My life Outside Genealogy

Once again, I’m doing the Saturday into Sunday thing for Randy Seaver’s, Genea-Musings, Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.


This week’s challenge is as follows:

Tell us about your "other" hobbies or interests outside of genealogy and family history research, writing, speaking, etc.


Write a blog post of your own, respond with a comment to this post, or add a comment on the Facebook version of this post

This gives me an opportunity to talk a bit more about “me.”

Even though, I’ve been genealogy non-stop, since returning to my research last year, I do, believe it or not, have a life outside genealogy.

1. Sewing – Momma taught me to sew when I could barely touch the presser foot, and it’s another hobby I slowly let die, but I’m slowly returning to it, too. During the past 4 years, I’ve made a few things for the house but hadn’t really returned to sewing anything for myself. Of course the true sewer in me was still hoarding up cloth and patterns. Well, my 30th HS class reunion (2009) revived my interest in sewing. Needing something to wear to the Saturday night event and not finding anything that I liked in the stores that didn’t require major alterations, I quickly whipped together a dress and just like that my interest in sewing was renewed.

The dress I made for my HS reunion

Picture from the collection of M. Jones

2. Community Involvement – My family wasn’t rich, but somehow, they were always reaching out and getting involved in helping others. It took me awhile to find my niche and sometimes I let this area of my life slide but am often reminded how much this means to me. In the past I’ve been a mentor, secret Santa, volunteer at Expanding Your Horizons (science and math fair for girls) and yesterday put my name on the list at church to volunteer to help feed at our city’s Homeless Men’s Shelter and to do whatever I can at the soon to be completed Homeless Women’s Shelter.

3. Tarheel and ACC basketball and NCAA and NFL football – Love watching most sports but being a Tarheel alum, and a fan long before being an alum, plus being born and raised in the tobacco road state, this time of year, I am especially addicted to Tarheel and ACC basketball. As a side note, I’m still fighting to get all those non-original members out. It just doesn’t seem the same with as big as the conference has gotten now.

4. I love reading. With the return to genealogy and with my cousin, dad’s side of the family, officially being published last year, I’ve been reading like crazy. As a child you could always find me with a book in hand, but in my adult life, I've always tended to go through spurts with my reading.

5. Jazz – I remember there being a time when I was in my early 20s, that I didn’t like this genre. But I was introduced through a coworker whose husband was in a jazz band and I’ve loved and appreciated it ever since. So whenever I get an opportunity to attend a show, I try to go.

Until Next Time!