Blogger and Canning Veggies

I've worked for over an hour trying to download pictures from my camera chip!! I'd like to show you some new photos and my DH would like to add some to his blog....

Anyway, I've been canning green beans and yellow crookneck squash. My dad got them yesterday from a friend and my goal this year is to make sure ALL my jars are filled with vegetables...it sure would be nice if there was some way of canning watermelon. haha

Update: Uncle Homer

Uncle Homer is now an angel living in heaven with God. He passed away in his sleep last night. We're all sad to see him go but we know he is in Heaven and that is comforting knowing we'll meet again someday. Please keep Aunt Nell and our family in your prayers.

Missing in Action?? God works in mysterious ways.

I really haven't been missing in action - it's just been such an emotional rollercoaster at our house.

(This picture always makes me cry.)

On Saturday, April 30, Uncle Homer's (the man in the above picture) daughter called and said he wanted to see his brother, Oscar - who lives 70 miles north of us, so in an effort to abide by his wishes, we called him. At that time he decided he would wait until Monday, May 2, to go to Fla. On Sunday, May 1, our DD & SIL traveled to see Uncle Homer. Upon their arrival, she texted me and said we needed to come right now! DH called his parents, they arrived at our house and we all went to Fla. In Alabama, only 40 minutes away from Homer & Nell's, we stopped for a bite to eat and get gas. DH drove past the gas station Oscar wanted to use and he asked him to turn around. DH pumped the gas, Oscar went in to pay, had paid, I went in to get water, and as he was coming across the lot he was struck by a Rendevous SUV and was knocked to the ground. So..... after the police and EMT's got there it was decided he needed to go to the hospital and be checked, mostly because he takes coumadin and there may have been internal bleeding. After a CT scan and xrays, it was determined to admit him for observation - when his head hit the pavement his brain went bak and forth and had caused bleeding in the forehead area. They also discovered his hemoglobin was extremely low and gave him 2 pints of plasma. That's what I mean, God works in mysterious ways -- Oscar wasn't going to his doctor until Thurs of this week and apparently he should not have waited that long. DD and SIL had already returned home and when they were told, decided to come to Al the next morning. We went on to Homer & Nell's, leaving DH to care for his dad and mom. The hospital released Oscar on Monday afternoon (only because of the circumstances) and they continued on to FL. His arm was bandaged and we all were concerned Homer would realize he had been in an accident while he was trying to come visit him. The visit went well, we returned home on Monday night and DH and parents returned on Tuesday.
It was such a strange sequence of events and God had to have had a hand in all of it. Praise the Lord, Oscar wasn't hurt any worse than he was. He's 85 years old, still is able to get aropund well, cuts his own grass, and would have been miserable if he wasn't able to do as he pleases.

Thank you my blogging frriends and please continue to keep us all in your prayers.

Supper with a friend....

Had a most wonderful, not enough time, supper with a friend. We've known each other for more than 30 years and have seen each other through laughter and tears. As grammar school children, our children remember going to bed at 9:00 pm and waking up at 8:00 am and the parents still being at each others house. Now my children have children but she's not lucky enough to have grandchildren. She has "furry" grandchildren. The above picture was taken a couple years ago at my birthday party.

Have you ever been in a sewing slump? I can't seem to get motivated enough to finish a UFO or even work on other projects. We have been busy planting a vegetable garden... that takes a lot more time than I remembered or maybe we're just getting slower in our old age. I looked today, and the Kentucky Wonder green beans are coming up out of the ground and it's rained tonight so maybe with God's rain the rest will pop... God's rain always works better than well water.

Gratitudes:
1. Old friends
2. New friends
3. Chicken taco salad. yummy....

Taxes, Bricks & Friday

It's Friday -- the weekend is already planned and it hasn't begun.

We did our income taxes yesterday (which wasn't fun) but the fun part was the bricks!

In a previous post I told about the city demolishing our beloved high school. Well, it's gone now, the lot is empty, but the alumni did manage to save 3 pallets of bricks. We picked up our bricks yesterday, right now they're lying in my flower bed - right by my door, so I can look at them whenever I please. (Isn't that silly for a grown woman). The bricks were at a restaurant of a fellow alumni; we had lunch and it was good to see him again. In the resstaurant he has a room dedicated to the school and he has our large tiger (mascot) that was in the auditorium. I never thought my high school years were all that great, we haven't attended any of the reunions, but it was good to see some of the old photos. I guess, all bad memories fade with time.

(The feet don't belong to me, mine are much older! haha)

Have a great weekend !!

A sad weekend

Last Tuesday started a horrible chain of events. The daughter of a friend of ours, who is also a niece to another friend, was killed in a car accident. A young driver who had skipped school was trying to get home in "a hurry" at 80 miles per hour and ran a stop sign and T boned Pam's truck. Her 15 year old daughter was also in the truck, but only has scratches on her forehead and is extremely sore, with bruises. Pam worked in a local school, was active in church and a well rounded, lloving, helpful person to all she met. She will be greatly missed by many. Her visitation, on Saturday, was at the same funeral home where our darling granddaughter, Jessie, was in 2007. DH didn't go to visitation so I thought I should represent us and glad I did. As soon as I arrived, her aunt (my friend) said she knew I'd come. All was well until I woke up Sunday -- sad and depressed. I could have easily stayed in bed the entire day, but went to church and worked in the garden afterwards. And of all the songs to be chosen by the choir director, I sing in the choir, was "It is Well with My Soul", one of the songs for Jessie. I came out of the choir before we started that song,- I've tried numerous times to stay in the choir and end up crying, so now I exit before we start. I'm better today, it wouldn't take a lot to set me off, but at least today I can control the "waterworks". God always has a purpose, but sometimes it sure is hard to convince yourself - that's where faith comes in. We cry for our loss but should celebrate them being with God. Thanks for listening....

Wedding Dress

So, here it is - Another blogger asked me if I had posted my DD wedding dress that I made for her in 2006. There are over 22,000 handsewn beads and sequins on the bodice and they cascade over her waist and down the skirt - she wanted a waterfall effect. My husband counted one bottle of beads and that's how we now how many are on the dress. (we multiplied the bottles taht I had saved). We originally went to the bridal shop looking for a dress, nothing suited her, and finally: "Are any of these going to be ok?" "No" "Do you want me to make your dress?" "Yes" "Ok, let's go across the street to JoAnn's Fabrics". And so it began... after the dress was sewn, it took another 3 months to sew on the beads (I continued to work full time)., evenings and weekends.......
The dress was so heavy it left bruise marks on her shoulders.
But it was all worth it -- she was a beautiful bride!!!!

Birthdays and Motorsports Complex

Another beautiful day and a busy weekend. On April 9th, our youth at church are having a yard sale to raise money for the mission field for this summer and I've been busy today gathering items for the sale. Naturally, when I start one project it tends to lead to another -- now I'm proud to say the bottom of my closet and all extra items are gone.



Yesterday was my son's birthday. He's 44 years old but it sure doesn't seem like that many years has gone by.

But I sure do remember his birth, my DH was in Viet Nam, I had returned home to live with my parents, at the time my mom didn't drive a car, my dad was at work so we callled my MIL to take me to the hospital. I first woke up around 6:00 AM and thought I had a tummy ache so I went back to bed -- well, at 9:00 AM, I told mom maybe we should call and go to the hospital. MIL arrived, but mom was writing a letter to my Grandma and didn't want to stop. Long story short - he was born at 12:00 noon, on April 1st. Daddy always called him his "fishing buddy" and brought a rod and reel to the hospital. He was the first GC on both sides so he always got the "royal" treatment. (DD will gladly tell those stories.)

Speaking of DD --- she is the first new employee of the Motorsports Complex! She gave her two week notice at work Friday and starts the new job on April 18. "Now I'll get paid to do what I've been paying to do all my life."