I remember when...

all one had to do to watch TV was turn it on!!!! Don't misread me! I love technology, but sometimes it is just enough to make me crazy!! Last night after 12, my cable carrier downloaded a new guide for those using DVR's.....that would be me! All their info promised that I would not have to do anything...well, OK! That's how I like it ...nice and simple! But NO, my TV didn't work after the download and, of course, before it was all over I had clicked every button on everything. Next thing I knew, there was a screen that required a password! Parental blocks.....I never have used that and don't have a password. The screen was stuck. It would not go away no matter what I did. I jacked around with the thing until after 3 A.M. doing google searches trying to solve the problem to no avail. This morning I started making calls to the Geek Squad, since the TV is a Best Buy product. Someone there told me that if I would unplug the TV for a few minutes, it would re-set when I plugged it back in! Are you kidding me!!!! What a dork I am! It worked.

Our awesome teens!

God's handiwork!

These hydrangeas really are a deep purple. Just beautiful. I love purple!

 Once again I spent the morning in my yard just doing whatever I could find to do...mostly using the electric trimmer on the rest of the azaleas. My yard is looking good right now. If everyday was like this one, a weed would never make it out of the ground in my yard because I would pull it up as soon as I saw it.

What to do!!!!

My cable provider had advised me that they will be re-setting some stuff on Thursday and all my saved settings and programs are going to be erased on my DVR! Here's my dilemma...Which ones to watch. I have all these movies waiting for a rainy day.

• Wild Hogs
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• The Antichrist (documentary) (AKA Barack Obama)
  
• Tin Cup
• The Devil Wears Prada
• A Farewell to Arms
• Fatal Attraction
• Raising Arizona
• I Am Sam
• Montana Sky

Of course, some of these I have seen before but wanted to see again. What to do! Any suggestions? I started The Devil Wears Prada last night and fell asleep. I guess it really doesn't matter which one I choose because I always fall asleep!

Perfect day!

Today was one of those days that I was looking for stuff to do outside because it is such a perfect day. Started off at the garden planting some more squash and planting my row of flower seeds by the sunflowers. Also, dug a few potatoes and onions to bring home with me and now I am stuffed.Check out lunch. Squash and new potatoes that were growing this morning!

When I got home, I didn't even go inside, but went right to mowing my yard. I had tried to mow Dad's yard, but there was some issue with the lawn mower that was not making me happy. I stopped by my brother's and told him I had to stop mowing because it was cutting crazy. His wife called me a few minutes ago laughing and told me he had put one of the blades upside down on Dad's riding mower. Wow! What a difference that made. Now he is at their house mowing their yard!

Welcome, Monday!

Looking forward to working in the garden tomorrow. Temp is predicted to be 50 tomorrow morning. Not good for growing vegetables, but good for me to get the weeds out of the garden. I will get my zinnias planted tomorrow. Also, going to plant some more squash and cucumbers. So far, I have only eaten new potatoes at my mom's and my brother's. Tomorrow, I am digging some to bring home with me. YUM! I love new potatoes.

Good day on the farm!

Finally, I was able to start the tiller (without having to call my brother), and till more of the garden. It was really hard work because it was still sort of wet and the tires don't help much with the self propelling! I got a lot done, but I am worn to a frazzel! Four more rows of corn are planted, okra is planted, and peas are planted. Dad had already planted the okra before I got there. My brother had started the tiller for him and he prepared one row before giving out. He cannot see well enough to plant, so there is no telling how the okra is planted. Bless his little heart though...he tries so hard.

Mom's pastor had brought her kale this morning, so she cooked kale and hot water cornbread for lunch. It was good. I never ate kale before, but it tasted just like turnip greens. Good!

Tonight we are going to eat catfish. Tomorrow I will be free and not obligated to anyone. Woohoo! It is supposed to rain again tomorrow, so that's why I was adamant about getting stuff in the ground today. The only thing I didn't get planted was my row of zinnias. We have sunflowers planted and I have a row all prepared for zinnias, but I ran out of steam!!!!

Guilt trip!

Very dear friends of the family have a son graduating tonight and he is valedictorian. I vowed many years ago that I would never go to another graduation. They are just so boring for everyone except the graduates and their families. Even my mom and dad, who are Big Mama and Paw Paw to this young man, are going. My brother is taking them because they wanted to go. I sent him a $50 bill. I hope that will suffice for my not attending his big night and hearing his valedictory address!!! I am, however, feeling guilty right about now!

I hate lizards!

OK...I'm a big ol' baby and I admit it, but I have lived here in a new home, on new ground, for 3+ years and I had my first lizard today.  Operative word here is HAD! He was in a window in my garage. I sprayed that little sucker with wasp spray trying to drown him. He thought it was a spa, I guess....unfazed! Finally, I got the broom and killed him. He's dead...but still on the window sill. I don't want to touch him! I can't help it...it's a phobia that also includes snakes and most anything that can move faster than me! These days....that's practically every living thing!! I know it's irrational so leave me alone!!!

Sweet day on the farm!

Mom cooked the potatoes, cornbread, and squash. I cooked the pork, which I did NOT like. It was one of those already seasoned ones from Sam's, but it had way too much garlic for my taste. In fact, I am throwing the rest of it away because I REALLY don't like it. After lunch my dad, my brother and I planted some sweet potatoes. My brother ordered 4 different varieties, so this is his project. It's still too wet to till the soil and plant the okra, but we did start to soak the okra seeds today, so we will be able to plant it later this week. No more rain is predicted.

WooHoo!

Worked in my WET yard today with the electric trimmer working over the azaleas. Didn't get finished because I kept switching to other jobs....perhaps a touch of ADD!!!!!! I'll finish it this week because I don't like unfinished projects.....ADD or obsessive compulsive!!!!

Tomorrow is the only day we can have lunch at Mom's, so I went to her house and dug some new potatoes out of the mud. My brother had already picked some squash. I have a pork loin marinating that I will cook tomorrow morning to take for lunch. Fresh vegies! YUM! The first ones from our garden. We still have more corn to plant and peas and okra, but it is still too wet to run the tiller. Brother has his sweet potatoes ready to plant as well. Have I mentioned how much I love growing my own vegies and especially how much I love eating them???????

Happy Mother's Day!

I went to my mom's church this morning to be with her on Mother's Day. It is painfully evident that very few more opportunities will be available for me to be with her on Mother's Day. She is so loved. Everyone in that church came and gave her a hug and told her Happy Mother's Day. She was the oldest mom there at age 84.

Good times revisited!

I got the coolest thing in the mail today. For several months now, I have been addicted to Facebook. Most of my friends on there are former students, but I have also re-connected with some college pals. One of them sent me a DVD that he had made from old 8mm film of us back when we were 21 and CRAZY! Of course, there is no sound and it is fuzzy, but so very interesting. Some of the people I don't even remember, but there  is some footage of when we were at Louisiana Tech and after we all moved to Lake Charles together and started our careers together. Good times!

Busy day!

The day was filled with familial duties, but it would have been a good day to catch up in my yard. Didn't happen. Had to take my mom to dinner on the grounds at the cemetery where all her family is and where the rest of us will be. I'm thinking that this will be a custom that I abandon after she is gone. I actually don't know anybody there and today even she didn't know many of them. The custom used to be that everyone would bring their hoes and rakes and clean the cemetery twice a year. Well, now it is all mowed, but people still come and bring a covered dish and flowers and eat together. It was fun when I was a kid...now....not so much!

My aunt turned 93 today and I didn't even make it get a piece of her birthday cake. I did see her yesterday though.

Tonight I went with the fam to eat catfish, so I have done the family thing all day.

Why oh why?

Sometimes you just gotta wonder what the hell were they thinking!!!!

Finally!

Today I believe I turned the corner on this sickness. I was able to keep some chicken noodle soup down and some ice cream. I even took a drive down to the garden to look it over and managed to spray the potatoes and turnip greens and pick a few radishes. I believe that next week we will be eating some potatoes and squash. YUM! Of course, as hungry as I am, everything sounds good to me right now. I'm off to lie down again...no energy!

I am HUNGRY!

This is day 2 that I have not been able to keep even one bite of food down and I am starving. I don't feel bad, but I have zero energy. I guess that could be because I have had no nourishment since Monday. All I have done is stay on my bed and watch TV. Last night I met my family at DQ and ate part of a chicken strip. It came up as soon as I got home. There is no way to know if anything will stay put without just trying it. I am getting tired and sore from losing everything I try. I guess I'll just give up!

Free to be me!

While I had only 3 inches of rain Saturday and Sunday, my parents had 6 inches and that's where our vegetable garden is. This will put our gardening on hold for several days until it dries up enough to run the tiller. My brother has ordered sweet potatoes to plant. This will be a new crop for our garden. We also need to plant okra and peas and lots more corn. I have nothing on my calendar this week, so I am free to do whatevah!!!!

Why?

Why would the people of Minnesota want this as their Senator?

Ooops!

Yesterday our Krewe had a pig roast, also known as a Cochon de Lait, and a golf tournament as a fund raiser. Just as we were kicking off the Cochon de Lait and awarding golf prizes, the heavens opened up and the floods came. It was brutal. As soon as I ate and the DJ started playing, I was out of there because..seriously, why would I want to watch other people dance? My car was blocked in, so I tried to go through some trees and get out. Unfortunately, the grounds don't have much parking space, so we were all over the place and it all turned to mud. I got stuck. Fortunately, a young man who works at the golf course, had a jeep with a wench. Keep in mind that it was still pouring down rain. Both that young man and and I got soaked. He finally got it out, but it took 3 tries. I tried to pay him, but he refused to accept it. What a nice young man! I would have felt better if he would have taken it.

Now, this is funny! I don't care what you say!

Love it!

Divine intervention!

We got yet another good report from Dad's oncologist today and we get two months before we have to go back. X-ray still has the place that was there last time, but it looks exactly the same and he thinks it's nothing to warrant further exploration. Dad was relieved as was I. I don't know how long we can continue to get these excellent reports because we were told from the beginning that this type of cancer was incurable, but treatable. He was just thrilled with the garden this morning because of the very beneficial rain it got last night. He said  it grew a lot. I didn't go look at it today because I didn't have on my garden attire and didn't want to muddy my shoes.

Update #2!

No fever today as of yet. If it hasn't raised its ugly head by now, it probably won't. Strange stuff to have fever high enough to cause chills one day and nothing the next! My energy is still non existent and lower back pains persist. I am pretty much worthless!

Update!

Something overtook my whole being...chills and fever came! Exactly the same thing as a few months ago when nothing showed up in any of the tests I had at the doc's office. He gave me an antibiotic then, so I am taking it again. Fever broke last night and I have none now, but as I recall, last time it came back with a vengeance every afternoon for a few days last time. When I say with a vengeance, I am serious. The fever goes high enough that I have to turn off all AC and fans and get under an electric blanket while shivering intensely.

Tomorrow I have to take Dad to the oncologist, so I have to be well. My brother has a big day filled with lots of stuff, so he will not be available to take Dad. I guess if we have to, we can change the appointment, but I don't want to because Dad doesn't feel well. So there, illness....GO AWAY! I'm too busy!

I guess I know now why I didn't hit a lick yesterday. After working in the garden Friday morning, stopping by a local pizzeria for some lunch, and going home to rest before going out to eat catfish....I was downed with stomach pains. They didn't go away, so I opted out of going to dinner and felt hungry and OK on Saturday....even went to McDonald's early and got their big breakfast....ate it all and went back to bed. No more stomach pains, but I still didn't feel very good. Today, got up, went to early church and Sunday School, then to the annual Tastes of Minden put on by the Chamber of Commerce. Back home for nap time, but the pains started again, but this time including lower back pain...as in kidneys! I took aspirins and found some antibiotics and started taking them. Still have some minor pain and discomfort. Guess that explains why I didn't move much yesterday....something is WRONG!

I got nuthin'!

I got everything in the garden tilled yesterday. Once again I didn't have to call my bro to start the tiller for me. I love tilling the soil and making the garden look so pretty.

Today I have not hit a lick. Slept most of the day and just had zero energy. The only thing I did was drive to the Wal Mart parking lot to buy a Lion's Club Charbroiled chicken dinner. It was too dry to eat, so I struck out on lunch, but donated to the Lion's Club.

My contribution to Earth Day!

Metal butterflies!!!!!!

Dumbness revealed....Atlas Shrugged!

When I went to a Tea Party protest last week, I saw several "Where is John Galt?" signs. I must admit I had no idea who John Galt was, but it didn't take me long to find out after I got home. He is a character in the Ayn Rand book, Atlas Shrugged. I have never read the book, probably due to its enormous size. While watching Tea Party coverage on TV, I saw several references to John Galt and Atlas Shrugged. Being the curious person that I am.... plus not wanting to look absolutely stupid, I researched the book and now have it in my stack of books to read. From what I can derive, it is all about the complete fall of Capitalism. Now I see the relevance because that's exactly where the USA is headed. We are on the road to destruction! I smell the wild blueberry muffins in the oven and my book is waiting. Muffins for dinner! YUM!

Too wet to plow....

It was too wet to plow at the garden today, but it wasn't too wet to mow. I got on the lawn mower and started mowing. My brother and sister-in-law usually do this on two mowers and get it done quickly. One person takes about 3 hours of solid mowing. When my brother drove down the road and saw me mowing, he came over on his mower and helped me finish. Now everything  there looks so pretty. I love a fresh mowed lawn. Mom and Dad went to some senior function at their church and weren't home when I left, but they will see that everything is all mowed and blown clean. Dad won't be able to see it, but Mom will. His eyesight won't even allow him to see that. It's sad!

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What a great day!

Nothing makes me happier than having a yard to keep all pretty with flowers. Today being the absolute perfect day for yard work, I started early in my yard planting my yearly caladiums. All 75 of them are in the ground now and I expect that they will really show off this summer. They always do. In fact, I am known as the yard with the caladiums in my hood. My friend, who owns a garden shop recommended Carolyn Wharton's for my yard because they tolerate the oppressive heat better than others. The last 2 years, I planted this variety and it did well, so I used it again this year.

I spent the entire morning in the yard just doing various chores and already twice this morning people have stopped by to compliment me on my beautiful yard. Yep, I love it! I just went and bought some more flowers, but I think that will be a job for tomorrow. I'm used up already this day!! I also have some metal, colorful butterflies ordered to put on my wooden fence.

Random nothingness!

I'm still here!  I guess I've been on an extended coffee break. Just didn't realize so many days had gone by without posting something. Can't use the "busy" excuse because that's not the case. A couple of days of rain kept me a bit on the lazy side.

One of my dearest friends from Texas was in the vicinity on Friday, so I went to her aunt's house and visited with her while she was here. Haven't seen her in a couple of years, so it was a nice visit.

The rains have been really beneficial for our garden. Potatoes are looking great, corn is up all over the place and we have managed to keep it tilled so the weeds and grass haven't taken over. I think we are going to have a good garden this year. I just love working in it and watching it grow. We still have several things to plant, such as okra, bell peppers, egg plants , sweet potatoes, and peas, but it is a little too early here to plant those.

Well, CRAP!

I am trying to be frugal and it is not working! Today it was computer crap. I called someone to come help me with some computer issues...mostly printer issues and $85 later, we have ordered 1G of new memory to speed this sucker up. That's an additional $47. I'm trying not to buy a new one even though this one is 6 years old. I have a new laptop, but I really like a desktop better.

As soon as he left, I was off to serve hot dogs at the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) party. We had a great turn out....probably 400 people in this small town! The signs were great, the best being D.C. = District of Corruption!

Productive day already!

My day started earlier than usual today for some unknown reason. I fired up the ipod and went for a walk, which got the productive juices flowing. After cooking a chicken in preparation for making chicken and dumplings, I went to Dad's to work in the garden. Miracles do happen. I started the tiller myself! No call to brother while hanging my head in shame because I was too weak to start the tiller. I got the garden all tilled and planted 3 more rows of sweet corn, beets, radishes, turnips, turnip greens, and sunflowers. Dad is happy and I have the rest of the week free to do whatever...well, not exactly....

Tomorrow I am involved in the local tax day tea party. My job is to serve hot dogs. I can do that!

He is Risen!

Not much planned for Easter. I will attend early service and Bible study before going to lunch at my brother's. That's the plan every Sunday. Since there are no kids in the family, Easter eggs are not invited. I am providing a ham and my sister-in-law will fix something to go with it. Weather gods are saying 100% rain, so that sucks for the Easter egg hunts and family get togethers. It just means nap time for me while watching the Master's golf tournament! Not a problem!

Good day...

There is very little left to be done to have my yard in pristine condition. Today I bought some new seed and sod dirt to fill in some gaps where I am impatient for the grass to fill in. I even threw some Bermuda grass seeds down on the new dirt. Bermuda seems to be the only grass that does well in this red clay soil. Most of my pots are filled with beautiful color. Now I am hoping my azaleas will bloom. I have a late blooming variety, but there is so much new growth that there doesn't seem to be many buds to open. I pruned them dramatically, but they have already doubled in size again. I don't want big bushes in front of my house. They must not touch the brick! I know....I know....I am a bit OCD! My variety is Conversation Piece and it is supposed to look like this, but it almost never does!

Now dinner is in the stove and I am kicked back watching the Master's. Happy to say that I have been there twice and it is one of my favorite places to go...absolutely beautiful.

Good Friday

The weather gods were angry tonight!

Whew! We dodged a weather bullet tonight. The weather people have been on nonstop since about 7 tonight. A tornado went through downtown Shreveport, through Barksdale AFB, and was headed directly toward my brother and my parents. Luckily, it went right between me and them. Not sure of damage yet because of darkness, but it was so hairy that Mom got in a closet. I guess I can go to bed now. As fire chief of the volunteer fire department in their little village, I'm sure my brother is out with his chain saw removing trees from roads. The TV just went back to regular programming, so I guess I can go to bed now. Whew!

Don't hate!

 

I will be having salad tonight that was in the ground this morning! Good Grub!

Field Trip

My friends and I took a field trip to here today. This place is owned by my best friend from high school and her husband. The plantation house is their residence! Cool! It is magnificent. After walking all over the grounds and looking at all the beautiful Louisiana Irises, we picnicked on her patio overlooking Caddo Lake. Stunning....but, of course, I forgot to take pictures!