Food, Glorious Food and a Nice Ride

Members of clubs and organizations seem to like to eat. So many of these groups meet at local restaurants once or twice a month for lunch and their business meetings…Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Sertoma. But, I think the Elks, Moose, American Legion and Masons have the right idea…a fellowship hall and/or restaurant built into their facilities.

We have eaten at the local Masonic Lodge twice this week. Many Florida Masonic Lodges have a really great tradition. They meet either once or twice a month (most meet twice a month). On the fifth of whatever day of the week that they meet, they hold a family potluck. In other words, if they meet on a Monday night, the fifth Monday is the family dinner (or if they meet Tuesday, dinner fifth Tuesday, etc.) Well, Monday was fifth Monday. Dang they (we) eat well. Somewhere close to fifty folks showed for the meal. Yummy! Yummy! Pastas (hot and cold), turkey, chicken, hot peppers, salads, desserts. Can’t wait for the next fifth Monday…looks like May. Oh, boy.

This morning was breakfast. For $5.00 one can choose as much as one likes (or as little)…scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, French toast, pancakes, grits (sometimes), biscuits and gravy, OJ and coffee. The food is good. The fellowship is great.

Somewhere along the way, we discovered that Florida has a Masonic Lodge entitled “Marston Lodge #49.” Given our last name, Steve has been wondering where it was. He asked many people. No one seemed to know. Well, Steve got a surprise this morning when he asked yet again of one more Mason where it might be. Surprise! Surprise! The gentleman knew…Ft. McCoy.

Ft. McCoy is not that far from us so Steve thought it would be good to take a ride to see if we could locate it. The Lodge has been around since before the War Between the States. The town is small, but apparently the Lodge is strong. It is kind of neat to see a Lodge with ones last name on it. One of these days I will have to look into how it got its name.

Once we found the building, Steve decided to mosey some more. We went east into the Ocala State Forest. He thought he might see something there. It’s a forest. You’re gonna see trees. We stayed on the main road and were surprised to see an entire area set aside for Offroad VM’s. The parking lot was huge. There were lots of vehicles there including a trailer which must have carried ten or twelve.

Continuing on, we discovered a sign for a boat launch. Steve, ever the fan of boats, turned left. While we were there, several boats were off loaded. I was surprised to see that the launching area was free, the parking was free and there were restrooms (also free). Free is better than cheap! Did not know there were any such areas that are still free.

The boat launching area was into Lake Kerr, a good sized lake, but by Florida standards, rather small. We rode around the east side of the lake to discover many cottages and cabins. Looks like a great place to go boating and relax.

We lost the sunshine while there.  As the weather-man later said, the sunshine was "filtered."  New word for mostly cloudy, I suspect!

Nice trip!

THIS AND THAT AROUND THE 'HOOD

All pics below were taken within a ten mile radius of my house!

Cool, uh??

Betcha don't have these neibhors in your 'hood!

Home, Home on the Range                                                               Mama, Mama,                                                                

                                                                               

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam

And I'll show you a dirty house!

Amazon Associates

I have just added Amazon Associates to my blog.  Amazon is an easy way to buy books, music and murder mysteries.

Good Friday

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Today marks the day when most Christians celebrate Good Friday, the day which Christ was crucified. It is one of the most holy days leading to the most holy day…the Day of Resurrection.

I spent some time this morning reading in all four Gospels from the King James Version about the earthly death of the human portion of Jesus. The Last Supper, visit to the garden, prayers, arrest, trial and eventual crucifixion. Portions in all four Gospels are almost word for word. Several chapters are devoted to the aforementioned events.

Matthew: tax collector and accountant of the bunch, one of The Twelve. Matthew writes to the Jewish population.

Mark: a follower of Jesus through Paul, much younger than the rest. Mark preaches primarily to the Gentile population.

Luke: the physician, also a follower of Jesus through Paul. Luke writes of the human side of Jesus. Luke is the only gospel, for instance, that tells of his birth. He, indeed, is a son of man (woman).

John: the beloved Disciple, he and James are likely related to Jesus. John writes of the Divinity and Godliness of Jesus, the Son of God, the Father.

Some observations not often discussed:

In Mark’s version, there are two verses (Mark 14:51-52) which are sort of surprising. This particular incident is not mentioned in any of the other Gospels:

              51. And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him.
             52. And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.


Some scholars believe that this young man may have been Mark who witnessed the arrest of our Lord. To me this makes a lot of sense, as why else would that be important enough to mention it in his Gospel. If this is true, then he “found” Jesus long before he was mentored by Paul. Did God touch his heart in that garden? Maybe.

John’s Gospel, although relatively short, gives ever so much of the spoken word of Jesus…much more than the other three Gospels. John must have stuck close to Jesus throughout the entire evening of the trial and followed him closely to the Cross:
           1. The words and conversation of Jesus are expressed from the dinner to the His death.
           2. Although written in third person, John is there to hear the charge Jesus gave his mother and to John to care for her. (John 19:26, 27).
           3. There seems to be much more of fulfilled scripture mentioned in John than in the other Gospels.
           4. John is the only Gospel to name Peter as the man with the sword in the garden who severed the servant’s ear. (John 18:10)
           5. And named the servant (Malchus). (John 18:10)


Luke, the story teller of the human side of Jesus, goes into much more detail about finding the appropriate place for the Passover dinner. He also discusses food and drink in more detail.

Matthew’s story is geared toward much of the religious aspect of Jewish life. (Matthew 26:3-5)
          3. Then assembled together the chief priest, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas.
         4. And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
         5. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.


The truth is the same, but enhanced by the personalities of each of the writers.  Isn't wonderful that God gave us each a distinctive personality!

Praise Be to God!

Another commentary on spring

The wisteria is out too.

Mississippi--The "New" Capitol

Capitol (#11 current)


400 Mississippi Street
Jackson, MS
(601) 359-3114

http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/htms/cap_info.htm

Monday thru Friday 8:00 am to 5pm. Self guided tours or guided tours with a reservation

This posting seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle.  I wrote it early February.

This always amazes me. It was built 1901-1903 at a cost of approximately $1.1 million. The most recent renovation, approximately $19,000,000.  The cost of renovation so many more times the original cost.

 Seems as though Southern capitols are frequently built on the grounds of the “old” penitentiary…Mississippi and Arkansas…don’t know about any others. Theodore Link of St. Louis was the architect, using a Beaux Arts style. It is slightly over 400 wide. The center of the dome is 180 feet high. Everything is ornate and grandiose, particularly on the first floor. (As you ascend, not quite so much, but it is still there). Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns are everywhere. Mouldings, fancy—Greek key, pineapple, egg-and-dart—almost every type of which one can think. Massive oak doors. Georgia granite. Indiana limestone. Italian marble. Vermont marble. Brass fixtures. Green Swiss marble wainscoting. Black walnut carved columns and leaves in the Supreme Court Chamber with a mosaic floor tile. No faux anything here. Everything is the real deal.

The Legislature Chambers are semicircular rooms at either end of the halls. Both have stained glass ceilings, protected by copper. The designs in the ceiling are different in both places. The House is fancy and ornate. Marble from many areas. The oak desks are original to 1903. The Senate is even moooore. Scagliola from everywhere. Leaded glass windows. Much original furniture, mostly oak.

The dome topper is a massive eagle made of copper and covered with gold leaf.—eight foot tall; fifteen foot wingspan.

Did I mention ornate and grandiose????!!!??

Cornerstone: Could not locate despite circling the building twice.

Grounds: 13 acres covering four blocks. There are twenty varieties of trees and some seasonal gardens. Several monuments welcome you from the street. Parking was easy.

What’s Unique? The friendliness of the people is far and away above any other capitol thus visited. Everyyyyyybody was willing to stop and talk. We were about to ascend the Grand Staircase when a gentlemen who turned out to be State Senator Carmichael stopped to chat with us. He was absolutely delighted that we were visiting. Like all the capitols we have visited, Mississippi Assembly was not in session. We have somehow missed being at any of them when in session. This makes parking much easier. The ability to actually be in the Chamber rooms is also something that cannot happen while they are in session. A bonus to me.

Once again, I digress…everyone from Senator Carmichael to the gentleman who changed the light bulbs descending from the top of the rotunda stopped and greeted us, made us feel extremely welcome and answered my dumb questions. (“How DO you change those light bulbs?” It is done with a special thirty foot pole with a fancy attachment at the end to grab the bulb without damaging it.) 750 exposed light bulbs (there really are over 4,000 in original fixtures) make the place very bright.

Also, the UDC (United Daughters of the Confederacy) have their own room in the building. As far as I know, this is the only capitol that has allocated a room in their capitol for this organization.


After visiting two capitol buildings in downtown Jackson, Steve wanted to move on.  So, we hopped on the highway and headed toward the home of the people with which we were staying that night.  Much too early!!!  Continued on to Vicksburg National Park (Battlefied).

Frisky

Frisky


Canine
English Springer Spaniel
Liver and white
Born sometime in 2002

Frisky, a misnomer, if ever there was one. I guess as a puppy he may have filled the bill, but no longer.

Frisky came to us as a foster care dog. He was approximately three years old when he joined our family November 12, 2005. His human papa had been hospitalized for several months. He had a double lung transplant. The transplant went well and was successful..

When I first heard that Frisky was in a veterinarian kennel and had been for a couple of months, I called his human mama. She had moved temporarily to an apartment to be near her husband some two hundred plus miles away from home. Practically speaking, she could not take care of the dog. In addition to the time she spent with her husband, the apartment complex did not allow pets. A neighbor took care of him for a month or so. Then the neighbor decided that she could no longer take care of him. Enter the vet’s kennel. The staff loved him, was very good to him and gave him excellent care, but it was not the best place for him to live. I was still up-north working our summer schedule for kettle korn, but told Frisky’s mom that I would be happy to bring him to my home when I returned to Florida. Mom was pleased.

Lynne and her daughter took Frisky out of his kennel home for a few days, until I could get to them. Both his human mama and papa were happy that we would have room to roam. We live about thirty miles from the hospital. Frisky’s folks were able to come out one day to visit.

Molly was still with us. So, Frisky became number two dog. Molly got the front bed in the van; Frisky the floor of the van. Molly was his big sister. She taught him how to behave at kettle korn events. She always slept under a table; he quickly learned to so do as well. After we lost Molly the following spring, Frisky became number one dog and got the bed in the front of the van. (The van has bucket seats and Steve built up a place where the dog’s bed could go. The dog can sleep or sit up and watch the scenery as it wishes…Molly oft sat up; Frisky generally sleeps.)

Frisky’s papa got a viral infection which attacked all his organs including his wonderful new lungs and passed in December 2005. Frisky’s mom felt he would be better with us. So, he went from foster care to being adopted. He reminds so much of his first human papa—his eyes, his expressions and his cute little wiggly jowls . They say pets look like their owners (or maybe owners look like their pets). ‘Tis true!

Frisky does not like being alone; he follows us around like…what’s the expression…oh, yeah…a dog. If we are outdoors, that’s where he wants to be; if we go indoors, he cries at the window to join us. He sleeps at our feet when the TV is on and follows Steve to the bedroom about an hour after Steve retires. I go to bed much later than my boys, but usually let him out just before I retire. More likely than not, I find him on the floor next to Steve’s side of the bed or under the bed.

When we go out to do an event, he is a crazy boy. While we are putting up the tent, he is constantly in the way. But as soon as everything is set up, he stays under one of the tables. Sometimes he rests in the back of the tent; but more often than not, he sleeps under the table in the front. He is soooooooo quiet that people do not often see him. He loves attention, but sometimes too many people or too much noise scares him.

Another fear he has is water—ocean, lake. I have tried to tell him that he is a spaniel; by nature, he should like water. But, no way! We have taken him to a doggie park that has a doggie beach. Try to coax him in! Ha Ha! He plants himself like a stubborn donkey. No pulling, pushing or carrying is gonna get that dude in that water. No way, Jose!

One of the funniest things about him is that he snores…LOUDLY. When he first came to us, I blamed Steve for the noise. It only took a couple of days to realize that it was not Steve at all, but this new critter in the house. He has a snorky sound (sometimes we call him Snork), a set of snorts and wheezes…actually a whole orchestra of sounds and melodies.

Like Betsy, we think he also wears a watch. His is probably a Goofy or Pluto or some other dog hero. Are there Lassie or Rin Tin Tin watches? Shortly after Betsy comes out of her room (see March 31 post), he starts barking. If ignored, he grabs his bowl and flings it until someone gets the hint and puts his grub into it.

He gets along well with the cats. He wants to play, but they apparently do not understand the doggie rules of the game—only the cat rules. So, the games do not always go well. The felines do, however, tolerate him and sometimes even rub against him. But, they are cats after all, and must maintain their aloofness.