My Grandfather

Today is Veterans Day. A day to thank those that serve and have served in our military. A day to remember their sacrifice.. 


Today is a mixed day for me. Today I think if the men in my family that have served our country. I think of the only Grandfather I knew: Virgil Elsworth Eddy


Grandpa was a complicated man that could be my strongest Ally or my greatest enemy. He was my protector, my tormentor, a story teller and a hero. He made my life interesting to say the least. I regret only a few things in life and my biggest is not telling him thank you for his service to our country. Our relationship was close but there were a few things that we never addressed fully and his service was one of them. He did tell me lots of stories as I got older and shared his pictures, letter and memories. I share a few of these today to pay tribute to the man that I miss more than I dare to admit. 


My Grandfather joined the army to go beyond himself and serve others, to help rid the world of a great evil. He served in Algeris-Morocco, Sicily, and Naples-Foggia and achieved the rank of Sargeant in the 1st Signal Armored Battalion. What he saw and the things he experienced went beyond that of a common soldier. He documented in photos not only what he experienced but the people that he saw along the way.

 Before Shipping out.. A photo letter to my Grandmother. 

Proud in his new Army uniform

He talked often of the friends he met and shared tents with before shipping out. He told me about the pranks they would pull on each other and the grueling training. Life then was easy compared to the time he would spend overseas. 

Pretending to be one of the drill Sgts. 

When they landed in Italy he said that everything changed. He did not like to talk about the fighting, the bombs or his orders. The first story he tells is of his company holed up in a farmers field on a tall hill somewhere in Italy. They had been engaged in serious combat all day and were exhausted and on edge. All night they could hear movement on the fields below them. Worried that the entire Germany military had surrounded them they opened fire. As the sun rose the next morning they discovered that they had shot a farmers whole field of goats. 

Written on the back: "Just me taken in Sicily Oct 1st, 1943. Love and Kisses Virgil

The other stories that I remember revolved around the children in the bombed out war zones of Sicily and Palermo. He would save his chocolate and some of his rations to pass out the war orphans he would encounter every day. At this point in the story he would get up and make some coffee so I would not see him cry. 

 Written on the back: War orphans in Sicily Palermo

"In the bombed section of a city in Sicily"

My Grandfather is the one seated

This was the child he thought about the most. 

"A war orphan found during the fight here: 1943"

"He was found in a center of a heavy bombed city. War is war"

When he wasn't fighting he was involved in several get rich schemes that he and his buddies would try to make life a bit more enjoyable. They bought a cigarette and junk cart from a man on the streets and tried to sell to the other soldiers and people. His words sum up their progress:

Timmy Lambert, Bob Lakota and Me trying to forget the horrors of war. Somewhere in Sicily. 

"We bought the wagon and tried to make some money. It didn't work. ~Virg"

My Grandfather is on the left.

"Taken in the heart of a city here"

Grandpa at the right next to the young man enjoying some of his chocolate

He also documented everyday life and stuggles that the people endured during the war. 

"German HG somewhere in Sicily after our flying forts worked it over"

"A meal in the making.. this family has no home and lives in the remains of a bombed building. Note the holes from bullets or shrapnel. Oct 3, 1943"

"Cooking dinner Sicilian style"

The thing I noticed most was his compassion for the people he met. He told me once that the orphans haunted him the most. When I look at these pictures I can see why. It wasn't just about the fighting.. it was the people that endured before, during and after he was there. He wanted to share a bit of their story with his. 

He never wanted to be called a hero. He did not keep his medals or uniform or go to any parades. He tried to  become an everyday citizen once it all was over. The only thing left were his memories and these pictures that I kept after his death. 

"Just sleeping after a hard nights work...also dreaming of you. Yours forever - Virg"

He will remain a hero to me always. 

Dear Grandpa-

I wish I had written this sooner or at least sat down and said these words to you. I did not understand in my child's mind what you endured and saw all those years ago. I did not want to cause you pain. So I say this now.. Thank you..

Thank you for fighting in a war to protect the world from a great evil. You sacrificed time, family and sanity to keep our country free. You taught me that war is more than bombs and guns, its about the people that needed   help to overcome one of our darkest hours. You shared your stories and tears with me.. trusting me with your memories and photos. I keep them safe and I share them so your stories will not be forgotten. 

I hope that you are happy where you are now. That your dreams and hurts are gone. I miss you and our visits. I miss your laugh.. Thank you for protecting me and for protecting so many others. 

Thank you... you are and always will be a hero..

Sincerely~ Your biggest fan

A very retro halloween

As promised... Halloween the early years!

Age 5- A Care bear. The costume was made by my Mother. 

Age 6- Geisha girl! This was the first time I ever wore make-up. As you can tell I was really happy about that!

Age 7- Daisy Duck. Another Handmade Mom costume. I won 1st place in our schools costume parade! (back when you could still dress up at school)

Age 9- Princess wizard- Clearly I was not happy about this one!

Age 10- The little mermaid. Wow, I cannot believe how long my hair was!

And stolen from the vaults some pictures of Brian

 Brian Bogert- Age 4- Dragon!

Aw, I love this! 

Brian Age 12- Skeleton

Can't wait to share our homemade costumes! 

VEB

DIY Halloween scary eyes photo frame

I discovered the site Pinterest in class several weeks ago. Needless to say I am hopelessly addicted to it. There are so many wonderful ideas out there and I have already created 10 boards and over 109 pins! Yikes! It is a great way to save all of your favorite ideas on a website instead of your Favorites on your computer. This is one of the ideas:

The original tutorial can be found here: http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/2011/08/googly-eye-halloween-frame.html

I decided to make a smaller version that would fit on my husbands desk without being too much. The man is a severe minimalist. I made two frames for under $5.00. Sweet!

You need:
Two chip board or wooden frames
Acrylic Paint
Ribbon or rick rack
sticker letters or chipboard letters
lots of googly eyes

Paint the chip board frames in a color of your choice. I decided on black. I had to use several coats to cover up the dolphins. This was a kids coloring kit for 99 cents.

Next (after the paint dries) start gluing on your eyes. I used a variety of sizes and used more than the picture above. I got a bit crazy! I DO NOT recommend hot glue! I burned my fingers something awful gluing on the tiny eyes. Try tacky glue instead.

I used some huge eyes to fill in the extra spaces. I wanted a really creepy look.
Finally, add your decorations. I used rick rack instead of ribbon and some cheap black glitter stickers. I used a small square of felt to make the letters pop. Put in your favorite photo and that's all folks!

Before I forget here is a very retro halloween costume photo of me. I think it was 5th grade when I wore this little number. My mother made me the little mermaid costume complete with shiny shells! She is so stinking talented. Can you believe how long my hair was! Stayed tuned for even more halloween fun!

Cheers

VEB

Halloween is almost here!!

I love Halloween. It really is my favorite holiday. Nevermind the silly "oh its pagan" and "oh you sinner" I love it for other reasons. It's the time to relive childhood and be as silly as you want.

1. As an adult during other parts of the year if you walk around during the day dressed in a costume people might have you committed. During Halloween its perfectly acceptable to dress as a zombie pirate or a fairy princess. I have been known to wear up to 3 costumes in one day. Last year I was a pirate, and a Redshirt (Star Trek) and I think I did the Mad Scientist thing too. See below

*Thankfully my husband is equally as nutty as I am!

2. I don't have to worry about family wanting us to come over. It is a whole day for Brian and I to be goofy on our own sans judgement.

Yeah, we do this a lot!

3. I don't have to buy a dang thing for anyone! (well sometimes candy but we usually end up eating it all). No gifts to wrap, credit cards to max out.. well unless I decide to wear more than one costume!

4. Crafts!!!! Oh tis the season for crazy crafts.. I get to make my own costume and Brian's, carve pumpkins, make owl cookies and decorate with silly fun and sometimes creepy stuff.
Note: this is the only time of year where fake spiders are acceptable. No other time... ever..

Yes, I did glue fake spiders to my face!

So this month I plan to feature fun crafts and an anthology of some of my best costumes! Stay tuned! Oh and feel free to send me links of all your wacky costume ideas, crafts and pumpkin carving ideas!

Cheers!

VEB

Love, hate and cinnamon pinecones

I adore this time of year. The cool evenings, mild days and the leaves turning in the trees. It makes me want to bake and do lots of crafts. Thankfully I have a bit of motivation to make some really interesting items such as Crinoids for the Natural history museum and owls for a friend. Yeah that is quite a mix!

What is a crinoid?? Well they are ancient ocean dwellers. Think octopus on a stick:

I have been making them out of clay. We are creating a new exhibit on Missouri fossils. I will put up more pictures when I am finished. Right now they look a little sad! Each one takes several hours to make because of my need for perfection. Still, they are lots of fun. The big challenge is baking them in the oven since they are quite tall.

Now that it is fall I have a list of favorites to share: My top three loves of September

1. Iced Chocolate covered raspberry Mochas- Wow, these are so yummy. I had them in a cafe in St. Charles over the summer. I finally perfected the recipe at Starbucks. Ask for an iced mocha with two shots of raspberry flavor! Super yummy even for those that have to have soy.

2. My Mom's apple pie- I have been having some bad weeks and she decided to surprise me with a huge apple pie. It has the old fashion shortening dough and is loaded with apples. Heaven for breakfast.

3. Cooler weather- Finally able to wear boots, sweaters and scarves after this scorching hot summer. I am so ready!

Things that I am NOT fond of. Oh yes there are more than 3 but I won't bore you with them.

1.  Cinnamon Pinecones: Whoever invented these horrid things should be slapped.. hard!! I hate them! It seems like every store places them right at the front door to overwhelm you with their poison. My eyes burn and I end up sneezing with every wiff. Last year I enjoyed a rather nasty cinnamon pinecone induced asthma attack. Not fun..

2. Spiders in the house- The cooler nights have made the spiders move in with a vengence this year. I cannot use harsh bug sprays due to the birds so they sneak in. I found a huge one by the front door. It was so big I could see the hair on it! I did the shrieking spider dance of horror till Brian got home and slayed it with a shoe.

3. Snarky people in the craft stores- Everyone is preparing for the upcoming holidays which means long lines, mean people and near misses in the parking lots. Do everyone a favor and put on a happy face this year. Don't be one of those crabby old ladies that yell at the poor checkers about long lines. Spread a bit of cheer for a change.

Last but not least yummy recipe of the week:

Chocolate Peanut butter Whoopie Pies from Martha Stewart:

http://www.marthastewart.com/335347/peanut-butter-whoopie-pies

VEB

A Dragon Hoard

This past weekend and much of the week has been spent cleaning my craft/library room. I was really good about getting a rid of extra craft supplies and lets face it, useless junk. However, when it came to my books I was a bit more picky.

I tend to hoard books. I am also very protective of them. They are my children and I worry when they are out in the world. Silly right? I wonder if anyone else does this. I feel like a dragon protecting its gold only it's books. I want to curl up on them and keep them safe. (Much like this picture)


I managed to let go of many craft and recipe books. Let's face it the digital age has made it way easy to look up recipes and craft instructions. It is faster than digging through a book shelf and scanning through the pages. I kept a few treasured gifts from family and friends. The rest will go to the used books stores to buy more books! (I have credit all over town)

The rest of my collection is loosely organized into a Valerie style cataloging system. I am a huge fan of re-written fairy tales, princess stories, and fantasy fiction so that collection takes up almost a whole bookcase.
I have a large section of Jane Austen and related tales (even the horrid spin offs). I also have gardening, cooking, art/crafts/photography, historical fiction, Christian fiction/non-fiction, and general books. Lastly, and I admit I am a bit ashamed, is my growing collection of Star trek, space novels and graphic novels. It seems like a lot but really it only takes up two large shelves and one medium sized shelf. My mini library..

As a book hoarding dragon I have to have copies of my favorite titles. I have yet to get an e-reader and am still not sold on the idea. I realize their merit but my budget will not allow for one just yet. Maybe if they would format all of my textbooks into e-books I would save the money and get one. For now I will stay curled up around my books and enjoy their paper pages.

Cheers~
VEB

Super easy Organic Apple and pear sauce!

I got this lovely idea from a friend on an Avian forum to help birds get more veggies and fruits in their diet. However, it is super good human food too! My birds won't touch it so more for me.


I found a bag of organic Fuji apples at Price cutter for $3.99 this afternoon and 3 Anjou pears. This recipe is a blend of the avian version and well my own version! I really dislike chunky applesauce so I popped mine in the blender when it was finished cooking. If you like it chunky use a potato masher. It's so easy that you can do either and come out with about 4 cups of super yummy and healthy sauce. Feel free to sub other apples in but keep in mind Granny Smith will be super tart. Look for sweet apple if you want to keep it sugar free.


Easy Organic Apple/Pear Sauce


7 apples-(mine were about fist sized)
2-3 anjou pears
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 cup of water
1 tsp (more or less) Cinnamon or Apple pie spice
A large soup pot


1. Peel and core the apples and pears. I used my apple peeler/corer/slicer from pampered chef. It saves a bit of time. Or you can slice them into thin slices by hand. Keep them thin so they cook faster. Cut the slices in half.


2. Put fruit into the pot and add your cinnamon or apple pie spice to taste. I get mine at Mama Jean's in town.


3. Add lemon juice and water. Stir the fruit to evenly distribute the spice.


4. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to simmer. I kept mine at med/low. Simmer for 30-35 min


5. I used a blender to make mine without chunks. Blend or mash to your liking. This makes about 4 cups.


Refrigerate or eat right away! You can also freeze for one year, although I doubt it will last more than 2 days!


Enjoy!


VEB

Giant Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

I have a serious lack of motivation today. It involves my school work. I spent the day on Thursday, observing a reference desk for 4 hours. Then I went back to the Natural History Museum and discussed a possible volunteer position cataloging the museums artifacts. Needless to say I am suffering from major brain overload. Also, the week before I went caving, got a new job and then went to class yet again. Pair that with a dead laptop, a knee that will not stop aching and a seriously messy house. I am overwhelmed.

So my solution? Bake and blog

Today's recipe comes from good ol' Martha Stewart. Now her cookies are hit and miss. She tends to add complicated ingredients or under-use flavor. The chocolate chip cookie recipe is gross. No flavor what-so-ever. Ick! However, her old fashion sugar cookie recipe is divine! This one uses vanilla beans and is a bit labor intensive. It is worth the work. The cookies are massive, chewy and have a nice crackled surface! Yum!

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:

3-cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of course salt

1 3/4 cup of granulated suga

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 vanilla beans, split and scraped

2 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temp

2 large eggs

Fine sanding sugar

water for brushing

Directions:

1. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together- set aside

2. Beat sugars and vanilla bean scrapings on med speed for 1 min. Add butter and beat another 3 min on med speed till light and fluffy.

3. Add eggs one at a time mixing well.

4. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour. Make sure it mixes all the way through.

5. Using a 2 inch ice cream scoop (3 tablespoons), drop cookies on a lined baking sheet. * If you do not have a scoop use a table spoon with 2-3 generous scoops. Round it in your hand an place it one the sheet*

6.Flatten the dough with your hand and sprinkle with sugar. Brush with water and sprinkle on more sugar.

7. Bake until slightly brown and the tops are a bit crinkled. 14-17 min. Mine took the full 17 and were still chewy in the center.

** Val additions- Since I cannot follow any directions! I added a about 2 tsps of finely grated lemon peel.

Enjoy!

VEB

Vintage Owls

There is a wonderful Antique shop here in town called- Funtiques! I absolutely love this shop. Most everything there is 40's through the 70's. They have clothes, furnitute, housewares, pictures, jewelry and much much more. The last time I was there I found these wonderful vintage lithographs. They date from 1972 and were priced $8.00 each. I thought they were a steal and the colors are so much fun! I also cannot pass up cute owl items. These will be put in frames and hung over my book shelves.

Great Graphic Novels

Author Note: I decided to make this blog into a book review and crafting site. Since I am working on becoming a librarian, I thought this blog would be good practice!

I have recently been introduced to graphic novels. I have never been a comic book gal and have always preferred my imagination over predrawn pictures. However, graphic novels keep getting better and better. I have found a new genere to love!


Definition from Wikipedia:


A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format. The term is employed in a broad manner, encompassing non-fiction works and thematically linked short stories as well as fictional stories across a number of genres.
Graphic novels are typically bound in longer and more durable formats than familiar comic magazines, using the same materials and methods as printed books, and they are generally sold in bookstores and specialty comic book shops rather than at newsstands. Such books have gained increasing acceptance as desirable materials for libraries which once ignored comic books.


My husband found a series on his Iphone called "The stuff of legend- The dark" written by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith; illustrated by Charles Wilson.

It is set in the WWII era and all the graphics are in a sepia tone. The story begins with a young boy being captured by the boogieman. (he does exist and is very frightning) His toys come to life and rally to save him. They include a tin soldier, a ballerina, a jack in the box, a teddy bear and a few others. The plot takes rather dark twists and has many psychological elements that older readers will find intriguing. This is not a story for little ones. Trust me!

I thought the story was brilliant and well thought out. There were so many suprises and shocking moments as well as heartfelt sentiments as we learn more about each toy. It has betrayal, comedy, violence, mystery and a tiny bit of romance. The graphics are simply beautiful. There is so much detail and the coloring really brings out the time era of the story.


The second novel is called "The stuff of Legend- The jungle." Here the story continues with the toys still searching for their boy and their adventures in the jungle. Again the illustrations are in sepia with a slight greenish tone. I cannot tell more about it other than the twist at the end will leave you shocked and begging for the next one!


So if you are looking for a good read in a genere that you never venture into, I highly recommend this series.
There are two books published so far and the third installment is on its way.

 Happy Reading!


VEB