Wordless Wednesday

Abundant Life.........

For more Wordless Wednesday go here........

Sabbatical........

Hello all my fellow blogging friends...... due to some things that need tending on the home front, I will be taking a break from blogging for awhile. Posting will be sporadic, at best. I will miss all of you as I probably won't be able to make the rounds much, either. But I hope to be back in little while..........

I wish you all much beauty, joy, and wonder as we approach these warm summer months...and I will meet you on the other side.....

Much Love!!!!!!

A song for my heart this week.....

i don't want to leave here, i don't want to stay..... it feels like pinching to me, either way. and the places i long for the most are the places where i've been...they are calling out to me like a long lost friend.

it's not about losing faith...it's not about trust

it's all about comfortable, when you move so much....

and the place i was wasn't perfect, but i had found a way to live

and it wasn't milk or honey...but then, neither is this.

i've been painting pictures of egypt...leaving out what it lacks

the future feels so hard, and i wanna go back....

but the places that used to fit me, cannot hold the things i've learned

and those roads were closed off to me, while my back was turned....

the past is so tangible...i know it by heart...familiar things are never easy to discard

and i was dying for some freedom...but now i hesitate to go

i am caught between the promise and the things i know

i've been painting pictures of egypt...leaving out what it lacks

the future feels so hard, and i wanna go back.....

but the places that used to fit me, cannot hold the things i've learned

and those roads were closed off to me, while my back was turned

oh...those roads were closed off to me, while my back was turned....

if it comes too quick, i may not appreciate it.... is that the reason behind all this time and sand?

if it comes too quick, i may not recognize it.... is that the reason behind all this time and sand?

- sara groves

you can go here to listen....and there are other beautiful songs by sara here, especially the song 'awakening'

Breastfeeding.......... It does a baby good.

As I was trying to figure out what to post for Mother's Day, I started thinking of a worrisome trend in our culture. There have been a couple of episodes in the last year where nursing moms have been singled out and shunned. One, a nursing mom on an airline who was asked to leave the plane for nursing her baby and another family that was asked to leave a Ronald McDonald house for nursing in public. I remember well, when I was nursing, having to remove myself in public places and sit in a dirty restroom stall or go out in a freezing car to nurse because of people that were uncomfortable with me doing it in front of them.

I find it quite the oxymoron that we are bombarded with sensual images of women's breasts every day...in the grocery store aisle, on T.V. , billboards, etc. But when a woman (barely) exposes herself to use her breasts as they were meant to be used, people are highly offended. I don't think it was always this way and am highly suspicious that this trend of prudence began during the Victorian era.

I think no matter what route a mother chooses to feed her newborn, it needs to be supported. I, personally, felt breastfeeding was what would be best for me and my son. And I cherished those moments of bonding and closeness....him gazing into my eyes and grinning as he nursed. And I hope the tide starts turning towards an acceptance of mothers nursing...the most natural thing in the world to me. And that the decision is supported in public places, also....that a mom doesn't have to sit in a filthy restroom to nurse or practically smother her baby with a blanket to hide herself.

The picture above was taken at a music festival....which, by the way, are great places for breastfeeding. There tend to be a lot of hippies and "earth mothers" who smile at you warmly and knowingly when they pass instead of giving you sharp and unapproving glances. :) A good link for breastfeeding advocacy is here. And rant aside....I wish all of you mothers a wonderful Mother's Day! I've enjoyed the fellowship and kinship of all of the fellow mommybloggers out there.......

I've been tagged by Christianne for a game of fours......

Four jobs I've had: Waitress, Shopkeeper, Teaching Parent at a children's group home, Teaching Assistant at a private special-education school

Four places I have lived: Near the shores of Kentucky Lake, In the Blue Ridge mountains, In the Allegheny mountains of Maryland, and currently near my pop-pop's mountain home......

Four movies I watch over and over: Anne of Green Gables trilogy, Any and All Jane Austen movies, The Secret of Roan Inish, The Straight Story

Four favorite foods: Southern Comfort Food, The Harmony bowl at The Laughing Seed in Asheville, NC, My grandmother's homemade spaghetti, Black bean and brown rice burritos (In other words.... carbs, carbs, carbs!!)

Four favorite TV shows: Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, The X-Files (when it was on), and America's Funniest Home Videos (I admit it! Who doesn't enjoy a good belly laugh at someone else's expense? ) :)

Four places I'd rather be right now: In the Blue Ridge mountains of NC, Sipping coffee and laughing with my sisters and parents, Floating on a raft on the calm waves of the ocean while the sun warms my face, Sitting at Jesus' feet

Okay....now you guys get a glimpse into how un-hip I am, with my movie and T.V. show choices!

Now, Tag! You're It!!!!!!!

Daydream Believer........

This candid shot was taken of Sir Laughsalot during a train ride through a nearby valley last weekend.

I think Momma is not the only Daydreamer in the family.........

But with views like this, how could one not be?

Jammin' at the DQ........

Our local Dairy Queen is the place to be on Tuesday nights. Old country and traditional Appalachian music can be heard floating out the windows and door as you walk up.

Whoever says that America doesn't have any culture just needs to find a small town in Appalachia. On any given night of the week, you are guaranteed to find a group of old-time musicians sitting around picking and singing..... carrying on the traditions and old songs that their mountain ancestors sang hundreds of years ago.

Our town has two gatherings..... One at the Dairy Queen and one on the sidewalk of Main Street every Monday and Friday night. Some musicians play at both, but some refuse to play at the DQ because they play those drinkin' and cheatin' songs....and the good Baptists they are, they just can't participate in that type of debauchery! :)

Dave, the fiddle player, is a little more open-minded. He plays at both. He doesn't talk much and is pretty serious about his fiddle playing. I like to tease him when I play with the group on Main Street, and occasionally I can get him to crack a smile......

Hazel, pictured dancing here, is 89 years old and comes every Tuesday and dances when they play the fast songs. She's been coming to the jams ever since they started. She has lived in this county her entire life and her daughter brings her so she can enjoy her favorite music. Maybe Hazel knows the key to a long, healthy life...... you reckon? Old-time music and dancing?