I think I need to update. I'm not traveling right now so I'm busy doing all sorts of chores and going about every day life here on my homestead. It's time to do a little decorating so I jumped right in..
Hung a wreath on the porch door...this is the one I've been using the past 4 or so years I still like it...
My Thanksgiving was quiet for the most part, just myself and my son...And the dogs of course...their stockings are up ready for The Dog Whisperer to visit...
Of course I hung them with great care! We had a nice fire that day...
it was pretty chilly so...they snuggled into their beds
Awww the good life...
Then a day or two after I tackled the tough job of decorating the tree! This year Im keeping it so simple...it took less then 20 minutes to do...lol but I think it makes a statement.
...even artificial ones!
Then rain and rain and rain...
Seemed it would never stop
finally it did.
I'm still cutting up lots of wood to burn
Then as part of my volunteering I put this small church cemetery on Find A Grave, there is 136 souls here and maybe more in unmarked graves. I don't like unmarked graves...a forgotten soul and forgotten history.
Rev D Brown
This is a small but old congregation. 110 yrs! There is so much to be learned from the past. Here and maybe elsewhere most churches are still segregated. This is an African American Baptist Church. My sis and I have worked hard on making sure the AA churches are placed on Find a Grave, as it is a great resource to research family history. Certain sectors of the population have been over looked in recorded history so we are doing our part to get that info out there. Since Find a Grave is now part of Ancestry.com it reaches more people...I do however like the old site better than the new one they released this year.
I have no bird photos? HOW did that happen? How about some crows making lots of noise...check this out..
I have no bird photos? HOW did that happen? How about some crows making lots of noise...check this out..
I always take my decorations down the day after Christmas, so I will enjoy these for a couple weeks then back into the boxes they go!
PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.
It seems like an absolute contradiction to the very principles of Christianity that churches should be segregated by race. I am a lifelong atheist and humanist and abhor such discrimination, but it is especially repellent when practiced by worshippers of an alleged loving and all-welcoming faith. To put it plainly, it makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteIt is by choice, and part of the "freedom of religion" my focus is on the death of an individual and keeping their personal history alive after death, not on their religion. We put all the cemeteries we can on Find a Grave, no bias based on race or religion :o) 140 yrs have not healed the wounds of years of enslavement. We are focusing on African American churches due to the lack of info out there to help trace family roots...and we have made great progress...last year we photographed the largest AA cemetery in our town. 1,773 burials! My sister and I photographed it over a period of about a week. She entered all the missing memorials and the photos we took on the Memorial Page. The history is this...the land for the cemetery was donated originally by the town to give slaves a place of burial. So that cemetery is also segregated and in use today.
DeleteAre you seriously telling me that churches are segregated by race reflecting freedom of choice? There is no other reason? Jim Crow laws have nothing to do with it? The lynching of blacks has nothing to do with it? There is no racism involved? I applaud your efforts in terms of keeping people’s history alive, but I must confess I am not quite sure what this achieves. I do quite a bit of birding in local cemeteries, and the name on the tombstone tells me nothing but the name and does not spur me to learn anything else - and given the state of disrepair of many of them it means little to the families of the deceased either. I guess we all do what we feel we must! My wife and I have both already made arrangements for green burials when we die, and memorializing our names has no part in it.
ReplyDeleteNo I'm saying this is BY choice! People here in the South live a very different life than the rest of the nation! IT IS due to Jim Crow that AA segregated themselves. You could NOT drag them out of their churches! It is racism, yet but it is by choice....there is a lot of family history in a cemetery there is A LOT Of information on a headstone that can connect someone to their history. I get inquiries all the time to find the grave for someone who lives say in Maine and has a relative buried in my area of SC. I can photo that headstone and they can get the name, sometimes, a spouse's name, children, and the dates of their birth and death. Unless you are into history it means little. But many people are into history. I have traced my family back 9 generations and headstones have provided valuable information in that search.
DeleteYour little tree and the little pups stockings are adorable. I had a fake tree for years but the needles feel like crazy and I had t finally get rid of it. I have a small one now but I would like to go even smaller.
ReplyDeleteI really like the work your doing at the cemeterys and hope it helps lot's of families find there roots and loved ones.
Hi Jo, it's fun to celebrate the season and not put too much emphasis on the religious aspects of it. Im not affiliated with any religion if I had to pick one it would probably be Buddhism!
DeleteSondra, interesting comments between you and David, I too am not religious but find cemeteries and churches interesting and also a haven for wildlife. In fact one cemetery here in Cardiff has created a wildlife area in it. Provided the gravestone gives you details there's a lot to be learned from them like many deaths around the same time, maybe there was an epidemic of sorts, albeit a local one.
ReplyDeleteIts very hard to imagine the racial segregation that took place, having never experienced anything like it, and also that it was still going on in my youth.
Your house and its decorations look very good, I like the fire too. Not many houses now have a fireplace. All the best.
ME either I am not religious, I am agnostic! I celebrate Christmas because it is what I've done all my life. Im the only member of my family who has never been Baptised. I actually wrote a post on that very subject
Delete( https://mywrittns.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-would-socrates-say-about-christmas.html )
I understand David's point clearly, unless you have spent time in the Deep South you really don't understand the lines of demarcation. There is still a real oppression here. I feel it when I leave and I feel it when I return if I had the funds to start over again someplace else I would. But at this stage in my life I just deal with it. This is the reality and fall out of the history that is still here! Churches, cemeteries, funeral homes, restaurants, subdivisions, and more are still segregated in the Deep South by choice no law is making it that way. It just IS. And my vote is always one to try and change that but honestly many don't want the change! I am often questioned when I am photographing an AA church..."what are you doing here." Once I explain it is normally okay but I have been asked to leave! I am unwelcome there due to my skin color. However I am not letting that deter me from doing the work to preserve history. Of course if the internet goes belly up all our work goes with it....so only the stones will remain. The fireplace really is a big help in keeping us cozy on those frosty nights! I see you have been having lots of rain...hope it settles down soon.
Hello, I love your photos of the dogs by the fireplace and I see one sitting outside on the video. Your wreath and decorations are pretty. I take my tree down soon after Christmas too. Kudos to your work on the Find a Grave project. The crows can be loud, just like the Jays. Have a happy day and weekend ahead.
ReplyDeleteHI Eileen! The dogs are my immediate family, and they are with me doing whatever I do. We communicate with each other they taught ME how to know what they want...lol They are great companions.
DeleteAh the dogs by the fire is just lovely. Good for you for doing the graves, I only discovered the website recently and find it fascinating, there are quite a few that have been done locally but it's always ongoing.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, the dogs love being by the fire...The Cemetery I highlighted above is typical in the rural areas here small and not very well cared for so that is why we try to get out there and collect the info off those stones. AND a fellow has already contacted me about some of the memorials helping me link up spouses, children, etc. 13 so far! He knew many of those people in life.
DeleteOH I clicked publish and wasn't finished! I have been working with Find A Grave since 2010...I've added only about 1,000 memorials, and my sister has entered like 4,000! We work on a lot of projects together so it's something I really enjoy.
DeleteI bet they do :) It's great you do, it would be sad to think history like this is lost and of course for people searching for family it's invaluable. I'm glad you enjoy it so much.
DeleteThe work you do with Find A Grave is such a great thing. ... Your home looks warm and cozy for Christmas...happy lucky dogs definitely add to the ambience.
ReplyDeleteHi Sallie, thank you! The dogs and I are all inside today we have cold rain again...
DeleteThanks for the reminder about Find A Grave! I tried it out once when you first mentioned it years ago but haven't done anything since. A worthy cause! The pups in front of the fireplace is my favorite thing here.
DeleteThe dogs love the fire...they wanna be right up front so I brought their beds in from the bedroom and they snoozed the day away. That cemetery up there, I got 18 edits already...which means someone who knows those souls is helping me link up family members, so that is invaluable info. I have another one in my sights for my next project.
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