Trouble posting

  I spent two days writing that last post and then had trouble getting it to "publish". It got the first half of it.
  I did say that I was glad that it was finally fall.....well.....we skipped fall and dove right into winter this week. Last weekend it was 80*. Monday the cold front came through, like in the rest of the country, and it dropped and blew and blew. When I came home from getting groceries the wind was blowing 44 mph sustained and gusting to over 50 mph ! The double gate for the back yard blew over. The two wooden posts that held up one side of it snapped in half and that was it. lol The dogs did not appreciate the afternoon staying in the house. It was too windy to stand out there with them for this old lady. lol Then my dryer quit heating the dame day. Dang it! We will try to get it fixed this weekend. Here's hoping. I do feel bad for T as it is opening day of deer season come Sat a.m..

 This is our new sassafras bench. The ice storm of a few years ago did a lot of damage to the tops of 4 of  them and this year was the year they finally gave it up. 

 These are our guineas we got in the spring from cousin Kate. They are very entertaining. 

  Another week has gone by. Wasn't too bad - had a tiny bit of snow for a day. Got the dryer fixed and it works so much better than it did before! So nice. Been a fairly good week for these old bones. 

  I do not envy my sister this past week. They have been in the deer woods and it was down to single digits one night and teens several others. More power to them as the saying goes. She says this is her last year to go. Next year the guys can go alone and do their own cooking. lol 

  I think T's plan is to go to their family deer camp tomorrow and just spend the day hanging out and visiting. Not taking a gun or getting a license. That will be nice for him as we haven't seen them much this year. Haven't seen our son much at all this year either. Maybe next year. 

  Not sure if T will be working on Thanksgiving day or not. Guess we will find out next week. If not the plan is to go to Spfd and spend a few hours with his family. 

Some days are diamonds and some days are stones. You all have a diamond day! 

Happy Birthday to Tim!

  Here's a couple of pictures of the kidlets on Lacey.

 

  

Spring River Park - such a nice little park provided by the pastor of the church.

Five of the littlest generation plus 2. The little ones weren't to sure of standing there alone without a parent. That will change in a year or two, I'm sure. Last pool party.

  We are going to breakfast this a.m.  for Tim's birthday. Taking the bike. Not too sure of that lol . We've broke down twice this summer! Gonna be hot today! Better go get ready.

A lot has happened this past week

.......the night after my last post my son's house burned down. Thank the good Lord they were not inside. To make a long story short they were outside roasting marshmallows and the kids were in the camper. It was electrical and started in the kitchen or the bathroom. Fire marshal could not tell for sure. They did have insurance and they will be fine. I lived in that house longer than I have lived in any house my whole life and I'm so sad that it is gone. Parts of it were over 100 years old. I was so happy there. Had dad not died when he did I would still be there. Kayserah or however you spell that. What will be will be......
 
  That was a Thursday night/Friday morning thing. On Sunday we had the annual family party at Mike and Linda's which was interesting in itself. A strange day was had by all. It will be the last pool party there until someone else in the family has a pool. Celebrated several birthdays as well. Was so good to see everyone. Even Jeannie and Bryan were able to make it. They have all grown into such wonderful people and parents. We brought home a few pieces of Tim's folks' art that Linda had. She wanted us to have them. And a table. They are still in the back of the van, lol.

   On Tuesday I picked up the little ones so Lee and Brenda could meet with fire marshal and the insurance people etc....make their list of "household contents" etc. They are in a motel for a couple of weeks and then will be in a rental until something is done on the house. They have to have it cleaned up of course and then replaced. Don't know at this time if they will build or what. Haven't talked to Lee to find out. He had to go back to work on Wed...He'll be off the next couple of days and we hope to be able to talk to him then.
 
  The kids do pretty well for a 4 and 6 yr old but I do worry about them. They are so spoiled that they have a hard time appreciating what they have. I know it won't stop.....I've seen it before years ago and the pattern is the same. Will be hard for them. Out of my hands....

  We saddled up Lacey and Tim rode a couple of minutes and then gave the little ones rides. They were able to hold the reins themselves and "do it all by myself!" Lacey just followed behind Tim walking. Very nice. We also rode bikes with them as we had their bikes here at our house. Otherwise they would have been on the deck and burned. Aiden is getting pretty good at it and Sissy is not too far behind. I have not been on my bike in a few years! Did not last long lol Neither did Tim but he did ride too.

  We've lost one more guinea since letting them out in the yard during the day. Down to 6. We put them up at night and let them out early. The roam around in the outer edges of the yard fences and make their way back into the car port come dusk. I'm so looking forward to them growing up and guarding the yard. lol I love the noises so far. I will update that much further down the road. Haha. They get pretty loud! And no, I have not nor will I name any of them.....

 

Another great day in the Ozarks

....it's a beautiful morning! About 70* and the sun is shining. Of course at noon when it's almost 90* and steaming I won't have that same opinion. lol
  Went out to feed and check on the guineas. We turned them out in the yard yesterday. They will have to find their own little niche among the critters. We will keep the cats in for a few days and supervise the dogs while they are out with us. Will be so neat to have them hanging in the yard.
  The kids dropped by yesterday on their way to the zoo. Was so good to see them! It was Aiden's birthday, a big whopping 6 yrs old. Life moves so fast. Hope they had a wonderful day. I know they did get to see Karen while in town. I'm sure it made her day.
  Tim has gone this a.m. to take a driving test for a company up north. Sure hope this one works out for him. What ever happens it will be the way it's suppose to be.....
  Have not uploaded any pictures of the new floor etc but it sure is nice. If we live long enough we may get all the floors fixed haha. Good thing T plans on living to be 105!
  I got the embroidery done on the star. Have 2 more blocks to put together and may be able to start assembling some of it.  My sister is moving along on her end of it too.
  I snagged these pics from fb and thought they were so cute :

 Boiled egg toadstools with tomato topped with mayo

 mice with radishes,olives and carrots

How cute for a potluck or something! Hope I haven't already posted them. If I have, I apologize. There was also little piglets.

    Guess I'd better hit the treadmill before it gets any later. Have a diamond day!

  

Monday, Monday

  we had a real nice time yesterday at Mike and Linda's. They had a swim party for a few of the family with lunch. A pretty nice visit with everyone. We took the bike. Nice ride up. We stopped at the Spring River park on the way. Had not stopped there in a few years. Such a nice little park.
  Anyway, we left Spfd and headed home. Making our usual stops for a cigarette break and a butt break. Marionville is sometimes one of those stops. After a quick smoke and a Dew we got ready to go again and the dang bike screwed up. In the transmission somewhere, somehow. Had to call Susie's first to see if A was there. Nope, next call to Sandi to have her drive to our house and ask A to take the van, utility trailer and tie downs to come rescue us (again). good grief! Last ride of the year for me I'm thinking. lol

  Next weekend is the last of summer party at Mike's so we plan on going up. Also for the September birthdays. It will be interesting anyway.

  A and I got the yard mowed this am. I have told him not to mow anymore due to his many allergies but he doesn't listen well. I planned on just mowing the parts that I walk in daily, like my flower beds, water trough etc. but the next thing I know he's out there on the riding mower. Knocked it pretty fast. Boy, was I ever hot when I finished!

  A big thank you out to my sister for helping in our rescue!

  Have a diamond day!

Beautiful morning

  it's been a beautiful morning. Temp is about 60* with the sun shining. This past week has been perfect camping weather if a person was so inclined. We haven't been in too many years to count and I have missed it. There are a few other things I'v missed over the years but hey, what're ya gonna do? ......
  The week started out just fine. Things moving along until Thursday night with a downed horse. Gabby was colic ing .....don't know how to spell it and don't care particularly....I took his temp during one of his resting periods (not rolling back and forth)it is normally about 101*. This time it was 110* and pegged on the thermometer! Anyway, got a call into the vet and waited for him to call back - of course this was after hours.....by 9 pm it was pretty clear that this was a case that was more severe than average and we decided it was time to do the right thing. Gabbs crossed the rainbow bridge by the time the vet called - he said with a temp that high his brain was gone and we did the right thing. Gabbs was not with us very long but he was a sweety and I was looking forward to spending time with him. So all day Friday was spent renting a backhoe etc and bury our friend along with the others that have crossed before him. Needless to say I've been an emotional wreck since then and cry at the drop of a hat.
  Construction started on the main bath yesterday and will continue today. Moving along nicely thanks to nephew Mike. I know he was beat by the time he headed home last night. I so appreciate him doing this for us.
  T starts a new job on Monday. We'll see how that works out. Driving for someone in Joplin. Not sure ......

 I'm gonna try to make it a diamond day!

Sunday morning through Tuesday

  Not much happening. Later today the plan is to start cleaning out the bathroom of "stuff" and make ready for the repairs.

  I started this on Sunday and got sidetracked. It is now Tuesday and I may get sidetracked again lol.
  I talked to the kids last night and all is as well as can be expected. They have put the roof on hold since it continued to rain. Good news is that Aiden has gained another pound! He is doing just fine.

  Now we finally have a whole week that may be free of rain! I guess "summer" is over. Guess it was a waste of time and water to fill my pool this year. I waited til it started warming up and then it started raining and has not quit. The rain was much needed but I sure was looking forward to playing with the kids in the pool. This late in the season and the weather folks are saying we're done with hot weather. Gonna be in the 80's and lows in the 50's. Not at all like a normal August. Give us more fall like weather! I can dig it!!!!!

  Speaking of digging maybe I can save a few of the potatoes that are still in the ground. My tomatoes just suck. Weeds are hip high and the grasshoppers have taken over! I make a horrible "farmer" haha......

  I hope my sister can go visit MomPat this week while she's up that way. Even just a few minutes might make the difference. No sense in waiting until she has more trouble cause she's depressed that no one has come to see her. You know what I mean?

  For the first time in at least 6 years one of the horses got out on the road last night at dusk. Thank goodness the young guy next door was going for his run and took the time to stop and let us know. We just walked out and retrieved him. No problem but did not find an opening in the fence. In the dark it was hard so that will be the objective of the day. Find hole in fence or low spot. I told T that it was probably Betty. Her neck holding the fence low as she got the greener grass. lol

  I am doing some embroidery on the star from Jo. I hope it turns out okay. I don't embroider much so don't have many different stitches in my brain. lol I'll keep plugging away though. I have all but a couple of the other blocks done I think. I'll know more by the end of the day.

  Gonna be another diamond day! Take care.

Wonderful Wednesday

  All is right in my world this morning! At least for the time being. Aiden was released from the hospital yesterday and they all made it home last night. Linda was able to drive Dahlia home so she was with her family. They were settling in a pop up camper. The house has developed so many leaks in these storms we have been having. Blew the tarp off and ceilings have collapsed etc that they don't want the kids to have to stay in there. While they fix those problems they have borrowed a camper for them to sleep in. After they finally let Aiden eat and things seemed to be looking up her woke up with an allergic reaction to something! They did not find out what he was allergic to!

He was head to toe hives for some reason.Good grief! Glad they let him come home and think he will be fine. He has many appts in the next few weeks to continue his recovery.
  Thanks to everyone for their prayers and thoughts!

  As to other things going on around here....not much. T is still recovering ...a couple of more days of antibiotics and that should be it. The test results have not shone anything out of the norm so far.
Looking for another job (again). Hoping it will work out a little better than this last one. Can't afford another trip to the dr and the ER!

  We have had quite a lot of rain the last week. I checked my rain gauge on the computer. Seems there has been a problem as I know for a fact that we have not had 190.4" of rain in the last 24 hrs. ! I was so hoping when we bought our weather station that we would be able to track that stuff without doing much. WRONG! Several times now it has had glitches and recorded things like 150 mph wind and 145* on one day. Crap!!! We had over 2" a couple of days ago. Got more yesterday but not bad. I'm loving it though. Rain in August? Of course it's wonderful!

  My guineas (sp?) are doing okay. Three of them were crippled for some reason and I didn't think I wanted to splint their little legs etc....don't have a clue as to what caused it. Otherwise they are doing great.

  I slacked off the treadmill for a few weeks while watching the kids but started up again. I'm at one mile a day and will go up to 2 miles a day in another week or two. It amazes me how much you can lose in stamina in such a short time. Guess it has to do with my age lol !

  I have been working on our quilt for Aunt Jo pretty regularly. Have several blocks done and several more done that we didn't need. lol Had to re-design it after getting the medallion from Jo. My memory didn't serve me very well after guessing it to be 24" across. Of course I will admit we only saw if for about 15 seconds one day. Alas, it was just over 32" so will put in on a 36" square of muslin.....knocked out the need for the other blocks.

  Guess that's enough rambling - have a diamond day!

Another great day in the Ozarks!

   My gosh, who would have thought we could turn the air off the third week of July! It was about 60* this a.m...yay....and more rain coming! The heat will be back but that's okay too. I'm just grateful for the rain.

 

    Need lots of prayers for my sweetheart here. He's in the hospital with an unknown infection and possible diabetes. They are running more tests today. If you are the praying kind please add the whole family to your list. 

  We had a family dinner at my sister's place again yesterday. Was great as always. She tends to over do it but soon she'll get the hang of letting other folks do some of the work. lol One of her sons smoked the ribs and they just melted in your mouth. All the rest of the food was great as well as the company. One of granddaughters was able to be there too! She's been visiting for a short while and is such a nice girl. We don't get to see her very often and was really nice to see her. The other nephews and their families weren't able to be there. (economy strikes again) Hard enough to get by let alone throw in road trip for a whole family!  Maybe next time. 

  Well, having a diamond despite myself......ya'all take care

 

Monday, Monday

  Another weekend gone and had a good time. Oh......unless you count that my van wouldn't start yesterday morning when we got ready to leave. I was being silly last week one day and when I got back from the store I left my lights on....insert sad face here.......ran the battery down and now the computer in it is confused!! Won't run worth a crap!

  Went to a friend's family dinner yesterday and had a really good time. Was so good to see her "kids" and their families. And meet her "new" sister in law. Had been years since we saw them all. Good food too.

  We are about a week away from starting to re-do one of the bathrooms. From the floor up...I hate the thought of it but am anxious to have it done. Generally don't mind the "retro" look but am so tired of cleaning that 1970's green sink and toilet!

 New dance move lol

 Showing off new cap 

That's the little ball cap I made for Aiden

Update! My van re-booted itself and is running just fine! Greg had said that sometimes when they get ran down after charging battery back up all you have to do is drive it for a few miles and it "remembers" it's program ! Thank the good Lord for that.

  The weather the past few days had been wonderful with less humidity. Still too dry. Been 21 days since rain. Maybe today! 

  Time to get back to work. Have a diamond day! 

July weather? 54*!

  this is just weird! It's nice outside. It's 54* and gonna be a wonderful day. The only problem ? It is July 2! Normally it is already in the 90's and 100's.
  We had a really nice family dinner at my sister's house over the weekend. Good food and good company. Beautiful weather for it too. I wish momma was still with us to see her kids back together again. My sister will be having her annual party on the 6th for the "Fourth". They have a good time for that one too. Lots of fireworks etc...
  Good grief! Just had to rescue another songbird from George...I know it's their nature as cats to hunt birds but I really wish he'd quit. I want him to hunt mice in the barn, sheds and house. Dang it! A pretty little baby bird this time. It's got yellow on it and smaller than a banty chick. I will take it back outside in a little while.
  I got a little sewing done this past week. Have a little baseball shirt almost done for Aiden and finished a little sundress for Dahlia. We will have them again this week. From Wed to Sat. They will spend the night with us Friday. I'm not sure if T will want to take them to Mike and Linda's on Thursday or not. The neighborhood parade starts at 9am - they would have to stay all night on Wed too. Not sure he is up for them staying two nights with us. They will settle in after they are used to the rules in our house. Has to be hard on them. So many places and so many different rules.
  I'm concerned about Misty Blue. She has lost so much weight recently. I'm thinking she has diabetes with her excessive drinking and urinating. She's around 11 years old and I'm afraid she's approaching the end of our time with her. She is a wonderful dog.
  T has gone to Wisconsin with his brother to pick up at truck for one of the nephews. They bought it online but the delivery charge couldn't be agreed upon so they went after it. When in doubt...do it yourself. Besides being a good time on a road trip with brothers.
  T's jaw is still hurting quite a lot. I think he will have to have more work done on it. Not sure what they can do. Grind it down some more? There is still a tiny amount of that bone still showing in his gum.
  As you can see by my recent posts that I have still not been able to get a photo editing program that I like to use on this laptop. Maybe sometime this summer I'll be able to get that done. I miss sharing my pictures. Have a diamond day.
 

My sister....

  My sister has been raising one of her grandchildren for about 8-9 years, I think it is. She had him periodically before that. Anyway, she has done a wonderful job of it. He has done such a turn around since a youngster. Not too much detail but he had a rough start and is doing great. He's almost 18 now, a senior in high school and ready to serve his country! Our parents would be so proud of the job she has done and in their great grandson......he will "stop the cycle".......and be a role model for his siblings and cousins etc....

  Talked to his dad for a few minutes this evening. He had a quick question about getting rid of varmints. He is now in a 24' box truck. Misty may get hired on for the van. She will have to find a sitter for the little guys.

  Congratulations to my sister for a job well done!

Have a diamond day.

Time goes so fast

  These days, they are running together. We are getting some things taken care of slowly but surely. Still waiting on the tractor to be fixed but have a years worth of hay in the pasture and tarp-ed against the weather. Sure is a relief. The feed store guy was surprised we were able to find 56 bales this time of year that someone would let go of. Me too. I figured our hay guy would be hanging on to it in case of more drought.
  Sis and I had a fun road trip to take MomPat to the dentist this month and another road trip to Elkland to visit Aunt Jo. And one more trip to Mom's house to get more stuff out of it. If the weather finally settles down we'll try for another load. We had fun. Mom is a little more reserved these days as she loses her memories. She knows we are "friendly" and people she is happy to see but really doesn't know us. I know it's harder on my sister as she has always been closer with her but it is still hard to watch as MomPat slips away.
  I came up with an idea for a quilt for Aunt Jo and I think I have help from Kate and Lois. I'm not really sure if Kate can see my vision for it. I sent her a draft of it but that's not always transferable if you know what I mean. lol I'll send one to sis today and see what she thinks. It would be an anniversary present if we can get it started and done. Things are snowballing on me though so I'm not sure it will happen. We'll see.
  This month was my brother in law's 50th birthday. They had a really nice party for him and it was nice to see all the family (most of it anyway) And a couple of folks I hadn't seen in a long time.
  It's been a busy month of not finishing anything! lol I still have many things to do here in the house and out in the yard. Spinning wheels with this weather. lol Snow showers!? What's up with that this late in the season? Did get a few groceries bought yesterday but still need to go gt some 'mater plants. My lovely little cats pretty much killed all my seedlings. Some just didn't like the lighting. Have new baby chicks in the yard and guinea eggs in the incubator ready to hatch this week.
  Met Marge and her family in Mt V for lunch on last Saturday. Had not seen her since her and George left for the north a year ago. I know she is still adjusting to life without him.
  I've rambled on long enough and haven't said a thing......I won't proof read this or I would delete it all so you all have a diamond day! I'm gonna give it my best shot!

It's already April

  As usual the time has slipped away from me. I've tried to think of something to say, to give an update but it just didn't come.
  This last month has been pretty crappy. Just as expected for anyone when life as we know it has ended and everything has and is changing. I hate change ......but here we are.
  We did make a road trip. Sandi was able to go with us and the three of us went to Elkland to see family. It was really nice to spend the day with them. I hope we didn't wear out Jo and Gerald. I'm surprised Kate didn't call and make us leave. haha.
  We have now added almost the last of the trees to the orchard. We added a nectarine, a sweet cherry, 2 different pears and will soon replace a dead apple. I think that Betty got a hold of it last year..... That will feed almost a large family if they do well. We sprayed them earlier and hoping that the blight will stay away this year. I pruned them also. First time. Keep your fingers crossed. Maybe we'll live long enough to see the "fruits" of our labor.... HAHAHAHAHA HAHA
  I've got a few pictures to share but it's still a pain in the ass to upload them to the desktop, edit them, email to myself and save them to the laptop. I could just blog from the desktop but it's more comfortable in my chair. blah blah blah...........
  The kids are almost ready to open the lunch wagon. Hauled it to Monett yesterday. Another week or so and it'll be open. Maybe sooner. BK has touched base with the grand daughter again. She's not working so she'll be helping with the little ones and waitressing. Best I can tell anyway. Maybe she's ready to grow up. Won't hold my breath.
  The weather may actually warm up again this week. I'm so ready for it. If it ever comes down to "needing" to grow a garden I so need a green house. This starting seeds in the house just doesn't work for me. Not enough light or room and too many cats haha. More work done outside too.
  I'm done....gonna be a diamond day no matter what......
 

Yesterday...Mar 7 ..OMGosh

  was I exhausted last night! Slept 4 hrs the night before, got up before 5a.m. and sis and I had a day long road trip. Me arse was dragging for sure! It was a fun day though. We always do well. MomPat was having a good day too. Even though she was in pain with teeth problems she was in a good frame of mind. Able to keep up fairly well with a regular conversation and able to eat in a restaurant with no trouble. That's not always possible so I'd call it a very good day. I could kick Devon's butt for making the appt in Spfd though. It's quite an imposition to expect Sis to make so many trips when she could get the same caliber of care right there in Monett for possibly less money. Not to mention the wear and tear on a woman who gets more confused as the day goes on. Now she's locked into getting this work done and it will stretch out for weeks and weeks! To be a "genius" he sure is an idiot!!!! They irritate me for taking advantage of her.
  Anyway, had a fun day not matter how stupid he is.
  T got hay as planned yesterday but couldn't take the bike to Harley's as I had the come along and chain with me in the van. Maybe next week. The weather was great too. Chilly in the morning and warmed up to 62*. Gonna happen again today.
  They may be able to finish up the roof today! Just in time. Rain predicted for Sunday and Monday. It will be nice to no longer have a leaking roof and be able to replace the floors slowly but surely. The old place has been here since 1975 and past due for repairs. After all it's a mobile home and I'm surprised it's lasted this long.
  Time to prune the fruit trees and almost time to spray them. I can do the pruning ( I think) and will have T do the spraying. Not that I can't do that too but he needs to help. I will be moving a few things around in the yard this year to see if some stuff likes it better elsewhere. Grapes to get out of Betty's reach, blackberries don't like it where they are and the poor cane doesn't like it where it is either. Just ordered a sweet cherry tree, a nectarine tree, some strawberries and a few more flowers (as if I needed that).
  Gotta take a break to do my mile and half , I'll finish this up later.
  Well, it's much later (6pm) My day sure was long. The roofers didn't show until noon but Brenda and kids were here by then. She came to clean the stove out in the shop. Putting it in the trailer. I think they are coming back on Sunday to pick it up.
  The roof is on! They will be completely done tomorrow! No more drips!!!! I'm used up and still need to fix dinner. Tonight will be spaghetti. All I have the energy for. See ya'll later.

Wednesday 5:15 a.m.

  First things first:

 If you look close you can see that this picture was taken on my son's front porch. I used to hang my spider plant on that corner post. My son says that guy hangs out every day along with a chicken hawk. I reminded him this a.m. that one of those birds may decide to have their dog for breakfast and watch out! I love the picture though. How cool is that? 

  I didn't walk yesterday. I will today after T gets up. 

  Don't know how much rain we have and won't know until the sun comes up but it may be quite a bit. Every little bit will help with our ongoing drought. 

  Rant for the day- paying for crappy television! It just galls me that we pay so much for tv and there are so many shows that are just plain crap. I keep thinking about the old "let's dumb them down" thing. Are there honestly intelligent people out there that want to see that stuff? I wish the satellite company would just let us pay in 20 channel packages or something like that. Let us pick the 20 or so channels that WE want and pay x number of dollars for that. Even some of the channels I would pick have some of those crappy shows on them. It's ridiculous! I know it's supposed to be just entertainment but give me a break. 

  I'm already thinking about a garden this year. I actually did a small amount of yard work yesterday while the temperature was over 50* . I'd like to try a few more things this year. Maybe peanuts again. The redheads were puppies and trashed them last time lol . Guess this year it would be cats, if I choose to let them out on their own. Without their barn/wild cat momma would they have enough sense to survive outside? They've been babied by me and I can't teach them outdoor living. Anyway, back to growing a few things. A few things here and there. My sister loves asparagus and I think she should grow some at her place. It's a perennial so why not? And rhubarb too. She loves that too. Me? Nope, don't like either one but if the SHTF it might taste pretty darn good it there's not much else. lol Some tomatoes and corn would be nice. I won't buy either at the stores unless I can tell they are local. I have gone to the farmer's market and picked up some. 

  I received a beautiful book on some of T's genealogy that a distant cousin wrote in 2012. We met them shortly after moving here. They were visiting relatives in Pineville from LasVegas. I helped her with some research and she shared research and pictures her side of the family had. It's a great book, put together nicely. It was a gift. The price of having one published hasn't gone up that much in all these years when you consider it was around $30 for the book Sharon wrote about our line in the 80's and it was about $43 for this new one by a publisher in Utah. A local publisher does small paperbacks for about $20. One day I will have one published with our tree. I'm still waiting on my sister and a good friend to write their novels and share their wealth with me for all the encouragement I've given them over the years! lol 

  Have a diamond day! I'm going to shut up now. 

Friday

  Starting the day nicely. Got up at 5, which means we slept in! Had coffee and already put my walk in. 1.4 mile this a.m.. T walked even walked for a few minutes. Even though yesterday was throw away Thurs. I didn't get anything thrown out. Gotta add that to my list for the day.
  Sure glad the sun is out early. I get more done when it's shining.

 

We're gonna have pizza for lunch and dinner. Or if you prefer, we're having pizza for dinner and supper. My habit is lunch. Anyway, guess I'd better get breakfast out of the way first. Back in awhile. 

  So much for the sunshine helping me get more done around the house. lol Didn't help a bit. Got up to 45* though! Beautiful day. 

  Long story short....we skipped lunch and just finished supper, the last meal of the day. Although today's pizza also had hamburger and onion added. Pretty tasty......

  A nice slow, easy day. Got the floor vacuumed and that was about it for housework other than cooking a couple of times. A diamond kinda day! 

  See the little picture next to the word "link"? That's how you add a picture to your blog, big sister.  If you want to change the font, it's up there too....kind,size, bold, italic, underlined, scratch through. You don't have as many choices as our email program but it will do. Try it, you can always delete it if you don't like it.

Beautiful Thursday!

  It was so nice outside today. Shoot, has been nice for quite a spell. T has been off the last two days. We've spent some time taking the Escort back to the shop, broke down in the Jag at the auto parts store. T walked over to the shop and took back the Escort, we went home and got the pickup, took the Escort back to the shop and dropped it off. Drove home and T had already called for a wrecker. Dang it ! Raining and pouring......Oh well, hahaha you can't take it with you. Just thought I might buy Christmas presents this year but guess it's not in the cards... that's really okay, no one would know how to act if I gave presents.
  Went to Lee and Brenda's for lunch with Mike and Linda on Tuesday. Hope I didn't already write about it. We had quesadillas. Turkey I think. Sure were good. Had just the right amount of kick to them. A little pico de gallo (sp?) and sour cream on the side. Yummy! My spell check didn't know how to spell it . I was correct. lol
 We had a short visit and then Mike and Linda brought me back home and dropped me off. At the north end of S ,where the eagles always fly, eagles were sitting in the trees just hanging out. About 8-10 of them. How neat that was! I love seeing them no matter what they are doing. Not everyone gets to see them and not everyone that sees them actually appreciates it. Nice day all in all.
  I'm so loving this weather. Gonna be nice for days. They have said on the news that our winter is predicted to be colder and wetter during Dec Jan and Feb - glad it may wait another week or two.
  Not much else going on around here. It's been a diamond day and will be a nice evening. A little tv and/or working on family trees.
  Have a diamond day!

Last day of vacation....

...was Sunday. Tim offered to go for a drive. I took him up on that offer and we decided to make a round trip to Eureka and back. Hadn't done that all year. We used to do it quite often on the bike. Sunday we took the car. Was nice and sunny and about 55*! Pretty nice for mid fall. We dropped a couple of things off at Lee's and headed to Eureka. I was surprised that some of the shops were open. Back in the day you could walk the streets alone and window shop on a Sunday. Guess they had their Black Friday crap too. We kept going instead of stopping. didn't even bother going to the Crescent this time. That place has changed too from what I understand. It was still a wonderful drive . Our next stop was Ann's for a short visit. They were both sick with a virus that drs say can spread like wildfire! Didn't know that at that time. I sure hope we didn't catch it. We served ourselves some drinks so chances are pretty good that we didn't. Although it seems that Tim has caught a cold. Yuck. Poor guy is sneezing a lot.
  Back in the car to continue the short road trip. Only about 100 miles. We skipped Roaring River and stopped by my sister's place for a short visit. Hadn't been there in a month or so. The place is looking good. She was able to have mom Pat for Turkey day. She did well. No trouble taking her back to the home. I'm sure was a very long day for her. For sis too. I did dog nails while I was there. They are such good dogs to work with. All of them.
  Made it home after a stop at Pizza Hut. A salad and personal pan for me and rotini for him. Good stuff. T fed the horses and closed up the chickens etc. I still felt pretty good for a change. Yay for me. Chronic pain for 30 years is still hard to deal with sometimes.
  Have worked a little on my family story. Only 20 some pages so far.

  Here's one of the last photos of James O. 

I'm guessing since the other picture of him was around 1906 and was taken before he went to Oklahoma this was taken between 1906 and 1920. Aunt Jo always said that James O took off to Oklahoma to be with "that woman". Or "a woman" . The story on that end says he was living with his son Charles. How many other stories were left out or misunderstood? The more you hear, the stranger the family is. I guess not really strange. Just more of the same - dysfunctional all through the years . Just not "talking about it" like so many other families. lol 

 Funny, these guys look like brothers or even the same person but this James Samuel Rethford. Our other elusive ancestor. On momma's side. The one that also "ran off" with another woman. He probably did though. lol He deserted Ira's dad as a young boy and I believe started another family over in Wright county. Which is where they started out in Mo....

  Maybe it was just the times... or maybe they shared things like PTSD. They were both in their mid twenties when the war started.  James Samuel ran off just after 1860 while James O was in the 46th Mo Calvary during the war. In his case it was brothers against brother and father! Maybe as he got older he just wanted to be alone. We'll never know. 

  

  See how easily I get distracted? lol 

 It's that time of year! I'll be warm if it's the last thing I do hahahaha.... That wind is sooo cold. 

 Jeanne is still having trouble. Still giving her antibiotics and pain killer. I feel so sorry for her. She is still showing some improvement. Wish it was more. 

All the rest are fat and sassy. We still have hay and enough to last til the end of Jan so will have to get more some time between now and then....not too bad all things considered. 

  I put up a couple of quarts of turkey for later. Sandwiches and turkey and noodles. That's what I made for dinner. A medium pot of turkey and noodles. Was real good. Also baked two loaves of white bread yesterday. Today I'll bake a loaf of rye for Tim. 

 White bread from last year

Rye from last year. 

  Haven't taken pictures of yesterday's bread haha. I could make banana bread but think I will opt for banana pudding instead.  A small one for two. Tim is putting on weight since he quit smoking. I haven't shrunk his pants no matter what he says. haha

  Better get to the laundry...

  Gonna be a diamond day! Hope yours is too! 

   

Thanksgiving Day

    Each day this month people on fb have been posting what they are thankful for. There aren't enough days to list all the things I have been blessed with and are thankful for. The good Lord knows what I'm thankful for as he has supplied it all ...right down to my family and loved ones.
    I cooked our turkey yesterday and started the pies early this a.m.. on to the rolls now. Making crescents instead of my usual sweet rolls. I'll let you know how they come out. There will be pictures later as I always download those to the pc not the laptop...
  Got the dough rising now. T is out feeding and putting hay out for the horses. It's 58* and about 10:30 a.m....how great is that?! Got a good old fashioned western on the tube and relaxing.
  T got most of the roof done the last two days. Yay! All but a little section of the garage (it doesn't leak) I believe is what he said. I'll check the next time I go out haha..I never dreamed we'd get it done this late in the year due to the temp...what a relief.
  Early this a.m. (3) an apartment building caught on fire. Five people were killed. How horrible for that community and all the families involved. And awful for the emergency workers too - bad enough they have to work a holiday without facing that. Sixteen other people are now without a home. How sad life is sometimes.
  It is still a diamond day for me. We have everything we need and then some and I'm not hurting too bad. Hope the same for the rest of our families. The Spfd bunch is getting together but most of us down this way are spending the day quietly and peacefully. Well, almost peacefully. Sis may will have her hands full.
  Haven't heard from big brother today. I sent him a text a couple of days ago and haven't heard back. May call him later. I called sis earlier today but didn't hear back from her either. Maybe it's me. hahahahaha  We're done with dinner and supper. Sure was tasty, if I do say so myself.
  I checked the roof out front and out back. Sure is white! Ought to reflect that sun next summer and make the house easier to cool!
  Jeanne is looking good. At least her body condition is real good. She is having less pain with the bute paste and hope the antibiotics are working on the infection. No swelling at all. Walking somewhat easier too. Improvement is good.
  Enough rambling for the day. You all take care not to eat too much!