Taking a Break from Sun-to-Sun

The Word & the Music is my new blog persona that I'll be using across the internet on all the blogs I post! :) God is the Word and the Music, the song that I sing, the melody and harmony! I pray my story gives God glory, but also my blog post and everything I do! If every post includes "the Word" and "the Music", how can I go wrong?

TV, the Internet, Electronic Video Games, Professional Sports Teams, Social Media, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera! (I loved the King of Siam portrayed by Yule Brenner, didn’t you? Etcetera three times always makes me think of The King and I.) Anyway . . .

Once upon a time, these forms of entertainment we enjoy today—if available at all—usually included a ride far away and proved very costly. Especially for those settling the west. So out of necessity, pioneers provided their own fun activities. Church socials with all day meetings and dinner on the grounds occurred regularly and often crossed denominational barriers.

Quilting bees brought ladies together for catching up on all the latest news and provided a necessary commodity for cold winter nights. A part of the fun, aside from the actual quilting time, would be the hours spent prior for decisions on patterns and fabrics. Oft, while the ladies poked and pulled their needles, the men pitched horseshoes or washers. Some played mumbly peg.

Barn raisings might not be considered entertainment, but with several families participating, the day or three spent with ladies cooking, serving, and cleaning, children playing tag, hide and seek, or kick the can, and men sawing and hammering away, all those in attendance had a great time together, enjoying the fellowship while doing a good deed. The neighbor with the new barn definitely got blessed!

For big community fish fries, the men would seine the river for the main course, and the whole community gathered with side dishes and desserts. Much of the pioneer entertainment revolved around food. As early as the 1780s, a game of townball or rounders (similar to baseball) might add to the afternoon’s fun.

Camp meetings, sometimes lasting a week or two, drew the faithful to come from miles around to hear the preaching of the Word, praise, and worship God together. Others—often from more traditional denominations—came strictly for the show, an accepted practice on both sides of the coin as some of those spectators would get saved!

That’s how it happened that in CHIEF OF SINNERS, Sandra Louise, from a Church of Christ family came to the holy rollers’ revival tent meeting to see and hear the renowned Buddy Nightingale sing. When she entered, it was love at first sight for the both of them, and thus the Texas Romance family saga begins again in book ten of the series that launches in early September. It will introduce the fifth generation and bring the series into the 1950s (from 1832).

COVER REVEAL TOMORROW! Come by the CRAVE HIM! (Christian Readers & Authors Visitation Event! He Inspires Me!) Multi-Author Party tomorrow! Starts at 3 pm Texas Time (CDT). Games and prizes!

THE GIVEAWAY

I’m happy to share it with you and would love to offer a copy of book one in the series VOW UNBROKEN to one of my commenters!

To tell you ahead of time----for some reason, I can’t reply to comments on any Blogger site. I write them, and they just disappear, Have any of you experienced that? But I do sincerely appreciate and thank you for your comments! Blessings to all!

THE WORD

THE MUSIC

JOY IS THE FLAG FLOWN HIGH

✞♪♫•✫JOY is the flag ♥ flown high!✞♪*•from the castle♫♪*♪•of my heart!♪*•♫♪ from the castle✞♪of my heart! ♫•.♪♫ from the castle of my heart! ♫✫JOY is the flag ♥ flown high!✞♪*•from the castle♫♪*♪•of my heart!♪*•♫♪ for the KING! ♫•✫♥ *♪ is in residence there!♪♫•✫✞ ♪♫✫

THE QUESTION

What's your favorite source of entertainment?

THE BIO

Caryl McAdoo loves God and writes four series praying each story gives God glory: the historical Texas Romance; a contemporary Red River Romance; The Generations a Biblical fiction; and the Days of Dread Trilogy for young readers—all with a strong Christian sway. Known as the Singing Pray-er, she loves praising with new songs the Lord gives her and counts four children and seventeen grandsugars life’s biggest blessings. She and high school sweetheart-husband Ron live in the woods of Red River County five miles south of Clarksville, the county seat, in the far northeast corner of the Lone Star State.

THE LINKS

Website  /  Amazon  /  Facebook  /  Blogs: HeartWings  CRAVE HIM!  Stitches Thru Time  /  Twitter / GoodReads  /  Google+  /  LinkedIn  /  BookBub  /  Southern Writers Magazine  /  YouTube   

Wagons of the West

Have you ever wondered about the various conveyances the pioneers used?  I admit, for the longest time, I never gave it much thought and lumped them all together. But just as we have many makes and models of vehicles today that serve a variety of purposes and functions, so did the wagons of the nineteenth century.  Here is a small sampling of the most popular vehicles, and what made them unique. 

Conestoga- Perhaps one of the most recognizable wagons, these wagons had a large capacity, able to carry up to five tons of cargo. Their bowed construction helped to keep the goods toward the center.  Often, people erroneously mistake these for the wagons used by the pioneers, but the reality was, Conestoga wagons were too heavy for such a trip.

Farm Wagon- Simple and practical, these were widely popular and constructed for durability, not style. They were designed to be sturdy and carry heavy loads for daily use. These wagons typically did not have any form of suspension.

Covered Wagons- Often called prairie schooners, these are what many of the pioneers used as they crossed the American wilderness.  Starting with a farm wagon, five to six round metal frames were added and then covered with a heavy canvas such as duck cloth.

Stagecoach- Another icon of the west, the stagecoach transported people, mail, and gold. It had a suspension system in the form of thick leather straps that absorbed the shock of the bouncing.

Buckboard- These were similar in function to a farm wagon, but crafted differently. The name comes from the board at the front used for a footrest and protection against the horse’s hoof in case of bucking. The seats were attached to flexible board slats that ran from the front to rear axles.  Typically, there were two bench seats, with the rear seat having the option to be removed for more cargo space.

Photo copyrights in order: 1-Public Domain 2-dollarphotoclub.com/snehit 3-dollarphotoclub.com/nanjan 4-dollarphotoclub.com/henryksadura 5-dollarphotoclub/pattiguerrero