So that was April

A quieter month than usual

River walk at sunset unusually quiet

Empty roads and roundabouts

Deserted pathways

But what does one do when confined to #StayAtHome during the COVID-19 crisis? Record one's family history and our part in it.

• Wrote and posted 26 entries for the A to Z blogging challenge, this kept me busy for hours and finally committed me to writing something about my husband's ancestors
• Took daily walks,  enjoyed the stunning weather in this part of the world in April
• Bike rides, ideal weather and flat terrain for this oldie
• Read and read some more - total for the month 12 books, mainly fiction
• Enjoyed the company of visitors to our garden including this cheeky peewee who often sits just outside the window where I am writing
• Tidied some of the genealogy files and shared some research and photos with interested relatives

As restrictions ease signs are less prescriptive

In our house life is open for business as usual. For retirees we might miss the companionship of friends, social activities and visits to family but we have much to be thankful for, good health, good food and weather, and good spirits.

Thank you to those who commented on my blog posts. 

Family History blogs I followed

Anne's Family History An excellent series on the London of Anne's ancestors

Family History Across the Seas In depth look at gratitude across one lifetime and those of ancestors

Genealogy Challenges Some really interesting ancestors occupations here

GeniAus A wide range of a convict's descendants

Molly’s Canopy Awed by how much she can recall of her primary school years

The Curry Apple Orchard A very readable family history retold in story form

Other blogs of interest I enjoyed

Black and White Words and Pictures A fascinating series on English nursery rhymes and their block printed illustrations

A Heep of Everything Postcards received

Best Bookish Blog Book reviews, many already read and some I'll seek to read

Will I do April A to Z again? It does require a significant commitment of time, of which I had plenty this April. The positives - it commits one to writing, the negatives - artificially finding something to fit each letter of the alphabet is limiting but challenging. Yes, it was a quieter month than usual but I am satisfied to have finished the posts and to have found some new directions to research.

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin