My Little Clara Barton...

THIS is what $1,500.00 worth of books of first year nursing students looks like.....

(and that doesn't even include extra study guides and online study stuff and more workbooks, scrubs, shoes...)

And THIS is what a first year nursing student looks like...

wearing "bubba's boots"...

dressin' up her kittens in doll clothes...

playing soccer and t-ball, ballet, tap, tumbling, dance and cheer...

volunteering as a nurse's aid in Mexico... (the kids loved her)

fishin' with her Pop and brother... she loves it!

swimming and snorkeling in Caribbean waters...

lovin' critters of all kinds...

'specially her pooches...

Here's my baby girl, all grown up, and starting nursing school in a couple of weeks - her dream has finally come true.  She started thinking about this in Jr. High, and took all the health science classes and pre-nursing classes available thru high school and college.  She is so excited and so am I!!!  She is a Christian first and foremost, kind-hearted, practical, a people-person, caring, extremely organized and I think she'll make an exceptional nurse someday!  How did she go from "bubba's boots" to this talented and poised young woman in such a short time???  I swear I don't know.  sniff...sniff...sniff...

Blogger Problems

I'M ABOUT TO SCREAM!!!

Blogger won't let me make comments on some of your blogs today!  It keeps making me sign in, then I do, then it does that over and over and I've lost some comments I've made.  Help!  So if I missed you today, don't despair - I'm not ignoring you!!!

EDITED TO ADD:  Thank you all you smartie-pants that told me to uncheck the "keep me signed in" box!  I'm going to try that tomorrow and see what happens!!!

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!!!

Prayers Needed...

I know I have many friends out there who regularly call on the name of the Lord on behalf of those in need.  My friend, Helen & her husband, who go to church with me lost their 17 year old daughter, Kayla, in a terrible car wreck last Friday night.  The funeral is tomorrow.  This accident has devastated the whole family and our church family.  Dear sweet Kayla was a Christian young lady, full of life, always smiling, and loved by all who knew her.  She was the one who always sought out the new kid at school, the kid who didn't really fit in, the kid who really needed a friend.  Never met a stranger, never judged or talked bad about anybody.  She will surely be missed. Wish I had a photo to show you... Your prayers will be greatly appreciated. 

Calling All Chicken People!!!

Ok, all you Chicken Lovers out there!!!  Yoo-hoo - you know who you are!!!

I have a couple of questions.  OK, remember all the years I've been blogging I've been saying that "when I get moved out to the farm permanently I'm gonna have me some chickens"???  Welp, it's time.  We have officially moved full-time out to the farm and I'm now calling it home.  It'll take some getting used to but we are so excited!

We are walking around boxes and trying to find more little cubby-holes to store stuff.  The tin garage is full, and the barn is taken up on one wall with our remaining furniture that we didn't sell.  We found a rat out there that will have to move on.  Stocked up on traps and poison last night.  You know what's bugging me the most?  My darling daughter's prom and pageant dresses.  WHERE IN THE SAM HILL AM I GOING TO STORE THAT STUFF?  I think I'm going to just get some big plastic bins and put them in there but then where am I going to put those bins?  I told her if SHE didn't take them to a resale shop, then I WAS. 

OK, back to chickens.

Question #1  --  When is the best time to get chicks?  In the spring?  Then you have to keep them warm and stuff.  How do they do if you get them in the summer?  Probably too dad-blamed hot right now in Texas, right?

Question #2 --  I don't think I need a whole gob of chickens  - just enough for me & Tony, my folks and maybe a couple more people - neighbors.  What do y'all think?  Maybe 5-6 hens?  I don't want a rooster to start with.  Maybe later.

Question #3  --  Do y'all prefer a coop that is big enough for a human to walk into or a small one to start out with?  Is it easier to clean a big coop than a small one? 

Question #4  --  I probably need to put wire over the top of their run, right? 

Question #5  --  How do you convert penned chickens into free range?  Just start letting them out?  Will they automatically start putting themselves back in the coop in the evening?  Need to wait til they're large?

Question #6  -- What is y'all's favorite feed for them starting off?  I know I can look all that stuff up, but I know that real people have special things that they like to feed.

Question #7  --  What are your favorite breeds to start with - easy, healthy, can take the Texas heat?  I WILL have an Ameracauna for sure, because there's just something I love about the green eggs. You know I had a stray one come to my house and stay for 6 weeks before something got her.  She laid me a green egg just about every single day.  I even fixed her a box with a nest in it on my front porch.  One day, she was just gone...

OK, that's enough for now.  I hope to be swamped with all kinds of good chicken info - I've visited Backyard Chickens' website and a couple of others.  That's a good site and I've enjoyed it.  And all of you that have chickens, I've probably read all your posts on chicken upbringing over the last 3 years - just cuz I was so looking forward to having some of my own.

Now, ya wanna see sumpin funny?

CAN YOU BELIEVE ALL THAT HAIR?  1980's hair AND Southern AND Texan to boot!  And all naturally curly.  I used to fight it tooth and nail!!!  Found this as I was moving and cleaning.  Thought you might get a great laugh!!!  (by the way, that's NOT a beer mug - I don't drink - my momma used those for iced tea...)

OK, that's all I can think of right now.  Thank you so much!  I'll be looking forward to hearing from  you!