On the March to A RUIZ CONNECTION

The genealogy quest has been slow going as life and painting has clogged up the wheels. However, since I promised myself phone calls were a must, I called a new cousin today named Anthony Martin, Jr. who lives in my city of birth! What a delightful gentleman. He told me stories of my grandfather and my great grandfather as well as listed his siblings and promised to give me the traditional recipes for crocked olives and Spanish roasted peppers! He said the seeds were brought from Spain and he's still keeping that tradition alive. He offered his home as a B&B when I'm in town next time as if he'd known me all my life. What fun it is to connect.

The next wonderful thing Anthony gave to me was his sister's name and phone number in Oregon who has worked on the Ruiz family line but hit a brick wall. Well, I called her and we are dancing together to jump the brick wall together hand in hand. She and I will try to fill in the blanks on each of our files. And she has eMail to boot.

So, I'm back in the running and wish my painting was finished but alas! The deck still isn't finished. Why didn't someone slap me when I offered to paint 1400 square feet of deck, I ask? Because why? It does look mighty nice though..... but it cuts into my genealogy time. Oh, and then there is the new book I bought to help me on my quest...SECRETS OF TRACING YOUR ANCESTORS by W. Daniel Quillen. The author is going to email me template forms! Wow. I am a happy girl.