The Peace of Wild Things

That's the title of one of my favourite poems.  I recite it as well as I can, in my head, when I need to remind myself that there are peaceful places in the world.  Because of a recording of the poet reading it in his own voice, courtesy of On Being Studios, I can hear Wendell Berry's voice in my head as I recite.

Photo: a trio of daisies in vases, on a bench near my back door.

This morning, the day after a dictator-wannabe joined another dictator-wannabe in bringing the world to the brink of wide-spread war by bombing a nation run by an actual dictatorial regime, I needed that peace -- and so I headed outside to my garden.

Mug of hot, black coffee in hand, I did a "Garden Tour", pausing to compliment my fledgling wildflower buds and newbie cherry trees on their progress; doing the same with the 'bouquets' of fresh leaf lettuce, the sturdy green bush beans, the baby zuchini and the cherry tomato "shrub" in my raised beds.  I picked up some more fallen willow branches, deadheaded some dandelion seed-heads, propped up some heavy-headed peonies, and took the pruners to clip the dead heads on the irises and most of the lupines (one only needs so many lupines!)

The peace of the 'wild things' in my garden -- the bees buzzing in my raspberry patch, the mosquitoes trying to plague me without success, the birds chirping around the branches of the trees all 'round, and my elder cat rolling on the driveway in the sunshine, showing off her beautiful belly while scratching her back -- that did the trick.  I am at least a bit more peaceful now.  For the moment.

* I often wish I were a less complex person, someone capable of being oblivious to the Outside World, to the challenges of pain, illness, natural disaster, poverty and oppression that beset so many.  Alas, that's just not me.  My kids get tired of it, as I expect so do many of you, Gentle Readers.  But there it is.  I spend a great deal of time praying to be able to do only what I can to change what I can, and to ignore that over which I have no power.  So far...well, let's just say I'm thankful for garden tours.

I'm also thankful for all things fabric, fibre and floss -- and so it's time to share what I've been doing with those materials for the past month or so. 😊

*Tote in photo found at the Fibre Goddess booth at the Prairie Fibre Festival, Olds, Albert edition, June 14, 2025.  I couldn't resist it!

First, an update on the projects-in-progress from my last post.  

In knitting, I managed to finish the second "Garden Fence" sock, to complete the pair by month-end:

Love the colour and the fit!

On June 1 I cast on another pair of socks, hoping to have them finished this month but I've chosen a fine fingering-weight yarn, so that's not going to happen.  No matter; I'm enjoying this knit and they'll be finished when they're finished.

Pattern: "Andrew's Shepherd's Socks"
Designer: Debbie Zawinski
Source: her book, In the Footsteps of Sheep
Yarn: Jamieson's of Shetland 2-ply
Shetland Spindrift
in the colour #102 -  "Shaela"

Having finished a hat, I've cast on another for the give-away box.  This one is a new-to-me pattern, the Bosquet Hat, which I'll make without the pom-pom (I'm not fond of those):

Pattern linked above.
Designer: Audrey Borrego
Yarn: Peruvian Sierra (worsted)
from elann.com (discontinued)
in the colour #1525 - Wine

It's a darker red-brown than the photo shows, and it has a bit of a halo, given it's composition (alpaca and camel), but the stitch definition is quite nice.  There's lots of texture in this pattern, which means that while it's fairly easy to memorize, it's a bit slow going.

And work continues on the cardigan for the baby expected to arrive in October. I've finished the raglan shaping (it's top-down) and split for the sleeves, but alas, no photo to show you.  Maybe next month!

What about quilting?

With the comfort quilt given to the local house-fire victims, and with my son happily in receipt of his Big Birthday Quilt (Bonnie Hunter's "Old Town" 2024 mystery pattern), I turned my thoughts to the Celtic Knot Quilt.

In my last post, the top was finished.  Since then, the backing fabric was purchased, sliced and respliced to create the right size of square top, and yesterday (June 21) the lot was taken up to Quilting From the Heart in Camrose. There I met with my daughter and the ever-helpful clerk who remeasured both, took notes, helped us select thread and a long-arm edge-to-edge pattern -- and that was that.  I expect it back by the end of July, so I can wrestle it to the ground (er -- the sewing table) and bind it.  

The darned thing -- if I didn't already say so -- measured at 116" square (that's approx 3 metres square) so the backing had to be at least 4" wider all 'round, for a whopping 124" square!!  Blessedly, the service includes trimming off that excess once it's quilted, and I expect I'll use that fabric for binding.

With that all done, on cooler, wetter days (we've had a few this month), I've returned to doing up comfort quilts, working on the Disappearing Four Patch project, all from stash.  I now have 30 blocks, each about 8 1/2" square, and have 12 more to go.

Having used up the lovely chocolate brown cotton I started with for this project, I've turned to some poly-cotton from stash.  The colour is perfect but it's a lighter fabric and tends to stretch a bit, so I may find I'll have to square all the blocks up to 8".  No matter; this is another "Keep It Out of the Landfill" project, so I'll simply make it work!

And then there's the 2025 Block of the Month (BOM) from Sheri at A Quilting Life -- I finally did the one for June:

And here's how the first six look together:

There are only 12 -- eventually finishing at 18" each in the quilt. I've struggled with the "proper" placement of the lights and darks (as pointed out by one of the AQL Facebook group members) but have no intention of undoing and re-doing any of them!  I'm working with what I have, and have run out of neutrals from the Thimbleberries line I've been using up, so am now adapting from the rest of my stash.  I've numbered these blocks so that when the time comes, I can sew them together in the order I've chosen...but of course, when I assemble the remaining 6 and see the end-of-year setting pattern, I reserve the right to change my mind! LOL!

In my 'land of cross-stitch' I continue to have bouts of 'startitis', but I justify this by the fact I've actually fully finished a few things!

I dug out two Hands On Design pieces, finished one, started and finished the other, and then fully finished them both!  Yes, they're small, and they were great fun to do.

Here they are, close up:

And

I bought the patterns from Traditional Stitches in Calgary, Alberta here in Canada, and the frames on a two-fer (!) from Michael's in Red Deer, Alberta -- about an hour's drive from my place.  The frames included glass but I left that off because otherwise, the pieces wouldn't have fit!

NOTE: the wee piece of round art between the two stitches is an encaustic painting entitled "Safe Haven II", by artist Donna Hanson of Camrose, Alberta, Canada.  I bought it from her at the Art in the Garden event last summer.  It's coming 'round again on July 12, and yes; I've bought my ticket!

Some months ago, a friend gave me a piece she'd started -- it was a kit -- and didn't want to finish, so I said I'd finish it for her.  Most of it was done, but the 'confetti' stitching of grass and flowers at the bottom needed finishing.  A couple of weeks ago, I got it finished and took it to her -- she was delighted!

Title: "Country Cottage"
Fabric - Aida, probably 18-count
DMC floss and frame included
Design Size: 6" W x 4" L

I didn't notice that I'd forgotten the back stitching -- until it was all framed.  Blessedly, my friend said she'd never have known if I hadn't told her! 😉

I assuaged my bit of 'startitis' by digging out a set of four little kits I'd bought 'way back in 2005 or 2006, from Traditional Stitches in Calgary: "My Garden Stitching Club" (c) 2005 from Elizabeth's Designs.  I chose to start the "Songbird Cottage" piece, and am about 1/2-way along.  

Fabric: 32-count Light Mocha Belfast
Linen (Zweigart)
Threads: DMC and Weeks Dye Works
Stitch Count: 97 x 61

I'm even enjoying the specialty stitches!

NOTE: Elizabeth states on her website that she's retired from designing but her business is still active.  You can still get some of her pieces through American sources.

That said, I still have my "Disagree" and "Ruskin's Penguins" to work on, and my Sunday stitch, "Proverbs 31".  I've done nothing on those first two since my last post, but on the last, I'm slowly working on the text, which requires 1 strand of floss being stitched over 1 linen thread.  Again, apologies for the lack of photo. Stay tuned!

Cross-stitch plans in July include working more on those three, and returning to a Canadian sampler, "Emeline Hotchkiss - Lacolle, 1846".  Although reproduced by an American designer, Emeline grew up in southwest Quebec, very close to the border with NY State, and in the same area as I grew up, so she has a special place in my heart.  July 1 is Canada Day, marking 158 years as a nation, so it's only fitting I return to stitching her then!

And yes, there's more!

Deanne Fitzpatrick Studios challenges those of us who hook rugs to a 10-minute-a-day challenge in the summer, and I've joined it.  I've also worked through her "Playful, Joyful Rug-hooking" course, and having fun with my new (April) Cheticamp frame.

My first piece on the frame -- my own design, using the '3-line landscape' technique from the Studio -- finished at 20" W x 8" L.  I call it "Jewels in the Water":

Once it's off the frame I plan to mount it on a shallow stretched canvas, and perhaps have it framed.

For the "Challenge" I rolled that piece under, and drew two 8" squares on my burlap.  I've been doing a monochromatic abstract on the first square.

I started like this:

It progressed to this:

And by Friday evening, it looked like this -- nearly finished!

The challenge is fun, and yet another way to keep the noise of the world at bay.

Last but not least, I've been doing a bit of spinning, which I especially like to do outside:

I finished spinning singles from a merino batt (Nomad Fibres) that I bought over a year ago at the Rose City Fibre Festival, and then plied it into 2-ply yarn:

Given that I'm a 'periodic' spinner, it's a bit thick-thin, but will likely knit up into a decent hat.

I had some of the merino singles left after I plied a very full bobbin, so I finished it up by plying it with remnant singles on two other bobbins.  One was left-over Falklands spun last summer, but I have no idea what the other one was!  They made two mini skeins that will likely get put into my scrappy mitred square blanket -- an ongoing project!

Merino and Falkland mini 2-ply

Merino and ??? mini
two-ply

I've moved on now -- as part of the Summer Spin-in from Two Ewes Fiber Adventures (podcast and Ravelry group) -- returning to the remainder of the Falkland braid I'd split up last year.  I had two sections left: one yellow-to-peach and one shades of grey.  I've started with the former, and will end up with a fairly small amount, so will figure out later what to ply it with:

Of course, this time of year also calls for fibre festivals -- and I went to the Rose City FF in Camrose in May, and more recently, the Prairie FF (Olds, Alberta Edition) on June 14.

At Rose City, I bought 3 skeins of Corriedale from a local spinner -- "Handspun by Kristi" (Kristi Lacey from Camrose) -- who has rescued a clip from an American shepherd (in Colorado, I believe) who is retiring:

Natural dark grey 

Natural beige

Natural creamy white

I'm going to turn the dark grey into a pair of gloves for my son for Xmas (his request) but have no plans yet for the other two skeins. 

At the Prairie FF in Olds, I bought some other hand-dyed, locally produced yarn from "All Wound Up" of Castor, Alberta:

Left: "Smoke n Sky" DK
Right: "Aqua Seas" sport/boucle

These blues will be perfect for hooking into skies!

And I bought another skein with hooked landscape potential from SLAM Fiber Co. (all the way from Lethbridge area in southern Alberta):

Brown-grey, thick-thin
merino-alpaca blend
"No More Mr. Nice Guy"

Well!  This has been a looooonnnng catch-up post.  Thank you for hanging in there, if you have.  I was simply following Nina-Marie's exhortation this week: to share and talk about one's work!  Here's the link to her Off the Wall Friday post, where others are talking about their work too.

I hope and pray for all of you, Gentle Readers, that you be safe, know love, experience joy, and find peace in the work of your hands...until we meet again.

A bientot!

It's Hard to be Salt and Light

 I'm not supposed to care -- but I do.  

I grew up less than 20 miles north of the border between Quebec, here in Canada, and northern NY State -- and not all that far from Vermont.  We'd go to Malone for movies that hadn't come to our home town or even to Montreal.  We'd go for shopping.  We'd go to Chateauguay, NY (not to be confused with Chateauguay, Quebec!) for dining.  I think some of my cousins there still do.

My parents -- my mother and my step-father, who married in July 1957 -- procured a lease on a piece of land on a bay in the St. Lawrence River.  They -- with the help of some hired experts and a LOT of friends -- built a cottage there (no basement -- mounted up on cement block underpinnings) -- and we spent summers there as a family.  

Some years we also lived there from Victoria Day Weekend (a week before Memorial Day for y'all in the US) through Thanksgiving (CANADIAN Thanksgiving, y'all -- the 2nd weekend in October).  Our parents figured out a way to get us in to town to go to school until we were back 'home' again and able to get there on foot.

Once we learned to swim, there was an ongoing competition to see who was brave enough to jump into the bay on May Long (or earlier!) and again at Thanksgiving.  Just so  you know.

The farmer who owned the land had many tenants -- including Americans.  There were some from not far away (Chateauguay, NY, etc.) and others from as far away as Michigan.  One cabin/cottage was named "The Detroiter".  I remember meeting the younger generation there -- visiting their grandparents who owned the place. Good kids.

There were French Canadian families who moved there too.  One of them had several sons and Jean, the youngestof 3 boys (as I recall), joined us Anglos and Americans for our regular afternoons of softball on the large green space behind some of our cottages.  We taught him English, and given his good looks, several local gals were rather sweet on him.

As we got older, we stayed out later.  Our parents rigged up lights between our cottage and the next-door neighbour's cottage, so that we could play ping-pong in between the cottages after dark.

Those same neighbours had a shed that they fixed up so we could put a record player (an electronic device on which one could play recorded music at 33 rpm -- revolutions per minute -- or 45 rpm -- get it?!)  The older teens would play DJ (especially my (step)brother, from his wheel chair) and we'd dance on the grass in front of the open door of the shed.

There were corn roasts too -- not every summer, though it felt like that at the time. The men would set up tables and over-head umbrellas (against the sun) and barbecue burgers and weiners.  The women would make all sorts of salads and ensure there was enough buns for the meat, as well as ensuring everyone had enough water/soft drinks (pop or soda for you 'mericans).  And there was watermelon and ice cream to polish it all off.

That was all before...we got older. And 1968 happened, and the War (Viet Nam) and the assassinations (MLK and RFK)...

And we lost our innocence.

My step-father was an Immigration Officer on that border.  His job was to look out for draft dodgers.  I don't think he ever found any, but our arguments were fierce -- he lost 2 fingers on his right hand in WWII and took a bullet through his right arm.  I long ago ceased to be surprised at his outrage -- at his arguing that the Viet Nam war had to be The Right Thing To Do.  But I think, really, he knew it wasn't the same as WWII.

On the other hand...this year, in this time and this place, as Canada's 'mouse' sleeps next to the US 'elephant', trembling lest it roll over on us...

Well...all we can do here is our best.  All we can do is keep those with authoritarian bents, who are being egged on by the infection south of our border -- people like Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada's Federal Conservative Party; people like Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta and well-influenced by the Black Hat Movement south in Medicine Hat, infected by the right-wing in Montana; people by the far right premier of Saskatchewan, Scott Moe...

What to do?

• Create beauty every day;
• Love one's neighbour as oneself;
• Give without thought of thanks;
• Feed the hungry;
• Clothe the poor with comforing clothes/blankets/shelter;
• Tell our children (and so many others) we love them;
• Speak truth to power;
• Vote for what is right;
• Highlight corruption;
• Thank God/the Universe/your "higher power" for your life and for your ability to bring light, love and truth to the world.

As Jesus (called the Christ) might have said, "Now, go and do likewise."

Prosper the Work of Our Hands

Photo credit: Elian Aboudi is the designer behind the Canada Palestine Cultural Association's Threads of Diaspora embroidery project. For her and other association members, the art of tatreez is a means of preserving and passing on heritage while demonstrating resistance amid grave tragedy. (Mrinali Anchan/CBC)

Even though I've moved it from a short FB post to a weblog post, I'm still not sure this will be able to be viewed, but I am going to try -- with THIS LINK -- because I am a stitcher, quilter and knitter, and I well know the therapeutic power of handwork, to communicate, to heal and to unite people of very different backgrounds, cultures and faiths.

"May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands." - Psalm 90: 17 (New Int'l Version)

More Blue, More Gold

 "These quilts are not going to fix the war." -- Judy Martin, in her recent blog post about her one-patch quilts.

And she's right.  But in the face of helplessness, trying not to move into hopelessness, one keeps on keeping on, using one's gifts to bring comfort in light to as many cold, dark places as one can -- including preparing for the arrival of refugees from Ukraine -- and perhaps even from Russia, as so many escape there too.

In my last post I was just starting the construction of a small Double Irish Chain quilt in 2 shades of blue and a very pale shade of yellow.  The top is now finished -- measuring 42" by 60" -- and is sandwiched with a royal blue background.  I'll quilt it later today. 

Flimsy draped over a living room chair

It's all solid fabrics -- but I managed to find a scrap of a print that had the right colours and was just large enough for four cornerstones.  I only wish I'd had more of it to use in the quilt itself!

Close up of one of the corner-stones

A few days ago I happened on a YouTube tutorial from "Brita, the Questioning Quilter", who'd created a blue-and-yellow 'Magic 4-patch' (i.e. a Disappearing 4-patch with Possibilities), and decided that I needed to make a second small quilt. I didn't have much in the way of appropriate blue fabric left (I'd put most of the last of it into the backing of the Irish Chain), and I didn't want to use that insipid yellow again, so when I was in town on Thursday I stopped in at my LQS and bought 2 1/2 metres each of these:

Glorious! They read as 'solid' but each has some texture and I'm delighted with them.  At under $15 a metre, too (they came from the 'once it's gone, it's gone' section of the shop).  Once they're washed (I take no chances!) I'll start that quilt.  I've taken some notes and some screen shots so I can experiment with finding a layout that I like.  I've also saved the link to the video to re-watch if I need more info.  I may be good at free-ranging art and/or improv quilts, but pieced patterns are another matter!  😆

I figure once this second quilt is done, I'll have enough scraps and strings to start the Hearts of Hope quilt that Bonnie Hunter has designed.  Her intro was on her blog yesterday, and Part 1 of the instructions will follow next week (March 25).

Also on Thursday, the mail included my order of a special pair of hand-dyed skeins -- one blue, one yellow -- from Handmaiden/Fleece Artist yarns in Nova Scotia .  I've caked it up and cast on a colour-work cowl done in mosaic knitting -- the Dissent Cowl, designed by Carissa Browning -- on Ravelry. (I chose the knit version; there's a crocheted one too).  Ms. Browning designed this pattern to honour the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg; I feel it's just the right pattern for this beautiful Blue-Faced Leicester (BFL) sport-weight yarn, and the cause being resisted: the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by a tyranical bully.

Once finished, the cowl will probably get tucked in with the quilts for donation to refugees.  Maybe I'll even have enough yarn for two!

And I continue to stitch!  In my last post I also mentioned Jacob De Graaf's free cross-stitch pattern .  I've been working on it a bit each day, learning as I go.  I said in that last post I was using a 'mystery fabric', and that it was a pretty fine count.  There's a double outer border of blue stitches, which I did with 2 strands of the DMC (#322) -- and I found it rather 'thick', slow going.  When I got to the two inner borders -- in yellow DMC (#444), I went with a single strand, and it's been much easier ever since!

Now, I learned to cross-stitch about 60 years ago (a few years after I learned to knit), and have never worked on anything smaller that 28-count linen or even-weave.  But lately?  Yep.  I've found that with good light I can do 32- or 36-count or whatever this 'mystery' fabric is -- using a single strand!  Whoo-hoo!

Here's the progress I've made to date:

Just starting to embroider the text.
More flowers -- in yellow and blue -- to come.

There have been some other finishes along the way too.  First, a long-languishing pair of socks:

Pattern: Desert Planet Tattooine
Designer: Heidi Nick
Yarn: Opal 4 Fach 4 ply
Started: October 1, 2015
Finished: March 10, 2022

They fit; I've worn them; they're comfortable!  And I've put the remainer of that ball into this new project: the Sock Knitter's Pullover -- designed by Merri Fromm, from knitty.com.  I'm making it all in left-over sock/fingering yarn, one strand only.  Just into my third left-over ball, I'm 3/4 through the raglan increases; here you see it when I was still using the left-overs from those socks.  (You can see more on my Ravelry project page HERE.)

And two small comfort quilts are finally finished -- destined for either the Ukrainian refugees (though not in specific colours) or for Blankets of Love (a charity that donates comfort quilts to patients in psychiatric care).  Here's the first...

"Earth & Sky" - 28" x 30" -- on the snow
in my back yard.  No specific pattern; just scraps.

"Earth & Sky" -- a glimpse of the back.

And the second:

"Easy Breezy" -- done Quilt-as-you-go
Designed by Bonnie Hunter as a 'Leaders-and-
Enders' project a couple of years ago
39" square, no borders

And the back...I ran out of red fabric for the sashing!

And so it goes.

It's International Quilting Day, and I hope to get to quilting that Double Irish Chain, but it's beautifully sunny and forecast to reach at least +10 C (about 50 F) so I want a good walk.  Freezing rain and snow are set to move in over night, with snow forecast through mid-to-late afternoon tomorrow, so...I'd best get going.  If I'm stuck inside tomorrow, I can still quilt -- and knit -- and stitch!

I'm linking this to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday, and sending her Get Well wishes, as she says she's taking a sick day today.  Hugs to her -- and hugs to you, Gentle Readers!

Remember to  care for each other and...

If You've Not Stopped By Before...

may I make a recommendation?  Pause.  Put on some quiet music.  Take in hand a fresh cuppa...and just enjoy this. 

There.  Don't you feel calmer now?  :-)

Take Time

This morning began with a thunderstorm -- the entire banging, crashing, flashing event, complete with a leak in the bathroom's ceiling vent.  Pookie-cat was frightened; I was wound up because Diesel-cat was out in it somewhere (he still hasn't come home).

Then I received this* in my list of blog readings. 

 I sat down.  

I lit a small votive in the grey morning.  

And I listened.

I share this with you so you can, too.  Now, if possible.  I guarantee it will bless your day.

*Thanks to Christine Valters Paintner and friends.

Reviewing 'Release' - and My Word for 2011


My Word of the Year for 2010 was just that: "release": to let go, to relax, to be set free.  Only 3 months into the year, I began to realize it was taking effect; I was beginning to respond differently to life events that hitherto would have turned me into a raving lunatic.  Since then, here's what's been happening:

• I've found new ways to cope with daily stresses - releasing anti-depressant use and alocohol and food consumption --  in favour of writing in my journal, taking a long walk, taking a nap, prayer, getting lost in a good book;
• I've become more forward-looking -- releasing myself from my past life, the monthly trips to Calgary, the sense I was letting people down if I didn't go.  I'm no longer chapter leader for my Applique Society group, the Wild Rose Stitchers.  I've decided to stay in touch with friends and family by e-mail, Facebook and Canada Post, and hope they come out here for a change.  If not...well...I've released fussing over that too. 
• I've stream-lined my methods of communication -- releasing myself from the "Basic Essentials" satellite package I had, in favour of "Digital Lite' (emphasis mine).  Television is becoming less and less essential.  I still don't 'tweet' and I don't own a cell phone or "Personal Digital Assistant". :-)  I'm sticking with my blog, my art website, my Facebook pages, and my SAQA Wiki Space.  Oh yeah -- and e-mail, hand-written letters and (sometimes) my land-line phone.
• I've become more comfortable with my middle-aged middle -- releasing myself from the expectations of culture and media in favour of liking myself enough to stay fit and healthy with more sleep, more activity, and whole, real food.
• I've stopped watching the news and reading newspapers, which only served to rile me up -- releasing myself from the cultural expectation that I need to know what's going on everywhere and all the time (even if I can do nothing about it).

I am actively pursuing peace -- not the massively-overwhelming concept of world peace, no.  Just the peace that begins with me.  The peace the Lord said He left with his followers at His Ascension (John 14:27).  The peace that I believe is within me, by the Spirit, and which, till this year, I've neglected to release, labouring under the misconception that it was somehow Out There.

And what about 2011? 

I believe that the word that has chosen me for the coming year is 'ENOUGH', as in 'I have enough (time, money, talent, imagination)' or as in 'I am enough: I am blessed, I am loved, I matter -- which means that the life I live and the work I create within that life also matters*.

And so...on this Christmas Eve...I pray His peace for you too.

*With thanks to Eric Maisel, Coaching the Artist Within, New World Library, January 2005, p. 10.

This is my son...

He is 25, the same age as many serving in Afghanistan...trying to protect, heal, serve and re-build.  These are very Canadian traits, and I would venture to say, are significant motivators behind our service their with our British, French, Australian and American Friends.

I don't apologize for his not being in the Forces; he is called to serve the world in a different way -- with humour, pathos, and compassion in the roles he takes in theatre.  He is and will continue to be a blessing.

May he and others his age serving our country, our world outside combat know and appreciate the peace their parents and grandparents won for them in the World Wars.

May they appreciate the work our soldiers today are doing to circumvent yet another World War.

May that history never be repeated.

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with each and every one of us.