Fun For Me ... Music For You

Banjo Time!

2012-01-28T14:01:00.000-10:00

It's banjo time!

Nothing cheers me up like playing my tenor banjo!

My banjo head my look a little rough ...

and dirty ...

But it plays well and it never lets me down!!!

Nice and cool

2012-01-27T06:45:00.000-10:00

It's a cool 40 degrees here and I'm just wanting to stay snuggled up in my recliner with a blanket.
But ... there are things to do besides snuggle up here with my book!

I am really enjoying my new fiddle student. She is working really hard and doing so well. It is a lot of fun!

I played lots of Irish music last night at the Pub and had a great time! I will have to post some pictures soon.

Cherish the day today ... do something fun ... and tell those who mean the world to you that you love them.

Music Thursday!!!!!

2012-01-26T08:53:00.000-10:00

Here it is Thursday again! Thursdays are always great for me because it's always band night at our weekly gig at O'Griff's Irish Pub. I always have a good time there!

It's been a day of practicing, practicing and practicing! Trying to memorize some additional songs. Plus getting the other band, The Corn Crib Pickers, practicing and ready for up coming gigs.

It's always busy around here!

Hope that you all have a great day!

Music Night

2012-01-24T07:22:00.003-10:00

Had a great time last night playing Irish music!

Played so long and hard that I wore myself out!

This music always lifts my spirits ...

Every single time!

You just can't play happy music

and not feel good!

It's Monday Again!

2012-01-23T10:24:00.001-10:00

Happy Monday to ya! Mondays are always good for me. It's music night at the pizza joint!!!! Have a great day everyone!

It was really stormy here last night. Thunder storms and rain ... very strong winds! Went on for most of the night.

Happy Monday!

2011-06-20T12:12:00.002-09:00

It's raining here today.

Got the lawn mowed yesterday before it got here.

Just having a take it easy day here at our house.

I like those once in a while!!

Don't worry ...

I'll make up for it tomorrow!!!

I'm back again!

2011-06-18T15:11:00.002-09:00

Hello there! I'm back! I've missed everyone!

It took me a while to remember my password!

But I got it!

Will be posting soon!

Hope that you come to see me!

Fall is here

2010-10-11T03:55:00.002-09:00

I love this time of the year.
The leaves are beginning to change.
Everything is peaceful.
Sitting outside around the fire pit ...
just relaxing and watching the fire.
Looking at stars.
Counting satellites ...
Watching planes go by ...
Holding my husbands hand!

The trees are getting their colors
and the leaves are beginning to fall.
Yesterday, sitting on the swing,
I could actually hear the leaves falling in the woods.
It was a great sound.
Took me a minute to figure out what it was though.

Leaning back with my feet up ...
Lovin' it!!

Happy Monday!

2010-08-23T04:20:00.002-09:00

Now there's a cutie for you!
That is my Bassett Hound, Sugar!
He is always so happy and wagging his tail.
I love this little guy!

We just got back from camping for the weekend.
Which means ...
I'm tired ...
hurt everywhere ...
and I just want to go back to bed!

But ...
we had a great time.
We took the tent and the screen tent too.
So, we got to sit in the screen tent with our feet up and enjoy the evenings.
That was nice.

Hope you all have a great Monday!
Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday

2010-08-17T13:39:00.003-09:00

Well,
Tuesday has come
and now
the evening time is here.
I'm going to relax this evening
and
I thought this picture might relax us all.

This is a local picture
from Nauvoo, IL
and
the grand Mississippi River.

I hope that you all had a safe,
happy
and good day today.

Tired ...

2010-08-14T09:37:00.002-09:00

Now,
I don't know about you ...
but I have felt this tired before!

The curve of that guitar makes the perfect spot for a nap!!

My Flowers ...

2010-08-12T06:05:00.003-09:00

Here are some of my flowers ...
The sun was very bright when I shot these.

I had just mown the lawn,
so there is grass thrown everywhere from the mower.

I always plant marigolds.
My Grandma Testerman always had marigolds in her hot box
to keep things out of her vegetables.
They make me think of her.

And here is a grass covered rose.
It's the only bloom that I have right now.
I have three other plants.
I need to feed them.

And here are some of the wild flowers along the
edge of our woods.

I just love them.
I think they're very pretty.

Here they are along the edge of the woods ...

This shot below gives you a look
into the woods next to us.
I enjoy walking out there in the fall and winter,
but I stay away from the ticks
and mosquittos in the summer.

Here's a shot of my cherry tomatoes on the vine.
I had just picked and eaten the ripe ones!
Hee hee ...

Hope that you all have a great day.
Happy Thursday to you all!

Waiting ... waiting ... waiting ...

2010-08-11T10:46:00.005-09:00

There's Biscuit waiting for a bite ...

You see,
the rule at our house is this ...
while we're eating ...
if you wait patiently ...
and stay sitting ...
you get the last bite.

There's Dooley waiting ...

You can drool ...
You can look sad ...
but you have to stay sitting ...

There's Sugar waiting ...

Look at that concentration ...

Waiting ...

Here comes their bites ...

We have three dogs ...
so we have to save the last three bites!!

Hot Hot Hot

2010-08-10T11:09:00.003-09:00

Can you imagine being in the hen house on a hot day like this????
Dang!!!

This is a view of a few of the hens and roosters roosting out at the farm.
We were in there to gather some eggs.
Pretty, aren't they?

Today was a mowing day.
I'm done now.
I'm going to finish it tomorrow.
Too hot.

Hope that you all have a good day!

Toodles!

Happy Monday!

2010-08-09T04:40:00.003-09:00

Well, here it is ... another Monday morning ...
The beginning of the week ...
Hard to get up ...
The weekend is over ...

Where's the coffee?

Well, here's a picture that I thought that I would share.
It's a nice view ... very serene ... relaxing ...

Looking at it, I can hear the birds singing ...
The rustle of the trees ...
Crickets ...

This counts as my walk this morning!!!

Hope you all have a great day.

Clark 54 Drive In Movie

2010-08-08T05:49:00.009-09:00

We stopped and ate supper at Wendys on the way.

Here's a picture of Doug's John Deere Tractor hanging from the rear view mirror.

That's Doug in the rear view mirror ...

Out in the country ...

We're there!
We can see people waiting to get in as we approach.

Ya-hoo!

There's the line behind us ...

There's the ticket booth.

There's one person in there that takes money from both sides.

He just alternates back and forth from one side to the other.

There he is ...

There I am in line for the bathroom!

And yes ... there's the menu!

I got a chili cheese dog and cotton candy!

Doug got nachos!

Yes!

It was delicious!

Look at this picture ...

See how close Doug got to the post?

The door just barely opened for me to get out!

We watched Dispicable Me and The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Dispicable Me was by far the best movie.

It was very funny and made me laugh out loud.

It was a great evening.

Movies

2010-07-17T11:41:00.001-09:00

Going to go see

"Grown Ups"

and

"The A-Team"

at the movies!!!!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

2010-07-04T09:15:00.001-09:00

Hope that you have

a fun and safe

fourth of July!

Happy Saturday!

2010-06-26T04:36:00.002-09:00

Happy Saturday!!!

It's a music day!

Play at the Quincy Arts Fair with the Celtic group

and then the Corn Crib Pickers (Bluegrass) play at Beth Haven this evening.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to haul instruments all day.

They don't like that ... they get hot ...

but not sure if I'll have enough time in between to load the car.

Celtic Music

2010-06-21T19:14:00.002-09:00

Tonight was Celtic music session night!

I look forward to it all week long.

It was a good night.

Several groups of tourists came in and checked up out.

It's always good to hear applause!

I raised my drink to one guy,

just a gesture to say hi.

He looked frightened ...

then left.

I thought I was just saying hi.

Wonder what he though it meant?

Oh well.

The Frog ...

2010-06-19T12:11:00.002-09:00

Here is a close of of the Frog that I was playing at the Celtic session.

See the spines on his back?

Well, you can't see it because my hand was moving,

but my other hand holds a stick that you strum the spines

with and it makes a frog sound.

They're really cute!

And fun to play!

Fiddlin' Around

2010-06-18T17:05:00.002-09:00

Here I am "fiddlin' around"!

This was taken at the Celtic session here in Hannibal.

We meet each week at Breadeaux Pizza

and play from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.

It is a lot of fun!

Surprise!

2010-06-16T10:40:00.001-09:00

I saw a butterfly that looked similar to this one

eating out of my hummingbird feeder earlier today.

It sat there and ate for the longest time.

It didn't even fly away when I went out to look at it.

It was very pretty.

We have lots of hummingbirds here

but that is the first time I've seen a butterfly on it.

It does attract bees once in a while.

The Wedding Day

2010-06-14T21:36:00.002-09:00

There we are!

This was taken right after we got married.

I am very happy.

I love this man.

Monday Music

2010-06-14T20:47:00.002-09:00

Monday music was wonderful!

It was jam session at Breadeaux Pizza tonight.

We had a great session!

Besides the regulars,

we had a man drop in to join us.

He played trumpet and it fit in wonderfully.

His name is Jimmy and he was just passing through.

I used a digital recorder tonight and recorded the session.

I was pleased with the outcome.

Jimmy took pictures at the session.

We're trading ...

he's emailing me pictures ...

and I'm sending him the recording!

Well, it's almost 1:00am

and I begin teaching early tomorrow.

Soooooo ...

off to bed I go!

Adios!

Flutes!!!

2010-06-12T18:22:00.001-09:00

Holy cow!!!!

Did someone say flute?????

Okay, mom are you there???

Guess how many flutes are now in my possession???

I bought my first Native American Flute 3 weeks ago at a festival our group,

The Corn Crib Pickers,

was playing at in Florida, Missouri.

Doug and I drove to Mexico, Missouri yesterday morning

and bought Doug one of his own that's in the key of "A" ...

just like mine ...

so we can play together.

We bought my mother one in the key of "F#".

And ...

we bought me another on that's in the key of "C".

Just a few seconds ago ...

one ebay, of course ...

I just bought two more!!!!

One is a Native American Flute that was made in Europe

and the other one is a different kind of flute,

called a Kena flute,

that was made in Pichicha, Ecuador

by the man I bought them from.

I get to evaluate the one from Europe for him ...

how cool is that!!!

Because of that, I got it free!!

I can't wait for them to get here.

So, what's the count?

Well ... that would be six flutes!

(Until I main moms')

Yahoo!!!

A Loose Screw

2010-06-12T12:58:00.002-09:00

Don't' you just hate it

when you find a screw laying in the floor

and you can't figure out where it came from??

Lady Bugs

2010-06-09T13:50:00.003-09:00

Remember Lady Bugs?

They have always fascinated me.

They're so pretty.

I rarely see them these days,

although I do see them outside in the garden once in a while.

What we mostly have here are those orange beetles that look like

lady bugs, but they're orange and a bit larger.

Oh, and one other thing ...

THEY BITE!!!

We get swarmed every fall when they hibernate and then again in the spring when they burst out upon the world again. They get on the walls, in the lights, on the furniture ... everywhere. And it really hurts when they bite.

I still get very excited when I find a genuine Lady Bug.

It doesn't matter where I am ... I pick it up and go show it to the closest person I can find.

A person never outgrows Lady Bugs!!!!

Rain Rain Rain

2010-06-09T13:34:00.002-09:00

We got three inches of rain in the last 48 hours.

As my nephew says ... at least I don't have to water the garden for a few days!!!!

Doug mowed the lawn today. We got a riding mower and it's wonderful!

I even got to mow last week!!!!!

I hate the push mower. Ours is the old fashioned kind ...

you have to actually push it ...

it isn't even self-propelled!

Yes, I love the rider.

Bought my dogs some dog food with gravy.

They chomped into it like there was no tomorrow.

Bought the cats one of those covered litter boxes.

Let's see if they can kick litter out of that one!

I shouldn't challenge them ...

they'll find a way!

As soon as I buy a camera battery and find my memory card ...

I'll have some fresh pictures to share.

Toodles!

New Kitten

2010-05-25T09:29:00.000-09:00

I'm bottle feeding a kitten.

His name is Timmy.

He's tiger striped and absolutely tiny!!!

He eats 2/10 of an ounce of formula at a time ...

then I wash his face ...

then we snuggle and he just purrs!!!!!

Then he sleeps for two hours and we do it all over again!!!!!

New Flute

2010-05-24T19:50:00.002-09:00

At the festival on Saturday, I purchased a Native American flute. My oh my ... does it ever sound pretty!!!!!!

So far, I have written four songs that I can play on it.

Doug and I like it so much that we're going to buy him one too!!!!!!!!!

Tonight was Celtic music. Man it was hot in that restaurant. The music was fun though. Had a great time.

Off We Go

2010-05-22T06:41:00.002-09:00

Off we go today to play music at the Florida Missouri Founders Day Celebration!

After that it's back to Hannibal, Missouri to play for one of the nursing homes here in town.

Hope you have a great day!

My Dogs

2010-05-21T15:18:00.004-09:00

This cute little guy ... right here ......

His name is Biscuit.

He is half Basset Hound and half Coon Hound.

He is now over two years old and he grew into this handsome man.

He is very sweet and protective.

Then I added to the group ...

This cute little guy right here ...

His name is Sugar.

He is a full blooded registered Basset Hound.

And ...

He grew into this sweet and beautiful boy.

When he curls up with his front feet in your lap and looks

up at you with those eyes ...

Well ...

it just melts your heart.

And there's just been a new addition ...

This cute little guy right here ...

His name is Dooley Doo.

(named after Scooby Doo)

He is just now five months old.

He's now the largest of my three dogs.

He's all legs.

We're not sure what kind of mix he is,

I fostered him and then adopted him from the Humane Society.

I think he's beautiful.

He and I start training classes in a couple of weeks

to train him as a service dog.

I'm very excited about it.

He is already very sweet and attentive of me.

He's going to take good care of me.

Those are my dogs.

Do you have one?

Holy Cow!!!!!

2010-05-21T13:44:00.003-09:00

It's me again!!!!! It's been a long time, but here I am. I can't wait to get started visiting with my friends again and seeing what you all are up to.

I have a new facebook page under the name Ava Potterfield. Yes, I'm a newly wed of two months!!! And very happy!!!! Some of you went through all of that with me.

Anyway, will be back very soon!

Oh, you'll love my new hair do!!!!

Am I Still Alive?

2008-08-27T09:06:00.002-09:00

Hey to everyone! Da -a -ang ... it's been a long time.

Yes, I'm still out and about. My posts will not be as frequent as they used to be, but I will try to get here a couple of times a week. You see, I don't have Internet at home ... it's the library for me!!!!!!!

I hope that you all are doing well.

My family has grown!!!! I have two new babies ... one named Biscuit and one named Percy ... yes ... they are puppies. Biscuit is half beagle and half basset, he is four months old. Percy is a full blooded basset and he is six weeks old today!!! I take them and do pet therapy at the local nursing homes and we are in training to get our certification to visit the kids wards and cancer centers at the hospitals in the area. I am very excited!!!!

I'm Back

2007-10-23T09:22:00.000-09:00

Well,

I am back in the land of the living!!!

After being down with my asthma for five weeks ...

I'm very glad to be feeling better!

I played music this weekend for the first time since being sick.

I could only play for an hour at a time,

but I sure enjoyed myself.

I'll be back to posting next week.

I'm looking forward to visiting your blogs again.

If you're visiting the blog ...

Weather

2007-10-09T06:49:00.000-09:00

It's supposed to be cooler this week.

We've gone from upper 80's

to highs in the mid 60's

and lows in the 40's.

That's kind of a drastic change isn't it?

I'm wearing a jacket right now!!!!

Hello!!!!!

2007-10-09T06:34:00.000-09:00

I'm back ...

after a short absence while being ill.

My asthma flared and took me out for three weeks.

I was on bed rest for four days last week ...

on steroids ...

which made me swell ...

sucking down asthma medication like it was going out of style ...

very bored ...

in bed ...

reading ...

watching TV ...

didn't play any instruments for at least two weeks!!!

The only thing that kept me out of the hospital was pure stubbornness.

(I don't know that I would actually recommend that to anyone)

I know!!!

Dang!

I was REALLY sick!!!!

I'm just about over it,

although this person sitting next to me who just came back from a smoke break is making it hard for me to breath.

Whew!

Well, I will write more later this week.

My parents were here for a visit when I was at my worst.

I was glad to see them, but felt bad that they only see me three or four times a year and I was sick the whole time they were here.

Well,

must run.

I hope that everyone is doing well.

I'll be back.

General:

2007-09-25T06:26:00.000-09:00

Let's see ...

Saturday ... we awoke feeling much better ... but still sick.

We had planned to go to Quincy and rearrange my room there ... we talked it over ...

shrugged ... and said why not!

So off we went!

When that was done, we headed off for Jacksonville, IL to look at the grounds where the Old Thresher's Show is going to be next weekend. I got some really good pictures of some steam engines, tractors, barns and some other things. It was a good trip!

Then we headed to Summer Hill, IL to the Clark 54 Drive In Movie Theater.

We had packed all kinds of snacks and a cooler of Pepsi for the night.

All I ended up eating was about half of my bag of popcorn and two cans of Pepsi.

You must remember ... we couldn't breathe ... our heads hurt ... and we had just eaten supper not too long ago.

Well, what was showing?

Halloween

and

Superbad

This was my first time to see any of the Halloween movies.

Now I understand what all of my friends were talking about!

Superbad was a little different, but funny.

It had a couple of redeeming moments.

On a sad note ... I was planning to take my parents there when they're here next weekend to visit ...

but ...

when Doug asked what would be showing ... he was told that this was the last showing of the season.

Whaaa!!!!!!

At any rate ...

we had a great evening and enjoyed ourselves very much.

By the time we got home ... we were tired!

We took our medicines ... got all "Vicks"ed up ... and collapsed.

Speaking of Vicks Vapor Rub ...

I had a doctor tell me one time that Vicks Vapor Rub was just a myth ...

that it didn't really do anything for you at all.

Well ... I beg to differ. When you go from not being able to breathe ... to being able to breathe ... I think it's doing something for you!!!!

Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!

Buffalo

2007-09-25T06:22:00.000-09:00

I'm reading a book right now from the "Wagons West" series ...

I'm on the second one right now that is titled "Nebraska".

They hunt buffalo occasionally for survival as they're traveling in a wagon train to Oregon.

Anyway ...

This particular picture was taken in Yellowstone National Park.

I saw buffalo when I was there several years ago.

It is such a beautiful place.

Just gorgeous!

I'd like to go there again some day and spend more time there.

General:

2007-09-25T06:17:00.000-09:00

Let's see ...

Friday I was sick in bed all day ... literally.

The symptoms?

A very bad headache ... stuffy/runny nose (mainly stuffy) ...

sore throat ... coughing ... aches ... pains ...

the flu?????

I didn't have to be sick alone though ... Doug was sick right along with me. He kept trying to throw up though ... I never did ... except for some sympathy heaving when he was ... but nothing ever came of it.

The only thing that we did together all day was play one game of marbles ... which exhausted me! And I think he put a couple of movies in, which I must have slept through, because I can't even tell you what they were!!!!!

Remember building sand castles?

2007-09-25T06:08:00.000-09:00

Did you ever have a sand box to play in when you were a kid?

I sure did and I loved building things out of the sand ...

but I never created anything like these!!!!

Check out this mother dragon and her nest of eggs! If you look closely, you can even see that the eggs are hatching and there are baby dragons lounging about and even one in the process of hatching!!!! The poor thing is chained up, though!!

Ohhhhh ... this brave knight tried to save the damsel in distress and appears to have lost his life in the process. Look at the detail of his hands and fingers.

Check out this lion! Those are some vicious claws he is showing there! Look at the marks in the sand where he left drag marks with his claws! And those eyes ... they're looking right at us!

Check out the dead pirates and the treasure chest!!! How do we know that they are pirates? Look a little closer ... that big one is wearing an eye patch!!!!!! Must be pirates!!!!!

Happy Tuesday to You!

2007-09-25T06:01:00.000-09:00

Well,

I survived the weekend. (sigh)

Thursday ...

I didn't even get to play music Thursday night.

By the time I got there a migraine had kicked in ... my asthma was making it difficult to breathe ... I was having muscle spasms all over my body and my pleurisy was acting up and I was having chest pains. I felt so bad ... I didn't even go for a three wheeler ride!!! Dang! That's bad!

After supper, we said our goodbyes and Doug drove me back to the apartment.

I had a breathing treatment, took some pain medication, a sinus pill, laid on the heating pad and went to sleep ...eventually.

It turned out that after my breathing treatment ... the muscle spasms stopped. I guess I wasn't getting enough oxygen. I've always associated the muscle spasms with being dehydrated ... but I guess it makes sense that the same thing would happen if you weren't getting enough oxygen.

You live and learn.

Music Thursday!

2007-09-20T05:13:00.000-09:00

Here I am ... and it's Music Thursday once again! I am excited and can't wait to get there! My fiddle has been calling my name since 7:00am this morning!!!!! My fiddle ... Minnie Pearl ... well, she told me that she wants to be loaded in the car and go!!!!!!

But ...

alas ...

I work until 5:00pm ...

sigh ...

She'll have to wait until then.

There's Doug fiddling around ...

There's my foot ... sometimes a girl just has to kick off her sandals and play barefoot! The music just sounds and feels better that way!!!!!

There I am with Benny, my tenor banjo!

Can't you just feel the rythm oozing from this picture?

There's Bernard and Jim ... I really enjoy it when Bernard sings for us! He knows a lot of good tunes!!!!!

There's Alan, playing his mandolin. Now, if I'm not mistaken, that is one of the mandolins that he made.

There's Danny ... I must have just told him that the song was in "G"!

(Hee Hee ... inside joke)

Wes sings a mean "Folsom Prison" and a fabulous "Midnight Special".

There's John. John and I have a lot of fun together. John, Doug, and I can really get going on our fiddles! It is so much fun!!!!

And there's Jesse on his banjo. Now, this man is hard to get a picture of! But I did it! Ya-hoo! Go me!!!!

Sky, Clouds:

2007-09-19T06:36:00.000-09:00

Here are some interesting clouds for you.

I don't think that I have ever seen one with part of it just sticking straight up like that.

I thought that they were pretty.

(I'm always cloud watching)

Monroe City Sesquentinial, Quilt Show:

2007-09-19T06:25:00.000-09:00

Here are a few of the quilts from the quilt show. There were so many cute and so many beautiful ones!

The quilt above has shirt pockets on it!

I liked the way that this dragon quilt was in squares. I found it very soothing.

This one was just as cute as could be!!!!

I found it interesting that I did not hide my camera at all. I was very obviously taking pictures ... with the flash on. I went through the whole quilt show and as I was preparing to exit ... I was approached and scolded for taking pictures. If pictures are not allowed ... that's okay ... my irritation was why wait until I'm finished, after they've seen me the whole time, and then make a spectacle of it? Oh well!

Salt and Pepper Shakers:

2007-09-18T06:40:00.000-09:00

Here are some of my salt and pepper shakers. Most of them are ones that I have collected individually over the years, but some of them also belonged to various family members. The two clown dogs were my Grandmother's. It's hard to see, but in the upper left corner there is a cat sitting in a fish basket (there's a matching one not visible here) ... anyway, these belonged to my Great Grandmother. I love them all, but the ones that were from family are very special to me.

See the beetles in the upper left corner? I found them in a box in the garage of an old house that I used to live in about twelve years ago. The baby in the bathtub is from the dollhouse that I used to play with when I was a little girl. See the toilet???? And the toaster with toast in it????

The three Vess Soda bottles were from my Great Grandmother ... and there's the matching cat in a fish basket that was also hers. See the in the front row ... the birds with the yellow belly and blue heads? I found a set just like this locally for $45. No way was I paying that much. This set was my first E-bay purchase ... for $12!!!!! I was so proud of myself!

This is a special shelf. All of the ones you see in the above picture belonged to my Dad. He collected them as a boy when he was in 4-H and this was one of his projects. He told me that he used to display them in some of the store front windows down on the square. I think they're awesome!!!

Here's another special spot on the the shelves. The items on the tray belonged to one of my Grandmothers. There's a variety of figurines, salt and pepper shakers ... and that is her hair brush in the blue holder. It even has some of her hair in it.

Yes ... I'm sentimental!!!!!!

I treasure these things!

Farming, Doug:

2007-09-18T06:31:00.000-09:00

There's my sweetheart!!!!

On this particular day, he was doing disc work in the bean field.

There he is in the tractor!

Yes ... I am one of those girls who thinks a tractor is sexy! Very sexy!!!!!!

And there he goes!

I decided that I wanted a picture of me on the tractor too. I handed the camera to Doug and climbed in ... very unaware that he decided to take this "butt shot" of me climbing into the cab! Thanks, Doug!

And there I am!

Thank you, Doug!

2007-09-17T07:23:00.000-09:00

I would like to take a moment

to thank my sweetheart

for being so kind and considerate of me.

Because of my lupus,

he knows that I am not able to walk for long periods or time

or most importantly ...

not stand for a long period of time.

The solution ...

he made a wonderful wagon for me to ride on

that he pulled behind his little John Deere tractor

and he drove me all over every inch of the Thresher's Show ...

several times!!!!

So,

thank you, sweetheart,

for thinking of me

and for wanting me to be there with you

and for making it possible for me to do so

by making sure that I didn't have to do much walking.

I love my wagon!

I loved being there!

And I love you!

Thank you!

Shelbine Old Threshers, Horse Arena:

2007-09-17T07:18:00.000-09:00

One of the things going on during the show this weekend was

horsemanship competitions on Saturday,

then the ranch horse competitions on Sunday.

We didn't watch them all ... there was too many other things to see and places to be,

but we did manage to watch a couple of hours of what was going on each day.

I love horses!

I used to ride all of the time, but don't own any horses now.

I wish that I did, but don't have anywhere to keep one.

I'd ride every day if I did!

But it was fun for me to watch the other riders showing off their skills.

Doug and I sat close enough to the fence of the arena that one of the cutting horses kicked dirt in our faces while cutting the cattle!!!!

But that was great!

Although ... it did get my new wagon dirty!!!

(ha ha)

Shelbina Old Threshers Show:

2007-09-17T07:11:00.000-09:00

I survived!!!!!

I thought I might ... but wasn't sure!

Spent the weekend at another Old Thresher's Show ... this time in Shelbina, Missouri.

Set up the tent again ... loaded it up with blankets ... blankets ... blankets ... blankets ... blankets ... and even more blankets!!!

Why?

Well, Friday night it got down into the low 30's.

Let's just say ... it was a little chilly out there in that tent!!!!!

I was warm in my blankets, but my face and my hands were cold. I woke up every once in a while and adjusted my sleeping position and got all covered back up again.

Saturday night it only got down in the 40's ... I slept really well and stayed nice and warm in my blankets.

The show was great and I had a very good time.

I'll have pictures later this week of me on my new wagon that Doug built for me.

I enjoyed it very much!!!!

If I had to do all of that walking, my lupus would get the best of me after about an hour or two, but with my wagon, I'm able to go all day!!!!

Well,

except for one little nap around noon time, but that's to be expected after playing music at night.

Hope you all had a good weekend!

General:

2007-09-13T05:29:00.001-09:00

I've been working on a bunch of new songs to sing.

It's always fun to work on some new music now and then.

Keeps you on your toes and breaks up the routine!

That's always good.

I have a lot to get done today, so I guess I should get going!

My love to you all!

Have a great weekend!

North Ely Opry, Music Thursday:

2007-09-13T05:06:00.000-09:00

It's Music Thursday!

Yahoo!!!!!!!

There I am

There's Doug with the mandolin that he made. It's electric and it's very cool!!!!

There's Doug and Joshua ... now ... this was a very deep conversation!!

Hmmm ... time for a break?

Happy Thursday to you all! I hope that you have a great weekend and if you play ... that you get to make some fun music with some friends.

Adios for now.

Log Cabin:

2007-09-12T06:21:00.000-09:00

This is a log cabin located across from one of the bean fields.

Yes ... it is a log cabin. Siding was applied to the outside, but you can still see the logs from the inside. Let's go on in ...

I found it amazing that the logs were still in such good shape! Look at that! You can see the marks that were hewn by the ax!
What hard work it must have been to have cut all of that by hand and prepared each log to fit together.
Here, you can see where another layer of wood was placed over the logs to make a "remodeled" wall.
What is that? That's what we wanted to know! We were startled to death by the most horrible and frightening sound that I had ever heard. Made you think that you were about to be gobbled up by some kind of monster and die a horrible and painful death!!!!

It was a baby buzzard! I had no idea that they made such a sound! Curiosity got the best of us though, and instead of running for our very lives ... we investigated ... very slowly and carefully ... perched precariously on top of an old washing machine ... while it wobbled ... me so short that I had to stand on my tip toes and hang on for dear life to the rotted floor above my head for some stability ... with Doug hanging on to my legs in case I fell ... while at the same time trying to take pictures without getting stuck by a rusty nail and having to go get a shot ... whew!

Doug ... being much taller than me ... stood on the wobbly washer and could see much better than I could. He took most of the pictures from the attic since he could just stand there with both hands free. (smarty pants)

Anyway, it was an adventure and the cabin was very interesting.

General:

2007-09-12T06:09:00.000-09:00

It's Wednesday!!!!

That makes me happy!

Actually,

I woke up smiling this morning.

That's always a good sign!

Then gave my Teddybear a big hug.

It's supposed to be in the lower 40's at night this weekend and only in the 60's during the day. The day time hours will be enjoyable ... but burr ... couldn't it be a little warmer for the night time?

I even dug my ear muffs out yesterday afternoon.

No ...

I haven't worn them yet ... I'm just being prepared.

Anyway ...

have a great day!

Tractors, Macon Thresher's Show:

2007-09-11T06:07:00.000-09:00

Here are a few of the tractors from the Old Thresher's Show,

in Macon, Missouri last.
I like the ones with the metal wheels like this.

Lots of fun!
Anyway, hope that you enjoyed the pictures. There will be more!!!!!

Happy Tuesday!

2007-09-11T05:56:00.000-09:00

Here it is Tuesday!!!

That's one more day closer to Thursday!

I have great plans for the weekend,

which I will fill you in on later.

I'm excited and can't wait for Friday to get here!

Did I tell you that I got my car back last week?

It's finally out of the shop!

Yahoo!!!!!

I missed it.

Music Thursday:

2007-09-06T05:11:00.000-09:00

Well,

here it is Music Thursday again!!!!

And ...

I find myself without any pictures disks!

Yes ...

I believe I left them sitting by the front door,

which is where I sat them while I reached for an umbrella!

Drat!

Left them there!

Oh well ...

it's still Thursday and I'm still excited!!!!!

Hope that you all have a great weekend!

Three Wheeler Ride:

2007-09-05T05:27:00.000-09:00

Here we go on a three wheeler ride.

There's Doug's feet.

There's my feet!
On these dirt roads, even the plants on the side of the road get dusty!!!!
There's a view of the corn from a distance.
There's a view of one of the bean fields.

Looking good!

Old Threshers, Macon:

2007-09-05T05:20:00.000-09:00

Here's an old fire engine for you.

It was up at Macon, Missouri at the Old Thresher's Show.

I found it very interesting to look at. Look at those ladders!
It was very tempting to climb up onto this truck ... but I didn't.

Dragonflies:

2007-09-05T05:14:00.000-09:00

We've recently been talking about dragonflies and there has been a question that I've been wondering about.

I don't know that much about dragonflies.

They're neat and pretty.

They're fun to watch.

But what else?

Here's what I found out ...

There are over 5,000 species of dragonflies.

That's a lot of dragonflies!

They are usually found near water but can fly far distances.

They can fly between 19 to 38 mph.

No wonder it looks as if they are "zipping" around!!!!

Their enemies are birds, spiders, frogs and larger dragonflies.

Can a dragonfly bite?

No,

but ...

the larger ones may try to bite, but they're not able to break the skin.

Here's what I've always wondered ...

What do dragonflies eat?

I found out that they eat other flying insects.

Particularly midges (gnats) and mosquitoes.

They will also eat butterflies, moths and smaller dragonflies.

I hope that you enjoyed finding out more about dragonflies with me.

Mystery solved!

Wheat Harvest, Farming:

2007-08-30T05:41:00.000-09:00

Here are some pictures that Doug took during the wheat harvest.

I love these pictures!

Cutting wheat on the combine ...
That's Jesse in one of the combines ... loading the truck.
There's the truck ... ready to go.
And this is what you do during your break time!!!!!

North Ely Opry:

2007-08-30T05:33:00.000-09:00

Yes!

It's Music Thursday!!!!!

Happy Thursday to you!!!!

It wouldn't be Thursday without some Opry pictures for all of us!!!!!

There's Don and Lowell working out a tune.
There's Willy looking something up on the computer.
There's Wes ... giving my camera (and me) the "look".
Shootin' the breeze!

There's sometimes more talking than playing! It just depends on what's been going on that week and who all is there. It's actually part of the fun!!!!!

I'm really sorry, but I can't remember his name at the moment ... but it's great to have him there. He plays banjo and guitar and he's always smiling.

Yes ... you noticed the absence of pictures of Doug and I? It's okay ... don't faint! We'll probably be in the next batch!!!!

General, Dragonflies:

2007-08-30T05:25:00.000-09:00

I was visiting blogs yesterday and I think if was floridacrackers blog (Pure Florida) that featured some pictures of the dragonflies out at his pond.

I'll share a dragonfly experience that I had.

The other day, while out for a ride on the three wheeler built for two,

we passed a spot where someone had about ten round bales of hay stored off

beside a fence.

There were dragonflies all around it. I had never seen so many in one spot before.

They were very graceful in flight and I watched them for a little while.

This was my first time to see dragonflies in a group, or swarm, or whatever you might call a group of dragonflies.

Last Sunday, while sitting at the edge of the pond, feeding the catfish at the pond and waiting to see the sunset,

I saw one or two dragonflies fly over the pond.

I pointed them out to Doug,

looked up,

and you could see the whole group of them flying in over the tree tops.

It was quite a sight.

I didn't know that they traveled in groups and I didn't know that they could fly so high.

I was amazed.

I was also surprised at how fast they can fly when they're on their way somewhere.

Dragonflies!

Wow!

Going for a drive:

2007-08-30T05:20:00.000-09:00

Doug and I went for a drive the other day and he took out on the dirt roads to take pictures and just enjoy the scenery.

He took me to an area that he liked which included this stretch of road that was canopied by trees.

It was so pretty there!

It actually made me cry.

General:

2007-08-30T05:15:00.000-09:00

Here I am with the PT Cruiser that I've been driving for the last two weeks.

It's a very nice vehicle, but I miss my Blazer!!!

It gets great gas mileage though!

General:

2007-08-29T05:57:00.000-09:00

Yesterday I drove down the the Mississippi river front to see the cresting progress going on down there.

The water was just beginning to come up into the parking lot.

While I was there I was watching the ducks.

Usually they are spread out in little groups,

but today they were all together in a large group.

I wonder if the fast running flood waters have anything to do with that?

Anyway,

I counted 28 mallard hens

and only 1 mallard drake.

I thought this was odd since there ratio is usually more like two to three hens to each drake.

I had fun watching them as they flipped up their little duck bottoms to eat off of the bottom of the shore line.

Their little tail feathers sticking straight up into the air!

It struck me funny and made me giggle.

Here's what I saw:

1 white heron across the river on a log ...

1 white heron standing on the shore a few feet down ...

1 white heron standing in the brush (which I thought was odd) ...

4 Canadian geese ...

28 mallard hens ...

1 mallard drake ...

1 white goose ...

and ...

1 white heron flying across to the other side of the river.

(Yes ... that's 4 white herons total ... they were all different birds.)

I enjoyed my visit and then headed home.

I'll have some pictures later.

A Favorite Quote:

2007-08-29T05:39:00.000-09:00

Here's a favorite quote for you ...

This comes from the book titled "Wish You Well",

by David Baldacci ...

"A mistake is only a mistake until it is corrected."

At the fair!

2007-08-29T05:29:00.000-09:00

Here are a couple of the Angus cows.
Here's one of the Herefords.
Oink! Oink! It's dinner time! This one must have been someones pet pig because it was just out in the walkway. There were a couple of people standing near by keeping an eye on it.
Now ... isn't that a cute face???? Baaa!!!
And there's a chicken! One of the chickens had laid an egg in it's pen.
And here's a cute little bunny rabbit for you!!!

The Demolition Derby!

2007-08-29T05:21:00.000-09:00

Here we are at the Demolition Derby in Palmyra, Missouri.

It was hot, but not unbearably.

We sat at the very top of the bleacher stand and had our cooler of drinks up there with us.

The car in the top right corner is Tony, Doug's nephew.

The car just entering is Beth, Doug's sister.

I hadn't been to the demolition derby since I was a little girl. It was loud! And the people in the stands were a little cranky, but there was lots of beer involved. Nobody fell off the bleachers though! That's a good thing!

Dreams:

2007-08-28T06:09:00.000-09:00

A few days ago

I had a dream.

I dreamed that I was driving down the road in my Blazer ...

and ...

the whole back end fell off!!!!!

The funny thing is ...

that in my dream ...

I didn't even notice until I got there, got out of the car and saw it!!

How crazy is that?????

I bet the breeze kept me nice and cool!!!

Do you think my hair was blowing in the wind????

Random Thoughts in My Head:

2007-08-28T06:06:00.000-09:00

Hmmm ...

when I'm at the library and have to sit my things on the back of the toilet ...

because there's no where else to put them ...

what if something falls in?

Seriously!

For instance ...

if my photo Cd's fall in ... will they still work?

If my keys fall in ... will the car remote still work?

If my sunglasses fall in ... do you just wash them off and wear them ...

or are they toast?

And what if it's your favorite pair?

Hmmm ....

Ball of Twine:

2007-08-28T05:47:00.000-09:00

Now ...

here's a ball of twine for you!!!

I bet you don't have one of this size just laying around the house, in the shop or behind the seat of your pickup truck!!!

Yes ...

that says 43 pounds of twine!

Yes ...

that says 43,000 feet of twine.

Over 8 miles!

Gee ... that's a LOT of twine!

This brings back memories for me! When I was growing up everyone one baled hay into those square bales and they had twine around them that you used to lift them with. I've carried many a bale of hay out to the horses!!! In my memories, I can still hear the "grunt" that escaped my lips when I picked one up!!!!

Oh, I also used to make horse bridles with binder twine. And they worked!

The North Woods:

2007-08-28T05:40:00.000-09:00

One of the things that I really enjoy when we're out at the farm is going for walks in the woods. It is so pretty there. And so peaceful.
These are a few of the pictures of the woods where we stopped to sit on a fallen tree and take a break. There's a creek running below and we could hear it from where we were sitting.
There were also lots of birds singing and making an occasional ruckus.
We had our cooler with drinks and just sat and enjoyed the sights, the sounds and the shade.

Three Wheeler Ride:

2007-08-28T05:34:00.000-09:00

Here we are at one of the corn fields checking on the corn.
There's Doug!! Yes ... checking on the corn sometimes includes getting off and posing for a few pictures in the corn!
Here's a shot squatted down looking along the bottom of the corn row.
There I am!
There's the corn as the sun is setting!!!

Taking out the scraps!!!

2007-08-28T05:23:00.000-09:00

Okay ...

it's been said that I am easily entertained.

Maybe they were right!!!!!

Here I am following Doug as he takes out the scraps from the kitchen. His mom had just been working up some of the vegetables that she had brought in from the garden!

Poor Doug and his tag along camera toting shadow!!!!!

Here we are at the fence. In the distance we can see the chicken coop where he used to throw scraps to the chickens. It's empty now, so he just throws them over the fence.

Here's the action shot!!! Now, I would have had some trouble reaching over the fence, but Doug just lifts his arms and over it goes! It was cucumber and tomato scraps ... almost looked good enough to eat!!!!!

See???? I told you so!!!!!

Ouch! Do not attempt this on your own ... it's very painful!!!!! An unknown fact is that scrap dumping can be very dangerous and should always be done on the "buddy system". You just never know when your hand might get stuck under that mean old bucket handle and you might need someone to go for help!

Ouch!!!!

Old Threshers:

2007-08-28T05:06:00.000-09:00

Went camping in Montgomery City, Missouri for three days at the Thresher's Show they had there. Look at everything that I squeezed into my Blazer ... including the little John Deere Tractor!!!! Can I pack ... or can I pack?????
First, I had to take both tents out, and the instruments and some of the suitcases before we could even begin to think about getting the tractor out!!!!
There's Doug unloading the little tractor!!!!
Almost there!!!!
He had to take the exhaust off and the steering wheel off in order for it to fit into my car.
Almost all unpacked!! What was in there? One tractor, two tents, one guitar, two mandolins, two fiddles, a marble board, two chairs, three coolers, four duffle bags of "stuff", one back pack to carry drinks in, two music bags, my clothes, four pillows, a blow up air mattress, three blankets, a music stand, a music case, some groceries ... and two people!!!!
And ... there it is with it's exhaust and steering wheel put back on! Now ... you may ask why I had a tractor in the back of my car? Well, this particular one is what we ride on ... you know ... instead of walking all over the place. There's a little trailer with a seat that is pulled behind this and that is what I ride on. With my lupus ... it actually keeps me from getting sick from walking in the heat. I love this little tractor and my "rumble" seat.

General:

2007-08-23T05:45:00.000-09:00

My love to you all!

Have a great weekend!!!!!

North Ely Opry:

2007-08-23T05:37:00.000-09:00

Now, it just wouldn't be Thursday without some pictures from the Opry!

It's music day and I can't wait to get there!

There's Danny and Doug!!
There's Dimple (Doug's mother) , Onita (his aunt) and Dorothy (his grandmother)!!!
There I am on my Pepsi break!
There's Don, Lowell, Marky and Wes. Sure looks like they're concentrating really hard on a new song there!
There's Bernard! I love to hear him sing and play that guitar!

Thresher's Show: Paris, Missouri

2007-08-23T05:28:00.000-09:00

There's Dick, John, Doug and Willy loading a sawmill blade into the back of John's pickup truck. Until my first show at Shelbina last year, I had never seen a steam operated sawmill before. It is really neat to watch and listen to those steam engines. I have grown to like to sound of their engines pumping and the smell of the wood smoke.
These engines belong to Willy. I like the sound of these engines when they are all fired up too. It's a very distinct sound. I find it comforting.
There's Doug, Bill and Will. Doug and Bill are trying to get that engine started. They finally triumphed! I am always amazed at the patience it takes to work with engines. Not just these, but engines in general. I have to say ... I have no patience and engines would make me angry when they weren't cooperating!!!!!
There's Doug and one of the tractors at the show.
I chose a different one for my shot!!!

Cows:

2007-08-23T05:24:00.000-09:00

Here's one of the new additions to the cattle herd out at the farm.

Isn't this a cutie??????

This was taken not too long after the birth.

General: Thresher Show

2007-08-23T05:15:00.000-09:00

I spent the weekend at the Old Thresher's Show in Montgomery City with Doug and his parents.

Doug and I slept in a tent.

It had been many a year since this body had slept in a tent,

but it was great!

We had the tent we slept in ...

with an air mattress ...

and a screen tent set up to the side that housed a table and chairs.

Our camp actually was a very comfortable and welcoming place to be!

I will have pictures to share as soon as I get them burnt to CD so they can come to the library with me!!!

Had a great time!

Played LOTS of music!

And had a lot of fun!

Farming: Loading Corn

2007-08-23T05:07:00.000-09:00

There's Bill ...(Doug's Dad) ... looking to see how the loading progress is going. And yes ... that is me behind the camera. I tried to get some good shots of them ... while at the same time staying out of the way. It wasn't too bad ... they're used to me having my camera with me all of the time. :)
There's Doug. He has a good view from up there. I have to tell you that the truck load of corn was an amazing sight for me. And it smelled really good!
There's Doug inside the bin. He had to do a lot of scooping so the auger kept up it's pace. I'm sure it was hot in there, but he didn't complain any at all! I had never seen the inside of a corn bin full of corn before.
There's the corn coming out of the auger. If you look closely you can see the dust coming off of the corn as it's loaded. Amazingly ... neither my allergies or my asthma was set off too badly. I had my nebulizer there with me ... just in case.
And there I am sitting on the tractor. I took a lot of these pictures while I was perched on that seat!!!

General:

2007-08-23T05:05:00.000-09:00

Happy Thursday!

I came for my computer appointment yesterday morning, but the Blogger site was down and I wasn't able to blog anything.

Boo-Hoo!

So,

I spent the hour doing email stuff and surfing the net.

I never have time to surf anymore.

RiverView Park:

2007-08-21T05:29:00.000-09:00

Here's a view from RiverView Park, in Hannibal, Missouri.

Doug and I eat a lot of picnics up there and just enjoy the view and the sounds of the trains passing down below.

It's really pretty up there now that the trees have leaved out and everything is all green!

There are walking trails there as well and sometimes we go walking.

It's a very pretty place.

General:

2007-08-21T05:21:00.000-09:00

Let's see ....

yesterday was a "get things done" day.

I ran to the bank, here to the library ...

I unloaded my blazer which was full of camping stuff from the weekend and had it at the shop by 9:00am.

Picked up the rental car, talked to my dad, talked to my mom, listened to LOTS of CDs because I'm looking for some new songs to sing ...

Practiced piano for 30 minutes ...

and did three loads of laundry!!!!!

Joann and I went for a drive in the PT Cruiser ... she drove ...

then we played a couple of games of marbles ...

she won one and I won one.

They were very vicious games!

She's as mean as I am when it comes to marbles.

Mill:

2007-08-21T05:17:00.000-09:00

We'll start the day with this little beauty!

This is not one of my pictures, but I just loved it when I saw it.

The autumn colors are gorgeous and look at the reflection of the mill in the water ... the leaves on the ground with the still green grass underneath ... the orange leaves on the tree framing the top of the picture.

This is Mabry Mill and it's located at Blue Ridge Parkway, in Virginia.

Happy Tuesday!

2007-08-21T05:10:00.000-09:00

Well,

My day started by rolling out of bed ten minutes before I was supposed to be here!

Slapped my hair in a pony tail,

got a drink of water,

and here I am.

I still have sheet marks on the right side of my face and my arm ...

but hey ... I'm here!!!!!

Hope that you all had a great weekend!

We camped at the Thresher's Show in Montgomery City, Missouri all weekend.

Had a ball!!!!

I do have to say though ... tent camping has convinced me that I need a little camper to pull behind my blazer!!!

Speaking of the blazer ...

it's in the shop having some work done and should be out Thursday or Friday. I'm hoping for Thursday morning!!!!! But it will probably end up being Friday. I'll be glad to get it back. The PT Cruiser that I rented is very nice, but I miss Hank!!!! (that's my blazer)

PT Cruiser:

2007-08-20T10:55:00.000-09:00

Hi everyone!

I just popped in here to hop on the computer for a minute or two.

Got my email checked and now here I am!

I picked up my rental car today ...

it's a 2006 PT Cruiser.

It's pretty fun to drive, but I sure do like my Blazer.

I nearly broke my leg getting out of the Cruiser this morning.

I'm used to stepping down and hopping out of the Blazer ...

that doesn't work when you're as close to the ground as you are in the PT Cruiser!!!!

Oh well!!!!!

Talk to you tomorrow!!!

Meteor Shower:

2007-08-16T05:40:00.000-09:00

Saturday night was a meteor shower.

We went out at 2:45am and drove out to a spot where we could watch for meteors.

We were there from 3:00am to 5:00am and we saw 196 meteors!!!!!

(Plus the ones I missed when I was "resting my eyes"!!!!!)

We laid on top of the car with pillows and a blanket.

The mosquitoes were so bad that we had to actually spray our heads and faces with insect repellent. It didn't taste very good ... but worked like magic!!!!!!

Went home,

went to bed,

and didn't get up until 11:00am!!

Flowers:

2007-08-16T05:33:00.000-09:00

These are some pictures that Doug took.

This is one of my favorite flowers!!!!!
Aren't these just precious? Looks like baby's breath.

I really like the blue of these flowers.
I love the spring and summer time when the flowers are blooming.

General:

2007-08-16T05:26:00.000-09:00

Saturday ...

was the Sesquicentennial Celebration in Shelbina, Missouri.

We picked Grandma up at 1:00pm and headed on up to see what was going on.

While we had a good day, we were surprised at the lack of activity. We had just assumed there would be booths and things to see and do.

There was a parade that morning, but I was teaching lessons and we didn't get to watch it.

We had fun anyway!!!!!

We got there about 1:30pm.

There was a Civil War Reenactment at 3:00.

Dinner at 6:00.

A Civil War Wedding at 7:00.

And then The North Ely Opry played at 8:00.

It was hot!!!!!

We got our chairs out and sat in the shade.

I had a cooler full of koolaide, water and sweet tea.

Dinner was ham and beans, corn bread, cole slaw, brownies and several kinds of cake. I thought that it was very good!!!!!!

The lake was beautiful and the park setting was so pretty.

We had fun singing and playing and then we headed on home.

I enjoyed the day tremendously!!!!

Although, several of us (not Grandma) did get a "little" grouchy and testy being out in the heat for so long. But we pulled the evening off. Roy showed up with a fan and things got better from there!

Thank you Roy!

Playing cards, Doug and Ava:

2007-08-16T05:11:00.000-09:00

Here's Doug and I ... playing cards.

What card games do we like to play? Well, let's see ... there is Pitch ... Rummy ... Crazy 8's ... Old Maid ... Go Fish ... and that's about the extent of my card game knowledge!!!
I know enough to have some fun though!!!!!
This was a game of Rummy. I don't remember who won this game.
All done!

General:

2007-08-16T05:08:00.000-09:00

Here I sit at the library this morning.

It's really raining out there! The electricity has already

gone off once and the nice library lady had to come and reboot all

of our computers for us.

(We don't know the passwords, you know!)

It had just started to rain when I went out the front door.

By the time I got to the library it was really pouring down!

Once I was inside, it started to lightning and thunder.

But ...

the lights are back on and the computers are up!

We'll keep our fingers crossed that they stay on ...

at least long enough to get my posting all done!!!!

Farm, Deer at Ely:

2007-08-15T05:46:00.000-09:00

There's Bill (Doug's Dad), me and Doug.

We brought my son Tom and his fiance Julie out to see the deer at the farm.

This was their first trip out there.

We also went walking down at Sugar Camp,

which is a Maple tree forest where Doug's family generations back used to tap the Maple trees and cook it down.

There's Tom and Julie ...

and here are some of the deer.

No, they don't always stand around in a pack like this ... Doug gave them some corn to eat so they'd come up close for Tom and Julie to see.

I think they're beautiful!!!

General:

2007-08-15T05:27:00.000-09:00

Wow!

Yesterday I got out of bed at the last possible minute!

I was tired from two nights in a row of being up extremely late.

I got up 20 minutes before my computer appointment ...

stumbled (literally ... I don't wake up and just hop out of bed like some people) to the bathroom, then back to the bedroom to get dressed.

Went to the car, got here before the doors were open ... thought I was doing really good.

Well ...

when I got home ...

after being out in public for over an hour ...

I realized that I hadn't even combed my hair ...

and the left front pocket of my jeans was turned inside out and hanging out for the world to see!!!!

Dang it! Dang it! Dang it!

How embarrassing!

Oh well,

I guess it could have been worse ...

I could have been dragging toilet paper on my shoe or out the back of my pants!!!!

South Lake: The Mystery

2007-08-15T05:12:00.000-09:00

Here's a question for you all.

Doug and I were out at South Lake and saw something we'd never seen before.

See the circle in the middle of the water?

Here's a closer shot of it. It started out large when we noticed it. Then it proceeded to get smaller ... then disappear ... the reappear and get larger.

My question is ... what caused this? Any ideas? We sat there and watched it for a very long time and it was one of the strangest things that I'd ever seen.

Now, I don't consider this lake large enough to have a "lake monster" in it ... although I suppose that I could be wrong. :)

See, now it is shrinking and getting ready to disappear.

Going ....
Now it is gone!!
Now it is starting small and coming back again! Now, I mean we sat there for a LONG time and never saw anything break the water ... not even a fish peeking out ... or a tail splash of any kind ... not even two little beady eyes! And now ... no long necks like "Nessy".
Bigger ...
Bigger ...

So ... what do you think is going on here?
Still getting bigger ...
Bigger ...
I'm stumped ... so ... if you have any ideas ... please share!
Dang!

General:

2007-08-14T05:48:00.000-09:00

Friday ...

Let's see ...

I knew that I was going to spend the next day out in the heat all day, so I rested as much as possible in hopes that I wouldn't end up sick with my lupus on Sunday!!!

(sometimes that works and sometimes that doesn't!)

Doug and I watched "Operations Dumbo Drop". I hadn't seen that in a long time and really enjoyed it!

I colored in some of my coloring books. I hadn't done that since last winter!!! I really like to color. I've had crayons and a coloring book for as long as I can remember!

Coloring is fun!

And you're never too old to color!

We played several games of marbles and I won three in a row!!!!!

Don't worry ... Doug got me back later!!!!!

The glory never lasts for long!!!

As far as I know ... neither one of us got mad!!!!!

We watched "Along Came a Spider". I hadn't seen it before and it was really good. It was a mystery/drama/detective type of movie. The ending surprised me! That is always good!

I made pork chops for supper and I think we played even MORE marbles after that.

Like I said ... the point was to relax and prepare my little body for the next day.

And besides ...

I enjoy a nice relaxing day like that every once in a while!

You should too!

Break Away:

2007-08-14T05:34:00.000-09:00

There's Doug!!!

He plays the mandolin and the fiddle with our group in Clayton, IL.

The ladies there just LOVE him!!!!!

They LOVE his dimples!!!!!!

They are always telling me how cute he is ...

and if they were younger ...

he'd be in trouble!!!!

There I am! I play a tiny bit of fiddle, lots of banjo and my guitar and sing with the group. I always have a great time there. I really enjoy interacting with the crowd and with the dancers. Sometimes they really kick up their heals and do some fancy footwork. One of the dancers does what he calls "double time footwork".

Did you get that focused?????

Dorothy (in pink) is our keyboard player.

The lady in blue (I'm sorry ... all I can think of is Edna and I know that is not right) takes the money at the door.

There's Harold! He plays guitar and the harmonica with the group.

There's Ed. He's one mean drummer!!!!

There's Don! He's sound testing the sound system. He plays the bass and sings!

There's Dorothy again!

Right now we're playing once a month. I always have fun and can't wait for the next time to get here! I really enjoy singing for them and playing my banjo!

General:

2007-08-14T05:26:00.000-09:00

Hope that you all had a good weekend!

I know that I sure enjoyed mine!

The heat is really bad here, but the evenings are giving some relief.

I've been staying inside as much as possible.

And drinking lots of koolaide!!!!!

Grape was what I had the last time!!!!

Mmmmmm!!!!

Thursdays music was great.

The evening included rice krispy treats and lots of popcorn!!!!

The rice kirspy treats were delicious!!!!!

Went for a three wheeler ride. We went the usual route and checked the crops.

The corn is about twice as tall as I am!!!!

The soy beans are really filling out and are the prettiest dark green!!!

Got to see the sunset.

That's my favorite part of the weekly ride ... ending it with the sunset.