While traveling along the highway last Sunday night I noticed many places already decorated for Christmas. Did I miss Thanksgiving? Are we rushing things? It seemed when I was a child that Christmas was slow in coming around every year, but now we don't have to wait long. We never got a Christmas tree until a week before Christmas when I was a kid. I'm sure from my memories our tree was quite tacky, but we enjoyed decorating it ourselves. I remember icicles and tinsel shining and looking so magical. Now we have time to get very tired of the decorations. Should we start decorating for Easter in January? I don't think I'm going to rush things because birthdays already come around too fast. I heard someone say that when we are a child we would say I'm five and a half, but we don't say that after we pass 30. ƒThose family members from Tignall attending the deacon ordination service Sunday night for Greg Tyler at the First Baptist Church of Winder were his parents, Alex and Kay Tyler; his grandmother, Mildred Tyler; and aunt and uncle, Richard and Carolyn Gammon. This was a very impressive service in a church of around 1,000 members. It doesn't seem too long ago that Greg and his twin brother Jeff threw their cat into the washing machine while clothes were washing and brought frogs into the house to watch them spin around on the turntable of a record player. Do frogs get dizzy? ƒHappy birthday to my sister, Kay Tyler, whose birthday was Friday the 13th. I bought her a birthday present at the festival, but I wore it on Sunday, so another present had to be bought before the 13th. Happy birthday also to John Yochim and Nita Riley on November 15. ƒA large group of people from Tignall Baptist Church attended the Bill Gaither 2009 homecoming concert at the James Brown Arena in Augusta last Saturday night. ƒLeon and Linda Aycock, Brian and Tonya Callaway, and Otis and Pat Callaway attended the Ag. Georgia Farm Credit Heifer Show in Lexington Saturday where Greg Callaway competed with his calf. He won a third place. ƒScott Ware and Shaun Cox attended the Florida/South Carolina football game in Columbia Saturday. While they were at the game, Kathy and Stacey enjoyed a movie in Augusta. ƒMary Webster, Pat Mack, and Celeste Adams enjoyed the auction Saturday night in Lincolnton. They had so much fun and stayed until the end. ƒNell Arnold of Orlando, Fla., formerly of Wilkes County is an artist who had offered two of her paintings to be on display at the festival, you may be able to see these also at the North Wilkes Library and Museum. ƒ I received the 1930 Tignall High School diploma of Edna Collins with the signatures of principal Lois Ragsdale and teacher Nell Sutton with their beautiful handwriting. Handwriting went out the window when manners went out. Now everyone either prints or writes like a doctor. Anyway, Miss Edna says she can never forget Miss Lois Ragsdale, Miss Nell Sutton, and Bill Sayer. She says, "Tignall will always be home to me with fondest memories of growing up in the vicinity." She also said that she and Vannie Lunceford Eason had a room at the Ollie and Hugh Jackson home near the school in 1930. There was no bus service then. The diploma didn't get here in time for the display at the festival, but it will be placed in the North Wilkes Museum. ƒSam Bradley loaned a quilt that had belonged to his mother, the late Marie Bradley for, the display in the "Trip Down Memory Lane" during the festival. This quilt was made in 1941 by ladies in the Broad and Delhi areas. Their names are embroidered in each square they were responsible for. This was a wonderful addition to the display. ƒLet's keep the following people in our prayers: Myrline Thornton, Frances Vinson, Calli Nickels, Brenda Bunch, Phoebe Davis, Shirley Roberson, Johnny Morgan, Brooke Bentley Pearson, Pat Grimaud, Kelly Clayton Rambo, Sherry Newsome, Albert Rhodes Jr., Charles Pullen, Curtis Tanner, Elaine