Rabbit Holes - or how my grandparents were begat

 I decided that I would "file" a few of the hundreds of lazy research screenshots I have gathered over the years, which means refinding them all in Trove which is a most wonderful research provided by our National Library.

 I maybe did a half dozen, but those rabbit holes keep poppin up!!

I won't go TOO far down the rabbit hole today, but some delightful moments of synchronicity discovered were my great-great-great grandfathers' ads for missing horses in 1862

18 April 1862 - North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser -STOLEN or strayed, one IRON GREY MARE,branded M/M on the near shoulder, and AS on the off shoulder. The above reward will be paid, if stolen, or conviction of the thief, or £3 if strayed, upon delivering the said Mare to JOHN RANKIN. Esq., Rose Hill; or to GEO. EVANS, Newtown, Ipswich.  

The fourth son of John Rankin (my "farthest back in time" migrant to Australia) married the second daughter of George Evans nearly 18 years later.

A different great-great-grandfather's in 1865 (the going rate for getting a horse thief was apparently a tenner)

 14 October 1864 - Sydney Morning Herald - Stolen, from the Lachlan Diggings, a Black HORSE branded W near shoulder, T off, star and snip, 5 white spots under saddle, collar marked, shod all round, £10 on conviction 

This relative is very much a man of mystery in research - we know plenty of what happened HERE but the man was a master spinner of tales, and finding a paper trail of what went on BEFORE is elusive 

And I did a big snip because the ads around it?!  Tell me your thoughts on the fourth "lost" article!?  (I am hoping that is about a dog);

His son-in-law landing in Brisbane almost exactly 11 years later:

7 October 1875 - Daily Northern Argus advises of shipping arrivals including The Isles of the South, immigrant ship, arrived with 316 immigrants - one of whom was my great-grandfather, the "nearest" relative of our migration story;

and nearly another 20 years later, their union - through the marriage of one's daughter to the other in a business transaction brokered over brandy (allegedly)

 

27 March 1895 (the wedding took place 4th March) the NQ Register used exactly the same copy that the Mackay Mercury used nearly a fortnight earlier, including the lovely little take-away "Mr Edwards replied.  He said that although he ad lost - no not lost - but given away a daughter, he had gained a son and now in these dull times when sugar was so low and cattle so cheap it was an advantage to gain even a son."

Kodomo no hi, floridaman, cattle-stealing and squirms therapy

 When I was at high school, we had a most awesome (awe and some and aww and aargh being the operative words, depending on how you viewed her) Japanese teacher.  A 6' 1 spinster whose one true love was Japan, a country that she had visited when a Uni student and had a lifelong affair with.  And her instrument of love was teaching Queensland country schoolgirls the rudimentaries of Japanese language and culture.

Masochist is another term that comes to mind.  Poor dear.

But Kodomo no hi does ring a very faint bell 41 years hence (but as I only did Japanese to Year 10, so I cannot perform the traditional dances or ceremonies that Ms P no doubt would have furnished those who went to Senior with).

So yesterday was Children's Festival in Japan - today I typed "May 6 F" thinking to find out what festival IT may be (because that is the date) and offered for my delight was "May 6 Florida Man" and I thought, why not.  I present the Orlando Weekly with "Floridaman punches Jimmy John's employee because his sandwich took too long, wasn't 'Freaky Fast" enough.  I have a few issues:

• If its a weekly but its on the internet, what day of the week is "Publication" - or is Weekly a nod to historical naming convention that we will all too soon regard as "quaint"?  We will be going "remember when our news artefacts were named after days of the week" and our children and children's children will be shaking their heads and going "huh, imaging having lived through that era". 
• Bloggytown?
• roll back is two words but Floridaman is one?
• Hang on - Cannabis is now a tab on a news site?

 I suddenly have the belief that this may not be a certain quality journalism!

 

Boca Raton resident MJVisconti, a man who enjoys an effeciently prepared submarine sandwich after a long night of drinking, was arrested Saturday night after punching a Jimmy John's employee in the facr for not making his sub "Freaky Fast" enough.

• my child has just started a career as a sandwich artist (although not at Jimmy John's) - she may have to contemplate 'Freaky Fast' as a speed to attain. The link is no longer active for us to ascertain exactly what that may mean.
  

Officers observed that Visconti was intoxicated.
The store manager had a cut on the bridge of his nose after being punched by Visconti, the report said.
While police were gathering information, Visconti allegedly began walking away east on Clematis Street. Told that he had to remain while the investigation continued, Visconti said, “[Expletive] that. Why am I going back?”
Visconti, 22, allegedly elbowed and kicked at two officers before being handcuffed, the report said. He also wedged himself between two palm trees and had to be placed in leg hobbles after he continued kicking at the officers.
Before going to jail, Visconti was taken to a local hospital to treat facial abrasions sustained during his struggle with police, the report said.

• Officers observed?
• Nothing like an on the spot on the money reporter!!!
• I can just visualise the palm tree placement there... 
• [Expletive] that!!  
  

 And then I was going to use an example of swearing from my own family history but instead went down this rabbit hole about my great-great-great-grandfather and the cattle-stealing charge he dodged!

To think, only a year earlier he was this angel:

As you may be able to tell, we are child-free for three nights while Paris is at camp.

 V gave me a bowl of squirms when I decided my heady activity was going to be "blogging".  

And who says romance is dead!

Ten Days and a Recipe Hallelujah

 I know, its been 10 days and I didn't come back and tell you about the rest of my 10 days (didn't seem that long) or Easter celebrations (more than enough chocolate and some) or visiting parents or - well, I did do stuff, I just didn't BLOG stuff.

However I do have to tell you that I made my own Birthday Cake because apparently that is the most surprising thing, which it shouldn't be if you know me because (a) I like to cook, (b) I like things the way I like them and there are times when anything else isn't quite right and (c) I have found the BEST CARROT CAKE recipe in the world and I like carrot cake.

I took no photos (well, I took a BEFORE photo)

 

 

 we went out to dinner - the place we went had either 1 star reviews or 5 star reviews and we had never been - the entrees and breads were worthy of the 5 stars but the service was definitely 1 star

 

I drove out to my parents for the first bit of the long weekend (Anzac Day - 25th - is a public holiday here, and Dad was going to be doing to BBQ with Rotary).  The drive out there is so beautiful, but of course driving you don't get to take photos - this is from a lookout I remember always having a cup of tea at when we drove the other way when kids.

 

 Dad unfortunately wasn't well enough to do the BBQ - and for that man to pull the pin on any social event or something he has promised to do, you know he isn't well.

I took Mum to music (their Friday ritual - this man Brian did all of the dances when we were kids and it still banging the piano keys for nearly a solid hour).  Dad has taken over from another gentleman who used to read a poem or two to give him a break - he had given me the poems to read and Brian was VERY pleased to have his 5 minutes when I read them.

I did give the sourdough crusts another run - still forgot the 24 hour step, still didn't matter.

 

I also tidied "that drawer" - we all have one, and this one hadn't been really looked at in quite some time

I came home for Sunday to do a session of Qi Flow (with my Yoga lady - its a mix of Tai Chi and Qi Gong I think) and book club (an interesting book of short stories and a lovely group of people) and this sunset.

I am back to work as of yesterday.

 Oh - and the recipe hallelujah is for the BEST CARROT CAKE recipe is from Food Network.  I do use walnuts instead of pecans and it is pretty delicious.

Saturday's Muse

 It is 5:21am and still dark here - I woke about an hour ago which is pretty much par for the course. I have reached that stage of middle-age where as long as it isn't before 3am, its time to get up and stop arguing.

We made THE MOST AMAZING Sourdough Pizza bases for dinner last night.  My sister gave me a gluten-free sourdough kit for Christmas and, while I have made some bread (both GF and regular) with it, all of the other things that I have discovered to make use of it have been phenomenal.  This recipe has now joined the bao buns and English muffins in the OMG we must do with again repertoire.

Now, I do have a confession to make - I didn't follow the recipe to the letter (surprised?) because this one was chosen due to it not requiring a "start the day before" step because I very rarely google a recipe that far ahead, so when I got a "Important step: Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using." I was already too invested to turn back.  I relied upon the "relax, its Australia, things move quicker (at least in baking breads) here" mantra and it did work.  That being said, I made a double batch and still have enough for 2 more crusts in the fridge (and the mushrooms that I forgot to have among the toppings we could use) so we will see if there is enough noticeable for me to think ahead about.

While my starter is GF and I have kept it GF so my GF friends can also have both starter and occasional end results, it is versatile enough to work for this so a VERY SUCCESSFUL Christmas gift that keeps on giving.  Sourdough Mate created the kit that I was given - I am not in any way an affiliate, I am just a very happy recipient. (I must admit that the local health food shop is where I get my GF bread flour that I use to feed it now) 

So what are your most recent "hallelujah" recipe finds?

Words for Wednesday prompt

 

I am still waiting for daughter and visitor to awaken so we can organised the next week - so will use the time wisely and do Words for Wednesday (as inspired by River and the words from Elephant's Child)

We were walking down by the river - the gentle calls of birds hunting the muddy banks harmonised against the cicadas incessant beat, the glaring shimmer of the dry heat, the only moisture our sweat - all combined and seemed to defray our nerves after being read the standards and expectations the night before.  

It was the odour that first alerted us - it seemed organic in nature, and it was just around the next corner. A crow cawed our approach.