Norwitz Notions

Now this is a bit of advanced genealogical sleuthing. How do you find people in a document that don’t seem to be there? Teasing Out Census Entries For those of you who have searched for families in the Census records on Ancestry or FamilySearch or elsewhere, you know that often the person you’re looking for […]

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How do you know if a person is the one you think they are? Too many people who do genealogy just assume that the same name means the same person. That’s how you end up with family trees where a parent was born 50 years later than their supposed child. Sometimes you’re careful and avoid […]

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I’ve seen some oddnesses in my time exploring cemeteries, but this one is new to me. This is the cemetery walking distance from my house and its hilly paths and century and a half of burials make it an enjoyable walk when parks are closed or crowded. Cypress Hill Memorial Park Cemetery, Petaluma, California. We […]

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  Jewish Cemetery in Žilina, Slovakia Sorted by Surname I visited the very well-kept Žilina cemetery in May 2017.  At the entrance are two framed maps of the cemetery, painstakingly hand drawn to scale, each grave listed with the name found on the headstone.  This document is my transcription of these maps. The cemetery is […]

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Jewish Cemetery in Žilina, Slovakia Sorted by Location of Grave I visited the very well-kept Žilina cemetery in May 2017.  At the entrance are two framed maps of the cemetery, painstakingly hand drawn to scale, each grave listed with the name found on the headstone.  This document is my transcription of these maps. The cemetery […]

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My name is Miriam Norwitz.  I am 7 years old.  I am in second grade but I can’t go to school because my school sprayed pesticides and they make me sick.  I can’t go back until we have a really hard rain.  My mom and I are taking a trip instead of me going to […]

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Who doesn’t love a fair?  Even if you don’t have a child to share it with.  I grew up on the Del Mar (San Diego County) Fair, which is one of the biggest county fairs around.  Our local fairs here aren’t as big but they’re fun. There’s one right here in Petaluma, the Sonoma-Marin Fair, […]

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Quick, name some fermented foods.  What did you come up with?  Beer? wine? cheese? pickles?  Let’s not forget yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, kombucha, natto, tempeh, vinegar, and bread.  These and more were the focus of the second annual Freestone Fermentation Festival in Sonoma County, California, May 15, 2010. This was my first time at this […]

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Miriam has always been more of a director than an actor.  Since she was old enough to hold a camera, she would grab one at any opportunity.  A child’s digital camera is a promised present (anyone know of one that is kid proof, has a display screen, and is under $30?) but, until then, she […]

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This year the spirit possessed us and we decided to build a sukkah for the holiday of Sukkot.  We’d done a poor attempt a few years ago but this was the first real one for all of us. Sukkot occurs 5 days after Yom Kippur, in late September or October.  It reminds us of the […]

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We only had one day to spend in Portland, Oregon and it was a scorcher.  We decided to do our neighborhood roaming in the morning and then find indoor spots for most of the day.  We then met friends for dinner. A) Alberta Street in the NE section. We drove up and down Alberta & […]

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Unlike our misadventure of the night before, our two night stay at Champoeg State Park, just south of Portland and north of Salem, was peaceful, quiet, and medically uneventful.  We arrived with concerns.  Since it was a weekend, and we were only booking a few days in advance, there were just two campsites left.  I […]

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When it came time for Miriam’s 3rd birthday party, we didn’t know where to hold it. Our house is too small and full of cats. The weather is too iffy to plan something outdoors. And we can’t stand most of the venues that turn children’s parties into entertainment extravagances. Fortunately, we discovered the Boys and […]

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There are basically two ways to drive between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles or San Diego: 101 or 5. I took I-5 for years, and it is the fastest route, but it goes through hours of agricultural areas and just isn’t safe for me anymore. Add in a 3 year old who […]

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