New Read, New TV Show

I'm not much good with change, I'm really not. Change sometimes lets me down, makes me nervous, disappoints me; all or any of these reasons are what makes me wary of change.  So, I reckon my inability to accept very much change probably, quite often,  keeps me from trying new things.  But, sometimes, on rare occasions, I throw caution to the winds and discover a sweet surprise or two from something new.  This past week, and this evening, I've done just that.  So let me tell you about it.

First, I moved from my usual path of horror/murder/suspense novels to discover a really well written, first work of fiction, by Sherri Wood Emmons.  Prayers and Lies is a novel that manages from the first page to make you feel as welcome as any visitor to the South is made to feel; welcome and well fed (belly and soul). An awesome book about love of family, family secrets, and innocence lost.

My second surprise was my first viewing of Harry's Law.  This is a new program that started airing last month I believe.  I've always loved Kathy Bates, who plays a lawyer in the show, but I'm not so crazy about lawyer shows.  For lack of anything else on TV this evening we watched back to back episodes of Harry's Law    and I was hooked once she takes out her gun and shoots a rat in her office without a change of expression or anything.  This gal could be my friend!  I think it will be coming on around 9 on Monday evenings and I'll be watching for it.

Southern Exposure

Dang it's been cold,  I even have icicles dangling down from my roof and it's not often that we see such as that in my little spot in the Mississippi River delta.  Don't get me wrong, real Winter happens occasionally here.  I remember having a really big snow, 12 inches or more, back when I was a kid and every other year or so we'll get a couple of inches.  A couple of years ago we had a 7 inch snow to welcome Spring. But this year it's been cold since November and we've had two substantial snows and a couple of dustings. This morning when James left to go down to the farm for a few he said the temps were -6!! And since this is Arkansas weather, where it can snow in the morning and be warm enough for shorts in the afternoon,  wouldn't you know, the temps are supposed to be up near 70 by Monday!

Night at Nanaw's

"Daddy is a good boy!  He's gonna let us have this puppy and we'll name her Maple."

"Nanaw, you get to choose.  Do you wanna play I Spy With My Little Eye,  Inky, Pinky, Ponky, or Mickey Mouse Peed on a House?"   What? LOL.

I need a nap now. :-)

UT Oh :-)

Never irritate a woman who can operate  a backhoe...

 

 

Thus endeth the lesson.

 

Women are Angels...And when someone breaks our wings...We simply continue to fly....on a broomstick...We are flexible like that...

Photo Challenge: Frozen

 I had this scheduled to post after midnight and for some reason, blogger moved it over to a draft?? Hell's bells, I don't know what happened?  Here I am though, finally!


Miz Donna says the holidays are over so it's time to do our photo challenges again so hop right on over to the Photo Challenge blog and click the link thingies to take a look at all the wonderful photos.  The theme for this challenge is Frozen.

A close look into my Sonic cup of diet Dr. Pepper with a load of ice.

I call this shot and the next one,  Frozen in Time

Frozen in Time 2

There ya go,  those are my challenge photos.  Don't forget to go take a look at the other challengers.

Old Age Prayer

This lady is a hoot!!

In the News

Ninety students who attend Frayser High School in Memphis are currently pregnant or have already had a baby this year.The number indicates, that 11% of the student body has entered into parenthood. 

I did a little math of my own and came up with a more astounding figure; Suppose that of the 978 pupils attending grades 8 through 12 at Frayser High School, half of those are female (489).  Now those 90 female students who have given birth recently or are currently pregnant puts the percentage of female parenthood on up to almost 20%!

The Memphis City School District folks are a'wondering what can be done about this problem. They're looking for grants, for funds, for what amounts to TAX  money, to correct this problem. I don't know about you all, but I can think of a few corrective measures that don't have a damned thing to do with throwing good money away:

First, someone tell me what in the hell being a student at Frayser High School in Memphis, TN has to do with being pregnant?  Did they get pregnant while attending school?

Make the students/teens/parents accountable.  Back when Hector was a pup, and me too for that matter, if you decided to have unprotected sex before marriage and became pregnant, you, the father-to-be and your families somehow came together and came up with a plan.  The plan did not include not knowing who the father was, or applying for medicaid to pay for the doctor and hospital bills, or receiving money, WIC, or Food Stamps from the government to raise a child. 

Educate your kids about sex and contraceptives and don't wait until they're grown to do it.  You should also not expect the schools to do it for you.  More than half of the U.S. states allow that minors do not have to have parental permission to ask for and receive FREE birth control.  (Hey Frayser students, TN is one of them!) The states that don't allow it, have legislative bodies who are about as dumb as a box of rocks in my opinion.  Parents and teens should put out at least as much effort at obtaining AND practicing birth control as they do waiting in line to fill out all the paper work to have the government pay to have and raise a child.

Am I biased?  Maybe being a little mouthy and over the line about a tender subject?  Well get over it, this is my blog and that's my opinion on the subject. And by the way, I pay to watch my TV (you hear me Direct TV and WMC channel 3?),  and I'm getting pretty damned tired of the news reporters using my viewing time to tell me of all the new ways being found to waste hard working folk's tax money. How bout report on ways to save some.

Ok, I'm done.

Winter Prayer

Lord help me to make it through these Winter months.  I'm having fantasies that include Spousal death by remote. Help me to keep my hands away from his throat as he sits snoring on his throne with remote in hand.

Amen.

Black and White

I've taken quite a few pictures of this field during different times of the year because I'm fascinated by the few little trees that sit there in the middle.  I like the view best when the crops are harvested because it makes them look so lonely and desolate out there all alone.  Once upon a time there were many, many more thickets and small woods here in the delta, but the greed of the lumber industry and the farmers has cleared them all away.  It's so sad.

 You can click to make any of these photos a little larger if you'd like.

I remember the old barn at Grandma and Grandpa's house; it was a lot like this one. I can recall  the dank, dusty, darkness of it when you first entered in out of the sunshine.  The groaning and creaking sounds it made when the wind was blowing outside.  I remember climbing up into the loft although we were forbidden for fear we'd fall though in some places. And who can forget the acidic smell of the lime sprinkled potatoes stored in the old corn cribs during the Winter.  Grandpa kept so many great treasures on his work bench.

Cause I said I would...

I took this picture of my new bird feeder through the big window in the dining room.  It's also where I take many of the hummer pictures during the summer months.

The old barn over on the highway. Winter is the best time to take shots of this old place because when the crops and leaves start to grow again, it'll be mostly hidden.  I love finding old barns, buildings, and houses to shoot with my camera and I love to wonder what they would say if the old boards and walls could talk.

Only 77 more days till Spring!

Christmas Is OVAH!!

Turning geriatric cartwheels here.

James got a new bird feeder for Christmas.  I got one too but I think his is the best one. :-)
I'll take a picture of mine later.

My favorite presents are the "Gopher", an extend-able back scratcher, a silky, warm scarf, and the custom wine glass you can see in my header.

I spent a good bit of the holidays with a heat pad against my lower back,,,

Except for the time that Jami's dog, Hercules, decided that she needed it more than me.
Silly hound.

From Top left, great niece Reese, granddaughter Alexis, gd Krysten, gn Mikah(?), gd Abby, Front gd MeriKate, gd Jillian, gn Shelbie, gd Jaylen.  We don't seem to make ugly babies here in eastern Arkansas.  :-)

Our two oldest babies, Granddaughter, Jordan, and Zach.

Back to a normal routine tomorrow.  I hope everyone survived the Holidays intact!

I LIKE this cake

I think I've posted this before but I believe that you can never have too much of a good thing. Right?


Tequila Christmas Cake

1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar
Lemon juice
4 large eggs
Nuts
1 bottle tequila
2 cups dried fruit

Sample the tequila to check quality.

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

Repeat.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.

At this point, it is best to make sure the tequila is still OK. Try another cup just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 eegs and add to the bowl and chuck iin the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the fruit up off the floor.

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit getas stuck in the beaterers, just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the tequila to test for tonsisticity.

Next, sift 2 cups of salt, or something.

Check the tequila. 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 fald over.

Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window.

Finish the tequila and wipe the counter with the cat.

Cherry Christmas!

Christmas Trivia

Did you know:

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy 37.1 million real Christmas trees each year; 25 percent of them are from the nation's 5,000 choose-and-cut farms.

Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of pines, spruces, and firs can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine nuts, or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition.

After "A Christmas Carol," Charles Dickens wrote several other Christmas stories, one each year, but none was as successful as the original. Before settling on the name of Tiny Tim for his character in "A Christmas Carol," three other alliterative names were considered by Charles Dickens. They were Little Larry, Puny Pete, and Small Sam. And,  Charles Dickens' initial choice for Scrooge's statement "Bah Humbug" was "Bah Christmas."

Alabama was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday. This tradition began in 1836.

An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.

Christmas is not widely celebrated in Scotland. Some historians believe that Christmas is downplayed in Scotland because of the influence of the Presbyterian Church (or Kirk), which considered Christmas a "Papist," or Catholic event. As a result, Christmas in Scotland tends to be somber.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

My Helper!

Sometimes he makes me absolutely insane,,,makes me feel like I'm an ancient old crone and too old to be raising children.

At other times he does the sweetest things and helps us out so much.  He helps the little ones but  he may also be tormenting them by teasing them unmercifully.  There's no doubt though, that he loves them.

Last Christmas I let him help with the gift wrapping just a little.  This Christmas he's developed such a great talent for it, he'll probably wrap everyone's but his own! 

Thank you Zach, Nanaw loves and appreciates you even when you make her crazy!

Favorite Christmas Present

I think mine was the bendable leg Barbie who had eyes that closed and three lovely wigs so I could change her look whenever I wanted.  I think I was 11 or 12 when I found it under our tree. We only ever got one present that was a toy cause the rest were clothes or shoes that were necessities. But I truly believe our Christmases meant more to us than the materialistic holiday they call Christmas these days. 

I also remember that on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter there was anything that anyone could possibly want to eat on our table.  I think I looked forward to that the most.

The Truth About Reindeer

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME 

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game,
While both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year,
Male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter,
Usually late November to mid-December.    
Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.
Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer,
EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known…...
ONLY women would be able to drag a fat-ass man in a red velvet suit
All around the world in one night and not get lost.

HO-HO-HO!

Christmas Fun and Funnies

Christmas is just around the corner, is everyone through shopping?  I'm getting close but not finished yet.  I thought I'd post a link or two to get everyone in a Christmas mood.

How bout a visit to the North Pole to look around? Or maybe try a game or two to get your twinkle going? I even found some Christmas Fonts you might like to try.

And Lastly, a few Christmas cartoons are always good for a few Merry giggles.

Busy Weekend

We knew there was some rain coming but God sure painted a pretty sky before it arrived.

Friday night was pretty cool when I took Alexis, Jillian, and Zach, to the little ice skating spot at the Court Square in Helena for a few spins around the rink.  Beans (Jillian) had a little problem staying on her feet but the Chick (Alexis) below, seemed to get the hang of it pretty quick.

 We awoke to a little rain on Saturday morning but didn't have much on the drive to Little Rock. It turned out to be a cloudy but nice day.

The girls spent the night and on Saturday we got up early and drove to see 2 other of our girls, Jaylen and Jordan.  We had fun laughing at their boxers who thought there might be a bite of Rice Krispy treats to be had.

Jaylen's happy, smiley, face!  All of our girls are such cuties (and I'm not a bit biased).

I stopped a couple of times on the way home from Little Rock to get a few shots of the gorgeous Canadian geese that were landing in the harvested rice fields to feed.  We get loads of Snow geese but not so many Canadian geese the past few years. 

That was pretty much our weekend. Family, fun, and food. Can't beat it!

To My Dearest Friends and Family,

There were probably many, many times this year when I may have

Disturbed you,

Troubled you,

Pestered you,

Irritated you,

Bugged you,

Or got on your

nerves.... 

So today I just wanted to tell you...........  

Suck it up Cupcake!!!  
'Cause there are  NO   CHANGES  planned for 2011 !!!