Lest We Forget....

 

Memorial Day...f/k/a Decoration Day is a humbling and solemn day, recognizing and remembering those who died in service.  (Veteran's Day...in November...typically recognizes all those who have served or are now serving in the military, as well as their families.)

The "holiday" was originally initiated to honor the massive casualties of the Civil War.  After becoming embroiled in the conflict of WW1, however, Memorial Day, as it came to be known, the day evolved to honor those who died in all wars.

The above poem, "In Flanders Fields," was written by Lt. Col. John McCrae, a Canadian physician and poet after presiding over the funeral of his friend who died in battle during WWI.

My grandfather, John Peter Paul Clausen (yes, that's all one person), did not die in war, but he did serve in WWI.  I never met either of my paternal grandparents, my grandfather having died at 43 in a tragic accident and my grandmother, Emma, at age 44.

   He looks no more than a child as did/do so many.

I did not make it to the cemeteries today as the rain moved in quicker than anticipated (Camelot it's not), but I will go tomorrow.

I hope amid the "holiday" celebrations, there is time to remember and reflect.

Little Joys

It's Mother's Day.  

I know everyone's circumstances are different.

Some are celebrating with, or celebrated by, their families.

Others are alone or grieving.

Yet for others it is just another Sunday.

Whatever your inner world view is at this point in time, I'm sharing some little joys of mine on this day.

Look close...a baby robin peeks out of its nest outside my kitchen window:

Not exactly a "joy," but they are pretty cute...and put an end to my trying to live trap the critters:

Magic in the night sky:

A gray thatcher singing his heart out:

The thatcher's song:

I wish for you a day of little joys.

Lucy Nowlen and Robin's Rules of Wonky...

 After many years of agonizingly overthinking debating linen choices, I finally started - and finished - stitching "Lucy Nowlen."  It is an antique reproduction mourning sampler by Pineberry Lane.

{This is NOT where it will hang. It will be properly pressed and framed...eventually.  I simply tacked it here in order to be able to photograph it without attempting a ladder accident shoot.}

Most traditional mourning samplers have motifs typical of the era - tombstones, angels, willows, urns, etc.  Lucy's, however, is simply verses from an old hymn which was often sung at children's funerals.  The verses - or portions of them - also appeared on tombstones during the early to mid-19th century.

The hymn is attributed to Joel A. Knight and was published in a book of hymns in 1806.

My photos are looking very washed out...In person, the colors are somewhere in between the original and the model photo.  (I did use the called-for floss.)

Nothing is actually known about Lucy.  We can presume, however, that she was a child from the fact that the hymn was a children's song, and that she died prior to 1848 when the sampler was stitched (or finished).  It is also likely that the original sampler was stitched by a family member (I'm thinking a sister?) given the initials 'M.N." on the right side of the sampler.

I stitched mine on 36 count "Wren" by Picture this Plus.  It is worked in a variety of stitches: Algerian eyelet stitches, long-arm cross stitches, and regular cross stiches over 3, over 2, and over 1...a great MANY over 1 (all of the lower case letters from the second verse on are over 1...in addition to some in the first verse as well.

There's your history lesson....Now for Robin's Rules of Wonky....

(Not to be confused with Robert's Rules of Order....

Trust me...you don't want to confuse ANYTHING with that.  As a former elected parliamentarian, I can attest to the tediousness of Robert's Rules of Order.

For those of you lucky enough to never have had to endure membership in a society or organization requiring such antiquated rules of procedure and a parliamentarian to adjudicate the orderly conduct of meetings and business, here's a definition:

parliamentarian

ˌpär-lə-ˌmen-ˈter-ē-ən

NOUN

1. an adherent of the parliament in opposition to the king during the English Civil War
2. an expert in the rules and usages of a deliberative assembly (such as a parliament)
3. a member of a parliament

 

{Hint: I was NOT involved in the English Civil War, nor am I, nor ever was I, a member of a parliament.}

And, yes, yes I do still have my worn copy of Robert's Rules of Order....someplace.)

There's your arcane trivia - and completely uncalled-for digression - for the day.

Anyhow...back to my rules of wonky.

Some of you may remember the battle between my OCD and my fondness for wonkiness while stitching my last large piece ("Grace Bridges" by Stacy Nash).  I ended up spending a great deal of time and energy correcting alphabets, adjusting spaces to suit my sense of symmetry, etc.

So...you may wonder why I would not have done the same with this piece given the numerous instances of wonkiness. The same letters are stitched differently in different words and sometimes in the same word, words in the same line of verse are stitched higher or lower than other words in the line, missed stitches in certain letters, incongruent punctuation, etc.  Most obvious of all are the errors in numbering the verses:  "2rd" (vs. "2nd") and "3th" (vs. "3rd").

And absolutely no tug of war with my OCD...because this is a reproduction of an actual antique sampler versus a sampler that was simply designed to look old.

This is the way that the stitcher - whoever she/he was - stitched it originally 176 years ago, and Wendy (a/k/a Pineberry Lane) took great pains to dissect the original and chart it exactly as it had been stitched so long ago.

I felt obliged to honor both Lucy and the stitcher of her humble sampler by following her needle paths exactly - or at least to the best of my ability.

Not that you asked...but there you have it.  My rules of wonky.