| www.Violet'sMuse.net |
Contact me!
I'm always interested in what people have to say
about life, politics and my writing. You can drop me
a line or two, paragraphs, manifestos (just kidding
about that last one -- I have no political pull
anywhere, even at home.) at:
ellen@violetsmuse.net
About the Author
All things medieval came to me early on in life. I
blame Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" for kindling
the life-long interest I have in what history calls "the
middle ages." While I wasn't born in a castle, or the
daughter of nobility, I did grow up in a housing
project in a small Northern California town, living a
normal, less-than-charmed existence with my
mother and my many siblings. In addition to being
fascinated by English lords and ladies and Italian
counts, I liked to play church and always felt that the
most comfortable place to be in the world was not a
castle but a church, a place where I felt I belonged --
that sense of connectivity led to my answering a
call to the diaconate in the Episcopal Church as I
approached my middle ages. Since my ordination
at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, in December of
2002, I've been serving as parish deacon at St.
Mark's Episcopal Church in Berkeley, California,
which is across the street from the University of
California campus. This call to servant ministry
gives me ample opportunities to preach what I
practice and encourage others to serve one another
in order to make the world a better place.
I've got three incredibly talented, interesting and
beautiful children who are almost grown now, and
there is Buddie, my youngest son's parakeet, who
always makes the day a bit more cheerful with his
songs and antics, his avian attitude.
To support my maniacal life, I work as a legal
secretary, and in between caring for the children
still at home, ministry, writing and bringing home
the bacon and trying to fry it up in the pan, I sleep.
What would a site be without a
companion blog???
Not that anyone really gives a southern end of a
rodent about what I think, but just in case, I started a
blog chalk-full of theological musings and thoughts:
Our Sister Phoebe, a Deacon . . .
Links I like!
When you get tired of this site, why not click on the
links to these sites?
One.org: The campaign to end global poverty
and combat AIDS in Africa. Yes, daunting. We have
to start somewhere.
Bread for the World: By right action and
faith, this organization is opening eyes and minds to
the problem of hunger in the world and another
organization I'm proud to belong to.
Zachary Williams: An incredible young artist
with a powerful style and message. And even if he
wasn't my son-in-law, I'd still recommend this link.
His oil painting, "The Guardians of Social
Prosperity" is frightening, beautiful and sends a
powerful message. Zachary received a "Juror's
Award" in the Fine Arts competition at the California
State Fair in August, 2007, and is currently preparing
for a one-man show this month.
St. Mark's Berkeley: My parish, my other
home, my life.
Art Fibers: I got hooked on knitting about three
years ago and if you want fantastic fiber, here's the
place - and the staff is wonderful. Roxanne sat me
down and taught me how to purl after I'd struggled
for months (I'm left handed and taught myself how
to knit right-handed, plus, I have no sense of
direction.)
Berocco: Yarn, lots of yarn. Yarn with funky,
interesting names, textures, colors, and reasonably
priced. I'm working with Ultra Alpaca right now.
Can you say, "soft and buttery?"
Lion Brand Yarns: Okay, more yarn. When a
friend told me about this site and the yarns, I was
reticent, remembering the basement of Woolworth's
and the little blue haired ladies with their sensible
shoes and scent of Ben Gay and Chanel No. 5,
picking through the bins of plain, boring skeins.
Boy, was I glad to discover Lion Brand Yarns
weren't the skeins in the bins! Free patterns are
available -- classic, hip, contemporary and fun.
Torker Bicycles: Reasonably priced,
incredibly cool urban and cruiser bikes, unicycles,
and, oh yes, adult and industrial trikes.
Solano Avenue Cyclery: The shop that
DIDN'T say, "You want what???" When I called to
ask about the Torker Tri-Star. They made
recommendations for what I needed, ordered it for
me, the price was downright scary-reasonable, and
they put it together when it arrived - only a week
later! They are a competitively priced, full service
bike shop in my book. And they didn't laugh as I
tried to ride out of the shop on my new Tri-Star.
Fun, interesting website with my kind of humor -
except the Scooby Doo thing - never liked Scooby
Doo, guys. I was a Rocky & Bullwinkle girl....
Savage Chickens: One of my best friends and
colleagues turned me on to this quirky cartoon - a
daily dose of humor with chickens drawn on sticky
note pages - you know, the square yellow ones.
Doug Savage's work has improved my mood on
more than one morning. The cartoon that started it
for me? "Snape's on a Plane."
Well Met, Friend!
About The Legacy
What People are
Saying . . .
Saying . . .
Read Excerpts from
The Legacy
The Legacy
c 2008, Bruce Alexander,
St. Mark's Episcopal
Church, Berkeley, CA
St. Mark's Episcopal
Church, Berkeley, CA
c1954, I guess my father took
this shot...
this shot...
c1993, by Lora Santiago.
Hmmm . . . maybe I should
dye my hair again . . .
Hmmm . . . maybe I should
dye my hair again . . .