THE RAVEN AND THE RAVENOUS

THE RAVEN by Edgar Allen Poe - 1845

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this, and nothing more."

Becky hears a tap-tap-tapping! She opens the chamber door into my sewing room and what does she find? The Raven! He came to live with us a few months ago, but he freaks out my husband, so he has taken up residency in the sewing room. Becky looks a little freaked also.

My great grandfather had a raven that would sit on his shoulder or head and walk around with him. When he walked up to the front door of his home the bird would swoop down and land on his shoulder and walk into the house with him. Apparently he was quite talented at hiding shiny objects around the house, like keys or scissors. Don't you wish you had a raven? That is all I need is someone hiding things from me! I do very well with that on my own. (OK fine, I confess that my raven is a fake).

Becky's friend Lauren has gone back home to Arizona. We miss her. Now I am Becky's best friend. Luckily Becky is very good at entertaining herself, and she has decided to set some goals for while she is here. One is to learn to cook, and another is to learn to sew. She has been finding recipes on line and practicing on us. We are happy! We like to be fed! Yes, we are the ravenous!
Becky and friend Lauren (are not Quakers) have an interesting family history connection. They both have ancestors that came over on the Mayflower! Lauren is descended from William Bradford, the well known leader of the Plymouth Colony. Becky is descended from Joseph Rogers, who was 17 years old at the time of the crossing. His father Thomas passed away that first winter and William Bradford took Joseph into his home for several years. Odd that we should even know that, isn't it? But this is all a matter of recorded history. It does make one wonder how many of our ancestors have crossed paths in the past? Or for that matter, with whom of our ancestor's descendants have we crossed paths? That's OK. I can't even keep up with the family I know!

Hope you have all been having a lovely weekend. It has been raining buckets here in Virginia!