More Winter Pictures

Well it had snowed again last evening and then later on today. These pictures were taken from the terrace in the backyard this afternoon. One can see how much snow fell by the amount on the bird feeder hanging in the lilac tree. This last snowfall was wetter than the previous. We actually had to go out with the car so all of the snow needed to be cleared from the car and from the parking area. Niki had gone out earlier and made a path from the main door to the gate and around the shed door. I later took away the rest of the snow after removing the snow from around the car. Now the temperature rests at -5.3 Celsius so no fear of it melting all away over night. The forecast calls for more colder weather but not much more snow for a few days. This is enough for me to make it feel like winter. Of course if it does snow more I won't mind ;-)

Snow, Snow, Beautiful Snow !!

At last, at last my winter has arrived! Now this is the kind of winters I do enjoy. Lots of snow and cold enough to keep it fluffy. Today it snowed most of the day with hard winds so there were some quite big drifts to negotiate whilst walking out and about, mainly to the bus to get home. I took these few pictures this evening. One is from our door off to the balcony overlooking the backyard and forest. I always like viewing the snow in the trees lit up by the pathway light. This light turns off around 11 pm. All times during the day one can find people either walking, jogging, biking or skiing depending on what time a year it is. The other two photos were taken from the front door. One is looking towards the front gate and the other in the opposite corner

WINTER !!!

Looking out my window I am wondering if wintertime has finally arrived in Finland. Although I doubt it very much I can only think that it has. So beautiful the trees with their fluffy, white snowy dresses and the flittering about of the tit-mouse and sparrow as they either forage for food from under the mountain pine or from the feeders. The temperature is only -3 Celsius. The children are at play out on the hill and in the woods, finally getting to go sledding in decent snowfall. I took the opportunity of the below freezing weather to defrost our upright freezer last evening. It worked well only that my eldest son, Niki, complained that his ice-cream had looked like it had been frozen and unfrozen five times and thanked me very much for ruining it for him. He ate the slightly disfigured cone all the same and didn't complain about it not tasting good.

Some interesting relatives in ye old family tree

The past few days I began to compile some names that are in my family tree. The ones I will list here are quite distant to say the least. Those that are represented are found via my late Grandmother Flossie's mother's side of the family that came from Powys, Wales. They sailed aboard the ship called the Vine that left Liverpool, England and arrived, more than likely, in Chester, Pennsylvania on 17 Dec 1684. This would be the family of my 9th great-grandparents, Robert Owen (1628-1686) & Jane née Vaughan (1626-1686). It is through the Vaughan family that I am connected to the nobility of Europe. In the following list one will find actors, painters, authors and leaders of nations.

AUTHORS/NOVELISTS/POETS

Jane Austen (1775-1817) novelist
14th cousin 6 times removed

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) poet
16th cousin 4 times removed

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) author
28th cousin once removed

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
a.k.a. Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) author
15th cousin 4 times removed

Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899-1961) author
Half 20th cousin 4 times removed

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse
a.k.a. P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) novelist, cartoonist
14th cousin 5 times removed

Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919) author, actor, independent filmmaker
27th cousin 3 times removed

Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson
a.k.a. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) novelist, poet, travel writer
22nd cousin twice removed

Adeline Virginia Stephen
a.k.a. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) novelist
16th cousin 4 times removed

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) Scottish historical novelist
17th cousin 8 times removed

PAINTERS/ILLUSTRATORS

Norman Perceval Rockwell (1894-1978) illustrator, painter
19th cousin 3 times removed

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) French painter, draftsman
21st cousin 6 times removed

Walter Elias Disney
a.k.a. Walt Disney (1901-1966) illustrator, producer, animator, director, etc.
21st cousin once removed

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) Flemish Baroque Era painter
Half 11th cousin 15 times removed

ACTORS/PRODUCERS

Humphrey DeForest Bogart (1899-1957) film Actor
15th cousin once removed

Margaux Louise Hemingway (1954-1996) actress, model
Half 22nd cousin twice removed

Mariel Hadley Hemingway (1961- ) actress
Half 22nd cousin once removed

Catherine Oxenberg (1961- ) Actress
19th cousin once removed

Katharine Houghton Hepburn (1907-2003) actress
15th cousin once removed

Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen
a.k.a. Peter Lawford (1923-1984) actor
12th cousin 3 times removed

Terrence Steven McQueen
a.k.a. Steve McQueen (1930-1980) actor
19th cousin twice removed

Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) actor, producer, director, writer
20th cousin

Olivia Mary de Havilland (1 July 1916- ) actress
20th cousin twice removed

Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (22 Oct 1917- ) actress
a.k.a. Joan Fontaine
20th cousin twice removed

Randolph Scott (1898-1987) actor
17th cousin 3 times removed

George Walton Lucas, Jr. (1944 - ) Film director, producer, screenwriter
Half 26th cousin 5 times removed

U.S. PRESIDENTS/VICE-PRESIDENTS/GOVERNORS, etc.

George Washington (1732-1799) 1st President
11th cousin 8 times removed

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) 3rd President
12th cousin 5 times removed

James Madison (1751-1836) 4th President
13th cousin 7 times removed

James Monroe (1758-1831) 5th President
16th cousin 3 times removed

John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) 6th President
Half 10th cousin 5 times removed

William Henry Harrison (1733-1841) 9th President
14th cousin 7 times removed

Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) 14th President
20th cousin 7 times removed

Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822-1885) 18th President
18th cousin 3 times removed

Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-1893) 19th President
18th cousin 6 times removed

Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) 23rd President
15th cousin 5 times removed

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (1858-1919) 26th President
21st cousin 3 times removed

John "Calvin" Coolidge (1872-1933) 30th President
16th cousin twice removed

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) 32nd President
17th cousin 3 times removed

Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994) 37th President
15th cousin

Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr.
a.k.a. Leslie Lynch King (1913-2006) 38th President
20th cousin once removed

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979) 41st Vice President
18th cousin once removed

George Herbert Walker Bush (1924- ) 41st President
20th cousin

George Walker Bush (1946- ) 43rd President
20th cousin once removed

FIRST LADIES of the WHITE HOUSE

Abigail Smith (1744-1818)
Half 9th cousin 6 times removed
wife of John Adams, Jr. (1735-1826) 2nd President

Edith Bolling (1872-1961)
15th cousin 5 times removed
wife of Thomas "Woodrow" Wilson (1856-1924) 28th President

Elizabeth Virginia Wallace (1885-1982) "the Secret President"
Half 27th cousin once removed
wife of Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) 33rd President

Anne Frances Robbins
a.k.a. Nancy Davis (1923- ) Actress; First Lady
Half 27th cousin once removed
wife of Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-2004) 40th President

MONARCHS/RULERS of direct ancestry, etc.

Edward III (1312-1377) King of England
19th great-grandfather

Edward I Longshanks (1239-1307) King of England
21st great-grandfather

Gwladys Ddu ferch Llywelyn Fawr (1194-1251)
a.k.a. Gladys the Dark, daughter of Llywelyn the Great
23rd great-grandmother

Henry II Curt Mantle d'Anjou (1132-1189) King of England
24th great-grandfather

Owain Glyndŵr (1359-1416) last Welsh Prince of Wales
17th great-granduncle

Gruffudd Maelor I (1121-1191) 2nd Lord of Powys Fadog, Wales
24th great-grandfather

Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (1025-1075) King of Gwynedd, Deheubarth & Powys, Wales
29th great-grandfather

Renaud de Châtillon-sur-Loing (1128-1187) Prince of Antioch Sn de Kérak
26th great-grandfather, beheaded by Saladin at Hattin

Malcolm III Canmore (1031-1093) 45th King of Scotland
a.k.a. Maelcolaim III Ceanmohr
27th great-grandfather

David I the Saint (abt 1082-1153) 50th King of Scots
27th great-grandfather

William I the Conqueror (1024-1087) Duke of Normandy; King of England
27th great-grandfather

Conan III le Gros de Bretagne (abt 1094-1148) Duc de Bretagne
28th great-grandfather

Balduin II du Bourq (1118-1131) King of Jerusalem
28th great-grandfather

Béla I ( - 1063) King of Hungary
29th great-grandfather

Richard I the Lionheart (1157-1199) King of England
23rd great-granduncle

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1943-1099) Castilian nobleman, military & political leader
a.k.a. El Cid Campeador
28th great-grandfather

John Lackland (1166-1216) King of England
29th great-grandfather

Rhodri Mawr ap Merfyn Frych (820-878) 1st ruler of Wales
a.k.a. Rhodri/Roderick the Great (first Welsh ruler to be called Great)
30th great-grandfather

Manuel Eroticus Comnenos ( - 1020) Patrikios; Protospatharios, strategos
30th great-grandfather

Hugues II Capet (939/41-996) King of France
30th great-grandfather

Constantine IX Monomahkos (abt 980-1055) Byzantin emperor
30th great-grandfather

Godgifu (abt 990-1067) Anglo-Saxon noblewoman
a.k.a. Lady Godiva
30th great-grandmother

Olaf III Skötkonung (965/970 - 1021/22) 1st King of Sweden
a.k.a. Olaf the Tax King
30th great-grandfather

Alfred The Great (849-899) King of Wessex; England
31st great-grandfather

Eadgar the Peaceful (943-975) King of England
31st great-grandfather

Rollo (846-931) Viking founder of Normandy; 1st Duke
a.k.a. Hrólfr Rögnvaldsson; Göngu-Hrólfr
31st great-grandfather

Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad ( - 844) King of Gwynedd
a.k.a. Merfyn the Freckled
31st great-grandfather

Wenceslaus I (907-935) Duke of Bohemia
a.k.a. St. Wencelaus (Good King Wenceslas of the Christmas carol)
32nd great-granduncle

Baldwin I Iron-Arm (835-879) 1st count of Flanders
33rd great-grandfather

Charles I the Great of France (797-814) King of Franks, Holy Roman Emperor
a.k.a. Charlemagne, Karl der Große
35th great-grandfather

Basil I the Macedonian (abt 811-886) Byzantin Emperor
35th great-grandfather

Kenneth I MacAlpin ( - 858) King of Scots
35th great-grandfather

Guido I of Spoleto ( - 860) Duke of Spoleto
37th great-grandfather

Clovis I (466-511) King of the Merovingian Franks
43rd great-grandfather

Valentinian I (321-375) Roman Emperor (West)
a.k.a. Flavius Valentinius
50th great-grandfather

other related MONARCHS/RULERS, ETC

Beatrix of the Netherlands (1938- ) Queen of the Netherlands
19th cousin

Margrethe II of Denmark (1940- ) Queen of Denmark
19th cousin

Carl XVI Gustaf Bernadotte (1946- ) present King of Sweden
19th cousin

Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée Bernadotte (1977- ) present Crown Princess of Sweden
19th cousin once removed

Birger Jarl
a.k.a. Birger Magnusson (abt 1210-1266) Swedish statesman, founder of Stockholm
3rd cousin 26 times removed

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002) The Queen Mother
16th cousin 4 times removed

Elizabeth II (1926- ) present Queen of United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
a.k.a. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor
18th cousin once removed

Ferdinand II of Aragon
a.k.a. Fernando el Católico (1451-1515) King of Aragon & Castile
Half 6th cousin 17 times removed

Isabella I of Aragon (1451-1504) Queen of Aragon & Castile
3rd cousin 17 times removed

Prince Charles (1948- )present Prince of Wales; Crown Prince of England
a.k.a. Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor
19th cousin

Diana Frances Spencer (1961-1997) Lady, Princess of Wales
19th cousin

Constantine I the Great (272-337) Roman Emperor; King of Britain
a.k.a. Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus
1st cousin 41 times removed

Harald V (1937 - ) present King of Norway
19th cousin

Juan Carlos I (1938 - ) present King of Spain
a.k.a. Juan Alfonso Carlos Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias
19th cousin once removed

Alexander II Nikolyevich Romanov (1818-1881) Tsar of Russia; Grand Duke of Finland
Александр II Николаевич
16th cousin 3 times removed

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (1867-1951) Finnish military man/statesman, 6th President
Half 27th cousin twice removed

Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1974-1965) twice Prime Minister of England
18th cousin once removed

Rainier III Grimaldi (1923-2005) Prince of Monaco
20th cousin once removed

Abdullah bin al-Hussein (1962- ) present King of Jordan
39th cousin once removed

OTHER NOTABLES

The Prophet Muhammad (570-632) Arab political & military leader, established Islam
41st great-grandfather

St. Vincent Madelgarus ( - 677) Benedictine monk
a.k.a. Vincent Madelgaire de Hainaut
40th great-grandfather

Ann Boleyn (1504-1536) Queen consort of Henry VIII; 1st Marchioness of Pembroke
Half 6th cousin 14 times removed; beheaded by Henry VIII, 4th cousin 15 times removed

Daniel Boone, Sr. (1734-1820) frontiersman
12th cousin 7 times removed

Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) naturalist; biologist
Half 22nd cousin 4 times removed

Aga IV Khan (1936 - ) current (49th) Imām of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims
41st cousin 5 times removed

John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (1829-1937) Industrialist, Philanthropist
16th cousin 3 times removed

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) mathematician, philosopher, logician
16th cousin 3 times removed

Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) Potter; founder of Wedgwood Pottery; grandfather of Charles Robert Darwin
Half 20th cousin 6 times removed

Manfred von Richtofen "Red Baron" (1892-1918) W.W.I flying ace "ace of aces"
a.k.a. Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen
17th cousin 4 times removed

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

We had a nice time at our cottage over the New Year's holiday. There wasn't much snow and what little there was it melted away until the day we left when it began to snow...typical. Tiina baked bread and rolls in the old wood heated stove. It was her first time baking from scratch while using this oven. She had baked a ham and chicken before. They turned out pretty good. She also made a very delicious pot of chili and some carrot soup.


We spent the changing of the New Year in the sauna where we toasted with pear cider and then went outside to watch the fireworks going up from the surrounding villages and homes. Other than that it was a peaceful New Year.

I didn't do much more than keeping the fires burning and water stocked. Watched a few movies and TV and played cards with Tiina. The boys spent most of their time at the neighbor's playing with their youngest daughter and Nintendo. Let's see what the New Year will bring! Best to all!!