It's Football Time In TENNESSEE!!

There is nothing like sitting in Neyland Stadium
on a Saturday amidst a sea of Orange!

Sleeping With The WHAT!!!

Last night Joe and I (and several other leaders from our Cub Scout Pack) went to Ripley's Aquarium to a CS Leaders Bash. We had a sidebar with food to eat and a meeting to learn about what is happening in the Sequoyah District this year. At this meeting we also learned about the different programs that Ripley's has available for scouting groups. One of these was called "Sleeping with the Sharks". There was a thought that went through my mind. How many people can sleep in that tunnel knowing that all kinds of sharks are in the water right over your head? I am not sure I could. First of all, I might be too fascinated at all the different creatures and secondly, there are sharks swimming over my head and I am expected to be comfortable enough to sleep?! Now there was an even worse thought when she also mentioned that they do overnighters in the Haunted Adventure called "Midnight with the Monsters" (of course only for grades 6-12) and also in the Believe It Or Not Museum the "Bedtime with the Bizarre" where part of the trip includes a scavenger hunt, wax hand, a Moving Theatre ride and much more! A WAX HAND!! Oh yeah, sign me up!

Big Creek Trail, NC

Yesterday the Francis family got together and went to the Big Creek Trail in North Carolina. This is a relatively short hike that we took that lead to a waterfall as well as many swimming holes. There was also a very unique cave and rock house that is just a little off the trail. It seems that this part of the trail is not very commonly known. Luckily we had Joe's parents who did know where this was and showed us.


So Joe, Bubba, Butch, Hair and I headed up the hill to these two rock formations. When we got up there we noticed that the cave had a chimney hole. It was funny to be at the top where the chimney hole was and to see the guys down inside the cave! There was also a tunnel that lead off the cave. When I got down inside the cave the guys were all trying to find out where the entrance to the tunnel was. I waited a couple of minutes until Hair and Butch made it around. Then I decided to go and see if I could get there. I learned why Joe was not going. There was a small crevice in between two rocks that you had to squeeze through. Hair, Bubba, Butch and I crawled back through the tunnel.


After we finished with that adventure we hike to the swimming hole. There was a rock that some kids we jumping off of, so Joe, Hair and I decided to try it out. That was very interesting! After we got to the top Hair jumped first, then I took my turn, and last was Joe. It was fun to jump even with the cold, cold water! (The rock we jumped from is the one in the center of the picture. We jumped from the left side of that rock where the water gets calm again.)


Linda and I took many pictures of flowers as well as all sorts of different mushrooms along the way. Of course, if you look at the picture below you can now see how Linda gets the great shots for her flowersofthefield site!


To end off I will add a few of my favorite pictures that I took on the hike.

Nothing Like A Good Watermelon

I have decided that the best watermelons I have ever had are the ones that I received from Jo's grandfather, Ruley. They are called Charleston Grey. They are the sweetest, juiciest watermelons ever! I love the ones that I was brought from SC on their trips here (or our trips there). I had a local raised watermelon tonight and I just kept thinking about how much better the Greys were compare to this. I am so eager for next spring so that I can plant some of these for myself (thanks to Ruley for giving me some seeds on our last trip).

Beauty of Summer

On the Trail to the Walker Sisters' Cabin

Back To School

Another year of school has started for Bubba and Butch. This is a happy time for me as I get to spend time with my friends from school as well. I also have the responsibility of creating a bulletin board for the Scouts that is located in the front hall of the Elementary building. This is always a funny time for me because directly across the hall is another bulletin board that a lady in the office is in charge of keeping up. I have slowly become accustom to her telling people that I always come to try to out do her boards and to make hers look bad. She has a fun time teasing me every time I come in to add something new. For this new board I was working on it and adding things to it for two days during teacher inservice last week. Today this lady was telling people how I just would live at the school if I could! All about my days spent there last week. We have such a fun time together there and we are like one big family. Boy is it great to be back!

Seeing Old Friends Again

After a couple of months of not seeing many of the friends I have from school, we got a chance to get together again. Today was a birthday party for one of the little girls in Butch's class. It was at the school's swimming pool. I was thrilled to see several other moms that I really enjoy talking to. We caught up a bit, ate cake and tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. I also got to hold the three month old baby that if you remember from back in May I tried to make a baby hat for and failed miserably the first time! We are all looking forward to being able to see each other on a more regular basis. It is so funny that my friends from school are mostly mothers of daughters! It is somewhat hard to bring two boys to a play date with only girls. We are looking forward to next Saturday when we have orientation at school. School starts in only NINE DAYS!!!

Atlanta Bound!

Tonight at my birthday dinner Joe gave me my birthday present from him. We have four tickets to the Braves vs Marlins Stitch n Pitch game on Sept 17th! I have never been to a Braves game and have wanted to go for years. My father and my father-in-law are big fans of the Braves and I have spent many times with them watching the games on TV. It seems that this will be a great time for me to spend time watching live baseball and crocheting!

Flower Watching!

For three days and two nights I was able to enjoy the chance to watch my niece, L. I had such a wonderful time playing and spending time with her. She loved that the boys were there, too. Every morning she would call for them as soon as I started with her down the stairs. They would let her chase them in circles around the house and they loved every minute. Bubba was about as thrilled as I was to be able to spend so much time with L. It was sad to have to say good-bye to her when her parents came home (although I know they were thrilled to be back home with her as well).

I Am Back!

I returned home yesterday afternoon from another trip to South Carolina. This time Jo and I went to attend my Lane family reunion. We left Friday morning and stopped for the night at her grandparents' house. We had a great time visiting and eating SEAFOOD!! Yummy! The next day we traveled to Marion County, SC to find some cemeteries where some family members are buried. We got lots of pictures of lots of headstones. We even found this cemetery (pictured) with its lone tree and headstones standing out against the surrounding fields of soybeans.

Next after our cemetery hunting was done, we got to see my family at the reunion. I always love getting to see my Lane family every year. Actually I would love to see them more often if I could. I got to reacquaint myself with family and I got to meet several new family members. It was so funny because I am trying to explain to Jo who all 50+ people are and how we are related. Sometimes I can get them confused, but we worked through it. She then amazed everyone by knowing their names and how they fit into the family. That was a great feat for someone who is a complete stranger, especially when half the time some of us that have been a part of the family for 20-30 years still have trouble with that!

Planning to go to SC Again!

It has not been long since my friend, Jo, and I went to South Carolina together and we are already planning to go again. My grandmother's family is from the northeastern part of SC and every year we have a family reunion in July. This year my parents are taking a trip with their church group, so I called my bestest friend, Jo, and I asked her if she wanted to go with me. After a few weeks of thinking and a few days of trying to changing her work schedule, she was finally able to say yes last week. So we are now planning another trip to SC and we are planning to spend one night with her grandparents, Ruley and Hazel, again. I was so excited by the thought of seeing them again. Of course I got to see them tonight (actually I just left Jo's parents where everyone is located about an hour ago) as they came in for a few days. They were so excited by the thought of us coming to visit, even if it is for one night only. They have already started planning the most important part of our visit, where we will go to eat some seafood! You know it is sometimes hard to believe how easy it is to think of them as my family more than those that actually are! Jo's family has considered me as a family member since Jo and I were in high school. All the rest of the family just accepts me as well. Even tonight Ruley told me that I am just like a granddaughter to them. It almost makes me giddy happy! What am I saying? It does make me giddy happy! ;) I thank God that he put them in my life. I cannot imagine not having them as "my" family!

Passing of Time

The other night I was thinking about the last eleven years that Joe and I have been together. It still blows my mind that it has been over eleven years since our first date and over ten since we were married. Our first date is still a typical date for us today (actually we had one of these just last Friday!), which is dinner and a movie. As I recall, though, our first dinner was a fast food place (probably Wendy's or something like that) and the movie was Interview with a Vampire. I am glad to say that over the years not only has the restaurant choice evolved into something better, but also the movies have as well (at least most of the time).

Wise lessons from Jane Austen

In the novel Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen tells the story of the Bennet family. We learn quite a bit about each family member, but one of the biggest parts of the story deals with the bad behavior of several of the family members.

First you have Mrs. Bennet. She is a bit shallow, silly and a gossip. She has good intentions for her five daughters (ie. wanting them to find wealthy husbands that will be able to adequately support them), but she sometimes does not think before she does things. Sometimes you meet people who talk before they think (which I am sure we all have done at one time or another). That is something I think that Mrs. Bennet suffered from almost constantly. She is also a gossip who tends to talk in a voice that projects a little too much, there for allowing others to hear things that she should not be saying (at least in polite company).

Next we look at Lydia Bennet. This is the youngest of the sisters and she is the favorite of her mother's. I think that when you really think about it favoritism never helps a child, but actually has more of a negative affect. You see, Lydia is pampered, encouraged in her boisterous and sometimes inappropriate behavior by her mother and never corrected by her father. Then you look at how much whining and crying she does in order to get her way (which most times her family gives in if only to get her to hush). When has it ever been good to teach a child that if they whine or cry they can get whatever they desire?

The third is Kitty Bennet. I like to think that Kitty would be a good and proper child if her younger sister, Lydia, did not influence her so much. She was allowing herself to be lead by someone who was a bad example for anyone (unless you want to show how not to act!) and not taught to be able to think for herself. Although she is not as silly as her younger sister, she is not too far behind her.

Mary Bennet is a very unique individual. She is not as pretty as her sisters and is a sort of a loner. She has attempted to become accomplished in her piano and singing as a way of promoting herself. Mary is very dedicated to her playing and singing, but she is mechanical and stiff in both. Her voice is never praised as a pretty voice, but she always tries to display her “talents” any time she can. She also is a preachy in her comments to her family, as well as showing little to no tact in these comments, either.

Although Mr. Darcy once states that Elizabeth and her eldest sister, Jane, are above reproach, they also show some behavior that affect their family. They are very close and are to the point that they exclude the other sisters from their close relationship (though mostly it seems to be unintentional). Jane is a Pollyanna who can never see the bad in others. Elizabeth can sometimes be very prejudiced against people (namely Darcy, Wickham, and Caroline Bingley) when she really does not know them that well.

Now at last is Mr. Bennet. He is a smart and witty man. After he married Mrs. Bennet he realized what she was really like and that he had been blinded by her beauty. He realized way too late that he married a woman that he could not respect. After this realization, as well as the addition of her fits of nerves, he tends to avoid her by sequestering himself in his library most of the day. He also starts to make fun of her, instead of trying to help her to become a more well behaved, intelligent person. Not only was he unsupportive of his wife, but also he is also unsupportive of his daughters. He seems to favor his older two daughters as the most intelligent of his daughters. He is constantly making insulting comment as to his other daughters (ie. they are the silliest girls in the country, cannot speak two words of sense together, etc), though he tries to cover it by attempting to make it humorous. He has never properly prepared for his daughters in their dowries, since he planned to have a son (Since his estate is only to pass to male heir, his family will have no home or the income of the estate to live on after his death). In his passiveness towards his wife and younger daughters he has also not taken the control as head of his family. He shirks his responsibilities for making sure that they are behaving in appropriate ways, avoids going to the public outings with his family, he allows his younger daughters to continue in their wild behavior and had given in and allowed them to be “out” too early. In all of this he ends up losing much of the respect that Elizabeth had held for him. When faced with the issue of allowing his whiny daughter, Lydia, to leave home to spend time with a friend in another city, he shrugs off Elizabeth’s warnings of possible disgrace that not only might come on Lydia herself, but would during that time period also included her family (especially her sisters). His response is:

"Do not make yourself uneasy, my love. Wherever you and Jane are known, you must be respected and valued; and you will not appear to less advantage for having a couple of—or I may say, three—very silly sisters. We shall have no peace at Longbourn if Lydia does not go to Brighton. Let her go then. Colonel Forster is a sensible man, and will keep her out of any real mischief; and she is luckily too poor to be an object of prey to any body. At Brighton she will be of less importance, even as a common flirt, than she has been here. The officers will find women better worth their notice. Let us hope, therefore, that her being there may teach her her own insignificance. At any rate, she cannot grow many degrees worse without authorizing us to lock her up for the rest of her life."

Here is a prime example of where a father should be the one to discipline and keep his family in line. If Mr. Bennet had taken the time to discipline and control his youngest daughter he could have prevented the elopement that involved Lydia and the scoundrel, Wickham. This is a huge scandal and one that could have been horribly damaging to the entire family. This father led his family straight to ruin by his lack of responsibility and was only saved by Mr. Darcy who came in and did a patch job to save the reputation of the Bennets.

New Faces Bring New Questions

In my genealogy quest I have several times met with a new relative who adds to the questions I already have. Like the newest relative I found. She has pictures that I am thrilled to see. How can you express your happiness at seeing pictures of the great-great-great-uncles for which you had been looking for years for information on? What thrilling sensations come over you as you see your great-great-great-grandmother’s picture for the first time!

Now, I am starting to try to fit all the information I am learning from her into what I already have. What I really am is more and more confused. Sometimes I am not sure that I will ever really figure out any of this tangled web of a family tree. Of course I also have times that I can just start spilling out all kinds of information that I have learned.

Until I get these spider webs cleaned out of my head I will leave you with one of the newest picture I was able to get today thanks to my new found cousin and a s-i-l who was wonderful enough to help me with the technical aspect! This is Abram Jones Price (brother of my great-great-grandfather, Thomas Rees Price).

I need a girl

I had another crochet hat that I had almost completed last fall, but with preparing for Christmas I put it down and only finished it today. This is made from Bernat Softee Chunky yarn in heather grey. I thought that it looked very cute so I thought to add a picture to my blog. Then I realized my dilemma. This was not like the other hats I had made and I needed more than just something to sit it on, I needed a model. Here comes the hard part. I have two boys. Who can I get to "model" this for me? I could just let the boys take a picture of me in it, but that would look terrible. I needed something that looked a little better than myself. Well, my younger son was handy, so I used him. My thoughts were that he is so cute who would tell the difference? I could just imagine what Joe would say, though. Well, here it is just the same! (And Jama, this is big enough for me, too!)

Another creation from yarn

Yet another wondrous hat made by moi! This hat is made with Shell and V-stitches. This is yet another adult hat made in the Caron yarn in the same Country Blue color. This time I have added a little flower made in a cream Caron yarn. I am attempting to try to get my hats down to the smaller size to fit my friend, Jo, who I promised a hat for her birthday (which was in March! ;). So far I think this is slightly smaller than the last one, but not by much. Guess I can keep this up until I get it right!

Another Hat

During our last two evenings in Cottageville I was able to spend some time crocheting on another hat. This is made from Red Heart yarn in Country Blue (I think that was the color). It has a heather or denim look to it. I have not made a flower yet for it, but I thought I would show the hat since I am finished with this part.

A Weekend in SC

This past weekend my friend, Jo, and I took a trip to Cottageville, SC. It was a genealogy trip for Jo mostly. She has several grandparents, aunts and great-aunts that still live in that area. Since I love the Charleston area I thought that it would be kind of fun. I also enjoy being around her grandparents, Ruley and Hazel. They are some of the sweetest people you could meet (as well as our own little entertainment show!). So for the first two days we went and visited with several of her family members to learn more about her family. On Sunday we went to church and then went to a cemetery where several family members were buried. Then yesterday we drove into Charleston to go to the local library. We each got a lot of information that we had been seeking and lots of laughter from time spent with family. This was the first time in many years that Jo and I were able to spend several days together as just the two of us. It was so much fun! Even though we did not get to do more sightseeing or get to go to the beach, we both very much enjoyed the time together. Hopefully it will not be another decade before we can do another trip together!

Dollywood and the Brave Sirs Butch and Bubba!

Today Bubba, Butch and I took a trip to Dollywood with six friends. After a recent school trip, which resulted in a less than exciting list of rides of which we could participate, we had a much more enjoyable time today. On the school trip my older son, Bubba, and I had measured to see if he and his younger brother would be able to ride several rides. Today we got to ride most that had eluded us last time. The first ride was the Blazing Fury! This has always been one of my personal favorites. It has never been one of the biggest, fastest, etc., but I had always enjoyed the funny little scenes that were created. This was a ride that both Bubba and Butch would be able to ride. Butch was a little scared at first and he said that he did not want to ride a roller coaster. I convinced him that it was a small one and he would be with me. He seemed to be okay with the try it once motto, so we got in line. The entire time I am reassuring him about the ride, but when we got into the car he wrapped his little arms around my waist and was hanging on to me for dear life! It was cute and funny at the same time. He was not sure if he would like it, but he was going to give it ONE try! He was a great little trooper, though he did say after it was over that he would not ride this one again until he is nine. Next we went to Daredevil Falls, which to those familiar with Dollywood (or Silver Dollar City) is the replacement for the Log Flume (and is located where the Flooded Mine, another favorite of mine, was for many years). This ride really scared Butch, though Bubba was really eager to ride. The first time we went to the front of the line Butch was crying so they would not let us on the ride. I tried for a while to calm him and finally he was calm enough to ride. He was still scared, but he was a brave boy and rode with me (albeit hanging on for dear life again as well as eyes shut the whole time!). After getting off this ride and about 30 minutes later he was talking about how he had ridden these rides and was very proud of himself. It was so hilarious! After that he no longer was upset when we mentioned rides. Butch had also mentioned that he did not desire to ride anything that would get him wet. Well, I guess after the Blazing Fury (which got us a little wet) and Daredevil Falls (which soaked us, though not from the drop at the end), he got over that! We went on the River Rampage next. Bubba got drenched in the last little bit of the ride, where previously he had barely received any of the water absorption with which the other five passengers were blessed. His face was absolutely priceless! If we had that picture taken I would have defiantly bought it for future reference! We rode a few other rides like: the old fifty's cars (where Butch showed off his driving abilities), the Carousel, Dollywood Express, and the Amazing Flying Elephants. The boys and I also went to the Dreamland Forest to play in the "bee hive", where we played with the air cannons, before our last ride of the day. The last ride (with just me and my two brave boys) was once more on the Blazing Fury! Bubba had to ride by himself this time (without someone in the same seat) and Butch braved it with me. They were still talking about the Blazing Fury and Daredevil Falls after we got to the car and also after we returned home! I had also been able to enjoy some of the other roller coasters around the park (Tennessee Tornado and the newer Thunderhead), which the boys would not ride. The Thunderhead was great! It is made of wood and lasts longer than the short Tennessee Tornado. It has no loops, but it is one of the top rated wooden roller coaster in the US. All in all I believe we all had a fun day today. I know I did with my boys!

Bee Balm

I came home from being away and I had to go outside to check in on my plants. I know, I know, all I seem to talk about is plants anymore, but this is for E especially. She and I were talking about gardens earlier today, so I wanted to post about my latest bloom. It is Bee Balm, which is in the mint family. I just walked by them at Pope's and thought it looked great, so I bought one. It had started developing a few weeks back, but really blossomed while I was away this weekend. I was finally able to add the pictures in today.

May 30, 2006

June 5, 2006