Have you met my cousin?

I love the Internet sometimes. Every now and then I get an urge to find me some kinfolk, and when that happens, I go surfing for some new but previously un-found (by me) genealogical information. Sometimes I really luck out, and actually find kinfolk!

This past weekend, my genealogical surfing was particularly fruitful. I met another cousin on my American grandparents side of the family, Lola Mae.

This is so cool! This is the second American cousin named Lola that I've found now. Not only do we share a name, but I think we actually share a little family resemblance. Don't you? Okay, so you might have to look really closely -- it's obviously an old and slightly mishandled photo.

Lola Mae had a couple of sisters, and I was lucky enough to find a photo online of her sister Donna Lee. I think that's such a cool name. My favourite Auntie was Della Lee. Lee must be a popular middle name on that side of the family.

I love her retro glasses, don't you? Lola Mae and Donna Lee have the same quirky little smile. It sort of reminds me of my Aunty Della when she was acting a bit smug.

This is Donna Lee's grandaughter, Belle. I wonder if those curls are natural? I bet she curses her hair if it is. I know how I feel about naturally curly hair ... UGH!!

They must have ran out of ideas for catchy middle names when poor Belle came along!Or maybe they just got smart, 'cuz packing out two names, like Lola Mae and Donna Lee, gets awful tiresome. Especially when the second name can be confused for a surname.

I managed to find one more photo online, but I don't know this cousin's name. I'm positive I can see a family resemblance in this picture. What do you think?

Too bad it's black and white. I can imagine this cousin with red hair.

What?

YOU'RE KIDDING!

She DOES have red hair!

What???

Oh.

That's not a cousin ...

... that's ME!

Okay, I have to confess cousins Lola Mae and Donna Lee ... and even Belle ... are all ... me. My humble apologies for toying with you! (But it was kind of fun.)

So now it's your turn to "find" some cousins. First, take a photo of yourself. That's what web cams are for ... and the scarier the photo, the better. (Make sure you catch that ugly light fixture behind your head too!)Then go to www.yearbookyourself.com and upload your photo. Line up your face in the centre of the head ... this is important, so take your time at it, otherwise you'll get really weird distortions. Or maybe weird distortions would be fun! Once you're all centred, have fun laughing at what you might have looked like in the past!

Make sure you check out yourself NOW compared to the year you were BORN ...

... or to when you GRADUATED highschool ...

Hmmm. I just have one question. Where the hell did my eyebrows go????

Now send your "cousins'" pictures to some real current kinfolk and friends so they can enjoy the laugh too!

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