The Great Southeastern Snow Storm (From 1973 in Macon, Georgia)

What is the most snow you have ever seen? I was talking with my Dad about the snowfall totals in Georgia that fell on Friday.  When I wondered what was the deepest snow that he had seen in his lifetime, he reminded me of the snow that we had driven through in February of 1973.  We lived in St. Mary's, Georgia at the time and we were returning to Conyers, Georgia for a visit. (Of course, there was no mention of a major snow storm expected in middle Georgia!)  My Dad was driving the whole family and as we drove up I-75, it started to snow.   It snowed and snowed and snowed!
There was two lanes, but since the snow covered everything, we could only follow in the path of the big trucks that were still driving. Most people pulled over and tried to stay in hotels but not my Dad! We had to pull off one time to buy gas and my Dad realized that he would not be able to get back onto the highway, as the entrance ramp was uphill. What to do?  He BACKED UP the exit ramp.  Now, this was not easy...he would start to reverse, and then, see someone trying to exit off the highway. He would have to drive the car forward again, wait for the car to pass us, and then, reverse again, watching carefully.  Finally, we got back on the highway.  Now, I didn't tell you...but while we were at the gas station, we were only able to walk around a bit in amazement at the amount of snow. It was up to my knees! My siblings and I couldn't wait to get to Conyers so we could build a snowman.  As we drove closer to the Atlanta area, we kept seeing less and less snow...by the time we got to Conyers...the ground was completely dry.  It was cold but no snow.

You should have seen our car!  It was completely covered in snow. It looked like it had been dropped from the North Pole. No kidding.
Looking it up now, I see that this storm was called The Great Southeastern Snowstorm and from the statistics, I see that Macon had 16. 5 inches of snow! So, if someone asks me what is the largest amount of snow that you have experienced? My answer...16 and one half inches!  No one expected this in middle Georgia in 1973...there were a lot of people stranded but my Dad was determined to make it through.  You know he did!

Elvis- Thank You Very Much- Aloha

Today would have been the 80th birthday of Elvis Presley. I have written of my high regard for Elvis Presley in other posts before, but in case you haven't read those, I really like him a lot.  On New Year's Eve, I was happy to see that PBS had the Elvis concert from Hawaii, the one that was first broadcast live on Jan. 14, 1973.  It was the very first concert that was ever shown by satellite and was seen in 40 countries around the world. It was not seen in Europe until the next day (shown during prime time viewing, I believe) but it was not shown in the USA until April, because the January date was the same day as the Super Bowl!  (And YES, I very much remember watching it on TV in April of 1973, that is my birthday month!)  Still, it is a marvelous thing to think of music being broadcast live all over the world for the first time, isn't it? I have also watched it on YouTube but I still loved seeing the concert on TV. One of the things that I noticed...he said, "Thank you, thank you very much" after almost every song.  We have heard that so often by the Elvis impersonators, but when you hear Elvis say it, it sounds sincere and from the heart.

The concert hall in Honolulu where Elvis performed his "Aloha From Hawaii"  has a life size bronze statue of Elvis which was installed in August of 2007, the 30th anniversary of his death.  Visitors to the statue often leave leis draped around the statue in honor of Elvis. There is a plaque on the statue and the following is engraved upon it:

Elvis Aloha From Hawaii.  The world's first satellite TV Concert.
Jan. 14, 1973.
With supreme talent and sincere humility, Elvis Presley made his gift the world's.  Thank you, thank you very much.

 

 

  USS Arizona Memorial   Click on that link and read about another concert by Elvis to raise money for the memorial to the USS Arizona.

It's nice to think of Hawaii...it was 12 degrees this morning!

Elvis- Aloha From Hawaii

Last week, Richard and I enjoyed our son and his band, The Sevens, so very much! It made me hunger for more live music and it also  made me think of all the concerts that I have seen in my life.   During the 70's, my sister and I saw quite a few concerts... Elton John, The Eagles, Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt,  and  most wonderful of all...Paul McCartney And Wings!!!  (When Paul  did "Yesterday", just himself singing with his guitar, it was the most magical moment, I can't tell you how beautiful it was!)
My husband and I have seen The Moody Blues in concert SEVEN times! (And we hope to see them again!) 

Now, I also had a very fond memory of a concert by Elvis.  I never saw him in  concert but I remember a concert that he did that was on TV in 1973.  I remember it very well and I thought  it was great.  (With a start, I realized that it was 40 years ago.  Gulp. That went quickly!!)
Anyway, I remember it even being on TV near my birthday in April.  When I looked it up, I see that it was broadcast in January, and it was a big deal since it was on Satellite, the first time a concert
had been broadcast in that manner.  But YAY, I looked further and NBC broadcast it in April of 1973 so my memory did not fail me!   I must tell you that I looked it up on Youtube and I have found the whole concert on there!  I have listened to this concert all week, I just minimize it and continue working on the computer  and although I can't see it, I can hear it, and I am amazed at how much I love EVERY ONE OF THE SONGS!

I told Richard that I wish they would show this concert by Elvis on TV.  Guess what? I just found out that in the Atlanta area, it will be shown on one of our public stations: CHANNEL 30, AT 8PM  ON SATURDAY, THE 3RD OF AUGUST!  That is next Saturday, please make a note of it!  I would think that they will show this in the rest of the country at some time.  If you are reading this from another country, I hope you will able to see it on TV too, but for now, enjoy it on Youtube!

I love Elvis Presley.  I think he was a great singer and as I grew up in the South, I always felt so proud of him.  He was SOUTHERN, don't you know, and if you don't know why that makes him special to me, then you just don't understand this Georgia Girl!
OH! And if anyone has anything negative to say, and I don't often say this, but go somewhere else. I will hear nothing against him. Full stop.


Now, tell me, what was your favorite concert?

 As much as I loved seeing  Paul McCartney and Elvis Presley on TV,  I must tell you that my favorite is now, The Sevens on July 18th, 2013!!


I hope so much to get some of their music on here, but until then, I think Elvis will be nice.

If you click on his name below, that should get you to the concert that I have been listening to.

Elvis!

Thank you.  Thank you very much.  You're beautiful.

 

America's Most Inspiring Movies

At this time of year, it might be nice to see an inspiring movie.  The American Film Institute in 2006 came out with the top 100 most inspiring movies.  (100 Years...100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies.)  Some people like romances, some like dramas.  Turns out, I like inspirational films.  Of these 100, I have seen 98 of them.  I need to see the other two so I can say that I have seen them all! (Braveheart and Places In the Heart, the only two I have not seen.)

How many of them have you seen?  And it won't take you long to read through this list.  I can't believe the Chariots of Fire is at #100!  I would have it in the top 10 at least!  Now, if you have not seen hardly any of this movies, then do yourself a favor and seek them out and watch them.  You will thank me, I promise. 

And this is not Scarlet O'Hara from Gone With The Wind in the photo, it is just me on top of Arabia Mountain!  Duh, duh, duh, duh... that's the music in case you don't remember! (And you know of course, that Vivian Leigh was from England and playing a girl from Georgia, right?)

 

#	Movies	Year
1	It's a Wonderful Life	1946
2	To Kill a Mockingbird	1962
3	Schindler's List	1993
4	Rocky	1976
5	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	1939
6	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	1982
7	The Grapes of Wrath	1940
8	Breaking Away	1979
9	Miracle on 34th Street	1947
10	Saving Private Ryan	1998
11	The Best Years of Our Lives	1946
12	Apollo 13	1995
13	Hoosiers	1986
14	The Bridge on the River Kwai	1957
15	The Miracle Worker	1962
16	Norma Rae	1979
17	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	1975
18	The Diary of Anne Frank	1959
19	The Right Stuff	1983
20	Philadelphia	1993
21	In the Heat of the Night	1967
22	The Pride of the Yankees	1942
23	The Shawshank Redemption	1994
24	National Velvet	1944
25	Sullivan's Travels	1941
26	The Wizard of Oz	1939
27	High Noon	1952
28	Field of Dreams	1989
29	Gandhi	1982
30	Lawrence of Arabia	1962
31	Glory	1989
32	Casablanca	1942
33	City Lights	1931
34	All the President's Men	1976
35	Guess Who's Coming to Dinner	1967
36	On the Waterfront	1954
37	Forrest Gump	1994
38	Pinocchio	1940
39	Star Wars	1977
40	Mrs. Miniver	1942
41	The Sound of Music	1965
42	12 Angry Men	1957
43	Gone with the Wind	1939
44	Spartacus	1960
45	On Golden Pond	1981
46	Lilies of the Field	1963
47	2001: A Space Odyssey	1968
48	The African Queen	1951
49	Meet John Doe	1941
50	Seabiscuit	2003
51	The Color Purple	1985
52	Dead Poets Society	1989
53	Shane	1953
54	Rudy	1993
55	The Defiant Ones	1958
56	Ben-Hur	1959
57	Sergeant York	1941
58	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	1977
59	Dances with Wolves	1990
60	The Killing Fields	1984
61	Sounder	1972
62	Braveheart	1995
63	Rain Man	1988
64	The Black Stallion	1979
65	A Raisin in the Sun	1961
66	Silkwood	1983
67	The Day the Earth Stood Still	1951
68	An Officer and a Gentleman	1982
69	The Spirit of St. Louis	1957
70	Coal Miner's Daughter	1980
71	Cool Hand Luke	1967
72	Dark Victory	1939
73	Erin Brockovich	2000
74	Gunga Din	1939
75	The Verdict	1982
76	Birdman of Alcatraz	1962
77	Driving Miss Daisy	1989
78	Thelma & Louise	1991
79	The Ten Commandments	1956
80	Babe	1995
81	Boys Town	1938
82	Fiddler on the Roof	1971
83	Mr. Deeds Goes to Town	1936
84	Serpico	1973
85	What's Love Got to Do with It	1993
86	Stand and Deliver	1988
87	Working Girl	1988
88	Yankee Doodle Dandy	1942
89	Harold and Maude	1971
90	Hotel Rwanda	2004
91	The Paper Chase	1973
92	Fame	1980
93	A Beautiful Mind	2001
94	Captains Courageous	1937
95	Places in the Heart	1984
96	Searching for Bobby Fischer	1993
97	Madame Curie	1943
98	The Karate Kid	1984
99	Ray	2004
100	Chariots of Fire	1981

Cherry Trees-Agents of Friendship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hideo Ogino, who was the President of Maxell Corporation, planted Yoshino cherry trees as a gift to the people of Rockdale County . A Cherry Blossom Festival was created to "nurture the friendship and exchange of Japanese culture".  The first festival, in 1982, had Japanese cooking classes, origami exhibits, silk flower arranging and karate demonstrations. Since that time, many people here have admired these trees and have planted many cherry trees of their own.  These photos are of the three Yoshino cherry trees in our own front yard that we purchased many years ago.  You might recognize the blossoms from post-cards from Washington, D.C.

In 1949, a man by the name of William Flicking noticed a beautiful tree with lovely blossoms in his backyard of Macon, Georgia, but was unable to identify it and no one living there could identify it either. On a business trip to Washington, D.C., he recognized that his tree was a Yoshino cherry tree, the same ones lining the Potomac River. Upon his return home, he propagated the tree and began giving the trees to those in his community.  One of those neighbors, Carolyn Crayton, talked him into having 500 cherry trees planted in her neighborhood in 1973. With all these beautiful trees, the first Cherry Blossom Festival was held in Macon in 1982 and the theme of the festival was "Love, Beauty, and International Friendship".  It is believed that there are now 300,000 cherry trees in Macon and the Cherry Blossom Festival there is very well attended!

The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. is very well known. The gift, of 3200 cherry trees from Japan, were received in March of 1910.  There were actually 12 different varieties but the majority was the Yoshino cherry tree.  Another gift of 3,800 trees were given in 1965 by Japan and presented to one of my heroes, Lady Bird Johnson, who did so much to call attention to gardens and flowers.  In 2011, some of the original trees from Japan, were propagated and sent back to Japan making this circle of friendship complete.  I love the thought of trees being called " agents of friendship".  Isn't it wonderful to see this kind of beauty and also think of it as being used to promote peace and goodwill around the world?
It is not just in Georgia that you will see cherry blossoms against a blue sky but even in England!Look at Julie's blog at Home Jules.  Also, she has some incredible work that she shows by a textile artist by the name of Elizabeth Wall.  It inspired her to make a 4 birds quilt which I love!  Beauty, I will always exclaim over it.  You don't want to know how much I marveled over our cherry trees this past week.  Today, the pale pink petals are showering down like snow...like magic!

 

 

We The People (Sing It!)

 

The Preamble to the Constitution! Of course, I know it by heart because it was set to music in School House Rock. (Why don't we have tunes for everything? I would never forget a thing!) 

I looked this up...it was written by a woman named Lynn Ahrens. She was quite young at the time, this would have been in the autumn of 1973. The TV network, NBC had already shown some of these 3 minute animated spots which highlighted tunes to help kids learn their multiplication tables. Since they were successful, the network was asked to do more.  The producer happened to notice Lynn Ahrens who worked as a secretary at NBC. (She would bring her guitar and play during her lunch time!)

He asked her if she could write a song! Well, you can guess her answer! If any of you are familiar with these songs, I wonder if you knew who wrote them? She not only wrote about history but also about grammar! (I just looked this one up..."Conjunction Function"...I really loved that one! It was written by Bob Dorough, a very well known person in music, in Jazz! Gee, he is also quite fascinating...read about him just here.

Okay, THEN I thought to look up who actually wrote the words of the Preamble...that would be...

and I am not making this name up...Gouverneur Morris.  I did NOT misspell that name! Here is someone else who should be portrayed on film! What a fascinating life story HE has! I don't have the time to tell you all about him just now...perhaps another time, or you could look him up and see what you think. (Waving his false leg around at a  French mob telling them that he knew what it was to fight for LIBERTY? I mean, you have to love that! Even it if wasn't true and he had lost the leg in a carriage accident...hey, you gotta do what you can to get by in life!)

Sorry, I got sidetracked there...I was telling you about Lynn Ahrens. She went on to be very successful in musical theatre with Stephen Flaherty, winning many awards.( AND she also wrote jingles, one that I remember is "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?")  Their latest musical..."Marie, Dancing Still" which is based on the Degas statue "Little Dancer of 14 years". (Ahrens wrote the lyrics and Stephen Flaherty wrote the music.) Sounds like something I would really like...but then, I think I would also like "Ragtime" and "Seussical The Musical"! 

So, we have been told that this election  day is considered a very stressful day for Americans. Here is my contribution to help with that...keep singing! 

.We the people,

In order to form a more perfect union,
Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
Provide for the common defense,
Promote the general welfare and
Secure the blessings of liberty
To ourselves and our posterity
Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

For the United States of Americaaaaaaaa

Dhani Harrison (The Inner Light 2020)

Just mentioned Dhani Harrison on my last post and then, I saw this video today!  Dhani Harrison (son of George Harrison, if you didn't see my last post!) is singing his father's song, "The Inner Light". The Material World Foundation (founded by George Harrison in 1973) today donated $500,000 to the MusiCares Covid -19 Relief Fund, Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders Charities, all of which are providing aid during the Covid -19 pandemic.  In addition, Material World Foundation will donate another $1.00 (up to $100,000) for every one of you who shares their own "inner light" moment on social media using the hash tag #innerlight2020
You don't have to do the whole song, it can be a verse, a chorus or a line from the song. You can sing it, chant it, hum it or paint it! Just do it and post it to social media with the hash tag  #innerlight2020
You know I asked our son to sing this song on the guitar and to post it to social media!  Please let me know if any of you are able to do so!  
OH! And please make sure to watch the video above! You MUST wait until the end and see Dhani Harrison smile at the camera!
You can read more about the Material World Foundation at their website just here.

                       I want my time with you...this is at the St. Pancras Station in London.

Here is a close up of the clock. Isn't it beautiful?

Disney/Derry Girls- "Don't Rock the Boat!"

 Hey! 

How are you all doing? Listen, I only have about 7 minutes of energy these days, so I better type this very quickly....

In my last post, I told you what book you should read.  Now, I will tell you what you should watch on TV!  And in connection with that, I hope you will watch the following video I am sharing here!

There, wasn't that wonderful? Apparently, it is a something that folks in Ireland have been doing at weddings and birthdays for decades.  "Rock the Boat" was a hit for The Hues Corporation in 1973.   This was shown on one of the episodes of "Derry Girls", which is a TV series that I want you to see! It is SO funny, I laughed until I cried.

The video is from Derry from May of this year.  They broke a World record with 1,888 people all lined up like that while seated on the street. And it was done for charity!  It is called a dance, but it is more of a swaying with arm movements to me which is meant to be an imitation of rowing a boat. I was most impressed by not only the number of people involved but also how perfectly they are in sync with one another.

Isn't it a joyful thing?  Wouldn't it be great for other cities to do this same thing?  Our son and daughter-in-law live in Chattanooga, which is right next to the mighty Tennessee River, don't you think the organizers there should do this too? There is a massive Riverwalk there, so lots of space for it!  With money being raised for charity, it would truly be something good to imitate.

Okay, I told you to watch "Derry Girls". Now, I MUST tell you how much I enjoyed watching "How Disney Built America". (It was on the History Channel). It was a five-part series, and I loved every minute of it!  You might think you know Walt Disney, but I promise you will learn more about him! And also, about his brother, Roy who was the one to handle the "money" side of things. Walt was the one with the dreams and the big ideas! There is also another man that I found fascinating, the one behind much of the merchandising, Kay Kaymen. Have any of you seen this series? Did you love it as much as I did? I always loved "Uncle Walt" as a kid, I am pleased to learn that I had great taste even as a child. What a guy!

Here are some "watery" photos for you. One from Eastbourne, England and the other from Georgia, USA!

 Don't Rock the Boat!   

  This has taken me longer than 7 minutes to type so, if there are any mistakes, blame my lack of energy!  

The previous record for the most people dancing to "Rock the Boat" was in Galway. I have that video for you too!

Snow Is Falling All Around (Break Out the SUET)

 

Last weekend we had snow and ice to worry about in the North Georgia area. Guess what, we had a similar storm THIS weekend!  We had been warned about it for days but the areas that would get the most snow just could not be pinned down.  I am thankful that our county only received a light dusting of snow.  Just north and east of us, it was a different story! My brother mentioned in a text that in Athens, Georgia they got 6-7 inches of snow. (My sister in reply had to say 6 -7! I hope you all know the kids saying 6-7 these days! What does it mean? Nobody knows!)  Anyway, what was I talking about before I started telling you about the crazy things that Gen Z is coming up with? Oh yes, SNOW!

There is a list of the highest snow totals ever recorded in Georgia, and I notice that the dates of Feb. 10-13, 1973, are there with Macon, Georgia receiving 16. 5 inches. I told you about that in a blog post! My Dad expertly drove through that severe storm on a drive up I-75 in our big yellow 1972 Ford LTD.  Click on the following if you want to read that post -  SNOW!   (By the way, if anyone is new reading my blog, our Dad passed away in February of 2019. He was just the best. You know how people think their fathers can do anything? He really could!)

What to do when you are not sure if it is safe to get out on the roads? 

Enjoy the birds!

See the snow? Just a light dusting, as I told you! It was like dust too, very unusual here in the Deep South, I am told. It was like powder. At the beginning of the storm, the TV weather map showed us we were getting snow but...no snow did we see. The meteorologist told us this word: "VIRGA". It means that the snow is present, but it is evaporating or sublimating in the upper atmosphere before it comes down. That is how I am explaining it in my layman's terms!

Birds puff themselves up to stay warm. Look at the cardinal above!

Of course, suet is very much appreciated by them also...

Birds are smart, they filled up on this suet before the storm arrived! I remember my Dad calling me one time and telling me that he knew we were about to have a big snowstorm because the birds had been in a feeding frenzy that day. He was right, of course!

You can buy suet very easily in the stores. Save the container and it makes a nice mold to make your own suet. You know that is what I do!

SUET:   2 tablespoons lard or shortening, 2 teaspoons peanut butter (try for no or low sodium), 1 cup of good quality bird seed with sunflowers, 2 tablespoons oats, 2 tablespoons corn meal.

Mix dry together and set aside.  Combine lard and peanut butter in small saucepan and melt over low heat. Mix well. Pour wet into dry. Stir to combine. Spoon into tray that you saved from the suet! Freeze for 2 hours. (It fits perfectly into a plastic sandwich bag.) Leave out for a bit and then, place in suet feeder. Note: not recommended if above 50 degrees.) 

There, that is the kind of recipe that you get from me!  

                

Hey! You know how people do these elaborate decorations on gingerbread men? I like to just get a toothpick and give them faces before I put them in the oven. (And each one has three buttons too!) The leftover over dough gets the circle treatment and I make a snowflake pattern on those! (Along with the odd tree here and there.)

See, looking at birds and making gingerbread men.  Life is sweet!

Oh! Of course, I couldn't help but think that with all the people staying inside due to the snowstorm that they should all be listening to our son's song! "Snow is Falling All Around" is the title of the post, and that is one of the lines from his song! 

"Home Inside Your Heart" 

There, I know I just had his song on here last month but doggone it, it is GOOD.  

Take care!

Tornado!

 

We had a tornado in the early hours of the morning yesterday here in Rockdale County, Georgia where we live!  Thankfully, there were no injuries or deaths but lots of property damage.  Here is a video for you....

Conyers tornado damage: 'Priceless' family photos rescued | 11alive.com

UPDATE:  After I posted this, I saw on the news that there were two injuries. I hope they are not too severe, and those two people will recover quickly. I am surprised there were not more injuries.

We have friends who live in this neighborhood.  Once again, we are thankful that they got through this storm with only limbs down in their yard. 

This county had one of the worst tornadoes in Georgia history.  It was back in 1973 and trust me, no weather radar or warnings in those days. Here is a link to that-  Rockdale marks 40 years since worst tornado in history | News | rockdalenewtoncitizen.com

You can bet that I pay strict attention to any weather warnings!

Take care, everyone!  Do any of you watch the TV coverage of the Masters Golf Tournament from Augusta and admire the azaleas and dogwood trees? Guess what, they are like that all over Georgia!  (My photos aren't that great, but they are so pretty.)

Braves Game! July 28, 2012

My son promised me a Braves game for Mother's Day.  Want to come along with us?

 Turner Field in Atlanta.  This was built for the 1996 Olympics and was used for the track events.  It has been the home for the baseball team since that time, the Atlanta Braves.

I took this photo just before we sang the National Anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner".  Not a lot of people sing along with it.  You know that I always do, don't you? Always, you can count on it.

There are some really nice statues just outside of Turner Field.  This is a statue of Warren Spahn, and in the wording of baseball, " the winningest left handed pitcher of all time".   He played for the Boston Braves and therefore, there is a display about him in the Baseball Museum that we are about to visit inside Turner Field.

This is a a photo of Warren Spahn  and they even have his Purple Heart on display but I am sorry that I didn't get a photograph of that which was alongside his Army uniform.  He is one of those athletes whose career was interrupted by war, in his case, it was World War II.  It seems unfair to look too closely at sports statistics and compare the players when you had men from this time who sometimes had years when they were not playing the game.

Can you see the signature on this baseball?  It is none other than Babe Ruth, who with 714 homeruns had the most homeruns, until Hank Aaron passed this record in 1973 and finished his career with 755 homeruns.  If you are interested in stories about fascinating people, look up both those names: Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.   Both amazing baseball players with interesting life stories.

This is a photo of my son posing in front of Hank Aaron  who is on the left and Chipper Jones on the right.  Chipper Jones will retire after this year and he has been an outstanding player with the Atlanta Braves.   He has been with the Atlanta Braves for nineteen seasons so that means he has been a large part of my son's childhood.  (Chipper's number is 10, so that is the shirt that C. is wearing!)

Look, just beyond the Chik-Fila cow, giant Coca-Cola bottle, and Delta Airlines' sign, it's Atlanta!

Play ball!    STRIKE HIM OUT!  STRIKE HIM OUT! (Can you see the ball?)

The pitcher, Mike Minor, must have heard me.  This means he had five strikeouts, he would finish with NINE for the night!  (The backwards K means that was a left-handed batter).  When I was a kid, it annoyed me that "K" meant a strike-out.

There was a pretty good size crowd.  We were so thankful that we were not in the sun, it was still in the 90's and not a breath of air. That is my son's hand pointing out something to his aging mother who is having great difficulty in seeing things these days.

Nice clouds though.... wait, I feel a sense of Deja Vu... I can almost hear my Daddy say, "Kay, pay attention, you're missing the game!"  (I always kept score with my Dad at baseball games.)

I wonder how close I can get to Chipper Jones in the batter's circle with the zoom lens of my camera...turns out, pretty darn close!  Hey, Chipper, hit a home run for us!  Or better yet, wait until the NEXT DAY when we are not there to see it!  Yeah, you know it, that's just what happened!

Oh well!  The Braves won on this Saturday night that we were there, 2-1.  Thanks, son, I really enjoyed it!  Hope y'all didn't get TOO hot at this game with us in HOT LANTA.

Am I All Alone (Or Is It Only Me)- Roger Miller

Songwriting!  By now, you must know how much I admire those who write songs, whether it be music or lyrics or both! One of the many songwriters that I admire is a man by the name of Roger Miller. Remember him? He had big hits with "King of the Road" and "England Swings" in the 1960's. I loved the songs that he wrote and sang in the 1973 Disney film "Robin Hood"! And if you remember, he also did the narration for that movie! Many of his songs were humorous "You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd" but if you search carefully, you will find that he truly was a genius at songwriting and I think should be honored for this.  (Sadly, he died in 1992.)
 Roger Miller was a great friend of Glen Campbell. On Glen's last album, "Adios", one of the tracks is "Am I All Alone (Or Is It Only Me)" and it was written by Mr. Roger Miller.  (In fact, his wife had a cassette recording of Glen and Roger singing this song together, and it is included on this CD!)  It is a very good song but I must say, until I got this CD by Glen Campbell, I had never heard of it. (Can't find the song to put on this post, but if you search for it, I think you will like it.)

Looking a bit further, I see that there was an album released this past August in tribute to Roger Miller! Those featured on the album include Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Ringo Starr, Brenda Lee, Kris Kristofferson and many others!  How could this happen and I knew nothing about it?  Do you sometimes feel like you are the last one to know about something? (Am I All Alone...Or Is It Only Me?)  You know I had to say it!

Instead of giving you a clip from the tribute album, I found his son,  Dean Miller, singing "King of the Road" from one of my Dad's favorite TV shows, "Country's Family Reunion"! I love how he speaks of his father before the song...that his father left behind  "a legacy of JOY".  

This is my first post for 2019.  Gee, I hope I get myself a bit more organized so that I can spend more time on my blog!  Y'all know I have a lot to tell you about!  

 Yes, I have been known to take photos of packages if I find them amusing.  Richard does too! One must find amusement where one can!

The North Wind Doth Blow (And There Shall Be Snow)

    

The North wind doth blow

and we shall have snow.

And what will the robin do then, poor thing?

He will sit in a barn and keep himself warm

and hide his head in his wing, poor thing!

Mother Goose was a favorite of mine growing up and sometimes phrases come to me unexpectedly!  We are experiencing snow in the South for the second time this month.  This second snow, we didn't get nearly as much snow in Georgia as they did in Louisiana or Florida! (Did you see the photos from Pensacola Beach, Fl and New Orleans, La? Wow!) Still, because we had that cold, cold air already, once the snow fell, it made our roads in the Atlanta area very dangerous. Our temps have not gotten above freezing for the past 72 hours. We are being told to stay indoors here in our county as some roads that are very icy have been closed. 

So, what to do? Why, feed the birds, of course! And enjoy their antics! And that poem about the robin being cold?  Well, I am sure you all know that birds keep themselves warm by FLUFFING up their feathers! I remember seeing a robin in England that was so puffed up, it reminded me of a tennis ball! 

Still, this cold weather makes it difficult to do our outdoor walking, so it seems that January has lasted forever. (We have walked in below freezing weather with a stiff wind upon us, and THAT is what made me think of that Mother Goose poem!)  Now, is there something that defines January going on for a very long time?  Surely there must be!

Thirty days hath September,

April, June and November.

Unless a leap year is its fate

February hath twenty -eight.

All the rest hath three days more,

excepting January,

which hath six thousand,

one hundred and eighty-four.     

Ha! Isn't that funny?  I swear that would not have made me laugh any other January except this one in 2025!   The poem is by Brian Bilston and he is a Brit! Personally, I think we need to find more things to make us laugh these days.  (Or at least giggle and guffaw a bit!)  Tee hee, if you look up that poet on his website, on the "about" section, he simply states, "I write poems".  There, enough said! Here is his website:   Brian Bilston   His list of unpublished poems is pretty funny.

These are photos of the first snow we had which was much better at making a snowman!  This poor guy was melting after 2 days in the sun but I bet he looked great when he was new! It was fun to drive past all the yards with the snowmen proudly still standing! You can just imagine how much fun the kids had in making them. 

I even made a very small snowman with sunflower seeds for eyes....

Can you see that the cardinal has found the "eyes" of the snowman? "Thank you!", the female cardinal seems to be saying!

Do you need to paint something white? I think "snowman's bone" would be very white, don't you? 

                          Stay warm!  And January will be over soon! 

Hey! I wrote a post in 2017 about the most snow that I had ever seen. We drove through a blizzard in South Georgia in 1973. You may read it just  here!