What Child Is This?

What Child is this, who laid to rest,

On Mary's lap is sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet

While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.

Haste, haste to bring Him laud,

The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Mama

Seven children, Nineteen grandchildren, Nineteen great grandchildren, and four great-great grandchildren are left to grieve mama.  Most of the grandchildren called her Ma Benson, but to me she was mama. The funeral was on Tuesday.  We are certainly going to miss her.

GOD's Gift

Little Baby on the hay, soon there'll be another day
when nails shall pierce Your hands and feet
AS YOU Provide our sin's defeat.

Risen Jesus on the throne,
we lift our praise to YOU alone---
for YOU'RE the gift that we receive
the moment that our
hearts belive.

Roy Lessin

This Christmas, as you consider
ALL THE AWESONE THINGS
that have come to you through
JESUS, GOD's perfect gift,
REMEMBER THAT IT IS BUT A TASTE
of all the good things that are yet to come.

                                                         _copied from a Christmas Card I received from my aunt Ethel.

Yellow Socks

Another family member is in the hospital wearing those familiar yellow socks.  My mother has been in Vidant Hospital since last Saturday. Please pray with us that she will soon be well and able to return home.  Thank you!!  I know I can count on my blogging friends to pray with us.

Traveling Quilt Thursday

This picture was taken at the Graveyard Of The Atlantic Museum at the end of Hatteras Island.  I am standing in front of the Civil War Monument, which is part of the Civil War Trails.

Wordless Wednesday

Traveling Quilt Thursday

This is the new (to us) life saving station at the foot of Bonner bridge.  This is the view from the parking lot.  Of course I wanted to go over and take a picture with the quilt.  Husband hesitated as it was a good little walk.  We had done it before several years back when the old life saving station was beyond repair and nearly covered in sand.  Also when we were much younger.

The parking lot leads out to these rocks, where a lot of people come to fish.  We saw a few tying their luck.

After we passed the rocks, we headed in on this small path through all the sea grasses to get to the building.  I was carrying the quilt and didn't know that as I brushed by I was picking up some of the biggest sand spurs ever on my quilt, jeans, and shoes.

Looking back at the way we had come. I had no trouble on the walk over, but I had to stop and rest on the way back.  Husband had absolutely no trouble hiking the trails.  I guess I need more exercise.

At last we were here.  I'm behind the quilt and Husband didn't mind at all taking this picture.  We were in our own little world. After this picture, I posed the quilt on some old cement structures from the old life-saving station. They can be found here.  Husband was beginning to warm up to the idea of traveling with this quilt.

Saturday Morning Musings...

I have a sore throat.  I guess this is the best time to be sick.  I'm home alone under my quilt.  (Husband is not far... just out in the woods taking down fence and he has his cell phone.)  There are plenty of left overs, so I don't have to worry about cooking. And I have cough drops and "cutties" oranges.

I have never done any black Friday sales, even though some of my kinfolk do... but none in my immediate family went this year... And I'm so glad after seeing these headlines this morning on Drudge Report:

'Gang fight' at Black Friday sale...


Man Punched in Face Pulls Gun On Line-Cutting Shopper...

Shots fired outside WALMART...

Shoppers smash through door at URBAN OUTFITTERS...

Customers run over in parking lot...

Woman busted after throwing merchandise...

Thousands storm VICTORIA'S SECRET...

VIDEO: Insane battle over phones...

Mayhem at Nebraska mall where 9 murdered in 2007...

Shoplifter tries to mace security guards...

Men Steal Boy's Shopping Bag Outside BED, BATH & BEYOND...

Heckler calls them zombies...

Manhattan cop busted for shoplifting...

Shopper Robbed At Gunpoint Ouside BEST BUY...   There is absolutely nothing I want bad enough to get out in that madness... Okay, I'm headed back to the couch... Y'all have a good day...

Photo Hunt - Fall

Wordless Wednesday

Photo Hunt - Mural

Traveling Quilt Thursday

Okay, in the other posts, I was the one who placed the quilt and took the picture.  Husband stood aside and pretended he didn't know me. Ha!

We have been to the outer banks many times, but have never checked out Wanchese NC.  This time we decided to check that area out.  Not too much to see.  The road ran back of most of the businesses on the water.  I noticed this huge old barn like structure right beside the road. I asked my husband to stop and let me take a picture by the barn.  He didn't want to do it, but to satisfy me he stopped. I asked him to get out and take the picture and I'd hold the quilt.  He refused... so after much coaxing he finally agreed to take the picture ... from the truck...

Wordless Wednesday

Cotton Harvest

The cotton has been picked and baled.

The cotton picker has finished its job in this field.
Soon the big trucks will be back to collect the bales of cotton.

More Color

Fall Color

Just a little bit of the fall color in my neck of the woods.

Photo Hunt - Kite

Click on the photo to make it larger.

Traveling Quilt Thursday

Still in Plymouth. Couldn't pass up warming up this old boat.

I have always loved boats. My granddaddy had a small fishing boat. During the winter he turned it over so water didn't collect inside. We always enjoyed playing on the turned over boat. In fact I have an old picture of my youngest sister posing on that boat.

Boats and ships are some of my favorite things to photograph.

Wordless Wednesday

Photo Hunt - Seasonal

Fall on the Outer Banks.

Traveling Quilt Thursday

As I left that day to go on our ride, I grabbed the quilt to take along. My first place I decided to display it was in Plymouth, N.C. In my mind I was going to drape it on the railing on the porch of the Light House there.

As I started up the steps, I was greeted by a chain. There was no sign, but I took that to mean I must not go any farther. Not to be outdone, I just draped the quilt over the chain and took this picture.

It would have looked so much better on that porch rail. Oh well, on to the next adventure...

Almost Wordless Wednesday

The first picture is one I took of the sand dunes along highway 12 on our ride towards Rodanthe last Wednesday. The second picture was taken by Steve Earley of The Virginian Pilot of the same road and posted today. Hurricane Sandy really messed up things, didn't she?

Ramdom Thoughts

The leaves are starting to fall.  There was a lot of pine straw in the driveway this morning.  Now it has rained and the wind was blowing about all day.  (Both lightly)  I expect we might have to do some raking soon. 

When they said "Hurricane" I thought of all the mess we had to clean up after "Irene" and hoped that this storm would stay off our coast. I know they are predicting a "big storm" when/if it makes landfall.  I am praying that it stays out to sea.

This has been a good week.  Husband and I took a whole day for ourselves and visited the Outer Banks.  Last year when we went we couldn't get onto Bonner Bridge because of all the damage from Hurricane Irene, so it was good to see all of Hatteras Island this time.  We rode across the little temporary bridge they had put up where the new inlet had been cut by the hurricane.  The new sand that has been pushed up along Pea Island rose higher than our truck.  It almost felt like Hyw. 12 had moved.  This time there were new "Wings" stores and "Kitty Hawk Kites" stores.  We had seen them on the northern parts of the Outer Banks, but on Hatteras it was more natural.  My thoughts were, its getting more like Myrtle Beach.

I know the people out there are watching this storm closely.  I hope it passes them gently and they don't have to start all over again.  Me, I'm waiting for some more sunshine like we had the day I took the above picture.

Photo Hunt - Spooky

Vera's Journey

My neighbor gave me the best book to read.  The name of the book is Vera's Journey.  It is a historical book about this family of Mennonites  who lived in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I really, really, enjoyed it.  My neighbor's brother in law married into Vera's family.  My neighbor has been to Vera's home and knew her well. She lived to be over 100 years old. It is written by Judy Yoder who added lots of historical things that happened during Vera's lifetime.  It reads like a story book and I found it hard to put down, wanting to keep reading until I finished.  In fact, I liked it so good, I'm going to order myself a copy from Amazon. (I borrowed the picture of the cover from Amazon.)

Traveling Quilt Thursday

My daughter and her friend traded friendship blocks.  They both made two quilt blocks just alike.  They kept one and sent each other the second one.  My daughter decided to make her quilt blocks into a quilt for me on my birthday. 

Today my husband and I took a ride.  At the last minute, I grabbed the quilt to take along.  So we have posed the quilt along the way.  If I can remember, I will try to post pics of the traveling quilt on Thursday.

Wordless Wednesday

Done !!

The Brick Kitchen



Today, a land mark in the next county over, suffered fire damage.



 I'm not sure if this home will be repaired, but I hope it will be.  This home was known for its brick kitchen.

As you can see the brick kitchen suffered no damage. I hate to see landmarks damaged!

Whaley Family Reunion

That's me holding the baby.  My mom is seated next to me.  My son is standing behind me.  His daughter is standing behind my mom.  Another 5 generation picture. 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Day to Day

This bunch of flowers pops up every fall in my back yard.  I have one that pops up in my front yard.  I didn't plant these. Still I like them.  Not too far from my mother's house, there is a whold row of them against a white fence.  So pretty.

This week was not busy, yet it has seemed like a very long time.  This week I read the book Vera's Journey . It was a long book, but so very interesting.  My neighbor let me read her copy. Some of her family is connected to Vera's family. 

Today we went to the funeral of a friend of my husand.  He will be missed.  He often came by to visit with my husband when he was working in his lawn mower shop.

A Hunk Of Orange

I could see this mushroom on the tree from my kitchen windows.

I decided to go out and get a close up.

For some reason mushrooms interest me.

Wordless Wednesday

Day After

Enjoying the great-grands...

Wordless Wednesday

Photo Hunt - Escape

Good Day

So today was a good day.  My driver's license came in the mail and I didn't die of fright from my picture.  Some years,  I pray that I don't have to show it to anyone for the full five years.  Now, all the doctors  want a picture ID. This one will not be too embarassing to show.

My husband killed a couple of roosters yesterday and made chicken salad.  When I hear him sit around and talk about how good mama's chicken was and how they went out and rung their necks, and plucked the feathers, etc.... I know that good memory is not even worth thinking about.  The meat of the yard birds is tough and stringy. Yuck... (remember Penny?)  I prefer grocery store chickens. 

The price of feed is increasing every day.  The hens pay us back with eggs.  The eggs are just as good as the grocery store eggs to me.  We don't eat goat meat.... (yet !!)  The three Billy goats in the picture are for sale. We listed them today on Craig's List. WOW, There is a long list of goats for sale on there. They are selling much lower than what my husband wants for these.  One person in a town not far from us has 22 chickens and 17 goats that "have to go".  Free to anyone that will come to get them.  Today when my husband went to buy feed, he asked the man at the hardware store if he wanted to buy some goats.  The man shot right back, "Do you want to buy a hardware store?"  He's ready to  retire but no one wants to buy his store.

The best part of my day was all the pictures and the video of my great-grands that were posted on Facebook today... the wedding pictures of my granddaughter and my brother... they share the same wedding day... years apart... I know I say this all the time... but I love Facebook!!

We are having to make changes to our insurance provided from the company  from which my husband retired.  We thought everything was set.  Not so... don't know if it is because of the new healthcare or what... but the company is making changes. So part of this day was spent on the phone getting the first part of this ordeal done. I hate change!!  My dad retired from the same company, so tomorrow I will be back on the phone trying to get mama's information in the pipe line.... I will have to go to her house, so she can get on the phone over and over and give them permission for me to do this stuff.

Hope your day was good!