The untainted symbol also represented the purity, strength, and power of a mother’s love for her children.
Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais: The Mother of Universal Charity
Marie Deshayes: A Daughter of the King
No, Not That One
In 1956 in the little town of Delta, Colorado while standing with her parents, a young woman cried; she wasn’t ready to leave her parents and return home. Her vacation was not long enough, and she wished she could spend more time with her family. As people began to gather at the bus stop that would take them to western destinations, the parents of the young women tried to comfort their daughter as she prepared to head back to California and return to her job as a telephone operator in Oakland. Once the bus pulled up to the curb, her parents teased her about the fine-looking young men in uniform that were also traveling on the bus. Her mother spotted a handsome man in his dress greens; he had dark hair and large brown eyes that warmly sparkled when he smiled. “Oh, I would sit by that one,” her mother…
View original post 410 more words
End of the Line: Madeline De Brie and Nicholas Mignault

During the sixteenth century, the Renassaince arrived throughout the nations of Europe, and France celebrated in all of its glorious splendor. The French monarchs returned to the city, and Paris began to flourish. Henry IV ended the religious wars and his people enjoyed their new spiritual freedoms. New monarchies supported the arts and sciences, which influenced all the nations of Europe. Architectural wonders, monuments, and city parks abounded, and Parisians took pride in their lovely homeland.
Déjà Moo
Ladies and Kings and Knights, Oh My!
The Cornerstone

Often, recollections from days gone by take up residence in my thoughts as I remember my childhood. Days of warmth and fun-loving doings flow full circle. Yet, each innocent recollection eventually comes to rest on the woman that rendered care for her family, the loving matriarch of my family, my mother, Dotty Allen Reeder.
This woman gave me so much strength, hope, and courage. She taught me to laugh and rejoice at each extraordinary occurrence that took place in our lives. It was the simple things that found a home in my heart, words of encouragement, cuddles on the couch on rainy days or endless board games at the kitchen table. Or, it was summer tournaments of baseball and kickball with brothers and neighbors with mom in the middle of it all.
Always my closest confidant, we shared stories and laughter and silly gossip while doing kitchen chores or sharing a Dr. Pepper, her favorite soda, and now mine. She was the hub of our home, the very foundation that provided prudence and understanding on how to live in a world that was not always kind. She reminded everyone to find joy in each incredible moment and take nothing for granted. As my biggest cheerleader, the world sometimes feels so strange without her. Still, I find her in the shared stories with her granddaughter. I see her smile in my granddaughter, her kindness in my grandson, her ornery humor in another. Her legacy has continued and found residence in each generation that has followed; the cornerstone of our family still stands.
Keeping it Granny Friendly
Fright Night, Mom Wisdom, and Family Traditions
“If The Exorcist doesn’t knock you out of your seat, it’s only because you are too stunned to move.”
Stanley Eichelbaum ~ The San Francisco Examiner ~ 26 Dec 1973
“Everybody in the movie experienced some kind of horror. On the day Max von Sydow arrived for his first scene his brother died, and the film was again delayed while Von Sydow returned to Sweden for the funeral. The little girl’s grandfather died the first week of the picture. One of the carpenters cut his thumb off. Irish actor Jack MacGowan who is murdered by the demon possessing the child, dropped dead one week after his death scene.”
Billy Friedkin ~ The Los Angeles Times ~ 18 Nov 1973