If you were a "New Amish"-I'm just sayin'!!

I live in an area with a small Amish population, and I respect their way of being, but I also wonder sometimes if it wouldn't be less noticeable(the original intent of plain dressing their way in the 1800's)if they wore modern clothing, and just made it boring?
This is just my silly musing...but picture it...instead of a wide-brimmed black felt or straw hat, a simple black or tan baseball cap with no logo-of course!
Instead of the severe black, blue, or denim pants, vest and jacket, a uniform of plain straight leg Levis, a white or black long or short sleeve t-shirt and a simple denim jacket or plain navy parka for winter. Plain white or black tennis shoes or boots. Girls don't pull their hair in buns, but let if flow long or wear pony tails with a simple black elastic or black headband.
Instead of horses and carriages, K-cars...I mean, who looks at the basic model American car? Or a Honda civic? Or a black Ford minivan for the bigger families. Simple, practical, cheap. The could buy all black ones. Instead of using horses to farm, just buy all your food at Sams Club and make the same meals every week over and over...Plain, simple, don't stick out. I personally like it. I don't think it will float with them though, so I say with them in respect, long live tradition!

Manly men in tights...

The Greeks are a tough people. They have survived centuries as a proud, independent nation, and it was partially because of their tough warrior soldiers. Unfortunately in this era, the first thing that sprang to my no-doubt uncultered mind was "men in tights!" I do like the dances, but wow, what interesting clothing for soldiers to wear. It is no doubt more practical in the distant past in the motherland than in central Ohio in 2008. I post a picture as evidence of the uniforms worn by the Greek soldier...not a bit of camo in sight-and pompoms on their shoes...they had to be tough!

Broken shells and pennies

I once heard a young man preaching about "Have You Ever Felt Like a Penny". He was a successful, educated guy who always seemed very positive and confident. His talk was about how no one values a penny now. People drop them and don't even bother to pick them up. They say "It's just a penny". God values people, even ones who feel like they are pennies. His words stuck with me, as I have felt like a penny more than once. I am usually startled if someone likes something I say or do, it is a shock to be valued. It's a pity we don't tell each other more often that we are of value. Broken shells are like that too. People want the prettiest ones on the beach, and search for ones without flaws. I like looking at all of them, especially the very old, holey ones with weird things stuck to the underside. I feel they 'had a life' of unusual depth and experience. As I get older, I hope I accumulate interesting experiences and don't really care if I look more like the odd old shell than a perfect one you put on display. The beat up broken shells get to stay in the sea!

What fall gives and takes away...

Fall is beautiful but it can feel somber too. I always want to travel in the fall, it's a restlessness that comes every year. I don't know if I ever felt it beforeI read The Hobbit and in particular reading Bilbo's poem about the road calling him-but I now connect that with fall, it seems intertwined with the longing to leave where I am, and go...who knows where? The colorful leaves last a week or two and then the trees are barren, and sometimes kind of ugly. It depends on what is left, beautiful branches and trunk, or not so pretty. It's like people. You really get to know someone when you have been around them for a long period of time. All the covering of 'public persona' is gone, especially when you go through a stressful situation and see how they react and the words they use. You see the real people. I still love the shape of the trees, even the twisted ones with gnarled and stunted branches. The nasty ones I think are the ones with thorns,they are like the bitter, ugly personality some people cover with the 'leaves' they think hide their difficult attitudes, their greediness, their self-centeredness. Fall is coming, and no one will be able to hide what they are. Get ready. Change, drop those leaves, be beautiful anyway.

Another decorating job

Was for a friend who is fostering a three year old. I have three boys, what do I know about decorating a girls room? We avoid the 'pink aisle' in the toy stores, and my boys favor blues and oranges, and dull colors. I think I went a little bit "Princess on Steroids" with this decorating job, but it pleased the little girl and her foster mom, and that's all that counts. From bright pink walls, to a frou frou gauzy pink canopy over her toddler bed, to tiaras out the ear, it is a GIRLS room. I have to admit, I enjoyed putting it together, and once you see a tiara or a sparkly pillow that says Princess, it gets in your blood and you 'radar in' on things you never noticed before. I would go broke on accessorizing a little girl, it's just too darn fun! I went so far as to create a decorative letter "K" for the girls first name, with decoupage, flowers, etc. It was Hawaii sped up, it was Cinderella without the helpful mice, it was me losing my mind a little bit in the "pink aisle"!

Photographing graves for fun and profit...

Well, actually for neither. I find it interesting, not fun, and I spend money on scooter gas to do it, but it keeps me out of trouble:) I am not really a morbid person at all, I am rather pragmatic about death, and not into dwelling on it. However, I am also into genealogy and looking for things online found Find A Grave. I decided to become a photo volunteer(it's also an excuse to ride my scooter). It's a challenge to locate graves, and it makes you think a lot about how you should live your life. It can also be sad when you read the dates on some and realize it is a child's grave, but I also am inspired by the beauty of the grounds at times, or the statuary, or the symbolism in the older graves markings of weeping trees, skyward-pointing hands, or people buried next to one another that you realize had been together a long time, and died within a short time of each other. It makes you feel connected to the past, and makes you consider your present.

My hobbies are diverse-decorating is one

I get into and out of decorating off and on for friends, I also wrote about it briefly for an online B&B magazine. I recently gave a friend advice on curtains for her breakfast nook, and it worked out beautifully. She had a triple-windowed bumpout with windows nearly touching for the 'bay window' look. There was about 3 inches between casings. It looks out to her horse pasture, rolling hills, sunshine, just a million dollar view. I said, instead of the long curtains she had planned, which would have covered a good deal of the windows- just use toppers. She picked out some tassled navy toile ones that came to a point in the center, and it looks fabulous. She also used square-ended heavy metal rods that add some weight to the tall windows. It's beautiful and you don't lose that amazing view.

Scooter Ride last Sunday...Hocking Hills

What can be said about such beauty? Sunshine streaming through golden-red leaves, rolling hills bathed in sunshine, smells of harvest time, the buzz of little scooters flying over hills and straining on a few of them...it was all there! That and cookies and hotdogs on our mid-point break..oh, and marshmallows, how could I forget those? I usually burn mine and have gotten so used to that particular harsh/sweet taste that it was the 'norm' but I decided to go for golden brown..yum, so much better. In any case, riding with my Posse was so fun, they should have charged admission to go along...