Christmas Stories

Would you want to be able to go back in time , to the Christmases of yesteryears? During the holidays most of us are in a hurry. In a hurry to shop for gifts and today the gifts are not like they were when we were little. Today it’s games, and I Phones, laptops, computers. Where are the days of settling for a little rag doll or a little red wagon? And we didn’t have these fancy stockings to fill, mine was a brown stocking of mine. It worked just fine as far as I am concerned, We got them filled up with lots of goodies. Let me tell you a nice little story I read in a book I bought at a pawn shop about a certain Christmas long ago.

My favourite Christmas happened long ago. I was only 7 years old at the time and I remember it as if it were only yesterday. My parents , my sister Loretta and brother Andy and I lived on the outskirts of town. My parents lived in this old log cabin. It was heated with an oil furnace and it took all the money we had to keep us fed and warm. But it was ok, we had enough to eat and were warm. But at the end of October my Dad was laid off from work, with no chance of working there again because the factory closed down. My Dad would get up early in the morning and walk to town to look for work and come back home without any luck . The end of November ,still no job for Dad and we missed out on the county picnic. December found us still in the same situation, no job and our oil was going down fast. We usually put up our tree in the middle of December but not this year. Mom kept telling us that Santa had been good to us in the past years and this year would be no different. December 23 came, a cold ,cloudy day with a little bit of snow. We wanted our tree but Mom said she wasn’t sure we could get a tree. We reminded her that tomorrow was Christmas Eve and that Santa wouldn’t leave any presents if we had no tree. We heard a truck pull up and it was Uncle Tom. He worked at a fish plant and he was single. He was all smiles and soon so were we. He went to the back of the truck and pulled out the most beautiful Christmas Tree. It smelled of fresh spruce and there were little bits of snow on the branches. Mom had tears in her eyes and Dad put his arms around her. Mom grabbed Uncle Tom and gave him a big hug along with a thank you, thank you. We decorated our tree that very same night with ornaments we had in our attic. Our tree was beautiful. Christmas Eve we were so excited and had a hard time sleeping. I heard voices downstairs, was it Santa? He had let one of his elves in our house? I snuck down the stairs and I saw Dad putting a little wagon for Andy. He painted it a bright red. Mom was combing a little doll’s hair and putting a yellow ribbon on it. Dad said “wasn’t that good of them?” Sure was, replied Mom, I only hope someday we can pay them back. I went back to bed and woke up to the smell of something wonderful. Loretta ,Andy and I jumped up and ran downstairs. Oh there was the wagon, Loretta found the little doll and I had a beautiful Eaton’s doll. The wonderful smell turned out to be the turkey. It was the most perfect day. Mom and Dad were standing in the corner being happy for us. By late March Dad had a job again. Years later I found out that all Mom’s brothers and sisters had put money together and got us our Christmas. A Christmas I will always remember.”

I do hope you have enjoyed the little story and when Christmas time nears, a little story from your past about Christmas would be nice to share with your children or grandchildren. Now seeing we are back to the present , I would like to share a few of my products that you can find at

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Christmas Stories

Would you want to be able to go back in time , to the Christmases of yesteryears? During the holidays most of us are in a hurry. In a hurry to shop for gifts and today the gifts are not like they were when we were little. Today it’s games, and I Phones, laptops, computers. Where are the days of settling for a little rag doll or a little red wagon? And we didn’t have these fancy stockings to fill, mine was a brown stocking of mine. It worked just fine as far as I am concerned, We got them filled up with lots of goodies. Let me tell you a nice little story I read in a book I bought at a pawn shop about a certain Christmas long ago.

My favourite Christmas happened long ago. I was only 7 years old at the time and I remember it as if it were only yesterday. My parents , my sister Loretta and brother Andy and I lived on the outskirts of town. My parents lived in this old log cabin. It was heated with an oil furnace and it took all the money we had to keep us fed and warm. But it was ok, we had enough to eat and were warm. But at the end of October my Dad was laid off from work, with no chance of working there again because the factory closed down. My Dad would get up early in the morning and walk to town to look for work and come back home without any luck . The end of November ,still no job for Dad and we missed out on the county picnic. December found us still in the same situation, no job and our oil was going down fast. We usually put up our tree in the middle of December but not this year. Mom kept telling us that Santa had been good to us in the past years and this year would be no different. December 23 came, a cold ,cloudy day with a little bit of snow. We wanted our tree but Mom said she wasn’t sure we could get a tree. We reminded her that tomorrow was Christmas Eve and that Santa wouldn’t leave any presents if we had no tree. We heard a truck pull up and it was Uncle Tom. He worked at a fish plant and he was single. He was all smiles and soon so were we. He went to the back of the truck and pulled out the most beautiful Christmas Tree. It smelled of fresh spruce and there were little bits of snow on the branches. Mom had tears in her eyes and Dad put his arms around her. Mom grabbed Uncle Tom and gave him a big hug along with a thank you, thank you. We decorated our tree that very same night with ornaments we had in our attic. Our tree was beautiful. Christmas Eve we were so excited and had a hard time sleeping. I heard voices downstairs, was it Santa? He had let one of his elves in our house? I snuck down the stairs and I saw Dad putting a little wagon for Andy. He painted it a bright red. Mom was combing a little doll’s hair and putting a yellow ribbon on it. Dad said “wasn’t that good of them?” Sure was, replied Mom, I only hope someday we can pay them back. I went back to bed and woke up to the smell of something wonderful. Loretta ,Andy and I jumped up and ran downstairs. Oh there was the wagon, Loretta found the little doll and I had a beautiful Eaton’s doll. The wonderful smell turned out to be the turkey. It was the most perfect day. Mom and Dad were standing in the corner being happy for us. By late March Dad had a job again. Years later I found out that all Mom’s brothers and sisters had put money together and got us our Christmas. A Christmas I will always remember.”

I do hope you have enjoyed the little story and when Christmas time nears, a little story from your past about Christmas would be nice to share with your children or grandchildren. Now seeing we are back to the present , I would like to share a few of my products that you can find at

http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* or www.zazzle.com/boot_eek along with many more gift ideas. 

 

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BATHS & BATHING

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Most of you readers are young , and some of you may be seniors, but what do you remember or remember hearing about taking a bath? Today we have bathtubs, showers, and running water.

 We take a bath as often as we want to. We never worry about using too much water do we? We take things for granted but what about our grandparents and great grandparents? They didn’t have running water ,nor bath tubs or showers.

Well I heard stories and read stories about Bath times of long ago. First of all our ancestors needed something to bath in. Oh I know that some used to bathe in a creek or river or stream but that would have been hard to do if one was living far from these places. I read that one particular family used to go to a spring about a mile from their home filling buckets of spring water and bringing them home on a horse and wagon. The lady of the house (mother, grandmother, or spouse) had this round metal tub, ( I remember Mom had one ,I believe it was galvanized) This tub was used for many things, for boiling diapers, gathering vegetable and whatever usage the could find. So as you can see they had to conserve the water by using it over and over which brings me to the bath time . Baths were usually once a week and usually on Saturday to have everyone clean for Sunday Mass. Usually they all took turns in bathing in the same tub of water ,as one would leave the tub ,water was poured in to warm the water for the next child, after the children were put to bed, the mother took her bath and then the father. By the time the father got into the same tub he had the most water in the tub. When the baths were all over the water was often thrown on flower beds or plants which seemed to thrive all this bath water. Another lady wrote” It’s funny how deprived some people think they are. They feel poor because they don’t drive a car, or cannot shop at fancy stores or they cannot live in the exclusive parts of the city. They have never experienced what it means to survive on so little and still not feel underprivileged.” A very wise lady to realize that we should be thankful for whatever we have no matter how little or how much., Christmas will soon be here, and now is the time to start preparations, you can find more at either of my two stores

http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* and http://www.zazzle.com/boot_eek* Enjoy:

 

And here are a few of my friends stores for you to check out

 

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The above is a nice 2013 calendar with images from the past.

 

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This is a nice locket to give as a gift.

 

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An iPhone 5 case with  an antique phone image.

 

Until next time,

Stay safe, stay well

Drive careful.

A Notorious Crime

I decided to tell you a story that I read , and I have changed the names because the story is based on a true story. I will begin with the first part of the story, but before I continue I would like to share some of my products with you. I am hoping you will check them out.

In the eyes of the press of the time of Jane X may have been repulsive at worst but in the eyes of the two men in her life, she was a desirable and attractive woman. She married John Doe around 1840 ,she was 22 and she bore him eight kids before he got sick. Leprosy was very common in the last half of the 19^th century and a very debilitating disease. And John was forbidden to make love to Jane by the parish priest.

Jane was born into poverty and ignorance, John was a woodcutter by trade. As he got worse he was less and less able to work and provide for his family , so the kids became wards of the parish. Now Billy Brown a 25 year old man as poor as the Doe’s befriended them and the whole family moved into his one room cabin . Husky Billy Brown fathered Jane’s next two children over the following ten years of misery for John who’s body was covered with sores. He was often confined to bed because of his terrible pain. Yet surprisingly, in the spring of 1872 his condition started to improve. Soon he was moving from bed to a chair and then walking with a cane. He started going to the woods to chop wood.

Jane was then pregnant with Billy’s third child. She had been bugging Billy for the past two years to kill her husband, now with John’s health improving Jane became more persistent. Even in front of visitors she would urge Billy to kill him. At one time she openly debated the merits of a knife, blows to the head, or strangulation, and options she believed might be considered a natural death. Billy regularly told her he didn’t have the heart to do it. John apparently was aware of Jane’s plotting. ( are you still following the story? To be continued further in my blog…. Now I would like you to just have a look at a few of my products that you can find at

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All the pictures I have posted  will be at the following urls:

 

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Part Two of the story

On April 10^th when Billy’s sister was visiting them, John took his axe and went to the woods around 8 o’clock in the morning. Billy left about an hour later, he came back and talked to Jane outside in the yard then went back to the woods for a half hour. When he got back the second time, Jane went to the woods and she too came back in a half hour at which time Billy washed himself and changed clothes. Jane threw the clothes into the loft and continued her visit with Billy’s sister. By four o’clock Billy’s sister wondered where John was , so Jane told her where to go and she set out into the woods, to find John was lying dead in a clearing, it looked as if John had been hit on the head with an axe but she could not see the axe anywhere. Billy was distressed with the news but Jane was her usual easy going self. Billy and his neighbor went to get John’s body , and brought it to the cabin where Jane washed the blood off and tied a white bandanna around John’s head to hide the cut. Billy kept saying he did not kill him. The inquest held two days later attached no blame but the next day Billy went to the magistrate and confessed in front of witnesses ,that he had killed John. He said he killed him with a stick and his fists, not with an axe and he said that Jane had nagged him into committing the murder. The medical evidence did not agree with Billy’s confession but indicated that the fatal wound might have been with the blunt edge of an axe. Billy was put in jail to await trial, telling anyone who would listen that Jane had been after him for two years to kill John and warned him that if he didn’t do it, she would. He also said that when he left ,John was alive and trying to crawl. Jane was arrested and charged with the murder of her husband. The police believed that when Billy returned after beating John, Jane went into the woods and finished the job. But they couldn’t prove itBilly went to trial, and it took the jury only 20 minutes to reach a guilty verdict and recommended mercy because he had confessed and said he was sorry. Jane was next, she was charged with being an accessory before the fact, and the same evidence which convicted her lover was presented by the same lawyers before the same judge and heard by the same jury but with one exception, Billy was called to testify against her. But the judge later said that Jane’s influence over him was apparently as strong as ever. The jury took an hour to deliberate but they came back with a guilty verdict, with no recommendation for mercy. They were both sentenced to death ,Jane was given a reprise because she was pregnant. To the amazement of reporters, neither prisoners showed any reaction to the sentence, it was some time because they learned the reason why. The judge had delivered the sentence in English and the interpreter forgot to translate to French. Because they could not speak English , Jane and Billy left the courthouse ignorant of their fate. In October they hanged Billy. Strangely Jane’s sentence was commuted in December to life in prison where she remained for the next ten years. She was pardoned in June the following year and lived with one of her children. Was justice served?

Thanks for reading today’s blog, and don’t forget to visit my store at

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Chow for now.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Do you Believe

I was looking through some of my books to see what I could blog about and came across this article, I will change the names but apparently there were many witnesses to the event or events. I am always intrigue but events that seem unbelievable. Could it be true? I feel it could be true, or there has to be an explanation somewhere or somehow.

The first appearance took place in September 1893 when a group of students said they saw a lady and a child on the school grounds, these appearances continued for long months to follow. The classroom had 22 desks in it. The children were all questioned and questioned again five weeks later and their stories never changed. All the children answered with great sincerity. Mary Cormier age twelve stated that she was the first to see the lady that September day, she had left early to go to school with her two cousins, Cecile and Leonie, she said they were all sitting on the door step of the school when she heard this exclamation “ well! Well! In a clear voice seemingly from inside the school. Then she heard three knocks like the teacher knocking on her desk. She told her friends she had heard knocking and at the same time there were three knocks again. Her cousins told her they had heard the knocks that time. Mary went went her cousins to the first window on the right of the entrance door, she saw a profile of a lady figure turned towards the east. She was dressed in white, her hands folded, her eyes seemed to be raised towards the sky, she wore a white veil and a blue sash. Her height seemed a bit taller than the ordinary women. She looked to be very sad. Mary thought it was just a mirage, after taking a stick in her hand ,she walked closer to the window to make sure there was nothing reflecting in the window, the same person was still visible. The idea came to Mary to hit on the window with her stick to surprise what she was seeing inside, or to get her attention, but the apparation stayed the same way with the same expression. At the same time Cecile was seeing the same thing while Leonie didn’t see anything. Mary said out of fright they ran under a tree in the schoolyard to wait for the other children. When the children arrived Mary told them what she saw and heard. Some of the children went to the window and many saw the same lady. Once the teacher arrived and the children entered the class room the apparation was gone. At recess around 10.30 Mary again went back to the window and that same lady was still there exactly as she had been two hours earlier. He teacher never saw her.Mary said that for many days after she looked in the window and the lady appeared again. After that first set of appearances Mary continued to say one day she saw the profile of a man with a a grey beard and near him a woman holding a child in her arms. This group appeared near the blackboard. The man was standing dressed in white, I only saw them one day ,continued Mary. A while later I saw a little child in the corner of the classroom not far from the blackboard, he seemed to have a white tunic and wasn’t touching the ground and I could not see his feet. On the bottom of his dress was a trimming of white lace. His eyes were something happy sometimes sad, he seemed above us all, his hands turned inward as if asking for something, his hair was yellow and long reaching his waist. Another one of Mary’s friends Susan saw the child too. Since Mary began seeing the child she never would see the lady. Four about four months the child appeared with a heart the color of gold on his chest. Another time she saw him he had a golden crown. Another time Mary saw this white bird on the top of the child’s head carrying a white flower in its beak.

Mary born in 1884 became a nun, she died in 1970, she was so moved by these things she saw or witnessed that she devoted her life to Mary mother of Jesus.

I do hope you enjoyed today’s blog, now I would like to share a few of my products with you, Christmas will soon be here, and now is the time to start preparations, you can find more at either of my two stores

http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* and http://www.zazzle.com/boot_eek* Enjoy:

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Shipwrecks

Here is an interesting story from a book I bought yesterday at a yard sale ,titled “Shipwrecks off the East Coast. The author was Carmel Vivier. If you can still buy it

I would recommend it… This story is called The Royal Tar. I do hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Imagine a crisp fall day, with a touch of frost in the air. The leaves are changing colors, people are hurrying all over , and horses are hauling cards full of good up and down the road. These were all typical sights in Saint John in October 1836. No so typical however was the cargo on a group of wagons slowly making their way to the harbour. The wagons were carrying cages filled with exotic animals. In was October 21 and Fuller’s Menagerie, which had been touring Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for the last 6 months were leaving Saint John and heading back to the United States. Young and old people stood and watched as the colourfully painted wagons, some large and some small slowly went down King St. in the heart of the city to the wharf and the loading dock.

Fuller’s Menagerie was like most other travelling circuses, a mix of close knit families and performers who had been together for a long time. It had the usual circus animals, including 2 camels an elephant, a lion, a couple of tigers, ponies and horses that were used for performing and pulling the wagons. It also had an assortment of reptiles and birds. With an entire circus to move back to the USA, the owners needed a large reliable ship. They picked the Royal Tar ,a 400 ton, 160 foot side paddle steamer that could accommodate all their animals and bring them to the USA in a short period of time. The circus owners were anxious to get to New York, where they were hoping to find work for the winter. Built in Carleton New Brunswick in 1835, the Royal Tar was more reliable than any other ships because she had both a paddle wheel and sails. The captain was Thomas Reed. The Royal l Tar had a regular route, running between Digby ,Saint John, Portland and Maine. This route enabled people to reach New York from St John in less than four days. The passenger list for this 21 th day of October’s sailing totalled 93 passengers and crew, with some Irish immigrants heading to the US looking for work.

As the ship sailed out of Saint John Harbour into the Fundy Bay, the circus band played God Save the King. After the steamer started her trip, the weather began to get bad, with strong winds. The first port of call was Eastport, and the ship arrived in time, but when the ship left Eastport that night Captain Reed decided the weather was too bad to keep on going to Portland. He gave orders to steer the ship into Little River near Cutter Maine, to seek shelter. He decided to stay there till the weekend. The following Monday they left their shelter but soon after the weather was bad again so they took shelter in Machias Bay. Again they started out but the engineer didn’t notice that the water levels in the boilers were running low. The captain stopped the engines and the opened the safety valves. They dropped the anchor near Fox Island. Then they noticed smoke directly above the boilers. Now that the paddle wheel wasn’t working they had to use the sails to get the passengers to safety. The captain gave the order to man the boats, and everybody ran for the lifeboats. But the engineers, other crew members and some passengers had already lowered the biggest lifeboat and were on their way to Isle au Haut instead of getting help.

The captain didn’t want the rest of the passengers to all get in the one remaining boat because it would have tipped so he ordered everyone to jump in the water. Once they jumped he pulled them towards the boat he was in , soon the boat was full and they headed away from the burning ship. The sound of people screaming and animals screeching sent shivers down the spines of those on the lifeboat. The US cutter Veto arrived on the scene and boarded the people on the lifeboat. Then the Steward and Capt. Reed along with two seaman from the Veto made trips to and fro to the burning ship to rescue passengers . Many of the circus animals were dying of smoke inhalation in their cages, The horses and camels were backed off the shop, some other animals jumped into the water, the elephant jumped and landed on a raft full of people, tipping the raft, sending some people to their death, then the elephant swam to shore. With a boat full of passengers the Veto headed for Isle au Haut. Arriving on the island the passengers were in for some surprise, the men who had taken off in the biggest lifeboat were all there sitting comfortably around a fire at Squire Kimballs, one of the local lodgings enjoying themselves as if nothing happened. The survivors showed their appreciations to the people of Isle au Haut who gave them warm clothing, food and lodging. Captain Reed and William Brown returned to Saint John were they treated as heroes in rescuing the passengers of the Royal Tar, and the people of Saint John celebrated their bravery.

Out of 93 people on board the Royal Tar 32 died including 10 children and 3 crew members. The vessel and cargo was worth around $200,000 but nothing was insured, the strongbox from the circus with all of its earnings from an entire summer was lost . The elephant and two horses were found on shore, but the camels and exotic animals were never found. The Irish immigrants lost all their possessions, strangers in a strange land, they were left with only the clothes on their backs.

I do hope you have enjoyed reading this story which is sad but true.

Now as I normally do I would like to share some of my products with you, I have a wide assortment of iphone cases, including some for the new iPhone 5, also tee shirts, gifts for various occasions, all occasion cards, invitations, clocks,dartboard ,playing card,articles too numerous to mention, so please stop by and visit my store at

http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* You can also visit some of my colleagues stores here are a few of them:

 

 http://www.zazzle.com/ixodoi_art?rf=238218562078565840

http://www.zazzle.com/kamizzz?rf=238218562078565840

http://www.zazzle.com/kahmier?rf=238218562078565840

http://www.zazzle.com/crypticfragments?rf=238218562078565840

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Here are some of my products

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http://www.zazzle.com/lady_iphone3g_3gs_case-179617651093318184?rf=238218562078565840

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Migmaw Native Americans

Well I have been reading more on Diereville’s Voyage to Acadie and here are a few exerts. First of all the Native Americans were once called Indians and it was supposed that when the continent was discovered that it was connected with East Indies. The people on East Indies were called Indians. It sort of makes sense.

Now Diereville was an agent of a merchant company in Rouen and he spent one year in Port Royal Nova Scotia (known as Acadie back then). He frequently went with the Native Americans to their learn their ways, customs, habits and also to collect specimen of things he found in the new land, such as flowers, and plants.

The Chase was the chief occupations of the Native Americans for subsistence. Lots of wild game such as moose, caribou (deer) and wild fowl furnished them with food while the beaver, otters, martins and lynx furnished them with furs for clothing and trading with the French. Sometimes on their hunting trips they would not eat for days but when they killed a deer they ate it in a most ravenous manner, bolting down the flesh without chewing and washing it down with spring water.

Beaver was found in many streams but much skill and cunning was needed to capture him. It’s sense of smell and hearing were so accurate that it was almost impossible to shoot it. The Native Americans also had a fine sense of smell, they could smell a bear at a great distance. With the guns they got from the French they seldom failed to get enough food for themselves and also game and venison for the Port Royal garrison.

The man who excelled in the chase was raised to a high rank position in his tribe and was chosen to be the chief of 100 warriors and he was respected both in peace and in war.

A warrior had to prove himself to be a good hunter before he could have a wife. If he fell in love, he applied to her parents who at once gave their permission if he was successful in the chase. If they had any doubt at that point the was required to prove himself by feeding the whole family of his future father in law with game he killed.

The marriage ceremony was simple. The parents presented the girl to her fiancé, just saying “This man is your husband”. The newlyweds then went into the woods for their honeymoon and to hunt together. The game they killed were taken to the bride’s father’s wigwam for a feast where all the Native Americans nearby were invited.

After a baby was born, it was dipped into the coldest water available even in winter to harden the baby and fish oil or melted fat was poured into the baby’s mouth before it was allowed to drink his mother’s milk until he was strong enough to eat solid foods.

Native American feasts were given on the following occasions, the birth of a boy, his first tooth, his first walk, and when he killed his first game. (nothing is mentioned about the baby girls).

When the French first settled in Port Royal , the Native Americans worshipped the Sun as their God , they called it Nichakaminon meaning very great. They acknowledged him as their maker. They also believed in a Demon called Mendon. The Jesuit missionaries converted the Native Americans to Christianity……..

I hope you have enjoyed this blog, now I would like to share some of my stuff which you can find in my various folders at

http://www.zazzle.com/allicor*

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

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Things from the past

Sieur Diereville

　

I came across information about Diereville’s voyage from La Rochelle France to Port Royal, and I was intrigue by it. Before I give you exerts from him journal or notes, here is a bit about him

.

Before 1699 Dièreville seems to have studied surgery at the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris, if we are to believe a passage in his account, and before 1701 he published some poems in the Mercure galant. But the principal event in his life was his journey to Acadia. On 20 Aug. 1699 he left La Rochelle on board the Royalle Paix, in the capacity of supercargo, that is, of an agent appointed by the ship owner and responsible for watching over the cargo. He reached Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal, N.S.) in Acadia on 13 October, after a voyage of 54 days. He spent a year in the country in search of information about the region and the French and Amerindian populations; he also gathered plants. On 6 Oct. 1700 he sailed for Europe, and reached La Rochelle on 9 November. On 21 December of the following year he became a surgeon at the hospice of Pont-l’Évêque, a post which he was still occupying on 10 April 1711.

Apart from that, nothing is known of him. Only his account and the plants he gathered in Acadia contribute to his fame. He brought back specimens of Chelone acadiensis (today Chelone glabra), which were types used by Tournefort when he described the species in 1706, and also the Diervilla acadiensis (today Diervilla Lonicera), a species of a genus which Tournefort dedicated to him. In his description Tournefort pays tribute to Dièreville as follows: “I know only one species of this genus, which M. Dierville, a surgeon of Pont-l’Évêque and very knowledgeable on the subject of plants, has brought from Acadia.”

The account bears the title of Relation du voyage du Port Royal de l’Acadie, ou de la Nouvelle France, and was published at Rouen in 1708. The author describes in detail the life aboard ship, not forgetting the cabin boy who was whipped to calm the wind and the loss overboard of part of the cargo. He shows a particular interest in fauna, and recounts his hunting and fishing trips, the fine drifting snow (which he calls foudrille) of the Canadian winter, the methods of making spruce beer and maple sugar; he describes the country of the aboiteaux (dikes), the customs of the Indians (and particularly their way of reviving drowned people by enemas of tobacco smoke), and the cooking of the Amerindians, the Acadians, and the seafarers. Culinary memories stimulate this gourmet, and the space that he allots to them makes of his account the first important work in the gastronomical literature of Canada. The first thing I want to mention was that on his vessel it was mandatory for the sailors or seamen to baptize anyone who was on the ship not baptized. They placed a tub of water in the center of the deck. Three or four sailors took the one to be baptized by the arms and legs and dipped his butt in the water over and over again. They would mischievously leave him with his legs in the air and while he was trying to get away, other sailors would throw six or seven pails of water on him ending the ceremony and bursting out laughing. Next on to Port Royal.

“Docked at Port Royal our destination where it took us 54 days to arrive. Port Royal might have ½ leagues in length and just as much in width. The homes situated there are but made of hemp ,clay and straw with a clay chimney. I asked for the whereabouts of the church which I didn’t recognize and not built any different than the other houses. I would have taken it for another barn instead of the house of God. While I was there I giving thanks to God for the grace he had given me and arriving safe, I noticed the priest coming towards me. He led me to church where he blessed me with holy water. Then he showed me his home with different variety of apples. He later led me to where I was to stay for my duration. The house was the largest one, it had three rooms downstairs, an attic and a cellar. I saw two rivers the Dauphin which as large as the Seine River, with homes on both sides far apart from one another. There are nice fields and meadows. At the top of Port Royal there are also homes and some apple orchards. These homes go nearly as far as Goat Island and a distance from Port Royal. At the top of the island, the river forms a basin that goes out to sea. The other river called Moulin is much narrower, and has three mills along it one for corn, and two lumber mills. There are three or four houses.

Thinking I was in a nice and peaceful weather related climate, and thinking I would not have to deal with the harsh winds that I encountered on the ocean, the worse happened, the winds were never so strong in Port Royal as it was on this particular day according to the village elders. It blew so hard that it broke the cable holding our ship’s anchor and a canoe attached to the ship which was filled with merchandize to deliver the next day, capsized because of the strong winds. The climate is similar to France, about the same degree, the summer is plenty hot but winters are colder. It snows nearly every day in the season, and the winds are so cold, they freeze one’s face, we don’t dare go out in these times (the villagers called it soudrilles ) when the snow and gusty winds occur at the same time. If the snow melted like in France it would not be so cold, but the snow lasts 7 to 8 months on the ground ,especially in the woods and that is what makes the air bitterly cold. The Acadians have large families one neighbour had 18 kids the other 22. In nearly every family there are 5 or 6 kids sometimes more. The Acadians love their pork, they eat it twice a day and they enjoy partridge and rabbits. Their rivers contains smelts, plie (kind of fish) ,gasparot sturgeon eel, sardines ,trout, salmon and other fish.. The Acadians store a lot of their food in their cellar, for example their apples are stored there to eat during the winter months. They pick blackberries ,raspberries, strawberries and serve them with a clear sugar. (maple syrup). This is all for this time. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog, the above were translated from French to English to the best of my ability so you can have a idea about our ancestors so long ago. Now I would like to share some of my products with you , you can find these ,Acadian products and much more at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor*

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

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Reunions and Invitations

Hello everyone, well today I would like to talk about reunions.Why?  Because a few days ago, we had a Facebook Reunion, and let me tell you, we had a great time. What a great feeling to be able to be face to face, or meet them in person. We chat online everyday, we make lasting friendships, sometimes never even knowing what these people look like, and even if we see photos it isn't the same as reunions. We were around 33 attending our reunion, we laughed, we joked, we shared stories, we took pictures and everyone left that day with a good feeling inside. Now there are all kinds of reunions, there are family reunions, these are lot of fun too, sharing stories about childhoods,children,parents, meeting new relatives. There are also family tree reunions, these are usually big reunions with folks sharing the same ancestor, such as Thomas Cormier, or Abraham Jackson and so on. There are baby showers, those have been around for as long as I can remember, as a matter of fact I made lots of them. First came the invitations, then deciding on prizes and games, and on the food. We reunite for weddings, for funerals, these are all reunions of some sort or another. We meet and greet love ones ,old friends and relatives. Reunions can be loads of fun, with things to do ,such as games, singing, dancing, chatting and most of all laughing and having a good time. So if you are planning any reunion of any kind, please have a look at some invitations I have created at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor*  (in my greeting card folder) and http://www.zazzle.com/boot_eek*  (in my invitation folder).

 

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Darts and Dartboards

There are many dart players around the world, some are perfect players others are not and I am among the NOT. I remember trying my luck and I had to start the game with a double by the time I finally hit the double, the game was over.. I admire the players and the game, but my excuse is maybe because I am left handed. Will that suffice? Grin. It was the same when I bowled, I seem to prefer the gutter ball. You only had to say Gutter and voila, I obliged them and threw the ball in the gutter.

Now getting back to Darts and Dartboards, have you ever been interested in the history of darts and dartboards? Well it is believed that the first dart game originated with soldiers throwing short arrows at the bottom of a tree trunk. When the wood dried cracks happened creating sections. Later many woodworkers started making dartboards for local pubs. Traditionally dartboards used to be made of wood ,usually popular or elm. Both were easier for the darts to stick on. The first ones were cut from the end of a tree trunk and believed that the circular pattern of the rings and the way the wood cracked led to the design of the dartboard. By the late 1920s a standardised dartboard was introduced and remains the most popular dartboard today across the world. In 1930 a London company filed a patent for a new kind of dartboard. Made of biscuits of sisal fibre the dartboard was way better than the wooden one. This dartboard also known as bristle dartboard was longer lasting and when the darts were removed from the board the fibre closed the hole. Today wooden ones are very rare and bristle dartboards are seen nearly everywhere that they play darts.

Rumours say that dart games were popular during the reign of King Henry V111 of England. King Henry enjoyed the game so much that his said wife to be Ann Boleyn gave him a set or rich looking darts to win him over. It is also said that the Pilgrims played darts for fun on their voyage on the Mayflower. Today the sport is popular in Britain, Germany ,Scandinavia, North America. In the USA thousands of dartboards are sold every year and millions of Americans play darts every week, Canada is also a great country for darts, they have dart leagues, in many clubs, pubs and bars. So it does look as if dart games are here for a long time. To anyone who has a club, a pub, or a bar, and that caters to darts, here are a few dartboards I would like to share with you. These can all be found in my dartboard folder at

http://www.zazzle.com/allicor*

I would also like to share some of my friend’s stores where you can have a look at their dartboards

http://www.zazzle.com/stineshop?rf=238218562078565840

http://www.zazzle.com/ixodoi_art?rf=238218562078565840

http://www.zazzle.com/kamizzz?rf=238218562078565840

 

http://www.zazzle.com/kahmier?rf=238218562078565840

 

http://www.zazzle.com/crypticfragments?rf=238218562078565840

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For the men who play darts

via zazzle.com

If you are looking for a gift for your special dart player , this is an ideal one.

Is online shopping safe?

First of all a bit about online shopping for the readers who are a bit uneasy about shopping online. In 1990 a Mister Berners Lee created the first world wide web server and browser, it opened for commercial use in 1991. As the years advanced online banking appeared and Netscape introduced SSL  encrypting of data put online which has become essential for safe online shopping. In 1995 and 1996 Amazon and eBay launched their online shopping. So how does this work? Well a customer which would be you must have a computer as you all know and a method of payment. And if you know the right place to shop then you will have no problems. Now this brings you to my store and other stores where it is safe to shop.  My store is run by Zazzle and I shall share other zazzle stores further in this blog. What you do you go to my store or a zazzle store and shop, you click on the item and proceed to check out or continue shopping. Zazzle is 100 percent secure it has the SSL encrypting.  On many products you can personalize your way, change a photo to yours. Zazzle was recognized in 2007 by Tech Crunchas the best business model in its first annual awards, it has been noted by industry experts such as Joseph Pine as easy to use technology. You cannot pay with cash, nor personal cheques, our store takes Visa, Master Card, American Express, Paypal and Zazzle Gift Certificates. Nor does Zazzle take any orders over the phone. When you order something it is delivered right to your door in well packed packages such as padded envelopes or boxes.  I personally have been pleased with everything I ordered, and I returned a tee shirt that was too small and they sent me another one, no charge. School will soon begin again so now is the time to shop , and Christmas gifts can be bought anytime. Here are some of our products, tee shirts for men,women,children,babies,hats, aprons,messenger bags,school bags,gift mugs,plates,wall clocks, playing cards, phone cases,computer cases, posters,postcards,ornaments,badges,keychains,stickers,greeting cards,skateboards,and so much more. Here is one of my products to give you an idea what happens when you click on an item: http://www.zazzle.com/roaring_sea_poster-228028953025861131

My stores can be found at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor*    and http://www.zazzle.com/boot_eek*    ,  I will add some photos of some of them.  But first here are some other stores worth checking into:

http://www.zazzle.com/juststart?rf=238218562078565840

http://www.zazzle.com/kahmier?rf=238218562078565840

http://www.zazzle.com/tdominici?rf=238218562078565840

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http://www.zazle.com/borianag?rf=238218562078565840

 

 

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History of the Playing Cards

A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing various card games.. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling.

A complete set of cards is called a pack or deck, and the subset of cards held at one time by a player during a game is commonly called a hand. A deck of cards may be used for playing a great variety of card games, with varying elements of skill and chance, some of which are played for money. The front (or "face") of each card carries markings that distinguish it from the other cards in the deck and determine its use under the rules of the game being played. The back of each card is identical for all cards in any particular deck, and usually of a single color or formalized design. Usually every card will be smooth; however, some decks to allow blind people to read the card number are in Braille and . The backs of playing cards are sometimes used for advertising.

Playing cards first entered

In Europe   in the late 14th century, with suits (sets of cards with matching designs) very similar to the tarot suits of Swords, Staves, Cups and Coins and which are still used in traditional Italian and Spanish decks. Wide use of playing cards in Europe can, with some certainty, be traced from 1377 onwards.

The Mameluke deck contained 52 cards comprising four "suits,

A complete pack of Mameluke playing cards was discovered by Leo Mayer in the Istanbul in 1939.This particular complete pack was not made before 1400, but the complete deck was matched to a privately owned fragment dated to the 12th or 13th century. It is not a complete deck, but there are cards of three packs of the same style.

The earliest cards were made by hand, like those designed for Charles VI; this was expensive. Printed woodcut decks appeared in the 15th century. The technique of printing Woodcut  to decorate fabric was transferred to printing on paper around 1400 in Christian Europe, very shortly after the first recorded manufacture of paper there, while in Spain the earliest dated European woodcut is 1418.

The primary deck of 52 playing cards in use today includes 13 ranks of each of the four French Suits , clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥) and spades (♠), with reversible Rouennais "court" or face cards . Each suit includes an ace, depicting a single symbol of its suit (quite large often only on the ace of spades) a king, queen, and jack, each depicted with a symbol of their suit; and ranks two through ten, with each card depicting that number of symbols (pips) of its suit. As well as these 52 cards, commercial decks often include two Jokers. In many games the Jokers are not used. The jokers are usually distinguishable by colours look was also to their popularity. such as the

Bicycle Playing Cards

are a popular brand of standard playing original brand  . Since 1885, the Bicycle brand has been manufactured by the United States Printing Company, which, in 1894, became the United States Playing Card Company of cinncinati. "Bicycle" is a trademark of that company. They are popular with magicians and other card enthusiasts.

The typical Bicycle deck (Poker-standard Type 808) is a standard issue deck of cards consisting of 52 traditional playing cards, two jokers, an information card, and a card describing poker ranks. As with most decks, the first standard card of the deck is the uniquely-stylized Ace of Spades. The Bicycle trademark is usually also printed on the Ace of Spades. The type number of a Bicycle deck can be found both on the bottom of the deck box and on the stone of the Joker artwork.

Bicycle playing cards are sold in a variety of decks featuring different cards (such as for use in Pinochle), back designs (including the traditional rider back and older Vintage backs), face designs (including Jumbo Index and Lo Vision cards for the visually impaired, and a "Poker Peek" design on their Pro series decks that simplifies looking at hole cards), and sizes (such as narrower bridge decks, thicker Masters Edition cards designed to last longer, and Big Bicycle cards that are four times the normal card size). Any of the aforementioned are traditionally available with red and blue backs, but other back colors (including black, silver, and even pastel colors) are also available. There is even a "Ghost" deck that is entirely black and white except for red hearts and diamonds on the corners of appropriate cards. Consumer paper versions of the plastic KEM type WSOP decks are sold under the Bicycle brand. In 2010, Bicycle Playing Cards released special 125th anniversary decks which include a redesigned rear side, redesigned Ace of Spades, and 1885-2010 written under the numbers on the corner on each card.

Bicycle playing cards are commonly used as magic cards  and are generally considered by magicians as the best playing cards for most tricks. In addition to specialty decks specifically designed for card tricks (not to mention spin-off brands such as Arcane, Artifice, Sentinels and Propaganda), Bicycle also make other kinds of non-standard card decks, such as a "gaff" deck (contained in a mirrored-art box) with an assortment of unusually-altered cards that can be used with regular cards for jokes.

Magicians such as Ricky Jay, Gary Tinsley, Cameron Hood, Daryl, David Blaine, Dynamo, Brad Christian, Cyril Takayama, Jack Thomas, Chad Nelson, Robby Arcane, Nanuru and many others have all used and performed effects with Bicycle Playing Cards. Bicycle cards can have an 'air cushion' finish which improves the handling of the cards. Arco’s, Tally-Ho's, Aladdin’s, Dan and Dave's Smoke & Mirror cards as well as the other playing cards on this page are ideal for use with magic tricks. Theory 11 also have made some custom decks with the Bicycle name.

When cards arrived in the us in the 1800s their look changed due to popularity, they invented the joker an extra card used in games they invented and small numbers and letters on the corners of the cards to make it easier to sort through the deck. when companies made the playing cards they often depicted political views on the front. They controlled the printing and manufacturing to raise money for King Charles the first, the worshipful co also started a tax on playing cards in the 1920s. Today major printing co are looking for new ideas to make their products nicer

Now Zazzle has brought in the bicycle playing cards for us to create tops for them, so I would love to share some of mine with you. They are a new product so more will be created. You can find my playing cards in my playing card folders at http://www.zazzle.com/allicor* and http://www.zazzle.com/boot_eek*

Here are some of my friend’s stores where you can also browse through.

http://www.zazzle.com/styleuniversal?rf=238218562078565840 ht

h

http://www.zazzle.com/kamizzz?rf=238218562078565840

 

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http://www.zazzle.com/smangieri ?rf=238218562078565840

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