) ( ) Good Morning Family! .-.,--^--. ( Come on in. . . \\|`----'| - The coffee pot's on. . . \| |// ...and we even have decaf, | |/ tea, and hot chocolate! \ / ------ Today's topics include: 1. Welcome to new cousins 2. Bower Cottage 3. 5 August Reunion 4. Dining Room Spotlight If you've been with the family [the BOWER-L list] for at least three weeks, you'll probably want to skip the following paragraphÂ… TO OUR NEWEST COUSINS ~~ On behalf of the entire family, I'd like to extend a most hearty welcome to those cousins who came into the family fold this past week. We are very glad to have you with us and hope you'll stay and remain a part of our online family. As soon as you're comfortable with us and the list, please send in your Bower[s]/Bauer/Baur lines so we can all see how we're related to you. We do not have a fancy format for sending in records or queries to the list. Post as many as you wish! If the data has anything to do with Bower[s]/Bauer/Baur lines or any of the variant spellings that might help someone, please feel free to post it. Every scrap of information is appreciated. If you haven't visited the homesite of this list yet, you are encouraged to do so. The Bower Family Homestead [a.k.a., the Homestead] is our homesite and the gathering place for much of our information. It waits to join us all in welcoming you into the family at <http://www.crosswinds.net/~bowerhomestead>, or you can use or shortcut URL of <http://embark.to/Homestead>. BOWER COTTAGE In short, expect it to open sometime this week! *yaaay, clap, clap* The site is being proofread and scrutinized for graphic deficiencies right now. That step should be completed sometime today or tomorrow. Our two project teams, the Continuum and Look Up Project have already seen the site because they needed to approve the pages their respective projects will be working from. There are no names, no data onsite yet - you haven't been missing a thing. The Cottage is simply the frameworks right now. All of us will move in on the same day at the same time ... probably Wednesday or Thursday. If you plan to participate as a volunteer doing Look Ups you might start pulling those resources together that you're willing to look in for the family and visitors. You can begin sending them to me today so I can build your volunteer page. The GEDCOM project will be housed at the Cottage. I have the guideline page in place now and hopefully, will be ready to build that project by the end of this week. I'll call for your GEDCOMs after the Cottage is opened up. After all, you need to see the guidelines... :) You know what, family? ...I've been thinking while typing the last three paragraphs ... everyone that has seen the Cottage so far has said it looks great and several cousins have said to "open it now." I had wanted to get it totally completed before letting everyone in, but when you move into a new home it's never completed - oh, the structure is there, but the furnishings aren't. So, let's open Bower Cottage ... TODAY! I still have pages to upload and not everyone participates in the Coffee, so I'll send a separate message out sometime within two hours after the Coffee (provided I can get into the file manager to upload the files, that is). Watch for it, okay? THE 5 AUGUST REUNION Cousins have already begun sending in their "dishes" (files) to me for the Reunion. Thank you so much! I'll need all the advance time I can get to prepare the table (set to HTML and upload files). Our potluck "meal" will be files of Bower[s]/Bauer/Baur data donated by each of the cousins in all the family groups to "feed" the family - a "dish" such as a list, a county census extraction, a biography, 3-4 generations of a family, a couple wills, a few deeds, a county's/country's obituaries for a given period, immigration/emigration records, pictures, copies of certificates [deceased only - no living], etc. We all have material gathered during our searches. As with any potluck, you can be creative! You can submit one dish, or as many as you'd like. Following the reunion, the data will be housed at the Homestead and you will be given the credit for anything you submit with an email link for the surfing public to contact you. I take no credit for any of your work. Your dishes should be sent directly to me so I can "set the table" [put the files online]. Deadlines for submitting your "food" is 10 July 2000. You can begin sending your dishes in now, if you have them ready. What Bower/Bauer/Baur "recipe" would you like to share and "feed" the family with? DINING ROOM Do you have an ancestral line who's earliest progenitor is dated after 1790? Would you like to formally introduce your ancestor and his/her descendants to the family and the world? We have spotlight areas in two rooms at the Homestead - one in the parlor, the other in the dining room. If you'd like to spotlight your ancestor please let me know privately at <ladyaudris@earthlink.net> and I'll let you know what you need to do. The family ...it's what we're all about. I really enjoyed this time with you. I hope your upcoming week is filled with health, productivity, fun, and above all, filled with love. ) ( ) _.-~~-. (@\'--'/. Colleen ('``.__.'`) `..____.'