Lovin' and Livin' Life in the Ozarks

Lake of the Ozarks in the 70's at Shorecrest Resort

2010-02-13T09:08:00.012-06:00

I had the pleasure of meeting some fellows online that had been to the Lake of the Ozarks in the late 60's and 70's. What's amazing about the whole thing is that they knew each other from visiting/living at the same resort that my Dad had owned almost 20 years earlier! We all met up on a previous post I did back in Jan 2009 called Living on the Lake of the Ozarks in the '50's.

It turns out that Jon's parents bought the resort in the late 60's and operated it for almost 10 years and Mike's folks had visited the resort in the early 70's. What a coincidence! And to think they found each other almost 40 years later right here on my blog!

It's been very interesting reading about their experiences and the fun they had on the lake as young men. One thing that is so cool about it is that Mike, one of the fellows has a lot of pictures that were taken while they were there and he has been nice enough to send them to me to post here as a follow up to my original article.

What he sent me are some really cool old photos that I have cleaned up just a bit to make them not look so aged. I have the titles and don't know much more than that, but I'm hoping Mike will come and help explain anything we may have questions about. So without further ado, here are Mike's pictures!

Enjoy!
This one is called "Older Cabin from the Lake"

This one is "View from the Lake"

This is the "Shorecrest Resort Dock"

"A view of the cliffs from the Lake"

"Skiing on the Lake"

"Mike's stringer of fish on the dock"

"'72 Cobalt from the dock"

"Airplane at the dock"

You can check out more pictures on Jon's blog, Shorecrest Resort & Lake of the Ozarks in the 60's and 70's.

I want to thank both Mike and Jon for commenting on my blog in the beginning and making this post possible by including me in loop of recalling old memories.

Friends are God's way of taking care of us

2009-12-03T08:35:00.007-06:00

This was sent to me by email and supposedly written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over... Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the quickie mart building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than
that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her.. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying 'I don't want my kids to see me crying! ,'so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, 'And you were praying?' That made her back aw ay from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, 'He heard you, and He sent me.'

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan. 1, and finally, in desperation, had called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.
I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, 'So, are you like an angel or something?'

This definitely made me cry. I said, 'Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people.'

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the
flutter of their wings...

Psalms 55:22 ' Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.
He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.'

Please pass this on. Here is the prayer:

'Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends,
relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new
revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to
their spirit this very moment.. Where there is pain, give them Your
peace and mercy. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed confidence
through Your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen.'

I checked Snopes.com for the validity of this post and they say it's undetermined, I choose to believe it.

Where is the BC?

2009-09-19T04:28:00.005-05:00

Photo Courtesy of NatalieMaynor License:Creative Commons~Attribution

A minister's widow, who was a little old fashioned, was planning a vacation to a popular campground in Branson. She wanted to make sure of the accommodations first, especially the bathroom facilities, but she couldn't bring herself to write "toilet" in a letter. She pondered "bathroom commode," but when she wrote that down, it still sounded too pointed, so, she finally settled on the bathroom commode as "BC."

She wrote, "Does the cabin where I will be staying have its own "BC?" If not, where is the "BC" located?"

The campground owner received the letter not knowing what "BC" meant. Baffled by the euphemism, he showed the letter to his wife. She knew that the lady was the widow of a famous Baptist preacher. She was sure that it must be a question about the local Baptist Church. "Of course," "BC" stands for "Baptist Church" and so her reply was:

Dear Madam,
Thank you for inquiring about our beautiful campground here in Branson. I must inform you that the "BC" is located nine miles north of the campground and is capable of seating 250 people.
I admit it's quite a distance away, especially if you are in the habit of going regularly. No doubt you will be pleased to know that a great number of people take their lunches along and make a day of it. They usually arrive early and stay late.

The last time my husband and I went was six years ago and it was so crowded we had to stand up the whole time we were there. It may interest you to know that we are planning a fundraiser to buy more seats. They are going to hold it in the basement of the "BC."
I would like to say that it pains me very much not to be able to go more regularly, but it's surely no lack of desire on my part. As we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, particularly in cold weather.

If you decide to come down to our campground, perhaps I could go with you the first time, sit with you, and introduce you to all the folks.

I want you to know that your letter has been an encouragement to me and starting this Sunday, I am going to invite family and friends to go with me in order to have a packed out house every week. We hope to see you soon, because Branson is a moving experience for all God's children.

This was just too funny not the share, I found it here

Single Black Female Seeking Love (Funny Ad)

2009-05-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

This has to be one of the best singles ads ever printed.

It is reported to have been listed in the Atlanta Journal.

SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good girl who LOVES to play.

I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire.

Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand.

I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me.. Call (404) 875-6420 and ask for Daisy,

I'll be waiting....

Please scroll down…

Over 150 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society.

Where arte thou brave? Memorial Day Poem 2009

2009-05-23T10:56:00.002-05:00

America, the land of the free,
But where arte thou brave?
Some still walk among us,
Others sent to an early grave.

They're the ones who answered,
Their nations call to serve.
The ones who protected,
More than we deserve.

They defended our rights,
Yes, every last one,
Even to speak like an idiot,
Or to own a gun.

They kept us safe at night,
And all through the day,
Combating foreign and domestic,
And kept the enemy at bay

They were our sons and daughters,
Who we've raised from birth.
Whose virtue, honor and sacrifice,
Is now lost in the Earth.

They were our brothers and sisters,
Both younger and older,
With out them in our lives,
The world is far colder.

They were our husbands and wives,
Sent to fight in the war,
Whose love and compassion,
Will be felt no more.

They were our fathers and mothers,
Who wanted to protect,
Their children and loved ones,
So pay your respects.

Pay your respects,
To the ones who were lost,
Our freedom came with price,
Their lives were the cost.

I wrote this to honor my fallen comrades both past and present. May they rest in peace.
Respectfully,
Cpl Craig, USMC 2001-2005
Dreadspydr 5-22-09

This was written by a friend of mine over on Newsvine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Yoga???

2009-04-11T16:46:00.004-05:00

THERE ARE TWO BASIC TYPES OF YOGA

1. YOGA FROM INDIA

AND

2. YOGA FROM Missouri

The Missouri class is full for this session. I'll get back to you when it opens up again!

Smoke Free with More Cash in My Wallet!

2009-04-07T21:22:00.011-05:00

Just over a week ago I quit smoking. I've been staying away from the computer lately because it is a trigger for me. Before, when I sat down at the computer I would light up a cigarette. It was just something I would do, whether I needed to smoke or not. Now when I sit down over here, my eyes will dart to the spot where the cigarettes were before I remember I quit. But I'm feeling stronger now and it gets better everyday.

This is what they should put on every pack

I was a little stupid, ok maybe a lot stupid and started smoking when I was 40। Who does that? I mean, I made a conscience decision to start, and did. I know....that was really pretty stupid.

So, after almost 15 years of a nasty habit that caused my house to smell bad, my clothes to smell bad, and probably made me smell bad, I quit!

Stamp out nasty ashtrays and poison cigs!

The impetus for me to stop was money related. I decided I didn't want to spend another 1$ a pack for them. As you probably already know the Feds just raised taxes on all tobacco products, also the States tacked on their own tax increase and what used to cost me 25$ a carton went up to I think almost 50$ a carton! I don't know the exact figure because I quit before I had to pay it.

This is what my method was to quitting, I don't know if it would work for everyone but it did for me. When I made my decision to quit I still had a couple of packs left. I decided to smoke them as fast as I could, hopefully to make myself a little tired and maybe a little sick...

I think it pretty much worked because by the time I was done with the supply I had I was ready to stop. When they were all gone, I picked up all the ash trays I had in the house and washed them, picked up all the lighters I had around and put them away.

Then I took out the trash in each room to clear out any possible butts. I aired out the house as best I could and also sprayed all the furniture with that Febreze stuff.

The cigarette smell has not totally left the apartment, but it is a little better and as soon as it warms up I will be opening all the windows and really airing it out. I also plan on asking my landlord if I supply the paint if she will paint my apartment. I've been here over 3 years and hopefully she will do that for me. If not, I'm going to have it done myself.

For a reward, my Sister and I went shopping and I purchased a new bracelet and a couple of rings. They didn't cost much more than a couple of weeks of smokes, they won't give me cancer and will last so much longer. We discussed that as long as I didn't turn this into my new habit that I should do alright. Actually, tomorrow I'm going to the bank and increasing my monthly savings deposit by the equivalent amount of a half month's cigarettes. Now I think that's really good news!

In Pursuit of a Dream

2009-03-25T19:10:00.009-05:00

A good friend of mine has posted a wonderful article I feel needs to be seen. It's called In Pursuit of a Dream Here is an excerpt:

One thing that links us all together is that each and everyone of us at some point in our lives have had a dream. As children we all dreamed of what we would become as adults. Maybe it was idealistic, that we would make the world better. Maybe it was materialistic, that you would have more and live better than your parents. A dream of college, of marriage or maybe a better life for your children. Unfortunately many times those dreams get deferred as life interrupts.

Recently I became aware of two friends who are also pursuing a dream and have a real shot at attaining it as I did. I first read about it in this article: A Radical Notion

If you want to help out, you can go to the website they built for the project, breachthewall.com. There's instructions there for voting and a link to the contest site, as well as a poll about what walls should be documented and a sign up for a mailing list.

Or, you can go directly to the contest site to vote. You do have to register, but it's a really quick process and you can opt out of ever being contacted.

It's easy to vote, just click on the up arrow that says vote here and it will take you to a form for registering. It doesn't require much information at all, they just want to make sure folks don't vote more than once.

Extreme Sheepherding

2009-03-20T18:28:00.001-05:00

You just have to watch this, it's amazing!

My Sister is 60 today!

2009-03-10T06:53:00.013-05:00

I was born 6 years after my Sister and it sometimes felt like 20 years difference. As I was growing up we had to share a room together, which really didn't bother me but as you can imagine it was really hard on her. Having to put up with a insolent young whippersnapper like me was really akin to torture for her. I had a tendency for not keeping my side of the room tidy, and because of that we had many a squabble, I can remember one time after wearing a particular sweater and staining it she made me a "believer" that I shouldn't do that again!

One thing I was really proud of was her membership in a drum corp in high school. She carried the Lassie Drum Corp Flag, and did all those really cool high steps and kicks. I'm sure it must have not been as glamorous as I remember, lots of early mornings practices in inclement weather and you can't even imagine how heavy that flag was. But I was always so proud seeing her participating in one of their exhibitions They got to wear those fancy kilts, and spats and all. Each one turning and marching in perfect time. It was really neat to be able to say My Sister was a Lassie!

She has been there for me more times than I could count, when our Mother died she was the one to tell me the sad news. She was the one who stepped in and handled our Dad's estate when he died and also our Grandmother's primary caretaker when we had to move her to a nursing home. She is the rock of the family and I'm not sure how we would have made it without her.

She was there for me during some really hard times in my life when I really didn't care about myself or anyone around me, strangely enough she cared about me.

She worked her way through college and graduated, found a job with the local telephone company and worked there for 30 years before she retired. She is active in her church and finds time to explore some of her favorite hobbies as well. She likes to do pottery, grow flowers, also works with her husband in a catering business and helps out with his deer processing plant. Frankly I don't know where she finds the time to breathe let alone take time to help me out when ever I need it.

A few years back I was living in Kansas City and following a health scare I had, she suggested I move back home. As a matter of fact almost insisted! Well I took her up on it and she was the one to go out and actually find me an apartment, get it all set up for me to be able to move and then she and her husband drove a van, packed all my belonging in it and brought me home. Now that I'm back, I have to admit it was the best move I ever made and I have her to thank for it.

I have done my best in the past few years to try and pay her back in the only way I can. By reminding her how much I appreciate and love her and her husband for all they do for me. I try not to be a burden anymore and so far I think I'm doing better at that. At least I think so...
Thank you my Sister, I love you very much. I hope you have a wonderful birthday today!

These are flowers from her garden.

My Sister, My Friend
Leann Stiegman
To me you are an angel in disguise.

Full of intuition, intelligent, and wise.

Always giving and helping through good times and bad.

You are the best friend I've ever had.

If I had one wish it would surely be to give you as much as you've given to me.

Though I've put our relationship through some cloudy days, you've been my sunshine in so many ways.

Through trials and tests, right by me you stood, and gave me your hand whenever you could.

Thank you so much my Sister, my friend.My gratitude for you has no end.

Skywatch Friday #14 Gray Days

2009-03-05T13:40:00.018-06:00

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did

a gray day
by Steve Patterson
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Rated "G" by the Author.
a gray day today
a gray day
done come my way
a little bit foggy
dew
and rain
a little bit soggy
but i ain't blue
whatcha' gonna' do
i ain't goin' insane
ain't gonna' be mundane
ain't feelin' no heart pain
and though this day is gray
i remember yesterday
it was sunny
skys were blue
ain't it funny
whatcha' gonna' do
somedays are just that way
and somedays are gray
gotta' take the rain
with the sun
gotta' take the pain
with the fun
no need to go insane
no need to run
ya' can't appreciate the darkness
'till it's too late
can't know it's starkness
until there's no light
until the day is night
until the day is gray
until the Sun's passed

away a gray day today
a gray day done
come my way but that's OK there's always another day

All of these shots were taken on different days, as you can guess we had a whole bunch of gray days this week!

Skywatch Friday #13 Come visit the Ozarks Sky

2009-02-27T07:27:00.005-06:00

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did

I liked this one because the sun was trying to hide

I just love these dramatic shots!

This one is not quite so dark

A little different view of the sunset

I'm a little slow this week getting this up, I hope you all have enjoyed our Ozark's Sky and will return to see more!

Ozarks Sky with a bonus!

2009-02-26T14:33:00.003-06:00

02-25-09
Originally uploaded by Rottlady

I'm trying out something new. Loading my photo from Flickr directly to my blog. This was yesterday's sunset and after up loading it I noticed not only did I capture a great sunset, I also captured some birds! They are too far away to tell what they are, but my guess is that they are geese.

If you click on the picture you'll get to see a larger image with the birds outlined in a box.

Dog Logic

2009-02-22T07:54:00.013-06:00

This was sent to me by my Sister and I thought it good enough to share:

The reason
a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his
tongue.

-Anonymous

There
is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.

-Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing
on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

-Josh
Billings

The average
dog is a nicer person than the average person.

-Andy
Rooney

Anybody who
doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.

- Franklin
Jones

If
your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise

-Unknown

My dog is worried about the
economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog
money.

-Joe Weinstein

If you pick
up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is
the principal difference between a dog and a man.

- Mark
Twain

Dogs are
not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.

-Roger
Caras

If you think dogs can't count,
try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them.

-Phil
Pastoret

Skywatch Friday #12 Joint Family Contribution

2009-02-19T17:40:00.011-06:00

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did

This week my Sister had my camera for most of the week, since I'm so addicted to posting a Skywatch edition weekly I asked her to take a sunset picture if we had one good enough to shoot. I also asked my Brother if he could to get his own shot of any good sunsets on his side of town. So without further ado, I offer a family post!

She captured the above shot, she said she had kept her eye on the sky the entire week and finally she had an opportunity to get one and almost missed it! As you can see she has a better horizon than I, no close trees or houses in the way. I think she got an interesting and mysterious sky!

My Brother's view of the sky is much more cluttered than even mine, but he was able to capture this colorful shot from his back deck. He did really nice considering his view is almost totally blocked by other houses and trees.

The night Sis returned the camera, I was offered up this wonderful view. If you look closely you can even see a glimpse of a sundog over on the right. That's the first time I've ever seen one, let alone capture it! The funny thing about the whole loaning out the camera situation is that now, Sis and Brother both call me and ask if I got to see the latest sunset! I think I got them hooked! Maybe one day I can get them to create a blog and start sharing....

Noah Today

2009-02-15T19:13:00.003-06:00

From the video:

In the year 2008, the Lord came unto Noah,
who was now living in the United States, and said:"Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me."

Noah Today

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

Have a great day!

Roofers Don't Take Sunday Off???

2009-02-15T07:34:00.010-06:00

I was really hoping that they would take the day off, but noooo! I hear them up there once again, right now they are up there walking around and sweeping I think. At least that's what it sounds like.

We had a dusting of snow last night, it's cold, about 32° F. I almost feel sorry for them. Well maybe that's a lie. I feel sorry for myself and fellow neighbors. We are going to have to listen to them pounding all day again!

Even my birds are unhappy with this, yesterday I noticed all of my feeders had been taken down! No one asked me, just all of a sudden there were a whole bunch of empty hangers! At the time there was a truck and trailer parked right in front of my window. They were taking off the old shingles and the paper underneath and shoveling it into the trailer out my window. I guess they were concerned they might damage the feeders, so they moved them.

I went out and retrieved the feeders and brought them inside so the tray feeders might not get asphalt junk in them. I just put them back outside and you would believe how quick the birds found them! I guess they were hungry. They must be depending on me more than I thought.

This guy came early today.

These guys aren't afraid of anything!

However now that the roofers are back, I'm sure the birds won't stick around. I hope they at least got something to fill their little bellies...

Better eat fast guys!

I guess it's true, The early bird gets the worm!

Valentine Dogs for my Blogger Friends!

2009-02-14T06:20:00.009-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

I hope you have a great day!

Skywatch Friday #11 Ozarks Sunsets

2009-02-12T06:37:00.006-06:00

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

I loaned my camera to my Sister this week so I only got to take a few shots. It was actually a good time to loan it out because we have had a bunch of gray days lately. I won't get it back until Saturday and told my Sister if we get a really good sunset she was going to have to go out and capture it. So next week we'll see what she gets!

This one was taken last Friday, just before we had a storm.

This one was taken on Monday the 9th the sun had already set but the clouds reflected it anyway.

A Letter to all Horses

2009-02-08T05:20:00.003-06:00

This is something I would have liked to write to my horses:
Dear Horse,

I love you very much, and I truly cherish your presence in my life. I would never wish to criticize you in any way. However, there are a few trivial details regarding our relationship that I think might bear your consideration.

First of all, I am already aware that horses can run faster than I can.I do not need you to demonstrate that fact each time I come to get you in the pasture. Please remember that I work long and hard to earn the money to keep you in the style to which you have become accustomed. In return, I think you should at least pretend to be glad to see me, even when I'm carrying a bridle instead of a bucket of oats.

It should be fairly obvious to you that I am a human being who walks on only two legs. I do not resemble a scratching post. Do not think that, when you rub your head against me with 1,000 pounds of force behind it, I believe that it wasn't your intention to send me flying.

I am also aware that stomping on my toes while you are pushing me around is nothing but adding injury to insult.

I understand I cannot expect you to cover your nose when you sneeze, but it would be appreciated if you did not inhale large amounts of dirt and manure prior to aiming your sneezes at my face and shirt.

Also, if you have recently filled your mouth with water you do not intend to drink, please let it all dribble from your mouth BEFORE you put your head on my shoulder.

In addition, while I know you despise your deworming medication, my intentions in giving it to you are good, and I really do not think I should be rewarded by having you spit half of it back out onto my shirt.

Sometimes, I get the feeling that you are confused about the appropriate roles you should play in various situations. One small bit of advice: Your stone-wall imitation should be used when I am mounting and your speed-walker imitation when I suggest that we proceed on our way, not vice versa.

Please also understand that jumping is meant to be a mutual endeavor. By "mutual", I mean that we are supposed to go over the jump together. You were purchased to be a mount, not a catapult.

I know the world is a scary place when your eyes are on the sides of your head, but I did spend a significant amount of money to buy you, and I have every intention of protecting that investment. Therefore, please consider the following when you are choosing the appropriate behavior for a particular situation: When I put your halter on you, attach one end of a lead rope to the halter, and tie the other end of the lead rope to a post or rail or whatever, I am indicating a desire for you to remain in that locale.

I would also like the halter, lead rope, post, etc., to remain intact. While I admit that things like sudden loud noises can be startling, I do not consider them to be acceptable excuses for repeatedly snapping expensive new lead ropes (or halters or posts) so that you can run madly around the barn area creating havoc in your wake. Such behavior is not conducive to achieving that important goal that I know we both share --- decreasing the number of times the veterinarian comes out to visit you.

By the same token, the barn aisle was not designed for the running of the Kentucky Derby and is not meant to serve as a racetrack. Dragging me down the aisle in leaps and bounds is not how "leading" is supposed to work, even if someone happens to drop a saddle on the floor as we're passing.Pulling loose and running off is also discouraged (although I admit it does allow you to run faster).

I assure you that blowing pieces of paper do not eat horses. While I realize you are very athletic, I do not need a demonstration of your ability to jump 25 feet sideways from a standing start while swapping ends in midair, nor am I interested in your ability to emulate both a race horse and a bucking bronco while escaping said piece of paper. Also, if the paper were truly a danger, it would be the height of unkindness to dump me on the ground in front of it as a sacrificial offering to expedite your escape.

When I ask you to cross a small stream, you may safely assume that said stream does not contain crocodiles, sharks, or piranhas, nor will it belikely to drown you. (I have actually seen horses swimming, so I know it can be done. ) I expect you to be prepared to comply with the occasional request to wade across some small body of water.

Since I would like to be dry when we reach the other side of the stream, deciding to roll when we're halfway across is not encouraged behavior. I give you my solemn oath that the trailer is nothing but an alternate means of transportation for distances too long for walking. It is not alion's den or a dragon's maw, nor will it magically transform into such. It is made for horses, and I promise you that you will indeed fit into your assigned space.

Please also bear in mind that I generally operateona schedule, and wherever we're going, I would really like to get there today.

For the last time, I do not intend to abandon you to a barren, friendless existence. If I put you in a turn-out pen, I promise that no predators will eat you, and I will come back in due time to return you to your stall. It is not necessary to run in circles, whinny pathetically, threaten to jump the fence, or paw at the gate.

Neither your stall mates nor I will have left the premises. The other horses standing peacefully in adjacent pens amply demonstrate that it is possible to enjoy being turned out for exercise.

In order to reassure you, my dear horse, I have posted the following message on your stall door:"Notice to People Who Complain About My Horse"

1. I like my horse a lot better than I like people who complain about him.

2. To you, he's an animal; to me, he's a big, hairy, four-legged child --- and you know what they say about coming between a mother and her children.

3. This stall is his castle, and you are expected to treat him as the king he thinks he is.

4. If you don't want him to steal your carrots, don't walk by him with the carrots sticking out of your pockets.

5. Horses are better than husbands or kids. They eat grass, don't smoke or drink, don't expect an allowance, don't voluntarily get their body parts pierced, don't hog the remote, don't waste the whole weekend watching football with their friends, don't talk back to you, don't compare you unfavorably with their friends' owners, don't keep you awake with their snoring --- and no horse ever left the toilet seat up after going to the bathroom.

Finally, in closing, my strong and gentle companion, I would like to point out that, whatever might happen between horses and their people, we humans will always love you. In fact, our bonds with you help create new bonds among ourselves, even with total strangers.

Wherever there are horses, there will be "horse people," and for the blessings you bestow upon us, we thank you.

Most sincerely yours,

Your "Owner"

Baby meets Dog

2009-02-06T08:37:00.004-06:00

This is just so sweet, someone sent me this in an email.

As you can see it's from The Bonnie Hunt Show.

Skywatch Friday #10 -- The Sky over Truman Lake

2009-02-05T13:12:00.012-06:00

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

No birds, no clouds, just big beautiful blue sky, water and ice. I've never seen so much ice on the water in this stretch of Truman Lake. All of these pictures were taken out of a truck window as we were traveling at least 60 mph.

I found a pretty good guide page about Truman Lake here.

From that page:

Truman Lake, located in the mid-western part of Missouri, is a 55,600 acre Corps of Engineers lake that was built for flood control and power generation. Many of the trees were left standing and the shoreline undisturbed, which makes Truman an excellent place to fish. The lake is lined with tree, rock, and bluff banks, and offers a variety of fish to pursue.

The Truman Lake area provides numerous recreational activities which include boating, fishing, water skiing, sailing, camping, hunting, horseback riding, and hiking. Primitive and modern camping facilities are available along with numerous lodging facilities near and around the lake.

For water sports, there are plenty of boat ramps around the lake along with five marinas, Bucksaw, Long Shoal, Osage Bluff, Sterett Creek, and Truman State Park. All of the marinas are full service, and provide nearby campgrounds, lodging, fuel, storage, tackle, store, and boat rentals.

The available fish in Truman Lake are Black Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Whitebass, Catfish, and Walleye.

Your Kindness is Almost Overwhelming

2009-02-04T10:11:00.004-06:00

My title really says it all. I have been overwhelmed at the kindness of my friends here on the vine and over on my blog. I recently posted an article asking for prayers for my brother Dadio51 and the outpouring of love, kind comments and offers of help have brought me to my knees. You all are just the greatest!

My Brothers surgery is over and now we have to wait for him to recover. I can tell you that it is not easy watching our beloved Brother, Father and Friend laying there in bed so frail and incapacitated. There have been a few set backs but also a lot of good signs that he is on the mend. It is just going to take a whole lot of time for him to heal and return to us as he was.

The purpose of this article to tell each and everyone of you Thanks! Thanks for all your emails, comments and offers of help and support. You really don't know what that means to me and to my family.

Please Say a Prayer for My Brother

2009-01-28T19:55:00.004-06:00

As the sun sets today I've been informed that my brother is in the hospital again. He has had an ongoing problem with blood clots and they are doing major surgery on him tomorrow. I'm asking everyone to please keep him in your thoughts and say a prayer for him and his family.

I found a few short words that I felt were appropriate:

A brother is a friend given by nature -- Author:Unknown

There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother. ~Astrid Alauda

This one made me laugh,
It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea. ~Dylan Thomas

The Ozarks Gets Ice!

2009-01-26T20:45:00.004-06:00

These pictures are looking both directions from my front porch. I'm not even going to try to walk anywhere else to take more....

We are getting sleet now, it's coming down pretty steady. The roads iced up earlier today and there were accidents all over town. I'm posting just a few pictures I have taken so far. I may post more later.

This is what things look like this morning, Note, that's ice not snow!

Skywatch Friday #9 -- Ozarks Sunsets

2009-01-22T18:48:00.006-06:00

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

The first sunset I have to offer was taken on Friday, January 16 This one was taken on Sunday, Januray 18

This one was taken on Monday, January 19
I spent most of my day outside because it was so nice around 60°.

This sunset was the perfect ending!

Have You Thanked Someone Today?

2009-01-22T05:54:00.003-06:00

This Red Lion Amaryllis was given to me for Christmas by my wonder giving Sister. She is one that deserves a whole lot of Thanks and Appreciation for all the wonderful things she does for me.

Thank you LLR I love you!

All too often we mean to but forget.

Or we put it off until it's too late.

But it's important to express our thanks to others for what ever they do for us or for others.

I am just as guilty of this as anyone, so to remedy that I'm going to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all my wonderful friends here and in my personal life for all you do.

You are super special to me and I'm very glad I know you.

I found a bunch of really good quotes regarding appreciation, I hope they speak to you as much as they did me.

Voltaire: Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.

Albert Schweitzer: At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Correction does much, but encouragement does more. Encouragement after censure is as the sun after a shower.

Henry Clay: Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the gratefully and appreciating heart.

Anonymous: Encouraged people achieve the best; dominated people achieve second best; neglected people achieve the least.

William Arthur: Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I may not forget you.

Cicero: Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.

The Dalai Lama: The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.

Ovid: The spirited horse, which will try to win the race of its own accord, will run even faster if encouraged.

Ralph H. Blum: There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.

Mother Teresa: There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.

Orison Swett Marden: There is no investment you can make which will pay you so well as the effort to scatter sunshine and good cheer through your establishment.

Billy Martin: There's nothing greater in the world than when somebody on the team does something good, and everybody gathers around to pat him on the back.

Elizabeth Harrison: Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize.

Three Wishes.....

2009-01-20T07:06:00.004-06:00

Three men - a Canadian farmer, Osama bin Laden and a

White Trash Biker are all walking together one day.

They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it.

'I will give each of you one wish, which is three wishes in total',
says the Genie.

The Canadian says, 'I am a farmer and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Canada '

POOF! With the blink of the Genie's eye, the land in Canada was forever fertile for farming.

Osama was amazed, so he said, 'I want a wall around Afghanistan , Palestine , Iraq and Iran so that no infidels, Americans or Canadians
can come into our precious land.'

POOF! Again, with the blink of the Genie's eye, there was a huge wall around those countries.

The Biker says, 'I am very curious.
Please tell me more about this wall.'

The Genie explains, 'Well, it's about 5,000 feet high, 5oo feet thick and completely surrounds the country. Nothing can get in or out;
it's virtually impenetrable.'

The Biker sits down on his Harley, cracks a beer, lightes a cigar,
smiles and says,
'Fill it with water.'

I pretty much vote this my favorite email of the year....

Eagles are in the Ozarks

2009-01-17T20:37:00.008-06:00

My pictures aren't that great but today I went out to Springfield Lake for their annual "Eagle Days" event. It has been reported that we have at least 4 maybe 6 eagles wintering out there this year. We got to see three of them, one while we were driving out to the Marina and two hanging out on the other side of the lake.

We watched from the Marina for a while then drove to the other side and found the two I show here. We were still a very long way away from them so I wasn't able to get any really good pictures. I did get to see one stretching his wings but unfortunately didn't get a shot of that. These are such majestic birds, it just takes my breath away!

New Award-- Noblesse Oblige

2009-01-17T10:42:00.008-06:00

I received this award from Old Lady Lincoln whose blog title says: I like to share jokes. Sometimes I blog about my family, friends, home, hobbies, cooking and life in general. She has provided many insprirational posts and some funny ones too! One her most recent posts that I found to be so funny was this one titled: Have a Great Day!

The rules are :

The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade amongst different cultures and beliefs.

The Blog contents inspire; strive to encourage and offer solutions.There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Cultures and Sciences and Beliefs.

The Blog is refreshing and creative.The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

The Blogger who receives this award will need to follow the following steps :

1. Create a post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige award.

2. Display the award conditions on the post.

3. Write a short article about what this blog has thus far achieved - preferrably citing a post to support.

4. The blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.

5. The blogger must display the Award on their blog.

The five blogs I choose to receive this award are :

1. Richies at An Arkies Musings

2. Marvin at Nature in the Ozarks

3. Pat at Remembrances of an Arkansas Stamper

4. Grammy at The Empty Nester

5. Gail at At the Farm

I feel that these five bloggers do fit with the conditions of this award. They have great blogs that are of great interest to all who visit them.

Living on the Lake of the Ozarks in the 50's

2009-01-16T18:29:00.012-06:00

This is me when they brought me home from the hospital

When I was born my folks lived on the Lake of the Ozarks and my Dad was the proprietor of the Shorecrest Resort. If you can believe it for only 39 bucks two people could stay there for a week. You even had a boat furnished for free! Of course if you wanted an outboard motor that would cost you 4$ a day and a guide could be arranged. You would be staying in a brand new cabin, built by my dad and his partner that had a living room with a floor to ceiling window overlooking the lake, two bedrooms, modern (for the 50's) kitchen, complete with dishes, utensils and hot water!

My Dad working on the plumbing

I found an old brochure that boasts of new Rich Line aluminum boats at the dock. Or if you want to launch your own boat there is even a paved drive down to the lake. Shorecrest was built above the lake on a gentle slope right to the water. No hills to climb and a safe beach for swimming and plenty of play area to the children. What I remember is different, I remember the house we lived in was on top of a cliff overlooking the lake. Some of the pictures I've included reflect the wonderful view we had.

Our "Native Clothesline" as my Mom called it.

If you are not familiar with the Lake of the Ozarks it's located pretty much in the center of Missouri. It's a dragon shaped lake that stretches 92 miles-end to end-from Bagnell Dam to Truman Dam with over 40 miles of unobstructed tributaries. This adds up to over 1,150 miles of shoreline. Shorecrest was located on the Niangua Arm about 4 miles NW of Camdenton, that was famous for good fishing. You could catch lots of white and largemouth bass, crappie and of course catfish.

Doesn't he look happy!

Fishing was one of my Dad's favorite hobby and as you can see he was pretty good at it! The picture of him and the catfish was a record catch, there was is even a picture of him holding it posted in the local Lebanon newspaper. I used to have a copy of that, but unfortunately it's been lost. Even a record breaking; Muskie was caught in 1981 it was 49 1/4 inches long and weighed a whopping 41 pounds 2 ounces. The girth was 25 inches --4 inches more than each of the previous three state records!

Helping Daddy build something.

I remember very little of our time on the lake as we moved from there when I was about 3, but I do remember one winters day we looked out and there was a deer out in the middle of the frozen lake and everyone was concerned that the ice wasn't strong enough to hold it. What happened escapes me unfortunately. I'd like to think that it made it to where ever it was going and all was ok. We'll leave it at that.

My Sister and Brother and the kittens
There are many family stories I heard later, most of these concern my older brother, he fell out of the back of the jeep on a rocky road and was knocked out for a while, another time he was standing in the front seat of Daddy's Chevy on one trip up the gravel lake road and he somehow opened the door on a left hand corner and swung right out on his butt on the road. I think we are seeing a pattern here... And yet another time he was on top of the crib barn and threw a rock and hit my sister on the head! She survived but I can't say how his bottom felt after the paddling he got.

After we had moved to the city, (Richland Missouri) we did go back there for summer vacations for a time and I do remember some of those times as being a quiet peaceful spot of paradise. I know I was a lucky kid to have been able to experience that and only wish I lived on the lake now.

Edited 02-13-2010
I have had the pleasure of meeting a couple of really nice fellows here in the comments below that also had ties to this same resort! Something interesting has happened since they found this post, Jon has started his own blog called "Shorecrest Resort & Lake of the Ozarks in the 60s & 70s and Mike has sent me some pictures of his time visiting while Jon's folks owned the resort. I have posted a new article with his pictures here. So be sure to check both of these out for more info on Shorecrest Resort!

Skywatch Friday #8 The Ozarks Sky

2009-01-15T17:24:00.004-06:00

The weather here has been difficult at best to get a good shot of the Ozarks sky because all we have had is overcast. But once in a while I was able to sneak out and capture a few for our viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy them!

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Above photo was taken Saturday, January 10, 2009

Above photo was taken Monday, January 12, 2009

and finally it was so cold outside I nearly froze!

This was taken today, January 15, 2009

It's Zero degrees out there!

They say by Saturday it will warm up to 40, and I certainly hope so!

My Private Part Died---Funny!

2009-01-06T04:39:00.007-06:00

An old man, Mr. Wallace, was living in a nursing home.
One day he appeared to be very sad and depressed.
Nurse Tracy asked him if there was anything wrong,
'Yes , Nurse Tracy ,' said Mr. Wallace.
'My Private Part died today, and I am very sad.'
Knowing her patients were a little forgetful and sometimes a little crazy,
She replied, 'Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Wallace. Please accept my condolences.'
The following day, Mr. Wallace was walking down the hall with his Private Part
Hanging out of his pajamas.
He met Nurse Tracy. 'Mr. Wallace,' she said,
'You shouldn't be walking down the hall like that.
Please put your Private Part back inside your pajamas.'
'But, Nurse Tracy I can't,' replied Mr. Wallace.
'I told you yesterday that my Private Part died.
'Yes,' said Nurse Tracy, 'you did tell me that,
But why is it hanging out of your pajamas?'
(You've gotta love this .)
'Well,' he replied, 'Today is the viewing.'

Skywatch Friday #7 The Ozark Sky

2009-01-01T18:44:00.009-06:00

This was a good week for taking pictures here in the Ozarks. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did taking them.

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

This was taken on Sunday December 28, 2008

This mysterious view was offered to me on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 Taken on New Year's Eve 2008 The First Sunset of the New Year 01-10-09

This is something to look forward to this week!
FIRST METEORS OF 2009: The annual Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on Jan. 3rd when Earth enters a stream of debris from shattered comet 2003 EH1. The timing of the encounter favors observers in western North America and across the Pacific Ocean who could see dozens to hundreds of meteors during the dark hours before sunrise this Saturday morning. Visit http://spaceweather.com/ for a sky map and more information.

Riding the Trails in the Ozarks

2008-12-31T21:41:00.010-06:00

Recently I was given some old pictures from the 80's of a day that my brother,his wife and I went horseback riding. At the time I had a Quarter-horse /Thoroughbred mare named Uriah. I stabled her down on the Finley River south of Nixa, Missouri. It was a beautiful place to ride. We could ride the back roads to a spot where there was river access, well not really river access, but more like a spot that overlooked the river valley. The ride would take approximately 1 hour to get to a lane that would take you through the woods and finally to a power line easement that crossed the river.

Once you got to where you could see the river you were probably 100 feet above on a rock outcropping. Someone had constructed a log "seat", really just a couple of split logs that you could sit and see clear across the river valley to the next road. Often you would see hawks and once in a while you could see an eagle soaring around. It was a magical place that stills holds lots of wonderful memories for me.

I can remember one ride I had taken with my younger brother Mark that we had misjudged the time and it started to get dark on us. There was a small area of woods that you had to go through along a wildlife trail.

That trail was barely visible in the daylight let alone when it was dark. Fortunately for us the horses knew the trail pretty well. I led the way, or really my horse did, I was just along for the ride because I couldn't see a darn thing! We made it out of the woods finally and I swore I would never do that in the dark again. And I kept that promise, believe me!
There were many rides we would get stuck out in the rain, sometimes even the snow. But it never really bothered me because just being out on my horse was like heaven on earth. To ride something so much bigger than you that would usually do what you wanted them to do was amazing.

I've added the few pictures I have, they aren't that great but they do elicit some wonderful memories for me. The year these were taken my mare was pregnant with her first colt. She had been left with a young stud Quarter-horse for about a month and we weren't sure she had bred, I only figured it out for sure about 3 months before she foaled. But you can tell in one of these pictures that she has a big belly. She never was a big horse, not quite 15 hands and always very slim and trim. She stayed that was because she was kind of the "nervous" sort of a horse. Not everyone could ride her because she had an attitude most of the time. But to me that was just perfect.

The dog in the pictures was Jake, my side-kick.He went on every horse back ride I took.He would follow along never causing any trouble and once in a while he would even ride the horse with me. I remember more than once we were riding along a road that had a particularly bad dog and rather than get chased and possibly in a fight, we had a stump that Jake could jump up on and then with my help he would jump up in front of me in the saddle. It was always hilarious when we passed that dog, because Jake would never fail to bark from way up there. It always seemed to piss that dog off.

I wonder why?

Another Conjunction in the Sky 12-29-08

2008-12-29T19:27:00.008-06:00

Tonight the evening sky gave us another nice view. The slender crescent Moon is approaching a conjunction with Venus. Then the next two nights it will move closer to Venus and at the same time Mercury and Jupiter are converging for their own Dec. 31st conjunction. All of this happens in the Southwestern sky just after sunset.

This was the diagram for tonight. I got some pictures but they just don't show up here well enough.

This is a diagram of what we can expect tomorrow night.

This is a diagram of what to look for on Wednesday Night.

Hopefully I'll have some better pictures tomorrow that I can add here.

Happy Sky watching!

Skywatch Friday #6 Christmas Week in the Ozarks

2008-12-26T19:24:00.010-06:00

We have had clouds it seems for weeks, but finally they cleared and I was able to get some shots. All of these were taken in the last week and we had very few clouds to speak of most nights. But regardless of the lack of clouds we had some spectacular sunsets! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

The Sunsets of Christmas Week

I loved the way the clouds looked on this night. Dec. 19, 2008

This was taken on Sunday Dec 21, 2008

I took this because of all the contrails, air traffic was busy on Christmas Day!

The Sun Sets on Christmas Day 2008

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Thank You for visiting!

The Saga of the Shoplifting Dog

2008-12-26T05:34:00.009-06:00

This is just so funny, you have to see this!

The shoplifting dog

"A thief remains at large after pulling off a daring heist - in the pet food aisle," the Associated Press reports. "Surveillance video at a supermarket in this Salt Lake City suburb caught a dog shoplifting, KSL-TV reported Wednesday."

Not to worry, this guy will catch the thief!

This came from a friend of mine on Newsvine.

'Back Through the Checkout Line'

2008-12-25T06:09:00.004-06:00

David Turner negotiated a cart stuffed with gifts through the aisles of the department store, swiping his card or reaching into his wallet for cash. This was the first year he could buy little Sarah every gift she had pointed to or torn from the Sunday paper. It was a good feeling. I sure don't have to worry about money this time, he thought as he dropped a few more items into the cart.

A new job, a fat raise, and a bigger house had all been part of his success package this year. Turner paused to let another shopper pass him in the electronics aisle. He plucked a video game console from a shelf and somehow found room for it in the cart.

He made it through the checkout line and pushed his heavy cart of Christmas loot across the parking lot to the van. As he tossed the unwrapped gifts through the side door, he noticed a woman and a little girl returning to an old station wagon next to the van. He tried not to stare, but seeing the ragged clothes on the girl and the tired face of the young woman holding her hand, it was hard not to notice.

The woman gave him a polite smile and popped the hatchback on the old wagon. She carefully placed two small plastic bags in the back and began checking the contents. The little girl gave David a huge grin. "We're having Christmas dinner! Santa Claus is coming to OUR house!" She did a little dance and spun around, shivering a bit in the cold air.

One of the plastic bags split and rolled its contents onto the ground. David knelt down and helped the woman retrieve the items and put them into the other bag. He saw two cans of beans, a package of hamburger, and a couple of cheap toys from the discount bin.

"Thanks," said the woman. Their eyes met for a moment, and then she looked away. She took the little girl's hand. "Let's go, Jessica."

Turner touched the woman's elbow. "Wait a minute."

Another force, perhaps the Christmas spirit itself, grabbed him firmly by the scruff of the neck. He popped the hatchback on the woman's car. He transferred all the gifts from the van to the wagon and shut the hatchback with a bang. The woman stared at him in surprise.

"Merry Christmas," Turner said.

He headed back into the store.

The End
Source is a friend of mine on Newsvine

Questions That Haunt Me

2008-12-22T20:15:00.009-06:00

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... But it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.

Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Source unknown, someone sent me this in my email.

Wal-mart Husband

2008-12-20T06:09:00.004-06:00

This is just too funny not to share, but first I want to give credit to the source. http://titaniumspork.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/19/2230376-wal-mart-husband

Be very careful around bored husbands, their creative juices start to overflow!!--

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her tripsto Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boringand preferred to get in and get out. Equally, unfortunately, my wifeis like most women ---she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wifereceived the following letter from Wal-Mart.

Dear Mrs. Hill,

Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Hill are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras..

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people' s carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in House wares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

4. July 19 : Walked up to an employee and told her in an officialvoice, 'Code 3 in House wares.. Get on it right away'.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway.

6. ! August 14: Moved the 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?'

9. September 4th: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the anti-depressants were.

11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna Look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13. October 18: He hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed by, he yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loudspeaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO!IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'
and last, but not least. . . .

15. Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paperin here!!

Received in an email.. author unknown.

Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life.

2008-12-14T06:30:00.013-06:00

Someone sent me this in an email, I thought it was good enough to share.

On the first day, God created the dog and said:

Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.

The dog said: That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten? So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.

'The monkey said: Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?' And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:

You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer u nder the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.

The cow said: That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty? And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:

Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.

But man said: Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

Okay, said God, You asked for it.

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.

For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family.

For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.

And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you. Hope you enjoyed it!

Skywatch Friday #5 The Ozarks Sky

2008-12-12T06:25:00.006-06:00

Hello to everyone visiting my blog.

My first sunset was taken on Saturday Dec. 6,2008

The next one was taken on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008

The clouds were so thick you couldn't see the sun for a while and then all of a sudden it burned through!

Just a few minutes later the clouds started to really break up

This one was taken on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008

A few minutes later

It's amazing to me how much the sky changes in just a few minutes here in the Ozarks.

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Going to the Grandparents for Christmas

2008-12-11T08:45:00.008-06:00

This is all 11 of the grandkids taken around 1967

We used to travel to my Mother's hometown for Christmas. She and her only sister grew up in Jewell, Kansas. My Aunt and Uncle had 7 children, and our family had 4 children. When we all met up at the Grandparents home that would make a grand total of 17 people! My Grandparents had a nice fairly large home with a full basement which they had set up enough beds for all of us cousins to sleep. All the grown-ups would stay up stairs. This led to many a fun-fest for us kids, we only got to see each other maybe twice a year so when we did get together it was pretty wild!

Grandmother Palmer reading a night time story. Notice the porch swing on the right.

There were many things to do in that basement. We had an old trunk full of old clothing, dresses, furs, hats and such that we could dress up and have fashion shows. We had a box of all sorts of toys, some homemade and some store brought, for others to play with. There were all sorts of nooks and crannies that we could hide out in during a game of hide and seek. There was also a vast library of Little Golden Books purchased for the younger kids, and many old books (history, reference, and encyclopedias) my Grandfather had collected if we wanted to read. There was even an old record player with mostly the old 33 or 78 records. We even had an old porch swing hung in the basement for us to swing on! When it was time to sleep my Grandmother would always sit in a rocker and wait for us to settle down and go to sleep. There was no talking allowed or you might hear your name and a shuss. To this day I can hear the creaking as she rocked! Another thing I remember is that for quite a long time there was only one bathroom if that house and it was upstairs. Can you imagine, all those folks and one bathroom!

An early family picture. My folks on the left, Grandparents sitting, and then Aunt and Uncle on the right

My Grandparents were pretty old fashioned and expected us to be little gentlemen and ladies while we were there, you didn't talk back and you followed orders or you might get that stern look that only grandparents can get away with. They were really wonderful loving people that had a very high standing in their community so you couldn't act up while in town either. If you did, someone would be watching and of course parents would be told and then your name was mud.

This is inside the Jewell County Rebpulican office

My Grandfather, Everett was the Editor/Owner of the Jewell County Republican Newspaper. He had followed in the footsteps of his father, W. C. Palmer in that respect, the Palmer family owned the paper from 1870 through 1965. I can remember going to the newspaper office to watch him work, which was very interesting indeed. They use the old Linotype press to publish a weekly paper and it was truly a family affair, my Grandfather's brother, Randy was the guy that set up blocks of type in the proper layout for the paper. My Aunt tells me he could read that stuff when it was upside down and backwards. You could always find your name in the local section as the grand-kids being in town was always news to the town people. I always felt just a little famous when I was there because everyone always knew who we were and would speak to us.

My Grandmother was bookkeeper, homemaker, event coordinator of the family and she always had something fun and interesting set up for us to do. She was an excellent cook and put on some wonderful dinners for us all. Always setting the dining table with tablecloth, silver and formal dishes for us to use. Of course, us kids were required to help out in some way, doing the silverware, delivering food dishes to the table, or more likely peeling potatoes or snapping beans. Some of the older kids were required to wash dishes after dinner too. None of us minded these chores because it was just something that had to be done and it was such a treat to all be together.

My First Award! PROXIMIDADE!

2008-12-06T09:38:00.011-06:00

I recieved this just the other day from Old Lady Lincoln and this is what she said:

Apparently who ever receives the award is to pass it on to 8 friends. I know how busy most are, especially this time of year, so I won't be upset if you can't do it.

Also this was sent along saying that "Blogs that receive this award are 'exceeding charming,' says its author. This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award.

I want to thank Old Lady Lincoln for thinking of me and giving me my first award! I've only just started to do any blogging and have found her and all the others I have met so far to be lovely people. I enjoy following some, participating in a couple weekly things, and just reading other people's blogs. However I haven't branched out enough to accept this nice award. So I guess I have to politely decline and give a heartfelt thank you for including me!

Skywatch Friday #4 The Ozarks Sky

2008-12-04T18:33:00.006-06:00

Hello fellow skywatchers! I have only two pictures to share this week but hopefully you will enjoy them.

The texture of this sky is just amazing! This was taken Friday Nov. 28

This was taken on Dec 1, the night of the Moon, Venus, Jupiter conjuction. I ended up spending a lot of time out in the cold that night!

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter 12-1-08

2008-12-02T07:36:00.006-06:00

I got a chance through all the clouds we've been having to get a couple shots of this historic night. Here is a link to explain what you are looking at: SpaceWeather.com And here are my pictures.

This one was taken at twilight, you can still see the clouds hanging around.

This one was a little later, one of my neighbors was walking by and thought I was crazy because I was hooping and hollaring about how cool this was! Before he left I had him looking too!

Turkey is done and Christmas is next!

2008-11-30T17:40:00.023-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything here so I going to write about a few things I've been doing lately.

I cooked my turkey earlier this week, ate a bunch of it and then cut up the rest of it for freezing. I ended up with 6 quart size bags that I mixed light and dark meat in. I will use them for my rice cooker dishes and soup. I also boiled the carcass yesterday and made stock. I ended up with a bunch of bags I put in the freezer for the same use. I'm not going to have to buy chicken for a long time!

I decorated for Christmas around the house and bought a nice Norfolk Island Pine plant that had some pretty little ribbons on it. I had one before and obsiously I didn't take care of it right because it only lasted about a year or so. I'm reading up on it this time and hopefully it will last longer. Notice the large stocking? I got that last year with my gifts inside.

This is my stuffed rottweiler dressed as a reindeer.

Some candle holders set in a decorative fashion. Notice Santa is here.

I had to go outside to get this picture. Not much order to these lights but at least they flash and look festive!

So that's what I've been up to lately. And guess what? I'm actually in a holiday mood now. How about you?

Skywatch Friday #3 The Ozarks Sky

2008-11-20T20:09:00.011-06:00

We had mostly cloudy nights this week but I was able to get a few pictures to share.

This was Sunday night's exceptional offering.

This was Monday night's sky, looks like a wool blanket to me.

This was Tuesday nights Big Sky.

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Dog Tales

2008-11-20T18:54:00.008-06:00

Why Some Men Have Dogs And Not Wives:

1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.

2. Dogs don't notice if you call them by another dog's name.

3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.

4. A dog's parents never visit.

5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.

6. You never have to wait for a dog; they're ready to go 24 hours a day.

7. Dogs find you amusing when you're drunk.

8. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.

9. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, "If I died, would you get another dog?"

10. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.

11. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.

12. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don't get mad. They just think it's interesting.

13. Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck.

And last, but not least:

14. If a dog leaves, it won't take half of your stuff.

Is it Chicken, No it's Pork Stew!

2008-11-18T10:21:00.003-06:00

Today I planned on cooking some chicken soup so yesterday I pulled the frozen chicken out of the freezer and set in the refrigerator to thaw. Not looking at it much I also prepped some celery and onions to add. Well the jokes on me! I actually thawed out some Stew Pork! Well, you know they both are light in color....I don't even remember buying this pork!

So when I started today to cook and discovered I had the wrong meat I had to go looking for a different recipe. This is what I found and it looks yummy. My pot is on the stove, I don't have a slow cooker, but that's ok. I can smell this cooking and I think for chicken/pork stew it's going to be great!

By the way, I doubled the recipe so I can have lots of leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 to 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 rib celery sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 package (16-ounce) frozen mixed stew vegetables
1 jar (4-oz size) sliced mushrooms drained well
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoons ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, onion, celery, basil, rosemary and oregano; cook until pork is browned. Place pork mixture in slow cooker. Whisk flour with chicken broth; pour into slow cooker/Crock Pot. Stir in frozen vegetables and mushrooms. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, stir lemon juice, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.
Serves 4.

This is where I got the recipe: Pork Stew with Vegetables

Pooch Tale

2008-11-16T20:03:00.003-06:00

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.
He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'

Three Grandmas

2008-11-16T09:48:00.006-06:00

Three mischievous old Grandmas were sitting on a bench outside a nursing home.

When an old Grandpa walked by.

And one of the old Grandmas yelled out saying, We bet we can tell exactly how old you are.

The old man said, There is no way you can guess it, you old fools.

One of the old Grandmas said, Sure we can! Just drop your pants and under shorts and we can tell your exact age.

Embarrassed just a little, but anxious to prove they couldn't do it, he dropped his drawers.

The Grandmas asked him to first turn around a couple of times and to jump up and down several times.

Then they all piped up and said, You're 87 years old!

Standing with his pants down around his ankles, the old gent asked, How in the world did you guess?

Slapping their knees and grinning from ear to ear, the three old ladies happily yelled in unison

We were at your birthday party yesterday!

This is my Great Grandfather in his GAR uniform. Not a part of the joke, just thought I'd throw in his picture.

Skywatch Friday #2 another Ozarks Sky

2008-11-13T18:49:00.005-06:00

This is my second Skywatch entry. For more wonderful viewing click on the Skywatch logo to the right.

We have had clouds for too many nights lately limiting my picture taking. But tonight was an interesting night. When I first went out this is what the sky looked like. Kind of ominous and dark.

But not 45 minutes later the sun had dipped below the horizon and the sky had changed to all there beautiful colors. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

My Brother Dave

2008-11-13T05:43:00.006-06:00

Today I want to tell you about my brother Dave. Ask almost anyone and they will say their brother is the best brother in the world, but I have to tell them I think they are wrong, because I'm the one with the Best Brother! Earlier this year I wrote about My Brother Mark and while I loved doing so, it made me sad. Instead I'm going to write about Dave while he is still here and able to read this and maybe understand how important he is to all of us.

We recently had a scare when Dave ended up in the hospital due to some terrible headaches he was having that were recurring and hard to get rid of. After extensive tests and a whole lot of rest, the doctors are planning on sending him home. He has been instructed to rest and take it real easy while they are waiting for test results so they can decide on a treatment plan. Our initial thoughts were that maybe he had experienced a stroke but they have already ruled that out, thankfully!

This is Dave's wife and kids

Because of this I have been reflecting on how important my brother is to me and our whole family. He is the father of three great children and a husband to a wonderful wife he loves. They have been married forever....at least it seems that way to me. I'm thinking it's been at least 25 years but he will have to set us straight on exactly how long.

Dave is a little more than 3 years older than me, so when we were growing up I was pretty much a pest to him. You know how it is, I wanted to hang out with him and his friends, but since I was just the "little sister" that just wasn't something they wanted to do. We did participate in mud football games up at the school yard many a rainy summer afternoon. All of the neighborhood kids would play. Then once we got home would get in trouble for being all muddy and possibly sick from getting heated up from running in the rain. Boy was that fun!

We strayed apart for a while once I had discovered boys. But he was one of my best supporters when our Mother died when I was 17. My Sister was too, but she was married and already gone from the home. It wasn't too long after that he decided to move also. He went on the college in our home town, graduated and then to work at Silver Dollar City. He worked there for more than 20 years and when they decided to downsize he retired. But he didn't let that stop him, he went out and took an entry level job for the local telephone company and has now been there almost 5 years.

We did our share of hanging out together back in the 80's. I can remember the times I had when both Dave and my younger brother Mark would come to the numerous parties I would host. Halloween, Birthdays, and "no holiday at all" parties. As a matter of fact Dave was the one who knew where I was that fateful night that Mark died. He and his wife, Deb drove out to a barn party where I was to bring me home and break the sad news to me. I was never so glad to have him with me in my life.
Dave is a very intelligent man with lots of talents and even more hobbies, He loves his church and attends faithfully.

The Chiefs are his favorite football team and the Cardinals are his favorite baseball team. He told me today he remembers watching Super Bowl #1 in 1967 when Green Bay beat the Chiefs 35-10 and Michael Jackson performed live, Now if that doesn't date you I don't know what does. *smiles*

To wrap this up, I just want to say, Dave I love you very much and hope you are around for a very long time. Peace Brother!

The Flower Pot and the Screaming Lady.

2008-11-09T06:38:00.007-06:00

I was reminded this morning of a story that just needs to be told. First a little info to set the story.

I live in an apartment and like to grow flowers on my front porch. Most of the flowers I grow are annuals that I replace each year when the weather warms up in the spring. Since I don't have a lot of spare storage space inside I have to leave the pots outside once the flowers have died back. I usually clean out the dead stuff and push the pots close to the building, some stacked, some not.

Well last winter I did just as described above, and after about a week I noticed one of the pots, a long narrow planter has something that had dug in the dirt and made a mound. I didn't think much about this mound of dirt other than the fact that the digging had been so meticulous that no dirt had been kicked out on the cement porch. I thought to myself that who ever had done the digging had been really nice and not made a mess at least!

I tried to figure out what had been digging and decided that it must have been the squirrels burying a nut for "storage". After "figuring" that out, I didn't think ponder on it any longer.

This is the planter I'm writing about

Well the first semi-warm day the next spring I was getting ready to do some clean-up to prepare for new flowers. Instead to reaching down to pick up the pot I used my foot to scoot the pot over so I could work sitting down in my chair. Well, I had a surprise that nearly set me back a couple of years.

All of a sudden when I moved the pot out of the dirt came a mouse! I think it was more surprised than I, if that's possible. He jumped out and nearly climbed the wall! While I was hollering, then laughing, that poor mouse did what they usually do and tried run as far away from the shrieking lady as possible.

I felt so sorry that I had roused this poor mouse out of it's winter home that I just pushed the pot back up against the wall and left it for the rest of the month. I don't know if he ever moved back in, I kind of doubt it though because he probably decided that it wasn't worth coming back to a nest that moved around and had some lady bothering it.

Monday Sunset------ Skywatch #1

2008-11-03T17:26:00.004-06:00

This is my first Skywatch entry.

I had to hurry up a get outside tonight to get these pictures. I almost forgot we changed the clocks up yesterday.

It was nice a warm today, they predict storms later this week. Possibly severe weather, I sure hope not. Here is one last picture of the sun right after it went below the trees. The yellow in the clouds was something else!

8 things about Amah, My First Rottweiler

2008-11-01T21:11:00.000-05:00

My name is Amah, and I am a Rottweiler. First a little history of the Rottweiler:

The origin of the Rottweiler is not a documented record. Actual history and reasonable supposition indicate that the Rottweiler is descended from one of the drover dogs indigenous to ancient Rome. This drover dog has been described by various accredited sources to have been of the Mastiff type, with great intelligence, rugged, dependable, willing to work and with a strong guarding instinct.

Reference: http://www.donnerbergrottweilers.com/hisory-and-origin-of-the-rottweiler.html

I have papers and come from championship bloodlines, but I’m really not one to brag…. Well I was adopted by this nice lady you call Rottlady. I was a scrawny runt only 8 weeks old, I was scared of almost everything. She brought me to a place that had other dogs around, a small long thing they named Brandy (dachshund) and this big shaggy thing called Jake (collie-shepherd mix) he was really handsome and I got a crush on him right away! They were both nice and welcomed me to the neighborhood.
They also had a black cat named Miss Kitty, she didn’t like me much at first….

My name comes from a word that means a nurse or servant in Asia. I tried to live up to my moniker my whole life. My mom says I did a really good job of that!

I grew really fast and loved my home. We had a great backyard to play in that even had a pond to jump in! I got to go everywhere with my mom and meet lots of people and other dogs. We even went to parades! I dressed up in green for St. Patty Day, and wore a red hat for the Christmas Parade! I loved seeing all the kids and they loved me too!

When I got to be old enough, my mom introduced me to my first boyfriend and we really got along well. So well we had a litter of puppies 2 months later! I had 10 puppies, but unfortunately 2 died the first day, that was sad, but I had a whole lot to do which helped take my mind off the loss. I can tell you these puppies grew fast, sometimes more than a pound a day! I was wore out fast, but my mom helped and we taught them to eat solid food in only 3 weeks, boy was I relieved…. I don’t want to brag, but these puppies where just the bees knees! They were even self trained to go to the other side of the whelping box to do their thing in just a week! I kid you not, they would crawl away to do their thing away from where they were sleeping….Of course, I had to clean them up a little, but I didn’t mind.

The kids grew really fast and it wasn’t long before they went to new homes. I was so glad my mom decided to keep two of my best girls, Aurora, my first born, and Delilah, my forth born. They were the apple of my eye and grew up to be much prettier than I, it must have been because their father was so good looking!

I had a second litter a little over a year later, but it was not such a happy event as I had trouble and lost all but 3 of my puppies. One died before it was born, and caused my milk to be bad. My mom had to keep the puppies from nursing on me so she fed those puppies artificial milk through a tube every 3 hours for the first 2 weeks! I was really sad, but I helped all I could. I did the cleaning and kept them warm as soon as I could. Thankfully they grew fast and were on puppy cereal soon so mom could sleep. They were such sweet puppies, but a little spoiled because of all the special treatment they got! My daughter Aurora was a really good wet nurse for them and taught them everything she knew about being a good dog. It was good training for her. Delilah was just a little too high strung but she loved her little step-siblings all the same.

Here is a description of how to tube feed a puppy and also a video:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1651&articleid=928
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIKWr7yRU2g
I think my favorite and proudest time was when my daughter Aurora had her litter of puppies, you know it’s always easier to care for the grandkids. She was a great mother and had 6 of the cutest little things I’ve ever seen! She even allowed me to care for them when she got tired or just wanted to go out for a while. I was always happy to lay around in the whelping box and kiss those cute little babies.

I lived a long and happy 9 years with my family near me, unfortunately I got sick and had to ask my mom to do something that made her really sad, but I loved her for making the difficult decision.

Saturday Miscellaneous

2008-11-01T07:25:00.002-05:00

Just a few things this morning. I was all ready to hand out candy last night but just as in the last few years I had no visitors! I guess I'll just have to eat the candy myself...Oh goodie.

I was made aware of something special happening in out skys. A close encounter of Venus and the moon. I went out to see if I could get a picture but I was just a little too late. The moon had slipped below the tree line. But if you go out tonight you might get to see it. Here is a link to a NASA site that tells you what you might see. Good luck and happy sky watching! I'm including a picture I took a couple of months ago of an evening moon sighting I had.

We are finally seeing some leaves changing colors here, they say this is the peak week for seeing the beautiful colors that nature treats us to every fall. This next picture is what I see out my door.

I'm cooking a pot of beans this morning, I bought a 15-bean mix a while back and decided that today was a bean day. I've got them on soak at the moment and will put them together with all the fixing about noon to start cooking. Yum, I can't wait!

Well I guess I'll go watch a movie on cable for a while. Thanks for stopping in to read and happy sky watching tonight!

Tuesday Morning

2008-10-28T06:27:00.001-05:00

It is something like 26°F this morning. I guess I should have brought in my Mums but they were on the way out anyway... I've noticed that the birds seem to be eating more, and I have had more stopping by than usual. I guess they are trying to put on some fat to keep warm. I snapped this picture of a female Northern Cardinal yesterday, it's so hard to catch them in a picture. They are too wary and will fly away if they see me move inside.

I ended up getting the post office to deliver my ballot yesterday after all, I nearly had to sign my life away to get it from the postman. They want to make sure you are who you say you are I guess. Well I voted and sealed it back up and it's ready to mail today. I'll try to catch him again or I'll have to go to a mail box later. There aren't any outgoing boxes close to me. All we have are these apartment boxes that have 12 smallish boxes for incoming mail. You can put a regular size outgoing letter in there, but there isn't room for this ballot.

I received the book I ordered, "The Ultimate Rice Coober Cookbook" . It's jammed packed with receipes and a really good chapter on choosing and the use of the cookers. I almost wish I had gotten this before I bought the cooker, I might have chosen one with few more features on it. It is just so easy to use, I'm making oatmeal right now as I write this. Just measure out the oats and water, add a little cinamon and some fruit in the steamer basket and turn it on! About 20 mins later and I'll be eating. As a matter of fact, I think it's ready now. So I'm off to eat!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday Morning Musings

2008-10-27T06:51:00.000-05:00

I'm having trouble deciding what to write this morning, so I'm just going to start and see where this goes.

It's really chilly outside right now, 30F and the wind chill is something like 20. I guess Fall is really here. It won't be long before we have snow....Although I really don't mind the snow too much. It always makes things so peaceful. I'm adding a picture of last nights sunset, the wind had picked up and it was getting pretty chilly when I took this. I didn't stay out very long.

One week left of this political madness. Thank heavens! I will be so glad when it's finally over and things can get back to normal. I ordered a ballot in the mail so I could vote early and the darn thing came while I was gone and the postman left me a card. Now I have to go to the post office because it's Certified Mail or fill out this card and wait for him to bring it back. What a hassle! It's getting so close to the deadline I'll probably have to take it to the Courthouse once I've voted now anyway. I'm not so sure that it would have just been easier to go to the Polling place like everyone else on Nov. 4th.

Well I guess I better get on with my day. Maybe I'll have more to add later.

Today I baked a cake!

2008-10-24T09:36:00.000-05:00

Recently I bought a Rice Cooker and wanted to try out a Carrot Cake recipe with it. Well let me tell you, it didn't work! The cooker I bought only has 2 settings, cook and then it switches automatically to warm when it thinks it's done. For some reason it thought it was done cooking after only a minute. Ha! So I ended up firing up the oven and after pouring into a cake pan I cooked it there. It turned out great and very tasty. But now I have additional pans to clean! Oh well, live and learn.

It's really nice outside, a little chilly but the sun is shining and looks to be a very nice day. I'm adding a picture of on of my Fall mums, they are so pretty right now.

This is my first post

2008-10-23T19:15:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! I'm new to this blogging stuff so please be patient with me.

I live in the Ozarks and spend a lot of my time on the computer writing stories and posting news articles on Newsvine.com. If you like check out my page

http://bigmomma.newsvine.com

I also like to take pictures and am adding one of my favorite sunsets for your pleasure.