On my way back

Hopefully I'm on my way back to blogging from time to time. In just a few hours we will officially welcome 2011! Hardly seems possible. But for now I just want to say Happy New Year to all!!! 2010 was not such a bad year except for the loss of my dear Stoney. Would you believe I'm still crying for that little fellow. Surely 2011 will bring healing. Our Christmas was very mininally this year. I just wanted to ignore it and for the most part I did. It went so well I'll probably do that next year. I bought only a few things mostly for the grands. The older kids got checks which I think they like much better than the presents I buy! Saves them a trip to return what I bought at any rate. Brian gave me 6 months of Ancestory.com and I've been spending lots of time on that. I'm such a slow learner that by the time I get it figured out, the 6 months will be over. Probably buy it myself after that.

The new year will find us for the most part healthy and looking forward to RVing in the spring. Praying that 2011 will be better than 2010 and knowing that God who saw us safely through 2010 will continue to keep us in His care.
Sharon

Another loss

I wish that I never had to say this but we've lost our precious little Stonewall. My heart is broken and I don't think it is ever going to heal. I know there are those who will think me foolish to feel this way but Stonewall was my baby. In many ways he was a child to me. Where I went he went; up the stairs, down the stairs, to the bathroom to the kitchen and as I played on the computer he was at my feet. In fact, he always wanted to sit with his butt on my foot; I think it was his security. Over the years I've come to just know he was there and expect it. I can't tell you how lonely this house is without him. And Harley is just as lost as can be. We really don't know how to help Harley. I with I could speak dog for him. Can you imagine having such a close friend most of your life and suddenly there is no one like you there at all. Stonewall's death seemed to come out of the blue to me. Only 9 years old, we expected to have him at least five more years. But--- looking back he was really slowing down. He didn't want to go up the steps to the bedroom unless he was sure I was staying up there. So he would stand with his feet on the bottom step and look up at me as if to say, "Are you staying up there because I'm not putting forth the effort to get up the steps if you're not." He had had skin lesions for years. They would come during the fall and spring really badly. Allergies were the basis but the vet said his immune system just couldn't keep those staph bugs at bay for some reason. Last year it was determined that he was hypothyroid and thyroid supplements were supposed to make him more able to fight off the staph. It did not. His skin was so bad and he would just cry with the itching. Sometimes he would wake me at night crying and rubbing his face on the floor. So, we took him to the vet to get something so that the lesions would at least get to a point so we could do a little RVing. The vet gave him Atopica which is cyclosporine. Cyclosporine is used in humans to suppress the immune system and prevent organ rejection in transplant patients. Powerful stuff and I wasn't comfortable with giving it to him. Sure enough, he started vomiting after about a week to 10 days on the medicine. Back to the vet. Stoney's liver enzymes were elevated so the vet stopped the medicine and he did a little better. The vet also had us bring him in to test for Cushings' Disease which sometimes causes lots of the same symptoms Stoney had including the elevated liver enzymes. He did not have Cushings' and so the doctor sent him home and started the Atopica again at half the dose along with Amoxicillin and Metronidazole. I wasn't comfortable with the metronidazole because I've seen Stoney not cope well with it before but the vet assured me it wasn't Stoney's problem. On Wednesay before the 4th of July, Stoney was too weak to go outside. So we took him to the vet again. Dr. F assured me he wasn't sick enough to die though he did have an enlarged heart and we were going to have to deal with heart failure as the years went on. I was so sure Stoney was going to bounce back that I didn't go see him on Thursday; he had been sick with similar symptoms before and bounced back after a couple of days at the vets. Called to see how he was and the office said to call back on Friday morning and Stoney could probably go home. I waited until Friday about 1PM to go see him expecting fully to take him home. The doctor was surprised when I showed him the yellowing in Stoney's eyes. Of course, he was not coming home. At 10:30PM the Dr. called and prepared me that Stonewall was very likely not to make it through the night. I prayed harder for that dog than I think I've ever prayed for anything before including my children and parents. I even asked God to take me instead of Stoney. He was just so innocent and depended on me to keep him safe I just didn't think I could stand it if he died. The next morning the Dr. said he was a little better and I went to see him. I sat all day with him on Saturday. He would vomit and I'd clean him up. Then he would settle down as near to me as he could get and sleep. His gums were nearly glowing they were so yellow. The next day, Sunday, July 4th he was alive and stable! We all thought he had weathered the storm but Dr. F said he couldn't say he was out of the woods yet. Stoney's chances at that point of 65 to 35 in our favor. We spent a long day with Stoney sitting on the front porch of the vet's office on that day. Stoney's face just looked better; more alert and interactive with us. Even Dr. F said he looked better but still had a way to go. We left Stoney that afternoon with high spirits that he would be home by Wednesday. After three days of worry and stress we were feeling confident that Stoney would be well soon. But the next morning as I was drying my hair to get dressed and go sit with Stoney, Pop came in crying and I knew from the look on his face that we had lost our precious, precious Stoney.

Though I started this post some time back it has taken me six week to be able to make this post. I've cried for Stoney everyday and I don't see that ending soon. It was so sudden and for me there is so much question as to the cause of his death, I just can't come to terms with it. I'm a person who needs to understand the "why" of a situation in order to accept it and the answer to that question is not for me to know---for sure. Pancreatitis was the diagnosis and for sure he had that but why. Was it the food we gave him, the medicine he was taking, or did he have a tumor? I'll never know for sure. One thing I do know that haunts me is that Stoney died in a kennel cage (which he HATED) and alone and for that I'll always feel guilty. He deserved better.

Rambling on.....

I guess I haven't posted in a long time because I just don't have anything to post about. Nothing that seems very interesting anyway. But I have been reading your posts with much interest and reading them fairly regularly. I've also been reading a lot of books. I discovered the "Miss Julia" series and I've read all of them. Such delightful stories I'm sure you would enjoy as well. And the "Thrush Green Series" which I learned about on Jan Karon's website. You know she wrote the "Mitford Series" which I loved. She says that if you liked visiting Mitford you would relish a visit to Thrush Green. And she was sooooo right!!! Reading one of those books is like going on vacation for me. This series is set in the Cotswold region of England which I had never heard of until I starting reading these books. I "googled" it one day and oh my word!!! It looks like heaven to me. Gentle rolling hills and lush green pastures everywhere. Now I want to visit the area but... don't think that's going to happen since we can't get the motorhome there!

I'm also working hard to learn to knit socks. I know, I know! I've got all that fabric in my sewing room and those three sewing machines to do everything I want but I just want to knit some socks. Let me tell you, that is not easy! Takes 4 or 5 needles at the same time. One day as I was fretting and fussing with all those needles Pop said, "You are going crazy with that!" He could be right.

Read a post tonight on one of the blogs I follow and it seems the blogger is selling off all the lovely things she has collected over a life time. Her husband is ill and it's time to make those type of decisions. Just couldn't help but have my heart break a little for her. We are all traveling that same road. I was thinking the other day that this is really the "season of good-byes" in life. While she is saying good-bye to dolls, hat boxes, linens and such, I'm saying good-bye to friends and family I've depended on all my life; good-bye to those precious little children I loved and cared for so faithfully. They are all grown up now with their own lives. Sure leaves a big hole in mine. Good-bye to careers, hopes, dreams, potential, and all the sureness that youth holds. Good-bye to my sense of smell, taste, hearing and sight. Thank you, God, that I can still smell, taste, hear and see but not nearly as well as in my youth! My mind is no where as sharp as it once was either though I think my tongue has not lost its edge. Good-bye to strength, stamnia and energy. Good-bye to day without pain and nights that I sleep all the way thorough the night without waking from aching shoulders, hands, knees or back. Good-bye to being able to walk the mall all day or chase small children from sun up to sun down. We worked a lifetime sure that we would be able to enjoy our retirement but didn't have a clue that by the time we had it made we would have had it!!! No wonder I'm spending so much time reading; that's about all I can do any more.

We did finally get the den painted and I did a good bit of cleaning out stored "stuff" in the process. I was struck by just how little we actually have. No collections, no really valuable "stuff" of any kind. So, I guess there will be no auction or garage sale to clear out all our stuff but man I sure do miss those things I've already said good-bye to.

Busy lately

I don't really like to post unless I have a photo to post as well but if I don't post without a photo I may not post again for a long, long time. It has been rather hectic at our house since I posted last. Pop has had some more problems with blood pressure and the stomach bug has gone through our family. Let's start with Pop. He has always been our DIY man so this time it was painting the den ceiling that was his job. It is a 24' X 24' room so it is a fairly large area to paint and being overhead painting made it worse. He was almost finished about three hours into the job when he got off the ladder to re-fill the paint tray. I was upstairs looking at something on YouTube David wanted to show me when we both heard a loud crash from downstairs. In about 3 seconds we heard Pop calling for help. I'm pretty sure he had a syncopial episode (fainting) this time and fell into the 5 gallon bucket of Kilz in the kitchen floor. There was probably about 3 gallons left in the bucket and most of that went on the floor. Could not get the man to let me call the Paramedics!!! Sometimes he is very difficult to live with. He got a big knot on his head and had bruised in places you wouldn't expect but he did survive and regained his strength in about two days. Still don't have the den ceiling finished but I can't really tell it. We just decided to cut one of his blood pressure medicines in half (I'm NOT recommending that to anyone!!!!! ) and he has done better since then. I must say I have some wonderful backdoor neighbors! I called and they both came right to the rescue. Helped with Pop and with the paint clean up. Called my oldest son and he was right here, too. Without them, that kitchen floor would still be ceiling white!

Then there is the GI bug that has gone through the family!!! It has gone through Joy's family with David having it last Friday. Poor fella. That was the last day of Spring Break and he was scheduled to go hiking with the Scouts. Missed his hiking trip and was a sick young man for a while. Then this past Monday the babysitter quit for a better job!!!! So, that meant I had Luke to keep until a Daycare could be found. Made it through Monday and Tuesday but by Wednesday I was in desparate need of relief. Joy found someone to keep him Wednesday morning and then she brought him by about 1PM. I had not felt well all day but later that evening just after his daddy picked up Luke the wretching started!!!! I had had diarrhea all day but I'm here to tell you that was as bad a GI bug as I've ever had. I got it from Luke!!! England had Typhoid Mary and we have Gut Rot Luke! Well I took one phenergan and was out for 24 hours! Then yesterday was a day in bed to recover my strength. So that brings you up to date with my very interestng life!! And I promise, if I can't do any better with a post than this in the future I just won't post at all.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! And stay well!
Sharon

Finally, something done!

We finally had some beautiful sunshine this weekend and what did I do? I stayed inside and sewed, of course! Finally put scissors to fabric and did something. Not the quilt piecing I want to do but I'm working up my courage for that. The bag or tote I made is called a Schlep Bag. A camping buddy who is also a Facebook friend posted a link to Sentimental Stitches where the pattern is found so I followed the link and printed out the pattern. If you'd like the pattern the website address is www.sentimentalstitches.com. I didn't make that a link so you'll have to copy and paste to get to the website. I'm just too lazy to do it right. I read a book called "The Road Less Traveled", by M. Scott Peck and he suggested that the original sin is laziness. I've come to think he might be on to something. Just think about it. All that fabric I've bought over the years is still sitting in the drawers and bins where it has been stored for years. Just too lazy to get it out. And worried I'll mess it up --- which is another problem to be overcome. When we think about grudges we carry, that's because we're just too lazy to forgive. Too lazy to work on that relationship, or discipline our children, or follow the rules... you get the idea. Mr. Peck may have something. So, gonna work on getting over - or maybe around, my laziness this week and see if I can make something else. Or at least cut some more fabric. Have a great week and don't forget to move your clock forward one hour next Saturday. Boy! Daylight savings came early this year!
Sharon

41 years ago today.....

It was a beautiful, sunny, warm March 2nd some 41 years ago today when Charlie and I married. Married at my parent's home, the crab apple tree was blooming and just gorgeous! Can you see in that girl's face that she thought she could handle anything that was to come. Had the world by the tail; in control. HA!!! And now 41 years later, it went so fast! We've raised three wonderful children; not perfect but still wonderful. And there are three grandchildren that we both adore. Life is good and God is good all the time.


Here we are with our parents all of whom are now gone to Glory! I miss them all but my Mother most of all. She would really love some time with our little Luke. She, like me, always had a special place in her heart for babies. I still have that place; just don't have the strength any more. I'm older now than any of our parents in this picture. Time is a thief; robs you of everything if left alone. And who can do anything about time. Still I'd love to have all these folks back.

We are celebrating quietly tonight. David is spending the night. His mother was to work late into the night but as things turned out that was not necessary. She called David to see if he wanted her to pick him up after Boy Scouts so he wouldn't have to spend the night. No, he said. Love it. He wants to spend the night with Nanee and PawPaw!

Today was a cold dreary day in Central Alabam but north of here was a good snow for today. It's still on the ground from what the News people reported. Looks beautiful but I prefer the warm, sunny, bright kind of day it was 41 years ago. Maybe tomorrow.
Till Later!!!
Sharon

Feeling better.....

Thank goodness, I'm finally feeling better. I believe I've slept my way to a cure for this crud. Haven't slept so much in all my life. I want to share with you a beautiful prayer that my friend Marilyn posted on Facebook last week. I've never seen the prayer and I'll bet some of you may not know of it either. I do believe it could be a life changing prayer for us all. Here it is

Jesus Prayer by Cardinal John Henry Newman(This prayer was recited daily after Communion by Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her Sisters of Charity.

Dear Jesus,

Help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go. Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus! Stay with me and then I will begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.

The light, O Jesus, will be all from you; none of it will be mine. It will be you, shining on others through me. Let me thus praise you in the way which you love best, by shining on those around me. Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for you.


In this season of Lent it may be a good to take up this prayer daily instead of giving up something. If we pray this and really mean it, life will never be the same! Thanks for sharing this with us Marilyn! Till later----
Sharon

Just a quick note to let you know I'm still here. I've been sick for the last week and just have not felt like doing anything! You may remember that I kept Luke the Friday we had the first of our snows here in Bama. Well that night he ran a 102 degree fever. The next morning his mother took him to the doctor. Ear infection and congestion in his chest. Poor baby was really sick for about 4 days and he is only 3 months old. Still has some congestion. Anyway, the following Tuesday I started with a scratchy throat and ears that felt stopped up. Let me just say it went downhill from there. I can not remember having a cold this bad in years! Nose is running and sneezing, cough with deep chest congestion----the works. I know you've heard of typhoid Mary; now I'm calling Luke "Coryza Luke". Coryza is the medical name for the common head cold. The last couple of days have been beautiful with temps in mid to upper 60s and sunshine! Would you believe our weather forecast is calling for snow flurries on Wednesday?!! No accumulation expected but with this rollercoaster temperature weather, we are going to all be sick. Will spring please hurry up and get here! Oh well, sniff sniff - awchoo!! I'm going to bed. Talk to you later!
Sharon

Reasons to live in Alabama.........

I received an interesting email the other day. 101 reasons to live in Alabama was the title and some of them were quite interesting. As I read through the list there were things listed that were true of other states as well as Alabama but if you take the list as a whole, well it is unusual to find them all in one state! I enjoyed it and hope you do as well. Here is the list

101 Dang Good Reasons to Live in Alabama

1. Cheese Grits
2. We're the reason God created Football.
3. World's last outpost of good manners (and fading fast I'm sorry to say)
4. Humidity eliminates need for expensive home sauna.
5. You can put a license tag on anything, drive it down the road, and no one will stop you.
6. Sweet Tea
7. Barbecue
8. Unlike some Yankee states, it only takes one snowflake to create a statewide holiday.
9. Supermarkets have cute names like Piggly Wiggly and Winn-Dixie.
10. No official limit on height of hair-do’s
11. Children address adults using Sir and Ma'am - (again, this is fading fast)
12. Police Officers greet you by name when pulling you over for a traffic violation.
13. Cultural trends take hold at a leisurely pace so everyone can get on board
14. Crocuses come up before the last Christmas decorations come down.
15. New York and California are not taken seriously
16. Gulf Beaches
17. Everyone knows how to tell a good story
18. Politics are more entertaining than in other states.
19. Auburn-Alabama Game
20. Front porches
21. Back porches
22. Corn on the Cob
23. We have our own way of tawkin'!
24. We have our own music
25. More family reunions than any other state
26. Best darn joke tellers in the world
27. Plenty of elbow room
28. Fried Pie
29. People still know how to dress up
30. At every get-together, there is always someone who can pick a guitar
31. Unlike hum-drum Yankee supper tables, there's no skimping on side dishes
32. Vintage automobiles are given the respect they deserve
33. Highest per capita cosmetic skills in the nation
34. More books and songs written about Alabama than any other state.
35. Azaleas
36. Fried Okra
37. Cornbread
38. Farmer's Markets
39. Flea Markets
40. Neighbors rarely come over empty-handed
41. If you break down on the side of the road, someone will always stop to help
42. Soda pop brands have more colorful names, like Nehi and Grapico
43. No part of a pig ever goes to waste
44. Church suppers on the ground
45. Citizens generally know the difference between right and wrong
46. Wild Blackberries
47. Bluebirds in the spring
48. Children use the quaint expressions "Please" and "Thank You"
49. Tent Revivals
50. River Rats
51. People don't generally pass through -- they come to stay
52. Small-talk skill level highest in nation
53. Handshakes still effective in business dealings
54. We might fight but we always make up
55. Fishing that borders on religious experience
56. Knowing someone will always hold the door for you
57. 365-day golfing season
58. Palm Trees, Dogwoods, Sycamores, Live Oaks, Fig Trees, Sweet Gums, Red Buds, and Magnolias
59. Never a shortage of advice on any subject
60. Traffic laws subject to individual interpretation
61. Central Air
62. Sweet Potato Pie
63. Misty mornings in the mountains
64. Wild Muscadines
65. Dirt Track Racing
66. Family Recipes
67. Sunsets in November
68. Red Tail Hawks
69. Homemade Ice Cream
70. Peach Cobbler
71. Snow flurries on Thanksgiving
72. Heat waves on Thanksgiving
73. No legal limit on quantity of exterior Christmas lights per household
74. There are still people who talk without cussing
75. For those who must cuss, a wide array of original expletives is available.
76. Backyard Gardens
77. Sawmill Gravy
78. Neighborhood block parties
79. Volunteer Fire Departments
80. Mayors who conveniently also sell insurance and used cars
81. Camellias blooming in February
82. 'Nanner Puddin'
83. Mee-maw's Coconut Cake
84. Pa-paw's Tomatoes
85. Folks who know your Mamma and Daddy and their Mammas and Daddies
86. Bluegrass Festivals
87. Going barefoot in March
88. Butterbeans
89. Fried Catfish
90. Certain homemade beverages (moonshine & homebrew)
91. Cockroach species guaranteed to scare the wits out of unsuspecting Yankees
92. High ratio of morning radio shows with hosts named Bubba
93. Siestas on summer afternoons
94. Strangers say hello on the street and instead of running in the opposite direction, you say hello back
95. Home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World: the infield at Talladega on race day
96. Misguided national news coverage of state keeps obnoxiously heavy, environmentally damaging tourist traffic to a minimum.
97. Children grow up bilingual, speaking both English and Southern.
98. State leads the way in culinary presentation of the peanut.
99. Leading number of women named Velma
100.Men named J.B., J.R., J.D., J.P., J.C., J.T., or J.W
101.You can leave Alabama, but you'll always come back home
What a great place to live~~~~

Hope you got a chuckle or two from this list! Seriously, no matter where I go, I'm always ready to get back home to Alabama!!! Have a great rest-of-the-week!

Sharon

Snow bound.....

We finally got our snow in Alabama!!! I think this is the third time this winter snow has been predicted; and the third time school and businesses have closed anitcipating snow and this time we got snow. Now those of you from New England and places like Montana and Wisconsin that REALLY know about snow, try to to pee in your pants laughing at us but here it is:


Not much, is it? But it is snow. Went to bed with the weatherman promising that snow would start falling around midnight. I stayed up till 12:30AM ---no snow. Got up at 3:30AM and looked out the window----no snow! I knew it wasn't going to snow. We've only had one really good snow here in my lifetime and that was back in '93. Joy brought the boys in for the day (since school was out and snow predicted) at about 7:00AM---no snow. Finally about 10AM the snow started to fall and it fell until 3PM and this is all we got.

As you can see the roads were not covered in snow. In fact, the temp stayed above or at 32degrees all day so no icing on the road either. In the picture above you can see the line of Bradford pear trees we have in our side yard. They are full of big buds for the spring. Hope they didn't get ruined again. Last year's blooms were ruined with a late freeze.

And look at my poor daffodils! See those just-about-to-bloom buds? Hope they don't get ruined either. Oh well, doesn't take much snow in Alabama to get everyone in a tizzy!

The changing of seasons here can be rather dramatic! My favorite season is...........Tornado season! And it's coming up. I love storms and tornados are just the best!!! I know I'm weird but to me nothing shows the power and majesty of God like a tornado or a good ole thunderstorm. All that rain makes for a good nap, too! Once several years ago, a tornado swept through our area while I was in Walmart. Good bet I'll be in Walmart when anything happens around here. I didn't even know a storm was expected until I saw the warning and weather maps on the TVs in the store. Decided I'd get myself home before it hit so I headed for the checkout line and got through as quickly as possible. When I headed out the door the sky in front of me was clear and bright but for some reason I did notice that I was the only one leaving the store. I didn't get 20 feet away from the door and the rain began to over take me from behind. The wind roared and rain pellted me so hard I though I was going to die. No joke, I seriously thought I was going to die!! And of course my car was parked wwwwaaaayyyy down at the very end of the row. Most people with normal intelligence would have probably turned around and gone back when the rain started but I figured I was wet anyway, may as well go on. I'm telling you I've never been in such a bad storm in my life. In fact, I later learned that the tornado had gone directly overhead. It didn't drop down on me but I was definitely in the wall cloud or something. Anyway, I was terrified. I had over $100 worth of groceries in the buggy but when I got to the car I just let it go and got in the car. I could hardly get the door open the wind was blowing so hard. Once inside the car, it began to rock like it was going to fly up in the air. Oh, my ---I just sat there trembling. And I was mad as heck, too!!!! I was mad -no the better way to describe it is "I was pissed"-- because I didn't see any angels or have the Lord tell me I was going to be OK. I really thought with that sort of experience I should see or hear something from the other side if I was really loved and accepted! But I didn't see or hear a thing except my heart pounding. I know you can't believe this but I was really MAD at God for not saying something!!!!! Finally, the storm passed and I got out soaked to the bone, still shaking so badly I had trouble opening the hatch on my Durango and I chased down that buggy of groceries! Got them loaded in the back of the car (slung them in really) and was able to drive off with all those folks standing under the Walmart cover still watching me. I wonder what they thought about that idiot in the storm. Oh well, who cares! I told several people at work about my experience and did get some comfort about not getting any messages from the Lord in the storm. Seems it just wasn't my time to go so I didn't need any message. Still I think there was a message in there somewhere. See, snow is just nowhere near that exciting.

Sharon

Just saying Hi

Just wanted to let you know I'm still here but haven't posted in so long because.......I just haven't had anything to post. It's been cold and dreary so I've stayed indoors and vegetated forever! I can't wait till spring. Since I've retired I've become worse than useless, I'm totally unnecessary!!!

Went with Joy to have pictures of Luke made and here are a couple. I've posted one of Joy when she was Luke's age. Do you think they look alike?

Joy at 3 months age.

Luke at 3 months of age

Look at those little fists on Luke in this last picture. He looks to me as if he is saying, "You wanna piece of me?"!!! He looks like a little bully but he has the best little disposition. I'm thinking he is going to be a happy, fun baby. I hope so anyway. I kept him for the first two weeks his mother went back to work but I just physically can't do that for him. I feel so badly that I can't but just don't have the physical stamina to do it. So.... we found a young girl with two children of her own who wants to keep him in her home. Not too far from Joy and keeps him out of daycare centers! So, last week her two year old ( a little girl) bite Luke on the face. Made a pretty nasty looking place for a couple of days but it didn't break the skin. Of course, I feel guilty about that ,too. If I'd kept him he would not have gotten bitten. So, now I pray every day that Natalee won't bite him again. He is so small to be bitten. See, I told you I didn't have anything to post about. So, I'm going for tonight. Talk to you later!

Sharon

Dreaming of Amish country

Just thinking today of the coming spring and summer and the RV trips we are planning. Nothing for sure except that we will probably like to go west. David will be at the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in June so we want to be close to him, if possible, when he is there. If anyone is familiar with the area and knows of a good RV park to recommend, I would very much appreciate it. I saw a reporter on TV reporting from Paradise, PA, the other night and it made me smile to think about our trip there this past summer. Paradise, Gap, Intercourse, Bird in Hand, all are townships in Lancaster county and this is the Amish areas of the state. I understand that there are more Amish in Ohio but this area in Pennsylvania is filled with beautiful Amish farmland. And since I haven't posted any of the pictures we took while there, I thought I'd post some today.


In the picture above you can see how the road have special "lanes" on each side for the horse and buggy travel of the Amish. The RV park where we stayed was on US 30 but these roads crisscross all through the county. And they don't get out to pick up the horse droppings either. The old order Amish will walk, use horse/buggy, bicycle or scooter but they do not own cars. If they need to travel a great distance they can rent a car and driver but they don't own a car of their own. Oh, the black car Amish will but they have to paint the entire car black including the chrome. Let me back up a little. I bought a book about the Amish way of life while I was there so that I could understand a little more about them. The book was written by a professor who had grown up Amish but had such a thirst for knowledge that he left the faith. He is rare; about 85% remain within the community. (Amish only send their children through the 8th grade and then only to Amish schools; knowledge or anything new is from the devil) The Amish in one "sect" as I say of the Anabaptist. The other two are the Brethren and Mennonite. Now Mennonites will own and drive cars. But they dress much like the Amish except they will have more colors in their wardrobe. The Mennonites will also have electricity and plumbing but the Amish do not. The Amish women (old sect) will wear only black or navy blue dresses with no buttons or zippers. Nothing of any ornamentation at all. They do not bring attention to themselves at all. At least that is the original purpose of Mr. Ammons interpretation of the Bible. Seems to me that the way they dress now brings LOTS of attention to them. The more I learned about the Amish, the less I admired them. You know I told you they don't believe in education but one day as we rode I saw a huge Butler-type building on the road side. The building was the "Amish Genetic Research Center". That didn't seem congruent to me with the disdain for education and as I read the book I bought I learned that the center was a cooperative venture between the Amish and the University of Michigan (I think). It seems that years of inbreeding ( because Amish marry only Amish) has produced some genetic alterations that need to be corrected thus the research center. But I digress. There is a strict division of labor and roles within the Amish family and the woman is responsible for the house as well as the vegetable garden and yard work. And let me tell you there were some beautiful yards and vegetable gardens. The women mow the grass with push mowers in bare feet. They don't wear shoes until it is cold. The men will help by plowing the garden spot but the women are to tend, pick and preserve the produce. In the above picture you can see that wash is hung outside to dry. I used this picture to show you how high in the air some of the clothes lines were hung. Wash day is Monday. We arrived on Sunday so when we rode through the farmland we saw wash hung out everywhere!! The whites on this line much be bedding and towels. As you move closer to the lower end of the line on the right you begin to see the black clothes but what I wanted to show is the height of the line. These things are hoisted high in the air by a pulley system! Don't you know those clothes smelled sweet!I told you that we arrived on Sunday. When we went for a ride on Monday we saw this barn burning. People were coming from everywhere! By bike, on foot, on push scooters. I learned later that a couple of little boys were trying to burn a mouse! And with no phone to call the Fire Department, the barn was a total loss. By Friday of that same week, the barn was re-bulit! When a loss such as this happens the whole community works to replace the loss. The community bears two-thirds of the cost as well as the labor of replacing the building. You can see some of them on the roof top. That is one thing the Amish have that I do admire: a strong sense of community! They all pull together and take care of each other.
The corn fields were planted right up to the road and all the rows were straight as could be. All the farms looked like they had been laid out on a drawing board from space. Amazing! Well, I've palavered enough. Just a few more pictures which you can enjoy for yourself. Till next time!

Lesson from Harley

It was really, really cold this morning so I didn't get up and go to church. Well, besides I've got a little bit of head cold and my ears feel funny (look funny, too). And if you must know, the girl at the drop-in-anytime place where I get my hair cut just scalped me on Wednesday so----gotta wait a week more to have enough hair for church! We slept in trying to stay warm so we had breakfast for lunch. Pancakes and sausage with coffee today. Which brings me to my topic of the day.

My dogs are both preachers and today it was Harley's turn to preach me a sermon --which I needed since I didn't hear the preacher's today. Here's what happened. Pop always gives the puppies part of his meal as a treat. That's one reason they are so fat but we just look at it as well loved! So, when Pop had eaten all he wanted, he chopped up a little remnant of pancake and a half piece of sausage in a plate for Harley. He called Harley, who was none too swift in leaving his spot in front of the heater; then put the plate in the floor for Harley. Now mind you this was just for Harley! Stoney was sitting by my chair waiting patiently for whatever I had to offer which had been very little up to this point. Harley goes over to his plate, takes a sniff and then..........walks around the table to see what Stoney had to eat!!! Not satisfied with the bounty he had been given, he wanted to make sure there wasn't something better on the other side of the table for Stoney. Can you see the lesson here? When I saw Harley do this, I immediately thought that I've done the same thing with my blessings many times. Why do we do that?

I've seen Harley actually lose a treat trying to make sure Stoney didn't have a better one. (Though this morning he didn't !) My Stoney is pretty quick and sometimes when Harley comes to investigate his treat, Stoney makes a bee-line for what Harley had. Often Stoney gets them both! Wonder how many blessings I've missed trying to make sure someone didn't have a better blessing than mine.

Till next time, here's hoping we can be grateful for all our blessings this year and not miss them by envying someone else's. Chances are, ours is just as good if not better as that other person's. Paricularly since God has prepared it especially for us just like Pop had prepared that treat just for Harley. What we need to do recognize it and be grateful.

Sharon

Baby It's Cold Outside!!!!!

By this time tomorrow evening, central Alabama could very possibly be under a blanket of snow and for sure the high temps will not be above freezing until next week. So-----Pop went down and chopped up that tree that caused his trip to the hospital a couple of weeks ago and I went for bread, milk and peanut butter. Now we are all set. That is, we would be set if my order of Miss Julia books had arrived today. Since they didn't, probably won't get them to read while snowed in. If we don't lose power I can blog!

Pop has an appointment with his dermatologist tomorrow so Sunday he SHAVED OFF HIS BEARD!!! I can't tell you how exciting that is to me. I married a clean shaved man that I thought was the cutest little somebody I'd ever seen but about 10 years ago he grew a full beard and mustache. I hate it! He has problems with skin cancer so he shaved it off so the dermatologist could check the skin under his beard. The doctor's office called today and the office will be closed tomorrow for the snow emergency. HaHaHaHa!! His appointment has been rescheduled for February 2. Oh, be still my heart! That means I get my clean shaved husband back for a little while longer. Just look how much better he looks.

You can see he is keeping that fire going and we will as long as it is this cold.
You can also see the paint spot beside the fire place where I'm trying to decide what color to paint the den. Sorry!

Just have to have one picture of Luke in this post. He is growing so fast and changing every day. Is this not darling?!!!!

Where ever you are stay warm and safe. This seems to be a really hard winter but maybe it will be a short one, too. Till later -- ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

I Messed Up!

I've been looking at some of your blogs and they are sooooo beautiful. So---- I tried to update mine. Big mistake! I don't know what I did but I'm going to stop while I'm only messed up and not competely ruined! For a while I had lost all the gadgets on the sidebars . Will try later to fix this.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I just love cookbooks! In fact, I have a small collection of them. The ones with stories about the recipe or the area of the country from which it comes are expecially fun and interesting to me. And church cookbooks are the best ever!!! Church ladies really know how to cook....no matter what part of the country they are in. On New Year's Day I baked a pineapple uside down cake using a recipe from a cookbook that was given to me in 1969. I was a new bride and the dear lady who gave it to me would one day become godmother to each of my children. She is in heaven now but I still think of her often. This cake recipe came from a Church of God cookbook and I've cooked this cake off and on all my married life. Can't tell you what year the cook book was written, or the name of the cookbook itself because the covers have long since been lost. It has nothing but desserts and some of them are fabulous. In fact, I used to make a red velvet cake with a recipe from this book and when Charlie worked at the prison he would take one of those red velvet cakes to work with him every year during the Christmas season. Rumor has it that there have actually been fights over the last piece of that cake! When Charlie saw that pineapple upside down cake on New Year's evening that was the biggest whoop I'd heard from him in a long time. So I thought you might like to have the recipe for your collection. Here goes:

3 tbsp. butter

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 can sliced pineapple

3 eggs

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. sifted flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

cherries for garnish

Melt butter in skillet with heatproof handle. Sprinkle in brown sugar. Drain pineapple; reserve 1/2 cup syrup. Arrange pineapple slices in skillet; place in warm oven. Beat eggs until thick and fluffy; gradually beat in sugar. Add reserved pineapple syrup and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder and salt; beat into egg mixture with spoon until smooth. Pour over pineapple. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minuites or until tests done. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

I never bother with the whipped cream and, as you can see, I cook it in an iron skillet. The pictures are so bad I'm ashamed to post them but going to anyway. Hope you enjoy it!

Sharon