I Love........

Tom T. Hall is a poet with a guitar, who knows how to capture the spirit of America with his words and music.
--Jimmy Carter

Known as Nashville's Storyteller, Tom T. Hall (born May 25, 1936 in Olive Hill, Kentucky) is an American country balladeer, songwriter, and country singer. He has written 11 #1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the pop crossover hit "I Love", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On February 12th, 2008, Hall was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame .

For those of us that love the simpler things in life, this video speaks volumes.......Hope you enjoy.

( Be sure to scroll down on the rightside of the sidebar and stop the Realplayer music by clicking the large button)


Video credit: webwriter3000

Out and About in The Country.....

Off Gallivanting.....

Today seemed like the perfect warm Summer's day to be out and about in the Tennessee countryside. OK to be honest, I had errands to run......

Stopped at my favorite little country cafe, The Whistle Stop Cafe, for a large iced tea, and piece of buttermilk pie :)

Want one of these......

A beautiful old farmhouse , I can imagine living here....

Old barn still in use......

Timeless architecture.....

Glimpse through the gate.....

Down the Rabbit Hole....

"Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were-Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter. They lived with their mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big tree"
~ The Tale of Peter Rabbit, 1902

Ever since I was a young girl, I have shared a common love with that of the famed English children's author Beatrix Potter.
The love of rabbits.
At one point in time, the count I owned was numbered in the teens.

There is something about rabbits that appeals to my personality. As with Miss Potter, I used to talk to mine, endlessly. Almost all of my spare time was spent either taking care of them, or working to earn pocket-money in order to buy their rabbit food.
They were faithful companion pets.

Several years ago my grandchildren and I were spending a Saturday at one of the local Oktoberfest arts and crafts festivals. Upon leaving at the end of the day, we had acquired another family member.....a rabbit.

His name is "Snuggles" and this October he will be twelve years old !
A sweet little boy, who lives up to his namesake extremely well, he loves nothing more than to give kisses.

I do believe Miss Potter would have written a book about him.

Don't Mess With Mama....

Mama squirrel is on a mission

She's out to rescue her baby from the clutches of Mr. Playful.....

Mama squirrel is in NO mood to play, she's means business.....

Mission accomplished

Moma and baby home safe..... the look on Mr. Playful's face.....PRICELESS.

Childhood Memories.....

Windsor Tea Kettle


Why is it that small things we remember growing up, seems to have such an influence on our taste, as adults ?

My grandma Ciss used a tea kettle on her stove to boil water.
It was a sturdy kettle made from chrome-plated copper, and built with a raised element at the bottom in order to conduct the heat more efficiently from her gas stove.
When the water was at boiling level, it whistled, to let you know it was ready.

It lasted a lifetime, or so it seemed to me.

As soon as I set up housekeeping, I always wished for one of those kettles.
I shopped specialty catalogues endlessly, until one day, I came across the very same kettle, in the Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Collection. "Imported from England" caught my eye.

My choice was the one made from solid copper, lined with tin, without the element, and more suitable for use with an electric stove top.
It was shipped with a lifetime warranty, and a lovely little keepsake card, telling how it was handcrafted, and the name of the original craftsman, whose talent it took to create it.

It gets used everyday, reminding me of all the times my grandma served pots of tea to family and friends alike.
The local "bobbies" (policemen), walking the neighborhood beat, were a staple around her kitchen table.

I can hear them now, shouting through the front door letterbox......."Put kettle on Ciss".

Lighting The Way.....

One of the landscape views from the night skies, overlooking my hometown, is that of Fiddlers Ferry Power Station.
An awesome sight, to behold.

Situated on the banks of the River Mersey in between Warrington and Widnes, in the NorthWest County of Cheshire, England it was established in 1971, and is a coal fired generating power station, owned and operated by Scottish and Southern Energy.

The station consumes 195 million litres of water daily from the River Mersey. Since the deep mines in the Lancashire coalfield closed, all its coal is either imported (largely by train from Liverpool docks), or supplied from mines in Yorkshire. 16,000 tonnes of coal are burned each day. It also burns biofuels together with the coal.

Fiddlers Ferry has been fitted with Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) plant to reduce the emissions of sulphur by 94%, meeting the European Large Combustion Plant directive. This work commenced in 2006 and was completed in 2008.

With its eight 114-metre (370 ft) high cooling towers and 200-metre (660 ft) high chimney the station is a prominent landmark and can be seen from as far away as the Peak District.

Photo credit: Flying Whael, Flicker.

Info credit: Wikipedia

Happy Birthday Big Ben...

Today, London's Victorian chimes of Big Ben carried the customary four notes from Handel's Messiah every fifteen minutes across the city in celebration of the clock's 150th birthday.

On May 31, 1859, the clock officially started keeping time. Big Ben started tolling a few days later, and within months it cracked and didn't resume service until 1862.

At first legislators complained that it was too loud, while The Times of London lamented that the blunders surrounding the project were a "disgrace to all concerned".

But, as the bad memories faded and London's collective ear became used to the bong of the great bell, the tower became a cherished part of the city's landscape, and the country's self-image.

Big Ben is actually the nickname for the great bell of the clock.

Down By The Garden Gate....

Yesterday , as I was away working, my dearest the "First Sergeant" hung my little old gate and created a new piece of rock wall to partner alongside.

It leads into the back of the woods, which I fondly call the gateway to the "hundred acre wood" joshing of course ;)

We had purchased the fencing a couple of years earlier, from an old family homestead, seventeen original picket-fence panels, and one little gate.
We have used the fencing, all around the property, since there was not enough to completely fence the entire area.

It works well, a piece here, a few pieces there...



I understand the triumph and the truth
Wrought into these walls of rugged stone.
They are a miracle of patient hands,
They are a victory of suffering, a paean of pain;
All pangs of death, all cries of birth,
Are in the mute, moss-covered stones;
They are eloquent to my hands
O beautiful, blind stones, inarticulate and dumb!
In the deep gloom of their hearts there is a gleam
Of the primeval sun which looked upon them
When they were begotten.
So in the heart of man shines forever
A beam from the everlasting sun of God.
Rude and unresponsive are the stones;
Yet in them divine things lie concealed;
I hear their imprisoned chant:
~ The Song of the Stone Wall by Helen Keller 1910

The Uplifting Blogger Award...

I have received a new blog award from fellow blogger, Pastor Sharon, at Dances With God a recent recipient of the award herself.

Pastor Sharon, is ONE busy and entertaining lady. Not only is she a seminary student in the process of studying to earn a degree in her second career, she is also a lady who is devoted to God and her family.

Her blog is both entertaining, funny, wise, and enlightening; her love of life and serving the Lord is eminent.

Thank you Pastor Sharon, I am truly humbled.

"The Uplifting Blogger Award, goes to fellow bloggers who visit frequently and raise my spirits with their kind words of encouragement, their beautiful images and their wonderful outlook on life. They make blogging a positive experience and continue to make my life richer."

"Please feel free to pass this award along to your friends. I ask that you do name them but you don't have to link to them.

Just stop by their blogs and let them know you've given them this award."

In the "share the love" spirit, I would like to pass along this award to the following bloggers who daily raise my spirits and offer words of encouragement.

The Writers Porch
A Parson's Wife
Gaston Studio
Home Haven Ministry

Joyful Reflections
The Smith's Bennie and Patsy

The Diary of Dagenham Dave

http://ldburgus.blogspot.com/

Thank you dear friends for always giving me the encouragement to share my musings with you !

How Was Your Day ?

First I had trouble getting out of bed....

Then I had a Stiff Neck...

Washed my hair and couldn't do anything with it...

New diet doesn't seem to be working out....

Got chewed out by the boss...


Got caught in the rain at lunchtime.......

The lunch I had, didn't seem to agree with me....

The new employee stood before the paper shredder looking confused.
"Need some help?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied. "How does this thing work?"
"Simple," I said, taking the fat report from her hand and feeding it into the shredder.
"Thanks, but where do the copies come out?"

I feel trapped....

Uninvited guests show up at dinnertime.....

I'm alone in the house at night and I think I hear a noise in the basement.....

Maybe tomorrow will be better !!