Starting my history and genealogy blog

Today I finally took the plunge by making my first post on my new blog. There are so many reasons why I've wanted to do this, and now I find that it is hard to decide where to begin. I want to:

• Make connections with others who are researching my and my children's family lines including Albu, Bartusek, Curry, Derr, Ellis, Ferguson, Fowler, Hagen, King, Losen, Moisescu, Mylius, Young, and others. Our ancestors include a Transylvanian barber, Norwegian painters, German-Hungarian manufacturers of knives and furniture, Kentucky tobacco farmers, a Mormon follower of Joseph Smith to Nauvoo and beyond, and a Midwestern teenager who stole a bread truck.
• Learn and share about genealogy research techniques, especially related to Romanian ancestors. My great-grandfather was among the early Romanian immigrants to Saint Paul and South Saint Paul, Minnesota, but I know very little about him. I've become practically obsessed with Romanian immigration history, which has led me to help found two organizations that I'll tell you more about later: Romanian Genealogy Society www.romaniangenealogy.com and Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in Minnesota (HORA) www.hora-mn.org.
• Offer a better understanding of the past and a bit of entertainment by sharing unusual stories I come across. Sometimes they are quirky, occasionally they are hilarious, and often they are just plain sad. I agree with the person who said, "Truth is stranger than fiction." In fact, I think history is far more interesting than anything we could make up.

I chose the name, "History Sifter," because that describes what I love to do. The dictionary definition of "sift" is "to go through especially to sort our what is useful or valuable." I seek to find things that others may have missed-- the puzzle pieces that don't seem to fit, the unpolished gems, the untold stories. Through this blog, I hope to share my findings with family members and others.