It’s my anniversary. Well, actually it is Mr Lonetester’s and mine 15 year anniversary. Not our 15 year wedding anniversary, but 15 years since we first got together. We don’t ‘do’ anniversary presents. No real reason, but we never have, other than a dinner out. But I wanted to get him something different. Something memorable. But what’s that??

I came up with the idea of creating a photobook of our 15 years together. And it was a big hit! 

It was back in July this year that introduced you all to my Family Tree Photo Wall which really seemed to capture peoples attention, including Dick Eastman, as he even wrote about it, which was seriously cool! Anyway that was 3 1/2 months ago, and since then I’ve been working on it on occasions which is why it seems to have taken FOREVER. But I did set myself a goal of finishing it before Christmas,  and I’m pleased to say that it is almost finished.

So after nailing in 62 hooks, putting 62 frames up, using half a roll of electrical tape, as well as half a roll of sticky dots … I am almost done.

I say almost, as there’s still just a few photos I haven’t managed to track down yet … so that will be an ongoing effort. But apart from them, the tree itself is now complete apart from those. Oh yes, and a title. It needs a title. 1. because it does, and 2. to cover up the huge big hole in the wall from the previous picture that was there.

Both my maternal and paternal grandparents were married during World War Two. That was nothing unusual, in fact probably every family has ancestors that were married during that era. They married before the man was sent off overseas or elsewhere for training, or they married when he came home on leave.

This post is about my maternal grandparents Cecil Hannaford and Evelyn Randell. Both grew up in the Adelaide Hills, Cec (as he was known) was an orchardist at Cudlee Creek, and Evelyn grew up at Gumeracha on the family farm, so no doubt knew each other through being in neighbouring towns.

While my grandma, Evelyn was a brilliant diary keeper, sadly 1941, the year she got married, is one year that doesn’t seem to have survived. So without her words to tell me what her wedding

I recently read  Kenneth Marks’ 30 Reasons Why Searching for Obituaries is Like Finding Gold post, and I have to agree. If you are lucky enough to find an obit for your reli, they usually contain a whole host of information.

Just check out this one that is on my great great grandpa Robert McCullough. When I saw “accident” written on his death certificate you could feel that there was a story to it. So off to Trove I went, and I found his obituary in The Advertiser, on 13 October 1931.

This 19 line obituary, though short in comparison to many, still contains a wealth of information: