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    STONE SOUP

    GUY FAWKES NIGHT

    Mark your calendars! November 5th is Guy Fawkes Night, an evening for bonfire fun.

    In 1605 the British rogue Guy Fawkes was arrested in a cellar filled with barrels of gunpowder. Luckily, he was caught before he had the chance to strike the match that would blow up the kegs and King James. Yup, Guy's plans went up in smoke and he was sentenced to death.

    "This sorry tale has been preserved in British folk culture ever since, with an evening of fun on November 5th. An effigy of Guy Fawkes is burned on top of a large bonfire, and the night crackles and sparkles with fireworks.

    "On the days before November 5th children make "Guys" from old clothes, stuffed with paper or straw," as explained in All Year Round, a wonderful book of festival lore and activities. Children would then wheel their straw men through the neighborhood and ask passer-by's for "a penny for the Guy". The penny stash would be used to buy wood and fireworks for the celebration on the 5th.

    In pagan times, the transitional times between the seasons were always celebrated with fire rituals. The enthusiasm for the annual Fawkes event may be tied to the folk memory of these ancient seasonal bonfire celebrations.

    Times have changed, alright. These days it would take a wheelbarrow of pennies to buy one log! And you can bet that sending our kids out to beg on the streets would raise a few eyebrows. Now they just beg from their parents!

    But, why not embrace the Guy? Who doesn't love an occasional bonfire; it's a good excuse to clear up garden rubbish, burn all evidence of Goodwill craftbook shopping, roast potatoes,  stay out late to gaze at the stars, and dream into the flames and the flying sparks.

    If you can't manage a large bonfire, maybe gather one or two small children and organise a backyard campfire or an indoor fireplace party to celebrate the end of autumn? And don't forget to bring your Dancing Rain Dolls...they enjoy watching the fire, snuggled next to the kids they love.

     

    YESTERDAY'S SOUP

    Dancing Rain Dolls started as a hobby, fueled by my love for sewing, playing with fabric and yarns, and doing hand
    work.  My Family and I live in the beautiful, but soggy Pacific Northwest and during the long winters  and I needed something to keep me busy.  As a mother of three beautiful daughters, I found myself always sewing little dresses for their dolls.  It all sort of fell into place from there.

    Dancing Rain dolls has become an important part of our lives and everyone gets in on the act. I do all the design and
    creating of the dolls, patterns and clothes. Monte, my husband helps me with the computer aspects and the girls are happy to test out new ideas and inspire me.

    I have been sewing for as long as I can remember. My mother was a quilter and I remember always being in the corner at her quilt meetings, happy as could be, because someone was always giving me a scrap or two to play with.  She still quilts and I never stopped playing with the fabric. 

    Shortly after getting married, my mother-in-law taught me to make dolls and I have been making them ever since.

    Many blessings,
    Amy