Gettysburg Battlefield at Sunset

The day after Thanksgiving included a freezing cold adventure at Gettysburg Battlefield.  It was beautiful and sobering.  Every time I've driven throughout the battlefield, it saddens me to think of the lives lost.  The Mason Dixon line is not such a sharp divide.  In my own family, I have relatives that live on either side of the Mason Dixon.  We tease my mom because she's a Southern who married a Yank.  Yet my parents grew up not more than three hours apart.  There must have been situations like that at Gettysburg.  Had they lived during that time, my uncles could have fought against my father.  Men fought each other who could have perhaps been family in other times.  If a few hundred years can change that perspective, shouldn't we give more careful consideration to who we fight today?  

Day 29 - A picture of you when you were little.

Me and a cat (Blackie? Shadow? Some original name such as that!)  

I'm perhaps four years old in this photo :) Not really sure!

Day 27 - A picture of something you love.

Patches (crawling over my sister)

Mischief 

Green

I appreciate caring for our bodies and for the environment.  I think that "going green" is not a new concept.  It's biblical!  God ordained that we care for the earth in the first chapter of Genesis!  This morning, I took a new step into Genesis.

 "Then God said, I give you every seed bearing plan on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.  They will be yours for food."  Genesis 1:29

I made my first green smoothie today.

My ingredients were as follows: a little bit of vanilla yogurt, spinach leaves, arugula leaves, a pear, grapes, (I skipped the banana in the end), wheatgrass, peaches and a few raspberries.  

The infamous wheatgrass!  It looks like...well, grass.  

I chopped what needed to be chopped and threw everything together in a blender. I added a bit of water to make it a little more smooth.  

The end result...I wasn't sure how it would taste at this point!  

And...voila!  Actually, it tasted really good!  I took it to the office to get opinions.  Pam and Andrea agreed that it was good, Leah wasn't sure, and Brandon thought it just tasted like grass.  He said he doesn't like to mix his veggies and fruits.  :)  Well, I liked it!  

Day 22 - A picture of what makes you different from everyone else.

Look closely at my earlobe.  It was shaped like that when I was born.  

Day 21 - A picture of something that makes you happy.

One picture? Only?  I feel like this should be a list.  :)  Today, top of the list is 

1. FRIENDS (and all of my loved ones!)  I just got home from morning spent with friends.  A bunch of us girls used to work together and have gone our various ways now.  Julie was back in the area and brought us all together at Juice&Java for a great few hours of catching up.  All too brief, but a lot of fun!

2. sunsets

3. puppies curled up next to me

4. fall leaves

5. coffee, COFFEE, and coffee

6. green smoothies!  (I'm hooked)

7. travel

8. photography

9. movies :)

10. learning to drive a stick shift :) (sometimes it makes me happy, sometimes it makes me angry!)

11.  So many things....I could keep going...but for now, I'm headed to another that makes me happy.... used BOOKSTORES :D

Day 20 - A picture of something that calms you down.

Animals are soothing company.  I love dogs and horses in particular, although at the moment, I'm around dogs much more frequently than horses.  They don't ask questions.  Communicating to an animal is simple and complicated concepts don't need to be explained.  They love.  They trust.  I'm thankful that my parents allowed my sister and I to have pets throughout our childhood.  We were also blessed beyond measure by taking horseback riding lessons, starting when I was about seven.  I have rarely ridden since college, but I have so many good memories of the stillness that comes from working with a horse.  As for dogs, we've always had Jack Russell Terriers, small dogs.  I love having a puppy hop onto my lap and just curl up to sleep while I read or watch TV.

My sweet Mischief :)

A friend's horse

My pup loves to be under blankets :)

Patches after a walk :)

Fall or Autumn, whatever you call it, is beautiful!

I know I've been posting more photos than writing, but it has just been so beautiful!  I hope you all aren't bored :)

Day 19 - A picture of home.

I'm blessed to have many places to call home and confused enough to never know which is really "home."  I've actually been giving home a lot of though lately.  Home seems to be a physical location for many people.  For me, there are too many locations to choose.  Here a few options.

This was one of my homes in London.  I rented a room, sharing this house with two others singles.  I've since moved further into London.

My current address in the USA with extended family

My second home in Southern Africa

My childhood home in the USA

My first home in Southern Africa

I used to think "home" was my family.  That definitely ties into my sense of home, but even that has it's challenges.  My parents live in Southern Africa, my sister and other relatives live in North America, and I'm living in Europe.  If home depends upon my family, then I'm very rarely at home.

I still struggle with the concept of home, but I'm learning to find my home in God.  It doesn't always come easily to me but Psalm 91:1 teaches: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."  Generally, we rest when we are at home. I believe when I rest in the shadow of the Almighty, I'm at home with God.

Day 18 - A picture of Plans/dreams/goals you have.

Travel is a dream of mine that has been partially fulfilled but I keep dreaming!  

I enjoy learning bits and pieces of other languages, but so far, English is the only language I speak fluently.  I'd like to change that!  I've found that I learn language very quickly when using it every day.  Hopefully someday I can combine travel with language study and be forced to learn another language fluently!  

Day 17 - A picture of something weird/different you do on a regular basis.

It's not very popular in the USA yet, but I love getting my eyebrows threaded (rather than waxing).  I first learned about threading from a good friend from India.  My one friend F, a sweet Iranian lady, does this for me when I'm in London.  It hurts a bit, but the results are great!

Day 16 - A picture of a hobby you once had.

Matopos Hills

As a child, I LOVED to go climbing every place possible.  Rocks such as these were spots that shaped my childhood imaginations!

Day 15 - A picture of a movie you can watch over and over again.

Love it :)

Day 14 - A picture of someone you admire.

Taken March 2008

My Momma and I on my birthday

She has a faith in God that I truly admire.  

She has patience with her headstrong family and a deep love for everyone.  

She is the type of person one can just relax with and feel at peace.  

She's an amazing woman!  

I'm so blessed to have been raised by her!

Love you, Mom :)

Salve Regina University

As I mentioned earlier, I was in New England visiting friends this weekend.  One of my friends is doing his MBA at Salve Regina and we met up in the town of Newport, RI.  We had a lovely day walking around the town and seeing the school.  I definitely noticed the English part of New England!  We fortunately had a gorgeous day for exploring Newport.

 

Day 13 - A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel.

Istanbul.  The places I'd love to travel are numerous, but Istanbul is a city I hope to visit in the next few years.