Tuesday, June 22, 2010

World Cup Soccer 2010

Ok, so you knew I would do it.  I could not let this series of World Cup Soccer go by and not at least put my two cents in, could I?  As most soccer fans, I have been anticipating this event since the end of the last series four years ago, and like most Italian soccer fans, I have been disappointed so far in the Italian teams performance.  I also haven't been too impressed with Slovakia's performance which is my second favourite choice since my husband's paternal family is from Slovakia.

I'm not really sure what's wrong with the Azzurri this year but they haven't lived up to their reputation at all and run the risk of being eliminated in the second round since they tied their first two games against teams which were ranked much lower than they were.  And to make matters worse, on Thursday, 24 June,  both my teams will face each other and unless one wins the game they BOTH run the risk of being eliminated!  Paraguay currently is leading them both having defeated Slovakia in a 2-0 win in last Sunday' game.  For Italy to advance to the next round they need to win their next game.  They can still advance if they tie the game if Paraguay ties or loses to New Zealand - which is not probable but anything is possible, right?  Then again, Slovakia could also advance and send Italy home.

Thursday should be an interesting series of games.  What are your predictions on this one?

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day

My husband mentioned the other day that he liked chocolate eclairs so I thought what better gift then to make him some for Father's Day.  So late yesterday afternoon I braved the heat, turned the oven on and began making these wonderfully sinful treats.  While I would love to tell you that they came out amazing, the truth is they didn't!

I learned this from the experience.

1. Whenever possible, if there is a video on You Tube (or a hundred) on something, watch it *before* attempting to cook it so you'll know what it's supposed to look like.
2.  If the recipes calls for a lot of ingredients and it's the first time you're making something, cut the ingredients in half and make less that way you don't use up all the eggs, butter and flour in the house.
3.  Try and get the proper tools you need to bake.  A plastic bag rolled up as a make shift pastry bag really just doesn't cut it and makes a horrible mess.
4. I can walk to the bakery in less than 10 minutes both ways and buy him some eclairs saving me a lot of time and effort.

Happy Father's Day!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Follow Friday - Geneal Italia

When I first began my research I never realized just how many Italian immigrants left for South America - in fact, almost as many Italians migrated to South America as they did to the USA.  Argentinians (and South Americans in General) I found to really love tracing their family history.

With this in mind, I want to feature this week's blog that I am following called Geneal Italia which is written by Daniela Massolo who lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  She is the granddaughter of Italian immigrants from the Piedmont area of Italy.

Daniela is fairly new to blogging (like me) but you can see she is not new to researching her roots so why not stop by and say hello?

Friday, June 11, 2010

Follow Friday

I discovered a few new and different blogs  this week that I would like to give a shout out to.  While neither of them have anything to do with Italian Genealogy, both are interesting and thought provoking.

This first one,  Casefile Clues I believe I found on one of the other blogs I read daily.  While it is more of a genealogy newsletter, I found I really enjoyed reading it, and instead of re inventing the wheel, you can just read Thomas's review on the Geneablogger's site.

The next blog I was looking at today was The Philosophizers which describes her blog and herself as "Daring to say what others are thinking and will not say". (I was already hooked after reading that line alone!) You will just have to read through her blog to know that this lady knows her stuff.  Whether or not you agree with her posts I can guarantee you they will make you think.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Surname Saturday -New Italian Surname Database Blog

The Italian Surname Database has been growing steadily and even more so within the last few months and so I thought it was time to add a bit to it. The original Italian Database was created in 2007 with approximately 10 names on it using the free Google Sites. Within a few months the decision was made to move it over to its new home and the template looked something like this. It was created and maintained by my good friend, Liz Sharp. Liz also created all the banners and logos you see on all the sites.
The Facebook Italian Surname Page was created a few weeks ago and already has several fans. The next step was to create an Italian Surname Blog. I'm not sure the direction it will be going in but for now I am using it to highlight certain tidbits about surnames and how they came to be or how they have changed over the years. I will also use it to try and answer some of the more interesting questions I receive daily and find myself answering over and over again.
So if you get the chance please do check out the new addition to our site and let me know what you think!

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge #22





Search 46.6 million cemetery records at by entering a surname and clicking search:
Surname:


This weeks  GeneaBlogger challenge was to spend some time on Find A Grave.  The idea was not to actually research using it but to spend some time clicking the various links.  Well, that didn't work so well. In no time at all I had found I could actually contribute information and photos to the site and so I spend a couple of hours just adding information to the database.  That led me to several other sites and 6 hours later, I realized that I had *forgotten to make dinner.  It's nights like this that pizza delivery really comes in handy!
I first used Find A Grave about five years ago to help me track down the family of my great grandfather, John Polito.  They have a wonderful forum section and within 12 hours of posting my question on the Colorado board I had made contact with the great grandson of John.  From there I found my grandmother's first cousin and she has since returned a box of great grandpa's documents to me. 
If you use the site, make sure to try different variations of the surname you are researching.  If your ancestor's name was "changed" when arriving to the US then almost certainly they will be buried under their new surname. There are also several wonderful people who will do photo look ups in cemeteries for people and who have transcribed many cemeteries across North America, Canada and some even overseas.  One such member looked up my grandfather, Ernesto Salvati tombstone for me and took several pictures and another created a memorial to him.  Definitely a site worth using over and over again!