Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Hop Aboard the Freedom Chain!

Today's Wonder of the World is...the Chain!

Flickr photo by imtoobigtoo
What a pretty daisy chain!
Guess what's got me thinking about chains.
No, not raisins. That was yesterday's post. And the post before that!
It's this beautiful treasure!

Photo by Vintage Moon Studio
Isn't it gorgeous?
I was one lucky girl last week, when Deb over at the super cool blog Vintage Moon Studio picked my name in her Pay It Forward Drawing. Well, actually, her sweet pug drew my name. With his doggy paws.
When it came in the mail I could hardly believe it! I ran around my house, staring into the mirror at how gorgeous it was! Deb makes beautiful things. Drop by her place for a visit!
Thank you Deb! And in the interest of paying it forward, I'll pick a name from today's comments to receive my own little prize! So leave a comment and you'll be entered to win! I'll draw the winner tomorrow.
And that's not all!
I just about hugged my mail lady. Not only did I get a beautiful necklace, but she also brought me this.

I'm a walking four leaf clover! At least last week I was! What a lucky day! My friend Gina at another fabulous favorite blog, Lilly*s of London*ish drew my name on her blog-aversary! How lucky am I? Don't you want to reach through the computer and rub my head? (I'm kind of glad you can't. That would be weird.) And her gift sort of goes with this post because tractors have chains. (Okay, so I'm stretching the theme here, but I wanted to show off my prizes.)
Anyway, she gave me that cool journal made by Pamela Huntington. I love the little princess on it, and I'm already on chapter 6 of the book! Gina is right-- I can already tell the book will be one of my favorites, even though it has little to do with tractors and chains. Thank you Gina!

Chains are especially beautiful if they're made of ribbon or thread. Do you know the chain stitch?

Flickr photo by Veris Kleiner Windkel

And what about island chains?

Flickr photo by p.h.a.i.x
If you were a giant, you could play hopscotch on those!

Whenever I think of chains, I always remember Notre Dame d'Orcival. It's an incredible Romanesque basilica in the tiny village of Orcival, about forty minutes from where we used to live.

Photo by Francis Debaisieux
Isn't it incredible?!
Over the entrance there are leg irons mounted on the wall, "in thanksgiving for released prisoners."

Photo by Francis Debaisieux
It's a beautiful image, God setting us free from the chains that bind us.
A chain can be a symbol of bondage and oppression, but chains can also symbolize freedom and beauty!
Chains can even bring people closer together, like the Szechenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest.

Flickr photo by Jason's Travel Photography

Human chains bring water to livestock in Ethiopia.

Flickr photo by foto inorgana.
(It's called the Singing Wells, on account of the chanting of the people as they pass water to their livestock. Is that cool or what?)

And they protect a group of monks in Myanmar/Burma.

Flickr photo by naingankyatha
When we lock arms with other human beings, we form quite a beautiful chain.

It can lift us to new heights!

Flickr photo by Summach Photo

Now, two friendly reminders for you...
1. Don't forget to leave a comment for
today's Pay It Forward drawing! (And yes, all are welcome! Friends, family, and the blogless!)

2. If you aren't feeling lucky today, don't fret, my pet! There will be
more give-aways coming up on Wonder of the World Wednesday, a week from this very day! All kinds of Frenchy stuff for you! And to increase your chances in my drawings, (and hopefully to add to our chain of wonder blog-hoppers :) ) anyone who invites their friends to play along by posting Miss Globe-head's picture to their sidebar by Monday morning will get their name placed in the drawing two extra times! The more wonders, the merrier!
New blogs to discover!
New friends to meet!
Are you ready to play? I can't wait!

Have a Wonder-Full Wednesday, y'all!
Love, Becky


28 comments:

Pocket Full of Prettys said...

Hi Rebecca, so cool all the places that you've seen & gotten to experience. My son lived in Italy for 3 years always wanted to go but never made it. (long storey) I added your link to my "great places to visit" list. Hope you have a great day, come back by anytime! Hugs***Renea

Pocket Full of Prettys said...

PS--I am going to be doing a giveaway soon for my 100th post, so check back often! Renea

Debbie said...

Who wouldn't want to win a prize??? Even though I don't think I have ever won much.Thank the Lord, for all this good rain in our area.

Anonymous said...

that island chain is awesome!! Did God just randomly drop those there?.....so neat....

Anonymous said...

ucvdHI Becky!
Okay, I will try my luck in this drawing, but when I saw the first picture in your blog, I automatically thought of the daisy chain that Meredith College sophomores make for their graduating sister-senior class on class day, the day before graduation. The sophomores would enter the amphitheater first carrying the daisy chain followed by the seniors. The ceremony of the seniors reminicing their last four years at the school was then followed by the formation of the class numerals with the daisy chain by the sophomore class. Hopefully, the "chain" of school traditions will never be lost in the years to come! Tammy Whitley

Attic Rat said...

Congratulations, Becky. You ought to send that ole pug a dog bone for drawing your name.

Rosemary said...

Another cool post my dear!!!
Love it!
Chat soon,
Rosemary

Gina M Smith said...

Hi Rebecca- well, dang, I didn't think about you assuming I "made" the journal, and now I feel terrible I didn't. But I did "buy" it, which is another of my specialties: buying. :) It's made by Pamela Huntington-who makes very cool stuff.
I thought you might tie our little ex-chain-ge to the wonderful chain of friendship through blogging and swaps and all that jazz. That's certainly one reason why I love my blog. And I can tell it is for you, too. Have a great day....

May Vanderbilt said...

This blog has my heart under lock and key!

Btw, just made my first Etsy purchase ever, thanks to you!

Jamie @ Bungalow Bee said...

I'm a new blogger - what is a Pay It Forward drawing? Sounds interesting! I am excited for next week's post! I love getting involved in all this stuff. :)

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Hey Renea! I will be back! And I had such fun browsing around your etsy shop!

Hi Debbie,Amen on the rain. The ground was so thirsty!

Candy, it does look like that! Like a little crumb trail.

Hey Tammy, I was always envious of all that sisterhood going on at your end of Hillsborough Street! Sounds like a lovely tradition!

Attic Rat! Good idea! I should do that!

Hi Rosemary! So glad you're playing along next Wednesday!

Gina, how could I miss that...the chain of giving and friendship in blogland is an awesome part of the whole thing. And thank you again! Whether you made the journal or bought it, I love it dearly!

May, you're a sweetheart. And congrats! Be careful :)! Etsy is addictive--once I found how easy it was to shop that way, it's hard to stop looking around!

Hey Jamie, I'm happy to explain. The idea is that when you get a gift, you give a gift in a drawing of your own at some point. It doesn't have to be anything huge--it can be whatever you want, often something you make. At least that's my interpretation of it. That way, the chain keeps going!

Rebecca Ramsey said...

I forgot to add that the winner can choose how to pay it forward themselves--whether with a drawing, if they have a blog, or just by surprising someone they know with a gift.

Susan Sandmore said...

Now I have a song stuck in my head. Guess which one? Chain, chain, chain . . .

LarryG said...

chain me to your blog and throw me overboard in the sea of blogmania :)

Barb said...

Hi Becky,

I needed your fun post this afternoon. You have won some great items. Could you please pass some luck out here to AZ?

I am going to put the little globehead on my sidebar- woo hoo.

Have a wonderful evening.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Susan, now you've got me singing it!

Larryg, you are too sweet!

Hey Barb! Miss Globe-head thanks you!

Cindy said...

Hey Becks! Because I still CAN'T figure out how to add things to my side-bars...can I still play if I make a post about it and put it on that post? I don't know why...but it just stymies me to do that.....duh! LOL. Great post too, I love that ride at the fair.
ttyl
c

LW said...

What a wonderful post...
Fun to read...love the islands..

I will be joining you on Sept.3,
I just hope I can do this half as well as you, the wonder queen...

Louise

Paula Clare said...

Hi Becky!
Wow...I just LOVE reading your "rant of the day!" My favorite chains are the ones symbolizing freedom on Notre Dame and the islands. Oooooooooooooooooohhhh...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.What I wouldn't give to be THERE right now!

Thinking of more chains:
chain link fence
chain letters
chain of command

and my absolute fave, Ms Aretha Franklin's:

Cha, cha, chain...chain of fools!

Blessings!
Paula Clare

Rhondi said...

Hi Becky
I just love all the interesting photos and topics you post about. Loved the sheep one especially the sheep in the art gallery and the video of sheep.
Hope you're having a good week.
Hugs, Rhondi

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Cindy, sure you can! I'd love to have you join us. The idea of putting it on the sidebar was only to give friends time to see it and think about joining in before the day of the post. So if you can post Miss Globe-head ahead of time, great, and if not, no big deal.

Louise! Whoopee! I'm so glad you're wonder hopping too! I can't wait to see what wonders people pick! And thank you for calling me a me queen! I've always wanted to queen of my own tiny little world. Why doesn't my family ever call me that?

Paula Clare, I've been singing Aretha's song since Susan started me on it. And also Sam Cooke's Chain Gang. At least I think it was Sam Cooke.

Hey there Rhondi! Thanks a bunch!

Life on the Edge said...

Oh, what a pretty necklace you received! Just lovely! I also enjoyed your other chains including the chain of islands and the human chains. One of my favorite local, well actually over an hour away, is the chain of lakes in northeast Indiana. It's so fun to see actual water highways connecting the lakes!

And yes, I would love to be entered in the contest!

Kady

Princess Vien said...

your posts are very wonderful.
nice catch for WW.

Mine is up too.
http://www.inthespiritofdance.com/2008/08/wordless-wednesday-no8-campaign-for.html

Happy WW!

Siddhartha said...

I have always great fond of flower jewelry! The Daisy chain is awesome.

Cynthia said...

Loving the island chain!

Unknown said...

Congrats to you on winning the blog give aways! Aren't they the best? I'm happy for you.

EllenP said...

Hope I'm not too late to enter. I'm just getting caught up on reading your posts. I look so forward to reading your blog. Have a good day.

CC said...

I love that island chain picture!