HAPPY NEW YEAR'S (EVE)

GREETINGS!

Here it is, the last day of 2010! Woke up about 5:00 a.m. to thunder, lightening, and hail and extremely strong winds. What a celebration!! Had to get up and let the dogs in, of which they were very appreciative.

I'm posting my New Year's Resolution (I don't usually make one) and I think I know beforehand it won't happen! :) Here it is, in all it's glory.



I resolve to get my golf cart charged and the 2 flat tires fixed for the New Year. That's so I can zip on down to Tom & Mary's new house (especially if there's a tornado warning)! I'm a gonna need help with this one! :)

Hope you all have a safe and sane New Year's Eve and a healthy, prosperous New Year.
Take care and God Bless.

Gator

GREETINGS!

Okay, yesterday I said I would try to get some pictures of Gator. True to my word, I did take some shots; however, I want you to know it is not easy taking pictures of a dog, especially with 2 others running around!

This first picture shows how "big" his chest is and how short his front legs are! That's why he needed new stairs into the 5th Wheel!!



This one is a good side view, and of course Patch had to butt in!



This is a back view. You kind of lose the bigness of him in the pictures.



And this is a really good shot, shows his beady eyes and flipped ear! :) He gets into trouble with me a lot by getting into things, and I call him "the Devil Dog".



These last two are "profiles" I guess.



Now you know why the new stairs were put in!



Frick and Frack worked down at the building site most of the day leveling and securing forms for the concrete pads. The truck will be here Thursday morning to pour. The hope is it won't freeze before it has a chance to set up.

That's all I know for today. Oh Lorilee, yes the hay bales are to keep the cold from blowing through under the 5th Wheel. Take care and God Bless.

Monday, December 27, 2010

GREETINGS!

I know that a lot of the United States is having some terrible, stormy weather; with snow and more snow, flight cancellations, automobile accidents, etc. But here in Green Country, Oklahoma this is what we had today: the most beautiful, bright blue sky you can imagine. I thank God for being so kind to us. We are supposed to get a little bit of rain on Wednesday, but nothing major, and only 1 day. It has been cold - 18 this morning warming to high 30's - and windy, but will warm up a bit later in the week.


AND, the good weather prompted an "addition" to the 5th Wheel.........a new set of stairs was built today. And guess what? They were built for Gator, the overweight, very short-legged Dachshund because he couldn't get up and down the stairs built on the 5th wheel! And Mary was tired of carting him up and down. Too funny! Maybe I can catch a picture of him tomorrow.


Frick and Frack went to town again yesterday and today I think. Had to get something!

We had a very nice Christmas dinner; ate too much but it was sooooooo good. Yesterday I de-decorated the house so I am all back in order and I love it! Hope you all enjoyed Christmas. Take care and God Bless.

The Week's Happenings

GREETINGS!

This is how the last two days have been here on the "mountain". Gray and foggy; the fog so heavy at times it covers the trees, ground and porches with a rain-like wetness.


It certainly reminds you that Winter has now arrived. But the good thing is that now the days will start to slowly get longer.

The few days since I last posted have been busy. Sunday was our Christmas Service at church, and it was beautiful. The children did their little play and sang some songs; one of which was Amazing Grace! I was so surprised they sang that, and they actually did a great job. These are 3 to 7 year old's we're talking about! Then the story of the birth of Jesus told in song by our Worship team, and scripture readings and a very short word from our pastor. Very lovely and enjoyable. After church Ronnie and I went to lunch with 3 ladies from church and had a great visit. A wonderful lady, who was perhaps my first acquaintance when I started going to this church, gave Ronnie a beautiful leather bound NLT Bible with his name imprinted on it. It was really kind of cute; she said "Now Teri, I don't like Ronnie better than you, but this is for Ronnie since he is the spiritual leader of the family." She gave me some home-made peanut clusters! We laughed at that one! She is 85 years old, and a real goer!

Monday was one of my granddaughter's 13th Birthday! They are sure growing up fast. Also on Monday morning, we went to Sallisaw to do our Christmas dinner shopping at WalMart. Got a turkey and pie making stuff and all the other necessities. While shopping, I had them change the oil in the van, so that worked out well.

Yesterday Ronnie and brother Tom went to Tulsa. Tom sold his big truck to a dealer there, so Ronnie went to give him a ride back home. They were gone all day; and guess what? Today they went off again, shopping at WalMart in Stigler! I told them they were worse than little old (or not so old) ladies when it came to going and shopping!

But while they were gone yesterday I had the opportunity to do all the laundry, vacuum and play the Christmas songs on my piano without interruption. Kind of nice, actually. So now it is only 3 days until Christmas. I hope you are all ready and rested up for the festivities!

Take care and God Bless.

Getting Settled

GREETINGS!

Now that Tom and Mary are here permanently, they have a lot to do to get settled! I snapped this picture of Tom working on getting stuff out of the big truck. I think it was the refrigerator he was after; had to remove the passenger seat to get it out!


Mary had a huge job getting all the clothes and food and utensils and sundries out. Can you imagine living - and I do mean living - in that small of a space for any length of time? I sure can't. The next pic is just a shot of the back of the truck.


And the transition is from the above truck into this 5th Wheel. Quite a big improvement actually! The hay bales are to try to keep the wind from blowing under and keeping it a little warmer inside. This will be their home until the containers are transitioned in to a house! Don't know exactly when that will happen as a lot depends on the weather. Of course Patch and Salli had to get in the picture!




That's all I know for now. Take care and God Bless.

Finally Home

GREETINGS!

The day my brother, Tom, and his wife Mary, have been waiting for came today at Noon.
They officially pulled into the driveway at the "Welcome Home" sign for the last time in the BIG truck. Retirement begins after living on the "highway" for the last 10/7 years.



Personally, I don't think I would have been able to survive that way for that long! Takes a special breed of person I believe. I envy all the states they have been in, and the places they have seen, and am thankful that Mary loves photography so I get to "visit" some of those places via pictures. It is so nice to have them "home", and to have "neighbors". And of course Patch and Salli are happy that now they have 2 more playmates.

We look forward to a great Christmas dinner together and lots of good times in the coming years. Of course there will be lots of work coming when they begin to get their earth contact container home under way; and the barn put up, and fences mended, and animals purchased, etc. And of course a garden and canning to do. I can hardly wait. It is somewhat comforting to know that this is where we will spend the rest of our days, and that life will be what we make it with help from the Lord. Sometimes I wonder what else He has in store for us, but I guess I'll find out won't I? I'll just try to be patient and pay attention!

That's all I know for now. Take care and God Bless.

It's A Sepia World

GREETINGS!

Sunday as we were driving to church the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. I noticed that where we were driving all the grass was rusty brown, which is common in Oklahoma in the winter, and the trees that still had some leaves were rusty brown also. The "colors" have long since passed. So between the grass, trees and fields there is nothing but a rusty brown, dark orangey color. And the sun was shining on it all and it was a sepia picture just like out of the 1800's photos. Amazing!

My pictures don't really capture all that true look and feeling, but you get the idea. Wish I'd had a camera with me on Sunday!



Take away the little bit of green and the white barn site, and you see SEPIA!
Some people see only bare, dead trees and leaves and feel depressed; but I prefer to see God's creations as a sepia photograph. And I know that in the blink of an eye - more or less- full color will be restored in the Spring. I think that's what will happen to me too when I pass from this world into God's. Does that make sense?



As I see it, everything has some beauty; you just have to look for it. :)



And this is about as bare naked as you can get! But you see, even this old tree is reaching up to the heavens! And it too will once again become dressed in green and furnish shade and be a home to birds, etc. in the blink of that eye.



I've had a really busy (?) day! My computer has been acting up so I spent a couple hours on the phone with the help desk installing and uninstalling programs and browsers and Java and Flash players, etc. All to no avail........I still can't get in to my POGO games! It insists there is a JAVA problem and if there is, we can't fix it from here! What to do??!! I need Mary to hurry up and get home - Tuesday can't get here fast enough!

Wednesday Ronnie had his appointment with the dermatologist and had more of the melanoma mole removed. It went well and it appears he doesn't have to go back for a year. That was good news. Then Thursday Salli had her appointment to be spayed. We picked her up and she piddled all over the Vet's office floor 3 or 4 times, threw up in the car on the way home and then threw up some more all evening in her crate. What a mess! But I felt so sorry for the poor little thing. I don't know if they gave her too much anesthetic or what. She is feeling better today and eating a little, so maybe she is on the mend.

Tomorrow I'm going shooting again with Ronnie on Rattlesnake Mtn. Look forward to visiting with my friend Kathy and eating her home made cookies and drinking coffee! Then afterward have to go in to Checotah and do some human and canine shopping. Will be a busy day.

Have a great weekend. Take care and God Bless.

Kitchen & Misc.

GREETINGS!

This is the last posting of Christmas decorations........I promise! I know it must get a little boring after a while, but if I have to suffer through it, so do you!

This is just a shot of the coffee table in the front room, showing my favorite Snowman box! Nothing in it, but I'll think of something....popcorn or candy, etc.



This is the dining room area of the kitchen. I love my table cloth and place mats. They really bring the spirit and color of Christmas into being. And the 2nd picture shows the wreath hanging on the double window by the table. It's kind of dark, but you get the idea. Actually looks pretty darned good.






This is a vase of greens I set on the little island. But I've since relocated it into the guest bathroom with a metal snowman and a little stuffed rudolph.



And this.......this is KING JAX, sitting in the rocker wondering what the heck I am doing putting all this "stuff" around the house! He can't get on top of the piano any more now, and things just aren't the same!



And last, but not least, is my little Snow Cleaning Lady with her broom and bucket. She lights up and it sitting right next to my computer. I only wish that when the time comes she could really help clean up all this stuff!



All in all, it has been fun decorating since we really didn't do it last year. It was kind of like opening presents and finding things you "forgot" you had. It just came to mind that I didn't show any of the "Christ" decorations........just trust me that they are there. I have a ceramic cross on the wall that gives the story of Jesus' birth in cutout pictures; kind of like a nativity. And the nativity scene is on top of the bookcase. We sometimes get carried away decorating and forget to focus on the real reason we celebrate: The birth of our Savior. Amen

Take care and God Bless.

It's A Done Deal

GREETINGS!

Hooray! I finished decorating today!! Right now I really like it and think its very cute........in a couple days I will think it's cluttering up my house and will want to take it all down. Which I do the day after Christmas! It's not that I'm a Scrooge about Christmas, I just don't like clutter, or too much "stuff" sitting around! But anyway, on with the show.......

This first picture is part of my collection of Snowmen. I just love Snowmen. The 2 white ones in the middle were made by my youngest daughter's kids several years ago, and one's head is about empty of rice or beans or whatever, but I still love it.



Even the couch has its own Snowman - on a pillow.



This big guy sitting on the piano plays music when you squeeze his left foot. Cute.
And the "Cowboy" Santa on the table is, of course, Ronnie's. He plays a Christmas version of "Rawhide" and his lariat moves and his arm with the hat goes up and down. He will probably make a trip to the cowboy shooting range this coming weekend. Almost forgot, his hips rotate too!



This is part of my collection of old fashioned Santa's. There are still some BIG ones and my porcelain set with Santa, reindeer and polar bear; but not enough room!



And this is Bugs Bunny's Brass Band. Of course Taz is part of the band(Ronnie has/had a thing for Taz). It plays 20 different Christmas songs. Ronnie had this when we got married. It looks really cute under the bunch of greenery.



And this is our poor little tree. It is fiber optic, but that didn't show in the picture. This tree was my Mom's, and I think it is about ready to be retired. Like next year I think. We love it anyway.............



Besides doing all that, I got the laundry done, burned papers, fed critters, cleaned bathrooms, etc. Busy day. Tomorrow I'll show you the kitchen decorations. We spent 6 hours at church yesterday - Sunday School, Church service, potluck and our pastor's ordination service. Was a long day, but very enjoyable. Lots of singing of Christmas carols and other songs, and fellowshipping.

I've been contemplating getting my hair permed (I do this every year about this time) so I used the curling iron on it the other day. Let me tell you, I cannot wait to get to the beauty shop and get a haircut! Even Ronnie said curly hair was for little old ladies - a nice way to say it made me look like one! It was disgusting. I'm hoping I can get in tomorrow.

Well, I hope this finds you all busy and well. Take care and God Bless.

More................

GREETINGS!

True to my word, I did a little bit more decorating today. I went out this morning with my trusty little saw and cut boughs off a cedar tree that was mis-shapen and ugly.........but the boughs were pretty. Now I have to say, between the naked eye and the eye of the camera, my beautiful pots of greenery lost a great deal! In person they look very pretty. It was fun doing them anyway. Here are the results.





And of course there is my Christmas Goose! He seems to be the only one of my "birds" that survived the "fowl" play of the coyotes. Guess you gotta be thankful for what you've got! :)



I'm hoping this weekend to get my bins of Santa's and Snowmen and my tree out of the storage trailer. Then I'll have something to do for sure!

I also played some Christmas songs on the piano today to get more in the mood. It was great.

Then we took Salli to the Vet for her last round of puppy shots and scheduled her appointment for spaying next week. When we got her 2 months ago she weighed 8 pounds and is now 28 pounds. She would be a little more if she hadn't been lost for 5 days!

That's all I know. Have a great weekend. Take care and God Bless.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

GREETINGS!

And we are in the month of December! I'm decorating for Christmas a little bit at a time. Takes less energy that way and makes less mess. :) Here's a look at some of what I've done.

This picture is my absolute favorite so far. It just speaks to me of olde west Oklahoma with cowboys, horses, a ranch,etc. This is the entrance to our driveway, and if you did not turn right into it, you would be going down the steep hill on the side of the "mountain".



This of course is my dear piano with lights around the mirrors to give it some sparkle. Eventually I will have my Snowmen collection on top of the piano.



And this is of course above the cabinets in my kitchen. It gives it some sparkle also. And I'm thinking the lights will stay even after Christmas. I love 'em!



Ronnie has outlined the front and back porches with lights and it looks really cool. Of course no one really sees it but us and the dogs, but hey, we love it! I'll post more as I get to it.

Had a great shopping trip to WalMart today. Ronnie went to Tulsa with friend John for more metal roofing so I felt free to look and take my time for a change! Boy did I shop! Got some new shoes, 3 new pairs of slacks, some socks and other stuff that my brother would say is too much information, and just shopped in general. Was really fun........until check out time! ha

Hope you all are getting in the spirit of the Season (remember, Jesus is the reason for the season). Take care and God Bless.

Thanksgiving Ice

GREETINGS!

Hi! It seems like weeks rather than days since I've posted. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was very enjoyable. The day before Thanksgiving it was 80 degrees out. Thanksgiving morning there was an ice storm. As we drove to our friends house, which is about 20+ miles from us and in another county, it began raining and freezing. This was about 10:45 a.m. It truly turned in to a show only God could produce and invite you to! These pictures really don't do justice to the beauty, but maybe you'll get the idea.....

This one is my favorite; the weeds and ice on the barbed wire fence.



This one is a garden area in Kathy's front yard. The sun was hitting it in the afternoon and it truly looked like diamonds sparkling.



Same area as above, just a different angle.



A couple of pine boughs in the front yard.



And this I'm in love with; no ice on it yet, but it is covered in these brilliant red berries. I'd love to pick some branches, but I'm afraid the berries would fall off!
It speaks Christmas to me!!



Our dinner was superb: turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cooked carrots, cold slaw, deviled eggs, crescent rolls and homemade apple cranberry relish :) that was excellent. And for dessert, well there was mincemeat, pumpkin, and cherry pies and homemade apple strudel type thing. Divine. And the best part was Kathy sent leftovers home with us! It truly was the best meal I've had in a long time. Kathy is originally from Wisconsin so I think it was the Yankee touch that made it so good. Not that the Southern touch isn't good, just different than what I grew up with!

Most of all, I was so thankful for new friends to share the day with; friends whose children were away the same as ours and so we could share our stories and feelings about them and wish them all well.

Take care and God Bless.

Ugly Bathroom - Temporary Fix

GREETINGS!

I've been busy trying to fix the ugly medicine cabinet/cupboards in the master bathroom. These ugly doors were on them, and besides being ugly, you couldn't have anything on the counter because you needed all the space to open the door to get something out of the cupboard!



My temporary fix was to take the doors off and hang towels to act as "doors". At least now you can have some necessary items on the counter without having to move everything when you want something out of the cupboard! My hope someday is to completely remove the cupboards and do something different. Just need to catch Ronnie in the right mood to accomplish that!



Here's a picture of Ms Salli. Yesterday afternoon her and Patch took off on a journey again, and didn't return home until well after 8:00 p.m. We were so miffed at them - and worried! We couldn't imagine where they had gone and why they were gone for so long. It is not like Patch to be gone for such a long time. They were both kind of muddy, even though it hasn't rained - so who knows. Like Ronnie says, if some day they don't come home, there won't be any more animals. You give your heart and money and then lose it! And like I said, and Carolina Nana too, we do not tie dogs up; they are totally in God's care.



I'm tired today from mopping and vacuuming and such. Hope you are not wearing yourselves out preparing for Thanksgiving. Take care and God Bless.

Fresh Mistletoe!

GREETINGS!


When I first moved to Oklahoma, I kept seeing these round, green balls in some of the trees. It seemed very strange to me -- no leaves on the trees, but sometimes lots of these green balls! I took a guess that it was Mistletoe, and finally found I was right!





So, the dark objects you see on these trees are in fact Mistletoe balls (for lack of something better to call them).










This is on a smaller tree, but is closer so you can see it better. And it was the only one on this tree.

And this is a piece we picked off the small tree. Looks exactly like what you buy in the store around Christmas time. It's amazing!! I don't know if they preserve it with something or not, but I don't care........I'll use fresh stuff!!

Mistletoe is a hemi-parasitic plant that grows attached to and within the branches of a wide range of host trees and/or shrubs. They first sprout from bird droppings (poop) on the trunk of the tree. The droppings contain the seed of the plant. Mistletoe was the floral emblem of Oklahoma for quite sometime; and in 2004 the Oklahoma Rose became the State flower, so I don't know what distinction the Mistletoe hold here now, but it sure is plentiful in our area.

Besides the tradition of kissing someone standing under a branch of Mistletoe, it is also a tradition to keep a branch/bundle in the house throughout the year to save/protect your house from lightening and/or fire. You replace the bundle each year on Christmas Eve. I believe all these traditions started in Europe.

It amazes me the new things I learn about Oklahoma. It's truly an interesting place; as I'm sure every state is, it's just more so to me since I'm a new comer!

NOW! For the good news......when I came home from working at the church Closet on Saturday afternoon, Salli came bouncing into the driveway to greet me! I was sooooo
surprised! And grateful that God had answered my prayers - again! Note to Carolina Nana: when we leave the place now we put one of the dogs in the house in the crate so they won't be lead astray again! During the day all we can do is keep an eye on them and if we see them wandering off we call them back. Other than that, I don't know what you could do - short of tying them up, and I WILL NOT do that. Anyway, she was very hungry, is a little slimmer, and very happy to be home. And so was I.

That's all I know. Take care and God Bless.

Worn Out!

GREETINGS!

I have been working my fanny off (if I had one) this week! Ronnie and I had been sleeping in separate bedrooms for the past few months, and I decided that was enough of that and so the "move" began on Monday. There were all my hanging clothes to move, my chifforobe and of course pictures/accessories, etc. Not to mention having to move stuff out of one bathroom into the master bathroom. I think I'm about done, except for cleaning the guest bathroom.

I of course changed the bed sheets and dug out this lovely quilt I bought in Branson one year. And found these pillows on a shelf in a closet.



And of course I had to bring my old trunk back and put it at the end of the bed. It's nice to put the quilt on at night since it is so terrible hot with it on the bed.


There were lots of things to move into the back bedroom where I was, to make room for my chifforobe. Ronnie had amassed a lot of his gun/cowboy stuff and various other items in a heap next to the wall, so all that had to be moved. The gun safe remains, but I guess I can live with that. It will be nice when he has a separate "gun" room someday and all the guns and tools and stuff can go out of the mobile. In the meantime, I don't expect any company so it'll be fine. It was a very good excuse- or opportunity - to clean and revamp and organize.

Today was spent totally moving and organizing bathroom stuff. I threw away so much outdated stuff I'm amazed! I found an old box of hair color so I called Revlon and they recommended I throw it out. Even though it doesn't really expire, they recommended I NOT use it! There were several partial bottles of mouth wash, lotions, etc. all gone now! And lots more room in the cupboards. YAY. Even moved towels and sheets and blankets to better places in the linen closets. So, it's good to be done and back in my memory foam queen size bed. Now if I can just adjust to my husband and Patch.......... :)

And this (below) is Ronnie's winter radish harvest! I'm thinking it didn't go so well...........


Oh, my Sallie is gone again! Only this time we know what the deal is. Patch goes for "walks" off the property, and Sallie followed him. Problem being, he didn't wait for her to follow him back home. I wonder if that was on purpose??? They were both missing Tuesday afternoon, and then Patch came home, but no Sallie. I can only hope that she finds her way to a house, and that the people look at the tag on her collar and look up her ID # on the internet and call me. So far, nothing. I am praying that God will bring her back one more time..........

That's all I know. Take care and God Bless.