For the last 2 weeks, Dothan has been thinking of little else than PEANUTS. 

Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of Alabama, situated approximately 20 miles  west of the Georgia state line and 18 miles  north of Florida.     Its name derives from Genesis 37:17: “let us go to Dothan.” According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the city’s population was 65,447, making it the largest town in this part of the state, and the combined population for the entire Dothan metropolitan area was 137,916.  The city serves as the main transportation and commercial hub for a significant part of southeastern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and nearby portions of the Florida Panhandle.

 Since more than  one-fourth of the U.S. peanut crop is produced within a 100 mile radius, with much of it being processed in the city, Dothan calls itself “The Peanut Capital of the World.”   And, so,The National Peanut Festival (NPF) — the nation’s largest peanut festival — is held each fall to honor peanut growers and to celebrate the harvest season.

The National Peanut Festival  is the United States ‘ largest peanut festival.  The festivities include games and amusement rides on a large midway, animal acts, agricultural displays, an outdoor amphitheater with live music concerts by national recording artists, beauty pageants, arts and crafts displays, contests, food and a two-hour parade. The National Peanut festival also sponsors and holds field crop exhibits with prizes awarded to each exhibitor.The 9 day celebration of the peanut harvest attracts more than 120,000 people, and has a history of 56 years.

The peanut festival also has other competitions, including  Sewing , Cake Decorating,  Photography, Cooking ,Art.

Rides and lights seem embedded into the night sky. The sounds of joyful shrieks slice through the air as the ferris wheel comes to a stop. You feel like you can see the whole world. The world is no longer dark. It is brilliant and exciting, and you are at the very top of it all. The ferris wheel comes down, and you are in the thick of a jungle of carnival exhibits, games, and more. Time itself whirls around you as though this energy will last forever though it is for just a moment.

 And to top it all off, on Saturday, the big parade through downtown Dothan.  Each community has its own float, and another for the queens from there, as well as businesses.  Then there are the bands, and the peanut growers, and the military vehicles.  The favorite for my children was always the big monster / tractor like truck that would come through the streets and drop thousands and thousands of parched peanuts in the street.  Everyone runs to fill a bag or a cup and munches on them as the rest of the parade passes by. 

 

  This event is a ‘given’ in our area.  So many county schools prepare all year to show their cattle or pigs or sheep.  The bands practice, playing and marching, to show off for the crowd as they march in front of their community’s floats.  Such fun…such mayhem…such tradition.  The coming of ‘the fair’ is our signal that the holiday season has started…….we’ve just added one more celebration!

  

I don’t think my Mom ever was too big a fan of the parades.  I don’t remember going too much as a child.  I must have gone some, because I have some memories of us sitting on the curb together.  And, I remember that there was always a friendly rival between the Dothan High School Band  and the Carver High School Band.  That was before the two schools were joined to make 1 high school.  After I married, and had small children, we always went with my sweet MIL, Elizabeth.  She loved parades, and she loved to have all the children there with her.  Sweet memories.

  

And, it’s over…for another year…the queens have little to do until they crown their successors next summer.  The recipes that won the recipe contest, have been printed in the newspaper and cooks all over the area have already tried them. 

The youngsters that caught a pig in the peanut-oil greased pig contest have taken their little piggies home to fatten them and bring them back next year for judging.  The World’s Best Corndog man has packed his little cooking wagon and moved it to the next event.  And, the carnival rides have been loaded and moved to the next town…to delight children …of all ages…there as they did here.

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Information gleaned from National Peanut Festival Website, Wikipedia, and FB Page.

Pictures by Adam and Ian Owens

I came across this beautiful picture on the Internet.  It caught my eye and I just sat and looked at it .  There was no -photographer  listed…so I can not give credit.  I came to realize that that it is made of layers of colors.

See the violet deep down in the water…

Notice the blue/grey at the bottom.

Then you will note a bright lime green,..on both sides of the bridge.

Then the most glorious golden color.

Next comes the orange.

And then a beautiful deep red.

All topped  off,  by  blue sky.

“The Lord has done this, it is marvelous in our eyes.”  Psalms 118:23

 “Be glad…
rejoice in the LORD your God,
for He has given you
the autumn rains in righteousness.
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains…”    Joel 2:23″

EDIT:

I just had a comment from my very wise and very wonderful friend, Rachel.  She commented that the colors are arranged in the rainbow spectrum.  The colors of a rainbow in order are RED…ORANGE…YELLOW..GREEN…BLUE…INDIGO…VIOLET.  (ROY G BIV).  i DID NOT EVEN PICK UP ON THAT AS i WAS STUDYING THIS PIC.   NOW JUST WHO DO YOU THINK PUT THESE COLORS IN ORDER?  THAT IS MY ‘GOD WINK’ FOR THE DAY.  THANKS, RACHEL

One of the things I most like to do is read.  I love books and can get lost in the pages.  And, that is what happened to me yesterday.  I had picked up this book for several reasons.  One is that I read a review on it in USA Today last week.  Also, another blogger who reviews books had recommended it highly.  And, third, it had to do with a child, and that always captures my attention.

Yesterday morning,  while still in bed, I noticed it on the table.  I decided to pick it up and look through the first few pages…and try to save some time later in the afternoon to start reading it.  I got up and got a Diet Dr. Pepper, and propped up in bed to scan the cover and reviews and such.  

WARNING!!!!!  Do not open this book unless you have all intentions of reading it in one sitting.  YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!  I did put it down twice to go to the bathroom, and then once to get another DDP and some Trail Mix.  But, I read all 339 pages in about 5 hours.  And, was totally captivated by this story.

On the dust jacket on the front of the book are these words…”Potent, darkly beautiful, and revelatory.”  And, it can certainly be considered ‘dark’……but not to the extent you would think.  The charcters in this book are in a terrible situation…a desparate situation.  Terrible things happen to them.  The writers lets you know it is happening without going through the details.  But, that is not what is important in this story.  It is the ‘spirit’ of Ma.  It speaks to the maternal instinct and the lengths a mother will go to for her child.  And, the child, Jack, is a  child who is born with such an inquisitive mind  and being so well schooled by Ma,  that at the proper time, he is able to do what is totally alien to him.

And, speaking of LAYERS, you can see in this story how Ma’s mother taught her daughter things that help take her through this ordeal.  Ma, in turn, taught them to Jack.  Jack, then, teaches those around him what is important.

Oh, get this book.  You will not be sorry.  But, be warned…the laundry and the dishes and the dusting, etc. will go undone the day you pick it up and read the first page.

I purchased mine at Target.  Also available at Barnes and Nobel and at Amazon.

I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful week for you and yours.

Whew!  I’m tired!  So, I may not get through this tonight. 

I compromised.  I did.  Never let it be said that I don’t try to keep the peace….  I decided that I would take some plates.  But, I didn’t have 6 of 1 style that would coordinate with the decor.   I was (as usual) the last one to decorate.  But, that’s OK, cause I had it done a good 3 hours ahead  of the time to start.  And, I work better at ‘the last minute’…that’s just the way I roll.  Table decorated…centerpiece…crows, pumpkins…place mats….and PLATES!  I had 4 of the bird plates, and 4 of the pine needle plates.  I was unable to get more of the bird plates, but I could have gone and gotten some more of the pine needle plates so I would have had 6 matching.  But, I didn’t.  Used what I had, alternated them on the table, and it looked just fine!  However, I did not think it necessary to haul glasses and silverware, too.  So, I didn’t.

 Good Morning!  Sorry, had to go to sleep last night!  So, as I was saying………

The dinner was lovely.  Some of the most beautiful tables.  Will show you some after I finish my story.  I worked on my centerpiece and got it to my liking.  Here is the way my table looked before the dinner started.

And, some close ups….

 The bags hold scented candles.  Each of the guests took one home.

 BTW…I punched out everyone of these little crows to make my own confetti…there were hundreds…..

Several of the men were there to be the ‘waiters’……..including DH….(far left)…

I ‘lifted’ this picture from a friend, who had  posted her pictures last night.  I haven’t asked her yet if I could use it…but, I’m pretty sure she would say ‘yes’…so…picture courtesy of April Cobb.

 DH came from work, so when he got there he looked over the tables.  He said, “Your table is the only one without glasses and silverware.”  Well, it was not the only one…but then a someone came by and told me that I needed to get some glasses for my table, or we wouldn’t have anything to drink out of.    I think I heard a “told you so” from a masculine voice.  So, thinking maybe I really had messed up, I went to the closet and hauled out 6 fancy nancy glasses.  Someone had already come by to put out the silverware.  OK…it’s all ready, have the blessing, and the waiters start serving.  First they bring us a salad, in a clear plastic plate which we set on my plates.  Then, they bring our drinks…IN PLASTIC CUPS !!!  So here I am with this stem ware on the table, and now the drinks are not even in them.  DH was assigned to 3 tables…one of which was mine.  So, after he brought our tea IN PLASTIC CUPS !!!!!, I had him remove the glasses from our table.  Because my table was very full and they were in our way.   Even those who had brought glasses did not use them…they used the plastic cups also.  Our main course and desert were also served in plastic plates.  The meal, prepared by Janice Kelley, was delicious!

So, to sum it up…I had a plan, and it was a good plan.  I should not have changed it.  I should only have listened to the lady in charge.  I compromised on the plates, and I should have left it at that.  I would have had much less stress that way.  Next time I decide to ‘go my own way’…..no one will talk me out of it!

My sweet friend, Pam, came last night.  She is so dear to Joy and I.  Pam is our former organist at church, and she is the one we chose to sing at Mom’s funeral.  So good to spend time with her.

Here, then, are some of the other tables that were fixed last night.  So sorry that I do not remember all the designers names.

Here, the campfire in center of table glowed, and the ones seated at this table wore the hats and kerchiefs…

LOVE these chargers…

 Great ‘coffee’ theme!

Note the scripture on the plates…beautiful ! 

This table was decorated by the incomparable Monty Clark.  Love the silver and lime color scheme.  Sadly, Monty did not get to speak last night.  She had a lovely talk all prepared, but, alas, someone else was on the program…so we’ll have to hear from her later.  (If you hear of my demise…it was Monty who did it!)

This is the table done by April Cobb.  She so graciously lent me her photo.  She is also the ultrasound technician that is keeping track of my grandchild while he/she is still in the womb.    I just know she loves looking at that beautiful child!!! 🙂  Her table was full of fun!

Using the child’s game Candy Land as inspiration.  Very clever.  Done by one of the youth in our church.

A dear lady, Dot Arnold, had a birthday yesterday.  So someone did a table in her honor.  Her daughter was our speaker last night.  She did an excellent job.

There were 23 tables all together.  Wish I could show you all of them.  The lady in charge (Linda Mills) had secured some great door prizes…which is always fun…especially when you win one of them…and I did.  I figure it was a reward for putting myself in a ‘compromising’ state of mind.

It was a wonderful night.  Several of our friends who had moved to other churches were there and it was wonderful to see them.  Wonderful speaker, as well.

It is now 3:04 pm. and it’s looking kinda doubtful if the things in my trunk will make it in today.  There’s always tomorrow…they’ll wait!

Psalm 34:8       Amen.

I’m busy, busy, busy today.  We have a dinner at our church once a year called the ‘Tables of Love’.  Anyone who likes may decorate a table.  It can be any style you like.  I had it all planned out in my head what I was going to do.  So, Tuesday night I did what every smart, well-prepared lady would do.  I gathered together all my supplies.  I put it all in containers that I could manage.  And, I piled it by the back door.  Then I went to my closet and got out the clothes I was going to wear, making sure they were ironed and ready…even put out my shoes.

Now, some people are going to go all out on their table.  They are bringing their china, their glasses, even their silverware.  I think that’s wonderful!  But, we are not going to use those china, glasses and silverware.  We are going to use the churches china, glasses and silverware.  So, I decided that I would not cart all my china, glasses and silverware to the church…especially since we are not going to use them.  I talked to the lady who is in charge of this shin-dig…she said that was fine…not a problem.  THEN, Joy called me and asked me if I knew that we were supposed to take our china, glasses and silverware.  And, I told her that I knew, but was not going to, and I had talked to the lady in charge. and she said OK.  Joy then said “OK”.  But, I felt like she thought I should take china, glasses and silverware.  Then, my DH asked me that night if I knew that all the ladies were taking their china, glasses and silverware.  [how in the world does he know this little tid bit of info?  Who told him that?  Did they think he would care?  Did they think he would tell me?  Well…he did.]   So, I told him that I had talked to the lady in charge and she said it was OK.  Then DH looked at me like,”well, if you ask me, you should take some of the china, glasses and silverware around here and use it at the church.”   He didn’t SAY it…he just looked it.  By the way, the men are serving us tonight…so he will be there.  And, I will never hear the end of it if I am the only one there who does not have their china, glasses and silverware.  Now, that would not bother me…but it would bother him because it would mean that I was not ‘following the rules.”  Cause I “always try to go my own way, and do things differently, instead of following the plan and doing things the ‘right’ way.”  I” need to work on that “.   I must admit, there is the smallest grain of truth in that statement.   WELL….normally, I would go on and do what I had planned.  However since Joy and DH both mentioned it…maybe I need to reconsider.  But, I really do not have the china to go with the theme of my table decor.  That would mean I would have to go on a search for china, glasses and silverware.  I did buy new place mats…but that’s not the same as…well, you know.

So, here I am…getting dressed.  And, I will either go to the church and decorate as I planned, or I will go on a wild goose chase for appropriate china, glasses and silverware, then go to the church and decorate my table.

By the way………the decor was all packed and ready to go in plenty of time.  I did it on Tuesday night, thinking the dinner was on Wednesday…instead of Thursday.  At least it can not be said that I waited till the last minute to get things ready!  Unless you count the china, glasses, silverware…..

Watch for the follow-up report….

 I love music!  Bet you do, too!  I think there is something in our souls that resonates with the rhythm in the music that we listen to.  I’m doing some research on the effects of music on the human brain…and will share it with you when I finish…..if I finish.  However, I can say this for sure…MUSIC FEEDS MY SOUL.

If you follow the link below it will take you to a musical toy (for lack of a better word) that is just delightful!  Click anywhere on the screen…two different places.  Then wait.  Soon you will hear a faint sound, then more and more.  Continue clicking to add more notes to the melody.  I like to put new circles inside the existing circles.  Just play with it and let the music ‘take you away’.    Enjoy!

http://lab.andre-michelle.com/pulsate