Four Christmas Dresses, Three Pairs of PJ's, Etc.

I have 4 of these dresses almost completed. They are all made alike, smocked the same, just different buttons. Rather than do the picture smocking and put however many snowmen, santa faces and other Christmas prints on these dresses and make them only for a few wears, we opted to use buttons that could be changed. The dresses are made of 32nd check gingham, and can be worn all next summer.

This is the oldest pictured here. Her dress is light blue with peppermint suckers, her younger sisters is mint green also with the red trim and has Santa faces on it, and The Banty Hen's is hunter green with green ribbon(the red and white didn't look good on it) with big white sparkly snowflakes. The forth dress will be for my great neice who is celebrating her first birthday today. It is sewn together, and the smocking almost done. We are putting elfs on hers. Hopefully sometime over Christmas we can get a group picture.

This picture is of the PJ's to which I alluded in my feeble atempt to sound like the 12 days of Christmas in my title. I saw some really bold pj's online that were an animal print with big(huge actually) pink flowers and were so cute. They were 34 dollars a pair, so I started looking for fabric to make them. I didn't find what I was looking for, but did find this gorgeous piece of cotton knit that had the best hand to it, and I bought all of it for 14 bucks. It's going to be a bit interesting to get one for The Banty Hen out of what I have left, but I think with a bit of work, it will happen.

Then it's on to Superhero. He wants a cowhide vest(I just happen to have a piece of fabric that will work nicely for that) and he wants a santa suit. So I've decided to make him one out of fleece that he can sleep in and he'll have a new set of pj's too.

I was also planning to make the 3 girls a pair each of pink and white flannel camo pj's and make Superhero a regular color pair of flannel camo pj's. I can find plenty of pink and white, but none for him. And I've been looking for quite a while. I guess I'll have to rethink that idea.

I have figured out the problem with my camera. It isn't my camera, but the software on my pc at work. When I unplugged it in mid transfer, the program became confused(I think unstable is the correct term)and thinks it's still in transfer mode. I've got to take my software to work and reload. Then I think I'll be in good shape.

Thanks for your suggestions. I have to keep that camera working since getting a new one is out of the question.

I hope you are having a great Tuesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

What's Wrong With My Camera?

I was uploading some very important photos the other day and I unplugged my camera (silly me) from my computer before it finished. Why did I do that, you say? I don't know. I had unplugged it before I even thought about it not being finished.

Now I can see the pictures I take, but when I upload them to the pc using a cord, not the base, I get damaged files that won't open. This makes me very unhappy. I've had this camera about 5 or so years, and I don't use it nearly as much as I should. And now it doesn't matter how many pictures I take, I can't upload them to my pc.

The one thing I haven't tried is to upload at home where I have the base. They may work from there, and if that's the case, I may just need to reload my photo program here at work.

If anyone has ever had this happen, let me know what you did to fix it, please. I took the battery and the card out for a while thinking it would reset itself when I put them back in, but that didn't work. I've been working on dresses for the granddaughters and wanted to put some pics for you to see, but haven't been able to yet.

I hope you are having a good day. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Outside My Window!

What's going on outside your window today? Here in good old NE Arkansas, it's raining. It's been raining since sometime last night, and is supposed to rain most of tonight. It's that cold rain with big drops that might have a little ice in it later.

We had a heavy frost yesterday morning. When I first went outside, I though it had snowed, then I realized it was just frost. But is was really pretty.

It's that chili weather that makes you want to stay inside by the fire with a blanket wrapped around you with a good book and time to take a nap. But alas, I'm not in front of the fire, wrapped up warm and I certainly can't take a nap. At least my boss wouldn't appreciate it if I were snoring and distrubing other workers down the hall.

The radio station that I listen to at work is playing only Christmas songs right now, and some of them I'm a little tired of, but others I can listen to all day. They are playing a lot of songs by the Carpenters. Karen sure had a wonderful voice. Occasionally they throw in one by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby or Dean Martin. The oldies are certainly goodies, but my new favorite is the one that Faith Hill sings and it is in the Grinch. It's called 'Where Are You Christmas' and it's just so pretty, least in my book that is.

My friend has a new grandson. He came into this world weighing 10' 10". I think they are going to let him drive home. What what I can hear, they are all doing well. Congratulations Mona.

I hope everyone is having a good Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

November - A Distant Memory

It's December 1st. November is gone. Thanksgiving is over. As I told you in an earlier post, I would participate in a total of three thanksgiving meals, which I did. The first at work. The second was with my step-parents and part of the extended family. The third was my children, grandchildren, myself and my brother and his wife.

The food was wonderful at each one. I think the lunch we had at work was the best we've ever had. My step-mother is a great cook, and my family all pitched in and did a joint effort that was really good. We had turkey, ham(oldest daughter brought), dressing(which my youngest daughter made and it was really good), sweet potato casserole(my sister-in-law made, really good also), green bean bundles(made by my daughter-in-law, sooo good), glazed carrots(also made by youngest daughter), potatoes, gravy, rolls, cheddar biscuits(recipe I stole from Chickens in the Road). I made a pecan pie from a cookbook I got in my wedding shower in 1965, and a pumpkin-cream cheese pie that I sorta made up. My sister-in-law made a banana pudding.

Let me tell you about the pumpkin pie. I love a good pumpkin pie if the pumpkin flavor isn't too strong, so I usually try to mellow it out a bit. I used Libby 15 oz can of pumpkin and followed the recipe with these exceptions. Where it called for evaporated milk, I used sweetened condensed milk, and cut the sugar out, and added an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese. It completely filled a deep dish pie pan, but I didn't bake it much longer than the recipe on the can called for. Everyone that ate it said it was really good.

I hope you enjoyed your holiday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

One Thanksgiving Meal Down!

We live in a land of plenty. Yesterday we had our Thanksgiving meal here in the office. Guess what I made? I know, you guessed it--Crockpot dressing. One of the guys here in the office always fries turkeys for us. He fried 3 yesterday. The were moist and delicious. We had all the things that go with a feast, and we all ate until we were miserable. In fact, I saved my dessert until this morning with my coffee.

Before November rolls to a close, I will have participated in at least two more Thanksgiving meals. And yes, I have already ordered some new slacks in a bigger size. I'm beginning to think I should just start wearing spandex. That would be the clothes that keep on giving. I tried to make a joke, but I don't hear anyone laughing.

The foodbank here has been having food drives this week. Our office had two boxes full yesterday to take to the donation drop-off. Our church sent home grocery sacks with a list of things to put in them. The church will purchase a turkey for each filled bag, and on Saturday, the teenagers and young married couples will deliver them to the families whose names have been given to us.

I know several other churches in the area are doing the same thing. I hope everyone who wants to have a Thanksgiving meal will have that opportunity this holiday season.

I've decided that starting today through the holidays I'm going to begin a list of things I should be thankful for. I'm going to add something each day, and incorporate them in my prayers. I think the first thing on the list is that Jesus died for my sins so I will have the promise of eternal life in Heaven.

I hope you are having a good Friday and are looking forward to a wonderful weekend. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love cheesecake. Any kind except chocolate, but then I eat very little chocolate anyway. Last year I got the bright idea to make a pumpkin cheesecake. I usually make pumpkin pies since they are my oldest grandson's favorite.

I went through several recipes and finally came up with what I thought would be a good one. I made it and it was good, but not fantastic good, which is what I want. So my hunt has continued.

Today, I found one in a newsletter I get each day, and it looks so good that I'm going to try it. If it turns out, I'll post pictures of it here and will let you know if it's good. I am going to go ahead and share the recipe in case you may think it also sounds good. Here goes.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Cookie Crust:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and egg. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon then add to creamed mixture, beating until well blended. Gather up dough, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press cookie crust dough into bottom and two thirds up sides of a 10 x 2 1/2 inch springform pan.

Filling:
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp cake flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy then beat in sugar. Sift together flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, add to cream cheese mixture, beating on low to combine. Beat in vanilla and heavy cream. Whisk eggs into pumpkin and add to batter. Mix on low speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until well combined. Pour filling into crust in pan and bake 45 minutes. Turn oven off, leave oven door slightly ajar, and let rest for 15 minutes. Open door completely and let cake rest inside for 1 hour. Remove pan from oven and cool completely.

Topping:
4 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup dark raisins
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Topping: Mix cornstarch and water until smooth. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add maple syrup and cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil and cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until thickened, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat then stir in raisins and pecans. Cool to lukewarm then spoon topping over cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight before removing sides of pan.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

LOSS

We all have Loss in our lives. Today my friend is suffering loss in her life. On this wet chilly November morning, her husband of over 40 years lost his battle with cancer.

When you marry, the Bible says that two become one. Therefore, when one is gone, the other is no longer whole. It will take some time before she will be able to move as one person again. Over 40 years of being connected will be difficult to disconnect.

Then it's time to reflect. I've known my friend since 1st grade. I've known her husband since 7th grade. My friend is my age. Her husband a bit older. My family lived down a dusty country road from his. He was one of 10 children whose family were cotton farmers. He had his share of difficulties with a bone disease that caused him to walk on crutches for a couple of years. But he survived that. Just after he graduated from high school, he was in an automobile accident that almost took his life. He survived that also.

What do we have here? We have a couple of country farm kids who basically started with just each other. They brought 3 children into this world, who are now grown, educated, successful people with families of their own. They weathered over forty years of hard work. They had difficult times, but they continued to labor together. These days that is a mark of great commitment. His struggles are over. He is in a better place. His family already looks forward to the day they can be with him again.

Please pray for this family, that they may make it through the next few days, and that God holds them in his hand and gives them the strength to endure.

I hope you are having a good Tuesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Just Ramblin

I have no specific topic today. So I'm just going to ramble a bit. It's been a good week, other than my youngest daughter thought she might have mono, but turned out it wasn't. The youngest granddaughter is potty training and doing really well. She's two. I picked the older two granddaughters up after school yesterday and brought them back to work til their mother could pick them up. I have new art work!

Note to self: pick up a couple of coloring books and some colors. I don't like for them to use the dry erase markers I have here in the office. I don't think it would come out if they got it on their clothes.

I played cards last night. Didn't win, but had fun. We have one gal who plays with us that keeps you in stitches. She can take the silliest thing and tell it in a way that doubles you up laughing. What a stress reliever that one night a month is for all of us. The hostess' husband made a pot of potato soup for us, and she had sandwiches, chicken salad, bacon tomato dip, cheeseball, and salad. Then for dessert, she had pecan pie, pralines, and pecans dipped in white chocolate. I was really good, I didn't eat any pie.

We're trying something new here in the office this week. I bought a bottle of sublingual B-12. We've each been taking one after lunch to see if it makes us any perkier(is that a word?). You put them under your tongue(thus sublingual) and let them dissolve. They taste sort of like a sweet tart. I don't know for sure, but we think they may be working. We went to a meeting the other afternoon. Three of the four people in the meeting had taken the B-12. The person who didn't, yawned all through the meeting.

I have three dresses to cut out and get ready to smock this weekend. Then there'll be a 4th one as soon as I can meet my sister-in-law to pick out fabric for her granddaughter. We are making bishop dresses with geometric design, and adding christmas themed buttons around the yoke. Then after christmas, the buttons can come off, and they can continue to wear them til they no longer fit.

And Megan from Little Rock, welcome into my little corner of the world.

That's it for a ramblin Friday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Bacon, Tomato Dip

A friend introduced me to this dip. She calls it bacon, tomato dip, and it tastes like a blt, only richer. I've been making it for some years now, and brought it to work today for a co-worker's birthday:

Bacon, Tomato Dip

1 pkg bacon fried crisp (I use the 12 oz pkg)
1 tomato, peeled, seeds removed
16 oz mayonnaise - not miracle whip
16 oz sour cream
1 round pkg King's Hawaiian Bread

I put the tomato and bacon in my food processer and pulse it till it's chopped pretty finely. You can crumble and chop if you want to.

Add to the mayo and sour cream. Mix well.

Chill mixture.

To serve, cut bread into cubes to use for dipping.

If you don't like the bread(#1daughter), use whatever chips you like.

This dip is finger lickin good. And it's so easy to make.

I hope you are having a good Veteran's Day. If you know one, be sure to tell him/her how much you appreciate what they did for us. Pray for our country. Love one another.

I Need a Cooking Dictionary!

I was looking at some recipes this morning in an email I get every day. It has lots of good recipes in it, and whether I ever make them or not, I like to read them. But today I got to wondering about something and I'll see if anyone can get me straight on my conundrum.

What is the difference in soup and stew? Is there a particular ingredient that is in one that isn't in the other? Does the stew have to do with the way the meat is cut? Or is it that there are certain veggies that is 'allowed' in one and a 'no no' in the other?

When I make beef stew for example, I use stew meat that I buy at the store cut into chunks, or I buy a cheap cut of beef and cut it up myself. I usually add onion, potatoes, tomato juice and some salt and pepper. But if I make the same thing except I use ground beef that I brown in the place of the chunks, we call it beef soup. I also usually add corn and carrots to the beef soup. Is that what makes it different?

Oh, and I just had another thought. How does chowder, goulash and gumbo come into this mix. I've always been told that gumbo must have okra in it to be called gumbo, so that makes a little sense as to why it's called something else.

You know the saying,'you can't tell the players without a program'? Well, I'm beginning to think the same about cooking.

And Tipper at Blind Pig and the Acorn was right when she said people thought polenta was a gourmet dish, when it was basically what sustained a lot of people who had very little else to eat.

Have you made your Thanksgiving plans yet? What about a menu? What dish is your speciality that you always make for special occasions?

Hope you are having a great Tuesday. Pray for our country(we saw a group from the 875th leave for Afghanistan this morning). Love one another.

I'm Disappointed in my Pecan Tree

The pecans are beginning to fall here on campus. We've been having warm days and windy nights, and lots of leaves have fallen. Some of the people here in the office go at lunch and pick up pecans. There's probably 40 or 50 trees here, and they aren't the big papershell, they are what we call 'Stewarts', about as big as your thumb and have a very tasty nut inside.

I haven't been going with them to pick up nuts because I have a tree in my back yard. So on Saturday, a beautiful fall day, I might add, I took a container and headed into the back yard. What did I find when I got there? Well, there was one thing I definitely did not find--PECANS! No not nary a one. I immediately think, 'those darn squirrels', but when I look up in the tree, I realize that the poor squirrels are going to be hungry this winter. There aren't even any burrs on the limbs where any nuts have fallen. I've lived in my house for 10 years, and this is the second time there have been no nuts.

Needless to say, I was disappointed. I was looking forward to using my nutcracker to bust them, and then sitting and watching tv while I picked out the nuts. Guess I'll have to find something else to fill my time.

I have 3 and possibly 4 dresses to smock for Christmas, and I'm planning to make pj's for the kids, so I guess it's time I got started on that.

Hope you are having a great Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

America, Why I Love Her!

Anyone who knows me, know that I am a dyed in the wool, die hard, true blue John Wayne fan. He is the epitome of the great American. I know he had his faults, but he never failed to stand up for this country.

After hearing about the shooting in Fort Hood, my heart went out to all those families who are affected by this tragedy and for some reason, this poem spoken by John Wayne came to my mind. Regardless of what happens, how bad we think things are, or how corrupt we feel our government is, we still live in the greatest land on the planet.

Here is a link to the reading of this great poem:
http://sagebrushpatriot.com/america.htm

What is your favorite John Wayne movie?

Did you like his westerns or military films best?

Have you ever noticed that regardless of the film, there is at least one fight--many times in a bar?

Have you ever noticed that the same people were in his films time and again, and even when those people were no longer around, their children were?

Did you know there is at least one movie where he is a singing cowboy? It's a B movie, but it's out there.

Did you know his film company Batjack was the name of a ship in one of his earliest films?

Oh, and this last picture is of my hero, my dad who served in WWII, and who has been gone for several years now.

Hope you are having a beautiful Friday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Crock Pot Dressing

I have been asked to post this recipe again. For anyone who may have missed it or didn't try it before, it's the best dressing recipe I've ever found, and the easiest. I would consider it definitely the southern style of dressing.

Crockpot Dressing.

1 – 8” pan cooked cornbread- don’t use jiffy mix, it has a sweet taste to it.
8 slices day old bread
4 eggs
1 medium onion chopped
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
1 ½ Tablespoons sage
1 Teaspoon salt
½ Teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons butter.

Crumble breads and add all ingredients except margarine. Pour into crockpot and dot with butter. Cook on high 3 hours or low 3 to 4 hours. Stir half way through.

If I cook a chicken to put in it, I use 32 ounces of my chicken broth. I also heat the broth. It seems to help with the mixing of the breads. If I use hot broth, I wait until I’ve put in the other ingredients to add the eggs so as not to cook them.

I also cook my onion in my cornbread. My bunch doesn’t like to find pieces of onion, and if they cook in the cornbread and then a bit more in the dressing, you can’t find them.

Sometimes, I boil 3 or 4 eggs and cut them up in the dressing.

I also splurge and buy those crockpot cooking bags. Makes cleanup a snap.

I also think if you wanted to, you could put this dressing in the oven and bake it for an hour or so at 350 degrees. It makes a very moist dressing, and everyone that has eaten it likes it.

I hope you are having a great Thursday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

I Guess I know Who My Friends Are!

I wrote my post yesterday simply to complain about the fact that my oven doesn't heat properly. Thinking all along, I'd get a bit of sympathy, but no, I got accused of trying to get out of cooking the thanksgiving turkey. And #1 daughter(that's #1 traitor from now on) jumped right on that bandwagon.

Actually, I got quite a laugh about it, and I'd have tried it before if I thought it would have gotten me out of cooking(I do so much of it). But we'll be having our thanksgiving at #2 daughter's house, and I'll carry the turkey there to be cooked.

And Laura, I personally have never had a crockpot to die, and I have one that is about 30 years old, but I have a friend whose 'high' setting went out, so she can only cook things that take 8 or more hours to cook, but sounds like you have worn yours out.

And on the subject of crockpots: Have you tried the liners? They are to die for. Clean up is simply throwing out the bag. No stuck food to the sides, no scrapping, just gather up the corners of the bag and pitch it in the trash.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

I Promise, It's My Oven

I don't cook nearly as much as I used to. Now I haven't worn out too many stoves. Although I’ve used some that were worn out. And there was a time when I could put a fairly tasty meal on the table. Even back in the beans, fried potatoes and cornbread days.

But for some time now, it seemed everything I put in the oven had to cook a bit longer than the directions/recipe said. And strange part is, I bought a new range less than two years ago. It's gas, but has a digital panel to set the time and temp so I thought I was all set.

The most puzzling thing was that a cake mix in two pans seemed to bake fine, but let me try to make a bundt cake with or without a cake mix in the ingredients and it would always flop. At first I thought it was my ingredients. Since I don’t bake as much as I used to, I figured my baking powder was old. Or some other ingredient wasn’t good. So I even bought all new ingredients. Still flopped.

Then a few days ago, I was reading a blog that had a recipe. The person had made some comments about how their recipe had turned out, and had mentioned it was very important that the temperature be at the exact setting as shown on the recipe. This person even went on to say you should never trust your oven settings. They could be ‘off’. DUH! Do you think? I put an oven thermometer in my oven, and sure enough, it’s off between 40 and 50 degrees depending on what the setting.

I was making cheese biscuits. The recipe said 45o, so that’s where I set my oven. When it beeped, I checked the temp and it was only 350. I thought I’d give it a few minutes, and it eventually got to 400 and that’s where it stopped. It wasn’t until I set the temp on 500 that it finally got to 450. Who would have thought?

So now, I’ve got to dig out my papers on the stove and hope it’s still under some type of warranty and regardless of whether it is or not, have it checked out. Surely there’s a way to adjust the burner in the oven, but my son said he’d never heard of having to do that. And I have to give him credit, he’s the one who suggested contacting the company.

Well with that startling revelation about stoves, I hope you’ve had a great Tuesday and that all your baking has been perfect. Pray for our country. Love one another.

SomeWhere Over The Rainbow

This rainbow was what we got to see all the way home Friday afternoon. We discussed God's promise to never flood the earth again, even though it was beginning to look as if He had renigged.

I picked up these three little girls Friday afternoon. My two granddaughters and their little friend. They spent the night at 'Memaw's house. They giggled, they ate, they watched movies, they played, and then suddenly it was bedtime. The next morning, I made the picture of the three of them in pj's doing the 'Hear No Evil, Speak no Evil and See No Evil'. I thought it was quite cute. They ate breakfast, got dressed and went outside to play, which gives us the picture of them in the tree.

They later did a dress up thing in some of their mother's dresses, and was picked up by said mothers about 11 that morning. I enjoyed having them, and I think they all had a good time. I guess we'll find out if their friend had a good time if she ever wants to come back.

I hope you are having a great Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

The Day Before Halloween

Today is Friday before Halloween, and I'd like to know your plans for tomorrow night(that scariest night of them all).

Are you going to dress up?

If you are going to dress up, as what will you be dressed?

Are you going to or having a party?

Where will you trick-or-treat?

Is it raining where you plan to celebrate All Hallow's Eve?

Is it snowing?

Do you go through your children's candy and take what you want on the pretext of 'checking it for safety reasons'?

Do you ever sit outside with a can of silly string to scare the kids?

When you spray them, do they cry while you cackle like a witch?

If you are giving out the candy, do you give a handful to each child, or do you pick up a hand full, then drop only one piece into the bucket?

Have you ever soaped someone's windows?

Have you ever egged anyone's house?

Have you ever toilet papered anyones house?

Have you ever done any other mischef, and if so what was it? (describe in detail for future reference)

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?
(I know, you are wondering what the heck that has to do with Halloween, but it's just me being extra nosey.)

I hope you've had a great Friday. And I hope you have a safe Halloween. Pray for our country. Love one another. PS. Will got an A on his leaf collection.

Mass Innoculation

Today was the mass innoculation for the seasonal flu vaccine and if you met a certain criteria(which I did not), you could also get the H1N1 vaccine. It started at 7a.m. this morning and was to go until about 3 or until the vaccine ran out. Have you ever gone to a football field to get a shot? That's where we were.

We heard this morning there was 8,000 doses. So, I get myself up and am in line by 6:45. Actually, I was in 'A' line since there were probably 8 or 9 different lines feeding into the spot where the shots were being given.

We had discussed yesterday about some of us going in the same vehicle and that way we wouldn't all be in line in different places. So, my phone rang a little after 7, at which time, my line had not moved. One of the gals in my office managed to get into a parking lot and walked over and got in the car with me since I was much closer than she had been. Then my youngest daughter called. She ended up doing the same thing. Then my boss called and also got into the car with me. I said we looked like the clowns getting out of the little car at the circus in reverse. Instead of getting out, they were getting in. Oh wait, did I just call my co-workers clowns?

And did I say it was raining? If not, let me mention that here. When we finally got close, they gave us wet forms to fill out. Then we got our shots. Just rolled down the window and rolled up the sleeve, and whamo, we got stuck, thanked and asked to move along.

Now let me say, it's much more fun to go as a group, we laughed the whole time, and before we knew it, we were finished, out and back at work. Fortunately, for 3 of us, we work within a couple of blocks from where the shots were being given. We were at work by 8:20, and my daughter was shortly after.

This whole thing reminded me of getting vaccinated as a child in elementary school. I was probably in 2nd or 3rd grade, and they lined us up and gave us all those shots that everyone has to take to be able to attend school now. I think that experience scarred me for life. I surely won't ever forget it. Today was much better. But then I'm 50 something years older than back then.

What has traumatized you lately or in the past? Nothing too graphic here, please.

Hope you are having a great Thursday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

My Bathroom MakeOver

I have a couple of before shots, and some after shots. You may notice that these first two shots are a pale green. I call it seafoam, and the curtains are all battenburg lace. That was my absolute favorite color and fabric about, oh say, 10 years ago. Needless to say, even though I enjoyed it. I'm tired of it, and it doesn't go with the rest of my house.



My house is small, built in the late 60's, 3 bedroom, 1 bath house of about a thousand square feet. Plenty of room for me. But occasionally I get tired of the way it looks and decide to make a few changes.

About 3 years ago, my son pretty much gutted the bathroom, and put in a new tub and shower surround, new commode, vanity, floor and floor covering. At that time, I repainted it the same as it had been before because three years ago, I still loved the seafoam green.

The other thing we did ten years ago was that we painted the tile. This bathroom had a lot of tile and it was an off white with specks in it. Looked like egg shells from some strange variety of chicken. We took primer, and painted right over it, twice. Not one speck ever chipped or flaked. Even where it was around the tub and got wet continually, it never peeled .

It takes me a long time to pick what I want to do when I make a change. I started deciding I wanted to change about 6 or 7 months ago. I sorta decided what color I wanted, then went looking for fabric to make a new shower curtain. Once I got the material for that, I picked out some towels and rugs. Next was the paint. I took a piece of the material and matched one of the colors in it. Then I thought about it for a while. I wasn't totally sure how I wanted to make the shower curtain. Whether to gather it on a rod and keep it tied back all the time, or to make it so I could close it when

the shower wasn't in use. I decided on the latter as you will see in one of the pictures on farther down.

But the really funny thing is that depending on the time of day, and the amount of light shining in the room, determines the color of the walls. In the first picture taken of the vanity area, they look really gold.

By the way, I have to stop and give credit to my friend Mary. She spent a day and a half painting my bathroom. She painted the walls and the ceiling. And she always does a great job. She loves to paint, and I love her for it.

If you need something painted, I can give you her number. Just kidding, Mary.





In these other pictures, as you will see, the room looks very taupe. I cut off the top of the shower curtain accidentally, so you can't see how it pleats, but I put buttonholes across the top and then put it on hooks. The only problem I've encountered is that I have to adjust the pleats each time I close it so the curtain is distributed evenly. Other than that, I'm really pleased with the way it looks. I've toyed with the idea of making a straight strip to go behind the cutrain with buttonholes spaced the distance the hooks need to be to make it hang right, but I haven't gotten around to doing that yet. And if you know me well, probably won't.

These are my towels. I took some of the leftover fabric from my curtain, and put it across the bottom. I've noticed that someone, some one of my grandchildren have dried their little hands on my towel. I keep a towel lying on the vanity for such things, but do they use that one--noooooo, never. But that's ok, they are my favorite grandchildren, whichever one did it.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my bathroom. I knew it was just what you wanted to read about and see today. I'm really pleased with it.

I hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world. As usual, it's raining here.

And I also hope you are having a great Tuesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Will and the Leaf Collection

We finished Will's leaf collection yesterday. We ended up with 26 assorted leaves. The requirement was 20, so we're hoping for some extra credit on the 6.

In fact, I'll be very disappointed if he makes anything less than an 'A'.

We were able to get all these leaves by asking people what they had in their yard. They were most helpful, and quite willing to bring us one of each, with the name in a baggie.

Then, we did the drying and pressing thing. At one point, I had leaves being pressed in several rooms of the house. My biggest fear was they would mold or worse, become so brittle they would crumble into a thousand pieces.

Fortunately, they dried quite nicely, and then we sprayed them with a clear matte finish spray. I think they held up very well. The only ones that disintergrated was the Mimosa leaves, and the fuzzy mulberry leaf. Everything turned out good. The Catalpa wanted to curl and it looked kinda funny. It's the one just above his right hand.

We had fun working on this project. I don't know if Will actually learned anything, but he can remember memaw and mom helping with the project.

I hope you are having a great Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Friday and Superhero

It's Friday - ye-ha. I'm so glad. And Superhero is spending the night, and another ye-ha! He's such a sweet happy little boy. He likes to talk and tell tall tales. Sometimes we try to see who can tell the tallest one. He always wins.

He and one of his cousins(Princess#2) got progress reports from school last night. They are both in Kindergarten. They have different teachers, but it's amazing how close they are in progress. Some things he's a bit ahead of her, and others, she's ahead.

Their teachers had lots of good things to say about them. They are both already reading on 1st grade level, but won't be tested to see where they actually are until near the end of school. But they are both in the top of their respective classes. Superhero is in the top 4 with 3 little girls. I just know he hates that.

Princess #1 will get her report Monday. She's a big 1st grader this year. I'll be checking on that Monday afternoon. My 7th grade grandson got his report yesterday also. He keeps saying how hard 7th grade is, and I, as old as I am, remember how hard it was. He ended up with a mixture of A's, B'c and C's. So, all in all I think he did great.

Needless to say, I am very proud of my grandchildren. They are all bright, happy, well adjusted kiddos--as well adjusted as they can be and related to me.

I hope you are having a great Friday and looking forward to a wonderful weekend. Pray for our country. Love one another.

And Once Again It's Raining

I know, you are growing tired of my continual weather reports. My mood had begun to lift while the sun was shining, but if it continues to rain, I'll be right back down in the big black hole again. It has rained here allllllllll day. That's correct, the whole day.

I've been carrying my lunch the last two weeks so I don't have to go out, and today was one of those days I was truly thankful I had brought it.

My dad had a saying of sorts, in fact, he had several, but the one that comes to mind right now is that in the winter time, if he didn't feel good, he'd say that when the sap rises in the spring, he would feel better. I'm beginning to think he suffered from the same depression I do. The only difference is that when I'm depressed, I really don't care if the sap ever rises again or not.

Let me count my blessings and get off that other subject. I have three grown children who are self-supporting. I have 6 grandchildren ranging in ages from 2 to 22. Only one of whom is old enough to be self-supporting and as much as I'd like for him to go to college, he's out there working.

My son the contractor is in North Dakota pheasant and duck hunting. This means I get to help with his little ones. It's a hard job, but someone has to do it. Actually, I love being needed. I'm picking up the Banty Hen today while mom goes to Superhero's teacher conference. He went home with his other memaw today and is spending the night. I get him Friday night.

I love picking up grandchildren from daycare/school. They are always so happy to see me, and it makes me feel needed and loved. I know one of these days, they will all be too old to yell 'MEMAW' when they see me and run and give me a hug. But that's the way it's supposed to be. I just hope that when I move to the nursing home they'll come by and see me once in a while, and I hope I'll still recognize them.

That's enough moaning and groaning for today, and it's almost time to go home.

Hope you are having a great Thursday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Illness Abounds

I hope everyone who reads this post is feeling ok. Here at work, we have one gal who was diagnosed with Swine Flu yesterday after being in a meeting with all of us all morning. We've had two others go home this morning, one has nothing to do with the flu--girl stuff, and the other with an upset tummy.

My DIL and grandson(Superhero) are both sick, but fortunately neither of them were positive for Swine Flu. He has an ear infection, and she has a bad cold. And the Contractor is in North Dakota Pheasant hunting(lot of help he is when you need him). I'm on call to help with anything she needs me to do, and I am picking up The Banty Hen tomorrow afternoon while she goes to teacher conference.

The other two princesses are getting ready for the Miley Cyrus concert Friday night. I'm not sure if they are as excited as their mother, but she has been getting their 'stylin outfits' ready for over a week now. They are going to look like 25 year old midgets with the garb they will be wearing, but I guess as long as it's one night, it won't warp them too badly.

I've really enjoyed the sunshine the last few days, but I fear as all good things must come to an end, this will too. It's a bit overcast today, and there is a rain system to our south, west and north. When I looked just now at the weather map, it appears that the actual rain may go around us. Wouldn't that be the greatest thing? Well, one of them at least.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Hello, Anybody Out There?

I know, I know, I've been gone. Actually, I haven't been anywhere, just haven't been posting. It's been gloomy, the weather has been awful, and I get very depressed in the fall and winter.

Then on top of the regular stuff, we've had all this rain. I think the farmers are finally beginning to get into the fields. Their crops have sustained a lot of damage.

As for me, my children are healthy, my grandchildren are healthy, but I think I've turned into an old curmudgeon. Can a female be that? Or is that strictly a name reserved for old men? I googled it. It is defined as "a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas ". I don't know if that describes me or not, but I kinda like the idea of being a curmudgeon. I think I would like being crusty, irascible, cantankerous and full of stubborn ideas. But I don't like being old. So can I leave that part out?

Today the sun is shining. It is 72degrees outside and I have a big pot of beef soup waiting for me at home. Then I'm going to work on my grandson's leaf collection. I sure hope I get an A for all my effort. When I get it done, I'll post a pic or two.

I hope you are having a great day. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Being Nosey on a Wednesday

I have a question. When you eat soup/chili/stew, do you crumble your crackers in it or do you eat them on the side?

And if you crumble them in it, do you think this is good etiquette? In other words, if you were sitting beside Queen Elizabeth and soup were served, would you hold up your pinkie and slurp from your spoon, or would you crumble up your crackers and enjoy.

Things like this have always puzzled me. I need input.

And, sorry I've been away so long, just haven't had anything to say, but I've been reading blogs as time has permitted.

The weather here is absolutely perfect. Wish we were outside enjoying it.

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Do You Get Your Feelings Hurt Easily?

Sometimes I have too much time on my hands and I begin to wax philosophical. And I was just sitting here thinking about people who tend to get their feelings hurt.

No one has hurt my feelings lately--not in a long time. In fact, I often say, you can't hurt my feelings. I don't think that is entirely true, but they don't get hurt easily.

I guess that means I not overly sensitive, so I don't take offense or look for reasons to be offended. I think that's a good thing. However, that becomes a two edged sword. If I'm not easily offended or hurt, then I'm not always sensitive to what I might do that would offend or hurt someone else.

Case in point. Many years ago, a friend of mine had remodeled a house and moved in. When I saw the house for the first time, I went on and on about what a beautiful job she had done with everything. I talked about what good ideas she had for doing the things she had done, and was quite vocal about how pretty everything was. I found out several years later that I had offended her. Her comment to another person was that I obviously thought she had no taste and therefore was quite surprised that everything looked so good.

That wasn't what I meant at all, but that was what she perceived. It's very important that we be careful about the things we say and do, especially what we say. I wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings on purpose, but as usual my mouth does it for me.

"He who will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile." 1 Peter 3:10

It's that guile part that gets me every time.

Have you ever hurt another's feelings without any intention of doing so? I'm thinking a lot of times, we don't know when we've hurt others, so we have to be really careful about what we say and how we say it.

I hope you've had a great Wedensday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Blue Monday

I think today is Blue Monday. Actually, I think it has been a blue few weeks. I'm in one of those periods where I don't care if I talk to anyone, I don't seem to be able to do anything. I would be quite content to just sit and stare off into space.

This happens occasionally with me. Sometimes it worse than others. I will interact with others as long as they are the ones to instigate it. But, I'm perfectly happy to be alone. I don't even have anything much to say and it is definitely difficult to do this post. In fact, if it weren't that at some point in the next few days, my oldest daughter would comment about my not posting, I probably wouldn't be doing this one.

I will get better, or something will happen in my life worth posting about. Maybe that's it, there's just nothing going on in my life worth even talking about. Hmmm. So there's nothing wrong with me at all. I'm just a dull, boring person. It's so wonderful to be able to figure out the answers to life's little questions. I suddenly feel so enlightened!

Hope you are having a great Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

I'm a Proud Memaw

If you follow this link, you will be able to listen to my 2 year old granddaughter(aka The Banty Hen) say the pledge of allegiance. This is the little girl who was asked to be taken out of Montesorri school.

They may not have realized it, but she is one smart little cookie.

http://ivanangelaandjoey.blogspot.com/

Hope you are having a great Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Kiddos Back In School

I guess all students, whether they are public, private or home schoolers, are back in the books. The public schools here in NE Arkansas all started last week, and this week the college students start the new semester.

I thought traffic would be terrible coming to work this morning, but I guess that will come Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday are just getting the new syllabus and learning what books to buy and I think you can do that online these days.

Some of the things I remember about starting school each year:
New clothes that scratch and itch.
Seeing old friends that you haven't seen all summer.
Finding out that some old friends moved and won't be back(and you don't know where they went).
Meeting the new kids.
Realizing that if you didn't have friends last year, you probably won't have any this year.

One summer when we were getting ready to start 8th grade, I got stung by a wasp on my face just to the left of my eye. You couldn't tell who I was, much less what I was, but I started school on that Monday anyway. I was embarrassed and humiliated. I was laughed at and made fun of. I would have loved to have had a bag to put over my head.

I don't have a lot of good memories about school. Thank goodness I don't have to ever do it over.

What do you remember most about your days in school? I hope your memories are better than mine.

Hope you are having a great Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

How Many Times Will It Snow This Winter?

I know it's August and who cares how many times it will snow this winter, but since weather prognostication is a science, let me tell you how to determine the number of snows in the winter.

I worked with an older lady a few years ago that said the number of snows each winter can be determined by the number of fogs in August. That seems a bit strange and whether it's totally accurate, I don't know. However, we've had several fogs this August(we're at 5 here in NE Arkansas) so we are thinking it may be a rough winter.

And remember, August isn't quite over yet. We have ten more days, so we may have a few more fogs. Anyway, next spring, we'll see where we stand on the number of fogs in August vs. the number of snows during the winter. Be sure to tune in to find out if this scientific approach works.

I hope you are having a great Friday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

What To Do About Prayer

I try to catch Huckabee on Saturday night. If I miss it then, I have a second and third chance on Sunday. This week, it was late Sunday night(after the 5 hour Cardinal game) that I watched it.

One of the segments had to do with a couple of educators(Mr Lay and Mr Freeman) somewhere in Florida who are being prosecuted by the ACLU for offering a blessing for a meal at a public gathering. These two men, one a principal and one a coach have a combined 70 years in education. If they are convicted, they will lose their jobs, pay a 5,000 dollar fine, serve some 'jail time' and lose their retirement.

This is a travesty! As Christians(and we are a Christian Nation, I don't care what President Obama says), we should not allow this type of persecution to happen. Where have we allowed people like Madelyn Murray O'Hare(may she never rest in peace) to take us? We are a country founded on Christian principles.

I understand that we aren't the only religion in this country. And even if I don't believe the way others do, I don't have a problem if they want to express themselves in prayer at a public place.
What ever happened to tolerance? It seems we Christians are the only ones showing any.

I have decided to send a dollar to these men via the Mike Huckabee show to express our support for them. I know that a dollar won't do much to help their legal defense, or to allow them to retire. That is if I'm the only one who sends one. But if everyone who reads this blog will send a dollar, and pass this post on to others who will do the same, maybe as a large group, we can make a difference. They go to trial in September. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have hundred's of thousands of envelopes to show how many Christians there are in this country who are willing to take a stand and show support?

I am sending my dollar to Gov Mike Huckabee % ABC Radio Networks/Citadel Broadcasting, 444 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022. Be sure to put a note in the envelope saying you support Mr Lay and Mr Freeman and make sure your return address is on the outside. We don't want anyone saying this was a mass mailing from one place. I proudly put Shirley Smith, 712 Catfish Drive, Lake City, AR 72437 on my envelope.

You have my permission to put a link back to this blog on your blog or in an email to anyone and everyone who might participate in this effort. I want to show the ACLU and Pres Obama that we are indeed a Christian Nation and that it is wrong to take prayer away from us, our children and future generations.

I hope you are having a great Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Friday And It's Lake Time

It's Friday, and my peeps and I are heading to the lake for some much needed R & R. It's my circle of friends who are always there when I need them, and hopefully, I return the favor when I'm needed.

We played together in school, raised our families together, and now play together again. We go eat, we go to the movies, did I say go eat, travel some together, and oh, yeah, eat together. We try to celebrate each others birthdays(always an excuse to eat), and we laugh til we hurt, cry and sometimes do that other thing that I won't mention since that would be unladylike.

Oh, and we laugh at each other too. We constantly laugh at each other's shortcomings - not in a bad way- but if it's funny, let's face it, we're going to laugh.

This weekend we'll be spending a couple of days at M's lake home. Sound's special, huh. It's a big mobile home with a great deck and a porch across the front. We have to drive to the water, but there's a pontoon to ride around on, and it will be fun.

Mostly, we'll laugh, talk, play cards, swim and seems like I'm forgetting something--oh yes, we'll eat.

I have a joke. If Obama, Hillary and Biden were riding a donkey and it jumped off a cliff, who would be saved? Go to the bottom of the post to find the answer.

I hope you have a good weekend planned. If so, I'd love to hear about it. I plan on taking some pictures, so I know you are looking forward to that.

Hope you are having a great Friday. Pray for our country, and Love one another.

America would be saved.

Oh, My Has it Been Over A Week?

I guess I've lost all track of time. We've been really busy at work, so it's hard to post from here, and at home, there's just been so much to do(Cardinal Baseball on TV).

We've had quite an upsetting event recently. As you know, my DIL got a long note from the Montesorri school where The Banty Hen attends. She's only been there 5 weeks, but they just aren't happy with her behavior, or maybe I should say lack thereof.

She plays nicely with the other children, but isn't terribly interested in sitting during lession time(she's two, for goodness sake)and she eats her lesson material, and she likes to climb on the sink(who's watching these little ones?) So The Banty Hen's mom was basically asked to find child care accommodations elsewhere. At first I thought it was was funny, but then when she got the second note, I got downright angry. My DIL pays hard earned money for this beautiful, innocent child to be cared for, and this 'school' who is supposed to be the very best can't handle a two year old. I can't see any evil in her eyes, can you?

The other thing that ticked me off was that on one occassion at home, DIL told Banty to sit on her bottom. She grabbed her own cheeks and said in a cranky voice,'Aubee, sit down!'. We don't pinch cheeks to get her to do things and no one else in the family or church do that, so where do you think that came from. It is my opinion, and just my opinion, mind you, but I think that's what someone has been doing to her at school in order to make her do what they want.

So being the protective grandmother that I am known to be, I asked DIL if she wanted me to go beat up the whole bunch. She laughed and passed it off since she knows I'm a big chicken and probably wouldn't run a risk of either being beaten up myself or being put in jail. And I'm sure she wouldn't want to have to come bail me out.

She starts a new daycare on Monday, so today is the last day they have to deal with her. Maybe someday when she's president of the U.S, the Montesorri school will wish they could say she got her start at their school---ain't gonna happen.

I hope you've had a good week. We've had record rainfall and cool temperatures. More rain scheduled for tomorrow and Sunday. Thanks for letting me blow off some steam. I'm off my soapbox now.

Til next time, Pray for our country. Love one another.

Southern Fried

I don't know how well you can see this picture since I'm not the best photographer around. Actually, I can't even consider myself a photographer. I'm just an old woman with a camera in her hand. But what you are seening here is a supper I made for me, myself and I last night. The Contractor had run his lines Sunday and gave me some Flathead Catfish yesterday. I took it home and bagged it up in portions and froze all but 4 pieces, which I promptly 'fried up'. I had also bought a green tomato the other day(would you believe I paid a whole 50 cents for it, the absolute greed of some people). I also fried it up into 4 pieces. Then I cooked down a mess of green beans with some bacon. This made me a meal with enough to bring for lunch today. My mouth is already watering. I know some of you are saying, 'left over fried fish? ewww!' And to that I say, if it's the right kind of fish, and it's cooked right in the first place, it's very tasty. Flathead Catfish is like the Filet Mignon of fish. If fried correctly, there is no fishy taste, no funky taste or smell. Just pure white flakey goodness. I may have mine for break rather than wait til lunch.
The reason I had the fish in the first place was that my DIL needed me to pick up the Banty Hen. I used to call her Princess #3, but her title has changed. She's the non-conformist in the family, and at the ripe old age of 2 is hanging on by her thumbs at school. She has until the end of the month to get her act together or she will have to find another place to stay while her mother works. I digress.

I took her home, and her dad and brother were eating watermelon which she then dived into almost head first. Her dad gave her a piece for each hand, and as either of us would dig out a chunk for ourselves, she would cram one of her pieces into her mouth and reach for the one we had just retrieved. She is quite a funny little chick-a-dee.

I hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Ask And You Will Get Your Questions Answered

If you've checked my blog this morning, you may have noticed I received a comment from Will Spoon. As I said in my previous post I had enjoyed his blog; reading about his love for cooking, and most especially the stories about his family and his childhood.

He responded, and I have added his new blog to my list in Bloglines.com. Finding new friends in the blog world is pretty easy, but it's also easy to lose some as well, simply by not being able to find them for one reason or another. And since my motto is, 'You can't have too many friends', I certainly don't want to lose any.

Who knows, I might be out in the middle of nowhere and need one of my blog friends to come to my rescue. And as I would do for them, I'm (almost)sure they would do the same for me. As scattered around this world as we are, we are a pretty tight knit bunch.

The weather is beautiful here in NE Arkansas. We are in the middle of a cool spell and the temps won't get out of the high 80's with very low humidity. I hope it's great where you are(even those of you tramping around Alaska while the rest of us have to come to work). My brother and sister-in-law will be in town tomorrow and Wednesday looking for a house. This will be the first time in our grown life, we've lived anywhere near each other. I'm excited!!!!! I have two cousins that I barely know coming to town this weekend for a visit. I'm excited about that as well!!!! It is shaping up to be a good week.

I hope you had a great weekend and are having a wonderful Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Looking for Will Spoon

I used to read Teensy and the Boys, even won a contest for a cookbook(which I use), but I know Will changed his blog and I can't find it. If you are out there Will Spoon, send me the link to your blog. I always enjoyed your stories and your recipes.

I used to think I'd run across you again, but have finally given up.

Nature's Design

My friend MR lives in the house originally built for her husband's grandparent's. The home was built shortly after they married. This was around 1923 or 24. The tree in the pictures were planted shortly after. The one in the picture is a sycamore and stands approximately 25 to 35 feet from the back bedroom window.

They were gone to the lake last weekend when we had a pretty hard thunder storm and lightening struck this tree. There are no gaping holes in the tree, nor are there any limbs blown from it. Just these lightening trails all around the huge tree.

This house is on one of the higher spots in the area since it is near the river and there were no levees when it was built. It was common practice to build houses on high areas and often times several steps up off the ground to prevent flooding in the house itself. The floor of the house is high enough off the ground that an adult can almost stand upright and walk underneath it.

This seems to have caused another problem since lightening seems to strike the house quite often. They have to remember to unplug tv's, computers and now phones when they leave to spare them being zapped. And they have probably had trees struck before also, but this is such a strange exhibit of what the power of a storm can do. Not only did it run these trails all around and down the tree, the bark that was blown away hit their house like shrapnel. Two windows were broken and there are holes in the siding where these small pieces of bark hit. MR spent a good deal of time cleaning all the glass and tree bark out of the bedroom and porch area. And she continues to find pieces, many the size of half dollars in the house.

Someone told them if a person had been within about 15 feet of the tree when this happened, that the pieces of bark could have gone completely through them, probably killing them instantly. They were so fortunate not to have been at home when this happened since there is almost always someone sleeping in that bedroom that sustained most of the damage.

I think it is fascinating what the forces of nature can do. And thankful that I'm usually safe from it's fury.

I hope you are having a wonderful Friday. Pray for our country. Love one another

Exercise Log Day 2

I made it back to meet with my new personal trainer. We finished our testing today and afterwards I walked on the treadmill again and actually got my heart rate up to 120. He said that was good.

The testing we did today was to see how much I could bench press. The bar alone weighs 45lbs, and by the time I could lift no more, he had 150lbs on it. Can you believe that. I'm stronger than I thought. Then we did something similar for my legs. I sat in a cockpit type thing and pushed with my legs. I can push almost 200lbs. He said I did great. Great being a relative term I'm sure.

He probably thought this old fat woman wouldn't be able to do anything, but I gave it a try and actually think I surprised both of us.

Then I walked on the treadmill. I actually liked doing that. If I had room for one, I think I might actually use it. Problem is, I don't have a clue where I'd put one.

I won't meet with him again until Tuesday, but I need to keep walking, so I guess when I get home tomorrow night after going to eat pizza with my kids, I'll need to walk. And then again on Saturday and Monday.

I hope you are having a great Thursday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Exercise - Day 1

I met with my personal trainer today at 11:00. He is a grad student from India and he insists on calling me Maam. I'm not used to such politeness, but he's cute and sweet. He is from Southern India and says I should visit sometimes, it is beautiful. Wonder if he will put me up when I go. I told him I had never been abroad, just to Mexico, Grand Cayman andJamacia. But I have my passport and can go visit his home at the drop of a hat.

We did testing today to see what I was able to do. I can't do much, but it took a while. He weighed me and measured to see how tall I was. Measured around my waist, chest and hips and upper arm. Then we got down to some serious work. I did 4 push ups, 8 very limited crunches and walked 6 minutes on the tread mill at the rate of 1.7(don't laugh, it's not funny, you are hurting my feelings). By this time, I was totally drenched in sweat, my hair was stuck to my head, and I'm sure I don't smell too good.

Tomorrow we will do another couple of tests and then we will get down to business. Now if I can get out of bed tomorrow, that will be good.

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

It's a Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood

I'm starting a new exercise program today. As many of you know, I work on a college campus. One of the exercise science classes that prepare students for physical therapy needs guinea pigs. I'm going to be one of those.

We start today at 11:oo. I don't like to exercise. I hate to walk, but I have some health issues that need me to exercise in order to help keep them under controll. Being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes a couple of years ago, I am having problems keeping my sugar levels where they need to be. I work with a diabetes educator, and she has helped a lot, but I know that if I were exercising regularly, it would help those numbers go down dramatically.

Today we will just complete paperwork and get acquainted with our trainer, and will begin in earnest tomorrow. I can hardly wait.

Do you exercise regularly? If so, tell me what you do. Perhaps it will encourage me.

Hope you are having a great Tuesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Late Post On Monday

I meant to post something early, but other things(like work)kept getting in the way, and then the old timers kicked in and I just about forgot.

I hope you had a great weekend. We got some much needed rain Saturday night/Sunday morning along with some thunder storm activity. Fortunately, there was no damage other than a few ruffled tree branches here and there.

I spent some time talking with a friend yesterday. We talked about how we sometimes impact other people without having any idea we did so. Something we thought was just an ordinary act done in ordinary circumstances may very well mean a lot to someone. It may be easy for us to remember a particular thing someone did or a kindness they showed to us, but we often don't think about what we've done for others, and I guess if we thought about those things, we'd be sorta patting ourselves on our own backs. But I hope that I have made a difference in someone's life. Probably not a life-changing event, but just some little kindness that caused them to think about something differently or maybe they passed it on to someone else.

I'm not good at expressing my feelings for the people in my life that I care about. I tell the grandkids I love them all the time, but I don't tell the other important people in my life. My son is good about telling me he loves me when we talk on the phone, and I appreciate that a lot. I need to do the same with my daughters. And I'm going to start.

Is there someone you need to remind that you love them, or someone you should thank for making a difference in your life. Maybe if we all did these things, it would be a nicer place to live.

I hope you have had a great Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Friday Long Drawn Out Friday

It's been another of those long days when it seems the end of the day will never come. The day started off busy enough, but has slowed to a crawl this afternoon. But why wouldn't it. It's Friday and that's what Friday's do.

We played cards last night. I missed winning by that much. Actually it was just about 25 or 30 points, but a near miss is as good as a mile.

My friend called a few minutes ago. They are on their way to the lake. The won't be home until Monday. They are going to rest. They've been going to watch their oldest grandchild play ball. He's been in a tournament all week and they've been to all the games.

My grandson(Superhero)has been going to vbs this week. I took him Monday and Tuesday night, then his other grandmother took him Wednesday and Thursday nights and I'm taking him again tonight. He'll spend the night with me and I think we are going to try to wash my vehicle in the morning. It won't be too hot early, and since we'll be working with water, maybe it won't get too hot.

I work for a university, and we got a post on the campus website this afternoon that we have two confirmed and 6 suspected cases of swine flu here on campus. The cases are among the student population of which I have very little contact. So hopefully, that virus won't waft it's way into our building over the next several days. Personally, I think they should close and disinfect the entire campus. Ten days should just about do it. The sick and almost sick are being isolated, so maybe they won't affect the rest of us.

A friend sent me this quote this morning, 'If the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.'

Hope you are having a great Friday. Pray diligently for our country. Love one another.

Did You Watch?

Did you watch the celebration of life for Michael Jackson yesterday? I caught parts of it on the internet and was quite touched at the glimpse into the personal life of the family and their friends. In spite of everything, they did have some parts and pieces of childhood.

We the public only get to see what the media allows of people who are in the spotlight. We forget they have 'normal' lives. When they are at home, they go through the same routines we go through. Someone has to make breakfast, someone has to do the laundry, someone has to mind the kids.

His life is over. A new phase will begin for those touched by him. Lots of questions to be answered over the next several years. Where will his final resting place be? Who will take care of his children? What will happen to his estate? Hopefully everything will work out to the children's advantage.

I know people are tired of seeing nothing but coverage of Michael's death on tv, but it will subside over the next few days and things will get back to normal, or until someone else takes the spotlight.

I hope you are having a great Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

The Great Toilet Paper Delima

White Cloud has been my tp of choice for many, many, many years. When I had a family at home, I bought whatever was on sale, but as the number of hiney's in my household dwindled, I went back to my absolute favorite. It was soft, it was absorbant, it was sturdy, it was just the best.

A few years ago the Wal-Mart company bought the White Cloud factory and gained sole rights to where it was sold. Guess where they chose to sell--you got it--Wal-Mart only. Not Sam's or any other of their holdings, just Wal-Mart.

If you know me, and many of you do, you know that I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague. But if I wanted my beloved favorite tp, I had to make a couple of trips a year to their store.

I can now honestly say, I have no reason to go there any more. THEY HAVE CHANGED WHITE CLOUD. I bought a 24 pak a week or so ago, and when I picked it up, I thought it felt different, but wanting to get out as quickly as possible, I didn't pay close enough attention. But when I put the first roll on the holder, I knew right away something was definitely different. The first thing I noticed was how it was rolled. Not snug like before, but loose so as to make the roll the same size as it was before. Then the first use made me very aware it had been changed. I won't go into detail, just trust me, it was different.

So today, blog friends, I need some advice. I have to fine a new tp. What is your favorite brand?

Hope you have a terrific Tuesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Great Holiday

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July holiday. My family and I celebrated on Friday night, July 3rd with a fish fry followed by lots of fireworks. We all had a great time. All except the little princess. She said the fireworks 'freaked her out'. Her mama took her inside away from all the noise. The rest of the kids enjoyed them completely.

Everyone scattered on the 4th. Daughter #1, her youngest son and I met at Cracker Barrel for a late breakfast. I then went home and stayed there until Sunday. Daughter #2 and her family spent the day with her in-laws, and I haven't heard from them, so I don't know if they made it through the weekend or not.

Son and his family cooked out with the neighbors and had another fireworks display Saturday night.

All in all, I think everyone had a great time.

How did you celebrate? Hope there were fireworks in your plans.

I hope you are having a wonderful(cooler here)Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Second Hand Headstone

I know that if you read my blog, you are aware of my rather warped(some say morbid)sense of humor. However, if it fits in with accomplishing a task and saves a buck at the same time, so be it.

Four years ago, while shopping for a headstone for an uncle that had passed, my cousins and I stopped in at a monument place near where we live. When we arrived, there didn't seem to be anyone around(like who'd carry off a headstone?) so we looked around. As I did, I noticed a stone that was a single headstone(for one person) that had my last name on it. I have a very common last name. It was gray, about 5 feet tall and quite nice. I also noticed that it had a lot of mud and dirt around the base.

It seems this headstone had been reposessed. Can you imagine going to the cemetery to pay respects to your dearly departed, and the headstone be gone with just a hole in the ground where once had stood the nice tall engraved stone?

Whoever had ordered it and had it set, had not paid for it, so the monument folks went and got it(can't say as I blame them). I didn't think too much about it at that time, but now four years later, that headstone is still leaning up against the monument building.

So here's what I'm thinking--are you with me already? I should be able to get a real deal on that stone. The last name is correct. All they'll have to do is grind off the first name and the date of birth and death, and I'm good to go. I'm seriously considering making them an offer. And I think it would just fit where I'm going to have my ashes scattered.

So what do you think? Would you consider buying a used headstone? If not, why not.

Hope you are having a great Thursday. Pray for our country. Love one another. And last but not least--Happy Fourth of July.

I'm Thick, Are You Thad?

Unless you read the title of my post with a lisp, it won't make much sense, but that's my sense of humor.

I had what I thought was an upper respiratory infection last week. My co-workers had it and had been diagnosed with it, so when I got the same symptoms, I decided that's what I had. I self medicated with a ZPak, and by Thursday, I felt pretty good.

In fact I felt good Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I even cooked all day Saturday, but when I woke up Sunday Morning with a throat so sore I could hardly swallow, I knew I was in trouble. I went ahead and got ready for church, but by 7:45, I was back down for the count. By noon, I was running a low grade temp and couldn't get warm. But do you think I gave any thought to going to sick call? It never even crossed my mind--even after I looked at my throat and realized it was covered with white spots.

Monday morning I called my Dr, but couldn't see him until 4 that afternoon. So I patiently waited and was in his office by 3:30. He verified that I had a strep infection, told me to start another ZPak and if I still had a sore throat when those were gone, start 5 days of Amoxicillin, which I don't think I'm going to have to do.

The yucky stuff has just about all gone from my tonsils, and except for a cough, I'm feeling much better. I may even get to celebrate the 4th with my family.

Hope you are having a better summer than I am. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Another Friday

Yipee!, it's Friday. That means two days of rest and recuperation--yeah right. It means some cleaning and laundry. Fortunately I don't have a bunch of yard work to do. Thank you my son.

I think I'm going to do some cooking tomorrow. My little neighbor lady has been sick for several months. Pneumonia in March in one lung, slowly got better, then had it in the other lung. She has 5 girls. One in Arizonia, 3 in Little Rock(2 1/2 hours away) and one about 30 minutes away. She only gets to see the one in Arizonia every couple of years. Those in Little Rock about once every 3 months or so, and the one closer about once a month.

She hasn't felt like cooking so the daughters laid in a supply of soup for her and I have decided she's slowly starving to death. I was sick one day last week and ate soup two meals and decided I couldn't hack that. The next day I took her two pieces of chicken and a biscuit from Popeyes, and she was so excited.

So, I've decided to make some mini meatloafs and some other things, put them in serving size containers and take them to her. I've been wanting some tamales so I may make up a batch of them and give her some of those also. I can't feed her every meal because I don't cook that much, but if I can supplement, maybe she'll gain some strength and get to feeling better.

She's such a nice lady. Her husband was a minister, and I think she is as intelligent in the Bible as he was. I take her to church on Sunday morning when she's able to go. We both are members of the Church of Christ, but we worship with different congregations, so I drop her off, then go on to where I attend, then when I get out, I go back and pick her up. It takes about 25 minutes to get to and from church, so we get to visit.

She always thanks me for taking her, but I thank her since I am the one who is reaping the benefits of her wisdom and knowledge.

Even when we get old and think we can't be of much service, God puts a seemingly small insignificant work before us from which we get so much more than we give.

I hope you are having a great Friday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

ps. I have a new line under my signature on my email. I thought I'd share it with you: "Dear Lord, Keep your arm around my sholders and your hand across my mouth. Amen" I've already gotten some comments on it.

Clematis Trivia

This is a picture of another Clematis that grows beside my front steps. I had a lady drive up in the yard and ask if it was real. When it was fully open, I called it my caskit piece because of it's size and the way it covered the entire foiliage.
It took me several years to be able to grow a Clematis. I would buy them in the spring, baby them and do everything I knew to do with them. They died. I bet I've laid at least a dozen or more to rest at one point or another.

One Wednesday night after Bible Study, I was lamenting my latest dead Clematis and a visiting minister's wife overheard my conversation. She said she had also had problems growing this particular flower and like me, she thought they were just beautiful.

She told me that an older lady had given her a piece of advice that had allowed her to have a yard full of them for years. She simply told her to 'keep their feet cool'. So, short of putting ice cubes on the roots, I figured the best thing was to pile as much mulch around the roots as possible. And that's exactly what I did. And it worked.

If you've never grown these flowers, try them. You'll get lots of compliments.

Hope you are staying cool on this very warm Thursday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

June 24th, 2009

I have a couple of pictures of my clematis that is blooming so beautifully in my yard right now. I just have to share them with you.

No more complaints about the heat. And thank you all for your comments about the dress and the princess wearing it. She spent the night with me Sunday night. She is an easy child to take care of. She doesn't complain. She doesn't cry, and best of all, she entertains herself. She has a bit of a stubborn streak, but at the age of 2, it more funny than annoying.

Lena, I'll take you up on your deal about the heat and cold, and Twisted, I hope you are right about being a mild July and August after this intense heat.

As we speak, my friend Carolyn is on her way to Seattle to meet up with her daughters and grandson. They will explore the area for a couple of days and then board a cruise ship for Alaska. I told her when I spoke to her the other night that in the event I win the lottery tonight, she'll have company on that cruise. I'm so jealous.

Memaw on a Hot Tin Roof!

Well, you all have heard me complain about the heat. I know it's hot where you are too, but here's my next installment of the Heat saga.

Today we have a heat advisory. I went out at lunch to run a couple of errands, and I fully understand why we are under a heat advisory. Does anyone remember back several years ago(and I'm talking over 20 here)when people were putting food in aluminum foil packets, putting it in either the back glass area of their car or under the hood, and having their dinner slow cooked when they got off work?

Remembr when people used to fry eggs on the sidewalk to show how hot they were? Well, people, let me tell you, they are that hot again, and it's only June. What will July and August be like?

Enough about heat.

I finished the sundress for my granddaughter and I think it turned out pretty well, especially when you consider I had to sew many of the stitches more than once. Had to fall back and regroup a couple of times. And I think I promised to show it to you when it was finished. I actually have two pictures to show you. One of the dress, and one of the little girl in the dress. She spent the night with me last night and I took her to school this morning. Her mom, dad and brother are canoeing today. Her brother was very excited. She kept saying, Bubba in the 'reever'.

I hope you are staying cool on this very hot Monday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

June 19th 1969

I know you may think I'm going back in time, but this is a day that I'll never forget. Forty years ago today, my mother died in an automobile crash.

She was 42(my brother and I disagree on her year of birth), but it doesn't matter. She was way too young to be taken from us. She had three children. A 22 year old son, a 20 year old daughter, and a 12 year old son. She also had a 2 year old granddaughter and a 1 month old grandson.

They were never given the opportunity to know this wonderful lady. I often say, 'if I could be 1/3 the person she was, that would be enough'. If you've read my blog, you've seen a picture of her as a young woman.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss her and grieve for the time I should have had with her.

I know this is a time to reflect on Fathers(mine has been gone 15 years) and I miss him dearly. It was as if I didn't really know him until we lost mother. I think he expected her to be the liason between us and him. He wasn't home much, and I saw or talked to her every day.

I miss them both, but I miss her most. I love you mom, and I shall never forget what you meant to me then and what you still mean to me now. I wish all children had a good mother just like you.

Have a great Friday. Pray for our country. Love one another.