Thoughts From The Porch Swing

You gotta love Missouri weather!

2012-01-11T22:46:00.006-06:00

We've had beautiful weather in the 50's this past week but tonight the wind is roaring and we're getting our first snow with temperatures dipping down into the teens. That's Missouri weather for you. I've noticed my Day Lilies are thinking it is Spring and sending little green sprouts up to test the weather. Good thing they are tough!

I'm not a cold weather kind of person but enjoying tonight spending time sitting by the fire. I'm also getting my Spring seed catalogs in the mail and that gives me reading material while sitting by that said fire. But alas, it also gives me Spring fever and I want to get outside .

This snow storm will be short lived cause by the weekend we are suppose to be back in the high 50's. That's Missouri for you folks. Gotta love it and I wouldn't live anywhere else!

Time to welcome in 2012

2011-12-31T19:54:00.002-06:00

The count down is on to letting go of the old and embracing the new. May the New Year bring you peace and happiness and all good things. We live in troubling times but each of us has the opportunity to put our lives in the hands of One who can guide us each day. My prayer for this year is that I trust that One and that I hear His Voice directing me in the way to go. I am also thankful for my many friends and my family. Faith, Family, Friends. Anything else is only a temporary fix and won't bring true happiness.

Happy New Year and may 2012 be the best yet!

It's a Log Home kind of Christmas...

2011-12-25T22:48:00.002-06:00

It's that time of year again. That magical time we call Christmas. When families get together and the world just seems to be a nicer place. I took advantage of the new porch railing this year to put up some garland and red bows. How festive it looks!
I especially like this year cause the weather is hanging around the 55 to 60 degree mark. How great is that? Christmas and warm weather. Best of both worlds. I'm sure snow will get here some day but for today, I'm lovin it!

Don't we look great after dark?

I didn't have room to put up the Christmas tree upstairs in the Bed and Breakfast part of the house so put it up downstairs. Forgot how beautiful my tree looks all decorated with family ornaments that I have been collecting over the years.

These two stockings belong to my two youngest kids. A sweet neighbor lady made these when the kids were about 3 and 6. They hold a special place in my heart. Haven't convinced myself to turn loose of them and give them to the kids yet though. Seeing them hanging in the window makes me smile. Do you have things that make you smile? Everyone should have you know.

I unpacked and put up the ceramic nativity this year also. They've been packed away for several years. It's time to take out the things we hold precious and enjoy them. Life is short. Live it! And my guess is those coming after me may not see my treasures as precious as I do. Just ask my daughter. We have a joke at my house. When Rachel likes something I own she says "Put my name on the back of that." When I was a little girl, my grandma Lizzie would write the names on the back of her stuff so everyone would know who she wanted certain things to go to after she was gone. Alas, when she passed away, most of her stuff was put in an auction. Names on the back or not. Pity! If my kids auction my stuff off after I am gone, I will come back and haunt them. If that is possible. Beware and forewarned!

Out of the closet came my giant angel and I made her the star of the mantle. I kinda like her up there. When I turn the lights off and just leave on the Christmas lights, the room looks so beautiful. I love lighting the fireplace and enjoying the beauty that only a crackling fire can add to a room. I think I am a "kicked up a notch Walton." Just call me Olivia Joyce Walton. Nana for short. And surround me with friends and family. I'll be happy....

I needed more seating for my Log Cabin Bed and Breakfast so bought this chair with a matching couch and ottoman. I think it looks great surrounded with my Christmas ornaments. I have ballerina's , dolls, rocking horses, nutcrackers. All special things to me. And on the floor is my collection of books with pictures of days gone by.

My goal is to make my log home not only a special place for me but also a special place for others who might be wanting a place to get away in a country setting. A place to enjoy some special time with family and friends. I believe God will draw those He wants to this place. Maybe it will be those searching for a place to get away from their busy lives for a few days of solitude in a log cabin setting. Or maybe it will be those in need of physical or emotional healing. Maybe it will be those wanting to spend some quality time with family they don't see often and want their get-together to be special. I am so excited to be able to share my home with others.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and Holiday season! God is good and I am so glad I am His child and He sent His Son to die for me so I can live forever! Let's don't forget what the Christmas season is really all about. The birth of a Savior. Hope for a world without hope.

Merry Christmas my friends!

Family Reunion--Hicks Style

2011-10-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Hicks family hasn't gotten everyone together since mom's funeral and my dad decided he wanted a family reunion. So today we gathered out at the place we grew up at which is where my dad still lives. We had a great time visiting and catching up on our lives since we last saw one another and even though we missed having mom be with us everyone found happiness in the day. Many of us has had traumatic things happen in our lives over the past few years but each of us has many blessings to be thankful for. My dad asked God's blessing upon us and then it was time to eat...

Food is always a big part of any reunion and ours was no exception. The best part to me was my dad's catfish fried outside under the gazebo.

Cousins that don't get to see each other much had a great time playing with each other. Now is a good time to instill the belief that family ties are strong and love for one another is never ending, We must teach our children families are not something we throw away. We may not be perfect but we have something in common and that is we all came from the same lineage. Good, bad and ugly--we are family forever...

Glad Justin isn't too big to show his momma how much he loves her. It's a good thing to teach our children to not only tell one another they love them but to show it.

We took pictures of my mom and dad's grand kids and great-grand kids along the barn wall. This barn has been here since I was a child and it has seen many kids playing at it's feet. When I was little I would sit on the concrete step and crack walnuts and eat them. It seemed like such a large barn when I was small but seems to have shrunk over the years. Another sign I am getting older I see.

Years ago my dad and mom lined their grandchildren up and took their picture along this same barn. Today we not only lined those original grand kids up but added an additional generation to the mix. This pic is of that generation. It is a good reminder to us that time waits on no man and to enjoy our children while they are young cause they grow up way too fast and have children of their own.

And here's some of the original grand kids whose names have been carved into the concrete wall behind the old barn. This is the generation that is following after us and will go out and make their mark in the world. And the generation that will some day be taking care of us their parents. Hope we have done a good job instilling Godly values in each of them. And may each of their lives be full of blessings!

And here's the youngest of the clan I do believe. Gracie has already learned there is something special about little ones feet hasn't she? And big brother seems to think his baby brother is pretty special...

Frying catfish on the outdoor deep-fryer on this perfect Fall day...

The older generation taking time to chat with the younger generation about life I am sure.

And grandparents spending some time loving on their grandchildren.

Nothing beats sitting in the shade while a gentle breeze blows laughing with one another.

This reminded me of how my mom loved letting babies chew on her chin. Carol and her grand baby are carrying on the tradition I guess you could call it. I'm sure mom was smiling down from heaven at this sight.

I noticed the boys seemed to love playing in the dirt. Sometimes learning to play with the simple toys is the best. I remember playing in the dirt out in the road when I was a kid building roads and tunnels for my stick cars to drive down. And those kind of toys don't cost a thing!

Are these boys cool dudes or what?

Little Gracie calls all us girls Nana maybe cause she can't remember our names and we all look like Grandmas. Does my heart good to hear her call me Nana and come running to the car with the too big shirt she had found to wear flapping in the breeze behind her as she runs to meet me.

I like this picture best of all. Gracie's little brother Trooper is such a delight. And she is such a good big sister too. Hope she always loves her baby brother as much as she does now.

Hope you enjoyed my Hicks Family Reunion pictures. And hope you too have a love for geneology and a desire to learn as much as you can about the ancestors that have went on before you. What was their life like? What kind of trials and disappointments and tramatic things did they have to walk through in their lives? Did it bring them closer together or tear them apart? I enjoy visiting with my dad and my dad's only living sibling about their lives. And I listen closely because they will both be gone someday and I will be the only one that will be able to answer the questions my children and grandchildren will someday be asking me about their relatives that are no longer with us. I am a family oriented person and proud of it and hope you are too! And if you are not now is a good time to become that kind of person with your own family!

Not everyone could make it to this family reunion but we certainly did have a good sized crowd. We'll do it again and maybe even make it a family tradition!

Bed and Breakfast Promotion

2011-08-28T21:24:00.003-05:00

To celebrate our grand opening we will be doing a drawing this coming Friday for a free nights stay at the Bed and Breakfast. If you want to submit your name go to the facebook page for The Gathering Place and click "like". You will automatically be entered. Good luck!

Ribbon cutting ceremony...

2011-08-23T02:13:00.002-05:00

Our ribbon cutting ceremony was today at our local Chamber of Commerce. Looking forward to this new adventure in my life! And meeting friends from near and far!

We're on the web!

2011-07-26T09:41:00.004-05:00

I'm on a new adventure which is both a bit exciting and scares me at the same time. The Bed and Breakfast Retreat is ready to be open to the public and we are now on the web. Check us out at http://www.countrygatheringplace.com/ I have already had several friends and pastors stay with us and looking forward to seeing what doors God opens up in the future. If you're looking for a place to get away in the country please check us out and give us a call.

The Gathering Place-A Country Bed and Breakfast Retreat

2011-07-10T21:51:00.009-05:00

Things are changing here on the homestead. I am going to be running the upstairs part of the house as a Bed and Breakfast and Retreat Center.

I want this to be a place where God will draw those He wants to come who are in need of a place to step away from their busy lives and enjoy some country downtime. I am hoping it will be a place for reflection, not only on where you are at in life but also the direction you are wanting your life to take you. A place to enjoy God's creation and for maybe only a short while , a place to return to a simpler life and time. We're located just outside Nevada, Mo on a country road. Come see us!

My goal is to be up and operating before the students return to our local Cottey College for young ladies. Gotta get busy!

Keep me in your prayers as I start on this new venture!

Check it out at http://www.countrygatheringplace.com/

It's the Bees!

2011-05-07T22:09:00.003-05:00

Our neighbor brothers stopped by the house and told us there was a swarm of bees by their house so Tool Belt Jim and a little more cautious photographer headed that direction to check it out. Not sure if this is stupidity or bravery but Tool Belt Jim climbed up on a ladder to take a close up picture. He could even touch them and they didn't notice. So he decided the was going to try to put them in a box.

This is what a swarm of bees look like. One large mass of bees. He did shake the bees off into a box but alas they escaped. But not before one of them stung him. Well, that was an experience I'm not sure I want to photograph again. Watch my video below...

Flowers are blooming on the homestead...

2011-05-07T21:54:00.003-05:00

New chicks on the homestead...

2011-05-03T21:19:00.002-05:00

Grandson Mark brought a couple baby chicks home from his school and Kaden finds them fascinating. So back out comes the heat light and the little box. One of the little chicks sounds just like a song bird and just sings and sings...

Kaden thinks they are wonderful..

you can touch them very gently...

Not sure if we will keep these two even though I do have a couple hens wanting to set on some eggs. I was hoping to get some guinea eggs for them though. Don't you just love being able to live in the country so the little ones can watch the baby animals and chicks?

Brave or nuts?

2011-05-03T21:05:00.004-05:00

Our neighbors came down to the house tonight and said they had a swarm of bees up by their house. So everyone jumped in the truck and headed down to see. Some of us kept our distance and some of us wanted a close up shot.
Tool Belt Jim even petted the bees. Maybe they won't sting while they are swarming? Probably should have researched it a bit before touching them is my thinking. But they didn't seem to pay much attention to him.

Isn't nature incredible?

New boots to wear down to the chicken house....

2011-04-30T20:51:00.003-05:00

Our local Vinyards Farm store is going out of business and they had their shoe ware 45 percent off. I picked up these nifty boots. Don't you think my chickens will be blinded when they see these coming at them? Bring on the mud! I am ready!!! Why go through life wearing plain when you can have pizazz....

Celebrating Easter Down on the Homestead...

2011-04-24T21:08:00.009-05:00

Family and friends from the Hicks side gathered once again down on the homestead to celebrate Easter. Food was wonderful, laughter was abundant and good times rolled. There is nothing better than knowing you are part of a group of people who truly care about one another. We laugh together and we cry together. Today we celebrated being a family together. Kids and adults both enjoyed getting outside for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. We missed those that couldn't be with us this year including our mom who was probably smiling at us from heaven. Hope you too spent this day with your family and friends. I am so thankful that today is the day we celebrate the resurrection! God is good to us! Hope you enjoy our family pictures!
Angie made these adorable cupcakes...

Rachel made a bunny cake...

Brenda also made a bunny cake. The kids loved them!

Chocolate covered strawberries! Adding a little class to our menu!

We played games and listened to John play the guitar while we waited for everyone to arrive.

I knew this little table would come in handy. Bought it at the Maranatha auction for $5.00

This was little Maddy's first Easter and she loved all the attention.

Aunt Jennifer and cousin Katrina with Maddy who everyone thinks looks like her Uncle Kevin

Gracie stopped for a moment to show off her pretty dress.

Everyone enjoyed coloring the Easter eggs.

Charity helping the little ones....

Charity helping Noah ....

Ty giving Trooper a bird's eye view of the playing field.....

Someone got kinda creative when they were hiding the eggs didn't they?

Some of us watched the activities from the porch.

The adults hid the eggs for the little ones.

Gracie took a break from hunting for eggs to check out the big trucks...

Nothing is sweeter than seeing the smiles on our kids faces...

Wasn't that fun? We'll get together again soon. Don't take your families for granted. Spend as much time with them as you can. Support them, encourage them and love them!

Hosting the Easter dinner....

2011-04-23T15:55:00.002-05:00

I'm hosting the Easter dinner for my side of the family this year and things are moving right along. Had a friend who had fired up his smoker yesterday so took the ham and turkey in to be smoked. Stuffed some candy in plastic eggs and picked up the paper supplies I will need for the dinner. Looking forward to watching the little ones color and have a Easter egg hunt as well as visiting with my family. I love family gatherings!

By the way, hope you know Easter is really the time we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His defeat of Satan so we could live a life free from sin while here on this earth. That's good news and worth celebrating!

Enjoy your Easter celebration!

Downsizing the "little flock"...

2011-04-22T07:08:00.002-05:00

I've got too many chickens so am moving 3 of my Polish Crested chickens and my little Sebright rooster to another home today. The rooster had both a coon and a opossum try to get to him while he was in his cage overnight. He's probably in need of some counseling by now. He was clucking just like a chicken and I had to go outside and scare off the wildlife. The new owner has recently bought a pair of peacocks so now I'm not the only peacock owner in this part of the world. Another chicken lover...How great is that???? Maybe I can visit sometime....Enjoy your new home!

Class of 69 reunion

2011-03-13T15:23:00.012-05:00

Tool Belt Jim graduated from a small school and because one of his classmates is back in town from Alaska it seemed a fitting time to get everyone together. Here's some pictures from the great Class of 69's school reunion!

Stories were once again retold of good times experienced during their days of being a student. I remember hearing something about yellow dresses alike..... and class trips ....and teachers...and....

And everyone loved going through old yearbooks ... notice daughter Rachel is here. She wasn't about to miss out on hearing any good stories from her dad's school days! Oh yes, I took advantage of my scanner to get some good pictures of Tool Belt Jim in his younger days!

Nothing like sitting around the table with friends whom you once shared a lot in common.

And we found it usually took several of us to figure out these complicated cameras!

And here's our own Mule Skinner with classmate Julie who is here from Alaska...

and you notice Julie didn't come alone! She brought her own little friend with her. Kaden was there for a little while and he was intrigued with this little fella too!

Everyone seemed to enjoy this little reunion. It's been way too long and there was lots of catching up to do.

Old friends of mine from way back were also there. Charlotte is also part of this graduating class!

Tool Belt Jim had a good time also. I enjoyed just watching the smiles on faces as each person came through the door.

More camera problems. They have all these settings with things like timers and delays and complicated stuff. That's why it is always good to have someone like daughter Rachel around to help us get back on track.

It was a beautiful night to enjoy the deck. And Tool Belt Jim even gave a tour of my chickens! Bet I'm the only one that has such cool chickens and don't forget peacocks!

And here's Mule Skinner checking to see who is out on the deck! Caught him huh?

I had the most enjoyable time listening and watching these girls laugh together. Makes me wish my graduating class wasn't so large. We barely knew one another and these classmates were like brothers and sisters. How fun!

And of course the men talked about ....well....who knows....men stuff!

Laughter was the sound heard most often all evening actually!

Everyone wanted to see pictures of kids and grand kids. How fast time flies! We forgot to see who had the most kids and grand kids but I bet Tool Belt Jim might have the most grand kids with a total of 14...

We know Julie came the furthest from Alaska. Another couple came from Oklahoma. But many live in our local area. My guess is there will be many more down the road! It was great fun!

Girl talk!

And Mule Skinner carried on the tradition we have at our house of blowing the horn any time we have a gathering at the homestead! And that thing is loud!! Just ask his wife Lola! I am so glad I got to be a part of this gathering of friends who grew up together, went to a small rural school together and graduated together. May they always stay close friends and may there be many more reunions to celebrate!

Making utensils by hand...

2011-02-06T00:48:00.004-06:00

Tool Belt Jim is waiting out the snow by doing some woodworking. He made these utensils today. Pretty cool!

Pictures from the Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-05T23:39:00.008-06:00

When word came in that the snow storm was predicted to be 12 to 20 inches deep we at our local Red Cross office began to make plans in case we would have to set up a shelter. Our local Fire Dept. pulled our Mass Care trailer to our local designated shelter location. Being prepared is part of what we do!

I decided to stay in town at my little townhouse since our Red Cross volunteers were turning in their availability. I knew snow drifts much worse at my house in the country and there was the possibility I would not be able to get back into town if I was needed. Tool Belt Jim loaded my truck with extra weight but without 4 wheel drive or front wheel drive I still don't get good traction.

Thankfully, my neighbor let me park my truck in his drive so I could get it off the street. Nothing is worse than having the snow plow come by and bury your vehicle in piles of snow. I was so thankful I did before the night was over! I heard that snow plow coming by in the middle of the night!

I kept going outside and sweeping off my porch cause my storm door opens outward and I didn't want to get snowed in either! At about midnight I decided I better go outside and shovel my walk so you could see the steps and not fall.... starting to get deep out there!

The next morning I was so thankful to look out my door and see my neighbor had cleared not only the drive so I could get my truck out but had also cleared the sidewalk from my house to his so I could get to my truck. What a blessing that was!

So thankful for our city workers and those snow plows!

I spent the morning watching my industrious neighbor across the street shovel out his driveway. He is about to finally meet the plowed street and be able to be mobile once again!

There was lots of shoveling snow all over town. Everyone was trying to find snow shovels as well as other snow supplies. I heard one store in town told them that they did not have snow shovels cause it was out of season. Ha. Ha. Ha. But you can buy a bikini ......

Think my neighbor decided he has had enough? Heading to a warmer place to live that doesn't snow? Or selling his snow?

I hope everyone remembers how hard this weather is on our little friends that live outside. My little bird friends were excited to see me throwing out that bird seed!

This little fella was more hungry than scared and let me take his pic in exchange for some sunflower seeds. Isn't he/she beautiful?

I had chickadees, and wrens and redbirds and blue jays and even a couple doves all excited about my sunflower seeds.

This little bird decided to check out what was in that sack also. I am inside my patio door in the warmth of my living room snapping their pics.

The kids wanted to come down to my house to have biscuits and gravy so Poppy went next door to pick them up on the 4-wheeler. Living next door to Poppy and Nana does have its benefits!

Even though Poppy took the tractor and scraped the snow away from our patio door the kids still had plenty of snow to play in.

Don't they look like they are having a good time??

And even momma Rachel pulled on the overalls and took the kids out to play.... And she loves this snow much more than I do!

Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-05T22:12:00.003-06:00

Well, last week we felt the effects of the Blizzard of 2011 as we are calling it. We received 19 inches of snow where I live and up to 2 feet a few miles to the East of us. Our chapter's Red Cross volunteers were put on alert and we moved our local Mass Care Trailer to the designated shelter location for that "just in case" scenario. I spent the last week in town waiting on the call that never came, which was fine with me. We were prepared and that was what counted!

My Police Officer son and his fellow officers spent lots of their time pushing cars out of ditches cause for some reason people do not believe it when they are told conditions are dangerous and to please stay home. Local police cars could not function on streets that had received 19 inches of snow so the local National Guard was called in to assist and the officers rode in hummers to answer their calls. I'm sure my son was delighted!

Unfortunately, I keep hearing rumors that another big snow is coming next week. All I have to my front door in my townhouse is a shovel wide path with probably 19 inches of snow on each side. I'm beginning to feel hemmed in already!

Spring, how far away are you???

My white peacock was showing off today...

2011-01-29T00:41:00.001-06:00

My white peacock was out showing off today. And he's getting braver about doing his struttin dance with me watching.

My other peacock didn't want to go into the chicken house the other night and when Tool Belt Jim tried to pick him up to put him in there a few tail feathers were lost. Beautiful aren't they?It was a beautiful day today but a major snow storm is predicted for later this week. Bummer! I'm ready for Spring!

New Polish Crested to add to the "little flock"

2011-01-26T00:30:00.000-06:00

I just love my new Polish Crested Chickens compliments of my sister. Aren't they beautiful? I ended up taking 3 roosters from my "little flock" to the sale barn cause I had way too many roosters fighting in the hen house. Didn't get much for them but didn't have the heart to kill and eat them either. They were beautiful roosters!

Spring, please come soon!

2011-01-12T23:13:00.002-06:00

I spent the past several days resting up after mom's funeral and staying at my little "townhouse" as we call it. It has been bitter cold this past week and our first snow fell. Now, I am ready for Spring. I'm always good after one snow.
Had two fires to do casework on today. Always have more fires when it gets cold and the snow falls. Stay safe out there!

New addition to my "little flock"

2011-01-12T23:07:00.003-06:00

My sister Janet flew in from Mexico when my mom got sick and so she went to her "stateside" home and brought me back this pair of Polish Crested chickens to add to my "little flock". I think they are beautiful!

And we are finally getting almost a dozen eggs a day. Short while ago we were down to 1 egg a day. Now gonna have to start giving eggs away.

Sister Janet won't get these two back but I'll set some eggs for her when Spring gets here and she can have some of their babies.

We love you mom!

2011-01-05T22:45:00.001-06:00

My mom passed away this week and her funeral was today. She had been in the Alzheimer's Unit for almost 12 years and now her spirit has been set free! Below is a grouping of her favorite pictures. Rest in peace mom!

She gave birth to 8 kids so we bought some flowers with 8 carnations.

One brother couldn't make it back for her funeral but here is my dad and my other brothers and sisters.

Mom is survived by 6 of her 7 brothers and sisters. This is my Uncle John being greeted by my youngest sister. It was great seeing cousins and uncles and members of the family we haven't seen for years.

This is a shadow box my sister Janet made in a shop class when she was a kid. Has all our baby bracelets in it. Mom always loved this box.

Wish my mom could have lived out her life differently but glad she is no longer in any pain and is running and jumping and talking in heaven. Until we meet again...... we love you mom!

The future of the American Red Cross

2010-12-11T21:17:00.002-06:00

Today was our local small town parade and my young grandson has anxiously awaited this day all week. I asked him to lead our American Red Cross lineup representing the future of the Red Cross organization. Our youth of tomorrow need to catch the Red Cross vision to carry on behind us. Mark loves everything about the American Red Cross and can hardly wait until he too can become a volunteer just as his Nana does. He's also wearing a blanket around his shoulders to represent the comfort we give to those who have suffered a disaster. There was not a prouder young man to be found than this one today!

Mark proudly carried the American Red Cross flag and led the way even though it was bitter cold. I'm proud of you Mark and look forward to you carrying on my love for serving in the American Red Cross!

Maddy talking

2010-11-22T08:42:00.001-06:00

Maddy telling Nana about her trip to Illinois

Thankful to be able to gather together another year!

2010-11-20T16:31:00.005-06:00

We had our annual Hicks/Wallace family dinner today and it was so good to be able to see everyone once again catching up on what has been happening in lives since we last met. Some of our family couldn't be with us this year for various reasons and we certainly missed them. Especially Samantha and her husband who are in Korea and Rachel and Steve who were in St. Louis at another family dinner and Police Officer son Tim and Kat and her husband and sister Carol to name a few. Everyone has a place around the table and when they are gone they are missed!

This year besides the turkey I tried a couple new meat dishes with Pork Tenderloin. One was smoked in the oven and one was cooked with Cranberry sauce/Orange Juice. Both were excellent. And of course we had ham which Rachel was soooo sorry to have missed! But she can be thankful her momma saved her some back!

This is the first year we had so much food that I had to use the counter on both sides of the kitchen. We had to put the salads and desserts and drinks on one side and the main dishes on the other. All the food was so very good!

Rachel wasn't here to make Lonnie's (Mule Skinner) favorite salad so Jennifer made it. Good thing cause he asked where it was first thing!

And sister Brenda brought her salad that I love! Has sour cream and powdered sugar mixed with butter and lemon juice as the sauce and you pour it over apples, bananas, nuts, oranges, coconut and probably whatever else you want to put in there. Working on a family cookbook and of course this will go right up front!

This picture does my heart good. Jim's mom and dad and my dad and Jim's sister and her husband all enjoying the good company as well as the food. Does it get any better than this? It's important to honor those that brought us into this world and I enjoy that we can have both sides here at the same time. And I hope the younger generation realize the importance of carrying on the tradition of family gatherings!And of course we must save room for dessert!

We had tables set up everywhere. It was a beautiful day so we could eat outside as well as in. Here's my son Kevin with his family. Can you tell Luke likes having his picture taken?

Here's my niece with her fiance.

and my sister with her family in the entryway eating on my Great Aunts dinette set. I am sure that over the years this dinette set has seen many family dinners !

Kat made this beautiful dessert. Gorgeous as well as delicious

And niece Samantha gave me this secret recipe just cause I am family. They'll be home for Christmas and hoping to get to see her and her husband then.

And to end the good times we had to once again blow the Hunting Horn or whatever it is called. My dad used to call his dogs back with one of these.

The end to a beautiful day! Hope you enjoyed sharing with us! Mule Skinner blows this every year and it has became a tradition. Calling all the family together once again!

Hope you too have special times where your family gathers together over food with much laughter and good times. If they don't someone has to start the tradition and you might as well be the one! You'll be glad you did some day!

Teaching Mark how to call up a Blue Heron...

2010-11-15T22:07:00.004-06:00

We have a resident Blue Heron down on the homestead and it was sitting quietly on the dock waiting for something to eat is my guess. So Mark and Koda and I walked quietly to see how close we could get up to it before it flew away. Which unfortunately wasn't very close. So I taught grandson Mark the best way to call up a Blue Heron. He's so gullible!

Wooden Hinges for the Cabin...

2010-11-15T21:11:00.004-06:00

Tool Belt Jim decided to make his own hinges for the door at his cabin. Pretty cool!

Big Boys Teaching Little Boys How to Play With Toys.....

2010-11-15T21:02:00.004-06:00

That should strike fear in the heart of man--or mothers anyways....especially when it involves minature cannons and gun powder!

Looks like someone was happy with the results.....

Grandpa Art

2010-11-14T21:27:00.004-06:00

I love looking at old pictures not only of the people but the buildings, the animals and the surrounding countryside. Here's my Grandpa Art sitting on a stump with his dog, his guitar and his wife by his side. Hope the importance to him was not in that order. I think my brother has the guitar. Love looking at my grandmothers clothes, shoes and particularly that hat.

Grandpa and his horses. Grandpa always walked with a limp and my dad said a wagon ran over his leg when he was little but his mother would not let the Dr. amputate the leg - a fact which he was very thankful for later.

And this picture shows he raised sheep. Fascinating. Take time to listen to your ancestors tell their stories before it is too late. I plan on visiting one of my dad's cousins who is in the nursing home to see what he can tell me about this side of the family. Hope his memory is still good enough to be able to do that. My dad and his one sister are the only children living of Grandpa Art and Grandma Lizzie.

I've heard stories about how famous my Grandpa was for his huge watermelons and after looking at this picture I can see why. Now those are heirloom watermelons is my guess!

I only knew my Grandpa after he moved into town. But my favorite memory of him is teaching me as a little girl how to play a game called Fox and Geese. He made his own game board and we would play it every time we got together.

He always promised me his railroad watch and told me it had diamonds in it. Never did know what happened to that watch after he passed away but I do have the railroad watch belonging to his brother.

Now that I think about it I don't guess I can think of a singe thing that I have that belonged to either my Grandmother or Grandfather and I have a house full of ancestral treasures. I guess I need to see if my dad has any mementos left that belonged to them that he's willing to pass along. Hmmmm......

Grandma Lizzie and her chickens--we're kindred spirits

2010-11-14T21:07:00.003-06:00

Grandma Lizzie's Mackerel Patties

2010-11-14T20:27:00.004-06:00

As a little girl I have wonderful memories of going to dinner at my Grandma Lizzie and Grandpa Arts house in town. They lived at the top of what seemed like a very steep hill especially when trudging up it after swim lessons which I remember as being awfully early in the morning and always cold. I remember Grandma as being a good cook and I can still see her lifting a giant granite pan full of patties out of the oven.
Here's the recipe from my sister Carol for Grandma's patties:
For each can of Mackerel, Salmon or Tuna (which has been drained well and deboned) add 1 egg and crackers that have been crushed up very fine. Salt to taste. Mix well into patties and fry slowly in hot oil till brown.

Kick it up a notch by Granddaughter Joyce- Add green pepper, celery and onion and wrap a piece of bacon around each patty held in place with a toothpick. Then fry till brown.

Sister Carol assures me Grandma fried them so I can only think she must have put them in the oven to keep them warm until family arrived.

I also remember eating Sour Kraut with wieners, the most wonderful homemade rolls, Lemon Pies and another favorite was baked pie crust sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. May have been during hard times but I remember the food tasting wonderful!

Homemade Wooden Door And Handles for Cabin

2010-10-24T15:17:00.005-05:00

Here's the door, handles and hinges Tool Belt Jim made for his cabin.

Next he's gonna make one like it to go upstairs in our main house. Very nice!

Chicken Pen is Covered!

2010-10-23T19:37:00.004-05:00

The hawks are back and have been picking a chicken off a day so something had to be done. Tool Belt Jim gave me these hog nose pliers and rings and I attached the chicken wire to the pen better so my chickens could not get out anywhere around the pen.

The run part of the pen was covered with hay bale wrap which I am hoping will last at least for a few years. Don't you know the hawk is wondering what that stuff was? Now the "little flock" can wander their pen in safety even though they don't know they are safe.

Here's the "little flock" as they hear me pull up on the 4 wheeler. They are learning how to get along in the chicken yard. It's a good lesson to learn. Too bad people don't learn that lesson also!

And they love the wheat that we throw out to them too!

Unfortunately, for some reasons we're only getting 1 egg a day out of 20 chickens. Something's not right here.

The peacocks love the big pen giving them much more freedom to wander. Here's my favorite one checking out what I am doing in their pen.

This chicken is quite the escape artist. It can get out of the smallest hole!

My favorite Seabright rooster hopped right up on the roost and crowed his heart out!!

Isn't John Wayne looking fat and sassy here?

The two peacocks are checking out this new place. And they are not sure if they want to go into this building. So far we are going out after dark and putting them in the building. Hopefully they will start going in on their own although they have spent the last several months roosting outside. We'll see.

Here's my favorite chicken. Polish Crested.

More pictures of my "little flock" happily spending time in the yard!

Love these Seabright"s. Beautiful chickens!

Doesn't this make you laugh? Having a bad hair day. Love my "little flock!" And now they are safe from THE HAWK!

The Little Ballerina...

2010-10-10T20:49:00.005-05:00

It is so much fun buying pink! And she loves being talked to. She how happy she is!

Making Memories One Smore At A Time....

2010-10-08T07:55:00.008-05:00

The cooler Fall evenings have arrived and time to light up the campfire and roast those marshmallows! Nothing better than sitting around a fire enjoying the company of good friends and family. Put some hot dogs on a stick, make up some smores and sit back and enjoy the simpler things in life! You'll be glad you did and your kids and grand kids will be storing up some good memories at the same time.

Making life memorable down on the homestead!

Koda posing for a photo shoot in the great outdoors...

2010-10-06T13:36:00.005-05:00

Fall is such a gorgeous time of the year to do photography. Hope you too are taking advantage of it!

..The Tradition Continues On....

2010-10-04T23:14:00.005-05:00

Every year about this time my sister Shirley and her husband Gary Vickers dig out the old copper pot that Gary's dad once used to carry on the family tradition of making Apple Butter outside over the fire. It's a great story behind this tradition from the reason it was started to the utensils that are used. Gary and Shirley's family as well as friends and neighbors gather on the old homestead to catch up on family stories, visit with old friends and enjoy the beautiful Fall day while all the time stirrring the apples cooking down in the old copper pot.

This was the same pot that Gary's dad used to start this family tradition.

Once the spices have all been added and the Apple Butter has been declared "just right" then Gary begins dishing it up and ladling it on the biscuits that Shirley have baked and are hot out of the oven.

Does this look great or what! While Gary is outside overseeing the cooking of the Apple Butter Shirley is running the kitchen!

She's making soup by the gallons and the table is laden with the best foods around! It's a feast day to be sure!

Gary likes to make sure everyone gets to take home some Apple Butter to remember the day by too!

The crowd doesn't get in any hurry to head home after the Apple Butter is sealed in jars cause enjoying time spent with family and friends is as much a part of the Tradition as making the Apple Butter.

Boxes of Apple Butter will be stored in the cellar to be enjoyed all year long. Of course that is after family have taken some home with them!

Then the big copper pot is carried over to the side where it can be prepared to use again another year down the road.

Notice the wooden paddle used to stir the Apple Butter. Hand made by another one of the Vicker's brothers.

Who do you think peeled all those apples? And what do you think they use the peelings for at the end of the day? Now here's a reminder of all the work that went into this day!

Today was also a time for cousins and friends to get to play together while the grownups worked and visited and laughed and made memories of another year carrying on The Tradition.

And how could a group of kids resist the urge to climb on the rows of hay and play "King of the Mountain" or whatever kids play these days. Good old fashioned fun climbing on bales of hay like their parents once did--even though they may not have had this size of bales!

King of the Mountain! Will this young man take home some wonderful memories of the day he has experienced today? My guess is he certainly will!

The harvest is ready....

2010-10-04T23:10:00.002-05:00

Doesn't it seem strange to see semi's sitting in the fields?

And what's the rest of that phrase? Oh yes, the harvest is ready, the worker's are few.

Country Home makes me smile...

2010-10-04T22:32:00.005-05:00

I love my sister's Sears Roebuck catalog home. It is especially beautiful this time of year with the Hyacinth Beans draped over the fence. My sister is a good decorator also but the home has such a natural beauty of its own. Makes me smile every time I see it. And to get to her side door you walk under a iron trellis covered with vines and across a stone walkway with beautiful plants welcoming you. Isn't this an inviting picture encouraging you to come in and sit a while?

There is such a majestic presence these old houses have in the neighborhood. And hers in encircled by a iron fence. She has Red bud trees and my favorite Pine tree in the yard also! Every time I look at these pictures I smile.

And she has the largest pumpkins on the side porch which she probably grew in her garden this year.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour! And hope you smiled at the memories it brings up too!

Through the eyes of a child....

2010-10-04T22:09:00.002-05:00

Kaden enjoying the outdoors on the homestead. He loves the outdoors and loves for someone to take him outside. Every time his front door is opened he makes a bee line for it hoping to get taken outside.

Aah, life out in the country on a beautiful fall day. Does it get any better than this? Slow down and enjoy the simple things in life like the excitement of a young child at just being outdoors exploring all the wonders around them! There's lots we can learn from the children!

2010-10-04T22:03:00.003-05:00

The air is getting pretty nippy here so the boys put on their jackets tonight for their jeep ride with Poppy. It was suppose to have gotten down to 39 degrees last night. Cold weather is almost here. Sigh...

Love this pic of Koda trying to look cool! Reminds me of a couple little foster boys I had one time. Wonder where Kevin and Harley are now? Poppy would have them put on their sunglasses and snap their fingers and sing "I'm so cool". Aah, the memories. Enjoy your kids while they are young cause they grow up much too fast!

The sawmill is fired up again...

2010-10-04T21:53:00.002-05:00

Tool Belt Jim and his friend Mike and Mike's son fired up the sawmill on Sunday and sawed up some lumber for something. A project I am sure.

And they were all very impressed with the great buy they got at our local Sutherlands on these gloves. $1.99 a pair is what they told me. Did they get any size Mediums was my question. I wear gloves too you know! It's almost time to prune back the shrubs before winter gets here.

I think it's called male bonding time!

Fires, Fires, Fires....

2010-10-04T21:46:00.003-05:00

I've had house fires, a mobile home fire and an apartment fire to do casework on all in the last week. The weather is turning colder and it's the time of year when there is always an increase in fires. Please, please check your smoke alarms, make sure your outlets are not overloaded, use space heaters with caution and practice a fire escape plan with your family! A fire can destroy your home and take the lives of your family members in a matter of minutes!
Go to your local American Red Cross web site and learn more on how to protect your family!

On your mark, get set, GO!

2010-09-22T17:04:00.004-05:00

This guy is HUGE! Largest snapping turtle I have ever seen! I snapped a pic of him trying to cross the highway in town by our local theater. Cars were whizzing by on both sides of him and he wasn't liking it a bit! My grandfather always said if you got bit by a snapper they wouldn't let go until it thundered so I wasn't about to try to move him. Grandpa also
always said they made good turtle soup too but I'm not trying it.

Sometimes you don't know whether to stand still, go forward or just back up. I'm sure this big fella is wondering about that right now!

First day of Fall is today...

2010-09-22T16:55:00.004-05:00

Today is the first day of Fall and thought I would show you some pics I took on my way home from town yesterday. Fall is definitely in the air! The Persimmon trees are loaded this year.

The Hedge Apples are falling and lining up the roadside. I picked up a couple to take home with me to put out to keep spiders away even though it is suppose to be only folklore.

And the harvest is beginning. These are full of corn. It's amazing to me how this machine can cut the corn shucks and some way get the ears of corn off the cob and into these tanks or whatever they are called. (Tool Belt Jim is embarrassed. He wants me to tell you they are called "gravity wagons.") And all the time the human just sits in the cab and lets the machine do all the work. Isn't technology great! I have an old fashioned corn sheller on my porch and it looks like work was involved in dealing with it.

Keep your eyes open out there for other signs of Fall.

The Hedge Apples are falling..

2010-09-22T16:50:00.003-05:00

Folklore has it that you can place hedge apples around your foundations of your house and in closets and places and that it keeps away spiders, and other insects. My sister swears by them. Scientific magazines say there is no scientific evidence they act as a repellant. Oh well, folklore wins in my book. I picked a couple up and will stick them around the house and see if I see any spiders. It's that time of year that they start showing up in the house. I hate them nasty looking things. Especially those giant wolf spiders that look like they could eat a horse!

Update on Maddy

2010-09-20T08:47:00.002-05:00

Notice my daughter has her dressed in pink? Surprises me somewhat since she never liked pink herself. It is so cute to watch her with this little girl. Who by the way rarely gets off her shoulder. They spend lots of time in the rocking chair. Little Maddy likes to eat a little and sleep a little and then eat a little more and then sleep a little more. Think the key word here is little. So momma is getting pretty tired of not getting much sleep. And daddy is back at work so she's adapting to taking care of baby and three little boys while he is gone. What a sweet family they have!

Stopped back in my hometown this afternoon....

2010-09-19T22:47:00.003-05:00

Ever go back and check out some of your favorite places when you was a kid? I happened to be in my hometown this afternoon so walked down to the park to check out a couple of my favorite things. First one is this little fishpond. When I was little the library was located in the center of this park and we would go there on Saturdays to check out armloads of books. I loved to read! And then I would always check out the goldfish pond. Back then it didn't have the fence around it.

And always thought the bandstand was a special place also. Don't you love it that in small towns they still have concerts down at the local bandstand?

Good memories associated with this little park in my hometown!

Uh Oh! What is this I see? Kinda cute though.

2010-09-19T22:32:00.001-05:00

This belongs to Mule Skinner but I can see the wheels turning in Tool Belt Jim's head.

Lola's Potting Shed

2010-09-19T22:28:00.003-05:00

Tool Belt Jim helped build this little potting shed for Mule Skinner's wife. I hadn't seen it yet but I find it adorable! And it has a stone patio in front. How cute! Looks like something you would find in a country magazine doesn't it? You guys did a great job and I know Lola must love it!

Look what's popping up everywhere....must be all that rain we've had....

2010-09-19T22:24:00.002-05:00

Life got hectic there for awhile but I'm back....Hope I was missed!

2010-09-19T22:23:00.001-05:00

U.S. Capitol Tour with David Barton

2010-09-04T12:11:00.001-05:00

Very informative tour and information you don't normally hear about our founding fathers!

A big thank you to my Red Cross friends!

2010-09-02T21:53:00.003-05:00

I helped my fellow Red Cross friends with their fundraiser recently and I received this T-shirt, pin and name badge in the mail. I was so excited! I am one very proud American Red Cross volunteer and I love what I do even without the T-shirt and things. But sometimes the perks are good also! Thanks to my friends and you know who you are for the surprise package!

Gonna have to start going to work in a boat if this keeps up!

2010-09-02T21:49:00.002-05:00

We went from having a burn ban on cause it was so dry to rain that just won't stop the next day. I went through this water over the road home last night and we had more rain tonight so can't wait to see what the road is like in the morning!

Koda's craft project....

2010-09-02T21:42:00.003-05:00

It's been a long time since my kids were little and we made things with Plaster of Paris. Almost forgot how to do it. And don't believe them when they say you have 30 minutes before it sets up cause it was set pretty solid in about 5 minutes from the time we poured it in the pan. He barely had enough time to stick his decorations on.

And we couldn't remember how to get it out of the pan once it was set. And of course the directions never mentioned it. So we pried it out with a knife around the edges then turned it over and beat on the bottom until it came out. Need to google some directions before we try another one. Thought it would be fun to get little baby Maddy's hand prints in one and then put some pretty buttons and barrettes and little rings on it.

Checking out the farmer's crops....

2010-08-31T22:17:00.001-05:00

Looks like the corn is about ready to be harvested...

Love the sight of beans waving in the breeze....

The Sedum are blooming and the butterflies are loving it!

2010-08-31T22:15:00.001-05:00

My 14th grandchild has arrived! Beautiful baby girl...

2010-08-26T12:43:00.003-05:00

Maddy Jae Anna has arrived in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 21 inches long. Everyone is healthy and doing fine! And she is beautiful! She is a special gift from God and we will treasure this little gift always! What a darling little family this is.

Proud Nana! And I wore pink in her honor today! I am sure that will also be her favorite color! Welcome to this world little Maddy Jae Anna!

Lost my peacock....

2010-08-22T19:03:00.002-05:00

Went to check on my "little flock" this evening and found my most beautiful peacock dead with his head lying through the fence. It looked like his neck was broken. He should have been able to pull it out but maybe he got to flopping around and in this heat ended up breaking its neck. So now I have one flew away and one died. Sad day on the homestead!

Rose Moss and tractor tires....

2010-08-20T15:00:00.000-05:00

As a little girl I can remember going to my beloved grandparents house. There was so many exciting things to do there and it was a place I loved to be. I can remember going at a very early age when everyone told my mom I was too young to stay by myself. But I remember staying and wishing I could even stay longer. On one of my trips there was a new baby sister being born while I was gone. On the way home we passed a place that sold ice cream and I gladly traded my new baby sister to my grandfather for an ice cream cone. Sorry Carol! I drive by that little place every now and then and still smile at the thought of that! But the flowers my grandmother planted intrigued my little heart the most. My grandmother must have had a very green thumb or else put a lot of time and effort into seeing that those flowers were so beautiful. She grew Hollyhocks, and Sweet Williams and Dahlias but the flowers I remember the most was her tractor tires planted with Rose Moss. I think there were three of these tractor tires planted out next to the drive and the highway and I remember them being painted red and white. I'll have to ask someone else about that in case I am mistaken, but that is how I remember them. And I would sit along the edge of the tire feeling the warmth of the sun on the rubber, picking the tiny seeds and placing them in a pill bottle to be brought home and planted so I could have the same delightful little flowers. There were yellows and pinks and reds and whites and I loved them all!

This year I built a circular flower bed with a solar fountain in the center--which rarely worked-and planted the delightful Rose Moss in it. It has bloomed prolifically all summer and brings a smile to my face when I pass by it. Just as it did 50 plus years ago when I was so little.

I may be waxing nostalgic but Aah, the simple things in life are still the best!

Struck by lightning?

2010-08-19T20:44:00.004-05:00

While mowing my yard yesterday I noticed something major has happened to one of my favorite trees. Tool Belt Jim says he heard a loud noise during the storm the other night and is guessing lightning has struck the tree. Now the question is how damaged is it? Does the branch need cut off? I loved this tree cause my kids have all had their pics taken standing in the center. It branched out in 4 different directions and my guess is it is a very old tree.

The bark has been ripped off from the very top to the very bottom...

Shards or pieces of bark were scattered not only around the tree but for quite a distance away.

There is a squirrel nest in the top of the tree right about where the lightning stuck. Bet that was quite a jolt for him!

Guess we'll wait and see if the tree starts dying....

My patio has butterflies everywhere...

2010-08-19T18:45:00.001-05:00

The butterflies have arrived! After the rain the other day and the weather has cooled down some, the butterflies began to invade my patio. Maybe they like the cool concrete or maybe they just wanted to surprise me with their beauty!

This little cutey has a damaged wing. Isn't it awesome how beautiful God has created His creation?

Those ugly bagworms!

2010-08-19T18:43:00.001-05:00

They are just plain ugly! What else can I say?

Crepe Myrtle Trees in bloom

2010-08-19T18:41:00.001-05:00

Crepe Myrtle trees are so beauty with their delicate flowers. And the name reminds me of my Grandma Myrtle. I planted three trees a few years ago and this is the first year they have really bloomed and looked very pretty.

How gorgeous is that? And in my favorite color pink!

Beautiful place to sit a spell..

2010-08-19T18:38:00.002-05:00

Hostas are flowering

2010-08-19T18:36:00.001-05:00

The hostas are flowering which makes me think Fall is not far behind. My daughter always loved popping the hosta flowers when she was little. Actually, I think I remember her doing that just last year! Ha. Ha.

Such a delicate and beautiful flower!

It's been really hot outside, which reminds me of a joke...

2010-08-16T12:39:00.002-05:00

The temp has been anywhere from 104 to higher and has been know to read 127 in car thermometers. Which reminded me of this joke I saw....

My son-in-law is a great cook!

2010-08-06T11:39:00.005-05:00

And so is my daughter. We had supper at their house last night and it was the best meal I have eaten in forever. Steaks from the grill, pork tenderloin cooked with a rub, corn on the cob, cheesy mashed potatoes, home-made bread and carrot cake for dessert. And now I am truly stuffed!

My daughter makes much better mashed potatoes than I do. Notice she has also added cheddar cheese. Yum, Yum....

These were huge ears of corn that a farmer had brought in to sell at our local store.... she

wrapped them with foil and let them bake in butter.....

And speaking of baking....my daughter also made homemade bread.....did I raise her right or what? And don't forget she's doing all this in 100 degree heat and using the oven which heats up the house.....and also don't forget she's gonna deliver a baby girl in 3 weeks! What a woman!!!

And now for Steve's specialty. He's the man when it comes to grilling. These steaks were scrumptious! I keep telling him instead of being an assistant manager of Walmarts he should open his own restaurant!

And he put some kind of rub on the Pork Tenderloin and it was also delicious!

Look at this little one eating his first ear of corn! He loved it! At first I was holding it for him then I thought "what the heck, let him get the feel of eating a messy ear of corn for himself!" And he went right to town on it.

Hope you enjoyed sharing our family dinner with us! We'll do it again sometime soon!

"Today, we are living in desperate times, Yet, the Church is notdesperate before God in prayer" - Chuck Smith

2010-08-06T11:38:00.000-05:00

Homemade Granola Bars

2010-08-01T16:56:00.004-05:00

Here's a great recipe for making your own granola bars:

4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup rice crispies (optional) I left out
1/2 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce or smashed bananas (I used baby food bananas and applesauce and mixed them)
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (I used half choco chips and half peanut butter flavored chips)
I also added some maple syrup just for fun

Try any combination of chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, raisins, chopped dried fruits, candy coated pieces, chopped nuts etc.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease one 9x13 pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, peanut butter, margarine, honey, rice crispies, brown sugar, and applesauce/bananas. Stir in the chocolate chips and other optional ingredients.
3. Firmly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let cool before taking out of pan.

Cut into individual bars and bag with a couple to a bag. Then put the smaller bags in a gallon size bag and freeze. That way you can take out only the amount you need. They do not freeze solid and taste great!

Man life is hectic right now.....

2010-07-30T12:08:00.006-05:00

Just a quick update on why I haven't posted much lately. I've been working in a Red Cross office about an hour from my home helping train other volunteers with some computer work. And staying with my wonderful friend Kathy. I have been getting to work at 8:00 A.M. which I didn't know existed in my world cause I am such a night owl. So by the time I got off work I hit the couch exhausted. Ha. Ha. Unfortunately my friend has only recently moved and doesn't have her Internet hooked up yet so I have been offline for the biggest part of the last two weeks.

And since I am gone so much and Tool Belt Jim is running back and forth working on his cabin the little flock is getting too hard to keep up with. So I am going to sell everything off --what the predators haven't killed--including my beautiful peacocks. Know anyone wanting to buy peacocks? One is a white one and apparently they are all males. My hopes were that eventually I could turn them loose and let them roam my yard but if these are like my first one, they would be gone within the first five minutes I let them out. Sigh, Sigh....

My daughter's baby girl will be here in three weeks and then things will really get crazy!

The grass looks like I'm living in a jungle cause we have had so much rain. So this weekend will be major mowing happening around the homestead!

you all have a great weekend and thanks for wondering about me! Good to know I have friends all over!

Take me back to my childhood....

2010-07-12T21:22:00.002-05:00

Some things take you back to your childhood and that is what this flower does. It is called a Passion Flower Vine and as a little girl I was enthralled by this beautiful flower. I imagined it as a beautiful ballerina twirling with her skirt swinging out around her. I believe there is a story behind this flower and it describes the story of the Crucifixion but to me it will always be a ballerina.

But whatever it makes you think of , it is beautiful. It will come back year after year and will spread too. Which is a good thing as Martha says.

Family movie night

2010-07-12T21:15:00.002-05:00

My daughter in law Jennifer and my daughter Rachel and all the kids came over tonight to watch a good family movie together. We picked out this one....

Add to that sandwiches and nachos and ...

of course drinks and we are ready to kick back and let the movie begin.....

Good family time enjoying a good movie. The simple things in life. It's a Walton kind of night.

sortin the seed..

2010-07-12T20:48:00.005-05:00

Tool Belt Jim bought this contraption somewhere and he and my son Kevin were using it to clean Kevin's fescue seed.

They ran into some kind of problem with the screen so they put their heads together to see how to fix the problem.

See that trailer load of seed behind them. That has to be shoveled into the cleaner.

Somebody has their work cut out for them. I have this handsome grandson named Caleb who has some good looking muscles. Bet he got them doing stuff like shoveling.

Once the seed is in the bag, then you sew the bag shut with this portable sewing machine that Tool Belt Jim also bought somewhere.

And he does it with a nice straight stitch.

Quite the setup here. The grain goes out of the cleaner up into this pipe and the bag is waiting at the end to catch the seed.

Kevin and Tool Belt Jim were having some problem with the screen so they took it out and sanded some on it and put it back in. Fixed that problem!

Shovel in some more grain....

Looks pretty clean by the time it gets to the sack doesn't it?

Think everything is working pretty smoothly now. It's your time to take over now Caleb!

Ah Ha! Caught on camera!

2010-07-09T16:37:00.002-05:00

I have been watching two hawks fly off from my chicken pen every time I drive up. This shows they have been perching on the roof over the feeder. Poor chickens. Nothing like having your enemy invading your private space is there? Tool Belt Jim said he came home today in time to see the hawk pull one of my little chickens out of the chicken tractor and fly off with it. Now that is covered with chicken wire on all sides.

Gonna have to do something about these hawks. Heard they are protected so you can't shoot them. What about if they are killing the chickens? Need to talk to a conservation agent looks like.

Peacocks strutting their stuff!

2010-07-08T15:05:00.002-05:00

More pictures of the peacocks strutting their stuff! They seem to like to entertain for the camera. The white one especially likes to look at the blinking red light it seems. How I miss my one that flew away though.

The back of the peacock. It really only raises the feathers from the mid section of its body and leaves feathers on its tail still hanging down. I did not realize that about peacocks. I thought they were raising their tail feathers.

They seem to be saying " Here I am, now take my picture!"

It seems to be much harder to get pics of the white one doing the strut

Thought it originally was a girl but guess it is a boy.

"Do you ever get the feeling something is watching us boys?"

Something is watching you.....

2010-07-05T21:07:00.002-05:00

I borrowed my son Kevin's wildlife camera cause something is getting my chickens again, this time during broad daylight and inside the pen. Tool Belt Jim thinks it might be a cat that is wild. It has killed his Millefleur rooster and one of the Americauna chickens and his little banty chicken which stays most of the time in the peacock pen. So I set the camera up on the wire of the peacock pen actually hoping to see them spread their feathers and do their little dance. And it was my lucky day cause I caught one of them on tape doing it's dance. Maybe tomorrow I will get a pic of the white one.

Is this beautiful or what! Wonder why his tail feathers are not all the same length though. Guess cause he is still young.

When they do their little dance they do a stomping kind of dance and turn in a circle. It is cool to watch but they won't do it when they see me. So, the camera idea was a great one.

As soon as it cools off we are going to have to start making plans to build a wider pen.

Kris the peacock who flew the coop looking for freedom has never returned. And apparently she was my only female according to Tool Belt Jim. So if I plan on raising baby peacocks, I'm gonna have to find me a female to buy.

I just love the peacocks but find it interesting that they never make a peep. What is that all about?

Produce from my garden finally....

2010-07-02T21:27:00.002-05:00

Finally starting to get some vegetables from the garden. Ready to fix me a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich. Next year, I must amend my soil! Add lots of rotted manure this fall and till it in. Think I said that last year but this year I MUST do it!

Penney's had a 60 percent off sale!

2010-06-27T22:37:00.002-05:00

My daughter wanted to go to the nearest mall cause Penney's had their baby clothes on sale so we got a motel and decided to make a weekend of it. Had a good time with the kids getting to swim in the indoor pool and the shopping. And after her husband got off work he drove down to join us. Everyone had a good time and she got some good bargains in the process. And I was delighted cause many of the dresses were in my favorite color---pink!

Princess dresses for our soon to be born little princess. C-section will be on Aug. 26th I believe. Eight more weeks!

Kaden may have a hard time given up his sister's new pink blanket

2010-06-27T22:30:00.000-05:00

The Shasta Daisies are Blooming again....

2010-06-27T22:28:00.000-05:00

The Cabin

2010-06-27T19:35:00.007-05:00

Tool Belt Jim sold the 13 acres of land that he had bought several years ago and had been looking around to find some acreage with a cabin on it in a more secluded area. He found such a place located about 2 hours from us up on a small mountain top.
You can't tell from the pic but we had to park my truck at the bottom of the mountain and drive up to the cabin. 4 wheel drive is almost a must.

Tool Belt Jim has been hauling equipment and stuff to the cabin in the last few weeks and mowed an area around the cabin. By the way, we were reading on the Internet that bears have been seen in this part of the world. Uh oh!

Here's the view from the front of the cabin. Wish the camera showed depth better.

Tool Belt Jim built a shed to keep his tools in, and set up the water heater in the shed also.

He ran the pipes so as to have a shower outside the building. Unfortunately, water has to be trucked up the hill in a large tank. No water will be wasted up here!

Here is where you also wash your hands.

And how could we possibly forget the outhouse. Tool Belt Jim also built this. The top half of the door is gone so the sun can shine in I guess. But the rain and snow can also come in. Jim has already bought a septic tank so the outhouse is only for a short time.

Here's Tool Belt Jim taking a break in his recliner while eating a snack. Notice the shower stall beside him. The cabin was already plumbed for a bathroom.

The boys and I stopped at a small convenience store down the road and bought some stuff for us lunch. Their poppy had found a really nice table and antique chairs to put in the cabin.

Since we forgot to pick up paper plates , Koda had to eat his cottage cheese right out of the container. Doesn't seem to have slowed him down any.

The previous owners had already poured a concrete pad where he intended to build a house. Can't imagine how a concrete truck would have ever made it up the mountain.

Blackberries were beginning to ripen along the edge of the concrete pad.

The previous owners had planted apple, peach and plum trees as well as cherry. The peaches were almost ripe so Tool Belt Jim sliced one for Koda to try.

It's hard to see from the pic but the peach tree is loaded.

Mark snapped this pic just after I finished calling his mom to tell her we had made it. Cell phone reception is great up here at the top

The generator had run out of gas just before we got there so Tool Belt Jim had driven into town to get some more gas and unfortunately when he got back, the generator wouldn't start. So he loaded it up in the back of the truck and we decided to head back to meet the boys momma for a shopping trip. Too hot to stay at the cabin with no air working. Koda is like me and afraid of heights so Poppy is telling him he would be fine riding down the mountain while sitting on the console. Can you tell by the look on his face that he is not buying it?

My truck is at the bottom of this steep hill. Unfortunately, you can't tell by the pic that this road is taking you straight down. Very steep!

Now to hit the mall and look for some little girl dresses on sale! My daughter and her husband are meeting us to stay overnight in a motel so the kids can swim and then we can shop. Been a great weekend and accomplished a lot.

Quote for the day...

2010-06-24T22:47:00.002-05:00

"At the end of this age the church will live in an imperfect environment in the darkest of times, against the greatest onslaught of evil and temptation, yet she will choose righteousness over iniquity." Rick Joyner from the book The Apostolic Age

Mom's biscuits...easiest biscuit recipe in the world!

2010-06-18T02:08:00.003-05:00

Don't these look great? And they taste delicious especially with butter or honey dripping off them. This is my moms recipe and she had 8 kids so anything that was fast was king.
The two most important things to remember here are self-rising flour and a cast iron skillet. Can't go wrong if you have those two items. Here's the recipe:

Mix together self-rising flour and pour in milk and stir until you have the consistency you need to drop them from a spoon. Heat your oil up in the cast iron skillet. Drop your biscuit mix into the oil and then flip the biscuits over . Keep adding dough until the pan is full. Pop into the oven and there you go! How easy was that? Bake on 375 until you can tell they are done. Should slide right out of the skillet when you turn them over on a plate. Serve while hot!

Look what came truckin down the dirt road this evening....

2010-06-18T02:06:00.002-05:00

White peacock is back in the pen...

2010-06-16T08:40:00.002-05:00

Tool Belt Jim caught the white peacock this morning so only have one left out. Unfortunately the one still escaped is the only female of the group so hoping we can get her back in the pen soon. No sign of her this morning except for a few feathers on the ground but I am hoping she lost those when she flew up in the trees.

Three "flew the coop"...

2010-06-16T07:57:00.002-05:00

Somebody left the connecting door between the peacock section of the chicken pen and the regular section open and three of my peacocks were able to fly out of the pen. There is a roof over the section I keep the peacocks in but not over the connecting pen. Tool Belt Jim caught one down by the pond but the white one and the green necked one are high in the trees and aren't budging. They spent the night up there. I was hoping they would fly back to the pen once it got dark and roost on the roof of their pen but didn't happen.

I really don't mind them being out as long as they can stay away from the predators and will stay around our property where I can see them. They may like it down around the pond where they can have access to water and trees are overhead for safety and roosting.

We shall see.

Paint party

2010-06-13T22:13:00.004-05:00

My sisters thought it would be a great Father's Day present for our dad to get together and paint his house and the home we grew up in. So they made plans to do it today. Weather called for rain by 1:00 but it didn't happen and the temperature rose to about 93 by the time we finished.

And we even let the men join our little party. None of us girls like getting up on that ladder to reach the high part of the house so we were thankful for the men doing that!

And what's a paint party without a little bit of fun? Here one of my sisters is painting the butt of the other sister. Or pretending to anyways.

Sistah Brenda is in good hands here. I'm holding her ladder and my great-nephew is holding me so she can feel safe knowing she is in good hands.

And my youngest sister still has a smile on her face even though it is 93 degrees outside and sweat is running down our you know what!

And my dad was in charge of the food. We all love his deep fried catfish and he made sure we had plenty of that for lunch out on the gazebo.

And somebody had made new green beans with new potatoes. And we also had new potatoes with new peas. Nothing beats the taste of produce grown right in your own garden!

And of course there were hot dogs for the kids. My dad knows how to run that grill that's for sure!

Great Nephew Blake doesn't like having his picture taken. He is such a doll.

And this one was a little chatter box. So sistah Brenda gave him a paint brush and he thought that was great!

And he liked having his picture taken.

Nothing like a porch swing and a cold drink on a hot day. Ah, the simple things in life!

My sistah talked the boys into giving her a foot rub when we took our lunch break.

Nephew Josh looking cool in his sunglasses. I painted the low part of the house and he could reach over my head to the high parts.

Don't kid yourself that catfish was wonderful!

He finally warmed up to me enough to pose for this picture. Maybe I could take him home with me since my babies are grown and gone.

My dad has a covered gazebo with picnic table and it was pretty cool eating outside in the shade.

Here's my other brother in law who also helped paint up on the ladder. I was painting down below while he was up on the ladder and I accidentally bumped the ladder while he was up on it. Don't know who was startled the most, me or him. Of course if I had knocked it down, he certainly would have been affected the most. Ha. Ha.

But after lunch we picked up our paint brushes and headed out into the heat to finish up what was left. Since the house looked so good with that new coat of paint we thought we might as well paint the shed too.

And the last thing to be painted was the front porch. At least that was in the shade!

Another fun time with my family! And the house really looked great with the new paint job! Happy Father's Day to my dad!

It's that time of year again....

2010-06-13T21:59:00.001-05:00

My son Kevin and my grandson Caleb have moved the tractors in and started baling the hay.

And hay bales are not those little square ones that I always helped pitch in the back of the old wagon and haul to the barn when I was a kid. They are way bigger!!

Why do men have this thing about pitching junk in the back of an old truck and letting it sit in front of their barns and shops? Tool Belt Jim hauled this old thing home one day and here it has sat ever since. Don't men know that their barns and shops are just like our houses and should not have junk piled around it? Now I'll get off my soapbox! I think it is a man thing.

Annual Bushwhacker Days Festival

2010-06-13T21:26:00.004-05:00

Every town celebrates their own way with a festival of some kind and in my hometown we have our Bushwhacker Days festival.
Our festival was kicked off with a demonstration on the proper way to fold the American flag and also explained to the crowd what each fold represented. It was a very interesting and moving display. Long may our flag be honored in this wonderful country!

Then a flag that was in need of being destroyed was brought up and the proper way of disposing of an American flag was also demonstrated.

Our local bicycle police were out in force to keep the peace.

This little girl and her mother had water for anyone needing to quench their thirst on this hot day.

And what is a country festival without food? Nothing tastes better than hotdogs and hamburgers cooked outside! And I had a BBQ beef sandwich that was beyond belief!

And country festivals draw both the young and old. Wonderful chance to see old friends and catch up on the latest farm news!

Homemade ice cream was being dished up! Does it get any better than this?

Local talent entertained us all weekend. Our festival starts on Wed. evening and goes through Saturday evening. Wednesday nights is Christian entertainment and everyone brings their lawn chairs to gather on the courthouse lawn and enjoy the music.

There's always the local dog show. Wonder what these dogs think about some of the garbs they are dressed in?

And what would a festival be without a parade? We gather our little ones and sit on the curb and enjoy all the bands and floats and candy being thrown out and watching the fire trucks go by and honk their loud horns!

And who is this handsome young man? Think I might just know him!

AS long as there will be small, rural communities there will be annual festivals. And if you live in the big city and do not get to attend one of these small town festivals you are really missing out!

The road home...

2010-06-09T16:42:00.001-05:00

Love driving home and seeing the beauty of the road being bordered on both sides by my son Kevins's hay field. Soon be time to start baling hay.

My newest chickens...Exotic!

2010-06-09T16:36:00.000-05:00

What's burning?

2010-06-09T16:18:00.003-05:00

Heavy black smoke always perks up a Red Cross volunteer as did this scene I observed on my way home. I joined the rest of a long line of cars making their way to the scene of the fire to check out what was going on. Thankfully, it was farmers setting their fields on fire to burn off the stubble.

Another sad day in the chicken yard....

2010-06-03T19:09:00.004-05:00

Well, I came home to find two Red tailed hawks over a dead guinea and then in my chicken pen up next to the chicken house was my Rouen Duck had been killed. This was my most beautiful duck! And this was in broad daylight. Don't know if he hawks killed it or were just cleaning up after something else had done the dirty deed.

Not having too good of luck with my little flock

Beauty in nature...

2010-05-30T23:59:00.003-05:00

Seen this wildflower along the backroad I took going into town tonight. Had to stop and take a closer look. Luckily, I had my camera with me.

Isn't it gorgeous? It has some kind of prickly thorns on it. Only God could create something this beautiful!

This tree grows behind our shop. Think it is called a Catalpa Tree.

Here's a closeup of its flowers.

Honeysuckle growing along the roadside. Smells heavenly!

Old fashioned pink roses also growing along the roadside. Always in bloom just in time for my birthday!

Sometimes you just need to slow down and take the back roads to where you are going so you can enjoy God's beauty in nature. Life goes by too fast to not enjoy the ride.

And what a wonderful party it was!

2010-05-29T23:27:00.009-05:00

Leslie and I just happened to be born on the same day so we like to celebrate our birthdays together. And we went to the same church until she moved to another town so we both know the same friends.
Everyone was very impressed with Tool Belt Jim's newly enclosed gazebo. Was nice and cool inside even though it was 80 degrees outside and we didn't have to worry about flies around the food either. And the food was wonderful! Tool Belt Jim ran the smoker and we had ham, brisket, Italian beef which son in law Steve made and of course the ever popular hotdogs!

Everyone was all smiles and enjoyed reconnecting with old friends.

It was nice and cool sitting out under the trees.

There was much laughter and relaxing and of course eating going on!

Two of my favorite friends. And one of my daughter in laws parents!

Even the older kids seemed to enjoy the food!

Good to see my young friend home from college for the summer. How fast they grow up! I came home one time to find this young lady hanging from the rafters in my garage after her and my son decided to go exploring or something. I just about had a heart attack!

Baby Kaden eats anything you put before him. Loves food and loves going outside!

And my little great-nephew peacefully slept through it all. He's a little sweetheart!

My daughter in law says I always take her picture when she is eating. And here's my very special friend Shirley. Missed getting to see another special friend Laura tonight though. Hope she gets to see the pictures.

I have so many friends and family that God has blessed me with.

And here's Tool Belt Jim taking the hotdogs off the grill. Even with the ham and brisket and Italian beef, we went through several packages of hotdogs. Everybody loves hotdogs! Remember the old jingle so popular back in the day "Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Meyer hotdog, that is what I'd really like to be, cause if I were an Oscar Meyer hotdog, everybody would be in love with me."

The smoker is empty. Perfect size for 3 chickens, a whole ham, and several briskets

Cousins!

The little kids loved playing in the little pool I picked up just for this day.

And the kids playgym was right next to where we were sitting . Gracie loved the swing. Adorable little great-niece of mine.

Best friends.

It was a day full of smiles and good times.

Although Koda seemed pretty solemn.

Hope everyone had as much fun being with friends and family as I did. Throwing myself a party was a great birthday present to myself. I think I will do it again next year!

By the way, Tool Belt Jim bought me an antique rocking chair for my birthday. Love it!