It Was FUN!!!

Yesterday afternoon we drove over to my son's house in Arlington to pick up Faith! MiMi Camp 2010! Can you see their beautiful pool in the background??

As enticing as that water was, we did not linger as we had some SHOPPING to do! Faith picked out several recipes she wanted to make this week so to the grocery store we went! It was kind of funny that THREE of the ones she selected were gelatin based.....so we LOADED our cart with every flavor and color of Jello they make! We picked up some yellow cheese, apples, caramel topping, chocolate covered graham crackers (for s'mores! Bet these will be MESSY! But GOOD!!) chocolate syrup AND strawberry syrup for her 'morning coffee', lunch meat, corn on the cob, marshmallows, ice cream and ice cream cones, hot dogs, buns, chips......just about anything that little girl WANTED!

She settled into her room letting me know she knew EXACTLY where it is because, "I have been here BEFORE!" she said. While she played with her Barbies....and with 5 'Vintage' ones of Amber's (and the new Barbies DO look different than the ones I bought in the 90's!) I put up all the groceries and since she was at MiMi Camp....we decided to have dessert FIRST!

You can imagine our surprise when we opened up the box of ice cream cones and found them to be TINY! Each cone held only 1 or 2 TEASPOONS of ice cream! So, of course, she HAD to eat FIVE! Granddad teased her about telling her parents that she ate 5 whole ice cream cones dipped in sprinkles before supper!

While I was getting the outdoor fireplace ready for the hot dogs Faith entertained herself with this pair of 3D glasses I have had for 17 years! When you look at small points of light (like the many lighted garlands I have) you see USA above and below the light....all in red/white/blue! Very appropriate for this Memorial Day weekend!

I got the fire lit and then it came a real downpour! The fire continued to burn but we decided to eat sandwiches for supper instead! It REALLY rained! Second time this week....BOTH times totally unexpected!

We then spent the rest of the evening playing checkers. It was a lot of fun and I realized that I had never actually PLAYED this before. Faith proved to be a good thinker and became completely absorbed in the game. So did I. I think I will leave the set out for Louis Dean and me to play in the evenings. He is NOT a big game person but he DOES enjoy checkers!

They are studying their next move.....Games help us THINK- which is always a GOOD thing!

Faith read two of her Dick and Jane books to us.....

...and then I read the first chapter of Little House in the Big Woods. Bed followed soon after! For all three of us!

Faith's version of coffee this morning....2 teaspoons of my creamed coffee mixed with a teapot of cold milk and 2 good shots of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup!

Coffee was followed by toasted pecan bread and another game of Checkers.

Faith and Granddad spent an hour or so singing a 'new' song! Lavender Ridge Farms was on our agenda for this Memorial Day....so Louis Dean found Lavender Blue from an old Walt Disney movie, 'So Dear to my Heart.' We bought the movie (made in 1940) on DVD off of eBay. Will be a GREAT film to see with the grand kids! The two kids in the movie remind me of Sam and Faith!

Alas, MiMi Camp-Faith-2010, was fun while it lasted. Early this morning she came in our room and said she missed her brother Sam and wanted us to take her home. Even after telling her about the plans for the week...art and a movie on Tuesday, train ride on Wednesday, and a picnic at the beach (Granbury Beach) on Friday....she very politely insisted on going home. So after our morning routine we did just that. My best laid plans did not work out this year.....but they will keep! There will be MiMi Camp 2011!

PS.....Stay tuned! MiMi Camp for Sam begins June 16th!

Red, White and Blue!!

I have decorated with my Patriotic Collection in honor of Memorial Day! Will leave it all up for Flag Day and then the 4th of July! I LOVE my Red/White/Blue things! After the holidays are over, I will be adding some new fresh decorations to my collection. I could not help but notice mine have worn with the time!

This is the continually decorated tree in the dining room holding many ornaments made by my children. I will need to add another tree to hold the ones soon to be made by my Grandchildren!

This sassy little gal was painted by Amber in 1998 and won a red ribbon at the Texas State Fair!

Uncle Sam was another project we did when Homeschooling. All of us painted one...I still have 2 of them! Perhaps this would be a good project for Sam and Faith...if not this year, then next for SURE!

I painted this collage on a piece of old window shade.

Faith and I wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day.....as we pause to give thanks for those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom! Wish you could join us for an ice cream cone ...we are heading to the front porch with them right NOW!!

It's a Thursday Tradition!

For the last 40 years while I was raising my kids it has been a tradition to go swimming on Thursday! When Summer and Jesse....both now in their 40's...were growing up we went to the local public swimming pool every Tuesday and Thursday! I remember lying in the sun reading my Reader's Digest Condensed Book and listening to the happy sounds of children's laughter and splashing water! Good times.

Then 20 years later I started raising children again! Jesse was 19 and Summer 21 when Amber was born followed by Benjamin 3 years later. (They are both now in their 20's!)  We STILL went swimming on Thursdays but now we had season passes to Wet 'N' Wild...later renamed Hurricane Harbor. Our neighbors Beth on the corner and Stephanie next door would all come with their kids and we would stake us out a spot and stay all day and into the night! Connie and her kids moved in across the street and joined the party many times as well! More Good Times! Amber was a synchronized swimmer for 11 years and ALWAYS had practice on Tues/Thurs after she joined The Pirouettes of Texas in 1992. We would often come straight from the water park to North Lake pool. (Watch for a Pirouette of Texas swimmer, Jessica, in the new Pirates of the Caribbean 4 movie to be out in 2011!)

Now I no longer have children living in my home but the lovely Thursday Tradition continues and in yet another new location....my son, Jesse's, beautiful new pool! I had supper cooked and ready to take over when Summer picked me up after she got off of work. A HUGE T-storm was right in our neighborhood and stormed for about an hour before disappearing as mysteriously as it arrived. We loaded up the pinto beans, homemade cornbread and peach cobbler and headed to Arlington. We arrived at the park up the street from my son's house to watch Sam practice ball. No rain over there and we enjoyed sitting out and visiting with Leigh Ann, Faith, Levi and Jesse!

My daughter, Summer, and daughter in law, Leigh Ann!

My son, Jesse!

I LOVE this picture of Faith! I am so NOT a real photographer but every once in awhile I do take a nice picture!

After practice was over we had our supper and was ready for the pool!

Levi is not afraid of the water....or anything else for that matter! Sam had opened a round filter hole to get some toys out of it. Levi walked right into it, said, "Oops!" and pulled his foot out and kept right on going! When I offered him some Peach Cobbler he said, "Is it GOOD?" I said, "Yes." "Then I'll HAVE some," he said! He is the cutest little thing!! Makes me smile to just look at his picture!

Faith enjoys the water and is as graceful as a little swan!

Aunt Amber may teach her a little synchro routine! She loves to twirl around in the water and, of course, she LOVES the attention, calling out, "Watch me, MiMi!!" Music to my ears!

My man, SAM!! First born grandson and so far the only one of the 3 who can really swim well yet! He is so special....reminds me SO much of his dad! I guess that would be the natural way of things, huh? Sam takes after Jesse in SO many ways!!! He has an advanced vocabulary just as his dad did early on! Faith is probably much like Leigh Ann....and Levi is just out there! Summer said Levi reminds her of a Benjamin (my youngest son who is 21).

So Thursday Traditions continue.....GOOD TIMES!!

All DRESSED up and no place to go!!

The fridge is all dressed up!! Hope it does not plan to go anywhere for a LONG time!!

I tried to weed out excess magnets.....and I did manage to throw out about OK! EXACTLY 5!

This is my 'Grandchildren Section'.......could not throw out ANY of these!

And this section is favorite pics of my kids and a couple of Louis Dean and me.....had to keep ALL of these!

This is the bottom area where I thought I would let the GK's arrange things and display their art work during MiMi Camp! The 3 magnets on the lower right side of the pic used to be Amber and Benjamin's favorites when they were little! HAD to keep these!!

So, yeah, I pretty much 'junked up' my pretty new refrigerator! Now it fits in with the rest of the house!

The Great White FRIDGE!!!

This is my new TEXAS size great WHITE fridge!! Took this photo while it was still naked! I have since 'dressed' it with my memory collection of magnets......and enjoyed seeing all the old snapshots and keepsakes from through the years. Will post a pic of it 'dressed' later! It really IS a lovely fridge!!

Fresh Veggies, anyone??

I just had a couple of friends over for lunch this afternoon and served  simple sandwiches with a slice of homegrown tomato (one slice per sandwich....5 sandwiches and only ONE ripe tomato!!) and some fresh off the vine bell pepper rings and a couple of banana peppers. Delicious! The veggies were snapping fresh having picked them minutes before serving lunch! The sandwiches combined with some Kettle potato chips, a wedge of dill pickle and a bowl of watermelon chunks with sliced strawberries (courtesy of Stehanie...one of the guests at lunch)....and big glasses of herbal iced tea completed the meal. What was even nicer was getting to pause in my day with a couple of dear friends and spend a few minutes catching up with each other and visiting while eating our lunch together! Things ALWAYS taste better when they are shared with FRIENDS! "Friends double our joys and half our sorrows!"

Always an ADVENTURE!

*WARNING! This a long scary story!!

Our 'Simple Saturday' turned into another one of our 'Adventures' reminding me of  a Lucy and Desi rerun! As the day was drawing to a close, we noticed the temps in the fridge/freezer were rising! We have been looking at refrigerators ever since Louis Dean and I married.....nearly 5 years ago next month! He has NEVER liked this one - claiming it is like a tank....big and bulky and BLACK! He likes WHITE!! Our new washer and dryer are both WHITE. I see a trend here in replacing all my appliances with WHITE ones! He thinks it lightens up the room! SO he retired to his music room to search the Internet for new white refrigerators! I proceeded to wind down my Saturday by finishing up things for Sunday....

like the crib quilt to take to a baby shower and food for the church luncheon.....and selecting my clothes. Since it was Pentecost Sunday, Pastor asked us all to wear red! Lastly, I decided to color my hair. This is where the real drama began to unfold! By this time Louis Dean had been searching a couple of hours and he found a refrigerator EXACTLY like he wanted!! BIG...and WHITE! French Doors and a bottom freezer....27.8 cubic feet. Now most people our age are downsizing appliances! NOT us!! We are going bigger on everything it seems! (My washer and dryer are HUGE.....and very efficient!) Well, he came tearing out of his room yelling he had found THE ONE! AND, though the store was closing in 28 minutes AND it was in Arlington.....the salesman said he would wait for him! He wanted to buy it NOW!! He told me to COME ON! Let's GO!! I had JUST put the color on my hair and had 45 minutes before I could rinse it out! Louis Dean said, "Can't you just put a HAT on??" Not if I wanted to KEEP my hair! I really didn't think he would go without me....and I promised we could go together first thing Monday morning....or he could go Sunday afternoon......but NO! He had to go NOW! And so he did! Now that might not seem as scary to you as it was to me! First off.....when he gets excited (and believe me, he WAS excited!) he doesn't always think straight! Second, he was going to Arlington in the DARK! He has night blindness as do I so it usually takes BOTH of us to drive somewhere at night! No matter! He had the saleman's number and could call him if he got lost! Which he DID call him for additional directions when he arrived in the area. SO.....he BUYS the refrigerator and is pleased as punch with himself! Now it would be a simple matter of driving home. BUT NO! He calls me so breathless with excitement.....(you have to KNOW him! He gets really worked up over things!)...that he could NOT come home right then! He needed to get something to drink and a bite to eat! OK! It's about 10 pm by this time! He loves Whataburger and decided to drive around until he found one! Little did he know there was one at the other end of the very shopping center he was in when he bought the fridge!! Anyway....after what seemed like forever he found one!

By this time he was starving so before he could get control of himself (and remember...he is on the South Beach Diet....but rather LOOSELY!) he ordered the WORKS! A Whataburger, French Fries and Onion Rings.....and water...like THAT will help! He ate every single bite with not one thought in his head about bringing me some! I was not eating much since I could not open the door to the fridge without it raising the temp even more. He later realized he was trying to eat all he could since I was not there to stop him!! OK....now he is full and calmed down enough to drive home. He gets LOST!! Thank goodness he had a compass installed when he bought our car so he at least figured out what direction he WAS heading and what direction he SHOULD be heading! So it pushing midnight by the time he finally got home! (he left here at 8:30!) He was fit to be tied and stumbled out of the car so thrilled that he had actually MADE IT HOME!! No way could he go to sleep now.....he was all worked up again! SO I offered him a glass of wine and sat down to visit with him for a few minutes. When he was calm enough to sleep we headed to bed. He....being a man, simply went in the bedroom and 'went to bed'....while I, being a woman, picked things up on the way and put the dog up, turned the fans off, locked all the doors, fixed me a glass of water...then I went to bed! Just as I sighed with relief as I slipped between the sheets thinking 'Drama OVER'......I hear Louis Dean loudly say, "Now WAIT a minute!!" It dawned on him that the FAN was probably not working properly on the refrigerator making the temp slowly rise as the fan slowly shut down the compressor! He decided WE should go vacuum the coils to which I replied, "NOW?" "YES!!! NOW!!!" And so WE did!! Of course he was absolutely RIGHT! He pulled the BIG BLACK BULKY Monster away from the wall....undid all those screwy little things and vacuumed it off. The fan began to work and the monster began to cool!! He had just purchased a NEW refrigerator/freezer because ours was too DIRTY to work!! OK! Now...drama over??? NO! Not a chance! He had pulled the fridge out a few feet from the wall to get in behind it and do his cleaning of the coils. He was using the hose attachment on the Rainbow to get the last little bit of lint that he could reach and I was standing beside him when....the cabinet OVER the refrigerator FELL OFF the wall!! The doors came partially open and hung on the very EDGE of the fridge spilling out Christmas dishes! PRAISE GOD Louis Dean had not pulled the refrigerator out even an inch more or it would have fallen straight down on his HEAD...which could have killed him! Now here we were! LD was trying to keep the rest of the dishes from completely sliding out and I was in a dither as to WHAT to do!! While he supported the cabinet he told me to get a couple of 2 X 6's...what ever THAT is! I ran out to his personal lumber yard and hauled in a long piece of WOOD! He lifted the cupboard UP and I slid the plank across the top of the fridge and UNDER the cupboard! I held that there while HE ran out and got another board for the other side and we then 'walked' the cabinet securely ON to the top of the fridge and then 'walked' the boards OFF! NOW!! We assessed the damage! Talk about DAMAGE CONTROL!!! We sure had some of that to do!! Several things fell off since I had decorative items on top of the cupboard that fell. I have lots of STUFF everywhere! All in all, not too much broke....a Christmas sugar and creamer and one coffee cup, a Strawberry cookie jar and other odd and end 'stuff.' But thankfully and ever so gratefully NOT Louis Dean's head!! That was scary!!

(This is the cabinet this afternoon after he had anchored it securely to the wall! It will NOT be falling off again! )

By this time it is 2:30 in the morning and I am exhausted! The fridge is cooling off nicely so I decide to go on to bed. The debris on the floor will wait! Louis Dean, however, finds it impossible to go to sleep and tries to calm down with a hot bath and a sleeping pill. Didn't work! 2 hours later he took another sleeping pill satisfied that the fridge would  now fully recover!
I get up at 8 am and go into the guest room where he finally DID go to sleep. He was in NO shape to go to church! Slurred speech and a stupored expression! I told him to go back to sleep...which he did! I was gone all day to church, luncheon, board meeting and a baby shower so when I finally returned home at 6 pm, Louis Dean had done a great deal in putting the kitchen back together! Cabinet hung! Debris swept up! Fridge feeling fine. Our new WHITE super duper Kenmore Elite Refrigerator/Freezer will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. The big, black, bulky one will move next door to it's new home where it will live happily ever after....well, at least several more years! As long as the coils don't get too dirty!!

View - Travel tips and inspiration - British Airways High Life

OK!! Now this is AMBER'S photo entry and it is an AWESOME one!! Once you are already registered...it's a snap to cast one more vote!! Click on the title of this post...it should take you where you want to go! Thanks!

View - Travel tips and inspiration - British Airways High Life

View - Travel tips and inspiration - British Airways High Life

My son in law, Mike, has entered a contest!! Please vote for his pic! He took it in Scotland, of course! It takes a couple of minutes to register!  Just click on the title of this post and it will take you to the website!Thanks!!!!

View - Travel tips and inspiration - British Airways High Life

Simple Saturday!

This has been a lovely SIMPLE Saturday! No rushing here and there...as nice as that is sometimes! I just came in from a walk with Lucy and enjoyed feeling the wind blowing through my hair. I always think of the Holy Spirit when I hear the wind blow or feel it on my face! This has, indeed, been a simple Saturday! We started off with coffee in the gazebo...as we ALWAYS do! Then we decided to make a trip to Sam's for a few needed items. While there Louis Dean discovered a BEAUTIFUL potted Mandevilla in an elaborate wrought iron stand! Pretty as the flowers were...the PRICE was even prettier! Next to the display were some plain pots of the same flowers at one quarter of the price! We got one of those!

We came right home and he planted it! THEN he decided if one was good THREE would be better so we were off again to Sam's! I discovered you must dig them up and bring them indoors during the winter! So, NO! One will do. He planted bell pepper plants where he had hoped to put flowers! We have a Red Neck Garden...onions and garlic growing around the roses while peppers and tomatoes are growing in pots on the driveway!

We picked up some tea and pinto beans we had forgotten to get on our first trip. The tea Louis Dean got came in GALLON size tea bags!! Oops! We DO drink a lot of tea, but REALLY!

So we brewed some up and took a gazebo break! The geckos are entertaining to watch and this one has been going up and down the pole where we hang the bird feeder. This afternoon he was on TOP of HIS world! They are not frequenting the gazebo as they have in years past and Louis Dean is sorely disappointed!

It was a good afternoon for baking bread and an even better one for eating it....still hot from the oven and dripping with real butter! I think we will wind down our simple Saturday with a watermelon supper.

That's one half for HIM and one half for ME!

Pure Bliss!!

My son has a HUGE new swimming pool and spa and last night was my first plunge into the HOT spa and then the COOL pool then back to the HOT spa! We had a ball! It was only Jesse and I out there and it seemed like old times to me! Years ago when he was growing up we had a spa. So many times he and I would take our books out there and just soak in the hot tub while reading and day dreaming! One fond memory is when I put several clusters of grapes in a Tupperware bowl and we floated them on the water pushing them back and forth as we ate!  We loved to go in the spa so much we would even take umbrellas to hold over our books if it was raining! We are both avid readers! I love good memories....you can take them out and experience them again and again! We are constantly creating new ones as we live each day......"Lord, help me be attentive to my 'memories in the making' and may the majority of them be GOOD ones! AMEN!"

A Childhood Memory...

As I am preparing for a time of making memeories with my grandchildren, I thought of this old photograph.   My brother, Lonnie, is inside the car, and Nita, Deanie and me in front. Now Lonnie has always been LONNIE and I have always been LINDA! Nita and Deanie were known back then by their REAL names....all our names started with L. We were visiting our 'Granny'. Now I do not have all that many warm fuzzy memories of my grandmother. Actually, none that I can clearly remember.Which is what makes me all the more determined to be a real grandmother to my own grandchildren.

This pic is the four of us and Mother.....taken a LONG long time ago at my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.

PS... Thanks, Deanie, for sending me these pics yet AGAIN!

Gathering ideas!

I am gathering ideas for this year's MiMi Camp! Yesterday I found this cookbook at Half Price Book Store for $1!! In 10 more days I will pick up my nearly 6 year old granddaughter, Faith, for phase I of MiMi Camp. I am thinking she can pick out some recipes we can make together...perhaps a new one every day! AND I have a recipe from a friend for Chocolate Gravy I am looking forward to trying! This has been a tradition in their family and now the grandmother is making it for the grandchildren. I love traditions!

Gazebo Time!

We so enjoy our 'Gazebo Time!' We generally start and end our day out there.....and treat it as our outdoor living room! It came a windy rain last night as we were sitting out there resting after a long day of housework and projects! Thanks to a recent Goodwill bargain we stayed dry and comfortable! This shower curtain was $1.99 at the local Goodwill in Galveston! I added a $4 green plastic liner and hooks from the Dollar Store and we can just pull it across to block the blowing rain!

This is the wall directly opposite the gazebo. I added the temp/clock and the calendar recently!

These pretty birds visited our feeder this morning and sent us off in a flurry of collecting our bird books, journal and camera. We THINK they are a pair of Carolina Parakeets....are still trying to postively identify them! When I have MiMi Camp, the grandkids love to watch the birds along with us. And this year we will be feeding the fish in our 3 little ponds as well. I love nature and have a wildlife habitat in my own backyard!