The Civil War reenactment in Jacksonville, IL is hailed as one of “the” events in the local area to go to. This year, we did not get to go for the whole weekend since David had to work on Saturday. On Sunday, however, we got up early and we all packed into David’s mothers van to make the two hour drive. We arrived at the site just in time for church service.
Here is my mother in law just before church started.
Being Sunday, the day was far more relaxed than a Saturday. There were less people and less activities to go to. I enjoyed it very much; the laid back atmosphere was calm and peaceful. It was hot, but compared to the heat we experienced last week it was actually really very nice and comfortable, especially in the shade!
I have not been terribly fond of the Jacksonville event in the past. The first year we went (2 years ago) we stayed the whole weekend and were kept up at night by a riotous, drunken party in the camp next to us. Last year we went just for the day but it was terribly hot and I got very sick so we had to leave early. This year was by far nicer than our prior experiences!
It seems that this year I am meeting all kinds of wonderful and interesting people. There was another mother there with two little boys, ages three years and fourteen months and it was so nice to have some other little children present. They were adorable and Malachi enjoyed playing for a bit with the other wee lad.
We did experience a few mishaps. One was the behavior of our beloved first born son. He was very . . .active. Actually, he had a fascination with the stairs on the pavilion and wanted nothing more than to go up and down the stairs for the entire duration of our stay. This would have been fine, but the pavilion was located rather far from our units home base so I could not always be there, and David seemed to assume the pavilion was his personal property and he screamed, cried and even kicked and hit at people who came up “his” stairs. This was, of course, totally unacceptable. He was duly punished by both his father and I, but to no avail.
The second, less lengthy mishap occurred to Judah. His grandma had just bought him a candy stick and we passed by the embalmers on our way back to camp. Judah lagged behind a good deal and once we reached camp and I did not see him with us, I went looking for him. He was indeed on his way to us, but shuffling along at a very slow pace indeed. When I drew closer I saw that his trousers had fallen down around his ankles and he looked at me with a reproachful and pained expression as he shuffled sadly along, much like a prisoner in shackles. We pulled up the trousers and buttoned them anew.
The highlight of the event for me was, though, by far, being able to meet the beautiful Mrs. P from Humble Beginnings! I was thrilled to meet such a lovely kindred spirit.
Her husband graced the company with some fantastic banjo music after the battle. This talented couple added so very much to the whole atmosphere and delight of the event, not only for me but I know that everyone who saw and heard them will come away with a better understanding of history.
David came away in a very good mood. He was thrilled to have been able to fondle two original guns. One was, I think (excuse me if I get the term wrong, I’m working from memory and a limited understanding of firearms) a Burnside Carbine. The other was an Enfield. We ladies talk about fondling fabric. David and our reenacting guys talk with equal passion about fondling guns. :)
Well, this is the last event for us til August. It will be nice to have a two month break, especially during the hot months of summer. This week I need to finish up some outside sewing jobs and turn my attention once more to jobs that need to be done around the house. My bathroom floor needs to be torn up and the new linoleum laid. I have a good understanding of the theory but am concerned about cutting accurately around the sink and the toilet. Actually I think the toilet will have to be removed and a new wax seal put in. I hope once I remove the current sub floor, the original hardwood floor will be in good enough condition to just lay the linoleum over that. Who knows what lurks beneath? The current floor is ceramic tile but the grout has not held so the tiles are “floating” and some are broken and some completely missing.
Then the choice of paint color and trim for the bathroom. Back to work for me!
Love,
Sarah
It isn't much, but I think it definitely finishes off the look very nicely. Plaid is so lovely since you can do so many interesting things with it.
On a different note, I heartily apologize to anyone who has recently visited my 
Love,
David went off with the surgeon to attend the wounded and the boys and I scurried down the hot roads as fast as we could in the opposite direction, dodging the Confederate army which marched away singing "Get Out the Way, Old Dan Tucker". I have learned - stay away from crowds when you have small, darting children! 
The boys took a liking to the little Governors House and seemed quite at home in it. We went into the church and then we walked down by the creek and put our feet into the water. 
When David carried Malachi in to me and I saw his poor little tear and blood stained face I burst into tears. David was very concerned since I wouldn't stop crying so he wanted us to go to the general store again, but when we got there we discovered it had been closed. I held Malachi in my arms and noticed my new sheer dress was spattered with blood. With the heat and thick air more suffocating than ever, and heat-rash appearing on the boys legs, we decided to strike camp and come home. 
I made them both long sleeve, loose, roomy tunics earlier this year, intending to have them wear them all season. However, we are off to a reenactment this weekend and the forecast is for thunderstorms and hot temperatures (though all week, the forecasted temp has steadily dropped) and I decided to make them short sleeve tunics. I had an extra day to sew- so why not?
I tried a new tunic style this time. Instead of my usual A-line tunics, these have seperate bodice and skirt portions sewn to a waistband. I was inspired by the images of this darling little tunic found on eBay last month and posted about over at The Sewing Academy: 
I did shorten the sleeves on my tunics some. Of course, my material is not sheer so you cannot see the tucks like you can on the original. Really, the tucks were a waste of time since due to the print of the fabric you cannot even really tell that they are there.
Sarah: "Judah, say "The force be with you."
The scallops ended up taking only about an hour and a half to do. Not as bad as I thought. For some reason this picture is pretty washed out - the first picture is closest to the real color of the fabric. 
Now, I'm preparing myself for the inevitable reality that the first time Malachi wears this, within the first half hour, he will spill something on it or fall into a mud puddle.
Then, just as today, there were different styles of corests (today we have bras) that gave subtle differences to the shape of the person wearing them. 
To put in the front bones, I stitched the two layers of the corset together (a pink linen layer and a white twill layer, treated as one at the other seams) to create a casing for the front bones. I slid them in and then bound the top and bottom of the corset. To finish it off, I sewed hook and eyes to the inside of the corset, alinging the curved edge of the eyes and the curved edge of the hooks with the front edge. This way the corset closes edge to edge. There is a tiny little gap between the edges when the corset is worn, but that is normal. Steel busks often have a little gap between the edges too. 
I still need to face the waistband, stitch the hem, and add a button and buttonholes to the neck and waist. The skirt will be trimmed with a narrow scalloped band bound in self fabric bias, just like the sleeves. 
That is also the reason why I am making Malachi a pink dress. Some of you may be asking why on earth I would put my baby boy in a pink dress. It seems there is a trend among reenactors to put their baby boys in more "boyish" colors or styles. I personally think this is way overthought and overdone. Did every mother of a baby boy try to make her baby more "manly" dresses in the 1860's? Obviously not. There is nothing wrong with a baby boy wearing a hunter green and navy blue plaid trimmed with military inspired red braid, but on the other hand, there is nothing wrong with a baby boy wearing a sheer white gown trimmed with ruffles and lace and tucks and insertion and embroidery. Or for that matter, a pink dress. Also, I've found no evidence thatpink was considered a girly color in the 1860's. In fact, at times it seems pink was actually thought more of as a boy color. I have seen several toddler boy dresses from the period that are varying shades of pink. Third, this style and color of dress would not be considered odd in the 1860's period, but is odd to modern people in this day and age. I have tried in the past to put my boys in more "manly" colors and prints and plaids but everyone still always thinks they are girls anyway.
Love,
Speaking of our garden, our plants seem to now be established enough to take a picture of. So, here is our little plot of earth:
We do not have everything planted yet that we want to plant. The reason? Rain. Abundances of rain. It has been too wet to plant much lately so that is why my green beans and squash are not yet in. Beyond that, we do have sweet corn, two varities of potatoes, peas (which did not all come up) :( tomatoes (Davids passion), peppers, broccoli, onions and cantaloupe. In another spot, we have pumpkins. I also have sunflowers in various spots coming up and doing very well and in the front flower beds I have seven varieties of herbs. Already harvested was our spring crop of lettuce and radishes. We will plant those again in the fall. Our gardening endeavors are not huge, but for us this is the biggest garden venture we've mutally shared. David already has plans for expanding the garden next year and he desires to get some grape vines, raspberry plants and strawberry plants. If he had his way, we'd have no yard left because everything would be taken up for planting! :) 
So many memories rushed upon me as we walked these dear, familiar trails! This spot was one my father often took my siblings and I to when we were younger. I would imagine that he still takes my younger siblings there as he did when I was still at home. I felt as though the Sarah's of the past were next to every tree, in the shadows of the hills and fallen logs. I could almost hear my brother Jacob's voice as we passed places so full of pleasant times past. How often we pretended we were Civil War-era sharpshooters on those hills! How we ran ahead of the others and hid ourselves in the brush, waiting for them to pass by. :) Those times were really not so long ago at all. 
This time, my own little ones were wide eyed and wondering. They saw a blue bird, squirrels, wild turkeys and many daddy long-legs. They begged to climb up the hills and go down them. The big boys walked on ahead and I tagged along behind with Malachi, who stopped every few feet to scratch in the gravel with a stick.
How sobering to think that this time of life will go by so fast. What happens today will be our memories for tomorrow. That thought makes me pause often and reflect on how I spend my time and what I say and do - I want my family to have pleasant memories, not sorrowful or painful or bitter ones. I am so thankful to my father for giving me the memories of past trips to this Wildlife Sanctuary. Times when he could have been getting something done at home, but he decided that his family was more important and chores and to-do lists could wait. Would, in future years, we really care if a menial household task was done on a speficic certain day? Would we remember? Or would we remember better times spent as a family enjoying the beauty of nature?
Well I'm off to fix breakfast. I was awake much of last night due to violent storms surging through the area and it always seems that if I am awake at night, I am absolutely starving the next morning. At least the storms have cooled off this area. Everything is wet, but the air is crisp and clean.