Georgia Girl With An English Heart

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

October-Stranger Things/Dracula

Covered bridges! There is just something so appealing about them, don't you think?

The covered bridge pictured above is at Stone Mountain Park. Cars are allowed to drive on it but they have a space for folks to walk over it too. (We always walk!) Funny I just told you about walking over the bridge in Chattanooga on my last post and now I have this one in Georgia! (This one was built almost at the same time, it was built in 1891.)

Does the change of leaves make me happy? You bet it does! Let me show you some of the beautiful photos from October from Georgia...

The most wonderful thing? Our leaves in the Metro Atlanta area do not peak until the first week of November, so we still have lots of color to come. I think I will just sit on this bench and watch til then.... dang, I am so funny!
____________________________

Hey! Y'all will never guess but my husband and I have finally watched the TV series "Stranger Things"! Yes, I know everyone else knows all about it but we have just been watching the shows and they are so good! The VERY best thing for me, the setting is supposed to be in Hawkins, Indiana but believe me, it was filmed in Georgia! I can't tell you how tickled I was to actually recognize places that are very familiar to me. I can't remember what season it was but there was a scene filmed at a 7/11 store and as soon as I saw it, I said, "That's in Conyers!". Sure enough, I researched it and of course, I was correct! Very special to us though is that many of the scenes filmed in the woods were filmed at Stone Mountain! AND any of the scenes where the actors are walking on a train track were all filmed at the train track at Stone Mountain. (This was a very good thing too since the train there is only one that is run for tourists so therefore, the train rarely runs on the rails. So, very safe for the actors!)

The other thing I need to tell you- I read "Dracula" this month! Oh, I am sure you are saying that you know the story very well but admit it, have you ever read it? If not, please do so! It is such a wonderfully written book, I was that surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I was dusting a bit at my home and since our son left a load of books at our house, my eye fell upon "Dracula" on his bookshelf. I tried to read the paperback but my poor old eyes were not up to the fine print so I went to my local library and checked out such a beautiful copy that my dear husband has now ordered the very same book for me. It is a Penguin Classic. This book not only has the story of Dracula but it also has an interview that Bram Stoker did with Winston Churchill! It also has letters between Bram Stoker and Walt Whitman! And there is even a piece that was written by Bram Stoker's mother. Isn't that amazing? (You can guess that she also was a great writer.)

It seems to me that "Stranger Things" and "Dracula" have some parallels. They both have characters that are interesting and that you really care about. They both have great friendships that try to overcome evil. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. Just as "Stranger Things" would make me happy to see scenes from Georgia, "Dracula" also has placenames in London that are familiar to me. (I realize that last bit is a personal thing for me, but hey, I am "Georgia Girl With An English Heart!")

Just in case Dracula comes around here, I have my cross ready!

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Chattanooga (NOOGA)

Chattanooga, Tennessee! Richard and I just visited in the month of September, and you know I have some photos to show you. It is commonly called "Nooga" because honestly, that is a long word to type...C H A T T A N O O G A !

This was the view from our hotel room. I loved this so much!

This very modern building is the Tennessee Aquarium and is well worth a visit! It is right beside the Tennessee River. We took our son there when he was only 3 years old and the area around it has grown so much in those 30 years!

Several bridges cross the river in Chattanooga. The one pictured below is the Market Street bridge. Look at that lovely blue paint! There are cars crossing on that bridge along with pedestrians.

The Walnut Street bridge is pictured above. Also called the John Ross bridge, it is a truss bridge and was built in 1890. It is now totally for pedestrians and bikes! No cars allowed! Isn't that great! I remember seeing it when we took our son there in the early 1990's and it was all rusty brown. Apparently, it was destined to be TORN DOWN! Can you believe it? A group of like-minded citizens got together and saved it. Along with the Aquarium, it is a jewel of the city. It is one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the country. Did I walk across it? You know I did! Richard and I both did! It is 2,375 feet across, and we totally enjoyed every step of the way.

These two photos show views from the bridge. Can you recognize the Tennessee Aquarium at the far left of photo?

On the other side of the bridge there is a lovely park with beautiful fountains. The sculptured animals are made in such a way that children can actually climb upon them. The building behind the fountains has a beautiful carousel inside it. Had it not been such a gorgeous day, I would have ridden on it, seemed a shame to go indoors even for just a bit!

Next time I am there, I think those pretty painted horses will be seeing me! LOL!

Crossing back across the bridge, this is the view of the Hunter Museum. It is a lovely building built upon a bluff overlooking the river. (We didn't have time to visit there but hopefully we will next time!)

The Chattanooga Riverwalk extends for 16.1 miles along the southern banks of the Tennessee river. (Yes, I typed that correctly! Over 16 miles!!) There are lovely spots to enjoy the sunsets.

I just heard that Loretta Lynn died today. She was 90 years old. I've told you before how much I loved the film based upon her autobiography, "Coal Miner's Daughter"! It was one of my Daddy's favorite films too. Loretta Lynn wrote most of own songs but one that was a big hit for her was the song "One's On The Way". It was written by Shel Silverstein, the same man who wrote "A Boy Named Sue" for Johnny Cash.

Take care, my friends! Enjoy "ever" single day! (That is how Lorretta Lynn said "every", just like my Daddy.)

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Hearts A Busting/"The Lord's My Shepherd" -Jessie Irvine

Recently, I felt so "homesick" for London that I wrote down the names of the bridges that I know that cross the Thames....

Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Southwark Bridge, Blackfriars, Waterloo, Hungerford, Westminster, Lambeth, Vauxhall. There, I think those are in the correct order.... I am walking across them in my mind.

I find myself looking at that list as I see the lines (queues) alongside the Thames of all the people making their way to pay their last respects to the Queen. So many! And it is heartwarming to hear how a great many of them have made friends with each other. At the same time here in Georgia, in the USA, our native plant, Euonymus americanus, has gone to seed. It is most perfectly called "Hearts a busting" and I am happy to say that we now have several in our own garden. So, "hearts a busting"...that seems appropriate to think of how many might be feeling regarding the passing of Queen Elizabeth. Sad but also very thankful for her life, with full hearts that feel as though they could burst.

At the Memorial service for the Queen in Edinburgh they played the hymn "The Lord's My Shepherd" with the tune of "Crimond" being used. I wondered about that tune and so I looked it up. (The same hymn with that same tune was performed at the wedding of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip by the way.) Crimond is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and the tune was written by the teenaged daughter of the vicar from the church in that town in 1871. Her name was Jessie Seymour Irvine. You might see the hymn in some places with the composer of the melody listed as David Grant. It seems that Jessie Irvine had asked him to work on a portion of the tune (to reharmonize it for her) and somehow, his name was listed as the sole composer. Jessie Seymour Irvine died in 1887. It wasn't until the 1940's that letters emerged showing that she had indeed written the tune and David Grant had only provided the harmony. There is still some controversy regarding this. I am in the Jessie Seymour Irvine camp!

Also, if you look up any info about the church in Crimond, you may see they have a clock that has an extra minute with the inscription, "The hour's coming". Oh! And they also have a fish shaped weather vane!

Now, I am sure that this same hymn, "The Lord's My Shepherd" will be played for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth on Monday. When you hear it, you will remember that the tune was written by a young Scottish woman, Jessie Seymour Irvine. (David Grant did the harmony!)

Hopefully, you can hear the video that I have here for you!

NOTE: There is a hymn at the beginning of the TV show "The Vicar of Dibley". That is also the 23rd Psalm but it is sung to a different tune.

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Time Enough for Tomatoes and Butterflies

Black strawberry tomatoes! "A cross between Bosque Blue with Strawberry Tiger, it is one of the most striking cherry tomatoes you can grow"- that is how it is described in the seed catalogs. We bought these seeds this year for the first time and how happy it made me see them grow! I am not an artist but I wanted to put these on canvas! Honestly, the way that I exclaimed over them, you would think I had discovered gold in my garden! How did they taste? Once again, I go to the seed catalog for you..." The flavor is very good. Sweet and perfectly balanced." And also, "Fantastic, sugar sweet flavor with a hint of grape and plum". Well, I don't know about that but they taste wonderful and look so pretty beside slices of cucumber on a hot summer day! Once again, it was just viewing them on the vines that made me so happy! "A bowlful resembles a luminous and luxurious bunch of gems" is how Baker Creek seeds describes them. See? I'm not lying!

As I was looking at photos of our flowers from a few years ago, I came across this picture. Richard liked the Mexican sunflower reflected in the face of this old clock on our wall. Reflections of a summer past! We didn't have any Mexican sunflowers seeds planted this year...our butterflies have had to make do with the lantana, cosmos and butterfly bush. Next year, Mexican sunflowers will hopefully be planted early enough so that we will have these tall beauties! They are like butterfly magnets.

I hope that time is treating you well, my friends!

Saturday, July 30, 2022

Mind Games (Let's Play Wordle)

"It is the brain, the little grey cells on which one must rely."

The quote above is from Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective created by Agatha Christie. It is true, of course... we must keep our brains ticking! Do you like to do word puzzles? I do! I have often enjoyed crossword puzzles and also, making words out of just a few letters...so, when Richard got us a weekend subscription to the New York Times, I was pleased to learn that it also gave us access to the Crossword puzzle, the Mini Crossword puzzle and the Spelling Bee! (To be honest, I never have time to do the long crossword, but I am very good at the Mini Crossword and the Spelling Bee. Oh, and the Boxed Letters, I am BRILLIANT!) A software engineer by the name of Josh Wardle (remember that name!) liked the Spelling Bee game very much also. (You are given 7 letters to make words. They are in a shape of a hive, the middle letter being in yellow, and that letter must be in each word.) Josh Wardle and his partner enjoyed playing it together, just as Richard and I do! In fact, they liked it so very much that he came up with a different game and in a play on his name, he called it "WORDLE"! It is a game where you must guess a five-letter word in six guesses. This game was just released in October of 2021 and yet, it is now enjoyed by millions, and it is still free for everyone. (As I type this post that is true, I am not sure for how long that will be so.) The interesting thing for me is that Josh Wardle is a Brit (born in Wales) and some of the words might be more familiar to British/English speakers! Having said that, all the words seem to be quite easy. Here is one word that was used - "M-I-D-G-E".

How that amused me! I didn't think of that myself (Richard got that one) but of course, I well remember Graham and his friend Pat talking of the midges that drive them crazy on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides in the summer! (I am not familiar with midges myself. We might have them in Georgia, but it would be the MOSQUITOES that you have to watch out for, the blood sucking little MONSTERS.)

Oh dear, let me get back to the gentle subject of word games and not think of dangerous insects.... So, do any of you play Wordle? I'm sure you do! If not and I get you "hooked" on it, you will thank me, if you like these kinds of games! I first heard of the game back in February. There was a story of a woman who lived in Chicago who was being held hostage in her own basement. The woman lived alone, yet the police had been called to check on her. Why? It was because her daughter (who lived on the West Coast!) had not received a text from her mom letting her know her mom's daily Wordle score. The woman was rescued!

So... maybe that daily Wordle habit is not a bad one to have and if it helps to keep our brains in fine fettle, I am a fan.

Here is a shout out to our friends in England, Henry and Sarah! We love that you also enjoy Wordle! Who knows, by the time we see each other again you might be able to have the Wordle game in a board game! Oh yes, you know HASBRO had to get in on the fun. You may read about it here!

One more thing...and I know I drive y'all crazy about films but Josh Wardle has a brother, Tim Wardle who is a film director! "Three Identical Strangers" is his 2018 documentary about identical triplet brothers adopted at birth by different families. They discovered each other at the age of 19, just by chance in 1980. I really liked this movie! And to find out that the director is related to the man who invented "Wordle"...isn't that interesting?

Here's a five letter word for you...

poppy!

Keep on playing those mind games forever....

Sunday, July 24, 2022

Eric Ravilious Film!

Doesn't that photo of Richard's above look dreamy? It is of the South Downs near Eastbourne in England. There is a British artist that might not be known to you who painted this same landscape in beautiful watercolors, his name is Eric Ravilious. Born in London in 1903, his family moved to Eastbourne where his parents owned an antiques shop. Eric Ravilious attended school at Eastbourne School of Art and also attended the Royal College of Art. Besides being an artist, he was also a teacher. In 1930, he married one of his art students, Tirzah Garwood. They had three children. (Just reading about them, the entire family seem such talented, interesting people! You may read more about his wife just here!) Sadly, Eric died on September 2, 1942 during active service when his plane was lost near Iceland and was therefore the first British war artist to die in WW2. He was only 39 years old.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone made a film about him? Someone has! It is called "Eric Ravilious: Drawn To War" and I just learned that it has been nominated for a BAFTA! It is my understanding that the movie will be released in the USA but not until Autumn of this year so...keep an eye out for it! Not sure how many theatres will have the film but I would drive many miles to see it!

The Towner Art Gallery in Eastbourne has a permanent collection of his paintings. I have the link for you here.

Before you look at some of his paintings, let me leave you with quote from The Sunday Times from 1939....

"He managed to make every subject he painted to appear as something magic, almost mystic, distilled out of the ordinary everyday".

Just because this is such a lovely, dreamy song (I have been humming it all week), "Only The Lonely" by Chris Isaac. It was a huge hit for Roy Orbison who was also the songwriter.)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Hope you are all doing well, my friends! Seems like it is boiling hot all over the world! Y'all need to go back and read my post about air conditioning. Thank you, Mr. Carrier!

Friday, July 15, 2022

First Song (And I Still Love You)

If any of you are lucky enough to be around someone who knows how to play the guitar, I suggest you ask them to learn some songs by Ralph McTell! Richard loves to play a song by him called "First Song". Now, here's the thing...it is a beautiful song but it is very hard to sing along as you play it! Go ahead, try it.... see what I mean? I have the video of the song with Ralph McTell and I do hope you enjoy this as much as I do! (You MUST listen until the very end...but in case you can't, I have given you the ending in the title to this post. AND I found the lyrics too!)

As you are listening to it, I hope you like a few photos that Richard has taken over the past weeks. Let's see, Richard is a gardener, a musician, and a photographer...what do I do?

Well, SOMEONE has to just sit around and enjoy those around them who are super talented! At least, I am honest and appreciative!

Super zoomed in view of Stone Mountain from Panola Mountain!

The lovely Fire Pink that I look for every single year. (It's always there! At Panola Mountain.) And it is hard to photograph- the flowers are delicate and on very slender stalks. The least amount of wind moves them.