Several months ago, we introduced the Puzzle Pieces series, hoping to share what we love about our homes, to bring out more knowledge about various areas of the country we all love. We have fallen behind in the series, so I thought this patriotic weekend would be a good time to get back to it.
I would like to share a little history, a little folklore, a little of my love of my home state, Georgia. (more…)
Our family received a 2 pound 12 ounce blessing this week.
Many of you may be aware of the birth of Sarah Isabella if you have checked into the prayer thread. Many of you have been praying for her and her mother. From the bottom of my heart I thank you. You have made a difference in a precious life, you have joined in prayer to save a precious and beloved child. I am awed and grateful that I have this place, these people to cry out to for help. I am thankful for all the prayers and love sent to Sarah Isabella. I am particularly grateful for the medical care given the mother and child. (more…)
Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote “In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.”
How did you meet your true love? Was it a knock your socks off moment, or a gradual wakening of feelings for someone you knew for awhile? Did you fall in love at first sight, or did you really not like them at first? Will you tell your children and grandchildren your story? It would be so wonderful to hear how you met your partner, but it would also be great to hear from those of you who have older stories to tell. Does anyone have any tales of how Grandma and Grandpa met, and she waited while he was gone to war, or how their parents eloped and lived happily ever after? It sure would be interesting to get some male points of view here, so chime in guys. (more…)
In reading an article in the New York Times this morning, I stumbled across an appalling statistic. A new study to be published in The American Journal of Public Health finds that almost two million women have been raped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That translates to nearly one rape per minute. Read more here. (more…)
Historians tell us that the predecessor of the Mother’s Day holiday was the spring festival honoring mother goddesses. In ancient Greece, the spring festival honored Rhea, wife of Cronus and mother of the gods and goddesses. Cybele was honored in Roman festivals. This Roman celebration, known as Hilaria, lasted for three days – from March 15 to 18, and began several hundred years before Christ was born.
England observes “Mothering Sunday”, observed on the fourth Sunday in Lent. It is possible that 
the ceremonies to honor Cybele were adopted by the early Church in honor of Mary, Mother of Christ. In seventeenth century England, young men and women would bring small gifts to their mothers in observance of this day. This British holiday would not carry over to America. One explanation is that life on the American frontier was simply too harsh to take time out for this celebration. Some also believe this conflicted with rigid Puritan beliefs. It would be several centuries later before Americans redesigned their own day dedicated to the memory of their mothers. (more…)
Below are some disjointed and rambling words I wrote last night to describe my thoughts and feelings in the aftermath of the tornado that swept through my little hometown of Ringgold, Georgia. After that somewhat incoherent introduction, I hope you will let me share a bit of the best and worst of the life here in stricken Northwest Georgia. (more…)
The Easter Triduum, the marking of the days of Jesus’ passion and resurrection, the most important time of the church year, begins with the evening Mass of Holy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes on Easter Sunday evening. After preparing during the days of Lent, we celebrate these holiest of days in the Church year. (more…)
Hello, hello folks, especially to all of you who may have dropped into our little tree house for a visit. Perhaps you found a link to one of Sundancecracker’s well researched posts on the middle east or Japan. or maybe you heard about the special nostalgia of Sharon’s Mailboxes and Old Barns. However you got here, we would like to take time to thank you for stopping in to see us. Settle in for a bit, check out a few posts, enjoy the wit and wisdom of our commenters. We are blessed to have not only a nationwide base of regular commenters, but a few who hail from such wonderful places as Switzerland, France, India, Canada. We hope
you’ll consider coming out of the closet, so to speak, and do just that – speak. Please feel free to join us as we discuss, brainstorm, lament and inquire. Or in the case of Ad rem and WeeWeed, offer entertainment at no extra charge! We are a very diverse and respectful group here, and you’ll fit right in. Share a few thoughts and make a few friends. Welcome.
Friday afternoon I decided to return home for the weekend through some back roads in the Smokies rather than the faster method of the interstate. It took me four and a half hours instead of the usual two and a half, and it was an afternoon of pure pleasure. Let me tell you a little about my former home state, the state I was raised in and called home until 2001. But first, spend an afternoon in the beautiful Smokies with me. (more…)
Cats or Dogs?
acquainted, everybody. How about we take a little time, have a little fun, and find out what makes us all special as we sit aound the tree house, OK? Here are some fun questions to get us started. If you want to throw something else in there, go ahead (no raccoon pelts, Ad rem).