Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

Reigniting the spark

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Reigniting the sparkI hit the genealogical doldrums in the first quarter of 2016. There were a variety of reasons, the top of the list being our standard poodle puppy, Bix, whom we brought home mid-December 2015. But there were other competing obligations, including my business and my home and family.

Bix is now five months old and doesn’t require constant supervision. Things have settled back into routines and I have time again to do some research. But I find myself unexcited and it’s feeling hard to get started again.

This morning I sat down and thought about what it would take to reignite that spark. I started by making a little list of what I love about genealogy research:

  • Playing detective
  • The thrill the hunt
  • The reward of making discoveries
  • The stimulation of my curiosity constantly being tweaked

But so much time has gone by that I’ve lost the itch and I’m having trouble remembering what I’m curious about. I have a genealogy to-do list, but nothing’s exciting me.

Then I realized what always sparks action for me: A deadline. I’m going to visit my father in Washington state in two weeks. He’s always interested in what I can tell him about his family history. So I’m going to try to come up with some sort of discovery to share with him or create some sort of narrative or timeline that he might find interesting.

With that in mind, I’m going to set aside time on my calendar to do some genealogy research in an effort to come up with some sort of gift to share with my dad when I see him in two short weeks.

Suddenly there’s some urgency and my imagination is starting to spark a little. Hooray!

Some other strategies I came up with to reignite the spark include:

  • Read genealogy blogs to get my creative juices flowing.
  • Focus on some genealogy Facebook groups to see what others are reading about.
  • Do another 30 x 30 challenge so I do something at least daily. Or maybe I need to set myself up for success and make it 15 x 15. (Fifteen minutes of research for 15 days straight.)
  • Let doing genealogy research be a reward for working on my still-unfinished income taxes.

Now I’m feeling like I’m going to get some research done in the next few days. That feels so much better! I’ll report back next week and let you know how it goes.

Have you ever had the doldrums with your research? How did you reignite your spark?

Photo by Shivenis via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.

Allen County Public Library, here I come!

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I just registered for the August research trip to the Allen County Public Library, in Ft. Wayne, Indiana sponsored by the National Genealogical Society. After a couple weeks of contemplation, this morning I pulled the trigger on investing $750 on this opportunity to further my research. (I blogged a couple of weeks ago about how tempted I was.)

I’m really excited and I know I’m going to enjoy planning this. I definitely want to make the most out of the opportunity to research at this renowned library. I’m particularly thrilled about getting the help of professional genealogists who are part of the trip.

I would love any advice any of you have for me. What should I do in advance? What should I bring along? It seems to me that having a clear idea of my research goals is paramount; I’m already thinking about that.

Please share any advice you might have in the comments.

Thanks in advance!

Tempted by the NGS research trip to Ft. Wayne

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I received an email this week from the National Genealogical Society about their August research trip to the Allen County Public Library, in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I have to say, I’m tempted.

I haven’t been able to focus on my genealogy research this year as much as I’d like. I didn’t go to RootsTech this year, though I intend to attend the NGS Family History Conference in May in Ft. Lauderdale. I love conferences; the education I receive at them is valuable. But I typically don’t get any research done at conferences and when I get home I have to get back real life (i.e. my family and my organizing business). And then it takes me awhile to apply the new-found knowledge in my research.

But a research trip facilitated by professional genealogists and held at a renowned records repository could be amazing. I see it as a way to jump start my research, find new sources of information, get personalized expert assistance (very exciting!) and perhaps take my research to another level.

And I know I would love anticipating and preparing for the trip. That’s always very enjoyable for me.

NGS also offers research trips to Washington, D.C. and Salt Lake City. Both of those sound wonderful too, but the Indiana trip feels easier and less intimidating. It’s also driving distance from my home in St. Louis. And more affordable.

I’m going to talk to my husband about it this weekend and perhaps sign up.

Have you ever attended and organized research sponsored by NGS or any other entity? Was it worthwhile? I’d love to hear from you!

Testing out my SHOTBOX

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shotboxopenLast fall I blogged about SHOTBOX, a portable light studio that was part of a Kickstarter campaign. I was excited about the prospect of using it to take pictures for my blogs as well as photographing delicate documents for my genealogy research. The SHOTBOX studio plus the SideShot attachment that allows well-lit photography from the front, seemed like an answer to a problem I’d had for a long time. (Just take a look at many of the photos on this blog or on my organizing blog to see what I mean. There’s room for improvement!)

My SHOTBOX arrived in December, literally at the same time my puppy, Bix, joined our family. So I haven’t had the chance to use it as much as I will. But I did set it up right away and take a few shots.

Here’s my overall impression:

  • The packaging was excellent. It arrived safe and sound from China with no damage at all.
  • The instructions are good and hardly necessary because the product is simple and intuitive.
  • I was able to get it up and running within minutes. I’ve since used it one other time and it’s remained easy to set up and use.
  • The neoprene carrying case is excellent. All the components fit securely in the case and the collapsed SHOTBOX takes very little room to store.
  • I’m delighted that it comes with four different colored backdrops (white, black, green and blue), which are very easy to switch out.

Here are some photos created by the SHOTBOX team that show the connectors and also how everything fits into the neoprene bag. (They also provided the photo above.)

shotboxsideshotsetup

shotboxincase

How are the pictures I’ve taken with my SHOTBOX?

Bear in mind that I’m not much of a photographer and I have some learning to do. I intend to look for camera apps other than the one that came with my iPhone so I have a little more control. (A reviewer on the SHOTBOX website recommends camscanner app for documents and camerapro for three-dimensional objects. I’m going to check those out.) But these quick photos are so much better than what I would have taken without the SHOTBOX!

Here’s a photo of my grandmother’s autograph book, given to me by my father in December. It’s taken from above.

beasbook

Here’s a photo of a small needle-felted replica of my departed poodle, Kirby. (It was created by Janet’s Needle Felting if you’re interested in having one of your own made.)

needlefeltedkirby

On my organizing blog, I wrote about organizing my coloring supplies recently. So I took some photos of my coloring supplies using SHOTBOX. Here are a couple of examples. The first was taken from the front, the second from above.

reds

boxofpencils

SHOTBOX gives me much-needed assistance in creating viable photos for my blog, with minimal effort. I love the that it gives me a blank backdrop. And, of course, I love the fact that the photos are well lit. A bonus: It takes up so little space when not in use.

At $199 for the Deluxe Bundle (which includes the SHOTBOX, the SideShot, the backdrop kit, and the neoprene carrying case), I think this product is huge bargain. Click here to order or get more information.

I look forward to using it more!

Full disclosure: The links above are affiliate links, which means that SHOTBOX gives me a percentage of the sale, but that doesn’t affect the price. And it doesn’t affect my opinion of the product.