Ziva & Tuffee

A Now It's Funny Tale

You know how sometimes it life you have things happen and say to each other, we'll laugh about this later? We had one of those concerning the new car we bought. It has taken me some time to get to the I'm laughing about it part though. In the meantime I was not laughing at all. I was in fact convinced it was the Universes way of telling us, "Bad idea" on buying the car.



We bought this car during the weeks that were extra crazy busy for us so I was already on overload. We lost some employees at work so work was extra crazy busy for me. The car was in Clearwater which is at least two hours away.



The drive was pretty hectic for us, especially when we had to go after our work days which meant we were hitting other people's rush hour traffic in Tampa. I am not a fan of this. In fact, I've been known to freak out a bit in traffic like this. But we wanted this car, so I made myself do it. (I'm not driving here, only the passenger)



Once we got closer to Clearwater, it was a delightful drive. You cross over water. The mermaid in me was slightly satisfied to be that close to a real body of water. It was beautiful.



So we made the trek there. Took the bad along with the good. I drove the truck back home, so I could not snap pictures this time except at traffic lights. Swore a bit while driving but we made it.



Had the car at home. Enjoyed it for one day. The second day the top got stuck and wouldn't go back up. Called the dealer. Oh yeah, we knew there was a problem with the top but we thought we fixed it. Bring it back in and we'll fix it right this time. So we go after work again. For a two hour drive each way. Hit rush hour traffic again. Hit the lovely part near Clearwater again.



So pretty, it was almost worth the second drive over. NOT!



Left our car. Brought home a loaner car. Made it home just fine. Few days later got a call saying our car was ready to pick up. I am beat so Nathan offers to go pick it up alone this time. So he heads over for the THIRD trip in one week's time to Clearwater. So much for the car saving us lots of gas money.



I am scrapbooking and get a text message from Nathan that lets me know he just had a flat tire. With the loaner car. He hasn't even made it to our car yet. Before I can even respond with great sympathy he sends me another saying that the spare tire now has a flat. Wow. Really??????



Calls the dealer who tells him to drive on the rim until he can get to a tire place. Shows us at the tire place just in time to get a new tire. Sends me this picture:



At this point, we are not sure who is crying harder, us or the car dealer. He got the tire fixed and got the car to the dealer. Dealer lets him know how much money he has lost on the deal. We feel bad. A little. He then picks up our car and made it home. At one a.m. We pray this is the end of this nightmare.



What makes all of this even funnier to us now is that at the very same time we decided to go ahead and fix our golf cart and after replacing the batteries we discovered there was something else wrong with it. So we were also transporting the golf cart back and forth to the repair guy. We had to borrow a trailer in order to transport the golf cart. Oh yeah, big time fun there too.



To add even more irony to this fun fest, I had just been telling someone how I was considering getting rid of the golf cart because it was just one more thing to take care of, be responsible for and have to spend money on. That I felt our lives becoming less simple because of adding more things to it. Cue Twilight Zone music.



I'm happy to report both mechanical devices are working beautifully and we have been enjoying them very much. And I really am laughing about it now.



Mostly, that is.



Just a plug for the car dealership that did right by us: Regal Cars of Florida Inc. They seriously rocked and made the nightmare as smooth as it possibly could have been. We highly recommend them!



I really, really hope this is The End.

Hoffman Family in Roann Cemetery

Located in Wabash County, Indiana one mile north of Roann on the east side of County Road 700W near CR 700N, the Roann Community Cemetery was formerly known as the I. O. O. F. Cemetery and even earlier as the Paw Paw Cemetery. There are four sections separated by roads that lead to a circle in the center of the cemetery. The markers for the family of Eliza Jane Wise and Anthony Hoffman are in Rows 13 and 14, in the north west section. As discovered in her obituary, Eliza was the daughter of Peter and Christina Wise, whom I believe are also the parents of Jacob Wise, my 3rd Great Grandfather.



The Hoffman marker in the foreground is that of Dayton Hoffman, to the right is the one for his daughter Helen. And to the right of hers is the one for Eliza and Anthony Hoffman. Behind and to the left of Eliza's marker is her daughter Ella Hoffman. And to the left of Helen is the marker for Effie and John Wertenberger. The large stone facing the road is the Gidley family monument. This picture was taken towards the end of my time in the cemetery and the rain was coming down in a steady stream instead of just drizzling, as it had been earlier in the day. Photographs taken on February 5, .. by Becky Wiseman.



The east face of the marker for Eliza Jane Wise and Anthony Hoffman.
A. W. HOFFMAN / DIED JULY 5, 1902 / AGED 64 YEARS
E. J. HOFFMAN / DIED NOV. 2, 1920 / AGED 78 YEARS



ELLA HOFFMAN / 1870 - 1918
Note: Ella was the daughter of Eliza and Anthony Hoffman. This stone is north of the Gidley marker and between the Hoffman and Wertenberger markers.



This is a huge monument, one of the biggest I've ever seen. Placed so that it faces the roadway that leads into the cemetery, it can't be missed. Which was a plus for me since it was one of the grave markers for which I was looking. The Gidley monument stands about seven feet in height, about five feet wide, and the base is more than 2 feet deep. Jennie Gidley was the daughter of Eliza Jane Wise and Anthony Hoffman. In the plots behind this stone are the markers for Eliza Wise Hoffman and her children.



The inscription on the south face of the Gidley monument:
ARAM GIDLEY / DIED / MAR. 5, 1923 / AGED / 79 Y. 8 M. 24 D.
JENNIE M. / WIFE OF / A. T. GIDLEY / DIED / AUG. 5, 1914 / AGED / 41 Y. 2 M. 7 D.



The inscription on the North face: W. W. GIDLEY / 1898 - 1974
EMMA / WIFE OF / A. T. GIDLEY / DIED / JUNE 1, 1892 / AGED 40 Y. 8 M. 18 D.
Note: Emma was Aram Gidley's first wife. Jennie Hoffman was his second wife.



at left: On the west side of the marker is the name WERTENBERGER.
On the east side: JOHN / 1853 - 1920 / EFFIE / 1866 - 1944

at right: On the west side of the marker is the name HOFFMAN.
On the east side: DAYTON / 1884 - 1940 / MARY / 1858 - 1905
Note: The year of birth for Dayton is not correct. He was born in 1864, not 1884.



HELEN O. HOFFMAN / 1892 - 1965
Note: Helen is the daughter of Dayton Hoffman.

Winter: The Beautiful and the Damned Difficult

So winter is not going anywhere; we are smack dab in the midst of it. Unlike some of my fellow velo bloggerists, I am fortunate enough not to suffer from SAD-like symptoms or "winter blues". I love winter! The Co-Habitant does as well, and whenever we have the chance we travel North to get even more of it.



In my own neighborhood, winter is quite beautiful as well. The snow, the bare trees, the crisp air, that somewhat surreal quality of light - I love it all.



What I don't love so much, is winter cycling. Sorry, I really am trying. But I just don't love it. The combination of how time consuming it is to get my clothing just right and how much more vigilant I have to be of the road conditions, adds stress and sucks much of the joy out of it for me. I still cycle, but unless the day is exceptionally warm, it has become an activity that I do mostly out of necessity. I look at Dottie's pictures and narratives on Let's Go Ride a Bike, and I am in awe on a number of levels. But not everyone's experience is the same, and I think that's okay. I have the right wool, the right boots, the right bike - but most of the time I still do not find it easy or enjoyable. If this disappoints some readers or says something terrible about my character, then so be it, but I prefer to be honest.



A couple of weeks ago, Un Vieux Velo humorously pointed out the "competitive winter cycling" phenomenon that was spreading through the blogs and flickr after the Christmas blizzard, and to some extent I do think it's true that we - perhaps unconsciously - sometimes try to outdo each other (Coming Up Next Week: "My blizzard was blizzardier that your blizzard! And I biked to work in a bikini!").



But jokes aside, I do feel some responsibility if I present an unrealistic image. Despite the snowy scenes I show, I do not mean to pretend that I am a stoic winter cyclist. Quite often I am miserable. If my destination is close enough I prefer to walk. And while I don't drive myself (don't like it), the Co-Habitant does, and for a number of reasons we use the car much more often now than during the warmer seasons. And that's perfectly fine with me.



If you love winter but don't love winter cycling, I think the only thing to do is just to let it go and not try to combine the two. You cycled only twice this week? Fine. No need to feel bad. Enjoy taking a walk around the neighborhood instead. Or forget the bike and go skiing, if that's your thing. Or sit by the fire place reading cycling magazines and watching the snow out of the window, if that's what makes you happy. It's all about improving the quality of your life, rather than proving a point. Happy Winter, and enjoy it in any way you like.

Purple Leaves

Here you can see a close up of the blossoms of the purple leaf plum tree and the tiny little purple leaves just starting to grow.

Free Rice

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Hat tip to Only Crook In Town (a non-genealogy blog with an occasional post on genealogy) for the link.

Plant Life at White Sands

I was amazed at the variety of plants and vegetation that survive in the dunes of White Sands National Monument. The dunes are constantly on the move, engulfing everything in their path and then slowly uncovering them again. Certain plants have adapted to the environment and manage to survive a little longer – as the sand covers them they grow taller, but when the dune moves on and leaves them exposed they can no longer support their tall growth and then they crumble and die. These are but a few of the plants I saw...



















There was seldom an expanse of the dunes (close to the road) where there were no human footprints. I walked as far as my legs would take me before the knee began hurting and then turned back. There were other footprints in the sand besides those of us humans - - these prints descended the high dune to the ground about 30 feet below and at a very steep angle! Was it a kit fox? They have adapted to the environment by being very small, no more than 5 pounds. They seldom show themselves during the daylight hours.





All photos were taken on Friday, January 6th, ...