In Memory Of

Augusta Elizabeth Hurst-Williams. My grandmother. She lived alone while Grandpa fought in World War II...had 4 sons between 1947 & 1953...2 turned out not-so-good, one could have been better, and one was at her side till the very end. She took care of my grandfather, not knowing till he was nearly done that the mood swings and forgetfulness were Alzheimer's and cancer. She did what she thought was best by him & put him a home when it got too hard for her. The 2 sons were very unhappy with her and SUED HER for their money when he passed. She battled a rare blood cancer and won.

On Saturday, she had a heart attack and quit breathing. We were hoping yesterday that she might actually pull through and outlive the greedy buggers that are circling her like buzzards over a carcass.

What I wouldn't give to be sitting in her kitchen, drinking a cold glass of Meadow Gold milk, munching on nutter butter cookies while she made her out-of -this-world pecan pie, talking, laughing, & circling things we liked in the Montgomery Ward catalog. Or helping her in her flower beds digging up tulips and asking questions about her flowers.

God had other plans for her. We won't get to see you at Yellowstone in August, like we were planning Gramma, but we WILL see you in Heaven. I love you. Kiss Grandpa for me when you get there, okay?

art - Susan Winget

Bad Day

Catching up with y'all will have to wait another day or so. Just found out my gramma that recently beat a rare blood cancer, is in the hospital. Her heart & lungs tried to give out on her. Heart is beating on its own, now that she's stabilized, but she needs help breathing. I don't know much more than that & it's very frustrating being 1,500 miles away.

I hope y'all understand.

Oh...My...Stars!

I know we have some catching up to do...and I'm watermarking pix tonight so we can play catch up over the weekend. I have thrifty ideas, and recipes, and all kinds of fun stuff, but I just had to pop on to share THIS:

I just ADORE David Tennant....is it August yet?!?

DIY gardening...Redneck Style

Last month, I had a tire patched on my car. Exactly four DAYS later, Biker Boy drove it to work & took a screw into the sidewall that they couldn't patch, so I had to have a whole new set of tires (they couldn't replace just one, because the tires on the car were snow instead of all-seasons & it would ride weird -- great up-selling guys, thanks!). Anyway, when they were done I noticed that they had bagged & put the 3 remaining tires in my trunk & back seat. Not sure what to do with them at first, I just set them next to the shed.

For the last three weeks every time I mentioned them, Biker Boy has said someone is coming to get them. Well, no one has ever shown up to claim them, so on Sunday I gave him the "If they're not gone by Monday, Mister Man, I'm going to do something utterly REDNECK with 'em just to drive you up the wall!!" speech. He rolled his eyes and ignored me. {I love it when he doesn't think I'm serious about this stuff.}

So Monday night I looked at him & said, "I think I'm gonna drill holes in those tires & mount 'em to the shed to make a flower display. Ya know, something nice to look at. Some color. The tires will hold the heat from the day, which is good for plants, & the holes will allow for drainage so they don't drown. It'll be cute!"

He GLARED at me & said, "You're NOT drilling into my new shed!"

"Well, then, how about I mount them to the red shed?"

He chuckled. "That old thing? I don't think the walls would stay up if you did that."

"Fine! How about the back fence then? That way we don't have to look at the UGLY fence OR the TRAILER HOUSE nestled only 3 short feet away from it!"

Poor guy...had to watch him for a second or two...I thought he was going to knock his head off the kitchen counter the way he doubled over laughing. When he could breathe again, he said, "Yeah. You do that & watch how fast THAT piece of crap comes down! You know the park owners won't be in any hurry to replace it & we'll have rugrats & their dogs running all over our backyard thinking the trailer park has been extended for their enjoyment."

*heavy sigh* "Well, YOUR friends haven't come to pick them up like you said they would and I'm tired of them just sitting over there doing nothing. They need a job!" Then it hit me. I've been wanting some raised flower beds out behind Biker Boy's new shed since last summer...there's plenty of garden space there, but we can't afford the wood right now to build any. With the tires, I could bury them a bit, fill them with dirt, and at least put in a couple of tomato plants and maybe a pepper or two. Something. ANYthing!

So, Tuesday morning, while feeling delusional industrious, I unwrapped one of my new "helpers" & plotted out where I wanted them to lie. Using the last of some white spray primer, I pretended to be a crime scene investigator & made outlines of our victims bodies.

Then recruiting Oldest Child & a friend, I bribed them with sodas, ice cream & all things summery for some good old-fashioned back breaking labor. Folks, when I say "back breaking" I'm NOT kidding around here. This soil is clay & now that it's dried out from the winter snow melt it's as hard a a rock! (I wouldn't want to be the one doing the digging...oh, wait...I'm NOT! *LOL*)

LOVE how Middle Child did the "supervising"...he's going to make a GREAT Government employee someday....

Now they're dug out & in the ground, they look a little strange just lying there...guess it's time for a trip to IFA for some soil, compost, and plants!

I hope this inspires you to look at things a little differently...maybe you can find something today lying around your house that's still in decent shape but needs a new job.

I'm off to rest my tired, freshly dolled-up tootsies! I got the instructions for my fancy pedi from HERE, if you'd like to try it for yourself.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great rest of your day!!

The Lawn Mower

A preacher was making his rounds on a bicycle, when he came upon a little boy trying to sell a lawn mower. "How much do you want for the mower?" asked the preacher.

"I just want enough money to go out and buy me a bicycle." said the little boy.

After a moment of consideration, the preacher asked, "Will you take my bike in trade for it?"

The little boy asked if he could try it out first. He told the preacher he hadn't ridden a bicycle in a long time and wasn't sure he could still ride one. The preacher told him, "Just keep trying. It'll come back to you."

After riding the bike around a little while, the little boy said, "Mister, you've got yourself a deal."

The preacher took the mower and began to crank it. He pulled on the rope a few times with no response from the mower. The preacher called the little boy over and said, "I can't get this mower to start."

The little boy said, "That's because you have to cuss at it to get it started."

The preacher said, "I can't cuss. It's been so long since I became a Christian that I don't even remember how to cuss."

The little boy looked at him happily and said, "You just keep pulling on that rope. It'll come back to you."

*ROFL* As you can see, I'm feeling better. Thanks for the prayers & love! I'll be back in a bit with project for ya...

Jesus Help Me To Stand

What a day & it's not even noon. Last couple of days, really. Needed this song today in the worst way. Maybe you needed to hear it too. Back tomorrow with a couple of projects....