RECONSIDER THE SIGNS

We took this photograph at the cemetery in Iola, Kansas several years ago.

FARM ETIQUETTE

It did not seem like a ridiculous question to me. I went out to mow the back field and the neighbor was mowing his field. 

If you are bowling you wait for the lane next to you to finish bowling their lane before you bowl yours and I wondered if the same applied to running the tractors. Should I have waited until the neighbor was finished before I mowed? My son laughed at me when I called him to ask.

Someone accused me of being blonde. (Apologies to blondes everywhere.) My response, "I do not yet know farm etiquette".  Another comment, "Two words never heard together before "farm" and "etiquette".

Perhaps I can become the Emily Post of farming.  Rule #1: Wearing earrings while mowing is optional.
Rule #2:  You should always wear a flowery dress while driving a tractor, along with rubber boots. 

etc., etc., etc.... 

Had to add this image to go with my response to Cliff's comment.

TIMES SQUARE, 1945

Question Of The Week 8-26-13

What story from history inspires you?

Okay, so I'm a hopeless romantic but this is a story from history:) 1945 Times Square Kiss

WHAT'S GOING ON?

The kitten choir sings for their supper.

"It took you long enough lady."

Guess why Ron told me to tip the mower and tractor seats up? SURPRISE!

SOMETIMES I AM STILL TEMPTED

Question Of The Week 8/19/13

Our granddaughter Hope in the cherry tree.

Do you remember the last time you climbed a tree? When and where were you?

LIFE IS GRANDS

Our youngest granddaughter Hope enjoys watching TV curled up with Slim in grandpa's chair.

Until she stumbles across her first episode of COPS

Grandchildren tornado hits my sister's house.

For the next two weeks she has all eight of her grands under the age of nine.

Thankfully she has a pool to help keep them entertained.

And then there is always this precious moment:)

ARE WE OVER EXTENDED

Question Of The Week 8-12-13

Do you purchase the extended warranty that is always offered on electronic products at check out and if so, have you ever used that extended warranty or if you failed to purchase the extended warranty have you ever regretted not having purchased it? 


Extra credit:)
Let's say you do purchase the extended warranty, what price range would the product have to fall in to cause you to buy the warranty?

MY TURN

A box full of serendipity.

Yesterday there was a surprise in my mailbox.  It was my Pay-It-Forward gift from Lynn of Good Things Happened blog.  I had totally forgotten that I was her fifth commenter back in May when she offered to surprise those first five with a gift sometime during the year.  You can read that post from her here and see the post that inspired her as well. The following is the original message that accompanies the post. 

 "2013 creative Pay-it-Forward:  The first 5 people to comment will receive from me, sometime in the next calendar year, a gift.  Perhaps a book, a baked good, a candle, music, a surprise!  There will likely be no warning and it will happen whenever the mood strikes me.  These 5 people may wish to make the same offer on either their facebook status or via their blog."

So now it is my turn to Pay-It-Forward.  I would like to do the same for the first five to comment here.  You can put your address in the comment or email me.  This was such a delightful and unexpected surprise that I definitely want to share that feeling with five more of you.

Thank you so much Lynn.  I love all the goodies!

It just dawned on me that once the five have commented there won't be anything for the rest to comment about over the weekend, so here are some fun trivia questions for you.

1.)  What is Donald Duck's middle name?
2.)  What is telespobia?
3.)  What new critters are on NOL-NOC Estates?

SEVEN vs SEVEN

Say hello to my Granddog Clancy.

Clancy is a pretty big puppy for only Seven months old.

Seven year old Slim suggests to my son that it is time to take Clancy home.  The weekend has worn Slim out.

My son Tandy says they are thinking about leaving.

Slim shows them the door.  Clancy seems a bit sad having loved all the running room at Granny Annie's.

And so they load up and head back to the city.  At the rate Clancy is growing, Tandy might need a bigger truck for their next visit.

Clancy at 1 month, 2 months and 4 months of age.  Yes, Clancy is a Great Dane.

THE SUNDOWN TOO MOTEL

Question Of The Week August 5, 2013

What was the least favorite job you have ever had and why?

I worked as a telephone solicitor in 1965 selling magazine subscriptions. We worked out of a sleazy motel and used fake names.  It was embarrassing enough to go there for my job interview but even worse to go to a motel room every day for work. I hated that job and believe I only stayed a week. Can you imagine people asking me where I worked and I had to say "The Sundown Too Motel"? Some people suggested a few of the girls were selling more than magazine subscriptions.  I was 19 and very naive.

700 WEEKS

"I let someone in and I had the time of my life."

~Quote from Diane Keaton in the movie SOMETHINGS GOTTA GIVE

It had been my life to go to sleep alone and awaken alone. Suddenly I was blessed with a loving, trusted, gentle companion and years that yielded cuddles and hugs and nightly kisses. Now again I go to sleep alone and awaken alone and the thirteen and one half years have disappeared.

I met him on a Tuesday and my heart stood still. We knew we would never celebrate a  50^th wedding anniversary so we celebrated Tuesday anniversaries of the day we met. He died just short of our 700^th.

Our courtship is saved on paper. Most of it was done through cyberspace by email. One genuine dinosaur John Wayne and one semi-dinosaur Baby Boomer managing to fight our way into the 21^st Century looking for love. His search was due to his doctor's prescription. Mine was just being in the right place at the right time.

We lived a dream. Now I am awake and it is over. The memories will never be over.

INTERMISSION

I shall return as soon as I catch my breath:) 
Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, kind words and emails.

IN SPITE OF OURSELVES

My precious Ron died on Monday afternoon at 3:30.  It is still too new to talk about.  I made sure he heard our wedding song every morning.  

This was dedicated to us by friends as our perfect wedding song:
IN SPITE OF OURSELVES duet written by John Prine

PLOP PLOP FIZZ FIZZ

It is hospital time again. We have been here since Wednesday and will be here at least until Monday. Ron is dealing with pain issues and has already received a great deal of relief. Cyberspace is on hold for a while for me. Thanks for your care and concern.

JOAN OF ARC OR JULIA CHILD

Question Of The Week 6-17-13

If you could 

meet 

anyone 

in history, 

who 

would 

it be?

STRIKE A POSE

Their names are Annette, Emilie, Yvonne, Cecile and Marie

Yes I can count.  Yes there are only four birds pictured and five names.  There is one hen in hiding.  These are adult buff orphington sisters that have joined our flock.  They will be beautiful when they are no longer molting.  I bought them at a discount from our neighbor.  Our roosters believe they are already beautiful and they have taken a great deal of the attention from our other hens who greatly need a rest.  We have kept the buff orphs  in separate cages before letting them mix in with the flock then we allowed them loose inside the hen house and now the quints are free ranging with the others.  Everyone seems very happy and these girls have been laying eggs since day one.  WooHoo!

Can anyone guess how I selected their names?  You might have to be pretty old to know the celebrities they are named for.  It will be difficult for me to tell them apart so I hope they can remember the name I gave each one. 

TICKLE ME ELMO

Question Of The Week 6-10-13

What facts do you find most interesting about the human body?

Did you know the acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razorblades?

And human hair is practically indestructible unless you burn it? (I've set my hair on fire twice...yikes!) No wonder it clogs our pipes.

By the way it is ok to tickle someone as long as their mouth isn't duct taped shut:) In other words as long as you don't tickle them until they stop breathing it is ok.

tiny little update

If you are interested in my diet pill Qsymia results so far, I have lost 7 pounds in three weeks and have not had any side effects.  I have moved from1/2 dose to full dosage capsules.  My appetite has greatly decreased but I'm not sure if it is the pill or a placebo effect.  For more information see my earlier post Skeptically Hopeful.

I KID YOU NOT

You saw the magical mansion my family  lived in for three years of my young life in my previous post.  Now see the castle that I walked past many days.  Tahlequah, Oklahoma was a fairy tale town and I can't help but wonder if it still is.  I know they demolished my dream house, the historic Stapler Mansion but I also know the Franklin Castle still stands and I believe someone might live in it. When I walked past in 1957, '58, '59 and '60 it it was totally covered in vines and my imagination was left to run wild.

HAND-ME-DOWN PRINCESS

What caused me to grow up believing I was a princess? Because I had the honor of living in this house when in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades. My formative years. 

 It was the church parsonage for a period of time. As with all other church parsonages, it was a hand-me-down house with hand-me-down furnishings but certainly fancier than the usual stuff. 

 I loved it but my poor mother had to clean it without the advantage of housekeepers that had been available to the previous owners:) Of course she had my sister to help in the house and my brother and dad did the grounds.  Since I was "the baby" it was easy to slip away and feed my daydreams:)

Oh so now you think it was okay for my siblings to pick on me?