Exciting news!
I'll soon be announcing the pre-order date for my upcoming poetry collection, "Poems from the Edge of the Apocalypse", on Amazon.
In the meantime, I'm looking for advance readers—bloggers, reviewers, and poetry lovers who’d be willing to read an early copy and share a post on social media and leave a review on Amazon when the book goes live.
If you're interested in being part of the launch team, I’d love to hear from you! Just send your email address to [email protected] (with subject line Advanced Reader Copy), and include a link to your blog if you have one. Please respond by Friday, April 25th if you're interested.
Let’s spread some apocalyptic poetry love (and, just so you know, these poems are actually more hope-filled than apocalyptic).
Discovering New Branches on My Family Tree
Shortly after the bankruptcy of 23andMe was announced I deleted all of my data and I’ve been searching for a new company who might be able to help me discover more branches on my family tree. A few weeks ago I found a British-based genetics company called Living DNA that has promised to do just that.
Living DNA claims to be able to trace twelve generations of your ancestry, especially with those of us with British ancestry. Since a good portion of my ancestors came from the UK region I thought it would be a great fit. I’ve already taken the test and I’ll share the results as soon as they land!
Chillin’ and (hopefully) Grillin’
Since we own a home again and the weather is FINALLY starting to warm up a bit my thoughts are turning to barbecuing. I’m slowly gathering the supplies I need to start grilling but am stuck on which actual grill I should buy. I haven’t owned a barbecue grill in a decade so I’m completely out of touch with the latest and greatest.
What I’m looking for is a grill compact enough that it could be easily brought inside during winter. I’d prefer a charcoal or wood pellet grill over gas or propane. Does anyone have a particular brand or model that they've had good luck with?
Be well, make the most of this day. Thank you for reading!
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This is going so fast! Congrats!
It's definitely going full-steam! I can't wait to share it with you all. Thank you! I'm working on my final proof today and tomorrow and then it'll be uploaded and I'll be able to order the physical author copy to check layout and color balance.
In fact, I would like have a GEN test to know my far ancestors as I live in a cosmopolitan country.
It's interesting! I learned lots about my heritage after my first one in 2011.
How are you, dear friend @ericvancewalton?
I'm so glad to know that everything is going well with your book and that it's waiting to be read. No doubt you'll have many people joining as advance readers.
It's great that you discovered this new page, and I hope you have the results of your search soon.
It's great that the weather has changed and you're about to start enjoying the barbecue.
Have a great time, dear friend.
Happy Easter!
All is well on this end, I hope the same is true for you! Thanks and I hope you enjoy your weekend my friend.
I was always curious about DNA and ancestry, but my only reservations was that there seems to be very little data on Russian / Ukrainian DNA. In the past I saw that these companies classify people as Eastern European DNA with very little data beyond that and that didn't seem interesting at all.
I wonder if the DNA testing has progressed to the point where it can actually do something useful for the area I am from?
I did get a little bit of detail about my eastern European ancestry from my 2011 test with 23&Me. My great-grandfather was from a small village in the Ukraine (which was part of Russia back then). The test showed my Ukrainian ancestors' genetic haplogroup originated in the Scandinavian regions thousands of years ago. They migrated down into Russia/Ukraine from that area. I'm not sure how common that is amongst the people of that area.
I've heard MyHeritageDNA is decent if you're looking for more detail on Russian heritage.
Very cool! Way more than I would have expected. It does makes sense about Scandinavian regions as Vikings did have a lot of interactions with Kievan Rus even to the point of taking part in its formation at some point.
Kiev was the capital of that state and the name "Rus" that came to refer to the population of the region, a blend of Scandinavians, Slavic peoples, and steppe nomads.
Yes, those Vikings were prolific! I had no idea Kiev had been the capital of the region. My great-grandfather left around the time of the Russian revolution and came to America alone at age 16. One of his uncles had already settled in Philadelphia and he stayed with him for a year before traveling further West into Pennsylvania and settling in Arona, PA.
Weber is my favorite, but I have used a bit of everything over the years. The standard kettle 22" is fairly mobile. Plus there are a lot of other benefits. The price is a bit high, but the quality of Weber is unmatched.
Weber is a very solid brand. I actually found something yesterday I think might work for my situation. It's a Ninja Woodfire Pro. I have more research to do, especially on the cooking surface. I don't want anything with Teflon. If that checks out I think this one would tick all the boxes for me. I like that there's no charcoal or propane to buy and that it's portable enough to bring inside in winter or take on roadtrips and camping.
They have special deals on that one on QVC from time to time. You might want to check that out. I'm a bit of a snob and since there isn't some kind of open flame I don't really consider it grilling, but that is my personal bias and I feel like you should do whatever works best for you and that you are happy with.
Hmm, I'll have to check them out! I almost forgot about QVC. I prefer charcoal too but at this stage of life, for me convenience wins. I just know how we are and we'll probably be moving again in 5-8 years and wanted something compact and not too messy. If we finally get to a place where I feel we'll stay put for longer than that I might spring for one of those Green Egg grills. I remember @exyle had one in the Netherlands and I always told myself I'd have one some day. Enjoy the weekend!
Yes, those are pretty cool, but definitely not portable. My dad has one and it took two guys to unload it from the truck. They are heavy! I understand your predicament. Charcoal can be quicker than it used to be, but it's still always going to be messy. That's just part of the deal. The Ninja might work great for you.
I would love to be part of those people who can read your poetry and give our opinions, although, from a technical-literary point of view, I do not consider myself the most qualified to do so.
Anyway, I wish you a successful launch or sale on Amazon.
Happy journey.
Cheers and best regards.
It's fine that you don't have a literary background! If you're interested in being part of the launch team just feel free to email me before next Friday. Thank you my friend! The roller-coaster ride of the book launch is about to begin! : )
When you tell me to include a link in my blog, what do you mean?
Excuse my ignorance in these matters.
Happy weekend. Cheers and best regards.
No problem at all! This is just for bloggers/book reviewers who have a blog outside of Hive. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend/Easter.
Yesterday I sent you my mailing address, I don't know if you got your mail. Happy Sunday.
Cheers and greetings.
I received it and responded this morning. Thanks for your interest in doing it! You should be seeing a copy in your inbox within the next few weeks.
Okay.
We'll see if I can contribute something of value to your poems. Happy Sunday. Cheers and greetings.
I love the emotion you put into everything, Eric. I feel like that's one of the things I admire most about you. That endless curiosity. I can smell that meat already and I know you'll be sharing pictures with us soon! I remember you once said you had Irish ancestors.. It would be amazing if you could know more about your roots! Good luck with that and everything. Hugs
Thank you Nancy! My curiosity is the thing that keeps me going. I don't know how I would live without it. I think you have that same trait in you. I can't wait to start grilling again! I haven't been able to do that for a decade because we've lived in apartments and then the condo. This DNA test will be interesting...this company taps into church records from the UK so we should get a pretty good picture of our British DNA going back at least five centuries. The week has almost come to a close! I hope you enjoy your weekend.
I’m excited for your poetry collection.
Your family tree research with Living DNA sounds fascinating – can't wait to hear about the results. For grilling, I've heard great things about Kamado grills – durable and versatile. Maybe worth checking out?
Thanks! Wow, their grills look really nice. I appreciate the suggestion!
Am glad you like it
Are you not worried that the new DNA company will harvest and store and sell your DNA? I'd really love to get tested but I'm worried that will happen. We went as far to get a kit a few years back but never sent it back.
Not really. I assume all of my genetic information has already been sold by 23&Me before I deleted my data with them last month. I would be more hesitant if I hadn't already done the test with them in 2011 (or '12). The insight these tests provide is pretty amazing. My paternal side thought they were Native American but that was proven wrong, not a single drop of Native American blood.
Wow that is incredible. It goes to show it's often culture that defines you rather than genetics, right? Yet we get caught up in 'race' or appearance.
For sure. We were, genetically, about 98% European but a lot of my paternal side grew up amongst Native Americans back in the 1800's in southern Ohio. I guess it was common, a few generations back, for people to claim Native heritage and I can't help but wonder if it was because of the prevalence of Westerns on TV and in film.
What part of Europe genetically?
My paternal line is mostly British and before they settled in the UK they came from the France/Germany region. We were surprised to see we had a fairly rare Ashkenazi Jewish haplogroup on that side (these were the ancestors who claimed Native American heritage). My maternal line was mostly Russian/Ukranian originating in the Scandinavian region.
Wow congratulations!!!🥹
I’m so happy for you!
I can’t wait for you to publish it🥳
#hive #posh
#hive
We cannot wait to see the much adored book
Happy Easter Day. I can smell the barbecue already. Looking forward to being part of those early readers. A hug full of blessings.
Thanks! If you'd like to be part of the launch team just send an email before next Friday.