The Weather Outside Was Frightful

...and the fire was so delightful.  And since we had no place to go...it snowed, and snowed and snowed...and took out a transmission line and our electricity went with it! We were without about 17 hours.  

In the meantime...We ate crackers, cheese, and peanut butter.  Camped out on the couch layered with clothes and blankets... 

 ...I worked on a project that has been on my list forever...a Christmas Alphabet Book made from old Christmas cards that I collected over the years.  

'A' is for Angels 
With halos so bright
Whose carols were heard
On that First Christmas Night.

He was not so happy being layered
and covered with blankets!

Chuck painted, 

shoveled snow, 

and took photos.

A photo is worth ...

Everything!

Everyone needs a day off...

We are 'off list' today....

We have been 'on list' for six months and it was time!

We did what we wanted when we wanted....

Of course, some of what we did was 'on list', but we gave ourselves permission 'to do it or not to do it'!

We did put up our Christmas tree...it didn't fit in our new house so we put it outside at our entry.  I even put up a couple of wreathes.

We did go to the Tomorrow's Fitness to our 'Silver Sneakers' workout.

We did go to the grocery store.

We did watch 'Elementary' which we had recorded.

We did work in the yard. I planted pansies and Chuck cut a couple of trees and put deer repellent on our new leafless azaleas.

We didn't fix breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  We each did our own thing when we got ready to eat.  

It is amazing what you can get done when you don't have a list:)

Give us a break!!!

We needed a break from packing, moving, and unpacking for the last six months. And, we took one...in Ft. Morgan, Alabama, USA! We had never been there...now, we want to go back and back and back!

A picture is worth a thousand words....

Now don't you feel better?  We do!

Now back to the 'real' world!

Up Up and Away In My Beautiful Balloon...

Keith and Graham

Well, the balloons didn't ascend 





and it wasn't the 5th Dimension...  
It was AIR SUPPLY!!  
How awesome is that?


We headed out with our 'vintage' lawn chairs to the Friday night event for the Legends Balloon Rally at the Hot Springs Memorial Air Field.  

Even though the wind precluded the 25-balloon ascension, there were twelve pilots who braved the elements and inflated their balloons.  We were not disappointed. 

The Hot Springs balloon inflated right in the middle of the crowd. 

The others rimmed the seating area waiting for the sun and the wind to go down.  At just the right time...we counted down 10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1...GLOW! They  glowed and then they twinkled...right up until the stars and Stars came out.

I am still amazed that we got to see Air Supply...Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock...under the stars.  They did all of their cover songs plus more. At one point while Russell took a break Graham sang a guitar solo accompanied by an exceptional keyboardist. Then he and Russell left the stage and meandered among the crowd.  I got as close as I could to Graham and snapped...of course...I didn't get a picture.  It focused, but no picture.



 The best I could do was take a picture of the 'jumbo' screen of Russell after he had autographed a fan's T!









Listen:




We had no idea when we left to see the Balloon Rally that we would come home with a great memory!
The Balloon Festival in Albuquerque is on our 'Bucket List'...we started small and are working our way up!

Photo Album:

One More Song...

Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America

The picture for the cover is
 Kindred Spirits, Asher B. Durand
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art,
Bentonville, Arkansas USA

Promised Land:
 Thirteen Books That Changed America
by Jay Parini

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have finally made it through all thirteen chapters. I loved that I found this book and love how Mr. Parini organized it. He has a formula that makes it easy to read. First, he tells you why he chose the particular book and something about its history as a public document. Second, he summarizes the book as it relates to his choice to include it in the 'Promised Land'. Third, he talks about the book and how it has been incorporated in our present society. A friend rattled off a list of books..."Well, did it include ????" No, it didn't include ???. I am not what Mr. Parini used as criteria as he went about an onerous task of selecting these thirteen books. I wondered at the beginning what other books were in the running. I found my answer. He has included an Appendix with 'One Hundred More Books That Changed America'. I guess if I wanted a reading list this is where I would start. My journey to the 'Promised Land' lasted from June through September. Now I am ready to find my next journey into the world of non-fiction. I read a lot, and I mean a lot of fiction, but I always have one non-fiction that I savor over a period of time.  I added a commentary on each book as I read them.

#1 June 12, 2012 "Plymouth Plantation",
William Bradford, the second Governor of the Colony. To summarize: "Establishing a beachhead for Puritans in New England, the Plymouth Colony ...acquired legendary status mainly because of the first Thanksgiving, as described by Bradford and, later translated into a national myth holiday that celebrates reconciliation and survival." p.27." noted by me: The Puritans came to Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620. However, it was not the first,only, or oldest colony established by Europeans. (Other Puritans were in Massachusetts and Connecticut.) The English arrived in Virginia, at Jamestown, in 1607, but were not successful. The oldest settlement is St. Augustine established by the Spanish in 1565. The Spanish had also settled in Santa Fe by 1608.

#2 June 19, 2012 "The Federalist Papers",
by Publius (Pseudonym for the three authors, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay) It consists of 85 essays (52 by Hamilton, 28 by Madison, and 5 by Jay) in defense of the proposed U.S. Constitution recently drafted in Philadelphia. It was designed to persuade New Yorkers and people of other states to look favorably on the controversial documents and vote for it ratification. There were many against it. All states except New York had their own constitutions. In 1825, Jefferson recommended these essays as the best guide to what was in the minds of the framers, perhaps even better than the actual document itself. Hamilton lays out the general idea of the papers in one paragraph. By and large he and his co-authors stick pretty closely to this outline: "I propose, in a series of papers, to discuss the following interesting particulars: The utility of the UNION to your political prosperity-The insufficiency of the present Confederation to preserve that Union-The necessity of a government at least equally energetic with the one proposed, to the attainment of this object-The conformity of the proposed Constitution to the true principles of republican government-Its analogy to your own State constitution-and lastly, The additional security which its adoption will afford to the preservation of the species of government, to liberty, and to property."

#3 June 21, 2012 "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin"
Four things stand out to me. One-With this book Benjamin Franklin invented the category in our libraries labeled, Autobiography. There were memoirs in the past and they were mostly spiritual or intellectual, not one that tracks the creation of an individual self. Two-"It remains a foundational book for Americans, in that it offers a template for self-invention-in other words, 'The American Dream'. Three-In addition, he was a scientist of note. Not only did he fly a kite and prove that electricity is a single fluid and invented the lightening rod. The Franklin stove still exists. He was also a Statesman, playing an instrumental role in the creation of the American republic. Also, did I mention that he was a printer by occupation; established the first subscription library in America that led to our current library system; thought of the idea of fire insurance;started an academy that evolved into the University of Pennsylvania; devised the capital-raising vehicle of matching funds; and many more to mention.

#4 July 4, 2012 The Journals of Lewis and Clark...
...documenting for President Thomas Jefferson the recent Louisiana Purchase and looking for a water passage to the Pacific Ocean. They started out on the Missouri River hoping for a water passage to the West Coast. Along the way Sacajawea and her husband joined the Corps of Discovery. Their journals are still used today for researchers.

#5 July 13, 2012 Walden...
...is the major work of Henry D. Thoreau. Walden was selected because in the opinion of the author "it has inspired generations of young people to go off by themselves, to separate from the pack, listening instead of talking,reading, making note, marching to the beat of a different drummer. He was inspired and mentored by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The author in defense of his adding Walden to this list stressed Emerson's work, 'Nature', as an important influence on Thoreau. I wonder why he didn't select 'Nature' instead of Walden. The only conclusion that I could come to was that Emerson only wrote about living with nature. Whereas, Thoreau actually put action to his words and went to Walden Pond to live as he wrote.

#6 July 17, 2012 Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe
It goes without saying that this book was a major influence on how the people thought about race in the 19th Century. It sold more copies of any book in the 19th Century except for the Bible. From Jay Parini in this book: "It fueled the abolitionist movement in obvious ways, drawing attention to the horrors of slavery and putting African American Characters before a mass (largely white) audience in vivid ways."

#7 July 22, 2012 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
"In writing this novel, Twain forged a fresh medium for the American language, creating a salty, amusing vernacular, a flexible medium that could range from the highest to the lowest levels of thought and feeling in colorful, even 'coarse" diction.(157) Twain showed us how to talk and handed us one of our founding myths, which involves lighting out 'for the Territory,' heading off into unknown regions in search of the fable promised land.(158)" "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain call Huckleberry Finn."...Ernest Hemingway

#8 August 1, 2012 The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. Burghardt Du Bois
The story of the black American evolved to the next step when this book was published. It gave 'white' Americans a sense that Afro-Americans actually had a soul. They had the same feeling, thoughts,and sense of family as a white man. In 1903, when the book was published, he defined the major problem of the 20th Century, "color-line". Although he had positive comments about George Washington Carver, he did not agree with his philosophy published in 'Up From Slavery' in which he argued that "blacks should propel themselves forward by entrepreneurial energy". He argued that to train blacks for a trade, encouraged them "to trade political power and civil rights for the freedom to cultivate a certain kind of education within the black community, accepting the notion of a separate but unequal black community". This book more than any other was an inspiration for the Civil Rights Movement. of the 50's and 60's.

#9 August 12, 2012 The Promised Land by Mary Antin
Antin's book was a national bestseller, "the most popular immigrant autobiography of its time", and a book that inspired a generation of newly minted American's, who saw in her story a version of their. "What it changed was American attitudes toward this frightening wave o newcomers. Her memoir also helped to confirm the United States as a land of promise. The immigrant memoir outlines the immigrant experience, its cycles of arrival, optimism, confusion, and assimilation. This genre will be "a staple of our literature"...and Mary Antin is a founding mother of this genre.(quotes are taken directly from the book to describe what I perceive to me to be the salient points...ones that I want to document so I can remember what I got from reading the author's opinion of this important book.

#10 August 22, 2012 How To Win Friends and Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
Background: This book appeared in the dark of the Great Depression when breadline formed in the streets. In the U.S. where failure is shameful and success has become something of a religion, there has always been a need for advice about how to get ahead..
No other book has been more successful at the business of success than this one. Published in 1936 is is an early prototype and iconic model of the self-help genre. "One can walk into any bookstore in America today and find long shelf of self-help books that owe a huge debt to Carnegie." Although the author admits that this book had a definite effect on his life and at some level still influences him, he is very critical about Carnegie's methods...calling them manipulative at the least. Carnegie's acknowledged forerunner was Benjamin Franklin (see No. 3) and many of his best ideas, are drawn from the world's sacred scriptures. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That is the essential message of this book."

#11 August 28, 2012 The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
By Benjamin Spock, M.D>
First thing that caught my attention: I missed being raised by Dr. Spock by seven years. The book was published in 1946. I cannot recall seeing a copy of Dr. Spock's book in our house. Although I have to say that my Mother and Dad always respected me as an individual. I was shy by nature so a "child should be seen not heard" was not an issue in our house.
The statement by the author says it all: "Dr. Benjamin Spock changed how Americans raised their children, probably forever." It helped shape the Baby Boom generation, who are now ready for retirement. Before Spock most advice on the raising of children came from the pulpit, "spare the rod,spoil the child". Dr. Spock's main message to mothers: you know more than you think you do; follow your instincts. He wanted children to grow in ways that suited their individual personalities, and to make the most of their innate abilities. It is interesting that Dr. Spock for most of his life was a well-known and loved pediatrician, speaker, and author. However, somewhere in the 1960's he became a antiwar activist advocating nuclear disarmament. He took part in protest marches and was actually charged with conspiring "to sponsor and support a nation-wide program of resistance" to the draft. (Note: In 1973, after the Vietnam War Congress abolished the military draft in favor of an all volunteer Army.)
All I have heard about Dr. Spock was that his theories were responsible for a permissive age of self-centered/indulgent children who grew into self-centered/indulgent adults. However, Garry Wills, the writer who spent time in jail with him remembers: "Spock was the father not of a permissive age, but of an imaginative one. He had a respect for individuality, in babies as in grown citizens....He had come to protest war, not to wage it..."

#12 September 6, 2012 On the Road, Jack Kerouac
I really cannot relate in any way to this book. I think it is because I am part of the generation Mr. Kerouac defined as the "Beat Generation". In 1957 my generation had already been established and it wasn't 'beat'. I was part of the establishment and 'beat' wasn't part of it. I am not really sure even why Mr. Parini chose this book as one of the 'Thirteen Books. His first sentence was the only explanation: "'On The Road' (1957) identified, and helped to define, the notion of an American counterculture." He compared it as he some of the other books he has chosen as a rite of passage mainly for the male of the species. Also, Mr. Parini summarized the goal of this book as the search for IT. IT's the "search for enlightenment, for heightened consciousness, for God," which never ends. And finally, I think, most importantly, his last sentence says it all: "the going may well be more important than actually getting there." As a recent TV commercial trying to sell us cars says: The destination is the journey.

# 13 The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan
Mr. Parini chose to include this book not because it was the only book that played a role in the women's movement, but because of the shock effect it had..."which almost single-handedly ignited a revolutionary phase that has deeply affected the live of countless American women and men." In my opinion, this movement is still evolving. Women are still trying to find their place in the greater scheme of things. I am not sure I will see it settled in my life time.
and...
You know,I really can't relate to this book any more than I can 'On the Road'. I never had a 'stay at home' mom. My Mom and Dad owned a small cafe before the time of franchise fast food drive-ins. They both worked from 4am to 9pm every day, except Sunday. They didn't close on Sunday until all of the church crowd was served. I didn't find out until I was in my 20's that job opportunities were limited for women. Actually, maybe the fact that I didn't have a 'stay at home' mom...I call it a 'Life with Father' mom...made me dream to be one. I always wanted my Mom to be there when I got home from school. I can remember laying a guilt trip on my Mom..."why can't you be at home with cookies and milk when I get home from school like the other moms"? ...I didn't even like milk:)





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All the girls look prettier at closing time...

On the way...well, I had to have the
appropriate costume...
didn't I!  Yes, no doubt.

You guessed it!  We went to see Mickey Gilley at the Woodlands Auditorium at the Ponce de Leon Center in Hot Springs Village last night.  It was not to be missed. Mickey Gilley is a National Treasure.  Only three years ago at the age of 73 he fell while helping a friend move some furniture. He was paralyzed from his neck down.  He was told he would probably never walk again.  And...there he was! 

He walked on stage and stood for some of his songs,  Mainly, he sat in a chair and told us his life story. 

For the 2nd half,
he came out in his
legendary yellow jacket!

He included his cousins...Jerry Lee Lewis and The Reverend Jimmy Swaggert. "I am the youngest and my wife says I am the best looking:)"...yes, the grin is still there. And...best of all, his voice was a strong as ever.  He cannot play the piano for which he was so famous...he told us he couldn't 'hit the licks'.  He has a number of keyboardist's that make up for it.    He was awesome as were his back-up's who have credentials of their own. 
He closed the show with 'Stand by Me'!
No doubt he will be standing a long time
after me:)

 I have been to Gilley's in Pasadena, Texas, outside of Houston. To tell the truth, I can't remember if I saw him there or not.  I raised my hand when they asked if I had been there and seen him.  I remember seeing the "Bulls" (as in, Mechanical...are there still any of those anywhere?)...no I did not ride one of them...that I would have remembered.  

Mickey's show is now in Branson, Missouri.  I think that is what we saw here.  There is no need to make a trip to see it again.  If you get a chance, GO!  

Here's your chance to listen to his music....

Maisie Dobbs (#8)

A Lesson in Secrets
by Jacqueline Winspear

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really like the Maisie Dobbs series. However, we are on a "Series" track. That means that what in the normal course of events an action would be taken, it is left hanging at the end of each book to entice you to buy the next book. I am not going to be a 'spoiler' so I will leave out the details. I just wish the publisher and writer would take the story to the next level and save me from hanging in suspense. I already like the series. I am going to read the next book for that reason. I am not going to continue reading it because the author and/or the publisher has decided to dangle a carrot at the end of the book.

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2016 Obama's America, The Movie

I have thought long and hard about recommending this movie to you.  When I am trying to make a decision whether small or large, my question to myself is-"What is the worse thing that can happen?"  So, I asked myself this question.  The answer: the people that subscribed to or followed my Blog would not understand my intent and unsubscribe or not follow my Blog.  As my Blog is published on Facebook, my friends that are offended will 'unfriend' me. So be it!

I recommend that you see "2016 Obama's America" if it is being shown in a movie theater in your area or on You Tube.  I recommend it not to try to change in any beliefs you have or how you will vote in November.  I recommend it because I think all information that can be gathered helps you make a more informed decision.  

Dinesh D'Souza spent his time and resources to bring us this movie. I thank him. 

The film was not what I was expecting.  I was expecting a campaign 'spin' trying to influence my vote.  It was not.  As a friend, on Facebook said: "I am not going to change my mind". There are other friends that even refuse to go see this movie. That is their choice.  I am not so naive as to think that I would ever know all there is to know about an issue. However, I really like to have all information that is available to me from as many sources as are available.  Then, I can make my decision. 

I have two questions about this movie and the information it gives me--
#1 Am I living my Mother's and/or my Father's dream...are we all living our parents' dreams? Do I not have my own dream to fulfill?
#2 Why have I not gotten this information from my normal sources: TV, Radio,Newspapers,Magazines.  It has been on You Tube.  What is that telling you and me?

ATCs Back on 'To Do' List

I love making Artist Trading Cards.  ATCs are small art: 2.5" x 3.0".  I learned about them about five years ago, but had to put them at the bottom of my 'have fun' list while I worked, sold a house, bought at new house in another city, and moved. Now all of that is behind me...well, maybe I am still unpacking boxes...I am ready to work on my Art. ATC's are a good way to get warmed up for bigger projects!

Mi Lady

Of course, there is a whole "Social Network" built about trading these cards at this website ATCs For All, Artist Trading Cards...and more!

What fun!  It is art that can be done in a minute.  I keep my table stocked and sometimes I just walk by; get inspired and produce another card.  I am loving it.  Hope you do, too!

I am on  track to
make an ATC on each
of the 50 United States
that I have visited, been in, or through!

Visit 'My Art Gallery' and '50 in 50' to see more of my ATCs and original art pieces by clicking on tabs at top of this Blog.

Maisie Dobbs (#7)

The Mapping of Love and Death
by Jacqueline Winspear

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It seems to me that the greater number of books in a series the more filler you have to wade through to get to the meat of the story. This Maisie Dobbs book was no exception. 

I liked the story and really connected to the characters of Maisie and her supporting cast of characters. However, I was given a complete run down of the other six books as if I hadn't read them. I understand that some readers pick up a book in the middle of the series and don't have a clue about the background. I would think they could be enticed to read/buy the previous books and find out for themselves. A lot of this book was educating me on the profession of a cartographer. Most of it was not pertinent to the story. 

I am looking forward to #8, 'A Lesson in Secrets', as the story line seems to be taking a turn as the book ends. Some threads were left hanging to entice me to continue on...and I will!

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Switching from Then to Now!

Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor 
by Lisa Kleypas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading Historical fiction, particularly Regency Romance, I decided to venture back into Contemporary Romance. I love to read Regency novels by Lisa Kleypas so I decided to start with her new venture into Contemporary fiction. It was a pleasant change. 

 Of course, her first venture was into a Christmas story so it was short and sweet, but I liked the change. The story line is refreshing and there are more to come in the series. 

The main thing that I don't get from reading a contemporary novel is the history or the feeling that I lived in a different time and place...kind of like time travel in my mind. Both genres have the basics: the scenery and customs of the place and relationships of the people. It's just that in contemporary there is only a reference to the past. I am not in it!

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Double Wedding Quilt Project - Done

In 1990 I had an idea for a quilt and wall hanging for my king-sized bed.  The problem: I did not know how to quilt.  Solution: take a quilting class.  


I started with a pin cushion, progressed to a wall hanging, and then to a sampler quilt.  I was 'Hooked on Quilting'.  Then, I took the quilt class to end all quilt classes...a Double Wedding Ring Quilt.  Of course, mine could not have been a simple double wedding ring quilt.  No...I went for a queen sized quilt with three different colors and a white center.

All documented in this book

Fabric selection documentation

Here you go! 
22 years later...Not only for the quilt, but for the quilter...

2001

20 Year Anniversary
2010

Now, 22 years later...

Of course, I have many more ideas to embellish it.  

I have decided to declare it 'finished'.  Now on to the future.