Church Pew

 Cades Cove, last summer, inside a beautiful country church. 

Think of all the souls who worshiped from this pew. 

We had a beautiful time in church today, with CC, between the two of us. 

Good times y'all.

To see more Cades Cove images click here and here.

Happy Sunday

Olive

A Sacred Place For Me

Cades Cove, Tennessee

 Deep in the Smoky Mountains Cades Cove is part of the National Parks System.

 It is also one of our families favorite places to visit. I find it to be a sacred place filled as it is with empty churches and grave yards. Families descended from the folks the land was purchased from can still bury their dead in the cemeteries. I am often sad when we visit because I know the people who sold their land to the parks service were desperate for money during a bad economy. Yet the land is now preserved for the entire country to enjoy as it was in the past. It is always bittersweet for me. Ya''ll know my mama is from Appalachia and I get emotional about the land and the people who lived there. 

Today I will will show you the Primitive Baptist Church.

 

I find God in the simple beauty of the wood of this building and in the fields, mountains, and streams of Cades Cove.

The Cove is an eleven mile driving loop. 

If you go in early you can ride the course on your bike which is very popular. 

The loop opens to cars at 10:00 AM.

We saw a bear, wild turkeys, deer and got ticks on us too. 

Tomorrow I will show images of wild flowers, streams, fences, and more at Cades Coves. 

Please come back.

Linking with Wow Us Wednesday's

joy and peace

Olive

Forsythia On A Sunday

Happy Sunday My Fine Feathered Friends

By the time you see our forsythia 

 we will be in church with 275 teenagers. 

That will be a hoot. 

A loud hoot.

What are your plans today?



Joe and I are praying for all who have lost life and property in last nights storms. 
Devastating weather reminds us that life is fragile once again.

When we get home I think a nap is in order

 then cleaning might start

 or not.

joy and peace

Olive

The Glitter Project

The yellow house is glitter central. 

The eight seventh grade girls, and their counselor, arrived at 5 pm, ate supper had a home devotion then left for church by 7pm.
We have prepared far too much food for this age group and will know better next time.
They promise me they will eat bacon in the morning.

They returned at 11pm and ate snack food and then decorated and altered T-Shirts at midnight.
They might have gone to sleep by 2 am.

 Adorable aren't they?
They have cut those t-shirts and made them in an incredible short period of time.
We all have hot pink glitter bracelets on except for Joe.
The dining room is covered in glitter and paint.
Thankfully the paint peels right off.
Nothing here can be hurt as you all know every item we own is second hand.

The blonde young woman sitting in the floor is the counselor and she is an adult
but looks like one of the students.
She gets full credit for the t-shirt project.
We do housing, cooking and cleaning only.

Each student brought a 2L drink and a snack.
The two suppers are being provided by our journey team and Joe and I provide breakfast.
 Lunch is provided at the 180 meetings. We also have volunteer drivers who pick them up and deliver them to and from the meetings. Multiply that by 22 host homes and 7-12 kids per home and that is a huge level of organization.
This is our first time hosting and we will definitely do it again.

This is what Clovis thinks about the whole affair.
He is not impressed by this invasion into his space.

These cookies I made are almost gone but I fear that Joe, me, and our sweet drivers are entirely at fault.
The girls will be back in one hour for a short rest and supper.
Joe and I did go to a big sale at the fair grounds today and found some real bargains.
I must run I think I have glitter in my teeth.

joy and peace
Olive

Happy Friday

Happy Friday My Fine Feathered Friends

From this point until the weekend {March 2-4} the TEN TEENs are with us 

a whole lot of auto posting will be going on here.

Please say a little prayer for us that we will care for these kids in the best way

 possible and have fun doing it.

I will visit and comment between baking, planning, and more cleaning.

joy and peace

Olive

Horsetrading, Thrifting, and Fiddling

I have been horse trading again. 

I traded my friend a little chippy blue shelf for this chippy bust and vintage frame.

 Horsetrading at it's finest.

Chippy for chippy.

She had painted the old frame white and that worked for me.

These mini teapots under glass make me feel six years old again.

Joe and I have been shopping all over the place to restock my inventory at the three consignment stores I sell at and we found these vintage watercolors above behind the fern. I am fiddling with the pair of them in the hearth at present. Not selling them right now. Perhaps another post on these later.

This is my second vintage clock and it does not work. 

It was one dollar at a garage sale.

I would like to amass a whole shelf of them.

The next two weeks at the yellow house are going to be busy as we are going to host ten Teenagers from our church for the entire weekend of March 2-4. I need to get going and clean the upstairs where they will be sleeping, on the floor and any place they can find. We are providing breakfast and our small group is providing supper. They will be at meetings during the day. We think this will be fun. We bought this house to share it with our family and others and this is one way to do that.


Linking with:  Nifty Thrifty Tuesday's

joy and peace

Olive

Making Memories Last

When is an ornament more than the sum of it's parts? 

When it's old and well loved is one answer. 

When it's a vintage treasure is another.

Or when it's handmade from something so precious it is priceless to you.

  That is the case with these ornaments CC and I made with sheet music last night. 

Our Granny had asked me to donate our late Papa's music or keep some for CC. 

I kept a book of songs Papa sang in church.

We loved sitting next to Papa and hearing him sing.

He often performed solos and had a strong low voice.

The music inside these plastic bulbs {the glass ones were sold out} holds wonderful memories of Papa's voice for us.

I know you may be shocked I crafted but I can rise to the occasion when necessary. 

Thanks to the blogger  

who thought of using sheet music this way.

Linking with:

Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life 

Happy Christmas

Olive 

Walk With Us In The...

Cemetery

It makes us think of Easter. Really it does. The large cross. The tombs.

"In the garden was a new tomb that had never been used." John 19:41

I did visit here last year so please forgive me if the images are similar. We like the Old City Cemetery a lot. It has many Civil War graves and Joe and I like to ramble around in it.

The little details are so sweet on the headstones. The children's graves are very sad. Many more children died one hundred and fifty years ago than they do today.

This is my header image and  how the roses were oriented on the stone. It was not planned. Hardly anything is.

This dove makes me think of He who is Risen The Prince Of Peace.

"They found the stone rolled away from the entrance of the tomb..." Luke 24:3

 

Joe and I look forward to a lively church service of about one thousand people in the morning and then one thousand more in a repeat service. The music will be stunning. We wept at Christmas {or I did}.

We wish you a lovely Easter with your family and friends.

grace surrounds us

Olive

Country Church

A Country Church

 

 

 

I took these photos this weekend in the midst of visiting our family member who was suddenly in the hospital.

 I had little sleep and forgot to get the name of the church! It was Methodist I think. Our family member came home late Saturday night and all is getting back to normal now.

 This reminder of Easter is classic.

Red arched doors...love them.

Do you have a country church you love? Have you photographed it?

grace surrounds us

Olive

~little church~

On one of my now not so daily walks I was delighted to discover this little church by the side of a gravel road. It is a scale model made by the father of the man who owns the house in the background. I am told he places it by the gravel road every Christmas and hangs a star above it. The star is barely detectable in two of the photos. I love small country churches and photograph them all the time.
Edited: Some of my readers this morning and CC's grandmother did not realise this was a tiny church. Tiny as in doll house size. Perhaps 18 to 24 inches tall. Olive does not wish to confuse.

 I went kind of crazytown in Picnik today. That is the only snow we will see. For my friends in the Great Britain I know you are covered with snow and are having travel issues for the holiday. I do wish you safe travels and pray for your safety.

I am linking with A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.

grace surrounds us

Olive

Photo Challenge: Architectural Element

It should not be a secret to anyone reading this blog that I adore arched windows.

I visit little Southern towns and look for churches with great windows.

This grey stone church is in Edgefield, South Carolina.

It is a small Catholic Church facing a much used state highway.

The arched windows have no stained glass but have a lovely shape.

I like the somewhat severe look of this grey stone structure and the shape of the building.

We do not build buildings like this any more.

You can see other churches with arches I have taken photos of  here and here.

I will be visiting this town again as it is noteworthy for many things but one of them is turkeys.

I am linking with the multi-talented Chania from Razmataz.

grace surrounds us

Olive