Showing posts with label Simply Pictures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Simply Pictures. Show all posts

Monday, July 22, 2013

Time for Summer Ramblings

Hey there, dear bloggy friends.  What have you been doing to pass the time this summer?

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We’ve had a leisurely summer, and stayed cool by watching a few family movies.  My favorite “at home” movie picks so far this summer are:

1.  Unconditional - It was so well done and underscores God’s love.  Although very clean, I wouldn’t recommend this one for the kiddos, unless the parents check it out first due to some intense moments and violence.  Keep a Kleenex handy, a full box of Kleenexes handy!  You can see the complete trailer here, and read a review here.  You don’t want to miss this sweet movie!

2.  Last Ounce of Courage – This movie does a heart good in patriotism.  Good stuff!  See a review here

I have been on a history kick and have enjoyed a few afternoon “Sunday drives,” taking pics of old houses:

old and pretty houseIsn’t the entranceway to this home beautiful?  Serene.  Peaceful. 
This old southern home is just down the road from us. 

Across the street from it is a home that General Sherman stayed in during the Civil War; 

Civil War HomeI guess he liked it, because it’s still here!

I don’t know the history of the one below, but perched gracefully on a hill near the railroad tracks, I suspect it has a story too…

Victorian House

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I have a thing for this house, and need to do some investigating and see if I can find out some history about it.

Now, let’s fast forward a few years…

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In it’s day, the local old geezers used to meet here, gathering around the fireside on wintery mornings, getting their fill of warm coffee and juicy gossip in this old country store.  I hear tale that a feller could get educated here! :)  Kinda puts me in the Mayberry mood!  (Who am I kidding?  I’m always in the Mayberry mood!)

We got a little Indian history this summer, too, as we traveled to a reservation and attended an Indian fair, which was chock full of handcrafted items,

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and fun entertainment. 

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at the fair

(Did you know that Manhattan Island was purchased from the Indians for about $24 in trading goods?)  (Random trivia moment…) 

Back down here in the south…

Here are my sweet gals as they attend a bridal shower on a sunny, Sunday afternoon.

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We are looking forward to that special wedding, which is just around the corner.  Don’t you just love weddings?!

Speaking of things we love, we’re due to pay the library a visit soon. There’s nothing wrong with a digital book, but there is nothing like a library full of good books.

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A hamster on a wheel is a fitting description of me

each morning this month on my treadmill, where I catch a little reading time.

My dear friend over at Life on a Back Road

       has me motivated with her

 “Put One Foot in Front of the Other Challenge.”

I have had to slow down the past several days,

                                            but I am holding out hope

                                              that I am soon to be going again.

Christmas kitchen


Christmas in July is always a way to refresh the mind and spirit,

and I’ve been having fun over at Mrs.T’s Christmas Kitchen.

You will find lots of inspiration and ideas over there!



After my little sweetie's sewing lesson on Wed. afternoons with a kind lady that lives at my mom’s retirement village, we oftentimes sit outside at McAlister’s Deli, chattering with my mom while enjoying their yummy sandwiches and sweet tea. 

Summer sandwiches
One such evening, several weeks ago, our 30 minute drive home was breathtaking.  As soon we pulled into our driveway, my youngest and I scurried over to the pond, with flip-flops on our feet and cameras in our hands, attempting to capture the beauty of God’s painted sky, which I will leave you with.  Hope ya’ll are having a fun summer!  Stay cool!

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Monday, December 10, 2012

Victorian Christmas Home Tour

Wherever I go, I keep at least one eye out, although usually two, for old, Victorian homes.  I don’t know when my interest for that time period in history began, but I have a never ending curiosity for the sights and stories of the bygone era.  Driving around old Southern towns, and scouting out places that bring history alive is definitely my idea of thrill seeking.

Here is one such house, that we came across, situated so stately on a steep hill in the heart of Columbus, Mississippi.

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Does anyone paint that way anymore?  It would be so spectacular to have paintings of my kids like these!

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This charming house was a mixture of elegance and quaintness.  Endearing and interesting, the owner, a retired school teacher, was elegant in her own right.  Picturesquely dressed in Christmassy red, with her hair neatly up in a bun, she was busy in the basement kitchen baking sugar cookies for an afternoon Christmas gathering.  

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I loved the meandering architecture of this house, and the landscape was equally interesting,

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with lots of aged brick and stone paths, hedged in with azaleas, liriope, and cast iron, giving the courtyard such a well established, cozy feel making me long to be in one of the wicker rockers enjoying it on a rainy day. 

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DSC_0616  For me, if hearing the stories about the lives that were lived in these old homes weren’t enough to fill me up with wonderment – which they are – there’s always decorating ideas to inspire my attempt to make our house have the feel of stepping back in time, oh say, 130 years or so. 

As I type, I hear the sweet sounds of my youngest merrily singing while she clangs dishes in the kitchen, which is beckoning me.  Thanks for touring this house with me today.

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Monday, November 19, 2012

Simply Savoring Fall with Thanksgiving

His unconditional love, the gift of salvation,

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the beauty of His creation,

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(Don’t these little mushrooms look so whimsical – almost like they are straight out of a cute little Dr. Seuss story?  Forgive my momentary ADD…back on track…)

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knowing He is always with us as we walk through life,

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being securely grounded with strong roots
in Him. . .

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there is just so much to be thankful for!

With grateful hearts may we proclaim His glory!

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I hope you have a wonderful week and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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Friday, September 14, 2012

America the Beautiful with Norman Rockwell’s Beloved Artwork

Hi friends.  As we get caught up in the politics of our time,

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let’s take a moment to rest and reflect, remembering our love for God who has blessed our country so,

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our love for the people who have given of themselves,

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and our love for our land, in all its splendor.

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America the Beautiful!
Words by Katharine Lee Bates,
Melody by Samuel Ward

O beautiful for spacious skies,

Sunset Norman Rockwell 
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

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America! America!

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God shed his grace on thee

Freedom of Worship Norman Rockwell

And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Norman Rockwell - Ocean

O beautiful for pilgrim feet

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Whose stern impassioned stress

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A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!

America! America!

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God mend thine every flaw,

Rockwell - Lincoln for the Defense 
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

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O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.

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Who more than self their country loved

Homecoming GI

And mercy more than life!

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America! America!

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May God thy gold refine

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Till all success be nobleness

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And every gain divine!

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O beautiful for patriot dream

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That sees beyond the years

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Thine alabaster cities gleam

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Undimmed by human tears!

home for Christmas 

America! America!

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God shed his grace on thee

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And crown thy good with brotherhood

Christmas greetings
From sea to shining sea!

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“Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power.”  
                                
Benjamin Franklin

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“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”  John F. Kennedy

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“Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”  Ronald Reagan

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