From the mouths of babes

I tidied up my physical desk as per the guidelines from Drew and  George in their current 31 Days of Getting Organised Challenge  and unearthed a few treasures.  Among them was a piece of paper on which my grandchildren recorded a few thoughts about me that my husband solicited when preparing his speech at my last birthday party.

A Dozen of the Best

This is what was said about me:

• She likes parties
• She likes coming to Grandparents' day at school
• She likes holiday time
• Takes us out to dinner
• She's going to take me on a cruise (not sure about that one)
• She's very funny
• She's very helpful
• She takes lots of photos
• She takes us on holidays
• She keeps old stuff.

Getting There

My back is aching, my shoulder blades are sore and even my hands are hurting but I am well on the way to setting up my new geneacave.

Geneabooks shelved

Folders and photo boxes in place

Orphan photos to date and sort.

I have the challenge of one more large bookshelf to pack up, a cupboard that houses my gadgets and sougenirs to sort out and my desk to empty. Once that is all boxed up I can unpack it into my new office and get back to research and blogging in earnest.

Trove Tuesday - Filing

I'm feeling rather virtuous as I spent the best part of yesterday filing - a task that I usually avoid like the plague.

Trove offers some filing related advice..

1914 'FILING NEGATIVES.', Punch (Melbourne, Vic. : 1900 - 1918; 1925), 26 November, p. 3. , viewed 30 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121087659

1949 'FILING CABINET', The Blackwood Times (Bunbury, WA : 1905 - 1920; 1945 - 1954), 22 July, p. 14. , viewed 30 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article210699436

1942 'FILING CABINET', The World's News (Sydney, NSW : 1901 - 1955), 1 August, p. 24. , viewed 30 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139908893

The original of this next article is too difficult to read so I'll share a transcription.

SPECIAL FILING EDITION.

A limited edition of the "Sydney Morn-

ing Herald" on rag-made paper is pub-

lished daily.

This edition Is intended especially for

libraries, both public and Institutional, that

wish to have files on paper of permanence.

Copies of the edition are available to the

general public

Orders for the filing edition should reach

us as early as possible. Rates will be sup-

plied on application.

JOHN FAIRFAX & SONS, LTD.

1928 'SPECIAL FILING EDITION.', The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), 18 October, p. 10. , viewed 30 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16502667

1949 'HENRY', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 23 July, p. 14. (The Argus Week-End Magazine), viewed 30 Jan 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22766573

Pile Busting

On our recent trip to Hawaii I purchased a new 4 terabyte portable hard drive.

As I'm off to Rootstech in four days and shortly after that I'll be off gallivanting with Mr GeniAus I thought it time to copy all the files from my existing portable drive to the new one. I'll then be able to take one of the drives on my journeys knowing that all my files are backed up safely at home.

Last night as I watched my hero Roger play in the Australian Open I started transferring my files in manageable chunks. I felt more confident managing this task manually. I have photos from the late 19th century to today all organised in folders by date. At this point in time I am copying over our pics from 2013. Did you know I have 33,000 images from 2012? This process is taking a while.

Multitasking

I had previously transferred some of my family history files and will finish this (if and) when the photos are done. Meanwhile I didn't want to do too many tasks on my computer that may slow down the copying process. I had to think of a job for today that didn't involve the keyboard.

About six months ago I set up a folding table in my study on to which I sorted some of the hard copy family history files I had scanned. I am kicking myself that I didn't take a picture of this mountain range of filing piles because it has now vanished. Today I have dealt with all the files for myself, Mr GeniAus and our offspring. Next task is to sort the ancestor and grandchildren's papers on to the I may take a photo of the next mountain range of files I build.

Meanwhile I am so proud of my pile busting exercise.

I know I should be ditching a lot of this paper now that it's digitised but, like most genies, I'm a hoarder.

Joining the J Team

There's nothing like being ready ahead of time and I'm ready for Saturday.

I was thrilled when I was approached by Heather Garnsey from The Society of Australian Genealogists to join a panel for their first virtual  "Lost In weekend : how to do your Family History in 2015" that will be held on Saturday and Sunday 7 and 8 November. Being part of this event which I think is the first online conference orgainsed by a genealogy society in Australia is so exciting. Events like this that allow distant members to connect with presenters in other locations should be a part of all major society education programs.

A healthy number of genies have registered for the event which is open to members and the public - if you have been considering attending it would be wise to register now as there is a ceiling on  the number of registrations. You can view the program and register at the SAG website.

I will be appearing between 1:30 and 2:30 pm on Saturday in What’s the best organising system? – Panel discussion: described thus "Family history research generates a lot of documents, photos and certificates. A panel of researchers discuss how they organise all their stuff, to help you choose a system that works for you."

My Presentation for Saturday

I heard today that I will be joined by fellow SAG members Jennie Fairs and Judy Keena - perhaps we can call ourselves The J Team. My greatest challenge is that we are each to speak for only 8-10 minutes and then answer questions from attendees. I think I'm going to be speaking very fast.

I hope some of you will join me on Saturday.