Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Right to Vote & Heros Who Died for It

Please  take a minute to read the obituaries from each American war and remember them in prayer. They gave their lives to preserve the American way of life and to give you the right to vote. God bless them.

American Revolution
: ALLEN, JOHN. Was born in Farmington, Connecticut, March 20, 1758, and died October 5, 1830, in Louisiana, Missouri. He enlisted in 1776 under Captain Scott (Col. Wylle's Regiment of Infantry, Huntington's Brigade), Connecticut State Line, as a private. At the expiration of his one year's enlistment, he entered the Continental Army for the period of the war. Early in the spring of 1777, he was attached to the New Jersey Line (Captain William Mills' Company of Artificers), and was promoted to sergeant. Near the conclusion of the war he was transferred to Captain Thomas Patten's Company of Artillery Artificers. After the war he married and removed to Lexington, Kentucky. Previous to the transfer of the Louisiana Purchase he removed to St. Louis County, and later settled in Louisiana, Pike County, Missouri. Missouri Republican (St. Louis), October 19, 1830.





Civil War: MUNSON, BUELL - Died January 2nd, 1863, in Lincoln Hospital, Washington, D. C., of wounds received at the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Buell MUNSON, of Company C., 126th Regt. N. Y. S. V., aged 21 years, third son of Frederick MUNSON, of East Bloomfield, NY.

Spanish American War:  LOWE, IRWIN S.  - Mr. A. Lowe of Glen Easton has received a telegram stating that the body of his son, Irwin S. Lowe left San Francisco last Saturday evening. It will arrive probably Thursday. Interment will occur at Beelers Station about noon Sunday, leaving the home at 10 o'clock. The young man died at San Isidro, Phillipine Islands, August 15, 1900, aged 21 years 3 months and 10 days, and was a member of Co C 22d U. S. Inf. He enlisted at Wheeling in June 1898.

World War I: DAWSON, WILLIAM ATKINSON, Died 15 Sep 1916 Killed in Action, Private, Northumberland Fusiliers, 1/6th Battalion (Territorial)., Regiment number - 2335, Theatre of War:    Aldershot

World War II: AINSWORTH, ELLEN, a 24-year-old Army nurse from Glenwood City, Wisconsin, was killed during theBattle of Anzio in Italy. She was the only Wisconsin woman to die from enemy fire during World War II. On February 10, 1944, Lieutenant Ainsworth was on duty in a hospital ward near the Anzio beachhead. During an enemy artillery bombardment, a shell hit the hospital. Despite the severe damage to the hospital, the Wisconsin nurse calmly moved her patients to safety. According to an Army report: "by her disregard for her own safety and her calm assurance she instilled confidence in her assistants and her patients, thereby preventing serious panic and injury. Her courage under fire and her selfless devotion to duty were an inspiration to all who witnessed her actions." She was wounded in the attack and died six days later. She was awarded the Silver Star, the nation's third highest award for bravery, and the Purple Heart. In her honor, a nursing care building at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King is named Ainsworth Hall. A dispensary at Fort Hamilton, New York, and a conference room in the Pentagon also are named in her honor.

Vietnam War: BAKER, SAMUE THOMAS
Army Sgt. Samuel Thomas Baker, 20 Naches, was killed in action in Vietnam 14 May (1969). He was born in Yakima and had lived here most of his life. He attended Naches High School and enlisted in the Army in December 1967. Sgt. Baker had been overseas for a year and was due to return home later this month. He was a member of the 5th Air Cavalry Division. Survivors include his parents, Mrs. John (Alma) Wynn, Naches, and George Baker, Selah; two sisters, Mrs. Rita Watson and Mrs. Judeth Stephens, both of Naches; a half sister, Miss Peggy Wynn, Naches; two half brothers, Bobby and Douglas Wynn, both of Naches; and grandparents, Samuel Sims, Marble AR, Tom Baker, Patrick AR, and Mrs. Rosa Baughman, Selah. The body will be brought to Yakima for funeral services

 Korean War:  BRANDENBURG, CHARLES AUSTIN Killed In Action - Pfc. Charles Austin Brandenburg, of near Ellerton, was killed in the Korean war on September 3. The eighteen-year-old youth is the first from Frederick county to be listed as killed in action in the Korean fighting. Pfc. Brandenburg had enlisted in the Army last February and was with the Eighth Cavalry Division.

Desert Storm:  SPEICHER, MICHAEL SCOTT. That one MIA case, that of U.S. Lt. Cmdr. Michael Scott Speicher, became quite well known. He was reported as missing after his FA18 was shot down in northern Iraq on the first night of the war.Over the years his status was changed from missing to killed in action to missing-captured, a move that suggested he was alive and imprisoned in Iraq. In 2002, his possible situation became a more high-profile issue in the build-up to the Iraq War; The Washington Times ran five successive front-page articles about it in March 2002 and in September 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush mentioned Speicher in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly as part of his case for war. However, despite the 2003 invasion of Iraq and U.S. military control of the country, Speicher was not found and his status remained under debate.It was eventually resolved in August 2009 when his remains were found in the Iraq desert, where according to local civilians, he was buried following his crash in 1991.

Iraqi Freedom: STARR, JEFFREY , 22, a Marine corporal who graduated from Snohomish High School, Seattle Washington, was killed last Sunday while on patrol in Ramadi, Iraq.

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan War) - BOARD, CODY A. Services for Army Pfc. Cody A. Board will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at Our Savior Lutheran Church in McKinney.His family will receive visitors from 6 to 8 tonight at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home in Allen. Graveside services with military honors will be at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin, Okla.

Pfc. Board, 19, was killed Oct. 4 in Mirwais, Afghanistan, by an improvised explosive device while he was returning from a patrol. A 2009 graduate of McKinney North High School, Pfc. Board received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart posthumously.

Pfc. Board is survived by his father, Chris Board of McKinney; his mother, Melissa Board of McKinney; two brothers, Aaron, a senior at McKinney North High School, and Tyler, a freshman at the school; and his grandfathers, retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Al Daley of Grove, Okla., and Robert Board of Coon Rapids, Minn. Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, woundedwarriorproject .org, or to the Patriot Guard Riders, patriotguard.org.

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Friday Feature


Today's Friday's Feature is one of my Designing Artists Women's Group on Etsy (DAWG Team), Elisa Chong aka SexyMermaid on Etsy. I picked her because she does faeries and Mermaids and with Halloween around the corner I thought it was appropriate. I love her  watercolors...so whimsical!  I had a hard time picking just one of them for this blog so I picked TWO!

Elisa Chong is a full time artist who loves to paint fantasy art, mostly of mermaids, faeries and other cute and fantastic creatures in vibrant, fun, colorful watercolors.She also creates illustrations, custom tattoo design and conceptual art.

Besides painting, she loves to grow and collect roses, listen to great music, cook delicious international recipes, and draws almost 24 hours a day.

So go visit Elisa's Etsy shop. Here's the link:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/sexymermaid?ref=pr_shop_more

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Bring on the Ghouls, Ghosts & Goblins

It will soon be Halloween...ghosts & goblins...pumpkins & halloween candy...trick or treat.

I so enjoy handing out the candy and seeing all the costumes and talking to the kids. And then watching the kids who come back for a second time, once with a mask and once without thinking you wouldn't know they were just there. LOL

If it's a pleasant evening  my neighbors and I will sit outside on folding chairs handing candy out to the kids walking by. So bring on the ghouls, ghosts and goblins and the little princesses, fairies and witches!
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The  watercolor ACEO pictured above is available in my Etsy shop...here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/32023859/aceo-miniature-watercolor-hallonight

Monday, October 25, 2010

What a couple of days!

Well what a couple of days. I went to VA Beach but before I left my kiln malfunctioned and didn't shut off. It fired so hot it burned through the fire brick. Something woke me up at 5 am. I went into the garage and everything was hot to the touch... It's a wonder my house didn't ignite. I threw open the garage door & manually shut off the kiln.  Later I went out to buy a new kiln. When I came home I thought I'd try to salvage some of the porcelain but most of it was fired so hot it stuck to the kiln & kiln furniture.

That is with 2 exceptions... .2 cross "rosary" boxes similiar to the one pictured which I had painted the Blessed Mother on!  All the other china paints were fired completely out of the other porcelain but these 2 pieces had the faint image of Mary on them.  I personally believe that she protected me & my house. My bedroom sits right over the garage.  She woke me I'm sure.  I store gasoline, paints, denatured alcohol  & other flammable chemicals in the garage and nothing ignited!

Well then in trying to save the china, I cut my hand...with only 3 hours before I left for Virginia Beach. It wouldn't stop bleeding so I went to the Urgent Care and they put 2 stitches in my left index finger.  I'm left handed! And then they gave me a tetanus shot. So for the weekend with my cousins I had a sore finger, sore arm and then from the reaction to the shot had flu like symptoms, a headache and couldn't stay awake!  We went to Mass Sunday before we left and I was getting sick in Mass & even started having a panic attack. My daughter drove home because I was so drowsy.  What a weekend!

Today I feel much better but it's so hard to type. It takes me forever. Now I have a new kiln and I'm $1500 in the hole. I have to do a hot fire to cure it and I'm a little bit nervous .  It is programmable so it will be safer than the old 25 year old kiln. But I'm still nervous.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

How Lucky I Am!

Waking up early at my cousin's beach house, I can't help think how lucky I am to have the family I do. From the time we were kids to now when we have our own kids (and some grand kids) we have kept that family connection and love.  My cousins in Virginia Beach had a father who was in the Navy and so they lived many places but yet we all managed to stay close.

It's been a while since I've been here because of my parent's health problems but when we get together it is like we have never been separated and haven't aged a day. I know the mirror will argue with that but my eyes see something different.  It's wonderful to get those big hugs and spend time together up until the wee hours of the morning telling stories, laughing, eating and having cocktails. 


I know this trip will be over too soon and it will be like when I was a kid and would come with my parents to their parent's house out by Lake Smith. We will hug and cry and I will feel like there is a hole left in my heart until I get those big Polish hugs again.
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The ACEO pictured is a water color called "Waiting for Daddy". When I painted it, it was inspired by my cousins whose Dad was in the Navy...here's the link on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/57548532/aceo-watercolor-original-waiting-for

Friday, October 22, 2010

Friday Feature

DollsandBunnies is my feature today.  Ella is a member of my Old Farmhouse Gathering team.  She is  a wife and mother of 9 children and 6 grandchildren.






Ella has been a doll maker for many years making a variety of dolls and other crafts. She tries  to make each one unique with a special character.  Carefully and lovingly made by hand they will make a wonderful gift or even as  a treat for you!

Ella says, "These are dolls that will make your heart melt. They have endearing charm and are a sure treasure for young and old." So drop by Ella's shop on Etsy. Here is the link:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/dollsandbunnies?ref=seller_info Pictured here is my personal favorite, Dorothy. Here's the link to Dorothy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/36192958/dorothy

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Something to Crow About

Crows are fascinating little critters. There are lots of them in my yard these days.  Did you know?

Crows are considered to be one of  the most adaptable and intelligent birds in the world. They have their own little language which is very evolved and varied. They can mimic animal sounds. They are pretty smart! They can even associate the noises with distribution of food! You can find them all over north America and they will live successfully in cities or suburban areas with humans.

Night time is the favorite time for crows to roost and in the winter they'll roost in flocks of thousands. Smaller groups will fly during the day to fifty miles to find food.
Crows will eat just about anything available: insects, small amphibians and snakes, earthworms, eggs and nestling birds, and clams, mussels, and other salt-water invertebrates. They will eat carrion, garbage, and wild and cultivated fruit and vegetables.

Crows prefer coniferous trees and will build their nests of branches in twigs in woods or isolated trees at least sixty feet above ground. That's probably why there are so many in my yard....good habitat for them.


Crows have quite the good little family life going on. They lay 4-6 eggs. Both parents share in the care of the eggs. Of those hatchlings one young bird will hang around to help the parents through the next nesting season in caring for the new babies. They'll bring them food and guard the nest.
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The wooden hang tag pictured above is painted in acrylic and is available in my Etsy shop. Here's the link:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/42517293/handpainted-wood-primitive-tag-black

A Day in the Past

Facebook reminded me that  8 years ago I was at the coliseum in Rome. The most amazing observation I made was that it was so quiet. People s...