Looking at the MOON

I struggle to understand the phases and orbits of our MOON - and conversations with my Science teacher husband and my Scientist brother, who both claim knowledge and understanding of moons, planets and space stuff as one of their high interest subjects, just lead to my brain shutting down and I'm soon humming the old nursery rhyme.... 

I see the moon,    
The moon sees me.  
God bless the moon, 
And God bless me.

I do know the moon is about a quarter the size of the earth, that it takes 27.3 days to orbit the earth and I've also read that it takes 29 days to go through it's 'phases', from full moon to no moon, new moon and full moon again.  Apparently that has something to do with the moons slightly sloppy orbit, so that each time it goes around it takes a little longer and that's as far as my understanding goes.

However, I do enjoy creative stories, origins and interesting history tit-bits and there are even some jokes about the moon.

Q. What was the name of the first satellite to orbit the Earth?

A. The moon.

Starting with a strange, but true story, one that comes along once in a BLUE MOON ...... we all see that the moon is bright white or silver or sometimes yellowish, but not blue. Way back in the 14th century they knew the moon (or moone with a silent e) was not blue. An expression of that time - 'he would argue that the moon was blue' meant the same as our expression - 'she'd say black was white'.  So reference to a blue moon meant it was not so, or could not be.

As very little on this earth stays the same for long, a time came when people did see a blue coloured moon. Viewing the moon, at a certain angle, through a haze of chemicals like sulphur, can make the moon look bluish.  In 1883 the Indonesian volcano Krakatau erupted and the dust in the atmosphere made the moon look blue in many parts of the world for almost two years.  In 1927 a very long dry season in India caused enough dust for a blue moon and in 1951 the northern USA saw a blue moon through the smoke from forest fires in Canada. This does not happen very often and so the meaning of the expression altered to refer to something that happened rarely, or from time to time. 

But even this adaption didn't stay in place forever. Centuries ago people around the world  used different calendars and had different names and dates for the months of the year and it was all a bit of a mess if you were travelling. Some calendars followed the phases of the moon, others were based on movements of the sun. Gradually, due to trade and business, these different calendars were adjusted until most of the world was on the same page calendar wise. 

So, we have the year divided into 12 months, each month roughly 30 - 31 days. But the lunar month of 29 days from full moon full moon, is shorter than our calendar month and so it happens occasionally that a month will have two full moons.  This rare event of the second moon in a calendar month has recently become known as a blue moon.  Apparently it happens about 7 times in every 19 years - my husband explained this is because every 19 years the starting point of the earth's orbit around the sun, and the starting point of the moons orbit around the earth line up and they both begin again.

Q: "Why does the Moon orbit the Earth?"

A: "To get to the other side?"

This step in the naming of this phenomenon only developed in the last 25 - 30 years,  cemented into place by the media (it's a cool story when it happens) and also it became an answer in the trivial pursuit game.  This is exciting as it illustrates so well that we live in living history.

And a modern use for the blue moon - poets, and song writers use it to symbolise sadness and loneliness -  see as the Rodgers and Hart Blue Moon duet below - lots of great versions on YouTube.

HE SINGS:

Blue Moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

SHE SINGS:
Blue Moon
You knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

In some areas the moon was such a part of daily life that it stood for the period of time we now call month. The modern honeymoon holiday for newly married couples originates with a custom that began in 4th century Northern Europe.  To start married life on a sweet note, newlyweds drank mead, a drink brewed with honey, every day for the first moon (or month) of their life together - and that was a honeymoon.

A SUPER MOON is another good media story when it appears, and a great opportunity for photographers to show off.  Because the path of the moon's orbit around the earth is an elipse, not a circle there are times when the moon is closer to the earth than it is at other times.  When this closer position happens during a full moon it is called a super moon. People are convinced the moon is huge - but to my eye it's just nearer. 

2013 Super moon over central Australia

We know the moon is made of rock. Astronauts have been to the moon, walked around in the moon dust and brought rocks back to earth so it's difficult for us to understand that at one time people believed the moon was made of something else. We can check back to the 16th century again because that was when the printing press was invented meaning that from then on more copies of printed  works existed and some were kept while before that time the one or two hand made copies were lost of destroyed. We find that from the 16th and 17th centuries there were references to the moon being made of cheese.   

An English poet, John Heywood (1497 - 1580) wrote,  "Ye set circumquaques to make me beleue/ Or thinke, that the moone is made of greene cheese."   (You set circumstances to make me believe or think, that the moon is made of green cheese).  This mocking of the idea that the moon was made of cheese was possibly because some people at the time actually believed it was.   

An ancient folk tale tells of a simple farm boy who sees the reflection of the moon in the water of a pond. Not sure what it is he relates it to something of the same shape that he understands - a wheel of cheese. New, or un-aged cheese was called green cheese.  The story was told over and over and and as so often happens the origin meaning changed to the opposite meaning and up to the 19th century many children actually believed the moon was made of cheese!

Q. What do you get when you take green cheese and divide its circumference by its diameter?
A. Moon pi.

So with everyone looking at the moon over thousands of years it's no surprise that minstrels sang about a MAN IN THE MOON....


The man in the moon 
came down too soon
and asked his way to Norwich;
He went by the south 
and burnt his mouth

while supping cold pease porridge.

Of course this is a bit of nonsense - you can't burn your mouth on cold porridge so it follows that the man in the moon is nonsense too. But, strange creatures that we are this rhyme only added to the belief, at least among children, that there was a man in the moon.

In 1638 an English bishop named Francis Godwin wrote a sci fi book called The Man in the Moone, about a voyage to the moon. The Man in the Moon appeared in ballads and folk stories in many different cultures. This came from shadows on the moon taking on facial features. 

From my own childhood I remember -  

'Hello Mr Moon face, high up in the sky.
I can see you smiling, while in bed I lie'.

But I never actually saw the face in the moon as I grew up in the Southern hemisphere and these old stories come from the old world in the north.  European tradition was to see the figure of an old man on the full moon. He often carried a burden and was accompanied by a dog.

The need to have a visible place of banishment to frighten law breakers could be the reason some Germanic and Roman traditions represent the man in the moon as a thief being punished.  In Chinese mythology the goddess Chang'e is stranded on the moon, with a group of moon rabbits, after drinking a double dose of immortality potion.

The moon has a gravitational pull on the earth and so it affects the wind and the ocean tide. Once again that's the limit of my scientific knowledge.  The moon has been there for a long time so we named it. Our word moon comes from an Old English word, mona.  It was mene in Old German, mano in Old Saxon and Danish. By the 15th century English people were spelling it as moone and then moon.

In Latin the word for moon is Luna and this is still used for things relating to the moon such as the luna calendar.  Luna was also the moon goddess and from her we get the words lunacy and lunatic.  It was believed that the moon affected people and animals, causing madness or illness during the full moon. Science cannot prove this is true but many policemen, nurses and doctors think otherwise. Myths about werewolves or lycanthropes, men who transformed from a man into a wolf under the influence of the full moon, are still part of popular entertainment. 

But whatever you believe the moon is a beautiful thing.

2013 Full moon from east coast Australia

FULL MOON By Walter de la Mare

One night as Dick lay fast asleep,

 Into his drowsy eyes

A great still light began to creep

From out the silent skies.

It was the lovely moon's, for when

He raised his dreamy head,

Her surge of silver filled the pane

And streamed across his bed.

So, for a while, each gazed at each-

Dick and the solemn moon-

Till, climbing slowly on her way,

She vanished, and was gone.

This is a Moon Pie

knowing a little bit about COPYRIGHT

I was looking into this for someone else, and as it's quite interesting I'm also posting it here. Most of the information comes from the Australian Copyright Council website. I didn't go into music or digital copyright because the original task related to using text on quilts, embroideries and in art work, but music would be similar. It's important to understand what we can use legally but in the end it is a moral issue and we must monitor ourselves.

In Australia, copyright protection is free and automatic; there is no registration system but this does not mean it doesn't exist.  The Australian Copyright Council website has all the information available if you need more detail - http://www.copyright.org.au/    

Copyright is a legal protection for material including writing/poetry, visual images/logos, music/lyrics and more. Copyright protection gives the copyright owner the right to control the use of their material including reproduction and electronic communication - anyone who uses their material without permission will infringe copyright.  An infringement means the copyright owner could bring an action against the person who infringes their copyright to recover damages.

In most cases, copyright lasts from the time the material is created until 70 years after the end of the year the creator dies. During that time the copyright can be inherited by the creator's family or friends, or included in the assets of a business.  

You need permission to quote from a work if the quote forms a "substantial" part of the source work. A part will generally be "substantial" if it is an important, distinctive or recognisable part. The quality of the part is more important than the quantity or proportion. The purpose of the use may be relevant; if you are using it for a commercial purpose you will need permission and possibly will have to pay for the right.  There is no provision in the Copyright Act that allows you to use copyright material after you have tried, but failed, to find the copyright owner if it is still under copyright protection.

There is no special exception which allows you to use copyright material without permission for educational purposes or for a non-profit purpose - you still need to get the permission. And, just because certain information, poetry, lyrics etc is available on the internet does not necessarily mean it is free to use.

A work is in the "public domain" if its copyright protection has expired. There is no list of works that are in the public domain so you'll have to find out who the author was, when the author died and whether the work was first published during the author’s lifetime.  Once copyright on a work has expired, it cannot be revived by subsequent publication ... an  example is the works of William Shakespeare - anyone can reproduce all or parts of his work.  A publisher who produces Shakespeare's work will only own copyright to the typographical arrangement and can prevent another publisher making an exact copy of that publication, but not of Shakespeare's work.  

"Moral rights" are rights relating to a creator’s reputation in connection with their work - in addition to the "economic rights" - like the right to reproduce the work. Creators are entitled to take legal action if they are not credited for their work; if their work is falsely attributed to someone else; or if their work is treated in a derogatory way – for example, by distorting it or modifying it.

If you are requesting permission to use copyright material you should provide the copyright holder with as much detail as possible, such as: title and author (ISBN if possible) of the publication from which you want to take the material; a description of the material you want to use, number of words or line count; the format of publication as well as your details.

Most sport teams would not allow people to use their logo for commercial purposes. In charity situations, they may still control the use very closely so you'll need to inquire about the legal use.  

But if you are buying fabric that has a logo printed on it then the legal use has been sorted out.  This also applies to licensed cartoon characters, other commercial images and creative writing on fabric. Someone else has obtained the permission.

It is risky to use creative work without permission unless you are absolutely certain that the work is in the public domain.  There was a case in the US of a lady who had written a short poem in 1989 titled 'Families are like quilts'. She developed this and sold as a stitchery/embroidery pattern, copyrighted in 2005.   Later she found her poem was being sold on decorative wall hangings and embroidered pillows.  She claimed these were unauthorised copies and filed a lawsuit against 6 companies. I think it's still with the courts.

So, it seems that if it is already printed on fabric bought by the metre, that's alright, but if you appliqué, embroider, knit or paint it on you need permission.

Please keep in mind that creative material has been written, designed or put together by someone and they deserve recognition for their work and control over how it is used. 

using GINGER

Like many people my early life experience with ginger was limited to ginger snap biscuits (yum) and crystallised ginger (yuk).  I didn't know how ginger grew or what it looked like.  Apparently I wasn't alone in this lack of knowledge because now that I know something about ginger other people expect me to answer all their questions.  My hubby has always had a heart for farming and had done bits and pieces over the years.  Twenty two years ago we moved to a house in a sub-tropical forest which was next to a ginger farm. The first thing I noticed was the lovely smell, a peppery lemon scent that drifted on the air while they were harvesting ginger.  Our two boys worked on the ginger harvest as their first jobs.  It was only for a week or so at a time and they enjoyed doing man's work outdoors, coming home for lunch with mud encrusted feet and legs and knowing how well they did when they were paid by the bucket at the end of each day.  We got to know what ginger looked like then and I began to use it in stir fries.

Harvesting ginger

A few years later we wanted to do some farming and decided to go into organics. While the land was in conversion we grew a variety of herbs, including parsley, basil, rosemary, garlic and also shallots. And various vegetables and flowers were tried at different times - I loved the sunflowers.  It was hard work, learning as you go and we soon found the packing and transport was the most difficult side of the business.  By this time our neighbour had retired and was no longer growing ginger.  We were looking for something a bit easier to ship to the city and the idea of organic ginger came about.  So, WE became organic ginger farmers.  It's the 'Royal Wee'  Big R says, as I don't do any actual hands-on farming.  So I don't plough or plant or weed or fertilize. I don't dig or pull up or wash or trim the rhizome but it's still a 'we' because I label boxes, help with packing, do the necessary paperwork, phone calls, emails, bill paying etc and that adds up to a normal little we.

Ginger growing in our paddock

Ginger is native to Asia and used in many Asian and Arabic dishes and also has uses as a medicinal herb.  It's often described as pungent, (strong/sharp taste) but that varies from one type of ginger to another.  It goes well into sweet or savoury dishes. Use it fresh, dried, cooked, raw or sugary - crystallised ginger is ginger boiled in sugar and then rolled in sugar crystals.  Ginger can also be preserved or pickled in vinegar - a little like ginger sauerkraut.

Small piece of new season ginger with flags

To grow - Ginger grows underground like a root, but is called a rhizome.   Several leafy stems, or flags, grow above the ground to the height of about a metre.  Planted in spring it takes around six months to mature and then you can pull up the early harvest ginger, which has a light, sweet flavour.  About three months later the green flags, begin to yellow and wilt. The rhizome stops growing but it can be left underground for a few more months.  Ginger picked at this stage is late harvest ginger. To pick the ginger you loosen the soil and pull up the rhizome. The flags can be snapped off and then it should be washed and the little stringy roots trimmed away.  When peeled the flesh is creamy coloured, fibrous and moist.  The early harvest ginger has a pinkish flush and is light in flavour.  Late harvest ginger is thicker skinned and deeper in flavour. 

To buy - when shopping for ginger, choose a rhizome that is firm and smells fresh. You don't want it if it's been sitting around for a while, feels rubbery or has black squishy spots.

To store - everyone asks me how to store ginger.  I've heard that it's good to store it in a plastic bag in the fridge but I've found that makes it soft and soggy.  I've also heard people say they freeze ginger to make it easier to grate, but I have not had any success with that.  I leave it on the bench or in the fruit bowl and it's fine for about ten days, depending on how old it was in the first place.  If you need to cover it use a brown paper bag. The best idea is to only buy what you need and use it within a few days.

To cut - first chop the ginger into easy to handle pieces and peel off the skin. It can be a little hard to hold being wet and small, like a piece of carrot.  I use a knife and slice it into discs.  I find these are easy to hold in one hand while I peel around the edge.   Then it can be chopped into chunks or thin strips.  I've heard people talk about grating ginger but I find that difficult because it is so fibrous.  I once bought a bamboo ginger grater that was not successful for me as it didn't grate the ginger and then it went moldy in our sub tropical summer. A food processor could be better than a grater as it would save the juice.  Only peel what you are using as it won't keep without it's skin.  I suppose that's why you can also buy powdered ginger and preserved ginger.

Slice, peel, chop - and into the pot

To cook - add ginger slices or strips to stir-fries, curries, soups or stews or drop into the water when cooking rice.  Some say that it's best to add ginger at the end of the cooking as the flavour can fade with stewing.  I love pumpkin soup with ginger added and I use it with olive oil to marinate chicken pieces and lamb steaks.

Many recipes are available for baking cakes, bread and biscuits with ginger, though most sweet recipes use powdered ginger (some people find too much powdered ginger causes bloating).  Recipes can be found on line for ginger jams, chutneys and sauces too.

To serve raw - chop finely or grate (if you have a better grater than I have) and sprinkle over salads and sandwiches, or over hot meat and vegetables. I have sometimes used the vegetable peeler to make very thin slices.

To drink - Apart from the popular ginger ale, ginger beer and ginger wine you can make ginger tea.  Drop one or two teaspoons of finely chopped fresh ginger into a mug, and cover with boiling water. Let it sit for five minutes, stir and drink as tea, either hot or cold.  You can add honey if you want a sweet drink.  Or, you could drop a disc of ginger into your cup of black tea, instead of lemon. Much better in black tea though as milk coats the ginger and the flavour is sealed in.

For medicine - My herb books say that ginger contains potassium, magnesium, manganese, vitamin B6 and copper.  It is traditionally used to calm digestive troubles, motion sickness, morning sickness and dizziness. It can also help with symptoms of colds and flu - hot ginger tea can be comforting. Crushed ginger can be used in a poultice for arthritis.

There is a warning for ginger use, which also applies to garlic.  Ginger, especially in large doses, can interfere with medications that slow blood clotting as ginger is a blood thinner and can interact with that medication. Anyone on medication for heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure should be careful so check with the doctor, pharmacist or naturopath if you plan to have ginger on a regular basis. 

Using fresh ginger once or even twice a week should be fine for most people.  I have Asian friends who say they comfortably use ginger and garlic in their family meals every day.

about QUILTING

Quilting can be defined as the process of stitching three layers of cloth together - modern day quilters call it a quilt sandwich consisting of a top layer of cloth, usually cotton, a layer of wadding or batting, usually wool or cotton and a bottom layer of cloth.  All three layers are stitched through, so they are held together firmly with the rows of stitching close enough to stop the filling moving inside. The three layers are stronger and warmer than single layers of clothing.

The skill of weaving is older even than spinning, as weaving began with grasses and leaves. When people began to produce cloth they opened the way for all the other textile related skills.  Samples of quilting have been found in ruins of ancient Egypt and in ancient China.  Quilted fabrics of cotton, flax, wool and silk, were used to make tents and floor covers as well as clothing like jackets, pants, headwear, undergarments and padding to wear underneath armour.

There were no factories to produce fabric before the 19th century so fabrics woven on looms in homes. This made fabric valuable and scraps from sewing, as well as usable sections of worn out clothing, were kept to be recycled as other clothing and bed covers. This patch work was combined with quilting to make warmer coverings.

Quilted jacket

During the middle ages in Britain heavy cloth, quilted with strong thread stitched in straight lines was worn as body armour by the army of William the Conqueror and the Crusaders. Through the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, quilted bed covers were mentioned in household inventories and accounts.

Whole cloth quilt

In the 14th century the climate of Western Europe changed and they experienced bitter winters.  People used whatever they could find to fill their quilts from lamb's wool to grass, moss or feathers.  In Britain and Holland making bed covers, or 'bed furniture' became a business for many people. The quilted bed covers became prized possessions that were handed down through generations and other traditions developed around the craft. Before a girl married she was expected to have a number of quilts completed and the last one was often quilted by her relatives and friends. This quilt would become a part of her dowry. It was popular to hold quilting bees, where friends gathered to share the work, sitting around homemade quilting frames and enjoying the social occasion while sharing patterns and skills

Quilting bee

In Europe quilted bed covers and wall hangings were in use before the 16th century.  These quilts were whole cloth quilts, just one colour fabric all over with a design created by quilting. Patterns for the quilting stitches to follow ranged from very simple to very complicated and women with fine quilting skills were sought out to work for wealthy people. The sewing machine was invented around 1790 and this made piecing a quilt top easier and faster but the quilting was still done by hand.

Today quilting is used in a wide range of items such as ski jackets and other cold weather clothing, dressing gowns, slippers, seat covers, tote bags, baby cot liners and change mats, bedding such as pillow covers and mattresses as well as decorative bed quilts.  Commercial quilting is done on huge machines in factories and is not what ladies who love handcrafts mean when they refer to quilting.

Section of a winning quilt from the Australian National Quilt Show

If you asked women in America about quilts they would say that quilting was an American invention.  Possibly they don't realise that quilting was a skill used by the Pilgrims, who were told to take at least one piece of bed furniture with them. IN the early 19th century patchwork and quilting came to Australia with the convicts, who practiced their stitching skills aboard ship.
  

A great example of quilting skills moving from Europe to America is the Amish.  Their quilts are known around the world and Amish quilting patterns and quilts are even sold on the internet.  As part of their life style, being 'plain' people, the Amish wear homemade clothing of plain colours. Their quilts are made from clothing scraps, and while their geometric patchwork designs are greatly admired, it's in the quilting that they become art works.

Amish Quilt

Across the world the skills of patchwork and quilting were in use up until World War l broke out in 1914.  With the men away women found they didn't have the time for sewing and after the war improvements in shipping meant that readymade items were available at reasonable cost. As people became more prosperous they gave their time to other things. The handcraft skills began to fade until the 1960's when the 'back to the basics lifestyle' became popular.

By the early 20th century quilters all around the world were able to use their sewing machines for simple quilting. Today sewing machines are computerised and some are capable of producing very fancy quilting patterns.  Special quilting machines are also available for home use and installed in garages, sheds and spare rooms all over the world.

What began as an activity to protect and warm the family is now a hobby and big business for millions of women and men around the world involved in specialist shops, books, websites and clubs. Conventions, competitions, classes and exhibitions are held. We still stitch for our families and for charity, and patched, embroidered and quilted works are exhibited in art galleries. 

---------------- QUILTERS will understand this ----------------

I've been put on this earth to sew
and finish a certain number of projects.
I am so far behind now…
I will never die! 

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