Michele Bilyeu Creates With Heart and Hands: holi-days

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Jun 17, 2025

Land, Sea and Sky: There is Love

June 17, 1972

This year on June 17, 2022 my husband, Larry Bilyeu and I celebrate our 53rd Wedding Anniversary.

Larry growing up in the small town of Mehama, Oregon and myself in the small town of Douglas on Douglas Island, Alaska. Larry and I were married at the "Shrine of St. Therese"a tiny forested island, past Auke Bay, about 25 miles north of Juneau.

This beautiful little Shrine was originally built by visiting Jesuit priests who came to the Diocese of Juneau to serve in territorial Alaska.

They found such beauty and so great the need for their services that several stayed and with the help of volunteers they completely built the tiny shrine out of the local beach stones on this tiny bit of land now known as "Shrine Island".

The Shrine is lovely, inside and out.

When the tide is in, the entire island is surrounded by beautiful blue water, except for the narrow 'walking-only' causeway. We walked out from our wedding ceremony to the sight of eagles soaring above, whales spouting, and sea lions barking their congratulations. It was incredibly beautiful.

Now, there is this labyrinth walk etched in the sand where we once walked to the log cabin rectory on the mainland to sign our marriage certificate. And yes, we've been back and it's still lovely and weddings are still held there.

During our ceremony "The Wedding Song" by Peter, Paul, and Mary was sung and played on a folk guitar by a high school friend and at our reception a lot of Simon and Garfield and similar songs from that era.
Somehow those beautiful songs filled hearts and souls as they were after all, new to most back then!

And yes, I made my own wedding dress! And each of my bridesmaids made theirs from fabric I bought and sent each of them in three different states as I gathered best friends from High School and College and included my youngest cousin who was so happy to be a bridesmaid! Our dresses were all in different colors and were beautiful laces over satin, I even made my veil, covered my Bible with the same fabrics and carried a hand carved rose wood rosary.

Ah, the memories of a time, a place, the sounds, and the people. So many have passed on now, most of our guests, many of my own family even several who are younger than I am now. You never know what paths and causeways you may walk in your life time. Who you will love and who you will remember.

I have since lost both of my parents, a sister in law who was there, and my dearest uncle who died a few months after he attended our wedding. Uncle Bobby's two sons were teenagers and his 12 year old daughter was my Junior Bridesmaid.

Love and pride filled his face and his heart that day. His one and only chance to see her all grown up in a long bridesmaid dress. It was a glorious day and a memorable wedding. And that day, that date, has only grown with memories ever since that beautiful day 50 years ago.

I rejoice in the wonderful memories of so many from that day, just as I grieve the loss of those who have since passed on.

We met in college in 1969 as next door dorm mates and later shared acreage to each build our homes on and raise our children together. Terri and Greg's daughter Kelsy was only 12 when their family was in a car accident en route to the 1997 summer Jr. Olympics where Kelsy was a cross country runner expected to win top honors in her division. Terri and Kelsy didn't survive though Greg and their two teen sons did. It was an unbearable loss for all of us.

Kelsy and my daughter were born 6 months apart. I was with Terri the night before Kelsy's birth and we saw her almost every day of her life as our girls were almost inseparable. Our other two children were closely bonded as well. This devastating loss broke our hearts and changed our lives and those of Greg and their sons forever.

While it also changed the memories of June 17th from our 25th anniversary on, it didn't change the love we felt for all who have been parts of our lives for whatever time we had with them. We treasured this family and all of our many shared adventures and experiences.

And now, it's not even surprising to me, that on this same date years later on June 17, 2022 our dear friend, Daryl Stroschine had his final big send off into the land, sea and sky with a memorial service in the tiny community church of Mehama, Oregon

Larry and Daryl were best friends from Elementary School in Mehama, on through High School in Stayton, then off to separate colleges. Larry at Oregon State where we met and Daryl to Warner Pacific on a full athletic "wild and wonderful ride' of an adventure. Larry and Daryl would get together over the summers and as Larry's letters to me in Alaska can attest, he and Daryl got right back into their hiking, fishing and other adventures.

We continued to keep in touch through life's many challenges and Larry and Daryl never forgot phone calls on their shared birthday in November and in these many final years a daily phone call. They had the same deep love of nature, and the outdoors. They hiked, camped, hunted and fished together throughout their younger years with lots of swimming up the North Fork River, or visiting their favorite spot at Shelburg Falls.

We sheltered Daryl (and Doobie his tiny lap dog) during the Santiam Canyon Fires, along with our own Mehama Kids/grandkids/dog/cat and even chickens. It was a challenging time. The fires came within a 1/4 of a mile or less of their homes. Larry and I did all we could think of to keep spirits lifted and bodies well fed but the fear of losing not only their own homes in Mehama along with almost everything they owned was intense.

Daryl and I had deep talks over coffee about life, loss, and death. We shared a similar innate sense of natural spirituality, a love of the natural world, a love of arts and creativity, family and most of all love and pride in our grandchildren.

Daryl and Larry remembered decades of stories from their shared childhoods. What one had forgotten, the other remembered!

But in the end all was well, just like this rewritten, reused, and now rewritten with inclusions of Daryl's passing and connection to this anniversary post for Larry and I.

For in the end, the lovely and positive sounds, sights, and memories remain above all else and I am filled with gratitude for the good times and the lessons and treasures from even the saddest times.

Somethings never die. Beauty, art, music and love can fill up our our lives and our hearts forever.

Click below to hear this lovely song that was titled 'The Wedding Song' as it was often performed by "Peter, Paul and Mary" and this version by its writer/also solo performer on the folk group's own 25th anniversary.

Peter, Paul and Mary - Wedding Song "There is Love" (25th Anniversary Concert)

The same song that Larry and I had sung by a friend as he played on his quitar during our wedding 53 years ago during our Catholic Mass Wedding Service performed by a traveling Jesuit priest in this beautiful place, special time, and never ending symbol of the timelessness of memories.

The song is just as meaningful and beautiful as ever.
The songs of that era are all etched forever in my heart.

Our professional and recessional songs played on his guitar by Geoff Roger's of Juneau Alaska:

"Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" ( "A Time for Us")

Oh the power of music to touch the soul.

The beautiful chords and melodies that make up the songs of our lifetimes.

Michele Bilyeu Creates With Heart and Hands as she shares her imaginative, magical, and healing journey from Alaska to Oregon. Creating, designing, sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting, from my heart and with my hands.

Rest in peace Daryl.

We love you and will never forget you.

Obituary/ Tribute for

Daryl Stroschine

1949 - 2022

Paul Toews of KYAC, a public supported small community radio station) in Mill City Oregon

"Honors the Life of Daryl Stroschine:

(And yes, that's my husband Larry who ended up at last possible moment being a call in radio guest)

Replayed from original broadcasting using mixcloud.

https://m.mixcloud.com/mandomedic/paul-toews-honors-the-life-of-daryle-stroschine/

Paul Toews asks why do we sing and play music/Daryl Stroschine responds. by Ken Cartwright

Replayed from the original broadcast using

Mixcloud.

https://www.mixcloud.com/mandomedic/paul-toews-asks-why-do-we-sing-and-play-musicdaryl-stroschine-responds/

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

Eva Cassidy

Dec 21, 2024

Bringing Forth the Light

From ancient times, the winter season has been seen as part of balance of nature, a time where the balance point changes between the darkness and the light.

As with the falling of the leaves, it is a time for change and a natural time for letting go of all that which seems dark within one's life. A natural time for making choices to bring in the light, both to lessen the darkness within, and to open ourselves to life's full grace and beauty.

Throughout history, in all of the world's cultures, through belief systems, festivals, traditions and practices, the changes in the cycles of birth, death and rebirth have been intrinsically and symbolically honored. From this honoring comes our holidays, our 'holy days.'

When we walk between the veils of one season and the next, or one change or one emotion and the next., or even one 'holy day' and the next, we find ourselves always balancing our emotions, balancing the dark emotions, the very ones which create power and change, or the light emotions, the ones which bring in joy and abundance.

As with both the winter and the summer solstice, the balancing of the dark and the light is part of the deepest of the shadow work inside, as well as outside of ourselves. Everything and everyone is connected and our connection to nature is the deepest and truest example of this balancing and the deepest of needs for that connection.

Winter Solstice can vary because of place or time but it falls on December 21st or December 22nd and is the moment when the earth is at a point in its orbit where one hemisphere is most inclined away from the sun.

Solstice is of a Latin borrowing and means 'sun stand', referring to the appearance that the sun's noontime elevation stops in its progress. It is both the shortest day, and the longest night of the year. Many cultures the world over perform solstice ceremonies. At their root is the ancient fear that the failing light would never return unless humans intervened with some vigil or celebration.

The Winter Solstice has always been associated with the birth of a divine king in many different cultures, long before the rise of Christianity and the blessed birth of the holy infant, Jesus. Yet with all connections this same archetypal pattern is also seen in other belief systems around the world.

Since the Sun is considered to represent the male divinity in many pagan traditions, this time is celebrated as the return of the sun god where he is reborn of the goddess. Other cultures have similar beliefs and associations.Many cultures celebrate, or celebrated, a holiday near (within a few days) of the winter solstice--Yalda, Saturnalia, Christmas, Karachun, Hanukkah, Festivus, and Kwanzaa.

Yule and the burning of the yule log, is deeply rooted in this cycle for it is a ritual based upon our own facing of 'the dark night of our souls', and the springing forth of the sparks of hope, the Sacred Fire, the Light of the World, and that which was known in Celtic lore as Coel Coeth.

Christmas, like all holy or holi-days, is a special time of remembranceo f both the birth of thenew divining power and all of the symbols of home and family. It is a time when we can most acutely feel the greatest darkness or the brightest light, a time of giving, of receiving, or for some a time of loss of light, and a feeling of going into the dark.

This is a deep time and a sacred space, a time and a symbol for all of us about being lost, facing those emotions and feeling the sadness, the yearning, and the grief that such loss brings into our lives. It is a time of immense spiritual and energetic power. But because of this, it is also a time when emotions can quickly spark and even inflame and overpower us.

It is therefore a time, to face these deepest aspects of ourselves, known as our shadow self, for it only with the coming of the light that we can cast and therefore be aware of our own shadows and the role they play in our lives.

But with that darkness, comes the sacred birth of a new light and all of the wisdom, power, and knowledge that this sacred birth created and brought into our lives for transfiguration and rebirth.

It is the greatest, and most powerful time to face the truth of your own shadows, to ground yourself by connecting your own heartspace to the deepest and most sacred truths of the heart and joy of the world and unite into the balance point of all we know and feel in the deepest parts of our true selves as being holy.

Once that bell has rung and heard within our consciousness, we do not turn away from that which is in the shadows, but we acknowledge them as being a part of ourselves and turn ourselves into the light.

This wonderful New Moon in Capricorn, and the relationships to the placement of the other planets is a call to action and leadership in our own lives. It is not simply the call to revolution that so many seek to manifest outside of ourselves, but within. Change your own mind, change your own actions, and change your beliefs.

We do not get what we want in this lifetime, we get that which we believe. Change those beliefs and how you choose to emote and to manifest today, and change your life and be the leader in that life that you were meant to be.

We are all warriors of the spirit. Amazing women and amazing men who choose to manifest that which is light within themselves and not that which is the dark shadow self. Both are needed for the balance point but we have the power to choose and to manifest the powers in that side of ourselves which creates goodness and godliness while learning from that which creates empathy and understanding for others

Find that creative manifestation of this gateway, and walk with power and the inner truth of love, joy, and power through the gateway of wisdom and power.

We create our gifts of abundance, we manifest blessings and peace, and we enter into a new place of well-being and joy. Celebrate with the gifts of nature, the gifts of our hands, and the many blessings and gifts from our hearts.

Happiest of Holy Days from the light of my heart, and my home, to yours.

The December solstice takes place on December 21 northern hemisphere/December 22 southern

It marks the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest day (first day of winter) and Southern Hemisphere’s longest day (first day of summer).

Michele Savikko Bilyeu

Creates With Heart and Hands sharing an imaginative, magical,and healing journey from Alaska to Oregon and back again.

Creating, designing, sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting,

"from my heart and with my hands"

May 10, 2023

Mother's Day in History and Deed

Our American holiday known as Mother's Day is credited to Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, who never married and never had children.

But Anna Jarvis still had a fierce devotion to her own mother. She began a national campaign to establish a national Mother's Day, beginning first in her own church, and then moving outward into others.

She was inspired by her own mother saying "that it would be nice if someone created a memorial to mothers".

Three years after her mother died in 1905, she organized the first official Mother's Day service at a church where her mother had spent more than 20 years teaching Sunday school.

By 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. And in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

Today, over 100 years later, the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church is considered the official shrine to mothers around the world.

So, today as the shrine celebrates this anniversary, each mother will be given a white carnation...Jarvis's pick of the 'official' Mother's Day flower...her mother's favorite.

What is most interesting, is that while Anna Jarvis was passionately devoted to the idea of celebrating an official Mother's Day, she was also just as passionately against its commercialization!!

She detested store bought cards and believed that gifts should be individualized. She felt the era of the 'true' mother was rapidly disappearing and was adamant about the day as a celebration of the 19th century ideal.

She became well known for scathing letters in which she not only berated those who bought their cards but for whom the holiday simply had become an opportunity to sell cards, candy and flowers.

Before she died in 1948, she actually protested a Mother's Day celebration in New York and was arrested for disturbing the peace.

Like her own mother, Ann (a celebrated community activist) Anna Jarvis believed in her ideals and was willing to fight for them to the end!

💜Love you and miss you sweet mama 💜

Nell Grace Peltier Savikko
Sept.1, 1925
St.Martinville, Louisiana
Sept.8, 2013
Douglas Island, Alaska

We celebrated my Mother's Day 2019 with wine and chocolate and beautiful fresh garden flowers and lots and lots of lovely plant starts and seeds to grow more flowers next year and many more years to come and a darling handmade and little hand printed stepping stone!

Picked, harvested, created or thoughtfully bought with love 💜

The next year I made sure each family celebrated their own person Mother's Day with their own little families and not necessary to celebrate me as a mother or Larry as a father. They are all working full time as mothers and fathers with parenting and pet raising. I truly want their days to be their choices of being, doing, and celebrating. That makes me so happy for them.

So Mothers Day is now their day for each family's fun and of course Sunday doings and each family's own Mother's Day in all the forms that comes 💜

We can be mothers and grandmothers, aunties and foster moms, we can be mothers to beloved pets, friends' children who've lost their mom, we can remember our own mothers and grandmothers and aunties.

But most of all we can take good care of ourselves and love and nurture our hearts and our spirits in all ways 💜