Lu's Place

Tax Time Then and Now

2012-01-24T14:06:00.000-06:00

When I was a little girl, we lived on a farm. We had a tax man that nobody liked. He counted every bit of livestock, chickens, and even came in the house to see if our linoleum went clear to the wall on all four sides.
My mother always tried to be gracious to him like she was with everyone else, but I am sure it was at times difficult.
Taxes took the profit right off the top sometimes.
I do remember, though, that he never got rolls and coffee like other visitors.
Now days we don't live on a farm. I am sure that the farmers still are taxed on their animals, just like my folks were, but wall to wall linoleum? I don't think so.
I wish you all good thoughts at tax time, personal and federal, and state.

The Today Show

2012-01-13T15:57:00.000-06:00

This morning I was having breakfast with Marie. I had coffee and one egg and a piece of toast. I felt fine.......
I helped Marie to her chair and burst into tears. Not boo hoo but gulp and tears running down my cheeks. I was watching the 60th anniversary of the Today show. There were people on the clips that I used to enjoy watching. A LOT of people.
I told myself that I was being silly. I went to the kitchen to tidy up and the television was showing some folks that used to have hair and that now are bald; used to be brunettes and now are blondes, etc.
Tom Brokaw was living not far from where I lived in South Dakota. He is growing older with his gray hair (like me) wears glasses. He was saying that he lived in such a remote area that they didn't get television until 1954; yup I know that to be true.
I don't have a clue why I was feeling so sensitive about a show being almost as old as I am. Weird.

Starting the New Year Out Right!

2012-01-10T15:20:00.000-06:00

This sounds so silly, but I just had to share this with you.
When my daughter and oldest son were about four and six, we had two bathrooms. Now 40 years later, once again, we have two bathrooms.
This has been a wonderful day. It is called relief with no worries. We now have Marie, so there are three of us.
And...the only place we have for it is the laundry room!! Who cares? Not me.

Well, guys off to go look at the pretty new commode.
Bye!!

Pretty Woman Syndrome

2012-01-09T17:47:00.000-06:00

My favorite movie of all times is "Pretty Woman." In that movie she is all dressed up fit to kill to accompany Richard Gere, millionaire to eat snails for one of the courses in this ultra snitzy restaurant.
She was given a "tool" to crack the shell. When she attempted to do that the snail flew across the room and the waiter caught it. He reassured her and said, "It happens all the time."

I decided to have homemade beef vegetable soup tonight for supper with cabbage from our garden this last summer. Oh, yummy. I thought about my friend, Carole, because she always wanted honey butter with her cornbread.
I am not a big fan, but thought that Marie and Fran might like some.
I have no clue what happened. I used a teflon pan and greased it. The cornbread wouldn't come out, and all of a sudden the cornbread went flying through the air, but it landed on the serving plate.
The compliments were abundant (like silence). I was the only person that tried it. It tasted like wallpaper paste smells. I have a feeling that little "J" box has been in my cupboard for about 5 years. YUK!!!
My husband seldom laughs out loud. Usually just a grin. But this brought out the ha ha's.
Look at the paper plate that the piece flew on. Doesn't it look like a saltine cracker? Probably couldn't do that again.

You guys have a good week, probably won't be on again for awhile.

Happy New Year From Marie!

2012-01-09T16:44:00.000-06:00

Marie would like to wish everyone a very happy new year. Last year was difficult to say the least. She broke her hip and had to stay in a rehab center for two months. She finally got home and two weeks later broke her wrist. She required a lot of therapy for that too.

Then her son Roland passed away in November. Thank goodness we live just up the hill so she has come to live with us.

Fran is remodeling that house to a great extent and it looks great.

Marie has settled in and seems to be happy. We and Marie hopes that this year is much better than the last one!!!

The Best Sunday

2011-11-27T17:29:00.000-06:00

This was the best Sunday after Thanksgiving in my whole life. All of my children and two of my grandchildren were here plus my son's girfriend and her three boys. There was lots of laughter and pictures, so the best way for me to do it was with a collage.
We heated the porch so the poor kitchen wouldn't explode!
We deep fat fried a turkey had homemade apple and pumpkin pie. Yum! Those were made by Mike's girlfriend. My granddaughter lives in South Dakota and I haven't seen her for years Needlessto say she got lots of hugs.My daughter and her daughter came on Saturday and we played Wii the bowling game but I didn't know if I could do it now, but I held onto my walker and did pretty good. Fran's Mom is living with us now and my family treated her just like another grandma. Her meal schedule was not like it usually is, but she was good natured about it.
I hope and pray that our family gets together more often from now on. If for some reason, we can't, I will always be thankful for this wonderful day!

I Have Never......

2011-11-24T16:49:00.000-06:00

Well, if you add a lot of water to cream of wheat, it turns a whitesh gray color and leaves a bit of little texture pieces on your tongue. That was our ~~gravy~~ jelly.
If you have a husband that is in a hurry to eat, he takes broccoli off the burner early and by the time the rest of us eat it is ice cold.
He served us only white meat, (not my favorite, but it is his and his mother's, hmm).
Our cranberry sauce, cheese, and pickles were absolutely wonderful. The mashed potatoes weren't bad either. Covered with gruel or not, My mother-in-law said, "maybe you should put more thickining in it." You think?
I told my daughter this and she said," there is always next year."
I certainly hope so because this one will go down in history for the absolute worst. Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. I know I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

He Will Always Be There

2011-11-19T13:48:00.000-06:00

I think it is interesting how a lot of us take our friends and family for granted as far as they will always be there. I also think that is why death takes us for a shock and a surprise for those that know, and love them.
Even though folks are sick, have grey hair, and start losing weight, we often think that that is part of the aging process. And then one day they are gone.
My husband's brother passed away very suddenly this week, and we knew he was sick, but his death was a shock nonetheless.
Rest, Roland and be at peace.

2011-11-19T13:39:00.000-06:00

The Sound Of The Drums Again

2011-11-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

Every so often, I go to the hospital to hear the sound of the drums and horns and simulated car crashes. Weird? Yes, it is. M.R. I. tests for multiple sclerosis are at times done in this tomb that is almost essential for this test as well as spinal taps etc.
Plus those noises, they put head phones on you that are playing the music of your choice from a radio station. When the noise from the M.R.I is deafening it seems that the music is even louder at the point where you want to scream.
This year I had more difficulty than I ever have had before. I am much shakier and had trouble keeping my head and body still. My mind wandered (a mechanism I have, to leave my body behind while I think of something nicer.) Only this time it didn't work. When my daughter was a teenager she had either a M.R.I or CT Scan and was allergic to the contrast. I didn't recognize her when she came out. Her face was so distorted. I will never forget her father's reaction.To avoid the situation he told me he had to move the car. In my mind, I wanted to move the car. I don't ever want to live that over again, but I did yesterday. The reason was the contrast gave me a cool feeling going through my vein and it smelled like formaldahyde. I thought for sure I was even being imbalmed.
Needless to say, I survived the test and shouldn't have to have another one for two or three years.
I am increasingly more forgetful. I could have done without those memories yesterday!!

What We Did Years Ago

2011-10-31T09:12:00.000-05:00

Before sick-o's ruined my fun, my mother, my sister and I would make all kinds of popcorn balls. I mean tons of popcorn balls. Popcorn balls were my mother's thing for Christmas and Halloween. Orange syrup for Halloween, of course, and red and green for Christmas.
Mother made home made syrup, but I didn't. My syrup got to "hard ball" quickly so you ended up scraping on a cement block for your treat. About a century ago a syrup made of marshmellows came to save me. The popcorn balls remained soft and delicious.
We gave out apples, candy, and my favorite Milky Way.
The kids's dad always wanted the little ones to give him their candy so that he could "check" it to make sure it was good for them. lol
So every year they would fall for it and willingly give him their little pumpkins. And then the squeals would begin with dad and children fun fighting over the candy. I was telling Fran about that and he laughed. I could almost see him thinking, "smart man." Towards the later years, the treats ended up being nickels. Where did the fun go? I handed out nickels a few years ago, and a little boy said, "but don't you have any candy?" Hmm.

I Would If I Could But I Can't!

2011-10-26T18:57:00.000-05:00

I have a "thing" about wearing shoes and jackets. I feel trapped and very uncomfortable.
Today was cruddy outside. It was fifty degrees, too breezy, and drizzly. So of course, we chose today to go to WalMart. About fifteen miles down the highway I started to struggle with my jacket. The jacket was lined with flannel and my shirt was denim trimmed with corduroy. Hmm. There was nothing slippery going on. My brilliant husband let me huff and puff all to no avail. Finally he said, "give me your arm!" So there was a discussion that lasted until we almost went into the ditch and with me not really screaming but with a very high pitched voice. "If I could get my arm out I wouldn't need your help!" Needless to say, I walked into WalMart with no jacket and just cuddled up to hubbie.

The Memory Jar

2011-10-22T12:59:00.001-05:00

Years ago I received a really wonderful gift from my daughter. It looked like a big candle jar, but it was a frosty looking thing with "memories" going in diagonal without the frosty on the jar.
The slips of paper were in three or four different shades of pastel paper with typed little memories and one by one put in the jar.
At the time I got that jar, I thought how cool. I have kept that jar all those years and have shown it to my friends, but for several years have actually forgotten about it.
I have it on display in my bookcase because it is pretty. I was "puttering" this morning while my computer was getting cleaned out and thought, "I think I will look at those pretty little slips of memories." Well, I got a surprise, most of her memories I had forgotten. What a shame! They sounded like such fun. I could have cried, however, I am so happy that I had made her life happy when she was a child and a young woman. There were some memories that I think her father made possible. I absolutely KNOW that I would never ever have permitted her to have a telephone in her room.
So my message to you folks, go through your "memory jars" your scrap books, and albums and anything that will jog your brain to make you smile, because if you don't someone will beat you to it!

Seek And You Shall Find A Bunch Of Junk

2011-10-17T13:23:00.000-05:00

Fran has been on a fall house cleaning jag this fall. Today he bought me some new hangers because we were out after we gave some to his mom when she was in the nursing home. After about fifteen minutes,he brought me two sacks of hangers. And gave me a sarcastic remark about the amount of hangers we had.
The search for hangers got him on a "clean out the closet two hour manic obsessive compulsive "bag up trash out" and a mumbling I think lecture for me."
However, when I was allowed in there I did see three pairs of boots that he had been looking for, new shirts that hadn't been opened from last year. His turkey hunting mask, 9V batteries, Oh I could go on for hours.
I thought this was so fun. I think his next task should be cleaning out dresser drawers or I could clean out his "stuff" in the shed. That should go over really big.
I should have had the camera out when this was going on, but I don't think that would have been a good idea!!

Do You Have Any Regrets Along The Way?

2011-10-16T10:43:00.000-05:00

For many years I worked with the elderly in long term care. I saw that many of them had no family that visited. It was especially noticed at holiday time. We made sure that all residents had gifts at Christmas time. We made sure that there were parties at Easter, St. Patricks Day, and most other holidays like Thanksgiving. I used to worry to some extent that the gifts were generic. I have seen that in years gone by; gifts were tagged "boy" and "girl for little folks that parents didn't have funds to buy them gifts at holidays.

My brother lived in another state and couldn't come "home" very often. My sister by the time I am talking about had passed on. Before she died she kept my mom company while I was working with the residents.

I remember especially one Mother's Day that I was putting flowers on the tables, watching the families visiting with their folks and felt a pang almost of jealousy. I wanted to be home with my mother. However, if I wanted to keep my job, I had to be at the facility. I found myself looking over my shoulder at an especially large group and didn't see a large spill on the floor and fell very graciously in the coffee.

You all know that I am a very nostalgic person and I talk about my family a lot. Fran has a junk drawer that is sacred to him and I have a "top drawer" that is sacred to me.

Here is a birthday card to me from my mother when she was 82. Note her handwriting. She died when she was 90. I hope you all have a drawer that is really special to you. In that same drawer I have a letter from my brother. I don't know how old that one is but I am sure it is old. None the less it is saved in the top drawer.

Beautiful Day At The Lake

2011-10-14T18:30:00.001-05:00

Little things mean a lot as we get older. The way little babies smell works it's way into our mind and as that happens we remember...
A young child's hug is worth it's weight in gold, the funny things they say are worth writing down.
It seems like last year I wrote a story about Lady Autumn showing off her new finery before Mrs. Winter ruined it. (October 22, 2009) I went to Fran's mom's house and asked her if she would like to go to the lake and see the pretty leaves. She said she would. However, when we got there, we were a bit diasappointed. She only got to see one red tree and one yellow tree. That was interesting because we have several trees that have turned here in this area.
The one thing we did get to see was white caps caused by the thirty mile an hour winds. Kind of fun to sit by the dock and watch.
The air was clean and crisp. We wish you all could have been with us.

They Called Her Aunt Lu

2011-10-12T11:52:00.001-05:00

My grandma's name was Lulu. All of her nieces and nephews called her Aunt Lu. I was just a little girl thinking, "why do they all call her that, she's grandma." At that stage of my life, my mom and dad 's name were their given name to everyone but me etc.
Most often people that are really close to me call me Lu, except Fran. He always calls me, "she, her etc." he uses LuAnne also once in awhile.
One thing I am so grateful for is that my parents did not name me Lulu.
The main reason is that when I was little there was a cartoon character named Lulu. She was a crazy looking little girl . She had a
little knot on top of her head. And....she was always getting into trouble. Nothing like me.... especially the knot on top of my head.lol

Fifteen Pounds of Potatoes

2011-10-06T15:02:00.000-05:00

Fall is upon us thus, being time like spring, to clean out closets and under the bed etc.. I have no basement or I would clean it too. I was cheerfully folding clothes to go to Goodwill and then there it was....
My favorite pair of jeans from years gone by. I was going to fold them and put them in the bag too. I longingly held them up to me and in my imagination pictured myself still wearing them. They are so pretty.
My daughter asked me the other day how my diet was coming. I told her I had lost one more pound. I explained to her that when you're over sixty an unwanted pound attatched to the waist, hips, legs, face, etc. does NOT want to come off. In the last six months I have lost almost fifteen pounds. No carbs (much).
Anyway, I put the jeans up to my waist and I just knew they wouldn't fit, but I thought, "what the heck" and then they slipped right on. Believe it or not my husband noticed. His remark was, "a new pair of jeans?" I'll take what I can get. lol
Some times it pays to clean and sometimes to cut back on the carbs a little.

Cell Phones vs. Landlines

2011-10-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

I hate bills. I hate unneeded bills. You know, a long time ago, there were no cell phones. First crank type telephones with an operator to dial for you, then the first land line phones were sometimes called princess phones. They still work in this day and age when the power goes out. Mobile phones do not. I don't think that a lot of cell phones do either. I have a princess phone that is at least forty years old. Princess phones were pink, blue, white, yellow anything that would match the decor of the room it would be in.
It always rings out or in when it is needed. I had one that was mother's and bought another at a flea market so I had an extra one. Forty years is a long time.
This little article started when I wanted to call a farmer about some apples that he usually has for sale. Well, I know where he lives. On Hwy M. So I got out the phone book. There was a person by the last name and an address. I couldn't be sure if the person that sold apples or not and I wasn't about to get embarrassed at this time of night.
I told my husband , "you know what? it won't be too far in the future that there will not be any telephone books, because there will not be any landlines."
Well I will tell you what, there will always be a landline in my house. The cellphone company told me the other day I need to use my cell phone more because I only used 7 minutes last month and 27 minutes the month before.
I always forget my phone at home, or I forget to charge it. My family and friends are always yelling at me. Their favorite saying is, "Mom why do you have a cell phone when you never carry it, or let it go dead."
This is not a new complaint, I may renew my contract and I may not. I don't like bills, but I will never, ever get rid of my land lines.

The Lost Is Found!!!

2011-10-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

I am sure that I am more nostalgic than most folks. Forty years ago there were no video cameras etc. However, there were cassette recorders. In those days, it was much too expensive to use the telephone to call my parents and my sister, so we would have the recorder sitting on the dining room table or even on the kitchen counter, so if I thought of something, I would stop and add to the "tape" that I would send through the mail probably for just a few cents.
My father, especially was the recorder in our family. Mother recorded her organ music that she played for her patients. She said that the music soothed the patients that were either agitated, or in horific pain.
Some time ago I found several of these tapes and put them on cd's for my brother and my children that would be interested. Then one day I wanted to play one and it was gone. I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. I called my daughter and she said she was sure she had it, but couldn't remember where.
Yesterday Fran and I decided to sing all afternoon getting in some practice for Saturday night karaoke. I asked him if he knew where the BREAD karaoke cd was and he said, "no", so I started looking and sneezing. Oh my goodness. The dust was so thick and at this point I didn't care. There was my little girl in the poncho that my mom had made her, there was the cd with my four year old and my two year old at the zoo. At one point my two year old said,"mama is it going to eat me?!" I really didn't need the cd but, oh what a warm and fuzzy it was for me to listen to and have in my hand.
I went to see my mother-in-law this afternoon and told her about it. Now she is ninety-six and she said, "Oh, I would give anything to hear my mom and father's voice again."

Nostalgia is a good thing.

Twenty Five Dollar Savings Bonds

2011-09-28T16:29:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while something or someone kicks my brain on "on" and I start thinking about something from years ago. This time it was savings bonds. When I was sixteen I wanted a piano. Of course, I had no money, but mother went into her dresser drawer and brought out an envelope with a twenty five dollar savings bond. I cannot remember if my parents bought that for me in 1944 or my grandparents did. The bonds were called War bonds and good citizens bought them to help the government find funds to fight the Germans.They really only cost about twelve dollars, but when they matured in a few years they were worth twenty-five dollars. Well, that was enough to buy me a beautiful upright piano. Oh, I was so happy!!
I continued to buy those bonds as I grew older. I would save them and go on a mommy vacation once a year. In those days it didn't take much money. I would take a bus to go to Missouri to see friends or go see my mom. (In those days we were a one car family) My husband knew that the mommie vacations were well worth letting me go and tending to the children himself. I came back like a whirlwind and ready to do dishes, laundry, cleaning and changing diapers. I was usually only gone about a day or two. Amazing, like a shot in the arm of high priced vitamins. I can still feel the refreshing savings bond blood rushing through my veins!

Young Son Points Out Aging

2011-09-27T08:53:00.000-05:00

There are many different ways that just jump out at you to tell you that perhaps you ARE getting older; forgetting things, losing things, having trouble problem solving, and word finding just to name a few.
My youngest son asked to use our camper last weekend because he had to get up in the middle of the night. He had to get up at one o'clock in the morning and didn't want to wake us up. I gave him a ~~new~~ about a year or so old digital alarm clock so he would wake up.
Yesterday he stopped by and he had a fun time with us teasing us about being able to read the clock. I said, "yes, it is very hard to read. I always have to tilt my head to get the numbers right."
He just laughed and said, "Mom, you have to peel the celephane sticker off then you can read it."
Softly I said, "Oh."
I am sure other people have had the same thing happen to them. I am also sure the directions didn't tell us to do that. ;)

The Mirror With The Perfumes

2011-09-21T09:20:00.000-05:00

I have an oval mirror in the bathroom with perfume and fingernail polish on it. It looks really pretty with all the different colors. I love perfume, but Fran doesn't, it makes him sneeze, so the lovely bottles stay on the mirror.
As I was dusting the mirror the other day, I remembered the first bottle perfume I received as a gift when I was a child. It was called Blue Waltz. I had no clue how to put it on so I practically took a bath in it. My family seemed to object to my smelly self, so I had to wash it off. I secretly agreed with them. That perfume was very inexpensive, so I repeatedly received it as a gift for a few years.
The jars were quite pretty, so I would put them on my dresser on doilies and they looked very nice.
As I grew older, probably a teenager, I thought I would make room for something else like knickknacks etc. I opened up a bottle of the perfume and it had turned to vinegar. Oh, what a horrible smelling concoction I had been saving. Oh well, the bottles were pretty.

The Renter

2011-09-10T19:34:00.000-05:00

I am sure that those of you that have had children may have heard phrases like, "I didn't do it, she did it!"
When you had children, you stubbed your toe, remember? The chair had not been put under the kitchen table like it was supposed to be. It was one of the children's fault, or "they."
Then the children grew up. There was no one to blame. Oh wait....yes there was..the spouse. Ha Ha. How easy is that?
Yesterday I asked Fran if he had rented out the front bedroom. He looked at me like I had lost my mind. He said,"Whaaaaaaat???" Well, that has been carrying on for two days now. I think that we are starting to realize that we may have been blaming the children all of those years for things we ~~did~~ may have done ,but probably not.
Fran is really getting into the game today so now it is called a two way street. Until now I was the leader of this little game!

You Can Wait 'til Tomorrow

2011-08-31T18:35:00.000-05:00

How do you tell the difference between a cold and allergies? I have never had allergies. The television says that ragweed is high and mold is high. I have been sneezing and now coughing all day.
I asked Fran if we could go get me some Kleenex and he said,"Do you think you could wait 'til tomorrow?" I couldn't believe the sympathy he gave me. lol On twitter, I said," I walk so slow, how in the world can I catch a cold."
Any way, I am sure you all will have a lot of sympathy for me, so thank you in advance!

I Can't See Black

2011-08-30T18:42:00.000-05:00

There are some odd things that come along with Multiple Sclerosis for some folks. Vison oddities are especially troublesome. Just one of the vision "things" is that I cannot see black. Odd isn't it? If I drop a black remote on a dark carpet I can't see it unless the buttons are on the top.
This week I got the cutest walker, it is pink and black. The seat is black with a pink insignia for breast cancer research. The front rod is black with the same insignia. My therapist laughed today when I told her I kept trying to pick up the pink ribbon and flick off the little one on the front rod. I have to laugh, but I continue to do it, I just can't help it.
I want to tell you also, that half of the money for the walker was donated to breast cancer research. Every little bit helps, I am sure.

Mama's Helper

2011-08-03T06:27:00.001-05:00

When I was little, about four or five, my goal in life was to be just like my mama. My mom must have had the patience of Job. I constantly chattered and asked hundreds of questions.
However, mom loved having children spaced four or five years apart so she always had a child at home with her.
She taught me how to iron when I was about four, she taught me how to stomp clothes when I was about five. She taught me how to set a nice table when I was also about five years old. The ironing was of pillowcases and dad's handerkerchiefs. The stomping was probably something quite delicate compared to sheets and overhalls etc. She taught me how to stem and snap beans, shells peas and make cookies.
The cookies she taught me how to make were very special just for a little girl to make her dad smile.
Mom did a lot of baking to pay for my sister's nursing training. So inevitably there was frosting left over from cakes, cinnamon rolls etc. Nothing was wasted at our house, but I knew nothing of that. I just knew mama made things that tasted wonderful.
One day she said,"Lu Anne, would you like to make some cookies?"What child in their right mind wouldn't say, "Yes!"
She got out a small dish of left over frosting and a package of graham crackers. She taught me how to hold the cracker in my left hand just so, so that the frosting wouldn't break it. She gave me a small spoon to spread the frosting. Then put another cracker on the top, so it ended up being a cookie like an oreo without the chocolate. Oh, how delicious! Some days the cookies were pink, some were white, some chocolate etc.
Today I was eating a graham cracker. Of course, I thought about my five year old housewife days!

The Big Chief

2011-08-02T18:49:00.000-05:00

We went to Wal Mart the other day and as we walked in there was a huge crayon, red of course, and all the way around there were slits in it filled with pages of supplies needed for each area school and each grade.
I was the old fashioned mom who loved the thought of the kids going back to school except for the cost of all the supplies and clothes, and of course pictures and school lunch tickets and on and on. It seemed if I didn't have a check book I would not have been able to send my children to school at all!
My boys were so easy to clothe. They actually liked Penny's plain pocket jeans and different t-shirts and shoes that fit. That was it!
However, they absolutely loved their new tennies. They would say, "Hey mom, look how high they can jump!" I always smiled and told them I thought they could jump higher than the ones they got last year. Big smiles for the year. My daughter by that time was able to pick out her own clothes. For a while, I had lost out with the fashion with the other girls, so I needed "help" from her. Then all was well.
Then there was me when I was school age, elementary. I was such a strange child, I didn't like change at all. I had a pair of sandels that were beautiful. I have written about them before. They were, red, yellow, and green. It was all that mom could do to not let me wear them when they were about 4 sizes too small! My dresses wouldn't fit me at some point. I would stand in front of my closet and cry because my mean ol' mom wouldn't let me wear them.
School supplies were so simple: 2 number 2 pencils, an eraser, a ruler, and a small package of Kleenex. However, the main thing was a huge tablet called The Big Chief. Many of you may remember this thing. It was perfect for penmanship. The paper was so soft that if you erased the paper would tear and your teacher was sure to see that you had a messy paper and had made a mistake.
The paper had solid lines on the top, then lines with - - - - - - -
then solid below the hyphens. This was supposed to create perfect writing to please even the most critical teachers.
The Big Chief was so heavy that if I had to guess it had about 200 pages in it. My favorite thing to do was to use my ink pen (another story) on this paper. If a little girl would do this unthinkable thing to amuse herself, the ink would act like a blotter and the ink would make almost a picture by itself. It so sad to see that that company is out of business.
There were no checks for my parents to send to school for pictures however, mom would send thirty five cents occasionally for my hot lunch or send me a cold lunch, which ever was most convenient for her. Mother always made my dresses so no shopping.
Good luck parents as you do your shopping for your children to attend the free school that our government makes sure is provided for our children.

The Broken Window

2011-08-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

One hot summer afternoon Marie got home from work. She told the kids that for once she would like them to stay out of trouble while she went outside and sat underneath a shade tree.
This story began while Fran and I were visiting her during a break from her therapy. When she was through telling the story I asked her if I could put it on the internet and she said she didn't care.
Okay, back to the story, so she had just sat down to relax and crash a sound alerted her that one of her children had not heard her to stay out of trouble!
Of course, screaming and scrambling occured when she found the youngest child with blood running down his arm. He innocently had been playing basketball and went to catch it and ran his arm through the window! Well, another trip to the hospital.
She did smile when I said, "Boy, I bet you are glad you didn't have ten children!. She agreed, and said, "but you know I am one of a very large family. And there are a lot more stories, I am sure.

A Rose By Any Other Name

2011-07-31T13:36:00.000-05:00

William Shakespear made many quotations that stayed with us for generations. Interesting that his quotations made so much sense that all of us could really have made those same remarks. Do you think that if we said that "A Rose By Any Name Would Still Smell The Same." would go down in history for all children to study and would be famous for generations if John Doe had said them?
I was listening to television commercials this morning. (They are my favorite.) When a youngster was playing chopsticks. Someone in the background said "don't you know any other song?"
I told Fran that my mother never said a word about me playing chopsticks over and over again. In fact, at times she would sit with me and play fancy chopsticks while I was playing the melody. Oh what memories. Not, perhaps like Shakespear, but nonetheless remembered for generations.

I Have An Appointment At 11:00

2011-07-29T18:46:00.000-05:00

Every time we visit Marie, she says they keep her very busy at the facility. Today we took her a picture of her granddaughter with her brand new twins. Oh, she loved it. She sat there and looked, and talked and smiled. We propped it up so she could see it from her wheelchair or bed.
She is keeping busy with her word finding books, in her spare time which is not so much.
She was telling us that she had a bath and beauty shop appointment at 10:00, a therapy appointment at 11:00 then lunch, then therapy at 1:00.
The pain is much less, the smiles more frequent. She told us that there is not much sense in getting into bed they just get me up again. Fran and I both laughed. It was so much fun seeing those eyes sparkle with amusement.
She has a hummingbird feeder with a zillion hummingbirds and butterflys feeding on all the pretty flowers right outside her big window. We can just see her getting better every day!

My Week

2011-07-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

see it hurt?

There are some weeks that there are just not enough adjectives to use. This week was, "tired," no that is just not good enough. How about "exhausted", close, but not quite. Walking with a stooped back and cane, oh pain I forgot that one! Oh, I know, wanting a nap so bad I could have cried. I laid down and bingo! the phone rings. I did not get up to answer it, but I was awake.
Heat adds to the mix and makes it all the worst case of an exhausted mess I have ever experienced.
Tomorrow I am going to mop my kitchen floor and I will actually be very happy that is all I am going to do. Not all I should do, but all I am going to do.
I would just love a cool breeze while I am just snoozing on my patio swing. Drink a lot and keep as cool as you can!

New Stories!

2011-07-21T12:58:00.000-05:00

Well, we have had quite a week around here. We took Fran's mom to the eye doctor the other day and she was having a terrible time walking. When the exam was over it took a long time to get her out to the car. Fran walked into the house to get her power chair and brought it out to the car. She drove it into the house like a pro.
I asked her if I could help her with lunch or anything else. She said she was just going to pop a tv dinner into the microwave and lay down and take a nap. I thought that was a good idea and told her so. Ten minutes after we took her home we got a call and we were told she had fallen. I called the ambulance and the hospital verified that she had broken her hip.
She is now in the hospital and is taking therapy getting ready to go to a rehab center. Fran and I toured it yesterday and it is beautiful.
Yesterday she had too much pain to do therapy, but today she is much better and was sitting up to eat her meals. She is going to be doing some walking this afternoon.
I thought this post should be all about Marie because she is a large part of our lives. She was telling a lot of stories today but some were new. In the next few days I will relate the stories that you will enjoy.

Antique, Vintage, Yummy

2011-07-17T11:08:00.000-05:00

For Fran's comfort the last two weeks he needs softer food than normal. Therefore, we have been having pancakes for breakfast and soft sandwiches for lunch.
The maple syrup bottles get so sticky. Yesterday I was washing off the sticky syrup and a thought went through my mind. My mom made her own maple syrup about ninety percent of the time. She served it in a cut glass "syrup pitcher." I never gave it a thought at the time, but that pitcher never got sticky.
Then I had another thought. On the off days, mom would serve maple syrup out of a can. Yeah, out of a can. Funny she didn't have ants all over the place. The can was about the size of a can of shortning. I looked and looked in the history of Karo and they don't show cans, but huge bottles.
I went to E-Bay for vintage. I just hate that word, but, oh well, I guess that includes me too.
They showed several kinds of syrup cans, only one that resembled the kind that mom had. I just had a feeling that she made way too much and stored her left over in the can and may have put it in the ice box. To make a very short story shorter, it was so very very yummy!

Middle Of The Night "Guest"

2011-07-13T11:16:00.000-05:00

As you know Fran is a master gardner. Having a beautiful garden to him is a dream come true. Well last year we had armadillos that came to visit, not only in the garden, but under the house, in the flower gardens and digging holes in the yard so deep I was afraid to walk out there for fear of falling.
This year I haven't seen tracks of armadillos, but Fran's garden has slowly but surely started to disappear. First the green beans. We were able to get a huge "crop" to can, but still all of a sudden the plants had had a hair cut. All the plants had their tops chewed off. So Fran pulled all the plants up, pulled the beans that remained and gave them away.
This morning he came in with a mixture of anger and discouragement. He said that the deer had been eating the huge tomatos that were on the plants. Not only that, but they also ate the tops of the plants. Of course, that will stunt the growth of future tomatos. The plants may die or the deer have probably told all the relatives about what wonderful tomatos those people on the hill have!
I think what is interesting is that the huge crop of cucumbers remain untouched. I wonder why that is. Well I have researched and researched what to do to keep deer out of your garden. Oh good grief. There are so many things; rotten eggs, pie tins, ivory soap, and purchased stuff that costs a fortune. Our luck it would rain right after we put that stuff out.
We would give up and buy canned tomatos but they just aren't as good. Do any of you have sure fire things that prevent those pesky beautiful brown eyed guests to eat somewhere else?

It Is So Hot...

2011-07-12T19:22:00.000-05:00

I am from South Dakota and Iowa. They make little jokes all the time about it is so cold that your words freeze in the winter and thaw out in the spring. "That's why we have spring showers!"
Well a long time ago I moved to Missouri. The humidity is high here and most of the time we have very ~~warm~~ hot summers. However, this year it is so hot that something very interesting is happening. The flys don't fly. I kid you not. The flys walk. Yup! I can sit in my chair and watch Maggie pounce on a fly and actually get it. I can slap at a fly and kill it when it "walks" on my arm. Now I think that that is really hot. If I listen really close, I think I can hear the fly gasp with exhaustion from the crawl/walk. Poor thing, ahem I think not.

Stress Headache

2011-07-11T18:02:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had a stress headache. Over the years I have had many many of those. When I have those evil things if I rub my temples, it helps some until I quit, then the pounding begins again.
I often think what could be causing this "thing." Is there any one thing that could be causing it?
This morning I knew I was tired; I had had a headache all night. That is so miserable. When I finally gave up and got up. Fran showed up at just the right time. I was attempting to brush my hair with my toothbrush in my hand. I didn't make it, but Fran did grin and ask me if I was alright.
Ok, I will tell you why I was all stressed out. About sixteen years ago my daughter-in-law had given me a pint of multi-colored pear shaped tomatos. In another post I said that I have moved those with me every where I go. They mean so much to me and many people ask me about them because I have them on display in the kitchen.
Yesterday the pretty jar was gone. I was frantic. I had Fran looking high and low and so did I. I wanted to cry. I thought they may have gotten moved to the fridge, or broken, or whatever!!!
This afternoon, Fran and I were making ourselves a softdrink today. There was my jar of tomatos on a shelf under my papertowels surrounded by little ducks. Don't ask!! I have no clue, but my headache was instantly gone.

96 And Counting!!

2011-07-07T18:15:00.001-05:00

Nobody likes a party better than Marie! Every year like clock work she has another birthday, a pretty cake, company and presents!!
This year was no different. The only thing different was it wasn't as big. Last year she had several grandchildren and children at her party and lots and lots of gifts.
As people get older people don't know what to get them because for the most part they already have what they need. This year she had no problem telling her son from Texas exactly what she wanted, a new electric can opener. When she opened it she told me, "Oh this is just what I wanted, mine is so slow I was afraid it was going to quit someday."

She loved her cake. It was a yellow cake decorated with orange roses. She announced to the group that she did not want any of us to eat at the end where the roses were because she was going to take it home. I begged and pleaded with her to have a bite of roses and then she laughed and said, "Of course you can." She took the lions share of the cake home, a rose bush, a can opener and fresh catfish that her two sons caught for her at our lake. I would personally hate to choose which gift she liked the best. I would bet on the catfish! She got money and cards in the mail and phone calls as well. For the majority of the day she wore a smile.

The pictures show what a good time she was having even though it was a small party. I think the whole thing is that when people come to your very special party that love you, it makes a wonderful party, don't you agree? Even great grandchildren, grandchildren and children, Oh and don't forget the daughter-in-law!

Have You Ever Done Something Stupid?

2011-06-26T20:42:00.000-05:00

And the answer to that question is "of course, I have." There isn't a person alive that has not done something dumb. The next thing I want you to do is do a rerun in your mind, kind of like a video of the things that make you smile, make you grimace, make you angry and on you go with the memories of the dumb things you have done in your life.
Years ago I added the checks instead of subtracting them. I often slammed into doors that opened the opposite direction. I have written some of the crazy things in this blog. I have done my share. I have driven at crazy speed, I have had to much to drink, I have smoked to much.
But tonight you might not think what I did was stupid, but I do. It is a strict rule in my mind not to watch scary movies. It has been fifty two years since I watched a scary movie. I watched it with my oldest son. We were holding on to each other and yelling and right then I vowed, that my children and I did not need to watch what I called "crap." The name of the movie was "Cujo" This movie I am sure, compared to the modern movies is nothing, but it was really scary to me, because it could have been real, not make believe junk.
Tonight I broke my promise to myself and watched a scary movie called War of the Worlds. I know, I know. Not scary, but to this old grandma, yup, it was. So once again, No more scary movies! I much prefer Chick Flicks and detective movies.

About My Dad

2011-06-19T17:59:00.000-05:00

The last time my brother visited, he said that every time he looked in the mirror he saw our dad.
Dad didn't have a beard, but both of them had/have very little hair. Both of them don't have dimples, but laugh lines where the dimples should be. Both have wonderful senses of humor.Both my father and brother love/loved their children with all their heart.
Both had/have a strong faith in God.
My father was very quiet and loved soft music. My brother is not particularly quiet, but not noisey either. This picture shows his daughter, Jenna, how a turkey should be gotten ready for the table. My dad knew better than to do that. Mom would have kicked him out as fast as she could!
Looking at this last picture, I can just smell the turkey and the fresh baked pies. Umm.

Happy Father's Day, Guys!!

In The Old Days......

2011-06-18T12:01:00.001-05:00

When my children were small, they used to ask me to tell them

stories about the old days. I am sure my stories were hard for them to imagine. Today I was watching television and found one that made me think of the old days. The family of mom, dad, and children were going out for a picnic. They first spread a blanket on the ground. We seldom do that anymore. We carry a table cloth with us in our camper or the picnic table outside.

As I watched that, I thought of what we had to go through to have a picnic. Mom would fry piles of chicken, make bowls of potato salad, and take a lot of other things to complete the meal. Of course, the meal was always in the shade! Mom made the most delicious potato salad in the world and the prettiest. When it was chilled and completly mixed, she would take an egg and slice it vertically and make a daisy for the decoration on the top. She did this for every day meals. That's just what she did.
Well, the meal was over and the blankets were picked up. What a mess. There were stick tights, thistles, and cockleburs all stuck to the blankets. In those days we used double blankets. They had double the area for all the sticky weeds to adhere themselve. What a tedious job to pull those tiny little stickers out so that mom could wash the blankets clear of them. Memories of all of our picnics are very dear to me. Oh, I think of deli potato salad now and just can't believe the difference. I just don't think my mother ever bought any.

But I Want Something New To Play With!!!

2011-06-17T08:57:00.000-05:00

This year has been extraordinary for crawly things in the yard.
On the highway the terripins have been so populated, it is difficult not to hit one.
I have a huge ceeramic turtle in my flower garden that is very old; it was my mother's. The terripins are interested in it and generally crawl slowly by it. Well, while they crawl slowly by; Maggie goes nuts.
The other day there was one on the other side of the yard. I saw her "playing" with it with her paw like a cat would do. I yelled at Fran and he rescued the poor little thing.
I have never seen such a year. Well, yesterday I was about to take Maggie outside and there was a huge snapping turtle. Maggie lunged at it. It was all I could do to get her back to the house. That turtle would have really hurt Maggie. I wanted Fran to kill it. I love turtle, but Fran said, "no I can't kill a turtle." Ok, dear man. The turtle changed directions so all was well.

Poor Maggie, all she wanted was something new to play with.

Has The Food Pyramid Been Replaced?

2011-06-16T10:43:00.000-05:00

Well, they say that the pyramid was confusing and caused obseity. Now they call it the food plate. They also say to use a smaller plate so you feel like you have eaten enough.
Well, we have a "critter" that is completly focused on the "food plate." Our critter enjoys vegetables and fruit.
Fran went out this morning and came back in this morning with a long face. He said, "the deer ate the tops of the green beans." They also had some tomatoes and for dessert they ate some peaches.
My new dwarf peach trees were just full of peaches and the other day one of them had three peaches hanging on for dear life. I was so disappointed.
Before he was killed our Sheltie, Alex, chased the wild animals away, we miss Alex a lot. He was such a good friend and a guard dog for hungry deer.

A Line Of Story Tellers

2011-06-14T13:40:00.000-05:00

I love to tell stories. I come from a long line of story tellers. My dad loved to tell stories and so did his brother. My dad would always clear his throat before he started a story. My uncle Les loved to tell stories. Most of all my mother absolutely loved to tell stories. She would tilt her head and smile so I would know a story was coming.
My grandfather had no sense of humor so he did NOT tell stories.
My brother and sister carried on with the line of story tellers, but I think I have the gift with built in enthusiasm.I get the visual in my mind that makes the stories so vivid. My sister would get the giggles so bad while she was telling the story she could hardly talk. My brother told stories with great detail and still does and then I get the giggles.
I started telling my baby girl stories when she was just little.If she would be fussy at nap time I would tell her a story in a soft voice and she would go to sleep.
As the children got older they loved my stories even those I read to them because I would change my voice to be different for each character. They would laugh or be scared whatever I wanted to convey to them.
When the kids were about ten or so I would tell them Halloween scary stories. All kids would be invited to our fall barbeque no matter their age and they all loved the stories. Personally I think I loved to be the center of attention. Gee, I hate to say that, but it might be true!
My daughter grew up to be a story teller and a writer. Her father could tell stories for hours without stopping. He was fun to listen to because he would laugh at his own stories, so is this a learned talent or just a plain old right brain, left brain thing?
There are some days when I think I have no stories left in me, but there are always more. It seems like every day after coffee, I think of something else I want to tell you. I just can't wait 'til tomorrow!

But She Said Please!

2011-06-13T19:25:00.000-05:00

This all started very innocently. I do not like spaghetti four times a week. Fran was starting on his third time this week and I just couldn't stand the thought of it. I thought there was a can of salmon in the pantry. Salmon is an excellent source of omega 3 which I need. And besides that, I like it. I couldn't find the salmon, but I found a package of Girl Scout cookies that I had hidden from Fran and me so we had something sweet in emergencies. Well, this was an emergency. We have been trying to cut way back on carbs and we have been doing very well. We have fallen off the wagon a few times like when we went to my daughter's house. Those free days are allowed sometimes.
I couldn't open the box of cookies. Now that I look back at it, I think that was an omen that I should have put the box back. Anyway, Fran opened it.

Then there was Maggie. Oh my gosh she went nuts! Her nose was sniffing, her tongue was licking and she was whining. I really felt bad when I told her she couldn't have any as I was popping one or two in my mouth. I know I am terrible. After all I am sure she said, "Pleeease!"

WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?............

2011-06-12T11:29:00.000-05:00

It's interesting isn't it that when you live with someone you don't notice little differences; like how much the kids have grown, like how your husband is getting deaf. No not deaf, but really hard of hearing. Not too long ago my youngest son came over and was sitting in the computer room. I was fixing supper. Husband was sitting in the livingroom. Each distance was approximately eighteen feet away. Husband would say something and I would say"what?" That was not my fault. He mumbles and has his head away from me.
I would say something and husband would say, "What?" After about fifteen minutes of this, my son had had it. He said, "This house has more "what's" in it than a light bulb." Of course, hubby and I both started to argue and of course laugh.
This morning it started to rain. I said, "Thank goodness it has started to rain." He said, "you are hearing things." I said, "you are losing your hearing." Of course, he argued. I told him to go look and of course, sure enough it was raining. He didn't say much after that, but I am sure he will argue again if the situation arises. "What?"

I Think I Have Aged Ten Years In The Last Month

2011-06-11T11:40:00.000-05:00

Has anyone noticed that I have been gone? I sure hope so. I love writing my stories and I have not been able to. Yup, computer crashed. I was too cheap to either get a new one or have this one fixed, so my daughter in law said, "just do it yourself!" Ha, anyone that knows me would know that a computer is one thing that I cannot fix and will not attempt to fix.
We have a neighbor that works on computers for a living and couldn't fix it. I have to give him a break, he didn't have much time due to a family emergency. You also have to know that my husband is about as computer illiterate as you can get. When he started messing with it one night, I asked him what he thought he was doing with MY computer. His answer was quiet," just thought I would see what I could do with it." I was reading, all of a sudden I heard the Windows music. I started screaming and yelled that's Windows music. Yay!!! Well, little did I know how much work there was left to do. My daughter in law did tell me that it would be like starting out like new. OMG do you have a clue how much is in a computer that you have had for two years. I will tell you....a lot!!
Just for instance my Favorites. I have to have My Favorites. I didn't have them any more. So I started out to my desktop to get them. For some reason some of them weren't even there. And of course, tool bars, desktop icons, contact list was STILL there. Face book was STILL there, Huh? Weird stuff as well as Twitter. Unreal. It's thinking was all messed up. My blogs were still there. Oh by the way my address is mrsfrenchie1.@blogspot.com I hope you will stop by and visit. I should be able to start writing on a regular basis from now on.
I always put my signature on these. That will take awhile. It was wiped out too, I just found out. Oh, well, carry on!
P.S Finally figured out how to get my signature back, but I can't move it. Oh what a day!

Down Through The Ages........

2011-05-26T17:51:00.000-05:00

When the "cave woman" became forceful with the man that drug her around with her hair she took his club and turned the tables on him. At that time, his mother made the word mother-in-law a sour taste in a woman's mouth. He didn't like her mother and she certainly didn't like his.

As the world turned and evolved, dislike picked up some fear. Mixed together the wife wanted her house, her cooking, the children's appearance, their report cards, and a zillion other things that only a mother or mother-in-law could see or pick up on.
I am telling this tale from a woman's perspective about a mother-in-law. What about HER mother? Nothing is more upsetting than her mother to arrive early, except that the mother goes to the basement and sees dust. The daughter points out that one of the children did not dust as was requested and the child answered, "but it was dark stuff." How can you argue with that? This grandma could care less about dust, all I care about is hugs that I don't get very often. My son-in-law is a great guy and always makes us feel very welcome. Thanks you two for a great birthday!

B&A

2011-05-24T12:07:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday. I am sixty seven years old today. I decided to do exactly what I wanted to do today. So the first thing I did was "sleep in." I don't usually do that. Then Fran took the dog out which is my usual chore. Then my youngest son came to visit which was fun. Then my daughter called and all my grandchildren chorused "Happy Birthday" to me. That was very fun to hear that. We will go see them this week and get lots of hugs and hopefully cake and ice cream since I haven't had any carbs for which it seems like forever.

I went out to the kitchen and heard a lot of cursing. It was Fran exlaiming that the house was full of ants. Itsybitsy tiny little ants that in fact looked like grease ants, but they were not. We sprayed and scrubbed the cupboards, the counters and the walls.

Happy Birthday, Lu!! B&A

I Would Commit A Crime......

2011-05-20T19:39:00.000-05:00

When I close my eyes and let my mind wander, I try to imagine what a carbohydrate is and what it looks like. A carb (nickname) in my mind has a fat face, is purple with red cheeks and horns on the top of his head. Hmm, sound like the emoticom devil doesn't it?

A "carb" is a devil that I have to fight every day of my life. Carbs turn to sugar in your body and I don't need that. I was talking to a friend of mine today and we were talking about these viscious things and she happened to mention that there were no carbs she didn't like. I thought about it for about 2 ~~minutes~~ seconds and I agreed.
Fran and I are both on a really strict low carb diet and therefore, have been having a lot, I mean bushel basket fulls of salads.
This afternoon he said, "I'm still hungry, that salad just didn't do it."
That's when I said," You know what, I would commit a crime for a chocolate chip cookie."
So we quietly crept out to the kitchen and gently poured honey nut cheerios in a bowl for a snack. But wait!!! 2% milk was the topper!!

No Way!! Yes Way!!

2011-05-19T11:08:00.000-05:00

After many months of letting my illness get the best of me and turning down invitations to do things, my husband and I accepted a ride to Silver Dollar City yesterday. Our friends have a season pass so we got in on a Buddy Pack.
My friend packed sandwiches and brought sodas. It is good that she did because the cost of food there is out of sight!

However, the smell of barbeque and fried potatoes, kettle corn, and a zillion other yummy foods were just killing me.
Our friend needed a motorized wheelchair, but I had Fran. He needed the exercise, and there was no way I could have walked it myself.
What did we do? Well, we went to about four shows, I believe. We met people from different parts of the states and had good visits.
Of course, I packed my trusty camera, and you will never believe this, the batteries were dead. I said, "No Way!" I could have cried. What I did moan and groan about was that they were fine when we got home!!
I told Fran that the last time I was at Silver Dollar City was twenty two years ago. We took my daughter for her twenty first birthday. I really didn't see much difference; the little train was still carrying folks around the park, the glass blower was still there and so was the "smithy." However, the original "smithy" had passed away and is buried in the cemetary close by. My friend kept running into candy vendors and getting samples. She was grinning ear to ear. I was concerned that they were on to her, but she didn't care.
This week was the Bluegrass festival along with the barbeque. There were so many people I couldn't believe it! They also had bus and bus load of kids off school for field trips.
Before Fran and I were married about three years ago, we decided to go for a ride. We looked to the side of the road and on a little stage, a farmer's market was "happening." One of our friends was selling goat soap, the gals were serving cookies and hot chocolate, and for entertainment was a little bluegrass group called the Myer's Brothers. At that time the little guy that played the bass fiddle was nine years old. The other brothers were teenagers. We loved their music. We were so pleased to see that they were also at the festival.
The only thing that put a damper on things was cold (very cold) weather and rain. That was ok, we had a good day.
If any of you get a chance to go to the Ozarks, make sure that Silver Dollar City is on your list of things to visit.

How I Wish I Would Have Thought Of That!!

2011-04-30T11:51:00.000-05:00

Now that spring is here and the rain has finally stopped at our house. The sun is shining and the orioles and humming birds are flying around our house; Fran is happy as a clam. (Are clams really happy?)

He has been tilling and tilling our garden and the neighbor's garden. Then the trips to town and the nursery for garden plants and seeds began. The trick is that he tilled way too much garden for the amount of plants and seeds. That continued until he finally had an even amount. I went out to the porch to watch him with Maggie for company. I sat down and watched a happy man, but what the heck was he doing? He had a BROOM in his hands. Instead of covering the seeds on his hands and knees he got a kitchen broom to cover the seeds. How slick is that? It worked just perfect. Do you think he could get a million dollars for that invention? Just think of the guy that started the upside down tomato invention. Hmm. I will look into this!

The Last Twenty Years

2011-04-25T19:34:00.000-05:00

I am sure most of you have heard the country western song called The Next Thirty Years.

Yesterday Fran and I were invited to some friends for Easter lunch along with friends and family that we had at our house.
After we finished eating the guys all disappeared to smoke, talk politics, and do what men usually talk about. I really don't want to know.

My friend and I ended up in the dining room moaning and groaning about how much we had eaten and wondered why we had done that.

Suddenly she asked me what had changed in my life in the last twenty years. Well what kind of question was that? It took me completely off guard. But then I started; I really started rambling. I had to laugh today though, because the two most important things were, getting married and quitting smoking I had not mentioned.

I would love to know what things have changed your life in the last twenty years...........

Eww, Little Black Bugs!

2011-04-03T13:21:00.000-05:00

Most of you know we have a large screened in porch. It collects junk, dirt, tools, boots, and on and on and on.

Tomorrow we are going to have a terrible storm and winds that are 45 MPH, so I thought I would sweep up the clumps of mud that have been tracked in.

I thought I would go to the part that Fran had done, like "fine tuning."

As I was doing the "do overs" there were all kinds of black bugs with white stripes on the top. I asked Fran what they could be and got the traditional shoulder shrug. Then he grinned and said that they probably were sunflower seeds. Isn't my life ~~exciting~~ dull? Creepy sunflower seeds indeed.

Perhaps he should fill the bird feeders outside!

I'll Pay You Tuesday

2011-04-02T10:22:00.000-05:00

When some people retire they try to do mental puzzles to keep them alert and oriented. Hmm, well I do that, but it doesn’t seem to work a whole big bunch! So, I encourage my partner in life to join the “fun” things with me like trying to think of movie star names, lyrics to songs, and on and on it goes.

We watch Wheel of Fortune with word puzzles. We average about fifty percent. I vowed I would Never Ever watch that show because it was just for old people.

My attention span is also shot. I find myself reading the same sentence over and over before I finally “get” it. The television, the phone, and my husband get my attention before my book.

This morning, I don’t know why, I was trying to think of a little bitty guy on the cartoons with Popeye that had a big belly. I knew he always promised to pay for the hamburger he begged for another day. Finally between Fran and I we came up with not only his name (Wimpy) but what he said

“I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a Hamburger today.”

Do any of you folks remember this cute little guy?

The Second Beatitude

2011-03-31T14:54:00.000-05:00

My dear friend of seventeen years passed away this morning. Her passing from this life to the next left a huge void in my life, however, her life at this point had very little quality and physical pain of great magnitude.

I took turns sitting with her for the last few weeks and made sure to my ability that she had what she needed and wanted.

She and I always had a little saying that goes like this, “I love you, love you, love you.” Two days ago when I told her I loved her, she said, “ I love you love you.” That was our last conversation.

The beatitude that says Blessed Are Those That Mourn For They Shall Be Comforted has a phrase in it that fit my friend and I just perfectly. That is I mourned her suffering.

Of course, I mourn the loss of my best friend, but the mourning of her suffering was almost unbearable. This one sentence calmed my spirit this morning like a soft balm.

As you know I generally find the humor in things, but my friend’s illness will shadow the humor I see for quite some time.

NO NO NO IT IS TOO EARLY!!!

2011-02-25T05:57:00.000-06:00

This has been a crazy year. We had tornadoes on New Year's Eve. Yesterday there were tornado watches in northern Arkansas. Two weeks ago our temperatures were in the seventies and the robins were hopping and trying to peck for worms all over the yard.
The other day Fran moved the swing out into the yard and fixed the top on it. Today he came in and asked if I would go outside and help him move the boats. I went out as he asked. The tires on the boat trailer were stuck in the mud from all the melted snow. He kept reminding me that the trick of backing the pickup to the boat trailer had to be done perfectly; over and over and over. I wanted to scream at him, but I kept my cool and if I do say so I did it perfect. I think Fran was even surprised.
The phone was ringing so I came back inside then I heard it. There was a very loud noise outside. I knew it was not the snowblower for one thing, we had no snow for another thing, it was put away in the shed. It could not be the riding lawn mower because we had no grass. My youngest son was here so I thought maybe he was riding his three wheeler.
After a bit, Fran came in the house for supper and I asked him what the loud noise was outside. Just matter of factly said, "Well it was the tiller."
No! The garden was full of mud. Remember the tires stuck in the mud?

Just so you know, in my opinion it is too early, but my brother and I do have a bet who can raise the earliest tomato, so maybe dear husband has the best idea, get the weeds out early.

6.3

2011-02-22T09:41:00.000-06:00

I have an on line friend that I "talk" to every once in awhile. Five months ago they had an earthquake which didn't hurt her. She woke up to the shaking and shivering she said.

Today the earth quake was 6.3 and did a lot of damage. She wrote quite an article about it this morning ( her time much later). I think about lunch time. At this time there were about 65 people killed.

I was relieved to see her light on, on my Stat Counter.

The picture shows that the steeple was destroyed on the beautiful Catholic cathedral.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all in New Zealand.

Scrooge At His Finest Hour

2011-02-20T11:25:00.000-06:00

Hello, I had a request for a picture of Fran sewing the top on our swing. I would have done it the other day, but it was raining.

He announced today that the top had torn a little bit on the one corner (imagine that) so he needed to go outside and mend it. I didn't pay much attention until I read a comment from my friend in Colorado saying that Fran "needling" deserved a picture. I agreed so I put the chip in the camera and took a picture of the man "saving" about twelve dollars with an old sheet that should last one season. Tiny Tim would never have gotten a turkey from Scrooge on that fateful Thanksgiving if his dad would have worked for Fran the Man!

What Is Spring Fever?

2011-02-18T16:12:00.000-06:00

The title is "what is spring fever? " Is it the same as Cabin Fever? No. Is spring fever wanting to plant gardens, dig in the dirt, take walks in the sunshine. Maybe spring fever is stopping by a little creek and watching the tiny minnows and feeling the sunshine on your shoulders.

Today at our house, Spring Fever was repairing the top on our patio swing. It is almost seven years old. It has gone through near tornados, winter wind storms, torrential rains. We repaired with duct tape which is supposed to be a cure all for everything. Well it wasn't. Then last year we used some strapping tape. By the time it was September, the top was in shreds.

Well, today, Fran decided he was completely capable of sewing a new top for it out of an old sheet. Actually the sheet matched. I told him it really needed to be canvas, but he said this was cheaper. I threaded the machine for him and then I told him he was on his own. I made a batch of bread, did two loads of laundry and learned new words that were coming out of the sewing room. The problem was that he continued to break needles. He said the needles were too little. What ever the reason, he did get the top put together. It looked a little odd, but we stapled the corners together and we now have a cute little top for our swing. What a man!!!

Good Husband, Good Wife?

2011-02-15T16:03:00.000-06:00

Fran said he was going in to town today and wanted to know if I wanted anything. I told him that I wanted a small can of Crisco and a loaf of bread.

Fran always brings home more than his list has on it, so I wasn't surprised to see a can of Cashews in the bag. I took the can and put it on the end table by his chair.
Sometime later, Fran mentioned that he had bought me that "stuff" that I had wanted. I then asked him "what stuff?" This kind of thing goes on all the time. He then says, "you know that stuff." I get so frustrated not only with his answers but with myself because I can't remember anything.

Sometime later I walked out to the kitchen and tried to rerun the stuff I took out of the sack. I then went to the living room to check out the cashews. The cashews had magically turned into a small can of Crisco. Ya just gotta laugh.

Lest We Forget The Leaves

2011-02-13T10:03:00.000-06:00

I know I talk about Maggie a lot, but she is one third of our family, after all. Just like any "kid" she is a big problem sometimes.

In the winter she is a joy to watch. She runs and jumps, and burrows with her nose in the snow. She shakes the snow off and then goes for more. We have to watch her carefully so she doesn't freeze her little pads.

What really gets us is when she sits and stares at us. She doesn't talk "human" and we don't speak "dog." So we have to take her outside just like a little person that says he has to go potty just because he thinks it's fun to be whisked away to the bathroom with mama.

Maggie has a tiny little cry if we don't take her out right away.

Stage Right this morning. Fran took her out this morning and she just wanted to play. Three hours later she did the staring thing. I took her outside. She investigated the melting snow, the ice, did about five half squats just to get me excited that she really was going to go.

Oh, and lest not forget the flipping and investigating the dry leaves that she may or maynot have investigated before, either this year or last year. Once again she is sitting on top of the couch looking out "her" window thinking of a way to get me to take her outside. Hmm

Is It My Fault, Now Really?

2011-02-10T14:05:00.000-06:00

We have a very long porch on the northside of our house. It used to be a carport. Fran enclosed it and screened it for me. I love to sit out there three seasons and watch the birds, have coffee and visit with friends in my favorite room.
A little while ago Fran came in and said, "I had to get that bird out of there." And of course, I said, "What bird?" He said that it was my fault of course. We always laugh with that remark. We sound like the Mucinex commercial when the girl says it is all the mucous' fault.
Any way I am rambling again. He said there was a wren that had gotten trapped in the porch when I left the door open. If you believe that, I have some beach front property for sale. Fran said that when he first saw the bird he had a seed in it's mouth then he quickly grabbed another seed as Fran propped the door open. (do you notice that there were several seeds on the floor? ) The bird was very fat and calmly walked, yes walked out the door.

I am thinking that, that bird was among hundreds that were eating out of the feeder the other day and was very disappointed in us for not keeping the feeder full. The reason was just because the roads were drifted shut and I felt our safety was more important than a bunch of birds that were upset with us for not filling their feeder. I have thought and thought about this and I still think I am right!

Scoops

2011-02-05T10:38:00.000-06:00

There are many different kinds of scoops. I have a sugar scoop, and Fran has a snow scoop. Reporters get scoops on breaking news related to newspaper headlines or television break ins. My dad used to have a corn scoop that he used to throw corn to the hogs.

And... pooper scooper that dog walkers use. In fact in the grocery store the other day, yes I said the grocery store, hanging with the mops and brooms was a zebra printed pooper scooper. I couldn't believe it. People that have cats need a scoop that scoops the poop out of the kitty litter. Fran just said, "Don't forget a scoop of ice cream!" Leave it to him to think of food.

Now that we are done with that, I will tell you my favorite kind of scoop; the wonderful scoop that scoops up heavy dips. In my estimation they are one of the best inventions ever! I make a very heavy Mexican dip that breaks every chip ever made, but when I use a Scoop they do the trick. They are wonderful. If you use a regular tortilla chip, you end up with broken chips throughout the dip. Yuk!

Long live the scoops and I am out to the kitchen to make my dip! Can't wait to scoop it up.

How Many People Does It Take To Make A Party?

2011-02-04T10:21:00.000-06:00

I was thinking today about a Superbowl Party as we were in the grocery store. When my kids were little the "guys" went to Minnesota to watch the Vikings play whether they were in the Superbowl or not. We were very poor. In the '60's I think my husband made about $3.00 or less an hour, so if the guys wanted to go they had to get odd jobs to ride the bus, pay for their food, and of course pay for some drinks/beer.
They built a fence for a man one year, another year they put a new roof up for someone, and one year they made a clothes line for a lady. They had so much fun, just like they did when they were kids.

Well "us" girls had a ball while they were gone too. Of course, we had the little ones to take care of, but for meals we could make hot dogs and mac and cheese every night if we wanted to, because the kids loved it.

Sodas were very special drinks, so while the guys were gone, I can remember treating my kids to a soda.

The first year that I can remember a Superbowl party in South Dakota I was heart broken because my little dog ran out the door and got run over by a car.

Other Superbowl parties were happier, I didn't care for football so I went shopping. I loved that. And sometimes I took the kids with me and we went to McDonalds which was a special treat.
Then something magic happened. I started to like football. I became a monster. I stood up from my chair and yelled and screamed and hollered. I love it. And furthermore the first game that I watched with Fran I was against his team. Things were kind of quiet on the home front. That was our first Superbowl party. He still talks about me being a traitor. lol Sometimes it is just the two of us which means I don't have to make much food or sometimes it is a party with our neighbors. It is fun, so in answer to my question? I think you can have a party of one or one hundred. I love parties no matter how many. Happy Superbowl Party, everybody!

A Time For The Funniest!

2011-02-02T15:36:00.000-06:00

Throughout my life I have done dumb things. Things that make me laugh, things that make other people laugh and things that are just laughable period.

Last week I told you about spraying my hair with Lysol. Now that was purely Fran's fault because he was rushing me.

I wear false teeth. Last night my upper plate was hurting me for some reason so it went in a cup.

This morning I went into a panic. I could not find my teeth. I tore the bed apart. Then I went half crying to Fran. He tore the bed apart. Fran got a little fussy with me and told me to really watch Maggie because she would eat them up if she found them. I mentally tabulated how much a new pair would cost and how much I hated Fran for being "mean" to me.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down to pout in the living room. As I swallowed the hot coffee I kind of made a little sucking motion with my tongue. Yup, you guessed it I had my teeth in my mouth.

I told Fran I had found my teeth; they were in my mouth. He was in the kitchen doorway and just stared at me. He had a little sparkle in his brown eyes, and a tiny little chuckle and a barely perceptible shake of his head. He then turned and went outside to blow snow.

I didn't do it, but I wanted to stick my tongue out at him, but of course, that would have been childish!

The Weather Channel

2011-01-27T21:43:00.000-06:00

As my mother got older and lived alone, she got very lonely. The long distance was expensive so she and I couldn’t call each other every day.

My brother and his children’s family’s lived out of state. I lived in another state also.

Once in awhile we could both visit her at the same time and her eyes would wander to the television and the channel would be on the weather channel. When questioned about this, she said that she felt closer to her children and grandchildren by knowing what their weather was.

Some of the states were Colorado, Ohio, Illinois, South Dakota and Missouri.

We would smile even chuckle when we talked quietly about it.

Now I find myself watching the weather more often; Colorado, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Iowa, South Dakota etc. I have friends and relatives all over the place. It is actually fun hearing about everyone’s weather. I know, it sounds weird, but it is!

When we start talking on the phone or the computer one of the first things we talk about is the weather. What can I say? It is warming up folks, soon it will be spring.

More Fun With My Mom

2011-01-26T20:56:00.000-06:00

I can “see” the kitchen where my mama made such good things to eat. It was long and narrow. It had old fashioned cupboards. Not the kind that we have now. The cupboard I remember was wood, but all in one piece. It had a flour mill in it. It seems like it had a part that you pulled towards you. I don’t remember what mom used it for.

Beside it was our icebox. It was literally an ice box.

My dad milked seven cows. We sold the majority of the milk, but we had all we wanted to drink.

Back to the cupboard; the counter was metal. Mom pulled it out at times to give her more room to work. One of these times was to make butter. If she had one, I don’t remember mom having a churn. What she did have, though, was a very big Kitchen Aide Mixer. She would put a lot of milk with cream into the mixer bowl and beat it on high until chunks of butter appeared.

She continued to beat it until the butter stuck to the beater. Mom would clean the butter off the beater completely. Then she would get out the wooden paddle. A picture of it is at the top of this page. It is amazing I still have Mother’s old kitchen utensils, but I am sure glad that I do. Fran found me a hanging pegboard that they all hang on. Once again I am off the track.

With the paddle she would drag the chunks of butter towards her against the side of the bowl. She would turn the bowl around and around doing the same thing over and over. The most amazing thing happened next. At the bottom of the bowl was my very favorite drink in the world; buttermilk. Never in my life have I tasted anything like it. The buttermilk that they sell in the store tastes bitter. The buttermilk when my mama made it was just wonderful.

I always wanted to take my turn and mom would always let me, but it was way too difficult for me. So then I would sit on my little red metal stool and watch.

When mom got the butter all made she put it in a refrigerator dish. When the butter came out it had a design on the top from the indentations on the lid of the dish.

Depending on how much milk she had, she spent a good part of the afternoon making butter and buttermilk.

When Mom was finished it was “break” time for us. She would pour each one of us a juice glass full of the wonderful buttermilk and we would talk about things that mamas and little girls talk about.

Memories, Loss, Sadness

2011-01-22T20:23:00.000-06:00

I know how sad I feel when the seasons change, because each season is my favorite. I love the spring roses, the changing of the fall leaves, the summer season brings the green grass and hummingbirds. Then there is winter. The pure white snow covers the gray branches with little tufts of white and the sunshine makes little sparkly diamond like sequins that makes winter my favorite season too.

I have sadness today because my very best friend is losing her battle with independent living and needed to go to a skilled care center. We talked today about what wonderful memories we made and agreed that we were a famous duo!

As she was getting admitted I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. But then I noticed how the people that worked there genuinely loved her. She had worked there for over twenty years.

Soon some of the other residents asked her to join them to go outside to smoke. While she was outside, they told her about their activities, the rules of the smoking, schedules of meals etc.

She came back inside and told me that she might even play bingo to pass the time away. She told me a long time ago that she would never, ever, play bingo!

Her new room is lovely; even with her own little refrigerator, recliners, a table and chairs and very nice furniture. And she made a beauty shop appointment within the first hour. Hmm. I don’t see this as a loss for her, just perhaps for me. However, I don’t feel sad anymore, because she adjusted to her new “home” within a hour or two, at least a little.

Thanks for all the good memories my dear friend.

How Smart Are You?

2011-01-21T08:21:00.000-06:00

My young son got us a Wii game for Christmas this year. We couldn't wait to show off our skills. It was called, you guessed it, "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" Most of you have watched the television show at least once and if you didn't enjoy the show, you might have smiled at Mr. Foxworthy's red neck humor.
There were three of us playing. There were several catagories and skill level. The player (us) had support by a fifth grader. If the player wasn't sure the fifth grader would help you out.
I kid you not we were getting clear down to second grade level. When we got down that low the correct answers were getting more and more correct, however, there were still some that we got wrong. There was whooping and hollering about how unfair the game was, and that none of us had ever had to study subjects like what was on the game.

Fran finally put his hands in the air and went to bed. Mike and I stayed up late and played for a couple of more hours.

It was fun, but I found out at our little Christmas with my daughter and her family that they also make a card game called the same thing. She said that even college graduates cannot answer all the questions.

Can you even imagine my relief upon hearing that? Once again, I know that I am smarter than a fifth grader, no matter what the Wii game says.

Dreams

2011-01-20T12:34:00.000-06:00

About two years ago I quit smoking with the assistance of patches. The box said they may cause some unwanted dreaming for side effects. Oh yeah! Fran dreamed that there were elephants under the floor, I dreamed about crocodiles and many unthinkable things that made me wake up with a heart that was pounding. We did have some fun conversations over coffee in the morning though discussing our dreams.

Dreams have once again consumed what used to be my quiet slumber. The medicine I take at times decides to take over with some colorful "stories" that I probably could sell to make a fortune.

I have been reading some gory stories on the kindle which I should stop, but they are true. I have to tell my brother because it is how his state was settled during the French and Indian war. Wow! I guess I never thought about it.

However, to end this on a fun note, there is a commercial about the cutest baby sitting in his infant seat that just giggles uncontrollably when his mama talks to him. I also dream about that sweet little baby so when I get up in the morning I smile and start out my day on a bright note.

Can You Even Imagine?

2011-01-16T12:34:00.000-06:00

Well, since 1955 I have watched television and didn't give a thought to how I was able to see the picture on the screen. I listened to my mama's little black radio since I was a baby and just expected to have music when Mom turned it on.

In 1974 I got my first microwave. Then I started to question how this could be done. My first hamburger was like a hockey puck. Then I started really reading the instruction book and enjoyed it. In the back of my mind I was still wondering how in the world not only did it work, but how the scientist was smart enough to invent it.
Well, time has gone by with cell phones, blackberries, and computers.
In 1974 the computer at Sears where I worked had it's own room and was many feet long. It needed cold air as well as clean air.

My whole family and I are avid readers. My mother and her brother and my brother and my daughter love to read and actually get lost in books. I remember getting caught with a book and a flashlight under the covers when I was supposed to be sleeping. If I remember right, my mother used my first, middle and last name that night.

This Christmas a Kindle came to visit at my house. The first one didn't work, but the second one sure did. Today I downloaded my first book. Fran and I, I might add could not understand how a person could download a book from the computer into the Kindle with no wires. Not only that but it took less than a minute!! I bet my daughter thought this may not work with the questions that I was asking. Fran was getting disgusted because I was not paying attention to the instructions. AND my hands shake because I have a Parkinson's like tremor that made it almost impossible to type on it. Then my daughter said the most important thing she could have said. "You don't really have to type on it Mom."

So this morning, I asked Amazon for a list of free books. They only had about 8600 of them. Wow, I hit the jackpot! I chose the most boring of books, but I didn't care. It downloaded in less than a minute. Fran just sat there in amazement and so did I.
Oh, I so do wish that I could have given my mom a Kindle. She would have loved it. But then she would have needed a computer, which she also would have loved. We all could have "talked" to each other.
Thank you for the Kindle, Melanie!

Cabin Fever And Playing Cards

2011-01-15T08:58:00.000-06:00

I think that it is sad how things change. When I was a child my parents played cards with their friends. They played Rook. They seemed to have a good time. There was a lot of loud laughing; yes even my mother loved it. This didn't happen in the summer because there was too much work to do on the farm. In the winter the only thing that was a must was caring for the animals. Sometimes that was a terrible job. We lived in Iowa and for those of you that are familiar with the midwest, you know how terribly cold it is in the winter. The animals have to be fed, sheltered, and watered. The water had to be tended to, to make sure it didn't freeze. So there was an element of Cabin Fever. There is only so much laundry, cooking, and answering little girl's constant questions. I have been told I was a little stinker. Hmm.

I had no idea that retirement would mean that I could play cards any time I wanted to. I especially like to play cards in the morning. Morning is the best part of my day. Usually my words make sense, my thinking is more clear. Ahh, on to my subject; cards. In order to play cards you do have to think.

Yesterday we played a game called Phase 10. I think I have talked about it before. The first game was wonderful; I won! I can't believe it! Then we made the mistake of playing a second game. Oh, brother, what a mess. My friend said, "You just slowly went down hill." Ya think? lol I have to laugh. If I didn't the world would not be a fun place to live. Thank goodness God gave me a good sense of humor.

My daughter's group of friends watch movies, they don't play cards or go dancing. I think something happened to skip a generation. Those "Kids" don't know what they are missing!

And Then She Got Away!

2011-01-08T17:28:00.000-06:00

Our little Maggie Mae is so cute, so bubbly? So full of personality so full of naughtiness! Ever since we rescued her from a family type pound she has owned US. She is twice as spoiled as my children ever were.

We live in a restricted community that is made like a park that is very close to a lake. The yards are not fenced; it seems like if one person chooses to mow on Monday, everyone does.

Most every one in our community is not younger than thirty, actually not younger than forty…or fifty!

The majority of us have a pet, albeit a dog or cat. Our Maggie considers herself a diva and they are not worthy of her time. In fact there are two dogs that she hates, as well as their owner. She can sense when, what we call the “girls” take their dogs for a walk. She barks like a wild thing and runs from living room to bedroom like asthmatic craziness. That continues until they are out of sight.

Fran and I take turns taking Maggie out so while I was taking a shower, he took Maggie out just at the wrong time. The “girls” came around the corner and there went Maggie a hundred miles an hour. She completely stretched out her ring on her lead until it was straight. At that point she was free. She has only been free twice since she has lived with us. The words to the song come to mind. “Let freedom ring!” She ran down the hill and across the road. Fran said that she was scaring the lady to death.

As I walked into the living room, Fran was huffing and puffing and talking quite loudly about MY dog. Actually what he was talking about was how he looked when this escapade happened. He had his pajama bottoms on, an old coat with holes in it, and slippers on, oh, and especially no teeth in. Well, who cares, he was not out there to impress the ladies, just to make sure that our little princess didn’t get away!

He's Always Early

2011-01-06T08:39:00.000-06:00

My husband is always early. It used to drive me nuts. Yup, it still drives me nuts! We have only been married for three years, but you would think I would be used to it by now. I know something is going to happen when he arrives in the living room with "going to town" clothes on and says, "the bus is leaving!"

It started to be something my friends teased me about all the time. We would make plans to go to Branson, and we would discuss what time we would meet. They would say, "Well four o'clock in the morning is too early for us!" Hmm. The little digs would continue good naturedly, but it didn't phase him, he continued to be early.

PLUS, he drives like a speed demon, so we might be just a little bit early, but with his speeding we always end up early.

The only thing I have ever noticed that makes Him crazy if is someone is late. Imagine that!

The most important part is, that he always wakes up happy; lucky me.

Five Days And Counting......

2011-01-05T11:42:00.000-06:00

Okie Dokie then; I have let my house go all year. Keeping house is very difficult for me physically and especially difficult for me mentally. It is kind of like exercising; I love to watch other people do it, but NOT me.

Well, as you can imagine, I can NOT imagine how dirty it is now. So this morning I cleaned and straightened my itty bitty pantry. It is about 4’ tall and 24” wide and as deep as 3 cans of veggies. It is impossible to keep things straight and organized. I did find things that will keep us fed for a long, long time.

We have another room that we do, indeed, call the pantry. Big pantry. It is much bigger. It is about six feet long. The shelves are about three feet deep. It is just hysterical when you think why we call it a pantry. Perhaps in years gone by, it used to have food in it. I have pots and pans, dishes, old plastic mixing bowls, dishpans, spaghetti pan that I should use, but don’t. I have some home canned tomatoes and green beans. And….yes I have some canned food that would not fit in the itty bitty pantry.

I checked it out this morning. It has a turkey oven, a rotisserie oven oh and extra silverware if we get company, which we never get. Those were the old days. The house used to rock with noise and filled with lots of grown-ups and children.

So any way, I did work this morning. Now I am sitting down, talking to you guys and watching Ellen D.

The washer and dryer are running and the dishwasher is just about ready to go and so am I. Have a good day!

When The Router Goes Down!

2011-01-03T10:27:00.000-06:00

When the router goes down, there is a special kind of trauma that presents itself in the computer room. I go stomping out there, not exactly yelling at Fran, but talking loudly. Did you do this? Did you do that? The answers are all the same, “I know what I am doing.” Hmm, I wonder about that.

His first answer was “well I don’t see a red x on the two computers, I just see a red x on two little people.” That’s when the stomping proceeded. Lol He tells me that he has been on the internet and doesn’t understand why I can’t be on it.

I tell him to unplug the desktop, and he says, “go ahead.” The thing is a long way down there and we both have established a way to get the other one to do it. Any way, short story becoming a long one, he reset the router, and BINGO, it works like a charm. Yippee! I just really need my computers or I couldn’t talk to you y’all!

Mashed Potatoes Or Not?!

2011-01-02T11:58:00.000-06:00

My girl is so good natured that I can tease her whenever I want to. Fran and I went to visit Melanie and her family the day after Thanksgiving. It was a lovely meal. She fixed turkey breasts which was delicious and fast, and easy. We had a delicious vegetable, stuffing, and especially mashed potatoes.
I watched her make the mashed potatoes. As I watched they got soupier (is that a word?) and soupier. She was using a hand held blender that is so easy to use. She said that she uses it all the time to mash her potatoes and that it works really well.
Of course, they tasted wonderful, her gravy turned out good, but she was really upset about her potatoes. After we finished our meal, I suggested that she use them for potato pancakes etc. etc. but she nixed the ideas that I had. Well, I couldn't resist but ask her if I could at least take her picture. Note the smile; love her to pieces!!
In the background you will see a container that is full of gooey butter cookies that I asked for. It is so cool to feel so special. Thanks, Melanie

Home Made Gifts

2011-01-01T13:53:00.000-06:00

I can remember getting gifts
wrapped in brown paper held together with "store string." Does anyone remember that term? Store string had a multitude of uses, but I can remember the butchers using it to hold the freezer wrap together on the meat that they sold in the grocery stores. This Christmas I got a gift wrapped in brown paper and tied together with store string. I have a feeling that the string was at least forty years old.
This year my daughter and I each made each other something home made. This is the first picture of twelve that I will post. She made a calendar with pictures and birth dates (yes Grandma forgets). The top of the calendar is 12x12 so I can put them in an album. Clever?! However, it is like a student getting on the honor roll all year. She is expected to do that the next year as well!.
Let me explain the picture of the goofy child laying in the snow with his swim suit on. Yes, that is my grandchild. I do have to claim him! He just got out of the hot tub and decided to lay in the snow.
My granddaughter celebrated her 6th birthday last year, and my daughter and her husband do go to Cancun frequently in the winter.
I have not posted anything for a long long time. It feels kind of weird to tell the truth, but fun too.
Fran's surgeries are over, his tests are over (hopefully) and the holidays are over. It sounds like a quiet winter, thank goodness. Fran is not out of the woods, but I am considering our glass half full.
Hopefully I will be on this little machine a lot in the future.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Did It Serve Her Right?

2010-12-08T10:56:00.000-06:00

I am putting this picture on my blog today because I doubt that anyone else has seen or has this picture. My daughter, Melanie, is five years old (left) The dress was given to her for her birthday by my sister, Rosie. My niece, Julie, is my sister's child. If you look carefully, you can see she is carrying her horse. She adored them. My oldest son, Joe (on the right) He was three.

I do believe that my cousin, Bruce gave me some pictures to scan when he was here that I didn't have. My mother lived in a trailer court as you can see there are some trailers across the street from her. If there was a lot of noise over there my mother would creep in the dark to look out the window to see what was going on. One night she broke her toe. I told her it served her right!

Company Is Coming!

2010-12-08T10:18:00.000-06:00

There is an old, old song called, “Company’s Coming!” I thought of that song this fall. We had company which was very cool.

I have such a very small family that having a cousin visit is a very big deal. I have only one uncle left and he is ninety four and sharp as a tack. His only child came to visit. He is so smart I couldn’t keep up with him. He knew dates for everything and kept asking me for verification. Finally I told him that I didn’t know and didn’t care. Everyone laughed and he said, “Boy I guess she knocked me down a peg.”

He brought with him a lovely lady friend who also had a wonderful sense of humor. She and my husband kind of sat and had no clue what my cousin and I were talking about. He had brought a photo album with him which I was absolutely fascinated with. There were pictures that I had never seen before and were in very good shape. These photos were about fifty to seventy years old.

We talked about my uncle a lot. I told my cousin stories that he had never heard before about my mother and his dad on the farm.

I asked him if it was okay if I put a post about his visit on my blog. He assured me that it was fine. His visit was about two months ago. I am sure he thought, “boy she was really excited about my visit.” The fact is, that Fran got sick, and I got started on Christmas and Thanksgiving. We took quite a few pictures outside which made a nice background. Hopefully we will get to see them again. Thanks for the visit!

Leftovers

2010-12-07T08:13:00.000-06:00

Have you ever forgotten something at the store to make something special? I just wrote a post about lists not too long ago. Yesterday I wrote about candy thermometers. I wanted to make peanut brittle. Hmm, well guess what, I had only dry roasted peanuts because I forgot peanuts for the candy.

Fran kept coming out to the kitchen not only to “help” but to give me “helpful” comments about the color of it especially. He had never seen peanut brittle a fawn color. He said he had always seen a chocolate color. I told him I had never seen chocolate colored peanut brittle. Things were getting a bit heated in the kitchen especially when the syrup was getting thick. He wanted me to dump it out immediately. On and on!

Well we chilled it out on the covered porch where it was 20 degrees. In a few minutes it shattered when dropped on the counter. And..I might add it is delicious. I think from now on I will only use dry roasted peanuts or for that matter, any kind of peanuts I have. Leftovers are wonderful! Oh I did find a recipe for using dry roasted peanuts, so I wasn't so talented, doggone it!

Just to show Fran how nice I am I got on recipies.com to see if ever in history there had been a recipe of molasses and brown sugar peanut brittle. They had a hand written cookbook from 1912 that was called Grandma’s peanut brittle. Of course, there was a lot of hooting and hollering from the “peanut gallery.”

The Candy Thermometer

2010-12-06T08:44:00.000-06:00

I can remember my mother making candy at Christmas time when we lived on the farm. I was just a little girl then, but my mom always wanted me to learn how to do things, especially in the kitchen. I think that was to make up for not being able to do hand work. Lol

If the recipe said “soft ball” then she would drop just tiny bit of the syrup in really cold water and mold it with her fingers. When it made a soft little ball it was done. There was hard ball and hard crack as well. I loved to help with hard crack. When we would put a tiny bit of syrup into the cold water it would actually crack. Plink! That was when she made anice candy.

Since those days, they have invented the candy thermometer. Oh my, how easy it is to make candy now a days.

Well, I have been a bit nostalgic this year. All of these old memories have come slamming back to me. Not making me sad, but with a lot of smiles too.

I think my sister, Rosie, made some of my favorites. She made cookies with chocolate kisses in the middle. She frosted a zillion cookies with my mom one year even when she was very very sick. I think she made fudge that did not crumble, did not run to the edge of the pan etc. I am describing my fudge if you haven’t guessed already.

My mother made a yummy peanut butter fudge. Oh, it was so good!

I made divinity that was flavored with different flavors of Jello. That was really good too. Like my mother, I taught my daughter, Melanie, how to do that. That took a candy thermometer to do that for the syrup to be just right. I say that, but my mom made popcorn balls with red and green syrup without a candy thermometer.

Oh, the good old days. I thought I was going to have to do it without one today, but Fran found mine, so I guess I have to make candy now. I think peanut brittle. Yes, that sounds good.

Gulp And Swallow Hard

2010-12-05T09:58:00.000-06:00

Once in awhile, something will come to mind, or a person that looks like someone else, birthdays of someone who is gone etc.

I miss my children something fierce. I mean the little children. This is a picture of two of my daughter’s children “helping” decorate their tree. Oh the days that my little ones “helped.” We often had to put our tree up on a table to Keep it away from my little one. One year when we got our tree home we discovered that the trunk had a severe case of scoliosis. That poor little tree had to have a piece of twine around it and nailed to the wall. Oh the stories of Christmas!When I saw this beautiful picture of my grandchildren. I saw the quiet twinkling lights and my grandson on his tiptoes stretching to put on his decoration. My little boy would do the same thing. In the winter before Christmas the children would make chains out of green and red construction paper to decorate the tree with. And…of course, the very few glass decorations I had left, two or three hit the floor by accident and the paper chains were more dominant that year.

Presents had to remain hidden because it was just too much for little fingers and mama’s nerves to keep the gifts safe.

Yes, Oh how I miss those days. Gulp and swallow hard.

Marie

2010-11-17T10:12:00.000-06:00

If you have been reading my little comments on Facebook lately, the majority of them tell about her needing a new furnace this week. Well, after the furnace was installed it was easy to tell that the new one was smaller than the old one. Having that said, Fran needed to build a new wall for it. He forgot his drill so I took it down to him this morning. His mom was standing there watching him

I said, "why don't we go in the living room, I want to ask you some questions." Well, she took off like a shot. I get such a kick out of her. For ninety five years old she is amazing. I know, I have said that before. I just need to impress that upon you. For instance. On her blog, Marie's Memories I put a post up yesterday that showed her four children posing with their Christmas presents in 1955. In the background was a television. Fran said that television was never moved from that corner. ANYWAY, for fun I asked her what brand that television was and almost immediately she said, "it was a Phillips." That television was new in the fifties, so in my mind it was about sixty years ago. However, I remember the name of our new television too, it was an Admiral. Huh, how about that. I know it was only fifty years ago. lol

Music; The Therapy Of Generations

2010-11-13T09:50:00.000-06:00

When I am sad, I listen to sad music. What kind of sense does that make? When I am happy, I listen to music I could dance and sing to.

When I am missing people that have passed on, I want to hear their favorite music or music by their favorite singers.

When I want to praise God, I worship by singing my favorite hymns. Hymns that I heard every Sunday when I went to church with my family.

During sessions in the Alzheimer Unit during the years I worked with those people, music was the one thing they never forgot. I can remember one lady that couldn’t walk, couldn’t eat by herself, and couldn’t speak, but when I played a real good polka or a song with a strong beat, she tapped on her lap with her finger to the beat of the song. Someone besides me saw what she was doing and said, “She’s in there.” I thought that was such an interesting observation. Yes, she was “in there” by the music allowing her to show others and to make her quietly happy.

Right now I am playing a cd that Fran and I made a couple of years ago. It brings back memories of how much fun we had making those. He also made a cd of his own. I had him sing over forty songs until I thought it sounded good. He was almost hoarse. Well, we sent them out for Christmas presents. Among other problems, our bird Mertie enjoyed the music and just sang and danced. We got a call from one of Fran’s daughters and wanted to know if we had a bird. We were so used to him chirping that we didn’t notice that he was chirping on the cd music. We laughed, but decided that we needed to cover him up next time we recorded. At least Maggie didn’t howl. That would have been embarrassing. Oh, we also talked and coughed during the music. Oh well, we had fun.

Taps also bring tears to my eyes. The children’s father had a military funeral. The notes are ones of loneliness.

Rock and roll music bring back images of Dick Clark, and our youth center when I was a teenager. The song, “In the Mood” brings to mind my high heels and chiffon dress in a huge ballroom dancing until my feet felt like they were going to fall off.

The kids’ dad called slow songs “belly rubbers.” See how many things that are brought to mind by not only hearing music, but just by thinking of it.

What comes to your mind when you hear a song, did you dance to it, did you hear it in the car, a movie, a 33 record, a jukebox? I would be really interested. Can’t wait to hear from you!!

The Peak Of The Fall Foliage

2010-11-07T13:09:00.000-06:00

Fall Leaves

About five years ago my daughter gave my friend some money for a tree as a tribute to her mother whom had passed away shortly before. The tree is a tulip tree and has always stood tall and proud of its pretty leaves. This year the fall foliage is abundant on the little tree. My friend has a big picture window right by her kitchen table. At this view point she can look at her flowers and her little tree.

The gift that Melanie gave my friend will last long after she is gone, but will always remind me of her every time I look at that little tree. Those trees grow tall and have gorgeous flowers and leaves. There is an expression in the Ozarks. People say if the price is too high on something, " boy they are sure proud of those" whatever it is. The tulip or magnolia tree is also very proud of themselves.

Spring Flowers

Sometimes You Just Know

2010-11-06T12:16:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had this feeling that something is going to happen and it is out of your control? Ever since I married Fran this feeling happens quite frequently. Fran absolutely loves a bargain. That’s why we go to yard sales, flea markets and estate sales.

Our neighbors are going to a huge flea market with all of their twenty year collection of “stuff.” Yes, I know, you all know that Fran doesn’t care about the weather, he’s just like a mailman let’s see, rain, snow, or dark of night!

Today we took off for the flea market. The temperature was twenty five and the grass was white with frost. I wore two sweatshirts and a very heavy winter coat. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there was no wind. What a difference it makes to have sunshine on your face. Fran did tease me that I didn’t need blush on my face because my cheeks were pink.

The vendors were set up in a big circle in a grocery store parking lot. That was good for the grocery store and good for the shoppers to go in and warm up. And….. To purchase little snacks or groceries while in there; everyone wins.

We bought Maggie a new ball and a few groceries. We visited with our neighbors. They were selling a lot of things. We also visited with some people that we knew from a little town where I used to live. It was a fun morning and only cost eleven dollars altogether. I am afraid that our “shopping days” are over for a few months. Unless maybe Tuesday at the huge flea market…….

Will I Ever Learn?

2010-11-02T10:57:00.000-05:00

I have told you about my best friend several times. We have had more fun than any two friends usually do.

One day we went about fifty miles away to go shopping at a dress shop that carried name brand merchandise that ordinarily we could not afford. This particular day they had a half price sale plus twenty percent off for seniors. There are times when you don’t mind being a senior citizen. The day was bright and sunny and we visited and laughed on the way there. The sky slowly started to get kind of a gray color. I told Carole to look to the east. The sky was black. She told me that we were fine because storms never go from east to west. Ahem. By the time we got to the town it was pitch black. We dashed into the store and happily shopped away to our heart’s content. We did look outside and saw that it was raining the proverberial pitchforks and hammer handles. By the times we were done shopping the rain had stopped. However, Carole had left her window open. Oh, I laughed at her so hard. She did have a throw in the back so she just got half soaked.

After we laughed ‘til we hurt, we decided to go further north about another thirty miles to shop some more. The weather seemed good so we went to this adorable boutique. Neither one of us had ever been to. We spent money like it was water. We loved the clothes and one on one service. When we got outside, it was raining. Really raining. Guess what? I forgot to roll up MY window. Carole told me it served me right. Needless to say we were both so wet and miserable we didn’t want to shop any more, but we did go out and eat so we could laugh and call the other one the most stupid which ended up being me.

This morning we needed to go grocery shopping and I got in with a happy heart which quickly turned to unhappy. We had four inches of rain last night and I had my window down; only a half inch, but with all that wind and rain that will do it. I had to get a grocery bag to sit on. The title of this is “ when will I ever learn.” I just don’t think so. I just wish my best friend would have been with me, I miss her teasing me when we go shopping.

Passwords

2010-10-29T09:13:00.000-05:00

You know, the older I get the more forgetful I seem to be. I worked in long term care for almost twenty years and was always told memory problems were caused by an ailment not by old age. I believed that for all those years and still do for certain things. Alzheimer’s Disease causes forgetfulness and so do other diseases.

Not a single soul ever, ever told me that for each program on the computer you could use the same password. So for years I have come up with these cutzie little passwords for each program. So, as far as I can think back, I have asked about six different programs to reset my password. Then I have asked about four of them to reset them again. Then I have gone without using one program for a month because I was embarrassed to ask again. As I was sitting here typing I happened to look to my left and there on an old notebook it said “the name of the program and the password.” I just could not believe it! I could have swore that I looked in that notebook because it has all kinds of programs and passwords. In the future this will not happen again. I see no reason why all my programs cannot have the same password. You have to understand that I am not computer savvy or use it for much more than emails and my stories. I am not worried about someone hacking into it. I will miss my cute little passwords though. If anyone knows why I should not do this, please let me know.

Should I Become A Gamer?

2010-10-27T08:06:00.000-05:00

Well. That’s a big word this fall. Well. I am not a gamer on Facebook or individual games that you can play on video stations. I do like television, however. I do like my one soap that I have watched for years and years. I like some mysteries and some comedies and a sundry of other things. I use television for “noise” in the house. I listen to it while I am on the computer and talk to it. I agree or disagree with it. It is like having company in the house.

Arguing with television is a safe way to win one. Yeah, no one yells back at me. You probably have figured out what I am talking about. Politics!! I am just about at my wits end with these commercials. Plus they upset my husband. He starts in on them and takes sides and calls them liars and on and on. It seems that he is not the only one. Where I live everyone really gets into arguing over the opponents. They don’t even know them, just the commercials that they have run on television! I don’t want to talk about them. I don’t want my television shows ruined by sneaking in a commercial with someone attacking their opponent.

I think debate is wonderful. After all, I was a teenager once! Debate if done right, has rules, has different things that need to be debated to get everything covered so that the voters can make their minds up intelligently. In my opinion, it is not necessary to trash each other to make themselves look good. In my opinion also, I guess that I will have to watch cable channels so that I will not have to put up with these negative trashy ads.

Do You Make A List?

2010-10-26T10:55:00.000-05:00

My dad worked in a newspaper office for most of his life that I remember. So my mother always had little scratch pads she called them that she made her “lists” on. She had the most beautiful penmanship, that her lists looked like something you would like to have for a keepsake.

Sometimes I think of that when I use the back of an envelope, the back of a receipt, the tiny space of a penny newspaper that has room for my scratching and many other silly things. I call them silly because it makes no difference what I use, I leave them on the kitchen table.

For the most part when we go to the grocery store and Walmart we come home with everything, but what we need. The other day I was determined to have a list made up. Fran went out to warm up the car before we left. I looked and looked for my list. I went out to the car and told Fran that I could NOT find my list. He just grinned and said “look in your purse.” There it was sticking up waving at me. Well the moral to this story is that you do have to put everything ON the list to GET everything. Once again we got home and forgot the one thing that I wanted. Oh dear, what to do about lists. Fran says to write things down as I use something up or close to it. What do you folks do?

Being Married Means Not Being By Yourself

2010-10-17T17:16:00.000-05:00

I just love football. I really get into it. I love the Kansas City Chiefs. I yell, I scream, I jump up and down, and I clap my hands and make lots of noise. They won the first three games, then a bye, then they lost to the Colts. I thought for sure they would win today over the Texans. They were ahead by four points until the last few minutes then they lost by just seconds.

Well, what I am trying to tell all my friends, family, and blog readers, is that just when the game was getting to the most exciting part, my dear husband says he is going to take a nap and “please turn the volume down.” I said, “okay” but inside I thought, “WHAT!!!!?????” I sat in my chair with my mouth wide open with a pretend scream, and banging my hands together without making a sound. Good or what?

When my game was over, he got up and watched his team with a little more volume. However, I did get back at him. I said gently, “I think that you can make supper tonight since you are feeling so much better.”

What do you think guys, did I do good?

Pink And Black Socks

2010-10-14T12:23:00.000-05:00

I can remember never going out of the house without my hair done and make-up on. Things started to change when I moved to the country.

I complained to Fran a few months ago that the washing machine must have eaten my socks. I think I could find only two black socks and about six white ones. Fran took me to Walmart and bought me twelve pair. This morning we decided to go to Walmart. Guess what all I could find was one black sock that had gone through some bleach water. Yukkie brown is what the color chart would have called it. So of course, I changed them. After I had them both changed I looked and they were pink. One was pink and one was pink with white spots. It too had gotten bleached. Well, I thought, “big deal my shoes will cover them up.” My friend had had a fit the day before about my shoelace being too long and told me to tie it up so I double knotted it. I tried and tried and couldn’t get it loose, so I put a pair of bright red tennis shoes on. Yes!!!! I did it.

While I was at Walmart I looked at other outfits that looked a whole lot worse than my colorful socks. However, most days I do want to look nice so I will try harder to find all those socks that Fran bought me. Oh, and wear them too!

Getting Ready For The Big One!

2010-10-13T13:14:00.000-05:00

I was raised in Iowa and lived in South Dakota for thirty years. In each state you “got ready” for the big one. The big one was a nor’easter and blizzards. Or.. The below zero temperatures or both. The getting ready though, always always makes me sad. The autumn colors are so gorgeous and the harvest moon and the cool-warm temperatures seem like blessings on your skin and your soul.

Okay, the getting ready is spending a fortune on your propane tank so you “are ready” to heat your home. You take a gamble on the prices in July through August betting on the best price of propane. Another thing you do is to fill your freezers with food in case you can’t get to town. I filled and filled last year and we didn’t have a power outage or a blizzard. That was okay I was ready. We got enough fuel to run the generator just in case, we filled the camper with antifreeze just in case.

Then another thing you do to get ready if you live in a house with a screened in porch, trailer or house, is to wrap the porch with plastic. I wrote about this last year, but it is worth writing about again. We wrapped the porch last year and it saved us almost fifty percent in heating bills. We wrapped half of our porch today from left over plastic. We have told our friends about this and now they are doing it too.

Raking leaves is also part of getting ready, but that is going to wait until spring this year. First of all I think that the repair man likes the yellow color of our lawn mower, or has given it to someone else, because he has had it for over six weeks. Fran is not able to ride on it anyway.

Fran did a little outside today. He rolled up the hose on the reel, he took the cushions of our lawn swing into the porch. Maggie looked so sad, she had claimed the swing as her own. Fran wrapped it in plastic and has plans about decorating it for Christmas. Then he spray painted the yard light with black paint. It was starting to get a real faded look. Fran has to be careful, but he is doing his part of getting ready for the big one!

It Seems Like Forever And A Day

2010-10-09T10:12:00.000-05:00

For the last month or two our household has been centered around Fran. Those of you that are on Face book; you are aware of this. He has had two major surgeries and has been less than normal of his ambitious self. I am sitting here watching him getting his shoes on, he has blue jeans on and further more I believe he is going outside to do some blowing of leaves. With an admonishment from me to be careful. He didn’t answer me, just hooked up Maggie and away they went.

I hear the blower running. Last year I complained that he was constantly blowing leaves. He explained to me that our big old oak trees produced leaves that were not biodegradable. So…… all these leaves had to be gathered in piles and burned. The neighbors also burn and it smells like one big giant wiener roast. I have always loved autumn. Fran pointed out the leaves falling yesterday when we were going to the doctor. I said, “that’s why they call this season fall.” He groaned, I have no idea why.

Fran received fairly good news yesterday. The cancer had not invaded the muscle of the bladder, so now just maintenance doses of a special medicine to prevent it from reoccurring. Those doses start the middle of November. We really have a lot to be thankful for this year.

While Fran was sick, I did very little. I probably was a bit hoverie. Is that a word? Oh well, it says what I want it to.

Fran’s favorite food is spaghetti, mine is definitely not. Fran wanted it all the time, if not he told me to fix goulash. I wanted to cry!!! But, he was sick so he got what he wanted, not any more, he will eat a balanced diet. Lol

The one good thing about Fran being sick, is that I got to spend more time with his mother. She is such a dear. We told stories and laughed and had a good time. Her new hearing aide is just marvelous. She calls and says, “it’s me.” I love it!!

Ceramic Cats And Grasshoppers

2010-09-24T09:08:00.000-05:00

She has snappy brown eyes and has a psychologist on retainer for her breakdowns every night at eight thirty. She races through the house and growls and barks and and and. Then all of a sudden she collapses and goes to sleep for the night.

Maggie has shown me the signs of cowardly behavior on many occasions. She will jump at most anything that is not something that does not happen on a daily basis. Grasshoppers are really little demons that are on her list of scary things even though there are a gazillion of them in our yard.

This morning I moved lawn ornaments from around a big oak tree to a bare spot by a big shrub. One of the ornaments was a ceramic cat with ivy in it’s middle. Sounds awful, but it is really cute. Maggie sees it every day several times a day. However, she has never seen it by the front steps. She was on her way up the steps and all of a sudden she jumped a foot and started barking and growling. Do you know how dogs do? They put their bottoms up in the air, spread their paws far apart to show their opponents just who is going to win the fight. Maggie weighs fifteen pounds, is white and gray and even if it was a brown ceramic would never ever win a fight with that cat. Maggie makes me laugh every single day. As days go by I am so glad we have her to love and laugh with. Yes “with” I really see her smile with us sometimes.

Grasshoppers and Ceramic Cats

2010-09-24T08:56:00.000-05:00

My Maggie May is my precious shitzu-poodle and many other varieties I am sure. She has personality plus and Fran and I think as Maggie’s adoptive parents, that she is probably the smartest dog that ever lived and the cutest.

She has snappy brown eyes and has a psychologist on retainer for her breakdowns every night at eight thirty. She races through the house and growls and barks and and and. Then all of a sudden she collapses and goes to sleep for the night.

Maggie has shown me the signs of cowardly behavior on many occasions. She will jump at most anything that is not something that does not happen on a daily basis. Grasshoppers are really little demons that are on her list of scary things even though there are a gazillion of them in our yard.

This morning I moved lawn ornaments from around a big oak tree to a bare spot by a big shrub. One of the ornaments was a ceramic cat with ivy in it’s middle. Sounds awful, but it is really cute. Maggie sees it every day several times a day. However, she has never seen it by the front steps. She was on her way up the steps and all of a sudden she jumped a foot and started barking and growling. Do you know how dogs do? They put their bottoms up in the air, spread their paws far apart to show their opponents just who is going to win the fight. Maggie weighs fifteen pounds, is white and gray and even if it was a brown ceramic would never ever win a fight with that cat. Maggie makes me laugh every single day. As days go by I am so glad we have her to love and laugh with. Yes “with” I really see her smile with us sometimes

Awkiie Pooh!!!

2010-09-20T11:32:00.000-05:00

About once a month I shop at Aldi’s ,a discount grocery store. You can save a bundle there. You have to bag your own groceries and often the brand name things are not found there.

About three weeks ago I bought a soft drink called cherry lime aide. I like cherry lime aide. I drank a bottle of it and it was good. The other bottle I put in the pantry.

This is the season that hummingbirds are preparing to go to Texas for the winter. So what you do for the nectar is make it strong with sugar so they will have enough strength to get there from Missouri. I quit buying the nectar at Walmart because it was just too expensive. I generally save the Walmart jug and put my own nectar in it. Well, yesterday I happened to think about that cherry lime aide and went to the pantry. I then filled my iced tea glass with the pretty stuff and oh my goodness, it was so sweet I couldn’t hardly stand it. Of course, I didn’t stop at one swallow. I had left the bottle on the kitchen counter. Fran needed something to take his pills with and he took a swig of it and dumped his down the sink. After three drinks of this swill I dumped mine down the sink.

This morning I was making more hummingbird “juice”. I decided to use a water bottle for the new stuff because I couldn‘t find the old one. For some reason I said to myself, “oh no!” I ran to tell Fran and he just shook his head and said, “Thanks a lot, now I am really sweet.” He really is sweet, but saying it out loud is not necessary.

One More Miserable Thing

2010-09-19T10:44:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? Yup with everything else that has been going on around here, the lawn mower quit. Fran thought he would try to mow the lawn since he was feeling some better. After two days of letting it put and bang and with smoke coming out of it, he took it to the repair shop. That rider was only about four years old and it has been in the repair shop at least four or five times.

There is an alternative to mowing the lawn; a weedeater. I mean it, it works! Fran was not up to snuff (where did that expression come from?) Eww, I don’t want to think about it. So he was only able to work for short periods of time. I helped with moving things, pulling weeds and pruning roses. I only have two bleeding parts on my fingers and my arm to prove I helped.

We have a big porch that is screened in. Above the patio table is a ceiling fan that really helped to cool us down. The temperature was in the low seventies and the half hour that we worked made miracles in the yard. However, we have over an acre to mow, so I have a feeling we will have to beg, plead, and bribe someone to mow our lawn for us.

We have really good friends that will be back from vacation in a day or two and I have a feeling he will take one look at our yard and come right over to mow. God bless friends and family and on line friends.