One Day Of Blog Silence

No Post Tomorrow in Honor Of One-Day Blog Silence

Tomorrow along with many others I will be participating in

a One-Day Blog Silence in honor of the victims at Virginia Tech. More then 30 died at the US college massacre.

But it´s not only about them. Many bloggers have responded and asked about all the other victims of our world. All the people who die every day. What about them?

This day can be a symbol of support to all the victims of our world!

All you have to do is spread the word about it and post the graphic on your blog on 30th April 2007. No words and no comments. Just respect, reflect and empathy.
For more information please visit One Day Of Blog Silence

Thirft Store Treasures

Just look at what I found at the thrift store. I spent about 20 dollars for everything.


I love this buddha. He is sitting on my shelf and is about 11 inches high. Cost 6.95

This print still had the plastic on it and was marked 4.95. I found a frame for 1.95. It is 21" x 17"

Don't you just love this clock? It cost me 4.95

I have been wanting to read this book for awhile, and I paid 2.25 for it.
Bargin shopping rules!

Photo Hunt: RARE

Please click on all the photos to enlarge them, so you can see more clearly what I have photographed


This weeks theme is Rare and I have to admit my first thought was a big juicy steak. The problem was I didn't have any steaks in the freezer and I couldn't think of anything else to use for a photo until the other day when my husband and I took a trip to Historic Jamestown Virginia.

In my post on April 26 I shared some photos and talked a little about my trip to Jamestown. I told my readers that I had some more photos to share but would not post them until today because what I photographed was RARE.

I think they are because we arrived on a day when ABC News was there doing a document for the 400th anniversary that is coming up on May 13, 2007.

We got there just in time to see some of the interviews that were going on.


Jamestown is located on the banks of the beautiful James River and you can tell that one of the camera men was enjoying the day.



We were lucky enough to witness some of the excavations of a new area. They were not sure at the time of the photos if they were digging an old well, but old wells are where most of the artifacts of that time period have been found. They did know that they had found something and we got to watch! It is very delicate work to sift through the layers of dirt in hopes of finding a RARE piece from the original settlement.







First the dirt was put into buckets where it was tagged


Then they are taken to a special area where it is placed a little bit at a time on a screen and washed.



If they find something it is set aside
Depending on what they find some pieces will be taken to another area and cleaned again then later placed in the museum here on the island.

As you can see from the following photos, several pieces of old pottery were found. Just look at that beautiful shade of green. It is hard to imagine this piece is probably 400 years old.

Can you see the tiny beads in the tray? They would have been used for trading with the Indians in the area.

There are some old nails there too. Do you see the bone?

Just take a look at this.

It is an old lock from a ship..What a RARE find!!

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed viewing my photos as much as I enjoyed taking them for you. It was a fun day that I will remmeber for a long time.

Also don't forget you can join by going to the

Photo Hunt

page. Don't forget to check out the blog roll on my side bar so you can visit others who do the photo hunt.

If you want to know more about Jamestown or view the other photos I took that day please see my post from April 26th.

A History Lesson for you.

I have a history lesson for you. If you viewed my post yesterday then you know that I posted a photo and asked everyone to guess who it was. Did you know?
Well if you guessed Captain John Smith you guessed right.



I also told you I would let you know where I had been. On Tuesday my husband and I took a day trip to Historic Jamestown, Virginia. A couple of years ago we went to Jamestown Settlement but I had not been to the historic area since my kids were young and my husband had never been. (Historic Jamestown and Jamestown Settlement are two different places located next to each other)

The 400th anniversary celebration is coming up and I knew I wanted to visit, but did not want to get caught up with all the tourist. Since my hubby and I both had a day off in the middle of the week, we decided it would be a great time to go. We had a wonderful day walking around.

Although most people think that Jamestown was the first place that the English landed at, it was actually in Virginia Beach at a place now known as Cape Henry and today April 26th is the 400th anniversary of that landing.

"Here, on the windswept sands, led by their chaplain Reverend Robert Hunt, the colonists must have knelt in prayer giving thanks for this new land and their safe voyage. Now they were ready to follow the company's instructions and push deeper into Virginia and seek a suitable site for settlement."

On May 13th 1607, the group landed in a new site and named it Jamestown in honor of their King, James the 1st and it became the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Join me as we tour Jamestown Virginia and be sure and click on each photo to enlarge them for the full effect


Our first stop was at the Glass House




We were able to view the




Men were there making things just like they did in the orginial house.



There is even a area where you can buy what they make.


From there we drove a short distance to the entrance.

Where you can see the orginial fort


From there we walked around the old church

Inside you can view the orginial bricks. They are kept in glass to preserve them

Outside is a cemetary where some of the orginial settlers are buried


While walking around viewing these graves I felt an overwhelming sadness.
Did you know that only 60 of the original 214 settlers at Jamestown survived.
Amoung those who survived was a man named John Dods. He is listed on the orginial list of settlers and also can be found on the 1624 Census. This name is important to me because he is a direct bloodline to my children, and grandchildren. My ex husband has done extensive research on his side of the family to document this. It was exciting to walk on land that he once walked.
Since Jamestown was established on the banks of the James River


And surrounded by swamps



People had to dig wells





As we passed some of the ruins of the old houses



I couldn't help but wonder what life must have been like. It wasn't until around 1608 that women arrived and families were formed.
Plantations were also established





Trading was done with the local Indians like Pocahontas


and after many years of hard work, our nation was established!

I hope you enjoyed the photos I took. I have about a hundred more taken between my husband and myself. It was hard to pick just a few for our history lesson, so I am including a small slide show of some of the others.



Also if you would like to know more Jamestown history visit this site
Also please come back on Saturday when I post special photos that I am saving for the Photo Hunt this week. They will reflect this weeks theme of something RARE.

Guessing Game

Want to play a guessing game?

I wonder if anyone can tell me who this is.
I'm working late today but I will be back tomorrow with the answer and to tell you more about where I went yesterday.

Amethyst

Amethyst Gemstone meaning
Crystalline quartz in shades of purple, lilac or mauve is called amethyst, a stone traditionally worn to guard against drunkeness and to instill a sober mind. The word amethyst comes from the Greek meaning "without drunkenness" and amethyst is beleived to protect one from poison.

Power Stone
It is used as a dream stone and to help insomnia. Put an amethyst under your pillow to bring about pleasant dreams, or rub it across your forehead to offer relief from a headache.

Protection Stone
Ancient Egyptians used the amethyst guard against guilty and fearful feelings. It has been worn as protection from self-deception, as well as a protection against witchcraft. The amethyst has long been used to open the spiritual and psychic centers, making it one of the power stones. It is also used as a meditation aid when worn as a necklace.

Wisdom Stone
The amethyst is known as the Bishop's Stone and is still worn by Catholic Bishops. The amethyst symbolizes piety, humility, sincerity and spiritual wisdom. It is thought the amethyst is the perfect stone to symbolize The Age of Aquarius.

Healing properties of Amethyst
Amethyst is a gemstone often worn by healers, as it has the power to focus energy. A healer will usually wear several pieces of jewelry with amethysts set in silver, especially an amethyst necklace. The person to be healed will have an Amethyst to hold while the healing is being done. The healer will place another piece of Amethyst on the area of the body in need of healing, the heart or lungs usually.

Amethyst is used for problems in the blood and in breathing problems. Amethyst crystal clusters are used to keep the air and life force in the home clean and positive.

Amethyst clusters, points or several tumbled Amethysts placed in a window that receives sun most of the day are very beneficial to use in healing and to heal negativity in the home. Place Amethyst clusters, points or several tumbled Amethysts in moonlight and everyone in the home will be feeling calmer. Using an Amethyst as a meditation focus will increase the positive spiritual feelings. Amethyst helps overcome fears and cravings. It also helps relieve headaches.

Weekend at a glance

I'm tired! We were open last night until 11, so it was 11:15 by the time I got my last customer out of my dept. and closed down my register. Thankfully home is only a couple of miles from the mall, but by the time I got home and relaxed a bit it was after 1 a.m. I finally made myself go to bed and slept hard not wanting to get back up this morning. I had to be at work before 11 and worked until 6. Thankfully I had help today, so I spent most of my time putting away clothes that these messy women left in the fitting room. Maybe it is because I have worked retail most of my adult life, but I can honestly say that I have almost never been shopping and left clothes in the fitting room. I won't lie and say I put them back where they go, but at lest I hand them to someone or hang them outside near the door. I thought of taking the camera and showing how messy it was yesterday, but I thought my manager might frown on that, but I am telling you now if these ladies keep there house looking like they left those rooms there are some real pigs walking around in this world.
Anyway it has been a long week, and I still have to work tomorrow before I get a day off.

On the plus side the weather has finally got warm again and my hubby and I went on a picnic for supper after I got home tonight. We went by and got some fried chicken and went to the park. It was nice and peaceful, and I got a chance to play around with the new camera
I think these shots came out really nice
(Click on them to enlarge for full effect)








Carrie these are for you...My cat Molly is her favorite and I did not include her in the post a few days ago





Also just for fun I am posting two photos that I took today.During the Civil war a major battle was found just across the lake that I show in the photos. Do you see the ghost (Orb) I captured. Be sure to click and enlarge them to see the white circle (orb)