And the beat goes on

......no matter what takes place ....life goes on it's merry way. Sis and I are struggling with another one of life's curves it throws out there periodically. How to deal with the loss of another parent. No, no one has died but she is slipping away from all who knew her. Those of us who love her will miss her funny ways but she taught us a lot since she came into our lives. We took to her kicking and screaming as children and learned to appreciate and love her as young adults. She made dad a very happy man almost to the end. She didn't want to let him go and I can understand that. He was tired of the fight and wanted her to let him go. She refused. I might do the same in her shoes. Hoping to never find out. Now it's her turn to have a body turn against itself. In her case, her mind. It's awful to think you pray that a stroke or heart attack is the answer and not the effects of the dementia. The disease that steals a person of who they are. I remember reading one time of someone with Alzheimers (sp?) asking - "who will I be when I'm no longer me? " what a horrible thing to deal with.

  Nevermind..........

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

  Been trying for a couple of weeks to post something that is positive and interesting etc but you know what? Life sucks sometimes. I'm too emotional at times when it's not very convenient...I'll be back in a few weeks or less and life will be normal again. Meanwhile, the day is beautiful and I'm thankful for it.

Wen-day-ya-ho  Gonna be a diamond kinda day ----I'm determined ...

Tame Tuesday and Throwaway Thursday

  That's the plan anyway. The past few days have been rough on my sister and I both. We drove to our stepmom's place to check on her and see a cousin we haven't seen in years. Things aren't going well for her as her mind is playing tricks on her and we don't know why. There are so many things that could be going on. We're trying to get her an appt at a geriatric specialist this week that may give us a clue. It's going to be a long journey for all of us and Char will have to do some growing up along the way. She's going to have to take time off her wonder job and deal with this.

 Can't seem to get it together. Good grief. Was sick the last few days. Not sure why. Have gone back to walking on the treadmill. Least I had gone back to it. Then skipped a few days while sick. Back to it this a.m. . Going slow so not to strain anything haha. 30 minutes but only at a snail's pace of 1.6mph. Looking forward to getting back up to 2.0 +.

Dang it's chilly this am. At 28* right now and the sun's been up for over an hour. Was 30* when T left.
Made it up to 50* so far this afternoon. Dez says she's going back to work tomorrow. I sure hope so. Been several shifts at work and 3 weeks since we've seen and she hasn't called Aiden back and not talked to them since day of surgery (11th). That's a crock.

Feeling better today and getting some work done! Yay!

Tuesday from Oct 4

  Another beautiful day in the Ozarks! Had a nice weekend with my honey at home. Hung around house and got a few things done. Most of my plants inside and re-potted some that needed it badly. Israel was up on Saturday. Him and dad tinkered on his bike for a short few. Had some chili too. Actually we had frito pies! Oh, so tasty.

Throwaway Thursday and rambling along

  Well, what to throw away today? I'm positive it will not be hard to find something.
We had 3 storms roll through yesterday that left us with 3.6" of rain. Trying to catch up on the drought thing. Doing a good job. Had a little hail to go with the rain and wind.
  Meanwhile, here's a few pictures to share.

I really liked these brownies. Tim wasn't sure of the "icing stuff" on the bottom. Makes them really gooie. They were the best ones I had made from scratch that I can remember. Yummmy....

Oooo...pot of beans I made a couple of weeks ago. They were pretty good too.

 And last but not least a pot of tater soup! Was really good too. If I do say so myself.

Here's another outdoor oven idea for you. This time a toad cob oven. Need to borrow a better picture.

This is Ollie. Previously known as barn kitty number 2. They both are growing fast. As of yet I don't think that Sam had ever gone out hunting like Ollie. He has gone with Mama Cat several times for a couple of days at a time. Sam is always out in the shop. So far haven't seen mice in months. Yay!

I told you I had been thinking about the stocking up the pantry. Well, I think about it all the time but what I mean is, I've been thinking of actually posting about it. lol If you just add a little tiny bit each week or two to your grocery list or just buy 2 of things on your list it adds up fast. This is geared for a family of two so adjust accordingly. It's also getting on to winter so don't forget to rotate the emergency stuff in your vehicle. Food, batteries etc. Warm clothes added. Bag of kitty litter for traction. Folding shovel etc etc.

Week 1

6 cans peas

6 cans tuna

4 cans cream of chicken soup (I make my own as needed)

3 bags pasta

2 containers salt of your choice

1 lg pkg of TP

cold meds if you use them

Been plugging along on my family tree stuff. A tidbit here and a tidbit there. A few pics of headstones - I know that sounds gross to some folks but to a genealogist it's information. Sometimes it just has the year but most times it's a birthdate. Or a name of a wife/husband that you did not have. You never know.

Like finding where James O was buried. Finally found his grave and the name of the son he went to live with. Aunt Jo had told me something about some woman he ran off with or something like that but he was living with Charles and family. Also mentioned before was a time Emma went to live in California because John V was abusive? Never heard that before - need to ask about that. Who knows what kind of things you'll find while searching. You know what they say about skeletons in the closest. lol

      Have rambled long enough and been all day.
                                               Some days are diamonds.

Nothing imparticular

  It's still a beautiful day. It's after noon and we had a tiny bit of rain this a.m. and still cloudy but it's wonderful outside. T decided to stay home instead of working OT. We watched a movie and went back to bed at 7 a.m. . He's still asleep. No wonder as he doesn't sleep much the nights he works. 4-5 hours a night and then an hour drive, 12 hr shift, an hour home, dinner and a movie/internet.

This is the flower you ask about yesterday. In the blue pot hanging on the corner of the porch.  Amaryllis.

This is on the Peace Lily. Really interesting.

Wanted to share this OVEN with you. Isn't that a great idea for an outdoor oven? Too neat.

Wayback picture from 1982.

Some days are diamonds.

 

Saturday

  Been over a week since I last posted. I tried, just never made it. Nothing to say. Some days are like that. Hard to write about doing laundry. haha We did take a bike ride on Wednesday over to Tablerock lake. Tim's sister has been camping at Mill Creek since the first. Another sister in law was driving down from Spfd and Jeff and his family were up from Conway Ar. Had a good visit and a bowl of chili that Pam made. Oh, and a nectarine dumpling of sorts.

Tim and Jax enjoying a little blanket time. As usual all little ones like Uncle Tim.  Poor little guy isn't allowed any freedom yet. Someone had to be touching him at all times. Might fall and get hurt. Pushing one out the door and another not allowed to grow. Strange. But each to their own as they say.

Getting ready to leave for the beautiful ride home. Weather was just perfect and so are the roads back home.

See this evil chicken hawk? He's having his breakfast in the front yard. Flaunting the fact that his breakfast was one of my chicks! That's what happens when there is no one home to protect the little burgers. I will not be letting them out in the yard until the youngsters are almost full grown. I thought they were getting big enough for the hawk not to take but boy, was I wrong.
  Oh, the life of a wannabe country girl. Well, I was a girl once. haha How about, oh the life of a wannabe country crone? Well, according to the dictionary that doesn't fit entirely.
Crone: (kron)an ugly,withered old woman
  Old and withered I'll accept but not ugly. lol

Israel's jumping days. Came home one day and he had this "jump" set up and said "Watch, Mom!" Too funny. We didn't know at the time the poor little thing was pregnant. First horse we ever lost thanks to the so called vet in Willard.

Got the bread made from Aunt Jo's recipe! Pretty tasty but I need to adjust the cooking time in my pans and my oven! Nice tecture and good flavor. Believe it or not the kneading was a piece of cake too. Just working in the last 2-3 cups of flour and that was it. Too cool.

Been thinking about putting a list of supplies that a person needs for a year's worth by the week. A friend I know does that it and it seems helpful for a reminder.

What do ya think?

Some days are diamonds.