The Adventures of Coon Hound Daddy and his Sidekick - Armuchee Bluegrass Festival

The REAL Coon Hound Daddy

When I first met Coon Hound Daddy back in 1973, I thought the banjo he played was so interesting. I had not run across banjos much as a child of two New England born and raised parents, and so I was intrigued, by both Coon Hound Daddy and his banjo.


As fate would have it, Coon Daddy proposed, I accepted and 42 years later I'm still listening to that banjo, less intrigued, but I'm making the best of it with my camera. He has added a few more instruments along the way so at least a variety....

Yesterday we took a drive to Armuchee, Georgia to a Bluegrass Festival that has been around for 20 some years. I did what I could with the camera to tell the story. I hope you enjoy the photos!

She was a great mandolin player!

So was he!

Okra blossom from field next to stage

Washtub John

                                     "Washtub John" -   in the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame

Washtub John

Why I like Garrison Keillor

I like Garrison Keillor. Yes, I do, and I always vote Republican. It's a contradiction, I know, but I did have a very liberal artist friend who always told me that I really was a Libertarian. It made him feel better to say that because he liked me.

And I like Garrison Keillor.

He is coming to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta on June 4th, 2016 with his Prairie Home Companion show.  I saw that show in Brevard, NC last year and I would spend twice the amount this year for the tickets at Fox. Why? Because Garrison Keillor is funny. And I need funny right about now, and I guess I needed it back last year in Brevard. The show was top notch in music, humor and entertainment.

I think he is also on the other side of 'so vain no one can stand you'. He took himself seriously with a grain of salt coming up as a writer, and I like that. As intelligent and serious as we want to be, there is always a time when your zipper is down, and I think he knows that.

Also, the liberal author, humorist, entertainer seems to have a soft spot for God - or at least hymns that point to God. How surprised and delighted I was to hear, a cappello - a voice in intermission rise up from the side of the seated area singing old hymns, and as it increased in strength, it was a thrill to see the liberal bard himself coming in from the sidelines singing and leading the audience in traditional old time hymns. I don't think he is much of a hypocrite, not any more than the rest of us, and so I think he may actually believe in at least some of what he sang.

Looking at my bedside table at The Keillor Reader, I remember fondly what I have read so far in this book, and in earlier ones - Lake Wobegon books where I laughed my way all the way through. And so, I like Garrison Keillor, even though he likes environmentalists and Democrats.  I think he is funny.

Prairie Home Companion

What Easter Means to Me

Pepere and Memere Chabot,  Pepere and Memere Bosse, and my Mom, Annette Chabot Bosse

Easter - He is risen!

...and I think about what His sacrifice means in my life, that the people I have loved and are gone are not gone forever. I remember when I gave my heart to God at age 16, I knew that I knew that I knew He was real. And although the years have found me in and out of close fellowship with Him and in and out of close fellowship with others, I know that I know that I know that life has purpose and it leads to an everlasting one, because of this very day.

Pearl and Terriell Price, my in laws


…2"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. JOHN 14:2-3

MAN ON THE CROSS - song

Trump not - Importance

It is March 4th, 2016, a day after a Republican Presidential nominee debate and a day after Mitt Romney came out against Donald Trump, and I am irritated, enough to write this. It's not so much about Mitt Romney, who lost the election he ran in with a milquetoast stance, nor is it about Donald Trump, who I do not like, but this blog post is about how these candidates and the news agencies that report their antics rob you of your life. They do!

First - I know no one reads my blog except a few friends I love and appreciate so much. But I have to say this! I voted for Ben Carson in the Georgia primaries. I believe in voting your conscience in the primaries, and I did. Now it's on to the finish line. I will decide who to vote for at the election and I will vote the best of the pick in my opinion. But there is a lot of time between now, March 4, 2016 and election day, November 6, 2016.

And so brothers and sisters who have families and love them and have jobs and work them and who go to church and serve there - what will you be doing between now and election day?? I say, forget it!
 Live your life. Love your family. Go to church, play your sports, take care of your elderly parents. Keep your eyes on your life and living it as you should - then when election time comes, vote.

Don't give the news stations your time, distracting you from your life. I'm listening to Fox News in the background as I write this as another family member listens and I know that the words coming from that broadcast are distracting the listener from their life and the only winner is the station that has the viewer captive.

So - whether you are a Democrat or a Republican - please consider this: Please read 2 Kings 23:1-25

I read this scripture this morning in my devotions. I was shocked - very shocked to find that after King Josiah did so much to do what was right when he came to rule, even so he died fairly quick, and at the hand of his enemy. It did not seem fair! I did not like reading that - and then I read the footnotes and this is where I want to ask readers to think about their lives in contrast to or in consideration of their current life and culture.

"Though Josiah was himself righteous (v.25), it was not enough to turn away God's wrath from the nation that had done such evil...."

I'm saying this - don't waste your life on the time between March and the election in November 2016, listening to media. Live your life as if an election was not in the future. Love your kids, your wife, your friends, your parents.  Work your job, play your sports. Worship in church and at home. Live your life and vote in November.

A Certain View of Savannah, Georgia

This past weekend, February 20, 21 - my husband and I went to Savannah to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Of course I took some of that time to shoot some photos - I hope you enjoy!

Bonadventure Cemetery - (link at bottom of page)

Do you see the face?

Confederate Grave

We drove out to Tybee Island -

And of course watched ships go by on the Savannah River

Until it was time to call it a night.

Link to Bonadventure Cemetery - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonaventure_Cemetery

Georgia - What I Like Best

I moved to Georgia from Florida in 2014. Traveled from the Florida Panhandle through Milton, Florida,  then up Interstate 65 to Montgomery Alabama to Interstate 85 into Metro Atlanta -  to I75 to I575 - to Woodstock, Georgia - and,  I never looked back.  I  love Georgia.

What do I like about Georgia? I love the seasons. Driving the same county road through the year and seeing the leaves coming out in spring and then the full green explosion on those same trees in summer is like a gallery opening every time!

In the fall the leaves begin their slow exit, and suddenly, after a day of full blown wind, you have barren limbs showing the same roads you have been driving all this time yet suddenly you see barns and pastures you never saw before. It's like living your same life with a daily surprise.

I like Georgia because they like their sports, and they celebrate that.

I like Georgia because their State Park system is excellent. Whether you camp, kayak, hike, like to camp in cabins or tents, fish - the State of Georgia has a wonderful state park organization. I even walked a portion of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. In my area, the biking trails are absolutely fabulous - well maintained and safe.

I like Georgia because they fly fish and I want to learn.

I like Georgia because they like their churches, and are not ashamed to attend every Sunday.

But most of all, I like Georgia because my children live here.

So anyway, this is my blog post today - appreciating Georgia and that I live here!

Georgia State Parks - LINK

Georgia Biking Trails - LINK

Georgia Scenic Driving - LINKS