Week of August 28, 2016

I had a fun experience at the library. While I was working on some Finnish research I heard two men behind me talking about Reuben Farnsworth. I asked if they were related to him and we discovered we are cousins, having all descended through Lucinda Kent. I went to get Elder Wheatley who is descended through another wife and we had a good visit. One lives nearby and the other is up from California for a couple of weeks. They were really fun. They told me to look up Cephas Kent because he is really a colorful character in history. I did and found he owned an inn in Vermont where the Green Mountain Boys were organized.

Farnsworth Cousins

I taught Basic IrfanView Enrichment class this week and the class was totally full. They were really talkative, helping each other, but it was difficult to talk over the noise. They all did really well and I had several people tell me they had really got it this time and enjoyed the class. I’m grateful for that. I made the mistake of handing out two different handouts. They just had a couple of differences, but it really threw some of the attendees off kilter. We survived, but just barely.

The next day we had another enrichment class for Advanced IrfanView. The class was full again so I offered, somewhat facetiously, to do something else since we had five other trainers there. Our zone leader told me to go do some Swedish research—after I did some screen prints for him. I have been reviewing the handouts for the Capstone classes. I really enjoyed the extra time.

In the afternoon we went to the temple. Afterward I returned to the library hoping to do some research. I went by our zone leaders’s cubicle to make sure they understood my notes and ended up editing another handout before they sent the packet to the printer. We found several things that needed changing so I was glad I’d reviewed it.

We had another enrichment class on the Catalog later in the week. Since the missionaries didn’t need any help I worked on my own research. In the afternoon I did research at the library until it was time to go home. I have been tracking a family through various records in the 1700s and I got a little bogged down. The writing is hard to read so I was in need of help, but my Finnish friend was helping another guest so she could only give me a few minutes.

I saw my newfound cousins again. One came over to show me some stories on Cephas Kent. I copied them to my flash drive. That was really sweet of him.

I find that I am suffering from an addiction. I have a very difficult time tearing myself away from the research I am doing on the Swedish and Finnish families. I have a difficult time stopping unless I have a specific think to do. I need to force myself to get up and walk around. It is a common situation here, but I need to get things in better balance. Part of my drive is trying to get things done with my Finnish friend before she leaves in a couple of weeks, but part of it is just the feeling I have that this needs to get done.

We had our Research Day this week. I was able to sleep in a bit then I went to the library. I spent nearly the entire afternoon working with Sister Aromaa on the Finnish records. When I left she was going to keep looking for some records for one of the families we had been looking for. I will really miss her when they go home.

On the weekend I spent a bit of time at the Swap Meet sheds collecting things and trying to get things more organized so we could have space for all we expected to come in during the week. It was nearly an impossible task. The sheds were already very full with tons of clothing and furniture—probably more furniture than usual. There were so many bags of clothes it was unreal. There should be plenty for everyone this time. I enjoy doing this and visiting with the missionaries.