Happy Birthday to Bill!

Today, my second born turned 30 years old. He and his family are on their way to Texas, where Bill will see his sister and a couple of brothers.
Here is a link to Bill's birth story, if you missed it before.
************
Tonight, I am making some Chineasy Chicken. It has been a few weeks since I made this. Last night was Beef Stew , the natural follow up to Roast Beast. See, I don't do a lot of "new" foods. For the roast beef, I DID try a new recipe. I omitted the dry onion soup mix, and instead dumped a jar of picante sauce over the roast in the slow cooker. I thought it was EXCELLENT. Mr. C and the minor food critics all declared it "too tomato-ey".
************
At work, not a lot new going on. We have been very busy, but that is normal for this time of year. Boss told me today that I have a mandatory class coming up May 10th in Fayetteville. That should be interesting. I will learn about "loss prevention".
***********

Well, the cooking of the supper demands my attention. Be blessed, thanks for reading!

Sunshine in my yard ....

drys up puddles!
Leaving fish stranded in depressions full of rainwater! The boys brought a couple more in to the fish tank, and are now out tossing the rest they are finding into the neighbor's pond. Sam says they have found several dead fish... it is so strange to pick up fish from an area you are about to MOW!
The boys rescued over 40 fish! Many more were already gone... they will be fertilizing the garden.

Sam quipped, "This was my best day of catching fish, ever!"
**************

Yesterday, the boys and I met my mom in Alma, AR. We met at the A-Z distributing place. Only found a few things I couldn't live without. Really, I probably could of lived without them.... but hoping for good values, I made a few purchases.

One thing was a package of cardamom spice. I tried this spice while in Texas... the cardamom is over $74 per lb. in bulk from  Sprouts Market. This packet was several ounces... and was discounted to .80. So for 80 cents, I thought we might try a few more cardamom recipes. Daniel picked out a big jar of whole allspice, also .80. I got a couple of new kitchen towels... the kind that is half a towel with an end that buttons or hooks onto a handle. I like one near the sink... it save on paper towels! I got them for $1.20 each. My most expensive item was a picture for the boys room... a framed sailing ship. (The younger four boys all love old maps, sailing ships, and globes.) I think the framed print was under $7.00.

We had a really quick visit. Mom had brought up the stuff I got garage saling last time I was down there. She had another two hours still to travel, and I had left supper in the slow cooker at home. It was good to see Mom, though!

Hope you have a very blessed day!

Flooding on Vaughn Rd

This is looking from the front porch towards the road. There is no creek there, much less the river that appears here, headed to the pond.This is the pond. The islands and trees are on the lower dam of the pond.

The water spills out of the pond and into our pasture/ back yard. This forms another river that isn't normally there.

This is Sam, wading in the lake that the pasture has become.

The boys got out their Lego Pirate ship and let it sail along the rivers that have formed in the back pasture. They also caught a small bluegill in the pasture. It is now sharing the fishtank with Jimmy Raynor the Goldfish.

 I have read on facebook that several local roads, as well as Highway 59 between Gentry and Gravette have been closed due to flooding. Both ways into XNA Airport are closed due to flooding. The county is under a flash flood WARNING (you think?).

It is still raining.

Another beautiful Day...

We did get some storms through here yesterday, leading me to turn off the computer all afternoon.. Supposed to lather, rinse, repeat today. And tomorrow... and the next day... and so on until next Wednesday.

I took a nice nap. I don't know that I could of helped myself... the nap snuck up on me and the next thing I knew, a tremendous "KABOOM!" of thunder awakened me.

Today is Tommy's TWENTY-FIRST BIRTHDAY! Here is a link to his birth story, if you haven't read it before or want to read it again.
Happy Birthday, Tommy. I am so proud of you. I love how much you love the Lord, and your desire to serve Him first. May you be blessed all the days of your life!

Tommy's "real" name is Stephen Thomas. Stephen means "crown". The day after his birth certificate was signed, Tom decided he didn't care for the name Stephen as much as he did "Elijah". So we went back to the birth registrar and asked to change his name. Since it had already been filed in OKC, we were told it would take a lawyer, a court order, and $300+ dollars. Money was reallllly tight then... so we settled for calling him by his middle name. The last few years, it hasn't seemed to matter WHAT we named him... he has gained a collection of names from various sources. I can't keep track of them all!
For his birthday, I sent him a spotlight, and a small tool kit.
*************
Whoa! I can't believe what just happened.

Samuel just gathered and started a load of laundry. Without me telling him to!  There must be something going on around here.
Sam is the worst one for failing to do his daily chores without being told .... and told.... and told. And then he forgets essentials like STARTING the dryer after putting clothes into it. Or starting the dishwasher after loading it.

And he just put on a load of clothes to wash. With detergent in them. and the lid down so they will actually wash.

Who is this young man and what has he done with my son?
***************

Work has hired a new guy. He was a regular customer, so I already knew him by name... and has apparently worked several days before I figured out he isn't just hanging around. So my "every other Saturday" being an all day shift is over. Hooray!

That's all I can think of for now.

Stay tuned to learn what Bill Joe gets for his 30th birthday, next Friday. He has a very mean Mom you know, and brothers who have her same sense of humor.

Be blessed, and hug someone you love!

Past Week

The past week was filled with fun and sun. The boys and I went to the Prairie Grove Civil War Battlefield & Memorial last Tuesday (or was it Wednesday?) (pretty sure it was Wednesday!)
I forgot to wear a hat.
We stopped at the Union soldiers cemetery in Cincinnati, Arkansas, on the way down. Wandered around there for awhile. I was pretty upset at the vandalism this place suffers... as I am sure may cemeteries across the nation do. Praying hands etched in headstones were 'modified'... leaving a memorial vulgar salute. Why do people do these things?
I saw several headstones with the family name of one of my co-workers. I had heard his family was from that area, and asked him about it the next day. Yes, it was his parents and grandparents buried there. He told me about a section which had been mostly marked with large rocks, no names carved in them. This was the slave section in the cemetery. I had incorrectly assumed it was unknown soldiers buried there.

After our tour of the battlefield, we stopped at a small lake nearby- Bob Kidd Lake. The boys caught a few fish there! (We have had lousy luck fishing in Arkansas up until now.) After Bob Kidd, we stopped at Lake Wedington... where the fishing wasn't as good and a controlled burn nearby had us choking on smoke. We headed home just in time to get supper started before Mr C arrived.

Lacking a hat or sunscreen, I turned a fairly good red on my face. Thanks to sleeves and jeans, my face was the only burn. It didn't peel, so maybe I will get some tan from the week!
Friday, the weather was cool and blustery. The boys wanted to go out and see what was going on at the semi-annual Tired Iron Of The Ozarks Tractor Show. They had such a grand time, we went back both Saturday and Sunday!

Saturday, Connor and Alana came out to stay the night. We went to the tractor show with them. Since both refused to wear jackets, we weren't there any too long. Most of the time we were there was spent in the blacksmith shop. (Thanks to the forges and big Franklin stove, it was warm in there!) Sam and Daniel discovered the Blacksmithing Organization of Arkansas... and we are letting them join.

Sunday, I got up and did my walking outside... but remembered the hat! Then we went back to the tractor show. Connor and Alana got to actually drive a tractor... WOW! I have never even sat on a tractor before, much less driven one! They rode on the little tractor pulled kiddy train in the parade. I'm pretty sure they had a good time.

I ended up with at least five days of being out in the sun during the week. Wreaked havoc with my sinuses... but I had a great time.

There are PICTURES to go with all this weeks adventures. they are located at http://www.moocrew3.shutterfly.com/. Feel free to leave comments1

Thanks for reading!

Back to Work...

At least I am feeling much better. Work was WORK today. I didn't get out of there until nearly noon. And once I got home, the boys asked if we could go to the library. So here I am, while they do their volunteer stuff.
Afterwards, I need to go by WalMart and get the groceries that were not bought this weekend. I also want to go by Hobby Lobby and SEE how much aframe and mat would be for my birthday sketch Chris commissioned. If you'd like to see it, it is at http://www.moocrew3.shutterfly.com/pictures It is the one of all the grandkids together. The one of Connor and Alana was commissioned for Jennifer. While at Hobby Lobby, I want to check in to how much some good drawing colored pencils would be for Sam. I am armed with a 40% off (single item) coupon!
Still to be decided is: tonight's supper!
I haven't done my walking today... and this may be one of my days it just does NOT get done.

At least having a goal is keeping going on the treadmill... I made the goal for the last 3 months... and good thing I had a few surplus miles worked in... because I have only done about 6 miles this month.

Oh another errand... the post office. Got some stuff I need to get mailed to Becky and the boys in Texas. I lumped it all into one box... figuring they can sort it out easily once it arrives, and they see each other frequently.

That's about all I can think of for today. Have a blessed afternoon!

A week already?

I can't believe I haven't blogged in a week! I guess it could be because I spent quite a few days of the past week sick... a tummy bug. The week passed uneventfully... I worked Wednesday and Thursday, went home sick Friday and didn't go in at all Saturday. Mostly I slept off the bug.

Spring appears to be trying to spring around here. My rosebushes are all leafed out. The beans and corn Tom and the boys planted last week has started to come up. Grass has been mowed twice now. Since the weedeater bit the dust last year and hasn't been replaced, we sprayed RoundUp* along the sides of the house and around the mailbox. I planted flower seeds in my aging green planting boxes. I have had them since Marlow! (And used them a couple of years there!) I told Dan I would probably get live annual flowers for the hanging baskets.... eventually.

We need to replace our grill... it finally fell completely to pieces. We grill a LOT... pretty much daily in the summer, and several times weekly the rest of the year. The old grill was coming up on four years old... we got it the year of our last annual float trip. (Float trip/ Birthday party for Dan and Sam/ father's day celebration. It was the year Becky was expecting Tyrel- and he will be 4 in July.) So much has happened in the family since then.

Well, I am certainly just rambling. Thanks for reading. Have a blessed day. Hug someone you love!

Great Trip...

I had a really good trip to Ft Worth over the weekend. My (standby) flight home Monday filled up, so I stayed an extra day. Instead of flying home, Mom and Ralph and I drove out to Ballinger to visit Ben and Tommy and Becky. It was a lot of fun.

On the way home, we stopped in Eastland at the little Pulido's Mexican Restaurant along I-20. That had to be the very best Mexican food I have ever had. Service was excellent. And I saw a waiter working another part of the restaurant go "above and beyond" in service. A small child was Not Happy. The waiter brought a chair from another table, and sat and entertained the baby so the parents were able to enjoy their food while it was hot.

I flew in to DFW early Friday morning. Mom and I went visiting, then garage-saling and thrift store shopping. Repeated on Saturday. Sort-of repeated on Sunday... no thrift stores, but garage sales and a run thru WalMart. We learned at WalMart that this particular location was selling anything on clearance at HALF their clearanced price. This required a second razzoo through the store, as we learned of the sale as we were in the checkout process. I got a package of 12 pairs of socks for $2.50. SCORE! (My best garage sale find was a new food processor. It is an older model, but pretty obviously never used. A very high end model. Best thrift store buy: a lamp with a brand new shade, for $3.00. The lamp and FP will have to stay at Mom's until her next visit up here.

My trip home was REALLY fun. I had collected so many more clothes than when I flew down, I got a bag to put them in, and checked the bag. There was NO line at the baggage check in counter. The screening was fast, painless. Only 2 people in line ahead of me. I left from D terminal, and at DFW Airport, that is a fun place. I wandered around awhile then sat and read until boarding time. The flight was so "open" that not only was I assigned a seat right away, I even had the ROW to myself.

The head flight attendant was an older guy named "Lucky"... a former military guy who survived some bad stuff, from what I understood. If you have ever read any of the "funny things flight attendants said" emails... they must of had this guy.

As they pushed the aircraft back from the gate, the standard "Turn off all cell phones and put away all electronic devices" announcement was made. A few moments later the flight attendant says, "For all of you who are still on your cell phones, Repeat after me, 'Goodbye, I love you, I will call you when I get to Arkansas'."
Other things he said, "For those of you flying for the first time, or if you have not ridden in a car at any time during the last 40 years, the flight attendant at the front of the cabin will demonstrate how to use a seat belt".
"American Airlines prides itself on hiring the best looking, most competent, and knowledgeable flight attendants and pilots in the industry. however, today you are stuck with us. We'll do our best"
"I will be turning down the overhead lighting in a few moments. This is to enhance the appearances of our flight attendants. It will also cut down on the glare off the top of my head."
"Please pay attention to the fasten seat belt signs located over your heads. You will also note there are a yellow and an orange button located there. The yellow button controls your personal reading light. The orange button... whatever you do, do not push the orange button. This is our individual ejection seat button!" (It was the flight attendant call button.)
"...If you can think of anything else you'd like to have... a neck massage, your feet rubbed... don't hesitate to ask...... the person seated beside you."
"All American Airlines flights are non-smoking. If you MUST smoke... please step outside."
"Once we reach cruising altitude, the flight attendants will be through the cabin with the beverage cart. Three minutes after you are served, they will be back through to take it away from you. This is a VERY short flight"
"Thank you for getting high with us today. No one appreciates you or your money more than we do!"

After the plane landed, and the "Fasten Seat Belt" light was turned off... he solemnly says "All Rise."... like a minister in some churches does.
***************

I hadn't even gotten out of the car at home when Sam asked me if we were going to the library today. He hadn't yet heard the winners of the Art Competition he had entered. So we went to the library shortly after I got home. Sam didn't win, but had some tough competition.

So here I am home. Probably going back to work tomorrow. But I had such a great weekend... I don't even mind.

Fun In Texas

I have been at my Mom's house the last couple of days. We have hit a lot of thrift shops and garage sales, hung out, had Haltom City Chinese!
My voice is Ok while I am indoors, but disappears shortly after heading outside. I looked back over my blogs to previous mentions of being speechless, and seen a pattern. The time of the tear is usually mid to late March or early April! Just when the trees are all blooming and there is a lot of pollen in the air. It isn't like the miserable sneezy ragweed in the late summer, so I really hadn't associated it with allergies.
The weather here has been WOW! Leaving Arkansas in a cold 40* rain, landing in 75* sunshine... and having it get into the mid 80*s. Like a different planet.
My standby flights for tomorrow's return home have all filled up... so I postponed my departure to Tuesday. Tomorrow, we are going to make a day trip to west Texas to see three of my kids and a couple of grandbabies!
In all the garage saling and thrift shopping, we found several little baby outfits and a maternity top... I just didn't think to bring the kids boots down with me, as the West Texas trip wasn't in the plans when I came down.
Have a great day, Thanks for reading!