I have been very busy learning about lots of things.
1. Job was a great man and he isn't to well known.
2.Feedsacks have an interesting history and you can still buy them on eBay.
3. The last lynching in our town took place in 1943 and white people don't understand why blacks have trouble believing us. That was 10 years before I was born, not so far back in history.
4. Old people and kids get really crazy during the full moon.
5. Do NOT walk through a parking lot like you own it. You will get run down by a middle age/old lady, who has many things on her mind and isn't looking around, when she is backing out of her parking spot.
6. If you think your kids drive you crazy now just wait. They get better at it as they get older and older. Then you get old and get to return the favor.
7. Making Christmas stocking for your grandchildren may take you half their lifetimes to get done.
8. The felt stocking kits don't look as nice in real life as they do on the package.
9. God does provide all the things you will need to get through this life. You may think your going to a counselor for one reason and bam the real reason comes along.
10. Reflexology is a wonderful thing.

The New York Times tells us, that the U.S. warns China about their military bill up. Now don't you just know that China is shaking in their boots. What are we going to do? I know, put in orders for all kinds of equipment and clothing, China will be happy to send us all the things we will need to fight against them and I'm sure it will all be quality products they send us.
Every time I hear or read something about the US warning another country about their wrong doings I am reminded of Rett Butler "Why all we have is cotton and slaves and arrogance."
In 40 years I have watched steel mills grow smaller, refineries close, cloth mills shut down and factory after factory move to China or South America. Just how are we going to, in the words of Teddy Roosevelt "Walk softly and carry a big stick"?
I was told there are cloth mills just sitting in Alabama and the men and women who know how to run those mills are dying off. If push comes to shove how long will it take for us to get the mills up and running to meet our needs. Cotton crops are down this year, were will the cotton come from.
We hear day in and day out about the poor and the need to increase welfare, here is a idea put these people to work. The government is paying them anyway so pay them to learn how to run the equipment that has been left setting. Our money is going overseas for that very reason, to teach poor people how to improve their lot in life. If it is good enough overseas why not here?
Enough of that, here is the deal, first it is not a political party, it is greed and self-centeredness, second it is time to shut our months unless we have a big stick to back it up.

A year ago I thought I was headed down Crazy Street. I had a good talking to myself about it, told myself that Christians don't go down this street, that's what "they" say. It worked I was back on the "right" road, that is until May came along and I found out that I had detoured some were and was back on Crazy Street.
July came and I was in the counselors office laying the groundwork for understanding my crazy. Little did I know, God was putting me in the right place for the new Inter-State Crazy that was coming through my life.

Funny, isn't it, how God works in those mysterious ways.

I had been thinking about dropping Facebook but wouldn't do it because I had reconnected with my cousin's and a few people from back home. One day, a person, I am not well acquainted with, posted something, I thought was STUPID, and I started to clean out my friends list and ended up closing the account.
Again, little did I know, it was God's mysterious ways. I didn't need to be on FB while I'm trying to navigate I-Crazy. I'm sure I would have posted something that did not need to be seen. Once said you can not take it back.
So here I am a Christian on Inter-State Crazy and you know what I am sure God has not had as much trouble dealing with it as I have. I'm just going to head on down the road and with the help of a few of my friends get off on the exit God has picked out for me.

Little boys come to an age when, they eat, drink and sleep super hero's.
There are days when I am in so much danger that it almost takes my breath away.
HT has done his best to keep me and Pa safe, but it has been to much for one little boy. This evening HT became a Super Hero "Big Red Good Guy"
You know hero's have to have a name, HT rejected several descriptive names, I went to fix his bath and found his SH name "BRiGG".
So should you ever need a Super Hero just call BRiGG and he might answer or he may just tell you "don't call me dhat I'm HT to lork at smalltown TN".

I hate TransFormers!!
Not the movies, I haven't seen them. It is the toys, at least the new ones. The first time around Bubba had the toys, somewhere around here, there is still one that was much loved. He was about the same age the grandsons are now, when he got his and I do not recall needing a full page 20 picture instruction sheet. That only turns the car into the robot, there are 20 more pictures on the back side to return the robot to the car. Then 2 large pictures showing you how to hook the gun up to the robot and the car.
Now, you might think I'm just to old to get the transforming thing and that is why I hate them, your wrong. I transformed Bumblebee just today.
It all started two Christmas's ago, FarmWife and family were coming home. Being the good Grammy I shopped. The tree was fat with goodies under it and I was ready to receive "Grammy of the Year". There were Transformers.
I had just forgot one little thing, Art and the Rapscallions would be by for a visit and would open their gifts, lots of Bakugan. Back to the store to get a couple for our boys so they could spend the evening playing instead of wishing. Turned out that Art's could only stay for a short time. Gifts opened the boys were happy, Art's boys knew how to transform the Bakugans for the Farmhands. Later FarmBoy decided to put his boys up, it took a while, the boys couldn't remember how to transform them.
Next morning the Transformers were opened and once again FarmBoy is put to work and once again it took a while, a long while, Pa worked on them, FarmBoy tried again and the boys played with HT's toys.
Even though everyone was happy I didn't feel like "Grammy of the Year" and said I would never buy another TransFormer or Bakugan again.
HT discovers TransFormers and wants to go to Aunt FW's almost everyday to play in the boys room. He is making me crazy so I buy him a Bumblebee and after messing with it for what seems like hours, I remember why I hate TransFormers

My new obsession, Hankies.

I have always loved hankies, it comes from the important women in my life. I can not recall a time when they did not have a hankie either in their hand or on their belt or in their pocketbook and most of the time in all three places.
Auntie M always tatted the edges of hers and I found it fascinating to watch her tatting the new ones.
Lace was the hankie of choice for Sunday, along with a plane one just in case a kid needed his nose wiped. Flowered hankies were carried on market days and visits to family or friends.
I don't recall giving mom a hankie but I am guessing that, sometime during our early school years, she was given one of the best hankies that R&L had on their shelves.
Years ago Pa's Granny gave me some of hers. Then his mom got out her collection of family hankies for us to divide up. Pa's sister took them home to freshen up and in the future we are to divide up among the 3 of us. I think it will be nice to pass hankies down 4 generation's.
I have been picking up a few hankies now and then, they are not as easy to come by anymore. Like many things, new products have replaced them. Who wants to wash and iron hankies anyway? Funny thing is I have always enjoyed ironing hankies, it was one of my first jobs.
Just a month ago Auntie Di and I were going to check out a quilt shop only to find out it was closed for the day, so we drove to another one and it had gone out of business. There were antique shops in that town so we spent some time digging through a basket of hankies, not many worth the asking price but we had a good time looking, talking and laughing.
I love hankies.

In a few days it will be my grandma's birthday. She lived a long life and finished it not knowing there was a real world around her. She had returned to her childhood and beyond. 

 As the years pass Speedy Perkins becomes more amazing to me. I'm not sure if anyone else called her Speedy beside my dad but it fit her very well. I can't seem to remember a time when she wasn't doing something. She crochet, embroidered and made patchwork quilts during her quite time. The rest of the time she was busy with housework. That meant cleaning up and scrubbing down a out house.  Laundry being done just outside the kitchen door of their 3 room house. Grandma had a shed, near the back door were she kept things, I do remember the rinse tubs being in there, along with other household things but I don't know were her wash machine was kept.

 In 1964/65 they added on a new living room and kitchen and brought the bathroom and laundry into the house by their new door. How grandma lived and worked in that tiny house fascinated me and still does.

  Grandma was the baby of Great Grandpa's first family. Grandma W. died some time early in Speedy's life and she was taken in by her Uncle Jim and Aunt Lizzy. Speedy was the sunshine in Uncle Jim's life and he in hers. Aunt Lizzy set about raising Speedy to be a proper young woman in a proper house.

 I can just see Aunt Lizzy reading her how to book for 1900's and following it, to the letter. Her nerves being worn to that place were unstable ladies nerves get worn to. Uncle Jim giving Speedy that look that says "it's OK we will get though this". They made it until Speedy was in her teens, then life changed. It may have been the death of Uncle Jim, whatever it was, it sent Speedy back to Grandpa W's and his second family. 

 Uncle Jim and Aunt Lizzy could not have lived to far away from Grandpa because I know that Speedy was close to her 4 siblings. I can't help but think that she must have been a pet to them. Their last connection to their Mama.  

 Grandpa W married Grandma Rosie in his first year of widowhood and lots of children followed, so Speedy's return to the house came in handy but maybe not so happy. I have heard that she was more a maid then a family member. I think her siblings were gone from the house by then, if not her sister were soon to be.

 Time passed and a young man started showing up at the door in a courting mood. Byron was a tall good looking man, just one problem Byron's past. He too had been sent to live away from home. His dad had died and Byron was farmed out. Now, you may have heard that term before, I have and I have used it but I didn't really understand it, until I heard about grandpa's life.

 He and his brothers were busy doing little boy things, sister was mom's helper, life was as it should be. Then one day it all comes to an end, Dad dies.

 A couple, took in two of the boys and raise them as if they were their own. Making sure they were well schooled and able to work at a job they chose. 

Bryon went to a farmer, he didn't finish school and he wasn't part of the family. He was the farmhand a little boy working like a man. 

 Speedy and Bryon fall in love and those silly kids married. OH, the joy, baby 1-2 still glowing in joy, 3-4 joy is fading 5-6 it's gone,7 and 8 not again.  I must tell you, that, mom has said  she thinks they were pretty dumb, when it came to how to stop having babies. I agree but if they hadn't been I wouldn't be here mom is #7. 

 Loving someone does not make life wonderful everyday of the year. Bryon, did what men do, when, they don't know what to do and are to" manly" to ask for help. He good timed it, on the stool at the corner bar. Times were so good that his wife and kids went hungry for days even weeks, just so everyone in the tavern would know that Bryon was a great guy. 

 Speedy did just what a well brought up young woman does. She put on her apron and takes care of life as best as she can. Cooking, cleaning, sewing, gardening, canning, raising livestock and paying bills when she can get the money. Raising children using the Aunt Lizzy method, all the time deep in her heart hoping the day will come when Bryon will really become a man instead of the scared little boy he is.

 I'm not sure that day ever came. Bryon did give up his stool at the bar after something inside started bleeding and he was afraid he would die. By then Speedy had been broken so many times that she moved into the world of "No More I Won't Let You" but would, from time to time step out into Bryon's world. If you watched close you could see the unused love in her face, followed by questions of what happened and why did you leave me. Then she would turn and go back into that "No More World" and pick up a piece of hand work.

 Some people say they fell out of love, I don't believe that. I witnessed both of them looking at the other, with a loving, that passed like a gentle summer breeze, so soft you would not have notice unless you were still. The sad thing was, that, I was the one who saw the love and not the one being looked at. Now I find myself wondering what would her life have been like if only...