non-Knitti-me

Decoration Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, has its roots in the Civil War; however it is difficult to prove conclusively the origins of Memorial Day. It is likely that it had many separate beginnings. Spontaneous gatherings of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

In celebration of Memorial Day, the cast of crew of "Brothers" performed a pared down version of the Civil War opera (6 songs out the 40 in the full-length production). Here are some images from that performance yesterday. (Note: eventhough we were in full costume, we performed in a reader's theater style, that is with no sets, props, backdrops, etc. We also had to utilize hand-held microphones.)

Eli a run away slave who joined the Union Army.

"One day these old chains are bound to break. I'll walk away both free and unafraid. One day when my eyes are wide awake, this nightmare they call slavery's gonna fade."

Mr. and Mrs. Cobb, a rich Northern industrialist family whose eldest daughter marries a Southern plantation owner. He's not very thrilled with his daughter marrying this man, but he has never been able to say no his daughter. (Warning: he's a bigot.)

"These Southern folk just amaze me. They smile so friendly, but they'd just as soon fight. They're backward, arrogant, lazy. They appear to be gracious, as long as you're white."

Thomas and Rachel (nee Cobb) Albert. Thomas is leaving from war and Rachel is not very happy about this.

"It's not about muskets, it's not about guns. It's a question of conscience and my duty being done. It's about honor, perhaps you do not care.

"It's so hard to let you go...it's more than I can bear."

Eli, who becomes a soldier in the Union army after he runs away from slavery in the South, discovers his old master a prisoner of war.

"So this is a Reb, he used to be my master. So this is a Reb, he used to keep me in chains. Whose in bonage now? Hey Master, can you hear me? Looks like these times are different, ain't it funny how things change..."

"Have you heard the news? President Lincoln has been shot in Ford's theatre tonight. Have you heard the news? President Lincoln has been shot, by an actor named John Wilkes Booth."

"For all that happened yesterday, put it all aside. The guns have fallen silent, put it all aside. We are standing at the crossing, but we cannot celebrate. We are newly founded orphans, who are hanging funeral crepe. Hear that whistle in the distance...

"No we can't help but cry, We just can't help but cry, when that black train comes slowly rolling by."

Lyrical Excerpts from "Brothers," by Jebby.

FBC Sacramento Presents:

BROTHERS

A musical Drama About Faith, Family, Freedom and War.

First Baptist Church

2324 L Street, Sacramento, California

(916) 443-6537

June 9th and 10th, 2006

7:30 p.m.

$4.00 advanced tickets

$5.00 at the door

Under 13 free

Free childcare available (6 and under)

I'll take Civil War for $100

Yes, we are in the throws of Civil War mania here at Chez Edmondson. Last Saturday we attended a Civil War Re-enactment:

Here I am with my friend Dan in our Civil War era get ups. In keeping with Project Spectrum's color of the month - my costume is GREEN!

And here I am with good ol' Abe. People said we bore a striking resemblance to Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln - she was a short woman too.

Debi (in black hat) and Les - both sitting (Dan is standing between them) are hard-core re-enactors and travel around to all the re-enactments and do school visitations, etc. Les will be playing General Lee in the musical drama and Debi is our historical consultant - we don't want a FARB alert (FARB = Far be it from authentic).

This is my friend Jebby (the musical genius behind the Civil War rock opera "Brothers" we're putting on) marching off to war. He was an extra in the Civil War Epic Gods & Generals.

And where would our re-enactments be without paying homage to the fiber arts.

More miscellaneous photos from the event...

Another Bracelet

Not much craftiness going on 'round here, but I was able to whip up a quick birthday bracelet for my friend Melony.

Here is a blurry pic. It's very similar to my last bracelet except I did not include the natural stones.

I spent Saturday morning working on costumes for the Civil War play. What we do is retrofit thrift store suit jackets into blue and grey uniforms. And after meeting up with friends for our once-a-month sushi feed, we rehearsed the rest of the afternoon.

Mothers' Day was very enjoyable. After church Graeme and the kids took be out to a little Mom n Pop Italian restaurant that has been a Sacramento establishment since 1928. It was a delightful time - the kids weren't scrapping, we were all actually having adult conversation. Wow, I hope this is a new beginning for the kids - they've spent the last five or six years at each other's throats. Needless to say, I was basking in the cease fire.

The kids presented me with a couple of great hand-made cards, a bath and body set (lotions, bath oils, etc.), a CD and a gift certificate for a massage and facial. After lunch I was able to take a Mothers' Day nap and then I watched my Netflix (Buffy, Season 4 Disc 6) in peace. I felt very spoiled indeed!

Health-wise - overall doing really well. I'm eating better, loosing weight (still hovering just over 200 pounds - once I drop below, believe me, you'll hear about it), exercising regularly by going to the gym three times per week and walking the dog daily, drinking more water, going to the chiropractor and taking all my supplements as recommended by my doctor. On the other hand, I have many large gall stones and will most likely have to have my gall bladder removed. Despite my bland diet, I am still having frequent attacks, albeit not as severe. I meet with the surgeon on Thursday to discuss options.

Mother's Day

I received a call this morning as I was in my get-the-kids-to-school-get-myself-to-work flurry, only to hear, "Hi Marie, this is your Mom." She just sailed into port (San Francisco) after a 17 day cruise. She called my sister the night before to let her know that she would be home sometime today. Of course these calls always send me and my sister into hyperventilating fits.

I just spent a frustrating lunch hour trying to pick out a Mother's Day Card that wasn't total lies - "you were always there for me..." "love and nurture can be defined in you dear mother..." (barf). Anyway, after wading through totally nauseating sentiments, I finally found a card - something like "here's a big hug for you on Mother's Day." Ah well.

This is a photo of my mom and my most wonderful sister.

Speaking of my sister - here's a shameless plug. She and my brother-in-law own a tourist business on Hwy. 99 in California's Central Valley. They are now on-line! Go visit their site Visitvalleyfarms.com, where you can order California-grown nuts, dates, etc.

Rehearsals for the Civil War Rock Opera, "Brothers" continues apace. In a couple of weeks a group of us are going out to a Civil War Re-enactment to try and recruit re-en-actors to flesh out our battle scenes. It's great to be in a music and drama production again, but my goodness, it's a lot of work and time commitment - about four week until curtain June 9th and 10th.

Crafty endeavors are at a standstill. I may try and cast on and finish Marcella's sleeve during Amazing Race-American Idol-Lost-Invasion TV marathon tonight.

The Sun's Shining

Well, it looks like the rain decided to stop here in Northern California. It's been in the 80's and the plants are blooming, bees are buzzing, allergies are flaring - but life is good.

I'm still insanely crazy with commitments and work, but I'm in a better place emotionally to handle it.

I signed up with Project Spectrum several weeks ago, but this month is the first time I'm actually participating. This month's color theme is GREEN. Here is this month's Green-themed contribution:

Three gemstones form the focal point for this multi-stranded bracelet. I used pretty iridescent seed beads with freshwater pearls and paua shell and touches of silver.

Knit-wise, I still haven't made any progress on my WIPs (Marcella Jacket, knitted throw, a couple of scarves and a purse to be felted).

Until next time...