Learn something new....

I really don't understand some of the rules that govern Arkansas. Yesterday, Daniel and Sam went to take their driver's test. Despite passing the test... the newly minted driver must STILL have an adult over 21 in the front seat with him... until he has hit the six month mark of  passing his written exam.
WHY let them take the test before the six months is up, if they cannot drive solo?
I understand that the reasoning of getting six months supervised driving is quite desirable. However, I don't understand allowing the new driver to take (Pass or fail) the test before the six months is up... if they cannot, in fact, drive solo upon passing the physical driving test.

So, After the test yesterday, we went to the Revenue office. This is a separate place from where one takes the driving test. They had a sign on the door... No photo ID's or Driver's licenses will be done today. ARGH. Home we went. We went to a different Revenue Office today (as our town errands took us in the opposite direction of the Revenue office we were at yesterday.) We learned in our almost two hour ordeal... the Revenue Office changed computer systems yesterday. The folks there are on a learning curve. The lady who did Daniel's license handed him a receipt.. which I read.  He was listed as Daniel Joseph. Which was wrong. It took the lady and her supervisor almost 45 minutes to figure out how to correct his name.

Library time ran late today.
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In other news, I got a new picture of Grandson Gavin! Taken on his sixth birthday. I can hardly believe how much he has grown. Many thanks to his Mommy for sending it.

The whole driver's license ordeal has put a crinkle in our plans for Ohio in October. Looks like Becky and the kids will be going with Mr C. I will be staying in Arkansas, to ride with the boys to and from work. They don't even want to ask for time off, as they had taken a week off in July, and another in August.
I'm sure Mr C will enjoy having daddy/ Daughter as well as Umpaw time.
Here is a vidoe Becky made with the kids. COOKIES 
Thanks for reading.

September...

Today is September 11. What a day in history...
For our family, September 11 has two birthdays. My brother Robbie is 49 today. And my grandson Gavin is SIX! Happy Birthday to you both!
I haven't seen Gavin since he was two years old. And his Mom hasn't sent me pictures, nor posted any online that I am allowed to see, in over a year. I sent him a birthday gift, regardless, to the last address I had for them.
So I am down by two grandchildren... Gavin, and Nickole.
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Yesterday was six months Bill has been gone. It was hard for me. I really am TRYING to 'move on' and not cry every day. Right now, I don't know when the tears will stop. It isn't like I spend every moment wracked with sobs, as I did the first week. I just can't seem to get through a day without the tears breaking out at some point. I'm adjusting. But it is taking awhile. I am up to twelve days of not crying... still shooting for the two in a row.
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The boys have really been working a lot recently. Between working with the neighbor on his projects, and working at the Wooden Spoon, they have things to do almost every day. Sam got called in to work at the Wooden Spoon this morning. Dan went ahead and came to the library with me. He will work at Anthony's (The neighbor) this afternoon, and Sam will join him once he gets off. Tomorrow Dan starts his latest position at The Wooden spoon. He is promoted to Salad Chef. The Wooden Spoon has a LOT of salads, so this is a big deal. Fully one side of the menu is salads.
They are still squeezing in school work as well... actually asking if perhaps we can do Library on Mondays rather than Tuesdays, so that they can have Tuesdays as an uninterrupted school day.
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There are pictures of TREK up at MooCrew3.
Thanks for reading!

Batty

The night before the boys and I headed back to Arkansas, we went to Mason, Texas, to see the bats. The bat cave is a Nature Conservancy operation. The Bat Cave has millions and millions of bats.
Becky and Stephen and the kids went, as well as Tommy, Daniel, Sam, and I. When they learned that we were a group of home schoolers... they refunded our entry fee! We told them we were not there officially as a home school group, but the docent insisted! Cool!

The cave is down seven+ miles of dirt/caliche/ stone road. The road crosses several cattle guards, and a couple of (dry while we were there) creek beds, and finally, the James River. You have to drive across the river. In the water. As in... there is not a bridge. We couldn't judge the depth of the water, and I was afraid my little Toyota would flood out or wash away. So I parked on the side of the road, and rode over in Becky and Stephen's truck.
As it turned out, the water is not deep, and there is a solid rock bed where the road crosses. A smaller car than my own made it across without problems.
We saw the bats exiting the cave like a constant stream of smoke, swirling up, up, and up. They just kept coming. A red fox put in an appearance, as well as a hawk. Tommy got a great picture of the hawk, which we are hoping may win a contest for photography. He was using Becky's nice camera.

The next morning, the twins and I headed back to Arkansas as Ben and Paula and Tommy headed off to their jobs. I was going to show pictures of the trip to my Mom... but I couldn't find my camera.
After me fretting all week, Tommy found my camera yesterday! It was in the front floorboard of Becky's truck, where it had apparently fallen from my purse when I left my car by the riverside.
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The past week has been fairly quiet. Daniel and Sam are working a LOT between their job at the Wooden Spoon and our neighbor Anthony preparing his tractors for the Tired Iron of the Ozarks Tractor show coming this weekend.
Thanks for reading!

Wow and Awe

I don't get to post my blog nearly as often as I might like. Two weekends back, the twins and I drove to West Texas, where all four of the Coder boys joined up with some Zesches and a few others, and left for the wilds of New Mexico. Daniel and Sam have looked forward to Trek for a number of years now. They had a great time in the Pecos Wilderness.
Meanwhile, I awaited their return, staying nights with Paula and days with Becky. This past Friday, however, I boldly set out on an adventure of my own.
I drove down to see my sister Lalani.... just 35 miles from Corpus Christi. While I had really hoped to get to go on down to the gulf, that just didn't happen.
I haven't seen Lalani since 2005. I went to see her shortly after her husband Gene passed away. So it has been just almost 7 years since we have spent any time together. Lalani is doing well, and has remarried, This was my first time to meet her husband Henry. The three of us had a nice dinner at a Chinese buffet. Upon returning to their home, Henry went into the bedroom to watch TV, leaving Lalani and I to visit and catch up. We laughed and cried together until almost 3 in the morning. We only finally said our goodnights then because I had to get some sleep, as I was leaving by 7 the next morning to go see Chris.
The visit with Chris was good. He has adjusted to his circumstances, and made his peace with God. We found so much to laugh at... and laugh we did. Tears rolling down our cheeks laughter. The visit was over too soon, and I headed back to Ballinger.
At some point between Kerrville and Junction, my cell does not get service. The service doesn't pick up at all until I am nearly to Ballinger... which is well over 100 miles. After having driven six hours on Friday, got two and a half to three hours of sleep, and started the long drive where there were no distractions to be had... I was getting tired. I stopped for some lunch and an iced tea. I had just specified "Iced tea"... one would assume that you got unsweetened tea and would add ones own sugar. Not so! It was syrup sweet. I don't really like sweet tea, but needed something to keep me awake.... and I wasn't going to go back down the freeway and ask them to change it.
As I traveled north up Hiway 83, under sunny skies, I could see dark storm clouds in the distance.
I was very glad to see the town of Eden approaching. Eden is the nearest town south of Becky... and while I wasn't going to Becky's house, it made my destination seem so much near its end! Just as I rounded the curve with Eden coming into sight, I saw what I at first thought was smoke. It took little time to discern it was not smoke... but a tornado far in the distance. I was pretty hyped about it. I saw it for less than a minute. By the time I was through Eden, it was gone. I wanted to call or text and tell Becky and Paula and even the boys (who were by this time headed back from New Mexico.) But... no service.
So I'm still driving north... wide awake and hyped! I come down a little hill, and there, standing at the corner of a dirt county road that joined the hiway... I saw the most magnificent elk I have EVER seen. It was looking as if it were about to step over the decrepit  bob war (barbed wire) fence. I have seen a LOT of elk. We used to live just outside the entrance to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, and right across the hiway from Ft Sill. But this one was beautiful... the largest rack I've ever seen!
How could I see an elk in West central Texas? There are no elk in this part of the country! I mentally decided that maybe it was one of the animatronic decoys that game wardens use to trap people who try to shoot game from roadways. Or maybe it was a statue/sculpture to indicate the entrance to some rich ranch.
I go along still marvelling that I have seen a tornado... and an ELK where no elk should be. I get past the turn-off to Becky's (I am headed to Paula's!) still traveling under blue skies, with thunderstorms far ahead. I come over a rise (I would of said I came over a hill, but that would be misleading) and see there is a car ahead of me, and a semi ahead of the car. They are a good mile or more in the distance. (In this part of the country, you can see a whole lot of nothing for a very long way.) Suddenly, before my eyes... the semi disappears. Just vanishes. Moments later, so does the car. I am travelling along at the 70 MPH speed limit... thinking of the two amazing things I've seen in the last 20 minutes... and now this. Beam me up, Scotty! Or am I sure I'm not dreaming?
At 70 MPH, it was quickly apparent what happened. Rain! A deluge that quickly caused me to drop my speed down to about 15 MPH. It was so hard and heavy, you couldn't see three car-lengths ahead.
The wind was blowing, and the rain was COMING DOWN. I came into the very small town of Paint Rock... the nearest town to the north of Becky. Water was running 2-3 inches deep across the hiway. If you were outside and looked at the sky, you'd have a good chance of drowning.
Paint Rock is a "blink and you miss it" town. It was pouring as I entered town... yet as I drove out the north end of town, I was back under sunny skies. The bridge marking the north end of town was where I pulled over and rolled down my window to try and get a picture of a TRIPLE rainbow! Still no phone service... I was really wanting to call Becky and Paula and tell them to LOOK east at the rainbow!
In another four miles, I finally came back into phone service. I called Becky... and she warned me to be careful passing through Paint Rock... there was a super-cell on radar! (You think?) I asked her about the elk... and learned there is a hunting ranch in that area that imported elk... but it should of been behind a big game fence, not a falling down barbed wire one. I called Paula and sent her out to see the rainbow... but it was long gone.  Neither Becky nor Paula had gotten any of the rain... it passed right between them. (They live about 25 miles apart).
Next morning, as we headed to the Zesch home, I had just turned up the road to Lowake... and came across huge (for mesquite) limbs laying along the roadside, as well as crumpled metal against a fence line. Evidence I DID see a tornado.
It was a pretty amazing afternoon.
I have pictures on my camera and more stories to tell... but I'm out of library time... and my camera didn't make it home with me. Be praying it turns up soon!
Thanks for reading!

Good morning (Would be accompanied by a Happy Dance, but the boys frown on my Dancing)

In public especially.
And why am I so happy this morning?
The AC on my car is fixed! Back up to the point of needing a sweater even on short trips to town.
The AC/heater blower has been making an awful noise since June. It was bad on the trip to Ohio in July, and we almost roasted on the drive. It has whined and moaned so loudly,  we try not to run it unless we have to. And going anywhere in a sealed metal and glass box in triple digit heat, pretty much REQUIRES it.
I was figuring I would have to take Mr C's vehicle down to Texas next week to get the boys to the Wilderness Trek departure. It is generally hotter in West Texas than in Arkansas. Yesterday, I asked Mr C to have a look at the blower, to see if it would be difficult to replace.
He found it located directly behind the glove box, which pops right out. I asked him to pull the cabin air filter as long as he had the glove box out. I had replaced it a couple of years ago, and figured the filter at least needed vacuuming.
 Mr C pulled the filter.
It was destroyed.
 It was collapsed and had been sucked into the blower blades. Mr C turned on the AC with the filter removed... and NO NOISE! The AC blows cold enough to freeze me out! It was less than $20 to replace the cabin air filter... and would of been closer to $200 for a new blower.
Happy Dance!

Tomorrow is AUGUST? Already?

Goodness. We have been hunkered down inside against the heat. The last few weeks have been more like West Texas than NW Arkansas. Yesterday we were 107*... at least! We have been keeping the windows dark with comforters over the blinds, and using three gallon containers of ice set in front of fans to help out the AC. The inside of the house has stayed around 85*, which is about as good as we can expect.
The boys have been working for a neighbor many afternoons. On Thursdays, Dan works at the Wooden Spoon. Sam joins Dan on Fridays. Other than our normal routine of errands and work, the boys haven't been getting in a whole lot of driving time.
Today, the errand routine is taking us on a brief jaunt down a hiway where the posted speed is 70 m.p.h. . Joy. We have to go to Academy Sports so the boys can get the few items they still lack for Trek. That is over in Lowell, a town just south of Bentonville/ Rogers.
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With the heat and red-flag burn ban, we haven't been able to use the grill as much as we normally do. We are year round grillers, but in the summer, it saves getting the house so hot the AC can't overcome. When we don't grill, we usually use the slow cooker. I have made a LOT of slow cooker meals lately!
When I bought groceries a few weeks back, I had expected to be able to grill. The food I bought reflected that expectation. So  have had a 10 lb. bag of chicken leg quarters in the freezer. Yesterday, I went ahead and thawed and cooked them. We had slow cooker BBQ chicken. (Toss the quarters in the slow cooker, cook awhile, pour off liquid. Add sauce, continue cooking.) I boiled the majority in my biggest pot. After slipping the skins when they were loose enough, I added onions, bay leaves, and sage to the liquid and cooked until the meat was falling off the bones. I then removed the bones and divided the meat. Tonight, the broth and half the meat will become chicken and dumplings. The remainder was frozen, to become either chicken enchiladas or whatever I decide at the time.

Mr C and I have our 28th anniversary coming up this Friday. Perhaps we will go have dinner at The Wooden Spoon! You have a blessed week, and thanks for reading!

'Lazy American Dream'

WATCH: Country star's latest hit an ode to Democrats: 'Lazy American Dream' | Campaign 2012: “Anything worth having we should have it all for free. In the land of the ‘What about me?’

Quiet week

It has been a thankfully quiet week! Hot as southwestern Oklahoma, complete with blast furnace winds, grasshoppers, and 100+ temperatures. No rain in weeks. The grasshoppers have eaten almost all of the garden. We are still getting a few peppers and a few tomatoes. the neighbor sent us over several big bags of tomatoes a few days ago. After making a huge bowl of fresh salsa, I made spaghetti sauce from scratch. Also made use of the accumulating peppers to do another batch of pepper jelly. Tom had said, "You should put a ghost chile in it!". (Naga Bhut Jolokia, the ghost chile, is among the hottest peppers in the world.) So I added ONE to the mix of peppers I had. Dan wore gloves and deseeded it for me. The jalapeno peppers are already VERY hot, having cross pollinated with the ghost chiles. Tom comes back into the kitchen, where my jelly is already starting to cook, and asks, "You didn't really add a ghost chile did you? I was kidding!"
Oops! Now we have some extra spicy pepper jelly!

The power went off at the house this morning. I let the boys sleep in until the last minute, before awakening them to get ready for their library duty. The power was restored just as we were leaving the house.
Dan and Sam are preparing for "Trek", an annual/semi annual trip that the church group the older kids attend in West Texas, sponsors. this will be their first time to get to go. The group hikes into the wilderness and spends time together, with God. The twins have wanted to go with the group for several years, but this is the first time means and opportunity have presented themselves together.

It is less than 2 weeks until Tom and I have our 28th anniversary. I am sure we will celebrate in the usual manner... by doing nothing. Unless we get significant rain between now and then, we can't even cook out on the grill.
The red-flag burn ban in effect has forced me to stop grilling, which is mostly how we survive meals in the summer. Instead, I have been relying on the slow cooker. I don't think the crock-pot has seen in inside of the cabinet for two weeks now!

That's about all from us here. Have a blessed week and Thank you for reading!

Back from Ohio

We got home last night from a vacation in Ohio. It was just a regular vacation... visiting my in-laws. We did a lot of sitting on the deck, and some driving with the twins. A little bit less hiking than usual, as Tom twisted his ankle and was laid up a day or two. (He is better.)
Dan and Sam are gearing up for Trek, doing walking and hiking as much as they can. We will be driving down to texas and back in August for that.
Today is a busy one... starting here at the library with their regularly scheduled weekly volunteering. We have already been to the post office. Still ahead are the grocery store, the bank, and the insurance agency.
Along with unpacking the stuff from the trip, laundry, dealing with the abundance of garden produce generated while we were gone.
Oh, the grasshoppers.
The grasshoppers. They are HORRIBLE. The bushes have been stripped to skeletal branches. The corn was devoured. My rosebushes have been chewed on, despite them being fed with a systematic poison/feed that is supposed to prevent insects from munching them.
Maybe I will remember to take pictures when I get back from errands this evening.
Have a blessed day!
~Tammy~

Beginning of a new phase...

My "babies" turned 16 a couple of weeks ago. Today we went down for them to take their written exams for their learner's permits. (Yes, I know they could of had a license by now... but this is as far as we have gotten.)
We jumped through legal loops, and they are duly permitted to drive now. (With a licensed driver over the age of 21 in the front seat.)
In as little as 30 days, they COULD have their licenses. However, it will likely be quite a few months down the road. We like to be sure they have plenty of supervised driving before turning them loose on their own.
For the past week+, I have been making myself do at least one 'icky" job per day, in addition to regular chores. Both fridges have been thoroughly cleaned. (How did I end up with 3 bottles of horseradish? And a bottle of tartar sauce that expired in 2008?) Under the sink is cleared out and scrubbed. (Found four bottles of bleach cleaner, and didn't know I had ANY). I'm trying to get on top of stuff and stay that way. (My mom inspired me with her shiny house!)
I so dislike coming home to a messy house... and we are fixing to take a trip to Ohio to visit Tom's family. So, a bad chore every day... and before I know it, it will be clean clear down to the sock drawers....

Coming this month... Grandson Tyrel turns FIVE! Hardly seems like it could be five years ago he was born.

I had so many things in mind to put in my blog this week... but here I am, and the thoughts have once again fled away.
I am gradually improving emotionally. I now have had EIGHT days without crying. One day earlier this week, I was crying, and went outside to hang up clothes on the line. The wind was blowing hard... and almost at once, along came a "Bill" butterfly. The black and blue type I associated with him "sending" me. This butterfly was struggling against the wind. Such a fragile thing fighting so hard against the wind. It stopped and "rested" right there beside me on the clothesline. As I moved down the line, it would fly just a few feet farther, and rest again. I noticed it had a very tattered wing, the bottom quarter all but gone on one side. It stayed right there with me. It was like, I don't know? A word to keep trying even though things are so hard. I could tell this would probably be this butterfly's last season, as battered and ragged as it was. But it pressed on. I felt better soon, and it fluttered on its way.

My time at the library is about up. I hope you have a blessed day. thank you for your thoughts and prayers for me and my family.

Almond Herding

Since I am lactose intolerant, I discovered Almond milk. Very tasty stuff. Daniel and Sam and I got to musing on just how one would go about milking an almond. Their udders must be VERY tiny. This is why almond milk is rather expensive.
But as long as you are running a herd of almonds for their milk, you must consider other ways to make your herd pay. After all, not all almonds are milk producers!
You have your protein almonds... the favorite cuts being slivered or sliced. (Some uncouth people DO prefer chops!) Almonds served blanched, or roasted and salted. My favorite is the smoked almond... though smoking them tends to tear up your rolling papers.
Your almond ranch need not be vast to accomodate the almond needs of the average family. However, the climate has to be right... and I don't think Arkansas is going to be a great state for running a herd of almonds.
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Ok... yes, we do have a tendancy to be silly.
If you don't already know, we have pictures of the recent trip to Texas up at http://www.moocrew3.shutterfly.com/pictures
Be blessed and thanks for reading.

Weekly

Even the boys can't believe the year is half over. In less than a week, they will be 16.

This past week marked three calendar months since Bill left us. In some ways, it isn't any easier at all. But I seem to have regained somewhat of the ability to think again. The latest book I read on grief dealt specifically with losing a child. Even a grown child.
And I seem to be on track... no worse or better than many who have walked this path before. I seem to be instinctively doing the things the books recommend. I have been keeping a journal... and wrote in it something God had put into my heart: Grief is not a contest. It isn't about who is hurting more, or who lost the most. It is a pain that each person walks through on their own... with only God to lean on. It wasn't a week after I wrote this in the journal, that I received a book from my SIL. Just over halfway through the book, the author said almost the exact same thing.

Yesterday, Tom and the boys and I went down to Devil's Den and went hiking. We did a three mile trail to Yellow Rock, then had a picnic lunch. We then went to the river/creek and did a creek hike... probably 3/4 to a mile. Back in the parking area, we watched FAT sassy squirrels frolic. Then decided to find out what the hike-in camp sites looked like. So we can add another 3/4 to 1 mile to the walking.
I haven't been doing much of anything exercise wise... so this was a major excursion. I really want to take back off the weight I had regained since Bill's death.

This weekend, the twins and I are headed to Texas. We will see my Dad and Kathie, and then head to my mom's, where we will meet Becky and get Alana. Dan works Thursday morning, so we have to be back Wednesday night. We MIGHT go to the zoo while we are there. I still have to ask Jennifer when she wants Alana back.
Well, as I am at the library, I best get this blog spellchecked and published before my time is up. Have a blessed day!

Tuesday at The Library

After almost a week of being "internet deprived", we are once again back online at home. We unplugged our modem router last week when thunderstorms blew through, and it promptly went out once it was plugged back in afterwards. Took the internet provider almost a week to get us a new router. I think Mr C found out he had a tougher time without the 'net than I do!

The boys refinished my big old rocker. It has lived out on the covered porch since we moved from our home in Marlow nine years ago... and I had had it a year or more before we moved. The finish was wearing off and the wood beginning to crack. It was sanded down... (May I point out that the use of power tools adds an entirely new level of enthusiasm to tasks being done by those of the masculine persuasion?)... restained, and now has had a layer of polyurethane added. I got another can of poly, so that it can have a second coat, but we haven't gotten that far yet. If I had thought to bring my camera to the library, I could of added pictures!

My boys are fixing to turn SIXTEEN! In less than 2 weeks. Things that interest them now include: Dirigibles, "old" things, which they term collectively 'steampunk'. (Though they do not embrace the modern steampunk styles that show a lot of ....er... cleavage and skin.) They like rocks, metal, and chemistry. Lately they have been experimenting with home brewing of sodas. Both still enjoy blacksmithing, chain maille making, and cooking. Yes, even Sam the Reluctant chef, has begun to experiment with food. Sam wants to learn to play the cello. Daniel is still into hiking, and would still like to tackle the Appalachian Trail. In case I failed to mention it here, both boys are now employed at a local Mennonite restaurant. Dan washes dishes on Thursdays, and is their fish fryer on Fridays. Sam took over Dan's Friday dishwashing. Sam says working for the Mennonites is great, they set such a great example of modesty.

I have gained back all the weight I lost in the last year and a half. My stamina and strength has gone away. Yesterday I began walking again, with just a mile. Using the small hand weights to get some arm strength back. One night last week, the boys were out cartwheeling, flipping and leaping about the yard. They didn't believe I knew how to do a cartwheel. So I showed them. My last cartwheel, ever. I seriously thought I had cracked the bone in my arm, but after the first 48 hours, it felt much better. I could just imagine me going in to the Doctor, trying to explain why I attempted a cartwheel at 51+ years old.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. Thank you for your continued prayers.
~Tammy~