Me and Charlie actually taking a break from eating and doing tourisy stuff

Fried Green Tomatoes.....mmmmmm

Route 44 limeade cherry! "Boo ya!

Memphis to Nashville

Today we began our day at Graceland. I've never really been an Elvis fan, but for some reason I've always wanted to go to Graceland. It was kinda interesting, but somehow smaller than I expected. There were some fun things though. Green shag carpeting on the floors and ceiling. hahahaha today's cool it tomorrow's tacky, eh.

Then we drove off to Nashville. We had lunch along the way. I made Charles stop at Bart's BBQ and I had fried green tomatoes. I was so excited about my fried green tomatoes that I took a picture. Then I realized that I had taken a picture of Bart's BBQ and one of my fried green tomatoes, but had not taken a single picture at Graceland! I guess we all have our priorities. lol

We're just back from a wonderful trip to Joann's Fabrics and supper. I didn't take any pictures at Joann's cause I was too busy buying stuff.

We went to TGIF's for supper. Charlie had the pecan encrusted chicken salad and I had the strawberry short cake. When they brought the food the girl looked at the two plates and gave me the salad and Charlie the shortcake. I asked him why is it that everywhere we go people get our orders mixed up? He said well if you'd stop ordering chicken fried steak.... and I said oh ya? Well if you'd man up and stop ordering salad....

And that was our day. Tomorrow...the Grand Ole Opery.....oh boy!

Road trip from Texarkana to West Memphis

(please read this blog using a Texas accent, thank you)
We left Texarkana this morning and made it to Hot Springs by noon. We climbed up a giant tower and saw all around. Then we decided to have lunch. I asked garmin where the closest barbeque and it suggested Micky's BBQ 2 miles outside of town. This bothered Charles cause he doesn't like going out and then back but talked him into it. Off we went and as we drove the neighbourhood got scarier and scarier. Determined to get BBQ I egged Charles on. Finally we found Micky's. It was closed.

So I asked garmin for any restaurant in Hot Springs. So we drove back (sorry Charlie) and looked for Bubbaloo's. When we got there it was a hot dog place. A hot dog place? Really? Well that wouldn't do so we went to Granny's Place. I had chicken fried steak.

At the table next to us there was a family with a 10 year old boy and a 14 year old girl, his sister, and their parents. (seriously, you have to read this in your best southern accent) Boy gets a shaved ice for dEssert and his sister doesn't want anything. It arrives and she asks for a bite. He says no, she yes, no, yes, no, yes finally he offers her a bite. She takes a taste. As he offers it to her he says see this is what they call being nice, in his best well bless your heart voice. She gets all pissed off and takes a huge spoonful while he's trying to knock the stuff off her spoon with his.

So then we go to this cool museum place thingy. While crossing the street there were 2 sisters having a slap fight. Mom says stop that right now. One yells Well I reckon you hadn't a otta smacked me. The other yells well I reckon you hadn't a otto shoved me. The first one yells I recon you hadn't a been walking so darn slow.

Well then it was time to drive to Memphis, but first we went to Sonic for a route 44. Ya!!!

Now we're in West Memphis. Tomorrow we go to Graceland, and I have an Ihop coupon.
Best drivecation ever!

A Rock Song

A Rock Song

It’s four in the morning and I can’t sleep. I get up and try to repeat my night time ritual, in the hope it will somehow help me to fall asleep when my head hits the pillow, but no. I am more awake than ever. I listen to the wind roaring in the trees. I listen to the wind roaring from my husband’s lips! My mind starts to wander and race as I realize I won’t be getting any more sleep this morning.

I remember a friend of mind telling me about an exercise she did with her Bible Study group. The reading was about the woman at the well. They were to imagine that they were an inanimate object at the scene, and describe what they saw, heard and felt. I think I might give it a try since it is obvious that I have plenty time on my hands!

At first I found myself identifying with the woman, a sinner, but she seems pretty ‘animate’ so I close my eyes and try again. I picture a well made of stone, much like a wishing well, but without the roof. All around the well is sand, dry burning sand, rising in hot, shimmering dunes. Behind my back is probably a village, but from where I stand I see only the rock of the well and the sand.

What should I be? A bird? A cloud? A rock? Yes, I think I’ll be a rock. Not one of the perfectly hewn rocks that make up the well, but a misshapen rock that the well builders have thrown to the side. Although I have one flat, perfect side, the rest of me is uneven and of no use to anyone, so here I lie. Years of wind and sand have all but covered me up. I lie here alone, unnoticed, useless, but wait …

A shadow has fallen over me. It belongs to a man. He is sitting on the side of the well talking to a woman. I don’t know who he is, but his shadow is cool. It fills me with hope, and somehow I begin to smile, despite the empty life I have led. I can hear him talking to the woman, and I think I should be listening. I’m sure his message must be important, but all I can think about is… I hope he comes closer!

The woman hands him a drink and, joy of joys, he comes over and stands beside me. He doesn’t step on me as so many have done in the past, but he acknowledges my presence and then stands there, right beside ME! My pain and loneliness disappear! I am healed! I know Him now: he is the Christ, my Redeemer, my Healer.

Again I try to listen, but my mind wanders to another place, another message.

“Why waste your breath moaning at the crowd? Nothing can be done to stop the shouting. If every tongue were still, the noise would still continue. The very rocks and stones themselves would start to sing!”

I am overcome with joy and I long to sing with my brothers. “Hosanna, King of Kings!

Hosanna, Lord of Lords!

Hosanna, redeemer of the misshapen!”

I have been made whole. The rock that the well builders have rejected may well become the cornerstone of a temple or a great monument, or maybe even a McDonald’s.

He’s going now. He’s on his way, but I know that even though He is gone He will be in my heart forever. What can I do to show that I have changed when I’m still almost invisible, still buried here in the sand? I know! I can quietly pray for the people who come to this well, starting with that woman right there. (She’s so lucky; she actually got to talk to Him!) I pray that she heard the message that He had for her, special and unique, just as mine was special and unique. I pray that as she labors with her heavy burden He may refresh her, just as I have been refreshed. May she be healed and filled with joy. May her heart and soul be filled with the song that all we rocks sing.

Hosanna, King of Kings!

Hosanna, Lord of Lords!

Hosanna, Redeemer of the misshapen!

Alleluia! Amen!

World's Ugliest Quilt

I went to Texas last month to visit my God daughter. She took us around to see all of the wonderful sites, fabric stores, and, of course, lots of wonderful restaurants. My favorite place for barbeque was a place called Clayton’s Barbeque. This amused me because I live in Clayton.

Clayton’s BBQ is a building made of corrugated sheet metal and it has old rusty tools, antlers and such on the walls. In the middle of one wall hangs an old, old quilt. This quilt is maybe as wide as a single bed, but way, way longer. The blocks are random colours, random sizes. I could see no rhyme or reason for the piecing. There are about 20 black and white nine patches going down the side about two feet from one side, but they don’t go right to the bottom. Why did the quilter stop there? There are some larger white and blue nine patches off to the other side, some churn dash blocks, some blocks that are uneven stripes, and then some just random blocks that I don’t recognize. After a while the quilter just started adding different sized bits of fabric to make it bigger. Wow it was ugly.

We went there several times. Each time the quilt caught me attention. I couldn’t stop staring at it. Why was it this odd size? Did it fit on a couch? Was it made for the world’s longest single bed? Why these colours? Why that crazy row of nine patches? I puzzled and puzzed till my puzzler was sore. Then something started to happen. The quilt started to amuse me. It became a thing of wonder. The quilter had something in mind and I’m sure it was created as a thing of beauty as well as warmth, and I was starting to, somehow, understand it. The more I started at it, the more I loved it. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and I wish I could show it to you. Perhaps I'll make one for myself.

Happy Quilting.

Dianne

Two things

One

Sometimes when you watch discovery channel you see those big fish with the giant teeth and inside of their mouths are tiny fishes swimming around, eating things stuck in the teeth of the big fish. I wonder if it hurts the big fish when the little ones clean their teeth......I hate dentists!

Two

It amazes me how quickly I judge others and judge them harshly. Today I was sitting in Starbucks with my head in my hands. As I was looking down and this pair of green rubber boots walked into my line of vision. What a dumb hick, I thought, wearing his hick boots in the big city. Then my eyes wandered upward and I noticed his engineer ring. Oh I thought the hick can't be to stupid if he's an engineer. Then I looked up at the back of his head and he reminded me of my X father in law, and I thought man this guy must be a jerk.

Then I realised that I had done nothing but judge the poor guy. I was so very mean to the poor bugger and I hadn't even seen his face, course he was probably ugly anyway.