Just some roaring wind!

So the last 3 days (Monday through Wednesday), we've had warm, sunny days for the most part, with a 30% chance of PM storms. Monday and Tuesday we had a small rain storm come through my area around 3:00, drop rain for about 10 minutes and then it was fine the rest of the day. I thought yesterday (April 8) would be similar, but 3 PM passed with nothing although the weather folks said there was a line over Kentucky and West Virginia that might hold together and affect us between 6 and 9 PM.

after the wind came through, it was pretty

Skip, after the wind came through

 

I had been outside in the back, walking a little while Andrew was unloading his mowers, etc., and then I decided around 6:45 to read on the patio.

Well, it was dark back to the north, but when I checked the radar the storms were up near the Virginia border counties so maybe 45 minutes to an hour away. Future radar even looked as if the storms would fall apart before arriving here.

But then maybe 10 minutes later, the wind just started roaring so I turned around to look and the trees were all blowing so I went inside thinking a tree might bonk me on the head as I sat reading. I decided to gather a few things in case a tree fell on my bathroom and bedroom***, and I went to flip a light switch in the small hall bathroom which has no window, therefore it was dim, and realized the power was out. The wind had only roared at this point for about 5 minutes, and, thankfully, only lasted about 5 or 10 minutes more.

It was just wind ahead of thunderstorms which we never got. No rain, no hail, no thunder at my house (though some folks got those things). The actual storms fell apart before they arrived in Graham, but the wind ahead of it was scary.

Our neighbor had a tree fall through his building (shed), and we drove about a mile down the road and saw other trees/limbs down from the straight-line winds.

Andrew ate a peanut butter, honey, and corn chip sandwich while wearing a headlamp last night. We also talked to Sophie who thought Andrew wearing a headlamp was funny (I texted her a picture.)

The flash from my phone makes it look lighter than it was in there.


Later we read on the couch with headlamps, and tried to go to bed early (10:00) since we'd been going to bed later lately. Well, that was fun. No fan, and then Andrew's gurgling stomach kept me awake!  Yes, not his snoring (which he doesn't really do much), but his stomach. Haha.

I went to the couch where I fell asleep finally only to wake up to him coming through the house to make his lunch box at 1:30 in the morning.  The power came on at 1 (I slept through it), but he was awake and decided since he was awake to make his lunch box.

Argh!

We had joked about waking up to eat ice cream when the power came on, but I was not up for that at 1:00 this morning. But apparently Andrew was fine with peeling oranges and washing grapes. Who even does that? 

😆

He text me this morning around 9:30 asking if the ice cream was all right!

*** ever since Hurricane Michael came through a couple years ago and took down a big tree on the border of our yard and hit (barely, but still) my next-door neighbor's yard, I've been even more scared of high winds toppling a tree. I love trees, and want to keep them around, but I hate what damage they can do when wind or ice topple them.

Scavenger Hunts

Although this is possibly true of Southern living ....

I am rather partial to beautiful flowering things so I'm glad I'm here where we can do Outdoor Scavenger Hunts and find leaves and flowers and grass in mid-March.  I say that because I posted this on Facebook,

and two of my friends in Massachusetts mentioned their lack of leaves* or grass. Too bad. Later that day I was social-distancing in Graham near the library and children's museum when I decided to enjoy the pretty day by doing the Outdoor Scavenger Hunt! It was fun!


* our trees weren't all that leafy just yet (it was March 18th when I did my hunt), but don't you have bushes with leaves in the Northeast? And you can see from my pictures, that I actually found leaves leftover from last year


Here are pictures I posted on Facebook.

Leaves that look different; I did more than 5 because I wanted to include all these little cuties!

something that is heavy

flowers - real and fake

something that smells good

something(s) that need the sun to live

something you like to play with; well, Sophie does;
it's the mouse outside the library

something brown; something smaller than my thumb; a stick bigger than my hand;
something to recycle; something that begins with M (mulch)

Back at my house:

a flat rock and one with spots

ten blades of grass (until a couple blew away) and something very light

For my Massachusetts and other friends who don't have flowers or leaves or grass at this time of year, I also posted this Indoor Scavenger Hunt.  I may do this one sometime.

And then .. THEN yesterday, I found all these which I wanted to save here!  I should get going on that last one because it's already April 1, and Spring will be over before we know it!  (Though, truthfully, I could do that one later in the year if need be.)

On the benefits of the bubonic plague

A few weeks ago on NCIS: LA, a doctor was captured who wanted to reinfect much of the world with small pox! (Thank goodness agents Hanna and Callen got her in time!) Her thinking?  The planet was overcrowded and needed to be saved. By getting rid of horrible diseases which killed lots of people, we were tampering with nature and allowing the earth to get too crowded.  It took thousands of years to reach a billion people and then within only a few short years (comparatively), another billion, then another and another. Now I am wondering how many others out there think like this doctor and believe diseases should be free to run rampant and kill people in order to save the planet. Maybe wars and infanticide can be good things so the earth doesn't get too crowded. Um, I don't think so, but perhaps some do.

Later in May as I was reading From Plato to NATO the author, David Gress, states that in "1348, bubonic plague arrived from south Asia, killing around a third of the population in its first visitation, and thereafter returning every generation  or so to cull those who had been born since the last epidemic.  ...The plague solved the food crises, and for survivors, reversed the balance of economic power between peasants and landlords. Until the famine that began in 1315, the population of western Europe had been growing probably somewhat more rapidly than the food supply. Europe around 1300 was full of landless laborers willing to work for a pittance.  Peasants were increasingly tenants, not owners, and at the mercy of landlords who could evict them and find more docile tenants without difficulty.

The plague changed this.  Surviving peasants found themselves fewer and more in demand. Landlords suffered losses when their tenants died and, unable to meet their obligations, were willing to pay more to have their land tilled and rents paid. Peasants who received better conditions were more often able to buy their land."  (pg. 234-235)

So there ya go again.  Plagues' benefits.  I guess, too, there are wars and abortion and infanticide (humanity's ways) and earthquakes, tsunamis and famines (nature's way) of controlling the population.  And homosexuals. They can't have children. Well, they can, thanks to technology.  Same with infertile couples. What do you think? Are we tampering too much with nature by finding cures for diseases and allowing infertile couples to conceive whether it be by IVF or some other means?

If only we could find a way to harness those hurricanes and stop those shifting plates underground ... or maybe not.

Thoughts?

I wonder if Earth would think differently than we do.

What's land got to do with it?

The importance of land is a recurring theme in God Is Red by Vine Deloria, Jr.  You would have thought the name of the book would have given me a clue and it did in a way, but I thought more in broader terms like Mother Earth rather than specific parcels of land. Yet, what is Mother Earth made of than pieces of land and lots of water? 

I recall times when I've been irritated how people have fought for land.  Palestinians and Israelis.  That conflict readily comes to mind as both sides seek to keep what they say is theirs. The Israelis wanting their old homeland despite the fact they'd been driven from it centuries ago. And Palestinians who had been living there until Zionists drove them out.

Frustrated at the conflict, I remember "why are people fighting over dirt?!" coming out of my mouth.

Yes, really.

I've honestly been conflicted, too, because it seems in the history of the world "to the victor goes the spoils" is how it works. So if you fight and win it, you keep it.  I wasn't sure if Zionists fighting for Israel and their ability thus far to keep it, meant it "should" be theirs. Just as Mecca now belongs to Muslims and the United States belongs to former Europeans for the most part***.

But after reading this book, I think I understand better.  Vine Deloria speaks of lands having sacredness and certain properties so that even our lack of religious unity can be blamed on the land in which we reside!

With the movement of Christianity to the North American continent, and the subsequent freedom to develop religious expressions offered by the land, the possibility of constituting a Christian culture or unity vanished. Christianity shattered on the shores of this continent, producing hundreds of sects in the same manner that the tribes continually subdivided in an effort to relate to the rhythms of the land.  It is probably in the nature of this continent that divisiveness is one of its greatest characteristics, a virtually uncontrollable freedom of the spirit. (pg. 143)

See? We cannot help ourselves from splitting!  I wonder if this helps explain our political divisiveness as well ...

Tribal religions place more importance on land and sacred mountains or rivers.  Judaism is a tribal religion and you read often in the Bible about setting up stones to remember places.  Also the importance of land is a strong theme throughout the Tanakh.  So I understand why Jews desire their land (or what they consider their God-given land.) It also better explains why Muslims want Mecca and Medina only for themselves. It's not for those outside the "tribe" (i.e., faith).   Deloria explained that there were Native religious ceremonies done privately and not open to outsiders. This may explain why certain mosques do not welcome nonMuslims as well as why certain Mormon religious experiences are not open for nonMormons. 

Membership has its privileges.

What are your thoughts on land and sacred spaces? Do you think certain lands have certain properties that transfer to the quality of life? Do we have freedoms in the United States because the land oozes freedom?


*** This book shows how Natives view the land that we Europeans took. I now wonder how the Canaanites felt about the land before the children of Israel came through. And how the pre-Islamic Arabs thought of Mecca and other parts of Arabia. Are lands made for all or for whoever can keep them?  Are lands something to be possessed and, er, hoarded?

Tribal Religions v. Christianity on Views of Death

"If the Christian religion is a victory over death, why do Western peoples who have had the benefits of the Christian religion for two thousand years fear death?"

I'm currently reading God Is Red by Vine Deloria, Jr.  You might recall I read another of his books last year so I put this one on my Amazon Wishlist and received it for Christmas.  This "Native View of Religion" presents quite a few challenges for me especially since the author contrasts tribal religions mostly with Christianity, the predominant religion of the white man in the Americas.  On many issues he makes great points. I've read some of them to Andrew and we've agreed how sadly truthful those things are.

Yet I was reading this chapter on death and wanted to discuss a few things because I wasn't sure I agreed with his conclusions about Christian and/or Western beliefs on death. 


Deloria cites the work of Oscar Cullman who came to the conclusion that "death, in the Christian context, was a feared foe. ... an event to be avoided at all costs, because it meant the cessation of identity."

Cullman's book deals with the Greek and Christian ideas of immortality of the soul (Greek) and resurrection of the dead (Christian).  This he says explains why

"death was a welcome visitor for Socrates but a dreaded and tormenting experience for Jesus." Socrates was glad to be free from his body in which the Greeks  thought their souls were trapped.  So death was like getting out of prison apparently.  Yet for the Christian, death meant the body was no more. Thus death is much more traumatic, right? 


Deloria claims "a majority of tribal religions simply assume some form of personal survival beyond the grave. As Chief Seattle remarked, death is merely a changing of worlds."

"For the tribal people, death in a sense fulfills their destiny, for as their bodies become dust once again they contribute to the ongoing life cycle of creation.  For Christians, the estrangement from nature, their religion's central theme, makes this most natural of conclusions fraught with danger. Believing that they are saved and interpreting this salvation as accumulating material possessions, Western people cannot accept death except as a form of punishment by God. ... Death is feared and rarely understood. People somehow want to see the death of their loved one as part of God's plan (i.e., God needed Elvis to sing in heaven)."

Several things about this:

1. I believe similarly to Chief Seattle. How often have I heard "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" - a quote from Paul's letter to the Corinthians?  This is what I believe! This is what is quoted at Christian funerals all the time in order to give comfort to the families who are missing their loved ones' presence here. Yet thinking of them with the Lord is comforting. Or it is for me anyway.

2.  He mentions this "estrangement from nature" that we have several times in his book. I'm guessing he thinks we hate nature because we have chosen to cut down trees for houses and clear lands for shopping malls and dig and drill under the earth for oil and coal and natural gas. I suppose "progress" is actually a subjective term and for many living life simply - off the land - as our ancestors did is the better option.  Or maybe he has seen the truly bad things: the pollution from dumping chemicals in water sources, the depleted uranium from bombs contaminating soil, the slaughter of animals on the Plains.  Regardless, I don't know that this is Christianity's central theme!  What do you think?

3.  I've never been taught or felt salvation interpreted means that I'm supposed to accumulate possessions although I can see why Deloria observing us with all our stuff might feel this is true!  By contrast Jesus teaches us to give to the poor and often speaks of getting rid of things.  (Yes, I realize there is a disconnect between what Jesus taught and what Christians actually decide to do.)

4. I do tend to view the death of someone as part of God's plan although the Elvis example is taking it a bit too far. OK, I may have joked that way before, but .. maybe Deloria is too??  I don't believe God takes people to heaven because He needs a good laugh or great entertainment.

I could go on and say more, but I'm more curious what your thoughts are on this topic. Do you fear death? If so, why? If not, WHY?  Do you think Deloria has correctly assessed Christianity and/or the Western view of death?  We speak of someone "passing" rather than "dying" for instance.

By the way, why do you think death was a "tormenting experience" for Jesus (if you believe this)?

What does your religion or belief system teach about death?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of it.

River Pic, Father's Day, Mike to Camp, Book Talk

Samer shared this on Facebook a few days ago when he was walking by the Main River in Frankfurt. 


How was your weekend?  Father's Day was yesterday and I got together with my parents, siblings and their families. Of course we all had to love on Zach and Michael. Speaking of Michael, he is going to camp this week.  He went last year for the first time and absolutely loved it!  A whole week of spending time with his friends and having fun and learning about Jesus and buying Sour Punch candy at the canteen! What's not to love about that? He is incredibly excited and has been looking forward to it for weeks!

Have you read any good books lately? Any bad ones? Done any traveling? Watched any thrilling movies? I am making progress on my Christmas/Valentines/birthday books ever since I quit going to the library. Of the 18 books, I've only got 2 left to read!  Yes, two!  I did buy 3 more books earlier this month when I was ordering something on Amazon for a friend.  I've read one of those.  As I read one book, I often get suggestions for more from either the author's text or footnotes. (Thus Custer Died for Your Sins from my last post.) It's a never-ending cycle!

Maybe I can refrain from buying more books and after finishing these, I'll revisit the local library as there are several books I've made note of to get.  Can you believe only a few years ago, I would read 98% fiction? Now it seems the opposite. Why have I changed thus?

OK, enough Monday morning ramblings. Have a great week!

May Milestones

So this month marks a couple of milestones I wanted to mention briefly. First of all, ten years have passed since we moved to this house!  My how they've flown. Sunday morning I took my camera and shot these Scenes from Home.  I can't get enough of God's creation sometimes.  They are like beautiful surprises He hides along the way for me to discover! 

Secondly, a year ago this month I was well on my way to reading through an English translation of the Quran for the first time.  I even posted notes about it as you likely know already. 

I've successful resisted the pull of the local library.  We all know how those books jump off shelves into my arms and I can hardly go there without bringing home a stack.  Recognizing this problem, I decided to exercise some willpower and avoid the library completely so I can read through my stacks of books.  I tend to focus on library books when I have them since they must be returned within 3 weeks.  So these have been neglected until now!

Since making this No Library Declaration, I have read three of the books received since Valentine's Day. And two of them had around 400 pages so ...  *pats myself on the back*  ;)

This morning I started another big book that has captured my attention within the first 15 pages! It's Journey into America which a friend so kindly sent for my birthday!  Akbar Ahmed travels through America with his team of mostly Americans (some nonMuslims) to discover attitudes towards Muslims and experiences of Muslims.  I remember seeing this in a bookstore and thinking how I'd like this kind of book.  Hopefully there will be lots of interesting things to note.  Already I was reminded that an Arab/Muslim country - Morocco - was the first country to recognize the United States' declaration of independence in 1777!

In keeping with the Word theme which has seemed to permeate my life this month (thanks to God or simply patterns my brain is hardwired to notice..take your pick), I read this this morning and wanted to jot it down. 

The Word made flesh. It's the key to the entirety of our faith. While some would assume that, like many other religions, our belief is centered on a holy book, the Bible itself speaks otherwise. Rather than a long litany of divine commands, we recognize the Old Testament as an elaborate, intricate buildup to - and the New Testament as a celebration of - the person of Jesus Christ.  Taken as a whole, the written words point to the Word.

pg. 25 "The Word Is Alive" by Erin Gieschen, In Touch; June 2011

There is a fascinating illustration of this given in the article that I might share later.

Hope all is well with you!  Does May mark any milestones for you?  Got anything you want to share? Any interesting books you are reading or have recently read? Was anyone raptured besides Amber?

How Much "Otherness" Can You Handle?

I finished reading the book on the Greeks the other day and last night was looking through the 60+ pieces of art included in the picture section.  Three times the author makes mention of the Greeks' disgust with physical deformity and how the statues wouldn't show, say, an Amazon who cut off her right breast in order to wield her sword with more proficiency because they didn't really want to picture an abnormality.  Even a man playing the pipes would be of the servant class since "well-born Greeks avoided any physical distortion, and pipe playing, because it distorted the cheeks, could not be taken up by citizens."




For what it's worth: "the lyre was their instrument."

I was kind of surprised to read this.

Not sure it's exactly related, but that coupled with the niqab talk going around - thanks to France - and a video I saw earlier today,  got me to thinking about "otherness" and how much of it we will allow to touch and maybe even influence our lives.

I think some people are much more tolerant than others, but maybe even those who have seemingly high degrees of tolerance have their limits. 

It might be someone with a different culture or religion.  Someone of a different race.  I remember a friend married to a Greek man told me some of her inlaws believed blue-eyed people were evil.  Maybe you dislike people of other genders. Or those of different sexual orientations. Maybe you don't like those who speak another language than you? Those who can't speak your language without a thick accent?   It could be any number of things.  Perhaps you are Catholic and greatly dislike Protestants. Or a Sunni who despises Alawaites or Druze. Or a Republican who has no time for someone on the opposite side of the aisle. 

In reality we could divide ourselves all day, couldn't we?


In my own case, I think it's funny to think about my past. I grew up in an almost all-white, all-Protestant school and church.  Even then I found people from other parts of the country so interesting. Since they were still white Protestants, I'd detect their different accents and culture.  So fun. I've always been fascinated by foreigners, but my area is not that diverse so my mingling with them wasn't an everyday occurrence.  I still recall my time at the community college. I had black classmates for almost the first time ... and found many of them quite fun. In fact my best friend for a time was a young black man who grew up completely differently than I although we lived in the same small county! We'd sit together at breaks and talk about our backgrounds.  I remember asking him why black people named their children such funny names.  Yes, I'm brazen like that sometimes, but we had that kind of friendship.  And I've always been curious about names so why not ask?  :)

Then most of you know my interest in Syria and by default other Arabs and Muslims and Middle Easterners and that all started with God bringing Samer into my life.  He and I were talking about this just recently because we are still often amazed at how two people of such vastly different backgrounds became dear friends.  On paper you never think of folks like us having enough in common to form a lasting friendship. A passing acquaintance...no problem.  I have those all the time with a wide variety of people.  But a true friendship? 

It's something for which I thank God.

So how much otherness can you handle?  Are you like the Greeks?  Do you draw the line at physical deformities

(and do those include such things as puffy cheeks from someone playing pipes?) Have you had experiences with "other" people that you found surprising in good or bad ways?  Learned any valuable lessons? Made any dear friends? Share your experiences if you'd like.

Taboos, Superstitions, The Evil Eye: "To Dismiss or Not to Dismiss?" - That is the Question!

"Step on a crack and break your momma's back."

How many of us chanted this little jingle growing up as we deliberately stepped so as to not touch any parts of our feet on the offending cracks in sidewalks?  

Admit it...you did this too, right?

My friends and I would do it for fun, for a few minutes, and then it was back to normal walking and who really cares if we stepped on or over cracks in the sidewalk because we did not believe the ways we stepped would affect our mothers' backs in any way.

Not that this book, African Notebook, is huge or anything, but the author, Albert Schweitzer, devoted a full chapter to Taboos and Magic.  As I was reading it last night, thoughts of American Bedu's recent post concerning "Does the Evil Eye Really Exist" came to mind. I know Saudi Arabia is very cultural and sometimes the culture gets mixed up with the national religion and people fault Islam for things that are not in Islam.  They are simply cultural traditions predating Muhammad's religion.  Evil eye talk exists in even predominantly Catholic Latin American countries from what I understand.

And we all know of superstitions such as the bad luck that follows breaking a mirror, spilling salt, seeing a black cat, walking under a ladder or the number 13.  By contrast a rabbit's foot and four leaf clovers are supposed to bring good luck.


You may recall from the Old Testament that the Israelites used the Ark of the Covenant as somewhat of a good luck charm believing if they took it into battle, they were assured of victory over their foes.

How much stock do you put into such things?  Are they nonsensical or do they have some supernatural value that people who only believe what they see should note? Is there some element of the supernatural out there that we should take seriously?

In this book, Schweitzer notes how strongly taboos influenced the people of (now) Gabon, Africa.  Some were more general: men whose wives were pregnant could not drive nails, eat meat that had begun to smell (despite most of the times their eating meat that was "already almost putrid"), touch a chameleon, step over a procession of driver ants, fill a hole with dirt and have anything to do with a corpse.  

Some taboos were very specific and "at the birth of a child the special taboos affecting it as an individual [were] usually disclosed by the father."  When the child was old enough to learn to count to five, he was taught his particular taboos.  For one woman it was that she never sweep with a broom. Thus she always used her hands for this task. For a young man, it was that he never be hit on his right shoulder.  Yet another was prohibited from eating plantains or even from the same pot where plantains were cooked immediately before. (When he accidentally ate fish that had plantain remains in the pot, he immediately got a cramp and died after a few hours!)

Can you imagine having to sweep with your hands due to a taboo?

When people died, the villagers often looked for reasons. Instead of attributing death to natural causes, they were quick to consult a witchdoctor who would inform them of the person who had practiced magic or called down a curse on the one who died.  In one sad recollection, a French-American observer, du Chaillu, watched with horror and helplessness as the village gathered round and executed quick "justice" over three women who supposedly had caused a young man's untimely death.  One of the victims' brothers was forced to participate in this beheading and hacking up of the bodies and throwing them into the river to avoid suspicion.  It was not allowed to show sympathy for those accused...even if you knew they were innocent and the one being killed was a close family member!   This distraught young man "compelled not only to join in witnessing the murder of his sister, but to shout with the mob in the chorus of rage, [was full of] frightful suffering.  [du Chaillu] endeavored to comfort him. He spoke to him of God, Who loathes all cruelty.  'Oh, Chally,' said the poor African, 'when you go back to your country, tell the people there to send people to teach us poor ignorant beings the words that come from the mouth of God.'"  (pg. 77)

Apparently some of the natives did believe God freed them from these taboos.  I especially enjoyed this recollection:

Nyingone's taboo was that she "must never see her reflection either in glass or metal or water."  This was especially hard when trying to cross streams by tree trunks because when she happened to see her reflection in the water, she fainted, fell in the water and nearly drowned.  (She'd been rescued from drowning several times.)

In despair over what she had already suffered from this taboo, she came to Monsieur Lavignotte.  "This taboo," she said, "is a dreadful force. I can't help being afraid of it.  But I know too that God, Whom you know and preach, is stronger than Satan, in whom we have hitherto believed.  So with your help I hope to get rid of my taboo.  When you have prayed with me, I shall fearlessly turn round the mirror I hold in my hand and look at myself in it." 

After the prayer, she had courage to do as she had said.  She looked in the glass for a long time glowing with happiness because nothing happened.  When at last she raised her eyes, she said to Monsieur Lavignotte, "And to think I never knew how beautiful I am ...'"  (pg.62)

The truth will set you free!

Maybe I'm wrong, but I tend to believe that Jesus would have appreciated the faith it took for this lady to overcome this strong cultural superstition.


Twins were often considered halves of the same whole.  If they were allowed to live, mothers had to treat them exactly the same, give them the exact same amount of food, dress them alike and even twins were forced to marry at the same time.  Often when one twin died, the other hid because tradition held that the other half (since s/he was not a whole person) needed to die as well.


What do you think concerning this post?   Do you take evil eyes, superstitions, taboos, magic seriously? Why or why not?  Do you believe your holy book supports your position or is it more cultural for you?  Did any of the stories above interest you?  Does the story about the young man dying after eating out of a pot with plantains prove to you that some spiritual force is behind these taboos?  What did you think of Nyingone's declaration that God is stronger than Satan when she wanted to be free of her taboo? Other thoughts or impressions?

Want to read more tidbits from this book?  Check out this post with more interesting cultural observations from African Notebook.

Christmas Snow!

Yes, I know it's December 26, but this snow started last night so technically it is a Christmas Snow, right? It was perfect really!  We had places we needed to go yesterday and Southerners aren't known for their getting-around-in-the-snow capabilities because we get much much less than our Northern and Midwestern counterparts. So, it worked out fabulously that yesterday was mostly clear and then it started snowing late in the day when all our festivities were over.  As I said on Facebook it was like icing on the proverbial cake!  Today we woke up to an absolutely gorgeous view. Lovely fluffy snow making the trees so beautiful!  Andrew and I enjoyed a fun walk this afternoon in the neighborhood. We tossed snowballs back and forth as we walked and then got back home and shook crape myrtle branches over our heads so it was like a mild blizzard!  (OK, "we" nothing. I did that.)   Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.  (click on each picture for a better view)

Usually this crape myrtle is green with nice pink blooms in July,
but now it seems I have a cotton tree!

My brother in law, Will, Bagel and Michael - so cute!

Are they not adorable?

Bagel modeling the latest from the Sponge Bob line

Michael and Will made a big snowman

Andrew made this one and brought it home in the back of his truck!

Happy Winter!  :)

Fall pictures because it's still technically autumn even though we are experiencing record-breaking cold now!

I know this time of year people are ready for snowy pictures and Christmas scenes.  Well, too bad. I still have pictures from last month when we visited Damascus.

The Virginia one.

A whole month has already come and gone. Here are a few pictures from that wonderful weekend. (click to enlarge)

Who is that coming 'round yonder bend?

Oh,'tis the girl in black with the weird hat.

Although the creeper trail was devoid of most foliage, we did see some colorful leaves around downtown Damascus and nearby Abingdon.

Nice trees and a pretty house

Fiery leaves in downtown Damascus

I love how the locals used stones from the river on their houses

I love this tree although it looks like someone took a bite out of it

A gorgeous tree at Martha Washington Inn, Abingdon

Do you see that goofy girl trying to hide?  She's a mess!

Happy end of fall!  :-)

A week ago today ...

We went to Lover's Leap ...  (click pictures to see them bigger...unless seeing me bigger might scare ya - you've been warned)

Somewhere in Virginia

Didn't leap!

"Bewared" of the bears

Trust me, curly-haired, white girls are not good to eat -  so there!

.... 'cause I sho' nuff didn't want to be food for feed them suckers!

Saw Mabry Mill

Ya better rest up while you can...

closed for the season.

Nosed around the grounds

Happy to not be bear food

and took some pics.

Claimed my rock at Rocky Knob

"I'll stand on this rock so we can remember where this picture was taken."

Andrew claimed one too!

This rock put the "rocky" in Rocky Knob

Climbed a tree

I love this tree!

And Showoff there climbed higher!

Way to go, Andrew!

All of this is why our projected three-and-one-half-hours trip to Damascus - remember Damascus? -

House near downtown Damascus,Virginia built in 1889

TOOK SEVEN!

Yep, you read that right.  


Pictures from November 13, 2010