Yesterday is one of those days that all pet owners dread. The visit to the vet for a beloved pet, only they don’t go home.

Sadly that was yesterday for my boy, Boo. He had been a part of the family for 16 1/2 years.

Boo was one of three kittens all from the same litter that Mr Lonetester and I adopted. Part-moggie, part-persian, they were kittens of a ‘friendly stray’ at my parents house, and I’m pleased to say that we gave them all a wonderful home.

Having got Boo and his siblings at just under 4 weeks old, we got to watch them grow from teeny-tiny bouncy kittens into big fluffballs.

Saying goodbye is never an easy decision to make, but we know it was the right one as it wouldn’t have been an easy life for him going forwards. Although not himself for the past week, having lost weight and quite weak, he was still smoochy, and purring until the end … and he is now over the rainbow bridge with his sister Zap, who left us last year. 

We are a fur-kid family, and just like kids, each one has their own likes and dislikes and personality. Boo has always been a Mummy’s boy, so I’m missing him like crazy. He’s simply not there – on the bed – where he always is. It really was his favourite place. He’s not there to ‘talk’ on the phone when I’m talking, and he’s not there to be first to the food. He was our chatty boy, and you could have a whole conversation with him, and he liked me to take him for a walk, which was me holding him over my shoulder and walking up and down the hallway.

There’s a 100 little things that I could mention about him … but instead I’ll just share some pictures of him.

Boo, not quite 2 months old

Boo with his bother and sister, age 2 months

Boo and Toffee at age 3 months

The three of them slept together for quite some time

he’s a big boy at age 3

one of my favourite pics of him, age about 7

Toffee curled up with his brother Boo. This was their last moment together

Goodbye Boo, you will never be forgotten

So you’ve been researching your family history for a while now, and have learnt things over the years, and I have no doubt that you’re a different researcher now than you were back then.

So what would you say to your younger genealogical self? Here’s my response …

Dear younger me,

So I know that you grew up with family history, but you FINALLY took up doing your own. That’s AWESOME!! I know you had a good start with what dad did, but nothing beats doing your own searching, and in doing so you’ll come across people you never knew, find out amazing stories of survival, put names and faces to photographs and heirlooms and more. In essence you’ll learn about the people who helped make YOU!

So what advice can I give you?

Read. I know you already read, but read articles in genealogy magazines, read reviews of genealogical products and websites, read blogs on people’s research. I do all of this now, and learn a lot from them. The learning never ends.

Cite your sources. I know, you’ve heard it before. As much as you believe you’ll remember where you got that tidbit of information from, trust me 5 years down the track when you’re relooking at that branch, you won’t. So CITE. YOUR. SOURCES. While it doesn’t have to be in the “official citation format” if you’re not familiar with that yet, but at least note where it came from: what person, what book, what newspaper (including the date and page number), what website etc. Afterall a tree without sources is as bad as a photograph album without names … well almost.

Another thing … don’t be afraid to ask questions? Query your relatives, usually one question and one person at a time, and note the answers. Despite our family knowing they SHOULD write their own history, they don’t (or at least haven’t yet, despite my requests), so this is one way to get some info out of them! It doesn’t have to be a full oral history interview, but at least it’s something.

While I’m on the topic of questions, don’t be afraid to ask other genies if you don’t know what something means or how to do something. That’s how you learn. The genealogy community is a wonderful place, and most of them are incredibly helpful.

Filing. It’s the bain of your life. I know. But you need to get into the routine of doing this early on, otherwise I am left with the piles that you left me, which are too high and are at the “where-on-earth-do-I-even-begin-with-this” phase! So please, please, please start filing.

Scanning & Online Filing. I know you came up with a numbering method for digital media – great – but (yes there is a BUT), if you’re going to change the system partway through, at least renumber them all. Don’t leave them all half one way and half the other!! It’s confusing even for me now.

Genealogy Conferences. You have been to many over the years, and while speakers often say they have notes you can download, don’t let anyone stop you from taking your own handwritten notes. I known that’s how you learn better (writing it down), so just do it!

Negative Evidence. Don’t let ‘not’ finding a record be a disappointment. That in fact is quite useful as it’s negative evidence. You’ve eliminated that source or record. So while it’s not as exciting as finding the person or entry you’re looking for, it’s still totally useful.

Persevere. You will get frustrated. There’s no doubt about that. But if needed take a break from research, or move on to a different family or branch. Then you’ll come back to it with fresh eyes. Trust me, it works!

So that’s just a few tips for you. But really you’ve pretty much got it under control.

And thankyou for being the researcher you are, which has helped me become the researcher I am today.

From current day (older and wiser) me.

So fellow researchers, what would you advise your younger genealogical self?

Today is one of those days that all pet owners dread. The one-way visit to the vets for a beloved pet.

Sadly today was Zap’s day.

Zap has been a part of the family for about 16  years. She and her two brothers (all from the same litter) were the part-moggie, part-persian kittens of a ‘friendly stray’ at my parents house, and I’m pleased to say that Mr Lonetester and I gave them all a great home.

Having got Zap and her brothers (we couldn’t choose, so picked all three), at just under 4 weeks old, we got to watch them grow from teeny-tiny bouncy kittens into big fluffballs.

Saying last goodbye’s is never a easy decision to make, but we know it was the right one as she wasn’t well. And after purring till the end, she left peacefully, and is now over the rainbow bridge with Gizmo and Mickey. 

We are a fur-family and do have other cats in our household, but as all cat lovers will know, every cat has it’s very own personality, so the fact that Zap isn’t there, isn’t simply replaced by those that are. She’d taken to sleeping in a particular windowsill, and now it’s empty. It’s going take a while to look at that windowsill again without tears welling up.

Here’s a few pics of her I’d like to share and remember her by …

Zap, a few months old

Zap with her brothers at the back

Zap and baby brother Toffee

nom time

bed time!

such a pretty face

photo at the vets today

bye bye Zap

So you’re doing genealogy, and you’d like to learn more about history and family history, but you don’t have a lot of spare time, right?

Have you discovered podcasts?

I’m guessing a few hands went up, but most of you are saying “no” as you read this. Some of you might not even know what they are (stick with me as I’ll explain). Anyway podcasts are a fabulous way to learn – not just for genealogy, but any topic. They are simply audio recordings that you can listen to on your computer, iPad or Smartphone, and there are literally thousands of them – all history and genealogy related – and waiting for you to listen to whenever you choose.

With podcasts you can listen interviews with genealogy peeps, information on coming events, reports on past events, reviews on products, and hear plenty of general genealogy news.

Below are just a few of the more well-known genealogy-related podcasts. Note, they are all free to listen to. And no you don’t need a subscription. Just click on the ‘listen’ or ‘play’ button, and start listening. If you have a iPad, or iPhone, most you can download from iTunes.

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Extreme Genes
Extreme Genes is a weekly radio show and podcast about family history. Host Scott Fisher keeps you informed on the latest in family history research around the world, and talks to people about amazing things that have happened while they were doing family history research.

Family Tree Magazine Podcast
Hear about the best genealogy tools and tips directly from Family Tree Magazine’s editors and experts! Each month you are taken behind the scenes to learn more about genealogy topics from the Family Tree magazine, books, courses and more. Each episode features interviews with genealogy experts and Family Tree editors on using genealogy websites, records and resources, along with sneak peeks at the latest tools from Family Tree.

Genealogy Gems Podcast
The Genealogy Gems Podcast helps you make the most of your family history research time by providing quick and easy-to-use research techniques.

Held monthly, producer and host Lisa Louise Cooke brings you the best websites, best practices, and best resources available!

The Genealogy Guys
George G. Morgan and Drew Smith have been podcasting about genealogy since September 2005, when they launched “The Genealogy Guys Podcast”.  Each episode includes the latest news from genealogical companies and organisations, listener email, and other content, such as book reviews and brief interviews. George and Drew delve into all kinds of topics that would interest every genealogist, from the beginner to the expert.

In June 2016, the Guys added “Genealogy Connection”, an all-interview podcast. Drew connects the listener to some of the biggest names in the genealogical community, including researchers, writers, speakers, educators, entrepreneurs, technologists, librarians, and archivists. At the end of each interview, the interviewee recommends to the listener a book, a technology tool, and a methodological tip.

The Genealogy Professional Podcast
Marian Pierre-Louis is the person behind the Genealogy Professional podcast. This ran from 2013 through until last 2017. Held once a month Marian had a special guest on each time, and asked them a whole range of questions such as what got them into genealogy, what they’ve learnt along the way, what advice they can give others and plenty more. The guests include many of big names from the genealogy scene all around the world, such as Lisa Alzo, Yvette Hoitink, Thomas MacEntee, Christine Woodcock, Caroline Gurney, Helen Smith, Kathleen Brandt, Eileen O’Duill,  Lorine McGinnis Schulze, Lisa Louise Cook, Carol Baxter … the list goes on.

Genies Down Under
Genies Down Under is Australia’s longest running genealogy podcast, and ran from 2011 to 2016. This monthly podcast was hosted by Maria Northcote and she gave listeners advice and tips on research, information on upcoming events, event tips like reading between the lines of old documents and looking beyond the faces in old photographs.

With 62 episodes, there’s oodles available to learn from. Each episode had a theme like naming patterns, free stuff, convicts, blogging, tech stuff, immigration, occupations and heaps more.

Irish Family History Centre
Listen to talks that have been held at the Irish Family History Centre. With presenters covering everything from Irish DNA, to different types of Irish records, combined with talks on various aspects of Irish social history, this is a great collection of podcasts to list to.

The National Archives (TNA UK)
If you’re interested in the social history of England, the TNA podcast is one for you. With hundreds of episodes for you to listen to, you’ll be happy camper for months!

There’s everything from the Mapping of women’s sufferage, Jane Austen’s life from beginning to end, the Battle of Agincourt, Traces through Time: a feature for finding records at TNA, England immigrants between 1330-1550, Security files released, Blindness in Victorian England, Prisoners of War and so much, much more.

The Photo Detective
Maureen Taylor is well-known in the genealogy world as “The Photo Detective” and she’s earlier this year she started a podcast/Facebook Live where she answers lots of listener and viewer questions.

In just one episode she covers several great questions about identifying Orphan Photos, Conservation of Photos printed on Fabric, looking for clues in tin-types and locating information about old photo studios. Additionally, she provides some terrific resources for finding more ancestral photos and uploading photos to Ancestry.com.

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So if you are driving to work, catching the bus, or have time to kill while your kids are at sport practice, or whenever else … download some episodes, and get listening, and get learning!

And if you listen to other genealogy podcasts and find them useful, please leave a comment below so others know about them.