How many times have you stumbled across an old box of pictures, letters, or documents only to find them too brittle to handle? If you haven’t yet, believe me, you will and then what do you do?

The basic problem with old documents, especially those stored in low-humidity environments like an attic, is that the paper itself dries out and becomes brittle. Just opening a letter or document can destroy it. Photos, in particular, should never be unfolded or uncurled without some TLC. And by TLC, I mean the use of a humidification chamber.

Ok, OK, so that’s not how it goes, but what you see in the picture is what I saw happening outside by back door this morning. It’s pouring rain. And there are DUCKS on my deck. I KNOW! In SEATTLE? We call them 7-11 ducks, because they’re not the least bit bashful about pecking on the back door to get our attention.

So what’s that got to do with family history? It reminded me of some of my Dad’s favorite expressions, grandad’s, too.