The Painting

I have watched Pride and Prejudice (a lot), and there is a scene where Elizabeth admires the paintings of Mr. Darcy and his sister. I have had the opportunity to view similar types of paintings of individuals and families at various art museums. I enjoy looking at them and getting a glimpse of what life might have been like those many years ago.

But having oil painting done of one’s family was something that only rich families did hundreds of years ago, right? Well, not if you are friends with an amazing artist like Cheryl Schoenberger! I met Cheryl through Civil War Reenacting and discovered that she had painted portraits of two other Atascadero Civil War Reenacting families. My husband and I decided that a painting of our family would be a perfect 25th Wedding Anniversary gift to ourselves and asked Cheryl if she would paint us. She presented us with our large 3’X3’ painting at the Moorpark Civil War Reenactment last month, and we were thrilled!

The painting is a memento of many things that my husband and I have tried to impart to our children: Family history (I’m wearing my grandmother’s brooch), homeschooling (we’ve learned a lot about the Civil War), hand crafting (The girls and I each made our dresses), travel, friends, memory making and so much more. It is amazing to think that I will be able to enjoy this painting all of my life, and then it will last and last through many generations. I wonder what my great-grandchildren will think of the painting!

My Favorite Things

While some people sing along with Julie Andrews and declare that their favorite things are raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, my favorite things run more along the lines of learning new things, sharing that information with other people, organizing events and making memories. At a Civil War Reenactment, I get to do all of these things. Last weekend, family and friends met up at the Moorpark Reenactment to share food, fellowship and our love of history with others who attended the event. My husband and his fellow musicians who are in the Liberty Hill Band (yes, those same wonderful guys who play for our Civil War Balls) played their music near the battle field while the ladies of the Civilian Camp had a lovely tea party. The Saturday evening dance is one of the highlights of the event for the re-enactors. I always learn a new dance or two to bring home and share with my Civil War Ball group at home. Friends, music, history and dance… these are a few of my favorite things.

Curtains!

I remember watching the Sound of Music when I was a child. I loved the music, the story… the marionettes! But I was especially intrigued by the thought of Maria making play clothes for the children out of curtains. I thought about that as I took scraps of cloth to make clothes for my dolls. Later on, I saw the old classic, Gone with the Wind, and watched another resourceful lady make a velvet dress from curtains.

So when it came time for me and my daughters to move out of our bridesmaid and thrift store dresses into Civil War Ball gowns of our own, it was probably no surprise that, as we began to look for material, I thought of – curtains! The fabric is already trimmed, and as an added bonus, it was already hemmed too. My youngest daughter finished her dress this summer, and my girls and I wore our dresses to the Civil War Ball last weekend. So when it comes time for you to think about making your own ball gown, you might want to consider – curtains!

Who knows… maybe you’ll even get to meet Abraham Lincoln!