:-)

:-)
Originally uploaded by wayfarer.

My Fried Green Tomato Moment

I had an interesting experience at the library yesterday. I felt like i was in the movie Fried Green Tomatos. I went to where the audiobooks are and there was a little old lady there crouched over picking up some wearing a great big straw hat with flowers all over it and bright blue eyes. She looks at me and smiles a great southern smile (which is when you don't know if they are really smiling or sizing you up). She asks if i know how many she can check out...i tell her. And then we just start talking about gardening, families, the south, where i'm from - she tells me how crazy i must be to have left Colorado...such a beautiful state, for Georgia... plain crazy is how i think she put it. I blamed my husband as usual. She said, well he has a great wife. Aw...she's already on my side. We talked some more and after learning that i'm a freelance writer, she asks my fees...that she would like to hire me to write her memoir. I told her i'd think about it and let her know. She then insisted i come see her house and flowers and harps and memorabilia. I can't believe i agreed but the librarians seemed to know her well enough so i crazily went. Nice southern house just a little ways away from ours. Nice flowers and beautiful harps. Boxes of memoriablia...and her son and granddaughter are semi-famous singers. Crazy day. Now i'm trying to figure out how much to charge. She's so sweet and i'll probably enjoy it as much as she. She's a spunky great lady who loves Colorado, gardening, and harps. How cool is that? Oh yeah, she gave me a beautiful rose as a parting gift...and for being such a sweet young lady to such an old one. Awww. I'll post the rose tomorrow.

Sun

Finally the sun is here again. Cloudy days are yucky. I'm so ready for the heat! I won't like the humidity and heat at night the way it gets here but i'm ready for it anyhow. I hate being cold. Plus, when it's warm, i get to procrastinate and not do work. When it's cold, i have no excuse - so bring on the heat!

Update on the geese

So now there are no baby geese. :-( We had a bad storm last night so maybe that's the reason or the bigger animals got em but there are none today. What's weird is the geese are usually bickering with each other biting one another but today all six of them (usually only two are in there at a time) were cruising around like a search and rescue party. I wonder if they were looking for the youngins? I'm so sad. I've gone out there several times trying to find them but nothing. Hubby gets home today and he's gonna go look for them.

New flower that popped up... Not sure what it is...maybe a clematis..?

Garden shot
Originally uploaded by wayfarer.

Neighborhood...

Really liking the neighborhood. It's great to have such a diverse one. I've met quite a few people the last few weeks and everyone is so nice. I've never lived in a place where i knew so many neighbors. Kind of odd in a good way. The local library is another great place with nice helpful people. Our neighbors have welcomed us to the neighborhood with bottles of wine...how do you decline? But sweetly enough, the ones next door realized that Muslims don't drink after giving us a very nice bottle of wine and came by today with sparkling cider. How sweet is that? Their daughter is Bahai which is interesting. So thoughtful for them to do what they did.

It's a very diverse neighborhood which is cool. I think we have a little bit of everything here. There's every type of church around too. An orthodox synogogue too. When i drive that way it's cute to see all the kids with their yamacas (spelling), earlocks, hats, and stuff. What are the white strings hanging from their shirts signify though? The girls dress modestly...much like Muslims. It's cute to see a two year old with earlocks. We also have our evangelical bible thumpers and every other religion in this one little neighborhood.

For the first time i am liking Atlanta. I'm making peace with the Southerners. Who knows, maybe i'll become one of them after all. I've been watching southern flavored movies and you know...it's not so bad. It's unique here and we probably won't live here forever so i may as well enjoy it right? I've even begun liking some of the food except for boiled peanuts. They do like their pork and alcohol though... Maybe I will become a part of the rebel south. It's so different from everywhere else....a passport really should be a requirement.

Ducks

Ducks
Originally uploaded by wayfarer.

This is our backyard with its new residents. I was so surprised yesterday to hear some odd noises down below the deck while i was planting some veggies. I found this family of ducks. Six little chicks. So adorable and they've been there all afternoon and all of today. So now our backyard is completely off limits. The bees took over and now the ducks...i like the ducks though. I have been hearing strange bird and duck noises early in the morning the last few days too so some serious wildlife is going on. Anyhow, i couldn't get too close without the mom hissing and don't want to make a protective mom mad but here's a picture of them. This evening they are still there but the mom has the chicks under her wing...literally. The dad is standing watch and the mom has the little ones all bundled up under her left wing. So amazing....

The sad thing is that nature is a circle of life. One of the problems with our lake is the large turtles. They are about a foot long and are strong. Sadly, they take the little babies from the mothers in the water so unfortunately if one survives it will lucky. The neighbors had the wildlife people out trying to catch the beavers and the turtles so i hope these little ones can make it.... i will be crying the day there are only five little chicks and so on.....i guess it's nature but still the heart feels what it feels...

Blogger

I haven't been able to blog the last few days. :-( Blogger has been down for me and still is saying it is but i found a back way in. It seems other people have been able to blog...so i'm doing four posts in a row...

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I think i'm dying...

I am so sick. Hubby is too and with all this pollen in the air it just makes things worse. It's already hot and when you are sick it's not a good thing. The good news is i just got everything planted for the year. Now it's time to start inviting people over....

This was pretty right on for me...being from the upper midwest and all...

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

15% Dixie

15% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Christian Jihad...

Here are some excerpts from a Call to Crusade in 1095 by Pope Urban II...one of the first to wage Christian Jihad against Muslims and others. How much does he sound like a Bin Laden or Zarkawi? And the crusades go on today. How much does Bush sound like this Pope Urban II? Maybe the words have changed and Bush uses "evildoers" instead of "despised and base race" and uses "insurgents" instead of calling Muslims "infidels" like the Pope did, but the subtext is the same. The thing that gets me is the language. I know Christians killed Muslims and Muslims killed Christians but the language here is the sort that Bin Laden and company use...as well as Bush - full of hatred towards non-Christians.

(excerpts)
"Most beloved brethren: Urged by necessity, I, Urban, by the permission of God chief bishop and prelate over the whole world, have come into these parts as an ambassador with a divine admonition to you, the servants of God.

I hoped to find you as faithful and as zealous in the service of God as I had supposed you to be. But if there is in you any deformity or crookedness contrary to God's law, with divine help I will do my best to remove it.

For your brethren who live in the east are in urgent need of your help, and you must hasten to give them the aid which has often been promised them. For, as the most of you have heard, the Turks and Arabs have attacked them and have conquered the territory of Romania [the Greek empire] as far west as the shore of the Mediterranean and the Hellespont, which is called the Arm of St. George. They have occupied more and more of the lands of those Christians, and have overcome them in seven battles. They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the churches and devastated the empire.

If you permit them to continue thus for awhile with impurity, the faithful of God will be much more widely attacked by them. On this account I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians and to destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present, it meant also for those who are absent. Moreover, Christ commands it."

"All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested.

Let those who have been accustomed unjustly to wage private warfare against the faithful now go against the infidels and end with victory this war which should have been begun long ago. Let those who for a long time, have been robbers, now become knights. Let those who have been fighting against their brothers and relatives now fight in a proper way against the barbarians. Let those who have been serving as mercenaries for small pay now obtain the eternal reward. Let those who have been wearing themselves out in both body and soul now work for a double honor. Behold! on this side will be the sorrowful and poor, on that, the rich; on this side, the enemies of the Lord, on that, his friends. Let those who go not put off the journey, but rent their lands and collect money for their expenses; and as soon as winter is over and spring comes, let hem eagerly set out on the way with God as their guide."

O what a disgrace if such a despised and base race, which worships demons, should conquer a people which has the faith of omnipotent God and is made glorious with the name of Christ! With what reproaches will the Lord overwhelm us if you do not aid those who, with us, profess the Christian religion!

Interesting...

My aunt sent this email to me with "America is great!" and as a precursor. For some odd reason I am the black sheep of the family as i am not patriotic (although i do have much pride about many American ideals...over the years my pessimism took over my optimism). Anyhow, as hubby calls it, i'm really the white sheep not the black sheep. I'm okay with all the jabbing i get during family visits, the making fun of my religion, my rituals etc. Just today i got a call from Mom that left me bummed out most of the day. I don't get them and they don't get me. But the emails and phone calls from family members just remind me more and more of why i am the way i am and how my mind got opened up instead of locked in one way of thinking and how glad i am for having the open mind i do and how merciful Allah has been to me for it. Anyhow, enough of my families closeted skeletons... here is the email:

DID YOU KNOW ALL THIS? I SURELY DIDN'T.

As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view ... it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!

DID YOU KNOW?

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.

DID YOU KNOW?

As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!

DID YOU KNOW?

There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.

DID YOU KNOW?

James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement:

"We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

DID YOU KNOW?

Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".

DID YOU KNOW?

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.

DID YOU KNOW?

Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law.

anoligarchy - the rule of few over many.

DID YOU KNOW?

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said:

"Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

Tomorrow i will post another interesting piece...about the crusades...something i've really become interested in as of late since to me the US has been crusading for the sake of Christianity for centuries and still is. Isn't the desire to put McDonalds all over Europe, the invasion of Iraq and others, the constant demand of our government for all other countries to use our model of democracy and freedom as their model? The crusades never ended, they just became subliminal mind control using media and technology to control and shut up the masses. Anyhow...until then...i'm gonna go and try and get rid of this nasty spring cold i have caught. Not fun.

Ugh

So much work, so little time. The house is beginning to look like home though. It's awesome waking up every morning to birds which start chirping around 5 am. So much better than the people upstairs walking around in high heels like before. I am LOVING this place and the peace that comes with it. It's very zen.

Atlanta is in full bloom. All the trees have flowers - purple, pink, yellow, white, everywhere. The purple trees that have flowers that kind of look like weeping willows are beautiful. The dogwoods are awesome too. Our own yard is looking pretty colorful these days. For the first time ever though I am having alergies. The pollen is crazy. So think that when you get in your car you have to wipe the windows and the water is icky yellow. When it rains yellow water goes running down the streets and our deck is yellow now. It's crazy!

It's perfect here though at home. I really am loving our new home. I have a lot more to write and will soon. I have a list of things i want to blog in my head and plan to get some on paper soon. My whole week has been filled with arguing with workers who don't speak English which isn't fun. Too bad I don't know Spanish, Vietnamese, Croatian (?).

Atlanta White House

We've seen this house a lot since we pass it practically daily. Rumors had it that desis lived in it but then a lit cross at night and sign talking about loving Jesus we wondered. Of course there are Indian Christians but still...it would have had garland and gold if they were Indian wouldn't it?

Anyhow, to check on the rumor and find out the true story i did a little search. An Iranian family who converted to Christianity actually own the gaudy ugliness (it's in a residential area and sticks out like a big fat sore thumb). The owners have the goal of turning Iranian Muslims to Christians. Check out out this article by a local Iranian writer. Now i know the scoop. Interesting though.

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