Who would you be????

 As you all know I love to read. For me opening up a book is like jumping in to an adventure.
An old friend of mine who is a Christian Counselor and graduate of Liberty University, asked this question on her Facebook page:

Which book or movie character do you relate to and identify with the most and why? 

Gosh I really thought about that question for a while, most of the comments she was receiving was pretty superficial. I mean geez if you could jump into any book and become any character who would you be?   One of my favorite books and most read books was "To Kill a Mockingbird"  I always related to "Scout" she was a fearless kid and real smart mouth. But yet she cared for people and wanted to help others.

Then the wheels in my head started turning and haven't stopped for the past few days....after reading the Brian Kilmeade book about Washington's spies, I think I would want to be Agent 355. The mysterious woman that was in the British circles and kept her ear open and reported the things she heard to the Continentals. She did all that until she was discovered and jailed on a British prison Ship- The "HMS Jersey"  No one is sure of what happened to her, after the British left NY in 1783 they abandoned the prison ship, so its unclear if she died on board or was able to escape.Of course I like to believe she escaped the horrors of the prison ship and moved west.
  Her true identity to this day still has not been discovered, theories have floated around about agent 355 and who she was, but nothing concrete.
Why could I identify with her? Because she helped to create this nation, she helped to rid NY of the British, albeit a small part  however still significant because without some of the intelligence she gathered, Benedict Arnold would have handed West Point over to the British. She knew the perils of her mission but still accepted the challenge. What an incredible woman she must have been.

So now I ask you the same question my friend asked....   If you could, what book character or movie character would you be????? 

I look forward to reading the responses

-JUGM

snow and christmas stuff

Did I say snow?  why yes I did. !
we are under a winter storm warning with a possibility of 4+ inches. And then there is the Arctic blast that is coming in behind it.
The boys are thrilled and hope the forecast holds. Of course if it doesn't I am sure our buddies Rob and Hobo can pack us up a truck load and gladly ship it to us...lol
Then there are the crazies out on the roads and in stores....everyone grabbing whatever off the shelves and what is a "milk and bread" storm and why is that what people go for first?  Now I see why we prep and stay prepared for these kinds of things....

Okay I am about a week and a half late posting Christmas stuff but here goes...
 I was surprised with some really nice things... Books! and a guitar. I play piano and its always been on my bucket list to learn so Senior completely shocked me!  Learning is slow going, but I am getting it a little at a time... Pretty soon I will jammin some "kumbaya my Lord" while sitting by a campfire....lol

Santa also brought me some jewelry, Florida State stuff and books..... One is this one:

I saw a Brian Kilmeade interview about it and had wanted to get it. Its pretty good. I also got Bill OReillys "Killing the Rising Sun, and Legends and Lies - The Patriots".
Haven't started those yet but I am looking forward to it.

Well the initial rain is starting to set in, temps have dropped 6 degrees since about 2pm.  If you are in the Southeast stay warm , inside and off the roads....and don't stress it will be back in the 60s by Wednesday...

-JUGM

My fortress of solitude

 “In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are

 absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books 

through your skin, without even opening them.” 

-Mark Twain

What is it about a library? It makes me feel at peace. I could walk the aisles all day reading titles and flipping through pages, just trying to find something that interest me.  I take deep breaths and breath in the smell of history, fantasy stories, love novels, and biographies.
Whatever it is, it makes me happy going into ours.  I think I am one of the rare ones that browses the books, most people these days go there to browse the Internet.This was "Our Internet". 
I remember having to sit going through encyclopedias to do a research paper, and sitting for hours taking notes.

My mom was not a book worm like me, I get it from my dad. I remember I had to do a term paper in 10th grade, and mom drove me to the library, I guess she thought I would just check a book out on the subject and we could go...  After my browsing for an hour she started getting testy with me..I saw her sitting in a chair tapping her feet and mouthing " hurry up" to me.   I got a "C" on that paper...  Thanks Mom !  

I like our library here, there is a room called "The Carolinian Room" and inside is a large meeting table with 4 shelves of books, they are the known history of families who settled in the area. Some are a first edition print , others are the only print ( like with our family) and no one is allowed to check them out. But you can sit there all day, reading through them, taking notes etc.... 

I am thankful the boys have inherited my love of books, they like spending time in the kids section and read just about as much as I do. Summers are the best, some days we sit at the tables reading and trying to decides what is a good book and what is not...  I guess it is whatever peaks their interest for that day...  I think about something funny little ND once said to me after leaving the library he said "Mom, I feel so much smarter after being in there" . He is always full of humor...  

Senior bought us a really nice bookcase,.  I am inheriting some of dads books and buy so many on my own that I needed one. I never get tired of them. Books are an adventure, waiting for you to open them up and jump in to the story they tell..  They are like an old friend...they are always there for you offering wisdom to their reader.

-JUGM

Leibster Thingy.....

So my fellow "Charlies Angel : KYMBER has nominated my little humble blog of for a leibster blogger thingy award...   I graciously accept this honor. And thank you to the committee and all my fans who voted for me.. 

I am supposed to answer these 10 questions about myself, so here goes :

1. what is your favorite thing to do when you have 2 free hours all to yourself?
     Catch up on my shows ex.."Outlander, Criminal minds, Quantico.. or anything that is  too adult for the kids to see or I like to sit and read...

2. who is your favorite author and why?
    Its a toss up right now, between Diana Gabaldon and Phillipa Gregory...My current read is "The Other Bolyen Girl"  by Gregory, only because I am so enamored with that time in history. And I have a portrait of Queen Anne on my dinning room wall that was passed down to me by my mother in law. so, i am a fan of the Tudors. ND hates this picture because he says her eyes follow him around the room and watches him while he eats...lol

  
  3. when it snows do you make snow angels or snowmen? (c'm PP - we all know that you do!)
    While our buddy PP might have the thrill of snowmen, we don't that often, but are gifted with ice storms...

4, do you ever walk through the mud and/or grass in bare feet?
    sometimes, but the soil and mud here are so rocky that its hard to...

5,   do you love where you live?
    Of course I do, while I am away from my Florida family and miss the beach,  I wouldn't trade     living in the hill country of the Carolina's for anything. 

6. what is the most exciting thing that you ever grew and were thoroughly pleased with yourself by?
    Our first attempt last summer at growing corn, this year I have attempted sweet potatoes

7.  what is your favorite house cleaning tip?
     We are supposed to clean house?????    Bahahahahaha!!!    I knew that, I like to use distilled vinegar.  The fumes aren't toxic to the kids when they scrub their toilet

8.  what is your favorite alcoholic drink?
      I have three..  " Angry Orchard", a decent margarita, and coconut rum with V8 Tropical splash....gosh people are gonna think I am a lush..  Don't say it Preppy!  

9. do you love swimming?
    Yes, not so much in the ocean though. But, a nice cool lake or swimming pool is always a delight. 

10.   if someone got you a mermaid tail, would you wear it? in private and in public?
      in private yea, but in public only if I looked like one of these, this was a friends daughter with a couple of mermaids that was hooked in a net, I am sure her mom was thrilled when daddy brought them home.  

 

 okay, so I did my deed and answered Kymbers questions...  I have no idea who to nominate because we all pretty much follow the same blogs etc, etc, etc,,   But, thank you Gurlie!!!!!!  


-JUGUM 
 

Seeds and stuff

It's the last day of January and the weather has warmed so much that it feels like Spring. The seed and chicken catalogs have started to arrive. While I in no way need more chickens, I am in to getting seeds.
Senior and I have been looking to purchase large cypress trees to plant in order to create a natural fence. Quite a few people have done it around here and it looks really nice.

I've got quite a bit of seeds saved from last year so today I picked up some seed starters in anticipation of getting things in to the dirt. I don't know about you, but there is something intoxicating about digging in the dirt and watching things grow. This year I am going to pick up some seedless watermelons, last year the boys had fits spitting out seeds and also like last year ND is planting more pumpkins.

The past week was quite a whirlwind for us NW had basketball 4 out of 5 nights and a game yesterday. Two more and we are done with this season and probably with basketball forever. Lets just say he is ready for baseball season to start.

Went to the library this past week and checked this out, its about the task force of ships involved in the Battle of Samar during October 1944. I got it because the first of one of Seniors former ships was involved. I didn't think I would like it at first , but now that I have gotten deeper into it, I have gotten into the lives of the sailors involved and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Tomorrow is what I like to call the opening day of voting season- the Iowa Caucus. I am very excited, and I hope that this will be the year the voters get it right. I honestly like aspects of Trump, Cruz and Rubio. Not too keen on Bush but, lets face it even the worst republican is better then what the democrats are offering up.
Anyways, if you live in Iowa then get out and caucus. Because if you don't vote, and let your voice be heard, then you have no reason to complain.

Hope you all have a great week!
JUGM

What A Bargain !

As I am a person always in search of a good deal; Senior and I came across this bargain:

Thought I would share so you could all run out and get it while the gettins good...  

-JUGM