An Ancestral Graveyard - A post by Peter

We recently visited Hill Cemetery where we have ancestors. There had been fears circulating through the family that vandals had toppled some headstones of our ancestors. While there were some broken stones around the cemetery, and some cases of entire sections of stones missing, Those of our ancestors remained untouched, or at least undamaged.

The first image is the headstone for Alverus Matteson. I spell it this way, rather than Alveris, because I have had conversations with someone who, at one time, had access to a family bible. I have noticed among the stones in this cemetery, that those of our ancestors are particularly large and/or sturdy, and in one case, practical in application. I believe it is owing to this that they are still standing. This one is 101 years old.
Alverus was my great great grandfather.





This headstone is that of Abigail (spelled Abigal on the stone, incorrectly I believe) . She was Alverus' wife and passed away in 1877. This stone is 132 years old.

This has all gotten me curious about how this cemetery is administered. As far as I know it is still "active". There was a burial here in 2004. I would be nice if a plot map could be found, if such a thing even exists.

In addition to these, there are headstones for two other Matteson husband/wife plots. Also, someone who had compiled a list of names in a web page somewhere had listed a Daisy Matteson, which I could not find. This list was based on, I believe, simple observation of whoever wrote it.... sort of an on-site inventory. There must be some kind of official documentation, one would think.
Check out our photos of this visit here.

I'm Alive!

Tonight I took my family out to dinner. When we came home and got the kids ready for bed, I read out loud to them. Then we said goodnight, put on some relaxing music, and lit a candle. A normal evening.

And this is important because its one of the few normal evenings I've had in the last few months. I'm at the very tail end of the project I've been working on for the last two years. Starting in January, things got a bit hectic. Like a large ball I've been pushing up a mountain suddenly cleared the summit and started rolling down the other side.

Eat, sleep, work, repeat. Layoffs, re-organizations, delays. And the project just rolled on, getting more and more frantic until last week, when the proofs came back of my gold CD-ROMs and everything is fine! Done! Fini! Just about. Breathe!

I've been almost about to finish this project now for a few weeks. I keep telling my family that the end is in sight, that we can start eating dinner together again on a regular basis, and that I won't be leaving for work at 6:30AM and getting home at 7pm. Starting next week I should have a normal work schedule again! From now throughout the rest of the summer!

Now comes cleaning out my email, upgrading my computer, learning new software. A new project, a different printer, awaits. But the best part is getting re-engaged with my life, my family, friends, and my hobbies. So stay tuned, because more family updates await!

The Day Before the Day Before Christmas Eve!

What a blizzard! You will not believe our weather if you don't see the photos to prove it!

Last Wednesday I wrote about our snow storm, and snow days. The entire week ended up being snow days, but as you could see in my last posting, we had the usual western Oregon dusting, where building a snowman reveals the grass and mud beneath the snow. Then there was some ice, and it was really cold, down to the low 20s and into the teens!

Then we got more snow, this Saturday. It was about 8 inches deep (powder) when the freezing rain blew in in the evening, coating everything with a thick crust of ice- 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick in some places! Blech! We thought our playing in the snow was over, because ice is so much less fun.

Sunday morning it started snowing again, and after snowing all day and all night long, we woke up to ANOTHER 10+ inches of snow on top of the ice! And it was still snowing! It didn't stop until about 3pm.

Check out the below photo album for evidence of our snow, sledding, and birdwatching from the last few days. Stay Warm!
Snow Photos. . .