Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone best wishes for the New Year a little early cause we'll having some of the kiddies tomorrow night and we'll probably be a little busy playing.

I'm having some powerful hurtin' pains from muscle spasms in my back too, so that's going to put a damper on the amount of time that I can sit in this office chair for a day or two. Y'all have fun ringing in the new year where ever you are. I'll be thinking about you.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Looking back on 2008

January musings

I think if I could go back to just one place in time it would be as a child in Grandma's kitchen, maybe sitting at the table with her and Grandpa, a bowl of her hot cornbread covered in cold buttermilk sitting in front of us.

***

I want "CheneyCare", I already pay for what he has, is my life not worth the same?



March madness

Spring Break zoo trip.

***

On March 7th, Old Man Winter thumbed his nose at us by dumping 7 inches of snow on our daffodils.

April

The first Brenda Photo Challenge, Signs of Spring.

***

Sincere Prayer, Brenda style.

May

There's a moral in here.

***
My Ya-Ya passed on.

June

Orange Photo Challenge

July

Terri's birthday parade.

August

The Golly Monster.

***



Jerri was making pumpkin bread the other morning and Beans walked into the kitchen and said,

"Ok Ma'am, you're safe now. I locked the tiger in the cage."


September

My best moon shot.

October

Photo Challenge, Old


November

A new President was elected and new era in history arrived. We got the stunning news that hubby's job would end in January.

December

The month brought news of a new job for hubby and a wonderful holiday.


Each of the entries above is a link to the post it came from in case you want to go have a look.

One door closes and another opens, life is like that sometimes. It sure can give you heart stopping moments though.

I hope everyone is looking forward to 2009 with curiosity and hope!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Another Laid Back Day

We've had two days of 73 degree temps but a cold front is coming through tonight so the high tomorrow will only be about 57. It's been really, really, warm for December in Arkansas.

I packed up the Christmas tree and the majority of the decorations today. After looking around I can see that I missed a few so I'll have to put them away tomorrow. I've also done some laundry, and washed several sinks full of dishes, that seem to magically appear. I must remember to get a supply of paper plates or else I'll have dishpan hands in addition to them being all old and wrinkled already.

I'm almost cross-eyed from posting a couple of months of accounts for one of my clients. Maybe I'll get my rear in gear and get that company caught up tomorrow.

Tonight we played a game of Phase Ten with Zach. We taught him how to play rummy a couple of nights ago; he catches on pretty quick.

Ok folks, I'm slowing fading here so I think I'll get my book and climb into my nice, soft, bed to read awhile.

Sweet dreams!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

HoHo's Been and Gone



That little fat man in the red suit didn't pick up the mess or vacuum the floor before he flew off on his sleigh; I'm going to have to add a P.S. to his thank you note I reckon.

Nanaw is tired.

But I had a little nap this afternoon so that helped.

We ate too much, but it was all good cause we sure had some mighty fine vittles to put on the table. We had the normal run of conversations during our extended family holiday gathering over at his Mom's last evening,,,,

Which family member/members probably hits the pain pills and/or bottle a little too much,

Who had the snippiest, snappiest, temperament of the day,

Who went to jail for loitering,,,,,

and so on.

At our house today we had our usual family holiday dinner discussion about the West Memphis 3 and whether or not they deserve a new trial (the number of those for and those against changed somewhat this year). We then progressed to my son's revelations about the corrections officer/Reverend that he torments with his views on religion and riches on a regular basis. This then led to a discussion (and I do not remember how?) about whether animals commit sins. Other topics were discussed but none were so interesting as the first 3.

Yep, we tend to branch out with intense conversational topics in this family; we do indeed.

I think the babies were as happy as tired babies can be with what Santa brought them. I reckon they'll be busy playing, for at least a few days, with all their contraband.

Trish, Jordan, and Jaylen are supposed to be here next weekend so I hope to have some photos of them then.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!


I hope Santa comes to visit each and every one of you! Don't forget to remember your blessings to honor Jesus on His Birthday!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Smiling

Paint me Smiling cause there's a better than average chance that James has a new job starting the day after this one officially ends. Once the farmer who's planning to rent the land signs the lease, he'll be managing some of the same acreage that he was previously. And the good news is that there won't be much, if any, change in salary. He spent 3 hours with the guy today and he's supposed to come next week also, so maybe I'll actually get more than one or two good night's sleep a week now. He might also give me a little work to do from home too, won't that be nice? I'm afraid to be too excited until everything is final, but I sure am feeling better right now.

I want to thank you all for your prayers because I know for certain that God was listening and answering them. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.




Jerri came by this afternoon to have a cup of coffee with me. She wasn't in a very good mood but she had me laughing so hard at one point that I think she ended up feeling a bit better afterwards too.

She said she'd gone to one of the dollar stores in town, thinking it would be quicker to run in there to get laundry detergent and a couple other things she needed. After spending 3 times more time in line than normal because of some rude folks who'd broken in line in front of her, she was about to bite nails when she finally got out of there.

She pulled out of the, nearly empty, parking lot and a young punk was strolling across in front of her, blocking her way out. She waited,,,he slowed,,, while staring right into her eyes,,, smirked and walked even slower. She waited,,,he kept staring, barely moving, until finally her PMS took over. She yelled at him to stop being ignorant and get out of the way, told him he didn't intimidate her so he needed to act like he had some sense and get on to where he was going. The punk started yelling and threatening her as he finally moved, and as she was passing him to stop before pulling out into traffic, he leaned down and picked something up to throw at her. Jerri had her finger on speed dial for the police department when she noticed that he'd picked up an empty paper cup. Then when he threw it, the wind caught it and it flew back into his face. She said by this time she was laughing which made the punk even madder. He was still yelling when she pulled out of the lot.

"I guess it was a good thing he didn't have a gun but" as she said, "I had PMS, a 3 yr old, and a 5 yr old, I'm not scared of the devil himself! I'd have whipped him if he'd kept on."







Sunday, December 21, 2008

Favorite S Things

I'm doing this for Miz Jeanne. The basic idea: leave a comment on this post requesting a letter and I’ll assign you one. Then you write about 10 things you love that begin with your assigned letter. Post it on your blog and when people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on.


1. Seafood, I love it, except for cockles, scallops, and oysters. I can eat a couple of pounds of mussels all by myself.


2. Soup. I love soup! I'm not so fond of cream soups but a good hearty broth with loads of veggies and a little meat is some kind of good! I think homemade chicken soup is my favorite.





3. Sean Connery is a HUNK! I don't care if how old he gets, this man's photo should be under the definition of Sexy! He's handsome and his voice is SO awesome!....swoon!












4. Stephen King is my favorite author. I've read everything he's ever written except for the "Gunslinger" series but I'll probably read those some day too. When I read his books I feel like a little kid again; afraid to put my foot out from under the covers for fear something under the bed will grab it!


5. Sisters. I have two younger sisters and I love them dearly. I don't get to see as much of them as I'd like, but life happens.

6. Sunsets. I love sunrises too. The world seems to be at peace when a day is dawning or drawing to a close.

7. Sleep. I never get enough! For years now I've had trouble falling asleep so it's often midnight or later before I finally crash for a few hours. I have to be up early to get Zach off to school and that wakes me up so I don't often go back to bed.

8. Summer. What can I say, I'm a summer child. I can stand too hot a lot better than too cold.

9. Salads. I love almost any kind of salad with almost any kind of vegetable in it. Sometimes I'll also add a boiled egg or two, or chicken or pork. Another thing I love about Summer is being able to go to my garden for fresh tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers to make a salad.

10. Scrabble I've had Scrabble games for as long as I can remember. I even have a small electronic one.


Well, that's it folks, my favorite things that start with S. You're welcome to do this too, just leave me a comment and I'll assign you a letter. It was fun Jeanne!

Friday, December 19, 2008

I wanna believe again,,,,and again.


This is the third time I've posted this over the years that I've been blogging ; Just some thoughts that run through my head about Christmas and believing.
Our friend Randy sent this to my email today and I'm still laughing.
This is an article submitted to a 1999 Louisville Sentinel contest to find
out who had the wildest Christmas dinners. This won first prize.

Christmas With Louise

As a joke, my brother used to hang a pair of panty hose over his fireplace
before Christmas. He said all he wanted was for Santa to fill them. What
they say about Santa checking the list twice must be true because every
Christmas morning, although Jay's kids' stockings
were overflowed, his poor pantyhose hung sadly empty.

One year I decided to make his dream come true. I put on sunglasses and
went in search of an inflatable love doll. They don't sell those things at
Wal-Mart. I had to go to an adult bookstore downtown.

If you've never been in an X-rated store, don't go. You'll only confuse
yourself. I was there an hour saying things like, 'What does this do?
You're kidding me! Who would buy that?' Finally, I made it to the
inflatable doll section.

I wanted to buy a standard, uncomplicated doll that could also substitute
as a passenger in my truck so I could use the car pool lane during rush
hour.

Finding what I wanted was difficult. Love Dolls come in many different
models. The top of the line, according to the side of the box, could do
things I'd only seen in a book on animal
husbandry. I settled for Lovable Louise. She was at the bottom of the
price scale. To call Louise a doll took a huge leap of imagination.

On Christmas Eve and with the help of an old bicycle pump, Louise came to
life.

My sister-in-law was in on the plan and let me in during the wee morning
hours. Long after Santa had come and gone, I filled the dangling pantyhose
with Louise's pliant legs and bottom. I also ate some cookies and drank
what remained of a glass of milk on a nearby
tray. I went home, and giggled for a couple of hours.

The next morning my brother called to say that Santa had been to his house
and left a present that had made him VERY happy but had left the dog
confused. She would bark, start to walk away, then come back and bark some
more.

We all agreed that Louise should remain in her panty hose so the rest of
the family could admire her when they came over for the traditional
Christmas dinner.

My grandmother noticed Louise the moment she walked in the door 'What the
hell is that?' she asked.

My brother quickly explained, 'It's a doll'

'Who would play with something like that?' Granny snapped.

I had several candidates in mind, but kept my mouth shut.

'Where are her clothes?' Granny continued.

'Boy, that turkey sure smells nice Gran' Jay said, to steer her into the
dining room.

But Granny was relentless. 'Why doesn't she have any teeth?'

Again, I could have answered, but why would I? It was Christmas and no one
wanted to ride in the back of the ambulance saying, 'Hang on Granny, hang
on!'

My grandfather, a delightful old man with poor eyesight, sidled up to me
and said, 'Hey, who's the naked gal by the fireplace?'

I told him she was Jay's friend.

A few minutes later I noticed Grandpa by the mantel, talking to Louise.
Not just talking, but actually flirting. It was then that we realized this
might be Grandpa's last Christmas at home.

The dinner went well. We made the usual small talk about who had died, who
was dying, and who should be killed, when suddenly Louise made a noise
like my father in the bathroom in the morning. Then she lurched from the
panty hose, flew around the room twice, and fell in a heap in front of the
sofa.

The cat screamed. I passed cranberry sauce through my nose, and Grandpa
ran across the room, fell to his knees, and began administering
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. My brother fell back over his chair and wet
his pants.

Granny threw down her napkin, stomped out of the room, and sat in the car.

It was indeed a Christmas to treasure and remember.

Later in my brother's garage, we conducted a thorough examination to
decide the cause of Louise's collapse. We discovered that Louise had
suffered from a hot ember to the back of her right thigh.

Fortunately, thanks to a wonder drug called duct tape, we restored her to
perfect health!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

I Hate Winter

I hate being cold.

I hate dreary, gray, days.

I hate the short hours of daylight.

I was born in August, I'm a Summer child, dammit.

It took me several minutes to take off my daytime pajamas; robe, flannel pants, flannel shirt, socks, last night before my shower because I had so much on. Then afterwards it took several minutes to put on nighttime duds, and I was grumbling the whole time because I was freezing my noonies off!

I'd never make it through several months of snow in ice; I'm too much of a wimp.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

What do they call that?

What do they call a homicide when it's one spouse that's done in the other?

If this man doesn't get OUT of my house and DO something soon, someone's going to get hurt around here,,,,and it ain't gonna be me!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh,,If I have to see ONE more Western that's a rerun x 150, I'm gonna lose it! He turns one on and then lays back and the recliner and snores!

,,,,I need a hatchet,,,or maybe some superglue~

Monday, December 15, 2008

Ut Oh


They're talking about an ice storm around here. My house is all electric, ice storms are not good.

UPDATE on Computer woes

My cousin who lives in NC and is the service manager for a Computer services company has replied to the desperation email that I sent on Saturday. He said to pack up the drives and send them to him and he'd do the recovery.

Because of my Mrs. Murphy status of late, I'm going to wait until after Christmas to do this; all I need is for my hard drive to be lost by the US postal service.

Man I love my family.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Brenda Photo Challenge: Christmas Decorations

I haven't been in much of a decorating mood this year but I did put out some of our favorites. The photos were quickies too cause of all of this computer drama I've been up to my ears in this week, but anyway, here ya go, Christmas Decorations Challenge Photos!


I love this little snowman figurine. He just looks so happy.

This angel ornament belonged to my mother. I don't have many of her things so I cherish this.

Here's my old floppy Santa sittin around on my shelf and two of the angel bells that I have sitting around here and there.

This snowman comes out every year and sits on the mantel or on a shelf. Zach made him out of a 2 litre drink bottle, torn paper, glue, ribbons, felt, and construction paper, when he was in the first grade. He's held up well hasn't he?

Miz Kim over at Caffeine is Life is our hostess for this challenge and she chose Christmas Decorations to give us more practice with our cameras. Thank you Miz Kim!

Y'all be sure to go over to the comments at the Challenge blog to see what all the participants came up with this time.

Everyone is welcome to join us, just look for the next challenge at the Photo Challenge Blog and sign into the comments that you're accepting the challenge. The directions for doing this are on the blog. The more the merrier so start snappin!

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Dash


The Dash
copyright 1996 Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth...
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars....the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile...
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
with your life's actions to rehash...
would you be proud of the things they
say about how you spend your dash?

Thursday, December 11, 2008

INsanity

I have a working computer

again.

I still don't have access to my hard drive nor to the external drive with the backup of the hard drive information (from 6 months or so ago) and we still don't know why we can't access them. Everything,,,accounting, tax files, photos, is on those two drives. Mr. John the computer man has tried about every way he knows to access the information. I've been surfing for hard drive recovery companies but I just can't afford to go that route.

I think I'm just going to cry.

Maybe scream.

Yesterday I spent most of the day reinstalling software. While Mr. John was working on trying to access those drives again today something went wrong and my local area connection disappeared. So, in order to have access to the internet again, which was discovered after I was on the phone, and on the floor with my tool box, for more than an hour being instructed by a Hughes Net tech in BF, Egypt, who could only mutter a few words of broken English, John ended up having to reinstall WinXP again to get that going again.

So guess what I'm going to be doing again tonight? (but not until after I watch CSI Las Vegas!)

And probably tomorrow.

I'm running on coffee and fumes; sleeping in snatches cause I'm thinking, thinking, thinking, (those who know me know that is a lost cause) and still coming up with nothing. I still have a little Christmas shopping to finish, Christmas cards to get mailed, presents to wrap,,,,gggghhhhhh I don't even want to think about it all.

I think I need a beer. Or two,,,,YO, Jose, com'mere! Vamos a ir partido que hasta el hombre!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Christmas Tradition




When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure.



Then Mrs. Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.



When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.



Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.



Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.



Just then the doorbell rang, and a very irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.



The angel said very cheerfully, 'Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?'



And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree!

Monday, December 08, 2008

Interpretation of the Chick's Xmas Lists

Almost everyone figured these out.

FOR MY DADDY

1. Poot Medcin - This is poot medicine for the Daddy who suffers from gas attacks. :-)
2. Alien Soot - Alien Suit - We have no idea where, or why, she came up with this one.
3. Pantzees - Panties - I must remember to ask my son if he needs new "panties"! Ha!
4. Jenz- Jeans - I sure hope Jerri is keeping this list for her scrapbook.
5. Pilz - Pills - My son takes anti-depressants and will ask Jerri if she picked up his pills.

CHICK'S LIST

1. Jenz - Jeans
2. LPS Covrs- Little Pet Shop covers (for the pet's little bed). This was the hardest one.
3. I want my room panted - She wants her room painted
4. 4 whler - A 4-wheeler
5. CEDIS - Music CDs

Still without my puter and I'm having withdrawal symptoms!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

This, That, and The Other

Miz Puter is still with the puter doctor. I somehow fried her motherboard but puter Doc said he'd get me something going. He put my hard drive in an enclosure so that I can access it by usb port, at least I didn't kill it. Hopefully I'll have a desktop back by Monday because my fingers don't work so well on Zach's laptop.



The Chick has been in kindergarten for 16 weeks now, with days off for good behavior (grin), anyway, she's already reading at grade 2 level and tries to write stories, and lists, and cards, etc,,, by sounding out the words like she does when she's reading. Here is an example of some Christmas lists she jotted down the other day.

The first one is a list of things she want's to buy for her Daddy. I'm going to let y'all see if you can decipher the lists. Hint: It will help if you will sound them out the way they are written.

FOR MY DADDY

1. Poot Medcin

2. Alien Soot

3. Pantzees

4. Jenz

5. Pilz

This is what she had on her list so far,

1. Jenz

2. LPS Covrs

3. I want my room panted

4. 4 whler

5. CEDIS

MeriKate, the Chick, and Beans have been visiting us today. We've been throughly entertained!


Wednesday, December 03, 2008

My Favorite Christmas Cookies

A lot of bloggers are sharing their favorite holiday cooking recipes so I thought I'd share one of mine.


Christmas Cookie


1 cup of water
4 large eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup nuts
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
lemon juice
2 cups dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Sample the Cuervo to check quality.

Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo
again, to be sure it is of the highest quality.

Pour one level cup and drink.
Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large
fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's
best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK. Try another cup . . . just in
case.

Turn off the miserer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and
chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick the friggin fruit off floor. Mix
on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry
it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuervo to check for
tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who giveshz asheet. Check the
Jose Cuervo.

Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one
table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't
forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the
window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the
dishwasher.

Cherry Mistmas.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Uh Huh, I'm Guilty


I hope that I'm only guilty of attempted murder, or negligent homicide; I'm sure hoping I'm not guity of murder 1 here.
I decided that I'd do an annual puter clean up today; I'm thinking now that it might not have been such a good idea. I turned booted off my puter in the proper way, I turned off all of the power strips, I took the cover off the puter so I could dust it out with a can of air; just as I've done many times. I was getting it all ready for a new tax season you see.
After I put the cover back on, turned on the power strips, I pushed the button that is supposed to turn on the computer and it didn't turn on. I checked the power strip, I checked this, and that. I took the cover back off to see if the air had disconnected something, nothing was that I could see. I don't know what's up with the old girl, she was fine before I decided to clean her.
Now she's in town waiting on the puter doctor to get a chance to look her over. I sure hope he can revive her cause having to buy a new computer right now would be about all it would take to push me over the edge.
I have a budget to complete over the next few days, and several months posting to do on 2 accounts (the guy just got the stuff to me), and my puter holds all the information I need to do all that stuff.
I think I just found another gray hair.

Happy Birthday Paula!




How's it feel to be 52?

We love you!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Tea

Tea Party at House Terborg
I'm sitting here sipping a cup of hot Lipton Pyramid White Tea with Island Mango and Peach. Have any of y'all tried it yet? I'm normally a coffee drinker; I drink it morning, noon, and night, but sometimes I crave a cup or two of hot tea and I especially like some of the flavored teas.

I was already a coffee drinker when I moved to England in the late 60's for 3 years but while I was there I was soon one of the blokes having my hot "cuppa" tea around 4 every afternoon. My favorite tea is made with Earl Grey tea leaves, steeped in a teapot until it's strong and dark, then poured through a strainer into a cup with a dash of milk and a half spoon of sugar. We usually had sandwiches and/or scones and jams with our tea but I also always loved having high tea on special occasions when we would have tiny little watercress or cucumber sandwiches, fancy little cakes, biscuits (cookies), and wonderful cheese spreads.

When I was in Holland 4 years ago we went out to an estate (House Terborg) for a tea party (photo above) one afternoon. It sure did bring back some lovely memories.

House Terborg

Saturday, November 29, 2008

WHEW!!

I'm so tired
I'm so sore
I ain't 'a gonna do it
for a dime no more!

This is how much Zach and I got finished today; the tree is up and most of the ornaments are on. Jerri will come and put the ribbon on later so that it'll look more like it did last year (the second picture).


See? She had it all dolled up in the picture below. I'm not very handy with ribbon,,,nope, not a'tall.

Anyway, I was already aching all over from the catastrophe that happened in my closet on Wednesday night, so crawling all over the floor again today to put the tree up has just about done me in. I only have one place in the house where I can fit a tree and I do believe it gets smaller every year!

Oh, about that closet thing. We were all going about our normal routine Wednesday evening and suddenly there was a loud bang and crashing noise. It almost scared Zach to death and all he could do was stand in the middle of the living room saying, "It wasn't me! I didn't do anything." I thought that maybe the neighbor's St. Bernard had gotten scared again and had decided to break through the lattice beneath the deck in order to get under the house. (She's done that before). So James went outside with his flashlight and looked around; nothing seemed to have fallen or be broken out there. I couldn't imagine what it could have been until I walked into my closet. Some of the brackets for the rails/shelves had broken and over half of the clothes in there were on the floor and the stuff that had been on the shelf scattered all over.

We decided to just leave it until Friday because Zach and I would be gone all day Thursday. When Friday arrived I almost wanted to cry just thinking about starting to move all of the clothes out so James could do the repairs. It took most of the day to move the stuff in and out and vacuum. But it's done now, thank goodness.

I have a few more Christmas things to put out and I reckon it would be a good idea if I started wrapping some presents.

We had a good time at Bubbie and Jerri's on Thursday. There was lots of good food and we had a good time playing Mad Gab for awhile after dinner. The kids were doing a lot of pouting (because we made them play outside; it was a beautiful day!) and were scattered here and there, so I only got a couple of quick snaps of them. Trish is supposed to come by tomorrow before she goes back home so I hope to be able to take a few pictures of Jordan and Jaylen before they leave.






Photo Challenge: " From an Ant's View"

Thank you Miz Jeanne for being our hostess for this challenge! "From an Ant's View" was the hardest challenge for me yet; I just couldn't get my creative juices flowing,,,or maybe they were hibernating cause it's gotten quite a bit cooler in my spot in the delta. Anyway, these are what I came up with,


Could this be how my fake daffodil bulbs would look to an ant? I believe an ant would know right off that they weren't real.

An ant would be able to tell me that there were 3 holes stopped up on my salt shaker. I'm glad I took this macro, cause now I know I need to clear out the stopped up holes. :-)


This might be what an ant would see if he were to look up at the salt and pepper shakers. I wonder if he'd notice the smudges and fingerprints?

Well those are mine folks, now I'm off to see what everyone else has been shooting at for the past couple of weeks.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Don't forget the Photo Challenge Tomorrow!

Jeanne's our hostess for this challenge and She chose the topic to be "From an Ant's View". Don't forget to go over to our Photo Challenge Blog (courtesy of Miz Donna) and click on the comments to see everyone's photos. I have so much fun with these challenges because I truly love seeing what everyone comes up with for them.

Oops!

I screwed something up when I was doing some work on my template last night and I've lost my links to my blog buddies. Please have patience with me while I try to get everything reentered. It might take me awhile cause I've had a disaster in my walk-in closet; it looks like the slaughter of a clothes horse in there right now.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!


Tomorrow Zach and I are going to my son's house for Thanksgiving. James may go hunting, may go to his Mom's,,, whatever,,, I'll be with my kids and all but one of the grandbabies.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I'm Really Trying

I'm trying here folks, I really am, but I'm in this rut where I feel like for every step forward I'm being knocked back 6, and I'm getting very frustrated over it.

I hope everyone has a super-duper Thanksgiving planned!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

How Those Country Kids Play

They dig in the dirt. There's a big hole out in this field now after an afternoon of hard digging by the kiddie crew.

Because of one incident yesterday when the toilet mysteriously overflowed after being sluggish for a time, we were all (3 little girls and Nanaw) in a circle around the toilet today, after Beans had lingered on the seat for what seemed like a full half hour and afterwards needing quite a bit of wiping, to make sure there wouldn't be another flood. A functioning toilet is a major deal around this house. And besides, we're easily entertained.

This evening Jerri and Bubbie went to a cookout at one (there only being 2) of the neighbors but the girls got cold and came back, so I got all the little girls into a warm bath, lined them up in there to wash 3 dirty little heads (after all that digging ya know), then dressed them all in Zach's t-shirts. After bowls of popcorn and hot chocolate, they settled down on the couch to wait for Jerri and Bubbie; except for Beans, she crashed as soon as she climbed into my lap for a few minutes of snuggling.

They just picked them up so Nanaw is now relaxing with a cup of coffee.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Some More Fall Colors

Chinese Willow
Cypress leaves up close
Cypress glory

When we first moved onto our little acre back in December 1991 there was not a single tree on it. So we planted a baby cedar, cypress, a hybrid oak, a mimosa, and some chinese willows. We lost one of the willows to farm chemicals, and our mimosa died last year after lightening struck it, but we've thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the shade of the others. We've planted one tiny mimosa to replace the lost one and another has come up from a seed in one of my concrete planters so we'll be transplanting it some time next month.

Last evening I went out to capture the colors of the cypress and willow in all their fall finery. I just love trees.

I added tags to the pictures for bloggers who use IE, just like Miz Donna taught me how to. :-)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Another Blogging Tip

Miz Donna shared her knowledge with us about how to add tags to the photos on our blog and she asked about how to add an image to her blog background so I thought I'd share what I know about that.


To make make an image repeat across the whole page (like wallpaper)



Find a background tile you like, there are loads and loads to find if you just google for background tiles. I use photobucket to host whatever background images I use cause it's so easy to use their html image code for whichever images you've uploaded to their site.

Go to Template>edit html and look for the styling properties for the body of your blog, which should look something like the example below:

body {
background: $bgcolor;
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Arial sans-serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
}

You'll be editing the line that I've made pink, above.

To add a repeating image to the background, you add the following (highlighted in red) to the body properties (using your images code):

body {
background:url(http://www.imagehost.com/yourimage.jpg);
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Arial sans-serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
}
This will make the background image repeat across the whole page


To Make a background image repeat vertically down a page

You have to add the code in red below.

body {
background:url(http://www.imagehost.com/yourimage.jpg) repeat-y;
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Arial sans-serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
}


To make a background image repeat horizontally across the page


body {
background:url(http://www.imagehost.com/yourimage.jpg) repeat-x;
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Arial sans-serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
}


To create a fixed image background


You'll normally use a large image for this in order to cover the whole background screen. I dislike trying to make this work because it will appear different on different sized screens I think.

body {
background:url(http://www.imagehost.com/yourimage.jpg) no-repeat;
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Arial sans-serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
background-attachment: fixed }

I hope this helps, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us Miz Donna.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Nanaw Goes to School and Stuff

First I went to Language Arts and Reading class where I learned what Expository Writing was. I need to read up a little more on that so I can be the chief editor for Zach when he has to begin writing a Expository type paper.

I had to duck out of this class for a few minutes to make a trip to the bathroom whereupon I immediately got lost and ended up in the boys restroom. I realized my mistake when I first went in and came upon the urinals, but I can't be held responsible for this error due to the fact that they must think an awful lot of rowdiness goes on in those restrooms because the doors were propped open; I couldn't see the sign on the door. I finally found the girls restroom, went in, sat, and then realized there was no toilet paper in the stall. So, I drip-dried for a few, then pulled my pants up and moved over a different stall to try to dry, my then damp, drawers.

Next it was time to go to Math where I watched them draw different kinds of charts and graphs using information such as July - Dec. temperatures in Orlando, FL over a 3 year span. What I learned in that class was that 2004 was the best Fall, temperature-wise, in Orlando (but that's just my opinion).

Then it was time for lunch. Zach would not allow me to sit with him in the cafeteria, I had to sit across and down the table from him near two lads and a young lady who were glad to keep me entertained while I tried to tackle a salad with a plastic fork. They stayed their allotted time, then left me there struggling to stab my carrots and cucumbers while they went to run wild and free on the playground for a short time.

After lunch was Social Studies where I didn't learn an awful lot because they did some work in their workbooks and then had to leave for 45 minutes to go to P.E. I was able to talk to the teacher during that time though, so it wasn't a total waste of brain cells. After the class returned from P.E., they prepared to take a test on their progression in that class. I decided that I didn't remember enough from the last few weeks of helping with homework to take the test so I chose that time to quietly slip out and go home.

I figured I had embarrassed the child enough for one day, and,,,

I really, really, needed a cup of coffee and a nap.

Shortly after I arrived home Jerri called to tell me that Beans had her first preschool assessment today. I'm not quite sure what all an assessment of a 3 yr old involves, but they told her she scored exceptionally high on it. The preschool teacher told Jerri that the first question was, "What is your name." Beans told her, "My name is Jillian M. but my momma calls me Beans, so you better write that down." The teacher then told Jerri she had to cover her face to keep from laughing out loud.

Notice I used transitional words to begin most of my paragraphs. :-)

Monday, November 17, 2008



I needed to get out of the house for a little while on Saturday so Jerri and I took a drive. We left my house and made a short loop around some of the country roads. The photos above were taken on lost road where I've taken photos before. It was cloudy but the leaves still made for some pretty pictures. I love taking pictures of that old house. I don't know who owns it or who lived in it back when, but I love imagining how it was when a family might have lived in it. If you click to enlarge the picture you can see a curtain still at the one window that's not hidden by trees and other growth.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

A Lotta Ups and downs Last Week


The word is that his job won't be over until the end of January so that gives us a little over 2 months to try to scrape up all the funds we can gather to pay off as much as we can and just start all over. My plans were to have everything paid off by the time James was old enough to draw social security because Farm managing doesn't offer retirement, you just grow old and die on the job, but best laid plans apparently don't include an employer who's lost his ass playing the market (this is the most frequently heard rumor, and there are many. The man himself has not told them anything). I've been praying about it and so far I can only hear God whispering, "What are they gonna do girl, take away your birthday? They can't take what you don't have."

The visitors have been flocking in around here like vultures to hear all the details; like we know anything other than unemployment is looming in the near future. I wouldn't even get out of the bed for a long time yesterday because the coffee crowd in my living room sounded like a bunch at a funeral gathering. At least he goes in tomorrow to start getting all the farm equipment ready to sell, and will be out of this house and out of my hair for a few hours.

My plans for tomorrow include going to school to sit in on Zach's classes. He got in trouble again last week for not doing some of his homework. He's in even more trouble for lying; he told his teacher that I had taken his homework out of his folder and threw it away. So,,,maybe if I sit in the classroom with him for a few days, his embarrassment will provide him with enough incentive to DO HIS DANGED HOMEWORK and NOT LIE in the future.