Back from Vacation

Whew!  We are back from vacation and I have been so busy with my chores and tasks I need another vacation to recover!  We had a great time and met some great people. 

Cholla cactus

I mentioned in a past post about how fun it is visit small town museums and meet interesting volunteers at these museums.  We had a wonderful visit with a lady named Betty at the Kenton museum in the Oklahoma panhandle.  I was impressed that the town had a population of 19 and yet they had a very nice museum.  We had a nice visit with Betty.  She let me take some cholla cactus pieces with me to plant at home.  This cactus is used to make walking canes.  When the old cactus branches die the people who make the canes saturate them inside and out with honey and let the ants clean them up.  Once they are stripped they make canes with them. 

I met another interesting lady when we camped at Bell Cow Lake in Chandler, Oklahoma.  We camped in the horse camp area and she was a member of a women's horse riding club.  She said their club was unique because they had no officers and no membership dues.  They just get together to share their love of horses and horse back riding.  It was interesting to see all the portable corrals for the horses and the combination horsetrailer/campers there were.  As I like to say, I learn something new almost everyday!

When we were preparing to leave the Black Mesa State Park I came across a tarantula when I took our trash to the dumpster.  I watched it cross the grass and onto the blacktop pavement where I was standing.  To my astonishment, the little critter started walking towards me.  I backed up and moved over and it still walked toward me.  I finally moved further away from it's sight and it went on to the grass on the other side of the road.  Now who knows about tarantulas and can tell me why this little guy saw me and walked towards me?  I was amazed at it's intelligence!

Finally, I will mention the precious baby donkey we saw when we left the Black Mesa park.  She was among a small herd of donkeys on the side of the road.  My husband stopped the car and I took pictures from the window.  It was so precious, but what was even more precious was the way it's mother protected her baby.  I love seeing God's wonderful work in nature.  He taught us all to protect our family, be interested in our surroundings and to love one another.

Precious baby and her mother at the Black Mesa State Park

Have a wonderful and blessed day my dear friends.

Soap Box Granny

Going on Vacation

WooHoo!!!!  Going on vacation, gonna see the grandgirls and be a regular old tourist.

As I mentioned yesterday, we are going on vacation.  My husband decided to leave tonight instead of tomorrow.  I will not be able to post on my blog unless we come across some free wyfi because we don't subscribe to a service.

Anyway, we plan on camping at Belle Cow Lake in Chandler tonight.  Then we'll head out west tomorrow and will spend tomorrow night in Guymon in the Oklahoma Panhandle.  Finally, we'll shoot for Colorado Springs on Sunday.  We'll spend a few days there and on the way home we are going to spend a couple of days at the Black Mesa State Park in Oklahoma.

I love being a tourist.  It is so much fun to go somewhere where no one knows you.  It is like a clean slate.   You are a total stranger to the store workers, the resturant wait staff and the tourist traps.  Sometimes I like to pretend I'm someone I'm not.  I am a top secret spy who is undercover as a crazy lady on vacation.  My mission is to find the most expensive souvenirs out there and report back to the government how all the tourists are helping our national budget!  I have many other make-believe characters which I will share with you another time.  I don't want to give away all my secrets.

Here is our home sweet home for the next nine days.  It's amazing how much stuff I can get in this little thing.  At least that's what my husband says.  I don't know what he means, it already has a kitchen sink!

Well, I'd better go now.  Since my husband moved our departure date up a day, I need to finish packing and get some other stuff done.  I will try to keep in touch as much as possible and of course you know I will take tons of pictures. 



Honk if you see us on the road.  We will be in the white explorer pulling the white camper.

Pray for our safety on the road dear friends.  God is our light and our path.

SBG


 

Multi-Tasking or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

I was feeling pretty good this morning as I was flitting around doing my chores thinking "I've still got it, I can still multi-task".  When I got up this morning I immediately stripped my bed and threw the sheets in the washer.  Then I had some hot tea, checked out my facebook page, made a few comments and I did some banking online.  Once all that was done I threw the sheets in the dryer.  (They are king-sized sheets so they don't fit on my little umbrella style clothesline).  I'm telling you this because I feel guilty about that.

Clothes on the line

I put a load of whites in the washer, picked some okra and eggplant from the garden and made myself some breakfast.  Then I forgot about the laundry and watched a recording of The Next Chopped Champions.  Once that was over I cleaned up my dishes, blanched some fresh broccoli and remembered I had laundry.  At the back of my mind was doing my blog today and wondering what I was going to write about.  Then I promptly forgot about that as I took my white load outside to hand on the clothesline.  Yea!  I like the way the sun bleaches out the whites and makes them look, uh, whiter!  When I finished that I washed out the dog's outside water dish and watered some plants on the patio. 

After all that I forgot what I needed to do next.  Oh yeah, I put some color clothes in the washer, then I looked at the blanched broccoli and shook off some of the excess water to get it ready to freeze.  Then I remembered about my blog.  Then I forgot.  Then I remembered.  So, here I am.

Broccoli for freezing

Is this multi-tasking or ADD I ask myself?   I still have many other chores to do.  Then I remember my days of being a professional in an office (yes, I did have a life where I wore suits and worked in an office) and I learned how to prioritize my work.  However, it seems silly when you are a housewife, farm girl  or whatever it is one calls herself who doesn't work outside the home to label my work.  I am my own boss and frankly I think I'll stick to my ADD way of approaching my tasks.  It's fun.

Now, let's see what I need to do next.  Clean the cat litter boxes, clean our bathroom, finish the laundry, freeze the broccoli, get the camper ready for our vacation on Saturday.  Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, we are going on vacation on Saturday.  My husband and I are taking our camper and heading to Colorado Springs, but more on that in tomorrow's post.  Now what was I talking about?

I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with a new surprise around every corner.  God loves you.

SBG

The plants are looking ragged.

A Few Things I Love and Hate

This morning while trying to read my facebook, e-mail messages and getting ready to post my blog, my computer started getting all postal on me and then froze up.  I hate this.  Which gave me my topic for today.  I love that!

Computers - Gotta love 'em.  My computer gets me connected to many things I wouldn't know how to live without anymore.  This blog is an example.  It has opened up a new creative outlet for me.  I use my computer to pay bills.  I love that because it saves on stamps, checks and paper waste.  I use it to look up businesses, directions, phone numbers or hours of operation.  I use it for research, to subscribe to magazines, for my facebook and many more things.  I love to look up places of interest when we travel.  It is a very handy tool to have until, that is, it does not work properly.  Then I hate the stupid thing and want to throw it out the window.  I have to take a deep breath and after I have calmed down, I e-mail my brother.  That makes me feel better.

Cars - Now who doesn't love their car?  They come in so many shapes and sizes that there is one for every kind of person.  You have your sedan, convertibles, SUVs, mini-vans, pick-up trucks, vans, hybrids and much more.  They get us to work, shopping, visiting, appointments and vacations.  I get in my car, buckle up and turn the ignition with faith that it is going to start.  I love that!  But when it won't start, well, you know, I hate the stupid thing!

Electricity - OK, now who doesn't like electricity.  Everyday we wake up and see the electric clock.  We walk into the bathroom and flip the switch.  We go to the refrigerator, have coffee, cook breakfast in the microwave oven, watch the news, look at the computer and so much more.  It is all rote movements day in and day out.  I love that.  Then the day comes that the power is out.  You can't do anything.  In our home, we don't even have water because we have a well that uses an electric pump.  When we don't have power then I hate the stupid thing!

I could go on and on about my love/hate relationships, but I think you get my point.  I love my modern day conveniences. I love that I live in a country that we have access to these things.  It's just when they don't work that I realize how dependent I've become on them.  I think that's what makes me mad.  I am forced to do something else that doesn't involve them like, maybe, take a walk, read a book by candle light or, God forbid, actually have a conversation with my husband! 

Have a great day everyone.  God be with you.

SBG

Listening to the Quiet

Yesterday I was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's office waiting for my mother.  It was a very nice waiting room.  One of those clean and spacious ones with nice furniture, a large flat screen television and two very large salt water fish tanks.  For about an hour there was only about a total of eight people as they came and went.  Everyone quietly waited for their turn to see their doctor.  I read a book and would occasionally look up at the fish tanks and get a nice tranquil feeling.  Then came a young girl with an older woman, maybe her grandmother who broke the pleasant atmosphere by talking loudly on her cell phone.  Thankfully I didn't have to listen to her too long because my mother was done with her appointment shortly after she arrived.

This made me think of one of my favorite things to do.  Listen to the quiet.  Even though the waiting room wasn't totally quiet, the television was at a volume that did not invade your senses with unwanted and unpleasant sounds.  I was comfortable and enjoyed the down time this environment gave me.  I noticed the quiet.

We are surrounded everyday with noises.  It is embedded into our lives and our senses.  For most of us our day starts with a blaring alarm clock.  Then we watch the morning news, get in our cars and listen to the radios and go on with our day.  We'll hear people talking, shouting, laughing and crying.  We'll hear emergency sirens, construction work, airplanes, all the while not registering that we are hearing these things.  This is because are used to them.

This is my favorite part.  As I have aged I find that I have some hearing damage and loss.  I'm sure it is the result of being exposed to loud noises and loud music in my younger days.  Why is this my favorite part you ask?  Because it makes me take notice.  When I want to hear something I've missed it makes me stop and pay closer attention to it.   It makes me slow down.

When I am outside working in my gardens I hear the birds and the other critters who are talking madly with each other.  Sometimes some of them are downright loud!  When I am in a group of people who are talking at the same time I have to focus on one conversation.  This forces me to be an active listener and give that person my undivided attention.  It makes me enjoy the moment.

How many times have you told someone something and within a few minutes they ask you the question to what you just told them?   I think that is because we fill our days with so much multi-tasking that we have forgotten how to concentrate on one thing at a time.   Our brains are used to listening to the radio or television while working on the computer, doing a task and holding down a conversation at the same time.  This forces our brain to pick one thing to register to keep us sane!

That is why I believe we should practice listening to the quiet at least once a day.  To do this just sit down somewhere away from a lot of people and noise.  You don't have to be totally alone, just be in a fairly quiet place.  Then concentrate on the quiet.  Listen to the nothing in the air.  What do your hear?  I hear calmness.  What do you see in your mind's eye in the quiet?  I see peace.  What do you feel in your quiet spirit?  I feel God.

Now, you might hear and see and feel totally different things than I do.  That's the beauty of it.  Try it.  Try to do this every day.  Listen to the quiet.  It will do your heart and soul a world of good.

Peace be with you my dear friends.

SBG

Friends

Good morning my dear friends.  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I had a special weekend because I spent some time on Saturday with a friend I have known many years but do not see very often. This gave me the idea to write today about friends.

Notice I addressed you all as my dear friends.  Some of you know me and some of you have never met me.  At least I hope there are people out there I don't know who is reading my eractic, yet heartfelt musings!  Friends, as we all know, come into our lives many different ways.  I was raised in the military so I did not spend all my life in one place attending school with a consistent group of people.  I've made friends and I've lost friends.

Let's talk about the many different kinds of friendships people form.

Best buddies for life friends - These are people who have probably known each other since their childhood.  As they grew up they shared life milestones together and nothing or no one is going to get between their special friendship.  They see each other regularly whether it's just the two of them or with other friends and family.  They share vacations, special occasions and holidays.  They are closer than many relatives.

Part of the Gang friends - These are friends who hang around together in a group.  They share special events together such as weekend gatherings, family celebrations or parties.  They support each other as a group.  There is a core group that remains consistent but they welcome other people who will come and go.

Casual Friendships - I think these are the most common among friendships.  These are people we know from work, church, our children's activities and groups or organizations we participate in.  We form these friendships because of a common bond.  These are people we don't spend special occasions with.  We only see them when we are sharing an event that brings us together.

Lifelong Friends - I'm including this category because these kinds of friends pretty much fall into all the categories I've mentioned but you don't see them very often.  These are the friends you've made along your life's journey.  They've had an impact on who you are today whether it be negative or positive.  You spent a lot of time when them once, sharing good times and bad times and experiencing emotional ups and downs with them.  Then for some reason, as happens in life, we change and they change.  We move in different directions and take different paths but they remain a friend you will always remember.

I am fortunate to have all these kinds of friends.  I do not have a best buddies kind of girlfriend, but I have a best buddy friend in my husbad.  I couldn't be more blessed than to have a husband who shares his life with me.   I have group friends who get together occasionally for fun activities.  I also have casual friends through my church and I enjoy getting together with them when we have activities and on Sundays when we get together to praise our best friend Jesus Christ.

Lastly, I have a lifelong friend.  She is the lady I got together with on Saturday.  We shared a rocky but ongoing friendship for many years until we went took separate paths.  Last week she was on my mind and I called her.  We decided to get together to reminensce and catch up.  It was a great time.  I value this kind of friendship.  This is why I call it this type of friendship "lifelong" because as we mature and change, we realize the impact some people had on who we are today.  They influenced who we are today and they remain friends for life.

As Will Rogers said, "I've never met a stranger I never liked".   I enjoy meeting new people and making new friends.  Thus another good reason to have a blog!

Good day, dear friends.   God loves you and wants to be your best friend, too.

SPG

Let's Exercise, OK?

Friends, let me tell you I am tired today.  I have been sitting here for the last few minutes trying to think of something to say and all I could think about is how I'd like to stretch out in my recliner and take a nap!   I started walking with my friend again last Friday.  We walk three miles at 7 a.m. and I guess today it has caught up with me!

That's why I named this post, "Let's Exercise, OK"?  I've mentioned before that it is common knowledge that exercise and a proper diet is how to stay fit.  However, I can do the proper diet and I can do the exercise, but for some weird reason I don't want to do them simultaneously.  Sound quirky?  I think I've been invaded by a little space alien who wants my body to have extra fat so he can study our world while residing comfortably in my body.  I have drawn an example of what I think he might look like.  I have not figured out what planet he comes from yet, I just need to figure out a way to get rid of him.  Notice I call it a 'him' because I'm sure it can't be a woman.  I don't care where you come from, a woman is not going to cause another woman to carry around extra fat and be lazy at the same time.

So, anyway, I really enjoy my walks with my friend.  It doesn't feel like exercising because we keep each other company.  But a funny thing happens us if one of us can't make it.  Neither one of us walks.  I'm pretty sure it's the alien.  He can't get to me when I am not alone, but when I am, his power is too great for me to resist. 

Anyway, what's happens is when I exercise he convinces me I need to eat more by making me feel hungryand when I don't exercise he tells me it's allright to eat as little as I want as long it is delicious, high fat and flavorful food like cheese or ice-cream.   I am going to show him.  I am going to exercise and eat healthy from now on.  At least for today.

I'm still tired, but I have chores to do.  Then maybe I'll make a nice cup of hot lemon balm tea, stretch out in my recliner and watch cooking shows on TV. 

Have a wonderful weekend my friends.  God Bless you and your loved ones today and always.

SBG

A Few of My Vegetarian Recipes

Yesterday I shared information with you about what a vegetarian is and why I am a vegetarian.  I also told you that my husband is not a vegetarian and I enjoy cooking for him.  Making a meal for my husband is like giving him a present.  It's fun to make it for him and it's more fun to see how much he loves and appreciates it.

Although he's not hard to please, he does not like a lot of the same vegetables that I do.  The only thing he likes in the basket here are the tomatoes!   I try to do at least one meatless meal a week for him, which is not hard to do.

The easiest way to serve him a meatless meal is when I make a large pot of beans.  Most of the time I make a bean soup with a mixture of pinto beans, navy beans, lentils, black beans, great northern beans and lima beans.  I never presoak my beans.
My recipes are not exact measurements, just cook what amount you want.

For Bean Soup just wash and sort your beans and set aside.  Heat up some extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or vegetable oil in a large soup pot and saute some chopped onions, garlic, carrots, celery and green peppers if you like. Add a dash of salt and pepper.  Then add seasonings to your taste.  I add in the saute mixture, cumin, coriander, and sometimes chili powder.  Then after about five minutes add your beans, a can of chopped tomatoes, a bay leaf and more spices to your taste and water to cover the mixture about two inches.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until done.  Sometimes I add diced potatoes, too.  Check periodically to see if it needs more water.  The beans are usually done after about two hours, however I like my soup real creamy so I usually cook it longer.  

I like this recipe because I can put in on early in the afternoon and pretty much forget about it.  For the meal sometimes I make cornbread,  potatoes fried with onions or sometimes we eat the soup with rice.  You can prepare any kind of salad you like and depending what's in season I just make a fresh vegetable tray.

One of my varieties of basil.

When I make spaghetti I make a marinara sauce and cook some sausage in a separate pot for my husband.  For my Marinara Sauce saute some onions and garlic in EVOO or vegetable oil until limp, add chopped carrots and saute until moist, then add a pinch of hot pepper flakes and saute for about another minute.  The carrots give the sauce a good sweetness without adding sugar.  Add two or three cans of chopped tomatoes, depending on how much you are making, a small can of tomato sauce and a small can of tomato paste.  Season with salt, pepper, basil, oregano, parsley and add a bay leaf or two.  Let this cook for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle.  Just before serving taste for seasoning and if you have it, add some fresh basil.

I serve my marinara sauce just like this because I like my sauce lumpy.  You can put this in a blender or food processor and process it until it is smooth. 

You can make a very large amount of this sauce and freeze any extra in canning jars or freezer containers to have for quick dinners in the future.  Then serve this sauce with any pasta you like.  I even use this on my pizzas, eggplant parmesan, lasagna and other baked pasta dishes.

For our mexican style meals I make beef enchiladas for my husband and cheese enchiladas for me.  But we both like black bean tacos.  Black Bean Tacos are very easy and fast.  Just wash and drain a can of black beans heat them up in a small skillet in some oil with cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.  Sometimes I add a small can of chopped chilis.  Serve these in some heated taco shells just as you would beef or chicken tacos with chopped tomatos, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

I also make Huevos Rancheros.  Fry some corn tortillas until crispy and set aside.  Heat up some refried beans and season with your favorite seasonings.  Spread the refried beans on a tortilla, add some shredded cheese, add the fried egg, put heated enchilada sauce over it and top with shredded cheese.  That's the way we like it!  Very good.

As you have seen here, I have not used any canned or frozen vegetables.  These are meals I've made for years only I have modified them for my vegetarian lifestyle.  I use canned and frozen vegetables more in the winter when fresh vegetables are out of season.  I make all kinds of soups and stews which I will share with you another time.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and please let me know if you have any requests or questions about other recipes you may want to see.

May you feel the presence of the Lord with you today and know that He is with you always.

SPG

On Being A Vegetarian

Good morning dear friends.  It is a beautiful cool morning here in my part of Oklahoma.  It rained off and on yesterday and brought in a welcome respite from the hot and humid days we've been having.  I hope you all are having a break from the heat, too.

Today I want to talk about being a vegetarian.  I recently subscribed to a website called Vegetarian's Rock for my facebook.  There were comments on it this morning about how people like to challenge vegetarian's about their choices and also about all the comments we hear when people find out we are vegetarians.

Today's post is not about bashing my meat loving friends.  It is simply an explanation about my reasons for being a vegetarian and a little bit of information about the vegetarian diet.  I cook for my meat loving husband and do so because I love him and he loves my cooking!

To be a true vegetarian means you eat no fish or meat.  Then there are three kinds of vegetarians.

1.  Vegan  - these are vegetarians who do not eat dairy products and eggs.

2.  Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat dairy products and eggs.

3. Lacto-vegetarians are those who eat dairy, but no eggs.

I am a lacto-ovo and primarily am a vegetarian for health reasons.   High cholesterol, cancer and heart disease runs in my family and I have inherited the propensity towards all of these diseases.   Being a vegetarian is not a fail safe diet for these, either.  I have to watch my consumption of dairy products which includes my most beloved high fat cheddar cheese.  To watch myself on this problem I buy and drink only soy milk, vegan cheeses and vegetarian "meats" such as bacon, sausage and hot dogs.  All are made from soy and wheat products.

I do not like all the additives the producers put in their animal and chicken feed.  I buy only organic eggs and natural or organic meat for my husband or meat I know is additive free.

I am an animal rights advocate.  Note the word advocate.  I am not a radical.  In every organization or group of believers you have your advocates and your radicals.  It is the radicals who get the most attention.  This is what gives specific groups a bad rap.

I try not to be pretentious about my dietary lifestyle.  When people find out I am a vegetarian I often feel an immediate tension from them as though they think I am judging them.  This can not be further from the truth.  What you eat is your business.  I just ask that you treat me the same way.  Don't judge me or assume I am going to preach you a sermon about your health or lifestyle.

Lastly, I am a vegetarian because of the environment.  I am not going to get into a long tirade about the cattle, pig and poultry business and it's impact on the environment.  If you care to know more about this, you can do your own research on the internet or you can check out books at the library.  That is your business and I do not want to force this on you.

Tomorrow I will share with you many of my favorite delicious, healthy vegetarian recipes I cook for me and my husband.  Our diets are not just salads and some vegetables you pop out of a can or defrost in the microwave oven.

You will be surprised to find out what delicious meals you can make for you and your family.  For some websites to check out for vegetarian recipes, just google Vegetarian Times magazine  or Christina Periello on PBS.  They are only two among hundreds but they are my favorites.

May God be with you and your loved ones and give you a peaceful beautiful day.

SBG
 

This is a picture I took at the Oklahoma City Zoo.  I love all God's creatures. 

My husband begs to differ with me on this one!

Some of My Favorite Things about Oklahoma

Hi friends, I would like to share a cup of tea with you as we talk about our favorite things. I will tell you mine and I hope to hear what you like.

I like Oklahoma.

There is so much to do and see in our beautiful state.  My husband and I camp year round, weather permitting all over our state.  We have been to state parks, Corps of Engineer parks, city parks and private parks.  We have a little camping trailer that we can take almost anywhere.  To find the best places to visit we go to http://www.travelok.com/.  This site is packed full of information about places to see and things to do.  You can order maps and brochures for free.  They offer coupons for money saving ideas and much more.  It is a go to site for us everytime we plan a new trip.

I am a huge supporter of shopping and buying local.  We belong to the Oklahoma Food Coop.  It is a cooperative of private Oklahoma owned businesses that sell food, meat, crafts and so much more. To join, there is a one time $50 membership fee that is refundable should you decide you don't want to belong anymore.  Their website is www.oklahomafood.coop/.   You can order products online and they will be delivered to a site close to where you live.

You can also check out your local farmer's markets.  The newspaper lists locations or you can check out a website called Local Harvest at http://www.localharvest.org/.  I like this site because it lists markets nationwide.  I love to visit farmer's markets when I travel.  You never know what you will find.

We also like to visit museums.  To find Oklahoma museums simply visit http://www.okmuseums.org/.  My husband and I also love to visit small town museums.  They are generally free with an option to give a small donation.  You will learn about local history and sometimes, if you have a fun and interesting volunteer, you can learn so much more about their town than you will find in any history book.

I love our state for so many more reasons than I can list in this blog.  Hopefully what I shared with you today will give you a start on exploring and learning about our great state of Oklahoma.

Blessings to you and your loved ones.

I found this beautiful critter in our backyard.  Her web is under a large light our neighbor has in his yard.  She is no dummy.  Can anyone tell me what kind of spider she is?  My husband said she is a garden spider.


SBG

This 'n' That

It's been a few days since I've written on my blog.  I have many excuses but the main one is I didn't know what I wanted to write about.  I've had many things on my mind yet each one wasn't enough to write in a whole blog so I decided to write about this 'n' that!

First on my mind are my struggles (and I say struggles) with my weight.  Now that I am a "menopausal" woman I have no metabolism to speak of.  I know this and I know what I need to do.  Watch what I eat and exercise.  Can it be any simpler than that? 

Last year I went on a strict vegan diet, exercised religiously and lost 30 lbs. in five months.  Come January, for some unknown, insane reason, my brain convinced me I was tired of exercising.  I was no longer on the strict vegan diet, but I remained a vegetarian.  That opened up my culinary world to my biggest love which is cheese.  Any kind of cheese and eggs and ice-cream and all those high fat delicious foods.  I've gained back 12 pounds, so needless to say, I'm back on track.  I'm back to exercising but I will remain on a more realistic vegetarian diet with primarily high fiber foods.  Wish me luck!

Another thing on my mind is menopause.  The root cause of my slow metabolism, mood swings and I know my increased craving for sweets. (I didn't used to have a big sweet tooth when I was younger).  I look at this word and see men - o - pause, which I take to mean take a break from men or as my husband might think, he needs to pause (or take a break) from me.  Is that how you see it?

It makes sense to me because during this time I never know what kind of mood I'm going to wake up to which is dictated by the kind of night I had.   Then again, I could have slept like a new born kitten on her momma's teat or tossed and turned throwing the covers off and on with hot and cold flashes.  My moods are my moods.  Thus the reason my husband and I need to pause and think before one of us says something, well, stupid!

Enough of that subject and on to something fun.  I've talked about my cats and dogs before.  Today I will give the spotlight to the baby kitten, Annabelle Lee who is four months old now and as cute as she can be.  She is at that age where she thinks all the animals are her personal best friends forever.  However, the older cats have pretty much put her in her place because they are not in the mood to romp and roll around with her.  Merlin and Missy are younger and will play with her for about a minute.  Then there is our one year old dog Clarke.  Those two can play and romp for a little bit until Clarke wants to start treating her like one of his stuffed animals.  That's when Annabelle has had enough!

All in all, if I am in "one of my moods" all I have to do is sit down for a few minutes and watch these innocent and lovely gifts from heaven.  God knows what I need because they will lower my blood pressure, calm my nerves and make me laugh out loud!

Annabelle Lee

I have to admit after writing this I am in a much better mood and ready to face this hot, humid Oklahoma day.  Thanks for listening and come back again.  I'd love to hear what's on your mind, too.

Have a blessed and happy day.

SG

New Experiences

I floated down the Illinois river with a group of friends last weekend.    We floated on rafts, kayaks and one couple took a canoe. There were four of us in our raft.  We went 12 miles and it took us 7 hours.  What fun!

This was a new experience for me.  One of my favorite things to do is to experience something new.  When I am going to do something I've never done before, I am nervous.  There is the anticipation of what will be.  Who will I meet?  Will I like it?  Will it be a waste of my time or will it be one of the greatest experiences I've ever had?

However I am also a creature of habit.  I love a routine.  I am most comfortable in familiar surroundings doing what I love.  I love my home, my church and my friends.  I like to plan my days knowing I have control over my life.  Who doesn't?

As I age I find myself more cautious.  I'm not the risk taker I was when I was younger, but that is normal.  But, also as we age we have to be careful about not keeping ourselves active both physically and mentally.  I read recently that it is better to do more than just crossword puzzles to keep the brain stimulated.  The article said to do tasks that forces the brain to do many things like multi-tasking.

My husband I take small camping trips frequently throughout the year.  We camp primarily in our great state of Oklahoma.  Last year we took up geocaching.  We also love to visit museums, antique stores, thrift stores or flea markets.  We never know what is waiting for us around the bend.

This is how I choose to live my days.  I have my wonderful, comfortable and safe routines and I also have my new experiences.  This is how I am aging gracefully or if you saw me on the river raft, not so gracefully!

A Garden Story

I have a confession to make.  I share my garden with, wait for it, wait for it, weeds!  Yes, you heard me right, if weeds were a cash crop, I would have enough money to go to a movie and buy some popcorn and a drink.

I fondly look back on March when I dreamily planned my perfect vegetable garden.  As I planted rows of tomatoes, green beans, pepper plants, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, soybeans, okra and cow peas I envisioned a beautiful organic garden free of weeds and bugs.  I was excited about the new heirloom tomatoes I planted as I harvested delicious strawberries.  Now, I can't even find my strawberry plants.

The cucumber plants are gone, the tomato plants are barren and like the strawberry plants, I can barely see the squash plants.  I have several soybeans on the plants, but I don't know when to harvest them.  You'd think with the world wide web I'd be able to find this out, but I've had no luck on this topic.  My talent on the web equals my ability to keep the weeds away.

However, this winter I will enjoy many jars of pickles and relish, frozen beans and squash, some salsa I canned and delicious jellies I made from blackberries and grapes.  I am still harvesting okra and eggplant which I am eating everyday.  Yum, yum.

I am now now looking forward to the first frost.  Who knows what I'll find after all the weeds die down.  Just wait until next year.  I will have a perfect, weed-free garden with mulched rows so beautiful I will be able to tip toe through the squash and tomato plants barefoot.

Have a beautiful and blessed day everyone and may you feel the presence of the good Lord with you always.

My French Affair

We bought a new refrigerator this weekend.  You'd think it would be simple, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

I started looking at 'fridges on Thursday when our old one broke.  I went to two major home repair stores and the base exchange store.  They had many choices ranging in prices from as low as around $700 to as high as $2800.  Wow!

As I looked at all the different styles and features, I started to form relationships with them.  The ones I really became attached to were the three door style where the doors on the top are called french doors and they have a big, deep freezer drawer on the bottom.  I thought "Ooo LaLa" how exotic.  That cinched my decision on this style.  Then I would be worldly and maybe I'll learn french so my new refrigerator won't get homesick.

That was the easy part.  Next came the emotional attatchments I formed with each one.  It was like buying a house.  There is not one that has everything you want.  You have to compromise.

There was one style that puffed cold air into the door where you would keep the milk.  I wanted to marry that one, but I'm already spoken for.

I swooned over the one with the separate long drawer accesible from the outside to cut down on opening the doors as much when you wanted fruit or snacks or juicy juice.  But, alas, that's not a problem in our home since we don't have little human ones around and it is not a feature we need for our furry creatures.

Then the honeymoon was over when I went shopping on Saturday with my husband.  I had to clean up my act.  No more fantasing over what could have been and, well, realizing I had a budget.  Oh, I still got my sweet french refrigerateur but not with as many "bells and whistles" as my dreamboats. 

Just as in any relationship there are compromises and I see a  long and happy one with my new french friendship.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's birthday.  She is 83 years old.  That is amazing to me because it may sound like a lot of years, but when you see her and people her age, it doesn't seem like it. 

I am hosting a birthday luncheon for her today.  She is very excited about it.  She told me this morning that she used to dread her birthdays, but now she is excited about them.

I found this statement interesting.  As we age we change how we perceive things.  Take driving for example.  I used to be in a lot more hurry than I am now.  If I have to be somewhere at a specific time, I try to allow myself enough time to get there.  If I am running late, it just doesn't bother me as much.  When I am running errands, I don't care about all the other people who want to pass me.  Sometimes I pull over to let them by. 

Another thing, I forget things more often now.  This isn't a big deal because it's short term memory loss I have.  I have lived long enough to have a lot in my memory files.  I don't need to add a lot of unnessary and useless things in my mind.  I'll save what space I have left for more important things like my husband's name, my name, today's date, you know what I mean!

Hopefully, with the grace of God, I, too will live to see 83 and hopefully I'll be as bright and spry as my mother.

Happy Birthday Mom.  I Love You.

Baby It's Hot Outside

August has to be one of my least favorite times of the year.  It's not only hot, but it's also that time between summer and fall when plants are dying down no matter how much you water them.  It's too hot to spend much time outside and needless to say, all my gardens are being overrun by unwanted weeds.  Alas, what's a girl to do?

On the bright side I can look at the jars of pickles, relishes and jellies I've made.  I can see the bags of vegetables in the freezer and know I will still be enjoying my bounty in the long cold months ahead.  That thought alone cools me down a little!

Today I am making grape jelly and kosher dill pickles.  The grapes were harvested from an Aunt and Uncle's yard and the cucumbers are still producing in my garden.  I am just now getting delicious okra and I am looking forward to harvesting some soybeans.

Our tomato plants are history along with the green beans and squash.  Our pepper plants might bounce back when the weather cools down.

This morning I joined the sisterhood of farmgirls at the Mary Jane Farms magazine and website.  This is a wonderful and fun magazine that shares other farmgirls days and provides tips on gardening, crafts, decorating and recipes.  It is the best magazine ever!  I can't wait to start earning badges.

Okay, now I feel better.  August doesn't seem so bad to me now.  I will get up and get to work on my jelly and pickles.  Did I say work?   I should say blessings. 

Have a cool and blessed day.

I Live In an Animal House

Yes, you heard me right.  I live in a house with eight cats and two dogs.  Does that make me one of those crazy "cat/dog" people?  I hope not!

It's not as bad as it sounds.  We have a nice clean home.  There is a separate room where we keep the cat's "bathrooms" and their food.  The room has a cat door so they can come and go and it keeps the dogs out of their area.

Each animal has their own story.

Our oldest dog, Lewis is a german shepard mix we adopted from a bar.  Yes, a pool playing, dart thowing people drinking and smoking bar my husband and I were in several years ago where a lady showed up with two puppies.  We had just lost an older dog and wanted a companion for our other dog.  He is named after C.S. Lewis. 

Our second dog, Clarke, is a rescue we got while camping last Memorial Day weekend.  He is a chihauha/daschund mix someone dumped at the campsite.  He has fit into his new home so well, it is like he has always been here. 

So now we have two dogs named Lewis and Clarke!

The cats are all rescue cats. They are in order of age, Bageera, Beau and Athena (brother and sister), Crystal, Missy and Merlin (brother and sister), and GiGi and her baby Annabelle Lee.

Bageera came from a rescued cat who had kittens, Beau and Athena were rescued from a college campus, Crystal was adopted from a parking lot and the last four were rescued from my neighborhood.

Now that I have introduced you all to my animal kingdom, you will hear more about them in upcoming posts.  They all have unique pesonalities and quirks.  There is never a dull moment in this home full of furry love and wet kisses.

Generation Gap Crisis

I am experiencing a Generation Gap Crisis and it doesn't feel very good.

Back "in my day" I was a part of the women's rights movement.  It was as exciting to me as it was for the women who fought for the right to vote.  We fought for legal birth control, equal pay, equal job opportunities, and equal educational opportunities. 

While serving in the Army in New Jersey, I was a page at the 1976 New Jersey's Women's Conference where we passed the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment).  It was an experience I will never forget.

I know there are still problems with women's issues, but there always will be just as there are with other issues such as racism. 

My generation gap crisis involves today's young women.   They are inundated with sexism by many forms of the media such as television, music, fashion, print and movies, to name a few.  Because of their access to instant messaging and the internet, they are saturated with what the media moguls think they should look like, act like and buy to be all these things.

Today's fashions expose as much skin as possible that can be legal in public no matter what their body type is.  Teen pregnancy is at an all time high and they are keeping babies for parents to raise.  This means they are not using any protection from not only birth control but also sexually transmitted diseases.

I know we have always had these kinds of problems, but because of the mass media available to them these days it appears to be more widespread.

What can we do?  We can't stop the media because we need them.  (That will be another topic for another day). 

1. What we can do is talk to our children.  This is not just a girl issue.  We also have to talk to our boys. 

2. We have to instill good moral values and good self-esteem.

3. Parents need to encourage their children to participate in extracurricular activities in school and out of school.

Lastly, we adults need to be there for these girls.  We need to mentor them and talk to them, too.  I think the more they know about women's history the more they will understand how many doors have already been opened for them. 

I want girls today to know they many opportunities and that they can conquer any obstacles that get in their way.  They need to be encouraged to follow their dreams.

That's ends my soapbox for today.  I look forward to hearing what you all think we can do to help with this issue.