The Best of Today

I Enter the Fair

2011-10-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

I've been saying for years that when I retire I am going to enter something in the fair.
I have an online friend who wins blue ribbons with her paintings and her husband with his jelly. It just seemed like a fun thing to do.

I decided on photography. It was so hard to pick one of the many favorites. I have taken thousands of pictures over the past three years. I love my new camera and I take pictures at every opportunity.

I quickly found out that it's not cheap to have something in the county free fair. There are rules and regulations. Frames matting and trips over there at certain times made it a bit of a drag for me. I was amazed at the selection of photo's there.I think the last time I went there was about ten total for the flower category. This year there were over twenty. I was happy with the 'judges honorable mention' but still complaining that a mushroom won the flower category. Here is my picture and a shot of it in the fair with the blue ribbon winner.

Pesto

2011-07-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

The finished product. ready for the freezer.

The garden 2011..planted with seeds.

The basil I pulled to thin the patch.

I sowed the seeds I gathered from the basil last year. They all came up. I pulled a bucket full of basil, just enough to thin them out, and thought how nice it would be to make Pesto.

I picked the leaves, washed them, used the blender and added garlic, walnuts, salt, pepper and olive oil. I will add the parmesan cheese when I use the cubes I froze as cheese does not freeze well.

An hour and a half later I wound up with six cubes to freeze. I think that is about half of the jar in the photo. I don't have the mess cleaned up yet!

It better be extra good! or I just have too much time on my hands!

Classic, simple basil pesto recipe with fresh basil leaves (2 cups packed), pine nuts (1/3 cup) or walnuts, garlic (2 cloves), Romano or Parmesan cheese (1/3 cup), extra virgin olive oil (1/3-1/2 cup), and salt and pepper.

The Wait for Dianthus

2011-05-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

And a bug too!

So many colors so much beauty

Last year I planted seeds from a bag that I gathered the fall before. I had orange mini zinnias and yellow marigolds and basil.

Where did the coral come from?

making a cone of color

making a cone of green

when the plants started coming up I didn't recognize the leaf but moved the seedling around in the garden anyway. All summer I watched them grow into a clump of green spiky leaves. As winter came and things began to freeze back I was still uncertain as to what or where I got those seeds.

As the ground began to warm the green popped back out. Clumps of something I don't know what it. I decided to not till the garden. I would instead work around the returning plants and bulb planted last year and fill in with annual seeds gathered from last year.

The First bloom

This is what starting appearing after the last frost. I thought maybe a cone of some kind. I already knew it was a hardy plant because the frost that bit back everything else didn't seem to bother this plant at all.

Finally a bloom appears!! I've seen this before. Dianthus. how did I get those seeds? Little did I know I was about to see an explosion of beauty and color.

TIME TO MAKE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

2010-12-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010....I find myself surrounded with Grandchildren each with an electronic toy in hand. It is time to move back to the old way of having a fun time getting ready for Christmas.

It would have been cheaper to just buy the cookies already made. I couldn't believe the cost of supplies for a couple of dozen cookies.

I do believe we have created a memory that will last a lot longer than the pastry. They are pretty and tasty and we had so much fun making them.Memories....Priceless!

PICKIN' UP STICKS

2010-11-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

In early spring I began picking up sticks from the back yard. I would have a hand full pretty quick and I was always looking for ways to improve on the looks around the trees in the back yard so I came up with an idea to use the sticks. I started tying the sticks together with twine. Then I began laying them around two trees on the low side of the terrain. A flower bed came into vision fairly quick.

Even tho the picture don't look like it, the stick wall is about 8 inches tall on the low side. I added soil knowing that the sticks would deteriorate and someday the soil would be held by whatever was planted on it. I choose monkey grass and what I call Mother's Moss....I all so have heard it called Hocatown Moss.....which is the name of the settlement she grew up in.
There were already bulbs around those trees, jonquils and Shasta daises. The white color gives light to the different shades of green.

I had a tree cut that was too close to the house. When the men were removing the limbs they drug one close enough to remove the stick wall from around the back of the flower bed. As I stood in the kitchen and watched out the window my heart sank a bit. In the blink of a eye it was gone. The plants are all still there. the terrain is smooth. Changes every year in this yard. I'll just have to wait till next spring to see how pretty I can make it next year..

The Big Get Together

2010-07-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

Finally.....we meet. The Nutz.

A group of people who met on line in a Stop smoking group. From around the world we came together to fight the addiction of tobacco. We posted several times a day and became very close. We broke out into another group. Kept in touch for another year or so and broke off into a group who decided to try to meet up. Myrtle Beach S.C. The Shanty! May 2010.

We flew in from all parts of the world. Manchester, England, Canada, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Oklahoma and met with two couples who live in North Carolina. The Shanty is on the beach in North Myrtle Beach South Carolina. We car pooled from Charlotte and Raleigh. It was so much fun.
The first day was rainy and overcast so we made the best of it by getting manicures and pedicures.

The second day was beautiful, we made sandwiches and gathered the umbrellas and set out for the beach. It was very private until you walk around the cove to the actual ocean.
That is me ...under the pier. In my new Myrtle Beach Hat. We went shopping, we cooked, we ate out and we laughed. We played games. We took pictures. We stayed a week.

The Devine Mr. H

2009-10-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

Is anything really by chance?

out of the blue comes an invitation to work 4 days in Dallas. How could I pass this up? I said I was not going to work anymore. I sure did not look forward to meeting someone new or taking care of someone who had any type of impared thinking. Now this comes along.

I find myself in old territory. the same part of town.

I passed this fountain so many times taking Gloria to the wednesday bridge games. It was nice to see it again. Same with the Drexel Highlander. I never thought I would be staying here.

"If you will just stay four days it will really help me out." Those are the words that pulled me out of the house and back into the work force.

He has had back surgery and will need someone to run errands and do some light cooking. I can't tell you much about him but he is a friend of a friend that you already know and he would love to have you.

He had this painting done in 1982. Altho he is 30 years older he still looks much the same. The eyes are covered by black horn rimed glasses and he can't hear very well but you can tell it is still him.

An award winning Interior Decorator in Dallas for many years he has the pictures and stories to tell. The devine Mr.H. what a pleasure to spend four days with you. He is surrounded by a collection of art and antiques of a life time. He has lovingly put them all together into the condo where he resides today.

Flowers

2009-09-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

some of my most enjoyable moments are spent capturing photographs of flowers.

Spring is the best time.But these are all taken in the middle of summer.

This is a purple day lily from my yard.

this is an orange zennia from my garden.a pink oleander a tiny blue flower on ground cover.Queen Ann's Lace, growing wild in the pasture. Red and Yellow Cannas from my yard.

The Wood Continu........

2009-01-21T17:28:00.000-08:00

We made it through the holidays and I made the trip to California and now I am back to continue with the story of the firewood. This is Mike making the wood rack. It will hold two ric's of wood.

I can tell this is going to take a while. Dial-up is too slow to do this with out forgetting the subject of the blog. I'm waiting for the picture of Mike building the wood rack to load. It has been 14 minutes and when it gets downloaded this post will be finished until I am on a higher speed.

I'm aborting this project. I've waited 38 minutes and no picture yet.

I have been trying to get DSL internet service through the phone co here but have just found out that I am beyound the boundries of service. I went today to check about Huges net. It is pretty expensive but I suspect that is about my only other option.

Bringing in The Wood

2008-12-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

Sometime in the past three or four years a storm came across our land on the other side of the creek. I haven't been over there because it is all woods and I had no reason to explore it. This year while Mike was hunting he discovered all the trees blown over by the roots.

Even though they have been there for awhile the hearts of the trees are still solid and almost all are red oak which makes good firewood so we have decided to harvest what we can.

This has proven to be a job that could just keep going. I think I counted about 41 big trees down and several smaller ones. After cutting about 5 of the logs into firewood lengths we realized there was much more wood than we had thought and now it had to be split. I rented a splitter for the next days work.

Since we are in the middle of the woods, there are no roads, we had to cut a path to get the splitter in before we could split. This is another full days work and not half of what we have cut it split! And it is in the middle of the woods to be hauled out and stacked.

Red Oak is such a pretty fire wood. It burns hot and turns into a solid bed of coals. Altho the outside of the wood is beginning to get pethy (we really don't know how long it has been down) the center is beautiful.

Next step will be building a rack to hold the wood and hauling it our of the woods and stacking it.

To be continued.......

Deer Season in Oklahoma

2008-11-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

Everything stops for Deer Season in Oklahoma. At least in our county. School is out all week. All things hunting are on sale and everyone is in camouflage.

I had barely gotten home when Caden ran in saying "Get your camera" he thought he saw a comet falling. This picture does not do it justice because the sun was shining thru it but after further investigation we decided it was a plane.

I will start by showing you our resident deer. I have no idea who put the colar on it or when but for over two years this little lady has been coming by to see us. The dogs don't even bark at her now. She seemed quite pleased to pose for this picture.

I got a red lense for my camera. Why, you ask?, because they had one at the camera shop and I wanted to see what I could do with it. Makes the fire look hot. Speaking of which. Gramps was working on making a fire ring for camp when I got home. He finished it and Caden and I helped him move it to his camp. It works really good and we spent a few hours around the camp fire this last week.

I had to get dressed in orange to go to the creek for pictures this week. Did not want some idiot to mistake me for an animal and shot at me. This is Buck Creek. It runs through the middle of our property. The water is barely running now. In the summer its almost drys up except for a couple of deep holes. In the spring and winter it runs and with alot of rain it gets out of the bank.

In Search of Fall Color

2008-11-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

I waited out my week at work anxious to hit the hills in search of fall color. There are a couple of really pretty trees in Gloria's yard so my expectations were high about getting good photographs at home. Probably would have gotten more color if I had been home the week before but I am very satisfied with what I got and the riding in the hills and the weather was just great. I'm not going to try to write about each photo because I have yet to master the download where my finished project looks good. Hope you enjoy scenes from my neck of the woods.

Got To Move On

2008-10-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Can't stay on the name thing forever. It is still not working for me.

I had a great time over the week end. I went to Arkansas where my youngest daughter lives and stayed two days.

I picked Caden up at noon from his school on Friday and we started our journey. He took a few photos along the way. this barn he thought was interesting.Taking pictures out the car window didn't prove to be the best way but we have the memories anyway. It is only 75 miles from our house to theirs but it seemed like it took a long time to get there. This is a picture of the lane going down to their house and their house.We played basketball and Sorry and watched movies and played video games. We went to Applebee's for dinner. Carved a pumpkin. We stayed up way to late and got up way to early.We took pictures and more pictures. These kids are growing so fast. It is almost like the song "Don't Blink". We laughed and laughed till our sides hurt. Just silly stuff that looses its funniness in translation. The Dangerous dance was the funniest of the evening. The kids were wanting to wrestle and I wanted them to dance. I guess the dance turned out to be the most dangerous.

We laughed till we hurt and we laughed some more. This trip won't be forgotten for a long time.

All About the Name

2008-10-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

I've only spent the last hour trying to get my signature on this blog. Thanks to my dear granddaughter who has the coolest blog and has her pretty name at the bottom of each entry.

I created three different styles and three different colors, read all the instructions about how to get it into my blog and even sent it to myself by e-mail.

I know I am not the smartest person in the world but this just does not work for me. It came into my blog as a picture. cannot copy it, cannot move it. It took a while and I don't have it automatically loading but isn't this just so cool! I need more help sweetie. This is uploaded as a photo.

Tagged

2008-10-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Kristy tagged me so I am supposed to tell 6 things about myself. gee whiz. which secrets do I want to expose?

1. I have written three songs that are published and in a time capsule to be opened in 2051.

2. I shot at a squirrel one time and hit it in the balls. had to shoot 5 more times to put it out of its misery. Talk about clinging to a limb!

3. I haven't smoked a cigarette in over 15 months, I smoked for 47 years.

4. I picked 15 gallons of blackberries the summer I was 10. I haven't eaten one since.

5. I DJ'd in a night club for 15 years.

6. I come from a long line of survivors. My grandfather lived to be 108 yrs old. My Mother 97.

now what? I'm just waiting for a visit from my cyber friend.

WHERE WILD FERN GROWS

2008-10-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

I get so far behind, the further I go the behinder I get! No time for pictures and discriptions. I have to hit the high spots and then I still leave something of great importance out. Morgan had a sleep over on friday night that lead to a practise for 'High School Musical' on saturday morning. She got choosen for the lead roll and did a fantastic job. Her Mom was so proud. Sheldon's band played in a battle of the bands in Texarkana on Sunday and WON. His wife and kids were so proud of him.

There was the OU game on saturday that took a day getting ready for and a day to heal from. OU got beat by Texas and that is always the worst.

Had lunch with Shellye on Friday, nice visit, got to hear all the political news again.We got the yard work all done and the place looks great.

Caden came over on Sunday and we went to Walmart and while we were there Shellye called wanting to know where the power washer was. Some one has stollen it! Makes us all wonder what else is missing.

Mike is in on two hunting leases now. What I thought was one has turned into two, makes me wonder what else I don't know. What I do know is we have close to 4000 acres just north of our house to roam around on. I may have to put in a photo of the scenery.

New person coming in to help @ work. Supposed to be the same one but has not been so far. They scheduled a new one for tomorrow and said they really need a weeks notice. I have no idea how this is going to work out.

The King Tut exhibit is in town. I have got to figure out a time to go see it. The tickets are timed so I must know the date and hour. uggg!

The First Week of Fall

2008-09-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

I grabbed my camera got in the ATV and took off to take pictures of the first week of fall. The weather is just wonderful. 80's in the daytime and 50's at night.

I didn't have to go far to begin enjoying the beauty of nature. The pasture is in full bloom with yellow wildflowers.

I found all sorts of fall seeds. Some I have never seen before and have no idea what they are. They are interesting to say the least. Some I have seen many times but don't know thier name.

The reflection in the pond caught my eye and so did some small bass swimming near the edge. I could not get a photo of them. When I approached they swam off.

I was walking in the yard bare foot and stepped on a bee. It stung me on the ball of my foot and hurt so bad. The stinger stayed in my foot and had to be pulled out with the tweezers. Ouch! This is not the one that stung me but I got a good picture of it anyway.

It is also the season of the spider so I had to get a picture of this big one. Boo!

More flowers and a trip to the lake finished out the first week of fall 2008

Wildflowers just amaze me. They come in all colors and are so delicate.

The grass is still green, the leaves have not started to turn and the lake was almost empty. The price of gas has something to do with that I am sure as it was a beautiful week.

Thanks for looking!

A New Toy

2008-09-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

We got a new toy. It is so much fun to ride and very handy to use around the place. It is a Mini-jeep. A 4-wheeler of sorts, an off road vehicle. It gets about 50 miles per gallon and can go places where you don't want to walk.

Two people can ride comfortably and there is plenty of room in the back to carry an ice chest or what ever you wish.

We went for a ride yesterday. Hurricane Ike had passed through in the night and left a cool breeze and sunny skies for Sunday. We set out with a full tank of gas, eats and drinks and the camera. I started out driving and later decided it would be much nicer just to ride and take pictures.

The 5 plus inches of rain we got from Ike left the smallest of streams out of their banks with muddy water.

The rains from Gustav a couple of weeks back, have left all the colors of spring along with the green of summer for a very pleasing view along the back roads.

We came across an old building that had been the Agriculture building at the school we both attended in another century. It had been moved and just left to the elements but I could still get a picture and old memories from that building was the conversation for the next few miles. We rode around for a couple of hours. We wound up at an old cemetary on top of a hill.

A very good day. Seeing things we don't take the time to see every day. We are going to do this more often.

Shootin a Wedding

2008-08-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

We all know I have a new camera.I am learning to use it.

My Youngest daughter has had a good camera for a while now and takes good pictures. She has for about four years now done Senior pictures and special accasions for people she knows. The word has spread and she is being asked nore and more to do shoots for strangers.

This is where I come in last Saturday Night.

She lives in Arkansas but had been asked to do a wedding in Oklahoma. " Will you help me with the Oklahoma work?" she asked. So this is my first wedding to HELP shoot. Already has one senior picture shoot set up this spring for me!!

There is a bit more freedom with the back ground on the Senior picture shoots but with a wedding you have to go with where they want to have it.

This one was outside by the pool so the main thing was to keep from falling in. I managed to not do that and get some good pictures. It was scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and it was getting too dark for our flash so a bigger flash is required for night work. That is the most important thing I learned.

Sadly I only learned the name of the bride.

It was hot outside about 90 degrees when the sun went down. Sweat was a problem.

We finished the shoot with 168 pictures on a disc that will be mailed back to them . It was a fun thing to do and something I think I just might get good at. The music was good, the food was good and the extended family all seemed Happy. Mission acomplished.

Mt. Fork River Run.

2008-08-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

It has been sweltering hot all week in southeast Oklahoma. the best place to be was on the river. I am very fortunate to live in an area that has such beautiful things close by and a good friend with a cabin on the river.

Other than sore muscles and feet I am no worse for the wear. I am not in shape to paddle a boat or canoe but I got some great pictures and I will let them tell the story.

The water in Mt. Fork comes from the bottom of Broken Bow Lake so the water temperature is very cold. Nice refreshing on a 100 + day. Good thing the cabin has air. I had a great time.

We locals take this float trip for granted as it has always been here. The people coming here on vacation know it as Ambush Adventures. It really has become quite the week end get away for Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Dallas.

It takes Two

2008-07-21T22:25:00.000-07:00

I started another blog today. One to hold all the great pictures I am taking. I surely have not figured out how to upload the picture and get the captions in the right place. It seems to me I am missing something about how this is done.
All the other blogs seem to have the written word close to the picture of what they are talking about. I can't seem to get it under the picture or even beside it. It looks one way and then when I publish it seems to just go where it wants to. Just about made it impossible to name the flowers.

I have time to continue to search other blogs and look for ways to make this stuff happen. One day in the not so distant future I plan to have a good blog. In the mean time anyone who has any tips that might speed up the process .....feel free to jump right in and clue me in.

My Reward

2008-07-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

When I stopped smoking a little over a year ago I joined a support group and the first thing I learned was how important it was to reward yourself for taking care (good care) of yourself.

I downloaded the quit meter that kept up with the number of days and the amount of money I had saved. As of today that stands at 375 days and $1500.00.

Now this is not my first reward. I rewarded myself regularly at every milestone. Ist week, 1st month, 3 months, 6,7,8,9, and saved the biggie for the 1st year.

Truth be told, I have spent way more than I have saved. I am worth it and I have enjoyed it much more than if I had burned it and sucked it down my lungs. I don't have the cough to prove it.

So here I am a year later, a lot smarter and ready to reveal my reward.

A Sony A350 DSLR Camera with a 18-70mm lense and an adjustable view finder. As I learn how to operate my new camera, I can up grade to different lense.

These are the first pictures I have taken and I am very pleased. This may be just the camera a Grandmother needs.

July 4th 2008

2008-07-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

Time to Celebrate. July 4th. Independence Day. Since we all spend so much time away from home we decided to have our own celebration at home. I got off work on Monday and begin gathering all the food and drinks for a real hardy bunch. The oldest grandson (who lives next door) was as excited as me about everyone getting together again so soon. We were all together just a month ago and had so much fun. Gramps is traveling from Houston and the other grand kids are coming from Arkansas. They were all coming in on Thursday. As it turned out our daughter just dropped her two kids off and went to the cabin for some peace and quite time. So it was just me and all the grand kids until Gramps got there. It wasn't long before we heard him honking as he came down the drive. Kids running dogs barking. The place is alive with excitement.

They unloaded the fireworks from the truck and begin looking over the package. Wow, this is gonna be so cool. We decided to have a wiener roast that night and just set off a few of the fire works just to get the week end started and make sure they work.

Up late, up early. Breakfast for all and the preparation for the BBQ began before noon. The Older kids started to come in and out but the grand kids stuck right with us.

It was hard to wait until it got dark. We ate, moved to the porch and watched the guys get set up for our big display. We were saving The Big Dog for the big finally.

One Year

2008-07-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

I am a year smoke free now.

It just amazes me when I look back at the things I have learned in my journey to quit smoking.
It took almost that long to get the smell out of my house. That too is gone now.

I quit at one of the lowest points in my life. I think I just felt that things could not get worse and the only way I could make a difference was with me. Smoking had been a part of my life since I was 13 years old. When something good happened I celebrated with a smoke. When something bad happened I morned with a smoke. Births, deaths and weddings were all reasons to calm my nerves and having a smoke did that I thought at the time.

I smoked, my husband smoked all our friends smoked and as our children got old enough they smoked. It was not until I started to get grandchildren that the idea of quitting was even mentioned. Doctors orders, no smoking while pregnant. No smoking around the child. Needless to say thing got pretty restless around my house and the drinking increased as the smoking became something to hide.

I went to a smoking class, I took Welbutrin, and I snuck around to smoke. For almost a year I smoked only when I was alone. Needless to say I wasn't inviting many people over and I wasn't seeing my grand kids as often as I would have liked.

Everyone had quit but me. How in the world will I ever be able to do this. I felt so bad most all the time. was it from smoking or from just being miserable inside myself. I began to wonder if I even knew myself. Things were sure not like I had hoped they would be at this age.

Life is about choices. Those four words have changed my life. It was my choice. I needed to fix me and let everyone else fix themselves or stay as they are but my goal was to concentrate on me. Just me was a full time job.

I started keeping a journal, joined a stop smoking site and lucked into meeting the greatest group of people you could imagine. They taught me so much about life and love and addiction and taking care of yourself. It has just been wonderful, even the crying for the first 6 months was worth it now.

My first year celebration was much bigger than I had anticipated. Well wishes and gifts and just the thought was so touching. I am a lucky woman.
A tropy, a certificate and flowers, all from other quitters, Now isn't that amazing!! Support from cyber space becomes real.

The Hundred Dollar Tooth Brush

2008-06-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

For a brushing experience like no other

Two weeks ago she lost a bridge. We made the trip back to the Dentist to get it cemented back in. One week later she lost a crown. We go back to the Dentist and he says " Ms. Gloria, what I recommend for you today is to get a new toothbrush."

Memory recall is the reason I am staying with this 80 year old woman. So her first reaction was to have him tell me.

After listening to him explain how age has made her teeth weaker and brittle and because she is not doing a good job of brushing she needs to get the new sonic toothbrush, use it twice a day and and set an appointment to get a new bridge made that the crown will be added to. Just take the crown back with us and bring it back next time. He is not sure if we will use it or not.

In the mean time get the toothbrush and start using it. "They are not expensive and you can get them anywhere but it must be this kind." With that he gives us a brochure and sends us into the office for the Lady to schedule an appointment for 2 and1/2 hours of his time. Making sure that he will have all of that time to devote only to Ms. Gloria.

After looking at the computer screen for a long while the Lady comes up with a date that is okay for us and the Dentist. Then proceeds to print out an estimate of what will be done and the charges. Treatment Plan Total $3,720.00.

As we are leaving the office I am thinking to myself that she didn't even know why we were coming to the Dentist an hour ago. That missing tooth was not hindering her eating at all. I better check with her daughter before we go spending all this money on weak and brittle teeth of an 80 year old.

After notifying the daughter and her saying to continue with the doctors plans, I make a trip to find the not expensive toothbrush. After trying Target, Wal-Mart and Wal-greens with no luck, I ask the sales lady where she recommends I look for this special toothbrush. There are two drug stores in the Park Cities area of Dallas and she said either would probably have it. Sure enough, there was one on the shelf. $103.00. with tax $112.00. With brush in hand I return to un-package it and show her how to use it.

The packaging was a night mare to get into. After using scissors and knife I had it open. It was rather easy to set up and not very loud once turned on. It gently increases power over the first twelve uses and has a two minute timer to ensure recommended brushing time.

As I handed it to her and showed her where to push the button to turn it on, I got the toothpaste and spread it across the brush. " Stick it into your mouth and push the button and gently and slowly move it over your back teeth." She put it into her mouth pushed the button and jumped, pulled it out, tooth paste goes all over and she looks at me like she has been shot. "I'm not going to do that, it hurts." was her reaction.

Trying not to laugh I took the brush said "Show me you front teeth." As I touched the brush to her front teeth she pulled back and covered her mouth with her hand. By now I cannot control my laughter. The timer has gone off on the brush and it will not come back on. As we wait for the timer to reset, I gently explain how to use the brush again. Try using it just like a regular brush.

Finally I say, "Sit down and let me brush your teeth." With both hands covering her mouth she sit down on the commode and looks at me with frightened eyes. " I promise, this will not hurt. You just need to hold it in one place and let it do the brushing and slowly move it around." "Huh uh" was the only sound behind the covered mouth.

By this time, I am wishing someone was getting this on tape as I am sure we could cash in on the big prize for Funniest Home Videos and I am just about to pee my pants from trying not to laugh. "Let's take a break and try this later. Here, just use your regular tooth brush and let me brush your teeth." Finally she agreed to move her hands and let me do the brushing.

After we finished and she rinsed I asked could we try one more time just so she will know that it does not hurt to have the sonic brush in your mouth. I turned the brush on and touched it to her front tooth, "not so bad huh?" Then I slid it around the side of her teeth. "See, it does all the work." "Open wide so I can get the top teeth, I'm almost done." as I pulled the brush out of her mouth she let out a sigh of relief as if I had been holding a gun.

We moved to the breakfast room and she started eating and looking at the paper. "How often am I supposed to use that thing?" she asked. "Twice a day is what he said." I replied. "Not on your life." she said as she raised the paper back in front of her face.

The Determination of Birds

2008-06-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Birds have got to be the most determined species on my front porch. If you recall I spoke some time back about the nest building going on right where I walk in the door. The ledge was the place of choice for the birds to build. I would rake the nest off and next week when I would get home I would have to rake it off again, Not to mention the birds diving at me each time I went out side.

I am assumming they knew I would tear down their nest if they continued in the same spot so they moved down the porch (away from the door) and built on a board with no ledge. Under the eve of the roof but where the droppings will fall on the ground. I left that one alone. Now there are baby birds. I captured these pictures in June 2008.

This is the nest built on the ledge that I tore down,Great construction.

The nest on the left is the one built without a ledge. Glued to the side of a board under the eve of the roof.

WALA...THERE IS A BIRD ALREADY!!!

It's All About Shoes

2008-06-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

From the time you start walking the focus is put on shoes. High tops tied with shoe strings to support the ankle.

Once you learn to walk it all goes by the way side.

Shoes are a source of comfort, discomfort, a feeling of pride and a compliment to any outfit. In fact some say shoes make the outfit.

There are inside shoes and outside shoes and inside shoes worn outside.

There are shoes to keep your feet warm and shoes to let your feet be cool. They come in all shapes size and colors!

There are shoes for walking and shoes for running and shoes for dancing. Some shoes are just made to look good.

I have a lot of shoes, I don't really know the number nor do I want too. I can always use another pair of shoes. My favorite shoes are not even called shoes. They are sneakers, sandals and BOOTS!
Shoe Quote of the Day:
Age shouldn't affect us. It's just like the size of our shoes - they don't determine how we live our life. You're either marvellous or you're boring, regardless of your age. --Author Unknown

The Wonders of Summer

2008-06-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

So, I finally found the time to take a few pictures around my environment. Just as I am planning on getting a new camera the old one turned out some good shots.

The beautiful Red Canna ! this is a dwarf variety. I have had these for about 20 years now. Each year they send up new shoots.

The pure white blossom of the Gardenia bush only last a day before it begins to turn yellow. The fragrance lingers on for weeks. Even as a dried flower the smell is wonderful. A summer breeze will spread the fragrance for quite a distance, especially at dusk. I pick a few blooms and float them in water to fill a room with this magic smell.

The pink cone flower grows as a native plant in south east Oklahoma. It is very hardy and multiplies each year. It also has good medical properties and is also known as echinacea.

I caught this little bee going from flower to flower. He certainly was busy today.

One of a million, tiny white blooms that form a dinner plate size flower. It grows from a small tree. I cut it down every year just after the bloom. I have no idea what it is called.

The following picture is looking at the same bloom from the bottom.

The awesome beauty of nature captivates me.

Getting Grandma on the Plane ...Part 2

2008-06-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

Lake Tahoe June 2008
Very nervously we approached the security area. With boarding passes in hand and an expired drivers license and Medicare card we breezed though and was setting at our gate with in ten minutes time. None of the hassle we had expected! DFW could not have been more accommodating .

All that worry was for naught. Grandma had some pizza and a drink and we waited for an hour to board. This being her first time to fly still brought some concern about air sickness. but no need to worry. She enjoyed every minute of the trip to Lake Tahoe and was excited to get dressed up and attend the wedding of her only grandson. We arrived at the Reno airport and met up with the wedding group coming from Houston.
None of the action escaped this 90 year old woman. She kept up with the youngest of the group and attended all the functions. Dinners, brunch, and a trip to the casino.

Day three and the wedding is set for sunset. Some confusion on the time for pictures to be taken and a blast of windy 43 degree weather began to take it's toll.

Grandma's sick stomach (someone handed her a glass of champagne) sent us back to the Hotel early and we packed up to leave the next morning. When we got to the airport in Reno we were pleased to find the flight scheduled before ours was open and we would have no wait at all.

Eager to get home we approached security with no nervousness. That is when it happened. Grandma was the one picked for the strip search.That's right, STRIP SEARCHED Grandma! No one could go with her and she didn't know what the heck was happening.She can't hear at all, just followed the signals. She said "What are they feeling for? pat here touch there." They didn't find her gun so we were allowed on the plane just minutes before take off.

This is making our final approach back to Dallas. What a great trip to remember!

Miss Morgan and Me

2008-05-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Miss Morgan is my granddaughter. She is 9 years old going on 19. I am amazed at the things that hold her interest. She likes bugs, creepy crawlers and slugs. She is a very good helper. Working makes her happy.

She likes to sing and would like to become a Star. She already is in my eyes. Once while at my house she left some writings and drawings laying in the play room. When I read one it said "Nanny, please tell God to make me a Star" I think she was about 6 years old then. Maybe 7.

Here we are, listening to 'Our Song' ..........We like our ipods and have alot of the same music downloaded.

Here we are in the back yard. She loves to come spend time we me and does every chance she gets. Sometimes prissy, always sweet, a granddaughter like her is hard to beat!

Around the House

2008-05-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Seems there is always something going on around my house. This week I discovered a pile of saw dust on my back steps. A carpenter bee has drilled a hole in the cedar board from the railing of the steps. No one gave permission for that.

Moved around to the front porch and there is a bird building a nest on the ledge of the porch. I actually was amazed at the precession of the bits of mud placed with straw and moss. No eggs yet and not the place I want bird droppings later so with not much pleasure I raked it off the ledge. For the next two days every time I went to the front porch birds were diving at me and I cleaned numerous spots where they are trying to build again. I placed a rubber snake on the ledge. I have heard that will keep them away. I already have a nest with eggs at the end of the porch undisturbed.

Grand kids were at my house and drinking from the garden hose seems to be a favorite thing to do.

It is just lovely outside. I live in the country and unfortunately that means all sorts of critters come visiting. I saw a snake in the back yard which prompted a new round of target practicing. I am using rat shot in a 22 pistol. The bigger holes are from larger guns used by the man of the house. I guess he thinks we could be invaded by Bears or something real big.

The Kids also found a cocoon, I think they tried to help it open so I'm not sure we will get a butterfly here.

What a wonderful life!

Getting Grandma on the Plane

2008-05-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Little did she know the lie she told at 16 would come back to haunt her 74 years later.

It all started when her grandson , who lives in Texas, decided to get married and have the wedding at Lake Tahoe. The only grand child she has. The son of the only child she has.

In 1918 birth certificates were not of real importance. When you started to school you went by grade not age. Most kids finished by age 12 and were working. Grandma had a good life. She had all the dreams of a young girl in that era so it was only natural that when she met her dream man she wanted to get married. All she had to do was say she was 18 even though she knew she was a couple of years shy.

She really didn't like the way her Mom had spelled her name so she took the horse by the reign and changed the spelling. Nothing drastic. trade a y for an i. Who would care? after all it is her name.

Life moved on. Husband went to war, child was born. Life was that of the American dream. Husband retired they lived some good years and then he passed leaving her with one single daughter and one grandson about 6 yrs old.

She moved from Oklahoma to Texas with the daughter and grandson and they became a family for the next 30 years.

When she moved from one state to the other she could not pass the drivers test to have her license renewed. There went that identification. No drivers license for 25 years.

Now its wedding time and Grandma has no identification. No drivers license and no birth certificate. Must have something to board the plane. One month till wedding time the Grandson drives his 90 year old deaf grandmother to the capitol of the State in which she was born in hopes of getting a birth certificate. No luck. No one by that name or that age. Censers proved to not have any information on this person.

Quote from daughter,
"stuff..please?There is always something to climb over isn't there? well, here it is.Still trying to get granny on the plane. I called the airlines and so did Kevin (different times and people we spoke to) same information.

Get her there at 7:10 am, put her in wheelchair to go through security, because it will take awhile for them to OK her. She has to have her SS card and her visa debit card with picture and any other government documents I can get, they say it will take awhile to do this. But they say it will happen. Same at Reno to come back!!!!!! This worries me!!

Oh yes they said our plane leaves at 9:15 and not 9:30 as it is on our tickets. Today I sent money and a new form for her birth certificate including copy of the 1930 census, and added myself on request as next of kin, to Okla. City. I hope she gets this and it gets here, however her name is spelled Sybil and she spells it Sibyl!!!!This woman has caused some pain this last month. I don't know if this would help, also sent $ and refilled for passport and I don't think it would get back here on time if it is approved!!!!! She is disappointed big time."

Here's the plan, be at the air port early, real early. have her medicare card and bank debit card with a photo on it and put her in a wheel chair. here she is. She is Grandma trying to get to her only Grandson's wedding. Any mercy to be found in the day of national security? We will see.

Maybe we will take this picture as proof of age. To be continued..........

45 Years Later

2008-05-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

May 19, 2008

Today being the 45th wedding anniversary for me gives reason to look back and reflect on my life.To see the things I have accomplished and the times I've failed.

Would I change if I could? I'm not sure, maybe I have. I don't think I could wish for a life better than I have. My material wealth is ample to live the life I enjoy. I am living the American dream of a pot and a window. No kids in jail or on welfare and smart grand kids. No payments to make and a check coming in. Living in the Southern lap of luxury.

I have a wonderful group of people who make up my family. We are not perfect and we all make mistakes but we all love each other very much. We have gone from 2 to 4 to 11.

I have a wonderful home in the foothills of the Kiamichi mountains of south eastern Oklahoma. Wide open spaces to dream and soak up the sun. A place of peace and solitude. A place of laughter and joy. Roots from the very beginning. We raised our kids here and are getting to play with our grand kids here.

The verse on the card I got this year goes like this:

We've seen each other grumpy.and we've seen each other glad.

We've seen some good behavior and of course we've seen some bad.

You've even seen me floss, and adore me more each day.

I've seen you with a runny nose and love you anyway.

You've seen me in my baggy sweats and think I'm kinda cute.

I've seen you dressed up to the nines and in your birthday suit.

We've seen the worst We've seen the best

And like we always knew:

No matter what life's ups and downs...WE'LL SEE EACH OTHER THROUGH!

Today has been a Hallmark greeting card day. Time has a way of getting by in a hurry. I can remember when 45 was old. Married 45 years! Some good, some bad. In the words of the song. regrets, I've had a few, but then again to few to mention.

Oh, the experience of "The Love of a Life Time" To know the meaning of True Love, to have and give true love. The thrill of it all. A memory is a lasting gift. Love really is forever. Family is the fuel of my fire. My light is shining.

A Replacement for Me.

2008-05-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Working as a caregiver can be very challenging and having to be off can be very confusing to the person you are caring for.

I have been staying every other week with an 80 year old who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's for three years now. Her condition has slowly changed to not fully understanding what is going on around her and to becoming very nervous about change.

My life has taken a tremendous change because of my decision to take this job. I don't think I fully realized what I was getting into and I know I had no idea that it would last this long.

The money is very good and my financial condition has changed for the better over the last three years. Now my commitment as a caregiver is surely based on my loyalty to my patient.

About a year ago my youngest grandson was diagnosed with a rare disease called Kawasaiki Disease. No known cause or cure. A very scarey thing. He was 3 years old. I researched the subject as much as possible and tried to not worry and expect the best outcome. This far things have gone fairly good. He had the anti-bodies recommended and all the test done regurlarly. Upper respiritory is a big concern with this and a common cold can turn into pneumonia over night. This has happened twice within the last year. Trips to the Children's Hospital where the most edcuated Doctors are found are not really giving any answers to the problems he is incurring.

It is very hard to not be able to leave for the hospital as soon as I know he is having to return there. I feel as a Mother that I should be there for my grandchild and for my daughter. The last time he was hospitalized it took a day and a half to get a replacement for myself to be able to leave my job. That is when I realized just how hard it is to find a replacement for me.

If you have ever been the sole caregiver for someone with alzehimers you will understand the difficulty of change in that person's life. Sometimes just going out of the house can get them confussed. They forget where they are and they forget where they are going. I suppose later in the process of the disease they forget who they are and will forget who you are and then the process of change will not be so diffulicult on either.

The condition of the person I am careing for is just beginning to reach the point where she feels completely comfortable with me and trust that I can answer any question she may have about the things she can't remember. Any change in our routine can set off a state of confussion that makes her realize she is totally dependant on someone else and does not want to be left alone or with a stranger.

My problem is introducing another person into her life long enough for her to remember them so they can stay when I need to leave for and emergency or for a vacation or break.

I have been blessed with a trusted friend who is willing to take the replacement job. I am just finishing a 5 day training seccesion where we have both stayed here and she has become accuainted with the replacement. I am going home in the morning so I can attend the graduation of my oldest grandson from high school.

One day at a time. We only have a choice as to what we do today. Today I am feeling pretty good about being able to replace me. I will face my next challenge when it occures.

City Living

2008-04-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

The cost of living in the city is unreal. This week has had a few little extra things thrown in for flavor. There was a little thunderstorm that blew through with some wind and broke a limb off a cedar tree in front of the garage. The Tree Surgeon had to be called to remove the limb before we could get the car out of the garage. $300.00. It took 10-15 minutes. I know the equipment was very expensive but that is $1200.00 per hour.

After the storm blew through it brought cooler temperatures in. The furnace, which is brand new, failed to light .....a service call to the Heat &Air company to lite a new furnace that is still under warranty...$69.00. There is no warranty on the cost of fuel for a service call.

The leaves from the trees filled the gutters and allowed the water to back up on the roof causing a leak in the library. Gutter cleaning and repair. Three people, three hours. Cost $541.00. That is about $49.00 per hour, per person. No equipment. They used our water hose and water.

A critter moved into the attic and decided to make enough noise that no one could sleep. Called Pest Control. They came out, brought a live trap put a few pecans and a can of cat food in for bait and said to call them when we catch something. Cost. $189.00. About 30 minutes. It actually took longer to write the invoice than it did to set the trap. They used our ladder. Trap cost $39.95. It is still thiers. Labor to set trap $150.00. That is about $300.00 per hour.

That is a total of $1099.00. We still have not caught the critter. Still don't know where the roof leak is and still have 4 days of this week left.

Springtime

2008-04-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

Spring time is the time for color. Early blooms often get bit back by late frost in the south eastern corner of Oklahoma. Some years are better than others for different flowers. Some flowers make it no matter how the weather goes. We had a late frost the middle of april and a light frost last night. No wisteria this year and the red and yellow (quince and forsythia) blooms turned brown after the frost got them. Here are a few things that survived.

Jonquils bloom @ the first sign of spring

Tulips (Hardy) the original bulbs were planted about 15 years ago. They have never been taken up or divided.

White Violets....given to me by a friend.
Purple violets grow native in SE Oklahoma but not white.

Sweet William..native to the south eastern corner of Oklahoma. Grows along the roadway in poor soil.

Shasta Daisies re seed themselves and come back next year.

Spiderwort grows native to my area and comes in purple, blue and white. Will grow in woodland but makes a nice round mound in full sun. Blooms open in cloudy or overcast and close in full sunlight. Best bloom time early morning and late afternoon.

Sunday In Oklahoma

2008-04-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday...... It is the last day of the week or is it the first day of the week? Which ever it is supposed to be the day of rest. It is raining here again. I took this picture out the window of the dining room. Cool too! I set the thermostat on 65 degrees and the heat came on early this morning and again around noon.

Sundays just happens to be the Breakfast Day @ Grammye's house. My 11 year old grandson lives across the pasture. First thing when he gets up, is to come to my house for breakfast. Bacon and eggs (over easy) are his favorite. When he gets to standing over my shoulder, looking like this, I know it's time to stop what I am doing and cook.

While I am at it, I may as well have breakfast too, even if it is 2 p.m., and the second time I have had bacon and eggs today.

While I clean the kitchen and continue to pack for next week, I can hear the microwave popping corn. The T.V. channel switches from the weather channel and I haven't even looked to see what the weather forecast is projecting. On his way to the bedroom, to turn the T.V. on in there, he tells me " Thanks, That is the best meal I have ever had." I yell back with "I've heard that before." I turned the T.V. in the living room back to the weather channel, walk to the bedroom and this is what I see.

Is it a good day at Grammye's? It was today.

Saturday @ Home

2008-04-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

The best of today..........Home. Twelve hours without looking at another person. Twelve hours to concentrate on my life. Twelve hours to look around me and be thankful. A few e-mails and a couple of phone calls are all that kept me from complete solitude today. Except for the dog.

The week end for me has become a time of transition. My work week runs from Monday to Monday. I am always spending Sunday getting ready to go in one direction or the other. Usually I have something to do with someone else on Saturday but not today. I used the time to do things of pleasure. I layed in the sun a while. No more sun on my face but I need a little bit of a tan on my legs before the wedding.

I'm in my own santuary surrounded by the beauty of Mother Nature. A place where I have spent many hours planting, trimming,cleaning and literally looking the daylights out of it more than one time. Look just as long as I could see. Until it gets dark. I am also fortunate enough to have a great view of the sky and the beauty abounds there also. I am aware that many people never get the chance to ' just drop out ' for a day. I am thankful for that and the great deck I have to "drop" on. Built by the hands of this family. A place of many gatherings. Many fun times. Today it was empty except for me. I put new cushions on the chairs and I'm ready for the next gathering of the minds. Come on over..............to a little place in Oklahoma.

Friday for Butterflies

2008-04-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today was a free day. Nothing urgent to get done and most all the upkeep of the place done for this week. It looks so pretty.

These butterflies were very nice and stayed in place until I could get the camera and get close enough to capture the image.

The butterflies are beautiful. The picture just don't show the texture and the color. Love is like a butterfly....Dolly Pardon said that! Yeah! I finally got the picture. enjoy.........

What Today Was About

2008-04-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

Today has been a real joy. It was cloudy this morning but the day ended with cooler temperatures and the sun shinning. I guess you could call it the calm after the storm. The strong storms went to the south of here. We just got the rain. I wish I had already learned how to insert pictures. I took a picture of the rock that has a natural bowl that holds about five gallons of water. It is full of water from the big rains and the reflection is great. I will show it when I figure out how. I also got a picture of some butterflies. Those too will get posted.

My oldest daughter stopped by this afternoon and dropped off a pot of minature red roses. Thanks for helping her plant the retaining wall in her front yard. She planted shock wave petunias. They too will get a picture when they get going good.

My eleven year old grandson can't believe his Grammye is bloging now. He said "You know Grammye, two years ago you didn't even have a computer and now you have friends from England sending you gifts." "How many cyber friends do you have anyway?" I thought about it for awhile. I have had a computer for about a year and a half. I really didn't use it for much...e-mail...journals.

Until I quit smoking. That was July 4th 2007. I started in a group of quitters on the SSC. I began to learn from them how to get around that site. I started learning more about life and my way around the computer. Friends, I have several and am making more all the time. My world has expanded.

I see the picture has loaded now. I will explain how I came about getting a rock which holds 5 gallons of water. My son-in-laws father found the rock in the hills of Oklahoma, just north of where we live. He carried it out in a VW bug. In the late 60's. He later moved to Alabama and took the rock with him. When he moved back to Oklahoma he brought it back. The last time he moved he gave the rock to his son, who in turn brought the rock to me. They placed it in my angel garden by the patio. I have had the rock for about ten years now. I love it.

It is My Choice

2008-04-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

CHOICES

Why does it become necessary to learn the same lesson twice? Why do I always remember the good and try to overlook the obvious? Why must I have to stay on guard all the time. I am never able to let down my defenses or become relaxed enough to just be myself and feel that is good enough.

Busily I begin each day with the feeling of ‘something’s just not right’ . The thoughts that dominate my movements are almost paralyzing. I am in a universe alone. I am totally in control of what I do. What is it I need to do to shake this feeling of discontent.

Is it possible that I will learn to live life by my self ? What is so scary about that any way? Is it a feeling of being with someone and being yourself. The simple thought of knowing someone else is in the house in case you want to talk to someone. Someone to share thoughts and dreams with. Someone you trust. Someone you can depend on to be there for you. Someone your not taking care of because they are not capable of caring for themselves. Some one to respect and show love to.

It is comforting to realize that I have all these things, they are just scattered out and under many roofs, just not under one, as it used to be. What are my responsibilities as the Matriarch of my family now. Scattered as they are. A clear view of what I want my life to be has yet to come into focus. I am searching my sole and asking God for guidance. My hope is that I wander alone no more. I am capable of being free. It is my choice. It is my choice.

My First Short Story "Dick Head"

2008-04-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Dick Head
This title may appear a bit odd to begin with but really it is the Name of my first cousin on my Daddy’s side. Daddy had a sister named Lou. She married a man by the name of Frank Head. They had a son and they named him Dick. The first funeral I ever remember going to was for that sister. I don’t know how old she was or how she died but I do know that Daddy was carrying me in his arms as we passed by the casket and he leaned down and kissed her and that was way too close for me. Guess that’s why the memory stuck. I think I was around two years old.
Daddy was from a large family and we traveled around and stayed with them all one time or another. That sister must have been quite a bit older than Daddy because he and Dick were around the same age. When I was four or five we made a trip to California with the Heads. Dick and Opal and their kids. Daddy had a 1940 Chevy pickup and The Heads had an older flat bed truck. Both trucks were black. In fact I think all trucks were black then. We may have been in the migration from Oklahoma to California just a few years later than the dust bowl story. Still we were making the trip out to work in the fields picking strawberries, cherries, green beans and anything else that needed picking.
There were four kids in our family and the Heads had six kids so all together we were traveling in a group of fourteen. Me and my little brother rode in the cab with Mother and Daddy and the two older kids rode in the back. The Heads had a couch and a bed on the back of their flat bed truck. That is where their kids rode. Most of the time we followed them just in case someone fell off. We would stop along side the road before dark. Build a camp fire and Mother and Opal would fry potatoes and onions and make pan cakes and we would all eat and talk about what we were going to do with all the money we would make in California. I believe we took the southern route that trip because we would have frozen had we gone over the Rockies besides that was my first experience with cactus and those stickers that grow in south Texas and Arizona. Goat heads and cactus, natures most painful way of saying don’t go there. Dick Head had six kids and two of those were twin boys. Their names were Ed and Ned. Ed Head and Ned Head. Needless to say the Head family was not the sharpest cheese on the cracker. Opal was hair lipped and hard to understand and done a lot of screaming and crying. She mostly cried as she picked goat heads from the feet of Ed and Ned. ‘Lord let us make enough money to buy these kids shoes before my fingers are completely ruined’ ‘Lord keep the snakes and stinging scorpions off the mattress tonight” ‘Lord let these potatoes last till we make California.’ Now all this was translated to me by Mother as we laid in the back of the pick up truck on our own mattress. We would laugh at the weirdness of that family and thank God we had shoes. I don’t know how long It took to make that trip or exactly what year it was. Somewhere between 1948 and 1950.
Daddy was a carpenter and quite skilled. A trade he learned from one of his older brothers. He often worked just long enough to re supply the box in the back of the truck with potatoes onions and flour and get money for gas and we would move on. Dick Head was his helper. We would have camp set up just off the road outside whatever town they found work in and that is where we stayed until they came back. The women the kids and the flat bed truck that no one knew how to drive. Daddy liked to drink and so did Dick. There were several times that they would celebrate their new found fortune by getting drunk and returning to camp in the middle of the night after payday. It is probably a good thing I couldn’t understand Opal because her voice would carry like the wind across the desert in the middle of the night. By the time we got to California Mother so wanted to never see those people again.
We got to Bakersfield and that is where we had other relatives. There we stayed in a house with electric lights. That in its self was scary. The very first night we were there they had an earth quake. The light bulb was hanging from a cord in the ceiling and it began to swing back and forth. We were scared silly and didn’t know what to do. How do you take cover from an earth quake? Luckily it was minor and only lasted a few seconds but needless to say we didn’t sleep much that night.
Daddy found work for the entire family our first day there. Picking strawberries. We moved to the farm and he quickly built us a shack out of scrap boards and an old tent. We would stay and work on the farm but the Head Family moved on to other relatives in northern California. They were headed to grape country. I don’t recall seeing any of them again until 1991.That year Mike and I went back to Bakersfield on a pipeline job and Ed was in the phone book. He was about ten years older than me and had totally different memories but they too were about poor migrant workers who drank too much and drug their families through hell. Drinking men with good women to cook and care for the kids.

a Bit about Me.

2008-04-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

My Life
I married Mike in 1963. It was the end of his senior year and the end of my junior year. We were 17 & 18 years old. We both came from dysfunctional families and we were determined to have a family of our dreams. We had two daughters., 5 ½ years apart. Mike started working in Pipeline construction that his family had done a couple of generations before him. He was adopted by this family at the age of 4. I was from a family of 8. My father was an alcoholic and my Mother was a stay at home, could not drive, no income very tolerant woman. I was determined to break the chain of addiction that ran in my family. As it turned out the family I married into was as bad or worse than the one I grew up in.
Mike and I grew up together. He had a lot of the old fashioned ideas of his grandfather. A woman shouldn’t work…ect. Getting married was the only goal I had . Pipeline const is a seasonal job and there was never enough money to get us thru to the next job. It was okay for me to work at something that would supplement us until the next job and then I would quit and be a stay at home mom. I worked as a waitress at the local restaurant many different years. Never had any training and never started a career. Looking back it just seems like life happened. My Mom had a stroke, I moved into the house with Mother and Daddy to take care of her. That was in 1991. I moved her and Daddy into a nursing home two years later. None of the 5 siblings I have were willing to help. Daddy died in 1997 and Mother in 2000. I always stayed at home though the school years. The kids and I traveled to wherever Mike was working in the summers. We have been in every state except Hawaii and to Old Mexico and Canada. There were lots of good times. In many ways I have had a blessed life. We just never seemed to accomplish much. We had a house (built on land left to us by Mikes folks) that had never been finished. We camped a lot. Mike liked to hunt and fish and we lived his life. As time passed , I found myself almost re-living my Mother’s life. I was married to an alcoholic and had no training to be able to support myself. I have two grown daughters who do not want to raise their children in that invirment . I felt a need to set a better example for them to follow.
I was broken hearted to learn that my husband of 40 years would rather move than make any changes about his drinking. Family gatherings had become big drama events because of his drinking. The kids began refusing to gather at our house. In 2003 Mike agreed to move into what we call the camp House. It is just down the road on the other end of our property. We agreed that if either of us felt a divorce was necessary we would do the simple changing of deeds. He went back to work and I also got a job. The same one I have now. I stay with a wealthy Lady in Dallas who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. I’m going on my third year there and she and I are both better than when I started. I still don’t know how I got to where I am. I just know that it is not all that bad. Mike has been working in Houston now for 2 years. He has continued to pay the regular bills and his union retirement gets deposited into our account. We have managed to stay friends and talk almost daily. He has saved enough money to build himself a cabin across the creek and I have been able to finish the house I live in. That is if you ever really get finished on your home. Seems I keep a project going all the time. I love working in the yard , I think that is a start as to telling you who I am………right now.

The Best of Today......In my World

2008-04-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

For some time now I have considered starting a blog. I had in mind a place I could run to for solitude and privacy. Boy, it that ever contradicting? Publish on the web! writing for all to read. Private in the way of only who you tell and whoever happens by will know. Is anyone really going to care about my day? Maybe it is going to be my way of keeping up with my own day! Yes, that is what it is going to be. My way to keep up with my day!

Ohh, I think this is going to bring out the best in me. Make me aware of all the whinning I do that is so unnessary. The sunny is starting to break through the clouds and life seems brighter.~ Pollye