My Grandma's Quilt

Even though it was in the high 90's last week, I slept with a quilt on top of my sheet, blanket, and bedspread.  I had some kind of stomach bug and couldn't get warm enough.

Now this particular quilt was one made by my maternal Grandma.  I loved that woman like no other; still do even though she's been gone for several years now.

I had never seen this quilt until my Mama called one day and asked Laurel if she wanted something of Grandma's.  Of course she said yes!  That something turned out to be a 1930's feedsack quilt. I was quickly filled with envy. " I loved Grandma best, so I should have it!  She practically raised me, you know. "  I think I startled Laurel by my vehemence.  I REALLY wanted that quilt.

Well, I told her I'd trade her one of my Mama's (her Mee Maw's) quilts for my Grandma's quilt.  I showed her about four different ones, and of course she picked out my favorite; a new quilt made from old feedsacks.  "Well.......I don't know about that one."  

So we're at a standoff.  But they are both still at my house, and doesn't possession count for something?  I told her she'd get them when I died anyway.  She can fight over them with her baby sister.  I'm so mean!  

Grown Children

I spent a sweet time last night talking with my oldest daughter who is struggling through a particularly rough time with her three little boys.  We were going to watch I Dreamed of Africa but never got around to it.

I am so thankful that my grown children are also my friends.  I told her that I count it an act of God's grace that they still like me and desire my company even though I made many mistakes in their raising.  God has been very gracious in answering a certain prayer I've prayed for over twenty five years.  

I prayed that He would fill in all the cracks left from my disciplining  and help them to remember the good and forget the bad.  He is so good, and I am so thankful.

Rituals

What do ya'll think about this?

"This is what rituals are for.  We do spiritual ceremonies as human beings in order to create a safe resting place for our most complicated feelings of joy or trauma, so that we don't have to haul those feelings around with us forever, weighing us down.  We all need such places of ritual safekeeping.  And I do believe that if your culture or tradition doesn't have the specific ritual you're craving, then you are absolutely permitted to make up a ceremony of your own devising, fixing your own broken down emotional systems with all the do-it-yourself resourcefulness of a generous plumber/poet.  If you bring the right earnestness to your homemade ceremony, God will provide the grace.  And that is why we need God."

I wish I knew who said this.  I'll refrain from comment until I get your feedback.  So go........

Negligent Parents

This is going to be a rant and rave post.  I'll rarely do this here, but I can't keep quiet about this.  Today I went to see the new Batman movie.  It was extremely loud and violent.  I covered my ears for half of the movie.  Sitting in front of me was a young couple with a little girl of about two years old.  

This movie is rated PG-13 but should have been a R.  She cried for about half the movie with her parents continually taking her out and bringing her back in.  

After it was over, I walked by them.  The baby had fallen asleep in her mother's arms.  I said to her, "I hope she didn't see any of that."  She smiled and said, "She's fine!"  in a sugary sweet voice.  I answered back, "I'd be really distressed if she heard or saw any of that!"  She said again, "She slept through the whole thing.  She's fine!"  No she didn't and no she isn't.

I guess they thought that she'd go to sleep and everything would be fine.  But, to me, they should have gotten a babysitter and left her at home to take her nap in her own bed.  If they couldn't find one, they should have stayed home.  Are they super selfish, or what's going on?

A friend saw the same thing happen a few days ago for the same movie.  What is wrong with these parents?  Do they have no thought about what they're exposing their children to? 

I remember seeing The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock when I was ten or eleven and was terrified until about five years ago. That's about forty years of being scared of that movie.  I decided to conquer my fear and watch it again.  It's still frightening but I was able to finally let it go.

If I was that scared at ten, what will life be like for a two year old who sees a much scarier movie than The Birds.  Another friend said he saw a child in Saw! 

I am very worried about these children and what effect seeing all these gruesome and violent 

movies will have on them and our society.

I'm turning into the old lady who doesn't mind speaking her mind to strangers.  I remember a few older ladies saying things to me when my children were small.  I can't remember now what I had done, but it wasn't anything as bad as letting my babies see violent movies.  Their comments had a good influence on me, so maybe mine will too.  I pray that will be the case.

IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL

I was visiting a friend's website today.  She is a middleman (woman) for people selling homeschooling supplies and curriculum.  I found ABeka Fifth Grade Language and ordered it.  Come to find out, the seller is my husband's boss in Florida!  Our world just keeps getting smaller and smaller.

My Summer Schedule

I've been reading Godliness through Discipline by Jay Adams during my morning worship time. I'd highly recommend it.  It's a short read at only 25 pages.  Here are some gleanings from it.

1. Discipline is the secret of godliness-I Timothy 4:7.

2. Godliness is the goal of the Christian life; we must please God      by being, thinking, doing, saying and feeling in the ways that        He wants us to.

3.  If you are going to learn discipline, you must first learn                  patience.

4.  Discipline means work; it means sustained daily effort.

5.  Continued daily effort is an essential element of Christian              discipline; just like an athlete.

6.  Jesus insisted that Christians must deny the self within them.  By the self, He meant the old 

      desires, the old ways, the old practices, the old habit patterns.

7.  Taking up the cross means going to the place of death.  It means putting to death the old life      patterns of the old man.

8.  God gave man a marvelous capacity that we call habit.  We can't avoid habitual living.

9.   You must become aware of your life patterns and evaluate them by the Word of God.  The           Christian life is a life of continual change.

10.  Discipline first requires self-examination, then it means crucifixion of the old sinful ways            (saying "no" daily), and lastly, practice in following Jesus Christ in new ways by the                      guidance and strength that the Holy Spirit provides through His Word.

11.  Living according to feeling is the greatest hindrance to godliness that we face.  Godly,                    commandment-oriented living comes only from biblical structure and discipline.

12.  All of the stress that the Bible puts upon human effort must not be  misunderstood; we are          talking about grace-motivated effort, not the work of the flesh.

13. If we want to discipline ourselves toward godliness, a most essential factor is the regular            study of God's Word in order to make application of its principles to our problems.

14. It is by willing, prayerful and persistent obedience to the requirements of the Scriptures             that godly patterns are developed and come to be a part of us.

15.  Structure alone brings freedom.  Discipline brings liberty.  Liberty  comes through law, not        apart from it. 

I am a great one for making lists and schedules.  For the most part I stick to them and am productive.  But there usually comes a time when I rebel and do what I want.  I am very feeling driven which I'm learning more and more is just plan selfishness. 

I have also learned that when I get this attitude that the only thing I get done is reading.  I know there's a time and place for relaxation.  I'm not saying that.  I'm the Queen of relaxation!  But when I need and want to get things done, I need to stick to a schedule.

                                       So this summer my schedule looks like this:

6:00 Worship

7:00 Exercise

8:00 Breakfast, cleanup, and get dressed

9:00 Housework

10:00 Writing

11:00 Photography

12:00 Lunch and cleanup

1:00 Housework-Clothes Repair-Ironing

2:00 Rest and Reading

3:00 Project-House, Art, Sewing, or misc.

4:00 "                                           "

5:00 "                               "

6:00 Cook supper

7:00 Supper and cleanup

8:00 Gardening and puttering outside

9:00 Family worship and reading to Darcie

10:00 Bath and reading

11:00 Bed

        

My Name Change

When I decided to become a sort-of professional photographer, I signed my photos Deborah C. Bailey. This is the name I used at doctor's offices and other important official places.

As I got involved in our town's art community, people addressed me as Deborah. This made me cringe, because I was getting to know them on a personal level. People that I care about call me Debbie.

I signed my childhood artwork Debbie Bailey. Through the years I have also signed Debbie C. Bailey and D.C. Bailey. I was having an identity crisis.

I've finally figured out why I've gone through so many name changes...I think. As a child I signed my art as Debbie Bailey, because that is who I was. As I got older, I thought that was too simple a name, so I signed in what I thought was more sophisticated ways.

For the last two years, I've been playing with different names in my mind. I have gone from Deborah C. Bailey to Deborah Bailey and finally to Debbie Bailey again. The pretensions have been dropped and I've again become 'just me'. I'm sure that's a good thing. It'll be interesting to see how, and if, that affects my art.

Note: I should have said, "I signed my childhold art Debbie Collins." See comments for explanation.

My Morning Walk

This is what I see every morning when I take my walk.  It's a neighbor's pecan grove just around the corner from our house.  We have a pecan grove too, but I can't get a good picture of it.  Our house and the outbuildings get in the way.

I use this time at the beginning of my day to pray and think; or not.  I give my thoughts free rein and am always rewarded.  Not that I don't have bad thoughts, but having just gotten up from morning worship time, my head is usually in a good place.

I always carry a pen and paper to jot down my thoughts.  If I don't, they are lost by the time I get home.  The following is an unedited version of what I wrote this morning: E-mail Sharon, check Visa bill, learn how to scan photo onto desktop, add Morning in May photo to today's blog post, post photo of our house to blog, add calcium to Fitday site, look at my fat intake for yesterday on same site, and repot ivy.  And I prayed for all our children.  I only walk for a mile.  By the time I get back home, my paper is filled with stream of consciousness writing.

A book I recommend is Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way.  She talks about taking walks and how the cadence of our steps unleash a torrent of thought.  I've found that to be true.  Our brains respond to the constant rhythm of our steps. 

I took the above photo with a point & shoot camera; nothing fancy.  All the photos posted so far were taken with that same camera.  I still have it and love it.  I got a Canon SLR film camera to supplement the point & shoot, because it's more flexible.  It doesn't take better pictures though.  I like it because I can change lenses.  I needed a telephoto lens to get close up.  I sometimes like to take street photos of people but don't want to get in their face.  With my telephoto, I can stand far away and they'll never know I'm there.  The downside is that if I ever want to enter it in a contest or show, I have to have written permission from the person in the photograph.

Excuse me, my phone is ringing...it was Laurel telling me that a mutual friend of ours had some suggestions for my blog.  Ain't that the way it goes?  One day after my first post and I'm already being criticized!  Just kidding, Amanda!  Thanks for the ideas; especially the one about my header.  I HATE typos.  I'll fix that asap.

A New Obsession

This is the photo that started my new passion with photography.  I was on a two week whirlwind trip of Europe's capitals with one of my sons.  Every two years our Christian school takes the Juniors and Seniors to Europe.  I've gone with all three of our boys.  I regret that I couldn't go with Laurel, but I was nursing a six-month old!

This photo was taken somewhere in the south of Italy; Capri maybe?  I can't remember, but when I got all forty of my rolls of film back from the processor and looked at them, this photo struck me as being really good (I say that in all modesty).  I was hooked!  That was about five years ago.

More to come on my photographic journey.  

I can't believe I started a blog!

I said that I would definitely never have a blog. I didn't see the point since I said what needs to be said in my private journal. But after taking a seminar called "The Entrepreneurial Artist", I think it'll be beneficial for me and hopefully for other emerging artists reading my blog. A little bit of background: I'm mostly a writer and photographer who REALLY wants to do watercolor. I love all the arts and am a gallery owner in our small town. I work there one day a week. There are five co-owners in our LLC, so we each take a day. This is the only way I could make it work, because my first love and duty is to my family. We only have one child at home now, and I homeschool her. I am also the grandmother to three little boys. My oldest daughter has a blog Happy at Home. You can find it in my blog roll. I highly recommend it! I'll post my own photographs on this blog which will be linked to my gallery's website. They will be for sale there, or I can be reached by e-mail. I have to get someone to show me how to attach my pictures first! Well, I hate long blog posts; especially with no pictures. So I'll hush for now, figure out how to get better at this, and see ya'll later. Debbie