Pajama Party and Blaine's First Lost Tooth

Today was such a good day. It started by getting my hair and nails done, but that was just the beginning and nothing compared to having a pajama party with my boys. We had popcorn and cocoa and wraped up in blankets to watch Merry Madagascar. To top that, Blaine lost his first tooth today, bottom front. He was so cute and so proud. Tonight the tooth fairy comes for him. He told me that he was so glad he had a Nana. I was so glad to hear that....the little things............

Veterans - Thank You

On this another beautiful fall day comes another Veteran's Day - a time set aside for us free Americans to reflect on the sacrifices of our veterans. It seems so little to just "reflect" after so many have given so much. Many have given their lives - they never saw another Christmas season, didn't feel the next cold, soft snow, didn't kiss their spouses goodbye or hold their children. Some gave their lives so young they never had a chance to marry, let alone know the joys of having children or grandchildren. They gave their lives for us.

Daddy, thank you for your service and thank you to all the other family members and friends who have served our country. So to all of you veterans around this country, THANK YOU! You make our country great. I am so proud of you and proud to be an American.

Boys and Leaves

The fall in Oklahoma has been spectacular this year. I couldn't even bear to sweep them until my grandsons had a chance to play in them. Naturally I had to post them. I just walked out the back door just now and the smell of air was so intoxicating. It brings back many memories of my childhood when we were peanut harvesting this time of the year. It is great to be alive!!

Not Salvagable

I spent a lot of time trying to salvage this chair, but I have finally given up. After digging deep into the chair, I found on of the boards was so badly broken it cannot be fixed without a lot intensive and costly labor. The chair isn't worth it. Now onward to other projects and more antique stores.

Going from Bad to Worse - Can this be salvaged?

I found a chair that I liked, but it needed upholstering. I have never tried to upholster anything other than chair seats. It looked like it wouldn't be so bad, so I bought it. Not much money so not much ventured but possibly a lot to gain. By gain I mean some experience. I got into the chair and lo and behold, it was much worse and much dirtier than I had thought, not to mention broken. There must have been a thousand nail holes or more. I just kept going and going. I first thought it was too daunting and even offered to my sister-in-law. After she accepted the challenge, I decided to keep on going to see if I could. I hope she isn't too mad at me for taking back the chair (challenge). Pictures posted go from bad to worse, but hopefully soon they will go back to bad to beautiful.

I am also making about 12 electrical cord covers. I haven't been able to find any cute cheap fabric, cheap being the operable word. I have no idea how to price these. Probably will add up the cost of the fabric and how long it takes me to make them. My guess is about $8 or $10 per. I will update on the actual pricing. Looking forward to both challenges.

Weiner Roast and Hayride

I must tell you about the wonderful time we had with the grandchildren Saturday night. Shawna told me that Blaine and Logan were so excited and talked about it for days. Sarah Steele told me that Eli couldn't sleep the night before in anticipation. That makes it all worthwhile. We don't have a huge house to entertain, but we have these five acres and we can share that with them. Johnny drove the tractor and as soon as Logan got on the trailer, he told the others that this was his tractor. I am so glad that they are comfortable at our house. After the hayride, we all roasted weiners and marshmellows. I am posting some pictures.

Moments

This last weekend was one filled with reflective moments. I was watching the OU/Missouri game off and on while cooking and decorating for a weiner roast and hayride for Blaine and Logan, my grandboys, and their friends Saturday night. I could imagine stadiums across the nation filled with eager young men and women with their lives ahead of them all screaming and yelling for their teams. The stadium at Fayetteville, AR, is one of the most beautiful sights in the fall I have ever seen. Several years ago we drove by the stadium while a game was going on. The stadium was down the hill so those on the street could look down on the game and see the fans in the stands. That Saturday the leaves were at their most brilliant and the yelling of the students and fans were at their loudest. We rolled down our windows just to take it all in. As we continued to drive our senses were even more heightened to the smell of burning leaves and the hickory smoking meats for the upcoming after parties. These are memories that time cannot erase. Now when I see the beautiful leaves on my trees coming down like rain, I am glad I have another moment to make another memory. The picture is one I took of our Tulip Poplar tree.

Love Autumn

Colors are coming along nicely in my yard. We spent the day working outdoors, mowing and getting ready for winter. We will probably have another mowing or two, but it feels good to have it done. My grandsons, Blaine and Logan, came today and played outside all morning. Fall is a great time to renew the spirits and watching the boys play in leaves are times that I can never get back.....forget working for a bit and play. Life is short.

I looked through Mom's recipe box today and noticed several recipes that are in her hand and one or two in my Grandma Dawkins' hand. What a treat to look at their handwriting once again. I will never forget how my grandmother's "n"s look like "u"s. I will try and make Grandma's Old Fashioned Taffy tonight.

Autumn

Autumn colors are changing daily. Nothing yellow or red yet, but you notice a definite change from dark to the lemon green. Just beautiful. Since this is my first year of retirement, all the changes of the seasons enchant me. I have always loved fall, but getting to see the colors change hour by hour is so much better than only seeing it when I leave my old windowless office at 4:30.

One of all time favorite places to go in the fall is Red River, NM. The aspens are more beautiful than I can describe.

Lots of memories this time of year, some from childhood, but a lot from memories made when we first married and when our children were living at home. The cooler weather makes me want to cook. Today I am going to make Zuppa Toscana; comfort food for the OU game.

Things Change

We went to one of my old favorite Mexican restaurants tonight and it was terrible. We can now cross it off the list. Nothing stays the same anymore. When we were dating there were 3 or 4 favs, Glen's Hickory Inn, Tony's Via Roma, and the Captain's Table. Now they are gone, but certainly not forgotten. Oh, to eat another Glen's steaks.

I am learning to enjoy each day even though it might not be what I want it to be. We both have pretty good health so that is a blessing. Tonight we walked 2.4 miles and it was so refreshing. The air is cool and the walk is something of a nature walk since we live in a neighborhood of 5 acre lots.

Hopefully, I will post pictures of daily life. I love to cook so maybe I will be able to show you some of my favorite recipes.

First Entry

I am trying to keep up with changes to the wonderful world of the internet so here I go--trying something new. I have read other's blogs and see their glaring grammatical and spelling mistakes. I hope that I won't have too many of those. I don't expect anybody to ever read this, but maybe I will let my children know about it several years down the road. Maybe they will find something inciteful about their mom. Probably they will just think me the crazy mom.

I have lost a lot of my computer skills after I retired, but I would not trade one day of retirement for those skills. Being my own boss, sleeping without an alarm clock, and seeing my grandchildren at a moment's notice is so much better than the money. Well........maybe.