Tag: lifestyle

Digging Up Roots

While surfing Ancestry and other geneological sites to find documents like this, I am taken back to the days when my grandmother and I would pound the pavement for a chance to see the real documents.

While these sites do offer links and documents I don’t get the excitement that I did back in those days when I actually found the documents that linked another ancestor. You also have to be careful because if the links you find online are not substantiated by an actual document it is easy to connect a wrong link.

I know by the time I finish this paragraph you are going to think I am really wierd. My grandmother and my aunt and I would make long trips to graveyards in distant cities just for the opportunity to find that long lost connection, that one grave that would solve another link in the puzzle of life.

I cannot even tell you the hours we spent but it was like a junkie on crack! We could not wait until the next adventure. We made a lot of trips to the courthouses across the state and the North Carolina Archieves just to get a copy of a will, death certificate or marriage register. While yes you can do a lot of that online now it has taken the excitement out of genealogy and created more uncertainty about the information you are getting.

If you have never done your family tree

This is an adventure your whole family can get involved in. Don’t know how to start? Start with yourself at the base of the tree and work upwards and locate as much information as you can about each family member, then their children, grandchildren….you get the picture.

While we are spending so much time at home it is a great way to make your time at home count.

Happy rooting!

Pet Crafting

Granny Sweater

While my little man Roco was not very cooperative and sat down on the job, he is very cold natured so I made this simple sweater for him. The back and sides are made of granny squares and half squares sew together and then added a rib neck and trim.

Don’t forget about your pets this winter. Roco is an indoor dog but if you have a dog that stays outside make sure you check on them often and bring indoors when the temperature gets too cold.

Fear Not

In a previous post “Standing In The Storm” I touched on the subject of fear. There are two things that are crippling this country 1) lack of faith and 2) fear.

This year more than ever this country has been driven to fear: fear of the pandemic, fear of political unrest, fear of radical groups and for a lot of people life in general.

God says “FEAR NOT”. As early as Genesis 15:1 in the Bible he begins to tell us to not be afraid. Fear can lead perfectly normal people down a path of destruction. By getting rid of your fear you take hold of something more powerful.

Fear not only affects us spiritually, it can have devastating affects on our body. Think about it. You experience high blood pressure, headaches, elevated heart rate and multiple other symptoms.

What do we really have to fear? The pandemic is real but the fear and paranoia over it is far worse. Loss of jobs and income are real but they are fixable. You can’t fix evil but being fearful won’t make it go away.

God and his son Jesus Christ both said FEAR NOT. Fear not for those things you may not have power over anyway. Fear not..because God is in control! Fear not because when you release the fear and have faith you become the warrior not the wimp!

Just think about the things you are fearful of and replace that fear with faith. I put this into practice a few years back during a hurricane when my husband expressed concern and fear of the storm. I was determined I was not going to be fearful and gave my fear to God. I immediately felt a sense of calm and peace and had no fear. When the storm was over, there was no damage not even a twig was out of place.

As we start 2021 make your first resolution one of having no fear. God has the power to “wipe the slate clean” and give us a fresh start but only if we release our fear and follow him.

Have a blessed and powerful new year.

The New Year

While it is easy to get caught up with fake news and what is going on in the country, it is healthier to concentrate on more positive things. Don’t worry yourself about what the government does because one way or the other it will be resolved. Don’t be caught up in the media frenzy on a multitude of topics because you will just worry yourself into a frazzle as my Granny would say.

Start this year off with making the best of you. Regardless of what other people say you can still have fun with family and friends and do it safely. You can still learn new things with online learning, yes even you Granny! You can get involved in online groups of special interest to you. Try a new hobby. Staying busy is very important. Your children and particularly teenagers need to stay involved so they don’t get caught up in radical groups/gangs and head down an undesirable path.

This will not last forever. Life will go on. My niece just got engaged and now has something wonderful to look forward to and something we as members of her family look forward to sharing.

While we may have to wear masks in certain circumstances, contrary to what some people think, it does not have to control your life. When the whole world watched as protestors and riotors stormed the streets maskless….no remarks were made about that but recently while viewing pictures of a family’s Christmas portrait I noticed there were numerous negative comments that were so vicious they are not worth repeating. Some of these people even call themselves Christians (of course they are not if they can do such things). Keep in mind everyone is trying very hard to exist. The unnecessary attacks of people against other people will just make it harder for anyone to function.

Everyone just needs to agree to disagree and let it go. Whether I come into contact with someone who is wearing a mask or someone who does not…. I don’t judge! God gave us free will! Be respectful to others when you are out and about and online. Their choice may not be yours but it is still “their choice” and they have a right to make it. And yes, I have had friends that have had Covid but I don’t think it has changed their concept on the whole “mask” issue. Just be safe and keep your distance which is far more important than whether you choose to wear a mask or not.

Anyway, enough of that. For my personal new year goals, I want to give more, learn more and experience more of life. I will not let my age or anything else deter me from enjoying life.

Be safe but more importantly BE HAPPY!

Merry Christmas!

This year has certainly been one for the books. Dispite all the negativity I have tried to remain positive, devoted my time to the arts and my spirit to my Lord.

My wish for you is that you and your families will remain safe and well and that the future will be full of hope.

More importantly, keep Christ in Christmas.

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And Then There Was A Tree

It’s not very pretty and is very small. There are only a few ornaments on it and a few I made.

My former coworkers would be proud of me because this is the first tree I have put up in almost thirty years. Oh I tried a couple of times only to turn right around and take it down!

The problem with me and Christmas is that a tree and gifts is not what I celebrate. When my son left home as a young man I was devastated. He didn’t just move down the road, he moved several states away. I opted not to put up a tree because I had no other children and no grandchildren that were close enough to celebrate with.

Over the years our relationship became more strained and eventually nonexistent. I went through the motions with my family but enjoying celebrations of faith meant more to me than a tree and commercialized Christmas.

This year has been so different. Two weeks before Thanksgiving my son contacted me. Already my miracle of Christmas has happened so I decided putting up a tree could not be so bad.

While my main focus of Christmas is still celebrating Christ’s birth, guess I will try to now add a little tinsel to my life.

Keep Christ in Christmas!

Greeting The Morning

I don’t sleep well and am a morning person for the most part. Keeping that in mind you would have laughed at me this morning as when the sun was coming up I threw on my boots and ran out the back door with my bathrobe and camera to get these few shots. While not much sun there, I enjoyed the clouds.

Have a great morning.

Christmases Past

Parades
Family and kids galore
A Father’s Love

Our Christmases of the past make me wonder what this Christmas will be like, for sure nothing like the last.

My Mother always enjoyed Christmas and last year was no exception. She laughed and ate well but somehow I knew it would be her last and three days later she did pass.

The parades we may have no more. As a family we have decided to take a risk and still get together. Family is not something we are willing to comprimise on or have the government tell us what to do. Families shape us in a way nothing else can. They define our moral structure, they support us when we are in need and celebrate us when we succeed.

After all, in sickness or in health our Heavenly Father still joins us. He still supports us and still celebrates with us even if our earthly family is unable to. Even if you do not have family, reach out to help someone to have that special Christmas.

This year is particularly hard. We have had many losses. Our Mother was our greatest loss but we have also lost our freedom to show our face, our religious rights and the right to an honest election. The old saying “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” is true for the most part. While we struggle to regain our footing, our faith is something that will never waiver even if we can’t attend church. I carry my faith with me. I am not ashamed of it and will always protect it. I am very vocal about my rights and desires to live a normal life and do not apologize for that. Dispite the evil in this country, I still stand for American and what our forefathers fought for.

Whatever your plans are this Christmas, keep Christ in your plans and hold your family close to you even if that means being six feet apart!

God bless you all.

The Meaning Behind Gifts

Typically I am not very good at choosing gifts for other people. While I try to choose gifts that are unique I sometimes feel that is not enough. This year while so many thousands of people have been affected by the pandemic, I feel the choice of the gift could be very important and those people feel particularly pressured to provide gifts.

This year I chose to make my gifts, not for lack of money but more for meaning. So many times in the past I found myself buying just to check off a name on my list. This year I thought it was more important to really give a gift. Here is an example.

Gift of the Magi

When I made this earring I made it in a simple design but the colors I chose were the colors of the Magi’s gifts. The outer edge is gold, the lighter gold represents frankincense and the dark center is for Myrrh. When I gift this I will include a card explaining the colors.

With the complexities of this year, it will be nice to give the simple things like time, friendship, and most of all LOVE.

While wondering what to give your family and/or friends consider what you already have. While material things are nice, there are things you can give that you can’t buy.

Consider what you real gifts are and give those. For example if you are a photographer consider photographing a family that cannot afford to have their picture taken and gift them a photo that they will always cherish. The money you won’t make from it will gift you a memory as well. If you are a crafter, make a gift for a child or a single mom or a person in a nursing home that is shut in. The time you spend will be well worth it. Give a blessing and receive on in return.

The true gifts of the Magi: a baby could not use the physical gifts they brought but they brought the best that they had. Think about it when choosing gifts.

God bless you all.