My Commonplace Book... Makings of a Pascha Basket: Just CrossStitch April 2022

 I get the Just CrossStitch magazine and saw this in the April 2022 edition. I loved reading about the Pascha Basket and Wanted to keep it for my Commonplace Book.

A very ancient custom which “fell by the wayside” among the Greeks as a result of the 400 years of Turkish rule, was the custom of “blessing the family baskets” of Paschal food at Easter. It is still widespread among the Slavic nations who inherited the Orthodox Christian faith and culture from the Byzantine Greeks. ~ stjohndfw

My Commonplace book... Poem: "Come Little Leaves" by George Cooper

 Well, Fall/Autumn has come to my part of the world. The mornings are colder and the days are generally cooler. I came upon this poem and, although there are generally no trees where I live at this time in my life, I remember the leaves from Tennessee and this poem makes me homesick. The poem is titled "Come Little Leaves". It is from the book "In the Nursery of My Bookhouse" - Volume 1. The book was edited by olive Beaupre Miller; published by The Bookhouse for Children 1920

My commonplace book... Poem: "Summer and Fall" by Nona Keen Duffy

Well the first day of fall happens tomorrow. Came upon this poem and wanted to remember it. Photo is from Millie Motts' Flickr and was written by Nona Keen Duffy.

"Summer and Fall" By Nona Keen Duffy. Arrangement by Millie Motts

My Commonplace Book... Snippets in Time: G. Michael Hopf

I was reading a fanfiction "Let's Start This From the Beginning" and came accross the following quote. It is so apropo to the current situation in the world today. I therefore wanted to save it in my commonplace book. The quote is

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” ~ G. Michael Hopf, Those Who Remain

Another excellent quote from the same book is:

“...We don't defeat our enemy by giving him a platform to spread the very propaganda they hope will defeat you... You can only have freedom and liberty when others want that for you. When the other side only uses freedom with the hopes of destroying it later once [*they're] in charge, it's time to shut them down... They will use our Constitution as long as they need to until they get the power, then watch them trash it.”

 

 *added by me

Memorial... My Brother: John Michael Schlageter... Fifth birthday home!

 

YOU DON’T JUST LOSE SOMEONE ONCE

You lose them over and over,

sometimes in the same day.

When the loss, momentarily forgotten,

creeps up,

and attacks you from behind.

Fresh waves of grief as the realization hits home,

they are gone.

Again.

 

You don’t just lose someone once,

you lose them every time you open your eyes to a new dawn,

and as you awaken,

so does your memory,

so does the jolting bolt of lightning that rips into your heart,

they are gone.

Again.

 

Losing someone is a journey,

not a one-off.

There is no end to the loss,

there is only a learned skill on how to stay afloat,

when it washes over.

Be kind to those who are sailing this stormy sea,

they have a journey ahead of them,

and a daily shock to the system each time they realize,

they are gone,

Again.

 

You don’t just lose someone once,

you lose them every day,

for a lifetime.

 

Credit: Donna Ashworth

Memorial... My Brother: John Michael Schlageter..

 

My Commonplace Book... Memorial: Mrs. Burma Gail Owens 5/4/53 ~ 1/21/22

 

Burma passed away and again no one told me. I am sad and will miss Burma so much! She was a loving and dedicated Christian and wanted to make everyone happy. Her husband's name is Wylie and he is the classic Wile E Coyote and would pull pranks on people. I remember so much of this family and my interactions with them. My condolences and prayers to Wylie and his family.

OBITUARY

"Burma Gail Owens entered into this live on May 4, 1953 in Hobbs, New Mexico and then passed on to her heavenly home on January 21,2022 at the age of 68. Burma was the daughter of Samuel Gibbs and Katheryn Earnest who both preceded her in death.

Burma is survived by her spouse, Wiley Owens whom she married on September 11, 1980.

Burma had many loving family members she left behind. She is survived by her daughter, Angela Flowers and her son Jason Flowers both of Hobbs, New Mexico. She is also survived by her stepsons, Glen Owens and David Owens, stepdaughters Gaynell Owens, Kendra Sharp, and Mandy Owens. She had 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by one brother, Charles Gray Gibbs. Burma was preceded in death by her step father Dave Earnest, her sisters Linda K Gibbs and Montie Rae Ferns and grandson Jason Flowers Jr.

Burma will always be remembered as the sweet loving lady known as wife, nana, great nana and friend. She touched the lives of all who knew her. She enjoyed spending time with all of her family and her friends. During Burma's lifetime here on this earth she was involved faithfully in God's ministry by helping others and making sure everyone received her smile. She created smiles on those all around her."

My Commonplace Book... Poem: "Theme in Yellow" by Carl Sandburg

 It is starting to be fall. I grew up in Tennessee and I remember the many different colors of fall. Orange, red, yellows, browns, and even greens. I then saw this poem in the Good Old Days Sept/Oct. 2021 issue. It brought back so many things to mind. So, I clipped it from the issue to put into my commonplace books.

My Commonplace Book... Favorite songs from Sunday School

 I wanted to save some of my favorite songs from Sunday School and my childhood.

Deep and Wide
Trust and Obey
Give Me Oil In My Lamp
This Little Light of Mine
Only a Boy Named David

My Commonplace Book... Radio's Golden Age: Suspense

My mother and brother do not listen to "Suspense" that I know of, but I find the information interesting. I clipped this from the Good Old Days Sept/Oct. 2021 issue.

My Commonplace Book... African American People of note: Bass Reeves

Currently reading Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal and am saving, in my commonplace book, notable people that I have read about. My second notable person is an African American name of Bass Reeves. Born a slave but died a legend in America. He was a straight shooter and always got his man. He tried really hard to not kill anyone even if Judge Isaac Parker said dead or alive. Bass even had to arrest one of his own sons.

"In 1887, Reeves was charged with murdering a posse cook. Like the many outlaws he had arrested, he was tried before Judge Isaac Parker. He was represented by United States Attorney W.H.H. Clayton, who was a colleague and friend. In the end, Reeves was acquitted."

"The lengthy and glowing obituary for this universally respected man described him as 'absolutely fearless and knowing no master but duty.'

Over the 35 years that Bass Reeves served as a Deputy United States Marshal, he earned his place in history by being one of the most effective lawmen in Indian Territory, bringing in more than 3,000 outlaws and helping to tame the lawless territory. Killing some 14 men during his service, Reeves always said that he 'never shot a man when it was not necessary for him to do so in the discharge of his duty to save his own life.'”

Legends of America: Bass Reeves  

A statue of U.S. Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves in Fort Smith, Arkansas. 

By Jeannie Nuss/AP Photo

 

 

My Commonplace Book... Native American people of note: Zitkála-Šá AKA Gertrude Simmons Bonnin

"Zitkála-Šá (Dakota: pronounced zitkála-ša, which translates to "Red Bird") also known by the missionary-given name Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, was a Sioux writer, editor, musician, teacher and political activist. She wrote several works chronicling her struggles in her youth as she was pulled back and forth between the influences of dominant American culture and her own Native American heritage, as well as books in English that brought traditional Native American stories to a widespread white readership for one of the first times. With William F. Hanson, Bonnin co-composed the first American Indian opera, The Sun Dance (composed in romantic style based on Ute and Sioux themes), which premiered in 1913. She founded the National Council of American Indians in 1926 to lobby for the rights of Native Americans to American citizenship, and served as its president until her death in 1938."

~ Zitkála-Šá

"The melancholy of those black days left so long a shadow that it darkens the path of years that have gone by. Perhaps my Indian nature is the moaning wind which stirs them now for their present record. But, however, tempestuous this is within me, it comes out as a low voice of a curiously colored seashell, which is only for those ears that are bent with compassion to hear it."

~ Red Bird Sings: The Story of  Zitkála-Šá

 

Memorial... My Brother: John Michael Schlageter (Fourth birthday in heaven)

 The years pass by faster and faster; but, you are still in our hearts and minds! 

"We thought of you in love today, but that is nothing new."

I also thought of the picture of you standing by a cactus. I used this picture to work on my skills of altering pictures. I gave you a twin! lol I laughed about it, but you were alive when I did it. I miss you so much that it hurts every time I think of you. I LOVE YOU, JOHN MICHAEL SCHLAGETER!

My Commonplace Book... African American People of Note: Martin Luther King

"Snippets in Time" are comments, words or phrases, quotes from a random collection of almost anything I read in—newspapers, blogs, journals, essays, books, etc...

Dr. Martin Luther King:

"A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.."

Dr. King uttered these words during a sermon in Selma, Alabama, on March 8th, 1965, the day after “Bloody Sunday,” on which civil rights protesters were attacked and beaten by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

 

Memorial... My brother John Michael Schlageter (Three years in heaven)

 Another year come and gone without you here to celebrate it with us. Love and miss you, John!

 

If Tomorrow starts without me 

By David Romano (1993, attributed)

When tomorrow starts without me, 

And I'm not there to see, 

If the sun should rise and find your eyes 

all filled with tears for me, 

 

I wish so much you wouldn't cry 

The way you did today, 

While thinking of the many things, 

We didn't get to say. 

 

I know how much you love me, 

As much as I love you, 

and each time that you think of me, 

I know you'll miss me too. 

 

 But when tomorrow starts without me, 

Please try to understand, 

That an angel came and called my name, 

And took me by the hand, 

 

and said my place was ready, 

In heaven far above, 

And that I'd have to leave behind 

All those I dearly love. 

 

But as I turned to walk away, 

A tear fell from my eye 

For all my life, I'd always thought, 

I didn't want to die. 

 

 I had so much to live for, 

So much left yet to do, 

It seemed almost impossible, 

That I was leaving you. 

 

I thought of all the yesterdays 

The good ones and the bad, 

I thought of all the love we shared, 

and all the fun we had 

 

If I could re-live yesterday 

Just even for a while, 

I'd say good-bye and kiss you 

And maybe see you smile. 

 

But then I fully realized, 

That this could never be, 

For emptiness and memories, 

would take the place of me. 

 

And when I thought of worldly things, 

I might miss come tomorrow, 

I thought of you, and when I did, 

My heart was filled with sorrow. 

 

But when I walked through heaven's gates, 

I felt so much at home 

When God looked down and smiled at me, 

From His great golden throne. 

 

 He said, "This is eternity, 

And all I've promised you." 

Today your life on earth is past, 

But here life starts anew 

 

I promise no tomorrow, 

But today will always last, 

And since each day's the same 

There's no longing for the past. 

 

You have been so faithful, 

So trusting and so true. 

Though there were times you did some things 

You knew you shouldn't do. 

 

But you have been forgiven 

And now at last you're free. 

So won't you come and take my hand 

And share my life with me? 

 

So when tomorrow starts without me, 

Don't think we're far apart, 

For every time you think of me, 

I'm right here, in your heart.

Memorial... My cousin Bobby Daron Moon 8/20/1980 - 9/5/2020

 My Cousin Bobby Daron Moon

Born: August 20, 1980

Passed Away: September 5, 2020

My cousin, Bobby has passed away. He was 40 years old and he looked like my brother in ways. I can see the family resemblance. Bobby was my Aunt's first born son and I know he will be, so very much, missed.

Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee – Mr. Bobby Daron Moon, 40, passed away Saturday September 5, 2020 at his home.  He was born in Cumberland Heights on August 20, 1980.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Glen and Marie Schlageter, A.D. and Frances Moon; uncle, Bo Moon; Aunt Susie Schlageter; Great Aunt Nell Layne; Cousin John Schlageter.

 

He is survived by his parents, Bob and Rosa Moon; son, Bobby Dakota Moon; daughter, Alexis Nicole Moon; brother, Chandler Moon; sister, Jamie Willoughby; companion, Ashely King; uncles, Jack (Jackie) Schlageter, David (Lynn) Schlageter, Jimmy (Karen) Schlageter and Deborah Moon Campbell, and Cousins

 

 Funeral services will be 2:00 PM Tuesday in the funeral home chapel with Minister Matthew Meeks officiating with burial to follow in the Swiss Colony Cemetery. Visitation: 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM Monday at Layne Funeral Home, Palmer, Tennessee. www.laynefuneralhome.com

America: Land of the Free and Home of the Brave? or is it?

 Saw this on Facebook, so am posting it because it is true!

"I never dreamed that I would have to face the prospect of not living in the United States of America, at least not the one I have known all my life. I have never wished to live anywhere else. This is my home and I was privileged to be born here.

But today I woke up and... I realized that everything is about to change. No matter how I vote, no matter what I say, something evil has invaded our nation, and our lives are never going to be the same. I have been confused by the hostility of family and friends. I look at people I have known all my life so filled with hate that they will agree with opinions that if they were in their right minds they would never express as their own. It's absolutely unbelievable. I think that I may well have entered the Twilight Zone.....then I saw this and I think that it's pretty close to describing how I feel.

I'm not starting a fight, but it is something to think about. This may open a ton of outraged comments by some. Many who will argue how "wrong" this post is. My suggestion: save your time and effort! You are not changing the reality of what we are living by trying to somehow justify this insanity. 

Nevertheless, I could not resist because we are becoming the Twilight Zone. We have become a nation that has lost its collective mind!

• If a dude pretends to be a woman, you are required to pretend with him.
• Somehow it’s un-American for the census to count how many Americans are in America.
• Russians influencing our elections are bad, but illegals voting in our elections are good.
• It was cool for Joe Biden to "blackmail" the President of Ukraine, but it’s an impeachable offense if Donald Trump inquires about it.
• Twenty is too young to drink a beer, but eighteen is old enough to vote.
• People who have never owned slaves should pay slavery reparations to people who have never been slaves.
• Inflammatory rhetoric is outrageous, but harassing people in restaurants is virtuous.
• People who have never been to college should pay the debts of college students who took out huge loans for their degrees.
• Immigrants with tuberculosis and polio are welcome, but you had better be able to prove your dog is vaccinated.
• Irish doctors and German engineers who want to immigrate must go through a rigorous vetting process, but any illiterate gangbangers who jump the southern fence are welcome.
• $5 billion for border security is too expensive, but $1.5 trillion for “free” health care is not.
• If you cheat to get into college you go to prison, but if you cheat to get into the country you go to college for free.
• People who say there is no such thing as gender are demanding a female President.
• We see other countries going Socialist and collapsing, but it seems like a great plan to us.
• Some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, and other people are not held responsible for what they are doing right now.
• Criminals are catch-and-released to hurt more people but stopping them is bad because it's a violation of THEIR rights.
• And pointing out all this hypocrisy somehow makes us "racists"?!

Nothing makes sense anymore, no values, no morals, no civility, and people are dying of a Chinese virus, but it is racist to refer to it as Chinese even though it began in China. We are clearly living in an upside down world where right is wrong and wrong is right, where moral is immoral and immoral is moral, where good is evil and evil is good, where killing murderers is wrong, but killing innocent babies is right, where darkness is light and light is now darkness. 

Wake up America, the great unsinkable ship Titanic America has hit an iceberg, is taking on water and sinking fast. The choice is yours to make. What will it be? Time is short, make your choice wisely!

Not my words but exactly accurate and disturbing!

Feel free to copy and paste. I did."

Memorial... John Michael Schlageter (3rd birthday in heaven)

You were taken so quickly. Just on your way to work and bam! you are home with Jesus! I didn't even get to say goodbye. I was in bed before you left, and I hadn't wanted to go see the latest Star Wars movie with you the last time you were off work and wanted to go see it. I didn't feel like going out, so I said I didn't want to go. I wish so much I had gone with you!!!!! I miss you still!!! Life is short!!!!

Life is Short

By: Craig Aven

Memorial... My Brother: John Michael Schlageter (Two years in heaven)

 Two years have come and gone. I look forward to when we can meet again in the light of the Risen Lamb, the Great I AM!

Words & music by Walt Harrah

The timeless theme, Earth and Heaven will pass away.
It's not a dream, God will make all things new that day.
Gone is the curse from which I stumbled and fell.
Evil is banished to eternal hell.

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying again.
And praises to the great "I AM."
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

See all around, now the nations bow down to sing.
The only sound is the praises to Christ, our King.
Slowly the names from the book are read.
I know the King, so there's no need to dread.

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying again.
And praises to the great "I AM."
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

See over there, there's a mansion, oh, that's prepared just for me,
Where I will live with my savior eternally.

No more night. No more pain.
No more tears. Never crying again.
And praises to the great "I AM."
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

All praises to the great "I AM."
We're gonna live in the light of the risen Lamb. 

My Commonplace Book... Memorial Day: For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon

 Do you remember to remember the fallen? Another Memorial Day come and gone and I don't think that we have learned our lessons. I believe that the "world" will use the Covid-19, Coronavirus to do away with our liberties. The liberties the fallen fought and died for!

One verse in the following poem is really all that I have to say:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,

England mourns for her dead across the sea.

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal 

Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,

There is music in the midst of desolation

And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; 

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound, 

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, 

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, 

To the end, to the end, they remain.

Source: The Poetry Foundation (2014)