Happy New Year! ~ 2014

Wishing all of my wonderful readers a very Happy New Year!

Jana

© 2012 - 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Wishing You and Yours a Very Merry Christmas ~ 2013

Merry Christmas everyone!

I'm so thankful for this time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I hope you enjoy this special video and its beautiful message.

"What shall we give to the babe in the manger,

What shall we offer the child in the stall?

Incense and spices and gold we've a-plenty-

Are these the gifts for the king of us all?

What shall we give to the boy in the temple,

What shall we offer the man by the sea?

Palms at his feet and hosannas uprising;

Are these for him who will carry the tree?

What shall we give to the lamb who was offered,

Rising the third day and shedding his love?

Tears for his mercy we'll weep at the manger,

Bathing the infant come down from above."

Catalonian Christmas Carol

Adapted by David Warner

Merry Christmas!!

Jana

© 2012 - 2013 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for December 20, 2013

A note to my awesome readers:

There will not be a Fab Finds post for the next two weeks due to the Christmas and New Year's holidays. My Fab Finds posts will resume on Friday, January 10, 2014. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)

1. Updated DNA tools by Judy G. Russell, author of The Legal Genealogist
2. Treasure Chest Thursday (December 19, 2013) -- The Tew Family Holiday Newsletters AND What Is A Genealogy Blog? (December 15, 2013) by John D. Tew, author of Filiopietism Prism
3. Announce Your Family History/Genealogy Events on the FamilySearch Blog by Steve Anderson for FamilySearch Blog
4. Facebook for Genealogy: Threads by Cyndi Ingle, author of Cyndi's List
5. Never Too Late to Start a New Family Tradition by Valerie Elkins, author of Family Cherished
6. Failed Correspondence by Tracy Meyers, author of Family Preserves
7. I Found the Voss (Norway) Bygdebøker (Farm Book) Online! by Randy Seaver, author of Genea-Musings
8. Christmas Ornaments Tell Family History by Heather Wilkinson Rojo, author of Nutfield Genealogy
9. AAGSAR GENEALOGY BLOGGERS: Tooting Their ANCESTOR Horns!:) by Luckie Daniels, author of Our Georgia Roots
10. Wordless Wednesday ~ Christmas Surname Tree by Leslie Ann, author of Ancestors Live Here
11. Six Months Without Ancestry.com by Kassie Nelson, author of Across the Rolling Prairie
12. Family Recipe Friday - Herren's Cinnamon Rolls by Pam, author of Our Own History
13. If You Enjoy Miracles Then Read this From BillionGraves! by Guest Blogger for FamilySearch Blog
14. State Borders Matter by Midge Frazel, author of Granite in My Blood
15. Follow-up: Records Loss in Franklin County, NC by Dick Eastman, author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
16. Free Webinars from Family Tree DNA AND One Chromosome, Two Sides, No Zipper – ICW and the Matrix by Roberta Estes, author of DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
17. Grandma was a dancing machine by Debi Austen, author of Who Knew?
18. Free Online Document Storage ~ Good or Bad? by lineagekeeper, author of Family History With The Lineagekeeper

New Blog Discoveries

• Late Night Genealogies
• Our Georgia Roots

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Genealogy, Photo Blog, and Vintage Postcard Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog

• Christmas Lights on Temple Square ~ Part 2

Grandpa's Postcards

• California's Golden Oranges And Waxlike Blossoms

Jana's Photo Journal

• Christmas Lights on Temple Square ~ Part 2

Thanks for reading!


© 2012 - 2013 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Christmas Lights on Temple Square ~ Part 2

In a previous post, I shared some photos I took while our family visited Temple Square in Salt Lake City on November 29, 2013. That was the night the Christmas lights were turned on for the first time this Christmas season. What a beautiful sight!

Today, I'm sharing more pictures from our visit. I hope you enjoy them.

A photo of the Salt Lake Temple through the trees.



Lovely luminaries.



A beautiful nativity scene in the center of the reflecting pool.



Here's a different viewing angle of the nativity scene in the photo above. The magnificent building behind the nativity scene is the The Salt Lake Temple.



A close-up view of the nativity scene.



The Salt Lake Temple.



Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2012 - 2013 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for December 13, 2013

My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)

1. How to Have More Genealogy Fun - Genealogy Shorts by Kenneth R. Marks, author of The Ancestor Hunt
2. A Mason by Many Other Names by Jen Baldwin, author of Ancestral Breezes
3. railway + conductor + california + carl judd AND Oral history ~ the younger folks? by Deb Ruth, author of Adventures in Genealogy
4. How to Get Relatives to Update Their Genealogical Information Without Jail Time by Wendy Malinowski, author of Researching Family History One Ancestor At A Time
5. Monday Musings: Copyright and Plagiarism by Lorine McGinnis Schulze, author of The Olive Tree Genealogy
6. BEST. PRESENT. EVER. by Jenny Lanctot, author of Are My Roots Showing?
7. Holiday Visits: A Rich Resource for Family Stories by Thomas MacEntee for Family Storytelling
8. Family Tree DNA’s Family Finder Match Matrix Released by Roberta Estes, author of DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
9. My Cousin is a Whale by Kerry Scott, author of Clue Wagon
10. The Problem with Ancestry.com's "Public" Member Trees by Valerie Craft, author of Begin with 'Craft'
11. It's time to do something for yourself! by Peggy Lauritzen, author of Always Anxiously Engaged
12. Finding Norwegian Church Parish Records in DigitalArkivet Website by Randy Seaver, author of Genea-Musings
13. Coming Soon To Family Tree by Larry Cragun, author of Family and Genealogy Blog
14. Could This Be the Same Woman? by Jacqi Stevens, author of A Family Tapestry
15. Piecing Together the Past with Delayed Birth Certificates by Robin Foster, author of Saving Stories
16. (My) History Destroyed in Franklin County by Renate, author of Into the LIGHT
17. Success: My Geriatric Fiesta by Heather Collins, contributor to Young & Savvy Genealogists
18. Ooey-Gooey Bars: A Family Recipe by Mandy L. Hornsby, author of The Sassy Starfish
19. Norway to Digitize All Norwegian Books by Dick Eastman, author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

New Blog Discoveries

• Barnas Til Fedrene
• brotmanblog
• The Homestead Blog
• Staats Genealogical Services

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Genealogy, Photo Blog, and Vintage Postcard Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog

• Favorite Family Recipes ~ Peanut Butter Fingers – Introducing "Favorite Family Recipes" ~ a new feature on my blog

Grandpa's Postcards

• The Salt Lake Temple ~ Salt Lake City, Utah

Jana's Photo Journal

• Our Visit to Avila Beach, California ~ Part 6: Views From Under The Pier

Thanks for reading!


© 2012 - 2013 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Favorite Family Recipes ~ Peanut Butter Fingers

I've decided to add a new feature to this blog ~ Favorite Family Recipes. How fun is that? I love collecting recipes (you should see my two recipe book cabinets). So, why not share some of my favorite recipes in my blog? After all, our family recipes are part of our family's history, right?

Today I'm sharing one of our favorite dessert recipes with you. They're called Peanut Butter Fingers – a delicious combination of chocolate, peanut butter, and oatmeal.



The Peanut Butter Fingers recipe was printed in a Relief Society cookbook called "The Best of Everything." Relief Society is the women's organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.



This cookbook belonged to my mom. It was published many years ago. On one of the front pages my mom wrote October 9, 1965. So, this cookbook is at least 48 years old.

Here's the page showing the Peanut Butter Fingers recipe.


Dorrine Head originally shared this recipe in the book. My mom doubled the original recipe so it would fit into a large (approx. 17½" x 11½") cookie sheet.

Aren't these church and/or community cookbooks the best? Inside the covers of these cookbooks we can find tried-and-true family recipes submitted by local cooks.



I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. If you're like me, then you'll love the scrumptious topping on these bar cookies – melted chocolate chips swirled with a delicious peanut butter glaze.



Here's the recipe. I hope you enjoy these yummy bar cookies!

Peanut Butter Fingers

Ingredients

Dough

1 cup margarine or butter (I use butter)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
2 cups quick rolled oats
2 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
Scant pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate Topping

12-ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

Peanut Butter Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup peanut butter
3-4 Tbsp. evaporated milk

Directions

Blend dough ingredients together using a counter-top or hand mixer. Mix well. Spread on large(approx. 17½" x 11½") cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with one 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips and let stand 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate chips evenly and drizzle with peanut butter glaze. If desired, swirl knife through chocolate and peanut butter. Cool. Cut in bars and store in airtight container.

If you'd like to print the recipe, simply press the "Print Friendly" button at the bottom of this post.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2012 - 2013 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Follow Friday ~ Fab Finds for December 6, 2013

My Fab Finds for this week are (in no particular order)

1. First Wave of Bloggers Listed for RootsTech 2014 by James Tanner, author of Genealogy's Star
2. Real Daughter of the Civil War Leaves a Lasting Legacy by Patricia Desmond Biallas, author of GeneaJourneys
3. How My Great-Great-Great Grandma Chose My Christmas Gift This Year by Kerry Scott, author of Clue Wagon
4. Is 23andMe in Trouble? by Lorine McGinnis Schulze, author of The Olive Tree Genealogy
5. Where You Can Find Over a Million British Church Records that are Now Indexed! by Lisa Louise Cooke, author of Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems
6. Wordless Wednesday (December 4, 2013) -- The Ceremonial Masonic Sword Of My Great Grandfather, Samuel Eber Carpenter by John D. Tew, author of Filiopietism Prism
7. Christmas Eve Luminaria: "Who can sleep on this night that God became man?" by Lisa/Smallest Leaf, author of 100 Years in America
8. I Have to Share...You Might Just Benefit by Barbara Poole, author of Life From The Roots
9. New Hampshire Glossary: Tableaux by Janice Brown, author of New Hampshire's History Blog
10. Transform Your Family History Blog into a Book by Lynn Palermo, author of The Armchair Genealogist
11. FTDNA Releases Updates in Response to Requests from Project Administrators AND 23andMe Converts to a Genealogy-Only DNA Service by Dick Eastman, author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
12. Check your Google alerts! by Shelley Crawford, author of Twigs of Yore
13. State Census Years – A valuable list by Mary Nunn Maki, author of Growing up in Willow Creek
14. An unexpected gift by Janine Adams, author of Organize Your Family History
15. Giving life to your ancestors II by BaltarFamily, author of My Portuguese Gen
16. Just Released! Digging For Ancestors: An In-Depth Guide to Land Records by Jennifer Alford for The In-Depth Genealogist
17. Mastering Genealogical Proof Now Available on Amazon by Terri O'Connell for The In-Depth Genealogist
18. Advent Devotional 2013 by Thomas MacEntee, author of Destination: Austin Family

New Blog Discoveries

• A Lifetime Legacy
• Moving forward Backwards.
• New Hampshire's History Blog

In Case You Missed Them….My Contributions to the Genealogy, Photo Blog, and Vintage Postcard Blogosphere This Week

Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog

• Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2013 – Christmas Cards – A Swedish Christmas card
• Christmas Lights on Temple Square ~ Part 1

Grandpa's Postcards

• Home of Bing Crosby, Toluca Lake, North Hollywood, California

Jana's Photo Journal

• Christmas Lights on Temple Square ~ Part 1

Thanks for reading!


© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Christmas Lights on Temple Square ~ Part 1

In my Fab Finds post on November 22, I mentioned that I would be taking the following week off from blogging. Instead of spending time writing about my ancestors on this blog, I was spending time with living family members.

Last week, our family spent the Thanksgiving holiday together in Utah. We had a wonderful time.

On Friday, November 29, we all traveled to Salt Lake City to see the Christmas lights on Temple Square.

For those who've never been to Temple Square, the magnificent building in these pictures is the Salt Lake Temple. Construction of this temple took 40 years to complete. The groundbreaking took place on February 14, 1853 and the dedication was held in April of 1893.

The Salt Lake Temple is the largest temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.



My husband and I had been to Temple Square before, but never at Christmas time.



These pictures will hopefully give you an idea of just how beautiful Temple Square is during the Christmas season.



But, being there is so much better. These photos simply can't compare with the experience of seeing the amazing beauty of Temple Square at Christmas time in person.



I'll be sharing more photos from our visit to Tempe Square in a future post.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2013 – Christmas Cards

This is part of the "Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories" by Thomas MacEntee of GeneaBloggers. If you'd like to join in the fun, just click HERE.

December 2 - Christmas Cards

Do you still send Christmas cards or has electronic communication taken the place of this tradition? Do you remember sending Christmas cards as a child – making a list, sending out your family’s cards and then checking the mailbox for cards sent to your family? How did your family display the cards?

Write about anything related to Christmas cards and your memories of Christmases past.



I found this Christmas card in one of my Grandma Ingrid's Books of Remembrance. Isn't it precious? Unfortunately, I don't know the history of the card. And I can't see the back of it since it's pasted onto one of the pages of the book.

My Grandma Ingrid's parents, Carl and Hilda Gillberg, were born in Sweden and immigrated to the United States in 1909 and 1910 respectively.

If you look closely, you will see the words "God Jul!" written in the middle of the card. That's Swedish for "Merry Christmas!"

At this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I'd like to wish each of you a very " God Jul!"

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last