Benefit Fashion Show coming up Sept. 10

I have been back from California for almost a week.  I did have a chance to visit Rumpelstiltskin's Yarn Shop  (a fellow blogger suggested it) while in Sacramento.  It was fun looking around at the shop samples and getting some new ideas.  They were very sweet and helpful.  I did purchase a great hat pattern to teach to all of you in a class this fall.  We had a chance to see the state capital and see some amazing trees on the  grounds.  The picture I have shared is of my grandson and me in one of the huge trees. 

Linda and I have both been busy knitting for the upcoming fashion show. She is knitting sweaters at the same rate as I am knitting hats. Feel my pain? She loves to encourage me with words like...you are great at knitting hats, not you are too slow to finish a sweater in time for next years fashion show. We each have our special talents :) . Alright, now for fashion show details.

Yarns by HomePlace Farm, the Children's Market Place Consignment Sale, and The Willow Tree are working together to sponsor a Fashion Show & Breakfast catered by Chef Bob of Birmingham. It will be held on September 10, 2011 from 9:30 until 12, at the Jacksonville Community Center. We are hosting this event to raise money to support the CPT Kyle Comfort Memorial Foundation. The cost will be $15 per person.

The CPT Kyle Comfort Memorial Foundation was created by his widow in honor of CPT Comfort who was killed in action while serving in the Army in Afghanistan on May 8, 2010. CPTComfort is an Alumnus of Riverside Military Academy (2001) and Jacksonville State University (2006). The Foundation has been established to assist soldiers and their families when they have been sent to attachment hospitals in Germany for further care after being wounded in the line of duty. Many times when sent to Germany the soldiers are sent with nothing but a hospital gown and their dog tags. The medical facilities give them basic necessities but when you are hurt and away from home it is nice to have some things of comfort.

Mark your calendar and please join us for a morning filled with fall fashion ideas. Linda and I are excited to be a part of helping to raise money for this worthy cause.

Small Town America

Small town America, that is where I live and I love it.  We still have a town square, with a statue of John Pelham (Historic Confederate Soldier) in the center.  There's a bike shop where the owner leaves a note saying he is next door, just come and get him if you need help.  We have an Ace Hardware where they still help you find what you need for your honey do list.  A hamburger joint where they still scoop your ice cream for you chocolate shake.  Jacksonville has a coffee shop, Java Jolt where they actually serve scratch muffins and cookies (not the wrapped and sealed kind you get from the big guys) to eat with your latte.   Our yarn shop is there too, dropped into the nostalga of a small town.  A place where you can stop by to knit and catch up on what's happening in the neighborhood.  There is a university here, which brings with it youth and culture, and 10,000 college kids in the fall of each year.  Yes, our population really doubles each fall.  There is a Christmas Parade with homemade floats, antique cars, high school bands, and Santa.  And yes we do have fireworks to celebrate the 4th of July.  Everyone gathers at the high school football field and we ooh and ahh together at the sparkling explosions of color.  When driving down Pelham Road yesterday, I read "Freedom is not Free" on Warren Ace Hardware's sign, This statement has never been more real to our friends at Ace than it is today.  Their son Ben, a US Marine, was shot in Afghanistan a few weeks ago and is still recovering.  As our whole community prays for his complete recovery we are reminded of our own sons and daughters, husbands, wives, brother, sisters, fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers who have defended our freedom since the Revolutionary War. 

Let me suggest to you today to Google Freedom and Liberty and read quotes from our fore-fathers.  Here are a few I found and would like to share.

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

~Benjamin Franklin

The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree.

~Thomas Campbell

In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.  ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Give me liberty - or give me death!

~Patrick Henry

On Monday when you are sharing the holiday with your family, take a minute to consider what freedom means and who has sacrificed so that we may live in the greatest nation in the world.  Call your sailor, soldier, airman or marine and tell them thanks.