Tour de Georgia

Tour de Georgia comes to Burnt Mountain!

The leaders of the pack whiz by with television cameras following close behind, 12:40 p.m.

The rest of the pack 10 minutes behind the leaders, 12:50 p.m.

Lots of cars along for the ride.

And then they were gone, 12:51 p.m.

Just standing by the mailbox watching the traffic go by, not much different than any other day here in the country. Though I did get some candy thrown to me!

photo album here

~featured on Georgia Blog Carnival #34

Yonah Mountain

View from the top of Yonah Mountain

Mayapple

Trail head parking lot, destination Yonah looming overhead

Even though we have been talking about climbing this mountain for a while, Sunday's cool temps and clear skies prompted a spur of the moment trip. 6 miles round trip hike from the Forest Service parking area, 1600 feet change in elevation, beautiful clear day, great views, 2 geocaches found, rockclimbers to watch, lots of wildflowers. A good day!

impatience

the sun was warm
and set me free
the first one out
for all to see

but what is this
so white and cold
why is the breeze
so crisp and bold

what have i done
what did i find
let me back in
i changed my mind

~photo 27 February 2008 - the first forsythia bloom of the season has a unexpected snowy welcome on Burnt Mountain

~featured on Georgia Blog Carnival #30

under the lake

62 miles of deserted shoreline

where do toothpicks come from?

ancient seashell?

mysterious objects surface

Carters Dam circa 1977


Carters Lake in north Georgia with its clear blue water. The water level is usually down in the winter, possibly more so this year because of the drought. This is a good time of year to explore the lake, you can easily walk some of the 62 miles of shoreline, finding colorful rocks, sandy soil, shells, enjoy the fresh mountain air.

I remember coming here in the 60s with my dad to see the construction of the dam, mountains of red Georgia clay being pushed around by big machines, here is a picture found online in the archives of the Corps of Engineers.

Imagine what might be under that deep cold mountain water. I am reminded of the Stuart Woods' book - Under the Lake - about a peaceful lake in the north Georgia mountains and the mysterious things submerged beneath the waters' surface. I wonder on which mountain lake his story was based? Maybe there is more here than meets the eye, under the lake...


~featured on Georgia Blog Carnival #28

mountain sunrise

North Georgia Mountain Sunrise

~photo by Carrie - 27 December 2007

~featured on Georgia Blog Carnival #27

inspiration

We were very fortunate to meet Truett Cathy on Saturday. He is the developer of the Chicken Sandwich and Founder of Chick-fil-A.

Mr. Cathy was the guest speaker at the Company Christmas luncheon. Mr. Cathy was introduced very graciously by the president of the W. H. Bass Construction company, Carl Herndon. Carl told of the long relationship the company has had with Chick-fil-A, over 20 years, how Bass has built 400 Chick-fil-A stores.

Mr. Cathy is 86 years old and sharp as a tack. He got up and acknowledged the longstanding relationship with Bass, and went on to add that since he gave Bass so much business, maybe he should get a quantity discount?

At our tables we found an autographed copy of his latest book, How Did You Do It, Truett?, a gift card for a free Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich, and a toy cow wearing the sign Eat mor Chikin.

Mr Cathy was quick to explain these items found on our table. First, the books were not a gift, that he was planning on bringing his new book to sell, as he has found that a book is more likely to be read if it is purchased than if it is a gift. (Thanks to W. H. Bass company for the books!). Second, he pointed out that the coupon for the chicken sandwich is good only for the sandwich, that we might want to buy the fries and drink to go with it. And finally, he wanted to know, "What do the cows say?" It took us two tries, but we finally convinced him loudly that cows say Eat Mor Chickin!

He told some of the stories his childhood in the depression in Atlanta, how as a kid he would buy 6 cokes for a quarter and turn around and sell them for a nickel a piece, how he made a deal with the ice delivery man for the broken blocks of ice to cool his cokes, how as a kid he didn't have anything to play with except a loose tooth - "and that wasn't mine. It was my brother's."

He spoke of the Chick-fil-A corporate office built back in 1982 in Atlanta. Buddy's father built that corporate office, and after the speech, we went up to meet Mr. Cathy, Buddy told him that was his dad who was the superintendent on the Chick-fil-A corporate headquarters job, how we heard stories of Mr. Cathy coming by the job site with a trunk load of chicken sandwiches for the construction crew.

Truett Cathy is very down to earth, entertaining, and inspiring. He challenged everyone with question, "Why not?" Why not do the best you can, why not give your all to anything you attempt. Hard work, confidence, consistency, character, commitment, never working on Sunday, and giving back, just a few of the many traits of this special man.

Some of Truett Cathy's awards/acknowledgments:

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans

Cathy is the the 380th richest man in America and the 799th richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine. (You would never know this by talking to him, he shared how his wife still clips coupons and he compares prices on ketchup at the grocery store).

He established the WinShape Foundation in 1984 which supports a long-term foster care program, a summer camp for nearly 1,800 kids each year, and a scholarship program.

Thanks for the opportunity to meet a great man, to receive just a little of his wisdom and experience, to shake his hand.


~featured on Georgia Blog Carnival #25

turkey trot

The turkeys are back!

Don't they know that tomorrow is turkey day?

Don't they see the turkey deep fryer getting filled with oil,

the turkey platter coming out of the cabinet?

They travel in a group, flock, or posse, a community of turkeys traveling around visiting the neighbors, seeing what is new.



Like the turkeys, there is also a community of bloggers. Since I work at home, it helps me stay 'connected' with other folks without dealing with the office politics. Just hanging out 'round the virtual water cooler, occasionally offering my two cents' worth.



I check in with my neighbors out in blogland to see what they are up to, what stories or pictures they have to share. One of my neighbors up in Tennessee, Byron at Knoxville Trivia Blog recently received the Community Blogger Award and kindly passed it on to me!

"The Community Blog Award celebrates people who reach out and makes the blogger community a better one."

Byron described my blog:

"She takes beautiful photographs. She blogs about the kind of things that I like, such as family, mountains, old barns and a plethora of other subjects. She's as country as barbed wire and bailing twine, and not ashamed to admit it, and I like that."

He went on to reference my "where I'm from" post, and said,

"Sounds like we have a lot of the same things in common, only you've been sprinkled and I've been dunked!"

Thanks for the kind words. Hmmm... country as barbed wire and bailing twine?



This award is flying out to more neighbors in the community:

Georgia blogger - Elementary Historyteacher at Georgia on My Mind gathers Georgia bloggers together for a biweekly carnival of Georgia blogs.

Virginia blogger - June at Spatter has joined the blogging community of Floyd, Virginia, a small one-light town chock full of artists and writers and bloggers. She says, "What I write feels and looks like spatter to me...spurts of inspiration."

North Carolina blogger - Gypsy Quilter is part of the quilting community, and says, "Whenever I wander, wherever I roam, if my fabric goes with me, then I feel at home. Some children grow up using every crayon in the box. I still do, only now they are fabric boxes."

Have a great turkey day everyone!


~featured on Georgia Blog Carnival #23

visualization

Visual aids are important in weight loss, as in many other areas of endeavor.

Sometimes the loss of weight seems insignificant, but if you compare it to something visual, it becomes an accomplishment. For example, if you lost 1/4 pound - that is a stick of butter.


3 pounds is a can of Crisco

5 pounds is a bag of sugar

At Weight Watchers, someone lost 7 pounds and the leader said,
"That's 28 sticks of butter!"

When one person was asked about her total weight loss, she said,
"I lost a bag of deer corn, 40 pounds!"

The meetings are lots of fun and entertaining. We meet new people, get encouragement, recipes, and tips.

Like just last night we were told, "If it gets too cold to go outside to exercise, just do like everyone else in Ellijay, go to The Walmart and walk around!"

The country version of mall-walking, losing your weight in deer corn, ain't the country life grand!


~featured on Georgia Blog Carnival #22