Writer on a Horse

Life is Good

2012-01-23T17:25:00.005-06:00

They should put that on a tee shirt :)

We was safe though last nights storms... looking forward to a good night's sleep... and I got my house cleaned this weekend... sooooo needed it!!!

Today the sun came out and I soaked up some vitamin D from the back of a horse...YES

My big boned dog, Lexie, loved the afternoon ride in the pasture too and she really needed the exercise like her owner. We don't call her fat..

I wanted to ride the trail but there has been so much rain I was really afraid the mud would suck the horses shoes off... I'm not kidding, it can do it for real.

I rode Sandy, who has not been rode in months and she only acted up one time. I cut a switch and she was so afraid she kept trying to eat the switch.... I cast such a fearsome intimating air....NOT

I think everyone should be able to do what they want, when they want, how they want... every Monday. I vote yes to that.

If you want to read a really good book on horses.. check out this one.

Wrestling, cupcakes and thunder storms..

2012-01-22T16:39:00.002-06:00

That is what my Friday night was filled with... wrestling with Kane, grandson, who said I was really strong for a 98 year old granny... I'm not 98 but I am stronger than a 11 year old :)

Turned the kitchen over to three grandchildren and had ugly, yummy cupcakes.

We also watched and old movie... "Baby's Day Out" they loved it and we all laughed and ate donuts from Krispy Kreme.

Early Saturday morning... like at 3 am.... we had a thunder storm with hail and lots of thunder... I don't mention the lightning because that doesn't scare kids but thunder does... Ella creeps into our bedroom and says... "It's thundering and I'm scare." Granddaddy..."Coming get in bed with us." No more sleep with flopping child in your bed. Kane never knew it was storming... Lake said the next morning that she had been scared too but she figured that it if a tornado came it would have blown our room away too and she didn't want to leave Kane alone. Ahhhhh

I take all the hugs and kisses I can get because the day is coming that I won't see them as much. Jase is coming tonight to spend the night but only because she is scared the storm tonight will be bad and I have a basement.

Here's hoping you're as strong as a 98 year old granny, love ugly cupcakes and you're a shelter to your loves from any storm.

Which of the seven drawf names best fit your mood

2012-01-19T21:12:00.003-06:00

Well, sort of bad day ... people are hopeless go live in a cave and never talk to anyone again... put down all the unwanted humans and save more dogs... kind of day.

When I came home, Lexie met me wiggling and whining she was so happy to see me... God is good... he sent dogs to keep us sane.

I would be Grumpy and Sleepy... Ronnie said I could be Sneezy but not all of you know that I sneeze when I go into restaurants.

Can you name the 7 Dwarfs?

1. Dopey
2. Grumpy
3. Doc
4. Bashful
5. Sleepy
6. Sneezy
7. Happy

Facebook, texting , etc ... the down fall of spelling

2012-01-18T21:21:00.003-06:00

I go to my facebook page and look at post and I feel so good... there are people out there that spell worst than I do ... I don't feel like a bottom feeder anymore... I'm like a yard from the bottom according the post I read.

And don't even get me started on texting... Write the word people... stop being so lazy. Okay, I'm hearing all my friend yell "You don't text!" True, I've been strong and have resisted the push from family and friends but I will let you in on a secret... I know how to text, I just don't do it. If you want to talk to me, you will have to listen to what I have to say and not just delete me.

if yuo can raed tihs, you hvae a sgtrane mnid, too.
Can you raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

If you can read this, your brain is 50% faster than those who can't or you stay on facebook too much

Counting blessings

2012-01-17T18:24:00.002-06:00

The sky has been dark all day and about noon the clouds dumped the rain in abundances. On days like today I like to look beyond the weather and see the silver lining
My Blessings

1. My Faith that the world is basically good and people will remember that other people in their life is more important than things

2. My Husband who is more than a mate ... he is my best friend that loves me even when I get kicked out of a basketball game..

3. My children and grandchildren who are so easy to fall into my guilt trip traps

4. My Friends who make me complete not as a wife or mother but as a person that feels like there is life past the front door of home

5. My Dog... who really does love me unconditionally

6. My family... brothers, Dad who drive me crazy but I love and know they can't help it because they are men.

7. My Mother and Grandmother who I miss terrible ... these two women made me who I am ... I'm not perfect but I think I would have made both of them proud.

When the world pressing dark, gloomy, sad feelings on you... think about your blessings and I guarantee you'll feel better.

I forgot how much I love GIRLS basketball

2012-01-15T21:10:00.004-06:00

Let me tell you something... them boys can't touch the girls... all heart and emotions... makes me yell at the referee :) I do get a little rowdy somethings.
I think I'm going to go be a referee for girls basketball... the blind one that was calling my granddaughter's game Friday night had to be like late seventies and I've forgot more about basketball than he knows.

Lake played a great game with 5 points, tons of rebounds and 4 fouls... she played physical... like her mother did and her granny did. Missy, her mother, was on a team that went to the state playoffs her senior year. They lost in the semi-finals... but Wilson went back the next year and won state.

Friday night was a tournament and the semi-final bracket plays tomorrow night. Hope we don't get Paw-Paw ref this time.

Made a discovery

2012-01-14T08:01:00.004-06:00

The human body will bounce, and let me tell you it's not fun.

Okay, here's the deal... I went up and down those stairs a hundred times during the Christmas holidays and didn't even have a stumble... going down last night to tell Ronnie about the rooster chasing Lexie back to the van... one foot shot out about halfway down and the last six steps were pounded with my butt. Ronnie was scared to death and all I said was... "That would have been easier ten years ago when I had more padding.

This morning it isn't funny. Black and blue cheeks... the ones that nobody kisses... must have hit back because bruise across lower part... aching shoulder and scraped thumb on right hand.

I think I might have learned that the time it takes to put on shoes before going down stairs is well worth it.

Winter Blues... I love them

2012-01-12T13:50:00.005-06:00

Winter Blues is when I let my mind settle... watch old movies, read books that have been waiting and waiting to be picked up... and plotting

Yes, I'm writing again. Why can't I be rich so I could afford a assistant to write as I tell the story and then I could just critique it and PRESTO... a novel.

I have my really soft and warm socks on, cuddly housecoat, plotting notebook and book I'm reading... oh yes a cup of Arctic White hot chocolate and all afternoon to do whatever I want to do.

I do wish it was warm enough to ride but hey Spring will be here in two months.

Some pain is always with you

2012-01-11T16:02:00.005-06:00

The middle of January is always a sad time for me. My nephew Greg... my brother's first child died three days after being born... healthy baby but got Group B streptococcus. He would have been twenty-nine this year.

Then my oldest nephew Keith, Ronnie's sister boy, died in a car accident almost twelve years ago... tomorrow he would have been forty.

After this week I'll have a small break then Feb 22 will mark the birthday of the third nephew that died... Bubba, real name Donnie, who died in a motorcycle accident in 2008.

Dead is a certain event but none of us are ever ready for it. Miss you guys.

Love ya, Aunt Pat

Dance Dance OH YES

2012-01-10T05:15:00.008-06:00

A picture is worth a thousand words

Alabama 21 LSU 0

It's really sad that a ball game will make or break my day tomorrow

2012-01-09T18:20:00.002-06:00

If The Tide loses... tears for the day

If The Tide wins... dance dance dance

I'm a crimson fan and know the team... of course I know football, I mean I played tag football with the girls and quarterbacked the neighborhood team... even broke a collar bone once ... so guys I'm the woman you don't like seating next to you at a bar... I know the game and I will call your hand on stupid remarks.

Oh gosh what am I saying... I'll call you hand on stupid remarks even if it's not football. :)

Between shades of gray by Ruta Sepetys

2012-01-08T17:33:00.003-06:00

In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life, vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil. Based on the author's family, includes a historical note.

If you have not read this book, you need to start looking for it now.

Ruta is a wonderful, sweet, smart, talented... okay enough adjectives... to learn more about her and her book, visit her website...

www.rutasepetys.com

I just looked at the Mock List for the Newbery and I need to add something to my New Year list... I read zero books on the list. Zero! I couldn't tell you anything about any of the books... except maybe "Okay for Now" and Irene has been telling me I really need to read that book.

Good-bye inside winter blues... hello sunshine

2012-01-05T12:28:00.004-06:00

It's a proven fact that the human body needs sunshine... not to get a great tan but to give the body vitamin D

Sun exposure to the skin is the human race’s natural, intended, most effective and most neglected source of vitamin D.

Vitamin D sufficiency, along with diet and exercise, has emerged as one of the most important preventive factors in human health. Hundreds of studies now link vitamin D deficiency with significantly higher rates of many forms of cancer‚ as well as heart disease‚ osteoporosis‚ multiple sclerosis and many other conditions and diseases.

So, take a walk and enjoy. If you walk at least fifteen minutes a day... you'll get you vitamin D fix, improve muscle tone and strengthen your heart.

Do I sound like a commercial? I want my friends to be healthy.

Mamas go ahead and let your babies grow up to be cowboys

2012-01-02T20:51:00.007-06:00

Going to do a little mother bragging tonight... my son Ron was in the top twenty in ranch sorting and was invited to ride in the National finals in Tulsa, OK the middle of January 2012... I regret to say that he can't spare the time or money this soon after Christmas. Some of my best weekends was spent riding trails with my husband. It's so good when a husband and wife have a hobby they can share.
And now they're getting the babies interested... that is Lake on the little red horse. Saturday night was her first time competing and she did great.

2012... bring it on

2011-12-31T23:25:00.002-06:00

1. Going to walk slower and enjoy the view

2. Listen more and talk less... try... not a promise

3. Read more

4. Read farther when the story doesn't grab me... like maybe to page 50 instead of page 15

5. Tell my friends how much they mean to me more

6. Tell my family I love them... sometimes the words are needed

7. Write every day even if it's just in my journal

8. Get more chickens... I really do like to watch them

9. Ride a horse at least twice a week...starting in the spring

10. Make two Christmas quilts and get those grandbabies to finish their charm quilts

Well it's offical... My writing buddy is moving

2011-12-30T21:04:00.004-06:00

11 hours away... to Florida and I hate going to Florida. Sheila Renfro my friend and conference buddy got a much better job and will be leaving the Shoals area in less than 30 days. Am I sad... for me I'm very sad but for her I so proud and happy she is reaching her goals and getting her dream job. You go girlfriend.

This is my plan for 2012

2011-12-28T17:47:00.002-06:00

Sometimes you see a post on FB and it screams share me... which I did but I wanted to comment on it too. To me this verse and pictures says "Golden Rule" Why can't we live it.... world would be some much better.

War Horse and the Iron King

2011-12-26T20:43:00.005-06:00

Went to see War Horse last night with my daughter, granddaughters, niece, sister-in-law and some of their friends and my son-in-law Joe and grand boyfriend (I guess that is what Jase's boyfriend Kyle would be called)

First let me say, that I'm really getting to be a mean old lady with no patience. The woman sitting behind me kicked my seat during the entire movie and didn't stop even when I glared at her... twice... it took me saying loudly that I was going to move to the seat behind the stupid inconsiderate witch that was kicking my seat and see if I could kick some smarts into her.... and of course there was a person in front of us checking facebook DURING the movie... people..if you just have to check your status... go pee and do it while you're in the bathroom.

Okay, now to the movie. It is a four tissue movie for horse crazy teens... a little on the corny side at times but over all I would give it four stars... the horses were the best actors. All their actions seemed realistic, where some of the people seems too Gone With the Windish... great scenes that pulled you into the story and made you cheer for the horse.

I'm reading The Iron King, the first book in a series by Julie Kagawa... so far I like it... Thanks Jana for recommending it. I've only read the first fifty pages but I'm not putting it down. Will update when I finish. Can't believe I'm reading a book about faeries.

95% Chirstmas Free

2011-12-25T17:58:00.004-06:00

You've seen the pictures and read the blogs... Christmas has been at my house since Thanksgiving.... I know ... you're not suppose to take down your tree until after the new year but people... I want normal.

I've got my hummingbird plates ready to hang in the kitchen, my pottery bowls ready to put in their place and my depression glass pieces ready to put out. I have my blue curtains up in the living room, the shower curtains back to normal... What?? you don't put up Christmas shower curtains???

I'm off to see War Horse with the girls tonight and since my kids know me so well and know how much I love love love bargains... I have gift cards to Kohl's and Joann's. Can you say fun fun fun.

We had the greatest Christmas and we're all so blessed. Off to get that other 5% down so I can relax.

Lets get ready for 2012, year of the Dragon.

The Eve of Christmas Eve...

2011-12-23T15:54:00.002-06:00

The last night the kids go to bed counting the hours until Santa comes... tomorrow night is the big night... only one more day of worry that you was good enough to get everything on your list. I want to take this moment to send a holiday hug to everyone and be safe because you are important.
Might not blog tomorrow... don't eat too much and don't stress too much... just enjoy.

Trousdale Christmas 2011

2011-12-21T22:29:00.012-06:00

My Daddy and Brenda, my step-mother in red, ... one is tough and the other is one of the sweetest souls I've ever met... you guess which is which

Family was all there and it was a good night.

Those two boys are six years apart but still close brothers.

A small snapshot of the after the party blues... dishes and cups everywhere.

What to do -- What to do???

2011-12-20T20:34:00.003-06:00

With all this free time! Nap time. I've had a nasty sinus infection, like nearly everyone else in the state of Alabama, put pushed through family weekend. Everything went great!!! but my sinus got worst. Kept the grandbabies yesterday and oh do I have a story to tell you later this week about our visit to the chicken pen... but I really didn't do anything... just played with the kids and watched movies. Today I worked but was home early and napped on couch until just a little while ago... think I'll finish this blog and go to bed early. All this extra time feels good now but when I get to feeling better, I'm going to find something to do.

Picture of Family... 2011 has been a great year

2011-12-19T12:45:00.010-06:00

Family overload... just what I needed

2011-12-18T14:02:00.003-06:00

I had a wonderful evening yesterday with my family. Everyone was there and I know that there isn't too many more Christmas that everyone will be in one spot at the same time. Weaver gathering in two hours and everything is done... Yea.

I feel energized even through I have a terrible cold...or sinus not sure which but will be going to doctor if I'm not better by tomorrow. There is nothing like Family overload to Grinch heart grow...And God bless us, everyone.

Picture is my bedroom with my Christmas quilt and my Roll Tide Roll blanket Irene gave me last Christmas.

Doesn't Christmas smell wonderful!

2011-12-16T22:37:00.003-06:00

Big weekend... Saturday is the Trousdale Christmas and Sunday is the Weaver Christmas
Both will be at my house, why you might ask... well.... for the Trousdales I took over when Mother died in 1974 and did Christmas at my house. My nieces and nephews have never had a Trousdale Christmas anywhere but at my house... oh they have it at home ... since I only have brothers that means their Christmas is a Trousdale Christmas but the entire family together has always been at my house.

Now the Weaver's have been at my house since the late eighties ... not sure exactly when we started having them at my house but they have been celebrated here since.

I love family and I love to have them enjoy the holidays nestled in my Christmas spirit.

So ready to play a little dirty Santa.

Today is all we have

2011-12-14T22:19:00.003-06:00

This picture is going around on facebook and it moved me so much I wanted to share with y'all. How true these words are... live the moment because that might be the rest of your life. Merry Christmas my friends, I hope the new year brings charity to your heart, peace to your soul and new dreams to your spirit.

Memories of Christmas Past

2011-12-13T22:04:00.003-06:00

I've been looking at old pictures... scratching my head because I want to scan them and put them on a disc for the kids and really just don't know were to start... and I got lost in memories. They tell me that a sure sign of old age.

Here are some of my favorite memories of Christmas Past:
1. Midnight mass on Christmas Day
2. Two weeks of no school to play hard with cousins and friends
3. Christmas Eve supper at Granny's house with every member of my daddy's family filling their small house ... 8 kids and their spouses... 14 grandchildren
4. Aunt Margaret's smiles when everyone came on Christmas Eve... Aunt Margaret lived with Granny and Granddaddy until she died in the early sixties. She was really my great Aunt and she had the purest heart.
5. My Daddy's corny jokes about hunters and the reindeer
6. My brother, Logan, trying to keep me awake so we could see Santa... not a chance dear brother.
7. Later in life... my children's feet padding down the hall, bursting through the bedroom door and squealing "Santa came, Santa came."
8. Last year, my entire family around the breakfast table on Christmas Eve morning ... the kids begging the grownups to hurry so they can open presents

In all the tight schedules of the Christmas holiday... please take the time to visit the memories of Christmas past. It will brighten your Christmas present and become a yearly tradition for Christmas future.

Picture is Saint Michael's Church in St Florian, Alabama
and my Daddy with wife Brenda and their grandchildren

Break out the shorts... baby it's warm outside

2011-12-13T05:58:00.003-06:00

Can you believe it's going to be 68 degrees tomorrow and in the low sixties all week. I remember my mother writing to tell her sisters that she went Christmas shopping in just a sweater. Mother was born and raised in Rhode Island... well born in Massachusetts but raised in Providence. My Dad met her when he was in the Navy, Providence was a navel port. She worked at the Blue Robin... They were like oil and water (family has told me they fought) from the start but there must have been some spices in the mix because they got married after only knowing each other a few months.

I'm lucky to be here... faith touched my mother's life. Four months before she got pregnant with me, she miscarried twins... a boy and a girl. If she had carried them to term, no me. My blood type is A positive and my two brothers are O negative like mother... I wasn't the first baby and with positive blood should have been miscarried but here I am. After I was born, Mother had six more miscarriages... one between me and Logan and five between Logan and Jim. I'm fifteen years older than Jim and only two older than Logan.

All this rambling is leading to a question. My parents seemed happy... sure there was fights but as a whole they seemed happy... I was happy! I was whipped when I needed it ... which was pretty often... but it didn't scar me or make me resent my parents. Mother had a deep fear of storms and would hide us under the bed but I don't fear storms at all, in fact I love to watch the sky as the clouds roll past. I was wondering if Dr Spock looked at my family if he would decide I wasn't happy and I hated my parents... I don't but we wasn't the text book family. I had one Aunt tell me I didn't matter because I was only a girl and couldn't carry on the family name... which I answered... "Mother should have had all girls and stopped the craziest of this family." I got a spanking for being sassy but Mother said she agreed with me.

The picture is of me with Santa on my first Christmas. We lived in Dayton Ohio where I was born. Look at that snowsuit... whew, it makes me hot just looking at it.

2011-12-11T18:22:00.003-06:00

December 04 was my Granny’s birthday… she died in 1969 from lung cancer. I lived next door to my Granny for all of my life and thought she was the most wonderful person in the world… she treated everyone so special … like they were need, wanted and loved.

For a creative writing workshop we had to write about something in our childhood that we can still see, feel, taste, and smell in our mind. This was what I wrote about my Granny’s house.

Pots bubbled on the stove and a medley of smells assaulted your nose when you enter the back door. Dirty dishes are stacked in the deep cast iron sink and the floor needs to be swept. A huge butcher knife with a thin blade from the many times it has been sharpened lies on the white painted table. A rat trap baited with cheese is chained to the flour cabinet and a bowl of bread is rising on the small table under the double windows. You’re greeted by a sincere smile and the flash of arms before you’re crushed against the soft warmth of a chest. The reassurance of a steady heart beat and the musky smells of sweat and earth lets you know you’re loved.

At Christmas her house always smelled like pine trees mingled with whatever yummy goody she had in the oven. The front door stayed open even when it was cold because people kept arriving. Her big oak table held the load of the family meal... none of this buffet style... Granddaddy got the bowls first and he would pass it to his right, with Granny getting the bowl last. No one took a bite of food or touched a bowl before Granddaddy said grace. That always puzzled me... Granddaddy didn't go to church and he was a gambling man till the day he died... like the moonshine too. Granny was a church goer and a godly light with her life.... why did Granddaddy say grace??? maybe Granny wanted him to stay on speaking terms with God.

Why does bad things come in threes???

2011-12-09T13:11:00.005-06:00

It always seems that way... first my dear friend and neighbor called early evening to tell us that someone broke into their house... yes they clean them out but the really bad part was her mother's jewelery. You can't replace that kind of stuff.
then one of our neighbors died, yes he had cancer and we knew it was coming but are we ever ready for someone to die??? He was a wonderful person and just a few years older than me. Finally, Sheila call this morning and her mother-in-law fell and broke her hip yesterday evening.

I've been mopey all day and I have my open house with "who know how many people coming" tomorrow night. Then I cut my pointing finger on my right hand really bad.... as Ronnie put duck tape on it (it was bleeding so bad nothing else would stick) I realized that I was so blessed. Sound crazy? Yes I have tons to do and this finger will hinder me but I have the things that are important to me like my husband... my health... my friends who will not care if the onions are a little larger than normal in the beans or if the sausage balls aren't perfectly round.
Sometimes you need a little pain to appreciate the joy in your life.

Heart felt sorrow for the Watkin's family
Lezlie, no one can steal your memories, which I know is small condolence right now
Sheila, let me know if I can help

I'm feeling very blessed this afternoon. Going to get grandbabies... maybe those feels will survive. :)

The pictures reflect my hope for the crooks that took my friends belongs.

Stop the Merry-Go-Around and let me off

2011-12-07T22:26:00.002-06:00

This picture was posted on Facebook ... I love it. Don't you feel like a craved horse on a Merry-Go-Round sometimes... frozen and going in circles... wouldn't be wonderful to just shed the boundaries of you world and find the magic of your soul. My new years resolution is going to be .... jump off carnival ride and be me at least once a day. To relish the feel of mud beneath my feet, rejoice at the rain on my face and savor the many blessings in my life. Come run with me.

I'm past the age of children on Santa's lap

2011-12-06T16:26:00.004-06:00

but now I stressed because I can't get my dog to pose with Santa.... She will do just about anything I ask until I have a camera in my hand. Well y'all are just going to see the BAD pictures and then I'm going to post the good picture someone else took.

What makes you happy?

2011-12-05T19:47:00.004-06:00

Money?? Do you ever have enough?? Do you have true friends or money brought friends?? What would happen if one day you didn't have money? To me, money is like thin ice, you never know when it's going to crack and let you fall into the cold waters of financial difficulties.

Social position?? How hard it must be to stay on a pedestal when people are bumping the base trying to knock you off? And how cold your relationships must be when everyone is below you

Your family?? Well you're getting warmer but you know family moves out of your daily life.. kids grow up and leave... husbands, well there is divorce and death... brothers and sisters have families of their own. My point is family should be a blessing but not your happiness.

Friends?? sort of like family, as their family grows with grandchildren and in-laws and this means they are getting older... less time for long talks, long lunches, or a movie outing. Doesn't mean they love you less just that they know you will be there always and understand.

What makes me happy?
Me, myself and I!
I'm happy with who I am, what I have, where I've been and where I'm going.

I need my family and for sure my friends but they're the spices in the soup or the color magenta in your coloring box. I like to think that happiness in your heart makes the people close to you happy too.

If you don't wake up every morning with joyous thoughts ... rain on the roof, the sun peeking over the trees, your rooster crowing, or you husband's husky voice saying "Mornin', did you sleep okay?" well, you need to stop and figure out how to make those thoughts happy ones.

Tonight I put fresh linens on my bed and I was grinning the entire time...my Christmas quilts makes me happy every morning and secret smiling happy each night when I cover up with it. My friends tell me not to use it... it is too pretty to use... I ask them , "Why would I want to put it in a closet when it brings me so much joy on my bed?'

Don't put away the things that make your heart happy... pull them out and use them.

You're worth it!

The front of the quilt is a strip design and the back is Blocks.

I've been bad....

2011-12-04T20:18:00.003-06:00

I've been listening to that little voice that says... you don't have time to write... that story needs work... your eyes are getting heavy when I say no way, you'll get up and will not write again today...

Well, I'm blessed with good friends ... first let me say, I'm not a huge, always and forever Elvis fan so this Christmas gift is not for that reason. Don't get me wrong, I listened to his music as a kid and his Christmas album is wonderful.

Hopefully one day soon, I will be able to share why this sign has so much meaning and touched me because I know for a fact she searched for this gift... isn't it wonderful when good friends give you a swift kick to get those creative juices flowing again. Thanks Irene.

Forever Graceland is in document file and not tucked into the writing file where it takes a few more steps to get to it. Merry Christmas to my writing buddies and new chapters will be coming soon.

Digging out of the Christmas blues

2011-12-02T10:54:00.002-06:00

I get the blues every Christmas... it's an old ailment... I've had it for as long as I can remember. A little back story here. My mother's family lived in Rhode Island and when she married my Dad June 26, 1946 she never spent Christmas with her family again. Why? Well, Daddy moved her to Florence, Alabama and at first there was no money to travel North at Christmas ... then kids that needed to stay home and have Christmas. My memories of Christmas are wonderful except for Christmas morning... every Christmas morning Mother would call my Grandmother Dugan and cry for the five minutes they talked (remember back then long distance calls were expense) then my Auntie Vi and Aunt Dot would call mother and more crying. Then Mother would start the Christmas feast and cry the entire time.... she always told us it was the onions that made her cry but I knew her heart ached. I lost my mother June of 1978 so Christmas 1977 was my last Christmas with her. She was fifty when she pasted from lung cancer.

Mother's love of Christmas and her family is part of the reason I go slightly overboard for Christmas. But when something or someone influences your actions... you have to take the good and bad with it... every ornament, Santa figure, or nativity I put out brings back Mother and those tears on Christmas morning. I stride to leave happy memories of Christmas spent with me, never sad.

My Christmas motto:

Be kinder to strangers, you don't know the stress they have in their life

Be a better friend because you do know the stress in their lives and you shouldn't neglect them just because you're busy with Christmas

Be more generous with your time, money and talent... it will make your heart joyous

Be grateful for what you have, not sad at what you don't

Be thoughtful, Granny always said... you catch more flies with honey but if you shovel crap... those flies will be all over ya. Thoughtful is the honey and rude is the crap... Her point was flies will come into your life no matter what but don't draw more with your attitude.

How do we put up Christmas lights??

2011-11-27T21:13:00.005-06:00

The Redneck why of course. Wanted to share a few pictures of Ronnie (husband) Ron (Son) and the clown in the window is my grandson Kane. The house is Ron and Erin's

The love affair of kids and leaves

2011-11-26T21:15:00.004-06:00

What is it about a pile of leaves that make kids so happy??? I remember working for hours to get a nice pile then jumping, rolling making it rain leaves until they were scattered. We should all try to remember what it was about leaves that made us happy... I might try it next time the kids rake them up.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel

2011-11-18T08:55:00.002-06:00

I don't stress, it's just not in my nature but I get ticked off every year around Thanksgiving. Why? Well I do Christmas just a little on the "overboard" scale. Every year when I start to pull out boxes and put stuff up, I get... "Lets do Christmas different this year. Just a tree and maybe your Christmas plates and the new quilt for the bed."
I glare. "You want to?"
Heck no I don't want to.... I mean where is your spirit of Christmas and aren't you worried about my health????
If I don't carry all those boxes up stairs and then repeat when I put the stuff up... how will I get my yearly toning and shaping.
My Christmas open house is Dec 10 any time after 6pm Y'all Come!

I always let the kids decorate the tree... gorgeous isn't it!

The doll has been under my tree for 42 years. You might not can see but she has her blankie and a letter to Santa.

No... No... No...

2011-11-16T12:15:00.002-06:00

I'm practicing how to say NO
I've been called a tough old bird... bull headed... strong willed
If all those descriptions mean I'm true to myself... then yes I'm all three
But I have a major character flaw... I can't say no to family and friends
Orders for this week...Make me two batches of chicken salad, your strawberry cake and for Wednesday... I'll need two chocolate pies.
Yes I did all that and a carrot cake and pecan pie too.
You know I don't really mind the cooking but I hate the cleaning up... practice Pat

No
NO
NO...

it's not working... Aunt Stella called and I'm going to help her clean her house... what can I say, I'm a YES person

Another bad attempt at poetry... had fun being bad :)

2011-11-12T20:30:00.006-06:00

This came to me yesterday when it was beautiful outside and I had a long list of DO TODAY on my list

I wonder
And ponder
Should I write
Or fly a kite
Turn a phrase
Or play
Work on plot
Or not

Clean and work
Like a good monk
Scrub on my knees
Help me please
Barn calls
Mop falls
Clean another day
Trails on my way

I'm getting old... or flaunting my bag lady style

2011-11-10T06:51:00.003-06:00

I want to know the name of the first woman who shaved her legs... If I could go back in time I would shake some sense into her... and say "What are you thinking! Don't do it"

I was getting ready for a nice bubble bath last night and PRESTO there they were... the hair forest that any monster would have been proud to call home. It was so bad that I could have used my legs as drain cleaning brushes. It was so bad that if I didn't shave my legs, I would need ponytail holders to put it to keep it from curling around my ankles ... well maybe it wasn't that bad :)

I hate shaving my legs.... I mean they don't stay shaved... by the next night my legs look like a sweetgum pod.

Here is what I think... I have no concept of style, fashion or grooming. Now, I'm clean .. body and clothes... but if it keeps you warm, good enough. My hair gets washed... combed and air dry. No makeup ... hate that stuff

My motto: If it feels good wear it, if it doesn't don't.

I wonder how long my leg hairs would need to get to break the record?? Should I try for it? Sigh... I guess not. After all I do live with my husband and I like him to have a clean shave and he says if he has to shave so do I.

Unofficially... does that count

2011-11-07T07:45:00.002-06:00

Unofficially, I'm doing the NaNoWriMo this month... why unofficially... I love that word... because I don't need any more stress in my life and if I say or type "I'm going to do it", I feel bad when I don't.

I think I'm going to start an UnOfNaNoWriMo. But what would be the theme to get you writing???

1. It's like Spring cleaning in your story mind... put everything in piles but wait two days before you take that pile marked Give away to the charity bin of crappy ideas.

2. Make sure there is still interest in last years ideas... they might not fit you now

3. If you've not tried on an idea in the last three years... you have a choice... can it or file it back into you closet .... but let me explain something here... if you've not had passion for a story, odds are it will never interest you enough to finish it.

4. It's okay to not make you word limit per day... it's okay to not make you word limit per week, it's even okay not to finish or any other things you've not done for the month

Why?

Because this is unofficially :) Have a great writing day!

Why the picture... Well it's the unofficial symbol of Portugal meaning Justice and Freedom... seemed right to me!

Ah November....Month to give thanks

2011-11-04T08:28:00.004-05:00

November is the month to get ready for colder weather... not thankful for that
November is the month my beautiful trees shed their leaves and cover the yard ... not thankful for that
November is when I start getting ready for Christmas... love love love Christmas but hate the getting ready part like cleaning and such... not thankful for that

What am I thankful for..

1. That I'm able to rake those leaves and get ready for winter

2. That sweat isn't running down my spine as I rake those leaves

3. That I have a family to share in my joy of Christmas

Why can a few take our freedoms away

2011-11-03T15:11:00.003-05:00

I'm very upset this week. Freedom is a word that has been twisted to fit one person instead of the country.

Definition of FREEDOM

1: the quality or state of being free: as
a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence c : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous d : ease, facility e : the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken
2a : a political right

Here is my definition of Freedom

Freedom

Freedom to worship in the church of my choice
Feeds my spiritual soul

Freedom to study and read
Helps me reach my intellectual goal

Freedom to strive for a better life
Is the democratic way

Freedom to vote in elections
Gives me a political say

Freedom to express my beliefs and views
Allows me a literary voice

Freedom to agree or disagree on issues
Fulfills my activist choice

Freedom to protect my family and country
Is my patriotic right

All these freedoms & rights are mine to use
If they don’t infringe on the freedoms & rights
Belonging to you

Days are getting shorter

2011-10-27T21:25:00.004-05:00

Don't you just hate when DST changes back to regular time and it's dark before 6 and you feel like you need to go to bed by 9 and your body is screaming give me more light, what the heck happened to the sun, I'm going to make you sad because I want sun.

Do you know that is the reason so many people suffer with depression during the winter, because there is less light in a day.

I like the dark, myself... kids say I'm a vampire. I like the light too but I've never minded the darkness. It doesn't cause fear or make me unsure. I've been known to hang out clothes at midnight with just the light of the moon.

I love watching clouds race across the sky on a moonlight night as much as I love watching sunrises and sunsets. If I would allow my Indian blood to guide me I would be a gypsy with no cares.

Lift you face to the storm and let it strip away your layers of useless wants that cling like parasites. As it fury rages, feel the charge of power of it's greatness. You are a speck on the windshield of universe, yet you matter in the universe of your life.

Run at life... don't let life run you.

Small town, bank robber and school lock down

2011-10-24T20:30:00.004-05:00

Small towns are great for everyday life... peaceful, everybody knows everybody and quite .... UNTIL today

The bank just a few blocks from where I work was robbed by a man that claimed he had a bomb. And he fled on foot toward the grooming shop and the school where my two youngest grandchildren attend.

To date they have not caught this man. But my babies had a tale to tell after school. They went into hard lock down and the FBI swarmed their school or as Ella age 9 said, "The dark men with the pointy guns" I didn't understand the dark men part... she said you know black shirts, pants and glasses"...okay got that now but pointy guns?? she sighed "Granny, their guns wasn't like Daddy's square (he has a 9MM) theirs were pointy" (theirs were assault rifles).

I hope she keeps calling assault rifles, pointy guns... wouldn't it be wonderful if all 9 year old kids didn't know what to call weapons meant to kill.

Shaking family tree

2011-10-22T09:51:00.007-05:00

You know how one person can shape you into the person you are... that their wisdom haunts you

Watch that temper, Patty Jean... that is the devil's tool
Treat people better than they treat you...
Give your best in everything, if you're giving a cake make it the best.. if you're giving money, give all that you don't need... if you give a quilt, give the prettiest newest one, if you give your heart, all of it because it doesn't help you to keep it, only when you share it does it bring you joy. Sniff, sniff I still miss my Granny and she has been dead 42 years

Granddaddy's advise was
"Don't ask people about their business because they would have told you if they wanted you to know and since you asked they're going to lie to you."

I lived next door (country next door... I couldn't see their house but I could walk to it) all my life and these people helped to shape the person I am... good and bad

I also included a picture of my Dad, my brother (Jimmy) and my daughter Missy from 1971

The picture with five people is Granny and Granddaddy, Aunt Stella, cousin Stephanie and her daughter Alesia This picture is how I remember Granny.. not sure exact year but it was just a 1966-1968 just a couple of years before she died.

Okay, the ugly truth

2011-10-17T15:45:00.004-05:00

Finding a good book that I WANT to finish is like bobbing for apples... you know you're going to get wet and might not even get an apple for your efforts.

I'm not a tell all -- beautiful 60 word sentences that paint you a picture... nope, I am a meat and potatoes reader. I know, how can I write and not enjoy all the poetic prose of the English language??? Don't know, but I don't like the deep meaning books that seems to win awards right and left.

There are exceptions to the rule, like when there is a mule in the story :)
or a comet
or about Egypt

I was asked what Newbery books did I like... well I couldn't name many

As a rule, I enjoy the honor books more. Now I just know the committee is going to blow up my email asking me to be a member... NOT hehehehe

This is the list of Newbery books I would read again. Most of the time I like the movie better. But let me put a disclaimer.... there are few books I would read more than once.

Okay dear friends, I have to agree with you... I am a hard reader... but look for the silver lining...if you hook me I have a big mouth and tell everyone.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Holes by Louis Sachar

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry

Quilts, stories and pollen count

2011-10-16T18:42:00.004-05:00

What does these things have in common... ME

If I get up and feel like I'm drowning in snot... gross I know but you should be on my end of it... it is a quilt day. After I take the meds to stop the flow, well I'm detached from my body, floating around in a dry, sleepy place.

If I get up and the drip is gone... yeah.. it's story time.

Is it just me or does this make you nervous???

2011-10-11T18:19:00.002-05:00

Oh not the Jack-O-Lanterns... I think they're cool but would you put them on your roof??? with lit candles??? Isn't that asking for trouble???
What have I been doing lately... well writing of course! What, you might ask? A picture book.... I know, hard sale---got to be great---should be working on novel but you know this story went, "Phissss, put me on paper... I need you to enter the world. Write me. HEY YOU, CAN YOU HEAR ME HOW!" So I wrote it. Now I can move on. Yes, I'm going to send it out. Yes, I know it's a long shot. But, I'm doing it anyway. :)

Be careful cleaning up those yards

2011-10-07T06:12:00.005-05:00

First, fall weeds have all these prickly things (that are the seeds) but they love to stick to your shirt, pants, socks. They also love traveling on your dog.
Second, do not pick up a pile of leaves with your hands. Snakes are blind now, getting ready to sleep all winter after a long summer of eating, they are shedding their skins. Snakes are very irritable when they shed and will strike at sound and movement.
Let me tell you that it's not fun being bitten by a copperhead.. very painful. One bit me fifteen years ago.
Would you have seen these snakes before you stepped on them.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2011-10-05T11:52:00.003-05:00

I know corny but have you ever stopped and listened to yourself??? we ask the dumbest questions! And... we get ticked when people ask us those same dumb questions. When my daughter was a teenager... need I say more... and I would ask "Where you going? Who you going with? Be home on time." She would always ask me "Are you writing a book? And what time is on time?" Now she knew what time she was to be home but for some reason she could remember everything but that! And the book part, well I think I might. Do you think it would freak her if I wrote about all the things I know she did and then talk to friends and find out what I didn't know....hummm...wonder if she reads this if she'll ask "Are you writing a book?"

Here are a few more questions to ask if you want to drive someone crazy,

Funny Stupid Questions to Ask People

•What happens when you get 'half scared to death' twice?
•Is it true cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?
•If all the world's a stage, where does the audience sit?
•It it's tourist season why can't we shoot them?
•Why are the alphabets in the order that they are? Is it because it's a song?
•If you write a book about failure, and it doesn't sell, is it called success?
•If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
•If work is so terrific, how come you get paid for it?
•If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the others drown too?
•Are the good things that come to people who wait, the leftovers of people who went before them?
•Why did Yankee Doodle name the feather in his hat Macaroni?
•Isn't Disney World a people trap operated by a mouse?
•If electricity comes from electrons, does morality comes from morons?
•Why aren't blueberries blue?
•Why is Greenland called Greenland, when it's white and covered with ice?

Stupid Questions to Ask Someone

•Why is the word for "a fear of long words," hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, so long?
•Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
•What if Batman gets bitten by a vampire?
•Can we spell creativity however we want?
•Was the person who invented the Express Lane at the grocery store properly thanked?
•Why don't you ever see ads for advertising companies?
•Why is it that when things get wet they get darker, even though water is clear?
•If a fork were made of gold would it still be considered silverware?
•Why isn't chocolate considered a vegetable, if chocolate comes from cocoa beans, and all beans are a vegetable?

Stupid Questions to Ask Your Friends

•If something "goes without saying," why do people still say it?
•You know the expression, "Don't quit your day job?" Well what do you say to people that work nights?
•Why is the 0 on a phone after 1 and not before 1?
•Why do all the superheroes wear underpants on the outside?
•Did Noah have woodpeckers on the ark? If he did, where did he keep them?
•Why doesn't the armpit hair have split ends?
•If you don't pay your exorcist, do you get repossessed?
•Why do we teach kids that violence is not the answer and then have them read about wars in school that solved America's problems?
•If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches?

Retreat... music to my ears

2011-10-03T21:27:00.006-05:00

Do y'all want to know how long it has been since I wrote anything other than a short story or a bad poem... lordy I can't even remember the last time I sat and let the story talk to me.
If this weekend doesn't unlock my muse... well I'm going to try a quit ... at least tell myself that I do... I hate being told anything :)

I gave twenty of my young chickens away tonight. I kept fifteen. Why did I give them away? Do you know how much those little buggers eat each day and I do have fifteen big hens and one guinea, bless it's little heart.

Finished another quilt today... well finished putting the pieces together. I took it to the quilter. This one is for my friend Pam.

We all need to know

2011-09-30T16:09:00.002-05:00

If you're a FB friend sorry for the double post but I love this and we do need to know how to recognize this

Why do the best ideas come when you're in the tub???

2011-09-28T21:18:00.003-05:00

Kicked back soaking these old bones and BAM an idea came to me. No paper, no pen, what do you do???
Scream and when your husband comes running thinking the worst just smile and ask very nicely "Please get me a pad and pen... I've had a great idea and don't want to lose it."
He looked weird and said, "What?"
I said, "Paper and pen... IDEA."
He said something under his breath as he turned to leave.
I said, "Hey honey, forty years ago you would have jumped in this tub with me."
He said, "Forty years ago you was young and spontaneous not old and psycho."
He never did get my paper and now I've forgot the idea.
If I never get published it will be all his fault.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Good week for good news

2011-09-26T21:27:00.003-05:00

Good news comes in all sizes and shapes. The first good news this week was when my friend Sheila called to tell me she didn't get the job in Florida. That might not be good news for her but it was wonderful news for me... I didn't want my friend moving to Florida. If she is going to move... Zip City is a good place.

Second good news... Irene... another friend... was visiting her dad and was in a auto accident. Someone hit them. Everyone was okay... great news. Then the third news was she made it home safe.

Third and bestest news...Sheila (who had thyroid cancer and had treatments earlier this year) got a all clear on her check up scan and doesn't' have to go back for a year. Phew.... that is wonderful.

Here's hoping you have a good news week too.

Talent...don't we all have it???

2011-09-22T21:13:00.005-05:00

I had a lady I've known forever tell me yesterday that I was so talented. This lady taught school for forty three years, had six kids of her own, she can sew, cook, everything she plants grows ... she thinks I'm talented!
But in truth, I've never met a person that didn't have some kind of talent. We all are special.
There was this boy in my high school that was...hummmm... different. The boys were mean to him, calling gay... I don't know if he was and I really don't care now or then. That boy could sing like an angle. I would sit in study hall and listen to him practice for choir and wish wish wish I could sing like him.
If you will step around your eyes and look with your heart you will see that everyone has something that makes them special. You don't have to like everyone but your dislike doesn't make them stupid, ugly, mean, or untalented. Yes I know I'm on a soap box. I wish I had the talent to make people be nice to each other. Words do hurt and it isn't just kids that say mean things.
No it wasn't me that someone said mean things to ... lord help them if it was... but I overheard a boyfriend tell this lovely young girl that she make him sick with her fat ass and pothole face... and he got up and left her there in the restaurant. She sat there and cried. So did I! Nobody needs to hurt someone that way, why was he with her... because she slept with him??? give me a break, find someone you can be nice to and do not wound someone else in such a bad way.
Now I know she should have stood up and in my mind she shouldn't have been with him in the first place, but it broke my heart that I had to listen to that and not punch him in the face... that is one of my best talents! :)
I know... be nice... okay, fine.

Oh my gosh Yard Sales are good

2011-09-21T17:02:00.003-05:00

I just went through three boxes I bought at a yard sale in the spring... I knew it was Christmas stuff... I knew it was a lot of Christmas stuff... but I didn't know what great stuff there was at the bottom.

I went to this yard sale and it was close to noon and the ladies having it was hot and tried and ready to pack up and rest. There was this Christmas area and I was looking through it when one lady said, "We'll make you a good deal if you'll take all of that."

I looked around and saw some really good stuff on the table and I said, "Does the things on the table go with it?"

The ladies looked at each other, then all looked at me and nodded. We discussed price... They said 15 (which was a good price but they wanted to sale) I said 6... they looked at each other and answered with 10.... I pulled out my money and just happened to have 8 dollars in my jean pocket... now I had more in my van but I held up the cash and said...8 they took it

It filled the back of my van and then a 4' Christmas tree that rotated was in a box that went behind the front seat. Oh did I forget the mention there was a tree in there, and 6 rolls of expense ribbon, nativity set, swags, lights that worked, ornaments... some vintage... two platters and 7 reefs

Do I feel bad for talking them down... nope! They wanted to sale and I wanted to buy... they just wanted to sale more than I wanted to buy.

You will need to go to many yards sales before you find a treasure but when you do it is very special. All my friend ban me from their yard sales. :)

Older books I just checked out at the Library

2011-09-20T13:45:00.005-05:00

Went to a SCBWI conference this weekend in Nashville and one editor Emily Mitchell from Charlesbridge Publishing really impressed me. She gave us some older books to read for voice, style and pace.
Picture Books to read
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type
Bark, George
Miss Nelson is Missing
What Happens on Wednesdays my favorite
Diary of a Worm
Kiss the Cow
Little Lost Bet

Middle Grade
Ivy & Bean series
Zelda & Ivy series
Clementine series my favorite
Aggie and Ben
Ramona series
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Anastasia Krupnik
A Long Way from Chicago
A Year down Yonder

YA

Speak
Prom
Dairy Queen
An Abundance of Katherines
Looking for Alaska
Princess Academy
The Goose Girl
The Off Season

For the love of Pete

2011-09-15T15:10:00.002-05:00

I'm going to tell you a little story. My granddaughter, Jaselynn, got three baby ducks even though her Granny told her that baby ducks are hard to keep. She named them Donna, Pete and Richard Quackers even though she didn't know if they are girls or boys.
Pete was a smart little Quacker and squeezed out of the crate and disappeared. Jaselynn was at school when this happened. Missy, my daughter, went to look for him. She said the birds in the backyard were in the escape plan because they kept making little Quackers sound and sending her on a wild duck chase.
Jaselynn calls from school. "Are you kidding, Mother?"
Missy... "No. He's gone."
Jaselynn..."Are you trying to make me cry?"
Missy... "For the love of Pete, no!"
Jaselynn hung up on her. Said her mother was heartless. I thought it was funny.

You might ask... where have you been

2011-09-13T18:45:00.002-05:00

and why have you been slow with your blog.

I've been making pillowcases... writing and rewriting one sentence pitches for my manuscript and writing and rewriting and rewriting chapter three in my work-in-progress.

This weekend I'll be with my best writing buddies except for one... in Nashville... having a ball... or yes and learning new things to help me move past chapter three.

Time...ruler of the world

2011-09-09T22:33:00.003-05:00

When I was a kid my one wish was to reach sixteen so I could drive. I dreamed about it, planned for it and would have changed time to reach it sooner. Once I reached that milestone, the goal became twenty one. Once twenty one was behind me the world started to spin like a merry-go-round and time just raced by... and my favorite saying was when I have time... one day when I have time...now that I've reached the outer rim of old age, leaving middle age behind, I still don't have the time to do all the things I want to do.
My grandmother always said that time wasn't for the living but for the dead. That is the only time you have eternity being in heaven or hell.

Sneezing... pulled out the winter robes

2011-09-06T19:44:00.002-05:00

I've got my socks on and my soft robe ... in March 58 feels good but in Sept if feels like winter.
North Alabama broke all records on the lowest high and tonight there will be another record broke. One week ago it was 99 with a heat index of 103 but today the high was 58

Everyone will be sick. Ronnie laughed at me.. I went out on the porch to sit with all the above on and a blanket wrapped around me.. he came to the door and asked," Is it snowing yet?"
Don't you just hate people who think they're sooooo funny!
When I came in he was asleep on the couch wrapped in a blanket... :)... I had to wake him up and ask, "Is it snowing yet?"

I'm not going to get on my soap box

2011-09-04T07:51:00.005-05:00

But there are issues I feel strongly about and think it's moral short comings rather that political bloopers. I've also decided I am a poet... a very bad one. I use too many words when I write about something in my heart and the special part of it is lost in those words... so I write a poem that cuts to the pure truth of my feelings.

Okay, I've warned you... here is a bad poem.

Eternal

A tiny flicker of life
Begs, “Love me.”

Maternal instincts
Scream, “I love you.”

Justification begins
All have the same end

A moment in time
A life is denied

Will your world be the same?
Haunting memory remains.

Rain is a good thing

2011-09-02T18:52:00.003-05:00

I'm Dancing in the Rain was a big hit in the 50's and I'm old enough to remember it but my favorite RAIN song is this one sung by Luke Bryan
We need rain so bad in North Alabama that I'll take the 3 inches they're predicting on a holiday weekend. And it's need bad when your baby feels a little frisky :)

Now you've got to love a guy that takes a picture with his dog and a pig with outhouses in the background. Too funny.

(Verse 1)
My daddy spent his life lookin' up at the sky
He'd cuss, kick the dust, sayin' son it's way too dry
It clouds up in the city, the weather man complains
But where I come from, rain is a good thing

(Chorus)
Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey
Whiskey makes my baby feel a little frisky
Back roads are boggin' up, my buddies pile up in my truck
We hunt our honeys down, we take 'em into town
Start washin' all our worries down the drain
Rain is a good thing

I love horses... and my grandchildren

2011-08-31T22:04:00.003-05:00

Jase and Lake had pictures taken with their horses. I love this senior picture of Jaselynn Audrey Swann... and the horse is Scout.

Insight

My eyes reflect your world
But doesn't show my heart

My trust is earned
But doesn't win my heart

My back will carry you
But doesn't bare my heart

Gentle words, soft hand
Opens up my heart

Kindred spirits facing the wind
Hear the beat of my heart

Free to race, free to be
You are my heart

I hate it when I do stupid things

2011-08-31T19:30:00.002-05:00

One... I fell down the stairs
Two ... I was walking on flat ground and tripped on a rock and BAM ... bruised my shoulder and put a boo-boo on my knee.

I don't know what's up... usually I'm very balance... didn't want to use the word grace because that would be a lie but I keep my center. I've not just fell down in years and years.

Should I start checking out Old StableGranny Homes??

Beauty after the storm

2011-08-29T13:38:00.005-05:00

There have been amazing pictures posted at face book of Hurricane Irene. Isn't funny when a storm is named after someone you know, it takes on that person's personality.

Thus... I love that word thus... makes you sound Shakespearean... anyway this storm has made me think of my friend Irene. Every time reporters talked about how violent, destructive, relenting, massive I've thought it can't be... it's named after the sweetest, most caring, quiet person I know. If they ever get to the P's and there is a storm named Patricia... look out world.

These pictures are the skies of Irene off North Carolina. The photographer gave permission to use if the user would included her web address. She is an amazing photographer so I'm happy to pass it on.

www.valerieschooling.com

My Daddy was 82 yesterday

2011-08-25T20:22:00.003-05:00

Even when you're 60 years old, your Daddy still has a special place in your heart.

He might be rude at times and always blunt... sometimes he has a heart as big as the universe then other times almost mean in what he says and does... but even through we've not always seen things alike... I love my Daddy.

He won't come see me, he thinks I should always come see him. But he was there for me and my brothers when we was growing up... he provided for us and made sure we got an education.

Happy Birthday, Logan Wallace Trousdale, Jr. better know as Little Jack.

A Riddle for you

2011-08-24T10:29:00.002-05:00

What's wrinkled and saggy
What's is red, black, blue, brown and tan
And doesn't bounce?

Me, I fell down the stairs... well really just the last five...took the skin off my wrist, elbow and shoulder and the top of my toes on my left foot. That was interesting thing... I tried to catch and caused my left leg to go under me and those dang toes hurt the worst.
Ronnie heard something and called, "What are you doing?'
Me: "Falling down the stairs." :)

Imspiration in clutter

2011-08-21T14:38:00.002-05:00

If you have never been to my house... you might not know I'm a organizer. Not the obsessive kind but I like things to have a place and be in that place, even outside. But -- all ways a but, my writing room. I try... really I do but this picture is how it looks most of the time.

I wonder if my "keep everything where is should be" chokes my creativity?? Well, I'm not going to change so I guess maybe I can just sit in my office to feel the inspiration.

Poetry Friday .... for Irene

2011-08-19T11:41:00.007-05:00

I wrote a poem about Nuggett that I would like to share. Remember I'm not a poet but write poems or something like poems. :)

One picture is Nuggett (the red halter) and his mother Goldie and my son's dog Jeannie

One picture is Nuggett and Lisa... the lady that bought him

One picture is me and Nuggett on the trail.

Nuggett

Liquid honey colored eyes
Glazes at the person deep inside.
Past this earthy flesh
And only sees the very best.
I confide to him my troubles and woos
Knowing he won’t tell another soul.
I tell him my dreams, secrets and plans
He listens and loves me without demands.
He tosses his head and stomps his feet
As if to say come with me.
Come along and race with me
Across the ridges of Tennessee.
Leave behind your earthy shell
Open your soul and be yourself.
There is one simple fact
When I climb upon this horse’s back.
For a short time I have a life
Free from trouble and strife.

Rejected today... bummer

2011-08-18T19:38:00.002-05:00

So how do I deal with rejection... I go to one of my favorite place where I was at peace. Couldn't really go riding today and couldn't ride Nuggett the best horse I ever rode since I sold him back in 1997 when Ronnie had his accident. But I could look at this picture and remember how great that day was being on a horse and enjoying the day with friends.

Am I crushed that I was rejected... well I don't know anyone that likes to get a rejection letter or email but I knew it was a long shot.

Alabama Quilt

2011-08-17T20:42:00.003-05:00

Selling it was like selling one of my kids...I can give them to good homes but this one is going to college with Missy's friend... Russ is a good kid but I will cry if someone steals it from him. Lots of work.

Don't you just love the elephant stitching!

Roll Tide ... Yea Alabama, Crimson Tide...

What have I been doing....

2011-08-16T08:45:00.006-05:00

Not posting much... ha.. quilting of course and finishing historical fiction novel (well it was finished but needed a little dash of spice and something to kick up the ending... did that... Hey!)
I got the Alabama quilt done that is the first quilt I did for someone else... sorry forgot to get a picture but will see if the lady will take one.
Finished the front side of my friend Pam's quilt. Pam if you read this blog don't look at the quilt... it is not for your birthday... it is for another friend named Pam who loves quilts... not you
Y'all think she will believe me?? I guess it's a good thing she only reads this blog when we talk about something I've posted.
This quilt is a patchwork charm quilt with 320 different squares. The back will be a Christmas quilt so she can use it year round.
There's no design theme, no color theme, varied styles, textures, and prints... sort of like me.

II dislike bullies... even little ones that haven't learned the bad words yet!!!!

2011-08-10T14:45:00.007-05:00

I hate, hate, hate bullies! Why? Maybe because I was a bully as a child. I know say it's not true but I did have a head strong personality and wanted everything my way. (everyone that knows me I can hear you saying did have! wanted!) Now I didn't take money or call name... no no... I would just smack you if you didn't do what I wanted done. I know not a pretty picture but I promise I've overcome this childhood imperfection and never smack people... I just verbally bully them into doing what I want done. :)

You might ask what happened. My granddaughter Lakelynn got braces today and posted this picture on FB and a little boy comment that she was ugly (not the first time he has said mean things about her on FB) When I posted to call him down for being "a mean girl" (I use that term even to boys because when they say ugly things it makes be think of bratty girls that say hurtful things) This little social bully back talked me.... oh my.... I just informed him he had a very unusual name and I think I could easily find out who his parents were and let them know he is being a bully online (forgot to mention he goes to her school and lives in same town as me). I looked at his profile and his parents can't know what this kid is doing... he has a general public account. Anyone can look at his wall and he posted his cell phone on his wall... YIKES ... Lake isn't the only one he is mean to and most likely his parents won't do anything but I have to try for the girls that don't have a granny that will.

OH MY... I just got a "I'm sorry" to me and Lakelynn. I told him I was reporting him to FB.. that bluff worked :)

We all need to do something about this abuse and I am going to ask Lake to unfriend him. In true, I feel sorry for the little fellow... he is thirteen, not so little but...I wonder if he gets name calling at home or at school.

I posted a picture without the huge sunglasses. I would say she is far from ugly, wouldn't you!

I need yoga or a beautiful sunset

2011-08-09T15:20:00.003-05:00

If I have to pick anymore butter beans I'm going to turn into a butter bean... and I don't even like butter beans. Why did I plant three rows??? Crazy! No, it is because I love my husband and they are his favorite vegetable...uck!
I've hated butter beans since I was a small child and my mother made me eat them. I would pack them in my jaw, ask to be excused and go to the bath to spit them in the toilet. Did my mother know I was doing that?? I didn't think so when I was little but I can believe she didn't see my chipmunk cheeks when I asked to be excused.

Anyway the I'm totally stressed with grandkids and friends. Why do kids not talk in a normal voice and why do they text when the person is standing next to them?????

I've got them watching a movie so it's a little better. I have four phones that are vibrating constantly but they're staying in my office with the door shut. We're going bike riding when the movie is over.

Can't wait for that peaceful sunset, googled yoga and there isn't a chance I can bend this old body into those positions. Love these kids but why do they always bring friends and why do I always say "sure you can bring a friend."

My daughter took this picture in Panama City last week.

My chicks are gowning up

2011-08-05T08:47:00.004-05:00

Just to give y'all an update on baby chicks. The guineas didn't do well... they are very spooky and the least little thing scares they into flight and once they get to the woods they're food for... owls, hawks. coons, snakes, etc etc
So the guinea I have left is the one that thinks it's a chicken.
The two bigger ones are from the first five... love them... they are so smart.
I was looking a the hatchery web page this morning... guess what I want... more baby chicks!

Birthdays and friends

2011-08-05T08:30:00.003-05:00

I am 60 today. Meant to look at my birth certificate to see the exact time. My writing buddies gave me the jar a couple of weeks ago. LOVED IT. It sits on my desk. My thoughts about turning sixty:
It's just another day
You can legally get senior discount
People help you more because they think you're old
It feels the same as 55
If you don't want to get older, think what the alternative is... not good

My flowers... before this heat

2011-08-03T14:46:00.007-05:00

I took pictures of my flowers before the heat wave got here. Look at the old bird feeder, it made a great hanging basker don't you think?

The big plant with the red blossums is a dragon wing begonia

the hanging basker with the windchime and the hummingbird feeder is an angel wing befonia

My baby is nine today

2011-07-31T09:02:00.007-05:00

Ella is nine going on twenty-nine .. today
I really do see pieces of me in her, bless her heart. Here are my favorite pictures of her.

do you remember

2011-07-29T12:09:00.004-05:00

The 1960's When flowers in your hair made you a hippie. Peace signs on your clothes made you a rebel against Vietnam... the music was the devil pulling young people into sin.

2011... if flowers make you a hippie what does feathers make you...peace signs are everywhere and are a fashion statement and OMG if Elvis moving his hips and The Eagles were the Devils tools what are the artist today???

I kinda like the feathers and I can listen to almost any kind of music that isn't just nasty with the lyrics.

My daugther and granddaughters are the models.

Love my chickens but are they worth it??

2011-07-27T11:35:00.003-05:00

Between hawks and chicken snakes, I'm in defend mode all the time. Went to roost the slow learners that haven't learned to get on the roost bars... at 9 last night, open the door and there was a 6.5 foot chicken snake with one of my babies squashed in its coils... beat that snake with a shovel. I know it sounds violent but I was pushed over the edge by the lifeless body of a chick. Getting moth balls today.

Oh my aching back....

2011-07-26T11:21:00.005-05:00

What do you think I'll be doing today. Bean beans, butter peas and tomatoes... just one day's worth and I gave my sister-in-law just about that many so I really picked double the amount you see. Ymmmmmeeee but hard work

What's for supper?
baked chicken
fried okra
zipper peas
butter beans
green beans
squash/green tomatoes/onion/sliced hot peppers mix together and fried in olive oil on medium heat
cornbread
cheese potatoes
sliced tomatoes

OH my GOSH

2011-07-24T21:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday at the workshop... I took Burning Bridges... I found four mistakes in Chapter 1... a polished, critiqued many times, thought I was done with it, chapter. Okay taking out the makers and going over entire manuscript. Maybe when your looking for other things you see the small things... or maybe I wasn't reading it just looking at it... they are fixed and that is the important part. None were big mistakes but that really isn't true because any mistake is big... one typo... and three words spelled wrong ... okay not really wrong but I used axe on one page and used ax on the others... so one of them is wrong.

The Juices are flowing.... the spark is back

2011-07-24T08:03:00.002-05:00

A entire afternoon of brainstorming ... really an entire day because Sheila, Jana and I talked the entire trip down to Birmingham... is like the zap of energy my writing needed. Thanks friends. Learned a little at the workshop. I guess the most important thing I learned was how to convey my thoughts after critiquing writing buddies WIP... now they won't let me get away with "It just don't feel right."

An we walked along a creek which is always soothing for the spirit.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow... can't wait

2011-07-21T08:05:00.003-05:00

Traveling with writing buddies to Birmingham... can't wait for idea bull session.. staying with Irene and again can't wait ... then going to Southern Magic RWA workshop on editing... don't we all need that. Which manuscript should I bring??? I'll just bring several and choose on Saturday.

By the way, here is Irene's new poetry book.

Don't you just hate that words can not be erased

2011-07-19T07:27:00.005-05:00

I was nasty to someone yesterday and regretted the words the moment I said them. Not sorry, because what I said was true but did I really need to say them... NO - did they change anything, NO Can I unsay them, NO

Words have power because once they're said they are out in the universe forever.

Just remember kind words are the white knight of human race and mean words are the black knight and each one you say kills the kindness in your heart a little.

Quick wit isn't always a gift, sometimes it is your down fall.

Words hurt. Yes I told the person I was sorry I hurt their feels but that didn't take back the words.

We are on the down hill slide before school

2011-07-16T05:40:00.003-05:00

Late night, sleeping in, hanging at the pool,creek, river will soon be a thing of the past. Summer should be a slower time where kids and adults refuel for the next year... not so!

First day of school will be in 1 month or in scary terms 4 weeks.

You better get as many late nights and even later mornings because the cops have been called and this party is just about over. In case some of y'all don't know it... this post is for my grandchildren. :)

I love sunsets

2011-07-13T21:52:00.003-05:00

The only thing I love more is sunrises. I love to be up early and listen to the birds greet the day. Everything smells new, I don't know if it's the dew or what but you get the sense of new, refreshed, kind of like the entire world starts over every morning.

Sunsets are like therapy for my soul and mind. All troubles and problems leave for a few precious moments while I stare in awe a God's masterpiece. If every person in the world would spend five minutes a day watching the sun come up or go down... well I think there would be less murder, beatings, anger, suicide.

Let the beauty of world be an ointment for your battle scars from the rat race we call life.

My granddaughter Jaselynn took this picture last week.

I've been called a witch before

2011-07-11T17:20:00.004-05:00

Now I know which witch they were referring to... the Wicked Witch of the West

Why?

Because I've been melting today. I'm melting, melting.

Stay cool and kiss a frog... it might be a prince and he'll take you to his castle in Switzerland where it's not 100 degrees with a heat index of 112! Yikes!

Hot, humid, hot, humid, hot

2011-07-10T17:23:00.003-05:00

ETC ETC ETC ETC

Alabama in July and August... not the place to be.

I picked green beans last night and thought was going to pass out before I finished and it was at 7:30 pm

Heat index today is 101 here.

Good day to stay in and read a book

What do you do when chicken snake eats your baby chicks?

2011-07-07T21:39:00.005-05:00

You go get more... the picture of the big ones are the only two left out of six. I was going small and a chicken snake found a hole in the chicken coop and ate the other four.

My husband, being the sweet supportive type.... not... said, "I told you they wouldn't last."

So what did I do... why I went and got thirty chicks. Why you might ask... well I figure if there is thirty running around that old chicken snake won't know which one to grab.

I really don't like killing a chicken snake because they help keep mice and rabbit population down and they eat the bad snakes but if they fellow shows his chicken eating face and will have to take a hoe to him. How's that for a PG13 post.

I've been turning them out into the pasture every evening. Done they look happier in the pic where they are in the grass instead of herded into a bunch in the coop?

Look at the little brown ones... they have puffy cheeks! They are half Rhode Island Red and half Yellow Buff..... so cute.

4th of July in the South...you better be up for it

2011-07-06T21:05:00.006-05:00

First let me say... I am not a firework loving chick... I rather not spend hours waiting for dark to shoot off ten minutes worth of very expensive fun.
Now my kids loves it. My grandkids loves it. My husband loves it. Yes I sit all alone on this subject.

When we do a little backyard display in the south... well it's can be a huge thing. My son is 6'2"

You got to have swimming, good friends and of course good food.

Here is a poem I wrote about freedom

Freedom

Freedom to worship in the church of my choice
Feeds my spiritual soul

Freedom to study and read
Helps me reach my intellectual goal

Freedom to strive for a better life
Is the democratic way

Freedom to vote in elections
Gives me a political say

Freedom to express my beliefs and views
Allows me a literary voice

Freedom to agree or disagree on issues
Fulfills my activist choice

Freedom to protect my family and country
Is my patriotic right

These freedoms are mine to use
If they don’t infringe on the freedoms
Belonging to you

Have you ever felt mixed up and different

2011-07-05T15:49:00.005-05:00

I've been different since birth ... I think. My mother said I never wanted help doing anything and that I didn't talk until I was three. Now I know some of y'all are laughing but I would just click and point and someone would get what I wanted... sounds pretty smart to me. Mother said when I got old enough to debate issues, like bedtime, that is when I started talking.
I also started walking when I was eight months old and took a bottle until I was three. What was my mother thinking... three years old!
Now I do have to say my mother miscarried twins just a few months before she got pregnant with me and was sooooo happy when I was born healthy.
My point is my family is a little different... why... Yankee mother-Good old boy southern only son daddy= only daughter, oldest ... and I tell my brothers prettiest and smartness

We might be different but bless these little guys heart. Some say Donkra and some say Zonkey but however you say it they are so ugly they're cute. I want one.

I committed murder today

2011-06-30T21:58:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure how many bodies are in my garden but I know it's many. My head hurts from breathing that stuff.

Yes I sprayed my garden for Japanese beetles and ants.

Does it make you feel bad to kill these insects ... I mean some of them were hooked up.... no really I mean HOOKED UP.... like making babies. Should I feel bad???

Heck no! If they had kept there weird green alien suit bodies in the woods and pasture they would be alive tonight. You chomp on my vegetables you'll pay a high price.

Ah to be young again

2011-06-30T06:47:00.003-05:00

I remember how excited I would get when there was plans to go to the river. I can swim like a fish and all my grandbabies can too but you will notice in the pictures that we don't take chances with them. They all have on their life-jackets.

Their is nothing like spending a day on the water with friends... that is if you're young... if you're old it's a sunburn, mess up you sinus, get a headache from the sun day.

I was so sad...

2011-06-29T06:05:00.005-05:00

As I watched my two youngest grandbabies paint the "Peter Rabbit" pictures on their nursery wall. They're not babies anymore.

They enjoyed the moment because they felt big doing a grownup thing but I could hardly keep back tears. Ah but life goes on and every living thing moves from child to adult. I refuse to get rid of any toys. I have the toys and books from when my kids were small.

It isn't my job to give them to good will... that is my kids job when I'm gone.

I have book fever...

2011-06-28T20:05:00.004-05:00

Reading every night and I need to be cleaning, ironing, etc but what the heck that stuff will be there tomorrow.

I love the The Last Apprentice books by Joseph Delaney... I on book eight

I challenged my grandson to read 25 books this summer ... if he does he gets a 25.00 itunes card and then his parents sweetened the deal by saying they would match me. He has read 10 books so far.

If he can do it so can I... I think I can, I think I can

Here is my list to read. They are not in the order I will be reading them.

1. Demon Glass by Rachel Hawkins... this is book two in a series Hex Hall was the first one, loved it.

2. The Hanging Hill by Chris Grabenstein ... this is book two ... first one was the Crossroads... great read

3.Small Persons With Wings (they hate to be called fairies) by Ellen Booraem looks like a fun book

4. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

5. The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal liked this one because I've always said I was born a princess and was kidnapped...

6. Birth Marked by Caragh M. O'Brien

7. Flip by Martyn Bedford interesting book cover

8. Selling Hope by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb... if you read the first two pages you'll be hooked on this book. Love Kristin and can't wait to dive into Selling Hope

9. Where She Went by Gayle Forman... read If I Stay and couldn't stop telling people about it... looking forward to meeting her characters again

10.The Iron King by Julie Kagawa ... my writing buddy and friend told me I needed to read this book

11. The Shifter by Janice Hardy.. I met this author at a conference and picked up her book ... the second in the series is out and looks amazing... got to read the first one fast

12. Entwined by Heather Dixon read reviews and thought it sounded like a book I would like

13.Drought by Pam Bachorz... I've not read her other books but this book cover pulled me in and I found the book flap interesting

14. Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn

Okay if any of you are looking for a good book check out my list at your local bookstore.

The picture is a new book I found so interesting and the book trailer at

http://www.ransomriggs.com/blog/2011/5/31/miss-peregrine-book-trailer.html

I know I've not figured out how to post a link yet, copy and past but this trailer is WOW

So Ransom Riggs will be fifteen and the book is ordered. I'll let you know

Here comes the Bride...

2011-06-27T16:43:00.004-05:00

42 years ago Ronnie and I was married at 4 pm at the Lauderdale County Courthouse.

That is when my best friend became my husband. We have lived a great life together so far and if I died tomorrow I would have go to my grave with no regrets. We have laughed, loved and worked together.

I know I'm lucky to have a good man... who isn't perfect.. I tell him all the time he is the most hateful person God ever made and he tells me that I have a smart mouth... to which I answer "The rest of me is smart too" But you know a person doesn't have to be perfect, they just have to love you for the person you are, forgive your imperfections and be there when you need them.

He has had my heart from the first time I met him...well that isn't really true... we met when we were kids and I didn't like boys except the ones that could hit home runs, were great basketball players and hit hard in football... but the first time I saw him grown up .... WHOA MAMA was he cute. :)