Stick Horse Cowgirls

  It’s much more difficult than I ever thought it would be to write what I really want to say.  I hamstring myself with fear of revealing too much, embarrassing myself or others.  I’ve often wondered if others struggle with this too.  Do I want to limit myself to writing about a slick veneer of life as seen through rose colored glasses, or do I want authenticity —even if sometimes it’s a little angry, or whiny, or questioning?   I don’t want to air all my dirty laundry publically, but I will say that my 40 years of marriage hasn’t always been rosy.  We’ve struggled through difficult times—our own  selfishness, even boredom at times.  We’ve endured the stress of rebellious, out of control teenagers.  We’ve sat in the emergency room of hospitals, with life and death circumstances before us for two of our three children.  Despite the difficult times, thankfully we have had trust  and common faith to sustain us through the r...

How was your Christmas/ New Year holiday?  See if you can top mine…. Two weeks before Christmas and the arrival of six family members from half a continent away my dishwasher went out.  No problem.  I went to the Home Depot and purchased one, arranging for it to be delivered the next week—just in time for the boatload of dishes that fifteen people would make on Christmas Eve night. Disclaimer: The above is NOT my sink—only what I feared! One week before Christmas we had a windstorm that lasted at least 24 hours with straight-line winds that prevented me at one point from opening my car door.  Strong enough that they snapped our electric poles and caused me to be without power for four days.  Please recall that without power out here in the country, there is no water…pump, remember? This necessitated two nights in the local Hampton Inn so that I could be presentable in Court the next morning. It also meant that the dishwasher could not be insta lled...

My now- grown son likes to remind me of a “scam” we used to run on him when he was young.  We put a special calendar up on the wall just to record his good behavior.  He would earn one of those gummed gold stars on the calendar for each of several specified good deeds. He now tells us that he paid great attention to the opportunity to fill those little calendar squares up with the shiny stars.  It caused him to eat way more green beans than he would otherwise have eaten (which would have been none).  It was responsible for many more beds made without asking.  It just, generally, served to achieve parental purposes at very little cost to Dad and me. Son now says (good naturedly), “ I can’t believe I fell for that!  All that effort for a stupid star!” And we both wonder why it worked like it did. I was reminded of this the other day as I played my latest time-waste game on my I-Pad – Bedazzled .  I become mesmerized by this game, trying to line u...

    I’m cooking today—all day!  I’ll be cooking tomorrow too for our family gathering.   C will be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at her sister’s home with family.  She’s taking apple enchiladas!  Maybe she will share her recipe with us all! When it’s all over  I will be exhausted for sure, but we have so much to be thankful for— not that I always remember that……     We may use the real china like my grandmother always did and her silver which stays in the wooden chest in the buffet.  I’ll make homemade cranberry sauce with a little orange essence and there will be the canned jellied variety for hubby who is picky!  Visit www.susanbranch.com for her great recipe for cranberry sauce in the oven!  I’ll serve some spiced peaches in a crystal dish because my grandmother Elsie always had them on the Thanksgiving table—apple rings at Christmas.  Traditions live on in those that follow.  I usually feel a ...

Nothing like a sex scandal to bring me out of temporary blog retirement. But, really, this isn’t a “sex scandal” per se , rather something much more. I smiled to myself that the very last post I wrote on this blog was about Benghazi, which is so intertwined with this subject matter which is: Generals Petraeus and Allen; Paula Broadwell and Jill Kelley. For your reference as we go through this scenario, here is a little diagram: Deep breath…here I go. When I hear diametrically-opposed opinions from someone I respect, I sit up and take note. In this instance, it is my blog friend, Karen, from This Old House, Too. Karen’s posted a couple days ago on this subject, lamenting that we have to hear about this scandal ad nauseum and that it is nobody’s business but that of the players. I don’t get this and replied (lengthily, as none of you will be surprised), that it is, indeed, my business when the head of MY CIA engages in risky behaviors. This is Karen’s reply (in color) to my co...

  Inside Cats are such connoisseurs of comfort!  These sweet boys were rescued from a plastic bag in a trash dumpster!  They had five littermates who thankfully have all found homes!  Someone’s “trash” is another’s treasure.  My grandkids are really enjoying the new kitties!   Such a little imp!     Always into something!   Outside The big rescue dog, Cowboy, always watchful and protective.   Barn kitty, Pumpkin,  is checking out the coop!     Free Range Chickens lay tasty eggs!  Perhaps they think the gazing ball is a huge egg!     Cowgirl in training!     Have a great week! V

    “Witches and goblins and jack-o-lanterns bright Creep through the town on a cold October night.  You can hear the sounds of running feet when nothing can be seen And the strangest things can happen on a WILD HALLOWEEN!”   “”C” and I sang this song during childhood in the sixties and now I sing it to my grandchildren!  Almost nothing we loved more than trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  Mrs. Korte who lived up the street, dressed as a witch and gave out wax lips, mustaches and fangs!  She played spooky music too, so her house was the highlight of our night!  It was a simpler time—we never heard of the ugly side of Halloween—it was so much fun to use our imagination, dress up in a costume and run up and down the streets under our parent’s watchful eye in the cool of the autumn night.  Later at home we would pour the candy out on the bed or table and see what treats we would enjoy.  Remember the peanut butter kisses...