Posts
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| Summer Colors |
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| Freedom Hedge Rose Baked in the Summer Sun |
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| Hydragea |
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| Over a hundred degrees in the Garden |
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| Black Eyed Susan |
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| Summer Garden in July |
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| Sometimes you just have to look up! |
May 20, 2012
Pretty Pictures from the Garden
Abigail and Dolley readers I love to dig in the dirt and enjoy documenting the years. Here are some favorites.
Me Beads!
My regular readers may notice that the meta-description of Abigail and Dolley has changed. I believe it more accurately reflects the evolution of this little slice of the internet. To celebrate the true liberation of this blog from a political forum to a life's journey, I give you BEADS! Family time, art, creativity, and jewelry - how can a girl go wrong?
The blog title comes from a cute family story. Mom first discovered beading as something she could do with her four year old Granddaughter. What she did not count on is that her two year old Granddaughter would feel a bit hurt and disenfranchised by Nanna's new hobby with her sister. She came up to Mom one afternoon and in a very hurt voice said, "Me Beads!" Needless to say, Nanna was heart broken and the next visit there were plenty of beads for all.
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| Beach Blue Collection |
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| Memory Wire Triple Strand Bracelet in Blue |
In typical Dolley style, I am enchanted and of course reading, researching, and learning as much as I can. One of my favorite resources is Off the Beaded Path; Kelly Dale is a brilliant designer and teacher. My other new fun thing has been Pinterest, which is full of all kinds of wonderful images and ideas. There are plenty of bead ideas and the possibilities are endless.
I have also discovered something; my personal style is really quite funky and a little off beat. Now don't get me wrong; I wear a French Manicure, have subtle highlights in my hair (no purple streaks), and there is not a dog collar in my jewelry repertoire - but I crinkle me nose at preppy and I am too voluptuous for elegant! Thus, creating my own bling opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
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| Funky Blue Bracelet - Mixed Beads on Memory Wire |
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| Beaded Ring - Design by Kelly Dale from Off the Beaded Path |
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Memory Wire Necklace, Bracelet, Ring, and Hoop Earrings - Beaded Earrings from a Bead Starter Kit
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May 17, 2012
Honor, Oh Honor Where Have You Gone?
Abigail and Dolley readers it has occurred to me recently that we are genuinely lacking in honor. Honor is no longer taught as a virtue or touted as a worthy attribute; only in the military cultures does it remain. Woe to us if that were to ever change. Our lack of honor and the loss thereof is clearly demonstrated in the character of the two men that will vie for the Presidency this year; neither has enough honor to fill a thimble.
We see the lack of honor in sports, from the pee-wee level to the professional arena, winning trumps honor at every turn. Cheating, spying, and dirty play are only thought evil if they are caught. The man who stands up for honor is shouted down, ridiculed, and despised. The coach who calls a foul is aggressively and openly challenged by the cheater, for the cheater feels it is his right to cheat if that is what it takes to win.
We see the lack of honor in our marriages through infidelity, pornography, neglect and abuse. It is present in men and women equally, we no longer condemn adulterers. We attend wedding celebrations of people who have left their spouses and their children for an adulterous relationship and wish the new couple well. The culture spits venom and bile at those who believe and vote for traditional definitions of marriage and you won't win a lot of friends pointing out the general lack of honor.
Children break the 5th Commandment everyday, there is no honor of Mother and Father. Many parents cry themselves to sleep at night fretting over their young adult children. Who despite their best efforts are morally reprehensible vermin with no sense of responsibility, work ethic, or respect.
In life, we do not have a choice where we are born or who we are born to. We have no choice in our natural beauty or intelligence. We do have a choice in what kind of people we will be, sadly most do not choose the honorable life.
The primary ways that honor has been taught in our society is through the father and the church. The father is gone and church attendance is at its lowest levels in American history. Alas, honor was one of the first to pack its bags and leave for a virtue, like our Lord, never stays where it is not wanted.
We see the lack of honor in sports, from the pee-wee level to the professional arena, winning trumps honor at every turn. Cheating, spying, and dirty play are only thought evil if they are caught. The man who stands up for honor is shouted down, ridiculed, and despised. The coach who calls a foul is aggressively and openly challenged by the cheater, for the cheater feels it is his right to cheat if that is what it takes to win.
We see the lack of honor in our marriages through infidelity, pornography, neglect and abuse. It is present in men and women equally, we no longer condemn adulterers. We attend wedding celebrations of people who have left their spouses and their children for an adulterous relationship and wish the new couple well. The culture spits venom and bile at those who believe and vote for traditional definitions of marriage and you won't win a lot of friends pointing out the general lack of honor.
Children break the 5th Commandment everyday, there is no honor of Mother and Father. Many parents cry themselves to sleep at night fretting over their young adult children. Who despite their best efforts are morally reprehensible vermin with no sense of responsibility, work ethic, or respect.
In life, we do not have a choice where we are born or who we are born to. We have no choice in our natural beauty or intelligence. We do have a choice in what kind of people we will be, sadly most do not choose the honorable life.
The primary ways that honor has been taught in our society is through the father and the church. The father is gone and church attendance is at its lowest levels in American history. Alas, honor was one of the first to pack its bags and leave for a virtue, like our Lord, never stays where it is not wanted.
May 4, 2012
American Tea Partier like the Highland Scot?
Abigail and Dolley readers while I have had to withdraw from politics for my own self preservation, I have to note the death of the Tea Party. With the withdrawal of Newt Gingrich from the Presidential race, we say good bye to the once mighty Tea Party. Granted, we are still here, but are defeated once again. Betrayed by the leaders we have elected and outspent by the mega rich, we are the Highland Scots of America. Much maligned, misunderstood - considered barbarians and the unwashed masses. Were we living in 18th century England, the world might watch in horror as we were slaughtered without quarter on the bloody field of Culloden Moor.
Ironically, much of the South, are direct descendants of those displaced Highland Scots. It seems it is in our blood to fight against an oppressive government and to loose. I am thoroughly demoralized by the victory of Willard "Mitt" Romney, a Lowland pretender if there ever was one. I think the word of the Lord to the Laodician Church sums up my feelings about Mitt Romney quite accurately:
15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
Even worse than Romney, who at least for this analogy is a Scot, a Lowlander, but still a Scot. We have Obama in Washington and he is truly equivalent to the (German) Hannover King - not American by birth or heritage, he was installed by the power brokers to keep control and was just as abhorrent to the 18th Century Highland Scots as Obama is to us conservatives in the 21st Century.
If you know your Highland Scot history, (which being a Romance Novel junkie, I do), you may know that while the defeat in 1715 and 1745 were devastating, it was the subsequent years that were the final blow to the Highland Scots. Their leaders were stripped of power, their way of life destroyed, they were displaced and deported. It is estimated that only 10% of the inhabitants of the Highlands today are actually of Highland blood descent. They were wiped out.
Only the Lord knows what the future holds for us modern day Highlanders aka Tea Partiers but from where I am sitting folks, we are in deep shit.
Ironically, much of the South, are direct descendants of those displaced Highland Scots. It seems it is in our blood to fight against an oppressive government and to loose. I am thoroughly demoralized by the victory of Willard "Mitt" Romney, a Lowland pretender if there ever was one. I think the word of the Lord to the Laodician Church sums up my feelings about Mitt Romney quite accurately:
15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
Even worse than Romney, who at least for this analogy is a Scot, a Lowlander, but still a Scot. We have Obama in Washington and he is truly equivalent to the (German) Hannover King - not American by birth or heritage, he was installed by the power brokers to keep control and was just as abhorrent to the 18th Century Highland Scots as Obama is to us conservatives in the 21st Century.
If you know your Highland Scot history, (which being a Romance Novel junkie, I do), you may know that while the defeat in 1715 and 1745 were devastating, it was the subsequent years that were the final blow to the Highland Scots. Their leaders were stripped of power, their way of life destroyed, they were displaced and deported. It is estimated that only 10% of the inhabitants of the Highlands today are actually of Highland blood descent. They were wiped out.
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