Blue Fungly

I had so much fun with the last one that I hunted through my stash for more fabric. Oh, there is that butterfly one. There are yards and yards of it. What else? The blue wave-like fabric has been one of my favorites that I occasionally drool over. Okay, use it. The yellow is brighter than the pic shows. This pattern is so easy and yet looks so good. I turned all these blocks the same way rather than opposite rows like I did in the first one. This one is also a row wider and longer so with 8" blocks, it is the same size as the first one is with borders. These make a nice size for a cover up when in a favorite chair. I had so much fabric left so.... Should I make more blocks? Yup. I'm already working on them. Should I add to the the one I have or make another throw? Hum......

Ancestor in Civil War

What I'm I reading? A very detailed book about the Battle of Trevilian Station which was the largest all-cavalry engagement of the Civil War. Am I a Civil War buff? Although I enjoy historical stories, I'm certainly not interested enough to read 391 pages about the details of one battle. So, why am I reading it? My g g grandfather was there as part of the Sixth Ohio Cavalry. I have been trying to put to paper the information and stories I know about my ancestors. I didn't have any info on this branch of my family but thought I should at least write the names of my grandmother's parents. On the internet, I found the cemetery where they were buried and found that my G'ma's grandparents were also buried there. There was a lot of info on the computer about this area and soon I discovered that Lafayette Williams got a $6 per month Civil War pension for an injury to his leg. I went to my Senior Center to use Ancestry.com for more info. I decided to spend the $25 and get a copy of all Lafayette's war records from the National Archives. Lafayette's enlistment papers of October 1, 1863, show he was 5' 7" tall, had blue eyes and brown hair and his complexion was light. He was a farmer. Lafayette was hospitalized on June 15, 1864. After four months in hospitals (first in Washington D.C. and then in Pennsylvania) he returned to his unit and served until the end of the war. I wondered where his unit served so I looked it up on the computer. Can you believe there is a list of all the places and battles where the Sixth Ohio Cavalry was? Oh this computer info is really great. So where did Lafayette flight? In Virginia. He was at Appomattox Court House when General Lee surrendered. Do you suppose he actually saw it. Not likely. but possible. Then I wondered where he was when injured and hospitalized. Trevilian Station. Of course I had to look it up and discovered this whole book about the battle. They had an inexpensive, unread used copy and I had to buy it. It just came yesterday and I have read 45 pages. Included is information about the generals and cavalry movement. There are also quotes from people who were there. These are what I find the most interesting. Lt. Asa Isham was also there with Custer's Michigan unit and on pages 37 and 38 the author quotes his description of the march before the battle. There is nothing particularly exciting or delightful in thumping along at a trot in a cavalry column. The clouds of dust, sent up by the thousands of hoof-beats, fill eyes, nose, and air passages, give external surfaces a uniform dirty gray color and form such an impenetrable veil, that, for many minutes together, you can not see even your hand before you. Apparently, just at the point of impending suffocation, a gentle sigh of wind makes a rift, and a free breath is inspired. Dust and horse-hairs permeate everywhere. Working under the clothing to the skin, and fixed by sweat, the sensation is as though one was covered by a creeping mass of insects. Accumulations occur in the pockets; the rations come in for their full share, and with the bacon, particularly, so thoroughly do dirt and horse-hairs become incorporated, that no process of cleaning can remove them. But there is no better appetizer than horseback jolting, and little squeamishness with genuine hunger. A hunk of dirty, raw bacon, with "hard tack," on a campaign, are partaken with keener relish and enjoyment than "a good square meal," when engaged in less arduous duty.

I'm sure this was what my g g grandfather was also experiencing. I will have a full day today at my sewing machine, watching the Olympics and reading more about the Battle of Trevilian Station.