The Journey

It is good to have an end to journey toward: but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. LeGuin

Catch of the day!

This is the smallest fish I have ever caught! It even swallowed the hook and worm, only the tip end of the hook was showing. It has blue in its mouth and the fins have a sort of prehistoric look as they fan out. We were told that in the lake where we fished these are the primary food source for the German Brown Trout.

I actually thought I caught a German Brown, as I was reeling in what felt like a pretty good size fish, hubby netted it for me and I saw the brown sides and was wow, I finally caught one. Well it turned out to be the biggest sucker fish I ever caught. So two for two!

We were at a lake about 75 miles from home. It was so good to leave early Sun. when the sky was cloudy and as we got deeper into the Ozarks we noticed that the outside temp was only climbing into the low to mid 80's and it was raining off to the east of us. We fished twice on Sunday from the marina dock at the resort where we stayed. It was so good to get sprinkled on and feel the cool breeze coming to us off the lake. Was worth the drive. At home it is still over 100 every day.
Only stayed the one night as we were sharing the resort with my brother and his wife, they came in later on Monday and stayed over till sometime on Tue. It was a little wedding gift to them that finally got used.

When we got home found that SIL was not feeling well, so got her a Dr. apt lined up and took her to get some lab done. At 86 she is doing pretty well but has some trouble with swallowing and feeling full way to soon. (she barely weighs 100 #) I know the Dr. will run a bunch of tests, but my diagnosis is stenosis of the esophagus but will wait and see as she also has a heart condition and high pressure in her lungs that could be causing it. She will just hate it if she has to have more medication.

Thought for the day: Everyone has a photographic memory----some just don't have film.

Two fish swam into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!"

All any one wants to talk about here is the heat and the beetles. The heat we can't control, but hubby is waging war on the beetles. They are the small Japanese beetles. They love blooms and tender leaves. Especially fond of roses and crepe myrtle. Hubby makes several rounds a day with a spray bottle of insecticide and give them spritzes. Seems spraying the whole bush doesn't last very long. I made the rounds last pm and lost track after counting 120 on 6 bushes. Late evening is a good time to get a bunch.

Headed out to our timeshare this weekend. Wish we could know what the weather will be when I book these things. Have another booking in Sept. Maybe it will be cooler by then. Hope to fish early morning in the lake close to the resort. At least drown a worm or two.

Thought for the day: Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears!

Creative totes

These are tote bags in Europe. I want some!! They must have a great sense of humor over there.

Patriotic Sunday

This is the view off my front porch this last weekend. What a beautiful day. Of course it got up to 100 by 1pm. But the mornings are wonderful.

Refrigerator Pickles

Wow 2 posts in one day. But wanted to share this really good, really easy pickle receipt for those who have cucumbers coming out their ears by now.

6 cups sliced cucumbers
2 cups sliced onions
Layer these in a big crock or glass bowl
Mix:
1 1/2 cups vinegar (apple cider type)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. celery seed
1/2 t. mustard seed
1/2 t. tumeric
Bring to boil then pour over cucumbers and onions. Let cool, then cover and store in refrigerator.
The biggest problem is to try not to eat any for at least one week.
They are crisp and yummy and keep well in the refrig unless of course you eat them up to fast, then you just have to make more.
I have a freezer receipt I will have to find and it is really good and works wonderfully even though you can't imagine making pickles in the freezer.

Thought for the day: A sign I saw once: If idiots were airplanes, this would be an airport!

It is so Hot, How hot is it?

Its so hot the squirrels are handling their nuts with pot holders!

The picture is of a humming bird moth that was lunching on my flowers in front of my store. You may have to click on it to enlarge it and also turn your head sideways. Heck while you are at it you may as well just stand on your head! What do you expect from a cheap camera phone?

Heat:: No end in site for now, I feel sorry for any one who may not have air conditioning, and what about all the people who have to work outside? It must be brutal. Volunteers are still coming into Joplin to help with cleaning up the debris. They say that about 60% has been hauled to land fills. They hope to have all cleared up by the first of Aug. Some are rebuilding homes, the city is working hard to try to plan things out, as this is an opportunity to make changes, like more parks, sidewalks, wider streets, and such. I noticed that Home Depot has a humongous tent up that they are working out of as they start to build the new store.

Well better go, got other fish to fry, may try the sidewalk with a little pam sprayed on first.

Thought for the day: Its so hot I discovered that it only takes 2 fingers to drive the car.

Shouldn't have been surprised!

For our amusement (I think) hubby put cracked corn in the yellow tub for the deer. Since they come up to drink from the bird bath and now are nibbling on the tomato vines. Why not lure them further by putting a tub out for them.

Well it didn't take but a couple hours before a squirrel decided it was his private stash. Boy was he in heaven, well tub. I tried several times to post a video clip here (wouldn't work) as it was so much fun watching the squirrel pop his head up and eat from his paws then disappear down in the tub. He kept it up for at least 30 min. But now at nite the tub is knocked over and I spotted a raccoon one nite after dark, so the tub will have to go.

You know when you get old and bored you do nutty things. Like when we lived out on our little farm a few years ago we were washing off the big propane tank and found that the big horse flys liked to land on the wet tank. Since we had horses and they were pestered by the dang flys, we started wetting the tank in the evening and stood by with our fly swatters. Bet the neighbors thought we were nuts.

Thought for the day:

A smile- is a sign of joy.

A hug- is a sign of love.

A laugh- is a sign of happiness.

And a friend like me??

Heck...that's just a sign of good taste!!

Not so wild

Took this pic from my bedroom window, so sorry about the screen. Hubby has been putting extra cracked corn in our back driveway for the deer. We have one nursing Momma that is real thin and are glad to feed her. But this pair has been showing up lately just to get a drink from the bird bath. That is a young doe to the right at the bird bath, and on the left is a pretty little buck with forked horns that are in velvet. That is a black rubber pan on the ground for them to drink from. But the little girl just drained the birdbath. That is my little city garden that I hope they stay out of. I hung some old cd's on the tomato racks but they have nipped the tops off.
Wish I could get a pic of the "FAT" squirrels that love the deer corn too. Pretty soon they won't be able to climb the tree.

Update on the house wren that is nesting in the gourd off the deck. They have been carrying little bugs and worms into that nest for several weeks. Well it seems like it. Hubby thinks that the Mrs. is to lazy and Mr. is just feeding her. I say they have teenagers that won't leave home.

Thought for the day. HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO EVERYONE. BE SAFE!

Great Grand Daughter has a new Daddy

Here they are headed to the church to get ready for the wedding and start their new lives together as a family.

I know I wasn't going to write anymore about the tornado, but the paper is so full of stories every day and it is hard to still not be attuned to all of it. I just read that 18,000 cars were destroyed! 18,000! When we were in Joplin last week we saw several really battered autos on the streets. I sort of felt like driving them was a badge of courage for those folks. I don't think I would get body work done if it still ran! There was a picture of a van (couldn't tell from the pic) They were thinking of keeping it somewhere where they are collecting stuff to form a sort of museum to show what damage a tornado can do. The guy had just bought it and didn't have insurance transferred yet. Went into Walmart to shop and was lucky he was alive!

There was also a long article about the areas hardest hit and destroyed that had been some of the oldest historic part of the city. So with the loss of these buildings goes the loss of alot of Joplin's history.

Thought for the day:: Good things are worth taking care of!

More on the Joplin tornado

Down by that white car and on the right was a huge building where I worked for 8 years, for a large home health agency. Its all gone now. My friend still works "there". She said there is a huge beam across her old desk. Thank God the tornado happened on a Sun evening, and not a work day. They are displaced, like about 500 other businesses, working out of a church till an office building in another part of town can be renovated for them. The paper is still just full of the stories of survival. One that tugs your heart was a young girl (I think 11 years old) that was at the Home Depot where several people died. She got a piece of angle iron driven thru her body from her shoulder down to her lower spine. She is a miracle as she is recovering. The death toll is up to 156 now, as some of the injuries were so sever that they just can't make it.

We had to go to Joplin last Tue for a follow up apt on hubby's knee. 3 mo. and he is doing very well. Did drive by the hospital and to see it in person just makes your mouth hang open. All windows blown out, cars still in parking lot and are all beat up. Across the street all the medical buildings are leveled. They are working on removal now. A huge scale operation. It is amazing how people from all across the country are showing up to help clean up.

Thought for the day: A man should forget his mistakes, there's no use in two people remembering the same thing.

Went to Joplin last week

These are just a few pictures I took last week in Joplin. What is so horrifying is that these were neighborhoods. So when you see the flat ground those were ALL homes! I am just amazed that more didn't die. I think the death toll is 150 now.

Some other facts that came out in the paper the other day: 6,954 homes destroyed, 359 homes with major damage, 516 with minor damage, 300 businesses destroyed or terribly damaged.

Those numbers are just staggering. I think I heard that 1/3 of Joplin was destroyed or damaged. Major businesses were: 1 large hospital, 2 fire stations, at least 3 churches, Walmart Super Center, Home Depot, Acadamy Sports, the high school and 2 or 3 other schools, Toyota dealership, and a big Pepsi Distribution center. Then there was all the beauty shops, fabric store, small restaurants, Salvation Army, and Goodwill stores. So hard to wrap your brain around something that caused so much damage.

I just hope that all the money being raised is going to go to the right people who need it.

So just wanted to share this little bit from my part of the world.

Thought for the day: Whenever I hear a mother talk about wanting time away from her kids I can't help but think: just wait 'til the time comes when you'd do anything to be with then.. (I found that somewhere and think its worth some thought)

My daughter is an awesome driver!

The second picture is of our EMERGENCY FLASHERS that I wish we had Monday!

Bet that got your attention huh? Actually coming back from Texas in nearly 100 degree heat we had a right front tire blow out. My daughter was really awesome, in guiding the van to the shoulder like an old pro! It happened on a stretch of highway that was about as good as it gets for having to pull over and change a tire on a freeway. You would have thought someone would stop to help, what with a guy in a W/C sitting off the road and 2 women trying to change the tire. But she did it!! I only got a tiny smudge of grim on my white pants, so you know how much help I was to her. We went on into the next town and waited over 2 hrs and got 4 new tires put on! Not taking any chances! Then on safely home.

Oh, the Canton Tx. First Monday Sales is awesome, just don't go in 98 degree weather. You won't see it all in a day that's for sure. And take a wheeled cart or be ready to buy one for about 25$ there. Was great we had one and carried our small cooler and booty in it.

It was a great trip, great time with daughter, her hubby to be and the grand daughter. We are all ready to do another road trip when it gets cooler!

Thought for the day: Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which at least, others can learn from.

YeeHaw look out Texas

If I see this guy I will for sure stop and give him a ride. He may have to sit on my lap as we may be a little crowded.

Dtr. and her family and I are taking a little trip for a few days to Canton Texas. The First Monday Trade Day. Always the first Monday of each month and the weekend preceding. It is the biggest flea market, craft show in the USA. Guess it is hard to see it all in one day. Go to
firstmondaycanton.com if you are interested in learning more. We were going to go the first of May, but there were so many storms brewing up that we chickened out. Now it will be good and hot and sunny. But looking forward to the family time.

Made some excellent book deals this week. One was at an estate sale and all the books were free. Got about 150 books in pretty good condition. Then today I stopped at a garage sale and paid 10$ for a big box of over 90 of these Love Inspired Romance novels that my older ladies just love. All nearly brand new. So Yeah for me.
(I almost feel guilty)

Thought for the day: Some people have such a talent for making the best of a bad situation that they go around creating bad situations so they can make the best of them. (makes sense to me)

Feeling numb

Been trying all week to think about what to write. My words mean very little in the wake of all the loss of lives and property in Joplin. Joplin is our "go to city" All our shopping and Dr. apts. are there. Plus our favorite restaurants. We have kept a phone book out and when we think of a business we look up to verify what street it was on. Many are all gone. Others so damaged they won't be open for a long time. The stories I hear and read in the paper just makes you wince. Then I get angry when I hear of the people who go up just to "LOOK" Stay away! Let the crews do their jobs. And if you are able to volunteer then do so, or donate something. We don't have to go up for about 3 weeks for a Dr. apt. and that will be soon enough for me. Of course the Dr. office is no longer there so will have to find out where he has relocated. But any inconvenience I experience will be less than a drop in the ocean!

mercy.net/joplin/stories-of-mercy/45-seconds copy and past this site if you want to read an account of the ER Doctor at St Johns hospital that was on duty when it hit.

Thought for the day: Hug your love ones every chance you get.

Sister's dream

Got in a little walk this morning with my sister, and she told me about her vivid dream. So while I can remember it I just have to put it down here as it was pretty funny. It amazing how we incorporate our personal life into our dreams with world events.

In the dream she said her husband announced to her that Michelle Bachmann had died suddenly and since she (my sister) looked exactly like her (no she doesn't, lol) she should step into her place and run for president. My sister insisted that she had to finish her quilt before she could do anything else. See she is working on a handmade quilt for her grand daughter's wedding this fall. But her husband insisted that it would be awesome as she could preside as president and quilt at the same time. Then he quoted a sign that she has hanging in her sewing room that says: Just One More Row. Then he said, well are you going to run for president or quilt?? Then she woke up.

I think he watches too much Fox and she quilts too much. LOL

Thought for the day: "We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way thru Congress" --- Will Rogers

Funny phone call

I just got a call from someone asking to speak to the person who handles the ATT&T account. I told her I don't have ATT&T. She asked who we have and I said that we have a monopoly, and she about cracked up on the phone and thanked me and said Bye.

See we have one of those small town phone companies that actually do have a monopoly on us as we don't have a choice. Guess they were pretty darn smart years ago to run all their own lines and such.

Thought for the day: I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

Another sign of spring

In my morning walks around town, I have been passing this little pasture. For several weeks there was a little (and I mean little) stallion that was pacing the fence, I could see into the front of this little barn and could see another small horse in there. I figured she was ready to have her baby. Well yesterday when I walked by, the stallion was penned up and lo and behold there were 3 mares in the pasture with 2 of the cuties little colts. Don't know if they are small Shetlands or miniature horses. Looks like they might come up to my waist on the shoulder. Aren't the cute little critters? Makes me miss our little farm, well at least for a few minutes. We enjoyed all our critters but it was alot of work and expense. big sigh!

Thought for today: Good questions outrank easy answers. Now think that one over a bit.

My number 2 pet peeve: Lack of Pride

After that silly post a couple days ago about the "crack" it got me to thinking. ( I know I have to be careful of that activity) But what ever happened to our pride? Do people just wake up and decide they will wear pants that show their crack to the world. Or did we just sort of slide into this pattern of "who cares"? I know when I worked in the prison I felt the pants riding on God knows what, was mostly a way for them to show disrespect, but I digress.

We live in a country of excess. And what do we do with our excess? Why we throw it out the window as we drive down the road, of course! How silly of me to think that we should have some pride in our self and our environment. As I was taking my walk this morning I met up with a sweet older couple that I see alot. They park by the little city park every morning and she takes off walking a few blocks while her husband walks slowly with his bucket and a pair of those pick up tong things. They are well up in their 80's but they set such a wonderful example of the small things we can and should do to keep our space free of all the trash. I told her the other day that she is my inspiration. She was just beaming!

I know people aren't going to stop throwing out their drink cups and pop cans, but maybe "we" can set examples for them by being sensitive enough to take a min. to pick up when we can. So I will start carrying a plastic bag in my back pocket and at least pick up the cans as I walk. (we used to do that when we fished around a lake and pick up fishing line to keep the critters from getting hung up in it)

I just noticed that the picture I chose to illustrate a trash can really isn't want I wanted, but I can't figure out how to delete it. It sort of shows a homeless man and I don't mean to say that a homeless person would have to pride. So forgive me if you think I meant that.

OK that is Pet Peeve no. 2, now when I can remember what no. 1 is I will write about it later.

Thought for the day:We don't receive wisdom: we must discover it for ourselves.

I don't think Walmart has enough spackle to fill this crack!

This was sent to me in an e-mail with alot of similar "ugly" pictures of people shopping at Walmart. You know Sat. I went to Walmart in the evening. Let me tell you that is a bad time to shop. But I did notice some pretty gross people. I am pretty forgiving, and understand that alot of folks don't have much money, but give me a break, stuff like this picture is not an accident. I did catch myself staring at a guy as I was leaving the check out stand. He was rather large and (excuse me) ugly. He had his head shaved except for this circle on top that was about the size of a cereal bowl and the hair was about 2 inches long and sort of curled nicely under at the edges. Ugh! I am sure the Honey he had at his side thought he was a darling.

Thought for the day: Guess its true, there IS someone for everyone. Just have to look or maybe just go to Walmart.

Happy Mr. Wren

Hope this will play OK, it is my first try at posting a video. The wrens were back this morning and adding to their furniture. Just wanted to share their happy song!

Spring is here, birds are doing their thing!

I just hung the Gourd bird house 2 days ago. About died laughing last pm watching Mr. Wren try to carry twigs into the small opening. I thought he had it when he got on the railing and kept working on the twig, it was about 10 in. long. He finally had ahold of the end so I thought he had it as he hopped up and kept trying to thread it into the hole, but then he dropped it. Next twig was much smaller and fit. This morning early we heard alot of chitter/chatter going on and I stood again at the window and here is what I heard:

Pop: Well Honey, what do you think of the new house I found?

Mom: Well it looks pretty good Tweet Thing, but it is awful close to that big house.

Pop: Oh, Fluffy Stuff, they won't bother us, but what about that strange red house with the tiny guys slurping up that juicy stuff.

Mom: I don't think they will be bad if they don't fight to much, I hear they are known for that, Sweetums.

Pop: Did you notice how we have our own perch on top to sit and watch over our estate, Sugar Beek?

Mom: Oh yes, and how nice it will be to have the babies swinging when the wind blows, (I think she was blushing)

Pop: Jumping up and down, so excited, he dropped the twig he was holding.

Sad Day

I just found out that my old blog site has finally shut down! I posted on it for 5 or 6 years. I liked the site as I could do photo albums that were cool and I had lots of pictures on it. I got a message that it was closing down a few months ago and really tried to activate it so I could transfer it to another location. But guess since I hadn't used it for over a year I was locked out and have moved and have a different e-mail that made it impossible to get in. So I am stuck here with this one which I have come to love. It has some great features. Wonder how many years I can write my drivel and it still be out there in cyber space?

So goodbye to my old site.

Isn't is silly to feel a loss over something like this when there is so much tragedy going on with all the tornadoes tearing up the country. But maybe we need to have some silliness to balance us.

Thought for the day: Ever wonder why it is that Conservatives are called the "right" and Liberals are called the "left"? This verse in the Bible explains: "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." Ecclesiastes 10:2 Amen

A picture is worth 1,000 words

I have mentioned before that my hubby hates to have his picture taken. This is an example of what I have to put up with when I try to take his picture. He moves real fast so it will be messed up. But while I am on the subject of pictures I want to share my thoughts about pictures.

Have you ever looked back at pictures of yourself, family and friends and wistfully wished that you still looked like that? I think we all do it. I used to be blond, for alot of years till about 4 years when I let it go natural to my "steel" gray. But when I see pictures of my blond hair I sort of wish it were still blond, then I realize that I am not that age either, so there lies the real wish I think.

I have recently been looking at pictures of my hubby when he was a young man and I didn't know him then. I feel that wistfulness that I wish I could have known him when he was young. But you know what I have come to realize? I do know him and he is right here beside me. We are all just the same as when we were young. Inside we are who we are no matter the age. We may have gray hair, sags, wrinkles, and weak legs but that's just on the outside. Inside we still have that smooth skin, strong muscles, and dance in our step.

Thought for the day: We all get heavier as we get older, because there's alot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Good Days of Fishing

My hubby is pretty sneaky about letting me take his picture, so this is a favorite of him doing what he likes best. Sitting at a beautiful lake in Colorado catching trout. Now this is really the tough life, as we were able to just back the pickup right to the waters edge and use the tailgate to manage our bait. These were scrappy fish with pink meat like a salmon. This picture was almost 2 years ago. Maybe we will make it back there again one day. There is a great campground up in the trees. The top picture was taken from our camp site looking out to the lake late in the evening. Other than the cows that wondered thru camp in the evening it was very peaceful. We were in the open range area. Oh, and that scratching that I heard under the edge of the tent trailer that I was sure was a bear. Well it could have been!! You laugh like my husband!

Thought for the day: If you can't afford a doctor, go to an airport- you'll get a free x-ray and a pat down, and if you mention Al Queda, you get a colonoscopy.

Sad story

This is a touching story of two brothers seperated at birth, a story of life and death, and the cruel twist of fate. Happy Easter

I am more than just a number!

Ok, I forewarn you, this is a rant today!

Being in the medical profession for over 35 years I feel I have some perspective on health care. This week I had to have 2 procedures done and I get so dang mad at how medical care makes you feel like you are stupid or just a number.

The first apt. was to an ear specialist to have my ears cleaned, (I have to have this done every few years it seems) Anyway I have crappy insurance at the present as I carry a policy from retirement from another state. There are no preferred providers now in my area. The Doctors are about all OWNED by the hospitals and the hospital that was on my provider list dropped my ins. co. So being an honest person when I filled out my papers for the apt. I listed my insurance since they do pay 50% for services not in network. After my 5 min. procedure. I was told I owed $170. And they do not bill out of network ins. So I asked if the $170 was the cash amount since I had to pay the full amount and she said no, it was the insurance rate and since I do have insurance they are required to charge that amount. So I gritted my teeth and paid her, then asked for a receipt and she said she couldn't do that. It came from the hospital billing dept!!! I couldn't believe it. I said, "you mean I write you a check and you can't give me a receipt??? I bet you hate your job." And she said yes she did hate her job. When I told my sister that she said that when her husband went in to this same office they paid $135 for office call and told them they didn't have insurance. Even though they did, but knew it would not cover the services. This is just plain nuts!

Then I went for my repeat mammogram, (they saw a dark spot 6 mo. ago so had a repeat) So after waiting after the procedure, the tech came in with a slip of paper that told me to come back in 6 mo for my routine annual exam that they didn't need to do the ultra sound this time. That's it! After I got in the car, I thought dang how impersonal! I feel that the radiologist could have taken 5 minutes to review things with me, like did it go away? or was there no change? So guess I will wait till the Dr. gets a report and go get a copy and see what was said. Oh, and I don't have a Dr. He left the facility in Feb. and I haven't seen the other Dr. And you guessed it, they are affiliated with the Hospital and not on a preferred list now. So I have to pay out of pocket and bill ins. myself to see if I can get the 50% back.

Please tell me it will be easier when I get on medicare! Husband has medicare and a supplemental and it seems to be working well, so far.

OK on the more humble side, I am thankful to have clean ears and to have an OK mammogram.

Thought for the day: Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month.

Spring, oh beautiful spring

This is a little bird house I made yesterday from an old gourd that I had saved for several years. And the dogwood tree in the back yard is in full bloom. Getting spring fever to work in the flower beds and go buy lots of plants. Just have limited space to plant. Been digging up around my little book store and moving some plants there. Guess its the old Iowa farmer in me! They won't laugh when I am harvesting my corn!

This next thing was posted on my FB by my niece and I like it so much that I put it here to share:

Dear Congress, Last year I mismanaged my funds and this year I cannot decide on a budget. Until I have come to a unified decision that fits all of my needs and interests, I will have to shut down my checkbook and will no longer be able to pay my taxes. I'm sure you'll understand. Thank you very much for setting an example we can all follow.

Ain't it the truth? Guess that will be my thought for the day, unless you want to hear me grip about medical stuff. No? Well next time for sure.

Copy, paste

> ABOUT AS GOOD AS IT GETS FOR ME!
>
>

> Having arrived at the Gates of Heaven, Barrack Obama
> meets a man with a
> beard. 'Are you Mohammed?' he asks. 'No my son, I am
> St. Peter; Mohammed is higher up.' Peter then points to
> a ladder that rises into the clouds .
>
> Delighted that Mohammed should be higher than St. Peter,
> Obama climbs the
> ladder in great strides, climbs up through the clouds
> and comes into a
> room where he meets another bearded man. He asks again,
> 'Are you Mohammed?'
>
>
> 'Why no he answers, I am Moses; Mohammed is higher still
> .'
>
> Exhausted, but with a heart full of joy he climbs the
> ladder yet again,
> he discovers a larger room where he meets an angelic
> looking man with a
>
>
> beard. Full of hope, he asks again, 'Are you Mohammed?'
> 'No, I am Jesus, the Christ...you will find Mohammed
> higher up. '
>
> Mohammed higher than Jesus! Man, oh man! Obama can
> hardly contain his delight and climbs and climbs ever
> higher. Once again, he reaches an even larger room
> where he meets this truly magnificent looking man with a
> silver white beard and once again repeats his question:
>
> "Are you Mohammed?" he gasps as he is by now, totally
> out of breath from all his climbing. 'No, my son.... I
> am Almighty God, the Alpha and the Omega, but you look
> exhausted. Would you like a cup of coffee?"
>
> Obama says, "Yes please"! As God looks behind him, he
> claps his hands and yells out: "Hey Mohammed-two
> coffees!""
>
> Keep your trust in God...your president is an idiot...
>
>

Sweatin to the Oldies

Getting warm to early in the AM. Did my walk this morning and was rather sweaty when I got back. Dang I hate that! Sort of puts a new meaning to sweating to the oldies huh?

Hubby was able to ride the lawn mower yesterday and had all the front yard mowed by the time I got home. He is such a good hard working man. Guess I will keep him. Did I mention I built a planter in front of my store? Looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Already filled up with assorted plants from my home and from my sisters. I do one one that is questionable though. It was attached to some dutch Iris plants and looked so pretty I planted it all by itself. But now it is looking rather suspicious to me. Probably a weed. Will let it bloom and see. Maybe a pretty weed.

Daughter and significant other, (don't like that term, when it is much more than that) are at an ALS ralley today. Wish I could have been there to lend my support. Maybe next time. A terrible disease that needs stamped out!

Thought for the day: I know I got alot of exercise the last few years,...... just getting over the hill.

Aspire to Inspire

As I took my early morning walk in town this morning, (yes its spring and I have tried to start up again), I noticed many of the same buildings and such that I saw when I last walked in the fall, and I thought of how they looked a little more run down than before. Then I noticed that I was walking a little slower than I probably was last fall. Guess the winter has been hard on all things. But the tulips are blooming and grass growing, so it give me hope to pick up my step a little and find something to smile about.

Was anxious to get the paper this week and see my column that I did for April. Like I hadn't already read it 10 times before I sent it in. But there is just something about seeing it in print that makes you feel good.

The picture is of the huge Bradford Pear tree that was blooming a week ago in our front yard. Blooms all gone now but beautiful new green leaves. The mocking bird has found us along with the pair of brown thrush that I love to watch. The squirrels are driving us nuts. Such pigs! Then the ground hog has come out from under the tool shed and is chowing down on the green grass.

Took hubby to Dr. on Wed for his 4 week check up and an xray of his new knee. Beautiful. It is amazing what they can do and how well he as done in only 4 weeks. No cane most of the time and able to drive himself to his out patient PT. Next post I will put the pic on.

Thought for the day: I let go of resistance and accept this moment exactly as it is--Deepak Chopra

I need another hobby?

Got my April column turned in to the newspaper a week early. Funny thing, I have hit a dry spell for reading now when I have a purpose for it other than my own pleasure. I keep a sheet of note paper in the book I am reading so I can take notes! I am reading the Poisionwood Bible right now. Seems to be taking me forever to read it. I think it is a great book, it's just me right now. But I have a stack of books that I have read recently that I think will be good to do reviews on.

Could be that I have started way too many projects lately. I am making baskets, and really like the process. Then I decided to research and find some ideas to use all the denim that I have been saving. So have started making some tote bags, then actually bought a pattern to make bags.(what a shocker when I looked at patterns! They are up to 16$/$18 each) Plus I am trying to finish a counted cross stitch picture, so guess its no wonder I haven't been reading much. I will attach a pic of my big 10 inch bowel that I made the other day. Hope to get a bunch of stuff made for the Fall Festival this year. Plus the rugs that I weave. Oh, and I set up the loom to make narrow rugs that can be made into totes, plan to put lining in them. Whew, I am tired!

Plus I have been the chauffeur for everyone for the last 3 weeks. But hubby is allowed to drive now, at least the short distance to out patient therapy. He is working hard to get back to being his independent ornery self. Doing a pretty good job. His knee is healing up really well.

Thought for today: I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted a pay check--Anonymous

Celtic Thunder - Steal Away (One more time)

If you get a blank screen, just click on it anyway and the video comes on.

I have been immersed in Celtic Thunder this week so have to share just one more song. What a beautiful song. I could only find this one with the QVC junk at the bottom but it appears to be fairly recent as Damian has grown up and seems to be the lead singer.

What a beautiful message it gives us. We all need to be able to steel away and start a new. I love their harmonizing. So I leave it here for the week.

Thought for the day: One advantage of growing old: Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember either.

Is this your cat?

I saw this today and knew I had to post it. I understand that my niece is taking her cat on walks now with a leash. Somehow that just seems so wrong to walk a cat on a leash. But then again I guess anything can be leash trained if you work at it long enough.

So Miss Niece, is this your cat??

Crazy Squirrels!

I have a new meaning to the words "pole dancing".

We have trouble with squirrels climbing our bird feeding station by climbing right up the pole then down the chain to the feeder. Wouldn't be so bad but then they chew on the feeder.

So being smarter than a squirrel, I figured if I greased the pole they couldn't climb up.

I happened to see one the first time I did it with spray Pam. He jumped up about 3 feet onto the pole then slid down. I wish I could have seen if he was shaking his paws, wondering what the heck just happened. LOL. But he was out of site behind the brick wall.

I now find that I have to scrub the pole about every 3 weeks with a degreaser as it collects dust and gets tacky and they are right back up the pole. I now use cooking oil and it works the best.

Oh, what we do for entertainment. Reminds me of when we lived on the farm and found that when we sprayed water on the propane tank in the evening the horse flys swarmed around and landed on the wet tank and we could swat them! At least we kept the population down from biting the horse.

Maybe its not just the squirrels that are nuts!

Thought for the day: Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Look at me

OK now what is new with the book lady? I love this picture of the animals reading space. I wish I had room for something like this. Hey I would be happy if I had space for a coffee machine, and maybe a WiFi space, maybe some easy chairs. Oh, I got carried away there, sorry about that.

Lets see I haven't mentioned my hubby's recovery after his knee surg on the 8th of Mar. He is really doing very well. We have our ups and downs, but he is healing up nicely and will get his staples out next Wed. He uses a minimal amount of pain med, as the narcotic makes him dopey, and most of time he doesn't have much pain, till he goes to bed. So tylenol and ice packs do the trick most of the time. But it will all pass and he will be out mowing before long. Spring is upon us, and aren't we glad?

The other biggie in my life is that I am writing a column for the local paper doing book reviews of what ever I am reading. So it puts a little pressure on me to choose books that I think would be interesting to others. But then I think, what the heck, if I thought they were interesting enough to read myself then that should cut the mustard. I sent the editor a sample of some book reviews I wrote and he said he would give me a rather large space once a month to do 3 or 4 reviews. Wow, I didn't expect that at all. I was hoping for a tiny space for a few paragraphs once a week. I see it as free advertisement. Now if I can be witty enough to catch a few readers, we will see. Oh the pressure:)

Thought for the day: Why waste time learning, when ignorance is instantaneous

Maxine's Censored St. Patrick's Day Song (maxine.com)

Had to share this today!

Celtic Thunder - Caledonia

Another must share today. I enjoyed this group on PBS the other night. They are wonderful and so "beautiful" to watch, esp. in the kilts! Made me go to Amazon and order a couple CD's. I am such a push over!

What makes an "Old" blogger?

I sometimes wonder why we love to blog. Alot of the time I wonder why we do FB and whats with all the tweeting? We somehow want all the world to hear us and love us. So we try to write witty things that will get us some adoration. If no one read our blogs would we still write?

Good question. I know when I first started blogging in 2005, I did it as a private little journal thing. Then I started getting comments. Wow that was fun. Someone out there was reading my stuff. Then I gave my site out to all my family. Now that is a two edge sword. You start to sort of edit your words that you type cause you don't want to hurt someones feelings or reveal something that you might not want to share with family. But on the other hand there was several years there when alot of the extended family was blogging. It was so much fun to log on and see what everyone wrote or what their comments were on what I wrote.

Somewhere along the line many family members sort of fizzled out. I think when the FB got to be popular and then the Twitter thing. But gee I miss the stories! There was some good meat and potatoes there, not just little one sentence comment that we are supposed to get all excited about. Example: "Look out Texas!! Road Trip." Sorry daughter, just used you as an example. Now a blog post about the trip would be awesome!

So 6 years of blogging and I have no intention of stopping. I may get dry spells, but I still have alot to say. If I get comments I still get excited. But I can't help but wonder who all is actually reading all this. I have done a little blog surfing and boy there is so much stuff out there. What makes one more interesting than another for a stranger to follow? Of course I have a few that I follow, some I have stopped following because they get to whinny or to long winded. So on that note I better stop!!

Thought for the day: It's better to be a has-been than a never-was.

Young Me up a tree

In writing the post yesterday I sort of traveled back in time and alot of memories from those days came flooding back. I will just randomly recall events from the time living in this house, in this little town.

As I mentioned, my dad was handicapped, but that didn't mean he was helpless. He always had a big garden and provided for us the best he could. Frequently he raised rabbits. I always said that its a wonder I didn't hop instead of walk. He got permission from someone to garden down near the river, which was just across the street a block from us. The soil was very sandy and he raised sweet potatoes and one year he raised peanuts. I don't remember to well how the process of boiling or roasting the peanuts went. He caught a snapping turtle once and was determined to get it out of the shell so mom could make us turtle soup. I remember the turtle but not the soup. Probably a good thing.

Another time I was playing dress up with some old discarded high heels and had been marching around for some time. When I took them off there was a huge spider sitting on my toes! Yikes! He could have bitten me but guess he had room and just waited for me to get my foot out of his home.

We played with a couple girls down the street. They were "rich" by our standards. (They already had walking dolls.) But as kids it didn't seem to matter much. At dusk we would play under the only street light and throw things in the air to coax the bats to swoop down. We played along the river, always trying to find stuff.

During the winter when the river froze over, the "rich" friends would go out on their pretty white ice skates. Their dad would go with them and if snow was on the ice he would scoop it off to make a big circle. The guy that we rented from gave us an old old pair of brown men's skates. With a few layers of socks I was able to get out on the ice and actually learned to skate a little.

One memory that I will end with is a favorite of my mother. As I mentioned we didn't have electricity but she would read to us. Back then books like The Bobsy Twins, Big Red, Old Yeller, and Black Beauty were published in what was called Big Golden Books. I have a vivid memory of leaning over Mom's shoulder as she was reading one and having tears fall down onto her shoulder because it was a really sad part.

Thought for the day: Always be yourself, because the people that matter, don't mind. And the ones that mind, don't matter.

Long, long ago

Decided I would find old pictures in my albums and write a little about them as I remember.
This picture is of myself taken back when I was about 7. As you can see I am proudly holding onto a doll. There is a long story about this doll and about where I lived.

Well like many folks we were quite poor when I was growing up. My dad was handicapped from polio and by the time I was this age he would have been in his late 40's at least and unable to work anymore. We lived on ADC, which is Aid for Dependant Children in the state of Iowa.
We moved around a lot, sometimes twice in the same school year. At this time we lived in a tiny little town in SE Iowa. The little cottage had no electricity or running water. This is my last memory of using kerosene lamps in the evening. Don't know what Mom cooked on.

My little brother and I pretty much ran loose and since it was a very small town, like 50 people, I think we got acquainted with most of them. There was this old man, his name was Walter, that lived up the street from us. He didn't have electricity either and was an old bachelor. My brother and I would hang out at his house as he gave us some attention that I am sure we were craving. By today's standards this would have all been a big red flag if you know what I mean.

Walter loved kids. When we visited him, he would tell us stories and warn us to not go past his living room as he had a big black snake that lived under his bed so he didn't have to worry about mice. I sort of think this was true. We would sit and help him pick walnut meats out and he fed them to the birds (what we didn't eat). He would tack his old pancakes to the tree for the birds to eat also.

One day, I don't remember now if it was for Christmas or my birthday, he gave me this doll that he ordered. She is a walking doll. I think it cost around 18$. Which was a lot for him to spend on some rag tag little girl up the street. He was just a very nice old man who loved kids. It made me feel special probably for the first time in my life. Later on we moved away from there and I didn't see Walter till I was as teenager. I ran into him at the little country store in that same town. See we were living across the river at that time in another rental house. He remembered me, but it felt strange to talk to him by then. Years later I heard that he died in a house fire at a really old age. It made me feel sad.

Recently I got this old doll out of the trunk, washed her hair and pin curled it, and washed her cloths. Think I will take it to my store and sit her on the shelf. She brings back a lot of memories and all of them good. I have some more to tell about living at this house so maybe next week I will do this again.

Thought for the day: Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission. --Eleanor Roosevelt

A fixer-upper? Or fire up the cat?

Last fall when I was doing my morning walks here in the little town where I have my book store I took some pictures of some of the towns decay.

As you can see, someone had good intentions and started putting siding on this house and at some point decided it wasn't worth it or else the load of used siding that a friend gave them just ran out. Who knows. It is sad to see so many old houses like this that just need to be dozed in.

But if you could know their history and the families that lived in them from the time they were new and what was the story on how they became so run down that they were abandoned, wouldn't it be interesting.

I do know about the first picture. Way back many years ago it was the hospital here. When I lived in this area the first time back in the 70's it was still open and I remember going to the Dr. there during clinic hours and asked him to pierce my ears and he sort of ran me off, telling me that he had sick people to see and didn't do piercings. Gee all I wanted was to get holes popped into my ear lobes in a sterile setting. At least they didn't charge me for the office call. I think I had a friend do it for me later. I understand that some folks have owned the building for a few years and are living in the back of it and have been putting in new windows. Boy if that building could talk!

Thought for the day: A clear conscience is usually a sign of a bad memory

Hooked on Creamers

Just found a new coffee creamer that actually has real milk and cream as primary ingredient and the flavor I got, Vanilla Carmel is wonderful. It is by Coffee House. The Coffee Mate I have used for along time has a list of ingredients a mile long. Think I will try the chocolate next, love chocolate in my coffee.

Thought for today: He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

At least one hand is warm

Just realized why when I am playing on my computer (mostly using the mouse) my right hand gets so cold and the left is warm.

Well the room is quite cool, as my Internet is at my little store and this corner doesn't get the heat very well. So that is why the right hand is cold. Oh, and feet too. But the left hand is warmer because I noticed that I tend to put it under my left thigh if I am just mousing around. Like when I play my daily dose of Spider Solitaire. Guess I am sort of hooked on it. Did play regular solitaire yesterday till I finally won for the first time. That one is hard to win, you can't cheat with the computer!

Thought for the day: If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.

Just a little BS on my brain today

Just hear a commercial on the radio, telling you that when you get your tax return to spend it on something you really need and will make you happy. A quick and easy divorce. I couldn't believe I heard it. Wow we can sell anything can't we?

Really raining today, probably be several inches when it is done. At least it is washing away all that crap left by the snow plow in front of my store. Oh, and gas jumped from 2.92 to 3.19 in one day.

Sitting here at my computer I can look into a little book case that I put books that I take in from customers that I think I want to read. Here are some titles:

Foreign Body by Robin Cook

The Ice Child by Elizabeth McGregor

The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexqandre Dumes

Sunday at Tiffany's by James Pattersdon

The Loch by Steve Alten

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

The Fields of Eden by Richard Wheeler

Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris

OK that is probably boring enough. Better stop and go back to my weaving. Got a good rug going with browns and a bright green and some yellow.

Thought for the day: Dreams are poems from the subconscious

This ones for my girl

When I was just short of turning 21 my daughter was born. We were talking the other day and I realized that everyone should know about their birth. I always just heard I was born in a blizzard and like all the kids in my family was born at home. And thats about all I know.

I got married at 17 so that I wouldn't have to move clear across the country with my parents. When I was 19 my son was born. When he was just a toddler we decided he was so darn cute we should have another one. When I was about 5 or 6 mo. pregnant we moved out to the east coast to live near my parents and my big brother.

We were able to rent a little one bedroom cottage in a trailer park. I remember getting my first washing machine (ringer type) while there. We had a small dirt yard that was level with the doorway, so with a little guy coming in and out it was hard to keep the dust down. I worked a little as a grocery clerk just up the road for a month or so.

When I started labor we headed to the hospital, think we must have taken the son to my Moms. I remember it was raining. I was to experience a very different delivery than when my son was born in a little county hospital. I was in a very large City hospital. They delivered several babies a day. I remember I was progressing slow so they started a pit drip to make it more painful, (or was it to just make the contractions work better?) Any way back in those days they thought that you had to stay flat on your back or it wasn't effective. Being a labor and delivery nurse many years later myself I learned that was all a bunch of hooey! Anyway they kept coming in and making me turn back. I labored all day and somewhere around 7pm was delivered of a 7 lb 3 0z. baby girl via forceps! Here I am a good size healthy 20 year old and couldn't spit out a little 7 # baby! In hind sight I know know that she was turned face up and that was why I had so much back pain and the need for the forceps.

Back then you had to stay in the hospital for 2 or 3 days at least. I was breast feeding so when they would bring the babies down the hall to give to the Mamas they had a big cart on wheels. No rooming in back then. We have told the story of how the babies were in these little bins on the cart and sadly we teased our daughter that maybe they got babies mixed up. Little did I know that her brother took up on this and she lived in fear that maybe she didn't belong to us! Well they were ID'd with wrist bands and I have no doubt. But they really did look like vegetable carts to me!

So we took her home and big brother got moved out of the baby crib and put into a little cot so the new baby had a bed. Lucky that we were able to move into a large house a few months later. The picture posted here is of my daughter and I way back then, standing in front of that house with our matching dresses that I made.

Thought for the day: You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

Everyone loses

I hear some sad stories from my customers. Had a guy in today that I see every few weeks. He usually is looking for books for his grandson who is now 12. He was telling me how his grandson is being raised and it makes you wonder how he will turn out. I guess he lives one week with his dad and one week with his mother. His dad is "shacking up"(grandpa's words) with a gal and lives in a converted garage at grandpa's house. The mother works and is in a band. The grandpa is the one who takes the boy to school everyday and picks him up, buys all his cloths and school lunches, but has no custodial rights. So some days the boy doesn't know for sure where he is supposed to sleep as the mom may be out really late with band practice. So he ends up just being a pawn being shuffled from here to there. Grandpa says he is starting to see some acting out, (surprise!) Grandpa is 65 and says he is retired now and would like to look at getting out and traveling but feels he needs to be there for this kid. He would like to have him full time and I think wash his hands of the 40+ year old son. Looks like there is only losers in this story.

Thought for the day: If you can't be a good example- then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.

Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

All the snow and ice that we have had this month makes me think of the times when I was growing up that we made ice cream, but only in the winter.

During the time that I was about 9 to 12 we lived on a farm in Iowa. We didn't have much, not even an ice cream churn. But one winter the neighbor loaned theirs to us for the whole winter. Dad would chop blocks of ice from the pond, put them in a gunny sack and smash them with the side of a flat ax to break the ice up into small pieces.

Dad was milking a couple goats for the milk that was to help heal his ulcers. So now we have free milk and free ice, and a free ice cream churn. All we need to buy was the course salt. When the milk with sugar and vanilla was put in the steel cylinder, the crushed ice was put around it and the salt sprinkled liberally into the salt. This makes the ice start to melt and is colder. So as the handle is cranked (we all got a turn at this) to turn the cylinder around and around the cold starts to freeze the milk. Walla you get ice cream. What made it the best was that when it was close to being set up we would open the container and add some of Mom's home canned blackberries. I especially liked this as I always thought I could smell goat in the milk!

Our weekly churning of home made ice cream was a real treat for us that winter. I have many memories of the time that we lived there. We moved around so often that to be in one home for 3 or 4 years seemed like a "really" home. I made many trips up the hill on that gravel road to visit those neighbors. Her name was Ethel and I am sure she was a big influence on me and probably never knew.

Thought for the day: The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts

Don't mess with me

Ever notice how in the winter time our days seem so repetitious? Seems like you do the same thing every day and the days seem to run together. Guess I have been going a little stir crazy being stuck at home for almost 2 weeks after this big blizzard hit. It makes you lose track of what day it is if you don't have to go anywhere. Alot of businesses lost money for sure.

Hopefully you can click on the pic and see the caption. If not the first one says: I'm a broccoli and I look like a tree. The second one says: I'm a walnut and I look like a brain. The last one says: I'm a mushroom and I am sick of playing this game.

I just got back into my book store this past Wed. but since I am located on the highway you can imagine what the state left for me all along the highway in front, where customers park. Things are melting and there is an area to park across the alley but then you have to still walk in the slushy snow. We set record lows, and now we will see some record highs, I think for this coming week. Good by snow and ice.

Had a customer in a couple weeks ago that is a farm person. She is single and she was telling me about a new boy friend and about this big sign she has at her home, sort of a warning. So she gives me my Thought for the day:

Don't mess with me, I've castrated everything on this farm!

Looking out my kitchen window

This was taken on the 2nd of Feb. Day after the blizzard. We used the snow blower to take the snow off the deck. At least 12 in. plus drifting off the roof. So glad it is warming up and will be up in the 60's by next Wed. Think we got all our snow within the first 2 weeks of Feb. Got additional 6 in. a few days after this one.

So looking at books that I want to read. When customers bring books in to trade, they always tell me which ones were good. So I end up with this stack of books that just get bigger and bigger. Just finished The Dollmaker by Harriette Arnow, which was verrrrrry good but took awhile to read. Seems like I have been reading alot of historical tragic books lately..This one about a lady displaced from her home in Kentucky in the early 40's so her husband could work the steel mills in Detroit. Wow what a story. I just looked it up on the net and found that when it was made into a movie in 1984 Jane Fonda played the role of the main character. I just can't see her in that person that I got to know in the book. Maybe I can find the movie one day.

But I got distracted, I want to list the ones I plan to read soon:

The Ice Child by Elizabeth McGregor

The Other by David Guterson

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxcy by Douglas Adams

Intervetion by Robin Cook

Jewel by Bret Lott

The Man in The Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas

The Lucky one by Nicholas Sparks

and the one I just started: The Time Travlers wife by Audrey Niffenegger. That all should keep me busy for awhile.

Almost forgot I was going to re-read an 8 book series by Diana Garbaldon. Oh, so many books so little time

Thought for the day: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step:
Confucious