June 29th: Sunday was the start of the 4th of July 📜 Week.
Drinking my morning coffee ☕️, the headlines were announcing - that as usual … the demonrats are doing all they can to ruin it 🤦🏻♀️
And the Repubs are trying to clean the demonrat mess, up …
Scrolling through my FB pop-ups, I did get a laugh 🤭 about the absurdity of the demonrat mentality:
We are half way through 2026 - and I am definitely still alive and kicking.
But some are not; Father Time finally caught up with them and stopped their tickers. Some, I won't miss at all … some - I was sorry to read, as I did internet searches ,🧐 had been gone for half a year; their FB Pages are still up, and there is no obit notice, but there are funeral home notices. I also saw that the internet 🌐 was giving out quite a bit of their personal information 👀; and that piqued my curiosity 🤔 Was the internet putting out MY personal info; info, that I had not [put out there]: I checked into that and was surprised at what I read. There was information posted online that was nobody's business … and there was some info posted that was a startling confirmation of suppositions, assumptions, and queries that had dogged me for decades 🤷♀️ - and had been soundly denied. Denials that are ridiculous 🤨 Ridiculous because blood doesn't lie 🤦🏻♀️ DNA is all conclusive and always trumps a stoic poker hand.
But, I thought I'd try 1 more time to get to the root of the issues. I contacted my middle sister 💻💬 and asked her to contact our Aunt Karen, who is my deceased mother's only living sibling. I was hoping that since she is close to 90 years old, she'd come clean about our ethnicity:
WHAT???
I was reading that not only did we have blood ties to paganist africa … it appears now, that we also have blood ties to the cultic, blood-thirsty, middle east countries. I was not happy to be facing that dilemma! I was hoping for answers to dormant queries.
Instead, Karen stuck to the family story BS 💬🤨📜🤦🏻♀️
Grandpa's looks are similar to Holland's Armenian friend … & his nephew Jake's, 1/2 Armenian sons.
My Grandmother Ball's family may have lived in Czechoslovakia before they escaped the socialist-communist-nazi coups, to settle in America, & go through the citizenship courses to become citizens … but a genealogy report tattled that they hailed from Hungary. It doesn't matter where they lived, or what culture they adopted - their bloodline ethnicity is Hungarian.
My Grandfather Ball's family may have have come from England during the colonization era of American before America was America 📜 … but his bloodline tattles that his ethnicity is more than what the family is claiming: it is a fact that most of Europe during the 600's was under muslim ottoman rule; my mother told us that our relatives came "from the country that looks like a boot" = Spain.
Spain is not Czechoslovakia, or Hungary.
Spain is not England, Ireland, or France.
Spain is not mentioned in the country line-ups - but, it is a definite, factual, part of our Life Story. Karen may not mention it, but my mother talked about Spain, our family connection to that country, & would point it out on maps - and even show us how to do the Flamenco dancing steps.
And while it is possible that claims can be made that family ancestors did live in all those places … the one fact left out, is that the moors were also dwelling in those countries; it is also more than possible that dalliances took place between ethnic groups while relatives were living in those places - and those dalliance's are showing up in the here-and-now present.
Someone has not been truthful in spinning the tale of familial history that shifted ethnic connections.
Blood doesn't lie ⚕️
DNA doesn't lie 😱
Physical characteristics will tattle - and override staunch denials 🤔
My mother's sister, Karen, has spent her entire adult life in the medical field, working in hospitals as a licensed nurse! She knows better than this … and yet, will stick to the parroted lie.
Aunt Karen was acting like a BSing karen 😑🤯🥴
I was trying not to get too frustrated pissy 🤨
Someone, somewhere along Grandpa Ball's DNA chain wandered off the stated ethic pathway … and introduced the Middle eastern bloodline:
{{Is MENA a Separate Ethnic Census Classification?
Yes — MENA (Middle Eastern or North African) is now an official, distinct ethnic category in U.S. federal data collection, replacing its previous inclusion in the “White” category.
Under the updated Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (effective 2024), MENA is one of the seven minimum reporting categories for race and ethnicity on the U.S. Census and other federal surveys
The MENA category covers origins in North Africa, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and Iran (Persia), including both Arabic‑speaking and non‑Arabic‑speaking groups such as Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian, Iranian, and Israeli. It is designed to be inclusive of diverse ethnic identities within the region, such as Kurds, Copts, and Imazighen
In summary: MENA is no longer just a subset of “White” — it is now a separate, official ethnic classification in U.S. federal statistics, reflecting the distinct identities of Middle Eastern and North African populations.}}
Holland & I discussed this new discovery.
Then we ate supper - and I did a dumbbell workout; it felt good to work with weights, again. For the past 2 weeks I've been walking a mile every other day; and doing step-ups & stretches several times a day (not posted, but done):
Do reps for EA set as indicated x3; easy to do - even for a senior woman.
3-, 5-, & 8-lb weight used interchangeably as sets progressed.
Dumbbell Hand-assist Overhead Triceps Extensions~Aim for 10-12 reps x2
Dumbbell Front Raises~Aim for 10-12 reps x2
Dumbbell Overhead Front Raise~Aim for 10-12 reps x2
Dumbbells Overhead Triceps Extensions~Aim for 10-12 reps x2
Dumbbell Standing Kickback~Aim for 10-12 reps x2
I posted some post links to a couple blog hops, and saw that one of my posts had been featured on one of the Blogs I visit:
My May Post, was featured on 'You're A Star' @ God's Growing Garden Blog Hop.
'FROWNING BARK FACE; Castle Rock-WA': (https://roadgypsiesvalandholland.blogspot.com/2026/05/frowning-bark-face-castle-rock-wa.html)
My May Post, was featured on 'You're A Star' @ God's Growing Garden Blog Hop
It's been an interesting Day.
I'm going to take my tired self upstairs to bed, and rest my thoughts.
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