Monthly Archives: July 2011

Our Country ~ Hymn

Our Country

Our country, unrivaled in beauty
And splendor that cannot be told,
How lovely thy hills and thy woodlands,
Arrayed in a sunlight of gold.
The eagle, proud king of the mountain,
Is soaring, majestic and free;
Thy rivers and lakes in their grandeur,
Roll on to the arms of the sea;
Roll on to the arms of the sea.

Our country, the birthplace of freedom,
The land where our forefathers trod,
And sang in the isles of the forest
Their hymn of thanksgiving to God;
Their bark they had moored in the harbor,
No more on the ocean to roam;
And there in the wilds of New England,
They founded a country and home,
They founded a country and home.

Our country, the past, and its glory,
Still honor the names of thy dead;
The statesmen that crowned thee with laurel,
The heroes and veterans that bled.
Mount Vernon, where Washington slumbers,
The soul of thy freedom for years,
A willow droops tenderly ever,
Go hallow his grave with thy tears,
Go hallow his grave with thy tears.

Our country, with ardent devotion,
In God may thy children abide;
In Him be the strength of our nation,
His laws and its counsel our guide.
Our banner, that time-honored banner,
That floats o’er the ocean’s bright foam,
God keep them unsullied forever,
Our standard, our union, our home,
Our standard, our union, our home.

Words: Fanny Crosby

The Capitol and Statue of Freedom ~

Because this is our 4th of July weekend in the U.S.A. I thought it would be good to post my photos of the U.S. Capitol and the Statue of Freedom that crowns the Capitol Dome.

Statue of Freedom

The bronze Statue of Freedom crowns the dome of the U.S. Capitol. Her right hand rests upon the hilt of a sheathed sword; her left holds a laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States with thirteen stripes. Her helmet is encircled by stars and features a crest composed of an eagle’s head, feathers, and talons, a reference to the costume of Native Americans. A brooch inscribed “U.S.” secures her fringed robes.

U.S. Capitol Building

The Capitol building is one of the most symbolically important buildings in the United States. President Washington laid the cornerstone on 18 September 1793, and it has housed the meeting chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate for two centuries.

Nothing in the United States symbolizes democracy more than the U.S. Capitol Building. For nearly two centuries, it has been home to both chambers of Congress and has evolved and expanded as times changed and the nation grew. The building itself has more than 16 acres of space and 540 rooms. The Capitol Grounds cover about 274 acres with sloping lawns, splashing fountains and beautiful terraces.

The statue at Emancipation Hall is a plaster model of the Statue of Freedom. The actual Statue of Freedom sits high atop the U.S. Capitol Dome. The plaster cast gives visitors a good idea of what the real thing looks like.

This is a small view of the inner dome and canopy over the Capitol Rotunda. I’ll have another post of more photos from the inside of the Capitol on another day. E Pluribus Unum ~ Out of many one. E pluribus unum was suggested by the committee Congress appointed on July 4, 1776 to design “a seal for the United States of America.”
E Pluribus Unum still appears on U.S. coins even though it is no longer the official national motto! That honor was given to In God We Trust in 1956 by an Act of Congress.

Hope you enjoyed these views of our Nations Capitol and a great symbol of freedom. That’s what we celebrate every 4th of July.

We’ve been getting our patio all ready to go for our 4th of July celebration hoping that we get our long awaited summer for many days in a row! Hope your weekend is going well!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and photobucket stamped versions. They are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

FFF ~ Long Weekends…

The U.S. A. is headed into their long Independence Day Weekend and Canada is in full swing of their Canada Day celebrations. Happy Canada Day to all my friends across the line. Enjoy your camping and grilling! I’ll post more about the 4th of July on Monday.

Now the time is right to look back on the past week and list my favorites to join in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday’s Fave Five.

1. Spending a day away with Dear this past Saturday.

2. Spending Sunday with Josh and Laura enjoying brunch, the Sounder’s game, and dinner out.

3. Changing some things around in the Living room for a fresh look.

4. With all my shows in re-runs or off the air, I’ve been enjoying reading in the evening. I’ve finished a couple of books this week and am in the middle of two others.

5. My collage up top shows some of my plants in containers on the deck that are finally starting to show their colors. I’m looking forward to getting the patio furniture down and out on the patio this weekend. Can’t believe the weather has not been good enough to do it sooner.

We are having a 4th of July get together with friends on Monday. Dear will be smoking a Boston Butt for pulled pork sandwiches. My company will be contributing dishes. We haven’t decided on everything we’ll serve yet but coleslaw and baked beans will be part of the menu for sure. My red, white and blue decor is out and our flags will be flying.

What are your plans for the long weekend?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with blurred out versions and photobucket stamped versions. They are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.