Who Ordered This Weather?

Last week it was the wind. Oh and let me tell you, I hate when the wind blows. I live in an area that is mostly a sandy loam mixture of soil. When the wind blows, that stuff gets up in the air and lands smack dab on my furniture and floors. It's not as bad as it used to be before I got new windows and doors, but it still manages to get in.

This week it's the rain and thunder. And boy has it rained. This started yesterday, and continued all night. Now it's raining again today and probably will for the next couple. You may not get any dust, but I did get a surprise this morning(should have taken a picture). I walked through the living room and noticed something on the floor, then noticed it was moving, then realized it was two of those red worms that come up on the concrete during and after a rain. How they managed to get into the house is beyond me, but there they were. They now reside in the garbage can outside. They gave me the creeps.

In these pictures, you can't really see the rain falling, nor can you hear the thunder, but you can see the amount of water standing in my yard. We've gotten about 3 inches so far, and will probably get another 2.


Enough about the weather, here are a couple of pictures of my favorite girls. The one with Tiger belongs to The Contractor, and the two in my recliner belong to Daughter#2.


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

Show and Tell

My grandson, aka Superhero spends most Wednesday nights with me. This is something he's done for a while. Nothing new.

This morning as we were leaving for work/school, he said he didn't have anything for show and tell today. In the time we've been practicing this ritual, he hasn't needed a show and tell item. But he did today, and wasn't too happy that he had nothing in his posession.

So with his lower lip quivering(and melting my heart), I began trying to think of something worthwhile for him to take. I suggested he tell the story I had told him the night before about the spring frog that landed on my forehead one night after I'd turned the light out, but he just didn't think he could regale the class with that story unless he actually had a frog.

I thought for a minute and finally asked if he wanted to take one of my stones with him(I collect rocks). He wanted to know which one and what was special about it. I told him it was a Petoskey Stone that it was actually a fossil and it came from Michigan. You can read about them here. I know you are wondering how a country girl from Arkansas came to be in posession of such an interesting piece of history(coral that lived 350 million years ago in the Devonian age). It was given to me by my friend Jan who is actally from Michigan, and probably collected them as a child, and she was nice enough to share with me. I keep it in a shadow box along with some of my other favorite trinkets.

He said ok, but his heart didn't seem to be in it, but I turned around and went back to the house, ran in and got it anyway. Once he saw it, he knew it was something that would make a bit hit. I wrote the name, what it was and where it came from so he wouldn't forget on a piece of paper as I drove down the road. When we got to school, he went straight in and showed the teacher what he had and that he wanted her to keep it for security sake.


I hope it garnered the reaction he hoped for.

If you had to come up with something off the cuff for show and tell, what would it be?

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

Mondays YUK!

I'd tell you I hate Mondays if you didn't already know that.

I hate Monday's because I have to come back to work. I try every Monday morning to come up with a reason why I'm not able to come to work. Unfortunately, Sick of work isn't a viable excuse.

That's the only reason. The sun is shining. The temp is 70. Perfect weather to be anywhere besides work.

Fortunately, I have a window so I can see what it's doing outside, which makes me hate Monday's even more because I can see why I want to be somewhere else.

Is there a day of the week you hate?

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

Strange Relatives

My 5 year old grandson aka Superhero spends the night with me on Wednesday. I pick him and his suitcase up from daycare. We go to church, where we help feed the college kids, have Bible Study, and then to my house afterward. He is usually hungry and needs a snack, and we watch a little tv.

If you are around me long, you know I have a wierd group of tv programs that I like. On Wednesday night, it's Dog the Bounty Hunter. I know these are a rough bunch of folks, but they are very family oriented, and I honestly believe they care about the people they have to catch. Now don't get me wrong, I think they love the chase and the catch too.

Anyway, I allow Superhero to watch Dog catch the bad people. This week when we were going to school on Thursday morning, from the backseat, Superhero said, 'hey, memaw, that bounty man was at my grandma's house Easter'. I said he was, and he said yes. We talked about it for a few minutes and when I got to work, I sent an instant message to the DIL, Superhero's mom, told her what he said, and asked her if she didn't want me to know she had famous relatives, or if she was ashamed of them. She replied with an OMG and the little man rolling on the floor laughing(if you IM, you know the little man I'm talking about). She said her aunt's boyfriend had long blonde hair and wore the arm bands like Dog does.

I have told everybody that knows Superhero about our conversation. It just doesn't take much to impress that little guy.

Do you have famous or infamous relatives? My claim to fame is that my mother's cousins were the Wilburn Brothers. Unless you know old time country music, that name won't mean much, but they had their own show on Saturday afternoon in the 60's out of Nashville, and even though they weren't mentioned in the movie, Loretta Lynn got her start on their program. She was their girl singer. They also toured with Elvis before he became King and was traveling around from one honky tonk to another.

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

A Sad/Funny Story

I was reading a blog yesterday that talked about a cousin's death and having to tell a brother. I, too, had to tell someone they had a loss, and it brought to mind a story about my children's father when he was a little boy.

My children's father was raised by his maternal grandparents. When he was very small, his great grandmother came to live with them. She thought this little boy hung the moon and was the only child ever born. When the other grandchildren came, she would hide this little boy's toys because she didn't want the other children to play with them. She did everything for him.

She became ill and was almost bedfast. She also had a habit of taking her medicine everytime she thought of it, so she had to have someone with her at all times. Being a farming family, everyone big enough was needed to work in the fields, so the little boy was given the job of sitting with grandma. I'm sure this wasn't what he would have liked to be doing, but sit with her he did and found this to be quite a chore.

Then after a protracted illness, the grandma passed. Having no phones, this little boy was sent down the road to tell the neighbors about grandma's death.

He, being about 5 or 6, proudly walked into the neighbor's house, propped his hand on his hip, leaned against the door and announced,'Well, grandma finally died'.

I've often thought about how much that old lady loved that little boy. I've thought about what a chore she was to this little boy and that his only thought in her death was that he could now go out and play rather than be confined. He never knew the joy he had brought to her, and he only remembered what he considered a form of punishment having to sit with her. He never knew what a blessing he was in her life. Wherever they are, hopefully they are together, and enjoying each other's company.

Who was a big influence in your young life that you may know only through the stories you've heard?

This is a beautiful day in NE Arkansas. Hope it is where you are and you are getting to enjoy it. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Spring Plants - New Life

Today is the spring plant sale here on campus. The plants are usually pretty nice, and reasonable. They have lots of flowering plants, trees and some vegetables. I'm picking up some tomato plants for the Contractor(he's got a garden going)and a flower or two for daughter #2. She has a flowerbed she's cleaned up and needs some plants for.

I'm interested in the Lantana's and wave petunias. My front porch gets a lot of afternoon sun and these are about the only things that do well that I like. Most of my flowergardening is done in containers on my porch. I'm not able to do what I used to, and out in the yard, things get overgrown pretty quickly. I do have a monkey grass border, but mostly just yard.

I'll try to have some pictures of what I buy on my blog tomorrow, then as the summer progresses, I'll let you see what a brown thumb I actually have.

Hope your garden is beginning to come alive. I'd love to hear about it.

Have a wonderful Thursday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

How Was Your Easter?

Easter is the official sign that Spring is on the way. We get to wear new outfits, at least the kids do, color and hide eggs, and spend time with family. I'm teaching the 5 year olds at church this quarter. I had 5 little girls and one boy this Sunday. The girls all had on new dresses, and most of them were made similarly to what the girls have on in the picture, but all different designs. They were really pretty, and I wished I had taken my camera.

I took off work on Good Friday and cleaned house. I cooked on Saturday, and all my family was together for a meal on Sunday. I made crockpot chicken and dressing, a ham with marmalade glaze, Pioneer Woman's baked Mac and Cheese, deviled eggs(daughter #2 kept saying they had too much paprika on them), mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce(out of the can), Sister Shubert's rolls(they are worth the price for the trouble they save), and two Snicker's pies.

The little ones played. After we ate, the four youngest put their Easter clothes back on, and had a few photos taken. I don't know who was the hardest to pose, the older three or the youngest.

I thought the girls all looked spiffy in their matching dresses. I think daughter #2 found them and with the DIL's approval, they got all three alike. Superhero co-ordinates very well in his green shirt. I don't know if you can see the princesses feet, but they are both barefoot. They didn't go to church that way, but it was too much trouble to put their shoes back on just for a picture.

You may also notice that Superman has both princesses in a sort of head lock. He is one loving kid and any time you take a picture of him, chances are his arm is around someone.

I hope you had a great Easter. Saw those you cherish, and found the egg with the best prize.

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

Spring is on the Way

I'm looking forward to Easter. It's a signal that Spring is actually here, or at least close. I know officially Spring has sprung, but it's time for things to actually turn green and bloom. And I can start wearing my summer clothes.

How many of you remember that you couldn't wear white before Easter or after Labor Day? Now I'm not a fashion statement. I'm more the what not to wear statement. I'm not up on the latest fashions, but I still hear my mother's voice in the back of my head saying things like,'you can't wear that yet, or you shouldn't still be wearing this now.

Along with good taste, many of the fashion rules we learned have been thrown out the window along with the length of skirts and shirts. Showing your belly button when I was young caused you to be the talk of the town and gave you a reputation. Short skirts did almost the same thing. I never had to have the length of my clothes measured in school, my dad wouldn't allow me to have anything that was too short. Too long was fine with him, but never too short. And Heaven forbid if I ever tugged on a skirt in his presence. I was promptly sent to put on something longer.

My oldest daughter has a favorite saying when she sees someone in something that is too tight or short. She says that just because they make it in your size doesn't mean you should wear it.

Do you think some people have warped mirrors that even though they are fat, they look thin in them? Or maybe warped eyeballs that see things one way when they are really another>

I'm not sure what got me on this subject today, but if you have any fashion statements to make, feel free to make them here.

Hope you are having a great Thursday(It's Conasta night for me). Pray for our country. Love one another.

Nosey Ole Me

I've decided to be nosey. Now if you know me, you know that I am not a nosey person. Really, just ask my daughters. They'll tell you that I try to mind my own business and don't usually ask questions. In fact, they get annoyed with me for not knowing all the details about things.

Now there's a good reason why I don't ask a lot of questions. If you tell me something and I attempt to repeat it, there's a good chance I'll get the facts all mixed up, so I've decided the best thing is the less I know the less I can repeat incorrectly.

But today I'm going to ask a question. If it's in print, maybe I won't get it too mixed up.

Are you getting a new outfit for Easter? If you are, then please describe it. If you aren't getting a new outfit, they why not? Is it because you are busy getting new outfits for others?

I personally am not getting a new outfit. I'm going to wear the same thing I wore last year. Why, you ask, I just don't need anything. And I'm not making dresses for the girls this year. I think this is the first year I haven't been sewing right up to Easter.

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

Oh Spring Where Art Thou!

Oh Spring--You keep teasing me with warm days and pretty blooms on the trees and bushes. My daffodils have bloomed--my hyacinths have bloomed, and now it looks like there will be a freeze tonight. I'm ready for the wind to calm and the days be warm enough that I can frolick about outside.

Like I'm going to frolick about outside or elsewhere. I would like to be able to get out without being blown in every direction, and I would like for the weather to be comfortable without a jacket. Just about the time I pitch my jacket in the laundry room for a final wash before being stored for the summer, I have to go dig it back out.

The news said that the peach crop may be devastated again this year. They lost one a couple of years ago, and the peaches were so expensive last year that you could hardly afford them. I think I've found a free source this year unless the freeze tonight gets them. I may have to put out my own peach tree for future use. I have a pecan tree, but have to fight the squirrel's for them. Maybe they don't like peaches.

Needless to say, this is a dreary Monday. The only bright spot is that the stump grinders came and ground my stumps this morning. My neighbor called early and told me they were there. She is retired, and has been holding the check I wrote to them so they could be paid when they were finished. She had stumps they ground also. She's a big help to me with things of that sort. She called me when the tree cutters came to see if I wanted mine cut, and she called when the grinders came through so I could get a deal made with them.

The other bright spot is my oldest daughter. She is on day 7 in her attempt to stop smoking. Even though she grumbles about it, she is making a hard effort to stop. I can only imagine how hard it must be. I'm addicted cokes. I can go a few days without one, but sooner or later, I break down and have one. So, to some extent, I can identify with what she's going through. I want her to stick it out for herself and for her two children. She has a son about 23 and one 12. She needs to be around to finish raising them.

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

Last Night at the Taste of Home Show

I promised I'd let you know about the show last night. I left work at 5:00, and it took all of 10 minutes to get there. We were given a bag with magazines, and other goodies in it.

I was expecting to be able to sample at the booths (that means eat-free). However, the lines were horribly long and many of the people thought nothing of getting ahead of you in the lines. Note here to my daughters: I did not break line, nor get ahead of anyone.

What we found out though, was that the samples weren't free--nuh uh. You had to pay for most of them. Finally, after standing in line for about half an hour, we got some ice cream from Andy's. If you haven't had Andy's Ice Cream, you don't know what you are missing. Creammmy! Delish! and lots of other adjectives.

They wanted everyone in their seats by 6:30--some people didn't get there until 7:30. They took up our yellow cards we'd filled out for the door prizes, and promptly at 7:00 the show started.

Janie Dunn is the gal who did the show. She's funny, articulate and very interesting. She put on a good show. She did greek turkey burgers, mexican lasagna, granola(that I might even try), ginger chicken and pasta, shrimp salad, salmon with orzo, creme brulee, a fruit tart and lemonade. These cooked items were given as door prizes also.

They gave away lots of cookbooks, bags of groceries, gift certificates, a free-standing island, a side by side refrigerator, a queen set of mattresses and more. And I won N-O-T-H-I-N-G!

The show cost $14 to get in, and I basically left a cooking show hungry. Now something just ain't
right about that. We had to go to Sonic and get a burger. It was after 10:00 by the time we got out of the parking lot, and I don't usually eat that late, but I did last night. I was definitely in peril of wasting away.

I did see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while. There were about 2,000 people there. I was disappointed in the number of vendors, and I'm alwasy unhappy that I left unfed.

Have you ever been to a cooking show? If so, tell me about your experiences.

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

Taste of Home Cooking Show

A group of us from work are going to the Taste of Home Cooking Show tonight. It's here on Campus, and we are going directly after work.

It has been here before, then it moved to another city nearby, but has come back here. A couple of girls have been before and they say it's fun. The doors open at 3 this afternoon, but the actual show begins at 7. We are going at 5. You go through and visit all the booths where they are demonstrating their products and giving free samples. Then at 7, you watch the demos. I think it will be lots of fun.

One of my friends here at work gets the Taste of Home Magazine, then at the end of the year, she gets all of them in book form. After she gets the book, she shares the magazines with me. It has some really good recipes in it.

We paid a total of $14 for our tickets, but they say you get a goodie bad at the door that has stuff in it worth about $60.

I'll let you know more about it tomorrow. I might even share some great cooking tips if I can remember them.

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

April Fool's Day and a Funny

I love to play tricks on the people I love. Actually, I'd play tricks on strangers if I thought I wouldn't get shot. The only problem is, I'm not good at it. I don't have a poker face. I can't tell you some big elaborate story without getting tickled. And I usually get the whole thing mixed up and it ends up not being funny to anyone.

So, I guess I'll pass on the jokes today and just try to behave myself(no comments from children).

But let me tell you a couple of things I have managed to pull off. You may not see the humor in them, but we thought they were funny at the time.

On our boss's birthday one year, we ordered a cake, but we all called in that morning. Some of us began calling the afternoon before for a day's vacation, then some called in that morning saying they were not feeling well. As we sneaked into the office, we could hear her on the phone telling someone she had to cover everything that day because everyone had called in. While she was still on the phone we all yelled happy birthday.

Then one year for my friend's 50th birthday, I took her eighth grade school picture and enlarged it almost an 8x10, and made a wanted poster out of it. I put up about 40 around town and one near her house. When I went by later in the day, she had gotten out and gathered them all up. But she wasn't mad. She thought it was funny. I had put wanted in big letters at the top, and at the bottom something about birthday wishes for this 50 year old.

If you've played a joke on someone, tell me about it. I love to laugh at someone else's expense.

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

Do You Dance?

Did you watch Dancing With The Stars last night? I've been hooked on this show for the last 3 or 4 seasons, and this time is no different. I don't know who I want to win. I'm not terrible picky. The only time I've ever voted was when Dennis Smith(the football player) won. I voted for him. He was really good.

I have to wonder how much Steve Wosniak is paying people to vote for him. He really needs to go home and the one to follow him should be Steveo.

If I were dancing(and I have two left feet) which I fall over on a regular basis, I would still be humiliated if I went home before Wos.

I'm thinking the gal that was jilted by the batchelor may have a good shot, and of course the guy named Giles has a good shot.

The one who has impressed me most is Ty. Boy, he has come a long way.

Let me know what you think. I'm being inquisitive.

Have a wonderful Tuesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Figure It Out Friday

See these two cute little bowls. I bought the ones on the left first. I didn't have a clue what they were for when I bought them. I now have 16. Then I went back and bought the others. I have 10 of them.
They aren't very big. As you can see the one on the left is only about 6" from point to point, and the other is only about 5".
Even though my photo quality isn't very good, you can see the bowls are about 2" deep. I bought the first ones thinking they would be great for dip and stuff, but couldn't think of why I would need the others.
Then I began thinking of other things they might be used for and thought about individual tarts or maybe small individual pot pies. Then I had a sort of an epiphany. I wondered if the one with the two points might be for crab dishes, and then the other may be for oysters. But I'm certainly not sure about that.
So I took these pictures to post and ask what your thoughts might be. Maybe you have some like them and know exactly what they are used for. I thought they would be a great addition to my growing collection of white dishes.

In the event you know what they are used for and want some for yourself, I found these little gems at Big Lots. However, the Jonesboro, AR store is all out, thanks in part to me.

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

I Love a Give-Away

If you go to this blog you can have a chance to win some great knitting yarn and a bag. That is if you knit or crochet. The blog owner also has a scarf pattern she is sharing. With all the scarves you see right now, this would be a great addition to your own wardrobe or as a gift.

I've had a headache since Saturday along with an earache which is better, but not the head pain. I just told a co-worker that I'm thinking amputation.

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

What I Did On Vacation

Aside from the time we spent at my friend's house, we also went to Mexico, twice. On Friday, we went to Matamoros. If you notice the sign, it is a full service stop. We bought medicine, a Coach purse and a watch here. We also had a wonderful lunch of nachos, guacamole, and shrimp salad. We had enough to take home to Bob.
When you go into the restaurant, you are served chips and pico de gallo. Their guacamole is mashed up avacado's and they have the best anywhere. There is also an oil based salsa that is really hot.
This picture is the window with some of the pots for sale in the store. You can buy about anything from really pretty jewelry to not so pretty carvings. Lots of Pewter and lots of liquor. Frogs seem to be plentiful there as well. I'm not sure why.
This is one of the street buses that run everywhere. There are also taxis. This particular day there were few people milling up and down the street. The restaurant, which is usually full had only a hand full of patrons. We thought the problems with the drug lords and police were to blame.
This is a side view of the bus. It was really quite sad at how few people were on the streets.
This picture is where you can change your US money to pesos or vice versa. We didn't change any money because Garcias was perfectly happy to take our American money.
This is one of the street vendors. On the right was corn they were grilling. Once it was done, they covered it with paprika and then with mayonnaise. I'm not sure what they were selling out of the #2 washtub, but it was something to drink. They were doing a good business with the corn.
This is the bridge with the walking area to the side. You can actually walk across about as quickly as you can drive. But being old ladies, we chose to drive. Once you get to the American side, you are subject to search. Fortunately, they just waved us on through. If we had any liquor, we would have had to pay the duty on it. It's about a dollar a bottle.
If you look closely through the wire, you can see the Rio Grande River. The ravine is quite deep, but there's not much water in it, and it is muddy. They haven't had much rain so things are quite dry.
The rest of these pictures were taken in Nuevo Progresso on Sunday. When we got there, we figured out where all the tourists and spring breakers were. The streets were crowded and moving around was slow.
These pictures were taken in a small market. The booths are tight, and each one has someone that sells to anyone who will buy. A few years ago, these people would be pressing things into your hands to get you to buy, and if you ever took hold of anything, you pretty much had to buy it because they wouldn't take it back. Now they are a bit more laid back.
The young man with my friend was selling hammocks and other woven items. As we left, I told him she would tell everyone he was her boyfriend. I don't know if he understood, but he grinned anyway.
This is a dentist office. They are on every other storefront. All have been trained in the US, and their prices are very reasonable. I had hoped to see a sign that showed prices, but wasn't able to.
I wanted to get a picture of this man, but he wouldn't turn around. He was wearing a costume with a mask. He was tooting a horn and beating a drum. There were security guards near, and they won't let you take pictures of them or of the actual border, I guess for security sake. I did get the young fellow sitting in his tank to smile and wave. They all looked like they were about 15 years old, some dressed in black fatigues and some in camo. All carried AK-47's which was scary to me.
Once we got on the bridge, we could again take pictures. If you look at the dragline in the distance, you will see the wall that is being built to keep the illegal's out. Something tells me it's a waste of time. But that's just my opinion.
This is one of the many bougainvillea plants that grow in that region. They are in full bloom as are many other plants right now. Also my friend's orange and grapefruit trees are blooming and when you go outside, you smell them immediately. I had a wonderful time visiting my friends. It's one of those trips where you don't want to come home.

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

And the Winner is!!!!

Before I went on vacation, I had a little contest dealing with my sense of taste and a rooster figurine. Now I think I have excellent taste, but my daughters aren't quite so sure, and my DIL is too nice to express an opinion.

Four of you answered my question of whether you thought the rooster was bought at Tuesday Morning, Big Lots, TJMaxx or Dollar General. You didn't have to be right, just a response.
Well the little rooster came from Dollar General. I had four responses, and I try to always be fair, so I put everyone's name on a slip of paper. Those who responded were Lisa, Amy, Tipper and Laura'Peach'.

Then I carefully folded them.


And had my co-worker draw one from my John Wayne coffee mug.

I know this is hard to read, but Lisa is the winner.

Oh and what did you win, you ask. Why another rooster just like the one in the picture above. I'll be mailing it in a day or two.

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

Progresso on Sunday

We got up Sunday morning and headed to Progresso. First we stopped by to see some friends that I have come to love through my friend. We visited with them for about an hour, then headed south.

We saw that Progresso was crowded. Remember I told you that Matamorous was almost like a ghost town, well, we found all the people. They were in Progresso. It was sholder to sholder walking down the streets. We parked at Arturo's, walked down to Angels, bought more drugs and ate. We had some of the best pico de guio I've ever eaten. It had avacado cut up in it and just the right amount of cilantro. The nachos weren't as good as those we got at Garcia's on Friday, but the pico more than made up the difference.

Then we went down the street and checked out the vendors. I'll have some pictures in a day or two.

Today, I think we are just going to hang out and relax. Carolyn is going to try to get her husband in at the doctor's office this morning. He has an ear infection and since he wears hearing aids, he doesn't need to let that get out of hand.

I've had such a wonderful time here. I always hate to go home, but then I have to get back to my rat race.

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

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

I know most of you can finish that little poem and have had it happen to you on occasion. That was us yesterday. Remember our problem tire from day before yesterday? It got replaced, and then we ended up at AT&T trying to get Carolyn a new phone. They didn't have what she needed, and would you believe, they sent us to Wal-Mart to buy a replacement.

By this time it was getting late, so we ate linch at Julia's and came home and watched tv awhile.

We've decided to try again today so there's no telling where we'll end up.

Have a wonderful Sunday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Greetings From The Rio Grande Valley

I arrived in Harlingen, Tx Thursday afternoon about 5:30. My wonderful friend Carolyn was waiting for me there. We came to her house where her husband, Bob, the dog and the smell of home cooked food greeted us.

We had a lovely time catching up and getting me settled in. Yesterday morning we decided to go to Matamorus, Mexico. It has been in the 50's here which is unusual and the Spring Breakers are hating it. And it was threatening rain, but we decided to make it to Garcias and do some shopping.

I had a list of some things to pick up and we got that out of the way. Then we ate in the restaurant there. They have wonderful pico de guio(spelling?). We had shrimp coctail, avacado salad and nachos with meat. What we couldn't eat, be brought home and finished off last night.

It is rather sad seeing what the problems with the drug people are doing to the flow of people there. The streets were almost empty, the restaurant was empty and there were few shoppers. Normally when we have gone there, you would be almost sholder to sholder on the street and have to wait to be seated to eat. Not the case at all yesterday. And we saw no spring breakers.

We parked in the garage at Garcias, and realized one of our tires was very low. When we came out, it seemed lower stil, so while the guards put air in it, I stepped out onto the street and took some pictues. When I get them uploaded, I'll post the best ones.

We are going this morning to get the tire repaired and then on to Neuvo Progresso, but first by to visit with some of Carolyn's friends that I have also come to love.

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

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane

Tomorrow, I'll be on vacation for several days. I fly out of Little Rock at noon tomorrow reaching the Rio Grande Valley(Harlingen,TX) around 5pm. I won't be back to work until the following Wednesday, the 18th.

My friend Carolyn lives there and I'm going to visit her and her husband. I'm excited about seeing my good friends. I don't get to see them often even though we speak on the phone and email often. I am also looking forward to the warm days and not having to worry about the freezing temperatures that will be going on here.

I always have a wonderful time when I go visit. We relax, eat, go to the beach, eat, shop, eat, oh and did I mention we eat. If you like Mexican or Tex/Mex food, you can find the absolute best in that area.

More about the food--we usually eat Chinese or Italian in Harlingen. Then at some point, we'll go to Brownsville and eat at Vermillions. Their food is to die for. We usually go to one of the restaurants on South Padre Island too. They have some great hamburgers on the island. Sometimes we eat a samich in a place in Port Isabel. There's nothing like fresh seafood, and you can get whatever you want there. We could also possibly go by Harley's to listen to some music at some point.

After being on hold with the passport people, I found out that it was mailed yesterday and was sent priority mail. I called the post office at home, and Carletta will pull it out if it's in the morning mail and I'll go by and pick it up. If it isn't there, she will overnight it to me the next day. Then we will be able to go across the border one day. We usually eat at Garcia's or LaFagota. These places have food choices you don't see in the good old U S of A. Nothing like Anthony Boudain eats, but really good things. One time as a vegetable we got onions cooked in oil(not fried)with a bayleaf. Another time I got carrot soup. You just don't see those listed on too many menus here. But both were very good. I've cooked the onions before, but can't replicate the soup.

Now that I know my passport is coming, I'm beginning to get excited.

Hopefully, I'll get to post while I'm there, but will probably have to wait for pictures.

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

The Miracles

Working for a university has some advantages. One is that you get to go to free events that are happening on campus during working hours. I guess they think that makes up for the pitiful pay. Anyway, we get this email each day called the Daily Digest, and it tells what is going on around.

One of the things on the digest for the last several days has been a free concert by the Miracles and the University Singers. I know you are thinking about the Miracles
who sang such hits as Tears of a Clown and they had a lead singer named Smokey Robinson. Well, you'd be wrongo.

The members of this group are truly Miracles. They come from the Beddour Center in Senatobia, MS and they are musically-gifted adults. This is a residential community that is designed for adults with intellectual disabilities. You can read more about them here.

They are truly a gifted group. The University Singers sang first, then the Baddour Miracles, then the two sang together. It was one of the most uplifting performances I've been to lately. One young lady sang 'I can only Imagine' and as she did, another performed it in sign. Four of us from our dept went, and we all came away with a renewed spirit.

And I won a door prize. But the best thing I came away with was a lighter heart.

I hope you are having an excellent Tuesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

I'm a Sucker For A Deal

I went to Sam's Sunday after church. Needed to pick up a few things. While I was in there a man came on the speaker and said he was giving away stainless steel paring knives. I knew there would be a presentation of some sort so I stiffened up my back to say no to whatever he was selling.

Have you ever been in this situation? Since he was giving away paring knives, I figured he was selling knives, and I wasn't wrong. Remember the long Ginsu knives they used to sell(and may still)on TV where they'd show cutting veggies and then sawing a soda can into. Then they'd cut up more veggies. That's basically what this guy was doing except he sawed on a hammer head and his didn't go by the name Ginsu.

These knives are guaranteed for life. If you manage to break it or if it becomes dull, they will replace it no questions asked. That sounded pretty good, but if you had all those guarantees, then they were bound to be expensive. He said the knife sold for 39 with 6.75 shipping and handling. Out of my price range, but wait, for that price today, he'd give you a second one free. That meant you would get two knives and your free paring knife. $85 dollars worth of knives. Well, that sounded better so I was thinking this over when he said, but that's not all folks, I'm going to give you a third knife. I was HOOKED. But wait, there's more. He threw in a boning knife, two more paring knives and a hand food chopper.

He said this all totaled up to be almost $200 for the low low price of 39.95. Needless to say, I am now the proud owner of some heavy duty cutlery. My son came by and I showed it to him and said, pick out what you want. He took one of the big knives and the boning knife and one of the paring knives.

I'm anxious to find out if he thinks they are any good.

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

Early To Rise---

I am an early riser in my old age. When I was growing up on the farm, we had to get up early to get things done, and to catch the school bus. Then after getting married and leaving the farm, I could occasionally sleep late, which was still early since I had a family to take care of.

Then after my children were grown and I took a job that took an hour to reach by 7:30 5 days a week for 10 years, my internal clock just naturally says 'get thee out of thy bed before dayspring'. So about 5:15, my eyes spring open and I get up.

That works pretty good through the week, but I'd really like to be a lay-about on Saturday morning, but it just doesn't happen. I got up this morning, and looking out my front door, I realized it's a good thing that I get up early on weekends. There was no traffic on the street. Everything was calm, and it was barely daylight. There was just a 'peace' about everything. Like the buzzer hadn't gone off to get everyone out and about.

Now on up in the moring, the tv is on, the washer is on, the dishwasher has been running and there is traffic on the street as well as walkers and joggers. The day has officially started, and it's time I get myself in high gear(although, I've not been lazy this morning), just have to get around.

I have a pageant to attend this afternoon, then my friends and I are going to eat at one of the Mexican restaurants and then go see Hairspray.

Hope you have a great Saturday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Spring Forward

This is our last weekend with the old time. I guess we'll do the spring forward thing Saturday night. I wish they'd leave it one way or another and not change it. I want more daylight in the afternoon.

I don't mind going to work in the dark, but I hate coming home in the dark too. It gets dark in the winter before I can get home.
This causes me great grief because I don't have time to pick up pecans in the afternoon and consequently the squirrels get them all. I'd like to have just a few little squirrels. I'm willing to share, just not let you have them all.


I'm glad it's Friday. This has been a long week. Princess#1 is in a beauty pageant tomorrow afternoon. I'll have pictures next week. Then I'm going to see Hairspray at the Convocation Center on campus with my friends.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my blog about the rooster in the March 3rd post. Remember, someone will get a surprise for leaving one. So far, I only have one, and I'm sure she'd be happy to leave it that way.

Sun is shining here today and the temp is 72. I'm getting outside for lunch.

Hope the sun is shining where you are. Pray for our country. Love one another.

My Day Has Gotten Off To A Bad Start

Yesterday was a good day. Worked, picked up Superhero, went to church, came home, got Superhero to bed, read a book, said prayers, and read to him from the novel I'm reading which bored him right to sleep.

About 2:30am, I woke with a start. Now I was sorta expecting to wake with reflux since I'd eaten Mexican for lunch and Red Beans and Rice for dinner, but noooooo, it wasn't reflux, it was a major(as in earth shaking)leg cramp. Not in the calf alone, it went all the way up the inside of my leg. I walked, which only seemed to make it worse, I stretched, which did little or no good. I took a potassium tablet, but knew it would take a while to take effect. All this had taken about an hour or maybe a bit longer.

Finally I remembered the leg cramp medicine the drugist has shown me, and I had bought. Little tiny white pills that you put under your tongue. You use two of them and can use as many as 6 in a day, but not recommended you use more. I put 4 under my tongue. Problem was, my mouth was dry and they wouldn't disolve, so I hobbled into the kitchen and got a drink of water and they melted. I managed to get back to the recliner, and the next thing I knew it was morning and I'd overslept. Superhero was still asleep too.

I got him up and while I got ready for work, he ate his breakfast, then I helped him get ready. I sent an email to my boss saying I'd be in as soon as possible, and managed to get to work by 8:30.

What a way to start the day. How did yours start? Hopefully better than mine.

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

Here Chick! Chick!

See this little rooster? He's only about 8 inches tall. Smooth, shiny and I think really pretty, if you like roosters that is. I have one daughter who doesn't. Roosters or monkeys or clowns, but I digress.

I'm always looking for a bargain, and when I find one, I try to get it. My DIL has roosters in her kitchen. In fact I bought her a plate with one on it that has the same colors as her kitchen. It looks pretty on the black granite counter.

So, I bought this rooster. Now contrary to what you may be thinking, this rooster has not been shot with #9 birdshot. The holes are there on purpose. Gives it a filigree' look. And I love the color on the tips of the tail feathers. He is actually a little darker than the picture gives him credit for being.

Anyway, I think I got a good deal. Now I shop in lots of places. For instance, TJMaxx is a favorite of mine for cookware, dishes and such. Remember the Butler's Pantry dinner plates and dessert plates I bought for cheap. Well, lately I've hit a few other spots including Tuesday Morning and Dollar General and Big Lots. I paid a whole 6 dollars for this little goodie(paid 2 for the rooster plate) and even though my picture taking isn't up there with some of yours, I want you to guess whether I got my little bargain at TJMaxx, Tuesday Morning or Dollar General or Big Lots. Leave me a comment, and I'll do a random drawing(if there's more than one comment) and you will get a surprise. You don't have to be right. And by the way, daughter#1, since you already know the answer, keep your fingers off the keyboard cause what I really want to know is if my taste is really good and I can spot a diamond in the rough, or if I got took.

Whichever it is, my DIL will be getting this rooster and whether she likes my choices or not, she's nice enough not to tell me to take my 'junk' and go home.

Are you a bargain hunter? I'm not much of a shopper, but when I have to venture out, and if I find what I think is a good bargain, I try to take advantage of it.

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

A Gnome By Any Other Name

I purchased a gnome in July of last year. He's the one on the left. Took it to dinner with my friends, and had a lot of fun with it. You can read about that in this post. The other day while I was thinking about my impending trip to So. Texas, I was thinking I will have to take Jerome with me(that's what I named him). You aren't supposed to leave home without your gnome, ya know.

Then when I was getting my friend's birthday gift ready to send, I ran across another gnome about the size of mine. I purchased him and brought him to work. It was as if Jerome had found his long lost brother. They have been inseparable since. So when I take my trip, I must take them both with me.

Do you think we'll make it through customs? I guess I'll have to either wrap them really well and put them in my checked case or take them in my carry on bag. I'll have to start an album of all the places Jerome goes. Poor fellow, if he likes to travel much, he's in trouble, cause I don't go many places anymore.

PS. My software was already loaded on my pc at work, but I loaded it again. It wasn't until I watched the tutorial that I found that I had not been playing by the rules of how to connect your camera to the pc. Seems you have to turn off the camera, insert the usb cord into said camera, then plug into the port on the pc, then turn the camera on. Four simple steps. When you do the right order, works like a charm. Kinda like most other things.

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

No Bread on the Shelves - Must be Snowing

Funny thing happens when it snows in our area. There is no bread on the store shelves. I went out to the Dollar Store late yesterday afternoon, and there wasn't a loaf of bread to be found. Not that I wanted any. It was just something I noticed. Any time there's going to be snow, people run out and buy bread. I guess they think if they get snowed in, they'll be able to make plenty of toast.

It was in the 60's here during the week. The weather men kept telling us that we would have snow, but I don't think anyone really believed it. But yesterday about 1:00pm, it began to snow with a vengeance. Flakes about the size of a dime.

They didn't fall down either. They fell sideways.

We ended up with about 8 inches by the time it finished around 12:30am this morning. It was beautiful coming down, and the yard looks like it's been sprinkled with diamonds today. It is just above freezing, and supposed to get warmer as the day progresses.

Our first service and class was cancelled this morning. Second service will go on as usual, if people can get up the hill to the building. The roads will have cleared off enough that we can go tonight without any problems. And we are supposed to have temperatures in the low 70's by mid week.

I hope you are staying warm and dry or else are out playing in the snow.

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

Superhero and Mr. Bill

I know I've told you about taking Superhero(5 year old grandson) to church with me on Wednesday night. He then spends the night with me, and I take him to school the next morning.

I help feed the college age kids a meal on Wednesday nights, so Superhero is left to his own devices, when I find myself forgetting he's there. I worry about where he is, who he's bothering, and what he might be getting into.

Well, he's made a friend and it allows me to do what I need to and not worry about him. We have a retired gentleman(Mr. Bill)who opens the building any time it needs to be opened. If you need in for something, you can even call him and he's right there to let you in.

We have a very large building with lots of doors, lights and other things that have to be touched prior to services. This is something that often gets taken for granted. It's just always done.

Mr. Bill has taken Superhero under his wing. He lets him open the classroom doors, and turn on all the lights. He takes him along as he does his rounds of getting everything ready so that we can continue to take things for granted. But Superhero loves it. When I went to find him last night to make sure he ate some dinner, they were putting some things they'd found into the lost and found box and having a great disucssion about each item.

On the way to school this morning, he was telling me about helping Mr. Bill. It dawned on me that this 5 year old knows more about this building than I do. But the most important thing is that he's found an older man that is patient, loving and kind that allows him to help, and you hear all that in his voice, and you see it in the way he is so gentle with a nosey, talkative 5 year old.

Thank you Mr. Bill. I am forever in your debt.

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

Pictures on Blogs

I'm not very good at doing things to my blog. Partly because I just don't seem to have the time to play with it. That comes from having to work a 40 hour week and then spending time with my grandchildren. The first I complain about, but not the latter.

I would like to post more pictures of 'stuff' but loading the pictures at home is a slow process, and I don't have a dock here at work. So thinking about that, I remembered I at one time had a cord that would allow me to load from my camera to my pc. It wouldn't charge the battery or anything like the docking station at home, but it would allow me to get my pictures loaded so that I could add them to my post.

I looked high and low and low and high for my cord. Like my birth certificate, it was nowhere to be found(are you seeing a pattern here?). Daughter#2 thought she might have a cord that would work, but the plug was too big for my camera. So I went to Office Depot and bought what I needed, or at least I thought I did. It does fit, but when I attach it to my pc and then to my camera, it wants to run through an unzip process, and I can never make it unzip and then save the photos to my harddrive. Now, I know it is mostly my ineptitude that keeps me from being able to make this work, but that's beside the point.

So dear Blog friends, until either I or someone who has more sense than I can get my pics to upload from my desk, there just won't be too many pictures and this irritates me.

What is irritating you today?

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

Why I Need A Passport

I'd love to tell you tales of being a CIA operative, or a member of some other covert group, but alas, I just need to be able to go to Mexico to shop.

I'm going to visit my friend in S Texas next month, and while there, go over to Mexico to shop. However, now that you need a passport to make that trip, I am in need of one. I'll be ordering one tomorrow. I just hope I get it back in time.

I now have the birth certificate, and may still be able to get over and back with just that, but I guess we'll see in the event I don't get the passport back in time.

And if I don't make it to Mexico, that's ok. I plan to have a great time regardless.

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

My Mother's Birthday

Yesterday was my mother's birthday. She would be 85 today if she were alive. She was born Julia Levelle Zeiger on February 20th, 1929.

She was only 7 months old when her mother died leaving her in the care of her father and 4 older siblings. Her father remarried, and had 4 more children. She was definitely a middle child.

She spent a good bit of her life with her father's sister, Gertie Creech, who loved her like a daughter, and to whom she was devoted.

As you can imagine, she didn't have an easy life. Being shuffled around as a small child wasn't easy I'm sure. But I don't ever remember hearing her complain about her early life. It was just accepted as part of ordinary living.

At the end of WWII, when my would be father came home from the war, they met and married. She then began life as a farmer's wife. Soon their first child was born-that would be my older brother, then a couple of years later, I arrived on the scene.

On our farm, we raised pigs, chickens, cotton, soybeans, strawberries and wheat. We had a cow for milk, and I don't ever remember being hungry. Mother made biscuits 3 times a day. She was the one who milked the cow, and took care of the chickens.

It was not an easy life, and then my younger brother came along. But we didn't notice that it was hard. Our lives were much like those of every other family we knew. None of us had much money, so there wasn't fancy clothes to envy, no name brand sneakers, or jackets with high priced logo's on them. We all wore our Tuff Nut denim jeans, our Keds sneakers and homemade shirts. We looked like all the other kids at school.

My mother's life was cut short. She died in an automobile accident on June 19, 1969 at the age of 44 on her way back from a job interview. We never did find out if she got the job. Doesn't matter anyway. We miss her still. I'm sorry that my children and the children of my brothers never got to know this amazing woman. All we can do is tell them about her and hope they see the same traits in us. And I sincerely hope I have some of them.

Hope you have a great Friday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Birth Certificates and Passports

Do you know where your birth certificate is? I thought I knew where mine was, and after spending a week looking for it, I knew it was time to get a new one. When you apply for a new birth certificate, the form plainly says allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery. I know that government agencies don't get in any hurry. First they have to wait for your check to clear, and then allow time for it to bounce and come back. Then they get around to processing your order.

I don't have 4 to 6 weeks to wait, but I ordered one last week by snail mail. That was $12.00. I knew that wasn't going to work, so I called the Arkansas Bureau of Vital Statistics and was told exactly what I already knew. But the lady to whom I spoke suggested that I go to a web site and I could have one expedited for a nice fee. That was another $12 for the certificate, $11 for the expeditious treatment, and $15 for FedEx to deliver. I ordered it on Tuesday and got it yesterday. And it has an official seal, so I think I'm in good shape.

I'm up early this morning to make a trip to the nearest 'Receiving Agency' to apply for the passport. I guess then I'll see how long it takes for it to make it here. You may be wondering what a 'Recieving Agency' is. Well, that's a designated post office. The one on the Campus where I work is one and I think the main post office in town is one also. I don't know for sure if the post office on campus is open on Saturday morning, so I'm heading that way in just a bit to see.

I got my mug shot taken last week for my passport, and I have my application filled out, so if I can just get it expedited, I'll be in good shape.

It's been a busy week at work. We have a lady who may have to either go to part time or go on disability, and we have been doing some reorganizing this past week. Someone has to learn her job, and someone has to learn their job, and we begin to feel like dominos falling. So, I'm doing my job, and learning a new one. I have been living in a comfort zone for a while now with my job. But now, I'm having to go outside that zone and learn lots of new information. It will be all right. You really can teach an old dog new tricks. I just worry about the people who will have to put up with my learning curve. Hopefully, it won't bee too long.

I hope you have an enjoyable Saturday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Wordless Wednesday?

I know you can have a Wordless Wednesday, but anyone who knows me very well, knows 'wordless' just insn't in my vocabulary. So since I can't be wordless, I'll just complain today.

First, I got my taxes done the other afternoon. I have one source of income, and two houses. That is all I have to worry about for my taxes. The only thing that had to be itemized was the interest that had been paid on the two houses and the lot that is contiguous to one of the houses. We also added my property and personal tax and charitable contributions. For this, and it took about 15 minutes to do the whole thing, I was charged $176 bucks. Now I'm not a chinch, least I don't think I'm one, but I think that's a bit much. I think next year, it will be TurboTax or something.

Next, I don't know what happened to the cord that came with my camera a few years ago that you use to upload pictures to your pc without your base, so I went and spent $30 bucks on a new one, but for some reason I can't get the pictures to load. This means the pictures I was going to put on my blog today aren't there.

I've gripped enough for one day. The sun is shining and it's a balmy 65 degrees outside. I should be happy. How about you? What's your complaint today?

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

Who's getting Axed?

Which character is going to die on Brothers and Sisters?

I have watched Brothers and Sisters since it's inception a couple of years ago. I like how they have addressed some of the social issues. I don't care for the fact they have the gay brother with his partner, and that they now have Sol in a gay relationship, but I can overlook both those, because I'm a huge Sally Fields fan.

I like the way she pushes her way into every situation. There seem to be several protagonists in the show since there are always multiple plots going on. But I think I like the bickering the best. This is something my family never did. My two brothers have never been as embeded in each other's lives as the Walker siblings are, so it's fun to see how they interact and fight.

Last night in the previews, they indicated several plots happening, but the main one is that someone is going to die. Who is it? As they were showing the previews, I tried to give it some thought, but came up blank.

Tell me who you think it is and why.

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

Are you Superstitious?

If you've looked at the calendar, you know it's Friday the 13th. There are probably people who won't get out of bed or leave their house today. Not me! I'm not superstitious at all.

My first husband's grandfather(for whom both my son and grandson are named)was. He'd walk a city block to keep from walking where a black cat had crossed. He wouldn't walk under a ladder(but wait, wouldn't it just make sense not to walk under a ladder?) He threw salt over his shoulder, and he'd never start a job on Friday he couldn't finish that day.

He had a lot more, but those are the ones I remember best. He was a lovely, wonderful man that I miss and who I think of often. But superstitious, yes, he was.

How about you? Do you have any thing that you do or don't do because of superstition? I've tried to think of anything I do, but can't think of anything.

I found this link and it has some really unusual superstitions http://www.corsinet.com/trivia/scary.html If you have time, go look at them, they are quite funny, and many of them are things I'd never considered a superstition.

When I think of superstitions, I think of the Darling family on the old Andy Griffith shows, and the movie 'The Shepherd of the Hills' which is one of my favorite John Wayne movies.

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

Fresh Strawberries

As we speak, I'm sitting at my desk eating fresh strawberries. I went to Sam's Club yesterday, and they had 2lb boxes for $4.37. My grandson, Superhero, loves strawberries and he was spending the night with me last night so I bought a box. I have a brother who loves strawberries too. I always try to have some when he comes home to visit in May, which is prime strawberry time in our area.

We ate a few yesterday, just to sample them, you know, and he ate on them all the way home from church last night. Then he ate a few more after we got home. I brought what was left to work this morning, and have been eating them all morning.

The picture above shows strawberries from Louisiana, but what I'm enjoying are from California. They would be much better in a pie or with cake and cool whip, but they are awfully good plain. And there wasn't a bad berry in the bunch-not one.

The sun is shining here, and best of all, the wind has stopped blowing. And it's a brisk 50 degrees. These things help with my anxiety.

And LisaJ, thanks for eating that extra helping of chicken soup on my behalf. I sure think it helped.

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

Random Thoughts on Wednesday

I seem to have a hard time keeping my thoughts together lately. I still think it's the ice storm and the aftermath, and now having the threat of severe weather last night had sent me into some kind of tailspin. I've never been afraid of storms, I don't jump into storm cellars, and I don't get scared. I don't think I was as worried about the storm as the possiblility of being without power again.

I know, you are saying, 'get over it', and I think I'm doing that. My anxiety levels have gone down several notches. A little xanax helped with that also.

My heart goes out to all those people who are still without power and now to those who were victims of the storms in Texas and Oklahoma yesterday and last night. At least the houses are still standing in this area. I think I would need a straight jacket if I had to attempt to gather my belongings from a destroyed house.

My sweet son, aka the Contractor, is doing all he can to calm my fears. He is locating a ventless, gas heater for my house, so in the event this happens again, I can stay warm in my house. He says it will also be good to use in the place of the central unit because it will be more energy efficient.

The church with which I worship is feeding about 350 of the utility workers who have been so kind as to come work in the difficult conditions for the last few weeks and who will continue to be away from their families for a few more weeks. I am on the list for potato salad, and even though I could make it, I took the lazy way out and bought 3 5lb containers from Sams today at lunch.

I hope you are holding things together better than I seem to be lately. Have a great Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Just a quick nap--Pleeeeeeze

We've began running an unscientific poll here in my office. I happened to mention yesterday that since all the disruption to my life pattern for several days, I have been unable to sleep like I think I should.

The first night I slept in my bed was Saturday night after having been at my son's house for 5 nights. I thought I'd go to sleep and basically 'sleep the sleep of the dead' for several hours. This was not the case. I could go to sleep, but couldn't seem to stay asleep. And when I would wake, I felt this compelling urge to get up. I'd wander around a bit, then either settle in the recliner or go back to bed. This same pattern has continued for the last 4 nights.

I mentioned to one of the girls here in the office about my restless sleep, and she said she was having the same problem. I spoke with another fellow in the break room this morning, and he was surprised when I told him about my troubles, and he said the same was happening to him.

Now I'm beginning to wonder if this is a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I realize that none of us have suffered what the troops suffer, and I know this covers a lot of things, but I'm wondering if we aren't also suffering from some type of traumatic stress.

We were forced to either leave our homes, or stay and deal with the cold. We wondered if we would be able to feed our families while we had no power. We had no idea how long it would be before we regained power(and some are still 2 or 3 weeks away). If you left your home, you didn't know what kind of damage you'd find on your return. You wondered if your home would still hold all your belongings, or if in your absence, someone had removed your valuables. If you had a generator, you had to chain it to your house and hope it didn't get stolen. If you try to live frugally, you grieved over the loss of the food in your refrigerator. The thoughts of having to deal with the insurance companies if you did have damage. There were just too many unknowns that it made for an unsettling situation.

But one of the main things, was lying in the very dark quiet at night, listening to the hum of the generator, and the trees breaking, falling and the sound of ice crashing was like broken glass. Thefalling ice sounding like breaking glass made me think of the night in 1938 during WWII the Jewish people called Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass. This is a sound I'll never forget. It actually sounded like a war going on in the distance. Hearing and sometimes watching the transformers arc and hum as the lines were breaking and the eerie strangeness of the whole thing. We were very fortunate that we didn't suffer a great deal. We have been hearing stories of people who couldn't get out of their homes, had no place to go if they could, and were eating cold food directly out of cans.

I certainly don't campare myself to the horrors of war, or the injustices done to the Jews during WWII, however, the Ice Storm of 2009 will be with me for many years to come. I'm just hoping I can get some sleep since my employer frown on my napping at my desk.

One last thought--I'm going to watch the birth rate in late September and early October. I guess this will also be unscientific, but I'm going to see if the number of babies relate to the number of families without TV during the storm.

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

The Iceman Came!

Yes, the ice came, and thankfully, now is gone. And you know what? I didn't get a single picture of the beautiful disaster.

My power was out until Saturday about 6pm, but I was able to sleep in my bed that night and everyone since. Now it's time for the chiropractic treatments to begin after sleeping on the floor and assorted other places for five nights.

I think this episode has wrought havoc on my sleeping (and eating)patterns. I was eating what I should, I was sleeping well, and then this happened. I not only couldn't sleep well, but we lay awake at night listening for the limbs to break and the ice to fall. Then there was the noise of the generator(for which I'm forever thankful) and last but not least the super heater that the Contractor uses to dry drywall and paint, etc. It sounds like a jet taking off when it comes on, needless to say it woke us anytime it kicked on.

But for my family being together, unharmed and armed with a few stories, I am eternally grateful.

I really don't know what I'd have done without my son to take me in, cook for me and keep me warm and dry. It would have been quite chilly had I been at my house. On Wednesday, when I went to check on things, it was 44 degrees in my house.

On Saturday morning, I again ventured down to my place to clean out the fridg and freezer. I hadn't lost everything, but still quite a bit. I don't have a big freezer, I just have what is above the fridg, so I'm not complaining about what I lost.

There are still many families who have no power. Some are in shelters, some are trying to stick it out and stay home.

Hopefully, things will get back to normal--whatever that is.

Hope you have had a good Wednesday. Pray for our country. Love one another.

Ice Storm of 2009

It started raining and freezing yesterday afternoon about 4ish. We then had freezing rain and sleet all night.

I left home and came to my son's house. If the power goes out, I have no way to heat my house. He has a big fireplace that will heat most of the downstairs, so I camped out with Superhero last night. We slept in the floor(because he wanted to, not because it was necessary).

The trees have a heavy coat of ice with more to come today and tonight. We are expecting to be without power, possibly for several days.

I wish I could show some pictures of the back yard here. There are lots of skinny oak trees and several really tall pine trees that are covered with ice. They look as if they are draped in lace. We also have nice fat icicles hanging from the roof. We could hear trees snapping and popping during the night, but don't see any down this morning.

I'm concerned about my 4 small(4 year old) Redbud trees. I'm afraid they will all split and have to be cut down. They are so pretty in the spring, I'd hate to lose them, but I guess we'll cross that bridge if we have to. I'm thankful the 13 pine trees are gone. At least I don't have to worry about any mess they would make.

I hope you are staying warm and dry today.

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

PS. Go visit Chickens In the Road and vote for her blog. She has the link in her post this morning.

A Puzzling Thing

Have you ever received a 'Forbidden You don't have permission to access /blog/ on this server' thing from a blog you read? I'm not sure whether its a glitch or if I've actually been removed from being able to read a particular blog.

I've never had anything like this happen before. The blog that I'm getting this message on is 'Chickens In The Road'. I've been reading this blog for quite sometime, and occasionally comment, but I can't for the life of me understand why I've been ex-communicated.

I make it a point to never say anything negative about anything anyone has posted, so I know that's not the reason. And let's face it, I'm a nice person(at least I think I am).

Needless to say, if I have been intentionally cut off, I'm totally devasted. If you can get in from your blog, please let me know. Or if you know an innocent reason why I got this message, I'd like to know that as well.

My day is off to a bad start, what with the bad weather coming and not being able to read a blog that I normally read.

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

Oldest Grandson's Birthday

As I was going to purchase a gift card for my oldest grandson who will be 24 on Sunday, I was thinking about all my grandchildren and the fun I've had with them.

My oldest grandson was the only one I had for several years until his brother came along. So I got to spend a lot of time with just him. He had no competition. He would come and spend the weekend with me quite often, and I took him everywhere I went. And the thing was he never complained.

He's a pretty laid back young man, just as he was a kid. He was never any trouble. In fact, he entertained himself so well, that I would forget he was there. One day when he was about 5, maybe 6, I got into the car to run to the store and was half way down the street when I remembered he was at the house. I'm not sure if he would have noticed if I had gone on and came back after my errand, but I went backand got him.

Occasionally, when we're all together, he'll say 'grandma, remember when we did......or remember when you took me.....' I guess before he outgrew me(and believe me, they all do), I was taking him to the wrestling that was happening at the fire station in our small community. That was some sort of entertainment, but he seemed to like it.

I also let him drive my car. When he would come, we would get out and drive the country roads so he could learn to drive. My car was small and easy to handle. It was front wheel drive and would drive itself out of a ditch if I needed it to. Fortunately, we never needed to when he was at the wheel.

I don't get to see him very often anymore. He's working, and busy with his own life, and probably wouldn't want grandma hanging around too much(might cramp his style). I do get to see him on special occasions-Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July. We are celebrating his birthday so I'll get to see him tonight. He got to pick the restaurant. We used to go to McDonald's or Burger King. Fortunately, he's out of that stage.

Even though I don't get to see him that often, I have great memories and more important, I think he has some too. As I've told you before, my goal in life is to be the best grandmother in the world. I may not be able to give my grandchildren material stuff, but I hope to give them good memories and lots of love.

What is your goal in life?

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

Thursday Lunch

One Thursday a month, I eat lunch with the senior singles from our church. You have to be 55 or older to go, so we have people 55 and older. In fact, I think one lady is approaching 90.

We always have a good time. I have to eat and hurry back to work since I'm about the only one who has a job. The rest are pretty much retired, or self-employed. The lady who is nearly 90 has her own business, and works 6 days a week. I can't imagine that, but she is probably in better shape than I am.

Today we discussed taking a trip. We have a new bus at church that holds 32 people, and some are itching to use it. Since I work, I probably won't be taking too many trips. They are wanting to go to the Passion Play at Eureka Springs, or to Branson, Mo. I don't really have much desire to go to either place. I've been to Branson twice in the last 30 years, and that was one time too many.

I've never been to Eureka Springs, but I'm just not a passion play type of gal.

And I'm not really a stick in the mud, really I'm not.

Are you making any plans for a vacation in the near future? Is so, tell me where you are going. I need some fresh ideas. Or just tell me somewhere you've been that you think I should go--and the place that might freeze over is not an option.

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

Where's My Stimulus Check?

The parties are over and it's time for the new president to hit the ground running. So the burning question in my mind is 'where's my stimulus check?'

They've given the banks and automakers tons of money, so I'm ready for mine. I'm not expecting a ton, but a few hundred would sure be nice. I'll be checking my mailbox every day.

On a different note, I'd like to thank those of you who sent me your meatloaf recipes. I will try them and my oldest daughter has agreed to sample each and every one. Like I'm going to share. Who does she think she is anyway?

Not much going on around here today. It's a typical hump day, because I'm already looking forward to the weekend.

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

Historic Day

Today is a historic day. Not only will our 44th president be sworn in today, but also our first African American president. Folks, we are part of history!!!

Whether or not I voted for Senator Obama or not is at this point unimportant. What is important is that I do everything I can to support him. He has now obtained an office that deserves my respect, and, he will have it. There will be things he does that I won't like, but I will not dis-respect him. But there were also things I didn't like that the former presidents have done that I didn't like, but I didn't dis-respect them either.

However, the thing of which I'm most proud today is that I'm not part of the expected 2 million people who will be in DC for the inauguration. It's cold there, and I don't like being cold. I'd much rather be right here in my office with this little heater going at my feet and staying warm. I'll be able to see it as often as I'd like, because you know it will be replayed on every tv station every 15 minutes for days. And let's not forget U-Tube. You know it will be there.

And just where are these 2 million people going to go when nature calls? How many porta-potties will be available? This would be my number one concern at this point. Some of those people have been here all night.

There was a time when the inauguration was held in March. But I think sometime in April or even May would be good. Have it when the cherry blossoms are blooming. It would be much more comfortable and beautiful at the same time.

Maybe I should go to the Bush after party. It will be much warmer in Midland, Tx than in DC. There probably won't be nearly as much competition for the bathrooms, and Lee Greenwood is going to entertain. He's one of my favorite singers. And I'm sure he'll do 'I'm Proud to be an American'. Bet there'll be some good barbeque at that shindig as well.

But since I'm not invited to either party, I'll stay right here in Arkansas, mind my own business(no comments from my children) and try to be the best American I can be.

I am proud to be an American. How about you?

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