Memorial Day

Many years ago my father sat (almost completely bedridden) on the edge of the bed and was watching the news. The television was his only view of the outside world except that of the view from the window or front porch. He was a Korean War veteran. He was a U.S Marine. He was proud of the fact that he was the two previous statements.....

My next door neighbor is a World War 2 veteran and proudly displays not one, but two, American flags just outside his front door. He sometimes asks for his wallet when we go to visit him. In that wallet, in a hidden compartment, is his purple heart. We will probably never know what exactly happened to him to deserve a purple heart because he tears up and goes speechless when he shows it to us.

My great uncle fought in world war 1. I was too young to ask him about it but I can tell you that he was proud to fight for his country. He had a framed letter from former president Woodrow Wilson, hanging on the wall. That framed photo thanked him for his selfless duty to protect his country and the lives of his fellow comrades.

My cousin's husband is a Vietnam veteran. He doesn't speak of his ordeal because it is too traumatic to speak of- yet he did his duty to serve his country- that, can not be forgotten. I remember the stories of some distant relatives in the civil war that died tragically and left behind loved ones. I've heard of a great uncle that made it through the first world war to only come home and die from surgery. I've heard of an uncle that protected the military base. I know many on the internet that have loved ones serving at this very moment and I've read of the struggles and fear that those at home are feeling.... the stories go on and on....

There are thousands upon thousands of veterans in this country that gave- and are currently giving- so selflessly and deserve the honor and respect of every single American citizen. Maybe there are veterans both living and gone that didn't have family. Some were never brought home to their home country. Some are fighting as you are reading this. Some died alone in the wilderness. We should remember and honor them all.

I'll close with this little statement that has stuck in my head for many years. It was a comment that my late father said that day, when he sat on the edge of the bed, watching the news. At that time, our country was sending troops oversees. He sat almost motionless, with a distant look in his eye and proudly said, "If they called me back to duty, I'd go right now".

Something New, Something Cold, Something Still Not Finished, and Something Upside Down...

Coming soon to Minnie Maes Etsy shop....... (Something New)


Something Still Not Finished....

This was supposed to be a quilt for my mother for her birthday and Mother's Day. That's right, it's the middle of May and it's still not finished....


Something cold fell from the sky one day. The "something cold" was the 3rd (or 4th- I lost count) something that has freakishly fell from the sky this spring. The scary part is that the hail is getting bigger each time it falls. We were pretty close to golf balls this time.

No, he's not dead....he just does this sometimes.....

And last but not least, "Something Upside Down". Our poor fish, Moe Moe has an air bladder issue lately. We don't exactly know what to do for him yet as we've only researched his little "condition" on the internet. A trip to our local pet store is definitely in order. We panic each time we walk by his tank and think he has went to that big aquarium in the sky (only to have our hearts jump when he suddenly flips back over and swims around like nothing is wrong). Geesh, why do we have such weird animals?

Team SC Is Having A Sample Box Giveaway!!

Team SC is having a "Spring into Summer" sample giveaway! Just click on over to Team SC's blog and enter for your chance to win this assortment of handmade, South Carolina items! Why should you enter? Because it's free and it's easy, and you might be the winner!

Do it now, what are you waiting for?!?!

Farewell to My Friend Dusty

Orion's Stardust
(Dusty)
April 1st, 1978 - May 4th, 2010

I knew the day would come but it snuck up on all of us. Dusty didn't come up to eat that day and my sister went looking for him. She had grown close to him since she had been taking care of him for some time. When she found him down in the pasture, she called me. She was crying and I soon followed suit. It was a terrible day for us.

I have written about Dusty a couple of times over the past year or so. He was my friend for over 25 years of our lives and I will never forget him. We rambled through the woods, creeks, and over many miles of roads over our lifetime. He was there to carry me through the loss of both of my grandmothers and countless others since then. Dusty was a nut but he was a faithful nut.

When I first got Dusty, he could count how old he was by pawing his foot on the ground. He could also "shy" at every living thing (and non living thing) and throw me off his back quite easily in those early days. He took me to my first horse show where he won champion (not me- I was totally lost- he carried me through it). His brother (adopted brother) picked on him but he loved him- a lot. Poor old Spirit didn't eat for awhile and stood moping after he lost his brother, Dusty.

Dusty's passion in life was eating. I know, horses like to eat but Dusty lived to eat- not eat to live. He loved sweets of any form or fashion. During berry season, he drastically lost weight each year because he munched on blackberries, mulberries from the trees, and wild strawberries down in the pasture. He had the life of luxury. One "neigh" and he had my mother tied around his little "hoof". She would faithfully bring him loaves of bread to eat (twice a day!!). If someone had the time to crack pecans for him, he'd gobble them down too. He hardly ever took the time to eat actual grass. He wanted goodies.

Dusty was an old horse and had lived the last 15 years or so in retirement. His life was easy and I'd suspect that it was much better than his earlier days before we got him (he was abused by a previous owner) I'm just glad he came into my life and the life of my family. We all loved him.

Dusty died alone under an oak tree. His favorite mulberry tree was not far away so I'd suspect that is where he had been spending his time munching. I've always called him a nut because of his funny antics and I think it ended up being very appropriate that he was buried under a "nut" tree very close to his mulberry munching spot.

I'll miss him but I know it was his time to go........