Ivy gets bling! 

She got braces on her teeth today. 
She likes it.  Very proud of it. 
Weird.  

Good lord, nearly 7 years later, it is finally done. 

Jose Francisco came into our household one night in 2015 when suffering in some pain that he did not understand.  After listening to his symptoms, I thought, “That sure sounds like kidney stones…” which is something I’ve suffered with for decades, but I wasn’t for sure he was telling the truth (he’s a bit of a drama queen).  After a couple of hours of non-stop complaining, I decided to take him to the hospital about midnight… and sure enough, about 5 a.m. the doctor came in and said, “Yes, he a kidney stone too big to pass. He’s going to have to have surgery.”   He was telling the truth!  Thus began an adventure that would span 6 more years.

 

How do you schedule and pay for medical care for someone who has no insurance or ability to pay?  Simple answer: you can’t.  Despite all the rhetoric about ‘illegal aliens getting free health care” in America, it really isn’t true.  The only way to get ‘free’ health care is show up at the emergency room (where no one is legally turned away because of inability to pay) and screw them out of service.  When you leave, just never pay the bill.  There is nothing the hospital can do about it.  That is how ‘illegals’ (or anyone, for that matter) can get ‘free’ health care.

But fortunately, in Houston, there are private and public services that DO pay for medical services if you apply and wade through their process.  I helped Jose apply in late 2021 not thinking it would make any difference… but much to my surprise THEY PAID OVER $40,000 WORTH OF BILLS REGARDLESS OF HIS CITIZENSHIP STATUS!!!!  Holy crap!!   How do I get this kind of medical assistance??!!?? 

Around Christmas-time, Jose began complaining again of intense pain in his kidneys.  It was so bad that I took him to the hospital and he ended up staying 6 days.  Why??  Because of sepsis – his kidneys were failing and seeping waste into his body rather than out.  It was a serious situation, but the doctors fixed him up (temporarily) and said you MUST get this fixed!  If not, you will die!!  So we scheduled an appointments at both Ben Taub and LBJ hospitals (county government hospitals in Houston) to get this kidney stones removed.   Jose grumbled and complained,… even when the time came to attend the appointments… but he finally conceded… and as of 4/22/2022 he had a 3 hour operation that fixed all of his problems. 

Wow, so glad that is over with.  The people at LBJ hospital did a FANTASTIC job… even though there was some communication confusion at one point… and battling rude security guards and their STUPID fake COVID precautionary rules at the front entrance (screw you, Dr Foochi)… still, I was like, WOW, y’all did a GREAT job and I’m soooo appreciative!! Thank you, even, for putting up with my pushy questions, and Jose’s bitchy attitude!  Fantastic job!!

Jose Francisco is now recovering and grumbling and complaining every minute of the day.  Because he is a diva and baby.  But he will be fine in a day or so.  No more kidney stones!!  Hopefully forever.  Healed!  Fantastic.

 

 

We lost our sweet little chihuahua, Potrillo, today.  He was overcome by his respiratory problems through the night, so I took him to this this afternoon.  But the doctor said he would probably not recover.  Poor guy could barely breath.  He was suffering very much.   So I made the decision to euthanize.  I knew this day was coming.  It was really a sad moment.  I watched as they injected some sleeping medicine into his paw, and he slowly closed his big bug-eyes and went to forever sleep.   

Potrillo came into our lives around 2014 as he continually escaped from his owner across the street.  A Mexican woman and her husband operated a little taqueria across the street, and have 2 or 3 little dogs.  Potrillo (which means ‘little pony’ in Spanish) would often escape and go exploring.  He visited several neighbors, and one day came to explore our yard.  He could squeeze through the fence and make his way into the house via the doggy door.   Several times (at least 4 times that I remember) we’d come home and there would be an extra dog sitting on the couch just chillin’!  LOL.  We would sometimes change his name to “Pio” for our English-speaking friends because most of them didn’t understand “Potrillo”.   That was okay because Pio is also a spanish-language term used in children’s rhymes for the sound that a baby chicken makes.  Like we say, “Peep, peep, peep” for a chick, spanish-speaking people say, “Pio, pio, pio”.   Then, of course, Holly added the moniker, “Bug eyed rat dog” which Ivy and our neighbors thought was hilarious.  I don’t think she meant for that to be funny, but it was.  So we frequently called him Bug Eyed Rat Dog.  

Finally, in 2015, the woman with the Taqueria decided to move to another location.  On the day she left, her husband came over and said, “This chihuahua seems to want to live with you more than us.  Do you want him?”  

I said yes, of course.  

Even better, Potrillo got along really well with my other dog Rusty.   That was remarkable because Rusty didn’t like any other dogs or people very much.   Only me.  I was his one person.  But he immediately began playing with Potrillo and sharing food and even sleeping next to him sometimes.  I think Rusty thought this was his child!  He was like, “I don’t know how this happened, but I have a son now.” 

 

For Christmas in 2011, Holly bought me a membership to Ancestry.com I ended up with so much information that it was a bit overwhelming, mind-boggling, and seemingly never-ending (I never quite finished it). But at the very least, I did write a few blogs posts about what I had found. I’m just creating this blog post just to have them all in one spot for future reference.

UPDATE: Ancestry.com has gone totally web… no more software related.  I used FamilyTree software… which was great… and still is related to Ancestry and FamilyTree…  but it has been discontinued.   Still, Ancestry.com about $120 per year annual membership.  Meanwhile, FamilySearch.org by the Mormon church is totally free and way better (update 8/13/22).  I suggest starting off with Family Search and go from there if you find some fascinating tidbits.  What does that mean?  It means that all Ancestry documents… all public documents from courthouses and such… are on the web now, and not via software.  There will come a day one day when all ancestry documents are ‘on the cloud’ everything is ‘on the cloud’ including ancestry documents. 

Anyway, these are all mine via software or Mormons or cloud or whatever (all of the above)…  

The Dutton side…

• George Washington in the family tree, as well as Princess Dianna 
• An Archbishop of York in the family tree 
• The Dutton Line in a Straight Line 
• The Governor of Connecticut, as well as Mahala Dutton a survivor of the Titanic 
• King Edward’s homosexual Son – Depicted in the movie Braveheart 
• An Actual Pirate in the family tree! – still on the wall at Disney!
• Our Connection to the Bush Dynasty – It wasn’t until Barbara Bush died that I learned that the Bush family lived just down the road from us here in Houston (about 8 miles).  The whole Bush dynasty is related to us because, as it turns out, because George and Barbara are actually cousins.  We’re all connected through the Spencer family in England.
• Cousin on the Mayflower – Much to my surprise, one of the few people on the Mayflower was a cousin. 
• Anne Boleyn  – My great grandmother was mother gave birth to William Brereton (my 20th great Uncle) who was accused of having an affair with Anne Boleyn.  He was one of 7 men accused and executed by the evil fat King Henry the 8th of having an affair with Anne Boleyn.  (yes, same song immortalized by the Beatles).
• A few more Ancestry connections – FamilySearch.org has a nifty feature that allows you to click and search loose relations to ‘famous people’.  These are some of my famous cousins. 
• The Dutton Name – okay, recently ‘Dutton’ has become a household name with the the show ‘Yellowstone’.  I admit I am surprised as anyone.  But why?… 

On the Ivy side

• Grandmother was a Pomeranian! February 2016

Benny was so chill.  He was a really good ferret. 
Always ready and willing to be picked up and petted or explore whatever you’re holding. 
He escaped his cage sometimes in the night or this morning, exited the house via the doggy door,…
and made it about 2 blocks away before being struck by a car.  

My cousin Pam Jones attended a LDS conference on-line about Ancestry, and they generated these nifty charts for her.  This ancestry stuff is getting easier and easier every year.  They even have a special option of “See which famous people you are related to” and it automatically finds notable people. 

These are three that she found.  Pam is a first cousin (my father her Uncle, her mother my Aunt), so the stats are precisely the same.  Our connection to these famous folk are through our Grandmother Mary Ella Farris…whom I never met, she died before I was born. 

I knew that I was a distant cousin with Princess Dianna already, because she is a Spencer (aristocratic famous family in England) and the Dutton’s are related to them as well. 

But I didn’t know that I was related to Walt Disney.  That’s a surprise.  Kind of cool!  Maybe that’ll get me some free tickets to Disneyworld.  😀   

I also didn’t know about Edward Winslow. 
He sailed on the Mayflower and is depicted in a painting as well as a statue in England,
and of course, has a Wikipedia page with lots more detail…  

 

Meatloaf died this week.  🙁  January 20, 2022

I’ve been a Meatloaf (Michael Lee Aday) fan for as long as I can remember. My older brother had his “Bat Out of Hell Album” in 1977, and then in I bought the “Bat Out of Hell 2”  album in 1993.  Every song good, imho!   Meatloaf always had this theatrical, rock-opera thing going on, which I think is great! He stayed with that style all throughout his career.  He seemed to be such an unlikely rock star because he’s fat and ugly from Dallas, Texas and born in 1947, but he carved out a career of awesome music that spanned more than 30 years.

I posted a few of my favorite songs here just for my listening pleasure, but you are welcome to enjoy them too…

His biggest hit song which reached #1 in 28 countries (beauty and the beast theme)… 

Another good tune (dystopian or post-apocalyptic theme)…

Most pessimistic song ever (yes, I’m being sarcastic)

Another good one from the 90’s

Great epic tune! LOVE this one!  Early 2000’s (2003)  Another all-time favorite.   You have the right to remain silent with your opinion…

You can watch this same song LIVE with full Melbourne Australia symphony here. Awesome!

A little jazzy…

And, of course, the 70’s boogie-woogie, doo-wop classic that put him on the map…

Anne Boleyn is back in the spotlight.  She is the subject of a new series on AMC, only this time with a twist… the actress playing Anne Boleyn is black.  I don’t know why they chose a black actress to portray a historical (very) white woman, but that is the case for this series.  As of yet, I don’t know if our relative, William Brereton will be represented in the series.  He certainly was represented in the HBO series called “The Tudors” which ran on Showtime for 3 seasons a few years back.  

“Who?” you’re asking?   Who is Anne Boleyn and William Brereton? 

Well, Anne Boleyn was one of Henry the 8th’s wives who was beheaded along with 5 of her (supposed) lovers.  William Brereton was one of those lovers.    

William Brereton, as it turns out, was a distant Uncle of mine on my mother’s side (Downing) of the family.  Or to be more specific, his mother, Eleanor Dutton, was my 20th Great Grandmother.   Wait… you say we’re related via the Downings (my mother), but she is a Dutton?  Yes, as it turns out, my parents are distant cousins.  Somehow the Downings and Duttons, both from England, managed to meet up in the USA several generations later and make some babies.   

Eleanor Dutton, mother of William Brereton, was a remarkable woman in her own right.  She married into the Brereton family, and eventually bore 8 sons and 4 daughters, including a son named William.  Her daughter Elizabeth is our connection to the Breretons.  But, it is her son William who would go down in history as a victim of King Henry #8 and his paranoia of his wives (many wives) adulterous affairs. 

Even still, Eleanor has a tomb that still exists in England (pics and info here).   The ancestry of Eleanor Dutton-Brereton is well documented.  

William Brereton was called out (falsely) as a ‘lover’ of Queen Anne Boleyn and be executed (beheaded) along with 4 other men.  Each was accused of being an adulterer with Queen Anne.   He has since been acquitted of all crimes, but… too late, he’s dead.  Still, he has gone down in history and even been portrayed in multiple movies and TV series.  

Here are a few videos that highlight the history of King Henry 8 and Anne Boleyn…. 

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Henry the 8th song.  Yes, it is a mockery of King Henry #8.  He deserved it.  He was a scumbag. 
In the film Ghost, Sam (Patrick Swayze) sings this song on a continuous run in a bad Cockney London accent all night long, to Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) to annoy her into helping him

Here’s some Facts about fat ass Henry that you never asked for.  He weighed 400 pounds at one point.  

Horrible Henry simplified in a short song

The full story of Henry the 8th and the execution of Queen Anne Boleyn and 5 innocent men.  William Brereton is mentioned at 7:15 in this video…

 

William Brereton in characterized in the Showtime series The Tudors” (by actor James Gilbert). 
He had a small part in the series, but here are snipets of some of his scenes…  

 

It is also interesting to note that Anne Boleyn gave birth to a daughter with Henry 8 who eventually became Queen Elizabeth 1.  Liz was only 2 years old when her mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded.  The current Queen of England is Elizabeth 2… named directly in honor Elizabeth 1, although they are actually distantly related. If you’d like to read more about that connection, click here

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This is the genealogy from Eleanor Dutton-Brereton to myself: 

• Eleanor Dutton-Brereton– 1484-1522 b. Chesire, England, d. Chesire, England (mother of William Brereton killed along with Anne Boleyn)
• Elizabeth Brereton – b. Malpas Cheshire England 1500, d. Cheshire England 1545
• Margaret Mainwairing – b. Over Cheshire england 1521, d. Over Cheshire England 1570
• Sir George Mainwairing – b. Lightfield Shropshire England 1520, 1570
• Margaret Mainwairing – b. London England 1580  d.1601
• John Baker – b. Edgemond Shopshire England 1598, d. Topsfield Essex Massachucets 1672
• Robert Baker – b. Newport Shopshire England 1616, d. Edgemont Shopshire England 1672
• Joseph Baker – b. Edgemont Shopshire England 1630, d. Edgemont Chester Pennsylvania d. 1776
• Joseph Baker  – b. Thornsbury Chester Pennsylvania 1686  Edgemont Deleware Pennsylvania d.1717
• Hannah Baker  – b. Edgeport, Deleware 1715 Aston, Deleware 1760
• Margaret Talbot – b. Willmington, Deleware 1737 d. Willmington, Deleware 1815 
• Thomas Grissel  – b. Willmington New Castle Deleware 1763 d. Columbiana Ohio 1827
• Euphemia Grissel Townsend – b. Hanover, Virginia 1710 d. Rotham, Pennsylvania 1799
• Elizabeth Watson – b. Hampshire, Virgina 1731 d. Rutherford, North Carolina 1806
• Captain George Walker b. Prince William, Virginia 1745 d. Bledsoe, Tennessee 1833
• Jesse Walker  b. Warren, North Carolina 1770 d. Blesdoe, Tennessee 1850
• Jesse John Walker  b. Tennessee 1798 d. Stoddard, Missouri 1850 
• Melissa Walker  b. Tennessee 1822 d. Mountain Home, AR 1900
• Polk Walker  b. Alabama 1854 – d. Mountain Home, AR 1936
• Virgil Walker b. Mountain Home, AR 1880 – d. Mountain Home, AR 1966
• Mabel Walker/Downing b. 1908 Mountain Home, AR – d. 1995 Mountain Home, AR
• Shirley Downing/Dutton b. 1938 Mountain Home, AR – d. 2019 Harrison, Ar
• Joseph Dutton – 1965 b Harrison, Arkansas…

Jane and Holly worked pretty much all day on a Thanksgiving dinner.  It was great!  Jane even has these nifty buffet-style warmers for items like mac-n-cheese and gravy and steamed veggies.  We all agreed to do chicken instead of turkey… turkey is just soooo much work, and frankly not that great (in my opinion).  So roasted chicken was fine with me.  Holly spent hours the day before Thanksgiving searching for pies, and so did thousands of other people.  Lines for pies at the Flying Saucer Pie Factory and House of Guys were miles long.  Holly gave up trying, but somehow mini-pies showed up at the Thanksgiving dinner anyway.   

 

Nice evening!  Thank you Jane for all your hard work. 

We also had a nice blessing with free Christmas decorations!  Jose was doing a moving-job for a Real Estate company when he called and said “Ven y toma todas estas cosas gratis!” (come and get all of this free stuff).  I got some blinky snowmen, several figurines, and even this $200 tree… for free!  Awesome! 

 

It seems Ancestry.com has been adding some more records, so I decided to do some more digging.  Sure enough, an interesting new character appeared in my family tree!  This time it was the friend of King Edward the 2nd.  His name is Piers Gaveston.  Turns out, there is quite a bit of information published on Piers Gaveston, and even more on King Edward II, but let me give you the highlights…

 

1. Piers’ father Ernaud Gaveston moved to England from France.  Ernaud was not royal or noble, but he held a significant amount of land which was meaningful during feudal times and may have led to his meeting with King Edward .   In fact, it was a family debt and land-deal that placed Ernaud on King Edward’s radar in 1282 (that history here). He ends up working in the the service of King Edward #1, and marrying and having 5 children.  His wife died about 1287 shortly after his son Piers Gaveston was born.   Even more of his history here.   Ernaud also became a Knight and crusader, and has a tomb in Winchester, England even to this day. 
2. In the meantime, Ernaud and King Edward 1 became well acquainted and trusted, and round 1300, Ernaud Gaveston became a part of the household of King Edward… even caring for his sons (because the King’s wife also died).  
3. Piers and Prince Edward Jr were about the same age (Edward born on or around April 25th, 1284, Piers’ exact birth date is is unknown but listed as 1284 also) and appear to become best friends and very close. Piers and Edward both probably about 13 at the time when Piers’ father began working in the King’s household.  There was no mother or Queen in the household at this time.  Both boys lost their mother about the same time (1287 for Piers and 1290 for Edward) when they were still young…    So, neither of them really knew their mother, and instead seemed to form a tight bond with each other.  Edward Jr. would even refer to Piers as his ‘brother’ in later years.  
4. Piers and Prince Edward’s relationship becomes so extravagant and partial (possibly homosexual) that the King banishes Piers from the kingdom.  Gifts bestowed upon Piers were not only lavish, but political in nature (involving land) and interfered with the King’s ambitions. 
5. But only a few months later, on July 7th, 1307 King Edward dies.   He leaves his son to inherit the throne and an ongoing war with Scotland.
6. King Edward 2 recalls Piers from exile.   
7. Edward bestowed Earldom (3rd level below King) on Gaveston, and arranged for him to marry his niece Margaret de Clare, (my 29th Great Grandmother) sister of the powerful Earl of Gloucester.  Earldom also included governorship over the region of Cornwall.  
8. King Edward continues to lavish gifts and power upon Piers,… in particular, King Edward left England for awhile to marry a French bitch named Isabella (who would later kill him), and left Piers Gaveston in his place temporarily as king (regent, but you get the idea)!  He married Isabella, the daughter of the powerful King Philip IV of France, in 1308, as part of a long-running effort to resolve tensions between the English and French crowns.   The Royalty and Isabella were upset when King Edward lavished more attention on Piers than Isabella.  They became very ‘concerned’ and upset and jealous of Gaveston’s exclusive access to the King.  They began plotting his exile. 
9. Only 1 year after his exile, Gaveston was forced him into exile (well, Ireland) again. 
10. Gaveston does a good job, actually, in Ireland and managed to return to England in 1309.
11. But nobility still hated him.  In 1311, they exiled him again.
12. But he returned defiantly in late 1311 against all ordinances,…  and in 1312…
13. He was hunted down and brutally murdered.  First stabbed through with a sword, and then beheaded.   

King Edward II was reportedly grief-stricken and outraged at the news of Piers’ death, but politics forced him to move on quickly.   He continues on as King, fighting against Scotland to the north and France to the south.  In the meantime, he also reportedly took up another lover named  Hugh Despenser the Younger.  He battled for his throne until 1327 when he meets his own grisly death at the hands of his pissed off, super-bitch Queen Isabelle.  She hanged him, and then had him quartered.   He also gave up his throne to his 14 year old son, King Edward 3.  

There are lots of juicy details in this whole saga. Too much to publish here, so if you are interested, I suggest you dig through these links.  It is a very “Game of Thrones” type thriller with lots of sex and betrayals and so on and so forth.   Google ‘Piers Gaveston’ or ‘King Edward II’ for lots and lots of information. 

• English History: LGBT History
• Specific History of Piers Gaveston
• Who was Piers Gaveston?
• The Wikipedia Explanation of Piers Gaveston
• King Edward 2 history  
• The Wikipedia Explanation of King Edward II

1. 
   A monument to Piers Gaveston exists to this day in Blacklow Hill

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Otherwise, you can watch the movie “Braveheart”.  This is one of my favorite movies ever.  I’ve seen it 4 or 5 times, but never realized one of the characters was my GGGrandfather!  That just blew my mind when I became aware of this.  First, you have to know Braveheart is only ‘based on history’, and even director and star Mel Gibson says calls it ‘historical fiction’.   It is NOT accurate, and even full of inaccuracies, and nowhere near historical truth.  It’s an entertaining movie!!  Chill out!  But, amazingly, he includes a scene where King Edward 1 confronts his homosexual son and his lover “Phillip” (meant to be Piers Gaveston)…. and even throws his him out of the window to his death (which did not happen in real life, but meant to depict the actual disdain, rejection, and murder of King Edward 2’s lover).   

King Edward 1 “Longshanks” was portrayed in Braveheart extensively by actor Patrick McGoohan.   Piers Gaveston is fictionally and generically portrayed as “Philip” in movie.  In this clip, the actors talks about their roles as Edward King 1 and his son, as well as Piers Gaveston who is mention at about 1:50 in this clip.  

The full scene of King Edward 1 confronting his effeminate son and his lover Piers Gaveston

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This is the straight line from Piers Gaveston to me.  He is my 25th great grandfather.  

• Piers Gaveston 1284-1312 Blacklow Hill, Warickshire England
• Amy Gaveston – 1312 – 1334 b. unknown, d. Wakefield, Berkshire, , England
• Alice DeDriby – 1340 – 1412 b.Wakefield, Berkshire, , England, d.Stamford, Lincolnshire, , England
• Eglantine Mallory – 1312 1393 b. Kirkby Mallory, Leicestershire, England, d.Mallory, Leicestershire, England
• Ralph Bagot – 1327 – 1376 b.Bromley, Staffordshire, England, d.Blithfield, Staffordshire, England
• John De Bagot 1348 – 1437 b.Bromley, Staffordshire, England, d.St Augustine, Staffordshire, England
• Richard Bagot 1412 – 1485 b. BLITHEFIELD, Staffordshire, d.England  Leicestershire, England
• John Bagot – 1436 – 1489 b. Blithefield,Stafford,,Wales d. Blithefield,Stafford,,Wales
• Lewis Bagot  – 1454 – 1534 b. Staffordshire, , England, d.Staffordshire, , England
• John Baggott  – 1489  -1512 b. Norwich, Norfolk, England, d. Suffolk England
• Robert Baggot – 1511 – 1623 b.Norwich, Norfolk, England, d.Suffolk England
• Elizabeth Bagot 1562 1637  b.Norwich, Norfolk, England, d.Blithfield, Staffordshire, England
• John Carman – 1584 – 1684 b. Hempstead, Hert England, d. Hempstead Hemel, England
• John Carman – 1606 1658 b.Parish, Hampshire England, d. Long Island NY
• Caleb Carman – 1645  – 1693 b. Long Island NY, d. Cape May NJ
• James Carman – 1677 – 1756 b. Cape May, d. Cranbury Middlesex, NJ
• Caleb Carman 1708-1807  b. Middletown New Jersey d. Burlington NJ 
• Mary Elizabeth Carman – b.1758 Carol, Maryland d.1820 Burlington, NJ
• Ruth Logsdon – 1773 – 1830  b. Sommonset, Pennsylvania, d. Hart, Kentucky
• Solomon Kessinger – b.1800 Hardin, Kentucky d.1878 Carter, Missouri 
• James William Kasinger – b.1857 … d.1899 Siloam Springs, AR
• America “Sis” Kasinger – b. Doublas Missour 1858 d.Mountain home, AR 1942
• Marcus W Biggers – b.1882 Mountain Home AR, d.1953 Shawnee, Pottawatomie, Oklahoma,
• Jasper Downing – unknown
• Landus Earl Downing – 1901-1965 b.Missouri, d.Mountain Home, AR
• Shirley June Downing/Dutton – 
• Joseph Aaron Dutton – b.1965 Harrison, Arkansas