Dinner Is Ready

You've worked hard all day either at school, in the yard, or your place of employment. You're driving home wondering what's for dinner. Arriving home you get out of the car exhausted. The walk to the front door takes forever. Opening the door your senses come alive with the smells and aromas of the dinner you will soon eat. The one who prepared that dinner fixes your plate and you sit down to eat. You feel loved and the food taste so good. When I came home from school my mother would be in the kitchen preparing dinner. Everything was from scratch. She made homemade rolls, homemade pies, and assorted cakes that all melted in your mouth. I miss eating my mother's meals. When Brent came home from a hard day at work I too had dinner ready. When I go to a friends house to eat dinner, it is always a pleasure and a treat for my senses.

All of these thoughts came to me last Tuesday when I came in from mowing 5 acres of grass. Abigail had prepared a delicious dinner. Broiled Flatiron Steak, Roasted Potatoes, Broccoli and a Green Tossed Salad. I teased Abigail and ask if she was going to fix my plate. She did and I sat down to eat it. The steak was moist and tender, the potatoes nicely browned with the flavor of garlic, rosemary and olive oil. The broccoli was cooked al dente and the salad was crisp.

Turkeys

These young turkeys crossed my driveway on July 21st. There were about 15 of them peeping while following their mother into the woods. I was slowly driving up the driveway trying to get close enough to get a good shot. I've tried several times to upload a longer video clip, but it takes hours and hours. I decided to upload the shorter clip. You can clearly see one of the turkeys, but if you look closely you'll see one or two more going into the woods.

Every day I wonder what I will see crossing the field in the front. I've seen deer, turkeys, foxes, rabbits and a variety of birds. One day I watched a hawk on the ground for nearly 10 minutes. He walked around looking at the ground. Sometimes he would would stand and do nothing. I'm used to them swooping down to catch their prey, not standing or walking around.

I feel blessed to see God's creatures in my front yard. There is joy every time I see one of His creatures. When I see a "nature moment" I feel so special. Nature moments for me have been seeing a butterfly lay an egg, birds feeding their young, seeing a hawk catch it's prey, seeing two spiders mate, watching a king snake eat another snake, and having a hummingbird feed on the feeder while my hand was next to it

Watch Where You Mow

Brent always told me to watch where I mow. Well, I got to close to this rug. Big mistake. Thankfully I had finished mowing the lawn. I was going to use the hydraulic jack to jack the mower. It started to rain so I stopped. I will get back out there after the rain and the ground drys up. I'll have to cut it out. It's a good thing I looked under the deck. Now I know why the mower is not cutting properly. The tip on one of the blades has a cut in it. No telling what I hit to make such a big cut.

No need getting all upset about it. The grass is cut. The rain from Gustav will soon pass.

Sorghum Hill

Sorghum Hill played the Frog Hollow Bluegrass Festival in Grenada, Mississippi on Friday, August 29th and Saturday, August 30th, 2008. Here they are on Friday evening getting a little practice before the show. Andrea singing, Larry on bass, Phil on guitar, Sam on banjo, and Jessie on fiddle.

Larry and Candice and myself pulled our campers to Frog Hollow Campground. The band members spent the night in our campers. Camping at bluegrass festival is the best way to enjoy what's happening.

Swallowtail Butterfly

I hope you enjoy this brief video of the Swallowtail butterfly. I think that it is an Eastern Swallowtail (genus: Papilio) although, I'm not sure about it.

Buzz To The Rescue

Buzz Lightyear? No. Buzz to the Rescue, not the book. My friend, Buzz. Right man for the right job. I wanted to hook my camper up because I have an appointment in the morning for new tires and to have my bearings packed with grease. One of the pins used to hold the sway bar in place was missing. I made my third trip into town today (ouch) to find a pin. I bought one and brought it home. Samuel said it would not work. I ask him to try. Of course, it did not work. It was already 7:30 pm and it was getting dark. I called Buzz and told him the problem I was having. He said to come on over and he would see what he could do. A machinist by trade, Buzz can make anything from metal. We went to his shop and after a couple of trys he made me another pin. I wish I would have had my camera. It was pretty cool to watch.

When I got home Samuel was curious as to how we would hook up the camper. I showed him both pins. He looked at them and said, "He made that?".

Thank you Buzz for helping me out. Thank you Joan for loaning me your husband! I appreciate it.

How To Eat A Moon Pie In One Bite

My son-in-law, Mike, entertains us with his, "Eating a Moon Pie in one bite". The things you'll do while on a road trip!

Road Trip Humor

June 15, 2008 Trip to Tybee Island, Georgia

Mike, Anna and Abigail were sitting in the backseat. They got tired of all the stuff in the backseat and threw it up front with Samuel. Nothing like a little humor on a long roadtrip.

The Tennessee Wildflowers and The Kudzu Band

Tonight Abigail and I went to see The Tennessee Wildflowers and The Kudzu Band. The Wildflowers are Dianna Ford, and sisters, Cathy Walls and Jeannie Gentry. The Kudzu Band was Royal Morehead, Craig Yarbrough and Jeannie Gentry. They played at the Square Beans Coffee Shop on the square in Collierville. It was our first time to see them play as a group.

For me the drive to Collierville was full of memories. Brent and I and the kids used to drive to Collierville on Friday nights for the weekly bluegrass pickin'. We would stay on the square on Friday nights until very late. I'd bring a cooler with drinks and snacks for the kids. I always brought pillows, blankets and a chase lounge in case Abigail needed a nap. The kids would always ask, "When are we going home?" My answer was always the same, "When Daddy gets finished pickin'. " Brent at one time or another had picked, sang or was in a band with with all those who were in the band tonight.

We arrived at the coffee shop before the group started playing. We greeted the group and other MABA friends. Abigail and I decided to treat ourselves. She ordered a Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie which was very good. We shared a Chocolate Truffle! Yummy! I ordered coffee which was very smooth.

How would I describe the music of The Tennessee Wildflowers? It's a mix of gospel, rock 'n roll Elvis, bluegrass, country, old timey and Appalachian music with a bluesy jazz sound. I enjoyed their choice of songs, many of which are not performed by local bands. Dianna does a great job of singing harmony with Jeannie and Cathy. Cathy has a powerful voice. Someone heard Cathy singing at the Williston Festival and ask me if that girl singing was from Nashville.

My friend, Betty Westmoreland, is so good about listening to a band, while writing down their song set and reviewing the bands she listens to. Betty I cheated and asked Dianna for their song set. I feel sure they sang most of the songs on the list, but with a few changes.

Here is a list of the songs: Set 1 - Love Me Darlin' Just Tonight, All I Ever Loved Was You, Blues Stay Away From Me, Can't Even Get The Blues, Coal Mining Man, Meet By The Moonlight, I'm blue/I'm Lonesome, Sea Of Regret, Six Hours On The Cross, One More River To Cross, Today I Started Loving You Again, Old Chunk Of Coal, Don't Be Cruel, Tear My Stillhouse Down, The Sun Will Never Set Again. Set 2 - Can't You Hear Me Callin', Daddy Sing Bass, Working On A Building, Crazy Heart, Southern Moon, I Saw Your Face In The Moon, Little Darlin', West Virginia, Dark As The Night, Sing, Sing, Sing, Barbed Wire And Roses, If That's The Way You Feel, Standing In The Need Of Prayer, No One Will Ever Know, Heartaches And Teardrops, Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross. Optional songs - I'll Never Grow Tired Of You, Precious Lord, Take My Hand, You Don't Have To Move That Mountain, Where The Soul Of Man Never Dies, Say Won't You Be Mine.




















Left to right: Mike "Buzz" Busby, Craig Yarbrough, Royal Morehead, Jeannie Gentry, Cathy Walls, Dianna Ford, and Steve Craig. Mike, Royal Jeannie and Dianna were the original members of Brent's band Loosahatchie Grass. Steve is also a former member of Loosahatchie Grass. Randal Morton, not shown, was also an original member of Loosahatchie Grass.

I was happy to see so many of my friends at the coffee shop.

Not someone you'd expect to see, some of us caught a glimpse of actor, Steven Seagal who lives in the Memphis area, peeking in the window. Someone said he was taking a look at Royal's guitar.

Another local favorite band, "Deep Hollow" was playing at Otherlands tonight. I couldn't see both of them and had to pick. I'll see you guys down the road at another show.












I'll add more video clips to this post. They take a long time to upload, even with DSL. That's why I only take 10-25 second video clips.

Mother's Dinner, August 19, 2008

Thought I'd post of couple of photos from the Mother's Dinner for our homeschooling group. It's late so I'm going to go to bed. I'll write a little something tomorrow evening.

I put this video here so you will have an idea of how loud it can be during dinner time!

Feeling Nostalgic

My brother-in-law, Ronnie, cut my back field this past weekend. I decided to take a walk back there to just look at it. It was quite and just a field, but it sure felt good. The first photo is of the edge of the yard before you begin walking down the path to the back field. There really is a path there!

It's a lovely afternoon here in Tennessee. There's a slight breeze and the temperature is about 78 degrees. There seems to be a time in August every year when we have a cool spell. Autumn is right around the corner. The trees are letting go of some of their green, I hear the harsh stridor caw of the crows, and the song of the katydids. All this pleases my senses. I've enjoyed this time of year for as long as I can remember. Nostalgia is probably a good word to describe how I feel right now. Momma would take us to downtown Memphis to go shopping for school clothes. School would start soon and the trees would turn lovely colors.
This photo is of the old oak tree where my father built us a tree house, or I should say a tree floor. It was just a floor with no sides and no top. During the summer I would climb up there to read a Nancy Drew mystery, the latest Book Mobile or Weekly Reader book. Sometimes I would climb higher up the tree, or just lay back and daydream. On Sundays, my girlfriend, Ramona, and I would climb up there and eat Sunday dinner. It was a real get away! The old oak has some dead places in it, but I certainly remember it with fondness.


Why would I take a photo of bushes? This is the spot where my mother had her clothes line. It was a good 50 yards from the house. She washed clothes and hung them to dry in this spot everyday for years. No matter the time of year, I can remember her hanging clothes out to dry. Of course, when my sister and I were tall enough we had to start hanging clothes to dry. It wasn't much fun when the weather was cold. In those days before the wonderful fabrics they have now, we also had to iron our clothes. A chore I never seemed to mind.


Almost to the back field. It only takes a couple of minutes to walk from the house to the field. But, when you're remembering your childhood, it takes a lot longer. There is a small, very small hill just before you enter into the field. It's as if you were walking into a sunken bedroom or den in your home. Growing up, it was more dense with bushes than it is now.






Here it is. The back field, maybe 4 acres or so. For several years this whole field was full of Dewberries. Ronnie told me there were some trees in this field that were at least 3 inches around on the trunk. The rest of the property is woods. There is a creek in the back where we would swim. At Thanksgiving my cousins, John, Dan and Quinn would go hunting back there.

I'm so thankful that I've ended up at the old homestead. I feel at home. How would I have felt living in the home Brent and I had bought together? I don't know. I do know that Brent supported me in my decision to move home to care for Daddy. Brent knew this house needed a lot of work and was willing to work to make it our home. Now, it's up to me to finish what we started. I feel blessed to have my sister and brother-in-law next door.

Family Photo

Family photo taken, Friday June 20, 2008, by my daughter, Anna. We had such a wonderful time. I could have stayed on that veranda another month. It was so relaxing!

Dying and Death

The photo above was taken at my desk at hospice.

On Friday, August 01, 2008 Sally Karioth, RN, ARNP, Ph.D., was one of several speakers for a conference, Keeping Sacred Promises:Delivering Excellence in Antemortem Care sponsored by Methodist Healthcare, Memphis, Tennessee. Before speaking at the conference she graciously accepted a request to speak to our hospice group.

She has a long list of degrees, certifications, and professional memberships. You may visit the following web page: http://nursing.fsu.edu/Faculty_Staff/Profiles/Faculty/Karioth.html
She is well qualified to speak about dying and death. She travels more than 500,000 miles a year sharing what she knows about dying, death and grieving. She's a great speaker who is animated, full of warmth and tells funny stories. She cares deeply about those who are grief stricken, especially for parents who have lost a child.

After she spoke she asked if there were any questions. I wanted to know what happened in our culture that changed our perspective of death and dying from talking about it and accepting it to never talking about death and not accepting it. Her answer was penicillin.

My thoughts are that we saw doctors could cure people of their disease. People were dying less from common causes. We thought they could cure anything. Families used to be involved with their loved ones who were sick. When they died, wakes were held in the parlor. When my father was nine years old, in 1926, his maternal grandfather had died. The wake was held in my great grandparents parlor. There is a little book that I love. The title is something like Cornbread and Vinegar Pie. It is the 1890 diary of a woman, Mrs. Jackson, who lived in Arkansas. One of her entries is about how she made a face cover for a deceased neighbor. Another of my favorite books, a gift from my Cousin Sharon, is "Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey", Lillian Schlissel, @1982 Schocken Books, New York. The book covers the journeys from the East to the West from 1841 - 1867. Death on the trail was a common everyday experience. Children died from falling out of the wagons, being trampled by oxen, and a variety of disease. Mothers died of childbirth and many family members on the trail drowned while crossing rivers. Having a photograph of their deceased loved one was considered a precious treasure. They would have to bury their loved one on the trail and move on hoping to make it to Oregon or California before winter set in.

Mourning in the 1800's was a tradition that I'm glad is gone. Imagine the Civil War in this country from 1861 - 1865. A Widow would be in morning anywhere between 12-18 months. She was dressed in black, of a dead hue , not a lively blue black. The Widow's veil is made out of black crepe and was worn very long. The mourning time for parents was one year. A veil was worn, but not over the face as the Widow's veil. Mouring for a sibling, stepparents, or grandparents was a year, but the mourning period could be shorter. The Mourning Period for an aunt or uncle was 3 months. Wives and husbands wear mourning clothes for the relatives of their spouses. Mourning for children would be nine months. It was common for men and women to marry soon after the death of their spouse. Just think about the woman during the Civil War whose husband, young son or father died in battle, perhaps her father-in-law and an uncle died during war also. How long did she have to mourn? Homes were decorated with black crape, clocks stopped at the time of the person's death, photographs were covered with black crape or turned towards the wall. Visit the following web page for more info: http://mdah.state.ms.us/admin/news/manship_mourn.html

Then we move to a time when families were not told anything and not allowed to see their loved ones who were in the hospital. Death became to clean and antiseptic. Let's also remember that women had delivered babies for thousands of years without the help of doctors. When my siblings and I were born, my mother was whisked away, given "twilight" and the next thing my Daddy knew he and Momma were parents! My maternal grandmother died of colon cancer when I was 12 years old. All I knew was that my grandmother was sick and Momma would stop by her house every morning after working 3rd shift at the hospital as a nurses aid. I was shocked when she died.

In the 1970's hospice was introduced in the United States. We were encouraged to let our loved ones die at home with dignity, surrounded by friends and family and things that were familiar. Home births were also coming into fashion.

Why are we so afraid of death? It happens to all of us. We are a society who lives for the moment and ignores the future. We don't want people to know we're sick as if there were shame in it. Have you been told that you are dying? Are you keeping it a secret? Why? You are depriving yourself and your family a special time together. It's a chance to share "wouldas", "couldas", and "if only" moments can be avoided. There is a chance to make amends, to close out the business of life and enjoy the moments you have left. It is a great gift to leave for your family.

For me, the most important thing that Sally Karioth said to our group was to have "at least one exquisite moment everyday." When today is gone it is history. What history are you making today for your family to remember when you are gone?

Never Ending Projects

I will begin by saying, I am not a project kind of girl. I do not like to paint, pick wall colors, fabric swatches, screw in light bulbs and I especially do not like to hang window dressings of any kind. I'm content to keep things as they are and let things fall down around me. I'm very much like my father in this department. I sometimes wonder how he managed to build 3 houses. My sister, Grace, is another story. She is exactly like my mother when it comes to projects around the house. She is fabulous! Thank goodness she is willing to help me. We both want to restore this "old house" to its former glory. It is our homestead. On the day this photo was taken, July 30, 2008, we had shopped at Home Depot for all the things we needed for a couple of projects around the house. Before my mother died she had started turning the small bedroom into a library. I want to complete the library so that I have a place for all of my books. I would also like it to be a history/genealogy room. On the list of projects "to do list" is to finish the basement. I'll have to do a whole post on that one.

We started at one end of the store and walked to the other side picking up "stuff". I was so tired. I wanted to whine like a small child and beg to go home. I was exhausted.

Grace once said, "Together we make the perfect woman." We were sitting on the front porch taking a quick break from the care of our father. I took care of Daddy's physical needs 24 hours a day. Our family had moved in with him to take care of him. Daddy was in the bed 24/7. Grace on the other hand took care of me and my needs. She helped me out by washing dishes (before I got a dishwasher), doing laundry, buying groceries, sweeping, cleaning Daddy's room and so many other things. It was during this time we found out that my husband, Brent, had leukemia. We were both doing double duty. We did it together and I'm so thankful we get along. She and I each have a strengths and weaknesses and work together to make things go smoothly. I am blessed.

When Brent, the kids and I moved into Daddy's house, the house I grew up in, it was one project after another. It continues to be one project after another. I hope that in some way you will be encouraged as I share, "Projects Around The House" a seemingly never ending story. Together Grace and I will get this house ship shape.