Ads we won't see again anytime soon

I was sent one of these images in an e-mail this afternoon and it got me searching around the Web for other similar images. This is what I found so far:

Dated Advertisements

It is probably very politically incorrect - which is not something I really ever worry about - but I thought these were really funny.

No More Excuses...

I received this short essay from a daily newsletter I receive about beading. However I really liked the concept so re-posted it here - changing the word "bead" for "quilt".
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No More Excuses: Let's Quilt Something!

I have a confession to make:  I'm pretty good at sabotaging my own creative work. There are days when I can find a whole list of excuses to send me away from the quilts, even though my fingers are itching to make some new quilted designs. And I'm sure that I'm not alone! Take a look at some of my favorite reasons not to quilt, and see if they look familiar to you:


Addicted to Perfection. I strive for perfection in many areas of my life, but none so much as in my quilting. That can be both a blessing and a curse. Don't let your desire for perfection give you a reason to not to make your own designs. Embrace your mistakes. I can't tell you how many times I've made a mistake that actually ended up as a beautiful piece of quilting!


Fear of Success. This might sound like a stretch, but for some people, it's very real. Some people actually fear success, particularly artistic success, because it means that they might actually be good at something they love. But really, what's the worst that could happen here? (Maybe you might end up getting a quilt of yours published in, say, _________ magazine?) Abandon your fears and feed your dreams when it comes to your quilts and quilt designs.



There's Nothing New to Make! This is another one of my favorite excuses for not making my own quilt designs! Just when I think I have a great new idea for a design, it's way too easy for me to talk myself out of actually making the design if I tell myself, "Well, someone else has probably already done this before." Not so. Quilt designs are only limited by the human imagination, so let your fabric tell you what to do.

My Quilting Isn't As Good As... One way to set yourself up for failure with your designs is to compare your work to that of another quilt or fiber artist, particularly one that you admire. There are plenty of amazing quilts that are being made by artists in obscurity all around the world, including your own! Your original quilt designs are an expression of your personal experiences, and that has a value all its own!

Adventures at the Career Center

For those who are new to my writings online some background. I was laid off in November 2011. This is just one of my writings about the process of looking for work.
 

Oh joy of joys - last week I got to attend a seminar/workshop at the Career Center of Lowell regarding the (EUC) Emergency Unemployment Compensation Orientation / Review.

Actually this was not really an option. I received a notice in the mail that I had to attend one of these sessions by July 6th or risk losing my UI benefits.

It is always an interesting experience sitting in a room at any State or Federal Agency office. It is just such a .... unique ... mix of people. It is also a rather sobering experience since all of us in this session were there because we had exhausted the initial six month State funded unemployment and were now being funded through the special program the Federal Government passed to help the long term unemployed.

There was a lot of things that they covered which, for me at least, seemed incredibly simplistic. Not just because of my prior working with the professional counselors at Transitions Solutions, but also my previous experience working in Human Resources.

I did appreciate getting the listing of Labor Market Research sites where I can see a better, or more current, range of information on not only what salary ranges are currently being offered - but whether specific job titles are in decline - and where my skills may be transferable.

One of the things they "recommend" is that you sign up to attend several of the other topic seminars offered. Actually, they pre-complete this part of the form with topics such as "Introduction to LinkedIn" and "How to Write a Resume". There is also a listed requirement that you need to have certain documents in place as well as a Career Action Plan.

The documentation they were looking for included:

* A resume - CHECK. Actually I have two versions both developed during my sessions with Transition Solutions.

* Copies of the weekly logs you have submitted in the last 6-8 weeks showing at least three job search activities per week.

When the workshop leader came around to review my documents I mentioned that I had not been printing off the weekly online submissions. HOWEVER - what I did have to show her was my complete job listing spreadsheet of all the positions I had applied to since November 2011 along with separate spreadsheets showing each agency contact and websites that I have registered with.

So no big surprise - they signed off my paperwork and gave me a "pass" on needing to attend the resume, LinkedIn or Microsoft Suite seminars.

Too bad I can't get paid for tracking job search activities. Seems as though that is something I could actually be good at. 

Collecting Quilts

Sawtooth Star Quilt circa 1910

I subscribe to several electronic newsletters on various creative mediums: Beading, Fiber Arts, Mixed Media, Drawing and Quilting. Every so often one of the forums will post a general question or observation that really make me think about my own relationship with creativity and the creative arts.

Today a group on Facebook called Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics posted the following question which brings me to my musing below.

The original question: For those who collect. How do you find great quilts? New technology or old school networking?

State Birds - quilt top only, 48 States
Found on-line

My response on their forum was:

New technology for the most part. I have one website in particular that has not yet caught on with a lot of collectors. In fact, I am looking at one find from the site which is hanging on my living room wall - hmmmm, time to rotate to another one for the summer I believe.

The old quilts I am attracted to are probably not going to ever be worth thousands as they are not pristine or made by a Master Quilter - but they speak to me. Some show signs of being very well loved, many are "quirky" with odd colors or design - but for me they all have one thing in common.

Someone loved them. Some woman spent a lot of time and effort making this item to keep her family warm while at the same time expressing herself creatively in perhaps the only way she had. And they were used and appreciated - at least until I find them and rescue them from the hands of people who are unable to appreciate their true value. Which has nothing to do with money.

Lady of the Lake, circa 1920s
Found on-line

A few of my teddy bears made from old quilts
All acquired on-line

1812 Overture

  Well, this was different. In all the years I have been watching / recording the Boston Pops concert on the Esplanade in Boston I don't remember this happening.

Just as the local news was getting ready to go national with the concert and then fireworks - starting with the 1812 Overture of course - the first shot you see is of empty seats and lawn areas. The Massachusetts Police evacuated everyone from both sides of the river and told people to seek shelter.

I knew there were thunder storms moving through the area as I had been seeing flashes and hearing the rumblings for the past half hour or so - I just didn't realize how strong they were. Seems as they headed into Boston the winds were picking up and the lightening was getting stronger and more frequent.

Ah well ... the delay let me do a little bit of research on this iconic piece of music which has become such a staple especially here in Boston.

This is what I learned:

The "1812 Overture" may be an American tradition, with its patriotic strains and thunderous battery. But while orchestras across the land, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra tonight at Point State Park, will perform it with clanging bells and cannon fire, the music could hardly be any more distant from the Stars and Stripes.

That's because the overture, written by famed composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, depicts Napoleon's retreat from Russia in 1812, not America's battles against the British, as many might think.

That's right -- at the height of most Independence Day ceremonies, Memorial Day pageantry or other fireworks displays, the "1812 Overture" blares strains of the French national anthem "La Marseillaise" and the old Russian national anthem "God Save the Czar "across our amber waves of grain. But this bizarre twist is not as unpatriotic as it might seem.

The obvious reason why the piece found a home during America's annual firecracker festival is that gunpowder loves company. "It is one of the few pieces with good musical content that has cannons exploding," says Leon Botstein, president of Bard College and a conductor and music scholar who has written about Tchaikovsky.

The "1812 Overture" premiered in 1882 at the consecration of a church in Moscow commemorating Napoleon's retreat from Russia. Telling the story of the end of the French invasion of Russia in musical themes, "La Marseillaise" is eventually beaten back by a rousing Russian anthem and cannon fire and church bells. When performed with full-scale replica artillery (with blanks) today, the "1812 Overture" usually requires musicians to wear earplugs.

"It is the one piece of classical music that includes 'The Bombs Bursting in Air,'" says Deane Root, a music professor at the University of Pittsburgh and director of its Center for American Music.

But can the popularity of the piece be tied only to cannon fire? Bard's Botstein, for one, feels that although Tchaikovsky disparaged the "1812 Overture" as "very loud and noisy," the music should be given more credit: "Tchaikovsky knew how to write a barn-burner, and they are really hard to write."
Tchaikovsky's popularity in America also played a role. "Tchaikovsky had a foothold in the late 19th century in the broadening public taste for classical music," says Botstein. "He came to open Carnegie Hall in 1891 and was a kind of pop figure when he arrived in the United States."

While America was developing an affinity for Tchaikovsky, it was not having much success creating patriotic music of its own.

"With the exception of 'America the Beautiful,' the U.S. is short of patriotic hymns," says Botstein. "'The Star-Spangled Banner' is a tongue-twister; then you have 'America,' which is really the British national anthem. Being an immigrant nation, we are not offended by using another country's national anthem." These developments set the stage for the Russian overture's remarkable transformation in America in the midst of the Cold War.

Though some ensembles had played the "1812 Overture" earlier -- Chicago's Grant Park Orchestra performed it on Independence Day 1935 -- most had done so only sporadically before the '70s. The PSO, for one, played it only four times prior to that decade. In 1974, however, the "1812 Overture" came into its own as a pan-American tradition.

That July 4, famed Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler decided to perform the overture with fireworks, real cannons and a coordinated steeple-bell choir to increase attendance at the Pops' summer concerts on the Esplanade, says Bridget Carr, archivist of the Boston Symphony.

Also, the nation's bicentennial was around the corner and the desire to have a spectacular show outweighed Cold War conniptions.

"He was a good musician but the ultimate showman," says PSO clarinetist Thomas Thompson, who toured with Fiedler in 1962. "Audiences loved him, and he was a genius at marketing."

A massive, celebratory outdoor piece pushed by the nation's premier outdoor orchestra, whose July 4 concert was broadcast across the country, captured the public's imagination. Countless orchestras began performing the work outdoors, quickly solidifying the tradition and the piece's connection to American patriotism.

So, while its roots lie in a conflict continents away and its purpose was to fete Russian superiority, Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" is now as American as apple pie.

By Andrew Druckenbrod, Post-Gazette Classical Music Critic


I then wondered about the choral portion of this performance as the Pops usually have singers accompanying them during their performance.

THAT seemed to be a more difficult question to answer.

Tchaikovsky did not write any lyrics - the piece was instrumental only. However as the piece became more popular several versions and attributions have been made as to the source of lyrics set to the music.

One version is said to be a prayer written by Tsar Alexander I - who was only a boy of 13 in 1815:

(Key Eb major - The Tsar Alexander I is praying)
"Holy Father, I implore thee, hear my prayer.
From the lies of evil men, Lord deliver me.
O hear me; in my distress I cry unto thee, Lord, that thou might answer me.
I have dwelt among my enemies.
And have ever made my plea for peace with those who would peace destroy. (bar 23 - woodwind)
My earnest desire is peace. But when I speak, my foes all call for war (43 bars orch)

Alleluia, praise unto the God of hosts.
Praise, O praise the Lord in his mighty firmament (bells)
O praise him: for God takes pleasure in his people and adorns the meek with victory (bells)
This then is the glory for all his faithful people, Praise, O praise the Lord. (Key change to C major)

Father omnipotent, (Guns) God of all ages, Let all creation praise his holy name, (Hymn tune: Russia)
Praise, O praise the Lord, Praise the Lord (x 7)" (Band, orch, bells, canons, lasers, rockets, fireworks!!)


Some sources suggest the words are either the old Imperial Russian National Anthem or "God the all-terrible King" which is an old English hymn based on the hymn "God the Omnipotent" from the Hyms Ancient and Modern from the Church of England.

Two of the more common sets of lyrics I found include:

Mighty Lord, preserve us from jeopardy.
Take Thee now our faith and loud crying in penitence.
Grant victory o'er our treacherous and cruel enemies
And to our land bring peace.
O mighty Lord hear our lowly prayer,
And by Thy shining holy light.
Grant us, O Lord, peace again.
O mighty Lord hear our prayer
And save our people
Forever, forever!

OR

"Mighty Lord, preserve us from jeopardy.
Take thee now our faith and love, thine inheritance
Grant vict'ry o'er our treacherous and cruel enemies,
And to our land bring peace.
O Mighty Lord, hear our lowly prayer,
And by Thy shining, holy light
Grant us, oh Lord, peace again.
O Mighty Lord hear our prayer and save our people.
Forever, forever. Amen."

Either way - it has become one of our country's "anthems". And for me it doesn't really feel like the Fourth of July until I have heard the Boston Pops play it with the National Guard cannons.

Happy Independence Day !!!!

I hope you all hade a wonderful day. I love these holidays that are so uniquely American. I was invited to come to Chelmsford Center for the parade and then a cookout by the owner of Candlelite Quilts. 

Now, I did not realize that they would be closing all the roads leading into the Center by 9:00 am. So there I was, at 9:30 am, facing several barricades, orange cones and a couple of young police recruits. However I was able to sweet talk my way past these boundaries and was the last vehicle to creep through the crowd on the wrong side of the street in order to make my way into the back parking lot behind the store. 

The original plan had been to drape red, white and blue quilts borrowed from various friends and clients, along the front fence and the overhand above the front door. However we had rather strong showers pass through in the morning that soaked everything. Even though the rain had stopped and I along with two other quilters had no problem with our quilts potentially getting a bit damp - the owner was not sure about putting them out. She did have a point, if we only displayed a few and not all - there were going to have people who questioned why THEIR quilt was not shown. So - we just displayed the one the owner had made with photo transfer images of local service men and women.

Lisa (L) manager and Cathy (R) Owner of Candlelite Quilts

 

The town puts on a rather large parade that is a real old-fashioned American Small-Town type affair. We had the police cars, a group of local veterans from the current wars, Vietnam, VFW members, antique fire trucks, local Boy Scout troops, the High School Marching Band, a group of local political candidates and town officials.

We also had a real Army tank - and this thing would pause occasionally to shoot blanks skywards - and there was a tape of what the automatic mounted guns would sound like ... MAN those things are LOUD !!!!

By contrast for technology, though they came close in noise level, were the historic re-enactors who fired off their muskets along the route.

After the parade our group spread out in the shade along the side of the building next to the quilt shop, ate burgers, talked, played a lawn game, listened to Country music and ate some more. It was hot and muggy and no one really wanted to be in the full sun - even though most of the time there were clouds drifting in front of the sun.

However those period of overcast sun was not enough cover for me it seems. I only spent a total of about an hour in the sun watching the parade, and had taken off my outer shirt because I was sweating like crazy. THIS is why I don't sunbathe ..... 

(Sorry for the weird orientation ... because I took it with my iPOD I wasn't able to get it to rotate when I imported it here) .

LOOK at that upper arm ... OUCH ... the other one looks about as bad.

Blueberry Buckle

Because I am sure you ALL want to know - a little etymology for you:


Most people have heard of fruit cobblers. "Cobbler refers to a variety of dishes, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom, consisting of a fruit or savoury filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a batter, biscuit, or pie crust before being baked. Unlike a pie, cobbler never contains a bottom crust.

In the United States, varieties of cobbler include the Betty, the Grunt, the Slump, the Buckle, and the Sonker. The Crisp or Crumble differ from the cobbler in that their top layers are generally made with oatmeal. Grunts, Pandowdy, and Slumps are a New England variety of cobbler, typically cooked on the stove-top or cooked in an iron skillet or pan with the dough on top in the shape of dumplings—they reportedly take their name from the grunting sound they make while cooking. A Buckle is made with yellow batter (like cake batter), with the filling mixed in with the batter or set atop it. Apple pan dowdy is an apple cobbler whose crust has been broken and perhaps stirred back into the filling. The Sonker is unique to North Carolina: it is a deep-dish version of the American cobbler. In the Deep South, cobblers most commonly come in single fruit varieties and are named as such, such as blackberry, blueberry, and peach cobbler. The Deep South tradition also gives the option of topping the fruit cobbler with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream."

Now that you know the difference, let me share one of my favorite recipes for Blueberry Buckle. This comes to us courtesy of the Better Homes and Gardens "New" Cook Book. The classic with the red and white plaid cover. Mine was printed in the mid 1960s and isn't ashamed of the generous calls for eggs, butter, cream and other foods some consider bad for you today.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sifted flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter

 Directions:

• Thoroughly cream shortening and 3/4 cup sugar
• Add egg and beat until light and fluffy
•  Sift together 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.
• Spread batter into a greased 11x7 inch pan
• Top with berries. Press berries lightly into the batter.
• Place the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and with a pastry cutter cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly
• Sprinkle topping over the berries.

 Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

 Notice how in the picture on the right I have added the amount of berries called for in the original recipe .. but what is wrong with this picture??? Hint: You can still see the batter underneath!

The picture on the left is MUCH  better ... and next to it you see the completed buckle ready for the oven.

Buckle can be served warm with ice cream or enjoyed at room temperature with a cup of coffee.