Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Just Cruisin'


Greetings From Green Country! I don't know why, but I'm having trouble posting my pictures again this evening. The picture at the top is my beloved 1974 Jeep CJ 5.

About 8 years ago our neighbor in Missouri had this Jeep for sale and I fell in love with it. So I talked my husband in to giving his old relic of an El Camino (unfinished) with my $500 for the Jeep! Since then, it has been a lot of fun. We only drive it during dry, sunny weather - summer mostly - because there is no top per se, or doors or windows. It is definitely a fair weather vehicle. And we mainly drive it on the old dirt/gravel country roads. Unless of course we have to go a little ways on a real road/street, like Ronnie drives it to church sometimes. Anyway, today we took some blackberries to my friend Judy and took the Jeep. We went on some awesome dirt roads and saw some great scenery. It's a grand way to cool off too. And the dogs love it. There is a little area behind the front seats where they can stand, sit or lay and feel the summer wind. Once and awhile we do have a problem with coming upon other dogs and Patch wanting to jump out and "defend" us! :)

When Ronnie trailered the Jeep down here to OK he had about 4 offers of people wanting to buy it. He told them he would be in big trouble if he sold his wife's Jeep. And besides, it was promised to my grand-daughter when she turned 16. That was when she was about 4 or 5, and she will be 13 this summer. And she has not forgotten!! But now, of course, I've reconsidered and don't think it's a good vehicle for a young girl. What shall I do? Cross that bridge when we get to it I suppose.

The bottom picture is of Patch and his new haircut. I told you we bought dog clippers the other day, and Ronnie has put them to use. Did a right good job too! Patch looks so much more "adult" and well groomed. That one haircut paid for the clippers too! Hopefully he will stay cleaner and better smelling and not shed much now.

Well, that's all for today. I hope your day was enjoyable. Take care and God Bless.

 
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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

What's Your Sign?





Well, here we go again! I had a fairly productive day, as days go. Managed to do up last night's supper dishes before Noon and then watch my soap! :) Also put 2 more coats of paint on the inside of the cupboard doors I'm working on. I've made myself a promise that by Friday I would have them finished and ready for Ronnie to hand. He did hang one with new hardware today, and does it ever look nice. Can't wait for you to see the before and after pictures. Anyway, if I meet my goal then I'll only have 4 drawers to paint and by end of the following week I'll be all done! Well, with that part of the project.

So, how do you like my pictures today? These are the signs I have bought from various catalogs that I get. I am hooked on them.......and there are so many more I love, but alas, where would I put them all? Some of the others I like are:
It Is What It Is; When Pigs Fly; Jesus Knows Me, This I Love; Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass It's about learning to dance in the Rain; Begin each day with a Grateful Heart; Always Kiss Me Goodnight; Life is just better when I am with my dog; Love You More; and Be Nice or Leave.

One thing I have done, is to buy some flour sacks and embroider some of the sayings onto them and when I dry dishes I can see them. All you need is a dark lead pencil and print right on the cloth; embroider and wash and you're done. The pencil marks wash off. Give it a try. I love to embroider; I've done several sets of pillow cases, a luncheon cloth in cross stitch; and lots of dish towels. After awhile, you run out of people to give them too. My girls got some, but I think the stuff is too "old fashioned" for them, which is the drawing point for me!

One more thing before I go. Yesterday going to shopping I finally saw my first tarantula crossing the blacktop road........and I think I ran over it! Yay, 20 points. They seem to be out and about more this year, as last year we didn't see a one and so far this year we've seen 4 I think, and 3 of those in our yard. I'm okay with it as long as they stay outside! :)

That's all for tonight. Take care and God Bless.

Monday, June 28, 2010

A Taste of Summer

 
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Hello Friends!
Here we are at the beginning of another week. I hope you all had a great weekend, and look forward to the new adventures this week will bring.
I want to start by expounding on the picture I posted for today. To my way of thinking, there is nothing better than a juicy, ripe tomato plucked from the garden vine and small, firm cucumbers. Unless of course it is sweet corn that was picked fresh and bought from the farmer's field early in the morning. These things have been our staples for supper for the past few days. It seems we wait all winter long for fresh vegetables and when the time arrives we make pigs of ourselves!
It's truly amazing to have all this wonderful stuff since we don't have a garden! :) This past winter I gave my friend my electric keyboard (piano type) for her grandson. It was decided that because I didn't want money for it, she would "pay" me in fresh tomatoes and cucumbers this summer. What a deal!! And the sweet corn is from the little town of Webbers Falls, OK where it's a major crop; and close by and they sell it out of a farm wagon along side the highway. I hope you all are as fortunate and can sample the garden goodness. There's nothing like it. One of the best things is being here in Oklahoma and getting such early harvests. Back home in Western Washington State, you didn't get anything out of the garden until August or later!
My weekend was busy. I worked at the church in the Clothes Closet for 3 hours Saturday morning. What a joy to see people come in and get very needed items of clothing all for a "thank you". We had 24 families representing 92 people and taking 900+ items of clothing. Isn't God just grand? I think word is spreading and we will continue to grow and help people. On Sunday there was Sunday School and then church. Then after Ronnie and I stopped by Charlie Chicken for lunch. That's becoming a Sunday habit.......a good one too.
Today was a mandatory trip to Checotah and WalMart to get water and Hummingbird food. And another feeder. When we put up the first feeder we only had 2 hummers; now there are 6 of them "fighting" for a spot in the 4 bird feeder. So, problem solved........for now. Also bought a kit for grooming the dogs....clippers and such. Now we just have to get brave and start cutting. It's been so hot that the long hair on Patch is making it worse. I think if his hair is shorter he will be cooler and maybe have less bugs and itches. And, he might stay cleaner!
Okay, I'm done for today. Going to try to post the picture......wish me luck!
Take care and God bless.
 
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Sunday, June 27, 2010

My Friday Post is Under Sunday June 27 date!

I'm not normally going to post on Sundays, but as you can see, things are all messed/mixed up! I was trying to "fix" the layout of pictures and stuff and somehow I ended up like this.......things where they weren't originally, under the wrong date, etc. So just read and enjoy, don't pay attention to the dates, and I'll try and do better next time. As I said, this is a learning experience..........I just don't think I'm learning too much!

I'll be back with you all tomorrow. Take care and God bless.

It's Friday!

Good Evening! If you have had a chance to read yesterday's post, you'll see I had quite a time posting the pictures of my Guinea Girls. At one point this morning - trying to fix it - I had double the pictures; who knows, maybe by tomorrow I won't have any! I'm sure there is an easier, faster was to post pictures, but I don't know it yet. I forgot to tell you how you tell girl from boy Guineas: the girls make a 2 syllable noise and the boys only a 1 syllable noise. The girls can imitate the boys but not vice versa! Just a little trivia. :)

After my morning routine I painted some more cupboards and changed the sheets on my bed, and did that load of laundry. Ronnie decided we should go out for supper, so we drove over to Lake Tenkiller and went to Soda Steve's. It's a cute little place at a resort, and they have great food. I had a patty melt and Ronnie had a pork tenderloin sandwich; and of course we had a 1/2 order of cheese fries - but somehow they ended up chili cheese fries - which I don't care for much. We ate most of them anyway, and I brought home 1/2 of my sandwich. You do not leave there hungry!

Ronnie has been going nuts picking blackberries. We have I don't know how many bags in the freezer, and I've made 3 or 4 cobblers so far. Going to have some later tonight with ice cream. It's a good thing. Oh, I know what else I did today........watched the hummingbirds (4 of them) battle each other for a spot at the feeder. They are so small and feisty, and they definitely don't like sharing! Very entertaining. Tomorrow is the Saturday my church has their Clothes Closet open. Once a month (for now) it is open to anyone who wants or needs clothes, and there is no charge. I love volunteering on those Saturdays and seeing people who really need clothes get them. It always bugged me to give my clothes to a charity that turned around and sold them to people. I LIKE GIVING THEM AWAY!!! Kids come in with their Moms and leave with lots of stuff and are smiling all the while. And the donations we have are nice things, some still with tags on them. So, the Lord is working at the First Southern Baptist Church of Gore, OK!! Kudos to our pastor's wife for spearheading the project.

While driving home from supper this evening, I was thinking how blessed I am to be living in such a beautiful country. The wild flowers are in abundance here, and the prairies and meadows are so green and inviting. The cattle and horses are abundant also, and I love to see the cows up to their necks in the ponds, trying to cool off. Birds and butterflies are everywhere too. I so wish more people had the opportunity to live in the country and enjoy God's creations. Of course, I do get upset when I see so much litter on the ground! I say if they would quit making Bud Light beer and McDonald sacks it would cut the litter in half! If people only knew how much they spoil the beauty for others. I could go on, but I'll quit.

I was also thinking how blogging is just like journaling. The difference is you don't have to die and wait for someone to find your journals to read; and it saves on hand cramping from writing. I love it!! I'm going to try to post a picture of our "front" yard for you to see how beautiful and serene it is here on the hill. I don't know if it will be on the top or bottom of this post, but either way, it'll work. :) Okay, I'm done for today; take care and God bless.


 
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Thursday, June 24, 2010

An Introduction To The Guinea Girls

 
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P.S. I figured out how to do it! Yay for me. So now you can officially meet "The Girls".
The top pic is them at 3 days old. The ones following this post are them at 10 wks.

Good evening! I had big plans to post pictures of my Guinea Girls tonight, but alas, I can't seem to find the icon that allows me to post pictures! This blogging is truly God's way of testing my patience! I'll tell you about them, and maybe later I'll find the picture posting thing. :)

Anyway, had a good day resting my hips up - until I ran the vacuum! Did finish painting 1 drawer and 1 cupboard door which will be ready for the new hardware tomorrow. It's getting quite windy and stormy outside right now; big black clouds hanging down and thunder rolling. Gotta go find my girls. Will continue in a bit. That was quick -- my husband had already put them in the coop. He said they went right in when it started thundering! Smart girls.

I'd been itching to have some kind of "critters" on the place, and since the fences have not been mended I settled for Guineas instead of a goat. Ronnie (husband) transformed a flatbed type trailer into a coop for me (well for the keets) with tin roof and chicken wire sides and a nice gate. I found a place on line to order the keets (that's what baby guineas are called) and so I did - 8 of them. The day they were born - in Texas - they were put in a box and mailed to me. On the 3rd day I went to the post office and picked them up. Ronnie held the box on the way home and peeked inside. He said "there are more than 8 chicks in here". I said there couldn't be cause that's all I ordered. When we got them home and opened the box, there were 8 keets and 6 rooster chicks. The invoice said the chicks were to help keep the keets warm during shipping!

So began my life as a keet farmer. I had bought an old fashioned galvanized wash tub to put them in; and the only place to put it where they would be warm was here in the computer room! So for about 5 weeks they were in the house. Then one day the smell just got to me and I asked Ronnie how quickly he could build that coop! Out they went on the front porch in their tub and by evening they were in the coop with a big warming light shining on them. It worked just fine, and still does. I did lose 2 of the keets though. I'm not sure what happened to them, but one died in side here and one later in the coop. Maybe they were just sickly or something. I also lost a rooster, but that was by a predator of some kind, because in the morning we found a hole in the chicken wire on the gate. Amazing that whatever it was only took a rooster, but I am thankful for that. Now the Border Collie - Patch - is outside 24/7 guarding the girls. They are 10 weeks old now and doing well.

I did give 4 of the rooster chicks to my friend's grandson since I couldn't imagine having 6 roosters running around crowing!! So now I only have 1 rooster and he thinks he's a guinea. He's so funny to watch; the girls take off in a low fly and he runs like crazy to follow them. My reason for getting Guineas is they supposedly eat lots of ticks, grasshoppers, and all kinds of other bugs, help keep snakes away and are like watch dogs with their chatter when some one or something strange comes into the yard. And of course, they are very entertaining.

My girls are French Guineas and are really getting pretty. Their body feathers are black and white and their faces are bright blue with some red wattles or whatever they call it. Very colorful. Hopefully you will be able to see some of that if I get the pics up! I started naming them and couldn't keep them apart, so now 3 are called Marie and 3 Antoinette! Or.....
My Guinea Girls.

Raising the keets was time consuming, but they say if you don't raise them from babies they won't stick around your place. If you get them from someone else when they are grown, they will try and make their way back to where they came from - whether they find it or not!

So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. If you need some entertainment, get some Guineas.
That's it for now; take care and God Bless.
 

 
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

A Look Back At "The Move"

It was a busy day! Hubby left about 7 a.m. to go check out a friend's new property so I had the place to myself. After my morning routine of checking my email and making my scrabble plays, and playing a couple games of pinochle online it was shower time. Then time to paint some more. I'm redoing my kitchen cupboards and it is a slow and sometimes painful process. I have pics to post but think I'll wait until I'm done with the project. Today I had to literally lay on the kitchen floor to get the bottom area of the cupboards I was painting. Between that and sitting on the hard floor it was painful! My artificial hip and my other need an artificial hip did not like it at all! :) But, the 2nd coat was accomplished - one more to go and then I have the 4 drawers and 3 cupboard doors to do.

After doing that, and watching my soap - All My Children - hubby was home and we went to WalMart to do some shopping and to get some new cupboard door handles. It is a 30 mile drive to Wally World - one way - so it is usually a minimum of a 3 hour trip. We wanted to stop and have an early supper, but it was so hot - 100 degrees - we didn't dare leave the groceries in the car while we ate. Anyway, we got home, put things away and had a sandwich for supper! I did make a blackberry cobbler after supper and we'll have some of it before bedtime.

I thought I would share with you how we "lived" when we moved to Oklahoma. We packed up from Troy, Missouri and headed for Gore, OK on March 29, 2009. It was a rainy, stormy day with thunder and lightening toward evening which made driving exhausting. My husband was driving the pickup and pulling our 17 foot camp trailer, while I followed in my Van with 2 cats and the dog. We had gotten a late start, and with the bad weather we decided to stop in Souther Missouri for the night. Thank goodness!

Up early the next morning we loaded the animals and left. It is normally an 8 or 9 hour drive, but we were glad we took our time. We arrived in Gore early afternoon and found our new temporary "home". The RV Trailer Park. We lived for 3 months in that 17 foot trailer with 3 animals. And somehow made it through one of the wettest, windy-est, bad stormiest Springs OK has had in a long time - so they say. I know God was with us and kept me safe and sane! I told my husband I never wanted to set foot in that trailer or go camping again. And so far, a year later, I have not!

Enough rambling for today. I hope your day was all you hoped. Take care and God Bless.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Busy Day

I doubt I will converse much tonight.......I'm tired for some reason. Might be the heat....it's around 98 with the heat index of 106 or so. Kind of wears you out.

I made a little progress on using this Blog today.......learned how to post pictures. Had to call my daughter in the Seattle area for help. She has a Blog too, and was able to give me some help. Was nice talking to her and one of my grandsons. The 2 boys went fishing yesterday and each caught a nice steel head - 10 pounds or so a piece. The boys are 10 and 14 and have a sister 13. My daughter home schools them and they are quite smart and very well behaved children. Do you think I'm prejudiced? :)

I planned on continuing my moving saga, but am just not in the mood tonight. I guess that's one of the perks of being older, you can do (or not) what you want! Oh, when I posted the picture of our Border Collie I guess I should have mentioned the other person in the picture is my husband. I'll probably redo that picture and add more of our "critters" soon. I did do some more painting of my kitchen cupboards today.

I have 5 scrabble games going with cousins in different states. I love word games, and for $12 a year you can play online scrabble as much as you want. Kind of nice. Well, I'm going to sign off for tonight, but would like to leave you with this message I got in email today. Take care and God Bless.

"It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived." Now that's something to ponder!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Our Domain




Well, I think I'm ready to post something. I can tell this is going to be a slow learning process! Please bear with me while I try and figure out how to post pictures, etc. The one picture I did post is the road to our place in Green Country. (which I now see is at the bottom of this post) And Green Country is what they call the area of Oklahoma that covers the Northeastern border down to a little South of Muskogee and to the Arkansas border. Not a good explanation, but it has a lot of trees and greenery, lakes and rivers, trout fishing, camping, outdoor activities, etc. We are at the very Southern end of Muskogee County, which is the end of Green Country. We are about 45 miles west of Fort Smith, Arkansas, 30+ miles south -ish of Muskogee and 85 miles south-ish of Tulsa. Anyhoo, its beautiful country.

If you can believe it, they brought our mobile home up that steep hill early last summer. All roads around here are dirt and gravel and shale; and hard on your tires. We moved in on the 4th of July last year. It was a lot of work - for my husband - getting everything ready, as the 20 acres had nothing....nada....zilch.....except brush and trees. The well had to be dug- which ended up giving us salty water - which means we drink bottled water; trees and brush had to be cleared so the power company could put in poles and lines, space had to be cleared for the mobile; cement pads had to be made to set the mobile on; and of course the propane had to be piped and put in; water lines run from the well, etc. I've never been through all that before, so it was really a learning experience.

I guess I should tell how we came to be here. My husband lost his job in Wright City, Missouri and my brother and his wife had these 20 acres here in Oklahoma. The plan was the 4 of us would retire here someday; well, someday came sooner than expected for us. It is very life altering to go from 2 incomes to one, but so far we are making do. We live on my SS and retirement, which isn't a lot. My brother and wife are long haul truck drivers with their own truck and they plan on retiring in December. So I am looking forward to having some company then. It is very "alone" up here on the hill.

You know, I think I've rambled on enough for tonight. Hope I haven't bored you. Let me know if you've had similar experiences. Would love to hear from you. Take care and God bless.