Visiting The Poffenberger Farm

My Ancestry.com (and related) antics take me in lots of unpredictable directions. We were in Boonsboro this week visiting the cemetery and ended up with some extra time on our hands. Ali suggested we visit the Antietam Battlefield and off we went!

I've been to Antietam before but it's been quite some time. I recall the lookout tower and one specific conversation with Dad. At the time, I was particularly intrigued by civil war era bullets. Go figure... Anyhow, Dad was explaining that, if we looked very closely, we just might be able to find one on the grounds.

Wifey and I opted for the convenience of the driving tour that passes through a dozen (or so) historic locations around the battlefield. I'm vaguely aware of our family roots in Washington County. For example, Dad's mom and dad grew up in Boonsboro and Hagerstown respectively.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the tour stops was the Joseph Poffenberger Farm (and house) because my Great Great Grandmother is Fannie Mae Poffinberger (1868-1934). My imagination runs wild thinking about the likelihood of connection between Fannie Mae, her line, and Joseph Poffenberger.

While the J Poffemberger farm is in the best condition and boasts the most information available, there are two other might-be-family-member farms on and around the battlefield. The H Poffenberger farm is located just west of the battlefield and the Line Farm is located just to the southeast.

Anyone Can be Cool, But Awesome Takes Practice

Happy Birthday David!  Thank you for being awesome, and not just cool.

Love, Wifey and Puppy

This Can't Be Winter?

Across the northern hemisphere, ski boots, parkas, hats and gloves are coming out of closets and storage bags.  Having experienced a variety of winters and noticing that December is half way behind us, I'm taking a more critical look into the San Francisco winter.

I used one of my under graduate elective courses to study weather.  Yep...weather. Go Jackets!  Based on that experience, I do confidently declare the correlation and causation between latitude and seasonal
temperatures.  Money well spent, indeed!

Having spent no less than four seasons in various regions of the eastern seaboard, my interrogation of winter will begin using the popular financial forecasting method of...guessing (otherwise known as observing comparables).

San Francisco’s latitude places it somewhere north of the Richmond and south of the DC domiciles.

• Washington, DC 38°53′42.4″N
• San Francisco, CA 37°47′N
• Richmond, VA 37°32′27.5″N

For those playing along at home, San Francisco is roughly 400 miles further south than Bostonia.  As luck may have it, San Francisco experiences both warmer temperatures and smaller temperature variations.

Winter in DC is an interesting beast.  The daily highs are above freezing and the nightly lows below.  Throw some moisture in the mix and it all makes for an wintery icy mess.

It was the winter at RMC that taught me the true meaning of 100 miles.  In Ashland (10 miles north of
Richmond), snow is rare.  I recall one of the annual snowstorms…er, dustings.  I barely knew how to react when one of our friends confessed that it was their first experience of snow!  Of course,
classes were cancelled the following day.  It was then that I learned that the county didn’t own a single snow plow.  Huh?!

And then there’s San Francisco.  No snow, no ice, no sub-zero temps.  Not too bad, eh?  This is the first January since Jake joined us that I don’t need to put on snowboard pants to go on the night walk.  What a relief!

Conclusion: grab your clubs and catch me if you can.

Maggie Mo

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of mustaches on thousands of men’s faces. With their Mo's, men raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.

While being a donor in years past, I decided to take it to the next level this time around.  The rules are simple:

1. start clean shaven on November 1st and then...let it grow, let it grow, let it grow
2. it has to be a mustache - no goatee, beard, or other wannabe 'stache

In all honesty, I've bent the second rule a bit.  I've permitted the growth of some chin music to help balance out the creepy.  I still look like I belong on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean.

In the past, I've let my beard grow out; it looks deep-dark red when I do.  I was really surprised when my mustache went from orange to a shade of blond that looked undetectable against my skin from afar yet extraordinarily creepy when close.  It was during this transition that Ali initiated the "Countdown to 12/1."

Thus, Maggie Mo (a.k.a. Magnificent Mustache) reached the pinnacle of mustachery at 11am yesterday.  When asked for a quote, I exclaimed, "I can't stop petting my face."  And then...it was all over.  I don't have many pictures because wifey doesn't want to remember my journey.  She did, however, top my list of donors - which makes her my #1 Mo Sista'.

I suppose I'll have to take fund raising a bit more seriously next year.  BUT, if you're feeling too wealthy, click over to my Mo-Space and make a $10 donation to the charity.  Thanks to my supporters!

Unchartered Territory

I got a haircut on Friday.

The barber trimmed a portion of my cranium that has never required cleaning before.  What was going on?  Why are the scissors resting so high on my dome-piece ?

Then, just as I looked into the mirror and established a visual, it hit me: he was leveling the remaining hairs which stood in a battlefield who's victor had been determined many years ago.  He mowed those poor innocent hairs down, as if to say, "let's make it official."

Alas, all is not lost.  Mom's Dad had a full head of hair into his 90's.  Keep fighting the good fight!

Thanksgiving 2012 - California Style

Living in California requires more than a little bit of adjusting.  Take holidays for example; flight costs go through the roof and, before you know it, a February trip Eastward starts sounding like a pretty good idea.  Both Ali and I were sad that we didn't venture to Maryland for Turkey but we resolved to make the best of it!

No goofin' around either!  Professional grade all the way - turkey, green bean casserole, stuffing...the works.  We were poised to deliver on our vision too until...

T'was the day before Turkey and all through the house, not a creature was thawed not even the bird...

We're happy Safeway.com customers.  We love the convenience of home delivery (especially considering the topographical variability of the seven San Francisco hills).  Part of the Safeway.com terms and conditions provide the shopper/driver the flexibility to substitute unavailable items with similar product(s).  In most cases, this certainly isn't a big deal.  ...until the delivery is scheduled for the day before Turkey and the unavailable item IS THE TURKEY.  It officially became a big deal at 6p on Wednesday when the replacement item proved to be a 14 lbs frozen turkey.  Rut-ro!

Fortunately, Safeway also prepares rotisserie turk's on Thanksgiving!  I'm happy to report that Thanksgiving dinner went off without a hitch.

On Friday we drove up to Sonoma to further enjoy the holiday break.  One hour drive time to/from wine country makes for a convenient weekend escape.  ...it's a little bit lost on me though because I'm not a wine drinker.  Nonetheless we had a real nice Thanksgiving weekend.  Here we are at the Sunflower Caffe.

AND...

Once we arrived back in San Francisco, Ted (the 14-pounder) had thawed. I baked an extraordinary Sunday dinner and we'll be eating turkey for the foreseeable future.

Happy Turkey, everyone, happy turkey.  Let the Christmas holiday season begin!

Relocation Domination: The Bandwagon

Having just relocated to San Francisco, I find myself asking a familiar question: who do I root for now?  Fortunately, I've walked this path before. It isn't, however, a smooth road.

As a child, my allegiances were so clearly defined: 'Skins, O's, Cap's, Bullets, and Blast.  Life was so simple back then. There were no Nationals, Ravens, Warthogs, or MLS for that matter.  Oh, how I yearn for those olden days!  Since then, the trials and tribulations of life have...complicated things.  First the Ravens arrive in Baltimore and later NISL goes bankrupt (again), and later I relocate to Boston.  Still, my allegiance remains in tact.



...and then it happened.  Things changed.  Slowly at first and then faster.  Before I knew it, all of "my" teams were miserably bad.  They had betrayed me.  Meanwhile, the Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics were all winning championships!  I had had enough!  First I dropped the Orioles in favor of the Red Sox. To this day, it's one of the best decisions I've ever made.  After I started rooting for the Sox, it
wasn't hard for me to dawn the Celtics green and Bruins yellow.

The only affiliation which I still waiver is the Patriots/Redskins. I don't know why?  The 'Skins are still bad and a turn around isn't in site.  I'm certain Dan Snyder will find a way to screw-up RG3's best
efforts.

Now I find myself in a new city with a 2-outta-3 baseball team and a promising football program.  An interesting factor in the battle for my allegiance is that SF doesn't have a pro basketball or hockey team.  By that account, the B's and C's are safe.  My recent subscription to MLB.tv and NFL Ticket serve to further (un)complicate the issue.

It is cool, however, to go to work and have a front row seat for the Giants Championship parade last week. Time will tell, my friends.  Time will tell.