Christiansen's Comments Hinds County Gazette August 25 2011

Whit and I

September 15, Whit and I will be together a whole year.

 It was a beautiful day, that first day Whit came….I was in the swing on the front porch when Angie dropped him off. I held him just long enough for Angie to get out of the drive way good…Whit was tiny, just three months old. I was afraid I would drop him, So I propped him up on two pillows in the swing and we just looked at each other… he grinned and I grinned back…I was so nervous, I hadn‘t taken care of a baby in years and years…What would I do if he started crying for his mommy?…He seemed to be happy on the pillows ….So, the only time I picked him up was to burp him….I didn’t even change his diaper…we just grinned at each other and swung until his mommy returned. It was a good day.

That first day , Whit and I became buddies….When Whit began crawling I was proud as punch….when he stood up by himself, I was proud as punch, when he gave up his bottle, I was proud as punch, when he started to walk, I was proud as punch….…I would brag about all of his accomplishments to anybody who would listen.

A couple of months ago, it was soon after he began walking, Whit came to spend the day …I looked at his little knees they were all skinned up…I hugged him and I cried…. not because his knees were skinned, he is after all, a boy who lives on a farm with goats, dogs….he is going to have skinned knees, cuts and bruises. I cried because I realized he was no longer a baby…My Whit was a little boy.

Whit with the goats

photo taken byWhit's mommy

 Angie Zadrozny

Well, the day rocked on, after lunch I was giving Whit a bath…he has to have a bath after he eats, he is learning to feed himself now

Photo taken by Lesley Cannada

…and often some of his lunch ends up in his hair….on his feet…everywhere.

So anyway Whit was in the sink giggling and splashing…he seem to be a baby again….

after I got his fresh clothes on….Something came over me…I wanted him to be a baby…I put him on the floor and he followed me to the kitchen…Whit had not had a bottle in a long time. I made a bottle, picked Whit up and carried him to the rocking chair, as he was taking the bottle, I cuddled and rocked him… I sang Bringing in the Sheaves , just like when he was a tiny baby…he cooed and grinned just like when he was a tiny….then when the bottle was about ¾ gone…Whit slapped the bottle away and climbed down…when he got to the floor he looked up and grinned….I knew it was the last time I would be treating Whit like the tiny baby he once was …

I knew he would not stand for it again.  And I was proud as punch….



Whit with his very favorite rock....little boys like rocks.....



Call if you need me…

Christiansen's comments...Published Hinds County Gazette 08/18/2011

I must write fast today…

I need to get in the yard bad! It has just been too hot to do anything outside….it is suppose to be cooler this week, so in the yard is where I plan to be. I do not need to mow …no rain no mow. But the shrubs need trimming. And there are lots of little limbs and twigs laying in the yard…waiting to be picked up, we have not had rain but we have had wind…doesn’t take much wind to get a pecan tree to drop limbs and branches.

It was cool one morning last week, I turned on the attic fan and opened up the house and let cool fresh air in….The air conditioners had been running for so long I felt like I was breathing stale, recycled air….like hospital air.

Recently, Brain had me pondering on hot air and cold air ….Brain is still thinking on it…but it is my experience, from living in this old drafty house…that cold air is easier to heat, then hot air is to cool. We will wait and see what Brain decides. But sadly, Brain before he sorts one thing out, often moves on to something else….and leaves me to contemplate on abstract topics, that I would never considered thinking on…. if he wasn’t always bringing them up.



Sunday afternoon I went to Bolton for Second Sunday at St. Mary’s….It was wonderful as usual! Anna McDonald sang several versions of Ava Maria…..Fabulous!!!!! James Anderson arranges for the talent …. I do not know how he does it…. James must be close friends with every talented person and group in Mid Mississippi. Talent worthy of the stags in New York have come out to rural Hinds county, to Bolton Mississippi, to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church to share their talent with us! What a treat!

St. Mary's

Bolton Mississippi

James Anderson

Well, that is about it from 201.…maybe when it gets a bit cooler, I will get out and about more…and I will see something exciting that I can tell you about….

201

Oh!! Oh!! Something exciting is happening in Edwards…they are moving dirt up there around the newer water tower…rumor has it, we are getting a dollar store! Call if you need me

Site of new Dollar Store

Christiansen's Comments HindsCounty Gazette August 4 2011

Is Summer over?

Must be school is fixing to start…When I was a kid summer was not over until after labor day. It has me scratching my head wondering…why are kids today learning less with more time? I don’t know, maybe they are sharper then tests show…maybe we should find out what they know and test them on that…. .Maybe they don’t need to now how to spell anymore, computers do that for us….Do they have to know how write complete sentences?…or dissect a sentence?…I know for sure I never dissected a sentence after I finish school….young folks write very concise now….like LOL that is laugh out loud…Computers do the math….It is a new world.

I do think many children and possibly their parents…No doubt all of us, could stand some brushing up on our manners ……Simple pleases and thank yous and learning how to sit quietly would be a good start…..computers don’t teach manners, kindness, or courtesy….But like I said it is a new world….maybe courtesy is old fashion and out of date too.



When children see grown folks on the TV yelling, name calling and using ugly language….It is no a mystery to me that there is a enormous problem in this country with children bulling children.



I don’t know how I got off on that tangent, but speaking of TV…I have gone a month now with out cable TV…and have not missed it! I kept saying, “I don’t watch TV enough to warrant the $65 it is costing me every month.”…but sometimes you do things more then you think you do….So I tested myself, I have only old fashion TVs, so I borrowed a converter box from Doug Turner …used it for a about month, and I did not get the DTs…. I did fine… No anxiety… no separation issues. . So I called and had it cut off July 1.





On the converter box you just get the local channels and it is still more TV then I need…PBS has a channel called “Create” that is about all I watch, it is mostly gardening, travel, cooking and crafts. Nobody yelling on that channel.



Well, we vote Tuesday, by the time you get the paper we will have already voted. I am scrambling to figure out who I should vote for, I am not very well informed, as I watch very little news, because it is so awful…But a couple of weeks ago I tuned in to watch the news to see Scott Cannada, has been named Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Mississippi farmer of the year…He is up for Southeastern farmer of the year….you probably saw that in last weeks Gazette. We are all very proud of Scott. And his wife Lesley, we are proud of her too! Lesley headed up Bible school this year…we had nearly 50 children!!! Can you believe it!!!! 50!!!! It was great fun! I love Bible School!

Music

Craft time in the nursery

Most everybody

Receration for the last day!

But anyway while waiting to see Scott, a political commercial came on, it was so refreshing, there was no yelling, or ripping his opponent apart. It was just a man, the candidate, and an old lady sitting on a park bench, the old lady is telling us what the candidate is running for and how he stands on the issues…..She is well informed on his stand and what he is running for but she just can’t get his first name right, she calls him Gilbert, Filbert, and Ingelbert…and each time she calls his name wrong. he gently with a big smile corrects her, “Yes Mamm, but it is Delbert”



Oh! Have you noticed the E D W A R D S sign in the side of the hill at the Presbyterian Church, Eric Armstrong painted it, he wanted it to look nice for Bible School. Eric Armstrong you may not know him, he married Shanna Floyd, you may not know her, they live in Miss Francis’s house on Birdsong lane….Ms Francis was Shanna’s grandmother. If you knew Ms Francis you have not forgotten her. Just the other day we were remembering Ms Francis … she planted the azaleas at the Methodist family center…they are the first to bloom in Edwards. ”Ms Francis planted those, they would not dare not bloom!” Ms Francis was a determined lady…to say the least. Eric and Shanna have two little girls….sweet family…proud to have them in Edwards.

Eric Armstrog

Speaking of the Methodist Family Center…That is where Inez Lee’s 90 th birthday party was held. Huge crowd!!! Folks were lined up out the door, into the street waiting to get in to help Inez celebrate. I was getting concerned I had not gotten enough punch ingredients for a crowd that big…but had enough for one more making….

Ms Inez and a few of her many fans

Got to go now

Call if you need me….