Book Review: The Dressmaker’s Gift

9 Apr

Dressmaker is a term that is no longer in our contemporary vocabulary.  A century ago, it was a profession with formal training.

The American College of Dressmaking in Kansas City published The American Dressmaker textbook in 1906.  I assume this instruction became part of Home Economics curriculum some decades later.

I digress… the title The Dressmaker’s Gift understates the powerful story of women in Paris during WW2 resisting the domination and occupation of Nazi Germany.

From making custom dresses/gowns in Paris, to being held at a location for political prisoners (Fresnes), then transferred to Dachau…shocking!  In 2012, I was on the grounds for a walking tour.

Dachau Prison
Prisoner labels, Dachau, Munich 2012

The author accurately related the horrors of life in the concentration camp.

Read for yourself how it is possible to reconcile the trauma, not only for one’s self but also one’s children and grandchildren decades later.

 

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Amaryllis, A short story

29 May

My first experience with Amaryllis bulbs was a gift from a wonderful neighbor November 2019. Blooms emerged January, 2020. It rebloomed April, 2021.

My mother loved all flowers. She had a special fondness for peonies, iris and day lilies of all varieties. She had a Christmas cactus that thrived over decades usually blooming just in time for the holidays. One can never have enough blooms :).

Mom requested an amaryllis bulb for the holidays. I ordered one shipped to her Christmas of 2020. In spite of being carefully watched for signs of life…NOTHING happened. The next time I was home, she instructed me to “take it back”.

I decided to repot. To my wondering eyes, I beheld FIVE bulbs in one pot. There was no room for any of them to grow.

For me the next step was to round up five pots to replant and give all the bulbs their own space. In the months that followed: Two did not thrive, Three grew beautiful foliage….

ONE of the three developed TWO blooms.

God bless Mom and Dad this Memorial Day!

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Persimmons

22 Jun
12 seeds planted. These FOUR sprouted.
Fresh native persimmons (fall 2021)
Persimmons Fall 2021 Central Indian

Back story and the reason for celebrating FOUR persimmon seedlings.

Fall 2019: Content and failed trial inspired by

“How to Grow Oak Trees from Acorns” Shelly Wigglesworth Oct 16, 2018, published in New England Today, Living

I like the idea of refrigerating with peat and barley in a sealed container over winter.

Shelly recommended discarding acorns with pin holes.  They are made by “inch” worms exiting the hull.  I believe the worms enter under the cap.  After checking closely and drying  about two weeks, I discarded 20 acorns of the 60+ I had gathered from our backyard.

Here we “grow” again…today March 11, 2020…

Responding to the loss oak seedlings ruined by squirrels going for the meat of the acorn…I have turned the table!  Using a small cage to keep wild life out and protect future tree…rather than keep animals IN.  45 acorns in peat pots.

Hmmmm…what yield will we have? ZERO 😦

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Book Reviews: Prayers that Shake Heaven and Earth plus Advanced and Extreme Prayers

12 Jun

Author: Daniel Duval 2018, 2019 and 2021 respectively

Riveting!
Extraordinary!
Many blessings!

Seeking a solution to problem/s? This series of books will stretch your imagination and bolster your faith. Collectively they offer explanations, organization and structure that build on each other. Kindle suggested these. Great transitions between many subjects.

Amanda Grace and Robin D. Bullock both have powerful spiritual ministries as prayer warriors.

Yesterday I got a message to Watch “Tim Bence In Conversation Rob Skiba on Canaanite Altars & The Federal Reserve… Part 1” on YouTube starting @ 55 min mark https://youtu.be/HcYw3bkB_pg This personal account by Tim Bence is riveting and well told. The conclusion is well worth hearing.

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Strawberry 🍓 Surprise

2 Jun

2021 we had aspirations for planting a fair size strawberry patch. After hearing the passion wildlife has for ripe berries, we scaled down, planted what was already ordered near the breeze way. We netted three of 20 plants.

2022 we let the survivors stay in place near a retaining wall. Surprise! Surprise! We have had enough ripe berries to have parfaits for two….five days in a row.

Runners have stretched out to start several more plants.

Great flavor!

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Observations from the sewing room with Days for Girls International

6 Apr

https://www.daysforgirls.org

Color/pattern: My strategy for purchasing fabric has been to maximize variation in color and patterns within the Days for Girls guidelines. The goal is to keep it interesting for “me” as well as the recipients of the kits. I photographed three combinations from my latest work…

Apples paired with “quilt shop” prints for pockets
Southwest abstract with pockets that match colors

Contrast of “calico” print with boldness of “poppy” + a “batik” with “quilt” fabric in similar color tones.

By the yard disappointment:

This winter I chose to order flannel online to “save the wait at cutting table” and a trip to the fabric store. Presently there is no option to order fractions of a yard (for shrinkage allowance). As I work through my online purchase of four different cuts of flannel…I came up short each time expecting (16) 9″X9″ squares per yard.

My preference in store is to buy the end of bolt (when it is close). Strange, that feels like a “gain” rather than “loss”. If the shortage is at least 6″ wide it can be used. (I missed that 4 of 4 times ordering online.)

Bundle for chapter to assemble kits:

Supporting 30 kits at a time works well for my space. 30 kits contain 60 shields with wings + pockets plus 240 reversible tri-fold pads. Ah Ha. Rather than using 30 gallon bags plus shopping bags where the contents become topsy turvy or boxes that are never the best proportions…It occurred to me to try 13 gal drawstring kitchen bags. Works better! Delivery time.

Elfcroft completed work in process, ready for team assembly
Easier delivery, Denser storage

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Fascinating Research and Adventures of Author Gavin Menzies

29 Mar

During a recent bookcase reorganization I realized I had not read the latest and last book by Gavin Menzies, adventurer and researcher extraordinaire. (Gavin passed away 12-April-2020.) His career in the British Navy as submarine Lieutenant Commander offered opportunities to develop as a seasoned, savvy world explorer. He authored these three books in his retirement years. Simple questions, keen observations and tenacity to personally travel to the “corners” of the world substantiated his hypotheses.

The Lost Empire of Atlantis Fascinating and as thoughtful as his work on China, differed greatly from claims I was familiar with…submerged in the Atlantic Ocean. Menzies presents “Atlantis” as synonomous to the island Crete with outstanding collaboration from multiple sources and theories. I offer a link to the Dark Journalist website as an alternative contemporary resource on all things “Atlantis.”

https://www.darkjournalist.com

Dark Journalist X-122: AUTEC In The HotZone Ghislaine Atlantis Search

Dark Journalist X-122 (2) Secret Space Government: UFOs & Emergency Powers!

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Legacy Quilts

24 Mar

FLASH BACK:

Gifted to baby Embry at the baby shower for her parents April 2021 in Huntsville, AL

Pink Dogwood by Mam-ma Hall
Dutch Girl by Mam-ma Tuggle

Gifts for Birkholz baby girl were hand made in the 1960s by TWO of her Great-Great-Grandmothers. Both quilters are Maternal and Paternal mothers of her great-grandparents (Grandmother on father’s side). Both are made for double size beds.

Hopefully there will be opportunities to share these heirlooms with cousins of the new generation who have the common legacy.

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Corey Lynn encourages everyone to do their own research

8 Mar

coreysdigs.com

Corey Lynn, investigative journalist, encourages the public to join her to find the truth.

OPEN-SOURCE Information!

I found Chapter 4 extraordinary. It very thoroughly explores Blockchain technology. I cannot begin to do justice by commenting on the reveals of who, what, when, where, why, how and how much. Then Chapter 5 masterfully relates a personal story featuring her beloved dog. If the content does not seem relatable, it will after Chapter 5. Well done!

IN THE NEWS https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/07/irs-idme-face-scans/

Recommended by Catherine Austin Fitts, The Solari Report

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Book Review: The Winter Harvest Handbook

24 Feb
GREAT READ on the potential and possibilities of four season gardening with unheated greenhouses.

Imagine scrolling Instagram posts and being grabbed by a Martha Stewart post referring to Eliot Coleman’s long time enterprise: organic gardening in Maine year round using unheated greenhouses. This beautiful book has many photos to support the reveal of his family’s passion: life and times growing vegetables for restaurants and markets within a 25 mile radius. Ingenuity emerges in every chapter. Crop rotation, green houses, tunnels, developing custom tools, historical research of Paris in the late 1800s, importance of facing south in the northern hemisphere, custom seeding applications and much MORE. The illustrations are outstanding.

Several years ago my curiosity was peaked by Instagram posts of a longtime friend on the launch of vegetable and flower business supporting the Jonesborough, TN farmers market. Planning involved minimal acreage and a three season planting rotation of most areas. Closed for winter months. Tilling the long time pasture area was challenging. I only briefly saw a map designating plan for plant location and seasonal rotation. Starting from scratch, I wondered how one planned compatible combinations and timing of planting/harvest…so, this Winter Harvest Handbook answered many or most of my questions and more (given the different growing zone). EF

Do you remember when “Keep on Truckin” was trendy?

20 Feb

Let’s celebrate trucker convoys

to restore personal freedom and liberty in Canada and around the world.

My long career in manufacturing engineering for Allison Transmission served “on and off” highway vehicle markets at home and around the world.

Hybrid bus
Semi cab
Two of a couple dozen “show” vehicles for Allison Transmission, Global headquarters in Indianapolis, IN. Yours truly was one of a team of drivers available to work “Ride and Drive” experiences for customers specifying automatic transmissions for their fleet of TRUCKS, buses, etc.

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