mermaidcamp

mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

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Frances de Vere, Countess of Surrey

August 18, 2014 — 4 Comments

 

My 15th great-grandmother was  lady in waiting to Anne Boleyn when she was married at the age of 15. She managed to stay alive during the shaky royal shake downs that caused her husband to be beheaded. To be in court with Henry VIII was a treacherous position. She wrote poetry like her more well educated husband.

Frances de Vere was the daughter of John de Vere, 15th earl of Oxford (1490-March 21,1540) and Elizabeth Trussell (1496-c.1527). She had no fortune, but in April 1532, she married Henry Howard, earl of Surrey (1517-x.January 19,1547). They lived apart until 1535 because of their youth. Alison Weir in Henry VIII: The King and his Court, states that Anne Boleyn arranged the match over the objections of the duchess of Norfolk and that Frances was at court as one of Anne’s ladies from 1533. She was also at court when Catherine Howard was queen, but not, apparently, afterward. Catherine gave her a brooch set with tiny diamonds and rubies. According to one of her grandson’s biographers, Frances, in common with her more famous husband, wrote poetry. Her children were clever and well educated, although Frances did not have charge of their education. They were Jane (1537?-1593), Thomas (March 10, 1538-June 2,1572), Catherine (1539?-April 7,1596), Henry (February 1540-1614), and Margaret (January 1543-March 17,1592). Frances miscarried in 1547, the year her husband was executed for treason. She was ill for some time afterward. Alternatively, Robert Hutchinson in House of Treason states that Frances gave birth to daughter Jane three weeks after Surrey was executed and names Catherine as the eldest daughter. W. A. Sessions in Henry Howard The Poet Earl of Surrey gives the birth order as Thomas (March 12, 1536), Henry (February 25, 1538), Jane, Catherine, and Margaret (1547). By 1553, Frances had married Thomas Steyning of Woodbridge, Suffolk (d. October 20, 1575+), where she owned the manor of East Soham near Framlingham Castle. She was granted nine manors in all by the duke of Norfolk, her father-in-law, after his restoration in 1553. In July 1554, Frances represented Queen Mary at the christening of the French ambassador’s son and in December 1557 she was chief mourner at the funeral of her sister-in-law, Mary Howard. She was also chief mourner for her daughter-in-law, Margaret Audley, on January 17, 1563. Frances had two children by her second husband, Henry and Mary. She died at East Soham. Portrait: sketch by Hans Holbein, 1535.

source: http://www.kateemersonhistoricals.com

Frances DeVere (1517 – 1577)
is my 15th great grandmother
Thomas Howard (1536 – 1572)
son of Frances DeVere
Margaret Howard (1561 – 1591)
daughter of Thomas Howard
Lady Ann Dorset (1552 – 1680)
daughter of Margaret Howard
Robert Lewis (1574 – 1645)
son of Lady Ann Dorset
Robert Lewis (1607 – 1644)
son of Robert Lewis
Ann Lewis (1633 – 1686)
daughter of Robert Lewis
Joshua Morse (1669 – 1753)
son of Ann Lewis
Joseph Morse (1692 – 1759)
son of Joshua Morse
Joseph Morse (1721 – 1776)
son of Joseph Morse
Joseph Morse III (1752 – 1835)
son of Joseph Morse
John Henry Morse (1775 – 1864)
son of Joseph Morse III
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of John Henry Morse
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

Frances deVere was from a prestigious family, but one without great wealth. She was one of Anne Boleyn’s ladies-in-waiting and Anne probably arranged the match between Frances and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, whose mother would not have approved the choice of a bride with no dowry otherwise. Because of her young age (they married in 1532, when she was only 15), Frances continued her role as lady-in-waiting before joining her husband at his home – which is why she was at court to be sketched by Holbein in 1535. Frances shared her husband’s love of the arts, and also wrote poetry. She was traumatized by the 1547 execution of her husband, suffering a miscarriage and spending the next few years in delicate health.

Fides, Goddess of Trust

August 17, 2014

TPD SWAT

TPD SWAT

The Roman goddess of trust was known in the later years of the Roman Empire as Fides Publica, or public trust.  Her temple was used for ceremonies of public treaties and agreements.  Her role was to oversee the honor and honesty of the Roman people.  Trust is essential for all other elements of society to function well.  When the public does not trust the authority figures society begins to crumble.  Romans were interested in democracy, even though they owned slaves and had some tragic foreign policies. The importance of public trust merited a temple in the center of the city close to Jupiter’s temple.  The meaning of the word, as well as the goddess was the elemental and mutual trust or faith that must exist for fair trade and governance.  It can not exist on only one side because it implies a level of commitment to integrity that holds up under social pressure.  It is like magnetism, both parties are always participating in the action. Gifts and offerings brought to Fides at her temple were given with hands that were covered in cloth, to keep the gift a secret.  This symbol was the privacy statement of the time, meaning that the invisible trust between humans and gods was secret as well as sacred.

In our modern world we have nothing that resembles Fides Publica.   We can’t reverse history or erase technology, but we must somehow regain the respect for integrity that it once had.  Trust is earned and also constantly in flux.  Facts or impressions can radically alter  faith in institutions when they fail to live up to ethical standards.  Rather than working to increase levels of trust our factions and media dramatists like to build separate camps that take pot shots at the trustworthiness of the other camps.  The cops in the United States are one of the contentious camps that are forced to deal with dwindling levels of faith from the communities they serve.  Many citizens now believe the cops serve and protect themselves but not the public.  The advanced incarceration rates and military stye heavily armored local police forces are working against a positive future outcome.  I am in favor of having every minute of every cop’s duty recorded on video cameras.  This would substitute some evidence for some of the untrustworthy statements we have heard from police.  I would think cops would welcome such monitoring because in cities where it is being used complaints against the law enforcement officers have dramatically decreased.  That is a good example of Fides Publica…..the camera may change the cops’ attitude since it can and will be used as evidence, and the citizen might feel more secure interacting with a cop if that interaction was being recorded.  Our goddess of trust will be called GoPro.

Ancestral Karma

August 16, 2014 — 4 Comments

Padmasambhava

Padmasambhava

The following quote from the famous Dr Carl Jung explains the unconscious inheritance of unsolved and unanswered mysteries from our ancestors.  My intense study of all the branches of my family tree that still bear data leads me to conclude that Dr. Jung was onto something. There are certainly themes that run in families, if not a shared fate.  We have more than our immediate family to thank for the belief system we have been handed.  The religious, cultural, and sociological forces that inspired our ancestors to take action and undertake dangerous missions and travels have not evaporated into thin air. They are passed on as attitudes if not as law.

“I feel very strongly that I am under the influence of things or
questions which were left incomplete and unanswered by my
parents and grandparents and more distant ancestors. It often seems
as if there were an impersonal karma within a family which is
passed on from parents to children. It has always seemed to me
that I had to answer questions which fate had posed to my
forefathers, and which had not yet been answered, or as if I had to
complete, or perhaps continue, things which previous ages had left
unfinished.”~ Dr. Carl Jung , Memories, Dreams, Reflections

I wonder why my addition to my family fortune and mindset will be.  History changes the perception of everything, but when we learn about our ancestors we are instantly on their side, no matter what they were doing.  With few very crazy exceptions I find I am sympathetic with all of my relations in history because I would not be alive if it had not for their ability to survive.  I admire their adventurous natures, and am embarrassed by slaveholding, war mongering, and some elite royal behaviors of my people as they managed to survive.  I identify with them and their struggles, trying to imagine myself alive in much more primitive conditions.  I wonder how I would have managed in heavily religious times, or times of extreme violence and conflict.  Trauma as well as enlightenment is inherited.  Distrust as well as confidence is passed down to the next generation.  Self image as well as ethics are part of the ethical will we are given.  Our national identity contains within it preferences and prejudices that last for many generations.  Can you think of belief systems you have that you never questioned?  Have you ever wondered if the thoughts  in the minds of your family members before your birth have influenced your thinking?  How do you explain the collective consciousness?

Carnivorous Plants

August 15, 2014 — 6 Comments

While the butterfly exhibit is on hold for the summer the Tucson Botanical Gardens has a small but impressive display of flesh eating plants in the tropical greenhouse. It is easier to handle since the USDA does not require full time guards as they do on the butterfly species.  The small and well appointed display teaches us that there are many forms that plants use to lure in insect prey for their food.  We know about some of the obvious styles, like fly trap and pitcher, but the cute little flowers on bladderwort and butterworts are there to attract the insects that will be killed and consumed when stuck to the flypaper type leaves.  The diminutive sundews produce extra sticky dew drops that never release the bug that gets too close.  They are all botanically interesting and some very pretty to see.  Imagine the poor bug’s life ending as it is called to investigate one of these exotic traps.  Survival depends on more than fitness of body.  In the wild we must have the good sense to leave attractive menaces alone.

Want to have some Social Media fun this weekend?

August 15, 2014 — 4 Comments

Party time on Empire Avenue!! Great weekend to join the fun of EA Leaders!!

Right to Bear Video Camera

August 12, 2014 — 4 Comments

I have recently watched footage from 1968 in a museum exhibit which included the Democratic convention in Chicago and other riots. As I see St Louis now drenched in violence over the shooting of another unarmed teenager of color I have a deja vu feeling. The riots of Watts and Detroit in the 60s were about the same issues we face today.  When the narrator speaks in the black and white footage shot 46 years ago he reveals the culture of the broadcast universe at the time.  Today news footage flashes across twitter at the speed of digital finger snapping, allowing a more complete story to emerge instantly.  The new cameraperson is the bystander who is ready to capture what happens with a phone.  The new commentary is done live on the scene by everyone.  The facts come out quicker and opinions are shouted  out on Youtube before you can say network newscast.  People have the facts caught on camera and distributed throughout the world before you can say Jessie Jackson.  Justice must now take into account the fact that everyone is now a reporter and every phone is an official source of news.  The editorial department has swelled to include anyone who has an opinion and chooses to voice it.  Do you think this democratic version of news reporting will be a remedy for social injustice?  Have you ever whipped out your phone to record evidence as something happened in front of you? Do you think we will know the truth and the truth will us us free, or do so many versions of the truth make the world more contentious?  What does the camera toting public change?  Do you feel safer now?

Cosmetic Acupuncture

August 11, 2014 — 1 Comment

cosmetic acupuncture

cosmetic acupuncture

I have just completed a series of acupuncture treatments to rejuvenate my face. Jessica Breton completed studies with Mei Zen Cosmetic Acupuncture System to add to her skills and offerings but was not convinced of the efficacy of the treatment. She asked some of her friends to do a test as her models to look for results, and all reported looking and feeling better. Each person has a unique experience but everyone benefits in several ways.  Skin texture improves because the use of very superficial needles stimulates collagen and elastin to flow from within the body to the face.  Wrinkles smooth out for the same reason.  Cheeks lift and the jawline firms.  This is a gradual improvement that lasts for many months after completion.

The series includes 10 sessions with full body acupuncture to address personal state of health in general and an elaborate placement of many needles in the skin of the face.  One normally does two treatments a week until finished, but I took a couple of vacation weeks off with no ill effect. I decided to do it because my thermography indicated inflammation in my face, sinus, head area.  Acupuncture is powerfully good medicine to bring balance and better all around health.   I decided the face needles would surely address that inflammation I saw around my head that concerned me.  To be honest it is a little bit difficult to have those needles in your face without wiggling or itching or disturbing them, but the experience taught me more meditative patience and focus.  It doesn’t really hurt, but it requires some ability to chill and take your mind off the obvious (needles in your face).  The results are very good in terms of the look and feel of my face, but my over all health is the big winner. I followed through with a third session each week for my body as well, so I have had a lot of extra help balancing my chi.  Jessica told me several clients at Zylla Acupuncture have started as cosmetic clients and continued to come because they discovered the value of regular acupuncture treatment.    I am pleased that I decided to try the cosmetic side of her practice and would recommend it to anyone.

Amaro, a Bitter Wonderland

August 11, 2014 — 4 Comments

 

full flavor of dessert

full flavor of dessert

I have been reading a lot about amaros in the blogging universe.  These herbal digestive concoctions, mostly from Italy, have become a new darling star of the cocktail bar scene.  Some bloggers are making their own mixtures by infusing brandy with combinations from their own gardens.  This is super appealing to me.  Typically served after dinner to aid in the digestive process, straight up or over a couple of ice cubes, the syrupy taste is a delight with a rich dessert.  I saw a selection of amaros on the menu at Feast and decided to try one with a malted chocolate cake with rich dense creamy caramel filling. We rarely eat dessert, so sharing one slice was plenty of sweet richness for both of us.  Bob tasted the amaro, but I sipped it throughout the dessert course between bites of the dense, full chocolate flavors in the cake.  The cake was garnished with candied grapefruit peel, which added another dimension of bitter and sweet to the finish.

I have not been a fan of bitter herbs or any kind of digestive tonic.  Since making my own bitters and shrubs this summer I have come to appreciate the ways bitterness enhances both health and flavor.  The liberal use of bitters in cooking is fun, and adds extra dimension that is hard to describe, but fills out the profile of any food.  More importantly, the flavor bitter stimulates the liver to produce bile, which one needs to digest fat.  I am not sure how many grams of fat were in my cake, but it felt like pure butter on the tongue.  I am guessing the count in butterfat was very high, but we only had a few bites which we enjoyed.  The sipping of the amaro did open up kind of a new way to feel and sense the whole process of dessert.  I have had after dinner drinks with brandy, eau de vie, or coffee, but have never sipped an amaro before.  I recommend it to anyone who wants to expand their sense of taste.  It happens to be good for digestion at the same time.  Cheers, to a slightly bitter ending to your meal!

Amaro with 2 cubes of ice

Amaro with 2 cubes of ice

Albert IV, “The Wise” Count of Habsburg

August 10, 2014 — 3 Comments

Albert IV Habsburg married an heiress from Zurich.  He died on a crusade in a place near Tel Aviv.  How wise was it for him to be on a crusade?  This guy Theobald from Navarre that was leading the Crusade sounds like one of my ancestors too.  How crazy for them to trot off to the Holy Land as if they had some business there.  This is what it took to be called wise at the time.

Albrecht IV Count Of HABSBURG was born about 1188 in Of Schloss Limburg, A.d. Rh., Freiburg, Baden. He died on 22 Nov 1240. He married Hedwige Countess Of KYBURG.

Hedwige Countess Of KYBURG was born about 1192 in Of, Kyburg, Zurich, Switzerland. She died on 30 Apr 1260. She married Albrecht IV Count Of HABSBURG.

They had the following children: F i Kunigunde Von HABSBURG was born about 1208 in Of Schloss Limburg, A.d. Rh., Freiburg, Baden. She died in 1228 in Kl. Adelhausen, Freiburg, , Baden.
M ii Hartmann Von HABSBURG was born about 1222 in Of Schloss Limburg, A.d. Rh., Freiburg, Baden. He died in 1252.
M iii Albrecht V Count Of HABSBURG was born about 1220 in Of Schloss Limburg, A.d. Rh., Freiburg, Baden. He died on 1 Jan 1256.
F iv Kunigunde Countess Of HABSBURG was born about 1226 in Of Schloss Limburg, A.d. Rh., Freiburg, Baden.
M v Rudolf I King Of The GERMANS was born on 1 May 1218. He died on 15 Jul 1291.

Albert IV “The Wise” Count of Habsburg (1188 – 1240)
is my 21st great grandfather
Rudolf IV King of Germans, Holy Roman Emperor Habsburg (1218 – 1291)
son of Albert IV “The Wise” Count of Habsburg
Albert I King of Germany Habsburg (1248 – 1308)
son of Rudolf IV King of Germans, Holy Roman Emperor Habsburg
Albrecht Albert II ‘The Wise’ Duke of Austria Habsburg (1298 – 1358)
son of Albert I King of Germany Habsburg
Leopold III “Duke of Austria” Habsburg (1351 – 1386)
son of Albrecht Albert II ‘The Wise’ Duke of Austria Habsburg
Ernst I “Ironside” Archduke of Austria Habsburg (1377 – 1424)
son of Leopold III “Duke of Austria” Habsburg
Katharina Archduchess Austria Von Habsburg (1420 – 1493)
daughter of Ernst I “Ironside” Archduke of Austria Habsburg
Christof I VanBaden (1453 – 1527)
son of Katharina Archduchess Austria Von Habsburg
Beatrix Zahringen (1492 – 1535)
daughter of Christof I VanBaden
Sabine Grafin VonSimmern (1528 – 1578)
daughter of Beatrix Zahringen
Marie L Egmond (1564 – 1584)
daughter of Sabine Grafin VonSimmern
Richard Sears (1590 – 1676)
son of Marie L Egmond
Silas Sears (1638 – 1697)
son of Richard Sears
Silas Sears (1661 – 1732)
son of Silas Sears
Sarah Sears (1697 – 1785)
daughter of Silas Sears
Sarah Hamblin (1721 – 1814)
daughter of Sarah Sears
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Sarah Hamblin
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

Albert IV (or Albert the Wise) (ca. 1188 – December 13, 1239) was Count of Habsburg in the Aargau and a progenitor of the royal House of Habsburg.

He was the son of Count Rudolph II of Habsburg and Agnes of Staufen. About 1217 Albert married Hedwig (Heilwig), daughter of Count Ulrich of Kyburg (died 1237) and Anna of Zähringen. Upon the death of his father in 1232 he divided his family’s estates with his brother Rudolph III, whereby he retained the ancestral seat at Habsburg Castle. A follower of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, he died on the 1239 crusade of King Theobald I of Navarre near Ashkelon.

Albert was the father of King Rudolph I of Germany, and a mutual ancestor of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and of his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. He is also an ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

Notes
^ Ferdinand was descended from Rudolph I and Sophie was descended from Rudolph’s sister Elisabeth.

Albert IV, Count of Habsburg

Spouse
Hedwig of Kyburg

Father
Rudolph II, Count of Habsburg

Mother
Agnes of Staufen

Born
c. 1188

Died
13 December 1239
Ashkelon

Recovery in the Deep End

August 9, 2014 — 10 Comments

 

When I go to the pool to play I follow no set of exercises.  I generally go to the deep end and do a lot of twisting and large movements.  To Floatli is to find balance and then play your way to fitness and sporty fun.  Right now I have injured my foot by walking too much on holiday. It only hurts when I put weight on it, so the deep end is the place for me.  I can still enjoy full range of motion (and beyond what gravity will allow) while keeping that tired tendon in my foot from overworking while it heals.  I was getting kind of cranky on the last few days of my vacation when my aching feet slowed down my pace and I was away from my pool that I love so much.  Water is both healing and soothing.  The deep end of the pool is a lot like the deep end of life.  It is best to know when you can handle depth, and when it is a good idea to stay in the shallow end of things.  I am happy and lucky to have my own private deep end to use as I see fit.  It keeps my mood up while I recover full use of my footsies.  Gravity is fine, but has limits, especially if we are injured.  What do you like to do when your body needs to heal?