The Coming of the Fairies

After a number of deaths in his family, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, turned his attention to Spiritualism. I’m not very good at briefly defining the many different belief systems, but spiritualists believe that there is another plane of existence where spirits dwell and that our planes are capable of crossing and communication.

Spiritualism originally developed in the United States, but its membership was widely spread in most English speaking countries from 1840 to 1920. During this time, there was an increase in the reports of paranormal activity and attendance to mediums and séances. One of the most famous events during the height of the Spiritualist movement was the reveal of the Cottingley faerie photographs.

In 1917, two young in girls in Cottingley, a borough in West Yorkshire, England, caught their play with faeries on film. Two initial photographs were released to the press and, like any claim to seeing the Fair Folk, they were met with much skepticism. Conan Doyle, however, believed in their validity enough to write a book - - The Coming of the Fairies.

This book was a fascinating read. I’ve already made be belief in the realm of the Fae clear in past reviews, but I’d never really done much reading on the Cottingley photos. I knew the story and the circumstances and the press reaction, but I never thought to look any more into it. The Coming of the Fairies is, more or less, a collection of information about the Cottingley faerie phenomenon.

Conan Doyle provides a very sound argument for the validity of the photographs and the existence of faeries. He includes letters he exchanged with the people directly involved in the photography, photography experts that analyzed the photos, and other spiritualists. He includes eye witness statements to other faerie sightings and addresses many of the major claims made by those who believed they were fakes.

Even if you don’t believe in faeries, I’d recommend taking a look at this fascinating bit of myth history. While I enjoyed the fact that it was about faeries and providing good arguments for their existence, I also enjoyed the fact that Conan Doyle presented his argument s in such a calm logical way that even nay-sayers would be capable of enjoying the book.

Trail Mix

It's no secret that I love food. I love trying new things and attempting new recipes. College has been good for that, even if the recipes and foods are simple and easy to make.

But college is also good for rediscovering foods from your childhood and making them for yourself or sharing them with your friends. My parents recently mailed me a box full of goodies for Halloween and in that box were two bags of fancy trail mix from Target.

Trail mix is one of those snacks that I lived on as a child. I grew up near the Litchfield hills. Every fall my family and friends and I would go camping or hiking. We would visit the local forest ranger and have a chat about the leaves and tapping maples for sap. We'd take day trips out to the local orchards and pick apples and make cider.

There was always some kind of trail mix put out or carried along, and it rarely ever came in a bag. Everyone had their own blend. Some were just different kinds of nuts and seeds, some had dried fruit, and some had candy, but everyone had some. That was just how it is.

Now, the fancy bagged kind is fine and I snacked through it rather quickly, but I wanted to make my own like we used to at home. So I did.







Ingredients:
Raisins
Craisins
Peanuts
Sunflower Seeds
Pumpkin Seed
M&Ms
Chocolate Chips

Simply toss those into a plastic bag and mix. Voila. Brilliant trail mix.

Works in Progress

Hey all. Since I haven't posted a craft blog in a while, I thought I'd catch you all up on what I've been working on.




The first thing is that I bought new roving at the Goshen Scottish Festival a couple of weeks ago. Huzzah!

I've been slowly getting through some brown roving and I picked up this blue to provide a second ply. I haven't started spinning that yet and I haven't finished enough of the brown to start plying the two together, but I'll get there.






As per usual, I nabbed some handspun wool from The Merry Little Lamb at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. I've been learning to knit socks and thought I might attempt a pair of kilt hose (the knee high socks you wear with a kilt), but it looks like I don't have enough to do that. So, what you see in the photo above will be dismantled, but I will find a suitably awesome sock pattern to replace it.




I've also started a new afghan. I've been wanting to work on another big project for a while, but I don't have the money to buy all of the supplies. So, in a move to get rid of some of my scrap yarns, I'm making a scrap afghan. This is a very long term project, as I don't intend to buy any new yarn specifically for this blanket.



And this week I'll be putting together a Max (Where the Wild Things Are) costume for Lainey.