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!

Independence day

  thank the people of the past for our independence from the British. I love this country and what it it used to mean to be a part of it.  I still do but it sure seems to have changed a lot in my short life all things considered.
  We will be babysitting again today. The lunch wagon will be open. Not sure how much business they will have since most folks are going some other place or picnicking. Not sure...
  T seems to do okay for the first 8 hours or so but after that the kids seem to wear on him. I find that unusual to say the least. We got them a little kids teepee to play in. Has polka dots. I will get a picture of it to post. It's for inside or outside. Took our coffee table out to the shop for awhile. Gives the dogs more room too.

  Now for the 5th. Didn't get much done yesterday. Or today for that matter. lol I have a little baseball shirt waiting for the buttonholes and buttons and am almost done with a matching ball cap. He doesn't know about the cap yet. I think he'll like it.
  The kids decided to not open the wagon today. She only had 2 customers yesterday. The holiday must have taken all the folks to the lake for sure or their own backyard picnics. So.......we didn't have the little ones today. Haven't done a thing all day. Took a nap. Al was by for breakfast and then left for the day. I wanted to get my little pool up but couldn't muster the energy. T is still sleeping.
   Another day. Here we are again. Last night made a quick run 35 miles away to help out my sister. Didn't want her to have to drive that far alone after making a trip to Marshfield. T drove us and Al stayed home to take care of Buck. (Someone had to let the old guy out)
  Finished Aiden's hat and now I have to finish the shirt and it's on to one for Dahlia. I may throw in an apron for Brenda. She ask me a few weeks ago if I could make her one if she bought the material. Have I mentioned that they put fabric back in Walmart? A small amount but some....

  Had a diamond day. The kids got here about 3 and she was here to pick them up at 8. Short day for all of us. They are catching on to the rules of the house a little.

Monday, Monday

  Gonna be a wonderful day. Not sure what the plan is as there is always so much to do. lol Sometime today I need to stop at the grocery store. We need to do all the normal things and throw in a bike ride too! Gonna borrow the other bike in the shop while the cat's away haha.
  We had a quick shower late afternoon with .12". Too wet to mow. Needs to be done today before the heat gets here. Just not enough time in the day. It's 65* right now and will be 80* by noon. Nice breeze.
  I hope to get back here and actually post something later today. Have a diamond day.

No Changes Here

  My end of the blogging world has not changed any. My sister's has changed somehow. Not sure when I can get down there but will be soon. I'm her computer "tech". Isn't that a hoot? 

  Things here have been pretty slow. Just plugging along. Have got a few things in the garden and flower beds. I got some hollyhocks from Susie in the ground and one of them has already bloomed. It's the small variety. The others are the tall variety. They may not bloom til next year. 

  Got a new variety of grape this year - an extra sweet one. Won't see anything from it for a year or two. The new sweet cherry tree we put out this spring didn't make it. The pear trees did but the frost got them. They'll be alright next year. "A" says I need to plant garlic underneath the peaches to keep the blight away. Guess I'll try it. Can't hurt and the spray didn't help this spring. My comfrey is coming along nicely this year. I have a few apples this year. Yay! Blackberries are blooming. Wild grapes in the front yard are too. My pink reliance grape that Betty keeps eating is hanging in there. Might get some grapes from it this year. 

  Things are going really nice here with our new roommate. He plans on staying, although as Tim said today, we may have lost him already. lol He spent the last two nights not here. He's spending a lot of time at that other place. They have hit it off to say the least. I always thought they would. It seems mutual at this point. lol  

  Got the tractor back from the repair guy. Yay! Tim has already brush hogged! 

  Got a few other odds and ends done around the place but several more things to do yet. Need to paint the shutters to go better with the roof and paint the barn trim this year. Got to put the pool up for the year. 

  We took that short ride to Eureka for lunch. Had a really good open faced turkey sandwich. Tim had a patty melt on marbled rye. We left the bikes at the pub and walked about three blocks down hill and crossed the street and walked back up to the bike. OMG! I told T the only way I could go all the way up to the other shops was to use a "jazzy". You know, one of those wheelchairs. He said the way to do it - walk down and ride the trolley back up to the top. Beautiful idea! I walk 2 miles a day but on a very level treadmill. Not a crooked sidewalk. lol 

  It's another day and I did not finish this last night. I'm really disappointed that I have not found a photo program for editing. Without pictures, blogging isn't as interesting. 

  It is a beautiful morning and going to be another diamond day! 

Good Lord!

  It is not supposed to snow in May! Two inches on the ground yesterday morning. It won't stay of course but it's just not right. Been 70 years since it snowed in this area in May. 194 years in Arkansas. Just ridiculous. It's still raining this am a little . Maybe Monday I will drag the plants back outside and pick up some mater plants. Back in the 70's and down in the 50's at night.
  Today is my b.i.l.'s birthday party - actually this evening but I really would rather stay at home. Just don't want to get out in the cold and wet.
  It really has been nice the past few days. Other than the weather that is. Sis and a friend dropped by on the way through the area and had a short visit with them. Brandy even offered to help with the quilt for Aunt Jo. It will be another week before I can start on that project. Have to find the sewing table through a giant pile of basket making material. lol
  Not much else going on these days. Same ol' same ol but diamond days. Later

It's March

  I know you shouldn't wish for time to go by but I am. Wishing it was already spring! Time goes by too fast at this age but dang, I wish winter was shorter. The animals are getting cabin fever. Maybe they need coats and boots! lol Maybe that's why people dress their dogs in such things, so they can put them out and not worry......nope, I don't think so. They buy too many other things when they buy them coats. haha Billions of dollars spent annually on clothes for pets!!!! I don't spend $100 annually on myself!
  I need to start some seed this weekend. Should have started them last week but didn't get around to it. No surprise there. I'll start some tomatoes for sure and maybe a few other things. At the rate of meat prices and our budget looks like we may become vegetarians. Good golly it's just insane. The way things are going in our country is just plain scary. I don't think the whole SHTF thing is going to happen ......I'm not so sure that it is not happening right now. The world as we knew it is already gone. Boy, aren't I just a happy little camper this a.m. ? Never mind.
 My sweet little kittens are about 7 months old now and still just as fun to watch. They harass the dogs, sleep with the dogs and play with the dogs. The dogs are just as tolerant as they can be. Our pack is sure a funny looking one.
  Buck is doing well this winter. He's feeling good and holding his weight. I wish he could gain some more but at his age we're lucky he does so well. He's about 30 plus. He still trots around looking handsome and proud.
  It has never got above 27* and has spit snow all day. I've blown the day and now it's time to start thinking about what to do for dinner. Oh, I know, I can fix one of T's favorite meals! It's Friday so we'll have fish fillets and mac/cheese. How easy! Of course it really doesn't matter about being Friday but it's a good excuse. lol I always tease him about the fact schools always had fish sticks and mac n cheese on Friday for the Catholics. Better go Had a semi diamond day.

Been about 3 weeks

   since I last posted anything. Sad part is nothing different happening. Or is that a good thing? I think it's a good thing in a lot of respects. You know: no news is good news....
  We do not have a completed roof. Actually the weather has held them up. But......they did the tear off on the front half so now is covered with a tarp. Just what you want during two snow storms. Too funny. Staying dry though. Not as warm in the house but it's dryer than it has been in years! lol
  I love the fact that just a few inches of snow shuts things down and slows down the rest. Means we live in a nice southern region that doesn't get much snow. Wish it was a little farther south haha.
  Pet food stamps. I love it. It is so tough for some folks to make it and I sure think most families should have a pet. It is good for the children to learn a little responsibility taking care of them and that's the least they can learn from loving a pet.
  We've got almost 3" of snow so far this a.m.. it looks just beautiful out there. My big brother will get a kick out that. He laughs at that piddly amount of snow. But while he's in it up to his ass an freezing, we are nice and toasty in comparison. He'll be working for quite some time since he just bought a new truck and trailer. I guess he plans on NOT retiring as soon as he can. Who knows what goes through his mind. haha.
  It's snowing again and the scanner has picked up. Domestic violence is so stupid. Risking the lives of our officers for such bs reasons. Repeatedly! 34 yr old female threw her son on to the floor and trashing the house!!!!!!They are having to go and give rides to jurors today too. Poor guys.
  Having a diamond day.

Same ol' same ol'

  Not much going on. The same old chores and what not. Feeding, watering, laundry, floors and dishes etc. etc,
  I did get to see Lee and Aiden for a little visit. He had to bring the utility trailer back so we could get hay. Oh, the good news? Best we can tell is the fire in the pick up was a build up of leaves and twigs that had accumulated and must have caught an ember from the hay guy's outdoor furnace. Thank the good Lord! Nothing wrong with the truck except the dusting and smell of the extinguisher. Yay!
  Other good news. Getting a new roof on! A metal one. Won't ever have to worry about it again. Better not anyway. Should last us a lifetime. Now we'll be able to slowly (I mean one sheet of plywood at a time) fix the floors. Can I hear another yay? YAY!
  Groundhog day. Gonna be winter no matter what happens. Spring doesn't start until March.
  Called my brother last night since I hadn't heard from since before Christmas. He was in the hospital for a few days right around Christmas time with bronchial pneumonia and influenza A. He's better now but still sounded kinda crappy. He'll be working at least another 4 years no matter what. He just bought a new big truck and the payments last that long.
  Nephew Joe just ask for an update on Gramma. Gave him the run down- short version. Also got his phone number. It's the same as it was when he was living here. I assume he will pass the word to the other kids. I would but not sure what good it would do or if they are even interested.
  It spit a little ice at us this a.m. but the sun is trying to come out again and will get to 40* today. I liked the 70* we had a few days ago much better. Got a little work done in the shop that day. Helped T with the truck too. Not sure what's on the agenda for today except my treadmill.
                    Gonna be a diamond day.

Friday the 18th

  OMGoodness! I forgot yesterday was throwaway day! Didn't throw away a dang thing except in the kitchen. I need to do that today otherwise I will get behind. Ha! As if a person could tell just walking through my mess house. My so called library is absolutely trashed thanks to the kittens. They have tried to clean the shelves for me by knocking things off into the floor. At least they haven't killed any houseplants. I've got to go through that room again and thin it out. I'm hoping to get most of the house thinned out by spring so I don't have to worry about anymore. I'm sure I'm repeating myself. Maybe if I say it often enough it will get done.
   My oldest roo has lost his flock to the youngster so he has taken to sleeping under the porch instead of in the hen house. The last few days I've been feeding him separately and the last two I've fed him on my messy back porch with the quail. Well, not exactly with the quail but on the floor next to the crate. He marches up the ramp and into the enclosed porch and has his dinner. The dogs walk right by him and now the cats will. They tried to check him out and he puffed up. They respect that posture and now leave him alone.
  Speaking of the quail, one of them was playing with a cat this a.m....guess we'll never turn them out. haha Wouldn't last long if they're not afraid of predators. Still hoping to have baby quail next spring but not holding breath under these circumstances. Maybe later.
  It's 54* and sunny out there. T is busy in the woods and I'm doing a little house work. We'll have home made pizza for dinner and a nice relaxing evening. Watch a Barret-Jackson auction on tv. Having a diamond day and hope everyone is doing fine.
 
 

Saturday 5 a.m.

  Had a really nice day on Friday. Met an old friend in town, did a little shopping and went to lunch.  Came home to a cat with separation anxiety and a 1700 # horse in the old chicken run. How funny is that? Betty stayed there until Tim came home to rescue her. She quietly stepped over the part of the fence he cut open. It was way past time to do something with that fence anyway. Always looking for something to get into. Love that curiosity!

  There's an ice storm coming tonight. Well, I use the term storm lightly as it's not really a storm coming, just a cold front while it is raining, so to speak. As the weather man says,"winter weather advisory".  But.......it only takes about 1/4" of ice on the power lines to take out the electricity.
  I will be cleaning our oil lamps today just in case. Cooking and heat are no problem. Water and light is the only thing we can lose. Need to charge up phone and laptop too. Emergency radio is solar and crank - no worries. During the ice storm a few years back it took 7 days of no power before the National Guard showed up at the front door. Boy, was that ever a surprise! We were fine but running out of water for the horses. We used that water for the toilets. lol Purdy offered free water to folks for their livestock which was wonderful. We had a few barrels to fill so T took them to town and filled them.
  Went and got a few more groceries just now. Locked in the hubs on the truck so it's ready to go in the morning for T. I reminded him that he could use a sick day if he wants to in the morning. Depends on that ice. They are calling for an inch.

  I'll be glad when the cats grow to a size that maybe the hawks will leave alone. They sure do like it outside. It's getting harder to round them up and bring them back in! It's kinda hard to see but that's a red-tail hawk helping himself to one of the chicks last year. There is at least one pair living in the woods behind us. There is also a Prairie falcon hanging out this winter. He is fast and he cruises really low, about 7-8' off the ground and is not bashful at all. Has scared me in the yard a couple of times haha.
  I've been anonymously following several blogs for several years now. Once in awhile I post something and normally just left my name. Recently I started just leaving the rockintnc thing and not changing it to my name. Anyway, I started following sarawolf over at Sally's Country Home a long time ago. I believe I found her at the countryside forum. Her weaving took me there I believe. The blog kept me going back. I posted something after one of her posts and now I find out she lived in Purdy back in the 80's! What a tiny world we live in. It has been proven to me time and again.  We have a Purdy address but can see Butterfield from the front window.
  I just received a book with some of T's genealogy in it from a second cousin of his. She sent me a free copy of her book for helping with some of the research. It's a beautiful hardback one. We actually got to meet them 5-6 years ago when they were in "the neighborhood". They live in Vegas. eww! I just can't imagine living in that place.
  I'm having another diamond day. Hope you all do too.
 

Throw away Thursday

  Today I will throw more than one something away. Maybe a lot of somethings. lol My library is absolutely trashed! My lovely little pride of cats have such a good time in that room. So many things to play with and climb on and so little time! Get a few kittens - they will help you do your spring cleaning and re-arranging.
  Was able to pick up the van from the repair shop yesterday. Yay! So glad to have it back and running correctly. Well, mostly correct. It still has a little odd surge in it but the check engine light is happy, the air conditioner is working correctly and the cruise control is finally working again! It's been out for several years now. T was right. It was in the vacuum stuff. So was the a.c.. The check engine thing was it needed a download from Dodge that was due before we even bought the thing. Fuel for it is much cheaper than diesel. Only problem with the new repair shop - they don't accept credit cards. Who in the world doesn't accept cards these days? Talk about inconvenience. Now we have to find the money out of the paycheck all at once. Dang it, there goes the groceries lol . Pick and choose - rob Peter to pay Paul as they say.
  I checked out my sister's blog this a.m.. well done! I knew you could figure it out and not screw anything up. You're just a scared y cat. Don't believe everything R tells you haha. At least you've never deleted the entire operating system. haha Loved the pictures. It will make it a lot easier to find those pictures after you name and file them. Last time I saw them it was kinda willy nilly. I'll be able to come down south soon and help you out with that but I'm sure Jonathan can help.
  Did I loan you my disc for Kodak? I can't find it and I know I would not throw it out. If you don't have it maybe Lee does.
  It's hours later, the rain has come again and I finally got my cobbler in the oven. Blackberry of course. I'm just two days later than I planned. lol It will still be yummy. Having a diamond day- hope everyone else is too.

Working weekend

  T is working this weekend. Two more days and we're on vacation again! This year we were able to plan a weeks vacation almost every month. Works for us since we like be home (that's the whole idea of having a home, isn't it?). We've already seen a good portion of these wonderful United States while we were trucking.
  I will be glad when Tim has the time to put the new motor on the AC. After the temp reaches about 80* in here, I shut down.  lol
  Whew! Got the back yard mowed with the  push mower. Sure looks nice but I'm just wringing wet. lol

There's a light colored spot in the center.  

There it is! That thing is a mile away from my front yard. Pretty cool huh? 

  Dang it all! It is 89*outside and now 88* in the living room. Yuck....

It's still a diamond day!
 

Almost good as new?

  Our computer that is. ...Good grief, it was quite the week with a virus infecting our "rock and chisel" computer. The poor thing is memory challenged to the max. But.....with patience and perserverance(sp?) and both of us working in 12hr shifts we were able to isolate the dang thing and get rid of it and able to repair the poor thing. Thank you to the makers and to the antivirus folks.
  I've only gotten one lap blanket made but will start another today. Yesterday went to breakfast with Tess. After that we went garage sale-ing and to the flea market. Full day to say the least. Hate to be wore out by an 87 yr old! Of course after that I had to go to the grocery store. I made that an emergency run and only bought what I needed for a few days instead of 2 weeks. haha
  Temperatures are still in the 100's and pasture is beyond crunchy. The banties are settling in okay. They are still leary of venturing out into the back yard but doing nicely. Tim was finally able to kill the snake that has been haunting the yard and barn. Last night the dang thing was coming out of the chicken house as I was shutting the door with a poor frog in his mouth. Looked like a monster from the scifi channel. It was really funny looking.  The frog's head and front legs were sticking out of the snake's mouth. What a mutant!

Tim had to put another bale out last night. Gonna be hard to put hay up for winter when we have to feed and it's July!

Had a nice visit on the phone with my big sister this a.m.. hoping this week we can all get together for a visit at one house or another.

This is my horse guy  weekend online so gotta go watch my horseman.