Busy and Fun Times on Friday

 It's Friday, always a favorite day for many.  Link up with some fun folks, click the Random 5 button and join Nancy and the rest of us.  Sorry to all my friends I have nothing finished craft wise to join in on Finished Object Friday today.  Still working on the infamous HUGE Afghan that is Sand and Sea or Sea and Sand, think I keep switching how I type the name.  Which sounds better anyway?

• Having knitting or crocheted as much as normal past couple of weeks, have been working on my SIL, Jan's genealogy...thrilled with how much I've found for her in such a short period of time.  Particularly given one of the family names in Jones!
• On countdown til we leave for vacation with our Darling Daughter...we just don't get to see her enough
• Catching up with my grade school friend last Saturday was soooooooooooo awesome.  We had a great time, took pictures, shared stories and laughed alot.  Looking forward to our next outing.  Will be blogging and sharing some pictures in a few days.  Stay tuned, please!
• Work schedule is about to become wild and crazy, over booked, and double booked...hope I have the umph for it.  I'm not getting any younger you know.
• Hoping to get to Shakespeare in the Park this weekend.  Every-time I think we're gonna go, hubby's too tired, or the weather doesn't cooperate.  We've not made it all this year.

 I mentioned working on my SIL's and Wendy's family tree above, and want to share with you a fun project to do with the kids...big and small.  Join me please over on Flat Stanley's.  The project will be posted later today, just click the tree to pop over.

For those that like blog challenges, pop over to Paula's.  Her June challenge is about to end, but she's having one in July too.  Check it out.  I may only participate here and there, with work kicking into high gear, and I've done 3 month long blog challenges in the past 3 months.  I might not be able to blog daily in July.  But, know she'd love some folks to join her.

Still trying to Memory Monday up and going with more participants.  Please pop back on Monday, and join in.  Linky Love, Meme's blog challenges that are a specific day of the week don't require a huge comment...time wise so they appeal to me...join in.

Mom You Fascinate Me

Today's blog prompt from Paula's June Blog Challenge is to write about someone who fascinates you and why.  This is My Mom, she was probably about 16 or 17 here in this picture.

She fascinated me because she and many women of her time did so much.  They married young, had children young, cook and cleaned and did laundry when there no short cuts.  Modern conveniences didn't exist, keeping a house was hard work from sun up til sun down.  They didn't have time or money to have manicures, pedicures, massages, girls night out.  They didn't didn't have "me time".  They didn't belong to the gym to stay fit, they didn't need to.  Working day in and day out was enough exercise.  They didn't talk about being stressed out the way young mothers do today.

Think of the time and effort alone it took to do laundry for a family of 5.  Wringing out the laundry, 1 piece at a time in the wringer washer operating the crank by hand.  Then lugging heavy wet cloths outside to hang them on the line...back inside to start the next load, back outside to take the clothes down etc.  The process had to be repeated many times over.  And because everything came off the line stiff, wrinkled then the long process of ironing, hanging, folding and putting things away.

There were no microwaves to heat something up quick, nor fast food joints around the corner, no frozen meals for convenience.  Every meal had to planned out,  things removed from the freezer and cooked.  There were no dishwashers beyond ones pair of hands.  Garbage disposals came along much later, so wrapping up and taking out the trash was a constant thing.

She sewed most of my clothes, she went fishing with my Dad on his day off, she made things come together with her creativity.  When I think about her, aside from missing her since she's passed 4 years ago; I am fascinated at what she accomplished in a day.  Makes me think that perhaps kids who's relationship wasn't what they wanted with their mothers, might not have realized what all they went through.  I'm fascinated that she did these things every day and still had time to jump rope with me, teach me to knit, play jax sometimes.  Parents weren't kids best friends back in those day, how could they be...there wasn't time for that.  There was work to be done, those light hearted moments of play were very special.

I Belief it's Wednesday, Big Linky Day

Wednesday Work in Progress Time with Tami, What are you doing Wednesday with Susan
I am knitting the last section of this time consuming long time work in progress feather and fan style afghan.  The final dark gray edge.  Then will need to work in the edges...think about whether or not I want to crochet an edge around it?  I'm hopeful I won't run out of the gray.  The ball you see isn't very big and I have another one about the same size.  The final edge of course has additional rows the other sections don't have...so fingers crossed.  I love the look, love the way the colors came together even though the design changed several times based on what yarn I had.  It's called Sea and Sand and will be donated to Homeless Families Foundation through my charity, Bridge and Beyond.

AND today over at Paula's, June Blog Challenge, our prompt is to write about your beliefs.  Had to think about that, as we already wrote about religious beliefs, so this sorta seems like a repeat.  Perhaps this prompt is an attempt to be more general?

• I belief in people.  Despite all the negative things you see on tv and read on facebook, I belief most people are good and want to do good.  I belief the few extreme loud mouths get the news cover which sours everyone.
• I belief family is important.
• I belief people should slow down and smell the roses and quit making lists, like bucket lists, to do lists, things to accomplish or buy lists.  Live each day and be happy for the day, it's a gift.
• I belief people need to learn contentment.
• I belief people shouldn't expect everything to go 100% there way all time, and learn how to adjust and move forward.
• I belief everyone should do what they can for others, and not judge people who have trouble making it on their own.  I belief it's our Christian duty to care for others.
• I believe...I best get linked up and start visits or I'll never get done.........cause the list of I belief could go on and on.

INVITING YOU ALL, from all the linky's above to join me on Monday's for Memory Monday.  Click here to see what it's all about and be sure and mark your calendar to come join the fun.  It's a new linky, and we're just trying to get going...so please help out.  We all moan about Monday, let's put some life and fun into that day.
(JC6, S4, T13)

Main Stream Music

Today's blog prompt, tell us your views on Main Stream Music.(click the badge and join us over at Paula's for the June Blog Challenge)

What is Main Stream Media?  According to the Urban Dictionary

"Music that's usually on the radio, Top 40 and is well known to the general public. Usually criticized by fans of the previous mainstream generations, and people who prefer bands and/or genres that aren't apart of the mainstream popularity of the time."

 In a word.....RePuLSive!  The above two are not special people, they've not cured cancer, they are not good hearted, kind people.  While one is still alive and one dead, they aren't courageous or people who deserve fame, in my opinion.  Madonna is obscene...as was Michael when he was alive.  They both are extreme personalities.  I didn't care for their music and generally turned off the performance if they showed up on TV.  They both took advantage of people, used foul language and lead lives I consider pathetic.  I do not know why people like this are in the news all the time, nor do I understand why people continue to honor them.  My opinion of most main stream music...........is why I do not play the radio, buy CD's, watch u-tube video's, or have the sound on my computer.

I like older music, like Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Any Williams.  I like Motown.  I like music you can sing to, know the words too, words that aren't filled with nasty happenings.  Dean Martin's music would have been called main stream music in his time, and he and the other Rat Pack lead some pretty wild lives too, I think the difference is they weren't considered people to mold your lives after, and they did NOT pretend to have sex on stage and appear half naked. 

Why is was deemed necessary for Michael Jackson to be on every channel all day long for days and weeks after his death is well beyond me.  He was not larger then life.  He was someone I wouldn't care to have any of my loved ones around.
(JC6)