Memos, Mail, Me on Monday
For the first time in ages, here's a wave to Sian and all the other Mondayers on this lovely Monday morning.
I'll start with the 'new' things which, of course, are to do with the garden. It's not a complete reveal but if you read yesterday's post you'll know that I was going to the local garden centres ... this is what I bought. I'll list all the names in my garden post later this week. The two roses, different varieties but both white, have been planted but the rest has been placed around to see if I like the arrangement. With a few tweaks, they'll be planted later today.
Moving on to the interesting mail, I received the results of my Ancestry DNA test on Saturday. There's no real surprises with the largest percentage showing ancestry from Great Britain and West Europe - my sister commented that we are more British than our Royal family! A family story is that one ancestor was a Spanish sailor from the Armada who came ashore and settled in England and the DNA results show a percentage as originating from the Iberian Peninsula - a very small percentage, i.e. 2%, but I'm claiming that as a possibility even though I have absolutely no documentary evidence to back up the claim! The best part of the results is it provides links to others who share, or may share, a common ancestry; my results show 98 people who have links with my own family. I've had a quick look at some of them and can easily identify a few but on others, all showing a high probability, I can't see an obvious common relative so I'm hoping that this will be a route into discovering the ancestry line I've struggled with.
I've nothing else to talk about so I'm off to the garden centre again. I don't really like the pebbles in the gaps at the edge of the paving (wrong colour, and I think it'll look 'more finished' if it's some sort of pea shingle) so I'm off to see what else is available. Then I have a couple of hours teaching and will finish off with some photography if the weather holds - we're due rain later today. I hope you all have a good week whatever you have planned and I'll be round to read your posts later tonight.
New garden planting is always exciting. I'm very interested in your ancestry DNA and the Spanish sailor tale sounds good to me. I must get back to some more ancestry but I think it may have to wait until the winter.
ReplyDeleteI gave my husband an Ancestry DNA kit for his birthday. It should be back sometime next month. We put out some pots with pansies since they can withstand the wide temperature variations this time of year. I'm happy to see the color in the yard and on the patio again.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun time shopping in the garden centres for plants. I walked around my garden yesterday & thought oh I have made so many planting mistakes, I would like to start again. (col). Happy week ahead.
ReplyDeleteremember that cats love pea shingle. They pee in it. A neighbour thought he was doing good when he laid a membrane over the path in the alley at the back of our houses and covered it with pea shingle. Every cat in a five mile radius came to use the big free lavatory and because dear neighbour had put a membrane down the liquid collected and then summer arrived and so did the flies and the smell was just............. retch making. Just saying
ReplyDeleteWow, that above comment grabbed me with the "pee gravel" ... ha ha!
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing as you with laying out the new plants before actually putting them in the ground. Mostly I just make sure the lighting is right and there is actually a spot big enough ;)
Your ancestry search sounds rather interesting. Personally I have never had any interest in discovering more of my family (and my family is very small). I know my dad's family all lived in England & Australia, and my mom's family came from Ireland originally, but many generations of Canadian now. That's good enough for me. I've not heard of this DNA search technique, but I find that quite fascinating.
Wendy
The DNA thing is interesting - I've seen them advertised but don't know anyone who's done one (till now). Hope your day worked out as planned. Did the rain come? I went out for a quick walk this eve and didn't wear a coat in the hope that sod's law would kick in - but it didn't. So still no rain and the earth is like concrete.
ReplyDeleteIt's really good to "see" you Eileen :) I'm very interested in your Ancestry results - I think I said to you before I'd be hoping to hear about them? - because my husband has a family story of a similar Spanish sailor ancestor who was shipwrecked off the North Coast here. His mum's side of the family certainly have the dark good looks for it!
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best for the week ahead