a sample history lesson

A man emailed me to say he didn't understand about samplers...what are they? I know it was a man because I personally know the fellow. Anyway, for all the uninitiated wanna-be needleworkers and anybody else reading this, here's a short history of samplers:

Samplers began as...samples prior to the 20th century. They were samples of a young girl's embroidery skills in mastering various embroidery stitches and patterns. They developed into embroidered pictures and commemoration pieces.

For additional history reading, go here.

Here are some of my favorites from the book Samplers, by Susan Mayor & Diana Fowle.

This is a fine example of an early sample. Definitely a conglomeration of the embroiderer's various stitches.
Moving on to the picture/commemoration style samplers of later years....

Do you have pictures of your own samplers on your blog or Flickr that we can see? If so, leave a comment with the location on today's post and I'll link to them.

Back to modern times. My Darling Husband and I traveled to A Nearby City for an event last weekend. The hotel we stayed at was quite charming. It was built in the 1920s in the Tudor style. The hallways were even a maze, just like a castle. It was so charming that each room has a balcony, and each balcony has a swing! Love-a-lee.

here, sample this

Did you see Alicia's? Here's my sampler. I'm going to cross-stitch it. I mean, I'll add it to the list of crafty things I want to do. But I will stitch it...perhaps embroider it. Living in a small town means I'm close to the country so I can drive quickly to the rural areas for country inspiration, or walk through town for city inspiration for the sampler. Samplers are so easy to personalize. You can add your initials and date you completed the project, the names of the recipients or images from the life you know.

be comforted

This is today's posting from Crosswalk.com/Breakpoint.com. I wanted to share it because we need to be reminded occasionally that there literally is a spiritual battle occurring in people's hearts, even thought we don't see it sometimes. Sometimes we can't see it because a person keeps it hidden without hints. I hope this is encouraging to you.

"THE SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTSThe First Attack on Life Chuck Colson

Yesterday, Christians around the world celebrated Epiphany, commemorating the visit of the Magi. Epiphany reminds us that God's salvation reached beyond the Jews. Christ would be, as Isaiah foretold, "a light for the Gentiles." He would bring "salvation to the ends of the earth," (49:6) as far as those very kings had traveled.
But things turned decidedly bleak after the Magi departed. Suddenly we see that the Christmas story is more than the stylized Nativity scenes we see on Christmas cards. The historian Josephus tells us how Herod murdered two of his own sons and his wife because they threatened his power.
The gospel of Matthew tells us that Herod also turned his eye to the male infants of Bethlehem. In the painting "The Slaughter of the Innocents," baroque artist Peter Paul Rubens depicted the horror: a soldier dashing a child against a Roman column, another lancing a mother who tries to hide her babe. The painting also shows a woman weeping over the body of her dead infant. It's a scene from the Bible none of us likes imagining. Matthew quoted Jeremiah to describe the atrocity: "A voice is heard in Ramah... Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted..."
Those who heard Matthew's gospel would have remembered Ramah was where Rachel died in the throes of childbirth before reaching the Promised Land. They also would have associated Ramah with the deportation of the Jews during the exile. In that vicinity, the Babylonians tore Israel's children away from their mother's arms and carried them off as slaves.
As Catherine Larson, one of my colleagues, writes in BreakPoint Online, "That evocative solo [of Rachel weeping] would have called forth the agony, the despair, and the tortured Why, of a people waiting in great darkness, of a people not yet home."
As I think about this aspect of that Christmas, I'm reminded that Christmas isn't the saccharine story we've reduced it to. It's more like D-Day.
Once Satan realized that God had invaded planet earth, he let loose a vicious counterattack. And where did Evil strike? It attacked life in its most vulnerable form.
The very first assault of Satan after the birth of Christ is against society's weakest members-infants. He attacked the "least of these." Even today, the Enemy's mode of attack hasn't changed much. We're painfully aware of the slaughter of the unborn, and the devaluation of the elderly, the poor, the disabled, and the prisoner.
But the good news is our Savior has come. He has established the beach-head. And He will have the victory.
So friends, as this New Year begins, we mustn't be deceived. There is a real battle with real casualties. We remember that we wage war not against flesh and blood, "but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
We shouldn't be surprised at setbacks and assaults upon us. Of course the Enemy won't go down without a fight. But remember, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
So lay hold of it, and don't let go."

Last night God kept bringing to my mind the hymn, "Because He Lives", and John 14 in the Bible. I trudged from the warm bed to another warm room where I could turn on a light & read. I encourage you to read it also.

an incident in economizing

What to do with leftover fried chicken? Don't just eat it cold for breakfast, stretch it. I was puzzled what to make for lunch today, then aha! I just happen to have that packet of enchilada soup spice mixture.

the recipe called for:

a can of cooked chicken meat or cooked chicken breast meat

one can of cream of chicken soup

water

I used:

leftover fried chicken meat torn into bits (skin eaten separately)

some flour, milk, butter, tarragon, chicken boullion

water

My flourish: Cut whole wheat flour tortillas into strips & toast them. Sprinkle on the bowl of soup & serve.

Delicioso!

oh what a beautiful day

Today's 70+ degree (Farenheit) weather...in winter...just begged for picnickers. We obliged.

It was the place to be, for folks of all ages.These tree seed balls reminded me of gum drops on a candy tree. Or glass balls on a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

There were lots of tykes on bikes. I would be more comfortable allowing children to ride off by themselves here than in The Big City. I know things happen everywhere, but there's less crime to deal with here.

A vintage pathway.

A vintage train.

End of the line for this black beauty.

We even have a small zoo. Very small. The concession prices are small too.