Artist getting more organized

I am making huge inroads on the organization project. I spent all day in my closet. I found maternity clothes and its been over 14 years since I needed those. There is nothing uglier than spandex gone bad. I carried bag after bag after bag of old, stained, waaaay too small clothes out to the dumpster. I have got to stop keeping things like I have been. Hopefully this will be the beginning of not being a clutter bug. Tomorrow I will start on my art room. I have always had a good idea what I wanted my studio area to be like. I intend to get it headed in the right direction this next week before I start back to teaching the kids on the 4th.

Two of my wayward kitties made it back home today. Garfield came home wailing something fierce. He can be quite vocal when he wants to be. Dottie the calico queen also showed back up . I think they were both locked up in someones storage building. They were both hungry and scratched up. Dottie has done nothing but sleep. Garfield ate a big meal and then headed back outside. I can't keep him inside. He will spray everything in sight. Little TJ is no where to be found. I figure he was killed by the pack of dogs that roam at night. He was too young to know how to get up a tree to save himself. Poor Dottie has had 5 litters and Garfield is the one one of her kin that has lived. I'm going to keep her inside this go round so maybe she can raise a litter and I can finally get her spayed. She is such a pretty cat. She has had a calico kitten each time but they have never lived more than a few days.

Look at these wonderful people

I just love all our wonderful helpers at the food pantry. Jan tore herself away from her new little daughter Charlie Ann to come down and help us out.Donnie and Andy are always there to help. Mr. Hannaford is a mainstay. If I didn't have Jackie to run interference for me I might be snookered by more people that I care to think about. She can be a bossy butt at times but her heart is as big as she is and its a good heart. Some of my helpers are camera shy and they were hiding from me. But we were getting ready to open the flood gates and had out those boxes. If you have a good back you need to come and help us out. I can't seem to get those young'uns to some on Saturdays to give out the food. Oh they will collect it for me. And there are many thankful people for those collections. But the strong backs are needed for 'toting' those boxes out the doors for the ones that can't carry it. All I heard on Saturday was "I'm gonna need a BIG Tylenol when I get home." Each box was filled with a 3 lb. ham, a 2 lb can of Chicken a 1 lb can of shredded pork, 10 15oz cans of veggies and fruits as well as the 2lb bags of rice and cereal and liter of milk. So each box weighed in at 20 pounds or more. Ya'll pray that we get another helping hand from FEMA for 2007. I hope that we can get even more this year. The pantry desperately needs it. Our overhead is low. The utility bill is about the minimum each month. The insurance is 300 or 400 a year. I forget how much on that one. The shipping each month for the food runs around 200 to 250 and we still have to drive down to the drop off point and then bring the food back. The December shipment was 3999 pounds and that cost us 200. The majority of the food is donationed but we have to pay for it to be shipped from Jackson to our pick up point in Starkville. I can only use the FEMA money to buy food locally so that buck doesn't go as far. But both grocer's do a wonderful job of giving us as much as they can both bear for the best possible price. And the pantry does have non-profit status. There are no employees. I could use a filing cabinet if anybody has one they don't use any longer. Some good folks donated a desk for me and a good chair and we have a long table and some folding chairs for when we have to sign people up and for re-registering.

Scott built all of the pallets and the tables that we stack the foodstuffs on. The rollers were donated by a store that was going out of business. Those have been a God-send. The boxes just load so much easier when you can roll then down the line instead of pushing with all your might.

Some of the pantry recipients come and cut the grass for us and make sure that the trash is put on the street and then move the dumpster back for us. They also come and help carry out the boxes. It makes them feel better that they can give and not just take.

December Food Pantry was huge!

The December food give away was a huge success. Or Surprise. Take your pick. We had the 2nd half of the FEMA money that I had been holding on too for 6 months so that we could get hams for the Christmas box. It's only about a weeks work of meals but its something. Those were really nice boxes this time. The first two pictures are of all 225 boxes that we put together. We still had a good bit of miscellaneous canned goods left over for emergency boxes. We made up 225 boxes and had enough money to have 225 hams. Last year we gave out 196 hams so we thought we would get some extras for this year.



There were 159 boxes stacked up on the pallets and the rest were on top of the long row of tables. Our volunteers worked hard and fast on Thursday the 20 to load up those boxes. Then on Friday evening James Wright drove up with our hams and we carried them into the pantry. The hams had to be added as the boxes were picked up on Saturday the 22nd. People started lining up in the Bollinger Theater's parking lot by 9:30. WE don't give out the food until 12.

All the volunteers for Saturday turned out and we started giving out those boxes. I started worrying about 12:45 if we were going to have enough to go all that were coming. I don't broadcast what will be in a box ahead of time. I did have a couple of folks that I took to the side and talked to about scamming us. I had found out that two 'households' were actually one. They knew that we can only give one box per household. I hope one day that we can give a larger box to the larger families. But that is a thought for another day. When we hit the 225 mark Sr. Mary Jean and Jan Spradling and Joe and Millie Goforth and the others from Calhoun City and Vardaman threw it into high gear and made up more boxes. Sr. Mary ended up having to give some gift cards to Freds and Piggly Wiggly to the last 3 people in line. We gave out a total of 244 boxes and then the gift cards so there were 247 households that we gave too.

Christmas and New Years is sort of like Easter and Christmas at Church. You only see some folks at Easter and Christmas time like they can get all of their religious nuturing in those two holy days. Its like that at the pantry. WE might see some of these people a time or two during the year and then we won't see them again until its time for a presumed special box. I would love to be able to give out a great box year round. But that is not always possible. But I do know that there were some nice dinner spreads for the Christmas feast this year.

Another Christmas Past

I made it through another Christmas. Since I am 53 that would make this the 54th Christmas. I was just 5 months old for my first one in 1953. I really didn't get and Christmas Spirit until Christmas Eve morning. I actually decorated the tree and turned on the lights. I think that is the first time in 6 years that I personally decorated the tree. Its all done in red and purple and blue with a little gold thrown in for good measure.

We were able to celebrate Christmas morning Mass with Fr. Tim this year. ITs a first for us. We have always had to make do with Christmas Eve vigil here in Bruce. He couldn't come then but was able to celebrate on Christmas Day so that was a nice change. It was also quiet that my niece didn't show up and stress us all out. I can't remember when she wasn't making hay of the evening. It was a sad thing to do but she has chosen her path in life and it is the wrong path.

It was so wonderful to see Christmas thru the eyes of that sweet little Bella.. She was just in awe of everything.

We couldn't afford anything big and gaudy this year with paying for my reconstruction surgery. But you know what? Christmas isn't about how big a gift you can give or get. I would actually prefer that there not be anything big if there has to be gifts given. It's about being with family and friends. Scott wanted to do a light show so we did. That was his gift. I needed new glasses (badly it turned out!) so I got them. I hope I can convince people next year to just give something that will fit into the stocking. The girls got me a gift card to Hobby Lobby and I got me some more watercolor paper and a new table easel. I really like it. Scott is going to build me a taller drawing table and put a light box in it. I need one of those badly. Little things like that are all I need. Ariel and Erin both bought gifts for people that showed a great deal of thought.

For 2007 I see myself doing more for my mom. She can't afford to keep paying someone to help her around her house and yard. I will probably be doing more yard work than I care to do and so will Erin but we will get it done. I cooked more at moms than she has ever let me do before. As long as things are put back where she likes it then we are ok. I can identify with that. She likes towels folded just so and dishes put in just the right spot and pots and pans stacked just so.

The personal budget is going to be tightened up too. We can do this. I just keep hoping that I can find some part time work doing transcription. Either that or more portraits and paintings.
Either way I would be satisfied. I did 8 portraits in November and December. I think I'll do some for my sister for her birthday that is coming in March. She wants a wall of Bella so I'll try and deliver.

And I even made the dreaded day after Christmas sale because the girls wanted to use their gift cards. I thought I had died and gone to hell! I really don't like huge masses of people like that. It was like stirring stew with a stick. So on that note I think I'll drag my tired self upstairs and go to sleep in that nice warm bed and sleep off the stress of the day. I will not venture out tomorrow. I have plans on cleaning this house from top to bottom and starting the new year off with a clean house. I will sit on my butt on New Years Day and read a book and eat my lucky meal. That is my plan and I am sticking to it!!

Charlottes Web Quiz. Which Character Are you?

I'm Charlotte. No surprise. I actually figured for Wilbur but I scored at Charlotte.
Subject:
Charlotte's Web Quiz: Which Character Are You?
Message:
I thought you might enjoy taking Charlotte's Web Quiz: Which Character Are You?, a quiz on Beliefnet .

New glasses

I finally broke down and got new glasses. I have gone thru RK surgery to correct my literal blindness. It was wonderful being 20/20 for 10 years. Then I had the cataracts from taking the tamoxifin for 5 years. But the choice of prevent cancer from recurring or blindness.....hmmmm that's a no-brainer. So I had the cataracts removed. 20/20 again. For a short time. Then the huge change hit. So I am now the proud owner of bifocals. cute ones too. I could not believe how well I could see. I could not bellieve how badly I was seeing. That was scary. I also can see just how much my girls have been missing when they vaccum the floors. Gotta get them on that one. Taking advantage of Moms blindness like that.

UP and Down on the roller coaster

I am a punctual person. I'm not anal about it but I am punctual. If I say I'll have something done by a certain day I will. I just can't tell you what time that certain day it will occur. And I depend on people that hire me to do a job for them to pay me on time. With art work that isn't a problem. Tha usually entails a partial payment to start with so that I can purchase any needed supplies like the oversized canvas or a special paint I don't keep on hand. When it come to my tutoring tho, ahh there is the rub! People must think I am made of money or something. I am hanging on by the same thread everyone else is. I have utilities to pay and taxes to pay and a mortgage to pay and car payments and student loans for myself and my soon to be college aged daughter. I went without hot water for a few days because we didn't have the available funds to purchase one. Thank goodness it was not winter time. Then I had my first surgery and couldn't work for 6 weeks. THAT will put a dent in the ole bill paying. Now in order to get our helath insurance premium down we have to both lose weight and prove it to the company. IT will cut our premium in half so we are going to do it. Yesterday I spoke with my on-line health adviser and I need to lose 25 lbs. I have 6 months to do it thank goodness. But I have to eat right around 1000 calories a day!!! that means if I want a hamburger I can have 1/4 of it. Or 2 oz of that 8 oz steak. Or it means I will probably be eating 2 bowls of oatmeal and one light meal a day and lots of water. So If you see me looking at your overly filled plate longingly just know that I am lusting in my belly for your hearty platter of goodies. I'll have to go to talk to Fr. Tim about this! I am sure there is a lesson in discipline in this whole matter. I lose money because I am such a patsy and I have to lose weight so we can save money because I am such a patsy that I can't get people to pay me therefore I lose money......just a never ending roller coaster.

Tell me, just how does one get to be disabled? I am sure that I fit a category somewhere. Does being a patsy count!!

The Week before Christmas

Starting the countdown now. The stress and anxiety of this time of year gets to me. I haven't really liked to decorate my tree since I worked as a visual display manager in a major department store. The year I had to decorate and maintain and undecorate 72 trees was the kicker for me. I didn't put a tree up for years until my girls were born. Then it was because of them. As I have gotten older tho I really see how the Spirit of Christmas giving has become highjacked by secular commercialism. The true Spirit behind the gift isn't there. It's become 'gotta get a gift cos he/she is going to get me one' or no real thought goes into the gifts. Its so easy to walk into Wal-Mart or Big-Lots or the store of your choice and just start picking up random thngs that you think someone might like. And the truth be known, how many of you have ever gotten what you might have really wanted? I asked for bath towels every year. Honestly, I do. That is a gift that for this household there is a true need. I don't know what happens to our towels. Two teenaged girls that bath umpteen times a day just wears those little terries right off the towel. Have I ever gotten towels for Christmas. Hmmmm yeah. But not for the last 10 years. My Daddy always gave us a huge gift certificate to Sears and we would go and load up on nice thick thirsty bath sheets. He died 10 years ago. So now I just ask for towels and then go and buy them myself at random times. If anyone asks me I also ask for art supplies. That doesn't happen often either. Those gift cards from Hobby Lobby or Micheals are wonderful. I guess folks don't think its personal enough. I love to give a gift card to someone. You know why? Because I don't really know what to give someone. If I pick out a book at Books A Million, they will probably already have it. Can't tell you how many times that has happened to me. I love cookbooks but not everyone cooks except for my sister and she already owns most of the ones that I have been looking at. My taste in clothing is not like anyone else I know. So its hard for me to pick out something other than comfy PJ's or a t-shirt with a smart saying on the front. Then there is that price issue. As hard as I try NOT to let it bother me, I can't spend a lot of money on each person and it bothers me when someone gives me a gift that I know is way more than I would spend or even be able to spend.

We started out with our girls giving them just a few gifts. Things that they can truly use that they wouldn't get normally in the course of the year. But nothing extravagant. There are no i-pods or game cubes or x-boxes here. Lots of books and movies and games (the kind you have to sit down and play with other people around the table and interact with!)

I wish that I could one day just tell people to give to the food pantry in my name. That would give me much pleasure. I have been blessed with having a roof over my head and I can still work to pay the bills. It's tight around here but we still have food. I don't like to see people that are truly in need and there are many here. Regardless of why they don't have enough is not a big deal. Some are too old to work anylonger. Some are too ill. Some have screwed up their lives so badly that people look down their noses at them and won't give them a chance so they don't even try any more. But they are still human beings made in the image of God and Jesus welcomed all to his table. I have to tell myself that everyday and think, 'am I the Samaritan or the person that looked the other way and walked on the other side of the road to avoid the person in need?'

This Christmas, give in the Spirit of the One that we want to be like. The gifts don't have to be huge and elaborate. They just really need to be from the heart and be something that the other person really doesn't have. Have a blessed Christmas and New Year

Why did we do our Christmas lights this way?

people keep asking us why we did this.

Scott has added more music to the Christmas light show. Several familiar Christmas songs as well as some music from the 'Grinch' have been added.

1. We did it for the kid in all of us. It's not just little kids that are getting a kick out of watching our lights. Its all ages that stop to look and listen. When Scott was a little boy he loved the lights and I did too. Both of us can remember our parents driving us around to see the Christmas lights before we went to bed on Christmas Eve. We have never gotten over looking at Christmas lights. Plus, before my Daddy died in 1996, he wanted to put lights all over his house. He never got the chance to do it the way he wanted. Bright and a lot of lights. So we have taken up the gauntlet and will do our best to carry on the task that he set out to do. DT would love it!!!
2. Its a great hobby. Scott gets so much joy and satisfaction out of thinking up and planning the light sequences and displays! The laughter and smiles from the people that are watching is the best gift he could ever get.
3. We have been so blessed and the light show is our gift to our community. However, we would like to draw attention to our favorite charity. This is the Season for giving and we will be collecting donations for the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry from now until December 19th. We will be packing the Christmas food boxes on the 21st and the Pantry is still short a few items. A large barrel will be out front to collect non-perishable food items. We could really use peanut butter and coffee. Please stop by and enjoy our lights and music and help fill a box for a needy family this Christmas. Merry Christmas to all!

Grinches at Christmas and the Real St. Nicholas.

I know a 16 year old young man that works very hard. He comes from a large family and he is the older brother. I have watched this young man grow over the last 10 years. He has the most amazing work ethic I have ever seen in a kid his age. He is very responsible and very driven. And he also still has his 16 year old goofy side thank goodness. This week he got the wind knocked out of his sails. Someone stole his wallet at school. The wallet contained his truck payment. He doesn't know when it happened. His wallet was pretty big and could have fallen out of his pocket. No one has owned up to finding it. It contained his license and over 200 dollars. Somebody is going to have a nice little Christmas at this kid's expense. I hate it for him. He is the saddest little guy knowing that someone has taken his money. He is one of those kids that isn't the most popular at school. He doesn't 'fit' into the 'in' crowd. Yet he would do anything in the world for you.

Every year my daddy used to do something for someone that really needed a Christmas boost. He didn't do it for a pat on the back. He did it because he saw someone in need. I don't have the money to give to this kid but I'm going to let ST. Nicholas know about it. I'm sure that St. Nicholas will come thru.

Did you know that there really was a St. Nicholas? He was a little man, just topping 5 feet in height. The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas is the patron and protector of children. St. Nicholas is also the patron of sailors and voyagers. One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

for more information go to this site to learn about St. Nicholas.
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38


PS: I did tell St. Nicholas and this morning I ran into the young man at work. He hugged me and told me that he had received a package from St. Nicholas. I feel very thankful that I was able to pass on the need to someone who could make a difference in this kid's life. He didn't know how to accept the gift and I told him that he was a good person and that the gift was a reward for being kind and caring. ANd that one day he could pass on the kindness by helping someone else in need.

Christians-a poem by Maya Angelou

While Maya is not my favorite writer by any means, I do like some of her writings. This poem is a good example of faith and is as it should be. V

Christians - By Maya Angelou
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.
When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

More Food Pantry Pictures

The food is ready to go. There are 196 boxes in this corner and more on the packing tables. We try to pack a good nourishing box. Canned veggies, fresh bread, canned fruits, toothpast, soap, dish detergent, soups and canned meats and tuna, dried beans or peas. Sometimes we have quart cartons of milk but we don't have refrigeration so it has to be the milk that is in cartons that don't have to be refrigerated until after its opened. Presently we can only give one box per household. One day I would love to be able to give larger boxes to the larger families.

At Thanksgiving and Christmas we splurge and put a Ham in the box. We have been blessed with getting FEMA funds for the past couple of years. FEMA stipulates that we spend the money locally and that it goes only for food. The pantry partners decided that everyone deserved a ham for a Christmas feast. Last year was the first time we did it. This year we will do it again. The Thanksgiving box had a 2lb. can of chicken, and cornbread mix and cranberry sauce. All the recipients had to do was add the celery and onions and sage and some broth and they had a nice dish of chicken and dressing.

Our Daily Bread Food Pantry is an ecumenical non-profit organization that is helping feed the need in Calhoun County. The Food Pantry is a member of the Mississippi Food Network/America’s Second Harvest. St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church, Bruce United Methodist Church, Lewis Memorial Methodist Church Calhoun City, Bailey Memorial, Vardaman and the rest of the Calhoun County Methodist Cluster and many wonderful men and women from various prayer groups have come together and distributed approximately 30,000 pounds of food in 2006. In 2005 we distributed 18,000 pounds. The need for more food donations has increased because hunger has increased.

In our area alone, over 400 individuals rely on Our Daily Bread Food Pantry for a box of food once a month. Some are children but over half are retired men and women trying to live on a small retirement check. That 400 is only the tip of iceberg. There are many more that we can’t serve because we don’t know about them and because we don’t have enough to give.

Ordinary people….young and old, male and female, black and white. The face of hunger will surprise you. Many people experience the invasion of hunger in their lives and they look just like you and me. Because the face of hunger looks like us, it is up to us to make a difference. It is a tragedy that anyone in this country should be hungry when the USA produces enough food to feed the world. 20 percent of food in the US is wasted and thrown away. There is no shortage of food in the United States and sadly there is no shortage of people that are ‘food insecure’.

Who are these hungry people? You might be surprised.
There is the child who can’t concentrate in school because she didn’t have enough to eat last night. Her older brother is disabled and he can’t stand to see his baby sister crying because she didn’t have enough to eat, so he gives her half of his portion. He goes to bed hungry and vows that one day he will somehow make sure that he and his sister will have enough to eat.

An elderly woman has diabetes and it is getting worse because she doesn’t get the proper nourishment. Some well-meaning soul brought her a box of doughnuts to eat when her sugar drops. She really needs a jar of peanut butter.

The older gentleman tries to help out the ‘widow women’ he knows by running their little errands but his heart is giving him trouble because he had to decide if he was going to buy medicine or buy some food that was good for him this month. He can’t afford to do both on his small retirement pension.

Everyday people in Calhoun County don’t get enough to eat. It’s happening in Bruce and Calhoun City and Vardaman and all the places in between. It happens to the working poor who have had a temporary crisis or people that are laid off from work or have a devastating sickness that is beyond their control. Often they have already used up what little savings they may have socked away and they are ashamed to ask for help.

The fact remains that they are still hungry!

I can’t predict the stock market or the weather but I can share some facts about hunger that will impact all of us as Our Daily Bread Food Pantry enters its seventh year of operation.

Fact: According to the USDA in January of 2006, more than 38 million Americans are living on the brink of hunger. That is 13.5 million households that are ‘food insecure’.


Fact: Heat or Eat? People face a real dilemma in the winter. Do they heat their house or do they eat 3 meals a day? If they cut back on food then they can keep their homes a little warmer.

Fact: Higher utility rates mean higher utility bills. Even when you turn the thermostat down and only turn on necessary lights, the rate hikes still run up the electric bills. Higher health costs and higher fuel costs all add to the need for food assistance.

Fact: Not all people who need Food Pantry assistance get food stamps nor are they eligible. Most families that do get food stamps get less than $20. That really goes a long way.

Fact: 379 to 400 people rely on a box of food from Our Daily Bread Food Pantry once a month. The majority are elderly men and women who have worked hard all their lives and now they have reached the ‘Golden Years’ and they don’t have enough of the right stuff to eat.

Fact: The 2000 census showed that 19.9% of Mississippians live at or below the poverty level.
The population of Calhoun County is approximately 16,069 people.
18.10% of the population of Calhoun County are below the poverty line.
29.3% of the population of Bruce is below.
25.2% of Calhoun City is below.
24.1% of Vardaman is below.
18.6% of Derma is below.
20.7% of Big Creek is below.
27.3% of Slate Springs is below.
1.1% of Pittsboro is below. (I think someone is withholding the truth about Pittsboro)


You do the math. Our Daily Bread is only able to feed half of these people that have the need. I can dig up more statistics but where hunger is concerned, statistics are only numbers with the tears brushed off.

How can you make a difference?
People feel powerless to help their community or they may just choose to close their eyes and hope that it all goes away. Some might say let some government agency take care of it and we all know how that doesn’t seem to work. People of faith can make a difference. They can band together and take charge and take care of their brothers and sisters.

Our Daily Bread Food Pantry needs your help and you can help in so many ways. Your contribution can be in the form of a monetary donation. You can organize a food drive by collecting our most needed items through your office or church or youth group or community group. You can volunteer at the pantry. Participate on Food Packing night by sorting and packing the boxes for the monthly distribution. Help us with the clerical work once a month. Be here to carry out boxes of food on distribution day or help direct traffic or help people sign up. Help us with our once a year Empty Soup Bowl fund raiser by making soup and selling it.

How can you make a difference? Buy the ‘3 fer’ and ‘2 fer’ deals at the grocery and put 1 or 2 of those items in a bag and give it to the pantry. Help us come up with ideas to raise the funds needed to keep the Pantry up and running. Sacrifice a couple of hours of your time so that others won’t go hungry.

Saturday ramblings

One daughter is at work and one is at play. Lordy how I wish she would start getting a bit more mature. She is STILL in the tree climbing stage. I suppose I should be thankful that she isn't out chasing boys and getting into compromising situations like a lot of 14 year old girls I hear about. She would still believe in Santa if I hadn't told her about it years ago.

I've got to read about 6 chapters today for my class tomorrow and I have to pick up and vacuum around the house. You would think with two teenage daughters I might have a little help around the house. NOOOO! I used to keep a spotless house. That was before children and husband and working all the time. Boy do I wish I could be the mom on 'Leave It To Beaver'. Wouldn't that be a riot. Always wearing that dress with the belt and those pearls and happily cooking in the spotless kitchen and all of the family sitting at the table to eat at the same time. uh huh. Pipe Dreams...... I spent most of yesterday helping a friend organize her home. We did manage to find the living room. Just 4 more rooms to go for her. I threatened her bodily harm if she lets it go again.

Scott is on his way home from work. He is going to have to round up the playing child and get her to bag the leaves in the back yard. She is waiting for 'tomorrow'. After all Miss Scarlett tomorrow is another day!!!

Tonight I get to be a judge for the Christmas parade. Its going to be colder than a well diggers butt in Alaska! At least its a short parade. Then I'll come back home and sit in front of the heater and warm up drinking some coffee and finish my lessons for tomorrow. Theology is an interesting study. The study of God.

Prayer needs

My friend Olivia is back in the hospital. She has been battling breast cancer for nearly four years. It started out with the lumpectomy and all the treatments that go along with that. At the first of this year the cancer returned in the same breast and she underwent a radical mastectomy and all the treatments for that. Then she started having pain. Unexplained, bang your head into the wall pain. She has been to pain specialists and all of her other doctors and there has been no explanation for the pain. So now she has 'over medicated' herself to the point of she can't get easy. But the other thing is, she has fluid in her chest cavity and the fluid has cancer cells in it. So its time for more chemo because there is cancer somewhere in her body and its hiding but its causing her pain. Pray that she will be able to overcome this. She can't continue to live on pain meds and other things and she is going to have a tough time going thru all the treatments again too.

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My second pray request is my long time friend Deb. She has had a bum leg all of her life and a bad spine and a host of other ailments. Her leg is infected and she is in danger of losing it. I am going to her little cottage and help her get her stuff sorted and put away so that she can get a hospital bed into there and she can rest with her leg elevated. She really needs a recliner that leans waaaay back but she is living on disability and can't afford the chair. If I had the money I would get one for her but I can barely keep my own head above water at the moment. So I'll do the next best thing which is go and move her stuff around and make some sense out of her living space. She is a tough and gruff bird on the outside and a crying puddle of goo on the inside. Most people can't get past the tough guy persona.

Friday morning musings/or the world according to Vonda

I stumbled into the downstairs 'kitchen' in my studio area and started heating water for my cherished cup of morning coffee. I don't use tap water. Too many chemicals to murder the taste of the coffee. As the water was heating to the optimum temp of 190 degrees I rinsed out my French Press. The French Press coffee maker is a wonderful tool. I can make 2 cups of coffee any time I want and extremely quickly. It is a tall glass cylinder with a plunger in the top. Attached to the plunger is a fine mesh wire filter. The water is hot and it is time! I put one scoop of coffee into the cylinder and then here is the big goof!! I noticed that I had also put in my required sugar and coffeemate! Into the cyclinder! ACK!! Then I thought 'Oh what the heck!' So I poured the hot water on top of the mixture and placed the top on it and PRESSED the filtered plunger down and it actually made a decent cup of coffee. I won't do it that way again but it's drinkable.

The advantage of using the French Press is I only make coffee when I want it and only make it a cup at a time so I don't waste coffee and I don't feel guilty about having it sitting there on the warmer and then I am compelled to drink all ten cups and spend the rest of the day in a caffine induced whirlwind! The other advantage is it seems to create coffee at its finest. No bitterness, I can actually taste the essence of the coffee bean, and its just an elegant way to make a fine cup of coffee.

Now onto my next morning musing......I ask you who gives a flying rip about Brittany Spears and her PAR***TAY ways? Is she acting like a Mom of 2 very small children? Nope. Is the dad, that fabulously leechy moocher KFED or FED-EX as the loser should be called, any better. Oh nooo! After all remember he was running with the Britster while his girl friend was pregnant with his second child by her. So he is really in the running for Father of Year in my book. Brittany is acting like some of these young and stooooopid moms I have seen. What the heck is wrong with the younger generation! (Did I just say that!?) It's still the 'IF IT FEELS GOOD DO IT' mentality of the free sex ideas of the late 60's and 70's. We are losing our morals people. Wake up and don't just smell the coffee. Drink the bitter dregs of our permissiveness. The very moral fiber of our country is at stake. Pictures are taken of the so called self-important cele-'brats' out partying their little naked skinny butts off and splashed across the national papers and magazines. Used to in the not so far ago past, those kinds of pictures were called PORN! Now its just an Oops she did again. If I want to see a naked picture I'll peep at myself in the mirror when I get out of the shower. That is sobering enough!
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I am disturbed to read that a newly elected politician from some other state is requesting to be sworn into office using the Koran instead of the Bible. This country was founded on the principles in the Bible and not in the Koran. He is a Muslim and he has the freedom to practice his religion in the USA just like all the other religions. I don't care if someone is Jewish (that is a race of people as well as a religious belief; they are after all God's original chosen ones), Muslim (anyone can be a Muslim, not just the Arabic people), Baptist, Anabaptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, Lutheran, Pentacostal, Latter Day Saints, etc. They all have the right to practice their religious beliefs. But displacing the Bible as the book to be sworn in on is not part of the deal. That is part of the weft and wuff of the fabric of founding of this country. I have already fired off the letters to Senators Lott and Cochran and Representative Wicker. Both email and land mail. Wake up folks before our country as we know it changes! WE can no longer be an ostrich. Things are happening out there, up there, around us that will not be so easy to change back. There are people and nations that are very very jealous of the freedoms that we have. They are intent on destroying us. Some are already sitting back and waiting for the world to change as we know it. The wheels are turning but that doesn't mean that the destruction of our land can't be stopped.
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I'll rant more on that at a later date. My coffee is calling to me and I have to go and help out a friend that is in dire need at the moment. So enjoy your morning cup of coffee and be sure to read between the lines all the news that you see on the tv and in the papers and magazines. Pull your head up out of the security of your insulated life and see what is happening in the world before it is too late. Write to our elected officials on a regular basis and let them KNOW what you really think!

thoughts on teaching

Each year I say that I am not going to teach any more children than the ones that I have. And then something happens that makes me change my mind. Like a child that calls and tells me why they want to be homeschooled or a mom calls with a child that has a special need. Then I have to sit and think and pray about it and see if I can add more veggies to the soup. I have had as many as 17 kids here before and that was some serious stress! By and large it has always been a good experience for everyone but I have had some very difficult times also. I have always known that I was not cut out to teach in the 'traditional' sense of the word. I was never one of those kids that fit into the round hole. I was the square peg. That is the kind of kids that I teach. Square pegs. That is not an insult to them. They just have different learning styles that don't fit in the 'traditional' schoolings methods.

I do use a curriculum that I use along with the Charlotte Mason method of teaching. I believe in reading, lots and lots of reading about anything and everything. Learning is a life long experience. And it should be enjoyable. Although I can think of a few times I learned some things that weren't too enjoyable. But life is like that you know!!

A season or a lifetime?

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. The y may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Christmas lights

Scott has worked hard all year on this little light project of his. I want to make a video later on and post it. This doesn't do justice to the display withtout the music. The songs that the music is synced to is Charlie Browns Christmas, Snoopy's Christmas, Elvis' Blue Christmas, Rocking Around the Christmas Tree, Canon in D, and Trans Siberian Orchestras, Wizard in Winter. It is pretty awesome that we even were able to pull this off. So far its 15,000 lights and we could have put up more but we don't have enough channels yet. Maybe next year will be bigger and better.

Traffic out front hasn't been too bad. People are kind enough to pull over to the side, stop, watch and then move on. Some are a bit curious about the radio frequency. They just don't understand what is going on. Then some of the folks that I didn't think would understand did. Go figure! Anyway, tune to 100.3 FM. to hear the music that goes with the lights.

I hope that next year we have Handel's Halleluia Chorus and some Manhiem Steamroller synced in. I see light and color when I hear music and I think other people should too.

family reunited after 60 years

My mom finally met her two half-sisters this week. It has been an amazing time for our family. Back in 1932 when my Mom was born, my grandfather left to find work. He left my grandmother behind because she was pregnant. For whatever his reasons were and for whatever the circumstances were, he never sent for my grandmother and mom. Maybe he was not ready for a family. Maybe he thought once he left that he could not come back. No one really knows. My grandmother Sally never said a bad word about him and I never heard my Greatgrannie Russell say anything bad either. After 5 years he divorced my grandmother and remarried and started another family. Thing like that happened in those times. It happened on my Dads side also. I've just never been able to find where my great grandfather Tedford went.

Mom met her father for the first time when she was about 15. They didn't hit it off at all and Mom never tried to see him again. She knew she had two younger sisters but they didn't meet until now. Their father, my grandfather died in April of 2005. There is no longer a barrier to them having a relationship. It is really neat to see how 3 women, all raised in different circumstances have so many similarities. They sound alike, they all have the tenacity of a pitbull! And they are all opinionated. They arrived on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. It has taken months and weeks of planning to get them together under one roof. I have seen laughter and tears and squealing and jumping up and down. My mom was in a hard jerk she was so nervous. But she has finally met her two paternal sisters and the meeting was good. Now she can add them to the family. When her other half-sister that she shares her mother with, comes home from overseas, it should make for an interesting homecoming.

I like my two new aunts. Talking with them about the branch of the family tree that I didn't know has explained a lot. I now know where the art talent comes from and the extreme love of learning. The features and the temperament; We all resemble very much.

There is a copy of an old photo in the display at the museum that our town is working to create. It is a photo of the log workers in 1929. They are standing and sitting on a huge log that is loaded on the old Lindsey wagon with the team of mules. My grandfather, their father, Marshall Gray, is perched up on that log. I can finally say that without upsetting my mother.

The water has gone on under that bridge and my mother and her sisters can now be a family even if it has been over 60 years in the making.

Gobble Gobble!!

I love good food and for that reason, Thanksgiving to Christmas is my favorite eating time of the year for the comfort foods. Mom's Chicken and dressing is to die for. then add the sliced turkey and honeybaked ham with all the wonderful relishes to add to them. Oh joy! We always do our specialties. I do the green bean casserole or asparagus or broccoli casseroles. IT depends on the whim at the cooking moment. I also do the pumpkin pies and other types of pies. I do a mean seven layer dip. Dipping foods are my favorites. anything that I can dip italian flat bread into is good. I made a yummy spinach artichoke dip this time. My sister does a sweet potato praline casserole and a hot corn salad. Add all the regular veggies like sweet peas and black-eyed peas and tall glasses of sweet iced tea and hot yeast rolls and you have a feast that will make you want to fast all week before you eat it! We always wear sweat pants on Thanksgiving. Gotta have that elastic waistband in order to be comfortable.

a relationship with food

WE all have a relationship with food. We need it to live. Obviously some of us like it a lot more than others. I read in last weeks news that a model died from eating nothing but water and tissue. Can you imagine eating kleenex tissues for lunch. She didn't want to get too fat for the clothes. I need to lose about 25 pounds but I am not going to resort to eating kleenex just to fill me up. That is a mental sickness there.

I did eat some good food Saturday! We made a Memphis trip to see the in-laws and do a bit of Christmas shopping. We ate at Smokey Bones. Its owned by the same company as Red Lobster and Olive Garden. So it is fine food. Its a rustic, mountian lodge/sports bar sort of atmosphere. I ordered the Sierra Chicken and it was to die for (pardon the pun) . grilled chicken breasts marinated and basted with balsamic vinegar and served with a fresh cucumber, red onion, sunflower seed, cilatro, jalapeno and dried cranberry salsa on top and warm Italian flat bread. Oh mercy it was great. I am going to try and duplicate the salsa for Thanksgiving. Its as good as my Crankey sauce I put on my turkey sandwiches.

I am fasting all week so I can eat all the things I love on Thanksgiving day.

Just Random Tuesday thoughts about friendship

Did anyone ever have a BFF? A best friend forever? It sounds so childish doesn't it? People come and go through out your life and some touch you more than others. Some touch you in a good way and some leave scars that you have to sooth time and time again. Some are there for a short time, some are in and then out and then in again. Friendship is not a static thing. Or at least it hasn't been for me. I remember my first BFF. It started in the 1st grade. I was friends with most everyone in my classroom in 1959. One in particular I played with outside of school and during the summer. We shared Barbies and did all sorts of silly things together. Then as we got older and interests changed we grew apart and developed new friends. Somewhere around junior high age. Then along came highschool and O my Lord! I sure would not want to re-live those days. I still had my friends but being the geeky sort of person that I was, I was sure not in the 'in' crowd. And that used to bother me a little. All through my university years I had friends that had the same interests as I did. Everyone was an artist. I learned to pull from within and that a BFF was really not necessary.

Throughout my years on this earth I have had the priviledge of being friends with many men and women. I never have gotten really close to any one tho because of some things that have happened. I learned NEVER to share what I may of considered a deep dark secret. Those will get used against you somewhere down the road. I still will give the shirt off my back to someone that I care about it even if they do bite me. I just don't ever really understand why they turn on me. I am a sucker for a sob story most of the time. Even tho I am skeptical of some things and in my silent thoughts I am thinking, "yeah uh huh. You are so whiny or so _____ (fill in the blank with the adjective or your choice)" , I will still try and help someone. I suppose I am trying to fix things and make everything right for the other person. At my emotional expense usually.

A thought came to me this morning. It was not an epiphany, just an observation as I tried to call someone for the umpteeth time, I am always the one doing the calling. Maybe its because I am always moving around and doing something that I am not near a phone. Maybe people don't want to bother me. OR then again maybe its because I have rubbed people the wrong way. As someone has noted to me, I do tend to say what I think. Don't ask me if you look fat in those jeans. I might tell you yes. Just like I look fat in mine.

I married my BFF 17 years ago. And that is a good thing. I could be a lonely person with out him and my family.

Scott and the Christmas lights

Every day more lights are going up. And every night we have to see if they are blinking like they should. Pretty soon the space station should be able to see us. Scott and dd number 2 are out putting the lights up on the gazebo roof. Purple and yellow. Because I like purple and we have an abundance of yellow! He still has to put the star at the top of the mega tree and the cross on the chimney.

I really hope we don't have the light vandals like last year. Teenage boys cut our lights up last year on Christmas eve. It was the Grinch that stole Christmas. It upset Scott so badly that he took down every thing on Christmas day. He has spent all year working on these lights and this program.

I was right about my kitty

She was lying right at the back door that we never use. Poor thing had been shaken pretty badly. We planted yet another kitty in the pet cemetary in the hill. Duchess was old for an outdoor cat. She was born right when I had my mastectomy 6 and 1/2 years ago. That little furry thing used to curl up in my lap and nip at my fingers while I was going thru the healing process. She out lived her Mom Furball and her twin sister Fuzzy. Duchess was one patient cat. She would hang for hours in the top of this dead oak in my yard and wait for the pesky woodpeckers to come home. She brought me many squirrels and birds as 'gifts'. Once she brought me a flying squirrel and it was still alive. I brought it in and saw that it was disabled and put it in the bird cage. 'Wally' lived for over a year coming out to glide at night from shelf to chair and shoulders. She never did get over the fact that I took her lunch and raised it.

I sat and watched her hunt one afternoon. It was amazing the amount of concentration and the stealth that a cat possesses. I also realized that I did not want to hunted down by a carnivore! All of the cats zeroed in on a mole this summer and it took them 30 minutes to move just a few inches. Each twitch of the tail must of been a signal to the others on when to move. And they caught a whole family of those yard destroying varmits. IT was an eye opening show.

Packing food for the food Pantry

We met all the Methodists down at the Pantry to pack food to give out Saturday. This months box is pretty awesome. 2 pounds of chicken, 2 lbs of beef, 3 boxes of jiffy corn bread mix, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, english peas, cans of fruit and other veggies, spaghetti and sauce. Cleaning supplies and milk and a huge box of cereal and cookies. Next month we have to spend the FEMA money so that will be on a ham for each box. We packed up 216 boxes. Last month we gave out 218 with a few left over. So this month there may or may not be any left. The Lord sends us the right amount of people each month. As our donations have increased the people coming have increased. Last month I had a huge donation of baby formula. We don't have any infants on the list. Then the last person that walked in the door last month had her great grand baby relocated to her home and they didn't have WIC. I loaded her car up with all that formula. He gives us what we need so that we can in turn give it back to the community.

After we loaded and stacked the boxes, we all went to eat at Vera Cruz. That blew my carefully planned dietary restrictions out of the ball park. I will have to be a really good girl for the next few days to make up for all the salt!

If you know of anyone that might have the need for the pantry let them know about it. I don't always have food there, but once a month we do. Give them my name or tell them to call Sr. Mary Jean at the Catholic Church or any of the Methodist churches in Bruce, Vardaman or Calhoun City. They will call me and get a box of food to the ones that are hungry.

reconnecting with past people

The internet is a wonderful thing. Oh yeah it takes time to surf but it is great for finding out things. Take for instance, people. Back in my highschool days, when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth, my family played host family to some international students at Ole Miss. Two students, one a medical research graduate student from South Korea, and the other a business major from Japan. The Korean, Lee stayed in the US and had a medical practice in Illinois. WE hear from him time to time. He is now retired due to poor health. His claim to fame was he worked on the now widely used treatment for Parkinsons. The other student, Hideaki Beniya, went back to Japan and stayed with his family business. We visited him in Japan and it was a great experience to see that culture. He has been back here a few times when business travel brings him to the US. You know the Karaoke machines that you see in bars? I mean the real high dollar ones, not the cheap knock offs, well he is the mastermind behind those things.

We lost touch with him after Daddy died and I stumbled across his website yesterday. I sent an email and I heard back from him this morning. It was a surprise to him that I found his address and it was a surprise to me that the message I sent through the business information site actually did get directed to him. I can just see some little Japanese person seeing a message requesting that Mr. Beniya contact his sister in Mississippi USA. They are probably sitting there thinking, He has a sister in Mississippi? What is a Mississippi? The last time he came, he brought one of his business partners who had never been out of Japan. They came to Bruce, and this little guy couldn't speak any English. He did discover that food is a language all by its self. He discovered southern fried chicken and blackeyed peas and corn bread. We have never seen anyone enjoy something so much. By the time he left for Japan he was saying 'pass the chicken ya'll.' with a southern accent on his Japanese. It is good to reconnect with people that have crossed your path in life.

A Thursday kind of GRRRRR!

Why do people that own dogs let them run loose at night? I have 5 cats. Well probably 4 since I haven't seen my oldest cat in the past 2 days. Duchess, the queen mother of all my cats is absent. Due to her advanced age and this cold weather I am hopeing that she has holed up someplace dry and warm. Last night or after midnight at least I heard a bark. Then growling. I opened my back door and there stood a very healthy and stupid black lab. Stupid because he didn't try to run from me. I was pretty stupid to jump right out on him too. He was harrassing my other 4 kitties that were all nice and dry and cozy warm in their little igloo that I have placed up high for them. It was all hair, teeth and claws in that thing. They would have won the battle if I hadn't come out side to run off the offender. He just doesn't realize how lucky he was.

But I still have to wonder about people that let their barking dogs run at night. Jerks!
Anyway you should try living next to a kennel. They won't call it that but anyone that has a bunch of dogs penned up is running a kennel. There should be a limit to how many dogs you have penned up. The smell is horrible in warm weather. And they bark. not in the day time. All night long. I have talked about it to both sets of neighbors and I won't do that again. Some people are just unreasonable or the fall into the classification of DGI. "Don't Get IT". I am sure all of you know a DGI. They are the ones that are oblivious to anything that is not bothering them. Like parking crooked in a parking lot so that your vehicle has to park even more crooked and it looks like you are the bad driver. Grrrrr.

ITs Wednesday.

Man, if I don't hit the keys just right this thing will go all over the place. My pinkie wants to hit the enter key every time and I find myself having to back track constantly. Supper is finished (meatball hoagies with a salad full of good stuff!) I actually only ate half of the sandwich. Got to keep on watching my portions. I have set a goal and I am going to get there. slowly but surely.

Scott and E have been working on the lights again. Just a few more tweaks and they will be finished. The timing on the music and the lights is going pretty well. I just hope that the little thugs that cut all of my lights last year won't do it again. We had to rewire and replace a lot of them because the little creeps cut them off at the plugs. I hope they got a good shock. This year I will catch them cos they will be on video. I know who did it last year but I couldn't prove it. And some Moms just don't think their little precious would do such a thing. Ha ha. I know exactly what mine are capable of and I sure won't say they wouldn't do something. My girls know I'll bust them when they do something wrong. And vandalism is wrong. Last year it was on Christmas Eve and it just ruined our Day.

E has been working learning all about the lighting sequences. That will go under computer technology. She is working on some science now. We have all sorts of text books for her to use and plenty of subjects on cd-rom. She goes at her own pace which is slow at times. I have to light a fire under her ocassionally. She would rather not do work. She is also a night owl like me.

The weather here this morning was something else and tonight may prove to be rough too. I think that bad storm that hit the West Coast is finally on us. 65 mph wind gust and 2 inches of rain per hour. As expected the seepage started again in the laundry room. Good thing there is a drain in the floor. A river sure does run thru here when it comes a heavy rain like that.

I got the room I use for my studio just about organized late last night. It is a long narrow room and I have my freezers and an extra stove in one end of it. So its art and food storage. The upstairs kitchen wasn't built like I would have designed it but then that is what I get from a house built in the 60's. Its not the best designed kitchen. very little cabinet space or food storage. ANd you would just have to see the dinky little fridge. I will have to remove some cabinets to put in an updated model.

Well I think I will ease on to my drawing board and get to work on some paintings I planned out this morning. I've got to do 3 for Mom and her two sisters for Christmas presents.

Support Group

Well I have gotten several replies and calls already so this is my sign that the time has come. I don't know where we'll meet or who the sponsor will be but I am writing letters and making calls and getting this ball rolling. I just feel that the time is right for a local support group for survivors and caregivers alike. With the incidents of cancer that keep cropping up in our area, we all need to pull together and lean on one another. I adhere to the thought that laughter is the best medicine and it really helps people to heal and fight. Spread the word that we are trying to get a support group going. It'll be all women, you know that. Men just don't like to admit they need instructions or directions. But maybe we can wake them up too.

Help Fight Cancer. Buy that cookbook. ITs got great recipes from Relay team members. This county should be as famous as Paula Deen with all the great cooks out there!

Trying to organize a Cancer Support Group

If anyone is reading this, I am trying to organize a Cancer Support Group. There is one in Oxford but not every one can drive up there or to Tupelo. I don't know how many people we would have to come to one but its worth a try to see I think. If you know of anyone that is in the Bruce, Calhoun City, Vardaman areas that would like to know about this tell them to contact me. or leave a comment for me and I'll get in touch with them. I've been very fortunate since my round with cancer that I had a lot of people to talk to and support me. I don't want anyone to go thru the experience alone or to think that noone understands what they are feeling.

Somewhere over the rainbow

There sure isn't going to be a rainbow today. I was partially awake most of the wee morning hours watching the storm as it moved thru. that's one of the drawbacks of being a weather spotter. Having to call in the weather reports to the National Weather Service in Memphis. Now there is hail predicted for this afternoon and I'm trying to figure out where to park vehicles so they don't get peppered with dents.

When the air temps get this unstable and its cold then hot then cold I start looking for funnels. Thank goodness for my partial basement. I do feel safer down here. Its probably a false sense of security but I'd rather take my chances down here than in the top of the house at the top of the hill.

The dry creek between me and Mom is so full that I can't see the rocks lineing the sides. This squalline dumped well over an inch on us in the past hour and more is on the way according to the radar. Guess it is time to pull out the ole leopard print water boots. So Chic!

My Fellow Relay for Lifers

Oopsie. Surprised ya'll with your pictures. Well You all represented our Calhoun County well and I'm proud of ya! Carolyn you know I'm over the top on some things. This ain't Vegas ya know. Sure do wish I could have gone with you all. Sounds like you had a great time. And we will all pull together again and git'er done right again in 2007. Love ya'll!

Oops on the Flamingos

I forgot to say that my Red Hat team raised that amount in 2005. I wasn't able to have a team in 2006 due to my reconstruction surgery. But my fabulous flock is just roosting in wait for the next time they can fly the soop and raise more money. Look out! they may be coming to roost in your yard some time in the future. The Survivor Team needs me now!!! Red Hat and all!

The Calhoun County Relay for Life Crew

Eyeball this "good looking" bunch!
We did the Toby Keith song, "I Love This Bar". Candi was Toby, Carol was a hooker, Darlene was a biker, Sharon was a drunk, Sandra was a psycho hitchiker, Chris was a trucker, Debbie was "girl next door dressed up like a movie star", Cassie was a redneck, & I was a LOSER! We had a blast!



CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!! Calhoun County is known all over the Country... Everybody wants to know" Where is this County"... Well we are can located smack dab in the middle of North Mississippi and what a great County it is.... We are all committed and dedicated to helping find the cause and cure of cancer. We always hear about Meridian, Jackson, Tenn. Tacoma, Wa. Now they can add Calhoun Co. MS to the map... I have to add Ms, because there is a Calhoun in Alabama and I don't want anyone outside of Mississippi to get confused...(smile) Calhoun is #1 in the State and #8 in the Division.... Won the All American Relay Award, State, Division and NATIONAL!!!!!!! WE raised $ 116,824.28. Up from
$ 91,000.00 in 2005!!! The Calhoun County Relay for Life has it going on

We have a great group of volunteers in this County. Carolyn and Mother Relay and Little Rudy Tooty. Carol C. has made it a point to singlehanded fight for the cure! You should see her numbers from the past 3 years! This gal is on a roll. Good thang her husband is a trucker 'cos she just keeps on keeping on! Darlene used her relay work to help her overcome some serious pain in her life. We all know her heartache and stood there for support. Candy will be the Next American Idol after her performance at the Relay Reunion. You go girl! Hit me with your best shot is your song!!!! Dang what talent!!

WE may live in a poor county with very few people but there is not a one of us that has not been touched in someway by cancer. No way could we turn our backs on our brothers and sisters that need this money for research and development. I personally thank you for all you do and I know all the other Survivors do also.

So for 2007 our goal is raise $122,000 and make our little 'star' shine so brightly that we can be seen from space!!!

Caught in the act.

I raised about 2000 for the American Cancer Society with my flock of pink beauties. Good thing I have a flock of 18 of them now that they are no longer being manufactured. I love my little birdies. (I did ditch the colorful potty stool. It had outlived its usefulness. It sure did help loosen the purse strings to get that donation for ACS tho!!!)

I'm an owl not a lark!

Early morning and I are like oil and water. WE don't mix. But in the interest of my students I get up. I am such a bear until I have had that first glass of cold water and then my nice hot comforting cup of coffee made in my French Press. I let my dd#2 sleep. Aren't I the good mum?

The other kids that come here for homeschool trickle in through out the morning. The first one gets here at 7:15. He works steady for an hour and a half then has to run out the door and around the house the couple of times. His anti seizure meds seem to do that to him. Then he comes back in, has him a snack and we play a quick game of dominoes to work on his make skills, then its back to work. While I am 'playing' with him, one of the other students hops on his computer and does her lessons. The 3rd student, a 'senior' girl starts working on her lessons at 9 when she comes dragging in. She only lacks about 5 credits to graduate and I am really having a time getting her to finish. She has to be reminded constantly to do her work and to keep up to a schedule. I tried the unschool appraoch with her and she got so far behind that its taken us a year to finish one subject. She hates to read anything that is good for her such as a classic book. I can't even entice her to read LOTRs of a Harry Potter Book. Now if it was a Harlequin Romance or someother such drival, or something about some boy band, she would read it in a heartbeat. She suffers from sever immaturity issues.

I've been teaching other peoples kids for 7 years. At one point I had 17 plus my own 2. Its a challenge because I have to follow a set teaching pattern with the other kids. Most want to do this through the middle school grades and finish up in public highschool. The ones I have left with me now don't want to do that. But they still want 'structure'. I sort of have 'school' at home but its still pretty relaxed. We don't do it every day. Most of the kids do five days of work in 3 days.

I suppose I need to get in the studio and finish what I started yesterday. Its almost clean and organized. I have to sweep and mop now. Why is it that when you start moving things around, you discover that some gremlin has spilled the stickiest substance known to mom on the floors and it has glued things under the furniture or appliances or anything else that might be sitting in the floor? just something to make me go Hmmmmm!

evening blog

MMMMMM. I am enjoying a pumpkin cobbler. Must be the time of year. I will try and eat pumpkin 'something' everyday that I can. I use sweet potatos alot also since I live in the sweet potato capitol of the world. No joke. Just about all the sweet potatoes in the USA are grown right here in Calhoun County Mississippi and shipped out. The 'tater sheds' have tons of boxes from each state that they fill and send back. Louisana sweets are grown in Mississippi. Ahh truth in advertising.

Dd # 2 is plugging along as she learns. She takes her learning in spurts. The other kids that I teach really need the discipline of a curriculum. I am still pretty relaxed in how they do it tho. I do try and steer them in the correct way to write a paper since they are nearing time to take ACT and SAT to get into university.

I have been nesting all day. I am going thru a purge and clean phase. I have decided that if I haven't worn it and I sure can wiggle my matronly Ruebensque shape into those cute little outfits anymore, then out they go. And That goes for all the clutter. I swear I am on the verge of being declared a complusive 'collector'.

I have finally finished all of my reports in my transcription class. Now I am just waiting for my facilitator to grade them. As she grades a folder and returns it I send her another one. I have just one more test and then hopefully I get the certification soon.

My new LIMEX theology class started last week. session two was last night and it went well. This quarters class is on Moral Theology. I am enjoying this one. But I do wish the books were a bit more up to date. Just like the Catholic church not to have books from the current century in the reading list. Last summer (2005) I spent a summer session in Washington, DC studying at Catholic Theological Union. It was a fabulous experience both culturally and spiritually. I was there at the same time as about 20 Bishops and countless number of priests and Sisters. I heard some great lectures. The summer session was on womens roles in the Ancient Scriptures and the New Testament as well as the role of women in the first centuries of the church. It was very informative and interesting.

I have to check on my Mom now. I cooked a huge pot of Great Northern beans and a pone of corn bread. Dd2 took a plate and some cobbler down to her. Mom is slowing down now and that worries me. But that is why I am here. To care for her and my sister as they need me. I don't have time to get down myself. Its a good thing I don't require much sleep.

long time nary a blog

I haven't been here in a while. I've been busy with homeschooling and dealing with oldest dd going back into the public school system. I am one loony mom over this. But she is a good kid and hopefully her 'raising' is rubbing off on some of the other kids.

My reconstructive surgery is coming along nicely. I feel really good about it. I just don't do pain well and it sure doesn't tickle.

now its a count down to Christmas and I have got to get at the drawing board and get a few things done for folks. So far I have decided to do portraits. And as usual I have waited unti the last minute. So what else is new.

I hear the coffee cup calling me and I need to get the beans soaking for supper. DH likes great northern beans and corn bread so that is the menu for the evening.

MOre later I am sure. I am going to start sharing my theology class questions on here. So if you aren't Catholic you might want to close your little eyes. OR better yet open your mind and read and discuss with me. I am quite ecumenical.

The Theology of Cancer

The Theology of Cancer
Vonda Tedford-Keon


A dear friend needed help and I answered her call today. I drove her to the Holy Ground that I will call the Clinic to see if they could ease her pain. As I sit here in the Clinic, I watch all of the people awaiting their treatments, each fighting the Enemy in his or her own way. There are those with lung cancer, breast and liver cancer and some that I have never heard of before. They are the very young and the very old and many ages in between. They are male and female, black and white. They are people and I watch them. Some will win and some will succumb to the cancer that has been steadily and sneakily taking over their bodies. There is one thing that cancer can’t do and that is it can’t take away the soul.

Just hearing the words, “you have cancer”, throws you into crisis mode. All of a sudden, those three little words shake your world. All of your neat little organized cubby holes and closets and nicely arranged desks become a house of cards that seem on the verge of collapse. Not only do you have to deal with the mental and emotional shock of the disease, but you must start dealing with the big question that starts looming: “Why ME Lord!” It screams out of your inner being. WHY? What have I done? What didn’t I do? What did I eat? What did I say? Was I bad?

If you live in the South, all through your religious upbringing you are taught that if you have lived the good and righteous life then all will be fine. You will live to be a wise old person and die peacefully in your sleep when your work here on earth is completed. But you know the dark thoughts will start to sneak into your mind; “I went to church every time the doors opened. I gave as much as I could of my time and talent and treasure. I’ve tried to obey God’s Law. It’s NOT FAIR! Why can’t I have a long, healthy, pain free life?” We sort of start sounding like Job did in the Old Testament don’t we?

And then, as if to pour salt into the wounded soul, there is always that one, well-meaning, misguided person that has the audacity to walk up to you and not so subtly say, that if you are ill with cancer then you must have done something to cause God to punish you. Not only are you dealing with pain, sickness, rollercoaster emotions, family and financial worries, now you start to feel let down by Abba, Father! “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?”

Having cancer is the ultimate time for spiritual growth. Yes, I just said living with a cancer diagnosis is the perfect time for discovering the Theology of cancer. While you are struggling with pain from surgeries and sickness from treatments and side effects from medications, you are also working through the uncertainty and difficulty of your life. Your whole routine of day to day is shattered. Your belief system has to be realigned, rethought and refined. Old habits are set aside and new habits developed. You start seeing God in a new light.

Your relationship with God takes on a new meaning. The disease has become the catalyst to help you grow beyond just thought and belief. You begin to search, to yearn, for the first time, what your purpose in life is ultimately about. You begin to realize that God is refining you. You are walking through the fires of purification. Soon He will be able to see His reflection in you. You are becoming more spiritually focused. No, the theological question, “Why Me Lord?” is not answered, but this new found spirituality does create an intimate connection with the Source of all being. You find that you have become more heart sensitive, more attentive, more thankful for what you have been given. You start living in the present, not in the past that can’t be undone, and not in the future for which you have no control. You start to see how special the rising sun is and the glorious moon and the billions of sparkling stars that fill the indigo skies at night.

You find peace through the quietness of sitting in the softly falling rain and the gentle breeze as it wafts through the tender green leaves of the trees in early spring. You see the prayers of thanksgiving that nature provides as each new flower unfurls its blossoms and waves its leaves toward the heavens. You have slowly come to gain the knowledge that the path to God can be found in the beauty of His creation through nature and the music and art and poetry that it inspires. You see the face of God by looking into the faces of others and see His love. You finally realize that a relationship with God is not dependent on church doctrine or how well you have memorized the scriptures or how intelligent you are. Rather it is how you experience God in others and in His creation. He is showing you the multitude of blessing He is giving you.

After finding out you have cancer, you find that you are able to make do. You simplify your life and concentrate on what is dear to your heart. You live for the present and work to forget the past guilt and angers. You learn that you have the choice of how to respond to this ‘crisis’. You could get mad or you could get depressed. But you choose to use the pain and suffering for good. You remember that Christ’s Gift of Love for us was to suffer on the cross. So it is in suffering that you finally understand the gift of cancer and how it Graces you and brings you ever closer to God. And if you are one of the ones that is granted a longer life here on earth then use it wisely to tell others of how you were graced with a gift from God.
VT-K
June 20, 2006

blogging on painting

Every chance I get I go to the museum to paint on the mural. The forest has been an exhausting project. There is so much that has to be depicted and I don't just open up the cans of paint and voila! its a forest. It has to go in layers and then each layer will show me something else that needs to be done. Its a never ending thing! I hope to finish it this next week. Or at least I may just walk away from it and go on to the next 1/3 of the project and work on the school room. That one should go pretty quick because I am painting it to look like beadboard walls and some windows to the out doors. I am eager to try out my new graining tool.

Everytime I am down there, people come in. They usually just wantder on in and it turns out most are from out of town and they have some sort of connection to the area. I tell them about the museum and that we are looking for more items (give a little plug for the money needs) and listen to their stories. Some of them have been very interesting. I find it tells something that people that left in the 40's are coming back to live out the rest of their lives in this area. Their roots are calling them back to the place of their birth. Most of the folks I have talked to have very fond memories of Bruce. And they remember all sorts of things about the town, like how it looked and who worked in what store. I hope that we can pass on the legacy of our little town to the ones that are after us so that they will want to come back home too.

Things that make you go hmmm

It drives me nuts when a student is supposed to be here and then doesn't even call to let me know that something has come up to prevent them from calling. I could rearrange another childs schedule so that everyone can get their work finished and there won't be any tripping over eachother later on this week.

I've been working hard at learning my medical terms so that I can do the first test. one of the words that I had to learn to spell was 27 letters long. I didn't know I had it in me! Getting these things into spell check is the longest part. I have to make sure they are spelled correctly to start with so that is a slow go at the moment. Its been interesting to see just how much terminology I do know from the root words and the suffixes and prefixes. It is a whole different language.

Darling hubby is on vacation this week. I have to go to the dr. for year mammogram and I don't like driving in Memphis, so he is going along. We get to secret shop a resturant afterwards. I like being a secret shopper. That can be a full time job in itself. I may do that over the summer for some extra income.

The attack of the Latte Frothe monster

I have NEVER used the frothing wand on my coffee machine so I decided that I needed to figure this thing out. How hard can it be? Just read the instructions. Right? riiiiight. took me SEVERAL trys before I finally noticed the part about the steam plug. So I had to dig in the drawers for that little item. Ok. insert plug and lock it in. check. pour in coldwater and lock on that lid. check. turn on the machine. check. have cold milk in large container ready. check. open valve. check check. wait for steam so I can put milk container under the nozzle. I waited and waited. nothing. then I read the part about only putting in 2 oz. of water. oooooops. I put in 4. now what. the expresso that I made earlier was gently warming on the warmer just waiting for some froth. all of a sudden, SWOOSH, there was steam and I stuck that milk under it and man did it make froth. And more froth and MORE froth. It was the attack ofthe froth monster. all over the counter, the floor, the steamer. I made not one, not two, not three but 4 tall lattes! Made a huge mess but by golly I made some good tasting lattes. even had enough steam to clean that puppy out. It would have made a great video for don't let this happen to you!!!! Now on to bigger and better things. Adding flavors and getting jiggy wit it!

Thursdays

I've been checking the gas prices and they are coming down today. I might actually be able to afford to put some gas in the 'Shamu' today.

The Mural at the museum is coming along nicely. People are starting to comment about it. I didn't go and paint this morning because I was feeling just a little puny. Nothing serious just a little under the weather. It is probably because I am converting slowly to a marcobiotic style diet and last night I ate some red meat and boy can I tell my body doesn't like it. So its going to be a rice sort of day today.

Darling youger daughter has expressed an interest in learning to belly dance. I have been checking in on it and found a class in the university town north of us. It seems very reasonable so I think I will sign her up. I might even sign myself up. Lord knows I have enough 'belly' to dance with! At least with belly dancing you don't have to be leaping around. You have excellent posture and graceful hands and those veils cover a lot of stuff .

Random thoughts for Tuesday

The new kittens have all died. I thought they would pull thru but what ever nasty bacteria or virus hit them, it took them. The poor mama kitty is beside herself. She worked and worked to save her little babies.

I've been down working at the museum and getting ready to head out the door again with clean brushes in hand. I am oging this morning while its cooler. Its so hot in there in the afternoon with the sun beaming straight in! I get a sun burn inside! Its coming together tho. I am painting the foreground and laying in the blades of grass and vines. Its looking like a forest for sure.

Oldest DD has finished her schoolwork for the year. Now she is going to do some extra things in preparation for highschool next year. She really wants to attend public schoolfor the 11th and 12th grade. It flies in my face but she has got to try it find out. I would prefer that she not do it but she is old enough to make that decision and I have to honor it.

youngest DD is going to keep homeschooling a while longer. Thank goodness. She isn't ready for the wild world of public school. She is into the summer softball league at the moment. We will have the first softball game and dance recital on the same afternoon! That should be fun! Not!

She is good at gymnastics and would like to cotinue so I guess I will try and see if Ican find someone within a decent driving distance that can teach her. Just one more thing to add to my plate.

Saturdays are Alright with me

I had all sorts of grand plans for today and then scrapped them. I intended to check out the Double Decker Festival in Oxford and the weather was just so blustery and damp and way too chilly. I decided that for the price of gas today was not a travel day. So I stayed in. I was also going to go and paint more on the mural but a college student came by that needed help doing some research for a paper she was having to write and I seem to be the resident Catholic 'theologian'. That is a laugh.

So I started rearranging the studio. I discovered that there is STILL seepage from somewhere because my canvas was dampish and the carpet is a big soggy right along the south wall. Nothing like a basement that leaks and you can't find the leak. I am going to have to cut out a pretty large piece of carpet because there is no cleaning it. It just needs to come up.
Chasing this water around just seems like a constant thing. Every spring just like clock work.

I will start on my medical transcription course as soon as the equipment and the text books arrive. I got the notification from my instruction of record last night. So now I have to really start reading in earnest. Getting certified as an MT will help me. I can do that type of work from home and still have time to do art work for relaxation. A woman my age is not too marketable any more so I need to find something that I can do to pay the bills. There is so much truth to the term starving artist. I would have loved it if the coffee shop could have taken hold but that just is not doable here in this little town. And truthfully I am just not a people person all the time. I am an introvert but I force myself to be extroverted in order to get along in the world. I would really like nothing better than to live in some isolated place and only come out when I needed to. I think that is why I spend so much time downstairs in the studio. It's like being in my own little world. My very own little extreme home within a home.

Thursday is just another day

I feel the urge to move furniture. My studio is still not a studio. At least not eficiently for me. With everything this space needs to be its hard for me to get it the way I think I want it. I want the tables to be where I can just lay things out and leave them as I work. Unfortunately I also have to contend with the hordes of teenagers that come thru here and they don't really realize that this ia my workspace as well as an entrance (well used I might add) to my home.

I am on the verge of a major throwing out binge again. The last one was in february and I got tired. I think the garbage men did too. There were 3 dumpster loads of just pure junk on the street every week. It is just sinful that we have accumulated this much junk and not recycled, thrown out or donated the unused or unusable stuff. Today I make restitution for the crime of packratting.

I walked out this morning and discovered another of the Easter morning kittens has died. The poor little things were just too sick. The mama kitty is just beside herself. First it was the little yellow boy then the little black and white boy. last night the gray girl and now the little calico girl is struggling. They are just too weak. Its been interesting to watch. Before I say that the kittens were sick the mama knew and was isolating the weakest one from the litter. Cruel in human thinking but survival of the fittest in the animal world. It makes the kids happy that I'm not a feline when they are ill!

Dudley's Nature Art class

Last night was Dudley's turn at the art class at the library. I was there for moral support. I am glad there was so much participation! Everyone was having fun making things out of old wood and dried flowers and all sorts of 'found' recycled objects. I could see the old college professor coming out of him. It was a good evening for all involved and I hope gave a little better understanding of what he is trying to accomplish with his nature art.

OH Baby Its a Wild World!!!

ITs a Wednesday. Isn't that supposed to be hump day. Well if I worked out in the world with the rest of humanity I suppose so. Since I work from my home based studio that reallyis a 'job' in some peoples eyes. True I don't work 8 to 5 like some folks. But then again I do at times. Art inspiration and creation doesn't always happen during the daylight hours. I am known for jumping up in the wee hours of the morning and frantically painting or drawing. Art is sort of 'when the Spirit moves me' type of work.

I am still trying to figure out arrange my basement studio so that I can get the maximum usage out of it and still have room to move around. I want all of my work tables in the center of the room and the wall space open for hanging large pieces on the wall. So Far that has not happened. I'm just too much of a pack rat. I have got to throw out some stuff.

All these books that I have take up loads of wall space. If I can just get the storage area of the basement organized and throw out the junk I will have more space.

I have worked on the museum mural for the past 2 days. It is finally starting to come together. People can see the progress now when they drive by where before it was just looking like a mish mash of paint. Now they can see the forest for the trees. I hope to finish it this week and get started on the old one room school house mural. That one won't be as complicated as the forest but it may be a just a tad more more technical.

A reporter for WCBI TV was in town yesterday (Tuesday) interviewing Mayor Quillen about the Bruce Store restoration. Then he came over to the museum to tape some shots. He got some shots of me painting. I 'done good'! Not once did I look over my shoulder at the camera and mouth 'hey mom'! I didn't even look as fat as I thought I did and cameras always add about 10 pounds on you. Scott recorded it for me and we watched it after the youngest dd softball game. It looked pretty good. Mom was wondering why I didn't talk on camera. Mainly because I have to get into the mindset of speaking on camera with my 'camera voice'. I really didn't want to speak otherwise because I can sound so hickish if I don't prepare. I just get lazy in the old speech patterns until I need to be precise.

Well I need to light a fire under these kids so they will get their work done.