I just found a blog called A Bee In My Bonnet and fell in love with it.
30's fabrics and embroidery have become a favorite of mine, and Lori has some great patterns. She also has a great give-away going on too.
Talk to you soon,
Jan
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Pledge of Allegiance-4th of July, 2009
Dear Friend I found this somewhere several years ago, I think it was in one of those e-mail that gets forwarded forever so you may have already seen it. But as the Independance Day is this week- it I thought it was appropriate.
Commentary on the Pledge of Allegiance
As a schoolboy, comedian Red Skelton learned the words and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance. Skelton later wrote down, and eventually recorded, his recollection of this lecture. This is how Red remembered the patriotic lecture:
I -- me, an individual; a committee of one.
Pledge -- dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.
Allegiance -- my love and my devotion.
To the Flag -- our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of Freedom. Wherever she waves there is respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, "Freedom is everybody's job!"
United -- that means that we have all come together.
States -- individual communities that have united into 48 great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that is love for country.
And to the Republic -- a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
For which it stands
One Nation -- meaning "so blessed by God."
Indivisible -- incapable of being divided.
With Liberty -- which is freedom -- the right of power to live one's own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation.
And Justice -- the principle or quality of dealing fairly with others.
For All -- which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.
Pledge -- dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.
Allegiance -- my love and my devotion.
To the Flag -- our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of Freedom. Wherever she waves there is respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, "Freedom is everybody's job!"
United -- that means that we have all come together.
States -- individual communities that have united into 48 great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that is love for country.
And to the Republic -- a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
For which it stands
One Nation -- meaning "so blessed by God."
Indivisible -- incapable of being divided.
With Liberty -- which is freedom -- the right of power to live one's own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation.
And Justice -- the principle or quality of dealing fairly with others.
For All -- which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.
And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Red added this personal observation to his boyhood lesson: "Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: 'Under God.' Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that [makes it] a prayer, and that it would have to be eliminated from schools too?"
Of course, "under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill into law that changed the original Pledge. Perhaps Red Skelton wouldn't be surprised at all when in 2002 an atheist in California won a decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals that "under God" is "an endorsement of religion," and therefore, unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned that ruling in 2004.
The following is an excerpt from the book, Under God by Toby Mac and Michael Tate.
The pledge of Allegiance was formed largely from the vision of three men: Daniel Ford, James Upham and Francis Bellamy.
Daniel Ford was the publisher of a popular family magazine, The Youth's Companion. Ford's belief in Christ was a great influence on the content of his magazine, and he guided his life and business by Christian principles. With a circulation of nearly half a million, The Youth's Companion was the nations most read weekly magazine in the late 1880's and early 1890's.
James Upham, head of the magazine's premium department, was disappointed that most public schools did not have their own flags, so he launched a campaign wherein school children raised funds to purchase a flag from the magazine. As a result, about thirty thousand flags were sold and flown for the first time in front of America's schools between 1888 and 1891.
In 1892, the country prepared to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus's arrival in America. President Benjamin Harrison declared Columbus Day, October 12, a national holiday for the first time. Upham wanted children across the country to participate, so he began planning the National Public School Celebration that would center on raising a flag.
First, a proclamation from the president would be read, followed by prayer and Scripture reading, the singing of "America," and patriotic speeches. Wanting the children to participate more fully, Upham determined that they should recite a salute to the flag. He enlisted the talents of another magazine employee, Francis Bellamy, who had been pastor at the Boston church Daniel Ford attended. Bellamy labored for weeks and finally brought his composition to Upham: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. It was published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Thirty-four days later, twelve million schoolchildren across the country recited the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time.
In 1923 and 1924 the words my Flag were changed to the Flag of the United States of America. In 1948, a man named Louis A. Bowman proposed to his fellow Sons of the American Revolution that the words under God be added after one nation- following a precedent set by Abraham Lincoln, who had extemporaneously added those same words to the end of his Gettysburg Address. Then in 1952, William Randolph Hearst caught wind of the idea and began a campaign in his newspapers that helped bring about legislation to officially add under God to the Pledge. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved this change on Flag Day, 1954, and proclaimed, "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."
The pledge of Allegiance was formed largely from the vision of three men: Daniel Ford, James Upham and Francis Bellamy.
Daniel Ford was the publisher of a popular family magazine, The Youth's Companion. Ford's belief in Christ was a great influence on the content of his magazine, and he guided his life and business by Christian principles. With a circulation of nearly half a million, The Youth's Companion was the nations most read weekly magazine in the late 1880's and early 1890's.
James Upham, head of the magazine's premium department, was disappointed that most public schools did not have their own flags, so he launched a campaign wherein school children raised funds to purchase a flag from the magazine. As a result, about thirty thousand flags were sold and flown for the first time in front of America's schools between 1888 and 1891.
In 1892, the country prepared to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus's arrival in America. President Benjamin Harrison declared Columbus Day, October 12, a national holiday for the first time. Upham wanted children across the country to participate, so he began planning the National Public School Celebration that would center on raising a flag.
First, a proclamation from the president would be read, followed by prayer and Scripture reading, the singing of "America," and patriotic speeches. Wanting the children to participate more fully, Upham determined that they should recite a salute to the flag. He enlisted the talents of another magazine employee, Francis Bellamy, who had been pastor at the Boston church Daniel Ford attended. Bellamy labored for weeks and finally brought his composition to Upham: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. It was published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Thirty-four days later, twelve million schoolchildren across the country recited the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time.
In 1923 and 1924 the words my Flag were changed to the Flag of the United States of America. In 1948, a man named Louis A. Bowman proposed to his fellow Sons of the American Revolution that the words under God be added after one nation- following a precedent set by Abraham Lincoln, who had extemporaneously added those same words to the end of his Gettysburg Address. Then in 1952, William Randolph Hearst caught wind of the idea and began a campaign in his newspapers that helped bring about legislation to officially add under God to the Pledge. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved this change on Flag Day, 1954, and proclaimed, "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."
I pledge allegiance
to the Flag of the
United States of America,
and to the Republic
for which it stands,
one Nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.
So Dear Friends, I wish you a wonderful 4th of July week with family and friends.
Love, Jan
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Roads and Rainbows
This morning, I had to go out to the car to get something and I was muttering to myself about how my opinion of a certain head of government that wants to ...anyway you know the rest. As I came around the garage I saw this.... and this....
It made my day!
I found these pictures on my camera, I think Hunter took them a couple of weeks ago. I love these roads. Of course, I liked them better when they were not so well traveled but I still love them.
This short little creature is Lucifer, the devil dog. I don't want to talk about her!
Oh, she is crossing the road. I guess she is good for something.
Driving into Vernon and up the mountain.
Coming down off the mountain.
Heading Home
The last turn. Quick! make a u-turn and go back. There is no news shows on the mountain to push my blood pressure through the ceiling.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Summer Reading List
Dear Friend,
When I was not this old, I would find a good book and read all night and still make it through the next day. I could read a book and remember the characters and the story. I could take a book with me and read at stop lights. I read anytime, anywhere. All of this seems so long ago. I miss those days.
Now when I try to read, in bed-I have to fight my glasses (now a necessity to read anything), my aches and pains and the inability say awake more than 10 minutes. That and the fact that the computer has taken over my life and sometimes can't remember what I read 10 minutes ago, means I am reading less and it has become a challenge.
The good thing about driving almost 70 miles a day all by myself, I am enjoying audio books. I found a couple of good ones for my summer reading list and keep looking for more.
I just finished Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas. In fact, I enjoyed this story so much, I immediately started listening to it a second time. Her stories of fictional history usually connect to one of my passions, quilts and the women who made them. One of the things I like about her books is the dialogs, the way she has her characters speak in the vernacular of the place and time. In fact, I just learned that she reads a lot of womens diary's and journals as research, using these to build her own library of phrases and terms that she keeps on her computer for her writing.
Prayers for Sale is a story about a very young Civil War widow that goes to a gold mining town in Colorado to start a new life. She is the narrator of her own stories and the people in and around her life. As she tells her stories, she has to let go of her "blue devil" that haunts her for more than 70 years before she can move to the next stage of her life's journey.
I admit, I have read several of Sandra Dallas's books and have enjoyed almost everyone of them. Her last book, Tallgrass, was a story about a terrible time in America's history as we forced the American Japanese into prison camps during WWII.
Another audio book, one of my all-time favorites that I will always reread, To Kill A Mockingbird, narrated by Sissy Spacek. She does such a wonderful "Scout", I felt like I was right there with Jem and Scout Finch as they tumbled through their youth and experiences in Maycomb County during the early years of the 20th century. I will never, though, be able to hear or picture Atticus Finch as anyone other than Gregory Peck, whether I read the book or listen to the narration. There are some great actors that were born for certain roles. this was his and that might be a topic for another post.
I just picked up an audio copy of Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, because I really want to reread some of the classics that influenced me when I was younger. Since I will be working for at another 2 years or more, I will be listening to a lot of books. I will keep you updated.
I do still read and recently read a wonderful historical novel called 1000 White Women: The Journals of May Dodd, by Jim Fergus. The book begins just before the US Army rounds up all the Indians in the Rockies and Plains so the White immigration could take over their lands. The Chief of one of the Cherokee tribes supposedly proposes that the Great White Father send them 1000 white brides to help "civilize" and bear "white" children. This is a fictionalized but riveting account of one woman that volunteered as a way to escape the the insane asylum she was being held in after her wealthy family disowned her. As I understand the truth of the situation, the request was made but never really happened.
I'll keep you updated on my reading list and I would love to have you share yours with me.
Love, Jan
When I was not this old, I would find a good book and read all night and still make it through the next day. I could read a book and remember the characters and the story. I could take a book with me and read at stop lights. I read anytime, anywhere. All of this seems so long ago. I miss those days.
Now when I try to read, in bed-I have to fight my glasses (now a necessity to read anything), my aches and pains and the inability say awake more than 10 minutes. That and the fact that the computer has taken over my life and sometimes can't remember what I read 10 minutes ago, means I am reading less and it has become a challenge.
The good thing about driving almost 70 miles a day all by myself, I am enjoying audio books. I found a couple of good ones for my summer reading list and keep looking for more.
I just finished Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas. In fact, I enjoyed this story so much, I immediately started listening to it a second time. Her stories of fictional history usually connect to one of my passions, quilts and the women who made them. One of the things I like about her books is the dialogs, the way she has her characters speak in the vernacular of the place and time. In fact, I just learned that she reads a lot of womens diary's and journals as research, using these to build her own library of phrases and terms that she keeps on her computer for her writing.
Prayers for Sale is a story about a very young Civil War widow that goes to a gold mining town in Colorado to start a new life. She is the narrator of her own stories and the people in and around her life. As she tells her stories, she has to let go of her "blue devil" that haunts her for more than 70 years before she can move to the next stage of her life's journey.
I admit, I have read several of Sandra Dallas's books and have enjoyed almost everyone of them. Her last book, Tallgrass, was a story about a terrible time in America's history as we forced the American Japanese into prison camps during WWII.
Another audio book, one of my all-time favorites that I will always reread, To Kill A Mockingbird, narrated by Sissy Spacek. She does such a wonderful "Scout", I felt like I was right there with Jem and Scout Finch as they tumbled through their youth and experiences in Maycomb County during the early years of the 20th century. I will never, though, be able to hear or picture Atticus Finch as anyone other than Gregory Peck, whether I read the book or listen to the narration. There are some great actors that were born for certain roles. this was his and that might be a topic for another post.
I just picked up an audio copy of Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, because I really want to reread some of the classics that influenced me when I was younger. Since I will be working for at another 2 years or more, I will be listening to a lot of books. I will keep you updated.
I do still read and recently read a wonderful historical novel called 1000 White Women: The Journals of May Dodd, by Jim Fergus. The book begins just before the US Army rounds up all the Indians in the Rockies and Plains so the White immigration could take over their lands. The Chief of one of the Cherokee tribes supposedly proposes that the Great White Father send them 1000 white brides to help "civilize" and bear "white" children. This is a fictionalized but riveting account of one woman that volunteered as a way to escape the the insane asylum she was being held in after her wealthy family disowned her. As I understand the truth of the situation, the request was made but never really happened.
I'll keep you updated on my reading list and I would love to have you share yours with me.
Love, Jan
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
On the Mountain With Hunter & Logann
Dear Friend-
Well I'm back from a great weekend with Logann and Hunter. I love spending time with my grand kids and especially when we get to do a little one on one, or in this case, two on one.
It is so rewarding to see these kids enter adulthood, to listen to them express their views and ideas, and to see them start stepping up to help and do things without being asked or prodded. (Note to families of young children: There is hope!)
The weather was windy and chilly but the time I get to spend up there and enjoy all the wonderful life on the mountains makes it worth bundling up and tying everything down.
I hope that I can have the opportunity to spend more time with each of these wonderful kids as they grow and develop before they move out and on with their lives. Being their grandmother has been the frosting on my cake!
The Salt River from the first look-out on the Globe side.
Well I'm back from a great weekend with Logann and Hunter. I love spending time with my grand kids and especially when we get to do a little one on one, or in this case, two on one.
It is so rewarding to see these kids enter adulthood, to listen to them express their views and ideas, and to see them start stepping up to help and do things without being asked or prodded. (Note to families of young children: There is hope!)
The weather was windy and chilly but the time I get to spend up there and enjoy all the wonderful life on the mountains makes it worth bundling up and tying everything down.
I hope that I can have the opportunity to spend more time with each of these wonderful kids as they grow and develop before they move out and on with their lives. Being their grandmother has been the frosting on my cake!
The Salt River from the first look-out on the Globe side.
New Oaks
This red fungus is really sprouting up around the ranch, especially around the wild rose bushes. Does anyone recognize them or know anything about them?
And yes, despite the combined efforts of every Naegle generation, there are still horned (toads) lizards that have survived. Did you know that they are truely becoming an endangered species?
Well, I've got to go. I'll share more later,
Well, I've got to go. I'll share more later,
Love, Jan
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