Saturday, August 27, 2011

Saturday Evening Post


Where would you rather be for the next few days?
Uhhh... yeah... me, too!
Amarillo, TX                                                                                         
Partly Cloudy
99°F
Current: Partly Cloudy
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 13%
Sat
Mostly Sunny
101° | 68°
Sun
Chance of Storm
101° | 68°
Mon
Chance of Storm
94° | 65°
Tue
Mostly Sunny
97° | 67°

Clear
72°F
Current: Clear
Wind: S at 16 mph
Humidity: 38%
Sat
Thunderstorm
76° | 50°
Sun
Chance of Storm
76° | 52°
Mon
Chance of Storm
70° | 52°
Tue
Chance of Storm
74° | 52°

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

They Teach It at Stanford

(this came to me via email this week)
"I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman, whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.
At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.
Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality “girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings? Rarely.
Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.
There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged—not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!
So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health." ~ copied

Reserve a date, grab your girlfriends and come on up!
It will be good for your health!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

The Saturday Evening Post

He's back!

Welcome Home!
 After a week in CO,
4-wheeling,
and looking a little scruffy,
I am so glad to see you!

After unpacking, sitting on the front deck to watch the rain, lots of talk about the trip, a little two hour nap, and a couple of loads of laundry, we grilled steaks.  It was the best meal that I had all week!

The bear was back this afternoon, too.

Have you seen my flowers lately?
 They are perking up.
 Blooming.
 Beautiful!
 A little rain goes a long way!
(Cory, Christi, Will, Grant and Brock, thank you again for these geraniums!)

Friday, August 19, 2011

The Clouds

It's always fascinating when the mountains disappear in the clouds -
really pretty. 




Thursday, August 18, 2011

Blue Jays

I was enjoying my coffee in the hot tub this morning when the "scout" blue jay appeared.  He shows up in the morning to see if there is anything for the birds in the feeder or on the ground or on the driveway or anywhere around.  If he finds something, he immediately informs his friends and they fly right over.  This reminded me of an incident a couple of weeks ago when Mickey and I were enjoying our morning coffee in the hot tub.  The "scout" had notified his friends and they were gathered.  They all suddenly started chirping or whatever it is that blue jays do.  We laughed and thought that they were fussing at us to provide seed.  Seconds later, the fox was headed up the mountain and when he disappeared, the chirping stopped.  It seems that they were totally unaware of our presence with or without food.  Now we know the "danger" alert of the blue jays.           

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Bear Claws and Raindrops

I decided to start my vehicle today.  As I age, I find myself doing things that I would never have thought of before.  I never think about the engine starting in Amarillo.  But from here, it is a long way to find help.  As I opened the door, I looked down and to my surprise, here is what I saw.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to set something beside these prints to indicate their size, but they look HUGE to me!  My thought is that these were here when I arrived, but I was busy unloading and didn't notice them.  Please make note of the claws at the top.  YIKES! 

Fortunately, I have not seen a bear since I arrived.  It seems that about this time of year, they move on.  Where?  I don't really know, but I am happy to see them go and hope that the only thing left behind is footprints.

Sometime after my bear track encounter, rain started falling.
It was a gentle rain, but as it ran off the roof, I just couldn't resist trying to get a picture of it.  So, if you will look closely, you will see vertical streaks below.  They are not scratches on the lens.  Oh, I am not a photographer or really even a wannabe.  I just don't have the patience for that.  But there are some fun things that I could catch on film if I were. 


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Where is it?

Have you ever lost something?  Today was one of those days.  I spent some time scrap booking and finished GrandKids Camp 2010.  As I picked up my camp scrapbook, I was horrified to find that the last pages scrapped were from camp 2008.  Now realizing that I was actually three years behind was bad enough, but where are the pictures from 2009?  It was a fun camp and the theme was It's A Circus!  We held a backyard circus at the end of the week and had a great time with lions, tightrope walkers, and tricks under the Big Top (well it was a little big top).  As I panicked through my photo packages, I really couldn't remember if I had actually scrapped that event or not.  If so, I should have pages, not pictures in photo envelopes.  Ah-ha!  There in three photo holders were the missing pictures, obviously untouched since they arrived and we smiled as we went through them.  So, now they are sorted and waiting for tomorrow.  I am happy to find them.  Now, where is the invitation from that year?  Tomorrow will bring about another search, I'm sure.  For tonight, I am exhausted and off to bed.   

Monday, August 15, 2011

And the winner is...

Staci!
This cute CM Mini Album is coming your way!
Thank you all for your comments.


Stay tuned, there will be more give-a-ways coming. 
Keep reading this blog and watch for the next prize.

Here are some landscape shots taken this evening before the rain shower.






I have had an uplifting day today preparing for Bible Study this Fall
with my "Merry Hearts".   

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Good News!

I arrive today to find the fire danger warning sign at moderate!  That is fabulous!  There has been some rain and there is more in the area!

 Apparently, the Cayenne Pepper worked around the flowers to keep the chipmunks out of the flower garden.  I have some blooms again!






However, the sand between the flagstones is a mess!  Maybe the chipmunks have been too busy spreading my sand to eat my flowers!

Tonight, I am off to bed early to watch a chick flick and read my new Cabin Life magazine!  Good night, all!

Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment on the 8/8/11 Leave a Comment post below!  The winner will be announced tomorrow evening.   

Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Saturday Evening Post



Tonight I am preparing to head for the mountains.
Mickey is going to CO on his annual 4-Wheeling trip with a group of guys.
I'm glad that I will be in a quiet and peaceful place for a week.  I'm thinking that I should really accomplish a lot.  We'll see!

Hey, don't forget to comment on the post below to be entered in the drawing on Monday for the cute CM Mini album! 

Monday, August 8, 2011

48 Hours...

We were without Internet for 48 hours.  No WIFI.  No iPad.  No laptop.  No iPhone.  We felt very disconnected.  As of this afternoon, we are obviously back.  It has been time consuming to catch up.

So, here is Mickey's latest project! 
I love this new drawer!
It is installed below the TV and holds all of our DVDs, with room for many more!
 
We fully enjoyed these girls this weekend!
We made three new friends and reconnected with three old friends!  Thank you for coming.

What do you suppose did this?
Those pesky chipmunks!
Where are our grandchildren and their BB Guns when we need them?
I'm thinking about a chili pepper outline around the flagstone patio and the flower garden!  This flower should be protected!

Don't forget to read and comment on the post below!

Leave a comment ...

 ...if you would like to win this CM Mini Album.
Just slide you pictures in and you are ready to show!
Your comment?  Let me know why you would like to own the pretty little purse size album.  What/who would you show in  it?  Winner will be determined by an in-house drawing (literally) and will be posted on August 15.  Comment now!  



If you recognize these, please let me know.
They were found in the East upstairs bedroom.

Friday, August 5, 2011

It is finished!

When I was a little girl, my grandmother lived with us, specifically with me as we shared a bedroom and bathroom. She was an incredible woman and I loved her dearly. She had an old trunk. We would go through it periodically and I would get inside when it was emptied. Then, we would refill it with her treasures. I loved it. It was a part of my life. I don't know what happened to Grandma's trunk, but I found many of Grandma's things in my mother's cedar chest.


This was my mother's cedar chest.  My daddy bought it for her many years (more than fifty years) ago and it was badly in need of a makeover, but no real repairs were needed.  It too was a part of my life and was filled with her treasures and memories.  There were Bibles, pictures, birth certificates, death certificates, baby dresses, pocket knives, jewelry, scrapbooks, check stubs, house plans, letters and cards.  It held the memories of my mother and I am thrilled to have it.  It is now my treasure of memories.

I am glad that my project is finally finished. After many hours of work, it is beautiful and I am proud to have it. Thank you to Mickey and Vaden for encouraging me and baby sitting me as I stripped, sanded and finished it.