Back pain

Great plans for this weekend, all the things he was going to get done. LaVern ran the vacumn this morning since the sun was shining brightly. I have heard it said that making the bed and vacumning are the two worse things that you can do for your back. I may have to agree as LaVern sat down to put different shoes on and then when he tried to get up he could barely walk. He is still hobbling around this afternoon his back hurts so bad. He took Ibuprophen, used the heating pad (he thinks its muscular) and I put some mineral ice on his back. No relief yet. He has laid on the floor with his legs up (like our chiropractor told us to do). That gave him some relief until he got back up again. Back pain is just the pits as nothing really helps and it gets depressing after awhile as you can't do anything and nothing relieves the pain. What a way to start the New Year!!

54 years later and he can still rock and roll

A special tribute for his mother on her 85th birthday. He usually had on a red checkered western shirt in all the old reel movie pictures we watched but we couldn't find a photo of him in that shirt. That would have been great because all these years later........a red checkered western shirt!! "Back then" the accordian was the "cool" instrument to play and several of his friends all took lessons and played. His mother loved it and sang some of the Christmas tunes that he played. Priceless moments to be cherished.

Whew! Holidays are exhausting!

It seems like the holiday routine is: sleep, get up, eat, play games, eat, sleep (nap) play games, eat (by now we are stuffed) games, sleep. Exhausting! We just finished eating (late) as we went to the candlelight service first. Lots of visiting, laughing.....a happy confluence of family. Hope you all are enjoying your Christmas. We are ours.

LaVern and Carolyn (in a few years)

My next house!

Living simply in a small house! This is actually the design that LaVern and I would have used if we had to build. Ours was alittle bigger but I think 500 sq ft is plenty now! This house is made entirely out of repurposed materials. I need to take a picture of a pole shed one of our Amish neighbors just built as it is just what we would build, only with windows. I shouldn't be up early in the morning looking at these things! (LV tells me it causes more work for him! lol)

Merry Christmas

A child was born................and they named him Jesus.

My recent Amish adventure

Bobcat Under a Bucket

On an adventure we went

One cloudy December day.

My neighbor said "I caught one"

And what were we to say.

We had no idea

What we even could do.

It was a bobcat he trapped,

Mad and mean clear through.

The children gathered 'round

As they came to watch the show.

Five girls and two boys

All standing in a row.

"Put a bucket over that bobcat",

I heard one of the men hail.

Then he reached up under that bucket

And touched the cat's tail.

Growling bobcat under a bucket

Two front feet in a trap.

Someone released those booties

And we all jumped back.

The scared bobcat raced off

Into the nearby woods.

Not once did he look back

He'll be gone for good.

The lesson of this story

And let it be one that is told.

A bucket over a bobcat

Is quite a sight to behold!

Shaking my head

This used purse recently sold at an auction in Dallas for $203,000!!! I know a town where that would have bought 8 single family houses! Or kept 4 families going for a year or better until they could find work. Shakin my head because I just don't understand. (It's not even a "cool" looking bag)

Unplug the Christmas machine

Scale down your activities and you will have more time and peace of mind to enjoy the ones that remain. Don't allow the season to take you on a wild spending spree and keep you exhausted from overcommitted schedules. Instead, look upon it as a time to remember what is important in your life. Keep it simple. Enjoy the moments, those little ones you often overlook. Our world is developing materially at an incredibally fast pace, increasing our need for similar progress in our sense of inner values (HHDL). Look inside yourself this holiday season. Let us all cultivate love, compassion and kindness for one another.

3 Little kittens who lost their mittens

New "farm" kittens. They seem to want in for some reason when they should be in the barn! Stopped at an Amish farm while out driving a group to work and a little kitten ran up to me from the barn. Don't you want a kitten? "Not this trip", I replied. The next evening here he came with a box and 3 kittens. "THREE", I said. The father proceeded to tell me that the children thought mine would get lonely by itself and if I took two then the one left at home would be lonely so they decided I should have all three!! lol They are fun to watch and all are about the same color. Farm kittens. Yea, right.

Cracks in my table

I really LOVE the cracks in my table that LaVern made for me. This morning I found another use for them. For those of you who have ever purchased fabric at a store that has the nice big counter with the groove down it and they line up the material and follow the groove with the scissors so a nice straight line is cut. Well, the same holds true for a table with a space between the boards. I lined up the Christmas paper on the bottom edge and followed the crack. Straightest Christmas paper I have ever cut! I'm thinking a really sharp razor blade might work nifty also but wouldn't know where to begin to find one.

This little piggy....went to the freezer

The boys came down and butchered their hogs for Christmas. They love getting a hog. Can you tell from the smile? It was an all day process with four of us. The boys cut up the hogs, I ground meat and a daughter-in-law wrapped everything for the freezer. I lost count of the number of coolers they took home. Each had lots of ham, roasts, bacon, ribs, porkchops, loin chops and ground meat. We all felt good at the end of the day. Me especially as all the mess was cleaned up!

Hair today...gone tomorrow

10 year old granddaughter cut 9 inches off my hair and I am sending it in to Pantene for wigs for cancer children and adults. I still have plenty of hair left so maybe I'll grow it out again for them! As long as it doesn't get any more gray hair as they can't take anything over 5% gray! I went in to a beautician and she "straightened" it up for me although it really didn't take much. One of those things on my "bucket list"! I don't miss it a bit, hair is hair. lol

Happy Thanksgiving

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Helping friends

Scooping corn on the ear into the grinder which ground it all up. Ervyn is going to feed it to the ducks that he is raising to sell for meat and we will have a couple hogs to feed for about a week. There is another part of the grinder that LaVern needs to look at that will take the corn off the cob and then grind. Ervyn has some organic corn that he wants to sell that way. Getting lots done with the nice weather.

Long awaited table

Started 2 years ago and put aside but now finally in the house! Worth the wait! I was gone one weekend and LaVern started it. He built the base thinking I said a 36 inch table when I really wanted a 40 inch. So, discouraged it was put aside and put lower on the "to do" list. I finally encouraged him to just "make do" and put a top on it. No planed, glued or bisquit(?) jointed top, just plain ole rough sawn boards, cracks between boards and knots, too. You can't tell from the picture but the legs are hedge posts with the bark still on them! love, love

Grinding corn

LaVern got his grinder out and greased it all up and gave it a try. It works! So he went after a load of corn (on the cob) and is coming home to grind corn. He is in his element!

Determination

We seldom give our dogs "people" food but this morning after I had cooked a ham bone in the pressure cooker I relented and threw the dog a bone. There actually was some left on the bone so I divided the bone and gave each dog a piece. This is our rat terrier Mattie, who at age 14, doesn't have many teeth left and gets soft dog food as she can't chew the hard stuff. She went after that bone with dog gone determination and had it licked clean. I'm not sure what the corgi, Owyn did with his. I saw him go off the deck with it in his mouth but shortly he was back with no bone. They both are laid out on the rug now so I guess they are happy dogs. Baking chocolate chip cookies for LaVern so he'll be happy, too!

Provided

Last year we fed out some hogs and because corn was so high at the time we were not going to make any money by selling them. We decided to give our sons a hog each for Christmas but they would have to either butcher it themselves or pay their own processing. They all pitched in and butchered their hogs and loved their gift. It worked out great because they were able to do that over Thanksgiving when they had extra days off. We didn't feed any out this year and a couple months ago one of the boys asked if I could find a fat hog he could buy as he sure would like to put one in the freezer again. It helped them tremendously on their grocery bill. I have searched and searched but kept coming up empty. Finally turned it over to the Lord and forgot about it. Instead I have been stock piling groceries when things were on sale planning on giving each family that. I got a call from an Amish fellow needing rides this week for his work crew. It ends up taking about two hours round trip and usually I don't like to do those but thought the extra cash would be great towards those groceries. We visited during the ride and lo and behold I find out one guy has hogs ready. Imagine that. Today I will barter for those hogs and once again the boys will butcher over Thanksgiving. I called them last night and they were thrilled. Wait until Christmas and they get the groceries!! lol Provided just by turning it over to Him. (you got to love the timing)

The best just got better

The above title is a favorite slogan with advertisers and since the "season" is on it seems the commercials are endless. The Book of Hebrews could use the same slogan or how about this, when Christ came, the best got better. One of my favorite verses, Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. God has said, "I will never leave you; I will never forget you." This shopping season be especially mindful of what you are spending.....a homemade gift is a gift of love.....and you won't have the worry of the credit card bill after the holidays! I love "shopping" during this time even though I'm not out there to buy. It's fun being in the hub bub, the lights, smells and watching other people. Some are happy but most stressed. They really should read Hebrews before going out! Their attitudes would be alot different! March out thinking the best just got better and be reminded of why there is this "season".

Mouse in the house

I find it very interesting that when I went in to my search engine, Dogpile, and searched the word "mouse" that the entire first page was for the computer mouse. I had to search before I found something about the common house mouse. I guess it's just where we are today. Anyway, there is a new mouse in our house and guess which one!

The trouble with having a laptop, wireless internet and wireless MOUSE is that the mouse gets dropped occasionally......mmmmm....maybe more than that. I know, we can forego the mouse and use the keypad but neither of us likes doing that. And so the mouse is dropped and put back together. After a recent mouse dropping (lolol) I noticed that a few little things were not working properly on the computer. Couldn't use the arrow and keep the sound volumn up, in favorites I couldn't arrow up and click on anything. I said to LaVern that I thought it must be the mouse or else we had a virus. He said the mouse was "working" so we must have a virus. Not sure how long we've had the old mouse so I decided to try that first. It's been a while since I purchased a mouse as I was shocked at the $25 price tag but the mouse came home with me anyway. To make the story short, everything is working properly now with the new mouse in the house.

Celebrating Veteran's Day

Our grandson, Reid. I hope one day he will be an Eagle Scout. Thinking of all our veterans and thanking them.

steaves, stocks, shocks

Thought you would enjoy seeing my Amish neighbor's shocks of corn. This is the way everyone use to do it and the way the Amish still put up their corn. Last week the scholars (kids in school) had the week off for the fall shredding of the corn. These bundles will be loaded on to a hay wagon and brought up to the barn. From there a shredder will take the corn off and throw it in a wagon and then the stalks will be chopped and blown in to the barn. This will be fed to the cattle and horses. Corn will be used for feed also as well as the cob itself. Interesting to watch the "English" farmer across the road with the huge tractors running through the fields, just after the corn. I'm guessing the shredding will be going strong today since rain coming in tonight. The Amish all go from one farm to the other and help each other shred. Wish I could get pictures of that to show you!

Splitting, splitting, splitting

We are using the nifty log splitter that I bought at a farm auction for $30.00. It is run from hydraulics on the tractor. We just have it sitting on the ground and then LaVern doesn't have to pick up the really big logs. So far it is working great, even on the BIG oak chunks that we have. As you can see from the above picture we still have plenty of wood to split! LaVern is really "in to" splitting the wood. I sit on the tractor and run the lever and he lines up the wood to be split. He looks the ends all over and then just places it so. I push the lever that moves the splitter and CRACK, nicely split wood. He said it will be dark now when he gets home from work but we could fire up the Coleman lantern and cut a pile tomorrow night. The man just loves splitting wood! It's kind of boring for me but I do like the stacking part!

Time change woes

"Falling back" with an extra hour of sleep for an adult is.....indescribable. So why is it that for me the time change wreaks havoc? Do I have this internal biological clock (like a rooster) or maybe I'm just a "light sleeper" or could it be stress or I sleep too much during the day (yea, right)? Studies (don't get me started on that subject) have shown that adults need 6~8 hours of sleep a night. Okay. I'm doing that. I go to be at 9 (old time) and get up at 3 AM (old time). So now I'm in bed at 8 and up at 2 AM. That's realistic. Right? Maybe I should try vinegar and honey, it cures everything. Hypnosis? I've tried warm milk. NOT. I've tried lavendar. NOT. Ahh, why bother. Who needs sleep anyway? (yawning)

Parliament

This morning I have a parliament of owls hooting. Yes, a group of owls is called a parliament. And like most parliaments there has been lots of discussion going on but I'm not sure how much, if anything, is being done. Oops...they must have reached a diplomatic agreement because it's quiet now. Do you really give a hoot about any of this?

Praying for someone who is struggling

When we get caught up in our own problems one of the best ways I have found to forget them is to focus on the struggles and needs of others. I just received word that a dear friend of ours has colon cancer. He will stand firm in his faith but he is still afraid. Prayer always takes me into the presence of God and reminds me of his ability to transform even the most difficult problem into a blessing. While praying for him my headache became more bearable. Praying for him has released God's grace in ways you cannot imagine. 2Corinthians 1:6 When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation! For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you. Encourage someone by praying for them.

Sunday Supper Soup

I have lots of soup recipes as during the cold winter months we enjoy a cup (big bowl) of soup. Here is a easy, fast to put together one that can simmer all day and still taste great.
Meatballs:
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 tablespoons butter
Soup:
2 cups water
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) condensed beef broth, undiluted
1 can (1 pd, 12 oz.) tomatoes, undrained.....I just used a quart of home canned tomatoes
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup sliced carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 bay leaf
To make the meatballs, combine beef, egg, water, bread crumbs, salt and parsley. Mix lightly, shape into 24 balls. In 5 qt. Dutch oven, melt butter and brown the meatballs, a single layer at a time, on all sides. Drain off fat; remove meatballs and set aside. To make soup, combine ingredients in same Dutch oven. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add meatballs, simmer 20 minutes longer. Yield: 6-8 servings, about 2 qts.

Almost perfect morning

It is raining (I wish it were snow) and we have had thunder and lightning. Suppose to get windy alittle later. LaVern took the pickup to work and pulled the car out of the garage so that both vehicles get the free car wash. I fired up the wood cookstove (with my nifty firestarters I made) and I have the meatballs cooking for Sunday Supper Soup (we are calling it Wednesday soup). Next I will stir up some artisian crusty bread and supper is prepared! Rug hooking is calling me for today. The house is clean and vehicles and trailers all put away. We even got the tin put on the east side of the barn and LaVern put his windows in for his workshop located there. My niece lives in Denver and it is 29 degrees and snowing again there. She said maybe another foot of snow for them. Even my friends in NW Kansas are getting some light snow this AM. We are thrilled to have the rain as it is dry. Best go check on the soup and turn the computer off. Need to watch my electricity usage although tomorrow to be sunny so I'm not worried. Hope you are enjoying the weather where ever you are at!

Web cam thought

I just had a great idea!! Surely there is someone back there in Kansas who loves techno stuff that could get a cheap web cam and mount it there at home and then put it on the web so that I can see your weather!! lol How about it, John?? McCook use to have one but I haven't been able to bring it up. Hmmm....I need to go see where there is one close to us! Later. Peace.

Last minute weather change stuff

Today sunny, high of 70 degrees. Tomorrow rain then snow with a high of 45! lol So I am racing around this morning getting as much done as I can with the sun shining. 3 loads of clothes washed and on the line, trash burned, all the wood boxes full, water tank filled, floors vacumned and LaVern's tools gathered up and put away that were on the porch. We have the porch all opened up now but still have the tin walls to put on. Haven't had to worry about tools getting wet until now. Weather man says 100% chance of rain/snow so I'm going with that. We really need the moisture as it is dry here. Need to look through my soup recipes and find one to make tomorrow along with some homemade bread. I love dreary wet, snowy days!!! Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow. (My niece in Denver is suppose to get another foot of white stuff so I'll have to watch the web cams!!)

Wise words from Dalai Lama

"It is necessary to help others in our daily lives, merely praying for them isn't enough."

Barn owl

Common barn owl. Nocturnal. I think the barn owl describes my current sleeping habits. I can hardly stay awake until 9 pm and then am wide awake and get up at 3 AM. I am thinking ahead to this next weekend when the time changes. I will be up at 2 AM...with the owls! I have always been a "morning" person but this is pretty extreme. This is something I go through every year so no big surprise. I was hoping I would outgrow it. I don't take daytime naps. Actually I have never been able to take a nap during the day and not for lack of trying. I have to do "quiet" things when I am up at this hour so as not to wake LaVern and the dogs. Great time to catch up on reading, hand sewing, meditating, surfin the web, writing letters, manicure, look up new recipes, plan my day, dream, pray for others, laugh at myself for being up so early, listen to the owls. Wow, I didn't realize I was getting so much done by getting up early. Maybe it isn't so bad after all. (yawn)

One end to the other

What a week! I have been going from one end to the other as far as bedtime and sleep. Going to bed at 9 pm and up at 3 AM. Last night it was 12:30 (very rare for me) and up at 4. (couldn't sleep) I am soooooooooo draggin this AM. I had an Amish run last evening and so I was coming through Creston about 9:30. LaVern was at work. He was repairing a ceiling in the kitchen and could only do it at night when the kitchen is closed. So I thought why not get groceries at that hour. Luckily the HyVee stays open until 11 pm and I think there were 3 of us total shopping! ha ha Kind of nice not to hurry down the aisles because people behind you. From there I headed to the dreaded store (wally world) as I had a couple things to buy there. They have these great little flashlights for $3, LED one AAA battery (and it comes with it). We love them because they fit in your pocket, you can hold it in your mouth when you need both hands to do something and they last forever!! Flashlights are a BIG deal when you live off grid and you don't have outside yard lights (which I lOVE) and you come home in the dark. We did have a couple solar motion lights by the house door but they got moved down to the hen house. I never go anywhere without a flashlight and usually my pocket knife. I have another Amish run this AM so best get going. This evening I will go back and pick up the people I drove last night. Tomorrow a farm auction, hopefully with some "junk". Time to get perked up!

I love the Internet

I do not like the bill I have to pay for the Internet but it sure was FUN this morning to look at a live web cam in Greeley, Colorado and see all the snow my brother is getting hammered with. From what I can see on the trees I would say easy 4 inches already and still snowing! lol I love web cams also. If you want to see some cool ones then look up web cams in Estes Park, CO. They have about 7 of them in different locations all over in the park. Pretty much a white out up there this morning. LOTS of snow! Love it. I finally fired up the wood cook stove this morning. Not really cold in the house but I want to slow cook a chicken breast in the oven today. We are going after a load of firewood when LV gets home from work today.

5:30 AM All still quiet

There isn't alot going on this early in the morning. My brother in Greeley, CO. is getting snow, 4 to 6 inches! Still "warm" here and no moisture in the air. The nice thing about being up so early is that I can read all the blogs that I follow and emails. I am working on Christmas gifts so I think I will brew myself a cup of tea and do some hand work. Good morning! Rise and shine! It's going to be a great day!

Once again 3 AM...wide a wake

Red Aurora Borealis

Common name: Northern Lights

8:30 tonight and LaVern was outside. He came running in and told me to quick come outside, forget putting shoes on. The sky above our house and trees was RED. It was amazing! Neither of us had seen anything like it. Millions of stars in the sky and this big red mass that looked like it was shooting up from the ground. We called our neighbor and he said it was the Northern Lights. Not sure if he could see them as he has a big yard light. We called our son, Rainer who lives in the country and he went outside and could see it. Our son, Ross who lives in a big town could not see them because of all the city lights. I think to see red is pretty uncommon and usually it happens at higher altitudes. No matter. The light show at our house was tremendous! Something LaVern and I will remember... and the wonder of it.

Playing possum

LaVern went to gather the eggs and before I knew it he was in the house loading the pistol! An oppossum was in one of the hen's nest sound asleep. Out we went to the hen house (I followed up LaVern with the 4-10 shotgun) to rid the varmit. His tail was hanging out of the nest. LaVern steps in front of the nest and bang, shoots the pistol. No movement. "Is he playing possum"? I asked. Another shot and this time movement so I knew he'd got him. LaVern is getting better with that pistol. When we had the sick racoon in the yard last year he shot 19 times and the coon was still sittin up. I'm surprised the oppossum was in there as we don't let the hens out until morning to free range. Tonight I am setting my trap in the pole shed with carrots and am going to try to trap that darn groundhog.

3:30 AM spot check

Money, money, money

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Don't you wonder when did money become more important in our society than health, happiness and just personal well-being. When did greed take over our natural human tendencies for peace, self-control or even fulfillment? The way we choose to make money and then spend it is a direct reflection on ourselves. The news is filled with people (50s & older) that have lost their "nest egg" and are not able to get jobs. One single woman said she didn't want to have to move in with her son and his family and burden them. When did the world change that families can't take care of one another? This morning (bizarre as it may seem) I have a strong desire to finally begin to learn how to meditate and I would love to learn yoga. Money is energy. Spend it wisely and spread peace.

Listen....Silent

Cake pops

I've been out of the loop I guess because I sure didn't know about cake pops. Don't these look like fun? Will have to get them on my list of things to do with the grandchildren! Just google "cake pops" and have fun with all the ideas! A simple thing. Simple joy.

Matches

We use aLOT of these boxes of matches. I think there is a box or two in the teardrop trailer, another box in the RV, the barn, used to be a couple here in the house (1 or 2 by each stove). Now that the weather has turned a bit cool I decided to fire up one of the stoves. No matches. I looked all over the house and no matches. LaVern finally brought a box in the house so we could have heat. Okay, I thought. No problem. I'll just pick up a few boxes when I go to the grocery store. NOT!! I could not believe the price. I guess it has been a LONG time since I bought a box of matches. $4.35 for a package of three!!! Holy smokes!! (just had to type that) I'll be hoarding my boxes like gold! Didn't buy the three in the grocery store. Should have priced them at Sam's Club. Going to watch for them at auctions. Best keep my stove "fired up" so I don't have to relight it! Matches....a hot item I guess.

Comfort

Sometimes life feels overwhelming. There was a shooting in the KS community that we moved from and a 22 year old young man (whom we knew & LV worked with his mother) was killed. Another young man pulled the trigger. Senseless act. Pain. Two families' lives ripped apart forever. When terrible events like this happen one can only seek comfort in a higher power. God is Love, and love is stronger than death. We have to offer our sorrow to that which is greater than ourselves and find the peace that passes understanding. God's Spirit is with us always, no matter what happens. I don't understand why this happened, but I know whom I can trust in the midst of it. Praying these families find peace.

Primitive finds

Love, love, love. I am sure some of you are wondering, "you are going to do what with that"? (And are shocked that I actually paid money for them!) ha ha On a whim LaVern came home from work Friday and we hooked up our little teardrop trailer, threw some clothes in, loaded the dogs and away we went. We only drove to Shenandoah, about 1 1/2 hours away! lol Stayed overnight in a Walmart parking lot. I am so thankful the dude who started Walmart was a camping enthusiast and they still allow overnight parking there. Saturday AM we went to some friends' house, kindred primitive spirits. They were having an open house and had lots of goodies under a tent outside. It was a beautiful fall day and perfect for this. She gave us a tour of their home. LaVern stepped in and said, "oh, oh.........this is going to cost me money". ha ha She has the look that I am going for. I'm just not quite there yet but these two pieces will give you some idea. From there we started towards Council Bluffs and came upon a small town where LaVern's great great grandfather is buried. He has never been to the grave but his mother and sister had. There was a funeral procession driving out of town so we decided that since we had time we would look up the grave. We drove out of town a ways but didn't see the cemetary so LV went back to the gas station and asked a fellow standing there where the cemetary was. He gave him directions, about 5-6 miles out of town so off we went again. Found the cemetary and started looking for the grave. It was quite a big cemetary and we could not find the grave so LV first called his sister. She gave him the approximate location. Still couldn't find it. So he called his mother and got more directions. Still couldn't find it. Called his mother again. Still couldn't find it. After about two hours of searching we gave up and went on to Council Bluffs. I must have needed a little city shopping as I had a great time (even at Menard's). We shopped and shopped and finally at 3 pm I told LV I had to get something to eat as no lunch. He took me to Olive Garden (my favorite and he will eat there)! After some food we were able to continue on shopping. (I had a big list). Finally at 8 pm we called it quits. LV's eyes were bothering him so instead of driving home we found a Walmart and pulled in. Got some drops for his eyes and called it a day. More shopping on Sunday and then we finally drove home, shopped out and had our fill of city. Later in the evening LV got online and looked up the town where the cemetary is located. Yup, as you may have already guessed.........we were in the wrong cemetary!! There were no signs there stating the name of it so we had no idea we were not in the right cemetary. This one is south and the one we should have been at is north of town in the country. ha ha At least we can say there are no Burtis' buried in the Thurman cemetary south of Tubor. We were determined to find that grave because after all, LV's 85 year old mother found it so why couldn't we!!! Needless to say, we are going back in a couple weeks and finding that grave!

The Rose

Red rose, red rose

Which is a sweet scent to the nose

So soft and smooth

It makes my heart move.....it soothes the mind and soul (Eve Anderson)

A surpise gift from my darling hubby. Thank you, LaVern. I love you always.

Have you hugged your horse today?

One of my granddaughters giving her old horse a big ole hug! He deserves it as I think he has been giving rides for nearly 20 years! Priceless.

Crockpot cooking

I love my crockpot! Haven't used it for a spell since I need for it to be a cool day and I can fire up my wood cook stove. This is the best crockpot, slow cook all day and I'm burning wood we gathered. Suppose to stay cool today and I had a roast to cook. Will add the potatoes, onions and carrots (from the garden) later in the day. I'm painting the ceiling of the porch today and then LaVern can start putting up the tin. TIN??? Can't wait until it is finished and then will post a picture. Hopefully still warm enough we can enjoy sitting out there a few evenings!

Today is a holiday, Sukkot, Feast of Booths. Okay, it was on my calendar and I admit that I had to look this one up. You should do the same. Peace.

Moon and then the fog once again