Justice for Henry

I know My Boy Nelson has been pretty quiet for a while, but there’s something that I want to share, something that I pray each of you will take the time to read and hopefully pass on and share with others.

In April 2010, Henry Granju, an 18-year old child, arrived at a Knoxville emergency room suffering from an overdose and it also appeared that he had been badly beaten. Henry spent three days on life support and gradually made some improvement, however Henry’s brain injuries were quite severe and 38 days after he was admitted to the hospital, Henry died. Henry’s family has been fighting tirelessly to bring the individuals that were involved in his death to justice – it is a long and complicated story and his mother, Katie Allison Granju writes about it on her blog mamapundit.com. I’m providing a link and I sincerely hope you’ll take this opportunity to go there and read about their journey.

Sadly, more families than you can even imagine have been touched by the pain of drug and alcohol addiction. Parts of this story is so familiar and could be that of your neighbor, friend or family member – beautiful young men or women that I have known and loved – some that I still feel so very LUCKY to have and love with all my heart, others that aren’t and I am left with nothing but beautiful memories.

Please help the Granju family find justice for Henry.

This pretty lady in our neighbor's yard has been showing off for several days now, but last night's rain finally prompted me to grab my camera and take her picture. She really didn't deserve to be photographed on such a gray and rainy day, but such is life and I just couldn't bear not to capture her beauty before the rain beat all of her beautiful leaves to the ground.

I love autumn – the crisp temperatures, changing leaves, sitting out by a bonfire and pots of good fall food. Chili, homemade vegetable soup, white beans & cornbread, comfort food that simply warms the soul.

Fall is when I get to pull my sweaters back out, throw on my polar fleece and wear my Uggs – things that make everything right in my world. Autumn is when retailers and restaurants finally quit trying to refrigerate the entire free world and I can cease searching for a place with outdoor dining and stop dressing like an Eskimo when it's hotter than Hades.

To say that I love fall is an understatement, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's my favorite season – that'd be a little like choosing a favorite child. Now wouldn't it?

Christmas Red clashes with Autumnal Orange

I've bemoaned the fact before, but I'm just going there again - what is wrong with people that just CANNOT wait until after Thanksgiving to put up their Christmas decorations?

There is a huge house that I pass in my daily comings and goings and the very second that the final fun-sized Milky Way is handed out their door those folks are slapping up garland and decking the halls with over-sized bows and lights.

I wonder if those people have ever heard of a place called Plymouth Rock, some tough and hardy colonists called pilgrims, and the original Americans - Indians?

All Saints Eve

Halloween was great this year - it's my favorite holiday and a great reason for kids of all ages to dress up and act silly, spend time with friends and play outside in the dark.

These two geriatric ladies escaped from the assisted living center and were begging for candy at the door!

Nelson was a good Doo Be and got to go trick or treating too!

Third Monday

Today was Third Monday at the First United Methodist church; that's when all of the ladies Circles join together for their monthly meeting, then have lunch. I've always wondered if Third Monday is a local thing or a Methodist thing - but those ladies are serious about their third Monday of the month.

Anyhoo, I cooked lunch for the Third Monday ladies today and it's something that I truly enjoy doing, we had Chicken & Cornbread Casserole, Green Beans, Baked Apples and Rolls. They are always so sweet and complimentary, I think many of them live alone and no longer cook and particularly enjoy a "home cooked" meal.

It's Fall Break around these parts and I haven't been worth shooting; Rea has been gone on a church mission trip, Danny left me and went out of town for work and I've been home - completely ALONE. Sadly, they both found their way back and have returned with dirty laundry and have commenced to messing up my house again. I kid, I kid...I might have missed them just a tad.

I took the chance while they were gone to drive down to Chattanooga and visit with Syd and do a little shopping; we had a nice time though she doesn't appreciate my "feel your way around" method of getting from point A to B at.all. That girl is GPS dependent; and there is going to be hell to pay if that thing dies on her one day, cause she's not going to have a clue as to how to get home. I'm thinking we may have to wean her off of it...

You'd think after all these years that driving I-24 over Monteagle would get old, but I still get a little thrill out of it - guess I'll never grow up. And trust me, I would NEVER want to see anyone get hurt or be in the way of those big trucks, but is it just me or would somebody else like to see a truck run into one of those run-away truck lanes? Just sayin'.

Confessions from a Non-Hoarder

I don't know about you, but I've become more than a little intrigued with the reality shows about hoarders. I've got my Nameless DVR set to record both "Hoarding: Buried Alive" and "Hoarders" and watch them with equal parts of morbid fascination and repulsion – it's little like driving by a horrible car wreck, I just can't resist the temptation to look, then wonder why I'm totally mortified by the scene.

The homes and the people on those shows are seriously my worst nightmare and I catch myself holding my breath as I watch; I don't know how those family members don't manage go completely postal and rush in armed with corn scoops and a plethora of lawn sized trash bags and do a cleaning intervention.

I'll admit that watching those hoarding shows has compelled me to do a little house cleaning of my own – specifically closets and drawers. I like clean surfaces: kitchen counters, tables, washer & dryer and desks. The downside of this "need" of mine is that I often shove whatever offending clutter that is lying in my eyesight into the nearest drawer or closet and I'm here to tell you that it's not always an efficient system.

So, I've been taking a few minutes here and there and cleaning out some of the spaces that I'm the worst about shoving stuff into. Today, it was the laundry room closet. I bagged up some old towels to donate at church, organized all of the "fancy" shopping bags that get saved, refolded all of the cloth napkins and got all of the first aid items back into their basket home.

I'm guessing that I might also need to do something with the bank statements, bills and church newsletter from a month ago that I discovered amongst the cat food and the plastic grocery bags. Ahem.

And Rea, the strap to your trumpet case…I remember now where I put it.