We had a thunderstorm here in our area last night. The very first thunderclap was so loud, it really startled me. Of course, it doesn't take much for me to jump! (There, you don't really have to know all my nervous habits but I tell you anyway! LOL!) There is a wonderful song by Ralph McTell called "Summer Lightning". My husband can play this on the guitar himself and it sounds so good! I love the music and the lyrics. One day I might be able to get Richard on a video playing it for you but I found one that is almost as good as a Richard performance. Hope you like it too....
Goodness me, I had to search a while to find this video for you!
ENJOY!
I love to look at clouds in the sky. Don't you? Take care, everyone! Look for beauty always!
Can you believe it? Ten years ago today, I started writing this blog!
Yes, you can look back at my Aug. 21, 2011 post and if you do, you will see that I managed to delete that first post and then, had to just jot a few things down that I had written. So, I have a second post on that same day saying "STILL Aug. 21st!". That was a foreshadowing of what was to come, I am always just a jumble of mistakes waiting to happen. Still, one has to keep a sense of humor about these things, don't you think?
You don't have to laugh at life but I find that it is truly a help. It is for me anyway. And thinking of that, I am looking forward to a film that will be coming out soon..."Being The Ricardos" which is a movie about Lucille Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz. Did you watch "I Love Lucy" as you were growing up? I certainly did! Of course, the shows that I watched were not really from the 1960's but from the decade before. I've read that the show has been syndicated in dozens of languages and is shown around the world. Isn't that something? Recently, we had the remains of a hurricane which was downgraded to a tropical storm but it still brought lots of rain. The storm was named "Fred". I do wonder if anyone else looked at all that rain and said, "FRED, FRED, FRED, FRED, FRED!" (From the "I Love Lucy" episode where little Ricky was learning the drums and was driving everyone crazy by beating the drum exactly five times and Ethel called out her husband's name in exact time with the beating of the drum!) There...anybody else think of that? No, only me? What a nutcase I am! The shows were quite brilliant and Lucille Ball had such perfect timing and all the actors worked as such a perfect ensemble, it was a pleasure to watch. I do hope that they do a good job with the film about them!(Also, Nicole Kidman will be Lucille Ball in the film and I just know she will do a great job. I can honestly say that I have loved in her in every film that I have seen of hers! And she really has made a great many!)
Two films, "Five Came Back" and "Beauty for the Asking" were from 1939 and both featured Lucille Ball. (1939, what a year for movies! If you are a film buff, you know what I mean!) I watched both of these movies for the first time this year and I was very much impressed by the young Lucille Ball. Beautiful and so very good!
"Beauty for the Asking" is about Jean Russell (played by Lucille Ball) who invents a facial cream and...oh, I don't want to tell you anything else, just try to find it and watch it! Her character was not only beautiful but intelligent and kind. I really enjoyed this!
"Five Came Back" is a film that is about a plane that crashes in a jungle and the repaired plane can only carry five passengers out. Once again, I thought Lucille Ball was wonderful in her role in this film too! (SPOILER: Lucille is one of those who make it out! Sorry, you knew she would, right?)
Both of these films were made by RKO Studios (and Lucille Ball had made many other movies at the same studio) and later, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz bought the studio!
Okay, I think I found the episode where Little Ricky was learning to play the drums!
And hey! I know I don't post that much on my blog anymore but I keep hanging in there! So, 10 years today! Thanks for hanging with me!
A song for you? You know I have one! (And please tell me that you can instantly tell that is Lou Rauls singing in the background!)
Hey! Remember me? I am Georgia Girl With An English Heart! (Yes, I am really Georgia Old Woman but hey, sue me! LOL!!)
To prove to you that I have a foot in both worlds, so to speak, I have two examples of songs for you. I truly like them both. Hope you will too...
"Praise My Soul, The King of Heaven" is a beautiful hymn with lyrics by Henry Frances Lyte. (1793-1847). Born in Scotland but brought up in Ireland, he became an Anglican vicar in Devon, England. Also a poet, he wrote the lyrics for the famous hymn, "Abide With Me". I have read that just before he died, he exclaimed, "Peace, Joy!". I am thinking that those two words would make a fine hymn, don't you?
Gospel music! Combined with Blue Grass, it just can't get any better for me! (There is a guitar solo that my guitar playing son says is very, very good!)
July 2021 will soon be over. Not much time lately to get out so I thought I would show you some photos from this time last year...
We were at Alexander Lake at Panola Mountain State Park and there was still a mist over the lake.
The sun was rising quickly and you might not recognize this bird in the bright light but it is a Great Blue Heron. It is a beauty.
The Great Egret. Richard took this photo from some distance away, so it looks smaller than it really is. If you read about this bird, it says that it lives along the Georgia coast. How lucky that it also lives on some Georgia lakes too!
You have seen photos of the sun streaming upon the trail at Panola Mountain State Park...but you don't mind seeing it again, do you?
The Purple Passionflower is a native flower here in Georgia. We were so happy to see this blooming right beside the trail as we walked. It is the host plant for the Zebra butterfly and the Gulf Fritillary butterfly. Hey! Speaking of the Gulf Fritillary....
Gulf Fritillary! You can recognize it very easily by that fake "eye" on the wing! See it? Also, the other side of the wings look almost silvery in bright light, like a mirror.
Sad to say, we will not have those bright orange flowers this year- the Mexican sunflowers. We just had too much rain and I was not able to get them to grow like they normally do. I will miss them.
They would grow over 6 feet tall. How I loved going out and taking a photo from below with sky behind them! AND seeing all the butterflies enjoying them!
Thought you might like to see some nature in my own yard!
The yellow flowers are wildflowers and are called "whorled sunflowers". As far as we know that is what they are, they just came up and Richard encourages wild things around him...after all, he married me! HA!
Hey! I just learned something that I want to share with you. And this might come in handy if you should be in a quiz with your friends sometime! Which world sporting event trophy was stolen in 1966 and later recovered by a dog named "Pickles"? The year 1966 should give you a very good clue as that was the year that England won the World Cup! So, of course the answer is "The World Cup. The owner of the dog, David Corbett was given 5000 pounds and with this money, he bought a house in Surrey. (Let me just pause here and think of buying a house in Surrey, England for 5000 pounds.) The dog, Pickles died in 1967, just one year after the great attention he received. Does everybody in England know of this? I only just learned of it. Hey, I am American, I can't know EVERYTHING about great British history! HA!
Of course, I wanted England to win yesterday in the Euro final but it was not meant to be. Looking forward to the World Cup next year!
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"Nothing Could Be Finer"! Of course, you know that song, don't you? It was written by Gus Khan (lyrics) and Walter Donaldson (music). Please say you remember me telling you about that great film about Gus Khan where he was portrayed by Danny Thomas? And Doris Day played the wife? The film was "I'll See You In My Dreams".) Now, the song was written in 1922 AND it made its debut on Broadway and was first performed by William Frawley! Yes, William Frawley who was "Fred" from "I Love Lucy"! I read that he sang it on "I Love Lucy" also and do you know, I even remember it! (Oh yes, I do believe I know every single episode of "I Love Lucy"!) Oh I do have more I want to say about Lucille Ball but that will have to wait for another post, another time... I need my beauty sleep!
"It Had To Be You"... Go to just after the 2 minute mark for the song. Lyrics by Gus Khan! Genius lyrics, "with all your faults, I love you still". Gotta love that!
Sorry, my friends, I cannot find a good enough version of "Nothing Could Be Finer" for you! Go and see that film "I'll See You In My Dreams"! The actress who sings "Nothing Could Be Finer" does a great job!
Hello, everyone! I am waving here to you from a photo from Eastbourne in England! Of course, it is from years ago...2015, to be exact. We are not able to visit the UK at this time, sad to say. So, I hope you don't mind me sharing a few photos with you.
We also visited Lewes (it is pronounced "Lewis") and there is a castle there! Of course, we wanted to see it even if it was a very cloudy day. (That's Richard you see!) Near to the castle, we also saw the Southover Grange Gardens. Even in October the gardens were still lovely. Who is that mysterious woman loitering around that doorway? Ha, that is me! I bought that purple raincoat that week because I needed it! (You know I still have it. I keep clothes for as long as I can! LOL.)
We remember being very pleased to see these bright orange flowers blooming in Lewes. They are Mexican sunflowers! The very same kind that we grow in pots here in Georgia for our butterflies! I know I am showing you photos of England but here...look at this photo from our yard from one of our summers...
See? Same flower!
Sometimes when we are in England, we even get to see London! Richard snapped this photo from the taxi. I hope you recognize it! It is now called "Elizabeth Tower" and even though I know it is really the bells that are "Big Ben", I still think of it by that name, don't you? I adore the Houses of Parliament. When I first saw them in 1981, they just took my breath away, just stunning. (And they were very dirty then, they are golden and sparkling now.) "My London Lights", I hope to see them again soon!
St. Paul's Cathedral.
Wish I could be walking on this beach. I can just smell the salty air and hear the cry of the gulls...
A song for you? You know I will always have one! Take care, my friends, both in America and the UK and to my blogging friends around the whole world!
This is not a photo of an old lady hailing a taxi, this is me with my tag showing that I have paid admission for Brasstown Bald. (Highest point in Georgia at elevation of 4,784 feet.) My husband and I hiked to the top on a nice paved trail that is only 1/6 of a mile but it is quite steep! We BELIEVE that we can still do it! (There is a shuttle that runs from the parking lot if you can't make the short hike.) Can you see that tower at the top of the mountain? That's where we're headed!
The trail can be quite busy but the day we were there, it was very quiet, just leaves rustling and birds singing...
Look, we've almost made it!
Once you climb that short distance to the flag, there are steps up to different levels. It is really like being on a ship at sea, but instead of water, it is trees as far as the eye can see...
There is the tower that I showed you! You can't climb up that, I would if permitted to do so.
Not only are the mountains gorgeous but the clouds on the day that we were there were very nice too.
We were up there with the birds, I am telling you! (See how it looks like a ship?) That's me with my hiking bag trying to ruin the shot! (We're not certain what kind of bird this is, we will have to do more research.)
Look! We can see our car from the top! There are only 3 vehicles in the parking lot. Told you it was quiet! (Our car is the one near the white van.) Richard is very good with a zoom, don't you think?
Interesting for us, the leaves on the trees were a light green, as in early Spring. In our area, the leaves have been out for some time and full and dark green now. It is that much of a difference between the Atlanta area and the North Georgia mountains!
Brasstown Bald is near the town of Hiawassee. It is on Lake Chatuge and there is a botanical garden there called Hamilton Gardens. You know we had go there!
We just saw the last of the rhododendrons in bloom. There are 1200 rhododendrons in the gardens! (Their peak is from the last two weeks of April through mid May.) Even though we missed the mass of the blooms, we were very well pleased to see the lovely TREES along the trails there. A truly lovely spot.
The Lakeside Trail was very nice in the trace of a misty morning.
If you can remember the beginning of my post, the tag that I have around my wrist says "Let's Go FIND Outdoors". Let's do that, people! __________________________________________
Found a great video for you. B J Thomas with Vince Gill.
Hope you like this as much as I do! (I keep humming this to myself.)
