Ed's Memorial "Stone"

It's hard to believe that six months have gone by since my Edmond went to heaven on April 23, 2012.  I still miss him every day.

Ed wanted part of his ashes scattered at sea and part of them in the cemetery in Singers Glen, Virginia beside where my ashes will be in the future.  The Neptune Society was most cooperative with this request.

Ed's memorial was a combination of ideas.  Rather than a headstone, there is a granite bench in his memory.

This view of the cemetery was taken while standing in front of our church, Donovan Memorial United Methodist. 

This is the view driving up to the cemetery.

 

I had thought about putting this memorial by my parents' stone but they're in the third row down and there was no open plot there.  

By luck (or Divine Intervention), there was one plot available at the top of the cemetery beside my grandparents.  I grew up in the house with both my parents and grandparents so it's meaningful that our plot is here.

The bench is three feet long and four inches thick.

The inscription on the side of the bench reads:  

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."   Matthew 11:28

(Click on photos for a larger version.)

The top of Ed's Memorial Bench

Sitting on Ed's bench looking Southeast

Looking East

Looking North

  Looking Northwest

  Looking West

The veteran's memorial plaque for Ed arrived after I had come back to Florida so I will be getting that set later.

Most of the plaques are at the foot of the plot so that is probably where we'll place it.

I notice that Ed's military papers used the American spelling of his middle name.  On his birth certificate (in French, of course) and Canadian passport it is spelled "Jean".   (He was still a Canadian citizen.)  Note:  Ed also served 2 years in the army in Canada. 

 

I think Ed is smiling down,...

...pleased with the simplicity of his memorial in this beautiful, peaceful setting in Singers Glen, Virginia.

Ten Years Ago

October 22, 2002

A Wedding Day Filled with Love... 

...a love that grew deeper with each day,

...a love that continues to sustain and comfort me.

The song "Because You Loved me" by Celine Dion came on the radio on the way home from church yesterday and it says so much.  Here are some excerpts that especially ring true:

For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I'll be forever thankful baby...

...You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach...

You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky....
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I'm grateful for each day you gave me

Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you

You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You've been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you.

I'm everything I am, because you loved me.

I will never forget you, my dear Angel Man, Edmond Jean Angelil!

"Elvis" WAS in the Building!

Last evening Phyllis and Bob Brandt joined me for an "Elvis" concert in the theater here at Savanna Club.  I didn't realize how many songs Elvis made popular.  It is said he sang 1,500 songs and recorded 800+.  

This was a fun and lighthearted evening!

 

(Never a dull moment around here, huh?)

Cheri is Growing Up!

I just saw this posted on Facebook by Christie Rhodes, Cheri's mother:    "Sooo... the big brother watched the buck all summer......and the sister got it! Life just ain't fair, huh?"

Cheri has been my Weeding Assistant for several years and I claim her as my granddaughter.  Here she was in 2010.

http://www.angeliladventures.blogspot.com/2010/08/cheri-my-sweet-helper.html 

Here's Grant, "the big brother who watched the buck all summer."

And here's my Cheri today in front of the weigh-in station at the store in Singers Glen, Virginia today!

 

 I wish I could be there but I can just see the twinkle in Cheri's eyes!  Way to go, Granddaughter!  Sorry, Grant, I hope you get one, too!

Yom Kippur 2012

My friends, Bobbie and Ron Steinberg (the ones who visited us in Virginia last year -- Childlike Enthusiasm for Cows) invited me to their home in Savanna Club to celebrate Yom Kippur last evening.  I call them my "homies" because they're like family.

Yom Kippur, also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people.  It is a day for fasting and repenting from the sins of the previous year.  Traditionally this holy day is observed with a 25 hour period of fasting and prayer.

Bobbie, Sheila, Suzanne, Allen, George, Howie, Benay, MaryMay, Ron, and Larry

I had gingerly tasted lox and bagels and herring in sour cream before.  This time, I ate them with gusto and thoroughly enjoyed them, along with all the other trimmings. 
When I taught in Ft. Lauderdale, I always enjoyed having holidays for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.  Now it's nice to know the meaning of these holidays.   

Gmar Chatimah Tovah! (May you be sealed in the Book of Life for a good year).

p.s.  Correction:  Last week at Rosh Hashana, Bobbie was the one who made the kasha varnishkes.

Blanche's Big Adventure

I left home at about 11 a.m. this morning.  When I came home at 4:00 p.m., the door to the Florida room had blown open and the kitties were nowhere to be seen.  I started walking all the backyards and my street.  I thought I could hear Pepper's screechy meow.  Sure enough, she was in my neighbor's Florida room.  She had come meowing at his door and he recognized her.  He gave her food and water and kept her.  I was so relieved.

However, there was no sign of Blanche.  I called and knocked on all the neighbors' doors but no one had seen her.  I walked the backyards again (and got several ant bites).  About 5:20 p.m. I got a phone call from the Humane Society.  Animal Control had just brought her in and when they scanned her chip, they were able to call the 800 number and get my information. I rushed right up there, arriving just before they closed at 6:00.

Apparently, Blanche went under someone's house on the street behind me.  They called Animal Rescue, who took her to the Humane Society.  How glad I am that I got the chip put in her last spring!   Now I can sleep tonight.

Blanche does seem beat after her big adventure.

 

p.s. I would like to think she's learned her lesson, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

Rosh Hashanah Dinner 2012

My friends at Savanna Club are very kind and thoughtful about including me in various activities.  

I felt very honored to be invited to celebrate Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) at the home of Sheila and George Soto.
 
The meal began with chopped liver, which I was able to eat thanks to Suzanne's good recipe!  Ron made some delicious matzo ball soup from scratch.  (A matzo ball is a dumpling made from matzah meal, eggs, and oil.)

Rosh Hashanah meals usually include apples and honey to symbolize a sweet new year. 

George and Suzanne with round challah bread to symbolize the cycle of the year.  It was so moist.

 Bobbie, Sheila, Larry, Daryl & Ron

Sheila made kasha varnishkes (buckwheat groats cooked with onions and chicken stock, then mixed with bowtie pasta), carrots, flat point brisket (to die for!) and Moroccan chicken.

 For dessert we had rugulah pastry and apple cake. Deana surprised Sheila with an early birthday cake.

Happy Birthday, Sheila!

What a nice evening with good friends!  Thank you, Sheila and George, and "Shanah Tovah" (for a good year).

Willis Reunion 2012 - "Oh Bess, What a Dress!"

As Cousin Susan Scott Neal was preparing the Journal for the 2012 Willis reunion in August, she asked me to send her what photos I had of Bessie Hiter Willis, my great-grandmother.  I sent two that she had seen and another one of my grandmother, Bessie Willis Freeman, wearing a dress her mother (my great-grandmother, Bettie Hiter Willis) had worn for a singing concert.  Susan immediately emailed back, wanting to know all about the dress.

I called my cousin, Robert (Bobz) Freeman, in Asheville, NC.  He thought the dress was in an old trunk that his brother Bill had.  I called Bill in Winston-Salem, NC.  He said Grandmama's wedding dress might be in there but he didn't think her mother's dress was there.

When Bill and his wife, Corty, arrived at the motel in Culpeper, he came in with a fairly large cardboard box.  Guess what it was!  Yes, it was THE dress!  He was afraid to touch it because he thought it would fall apart.  We lifted it out and were surprised at what good shape it was in.

I remembered a letter that Bessie Hiter Willis had written to her mother in 1869, in which she said her cousin was getting married and in this letter, she described the dress she'd like to have made to wear to this wedding.  This was the same dress she wore for a singing concert where she won a medal.  Her mother and their seamstress only had this written description to go on -- no drawing or photo.  The result is just phenomenal.

It was made by Mrs. Anderson and we think she might have worked out of the C.H. (court house) which was likely near Rock Spring, their home in Louisa County. She must have been the family seamstress?

The photo below is my grandmother, Bessie Willis Freeman, wearing her mother's dress which was worn in a singing contest.  Her mother was my great-grandmother, Bessie Hiter Willis.

The Willis Framily reunion in 2012 featured this photo in their journal with the caption, 
"Oh Bess, What a Dress!"

The historical costume professor from JMU, Pam Johnson, came to my house in Virginia to see the dress. She was fascinated and before I said a word, she said it looked like about 1870. The letter about the dress was written on November 17, 1869. She thinks the fabric is wool, although it feels much like cotton.

She's going to get acid free tissue paper and a special storage box.  She said a temporary display might work but not long term because it would deteriorate.  She would like to put it on a dress form long enough to take detailed photos to use in her classes. She knew all sorts of details about the features and said that Bessie Hiter Willis definitely wore a corset with it. It's possible that it was just after the hoop and bustle era but not necessarily. 

She would not recommend that it be cleaned and said the musty smell probably mostly came from the box. It isn't nearly as musty as it was at first. What a treasure it is!

The letter from Bessie Hiter Willis mentions a pattern and Pam said there were patterns for dresses like this.

She would love to have it as part of JMU’s collection, although she put no pressure in this regard. The only other really old dress she has is from the 1840s and this one is far nicer and in better condition. I know it would be revered at JMU.

The skirt

  This is the basque, which is a close-fitting bodice, sometimes having an extension that covers the hips.the extension of this bodice or of a doublet.

It turns out that the Culpeper Museum does have proper storage that is air conditioned and humidity controlled. 

It is now 2019 and Cousin Bill Freeman donated the dress to the Culpeper Museum.  When they "unveiled" it, they had an elegant wine and cheese party.  The director talked about the dress most of the evening.