And The Word Of The Lord Came To Them…

How many times have we read those words in the Bible? Those pilgrims who walked before us discovered that His Word found them… wherever they were….sometimes whether they wanted to be found or not. Sometimes it was unexpected – a bush burning in the wilderness with a message that challenged its hearer beyond his perceived abilities. A soft voice in a wind giving essential direction. A message in a dream with a warning or news. And with the Lord’s own marvelously creative touch - once even from a donkey’s mouth!

Hebrews 4:12 - Indeed, the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

His Word has come to me too and it has proved the most valuable book that has ever graced my shelves or heart. Years of sacrifice, blood and tears from saints before us brought His Word in print so that I can read it on a quiet afternoon, or sleepless night or even every morning as I eat my breakfast. And I love to have those too little moments in His Word in the morning with cereal bowl in front of me. Years ago I went to a used bookstore and bought an American Standard Bible that had one wide column of text and notes in the margin. I wanted a Bible that I could underline, write in and one that was easy to read. This Bible has carried me through almost 30 years and has even been rebound once in a thick, dark red leather. I sat beside Pamela’s hospital bed with this Bible and clung to its pages for comfort. And over the years it has never let me down.

Psalm 119:114 - You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.

Last week was a hard week for me for some reason. I felt inexplicably sad and tired with the kind of fatigue that usually has less to do with exertion and more to do with emotion. I felt a sense of loneliness and an inability to appreciate the myriads of blessings in my life – blooming in every corner - whether snow is on the ground or a sharp wintry wind lashes the sugar maples in the back yard.

Psalm 119:28 - My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word.

Saturday morning I woke before either Uncle R. or our house-guest May-san. I think now that the Lord was just kind to me and gave them a few extra needed winks while I sat over coffee and read the Word. First I worked through the daily reading in the Year-Through-The-New-Testament plan that I made for myself to follow this year and then my aching heart found its way to the Psalms – a true and surely empathetic friend to the down of heart and weary of spirit.

Psalm 73:26 - My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

I read and soaked in the living balm that is His Word and began to feel that strength slowly refilling. I’ve felt it before – like cool, fresh water flowing into a hot, dry basin. And I realized that my loneliness was for Him. I think I had been so busy with other things, “urgent” things, distracting things – that reloading with the Word had fallen into the “when I can get the chance” slot over the past few weeks.

Psalm 107:9 - For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

Time with our Father – with our Abba – is critical. It reminds me of a Bible study that I went to years ago where our speaker described one of her trips to the beach. She took a raft, paddled out just a little ways and then calmly drifted, attention consumed by the soft ocean breezes and warm sun. She was jerked from her daydreaming by the voice of the lifeguard calling over his megaphone sounding as if from a great distance – “Do you have ANY idea JUST HOW FAR OUT you are?!?” She looked up in a panic and saw the shore and its tiny groups of people far, far away.

Eph 6:17 - Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

I know that I get like that. I wander into my own “important concerns” or entertainment distractions and forget to listen to what He has to say. How very, very thankful I am that He nudges and calls me back.

Psalm 119: 105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Love to my Pamela's Girls,

Auntie J.

My Talented Auntie J and Uncle R

I am always asking Cici to help me with new projects that I am continually creating. Each time I move, which tends to be annually, I am on overload with projects as I choose themes and decorations for the new house. Cici is always so good at being on the look out for items I need and sewing new curtains and pillows after we pick out material. During this move the house needs lots of sprucing up, so not only have I been asking for Cici's help, but I had to call on my faithful Aunt and Uncle for project assistance. I emailed Auntie J yesterday and asked her if they could take my color photos of Baby B and make them partially black and white so I can use them to decorate some very drab rooms. Uncle R worked on my project yesterday afternoon and this morning I was emailed these beautiful photos. I am so thrilled with how they turned out, that I couldn't wait to share them with the other Pamela's Girls. The only problem is that it is going to be very difficult for me to wait until Thursday before I go to Darlington, so I can see how the new photos will look framed in Baby B's new rubber ducky bathroom.

There is one funny part of this story that Auntie J doesn't know... When I emailed her my question, her response was, "I have emailed these photos to King Richard of Photoshop." When I read this I thought, "Who is King Richard of Photoshop?" I figured it must be the name of the tech person at Photoshop, kind of like the Geek Squad at Office Depot or something. I hated that they had gone to all that trouble, so I emailed Auntie J last night and told her that I just thought they might know how to do it and it wasn't a big deal. Her response was that Ric was working on them. It still took about 30 minutes for me to make the connection that King Richard of Photoshop was Uncle R, who is the King of Photoshop so it definitely made perfect sense. I guess I am a true blonde...ha, ha!

All that to say.... thank you so much to my very talented Auntie J and Uncle R... I love you!!!

~Mommy M

A VISIT WITH MAY-SAN

My college friend, K-shi-san, passed away from a heart attack just about a year and a half ago. We didn’t see each other very often but did keep up and touch base from time to time – mostly on each other’s birthdays. He lived fairly close to Uncle R. and me and was known to check in occasionally out of the blue and maybe even hire me to help him with one of his music projects. The last time he contracted me was to listen to a bluegrass/jazz album and transcribe the lyrics for him. He was producing the album and wanted to include the customary lyrics in the liner notes. K-shi-san’s business involved the varied endeavors of arranging tours for country musicians touring Japan, doing some translating work, buying and selling fine guitars and working on various musical projects for release in Japan.

Early in our friendship and not very long after college, K-shi-san’s sister, May-san, came to live with him for a period of time to work on her English. May-san was welcomed into our little group of friends and we all enjoyed her kind, gentle heart, warm smile and willingness to join our slightly eclectic mix.

This week May-San has come to town to wrap up some estate details for her brother and we have been glad to reconnect and spend some time together. The years have passed but she is still lovely and sweet. It is amazing to think that her first visit and year’s stay in Nashville was almost 29 years ago.

It is supremely sad that the purpose for her visit this week is burdened with the task of dealing with the last of her brother’s possessions left in a storage room. I’d much have preferred that she just come to visit for a vacation and for fun. Maybe next time!

Happy Weekend to Pamela’s Girls!!!

Love,
Auntie J.

Long Weekend in My City By the Bay

My long weekend in San Francisco was great. Went to the Exploratorium and took silly photos, Top of the Mark for Valentine's day, some walks and one picture I posed just for Pamela's Girls. Can you tell which one it is? ;-)
Love,
San Fran S

Valentine's Memories

This week, SS had a Petroleum Marketing Meeting in Beaufort, SC, where we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast, the Rhett House Inn. It was very nice and featured a large Southern breakfast each morning; coffee, tea, and homemade cookies left out in the afternoon; and a homemade dessert in the evening. Each room was beautifully and comfortably furnished, and I had so much fun reading while SS attended meetings in the morning and afternoon.

While we were on the way down there February 10, we remembered that it was that day in 1969 when we had crossed paths again, a year and a half after graduating from high school. I was studying one Monday evening when my good friend Susan called and wanted me to ride with her to K-Mart. I really didn't want to go, but she wanted someone to ride with so I agreed to go. On the way back she wanted to stop by Edisto, an ice cream store. I really didn't want to do that either, always on a diet, but she twisted my arm. When I got out of the car, I heard someone say "Hey, Carol," and looked and there was SS waiting in the "Sid-mobile" for Papa S to come out with some ice cream for their family. Although we had known each other to speak to in high school, we had never actually had a conversation before, and didn't that night either. When SS moved to Columbia with his family as a junior in high school, he was very popular with all the girls - and went out with a lot of them. I heard through the grapevine that he didn't smoke or drink - VERY unusual for that time - and he would not let other guys cuss or use bad language in front of girls - completely unheard of! So I found him very intriguing, but never had an opportunity to talk with him.

On the Wednesday night after that, SS called and said he was supposed to speak at a Valentine's banquet on Saturday with Jody and wondered if I would go with him. I knew he was a ventroloquist, because I had seen him at the mall once when looking for a new sportscoat for Jody, where he was surrounded by onlookers. I was thrilled and of course accepted at once! I had a pretty ruffly white blouse and went out and bought some red satin material and whipped up a little jumper with a wide waist band, gathered short skirt, and straps that crossed in the back. It was snowing that night, which made everything seem even more special, and we had a wonderful time - the first of many to come.

Romans 8:28 says "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose", and I have always marvelled and been thankful that the Lord brought us together at that place and at that time. What a wonderful 41 years we have had together and how thankful we are for our daughters and now a beautiful grandson that came from that fateful meeting at an ice cream store. Although we don't have any pictures from that night, I have a picture from that year with that blouse I loved and pictures of SS with Jody.

Wishing that all my Pamela's girls will have a wonderful Valentine's Day, spent with those you love!!

Hugs and Kisses from CiCi!!

( a 1945 Valentine card sent by Pamela )

HAPPY VALENTINES WEEKEND!

TO THE LOVELY PAMELA'S GIRLS

With Lots of Love,

Auntie J. & Uncle R.

The Corner House

It has been interesting to work in the particular area that I do here in Nashville. We are not on the main Music Row boulevards, but are tucked away on a small street near the Vanderbilt campus and numerous little restaurants and coffee shops.

My original office windows looked out onto a small back street rarely used except for a shortcut to somewhere else or randomly used by tenants from an old apartment building across the street from our back door. My current office has a less changing and open view, but that’s ok. I’m still thankful every day for my wonderful job!

When my office took in the view of the quiet street behind us, I felt that I came to recognize some of the neighbors of the area - an old man in a beret pushing along a cart with his grocery bags, a young homeless man living in the back of his car and an elderly lady who occasionally sat out on the side steps of her house watching the world go by.

I would love to know their stories, but perhaps the sweet-faced, white-haired woman especially. Her house is somewhat neglected and crumbling these days, but if you look closely you will see the showplace that it must have been when it was built. There are graceful details, intricate embellishments… all the things that are sadly lacking in so many houses of today where every corner is cut by builders.

I was intrigued with these various people that I saw every day and wrote several poems about them. I thought I’d share one with you…

Try not to laugh at my poor attempts at poetry, Pamela’s Girls!

Love you!
Auntie J.

The Corner House

We drove up
and it was all new –
my dress, your suit,
our house,
our love.

We laughed at our sheer and perfect luck.

It was neat red brick -
high-gabled,
dormers looking down
onto quiet, rustling tree boughs
and scalloped woodwork
bright with fresh paint.

I walked into the kitchen
and when I looked at the gleaming, bare floor
and walls,
the new white stove
and the round-topped little refrigerator
with it’s shining, frigid shelves –
all I could see
was the table we’d have
and it would be heaped with food,
and the faces around it
would be varying smaller shades
of you
and me.

A week into the house,
you pulled up in that new car.
And I squealed with surprise
and hugged your neck.
We drove around the block
and down the street -
and didn’t come back
until after midnight
and kisses and hamburgers
under the starry skies
at Centennial Park.

I couldn’t decide between
daffodils and tulips for the front walk
and so I planted both.
And the second spring
they made me giddy
with a hundred glancing tints
of red and yellow.

We had 20 perfect winters and falls -
cozy inside,
with you and me
alone.
But it was always
Enough -
and more -
it was plentiful.

But there came a summer
when the blooming stopped.
And you were silent and still.

I stood alone
in the front hall
after the service
and the quiet pounded
on my eardrums.
It clattered across the tree-canopied back yard
and as I locked the gate
behind that mellowed & weathered black car,
I knew that purring old engine
would never feel the touch
of a key again.

They offer me laughable sums now.
But I refuse.
Both for the house
And car now overgrown with vines
and bricked in by lanky trees-of-heaven.
It will never move again.
And neither will I.

I will wait.

Occasionally stepping outside
to let the wind sift through my hair,
now white and thin.
I smell the tulips
and the daffodils.
And they call to me to embrace them.
It’s hard to reach them beside the front walk,
but I am happy
to know they are there
and to smell their presence.

Yes, within this corner house -
I have been -
and am -
happy.
Full and complete.
And I smile
into the sunshine
as it passes over.

Trip to Los Angeles

Me and one of my best friends, Felipe, who drove me and Bing around the whole time pretty much. He was born and raised in L.A. so it was nice having a local showing us the inside spots.

My hand size compared to our Governor's, Arnold.

Camera crews were taking pictures of this model dude in the pool and it was only 60 degrees. I couldn't get him in the shot because we weren't suppose to take pictures. I sneaked this one!

Hollywood sign.

Me and Bing's first time going to L.A. together and it was so much fun!

Shopping on Melrose and taking cheesy tourist photos!

I had a great time visiting L.A. last weekend. I'm looking forward to planning a trip in June when it's warm enough to lay by the pool and the beach.

Love,
SanFran S

Baby B's Latest News

Since Cici and I decided on giraffe's for Baby B's new theme, I have been working to change his room around, so when we move, his room decorations will already be ready. I am attaching photos of his new room decor. I think he's going to like it since he LOVES his giraffe lovey.

Baby B has also become quite the little reader is the last few weeks. He would rather look at the pictures in his books than play with his toys. He'll sit for 30 minutes to an hour at a time flipping through all of his board books while gabbering as if reading. It is adorable! His newest routine has been pulling books out of his book basket into his crib after I put him down and reading until about 10:00pm. I thought this was a good little routine for him until I heard him gabbering on the monitor at 4:30am Sunday night. He read his books until 6:00 in the morning. I'm so happy he is going to be a reader like Daddy L, Cici and Aunt J, but I do hope we can work out a better reading schedule:)

Baby B is taking a lot of steps now... He took about 8 this morning before falling to his knees. I'm hoping to get a video soon, but until then I've attached a photo.

Love to my Pamela's Girls!

~Mommy M

Miss Pearl's Rocker

This Christmas, we brought Miss Pearl's rocker out from retirement so that Baby could sit in it while reading or watching his favorite cartoon - MICKEY! I wanted to share its history with Pamela's girls.

While growing up, I had 2 Godmothers. Both were Christian, Godly single ladies who never had children of their own but were very special to my parents, and thus to me. On my daddy's side, there was Cousin Elsie(MacDaniel) who was Grandmommy Edith's first cousin and lifelong best friend. She lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey and would try to come for a visit at least once every year or two.

The other was Miss Pearl (Gideon) who lived next door to Pamela when she was growing up in Anderson, and was very much loved and adored by both Pamela and Mommas. Born August 5, 1885, she died at age 89 on December 18, 1974. I don't know when she gave me this little rocking chair, but it was so prized and cherished, that I don't remember ever actually sitting in it, for fear of breaking it(I was on the "chubby" side).

Pamela and Mommas loved to take us to Anderson to visit with Miss Pearl and all the family members there, and we have these pictures of a visit they made to us in Columbia in May 1960.

Miss Pearl is the lady with the dark hair on the left, Miss Clara Gates ( who Miss Pearl paid to stay with her and help with housework), a sister of Poppas(Ida or Nellie?), and Mommas with two of her famous poses - hand behind the head and wrist held out. Of course, we recognize Auntie J in one of the pictures as well.

This little chair is truly a family heirloom, but I want it to be used and enjoyed by our little Baby B.

Wishing all of Pamela's girls a wonderful weekend!!

Love from CiCi

Friends At Last

It has taken a year, but Baby B and Barkley are friends at last (at least as long as food is involved).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBuLXS3_NQE

Happy Friday Pamela's Girls!
Love,
~Mommy M

MOMMAS’ CORNBREAD RECIPE

Last Thursday, January 28th, Nashville was virtually quivering in the media rush of an oncoming “winter storm” predicting anywhere from 4-10” of snow followed by ice in the middle Tennessee area. The weathercasters showed the ominous road closings of Oklahoma, issued grave reports of trees laden with ice to follow a massive snowfall and followed up with a happy Kroger’s ad featuring a sale on milk and bread. Well, OK, I made the Kroger’s thing up, but you would have thought that they had with the stampede that thundered through the isles immediately after work on Thursday afternoon… or so I was told….

I wasn’t at the store at that point, but was comfortably seated at my hairdressers having my scalp massaged and hair trimmed… among other vital hair maintenance … but Southern women aren’t really supposed to talk about having their hair highlighted, are they?

Anyway, by the time I showed up at the grocery store (since I am admittedly the WORST at wanting to run there at the first hint of snow with panicked thoughts about whether we have the essentials… like brownie mix…) lots of items were out of stock and some shelves picked clean. When I had asked Uncle R. what “snow foods” he might want me to cook - should we be snowbound - he mentioned homemade soup… maybe his mom’s delicious hamburger soup. In the store I was amazed to see that there were only a few packs of ground beef remaining in the enormous Kroger meat section…. So I grabbed one.

Now it’s time for a sad confession. After I lugged all that food home, I realized that we were almost out of milk and butter, so I went out again! It’s nuts, but there is something so delicious about the thought of cooking up goodies with snow blustering around outside that made extra effort worthwhile.

Friday morning there wasn’t much happening weather-wise while I was dressing for work and so I headed out. Halfway to the office I received a call from office mate Tam-lou saying the office was closed – thanks to our kind and bounteous head of office. I was seriously relieved. The thought of picking my tentative way home along miles of snow clad Nashville highways with the most feared of all nature’s dangerous & unpredictable beasts (Nashville drivers) was not a happy one.

As soon as I got home, Uncle R. expressed the hope that there might be soup for lunch, so I got busy. I made Mommas’ homemade vegetable soup and after that made Mama S.’s wonderful hamburger soup. These two soups were pretty much our diet for the weekend, and although Uncle R. wears out on soup pretty soon, I could eat it day after day. Saturday I decided to try Mommas’ cornbread recipe and thought I would list it here for the lovely Pamela’s Girls.

I still smile when I remember squeezing recipes out of Mommas. While she was cooking she never thought about whether it was a half of a teaspoon of salt or one fourth cup of cooking oil… she had baked cornbread for so many years that she just tossed it all in, knowing that it would turn out in its own Southern culinary perfection. I remember that extruding her habitual cooking talents into explanations of cups and spoons made her lean her elbows on the kitchen counter, grip her forehead and sigh deeply with the physical effort.

Mommas’ Corn Bread

1 egg
1 level cup milk
1 1/2 tspn baking powder
1 tspn sugar
1/2 tspn salt
1/4 cup cooking oil
2 cups cornmeal (use coffee cup)
1/2 cup flour ( use coffee cup)

Mix egg and milk
Add other ingredients
Mix well until ingredients well blended
Put in greased cake pan in 350 oven and cook until golden brown (30 - 40min?)

With love and hugs,

Auntie J.

Big News!!!

We have made a housing decision... We are going to rent a house in Oakdale on the street directly behind Cici and SS. You can see Cici and SS's backyard from the backyard of this house. We will rent this house for a year until we can hopefully sell our house in Forest Acres and find the perfect house for us in Darlington. The bad news is that we'll have to move all over again in a year but the good news is that we will be living in a wonderful neighborhood in the meantime. It's weird because of lot of people who grew up in Oakdale when I did, have now moved back into the neighborhood with their families and now I've joined the list:)

More big news... Boyd is standing and walking (holding on) more and more these days. I really think he'll be a walker soon. He loves the cd that Aunt J gave him for Christmas. I've attached a video of him dancing and singing to the music. I wish it wasn't sideways...oops! He's still growing and changing every day and always giving me new reasons to smile:)

Have a good week Pamela's Girls!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N65lWSs2g7w

Love,

~Mommy M

hello! from San Francisco

I finally made it over to the Haight today and finally bought the "hola! bonjour!" shirt I saw years ago and just loved! This sign was outside the store and thought I'd use it to say hi to the Pamela's Girls! After shopping I ate at my favorite Vietnamese noodle shop.
But the initial reason I went to the famous Haight neighborhood was to get my nephew a tshirt. Awhile back I saw this fabulous tshirt designed by a local artist that lived down the street. Baby B was a little too small for it before, but now that he's a big 1 year old he can wear it! The image is shown below of what the tshirt looks like. It should fit him through the spring and summer!

Love from the West to the East,
SanFran S