Semper Fidelis`Semper Fi``Always Faithful

   Do you believe in destiny:The sense or feeling  that a life has been fated for what their purpose in life will be even before they arrived in this world?  I do. 

Zach, my grandson,was always challenging life,even at the tender age of 3..His Mom, my daughter, would call me from Georgia to catch me up on how the family was doing and what Zach's newest adventure was. 

"I don't understand the boy, "His Mom would say,"today I found him standing on a red fire ant hill. Those ants were crawling up his legs biting the heck out of him and he just stood there.I finally ran out to drag him off the hill." Another time I was chatting with her, and she related that Zach,now around 6years old, had climbed the neighbor's cyclone fence, had tumbled over. When she went searching for him, she found him with a huge Akita guard dog standing over him. Those dogs are noted as guard dogs and not fond of strangers. My hair was growing grayer after hearing some of her stories.

 I must have collected those stories and tucked them away for later in Zach's life,and when his family had moved back to Ohio,   when at the age 22 he had made up his mind that he was joining the United States Marine Corps. I was a bit taken back by his decision. "Why not join the Navy,the Air force,? How about the Coast Guard? Marine boot camp is very tough to get through." 

"I know,"he replied decisively. He had met a fella at the local  health club, and Zach discovered that this fella was going to join the Marines. He did a lot of internet research, talked to a  Marine recruiter, and began hanging out with a bunch of guys that were going in. 

     

The recruiter worked with Zach, coaching him on the physical requirements that it would take  to make it through boot camp on Parris Island. He worked out every day, began to curb his appetite of fast foods,and  to include healthy foods. He came over 2-3 times a week to swim in his Uncle's pool, building his breathing endurance. I would get in the pool to keep him company, and we'd talk about how tough and demanding his drill instructors would be. I said,"Zach,"you're going to handle the stuff they are going to put you through by knowing they're going to try and break you down both physically, but more so psychologically. It's head-game stuff Zach." "I know,"Zach replied.

   It all came back to me,Zach's early beginnings; his confronting fearful things with an equanimity which surpassed his young age;like he had purpose behind what we considered  painful experiences.I consoled his worried Mom. " He's made this decision. You know damn well, there is nothing you could ever talk him into or out of once he's made up his mind. Recall all the things he purposefully got into when he was young." She finally agreed the Marines were for Zach, and Zach was for the Marines! I did understand what Kim felt as a Mom. I went through those same feelings of separation when my youngest son, William went to the Coast Guard Academy in New London Conn. I was so sad, that after returning home, I had his sister Kim put his clothes in his bedroom. I just couldn't bring myself to deal with the huge void. God, the things that Mom's go through!

   On October  22,2012 Zach at age 22 years left for Parris Island boot camp. He flew from Cleveland to Savannah Georgia and was bused the remainer of the way. No drill instructors were on the bus, and he states, the ride was quiet;no one was chatting it up. Just thinking,just wondering what they had gotten themselves into. When at 1AM they finally arrived, he felt dead tired--he had not really slept well for 48 hours. And for awhile it was all down hill.
   When the bus pulled beyond the gates of Parris Island to the unloading area, a drill instructor boarded the bus. He laid out the rules. " Button your shirts to the neck! Tuck your shirts in your pants! No talking! You answer with a Yes Sir, No sir! Do you understand?" YES SIR, came the new recruits reply.
    They were told to all line up with their feet placed in the painted yellow footsteps of previous Marines from ages and wars ago. Those are honor footsteps a symbol of other young men who had joined the Marines, who had fought and given their lives for this country,The United States of America. Then Zach told me they were given the "Welcome to Parris Island"speech. After they were told to call their parent/s ,tell them they had made it safely:That was the last call, the last time they would hear from home till 13 weeks, and a different and changed man had come to pass..

(Zach's Platoon:1st Battalion,Delta Company,Platoon 1001)

   I asked Zach after he had graduated and was back home for a 10 day leave, what his most difficult experience was. "Being neat and orderly,making my 'rack'/ bed precisely the way the Drll Instructors had ordered us to. wanted it done all at a fast pace. I was never concerned as to whether I'd pass all the physical regimes they demanded of us;the pull ups, the sit ups;carrying 100lbs of gear on a long hike. That never worried me,it was keeping my'rack' and living area perfect and up to snuff."
"Had you ever given a thought to quitting,or giving up?" 
"Yea," he lowered his head,"but that was after the 1st 2 days. I was so tired physically and emotionally. But I never , nor did anyone else give voice to how they felt after those first few days. We just kept on keeping on."

(Zach's Platoon:1st Battalion,Delta Company,Platoon 1001)

His platoon, won the Honor's Platoon Medal for passing with excellence all requirements of the Marine boot camp. Zach is proud of that. 
"What was your most memorable experience Zach?"
"Well,"He looked thoughtfully at me,"Besides the graduation, I'd have to say passing the 'crucible'. The crucible," he went on,^{" is a rigorous 54 hour exercise encompassing everything a recruit has learned in the 13 weeks of training. There are no cooked meals served. We ate MRE's(meals ready to eat)or boxed meals. We had walked 40 miles,our feet were blistered and sore. We had no sleep. But we kept each other's  moral and spirits up. We kept going knowing that when we made it through this last test, that we really had made it!} 

We hiked back and were told to line up in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial where we then received the Marine emblem;the Eagle,the globe,and anchor. Then we went to the mess hall and were given "the warrior's meal"which consisted of almost anything you'd love to eat, and we had plenty of time to eat, too. There was no wolfing this meal down!!"

Left to right:Aunt TJ, Uncle Bill,Kim(Zach's Mom), and loving sister Becky 

Zach and Uncle Bill

Proud new Marine Zach

The second most memorable event was, of course, when I saw my family on graduation day.
I saw the proud smiles on their faces. Uncle Bill and Aunt TJ, drove my Mom and sister to Parris Island to attend my graduation!

Zach in Dress Blues

Zach and Sasha

    This photo was taken at Uncle Bill's and Aunt TJ's home after Sunday church. That's Sasha,their Akita dog. Sasha doesn't give her affections easily and in some cases with people not at all. But she loves her Zach man!
Zach wanted me to add, that he appreciated everything his drill instructors taught him---They were fair, and they cared about the new recruits.

I am Zach's, Babs(grandmother) and the composer of this blog.

 OORAH, Zach!! One of "The Few, The Proud, The Marines"

Please visit :mysticsilks.etsy.com

Thank you for reading--:)

 
  

Unusual Etsy Treasury! Things That Go Bumpo In The Night

I haven't spun off a blog post in quite  a while. 
Today is a coolish, gray, rainy  day ,and me with little to zero ambition to accomplish much.
I may just punk out and spend the day on a Robin Cook marathon CD day--I am enthralled and totally addicted to his captivating stories:Think I should call Dr. Phil for help? Maybe he'll send me to one of his camps for people with addictive behaviors---I would not mind as long as i can listen to robin Cook CD's stories;but that would defeat the purpose of going to therapy,huh?
I spent some time this morning creating a treasury on etsy consisting on the 'unusual'--go take a peek and leave a comment, too:http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTI1OTUyN3wyNzIzNDU5MjQ2/weirdstrangeunusualthings-that-may-go

And while you are on etsy take a look at my shop: htttp://mysticsilks.etsy.com/

A Treasure From Long Ago`by MysticSilks

A few week ago, I was sorting through an old box of memorabilia looking for photos that I had tossed into the box with the future goal of putting them into albums. I did get the new albums and began the long process of sorting and organizing. 

As I was sorting I came upon a canvas folded in fourths;a hell of a thing to do to a painted canvas I thought. I began to unfold it carefully, and discovered it was a paint-by-number. I looked at the signatures and date listed at the right bottom side of the canvas.There was my name, my brother's, and last my Mother's with the date of 7/19/1953.

1953: Fifty- nine years old ! The painting was a street scene in Paris. From the style of clothing , I am guessing maybe from the early 1940's.

I sat holding that painted canvas, and the years melted away back to that hot summer of 1953.
I think my brother and I had been bored with staying inside due to the extreme heat of that summer. We had a nice finished basement, that was at least ten to fifteen degrees cooler than the upper part of the house: In those days, the early 50's, air-conditioned houses were only a dream of the future.
 Mom went out shopping one day, and as always I was helping to put away the groceries that she purchased. I noticed a long package wrapped in brown paper at the end of the table. 

" What's that , Mom,?" I asked. " Never mind. You just finish with your chores then I'll show you." I could feel the excitement growing inside me.  The country was still rebounding from the depression, and people held that poorness inside them, so that seldom were the times during those days, that nice surprises occurred.

I completed my chores, then Mom grabbed the package and headed for the downstairs, she said, 
" Follow me." I ran after her following her down the stairs careful not to run her over in my enthusiasm to see what that package held.
She placed the package on the table and removed the box from inside. I saw the title " Paris in the Summer" written on the box, and under it, paint-by-number.

Mom opened the box removed the canvas and on it were what seemed liked thousand of little numbers inside blank images. Sometimes certain numbers repeated themselves , and there were some that had maybe a few numbers that were duplicated. I was confused and backed away from the table.
   " Where are you going ?" Mom asked. " You know numbers and me don't' get along well, Mom."
" Oh, get back here you goofus ." She scolded with a hint of laughter in her voice. " You do not have to add them or subtract them. See these small cups with paint inside? See the number marked above them? You simply use the numbered paint in the same number marked on the canvas."
 I heaved a huge sigh of relief and moved close to the table again.

" Sit down here beside me. And I'll start you off and show you how to do this." I moved in closer than a hug, but not so close as to bump her arm: This was serious work, I thought.
    
  The kit came with oil paints, a small bottle of turpentine,  two  paint brushes with very fine bristles, and about a dozen toothpicks.

" What are the toothpicks for?"
"Watch, I'll show you. When you open the oil paints, see the oil floating on top of the paint. You use the toothpick to gently stir and blend the oil into the paint."

I watched as she stirred the small  blue cup of paint.
Then she said, " You must do this every time you begin to paint. And you must remember to use the same toothpick in the same color that you first use it in."
Then she picked up the brush, looked for the number that matched on the canvas and began to paint it in with the corn-flower blue. I was mesmerized! 

" Now, after you finish using that color. See this bottle, she picked up the bottle of turpentine. You dip the brush in and clean the color off. Here's a rag to use to make sure the brush comes clean.
You do this each time you start a new color.Understand? " I nodded.

   Mom, got up from the chair and motioned for me to sit in her place.  I sat down shaking with excitement. I gazed at the canvas, then back at the oil colors. " I like the red." I turned to look for her approval. " Then use it," she replied. I opened the lid on the small cup, and carefully stirred the oil into the red paint. I picked up the brush, ever so gently dipping just the tip into the paint, then began to apply the paint to the corresponding number on the canvas.
 Some where in my cloud of joy, I heard Mom climbing back up the stairs. How long I worked on the painting that day, I don't remember. Maybe, till I heard Mom call me to help set the dinner table.
My brother Jim's name  is on that painting. I think he wondered what was keeping me so occupied downstairs and wonder down to ease his curiosity. He might have asked me, if he could try to paint some. I, feeling quite possessive, must have given him the very strictest of instructions, and hovered close by to make sure he followed them. I'm not sure he   felt the same excitement that I had, because he soon left the table, and I can't recall him coming back to paint again.
    
 Also, because so many years have passed, I can't remember how long it took to finish the painting. I know I relished each new painted image  as it appeared. And when the scene was completed maybe a month or so later, I remember  Mom  saying that I had done a fine job. " And when it dries, Sis, it will be yours."
 Some how through all these years it sat there in that box. I asked my son, what he thought I should do with it? " Well, for sure , don't leave it folded up in a box. get it mounted."

A week later I found myself in an art gallery, and for the cost of $75.00, much , much more than the original paint-by-number kit had cost, I had it done.


Please visit my etsy store at: http://mysticsilks.etsy.com


 Thank you,
MysticSilks

Mother's Day Plantings~ Mysticsilks

On Mother's Day we celebrated by purchasing flats of flowers and planting them in the garden pots around the house.
The first four photos are of the garden pots in the backyard. 
We planted Inpatients, sunshine yellow pansies, petunias,and various other plants we thought would add beauty to the yard. 
Now, the nice thing about these plants are, they will last far into the summer and fall s long as I remember to pinch back the dead ones.
I feel like it is truly spring after I get the flowers in their summer urns!

Please visit http://mysticsilks.etsy.com

Six New Silk Satin Neck Scarves~By MysticSilks

I finally finished those 6 new silk scarves, and posted them in my etsy shop.
It's the first time I tried designing on a 15x72 inch silk satin. 
To begin with that's a lot of area to cover with designs, and to dye the background:Getting in and out of the designs with specific dye colors is a challenge, then to keep up with dying the background before the areas already covered dry.
Then there's the photographing. Trying to get the entire scarf into the photo is another challenge. So in essence one could say this is an intense labor of love--:)
http://mysticsilks.etsy.com

Creating Wearable Art on Silk~ By Mysticsilks

I tell myself after creating each new series of silk scarves, that this is my last one. But then the creative muses stir within me and I am back to designing new pieces.
With the six new scarves, there are two that are quite different in size. Instead of the usual 12x 60inch silk satin I decided to try working with the 15 x 70 inch silk satin: And what a challenge that presented.

First I had to alter the size of the wood frame: I extended it in length by a foot. And I discovered with the larger size scarves, you can not connect two together on the frame to dye. The reason, with the extra width, it is difficult to do detailed work, such as seen in the Ocean scene silk scarf.
I am showing the photos of the beginning steps to both the Butterflies scarf(which is shown after it is completely dyed, and the Ocean scene beginnings and after it is half completed with dyes.
I will continue to photograph the progress of the remaining four scarves from the first stages of designing, to the dying process.
Then after steaming all six to set the dyes deep into the fibers of the silk, I will show the finished product in the next blog.

Until then visit my shop at: http://mysticsilks.etsy.com
You will see wearable silk art, and silk art that is framed and ready to display on your walls.

Thank you.
Mysticsilks