11.18.09 Wednesday

Tying to get caught up on my poor abandoned blog. I'm home from work with tummy troubles today, but am feeling some better now.
The fall depression has hit hard and I cant wait until Dec. 23 gets here and the days get infinitesimally longer each day. I love early fall-- when the days are colorful and crisp----but this time of year...well not so much.
I admit I am having a hard time---a really hard time with the holiday coming up. I think I will just cancel Christmas this year... no Tree....no extra cooking.... no celebration.. no ....no....no

10.16.09 Fiday

Rest in Peace

Precious Persadiey (Sadiey) Stringer

Feb.1995-Oct 16,2009

Good and Faithful Family Member

9.12.09 Saturday

Inspired by the art of Amy Brown
my brand new tat-- on my left leg---one of the meanings of my middle name is faery (fairy)
there are a few things I already want to change about her but love in in general --and a couple of things Nevada Smith failed to do (yes that is his name)
sorry she is all bumpy and red--but she was only about 2 1/2 hrs old

8.13.09 Thursday

my new useful tool. I don't mind doing laundry. My old washer and dryer were on their last legs. My old washer was purchased in about 1989 and the dryer prior to that--it may have even been my mother in law's and she has been dead for 23 years so i don't know how old it is. The new duet--4.2 and 7 CU feet (16 pair of jeans or comforter and towels) Loving it

8.12.09 Wednesday

yesterday was Mr S' birthday. Today he got a card from our daughter (Katie).... I think she is an acorn that didnt fall far from the tree.. in honor of her dad-- a card with the new backyard waterfall

8.11.09 Tuesday

Happy Birthday Mr S!!

This is the day we celebrate the birth of my dear hubby, Mr S.

Funny story-- on the day of Mr S's 5th birthday and at a party full of little boys, Edith (his Mom) had to leave the party with Charles in charge (his Dad). Seems she was in labor with my Mr S's little sister.... and later that day miss Nancy came into world. She was born 5 years on the same day as my Mr S. Nancy always felt a little left out because she got a cupcake for her birthday instead of a real big cake. Poor baby

He spent most of the day today stacking lumber after he and super brother-in-law cut down the trees (the last two weekends) and then sawed it into lumber.. so we can build a workshop and a porch for me

8.4.09 Tuesday

trying to get caught up on the old posting. Tonight's post is about 3 dogs, two bones and a pigs ear. Tonight as we got home from shopping i decided to give the dogs a treat as they had been alone all day.

Sadiey is the Black Cocker Spaniel (age 14) Mo is the daschund (10 years) and Maggie (brindle colored chihuahua) is the baby of the group (at about 5 years old)

I had two Bondo bones and a pigs ear---usually that would work ok since Saidey likes the Bondo bones, Maggie loves the bondo bones and Mo craves the chewing the pigs ears. said the magic words "who wants a treat" and was instantly surrounded by loving doggies. well anytime you get these three together the two older dogs get a choice of the treat.... Sadiey took one of the bones, Mo took the Pig ear and Maggie was left with the other bone....

then the fun starts--- Saidey carries her bone around hanging out of her mouth like a cigar (she is really betting it moist enough so she can chew it) Maggie carries hers somewhere she can leave it and then tries to steal someone elses..

Tonight Maggie stole Mo's ear and carried them both to the courch, where she had hidden her bone, and left to see if she could manage to wrangle Saidey's bone as well..... while Maggie was gone Mo hopped up to the couch and took over the ear and the bone LOL

next Maggie goes to see if she can sneak the last one from Saidey(eventhough Mo is eating her treat in the meantime) Mo see's what is going on and thinks he may be missing something---so in the end the two goofy dogs sit and watch Saidey enjoy her treat and not be able to enjoy theirs for worrying about it--- and Saidey is oblivious to their problems and loving her Bondo Bone. .....after they get done watching Saidey they will both go get their own treat and have a good time

8.3.09 Monday

today's' POTD was taken on the way to work---sunrise. we have had a really surprising summer-- really cool compared to usual---but today there was no rain and the weather was seasonable.

I saw this on the back of a truck on the way home tonight..... I so believe this statement. i don't care what you think about the war we are in-- i don't care what your political beliefs are. i just think we need to support our troops--- no matter what! My nephew is getting ready to be deployed again, my father was in WWII, my FIL was in the service, my great uncle was in WWI and my great great great (however many greats it is) was in the civil war and his brother on the other side... so i support our military This is what i saw... please take it and re post it if you want to----- I love it

If you don't stand behind our troops....

go stand in front of them!

7.15.09 Wednesday

'trying to get caught up on all my pics'

today's POTD is what is in our little blue bird house..... babies!!! Mr S didn't think they would be hatched yet but there they are-at least 3 or 4 of them. hard to tell with all the little fluff balls in there

7.14.09 Tuesday

"goodness from the garden, Garden in the Valley--Ho ho ho' remember that commercial from our younger days???

anyway on my way home tonight Mr S called me and told me to stop by Amy's house (Amy is my wonderful dear friend) because she had some fresh veggies she meant to leave at our house earlier.... so there i went. The woman is extraordinary!!my picture of the day today is the bounty of the good earth that God blessed us with... and a helping of good old fashioned work by Amy and company. i brought the goodies right home and Mr S and i got busy-- i gave him some "on the job training" on cole slaw making and cooked up some of the corn and squash and onion.. here is a picture of my plate!

it was a blessing to get the good veggies and we surely did enjoy it a ton. now i have to go cook the green beans and fresh potato's--- more yumminess in store!

thanks Amy!!

6.30.09 Tuesday

A sure sign that the 4th of July is right around the corner.... fireworks tents. Here in our corner of the world there are a plethora of fireworks tents popping up. Seems like there is one in every spare parking lot (even Walmart's parking lot has one this year) Yes, our county still allows fireworks.... so there is a thriving venue for making money and people "blowing" thier money up LOL

6.29.09 Monday

several months ago on a Sunday afternoon, Mr S decided to go out in the boat. He got the dogs (his faithful companions) and all his gear and went to get the boat ready to take to the lake. ...Well, it wasn't too long before he came back to the house with the news that we had been robbed! The boat motor was stolen right off of the boat in the yard.

He called the police and filed a report..... then on Monday Mr S went to the local marina to see if anyone had tried to sell one. Much to his delight they had the guy on tape trying to sell what looked like our boat motor.

Anyway, many months later (2 weeks ago) Mr S got a subpoena to appear in court this morning. We went---it was hot---it was crowded---it was sad (so many people in bad situations)-- not to mention that i had to go back to the car twice after we got there because you cant have a cell phone--OK I get that-- but you cant have a camera either!!---anyway-- the guy was ordered to pay restitution by 9/14/09 or we have to go back....sigh.....

so today's POTD is the courthouse

6.28.09 Sunday

today was unusual because Medic was having an appeal for blood on Sunday---usually they are Monday-Friday and occasionally a Saturday. But i have never seen them get donations on Sunday. Anyway Mr S, went and donated a unit. I have donated blood sine 1983 and now they wont take my blood because of one of the drugs i take (bummer!!). I guess Mr S will have to be our donate-or from now on. Donate Life!!!

6.27.09 Saturday

our fish are settling in the pond. When we come out to feed them they now come up to the top and are eager to get some grub... and they have grown a lot in the few short weeks we have had them. The tadpoles seem to be all grown up and gone. no more in the pond that we can find... Today's word is HOT!! and muggy

6.26.09 Friday

look what I saw today. We have had this blue bird house in our yard for many years. Every year we thing she has eggs in there but we are not ever sure. Today we were on our way down the driveway and i decided to take a look in there to see what was in there.... 5 eggs laid by our little blue bird momma.

6.25.09 Thursday

the backyard now--- still needs lots of work. But at least there is no big pile of dirt sitting there waiting to be moved.

6.24.09 Wednesday

found in our yard--- I didn't even know we had a daylilly!

Today is Brad's Birthday--happy Birthday Brad!!

6.23.09 Tuesday

Today I had to take an entire day off to see various doctors before my insurance changes. This is the favorites of all the ones i saw today.. This is Dr Paul (friend, dentist, elder and short-man), and Pam (dental hygienist, grandma and sorta relative) two of my favorite dental-type people.

6.22.09 monday

Today's POTD is Juan and Juanita... they will someday go to live in the waterfall... what a unlikely couple they are. but they make it work. LOL
Juan is the box turtle and hails from the Tennessee Aquarium as a gift from Katie, many years ago. She brought him for us when she went on a school trip.
Juanita came from Cracker Barrel this summer.... she is going to live on a lip of the waterfall.

6.21.09 Sunday

Father's Day

Today reminds me how just plain lucky I am. I was so blessed to find the perfect-for-me husband right off the bat--first time. Mr S is the worlds best dad. He should be the father of a bunch of little girls and boys. Too bad the heavenly father thought different---well I guess His plan is perfect no matter what it is. good qualities for a wonderful daddy--which just happen to be some of Mr S's best qualities

• a Christian
• no matter what the kid says you always have an answer (remember the talking bed)
• always ready to play a game, answer a question, or explain how something works
• quite strength
• willing to go along with whatever makes everyone else happy
• a great provider
• consistent and hardworking
• loves his wife
• loves his daughter
• loves the rest of his family
• all around good guy

6.20.09 Saturday

Brother and Sister-in-law extraordinaire

this is Mr S's sister Lois and her hubby Mark. The host and hostess with the mostest! We had a early FD cook out at their house today. We were invited over along with Charlie and Lillian, Daniel and Katie. We had a plethora of food . i took fresh cucs and onions out of the garden, Apple pie, Heath Bar Cookies and a cheesecake--- all the men there got their favorite dessert. good times

This is the sunset (after we had been to the grocery store) over the lake---beauty

6.19.09 Friday

Katie came in for the weekend. Tonight we got to take her to our new fav place to eat. She loved the decor. Rocky is one of Brad's fav movies so she took a photo to send him. We had a nice dinner and then she went and hung out with her friend Katie. Notice the shirt I have on---- Fight like a girl with the pink ribbon on it..... bought it from a friend to support their Relay team

6.18.09 Thursday

Today we had one of the worst storms I have ever seen. It got absolutly black outside.. with the yellow-green sky to boot. This was taken after the storm had passed. The wind came in sheets and the wind blew--and my computer got screwed up. I was seriously scared......

6.17.09 Wednesday

more sping flowers. This is the Clematis that is growing on our fence. it started out at Mr S's mother's house... now she lives with us

6.16.09 Tuesday

today I sat by the waterfall and pond for a long time and watched the pollywogs. They are fast becoming baby frogs---OK I know a tadpole is a baby frog But our little guys are getting legs---and having to come up to the top of the water for air.

6.15.09 Monday

today was my six month check up with Dr Mende--my eye doctor. I have to visit her frequently because of the medication I am on. It is something that has a potential for damage to the eye. Anyway--- her pronouncement is that "you have the driest eyes I have ever seen" words like "instant tear break up" and "they are supposed to last at least 15 seconds"---- "back on restasis" ----"genteal"--- "you HAVE to make sure you do this every single day"---"punctal plugs again"

so there you have it-- i have punctal plugs again (silicone plugs in my tear ducts to make sure what tears i do make stay in my eye and don't drain out), back on Restasis and will see Dr Mende again in 6 months

6.14.09 Sunday

today after church Mr S was back with his father moving dirt with the big boy's toy. Picture of the Day is Mr S putting the last load in the truck in the dark...they worked hard all day for two days---whata man, whata man, whata mighty fine man

6.13.09 Saturday

today the big thing is the big giant piece of machinery that came to my back yard. Mr S and his dad (Charlie) are at it again---playing in the dirt with big boy toys. They moved dirt from our house to one of the rental properties. Hot but they had a good day and got a lot done

6.12.09 Friday

today Mr S and his Dad started working with a new project. They started digging at the rental property and then will finish up at our house. While they were our digging at the other house I sat up shop in the pond area and watched the fish in the pond

6.11.09 Thursday

today was a day that my friend,Maggie, has worked hard for. Way back last year when we found out we were sold at work and there was so much uncertainty, Maggie made a change. She decided to enroll in beauty school and become a nail tech-- just the same time i decided to work on getting my CPC.

Anyway today, at 9:30 pm, our little WKWKW graduates. We are all so excited for her. She has worked full time, gone to school full time, kept up with 3 teens and a husband, a sick mother and the rest of the things we all do everyday.

The little group of us (and the wonderful Jennifer--who was not in the previous picture for some reason) got together and gave her a basket full of goodies, a cookie cake, and a decorated cube. She was so surprised---she cried.

The card we gave her was made by one of my scrappy friends......cant remember who made it but if you did and you made it please let me know. It is an awesome card. beautiful

6.10.09 Wednesday

this is the little group of friends that i work with:

L to R

front row--Shana Cable, me, Sherry Elliott

middle row--Terry VanLeeuen, Sharon Metz, Tina Lewallen

back row--Maggie Kirkpatrick

There are others that work in our department and in our aisle---however this little core group are my true friends. We help each other and really enjoy being together

6.9.09 Tuesday

today's POTD is what you will recognize as our favorite place to eat-- Good 'ol Days Diner.... tonight we had the "some like it hot burger'. This is one of the co-owners, Shannon, providing perfect service

6.8.09 Monday

Today I saw a Mimosa tree in bloom. i was driving to fast to get a photo of it--so I got this one from the net...cant remember who to give credit too...sorry

anyway the blossoms of this tree always remind me of my childhood.We had a large Mimosa tree that was growing on the edge of the yard. To me it was a summer happening-- it meant the long lazy days of summer were here for a while.

I loved that tree so much. To me it looked like a fairy house.. (see i loved fairy's even then) with the little flowers being the fairy clothes hanging on the clothes line to dry. I thought the little leaves (which curled up when you touched them) were a toy the fairy's left for me... sorta magic how they curled up and then came back to normal afterwards.

Mother always disliked that tree-- because the dying flowers made a mess in the yard, the sap made the car all sticky and they were hard to clean up.

But I did like that tree a whole lot.

6.7.09 Sunday

Today look at our garden--the Rabbit didn't eat everything after all! a baby cucumber

6.6.09 Saturday

we have fruit in our garden... granted it is tiny and small but it is something.....and it tasted great

6.5.09 Friday

the POTD today-- we got to have dinner and a short visit again with Betty Ann and David, Charlie and Lillian. it was soooo nice to visit a little again. Maggie took a real liking to David so she was in the pic too

6.4.09 Thursday

it is official-- I bought the first Christmas Gift for this year----or maybe i will keep it myself LOL

6.3.09 Wednesday

Tonight we went to eat dinner at Charlie and Lillian's and to renew acquaintance with Mr S's cousins Betty Ann and her DH David. We figured out it has been about 25 years since we last saw them. Their children were little and they had two beagles came through on the way to Arkansas.Anyway we have exchanged Christmas cards and that is about it. I loved seeing them again (Betty Ann is the daughter of my FIL's older brother) It seemed like just seeing a old friend that i had not seen in a long time. What fun. I cant wait to see them again. They currently live in Maine and have invited us to visit-- i cant wait

6.2.09 Tuesday

YEAH!!!! they live after all- Today's POTD is the fish that are now living in our pond.

went out to feed them tonight and soon after the food hit the water there they were---finally!!! some strange animal that was lurking in the pond didn't get them after all!!! actually these are not really good photos I was just glad to see something alive in there!

6.1.09 Monday

I think there is something in the pond eating my fish. We put those 20 in there on Friday and they have not been seen since..... I think there is some mysterious something down there eating them. Mr S declares that they have to still be there ---because there is no place they can go.... meanwhile there are now 8 Lilly leaves growing up

I started back to the Y with a vengeance today--- vow to go 4 days this week.... still have not lost ANY weight again

Today's POTD is of the clouds coming over the trees.... It didn't rain today and the clouds were beautiful.

5.31.09 Sunday

today is the "traditional" Memorial day--way back from when we celebrated holidays on the day they actually fell on the calendar---not on Friday or Monday so we could have a 3 day weekend

We got to spend part of the evening with Mr S's sister Lois, her hubby Mark, and their delightful grandson Micah. He just turned 6. When we got there Mark and Micah were working on the fort they are building. We also had a impromptu cookout. What fun we had talking, visiting and playing.... what fun it is to be around Micah and have him really talk to us. This POTD was taken as were were leaving and Lois was pulling Micah's ear to try to get him to stand still (LOL)