Google+ Georgia On My Mind: November 2008

Friday, November 21, 2008

Georgia Carnival: Edition 49

Welcome to the Georgia Blog Carnival!

The bloggers featured here are all part of the extensive list of bloggers from Georgia I have listed in the right sidebar of this site. Any Georgia blogger can submit a post to the carnival, or a blogger from another state or county can submit a post for inclusion if the topic of the post is Georgia related.


If you own a Georgia blog contact me at the email address in the right sidebar and request an”add” to the blogroll. If you have requested to be added since October please be patient as the site where the blogroll is maintained (blogrolling.com) is undergoing some renovations and I’m unable to complete additions at this time.

The next carnival will be hosted here at
Georgia on My Mind on Friday, December 5th. Submissions will be due Thursday, December 4th . It’s hard to believe we will be hitting the 50th edition milestone next time.

If you maintain a Georgia blog and would like to host the carnival at your site e-mail me to set up a date. It’s a great way to put your own personal spin on the carnival.

The last edition of the Georgia carnival can be found
here, and the carnival archives are found here.

Now… on to the highlights of Georgia blogging during the past two weeks.

Out and About

Shell’s family visited Pine Mountain, Georgia and they are Looking at Callaway Gardens Through a Different Lens...or Five over at Live the Life. On a recent outing family members participated in a photo scavenger hunt. I know this wonderful family personally, and guess who gets to judge their photos? Head on over to check out Callaway Gardens, and I’ll post a link when I’m done with the judging. :)

Ever hear of a twofer? You know…two for the price of one. Savannah Red provides the Georgia Carnival with a twofer with his post The Silver Skillet in Atlanta: Breakfast After Taco Mac. I love his restaurant reviews.

As a young girl Thanksgiving meant one thing for me….it was almost time for the annual trek to downtown Richs for shopping, lunch in their dining room, and of course…..a ride on the Pink Pig. Southernbyways has been taking a look at holiday traditions and offers up Holiday Traditions in the South: The Pink Pig. I rode my old friend a few years ago with my daughter. I was shocked to discover the pig had shrunk a bit since I was child. :)

Here at Georgia on My Mind I posted about a little trip I took to Vinings last week and provide my own restaurant review in A Vinings Kind of Thursday.

Over at Fluffy Flowers, Felicia takes us on a photo and textual tour of ICE Atlanta Holiday '08. No silly….not ice as in ice capades…Ice as in Indie Craft Experience. After viewing the pictures I really wish I hadn’t missed out on this craft extravaganza.

And Felicia reminds us that we have had some beautiful Fall weekends.

Blogs and Blogging

Over at The Greatest Story Ever Told Jim Morrow wants to alert us to a new blog…..Head on over to his post to get the link for Snapshots of South Georgia.

Political Leanings

During the recent election I read several stories about many Americans voting for the first time. Sara from Ashes and Glass provides Jiddu Voted…where she writes about her grandfather and an aunt who were voting for the first time.

William Cotter, known as Paw Paw Bill in the blogosphere, opines about the “rumors” swirling about Hillary. Remember her? Read his post Hillary Close at Hand.

Paw Paw Bill is also musing about the automobile industry and their sad woeful tale in his post Road Test.

Freddie Sirmans thinks there is a Flicker of Hope for America.

Historical Remembrances

Veterans Day was November 11th. Check out all of the men and women from this church that are serving or have served their county with this listing of all of the postings by war or historical era. There’s even a video to get the tribute started located here. At the end of the page you can click “older postings” for two or three others.

Education and Children’s Literature

In this wonderful post Dan, over at Oconee County, Georgia Politics channels Revolutionary War General Elijah Clarke (founder of the Trans-Onconee Republic), and distant relatives Alexander Hamilton and General Henry David Blackshear in fantasizing about taking over the Oconee Board of Education. Gee, I wish more of us would fantasize with a historical bent like this…..

In my capacity as an elementary educator I do have a fondness for children’s literature. Dawn over at Belle of the Blog writes she is submitting her post titled Always and Forever in the hope that the information contained therein could help a family going through a tremendous crisis. The book she writes about may just be my next purchase for my ever burgeoning library.

In my most recent post from History Is Elementary I advise Historical Tales and Literature Tales...They Go Hand In Hand…..a post where I review the children’s literature book…..Madam President by Lane Smith.

Literature For the Older Set

John, over at Grasping For the Wind, one of the best sites in the blogosphere for science fiction and fastasy book talk, recently allowed Starfinder author John Marco to guest post at his site. Read the entire post here and……let’s not forget James Maxey who targets readers fifteen and older.

Religion and Spiritual Issues

Ever wonder what happens when the short and loud people go to bed over at O The Joys? Follow the thoughtfilled conversation over tea in the post titled I Think She Knows. Short and loud….I like that description of the wee ones. I no longer have short ones….but boy….are they still loud.

My blog friend, Pastor Bill, over at Ministry Best Practices advises his post is one of the hardest he has had to write. Check out Big News.

Name Your Vice...Pay the Price….the post over at "Got Bible?" where I discuss some of the benefits of my recent surgery and some of the things I've had to face down.

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Georgia Carnival. Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

The next edition of the carnival will be found here at
Georgia on My Mind on Friday, December 5th. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form. Submissions are due by Thursday, December 4th by 6:00 p.m.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Submissions Are Due for the Georgia Carnival

It’s that time again…..the Georgia Carnival will post tomorrow.

This is just a reminder that if you would like to include a post of yours you can forward the link to me at gamind@mail.com or use the carnival submission form here. I’m getting this out a bit late, so I will take submissions through 9 a.m. tomorrow. Please limit your submissions to no more than two.

Due to the hacking of the blogrolling.com site I have been unable to add blogs to the blogroll. Watch for the blogroll at Georgia on My Mind to disappear for a day or two as I rebuild the code by hand and finally maintain it on my own. There are two reasons for this…..I won’t have to depend on an outside source to maintain the blogroll, and it will no longer hang/freeze the site as it loads in your browser. Plus I will be able to add new blogs at will.

I will be going back into the hospital in December or January so there are dates available for anyone who would like to host the Georgia Carnival during that time.

Thank you to all of you have sent well wish my way since my health concerns began in late August. It has been an interesting and very long road to travel.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Wordless: Mark Trail


Have you seen the Mark Trail exhibit at the Northeast Georgia History Center at Brenau University? The museum’s website states:

Mark Trail is the creation of Ed Dodd whose work in the National Parks along with his experiences as a hunter, fisherman, and world traveler inspired him to start the adventure strip in 1946. Born in 1902 in Lafayette, Georgia, Dodd went to work for Dan Beard at the age of 16. Dan Beard was the founder or the Boy Scouts of America and Ed Dodd worked at Beard’s camp in Pennsylvania for thirteen summers. While there, Dodd learned writing and illustration under Beard’s guidance. In 1926 Ed Dodd became the first paid Youth and Physical Education Director for the city of Gainesville, Georgia.
You can find out more by visiting the museum webpage for the Mark Trail exhibit here.

This is not a permanent exhibit for the museum so don’t let the grass grow under your feet.

The Wordless Wednesday hub can be found here.

You can click on the image to enlarge it.

Monday, November 17, 2008

A Vinings Kind of Thursday

Vinings—the village proper—always intrigued me as an interesting place. There were cute shops and restaurants, and later when I learned the history behind Vinings it held even more interest. Still with all of that intrigue Vinings merely served as a quaint place to drive through as I continued to use Mother’s cut through long after our shopping trips ceased and I was on my own.

I made myself take a day out for me last Thursday. I went by the local Publix and picked up things for dinner (so I would have no excuse to NOT fix dinner that evening), made sure the family kitty had food, and then off to Vinings I went.

When I was a little girl my mother always used Paces Ferry Road near Cumberland as a cut through to get over to Lenox Mall. In that way she avoided downtown Atlanta traffic, and we always enjoyed the route dotted here and there with grand estates and historic homes—many of which have now been razed to make way for even more modern mansions or cluster-type estate communities.

I understand progress, but it’s rather sad as well.

Around 1830 Hardy Pace operated Pace’s Ferry which took people and goods across the Chattahoochee River as they traveled from Atlanta back and forth to Buckhead and Smyrna. Vinings was known at that time as Paces after the ferryman. Later the village became known as Vinings after William H. Vining, a construction worker for the railroad, who oversaw the construction of “Vinings Bridge”.

During Sherman’s March to the Sea, Union forces occupied Vinings. Several pre-Civil War structures were destroyed at that time including the Pace home which had been used as a hospital. All that remains today are the steps.

Following the Civil War, Vinings became an area for Atlantans to retreat to during the hustle bustle and often frustration of Reconstruction. There were plenty of springs and pavilions to encourage tourists.



On Thursday I made a beeline to the shops at Vinings Jubliee. I’ve bought several things for my home in the various stores as well gift items for friends. One of my favorite stores is Limetree Gifts.

For my lunch location I had many great places to choose from, but I opted for Soho, also located in the Vinings Jubliee complex.



Trey was my waiter, and after going over the specials for me I ordered a hamburger with Alpine cheddar cheese and Applewood Smoked Bacon. Instead of fries I ordered the fruit salad thinking that was a much better choice. Since my surgery I’ve sworn off the life’s blood of Atlanta—Coca Cola—so I had water instead.

Soho has many interesting lunch choices, but health concerns kept me from ordering some of the more exotic ones like the Maple Grilled Salmon or the Chinese Grilled Chicken Salad. Trey returned in a few minutes with my water and a small wire basket. Inside the basket was a nicely folded white linen napkin and nestled inside was a sliced French baguette. Within a small silver cup I found a creamy spread that was just warm enough with some type of diced peppers. It was a nice update to merely serving rolls as a precursor to a meal.

It didn’t take long for my hamburger to arrive, but while I waited I wrote a little bit of what you are reading here and observed my fellow lunch companions in the dining room—businessmen in suits to casual wear, groups that appeared to have come from an office setting ( a mixture of men and women), and of course, there were several tables of ladies who lunch—you know, those ladies who don’t work and lunch is their occupation. I caught smidgens of business-type conversations, two ladies were discussing an upcoming fundraiser they were planning, one table of ladies who lunch were discussing a wedding, and the two women next to me were discussing a recent hospital stay—too close to home for me.

When my meal arrived it looked like this:


My fruit salad included chopped Granny Smith apples, cantelope, and strawberries served plain. After cutting my burger in half to prompt me to only eat half I attacked my fruit saving half of the burger for last.

Everything was great, and hopefully in the future I can return to Soho and order one of the more exotic menu choices. I’d like to return to Soho some Wednesday night for something they call a Flight Night. Soho was voted “Best Wine Bar” by Atlanta Magazine. Per Soho’s website….a Flight Night is an evening where locals and inquisitive wine lovers gather to experience fine wines from famous appellations and regions around the world.
I rounded out my trip by stopping by Macy’s at Cumberland before heading back home.

It was a great Thursday!
Images can be clicked to enlarge them. The image of the the post-Civil War picnic was taken from the Vinings Historic Preservation Society webpage….a great resource for Vinings.
Another resource to check out is the official Vinings, Georgia webpage.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Wordless: Marshallville Train Depot

This is the old train station at Marshallville, Georgia. I found the image at Georgia's Railroad History and Heritage site where you can find lots of information regarding railroads in Georgia.

The Wordless Wednesday hub can be found here.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Happy Veterans Day!


11---11---at 11 o’clock. Does that signify anything to you? If you are a World War I veteran it would. That is the exact day and time of the armistice….the time when all fighting was to stop. From that point until the years following World War II each November 11th was remembered as Amistice Day.

Due the scale of World War II and the number of soldiers and sailors who took part, who were injured, or were killed Amistice Day was broadened to include all veterans of the armed forces for all time.

As you have noticed I’ve been absent a bit over the last few days. I’ve been busy. The historical committee at my church changed up our normal method of recognizing our veterans to include a photo display and video recognizing the men and women of our church who have served their country.

I encourage you to go visit the site using this link which takes you to all of the postings on the blog regarding veterans including a video presentation, pictures of our framed display (61 veterans, so far), and postings for each war era including the pictures of the veterans, their names, and a bit about their service to our country.

The postings involving each war era would be a good place to have students complete research on particular veterans or particular wars or conflicts. In many cases I have linked to the history of our veteran’s battles and ships where I could.

It was an honor and blessing for me to work with these photos and information about each veteran. I hope you click over and enjoy viewing the postings.
This post also appears in its entirety at History Is Elementary.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Georgia Carnival: Edition 48

Welcome to the Georgia Blog Carnival!

The next carnival will be hosted here at
Georgia on My Mind on Friday, November 21st . Submissions will be due Thursday, November20th .

If you maintain a Georgia blog and would like to host the carnival at your site e-mail me to set up a date. It’s a great way to put your own personal spin on the carnival.

The last edition of the Georgia carnival can be found
here, and the carnival archives are found here.

Now… on to the highlights of Georgia blogging during the past two weeks.

When you are down….when you are having a bad day wouldn’t it be great to connect to a place where you could instantly see only good things? That’s exactly what this blogger wants to do. Head on over and read his intro post and while you’re at it tell him about a good thing you want to make sure he includes.

This carnival was posted a day late and I’m sorry about that. I’ve been swamped all week helping my church prepare a presentation to honor our veterans….Veterans Day is November 11th. You can view some of the project at our church history blog……here. Every veteran’s picture has been reproduced and framed along with captions telling a bit about his/her duty during their time of service. I’ve also created a slideshow that will be shown during our church services. Check back later as I’ve only posted a taste of what I have on the church history blog. I hope to have all 64 of our veterans online by Monday night. Thank you to Georgia Bloggers regarding your patience concerning the Georgia Carnival.

The newest Georgia Art Exchange Bulletin is out…..you can access it here.

Kevin Fleming over at Satellite TV Guru advises us how to Watch 24 Season 7.

Following Tuesday’s election Angela M. Otwell penned a nice piece of poetry titled Eating Crow posted at her blog amo.

Felicia over at Fluffy Flowers presents a bit of summer and provides beautiful plants as well.

This is a great time of year to visit Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville. Amy @ The Q Family presents A Day at the Amicalola Falls posted at The Q Family Adventure giving us the full measure of their experience.

William Cotter, Georgia’s own Paw Paw Bill, presents Not For The First Time regarding his brand spanking new flag and the memories it evokes for him. His post evokes a few memories for me as well.

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Georgia Carnival. Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer:

The next edition of the carnival will be found here at
Georgia on My Mind on Friday, November 21st. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form. Submissions are due by Thursday, November 20th by 6:00 p.m.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!
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