Totally Not Genealogy Friday

Happy Friday, everyone!

It's the end of a rather slow week, so I'm looking forward to getting outside with  my grandson Jack, playing with the neighborhood dogs, going for a walk, and maybe start planning an herb or flower garden this year.  I've found so many great gardening ideas on Pinterest (wagon wheel herb garden, cinder block flower garden, and photos of many new varieties of flowers that I didn't know existed!) and I'm  motivated to do a little more landscaping than I usually do.

My brother David will be over this weekend to finish up a master closet re-do, which I'm very excited about.  New floor, shoe/purse cabinet, and completely re-configured to make use of some dead space.  Can't wait for him to finish up so I can get my clothes off the dining room table.  Again, more ideas from Pinterest, especially the shoe/purse cabinet.  Pinterest is my new HGTV.

I also plan to do a little bit of genealogy organizing/scanning/research planning.  I really  need to get back into the business of doing some actual research, instead of reading genealogy blogs, Pinterest, and twitter.  Social media is killing my research!!  I also want to take a look at a few webinar schedules, and possibly register for the St. Louis Genealogical Society annual conference in April.  At some point, I need to finish my DAR registration papers.  I have almost all the documentation I need, except one piece that proves who I am (can you believe it!!), and I need to get that ordered.

The other thing I need to do is start taking more photographs.  My husband bought me a new camera for Christmas (a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3, if you're interested).  I've been interested in photography for quite a while, but lots of other things get in the way of truly learning all the features of my camera, and just getting out there to take pictures.   I've been inspired by the blogger JD Andrews, who has the amazing job of traveling around the world.  You can follow his latest adventures at www.earthxplorer.com.  He is currently on a trip to Antarctica (one of my dream trips).  He tweets a lot as @earthXplorer, if you're into Twitter.  His photographs are amazing.

Another great blog I just ran across the other day is called Kevin & Amanda.  There is a widget on my home page that links out to their blog.  Amanda is very interested in photography, cooking, web design, and her doggies (and husband, too!), and she shares some amazing blog design and photography tips.  If you are looking for a fun blog to follow, this is for you.  Amanda also tweets as @kevinandamanda.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and an even better weekend!

Karen

Travel for Genealogy Research

I'm going to Paris in May with my best friend, whom I've known since kindergarten.  I mention this because yesterday I wrote the check to the tour company.  We will be spending a week in Paris, visiting all the wonderful places I've dreamed of seeing:  the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Versailles to name a few.
As I was planning this trip with my friend, it made me think about all the  places I would love to visit for genealogy research purposes.  My son's great grandparents lived in Trier, Germany, their whole lives, running a small hotel there.  His family also has a line that can be traced to Scotland.  My husband's grandfather immigrated from Austria.  My father's grandfather immigrated to the United States from Croatia, with the classic case of "one brother stayed behind and the other went to America."  Descendants of the "brother who stayed behind" still live next to the family homestead and I've corresponded with my cousin there.

This is an old postcard of Prezid, Croatia, where my grandfather's family immigrated from during the first part of the 20th century.
I would happily pack my bags and head to any of these places, but unfortunately, travel is expensive and I'm afraid the foreign language would prove daunting.
I would love to hear from my fellow genealogists who have traveled abroad for genealogy research purposes.  Was it as daunting as it seems?