Do you have a hobby?

I ask because today is World Card-Making Day. I don’t make cards, but I have a relative who makes beautiful and intricate cards. They’re more works of art than simply a card.

I tend to go toward things involving needle and thread. When I find the time, I like to sit down and work on a stitching project. I’m not very picky. There’s an entire world of things out there to learn.

Those things usually find their way into my books. Can you tell from The Gilding (Violet’s gift)? That’s taken from my likes. You can probably see my dislikes, too.

Tell me about your likes and dislikes, too!

Enjoy your weekend, Sonja

It’s World Smile Day!

Photo by Hybrid on Unsplash

Today is the day to smile at everyone you meet. I love this photo because most of the balloons are smiling (there are one or two that aren’t).

Smiling has the benefit of not only making the person on the receiving end happier, but smiling can uplift your mood– you, the smilee. In fact, research shows that smiling can boost your immune system!

Every time you smile you fight off virus’ or bacteria that are trying to take you down. Smiling can relax you and release certain chemicals in your brain that help you feel better. It’s a wonderful way to reduce stress, sadness, and ennui.

What does all this mean? It means smile for better health and a better day.

Have a smiley Friday! Sonja

Price Cut!!!

The Fairies of Carlow: The Commoner

Here’s a gift for you. From today through Sunday the e-book of The Fairies of Carlow: The Commoner is on sale. Go to Amazon.com and search for my name or use the link at the left side of the web page.

The price goes up a little bit every day and will be back to full price by Sunday morning. I hope you are able to jump on this chance to read Princess Cecilia’s story at this special discount! It’s a wonderful story!

Enjoy this special pricing event, Sonja

I Love the Outdoors! Do You?

I’m a big fan of being outside, no matter how comfy my home is. The heat of the sun, a gentle breeze, and the smell of warmed soil really makes me happy. It doesn’t matter if I am hiking, strolling, or gardening, it’s fun to be a part of nature.

I think it goes back to my childhood. I spent a lot of time outside laying on the ground and looking up at the sky, or skiing, swimming, waterskiing, etc. I grew up on the shore of a mountain lake and was able to take advantage of all it had to offer. In the Spring I could snow ski in the morning and waterski in the afternoon. How perfect is that?

Go Outside, Sonja

#National Homemade Cookies Day

I mentioned yesterday that October 1 is National Homemade Cookies Day. I’m such a fan of cookies that I wanted to say it again. TODAY IS NATIONAL HOMEMADE COOKIES DAY!!!

Mark Hewitson Photography

Although the person who started this holiday isn’t known (the fact cookie crumbled), I have to give them a big shout-out. Cookies are the perfect snack: sweet, crunchy, and small enough to hold in your hand. I favor chocolate chip, but am also a fan of the many other varieties: oatmeal, snickerdoodles, sugar, butter, wedding, etc. There are so many varieties!

October 1 is also International Coffee Day and International Day for the Elderly. I think that calls for a visit to your favorite senior with a plate of homemade cookies and a thermos of coffee!

Enjoy! Sonja

Guinness the Therapy Dog

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month (amongst others). Now, Guinness isn’t a shelter dog, but he was given to us by his first owner. We are so happy that he was released to us and we were able to give him a home. He’s been such an asset to our family!

I can’t wait for you to meet him. The picture book series, Guinness the Therapy Dog, is based on him. You’ll discover how he became a therapy dog and his job around the city. Guinness Goes to the Hospital is all about the time he spends with patients, adults and kids, who have been admitted or are in the emergency room. Guinness Goes to the Library will show you how he helps kids read. He loves his job!!!

So, gear up for October and get ready to meet Guinness. If you have a shelter dog in your family, give him or her a big squeeze! Shelter dogs are the best!

Tomorrow is also National Homemade Cookie Day. Get that mixer out and blend together some butter, sugar, and chocolate chips to celebrate the day. If you like coffee, tomorrow is also International Coffee Day, which is great with those homemade cookies.

Enjoy the first day of October! Sonja

It’s Gold Star Mothers’ Day

Each year on Gold Star Mother’s Day the United States president calls on all Americans to display the nation’s flag and hold appropriate meetings to publicly express their love, sorrow, and reverence towards Gold Star Mothers and their families. Government buildings are also required to display the flag.

American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. is an organization of mothers whose sons or daughters served and died while serving their nation in times of war or conflict.

The last Sunday in September is also Parents of Fallen Military Sons and Daughters Day in New Jersey.

This day is a tribute to all parents whose children died as a result of their service with the United States Armed Forces. It commemorates the contributions, commitments and sacrifices made by those parents individually and through the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc.

Who are Gold Star Mothers?

The name the Gold Star Mothers was derived from the custom of military families who put a service flag near their front window. The flag featured a star for each family member serving in their country – living members were denoted in blue but gold stars honored family members who were killed while in duty. In 1918 President Woodrow Wilson approved the wearing of black arm bands bearing a gilt star by those who had a family member who died in the military service to the United States. This distinguished them from the blue stars, representing a family member presently serving in the armed forces.

American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. was incorporated in 1929, obtaining a federal charter from the US Congress. It began with 25 mothers living in the Washington DC area and soon expanded to include affiliated groups throughout the nation. On June 23, 1936, a joint congressional resolution designated the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother’s Day, a holiday that has been observed each year by a presidential proclamation. The gold star is not limited to mothers and is awarded as a pin by the US Department of Defense.

This information came from https://www.timeanddate.com

Wing Family of America

The Wing Coat of Arms

I’ve been thinking a lot about my ancestors. Luckily for me, one of the branches on my family tree has so much history attached to it, and the family has a strong desire to preserve that history. But, much is lost to time–

My picture book based upon the patriarch of the Wing Family of America will be published soon. The text is written and the artist is busy drawing the illustrations. I’m so excited to tell the story of this family as they leave 1600s England for the American colonies.

Unfortunately, the patriarch died before he could stand on American soil. But his desire to leave England was strong in his family and they emigrated a few years later. They settled in Plymouth and then migrated to be some of the original founders of Sandwich, Massachusetts. That’s on Cape Cod. The Wing descendants fought in the American Revolution in a Massachusetts regiment. I often think about those men and women who put everything on the line for their beliefs. It took courage, a lot of courage. I can only hope to be courageous enough to make them proud.

More info on the coat of arms, if you’re interested. This information was taken from http://www.wingfamily.org :

The coat of arms the Wing Family of America, Inc. “adopted” was the coat of Arms of Sir Theodore Wing, Lord Warden of Wastes and Liveries to King Henry VII (1485-1509)

According to Conway Wing’s Wing Genealogy (1st edition, 1881) In Sir John Bernard Burke’s “Encyclopaedia, or General Armory of England, Scotland and Ireland,” we find what purports to be “The Wing Armour. County of Rutland.” The Heraldic description accompanying it is: “Arms.– Per pale, argent and vert – a maunch counter-charged. Crest.– A maunch per pale, argent and vert, between two wings or.”

The phrase “per pale” (from palus, a stake.) signifies that the field or charge is divided into two equal parts by a perpendicular [vertical] line, with a different field on each side of it… “Argent and vert” are the colors in which the field or figures are depicted. They were designated either by “metals or colors” [in traditional coats, either the figure or the background was in metal, but not both] [The colors/metals were in French, Argent is silver and vert is green].

“A maunch” is a sort of old-fashioned sleeve with long-hanging ends. “Counter-charged” means that the colors were reversed on the from the right half of the coat to the left half. The “Crest” which was worn usually on the top of the element had the same design with two wings or [gold].”