Guest Room

More before and after pictures:

I know...just one "before" picture, but there really wasn't much to photograph. At least you can see the gray? panelling and green shag carpet.

Grandma's Chocolate Cake

I thought about my grandma a lot yesterday. Jeff had invited some friends over for hamburgers and what better reason to make a chocolate cake? When my grandma passed away several months ago, I inherited her double boiler (that's basically two sauce pans for those of you who are cullinary-challenged) and her large yellow mixing bowl. Grandma was the best chocolate cake baker I ever knew. I've used her recipe on many occasions, but yesterday was different. Not only did I have her recipe, I also had the very pans and bowl that had been used so many, many times in her kitchen. With each step, I could imagine her standing next to me, giving me little bits of advice and lots of praise. It will come as no surprise to you that the result was the BEST chocolate cake I've ever baked. I hope that when I'm gone, Lauren will want my pans and bowl and Grandma's recipe.

Ghetto Driver

The thousands of chug holes in Tulsa roads are blamed on the snowy winter we had. Hello....it's June. I hit a crater on Sunday at about 45 mph on a ramp on the expressway, doing who knows how much damage to my front end. After arriving home from bible study Sunday evening, I was walking past my kitchen window and to my surprise and dismay, saw that I was missing my front left hubcap. Erghh! Do you realize what a difference that makes to the appearance of your car????? I admit, my car is almost 10 years old, but on most days I'm not embarrassed to drive it. The Toyota dealership quoted me $57 for a new hubcap. <:0 Unwilling to lay out 60 big ones for a piece of tin, I started shopping around. Actually, I retraced my Sunday route and think I spotted it on the side of the road. Unfortunately, I only had a split second to decide if it was worth risking my life to pull over in traffic to pick it up. I decided my life was worth more than 60 bucks. Today I found "Hubcap Kingdom." They had three options for me--a new one for $45, a cheap imitation for $15, and guess what?....a used one that had JUST come in for $25. What a coincidence! I'm pretty sure I paid $25 for my OWN hubcap!

For those of you dying of suspense (or needing to make a claim with a moving company) a 23 cu. ft. side-by-side refrigerator weighs approximately 335 lbs. Thank you Carolyn.

Eric Haas Cartright

I'm relieved to say that I now can sleep at night, knowing Hoss' given name. Thank you for indulging me (you were laughing WITH me not AT me, right?). My mom was very helpful and sent me a website about Hoss. And my favorite cousin, Carolyn, telephoned to report her findings. She even went so far as to research the Vandervoorts and the "Stranger" episode. As it turns out, Hoss was name Eric, after his maternal grandfather and Adam (5 years old at the time) reminded his dad that Uncle Gunner had wanted to name him Haas/Hoss. So, wise old Ben gave him both names and said, "we'll see which one sticks." Feel free to return to your daily duties, until I need some other useless information. By the way, does anyone know how much an average side-by-side refrigerator weighs?

What's In a Name?

My latest obsession....what was Hoss Cartright's "real" first name? I know his REAL name was Dan Blocker. But on Bonanza, was he given the name "Hoss" at birth, or was that a nickname given to him later? I seem to recall one episode that Ben called him by his real name, but I can't remember what it was. Don't ask me why I'm obsessing about this, or what even brought it up, just give me the answer if you know it!!!!!

Living Room

The living room is pretty much finished. I'm not very happy with the window covering. It looked much better in my head. I'm actually thinking that I should have left well enough alone with the wood blinds, but no....I thought the hard edges needed to be softened with fabric. Do I sound like Christopher Lowell? The window will definitely change, but I'm not sure yet how. The "after" pictures are a little deceiving in color. The walls are yellower than they appear in the photos. But you get the idea.

BEFORE

AFTER

Whew!

Another VBS in the books. Tonight was our final night--the hot dog cookout. This year was our biggest attendance ever! Our numbers were around the 100 mark (kids only) every night. Many of the staff were caught offguard and those of us in crafts were scouring the city for extra material. It shouldn't have been such a surprise....our Monday night prayer group had prayed for a big turnout. When will we learn to expect the unexpected? Our theme this year was "Soldiers of God" which was a HUGE success. The kids loved the military theme. Maybe I can obtain some pics to post.

On another note, Jeff returned safely from the U.K. He had an awesome trip, wonderful weather, and great travelling companions. It would have been perfect except for the problems getting through customs and the flight delay on his return. By the time they landed in KC, he had been up 24 hours. I have to say, it feels good to know he's back in the good ole US of A.

Happy Girl

Today I'm posting my first "before & after" photo of our farm house re-do. Although this was not my top priority, now that the house itself is functional and liveable, the pool was the next challenge I faced. No one lived here throughout the winter and the tarp blew into the pool during a fall storm.......needless to say, it was full of leaves, sticks, dirt, and creepy crawlies. I was seriously beginning to doubt the possibility of ever seeing the bottom of the pool. Friday, the Coral Pools technician gave me the thumbs up and after a water analysis on Saturday, we were good to go. After my CHORES were done on Saturday (I will argue with John Denver in heaven about life on the farm being "kinda laid back") and I was hot and sweaty, the cool waters of the pool were just what this tired old lady needed. I jumped in, splashed around a bit, then relaxed on my raft. Sweet!!!

Farming--Lita-Style

Just had to post this picture that my mom sent me, due to previously posted events. She took the original picture when they were here helping us move. I thought it was hilarious, and quite appropriate. This is my kind of farming. And no, we are NOT raising turtles!

Good Day

It was a good day, today. Although I still didn't manage to get to the gym (it's been over 3 weeks) I did get a lot accomplished. The pool is starting to show promise. Jeff made it safely to Manchester, England. The piece I ordered for the crib (that the movers lost) came in the mail today and I'm now prepared for Lauren. I finally caught the turtle that has been living in my pool. He looks just like the ones you see in the pet stores--only about 20 times as big. I wasn't quite sure what to do with him once I had him out of the pool. I certainly didn't want him finding his way back, so I carried him in an ice chest across the north pasture and over the fence, releasing him in the direction of the neighbors' pond. Run away Mr. Turtle, run away.

I actually did a little decorating!

Sadly, I am showing signs of acclamation to the country. I can effortlessly walk across the rocky driveway barefoot. I already have a farmer's tan. And I'm starting to take offense at Jeff Foxworthy's humor.

Jacob and Lauren stayed with Nana yesterday. My kittens, who usually stay in the chicken coop, came out to investigate. One is less fearful than the other and allowed Jacob a few seconds of holding and petting. But enough is enough and they soon found that they could safely hide under the porch, just out of his reach. He resorted to playing in the game room and found a box of GI Joe's. I had been keeping these stored away until he was old enough to enjoy them, and this seemed to be the day. With every new soldier, tank, helicopter, and jet fighter retrieved from the tin, an excited "Wow" or "that's cool" was expressed. Lauren, too, found these tiny items fascinating, and I soon realized that these were going to have to be toys saved for times when Lauren was napping or Jacob was here by himself.

In the afternoon, I was introduced to "Pool School". A technician from Leslie's Pool Service and Supply came out to show me the ropes, and although I am still not a pro, I think I have a better understanding of all the workings of the pump and vacuum. The forecast this next week is sunny and hot and hopefully I will have the pool up and running in the next few days. The new roof for the house, game room and garage are also scheduled for this week, so I'm thankful for the dry forecast.

Many who have received my email with new address info, have expressed their hope that I'm enjoying my new home.....Not yet....maybe soon. I haven't even begun to decorate...I take that back...I hung one wall hanging over my bed yesterday. I'm still working on installing toilet paper holders, towel rings, window blinds, etc. And yes, when I'm ready, I will post some pictures--before and after.

The Big Move

It's been awhile since my last post. I still haven't recovered from the trauma of the move. It has been anything but smooth. Our last two moves (to and from Baton Rouge) were left up to professional movers (paid for by Neal's company), and it really spoiled me. So I decided it was worth the money to hire someone to pack and move us. I'm thinking now that it was not worth it. Let's begin with Monday, May 14, "packing day." Talk about unorganized! I assume their lack of experience caused them to take so long, and when they left I discovered so many things that they neglected to pack. Maybe they ran out of boxes??? Tuesday, May 15, last minute details to make the "new" house liveable. Appliances were installed, propane checked, flooring finally installed in game room, cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Tuesday evening, the parents arrived! Yeah! More help! Wednesday, May 16, 7:45 a.m.-- load and deliver. I was promised two trucks so that everything could be delivered in one trip. But alas, only one truck was available. Apparently someone more important than I took precedence. Again, the movers seemed somewhat unorganized and it took them FOREVER to pack up what had been neglected on Monday and load up the truck. Unloading at the farm house was chaos. So much stuff, so little space. Who needs all this STUFF???? The game room quickly became the dumping ground for all of the overflow. My head was spinning, I had several anxiety attacks, and periodically I would wonder, "is it too late to change my mind?". I remember having those same thoughts the first time I went into labor! My lovely mother-in-law brought us a crock pot of beans and some cornbread for supper. When I returned from Bible Class--yes, I know, you're so proud I still went to church, but if I wasn't teaching a class, I wouldn't have gone--Mom insisted that I eat something. Got a styrofoam bowl full of beans, grabbed my iced tea and headed for the table. You guessed it, the bowl cracked and hot bean juice ran down between my fingers and I'm sure it was 3rd degree burns. The blisters are just now healing. At 10:30 Wednesday evening, the call came--"is it okay if we deliver this 2nd load tomorrow morning at 8:00?". Sure, no problem....I'm a people pleaser, remember? But it was a big problem. First of all, the beds were on the truck. Okay, we have 2 couches, 1 love seat, a piece of foam and sleeping bag. We're all set. Oh yeah, pillows and blankets. Now which box would they be in? Which leads me to my second problem with the movers. Their method of labeling boxes. For instance, we found the blender, a bag of flour and various other important kitchen items in a box marked "Refrigerator Magnets and Flashlight". You know, just in case we were frantically searching for refrigerator magnets!!!! Sorry, back to sleeping arrangments. Neal and I slept in the game room on the couch and love seat, Dad slept on the couch in the living room, and Mom slept velcroed to the foam on the floor. Well, at least she could take a hot bath before hitting the sack...not. The hot water heater was on low, so how 'bout a cool bath? Thursday, May 17, 6:45 a.m. Finally, hot water. The shower felt great, but where's my clean underwear? Oh yeah, it's in my dresser, on the truck! Hmmm. Neal's chest of drawers was delivered on Wednesday. Yep, this pair of shorts looks just fine! Actually, quite comfy. After the THIRD truckload was delivered around noon, the four of us went for a nice meal at Western Sizzlin', hoping to heaven that we wouldn't see anyone we knew, then on to the "old" house, to clean. Good thing we did, because I have a notebook page filled with items that were "left behind." Things like....a cd player, a telephone, an 18" tall singing, dancing Christmas snowman, hardware, power strip, Neal's world series ring, just to name a few. Now, a week and a half later there are still things I'm looking for, things that don't have a "home" and the house still looks like we moved in yesterday. It wouldn't be so depressing if I hadn't gone to the "old" house last Sunday night to collect rent, only to find the house in perfect order, pictures already hanging on the wall, and not a box in sight!!!! Jessica, are you kidding me????

Packing Day

The movers are here packing all my VALUABLE belongings. Which gives me time to catch up on reading blogs, planning my lesson for Wednesday night, playing online Scrabble with my mom and working on Sudoku puzzles. In our last two moves, there has only been one item broken on each move. Last night, as I was emptying the oil from my antique oil lamps, I broke the globe on my favorite one. So I told the movers today that my one item has already been broken so they can't break anything! The farm house is not complete, but will hopefully be at least functional for the move-in on Wednesday. I think I've done everything I need to do and am at the mercy of all my helpers at this point. This has been the most stressful move I've made and will be glad when it's over!

For Terry

I'm blogging tonight for my faithful friend and only reader. The farm house is taking way too much of my time and energy and I vow to never attempt this again. Building a new house was much simpler--maybe because someone else was doing all the work. Today was another stressful day of nothing going as planned. I spend a great deal of time at Home Depot, returning things and buying more things. The service desk personnel try to avoid me. The pool is still green, after 45 pounds of chlorine. Every morning when I arrive at the farm, the first item on the agenda is the most dreaded...checking the skimmer to see what creature has made it's way into the basket. Yesterday was a box turtle, two toads today, and ALWAYS June Bugs. If the water in the basket was clear, at least I wouldn't be reaching into the unknown. I have developed a hatred for light fixtures. What should be simple never is. Tomorrow I'm returning three fixtures and two ceiling fans. And how am I supposed to know what a 3-way switch is? A light switch is a light switch, right? And who ever heard of a kitchen sink that doesn't include strainer baskets????? The one bright spot in this dark, dismal, rainy week is the fact that there were no hidden cameras to capture my floor buffing escapade on Monday. Let's just say we're lucky to still have four walls in each room.

City Girl?

Five years ago (even one year ago) you could not have convinced me that today, April 30, 2007, I would be sitting on a lawn tractor, mowing a portion of our 19-acre "farm." It may be hard for some of you to believe. To believe that I would ever live outside city limits...to believe that, at my age, I've never ridden a lawn tractor! (I've lived a very sheltered life.) The renovations are coming along and my goal is to be ready for the big move-in in a couple of weeks.

Second note of interest. Today we are officially owners of a 40-acre tract of land in Western Oklahoma (Beckham County). Neal's dreams are coming true. When I first looked at this land, I said, "what are we thinking? are we nuts?" You may look at these pictures and think the very same thoughts. It looks to me like useless wasteland.

But Neal sees a hunter's paradise. If you'll look CLOSELY, you can see deer trails and tracks, turkey tracks and quail roosts. I think he's happy.

Kansas City

I spent a couple of days in KC with Jeff and returned home today. I finally made it to a baseball game Thursday afternoon and watched him in his coaching element. It was an impressive win...14-2. I spent most of the day yesterday cleaning his house. He really needs a wife. Although, he did surprise me with clean sheets on the guest bed! In between dusting (he insists that he has dusted within the last month but I'm skeptical) and vacuuming, I took a short break to visit him at school, meet some of his students and his fellow Art teachers. Speaking of vacuuming (is that even spelled right?), his bit the dust...pun intended. I guess you can't expect a $59 vacuum to last more than 3 years and the hair of two dogs. So after the Varsity game yesterday, then dinner and a movie, we made a trip to Walmart for a sturdier vacuum. During my cleaning frenzy, I sorted his mail, accumulated over several weeks and strewn throughout the house. He laughed at my neat piles of Bills, Important papers to file, Potential trash, Invitations needing RSVP, Shreddables, etc. How do people function this way????? I could hardly sleep Friday night, knowing that once I left, he would go back to his old habits. I had to bite my tongue to keep from pointing out that he needed to do laundry. Like he doesn't know when he's out of clean clothes? Did I mention that he needs a wife? I asked him when he last changed his air filter. He said, "Filter?". He's been living in this house close to 9 months!!! We managed to find the location of the filter and when he removed the old one he warned me not to look. I'm going to have to visit more often!

W unded

Bad day t day Whi e w rking n the farm h use, pu ing stap es ut f the w d fl rs, I mistaken y tried brushing away what I th ught was a piece f carpet padding, but instead it was a stap e! I punctured my finger then s iced it pen This evening was spent at the Urgent Care C inic, getting a tetanus sh t and getting my finger g ued back t gether Then a trip to the pharmacy f r antibi tic If y u are a typist, y u kn w which finger I injured Nea wi be h me t m rr w Yeah!!!

6 Months

Lauren is 6 months old today! It just doesn't seem possible. She is so sweet and happy--and very sensitive. Her feelings get hurt so easily...how dare I walk into the other room where she can't see me! One difference between her and Jacob is that he has to be hurt pretty badly to show any signs of pain. Lauren, on the other hand, can just topple over on her soft blanket and you'd think someone was beating her! Here she is--happy to be 6 months old!

Yoga Queen

Lauren is now sitting on her own. She still topples over occasionally, but for the most part she has mastered this feat. I had to get a picture of her in the "lotus" position. Wish I could do that!

I'm a Wuss

I am definitely not cut out for manual labor! I started early this morning trying to remove the linoleum from the floor of the game room. Our hopes are that the concrete is in decent shape and we can stain it rather than carpet or tile. I had rented a "hot gun" (looks like an industrial hair dryer) and was positive that was all I needed to make the job easy. Wrong. By noon I had managed to remove about 2 sq. feet of the ugly vinyl. Time for Plan B. A trip to Home Depot to purchase the "right" tool for scraping, and solvent to loosen the glue. Two hours later and another 2 sq. ft. gone! In this 400 sq. ft. room, this may take awhile. The painters began packing up their tools around 2:30 (it is Friday, for Pete's sake) and decided to try their hand at scraping. They removed more in 10 minutes than I had all day!!! Okay, so maybe I've been slacking a little on the weight lifting. Plan C: wait until next weekend and put Neal on that job. This weekend I'll concentrate on getting up the rest of the tack strips off the wood floor in the house. No tears today, just blood and sweat. (I scraped my hand on the brick in the dining room, pulling up a tack strip.) My back hurts, my shoulders hurt, and my hands hurt...I can barely type this blog!