Pics from Mike's Family History

Mike's cousin Liz just sent us a number of family pictures from the family history. I'll not post them all, but these were too nice to pass up.

Mike's Grandmother Lee as a young lady, around the turn of the century. Wasn't she beautiful?

Mike's grandparents (the Lees) at their daughter's wedding (Mike's Aunt Cathie). Mike never knew his grandfather (really either one, just like me) but he has fond memories of Grandmother Lee coming from Michigan to visit them. She was especially known for her coffee cake! (The recipe is very similar to the one which is known in my family.)

Mike's Aunt Cathie, his grandfather Benedict Lee, and his mom, at Cathie's wedding.

I wish there was more of this family history passed down, not just from Mike's family, but in society at large. One of the difficulties today is that so many people are so rootless - they don't really know where they came from, who their predecessors were, who is their extended family. That's why I'm glad for these pictures. I'm also glad that that was really important in my own family, and that we know much about our history. My dad has done extensive work in that area, and it's important work. But many people don't have that blessing, and it's a shame.

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If you're reading this - Cousin Liz, thanks for sending all these pictures to us.

Love's Labour's Lost

This is a link to the play Andrew is in next week, Love's Labour's Lost. It's an early Shakespearean comedy. I've not studied the plot well yet, but the jist of it is that three men have sworn off women for a period of time (I believe three years) to immerse themselves in the study of philosophy - when, of course, three women appear on the scene.

If you look at the pictures, Andrew is in two of them - he's the "cop" in the black costume. He said he only has about ten lines total, but they're split up in all the acts.

I'm taking a group of students to see the play next Monday night.

Father to Daughter

Parents of seniors at our school can buy a special ad in the yearbook to say whatever they want to their graduating child. Here is what Mike wrote to his daughter. Warning: It may do the same to your eyes that it did to mine!

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I can hardly believe that it's time to write this letter to you. Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday that your mom and I were bringing you home from the hospital in that little pink outfit. And now you are a beautiful young lady, ready to enter a new chapter in your life. You know how sentimental your daddy is about you, and just writing this causes my eyes to get a little blurry.

Although you are independent at times, you still have a heart for us and you show it. I love to get my hugs from you and hope they will never stop. We are so proud of the way you have used your talents for others. For so many years you have unselfishly worked in the nursery at church and the little kids have loved you too. It does my heart good to hear you singing in your room as you have done since you were very small. It brings joy to our home to know that you have a song in your heart that has made you who you are.

One day there will be another man in your life besides me. It is my prayer that he will be a man after God's own heart. If he is, then he will treat you as he should because he will be seeking wisdom from above. So be praying for him even now, as your mom and I are. Accept none other than God's best for you. If he is praying that way also, you will find each other, and you will be sure.

We love you. You and your brother are the joys of our heart. We would not trade you in for anyone else. We already have the best there is.

Much love always & forever,
Dad and Mom

Spring of Her Senior Year

Junior-Senior night.

Fortunately for them, her friend's mother drives a mustang!

The senior English teacher and her husband
attended the banquet as well.

Pics from Jenny

Mike's cousin Jenny, who visited us last month, sent me some pictures today and I'll share them:

In the car on the way home from Newberry (we went to homecoming at Mike's old church that day)
Jenny is taking pictures of "benches" for a project for her sister. Here is our contribution - this bench was outside an antique store we passed on the way home from Newberry. We like the "contribution" sitting on the bench much better.

Mike practicing. He played his violin that morning at church.

Ups & Downs

UP--The house is clean. :-)

UP--Mary Lee only has a week and a half left to have her mother for a teacher. (Yes, that's an up, for both of us. It's not easy to teach your own child in a classroom, and it's not easy for a child to have a parent in that setting either.)

UP--The cat is still hanging in there.

UP--Mike planted some more nice plants yesterday. He's really into this.

UP--I've been watching Andrew's part in the DVD of our former administrator's retirement banquet, from January. That boy is a piece of work. In many ways!

UP--My juniors had a carwash on Saturday to raise $$ for the junior-senior banquet and their senior trip. It did my heart good to see those boys working hard, cleaning up my car!

Too Old for Swan Dives

Yesterday I was headed to answer the phone in the den, and somehow got tangled up with my computer case. I don't even know why it was out - I hadn't used the case for several days. Anyway, my feet got all "involved," and I ended up flat on the floor face down. And still made it up in time to get the phone!

Yesterday afternoon and today I feel the result. Upper arms, right wrist, right knee, right foot, shoulders all feel the effects.

Last night my sister said I would feel worse today. She was right.

Middle aged bodies are not meant to belly flop on the den floor.

Pepperoni Rolls

My cousin Judy has a recipe in our family cookbook that calls for nothing but mini-snickers rolled up in crescent rolls and baked. At the end she writes, "My kind of recipe!" I always smile when reading that. I've got a recipe that may not be that simple, but only has that many ingredients, and it apparently is "My kind of recipe!". About five years ago teenagers discovered it - not sure if it was something for school, youth group, or just teens at the house - and I've ended up having to make it over and over since then. Whatever the occasion, teens look at me and ask (beg, plead) if I will make them. It takes about five hours, including the time to raise, and they get inhaled in about five minutes.

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All they contain are frozen Parkerhouse rolls (Rhodes brand is the best) and pepperoni. I just thaw the rolls, stick a couple of pieces of pepperoni in the middle and wrap the dough around it, let them raise, brush a little butter on the top, and bake them.

Hey, there aren't many ways a middle-aged mom/teacher/whatever can relate to teens. If that's the way to their hearts, so be it.

Raising on the pan

Out of the oven

The final product!

Bad Storm

Whew. A really bad storm moved through Friday night. No power for 24 hours, no phone/internet for 36. Phones just came back on this morning. I hope everything in the refrigerator is fine. We still don't have cable back.

It could have been much worse. Since it's springtime, the house got neither too cold nor too hot. We weren't iced in, so we could get out in the car and go. My friend Gina lent me a car charger, so I could keep my cell phone charged up and we could talk on the phone.

We haven't lost power for more than a few minutes in probably 7-8 years. It's probably good to have happen once in awhile, because it makes us appreciate power again.

Living Gallery

Yesterday Mary Lee and I drove to Greenville to watch Andrew perform in the "Living Gallery." It's quite a production that brings people from all over the southeast every Easter - this year they have seven performances in the Rodeheaver Auditorium, which seats about 3500. It's a combination of a drama (this year about Joseph of Arimethea's decision to ask for the body of Christ), and then these paintings that have been re-created with live actors. Andrew was in this painting:

It's called "Christ Leaving the Praetorium," by Gustav Dore, and is the only one of the twelve paintings featured that is in the BJU Museum and Gallery. I pulled this picture off of a royalty-free site on the internet, so it's a little darker than the real thing; Andrew was the man on the lower left of the top of the cross, where you see his back, and his shirt looks blue striped. The right third of the picture did not come up on the blog for some reason - maybe it's too big.

Several of the paintings were more common. They did a reproduction of The Last Supper, by Da Vinci, and also of The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, which I remember being stolen a number of years ago from a museum in Boston. I'm not sure that it's ever been returned.

Andrew is having some wonderful opportunities, being able to do these things. He's going to be in a Shakespearean play in early May.

We couldn't take pictures during the performance, but we had planned to take some afterwards of Andrew in his makeup--and forgot. If he gets some in the next few days I'll post them later.

New Plants

When Mike decides to put out plants - hang on. He always does it right and beautifully, even if it takes all afternoon. Yesterday we got about six varieties of coleus for the bed beside the porch, as well as three dahlia plants. He also got a load of soil to build up the beds. Also, we're trying to raise some ornamental peppers that are beautiful but were only available as seeds from Park Seed Co. in Greenwood (one of the places we went last Saturday). I hope to do better this year with tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, etc. - I have a tendency to get really excited about them in the spring, and then when it gets hot out don't want to work the "garden" very much.

A few dahlias (the red flowers) and a lot of coleus varieties. This should be really pretty when they bush out more in the summer.

Mr. Gardener putting out soil

My seed pots!

Happy Man

Last night we drove to his college and took Andrew out to eat. Afterward we took him to JC Penney to get some clothing items that he needed. Then I handed him his state income tax refund, which means he has cash in his pocket. Then last night he called - he's gotten a promotion in his campus job. He had a good day!

ML is enroute home. I think she's ready to get here. I've enjoyed the peace and quiet, but am ready to have her home again too.

I was alone all day today. I've gotten so much housework done that I've even broken down and done the ironing that's been hanging in the laundry room for more weeks than anyone would really like to know.

Remembering Childhood Forays into Downtown Athens

A meme on libraries got me thinking about the library we used to love to go to in Athens--Houston Memorial Library. It was situated in an antebellum (I think) house on the other side of Athens, and it had that old furniture, old books, old house sort of scent that is very hard to describe to youngsters who would never recognize it today. The children's books, particularly series books, were in the front room near the checkout desk. For some reason only two books could be checked out per card at a time. So Mark and I would bicycle to it almost every day in the summer. I remember being "into" Nancy Drew books at the time, so would get my requisite two every day, go home and curl up in the yellow chair in Dad's den (I believe it's a turquoise chair now), and read. After finishing all the Nancy Drews, I read the Vicki Barr books, Cherry Ames, Dana Girls, Judy Bolton books, and of course read and re-read the Little House series among others. Sometimes we'd stop by Kuhn's on the way home and get penny candy also.

Bicycling or walking to Kuhn's and Elmore's is another story. I loved to go uptown, especially alone or with Mark. I can still remember the route and most of what was along the way: cross the street to the sidewalk by Fuller's supermarket; take a right, go past the laundry, cross the railroad tracks, walk up by the side of the theatre, turn left and walk the entire block. Cross the street and Kuhn's was the first store. There was a fabric shop next to it, then some stores I don't remember, and then Elmore's was right before the department store run by the Jewish family. The courthouse was directly across the street. There was a drugstore catty-corner to Kuhn's, a jewelry store at the other end of that street, and catty-corner to the jewelry store was the Church of Christ bookstore whose name I cannot remember. Seems like it had initials.

Of Kuhn's and Elmore's, Kuhn's was the more modern. It had a candy counter like a department store where someone would measure out candy into a bag. Dad used to buy chocolate peanut clusters for Mom there. Mark usually bought baseball cards. Elmore's was very, very old fashioned--probably near the end of an era. I remember the dark interior, the creaky wood floors, the way merchandise was arranged on top of half-cupboards (more merchandise stored beneath) between glass dividers. Large ceiling fans kept the place cool even in the hot summer. I remember buying school supplies there and checking out their selection of toys. I loved to go in there.

Cousin Jenny Comes to Town

Mike's cousin Jenny came to see us this weekend. She had to go to DC to accept an award for her work group and decided to do some traveling on the east coast as a result. She knows a LOT about wildlife! We enjoyed talking with her. She also let us drag her with us wherever we needed to go, including to homecoming at Mike's old church an hour and a half from here - where she didn't know anybody but us, but hung in there like a trouper. She did admit that all that southern cooking at the church dinner was very good!

Here she is with Mary Lee, Mike, and Ginny. Andrew also came home from school to meet her. (Oh, and to do four loads of dirty laundry, but I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with it.) :-)

She left on the train Sunday night. We enjoyed having her visit.

Mike says she looks a lot like his mother. I like having at least some kind of idea to picture her in my mind.

Best Supper in the World

Best supper in the world. Best "comfort food" in the world.

Hash Browns with Onions

Fried Eggs

Applesauce