The History of Memorial Day

A friend at work today told me about how Memorial Day first started and I thought it was interesting enough to do a post about. So I came home to look it up and the first thing that popped up was Snopes.


My friend said that Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC when they honored 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. 

She told me that the 257 bodies were reburied to give them a decent burial and that it took the former slaves 2 weeks.

Afterwards they had a parade to celebrate and in gratitude for the ultimate sacrifice the people had given in fighting for their freedom.

Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/military/memorialday.asp#6guYoy6Qt2s4zvsF.99

Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/military/memorialday.asp#6guYoy6Qt2s4zvsF.99

WORD FOR WEDNESDAY - A WRITER'S GAME

Guess what the word means...


WORD FOR WEDNESDAY:

Persnickety


Do you know what it means?


Can you guess?


If you have no idea, scroll down for the meaning...




Further....


FURTHER.....


persnickity means a person who is fussy about small details

SCBWI Spring Conference 2014

It was a weekend filled with fun and inspiration. Judi and Sue worked really hard to put it all together and make it a fun weekend.

There were plenty of local authors who shared their words of wisdom:

And agents and editors shared information about the wonderful world of writing and publishing.

The SCBWI has plenty of events all year long, including the Great Critique Session that is scheduled for July 26th. There is also a fall retreat that's already planned.

I would recommend any of these great events for any writers.

On this Day in History

On this day in 1536 - Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII, was beheaded after she was convicted of adultery.

Maybe that doesn't seem so interesting to you. But, Anne Boleyn looks a lot like my niece. Yep, it's true.

My hubby and I went to her castle over in England a few years ago and we walking through the stairwell when we came upon a painting and my husband turned to me and said, "Who does that look like?"

I looked up and started to laugh. It was like one of those scenes out of a vampire movie where you see your relative in an old (and I mean VERY old) painting, hanging on the wall.

Yes, she looked so much like my niece that I had to show her when I came back home.

Of course my niece didn't say much but I could see it in her eyes that she saw the resemblance...whether she wanted to admit it or not.

So, when I saw that this day in history was the day that Anne was beheaded, it made me think of my niece.

I'm Listed

I'm on the website...on Crimson Frost Books.

Listed as an "author". It makes me feel like it's really real. I can hardly wait to see the cover art. And, I'm told The Viking Princess will be out in late fall or early winter. So, a short time, at least in the world of publishing.

This is a fun story of warriors, women and the world back in the days of King Arthur. My main character is a strong female warrior, who rides on the front lines into battle. She is no sissy Princess. This is a warrior woman whose willing to fight for what she believes in.

I'll keep y'all posted as the publication date comes closer. But I wanted to share my excitement. 

Mother's Day Dinner

We celebrated Mother's Day by hanging the Danish Flag out on the house in honor of my hubby's mother and her homeland.

And then we made a traditional Danish dinner of smorrebord or open faced sandwiches

There are certain traditional foods that go together like liver pate and pickled beets. And the Danes like to keep their traditions in place.

And then we all gathered around the two tables and ate our fill.

The next day my daughter brought me my presents.

Which included a hummingbird feeder, hummingbird food, a couple of monsters ;D and a pink piggie cup. I don't know what that says about me...but that's what my gifts were, along with lunch :D

It was a wonderful way to spend a weekend.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

This is an educational story about a family in Denmark that helps to hide a young Jewish girl from the Nazis during the occupation.

It is a dramatic story of how the Germans occupied Denmark and the fear they inspired during this time.

In the end, the family helped more than this one little girl. They helped a group of Jewish people escape into Sweden but it wasn't without drama. And even though this one particular story is a true life reenactment, it represented many true-life events.

Reading this story was even more interesting because of the location. I'd been to all the locations mentioned in the book. And my husband's father had been alive and living in these locations during the Nazi occupation. His uncle has shared stories with him about how they were young men during this page in history.