History of the Waldenses: A Book Review

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake.

Matthew 24:9

I've had this book in my library for many years. As a matter of fact, it had my married surname inside the front cover, and I reverted to my maiden name sometime around 2005/2006. So, I've owned it for over 20 years. But it's not light reading, and it's definitely not for the faint of heart. I think I started reading it at least a couple of times, the most recent, according to Good Reads, was June of 2024. I made it about halfway through by November of that year, and then it languished. Until last night, when I was suffering insomnia, and got up and decided to read, and I finished it.
As the text at the beginning of this post indicates, the Bible forewarns us that we will suffer for our faith. But it doesn't generally go into graphic detail. As a matter of fact, Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." So I'm really not sure how this book fits into that verse. I do believe that we should know our history and be aware of what has gone on and is going on in the world around us. I'm aware that throughout history, many Christians have been persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and martyred for their faith. And having read the book, The Great Controversy, I was aware of a brief history of the Waldenses. And personally, I think that's all I needed to know about them. 
This book is more appropriate for a reference book, that you might want to refer to if you're doing research. As a matter of fact, it's actually quoted in The Great Controversy. Otherwise, it's not something I would recommend for general reading. I also find that the writer tends to use flowery language (the Waldenses' valleys and homes "smiled") and occasionally waxes eloquent and poetic in his descriptions of the mountains and valleys and rivers... I felt like telling him to get to the point. Maps would have been far more beneficial than poetic descriptions. I read the writings of Ellen G. White, mostly written in the mid to late 19th century. I read the King James Version of the Bible, dated 1611. And mostly, I don't have any problems understanding what they are saying, occasionally referring to a dictionary or a Bible commentary. But I found J. A. Wylie hard to follow at times. I can read a whole paragraph and wonder what on earth he just said. And he often inserted French phrases in his writing, assuming that his reader would understand what he was talking about. I didn't. Even though I took 4 years of French in school. 
While I am inspired by the example of faithfulness on the part of the Waldenses, my biggest takeaways from this book are: 

1. Don't trust your enemies. The Waldenses repeatedly over the centuries trusted the promises of their persecutors, only ending up paying the price in blood. 
2. If your enemies give you an ultimatum to give up your faith or leave, then LEAVE! Especially if you have a safe place to go. Even if leaving would create hardships. At one point in the book, the Waldenses were given the option to give up their faith or leave, as all their liberties were being removed. Yes, it would have posed a great hardship to leave and travel over the mountains in the dead of winter to freedom and safety in Protestant lands. But by choosing to stay and fight, many ended up dead, many more imprisoned and when Protestant leaders negotiated their release, there was only a small fraction of them still alive and they ended up having to leave in the dead of winter anyway.
3. Don't get so attached to a location that you are willing to sacrifice your safety to return there. At one point, the author tells us that the Waldenses regarded their valleys as their promised home as much as the Jews regarded the land of Canaan. I'm not sure if that's the author's interpretation or if it was their actual belief. And while I do believe, as the Scripture says, that God prepared a place for them in the wilderness to escape persecution (Revelation 12:6), it was no longer a safe retreat for them. And I also believe that this world is not our home, so attachment to any location in this world should only be temporary. (Hebrews 11:16). Honestly, I couldn't understand the determination of the 800 to return to the Piedmont rather than settle in relative safety in the Protestant nations. I don't know if it was actually the direction of God or their extreme longing for "home" that made them return, so I really cannot judge. But it seemed like an extremely foolhardy decision to me. And they suffered severe hardship as a result, with their original numbers being reduced to only 400. And even when the Duke of Savoy made peace with them, and the remaining refugees were invited to return, they lived a severely circumscribed life. I have to question if that was actually God's plan for them, or if He just allowed them to follow the desires of their hearts. I believe that we should be willing to suffer hardship and even death for the sake of the gospel, as the Apostles did, and many other Christians have over the centuries, when that is what God calls us to do. But it is foolish for us to place ourselves in a position of hardship if that is not where God wants us to be. As I said, I honestly don't know if God actually directed them to return, but it is a cautionary tale to make sure that it is God's voice and not just our own hearts speaking. 

I'm on the fence as to whether or not I will keep this book in my library. I could keep it for reference, should I require it (although it is available online as well). Or maybe find it a new home so that I have the shelf space for books that I find more encouraging than this one. 
Now, I'm going to try to tackle History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. I'm 115 pages in of 870 pages in rather small print...  

 

2013 Vacation Report #3

One of the places I decided that I wanted to visit while I was in London was Len's Mill Store. I have to admit that when I walked in, it did not make a good first impression. It's an ugly, warehouse-type store, but once I found the fabric department, I was happy.

I visited the store at least 3 times during my stay in London. They also have an awesome yarn section. Obviously they must cater to some cross-border shoppers because the fabric can be purchased by the yard or the metre. There used to be a place called McKay's Fabric Surplus (or something like that) near my sister's place. I was disappointed to find out it was closed. Len's Mill was just a little farther away, so that made up for the loss of McKay's.

I went to visit my Aunt in Port Stanley and on the way back to London, I stopped at this now empty hospital. It's the St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital and it's a massive institution, built to house up to 5000 patients with 460 acres of land, a working farm and beautiful grounds. 

 My father worked there for over 20 years and for me it's a part of St. Thomas history. I find it a pity that it's now empty, apparently sold to developers and slated for demolition. That makes 2 hospitals connected with my personal history to meet this fate.  The other one, of course is Victoria Hospital in London, where I did a lot of my nurse's training and got my first nursing job. I drove by it for a quick look and they still haven't started the demolition, but didn't take any pictures on this visit. However, I did take some pictures on last year's visit.

 

The front of the hospital - I went through these doors many times.

Nurses' Residence - I lived here for most of my 2 years as a student. I'm not sure if they're demolishing this building or not. 

The nursing school - I spent many hours in this building as well. I don't think it's part of the demolition plans. 

Further down Memory Lane...

This is the veterans section of the cemetery where my mother's parents were buried, the South Park Cemetery.

Below is a picture of the St. Thomas Cemetery, where my father's mother is buried. I was only ever able to find her grave once, and even though I was there during the posted office hours, the office was closed, so I was unable to visit her grave this time either. However, I discovered that they have an online search function, so next time, hopefully, I will find it. I must take my aunt, as she said she has a hard time finding it as well. I'm sure she would appreciate visiting her mother's grave with me. 

 I went from there to my favourite old church, the St. Thomas Anglican church, built in 1824.

At one time I wanted to be married in this church, but since it doesn't have central heating and I was married in November, it would have been a bit chilly. Maybe if I ever remarry...

Some really old graves in the church yard cemetery, with some figures of local historical interest buried here.

Right next door to the church is this old building:

Now dubbed "adult living," it was at one time a senior's home, called Thomas Williams Home, where my mother's father lived after my grandmother died. That name is still on a sign just under the peak of the roof.

I saw lots of beautiful autumn trees, but most of them were while I was driving, so not able to take pictures. This one was right across the street from the Thomas Williams Home. As you can see, the tree right next to it was still fully green. 

That's all for this vacation. The rest of my pictures are all family pictures, which I'm not sharing on my blog.

Don't forget to comment on my Time to Pass It On post to enter the giveaway for 5 free fat quarters.

Random Quilting Inspiration

When I have shown a new quilt block to my youngest sister, Cindy, either on facebook or Skype, she has often hinted that she would like a quilt. I finally told her that she is on my quilting agenda. She will celebrate her 50th birthday next year, and what better occasion to gift someone with a quilt? That also gives me sufficient time to get it made. So, in the back of my mind, I have been mulling over quilting ideas, nothing serious and definite, as I've got other projects currently on the go, but it's been there stewing... She lives in Nova Scotia, loves the ocean and her favourite colour is blue. A nautical theme, perhaps?
I found definite inspiration when Rose Smith of Ludlow Quilt and Sew posted the new Ocean Waves Fabric by Fabric Freedom (http://shop.ludlowquiltandsew.co.uk/ocean-waves-shells-200-p.asp). I won't necessarily use this fabric, but it does give me an idea of what's available. And it's beautiful fabric.
Jen of Quilts by Jen, writes on her blog about finding quilting inspiration in random places like the tiles on the wall at a local Tim Horton's (http://quiltsbyjen.ca/inspiration-found-at-tim-hortons/). I didn't think I'd been quilting long enough to get inspired at Tim Hortons, but the other day I did have a serendipitous moment at home, sitting at my dining room table. I had a Canada's History magazine open on the table to an article I had been reading on the Bluenose:

Glancing at that picture of the Bluenose schooner was my "aha" moment. Cindy and I both love Canadian history and this schooner is part of our history and is even featured on the Canadian dime. And it's home base is Nova Scotia, where Cindy lives. Its history is too detailed to go into here, but if you're interested, you can check it out at the Nova Scotia Archives.
I am currently enrolled in Craftsy's Pictures to Pixel Quilts class, which is one of their free classes. The demonstration quilt was a picture of the instructor's eye, which I really didn't find inspiring. So I started working on a picture of a hydrangea that I took at Muttart Conservatory, but it hasn't made it off my computer yet. I haven't gotten past coding all of the colours. It's quite tedious. And I didn't have a specific purpose for this project, other than learning the technique, so it was no big hurry. However, when I saw that picture of the Bluenose, I figured it might make a perfect pixel quilt. Actually, unless I want to do the quilt all in shades of gray, it will have to be the Bluenose II as I don't think any colour pictures exist of the original Bluenose. So, here is the Bluenose II, thanks to the Nova Scotia Archives, in all her glory:

Isn't she a beauty!
No promises that this quilt will ever see the light of day. If I can't make it recognizable as a schooner and not just a random bunch of blocks, then I won't do it. And I don't want to do it in 1 inch squares. Even 2 inch squares I figure will take nearly 2000 squares to make a double quilt. Thanks to Pic 2 Pat, which is actually a cross stitch site, I have the following pixelated version:

This Pic 2 Pat is really a great site, whether you're into cross stitch or pixel quilts. And it's free! It gives you a wide range of options for the final product, so that you can change the size of the picture and the number of different fabrics (or floss) that you need and what the picture will look like with each. You get more detail in the final product with a bigger picture, smaller squares and more different colours. If I tried it with fewer squares (which would also mean bigger squares to work with), the detail wasn't as great and the Bluenose II was more like blobs of white on a blue background, more like a modern art schooner, which is not what I'm aiming for. This looks good in this size, but how good will it look in a full-sized quilt? This version has 68 different colours, which will require an extensive fabric stash and quite a bit of coordination. Pic 2 Pat also produces a black and white schematic, so it's easier to figure out what fabric goes where. I'll still be mulling over whether I can make it work, and to determine if it will be worth stitching together nearly 2000 2-inch squares of fabric.
As I was proofreading this blog, I had another "Eureka" moment: I could do the centre of the quilt with the above picture in 1 inch squares, then surround it with nautical-themed blocks and a seashell border... still in the mulling stage however... Nah, I don't think so - that will mean 2000 1-inch squares and still have blocks and borders to complete as well!

Can bread be exciting?

 A number of years ago, I found a book in a bookstore called "The Cook's Guide to Bread." I like bread baking, enjoy history, and learning about other cultures and ethnic cuisines, so this book was right up my alley. Then my life changed drastically and I no longer had time or energy for bread making and other culinary and artistic pursuits. So this book just moved with me from home to home, and probably even spent time in a box stored in a granary... Recently, I was at a thrift store and picked up what I thought was a larger version of the same book. When I got it home however, I discovered the two books have different titles, the larger thrift store version being "The World Encyclopedia of Bread and Bread Making." Same two authors, Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter. Apart from size, I wasn't sure what the difference was. Then I looked inside "The Cook's Guide to Bread," and saw that it was originally published as "The World Encyclopedia of Bread and Bread Making." It was just a slightly newer version. 
Now, I love a cookbook (or, in this case, a bread-making book) that doesn't just give me recipes, but also teaches me something - history and cultural background. In this book (either version), about half of it is devoted to information other than recipes. It explains the history of bread, different grains and milling methods, along with discussion of other ingredients, techniques and equipment. Then it explains the primary types of bread found in various world cultures. I find it quite interesting, but then I do tend to be an information hound. Here's the link to the book on Amazon:



 
So owning these two books makes me even more excited about the Artisan Bread Making course I've enrolled in from Craftsy. I'm looking forward to becoming a better bread maker through the course and then trying out even more breads from these books.
There - a post that didn't even mention quilting...  

Historical Quilting

I love history. And I also love quilting. And books. So, when I find a book that combines both history and quilting, then I'm really excited. I purchase a lot of fabric on eBay and when I discovered 1930s replica and Civil War replica fabrics, I knew there just had to be some patterns specific to these fabrics. So, I started looking. Here are some that I have found on Amazon: Guess what I'd like for Mother's Day?