Bag Blog

Dust Bunnies and Apples

2012-01-31T20:25:00.005-06:00

Ever have one of those days where you start one job, which leads to another job, to another job, and you never seem to get anything done? It is a way of life for me. This morning I began getting ready for art girls by cleaning off the table. I picked up some receipts that needed to be filed, but then I needed to put away the receipt file for 2011 and make a new one for 2012. While I was doing the switcheroo with the files, there did not seem to be enough room in the file cabinet for more files. So I had to get out a box and put years worth of old receipt folders away and make room for new folders.

Eventually I got back to clearing off the table for art. We were going to work in pastels today, so I started getting art supplies out of my art cabinet. I could not find one set of pastels. As I dug through the cabinet, I found all sorts of things that were out of place - needing to be put right. There was lots of stuff that just needed to be thrown out. Once I got going cleaning out the cabinet drawer, it was hard to stop. I cleaned out several drawers of my art cabinet, but I did not find the pastels that I had been looking for. Thinking that I had last seen the pastels in Jesse's art bag, I went to her room, and looked in the usual places. I did not find the pastels, but I found a pack of letters written by me to my dad through the years. I only read one, but it was enough to send me into a tailspin of memories. I put the letters away and text (ed?) Jesse to get to the pastels quicker. After a few texts back and forth, I called her, "Where the heck are my pastels?" "Search my room." was her answer. Great - like I had not thought of that myself. I eventually found them, ahem, in my art cabinet.

With the pastels out on the art table, I went in search of pastel boards. I found a few, but not enough for the seven students. Where the heck were all my boards? I probably loaned them to students. I thought it would be easy to go to the barn and cut some more boards on the table saw. Besides, I needed some wood putty from the barn for another project anyway. Out at the barn, I found my big piece of masonite board, but it was covered in dust and cobwebs and was a bit warped. Trying not to think about the cobwebs, I cut up several 12x16 pieces and brought them back to the house to clean the dust and cobwebs off.

I created lots of dust bunnies in the house while cleaning the boards, searching for pastels, switching file folders, etc. I still had time to vacuum before the art girls arrived along with the usual cleaning. When they did arrive, I was a bit sweaty and dirty - just right for some pastel work, which is dusty too. We worked on apples today.
Here is my art - it still needs work, but after my art girls left, I needed rest. I painted this on white pastel paper, while my students used black paper. I would have used black too, but there were not enough pieces to got around (and I was not going in search of any more stuff).
Here is one of my student's work - not finished yet. I think she did very well so far. The other girls took their work home with them. I warn the girls that if they do not take their work home, it will end up on my fridge. They don't know about my blog. Heh!

Actually, I got quite a bit done today - just not quite as I planned.

Weekend Report - And Then There Were Closets

2012-01-30T06:49:00.005-06:00

It has been almost a week since my last post - a very busy week. On Tuesday, I drove Jesse's Scion to the get a new rear window put in. The weather man had predicted rain on Tuesday night - so it was puhfect timing. The downside, was that it pretty well shot the day. I did spend some time with Painting Lady, Barb, while waiting for the car, and that was most pleasant. Wed. I had reserved time for going to The City with the Junk Diva. She took me to some wholesale upholstery places to pick out fabric for a couple of old chairs that need love. I have three old chairs that came out of Young's Ranch in Red River. They have good bones, but need some new skin. Being with the Diva is always a hoot. At one point during the day, I said, "You have not said anything about my new sweater." Her answer, "You look very Mr. Roger-ish." Be careful about fishing for compliments around the Diva. By the way, The Diva and I are planning on taking an upholstery class this month. Should be fun!

When Toby is home, it is serious work time. This past week, he took Thursday and Friday off, because we had lots to do. Thursday we were up and at 'em at the crack of dawn to drive to WF and pick up the Subaru. If you remember, it had broken down the week before. The problem was where to take it to have it fixed - not everyone works on Subarus. We really needed to take it to a Subaru dealer, but the nearest one was in OK City. That meant putting the car on a trailer and hauling it - not our favorite thang. Turns out the Diva's husband, the Junk Hunk, has a trailer fetish and owns all sorts of trailers including a car hauler. Wed night after shopping in with the Diva, I hooked on to her hauler and hauled it home. Thursday morning, we picked up the Subaru and hauled it to The City. Puhfect! While I had Toby in The City, I had him look at rugs and barstools, which we bought - yeha! I love the way he shops! Once again, we crammed ten pounds of stuff in a five pound bag - took us all day.

Friday, we had some more shopping to do, so we made a quick trip to Lawton. One of the things we had been needing to finish our bathroom was a "encurve Decora" glass block. Lowes and Home Depot folks were pretty much idjits about ordering the block. We stopped by Sutherlands to see if they could order the block, and they happened to have, not one, but two encurve blocks on the shelf! And at about half the price as the other places - Double yeha! We also bought a new mattress. I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about that, yet. Grumble.

We still had daylight to burn on Friday after our trip to Lawton, so we worked on shelves for the closets. Before we can clear out our storage unit, we need places to put stuff. The closets needed shelves and hanging rods. We built and painted four shelves. By Sunday afternoon, they were in the closets.
Hall closet
Bedroom closet with two shelves and double hangin' thangs.
Pantry, which will have another shelf - yet to be built. Closets and shelves are more than a "yeha," they are big A--whoop!

Also this weekend, my nephew, Adam, came to see us. We did a bit of watercolor together while Jesse worked on her homework. She posted pics here both of which are very artsy, as usual. Adam was a help carrying the shelves and moving furniture around. For that, we fed him and took him to see "Mission Impossible." He and Jes loaded up her Scion and headed back to Grandma's Sunday afternoon. Toby and I finished putting in the shelves and then slept hard on the new hard mattress.

Soon

2012-01-29T07:41:00.002-06:00

It has been a busy week. Toby took Thursday and Friday off and has had me hoppin'. I'll tell you all about it soon.

Monday Cutie

2012-01-24T21:08:00.004-06:00

GBN2 said she wanted to play on the "duht hill." Monday was "puhfect" for playing outside at the Lazy B. We walked down and fed the horses. Nacho the pony came up to eat and let us pet on him. He would have followed the feed bucket anywhere ( I don't know why his owners can't catch him). We found a great stick down by the pond, which had been chewed by beavers. GBN2 said it was going to be her cane, but it was way too tall for her to use as a cane. I showed her how to hold it as a walking stick - like Moses had. "You mean a staff?" she asked. "And he thew it down and it tunned into a snake!" She is so smart! She carried that stick, jumped, jabbed, threw, swiped, hit, rode, and all the things a kid can do with a stick. I jumped, ducked, tripped, got whacked, and repaid evil for evil. Then I suggested she take the stick home with her :) We played house in the horse trailer and sat on the flatbed trailer in the sunshine to drink our hot chocolate - the dogs loved that. For lunch we had chicken nuggets dipped in Ranch dressing and for dessert we ate a cutie (little orange). It made us extra cute and made GBN2 giggle when I told her so. She put an orange slice up on her lip and did her deep voice, "You must pay da went..." We walked to the mailbox while she told a story about a "Gwandmutha and a little gill who took a walk..." The dogs ran around us barking and carrying on while we walked. I said that Jack, the red heeler, was a bad little brother. "Ya mean they ahh bwuthas? And Zoe is the big sistuh?" This was a whole new thought, which delighted GBN2. When her mother called and said she was on her way to get GBN2, she said, "But I haven't done evweething yet!"

Weekend Report - Fee-ass-co!

2012-01-23T07:21:00.007-06:00

Sometimes when things start out bad, you think they can only get better, but that is not always the case. There is always Murphy's Law.

Friday was a beautiful day with temps in the mid 70's as I drove to WF to attend an art show with Jesse. Just as I got to WF, my car started making some odd noises - like whistle noises. Then it got worse. I pulled over on freeway to take a look at what could be making the noise. Yeah, I looked under the hood, under the car, up in the wheelbase, etc. as if I knew what I was looking for. Nada. When I got back in my car to continue to Mom's house, the sound was much worse. Dang, it sounded like something dragging or grinding, but I was able to drive on hoping that my car did not just break in two. Once safely at Mom's, I called one of my brother's friends who took a look at my car. Long story short, my car is still in WF. I came home with Jesse. But the whole thang rattled me. I hate dealing with such problems - what to do , who to call, etc. If it were up to me, I would have driven it into a car dealership and traded it in.

Jesse said her day had been crappy too - literally. Mom's little dog had pooped in Jesse's room. Jesse had stepped in it and walked around the room before noticing. Then the dog went outside and rolled in something - more crap. Jesse had to bathe the dog for Mom. I'm afraid the dog may meet his end, if he keeps messing with Jesse.

But the art show was fun! Here is Jesse and her pottery. For a closer view you can see these pots on her blog. Jesse's teacher and buddies loved it that I whipped out my camera to take photos of Jes and the art show. The feature artist was Gabriel Dawe. I encourage you to follow that link and see more of his work. Very cool string art! By the time we left the art show, a cold front had blown in and temps had dropped drastically. My coat was in OK. This was very noticeable while pumping gas into Jesse's car before leaving WF - how can her car always be out of gas?

Saturday morning, we went to work around the Lazy B, as usual. Toby wanted to replace the little hydraulic thangies that lift the hatch on Jesse's Scion TC. They had been out of commission for a while. Jesse had been using a big stick to prop the hatchback open, but was worried that if it ever fell on her, it would crush her. The thang was heavy to say the least. Well, Toby found out how heavy. The hatchback did fall while he was working on it. Fortunately, he was not in the way, but the rear window shattered as did the tail-light. What a mess! We were all horrified, but thankful that no one was hurt.

Now we are two cars down. Sunday was interesting working out how to get everyone where they needed to be. Toby had signed us up to sing in an over 50's choir at church, which practices after church. Don't ask me why he signed us up. When I said I would rather sign than sing, he must have confused the words. I have the voice of a thirteen year old boy - kind of deep, but still girly.

After choir practice on Sunday, we were to attend a wedding shower (at the church). My son called on Sunday to say that he needed the Lazy B barn to work on his car and could we get his wife to the wedding shower. And we had to fit lunch in somewhere. So it was one of those, we all went to church. Jes did not stay for the choir and rode home with Bo. Toby and I stayed and sang, but he did not stay for the shower. He went home and handed the car off to Jes and Sara to drive back and attend the shower. They were to be my ride home after the shower. Geeze Louise! I had been at church all day. By the time Jes and Sara arrived at the shower, I was ready to go home - tired of being nice. Don't worry; I sucked it up and stuck it out for the shower. When I did get home it was to a house full of GGs and neighbors trying to catch their pony, which has been enjoying our grass for a while now - a pony rodeo!

Eventually, the GGs went home, Jesse drove my car back to WF leaving hers with a busted window, the neighbors gave up on catching Nacho, and Toby and I were alone, and it was quiet. We watched a little football. Not that I care about who won any of the games, but the teams that I did choose to cheer for, lost. Yep, it was that kind of weekend.

Aberdeen Watercolor

2012-01-19T19:30:00.005-06:00

While painting with the Ladies, I decided to start a little watercolor of a scene in Aberdeen, Scotland. Our hotel was just down and across the street from this pub called the Noose and Monkey. Where do they come up with those names? We did eat at the N&M once - who could resist such a name and funky building? It was not our favorite place to eat, but interesting.

Aberdeen is often called the Granite City or the Grey City because the buildings are made from local granite quarries. The mica causes the granite to sparkle. To me, sometimes the buildings are purple, but some have a rose hue to them. When the sun sets, the granite often has a very nice glow. My purpose in this watercolor was to paint in more color so that it was not just a grey painting. I also wanted the painting to be a bit loose, Painting buildings makes me a bit tight and technical and, yet, not. Now, I will set this painting up and walk by it and look at it and see if I want to make changes. A painting is not finished until you have looked at it for a while and decided if you like it. At art with the little girls, one of my students begged, "Am I finished? Please, please, Miss Lou, say I am finished!" My reply - as if she had been a bad girl, "Go to your room and think about this painting for a while."

Every day while in Aberdeen, I walked down this street past lots of little shops and pubs to the Aberdeen Art Gallery and on to the mall. Sometimes I went over a few streets to the main drag of sorts to do some shopping. I often walked to the Maritime Museum and the Provost Ross House, a museum and one of the oldest buildings in Aberdeen. Jesse did this painting from a photo she took at the Provost House. Museums and buildings fascinate me.

I did not go to WF the other day - to take Jes her stuff, but I may go today. She may put some pottery in a little student art show. If I go, I can see the show. I'll let you know how it goes.

Go Figure

2012-01-19T08:17:00.003-06:00

We laugh at this GBN2 story and use her words which were so puhfect. While eating out at the Chuckwagon with her family, GBN2 insisted on ordering the same food as her big sister. Big sister had ordered beans and rice. When her mother pointed out to GBN2 that she did not like beans and rice and should order the chicken strips basket, she refused - insisting on the same thing her sister had ordered. Fine. When the ordered food came to the table, GBN2 looked at her beans and rice with great disappointment. Aunt Jes pointed out to her that the beans and rice are what her sister had ordered and, therefore, what she had ordered. GBN2 looked at the beans and rice with disgust and said, "Yeah, but then I fig-yud it out."

It is amazing how much the words "figure it out" come up. I've been hanging out on Pinterest, which has some very interesting ideas, crafts, art, photos, sayings, etc. But I was not sure how to go to the site where you learn the craft or find the recipe or see where to buy the fashion. While sitting with my laptop, I asked Jesse to help me. Her reply, "Fig-yu it out!" Thanks Jes. So I managed to get an "invite" and now I can "pin" something on "my board," but I still have no idea what the heck I'm doing.

Life would be so much easier if someone just did all the work for me.

Which Way?

2012-01-18T07:38:00.006-06:00

Today is my big brother's birthday. I did wait until after 6 AM to call him and wish him a happy birthday. I'm thoughtful that way :)

Jesse posted some potter pics and a silly photo for those of you who like to keep up with the fibbertigibbet, a will-o-the-wisp, the clown. I may be driving over to WF today to take her some things that she forgot and needs before Friday. Or I may not drive over. I wait upon her command :) You know that driving to WF is not a problem for me.

Yesterday I had my young girls art class. It went well. We finished up our sunflower paintings without much fuss. The girls knocked out some really fine sunflower paintings. The point of this lesson was to see the color variations in the flower. Since the flower is basically yellow, my students tend to just paint the whole flower yellow. But in doing so, the flower looks like a big yellow blob - the petals all run together. They have to see the differences in each petal and paint them distinctly. It requires lots of painting, layering, and patience - things we are working on. This is how my painting turned out. It has some problems of its own, but when I paint with the girls, I don't always see the problems until after they leave. It is hard to get into the right side of my brain when I'm talking, teaching, demonstrating. Later, I look back and say, "Dang, what was I thinking?" In this painting, I don't like the shape of the top flower and where is the stem to the bottom flower? It needs more work.

If I don't go to WF today, I may go paint with the Painted Ladies. Painting with them is always fun, but I have mixed emotions about it. I don't know if I can explain my feelings. Painting with others is inspirational - it makes you paint. But once again, it is difficult to paint seriously. I find myself doing little exercises, but not finished paintings. And there is nothing wrong with that - sometimes. Brush time is always good.

Wichita Falls or Painted Ladies - we will see how it all works out.

Grown Woman

2012-01-17T09:12:00.004-06:00

Jesse headed back to WF yesterday afternoon. School starts today. With all the work she did over her break, she said it didn't feel much like a break. Since she wasn't home much, it didn't feel like much of a break to me either. I was kind of hoping to see her more. But I'd better get used to it. After all, she is a grown-ass woman - as she likes to put it. Ahh, would you like to know the story behind that terminology?

A couple of years ago while in Austin for my brother's wedding, we were staying in a hotel along with lots of rednecks in town for a car show. The parking lot was full of revved up autos and hot rods. That night we were all awaken by a disturbance outside. With the car show folks still in the parking lot and roaring their engines, some man on the second floor near our rooms (probably trying to sleep) decided to yell at them. Of course, a yelling match was the result. It was hard to hear what the car folks in the parking lot, were saying, but it was easy to guess. The funny part was that the man kept hollering, "I'm a grown-ass man!" Jesse in her sleepy state of being, called the front desk to report a possible fight. Having done her duty, she went back to sleep. The next morning at breakfast "the grown-ass man" was all the talk in our group. We got a big laugh out of the situation and Jesse. And now when Jesse wants to push her weight around, she tells us that she is a grown-ass woman! Toby and I just laugh at her.

By the way, my nephew, Adam, is starting a new school and a new job today in WF. Best wishes, Adam. May your new life be filled with joy and success.
Adam and Jes at Mom's birthday - I cut this out of a big photo, so it is a bit unfocused.

Weekend Report - carpet

2012-01-15T17:23:00.007-06:00

Links: Jesse posted pottery and a photo on her blogs.

Did I mention the the carpet man came on Thursday. We went with the local store, which was cheaper and the carpet layer man was so much more, hmm, with it. Bill, the carpet man showed up early Thursday, worked hard all day, and gotter done. Excited was an understatement for my feeling when he left. When Toby came home, we took off our shoes and walked on the carpet. We rolled around too. I took a few pictures to show you. Toby lay down for a photo, but the dog thought it was play time. It looked fun, so I joined them, but my arm is just not long enough. You will note that there is still more trim work to be done and door to be hung. Here is the hall of closets. Last week we laid the tile and grouted it to get ready for the carpet. I think it turned out well.
The dog loves the carpet. Several times I have caught the cat rolling, yes, rolling in the carpet - the cat!

Saturday, we took a day to go to WF and return the flooring that we bought and did not use. We had several other things to return to Home Depot. I was dreading the returns, but it went well. Then we picked up Toby's mom and had lunch with her. We took her shopping. Actually, we were doing some research shopping. I wanted to look at material to cover a couple of chairs. Also, we will need a big rug for the living room - I wanted to look a bit. Then there is the bar stool dilemma. You would think picking out bar stools would not be complicated, but it is. Back or no back, swivel or not to swivel, comfy or utility and then there is size. Good grief! But it was a good day with Toby's mom. She is very good at color and decor. And there is no way I would fight with her like I do my own mom. I luv ya, Mom.

Our last stop in WF was Market Street. We went in thinking to get Greek yogurt and beer and a tea for the road. I have never been in Market Street when it was so crowded. People were nuts. I gave Toby the "focus" sign (if you want, you can go to "f" and then find "focus" to see the sign). He replied, "Beer, yogurt, and get the hell out of here!" I agreed, but I didn't know the sign for "get the hell out of here." I will look it up.

Sunday I cooked a roast with all sorts of veggies. After church the GGs and their parents came for lunch. After we ate, the GGs took off their shoes and we rolled in the new carpet - literally. GBN2 insisted that I pretend she was a dog named Little Rascal. Then she rolled and romped along with our real dog in the carpet. Bo and Jesse joined us. Jesse and I can still do "the airplane" (me on the floor lifting her with my feet). I'm just so dang short, it was not very thrilling anymore. Bo, on the other hand, lifted his sister and gave her a little bounce and thrill with his airplane. I'm so glad my children took after their father in the leg department. Toby and Bo gave rodeo rides to the GGs. Then the GGs wrastled and killed the big bull (Toby). Although my DIL looked skeptical, she did get in the floor with us. Bo got her and made her squeal! New carpet is such fun!
Since Andy asked about the fireplace in the comments, I wanted to show you our wood stove. It has been quite handy this winter. At first I had trouble starting a fire, but my mountain girl ways came back to me. Last week when we laid and grouted the floor tile, we also added the bullnose tile around the edge to give it that finished look and grouted the tile behind the stove. You may also notice in the first pic above that we laid tile in the bedroom doorway. I'm hoping we are done with tile and grout for a while.

Travel Bug - Friendly Countries

2012-01-13T06:24:00.004-06:00

It's time I let you in on my little secret. I've been reading a blog called The Mellow Jihadi for several months now and really enjoying his sense of humor and stories. His links are interesting too. Today, he shared this link on the World's Friendliest Countries. The United States ranked 5th behind New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Canada - in that order. Read the article for the criteria, but I found it interesting. It was not just the friendliness of the people, although that is important, it is also the ease of everyday life - fitting in and adjusting to life in a different country.

Personally, I don't see how any country that drives on the wrong side of the road could rank higher in best places to live over places like the USA and Canada. Although, I found Scotland very friendly, it took me the whole month we were there just to get used to crossing the street. Italians drive on the right side of the road, but, Lordy, just driving to the grocery store was an adventure. Road signs, stop lights, speed limits, lane markers were more like guidelines rather than laws. You really had to spit in your hat before getting behind the wheel. Toby took to driving our go-kart (Fiat) in Italy like a duck to water - zipping around the Autostrade and city centres with ease. I was more like an orangutang with every finger and toe wrapped around the wheel. In Canada we did not have a car, because Calgary had such a great mass transit system. But when we have rented cars in Canada, the driving was easy and road systems were great.

Language and ease of everyday life were also factors in "Friendliest Countries." Of course, the language in Italy was a problem. Since I could only converse in the minimum of words, real conversations did not happen often. It made me a bit lonely and homesick for close friends. Although the Italian people were warm and friendly and very willing to attempt conversation. Wild hand gesturing, pointing at objects, calling friends who spoke English, using guide books, etc. were not beyond the Italians - I did love that about them. Although the Scottish say they speak English, sometimes we did not speak the same English. Once again, their friendliness out-weighed the language problems. By the end of our stay, I was ready to hear some good ol' Texas twang.

Money could also be a problem. Dealing with Euros was not a problem at the time we were in Europe - the exchange rate was pretty much the same (not so much now). It took me a while to figure out the Brit's money - why do they have to be so different? In Canada, the loonies and toonies were not a problem and the exchange rate was similar at that time. I could spend money with the best of 'em.

Each place I have visited had its own distinct beauty. I loved them all. Canada was so beautiful and friendly, I would love to visit there again. But I think I would not love winters there. Italy was also beautiful and had so many amazing places to see. I could live there for short periods, but the language and hassles of everyday life would make me crazy. Scotland - well, I'd like to do more exploring there. Winter was not idea for site-seeing. Nope, none of those places made me want to move permanently.

Toby's job has been good to let me travel with him and see places around the world and lots here in the USA. We may get to go to Norway soon, and that will be a treat too. But I like OK. It is true - there is no place like home. Gosh, do I sound like an old lady or what?

So, where would you want to live - where could you live?

Repost of Scotland

2012-01-11T17:22:00.003-06:00

Buck has been drinking Scottish beer, which reminded me of a picture of Jesse taken while we were in Scotland. I found the post. Since January always reminds me of our time in Scotland, I thought I'd share that whole post. If you like these silly pictures, go back to Jan 2008 to see more - that is when Toby and I spent a month in Aberdeen.

Fun Photos

Last night we went to dinner with Toby’s boss and two other coworkers whom Toby had buddied up with. The three Scotsmen seemed to have a great relationship joking and laughing and telling stories on each other. They chose to take us to a very fancy place called Howie’s. The food was very good in an artsy-fartsy sort of way, but not what I would have chosen. Apparently it was fairly Scottish – Toby had an oatcake with his appetizer and had haggis with his meal. I had salmon. Someone ordered a side dish of chips (fries) which seemed odd with such a fancy meal, but I love them. The restaurant was busy causing us to wait a ridiculous amount of time for our food, but the waiter brought us a free bottle of wine – not that we needed more wine. In fact, we had enough wine to get into a political discussion – mostly discussing Margaret Thatcher. One man thought she was great and the other two did not. None of them like Bush much or Tony Blair. At one point, I said that because they got most of their news from the BBC, they had a skewered view of America. Normally, I try not to rock the boat when it comes to Toby’s bosses or show my real self, but they all looked a bit aghast. One even said, "The BBC is not biased!" I believe I snorted at that. I got myself under control, had a little more wine, and just enjoyed the other’s conversation. We didn’t get home until midnight – a bit tough for country folk.

In yesterday’s photos, there was a photo of Mom pointing to a piece of gum. There is a story behind that. The sidewalks and streets here are covered with white spots – some of which could be seagull poop – some of which could be gum. Mom and I argued the point – was it poop or was it gum. Toby made us laugh when he said something along the lines of watching out for those seagulls – they might spit their gum out on you.

We had lots of other funny moments. Here are some photos of us having fun in Scotland. This photo of Jesse in the guard house has a story too. When she as six years old, we visited Old Tucson. She and Bo posed in front of the Undertaker's in two coffins. Jesse closed her eyes and puffed her cheeks out. It is a photo that still cracks me up when I see it - so she posed that way again.

We always take a few shots where we imitate art. Here is Jesse stumbling out of the Illicit Still - staged of course. Sometimes we like to pretend we are part of the scene. The headphones at the Edinburgh Castle proved to be interesting. I teased Mom about holding on to hers rather than letting it hang on her neck. Then this happened. But the apple does not fall far from the tree. Mom was constantly tangled in this string that kept her from losing her gloves. Here I am being the puppeteer. BTW, she forgot those gloves hanging in the closet here when she went home. Jesse wanted us to put our arms around this tree so that just our hands showed making it look like a huge person was hugging a huge tree - it did not work out, but we had a good laugh at this shot. Toby is always good for a laugh - here he is smelling a tree to see if it is a cedar tree. Jesse did not like all the beer we tasted.

If you know my family, we have lots of other silly pics, but this should do you for today.

More Carpet

2012-01-10T09:11:00.003-06:00

About a week or so ago, Bo called and asked us to keep the GGs. We dropped what we were doing, which was working on the house, and went to town to get GBN2. We needed to kill some time before we picked up GBN1, who had a doctor's appointment. So we took GBN2 with us to look at carpet or "caahh'pet" as GBN2 says. Since we had been working on the house, we were not dressed in our Sunday best, but this is Duncan. We were hoping to get some info on carpet - learn what is what and get some prices. Upon entering the store, the owner met us and pointed out very specific rolls of carpet and told us what kind of price she could give us. Now there were carpet rolls stacked all over the building, not to mention all the sample books and displays. But she pointed out about three different rolls and gave us a price. When I would ask about a other carpet, she would say something about that carpet being more expensive. In the meantime, GBN2 was climbing on carpet rolls and impressing the owner and other customers with her ability to read, "Gulistan." It was time to go, but we promised to come back and look more later. As we left the store, I told Toby that I didn't realize that I should have worn my mink - which is code for dressing for major suck-up. The whole thang reminded me of this OK shopping experience where I had been looking at an expensive brand of clothing and the saleslady directed me to the five dollar rack.

We have since been back to the caahhpet sto-ah (it is hard not to talk like GBN2) dressed a bit better and received totally different treatment. We learned more about carpets and prices and warranties, etc. Maybe the owner was just having a bad day earlier. She does know her carpet and she is a "getter done" sort of person, although she does remind me of Toby's Uncle Ruth - kind of a know it all with an opinion about everything. At least she didn't have a toothpick to stab at me while she talked.

So yesterday after the Home Depot man left, the owner of the caahhpet sto-ah called to send out a man to measure for carpet. The man drove right to my house - no problemas. He used an old fashioned tape-measure like a pro. The HD guy had used some sort of electronic tape-measure - probably because he was too big to bend over and do any actual measuring. The caahhpet sto-ah man scribbled notes with a pencil and a scrap of paper. The HD man had a computer screen around his neck that he pecked away on with a, well, pecker. The caahhpet sto-ah man told me exactly how he would lay the carpet out and how he would make it work with the least amount of waste. He also told me how much carpet the job would take. The HD man said Home Depot would be in touch with me.

Now, which one should I go with? Neither inspires warm fuzzy feelings. I know carpet places don't hire rocket scientists. The caahhpet sto-ah seems to know their stuff, but may be more expensive. When I think of all the bad experiences with workers at HD, I worry about who they will send to lay my carpet - some person who doesn't know south from east? I also know the highest bidder is not always the best. I hate decisions.

I once used a thesaurus to look up the word "scold" when I wanted a better word to write up a disciplinarian referral to my high school principal. "Had him on the carpet" was one of the ways to say scold, chew out, yelled at, etc. I really don't want to be "had on the carpet."

The Home Depot Man

2012-01-09T14:00:00.004-06:00

I think I give pretty good driving instructions. Why? Because I think like a woman. Maybe that was my mistake, since I was giving instructions to a man. I don't think men really listen (especially to a woman), because in their mind, they already know everything.

We called Home Depot to get an estimate on carpet. They said they would send someone out on Monday. Afternoon would be better for me - yep, they could do that. I should have realized there would be problems when a man called at 9 AM to say he would be at my house around 10 or 10:30. He had two other houses in Lawton to do that afternoon. Yeah, well, I tutor in the mornings. I could rearrange my schedule, but it would be inconvenient. You realize that I live outside of Duncan? Nope, he did not know that. Well, could you do the houses in Lawton first and come here last? Yep, but that would put him here at noon or after. Perfect! I gave the man very simple instructions on how to get to my house from Lawton. After I finished, he said he would probably call again when he finished the other houses. Another clue that he wasn't really listening to me.

Sure 'nuff, he called around noon. I'm almost to Velma, and I have not seen the truck-stop you mentioned.
Really?! It's on the north side of the road - big white building with a red roof. Turn north when you get to it.
Well, there is a volunteer fire department.
Really? Where (the heck) are you?
I'm on the highway that you told me.
It's a four-lane that narrows down to a two- lane. You need to come about 5 or 6 more miles after it turns to a two-lane.
It did that.
Good. Keep coming east until you get to the truck-stop.
I haven't seen a truck-stop.
Are you going east?
Hell, I don't know. It seems south to me.
Really?!
Oh, there is a big intersection marked Plato Rd.
Really?! Cause the highway I told you does not cross Plato Rd.
Now there is an intersection called Elk.
Aha! you are on the By-Pass.

What part of "turn right at the barking dog" did he not understand? I gave more simple instructions - pretty much the same as I had given before, but now maybe he was listening closer. He called again - I see the truck-stop. I turn right?
No, turn left; that is north.
You live in the log house with the red roof?
No, I live in the next house.

He did make it here. He did measure my rooms. He did tell me how I should have laid the Mexican tile and that tile with puppy prints is more expensive...yada, yada. Like I'm going to listen to a man who doesn't know north from south.

There was a lot more to this story and my conversations and instructions getting the HD man here. I hyperventilated at least twice in between his calls. He made something very simple into something so complicated. But ya know, he was a happy man - didn't really seem to know what an idiot he was or how crazy he had made me.

Weekend Report - Birthday

2012-01-08T19:17:00.005-06:00

Toby's birthday was Saturday. It did not go off as we thought it would, but it was a good day - a good weekend. Toby had told the kids that he did not know what he wanted to do on his b-day other than relax and not have to be anywhere. We needed to get some things done on the house while the weather was good. I started a pot of beans to have for his birthday supper (it is what he wanted) but then we would just wing his birthday plans. Saturday morning, he decided he wanted pancakes for breakfast (not on our diet, but it was his birthday). Since pancakes are the GGs favorite, we called them and invited them for breakfast. Jesse put blueberries in the pancakes to make them special. The GGs added whipped cream to make them extra special. The girls were lots of fun. We ran and played until lunch.

After the GGs went home, my nephew and one of his friends showed up to cut firewood. I love it when the nephs come. Toby got out the tractor and drug up a dead tree for them - one that some beavers had eaten down a couple of years ago. He didn't want the neph to scratch up his truck getting to the tree which was on the far side of the pond. While he had the tractor out, he worked on the driveway and some other things that needed tractor work. About the time we actually started doing work on the house, some friends from church showed up. We gave them the tour of the new house and visited for a bit. When they left, the neph and his friend were finished cutting up the tree and were hungry. So we took them to eat at the Chuckwagon - always a treat - and then sent them home. It was too late to start the work on the house that we had planned, and we were rather worn out. I made a pear pie for Toby's birthday - rather than a cake. It was delicious with ice cream.

After church on Sunday, we strapped on the knee pads and did some grouting to the tile we had laid last week. Grouting is grueling work. I'm worn out as I type this, and my hands are dry, dry, dry. Tomorrow after I do some more clean-up work, I'll try to post some pics of the tile. We are expecting a carpet person to come measure for carpet. Yeha!

For a weekend with no plans, it was rather full. What we should have done was go to Golden Corral so Toby could get the senior discount now that he is 55 - ha!. Years ago Denny's restaurants had a birthday special and would give a free meal on someone's birthday. Your life would really be sad, if that was the best you could do for a birthday. Although we started off with no plans other than work on the house and a birthday dinner of beans, cornbread and fried tators, along with some pear pie, the Chuckwagon was pretty darn nice. The pancakes and GGs were fun, too. And I loved all the visitors. You'd think it was my birthday.

The Crazies

2012-01-06T07:15:00.001-06:00

Toby and I have been talking politics - beware. We discussed our theories and views of the Iowa caucus and GOP candidates. With Jesse off in The City working these days, we are empty nesters - I guess we have run the gamut on conversation, and we are down to politics. Take the following with the usual grain of salt knowing that it comes from my blonde head. I stole this cartoon from Buck, because it seemed to express things well. Now let me see if I can express myself well.

It seems no one really likes Romney or Newt, but as I mentioned before, the Media says Romney is our best choice. It also seems that lots of people like what Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are saying (hence the vote in Iowa), but the Media tells us those two are crazy and not electable. Would you say those people who like Paul and Santorum are maybe the far right, Christian conservatives, or maybe just crazy themselves? Or are those people who voted for Paul and Santorum just tired of the same old slick politicians that Romney and Newt represent and are wanting serious change? I'll just refer to the people who voted for Paul and Santorum as the Crazy Conservatives.

If I understand how the Iowa caucus went, Romney just barely won over Santorum with Paul coming in third. Now suppose the Crazy Conservatives had put their votes together and voted for just one Crazy. Hmm, that Crazy would have beaten Romney like a drum with a large majority of votes. It would have been a big statement. If I were a political analyst, I would say that the GOP would do well to take a look at what Paul and Santorum are offering that so many people want. Then I would find the right candidate that represented/expressed those things. That is who is electable. I'm thinkin' it's not Romney or Newt.

It seems to me that the Crazies want things like smaller government, balanced budget, simple and reformed tax laws, and integrity. I'm not sure why that is so crazy. They don't want politics as usual, good ol' boy backslapping, saying one thing and doing another, etc. I watched McCain endorse Romney yesterday saying that Mitt was honest, straightforward, and best candidate to beat Obama. Then the Media showed a clip of four years ago when McCain was calling Romney a liar, wish-washy, worst GOP candidate, etc. What changed in the last four years?

So if you Crazies want change, you'd better get behind one crazy or the other and quit splitting your votes. If you think about it, the Crazies are basically a silent majority that were really not so silent. I think they spoke pretty clear. Now lets see if they can make a difference.

Recapping 2011

2012-01-04T16:34:00.003-06:00

Andy has been thievin' again. So it only seemed only right for me to steal from him. For a recap of the year, he went back and took the first line from the first post of each month. He then used them for his year-end review (year-end sounds a lot like rear end). I liked the idea. This is how my year went.

1-1-11: New Year's resolutions are always the same - more of this - less of that.
2-1: I have taken full advantage of the snow day and been very lazy here at the Lazy B.
3-1: I did absolutely nothing yesterday.
4-2: I can't begin to tell you how incredibly sad this makes me.
5-2: We worked hard on the house this weekend putting in more ducts and the gas lines - all under the house work.
6-2: As I said before, Toby took off work last Thursday and Friday to work on the house.
7-3: My internet has been down for a few days.
8-1: This is just one of the fun things we did yesterday.
9-2: Jesse has only been MSU for two weeks and she already made the Times and Record News.
10-3: It was a beautiful day for the Air Show at Sheppard Air Force Base, and I took lots of pictures of, well, air.
11-2: GBN2 is such a performer/comedian/singer, that people are always saying that I should write down her stories.
12-1: My house and land are being used for a model shoot.

It was interesting to me to go back and see each month. I had to scroll down through the posts to get to the first post of each month - so I was able to get a real review. Hey, I really did do some art work; I've just not done much the last six months. Working on the house seemed to be the main theme. If we were not working on the house, we were just lazy. But then, this is the Lazy B.

Once again, I'd like to do better on my blog and better on my art. As I have said over and over, "When this house is finished..." That is really not a good excuse. I just need to get my priorities straight. Unfortunately, there is that procrastination thang that I'm so good at. Priorities and procrastination - I'll work on those.

In the News

2012-01-04T07:41:00.004-06:00

It's funny what catches my eye on MSN.com. First I have to admit that I run through the headlines there. I used to go to Fox News, but I don't really like their layout. Silly maybe, but there it is. This morning as I perused the news, I clicked on the "7 Fantastic Tips to Eating Less." Don't bother going there; nothing new. Next I clicked on the "Destruction of Wedding Dresses." I didn't read the entire article, because it was not that interesting either.
Now the "Dion and the Belmonts Singer Dies" article was more interesting, and Fred Milano was worth reading about. When the kids were young, we did lots of rocking out to The Belmonts. "Run Around Sue" and "Help me Rhonda" (which was pronounced "hep me") being some of our favorites, and of course, "The Wanderer." We liked to pretend to rip open our shirts and show 'em Rosie on our chest.

As far as other news went, well, I did look at the headlines for the Iowa caucus. For some reason, it burns me up that the Media has put so much emphasis on Romney and Newt while rarely mentioning Santorum. I've kind of liked Rick, but haven't thought he stood much of a chance, since he is not mentioned in the news. It makes me feel like the Media is choosing who should run rather than the people. I feel like I am being pushed around - kind of like when they tell me what is politically correct or what movies are great. I don't think they know their caucus from caca.

2012-01-02T07:41:00.003-06:00

The New Year dawned clear and beautiful. Hopefully it will be a sign for the rest of the year. After Toby worked my buns off on the house, we went to a friend's house for a New Year's Eve party. I did well for about the first couple of hours, but started sinking fast. Although I made it to midnight, it was touch-and-go if anyone else would make it - I was seriously losing patience with folks closer to midnight. Too many parties, too many people, and too much being nice! For those of you who don't know, "tired of being nice" is a joke around the Lazy B. Or as my dad used to say, "It is time for you to go home; Grandma is tired."

Sunday was spent recovering from the late night, but more so from the working on the house. Laying tile and flooring is always hard on the body. Jesse was a big help. She has spent most of her winter break working, drafting up in The City, in order to make some money. Then when we finally had her home, we worked her hard laying tile. She spent Sunday afternoon playing soccer - ah, to be young again.

Yesterday was a more back to normal with my tutoring in the morning. Since Toby only worked a half day, we all went to WF in the afternoon to run some errands. We picked up grout for the tile we had laid and some wood flooring for the hall. Jesse picked up the 26 cups she had thrown in her pottery class. Actually, she did not take a pottery class, but she did use the pottery facilities at MSU. She probably spends more time throwing pots and learning about clay and glazes than the students taking the class. The 26 cups are only a portion of what she had done in pottery this fall. She has not been happy with the glazing at school, so we will probably do some here before she goes back to school in a few weeks. In the meantime, she is back in The City drafting. She has not posted pics of her pots, yet. She has posted pics of the wood firing process. For her NY's resolution, she is thinking about posting a photo a day. That would be interesting.

As for my New Year's resolution, it is pretty much the same as always -more diet, more exercise, and more art. I'd like to do better on my blogging. As this house comes together, maybe I will be able to focus more on art - and post some pics of my work. Here is the Christmas card that I sent out to a few folks.

Party Party Party

2012-01-01T16:57:00.003-06:00

First there was all the Christmas parties. Then we started the birthday parties. After Mom's party on Thursday, there was the next birthday party - GBN2 turned five years old on Friday. They started off with a skating party in the early afternoon followed by a nap before the pizza and presents. The nap was a good idea. It seems like one party after another lately makes for tired little girls. But I loved the way GBN2 blew out her candles - classy.

80th Birthday

2011-12-30T09:40:00.005-06:00

Last night we celebrated my mom's 80th birthday in the usual Barker tradition - lots of family, food, and fun. I took an old photo of a young Bonnie Nell looking pretty sassy back in her day and made invitations out of it. I'd do not have it scanned or on my computer to share, but I will work on that.
In the meantime, she is looking pretty sassy at 80. This is the four of us kids.
Here are all her grandchildren except Nina.
Of course we had Mexican food - it is what we do best. I think I ate more last night than I did at Thanksgiving or at Christmas. Hmm, turkey or tamale...I choose tamale. Several cousins and relatives came - it was good to see my cousins. Uncle Paul is always a hoot.
And several of Mom's friends came, too.
I'm about partied out, but today is GBN2's birthday. The camera battery is charging. Expect more photos tomorrow.

Bo Moment

2011-12-29T06:32:00.003-06:00

Bo has always been a straight arrow. I may not write about him as much as I do Jesse, but he is a special son and not only because he is the father of my GGs. There are several moments in his life that stand out to me. One was when he was about 15 years old and we lived in NM. His roping horse, Goldie, was limping. We took the horse to the vet, who took ex-rays and gave us some bad news. He told us Goldie was beginning to founder, laminitis. We could still get lots of use out of Goldie, but that it was the beginning of the end. The vet put a special shoe on Goldie for the winter and told us to bring him back in the spring. When we brought Goldie back that spring, the vet ex-rayed him again. This time he found nothing - asking if this was the same horse, because there was no sign of foundering. We left the vet that day with much wonder. In a very calm, matter-of-fact way, with all surety, and only as Bo can, Bo said, "I've been praying for Goldie." Enough said.

Another Bo moment that sticks in my mind was his wedding day. He had been all cocky and silly playing poker in the groom's room with his groomsmen before the wedding. He posed for photos showing off his tuxedo with his yellow vest and his yellow high-top cowboy boots. But when the wedding started and he stood down front with that same groomsman and his bride made her appearance at the back of the church, I turned to look at Bo look at her. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes. It was a perfect reaction to seeing his beautiful bride start down the aisle. And so many people missed it, because they were looking at her. But I saw it, and I knew his heart and his happiness. It was such a Bo moment.

Last month I posted on how Bo announced to the church that his family was to have another addition. It was the perfect Bo tongue-in-cheek moment. Everyone laughed and applauded. Well, last night was another moment that will stick in my mind forever. My son got up in front of the church to announce that there would be no baby this summer after-all. His voice broke as he said it, and my heart broke for him and his little family.

God is still God, and I put my faith and hope in Him. I don't understand all His ways, but we, my family, will walk through the fire unscathed. My son's steadfast surety is an example for us all.

Christmas and More

2011-12-25T08:10:00.004-06:00

Christmas Eve we had our first party and talent show. It all went well. In this picture, you can see the homemade stage in the background. I may or may not post videos from the talent show. Ya know how they say the camera puts ten pounds on you? Well, my camera seems to have put lots more than that on me. Still, the GGs were pretty darn cute. It was difficult to keep them off the stage. I also like the above picture with Jesse laughing. Speaking of Jes, she bought a real Christmas tree, and she and the GGs decorated it. We have a small fake tree, but the mice got into it this summer - I can't stand that. Jes was excited about picking out a tree at the local Kiwana's tree lot. She said she had never done that. Poor little thang, she used to have to climb all over the mountains in the snow to pick out a tree in God's Christmas tree lot.
Here is looking back the other way at the kitchen. That is my big brother next to Toby and his kids next to him. And of course the GGs being silly.
Another pic of the guests with my mom on the very end. Those wooden chairs came from the old Zuni cabins in Red River. The chairs were made without any nails - all pegs and fitted together. The story goes that the WPA gave carpentry classes in Questa back in the day. I guess there was an abundance of chairs to be had. As Red River made the turn from a mining town to a summer resort town in the late 40's, cabins and lodges were being built all over the valley. Mr. ONeal, who owned the Zuni bought up lots of these chairs to furnish his cabins. I think they are the coolest - my Questa antiques.
Jesse and Lindz doing their usual dip. They have dip photos similar to this at all sorts of places and events - including a dip photo in front of the Eiffel Tower.
My niece and nephew and fabulous kitchen.

It has taken me quite awhile to get these photos up and a blog posted. I actually put the photos on the blog Christmas morning, but things got busy before I could finish the post. After the party, Shay and Lindz had spent the night. It was a rather late night. Then Christmas morning we made a big breakfast and opened our stockings. Then we were off to see Toby's family for the day. Once again it was a rather late night for this farm girl. Since I have been fighting off a cold all week, by Monday morning, I was worn out. We slept until 8 AM! Then we got up and did some work around the house - mostly cleaning up after the party. I made it until 12:30 before I needed a nap. So I took cold medicine and slept like a baby all afternoon. I was worthless. We did make it into town for to see the GGs and deliver gifts late in the afternoon.

Toby has been on my computer quite a bit lately since the other laptop bit the dust, and we have to share. This morning I waited patiently for my turn. He finally handed it over, but about 15 minutes later, he said, "If you are going with me, you'd better get dressed!" He got the squint-eye or Mrs. Potato Head's angry eyes. I did get dressed and I did go with him, but I was not happy about it. We went to Lawton to Home Depot and Lowes. When we got home, we worked on the trim work in the bedroom. Now you know why it has taken me so long to post. It was a good Christmas. I'm glad it is over.

Mi Cocina

2011-12-23T08:06:00.004-06:00

Yesterday, I posted the new kitchen photo on my Facebook page and got 40+ comments and 15 likes. Some comments were very simple - beautiful, nice, wow, etc. My friend, Bear, said that the kitchen "looked like me." Jesse's friend, Katherine, said she would like some fajitas from that kitchen. Bob made me lol with his, "Joyce has been bragging on your new kitchen all afternoon. Damn that Toby!" I even got some comments on how my kitchen should be in a magazine - love that! Some people who do not know what has been going on in my life wondered whether it was a new kitchen or just a clean kitchen. The Piper wants to come make a mess in my new kitchen - and he will. I loved all of the comments and was pleasantly surprised by everyone.

I specifically posted the kitchen with nothing out on the counters - all new and shiny. I wanted to show the tile and cabinets and send those photos to the tile store and to the cabinet maker. Last night, Toby and I put more of our kitchen gadgets and other junk into the kitchen giving it that homey look and making it more useful. The utensil holder next to the stove had been a wedding present. It is old looking, but it has been with me for a long time, and I love it. The microwave looks a bit like a small bus parked in the corner. It happens to be the same microwave that we bought 25 years ago. I remember setting up that microwave in our house in RR and burning a bag of popcorn first thing. When I opened a window to let the smoke and smell out, my neighbor and friend, Anny, hollered, "Hey Lou, What did you burn?" Not only did I burn the first bag, but then I tried to pop a second bag and and burned it too. Anny laughed and laughed as the second wave of smoke and smell poured out the window. She has never let me live that down. I will never let her live down the brick brownies.

So my kitchen is beginning to look more like home. I have some plans for decorations up high - on top of the cabinets. There is still lots to move - right now, I can't find anything. I put things in cabinets and then forget where they put them. Some things have been moved several times and may be moved more until I find just the right spot. After my little tiny kitchen, I don't know what to do with all my stuff. Last night while cleaning up after supper, I put the bread on top of the fridge. Toby said, "With all these cabinets, you cannot put the bread up there."

I still have lots to do in the kitchen (you may have noticed that Toby put the pulls on the cabinet drawers and doors last night) not to mention all that needs to be done on the rest of the house. We will be working through the holidays while Toby takes the last of his vacation time.

Although you cannot see it well in the photo, above the sink is my "Mi Casa Es Su Casa" plaque that I got from my friend, Karen Shannon, when we moved from RR. It means a lot to me. It is how I feel about my new house and kitchen. All are welcome here.

I Will Be Ready

2011-12-22T08:08:00.004-06:00

Update: The Kitchen!

Jesse wanted to have a little Christmas party - invite a couple of couples over on Christmas Eve. She wanted to have a talent show as entertainment. Eazy-peazy, right? Then my mom wanted to come - no problem. Turns out my brother and his kids are coming up from Austin and want to come too - okay. They will pick Mom up on their way and bring her. Hmm, I better call my little brother or he will feel left out. Yep, he and his family think they will come. Great. This week, I went from doing nothing for Christmas to having a big party. I'm not complaining. I work well under pressure. The funny part is that Jesse started all this, but she is in The City this week working. She texts me often to see if I'm on task. I am, so far.

Yesterday after tutoring and a trip to Wal-Mart, I came home to work on the house. Toby took a half-day, and we grouted the kitchen cabinet. I would post photos, but my camera and computer are at odds with each other. I need a little time to work on that, and then I will post pics. Except for a little trim work, the kitchen is almost complete. Yeha! I will seal the grout today and move more stuff to the kitchen. I will be ready for a party.

Gotta go!

Happy Shoes

2011-12-20T08:07:00.004-06:00

I meant to post yesterday, but my head swelled up and my ears were hurting and I had trouble focusing. Drugs helped, although Andy would not sell me any of his Drixoral stash. Today is much better. I did get out and about yesterday to quilt with the ladies at church. We have a young couple in our church getting married soon, so the ladies are making a wedding-ring quilt. I don't sew much, but I can cut and pin and make lunch, etc. Usually, I just harass all the other ladies who are serious quilters. I'm not a serious anything. Seriously.

Toby ordered my Christmas present. Kind of look like hippie shoes - don't they? Just call me the granola grandma. I have had a pair of these for a while, and they have holes in them and the back is worn off. The insides are worn through, but I love them. I bought my first pair in Taos years ago. I called them my "happy shoes." They are quite comfy. When I saw the price of the new shoes, I was aghast. Toby said he thought they were expensive too, but since I had had the first pair for so long, he knew they would last for a long time.. After doing a bit of figuring, I realized that I had had my first pair of happy shoes for about 20 years. But then, I only wear them in the winter. Toby said, "Okay, so you've only had them ten years. It is time for a new pair."

We are having a little Christmas party/talent show on Saturday. Jesse wants us to do this scene from "The Three Amigos."

Speedster

2011-12-16T07:22:00.004-06:00

While driving home from town earlier this week, I got pulled over by a city cop. If you know me, you know that I am a fairly safe driver - certainly not a speeder. Going 5 miles over the speed limit is about as daring as I get, mostly because I don't like to worry and watch for police. Because I don't like to deal with city traffic, I often take the back-roads home. It means driving 55 on county roads, but I like the scenery and I miss the hassle of town. I kind of like the slow pace of the back-roads.

So there I was driving out of town on Plato where the speed limit is actually 30 mph in front of Bethel Church, but turning to 45 after you go over the railroad. As soon as I saw the cop car, I looked down and noticed I was going 40, and he pulled out behind me. Then he turned his lights on after I passed the 45 sign. "Really!" was my first thought.

Thirty minutes earlier, I had been driving down Plato following my friend, Barb, who never even slowed down for the school zone. I did. Like most people driving down Plato and 10th Street, she was an oblivian. Not me; I'm usually very conscience of my driving in neighborhoods. Driving 40 in a 30 was not my usual, but just a slip of the gas pedal. How many times have I bitten my tongue rather than tell Toby to slow down when driving into town. He flies past the signs that go from 70 to 65 to 55, and finally at the 45 sign he punches the cruise off and begins to slow down. He never gets pulled over. But I do. Why is that?

The police officer did not give me a ticket, but a warning for going "about 40 in a 30" - telling me I needed to slow it down. I was a good girl and behaved properly and thanked the officer. Technically I was speeding. But, but...it was the injustice of the situation. I guess that is what they all say.

Grammar vs Accent

2011-12-15T07:56:00.004-06:00

While talking with some young girls the other day, one of the girls said that her parents "had tooken" lots of photos while on vacation. Sometimes I let such grammar go, but I just couldn't do it - especially since one of the girls in the conversation was one I tutor, and we have been going over verb tense. As all young people do, she had questioned why verb usage was important. "So you don't look stupid." is usually my reply. Now, I don't think these girls are stupid when they use poor grammar. They are young, and they are learning. I figured I might use the moment to teach them. "Taken," I said.

Blank look, batted eyelashes, "Yeah, tooken," the girl said. We went back and forth a few times - me saying "taken." Her saying, "tooken."

With a determined voice, "No, taken," I said again. My tutor-ee rolled her eyes knowing what was coming. "Tooken is not a word. Taken is the correct word. You need to know that. I don't mean to embarrass you. I love you enough to correct you, and tooken is wrong." She grinned and gave me a quick hug. Who knows what she was really thinking, but I think the hug was sincere.

Later in another conversation with older ladies, I repeated that conversation above. One of the older ladies said that she, too, was picky about grammar - that she always hated it when her kids used bad grammar. She then proceeded to say several words with the long "i" sound - using a very twangy Texas/Okie accent vs. "the correct" Yankee way of pronouncing the long "i" sound.

Now she had stepped on my toes. Accents don't bother me. In fact, I find them fascinating, and I said as much to my friend. Who is to say what accent is correct or good or bad? Sometimes they are funny, sometimes accents make me cringe, but they are not necessarily bad grammar. This same lady friend once corrected me when I said "mango" which rhymed with tango. She said the "a" sound should be like the "a" in "father." But I told her, that when you pronounce "mango" like "mongo," people think you are talking about "Blazing Saddles."

All I Want for Christmas...

2011-12-13T09:57:00.004-06:00

It has been nice to have Jesse home a little more often. Although, moonbeam that she is, it is difficult to keep up with her. She wanted to have some Christmas parties here, and I am sure we will, but I need my kitchen to be just a little more put together first. In the meantime, she has been visiting her friends and catching up on Okie folk. She has also been going up to The City and doing a bit of work in order to keep herself in the money. Maybe she will post some photos of her pottery from the fall semester. She took a box load of mugs to the coffee shop hoping to sell some - that money thang again.

The weather has been dreary the last few days - not bad really, but overcast. Between the weather and silly Christmas shows, I could be Debbie Downer. Instead, I am planning on getting out and about today - maybe paint with my friend Barb. That should be more fun than watching movies, although I can't seem to stop myself from watching mushy shows. My favorite Christmas movie is "The Family Stone." It is a bit quirky, and not really very uplifting, but for some reason, it touches me. I should have pulled it out of the dust-bunnies and watched it while Toby was off on in Houston the last few days. He will be home tonight - things will be looking up. No watching chick-flicks with him around. Hopefully the rest of our tile will come in and we will finish the kitchen. That is my Christmas wish.

Christmas Romance

2011-12-11T21:19:00.003-06:00

Someone should probably call 911. I think I may have over dosed on cheesy, romantic Christmas TV shows. My brain is fried. It's amazing that they make those silly shows. It is even more amazing that I just watched several. It is always nice to think that someone is going to fall in love with someone else who has little to no personality - all in a few days. Still, I love those silly romances. I may have had too much popcorn. When all is said and done, I feel a little sick to my stomach.

Laughter Is the Bests Medicine

2011-12-09T06:59:00.003-06:00

Although I have started a couple of posts, I have not finished either. One post is a rant and the other is serious thoughts - neither seem that important to anyone but me. So, neither have been finished and posted. Like my house - unfinished.

Jesse's computer crashed, so she brought it to Lindz and Shay on Wed night. They are very handy computer doctors. Thursday morning Jes and I went back to WF - Jesse to finish finals and me to take Mom to the doctor (MD not computer tech:) Jesse said her final did not go well, since the test had questions on it that were not covered in class - been there; done that.

Mom's appointment went well - I guess. After Thanksgiving, several family members and friends had different theories on what was wrong with Mom and what to do about it. With the internet, everyone is a doctor these days. I carefully and respectfully brought up everyone's theories to Mom's doctor. He was very patient and understanding in answering me. Still, we don't have a name for what Mom has. Fiberomyalgia or polymyalgia rheumatica were both possibilities, but were basically treated the same - the same as he is treating her now, but with no name to what is causing the problems. As long as Mom continues to improve, I don't see that we need or can do anything else. And she has improved. We spent the rest of the day having lunch, which she ate plenty. Then we went shopping. She held up well all day. She laughed and laughed when she tried on size 8 slacks that were way to big for her complaining that she did not care for the "big bell bottom" style. Both the sales lady and I explained that the slacks were not bell bottom, but just way too big. Still, she insisted that she wore a size 8. The sales lady brought a size 6 pants, but Mom had trouble getting them on. That is when the sales lady pointed out that Mom should unzip them first. The funny thang was that Mom had put on the size 8 pants without unzipping them and did not realize the pants even had a zipper - that's how big they were. I loved it that Mom laughed. It has been while since she laughed a lot. At lunch we ate at Olive Garden. As we got up to leave, Mom and I stood up together nearly head-butting each other. We both sat back down and laughed and laughed. It was a good day.

Weekend Report - Irritation

2011-12-05T15:38:00.005-06:00

The Brown truck of happiness (as Buck calls it) brought our tile Friday evening. Well, the Brown truck brought most of it. It seems a part of our order did not get put in the Brown boxes, and yet, they charged us $100 to ship the tile. That was not Brown's fault. The tile people are really very nice people, but they do seem to be in the land of manana. It is enough to make a preacher cuss.

We had the GGs starting around noon on Friday through about noon on Saturday. It may have been the wildest 24 hours of my life. Wait! I had the GGs most of that time. Toby worked until 5 on Friday, and then he went back in to work on Saturday morning saying it was "end of the month closing" and he had to work, but I have my doubts. He also managed to sleep through little voices calling "Booboo..." in the middle of the night. "Booboo, is it time to get up yet?" "Booboo, my legs hurt. Will you rub them for me?" "Booboo, I can't sleep." Neither could I. We finally all got up and built a fire and made pancakes in the new kitchen. The new wood stove seems to fascinate the GGs. We had many "talks" about not getting too close, not touching, not helping, not building a fire on your own, etc, and only one spanking. When Booboo opened the door on the wood stove to place a log on the fire, it was not a good idea to hurl a piece of wood at the fire from several feet behind Booboo. I took the GGs home a little before noon where they promptly broke down and had to be put down for naps. There is just something about coming to the farm that wears everyone out.

Toby came home from work (or whatever he was doing at the office) soon after I got home from delivering the girls to their parents. We took a nap (it was necessary) before going to work on the tile. Then we worked until supper. We sort of bogged down on the 45 angle of the counter. We worked and worked and moved tile and tried all different ways of putting the tile on that part of the counter. It was definitely a cigarette and coffee problem. Instead of smoking and drinking, we went to the Chuck Wagon for supper. When we got home, we sat down in front of the TV to watch the Bedlam (OSU vs OU) football game. Most enjoyable! The tile came together much better the next day.

Sunday I had planned to wear my new green sweater to church, but opted to wear a bright orange shirt instead. For all those obnoxious OU fans who had gone on and on about OU on FB, I just needed to rub it in a bit. After church, we hit the tile hard and gotter' done. We got the counter top down, but not the back splash. And of course there was that bit of tile that did not get shipped (sigh).

Today I did my tutoring and then stopped by Wal-Mart. Since I have been wanting a pair of black jeans, I decided to go next door to Fashion Bug to check out the jeans. The sales lady asked me if she could help. I told her I was looking for black jeans. She showed me some black chino pants. I said, "But those are not jeans."
The sales lady said, "Yes, they are!"
I said, "No, those are slacks. I want jeans."
She said, "They are jeans."
Me, "No they are not."
She," Yes, they are!"

I stopped. Good grief! I was arguing with the sales lady. Even if she were right, which she wasn't, I wouldn't be buying anything there now. Tactless sales people tend to irritate me, so I left. It is not wise to irritate Booboo - especially when she is tired.

Photo of the Photo Shoot

2011-12-02T06:57:00.003-06:00

V is a natural beauty and does not normally wear makeup or dress up much, although she definitely has her own style. Being a jeans and T-shirt sort myself, I totally understand this. Just because we don't wear lots of makeup and stylish clothes, doesn't mean we don't know how to. This is how the process started with Lindz doing a makeover on V. I should have taken more photos with all the different clothes V wore throughout the day. You would have been amazed at the different views of V.
This V looking more like her natural self on her convertible Cruiser. Here they are getting ready to do some shots in my living room using my funky chair and great light. I liked this picture with their heads together going over the photos. V has a great smile, but she really liked her more serious pics. Personally I prefer her smile - what mom wouldn't? But here she is in a serious pose - or was she just worn out?

Girlie Girls

2011-12-01T13:05:00.005-06:00

My house and land are being used for a model shoot. Lindz is taking photos of a young friend who is a senior in high school. These will be her senior pictures. There has been lots of hair doing and make-up-ing. Why do women where perfume and make-up? Because, they are ugly and they stink. Of course my girls are not ugly nor do they stink. It has been fun watching the beautiful Victoria turn even more beautiful. I have some pics I might post or add later when I have a bit more time. Lindz brought all sorts of clothes for Victoria to wear for different photos. Lindz is certainly the fashion coordinator. They have gone from jeans and Converse tennis shoes to dresses and high heels. Amazing! To have all this going on here makes me feel very girlie girl. It reminds me of the days when Jesse and Lindz and friends would dress up and take photos just for the heck of it.
You may remember the St. Valentine's Day Shoot
Long before that there was this raining girls photo. And the Ball Game (wearing ball gowns) was lots of fun

Believe it or not, there were lots more of these photos through the years than shown here. No wonder Lindz and Jesse are so good at photography.

All Gone

2011-11-30T07:50:00.004-06:00

Soup is not my favorite, although I do seem to be all about food these days. Last night I made Thanksgiving leftover soup. I combined the fancy corn/pepper/cream cheese (that my sister had made) with garlic potatoes and the last of the turkey. I threw in some bell pepper, celery, onion, and yellow squash. Using the last of the chicken broth (used to make the dressing) and Cajun seasoning, I made a darn good soup. We then ate the last of the pear pie with the last of the whipped cream. The fridge is almost back to normal - whatever normal is. I still have some dressing left, but I may crumble it up and pour my soup over it. Yum!

Speaking of food, I read where Burger King is changing their French fry recipe. Yay! I like BK burgers better than some of the other fast food chains, but their FF are not so good. I love McDonald's fries, but not so much their burgers (I do eat them now and again, but they are not my first choice). So, if BK has better fries, I may eat there more often. Hey, it's not like we have lots to choose from here in Duncan.

Funny BK story: When friends of ours moved to OK from NM, they bought a ranch with over 1000 acres. It was a huge piece of property, and you can imagine the cost. When our friends signed and closed the deal, the realtor took them out to eat. I'm sure he had just made the commission of the year. He took them to Burger King. Only in OK!

After the Turkey

2011-11-29T06:58:00.003-06:00

At church on Sunday we were expecting the GGs to announce the new baby, but the GGs did not make the announcement. Instead, during the time of announcements and prayer requests, Bo asked for prayer for his wife - that she had a touch of morning sickness. It took everyone just a minute to realize what he had said and then the congregation began clapping. As the Piper said, "Classic Baggett tongue-in-cheek."

Yesterday was back to school, but not really back to normal. The morning started off as kind of funny. I sat down with my laptop and perused my usual blogs. Jesse had posted a picture of my brother and his dog, Boss. The title of the post was "Bossy Breeches." Hmm, that didn't look right to me, so I text her and asked if she meant to put"britches" rather than "breeches." She text back and said that she had googled it, and it was right. I googled it too. She was right, but "britches" can also be used rather than "breeches." So I text her and agreed that she was correct. But then she text that she was changing it to "britches." But why I asked, when you were right? She text back,"Breeches sounds like a Mexican trying to say britches." That had been my exact thought - yes, we did live in NM way too long, and spelling is not our thang. You can take a look at her blog and photos of a woodfiring and a friend's baby girl - some of Jesse great photography.

Toby took a half-day, so after my tutoring, we spent the afternoon together. We decided to drive over to WF to see his mom, whom we did not get to see over Thanksgiving. We did a bit of kicking around and looked at some furniture to fill my new living room. We also stopped by Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up some items for my kitchen and bathroom. In the same shopping center as BB&B is a new Coldwater Creek - had to stop there and buy a new sweater. Also in the shopping center there is a new Men's Warehouse. Toby had been needing a new sport coat, so we did a bit of shopping there, too. Our last stop was Market Street for of supper.

Today I am pretty much a free woman. I will be sanding boards and painting them for the trim work. Jealous, aren't you?!

Second Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T18:53:00.004-06:00

Move over Martha Stewart. Jesse, Toby, and I put on a second little Thanksgiving here at the Lazy B doing things a little differently- more spicy. After putting Cajun seasoning in and on the turkey and stuffing him with some apples and pears, we cooked the turkey in an oven bag in my new oven rather than frying. Rather than the usual dressing, we added green chilies, corn, and cilantro to spice it up. Jesse made some garlic mashed potatoes that were to die for - if you like garlic and butter. She also made a pear pie that was perfect. Then she and Lindz came up with a cranberry/jalapeno/cilantro salsa that was great with the other spicy dishes. We had a few left overs from the earlier Thanksgiving - like the corn dish my sister made with roasted green peppers and cream cheese. And of course there were pies left over. Shay and Lindz brought a great green bean casserole. Bo and his family along with Lindz and Shay joined us for this delicious meal. It was another great Thanksgiving.
The GGs were entertaining. GBN2 told me she was drinking wine then said she was just teasing. Of course it was white grape juice. As we all set down to eat, she dropped that glass shattering it. Fortunately, it was almost empty. As we got all the glass cleaned up, she then knocked over her sister's drink. Good grief! The new kitchen is now christened and well broke-in. Their dad was teasing about what to name the new baby. He said, "If it is a boy, we can name him Olaf." GBN2 replied, "No! We can't call him 'Hello' in Spanish.
Things are still not finished. You will notice the ladders in the back ground where Jesse is messing with GBN2. There is still no tile on the kitchen counter. Although we did work on the trim this weekend, we have a long way to go. I don't want any furniture moved in until things are a bit more finished, but we did bring in two of my favorite old chairs. They need to be recovered, but for sitting in front of the fire right now, they are good. The tall chair at the island is one that I bought last spring while junking with the Diva. It needs some love and paint. Some day, I'd like a new, bigger, longer table, but I'm okay with my old one. It has been loved for lots of years. Jesse and I had fun digging out my table cloth and place-mats and using my Christmas dishes. Well, Martha Stewart would not be impressed, but it was a good gathering of friends and family with lots of good food.

As Andy said in the comments, I am blessed.

Beautiful Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-25T08:31:00.008-06:00

What a beautiful Thanksgiving Day! The weather was perfect for a 5K turkey trot in the our old neighborhood of Floral Heights in WF. Floral Heights neighborhood is made up of beautiful older homes that have been well maintained over the years by younger generations. They had a little run/walk/ride your bike through the neighborhood on Thanksgiving morning - canned goods were the entry fee and T-shirts were given out. Pretty snazzy! Actually, we did live in that neighborhood years ago, but we lived a few streets over in the smaller homes. Some of the streets are still the old brick - a bit rough on bicycle riders. Anyway, it was a great way to start Thanksgiving Day and a beautiful morning with my family. Jesse ran the 5K with her uncles
while Toby and I rode our bikes - circling the runners. Then we pedaled back to Mom's house across town going by my old high school. After a bit of exercise, I was able to put away an extra amount of turkey and dressing - not to mention the pie.
We had Thanksgiving at my brother's house this year. It all went well. He and his family have a beautiful home. If you read my last year's post on tradition, you know that it is difficult for me to give up my bossy big sister tradition. I worked at it this year. I did pretty good up until the last few minutes before the big dinner when everyone seemed to be lagging. Then the drill sgt/cruise director in me took over. Craig! Get over here and carve up this turkey. Bo, your job is to slice the ham. Debbie, you are making butter out of the whip cream! Stop! Kathy, it's time to take the dressing out of the oven. Toby, you are in charge of the gravy. Let's move it folks. Put the dinner rolls in the oven now! Do you want this dinner on the table? Go! Go! Go! Okay, it is all ready. Say this prayer and be happy and thankful!
Now you can relax and watch some football.