My Uncle Jack's parents died one by one in the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. He died years ago but at the time of his parents' deaths, he was eight. They took his mother's body out the front window and his father's there the following day. He and his sister were raised by his grandmother.

Finally got some semblance of normal weather here in PA where it was in the 80's all week. Today the Appalachian trail was gorgeous with temps in the 60's and many fallen leaves. My 15-year-old Dachshund walked almost four miles with me and I marvel at his stamina. I guess the Germans bred them well to run over fields and dig for badgers. Spunky little thing.

I was riding my bike the other day, and wandered through a cemetery. First I stopped to look at a number of tiny gravestones, all fro the early 1900s. I expect they were all the same family, 6 or 7 who lived only days or weeks.

Then , I noticed a couple of stones with birthdates of 1921, but no date of death. At first I thought that was odd that they didn't update the stone. Then I realized yes, those women are probably still alive. They're nearly a hundred years old. And probably still playing organ in the church, or what's left of it.

Yes, I still volunteer for FindAGrave. Speaking of autumn leaves, I took this pic yesterday but it wasn't needed by the site. I like it too much to delete it though, so here it is.

Socks, it definitely helps me to lie down--on my bed though, not on the floor. I feel pretty good when I get up in the morning. I've had PT for other reasons, and they told me nothing can be done for scoliosis at my age. The discomfort is mostly from the C-curve in my spine rubbing on my ribs, and pushing them out. How did you make the pumpkin decoration? I get Smithsonian magazine, too, thanks to a generous KT friend! I really enjoy it.

Lily, your poor Uncle Jack! My stepmother was raised in the Bronx, and was 8 years old in 1918. She had a 10-year-old brother. She said bodies were lined up in the hallways outside the apartment doors. Her parents must have been terrified.

Seagrass, I never knew that about red hair either. I was born with red hair. Lucky for me, I wasn't born in Salem. It all fell out, in any case. :-)

Aok, they could very well still be alive, although sometimes people's names are added to a stone but they end up moving away and being buried elsewhere. But I hope the ladies are still around and playing the organ in church.

DH and I won't have headstones, since we will be cremated and our ashes scattered. Our obituaries will be published in our major newspaper so that future generations doing genealogy research will have basic information on our lives.

I recently had a test for Covid which thankfully was negative. I was very concerned because I became ill just after I sent a package of home baking to DS and family. I was extremely careful while baking and I have read that the virus doesn't survive on food. I didn't want to take the chance, though, since DD-I-L has cancer. I called DS and asked him to hold onto the baking until I had test results. If I had tested positive, I would have had him discard all the baking.

I clipped off the smallest tips of some succulents and glued them on with tacky glue, Alisande. It will last a few weeks at least, I hope. It's a mini pumpkin in case you can't tell. I've seen youtube videos of people making big ones.

Doing genealogy also I am finding that the only record of someone's death right now is through the SS death index because so many people are no longer having obituaries published. I noticed that even the death index is starting not to be available for recent deaths. So much family history is found in those obituaries but I understand at the current cost most families really can not afford more than the basic few lines.

I do not know if other states/regions but where my husband was from in Iowa because so many people do not subscribe to news papers the radio stations on their websites are the best place to go for an obituary. Most are provided by the funeral home an posted with no charge. I am linking an example to show what I am talking about. https://kiwaradio.com/stories/obits/

I didn't realize that about obituaries, Maifleur. I used to be a newspaper reporter, and at that time obits in our paper were free. But the larger city paper charged for any additional information beyond the basic. I had to pay $245 in 2001 in order to add my granddaughter's name to her aunt's obituary. She was definitely one of the surviving relatives, and I didn't want to leave her out. It's a shame obituaries are getting costly.

Walking through a cemetery in a small southern Illinois town, Prairie du Rocher, I saw a quite a few 1918 graves. There were a lot of 1918 children's graves.

My great-grandparents and their children, mostly teens or young adults, had the 1918 flu. All survived, but growing up I remember speculation the that flu's aftermath may have been related to the youngest child coming down with Parkinson's disease in her later years.

That, then, leads me to think of the neurological involvement that "long covid" is having for some people.

Forgot two things:

What did yo dye your cotton socks with?

In my cucumber harvesting, I find that cukes in the fridge keep better than room temp cukes by far. They do like to be kept in high humidity, though. I put them in a plastic bag with a damp but very well rung out cloth napkin.

When my husband died anything over three lines was $325. Then I think it was $1.30 for each word after that. I told family members before it happened that his obituary would be small and none of them listed. Since he was buried in Iowa I fleshed out the one for there but even those had a limit of the number of lines. I cringe when I saw a friend of mind's husband's who died last month was two columns. The funeral home provided a group of those laminated cards that they took the information from Iowa and added a few things from the information I gave them.

Wow, Maifleur, that's outrageous. And such a shame for future generations to read an ancestor's obituary and learn virtually nothing more than he or she lived and died. I told my kids that I hope they include in my obituary the fact that I spent much of 1995 helping WWII veterans locate their war buddies. Maybe I should forget that. Or set aside money for it!

Matthias, I never would have thought to store cucumbers like that, but I'll try it next summer--thanks!

I dyed the socks with Cushing Perfection Dye, which I get from W. Cushing & Co. in Kennebunkport, ME. Occasionally I snag one or more on eBay. I have a large collection because of my rug hooking. One pair of socks is Olive Green, the other Copenhagen Blue.

I go to cemeteries and take small cuttings of roses found growing there. Not many roses in cemeteries around here, altho I have never in my life seen so many cemeteries. Mostly family cemeteries and down winding dirt roads, far off the highways. Very, very sandy soil and not much rain in the hot summers, not very good for roses, but I have been watching one in a cemetery in our county seat. In the spring, it was decimated by caterpillars. Hardly a leaf left on it. I thought it would die. A couple months ago, I went to see it and it was making a comeback. It had leaves and even a few blooms. I stopped in to see it a couple of days ago. It was covered with blooms. When the weather cools off a little more, I will get a cutting from it.

My life is stressful right now. Jody is okay as long as he doesn't move around and then his oxygen drops extremely low. Someone suggested oxygen concentrators. We have 3. 2 big ones inside, and a portable one. Also big oxygen bottles and several medium sized one and a generator in case the power goes out.

A year ago, I fell and injured my left leg. I need surgery but can't have it because no one to look after Jody. I had my right knee replaced 7 yrs ago and it is fine but need the left one replaced now.

Several weeks ago, I had to put Primo down. He was the big white horse from the kill pen. He had extensive cancer in his mouth, throat, penis, sheath, eye lids, and the side of his head. I let him go as long as I could because he felt good and I could tell, but one day, he didn't, and it was time. I had gotten very attached to him because I knew it wouldn't be long, and I tried to give him the best life possible.

One of my cats is 50ft up a very tall pine tree and won't come down. Tomorrow makes a week. I have tried everything. Now I am trying to get hold of a guy who climbs these trees to cut them down. He has the harness to climb them and my hope is, he can rescue my cat.

Graveyards/cemeteries seem a common subject, so.... When I was a kid the oldest cemetery in town was a 5 minute walk from my house. It was surrounded on 3 sides by a high exposed aggregate ornate masonry wall with iron gates barely wide enough to allow passage of a full sized pickup. Members of the wealthiest family in town are interred there, as is the founder of the town. The wealthy family's markers are large granite stones surrounded by century and a half years old European beeches, the founder's marker is an almost unreadable limestone marker dated 1670 IIRC. There are many large monuments, some with elaborate statuary. Many note infant or baby (x) and date from the 1800's into the early 1900's. One marker I remember states "The Savior Took Her".

I used to spend a lot of time in that cemetery, mostly looking at the large old uncommon trees. There was little room left for burials and no room for expansion so it got little use though it was well maintained. Many times I stayed there til after dark and found the gates closed and locked, but I knew a way out. And no, I never saw a ghost...

Wondering why there is no cherry jello to be found in the area grocery stores. I am specifically wanting sugar free but finding none at all since early spring. I mean, it isn't like toilet paper or hand sanitizer or canning jars and lids, even peanut butter! so what gives??

Also why aren't seasonal wreaths made in 12" or maybe even 16" sizes for cemetery use? That would be more useable and easier to mount than the 2 foot things I am finding.

The odd things in my town that I can not find (since March) are angel food cake mix, Lemon cake mix, and lemon frosting. I can not even guess why that is.

I want some wool socks! Or maybe wool blend that don't require hand washing?Advice, please?

DS is starting on his second 'flip' house in the city, but made time to come here to replace the thermostat on the NuHeat in our MBath. I guess we got more than the normal use from the original: 19 years. Wow, is it COLD in there without the underfloor heat!

Many children failed to survive beyond the immunity gained from their mothers. My paternal G-Grandfather was a doctor in a silver mining town in Colorado. He and his wife (originally from Wyoming, PA) burried three babies/toddlers in their yard, presumably due to his work. They later lost two young adult bachelor sons, leaving only my paternal grandmother surviving until their deaths. I cannot imagine the hardships of those times.

The number of baby and small children deaths is one of the reasons when I see the anti-maskers posts I would like to reach out and shake them. Until the various governments set up health departments and did things like ordering unsafe water and cleaning up of unsanitary conditions many children died. It is almost like they would like to return to those good old days with their "there is no need for health departments to exist or be able to close down things". I have a tiered cake platter that my mother told me her mother received because she had saved a baby with diphtheria by sticking her finger down the throat with a cloth to clean it out. Since my mother was born in 1924 that would have placed the event during the 1930s. My mother lost one of her sisters because of a combination of childhood scarlet fever and two other diseases.

Interesting posts.

I realized during the summer that my g-mother, who was born in 1918, that this was the pandemic high point. I thought how scary that must have been for her young mother at the time living in Brooklyn.

Oddly enough though, there was not ever any talk in the family of the Spanish flu. I wonder if it skipped over the Brooklyn area.

Along the cemetery topic, we have an old cemetery in our neighborhood that has had trouble being kept up. Our neighborhood was built up around it--it takes up the size of a normal parcel here. I think the most recent admission to there was in the 1940s. Volunteers have asked any old timers if they may know who is who in there. Other volunteers used radar equipment to find any other graves that might not be marked. Then they found graves under the street. How sad.

SeaSea, I'm fascinated by ancient ruins being found, even bodies found and examined to find out who they were, how they lived, but I also find it sad and a little disrespectful. One reason I decided long ago to be cremated and scattered. That and after so long, a tombstone won't be readable, no one will come visit you, except maybe a stranger, and eventually, they will pave you over.

My husband's grandmother lost her only daughter at 3 years old in 1918 from that flu. She had 4 boys that lived.

I think the Spanish Flu was *so catastrophic* that no one who lived through it wanted to speak of it ever again. People of all ages could be fine of a morning and dead by nightfall. My DM was about 13 in 1918. I think she and her parents were still on the farm in rural RI, only moving into the city after the flu died out. They'd moved to the farm with her grandmother and uncle, who were already dying of TB on arrival.

My mom and I were walking around a cemetery in New Orleans looking for my grandmother's grave, and I saw numerous headstones from 1853 that all had the same surnames, often with two or three family members sharing a stone, all lost on the same day or within a few days of each other. Yellow Fever.

I went back to the same cemetery yesterday in hopes of filling some photo requests before the weather turns cold. Many volunteers use their phone's GPS to zero in on specific gravestones, but I like to take pictures with a camera. My approach is much more random (to go with my Random Thoughts), and although I don't fill requests on every trip, I usually find most of my photos useful for the site. Either I add pictures to memorials that lack them or I create memorials for deceased that up till then went unrecorded.

That is, until yesterday. I took 152 pictures, and so far I've gone through over 90 of them. I simply deleted most because they were not needed. That happens, but I've never had it happen in such large numbers. However, I discovered that the other photographer ignored all the small children. Although their names appeared on some gravestones he photographed, he made no memorials for them.

I think a lot of volunteers don't bother with children too young to have produced descendants as they have little or no genealogical value, but I think they deserve to be remembered. Plus linking them to their parents on FindAGrave makes me feel good. I linked nine children in one family: Two girls died in 1878, A boy and a girl died in 1885, Two girls and a boy died in 1890, a boy died in 1895, and their brother, a teenager, died in 1909. I hope they had others who survived.

Kennswoods, I never thought of seeking out unusual trees in cemeteries, but what a nice idea. I've tried to include many in photos. Cemeteries are a kind of museum, when you think about it. So much history, plus art and nature.

Chisue--wool socks! I have all sorts of wool socks, and machine-wash every pair, but I would recommend Smartwool. It's a merino wool blend. Smartwool is said to be indestructible, and I can believe it. My daughter gave me three pairs more than 10 years ago. She's a skier and an avid cyclist, and she knows socks! Mine have been washed countless times. One of them is starting to show wear at the top of the heel, but that's the only one. Smartwool socks are sold in many places including Amazon.

Alisande -- Many thanks. My feet and I will thank you every time I wear the Smartwool socks! I hope you didn't over-do at the cemetery. I certainly agree with you about including children in their families' memorials. Some genealogists race to amass names and dates. In my casual investigation of my ancestors, it's the stories of their lives that interest me. It seems to me that every day was a struggle, compared to our health and ease today. We're wimps!

Marilyn, for some reason your post just popped into this thread for me. It says you wrote it yesterday. I'm so sorry you have all these stressors at once. And knee pain has a way of making everything worse. Your poor kitty must be so scared to have stayed up the tree for a week! Please let us know if the tree guy comes through for you.

I never see roses in cemeteries here. As a former rose collector, I would notice. I think it's probably because the shrub roses and climbers/ramblers that are hardy in this area can grow out of control quickly, with thorns complicating efforts to control them. Some people plant daylilies at the base of a gravestone. I wish they wouldn't, as it makes the engraving totally unreadable.

Chisue, if you find your feet need warming beyond socks, I have a daytime recommendation and a nighttime one. I have Raynaud's Syndrome, and for day I use disposable foot warmers that stick on your socks. According to Amazon, I've purchased this box of 40 pairs 39 times!

Toastie-Toes Foot Warmers

And at night I use a foot-warming mattress pad under my bottom sheet. I pre-heat it, and either turn it off when I turn out the light or leave it on Low. My bedroom is unheated, and it can get pretty brisk in winter. :-)

I have made plans to be cremated because other than some 3rd+ cousins I have no close relatives. I did have a thought about the 1918 flu. Some of the research about the flu and the number of people who actually died from it has been done when cemeteries had to be moved or discovered. While many people were known to have perished from the flu the numbers increased as the remains were researched for clues to their identity. Cremating will prevent that kind of research. The current generations may be the last that scientists will be able to gain insight to what we eat and how it affected our bodies along with what diseases we had.

Marilyn, I know others join me in sympathizing with your struggles, and especially your DH who must be so unhappy. Sorry you lost your horse; you did your best. Thinking of you and Jody.

Chisue, I did a little genealogy research and came up with the same conclusion: I'm getting a lot of dates here but where are the stories? Well, I put 2+2 and figured out one big story, but otherwise just having dates isn't too interesting. Lindsey helped me, and I'll always thank her for that because I was lost on my own.

Aisande -- l've strayed from your advice and ordered three pair of 100% wool socklets from Amazon. Reviews were positive. They are not sized; just 'Medium'. Should be OK for wearing to bed. Some reviews for the Smartwool brand said they aren't 'as good' as what people had bought some time ago -- less wool content, I think. I think the wool will be enough without the warmers, but I'm glad to know they exist.

Maifleur -- My DM willed her body to anatomical research, and we had a nice memorial service later. I don't know if they keep records of what they find in a given corpus. It's a very simple and immediate removal, and it presumably serves science. I don't know if they'll be taking bodies when I die, though.

MarilynC -- Yes, your post has to have been delayed somehow. I'm very sorry your Jody is so weak. AND your knee is kaptu! AND that darned cat! AND you had to lose your Primo! It's too *much*. I'd ask how you are arranging for HELP, but I know what your answer has been about that in the past. You are in my thoughts.

Enjoy reading each of your thoughts. Marilyn , you are in my thoughts. Know you love your time outside with your animals. Cannot imagine how many animals you have saved during the years. As I read your post I always think about my life growing up as there was always work to do on our farm. Take care of yourself and Jody. You are a strong person, I could not keep up you . Roses, our family cemetery is full of seven sisters roses. Love the smell.

I had to very unexpectedly put Val down today. The farrier was here and he acted up very badly. I put him in a stall to get one of the other horses, and he got down and was rolling and hitting the stall walls, which caused the other horses to act up. I put him in a paddock so I could turn out the other horses, and he was all over the paddock up and down and thrashing violently. I made the decision to put him down immediately. No one was here....Jody inside. I had to shoot him. Fortunately a vet had showed me how to do it, and I could end his suffering. It wasn't easy to do, in that I would rather not have to do it, but I needed to end his suffering as quickly as possible. He was 28 years old, but a beautiful horse that I saved from the kill pen 3 years ago. I loved him very much, but he is at peace, and so I am also.

Marilyn, I am so sorry about the loss of your horses. It sounds like you are going through a difficult time and I hope things ease up at least a little for you. I do understand what its like to care for a husband who isn't well and I know how hard is is for a man who is used to being able to do things and now can't. My thoughts are with you.

Oh, Marilyn, how awful for you. And on top of everything else. Sounds like colic, yes? Terrible pain for the horse. Merciful action taken by you. But so hard.

Oh my goodness Marilyn. I'm so sorry. You are a brave person who acted with love. So hard.

Marilyn so sorry for the loss of your beautiful horses. I remember Val very clearly and I'm so sorry that he had to go. You gave him extra wonderful years and I'm so glad he had someone like you.

Hugs to you and hugs to Jody too.

Marilyn, my thoughts are with you. I'm so sorry for all you are going through at this time.

So sorry Marilyn. I am glad that you knew the right area to ease the suffering.

Alisande, it was like colic, but I think it may have been something else. I fed him a high fiber feed, and he didn't seem to have a blockage as far as that goes, so I don't believe it was colic in the sense of the word that he was bound up from it. He was pretty old so I think it could have been a tumor or something. He ate breakfast and was fine and then he was thrashing around. When I put him in the paddock he would get up and walk a few feet and immediately go down again. Over and over. I had to act quickly to ease him over, and he did go quickly. It was over in an instant.

Thank you for your comforting words.

((((Marilyn_c))))

I forgot to mention about my cat that has been in a tree for a week now. I paid a guy $100 to climb the tree to get him down. He had a climbing harness. He tried but the tree wasn't straight....it twists to the right and then to the left. I paid him anyway. He said he had a climbing platform and would bring it today and he guaranteed he could get him then. The cat did come down about 15 ft. Still about 35 ft up. We managed to get some food up the tree but still about 15 ft from him.

I also paid him another $100 to clear the pine needles off my barn. Told him I would pay him $100 a day to work for me a few days.

Today he didn't show up. Said he overslept. Said he would be here tomorrow. I managed to get a bucket with food and water higher up the tree....about 5' below the cat. Still trying to get him to come down. Cats go up trees head first. They have to back down and this cat seems to be too afraid to do that.

Marilyn, I guess we have to think of that as progress, though perhaps not as advanced as we would like. I hope the guy shows up today. Sounds like he might be related to some workers I've encountered here. Oversleeping is a common trait. Also inability to work on their birthdays. :-)

Did he wear heavy leather gloves, by the way? I'm guessing you would have noticed, being aware, as I'm sure you are, that the cat might be difficult to hold on to. A frightened cat will use teeth and claws, as I learned years ago. My hands got ripped up pretty badly.

Chisue, you're allowed to stray from advice. lol Enjoy your cozy socklets!

Marilyn -- I am HOPING this guy will show up and be reliable...or that you will actively search for another 'hand'. (I'm also hoping the cat won't go right back up as soon as the opportunity presents itself!) Terrible turn of events for you right now. Please, please, get help. You're no good to anyone or anything if you work yourself to collapse.

Have you considered calling a tree trimming service to get your cat? They usually have a bucket truck and experience in doing this. It probably will cost more than your handy-man, but then what use is he if he does't show up?

That is such happy news Marilyn. I have been following and will sleep better knowing DJ made it down.

Wonderful news, Marilyn! I take back my remark about the guy sleeping late. :-) Seriously, I'm so glad to know the cat is down and safe in the house. DJ is a cute name for him.

Sounds like a very hungry cat. I am glad he is in and I hope he accepts being there.

Great news about the cat. Sad news about your horses. That has to be hard even when they are old. Animals in our lives are a blessing but a heart ache.

Chisue, most wool socks these days are made from treated wool so they will not shrink so look for socks made from Superwash wool which should be fine for your purposes. They arent as good for sweaty feet but I suspect that isnt your problem.

The cat thinks I am his new best friend. I guess from those 8 days that I sat under the tree, craning my neck up, trying to call him down. He slept on top of me last night. I hadn't named him because he has an identical brother, and the only way to tell them apart, this one has gold eyes and his brother has green eyes. I called both of them Big Boy. I got up at 5. He is sleeping in.

Aw, that is sweet. He's probably so grateful to you. What color are the brothers?

A long time ago (yikes--22 years!) I wrote a tiny story about two identical cats for a bedtime story site. It's still up online.

Two Grey Cats

So happy for you and the cat, Marilyn. I thought about him a lot. He'll love you forever now knowing how you saved him. And I'm so sorry about your horses.