333 Years Ago....

 333 years ago today

...Mary Easty and 7 others were hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.

Mary was my grandmother, 7 times removed.

This was the largest number of hangings during the witchcraft panic but, thankfully, it was also the last.

One contemporary recorded some chilling details of this particular day - including how the cart carrying the condemned to Proctor's ledge on Gallow's Hill became mired in the mud on the way to the ledge.

The accusers (i.e., the "afflicted") cried out that it was "the devil himself" who hindered its progress.

The writer also noted that, when Mary Easty stood upon the ladder of the gallows and faced the crowd prior her hanging, her words were "as serious, religious, distinct, and affectionate as could well be expressed, drawing tears from the eyes of almost all present."

Happy autumnal equinox my friends.

Olde Witche Mary

{Sorry...photo is washed out a bit...it's been very dreary here these last several days.}

This pattern has been in my "gotta-stitch" stash for many years now.  I finally pulled it out and stitched it...and even managed to fully finish it.

The design is called "Olde Witche Mary" by Lori Breclin of Notforgotten Farm.  It is stitched on 40 ct "Legacy" by Picture this Plus with Gentle Arts "Raven" floss.

The pattern, of course, brought to mind my grandmother (7x removed) who was hanged as a witch in Salem 331 years and 3 days ago, Mary Eastey (also spelled "Esty" or "Easty").

After I finished stitching it, however, I thought of a variation to the verse that would have been more fitting for her, but it was too late to turn back.

The past 3 days the skies have opened and released all the rain it withheld from us the entire summer. We had over 3" in a day and a half and it is continuing just as heavily today.

Even our parched clay soil cannot absorb it all.

In between the deluges, though, the magic of autumn shines through.

~Happy Autumn~

I'm Here...

...and so is the funk.

Hence, there is little noteworthy to share with you and, further hence, why long time, no post.

Thinking a change of scenery might be the antidote, I took a road trip with the Cat down the road (i.e., Cathy Stephan from Red Barn Rugs).  

I spent 2-1/2 days hooking with 4 incredibly talented artists thinking, surely, I would find at least a morsel of mojo but, no...I just ended up feeling like the red-headed stepsister.

I think, therefore, that the hooking project I started at the workshop in January is going to be banished to the Isle of the Unfinished (which is growing as quickly as the Isle of Misfits and Castaways) and I will pick up my needle for a bit - although my stitching mojo hasn't fared much better than my hooking mojo of late.

I did finish the hooking on my Simple Santa.

The above photo is reading washed-out on my screen, but the colors are, in person, more vibrant. 

Now I have a whole year to get it bound.  😬

In other news, this little guy has given me several scares. 

He had 2 emergency surgical procedures within 8 days of each other.

It was the same issue he had surgery for almost 2 years ago:

He gets a blockage in his colon and starts shutting down.

He had been on medications previously and put on a prescription diet -

but, apparently, neither worked.

Given that it had reoccurred so quickly this last time, they are concerned that his colon is not working properly.  Unfortunately, the only permanent "fix" is a specialized surgery in which they remove the non-functioning portion of his colon.

😳

It is not a common procedure and would require many pre-surgery tests.

For now, he is on yet another medication (fun times for a cat with claws).

While my mojo is out on its walkabout, I continue to read - books were my first love and they never abandon me.

I have fallen woefully behind on my posting of recent reads, but will attempt to get back to it soon.  But, in the meantime, I treated myself to this:

{"Records of the Salem Witch Hunt," Bernard Rosenthal editor}

It is a comprehensive record of all the legal documents pertaining to the Salem witch trials, in chronological order.  I had been holding out in the hopes of some day getting the hardcover version, but it is no longer available except on the secondary market at crazy prices.

(The paperback version is just shy of 1000 pages, so the hardcover version is in two volumes.)

Since it will be used primarily as a reference book, I suppose it doesn't matter - and I will feel less guilty should I be unable to resist making notes.

Of all the documents within the covers of this book, I was humbled to see that the editor chose a portion of my grandmother's petition as the preface page.

Hope all is well in your worlds.

Thoughts and prayers to the residents of Palestine.

I can't even imagine.

Salem and Santa

I'm back....

Hard-drive has been replaced (again), power supply has been replaced (again), and my fingers are crossed (again).

I actually have very little to say, but before I roll it up, I thought I'd share a long-suffering (and I do mean suffering) stitching project that I finally finished up.

I started this at the end of December, last year, and worked on it sporadically.  You may (or may not) recall that this is the one that gave my OCD fits with all the inconsistencies in the chart (spacing, alignment, inaccurate listing of names, the seemingly endless ways the same letter was charted, etc., etc.) 

And then I ran out of Carriage Black floss.

Apparently I was not the only one as it was literally months before I managed to get some more.

But, the stitching is finally done.

The design is cleverly entitled "Witches of Salem" and is by The Primitive Hare. 

{Stitched 1 over 2 on 40ct "Old Massachusetts" linen}

The photo is not the clearest, but the names of Mary Eastey and Rebecca Nurse are done in a darker floss than the other names to reflect my family connection.

****

And now I have moved on....

It was a difficult decision to put down my needle and take up my hook, but they tell me change is good.

As you can tell by the creases in the linen, this has been packed away for a while.  It is a design by Therese Shick called "Simple Santa."

(What's with these clever names??? 😶)

Compared to other hookers, my works-in-progress always look messy for one simple reason: they are.

It's just the way I do things... I never know when I will need to make some adjustments so I leave messy tails until they drive me nuts.

Santa's coat, in particular, is going to need some serious tweaking in this case.

****

I have also eased out of the historical fiction genre in books for a wee bit. While I tend to like reading "in season," there isn't much out there I care to read Christmas-wise...and I certainly am not inclined to read about winter, so anything's really game. 

This was a quick book fix from Menard's of all places and I am not far enough along to give a credible review but, so far, it is keeping my attention more than well and the writing is good.  It is a psychological thriller ala Alfred Hitchcock me thinks. (Sorry if this sounds ignorant as I know there is a sticker indicating it is a Netflix film...but I don't have Netflix here in Nod and live under a rock for the most part.  If you've seen it, please don't tell me how it ends.)

****

I cannot hit publish without acknowledging the horrendous tragedy that happened in Waukesha.  I had plans to go there this past week, but had to cancel.

My heart breaks for those injured, the families of those who lost loved ones or whose family members are injured, for all those who witnessed this senseless carnage and the entire community who will never again be able to experience a holiday parade without sorrow.