Listography: Places I've lived

I have moved a lot in my life. In fact, each of my eight children was born in a different state. Well, that's not exactly accurate--my oldest and my youngest were both born in Wisconsin--but still, lots of moving in between. Lots.
Partly it was our economic situation, partly it was the Air Force, and honestly, some of it was escapism. The grass is greener, and all that.  My poor descendants are going to have a terrible time tracking me down. 

So here's the list:

1965-1971--Detroit, Michigan

1971-1983--Algoma, Wisconsin

1983-1984--Provo, Utah

1984-1985--Orem, Utah

1985--Algoma, Wisconsin

1985--Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

1985--Forestville, Wisconsin

1985-1986--San Antonio, Texas

1986-1987--San Angelo, Texas

1987-1990--Berlin, Germany

1990-1993--Ft. Meade, Maryland

1993--Creston, Iowa

1993-1995--Provo, Utah

1995-1997--Duchesne, Utah

1997-1998--Osceola, Iowa

1998-2006--Sheboygan, Wisconsin

2006-2010--Peoria, Arizona

2010-Present--Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Twenty-five addresses, eighteen cities, eight states, two countries--all in 46 years. That's an average of 1 year 10 months per address. I'm not yet living in the house I want to stay in, so I have at least one move left.  My plan is to stay here in Sheboygan, but you know what they say... If you want to give God a good laugh, tell Him your plans.

Where have you lived? Has your family been the community mainstays or the gypsies? Comment below.

Four Generations Last Chance Photo

If you want to be successful, do what successful people do. So, I am becoming a student of successful blogs. I've been visiting other genealogy blogs, including Geneabloggers.com. I mentioned in a previous post that an issue of Family Tree Magazine on the newsstand needed to come home with me. In addition to information on researching Detroit roots, was an article highlighting the years 40 best blogs. 

Special thanks to Amy Coffin of We Tree. She has posted prompts to help newbie bloggers with crippling writer's block.  In 2009, Amy offered 52 Ideas to Jumpstart Your Genealogy Blog. Idea number one was to upload a favorite picture. 

The photo above was taken in June of 2006. The day before my children and I moved from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to Phoenix, Arizona. 

Left to right you see Katherine Joan Carroll Thurman holding Noah Wyitt Thurman, me, Donald Norman Mitchell, and Joan Frances Carpen Mitchell. 

The picture not only captures meeting my new grandson, but also the last time I saw my father well. He died in October of 2009.

The stories of the move and my dad's passing are topics for another post.

Wecipe Wednesday: Arizona Date Pies

This is the time of year that dates are plentiful in Arizona. My dear friend Jeannie just came to Wisconsin for a visit. So these super-easy, super-yummy cakes came to mind. Tip: if you're using dried chopped dates from the raisin aisle, you might try soaking them in hot water for a half-hour or so to plump them up and make them moist.

1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 cup chopped Walnuts
1 cup pitted dates (I like Medjool--whatever you've got is fine)
2 eggs

2 Tbsp. Flour
1 tsp. baking powder

The official recipe calls for beating the egg whites until stiff and creaming the egg yolks and the powdered sugar together. You can fuss if you want. I just throw it all into the food processor until it's all well blended--it comes out the same either way. Bake in a lightly greased cupcake pan at 375 for 15-20 minutes. They should look caved in--it's ok, that's what holds the whipped cream. Cool and serve with whipped cream (real whipped cream please, not the aerosol spray stuff or the non-dairy whipped topping--trust me on this).

These are great for brunch, afternoon tea, or dessert...or whenever you've got the blues.