Family

Posts about both sides of my family

Genetic Genealogy – should you be scared of the data gathered?

If, like me, you have ordered one or more DNA tests through organisations such as 23andme, Ancestry or My Heritage, have you thought about who can access your data? Should you be frightened of who can use the data to identify you? Did you even realise that organisations such as the police are,

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Fascinated with Family History

I’ve always been fascinated with family history. The genealogy of both sides of my family interests me but it is the history and the stories which arouse my curiosity. I am always searching for the unique stories of my ancestors, the stories which explain their way of life and the

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How Astrology Affected My Father’s Life

I believe this quote from Wayne Dyer was very true of my father and the way he lived his life. My father didn’t often tell me stories of his childhood or youth but several times he told me the story of when his father decided to get astrological charts done

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Death sets us free – or does it?

This morning I attended one of the Melbourne Writers Festival “Therapy Couch” sessions where author Cate Kennedy was in conversation with Krissy Kneen. Krissy, an award-winning writer whose books I have never read, is in the process of writing a memoir and Cate, whose books I have also never read,

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Being Sick

I’m fighting off whatever it is which is worse than a cold but not as bad as flu, so this post might ramble a bit. It started last Friday with a sore throat, floored me on Saturday and today I’ve been feeling a bit more like myself, albeit constantly mopping

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Nurmhusen, my father’s family estate

My mother’s family were not the only ones to have suffered the effects of history. My father’s family, who lived at the time in Courland, were also thrown into turmoil in the years after 1918. I find the history of that time in Courland, which is now Latvia, difficult to

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