Close Out 2010

Christmas in Brundidge 2010

Thanksgiving in Montgomery 2010

Sweet Rememberings~

Thinking about how times, relationships and expectations of loved ones have  changed:

Remembering Grandma Mobley- She never cooked my favorite food.  In fact I don't recall having a favorite food.  It was just good to have food. 

She didn't have a basket or box with toys set aside or bought for me and I don't even recall having a writing tablet or a special book she had for me or the other grandchildren to use at her house.

As a child I don't remember getting a letter or a love note from Grandma.  She never asked me what I wanted "Santa" to bring me and never went to a school function or special program I was in as a child.  I can't recall her ever giving me money  or sending me a birthday card.

So how is it that I have nothing but loving fond memories of my Grandma Mobley?

We never had a list of things she had to do in order to measure up as my grandma? She was who she was and we loved her ...just as she loved and accepted us, each one treasured  in her heart...none more than another.  She was my Grandma in a time when people accepted each other without trying to reshape and remake to suit us. She [or Grandpa] didn't have to do anything to be loved and treasured by me and all my cousins.

They didn't "measure up"...They didn't have to.  What a treasure!

Have a Berry Merry~and a Wonderful 2011

Yes, I am jumping past Christmastime quickly but a realistic assesment of the next week or so tells me to put aside blogging for a few weeks.

This is the time  I had intended to pause and have this past two years of my two blogs  compiled into a book for sharing with loved ones..I hope it will have some meaning and value for them perhaps they  will treasure it in some small way.

Christmastime is a mixed bag~it's a time of Joy and Giving, of sharing and Loving, and also a time of sadness~ remembering those loved ones not with us now and others so far away at Christmastime; however  I am reminded of how often & how long I have asked My Lord to "keep my heart tender" ~so there!!

[To be continued in 2011]

Over the River and Through the Woods~

Leaving Troy, Alabama the early morning sunrise in the rear view mirror was amazing.  It was exciting getting on the road. [ Yeah, I know-it doesn't take much to excite us.] I love the skyline as we drive through or past the larger cities and the  southern landscape which shows more evergreen and some color changes to the bare dark,dark silhouette of the trees as we move northward..no color, no leaves but it has it's own distinctive wintry beauty.  I always remember this from our years in western Kentucky in the 1970's.  God made all kinds of beauty didn't He?

We knew to expect almost any kind of change in the weather and we got it..the changes! We had one whole day of non stop snowing, drove to church with snow and ice  and I think I was the only person  saying "It's so beautiful, it's all so beautiful anyway.". It was. For the first time in quite a while I had not only my heaviest [NOT] coat, scarves but two or three pairs of GLOVES..most winters I cannot even find my gloves.

One night the temperature got down to 5 degrees.Yes!  The next morning the neighbors dogs were the only ones with the sense to get out there and run and romp and play in all that wonderful white stuff.  Yes they were..I stood watching out the window while no one was yet awake..the dogs were like little children lightheartedly running about. 

When you are in western Kentucky..it's worth the effort to locate and spend a little time in Grand Rivers/look for Pattie's 1880's Settlement..Omy, the lights, the shops the restaurants are festive enough even in July but in December it's like a miniature Disney setting..

After a bit more real winter and heading home [south] I couldn't resist the ooooooohs and ahhhhhs as we went past the rock walls in Tennessee and North Alabama with remnants of the ice  left hanging..don't laugh at me.  You must remember I am a girl who grew up in the deep south [ South Georgia ] we saw one day of 4 inches of snow in 1957 or was it 1958!

The ice on our windshield, outside mirrors and radio antenna didn't hang on too long and by the time we got home to Brundidge, Alabama [ an hour south of Montgomery] there was still time for MY plumber to repair the frozen and broken water line in the back yard before bedtime.  It was not a surprise because a neighbor had called while we were still hours away to give us a 'heads up' concerning the discovery.

Today it's another world-cool yes- but now the "plumber" has turned "carpenter" and is finishing the shed next to the shop-the roof will get done today.  How blessed I am to have the plumber, the carpenter, and many other professionals living under the same roof. What a man!!