The Friendship Quilt

Over 25 years ago my parents moved from Alabama to Georgia.  My dad was a traveling electrician and he was going to be working just out of Forsyth, GA at Plant Sherrer - a nuclear power plant.  He had been in semi-retirement but needed to be a union man just once more and the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) had just the job for him.  They had lived in Kellyton for about five years and had made a lot of friends.  Before they left I had a brainstorm and decided to get all of my mothers buddies to make a quilt square for me and my aunt, Shirley, agreed to quilt it.  It was going to be her Christmas Present.  Each person worked diligently at their square and  we ended up with 17 squares.  The quilt was pieced and it was too big for a wall hanging...so we removed 4 of the squares and made pictures out of them.  My aunt Shiley's special friend, Claude, made the quilt hanger thing.  See even the guys got in on this.  My mom loved it.  She lovingly wrapped it up in brown paper and a pillowcase....and it was never seen from again...until I began working on her house...there...like the picture of my brother....stuck in the depths of a closet...was the wall hanging.  The rats had left it unharmed.....so I took it home with me...and when we moved to Rock Mills decided to do a room that featured the quilt hanging....and it looks awesome.  NOW...I need to tell you that the quilt is a bit warped....one of the pieces is not a 12 x 12.  One of the ladies made hers...11 x 11.  Who cares....it is not going to be sold at a Christies auction...it will never be sold....it is what it is....a show of friends that my mother had.  On the right hand side....second row from the bottom....is a brown cross looking piece.  My grandmother made that one.  She died in 1985.   The one beside it was done by the ladies who worked at the Adelia Russell library.  Most of the ladies who have pieces signed on this quilt are dead....some are still living....and they were all my mom's friends.  They loved her....and she them. 

Two of the four framed pieces are odd.  The cross-stitched one I did and the pink candlewicked one my oldest daughter did.  Neither of us could quilt. 

The big basket is going to be a pillow one day.  The other two pieces were done by Shirley Ann Small - an accomplished quilter (she sells her stuff for big money), and my aunt.  Back in the old days....friendship quilts were made and given when someone got married or moved.  They were a symbol of love.  I personally feel honored to possess this great work of art.  I know it is not a Ruben, Van Gogh, or Monet...nope...it is a Kellyton...and I LOVE IT!

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!

I got this idea from Glamour magazine. They have a section called Hey, It’s Okay and will list a bunch of things to be okay about. I think I’m going to do this every Tuesday now. You're welcome to join in and do something like this on your diary. Doesn't have to be on a Tuesday either.

Hey, It's Okay....



To not have cared where Lebron James was going to next.


To wonder how the girls who stand in the front row at Zumba class do not look winded by the end of the hour. Aren’t they tired? Are they human?


To watch Big Brother and root for the under dog. IE not the girl who looks like Barbie or the guy who looks like Ken.


To wish I knew a psychic octopus. I’d ask it things like, “Will I ever get a book published, will Natalie ever use the potty, and will Kate Gosselin ever go away?”


To order the waffle bowl with sprinkles at Coldstone—for yourself.


To wonder what in the hell happened to Mel Gibson. He voiced a Disney character for craps sake! He was William Wallace! I used to love him. And now? Not so much.


To wish I could just stretch out on the sand and read when I go to the beach. But with young kids, it’s out of the question. Oh well. Maybe ten years from now…


To think that the Target 75% off toy sale will occur while I’m visiting my family—will they think I’m nuts if I ask for a detour to Target?


To have loved the new Campfire Blast from Sonic—it’s like a s’more in a cup.


To love when your husband surprises you with a sweet card. He’s been...more romantic lately and I think it’s because his departure to Korea is drawing closer and closer...I’ll take it though.

Fried Green Tomatoes

The truth is, I’ve always wanted to try fried green tomatoes ever since I saw them depicted in the movie by the same name. I figured my best bet was to try them while in North Carolina because I heard a rumor that they like to fry everything in those parts.

I wasn’t sure if I’d get a chance though.

After I got off the plane that took me to North Carolina, I wasn’t sure what the plans were. I just knew that Tom would be waiting with the kids and my mother-in-law. My backpack was digging into my shoulders so I couldn’t move as quickly as I usually did. I called Tom to let him know that I landed and that I’d make my way out to baggage claim eventually.

“Okay,” was all Tom said. Even though we hadn’t seen each other in two days he didn’t seem very moved to hear from me. But that’s Tom. He’s never been full of emotion.

I stepped on an escalator that would take me to baggage claim and that’s when I saw them.

“Mommy!” Natalie yelped and slid from her seat. She ran over to me, arms outstretched. I bent down to pick her up and the movement made my backpack yank me back so I sort of flailed in place while my daughter grasped hold of my arm. “Mommy!” she said again. My heart swelled. I had missed her. And I was pleased to see that she was well coordinated in her outfit. Tom had paid attention when I had told him what to dress her in.

I gave my mother-in-law a hug—I’m lucky and get along with my mother-in-law. I hear horror stories about mother-in-laws being, well, bitchy, and I’m grateful that I don’t have one of those. Then I gave Tommy a hug, who had reluctantly stood up from his chair. He didn’t seem overly thrilled to see me. Of course his father didn’t either. I expected him to take me in his arms but no, he just plucked the backpack off my back and started leading the way to the car.

Okay then. Nice to see you again, too. But really, taking my backpack is a sign that he loves me. He could see it was weighing me down and he wordlessly took it.

“Mommy, are you back?” Natalie asked as she plopped down in her stroller. Yes, at three she still sits in an umbrella stroller for our sanity. She can walk, of course, but she trails behind and takes one step, pauses, takes another, pauses. So the stroller is a necessity so we don’t lose our patience.

“I’m back,” I confirmed, ruffling Tommy’s hair.

“I got a weather book,” Tommy offered. “Grandma bought it for me and I’m learning about tornadoes and hurricanes.” Tommy’s latest obsession is about weather.

We settled into the car—I was in the middle between the kids, but thankfully my ass hasn’t expanded too much so I was able to sit comfortably. Tommy showed me his book and Natalie showed me her book—a creepy Yo Gabba Gabba one, naturally. I noticed up front that Tom and his Mom were passing back and a forth a map. I tried to crane my neck to see where it led to but I couldn’t.

Off we drove to the unknown place and then we finally parked in front of a building that looked as though it had seen better days.

“Is this it?” Tom asked, checking the map. He can find anything whereas I get myself lost in a daily basis.

“It should be,” Tom’s Mom confirmed. She frowned at the building.

It did look run down. But when I took in the sign, I knew where Tom had taken me. The Pit a restaurant that had been featured on that Man VS Food show. I remembered telling Tom that I wanted to go there since I saw that they had fried green tomatoes.

And Tom had taken me there.

The place doesn’t look like much on the outside but as soon as we stepped inside, our opinions changed. It was spacious and clean and the smell wafting from the kitchen made my mouth water.

We were shown to a table and handed a menu. My eyes zeroed in on the fried green tomatoes immediately. I placed an order for them and when they came out, I immediately took one and had a bite.....



....they weren’t the best thing I’ve ever tasted before. But a few people have told me that fried green tomatoes are best homemade.

Still, I ate two of them, and offered one to everyone else.

Tom passed, naturally.

But Tommy liked them.

Natalie.....



.....did not.

“I don’t yike dis this thing, Mommy,” she informed me seriously.

For my main dish I ordered the brisket. I love brisket.



I was amused when my food came with two hushpuppies.

“Now we know we’re in the south,” Tom’s Mom said, winking.

So true. And the hushpuppies rocked.

I love Southern food and would eat it all the time if my thighs would let me.

Ta Da....The New House

Everything is not quite where I want it but I decided to give you a snippet of what the house is shaping up to be on the inside.  The majority of the furniture was already here.  We brought very few things of our own.  We sold them all at a yard sale prior to moving.  The bookshelf to the left is one of those things we brought.  It was an entertainment center that did not sell.  I thought it was so ugly....it was a piece that Frank had BEFORE we married....but we brought it anyways....and he made it into the cutest bookshelf.  The top center shelf is done with cute little squirrley things.  The flags on top of this shelf are from Frank's grandfather, H.F. who fought in WWII, and my father who fought in WWII also.  They were both in the Navy.  The shelf houses books, DVD's and VHS tapes.  It is almost full.....Like I said earlier...the parsonage was FULLY furnished.....but that does not count for the stuff....oh yes...the stuff that is all ours.  Before the next move...we will be lighter on the stuff too. 

Across from the bookshelf wall in the den/tv room is a wall grouping of tiny cars.  My father collected scale model cars for years.  When we began working in my moms house we found all of them...hundreds....still in the boxes they came in.  Frank was delighted and gathered them all together...plus the shelves and created Doug's Wall.  My sweet Frank has displayed all the cars (that were not duplicates...he gave them to my uncle and cousins)...in a great wall grouping he did on his own.  He has dubbed the TV room...the car room...and you know what...he did such a good job....I let him.

One of the things I have inherited are photographs that were my moms, aunts, and grandmother....I have totes and totes of this stuff.....I am slowly going through them and putting them in some kind of order....and you know...after twenty + years of teaching...I have an extensive collection of former student pictures of my own.....that stuff is all in the South room. The South bedroom is done with a quilt hanging and not done yet...so I will post about it later.  The quilt hanging is a post of its own.  The guest bathroom is done in grey blue with brown and lighthouses.  The tiny master bathroom is done in brown, green, cream, and magnolias.

The Friends bedroom is done.  As a matter of fact, it will house it's first house guests this weekend.  We are having a work party at Randy and Amanda's this weekend and Missi and Clay are going to be staying with me.  I am delighted....my first house guests. The master bedroom is a strange shade of blue/green so it was hard to decide what I was going to do there.  We found a great picture at Hobby Lobby last week.  It is of an antique shop and then Kat did a wall grouping of pictures for me with scripture on them...and we used them on the other wall.  Master bedroom is coming along nicely. The bedroom suite is ours.  One of the few pieces of actual furniture we have in the parsonage.  The bedroom suite they had is in the storage shed in the back. 

The formal living room I have deemed....the Music Room...and made it a Still Magnolias haven.  Frank and I put up a wall of Still Magnolias stuff over the couch(which came with us) and I love it!  The topper piece of the wall states, "If Life is a Stage then I need better lighting."  Rebecca gave those to us one year at Still Magnolias Christmas. 

The hallway became the wall of fame/shame this weekend.  The left side is Franks family and I am still working on some of it.  I have some other pictures that are not framed yet....the right side is my family and I have too many of my pictures so lots of them are scattered through the house on tables.  Hey...I am a girl...girls frame pictures.  Guys don't.  The end of the hallway houses a desk with a mirror.

The formal dining room is lovely.  The people here really took some time to make the pastor feel at home.  The pewter tray we got at Waverly looks really lovely on the buffet in the dining room.  I cannot wait for Christmas and to host an Open House here.  I cannot wait to decorate for Christmas...so many possiblities....still cannot find the can opener....and now I am missing a stone picture of my mom and her sisters.....so I know I am not losing my mind.  I will post again on the house this week when I get some more pictures made.  Hope you enjoyed my tour.  Have a Happy Monday!

The Prodigal Son

Today, Frank preached about a really good, Good Samaritan.  I sat there and took all kinds of notes to come home and post about the sermon....but on my way home....I thought about the Prodigal Son....and could not get him off my mind all afternoon.  So...it is the Prodigal Son you are getting today.  Did you know that the parable of the Prodigal Son is probably one of the most “sermonized” parables in the Bible. But of all of the sermons I’ve heard most of them only concentrate on the prodigal son. Very rarely does an American pastor focus on the father of that prodigal son. He had a father....and that father was in pain during his absence...don't you think?  I would have been.  I have to be honest with you....I got the idea for this post from one of my favorite songwriters, John Denver.  I think it is a little ironic, since he was not even a Christian.  Yet a lot of songwriters get the ideas for their songs from sermons and scriptures. I mean look at the Byrds and "Turn Turn Turn"....straight out of Ecclesiastes.  Yep, I’ve always believed that the Holy Spirit can speak to us with many different voices and in many different venues. I love the parables that were used by Jesus to teach.  Jesus used parables to teach a spiritual truth from an everyday situation that the average person in His days on earth would understand. If He were living among us today, the examples would be different of course, although the spiritual truth is eternal. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, one of the two sons had left the family, seeking to live life as he wanted to live it. He hit rock bottom, literally coming to his senses in a pig pen. “I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you’.” (Luke 15:18)  One of the coolest things I think about this parable is the father’s reaction to his son’s return.  This father teaches us two very important practices that would go a long way in helping to heal broken relationships with our children and grandchildren. Ok...so why don't we practice them?
The very first and to me the most important, was witnessed when the son physically returned home.  The father didn’t wait for the son to apologize. He ran to greet him. It was only after the hugs and kisses that the son was finally able to utter an apology. As parents, we have to meet our children halfway when they return rather than allow our pride to convince us to wait for them to make the first move.  That first move may never happen....and then what would you have?  The second practice is that absolutely nowhere in the parable does the father speak a condemning word. There is no “I told you so” or “I hope you’ve finally learned your lesson.” Instead, this father offered unconditional forgiveness. Notice the reaction of the father: compassion, music and dancing, merry, and gladness. What a great lesson. Compassion can best be learned from brokenness. The other son could not understand the father’s reaction to his brother’s return. He had not experienced his father’s pain. “It was right that we should make merry and be glad,” the father told the other son, “for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:32)   We often wonder why we suffer like we do. You all have read my blog over the last year and have heard me cry out during the loss of my father....well...today I actually think I found an answer to my many, Why Gods."  I truly believe that some of my suffering was to teach me to love as I should.  Once again...God was using me for an object lesson and building some character in me.  I wonder when I will ever listen the first time.  Happy Sunday to all and enjoy the song that inspired this post.

Annual Pastor - Family Picnic at SIFAT

After last Sundays beautiful hibiscus I have been quite taken by them and yesterday we went to the annual Southeastern district Pastor/Family picnic at SIFAT.  When I got out of my car...there she was.  The most beautiful red hibiscus dancing in the breeze and I grabbed my camera and captured her.  When I downloaded the picture it almost looked 3-D to me.  I love how spendid she looks....don't you?  Anyways...we went to the picnic....all the pastors (retired and active) from the district and their spouses were invited.  We socialized for a bit and then the business session began.  New officers were elected...Frank is now Vice-President.  Business discussed and tours were then given for those who have never seen how SIFAT operates....or just want to go through it again.  SIFAT is really cool.  Servants in Faith And Technology is a Christian nonprofit organization that provides training in self-help programs for a needy world.
SIFAT offers opportunities for Christians to get involved personally, both to learn from others and to partner with them in missions.  The idea of SIFAT was conceived in the jungles of the Alto Beni of Bolivia in 1976 when Ken and Sarah Corson took their four children and moved to Sapecho to be pastors of a Bolivian church. Realizing that the homesteaders there needed more than spiritual nourishment, Ken and Sarah began work in integrated development with the people of the village.  The Quechuan mayor of the town, Benjo Paredes, became a Christian that year and has been a great Christian community leader. Benjo and Ken cofounded CENATEC (Centro Nacional de Tecnologia Sustenible), a nonprofit Christian organization in Bolivia. CENATEC was the mother organization out of which SIFAT was born. In 1979, the Corsons returned to Alabama and established SIFAT as a training center for meeting basic human needs. Since then, CENATEC and SIFAT have worked closely in many endeavors.  I got to meet Ken and Sarah yesterday.  They are some really awesome people.  Their son runs SIFAT now.  The camp director is Nate and he is married to Laura...they both work there...in fact...they were married on site.  Yesterday was their nine-month anniversary.  It was also Dr. Richard Stryker (our District Superintendant's) birthday.  Frank took the tour for a second time.  I had planned to but enjoyed visiting with other pastor wives and the D.S.'s wife, Jennie, and their precious little one, Finda....so I stayed behind....besides it was hot as rip.  Lunch was served a little before 12 and we feasted on grilled hamburgers and hotdogs cooked for us by the summer staff, mostly comprised of college students.  One of those college students, Paul, led our music for the meeting portion of the day.  He was an excellent musician and had the sweetest voice.  I was really surprised when I looked up and there was my sweet Hamp.  Hamp was one of the youth from First Methodist Alex City.  He is in college at Auburn and one of my most favorite individuals.  He has a beautiful voice too.  You ought to hear him sing Awesome God.  It was a great treat to spend a little time with him and the other staffers.  They actually gave up their one and only day off to do this for us.  What a great group of young people!  They are all working the summer camps program.  There are seven weeks of camps.  They have already been through five and only have two left. SIFAT has a blog that you should visit so I provided a link for you to check it out.  It is an amazing place and I am so glad our district has started having their picnics there.  I don't know who made Bro. Richard's birthday cake but Frank said it was delish.  On our way home, my sweet niece Ramona called and filled me in on next weekends project.  Many of us are meeting at Randy and Amanda's lake house and doing yardwork and fixing the split rail fence.  Since Randy's bout with ALL...yard work has been ignored....so...we are going to be really Good, Good Samaritans next weekend...and get it in shape so that that load will be lifted from them.  Hope your Saturday was a great one.  Still wishing for rain here.  We had a little shower...but not nearly enough.

Like A Melted Reeses Peanut Butter Cup...

The Melting Pot.

I know I gush about it a lot.

But I can’t help it.

The place is amazing.

So I was glad when I got to eat there when I was visiting my best friend Jennifer. We got to go alone, no kids, and it was fantastic.

I would not bring kids to The Melting Pot. For starters, there is a gigantic burner in the middle of the table. And plus, the place just doesn’t scream children. It screams quiet drinky time for adults.

Or maybe just quiet time if you don’t drink.

Jennifer and I ordered a drink though. I had been curious on what some of them tasted like.





I can’t remember what Jennifer ordered but I got some berry mojito that tasted strongly of vodka. I could barely drink it all. I prefer the sweet drinks, I admit that. I’ve never been one for doing shots.

Our first course came. The cheese. We had a male waiter and come to think of it, whenever I go to The Melting Pot I’ve usually always had a guy. He was polite and asked us the usual question as he mixed up our cheese: what did we do, what brought us in here (“the cheese! The chocolate!” I answered), and were we married (“why, you interested? I could use a guy friend who knows how to make cheese fondue.”)





We had our meat and veggie course next and Jennifer decided to try a mushroom just to make sure she still didn’t like them.





She still doesn’t like mushrooms.

I decided to play with my mushroom. (I don’t like them either. Weirdly, my husband, who is incredibly picky likes mushrooms. He’ll eat fungus, but not pot roast.)





And then came the best part.

The chocolate course!







We got the chocolate peanut butter one. It was like a giant melted Reeses Peanut Butter cup. In short? Heaven.

It was Jennifer’s first time at The Melting Pot.

Did she approve?



Why, yes she did!