"WHERE I'M FROM"

My Mother always said, "If you don't know where you came from, How do you know where you are going?"
Below is my own creation of :

"WHERE I'M FROM"

I am from hayfields and blackberry patches, gathering eggs and selling them to my Daddy in his store.

I am from a five room house with no bath...but a path.

I am from cherry trees where I climbed and ate as many as I carried home...from digging potatoes in the rich earth.

I am from skinny dipping and swinging on grape vines, two room schoolhouse, sitting on the front porch singing while my Mother played the guitar......wringer washers and wash tubs.

I am from playing the piano, the accordion and making playhouses in the woods....hide and seek, jumping rope and May I.

From: Raleigh's Liniment, Cracker Jacks and Castor Oil....Revival Meetings and Baptisms in the river....catalogs and feed sack skirts.

From "Pretty is only skin deep " to "Always mind your manners."

I am from Methodist, Baptist, Wednesday night prayer meetings and shouting Hallaujah.

I am from the Volunteer state of Tennessee with lakes and mountains, race cars, beans, cornbread and red eye gravy. We always called it "God's Country".

I am from family get togethers, singing with my sisters, a Mother with a heart of gold and a Daddy with a strict hand.
A grandfather who always looked to see if I had my fingernails painted and a grandmother who could squeeze your heart out.

Yes, I came from a family of seven siblings and I have told you where else I came from. It was wonderful and I wouldn't change a thing if I could. Now let me tell you where I am going...."To Where The Streets Are Paved With Gold". Some days, I can't wait!

I got this idea from:

Judy over at Living On The Other Side Of The Hill. She has a sample template there that you can follow if you wish or just make up your own creation. Thanks Judy! That was fun!
If any of you put this on your blog , leave me a comment on my blog so I can read what you have written! Have fun!

FIRST TREATMENT THIS MORNING.....

I had my first cancer drug treatment this morning. My sister-in-law (Loretta)took me... I love her!!! It was in IV Form and it took 1 and 1/2 hrs for it to finish. This will happen every three weeks for one year. So far today there are no side effects...well maybe one.... I came home and slept for three hours. That is something I have NEVER done. I hope that is the only side effect I will EVER have.
Next Thursday, I start my radiation treatments. I have to have them everyday for six weeks. It's going to be a long summer, but it's O.K. I will make up for lost time next year!!!!

HE DIDN'T WIN BUT.......

Give him a few more years and he will blow everybody out of the water. We haven't heard the last of him yet!!!!!

American Cancer Support Group Meeting....And American Idol....

I went to my first support group meeting last night. It was their 10th anniversary meeting. There were 132 people there. It was the biggest crowd ever. Everyone brought some kind of salad or a dessert. I wish I had made a picture of the food. I've NEVER seen so many different kinds of salad. I made a fruit salad from REAL fruit and there were so many that I brought over half of it back home and I stopped at my neighbors house and gave her the rest of it. She is 94, and that made her happy!

I got home just in time to watch American Idol. David Archuletta stole the show. Last night I had the feeling he might win. I am still pulling for him. I cast my votes faithfully!!! Ryan and I talk on the phone during the show. Ryan said, "Granny, I think he is going to win...if he doesn't faint." Well, that is a lot of pressure. I would have fainted a long time ago. LOL Tonight we will know the winner!! GOOD LUCK David A!

American Idol????

How many of you have kept up with American Idol? They are down to the two finalists. Next week will decide the winner. Way back when there were 20 or more contestants left, I picked David Archuletta to win. He reminds me of Ryan and can sing anything. Randy says he can sing a phonebook. I agree. He is one of the two left. I have a feeling David Cook is going to win, but I hope I'm wrong. Anyway, it will be a honor for David A. to come up second best. He is number ONE in my book! Tell me what you think!

Russian Artist and Cake Decorator.....

These are actually cakes. The sewing machine just blows my mind.

More Cakes.....

More Cakes.....

BEEF STEW WEATHER TODAY.....

This pot of beef stew really looks good today. I think Old Man Winter doesn't want to give up. It's been in the lower 50's with the wind blowing up a storm. It felt more like the 20's. I turned on my gas logs maybe for the last time this year.
I bought these huge green beans at Food City. They make me think of the Turkey Craw beans we raised. Yummy!!!!
And the greens are mustard, kale and collards. Now I have a big cake of cornbread in the oven! Anyone want to come for supper?

MOTHERS' PATH OF LIFE....

For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom, this is beautiful. For those of us who aren't, this is even more beautiful. It's long, but worth reading!

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said. "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning." But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years.

So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in clear streams, and the sun shone on them, and the young mother cried, "Nothing will ever be better than this."

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her cloak, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come." And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you." And the mother said, when she lay down at night , looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I have given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said, "Look up, Lift your eyes to the light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds and everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness. And that night the mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was a light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.

The mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them." And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said, "We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a momory. She is a living presence."

Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you are not well; Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. she's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can seperate you....not time, not space....not even death!

May we NEVER take our Mothers' for granted!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY.....Clara...in TN

RAINDROPS.....

What a good rain we had last night! Everything looks so alive this morning. These raindrops caught my eye right away!

ROSE AND AZALEA.....

Here's my rose in full bloom.
And my AZALEA.......just outside my window downstairs.

"WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST"?

Lisa stepped outside the other morning and this is what she saw. One of her donkey's had come to pay a visit. She has them spoiled rotten and I know he was looking for a snack for breakfast! Oh for the life of a donkey. (At Lisa's house!)

Lucas and Anna in a concert.....

Oh My......the time has come. I cannot believe Lucas is this big already! He and Anna were in a concert at the high school. It seems only yesterday I could hold him in one hand! Lucas, you have grown into a fine young man, and my love for you grows as time goes by!

ROSE FOR MOTHER'S DAY.....early

Lisa brought me this rose for Mother's day. She won't get to come back next week, so I got it early. The color is light purple. I've never seen a rose that color and it smells so good. I will plant it beside of the one she gave me last year. I hope I live long enough to have a BIG rose garden!

My Birthday Present.....Before and After Picture....

Lisa, and her family came home today to celebrate my birthday. This first picture is the light I had over my dining room table. Everytime she came home and was around the table, she would bump into this light. About two weeks ago, she said she knew what she was going to get me for my birthday. Read on......

This is what they brought today and put it up for me. I like this one so much better and it is up higher so no one runs into it. They also brought me a rose bush for Mother's Day....to set in the yard. That will be a picture for tomorrow!

Thanks Lisa, Donaldo, Ryan and Lucas. I love you with all my heart!!!!

Chemo Doctor.... and other.

I went to see the chemo doctor yesterday. She was so nice and talked to me for almost an hour. How many doctors take the time to do that? I have to go back to see her in two weeks. She gave me an option....to take chemo and herceptin together or herceptin and radiation. The odds of the cancer coming back is not that much less by taking chemo. Everyone knows what chemo does to you and I cannot imagine not being able to function. You need plenty of rest while you are doing chemo, and that I do not get. Most nights if I get four hours sleep, I am blessed. I would rather for the cancer to kill me than the chemo!
Then I paid my surgeon a visit. No more fluid to drain. That was a plus! So....I'm doing good. My radiation and the herceptin will start after two more weeks! The herceptin is in IV form. It's every three weeks for a year. I sure do wish gas would come down before I have to start that journey. I doubt that happening!!!!