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Gentle Savior...
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Feb 1, 2007 8:14 am
Mood: peaceful,
902 Views
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...come walk with me
As I go through this dark valley.
I know not what lies ahead,
But in your presence, I have no dread.
So gentle Savior, come walk with me
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9
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PARIS TO PARIS ... BUILDING THE BRIDGE
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Jan 31, 2007 10:21 am
Mood: curious,
863 Views
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In my previous blog I applauded all those who have shown so much understanding, compassion and love for Paris while she has undergone cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy.
In the process several ideas have been suggested for helping to make her dream of visiting Paris, France come true.
To get up to date on these you can check out AneMac's and Fresh Emerald's blogs and the comments they have received.
One of the ideas is to have an auction in conjunction with the Bash to be held in Nashville in May. MichianaRed is working on that idea and it should prove to be a lot of fun.
It has also been suggested that we have a Tshirt sale commemerating the 2007 Bash and tie it in with the To Paris With Love fund.
I am not a big fund raiser and don't want this to become a frustration to SFF members, so rather than jump right into pushing T-shirts I would like to hear from you all. Would you like to have a chance to buy a 2007 Tshirt that all profits would go to Paris' Account?
A fellow member makes the T's and gave me a cost of $6.50. If we made them available for sale and charged $10.00, $3.50 would go directly into the Paris Account.
What he has told me is the T's would be a poly-cotton blend in sizes to XLarge.This is the good quality shirt that holds its size and shape best when washed.
I have envisioned them as black T's with gold; a stylized rendering of the Eiffel Tower in the center and a cowboy hat and boots incorporated in the design. The lettering would read something like "To Paris With Love" or "Paris Does Nashville" and 2007.
Tell me what you think folks!
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15
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LOVE IN ACTION
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Jan 31, 2007 9:48 am
Mood: thankful,
704 Views
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The most beautiful example of love in action has been playing out here in SFF for the past 3 months.
Our precious Paris got sick back in October, learned she has cancer, has faced it with courage and grace and has inspired us all by writing about the experience with honesty and humor.She totally amazes me!
From the first hint that she was having problems there has been a tidal wave of concern, compassion, prayer, encouragement, support, and love shown her.
I want to applaud each and every person who has taken time to voice their feelings toward Paris.
This is the way life is supposed to work and I am thrilled to be an observer and in a small way a participant.
If we can just multiply this agape love, send these ripples of compassion throughout SFF, and each one who is touched by it pass it on into real time we can leave a legacy in the world that has a magnificent impact.
On days when I am feeling misunderstood and misused I come to SFF and read blogs. Then I am reminded that there are good people in the world and compassion is alive and well.
Thanks to all who blog and comment with their hearts.
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11
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How Comes Love...
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Jan 30, 2007 7:33 am
Mood: hopeful,
670 Views
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How comes love...
Silently, stealthily, out of shadows
On panther's feet with graceful power.
How comes love...
Drumming, trumpeting, banners in the sun
Cymbals clashing melodic force.
How comes love...
Teasing laughter, friendly banter, windblown
Simple pleasure to fascination.
How comes love...
Surging, ocean tide crashing on shore
Undertow overwhelming the heart.
How comes love...
I know not how my love comes
I only bid him Godspeed!
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6
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DELIGHT ME
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Jan 29, 2007 6:50 pm
Mood: contemplative,
646 Views
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What is this new color on the horizon? This color that vibrates and sings a soft but wild melody...with notes floating in the air like pastel balloons.
Silken ropes gather golden words into silver boxes stacked floor to ceiling...sometimes carelessly, and with lids askew thoughts escape!
Ideas, dreams, joys, desires swirl in multi-hued clouds and I welcome their rain.
Delight me, nurture me, ingite my smile!
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4
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HOORAY HOORAY NASHVILLE BASH SITE IS UP AND RUNNING
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Jan 23, 2007 9:08 pm
Mood: enthusiastic,
750 Views
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FINALLY!
I was totally lost when it came to setting up a website but wanted to make details concerning the bash available to everyone who might be interested in coming.
I received lots of suggestions on what needed to be included but no one was able to tell me how to put on one of the most important parts...a guestbook.
And in the midst of putting the site together I deleted some vital information - Room rates!
The next problem was pointed out to me by our friend Lukn. When he tried to access the site it told him he needed a password just to get in.
AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
Well, I may not be a computer guru...but I am persistent.. I won't say how I persuaded him to take care of it for me. Just want you to know that if you ever need a website host I recommend Barry at the aforementioned website building address.
If you find it difficult to reach the site with the url NashvilleBash2007 with a dot and an org, it is because the search engines for Google, AOL, and Yahoo sometimes take a while to include a new domain name. I will continue to bug them until it comes up quickly every time any one uses the address. If you try and have trouble still contact me on my SFF message center.
So please reward me for all the frustration I have encountered and overcome by visiting the site and leaving your comments on the guestbook.
And mark your calendar and be sure to join us in May for a terrific get together.
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14
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First BookBabe Discussion
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Jan 14, 2007 6:42 pm
Mood: hopeful,
659 Views
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I would like to recommend the book "Dreams From My Father" by Barack Obama.
We had a delightful time today discussing this, his first book.
Although he is a political figure, the book is more about his race and ancestry than politics per se.
My question, as we began our discussion, was
"Is the search for identity different for a mixed race individual than for others?" After much well expressed thought it was decided that we all go through this process, but it would have to be more intense for someone whose race is perceived through their appearance. Barack makes the comment about himself, "the tragic mulatto trapped between 2 worlds".
Reading this book has caused me to question my own identity, class and race. It certainly sets the tone for self-discovery.
In the preface to the book Barack says,"Speaking of my mother, had I known she would not survive her illness I might have written a different book-less a meditation on the absent parent-more a celebration of the one who was the single constant in my life, her joy, her capacity for wonder. I mourn her passing still. What is best in me I owe to her."
After completing the reading, I was wishing to be able to read that,the non existent, book.
The introduction includes this:
"I, imagining mself to have something original to say about the current state of race relations, agreed to take off a year and put my thoughts to paper."
"Still I strongly resisted the idea of offering up my past in a book, a past that left me feeling exposed, slightly ashamed."
I wondered as I read this, and many times during my reading, if I would have been able to be as open, as honest.
Obama admits that having been brought up primarily in a middle class white community he is not a representative of the black American experience.
He says "I can embrace my black brothers and sisters, affirm a common destiny, without pretending to speak to or for all our various struggles."
There were a number of other statements that struck me and perhaps one or more of them will intrigue you enough to pick up a copy of this unique book.
Barack-"....too comfortable in my solitude-the safest place I know."
Barack's grandfather"...confidence-the secret to man's success."
About Barack's father ....He returned to Africa to fulfill his promise to the continent.
Barack"...Although you didn't have to be rich to be respectable, you sure had to work harder at it if you weren"t."
Speaking of his white grandmother "....she's wise that way, my grandmother., suspicious of overwrought sentiments or overblown claims, content with common sense."
Toot, his white grandmother "....your grandfather and I just figured we should treat people decently, Bar. That's all."
On page 25 of the paperback copy I read, "in the end I suppose that's what all the stories of my father were really about. They said less about the man himself than the changes that had taken place in the people around him-the halting process by which my grandparents' racial attitudes had changed."
Page 27 brings,"I would not have known at the time, for I was too young to realize that I was supposed to have a live-in father, just as I was too young to know I needed a race. For an improbably short time it seems that my father fell under the same spell as my mother and her parents; and for the first 6 years of my life, even as that spell was broken and the worlds that they thought they'd left behind reclaimed each of them, I occupied the place where their dreams had been.
Page 133 "Change won't come from the top, I would say change will come from a mobilized grass roots.".
Page 135 From Ike "...you ain't gonna help folks that ain't gonna make it nohow and they won't appreciate you trying. Folks that wanna make it, they gonna find a way to do it on they own....don't waste your youth Mr. Barack. Wake up one morning, an old man like me, and all you gonna be is tired, with nothing to show for it."
Page 194 Perhaps with more self-esteem fewer blacks would be poor, I thought to myself, but I had no doubt that poverty did nothing for self esteem. Better to concentrate on the things we might all agree on-tangible skills, jobs, safe well funded schools. With the basics taken care of, each of us could search for our own sense of self worth.
About Ruby Could Ruby love herself without hating blue eyes?
Stripped of language, stripped of work and routine- stripped even of the racial obsessions to which I had become so accustomed, and which I had taken (perversely) as a sign of my own maturation-I had been forced to look inside myself and had found only great emptiness there.
"You must learn from this life. If you have something then everyone will want a piece of it. You have to draw the line somewhere. If everyone is family-no one is family. Your father never understood this I think."
If you could advise Mr. Obama as he contemplates running for president, what would be your message to him????
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12
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Answering YOUR Questions about BookBabes
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Jan 12, 2007 7:54 am
Mood: enthusiastic,
533 Views
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I have been inundated with questions about a new group of SFF's who have gotten together to form a book club called "BookBabes". Our motto "Real Babes Read!".
This grew out of a desire I had expressed to AneMac that it would be wonderful if some of gals could live close enough to get together and talk about things that were important to us as women.
And Ane had done a blog about women commanding their power as females and supporting and encouraging each other.
The book club is simply our attempt to see these ideas to fruition in a way that is a viable option.
We are not trying to be cliqueish. The only reason we limited the number of ladies in the group was to make it possible to allow everyone to be heard when they have opinions and ideas.
The Hag has suggested we have a general discussion in an SFF chatroom open to anyone who is interested, male or female, and I think that is a lovely idea. Your thoughts and ideas fascinate me.
If any of you are interested we will be beginning with a book review this month by AneMac on "Dreams From My Father" by Barack Obama.Ane is such an interesting writer herself, I can hardly wait to read her review.
BookBabes will be discussing it on Sunday and will open discussion with anyone who wants to join in later in the evening in an SFF chatroom.
We don't want to interfere with the TRIVIA contests going on so will have to post a room and time on Sunday.
In February we will be reading "\bsexo?\b And The Single Woman" by Gail Sheehey. I know that is the right book, not sure about the author and I don't have my list handy right now.
Destiny will be our reviewer in February and you know she will do a great job.
I hope this de-mystifies the BookBabes references you have been seeing. And I do wish lots of you would jump on board in reading and discussing these and other books with us.
Hugs,
Linda
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5
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NASHVILLE BASH 2007
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Jan 12, 2007 7:37 am
Mood: excited,
465 Views
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God bless all of you for your interest and your patience as I learn how to develop a website.
I have received emails saying that now, for some reason unknown to me, the site requires a password to enter.
Give me a few days to find out what is going on with that and I will post more information.
Until then here is some basic information: The bash is scheduled for May 10,11,12th at the Guesthouse Inn on Music Valley Drive in Nashville.This is just across the street from the Opryland Hotel (lovely place but darned expensive) and around the corner from the Nashville Palace.
Room rates are $81.00 plus tax per night for a standard room with 2 queen beds. The code word for the discount is senior and our contact person is Patty.
The only organized event will be a dinner for everyone at the Caney Fork Fishin' Camp on Friday evening at 6:30pm. I will let you know ASAP as to the cost and menu.
On the site I have suggested that many of you may want to visit the Grand Ole Opry while in Nashville. I suggest you go on Friday night and you can arrange for tickets by googling OPRY or contacting the Grayline Tour Company in Nashville. To be seated with other Friends getting your tickets thru Grayline would be the best bet.
Other entertainment options are the lounge in the hotel and hopefully everyone will want to gather at the Nashville Palace on Saturday night for some good music and dancing and I thought you might like a contest with prizes for the best Country or Western outfits and dancing.
I am still trying to line up some karaoke for those of you who enjoy this.
I hope this answers most of your questions until I can de-bug the website.
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2
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BookBabes and Bashes and Contrary Computers...
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Jan 8, 2007 7:45 pm
Mood: cheerful,
387 Views
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I haven't posted in quite a while; what with the holiday doings and undoings; 2 weeks of sitting services for 4 of the grands; a computer that does some strange things- like saying there is an error on the page (but it won't reveal what or where)and "this page is not responding" (like I couldn't see that); the birth of a baby (my niece's, not mine! Thank Goodness!) and the death of a friend. I have been receiving emails that suggest I have reneged (is that an actual word?)on my responsibilities and obligations.
Please accept my apologies if my absence has caused any inconvenience to anyone!
To all you wonderful BookBabes...we are supposed to be reading January's review of "Dreams From My Father" by Barack Obama on Sunday the 14th and having our first discussion on Monday the 15th. AneMac is our first reviewer and I am certainly looking forward to her review.
I have just finished the book and have lots of questions I hope the rest of you will comment on.
We haven't as yet posted a time on Monday to have our discussion. I believe our farthest away member is in Scotland, where the time is 5 hours later than Eastern, 6 hours later than Central, etc. etc.
l could be in the Bookbabe chat room by 12 noon Central on Monday which makes it 6pm her time. But I know some of you have to work, etc during the day and don't have as much flexibility as I do. Please get in touch with me and let me know if it would work better for you to have the review posted on Friday or Saturday and the discussion on either Saturday or Sunday and the time you could be available.
Now to the BASH planned for Nashville in May.
I would love some help from some of you computer whizzes on getting my website for the Bash set up properly with the pages you would like to see added for signing up and adding comments and photos. All those things would be wonderful. And I would gladly add them if I knew how to go about it. I have pretty well exhausted my abilities with what I have up now. There have also been questions about the room costs. OMGosh, I can't believe it. In reworking and editing the site I deleted that information and failed to put it back in. So....back to the drawing board.
Come on Folks, where's the love? You've got a blonde working on this!!!LOL
Seriously, I will get in touch with my technical help on the site and try to get all the bugs out by this weekend. If you know how to add the extra features, please send me a message and we will get this thing going!!! I have no problem admitting my limitations where computers are concerned!
For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, but might be interested in attending a great gathering of Senior Friend Finders in Nashville in May,join my network and get all the details.
As for contrary computers; I have been in and out from time to time, as much as the above mentioned activities (and computer non-activity) would allow. Finally Saturday I pulled the plug on the darn thing and plugged it back in today.At least for the moment it is behaving. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Wow, all this blogging has made me hungry and I just got a new pie recipe to try out. If it is good I will share-the pie if you stop by the porch, the recipe if you can't make it.
Hugs,
Linda
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15
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To link to this blog (1942CLASSIC) use [blog 1942CLASSIC] in your messages.
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