AJ, Me and Company

Answers

2012-01-31T15:33:00.000-08:00

Okay here are the answers to the last Blog...did you get any of them right?

Aaron's Jacket.....

Yes this is a License Plate...but also the roof of a Bird House.

No this is not a Window Blind.....it's my air conditioner.

This is something I painted many-many years ago......a Wren Bird House. It will be gone this spring because it is falling apart. Maybe a new House for the Little Wren Song Birds will be put up.

These colors are so pretty...did you guess Pigeon Feathers?

Pink and Blue...Girl and Boy...Jack & Marley's Dog Ball.

This was Easy-peasy.....Tree Bark, from our big tree that was cut down this winter.

Did you guess Pigeon/Bird Feed? You were right!

A Big Garbage Bag...that will soon be full of Pigeon Poop and Feathers.

A weathered cement Bird Bath and in the summer also a water bowl for Jack and Marley!

A map? an Oil Spill? How about an Old Barrel!

A Wind Turban Vent on AJ & ME's Storm Shelter. I love my Hole in the ground ♥ ♥

This is one Flower you can walk on :o)

And the last picture is not a gray head of hair, but very Black Hair that belongs to Marley. This was taken in the bright sun and came out gray.

We really love ♥ this puppy. We love her so much that we had a Micro Chip put in. When the chip is scanned our name, address, phone number and our Vet's name all come up. The Yellow tag on her collar lets the pound know she is registered.

Well no one guessed all of these, so I will eat the sucker myself and will put the ball point pen with my check book. Sorry :o( you loose!

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A Cat is there when you call her....if she doesn't have anything better to do!

Can You Guess?

2012-01-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

Today it was just Wonderful out side. We are having a very Mild Winter. Just to get a breath of fresh air I went outside in the back yard and took some pictures. Now if you have ever been in our yard you will probably guess right away what these pictures are. If you have not been in ME & AJ's backyard, these are common things and you should know them by sight. See if you can guess what they are.

You can comment below and let Me know if you guessed correctly.

The winner gets a Red Sucker and Ball Point Pen (I got free from the Bank).

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Cats are like Potato Chips....you can't have just one ♥

I Love a Man....

2012-01-25T12:12:00.001-08:00

I Love a Man that will sit and have a Cup of Coffee with his Cat in a slightly messy Kitchen and on a very uncomfortable stool♥

I also Love a Man that will Kiss his Cat right on the mouth (and not wipe it off!).

I Love a Man that will sit patiently and listen to his Cat's problems, fears and needs.....

and reasures his Cat he will do everything he can to make things better and that everything will be fine, he'll see to it!.

I not only Love a Man that does this with his Cat,but also does it with his Wife. Yes AJ sits and has Coffee with Me and does not complain about the slightly messy kitchen, doen't wipe my kisses off, lets ME confide all my Secrets with him and listens to all my problems, fears and needs. He then will give ME good advice, tells ME not to worry, "everything will be all right" and it usually is♥

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Cats are just Children with Fur!

Jen and ME are Feathering Our Nests!

2012-01-21T08:51:00.001-08:00

You would think it was enough that I sell on eBay ( this stuff has to be bought, pictures taken, listed, wrapted and then mailed), tend to 5 pets, a husband, a Granddaughter, a Mom, cook a little, laundry, a little house cleaning, keep up on FB, write and follow a Chat Line and write this Blog. Now I have a small booth at an Antique Mall called "The Feathered Nest". I have never been so busy untill I retired! Jen also has a booth where she sells her Texas General Store Products and trendy items.
My Booth is actually called an End-Cap. It is between 2 booths and is on the asile. You have to have a name so I came up with NOW and THEN ANTIQUES.

All of the items I have put on the shelves are things that I tried to sell on eBay and they didn't sell. I am hoping I will get rid of them this way and will not have to store them or take a loss by donating them to a Thrift Store.

Time will tell if this is a Good Move for ME.

Jen also, as I said, has a booth. She sells her Smelly Good items and Trendy Items like ....

this Sweet Paper Towel holder, this fun Sign,......

this Pink Table she bought, distressed painted and ...

these precious hanging Flowers,.....

and this over sized School Clock.

We are not rich with $$$$ yet, but we are having a ball and we are doing it together and that makes it Double Fun!

This Mom & Daughter are Rich with Love ♥

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A Cat is the only real Love money can buy.

Home Made Liquid Laundry Soap

2012-01-18T16:03:00.000-08:00

I am sure I have mentioned it at one time or other, that I am frugal (cheap). I will squeeze a nickle untill the Buffalo pees. I save all left overs and create other meals. Nothing goes to waste. Dry things like, left over bread, cookies, crackers, popcorn, and pancakes are diced or crumbled and given to the Wild Birds. Meats and vegies are mixed into the dog food. Yes my Puppies will eat green beans, corn and peas mixed into their food. I have also made Doggie Cookies. I use cold water to wash my clothes, newspaper to Windex my mirrors and windows and when a soap bar gets down to a sliver I stick it to the New Bar. I save the condaments that aren't used in take out bags, like ketchup, jellies, butters and sour cream. See I told you I was cheap! Well I read quite a few Blogs and something that was going around the Blog World was a Home Made Liquid Soap Recipe. I saw this quite a few times and even the Pioneer Woman (a very well know blogger) uses it. So I thought if it is good enough for her it might just work for ME. So here it is.....

This is what you will need. A 5 gallon plastic bucket with a lid, a box of 20 Mule Team Borax, a box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda...not Baking Soda, a bar of Fels-Naptha washing soap and a grater or sharp knife. These can all be purchased at WalMart in the detergent aisle.

First you will grate the Fels-Naptha Bar. I grated about 1/2 of the bar and whittled the other 1/2 with a knife...my arm got tired. After the grating of the soap.....

put about 4 cups of water in a sauce pan and add the soap. Bring this to a boil and reduce the heat. Stir untill it has all melted.

It will look like this.

Now measure out 1 cup of the Washing Soda and put in your 5 gallon bucket.

Measure out 1 cup of the Borax and add it to the bucket.

Add about 4 cups of very hot water to the powders and stir. You may have to put your hands in there to crush some of the clumps.

Now pour the melted soap water into the bucket and stir. Now this is when you will take your bucket and put it in your garage or laundry room. Fill the bucket almost to the top with very hot water (about 6 inches from the top) and stir. I used a broom handle to stir. This then will sit 24 hours. When you think about it, give it a stir, every once in a while in the next 24 hours.

This is what you end up with. It is thick about like gravy. There will be some lumps that will come to the top. Squish then with your hands or just leave them be. Now you will put this in containers. Milk jugs, laundry contains you have saved, any thing with a lid. You will want to shake it before you use it. One cup for a regular load and I use about 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups for my ex-large washer. So far it has worked pretty good for ME & AJ. We do not really get our clothes dingy-dirty and I always Shout Out the stains before washing. This was kind of fun making...will I do it again?

Maybe

Maybe not! ♥

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The Only Self-Cleaning thing in my Kitchen, is the Cat.

Pigeon Rescue Center

2012-01-14T13:18:00.001-08:00

If you know AJ and ME you know we both have a abnormal passion for animals. It was always there but seems to have gotten more intense since our nest emptied of Kids. Quite a few little animals have chosen us to be their caretakers over the past 30 something years. We have sheltered Spiders in jars, nursed to health Wild Baby Birds that fell out of nests, watched Caterpillar metamorphosis in a jar, helped a stray Feral Mama Cat give birth to a litter of Kittens, purchased 3 Boxer Dogs, purchased a Mini Aussie that I think maybe came from a Puppy Mill, purchased a Persian Kitty that was the Runt of the litter and no one wanted, found 4 two month old puppies some just dumped...found homes for 2 and kept 2, took 3 stray Kittys off the streets and gave them homes and took in a dog that a neighbor abandoned and left behind when they moved. We have caught in our back yard,Raccoons and Opossums in live traps and taken them to the wood and set free.
And of course I can not forget my Red Eared Slider Turtle that lives in our Family area in a 15 Gallon aquarium and really is needing a bigger one.
Of course you all know AJ raises Pigeons. At one time AJ had at least 100 birds and now I am sure there are more. He has, number of times, said he has to thin some of the birds out. He would be willing to give away some of the birds if, someone wanted to start raising them also. He does not have the heart to just let some of them just fly away....hawks would for sure get them. Well the other morning AJ gets this phone call from a Pigeon Guy and told ME this Guy was coming by the house. My assumption was this Guy was going to take some of AJ's birds. WRONG! This Guy was getting out of raising birds and he was bringing some of his to AJ. AJ would rather take the 4 birds then to see them destroyed. I laughed and said we now were a "Pigeon Rescue Center"!

AJ puts in alot of time tending to the birds. He is out there feeding, watering and cleaning lofts in the Hot Summmer or the Freezing Winter.

He has been rewarded for his effort and won Blue Ribbons.

I was on Face Book and this had been posted. When I saw it it made ME think of AJ and ME. I know there are people out in this world that have done so much more to help Little Critters then AJ & ME have, but if everyone would do just what we have done or even less, it would help.

Just click on the site below and watch a very Sweet Video. Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.godvine.com/I-Am-An-Animal-Rescuer-a-Touching-Video-for-God-s-Creatures-1018.html

A Letter

2012-01-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

Madison has been in School long enough this year that the newness has worn off. She dilly-dallys a little more in the mornings. She walks a little slower through the front doors into the school at 8:30 AM and walks a little faster out of the front doors at 3:30. On Fridays when she gets into the car after school she repeatedly says "I'm Freeeee...I'm Freeeeee!". Another thing that has almost become a problem is her Lunch. She is so turned off to the School Meals. Lunch is sometimes an Apple and Bottled Water. To help solve this problem Jen has started packing her a Sack Lunch. Well on this certain day Jen told Madison she would bring her up a Lunch and not pack her one. Jen said it really tickled Madison knowing Mom would bring her a Lunch...like probably McDonalds. Well Lunch time came and lunch time went and it completely went out of Jen's mind to take her Daughter a lunch. Jen calls ME up to confess what she had done. Of course I told her "do not worry about it Madison would be fine and I would make sure Madison got a good afterschool snack". Well when I picked Madison up after school she didn't even mention Mom not bringing her lunch. I told her when we got home I would fix her a snack. We had not been home very long when Jen pulls up and toots the horn for Madison to come out to the car. She comes back in with a Little White Sack and inside was her favorite Jersey Mike's Hot Roast Beef and Swiss Cheese Sandwich & Bag of Chips and she also had a paper in her hand. There she sat on the sofa eating her sandwich and reading the paper. Later I took a peek at the paper and was so proud of My Daughter that I ask her if it would be okay if I Blogged it......
and here is the Note Jen wrote to her Daughter....
(click on the note and it will enlarge it)

I really thought it was sweet of Jen to write Madison a Letter of Apology. We are forever telling our Kids to say "I'm Sorry" but how many times do we really tell them we are sorry when we screw up?

Madison will for sure forget the time Mom forgot her lunch, but I bet she will remember Mom writing her this note and letting her know Mom's are not always Purrr-fect >^..^< either.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A House without a Cat...is like a Kiss without a Hug.

Extended Family Pets

2012-01-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

The other night AJ had to work late so I decided to take Jen up on her offer to come over for Dinner. She had made Beef Tips & Noodles and I just could not pass them up, with the understanding that a Big Bowl would be sent home to AJ, so I would not have to do some late night cooking. The Beef Tips & Noodles were wonderful...of course they were my recipe, which was my Mom's recipe and was her Moms recipe and I could just keep going. We come from a long list of Great Cooks and thank goodness the Family's Women have all passed the recipes and cooking skills to their Daughters. After dinner,I was thinking, "now I will get to sit down and have a little quiet time and conversation with this Little Family".....
Madison had homework to do....Wade was watching TV.......

Cats lounging quietly. All was peaceful.....until........

Jen let Ethel in.....Ethel is their 1 year old Golden Retriever. Yes, she is beautiful. Yes, she is big, 70 pounds. Yes, she is still a Pup.

Yes, Jen has done a pretty good job of training her.Yes, she does sit and lay down...

This is Ethel's rendition of Dead Dog...she needs a little more pratice.

She also can shake and smile big...she is a Happy Girl. And she is the happiest when she is..... being a Lap Dog!

There are more Little Critters in this Home, like Annie. Annie is down to 7 lives. She got out once and ran away from home, to the woods, for about 2 months, more or less. A neighbor Lady found her and she was skin & bones. That's one life. Then she swallowed a piece of string that had gotten intangled around her tongue and down into her intestines and caused an infection. She was very close to death. That's two lives.

Then there is Alfie. He is a Big Boy about 13 pounds or so. Jen & Wade got him at 1 day old. Mom just deserted him in a garage. He was hand bottle fed around the clock and he thrived. He doesn't know he is a Cat and no one is going to tell him he is, so, shhhhhhh.

Then there is Teddy....Ted is kind of dumb, but oh so Loveable!

There is also Andy another Cat that doesn't like his picture taken, Tillie a guinea pig, and a tank full of fish.......and believe it or not, Madison names them :o)

Then last but not at all least, there is "The Matriarch" Hillery. Hill is old and out of respect to the Old Gal I will not give her age. I will tell you she was born a solid Black Lab.

Like all of us the gray has happened and she is showing her age. She has arthritis, over weight, her hearing is bad and the bladder is failing. Jen took her to the Vet and they said she was still doing pretty good for her age. Jen babies her quite a bit. For Breakfast Jen and Hillery like snacking on dounuts. What ever Hill wants Hill gets at this age!

After the picture taking I came home and my Puppies, Jack & Marley sniffed me for a good 5 minutes. I do not know if they were smelling Jen's Pets or AJ's Beef Tips & Noodles I had brought home!

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Feed, Water and Shelter the Wild Birds... they will "THANK YOU"!

It's All in a Sign.....

2012-01-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

Have you ever thought about Signs? I mean really just sat down and thought about all the Signs we see. Well for lack of anything else to do, ( do you believe that!) I did. Here are some I came up with:

Welcome Sign......Traffic Sign......Church Signs......Signs of a Cold......Sign Language......Signs of Bad Weather......Signs of Falling in Love......Signs of Falling Out of Love......Signs of Pregnancy......Store Signs......Neon Signs......Billboard Signs......Open & Closed Signs......Warning Signs......Signs of Spring......Signs of the Times......Handicapped Signs......Plus Sign......Minus Sign.....Exit Sign...... No Smoking Signs......Do not Walk on the Grass Sign.....For Rent Sign......Zodiac Signs...... Street Signs...... and my fovorite........ Yard Sale Signs!

Then of course there are the "Signs" in AJ & ME"S Home!

Like these two in my Kitchen.

I have not found a good place for this one yet, but it kind of made ME think of AJ & ME.

It is easy to find MIMI & GRAMPY'S PLACE...just look for the Signs.

This one is on our front door....I really need to add two Dogs and a Turtle to the Sign.

This Sign was actually for our first Puppies, Butch & Lady, but it has carried over to Jack & Marley. The first two were Spoiled as is these two new Kids!

This Sign is on our Bathroom Door. Like our Home is so large the Bathroom would have to have a Sign? NOT!

I really do not remember where these came from, but if the Sign fits wear it!

I went through a Bad time in my life once years ago and my Mom got this Sign for ME. Believe it or not it has helped ME alot of times.

This had to have come from Wade, Paul or Jennifer at one time. It is so old and like the Dummies AJ & ME are, we didn't write on it.

And this is my very favorite Sign in my home. It makes ME think of Fairy Tales, Prince & Princesses and Unicorns. But it also makes ME think of AJ & ME. We have gotten to a place in our life where "Living Happily Ever After" is very important to us. And to Live Happily Ever After you must be Happy......

and to be Happy you must be married to your BEST FRIEND!

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Please feed the Birds....and hang Bird Houses so they have shelter in the Winter and can nest in the Spring. They will "THANK YOU!"

New Years Eve Day We invaded The Golden Corral!

2012-01-02T07:37:00.000-08:00

This Small Immediate Family on AJ's side has grown and grown. It now consists of 15 members. The Family, as a whole, has out grown AJ & ME's Small Quaint Bungalow. I have removed the Hostess Crown and passed it on to the Younger Gals who have a lot more energy and space in their Lovely Homes. My motto is "You name it and AJ & ME will be there". This year they named it...."The Golden Corral"....and AJ & ME were there.

We were very lucky, since we did not call ahead, and got a spot were we could set up tables so we could all be in the same area. One booth was taken up for the gifts.

I was so very excited to lay my eyes on our Newest Member of the Family Brynna, AJ & ME's first Great Grandchild. She is 6 months old and is an Angel.

Her first Christmas Gift from her Mimi & Grampy (AJ & ME) was a 14K Gold Baby Bracelet. I hope her Mommy keeps this safe so she can have it when she is a grown Lady.

Of course at this age she was very much more interested in Aunt Jen's jewelry then her own.

I loved the Little Socks that looked like Little Ballerina Slippers.

We all took our turn holding and Loving on this Sweetie, but I think Grampa Paul was the Man of the Day....

when it came to Loving on this Baby Girl!

Family Gatherings can give Moms a break from the Babies. While everyone is taking their turn at holding the Little Bundle of Joy, it allows Mom to eat a whole hot meal...something very rare for Moms...Just ask Alisha.

Madison invited a BFF to join us...Christine...

and did they go after the Chocolate Fountain ?.....

They Chocolate Coated... Strawberries, Marshmallows, Rice Crispie Treats, Coconut Macaroons Cookies and fingers and mouths!

and of course Grandpa Paul is STILL holding Brynna.

Aunt Jen helped Ryan get through his meal. He had for the first time and loved Fried Clams! I told Ryan to "smile" and this is what I got, so I took it!

My AJ was not feeling the best this day and was pretty quiet and laid back. My Gosh Jen! what is that thing poking you in the neck!!!!

After we were all finished eating, except Paul who had finally given up Byrnna to eat, started opening Presents.

Wade got his package of Little Debbie Treats from ME. I have been giving him Little Debbies since he was about 10 years old.

Julie was in charge of Ryan's gift opening and Wade was there to give Evan a hand if needed. They worked very well as a Parent Team!

Ryan gave Grampy (AJ) some wooden train tracks. How nice Ryan to be so generous with your tracks :o) .....you can not see it but these had been chewed by the Puppies, but Grampy loved them and they were put in a very safe place when AJ got home.

I get Julie an Angel ever year in Memory of our Little Angel that is no longer with us.

Christine got a singing-dancing Santa with a little cash tucked inside.

Our Big Boy Grandson and our Little Boy Grandsons.

Well, I have to admit I am not perfect...really. This year I made a grave error. For at least the past 30 years, on Christmas Eve, I have given Jen a Gift in "THE GREEN GIFT BAG". She was about 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 when this started. Alway, but ALWAYS is this Green Bag under the Tree with a gift in it. For some reason this year it just was not in my mind. Christmas Eve after we had opened all the Gifts she said to ME "Mother, where is my Green Bag?" All I could say was the truth.... "I can't believe it! I forgot all about it!"

Well I almost made up for the error and brought it along for our "Other Christmas". In the "Green Bag" was the cutest Golden Sign I found for her.

To end the Christmas Gala we played Dirty Santa. Wade is holding a Gift Box that had a Red Lobster Gift Card in it. Guess who stole it from him?...........ME!..... Crab Legs here I come!!!!!!!

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Merry Christmas Ya'll, from AJ & ME

New Years Eve 2011

2011-12-31T23:11:00.001-08:00

Well again AJ & ME spent New Years Eve at the Waffle House. This has kind of become a New Years Eve Tradition.

This year we got there a little later then usual. It was about 11:oo when we passed through the doors. We had, had a very busy day and took a Long Winters Nap when we got home so our Time Schedule was a little off. I was determined to go to the Waffle House before 12:00 no matter what.

We pulled into the almost empty parking lot and parked next to a big Red Truck. When I read what it said on the side of the truck, I felt very comfortable going inside. There was a Traveling Truck Doctor in the restaurant. How nice of this Doctor to just drive around looking for ill people on New Years Eve. Who says there are no more Dr. Wellbey's out there?

This must have been the time for a shift change, because there were more employees in the Restaurant then customers.

AJ & ME ordered our meal of eggs, grits, hash browns, bacon and of course Waffles. Like usual the food and service was very good. We ate, AJ decided to have a second cup of coffee and we paid our bill and left.

As we were driving down the road on our way home, I just happened to look down at the clock and LOW & BEHOLD we had missed 12:00. 2011 had quietly slipped away without either one of us noticing it and 2012 had taken it's place very gracefully.

I can not say I will miss you 2011, you brought ME alot of heartache. But on the other hand you also gave ME another year living on this Earth, in this Grand Country "The USA", another year of loving my AJ, my Kids and my Grandkiddos, a chance to be a care giver to my Mom and to Love on her a way I never have before, and I do not want to forget Dottie, a Little Feral Kitten I found this summer.

2012, all I can say is I hope you are as good to ME as 2011 was.

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....and the clock struck seven...

2011-12-26T14:44:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas Eve...I have had quite a few of these in my life time, so I kind of know the Drill. I sure do miss the Christmases when Jen was small and every gift she got was a Thrill! and very much do I miss the Christmases when Madison was a Baby, toddler, pre-schooler and 1st-5th grader. I miss the days when I loved getting Jewelry, Perfumes and lacy-filmy nightgowns. I so much miss the days when, I enjoyed and had the energy to "Shop Till I Dropped" the last few days before Christmas Eve. I again want to "LOVE" wraping presents and decorating them with Ribbons and Bows. I remember when I could get through Christmas Eve Gift Opening with out looking at the clock and stiffling yawns. I remember Christmas Company Parties, dropping off gifts to Friends and Baking Dozens of Cookies and giving them all away! Well I guess what I am talking about could be considered CHRISTMAS PAST. .........and I guess what I am about to discribe to you is also a CHRISTMAS PAST.

........................................Christmas Eve 2011.........................................
It was just about 7:00 when AJ and ME got to "The Cox Mansion". As usual, when you walk in you are Greeted by 2 Beautiful Rotating Chrismas Trees.

Before we start opening the mountains of gifts, we take in a little nourishment. We had Cold Roast Beef, Swiss Big Eye Cheese, Romain Lettuce on Creissants. She also had Spinach and Artichoke Heart Dip w/ Itallian Toasts. There was Brownies and Rum Cake for Dessert.

We then retired into the living room and the Gift opening began. AJ was the first to open a present and it was his favorite, a Big Can of Cashew Nuts dusted with Sea Salt.

Jen opening Cuddley soft PJ's from Madison.

Wade surprised Jen with a Nook. Unknowing to her, he had also purchased himself one......

and of course one for his "Squirt" (Madison).

There were practical gifts. Wade got Jen a very nice Fry Pan....

and she in return got him 2 Laundry Baskets. He about came out of his chair with real excitment! Their old baskets I guess had bit the dust!

Madison was surprised with a New Phone that she could Text on. Her old phone was not able to text on, so now being able to Text like most of her friends........

brought her to tears.

Jen got lots of Hugs for that gift.

Here Madison has opened up a pair of "Miss Me" Jeans and she is squealing with delight!

We heard the same squealing whe she opened up a second pair.

I got Madison her Collector Doll and this year it was in the Goth/Vampire Theme. She is very into the Twilight Movies.

And since Christmas is for Kids, Madison was the Star of Christmas Eve. She got a PINK Robe......

a PINK Sleep Shirt........

and a PINK Body Pillow. Plus lots of Pink (which is a Brand Name) tops and accessories.

She also got 2 pairs of Sweater Uggs.

Well this "CHRISTMAS PRESENT" will now be added to all of my "CHRISTMAS PASTS" and give me 12 months and I will tell you about 2012 CHRISTMAS FUTURE.
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If you have a Real Christmas Tree, put it outside and decorate it with stuff the Birds will eat. They will "Thank You"

Christmas Past....

2011-12-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

Jen ask ME a few days ago how many things could I remember getting for Christmas as a Child and how many Childhood Memories did I have of Christmas. Well the number is probably about even....I have few Memories of Childhood Christmases and there are a few things do I remembering getting. There were 2 people that made sure my Christmas was always wonderful...My Mom and her Mom, my Grandma McBee. Back in the late 40's and 50's when I was a Child, Christmas at our house was new PJ's, some new Socks, Mittens, a new School Dress, a new Game, Coloring Books, a BIG Box of Crayons and maybe some new Little Golden Books. But there was always the one BIG Gift that for months you had been asking for. This is usually where Grandma stepped in. Seemed like Mom got us the practical gifts and Grandma would get us the Biggie, the Special, the Impractical Gift. We would always open up all the gifts and just when we thought we were done...we would hear a HO HO HO and the sound of Jingle Bells at our front door. We (ME, my Sis and Little Brother) would run to the door and of course by the time we got the door open all we saw was a stack of gifts. Mom would bring the presents in and we would then have the last hor-rah of Christmas Eve . That is when the very special Gift you had been hoping for all year, was opened complements of Santa (my Uncle Harold did the Ho-Ho-Ho-ing and the bell ringing and of course Grandma, who had somehow, come up with the extra money to get the Special Gifts we had ask Santa for). I have sat and tried to recall some of the Christmas Gifts I recieved as a child and these are all I have stored in my Memory Bank.

These are not my own items. I found these on the web. They are real close if not exact to what I had as a Child.

I remember having this set of these dishes. They were made of glass and made by Fire-King in Jade-ite Green.

I had this Electric Stove. It had a light bulb in it to warm the burners and oven. It really did not cook or bake anything like the EzBake Ovens we have now.

Oh my gosh, this is what every Little Girl Wanted. A Tiny Tears Doll. Well my Sis and I each got one, on Christmas one year.

Grandma bought the Dolls and Mom made us a whole Wardrobe of Clothes for our Tiny Tears. She used some of her old clothing she no longer wore to make the clothes. She made two of everything so each of our babies had their very own wardrobe. I think my Sis still has her Tiny Tears Doll.

This is another Doll my Sis and I got one Christmas. She was called Saucy Walker. This was like the one I recieved. She had dark brown hair and was probably about 24" tall. If you stood her on the floor and held her hands and moved her towards you she would take steps. Sis got the same Doll except smaller and blond haired, because she was younger then ME and had blond hair. I still do not understand that reasoning????

This is the very last Doll that was ever bought for ME. She is a Uneeda Dollikin Doll. I thought she was beautiful and I still do.

She was also called a Manneiquin Doll because she has 16 flexible joints and could be posed like a human. The one I owned was just like this Doll even right down to the Mandarin outfit.

Now this was something I wanted so very bad and my Grandma came through for ME one Christmas. This is when Transistor Radios first came out. It even had a little earphone. I can remember at night when I would go to bed, I would put the earphone in my ear and pull the covers over my head and listen to music on WLS, a radio station out of Chicago.
I just loved that Radio and loved my Grandma for getting it for ME.

I was now at the age where music was such a big thing to ME. Elvis was just getting popular and I was Crazy-Nuts over him, like all the girls my age. Frankie Avalon was a close second. I remember, I told my Grandma I just had to have a record player that played 45 records. So yes, that Christmas I got one. It looked alot like this one. A big heavy case with a handle on it for carring. It was a Gray instead of the Rust color in the picture. Every week-end my Mom and Grandma would go to town and if I went along Grandma would buy ME a 45 record. At one time I had quite a collection.

Grandma got ME this one year for Christmas. I had started staying all night with some of my Girl Friends and also going to Slumber Parties. I so wanted an Overnite Bag and sure enough I got a Samsonite Train Case. Oh my how grown up I felt to own a real piece of Luggage.

I recieved this Type Writer when I was in my Sophomore year of High School and was learning to type. It was not electric, it was manual...you had to pound the keys. It came with a hard case. I think this was a gift from my Mom. I do know my Sis used it and maybe my Brother also, when they were learning typing in High School.

Now I am a Junior and Senior in High School and clothing is a very big thing to ME. There was a dress code. The whole time I went to School I never wore slacks, jeans or shorts to school. We girls had to wear dresses or skirts. And the "in thing" was dressing to the "T". Every day I went to school looking like I was working in an office. My Christmas Gifts were now Shoes, Handbags and Clothes.

One of my favorite Brands was Butte Knitt. I had quite a few Butte Knit outfits thanks to my Mom. My Mom would do without to make sure her kids were dressed nice and we were.

Now why not sit down and try to remember some of your Christmas Gifts....tell your Kids or Grandkids about Christmas when you were a Child. Share your memories with them while you can.

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fEeD ThE biRdS.......

A Christmas Tour of the Nursing Home

2011-12-22T16:42:00.000-08:00

When you drive up to the front door of Gran's Nursing Home, where my Mom now resides, you are Greeted by Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus.

The Purple Pillars and the roof eaves are decorated with Multi Colored Strings of Lights.

When you walk in the front door and look into the Dinning Room this is what you see. Look close. Yes, the Tree, Toys, and Gifts are upside down on the ceiling. It kind of makes you a little dizzy.

This is the same picture turned upside down. Still makes ME dizzy!

This Jolly Ole Elf is Life Sized.

This Tree is normal, sitting on the floor. There are 3 fully decorated Trees in the Home.

Little Elves and Stockings are everywhere.

and Santa is also a very popular Guy. He can be Jolly or.......

have an Old World look.

The 3rd Tree is the Tree that stands all year long and is decorated for different Season and Holidays.

Another Claus Couple and their Candy Cane Striped Pet Monkies.

The Organ sits ready for someone to play Christmas Carols.

This Mrs. Claus is animated.

And of course we all know Piglet.

This Large Boot full of Gifts is just Beautiful.

Even Santa needs a nap sometimes.

It could not be Christmas with out lots of Poinsettas.

This is really Unique. It is a round mirror and it looks like a Ball Ornament.

Skinny Socks for Skinny Elves !

This Tree was made out of a metal wire mesh. So Pretty.

A long sparkley Beard on a Santa Head.

Each Resident's door has a Wreath on it.

The Little Blond Cocker sitting in the middle on the floor, was Mom's. I had gotten her that for Christmas years ago and it was one of her Treasures. It now lives in the Nursing Home and Mom can see it everyday.

Madison (right side with Red Crocheted Headband on) and some of her Girl Friends went Caroling at the Nursing Home. They had a good time.

Well that's the Christmas Tour of Gran's Nursing Home. Mom was not in a very good mood this day and I did not even take a picture of her. She would not eat any lunch and she would not even smile. When she gets like this the best thing to do is to just leave her alone and not agitate her. I went back later that day to see how she was and she was napping peacfully and that was a Good Thing.
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Surfing the World Wide Web....

2011-12-21T07:57:00.001-08:00

I really just love Browsing the Net. I love being a member of FaceBook. I am sometimes very surprised that at my age I get alot of enjoyment out of Cyber Space. Here are 4 links I want to share with you.

.........Click on the addresses........

This first one will will both break your heart and bring you joy.

http://www.godvine.com/One-of-the-Most-Heartbreaking-and-Beautiful-Dog-Rescues-Ever-939.html

~~~~~~
This is a Christmas Cartoon I started watching in 1953. I thought everyone had grown up with "Suzy Snowflake" but found out lately this came out of Chicago and was only seen in the Midwest area.

Click only on the words... "Suzy Snowflake"....not
.... http://www.youtube.com/...

Suzy Snowflake http://www.youtube.com/

~~~~~~

AJ & ME just love Flash Mob Videos and are always hoping to run into a Flash Mob someday in real life.

http://www.godvine.com/American-Festival-Chorus-Puts-on-an-Awesome-Flash-Mob-935.html

~~~~~~
This is nothing but SWEET.

http://www.godvine.com/Mom-Gets-a-Huge-Surprise-When-Santa-Turns-Out-To-Be-her-Soldier-Son-928.html -Ever-939.html

~~~~~Hoped you enjoyed!

The Doll House Adventure

2011-12-18T17:25:00.000-08:00

Have you ever said you were going to start a yearly tradition and in a year or two it just fizzles out. Well Madison was born in April of 2000 and that Christmas of 2000 I decided every year for Christmas I would buy her a porcelain Collector Doll. And I have kept that tradition. These Dolls are not toys. Jen has purchase Madison 2 Lighted Wood & Glass Curio Cabnets. The first one ran out of room so a bigger one was bought and it has started to bulge also. Some of the Dolls, she has 10 and this year's will make 11, I ordered. But I have also purchased some from this very Unique Little Doll Botique tucked away in downtown Edmond. The "DOLL HOUSE".

AJ, ME and Jen went to Edmond to get Madison's doll and as we were walking we saw & heard this Horse & Wagon. I just love the clip-clop of the holves and all the scene needed was Snow and a Wagon full of Shoppers sing Jingle Bells.

Another thing I love about Edmond is on every Downtown corner is a Bronze Statue. This is the one that was on the corner we walked past. It looks like a Mom has read her Child to sleep.

Every window we went by was decorated for the Christmas Holiday. The whole Main Street of Edmond is just a Heartwarming. It made ME almost feel like I was walking the Streets of my "Miniture Christmas Village.

The 3 of us finally made it to Our Intended Destanation "The Doll House". Before you go inside, the outside is an almost give away that you will be entering into a very Charming Place.

When you open the door this is the first thing you see. Hundreds of little Pairs of Eyes looking at you as you enter. If you love Dolls you will think you have "Died and Gone to Doll Heaven"! There is a menagerie of Dolls just waiting for you to give them some attention.

There are Dolls for every occasion. This would be perfect for a Little Girls First Communion.

There are Small Dolls like these "Madame Alexander Dolls". Do not let the size fool you. Even though they are only about 10 inches tall, they still are very collectible and pricey.

There are alot-alot of Baby Dolls. Here you can see a Set of Twins.

I wish I could give you the names of all the Artists responsible for these Masterpieces. But that would take hours and since Jen and AJ were with ME I had to hurry up my mission.

Jen found a Baby Monkey that needed some attention. No sooner had Jen picked up the Baby Boy Monk......

the Baby Twin Sissy Monk needed picked up also. I think Jen was pleased to settle the Monkeys down for a bit! ;o)

There are Toddler Dolls......

and Pre-school age Dolls. These Little Farm Kids are adorable.

Do remember these are not Toys but Collector Dolls. These are not the Dolls you will find in WalMart or a Department Store either.

There are some Oddities like this Little Orange Haired Gal and who doesn't remember Strawberry Shortcake? sitting in the background.

Most of the purchases are not for Children, but for Adults that Collect these Fine Dolls.

For enstance these two Dolls have a price tag on them for $1500.00 each.

The 3 Little Girls standing next to each other all cost $2700.00 each.

This Beauty was I believe $6000, of course that included her Dog....what a Bargain!!! Now you are understanding the Awe of this store. Not only are the Dolls breath taking so are some of the prices.

Now these Pretties were somewhat reasonable, about $199 each.

These Little Newborns are OOAK (one of a kind).

I loved this Little Girl. I loved the Gap Between her Front Teeth and to ME she looks just like a Kid you would see at the Park or the Mall.

The Baby Doll on the left without the passy, to ME, looks like Alisha when she was a Baby.

Don't you just love the Tutu and the High Top Black Canvas Shoes?

Now if I had been out after a Baby Doll this year, this is the one I think I would have chosen for Madison. But a Baby Doll was not on my Agenda for the 2011 Christmas.....

nor was I out after a Big Girl Doll either, although I do love the Little Red Head.

These are very Pretty Princess Dolls, but Madison is way past this Stage.

This Little Girl was so Charming.

And wouldn't you know it, they even had the Jolly Ole Elf in Doll form.

Now I have shown you just a sample of the Dolls this Doll House has. I could really spend hours in this Store looking, touching, holding and taking pictures of the Beautiful Dolls this Lady named Debbie has invested in. This Doll Botique is Charming, full of Fantasy and brings out the Inter Child in most females. I did pick out a Doll for Madison, but I am not taking any chances on her seeing it so, no pictures untill after Christmas.

Now these two Dolls, an Older Sister reading to her Younger Sister were the most expensive Dolls in the Store. They cost, for the 2, because they will not seperated them is, $18,000. Yes that is Eighteen Thousand Dollars. And no! this is not what I purchased Madison for Christmas!!!!! But are they not Lovely?

Oreo Balls

2011-12-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

The Card this Recipe is wrote on is filed, in my Recipe Box, under "N" for "NO BRAINER". Cakes, Brownies and Cookies in the shape of Balls or Pops have become the trendy Baking thing this year. I even saw at the Big Blue Giant (WalMart) baking pans that you can bake cake or brownie batter or cookie dough in and they come out round. Well this Recipe is just up my alley, they are round and takes no Brains or Cooking to make. One thing you must have is a Little Time. They are a little tedious. Well here we go.....

The ingredients are:...1- 15.5oz package of Oreos Regular, not the Double Stuff....1-8oz package of Cream Cheese that has set out a few hours and is room tempture....and 1- 12 oz package of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips.

You will now take about 6 Oreos and crush them in a Plastic Bag. Empty into a large bowl and countinue to crush the cookies a few at a time untill the whole package has been crushed.

You will want the cookies to be in small hunks, not crumbs or powder.

Now the fun begins...put your soft Cream Cheese on the crushed Oreos and mix with a wooden spoon untill combined some. Now you will get down and gooey. Start mixing with your clean hands.

Mix the cookies and cream cheese untill it is a soft sticky dough. You will not want to see big areas of cream cheese and make sure you use all the crushed cookies on the bottm of the bowl. Now put this bowl in the fridge for about 1/2 hour. And yes, now you can lick those fingers!

After a 1/2 hour of cooling, roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper, or waxed paper. I use my Handy-Dandy Pampered Chef Scoop....

to get the exact size each time.

I got 51 Balls this Batch. And be sure to scrape that bowl clean! Now back in the fridge go the Balls. You want to keep these as cold as possible. You could even put them in the freezer if you have room....I didn't!

Now you get out your Doubler Boiler. If you do not have a Double use a metal bowl over a pan of boiling water. Be sure the water does not touch the bottom of your bowl or doubler boiler pan. I have 2 double boilers but I still use a bowl and sauce pan instead. You are now going to melt your Chocolate Chips. Be very carful no water gets into your melted chocolate it will make it seperate and loose it's smooth texture.

This is now the very tricky part. Take a few at a time, like maybe 5, of your cold cookie balls out of the fridge. Leave the rest in the fridge staying cold. Now you must get the melted chocolate onto the balls. This can be very messy. The way I do it and it works wonderfuly is: I stick a toothpick in a ball and the paint it with a Clean Art Brush. I hold it by the tooth pick and just paint all over. The choclate will be a little bumpy but will smooth out some as it sets. Then I set the ball with the toothpick still in it into some styrafoam that has a piece of parchment paper over it.

See there is no mess at all!

The balls are a little bumpy, but after all they are Home-made. I call it "The Home Spun Look".

Now the Chocolate Covered Oreo Balls must go back in the Fridge or Freezer if you have room, to set up and harden.

Now I did have some melted Chocolate left over so I poured it on a piece of Parchment Paper and put it in the freezer to harden. Then I broke the chocloate up in small chunks and plan to put them in some Chocolate Chip Cookies. This was Ghirardelli and I was not going to let it go to waste.

After my Oreo Cookie Balls set up, about 30 minutes, I transfered them to a bowl I could seal air tight. I just went ahead and left the toothpick in the cookies since they are Bite Size.These must be kept in the fridge or if you like them harder and colder, in the freezer. These are not great as cookies to give away, but are wonderful to bring out when Guests come by your home.

Now these are very """Chocolatey""" and you can coat them in White Chocolate, or Milk Chocolate. Also you can use some of the Holiday Flavored Stuffed Oreos that are out, like Mint, Peppermint, Peanut Butter or Chocolate...just do not use the Double Stuff Oreos.

Happy (No) Baking!
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Remember, if there are old cookies in you jar, left over, and have gone stale, do not trash them...give the Birds a Treat!

A Modge-Podge....

2011-12-15T15:23:00.001-08:00

I was going through my Folders of Pictures and was going to thin them out some. These are a few that originally did not get edited out and now that they are forever on Cyber Space, they will be going in the Computer Trash Can!

Can you tell why Madison needed braces. They are off now and her teeth no longer have spaces between them. Her bottom teeth were perfect so no braces there.

This just gives you an idea of just how big our Murphy, Main Coon Cat is.

This is the last piece of furniture left in my Mom's house. Yes I have tried to sell it but no one seems to want a Lighted Hutch/China Cabnet anymore. It is solid Maple and just beautiful.

This happened this past summer. I do not remember why the water was running but it ran along time. This was when it was 100 degrees and we were in a drought and you could ony water everyother day. It made me want to run out and get buckets full and pour on my poor burnt up grass and flowers.

This is our McDonalds on Main Street. We have heard that it is going to be torn down and a new one will take it's place in the same spot.

This is part of a Class picture when I was in the 2nd Grade. Yes that is ME on the front row, on the left side of the Little Boy. I do remember the dress was Purple and my Mom had made it for ME.

I would say this was the Grim Reeper if I didn't know it was AJ.

Alisha and Steven on their Wedding Day....to bad they have the Red Eye!

This is Lorie, Madison's Kindergarden and 1st Grade Teacher. We love this Lady. She is a "Real" Teacher!

This Big Train, "The 844 Union Pacific", was touring our State and AJ & ME went to see it. Believe ME when I say "That was one Big Train"!!!!

This is a very ominous sky we had this last Spring. And this is just the reason I got an underground Storm Shelter years ago.

This is what a foot looks like when a Blood Vessel breaks for no reason at all. It did't hurt but did itch!

I honestly have to say this is very high on the list of things I like during our Summers. I just can not wait until I see my first Hummer of the Summer!

Ummmm....this is Jack!

AJ, ME and the whole Bunch love eating at this Little Well Known Hole in the Wall that advertises " The Best Chicken Fry in the Universe!"

Dottie is now 6 months Old. She is a Long Thin Cat! and loves to climb!

I am going to sell this on eBay. It is from the 1960's and it is a round rotating Foot Rest. I bet it makes ME a Buck. I paid 50 cents for it!

Cat in a Box....

And last of all this is what you see if you look out our back door in the Fall.

The End!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am not going to say it, you know what to do! They will THANK YOU!

Who Am I ?

2011-12-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

I am Diana Marie. My Mom wanted to name ME "Valerie Marie", but my Dad liked the 1940's Movie Star "Diana Lynn" and he was determined to name ME "Diana Lynn". Well my Mom and Dad compromised and came up with "Diana" (made my Dad happy) "Marie" (made my Mom somewhat happy). She has tolds ME many times how she wanted Me to be named Valerie.

"Diana" is a nice name and I have become used to it over the years although most people, including Family call ME Diane and drop the A. In Mythology the name "Diana" is the Goddess of THE HUNT & MOON. That's her up there ^. Ya, no resemblance to ME!

My Birthday is the Best Day in the whole year to be born on..Feburary 14 and I have always Loved it! That is why my Mom wanted to call ME Vallerie, because I was born on Valentine's Day. She said she would have nicknamed ME Val. I think I would have liked that. One thing about having a Birthday on Valentine's Day is, almost everyone remembers your Birthday, when you are asked "when is your Birthday?" they say awww... your a Valentine's Baby and of course it is a Day of Love.

I was born in the 40's, so yes I am a Baby Boomer. I have 8 Grandchildren and 1 Great Grandchild. I do recieve a SS Check every month. That's all the hints you get to guessing my age.

My Mom was 20 years old when I was born and my Dad was 25 years old. I was 10 days old in this picture...my Dad left to go Over Seas the next day and did not see ME again untill I was a year old. I think this may be the reason him and I never got along. I think he just never got a chance to bond with ME as an infant or Me with him.

My nationality on my Dads side is Czech-Slovak. On my Mom's side is English Dutch and Irish. What a combination!

I was born in Illinois (there is no "noise" in Illinois) and raised in a small Railroad town called Silvis. The biggest thing in Silvis was the Rock Island Yard. This place kept alot of food on peoples table. My Dad worked for John Deere. I grew up in a very industrial area.

When I was 11 years old I became very sick. I ran a very high temperture, a very sore throat, aches in my joints and lost alot of weight because I could keep no food down. I was in the Hospital for 2 months having test after test. At one point the Doctors told my Parents they thought I had Leukemia. Back then Children died of this disease. I had to have my Hip Bone drilled into to get some Bone Marrow to be tested. Of course it came back not to be Leukemia. After ruling out everything one Doctor finally said I had Rheumatic Fever. I spent 1 year almost next to being bedfast. This disease can damage your heart so, rest is very important in getting over it.

I have been married twice. With my first husband I was very young and and got Friendship and Love mixed up. I had three babies by him and that is the best thing that came out of that marriage. In 1977 I married Aaron...he is my "Life Partner". Sometimes I wonder how I have put up with him all these years and "all the time" wonder how he has put up with ME all these years!

I saw this cartoon and thought of myself...I wish I could find that Tee-Shirt, I would buy it and I would wear it! What happens to us after about 50? I always weighed 100 pounds soaking wet. I hit about 50 and my body became a sponge...just a soaking up them calories!

One thing that kept ME so slim & trim in my Prime was that I was a waitress. When you are a Cafe Waitress you have got to move it! Those Guys want to get that food, eat it and get back to work!
Also seeing food so much daily you tend to get turned off on food. I could have ate anything I wanted in my Mom's Cafe but, I can remember days I just could not wait to get off work and go home and eat a Bolonga Sandwich.

Well Old Waitress Never Die, thet just get sent back in the Kitchen to become the Cooks. Yes, the last few years of my Food Service career was cooking in the Kitchen. I was a darn good Grill Cook! I love cooking Breakfast and if I had a $1 for ever Buger & Fries platter I cooked, I would be rich! That picture up there ^ looks like my plates. Our Burgers were served open-faced with all the trimmings. Or in restaurant talk "Run it through the Garden!"

I think this picture ^ tells it all. Yes I am a Left Winger, I always Vote Straight Party, I believe in Freedom Of Choice, and I am Pro Union. I think you get it.

Now one thing I have always told my Daughter Jen and AJ is when I am no longer on this Earth, I want my Head Stone to read....Here Lies a Woman that had Everything!

Okay now that you have read this all I can say is

"TO know ME is to Love ME"! ...............or not.

Craft Shows...&...Craft Malls

2011-12-12T08:36:00.000-08:00

If you haven't been to a Craft Show or Craft Mall you are missing out on a quite enjoyable time. It is really fun to just walk around at your own pace and look at the Wares that are being sold. There are some really talented people out there making these items. These are the perfect places to find a unique Gift for the "Person That Has Everything" This past week-end I along with Jen, became, for a few hours, a Vendor at a Craft Show. One thing I knew I would see was Crocheted House Slippers...these seemed to ME, to be the main staple at a Craft Show. I was very pleased to see so many trendy Crocheted items.

One thing that was selling like Hot Cakes were these Crocheted Head Bands.

Just a simple idea and the Young Girls loved them. Every where you looked a Gal was wearing one.

Now this was my table. I had kept all my Mom's Costume Jewelry...and believe me she had quite the collection. My Mom was a very Classy Lady in her Prime Time.

It was quite the job sorting through all of this and pricing it. I was a Smart Cookie, I think! I colored coded every thing...and it was all Dollars 1-2-3-4 &5, so there was no coins to mess with.

This was a 6 foot table and I could have used a bigger one. The items were pretty crowded.

I finally did get a little extra table to put some Christmas Wares on.

Jen was right next to ME with her table full of her Scentitize Candles, Spritzers, Reed Defusers and Oils.

Her Stuff is so pretty when displayed and of course.....

it smell so Goooood!

She has about 42 different fragrances so after smelling each one for awhile the smells kind of run together. She has a little container of Coffee Grounds and if you take a whiff of the grounds it will clear and cleanse your nose, Smell Palette. It works the same way when tasting wines you eat a cracker to cleanse your Taste Palette.

One Little Girl came by my table and she was wearing Hand Warmers. Just had to get a picture of these. They also were being sold at the Craft Show. After seeing her I saw these all over the Show. Little Girls, Tweens, Teens and Ladies were all wearing the Crocheted items.

Now this is the one handcrafted item I really liked...and this Little Gal didn't mind posing for some pictures.

I told her my Sissy in Illinois does alot of crocheted items and I wanted her to see this Band.

So she let ME take pictures of ever angle and side. Thank you Sweetheart, I didn't get her name?

This was my Neighbor at the Craft Show. He makes these Leather Bags and Bilfolds. He was a very Sweet Little Guy. Our show was 11:00 to 4:00 and he never got up once.

Now these hats are a popular with the Girls. The reason I am showing these is, I mentioned my Sis crochets items and makes these same hats and sell them in Illinois. These are not hers but are some I seen at a Craft Mall where Jen has her products. These cost $10.99 each, and my Sis makes hats like these and sell them for $5.00 each and they are so much prettier then these in the picture. I keep telling her to raise her prices!

This is a picture of Jen's End-Cap at the Craft Mall "Feathered Nest" in OKC. This is also a picture of Jen's back side! Sorry Jen :o( Wade built this little display for her. Good job Wade! :o)

Jen is having alot of fun selling her Smellies. She has a page on Facebook you can go to if you want to know more about this product..."Scentitize"

One thing I saw at the Craft Mall that I really liked and wanted to pass along to my Sis who also has a Booth in an Antique Mall in Illinois, was this booth trimming.

This Gal has just taken some old yellowed book pages and strung them on a cord and has made a Garland out of them and then hung it around her Booth. It looked better in person, but it was really quite eye catching!

Well this is my Blog on Craft Shows and Craft Malls. Oh ya, Jen and ME did super well at the Craft Show. This was my first Craft Show and I would sure do it again. The Show was at The First Baptist Church and a percentage of what we made went to the Missionaries. I did a Little Work for the Lord and in turn He repaid ME 10-fold! Thank You Jesus......

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A Lovely Poem....THE BAVE LITTLE SOUL

2011-12-11T07:48:00.000-08:00

There are some Guestions I ask myself quite often. Questions that are very personal and only between ME and ME. One thing I wonder about and ask myself almost daily is "Do I sit on the computer to much?". Well yes and no. I sell on eBay and that does take computer time. Even though I do it at my own speed and out of my house, eBay is a job. It is a supplement to AJ & ME's budget. eBay is our mortor, it fills in the cracks. Computer Games are something I do just before I go to bed. They are a mind cleanser. One I really love is Jigsaw Puzzle Games. It is just putting together a puzzle like you would on your kitchen table, but there is no mess or small pieces to loose. Another thing I have found on the World Wide Web is a Chat Room. This forum is a bunch of Women, of all ages, just talking about their lives, kids, grandkids, hubbys, sharing recipes, the government, breast feeding, home schooling, pets, diets, God, home decor, ...just like a bunch of Gals having coffee and a dounut at a round table in a Cafe. I love it! Then there are Blogs. I follow a couple, that means I read them everyday. The one I am very interested in is "EBing a Mommy". This is a young Mom that has a 2 1/2 year old Baby that was born with EB....a skin disease, no cure, sores all over the body, in constant pain and will die from it. The Little Boy is named Tripp. The husband/Daddy could not handle the horrible problem and checked out. It is her, her Mom and her Sister that are taking care of Tripp. You can just Google "EBing a Mommy Blog" and take a peek, but let me tell you it is not for the everyone. It is very sad and there are pictures of Tripp. Now ack to the Question "Do I sit on the Computer to much?" My house would say "yes", my laundry would say "yes", my cooking would say "yes", AJ would say "no"...why because he is on the PC as much as ME. I find alot of nice things on the Computer. Today I read EBing a Mommy Blog and she had posted this Poem and although it was wrote for Tripp, it can pertain to many Children. When I read it I thought of "Our Brandy". Just change HIM to HER...He to SHE. and after reading this I decieded I DO NOT SPEND TO MUCH TME ON THE CONPUTER, how else would I have ever found this Lovely Poem. I sure hope you enjoy this Poem and you can think of any Child or even any Adult that has suffered on this Earth and has brought People together in Love.

The Brave Little Soul
By: John Alessi
Not too long ago in Heaven there was a little soul who took wonder in observing the world. He especially enjoyed the love he saw there and often expressed this joy with God. One day however the little soul was sad, for on this day he saw suffering in the world. He approached God and sadly asked, "Why do bad things happen; why is there suffering in the world?"
God paused for a moment and replied, "Little soul, do not be sad, for the suffering you see, unlocks the love in people's hearts." The little soul was confused. "What do you mean," he asked. God replied, "Have you not noticed the goodness and love that is the offspring of that suffering? Look at how people come together, drop their differences and show their love and compassion for those who suffer. All their other motivations disappear and they become motivated by love alone."
The little soul began to understand and listened attentively as God continued, "The suffering soul unlocks the love in people's hearts much like the sun and the rain unlock the flower within the seed. I created everyone with endless love in their heart, but unfortunately most people keep it locked up and hardly share it with anyone. They are afraid to let their love shine freely, because they are afraid of being hurt. But a suffering soul unlocks that love. I tell you this - it is the greatest miracle of all. Many souls have bravely chosen to go into the world and suffer - to unlock this love - to create this miracle for the good of all humanity."
Just then the little soul got a wonderful idea and could hardly contain himself. With his wings fluttering, bouncing up and down, the little soul excitedly replied. "I am brave; let me go! I would like to go into the world and suffer so that I can unlock the goodness and love in people's hearts! I want to create that miracle!"
God smiled and said, "You are a brave soul I know, and thus I will grant your request. But even though you are very brave you will not be able to do this alone. I have known since the beginning of time that you would ask for this and so I have carefully selected many souls to care for you on your journey. Those souls will help you create your miracle; however they will also share in your suffering. Two of these souls are most special and will care for you, help you and suffer along with you, far beyond the others. They have already chosen a name for you". God and the brave soul shared a smile, and then embraced.
In parting, God said, "Do not forget little soul that I will be with you always. Although you have agreed to bear the pain, you will do so through my strength. And if the time should come when you feel that you have suffered enough, just say the word, think the thought, and you will be healed." Thus at that moment the brave little soul was born into the world, and through his suffering and God's strength, he unlocked the goodness and love in people's hearts. For so many people dropped their differences and came together to show their love.
Priorities became properly aligned.
People gave from their hearts.
Those that were always too busy found time.
Many began new spiritual journeys, some regained lost faith - many came back to God.
Parents hugged their children tighter.
Friends and family grew closer.
Old friends got together and new friendships were made.
Distant family reunited, and every family spent more time together.
Everyone prayed.
Peace and love reigned.
Lives changed forever.
It was good.
The world was a better place.
The miracle had happened.
God was pleased.

Party Time!

2011-12-10T22:09:00.001-08:00

It is no Secret that Jen is selling a product "SCENTITIZE". This is Candles, Spritzers, Reed Defusers and Oils. She has been doing Craft Shows, Has a Booth at a Craft Mall and doing some Parties. This is really a great product. She mentioned this product one day at my Mom's Nursing Home and the Girls were very interested and invited her to bring her wares over. She had an evening party and an afternoon party. The afternoon Party had a Special Guest. Can you guess who?

Yap...my Mom and her Pup, that Cher gave her. The Pup even dressed up for the Party and wore Beads. Mom got her hair prettied up and her nails polished. She looked so pretty! She also was very alert that day as you can tell.

Jen set up all her Smelly Goods and the workers did walk ins for about an hour and a half. She has 42 different fragrances so it take a while to give it all a sniff.

Mom decided she like the "Lemonade" candle and very much disliked the "China Rose" candle. Every afternoon the Home Pops Corn for the residents, so Mom and I had a Bag of Popcorn and shared a Coke.

After about an hour you could tell Mom was starting to tire. This is usually when she naps. So I took Mom and Pup back to her room. The aides got her into her recliner chair and she quickly dozed off. She had a busy afternoon and I really believe she had some enjoyment! And, oh ya, Jen did real well...the Girls loved the Smellies and did BUY!
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Have you noticed the Bugs and Insects and Worms and Grass and Flowers and Berries and Seeds and Fruits and Veggies are all gone. It's pretty bare out there and very slim pickin for the Wild Birds. Please feed the Birds...they will "Thank You".

Dec. is the Busiest Month of the Year!

2011-12-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

Well it is the first of Dec. and Thanksgiving is over and Christmas will be here in a Blink of an Eye. When you were a Kid it took forever for Christmas to arrive, but as an Adult we need 6 weeks in the month of Dec. instead of 4. There are so many things to do in 24 days. Decorate the inside and outside of the house and put up the Christmas Tree, Christmas Shop until 6:00 PM Christmas Eve, bake Cookies & Breads and make Candies, plan the Christmas Dinner Menu and shop for it, wrap Gifts, go to Company Parties and School Programs and Send out Christmas Cards. Some of these things I still do, but most of these have been deleted since the Kids have grown up and have Families of their own. I do decorate a bit outside, but not inside, not even a Christmas Tree. I do shop but not up to the last minute the Stores Doors are open. The Christmas Menu is left up to the Younger Ladies, but I do still make a few Cookies & Candies. No Company Party for ME & AJ although we do make it to Madison's School Christmas Program. I have quit sending out Christmas Cards, I would rather pick up the phone and give you a call and tell you Merry Christmas. I got thinking this year, I really should give everyone a Card.....so here they are....you just look through them and take which ever one you like. Enjoy!

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23 ADULT TRUTHS

2011-12-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

This is oh so true...I am sure you Ladies will find it alot funnier then the Gents. Click on the page and it will get larger....

Don't you just Love # 23....I was laughing before I read "Quit Laughing"

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

2011-11-28T19:12:00.001-08:00

Please Sing the next lines...oh come on sing!!!!

Rain Drops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens
Bright Copper Kettles
Warm Woolen Mittens
Brown Paper Packages tied up in Strings
These are a Few of ME & AJ's Favorite Things:

Folgers Coffee is our favorite and if you look close you will see there is a spare. We will never run out of Coffee, not in this house. I use the Coffee Mate, AJ drinks his Black. The Popcorn Salt is also a Favorite. AJ is a Pro Popcorn Maker and Eater and only Fine Grain Morton Popcorn Salt goes on his Home Made Popcorn!

Now ME on the other hand likes Microwave Popcorn and my Favorite is White Popcorn.

My Favorite afternoon Sugar High is sometimes a Candy Bar. My Favorites are Musketeers & Milky Way. It just so happens these are Madisons Favorites, unless in the fridge is some cold Mars Bars which are AJ's Favorite and then they become her Favories!

Favorite Puppy Treats are these Duck Jerkys...now they are not my Favorites, because they are very pricey. I made the mistake of buying these treats and now the Puppies stick there noses up to anything else. Spoiled Dogs live at my House!

Now the Kitties are different. They like anything I have a coupon for. This week my Favorite was Friskies, a coupon for "Buy one and get one FREE!!!!"

Blue Bonnet is my Favorite, but if AJ picks up margrine it is usually Parkay. I never say a word...it saves me from buying it! Hiland Milk is our Favorite. He likes Whole Milk. I like 1% or even Skim, so we kind of compromise on 2%, although sometimes I just go ahead and get my Favorite a Gallon of Skim Milk.....he then will make a secret, unknown to ME, trip to the Grocery and come home with a 1/2 Gal of Whole Milk.

My Favorite Shampoo is the Classic Prell. Been around for years. I like it because it is a good Shampoo for deep cleaning. Gets out all the hair spray and gels I put on my hair. I sure hope they don't quit making it. It is getting hard to find. I like it so much I put it on my Christmas list and Jen comes up with a few bottles every year....Thanks Jen!

Now this Favorite is AJ's. Really-really...AJ has a Favorite Dish Soap. He loves the smell, Waterfall Mist Scent. I like Dawn any kind, regular or with Olay. I like it, because it is used to wash the Little Critters Clean that get caught in the Oil Spills.

Coffee is my Favorite hot drink, but I do enjoy an occasional Hot Apple Cider and only my Favorite Brand, Alpine. I also like a cup of.....

Hot Chocolate, when it is really cold out. I found this last year and have been hooked on it ever since. It is Swiss Miss "DARK" Chocolate Sensation. It is soooo good. It is now my Favorite Hot Chocolate.

These little Electric Heater are our Favorites when the degrees drop around zero. We will run one in the garage and kitchen to help make sure our pipes do not freeze up. They also feel so good blowing on your feet when it is extra cold outside.

These little Red Ball Point Pens are my Favorites. They write really well, feel good in your hand, they are Bright Red so they are easy to see in the bottom of your purse and what makes them my Favorites is they are Free at the Bank!

Bar Keepers Friend is a must under your sink. It shines that stainless sink, cleans Copper and Brass, takes the coffee stains out of your white coffee mugs, take water marks off of your glass coffee pot, it is just great for getting marks off of just about any thing. I could not live with out my "Friend"!

Salt Water Taffy is sold in Bulk at the Grocery Store. I am pickey and only like Cinnamon, Licorice and Peppermint, they are my Favorite Flavors. So once a week you can see ME at the Grocery standing in front of a Big Box of Bulk Taffy with my plastic bag, digging through the Taffy finding only my Favorites.

Speaking of Bulk, my Favorite way to buy my Favorite Hair Spray is in the Gallon Size, along with big bottles of liquid Hand Soap and Mouth Wash.

My Favorite Painting is this one called MY MOTHERS SHOES. This Little Girl reminded ME so much of myself at that age. I loved to wear my Mom"s shoes and my Mom French Braided my hair just like the Little Girl's in the picture. I admired this painting for years and one Christmas Jen purchased it for ME...Thank You Sweetheart!

Another Favorite picture is this one of Madison. This was an oops. The photographer just took it for kicks and we ended up loving it!

Our Favorite Bathroom Spray is OUST. It cleans the air and does not leave a strong odor. And of course that is one of my 2 Favorite Cats.

I love these Salt & Pepper Shaker. Do not ask ME why, I do not know, but they are my Favorites and I have 3 sets of them.

My very Favorite Cat Toy. Why? Because the Balls stay put and do not roll under the furniture. The Kitties love it too.

I hate Plastic Bags, but if I do have to have them, this is the one I want. It is my Favorite because.....it has that extra Pink strip. That strip insures you the bottom is not going to split if it is full of cans of Veggies, a gallon of Milk or a bag full of Clumping Kitty Litter Poop & Pee balls after cleaning the Cat Pan.

My Favorite Mugs...because it reminds ME of all my Grandbabies...

My Favorite Sign on the wall...because WE are!

and I have left my Very Favorite to the Last....can you guess????

Yes this is My very Favorite thing to see.....Rather He is sleeping, working on a car, tending to the birds, giving the Puppies a bath, scrambling ME the best eggs in the world!

This is my all time Favoite Thing!!!!!!!

Madison in Angel Wings

2011-11-26T23:44:00.000-08:00

Madison is 11 1/2 years old and is a Tween (not quite a teen).

At this age Girls and Boys are struggling with all kinds of things. Their little bodys are changing, they are very aware of the opposite sex, they feel very grown up, Mom & Dad just don't understand, embarassed to show you affection in public (no kisses good-bye when you drop them off at school), so worried about being "popular", and a very Big Thing...wearing the right clothes.

Madison fits right into all of the above. She has spats with the Girl Friends, has crushes on the Boys, daily feuds with Mom & Dad, worries about her grades (she is an Honor Role Student), loves this Teacher and dislikes that Teacher, loves Dance Class this week and wants to quit Dance next week, dabbling with a little make-up and sleeps with stuffed animals.

One thing that starts to happen at this age is Girls and Boys have a pretty good idea of what kind of clothes they want to wear. And this is a real Biggie to them. It is very sad but Kids are graded by their peers on what they wear. This is where I can say Madison is a very Lucky Little Girl. Jen has always been Fashion Conscious, even when she herself was a Tween. I can honestly say, I did the best I could, to keep Jen in the Newest Styles and Fads when she was a Teen. Jen and Wade are doing the same for Madison. She usually has all the latest styles and fads. Her closet is filled with Name Brands...Aeropostale, Holister, American Eagle, Abercrombie, Uggs, Borin, Toms and right now her very favorite PINK by Victora Secret.

Is Jen spending a small fortune on these clothes? Well some would say yes, but it isn't as bad as it could be. Alot and I would say at leat 75% of her clothes are used. She has taught Madison to be thrifty along with stylish. Jen goes to Thrift Stores, Garage Sales, Children Consignment Sales and Consignment Stores. Name Brand tops at Garage Sales can be found from 50 cents to a few dollars. Thrift Stores about $2.69 and the Consignment Stores will buy the clothes back from you. Madison loves to Shop these places over the Malls. She knows she can get more second- hand clothes, then if they were brand new. Jen does buy her shoes New, very seldom does she buy second-hand shoes unless they have barley been worn.

The other day Jen had an early morning meeting so I kept Madison over night. The next morning I got to seen first hand a Tween getting ready for school.

Here is a black knit shirt with FREEDOM on the front accented with Rhinestones...$1.00 from a Garage Sale

The back has Wings and hundreds of rhinestones. This is layered over a gray long sleeve Tee...50 cents at a Garage Sale.

These are new Jeans. They also have wings and rhinestones on the pockets. They are a Knock-off of the high-end jeans "Miss Me" that cost over $100.00. These are Miss Chic and cost $47.00.

Yes these are Uggs and we will not go into the price of them...but Madison will get 2 years wear out of them.

This is a linned knitt zipper Hoodie jacket with Wings and lots a bling...Jen bought this at a Consignment Store for $20 bucks used and her and Madison both wear it.

Put it all together and this is the outfit...from the back. Madison had not done her face and hair so all she would allow was pictures of the back side!

Now is this outfit my Cup of Tea? is this what I would have picked out for Madison to wear? is this the look 90% of the Girls at school have? Answers: No-No-Yes. Did these clothes help Madison learn more at school?..yes.. she felt good about herself, and that was one less worry for this Young Girl. Less worry equals more learning.

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A New Normal in My Holidays

2011-11-24T17:18:00.001-08:00

This is the beginning of a New Normal when it comes to my Holidays. This is the first year where I have ate Thanksgiving Dinner with Family & Friends then left early to go to a Nursing Home. This is a Day of Thanks and I am Thankful My mom is still here with us, but not at all Thankful for her condition. I am Thankful she does not realize just how sick she is, but not at all Thankful she usually does not even realize who I am. She does know Me & Jen are familar and that we are someone who loves her. I am very Thankful she is still eating and does not rely only on her feeding tube. I am not at all Thankful she can not feed herself and that I feel, I must be there at least once a day, at one of her meals, to just be sure she has gotten real food into her tummy.
I am Thankful that Mom is 90% of the time in a Good Place in her mind. She tells ME sometimes, when I ask her what shes been up to, that she has been shopping all day with Aunt Juilie. Sometimes she says her Mom has been there with her or her Brother Jim came to visit awhile. Alot of times she just looks past ME and smiles. I do not know who she sees but whom ever it is makes her happy.

I am not at all Thankful that along with Mom's regular Meds she also gets some drugs that keep her calm. Jen and I wonder sometimes what she might be like if these drugs were not given to her. But one thing that I am really "Thankful" for is that Mom is at the this Nursing Home. This is the third Nursing Home she has been in and as of right now I do not find any faults with it. She seems to be well taken care of, I have never found her in a condition that would upset me, they call ME if there is any changes in her, like a cold and just lately, a UT infection. I am also Thankful this Nursing Home is so Friendly, clean, does not smell, and they keep it decorated and so cheery for the residents. They really go above & beyond when there is a Holiday.

When you enter through the front door you are Greeted by a great collection of Holiday Decor. I was so impressed with the Decorations I just had to take pictures. I hope you enjoy this Little Tour...

This Turkey was animated and moved his head back and forth.

This is a Big Blow up Turkey, the kind you see in a front yard.

There are Pilgrims Greeting you as you come in.

This Tree stands in the corner all year long. It is Christmas Tree, a New Years Tree, a Valentine Tree, an Easter Tree, 4th of July Tree, a Halloween Tree and today it was a Thanksgiving Tree.

There are Lots of Scare-a-crows and Pumpkins scattered about.

Colors are everywhere you look....you should see the bathrooms!

If you look close you will even see a Crow perched in the Plants.

Every Residents Room has a plaque on it.

Every little nook & cranny or shelf is decorated.

The Fall/Thanksgiving Theme just goes on......

and on. You saw the Pilgrims earlier so they could not forget the Indians!

Jen and I spent the Thanksgiving Evening with Mom. The Home had a Turkey supper but Jen and I took her a plate of our Turkey Dinner. She ate her supper really good, I give her an A+. We told her it was Thanksgiving, but I do not think it registered with her. She seemed to be well but I did noticed she was hanging her head more the usual. Jen ask her if she was hurting anywhere and she answered no.

After feeding her, kidding with her and loving on her, it was time to go. We pushed her over to the TV area. It was close to her getting ready for bed and you could tell she was getting sleepy. Mom makes no fuss when I leave and for that I am Thankful......

Where has the Little Green Gator Gone?

2011-11-18T19:59:00.000-08:00

Do you remember this Little Green Gator? In about 1981 or 82 he was a very popular Little Guy. Kids of all ages and even adults wanted this Gator on their chest. He was the in thing! He was todays Aeropostale, Holister, American Eagle and Abercrombie all rolled into one. He didn't come cheap. He was a pricey little Guy and could only be found at the Mall Stores. He was the Logo for Izod Lacoste. He could be found on shirts, sweater, jackets, stocking caps, swim trunks, belts, etc. Teens were really the majority group that was into the Izod style. At that time My Jen was a young teenager and she had the Gator Fever big time.

She just "had" to have these shirts or she would "die"! "Everyone" in her school was wearing them "except her". These shirts were running about $35 back then. So I went ahead and got her 2 Shirts to keep her alive and not die and to make the percentage of the school wearing the shirts 100%. I remember one was Pink and the other White. Lets see 5 days of school...2 Izod Shirts, nope this was not going to work. She of course wanted more. But a Mom working as a Waitress just didn't have that kind of extra money to buy her 3 or more of these shirts. I mean what was so special about these Izod Shirts? They came in different colors, they were knitt pull-overs, 2 buttons and a collar. What made them so special that you were just a no-body unless you wore them. Well I figured it out, it was that Little Gator! That is what made these shirts so special. Take the Logo off and you just had an every day shirt. Add the Little Gator Logo and you had an IZOD!

Well what is a Mom to do. I could not wash the shirts every 2 days or let the Kid wear the same 2 shirts day after day. Soooo I had this Great Idea. We went to the Mall and bought some Izod Socks. You see the Little Gator Logo was on the socks and the socks were alot less $$$ then the shirts.

Jen and I then went to WaMart. They carried a shirt that looked just like the Izod, except no Little Gator Logo on the front....and they were priced to fit my budget. She picked out her favorite colors and home we went. I carefully removed the Izod Gators from the socks and resewed them on the WalMart Shirts. Ta-da, Faux Izods! Hey it worked!

They looked just like this...no one knew the difference. It was our Little Secret and MY Little Girl, Saved Face. This Fad only lasted a year or so and then she was on to something else. Lets see there were Oxford Shirts with matching Vee Neck Sweaters, there were Baggy Cargo Pants with Pockets on the legs, there were the plastic Bangle Bracelets and the Twisty Bead Necklace, there was Lee Jeans and Nike shoes, then came the Western stuff, denim skirts, shirts and of course White Cowgirl Boots and Jackets with Fringe. These were all clothes she JUST HAD TO HAVE!!! and Mom did her best to make sure she had them. Did I over indulge?.... probably. Did I spend more money on clothes then I should have?...oooh Ya!, Did I love seeing MY Girl happy? ....without a doubt, would I do it again?...in a New York Minute.

Jen now has Madison and the Apple does not fall far from the Tree. Mat is into Brand Name Clothing also. Madison has no idea what Izod is but she knows what Uggs are and has them, American Eagle, Holister, Abercrombie and her very Favorite "PINK" ( this is a Brand not a color).
Does Jen over indulge?...yes, is Jen having fun dressing this Kid?...yes. I believe you need to Love, Teach, and Spoil your kids as much as you can, because to soon your are saying...

"Where have You Gone, My Little One, Little One...turn around and you're one, turn around and your gone, Turn Around and you're a Young Woman with Babes of you're own."

2011-11-17T17:51:00.000-08:00

http://thatsjustthewayiam-aj.blogspot.com/
I have been messing around trying to set up another Blog for AJ and this got on it by mistake...just go ahead and read it it is ME.

Pumpkin Giving ....MMMMMM-Nice

2011-11-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

http://www.ebay.com/itm/260895025519?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
I am selling these for Jen on eBay. This is really a very good product. Everything I said about it is true. This is not a "money making" pitch, she is selling these cheaper then you could buy them in a store...if you could even find them in a store! They are sold in the High-end, Luxury Home, Boutique Specialty Shops (stores I never enter!). One thing I especially like to do with this spritzer is, spray some on a cotton ball and suck it up into a clean Vacuum Bag. Then when I run my sweeper it smells good and you do not get the dusty smell sometimes a vac can put out. Okay enough! Let Me or Jen know if you might want to try one. This was not a PAID Comercial. I have to buy my cans from her too!
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Crescent Bank 1910....or close

2011-11-15T19:13:00.001-08:00

AJ has been putting some old Pictures of Crescent on a Facebook Page called You Know You're from Crescent....this is the last one he put on. You know you are from Crescent if you recognize this building. Pretty cool.I bet those Ladies were really Hot in the summer!

Fall means Football....Football means Guys

2011-11-14T16:07:00.001-08:00

Week-ends aren't always just working and catching up with the things you have put off all week long. Sometimes a Guy or should I say Guys, just have to kick (excuse my pun!) back and have some Man time. Well that is what went on at MY house Saturday late morning and afternoon. Wade Cox and Sherman joined AJ at our home to watch OSU play. I didn't put on a Big Feed just Hot Dogs, Chips & Dips.
But the Hot Dogs were Angus all Beef, fresh buns, Ketchup, Mustard, Sweet Pickle Relish, Onion, Chili and shredded Cheese. There was Lays Potato Chips, and Fritos, French Onion Dip and Frito Bean Dip. Gator Ade or Pops. A purrrr-fect >^..^< Football Game Lunch.

I got everything ready for the Guys and I headed out to Hobby Lobby for some more Christmas Stockings to sell on eBay. When I left they were very much into the Game. Sometimes Guys just have to have a little time without the Wifey. I think they get a little build-up of testosterone that only a Football game can relieve.

By the time I got home the game was over. The Cowboys had won by alot. Good for you OSU. I am not into Football at all, but I am into my Guys having a Good Time!

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If you want some Pretty Red in your yard put Sun Flower Seeds in your Feeder and watch the Cardinals come.

Week-end Chores

2011-11-13T15:15:00.000-08:00

This morning AJ got up Bright & Early...made a pot of coffee....and gave 2 of our 4 legged Kids a bath. Marley was first and was all done by the time I got around to take pictures. I did help dry her and brushed her dry. She is our Little Show Dog, Mini Aussie. I really love her being bi-colored, Black & White with no brown. She has perfect little oval shaped paws. And is a true Mini only weighing in at 22 pounds. I usually don't give a diddley about pure breds, but this Little Girl is worth the $$$ we paid for her. No regrets!
Now it was time for Boy Dog, Jack. He is easier to bathe then Mars. He stands alot more still for AJ and of course he is not as furry. The only priblem with bathing Jacker is it is hard to get him dry. His short Terrior fur is so thick it takes along time to dry. After Mar is done with her bath she runs all over the house like a nut, Jack on the other hand just stands and shakes and shakes.

Well after bathing 2 dogs AJ is in need of a bath himself. Oh I think I forgot to mention, our dogs are small enough, 22 & 24 pounds, that AJ bathes them in our Kitchen Sink. Hence the wet Tummy and Armpit areas.

After the Kids are dry and brushed out, they are so pretty.

and of course they just can't wait to get out in the Back Yard and ROLL!

If you remember, Jack was left behind by some of our neighboors when they moved. He ran the streets all summer and we finally took him in that winter after he injured his eye. We are working on having Jack two years now and we have fell deeply in love with this Dog. AJ & ME both say there is no amount of money we would take for Jack...he is "OUR" Boy Dog.

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As always, don't forget the Birds. The Downy Woodpeckers are really pecking this time of the year. You may not see the Little Birds but, I bet you have heard them!

Mom Nov.9-2011

2011-11-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I have put pictures of Mom on here. To be honest, I really never think of taking my camera untill I'm there at the Nursing Home. Mom had a Cut & Perm a few weeks ago. When her hair is just let to dry and picked out it looks cute. But the Nursing Home will not let the Ladies have a wet head after their showers, so it is blow dried.....there go the curls and you are left with this little fuzz. Mom's hair is getting thinner and thinner.
I did get all of her summer clothes out of her closet and replenished the closet with warmer winter clothes. Today she had on a Sweater and matching Sweater Pants. I can honestly say she was the best dressed Gal in the nursing home today.

I went over at noon and fed her lunch. She ate really good. I had made some cornbread last night and took her some. She loves it crumbled in a glass of cold milk. She ate it all! I usually grade her on her eating and today she got a "B". She did not do so good on the Brussel Sprouts but ate all of her Beef & Noodles.

I was taking these pictures of her and of course she doesn't pay much attention to ME. I said to her after taking this one, " Mom, do you want to see these pictures?" I showed them to her on my camera and she looked and looked and then said "Well, that looks like me!". I told her that was her and she then started to ge a kick out of ME taking her picture.

She saw one of the Aides coming and could not wait to tell her I was taking pictures.

The Aide came right over and and gave her a hug. I am at this time very pleased with the Nursing Home Mom is in. They are very good at calling ME and telling ME if there is a problem or a change in Meds. Right now she is taking some antibiotics for a UT Infection.

She was in a good mood today at lunch...and had a full tummy.

It is hard to leave Mom after being there with her for awhlie. I remember when I would go over to her house and visit her every afternoon. When it was time to leave you could not get away from her. She would even follow you to the car and talk to you through the open window and stand an wave Good-Bye untill your car was out of sight.

Now when you tell her it's time you have to go, there is no reaction. No wanting kisses or hugs Good Bye ( I always give them even if she doesn,t ask). No asking if you will be back, she just sees another person and starts talking to them. I love this Mom, but I sure miss MY MOM.

OU versus Texas A&M Saturday Lunch

2011-11-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

I believe I mentioned in a Blog Post awhile back, that I love Fall & Winter Meals. Big pots of Soups & Stews cooking most of the day. Oven meals like Meatloaf, Baked Potato and Scalloped Corn. All cooked in the oven at the same time for about an hour. And if you have room throw in a Peach Cobbler. I also like 1 pot/skillet cooking and that is what I did this Lazy Saturday afternoon. Wade Cox and AJ were in watching the OSU-Texas A&M Game and I was incharge of lunch. Checking out my pantry, Veggies on hand and freezer...this is what I came up with. I have to be very honest and tell you I had seen this or something close to it on a TV Cooking show once. But this is my version.
First cook some spaghetti, I myself like Angle Hair.

Now you will need an Eggplant, a whole small Onion diced, Fresh Mushrooms sliced, a clove of Garlic crushed, some, about 4, Roma Tomatos, and some Smoked Sausage sliced thin. Cook the diced Onion and Garlic in oil, I used saved Bacon Grease, for a few minutes untill the Onion looks a little clear. Now add the Mushrooms and cook them a while about 4-5 minutes. Add alittle more oil if it starts to look a little dry. Now throw in the pealed large diced Eggplant and continue to cook and stir gently.

In another skillet brown the Smoked Sausage a little with a touch of oil. After the Sausage slices has gotten a brown to them, I pour them and the oil all into the other skillet that has the Eggplant mixture.

Now is the time to large dice the Roma Tomatoes and add them to the mixture. Continue to cook about another 3 minutes or so just to warm and soften the tomatoes.

Now is the time to taste your Creation and add Salt & Pepper to taste. Put a pile of Spaghetti on the Platter, heap on the Veggies & Sausage and some Bread & Butter. Yummm

These Veggies can also be used as a side dish just omit the meat. Instead of Spaghetti put it on a Bed of Rice. This take under 30 minutes to make.

And by the way OU won! 41 to 25....Go Sooners ("\(*-*)/")!!!!!

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Please keep your Bird Feeder and Bird Bath full...we also do not have any nuts on our tree this year, so the Squirrels would love a Nut or Ear of Corn.

Making a Buck On eBay...101

2011-11-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

I go to quite a few Garage and Estate Sales, plus hit the local Thrift Stores. I have, been know, to by some pretty bizarre items. I have had people ask ME outright "What are you going to do with THAT?" and usually I am truthful and say "Sell it on eBay". Then comes the questions: "what do you sell, do you make any money, how do you do it, and I would like to sell but I don't know how." I tell everyone just give ME a call and I will help you. I have helped 2 people only. I really think people are afraid to try and sell on eBay. Hey if I can do it anyone can. If you have a Camera and know how to down load pictures, thats it. eBay will talk you through the selling part on line. Easy-peasy! Now what to sell? ANYTHING might sell. There have been people that have even auctioned off the opportunity to name their child. I like to sell Vintage Collectibles the best. The oddest thing I have ever sold was an Old Rusty Round Drain cover. I thought it was a trivet, but the person that bought it told me it was a cast iron drain cover from the 1900. It had some kind of foundry mark on it that identified it. One thing about selling on eBay, you learn alot. I know more about Art, Pottery, Glassware, Vintage toys, books and collectibles then I ever thought I would. It is a very time consuming Hobby/Job. You must be very dedicated to sell on eBay. Believe ME alot goes into selling on eBay. Christmas is really a great time to sell. Everyone has Christmas Decor items they are tired of. Do not toss them out or give them to Goodwill. Sell them! One thing I am doing this year is Christmas Stockings.

Christmas Stockings have come so far from hanging a Knitted or Red Felt Stocking. They now come in lots of materials and shapes. These are some that I purchased brand new from a very well known store. The stockings were on sale 1/2 price. The 2 small stockings were on sale for $5.00 each and the larger Red Plaid one was on sale for $9.00. I listed these on eBay for $16.50 each for the small ones and $25.00 for the large one.

So I paid $19.00 + tax for all 3 Stockings and I sold the 3 for $58.00. That gives me a $39.00 profit. I just got back from the very well know store with 3 more Stockings to sell. Hey I can happily do this for the next month and 1/2, with no problem.
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Halloween

2011-10-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

I remember Halloween as a Child (with my 2 Sibs) not really being all that fun. In Illinois where I grew up by Oct. 31st it was 99% of the time very cold. You could not wear a costume because you needed heavy winter coats and something on your legs. What kiddo wants to dress in a Princess or Skeleton Costume then cover it up with a coat, long corduroy pants and boots. So, usually all we wore were masks. It was kind of fun going to the Ben Franklin Dime Store and picking out a new mask every year. Back then the masks were made of rubber and after wearing them for a couple of hours your face and the inside of the masks were a sweaty, wet mess. Half the time you could not see where you were walking, so you kept the mask raised and planted on top of your head.

Back when I was a Child you carried a Brown Paper Grocery Sack or a Pillowcase to put your Goodies in. Treats were not always candy back in the days when people trusted their Neighbors. There would be candy of course, but there also would be Home Made Cookies, Cup Cakes, Pop Corn Balls and Peanut Butter Fudge with a Candy Corn stuck on top. There was no Saran Wrap or Plastic Bags so alot of Goodies were just tossed in you bag as is. You might get lucky and have a piece of Waxed Paper on some. There was also always the neighbors that gave you an Apple or Orange. Of course these were just tossed in ontop of the Cookies and Cup Cakes. The large Sack or Pillow Case would start to get pretty heavy for a little one so it usually was just dragged on the ground door-to-door.

We usually only went to our Neighbor Hood, but there was 1 house a little off the beaten path we would hit. This was a man that lived alone and always gave out Nickles. So his house was a must. After a trip up one side of the Neighbor Hood and down the other side, we were more then ready to go home. Mom always took Me, Cher and John Trick or Treating and my Dad stayed home and gave out our Treats.

When we got home it was so much fun to pick through the Goodies to see just what we had got. Of course the Cookies were crumbs and all the candy was covered with the Frosting off of the Cup Cake and the Pop Corn Ball had drawn moisture and was a bit tough. But oh how proud we were of our Treats we had gathered. We were allowed to eat some of the candy before we went to bed. Candy was never a real Biggie to us because Mom was very good at letting us have treats all year long. Now this happened every year I can remember. After Me and my Sibs went to bed my Dad would DUMP all 3 bags in one Big Bowl. He then would of course help himself to a few Treats. In the morning our candy was no longer OURS it had become A Community Candy Bowl. And the Nickles just disapeared???? Probably some time just before Christmas, the left over Trick-or-Treat Candy was tossed out. I don't think we ever ate it all.

Now there is one thing I would like to say.... ...............If the Hat Fits....

Wear IT.......................Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!

Untitled Project

2011-10-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

Untitled Project <-- <-- click on Untitled Project to see a Short Sweet Picture Show of MY MADISON!

Feeling alone in a Crowd.

2011-10-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

Somewhere around a month 1/2 to 2 months ago Jen and I started planning and working on Mom's Estate Sale. She had an attic full, a storage shed full, a garage full, every cabnet full, every closet full, if there was a flat spot, something was on it and she never thew away any magazines or "important" papers (there were boxes of these), every greeting card and photo she recieved was kept, she had a Doll Collection and a Miniature Shoe Collection. We found and I am not fibbing, about 200 new skiens of yarn and at least 75 Crochet Books. Mom got where she could not shop in store, so items were bought from Home Shopping and QVC. I found brand new things that were never even opened. Some of these things I had no idea she had. She kept them secret, knowing I would Bitch to her about the buying. Her clothes closets (4) were packed. She never would get rid of anything. She had Fat Clothes, Skiny Clothes and clothes she was wearing at that time. She loved Shoes and back in the 80's she had a handbag that matched ever pair of her shoes. Now we are talking at least 50 pairs of shoe and matching Bags. Now to add to all of her treasures, when my Aunt Cora died Mom got controll of her Estate and kept most of her Goodies and clothes. I could go on and on about the 3 George Foreman Grills, New Seal-a-meal, crock pots, storage containers, food prossesors, bread machine, deep friers, electric can openers, Yogart Maker, Ice Cream Maker, irons, coffee pots, etc...you are noticing I am putting an "S" behind some of these things, she had more then 1 of every thing. Mom was born in 1925 and grew up poor. Raising us 3 kids she did without so we could have nice things. I really believe in Mom's older years, she was trying to make up for the POOR DAYS. She treasured her belongings and just could not part with anything.
As soon as the neighbors seen we were working on this Sale they started coming over. We went ahead and let them look. They would look and they did buy. One Dear Friend was called and tolded about the up coming Sale. She came over and bought. She then returned 7 times before the Sale with some of her family and Church Ladies. They also looked and bought & bought & bought! We put some of her large pieces of furniture on Craig's List and got rid of those. Folks were also allowed to shop when they came to buy the furniture, so alot was sold that way. Well finally Jen & ME, with a "little" help from Wade & AJ, got this Estate Sale together. It took us a good month to a month 1/2 to get to this point. We had the Sale Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Left over items were 1/2 of the marked Price on Sunday
Strange People rummaging through my Mom's Treasures really was sad for ME. There was one time I had to leave Jen alone with the Sale. I had a small melt down and went over to the Nursing Home for an hour to spend some time with Mom. I needed my Mom to comfort ME and to tell Me it was okay, that I was doing the right thing in selling her Life Long Collection of STUFF. Of course Mom could not help ME..she does not even remember her Collection of Life Long Stuff. After the visit with Mom I left feeling much better...sharing her belongings with others that can get some use out of them, is all I can do at this point. Next on the list is to spiffy up the house and put it on the market.
I am tired, I am sad, I am MAD, I am sick, I am LONLEY! "MY LIFE" is consummed with my Mom. and there are times I feel very "Alone in a Crowd"

This is just a smidgen of her things. Alot-alot was sold before these pictures.

Peek-a-boo Where's Dottie?

2011-10-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Where is Waldo? or should I say Dottie...This Kitty is driving me up the wall. I am at my wits end!

Never...never have I had a Kitten/Cat that climbed any higher then the cupboard counter. Oh what is a Mom to do?

Dare DEVIL Dottie...

2011-10-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

In the 34 years of Blissfull Marriage (chuckle) to AJ we have had 6 Cats all strays except our Beloved Quincey a papered Persian. I have loved everyone of them, but have had my Favorites. My very Favorite was Wienier. She was white with some Siamese in her. She was "MY" Cat and
"I" surely was "Her" Girl. She lived to be 13 years old. To this day I still miss that Girl. But my missing Weiner is slowly ebbing. I have now fell in love with another Little Girl Cat "Dottie". She was born under a shed and was pulled out from under the shed by a Big Burly Mad Man. He guessed the litter had been under there 4-5 weeks. He said the stays were always having litters under the shed and he was tired of it! There were 2 more kitties under the shed that he could not reach. Not knowing just what he may do to this Baby, I ask if I could have her? and he handed her to me like a Hot Potato. She is marked very funny and has a Dot on her chin and on her toe, so came the name Dottie...Dot...Dotter...and AJ call her Dorothy. She is a JOY. Her and Marley hit it off right away and play together all the time. Murphy, knowing she was and is a Baby grabs her by the back of the neck and pulls her around. She is so intrigued with her tail and even though she is 5 months old, she still does not realize the tail is part of her! She is so very playful, AJ & ME just love to sit and watch her. I know I am making her sound so special...she is just a normal
Kitten...except she is ours... and that makes her so Special to us.

Now one thing Dot likes to do is climb. She is always on a chair or in a window sill. She likes being high. Now today I went into the garage through the kitchen and forgot to shut the wood door, leaving the screen door exposed. Well I hear this scratching sound and turned around to see Dottie climbing the screen door. She climbed clear to the top and......

then got over onto the top of the wood door and stretched across to the top molding of my cupboards. I grabed the camera and decided to get this on film, because hopefully it will never happen again. She was moving pretty fast, hence the blurred pictures.

Across the top molding she went. She was very sure footed. I was thinking I bet she could cross a power line outside like the squirrels do.

On she went, past the Bon Appetit Sign and right up to my Vintage Fiestaware Pitcher....hoooo noooo not the pitcher please! but she made it and headed around the sharp corner.

This is where she haulted! If you look close you can see the molding stops there for abot 36" or so before it starts up again. Now she is looking at ME and I am saying "don't you do it"...

One more look to see if maybe she can make the jump...and that is when, I had climbed a step stool,and I snached her up. I really think she would have tried to jump across if I had not grabbed her. After a good scolding i I put her down and took the stool back out to the garage, this time shutting door behind me. And when I came back in "What to My wondering eyes did appear?"

Dottie had climbed onto the high back of a spare Kitchen Chair by the back door and had made it up to the top of the door. Back out to the garage I went to get the step stool. By the time I got in to rescue her she had decided to.....

see if she could walk the less then 1" door frame. After getting her down from the door ledge and another good scolding, I got out the jar of CatNip and made her a CatNip toy ( easy peasy, a small piece of material, a bit of CatNip, twist it closed and tie a ribbon around it). I decided a CatNip Drunk Kitty was better then a Kitty with a broken neck.

Now is the time to stock up for the winter, on blocks of Suet for your Wild Birds. Nuthatches love Suet.
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Down Memory (AUTO) Lane...

2011-10-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Remeber the Blog below? Yes, the one where the speakers were living in my backyard. Well Oct. 1, 2011 they finally got to shine and do their stuff at the Czech Fest. For about 5 hours they pumped out Oldie Car Songs like: My Little GTO, See the USA in Your Chevrolet, Little Old Lady from Pasadena, Beep Beep, Little Nash Rambler, One Piece at a Time, Hot Rod Lincoln, and My Rocket 88. And in honor of the Czech Fest he threw in the "Beer Barrel Poka"! Old Classics Cars were lined up on Main Street with windows down, doors open and hoods up. Everyone could just take their time and look each Car over inside and out. And the whole time the people were being serenaded by AJ's Collection of Oldie Car Songs. You could have cut the Nostalgic Mood with a knife. The Cars were beautiful and the music was the frosting on the cake!

Here is at the end of the day when the Cars had been judged and trophies being handed out.
This is a AJ and (son) Wade, the Music Maestros of the day. I do not know these Cars, so I will just let you take a Walk down Memory Lane and see how many you can name. There was alot more than this, but these are a few that caught my eye. Enjoy!

The weather was >^..^< Purrr-fect! Check out the sun and 75 degrees.

And this Pretty Trophy was given to Jen & Wade.......

for entering their Little Mercedez, Kompressor.

Czech Fest is always the First Saturday of Oct. Hope to see ya there next year!

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If you have Bird Houses that have nest in them, just leave them alone and do not clean them out this Fall. Birds will go in the Houses during the Winter to keep warm.

Something Old...Something New..

2011-09-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

When I originally got married in 1966, I had no Hope Chest, the only New Household Items I had were a few Wedding Gifts. Most of my Kitchen items were hand-me-downs from my Mom, Grandma or from Garage Sales. Being just a young House Wife I wanted New Modern things, not things given to me by Mom & Grandma that were old and used. I took them but as soon as I could afford to replace them with New I did! Who wanted Flour Sack Muslin Dish Towels that Grandma had embroidered the days of the week on...not ME! Who wanted pillowcases and top sheets with hand Crocheted Trim...not ME. Did I want hand Crocheted Doilies? no I wanted the New Plastic ones. How about the Free Jewel Tea dishes Grandma had...nope I wanted Mela-mac. Mom gave me her old Wood Rolling Pin, but I dreamed of a Tupperware Plastic one. Old was a Four Letter Word to ME...give ME the New & Improved. As the years past most of the Old Items given to ME were replaced and New Shiny ones took their place. The 70's brought Plastic...Utensil handles no longer were painted wood but now Plastic. Canisters, dishes, tumblers, handles on silverware, Christmas Ornaments, Toys, measuring cups, pitchers, Milk cartons, small appliances, TVs & Radios...you name it it was now Plastic! Was the Plastic strong and durable like the Old Time Bakelite or Lucite. No, most of the time it was flimsy and broke easily. Well now that I am a "Few' years older I have come to the conclusion that the Old Stuff was better...and I kick myself to think I got rid of so much. But being the Treasure Hunter I am, I have found some really good items for my Kitchen. A lot of my Kitchen Stuff are items from the 1950's. Items I have acquired in my travels of Thrift Stores, Garage and Estate Sales..here is a Blast from the 1950's past!

This is an Old Fire-King Bowl with a handle and spout. I love this when I am making pancakes. Mix and pour just the right amount.

These are Vintage 1945-1950's McCoy pottery bowls. Perfect for mixing small batches or for serving. These are in Mint condition.

For making Pie Dough and baking the Pie, I use Brown Stoneware/Yellow ware Bowl and Pie Plate. An aluminium measuring cup, a metal alloy spelter Flour Scoop and of course a Wooden Rolling Pin. These are all dated from the Mid-Century.

Crackers are kept fresh in a 1960's Tin Storage Cracker Box and of course a Pyrex mixing bowl and Hagar Pink and Gray bowl from the late 50's.

The yellow handles on the knives are Butterscotch Bakelite, Pink Aluminium measuring spoons and shaker glass. Remember when Country Geese and Ducks were popular in the 1970's, that's my Cookie Jar. I cut my Cookies and Biscuits from a tin can that I have used since I married AJ in 1977. Don't you just love the Retro Green Plastic Cheese Slicer dated 1967.

Now our Coffee Cups are Vintage also. These are 1950's Fire-King. Coffee tastes so much better out of these!

My casseroles and serving Bowls are also Vintage Pyrex and Fire-King. I do have a set of Blue Cornflower Corning Ware 1966, that I just can not live without also.My spoon rest is made of Pewter, Made in Japan and the Kitty Toothpick Holder is Made in Japan, Lefton.

I just acquired some Flatware from my Mom's Estate. It is stamped Japan also. I just love the patterns. Well this is just a bit of some of the Old Lovely Items I have in my kitchen. As far as Plastic Things. I have gotten rid of as much plastic as I can in this house. I even "hate" plastic grocery bags and ask for paper if they have them. I really Love the Old Stuff I have, especially AJ!!!!!

Has anyone noticed the Crows have Come to Town. They are so noisy
in the mornings. I think thy may be looking for Pecans in the trees?

Your Friendly Sound System Man...AJ

2011-09-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

Do you know what this is? Sure you do..it's a Speaker Horn. We really never even think about the horns, we just know there is music or words traveling through the air into our ears. They are very common place at Football Games, State Fairs, Carnivals, out door Concerts, Drag Strip, Amusement Parks and "THE CZECH FESTIVAL".

You would expect to see them at those events, but would you expect to see them in your.....

back yard? No we are not Hosting a Football Game, and although we have a "Fun-House", no Carnival either. What is happening is AJ was asked to be in charge this year, of the Sound System and Music for the Czech Festival's Car Show. He has been working on it for a number of weeks. He has been digging in his, literally, hundreds of records, tapes and CDs, finding songs, New & Old, that are Car Themed. This of course is right up AJ's alley. He loves his music. This is a real Labor of Love and of course when AJ does anything he gets into it 100%. One thing I am really happy about is the Speakers (there are 2) are here only until Oct. 1..the day of the Czech Festival. It "would" be kind of fun to play some music and Pump up the Volume in our back yard! Like maybe Reveille at 6:00 AM. That would sure get us The Neighbor of the Year Award...

This of course is Marzee (Marley). She was having a little outside snack while I was taking the pictures of the speakers. She asked if I would take a picture of her? and of course I did. She had been to the Vet for her yearly check - up and shots and she passed with flying colors. She is so proud of her Girley Shape and weight, 21 pounds.

It is time to take down your Humming Bird Feeders. They will be leaving soon and we sure do not want them to get stuck here for the winter.

Better than Jiffy...Cornbread..that is!

2011-09-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

After 3 months of 100 degree weather, we have finally cooled off some, in fact more like alot! Yesterday the high was 60 degrees and rainy. I am so anxious to start cooking Winter Food that I made a Pot of Ham & Great Northern Beans....that's the White Beans. I usually make Pintos. But Great Northern are the kind I grew up on and yesterday I kind of felt nostalgic. Cooking them in the morning took the chill off of my Kitchen so I did not need to fire up the furnace for the first time...AJ was happy about that! I used a Ham Bone that I had froze this summer after having a Ham, Baked Beans and Potato Salad meal. To ME that's Summer Food, where as a Big Pot of Beans simmering on the stove for 2 1/2 hours is Winter Food. A BLT & Chips is a Summer Lunch and a Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup is a Winter Lunch...are you getting my drift? These are my Cooking Rules and I pretty much live by them. Example: In July or Aug., AJ says " I sure would like a Meatloaf" ..he get a Hamburger..."a Pot of Chili sound good"...he gets a Chili Dog from Sonic, "how about Chicken & Noodles tonight?"...close, a Bucket of KFC & Mac & Cheese. These are MY rules and I am sticking to em! But now with the Hot Days behind us (I Hope) I do not mind pulling out the BIG Pots and cooking something that takes most of the day on the stove. Oh my, did my Beans turn out good? oooh ya! Just a little cooking Bean Tip.. put a 1/2 of an Onion in the Beans in the beginning. Do not chop it just throw in the 1/2 onion whole and also do not add any salt the first hour of cooking. Salt will toughen the skin on the beans. Salt after cooking one hour. Now as French Julia Child would say here is the "Piece de Resistance" the Cornbread. You must have Cornbread with Ham & Beans. Some like a few Fried Potatos also, but Cornbread is a MUST! In this household we are Sweet Cornbread eaters. In fact Madison has called it Corn Cake since she could talk. I usually purchased Jiffy Cornbread, easy and reasonable and pretty good tasting. Then I ran across this recipe one day while browsing the Web (that sounded cool didn't it?...Browsing the Web!). It was a recipe for made from scratch cornbread. It was called "Better than Jiffy Cornbread". Well I know there is a cake out there called "Better than Sex Cake", never tried that...cake that is (Tee Hee...now is when you laugh). So I had all the ingredients on hand, I keep a very well stocked pantry, hey I do, really! I guess I get that trait from working in a restaurant for years. The recipe was fast, easy and really was not much harder then whipping up a double batch of Jiffy. I was really impressed. I have stopped buying Jiffy and now make this whenever I have Beans, Chili and Stews. Last night was no different, I made the Better the Jiffy Cornbread and it and the Ham & Beans made for a Wonderful dinner. Yes, Yes, Yes...Okay, I'll share the recipe, only if you promise to do these things 1- when you write it down on your Little Recipe Card, call it " Diana's Wonderful Sweet Cornbread Recipe, she got off of the Web while Browsing, Better than Jiffy Cornbread"....2- keep the recipe a secret..tell folks it's an Old Family Recipe and you can not divulge the secret ingredients and 3...for real...try it, it is so good.

And if there are any left overs

the Birds also love it!

Better than Jiffy Cornbread Recipe:

1 cup flour

1 cup fine ground cornmeal (I think it's all fine ground)

2/3 cup white sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

Mix this altogether by hand till smooth

2 tablespoons oil in the bottom of a 10" or 9"round pan..or 9" x 13" metal baking pan or you can spray pan

bake 30 minutes at 4oo degrees or till tooth pick comes out clean and is golden on top. Butter the top as soon as you take it out of the oven...let cool at least 5 minutes before cutting...Enjoy!
Oh yes and one pinch of LOVE!

2011-09-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

Since Feb.14, 2011 my Mom has not been living in her Home. Up to today She has been in 3 Nursing Homes, 2 Mental Hospitals and 3 Hospitals. She has stoped breathing, had a heart attack, placed on life support, been in a coma, had her body temperture lowered and then slowly raised to reduce brain damage, she has a feeding tube, she can not walk, dress herself, feed herself or use the bathroom. She has had a number of infections inside and outside her body. As of today Sept. 15, 2011 5:00 PM she did not know who I was or where she was. She was talking about her Aunt Mary and was seeing Babies in the Nursing Home Dinning Room. She also said "John is dead and I am the next to go". She is not eating well and gets fed 4 times a day through the feeding tube. She has and still is losing weight. Today for some reason she would not sit straight up in her wheel chair and would barely open her eyes. I managed to get a few bites of fruit in her but most of the time she clenches her teeth and you can not get food into her mouth. I see her every day and sometimes twice a day, except on Sundays and that is my day off from the Nursing home, and the day I do her laundry. I am watching my Mom die slowly. Her brain is shutting down some every day. There is no Magic Pill, there is no operation, there are no treatments and there is not 1 Doctor that can make her better. She is completly at the mercy of ALZHEIMER'S and Dementia.

~~~

Family lives out of state so these pictures are for them. I am not exploiting my Mom by showing her in this state. As my Sis always says

"This is my Mom. This is what we have."

The Mayor of Phil. Speaks

2011-08-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

AJ & ME heard this and we really like the Man, his words and how he spoke them. This is something every young Person 10 years old and up should hear, no matter Girl or Boy, what color skin, no matter what shape eyes, Rich, Middle Class or Poor, Gay or Straight, Drugs or NO Drugs, Jock or Bookworm, Out-going or Shy, and their PARENTS! It is 12 minutes long, but please listen to it all the way through,

("\(*-*)/") THANKS!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL0QFZBLca4

My Beloved Strays...

2011-08-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

There's a small and quite Sweet Little Black & White Kitten, found wandering, afraid and alone. She's one of just hundreds like her, alone and without any home.

Some human just is not looking or caring to find where she's gone. They will go out and buy a New One and replace her like buying a new toy, just for fun.

Now sometimes Kittens are treated with disconcern, they don't have a value you see. If one happens to get out to early it ends up a stray.........1,2 or 3.

When Kittens go missing, there aren't many people that care....although some will call the Pound to see, if maybe they have been handed in there.
If you have a Kitten, it's yours for years yet to come. It's your job to care for and love it. Not discard it or lose it, like some.

These Kitties are called Murph & Dottie. They are Loved, Safe and Warm as can be, and although at one time they were Strays, they are now living the Good Life with AJ & ME.

Please get your Kitties and Puppies Spayed and Neutered.

~~~~

Poem by, Cynthia Cratchette

Some words changed by ME

My "Little Elves" are at it again!

2011-08-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

Before my Mom got really bad sick, I had started to give ME & AJ's "Little Piece Of Heaven" a facelift. The kitchen has been remodled with just a couple of thing not done. I want lighting under my cabinets and a phone jack....and it will happen. I put my Mom in the Nursing Home and from that point on the House has been on hold.

This past Friday Jen & Wade took off work and came over to paint (the much needed) living room. Oh my, I was excited, happy and so very Thankful to them! These 2 Kids are my Heros, my Knights in Shinning Armor and the Wind beneath these old tired Wings! Now I can call and make an appointment for the New Floor!!!!

I purchased some Black Cubes & Shelves to put over AJ & ME's desks. You can see who put claim on them...Dottie my Sweet Little Farrel Kitten that I rescued from the streets.

Jen came over Saturday and put the Cubes & Shelves up for ME. Believe ME when I say this was not an easy chore. It took her hours to get them up. These Cubes will hold note pads, pencils, stapler and just Stuff you need while at the computer. "I purchased these" so I felt I got my choice of the ones I wanted.....

and the "left overs" went to AJ over his desk.

Enjoy Honey!

~~~

15 Minutes of Fame

2011-07-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

It is said that everyone in their Life has 15 Minutes of Fame. Well I guess this was my Fame. Back in the early 90's a magazine came out on the stands and it was just for Women. It was called "Woman's World". It was and still is, a Great Magazine full of Recipes and articles directed towards Women's interest. It is a small magazine and I usually read it cover to cover. One article I really liked was called "Precious Moments". Women would write in about there Husbands and Children. One day I decided to send in one of My Precious Moments. And can you believe it!...it was published.

I have not thought about this article for a long time. The issue was Jan. 1993. You all know My Mom is in the Nursing Home and Jen and I have started to going through her Treasures, keeping some, selling some, giving some to Goodwill and some we are just throwing away. She had a "Box of Important Papers" and I found this article in it. She had cut it out of the magazine and dated it and stored it in a very safe place. Thanks Mom!
This story is true and it is one of the most "Precious Moments" I have shared with AJ.
The article reads:
My husband Aaron proved to me just how loved I am. At his high school reunion each graduate was asked to give an update on his life, and Aaron had just been told there was no hope of advancement in his job. After listening to his classmate's successes, it was time for Aaron to speak. Aaron summed up his life this way, "A very wise man once told me "If a Man has failed at everything else in life, but is happily married, then he is truly a success". I knew then that Aaron and I were the most successful couple in the room.

AJ & ME live in a modest Little Home, drive very modest cars, our wardrobes consist of jeans & T-shirts most of the time and our Bank Accounts are nothing to get excited over. We do have a bit of property to fall back on when AJ retires. Our bills are paid and our cupboards are full. We have wonderful Kids that have given us beautiful Grand & Greatgrand Babies. I love AJ and he loves ME, no doubt, but the best thing is we are Good Friends and like being around each other. So yes, after 34 years of marrage we are certainly a success.
~~~~
Hey I have a right to get a Little Sappy once in awhile!

A Treat for AJ & ME....BBQ, FAMILY & FRIENDS!

2011-07-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

Billy Sims...

a Football Legend sporting the famous number 20 Jersey.

Billy Sims played 3 years of varsity football for Hooks High School, Hooks, Texas. In 1975 he was recruited to the University of Oklahoma by Barry Switzer. In 1978 Billy Sims was awarded the HIESMAN TROPHY, becoming the 6th junior only to recieve the award. In 1979 he was the Hiesman Trophy Runner-up.

Sunday afternoon AJ & ME met Wade & Julie and the Boys at Billy Sims BBQ Restaurant in Edmond to have lunch.

This Restaurant is a Special place to AJ. A very dear friend of his, Larry, passed away a few years ago. They had been like Brothers since AJ was a Teen. Two of Larry's sons, Larry Don and Marty own and manage the restaurant. Sunday Larry Don was working, behind the glass, serving up to his customers BBQ Ribs, Brisket and all the sides that go with a BBQ meal.

It is a very casual atmosphere and very Kid Friendly.

Our Little Evan felt right at home.....

as did the Big Boys!

After we ate, we all just sat awhile and had a nice visit.

Everone was full and Happy! and speaking of "Happy".....

today June 25 is Julie's, Thirty Something, Happy Birthday!

~~~

Happy Birthday Mom! 86 Years Old July 20, 2011

2011-07-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

MOM WAS 15 YEARS OLD IN THIS PICTURE WITH HER FIRST BOYFRIEND DEAN.

MOM WITH AUNT JEWEL, UNCLE ROY AND AUNT ROSIE.

CHER, ME & MOM

MOM AND CASSIE

CHRIS, CASS, ME, MOM...wasn't she pretty!

MOM AND CHRIS

MOM AND CHER

MADISON AND MOM

MOM AND DARIN

MOM, LUKE AND DARIN

MOM WITH HER HURT ELBOW....she looks like her Mom in this picture

CHRIS AND MOM

JOHN, ME AND MOM

MOM AND MARCUS

EMMA, MARCUS, MOM, CHER AND JESS

MOM WITH PICTURES OF UNCLE JIM,HER BROTHER

WADE AND MOM

JEN PG WITH MADISON AND MOM..2000

MOM AND CHER

MOM AND HER BELOVED KITTY BUDDY. BUDDY IS NOW LIVING THE GOOD LIFE WITH JOHN IN TEXAS

MOM

MOM, KELLIE AND AJ

MOM AND JOHN

MOM CHRISTMAS

CHRISTINA, CHRIS AND MOM

MOM AND MADISON

MADISON AND MOM

MOM

MOM (HOLDING) EVAN AND PAUL
CHRISTMAS 2010

MOM

MOM....MARCH OF 2011

MOM JULY 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!

Sunday Lunch in the Country

2011-07-19T08:39:00.001-07:00

Sunday afternoon "The Fam" gathered at Wade & Julies for lunch. Julie grilled Hamburgers & Hot Dogs. There were all the side dishes that go along with a Summer Lunch. We ate off of Paper Plates with Plastic Utensils, just like a real Picnic, except in the house with the AC. It was like 104 degrees outside. It was sooo much fun. I have taken a few still pictures but, will let you know some of the conversation that was going on.

(Double click on pictures to enlarge them)

Wade Aaron:.. Gosh Guys I am glad you came. It got me out of doing Honey Dos for Julie.

Paul:.. Why is it I can drill an Oil Well, but I can't open this Ketchup!

Carolyn:..Paul, you don't put Ketchup on your Burgers. Here take this Mustard, that's how you like em.

Wade Cox:..Oh No! I forgot the Hamburger... all I have is the Bun.

Paul:..You're right Carolyn, I do use Mustard not Ketchup. Thanks for reminding me, but I can't seem to open the Mustard either. Oh wait there are instructions on the bottle.

Carolyn, under her breath:..Good Grief, I'm out of here!

Wade Cox:..Hey (chuckle), can you believe I forgot my meat! (chuckle)
Wade Aaron:.. Guys, I hope you stay till after dark so I don't have to do any chores on the To-Do List, before I go to bed.

Paul:..There is so much food here Carolyn, did you bring some tupperware. I'm gong to pack my Lunch for tomarrow. They will never miss it.

Carolyn:..Ya Paul, I alway keep Tupperware in the car, just for times like this. Throw in a Hot Dog for me.

Wade Cox:..I love Mustard on everything! Thanks Paul for opening the bottle, but you didn't shake it.
Jen:...Wade do you have any Tomatos for the Hamburgers?

Wade Aaron:..I hate Tomatoes...they are NOT ALLOWED in my house.

Jen:..Julie, did you know you have Squash and a Cucumber laying around on the Fireplace Hearth?
Julie:..Yes I know we do, but Wade doesn"t allow any Tomatoes. Sorry Evan, I forgot to feed you. Is there anyway you could wait untill I'm done with my lunch!

Annie:..Mom Julie, I know you have been busy this morning but, you forgot to feed me too and the Squash is starting to look pretty good.

Evan:..Don't worry Grandmas, Mom did finally! feed me.

Carrot Cake:..I was made by Jen. I could have been relaxing in a 9 x 13 inch cake pan. Oh No, Jen had a "Martha Stewart Moment" and made me 3 layers high and loaded me with Cream Cheese Frosting. I have been doing a "Balanceing Act" all day long.

Jen:..Ryan do you want a piece of Aunt Jen's delicious Carrot Cake? I'll get it for you Baby.

Jen:..There, that should should do it for the Little Guy. He is a growing Boy.

Jen:..Here you go Sweetie, a "Little" something to drink to help wash down the Cake.

~~~~

Now if you ask the Kids, they will say none of this was said! But who do you choose to believe ME or them?

~~~~

PLEASE! PLEASE! Water the Birds!

Saturday Night at the Nursing Home....Making Mom Purdy!

2011-07-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

Jen & I decided Saturday Night was a good time to play with Mom's Hair. She had gotten a Perm about a month ago and had alot of curl....but when the Girls give Mom her shower they are not allowed to let the residences to have "Wet Heads".....so they blow dry the hair while brushing it back! There goes the curls!! She usually has just a bushy little hair-do, as seen in this picture.

The Beauty Shop was closed, but we decided to open it up just for Mom. The first thing Jen did was wet it completly down.
She then gave it a good rubbing to bring out the curls.

The she applied Mousse and rubbed that in real good.

WOW! Mom you still have lots of curls. Her hair is quite a bit finer then it was when she was healthy, but still not alot of Gray.

After the Mousse we put her under the dryer. Sitting under a Hair Dryer can be very boring, so to keep her occupied we gave her.....

No...!!!, not a cigarette!!!!

One of her "Favorite Things"! A Red Sucker from the Bank. AJ came home with this sucker the other day. All of us, always, have Mom on our minds.

She sucked on this Sucker the whole time she was under the dryer. The Nurses said she ate no dinner that night and she ate little to nothing for lunch either. She is losing weight and the Doctor is having her weighed weekly. When she does not eat well she does get a Peck Feeding( a feeding through the tube in her tummy).

After her hair was dry Jen picked it out and it look pretty darn good. Mom of course was not about to give up that Sucker!

We closed up the Beauty Shop and took Mom to her room to get her ready for bed. We undressed her and put on a New Gown that Jen had gotten her that day. Jen changed her under brief. Mom no longer uses the toilet. She is scared to death of it. My Mom no longer smiles, nor does she laugh. It is very hard to feed her because she will not open her mouth up wide enough to get a spoon of food in. Drinking from a glass is almost gone also. She drinks from a straw or sippy cup. She is very hard to dress and undress, her muscels and joints get very ridged and tight.

Mom is like a Little Parrot, she repeats what you say. So after Jen got her all tucked in bed, she says to her M00 (her Grandma) "I love you Moo, can I have an I love you Jen" and she says, like a little Mocking Bird

"I love you Jen"

and then we leave.

~~~

Brynna Kate

2011-07-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

Blog Readers,

I would like to introduce you to

Brynna Kate...

Daughter to Alisha & Stephen.....

Granddaughter to Paul & Carolyn.....

Niece to Alan.....

Great Granddaughter to AJ & ME.....

Great Niece to Wade & Julie

and Jen & Wade.....

2nd Cousin to Madison, Ryan & Evan.....

and

Great Great Niece to Aunt Carolyn.

Sugar & Spice and everything nice....

That's what Little Girls are made of.

Sleep Little Baby, don't say a word
Mama's going to buy you a Mocking Bird,
and if that Mocking Bird don't sing Mama's
going to buy you a Diamond Ring.........

Shhhhhh, the Baby's sleeping!

July 4th with the 7th Stage of Alzheimer,s

2011-07-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

My Mom has sever dementia and Alzheimer's Symtoms.

She is living in a Nursing Home just a few minutes from ME.

I see her every day, sometimes twice a day and

sometimes, very rarely, 3 times a day.

I do her laundry, hand feed her meals,

and take her foods and snacks

that at one time she loved, like ice cream, cake,

McDonalds, pizza, PB&J sandwiches, candy bars,

and so on...she rarely takes more then one bite of

these and says she is full. The one thing she enjoys

about the most is a Red Sucker from the Bank.

When I go to the bank and the Gal says

"can I get you any thing else" I say

" yes, one of your Red Suckers".

She probably thinks this is going to a Child

in my car, not to my Mom in a Nursing Home.

Am I not a

Wonderful Daughter?

No I am not.

I have been with my Mom all my life'

I have always been her "Right Hand Man". I stood by

her side through all her ventures in life. But this

"Alzhemimer's Venture"

takes The Cake. I am stumped!

I really just want to walk away!

Last night was The 4th of July. ME and my

"Right Hand Man"

Jen did not spend the evening

watching Fireworks or listening to the patriotic music in the park

with our Kiddo Madison or our spouses. Her & I choose,

of our own free will, to spend it with Mom.

We took her out to the Court Yard, along

with some other Ladies that live at the Home,

to watch the Fireworks.

Mom was not in a very good mood, but Jen

thought as soon as the Fireworks started she

would "Get Happy" wrong!

She has always loved

the Fireworks displays. In the years past, her and

Ruth, her neighboor whom is now passed away,

would sit in Lawn Chairs, in the driveway, and watch

the Celebration of our USA. This year she did not even

know it was July 4th nor did she care about the display.

After the colorful and noisey display was over,
I ask her if she enjoyed the Fireworks

and her response after sitting in the courtyard

for 45 minutes facing the fireworks was

"I didn't see any fireworks"......

I took this picture of her in the dark,

using a flash on my camera. It scared her

and she said to ME, quote,

"""DON'T DO THAT!!!!!!

That camera just cut me into!""""

No that does not make sense, but niether does this

dreadfull disease called

ALZHEIMER'S

~~~

For information on the the

7 Stages of Alzheimer's

go to

ALZ.ORG

2011-07-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

AJ & ME's

Dottie Kitty is doing great. She

has settled right into being a Family Member.

She now has, almost, complete run of the house.

She has picked Marley to be her BFF

(Best Friend Forever).

Like all Little Kitties, Dot sleeps alot.

Like all active Little Dogs, Marley also

sleeps alot.

And usually where you find Mar sleeping,
you will find Dot close by.

Even if Marley moves,

her Little Black & White Shadow follows her.

I sure hope they stay Buddies even after

Dottie grows up.

~~~

Turn your Lawn Sprinkler on and watch your

Wild Birds take a shower!