Summer 2014

I may have to introduce myself again - it's been so long since I've actually visited with y'all.  Still don't know what my new normal is...  since I lost my sis.  But I'm trying to move forward.

I've spent most of this past year at Lisa's house soaking up all the time I could with her.  The Lord in heaven has been so close to our family these past months, and the knowledge that she no longer suffers goes a long way towards beginning to heal our grief and sorrow over her loss.  Our faith is strong and we will eventually find our way again with His help.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your words, your prayers and your concern.  I shall talk about Lisa, I'm sure, but I'll try not to moan and whine.  She's a lot better off than we are right now!  This pic was taken in the spring when my brother Dan, Lisa and I were all together for the last time... Dan lives way off in NC....

 This is a picture of Lisa and her husband about 3 weeks or so before we lost her...still beautiful!

Needless to say, my garden was a pitiful flop this year.  Daddy's garden fared a little better - we were all pulled to my sis...  I've made peach jam and pickles and hot salsa.  Surprisingly, our little bitty peach tree was absolutely loaded with baseball-sized peaches this year - no thanks to me.  We had an abundance of rain this spring/early summer - totally NOT normal at all!  I'm just now having to water the yard - it's just now looking a bit dry.

My daughter graduated from Nursing school with a Bachelor of Science.  We are so proud of her!  It was hard, but she stuck it out, passed her NCLEX, and is now employed at a major Texas hospital!  Lots of prayer and hard work!

Below is our family at her graduation + her significant other in the hat and my parents.  What a great day was had by all!

I totally forgot to show y'all something I made my daughter for Christmas...

Now, don't look at the pink stuff, and don't look at the wedding ring quilt, and don't look at anything else girly or foo-foo in this room.  Just look at the rag quilt.  THAT is what I made for baby-girl for Christmas. It doesn't have the binding on it yet.  Here's what happened - it was a surprise...

Happy tears when she realized that I'd made it and put all those long hours into the quilt!

It DID turn out nice - all her cowboy colors... I'd love to do another one IF my hands can recover from all the clipping...  If you haven't seen them on Pinterest, every seam of every square is clipped so that when it's washed, the seams get fuzzed out.  She loved her quilt...

See ya next time...

GIVEAWAY at River Bend Farm!

It's GIVEAWAY TIME!  Oh, not for me just yet, but for Berte at River Bend Farm!  She has reached a goal of 100 followers and she's having a contest about Blessings in your life.  She wants to bless the winner of her giveaway with one of her yellow spatterware bread pans, a cute napkin and a recipe keeper!  Jump over there and visit this wonderful Texas gal (a kindred sister :) and see for yourself what makes her so special!

I LOVE Spatterware!  So, run on over to Berte's place and sign up!

We've been so blessed these past couple of weeks with scattered showers - usually, we are not in the "scattered" areas, but recently the showers have scattered all over us!   This is my perennial garden - I know you can't really tell what's in there.  Some of it's been cut back and dead-headed - it was getting out of control.  I have some herbs like basil and rosemary and lavender, some purple coneflowers, lantana, clematis (it's little - just starting to climb that little thingie there, and some other flowers.  The lantana is still in need of a haircut so I may move it somewhere else come fall.  I don't know why the grasshoppers are eating the clematis leaves and they won't eat the lantana leaves.  That would solve a big problem!

Sunflowers are going great! They're so cheery and they make me happy!

My daughter's birthday is coming up next week, and we are planning on going out to visit her and probably take her and her boyfriend out to eat or something.  Along with her job, she is a "junkin" gal.  She likes to buy cheap, paint and fix up and sell on craigslist, ebay or her area "buy, sell & trade" facebook page.  She loves a rustic or western theme.  Doing pretty good, too!  She's very artistic and knows how to make things look good.  If she lived closer, she and I would have our own little business together - we've talked about it...it would be so fun!

Josh and Lindsey are settling in at her folks' B and B - they are staying in one of the cottages right now until they decide what they are going to do.  Job hunting starts tomorrow for Josh!  Hope he can find something pretty soon!  Lindsey's parents are re-vamping an old country house right now and I imagine Josh is going to be working on that project as well to supplement his income...I'm SO jealous of that house - it has a screened-in sleeping porch - HOW WONDERFUL!  Pictures will be forthcoming as they complete

the re-do.

We're going to Nashville in a couple of weeks to visit my oldest son, Adam. It's been awhile since we've been up there and it's time for a visit.  Sure miss that boy!

Dolores at Moving Forward With Alzheimers shared this video on her blog...

Well, back to work for me tomorrow.  Thank goodness I'm down to two days a week - which is not bad at all - but I'd like it to be a BIG FAT ZERO days a week!  One of these days...

Keep yer dress down, friends.

I'm Still Alive Here at Sand Flat Farm!

Ummmm, okay ..... let's see, where were we?  .......

Oh yes, before I get any further, let me share this lovely giveaway with you from Christy at Artisan Farmstead Living!  She's having a giveaway of a lb. of her luscious laundry soap that she makes herself with goat milk soap and I'm REALLLLLY hoping to win!  If not, guess I'll have to buy some...  Pop over there and see her neat blog where she makes all things homestead-style!  Tell her I sent you!  I just found her today doing some blog-hopping!

Thanksgiving?  Check!  Had a great time with all the family? Check!  Ate WAY too much?  Check!  Talked to our Kiwi Kids?  Check!  Did some skyping, too!  Made plans for Christmas holidays?  Check!  Family agreed to draw names for gifts?  Check!  Been trying to get everybody to agree on that for years!  Did some target practice with the kids?  Check!  Even my mama got in on that!  Pictures to follow...

And my mama is serious - don't mess with mama! My brother is lookin' on and Daddy is coverin' up his ears...

My brother discussing the merits of his arsenal...

Anybody around my area need a purty calico kitty?  Lucy is staying with us until I find her another home.  She belonged to Josh and Lindsey, and since they couldn't take her to NZ, I'm looking for a new home.  I already have a sinus infection and severe allergies due to her being at my house.  She's always been an inside cat, so I hate to just put her outside.  She'd freak.  It's taken her two weeks to settle down and feel comfortable here.  She's already spayed and had shots.  Got any takers?  She's free to a good home!  WITH all her stuff!  I'll even bring her to you if don't live too far away! 

Thought I'd show you a fine specimen of canine-ity - our farmdog, Gypsy, is surveying the grounds (actually she is sitting on top of the berm that the boys shoved up with the tractor to use as a backdrop to shoot against).  Little did Gypsy know that soon,  gunfire would commence and she'd be hightailin' it back to the barn...  But I'll swan! - lawsy-mercy... she  did look mighty fine settin' up there for a few short minutes...

She's turning out to be a great dog so far - she's been here about a month now.  She's very smart - I can show her how to do something once or twice and she's got it!  We're thinking mostly Aussie with some border collie in her, too, for good measure.  She loves to play with the young tan outside cat - he who hath no name yet.  Young Tan Outside Cat, herein after referred to as YTOC either is stupid and has no escape skills, or he truly likes being played with by Gyp.  I've seen several times Gyp carrying him around the yard like a ragdoll and she traps him with her front paws.  I thought that she might bite him too hard, but I guess she's being very careful and hopefully has a very soft mouth.  He seems healthy and active and playful, and I let him in ONLY to eat so Gyp won't bug him. He comes in, eats, and then warts the tar out of Lucy. They fight and squall and chase each other all over the house.   I sure hope he makes it.  YTOC's been here two months and is getting big.  I don't know why he doesn't just take a whack at Gypsy's nose with his paw and set her straight...  I told him to many times, but as of yet, he hasn't done anything about it.

And Gypsy loves me.  I'm her person.  Makes me feel good.  She whines for me to hold her and pet her and scratch her.  She just wants me to love on her.  And I do.  What is it about dogs that we love them and they love us so unconditionally?  Why does their love make us feel so good?  Where is this post going?

Hope to get my Christmas tree up this week.  I have no earthly idea as to the whereabouts of my Christmas decorations.  I sold a bunch of them that were getting dog-eared when we moved, threw another bunch away and packed up the rest, and I don't know where it is.  Good excuse to get a few new things, eh? Only thing is, with one cat and sometimes two in the house, how in tarnation am I going to keep my Christmas tree and decorations intact?  Can you tell me that?  I think this year I'm going to go down to the woods and cut some evergreen limbs and such and do some natural decorating. I'm still thinking on that wreath that Vee did that I love SO much - the square one. So simple, yet so natural and I just LOVE natural!

Anyway, I'm really tightening my purse strings this year and am looking to find ways to decorate on the cheap, and natural elements are to be had everywhere.

We've covered lotsa territory this evenin', so I guess I'm outa here til next time.  Will try to post more often - Holidays are so busy!

Keep yore dress down!

News From Down Under...

Well, they're mighty close to "down under".  Josh and Lindsey that is.  Arrived safely in Auckland, NZ, and have been staying with some church members in Wellington on the southern coast.  It's 6:31 pm CST here as I write, and it's 1:31 pm NZ time but it's Monday already there.  They spent Sunday with the church there and Josh said there were some Christians there from Malaysia that owned a nice restaurant downtown and they all went there for Sunday dinner.  The folks there have just been SO hospitable to them and have helped them get their bank account, cell phone, and car registration done.  This would have been alot harder to figure out without all their help. Tony and I are SO grateful to them!  And another wonderful Christian family took them under their wing, fed them, and took them sight-seeing, Antony and Jeanette.  Their beautiful pup, Toby, joined them on their treks.  Hope we get to meet some of these wonderful folks IN PERSON with we go visit!!!

They are having a ball, suffering from some jet lag, but in great spirits.  Today is Monday over there.  In about an hour, they will take the auto ferry over to the south island and head to Nelson for the night, and continue on to Hamner Springs Tuesday where they will check out their first jobs!  I saved a few pictures for you.  Josh and Lindsey said it's the prettiest place they've EVER been.

borrowed this photo from Jeanette...

(above) The Harbor at Wellington where they stayed.

I'll just let you look, as most of these scenes are in and around Wellington...

Here's my two Kiwi Kids with Jeanette and Anthony's border collie, Toby.  I love this picture that Jeanette took.  She takes great photos... They look like native Kiwis!  (whatever native Kiwis look like...)    ;)

Momma is doing okay.  After they got there safely and were on terra firma again, and after we've talked to them via Skype several times, and after they got hooked up with some Christian brethren and sistren - well, I'm doing okay.  It was tough on me and Lindsey's mom at the airport watching our babies check their luggage and head on off to the checkpoints.  The dads were great and they let us shed some tears and have several goodbye hugs and kisses and waves --- oh please, just one more hug!  I'm so glad they have each other, too.  They are so perfectly matched and compliment each other to a T. I'm not worried about them - they are in good hands - the Lord can take care of them much better than I can.  I just have to let go and let Him do His job.  It's getting easier, really it is.

Ok, that's all for tonight.  Sorry  I've been absent so long - hey, it's the season - well, almost...  Catch ya later!  Keep your dress down!

Bon Voyage, Josh & Lindsey!

I have a big announcement to make...it's been in the works for some time now, and all the final details have been handled!  And if I make it public, then I guess it's really gonna happen!!!

My son, Josh, and his beautiful wife, Lindsey, are moving to New Zealand!

Gulp...  I still can't believe it.  They are planning on staying a year to work, travel, and work with the Lord's church wherever they may be.  They have made contacts with missionaries that are supported by Lindsey's home congregation and our church recently  began sponsoring another group over there in Auckland, NZ. Things have  come together rapidly and smoothly -- I believe there were some "God coincidences" at work here!  They've made many contacts with the Christians there in the church and have offers of employment and lodging already! They are both very giving and loving people and have hopes of doing humanitarian efforts especially on the south island where there was an earthquake awhile back.  No telling what they'll wind up doing!

They leave next Tuesday and this mother and dad are excited and have heavy hearts at the same time.  I know Lindsey's parents are feeling the same as  Tony and I are.  Their house is empty - everything is in storage (imagine all those new wedding gifts), and they are SO anxious to leave. They are packed and ready to go.  I know they'll miss all their family back home, but this is something they've both wanted to do for a long time.  And it's an awesome time in their young lives to go!  We wouldn't feel NEAR as comfortable with their decision if they didn't already have some good Christian people over there to welcome them and help them to get on their feet!

We asked them if there weren't a farther-from-home place in the world they'd like to go.  They couldn't think of one.

I'd appreciate your prayers for their safety as they fly and move about in New Zealand, for good health while gone, that they will make strong and lasting friendships with the Christians there, and that they will grow closer as a couple and grow spiritually in ways that they've never dreamed of before.  May they help edify and strengthen the Christians and churches that they work with and may the Lord grow them in His grace.  And  please pray for their parents to be supportive and encouraging and not miss them too awfully much!

Oh and by the way, we named our new pup Gypsy - since she was a stray.  We think it's fitting.  She seems to like it.  Thank you for your prayers.

Stuff

Hey guess what???

IT'S RAINING RIGHT NOW!

We awoke to thunder this morning and a nice steady rain has been falling off and on from the sky for the last couple of hours.  I love it - unfortunately I'm at work, but it's dark outside and cozy inside, and I sure could use a nap.  I knew it was going to rain - sinus headaches the last couple of days. Higher humidity...  Think I'll lay my head down on my desk for awhile...

Just kiddin...  Thank ya, Lord, for the rain.  We've needed it so bad, and it'll take alot to get back caught up again, but I'm thankful for every single drop.  'Course, it's been so long since we've had any rain, couldn't find an umbrella anywhere at all this morning.  But I really didn't care!

NOTE:  Sand + rain = gopher trapping! Stay tuned for that!

Josh, my middle son, went up to Nashville to visit his big brother, Adam, awhile back and they sent me some photos.  They went trekking through a wood - some big state park or something.  They found a baby squirrel that wouldn't leave them alone.  They took some pictures and then placed it back in the tree where they found it.  I think it wanted to go with them.  Don't know where the mama squirrel was.  I hope she knew where her youngster was.

Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen?  I had a pet squirrel when I was a kid.  Dad found it one day while hunting.  It had fallen out of its nest and I believe he told me it was way up in the tree and part of its tail had broken off or been eaten off.  He brought it home to us and we named him Shorty.  He stayed til he was grown - Dad made him a huge cage.  We fed him milk with a doll bottle and veggies and nuts and whatever else we thought he might like.  We left the cage door open more and more and he would climb all over the outside.  Daddy said he'd leave someday, and sure enough he did.  I guess nowadays you'd call us "wildlife rehabbers".  I've probably told that story before...In fact, I know I have!

NEW TOPIC...

Can you believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before we know it???  I'm really looking forward to the family being together AND of course all the wonderful things that we'll be eating!  Something about family, friends and holidays calls for lots of yummy delicious traditional and non-traditional FOOD! 

How are we going to keep our girlish figures?   Now, when thinking about watching our weight during the holidays this year - let's do what genteel ladies in the past used to do.....

I mean, they're easy to swallow and you suffer no ill effects!  How much easier could it be???  AND they're sanitized!  Why hasn't anybody thought of this recently? 

And keep yore dress down...

Vote for Josh's Photo!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6981409/ns/travel-travel_photos/

If you click on this link, it will take you to MSNBC to their travel photos sent in by readers.  Josh took gobs of photos on his and Lindsey's honeymoon to Paris and Greece in May, and he sent this beautiful photo in of a hillside in Santorini.  Click on "ITS A SNAP" on the right hand side of the page.  His photo is # 15 right now - Santorini, Greece.  It doesn't have his name on it but if you get a chance to view it, VOTE please while you're there!  Lots of awesome photos!  Thanks!!!

Hotter'n Blue Blazes...and Other Goin's On

I know, I know, we're all hot.  Wow, this summer's been a doozy, hasn't it!  Even up in the northeast, they've been sweatin'.  Even as I type, I'm settin' here waitin' on the A/C guy to come fix my A/C.  It's blowin', but it's not cold.  The inside temps are steadily climbing just as the outside ones are.  And it's only 10:42 in the morning.  I have the ceiling fans on and my box fan right here beside me trying to just stay still until he gets here.

Daughter and BF came home this weekend - she's in a wedding this afternoon and gone to town to get foo-foo-ed up and she's busy with all that while BF went to run errands with my husband.  BF plays football - he's a big tall guy - and hubby has a couple of he-man jobs to do here at the farm that will take more muscle than he himself has got, so he's going to take advantage of BF being here.

I have to thank all of you who have expressed their sympathy and concern for our friends, Helen & Erin, who lost their daughter Kayla two weeks ago.  I really appreciate your love and prayers and kindness and I know that our friends did, too.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!  The Lord is showering His lovingkindness upon them daily!  What would we do without the Lord AND our friends and loved ones??? I just don't know!

(several hours later...)  OK, we're back in the COOOOOL now.  It was the flux capacitor on the A/C. No, really it was!  "Back to the Future"???  Hint-hint??

Anyway, the garden's gone, the yard is gone, all the jelly is put up - 8 pints of grape from my two little two-year old vines, 2 1/2 doz pints of plum and a dozen peach preserves.  Put up only a little corn - 4 gallon bags of ears - small ears, but they DO taste good.  And boo-koo's of pickles.  Oh yeah, about a dozen quarts of tomatoes or stewed tomatoes or tomatoe juice,  8 quarts of purple hull peas, 10 quarts of green beans, and several gallon bags of pinto beans.  Do you know that down here, purple hull peas are like black gold?  I told Tony that we should raise those babies.  The farmers' markets are charging $10-$12 a sleeve for shelled peas - not sure if a sleeve is 1 quart or 2.  Maybe 2.

Here's a picture of my sunflower seeds still on the flower.  They were beginning to fall off and into the garden. The birds were picking them out. Next year, I guess I'll have rogue sunflowers in my garden again!

My dead corn patch...

My dead tomatoes...

My beautiful sycamore tree - I love this tree - it's beautiful against a blue sky

Hoping for rain (which we didn't get) - turned everything kinda orange-y. Wierd...

After one brief shower, the hay pasture greened back up - it looked great for a few days...

I did not re-touch these photos with color - promise - these clouds were awesome...

End of another hot summer day with no rain...

I HAVE to show you this --- My daughter has become quite a fan of the shabby, farmy, rustic look.  Look what her BF built for her apartment.  She was whining about not have any end tables...

Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen?  She's been wanting a windmill for something.  She thought he'd forgotten her birthday.  He's been secretly working on this for her!  What a sweetheart!  He's built her a nice TV stand and a nice big heavy desk for school.  He's always happy to build for her whatever she wants!  She thinks he's a keeper.

Well, folks, guess that's all for now.  We're taking daughter and the BF and maybe my son & his wife out for dinner this evening to celebrate daughter's birthday AND

Hubby and my 33rd anniversary!  Take care &

Keep your gown down!!!

"Best Girl"

I'm back for just a quick little post here.  Life is just SO busy right now trying to get the house painting finished up, etc.  I think I need a vacation...

While cleaning out some cabinets, etc., we ran across some cute little photos of our youngest, our daughter, who is now 22. Now we have scads of photo albums, but I guess these were loose in a packet or something. Princess told me I never do a post on her, so I'm going to show  you these sweet little things - please indulge me.... they're in no particular order.... (you know, she used to cringe whenever I wanted to put her on my blog! Go figure!)

Above - At the beach in Florida...

Above - our new puppy Cookie...

Above - Soccer days - I designed their shirts as well as some of my son, Josh's shirts.  My husband always coached, so we let the kids make up the team name and mascot.  Josh's team was the "Lizards" cuz that's what he was into.  Princess was into anything "horsey".  Little girls...

Our cat had kittens, and our kitties got to take many a ride in the doll buggy...

Her bestest friend (to this day) Kelly...

I always loved this picture of her in her little yellow bumblebee bubble suit that I smocked!!! I even made her a hairbow with a bumblebee on it!

See why Josh's soccer team was called the "Lizards"?  We had two iguanas, several snakes, a king scorpion, and a tarantula as pets.  I was voted 'MOM OF THE YEAR' by all my church friends...We kept frozen pinky mice in the freezer to feed the snakes and mealworms in the fridge... See how Princess is sidling away from the iguana???

Trying on big brother's boots...

She fell asleep on the way home from church, and I just let her sleep without changing her clothes... kept those bows in her hair, rather on her head, with a dab of school glue - it just washed right off.  'Course, then she started pulling them out and left little bald spots on her head. I switched to headbands with bows on them then...

This was six weeks after she was born and I had our pictures made.  I made all Josh's smocked outfits and button-on knickers and shorts, too...

What's that grimace for?  Think she's getting squeezed??  Brothers were SO proud of baby sister!

This photo of my husband with our daughter makes me cry every time I see it.  He wanted a little girl SO badly!  The photographer used this picture as one of his ads... Princess was and still IS her Daddy's Baby Gal.  He still calls her that. She's had him wrapped around her little finger all these years and probably always will.  I know I think MY daddy still hung the moon and will do anything for me...

This is the face you get when  you say "SMILE"!

My sister's lovebird perched on her shoulder.

Princess and Kelly again in their ballet recital.  Can you guess their song?

Why, "Rubber Ducky", of course!

Rememer Pound Puppies?  This one had babies in its tummy.

Duh, these photos are not in order, told you.  Princess had fun dressing our kittens up in her doll clothes. Don't know if the kittens had fun or not!

And last, but certainly not least, my daddy and his catch!  That fish was pert near big as the Princess!

You know, when she was little I always called her "my best girl in the whole wide world", and she called me "the best mom in the whole wide world".  It gradually shortened to "best girl" and "best mom".  It's so sweet to hear her say or write on a card even now that she's grown, "best mom"!!!

Thanks for lookin'!

Keep your dress down!