Road Trip!

GREETINGS!

Saturday was go to the city day, and it turned in to a road trip by the time we had made all the stops!

Starting out of course, we had to pass the new "chicken barns" being built.
They are coming right along with #1.

And #2 is getting a start as you can see on the far right.

Somewhere between Muskogee and Checota, along the freeway - I69 South - were these beautiful golden trees. I don't know what they are, but when the sun hits them just right they are georgeous! The picture doesn't do it justice, that's for sure!

And close to home again, we see 2 deer in the brush/pasture. We saw 4 all totaled, but 2 here. (enlarge to see better)

So, we went to Muskogee to the Sooner Surplus Store where they have all sorts of things they've bought out from other stores. Furniture, electronics, clothes, shoes, some food, etc. It's always fun to go in and look around. Also in Muskogee, we went to Wall's - another surplus store - and bought a new fake Christmas tree! It's not super, but it will do. We went to Hobby Lobby also and looked at trees....Now that was hilarious! The cheapest one was $100+ and that was a little thing; most were $200 and up, and that was with 40% off! Needless to say, we didn't buy one there! I did buy a few fat quarters there though.

Then we left Muskogee and went to Checotah to grocery shop. But before shopping we stopped at Denny's for an early supper/late dinner. Nothing fancy, but it was good. Ronnie ordered a Philly sandwich and when it came he was upset because it had cooked red and green peppers on it! Which he absolutely hates - says they make him sick! I had ordered the senior chicken fried steak supper with mashed potatoes and cole slaw so I traded him. It worked out fine, and the sandwich was very good! I know he knows the trademark of a philly sand is peppers; he must have forgot! Senior moment maybe.........

Anyway, on to WalMart for groceries and new jeans for Ronnie. Got a new rug for the back door since it will soon be wet season with doggies coming in! Then to Shelton's where we buy milk and meat. I tell you, by the time we got home - around 6 p.m. - I was really worn out! I think we'd covered at least over 100 miles. Who knew shopping could be so exhausting?! I guess that's the way it is when you live in the far out country.

Until next time, take care and enjoy God's Blessings.

How To Pass The Day

GREETINGS!

In the last few weeks we have started doing jigsaw puzzles.... or rather Ronnie has! He gets going on one and doesn't quit until its done; where I would do it over several days. But this is the latest one completed.

It's a great way to wile away the time if you've nothing better to do!

Oh, to Carolina Nana: my daughter's website is not completed yet, as I'm sure you found out when you tried to visit. Sorry, I posted that information not knowing it wasn't done. She said you can go to her Facebook page to see more about her products if you do Facebook. Hope you can find it! Up in the search line on top left side type in A Tree by the River.

Until next time, take care and enjoy God's Blessings!

My Birthday

GREETINGS!

Last Saturday - the 22nd - was my birthday. I was a wonderful 67 years old! I say that because life is good, and God has given me an extra 20 years for which I am grateful. A little over 20 years ago I had a brain aneurysm and did what most people don't do..........I survived! So each year is a milestone that I thank the Lord for.

Anyway, in the mail yesterday I got a package from my daughter and grand daughter in Bonney Lake, Washington. Here are the contents:

From daughter some wonderful, organic home made soaps that smell divine and leave you squeaky clean! I love them.

And from Grand daughter a hand made cotton dish rag that I love!

This is the first one she made for me, so I was really happy to get a new one!

I need to work on my close-ups with my new camera I see! But you get the gist of it!

This is my daughter's business card for her soap selling adventure. Well shoot, it's blurry too. But you can go to www.atreebytheriver.com to see her website and what she has to offer. The name of her busines is A Tree By The River, Farm & Soaps, Hand-made soaps & farm goods. I know she'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, take care and enjoy God's blessings.

Need A Pet?

GREETINGS!

On the way home Saturday we saw this in the road - about 1 1/2 miles from our house. I thought Ronnie had run over it, but he didn't, and had to back up and get a picture!

This is a "rear view" shot of it. Would have been better if from the front.
These are brown Tarantulas and not poisonous. The kind used for pets.
I keep thinking I should sell them, but don't know how to mail them! :)

This one was in our back yard and we saw him while eating supper last night. Of course Ronnie had to run out and take a picture. And the Tarantula was moving fast, and Ronnie was flicking it out, and it got irritated and kind of balled up! After the picture Ronnie got it on a stick and took it out to the bushes further away from the house. I think he was headed under our trailer!! :(

So if you want a new pet I seem to have quite a few around now. :) Just let me know!

Until next time, take care and God's Blessings to you.

Custom Made Sewing Table

GREETINGS!

As you might recall, I bought a new starter sewing machine a while back. It was a portable and was very hard for me to sew on due to the narrow space given to sew on. So I asked my talented husband if he could build me a table and make the sewing area flush with it. And here is the finished product!

It's great being married to a master cabinet maker! Sewing is so much easier now with a bigger surface to work on. Thank you honey!

I even finished another potholder and "quilted" it on the machine. I've ordered a couple of books on quilting projects and am anxious to get them. I'm hoping they have patterns and ideas and most of all instructions!!

Until next time, take care and enjoy all the blessings God sends your way.

I'm Baaack!!

GREETINGS!

Well,here is the first picture taken with my new camera! WalMart did not have a card for my old camera since it is so old, so I bought a new Vivitar. It's so cute! The camera was only $40 and the card was $10, and then I had to buy batteries, but all in all I think it was very reasonable. I think it's my happy birthday present! Nothing fancy, well maybe some if you read the book, but I don't do fancy - just point and shoot! Seems to take good clear pictures - I mean look at those wrinkles on my poor old face. Thank you Ronnie...............

Then he took a picture of the pumpkins lined up outside of WalMart. Nice!

Last Sunday my brother had a BBQ and invited the neighbors from the ridge and holler. There were 11 of us in all. Tom BBQ'd 4 big pieces of Brisket and we had potatoes on the grill too. I made a big macaroni salad, a cole slaw, a cold corn salad, a big bowl of baked beans and a jello salad. Mary made a cake. So we had a great feast and lots of fellowship and laughter. Was nice to get to know the neighbors better. It was also a thank you to them for letting the guys borrow things, etc. during the building. Our yard
looked like a used lot for 4 wheelers as that is the mode of transportation up here in the hills! :)

Sunday morning my friend Judy and I went to a different church for the first time. It is only 8.5 miles from home vs. 16 where I was going before. It's called Green Valley Baptist, and it literally sits in the middle of a big, green valley with cows on each side occasionally! It was a very nice sermon, the pastor was very friendly and so were the people. We sang several old hymns and the pastor played the piano for them. Great job. I think we may go back again this Sunday. It is a quite small church, both building and congregation wise, and we are hoping to feel a connection and have a real church family. Time will tell.

I am so thankful to be able to post again with pictures! Well, that's about all for this time. Until next time, take care and God Bless.

Got To Take a Break!

GREETINGS!

I won't be posting anything for a while. My camera is not working and I can't blog without a picture(s)! The card in my digital camera is locked and the lock lever broke off and I can't fix it, so no pictures until I buy a new card! Now isn't that disgusting?! As Ronnie said, I could probably buy a new camera for the price of the new card; but I really like this little old camera that I bought for Ronnie - must be nigh on to 10 years ago!

So, until my next trip to WalMart - sometime this week - you won't hear from me. Got stuff to tell too! :)

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

A Whole Bunch of Cluckin'

GREETINGS!
About 1 mile by road or as the crow flies from our house, they are building two commercial chicken raising barns. I don't know what the correct term is. Anyway, they took some great pasture land and old gnarled trees out and cleared the land. (Pic 1)

Now they've started the building of the 1st barn and the 2nd to follow. (Pic #2 below)

We heard that the first chickens should come in mid November, but I kind of doubt they will make that now, as the building just started this week and they are huge! Anyway, this is some commercial company out of Sallisaw, OK and they furnish the baby chicks and pick them up and truck them away when they are big enough.

I'm wondering if the smell will be noticeable here, being just 1 mile away!
Will keep you posted on progress.

Until next time, take care and God Bless you.

Sunday Dinner

GREETINGS!

It was a lazy Sunday, so what could be better than a roasted chicken, and...

a home made apple pie!

Went shooting with Ronnie on Saturday and had a nice visit with my friend Kathy. She is making another trip up to Wisconsin to her parents this week. This will be about her 4th trip and hopefully her last for the winter. Her parents sold their home, her Dad has been very ill, and the move entails about 30+ years of stuff in the house! Kathy will have her work cut out for her this trip! But what a thoughtful daughter she is. We should all be so lucky.

Anyway, other than that it was a quiet weekend. Hope yours was enjoyable.
Until next time, take care and God Bless.

Wrapping Up The Week

GREETINGS!

Thought I'd just finish up the week with what I've been doing. As you can see, the cows have been back - 3 mornings this past week! Anywhere's from 4 to 6 of them. The dogs love to chase them out and up the road! Good practice for our Border Collie, and he's teaching Ms. Salli a thing or two on the fine art of "herding".

Yesterday I went to the Quilt Shop and bought some material to make some potholders so I can practice my hand quilting. I picked up 3 "fat quarters" and should get at least 6 potholders out of them. Also got the "stuffing" and some needles. They laugh at me in the store because I don't know what I'm doing, but I'll figure it out! I'm sure it will be fun and challenging!

After that, I went on up the road and stopped at an antique store to price the old metal bed frames they have sitting outside. I want one for my full size bed, and the store has several of them. Unfortunately, she wants $100 for any one of them. Kind of out of my range right now. Especially since its the whole bed ensemble and I only want a head board! But it was good to find out.

Then on to WalMart for flea meds for the dogs and dog food and a little bit of people food! Nothing too exciting happened there.........then I headed for home.

Now, if you are faint of heart, don't look at the last two pictures. Every once in a while I get the urge to curl my hair, and so I got a perm this past week. I know I'm not supposed to be vain, but I think it looks pretty good. HOWEVER, you would not think that when you look at these two pictures!! Why do I look so much better when I look in the mirror, as opposed to the camera? Only God knows!!

BEFORE

AFTER

Now, I must say, it has loosened up some since this picture and looks okay. Now is I could just find a cure for wrinkles and lines.......... Hope it didn't scare you too badly; kind of looks like I'm drunk or drugged or something; or ready for Halloween! Now that takes NERVE!!

Until next time, have a great weekend. Take care and God Bless.

Apples - Hooray!

GREETINGS!

I have been having conniption fits over the lack of apples in Oklahoma! I have not seen one single apple tree in my area in over 2 years of looking. Now that may not seem strange to you all, but me being from Washington State where Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gravensteins, etc. are a dime a dozen and every where you look, it is most frightening to find none!

Oh, you can buy apples at WalMart, but they are quite expensive right now, and not all that good. What to do????? Well, my friend Kathy has been going to Wisconsin to help her folks out and she said she would bring back some apples! So last week I got some wonderful MacIntosh apples from Wisconsin. She brought me 4 bags of them and I was a happy camper!!

This beautiful dish of apples turned in to a super good apple crisp -below.

And the peelings and cores went out in the field for the deer. Waste not want not you know! And we've been having 3 does and 2 fawns come into the yard and field almost every night around 6 p.m. Perfect!

So, I'm happy to say I still have apples left, and may try freezing some for future pies and such. Fall DEMANDS apple stuff!

Until next time, take care and God Bless.

Wanna Be Clean?

GREETINGS!

Like the title asks, "Wanna be clean?" Just follow the sign!

This is in a little family owned restaurant in Warner, OK, where we go once in a while. Always thought the sign was cute and wanted to take a picture.
Mission accomplished!!

Until next time, have a great day. Take care and God Bless!

Cow Chip Days

GREETINGS!

Now how exciting is that?! A special day with a parade and a fairway and all sorts of fun just to see who can throw a "cow chip" the furthest! It is recommended that the "chips" are nice and dry for best results...

We parked at the end of the parade route, so didn't really see the parade per se, but we were right next to the "fair way" and watched them setting up and people watched. What fun. It's a good idea to double click on all the pictures so you can see the details.

This first picture is a shot of where all the booths were setting up. There were food booths, a lot of church booths with free desserts and drinks, face painting, t-shirts, jewelry, snakes and spiders, a band, etc. Never did find out when they were throwing the cow chips!

This one is of a teenage girl in her cowboy boots and jeans with sparkles on the rear pockets. Be sure to double click on the picture so you can get the whole effect! I thought it was interesting..........

And this another one of 2 teen girls and their cowboy boots. They'd gone to the face painting booth and were showing their Grandma I guess. It's amazing - or not - as to all the cowboy boots I saw on young people!

This is a good sized white wagon that was on its way to the parade.

And this is a carriage type wagon on the way to the parade.

And two members of the Senior population making their way in to have a look.

And my favorite, that just happened to stop by my car on their way to join the parade. All in all, it was a fun time.

Maybe next year we will be better prepared to see the parade and partake in the "fair way" stuff. This year we were 3 hours early for the whole thing and that gave us too much time to people watch! We were worn out while everyone else was just getting into the spirit! But I am thankful for the beautiful day God provided.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

Time Slips Away

GREETINGS!

The batteries in my camera need to be replaced, so I drug out this last year's picture of the Fall wagon that a lady down the way always does. It is always nice to see this time of year, and breaks the monotony of all words!!

I've missed a couple of days blogging, and have no excuse other than the time just slipped away from me. Who would think that could happen when you are retired and don't really have much on your plate? Strange, isn't it?
But to catch you up here's what's been going on..........

Sister-in-law Mary's birthday was the 27th, and they went out for supper and a little entertainment. On the way home at dark thirty, they saw a little dog running back and forth across the gravel road. So they stopped and picked up the little gal and brought her home. What a cutie too! She is some kind of full blood Terrier we think, and very adorable. Seems to be potty trained and all; but is a little thin. It appears she was dumped off, so she was very lucky to be found by someone willing to give her a good home. Her new name is Brandy; her new brother and sister didn't like her to much at first, but I guess it's getting better. Now her and my Salli is another story all together!

The other day I noticed the front,passenger tire on my van was completely bald on the outer edge. So..........had to buy a new tire yesterday. They are so expensive! But now I feel safer.........of course I must have been driving with it like that for a long time, just didn't know it. Also went grocery shopping yesterday. That probably doesn't seem "newsworthy" to some of you, but when you have to drive 30 miles one way to the nearest store and get enough stuff for a couple weeks, it's a big deal! Got most of the ordinary stuff at WalMart and then on to Shelton's to buy meat. They have an on-site butcher and their meat is not pre-packaged, and the prices seem to be better. After spending close to $300 I had to come home and carry it all in and put things away.....the worst part of shopping!!

Being worn out and not feeling like cooking, we had pizza and salad for supper. Suited us both just fine. Then just as we were finishing, brother Tom came with a watermelon he just picked from the garden! We split it in half and shared; the smell was divine and who would think fresh, home grown watermelon the end of September! And I'm so thankful for the cantelope he grew and shared with us this summer; don't have to worry about the listeria outbreak!

So you see how the time just gets away from you? :) Until next time, take care and God shower you with His blessings.