December 2019 – Page 3 – Sonja Danielson

The Voyage

Have you had a chance to check out my new book, ‘The Voyage’? It’s an illustrated east-to-read book about the beginnings of one of America’s founding families.

If you’ve been to Cape Cod, Massachusetts you’ve likely driven or ridden through Sandwich. That’s where the Wing Fort House is located. You should take a tour. The house is chock-full of furniture and other belongings owned by the Wing Family.

The kitchen is something special and when you walk in you can imagine the family gathered around the gigantic fireplace. The smell of bread baking or a stew bubbling in a cast iron pot hanging off a hook over the flames fills your imagination. And that’s just the first room!

My ancestor, Stephen Wing, was the man who built the house. History relates this story: He was fearful of an Indian uprising and built a very solid fort home. The Indians in the area turned out to be very nice and helpful, making the home overbuilt. But I bet those 12-inch thick walls helped keep those frigid winter temperatures out of the home!

Time to take a trip! Sonja

Sunday Funday!!!

It’s time to have fun! Play with your dog (like Guinness the Therapy Dog), dance, or play under the blue sky. I hope those of you who are digging out of the winter weather are able to spend some time playing in the snow.

I hope for good weather and good times for you and yours. Sonja

Day of Remembrance

Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Above is the USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial building straddles the rusting hull of the USS Arizona. You can see the ship below the water. It entombs most of the sailors and Marines that were killed during the surprise attack on the harbor by Japanese pilots.

The memorial was commissioned in 1949 and was funded by public and private donations.

Some survivors of the attack have chosen to be interred with their shipmates on the USS Arizona. More than thirty have chosen to have their ashes placed under one of the gun turrets. Those who served on the USS Arizona, but were not assigned to the ship during the attack on December 7, 1941, can have their ashes scattered above the site.

Photo by Ryan Parker on Unsplash

The ship continues to release fuel into the waters of Pearl Harbor. Sometimes called “black tears” or “tears of the Arizona”, this oil is constantly monitored to prevent an ecological disaster if a large amount is suddenly released from the rusting tanks.

The entire band was killed. This was the only time all the members of a band were KIA. The members of the band were on the ship and most were on deck in preparation to raise the flag. When the attack began, they ran to their battle stations beneath one of the gun turrets. The band had been a finalist in the “Battle of the Music” competition between all the ship bands in Pearl Harbor.

Twenty-three sets of brothers assigned to the USS Arizona died. One father and son duo was killed. As a result of these deaths, the U.S. government attempted to discourage having family members serve aboard the same ship, but no official regulations had been made.

Mark the sacrifice of these men and their families. Sonja

Get in a Flip Flop State of Mind

What do you think of when you wear flip flops? (Sometimes called thongs.)

I think of sand, beach, and relaxation. I hope you are able to find one of those things during this holiday season.

It can be hectic to get everything that you think must be done–done. But don’t forget the foundation of the holiday: peace, love, and joy.

Don’t get too crazy with all of your “I should–” and “I need to–”

Take a moment to enjoy. Sonja

It’s St. Nick Eve

Tonight is the night to put a shoe outside your bedroom door to see if St. Nick puts in a treat or a rock. Legend says if you’re good, you get a treat; if you’re naughty, you get a branch or a rock.

I hope you get a treat! Sonja

Today’s Inspiration

“We rise by lifting others.” Robert Ingersoll

#advent

Today is the first week of December, which means you should be three days into your advent calendar. If you light the advent candles, you should have lit one candle last Sunday.

My advent calendar this year holds 24 packets of tea. I love to drink tea and I’ve been tasting new flavors every morning. In the afternoon I’ve been combining Vanilla Comoro with cocoa bean hulls. It’s a tasty treat that smells so good! The cocoa bean hulls came from Peru and give off a wonderful aroma.

If you want the smell of chocolate with a slight hint of the yumminess, but not a cup of hot chocolate, then the cocoa bean hulls fill the need perfectly.

Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash

Have a sweet day. Sonja

Happy Birthday, Georges Seurat!

Do you know the work of Saurat? He was a neo-impressionist painter and devised pontillism.

Pontillism is a technique that uses small dots to make a picture. It’s fun to stand back and see the entire work and then go up close (don’t touch the original work) to see all the dots. I would post a photo but they’re all copyrighted.

Seurat also created a theory that utilized chromoluminarism, also called divisionism. The dots work together to build an optic illusion.

So, what’s the difference between pontillism and divisionism? Pontillism refers to the actual technique of using dots to build an image. Divisionism refers to the separation of color. Pontillism emerged from divisionism.

Still confused? I am not an expert but I see it this way: divisionism is a dog and pontillism is the breed. If I’m wrong, please feel free to let me know in the comments.

If you want to see some of Seurat’s work, I recommend that you use your favorite search engine to see some of his works, or, even better, go to a museum that has some of his originals hung on the walls and take a look.

Have a good day! Sonja

Just For You

(c) 2019
(c) 2019
(c) 2019
Available exclusively on Amazon!
(c) 2019

I have so many good stories for you to read!

All three books from The Fairies of Carlow, including The Gilding, The Outsider, and The Commoner, are all available now. The Voyage is newly released! The Guinness the Therapy Dog series is coming soon!

I hope you get the paperbacks or download the ebooks (all available on amazon.com) and enjoy these stories.

Use the links in the left margin to go to the book sites on amazon.com, or search for my name ‘Sonja Danielson’ in the Amazon search bar.

Let me know what you think of these stories. I would love to hear from you! Sonja