lights...camera...keep moving!

New Year's Day was the last day to see the Christmas light display at Rhema Bible Church and College. So yesterday My Darling Husband and I left the warm confines of our house and drove down to Oklahoma. It was cold cold cold! Had to keep moving to stay warm, but we did snap some photos. Every year Rhema adds more lights to the display. The 2010 edition:"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth."
--Job 19:25A Southwest Christmas.Gazebo by the fountain lake.Rhema's version of Noah's Ark!Bridge over peaceful waters.

the sister got hitched

One week ago today My Darling Husband's sister was married on a bluff overlooking the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
A Beautiful Southern Belle of a Bride.Please write on the picture frame. More practical than a guest book. (When My Darling Husband and I married, the guests signed a cloth, which I am embroidering and it is destined to become a quilt...very practical indeed.)The Georgian reception hall awaiting guests.These goldfish found their purpose in life: table decoration. Salmon was on the menu.We tried so hard to be secretive, but the bride and groom caught us decorating their getaway car! Apparently they were not blinded by love.

Christmas lingers on my blog

This is the official photographic essay of where My Darling Husband and I went for Christmas.

From the hills of Tennessee......to a place near Walhalla, SC.

Near, yet so far away.Tucked away in the woods.Is a cabin where one can peacefully and quietly enjoy visiting with family members after a long drive.And then, after a good night's sleep, awaken on Christmas morning to this view:An enclosed back deck invites one to sit in the great outdoors in warmer months.The deck beckons you down to a river. We hear that the fishing is good in this area.On the way out of town--

You know you're in the South when you spot a general store selling boiled peanuts.

Up here in Kansas and the rest of the great Midwest, we have snow-cone stands in the summer. Now that makes perfect sense to my always-lived-in-Kansas-mind: one needs a cool something to slurp in the sweltering heat and humidity. On our trip to South Carolina, I saw a snow-cone-and-boiled peanuts stand. I suppose that the snow-cone's purpose in Southern life is to wash down the peanuts.

we'll keep the light on for you

They'll keep a bed for you too, if needed. This is the sign at the police department of an even smaller town near our Small Town. I tried to get a better photograph of the neon sign, but haven't taken the time to figure out the camera. Hopefully you can distinguish the letters. If not: it simply states "Police Dept" in neon lighting. It's very quaint for a police department to still be using their neon sign from the mid 1900s. I like it. The town is saying "we're not too proud to use a working vintage item. We don't need to spend money we don't have on a new sign."

The neon light blasting a hole in the night darkness reminds me of paintings by the American artist Edward Hopper. He juxtaposed light and dark. Ripple Effect has an excellent review of his works.

there's room in this inn

Have you seen this? A Jewish family was denied a hotel room because of the owner's racism. Amazing how it's happening again in Austria, the birthplace of that horrible man Adolph Hitler.

If you're ever in The Big City, a stay here would be nice (or this one is nice, but I've not stayed at this one. I went to this one to listen to jazz). The staff is welcoming and the location is superb...right in the heart of a scenic area. The original buildings in the neighborhood date from the 1920s.

Calgon, take me away!

That's what I might be saying soon.

My sub-heading for this blog is "Take the girl out of the big city--can't take the big city out of the girl". I lived in The Big City for many years until last September, when I married a man whose only drawback (how I saw it back then) was that he lives in The Small Town. I thought, "Aaahhh! No popping into the local yarn shops or Hobby Lobby to check out the clearance crafts or the mall on any ol' day. Too much quiet. And less visiting with my family. What'll I do?????"

What I've done is what everybody should do when they move to a new place, whether it's a sprawling metropolis or a self-contained little town. I have become involved. There's new friends added to the old friends, church and church functions, work, knitting group at the local library each week, and various local small-town events. I've learned to live with fewer shops and that's been good because I am actually finishing projects instead of just salivating over yarn and pretty home goods at the shops. I can visit the shops when we travel. And...My Darling Husband has become my family.

Last week My Darling Husband came home from his work with the news that he's been laid off.

Whuh?!

Mental thud.

Where did that come from?

I practically just moved here!

...and I like it here now!!!

I've pleasantly discovered that you can take the big city out of this gal. We might have to move because My Darling Husband's line of work is specialized and there's only the one company around here that could hire him. There's no market here for him to start a company doing his line of work. If we do move to a large city, I'll miss the quiet, the three-car traffic jams, the general politeness, the easily formed friendships, the quick drive to the countryside. I'll need lots of bubble baths. At least for a time.

The blog sub-heading has got to be revised.

a sample history lesson

A man emailed me to say he didn't understand about samplers...what are they? I know it was a man because I personally know the fellow. Anyway, for all the uninitiated wanna-be needleworkers and anybody else reading this, here's a short history of samplers:

Samplers began as...samples prior to the 20th century. They were samples of a young girl's embroidery skills in mastering various embroidery stitches and patterns. They developed into embroidered pictures and commemoration pieces.

For additional history reading, go here.

Here are some of my favorites from the book Samplers, by Susan Mayor & Diana Fowle.

This is a fine example of an early sample. Definitely a conglomeration of the embroiderer's various stitches.
Moving on to the picture/commemoration style samplers of later years....

Do you have pictures of your own samplers on your blog or Flickr that we can see? If so, leave a comment with the location on today's post and I'll link to them.

Back to modern times. My Darling Husband and I traveled to A Nearby City for an event last weekend. The hotel we stayed at was quite charming. It was built in the 1920s in the Tudor style. The hallways were even a maze, just like a castle. It was so charming that each room has a balcony, and each balcony has a swing! Love-a-lee.

night lights

In The Big City and in The Small Town, Christmas lights are a sight not to be missed. After dinner, My Darling Husband and I drove around the countryside (Ah, peaceful serenity.)(A pretty country church, shining as a beacon in the dark.)(Something tells me Katy is getting a sparkly ring for Christmas and might need that church.)and The Small Town to see what our eyes would behold. This Small Town and the small town I grew up in both use the crossed wreaths to decorate the downtown. They're pretty. A lovely Victorian dwelling that I constantly admire from afar.

Got goat milk?

Two days ago, Saturday, 15 November 2008, My Darling Husband and I took a road trip to The Nearest Large Town.

On the way we stopped for lunch at a gas station restaurant. In our parcel of this great nation, a gas station restaurant usually consists of McDonald's or counter pizza tasting like cardboard that pizza is normally delivered in or...scrumptious barbeque. The restaurant I write of was just a normal, family restaurant, and locally owned. The food was good. Much to my delight, My Darling Husband accidentally spotted a Big City versus Small Town difference. Even some Big City restaurants have community bulletin boards and "Welcome" signs.





















Bet you won't find goats for sale in the city!

There is a missing child notice on the bulletin board in this picture, so if you can do so on your computer, click on the photo to enlarge it and take a look at the missing child, to help bring her home.

After some successful shopping (also very limited in The Small Town), we headed home. First we filled up the car with gas. Cheap cheap cheap! Below $2.00 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on Saturday. Just thought I'd advertise the fact that gas prices have decreased lately. Have you noticed?

it is Veteran's Day

The United States flag in this photograph shows fewer than 50 stars because it is one of the flags flown at Ft. McHenry. The National Park Service flies the flag that shows the number of states in the union at the time the U.S. defeated the British at Ft. McHenry during the American Revolution. Fort McHenry is also the birthplace of our national anthem.

I thank all the U.S. military service members, alive and deceased, for their part in creating and protecting this nation that God blessed us with. It is because of Him, and our military, that we have existed.

Take a moment to show your appreciation to the service members you know.