Kirsten's Life So Far

I made this video last year for Kirsten's birthday. I thought I would share it with family and friends. Enjoy.

Father-Daughter Day Out

Kiki and I had a father-daughter day in downtown Chicago last weekend. Our plan was to experience the Christkindlmarket at the Daley Center and then take in an evening performance of The Nutcracker at the Auditorium Theater.

The Christkindlmarket was interesting for a few minutes. There was a slate of several performances I wanted to see. The weather was unkind. We froze our toes. The first performance was the Chicago German-American Children's Group singing carols. We found that to be a major bust. After that we walked over to Marshal Fields to warm up and buy some Christmas gifts. We returned to hear the Alpine Band, but their performance must have been cut short. With the extreme cold weather, we thought it best to go home and come back later for The Nutcracker.

While at home, the weather turned into a blizzard which made driving back to Chicago very slow. We made it, although we missed the first 15 minutes. The Nutcracker lived up to expectations. It was a most enjoyable performance. Neither of us had ever seen The Nutcracker live, so it was a first. All in all, it was a good day.

Weekend Visitors

Our daughter had two friends from the university spend this weekend at our home. They made the train trip from central Illinois to Union Station, and enjoyed a weekend filled with some of the things Chicago and suburbs have to offer. They were very nice girls and good company. We'd be happy to have them back again any time.

Kratz Family History

This is Part II of the genealogy slide-show begun on the previous post. Again, for best viewing, download the show and run it on Real Player.

This one covers the family of Henry Kratz mentioned in Part I. It continues for four or more generations.

Enjoy!

Kratz Family History Part I

This video is a brief summary of what I know about my Hessian ancestors including details of the family that came to America. It includes information through the first, and in some cases, the second generation born in America.



The video is quite small on the computer screen, but you can download it to "Real" for a slightly larger view. Any larger than that and the quality becomes fuzzy. If you are a descendant and would like a DVD to view on your television, just send me an e-mail to request one. Copies are cheap and easy to make, so I'm happy to share it with interested relatives at no cost. The DVD would provide the best quality viewing.



Enjoy!

Trip to Virginia

Check out this video of photos I took on the University of Virginia campus.

Trip to Virginia

I took this photo from the west lawn of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

Trip to Virginia

We just finished our trip to Virginia. While Jo-Ann was at a workshop on the UV campus, I enjoyed taking in the historical places of the area. Jefferson's Monticello was excellent. Madison's Montpelier is very interesting, although not finished. It would be interesting to go back after 2010 when they believe the house will be furnished as it was in Madison's day. The heart of the old University of Virginia Campus is beautiful. The Civil War battlefields in the area are most interesting. I wish I had more than a day to explore them. The Blue Ridge Mountains are quite nice, although I thought the view from every look-out was much the same. It would be worthwhile spending more than a day exploring the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway.