Cracked vessels and antiques

Yesterday started very early to be a "vacation" day. Up at 5:30AM to take the RV for the tow bar installation. Pop wanted to beat the traffic so he was gone by 7AM. It took Joy and I a little longer to get going. Pop drove the motorhome; I drove the tow car and Joy drove her car to bring us all home in. We had to leave the MH and tow car. I have to make a confession. I'm really nuts! No really. I'm just plain nuts (no chocolate coating). But I can usually control it pretty well. I'm going to share a little of my insanity with you, but only a little, because I just wouldn't want to ruin my image. Here goes - one thing I have difficulty- great difficulty - dealing with is ---- bridges. Well, high bridges, - over water particularly. It's really the height that gets me but the water underneath just makes it worse. I can ride over them but having to drive over them just gives me a full blown panic attack. No joke! This is not a joking matter to me. It gets worse as I get older. I drove 30 minutes out of my way for the 13 years I took students to a Birmingham hospital for clinical experiences in order to avoid a very high flyover bridge from one freeway to another. And that one wasn't even over water; it is just nearly in the clouds. So I'm talking really serious panic attacks here. Well, today's trip required that I drive over a bridge that is over water and is pretty high. I've been sick for the last 3-4 days anticipating this trip. Don't know why I'm so afraid of heights and high bridges. I think part of it has to do with falling down a steep, high flight of stairs when I was very young - maybe 5 years old. I can remember the helplessness as I tumbled down and down the stairs. And the other part is my fear of being trapped in a submerging car!*#!! Oh, excuse me a minute. This post is going to require some more Paxil. I'll be right back. ------Now, before I left yesterday morning I took a double dose of Paxil and my blood pressure medicine. The BP med was in case the panic attack sent my blood pressure out the roof I didn't want to have a stroke to boot. Well, the bridge is a good hour's drive from my house. For the entire drive I sweated, prayed, planned distractive actions - you name it. From the time I left home I had a big ole lump in my throat trying not to cry. It's that the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard?!! I know it doesn't make any sense- not even to me- but after all this is an insanity I'm talking about! My husband is just not the least bit sympathetic about this. His says "If you can ride over a bridge why can't you drive over it? It's the same thing." My answer is always, "It's insanity; it doesn't have to make sense! If it made sense it would be sensible, not insane." Anyway, by the time I got to that bridge that double dose of Paxil had kicked in, Praise the Lord!! And I got over that bridge without much stress at all! Praise the Lord!!! Joy was driving her car in front of me and she got on the cell phone with me and talked to me all the while I was on the bridge. She's a good kid. I'm grateful to have her. Sometimes I think we are more friends than mother-daughter.

We left the MH at Camping World in Oxford and went to IHOP for breakfast and next door to IHOP was a great big antique store. After breakfast we walked over and had a look at the place. I must not be 100% a blogger because I didn't take my camera! But my cell phone does take picture though they are not as clear as the cameras. Here are a couple picutres I took inside the store. It was a really big place!

I loved this old kitchen cabinet. My mother had one of these but of course it is long gone. This one even had the flour sifter on the left. It's the dark area behind the linens handing over the open door. Looks like Mother's old Mix Master, too. We still have it.
This wooden piece was labeled a dough bowl but I don't know about that. The darker more square shaped one behind it is also a labeled a dough bowl but it looked like a feed trough to me. The lighter wooden piece was about 3 feet long and you could see on the outside that it was hand hewn. The bowl part was rounded and did look like a dough bowl but I've never seen one that big. Maybe some body can tell me if it was the real thing or not. It was marked $135 so it definitely didn't make it's way home with me!! The trip through the antique store was like a trip down memory lane. So many things I saw in there, we had when I was a child. Come to think of it, I guess that makes it official. I'm and antique!! Or a piece of junk. No just kidding. I'm a little cracked but not junk! "God don't make no junk " as the saying goes. Sometimes I wonder why God made me such a cracked vessel. But you now, the clay doesn't question the potter. I read a story one time that goes something like this. An old Chineese woman made daily trips to the river to bring up water for the day. Over her shoulders she carried a yoke with two large vessels - one on each end. One vessel was perfect and beautiful. The other was warn and chipped with a crack in the bottom. The perfect vessel was filled with pride at its beauty and ability to carry a full load of water to the family every day. The cracked vessel always felt a failure and was ashamed that his load of water was nearly all lost by the time the old woman arrived home each morning. One day the cracked vessel asked the old woman why she continued to carry him to the river when he didn't bring as much water home as the perfect vessel and wasn't as pretty. The old woman said, "Come and I'll show you." She put the two vessels on her shoulds and walked to the river. She told the vessel to look at the trail as she walked. The way was barren and harsh looking. Nothing living on the path. When she reached the river she filled the pots and turned for the return trip. She told the cracked vessel to look again at the trail along the way home. This time the vessel saw beautiful flowers and lush grass with flowering bushes. There were butterflies and birds enjoying the beautiful flowers and bushes all along the trail. Then the woman said, "It is because of you that this trail is so beautiful. The water you give from your crack each day helps the plants to grow beautiful." Now didn't that story just bring a tear to your eye! God can use even a cracked vessel if we just let Him. Have a wonderful New Year, all you cracked vessels!!!

This picture has nothing at all to do with anything in this post but it makes me chuckle every time I see it and since so much of the country is having snow, I thought I'd share it. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! From all the pictures and reports I've seen, it has been a very good season for all. Yesterday and today have been overcast here with warm temperatures ---and totally wasted by me. Must be the absence of sunshine but I just can't seem to get cranked up. It's been two solid days of nibbling on junk and nothing else. I really tried to add one of those Happy New Year backgrounds and banners on my blog but I didn't even get that done. Thanks to all who have come by and left a note. I just love hearing from all of you out there. Amazing how quickly you have all become friends to me and we have never even met face to face. My brother came up on Christmas day and I was showing him my blog. I went through my list of good reads and as I did, I found myself telling him about each one of you as though I knew you personally. I realized then that you all have become real friends to me and an important part of my life! Hope the remainder of your holiday season is wonderful and if you are a football fan, I hope your team wins. Unless, of course, you are a Utah fan. God Bless - S.

A Little Something from Ole St. Nick!

It's only Christmas Eve but for all practical purposes today is Christmas for us. Rusty and his daughter could only come up today for the family celebration since he has to work tomorrow so we were all together today. We ate well and had lots of presents to share. Have to confess, I only bought presents for Cassie since she is the youngest and the only one who is expecting Santa tonight. Everyone else got a little ole check for the after Christmas sales. I guess that's not the way to do it but I never buy what they want and really don't have time or energy for shopping. Money is always the right color and right size. Next year I'll probably give more personal gifts since I'll be retired and have time to sew and shop throughout the year. At any rate, here is a little something from our holiday season.

I failed to post these earlier but I want to share with you, David's gingerbread house and his celebration of his mother's birthday. The birthday came first and the gingerbread house only three days ago. David really likes cooking and art so decorating this gingerbread house was really a treat for him. I hope this will become a tradition for us. Thanks to Lorrie for the inpiration.

David bought silly string weeks ago preparing for his mother's birthday! You can see the string flying at her in this picture. She was a good sport about it and he loved it. Actually, she did, too!

Cassie loved the gingerbread house and tried to eat it, of course. She was so cute. Everything has pretty much "hardened" so she couldn't get much off the house. Rusty brought her dressed in her pretty Christmas outfit but it was soooo hot today we had to change into some cooler clothes. BTW, as I'm typing this the TV has tornado warnings being given and cancelled and strong thunderstorms coming this way. We'll just have to see what happens. Cassie got so many toys she didn't know what to play with first. Didn't take long for her to be completely tired out.

Can you believe this child likes to clean!! She dust and sweeps and will get down on the floor and wipe the floor with tissues or baby wipes! She'll get out of that, I hope.

Here's a young Dad just trying to hold it all together. That little girl is his world and he only gets to see her two days a week. Breaks my heart and his,too. Cassie loves her Daddy and I hope she will always feel close to him. He really has given up a lot to be able to see her as much as possible.

We all got wonderful presents but I just have to share one in particular - from Rusty. Well, here it is. A little something from Ole Saint Nick!! I know some of your are going to be sooooo jealous!

Surely you all could hear me yelling when I opened that package. Next year, if they are number one, I'm hoping to get a ball with the whole team's signatures! I know it's Christmas but I just must give out one big-- Roll Tide! Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!!

Semi Homemade - my way

Hi everyone! It was a really hectic weekend which left me too tired for this week but it's a new week whether I'm ready or not. It's the week of final examinations at school which is a really big headache for me and stressful for everyone. I'm sure you didn't know this, but when a student fails, it is always the teacher's fault. And as students are quick to tell me, there is always someone over my head. So, already students have contacted the state level!! I'll so be glad to retire. And I may have to work one more month than I had calculated but at least the end is in sight. Enough of my moaning; now for some crafting! Yes, I can do a little something. I don't have one single Christmas present bought but I've been doing a little embrodiery for presents my daughter is giving away and some for folks at work. To me, buying plain and embellishing makes good sense. Quick and easier than starting from scratch. Sort of the way Sandra Lee does her cooking - Semi-Homemade. I bought Cassie a little velour warm-up suite and put some snowflakes and "I believe" on the back of the jacket. Oh, those stars I sewed on; they are buttons but flat on the back so they will be comfortable. Why didn't I just embrodiery them, too? Oh if you must know, I made a mistake!! I know that's hard to believe but I did and when I took it out there was a teeny, tiny, little hole there so I sewed a star over it. Then, so that one star wouldn't look so out of place I put a few more on. All in all, however it got there, I'm pleased with the look. I even put a snow flake on the seat of the pants and the front side on one leg. I've embroidered initials on two purses (which Joy is giving for Christmas) and put names on 4 blankets for the grandchildren of a friend at work. The other thing I've done is decopauge (can't spell that) fabric onto a glass plate. I saw this in a magazine several years ago and wanted to try it but never did. Then a couple of weeks ago, the school held a day long training session for improving customer relations. (Oh, don't get me started on how I feel about that.) The lady who did the major presentation was wonderful but I had heard her before. Her topic was Emotional Intelligence and as a "break", I guess, she demonstrated how to do this! She used Christmas fabric but I just used what I had. The rooster is a rub on and I used two different fabrics from which I learned a couple of lessons. The plate I saw years ago that I really, really want, was done with toile (hope that's how to spell it) and a complimentary check. That's why I did this one with different fabrics. Here's what I did wrong - you need to cut the center fabric and then cut the edge fabric with the center missing. Does that make sense? If you look closely at the photo you can see the checked fabric through the solid fabric behind the rooster. So, don't do that. I'm going to try some more of these after Christmas and I'll let you know how it goes. Just a word about the little oval platter next to the rooster plate. That little platter belonged to my mother. I know she used it for many foods but I remember her cooking bacon for breakfast and serving it on that platter. Mama used that platter a lot and I love it because of the memories it brings back for me. Mother and Daddy had a place on the lake when my children were growing up and she took that little platter to the lake house. Lots of good memories from there, too. I just love having Mama's things around to help me remember the good ole days. And just think, today is tomorrow's good ole days! A happy "today" will be good company for us when we are old! Hope all your today's make good memories for tomorrow. Till later - God bless.

I'm thoroughly exhausted from this long day but I really wanted to share some of my day with you. Warning up front, this posting is NOT for the weak stomached! If you get sick or repulsed easily, just skip the rest of this and come back another day. Well, you know today was the community Messiah at our church. Ours is an old church situated in what was a small rural area where everyone knew everybody in the community. That's the way it was until "progress" began to steal away all the rural communities and farmland and in it's place are "subdivisions". Our church is trying to meet the needs of this "new" community so we are offering more community oriented events. This was the first year of what we hope will be many years of community Messiah's hosted by our church. I was a little late getting there this morning but already we had lots of faces there I did not recognize so I knew that the community had responded to our invitation. After lunch, the size of our group had increased considerably and the choir loft was filled to capacity! Isn't that thrilling?! We even had some who have sung in the state chorale several years whom I would consider professionals. They did the solos and were wonderful. But wait a minute, I digress. We have a young couple in our church who have three beautiful young girls, the youngest of which is 2 1/2 years old. The parents are really sweet but the youngest daughter has been coming to choir practice with them ever since she was born. Her mother even breastfed her there in the choir room during practice. I don't mean to be an old fuddy duddy but I just don't think that is quite right! I can't say we always had an effective practice when the baby was there but we struggled through and did the best we could. No one ever said a word even when the screaming and crying was so loud you couldn't hear what note you were singing! I'm not saying we were all OK with what was going on either, but no one wanted to be insensitive. I kept just telling myself that I'm old and out of touch but in all my years I've never seen anything like that. So guess what? They brought that little girl with them to rehearsal today. They were not there until after lunch so it was very crowded by the time they arrived. The little girl began to move up and down the rows with her toys, rattling them as she steps on toes and turned over water on the way. I sing tenor and so does her Dad. The mother sings soprano. So Dad and I were in the middle of the very back row and Mom was on the front row. The man sitting next to me suddenly says very loudly, "Look out." As he said this, the men on the back row began to scurry and the little girls father scooped her up in his arms and called out to her mother. He picked her up from behind so she was leaning her back on his chest and he was holding her legs as though she were sitting in a chair. In this position, as he moved down the row with her, the child was able to spray everyone with vomit as she passed by. It was like a fireman's hose or that little girl in Poltergiest (I can't spell that and I didn't see the movie but I did see that one scene). As the Dad turned first this way and then that to get out of the row, a steady stream gushed forward as if a projectile. All the singers in front of us grabbed coats, music and bottles as she spewed by. You should have seen it! If it weren't so sickening, it would have been a funny sight to see. Meanwhile, the director goes right on with rehearsal. Never missed a beat as we are all busy on the back row trying to clean up everything. I really hated it because we had so many guest there and some were actually "hit". We'll all probably come down with the flu now. I went to the bathroom to wash up and brought back some Lysol spray to try and disinfect everything I could but I don't know if that will prevent us from being sick on not. Now, that is not a good story but it is the truth. I'm happy to say that the performace went off very well and I think everyone there was blessed by it. I just love the Messiah and my heart is really filled with joy as we sing the Halleuiah chorus. So, it is really a Christmas present for me that I sing. Well, this Christmas I guess it was a little ----- soiled but still very special. I hope I didn't gross anyone out but this one is just stranger than fiction - at least to me.

Candy Apple Jelly

I was going to wait until I made the Candy Apple jelly and could post a picture of it for you but decided, nope! I better just get that recipe on here for you so maybe somebody will have time to make it before Christmas because it doesn't look like I'm going to get any made. I got this recipe several years ago from a County Woman magazine - I think. Anyway, here it is:

Candy Apple Jelly
4 c. apple juice
1/2 c. red hot candies
1 (1 3/4 oz.) pkg. powdered fruit pectin
4 1/2 c. sugar
In a large kettle, combine apple juice, candies and pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar; return to a full rolling boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constatnly. Remove from heat; skim off any foam and undissolved candies. Pour hot liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspce. Adjust caps. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas!!!!!

Guess where I went today? You got it! The annual mammo today after work. I know a man developed that thing!! Yes, I know I need to have it done and it may save my life but when it comes down to the compress of it - it just makes me mad as heck!! Hopefully won't have to do that again for another year.

I thought some of you out there might enjoy seeing Harley sneeze for his treats so if I can get the video to upload you'll see Harley sneeze and Stoney sit up for his treat. Stoney can't sit up very long any more 'cause he is just too darn fat! But I love him. He is a very good hearted friend.

Christmas is coming too quickly! I don't have my Candy Apple Jelly made for work or chruch or the neighbors and I don't know when I'll get it done. This weekend will be the last weekend before school is out for the holiday and I can't do it this weekend. My church is hosting what we hope will be the first of many community Messiahs this Saturday and I'll be there practicing all day and then we perform at 4PM. Then Sunday the bell choir plays at the morning service and we have the nursing pinning ceremony in town that evening so neither day will do for jelly making. I think someone is going to miss out on the jelly this year!! Till later, God bless.

Christmas Decorating

Finally got a little Christmas at our place. The banner picture you see at the top of the blog page is last year's Christmas tree. For all but one of the 36 years we have been here, our tree has been in front of that big window. This year I decided to clear out the corner and shove that baby in the corner so here it is.

I really like it here in the corner because I didn't have to decorate all the way around the tree. Hubby is not happy with it. He is really a traditionalist who doesn't like to change things. He may be right but if that tree goes back in front of the window it'll have to be next year. Every ornament on the tree has a history. Some were given to us by friends, some the children made over the years, some are from former students, and some we bought on vacations. There are even some that I made.

This is an ornament cover that I made on my new embrodiery machine last year. You can't read it, but the cover has the words Joy, Peace and Love all around the bottom. I thought I'd make a whole tree full of these but who knew Christmas ornament are not standard sizes. The patterns come in small, medium and large so I thought the ornaments would be small, medium or large to fit the pattern. NOT! I bought three more boxes of ornaments trying to get ornaments to fit the covers I made. Never did get there. I should have know there was a trick to it when the website I bought the embrodiery pattern from gave specific instructions- including pictures- for measuring the ornaments for size when buying them. Anyway, here is another.

This purple ornament is a lot bigger than the red one and the pattern is different, too. Since this tree has lots of history associated with the ornaments, I call this my heritage tree. Here are some other ornaments from the tree.

The Santa and the snowman peeking from behind the candy cane ribbon are balsa wood ornaments that Brian and I painted in 1972. He was three years old and that was the Christmas Joy was born (December 19). The green marbled glass ornament is one of many I did several years ago. I have them in lots of different colors but the gold and purple one is my favorite and I don't even have a picture of it.

This picture is of my "Partridge in a Pear Tree" tree. I don't know how to operate my camera very well and it didn't take a good picture of this but each ornament depicts one of the 12 days of Christmas. I'll take another picture in the daylight tomorrow so you can see this little tree. My third three I don't have a picture of yet but it is my angel tree. I have ornaments with the names of those who are in heaven that I look forward to seeing again. The other ornaments on this tree are all angels. Even some of those angel ornaments were given to me by friends. I always enjoy re-visiting the memories associated with each of my Christmas ornaments each year.

I'm tired and going to bed although my house is a wreck! Boxes and decorations litter the floors of the kitchen, living room and den but they'll just have to wait until tomorrow. I'm completely worn out decorating and trying to help Bama with that Championship game today. They looked really good but just not quite. Can't complain, though. Bama's had a great year and next year should be even better. At least we have a little Christmas here now. Hope you have a wonderful Sunday and a great week next week.

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I'm five pounds heavier. But I really enjoyed it. Went to the doctor (annual visit) last week and he said, "Well at least you're not gaining weight." I told him I had reached critical mass but after eating for the last three days, maybe not! My brother came us and ate with us but no other visitors for Thanksgiving dinner. Brian and his wife came up that evening but they really missed most of the day with us. After we finished our Thanksgiving meal Pop, Joy, David, and I jumped in the motorhome and took a good ride. It was really fun. The weather was BEAUTIFUL! So we rode about an hour down the rode, turned around and came home. One day soon we are going for a trip in that bad boy and I'll let you know more about it then. When I get it all decked out like I want, I'll post some inside picutres as well. (And when I find my camera.) When we got home for our road trip, Cassie came to spend the weekend. Have you hear of the terrible two's? Boy! If you look that up in a textbook you'll find Cassie's picture. I had bought her a couple of Christmas outfits and wanted to have her picture made in them so we took her Saturday evening to a studio for her sitting. She wouldn't even sit down for the pictures. There were a gajillion people cramed in a very small space and the temperature must have been 90 degrees in there! It took us two hours of waiting to get to the picutre taking and by that time it was all over. She flopped down in the floor, screaming and slinging her arms and legs. Then she took off running and trampling everything in sight. It was hot so Joy gave her some of her Pepsi. Guess she forgot it was Pepsi Max!!! Is she nuts! Yes and that stuff made Cassie nuts, too. That child did not go to sleep until 2AM this morning. Needless to say, we were all whipped this morning. To top it off, Joy and David had to sell doughnuts for the Boy Scouts today so I had Cassie all day by myself. I think I want only supervised visits for the next two years! I checked to see if it was legal and it is so I've added some of the pictures we had made yesterday to the side bar. And I just could not leave this post without adding: Roll Tide! Till later, God bless.

Finally Friday

TGIF!! This was a long week in many ways and short in some. I spent Monday and Tuesday on jury duty. On Monday they were trying to seat two juries both for murder cases. There were 32 of us in the court room and only 14 were to serve. You know they ask all sorts of questions so that the defense and prosecution both can size you up and determine if you would make a good juror for their side. One question was "Do you have any friends or relatives who are police officers?" When it came my time to answer the question, I stood up and in my most pleased mother's voice said, "My BABY BOY is a police officer." It sounded just like Minnie Pearl. That probably caused the defense some concern. Then came a question about judges, DA's or other government officials. I knew a couple of those, too. Long story short - I think I was the first person struck. Didn't hurt my feelings. I really did NOT want to serve on a murder jury. The next day (Tuesday) there were 32 folks picked from which to seat a jury for a Civil case; everyone else was dismissed for the rest of the week. Thankfully, I was one of the ones dismissed. So, back to work on Wednesday. But, the great state of Alabama makes it worth you time to serve; $10 a day and 5 cents/mile for travel. The rest of the week was fairly stressful k with lots of reports and deadlines to meet. Didn't get them all done either. But enough of that stuff.
I really want to tell you about Sue's 100th posting give away over at The Cotton Patch. Sue is really the one who got me into blogging. Her best friend is a friend of mine at work. One day Jane was telling me about Sue's blog and pulled it up on the computer to show me. That was all it took - I was hooked. Then when I finally worked up the courage to try blogging, Sue was the first person out there in blog land to visit me and make me feel welcome. She is a really sweet person who just happens to be quite talented! Her blog is one filled with lots of nice crafts and recipes. And another thing about her is that she is just through and through a good person! So go on over and visit Sue and get yourself entered into her give away. The loot looks great! And you'll love Sue.
Have a wonderful weekend getting ready for Thanksgiving and God bless!

A Maxine Thanksgiving

I just LOVE Maxine! So when I received these in an email, I knew I had to post them on my blog. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

This is really a great secret surpassed only by my crockpot chicken and dressing. That's what we are having this year!


My thoughts exactly on all that shopping! We really miss the whole point of Christmas by getting all wrapped up in gifts. The best part of the whole holidays is family.

One of the best Thanksgivings we've had in a long time was boiled shrimp! It was wonderful and not a lot of trouble either. The weather cooperated so we boiled shrimp in a turkey fryer out on the back porch. Lots of fun!

I don't know about you guys but once my folks were gone, the holidays were never the same. Whatever you have planned for Thanksgiving, I hope all goes well and your Thanksgiving day is just like a Publix commercial! Keep in mind the reason for the season. No matter what others may say it's really all about Jesus. And that, my friends, is the most important thing for which to be thankful. God bless.

What a mess!

I don't know how to do hyperlinks and the links in my Book Tag posting don't work. I'm too tired to firgure it out tonight and I can't re-write that post so I'm leaving it up and I'll fix the links tomorrow if I can figure it out! Maybe one of you can give me the low down on how to do that 'cause I read the "Help" info on it and couldn't make heads nor tails of it. Anyway, I'm done for tonight. Sorry. Just had a good idea - use the hyperlinks in my "Good Reads" list. Everyone tagged is listed there and those links all work. Problem solved!

Book Tag

Hey, yall! This sounds like fun. My friend, Lorrie, over at The View from My Door , has tagged me with a book tag. There are some rules so here they are:The rules are:

1. Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

2. Share seven random and/or weird book facts about yourself.

3. Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

When I first read the rules, I missed the word "book" and thought it was asking for seven random and/or WEIRD facts about me, which would not be a problem to supply but let me see what I can do with BOOK facts. Here we go:

1. My favorite book is one that I have never read cover to cover but I plan to before I die - the Bible. My grandmother (Daddy's mother) was crippled for the little time I knew her and she sat all day in the same chair always reading the Bible. She spoke little but read a lot. She was 80 years old when I was born; died at the age of 88 and had read the Bible cover to cover a total of 44 times.

2. Some of you are not going to like this but--- I like to write in my Bible. Sometimes I'll mark a verse with a date meaning that on that day I read this verse and it had a special meaning for me that day. In Bible studies, I write notes in the margin of my Bible. One reason I do this is that I want my children to find those notes after I'm gone and I hope those notes will be meaningful for them. I got this idea from one of the books I got from an aunt's home after she died. She had a daily devotional in which she had made similar notes and it was astounding to me! She really journaled before journaling was popular. She could write well and had ideas that I had never dreamed she would have. It was really special to me. And she wasn't even my favorite relative!

3. Last year for Christmas, I asked for and was given the whole Narnia series. I didn't even know they were children's books. I absolutely loved them!! I read every night before going to bed until I finished them all and was sad when I had them completed. Can't say there are many books that I would read again but these I certainly will.

4. One of my favorite authors is Robert Fulghum. Never heard of him? I'm not surprised. He wrote a little series of books that I would recommend to anyone. They are All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten , Uh-Oh, and It Was On Fire When I Lay Down on It . These books are written with a healthy dose of humor and lots of thought provoking wisdom. I highly recommend them.

5. If you've read my very first posting, you know that both my mother and my best friend died in the span of two months (October - December) in 2003. I grieved for a very long time. My daughter bought me a book by John R. Claypool titled Tracks of a Fellow Struggler . If you are going through a time of grief or know someone who is this little book may be a very helpful.

6. I'm fat so you could really guess this one if I was brave enough to post a picture of myself but I collect, read, and love COOKBOOKS! I have old ones from my early married years and even my mother's cookbook. She only had one. When I go on vacation I'm very likely to bring back a cookbook. One of my favorites is "Forgotten Recipes". This book is a collection of recipes from the '20s, '30s, 40's, and '50's. The author searched old magazines and newspapers to make the collection. She also included interesting facts of the day in which the recipe was published.

Gosh, I'm worried 7 weird facts won't be enough! So, there may be 2 facts in this last one.

7. I buy craft books of all kinds! I have books on quilting, knitting, crochet, beading, sewing, decorating, machine embroidery, decorative painting, --all sorts of things I would love to do but don't have time. Somehow buying the book makes me think I have it, I can do it. Like textbooks I collect at work. If I have the book, I know the material. You know it doesn't work that way, don't you?

And finally, I have what I think is an original copy of Gone With the Wind. I don't know for sure but the book was my mother's and it was published in the '40's.

Now here are my 7 tags:
Zaroga at Zaroga's Nook
Apryl at The Parker Kids
Sue at The Cotton Patch
Milah at From My Back Porch
Connie at Connie's Turning 50
Dot at Picket's Place
Jill at At Home in the Country

If there are any other book lovers among you please feel free to take this tag too!

Teddy Bear Ride

Saturday was the Teddy Bear ride and DH and his buddy, Steve, took a few of their closest fuzzy friends to The Children's Hospital. There were over 500 bikers in this year's ride and $24,000 was raised for the hospital. I'm sure the riders enjoy the ride which raises the money, but the best treat is to see the children's faces when all those motorcycles drive up to the hospital and the guys go in and start giving stuffed animals away. Some of those little kids can really get to your heart in a hurry. Last year a little boy wanted Pop's Teddy Bear Ride pin from his Harley vest so Pop took it off and gave it to him. Pop got another pin this year and he made it home with this one. This is the first year Pop has every lost a rider; that white gorilla came off the bike on the freeway and was gone. I hope someone at the end of the ride scooped it up and took it on to the children.

David had a big weekend as well. He was one of those 10,000 Boy Scouts at Talladega! We are so proud of David and all he has done with the Scouts. This past summer he was induced into the Order of the Arrow. He has been going to OA meetings and is learning to perform the Native American dances. There were lots of these dance teams at 'Dega this weekend. Here are some of the groups that were there dancing.

Don't they look great! Now here are our boys-------

Isn't that PITIFUL!!! They almost didn't get to dance because their costumes were soooo awful! Joy, of course, volunteered me to make them some costumes. Is she nuts! I can't make those outfits. I'll just have to help them sell doughnuts! David is in the green shirt, third from the right. And goodness, he can't dance any better than I can. Bless his heart. He's out there trying and doing his best. Can't ask for more and what he accomplishes takes much more effort than for others. If you have any ideas about how to make those costumes, let me know. I know for sure I can't do that head dress! Have a great weekend coming up and God bless!

Can You Remember?

Recently, I bought a box of 20-Mule Team Borax for my wash. I remember using it years ago but somehow just got away from it. When I saw the box in the store, and every time I've looked at the box since, I'm reminded of a TV show that was sponsored by 20-Mule Team Borax. It must have been in the early to mid '50's that the show was on the air and the opening would show a mule team pulling a covered wagon through what appeared to be the desert. My family watched the show every week but I can't remember for the life of me what the name of the show was. Surely there is someone out there as old as I am who can remember better and can tell me the name of the program. I remember watching "Playhouse 90" sponsored by Westinghouse, and The Texaco Hour with Milton Berle, Jack Benny, I Love Lucy, but not the name of this program. So, please, if you can remember the name would you please let me know? I sure would appreciate it and thanks in advance.

The Great Escape

Milah over at View From My Back Porch posted a couple of days ago about her daughter's cows getting out. Just had to chuckle as she described chasing those cows around and her story brought back one of the funniest memories I have from childhood. When I was maybe 7 years old we moved into a small house that had only a small plot of land. My Daddy had always "farmed" as much as possible. We never owned land but he would rent property that had land enough to raise fields of corn or cotton as well as have chickens and cows. But this house just didn't have the land. Still he had one cow that he was keeping. I was too young to remember the specifics as to why we moved into that house in the first place or why he just had to keep that cow but I do remember we were only there two months at the most. Daddy's cow had to be tied up in the back yard because there was no fence, no cow lot, nothing but the back yard. We hadn't been there long when one morning, Mother and my brother - Sidney - and I heard a strange noise coming from outside. Perplexed, we looked at each other and listened carefully. The noise started soft, got louder and louder and then gradually faded away. It was a sound coming from all around the house, not just from one direction. I was absolutely terrified! I just knew it was the Boggie Man coming to get me. Finally, Mother headed out the door to see where that sound was coming from and what was its' source. When we got out the front door, we saw a blur go whizzing by. It took a few seconds for us to realize what we were look at. It was Daddy hanging onto that cow's tail and running for dear life! Seems the cow had broken the rope that held her in the back yard and was making a mad dash for freedom. Daddy had grabbed the only thing he could - her tail. Round and round the house they went and as Daddy made each round he yelled "Siiiidneeey! Siiiidneeey" The effect on the sound as Daddy went around and around the house made it difficult to understand what we were hearing but he was just calling for Sidney to come help get that cow under control. I was so relieved that it wasn't the Boggie Man coming to get me that all I could do was laugh. Daddy, of course, did not think it funny at all. It wasn't long until we moved from that house into the house that really became our home. The new house had a couple of acres so Daddy could have his cows and he always grew a nice garden but farming still meant he had to rent his truck patches. This would be the house where my brother and I spent most of our childhood; where mother and daddy spent over fifty years, and where each in their own time would die. Lots of good memories in this old house, too, but they will be for other postings. The weekend is coming up and I hope you have a great one. Pray for our country and God Bless!

Beautiful Sunday

Just time for a quick post before I drag out the school books and work on my online courses. Our Halloween was a very quiet one. For the first time in a LONG time, we all sat in the den and watched a movie together. Joy and David went to Movie Gallery and came back with several Halloween appropriate movies but we watched one I was willing to see -- Journey to the Center of the Earth. Not a scary movie at all - no violence and I don't remember any bad language either. Such a pleasant evening! Those types of evenings are so few and far between, I never fail to give thanks for the ones we do have. I went to the door for trick or treaters only about 3 times. Each time there were no more than 4 children so we had maybe 12 trick-or-teaters. Lots different than in years past. Today is a bright, beautiful Sunday and the temperature is in the upper 70's. I'd love to be outside instead of here inside trying to come up with worksheets and tests for students. It's even more difficult to get motivated knowing that in six short months, I'll never have to do that again! (Do you hear that Halleluiah chorus in the background?) We did spend most of Saturday morning loading the basics into the motorhome. I would have taken pictures of the inside but Joy took my camera on her Saturday trek to Mississippi. I'll get some this week. Hope everyone has a great week and God Bless!

Important voting information

A friend sent me the following as an email this morning. I'm pasting it into my blog so I don't know if the hyperlinks will work or not. She suggested that we check and see if this applies to Alabama but I'm thinking I'll just vote for each individual to be sure. No matter for whom we are voting, we surely want that vote to count.


Subject: Do Not Vote Straight Ticket A friend went to snopes.com <http://snopes.com/> as suggested and apparently this is correct. Republican or Democrat, you will appreciate this email. I have been informed by an Obama supporter, that if one votes straight Dem. or Rep. ticket at the polls, before you have voted for the President, you're vote for President will not be counted. If you go to snopes.com, you will see that this is true and it tells you that it's a good idea to vote for each candidate individually, in any case.

Weekend visitor

Cassie came to visit this weekend! I wanted to take her to a fall festival or pumpkin patch or something fun this weekend but I couldn't roust anyone out of bed to go with us Saturday morning--so, we just had a quite weekend at home. For some reason, the thing she enjoyed most was the bathtub. I guess since the pool is closed the bathtub was the next best thing. Wanted to have her picture made this weekend but that didn't work out either so I just took some photos of her in the bathtub. Modesty forbids that you see the full shots but here are the best parts. You can see why I call her my "Doll Baby".

See those little bottles that look like colored deodorant? They are body paint soap and they come with names like Bubble Gum and Cotton Candy. I thought the names just described the smell of the soap but she likes to eat the stuff so I guess they are flavored for sure. One more quick picture.

I did something else this weekend that I haven't done in years. I was blog surfing about two or three weeks ago and I landed in a blog in England, I think it was, or at least somewhere in Europe. The blog belongs to a young woman with two small children one of whom is autistic and that is what caught my attention. In one of her postings she wrote about wash day and had pictures of her sheets hanging outside. Those pictures triggered lots of memories from my childhood and early married life. Of course my mother dired clothes on a line for most of her life and I used a clothes line some when I was first married. We had a dryer as newly weds but I still used a clothes line from time to time. The clothes smelled wonderful!!! I decided it would be wonderful to smell clothes like that again. Especially the sheets on the bed. So I found a clothes line online and bought it. It is one of those round clothes lines that has one post in the middle with hanging lines all around. I used it today and the clothes had that wonderful smell of fresh wash from my childhood! But let me tell you what I didn't remember about drying clothes on the line. I didn't remember how much work it is to get those wet clothes to the line. Those suckers are heavy! And my washer is downstairs in the basement. The basement door to the outside is blocked off by my DH's tools and motorcycle so I had to drag that bag of wet clothes up the basement steps and outside to the line. For a few minutes there, I was trying to think of something else to do with that new clothes line. Cover it with fabric and use it as an umbrella. No, we already have two of those. Hang fresh herbs to be dried. That's really hard to do without fresh herbs. Since I couldn't think of any better use for it, I'll just have to figure out how to get wet clothes to the line again. One secret may be to do only small loads of wash. Whatever, I've already invested in the line and besides, the clothes do smell heavenly. Can't wait to dry my sheets outside and have my bed smelling like my mama's beds used to. I know you can't go home again but maybe, just maybe I can put my head on that sweet smelling pillow, close my eyes and pretend myself to sleep. Have a wonderful week and God Bless.

Bound to Glory

Last night was choir practice. I've been singing in the choir since I was 12 years old so I've got lots of songs tucked away in my heart. One of the songs we practiced last night had a phase that said "I am bound for glory" and "won't you come and go there with me". I've had that stuck in my head all day. Over and over, my brain has sung that same little phrase. At some point it occured to me that that little bit of melody and words had lifted my spirits all day. I am bound for glory!
I don't usually memorize the music but there will be a pharse or the refrain or something that I really like and relate to and it will be in my head for ages! There are some of those in my head from the time I was 12 years old. Over the years, I have gotten through many a rough stretch with the help of that music in my head. No, I'm not nuts (not too badly anyway) but you know what I mean. I know you've had tunes stuck in your brain, too. From my youth, I have learned many of the scriptures by singing them over and over as music. I can remember one particularly bad period in my life when it seemed my whole life was falling apart. One night I woke in the middle of the night filled with anguish and my mind was singing, even before I woke, "though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the mist of the sea. Be still and know that I am God." At once I understood that there was nothing in or of this world that separated me from God or changed Him in any way. He knew where I was, He knew what I felt, He knew what I needed, and He would take care of me. I felt comforted and I felt new strength every time I thought of that phrase. And, I learned what that scripture really meant from the situation I was in at the time. I don't believe there was anything random about that event. I had not consciously thought about that song in years but when I needed it, God brought it back to me. You know, God is so good!! I hope you have a few songs in your heart, too.

Busy Weekend!

My goodness, it's been a while since I posted anything but I have a good excuse - I've been busy! It has been a long and busy weekend and as I promised here is a picture of the new motor home. I still can't make my camera take as clear pictures as I know it is supposed to but at least you can get the idea. (I could probably do a lot better with it if I would read the instruction manual. I just mash buttons and see what happens.) It takes up our whole yard! The really good thing about it is that it is Alabama colors! It love that! I'm getting a really big Alabama "A" and put it on the back somewhere. The really good part is that DH is an Auburn fan and he's so happy that we got the motor home that he doesn't even care. He is like a kid at Christmas but all I see is a big ole money pit. Oh well, now for something really exciting - I got an award from my friend Sue over at The Cotton Patch. Now that is some really good encouragement for a new comer. Thanks, Sue! You have really tickled me pink! I didn't know exactly what to do with the award or how to "pick it up" so let me know if I didn't do it right. Also, I know I should pass it on to others but it'll have to wait until at least tomorrow night. I need to do a little reading and catching up with everyone tonight and it is nearing my bedtime. Another plus thanks to Sue is that several others have checked out my blog and left really kind remarks. Thanks everyone!! I hope yall check back often. Have a great week and God bless.

Wow! It's been several days since I posted and I still don't have a thing to say. I have been cruising through blog world and oh my! There are some wonderful fall/Halloween decorations featured on your blogs; but I don't have the time or energy to decorate my house for fall. Halloween is Joy's favorite holiday (not mine!) so the hall closet is stuffed with decorations. She doesn't have time to put them out because of school and I don't have the energy or time. Maybe I'll get the lighted stuff out for a few days. But, just because my house isn't decorated, that is no reason not to decorate my blog; hence the little witch's greeting.

Just want to mention that tomorrow is number one son's birthday. He'll be 39 tomorrow!! OMG! How did that happen? He is really a special someone and I am very proud of him. Love you very much, Brian. I told him about my blog one day last week and asked him what he thought after he had had a few minutes to look at it. His only comment was, "Is that the best picture you could find?" - referring to the one of him and his wife, Beth. I'll have to do better by him but not tonight. I'm just too tired to work on it.

Before I go, I wanted to give you a little health warning. Since I am a nurse, I like to share anything I can that might help keep you healthy ----- so---- Don't swallow your bubble gum!

Have a wonderful Friday. God Bless

S.

Here's hoping.....

Any one who listened to the news reports at all last week had to come into this weekend with a little feeling of uncertainty. The sky is falling we are told, but I really think God is in charge of the sky and He has kept it in place for quite a long time. The Stock Market however, is another matter. Our parents were correct. We should not buy what we can't pay for. We should save for the future and we should be good stewards of the gifts God gives us. So what did we do this weekend? We bought a motorhome!!?$** Can you believe that! I could have gone the rest of my life without doing that and been a happy camper in our paid for fifth wheel, but DH just had to have a motorhome. I've been able to distract and postpone him for over a year but of all times, this weekend he "found the deal". The thing costs five times what we paid for our house 36 years ago. We will probably not live to have it paid off. It's forty feet long and we'll have to buy another car to tow. I can't imagine how many motorhome parts and towed car parts we will leave scattered between here and where ever we go. And, to top that off, when I retire in two hundred and forty something days, my income will be almost half of what it is now. By the way, does DH stand for "dear husband" or "damn husband" or maybe "dumb husband". I guess we get to take our pick. I am just too terrified of the financial obligation to even think of enjoying it right now. But to be fair, if we are able to use it to show David a little of this country, it will be worth it. David will never read and so learning history is a verbal matter for him. I'd love to show him Jamestwon, Virginia, and Williamsburg, Philadelphia and Independence Hall and maybe the Rocky Mountains and the Alamo. Do you know how much diesel fuel costs? And the thing only get 8 miles per gallon. Did I say we should be good stewards of God's gifts? At least there is a historic park about ten miles from us. We might can afford to go there a couple of times a year. Pray for our country and while you're at it, say a little prayer for me, too. Till later, God Bless.
S.

Old dishes and Chicken and Dressing

I made a few pictures today of some of my old dishes. Here is a bowl from my mother-in-law that I found in her cabinets when we cleaned out her house. There are four small bowls with it making them look to be a salad bowl set.

The back is stamped with just one word: "Bavaria" I don't know what that means. Here is my grandfather's mustashe mug. He was 96 or 98 when he died in the early '50s.

I have lots of roosters and chickens scattered throughout my house - lamps, pictures, on dishes and even this cute couple on my mantle. My friend, Judy, gave me the hen which is actually a cook jar and my hubby gave me the rooster which has no other function than to look good with the hen. I just love chickens!

Sorry this picture is a little blurry but I still don't know how to operate my camera to its maximum potential. Now for some little birdhouses that hubby makes and I paint and decorate. When I retire, this will be fun to do again.

This little house is on my first porch and then a little closer picture to see the detail. It is really fun to add all the detail. Hubby makes the signs and I paint and letter them. He even made an old chest type coke case like we used to have when I was a child. It's on a different store. As you can see, I don't know how to get two pictures on the same row so this is a long post.

One more thing for tonight. I found a recipe for crockpot chicken and dressing that I tried night before last. It was wonderful!! And great to have chicken and dressing ready to eat when I got home for work. Since I altered the original recipe, I think I can lay claim to this one as my own. If you try it, leave me a note and let me know how you liked it.

Crockpop Chicken and Dressing

4-6 chicken breasts, cooked

2 skillets of cornbread

2-3 rolls or biscuits, or hamburger buns

1 medium onion, chopped

4-5 celery limbs (or whatever you call them) chopped fine

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 stick, margarine, melted

2 cans of chicken broth

salt to taste

Mix together cornbread, rolls, onion, celery, one can of cream of chicken soup, melted butter, 2 cans of chicken broth, and salt.

Make a layer of half the remaining can of cream of chicken soup in the bottom of a large crock pot. Top with a layer of dressing. Top dressing with half of the chicken, shredding it as you put it in. Top with dressing, remaining chicken, and remaining dressing. Spread other half of cream of chicken soup over top. Cover and cook on low for at least 3 - 4 hours.

I cooked it all day and it was fine. No eggs means it has a little less body than my traditional dressing but basically it is the same. I don't like sage so I never put sage in my dressing but if you like sage, add it.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow and God bless!

S.

Blue speckled roasting pan

Tonight I started using a new speckled roasting pan. Doesn't seems like such a monumental thing but the old one was about 30 - 35 years old so we were old friends. It was a permanent fixture in my kitchen and has seen many a Christmas turkey and Easter ham. I think I even bathed one of my babies and both my grandbabies in that pan at least once when they were newborns. It has a small hole in the bottom that I found a couple of weeks ago when I was making scuppernong jelly. So, I'm not throwing it away. Don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it but something special - it has served well. I really love old dishes. In fact, I guess you could say I collect them. I have some Jewel Tea pieces of my Aunt's, a huge Homer Laughlin platter with what I think was called the Cabbage Rose pattern, a couple of tea cups that are stamped "Made in Occupied Japan", and a few other pieces that are old but if they are of special note to anyone but me, I don't know about it. I have my grandmother's biscuit bowl, an aunt's white serving platter, my husband's grandmother's daily dishes, lots of old pieces and I use them all. Old dishes just seems to shout love from every little crack. In thrift stores, yard sales, antique stores, I'd rather buy old dishes than most anything else. I always relate to that loving mother or grandmother setting the table and preparing the meals for her family and I guess that is sort of what I feel about that old roasting pan. It really represents a life style and a time in life that I loved. I was going to post a picture of it but the battery is dead in my camera so I'll have to add it later. I'll add some pictures of some of my old dishes, too. By the way, I see I have a "follower" and she has some of the same interests as I do. Thanks for reading my blog. Hope you will leave me a note -- not that I would know how to read it. I'll figure it out sooner or later. Till later. S.

First Posting

This is going to be challenging. I typed several "first postings" last night but discarded each because they just weren't good enough! You see, I've been snooping around in blog world for a few weeks now and some of you folks are very good writers and I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb for being so bad at writing. I've finally decided I just have to post - maybe I'll get better. First a little about myself so we can get to know each other. I'm 63 (WHAT!?!) years old and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I've been a nurse for 42 years but I never really wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to be a teacher; my mother wanted me to be a nurse. For the past 20 years I've had the best of both worlds, teaching nursing in a small community college. I have three grown children and two grands. My grandson is autistic (high functioning) and he and his mother (my daughter) live with us. David, who is 15 years old, is really more like my fourth child than a grandchild. My granddaughter is just 2 years old and lives an hour away so I get to see her often. She is the apple of my eye. I call her my "doll baby".

I am planning to retire June 1 of next year and I hope that I will be able to blog my way into old age. Surely there are others out there who are in my position - you know, when you look in the mirror in the morning and wonder who in the world is that grey headed old fat woman in the mirror and where is that black haired beauty that once resided there? Lots of changes to cope with in a lifetime but it can be fun if you just make up your mind to have a positive attitude about it. Some days my attitude is a lot better than other.
My friend Judy (inserted picture), has been dead five years today. Just about the best friend I ever had on this earth. She was three years and three months younger than me and she died on her birthday. So, really today is her 60th birthday. We shared an office for fifteen years, were best friends for a little more than fifteen years, went to lunch together everyday, went to graduate school together, laughed, cried, fretted about our children and fussed about our husbands (she had two more than me) and then she was gone. Two months after she died, my mother died at age 91. I was a mess for a long time. There are lots of changes to cope with in a lifetime.

Can't dwell on the past. I'm moving on to the golden years! I hope they shine for me and you, too. Soon I hope to post pictures of my family, crafts, decorating and my precious puppies, too. Today, I'm just starting off and already I need to learn more about blogging to be able to do what I want. I want a beautiful blog like others out there. One thing for sure, I may be old but this old dog loves to learn new tricks. Later!
S.