Oh Say Can You See?

It was on this date in 1814, that a young man named Francis Scott Key penned on the back of a letter the words that would eventually become our National Anthem. Most people don't realize that there is a second verse to this song.

Most people really don't realize that there are four verses to this song, and here they are:


O say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Busy

Bought the new Star Trek movie.

Currently swooning at the sound of this man's voice.

Sigh, why can't men sound like that in real life?

Never Forget

Never ever forget.

And this gives me hope for our country:



Close to a million bikers rode to D.C. to ride in remembrance of those who died, and to uphold the Constitution.

But it isn't just the bikers that gives me hope. It's all the thousands of people lining the streets cheering them on.

 It's the flags hanging from the overpasses.

It's the children waving, and the bikers waving back.

 It's because these people, not the government, are all of us.

They are America.

Chats On The Farmhouse Porch

I'm a little late with my chat today.  I've been working on my dress.  I'm almost to the point of *shudder* setting in the sleeves.  I got a little confused, because there was an error in the instructions. Nowhere in there did it say to sew the side seams on the bodice.  I read through several times just to make sure I hadn't missed it.  Nope, not there.

So I'm just winging that part.  I know they have to be done before I can set the sleeves, so that's what I've just got through doing.  And I decided to take a bit of a break before tackling the sleeves.  Anyway, grab a mug of whatever beverage you choose and join me for the chat. 




1.  Did you ever take piano lessons, as a child or adult? 

Yes, I took one year of piano lessons when I was in the 5th grade.   My mother would pick me up after school and take me to the teacher's house, then I would walk home after the lesson.  Small town.  We could do that.  Anyway, she would park out in front of the elementary school, and I'd see her car and get into it and go to the teacher's house.  But, when I got into 6th grade, and up into Jr. High, my mother would park in the back of the school.  I would walk out the front and go on home, because I kept forgetting which day my lessons were on.  I hadn't gotten into that routine yet.   For some reason, that made her so mad that after a month she cancelled my piano lessons, and I never took them again. 

2.  How many times do you eat out each month? 

 Maybe once.  I don't eat out very often at all.  I've got too much food in the house that I've already paid for.

3.  If you could snap you fingers and change on thing about your appearance, what would that be?  (Temporary or permanent) 

I would make my hair less frizzy and more soft and shiny.  And it would be permanent.   I get kind of tired of battling the frizz all the time.

4.   Do you like looking at art or photography? Do you go to any place that displays them? 

Yes, I do.  I went to the art museum down in Jackson last month.  I keep saying I'm going to go back to the one in Memphis soon, but once I get there, I always end up at the zoo instead.  

5.  Do you have new things for your fall/ winter wardrobe? 

Not as of yet.  If I ever get around to hemming that skirt, I will, but as a rule, I don't buy a lot of clothes.  

Thanks for joining me for this week's chat.  I'm tired of doing that movie challenge meme, so you aren't going to get any more of it, unless I need a cop out post. 

Now, back to the dreaded sleeves...

September Thirty Day Movie Challenge

I stayed up late last night to watch the ball game.

HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS!!!

So you don't get much of a post today. My brain is tired.  I'm just going to cop out and give you another movie post.

Day 09 - A movie that you know practically the whole script of


Well, there isn't really one that I know practically the whole script of any more.  When I was a teenager, though, my younger brother got Star Wars on vidotape (Beta-- that's how long ago it was) for Christmas one year.  He watched it so much that I had most of the script memorized. 

I used to drive him nuts by quoting the line half a second before the actor in the movie did.  Boy, he hated that! 

Now, there are several that I am very familiar with, but none that I can quote quite like that.  I just don't watch movies like I used to. 

I'm more into watching old TV shows on Netflix.  Doctor Who, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Star Trek and the like. 

So, that's it for today. 

I'm tuckered.

September Thirty Day Movie Challenge

Day 08 - A movie that makes you sad

I've got three I'm going to list, and let's see if you can pick out the common theme:

Just watch them, but let me give you a bit of advice.

Don't just have a tissue handy, or even a box of tissues.  I recommend you buy stock in the tissue company. 

September Thirty Day Movie Challenge

Day 07 - A movie that makes you happy

Hmmm, well, this could be any movie that I like, because watching a good movie does make me happy.  But for the sake of argument, I think I'm going to list 

Secretariat

Based on the true story of probably the greatest race horse that ever lived-- and from a life long Man-O-War fan, that's saying a lot.  

I watched Secretariat run when I was a kid.  I was only 8, so I didn't realize how close Penny Tweedy had come to losing him.  This movie filled in a lot of background, and I love how they quote the Bible in it.  

It's a very good movie.  It's clean, so you can watch it with your kids, though they may get bored with the financial/business aspects of it.  They'll enjoy watching the horses and the racing, though. 

Dear Married Man

I am very flattered by your attention to me, but here's the deal, if you really love me as much as you say you do, the first thing is...

Well, the first thing is, you shouldn't be loving me at all.  You should be loving your wife.  You did love her once, you know.  You loved her enough to marry her.  You loved her enough to commit the rest of your life to her.  She is still the same person you married, so you should be doing whatever it takes to make your marriage a strong and healthy one.  Yes, this may mean you have to change a few things.  It may mean that it's no longer all about you.  But this is what you need to do.

Secondly, if you really love me as much as you say you do, then you would treat me with dignity and respect.  If you really love me as much as you say you do, then you would care about my reputation, my honor, and my integrity. 

If you really love me as much as you say you do, then you wouldn't be trying to make me the ho. 

That's not love.  That's selfishness.

So, go home to your wife and work things out.

Thank you.

That is all. 

September Thirty Day Movie Challenge

Day 06 - Your favorite comedy movie 

 The Terminal

Starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta Jones.

I love this movie.  Tom Hanks plays a man named Victor Navorski from the fictional country of Krakosia.  He flies to New York on a sight seeing trip, and while he is in the air, there is a coup in his home country.  Because of this, he is stuck living in the airport for nearly a year while things are worked out. 

During this year, he learns English, makes friends, falls in love, and reveals a deeper -- touching-- reason for his trip to America. 

All I can say is, watch it.

In fact, I think I will.

Now. 

Laters.

September Thirty Day Movie Challenge

Well, it's only day 5, and I'm getting tired of this one already. Since I'll be watching football for the next four days, and since my internet is frustratingly spotty, I'll give you a couple more days before I sign off on it completely. But I don't expect to last the whole month. Be that as it may, here we go...

Day 05 - Your favorite drama movie

A Beautiful Mind

Starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, and a whole host of other well known actors, A Beautiful Mind is based on the true story of Dr. John Nash, a mathematical genius,  his descent into schizophrenia and subsequent climb out of it.

I love this movie.  Maybe it's because of my interest in psychology. Maybe it's because it is so well acted.  The movie draws you in, and kind of gives you an idea of what life is like for a schizophrenic.  As you get to the end of the movie, you discover that...well, I won't spoil it for you if you've never seen it.  I'll just let the psychiatrist explain:

Dr. Rosen: Imagine if you suddenly learned that the people, the places, the moments most important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse, had never been. What kind of hell would that be? 

Just watch it.  At the end, like me, you will just say "wow".  

September Thirty Day Movie Challenge

Day 04 - Your favorite horror movie


This is a tough one, because I'm not really into horror movies.  I saw one of the Friday The 13th movies, and thought it was the most idiotic thing I'd ever seen.

So, I guess for this category, I'll have to go with that good old classic Jaws.

I'd had a thing for sharks for a while, and for my 11th birthday, my mother took me to see this movie.

It was the highest grossing movie of it's time, and kept the record for several years.  And of course, it gave birth to one of the best movie lines ever, uttered by the police chief Martin Brody:

You're going to need a bigger boat.

Adventures!

But not really the kind you want to have.

A couple of weeks ago, I came out of church to a note on my Jimmy telling me that one of my tires was low.  I called James --because I know he has an air compressor-- and he came over and aired it up.

Yesterday when I got to work-- and more about that in a minute-- one of my coworkers told me that my tire was low again.  After work I checked it, and sure enough, it was nearly flat. 

I went to Beverly and James' house, but he had just laid down to go back to sleep because he's working nights this week.  So I went to the gas station on the corner to air it up, then on in to Wal-Mart to get it fixed. 

As soon as I pulled up and saw how many cars were there, I knew it would be a long wait.  But it couldn't be helped.  I had to get the tire fixed. 

It was after 6 when I got home.  Tired, but the good news is, I got out of there without spending $100.  The bad news is, by the time I got home and settled in to watch the last few episodes of Grey's Anatomy, my internet kept dropping out.

So, I couldn't blog yesterday.  I'm going to do the Chat and the movie thing, and just retrodate them.  When you've got finished reading this one, do go back and check them out.  They'll be up in a bit. 

Anyway, It's finally fall!  I don't care what the calendar says.  I don't care what the thermometer says.  Candy Corn is out.

And that means Fall.

While wandering around Wal-mart for two hours, I found this cute little Rattletrap with hearts on it.

It would be just perfect for someone's sweetheart, don't you think?  And I bought a new tacklebox.

My old one was full, and I had fishing lures scattered all over my kitchen.  Now they are all safely tucked away in here. 

OK, I've got three more posts to catch up on, hopefully before my internet drops again, like it did about halfway through this one. 

It's getting annoying.

Really.

September Thirty Day Movie Challenge

Day 03 - Your favorite action/adventure movie


This is a tough one.  I love the Indiana Jones movies.. well the first three anyway.  They should have stopped there.

I also love Top Gun, but I guess my favorite one has to be Air Force One. I just love everything about that movie.

I think I need to watch it again.  It makes me long for the days when we had a strong, capable leader in the White House. 

September Thirty Day Movie Challenge

I had planned on getting up and going fishing this morning.  Instead, I woke up to the sound of thunder driving rain.  So, I spent the day catching up on season 9 of Grey's Anatomy, which is finally on Netflix.  I'll be all ready for season 10 to start in a couple of weeks. 

Day 02 - The last movie you watched

The last movie I watched is an old one, but still a good one.  You've Got Mail, with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.  Free to stream with your Amazon Prime subscription.  It's not one of my favorites, but it is a cute movie and I enjoy watching it from time to time.

Guess what?  Today is your lucky day.  You get a two for one post.  I was reading some other blogs and found this meme.  I've seen it a couple of weeks now, but haven't really been interested in doing it.  Too many memes, you know.  However, I like the questions this week, so I think I'll answer them.

1. September is National Library Card month - when was the last time you checked a book out of the library?

Well, my library card expired in 2009, so I'd say it's been a while.  I have checked out books from the church library from time to time, but usually I just read what's already on my Kindle.  

2. What are you most looking forward to about autumn?

Everything.  I love autumn.  I love the cooler weather, the first frost, warm days and crisp nights.  I love the colors, the smells, the holidays, and football.  Oh, by the way, Glade has a new candle out this year --Fall Hayride-- that smells so good.  I've got to go get another one.  

3. Has the word Christmas entered your vocabulary yet?

Oh, yes.  I started thinking about Christmas months ago.  I even cast on an afghan that doesn't look like it's going to get finished in time now.  Well, maybe it can be for next year.  

4. Do you care that Football season is starting?  Who is your team?

Do I care?  Do I care?  I've been counting down the days since Super Bowl Sunday.  I spent all day long Saturday watching college football.  My teams are the LSU Tigers, the Texas Longhorns, Dallas Cowboys, and whoever Jacob Hester plays for.  

I'm going to opt out of adding a 5th question.  Instead I'll share with you one of my favorite songs honoring the working American.  

 

September Thirty Day Movie Challenge

I was browsing blogs today when I found a new blog challenge.   This one is about movies.  I'm not a real big movie watcher, but I thought I'd give this one a try.  Feel free to join in on the fun.

So, here we go...

Day 01 - Your favorite movie

It would have to be The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, which I count as one long movie broken into three parts.

Tolkien originally wrote the book as one long book, but the publishers split it into three volumes because the price of paper was so high right after WWII.  They were afraid printing it as one would make the volume so expensive that no one could afford to buy one.

Tolkien hated the idea, but went along with it, because he saw the wisdom of the publisher's decision.

Favorite Quotes:

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

"Become who you were born to be."  --Lord Elrond to Aragorn

"I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you."  Samwise Gamgee