Faith, Folklore, and Friends

We spent the weekend in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to attend a dance competition that our granddaughter's dance team was a part of.  Saturday's session ended about two in the afternoon.  It was great fun, but we had not eaten since early breakfast, so we were famished.  We went to Sticky Fingers for a late lunch/early dinner.  We had eaten at the Sticky Fingers in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but this was our first time here. The staff at Sticky Fingers believe in their food, and  present you with a hand towel instead of a napkin.  Good thinking. They had some tasty tropical drinks, and a few muddy ones. We had fried dill pickles as an appetizer. Yummy.  The barbecue ribs were sticky and delicious.  I can't say they were the best I've ever had, because I have been exposed to Big Bob Gibson's and several other famous barbecue places.  I was a little disappointed in the baked beans.  They were very bland, but ...

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ~John 3:16

It was late September, 2001, and we were bombarded with fear and disbelief and images of burning buildings falling to the ground. He was sitting there, watching it again, when the phone rang. The doctor, with a voice that indicated he had done this many times before, told him that the stomach ache he had been experiencing was actually fourth stage colon cancer that had metastasized to his liver. The doctor instructed my little brother to find an oncologist and set up a course of treatment. The doctor told him that there was little possibility for long-term survival. He was living in Tennessee, alone, having been recently divorced. There were relatives that lived nearly, but no one able to care for him, no one to help with the chemotherapy schedule or the meds or to talk to when it all became overwhelming. My sister, BG, is possibly the only living human who dreads cold weather worse than I do. She lived in North Alabama until she was financially able to move to Florida. In Se...

Image from Wikipedia Will Rogers, known as Oklahoma's Favorite Son, was an  American cowboy, actor, humorist, and vaudeville performer.  He was the much beloved political wit of the Progressive  Era, and is remembered best for his common sense, down- home social comments. I think the following comments from Will Rogers are timeless, and we would all benefit from remembering them. 1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco. 2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day. 3. There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works. 4. Never miss a good chance to shut up. 5. Always drink upstream from the herd. 6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. 7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back into your pocket. 8. There are three kinds of men: The ones who learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves. 9. Good judgm...

These photos of trees were made at various times, none of them recently. Just some old photos good enough to enjoy again. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9 Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. I Chronicles 16:33 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:3 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. Psalm 104:16-17 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. Ecclesiastes 2:5-6 Be not afraid, O wild animals, ...

It has been big news--the announcement that a new Harper Lee book, Go Set A Watchman , will be released this summer.  There has been quite a stir from people who think Ms. Lee is being taken advantage of.  I wasn't there, so I won't comment on that, but I have to admit that I'm looking forward to the book. I have read To Kill A Mockingbird several times, including the last time just a few weeks ago.  It never gets old, and I find new treasures every time I read it.  Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book: It’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you.   Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.  Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s...

We had a good night of making quilt blocks this week. Parsley wasn't able to come because of a meeting, but Sage, Rosemary,  Thyme, and I had a very productive and fun night. Every week we talk about different ways to use scrap blocks in quilts.  This quilt was planned around some fabulous batik fabric I found.  There is a batik scrap sewn across the middle of the block, with black and white scraps on both sides.  Then it is sashed with the same fabric, and it makes a good -looking quilt. It is backed with black and white polka-dot fabric. Cutting fabric into strings is a good way to use up some really ugly fabric.  I had some 3 Stooges fabric in black and white (what was I thinking?) that had been laying on the shelf a long time.  I cut it up to use in this quilt, and I think it looks just fine.  If you look closely, you might be able to see their heads. I don't throw any fabric away, not even the very ugly. This class is made poss...