Talking With My Dad

My Dad lives out in the country and he rents some land a short distance from his property so that he has some room for his cows.  He calls this the "pecan orchard" and since he rents this land, he is able to pick and sell the pecans.  Happily, he also gives some of them to me! (Remember my post on my gluten free brownies and the pecans that I shelled?  This is where they came from!)   Aren't pecan trees beautiful?

 One of my Dad's friends made him this "Beware of the Bull" sign.  I thought it was funny and just had to take a photo of it.  You really do have to watch out for bulls, you know, they scare me...

This is Daddy in his Australian hat that my sister got him for his birthday.  He prefers to wear baseball caps but let's face it, this is better protection from the sun! And it looks so good on him! G'day Mate!

I just talked to my Dad tonight on the phone and he told me that he is just a few days away from his sauerkraut being six weeks in the crock.  What? Didn't I mention that he grew 32 cabbages this past year and after giving most of them away, he decided to make sauerkraut out of the few cabbages he had left?  He is excited to be able to make the sauerkraut recipe that Meks from www.librarianwithsecrets.blogspot.com  gave me but with his own sauerkraut! This jogged some memories of Germany for him... 

Daddy was drafted into the army and was sent to Germany in 1945, just after the war ended.   He said that mostly he guarded bomb sites.  There was so much destruction and devastation.  "Those people had nothing, I tell you, NOTHING."  One of the things that really made an impression on him:  He witnessed about thirty people, men and women, standing out in a field in a perfectly straight row.   As he watched he realized they were holding sticks, and they were turning the earth over in order to plant.  When he describes this, you can still hear the wonder and amazement in his voice.  "They were doing this with STICKS,  just sticks, into that hard ground..."

He said that there was so little food that men would come to the army camp and beg for work, any kind of work, just for the smallest amount of money or even just for food.  When the children would ask for chocolate, he said hardly any of them would refuse.   I know my Daddy didn't refuse them...

I love to talk with my Dad and ask him questions about what he has seen and what he THINKS about all that he has witnessed in his life.

And what will he be doing tomorrow, you ask? He's driving to Demorest to meet a man who will sell him some blueberry bushes. How many? Oh, just 20 blueberry bushes, that's all. "Go big or go home", that saying reminds me of my Dad!

The Importance Of Kindness

In the month of January, I always like to take my friend M.A. to lunch for her birthday.  Several years ago, we were at a restaurant doing just that when a beautifully dressed woman walked over to our table. She looked at me and said, "Are you Kay?".  When I answered yes, she told me that she had had a cancer "scare" . ( It was found that she did NOT have cancer but at the time it was a real possibility. )  She said that it made her think of all the people who had made a difference to her life and that I was one of the first that she had thought of ...  Well, I was astonished.  Turns out, we had ridden the same schoolbus together and she had been bullied and picked on because of her small stature.  I had spoken up for her and made the bullies leave her alone. She really impressed upon me the importance of me doing this for her. There is an English expression that really fits here...I was gobsmacked. I do remember stopping quite a few cases of "teasing" as it was called when I was growing up and they almost always were on the bus.  Guess you never know how important just a few strongly directed words defending someone can make all the difference, do you? Whoo boy, schoolbuses...let me tell you, you really had to know how to survive on them.  Maybe they are different now, but back then?  You were on your own...

There is the most gifted writer named Beth and she writes most movingly of her autistic son and his problems with bullying.  Her blog is www.blueridgebluecollargirl.wordpress.com   and she writes:

Please teach your children well. Teach them first and foremost to be kind. I believe there is nothing more important. And children learn kindness from their parents. So…be kind. Consistently. If you are, you’ll never reject others because they are different. If you are kind, you will love folks for who they are...

  "Three things in human life are important:  The first is to be kind, the second is to be kind and the third is to be kind."     Henry James

"Kindness is the overflowing of love into the lives of others".    My sister had this saying on a small poster on our bedroom wall when we were teenagers.

At the end of that lunch, I was marveling at this extraordinary encounter and M.A. in her direct no- nonsense Boston accent said, "Doesn't surprise me.  I can see you doing that".    Friends are wonderful,  always able to believe the best of you.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...THE BEATLES

Hey! Who's that guy standing over there?  He looks like a guy I knew way back when... of course, it's Paul McCartney.  Did you have a favorite Beatle?  Was Paul your favorite? Can you guess mine?  (The photos were taken at a concert in Atlanta  by my son in July of 2009.)

I love the Beatles.  Not only were they great musicians and great songwriters but they were really amazingly good singers too. (Try to play "Beatles Rock Band", the video game and see how hard it is to score "perfect" on those harmonies! My son can do it, I can only do it on the George Harrison songs!)   When George Martin (their first producer, of course)   met them, he really was totally bowled over by their charm.  Talented, good-looking and charming...I loved them the moment I saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964.  It had been such a horrible time for the country.  President Kennedy had been assassinated in November of the year before and that winter seemed very cold and gray.  The music in this country had become very stale and dull.   When they were first introduced on the Ed Sullivan Show and all the girls started screaming, and I saw their young faces and their long hair, I was hooked.  It was like the world coming in color.
This is something that I read recently by the author, Cynthia Rylant, and she has expressed exactly what I felt about the Beatles...

"The Beatles gave me a childhood of sweetest anticipation.  Our country was falling apart with war and riots and assassinations, but the Beatles gave me shelter from these things in their music and the dreams they caused me to dream."

There are lots of books  about the Beatles but one that I really like is "The Love You Make" by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines.  Peter Brown, if you remember, was John Lennon's best man when he married Yoko.  He was with the Beatles from the very early days of the management of the band.

I have read that Yoko didn't care for the book but I didn't find it offensive regarding John Lennon, at all. In fact, I thought he did a remarkable job in his story and his desciptions of his  relationships with all the members of the Beatles.   Now, which Beatle is my favorite?  Oh dear, I must tell you... I love them all.  I really don't have a favorite!  But if you really press me on the point, quiet George, playing that wicked guitar, might have to be the one...  Please listen to this Beatles' song I have chosen for you.  My son says that this song "If I Fell" is one of his favorites.  As a guitar player, he says it's clever the way that it changes chords.   I didn't get to see Paul McCartney in 2009 but I did get to see him in Atlanta when he toured with WINGS in the late 70's and  to hear him play "Yesterday" on the guitar and sing it all alone on the stage.  It was magical...

I See Faces In Things

 Can you see what looks a bit like a face of a lion in this loaf of bread?  Maybe a lioness or a young male lion without a mane?  

I have showed this before.  This rock is at my church and it looks like a face too, doesn't it? If you go back up to my header photo of the sunrise, look at the right of the photo and just there in the pine trees, it looks like another face of a lion.  Pareidolia is the imagined perception of a pattern or meaning where it doesn't actually exist.  Now, I see these faces in these objects, I didn't put them there, they are there, anyone can see them.  Does that mean they don't exist?   The video from YouTube is one that I hope you will watch all the way until the end.  I think it's pretty funny.  It is my hope that it will not offend anyone...I actually found it on a blog by an Episcopal priest who used to come to St. Simon's when our regular priest was away.   And yes, I am also "mildly Episcopalian".

Before I forget, today is the 95th birthday of Louis Zamperini.  If anyone missed my post about him, I wrote about him recently and called him a hero in our time.   He is.  Happy Birthday, Mr. Zamperini!

The Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail is 2,184 miles long and begins in Spring Mountain, Georgia and ends in Katahdin, Maine (or begins in Maine and ends in Georgia, depending on which direction one is hiking!). The portion in Georgia is 75 miles long and a few years ago, my brother-in-law RAN the entire trail within Georgia (all 75 miles of it) to raise money for a favorite charity. We met my sister and my nephew at Vogel State Park. The weather in the mountains was at least 10 degrees cooler than in the Atlanta area (and it is only a two hour drive to get there!) We waited for my brother-in-law as he ran the trail at a place called "Neel's Gap". It was a beautiful day. I know it is winter time now, so do you feel like looking at a beautiful summer's day? Let's go!

This is the trail to Blood Mountain, which I think is the highest mountain in this area.  We didn't have time to hike this trail but I just had to stop a take a photo since it looked so inviting...

       This is Vogel State Park and my sister and nephew are on on one of those paddle boats!

 This is part of the Appalachian Trail!  It is very rocky in places and very uneven.  I am happy that my brother-in-law was able to run this since some of it was done at night!

 The view from "Neel's Gap" and it is truly spectatular!  We just didn't want to leave this spot.

 This is the only part of the Trail that is under a roof.  It goes directly through this building.  And yes, it is in Georgia!  This is still at "Neel's Gap".  That is me with my blonde sister!

 Here I am with my sister Pam and her son (my nephew!) and we are waiting and enjoying the view.

 Here is Richard looking as if he is about to tumble over the mountain but that is just my bad photography!

 This is the waterfalls at the end of the lake at Vogel State Park.   Just so nice to see and hear this on a hot July day in Georgia.

 Richard was fascinated by the cloud formations over the mountains.  We didn't get any rain out of this...these clouds passed us by and happily, the skies stayed clear for the entire 75 miles that my brother-in-law ran.   The startling thing about this trip... when we met up with him he told us to go and look at his car that he had parked a few miles from where he and his buddies had camped.  The car was all muddy and dented in at the back and it looked as if some angry creature had tried to rip off the metal car tag!  Well, that is exactly what happened...it was a bear!  So if you ever hike the Appalachian Trail, take some sunscreen, some water and watch out for those bears!  Hope you  enjoyed my memory of a beautiful summer's day!

Gluten Free Brownies And The Zombies!

 These are the pecans that my Daddy gave me and he gave me the Duke's Easy Nutcracker too! Thank you, Daddy!  (And there are more pecans, it was enough to fill a five gallon bucket!)

This is the five pound bag of almond flour that was sent in the mail to me by a wonderful cook and gluten free blogger.   Does everyone know how healthy almonds are? It's wonderful to make something for Richard that not only tastes good, but is good for him too.

 These are the gluten free brownies that I made for Richard from the pecans and almond flour.

  This is the beautiful Cadbury's tin that Richard usually keeps his Melting Moments in...but now will hold the scrumptious brownies!  What decade is that supposed to be from, the 20's, the 30's? Love the clothes!

 This is  a calendar that my mother in law gave me in 1997, could you tell?  Thank you, Joan!  (I keep it in my kitchen because I love the old ads so much..."The jeopardy of life is immensely increased without such a simple precaution as ENO'S FRUIT SALT".  The wording is amazing!  That is an old Beatrix Potter calendar that I also can't bear to take down.  Beatrix Potter's drawings are perfectly done.  Look at rabbits sometime, really look and study them and you will see what I mean.  

 This is a cookbook published in 1967 which only has recipes from beans! It also was given to me in 1983, the year I was married,  by one of my sister's good friends when she found out that Richard was on a gluten free diet. The recipe for the brownies is in this cookbook.  Thanks, Judy!

And I am sorry, but I just had to make sure you saw the top of this tin..."Absolutely Pure, Therefore Best".   Imagine an ad using the word "therefore"!

Here is the recipe:                Brownies (says it makes 2 dozen, but I cut mine into 15 pieces)

                                            1/3 cup shortening
                                            2 squares chocolate (I used 1/3 cup chocolate chips)
                                            1 cup sugar
                                            2 eggs, slightly beaten  (Eggs from my Daddy too!)
                                            1 teaspoon vanilla
                                            3/4 cup nuts, chopped
                                            1/2 cup almond flour  (recipe book calls for SOY flour)
                                            1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Melt shortening and chocolate in double boiler over hot water. (I don't have double boiler, I use a stainless steel bowl over simmering water, it works just fine.)   Cool slightly, then add remaining ingredients in the order given and mix well.  (Just mix it up with a fork.)

Spread evenly into greased pan (9x9x2 inch pan) and bake in 325 degree oven for 35 minutes or until done.   Cool before cutting.   ENJOY! 


Now here is a song that I have just heard that my son told me about. It's by the Zombies! It was in a movie a few years back called "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou." (Never saw the movie but I am told that is why more people are familar with it. ) Give it a listen and let me know what you think.  It's wonderful to hear someone who can actually SING, isn't it?  You can't fool someone if it is a capella...
                                              

AWARE And Arabia Mountain

 Just at the beginning of the trail for Arabia Mountain is the location of AWARE (Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort).  It is a non-profit organization that works to preserve wildlife through education and wildlife rehabilitation.   AWARE accepts injured or orphaned wildlife every day of the year.   Since AWARE is the only wildlife center that does this in Georgia, they take care of  thousands of injured animals every year.  You may read about the center here:   www.awareone.org    Often after our walk back down the mountain, we will turn to the AWARE wildlife center and hope that one of the cages will be housing the owl named "Einstein" that we like to see.  Sometimes, we are rewarded by the sight of this magical creature... Will we get to see him today?  You'll have to wait and see!

 We have had some rain and the water cascading down the rock made such a beautiful picture.  At places, it became a waterfall and the sound of  splashing water was a sweet sound indeed...

 Moss may not grow on a rolling stone, but it sure grows on a cool, wet one! This moss was the most beautiful, velvety green.

 Oh, and look this is the lake which is just beside Arabia Mountain...Just there, at the front of the photo, is that.. could it be...like the Loch Ness Monster?  Is it the Arabia Lake Monster? Hey, I may have made a wonderful discovery! (Please note: Arabia Lake is actually across Klondike Road and is nearer the Nature Center...that lake has a lovely stream that meanders back to the paved trail...don't miss it!)

 Now, we are back down the mountain and here is the AWARE Wildlife Center. (I didn't notice the hands holding up the bird until Richard was taking the photo!)  Will we get to see Einstein?

YES!  They use this owl for educational purposes and he isn't always here but we were able to see him on this day.  Isn't he a beauty?  He is a barred owl (Strix varia) and we love to stand there and look into his dark eyes.  The barred owl makes several different kinds of noises...sometimes it sounds like this..."WHO COOKS WHO COOKS WHO COOKS FOR YOUUUUU".   Sometimes it sounds like a monkey, so much so that it has been used for monkey sounds in jungle movies!

I hope that you will like this video that I found on Youtube about the barred owl and also if you will let me know if you were able to read about AWARE.  I love that this wildlife center uses the acronym "AWARE"  since we all should be aware of the wildlife around us everyday.

The Leopoldville Disaster

With the news this week of the tragedy of the cruise ship sinking off the coast of  Italy, this has brought to my mind another tragedy, the sinking of the Leopoldville on Dec. 24, 1944... 

I worked as a travel agent in the 80's and 90's and once an older gentleman came in, chewing gum and passing out gum and candy to everyone there.  As I was arranging his trip to see his army buddies at their annual reunion, I asked him what did he do in the war.  He looked at me and said, "Have you ever heard of the Leopoldville?"  Before I had a chance to reply, he said, "You wouldn't have, it was kept top secret for 50 years!".  Now, my co-workers didn't exactly roll their eyes but it was pretty close to it. When I asked him to please tell me more, he was eager to do so...

W.S. Conner (and I always called him Mr. Connor, in those days you didn't have to use your full name on an airline ticket and he always went by his initials) was in the United States Army, the 66th Infantry Division, they were called the Black Panthers.  They were in England, in Southhampton, and were being shipped out as replacements to fight in the Battle of the Bulge.  It was Christmas Eve 1944 and because it was Christmas, everything was lightly staffed.  The S S Leopoldville had already made 24 cross channel crossings with no problems but that was about to change...at 5:54PM the ship was hit by a torpedo and 248 men died from the hit...but then a further 515 were lost when the ship sank. (This total somewhat varies, I have read that the total lost was 802.)  This happened just five and half miles off the coast of France, near Cherbourg. The Captain of the ship, Captain Charles Limbor, sent out no distress messages, no calls for assistance...nothing! One of the escorts for the ship, the S S Brilliant, was able to take on some of the survivors. The ship was able to go alongside the Leopoldville and if it was timed just right, a soldier could actually jump from one ship to another. When I asked Mr. Connor if that is how he survived it, he said he had seen too many get crushed between the two ships and decided not to try it. (I have read that men WERE crushed between the ships and because the water was so choppy, some of them broke arms and legs jumping to the other ship.)  Survivors were told not to write or talk about it.  They were advised that if they did so, their GI benefits would be cancelled!  Incredibly, this was not cleared by the government to discuss until 1996! NO WONDER he wanted to talk about it!  I was able to get Mr. Connor to speak of his experience to the local Rotary Club and since it was the same year as the gigantic movie hit "Titantic", there was great interest in his story. 

Mr. Conner gave me a book to read about it, and I liked it so much, I ordered my own copy and asked him to sign it for me.  (He winked at me and told me that he wasn't mentioned BY NAME in the book but that there was a mention of him in it  and to see if I could recognize him when I came to it.) The name of the book is "A NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS" by Jacquin Sanders.  Jacquin "Jack" Sanders was on the SS Cheshire, another American ship full of GI's en route to Europe, the Cheshire was sailing just behind the Leopoldville when it was hit.  He was able to write of the sinking of the ship as an eye-witness.   In describing who was to blame for the mis-communication and foul-ups that resulted in so many drowning, this is what he had to say...
No single man or group was responsible for the catastrophe. The guilt was not national, not personal, perhaps there was no guilt at all. Certainly none was properly tested in court...Indeed, an undiluted guilty conscience is as rare in the Leopoldville episode as in most of life...in the general passage of action a small body of experienced men behaved on the whole badly, and large body of inexperienced men behaved very well. It was, in brief, a disaster full of human beings, and human unpredictability is its only lesson, and also, perhaps, its chief glory.

This book, A Night Before Christmas, is one of my most cherished books...

Now, back to Mr. Connor... as I read the book there on the page in front of me, is a description of a young man up on deck joking and laughing and passing out chewing gum and candy to all around him and his nickname was "Deep Pockets"!  I laughed and called him on the phone and said that of course, I knew that had to be him!    When I asked him to tell me the story of how he DID survive it, this is what he told me... he tied several duffel bags together, held on for dear life and went down with the ship!  HE WENT DOWN WITH THE SHIP! "Didn't the force suck you down?", I asked him.

"It tried to", he said, "but I kicked so hard and my bags held me up  and then I was in the water waiting to be rescued".    I then asked him, "How long were you in the water?".  This was his reply, "I was told that thirty minutes was all a body could stand before it would freeze, so I would say thirty minutes."  Now, I don't know if anyone has ever felt the cold waters of the English Channel, but I have and I can tell you the water is cold even in the summer, I can only imagine the cold waters of Dec. 24, 1944...

Kyle Maynard On Mt Kilimanjaro!

 Kyle Maynard has made it to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro! It was yesterday, Jan. 15th, the early hours of the day on eastern standard time that he along with his team, made it to the top.  It took him ten days to do so and this is from a young man who has arms just to his elbows and legs just to his knees.   I have written about him before on my blog. (Please go and look at those posts from Nov. 27th, "No Excuses" and  Nov. 29th "Kyle Maynard" of this past year.) If you look at the following link you can hear what another man  has to say about him who is a climber who also has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro so he knows that an accomplishment this really is... http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-731657

  Kyle, you CAN conquer anything!  I found a short video on  YouTube  that is used as an introduction before his speeches. Please watch it and be amazed.  His story is a very inspiring one and I hope that you share in my admiration of this young man.  Kudos to Kyle! 

These pink flowers are camillias and were in bloom on Dec. 26, 2011 at Stone Mountain Park.  Come back soon to Georgia, Kyle!  Maybe I will meet you one day on the walk up trail. Hope so!

Stone Mountain Square/Music/Family

After we climbed Stone Mountain today, the nice woman who worked in Memorial Hall (the building at the base of the mountain) insisted that we get our Climber's Certificates for climbing the mountain. She told us that she usually works at the East Gate and waves people through in their cars (the ones who have their yearly passes on their vehicles, like us!)  I told her that I had recently made a square for SIBOL www.sunshineinternationalblanketsoflove.blogspot.com . Sue from SIBOL is asking for people to make squares of what they see from their window, or THINGS THAT ARE CLOSEBY, so I decided to TRY to make Stone Mountain on a square.(Sue is in England and this particular blanket will be auctioned off to benefit the charity, MENCAP).  So, Barbara, who usually works at the East Gate, here it is!  Hope to see you again very soon. We love Stone Mountain!

On our climb up the mountain we were able to walk beside the man who enjoys walking up the mountain as he sings and plays the guitar. His voice really carries up the mountain as you are hiking up and it is lovely to hear him sing and play the guitar at the same time. His name is Tony Taylor and he says he tries to climb every day but he said that sometimes work gets in the way!

 The temperature got up into the 50's today but it was below freezing last night. Can you see the ice in this photo above?

 Hey Richard, do you promise you are far enough from me so no one can see me? Thanks, hon! Those mountains in the background are 60 miles away. Beautiful clear day today!

 These last three photos are on the Cherokee Trail and can you see how Stone Mountain looks silver through the bare wintry trees?  That is me hiking behind my son. Today was very nice, since all three of us were able to go to the mountain.   Hope you all like my simple Stone Mountain square and the music from Tony Taylor, someone who just sings for the joy of it, and also the photos of our little family hiking and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine at Stone Mountain.

Louis Zamperini, A Hero In Our Time

Louis Zamperini. Do you recognize the name? I think everyone should know him and his story...

Louie will have a birthday on Jan. 26th and he will be 95 years old.  He was born in Olean, New York to Italian immigrant parents but the whole family moved to Torrance, California when Louie was two years old.  Since he could only speak Italian he was teased as a youngster and consequently got into many scrapes and fights and became something of a juvenile delinquent.  His older brother Pete was able to get him interested in trying out for his high school track team. ( His joke was that he had been running from the law for years, so he had plenty of practice!) Louie became a terrific runner and he set records at his high school.  He earned a place on the 1936 Olympic track team which was held in Berlin.  (If you don't know the Jesse Owens story, please look him up, he won four gold medals at those games).
Now, Louie didn't win any medals  but the description of his track days and his memories of the Olympics are carefully written about in his book "Devil At My Heels" which is his book, co-written by David Rensin.  Laura Hillenbrand, in her research for her book "Seabiscuit" kept coming across Louis Zamperini's name during her research for "Seabiscuit".  She called him up and after speaking to him for a few minutes, she knew she had her subject for her next book... The book that she wrote about him "Unbroken" was named the best nonfiction book of 2010 by Time magazine.

You see, Louie's story of his track days and the Olympics in Berlin in 1936 are interesting but what makes him a hero is what happened to him during World War II.  He crashed in the South Pacific and was adrift at sea with two other men on two tiny rafts.  Two of the men survived, after enduring starvation,  shark attacks, Japanese strafing from overhead planes, and severe storms at sea.  Louie lost half of his body weight, a young man who had been an Olympic runner... He was "rescued" by the Japanese and then spent the next two years in POW camps and was tortured and singled out due to his Olympic fame.   One of the guards nicknamed "The Bird" was brutal to him and Louis refused to give in...that is where the "Unbroken" title comes from, the book that Laura Hillenbrand wrote.

After the war, Louie returned home but he could never get over the ordeal that he had endured and became an alcoholic and was spiralling downward.  Luckily, he had married a beautiful young woman by the name of Cynthia Applewhite.  She had heard of a young preacher from North Carolina by the name of Billy Graham and she encouraged Louie to go and listen to him.  Louie did attend one of the revivals in California and completely turned his life around.  He actually went back to Japan and FORGAVE his former captors.  (He was not able to meet with "The Bird" but you have to read "Unbroken" to find out what happened!)

After I first read the book, "Devil At My Heels", I was so moved by it that I wrote a letter to the publisher and asked them to please let Louie Zamperini know how much I loved his story and to please convey that to him.  Imagine my surprise and delight when I received  a letter from Mr. Zamperini himself!  He actually sent me a note to tell me that Laura Hillenbrand was writing a book about him.  Due to her illness (she has chronic fatigue syndrome) it took seven years for her to finish it.   I would suggest reading "Devil At My Heels" first and then, read "Unbroken".  The second book goes into such detail about his Louie, his family, his very good friends and his war buddies, which you will already know from the first book!   "Unbroken" is not an easy book to read, but my feeling is if those men could endure what happened to them, then surely I can READ about it.

The last correspondence that I received was from John Naber.  John is also a former Olympian who is a good friend of Louie's and is now helping Louie with all the letters and calls that he receives.    www.louiezamperini.com

"What counts in the long run, is not what you read; it is what you sift through in your own mind; it is the ideas and impressions that are aroused in you by your reading".     Eleanor Roosevelt

I really can't say why the story of this man's life struck such a chord with me.  I can only give you this quote from his beloved brother,  "I never met anybody who didn't love Louie".  Read his story and see if you don't agree....

Stone Mountain January

 Very cloudy this past Saturday but it was warm and the air was clean and fresh, so we just had to go to Stone Mountain! It must have rained there in the distance. See the rainbow?

 No matter how crowded it is at the top, I always manage to find a secluded spot for us to sit and have our coffee.

                                  That's Richard on the way up and we are almost to the top!

The clouds were magnificent!  After our climb up the mountain, even though it looked as if it could pour with rain at any moment, we couldn't tear ourselves away!  We walked back down the mountain and then we went to the grist mill which is beautiful at any time of the year.

Now you have seen Stone Mountain in the winter which has a beauty of its own.    Did you enjoy coming along with us today and being out in the warm fresh air?  Hope so!