Old Fart Fitness-Extended, Blog Version

. Fitness, Mental Fitness, Physical Fitness, Spiritual Fitness . , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I love exercising (LOW IMPACT), and I have all my life. My body wasn’t designed for sprinting, but years ago I discovered that walking was good for my fat. As a middle-aged, overweight adult, I discovered that I burned more calories especially if I was trying to lose weight… like for the 1000th time in my life … if I jogged.

=>Tangent: you wonderful friends who say my body is just fine, I SO MUCH appreciate that, but according to age, height, & body size crap, I’m 10 pounds overweight. I’m 145 yet I should weigh 135 … I digress <=

Since Sean and I moved to our house and property here in 2004, we’ve taken advantage of our fields to keep a periphery mowed for a jogging/walking track. It is awesome, and the whole route takes approximately 12 minutes to complete. However, we appreciate diverse surroundings. Weather permitting, Carter, Ammon, Sean, and I also walk as a family every day and in various, surrounding locations. We walk approximately an hour. HOWEVER, Walking doesn’t help me lose weight, and if I choose to indulge a bit, I gain weight while STILL walking an hour every day. So, poor ol’ Haven who destroyed his metabolism by abusing his body with crash diets over 35 years ago needs to jog to help burn extra calories. The best part is that I do enjoy jogging especially in nature. When I jog by myself, it’s an introspective treat. Jogging invigorates my body, mind, and spirit whether in the hills of Southeast Tennessee, on the beach in Daytona Beach, Florida, on sidewalks along the shores of the River Thames in London, England, or down the Medieval streets of Gdansk, Poland.

I recently started watching some YouTube videos for the mind and body. The soul is still filled with prayer and daily Bible study with God’s word…. Haven’t used YouTube for the soul any. A mind over body motivational speaker, David Goggins, is on both YouTube and Instagram. I understand his motivational speaking and even SOME of his cursing because sometimes a good curse word has an IMPACT no other synonym can match. His motivation to me says, “Get up & Get at it! Stop the whining refuse (arrrgh, I want to curse!) and excuses!”   This “Get up & Get at it” is all about mind, body, and soul (my relationship with God) for Haven, but, for today’s entry, I’m sticking to the topic of PHYSICAL/CARDIO EXERCISE.

At some point every day, my lower back hurts, my right knee hurts (it has off and on for almost 20 years… Sean say’s it my meniscus), my right shoulder hurts,  and I have a 3 feet long varicose vein on my left leg that looks HORRENDOUS like disfigured looking- yet not the least bit painful. LOL. Like David Goggins discusses staring at his running shoes before he runs, I do the same: it’s like an event. This event sometimes takes 10 minutes to complete. I look at the socks, I put on the socks, I look at the shoes (sometimes boots), I tie the shoes, and I sit. I prefer jogging in the mornings. Honestly, my lower back and legs are sore the majority of the mornings, and if I have my coffee first then wait an hour, the process goes a lot more smoothly and happily. Now, after saying that, I don’t want to wait 2 hours after getting up to run. I want to do it as early as possible. Okay, okay…. Moving along… I’ve had my YouTube channel for 10 years, and after watching some mind and body influencers on it, I decided that this 55 years old fart, Haven Caylor-Brown, could diversity his YouTube channel and socialize with other old farts regarding their physical, mental, and spiritual fitness.

DANG! Those are MONSTER Crows’ Feet! Geez!

This morning I jogged for 1 hour and 5 minutes. It was 4.47 miles, and I burned 662 calories. It was awesome, and I have been jogging this route at Enterprise South for about 2 weeks now jogging it 3 times a week. There are plenty of spacious, paved roads with sights (deer, foxes, trees, squirrels, chipmunks, & birds) and sounds of nature, but the ground of the wooded paths are “padded”, and much easier on my knees, legs, and lower back. I do hope my jogging adventures will inspire / influence some folks to get some cardio exercise or exercise more, and as the days and weeks go by, I will be using my jogging and walking videos to weave some mental and spiritual thoughts, inspirations, and positive influences as well.

The Mourning Dove

. Jesus Christ Follower, writing . , , , , ,

The Mourning Dove

I’ve been looking for something to “nudge” me into my next Haven’s Ideals post. There have been multiple negative events (family life as well as career path) and positive events (retuning to worship as the pandemic wares down as well as a phenomenal and blessed trip to Daytona Beach, Florida and Disney World)for multiple blog entries to flourish, but apathy and laziness got the best of me. I was needing something quick and spiritually uplifting for a catalyst. I had no idea it would take a MOURNING DOVE to prompt me to write.

It was awesome. This summer, the Topgolf driving range which also has a Putt Putt course has FREE PUTT PUTT on Mondays. So, after a set of summer showers and threatening thundershowers, the Caylor-Browns headed to Topgolf in East Ridge Tennessee for a round of Putt Putt. About the 9th hole I saw some ground movement out of the corner of my eye from the courses wooden fence. I looked down to see a mourning dove strutting / meandering under the fence. I smiled and kept on putting. As we were putting close to the driving range, I kept hearing the soothing call of a mourning dove. I glanced to my right, and there sat that dove. It would not budge. To the aggravation of Sean, Ammon, and Carter, I kept talking and paying attention to the dove. So I could get on with the round and paying attention to the scoring that I was keeping, I quickly got my iPhone and videoed the dove. Yes, the sound a mourning dove makes is lonesome and mournful, but like the white dove that is a symbol of peace, the mourning dove is a symbol of peace, love, and faith.

Happy or sad, elated with prayers of praise or melancholy with deep thoughts and questioning prayers, I hope and pray God will send you something from nature such as a song bird or a soothing sunrise/sunset, or a comforting breeze that touches your spirit to God’s Spirit. That sweet, tranquil, and friendly mourning dove that you can barely see yet hear quite clearly in my video has given me a spiritual strength I haven’t had in weeks or perhaps months to continue boldly into the future leaning on Jesus’ ever lasting arms.

    The Mourning Dove

    The Mourning Dove

    Caylor-Brown Crafts (February 2021)

    . Caylor-Brown Crafts . , , ,

    It’s great helping Ammon with an entrepreneurial endeavor. Ammon and I will close Valentines & Mardi Gras crafts production on Sunday February 7. Postal Service permitting, this should make sure your Valentines goods are out & delivered to you by Saturday February 13. As I said before, we are truly enjoying this entrepreneurial ed-venture…. oh, St. Patrick’s Day and spring crafts are already underway.

    http://www.caylorbrowncrafts.com

    Spiritual Cheerleaders: Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth

    . Christmas, Family, friends . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Mary Visits Elizabeth – Luke 1:39-45

    39In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, 40where she entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.”

    Until I was about 30 years old, I kept the Holy Family, Joseph, Mary, and the Baby Jesus on a pedestal of perfection with those images of the perfect nativity scene. Who remembers the plastic, bulb-lit nativities of the 1960s and 1970s? I was mesmerized by them! And, my goodness, the Christmas carols of “O, Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Away in a Manger”. I’m taking intermittent singing breaks (“Away in a manger no crib for a bed. The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head…)” as I type this. I am also visualizing Mary, Joseph, and Jesus with those golden halos as the shepherds and Magi Kings kneel in reverence. Wowzers!

    A literary work, Two from Galilee (Marjorie Holmes, 1982), and what I think is the BEST nativity movie EVER , The Nativity Story (2006) changed my vision of the Holy Family forever.

    Y’all imagine a 14 years-old girl who was told she was no longer a care-free child. She is betrothed to a man whom she had never had a sexual relationship with having to wait a year (Jewish tradition before and during the Roman reign of Augustus Caesar) to live with him without that conjugal fulfillment, and is a virgin who has never had sexual relations with any man, being told by an angel named Gabriel that she will have a baby that is a gift from God. What the heck, God? In a few months after Gabriel’s visit, she KNOWS she is pregnant. Gabriel had told Mary earlier in Luke Chapter one that Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, was going to be a mother. Elizabeth had been the “talk of the hill country of Judah” as a barren woman. Can you imagine the gossip of those days, “What has Elizabeth done in her life that God has cursed her this way!”, “Poor thing! Look at Hannah, Elizabeth’s neighbor. She has 8 children. Hannah is so blessed. Who will take care of Elizabeth and Zechariah in their old age? Poor Elizabeth and Zechariah!”

    When Mary knew she was carrying a child, she hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah to visit her elderly cousin who was passed her child-bearing years. The weeks and months had been emotionally and spiritually excruciating for Mary. “I’m pregnant! Joseph might divorce me quietly or he could encourage the town to help stone me! Dear Father in heaven, will Elizabeth have any answers for me or words of fortification?”

    We are not told how far away ( Google is showing like 99 miles… over three walking/cart days!!) but I can only imagine Mary’s anxiousness. As I watched the spectacular The Nativity Story this Christmas season, I had already squalled when Joseph re-purchased Mary’s parents’ donkey (the same donkey that carries Mary to Bethlehem….tears and sniffs…LOL… that the government officials had taken to help pay for taxes), but when Mary arrived at Elizabeth’s house and Mary’s voice made John jump in Elizabeth’s womb along with the scriptural words from Elizabeth’s mouth, my chest began to heave and I sobbed with tears…tears of joy.

    “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 

    It was so spiritually moving. God gave Mary the confirmation and affirmation that she needed all those weeks before. God had given Mary her cousin, Elizabeth, to be her “cheerleader”, her confidante, her “hand to hold” for spiritual guidance.

    Can you name your spiritual cheerleaders? Sometimes it’s not even someone cheering for you. It’s someone who responds to your spirit. My two spiritual cheerleaders who are now in Paradise are Naomi Alexander Caylor (my Nanny) and my adopted grandmother, Remell Hall. When Nanny died August of 1985, Remell picked up the mantle (2 Kings 2:13 when Elisa picked up Elijah’s mantle / cloak/ coat ). I’ve always thought it ironically special that Remell died on November 6, 2003 (Ammon’s birthday!) then God blessed me with my soul-mate, Sean Brown, in January of 2004. God did not leave me desolate for long.

    Now, December 2020; 54, God keeping me out of any physical teaching environment, homeschooling Carter and Ammon, watching the world reel from the Corona virus, I have several spiritual friends I go to. It’s sometimes just a text to say, “God is Great!” or “Praying for you.” . Sometimes I have something serious to share; Carter and Ammon pre-teen drama, doubts on why God doesn’t want me working right now, or a spiritual matter that is troubling me.

    My buds who do not fail me are Debbie Baker, Patsy Holland, Kathleen Lanford, Tami McClain, Claire Randle, and Evangeline Starks. There is an “odd man out” literally, so I’m putting him by himself; 21 years-old singer/songwriter, Hunter Lott has become a spiritual cheerleader God placed in my path as well. However, he lives in south Mississippi, and we have only been spiritual friends via social media and snail mail. Those ladies I mentioned are the toughest, Christ-like women I know, and they are physically near me. When I see them face to face and hug them, I get a spiritual, electrical charge, and sometimes we’ve had conversations where the tears flow (mostly mine) because we share from the heart and soul. My sincerest thanks to you 7 people (holy smokes… God’s number!!!).  You all have NO IDEA what you mean to me. And Patsy Holland, I’ll never forget your Christian (sister and brother in Jesus the Christ) words of encouragement to me, “God doesn’t make mistakes” during our first serious, spiritual talk together over 3 years ago.

    Returning to Mary and Elizabeth. The holy scriptures do not allow us to enjoy another conversation between the two ladies. The Nativity Story shows Mary being in attendance for John’s birth, watching Zechariah speak, and watching and listening to Elizabeth and Zechariah speak words of the Old Testament to their newborn with biblical “bedtime stories”. At this point, Mary tells the jubilant, elderly couple with their “miracle baby”, John, that she is returning to Nazareth. Those weeks with Elizabeth and Zechariah gave Mary, now physically showing she was pregnant, the spiritual strength to return to her betrothed, Joseph, to face the next months; vicious gossip from the townspeople, tears and perhaps rage from her parents and Joseph, and perhaps even death if she is stoned for adultery. The Lord’s servant, Mary, was returning to fulfill what Gabriel had shared and Elizabeth was Mary’s human confidante / human- contact spiritual support to face the following months.

    I truly hope and pray that you all have spiritual cheerleaders. They are priceless. As soon as the Spirit touched my spirit with Mary and Elizabeth’s meeting as I watched the actresses speak the scriptures from Luke 1, I knew I had to write. It’s also set up a second blog I hope to finish before December 23: Jesus’ Awesome, Earthly Father, Joseph.

    Caylor-Brown Crafts

    . Uncategorized . , , , , , , ,

    “Business Launch” 2020 with Christmas Earrings

    Faux leather (“golden” litchi pattern/silhouette/frame ) over chunky glitter faux leather teardrop sheets.

    $10

    Reindeer

    $10

    $10

    Santa Hat Red

    $10

    Santa Hat Green

    $10

    Reindeer Green

    $10

    Golden leather cutouts on chunky glitter teardrops

    Christmas Tree

    $10

    Reindeer on Red

    $10

    Santa Hat on red

    $10

    Santa hat on Green

    $10

    Reindeer on Green

    $10

    Keys Dan interviews Haven: “What Makes You Famous?”

    . Christmas Hawk, European Destinations, Family, Family Travel, Learning, Parenting, Parenting Strategies on the Go, writing . , , , , , , ,

    I would advise all of us to find a Keys Dan (Daniel) in our lives. Daniel has the gift of relating to people with interpersonal questions that search into your soul and open you to share without any inhibitions. You find yourself sharing some of the best things about yourself; the things God has gifted YOU with. The interview is over an hour long so just fast forward what you find boring.

    The most intriguing thing is that Keys Dan will interview us regular folks who have something to offer humanity. Each one of us has a story, and each one of us is just as important as another. Notice his number 501-470-6386. I actually forgot that I had scheduled this interview LAST JUNE, so be prepared to wait a while; however, it’s worth it.

    “Joy to the Earth” (TO build your schema…this blog entry IS NOT about Christmas)

    . Family, Jesus Christ Follower . , , , , , ,

    Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns!
    Let men their songs employ;
    While fields and FLOODS, ROCKS, HILLS and plains
    Repeat the sounding joy…

    Once a day, we try to walk together as a family. We often discuss the topics of the day, but sometimes we all walk in silence for a few minutes before one of us, usually Sean or I, start a new conversation. Carter and Ammon had their yearly physical, well-exams yesterday. They both concurred this morning that they felt flat: They had two vaccinations. Sean and I researched their TDP vaccination, and it confirmed that it could cause the “flatness”. We decided that Ammon and Carter did not have to walk today because our walks are fast-paced for cardio endurance and heart health. In August, we four started a new route in the Enterprise South park, and I have been very anxious to jog it. It has two good-sized hills and one is quite the incline for at least a half mile. We looked at the radar (rain all afternoon), and we decided that we adults needed to exercise outside ASAP. It was an opportunity to jog my new route. I dressed and “made a bee-line” to the park.  

    This is NOT Enterprise South.. just an awesome autumn likeness.

    It was barely sprinkling, and I began my jog. I went up the Hidden Lake Road, turned on Boulder Point Road (I’m doing this for my Chattanooga folks who can , perhaps, visualize what I was doing), and I was winding down to Dogwood Ridge road. A few heavier drops of rain began to hit the oak trees that form the branch-awnings over Boulder, and acorns began pelting the ground. I took my shirt off (thank you, Jesus it was a warm rain), rolled it up and used it as a shield to fight any falling acorns. I kept jogging and smiling. By the time I was turning right on to Harrison Branch Road, it was a steady rain, and by the time I turned right on to Poe Run Road, it was pouring.

    Enterprise South: Chattanooga, Tennessee

    As you can imagine, there was NO ONE in sight. A blessed cedar tree awning gave me a 2-second umbrella of dryness. I thought, “There is a bunker up here on the right. If it is, by chance, open, I am stopping for a few minutes until this lets up!” The next thing that happened thoroughly surprised me. The Holy Spirit touched my spirit and shared, “Sing Joy to the World!” I did. Suddenly, the lyrics, “… while fields and FLOODS, ROCKS, HILLS, and plains repeat the sounding joy.” The rain drops, rocks, and hills enveloping me, were repeating the sounding joy (Joy to the world, the Lord, Jesus the Christ, is come). I kept jogging, and I sang to the top of my lungs while concentrating on less lung fatigue as well as using my diaphragm, “Joy to the world, the savior reigns….”. I was VERY SURPRISED  that the bunker was, indeed, open. It was still pouring. I stepped into the entrance of the dark bunker and the Spirit said, “Repeat the sounding joy!” I sang the verse again in the round bunker while the words echoed and repeated the “sounding joy”. Before I left, the Spirit reminded me of “Shower of Blessings”.

    Showers of blessing,
      Showers of blessing we need;
    Mercy-drops round us are falling,
        But for the showers we plead.

    The sound of “Shower of Blessings” echoed as well. I smiled and began to praise God for the rain, the jog, Jesus Christ, and my family. By the end of my prayer, the constant rain had stopped with only a few, scattered droplets here and there.

    Friends and family, you deserve or really NEED some alone time with God, Jesus, and the Spirit. I know your families, your jobs, your daily activities, so I understand how busy your lives are. Your moments do not have to be like I had today. Sometimes the moments happen during a quiet moment of cooking, cleaning, or doing some yard work, and, yes, I’ve even had them at work before. Look for the moment. Be in the Spirit. Thanks be to our risen Savior, Jesus the Christ, we have intimacy with the Holy Spirit in prayer or song. Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and don’t forget…God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24).

    Isn’t intimacy with the Spirit something awesome? Do you choose to experience it? Do you want to experience it? For Haven, my spirit communicating with the Holy Spirit is so uplifting and joyful especially in this crazy 2020. Are you tired, worried, fatigued with what is going on around you? Are you “thirsty” in your spiritual life? The Spirit is like a water tap, the more you turn open the flow, the more volume of water you get. Heck, God will even allow you to never open the water tap. Whatever your “Spirit feelings” may be, I challenge you to find your intimacy with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit and I sang several songs together today….

    Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns!
    Let men their songs employ;
    While fields and FLOODS, ROCKS, HILLS and plains
    Repeat the sounding joy…

    Mesmerizing Maples

    . Acción de Gracias, Education, Family, Learning, Nanny & the Alexanders, Parenting, Seasons, Thanksgiving . , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Sunday November 8, 2020: Sunrise. Two Maple buddies: the red maple to the left in the distance & the boxelder maple close right

    My love of deciduous trees started with the onset of 10th Grade (1981-1982). Daddy had bought me Copper and Chief, my two beloved Black and Tan coonhounds in August, and we four were spending hours in the autumn-laden ridges of Varnell. As we would either walk up and down the ridges, talk, or listen to Chief and Copper begin their innate, melodious bawling, we would discuss the trees of our woods. We mostly spoke of the noble oaks, but, of course, the maples were embedded in the woods as well. As I write this entry which is dedicated to maples, our oak trees behind our house have burst forth with color. Seriously, on Friday November 6, 2020, the oaks were green as green can be. By Sunday the 8th, they had turned reds, yellows, & oranges!

    My father, Copper, Chief, and I spent the whole winter tromping through the woods that later went bare, of course. Then, the spring of 1982 came with all the new green and rebirth of plants, trees, and flowers. My 10th grade biology teacher had assigned to us a final project where we were to complete a spring flower and leaf album of 25 plants and flowers we could find in our environment. I asked Daddy to help me. One evening, he and I walked the woods behind our house with Copper and Chief. Several days later, Daddy and I walked Nanny’s yard collecting leaves. It was May 15, 1982 (Nanny’s birthday and my dad had made her a birthday cake while I mowed Nanny’s yard.. it was Saturday.. we had a family celebration after I mowed). Thirteen days later, Friday May 28, Daddy was dead. I had to finish the album without him to turn in after Memorial Day, and Nanny came to the house with some old-timey botanical magazines (We had to have those Latin, botanical names written by those leaves, ya know!) that she had collected through the years to help me fumble through the finishing touches of the album. Well, I finished it, and, sadly,  I did not make a 100…. I made a 97. I think my teacher doubted some of the Latin names just between us readers; however, that love of studying and labeling flora has stuck with me.

    As I wrote this past July, this COVID season has made me see things through my nature loving – Cherokee ( Yes, Pap Edwards…. Edwards Park Varnell , GA at Plainview…. Cleveland Road was my Cherokee ancestor to the Caylors… great-great-great grandfather) eyes. Walking with my family or jogging by myself on this land has tuned me in better to my surroundings, and I am very grateful that God’s spirit touches my spirit with the love and desire to research and share about my environment.

     I hope you enjoy our mesmerizing maples. I’ve placed a photo of the entire maple tree with a side-by-side photo of its autumn colored leaf/leaves. Also, Thanksgiving 2020 may be another 17 days away, but I do want to say an early “Happy Thanksgiving!” to you all. God is great. Peace / Shalom.

    red maple (acer rubrum)

    boxelder maple (acer negundo)

    field maple (acer campestre)
    sugar maple (acer saccharum)

    Halloween 1930s Style

    . Atlanta, Family, Holidays, Nanny & the Alexanders . , , , , , , , , ,

    Autumn 1985: My Nanny (Mary Naomi Alexander Caylor) had been dead for a few months. I worked at Wilson’s Superette in Varnell, Georgia. The community still had dozens of people who were teenagers or youngsters with my Nanny and Nanny’s sisters, Madeline and Florence. As I have explained before, Nanny had been my friend and confidante even before my father’s untimely death in 1982. Three years later Nanny was gone as well. Work, church, and Dalton Junior College kept me busy, but every person over the age of 60 in Varnell reminded me of the family friend I was missing so terribly.

    The late summer of 1985 into the autumn found me asking the Varnell “old-timers” if they could share anything about my Nanny, Madeline, Florence, or my Nanny Alexander. I did every job (bag groceries, carry groceries to vehicles, stock shelves, slice SOME meats, sweep, mop, pump gas, run the cash registers plus more) in the store except balance the money till and the books. From the time I had started working there in the summer of 1983, I had thoroughly enjoyed carrying groceries out to people’s cars especially the cars of my fellow Varnellians. There was an awesome lady named Annie Clayton Dyer. I knew she was from Varnell, but I wasn’t too sure if she had been a contemporary or shared a history with my family. She was such a kind and giving soul, and I always enjoyed chatting with her while helping her with her groceries. One day in the autumn of 1985 as I carried Annie’s groceries to her car we began a conversation.

    Haven: Mrs. Dyer, did you spend any time with the Alexander sisters when you were growing up? You know my grandmother, Naomi died recently.

    Annie:   I sure am sorry about that. I was closest to Florence’s age, but Lord yes! ( I had known Annie for over 2 years, and she wasn’t a somber person, but her face absolutely LIT UP, and a huge grin went across her face. It was the happiest, most child-like smile I had seen on a 60 year-old in ages! Alexander Sisters’ memories were making Annie glow)

    Annie, continues: Florence and Madeline had a Halloween Party one year.

    Haven: Oh, my word! I’ve never heard of such. I didn’t think my Nanny Alexander would approve of such a thing.

    I had to remind myself that by the time of this party Nanny was almost 20 years old and that especially Florence received a totally different childhood rearing than Nanny. I recalled how Nanny Alexander bent to the whims of her youngest daughter.

    Annie: Oh, yeah, and let me tell you this real quick… The first time I saw Florence, she came into our classroom with those,.. how do I explain it? It was an aviator’s cap. Those with the goggles.

    I stood dumbfounded. Nanny Alexander allowed Florence to go to school dressed like that? Oh, me!

    Continuing with the Halloween story.

    Annie: Oh, yeah, the Halloween party! (We both chuckle!) . The girls had punch, cookies, and candy, and I think they had some candied apples.

    Haven: How fun!

    Annie: The best part was how they had a created a dead corpse.

    Haven: Do what?

    Annie: Oh, yeah. It was like lying on a day bed. It was kind of like dressed scare-crow style, but lying down. They kept the room dark, and part of the spookiness, the whole effect was to not look at the body, but feel it. The face was the creepiest (Annie was still smiling with wide eyes).. they had like some wrinkled mask, and the eyes were grapes! – Annie laughed, I laughed- Oh, me , that was fun. Yeah, we had fun with the Alexander girls.

    Haven: -tears welling up in my eyes- Mrs. Dyer, thank you for sharing. That is great! My Nanny had never shared such.

    I am imagining that this Halloween party could have been 1936, 1937, or 1938. Nanny Alexander had added my granddaddy and my daddy to the household by Halloween of 1939, and I know how much time Nanny Alexander devoted to my father who had become her world. I doubt she hosted a Halloween party with a newborn in the house.

    Why is it we think the here and now is the best of a holiday? Right down the road we have the elaborate “Haunted Barn” for Halloween with it’s 21st Century light shows, pop/ rock music blaring, people paying like $20/head to see and have the poo scared out of them, but…. In the late 1930s (over 80 years ago), two young sisters from Atlanta, Georgia who had settled in the little town of Varnell, Georgia rocked Varnell with an innovative and spooky Halloween party!

    Madeline & Florence Alexander Summer 1936: Varnell Party Planners!

    I thought I would share this family tale here in this topsy-turvy 2020 Halloween season. Thank you, Randa Murray, a childhood friend since 1972, from Varnell, GA who asked her sweet mama Annie’s maiden name.

    Fall Break 2020

    . Family, Family Travel, Parenting, United States Destination Favorites . , , , , , , , , ,

    Our Fall Break excursion was a nostalgic “re-creation” of our Fall Break in 2012: Ellijay, Georgia and Burt’s Pumpkin Farm.

    Hillcrest Orchards   (click for link) is perfect for families with children under 8 who want to pick their own apples then have some fun. Picking apples could be fun for children of all ages, but the playgrounds and activities are designed for younger family members. Carter and Ammon, as well as Sean and I, still had fun, but they could not “get our money’s worth” out of the playgrounds. The petting zoo was great, and the tractor ride was great. They have a mechanical, gargantuan catfish named Jaws who spits water from a pond. Jaws caught me off guard, and I forgot to snap his pic.

    Hillcrest Orchards October 15, 2020-Thursday

    Ellijay Scarecrow Invasion: Harrison Park-2020 instead of Downtown like 2012

    Burt’s Pumpkin Farm : October 2012

    Ammon & Carter amongst the Pumpkins: October 10, 2012

    Burt’s Pumpkin Farm: October 2020

    If we return to Burt’s next year, I plan to go in September to buy pumpkins for decorations. Just photos, some pumpkin bread, and an enjoyable hay ride this year.

    Before: 2012/After: 2020