Stumbling Around Self-Unemployment - a Performance Review

 In June 2022, I stopped working.  Since I am only 55, I am not ready (mentally, or financially) to declare myself "retired", so I stole a phrase from a years-ago COC member (cheers, Scott) and am calling myself "Self-Unemployed".

December 24th 2022 marks the six-month anniversary of the commencement of my Self-Unemployment, so let's do a Performance Review!

I. SELF-UNEMPLOYEE INFORMATION
Self-Unemployee Name: Rhonda		Review Period: From 2022-06-24 to 2022-12-23
II. CORE VALUES AND OBJECTIVES
CATEGORY	RATING	COMMENTS AND EXAMPLES
Waking up at normal human time (i.e., 6AM or later)	☐ Exceeds expectations ☐ Meets expectations ☑ Needs improvement ☐ Unacceptable	In late June, and then during the post-work travels to BC and Germany, Rhonda did really well, often sleeping until at least 6AM.  Since the end of the post-work travels, Rhonda's sleep performance has reverted back to her crazy habit of waking up well before 6AM.  She consistently struggles to stay awake in the evenings, and often gets up at 5AM, 4AM or sometimes even 3AM.
Re-discover love for music	☑ Exceeds expectations ☐ Meets expectations ☐ Needs improvement ☐ Unacceptable	Since June, Rhonda has re-engaged enthusiastically with music, including listening to music while on the computer, in the car, and while doing housework.  Rhonda has also resumed fastidious management of her iTunes collection.
Improve health and fitness	☐ Exceeds expectations ☑ Meets expectations ☐ Needs improvement ☐ Unacceptable	Rhonda has been making a point of adopting many behaviors that foster health and fitness: Exercising nearly every day, often with the EOC, and sometimes with the COC and/or Calgary friends; On Nov 1, embarked on a "One Year of Fresh Air" challenge, in which she makes sure she gets outside for a minimum of one breath of fresh air, every single day.  See DAMDetails for more information; Making lifestyle changes (related to diet, intermittent fasting, exercise, and more) to reverse pre-diabetes.  Achieved reduction in A1C from 6.0 to 5.9.
Loaf and Ⅎ℧©K around	☑ Exceeds expectations ☐ Meets expectations ☐ Needs improvement ☐ Unacceptable	Rhonda has, believe it or not, always been quite skilled at loafing and Ⅎ℧©King around.  Since June, Rhonda has: Thoroughly enjoyed taking meals (and breaks) in the yard on the new patio that Brent built where she monitored the resident baby orb weaver spiders, jumping spiders, and birds.  With the addition of a birdbath to the yard, she is able to anticipate and enjoy sporadic bird visits, which she finds disproportionately exciting. Continued with Netflix binge-watching Continued the Pandemic Movie Club
Travel whenever the Ⅎ℧©K I want	☐ Exceeds expectations ☑ Meets expectations ☐ Needs improvement ☐ Unacceptable	Travel is one of Rhonda's biggest interests, and she was deprived of it for close to three years by the pandemic, and by a toxic boss.  A week after stopping work, Rhonda took a month-long trip to BC.  Two weeks after returning from BC, Rhonda took a five-week trip to Germany. Since the trip to Germany, Rhonda has planned a 10-week cycle tour in Europe for 2023.
Keep myself busy and entertained	☑ Exceeds expectations ☐ Meets expectations ☐ Needs improvement ☐ Unacceptable	Following the advice of Ernie Zelinski (author of "The Joy of Not Working"), Rhonda created a list of 100 things to do when she stopped working, and she consults it for inspiration whenever she's at loose ends.  Major 2022 "projects" from Rhonda's list of 100 include: Started the Herculean task of culling and organizing all of my digital photos, including posting photos from past trips, and club events, onto DAMDetails. Started taking free GALE courses through EPL, including: Investing Brain Health Nutrition Meditation Began cooking occasionally again.
Avoid getting a job	☐ Exceeds expectations ☑ Meets expectations ☐ Needs improvement ☐ Unacceptable	From about one month pre-work-stop to current time, Rhonda occasionally looks at job boards, signs up for job alerts, and considers applying for something.  Then she come to her senses and go back to loafing and Ⅎ℧©King around.  The urge to get a job is waning very quickly.
Not giving any Ⅎ℧©K§	☑ Exceeds expectations ☐ Meets expectations ☐ Needs improvement ☐ Unacceptable	As a lifelong (ok, since 12-years-old) compulsive worker, Rhonda thought it would be harder for her to not give any Ⅎ℧©K§ about not working, but to her surprise, she hasn't yet given a Ⅎ℧©K. For the first month of self-unemployment, Rhonda (and people she kept company with) toasted using the phrase "Ⅎ℧©K Johanna" (the toxic boss).  After a month, Rhonda let it go and moved on, and has not given a Ⅎ℧©K since.
III. GOALS FOR 2023
CATEGORY	GOAL
Waking up between 4:00 and 5:00	Rhonda continues to enjoy the wee hours too much to completely give up the early bird schedule, however, she still frequently gets up around 3AM.  The goal for 2023 is to establish a routine of waking up between 4:00 and 5:00.
Loaf and Ⅎ℧©K around	Resume enjoyment of the patio in the yard when weather permits. Visit yards and patios of friends and family to loaf and Ⅎ℧©K around in a variety of environments.
Improve health and fitness	Continue lifestyle modifications to manage blood glucose.  Reduce A1C to 5.8 or lower. Try meditation for the month of January 2023.  Continue if it's beneficial. Finish the "One Year of Fresh Air" challenge.
Travel whenever the Ⅎ℧©K I want	Take the customary winter vacation in February. Take a long (10-week) cycle-tour (France, Germany, Switzerland).
Keep myself busy and entertained	Continue the Herculean task of culling and organizing all of my digital photos, including posting photos from past trips, and club events, onto DAMDetails. Continue taking free online courses, time and interest permitting: GALE: Meditation, Investing, Health, Language, Communication, Computer, Math, Art, Music Lynda: Meditation, Finance, Photography Learn 3D Printing through EPL, and other resources. Improve skills related to bicycle maintenance. Continue cooking more - develop some skills.

Stumbling Around Long-Lost-Relatives

This post is the long-awaited sequel to "Stumbling Around my Family Tree", written in January 2020.  Brent and I were supposed to go to Germany in June 2020 to meet my long-lost relatives, but the COVID-19 pandemic had other ideas, and our plans to meet were put on hold... indefinitely.  Finally, this August (2022), we made it happen.

When Brent and I stepped off the plane in Berlin, we were greeted by my cousin Dietmar, and his wife, Brigitte, holding a Canadian flag with our names on it!  I guess I was worried for nothing about being able to recognize them. Although they speak little English, and we speak little German, we had an amazing and wonderful visit with them.  They seem as excited to have Canadian relatives than I am to have German ones!  They even had special t-shirts made for us with a pairing of the Canadian and German flags, and "Family Meeting" the caption.

Greeting at the Airport.  Airport Stranger, Dietmar, Brigitte, Airport Stranger 2

We spent a couple of days with them in the area of their town in Brandenburg.  They took us to meet Dietmar's sister, also named Brigitte (Cousin Brigitte, to reduce confusion), her husband Georg, daughter Kerstin and son Derk.  Georg has a canal boat and he took us out for a cruise around Spreewald.  Dietmar and Brigitte also took us to Görlitz, Rakotzbrücke and Bad Muskau.  

Back: Dietmar, Brent, Kerstin.  Front: Cousin Brigitte, Georg, Rhonda

Touring Spreewald on Georg's Canal Boat
Brigitte, Cousin Brigitte, Dietmar, Rhonda, Brent, Georg

Brent, Brigitte, Dietmar and Rhonda at Rakotzbrücke (note the Family Meeting shirts) 

Then, the four of us drove together to the Rottweil area to meet the Catholic branch of the family.   When we got to Guido's home, the family members started gathering - every one wearing a "Family Meeting" t-shirt. We met Guido, his wife Gertrudis, his sister Claudia, and his daughter, Ira, and her husband, Mike, and son Erik. They hung the Canadian flag outside of Guido's house.

  

At Guido and Gertrudis' House (note the Family Meeting shirts, and Guido's Lederhosen)
Brent, Rhonda, Brigitte, Dietmar, Guido

Cousins Dietmar, Rhonda and Guido Contemplate the Mühlburger-Rolle (the Laggai Family Tree)

Guido had rented a large van so we could all travel together for the next few days, and we explored the Rottweil area together, plus the Black Forest and Lake Constance.  We also went off to the Biergartenfest in the area (Oktoberfest, but... early) two times.  One night, Guido, a chef, made Schwabishe Pizza in his back yard oven.

Ira, Brent, Rhonda, Claudia, Dietmar, Brigitte in Guido's Rented Van

Guido, Dietmar, Brigitte, Rhonda, Brent, Claudia on the Tower in Rottweil

Rhonda, Brent, Dietmar, Guido, Brigitte, Claudia at Biergartenfest (so many Family Meeting shirts)

Guido making Swabisher Pizza

Last Morning Together at Guido's
Back: Brigitte, Dietmar, Gertrudis, Claudia. Front: Brent, Rhonda, Guido

To say that Brent and I were blown away by how enthusiastic and welcoming my long-lost cousins were would be an understatement.  I have reached out to other relatives discovered through genealogy, but no one has been particularly interested.  Meeting the Laggais has been a very meaningful and special experience.  I think that their interest comes from our shared, unique last name.  My other family names, for example, Scheurer, Schneider, Mittelstadt, Müller, and so on, are much more common.  I think those folks have ample relatives to keep them entertained, but hey... discovering another Laggai, on the other side of the world, now THAT'S a big deal!

I'm amazed and grateful for the events that had to happen for us to even find each other.  As far as I know my great-grandma lost all contact with her family when she left Russia.  What I know, now, from Dietmar, is that many were killed, and his side of the family that escaped went to an area that ended up being in East Germany.  And, of course, the part of the family that remained Catholic did not leave Germany at all, but lost contact with those who, persecuted for being Protestant, migrated to the Crimea in the 1800s.

My mild obsession with looking for the origin of my great grandma led me to the Laggai name.  Claudia and Guido were open to responding to some internet rando from the other side of the world to explore whether we could be related.  Guido and Dietmar had found each other before, and Dietmar was also open to exploring the possibility that we could be related.  

Although I work in technology, I have never been a technophile, but for me this experience, and the enrichment of my life in finding these long-lost cousins, is, to me, an example of the power of what technology can do.  If it weren't for the internet, and for readily-accessible DNA testing, this simply would not have been possible.  I just wish I could tell my grandma, my great-grandma, and Dietmar's grandpa, what we've accomplished in finding one another over 100 years (150 years for the Catholic side) after the family was split.  

At the end of our trip, Brent and I spent a couple days in Berlin prior to our flight home.  Dietmar and Brigitte came in by train and joined us there for an afternoon.  We visited the Palace of Tears together, which was the border station between West and East Berlin when the city was divided.  Having lived in East Germany until the country was united, being in this place was particularly poignant for Dietmar and Brigitte, and we were so happy to have been there with them.  So happy that it was possible.  

Brigitte, Rhonda, Brent and Dietmar at the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin

Stumbling Around Germany (with Covid)

Brent and I have been very cautious since the pandemic started.  We've obeyed all of the guidelines, and gotten every poke we could get (fourth poke in early August 2022).  We also love to travel, so we've been waiting for the day that we could resume our addiction.  We went to Mexico for a month in early 2022 and had no issues.  We went to BC this summer for a month and had no issues.

Rhonda's Covid Design

I get colds and flus frequently.  If a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, I get a cold.  And every time I get any kind of a sniffle or a sore throat, I test.  I have tested... and tested... and tested since the pandemic began.  At first, that was done through official test facilities, but since the home rapid tests became available, it's been through rapid home tests.  I never tested positive.  It was always just Rhonda with a cold or flu (and potentially a touch of hypochondriasis, or hypervigilance).  In any case... no COVID.

In mid-August, we took a trip to Germany.  We had plans to meet some of my long-lost relatives at the start of the trip, and then our first-ever "Bike and Barge" tour at the end, with a gap in the middle.  While considering what to do with that gap in the middle, I found some lists of the most beautiful places to see in Germany.  I plotted us a route through a number of these beautiful places, northbound and then eastbound, that would take us from long-lost-relatives to bike-and-barge.  We would be traveling with backpacks and our tent so that we could move around, and find accommodation, easily.

I discovered that Germany was offering a €9/month transit pass for June, July and August of this year.  Our "beautiful places" tour commenced on August 22nd, so we thought we'd make good use of that sucker while we could.  We did make good use of it, however, the €9 pass, we believe, was also our downfall for catching COVID.  The trains were HIDEOUSLY busy.  One might even say "Superspreader busy".  EVERYONE was on the train.  Of course they were.  And some of them were coughing and sneezing.  And some of them were not wearing masks.  We're pretty sure that, if we were traveling by bicycle (our usual mode of transportation) we probably would not have gotten sick.

€9 Pass

Anyway, my "beautiful places" plan took us first to Marburg and then to Goslar.  By the third day after our train to Marburg, I was getting a bit of a scratchy throat, although it was so mild I thought it also could have just been some dehydration.  By the end of the day, it was clear that it was more than dehydration; probably a cold, but to be on the safe side, I used one of our rapid tests that we'd brought along on the trip.  I tested negative.  Of course I did.  I always test negative.  I just get colds and flus so darned easily.  

Positive

Our next stop was Lüneburg, and we traveled there by train on August 27th (5 days after our travel to Marburg).  I have read that sometimes it takes a few days for a person to test positive, so out of an abundance of caution, I tested myself again (this was my third day of symptoms).  I was stunned when the black "positive" line came through so quickly.  By the end of the day, Brent was also showing symptoms, but we didn't bother testing him.  If I have it, he likely has it as well, and even if he doesn't, we have to isolate as though we both have it.

This was a complication that we hadn't really planned for.  We had been sure to get extra insurance to ensure we'd have health care if one of us got really sick from it while traveling.  But... positive for COVID while feeling mostly OK... that was not something we'd considered.  We were booked into our AirBnB in Lüneburg for two nights, and thankfully, the place was all but deserted.  We think it's a boarding house for students but no students were in yet.  I checked AirBnB and was able to extend it to a third night.  

Then we'd have to move on.  But... move on to where?  And how long were we required to isolate for and what did that look like?  It's not like we could just "go home and stay there".  

I checked the internet for information about isolating in Germany.  The info I found indicated that you should isolate for five days after your first symptoms and then you were OK.  We decided to use Brent's first day of symptoms as "Day 1" because that would keep us isolated for as long as possible, but we could not stay in our AirBnB until "Brent is safe" day.  

We had to figure out what to do.  Guido offered to have us come back to Oberndorf and stay at his place, but that was way back in the south of Germany, plus I can't spend time in his house because of my dog allergy.  We could go to a hotel, but then how many people might we be exposing?  Since neither of us was particularly sick, we decided that the safest thing for us to do was to go to a campground where we could stay well away from other people.  That, of course, required another train ride someplace.  What campground to go to?  Well, we were due in Stralsund for our Bike and Barge on September 10th, so we decided to head to the campground directly across a small channel from Stralsund at a village called Altefähr.  

For our remaining time in Lüneburg we mostly stayed in our AirBnB, venturing out for about an hour in the early morning to have a look around when there were no other people around.  We found the city both beautiful and eerie when it was mostly deserted.

Beautiful deserted Lüneburg 

We wore our masks continuously - Brent an N95 and me an FFP2.  When it was time to move on to Altefähr, we did everything we could to protect others, but the country was still enjoying its €9 tickets and the trains were busy.  We settled in to the Altefähr campground and resumed isolating, but it wasn't a perfect system.  We still had to use the shared washrooms at the campground, and we still had to buy groceries, which we did at the small convenience store in Altefähr.  We did the best we could.

Camping at Altefähr

We completed Brent's required isolation period, and then, believing we were now safe, we moved on to Hamburg and then Wismar.  Enroute to Wismar, I found some conflicting information that said what we had done for isolation may not have been sufficient - we had to isolate until we tested negative, or, at least until two days after your fever broke (if you had one).  We weren't sure what information was correct, so we decided we had to err on the side of caution and isolate as best as we could until we both tested negative.  We stayed in our AirBnB almost all the time, with our early-morning excursions out to look at the deserted town.  

Beautiful deserted Wismar

Test in Wismar

Test in Stralsund

We were convinced that we would both test negative when we were in Wismar, but alas, Brent tested positive again.  Finally, on the day we left Wismar and headed to Stralsund, we both tested negative.  And not a moment too soon.  That was September 8th, and our Bike and Barge was set to start on the 10th.  We got tested at an official testing site on the morning of the 10th knowing that we were both, now, negative, and went on our tour.

Moving forward I'll be sure that we have a decent contingency plan in place for if we catch ill on a future trip.  It is very very tricky to figure out how and where to isolate when you're vagabonding around! 

Pandemic Must-Have: The Brent Bottle

Early on in the pandemic, Brent and I were concerned about him working on various construction sites and needing to wash his hands frequently (but concerned about using the shared biffy constantly). His solution: the Brent Bottle! He took a pop bottle, and his tiniest drill bit. Drilled three holes in the lid of a pop bottle. Filled the pop bottle with some bar soap shavings and water. Voila! Portable hand-washer.

They say that soap and water is best for destroying viruses (better than hand sanitizer). Viruses have a lipid (oil) outer shell, and hand soap and dish soap are made to remove grease. Here... the CDC can explain it better than I can.

We carry a Brent Bottle in the car (fits handily in a beverage holder), and on my bicycle (fits handily in a bottle cage). Brent takes one to work with him every day.  To travel with the Brent Bottle, just screw in a little bit of saran wrap under the lid to stop it leaking.

You can include a squirt of liquid hand soap, or dish soap, in your Brent Bottle, but to make it more effective for re-filling during the day, Brent recommends using slivers of bar soap.  The slivers don't entirely dissolve in the water every time, so once you've emptied your Brent Bottle, you just add more water, give it a shake, and keep on going.

To use the Brent Bottle: Put one hand over the bottle lid and give the bottle a shake.  Then, squirt the soapy water into your hands and swoosh it around, and shake off your hands. Repeat. I tend to wipe my wet hands on my clothes to dry them a little, but Brent recommends just leaving the soapy water on your hands. That way, whatever you touch next (e.g., car door handle, steering wheel) also enjoys a dose of the COVID-killing goodness.

If you want your own Brent Bottle but don't have a drill (or a tiny drill bit), let me know. We can hook you up with a complete Brent Bottle, or even a "Brent Bottle Starter Kit" (a drilled pop bottle lid) to get you started making your own Brent Bottle.

Stolpern um Meinen Stammbaum

Dies ist die Geschichte, wie ein zufälliger Fremder aus dem Internet zu einem längst verlorenen Cousin wurde.

Dank meiner Kollegin Cindy habe ich mich 2018 für Genealogie und meine Familiengeschichte interessiert. Dann entdeckte ich, dass es viele "Deutsche aus Russland" Einwanderer gab und ich wurde sehr interessiert. Ich wollte so viel wie möglich über sie wissen, weil alle meine Urgroßeltern Deutsch waren, aber sie kamen aus Russland. WER WEISS !! ?? (Nun, fast alle auf der Seite meiner Mutter, aber ... ich schweife ab).

Ich habe enorm viel recherchiert und so viel gelernt. Ich konnte meiner Vorfahren bis nach Russland und nach Deutschland zurückverfolgen und erstellte dieses Diagramm meiner Familienmigrationen, einschließlich einiger historischer Informationen darüber, was in der Welt während geschah Bestimmte Perioden, die die Migration nach Russland und dann nach Nordamerika auslösten:

Wenn Sie wirklich neugierig sind, können Sie ein PDF der ganzen wunderbaren Sache hier zu sehen. Ich habe auch ein "Ich in der Mitte" Diagramm erstellt, das die Herkunft meiner deutschen Vorfahren aus Russland zeigt (mit mir in der Mitte), das Sie hier sehen können.

Ich konnte keine Informationen für die Großmutter meines Vaters finden, die hier mit ihrer Familie abgebildet ist (sie und ihr Mann sind in der Mitte des Fotos):

Ein Großteil meiner Nachforschungen wurde auf Ancestry.de durchgeführt, und über den Stammbaum meiner Cousinin Jody fand ich den Namen meiner Urgroßmutter, Caroline Lagai. Ich bekam auch Kopien der Genealogie-Recherchen, die meine Mutter in den 1990er Jahren durchgeführt hatte - eine Reihe handgeschriebener Seiten (so akribische Arbeit - wow). Es zeigte den Namen meiner Urgroßmutter als Caroline Luggi an einigen Stellen und Caroline Laggi an anderen Stellen.

Ich wusste, dass Caroline und ihr Ehemann George Schneider von der Krim nach Calgary gekommen waren. Wie jeder andere Nachkomme von Deutschen aus Russland habe ich festgestellt, dass die Aufzeichnungen unserer Vorfahren Lücken aufweisen, als sie verloren gingen, zerstört wurden, zurückgehalten wurden oder nicht ins Englische übersetzt wurden Meine Information über Caroline endete.

Ich wurde von Caroline Lagai / Luggi / Laggi gequält. Keiner dieser Namen klingt deutsch, und ich konnte niemanden mit einem dieser Namen finden. Ich würde regelmäßig vergeblich nach Informationen über die Familie dieser Frau suchen.

Mitte 2018 habe ich mich bei LocateFamily.com umgesehen und einige Deutsche mit dem Nachnamen Laggai gefunden. Dies war keine exakte Übereinstimmung mit den Variationen, die ich für Caroline hatte, aber es war mit Sicherheit nah genug, um sehr vielversprechend zu sein. Ich schickte sofort E-Mails an alle zwölf, erklärte, wer ich war und versuchte, Informationen über meine Urgroßmutter und / oder ihre lebenden Verwandten zu finden. Natürlich habe ich fünf Minuten nach dem Versenden dieser zwölf E-Mails nach Antworten gesucht, aber keine kam.

Schließlich erhielt ich im Januar 2019 einen Brief von einem deutschen Mann namens Guido Laggai (einem Sohn von einer der zwölf Personen, an die ich geschrieben hatte). Er erzählte mir, dass er mit einer anderen gleichnamigen Familie in Ostdeutschland in Kontakt stehe und stellte mich Dietmar Laggai vor. Guido und Dietmar sagten mir:
1) Guido hat die Theorie aufgestellt, dass die Familie Laggai ursprünglich Hugenotten war und der Nachname auf Französisch La Quay war.
2) Obwohl Guidos Familie (katholisch) in Deutschland geblieben war, war Dietmars Familie (protestantisch) auf die Krim gezogen!

Ich tauschte mehrere Briefe mit Guido und Dietmar aus. Dietmar vermutete, dass sein Großvater und meine Urgroßmutter Geschwister waren. Ich blieb hoffnungsvoll, aber nicht überzeugt und schlug einen DNA-Test vor. Fast hätte ich Dietmars Reaktion auf der anderen Seite des Ozeans gesehen - entsetzt und die Arme in einer defensiven Geste erhoben. Ich habe die Idee fallen gelassen und wir haben weiter geschrieben und mit anderen verfügbaren Ressourcen recherchiert.

Ein unschätzbares Werkzeug, das wir hatten, war das, was Dietmar die Mühlbergrolle nennt. Dies ist ein überlebensgroßer gedruckter Stammbaum von Laggais (aka Laggey aka Laquai), den ein Familienmitglied namens Heinz Mühlberger durch Durchsuchen der Kirchenbücher in Neuenweiler in Hanau erstellt hat:

Die Mühlbergrolle zeigt ganz rechts Söhne von Johann George Laggai. Im Gegensatz zu den anderen Personen auf dem Baum zeigen diese Söhne Geburtsdetails, aber keine anderen Informationen. Durch meine Recherchen auf FamilySearch.org habe ich Geburtsregister für Laggais auf der Krim gefunden, in denen Männer mit den Namen dieser Söhne als Vater aufgeführt wurden. Dies würde erklären, warum es in Deutschland keine weiteren Aufzeichnungen für diese Söhne gab - sie alle wanderten auf die Krim aus und gründeten dort ihre Familien.

Leider sind nicht alle Aufzeichnungen aus der Krim Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts verfügbar. Es gibt drei Laggai-Geburtsregister in Neusatz, Russland (Krim), 1884 und 1885 (für drei der Söhne), aber keine anderen Aufzeichnungen außerhalb dieser Jahre. Caroline wurde 1888 geboren und wir wissen nicht, in welchem ​​Jahr Dietmars Großvater geboren wurde. Die Aufzeichnungen aus diesen Jahren sind entweder verloren oder zerstört.

Dietmar wurde mitgeteilt, dass seine Familie in einem Dorf namens Kambary gelebt habe. Aus den Einwanderungspapieren von George und Karoline ging hervor, dass sie aus einem Dorf namens Awell stammten, das in der Nähe von Kambary lag. Vielleicht war Karoline aus Kambary und zog nach Awell, als sie George heiratete? Oder waren Dietmars Großvater und Karoline Cousins ​​und keine Geschwister und lebten in verschiedenen Dörfern?

Jetzt, da wir vorhaben, diese Leute kennenzulernen, wird es realer. Eines Tages freute ich mich, von Dietmar zu hören, dass wir den Ancestry-DNA-Test durchführen sollten. Erfreut, aber auch nervös. Was ist, wenn wir uns geirrt haben, dass Karoline Laggai heißt? Was wäre, wenn Laggai der Name von Carolines erstem Ehemann wäre (sie war ungefähr fünf Jahre älter als George, es ist also möglich, dass sie verwitwet wurde)? Wie würden wir uns fühlen, wenn Ancestry sagen würde, dass wir NICHT verwandt sind? Ich hatte so viel Zeit und Energie investiert, um die Familie Laggai zu erkunden und Dietmar kennenzulernen. Ich wäre sehr enttäuscht gewesen, wenn die Ergebnisse negativ ausgefallen wären. Dietmar schickte sein DNA-Kit und eine Woche später schickte ich meins. Nicht lange danach schickte Guido auch einen.

Nun, die Ergebnisse für mich und Dietmar waren positiv. Der DNA-Test ergab, dass wir die 4. bis 6. Cousine sind. Wir warten immer noch auf Guidos Ergebnisse, aber es ist sehr wahrscheinlich, dass wir verwandt sind.

Laggai ist ein so seltener Name, dass es für uns alle eine große Sache war, einander zu entdecken. Ich bin mir sicher, dass die Entdeckung viel weniger Begeisterung hervorgerufen hätte, wenn ich einige lange verlorene Cousins ​​in einigen meiner geläufigeren Linien gefunden hätte. Ich kann es kaum erwarten, nach Deutschland zu fahren und meine längst verlorenen Cousins ​​zu treffen!

Stumbling Around my Family Tree

This June, Brent and I are doing a cycle tour in Germany.  Now, that will trigger a couple of questions for those of you who know me well:

1. I thought you did big cycle tours every two years, on odd-numbered years only.  Why a tour this year?
2. Why are you posting this on "Stumbling" instead of on "Faint of Heart" (your cycle touring blog)?

When we were preparing for our 2019 France trip, we spun off a separate trip for this year to do a "Bike and Barge" with Brent's brother and niece.  By the time the "Bike and Barge" plan fell apart, I had already told some long-lost cousins in Germany that I was coming to meet them in 2020 (an add-on to the Bike and Barge), so Brent agreed to a "bonus tour" this year to go meet my cousins.

When I decided to write this article, I had to decide where, exactly, to post it.  I thought about "Faint of Heart", and I decided no, although meeting the cousins will happen on a cycle tour, it's not at all a post about cycle touring.  I thought about posting it here on "Stumbling Around the Rockies", because there's definitely a lot of "stumbling" involved.  I could, of course, start a new blog, "Stumbling Around Genealogy", but that would mean I'm going to write more articles about genealogy, and I probably won't do that.  Since I've posted about stumbling around more than just the "Rockies" in this blog, I've decided this is where I would put it.

Anyway, on with the story of how a random stranger from the internet became a long-lost cousin.  

In 2018, thanks to my colleague, Cindy, I got interested in Genealogy and my family history.  Then I discovered that "Germans from Russia" was a thing and I was hooked - I wanted to know as much as I could about these immigrants to North America (and other places) as all four of my sets of German great-grandparents were, apparently, from Russia.  WHO KNEW!!?? (Well, except for almost everyone from my mom's side of the family, but... I digress).  

I did a tremendous amount of research, and learned so much.  I was able to trace some of my ancestors all the way back through Russia and to Germany, and created this beautiful (if I do say so myself) diagram of my family migrations, including some historical information about what was going on in the world during certain periods that triggered the migrations to Russia and then North America:

If you're really curious, you can see a PDF of the whole glorious thing here.  I also created a "Me in the Middle" diagram showing the origins of my Germans from Russia ancestors (fanning out from, you guessed it, me, in the middle) that you can see here.

I hit a road block, though, on my father's maternal grandmother, pictured here with her family (she and her husband are in the middle of the photo, my grandmother sits to her left - on the right, of course, for those looking at the photo):

A lot of my research was done on Ancestry.ca, and through my cousin Jody's Ancestry tree, I found my great-grandma's name, Caroline Lagai.  I also got copies of the genealogy research my mom had done in the 1990s - a set of handwritten pages (such painstaking work - wow).  It showed great-grandma's name as Caroline Luggi in some places and Caroline Laggi in other places.  

I knew that Caroline, and her husband, George Schneider, had come to Calgary from Crimea.  I have discovered, as has every other descendant of Germans from Russia, that the records of our ancestors have gaping holes in them from times when they were lost, destroyed, are being withheld, or have not been translated into English, so that was where my information on Caroline ended.  

I was endlessly vexed by Caroline Lagai/Luggi/Laggi.  None of those names is even remotely German-sounding, and I could find absolutely nothing for any German people carrying any of those names.  Every month or so I'd get a bug in my ear and I'd spend an hour or five researching like crazy for a clue to this woman's family, with no success.

Towards the end of 2018, I was poking around on LocateFamily.com and I found several German people with the last name Laggai.  This wasn't an exact match with any of the variations I had for Caroline, but it was surely close enough to be very promising.  I promptly fired off emails to all twelve, explaining who I was and that I was trying to find information on, and/or living relatives of, my great-grandmother.  Naturally, five minutes after firing off those twelve emails I started checking for replies, but none came.  

By the time I'd essentially given up on hearing back, in January of 2019, I received a letter from a German man named Guido Laggai (a son of one of the twelve people I'd written to).  He told me that he was in contact with another family of the same name in the east of Germany and he introduced me to Dietmar Laggai.  Guido and Dietmar told me that:
1) Guido has theorized that the Laggai family was originally Huguenot, and the last name had been La Quay in French;
2) While Guido's family (catholic) had remained in Germany, Dietmar's family (protestant) had also been in Russia, in fact, in Crimea!

I exchanged several letters with Guido and Dietmar.  Dietmar theorized that his grandfather and my great-grandmother were siblings.  I remained hopeful but unconvinced and suggested a DNA Test.  I could almost see Dietmar's reaction from way across the pond - horror-stricken, and arms raised in a defensive gesture.  I dropped the idea, and we continued to write, and research, with other available resources.

One invaluable tool that we had was what Dietmar calls the Mühlbergrolle.  This is a larger-than-life printed family tree of Laggais (aka Laggey aka Laquai) that a family member named Heinz Mühlberger created by scouring the church records in Neuenweiler in Hanau:

The Mühlbergrolle shows, way over on the bottom right-hand side, sons of Johann George Laggai.  Unlike the other people on the tree, these sons show birth details but no other information.  Through my research on FamilySearch.org, I found birth records for Laggais in Crimea where men with the names of these sons were listed as the father.  This would explain why there were no further records in Germany for these sons - they all immigrated to Crimea and started their families there.  

Unfortunately, the records from Crimea during those years are spotty.  There are three Laggai birth records in Neusatz, Russia (Crimea) in 1884 and 1885 (to three of the sons), but no other records outside of those years.  Caroline was born in 1888, and we don't know which year Dietmar's grandfather was born.  The records from those years are either lost or destroyed.  

Dietmar was told that his family had lived in a village called Kambary.  From George and Karoline's immigration papers, I could see that they had been from a village called Awell, which was close to Kambary.  Perhaps Karoline was from Kambary and moved to Awell when she married George?  Or perhaps Dietmar's grandfather and Karoline were cousins, not siblings, and lived in different villages?  

Now that we are going to meet these folks, it has gotten pretty real.  I was very pleased one day to get a message from Dietmar suggesting a DNA test through Ancestry.  Pleased, but also nervous.  What if we were wrong about Karoline's name being Laggai?  What if Karoline had been married before George, and Laggai had been a married name (she was something like five years older than him, so it was possible that she could have been widowed)?  How would things play out if Ancestry said we are NOT related!?  I had invested so much time and energy in researching the  Laggai family, and connecting with Dietmar, I would have been pretty deflated if the results were negative.  Dietmar sent in his DNA kit, and a week later I sent in mine.  Not long after, Guido sent one in as well.

Well, the results for me and Dietmar have come back POSITIVE.  Ancestry has declared us to be 4th-6th cousins.  We are still waiting for the results on Guido, but it is pretty unlikely that we are not related.  

Laggai is such an uncommon name that it has been a pretty big deal for all of us to have discovered one another.  I'm sure that if I found some long-lost cousins through some of my less obscure lines, the discovery would have been met with much less enthusiasm.  I can't wait to go to Germany and meet my long-lost cousins!

Re-told in German here.  

No Such Thing as Bad Weather

Us outdoor enthusiasts like to say 'there’s no such thing as bad weather; only bad clothing'.  

But what, exactly, constitutes good clothing for enjoying outdoor activities in winter?  My answer to that question is a little different from what I’ve seen/heard, so this blog entry is going to share my personal strategy for getting out in winter and LIKING it. 

Most of us already know that cotton is the “death fabric” in winter and we should avoid it at all costs.  But there are some surprising other fabrics that I’ve learned to avoid in winter as well, for example, polar fleece, and any “wonder” fabrics touted as being great “wicking” fabrics for avoiding having moisture held against your skin.  With both fleece and "wicking" fabrics, I have a problem with getting (and staying) chilled after I've finished an activity.  

Now that I’ve taken away fleece and all of those fancy “wicking” fabrics, what am I left with?!  WOOL!  See my 2012 blog, A Little Wool-vangelism.  Wool is practically the only fabric I wear in winter.  I stay warm during the activity.  More crucially, I do not get chilled to the bone AFTER the activity.  It takes a lot of time, and a lot of sweat for it to start stinking, which is why it’s also my fabric of choice for summer cycle touring – you’ll never see me in a fancy cycle jersey, as awesome as those are. 

I am one of those people who gets cold easily, stays cold, and HATES being cold, yet I love my outdoor winter activities.  Here’s my list of winter must-haves (and must-dos) for enjoying myself:

Item	Notes	Where to Get
Bra	For winter activities, I skip wearing a bra altogether. I haven’t yet found one that does not contribute to my getting chilled, and since I’m “appropriately endowed” to go without, I do.
Buff	A buff is a great, versatile piece of gear. You can wear it on your head, around your neck, around your face, and even under your cycle helmet. In fact, I wear a buff under my helmet every single time I ride because it keeps me warm when I need warm, and protects me from sunburn on my forehead and neck when it’s sunny out. You can get merino buffs (yay for wool), and the “polar fleece” buffs are my exception to my “no polar fleece” rule because they’re great scarf substitutes and you can take them off before they contribute to getting chilled when you’re finished your activity.	I like PlanetBuff (now PlanetGear) for getting buffs but you can now get them at pretty much any outdoor store. Be mindful of the fabric you’re buying, though… there are a lot of knock-offs out there that won’t give you what you need.
Gloves	Sometimes, during your activity (e.g., having lunch) you have to take your gloves off. Any time I take my gloves off, I stick them under my jacket into my arm pits. That keeps them nice and warm so when I put them back on, they give my hands a nice boost of warmth instead of keeping them sufferingly cold.
Merino Shirts	I own short-sleeved merinos, long-sleeved merinos, and turtle-necked marinos, and I layer them according to the weather. Merino wool is non-scratchy so you can wear it right against your skin, and as I’ve said (multiple times) before, they don’t pick up the stink that other fabrics do. Wool is the only fabric that I’ve discovered that I can wear in which I do NOT get overly chilled after I’m done my activity.	You can buy merino shirts at the outdoor stores, but they’re often over $100 for one shirt. Look for a source for them that is not quite so dear. I used to buy Segments brand merino shirts at Costco. You can still get some merino at Costco. You can also, apparently, buy Segments brand on Amazon.
Merino Longies	If merino is good enough to wear against my torso, it’s certainly good enough to wear against my legs, and I do. All the same advantages.	Ditto for the shirts above. I believe merino longies are still available at Costco.
Wool Sweaters	I own a variety of wool sweaters – pull-overs, and cardigans. Since regular wool is NOT non-scratchy, I never wear it right against my skin – only merino for that. But you can add as many wool layers as you like/need over top of your merino to keep you warm. Don’t wear a heavy coat – one or two good wool sweaters under a shell jacket is perfect.	My favorite wool sweaters came from thrift stores. You can get great deals on the wool layers you need. I also love my alpaca wool sweater that I ordered from South America, and my pretty Irish wool sweater that I bought… in Ireland.
Magical Pants by Lole	For a lot of winter activities, especially cross-country skiing and cycling, your thighs are a“leading edge” for cold air. If you have a problem with the fronts of your legs getting cold, I highly recommend “Magical Pants” by Lole, which have insulated panels down the front. If you buy the kind with bright colored panels, note that they wear very large (order at least one size smaller than usual), and if you buy the kind with the olive green-ish panels, note that they wear very small (order your usual size, or one size larger than usual).	Lole web site, Lole store, or e-Bay.
Bicycle Pogies	Pogies are covers that you attach to your bicycle handlebars that you can put your hands inside. When cycling in colder weather, your hands are another “leading edge” that can get extremely cold, and the right set of pogies will completely solve that problem.	Your favorite bike store.
Bicycle Overshoes	Overshoes slip on over your cycle shoes (leaving a hole at the bottom for your clips) to prevent your feet (another “leading edge”) from getting too cold. They work, and they’re really really worth it.	Your favorite bike store.