Country Roads

The past weekend I got in my car and road up in the Macedonia area of Lake Allatoona. In the back roads I saw wild turkeys. A mother and 4 small ones.

The only turkey I saw back in the old times was a wing hanging on an Indian decendants wall that my Dad took me to visit. This man lived close to nature. He grew his own tobacco and I still remember what they called the twists of tobacco leaf.

It was an very interesting place for a child, things like drying green beans, strung across the back porch. Vegetables in the old root cellar. A big garden and of course the deer horns from the past winter hunts.

Just looking at the roads and all the changes those times do not seem real. Daddy loved to just walk in the woods and one year in the fall he took me to the area of old Stamp Creek, which at one time had a covered bridge over it. Deep water that today looks peaceful. When we started towards the lake it was in the late fall and snakes were scurries everywhere and being no fan of the crawling things, I told Dad hey what if we get bit? He replied "They are more scared of you than you are of them."

Oh yeah! Saturday was the first time in many years I had been to that area so having my trusty borrowed camera I took a few shots. Hope you enjoy them.

Rainy Night in Georgia

As I listen to the rain and thunder outside it is a great feeling. It has been over 100 degrees all week and this is only July. It will be very muggy here today if the rain leaves for the Carolinas. Hopefully cooler temps.

It is such a pleasure to see the outside world around the year. After working for ages and never being able to do what I please. Now I know what the bumper sticker means when it says I am retired I do not Make Decisions.

Jonesy and Rose made their yearly checkups this week and thank goodness I have not killed either one with my tender loving care. Of course the lady of the brood had a spell this week when I thought I would have to put her in the hospital, mental that is. The little stinker bit me on the hand. The hand that feeds her.

My oldest son is changing jobs next week and He is on pins and needles about the test he took the other day. It will be his birthday before He finds out if he passed. He is a smart guy and has studied hard I feel He will make it.

He will go to work for the telephone company in Ellijay. Not a part of BEllSouth where I spent nearly a lifetime. I wish him luck and would love to see him in pole climbing school. I learned in the 70's when I was the 1st female in Cobb County to be an outside technican. The other techs were great, but the boss I had was pure male chavaniest. A stinker that would not last in todays political correct world.

YA I fell off a pole. Ended my career outside and no I did not hug the pole. The splinters are not what you want when you have a big front. The turkey left me out on the site until after 5pm when one of the tech drove me to the office. A supervisor at the office saw what my ankle was doing and I ended up in the emergency room. By the way the turkey picked on the wrong people and was severly beaten by a bunch from Alabama that did not put up with his mouth and hateful remarks.

A side to the pole fall, of all things it was being filmed for tv news Women in unusual jobs. Just my luck to make the evening news while I am in the emergency room. And believe me the group of techs never let me forget it. They are a great bunch to work with. Most have retired and gone on to better things.

Lazy Days of Summer

It has been several days since I tried to get my mind on blog time. Today proved I am losing my mind.

Last Night was my night to go to church from 2am to 3am. So coming home I decided to sit up until time to go vote. Primary election for the state of Georgia. Have not seen any results so must have been only a few who voted.

Any way I came home and messed around for a while and got very sleepy. Well I had been up since 1030pm on Monday. So old lady go to bed for slight nap. I think Eric will relate to that, when I was over there I would take naps at any and all times.

My oldest son came by to spend the night. He has an important meeting in Smyrna tomorrow and wanted to be well rested. In waking me up I thought it was Wednesday. So I told him He was a day late. So he calmly lets me make a total fool of myself thinking I had slept thru Tuesday and now it was Wednesday. I had not pulled this caper since I worked 8am till 5pm in the 1990's. When I woke up at 7pm and thought I was late for work. Luckly a tv show came on that I knew was a late deal. So losing days is not new. It started when my sleep patterns were messed up and got worse when I worked 12pm to 8am for about 8 years.

The poodle was feeling under the weather a little rash from the heat and etc. She had a good time until she found out it was not my oldest grandson, whom she loves better than anybody. She is now sleeping and hopefully will feel better tomorrow.

My Two Sons and some Family

In playing around with the camera I managed to get a few shots to take that I would be able to download. The camera gave out on me before I could get all the shots I wanted.

The one of my Father and Mother was taken when I was about 4 years old. It was always a camera and pictures of the relatives. Where most of the pictures are now, who knows. The war years and the thirties and fifties are well documented.

I managed to save a few, not the ones of the lake before it was a lake. You should see some of the rocks and trees that are in the bottom of Alltoona. Maybe they will show up and a later blog will have them.

The Grandmother was the last to move out in 1954 from the family places Macedonia. Most of them are buried there and at Center Baptist in Cartersville. Some passed and I did not get the message until 6 months later.

The picture of the 4 kids was taken about the same time as the other. I think we traded clothes and toys. Amazing what a rock does when used for a car on a mud road under an old porch. An spindles from a thread mill before they were all shipped over seas. All are still living, but the generation below us have mostly passed away.

The electric power had not made the country when these were taken. It was a weird life. My Grandmother had nine children and all of them lived within 10 miles of each other. Only one is living today.

The two ball players are mine. Ages 6 and 8 . AllStars of course. Just threw them in because I love the picture. Nick on the right and Eric on the left. It seems they always end up that way in pictures.

Home Sweet Home

Today 21 years ago ,I was on a month long vacation. It rained every day. My oldest
son had a wreck. We were both ok, but shaken. The guardian angel let us stop before the mud slick road tossed us upside down on the railroad track.

We lived in a place called Toonigh. Named for a railroad stop in the early 1900's because it was too nigh close too nothing. Today it is growing an almost as big as the city of Woodstock. which is about 5 miles away and Holly Springs about 5 miles away.

Where we lived had become a place of bad memories. We were left for another. Although it should have been a bitter time it made the 3 of us closer. But living next to your ex in laws can be weird, so when the old man offered me $10000 to move I prayed to find a nice place to land in.

I had gone to a seer in 1983 and she had told me I would find a house not upper class but in a great neighbor hood. She said a few other things that had actually happened so with a little faith I started looking. My nephew was with me when we passed the old neighbor hood and He asked me if I would like to look there. I told him there was no way I could afford the houses in that section. Since I was driving, I felt the steering wheel turn on its own. We landed at a house on the back street of the subdivision and found the perfect place. The door had a lock box on it and was supposed to be locked, but when I touched the door it came open.

We found the house was in solid condition,but in need of tender loving care. It was painted the yellow of mustard and blood red shutters. Old brick had always been my favorite and as a kid I wanted to live in an all brick home. Three bedrooms and 2 baths, big kitchen, fireplace in den, living room and a utility room for washer and dryer. It was surely out of my range. No way could I afford this. But oh ye of little faith, just wait till the angels take it over. It was ours the minute we found it. I just did not know it yet. The steering wheel was only the beginning of weird stuff. The next door neighbor was the most popular kid in school and he ended up best friend with my Sons. You name it it was taken care of. So never give up when it looked the worst a new door always opens and we got to leave the weird place.
My nephew talked me into calling the real estate broker. The house was ready to be repossed and they wanted $50000. It was within my price range, but I had just been divorced and 2 teens to raise I did not think I would be able to afford it.

Thinking back the seer had told me I would find a house, never have to worry about payments being made. Nice house and we would love it. So I began to believe and the deal was settled within 3 weeks or less. July 27 1984 we signed for the house and since she had told me the seller would be a J inital I was shocked to see the paper work. The sellers offical name was J and the banker was John.

It worked out great. I was retired with enough money to finish paying the mortagage off and it only took me a year for the paper work to come to officially make it mine.

Bryce Canyon Road Utah

These are some of the most beautiful pictures I took in Utah. Have not talked about the trip last year in a little while so looked back over the memories of the trip and came up with this.

I have seen several travel logs on Wyoming and the winter shots make me wish I was a winter person. I think I would love to see the Park in winter. The hot springs were amazing in May.

The herd of buffalo still stop traffic and the rangers still have to move them along. I enjoyed all of it. From the cold to the warm and the water falls to the frozen lake. A woman fell to her death a couple of weeks ago and I wondered what part of the park she was in. The safety of the visitor is such a high priority it seems impossible to move over a guard rail just to take a picture. Of course the camera nut that challenged the buffalo herd must have ranked as one of the ones who cause trouble for the rangers.

Sleeping Cat

In looking around for Jonesy I find him asleep somewhere. Once I found him in the amoire, the closet, on the couch, etc.

Then He goes outside and sleeps on my truck, the patio, or near the bird feeder out back. He sometimes wanders off in the neighborhood and thats when I am afraid he may forget where he belongs.

The dog was asleep yesterday. On her back laying on the pillow with 4 feet in the air. Have yet to find Jonesy in that position.
Have a nice day!

Endangered Squirrel

The other day I recieved and email stating a red cheek squirrel had been discovered in California and had halted the building of a multi millon dollar power project. The tonge in cheek report, ended with an uncomfirmed report that one of the committee of environmentalists had run over the squirrel nest in question, killing the entire family of squirrels. Sad to say but I think a few of them got away and are living in my back yard.

This morning Miss Rose barked and I heard a movement in the den. Since she barks at Jonesy everytime He moves towards her food supply, I ignored it. Later after making the rounds and not getting any sleep last night, I followed her into the den and turned on the light and so help one of the rare red cheeked squirrels was hanging from my old picture and crawling around the molding of the room and screaming.

Mr Jones the great hunter, sat on the patio and looked at Miss Rose and said "You found it you handle it."

I am not very fond of the animals I have to scare or take out of the house or find under my bed in the hot summer belly up. Usually chipmunks. The squirrel had gotten hungry because I had not feed them in the last week.

So here I go at 430a with a camera and a dust mop to chase the stupid rare creature out of the house. Now the door is wide open, food leading to it and I have to get the mop after him. What does he do? He takes a flying leap at me and I nearly fall over the end table and he goes about 80 miles an hour out the door up a tree and the mighty hunter JJ sits and listens to him scream. Miss Rose goes back to her bed and guards her bonies.

How can you not love two nuts like them. Jones and Miss Rose.

This is for Rube and Ann, the peanut butter will be there in a few days. Love ya

Life in General

The last fifty years have been eventful for me and for the world. I graduated school. 1956. Married 1966,divorced 1981, bought a house 1984, retired in 2003.

The best of course was the birth of my 2 sons. When I was younger I wanted to be a space explorer, instead I explored the Telephone company from manuel boards to climbing poles and the last years sitting with my feet on a desk working crossword puzzles. Of course I got my work done, not much happens between the hours of 2 and 6 am in the metro area of Atlanta.

When they starting downsizing the company I did not accept the offer but later they made an offer I could not refuse. It paid for that house I bought and shopping great auto to drive and great times in general.

I sailed 14 times. Spent Christmas in Germany 3 times. I have seen most of the 50 states and a few countries. I have seen the city of Rome and the Vatican.

Lost a lot of dear and precious friends and relatives. I miss Mom and Dad, but the one I have the hardest accepting is a friend from Baltimore. She was so full of life and developed liver cancer in 1997. The worst year I can remember. I lost or found out 3 cousions younger than I had cancer, ms, etc. But life goes on.

The World Trade Center was a turning point in 2001. I have a friend who made it out of the second tower. He was also there when they tried to blow it up in 1993.

I was working the day Kennedy was shot. The day the plane crashed at Orley Field in France with most of the elite of Atlanta Society. Storms hit and sunny days and snow. The times I walked out and My stepmother talked me into going back to work.

It is amazing how fast time flies. My Wyoming is still one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Would live there if I had the nerve to leave this place.

Guess you can read the history of the world to know how many wars and peace agreements that happened from 1939 to 2006. I always claim I started ww2.

How many presidents? Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhouer, Nixon, Kennedy, Reagan, Bush and little Bush, Clinton, Carter, Ford. Who did I leave out?

Happy Fourth of July from the USA