Ana of Chica&Pumuckl tagged me with a picture meme! I am so excited, I haven’t done a meme in so long. I know some folks don’t like memes (they can be a chore sometimes), but I rather like them. So Ana, thank you for thinking of me. I’d been wanting to do a meme.

Here are the rules:
1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.
2. Go to the 6th Folder and then pick the 6th Picture.
3. Post it on your bloggy and tell the story that goes with the picture.
4. Tag 5 other glorious peoples to do the same thing and leave a comment on their bloggy tellin’ them ’bout it.

Like Ana, I have a lot of photos all organized into folders. I have hundreds and hundreds of photos (over a thousand, actually) because I take a lot when we travel, for my travel blog. I have them organized in sets. So I chose the 6th set, which is Bagg’s Square in Utica. And then I chose the 6th photo, which is:

There’s a little red caboose behind the Children’s Museum in Utica, NY, located at Bagg’s Square. The kids loved it! We had fun taking photos and running around the place. My daughter, in the back there, tends to get a little, um, exuberant, about these things.

Bagg’s Square is a historic place– the first tavern was built right here in the 1700s (that’s old for us Americans). Nearby, stood a fort that guarded this area of the Mohawk River. George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and others visited this tavern during the Revolutionary War. Here’s another picture of a memorial plaque next to the area:

The kids loved exploring the place, and I did, too! Bagg’s Square is historic, which is interesting, but there’s also a Children’s Museum here, and Union Station is here, too, so we can watch the trains go by. If you are interested, you can read more about our trip to Bagg’s Square and the Children’s Museum. But I’m warning you– there are a LOT of photos!

So now I get to tag some folks for this meme. As is my custom, my tags are merely suggestions. If you are tagged and you do not feel like playing along, that’s just fine. Just know that you are loved, lol. So here are my 5 glorious peoples, thus officially tagged in no order:

1. Carole
2. Threecollie
3. The Historian, Ms. Mecomber
4. Jean
5. You! If you want to do this, I’d LOVE to read it! Leave your link in the comment area so I can visit you.

Every morning, the kids and I read from the Bible, a section of reading from a history or philosophy book, and a section from a book called “Extreme Devotion.” This morning’s passage from “Extreme Devotion” was so good and so amazing that I though you might like to read it, too.

First, a quick background: in England (and much of Europe) in the 1400/1500s, there was fierce persecution of “protestants,” those people who refused to join the Catholic Church. These protestants were often involved in translating the Bible in the common language, which was illegal (the Catholic Church had commanded that the Bible be in only Latin and that only ministers owned it). Englishmen like William Tyndale and John Knox rebelled against these acts, and were arrested and burned at the stake for it.

In today’s reading, it’s about a young man named Thomas Hauker, captured and condemned to death for his beliefs. This is a true story.

Thomas Hauker, a bright, well-favored, good-looking young gentleman, would not deny his personal relationship with Christ. For this he was sentenced to die at the stake.

Days before his execution, Thomas’ friends came to his English prison cell. One said, “I’ve heard that God gives a special grace to those who die in the fire that enables them to bear the flames. For your sake, that I might be able to bear this cruelty to you, can you give some sign of it? Without knowing this, I don’t believe I can bear this day.”

Thomas thought for a moment, “If the rage of pain can be tolerated, before I die I will lift up my hands to heaven as an indication.”

On the day of execution, the crowd was abuzz with Thomas’ promise. As he was chained to the stake, he spoke quietly and with great grace to the men who laid the wood. Then he closed his eyes and the fire was kindled.

Thomas continued to preach to those around him, but soon, for the roar of the flames, he could not. All were sure he had died. Suddenly, his hands rose above his head to his God and, with praise and thanksgiving, clapped together three times. A shout arose in the crowd, and Thomas sank into the fire and gave up his spirit.

Wow. The section went on to encourage us that no matter our troubles, God is faithful and can help you bear it. It was a good lesson. :)

The family just spent a little while together, watching a terrific DVD series called Drive Thru History. I’m a tremendous history buff, so I really like these. But the DVDs are not made for history buffs– the’re made for “average” people, people who would like to learn more about the amazing things that happened in the past but don’t have the time to study. I just LOVE Dave Stotts and his DVDs. The guy is just hilarious and he has made some really, really quality DVDs. They deserve a plug, they are just that good. And I think you and your kids would just love them.

Dave has made a bunch of DVDs. There are 4 of them where he travels Asia Minor and Greece, exploring ancient history. I love them! He also has a bunch of DVDs on American history, and these are just hilarious. He’s making more, too. We are really looking forward to getting more.

So check out these DVDs! You’ll get a great education, AND you’ll get a lot of belly laughs, too. Probably the only thing I can think of that I don’t like about the DVDs is that Dave has a lot of art showcased in his DVDs, and a small percentage is immodest stuff (like nude statues). Dave actually decided to cover some of the statutes with polka-dot boxer shorts, LOL. But believe me, the art is a far cry from all the ikky sexy lingerie that’s shoved in our faces every day. So, I think the DVDs are well done.

You can find the DVDs at Amazon, at CBD here, and at the main site, here. I very, very highly recommend them!

I am fond of Russian history. I have read numerous books about the Romanov dynasty (the last Russian monarchy) because of their connection to Queen Victoria (the last Tsarina Romanov was the grand-daughter of Victoria). Something last week made me remember the Faberge Egg… I don’t remember now what that was, but I wanted to write a little about the egg. The Faberge Eggs are perhaps the most exquisite works of art ever created in the world. Read on, and you’ll see!

On Easter Day, 1885, the Tsar Alexander III had a special 20th anniversary gift for his lovely wife, Tsarina Maria Fedorovna. Easter Day is the most celebrated holiday for the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Tsar’s anniversary made it a celebrated occasion. Through the palace doors walked a young and talented artisan, Peter Carl Faberge. He carried a tiny box to the Tsar, who set it on the table before his wife. The Tsarina gasped at the gift inside: it was an enameled egg with a golden yolk. Inside the yolk was a golden hen, and inside the hen was a tiny crown of diamonds and rubies. It became known as the first Faberge Egg.

Photos from Faberge Hen Egg.

Tsar Alexander commissioned Peter Carl Faberge to create a new and different egg every year, to give to his wife on Easter Day. Faberge himself set up a workshop in St. Petersburg, and commissioned a large group of skilled jewelers, craftsman, and artists. It took one who year to design, create, and complete the egg for the Easter celebration.

The Faberge Eggs always had a personal meaning to them. One egg given to the Tsarina Maria was a star sapphire egg with rose diamonds, emeralds, and gold leaves. Inside the egg is a tiny folding screen of minature paintings– duplicates of the paintings that hung in the places that the Tsarina had spent in Denmark as a child. Other eggs have portraits of ancestors and the royal family, scenes depicting momentuous events (such as a coronation), or eggs honoring the birth of a male child.

Photos from Faberge Eggs.

Tsar Alexander died unexpectedly in 1894. His eldest son, Nicolas, was terrified and completely unprepared to be Tsar. So he continued everything his father did, in politics and including the tradition of the Faberge Egg, for his mother the Empress Dowager and Nicolas’ new wife from Germany (Victoria’s granddaughter). The designs of the eggs just seemed to get more detailed and exquisite every year. All the world’s most prized materials were used– gold, silver, rubies, diamonds, abalone, purpurine, and pearl.

Photo from Wikipedia.

Photo from Wikipedia.

The eggs are breathtakingly beautiful. Some of the eggs had working parts and would spin or open. Some opened to reveal beautiful portraits or painted landscapes. One egg– my favorite– has a globe made of burnished steel and gold with the territory of Russia etched into it, and it spins. The egg sits on an elaborate stand of purpurine and enamel.

Photos from Faberge Egg.

Part of the mystique of the beautiful Faberge Egg is that it is steeped in tragedy. During the reign of Nicolas, Russia was starting to rumble with revolution. The people had gone through the distresses and starvations of World War I, and they were resentful of the wealth and decadence from the Imperial Palace. Lenin and Trotsky found their opportunity to stir up the people to revolt and seize Russia’s government and resources for itself. The people did not realize that they were merely exchanging a weak monarchy with a much worse communist regime of tyranny. The Imperial family was murdered on July 17, 1918. Their bodies and personal items were thrown into a hole dug in the forest and burned with hydrochloric acid. The location of their remains were not known for many years, and there was a legend that the youngest princess, Anastasia, had survived (not to be).

The Faberge Eggs are located all over the world, now. Many are in public museums (including in the Kremlin), and a few are in private collections. Some eggs are lost. I think the eggs are just so beautiful. The craftsmanship is artful and delicate. Just so beautiful.

If you’d like to see photos of more Faberge Eggs and read a little about their history, there’s a good site about them here, called Mieks Faberge Eggs. The photos are wonderful and they often show what is inside the eggs.

My kids have read the book, The Hiding Place, and I saw the movie eons ago. I decided to get the movie again (free through my local library) and I am so awed by the story that I wanted to tell you about it! This is a stunning story and if you haven’t seen the movie, you should really try to! It’s just… amazing!

The Hiding Place the true story of a Dutchwoman named Corrie ten Boom, during World War II. Free Holland had been invaded by Nazi Germany, and a new government had taken over. Radios and guns were confiscated, police patrolled the streets, assemblies of any kind were forbidden, and a new climate of fear ruled the streets. Corrie and her family decide to resist the new rules- they become accomplices of a group determined to free Holland and save the Jews who are being kidnapped and taken away. Corrie and her sister hide the Jews in their home in Amsterdam, and have to come up with all sorts of creative ways to feed these people and get them across the border to safety.

Corrie and her family are discovered and are arrested. They are sent off to concentration camps, and the story tells of the gruesome and brutal lives they now live.

I found a very old trailer of the movie on YouTube! I don’t think the trailer does the film enough justice– the film is absolutely incredible!

I allowed my children to see the film, although I fast-forwarded the scene where the women are being washed before entering the concentration camp. The movie is very intense, but it is a good lesson– a lesson that should never be forgotten. So many people died merely for resisting the tyranny and standing up for what is right. The acting performances and everything about the movie are very, very compelling. It’s an older movie– released in 1975– so the photography is a bit grainy (in the days before digital cameras!) but the movie is just SO exceptional. This is a CLASSIC.

Corrie survived her years in the concentration camp (her sister and elderly father did not, but the Jews they had helped were all saved from the Nazis). Actually, the details of her release are miraculous– she was scheduled to be killed but a bookkeeping error set her free. She returns alone to her beloved home in Amsterdam and tries to patch up what is left of her life. She wrote her story and it became an instant success. Corrie eventually moved to America but traveled all over the world, telling her story about her torment, about God’s incredible love, and warning the world about the events that led up to the death of free Europe in the 1930s.

Photos courtesy of IMDB and Wikipedia.

I didn’t realize that other countries suffer through the Daylight Saving Time thing, too. Did our Congress enforce it on you, also? Well, tonight’s the night for us (I’d read that the UK did theirs last weekend).

Daylight Saving Time is dumb, I think. My pal Jean put it best on her blog today:

A Native American, when told the reason for daylight savings time, had this to say:

Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom of a blanket, and have a longer blanket.

LOL! That tickled me.

I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who first came up with the intial idea of DST (the idea of rising earlier, that is). He thought that if we set our clocks to the rising/setting of the sun, we’d save more time and be more productive. Americans ARE the most productive people on earth, but still… it wasn’t until 1905 that the idea got rolling. And it wasn’t the United States that started it, either! This is from Wikipedia:

Germany, its World War I allies, and their occupied zones were the first European nations to use Willett’s invention, starting April 30, 1916. Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the next year; and the United States adopted it in 1918. Since then, the world has seen many enactments, adjustments, and repeals.

If you just can’t get enough about Daylight Saving Time, or want to inflict your homeschooler with an assignment about it, here is a very cool site I found that tells all about it! Everything you ever wanted to know about Daylight Saving Time RIGHT HERE. LOL Have fun!

[and I'm grateful for the extra hour of sleep I'll get. I'm still exhausted from the hour we lost last spring...]