Mary and Rebecca....

Mary (Towne) Estey*.....

....was born on August 24, 1634 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England.

In 1655, she was wed to Issac Estey in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts.

She died on September 22, 1692.
 

Hanged as a witch.....

The warrant for her arrest read as follows:

To the Marshall of the County of Essex or dept or Constables of Salem You are in theire Majest's names hereby required to appre- hend and forthwith bring before mee at the house of mr. Thomas Beadles in Salem the Body of Mary Easty the wife Isaac Easty of Topsfeild to be Examined Relateing to sundry acts of witchcraft by her Committed yesterday and this present day according to Com- plaint aboves'd and hereof you are not to faile

Dated Salem May 20th 1692

(Taken from Essex County Archives, Salem - Witchcraft Vol. 1, Page 117)

Mary was tried on September 9, 1692.

What follows is a copy of the petition Mary wrote to the court following her condemnation:

To the honorable judge and bench now sitting in Salem, and the Rev. Minister, this petition showeth that your humble, poor petitioner, being condemned to die, doth humbly beg of you to take it into your judicious and pious consideration that your petitioner, knowing my innocence, and blessed be the Lord for it, and seeing the wiles and subtlety of my accuser, by myself cannot but judge charitably of others who are going the same way as myself, if the Lord step not mightily in. I was confined a whole month on the same account that I am now condemned, and then cleared, as your honors know, and in two days' time I was cried out upon again and have been confined and am now condemned to die. The Lord above know my innocence then, and likewise does now, as at the great day will be known by men and angels. I petition to your honors not for my own life, for I know I must die, and the appointed time is set, but if it be possible, that no more innocent blood be shed, which undoubtedly cannot be avoided in the way and course you go in. I question not but your honors do to the utmost of your powers in the discovery and detection of witchcraft and witches and would not be guilty of innocent blood for the world, but by my own innocence, I know you are in the wrong way. The Lord in his infinite mercy direct you in this great work, that innocent blood be not shed. I humbly beg of your honors that you would be pleased to examine some of those afflicted persons and keep them a part sometime, and likewise try some of those confessing witches, I being confident several of them have belied themselves and others, as will appear, if not in this world, in the world to come, wither I am going, and I question not but your honors will see an alteration in these things. * They say myself and others have made a league with the devil. We cannot confess. I know and the Lord knows, as will shortly appear, that they belie me, and I question not but they do others. The Lord above knows, who is the searcher of all hearts, as I shall answer at the tribunal seat, that I know not the least thing of witchcraft, therefore cannot, I dare not belie my own soul. I beg your honors not to deny this my humble petition for a poor, dying and innocent person, and I question not but the Lord will give a blessing on your endeavors.

Mary Estey Mary was executed on September 22, 1692.  (*Note: There are historical variations in the spelling of Mary's surname: Estey, Esty, Easty, Eastie, and Eastick are but a few....)  Mary's sister, Rebecca, was also hanged as a witch on July 19, 1692.... 

 

Mary was my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother.  Rebeca, my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great aunt.

So, some might say I come from a long line of witches....

Happy Hallowe'en....from a real witch!

S'more Thank-yous, My Latest "Dones," and a Thank-you Party.....

It's beginning to look a lot black and orange 'round Nod....
And I'm loving it!!
I'd like to introduce you the newest member of our nest - Jacz:

Jacz is one of many awesomely whimsical creations by Willa, from The Old Cupboard Door.  I was the lucky, lucky, winner of her latest (and I gotta say greatest) giveaway. Yippee!!! Jacz was accompanied on his journey to Nod by Tricks:



(Gotta keep my eye on this one....he's living up to his namesake and then some....I'm never quite sure where he's gonna turn up!)

Thank you SO MUCH Willa!!! I love my boys (and they told me to tell you they're tickled orange in their new forever home!!!)

AND, there was more fun in the mailbox yesterday....The very, very, sweet (but also very, very, sneaky) Robin from The Primitive Hutch knows I love Halloween as much as she does....And she surprised me with some incredible Halloween treats:  An adorable card, some Reese's minis (yeah....I've made a dent in those already), some skelly tissues, and the cutest dang witch and crow pillow tuck and cross-stitched "All Hallows Eve" tuck/pinkeep, both hand-done by Miss Robin herself....

Yeah, I melted....

 Thank you from the bottom of my Halloween heart Girlfriend....You know me SO well....(but I still wanna know how you got my addy....) ;o)

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On to my "dones...." (Remember those?  Yeah, I know, here at TheCrankyCrow, they are few and far between....but here goes.....)

First up:

My applique pumpkin mat:

(A "Little Stitchies" pattern by Bareroots....)

Eliza:

(Pattern by Stacy Nash Primitives)

And....my punch needle "Boo Cat":

(Pattern by Brenda Gervais at Country Stitches Online (With Thy Needle & Thread). (Hornbook painted by my dear, still blog-less, niece...)

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And lastly, but certainly not leastly, I want to say a huge and heart-felt thank you to Deneen from dreamingincolor.  She is having a "thank-you party" and today I'm her guest of honor.  :o)  Can you believe it??? TheCrankyCrow being featured on someone else's blog??? Woo Hoo!!! (I'd pinch myself, but it hurts....) Anyways, to those of you that found your way here by means of Deneen, I bid you a warm welcome and hope you look around a bit....It's just simple, but it's me.....And for my regular (wonderful and amazing followers), pop on over and visit Deneen....I shared a (very) wee bit of my Halloween decor over there - and while you're there, check out some of Deneen's amazing redo's and crafting ideas....She was overly blessed with creativity me thinks...

Thanks bunches Deneen....you're one of the best!

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Hope you're getting your spook on!!

TheCrankyCrow A-Z....

I've been meaning to do this....and now I am....

Wanna know this Cranky Crow a little better?  (Probably not...smart answer....), but here goes anyway....Hey - you probably knew most of it anyways:

A~Age:  What? Really??? You expect me to do math NOW??? Ok....Lemme find the calculator....Oh.....wow...53....Yeah - I'm surprised too...

B~Bed:  Full size early 20th century mahogany with headboard and footboard....bought at an auction I made my mother wait out for me as I had to run off to my cocktailing job.  (Yup, it's followed me that long...)  Relatively recently outfitted with a wondermattress (my term, not theirs) from Sleep Number....Best thing I ever did.  Covered with a cat-hair covered quilt and two snuggle cats.  Too bad there's no room for Mr. Crow. (That's why there's a couch in the basement!)

C~Chore You Hate:  I truly despise ALL chores.  Really.  Ok....If I have to pick just one, I'd say cleaning the bathroom.  I'm a wee bit OCD, and doing a bathroom perfectionist style just takes too dang long.....

D~Dog:  Two....One Shih Tzu named Gazoo; and one Siberian Husky named Mason (a/k/a "The Snow Dog").

E~Essential To Start My Day:  An alarm clock....If I didn't have an alarm, I would sleep the rest of my life.  Truly, really.

F~Favorite Color:  Black, black and every kind of black.  No, I'm not Goth. I just like black.

G~Gold or Silver:  Silver or White Gold...and pewter does me fine as well....

H~Height:  5'6-1/2 and shrinking.....

I~Instruments I Play:  None you would want to hear me play (trust me on this one....)  But took lessons for, and own/owned a violin, guitar, and a harmonica.

J~Job Title:  Attorney, Wife, Mother, Supervisor, Boss Lady, She Who Must Be Obeyed, and once before, and soon to be again, "Instructor"

K~Kids:  One and only one...My beloved son, Jordan....aged 20.

L~ Live In:  Nod....Come on folks, you knew THAT!!

M~Make of Car:  My "regular" ride:  2001 Toyota 4-Runner Limited 4WD.  My "fun" (i.e., "summer") ride: a 1984 Mercedes 380sl convertible... Yeah...Life is goood.... ;o)

N~Nicknames:  The Crow, Dolly, Squirrel....(don't ask...)

O~Overnight Hospital Stay:  Oh yeah...way too many...How many times can one crow have their beak broken??? And how many pounds of flesh can one surgeon want???

P~Pet Peeve:  Politics (on ANY level) without ethics...

Q~Quote From a Movie:  "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas in anymore...."

R~Right or Left Handed:  Right...oh, definitely right....(Why do I have this left hand anyway??)

S~Siblings:  An older brother and an older sister; and one younger brother....(Also, one older brother who died way too young...)

T~T.V. Shows:  Hmmmm....more fond of movies than regular t.v. shows....would have to say Little House on the Prairie; Andy Griffith; Scooby Doo...Ok...maybe Twilight Zone....

U~Underwear:  Hmmmm...again...Depends on the occasion... ;o)

V~Vegetable You Hate:  Brussels Sprouts...hands down.

W~What Makes You Late:  Absolutely everything.  I wasn't born to be on time.  And I am hoping I will be late to my own funeral as well.

X~X-Rays:  More than I could ever count on my right hand or my useless left hand...

Y~Yummy Foods I Make:  I make a really mean Boeuf Bourguignon....

Z~Zoo Animals:  Lions and Tigers and Bears...OH MY!

To make this a little more fun, Misi from 1890 Gable House Musings added a fun little twist to the A-Z game and asked us to spill on what scares us....

Ok....Here you have it folks....THIS scares me:

Drowning....I have had nightmares of it since childhood....

Silly, yes....but scares me all the same....

Unnecessary Kindnesses....

I have been blessed with some very unnecessary kindnesses.....

A dragonfly from Myra at My Mother's Daughter:

Myra makes these wonderful creatures from "found objects" - his body is actually the spindle of a 100-year old chair.....She had a giveaway on her blog for one, and ended up making one for EVERYONE who entered her giveaway.  (He will spend his summers in my flower garden....but, given the inclement weather here in Nod these days, he's acclimating himself to the indoors where he'll be spending his winter days.....He seems particularly fond of pumpkins.....)

Myra also included some beautiful bittersweet (thinking a A Little Raggedy Angie might have had a whole lot to do with THAT!!):

 In any event, thank you so much Myra (and my raggedy friend)!!! I ADORE my dragonfly and....oh I so love bittersweet!!)....

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And....a week or so ago, I received an email from Jackie at Bliss Farm Antiques.  I had entered a giveaway she recently had, but had not won....But she wanted to thank me for having taken the time to congratulate the winner....

A few days this arrived in the mail:

  

WOW!!! I LOVE these!!! Old tin, old wood, together in kitchen GADGETS!!! Woo Hoo!!! How perfect is THAT?!!!  It truly touched me that Jackie wanted to thank me for something so small - and actually took the time to even get to know what sorts of things I like (and got it SOOO right!), and picked out such special treasures for me....Thank you so much Jackie!  Talk about unnecessary kindness....

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Lastly, but certainly not leastly......I received another very special package in the mail this past week (yeah, it's been a very good mail week!)....It, too, started with an email.....from someone whose blog I relatively recently started following.  "She" asked if I would give her my address - and not ask questions.  Well, you know....now you just tested this crow's limits....After I ascertained "she" wasn't asking just a hypothetical question and she assured me "she" would not send anything "nasty," I did, in fact, give her may addy....and "she" sent me the most wonderful package....

A handmade "crow" basket (it has a sweet liner that I neglected to photograph...bad crow...); a darling little crow pinkeep; a cuter-than-cute pumpkin pillow tuck; and....ahhh....sweet, Sweet Annie.....

....And a little crow on a pumpkin mat.....

LOVE EVERY STINKIN' THING!!!

I'm still not entirely certain "why...."  "She" said she thought of me when she came on these things....and she certainly "gets" me and what makes my heart smile....So, I'm leaving it at that - no questions asked.  (Lesson: Sometimes questions aren't a good thing!)  "She" is a blessing to me and one of the kindest people I've met in this journey.  An unnecessary kindness that touched my heart deeply.  And "she" wishes to remain anonymous....

Thank you Sweet Anonymous.....You made my heart sing....

Wishing you many "unnecessary kindnesses...."

Tuesday Display Chain: "Autumn at the Table...."

Whew!!

Last week in Miss Misi's continuous display chain....I made it, I made it!!! Yippee!!
(Although Misi will probably kick me out after this week....)

And "whew!" again....Misi really made me work for this one!

This week's theme:  "Autumn at the table ~ One place setting with a yummy recipe prepared and shared....."  You cut me to the quick, Girl.  YIKES!

Confession:  DH does most of the cooking.  It started when I worked full time and he, well, didn't work at all, and we found out he was very good at it.  I have since been relegated to "speciality foods:"  hors d'oeuvres, desserts, foreign food, gourmet, casseroles, my mom's special dishes and....SOUPS!!

And, to me, autumn, in all its resplendent glory, also means comfort food and SOUP ranks at the very top of that category for me....Personally, I think I could live on soup (and a wonderful hunk of crusty bread....Oh...and maybe a slice of a wonderful Gouda.....)

But, again, I digress.....

Here's my offering this week:

Dead Man's Soup A la Crow:

 

Despite its name (which I WILL explain), it's YUMMY in my book....

Here's how:

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 medium onion (course minced)

2 slices of bacon (I like more...yeah...of course!)

4 Tbsp flour

4-1/2 cups water

5 chicken bouillon cubes

1 can creamed corn (for a creamier soup, run through a blender) (I don't....)

2 eggs (beaten)

1/2 cup milk (to be added last)

Salt and pepper to taste (Caution on the salt, as the bouillon is salty....Start with 1 tsp or so of pepper (yeah, we like our pepper....)

Mince the bacon and onion and place in a dutch oven or stew pot.  Fry until the bacon and onion are done:

Add butter and let it melt:

Sift the flour into the bacon, onion, and butter.  Stir until completely mixed.  (If your roux is too dry, add more butter....)

Add the bouillon cubes and water (a cup at a time), stirring constantly.  When the broth and the roux have been incorporated, add the creamed corn.  Heat to a low boil, stirring occasionally.

Drip the beaten eggs in a narrow stream into the boiling soup that you are constantly stirring:

(Yeah, that was hard to photograph stirring, drizzling, and snapping a photo....)

When you have incorporated all of the egg into the soup, turn off the heat.....

Stir in the milk, and season with salt and pepper (remember - easy on the salt until you taste test it first):

(Note: Shown is a double batch....The recipe is for "soup for 4," a single batch....)

So why "Dead Man's Soup"?  Well, the very first time I made it, the next night my DH asked if there was any "Dead Man's Soup" left.  I asked him why he called it that....He said "Because it really sticks to your bones...."

Bone Appetite!!  (And, no, that's not my DH....He was much taller....) ;o)

I am so blessed....

Go to 1890 Gable House Musings to find out what the other chain gang members have on their autumn tables....

And a huge, big, thank you to Misi for four weeks of fun.....And ensuring my boys are eating well tonight! ;o)