered and loved to tell his story, and it ranged way beyond the initial concept. It’s obviously something I value and enjoy as well, as you can tell from the oral history sections in my books. And if you are the senior member in your family, take it upon yourself. A few minutes a day will go a long way to creating a living memory to share with your children and grandchildren. (Collage of portraits of my father I made in 1979 and again in 2001, a year before he passed away).
Right now my mother is using the tape recorder I gave her to relate stories from her 92-year life. For years she’s been meaning to write things down for us to have, but the thought of having to hand scribe that much kept her from starting. So I said, “Why not record it.” I gave her a recorder and some tapes and now she sits down, presses a button, and recalls stories from her life, in her own voice; something I, and my descendants, will treasure. Currently she is recalling her year in France after World War II when my dad was stationed there while in the army. It’s great because I just had a bunch of old family 8mm movies copied to DVD which I can share on my computer or TV. One whole reel are scenes from their time in France, Germany, and Austria.
So a third related thing might be to find a service that can transfer home movies or videos to digital so you can watch old family events such as birthdays, weddings, and vacations. I have had dozens of spools of 8mm home movies from my childhood transferred over the past few months and have added identifying title slides to many of the segments, so my daughter, cousins, and descendants, will know who the people are in each. I’ve even dropped in background music to some sections which adds a nice touch. Contact me if you want the name of the service I used for the film transfers.
So just a few ideas that might be of interest. I’ll post a few more next month. Hope everyone is doing well, and let me know if I can help with your photography needs in 2021. Also check our website for book ideas if you want something great to read or just enjoy beautiful photographs of our area, including my latest, Tide Runners: Shrimping and Fishing on the Carolinas and Georgia Coast. Also follow me on Instagram @timbarnwellphotography
Best Regards;
Tim Barnwell
Barnwell Photography
As I mentioned in my previous email/blog there was a close conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on December 21st. I set up my Celestron 11-inch telescope at AB Tech and made the image, above, of the two planets and some of their moons. You can check my previous posting for a diagram of what is visible, but you can see Jupiter to the left with four moons lining up diagonally and Saturn, and two larger moons, on the right. Really a unique sight!