A Day in London

Design - "Old Glory"

Designer - Sam Sarah

Fabric - 32 count white linen

Fibers - Crescent Colours - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 20 July 2013

Completed - 21 July 2013

This stitch benefited from a couple of long train journeys.  As you can see by the start and completion dates it was fast and easy!

I've added a post about our day in Carlisle.  If you are interested, you can read about it here.

Today was a 'Quiet Day'.  

We spent the morning running errands so that when my sister arrives on Sunday, we'll be ready to Go Go Go!

We did take a small trip via the Russell Square Underground station.

The building is a Grade II listed building (historic).

 I quite like the style of the station's directional signs.

We walked across Brunswick Square Gardens...

...and over to the Foundling Museum.

  

After years of petitioning, in 1739 Captain Coram received a Royal Charter to establish a Foundling Hospital for the care and education of abandoned young children.

The hospital provided for thousands of children, and had several famous patrons including William Hogarth and George Fredrick Handel.

The mothers who left children with the Foundling Hospital often left a small identifying token of some sort with the baby.  A scrap of fabric, a coin, a charm, a thimble or the like. The idea was that should conditions ever improve they could prove their relationship and be reunited with their child.  Heartbreaking. 

The hospital was extremely progressive for its day.  The board of govenors understood the importance of good nutrition and health. The children were well fed, immunized, and had access to a hospital ward should they become ill. The hospital helped to educate the children for a trade so that they would be economically independent adults.  For girls, as you can see from above, that included needlework.

The Foundling Museum is currently hosting an exhibition called "Exchange" by Clare Twomey.

She created 1,550 cups and saucers.

On the base of each saucer and the indent of the cup there is a printed 'positive action' or good deed.

While the cups rest on the saucers, the good deeds are hidden from view.  Each day ten people are chosen to pick a cup and fulfil the newly exposed action.  They can either take the cup home with them and work toward making the request a reality, or turn the cup back onto the saucer if they do not feel up to the task.

My Mom was chosen, and the above photo shows the cup she chose.  Her good deed is to raise £50 for the charity Tearfund. Tearfund is a UK-based Christian charity that works with local churches worldwide to help end poverty.  If that resonates with you, we'd love to have you make a small £5 donation.  We figure that if even one or two blog readers do so, we'll have made a good start in honoring our "Exchange" commitment.  You are welcome to let me know via email offline if you chose to donate.  Let me be clear there is no onus to do so.

A new month means a new blog header, and also new Trail Camera photos to share.  My Dad emailed me several from July. They are all in black and white as they are infra-red night time shots. 

On the 4th just after midnight, a Bobcat strolled by.

And again on the 17th, this time closer to dawn's light.

It must be Bear Time once again.

Here's one on the 9th at 2:17am.  My brother reported he'd seen a bear close to our house on the 13th.

And yet another sighting on the 30th at 11:00pm.  

There has been no rain in western Oregon for over 33 days now.  There is a seasonal creek nearby and I would imagine the animals are searching for any small pools of moisture they can find.