Confederate Memorial Day

Today is Confederate Memorial Day in the state of Georgia so I thought I would share some photos of a beautiful little cemetery I stumbled upon last weekend. While Chris was working, I loaded up the car and spent the morning at the new house. As I was headed back late that afternoon I decided I would stop at a gorgeous old cemetery on an old road in Cassville - just outside of Cartersville. 

Here's a random fact about me: I absolutely adore cemeteries. Y'all might think that is creepy but let me explain - One of my favorite ways to spend a beautiful afternoon is to explore an old cemetery while working on my family's genealogy. I've been working on one branch for the past five years and recently started working on another with a new found group of family-friends. It seems like I have been to every cemetery in Rabun County! My dad and I have visited too many to count and those are memories with him I will always cherish. 

One of my favorite classes I took at UGA was an upper level History course called Material Culture. My Dad and Sister get the biggest kick out of this because we all refer to it as the time I took that "Stuff Class." As you know, I'm a self-proclaimed hoarder! This class was literally a history for hoarders! We learned how particular items tell about a culture. It was something I had never thought about before and it only made my hoarding tendencies worse! We studied items from Colonial America to the present. Everything from Daguerrotypes to corsets to canned food. It was one of the hardest classes I took at UGA but I loved every second and made an A that I was so proud of! 

Anyway, in that class we discussed the history of cemeteries and even took "field trips" to some local Athens cemeteries. What I learned was that cemeteries were created as the first public spaces. There were very few public places in cities so cemeteries were a place people could visit, relax, and enjoy time with their family; a public park space if you will. They were meant to be a place of celebration and reverence, not sadness and depression. Doesn't that sound so much more pleasant? That's how I like to envision cemeteries and that's how my Dad and I always viewed them. 

One particular style of cemetery is the "Rural Cemetery," and no this doesn't mean out in the middle of no where! It is typically built upon a hill with varied terraces and beautiful views. There are usually walls that encompass the cemetery and meandering paths throughout. These are the cemeteries I am most attracted to - they are so much more beautiful that the cemeteries we have today. That's the type of cemetery I stumbled upon last weekend. Here are some photos I took on my iPhone. I definitely want to take my camera back to get some better ones.

There are about 300 Confederate graves in this cemetery. The vast majority of them are unknown soldiers that were wounded and hospitalized in one of several Confederate hospitals in Cassville. The town was burned when Sherman marched to Atlanta and was never rebuilt. The day I stopped it was cool and windy. I parked my car and walked to the top of the hill and just listened. I got chill bumps on my arms and almost teared up - not that unusual for me. I can never express my gratitude for these men and every other man and woman that has ever served our country, no matter how big or how small. I plan to be a regular visitor to this beautiful cemetery to pay my respects. I encourage you to stop at an old cemetery off the beaten path sometime. Sit. Listen. Learn. Be still. Be thankful. 

No Pet Store Puppies!

I'll be the first to tell you that I hate those darn ASPCA commercials as much as anyone! We all act like fools to get to the remote and change the channel while screeching over those awfully depressing songs. That's because I love animals and still can't understand why others don't want all animals to have the best chance possible at a healthy, happy, life! It is something I think about all day, every day. The older I get, the more I feel the need be an advocate for all the sweet animals that can't talk for themselves.

Now, do I do everything humanly possible to be an animal advocate? No, not even close. But, I'm always looking for ways I can help and every little bit helps! Here's one thing YOU can do! Never shop from a store that sells puppies (or kittens for that matter)! That's easy enough, right? Stores that have adoptable animals are a Godsend! Adoption is absolutely okay - but be sure you know the difference! The vast majority of puppies for sale in pet stores come from puppy mills and I know no one wants to encourage that, right? Check out what Brownie has to say and think before you shop!

Click HERE to check out where you should and shouldn't buy things for your furry friend!

Our House: Before

We are still in the process of moving into the house. We are taking it slow and won't be fully moved in for another few weeks. It's amazing how it already feels like our own! Every time we are there I just look around in disbelief! It's hard to believe it's really ours. It hasn't totally sunk in yet! Maybe once my beloved plate rack is on the wall it will feel like home. (That one was for you, Hal!)

I thought I'd post a few photos of the house "before" we move all of our things in. We aren't doing much in the way of renovation, but there are a few changes we are planning on making. I'll post about them as they happen. I always like to see what people do to their home to make it their own so I thought I'd do the same! These were mostly taken the first time we went to see the house. It's so crazy that was three months ago! Time is flying by and I cannot wait until summer, y'all!

The grass is getting green now and it's so much more cheerful!

Dining Room - I'd love to paint it but everyone else loves this color so I guess it will stay for now

Open living area and loft upstairs - hopefully will be a library/reading area

Kitchen -  We have already painted and it looks so much better with some contrast!

View from living room into breakfast nook

Love these windows - they make the kitchen so bright!

Laundry - haven't got our washer and dryer yet. Can't wait to update the storage in here

Master - love the gray, hate the blinds!

Master bath

Still trying to figure out what to do over the fireplace

Upstairs loft

Upstairs bath

This will be the dedicated guest room - the other guest room will be a work in progress 

This will be the office/craft/school stuff room - basically my catch all room

The back yard needs some work but there are some beautiful flowers already

Looking off the patio - notice Chris scoping it out!

Nothing better

I can't wait to share some new things with y'all! We are loving it so much already!

Paws for a Cause

Paws for a Cause

A couple of weekends ago my mom, sister, and I went to an event to raise money for our local animal shelter. To say that I come from a family full of extreme animal lovers is an understatement. My mom and her sisters have been known to pick up every stray animal from here to Timbuktu - this includes my cousin once darting out into traffic to save a chicken who had fallen off a truck on the interstate! We all have way too many animals and have taken in more than our share in hopes of finding them a home (which usually just ends up being one of our own). We just can't turn down a pair of sad eyes and hungry little belly. 

If you know me at all, then it's no secret how I feel about breeding or buying animals. I do not agree with either and make no bones about it. I know I'm in the minority with this, but I will stand by my convictions and would be glad to have a conversation with anyone about it any day! Seeing as we have a husky, I generally have no problem with the different breeds (other than certain ones that have been bred to a painful existence). My problem with breeding animals is that there are so so many homeless animals that are put to death in our country and around the world. Contrary to popular belief, this includes tons of purebred animals who were dumped. There is a broad spectrum of breeders,  from good to bad. I know that those who breed one or two litters in a lifetime are not on the same level as a puppy mill, but I still can't bring myself to buy an animal when there are so many dying every single day. I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

In a perfect world everyone would take good care of their pets and have them all spayed and neutered. I would love to see stricter legislation that mandated this and definitely more punishments for animal abuse. I hope this will become a reality in my lifetime, but until then I try to help and educate anyway that I can. I firmly believe that if given the facts, less people would support breeders by buying animals. If you are looking for a specific breed of dog, please talk to me! I promise I can find any breed you want from a rescue group or even a local animal shelter! That's how we got our beautiful boy.

I recently took an opportunity to share my feelings with a young couple at Paws for a Cause. They were there with a young husky and I knew immediately that they were not my kind of people. It's funny how sometimes you can tell a difference between a "breeder" (I use that term loosely) and a rescuer by the way they treat their animals. After we had told them about rescuing Jasper from the animal shelter they still had the audacity to say they were hoping he wasn't neutered because they were looking for a male husky to breed with their female. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. I let them know in no uncertain terms that I didn't condone breeding and they were done talking to me at that point. Too bad, so sad!

There is no greater joy than rescuing an animal that may not have had a home or a life otherwise. It's something I am so passionate about and want other people to be passionate about too. I encourage you to do the research and see for yourself. Check out your local animal shelter, google rescue groups, and look online at sites like Petfinder. If you still feel like it's okay to buy from a breeder, check them out extensively first. And never, ever, buy a puppy from a pet store! EVER.

"Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die!"

Baby Love

Got to see this sweet little snuggle on Friday night. I just love him!

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Baby Luke

My sister's best friend had her sweet baby boy in the wee hours of Wednesday, April 3rd. She's always been like a sister to me and a child to my mom so we three trekked down to welcome him into the world! We went down to Atlanta Monday night and stayed in a hotel near the hospital. We kind of jumped the gun but we were so excited we couldn't just stay home! That night was uneventful so we headed in on Tuesday morning in hopes that he would arrive soon. We stayed at the hospital all day and night and he finally came around 2:00AM Wednesday morning. Luke was born with a headful of hair and weighed in at 9lbs 2oz and was 22.5 inches long! Where his little mama was hiding him I don't know! Here are a few of my favorite photos:

Thank you, B, for letting us come and be a part of your day! It was so special to us!

Now that baby Luke is here I am counting down the days until the next baby is born! My cousin, Amanda, is expecting twin boys in September! And, my sweet friend, Jade, is having a little girl in August! I can't wait!