Good evening neighbors. Tonight's post is a little difficult to write. My husband lost a beloved aunt who passed away last night. She and her late husband had a significant impact on his life because he lived with them when he was in high school. Now she is reunited with the husband she loved dearly.
While we were on a visit to them a couple of years ago they decided to give us some of their things they no longer used or needed. We went home with a carload of items that were near and dear to their hearts. Among these items, his aunt gave me her china dishes that her husband bought for her when they were engaged.
They met in Japan in the 1960's where they were both serving in the military. He was in the Air Force and she was a nurse in the Army. She told me when he asked her what kind of china she wanted she asked him what his favorite color was and he told her black. So she decided on the black rose pattern. As a person who collects almost anything that has to do with kitchen and dining items I was thrilled to be given this china. It will always have a very special place in my heart.
My husband's uncle gave him his model train collection. This is not a small set that you set up around your Christmas tree once a year. This is a set that we need to build an extra room on to our house to set it up. He also gave him a 1970's pick-up truck that is my husband's work truck. What a legacy to give to a person who was the closest to a child they could have. Since they were childless, my husband was the son they never had.
He has many fond memories of camping and fishing trips with them and how they rooted him on at his high school football games.
We were floating on clouds after that visit. Not only were we given beloved items from these loved ones, we received these things from them. We experienced the extent of their pride as they handed these things over to us. We saw the pride in their eyes, the smiles on their faces and the love that they had for him. This is what will remain in our memories forever
Until tomorrow friends.
Have a wonderful evening.
SCL
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
If you water, it will rain
I pray a lot. I ask God for the usual things, the safety of my family and friends, forgiveness of my sins and special prayer requests for people in my life and our church. But mostly, I ask God for things throughout the day.
Sunday I prayed for rain because the TV weather people forecasted rain. I thought if I asked God for rain I would be covered both ways. Well, it didn't rain. So I broke down and watered the flower garden yesterday. Then I tried to pull weeds in the herb garden and they decided they weren't going anywhere. I pictured the weeds with little hands down in their little roots holding steadfast to the dirt.
Because I knew I would be out and about today (and because I have a tendency to not want to be around a lot of strangers) I asked God to give me patience and to help me to play nice today. Of course this time he didn't delay in answering this prayer. It happened while I waited for my mother to get her prescriptions turned in at the pharmacy on base. I don't know how many of you have ever had dealings with the military or any form of federal government agency, but if you have you do not want to be in a hurry and you have to put aside any phobias you might have about being up close and personal with a lot of people. They pack you like a tin of sardines in that waiting room.
Of course when I have these kinds of errands with my mother I always take a book to read. That way I can ignore people without them knowing that I am really ignoring them. While I was reading a lady sat next to me at a time when I was looking up (not down at my book). We made eye contact and that's when God said go for it. I said nice dress and she just started talking. I heard about the walk she took around the medical facility to kill time, about her son who was shot in a drive by shooting(he is OK now) and the man she had been seeing who, it sounds to me, is a cad. She talked to me until they called her name to pick up her meds. All in all it was not an unpleasant experience.
God is good. He knows what we want and he gives it to us in his own time. However, Big Daddy, in the future, how about a heads up on the rain. Don't you know that we have to use a pump for our water? Please check out yesterday's blog dear Father and you will see that our electricity on earth is not cheap!
Just remember dear friends and neighbors. Be careful what you ask for. When you talk to God, you WILL GET IT!
Have a wonderful evening.
SCL
Sunday I prayed for rain because the TV weather people forecasted rain. I thought if I asked God for rain I would be covered both ways. Well, it didn't rain. So I broke down and watered the flower garden yesterday. Then I tried to pull weeds in the herb garden and they decided they weren't going anywhere. I pictured the weeds with little hands down in their little roots holding steadfast to the dirt.
My husband working in the herb garden in May
when it was just a baby and the weeds were sweet.
So I had the bright idea that I would soak that stubborn garden today with visions of getting those little buggers tomorrow. I ran the sprinkler for seven hours while I was out today running errands with my mother. Of course, I also hung some laundry on the clothesline before we left, too. You guessed it. It rained while we were gone and it rained even harder after we returned. Now I have really wet clothes on the line but I'm looking forward to tackling those mean weeds tomorrow morning.
Because I knew I would be out and about today (and because I have a tendency to not want to be around a lot of strangers) I asked God to give me patience and to help me to play nice today. Of course this time he didn't delay in answering this prayer. It happened while I waited for my mother to get her prescriptions turned in at the pharmacy on base. I don't know how many of you have ever had dealings with the military or any form of federal government agency, but if you have you do not want to be in a hurry and you have to put aside any phobias you might have about being up close and personal with a lot of people. They pack you like a tin of sardines in that waiting room.
Of course when I have these kinds of errands with my mother I always take a book to read. That way I can ignore people without them knowing that I am really ignoring them. While I was reading a lady sat next to me at a time when I was looking up (not down at my book). We made eye contact and that's when God said go for it. I said nice dress and she just started talking. I heard about the walk she took around the medical facility to kill time, about her son who was shot in a drive by shooting(he is OK now) and the man she had been seeing who, it sounds to me, is a cad. She talked to me until they called her name to pick up her meds. All in all it was not an unpleasant experience.
God is good. He knows what we want and he gives it to us in his own time. However, Big Daddy, in the future, how about a heads up on the rain. Don't you know that we have to use a pump for our water? Please check out yesterday's blog dear Father and you will see that our electricity on earth is not cheap!
Just remember dear friends and neighbors. Be careful what you ask for. When you talk to God, you WILL GET IT!
Have a wonderful evening.
SCL
Monday, July 9, 2012
Procrastinating
Have you ever had a task that you need to get done but you keep putting it off? Today I have been procrastinating on writing this blog. When I procrastinate on one task, I actually get a lot of work done on other tasks that I have been putting off but then I find more things to delay working on.
I did laundry today which is not unusual. I washed three loads of regular laundry, but I also washed the blankets our dog sleeps on which I have been putting off and I washed some vintage linens I recently purchased. Then I hung these items on the clothes line. Then it clouded up outside and I thought it was going to rain so I took everything off the clothes line and laid the still damp blankets on the patio chairs because I can't use my dryer right now.
You see, we signed up for smart hours with our electric company and if we don't use major appliances during the hours of 2 - 7 p.m. we get lower electric rates. Because of this I have to put off a whole lot of things. I can't vacuum, cook, clean, bake, iron or anything that requires loads of electricity. Now isn't that just too bad?
I planned to put up some peaches we bought over the weekend but I decided to put that task off and ironed instead. I ironed clothes and table cloths until I had to stop at 2 p.m. I collect vintage table cloths. I love the old cotten ones that are soft from many years of washings and ironings. The only problem is I put off ironing them and end up buying more when we go antiquing. Then I have about twenty or so in my ironing basket.
In the meanwhile I have had this blog in the back of my mind all day. I've had many ideas of what to write about. Some of these ideas were our cats and dogs, the many things I collect, the weather, my gardens, food, which could include recipes, all the fresh foods we are enjoying from our gardens and the local farmer's markets, and the camping trips my husband and I frequently take. No wonder I kept putting this off, all of these thoughts are exhausting.
So here I am writing on this blog even though it is between the hours of 2 - 7 p.m. I think it is okay because, you see, I am using my wireless laptop computer. I'm using a satellite dish instead of electricity, right?
Another snag I found in writing my blog again is where to compose it. I tried my "office" room but I found it to be too confining. I tried with the computer on my lap but I hit too many wrong buttons while typing. Finally I ended up on my cool old wooden school desk which I have painted pink. This desk is just the muse I needed.
Well dear neighbors and friends, I will go for today. I promise you all, I will do better in the future. Writing is like a sport or art. You only get better the more you do it.
May you have a beautiful and peaceful evening.
Until next time.
SCL
I did laundry today which is not unusual. I washed three loads of regular laundry, but I also washed the blankets our dog sleeps on which I have been putting off and I washed some vintage linens I recently purchased. Then I hung these items on the clothes line. Then it clouded up outside and I thought it was going to rain so I took everything off the clothes line and laid the still damp blankets on the patio chairs because I can't use my dryer right now.
You see, we signed up for smart hours with our electric company and if we don't use major appliances during the hours of 2 - 7 p.m. we get lower electric rates. Because of this I have to put off a whole lot of things. I can't vacuum, cook, clean, bake, iron or anything that requires loads of electricity. Now isn't that just too bad?
I planned to put up some peaches we bought over the weekend but I decided to put that task off and ironed instead. I ironed clothes and table cloths until I had to stop at 2 p.m. I collect vintage table cloths. I love the old cotten ones that are soft from many years of washings and ironings. The only problem is I put off ironing them and end up buying more when we go antiquing. Then I have about twenty or so in my ironing basket.
In the meanwhile I have had this blog in the back of my mind all day. I've had many ideas of what to write about. Some of these ideas were our cats and dogs, the many things I collect, the weather, my gardens, food, which could include recipes, all the fresh foods we are enjoying from our gardens and the local farmer's markets, and the camping trips my husband and I frequently take. No wonder I kept putting this off, all of these thoughts are exhausting.
So here I am writing on this blog even though it is between the hours of 2 - 7 p.m. I think it is okay because, you see, I am using my wireless laptop computer. I'm using a satellite dish instead of electricity, right?
Another snag I found in writing my blog again is where to compose it. I tried my "office" room but I found it to be too confining. I tried with the computer on my lap but I hit too many wrong buttons while typing. Finally I ended up on my cool old wooden school desk which I have painted pink. This desk is just the muse I needed.
This is my cool old wooden school desk which I painted pink.
Well dear neighbors and friends, I will go for today. I promise you all, I will do better in the future. Writing is like a sport or art. You only get better the more you do it.
May you have a beautiful and peaceful evening.
Until next time.
SCL
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Back from Sabbatical with a new name
Hello old friends. I am back from my two year sabbatical with a new name and ready to renew our connections.
Back in the fall of 2010 we had a family emergency which took me out of town for a few days. When I returned home I went into a deep depression for a while and I felt it was frivolous to spend time writing on my blog. However, long story short, life goes on and so do I!
I chose my new name, Suburban Country Lady, because it better represents who I am than my old blog name and I wanted a fresh start. I still love God, my husband and family, gardening, reading and camping. I am still a vegetarian who cooks meat for my husband and I still love animals.
So what's new you ask? I had a milestone birthday this year and when I have a milestone birthday I must do something, well, out of the ordinary for me. I gave myself two choices. Jump out of an airplane or take horseback riding lessons. I chose the latter because I could get more for my money and, frankly, do you think you could jump out of an airplane!?
I have had two riding lessons so far. The first lesson was getting to know the horse. I had to learn horse anatomy, how to brush it, put on the blanket and saddle and walk with it. My horse's name is Spider. He is a few years old, very sweet and gentle and he is used to work with handicapped children. Does that give you an idea of how my instructor used my age to pick out my horse? I am very thankful to her for that.
My second lesson I got on the horse and learned the basic commands and rode him the corral. My instructor gives me praise when I do something right which makes me feel like a "good little girl". I really like my instructor! I will keep you posted on my new horseback riding adventures.
My husband expanded my herb garden for me this year. It is doing beautifully growing and producing lots of herbs and weeds. I have to get a handle on those weeds! We got our vegetable garden in a little late this year. We are getting lots of peppers right now and some eggplants. Our tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes and I am anxiously waiting for the rest of our produce. We also planted cucumbers, three different squashes, soy beans, green beans and okra. I also have a beautiful large pumpkin plant that came up by our back patio where I threw a couple of halloween
pumpkins last fall. I have three pumpkins growing on that plant.
Well, enough catching up for now. I am glad to be back and I look forward to hearing from you all again real soon.
Please come back again for a visit. Sit down with me and we can share a cup of tea and swap stories together.
Peace be with you all.
SCL
Back in the fall of 2010 we had a family emergency which took me out of town for a few days. When I returned home I went into a deep depression for a while and I felt it was frivolous to spend time writing on my blog. However, long story short, life goes on and so do I!
I chose my new name, Suburban Country Lady, because it better represents who I am than my old blog name and I wanted a fresh start. I still love God, my husband and family, gardening, reading and camping. I am still a vegetarian who cooks meat for my husband and I still love animals.
So what's new you ask? I had a milestone birthday this year and when I have a milestone birthday I must do something, well, out of the ordinary for me. I gave myself two choices. Jump out of an airplane or take horseback riding lessons. I chose the latter because I could get more for my money and, frankly, do you think you could jump out of an airplane!?
I have had two riding lessons so far. The first lesson was getting to know the horse. I had to learn horse anatomy, how to brush it, put on the blanket and saddle and walk with it. My horse's name is Spider. He is a few years old, very sweet and gentle and he is used to work with handicapped children. Does that give you an idea of how my instructor used my age to pick out my horse? I am very thankful to her for that.
My second lesson I got on the horse and learned the basic commands and rode him the corral. My instructor gives me praise when I do something right which makes me feel like a "good little girl". I really like my instructor! I will keep you posted on my new horseback riding adventures.
My husband expanded my herb garden for me this year. It is doing beautifully growing and producing lots of herbs and weeds. I have to get a handle on those weeds! We got our vegetable garden in a little late this year. We are getting lots of peppers right now and some eggplants. Our tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes and I am anxiously waiting for the rest of our produce. We also planted cucumbers, three different squashes, soy beans, green beans and okra. I also have a beautiful large pumpkin plant that came up by our back patio where I threw a couple of halloween
pumpkins last fall. I have three pumpkins growing on that plant.
Well, enough catching up for now. I am glad to be back and I look forward to hearing from you all again real soon.
Please come back again for a visit. Sit down with me and we can share a cup of tea and swap stories together.
Peace be with you all.
SCL
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
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.
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.
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| Cholla cactus |
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.
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| Precious baby and her mother at the Black Mesa State Park |
Have a wonderful and blessed day my dear friends.
Soap Box Granny
Friday, September 3, 2010
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
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.
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
Thursday, September 2, 2010
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.
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.
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?
SBG
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| Clothes on the line |
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.
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| Broccoli for freezing |
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
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The plants are looking ragged. |
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