1957 Overflow

With all the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Fay and seeing the footage of folks with water in their homes, I got to remembering the 1957 Overflow that occured in our area.

We'd had an exceptionally hard winter and had been without power due to an ice storm that lasted several days. I don't remember much about that, I was only 8 years old at the time, but I have vivid memories of the water rising in the spring and some of the things that happened during that time. I have some timelines of a few of the things that happened because I had a baby brother born in April of that same year and as if that wasn't traumatic enough, we had that dang flood.

It was in May and almost time for school to be out. The river, which was very close to some of property we farmed had begun rising. My Dad along with a lot of other men were spending time walking the levee's trying to keep them from breeching(a word I didn't know back then). They were sandbagging and doing what they could to keep the river on it's side of the levees.

But the water outside was rising also. Some was probably from rain, some from seep water. At any rate, it became apparent that if it continued, it would be in our house before long.

Our house didn't sit on the ground on a concrete slab like many houses today. It was a small wood frame house with asbestos siding and a tin room. It sat on blocks. You could lie on the ground and see all the way from one side of the house to the other. You had to go up about 3 or maybe 4 steps to get on the front porch.

But the water was rising and my Dad began making plans to move us out to higher ground. He took my Mother, my two brothers and me to stay a few days with my Mother's sister in Jonesboro. They weren't in any danger there. He took all the livestock to the sale and got rid of them. This included the milk cow and probably 20 or so pigs. I don't remember what he did with the chickens, but they had nests high enough that they probably weren't in any danger.

Our furniture was all moved into cotton trailers and covered with tarps and also moved to higher ground.

Looking back, I'm sure my parents were terribly distraught, but it was a grand adventure for my older brother and me. My younger brother was just a month old, so he has no memories of it at all.

After several days, Daddy came and collected us. The water had begun to recede and we were no longer in any apparent danger. The money Dad had made from the sale of the livestock would have to help us through the rest of the year, since there was no crop that year. Cotton should have and may have been planted in April and May, but was a distant memory after the flooding.

We were in desperate times, but we kids didn't know it at the time. It was only some years later that I realized just how bad things could have been when I remembered that my grandfather gave my brother a pig. I'm thinking he gave it to my brother because he knew how much pride my Dad had and probably wouldn't have taken it if offered to him.

But that pig was probably a life saver to our family. We kept it, and as we had the money, added another and soon we were back in the pig business. Somewhere, Daddy got the money to buy another milk cow and the big flood became a historical event that was brought up in conversation from time to time.

What events changed your life--maybe without you knowing it until years passed and you grew up? Might not have been a flood, may have been a death or a move, but that at the time, you didn't realize the ramifications of it all. This is your self-appointed psychoanalyst here. Spill it.

Have a great Friday. Love one another.

Please Don't Take My Passie Away

Does this little girl look like she loves her Passie? She was a year old in June, and her mother began talking about taking away her 'baba'.

She told me Monday that she had taken it away Sunday, and was doing pretty good except she is now more attached to her passie than ever. If she has dropped it or laid it down, she asks 'Where passie?'

I'm glad her mother(my wonderful DIL) didn't take both away at the same time. I think that would have been really hard for her. The trauma of losing her baba was hard I'm sure, but to lose both at the same time would have warped her little psyche really badly.

They are building a new house, and hope to be in it by the end of October. Her mom said she will wait until they get settled and she gets acclimated to her new surroundings before she trys to take it away. I think that's a good thing.

Then there's the blanket. She will probably carry it as 'something old' in her wedding or maybe I could make her prom dress out of it. Her brother(Superhero) still sleeps with his doggie quilt and he's four. I see no harm in dragging a blanket around for a few more years. Every child needs a little security. But then, I like a little security too.

What's your security blanket? Could it be your cell phone, a certain piece of clothing, a favorite set of underwear? What do you get all up in the air about if you don't have it or can't find it?

Have a great Thursday. Love one another.

Time Flies--Truth or Myth?

One of my favorite sayings is that Time flies whether you are having fun or not. Let's discuss. I was talking to a co-worker yesterday at lunch about that very thing. His contention was that time is the same. It goes at the same pace regardless of what you are doing. I know, you are saying, yes, he's right. A minute is the same length regardless of what is happening around you. But at the same time, lets examine that.

If you are busy, the day goes by and is gone before you know it. If on the other hand you are sitting waiting for a light to change, that is the longest minute ever. If you are waiting on your car pool and you got a late start or overslept, they are outside honking before you find your last earring, and then you don't have time to make your lunch.

On the other hand, if you are ready and waiting for them, they take forever to get there even though they pull up at 7:10 every day rain or shine.

If you are sitting in the Dr's office waiting for a shot, how long is that minute? Well, that seems to depend on whether you hate shots or not. If you hate shots, they are there before you can even take a deep breath. If you have someplace else to be in the next few minutes, it seems like they never get there.

If you have company coming and you need to add a few finishing touches to your house--short minutes. If you are trying to finish a project before a meeting starts--short minutes. If you are waiting on news about a loved one--long minutes. If you are living with pain, waiting for your Dr's appointment--long hours.

Time is relational to the events happening in your life. Is that a true statement? I've often said, This is the longest day I've ever spent--most likely, I was not having a good time. When I've said, This day has gone by so fast--most likely, I was having a good time or was very busy.

I'm sure that for my friend Robbin and others who are taking treatments, sitting hooked to the machine that feeds the medicine in, is a long few hours. I also would guess that time between treatments is short. Once the treatments are complete, I would think it seemed to go quicker than thought.

Tell me about your take on time. Do you have a lot of it? Or does it slip away like the song says, "Time keeps on slippin, slippin, into the future". I read a blog yesterday about how pictures today look so young in 10 years. You may think you are fat today, but in ten years, you realize how good you did look back then.

I've spent enough time on this subject. Let me know how you use your time. Wisely or foolishly.

Have a wonderful Wednesday. Love one another.

School's Back In Session

Yes, school started back in our area yesterday. There were school busess everywhere and lots of mom's late for work getting their children situated.

When I went to school(let's not mention the year I started), my mother simply put me on the school bus that came by our house. I had an envelope with all my information and lunch money in it. I don't even remember that first day. I don't know if I was so traumatized, or if I was just in some sort of haze.

We didn't have kindergarden, but I was only 5 when I was sent off to join the ranks of the first grade. I started to school in July(we had split term back then) and I wasn't 6 until the following January. I would like to think my mother knew I was mature for my age, but what I really think is that she got tired of having to listen to me talk and sent me to school so someone else could.

All the other kids were born in 1948 or earlier. I was a 1949 baby. This made me the youngest in the class, something I hold over their heads til this day. Even though I'm the first to have a birthday in our group, they are all older.

My granddaughter(Princess#1) started kindergarden yesterday. You can see her mother's post here. I couldn't quite figure out what caused my daughter to be in such a mood about it. After all, she's been in some type of day care since she was 8 weeks old, and even went through pre-school twice. But my DIL pointed out something yesterday afternoon when we were talking about it. She said with day care, you are in charge to a great extent. But once they go to public school, you lose some of your control. It's just a different world.

It also shows they are growing up and leaving us. First it's kindergarden, then college, which is what Superhero thinks is the normal progression.

We grew up, our children grew up, and now our grandchildren are growing up. Reminds me of the scripture, 'To everything there is a season'. Seasons come and seasons go. I think I'm in the winter of my life. My grandchildren are in their Spring.

Into what season do you fall?

Hope you have a great Tuesday. Love one another.

Worried About The Winter!

I'm beginning to worry about how bad this winter is going to be. I had a lady tell me one time that for every fog you have in August, there will be a snow during the winter.

When it got daylight Saturday morning, I realized that it was foggy. This makes about 5 fogs we've had and August is just about half over. If this is a true indication of what we will have this winter, we're in trouble.

We usually have some snow, maybe a light dusting before Christmas--hardly ever a white Christmas, but then along about mid January or February, we will get whatever type of winter we are going to have.

I don't know if severity of the snow has any direct relationship to the density of the fog, but so far none have been to thick. They usually burn away when the sun gets up.

And it seems that with fuel so high, winter will be bad. Just the way we've had such a hot summer. Maybe there's some connection to fuel prices and hot summers and cold winters.

I think that is how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Maybe by the time winter gets here, fuel prices will have dropped to a reasonable amount. I guess the question is 'what's reasonable?'

As a side note, school has started today in our area. All the little kiddies are learning new teachers and making new friends. Princess#1 started Kindergarten, and Princess#2 moved to the Pre-school building. Here's a picture of the nap mat cover I made for Princess#1. It consists of two towels sewn together on three sides with button tabs at the top. It turned out really cute, but I can't see her dragging it home to be washed and with all the head lice in schools these days, it will have to be washed regularly.

Changes, life if full of changes. My babies are growing up, and I'm growing older.

How is your Monday going? Are you at work? Are you home? As for me, I'm working today.

Whatever you are doing today, I hope you are having a wonderful Monday. Love one another.

Saturday's Rambling

When I got off work yesterday afternoon, I decided to spend part of my meager paycheck on enough food to feed my wonderful family Sunday lunch.

I spent $57 and brought home four small bags of food. I bought what I thought would be everything I needed, and enough frozen dinners and pot pies to feed my next week. I splured and bought a box of cereal. Special K with cinnamon and pecans. I paid 4.49 cents for a box that was narrow and short. I'll be lucky to get 5 bowls of cereal out of it. A half gallon of 2% milk was 2.39.

Food is getting so expensive that I may have to rethink eating. But then you can't take your medicine without eating. But that's another story. By the time I buy my medicine for a month, there isn't much left for food. At least gas has dropped a bit. I paid only $3.51 cents a gallon yesterday. Just $3.51 a gallon. What a deal. By the time I paid for my groceries, and bought 3/4 tank of gas, I had spent over $100. That doesn't include the $25 I paid for a haircut at lunch.

I'm one of the last of the big time spenders.

I'm keeping my grandbaby today. I've nicknamed her the Ring Tail Tooter. She is so funny, and she loves to climb. I'm hoping it's cool enough today that we can go outside. She loves it out there.

What necessities have you blown money on this week?

Hope you have a great Saturday. Love one another.

The Grass Is Greener Where?

Erma Bombeck(may she rest in peace) wrote a book titled The Grass Is Greener Over The Septic Tank. I always enjoyed listening to her household humor. The stories and jokes she told were funny, and most of the time struck a chord of familiarity with me.

But when I was typing an email to LisaJ this morning, it dawned on me that Erma's statement is really true. Now I don't have a septic tank, but I have a sewer line that runs from my house to the main near the street in front of my house.

During the dog days of August in our area our lawns get really brown. Unless you water that is, and I can't afford to water my grass, so mine is as brown as can be. Brown everywhere that is, except in my front yard where there is a leak in the sewer line. It's not a big leak, thank goodness--but big enough to be noticable. It's about 6 or 8 feet out from the house, and is about a foot to a foot and a half across.

That isn't really large in the grand scheme of things I know, but I'm not going to get the mower out to cut that small an area, and I don't own a weed eater, so the grass in that one spot gets pretty tall. It really looks funny. I should have taken a picture of it and put it with this post.

We are supposed to get some rain today. Maybe my green spot will have some company.

How is your grass fairing this August? Do you water or let it die back? Do you consider dead grass the one bright spot in the summer because for a few weeks you don't have to mow? Tell me your grass stories.

Have a wonderful Friday. Love one another.

Same Kind of Difference Like Me

A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together .

I haven't given a book report since I was in the 8th grade. And we won't even talk about how long ago that was.

If you read my blog yesterday or the day before, I can't remember which, you know I won this book in a drawing at a dinner I attended Monday night. I enjoyed the talk that was given about it and had intended to purchase it, but was fortunate enough to have my name drawn for one of five copies given away.

I took it home and read the first three chapters. Chapters in this book may be as long as three or four pages or as little as one, so reading three was no great feat. Had I not been planning to come to work the next day, I probably would have read all night. I'll get on with the report now.

Denver Moore was tied to the land in rural Louisianna. He was a black sharecropper just like his family before him. Having no schooling, no medical care, no money and little food and shelter, people left him to be passed from one relative to another. By the time he was a teenager, he had been nearly killed by three young white men for changing the tire on a white woman's car, and was soon living alone sharecropping a small parcel of land.

He was shown a few simple kindnesses, but they were few and far between. He finally hopped a train and ended up homeless in Fort Worth, Texas. He eventually began finding food at a mission where Ron Hall and his wife Deborah came every Tuesday to hand out food and kind words.

Ron was a successful art dealer and Deborah was the love of his life and the wife of their two children. Even though they had become wealthy, they never forgot their small town roots. Ron's mother made his clothes for which he was laughed at in college.

Deborah was the one who soon became deeply involved with the mission, and Ron joined her there to please her. He even likened himself to a modern day Henry Higgins.

Deborah was the one to spot Denver, who had withdrawn into a shell and spoke to no one. She soon made it her goal to get him to communicate. She never pushed, she just continued to tell him God loved him.

These three people made an unusual trio. Both Ron and Denver were totally devoted to 'Miss Debbie' and she could get these two men to do anything she wanted them to.

Their devotion continues today even though 'Miss Debbie' is now with the angels, while her work continues in the Fort Worth area missions.

Ron and Denver now tour as a result of this book. They both speak, Denver preaches and sings. Each chapter is written in the voice of the person who is doing the speaking. You will read about prejudice from both perspectives. You will read about two men with different colored skin who truly consider themselves brothers.

Weekend will be here soon. Have you read a book lately that makes you laugh, cry and think? Tell me about it.

Have a great Thursday. Love one another.

Wordless Wednesday

Actually, we've been in crisis mode ever since I got to work this morning. So I haven't had time to post.

I'm just about finished with the book I mentioned yesterday. I'll try to do a book report when I'm done. I think anyone could learn some things about themselves by reading it. It does cause a bit of soul searching.

Have a great Wednesday. Love one another.

And A Good Time Was Had By All!!!

I've been taking my neighbor to church on my way to church. She's in her late 70's and doesn't drive anywhere but around our little town. Why don't we go to the same place, you ask?

She attends Southwest Church of Christ on the west side of the big city, and I attend Valley View Church of Christ on the southern part the big city. She likes SW because her children and grandchildren go there, and I like Valley View because my children attend there, and well, I just like it there.

It takes me about an extra 5 minutes to drop her off, and go back and pick her up. Our services run about the same times and we have a wonderful time visiting on the way out and back.

SW has a ladies dinner once a month where the younger ladies prepare a meal for the older ladies in the congregation. My neighbor invited me to go with her, and we had a really nice time. We had a salad supper with tuna, chicken, pasta, fruit and just about any other type of salad you can think of. The daughters of the young women in charge helped with the serving. They got your drinks and kept your glass filled, and picked up empty plates and were very helpful.

After we ate, a guest speaker gave a book talk. The name of the book is 'Same Kind Of Different As Me' by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It is a true story and she made it sound very interesting. After her talk was finished, a drawing was held for five copies of the book. I won a copy. I read the first three chapters, and I think it is going to be as interesting as she described it to be.

It was good to see the little ladies get out and have fun together. Most of them live alone, and this is a special treat for them.

Who do you know that could use a special treat? How could you help give them a special treat?

Have a great Tuesday. Love one another.

Monday Morning Blues

I got this picture from my DIL that she had taken of Superhero and Princess#3. He is 4 and she is 1. He can't read on his own, but he remembers enough of the story that he does a pretty good job of making you think he's reading. P#3 doesn't sit still often, but she likes for him to read to her.

I always dread Monday's. I always wish I had just one more day off before coming back to work. I should be thankful I'm able to get my lazy self up and come to work, but being the human person I am, I think of my own selfish wants before anything else.

I had all three of my children at the house for lunch yesterday. Also all of the grandchildren were there except one grandson. We had an enjoyable lunch, then everyone went off in different directions. Some of them had to go home for naps, some to a baby shower. I took a nap after they all left.

What did you do Sunday afternoon? Did you take a nap or did you have other events you had to participte in? I need to know. This information will tell me whether I'm normal or maybe I should change my habits and be more productive.

Have a great Monday. Love one another.

Disappointing Dinner

We took our friend to eat for her birthday last night. The company and fellowship was wonderful as always. The place we ate was a total disappointment.

It was one of those Japanese places where you can either sit at the grill and be entertained or you can be stuck in the back in the dark and hope a waitress comes to take your order.

There was a wait for the grill, and being old, we needed to eat before our bedtime, so we went to the back. We finally got our drink order placed, and would have liked to ask a few questions about the menu, but weren't given the opportunity since we had to finally go find someone to take our order.

If you've been to one of these places lately, you know the food is quite expensive. And I feel it is very overpriced when you have no clue what any of it is and can't seem to find out.


I ordered Edamame(soybeans). Thought they'd be good. I thought they needed to be cooked a bit more and they had no taste whatever.

There were four of us so we decided to split two orders, for which we asked for two extra plates. By the time the extra plates came, we had eaten all the food. Remember it was getting late and we were all hungry. The food was cold, the service poor and the cost was high. Needless to say, we weren't terribly happy with the choice, but we didn't say much because our birthday girl had chosen it.

We finished the food, paid and left. I don't think I'll be patronizing that particular Japanese restaurant any time soon. I'm kinda a buffet girl anyway. That way I can see what I'm planning to eat before it is put in front of me.

I've whinned enough this morning. So, I'll ask, Are you a 'serve it to me' or a 'buffet' type of person? It will speak volumes about your personality, temperament, and possibly waist size.

Have a wonderful Friday. Love one another.

Contractor and the Superhero

****Update on the Contractor and Superhero's trip to the Waffle House. They went in, ordered breakfast and ate to the heart's content. Went to the register to pay. Started to write a check and was told-No checks. Also didn't take his Discover card. Oops! what now. I bet he was wishing he'd taken his mommy with him. He ended up leaving his driver's license while he went to his bank, cashed a check and went back and paid. So maybe, riding with those two guys to work isn't such a good idea after all. And of course, I had to call and tease him about it.*****

I want the Contractor to take me to work every morning! Why you ask would I want my son to take me to work? After all, I'm perfectly capable of driving myself anywhere I want to go--well, maybe almost anywhere.

This morning as I was coming over the railroad tracks in the right hand turn lane, I heard a horn honking. When I looked to the left there was the Contractor and Superhero both waving. I was very happy to see them and get to start my day with their smiling faces.

I decided it was also necessary to hear their voices, so(don't tell anyone)I picked up my cell phone and called them. You have a direct line to your superheros don't you? Anyway as I spoke with Superhero, I asked where they were going. The reply--'We're going to go eat breakfast'--how jealous am I? So I asked,'Where are you going to eat breakfast?' The reply--'Waffle House'

Now you understand why I want to ride with them to work each day.

I'm so thankful that my son has a profession that allows him to do this sort of thing. He doesn't punch a clock nor is anyone standing in the doorway wondering why he isn't at work yet. He is able to spend quality time with his children. That's not to say he doesn't work some long hours. He was on the jobsite until 8:30 last night trying to get as much of a roof on the house he's building as possible before it rained. But he has the ability to adjust his schedule so that he can take either or both children to their respective desinations each day when he needs to, and he can pick them up if necessary.

Who do you want to ride to work with? It does get lonesome on that commute each morning.

Have a wonderful Thursday. Love one another.

Blast From the Past

I think some people call this Wordless Wednesday, but if you know me well, you know I can't go a day without speaking. That said, I don't have a lot to talk about today, but I got this cute quiz yesterday from a friend.

It's for all you kool kats and slick chicks. There are 18 questions. Write A,B or C and then at the end you can see just how kool you really are.

1. When did 'Little Suzie' finally wake up?
a) The movie's over, it's 2 o'clock
b) The movie's over, it's 3 o'clock
c) The movie's over, it's 4 o'clock



2. 'Rock Around The Clock' was used in what movie?
a) Rebel Without A Cause
b) Blackboard Jungle
c) The Wild Ones

3. What's missing?____ _Baby, Earth_____,_ ____On My Shoulder
a) Angel
b) Head

4. 'I found my thrill...' where?
a) Kansas City
b) Heartbreak Hotel
c) Blueberry Hill

5. 'Please turn on your magic beam, __________ bring me a dream'
a) Mr Sandman
b) Earth Angel
c) Dream Lover

6. For which label did Elvis Presley first record?
a) Chancellor
b) RCA
c) Sun

7. He asked, 'Why's everybody always pickin' on me?' Who was he?
a) Bad Bad Leroy Brown
b) Charlie Brown
c) Buster Brown

8. Bobby Darin's 'Mack The Knife', the one with the knife was named:
a) MacHeath
b) MacCloud
c) MacNamara

9. Name the song with 'A-wop bop a-loo bop a-lop bam boom'?
a) Good Golly Miss Molly
b) Be-Bop-A-Lula
c) Tutti Fruitti

10. Who is generally given credit for the term 'Rock And Roll'?
a) Dick Clark
b) Wolfman Jack
c) Alan Freed

11. In 1957, he left the music business to become a preacher.
a) Little Richard
b) Frankie Lymon
c) Tony Orlando

12. Paul Anka's 'Puppy Love' is written to what star?
a) Brenda Lee
b) Connie Francis
c) Annette Funicello

13. The Everly Brothers are...
a) Pete and Dick
b) Don and Phil
c) Bob and Bill

14. The Big Bopper's real name was:
a) Jiles P. Richardson
b) Roy Harold Scherer Jr.
c) Marion Michael Morrison

15. In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. started a small record company called...
a) Decca
b) Cameo
c) Motown

16. Edd Bynnes had a hit with 'Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb...'What
TV show was he on?
a) 77 Sunset Strip
b) Hawaiian Eye
c) Surfside Six

17. In 1960 Bobby Darin married:
a) Carol Lynley
b) Sandra Dee
c) Natalie Wood

18. They were a one hit wonder with 'Book Of Love .'
a) The Penguins
b) The Monotones
c) The Moonglows



Answers are below---NO PEEKNG!!



ANSWERS:

1. c) The movie's over, it's 4 o'clock
2. b) Blackboard Jungle
3. a) Angel
4. c) Blueberry Hill
5. a) Mr. Sandman
6. c) Sun
7. b) Charlie Brown
8. a) MacHeath
9. c) Tutti Fruitti
10. c) Alan Freed
11. a) Little Richard
12. c) Annette Funicello
13. b) Don and Phil
14. a) Jiles P. Richardson
15. c) Motown
16. a) 77 Sunset Strip
17. b) Sandra Dee
18 b) The Monotones

How many did you get right? I missed 4, they were 2, 12, 14 and 18.

Hope you have a great Wednesday. Love one another.

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

I got to go pick up this handsome young man yesterday. I took him to get ice cream and most probably spoiled his dinner. But that's one of those things a Memaw gets to do.

As we were coming home, he asked, 'Memaw, do you know what I want to be when I grow up?' I told him no, what did he want to be? He said he wanted to be a dog brusher. He wanted to give dogs a bath, clip their fur and brush them. I told him I thought that was a good job, but what about being a cat brusher too.

He then asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, and I told him I would like to be a cowgirl that ropes cows and shoots bad guys.
He suggested that instead of that, that I should be the cat brusher.

I explained that I really didn't want to be a cat brusher when I grew up, that I'd rather be a cowgirl. He said I probably should just be a Memaw instead.

It was such a cute conversation. He is so matter-of-fact about things.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I know I can't be a cowgirl, but since I don't consider myself grown yet, I should still have a few possibilities. I guess being the best Memaw right now is my most important thing to be.

I hope you are having a great Tuesday. Love one another.

Cotton Pickin Post

Although I don't live on a working farm, this is what is growing across the road from me. My family did raise cotton, and I think it will always be in my blood.

I had talked about the process of raising cotton in previous posts, and this is what it looks like now. The blooms can be either pink or yellow. Those you see in this picture, are pink. As the blooms fade and fall off, you see what is called a square. You can see two of those in the lower part of this picture.


In the very center of this picture, is a boll. Once it is mature, it will turn brown, and open. It contains the cotton. If you look just below and left of the green boll, you will see a square and in the lower right corner what is left of a pink bloom.

When we picked by hand, we didn't wait for all the bolls to open, so there were usually quite a few green bolls still on the cotton when we picked the first time. These made great ammunition if you were picking near someone you were mad at or didn't like. Throw one at them, and bend down like you were working hard.


This is a view of what I see when I look out my front door. It is quite green and lush and I can see some of the blooms shining in the sun.

Since I don't have anything blooming in my yard(remember I killed my plants on the front porch), I don't mind seeing the field so green and lush. I started to use the word verdant in my description, but figured one or both of my daughters would have something to say about that.

Here's the reason I didn't post on Saturday, and why I was too tired to post on Sunday. I just can't seem to get enough of this little girl. She's so sweet, and such a good baby.

What is something that prevents you from posting? We all have busy lives. Doesn't seem to matter if you are working full time, or retired. There's always something to do.

Please have a cool Monday. Love one another. Check on a neighbor to make sure they don't get too hot in this heat. And those of you in the hurricane's path, make plans to be safe.

Are You Happy?

Enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment. That's the definition of happy in the Merriams-Webster Online Dicitionary. Are we happy all the time? I don't think so. I'd classify myself as happy about 85% of the time. There are times when things make me sad. There are times when I'm frustrated or angry. Especially when things don't go my way, or my money doesn't make it to the end of the pay period. I'm not real happy when I'm pumping gas and it's nearly $4 a gallon. I'm not very happy when I am forced to listen to the two presidential candidates talk on tv. I'm not very happy when one of my grandchildren gets in trouble or hurts themselves.

Wait, I'm telling you all the times when I'm unhappy and this is a post about being happy. Let me see if I can list some times when I'm happy.
1. When I'm worshipping.
2. When my grandchildren hug me.
3. When I'm with family.
4. When I'm with friends.
5. When there's good food on the table.
6. When I've paid all my bills and have enough left to buy gas.
7. When I get on the scale and I've lost a lb or two.
8. When I have clean sheets on my bed.
9. When my house is clean and the yard work has been done.
10.When I have time to just sit and reflect.

You might think my reasons for happiness are simple, but in fact it doesn't take much to make me happy. I can't always say I'm content with everything in my life, but generally I'm a happy person. I've always thought of being happy as a state of mind. I see people who are unhappy, no matter what happens. They always see the down side of everything.

Maybe I don't pay enough attention to what's going on around me and if I did, I might not be so happy, but I think I'd rather go through life with blinders on and miss out on all the bad things in life than to be so highly tuned into what's going on around me. They say ignorance is bliss, but maybe that saying should be ignorance is happiness. Doesn't have the same ring to it does it? I don't want to be ignorant, I just don't want to be jaded by the world around me. And if I'm blissfully ignorant, well, it's just what I want to be.

What makes you happy? You don't have to list 10 thngs, just one or two. I'd like to know.

Have a great Saturday. Try to stay cool. Love one another.

Predicting the Weather

I was talking to my neighbor who lives behind me yesterday. We were talking about the heat and how much more we would endure before fall sets in and things cool off.

She had mentioned to me a few days ago about the heavy foilage on the trees. She said the Indians knew this meant a hard winter. As we spoke yesterday she mentioned it again. I remembered that a lady I worked with several years ago had told us that if you counted the fogs in August, you would know how many snows to expect that winter.

Well, guess what! The people on the news this morning said to watch out for fog this morning, and guess what else, this is August 1st. And as the old joke goes--baby, that's one. I'm anxious to see how many more there will be.

I also wondered if dove hunting season had started this morning. It sure sounded like someone was shooting at something off in the distance. Then I remembered seeing several stacks of shingles in my neighbors yard yesterday afternoon. The roofers have arrived and are getting as much done as possible before the heat really gets started. And if its the roofers I think it is, they will be done before noon.

I'm thankful it's Friday. It's been a busy week at work. No time much for reading my favorite blogs--sorry folks, I'll catch up tomorrow since it will be entirely too hot to go outside. I do try to keep up with Robbin over at Cedar Chest of Dreams . She's going through a lot these days, and needs the love and support of all her blog friends. Also Marge is dealing with the loss of her precious mother. She needs you good thoughts as well.

What do you predict your winter will be like this year? I know my blog friends are all over the US and maybe even some in other countries. I know predicting weather will be much more fun than predicting who our next president will be.

Have a fantastic Friday. Love one another.

Cheech and Chong Reunion Tour!!!

If you are under the age of 45, this probably won't mean much to you. Although I only saw them on tv, they were probably the first standup comics I remember.

I know, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Red Skelton and those guys were standups, but I never saw them do more than 5 minutes on their tv programs.

I also realize that seeing any of these people in person would have turned my ears blue and made my mother gasp with absolute horror, so exposure to them on tv was for the best. She thought Red Skelton was a total degenerate because of the Gertrude and Heathcliff the seagull jokes--that and the fact that he laughed at his own jokes.

But Cheech and Chong back together again. I never thought I'd see the day. And the reason they broke up in the first place was creative differences. I can see that. Cheech came from a well educated family and he was on his way to a prestigious college when he fled to Canada from the draft, which is where he met the Chong family who was into the bars with half naked dancers. Also Chong is quite a bit older than Cheech if memory serves me correctly.

I know you are wondering how I know so much about these two. I saw a documentary on Cheech several years ago. In it he talked about his days as a draft dodger, and how he came to be part of the duo, how they made all those crazy movies. And I saw him from time to time on sitcoms. Wasn't he on the spin off from the Golden Girls? Seems like he was a cook at a hotel or something. But then he had the second spot on Don Johnson's show Nash Bridges, which I began watching because of Cheech.

And now a reunion tour. The audience will look like those at a Temptations concert. There will be lots of gray hair and grandparents filling the seats. I don't believe I would go to a live concert, but I wouldn't mind seeing them on tv.

If you had a chance to see someone who hasn't toured in years, who would it be? I'm just so nosey. You have to tell me.

Have a great Thursday. Love one another.

Three Little Children Jumping on the Bed

Remember the song we sang as children about 10 little chillins, lyin' in the bed. 1 was sick and the other most dead.

Now the kids sing 10 little monkeys jumpin' on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head. Called for the dr, the dr said, no more monkeys jumpin' on the bed.

I had 3 children sleeping in my bed last night. Superhero and the two oldest princesses. They all spent the night with me. I slept across the foot of the bed. It was an interesting night.

I picked them up from daycare and took them home with me. They love to play together and get along very well. A lot of times two play well together, but when you throw in the third one, it's a different story. But all was well. I had to decide whose turn it was with some things. I don't like being referree. But they had a good time.

When we first got home, they wanted to watch a movie. But they had to have some popcorn to eat while they watched. It was dinner time, but you know me, the old softie, I popped some corn and they ate every last bite of it.

Then they played inside and out til almost dark. That's when the Big Bad Wolf comes out and Superhero is afraid of him(and dark rooms). They played with leggos and some other things that were mixed in the leggo box. Superhero had left a piece of rope at some point, and they played with that forever.

I eventually fed them and got them ready for bed. They all got up this morning with no complaints, ate a healthy breakfast of pop tarts for Superhero and the oldest princess. The other princess had to have scrambled eggies. We all got dressed, and waited for Superhero's mom to come. She had to take him to school becaus I only have two booster seats.

They are just so funny--listening to them talk. They can come up with some wild stuff. I think they have very active imaginations. One of the topics last night was going to college and how long you had to wait to go. Superhero thinks you go to first grade then on to college.

I had fun with the kids. They range in age from 5 to 4. Princess #1 is 5 and the other two are 4.

Who have you had fun with lately? I must know, unless it's x rated. Then you can keep it to yourself. This is a family friendly site.

Have a wonderful Wednesday. Love one another.

Shark!!!

Last night one of the blurbs to get you to watch the news was a bunch of people reeling in a large shark. As it hung by the tail fin, the comment was 'You caught it, who's going to remove the hook?'.

It was funny, and of course you wanted to know who caught it and what they were going to do with it. I think I would have been more interested in who was inside it, or who was going to clean it(not that I'd eat it).

Well, somehow, I missed the story on the news later, but I got to thinking about catching a shark and removing the hook. There's actually a pretty good analogy in this story. How many 'sharks' have I caught in my life? And who got the chore of removing the hook.

I used to get myself into situations that I didn't know how to get out of. Nothing illegal, mind you, but things I offered to do that later I realized I shouldn't or things I said that I shouldn't have. When I was married to the kid's dad, and I would tell him what I had done, he'd just say, tell them I don't want you to do this or that, which meant he would take care of the hook.

Sometimes, I'd get my checkbook in a mess, and be overdrawn, and my grandmother-in-law would remove that hook by giving me enough money to take care of it without a lecture, I might add.

Well, both of them are gone. Actually, I divorced the husband, and now both he and the GIL are no longer alive. Fortunately, by the time the divorce came about, I had learned to either not hook that shark in the first place, or to remove my own hook.

As I've gotten older, I try to be much more careful about catching sharks. I make sure that when I offer to do something, it is something I really want to do, can do and remember not to let my mouth overload my backside so to speak. I don't have anyone to bail me out when it comes to my checkbook either, so if I only have 40 bucks in that checking account, I best not write a check for 50.

We all catch sharks from time to time. And when we do someone has to remove the hooks. Have you caught any sharks lately? You don't have to tell me about them specifically, unless you want to that is, but who removes your hooks? That is of extreme importance. I must know.

Have a cool Tuesday. Love one another.

Hot Mondays

I'm working from home, and have been very busy. I think I work harder at home than in my office.

I got up early and finished the peaches. I know you are sick of hearing about the peaches, and they are done, so I'll shut up about them. Although, I plan to get up early in the morning and make homemade biscuits and take them and a jar of the preserves to work to share with my co-workers.

It's hot outside, and I worry about my son, the Contractor, who is working outside right now. I talked to him for just a moment this morning and told him to be sure to drink plenty of water and rest often. He assured me he would, but I think most of the time, he tells me just what he thinks I want to hear.

I'm thankful I'm inside where it's cooler. We're supposed to go over 100 today and possibly the next few days. I'm ready for summer to be over and cooler weather move in. A nice general rain would be very welcome also.

I went to church yesterday. Our message had to do with the fact that you can never do enough to earn your salvation. That when you die, you won't have done enough, but that doesn't matter. It's by God's grace we are saved through our faith. What a comforting thing that is to me. I know I don't do nearly as much as I should. Just lazy I guess. I don't do enough good works, I don't pray enough. I don't read and study my Bible enough. But I have the Hope of Heaven just the same.

I have started a new diet. That's a famous line of mine. If you read my blog long enough, you will see it often. This is an old diet called the Rice Diet, and that's about all you eat for a while. That and fruit. This is supposed to go on for two weeks and then you begin to add some vegetables. I decided I could probably stick to it better if I added something besides fruit, so for some of my meals(if you could call them that) I add some rotel to my rice. I like it much better that way. And sometimes I add cummin and paprika, so it tastes like what you get in a Mexican restaurant. I think tonight I'm going to add some soy sauce to see if I'm reminded of Chinese.

It's supposed to be good for your heart, hypertension and lots of other stuff. I guess we'll see. But just in case it kills me, I'm getting out my best pj's and keeping a pot of coffee going so that when the police come, I'll be ready. Thank you Lisa J for those good suggestions. I'll keep a note lying around too just in case so they'll know there was no foul play involved. I'll let you know if I stick it out and lose any weight.

How hot is it where you are today? I certainly hope it's cooler than here.

Have a great Monday. Love one another.

Peach Preserves and Grandchildren

Princess#2 spent the night Thursday night. I was planning to go get peaches and make preserves Friday. I knew it would be difficult to entertain her and stand over a hot stove at the same time. She is a good little helper, but sometimes good little helpers can slow down any process.

I call my DIL and asked if Superhero would rather stay with us or go to school. I'm thinking they could entertain each other and let me get my work done. And what a genius I am. They played so well together. I was very impressed.

We went to the orchard and got peaches. Here is a picture of the peaches when we got home with them.

When we got back, we stopped by the store and got them something for lunch. They both ate and sat in the floor watching videos and playing with some things Princess#2 had broght.

I got in the kitchen and started on the peaches. I found that the peaches on top were perfectly ripe, but as I went doen into the box, I found hard unripe peaches. Fortunately, I had enough to make a double batch of preserves, and got them started.

Here they are cooking. I put some butter in and the foam magically went away. Here they are after being put in the jars and the water bath.
I told you earlier that the kids had been really good. I could hear them talking and playing in the living room while I was cooking. Occassionally, they would come in the kitchen to see if I needed any help, and then go on back to what they were doing.

At one point they got sorta quiet and I thought I'd better see what they were up to. In fact they were just watching tv, talking quietly to each other. I loved where they were sitting and they let me take a couple of shots. Seemed like a pretty good place to sit and watch tv. I was very proud of them for being so good.
And by 4 in the afternoon, Superhero's other memaw had picked him up, and Princess#2 had been retrieved by her mother. I picked up, straightened up, and sat down to rest. Princess#3 came to spend the night. Her mom got her this morning. So I am alone and happy.

What's making you happy this morning?

Have a great Saturday. Love one another?

Chocolate Cupcakes

I worked from home yesterday, and while I was on my lunch break, I made some chocolate cupcakes. Daughter #2 called and wanted to know if Princess#2 could spend the night. I thought it would be fun for her to frost some cupcakes and have them to eat.

These are the large ones. I almost missed getting them in the picture in an attempt to get the cookie jar in it. This is a McCoy cookie jar, and was given to me by my Grandfather the first year after I was married. It's about 40 years old.

How much do you think my kids will get for it on Ebay after I'm gone?

It's one of my treasured possessions. Don't remember if it ever had a cookie in it.

These are the finished product. Just as we were frosting them, Princess#2 informed me she doesn't like chocolate.

Oh well, maybe someone will eat them.

I used a box cake mix, but made the frosting with chocolate chips, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and a little bit of milk. We pipped it on, Princess#2 and I. I squeezed the bag and she guided it.

Today, we are off to buy peaches. I've been wanting to make peach preserves ever since I saw the apricot preserves Suzanne over at Chickens in the Road made.

But I had to wait until they got ripe here in our area. And they are now ready and have been in harvest mode for about a week. This, however is my first chance to go get some. Hopefully, I'll have pictures of that tomorrow.

Hopefully, they will turn out. It's been a while since I've made any jelly or jam or preserves. Maybe I haven't lost my touch.

What are you doing that you haven't done in a while? Seems like the fuel crunch is making all of us go back to doing some things we didn't think we'd do again. I sure hope I don't have to go back to picking cotton. That would really be a bummer.

Hope you have a fabulous Friday. Love one another.

When You Live By Yourself

I live alone. I love living alone. I love for people to come visit or even stay for a few weeks. But basically I love living by myself. I love the freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do it, and I love not having to do anything I don't want to.

However, along with living alone there are some things that you must take into consideration. It's very important to make sure all the doors are locked when you go to bed at night. Even though I sometime forget, I try to make sure I am safely locked in at night. This sometimes causes me to worry what if I got sick in the night and no one could get in. Well, I've covered that with having a key hidden outside. Well, so it's not hidden very well. If you won't tell anyone where it is, I'll tell you since you might need to let in the paramedics to take me to the hospital.

Ok, since you've promised not to tell anyone, the key is on the top shelf on the carport. Actually, if you are standing on the top step of the kitchen door, you can see it. I told you it wasn't hidden very well.

Any way, one other thing that crosses my mind is what if I were to die in my bedroom in the back of the house. How hard would it be to get me out of there. My house isn't large, and by the time you got the number of people it would take to get me onto the gurney, and then try to get it out of the room, well the vision in my head isn't pretty.

You are wondering why I bring up this morbid subject. Well night before last, I woke up about midnight with the honest opinion that I was dying. I have GURD, and the symptoms of it are almost identical to those of a heart attack, which, thankfully, I've never had. But, having not eaten anything I could readily identify as being something that would have caused a flare up of GURD(doesn't that sound like a disease everyone wants to have?), I, being a person who diagnoses myself, decided I was having a heart attack and was therefore dying.

Not wanting to be carried out of my bedroom with the scenario above, I decided the best place for me was to go to the living room and get into the recliner. That's a straight shot out the front door. I also unlocked and opened the front door so it wouldn't be a problem to get in. I didn't want the door damaged. It's pretty new, and the kids will need to get as much for the house as possible. Don't you think I'm a considerate mother?

I had taken a prilosec before I went to bed with my other medicine, but I took another when I moved to the living room. I guess it did the trick, because I woke up about 3, felt better, realized I wasn't dead, locked the door and went back to bed. I can tell you are thinking, what a dummy I am. If you live by yourself, you've experienced the same thing. You may not have gone to the extent I did, but you never know when you might need to do the same thing.

So, I'm sure my kids will be thinking it's getting closer to time for their mother to go to the home, but I want to know what you have done lately that would constitute you being as nutty as I?

Hope you are having a great Thursday. Love one another.

Birthdays Come and Go

I got this in an email. Thought it worth passing on since I feel about 120 today.

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40.. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60 You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the shops, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10.Tell the people you love that you love them , at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,but by the moments that take our breath away.

How old do you feel today?

Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday. Love one another.

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

With summer bearing down on us(and it's hotter than the hubs), many of us are wearing sandals or going barefoot in an attempt to stay cool. I have a little problem with swelling ankles and feet sometimes when it's hot, and even sometimes when it's not. But I got to thinking about the number of pairs of shoes I have in my closet. Some I can't wear when my feet are swollen, some I will never wear again because, well, I don't know because, I just won't ever wear them.

I have shoes that have gone out of 'style', but I hang onto them. They may come back in style, or I might get an outfit they would be perfect with, but probably not. There are those I bought on a whim, that I didn't like when I got them home, and there are those I've been wearing for over 5 years.

Yes, I have a pair of sandals that I have had for over five years and I'm still wearing them. That is when I can get them on my feet.

Have you counted your shoes lately? How many pairs do you own? Total. Winter and Summer shoes(no contest here, just wondering)? How many pairs of sandals do you have? How many of 'tie' shoes? Do you wear patton leather? How about white? How many pair of walking shoes do you have?

Unless you've recently cleaned out your closet and been really hard on yourself, I'd bet you have in excess of 50 pairs. I have one of those big totes that sits in the bottom of my closet, and it overflows. I haven't actually counted the pairs, but I'd say if not, I've got close to 50. Many are more than 5 years old. I have at least four pair of heels that I haven't worn in 5 years. I don't even wear heels anymore. The flatter, the better. Sandals, well, we're talking close to 10 pairs of those.

I wish I had the money I've paid for many of the shoes in the bottom of my closet. But there are a few things that are not in there. There are no white ones. I don't put white shoes on my feet. I think they make my already big feet look huge. I also don't own any patton leather. I don't think I paid over $30 a pair for more than two or three of them. I have one pair that I bought about 15 years ago that I paid $70 for. I remember that specifically because I wore them to my college graduation, and I also remember that I didn't have $70 to spend on a single pair of shoes.

So, do you have a shoe fettish, or you just an unknowing collector? Do you buy new shoes often, or just when you absolutely have to. Are you familiar with the name 'Manolo Blahnik'? Have you ever paid over $200 for a single pair of shoes for yourself? Tell me about it. You know it's troubling you and you need to get your shoe stories off your chest. No one here will judge you, laugh maybe, but not judge.

I certainly hope you are able to stay cool today, and if you live in South Texas, it's time to start getting ready for Hurricane Dolly. I have an extra bed, if you need to evacuate.

Have a great Tuesday. Love one another.

It's Monday Morning Again

It's Monday morning again and will soon be time to get up. I'll be working 4 ten hour days this week in an attempt to conserve gas. It takes me about 25 minutes to get to work, which means over a tank of gas a week, just to get to work and back. I've pretty much ruled out making any unnecessary trips anywhere. I go to church on Sunday morning, but that's not an unnecessary trip. I don't attend on Sunday night because of the gas, and I'm in town on Wednesday already so I go ahead and go then.

I made a blanket Saturday for a baby shower Sunday. We have a new baby at church that was born at 3'2 ounces and way less than full term. He's in the NIC unit in Little Rock and will be for a couple of more weeks. But he is pretty much out of the woods and is gaining weight every day. The baby shower was already scheduled, since he wasn't supposed to be here for a few more weeks, so they went ahead and had it. Here's a pic of the blanket. I made it out of two pieces of cotton, so it wouldn't be as hot as flannel, and appliqued the train on it with his name. Then I put piping around the edge and sewed it together. I thought it turned out pretty well.
Except for some red eyes, I got some pretty cute pictures of the grandkids. For some reason, most of those I took had at least one child with it's tongue sticking out. The girls spent the night Friday night, and we called Saturday morning and asked if Superhero could come over. He did and the kids had a great time playing. Now that's not to say they didn't make a mess, which they pretty much cleaned up, but they were really good.

It's hard to get Princess#2 to smile, but she was haming it up for the camera this time. And as always, Princess#1 was posing. She's pretty good at jumping into the 'pose mode' anytime you want her too.

They played and watched movies while I worked on the blanket, and even though in this picture, they are behind my couch, they were being good,which is something when they are all three together.

I like the way Suprehero's head seems to be floating in this picture. I could tell you I planned it that way, but you know me better than that. It just happened.


Then it was Superhero's turn to go into 'pose mode'. He likes getting his picture made as well as Princess #1.
I'll leave you with this beautiful smile. He can melt my heart with this one. When it's just the two of us, he climbs into my lap and want to 'just talk'. He likes to tell you stories, and he loves for you to tell him stories. It helps me remember his dad as a little boy, because that's what he wants to hear.

Has anyone asked for a story from your past lately? It could be about you as a child or one of your children, or maybe even of your parents. I've read so many stories that are posted on the blogs that I just love. It seems to be a place for us all to open up in one way or another. I know Marge has heard plenty of stories about her precious mother this weekend as she laid her to rest. Our prayers are with her at this time.

Have a great Monday. Love to all.

Friday Night and Home Baked Cookies

Notice I didn't say Home Made. They were a store bought roll of sugar cookies. Here's what we did to make them special. The first ingredient was two little giggling girls, each with a bowl of cinnamon sugar. I cut the cookie dough into 1/2 inch thick pieces, the laid them flat and quartered them. I gave each girl some and they rolled them in their freshly washed hands and dropped them into the bowl of sugar.

When there were several little balls coated with the sugar mixture, they put them on a cookie sheet. We started out pressing them down a bit with a spoon, but soon decided that didn't work too well. They were a bit lopsided.

We soon had the first sheet ready for the oven.
We ended up using a glass to press them, and they became more uniform. The thing Princess#1 liked about this was licking the sugar mixture off her hands. She had to stop and go wash again.

We had a little trouble with the concept of spacing them out so they wouldn't touch.


Then we have a pan of the finished product.


They had a good time making the cookies, which by the way, Princess#2 won't eat. Not any kind of cookie touches her lips. I'm not sure she is really my grandchild since eating cookies is one of my absolute favorite things to do.
Princess #2 peering into the oven to see if the last batch is ready to come out. Notice she is standing back and not touching the oven. We are a very safe bunch.


Then, of course, they had to be put on a wire rack to cool. They were already cool by this time, but that's the next step, so we had to follow through. No short cuts on this job, except the store bought cookie dough.


We decided not to show any pictures of us eating the cookies. Mainly because we had both hands full of cookies and milk, and Princess#2 isn't a great photographer like her mom yet. So you will just have to imagine that part. They were good, and we are having(I am having) some for breakfast. Princess#2 has requested her favorite breakfast food--scrambles eggs, which she calls eggies, and Princess #1 is having cocoa puffs.

So my afternoon and evening went like this. Off work at 5:00, made the 5 minute trip to daycare. Went to building 4 and picked up Princess #1, over to building 3 and picked up Princess #2. Drove to Burger King and ate a nourshing dinner, well I ate mine, they mostly played. We then went to the grocery store, then the 25 minute drive home. Once here, we worked on the cookies, which didn't take that long, but boy was I one tired little old grandmother--just joking about the little part, mainly old.

After the cookie baking, the girls got in the tub, and I sat down to watch the Cardinals. They got out of the tub and P#2 managed to stay up til 9:00 and P#1 made it til about 9:30. After the game was over, I took a shower and slept on the foot of the bed until about 3:30. The girls had pretty much settled over on one side of the bed, and I moved up to the other. They have just gotten up, and are already ordering me around. Do they think this little old grandmother is their slave. Well, I guess, she really is.

Once I think Superhero is up, I'm going ot call over there and see if he wants to come play for a while.

How many children will be under your feet today? Hopefully, there will be at least three, and maybe four. I can't wait. Gotta go cook some eggies.

Have yourself a great Saturday. Do something silly. Make someone laugh.

My Favorite Day of The Week

Just a quick picture of The Tiny Princess. She belongs to my son, aka The Contractor and my DIL She's learning to pose.

I think Friday is my favorite day of the week. And it's very easy to understand why. Because I get to stay home the next two. I've got a busy weekend planned. Daughter #2's girls are coming to spend the night tonight.

Some of D#2's friends are giving her a housewarming tomorrow afternoon, and I figured it would be a good idea if the girls weren't underfoot tonight so she can get things straightened up. I'll get them ready tomorrow and take them in time for the party.

But this will give me some memaw time with them. I don't usually have both of them at the same time. So this will be special. I think we are going to bake cookies tonight. Not from scratch, but the slice and bake kind. But it will be fun. Maybe I'll get some good pictures.

We are having a baby boy shower for a girl at church Sunday. I'm making a double sided cotton blanket. It will have white on one side and blue micro-mini check on the other. I'm planning to applique either a little truck or a tractor on it, and I'll put piping around the edge. I hope it turns out pretty. The baby is a preemie and is still in the nic unit at Children's in Little Rock. But he is doing really well, so I thought since its so hot, a light blanket would be good.

I also have a couple of daygowns to get smocked and finished, also for gifts. I cut them out Wednesday, sewed the sleeves in and pleated them last night. Do I hear a 'busy girl' from any one? I also have an inset for a boys outfit to smock and then make the outfit.

Back to Friday being my favorite day. I really have seven favorite days. Silly huh? I'm thankful for every day the Lord allows me to be here on this earth with my family and loved ones. I say a little prayer every morning letting Him know that, and I also tell him I'm going to go about doing all the good I can today. I try to get my mindset ready for whatever comes along. It helps me think twice before I get angry with the fellow who cuts me off on the way to work, and it especially helps me to keep my comments to myself. You know how this tongue can get us in trouble, and mine is certainly able to get me in deep. I often think of the scripture that lists gossiping with the worst sins in the Bible. Someone remind me where it is. Naturally I can't find it. It list the worst sins and says all these will have a place in the lake of fire. I most certainly don't want my tongue to cause me to lose my soul.

I still haven't decided the name of my gnome, but I'm leaning toward Ole. The reason for this is that John Wayne in his B movie days made a movie where he was a young Swede on a cargo ship prior to WWI, and was planning to go home. In fact the name of it may have been The Long Way Home. Anyway, he ended up being shanghi'd and then his ship was sunk. He had a terrible Swedish accent and it was funny listening to him. In this movie, his name was Ole. You know what sucker I am for John Wayne.

Which day of the week is your favorite? We all have them. Tell me which one and why. It might help me to pick one particular favorite.

Have a fabulous Friday. Do something silly. Make someone laugh.

I Have Been Honored With An Award.

I received an award from Robbin over at Cedar Chest of Dreams and I feel very special.

If you aren't reading her blog, you should be. She is an amazing woman who is going through a lot right now. But she continues to be strong and is making the best of a couple of bad situations.

I have become acquainted with her though this media, and consider her one of my friends.

I never know who is reading what I write unless a comment is left. I have a few friends and co-workers who read me. I know this because they tell me they read my musings, whinings, complaints and silly stories. So it is nice to get an award like this from one of my peers.

One of these days, I'd like to have an opportunity to meet some of the amazing women I've met here but getting everyone together would be a major task with gas prices what they are. But maybe we'll get to some day.

I hope you are having a special day. I have another day of training. Training is good, but you get behind on so much of your other work. But this will be a good thing for our campus.

I have a question for you today. Do you blog in your skimpies? I know you do. It's just so easy to get out of the shower, put on your undies and sit down and blog while your hair drys. I'm so thankful you can't see me. You'd be scarred for life.

Have a wonderful Thursday. Do something silly. Make someone laugh.

A New Man In My Life

Aren't you excited for me? My friends were last night when I announced to them at dinner that I had a new man. Even though they were all smiles and excited, I knew down deep they were wondering if I needed to be institutionalized.

I met the girls after work to celebrate the birthday of one of them. We sat down, and I handed my friend her gift. But before she opened it, I told them I had some news. Good news or bad news was the question. I assured them it was good. I told them I had a new man in my life. Ohhhhh! was the reaction. I told them I wanted to introduce them to him and he would be joining us for dinner. OK, they said. Why I didn't have my camera to get the expressions on their faces, I just don't know.

Now if you know much about me, and I don't usually delve into my very most personal life here, you would know that I have been married twice, and believe me when I say once was more than enough(No 'Black Heels to Tractor Wheels' here). At this point, I have four very important men in my life--my son, and three grandsons.

So knowing me as these gals do, they obviously thought I had lost my mind. When I felt they had been sufficiently surprised, I reached into my bag and brought out this lovely gentleman.

Here he is hiding behind the orchid in the Living Room. He's a bit shy.

Here he is in my bed.

Isn't he just the cutest ever? Once I set him in the middle of the table, and they realized this was a joke, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Yes, they still had their doubts about my sanity. The very idea of a 59 year old woman running around with a gnome in her bag!!

They also expressed that I had almost given them a heart attack. Can't you see paramedics responding to a collective heart attack--with a gnome sitting on the table? And, as usual, we all had a good laugh. After all, laughter is the best medicine.

We ordered our food, ate until we were miserable, visited for a while and came home. We always have such fun when we're together.

But the problem with my gnome, aside from the fact he's carrying a mushroom(think he's a hold over from the 60's?) He doesn't have a name. If you have a snappy idea for one, just leave me a comment and let me know what you think I should call him. If I choose the name you suggest, there might just be a little(and I said little) something for you.

Have you played a joke on anyone lately? Did you almost kill anyone in the process? Tell me your funny stories.

Have a wonderful Wednesdy. Do something silly. Make someone laugh.

Some Times I Think I'm Losing 'It'

'It' being my mind. Saturday when I was cleaning up the kitchen, I put a platter and dish towel my DIL brought over the 4th of July in the recliner in the living room. Strange place, you say, but if I didn't put it somewhere that I'd remember it when they came over, it would stay at my house for for for ever.

So, there it was when I left for church. In the afternoon, I was getting ready to vacumm the spare bedroom and there was a diaper bag that had been left at the house at some point. So I'm thinking to myself that I'd put it in the living room with the platter and dishcloth.

When I walked in the lr to put it with the other things, the chair was empty. I had the funniest feeling, because I knew those things had been there when I left for church. I looked around for a few minutes and decided I was losing 'it'. Later in the day when the Contractor came by to cut my grass, I asked him if he'd been there earlier. He said he had come by and gotten the bbq grill. I asked if he came in and got the platter and he assured me he hadn't.

So yesterday morning when I got to work, I instant message'd my DIL and asked her. She had come over to get some clothes she had left and picked it up on her way out. WHEW! that was a close one.

I often think I'm losing 'it', but then you have some really close calls and you really get worried.

Have you lost anything lately? Did it make you think you were 'losing it'? Tell me so I'll feel better about myself. After all, a mind is a terrible thing to lose.

Have a great Tuesday. Do something silly. Make someone laugh.

Just Another Manic Monday

It's about noon on Monday. I always hate coming back to work on Monday, but you do what you have to do. I had a lazy weekend. Other than going to church yesterday morning, I didn't leave the cacoon I call my house. As much as I love people, I think I could stay in my house forever. That is if someone would bring me food occasionally.

I've been watching the Cardinals play ball this summer. It's either that or reruns of EVERYTHING that's fit to watch or reality shows. You know, reality bites, and I hate those shows. And you can only watch so much of funniest videos. So, I've gotten into watching ballgames. When I was expecting my youngest daughter(she's now 28), we had just gotten cable and TBS. And the Braves always played afternoon games. I rocked her and watched the Braves.

But now it's time for the Allstar break, so I'm not sure how many days I'll be without baseball. Maybe I need to rethink those reality shows. Or Matlock, those reruns are old enough that I've forgotten them from the first time around. I've also re-watched all the Beverly Hillbillies.

I'm just ready for the new season to start, we got so few new shows last season with the strike and all. But, I'm ready to see what Denny Crane of Crane, Poole and Schmitd has in store for us. And what's going to happen on Brother's and Sisters. I'm a little tired of McDreamy and Meridith. She seriously needs help!!! And it will be interesting to see how many Crime Scene shows we'll have. I've quit watching them, they are a bit too gory for me. I don't really need to follow a bullet into a body to see what the damage it does.

And special victims units. I like my sheltered world and don't want to know what sick people are doing. I found the guy that used to play Dan Fielding on Night Court. I think the name of the new shows are called McBride. He is a lawyer, and they are pretty good. Maybe they'll bring him to primetime.

I've complained enough. Maybe I should just turn off the tv and clean, or sew, or read, or study my Bible. But I'm a tvaholic. I turn it on before I kick off my shoes in the afternoon. I set the sleep timer so it won't stay on all night. I turn it on before I get up in the morning. See, I'm totally addicted. Is ther a 12 step program for that. Wonder what channel it's on?

What nonsense are you addicted to? Maybe my addiction won't seem so bad if I know what yours is.

Have a great Monday. Do something silly. Make Someone laugh.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

For some reason I think of the name of the Kris Kristofferson's song on Sunday morning. I know he was probably coming down off a drunk, but for some reason the name always comes to mind.

For me, Sunday morning is a time to replenish my soul. I go to worship, where I get to see many people that I don't normally see during the week. They are an encouragement to me. There are usually about 25 ladies in the class I go to, and then about 500 in worship. Growing up, I just didn't know there were that many Christians in the world. I live in a small town, and when I was a kid, there was about 60 in our congregation. Most of them women. Where I go now, there are as many men as women.

I love seeing families together in worship. My dad never went with us, and I married a man who went with me while we were dating, but quit soon after we married. So not only did my mother raise her children in church by herself, I did as well.

I don't pretend to be the strong dedicated person I should be, but I can't imagine my life without my church family. I have family. Not a lot nearby, but I have a few cousins, and my children and their families. I have friends, and I think, quite a few of those that I love dearly. But I feel so close to my church family.

So, I'm off to worship this morning. I'll get a warm hug from Mr. Randy, talk to whoever is being a greeter this morning, and as I make my way to class, I'll get to visit with others I know there.

Are you going to worship this morning? Tell me your favorite thing about your worship service.

Have a wonderful Sunday. Do something silly. Make someone laugh.