Seventy-three

That's how many rings I counted in the stump of a red oak tree that was cut down yesterday between our yard and the yard next door.  It was right on the property line so we both claimed it.  I sure raked a bazillion leaves from that tree over the past ten years!  Three years ago, though, it got struck by lightning and if you were reading my blog then, you know that I thought it might have been those kids next door hacking at it.  That's what it looked like to me.  Since then, though, we discovered that it was indeed struck by lightning and was dying a slow death.  Our neighbor had a tree surgeon come out and look at it and he told us that the tree was no longer able to soak up water or nutrients from the ground and because it was so huge (70 feet!), it may take 8-10 years for it to die completely.  

We agonized over it for two days, trying to decide what to do.  We are both 
treehuggers and are very, very tenderhearted when it comes to any living thing, really.  Trees, raccoons, squirrels, we've had lots of those three to share our yards (and sometimes attics!) with.  We didn't want to cut the tree down but we didn't want it to continue to suffer either.  It was still making green leaves and acorns but we were told that they grow from nutrients in the outer shell of the tree.  The outer shell is the last to go.  I just hope we made the right decision.  

Here it is yesterday when the guys got here.

 

And here's what we have today.  I cried my eyes out over this tree yesterday.  I was so, so sad.  Ami sent me a Pinterest board of tree stump preservation ideas for sentiment's sake.  I think I want to make a planter out of one and put some pretty flowers in it in the spring.  Larry and David have a lot of chopping and splitting to do and then that sweet old tree will keep us warm this winter.

The spot where it stood.  It looks so strange out there now.

I think the first tree I ever loved was a tall, skinny pine that stood on one end of our front yard when I was a little girl.  My brother and I called it Tree Tree.  We played in the straw around that tree, we ran to it, rode our bicycles to it and Tree Tree always served as second base when we played any kind of ball. We loved that old tree!  I remember the first time I rode my bicycle to Tree Tree.  I was so proud when I turned around and saw that Daddy had let me go and was standing in the driveway!

I found this quote that I just love.

Love the trees until their leaves fall off and then encourage them to try again next year.  (Chad Sugg)

Remember that time it was December 8th and I didn't have a tree up yet?

Yeah, me neither.  

It is killin' me not to have a tree up!  I've seen so many beautiful Christmas trees on my Facebook news feed and of course, Mama and Daddy, Ami, Debee, every-dang-body has gorgeous trees!  While it's killing me not to have one up yet, too, I am determined to wait on Larry and wait on that live one I've wanted for years.  It'll be worth it.  I think.  I hope.  :)

I have decorated for Christmas, though, and wrapped most of my presents.

 

 

The sweet little rosy-cheeked family from Taproot 

 A few things I thrifted this year.  

I am so happy to give them a new home and a new life!

 

I have three Nativities but this one had never spent Christmas outside the box.  

I thought this year was about time.

Aren't these vintage Christmas kitchen towels adorable?!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Etsy?

My friend and coworker, Andrea, and I discovered that there are ten children living with their recovering moms at a drug rehab facility in Macon and that they are probably not going to have much of a Christmas.  So we decided instead of doing a Secret Santa thing at work, we would involve the guys in playing Santa for those children.  There are five of them who are just babies, aged one month to a year old.  They really just need clothes and diapers.  The rest are ages three to thirteen years.  I'm sponsoring a little 5-year-old boy who only asked for a Lite Brite.  So Santa's bringing Jeremiah his Lite Brite along with a book that I hoped would encourage him and a stuffed Snoopy to cuddle.  The guys have been really, really sweet about choosing children to sponsor and donating money.  We've gotten so much that we were also able to fix a stocking for each child filled with coloring books, crayons, stickers and a little bit of candy and every child is getting packs of much-needed warm socks.  The babies are all getting clothes, diapers, wipes, bath stuff, toys and new pacifiers, too.  And the older children are all getting the toys they asked for.  I am so excited about this!  I can't wait to deliver everything to them. 

Oh Santa Claus, I still believe in you
There's still a kid inside of me that still believes you're true
Oh Santa Claus, the kids are tucked in tight
It's time to play ole Santa Claus tonight  

(Santa Claus (I Still Believe In You) - Alabama)

Kickin' off Christmas

Our Maw was smiling so big down at us today!  My cousin, Debee, and her husband, Ben, hosted our Hall family Christmas at their home and we had a blast!  Great food, great conversation, beautiful Christmas decorations (three trees!) and oh my goodness, lots of laughs.  My face hurt from laughing so much.  When I was growing up, we always had Christmas Eve at Maw's house.  Always.  Nobody missed it.  They knew better but better than that, they didn't want to miss it.  Debee has been so sweet to host our get-together the past two years.  I didn't get to go last year but I went today with Ami and Brian.  Here are some pictures from our day!

 One of Debee's three gorgeous Christmas trees

 

Debee made some awesome sausage balls, Ami made brownies and some delicious ham and cheese sandwiches on those yummy sweet Hawaiian rolls, I made buffalo chicken dip and Rice Krispy treats, we had pigs-in-the-blanket, a pumpkin roll, Christmas cookies and cake.  Everything was SO good!

A tradition my mama started is the Ornament Swap.  You bring one, you get one.  I got two!  A beautiful gold bird and a glittery red bow and since I don't have a tree up yet and won't until my hubby gets home on the 21st, I decorated myself!  And then all the girls joined in!

 

 Here's the whole gang, complete with Ruger and Lucky!

We just had the best time!  I hope we do this every year.  Maw would just be tickled if we did.

After we left Debee and Ben's, Brian, Ami and I went on an adventure (possibly our last for just the three of us!) to Bolingbroke to piddle around in the antique shops there.  We got there and discovered that we had JUST missed the Christmas parade!  We got some awesome pictures of this old fire truck all decked out, though.

 

We found a couple of treasures here!  Ami added a new globe to her collection and I got an antique Saltine cracker tin that I've wanted forever.

 These little cuties met us at the door!
 

This yard made us want to come home and decorate some more.  Wow!

 

And we all just loved the old Methodist church. 

Brian spotted some mistletoe down the street and we walked down to try to get some.  It was so high up in the tree that you very nearly would have to climb the tree to get it.  I had to have some!!  Larry will be home in 13 days!!  And it's Christmas and you gotta have mistletoe at Christmas.  I saw some very close to a low-hanging branch wrapped in vine and I thought I could pull that vine down and that would pull the branch down and I'd have it.  Nope.  Vine snapped in two.  Dang it!  I was struggling with it when the owner of the shop came over to see if he could help me.  Mr. Jerry Schmitt pulled the branch down and I held it while he got the mistletoe!  What a sweet man!  He and his wife were closing up by that time but they stayed open and were so gracious to us.  That's that small town thing, you know.

We had such a great day!  A wonderful kickoff to Christmas!  Which will be here in 17 days and Larry will be here in 13!!

But for the grace of God...

I'm more than a little surprised to find myself not uncomfortably stuffed tonight.  It's Thanksgiving, right?  The one day a year we have tables of food and eat until we can't move, right?  We had the food, believe me, but I don't have one picture to show you.  We had it all, though.  Turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, green beans, zipper peas (my favorite!), Brussels sprouts, sweet potato souffle, corn, potato salad, pumpkin and sweet potato pies, chocolate and pumpkin cheesecakes, brownies, banana pudding, you name it, we probably had it or my mama could have whipped it up for you right quick.  I had a small plate and didn't even finish that and I brought my dessert home for later.  It may be because I'm sick with a sore throat/cold, I don't know, but I just didn't feel like being a pig today.  Thanksgiving is not about the food anyway, although we always have a feast.  It's about being grateful for what you have and who you have.  I am grateful for so many things in my life.  One of those things is this sweet baby girl right here.  

I regard every single thing as a gift from God, even if it's just a good parking spot at work.  And even if it's something I don't like, and that's tough.  I try to see it as a lesson I need to be taught, a trial or weakness I need to overcome.  I posted this on Facebook yesterday and it pretty much sums it all up.

I am thankful for a God who loved me so much, He couldn't let me go; I'm thankful for my husband who loves me, seeks God in all things and is my absolute ROCK; I'm thankful for my parents who gave me life and for their continuing health; I'm thankful for my sister who is also my dearest friend; I'm thankful for my brother-in-law who couldn't be more of a brother to me if he was my flesh and blood; I'm thankful for a job that I love, finally; I'm thankful for my family and my friends who love me even at my most unlovable and I'm thankful that in three weeks from Saturday, my beloved, sweet, adorable Larry will be sitting in his leather recliner!!

Ami gave me this framed Peace on Earth world map today.  I absolutely love it.  We are so fortunate, so blessed, to live in this big, plentiful, beautiful country, where we can take a day (or two!) off work and gobble 'till we wobble, where we can spend the weekend buying Christmas gifts for our loved ones and come home each day to our warm, cozy homes.  We are the minority.  Tonight, let's give thanks for being put right here, right now, and let's DO something about it.  As we head into the Christmas season, my challenge to you is to try to find someone you can help, someone whose life you can make a little brighter.  It's easier than you think.

Let our hearts overflow with thanksgiving.  (Colossians 2:7)

Taproot

Last March, my friend, Brandy, mentioned getting an issue of Taproot magazine in the mail and since then, she's mentioned it a few times and has really enjoyed it.  I've ordered a few toys for Christmas from Nova Natural in the past week or so and I decided I'd give Taproot a try.  I chose Issue #2: Paths simply because I liked the cover and I've been through it several times this weekend and I'm still reading it.  
I love it!  They're on Issue #7 now so I have some catching up to do!  And there's a 2014 calendar, too!

From the magazine's About page, Taproot is a quarterly, seasonal, subtly-themed collection of stories, poems, photography, recipes, arts and crafts that entertain, educate and inspire its readers to spend more time connected to themselves, the earth and each other.  I just love that!

The Paths issue has so much to absorb and consider!  I'll be reading it a month, I'm sure.  From having a family cow and sometimes school not being the best place for a child to get the best education to sweet little canning labels and birthing babies the natural way.  I've always been enamored with The Farm, the caravan that brought them all there, the peaceful, self-sufficient way they've lived there for over forty years and the gentle way they bring babies into the world.  I'm really studying that story, Brandy!  ;)

I think my favorite thing about the whole magazine experience has been Phoebe Wahl's Wandering Through The Seasons watercolor prints.  I'm going to find a pretty frame and display them in our home with the changing of the seasons.  They are so beautiful!  And the sweet little rosy-cheeked family looks a lot like Brandy, Mike, Willow and Roan.  Phoebe needs to paint some more and add a wee baby girl to the family since Laurel Mae is here now.  :)

Taproot is not a traditional magazine.  It has no advertising, it's beautiful cover to cover and there's no silly filler content.  Every word is deep, thought-provoking and inspiring.

Paths are one part free will, one part fate.  (Meredith Winn)

A little catch up...

Only one blog post so far this month?  And the month's nearly gone, too.  

It absolutely can't go too fast for me, though!  Larry will be HOME in 27 days!!  I am so ready.  This house is so ready.  I finished my to-do list months ago and these last days seem to be dragging for me.  Believe it or not, I don't do well with waiting.  I never once considered the last 25 years as "waiting".  I have always looked at it as it was, we just lived our life a little differently than most.  But these past few weeks have been brutal.  I'm ready for it to be ovah.  For good and forever. 

So, the list is done and most of my Christmas shopping is done, too.  I've had packages arriving all week and it's been exciting to see them every day!  I'm planning on spending next Friday (called Black Friday by millions, SLACK Friday by me) in my yoga pants surrounded by Christmas decorations and tufts of kitty hair.  Larry and I are going to get a tree when he gets home but everything else will be out and sparkly.  

I have never shopped on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  I think I may have gone with Mama and Aunt Gloria to the Macon Mall once in 1980 but since I was 13 at the time, that don't count.  I just hate the thought of it.  And, to be honest, the older I get, the more I hate shopping in general.  I didn't used to be that way, though.  I was a compulsive shopper when I was younger and I bought things for the sake of buying things, trying to fill a void in my life.  A void that will finally be filled for good and forever on December 21st!  I racked up quite the credit card debt, too.  Thank God that is all behind me, the compulsion and the debt.  Now what makes me happy is figuring out a way I can reuse this or make do with that.  Ami just did that very same thing this week, using the Christmas tree from her and Brian's first married Christmas together.  That little tree had been in storage, nearly forgotten, for years and now this year, it has new life and new lights!  I was so impressed and proud of her and I can't wait to see it all gussied up.

For several years now, I've bought the majority of my Christmas presents from local businesses or at least hardworking Americans.  I try very hard these days not to buy anything that was made in China.  If you don't think that's difficult, just try it sometime.  We are so dependent on China that it's disgusting and scary at the same time.  They and their cheap plastic crap pretty much own us and that makes me sad.

I've gotten most of my gifts for my family from Etsy shops this year, along with a few things from eBay sellers and some toys from Nova Natural and Magic Cabin.  

One of my very favorite Etsy shops is AuntSistersPicks, from Springfield, Tennessee.  They have so many cool vintage things (Pyrex and Fisher Price, squeee!) and their prices are very reasonable, too!  And if you want to sell me your vintage sheets and pillowcases, just take a picture of 'em hanging on a clothesline in the sunshine.  Yep.  Works every time.

They have some really ugly Christmas sweaters for sale right now, too.  :)

Threaded From Heaven made Lizzie a baby Butterbean doll last year for Christmas.  Courtenay Christian makes all kinds of handmade cloth dolls and sweet little girl dresses, too.  And she's right here in Georgia, in Suwanee.  I swannee.

I discovered go dotty go today while searching for felt Christmas tree garland.  I ordered several feet of this one.  I just love it!

 

Before you go spend all day next Friday at the mall or Walmart or Target or wherever, just sit down for an hour and give Etsy a look.  I promise you, you will find the most perfect gifts!  It'll make you feel good, too, knowing you're buying American, your money is staying right here in your country, you are helping to feed and clothe an American family and you're also buying gifts that are unique, some even one-of-a-kind, and are not cookie-cutter cut over there in China.

Exploring Rose Hill

Yesterday, we enjoyed a day walking among the graves at historic Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon.  Rose Hill is old, established in 1840 and it's huge, 65 acres, nestled on the north side of Macon, right next to the Ocmulgee River.  Our photography group saw but a bit of it.  We will be back!

I took over a hundred pictures.  If you'd like to see them all, they're in my Facebook album.

Here's a group shot we took just before we went in.

Ami brought me my old Shaun Cassidy doll and I was so happy to have him!  She found him tucked away somewhere with her childhood things.  I thought for sure he was long lost to that faraway place that toys go.  I was so happy to have him that I asked him to go with us on the photo walk.  He was delighted! 

This grave tugged at my heart.  A baby girl born on my birthday and named Virginia.  There are way too many babies out there.  :(

 Those November colors made a beautiful background for all of our photos!

"Just a brown dog"

Sad story.  Lieutenant Bobby was a little brown terrier who belonged to Captain D. C. Harris and was his constant companion.  He was the official mascot of the 121st Blue Bonnet Infantry of the Georgia National Guard.  President Calvin Coolidge gave Bobby an official commission as lieutenant for his faithful attendance in training classes at Fort Benning.  He wore a tiny sword on his leather harness and he led many parades with Captain Harris.  The captain was visiting friends in a downtown hotel and Lt. Bobby fell down the elevator shaft and was killed.  He was buried there at Rose Hill with full military honors and when Captain Harris died, he was buried right next to him.

Here's a picture of Bobby in life.  Sweet boy.

An old weathered Bible left on a grave

Such beautiful detail out there.  They sure don't make graves like they used to.

For some reason, I was extremely emotional yesterday.  Not sure if it was the location and the stark realization that every grave represents a life that was lived, a real live person who walked on this earth and loved and laughed and cried and danced and felt the rain on his or her face or if it was the ever awareness that in just forty short days, my husband will be home with me, finally.  And we'll have a life to live and love and laugh and cry.  Or maybe it was a little bit of both.  This graffiti, however inappropriate in a cemetery, spoke to me and it made me cry.   Life IS temporary.  It is fleeting.  It is here today and gone tomorrow.  But love.  Love is forever.  It was in the leaves flying around in the breeze yesterday, it was in the sun shining down on us as we visited those long gone.

It was in this precious girl who died one month short of her 13th birthday of peritonitis, now an easily cured inflammation in the inner wall of the abdomen.  A two-week round of antibiotics probably would have done the trick for Little Martha Ellis but in 1896, such treatment was in its early, early stages.  Her monument and grave show the love that her parents, brothers and sisters had for her.  They adored her.  Her grave reads, "She was love personified and her memory is a sweet solace by day and pleasant dreams by night to Mamma, Papa, brothers and sisters.  We will meet again in the sweet bye and bye."  Ami and Brian had met Little Martha before and had fallen in love with her immediately.  They have gone to visit her in every season of the year.  Some people say she was the inspiration for The Allman Brothers' song, "Little Martha" from their Eat A Peach album, as they used to hang out a lot at Rose Hill.  They were drawn to her, too.  Today, she's a part of Southern rock folklore and is visited and loved by Allman Brothers' fans far and wide.  She has not been forgotten.  Her love goes on.  I know Mamma and Papa are so proud of their girl.

 Love was even in the trees yesterday.  This one especially.  :)

We had lunch at The Rookery downtown.  It was busy, loud and delicious.  I got the Allman Burger, local grown beef, swiss cheese and 'shrooms, of course!  It was very, very good. 

After lunch, we went back to Rose Hill for Round Two.  We had to go say hey to Duane and Berry.

And catch some of that gorgeous late afternoon sun!

  

After we walked this bridge on the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail, we were ready to head for home.

  

Another wonderful day!  Today, I'm pretty much paying for all that walking in bad shoes.  I have GOT to get some good walking shoes!  My heels are even swollen today.  What??  So Tabbie Hoffman and I are taking it easy today, doing some very light housework and washing up some flannel shirts I've gathered for Larry.  It looks really good to have man stuff hanging in the closet!