Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Music is a fair and glorious gift from God. I am strongly persuaded that after theology there is no art than can be placed on a level with music; for besides theology, music is the only art capable of affording peace and joy of the heart. ~~ Martin Luther . . .and as you celebrate the gift of music, kind friend, remember that all good gifts come from our Father....just because He loves us so much. . .

It was the mid-seventies when I started preserving food. We lived on a five-acre plot in the country, so there was room for a large garden, and I had an abundance of things to can and freeze. There was a huge brush pile on the property that had been there a while, and there were elderberry bushes growing all around it. I watched those elderberries bloom and become berries, gorgeous purple-black berries that looked scrumptious. My mom, nor anyone close to me, had ever canned any juice or jelly from it. The library offered books on preserving wild berries, and I made some jelly that year, and many years since then. In the early years of our country, pioneers and Indians referred to elderberries as 'the medicine chest of the common people.' The tiny berries contain more vitamin C than any other herbaceous plant except for black currants and rose hips. The jelly is eaten anytime one of us has a cold or flu-like symptoms. Last week, Hub visited his brother out in the country, and c...

Can something old be made new again? The morning had been long and the sweaty auctioneer struggled to sell all his merchandise before the few remaining people left at the auction site packed their cars and left. A box of miscellaneous items sat on the table. No one would bid. The auctioneer added another box. No bids. He added another box, one that I had peeked in and saw some patchwork. I bid $1. No one else bid, so I loaded the three boxes in my car, filling the back for $1. I unloaded the boxes in the garage and started going through them, my favorite part of auctions, searching for treasure that someone packed away with a lifetime. The contents included old bedspreads and polyester clothing which were immediately transferred to the garbage can nearby. One box had some board games, dog-eared books with the covers missing, empty cassette tape containers. One box had a ragged crib quilt. The little quilt was ragged around the edges, loved to death by a child long ago. A big grease...

br /> Today is the 100Th anniversary of the birth of Bill Monroe, the indisputable Father of Bluegrass. Monroe started early, playing the mandolin with his family group at a very young age. After his parents died young, he lived and played with his 'Uncle Pen'. He formed and played in several groups during his young adulthood, but it wasn't until 1945 that he began to get attention. In 1945, Bill Monroe added a young banjo picker, Earl Scruggs, to his band, the Blue Grass boys. Other members of that original group were Lester Flatt, Chubby Wise, and Howard Watts. Together, they produced a new genre of music known as bluegrass. The good folks at SiriusXM 61 Bluegrass , where my radio is permanently parked, have proclaimed 2011 the year of Bill Monroe. They will be playing Monroe's music all day today in honor of his birthday. I'm loving it!

Purple escaped when no one was looking leeching from springtime irises, leaving them faded and spent. Purple vanished, riding the wind until it was captured by lowly Ironweed sentinels keeping watch by the side of the road. Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Luke 12:27

I have been going to the Zip City auction for about twenty years. It is one of my favorite places. Auction owner Ron Shaw offers an antique farm tool. Wayne Hemen holds a stone jug for sale; yes, it is empty. You never know what will be there. Might be..... Water fountains Tonka Trucks Old quilts and old trucks to keep them in Always, always, some iron skillets. Miscellaneous 'wanna-be' treasures. The Wagner roaster came home with me. I have been a treasure hunter since I first read Treasure Island. Don't see any signs of ever stopping.