Queen Elizabeth I Takes the Throne

On this day in history, November 17,1558, Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne of England at the age of twenty-five. Her father had been King Henry VIII, and her mother was Anne Bolelyn, the king's second wife, who he later had beheaded. Elizabeth's half-brother, Edward VI, became king when their father died in 1547, but he had always been a sickly child and died at the age of 15 in 1553. 

Half-sister Mary, Henry's oldest child, then became queen. But Mary was a devout Catholic, and she tried to force everyone to turn back to Catholicism, including Elizabeth, who was a Protestant. During the revolts and upheaval that followed, Mary earned the nickname "Bloody Mary." Mary died on November 17, 1558, and Elizabeth succeeded her.

Elizabeth's reign was far from easy. Political intrigue still ran throughout the nobility, and Spain remained a constant threat. However, for the average Englishman, Elizabeth brought stability. Although she said she was a Protestant, which makes sense, given the fact that her father had distanced himself from the Catholic church, so he could have his first marriage annulled and marry Elizabeth's mother, Elizabeth allowed her subjects more choice in how they worshiped, and she wore a crucifix around her neck. She also refused to listen to the more radical Protestants, like the Puritans.

After a long reign, Queen Elizabeth died in 1603. She would have been 70 years old that September. With her, the Tudor dynasty also died out. She had never married, although she'd been heavily courted and is said to have considered marriage for a time. She had no heirs. Her relative, James VI of Scotland, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, became James I of England and took Elizabeth's place. 

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Buttons

November 16 is National Button Day. Buttons have been around a long time. Although button-shaped objects appeared in the Indus Valley about 5,000 years ago, these were used for decorative purposes on clothing and not as fasteners. The earliest known functional buttons came from Germany in the 13th century.

Early buttons were made from natural materials. Today manufacturers usually use plastic or metal. The two most common types are the buttons with two or four holes to be sewn onto the garment with the thread showing or a shank button. The shank button has a hole through an attached shank on the back side of the button, causing it to stand above the cloth but allowing little of the thread to show.

At one time, women collected buttons for later use, since the clothing tended to wear out before the buttons did. Children often used these buttons as toys. A small child might sit for a good while stringing buttons on a heavy thread. A large button could also be strung to make an improvised spinning toy, sometimes called a "buzz saw.

In Uprooted by War, my third novel in the Appalachian Roots Series that's at the publisher's now, Hawk makes buttons from tree twigs for a coat the women make for Moses. Resources were scarce during the Civil War, and the slave had come to the mountains without a coat, so the family improvised to make him one. 

Although other types of fasteners have been developed, like snaps, hooks, zippers, etc., buttons have remained the most popular. However, there are groups, like the Old Order Amish, who don't use buttons because they can be considered decorative. Instead, they use pins. But chances are that you'll be buttoning up something today. Therefore, do so celebrating National Button Day.

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How Influential Is The Church?

Does your church have a positive effect on the community? If it closed its doors today, how much difference would it make in the lives of the people around it? The church was created to be God's workers in a world in desperate need of the hope we have in Christ. We are to be His hands and feet now. What kind of job are we doing? Have we presented Him to the world? Have we taken Him to the needy and hurting in our communities?

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing...(Matthew 5:13).

In the United States today, our Christian heritage and faith are often downplayed. Soon they may be forgotten altogether. What are we doing to make sure this never happens? Christians were once the outspoken majority in this country. Then, we became the silent majority; now, we're the silent minority. Is this trend going to continue until there's no trace of Christianity in this nation anymore.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

Once America sent missionaries into other nations to spread the Good News of the Gospel. Now, we and other countries are sending missionaries into parts of the United States where large communities no longer have a church and its hard to find a Christian. Do you have any idea how many children can no longer tell you who Jesus is? It's time to get down on our knees and then get up to go where God sends us and do what he wants us to do.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19).

Think again. How influential is your church? And, how much have you influenced others for Christ? You will have to answer this question on judgment day. Are you ready?

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Writing Irons in the Fire

I grew up in the Appalachian region hearing old sayings all the time. Today, I was thinking about how many irons I have in the fire right now as a writer. Over the last year, I've been working on my Appalachian Roots Series set in the Appalachian mountains in the 1800's. Cleared for Planting came out in print in March, and Sown in Dark Soil was released in September. I just sent Uprooted by War to the publisher, and I will begin reading through and editing Transplanted to Red Clay soon, since it will be the next and last book in this series.

In October, The History Press contacted me and asked me to consider writing a non-fiction, history book for them. After much thought and prayer, I wrote the book proposal they wanted, and sent it to them this week. The editor said I should hear something by next week. If they go with the proposal, this will consume a lot of time in research, writing, and photography, but it's also exciting.

In August, I went to a special writers' retreat at Lake Tahoe. After talking with MaryLu Tyndall and Tamara Leigh, I realized that many well-known, established authors, who had been with traditional publishers, have decided to self-publish. I've been pondering this for months, and I think I'm going to give self-publishing a try with a short, stand-alone novel set in Pennsylvania in 1739. I'm planning to send When Winter is Past to an editor next week. Yes, I'm contracting an editor. Even with edits from me, my beta readers, and an editor, some mistakes still slip by, so I wouldn't even think about publishing something without an editor.

When I went to the book festival in West Jefferson in September, I met a new small publisher from Georgia. She seems to do more with marketing and promoting the books than my current publisher does. Although I love Ambassador, going with an additional one would enable me to bring my books out more quickly. I still have 12 unpublished manuscripts. If I do, I will probably use Through the Wilderness, a stand-alone set on the Oregon Trail to test the waters.

In addition, I'm not happy if I'm not also writing something new. I'm working on an early New Mexico series. I finished the rough drafts of the first two, set on the Santa Fe Trail, and I've just started the third one. Writing the first drafts is the most fun of all for me.

That's five large, writing irons in the fire. I also continue to write a blog every day, which would make six. Since the old flatirons tend to be heavy, that's probably enough to try to juggle at one time. I'll keep you posted about how it goes.

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The Woolly Worm

A sure sign of fall and the impending winter is the woolly worm. Folklore says that the more black the woolly worms have on their bodies in the fall, the harsher the winter will be. The brown tells of a milder winter. This is especially watched in regions, like the Appalachians, but it's not limited to there. In fact it has spread across the United States.

The woolly worm's official name is the Banded Woolly Bear, and it's the larva of the Isabella Tiger Moth. The larva emerges from the egg in the fall. It survives the winter and has a protective substance that allows it to be frozen and still live. When spring comes, it will pupate and come out as a moth. Then, it only has a few days to find its mate and for the female to lay eggs. Only in Arctic regions, the larvae might survive over more than one winter before turning into a moth. It feeds on many different types of plants.

The woolly worm is celebrated, too. Banner Elk, NC, has a Woolly Worm Festival each year, when the small town bulges with visitors to buy crafts, taste the food, run in races, and listen to music. Other woolly worm festivals occur in states like Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New York. Check for ones in your area.

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Latta Plantation House

Sitting in the Huntersville area of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Latta Plantation is an unusual plantation house for the South. In fact, the large home looks more like a Philadelphia town house. Maybe that's because James Latta had moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, and he establish this cotton plantation around 1800. He bought a tract of 100 acres near the Catawba River from Moses Hays for $600. This is the only Catawba River plantation still standing and open to the public.

The unique, rectangular two-story house has entrances on the two sides and not in the front or back. It's covered in beaded boards and sits on a stone foundation. Two rows of five windows dot the west side with the bottom being larger than the top ones. The east side of the house has only six windows in all. The Federal structure has fine Georgian elements and impressive details.

James Latta had immigrated from Ireland around 1785 and landed in Philadelphia. After leaving Pennsylvania, he'd settled in Lincoln County, North Carolina, prior to building Latta Plantation. He and his wife, Jane, had three daughters. Each one of them attended Salem Academy in Salem (now Winston-Salem) and became the mistress of a fine North Carolina plantation - Oak Lawn, Cedar Grove, and Mount Mourne. The son, Ezekiel, died in 1820, long before his father.

Today the Latta property is a living history museum that's toured by over 40,000 visitors a year. The site also hosts special events throughout the year. There is an admission fee, and, regrettably, no photos are allowed inside the home for me to share here, but you can tour the outside without cost.

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Root Cellars

Before central heat and refrigeration, root cellars were important for food storage and preservation. Some people were able to have basements under the house, but others would construct a root cellar nearby. This small, dug-out storage area would help keep the foodstuff cooler during the warmer months and from freezing in the winter. It also helped keep them safe from pests.

In mountainous or hilly areas, the property owner would dig a small room out of the side of an incline, and add a door. In flatter areas, a hole would be dug out of the ground, and a door and steps added. The dirt would serve as insulation, and homemakers might also wrap the goods in old, worn-out quilts or other covers to help. In a few places, a rock or brick structure might be built above-ground.

Items kept in the root cellar might include things like apples, cabbage, kraut, pickles, potatoes, carrots, onions cider, etc. With the invention of new processes and methods, like home canning, roots cellars weren't as vital, and they began to decline. In fact, some of the ones dug in the ground close to the house were converted into storage for coal, when it became a popular fuel.

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