Please note that the memories and artwork contained herein are copyrighted 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

A Peaceful Day Memory

I suspect this is a Siegfried memory.

It is the early morning hours approximately 8 or so in the morning.  Morning sunlight is pouring into the room from a direct sideways angle and for some reason I know that it is morning.  The room is fairly large and has nice dark wood paneled walls.  I appear to be a young male about 17 years old.  The clothing looks a bit too old fashioned and formal for being Manfred.  I am putting on a tie of some sorts.  Trying to adjust how it fits.  I am already wearing light tan trousers, white long sleeved shirt, and a blue and white brocade vest that has a satin sheen to it.  And this tie thing has me fussing.  I have a round tack pin that is to be pinned through the fabric to make it stay in place.  This tack pin has a small reddish gemstone put into it.

I am looking at myself in a full length mirror.  I pull down on the edges of the vest to make it lay flat.  The tie or cravat looks fine.  I am not going to worry about it.  I have a nice blue dress coat that goes well with the vest and light colored trousers.  My hair is blondish and is cut fairly short.  I am finally satisfied that I am appropriately dressed for going downstairs to have breakfast.

I am sitting at a dining table.  The room had French glass doors and the sun is pouring in is lighting our breakfast hour.  The table is good sized and seats approximately 10 people.  I think the table has leaves in it, so it changes in size from time to time.  There are china cabinets in the room where the dishes are normally stored.  The ceiling is quite high and there is a candelabra hanging in the center point of the ceiling.  There is a white table cloth and places are set for breakfast.  There is a silver tea and coffee service with sugar and cream containers set on the table.    I am having some tea or coffee.  I cannot remember which.  The porcelain is very fine and delicate.  It looks like white porcelain with blue roses and green vines on the china.

Judging by the house and the china, we do not need for much.  I can see a female sitting across from me wearing her hair parted in the middle and then somehow braided so that it wrapped around her head like a crown of sorts.  Her hair is dark brown and I get the impression that she often wore her hair in that fashion.  Her dress is brownish and almost has a taffeta style sheen to it and a white collar around the neck.  This is what I would call a day dress.  I think she is older than me.  She looks awfully serious to me.  Not old enough to be my mother.  She must be an older sister.  She says something to me.

And for some reason I look at my empty plate in front of me and then turn to a lady dressed is servant's uniform to my right.  She asked me something and apparently I answered in a fashion that prompted her to plate food on my plate.  A couple of sausages and she is going to bring me some bread, butter, and jam.  We also have silver – silverware, so we are a well off family.

In contrast to my current life, this morning breakfast seems very relaxed and at ease.  A feeling of that I will finish when I am ready and then do what I need to do this morning, but not after I have spent time with my family and ate a breakfast with them.  It's a really nice memory.

The dining room is very light in color and the morning sunlight enhances that glow.  The walls must be a yellowy color and the wall paper is a light blue, white, and yellow strip with more flowers dispersed throughout the pattern, but it is very understated and has a very peaceful and warm feeling to it.  I feel like this family has a very warm and peaceful feeling to it until my older brother walks into the room.  He is so uptight.  He is so pretentious and irritating.  We obviously do not get along very well.  I try to ignore him o keep the morning peaceful.

He says something to me and I reply.  For some reason conversation between him and I put the entire room on edge.  Even the servants seem uncomfortable.  One of my sisters, she also has dark hair, sitting across from me with a load of curls squirms a bit uncomfortable in her chair and make a slight face.  Johann is standing behind her and that is why my attention is focused in that direction.  She is also dressed in a taffeta day dress with a white collar, but her dress is a plum color, which enhances her skin tone and hair color.  He is saying something else to me, and I have not yet responded and I am seeing her making faces and mouthing something in warning to me.  I glance over at two other sisters dressed in grey and another in green both doing the same weird facial expressions of concern and dismay.

I made some kind of casual reply as I proceeded to cut a chunk off of the sausage link that was on my plate.  There is a feeling of relief in the air.  Apparently, I said something that avoided a major argument.  I continued to put butter on my bread and Johann proceeded to stand about in his officious manner and talk as if we all really wanted to hear what he was saying.  The sister in the purple dress could tell I was getting really tired of listening to Johann and she subtly shook her head at me when I glanced up in her direction.

One of the servants asked if Johann would like to have anything special for breakfast and he proceeded to decline that he had important matters to tend to and had to be on his way.  When the dark cloud had finally left the room, we all felt much better, but the sunshine in the room had passed and I wanted to go do something to clear my mind.  I was annoyed.

There is a feeling that I wish my parents were around.  I get the feeling they are both away on some important trip and Johann of course, always assumes that he is lord and master over all of us.  We all hate this.  And I wonder why my oldest sister puts up with it.  Wilhelmina is married.  Where is her husband?

Later on in the morning I find myself at a desk writing in a journal book and then writing some letters.  I need to get this done because I need to take a walk down to somewhere and check on something.  I get a flash of being outside during the Fall time of the year.  The leaves are starting to change in color, but it is still very pleasant outside and it is about noon.  The sun feels good and so does the fresh air.  There is someone at a building that I needed to check up on or talk to.  There is an impression of a large water wheel next to a strong stream that isn't really big enough to be a river, but too big to be called a stream.  The water is still flowing pretty good, which is unusual for this time of the year, but is fortunate for some reason.

I needed to talk with a man that is about forty or so years old with a slowly graying mustache and hair.  He is wearing what I would call working clothes.  His shirt is a blue color, and his vest and trousers are a dark blue and he us wearing a grey wool cap.  His eyes are blue and he has wrinkles on his face and hand from working in the sun and being outdoors a lot.  I like this man.  He is very genuine.  He treats me with respect even though I am much younger than him, but it doesn't feel like he is doing it completely out of mannerly conduct.  I think he thinks that I am a good person.  He'll share insights with me that he does not with Johann.  I don't always understand them, but I find it kind that he feels that he can trust me.  This is something normally that my father takes care of even though he could have someone else do it, but he is not here and I was asked to take on this responsibility while he was away.

The terrain in this area is very hilly and the dirt in front of this building with the water wheel is very packed hard due to many years of foot travel and wagons.  There are lots of tall trees around with brilliantly colored leaves.  I can hear a breeze coming up and causing the leaves to rustle and a few to fall to the ground in a swirling pattern.  The man has a handkerchief or rag hanging out of the back of his back pocket.  There is a barn like structure where wagons are brought into.  The doors are double and wide just like a barn, but this is not a ranch or a farm building.  It must be some kind of mill or sort due to the water wheel.

The man re-assures me of something and I tell him that my father will be back in a certain amount of time and will get check on things then.  I tell him if he has any problems just to send for me and I will come down right away.  The man thanks me, but assures me that all should go as it should.  I say my good-byes to him and proceed to go back up to the house.  The path up to the house is a trail and a series of steep stairways.  This is not the road up to our home, but an old footpath that we keep maintained.  The tall trees block out the noon sunlight and I am completely under the canopy of this wonderful hillside that leads up to my home.  It takes about fifteen minutes to climb this path and my father says that he likes to walk this path to keep his health up.  He has said something to the effect that when the day comes that he cannot walk the path down to the wheel house, that it will be time for him to die.  I also get the impression that my mother worries about it being too steep and dangerous, especially during the winter months.

Every spring my father walks down it to inspect it and has the ground keepers repair the steps and clear the path of debris.  Several of the household servants use it as a short cut up to the residence.  I even think that once one of the maids slipped and got hurt while walking on the path.

[Home] [About this site] [Rittmeister's memories] [Leutnant's Memories] [Lothar von R's memories] [Officer William Evans's Memories] [Friefrau von R's Memories] [Karl Allmenroder's memories] [Private Jamie Evans's Memories] [A lady's memories] [Techniques for Memories] [Are you empathic?] [Contact] [Visitors' Agreement]