Groupon Deals!

Have any of ya'll tried Groupon? It's a website that offers a daily deal, and there will be a certain number of people who have to buy the deal in order to get it.

For example, today I just bought a $25 Groupon for $50 worth of personalized photo cards from Photo Card Creations. I'm thinking Christmas Cards! The deal required 20 people to buy in order for it to go through. You only have that day to buy it. As I'm typing, 30 people have bought that deal and it has 13 hours and 30 minutes to go.

Many Groupons are region/city specific but a lot, like the photo card offer for Brooklyn, are not. If you have time, just click around on different cities to see what their deals are! Go check it out!

The Tale of a Legend

My Great Grandaddy bought B.B. King his first guitar.

That statement sums up one of my family’s most well-known stories that has been shared and passed on for generations with so much pride.

Let me start at the beginning…

Riley (B.B.) King lived in Kilmichael, MS, as a young boy with his mother, Nora Ella King, and grandmother, Elnora Farr. His mother died, and a year later his grandmother passed away. Riley went to live with his father, Albert King, in Lexington, MS, but he didn’t like living with his father. In 1942, at the age of 16, Riley rode his bike 50 or so miles back to Kilmichael. He was planning on staying with his family but all of his relatives had already moved back to the Delta.

A relative of Riley’s, John Farr, asked my great grandfather, Flake Cartledge, if Riley could stay with him. Grandaddy Flake picked up Riley and brought him home to Cartledge Farms. He moved into a small one room cabin that John and Lessie Farr had just moved out of. Grandaddy Flake took care of Riley; he bought him new clothes and gave him some work on the farm. Riley ate his meals at the Cartledge’s table.

A local young man named Denzil Tidwell had a guitar for sale. Riley asked Mr. Flake if he would buy the guitar for him and let Riley work to pay the money back. Grandaddy Flake agreed and paid the $15 to buy Riley his first guitar. Before that Riley had put nails and strings in the wall of his cabin and would play them like a guitar. A local minister, Archie Farr, helped Riley start to learn the chords, but he really more or less taught himself to play. This was the humble beginnings of the King of Blues, B.B.King.

Wayne Cartledge

My grandfather, Wayne Cartledge, was 9 at the time Riley came to live at the Cartledge Farm. I don’t know that you’d call them “friends” as there was a 7 year age difference, but my grandfather followed along behind Riley as any younger boy would do. Riley was the one who taught my grandfather, Wayne, how to ride a bicycle. They remained friends for life. Every time Riley was in town, he contacted my grandfather. The relationship was something that my grandfather was so proud of. He would always talk about B.B. and force us grandchildren to listen to B.B.’s blues music. Looking back, I can appreciate it, although I must say that at the time I often plugged my ears.  Too young to understand good blues I suppose.

Papaw showing the documentary crew around the farm
Photo Credit Suzi Altman

Several years ago now, BBC sent a crew from England and author Charles Sawyer also came to the Cartledge Farm to gather information for a documentary and book on B.B. King.  My grandfather loved entertaining the documentary crews and driving them around our family’s property showing them the spot where B.B. lived. "You can still drink from the creek B.B. drank from when he worked here as a young boy."

My grandfather, Wayne Cartledge, died suddenly in December 2006. One of the most meaningful things we received was a huge bouquet of flowers from B.B. himself. He was out of the country at the time, so he was unable to attend the funeral, but his gift meant so much to my family. My grandfather would have LOVED it. We placed them right beside the casket.

Photo Credit Suzi Altman

The B.B. King museum recently opened in Indianola, and my family received a special invitation to attend the pre-opening ceremonies. The picture taken above was taken when they were filming a documentary that is in use at the B.B. King museum. One of the exhibits are donated items and artifacts from the Cartledge family and a video interview with my grandfather. Since he’s no longer here, it’s my job to carry on the family story of how my Great Grandaddy Flake bought B.B. his first guitar.

*Some details paraphrased from Charles Sawyer’s The Arrival of B.B.King. Other details obtained by oral interviews of Jocleta Cain Cartledge and Marshall F. Cartledge, II.

Teaser

This photo is a little teaser for tomorrow's post. 

This is blues legend B.B.King and my grandfather, Wayne Cartledge. 

Wanna know the full story? Stop by tomorrow :)

Photo Credit Suzi Altman

Wordless Wednesday- Camping Edition

First Day of School!

Brayden and Caleb on their first day of school this year. Their school just started requiring uniforms. I really think I'm going to like it though! It's not super strict; they have a choice between red, white, or royal blue polo shirts and khaki or navy shorts or pants. The hardest thing so far has been finding solid colored shoes.

Bray is starting 2nd grade and Caleb is starting Kindergarten.

Caleb was so excited to go the first day, but he cried when I dropped him off! I think navigating the school overwhelms him. Their school ranges from K to 8, so from his perspective, there are a whole lot of people who are a lot bigger than he is! I'm so glad that Bray is just down the same hallway and can walk him to class every morning. It's so great to have a big brother! 

Where I've Been- Part 2

Oops! I didn't exactly show up the next day as promised did I? SO sorry. I've got to get back in a posting routine! On with June and July...

We hosted The Current at our house for an event called "Back in the Saddle". The Current is our young adult ministry for ages 18 to thirty somethings at Northwood. We had a blast! The day started out with a huge thunderstorm which dumped a ton of rain, but we still had over 20 people show up. Jeffry had penned up a calf and greased a pig...I can't even begin to tell you how hilarious it was to watch everyone!

A pic of some of The Current group

Jeffry and Micah, our youth pastor, playing on the trampoline

On June 9th, Trace had his 2nd eye surgery to correct the strabismus in his eyes. I wasn't nearly as nervous this time, having gone through it once before, but I was still anxious. Jeffry and I prayed over him before he went in, and the surgery went really well. He has healed up even better than expected. We actually go back to the eye doctor tomorrow for another checkup.

On his surgery bed, waiting to go back!

Sleeping off the drugs after surgery

Hooked up to his IV. His poor little face got super red from a reaction to the anesthesia.

A couple days after surgery. You can see how red the outer corners of his eyes were. But SO straight!

The boys spent a week at Vacation Bible School at FBC Wiggins. They had a great time, and I got to see their "performance" that Friday at noon. That's actually where the above picture of Trace was taken. I also got to celebrate one of my besties bdays a little early! We met in Picayune, got pedicures and had lunch with her family. It was a great day!

Me, Kisha, Cydnee

Jeffry and I celebrated our 8th anniversary in Jamaica again! SO relaxing. We left early on a Monday morning and came back on Saturday around noon. People keep asking us what we did, and we say NOTHING! Haha. We really love Sandals resorts because you can stay completely on the property, have great food and entertainment, and just relax and enjoy each others company. Can't wait til next year!

We came home from Jamaica on Saturday, stayed the night at home, and then loaded up our camper to take the boys to Flint Creek Waterpark on Sunday the 4th. Flint Creek is not too far from our house, so it's like a vacation, but we can still go to work during the day. Several of our friends were out their with their children, and the kids would play for hours. We actually stayed for just over 2 weeks! I was so ready to be home by then, but the boys had a blast. It was our "family vacation" since we skipped the beach this year. 

Bray, Trace, and Caleb in the camper getting ready for bed

Caleb chomping down on a Smore!

Bray with his Smore

Trace playing in the camper

I think that brings us through the end of July! I will post the boys pics of the first day of school next! 

Where I've Been- Part 1

A few of you have asked me what happened, where did I go? I took a little break from blogging because honestly it just felt like one more thing I had to do. I didn't really feel like anyone was reading anyway, so I just quit for a while. I have finally felt like posting again because I missed it and things in my daily life have slowed down some.

So let's get to it. Where have I been?

We spent many hours at the baseball field. Brayden and Caleb often had games at the same time or game times that overlapped. Since Jeffry helped in the dugout for Brayden's team, that left Trace and me running back and forth in between fields! I would carry my camera in one hand and Trace in the other and we'd try to see each boy bat and at least see a little of their time in the field.

Caleb in the dugout

Bray playing catcher!

Trace was such a good fan.

Caleb graduated K-4 at First Baptist in Wiggins. We were blessed to have both sets of grandparents attend! It was a special day for him.

Caleb and Madisyn (I'm trying to arrange their marriage...her mom is my bestie, Cydnee!)

Caleb turned five and we celebrated his birthday 5 times! Yes, he had 5 different parties. Not because I was trying to be Mom of the Year but because Jeffry and I were going to be out of town on his actual birthday. And I felt bad. So we celebrated at Gatti Town, at home with our family, at home with his friends, at my grandparents, and then again with our church family.

Memorial Day weekend, my cousins and aunt came to visit from New Jersey. It was so great to see them! We had everyone at my house for the holiday and had so much fun just spending time together. Jeffry took my brother, cousins, Brayden, and Caleb to float the creek. They all came back a little burnt and exhausted from a great day.

Here is most of the crew at breakfast one morning. I need a bigger table!

This brings us to the end of May! Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow!