All in a day.....

What a day!

I woke up this morning with a burst of energy and a desire to accomplish some things. First on my list was I stripped the sheets off of three of the beds, washed them and remade the beds.


While I was washing all those sheets the next thing I wanted to do was this cabinet.




My sister-in-law, Judy Gail, gave it to me a couple of weeks ago. It's in really good shape and I think it may have been a display cabinet or something from a store many years ago.









But the background is a tan and I'm wanting to put some of the teapots I collect in it. I didn't think they would stand out as well with that tannish background,








so I wanted to paint it this color! "Blue Hall" by ColorPlace (Walmart)











First coat.....










hmmmm....I'm not so sure about this.



I also didn't realize it was going to be so difficult to paint. It's hard to paint the top (ceiling) part and with the planks going vertical it was best to paint it with vertical strokes. It's a small enough area that that made it hard to do. Then trying to paint the bottom shelf....there wasn't enough clearance to just run your paint brush back and forth or it would hit the shelf. So I had to go in one direction or the other. Looks like I'm going to have to paint a second coat too!

While I was waiting for that to dry I started cleaning the tv room, vacumned everything there. Moved on to the bathroom. Next is the play room. Fortunately I was doing this before my 6-year-old grandson, Ethan, gets here later today. It seems like I always want to clean house on the day he is coming. What am I thinking??

Ok, I painted a second coat and this is what we have.

It's not quite as bold as it looks in this picture, but I'm still not sure I have the look I was going for.

Meantime, I've continued vacumning the foyer, living room, dining room and kitchen. I've also mopped the kitchen and foyer. Whew!

Look what we bought yesterday.

Fresh canteloupe. My husband cut it up and even brought me a plate....isn't he sweet! It was very good, but I'm really looking forward to cutting into that watermelon in a couple of days.

Jim and his brother, Buck, have decided to cook supper tonight. Hey I'm all for that! So they went to town and bought some of this. (Theres more on the other counter).








Let's see, we have corn on the cob (still in the husk), potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, polka kielbasa, and shrimp.



and......


they are going to cook it in this........






yes, it's a NEW, CLEAN, garbage can. We had some friends in Ohio cook like this for us one time, and it was delicious!



You put some big rocks (I recommend you wash them first) in the bottom of the can, add water, just enough to cover the rocks. Then you stack the food in it beginning with the corn (still in the husks). Then we added the potatoes and carrots, they take longer to cook so we put them closer to the fire. The cabbage was put in next along with the onions and kielbasa.






You make a wood fire with some bricks around it to stand the can on. (I know, your thinking, they are using charcoal, but they decided they should have used wood like was suggested).


Cover, and steam for about 45 minutes to an hour. I gauged it according to how done the potatoes were. We also didn't add the shrimp until about the last 15 minutes.



My grandson said "This is delicious!" and it was. I don't eat shrimp and I'm not that crazy about carrots, so you don't see any on my plate. Boy that kielbasa sure was tender.






Then we topped it off with fresh baked Peach Cobber.







I admit, they bought it frozen!





Now that it's dry I can start filling it.......... Oh honey, I'm going to need to go shopping!!


















It turned out a little more suttle than it looks in this picture. Honestly, I don't know if I like it...but I'm not ready to paint it again, so I guess I'll leave it this way....at least for awhile.



The day finally came to an end about 10:00 pm. I'm tired.

My Little Princess

A couple of weeks ago Lisa and I went to some flea markets and I found this adorable Tiara for $1 that I thought Raylynne would love to have for "dress-up". It's a real tiara and there is only one stone missing and it's not even noticable. Of course she probably wouldn't have cared anyway.











The package arrived yesterday and her momma sent me these pictures.










Isn't she beautiful!! (Ok, the hairdo may need a little work! Ha!)











Along with the Tiara I found some white gloves, and a black clutch sequined purse. Then last week at some yard sales I find another black clutch and a couple of necklaces. I'm telling ya she is dressed "mighty fine".

All this for less than $10. I like to go to Claire's Boutique too cause they have a clearance section of jewelry and things you can get 10 for $10. Ten jewelry items to a little girl is a lot. She'll wear everything at one time too.

Sometimes she lets PawPaw play too.

I'm not the seamstress that Barb at "A New Chelsea Morning" is but I made a few of these today for my husband.










This post is concerning a rather private and delicate subject.

My mom use to make these for my dad. You make a pouch and put Alum (a spice) in it. They carry it in their pocket and it prevents them from getting galled (never had to know the spelling of that before)...galled - to make sore by rubbing; chafe severely.

This really works too. So if your husband, or anyone for that matter, works in a job that they sweat, this will really help. I guess the alum must absorb the moisture and prevents the chafing.

And aren't those little froggies so cute!

They Arrived!

Look what arrived at my house!!










Another set of burp cloths from Barb at "A New Chelsea Morning". When I need a baby gift my first thought is always Barb and her "A Chelsea Mornings Little Shoppe". I love giving these burp cloths because I know she makes each of these as if they would be used for her own grandkids. She wraps them up so nice and pretty too. I consider Barb a friend (if you read her blog, you do too) and who wouldn't want to give a gift made by a friend.

So next time you need a gift hop on over to "A Chelsea Mornings Little Shoppe" . She has different styles and colors of burp cloths as well as sock monkeys and Christmas ornaments.

Still updating....

As you can see, this is how much is done in January 2009.











This is our 16 year-old grandson, Cody.
Isn't he a handsome young man? He is so excited about this theater, and a very big help to his PawPaw.











This picture was taken in April. I am in the upstairs looking down onto the stage. You can see that steel beam and that is where the front of the balcony will be. It will have a 180 degree balcony on both sides.

It will seat 1200 on the floor and an additional 300 in the balconies.


Now for some fast forward....


Here it is May 1st 2009.










Yeah, some siding.


On May 6th....

Sick Kialey...

At three weeks old Kialey was taken by ambulance to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, 45minutes from home. After having several spinal taps, and other types of tests they determined that she has staph meningitis. Very rare, especially for an infant. Only 1% of meningitis cases is staph. Still a puzzle as to how she might have gotten it.

They gave her 7 different antibiotics at a time for a week, then did another spinal tap. Decided to give her another round of antibiotics for another week.

That's when Gannie made a trip to Tallahassee to help out.

Leslie was so exhausted.....after all, she had just had a Caeserian, now having to hold Kialey practially every waken moment....and as you can see, most sleeping moments too . Kyle was able to stay the first 2-3 days and help, then he had to return to work, was taking care of Raylynne after work, plus driving to Tallahasse every night . They were both very exhausted. That doesn't even involve the emotional stress they were going through.









It was very difficult for Gannie and PawPaw being so far away too. I wanted to hold this little one so bad.










You can see on her forehead where they had put the IV in first.











Oh yes, Gannie is right where she needs to be.










After a 2nd week of antibiotics, they did another spinal tap. They had given her several of these spinal taps, but the fluid kept having blood in it, so it was not usable. Then they decided to do an MRI in hopes that it would give a definitive answer as to whether she needed to have yet another week of antibiotics.

Let me tell you that MRI was a scary and stressful moment.....for me!! Leslie let me go down with her, but unbeknownst to either of us, they wanted that person to be in there with her during the MRI. Mind you, they have my precious grandbaby all swaddled up her blanket, and they also wrapped a hospital blanket around her in hopes to keep her from moving. They had her head strapped in as well.

Now I have had an MRI before and I know the loud noises that it produces and I'm standing there thinking "this baby is about to jump out of her skin when that noise starts". The technician also instructed me that should she start to have a reaction I would have to immediately get her out of there. That being because she would have to shut things down and I would be the quickest rescue.

Would you believe she never flinched......

Just as we were about to rearrange her she started crying. They weren't quite through testing her, but I realized it is now feeding time and thats probably why she keeps crying. They had me call Leslie and she brought down a bottle. Leslie took over then. After they were finished Kialey' face got extremely red and small bumps appeared on her face. Quite a concern, but the radiologist checked her out decided she was ok.

Finally, after her team of doctors conversed, a decision has been made.......









We get to go home!!


What a precious thing God has given us.

Her First Pedicure.

On one of the days we were doing all this "waiting" for Kialey to arrive, us girls treated ourselves to a pedicure.


Raylynne sat on my lap while we had our feet soakin'. After about 10-15 minutes she decided she wanted to sit on mommy' lap. Unfortunately she didn't have much of a lap at that time, being 9 months pregnant. But Ray had a great time puttin' her feet in the water.



We waited till Kyle got home from work so he could go with us. Not knowing for sure how well Raylynne (she's 3) would handle having to be still and everything, so he went along to help take care of her in case she got antsy.

Raylynne picked out her own polish, which was pink, of course. That's her favorite color. And she even helped mommy by picking out her color.....blue!




Kyle is holding her feet up while she gets them painted. She really was very good. She even sat for a long time while they had her feet under the dryer thing.







They looked so cute! They even put glitter stuff over the polish









I so wish Kyle could have videoed this whole thing. She was so adorable....even sat with her hands held up, like they were drying, and crossed her legs real feminine-like.

I'm so thankful to have been a part of this day! I wonder if she'll remember it when she gets older.

Waiting....waiting....and more waiting.

On August 22, 2008











Raylynne was waiting for this......













her new sister, Kialey Caprie.
















I'm telling ya this girl had some chubby cheeks.















But isn't she adorable!


I went to Georgia on August 7th because we thought they were going to induce labor over the weekend. However they didn't so I waited, and waited, and waited some more. Finally, the day arrived, and it was so worth waiting for.

Winter Storm

Tuesday night the weather was getting bad with the ice and snow. We opened our windows and stuck our heads out and you could hear the trees snapping and falling all throughout the woods on the farm and even across the street. Fortunately we don't have any large trees close enough to our house. You can see in the woods area many of the tree tops have snapped and fallen and there is bare tree showing. We have lost several of the Bradford Pear trees that lined our driveway.

We have been so blessed during this ice storm. While so many homes and businesses are without power, we have never lost ours. Our daughters home has been off for 2 days. My father-in-law also hasn't had power for 2 days but he has a generator which he can keep his fridge going, plus they have gas heat so they are staying warm. My mother-in-law lives in senior citizen apartments and they have no power. She has been staying with us along with a nephew and his wife and daughter. I was suppose to go into work today but we have no power there either.

The crews are working diligently to restore power as fast as they can. They deserve to be praised for their continuing efforts. I know they are weary.

These are some pictures I took yesterday morning.

Ethan's Birthday

This week we celebrated Ethan' 6th Birthday!!!

He has since informed me that he is not a baby anymore, he's a little boy. I think I have convinced him that he will always be my "baby".

2008 Update

Well I can't believe I totally missed posting a single blog during the 2008 year!! I will try to bring you up-to-date. I am over 50 so my memory fails me.....a lot!

Sometime in April or so my husband and I started building a music theater here on the farm. I know your wondering why people would want to drive way out in the country to go to a theater, but our farm isn't really a farm anymore, we just keep referring to it as that cause its been in the family for so long. It has become rather populated all around us except for the acreage we have. It is located about 2 miles outside of the city limits. It really is easily accessible and near a major highway.

My husband has been involved in music all his life and this is a dream for him. We want to bring a little of Branson, MO to our area of Arkansas. The theater will have a seating capacity of 1500, including a balcony. We are very excited about this project. It will feature a gospel night, probably on Thursdays and on Saturdays the music will be a mixture of positive country and gospel. Here are a few pictures and I will post more throughout the construction.

It started out with this.

Then we broke ground.

We dug for the footing.

It took long days of extreme heat and over a month to hand-build all the trusses. We had to have 83 trusses that were 70' long. It was quite a job!

Progress going well.

Yes, things were looking good.

Until this......

Hurricane Ike hit northeast Arkansas.

And blew down the second story!

And the winner is.........

Congratulations Jean from Working Momma 24/7!

Thank you for participating in the Fall Y'all bloggy giveaway hosted by Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.





You have won the Mary Kay Mint Bliss Pedicure Set.
I know your little tootsies are going to loooovve this!!







This was so much fun and I want to thank Shannon for being such a gracious host.

By the way, if you are interested in purchasing a Mint Bliss Pedicure Set for yourself or as a gift, or any other Mary Kay products you may do so by clicking here. The Mint Bliss is available in my "Last Chance" section and I am discounting them 50% while my supplies last!

Get yours NOW!

Fall Y'all bloggy giveway

Shannon from Rocks In My Dryer is once again hosting the "Fall Y'all bloggy giveaway" which started Oct 29th. You can find out all the details here.

After the hustle and bustle of the holiday activities you can enjoy treating your tootsies to some special time when you pamper them with this Private Spa Collection Mint Bliss Pedicure Set from Mary Kay. This would also make a great gift!




This set includes a Mint Bliss energizing lotion, a foot scrub, 10 Mint Bliss Fizzies for Feet, a foot file/brush and a pair of toe separators. Plus a pretty bag with minty green accents.




For your chance to win just leave a comment. This giveaway is open to bloggers and non-bloggers, only please make sure I have a link or an email address to contact you, should you be the blessed winner. Sorry I can only mail in the United States.

Comments will be open until 6:00 pm Sunday, November 4th at which time I will do a random drawing.

Fall, Foliage and Ten Minutes from Normal

Every year I am amazed at the palette of beautiful color that the Lord blesses us with. It's breathtaking!


Yippee! I have finally finished a book!!

I started this book about a year ago. It's not that it wasn't interesting, it's that I had trouble finding the time to read.

"The rule of thumb in any White House is that nobody is indispensable except the president," said The New York Times, "but Karen Hughes has come as close to that description as any recent presidential aide." Karen Hughes has worked beside President George W. Bush since, as she says, "the motorcade was only one car and he was sometimes the one driving it." As counselor to the president, she brought the working mom's perspective to the White House, often asking of President Bush's policies, "What does this mean for the average person?"Yet the move from Texas to Washington was hard on her family, and in a controversial, headline-making decision that reverberated across America, she summoned the courage to say, "Mr. President, I love you, but I need to move my family home to Texas." There, Hughes continues to advise the president, where the kitchen wall calendar marks the State of the Union message side by side with her son's orthodontist appointments."

I wasn't interested in this book because I am not a political person. Rather I was curious about the woman who had strived to acquire such a significant position only to choose a life in Texas, teaching Sunday School, and being with her family.

"Told in Karen Hughes's disarmingly down-to-earth, warm, often funny, and frank voice, the book is a remarkable blend of an ordinary woman's life, with all its compromises and everyday decisions, and a keenly insightful look at American politics and America's forty-third president."