Patiently Waiting for the Purple Martins

I have tried for many years to get Purple Martins to take up residence on our property to no avail. A couple of times in the last few years, a scout or two would drop in, but never stay. A couple dropped in one year, but stayed a few days then left out again.The neighbor has Purple Martins that come to his site every year, and I keep thinking we will win some of his younger birds over to our property, but we haven't yet. Day before yesterday, a pair stopped by and checked out my site. Then today 2 pairs dropped by and checked out my site. I have 8-10 gourds hanging this year. The expensive Martin box bird house that I purchased from the Amish, several years ago, did not entice them in, so I thought I'd try gourds this year. I am very hopeful that they will stay this time. I have built a platform for scrambled eggs and egg shells. I read on the Purple Martin site, that there are many little tricks you can try to entice them onto your property. I set out a container of string, and straw, and pine needles for nest building.I will continue to read up on the hints they provide in hopes of encouraging them to stay. I ordered a cassette tape of the Morning Song of a flock of Purple Martins. I try playing it for a few minutes each day.
I had the Grand son for a couple of days and a night, so most of my usual activity had to be put on hold. I did get my new carpet down in my craft/bedroom, plus I had a set of base cabinets made for the basement. I picked them both up on Tuesday, and with the help of my family, we got them home and put in place. Not totally in place, but they are in the basement.While I was there, I discussed an idea I had, with the cabinet maker, of him building me a face for the set of cabinets I had made myself. He called today. It is ready for pickup. I wanted it to match the base set he had made for me.I may pick up a door to match,for my over-cookstove cabinet I built.I have been kicking around the way I will finish the cabinets down there in the basement. I am very seriously considering a natural and white combination like the small set of table and chairs I am using in the main kitchen. And now,I am considering tile for the floor in the basement kitchenette area. With Pop wheelbarrowing wood in during the winter, it would be much easier to clean up.Things are coming together, but it is a slow process, since I have taken it on myself to fix it up. It's not like a contractor coming in and everything is done in a few days.I will close for now, and try to get a better night's rest. I moved our extra bed to the basement yesterday, and the Grandson refused to sleep down there, so we slept on the floor on a twin mattress, which I keep for an extra bed during sleepovers.It was not a good night for me. I'll bet you can guess who hogged all the bed. Yes, I slept on the floor, for the most part, and then I wonder why my back hurt all day. Till my next post, hope you had a Happy April Fool's Day.

My Cup Cupboard (continued)

I am working on my cupboard a little each day, when I get a few minutes free. I had originally thought my base cabinet I ordered, would take awhile, but he called yesterday and it is ready for pick up. I plan to get it and my rug both at the same time. I don't go to town that often, so I like to 'kill 2 birds with one stone'. I may even do a little grocery shopping while I'm out.I keep a list handy of things I stumble across that I'm out of. That way, when either of us is in town, we can pick those items up.I hope to have the sisters help today with the rug. It is 15'X15.5', so it would be a hard job for one.With a little help, hopefully I can get it down. I had not planned to get the rug so soon, so I'll need to clear out my craft/bedroom to put it down.(That will take awhile.)I had him to pick up a couple of gallons of paint when he was in town yesterday, for the out buildings, plus the yard needs mowing, so it looks like my indoor work will come to a screeching halt any day now, or it will slow down to a snail's pace, at the least.No matter,I am in no rush to get these things done.If company comes anyway soon, we have enough bed space for them. They will understand,better than some, that "Rome wasn't built in a day."

I am excited about my cupboard. I hope it works out like I plan. I've said it before,the way I see things in my mind and the end product don't always match, but it should be close.Pop keeps asking me where I plan to put this monstrosity I'm building.I think he is worried I will put it upstairs in the main part of the house. He has no appreciation of old timey things intermingled with our nicer oak furniture.Sometimes I can slip one of my ideas into the mix, and he never notices, but this being so big, it is doubtful that would ever happen. The basement living room is a fine place for it, or maybe even the kitchenette down there. I'll have to try it in different places to see where I like it best.The basement is gradually looking livable like the rest of the house. I can't wait to put down some kind of floor cover over the concrete floor. I'll probably go with old style tile. I'm still studying about that.And maybe an area rug under the table.The choices are endless, but I'm thinking and planning and fixing up as I go.I figure the more of the basement area I fix up to be nice like the rest of the house, the less space there will be to junk up like most basements. We'll just have to find somewhere else to let 'occasional use stuff' collect.

Not a lot to blog about today, so until my next post, Happy Blogging.

My Cup Cupboard in the Making

It's kinda hard to see what I'm making here, but it is an idea I came up with lately. My brother-in-law gave me this set of old doors.He is a junk collector like myself, and he comes across a lot of neat stuff. I'd say these doors came out of a really old house.Maybe even 100 years or better. We have lived in some pretty old houses in my lifetime as kids, and I remember having doors like these in one of the houses, so I decided to use them as they are, even though they are rough, to say the least.I rummaged through Pop's pile of junk....Oh, I'm sorry, he doesn't collect junk....I rummaged through Pop's collection of things he has saved, just in case he might possibly use them someday,and found some old beat up lumber.Just right for my project. I measured and cut and nailed until I got it pretty close to what I was trying for, then I painted it. I am still a long ways from being finished with it, but it's coming along nicely.I plan to put the doors on the cupboard I have assembled and leave the old time latch on it. There is a screen door type hook inside the doors to help hold them shut. My plan is to put shelving in the cupboard and move all my salt and pepper shaker sets and my collection of various cups to their new home. That will free up the tops of my kitchen cabinets. Pop keeps telling me, they might fall off the walls soon, although I know he is joking. I heard him telling his friends as they put the cabinets up in the kitchen, that he was putting plenty of screws, because he knew what I would do.Put all my pretty dishes up there. And he was right. And I continue to add new ones every now and then.I am afraid my new cupboard will not hold all that I would like for it to hold, but it's a start. My plan is to leave the doors ajar and place some hooks and the like on the inside of the doors to display some of my handmade items.The idea sounds good. If only I can get it to work out like I have planned. I had hoped to make a mantle of sorts across the top to hold a few cute items or pictures or plants, but it is taller than I had anticipated.I'll show an update on my project as I get it finished(I hope).So until my next post, Happy Blogging!

John's First Ball Practice

Where has the time gone? Why does it have to go so fast? It seems it was only yesterday, he was in diapers. Now he is off to his first baseball practice, but I am so glad he is getting into some kind of organized sport. He only has an older sister, so he has had to play his little boy games by himself a lot of the time. He does great entertaining himself at times, but he does need to know how to interact more with other children his age. When you're used to being No.1 in everyone's eyes, it's hard to adjust to being part of a group. Sharing has been a hard pill to swallow for both grandchildren anyway. They seem to stay in that Me and Mine stage forever.But like all children, they'll make it through it all and they'll be fine.
Leah was a little jealous today, because we were all making such a fuss over John's first practice, like we didn't go to every production she was in on the stage at John Hardin.John asked me to take something for him to eat, just in case he got hungry from playing ball. So like any good grandmother, I packed the works.Blankets to sit on, drinks, snacks of all kinds.A thermos of hot coffee for Pop and myself.A bottle of water. He drinks a lot of water. We had a tailgate party while John practiced.He was so happy to be out there with his friends, he could care less about the snacks. Although he did eat the entire bag of popcorn on the way, and I had a treat for him later. Skittles. He likes them, but so does the rest of the family, so he was handing them out, one at a time, on the way home. I got a few pictures, although there was no real action to the day. Practice isn't all that exciting, especially since none of them know anything at all about baseball,yet.I only hope he takes a liking to it. Pop is so afraid he will get hit in the face and he is too pretty a boy to have his face scarred up.Boys are not usually thought of as pretty, but John is truly a pretty boy.But then we think they are both the prettiest children in the world.When we returned to their home after practice, the children and I went to the back yard for a little ball practice. With the first throw,Leah was pitcher,John was batter, I was catcher,John got hit square in the eye with the ball. Thank goodness it was a rubber ball; however, it did leave his eye plenty red.He ran to his parents, telling how Leah had hit him in the eye. Leah told him, "You'd better get use to getting hit, but it will be with a much harder ball in a real game." I'm sure that made him feel much better. Like my Mom would say,"C'est la vie!"."That's Life." Until my next post, Happy Blogging!

Out with the Old, In with the New

No, it's not a New Year I speak of, nor was it all that old. It's my microwave. It is hard to believe, but we have not been in our new house 3 years until October 1.All of our appliances were bought new at the same time, and our microwave has bit the dust already.We never purchase the extended warranty on anything(well, maybe I did on my computer once),so it was not covered in anyway for repairs. I did some calling around yesterday, to see if there was anyone who fixes microwaves, and got no satisfaction at all. My cousin's husband runs a stove and appliance parts house in town, so I called him. He said a new part would most likely run about $65. and the labor would be as much again, so my best bet would be to scrap the microwave and buy a new one.I called Home Depot, where we purchased the original one, and they no longer have the model we had.It was just as well, since the brand we had, Pop hates. He says he has had problems with that brand his entire life. We only bought it, because it matched all of our other appliances at the time, and they were the color he wanted.They do make pretty appliances.But I guess that's the clincher. You'll be drawn in by the look and not the quality of the product and they know it. I've said it before. Those marketing people know their stuff.

This is the old one we just took out.


This is the new one we got to replace it .

After all was said and done, we found out that a close neighbor repairs microwaves, so it is still a possibility that we have it repaired to go in the basement. That might not be so bad. It is so hard to trash something that still looks that good.
It is one that is made to fit under the cabinets, so we may have to build a housing for it, if we do,fix and keep it.


I made a trip to town today with my sister to look at counter tops for the basement and ran across a really good deal on a counter and top and all, so I made arrangements to get it in a week or two.Then, on to the carpet store where I found a remnant of carpet that should fit my craft/bedroom perfectly. I'll pick it up when I pick up the counter.I am so excited about them both. I now have to rethink my craft room once more. I had not planned on getting the carpet this year.Plans change so quickly with the least notice around here.You have to be ready for anything.
We've had a little rain, plus it's been quite cool, so I didn't have so much outside work to do today. It worked out nicely. Both mine and Pop's hands are swollen and red from shoving all those tobacco stalks into the chipper shredder. I was ready for a break, but we did end up with loads of shredded stalks. We'll use them around the yard on bare spots to help when the new grass comes up this spring and summer. It'll keep the ground moist long enough for the new seedlings to take hold, and give them a little more nutrition,too.They will help with those eroding hillsides, too.Well, enough for tonight. Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful Spring flowers, as we are. This is my favorite time of the year.Until my next post,Happy Blogging!

Welcome Spring!

I just wanted to take a minute and comment on the very peaceful, but productive Spring day I had yesterday.I think Spring is my most favorite season.When the grass starts to green up, the flowers begin to bloom, the birds are all busy building nests and starting another family. It is wonderful to be alive one more season, to see everything awakening from a long dreadful winter.After breakfast, Pop goes on about his day, visiting all the local gathering places to catch up with all his friends, so I have the day,for the most part, to myself. No grand kids called to come over. I spent the first half of my day in the basement after checking on things outside. I usually make a sachet around the yard and make sure all is well with the animals.
These are my 3 pet goats. The one on the left is almost all black, so she doesn't show up too good in the picture.With the coyotes so bad nowadays, I fear for their safety. Especially since our property is edged with woods on the back side. It is so easy for varmits to slip up on the livestock. That's why we have our chicken pen totally enclosed in wire.Then, on to the yard to see what all is blooming.The highlight of my spring My new peach and pear trees are budding. Could be a bad thing though. We, most likely,still have a few more cold days to come. Frost gets the new buds lots of years, if it's not covered, and I have way too much to cover everything, so I just say,Let come what may. I can't be pampering things that won't survive in our area.I have much too much to do otherwise. If it don't survive, I just try another variety.

Not a very clear picture, but that is our car(at one time) and my 20 year old Wisteria.Some years it is loaded with blooms, other years, the frost gets it. I let it grow anyway though. We have a pair of beautiful Cardinals that nested in it for years, until the fire of 07 destroyed it, along with our house and garage. I have starts other places in the yard, and the cardinals now build in one of them.It's funny how they like to build in the Wisteria.These are only a few of my tame blackberry vines. I trimmed them back yesterday. I found lots of places where the runners had touched the ground and started new plants. I try to save them all for family that wants starts. I have a brother in Georgia who can't seem to get a good stand, so he will probably get the new berry starts this year.I don't can as many jellies as I use to, but I do love giving away blackberry and strawberry starts to those who want them. I know in the past, I have enjoyed having them, even if only for the grand kids to eat the fruit straight from the vine during the fruiting season.They love picking berries from the yard and garden. I think it's good for them to know where things come from and how they grow. Many kids, nowadays, know that things come from the grocery store, but that is the extent of it.
From there. I proceeded on to the yard to pick up tobacco stalks. We place the empty stalks from the tobacco crop, over the yard to let the nutrients leach out onto the ground as fertilize. Then when spring comes, we pick up the depleted stalks, and put them on a compost heap to finish breaking down or else place them in an area that tends to erode. They help stop the erosion by slowing down the water on rainy days, that washes away our topsoil.This past year, Pop found a shredder/chipper for me at the auction. I have drug in a few chippers over the years, thinking I had a real bargain, only to find they were no good. Most times when someone is selling something like that, there is a reason. Usually it is worn out beyond repair. That's hard for a woman to know, and in my case, Pop was never interested in my type of gardening, so he could care less about me having a shredder/chipper.But for some reason, he bought this one. I was never so shocked when he told me he had bought me a chipper. And it works really good.

Here is some of the finished product.Pop made us coffee and sat with me while I ran the chipper. We do enjoy taking a coffee break and sitting back to admire our works. Even though it was getting to my back, I tried to finish up the wagon load of stalks I had collected earlier.There are plenty more to chip up, but hopefully, I'll do a few more today.Pop is off to his regular Wednesday morning Flea Market trip today, while I start another day tieing up more loose ends around the property.
I may head out to the local Hardware Store to get some paint. My 2 sheds are in need of a new coat of paint.It's hard to say what I'll get into today. So many tasks, so little time. I best be getting off this computer and get to work, so until my next post, Happy Spring!

Another Fun Filled Sunday

Today was our day to keep the Grandchildren, so we spent the day, trying to come up with ideas to keep them busy. I had experimented with the faux desserts, so Leah was anxious to try one of those. I cut her out a small circle out of the foam rubber, and explained to her how to decorate it. She did 90% of it herself, with me assisting a little at times. She was pleased with the way it turned out, but ready to move on to the next project asap.She is 9 and her attention span is increasing, but slowly.Pop had some steaks laid out to thaw, with the intention of having them for our evening meal, but Leah decided she wanted them for the noon meal(since she would not be here for the evening meal), so he cooked the steaks on the grill outside, while Leah and I peeled and sliced a skillet of fried potatoes at Pop's request. We usually have baked potatoes(but very seldom, due to Pop's sugar) with our steak, but for some reason, he was craving fried potatoes with lots of onions.So that's what we had. After lunch, we drug out the gourds that I had cleaned and painted this past fall and winter, hoping to attract a few Purple Martins to our property. Our closest neighbor has them, and we have hoped for years that they would take up residents at our home, too, but not even the $125. Martin birdhouse I purchased from the Amish, has tempted them to do so. They come by and check it out, but never stay.I thought that I would try the gourds this year. We attached them to an aluminum pipe,and raised them up on a telescopic pole I had ordered just for this project.I have a book or two on the birds, but there are so many do's and don'ts, and if and ands and buts about the subject, I'm beginning to think it's hopeless to expect them to move in here.This may be my last attempt. Thirty years is long enough to try.I'll just have to learn to settle for the sparrows and starlings.And, Oh, yes. I ordered a cassette tape to play every morning. It's the Morning Song of the Purple Martin. It is suppose to help lure them in. We'll see if that works.We'll keep you posted as to whether any of these things help us to attract the Martins to our home this year.Until my next post, Happy Blogging!

A Grandmother's Silent Pain

I remember when I was about 6 years old or so, while spending time with my Grandma, I plucked several of her long awaited Hydrangea blooms and adorned my hair with them. Grandma and I walked next door and visited a neighbor, Mr. Green, as I recall was his name, and I remember him commenting,"What a pretty little girl." I was too young to understand that Grandma, or anyone for that matter, who loves flowers, cherished the long awaited beautiful flowers blooming, from season to season.And for a flowers lover, the blooming seasons are always way to short and far between.Grandma loved her flowers, and I am sure that's where I inherited my love for them, as well. Mom never cared a lot about flowers, not near as much as Grandma anyway, although she does have several now that she is older and doesn't have nine children to watch over any longer.But the silent pain that I speak of today is my own. I wait impatiently from season to season to see all the wonderful colors that spring flowers bring to my yard, and as you get older, that is a long wait.The daffodils are the first to bloom in my yard, and I kept the 5 year old Grandson,John, for a couple of days this week, and I am sure you can imagine the rest of the story. We returned from my sister, Mary's, where we had all been helping her finish up the building of her barn, and as soon as John's feet hit the ground,he was in the flower bed. He asked if he could pick some flowers, and I told him, "Yes, we'll put them in some water in a vase.They'll be pretty on the table."I proceeded to feed the chickens, and when I got back to the yard, there was a blanket of yellow blooms all around him. I said,"Oh no, John, what are you doing?" His reply was,"I like the green grass part,Meemaw, but not the yellow." I think he must have remembered plucking dandelions from some other yard adventure in the past, and was confusing daffodils with the pesty dandelions. At least that was what I hoping he had done.He asked me,"Meemaw, are you mad?" I said No, of course, and explained that he would know better, next time to just pick a few and leave a long stem on them so they can drink the water from the vase.That way they will stay pretty longer. The children are learning the way of things gradually and it is exciting for me to watch them grow and learn from the time they spend with me. I guess is it more exciting for me to experience it all with the two grandchildren,since I never had natural children of my own to experience the up-close growing and learning process of a child.
Happy Spring to Everyone in Blogland!

An Old Time Barn Raisin'

Mary, I may be jumping the gun a little, but hope you don't mind me posting a picture of your "under construction barn". I know you will be proud to post your own picture when it is done, but I just wanted to comment on the progress we made today.Since none of us are really carpenters, I think we made a real nice showing on it today.I think we all needed the exercise, so if we don't get it finished for a day or two more, we may all loose a little weight and build our muscles back up that we lost during the winter.We worked hard today, but I think we made a pretty enjoyable and productive day of it. Mom came out for about 30 minutes there at the end of our day, but with her age and the temperature still a little cool, we decided to come on in early. We could have got the final two rafters on top of the barn, and had them all ready to stand upright tomorrow morning, but we were really tired, so we called it a day early.I need to post of picture of your three remaining goats tomorrow, since they will be the main occupants of the new barn. Hopefully, you will have a new baby goat or two soon, for me to show everyone.
P.S. I think we could all say we had "Nails in My Pocket" today.

Forgotten Projects from the Past!

As I rummaged through my two sheds today, I ran across several little items I had made many years ago. It is so strange how you will forget little things. There, from at least, 20 years ago,were little pin cushions and a pouch very similar to the ones I have been making this past year, and I don't even remember making them. I have collected and played with material forever though. I have always known that I could never quilt like my Grandmother or my sister,Vicki, from My Favorite Things, or like Connie,my good friend and neighbor, from Granny's Sewing Room. That is an art, and some people have the ability and others do not. I do think it is an innate things that is born to some individuals. I suppose you can learn to do a decent job of it, but it will never flow as readily for some of us as it does for others.I love sewing with my hands, but use the machine at times when I have a bigger project, but sewing beautiful quilts just isn't in the cards for me. I tend to go for small projects. Sounds like I might have ADD. I need to see results fast, or I will move on to another project. I suppose that is why I have so many collections of projects-to- do,in my sheds. I can invision doing so many different things, that there is no way possible for me to get to them all during my lifetime. I have books galore that survived the housefire and if I had the time to read one a day, I could not read them all. I have most of the books for research and not for leisure reading, and I do like to sit and browse through them at times, but stopping and sitting, just to read a book is a luxury I have rarely allowed myself.I know it is my own fault, but some habits are hard to break. That is why I love blogging so much. It is calming and peaceful. I can blog late at night, when Pop is asleep or in the early morning before he awakes without wondering if he thinks I'm spending too much time on the computer.Pop and my Mom both hate that I get on the computer and spend any time at all, so I have to wait until I'm alone to do my blogging.Something about writing down your thoughts, is like talking to a good friend who has time to listen without judging you. To many of us, that alone is worth it all.I do enjoy sharing my thoughts with others, but rarely get the opportunity. I do enjoy my time alone most days, but everyone needs someone to talk to on occasion, so thanks for listening and I will try to get some rest. I have promised to help my sister, Mary, from Nails in My Pocket, to finish up on her little barn. Her goats are ready to have babies, also, and she needs a little help putting the finishing touches on the barn.Good Night and Happy Blogging!

P.S.I ran across a few blog entries that I had not posted yet. I don't remember why I was waiting. Sometimes I wait till I come up with an appropriate picture, but this one will have to go with out one. Sorry!

I'm Having Craft Withdrawal!

I have been doing a lot of things for several days that must be done, and therefore, I haven't had time to do any of my crafts. That falls under play, and you remember what I said about play. Mom would never let us play until all the chores were done. I no longer have to account to Mom, but the memory still lingers in my head.I think it's called a guilty conscience. I put up a picture of the end cap I've put on my canning jar shelves. It looks so much nicer.I'll probably do more to them as time goes by.But for now, I'm off to do a multitude of other tasks.Pop and I worked on the electric fence a little today.Then I repaired the gate to my goat pen. I have been penning them up at night, just in case Mattie does have a little one(we never were sure if either of them got bred the night I took them to the neighbor's with the intention of selling them to him, but didn't)If they did get bred, we will owe him something for his goat's services, but he is a good friend, and I doubt he will charge us anything. But back to my craft withdrawal. I worked in my two sheds today.Taking the Christmas decorations back out to be stored, and rummaging through my collection of crafts to be done at a later date. I was so missing my crafting.I decided I would take a few minutes break, and make something. I ran across some foam rubber in the shed, and it brought a craft to my mind that I had been wanting to try. I had purchased an artificial strawberry tart to go in my glass cake dish,and I immediately felt I could imulate that, but I prefer chocolate. Well, I didn't take the time to make a cake, but instead I made 3 little cake balls, very similar to the ones made by my sister, Mary, from Nail in my Pocket.I wrote about them in my post "Catastrophe Averted".The cake balls I made today(pictured above) do not quite look like I had invisioned them just yet, but when they dry, I'll decorate them further and give you a better picture(I hope).If all goes well, I will explain how I made them at that time. It was loads of fun. I may get Leah to help me make some other nice desserts so I can interchange them on occasion. For Heaven's Sake, I hope no one tries to eat them, but if they will look as real as I plan, they may.

So What is that in People years?????????

We have an old dog that has been our special pet for 24 years. She is the one on the far right. Her name is Dixie.The other dog is Bear. Bear has watched Dixie guard our property for 10years or so, and she will be our main guard dog when Dixie is no longer with us. They both lay and watch the property now, and let us know when so much as a crow lights on our land. Dixie was once our house dog, but due to her failing bladder, she now sleeps in Pop's pouting room, where he keeps heat all winter.Years ago she made a path to our neighbor, Edna's house, which she used several times a day, but this past year, she was hit by a truck. She was already having hip problems, but the truck made them a lot worse. We babied her around for about 6 weeks and she got better, so now Edna comes to our yard and brings her a regular morning treat, so she won't have to be on the road.Edna lives about half a mile from us.It is not a real busy road, but at times, some folks get in a pretty big hurry.Dixie had always walked with Edna when she would take her daily walks Now as Dixie got older and had more troubles brought on by her age, she just walks the yard, and waits for Edna to come. Some mornings Edna walks in the other direction, and then on Sunday, she takes a break from her walking, but Faithful Dixie, still stands at the driveway, watching for her to come by.No one can believe that Dixie is 24 years old, but the children in the community are witnesses to the fact, since they were the ones who found her for us back when they were still at home and in school.One of the girls is now 40 years old.She was only a teenager at that time, riding her 4-wheeler up and down the lane.That's when she saw Dixie wandering along the lane where someone had abandoned her. A lot of folks take dogs to out of the way places and drop them off, when they don't want them. At least, they use to. I don't think that goes on quite as much lately. The Dog Warden keeps on top of that kind of thing nowadays.Dixie has had a good life and we will miss her when shes gone. She has been the best pet anyone could ask for.Until my next post, Happy Blogging.

I'm Making Progress in the Basement

I jump from job to job, as I have stated before, but I am making progress in the portion of the basement that is highly visible to passers through. I can shut the door to my bedroom/craft room, but when company drop in and go through the basement, they must see this area. I started with a common bare concrete wall basement. Mom and I gave it 1 coat of paint early on, to match the rest of the house, but we did that mainly to lighten it up down there, since the light was very limited.No windows at all, and only the double doors in the north wall.The son in law installed the lighting, but the only wall plugs were in the north wall on the entrance end of the basement. I am hoping he will get time to come and install more plugs and lighting in the rest of the basement, very soon.Until then, we are doing the best we can with the lights we have.
I am so proud of the work I have done. I have not ventured out to this much carpenter's work in years, but I am elated at what I have accomplished so far. It is amazing what a coat of fresh paint will do for anything. What I have done so far, makes it so much more inviting. I love spending time in my newly remodeled basement.(Even though it is still a work in progress)Every day, I find another little something that I can to to make it a little better.I put caps on the front of all my canning jar shelves one day, and it really looks nice. Now I am thinking of putting louvered doors in front of the shelves to hide some of it. The canned goods are great to leave exposed,showing another accomplishment I am proud of, but all the little extra things that get stored there, tend to make it look forever in disarray.The season is fast changing, and more than likely, I will need to be outdoors more, taking care of business out there. That means less time to play in my basement.Yes, I said play. I do enjoy what I am doing with it, so much, I consider it play. But then anything I get to do that I enjoy so much is considered play, and you know as kids, we were never allowed to play until all the work was done.As you get older, you realize that A Woman's Work is Never Done.That's why so many self help books and programs nowadays, dwell on Taking Care of No. 1,First. Women are amazing when it comes to seeing and doing things that need doing, every minute of every day.But He never puts on us, any more than we can handle.We will survive.Until my next post, Happy Blogging to All!

Why Do Some Memories Last Forever?

It's funny how the human mind works. There are certain things that I remember like they were yesterday, and then there are things that happened in my childhood that I have absolutely no recollection of at all, while other siblings remember those things vividly. It makes one wonder about such at times.
Today, I had both grandchildren, and we were playing house in the basement.I can get a little something done while I pretend to be playing house with them. Leah decides who gets to use which area to be their space, and you can guess who gets the neatest area. I always get the messy area, which works out well for me in that I get a little extra time to straighten it up and clean and organize while playing our little game. She is content and so am I. Well, John was going between our two areas, which was annoying his sister tremendously, but he seemed to be content meandering through the basement, in and out of our areas, with his toys.I had just yesterday hung a lovely Easter plaque on my new room door. It is one that I dearly love and can hardly wait to hang it up each year. It is a wreath of sorts, made of some type of thin ceramics material. It has a stamp on it, so I figure it was factory made, but could very well be made in ceramics class,if one had that pattern.Now to the memory part. John slammed the door too hard, and guess what happened next.Right, the plaque fell to the concrete floor and shattered to a million teensy pieces.John began to cry and tell Meemaw how he didn't mean to break it. I immediately remembered the feeling I had when I would stay with my Grandma for days at a time, and one day we were making fried apples pies. I was about 6 or thereabouts. I was standing up in a chair to reach everything better. Grandma had an old time granite topped cupboard with the glassed in shelves at the top, and below to one side,was a tilt out flour bin.In that bin, she kept a huge glass bowl and a rolling pin.Well, I was using the big rolling pin to roll out the pie crust, and it fell into the flour bin, hitting right in the glass bowl, and shattering it.That's all I remember happening at that time, but I do remember Mom letting me get Grandma another bowl. A huge plastic bowl at the dollar store, I think. I am sure there was no way to replace the memories and feelings which that bowl created for my grandmother, and I am sure she cherished her pretty dishes as I do today, but i don't remember her uttering a word or scolding me about what I'd done. I know she must have hurt inside, but she never let me know. It was all over and forgotten.Not that I could ever forget it, but it was never mentioned again.Things like that just happen, and there is no use getting all upset over it, and leaving a bad memory for the child.They feel guilty enough, I'm sure, as I did.
John came back in a few minutes and asked me"Are you still mad,Meemaw?" I told him "No, things like that just happen. It will be alright. Don't worry another minute about it.Meemaw will fix it."(At least, I think I can.)Sorry for such a long post, for such a short story. Until my next post, Happy Blogging!

Practice Exuberance

Practice exuberance.

Exuberance is a beauty.

William Blake, poet and painter (1757-1827)

Don't be cool and calculating.Don't withhold your enthusiasm for life. Instead, be like a baby and absolutely squeal for joy.Dance wildly around your living room,make a fool of yourself and laugh until the tears run down your cheeks.Give someone you love, a huge bunch of flowers, and kiss your mother for no reason.Don't stop there-roll down your car windows and sing your heart out.
Holding back your exuberance makes you old before your time.It may even make you sick as well.If you don't express your joy, you may forget how to be joyful.Express your joy full out at least once a day.Not only will you feel better, but you will look better, too.

(A page from 365 ways to live a simple and spiritual life by Madonna Gauging)


For some reason this page struck a chord for me. I have supressed so many of my feelings for so long, I forget how to accept and embrace them when they do arise.
Working on my craft room and basement remodeling project brings me such joy with the accomplishments I am making, I am overjoyed at times, and I am sure others sometimes view me as being sily. I felt the same overwhelming feeling of joy when I had by blog published into a little book. These are the kinds of feelings we need to feel and enjoy daily to be happy and healthy.So let's all go ahead and be a little silly, if that's what it takes to feel better.I agree totally about the feeling better, but the looking better part, now that's a little harder to believe, but it's worth a try. Happy Blogging!

(The picture was taken from Artist'sClub.com,one of my favorite sites.It is a banner painting by Renee Mullens.)

I Wish You Enough.

This is an email that was sent to me by a friend, and I thought I would share it with my blogging friends.

At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane's departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, "I love you, I wish you enough."
She said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy."

They kissed good-bye and she left.

He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his
privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?" "

Yes, I have," I replied. Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me.
Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me.

So I knew what this man was experiencing.
"Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?" I asked.

"I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and
the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral, " he said.

"When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.'
May I ask what that means?" He began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone."

He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. "When we said 'I wish you enough,' we were
wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them," he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Good-bye.."

This was taken from "Poetic Expressions".

"Poetic Expressions is a proud supporter of Marie Curie whose Nurses provide free nursing care to cancer patients and those with other terminal illnesses in their own homes"




I hope I have not broken any rules by passing this along. I thought it was fitting to share it with my blogging friends.

Some of my Auction Finds

The vase, I dearly love. No reason. It just caught my eye. $1.00 The wicker letter holder, with 2 new note book binders filled with paper, a pack of 50 expense report sheets, a book(not my taste}and a never opened 7 disc set of Spanish lessons all for 50 cents.The miniature ironing board and iron $6.00
You can't beat that at Walmart.
And he says all I collect is junk.
I bet a lot of folks would love to find junk items like this at these prices.


My sister and I stopped in a couple of nice little junk stores today. I will show my finds there soon.


I say "I know it is a sin to love things, but if it makes you feel good to have your pretty collectables around you, go for it. There are so few things left in the world to feel good about, we need all the help we can get."


That said, I wish you enough! Till Next Time!

Redneck to the Bone!

It's better to be what you are, than to struggle with what you're not. We get accused of being Rednecks, a lot. I guess there is surely some truth in it. Pop has a lot of sayings that he uses on a regular basis, and one of them is "If one person comes down the road and tells you something, and another comes down the road from another direction, and tells you the same thing, it must be so." So I guess we must be Rednecks.Not a very good picture,(my camera was acting up) but this is where we spend a lot of our Friday and Saturday evenings, if nothing more important comes up. It is a small community Auction House where all the locals gather. Most night's, it's just yard sales type things, but on occasion, they'll have things from an estate sale. Most of us can live without a lot of what passes through the auction, but then most of us will end up with a handful of things we simply couldn't pass up.You know what they say, "One man's trash, is another man's treasure." I have brought home some really nice things, but then I have brought home some pretty worthless items. Most night we are there simply to socialize with all the locals. They have a small section in the building when you can purchase a few fast food items, so if you don't feel like cooking, you can 'kill 2 birds with one stone'.(That saying may soon be cause for a visit to the Principal's office or jail. The Humane Society will be on us for speaking of killing birds with a rock.)Nevertheless, I thought I would write a piece about our favorite hang out. On occasion, we will forgo the auction to visit the local gathering of Bluegrass enthusiasts at the local jailhouse downtown.It's open to the public, and Free. A lot of the same folks visit there on a regular basis, so it's another nice place to socialize. I guess it's possible, if you looked up the word 'Redneck' in the dictionary, our picture would be right there.Oh well, I enjoy being a Redneck. Most of us are probably a little more Redneck than we care to admit.Till my next post, Happy Blogging!

Country Fresh Eggs

I don't know whether chickens are supposed to continue laying all winter or not, but ours usually let up during the coldest months. I guess some folks keep a light and possibly heat with their hens all winter, but we never have. I insulated the hen house a little better for them this winter, and it seems they have started laying a little earlier than usual. Maybe the temperature does have something to do with it, but then, I suppose it might have something to do with what and how much you feed them, too.For the most part, we feed our hens shelled corn and ground up hog feed. Several farmers in our area use the hog feed and have claimed to get excellent results. Laying mash is so expensive. You can buy eggs cheaper than you can raise them, unless you have free range hens, which we don't. I have garden and flowers, so we keep ours in a pen. They do better on open range, but Pop doesn't want to spend the money it takes for more area for them.If it were up to me alone, I would have built a larger chicken pen, 30 years ago. I do love having a few chickens around, but not in my flowerbeds.I had problems with his hunting dogs in my flowerbeds for many years, but he's not able to hunt anymore, so we are all out of beagle hounds. We only have a couple of watch type yard dogs now, and our Sarah.She is mostly an indoor dog.Except when Pop is going somewhere in one of the trucks or four wheelers. Then she is an outdoor dog.She is his sidekick 90% of the time, and my sidekick when it's mealtime.But back to the eggs. We normally use 1 egg a day, and that's for his nightly ritual of cornbread and milk and tomatoes.(If there is anything to Lycopene in tomatoes being as wonderful as they claim, for one's health, he should have no problems in that department.)We don't eat eggs very often for breakfast. Cholesterol, you know.We'll have them, maybe once a week.I don't use them for cakes and the like, only on special occasions. Neither of us needs to put on any more weight.So I'll take a dozen to Mom on occasion, and he'll give the girls a dozen on occasion.I think the younger daughter spoke to her Dad tonight about them possibly getting a few hens, for eggs and for the grandchildren to have as pets. I think having a few little chores like caring for the animals, builds character, and a few character building chores never hurt anyone.I hope, for their sake, they get the hens and the pen built,this spring.

I have been so excited about my new book I had published on my blog, I have not been getting that sleepy at bedtime,since I got it. I worked most of the last few days, in the basement. I am so excited, the adrenalin is surging in my veins still. I haven't been getting tired enough to calm down and go to bed at night at a decent hour. I got more supplies from the hardware store today. My basement is kinda like they say about being in the Army.."If it moves, salute it, if it doesn't, paint it."I think I have painted everything that does not move.I have been building a few wall shelves for my new room.I love working with wood. I love having my first basement, and I doubt it will ever be as nice as the rest of the house, but I am hoping to make it nice and clean and comfortable to be in when we are down there.I hope to have a few pictures to show soon, but I am not quite ready for the Big Reveal just yet.I will close for tonight, as bad as I hate to, but I will have the grand son,possibly for the next 2 days and nights. He doesn't go to school on Thursdays, and his school is out on Friday, so he's already called to see if he can come to Meemaw's house.No need to tell you what the answer was.Have a Good Night and a Prosperous Day Tomorrow.

My Book Has Arrived!

I got my book in the mail today. It's a copy of my blog. I am so excited. Ever since I hit that Place Order button. I counted the minutes and hours till it would arrive. It is all that I had hoped for and more. I cannot express enough how I love it and am so proud of it. I will definitely have another one made when I accumulate enough posts.I went online to UPS and tried to track it's delivery today, only to track it to Lexington. I got off the computer and paced the floor. I was to meet with my Mom and 2 sisters today, to visit a friend who had passed away, but I was waiting as long as I possibly could to see if my book would come today. The truck usually runs about 5 o'clock. I felt it would come today,since I had paid extra for 2 day delivery. Wow! That tells you just how anxious I was to get it.I called Mom's house and told them to drive to my house so I would have a few more minutes to wait for the UPS truck.It arrived with the next 15 minutes. It was 1:45. I don't think the truck has ever arrived that early when I have gotten other deliveries.I met him at the truck door. I think I startled him. I explained what I was expecting and why I was so anxious, and he helped me to get the package open. I was shaking like a leaf, I was so excited. I think he was just as excited for me as I was. It was all I had dreamed it would be. The hardback cover was bright red with little hearts floating everywhere. There was the picture of my grandchildren on the cover, of them sitting in the green grass, under an apple tree that was so full of white blooms, it looked as if it had been snowing below the tree from all the petals. One of my favorite pictures of the kids.All 80 of my blogs were listed in the contents. The pictures throughout the book were wonderful. I read through several for my husband. He wouldn't dare say it was nice or he was proud of me for such a nice job, but I could tell by the look in his eyes as I read, that he was pleased and proud of my work, too.I shared the book with the friends and family while visiting the funeral home today, and got so many wonderful comments on it. Several folks wanted a copy, which I thought was funny. Who would have thought a book could evoke such a stir. I have not come down from the clouds yet.Of all the things I have done and things I have created, I think I am most proud of my little book. It is an experience I will never forget.