A couple of things
First, I had an awesome yearly physical exam Monday. For 2011
my weight is down, my blood pressure is normal, no aches or pains, and I feel
great. Praise the Lord!
The second thing is that I might not write for a day or two.
The summer mini-mester at UTC finishes this week, and I am grading the last
assignments, the final exam, and posting grades. Please pray that it all goes
smoothly. I am looking forward to blogging again ASAP. You all have a great
Tuesday!
When I was probably about 8 years old I first saw the movie, “Mary, Queen of Scots”
with Vanessa Redgrave in the starring role. After that movie, I had an
appreciation for two things. 1)Mary Stuart and 2)Scotland/Edinburgh. I could
write a dissertation on Mary, Queen of Scots, but she is probably my most
favorite “victim of history” of all time. My 2nd favorite is Tsar
Nicholas II of Russia. This isn’t a blog dedicated to Mary, but I have to
comment on her. I may change my mind in a few years, but it came to me that I
don’t think she would have the same problems if she would have been raised in
Scotland instead of France. Her French mother, Mary Guise, “held down the fort”
in Scotland while her French relatives and the French royal court raised Mary in Paris. If Mary could have been in Scotland around protestants and the John Knox crew, I truly
believe that maybe even if she remained Catholic, she would have had protestant
buddies and more Scottish support. Oh, well. She was so cool.
A lot of people do not know how intelligent, religiously tolerant, politically tolerant, and
clever she really was. However, she had a horrible taste in men. It’s also
worth noting that it is through her that we have our Elizabeth II, the future Charles III, and the future William V. It wasn’t from the barren Elizabeth I who ordered Mary’s death.
Haven, Ammon, Nana, & Carter
Sean and I were in Edinburgh for about 4 days in 2007.This
time we were there for 4 hours. LOL. Edinburgh castle is perched on top of an
ancient, extinct volcano, and that was our main focus for Nana and the babies
to see. The temperature was about 50, but it was VERY WINDY.
We enjoyed the castle. Remember how I said I had to climb
the lions at Trafalgar Square, or take swim lessons so I can swim better for
Carter and Ammon. I wanted Carter and Ammon to see that I wasn’t afraid to
dance. I engaged in a Medieval dance with a Scottish countess, Countess Euphemia. I enjoyed it!
Before Carter and Ammon I would have not dared do something like that!
Haven doing the Middle Ages “Mambo”
The Scottish crown jewels are also at the castle. Several
other cool things: 1) a dog cemetery dedicated to the dogs of Scottish
soldiers,2) Mons Meg the largest middle ages cannon every built, 3)awesome
dungeons, and 3) St. Margaret’s chapel which dates back to about 1070. After the
tour, we ate lunch at St. Giles café, and we did some shopping. Oh, yeah, don’t
forget the bagpipes! It was an awesome day!
Mons Megs
I didn’t like the taste of blackberries until I was an adult. They are an acquired taste, but once you acquire that taste, you’re hooked! The unfortunate part is that they grow on briars, and it is inevitable that if you are doing some serious picking that will produce blackberry jam, blackberry cobbler, or possibly blackberry, homemade ice cream, you will get scratched by some thorns. However, the rewards are delicious.
Right now it looks like we are going to have a plethora of blackberries. I ate some Saturday during a mowing break. They were scrumptious: that tart yet sweet taste. All during my 20s I had a pet German shepherd named Judy. She enjoyed blackberry picking with me. She knew the difference between a non-ripe, red blackberry, and the ripe, black-purple blackberry. If there was a ripe blackberry at her reach, she would gently pluck it off and eat it. She was the best blackberry picking buddy I ever had. Here’s to you, Judy.
I saw them on Friday. I thought I had seen them Wednesday, but I wasn’t too sure. On a
blackberry leaf near our barn, there sat some wonderful and entertaining….dum,
dum, dum….JUNE BUGS!
Oh,
my goodness, I have spoken about childhood memories, but I truly think my first
summer memory is of chasing june bugs, and yes, I did fly them on string. The
string is sewing thread because the little fellers cannot be weighed down. Now,
PETA, don’t get upset! No june bug of mine has ever suffered a severed leg nor
been mistreated. They have all been set free. Okay, one didn’t make it. What
happened? Well, I was 10 years old, and my sister and I had a pet chicken. Her
name was Woots. She was awesome. The summer Woots was a year old we spent a day
playing with our june bugs. At one point during the day, I was flying my june
bug, and it stopped. I bent down to show Woots, and I said, “What do you think,
Woots?” With a snap, snap, gobble my june bug was gone. Woots had eaten it. All
that was left was a micro-loop where a june bug leg had been bound. It was a sad
a situation, but there was a happy hen.
Okay, our june bugs are not in the open yard yet. I do
intend to buy some thread, catch some, and let Carter and Ammon experience the
tra
dition. If you’ve never done it, you should. It’s pretty cool.
It was our 2nd visit to Windsor Castle. Sean and I were there in 2007 as well.
Windsor Castle is just about as old as the Tower of London.
William the Conqueror built both of them after his invasion of 1066. It is
incredible that it has stood (remodeled and added on of course) for over 900
years. It is still Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite home. It should be. It is
where she grew up and still lives the majority of the year. Her parents and her
sister are buried at St. George’s Chapel along with her grandparents, King
Henry VIII, and his favorite wife, Jane Seymour.
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
I mentioned Queen Elizabeth’s parents. I had a special
liking for her mother, Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
She reminded me of my Nanny
and Granddaddy’s generation. Like many people have labeled them, I agree 100%
that they were the greatest generation. They had a sense of justice/what was
good and true in the world and a love of liberty that we just don’t have or
appreciate. During the London Blitz of World War II, The Queen Mother and King
George VI, Elizabeth II’s parents, would leave Windsor every morning by some
heavily guarded train system and go to London. As a matter of fact, the king
and queen were at Buckingham Palace for the day (13 September 1940) when
Buckingham was bombed! During all that time, the Queen Mother refused to leave
London/Windsor. She knew the city needed her. You see, I could imagine my Nanny
doing the exact same thing in Varnell. I know that if a Nazi storm trooper
placed a foot in her yard, she would get out her shot gun, a hoe, a pitch fork,
or whatever she could get a hold of to defend the land and the family she
loved so dearly.
Haven, Ammon, Sean, & Carter: Windsor Castle
Haven, Carter, Nana, & Ammon: Windsor Castle
Several weeks ago, we had a splendid time at Windsor. Carter
and Ammon got to walk through the castle (I think their favorite thing was
Queen Mary’s doll house) and enjoy the grounds (their chicken nuggets at
Windsor Town’s McDonalds were good too). It was a beautiful sunny day, and a
good time was had by all. I especially enjoyed spending a few moments at St.
George’s Chapel paying my respects to the Queen Mother & George VI and thanking God for
her, my Nanny and Granddaddy, and all the freedom lovers of this world.
St. George’s Chapel: Windsor
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is such a cool place in London. I like it
better than Picadilly Circus (pale in comparison to New York’s Time Square). Atop
his pedestal on his sentinel-perched monument, Admiral Horatio Nelson of Great
Britain looks over this awesome thoroughfare in the heart of London not too far
from Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Although the admiral was mortally
wounded in the naval Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) off the coast of
Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, the Brits won the battle and helped turn the
naval advantages to the Brits. To many of us, the lions at the base of the
monument are more intriguing than Admiral Nelson.
In both 1985 and 2007, I had problems climbing up to the
lions. In 1985, it had rained all day, the stones were slippery, and I was
wearing khakis and penny loafers! After a wet-week of trying again in 2007, I
finally made it, but it wasn’t too satisfying. However, now it was May 2011,
and I had to prove to Carter and Ammon that I could do it: Public humiliation
or not! I did it, and it was personal triumph! LOL ( you all are thinking “What a dits-o!”)
I did it for Ammon & Carter! (and for myself) Haven at Trafalgar Square
Sean, Carter, Ammon, & Haven at Trafalgar Square
We also found a great restaurant near Trafalgar Square in
2007: a Tex-mex restaurant call the Texas Embassy. It is where the Republic of
Texas had its embassy in London when it was its own “country” 1836-1846. We ate
there twice this trip, and we highly recommend it.
Jogging on the Thames
I truly enjoy exercising in both cardio and strength
training. Physical exercise invigorates my body, mind, and spirit. My favorite
cardio is jogging. I started jogging on a regular basis about four years ago.
We have approximately 13 mowed acres, and we utilize about 8 of those acres “manicured”
to use as a jogging track. In fighting middle-age fat, we’ve also had to up our
jogging time to approximately 45 minutes to help keep our weight off. The
sights and sounds of the mountain and fields keep us occupied, and often times
the 45 minutes pass by very quickly.
The deck of the Crown Princess we were on two weeks ago was
very “cut up”, and did not have an extensive track to jog on. Its only complete
track was tiny: 16 laps made a mile! It was terribly
boring. Sean and I started jogging up and down stairs and meandering around the
decks to make the 45 minutes go “faster”. When we returned to London for our
last two days, I needed a place a jog. What was I to do?
We were thankful to get a motel (the Park Plaza at
Westminster Bridge…I recommended it to everyone) in an excellent location. It was a block behind the
London Eye and the Thames River. Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben
were in view from our motel room. We had seen joggers
every day and at all times of the day in that area. On Thursday morning
(6-16-2011) in London, I woke up about 6:00 a.m., and I decided to jog around
the river.
For 30 minutes, I jogged from the Westminster Bridge, beside the
London Eye, over the Embankment Foot Bridge, back along the river, and returned
to the London Eye side.
It was awesome! The two things I kept imagining were the Elizabethan era ships coming and going from that area, and all their Age of Exploration
cargo ships emptying their riches from “newly found places” and the Ancient
Female Warrior, Boadicea. Boadicea is on the Parliament side of Westminster
Bridge. Boadicea was queen of the ancient Iceni who fought against the Romans
who had taken over their lands. She lost and was killed in A. D. 60, but she was heroic none the less. I jogged under her statue and thought of the courage of this beautiful and regal lady.
When I finished jogging, I couldn’t help but consider the
stark contrast of my house’s calm, quiet fields with the ancient, rich history of London’s
River Thames, but it didn’t matter. Both are awesome places to jog! ;o)
The sound was a week earlier than what I am use to: the symphony
of the katydids! On Monday evening, I stayed outside late with the wonderful
light we are blessed with in the summer. I had mowed, pulled weeds, and took a
quick, refreshing dip in the swimming pool before getting ready for bed. As I was drying
off beside the pool, I heard a familiar “katy-did” up on the mountain behind
our house. I couldn’t believe it! Thirty minutes later I took our dachshunds,
Buddy and Sophie, outside for their pre-slumber jaunt, and I heard a symphony of
katydids. Like the whippoorwills, the music of the katydids brings back so many
childhood memories. We had air conditioning, but our household enjoyed open
windows and fans during cooler, summer evenings. I cannot count the nights I
was lulled to sleep to the musical masterpieces of the katydids. Now, like I
said about the color of dogwood tree’s flower petals predicting the type of
winter/snows for the next year, in a bygone era, there were predictions that katydids announced that it would be 10 weeks before the first, pre-fall frost; we will see! ;o)
Georgie Caylor, Oliver Haven Caylor, & Haven William Caylor-Brown -March 1982
Father’s Day
I’ve got to convert the pictures of my father to JPGs so I
can put them on the computer. I will write just a bit about my father today,
and hopefully you all will see him in the very near future. He was Oliver Haven
Caylor (September 19, 1939 to May 28, 1982). He died three weeks after my 16th
birthday. This is my 30th Father’s Day without him. He was such a
wonderful father and Christian example. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and
he was always making up words or changing arrangements to popular songs:
something I’ve found myself doing the past 30 years too.
He enjoyed hunting, but his passion was fishing. While most
of my friends spent family vacations at the beach or going to the mountains, we
spent family time while bass fishing around North Georgia and Southeast
Tennessee lakes. My absolute most precious memories of my father are of him and
me raising two Black and Tan Coonhounds (Copper and Chief) and teaching them to
hunt squirrels. He and I had the same love of the outdoors, and we combined it
with my hound dogs to spend our “father and son time” together. I dearly miss
him, but it is such a blessing that the healing love of God and the Holy Spirit
coupled with time heals and fills the empty spaces the death of a loved one
leaves.
I was so blessed to have a father who taught me love and
respect for myself, my family, the environment, human-kind, and most
importantly love and respect for God through Jesus Christ. My Daddy was
absolutely wonderful, and I love him very much. Happy Father’s Day up there in
heaven, Daddy!
Loch Ness
Hey
I didn’t catch up on Saturday. LOL . We had a great day at sea on Saturday. It’s a little cool, but so it is this time of year in the British Isles. On Sunday we made our visit to Edinburgh, Scotland. It is so beautiful and unique, but it is often gloomy. The first time I was ever there it was in 2007 in August with Sean, and we had one sunny day out of 5! I love Edinburgh Castle. The most famous resident was probably Mary Queen of Scots, but she mostly lived in the castle, Holyrood a mile down the hill from Edinburgh Castle. The whole day was breezy and cool, but we enjoyed the city.
Edinburgh Castle
Monday we were in the Scottish Highlands. In a previous blog from April, I mentioned the Cherokee encoding for the love of nature. The Scottish part of me has that encoding of mountains. My family members such as the Alexanders, the Wimpys, and the Browns were immigrants who had come from Scotland and settled in the Virginia mountains and the North Georgia mountains. Oral history from our family says the Alexanders came from Scotland during the 1600s. As we traveled through the Scottish Highlands around Loch Ness on Monday, I felt as though I was “home”. We had a lovely time, and I know I want to go back and spend lots of time there and hopefully Carter and Ammon will feel as I do and learn about their Scottish heritage as well.
Tuesday has been spent in the Shetland Islands. We are ported at Lerwick, and we got to see some Shetland ponies today. However, we were told not to pet them. Ammon and Carter enjoyed seeing them none the less. Hoping all is well in your worlds today and God bless you all. Chat soon. Haven
Haven's Ideals by Haven Caylor-Brown 