Snowing Again

It's snowing again & as you can see not all of it was gone from Christmas Eve. It started about 12:45 p.m. today & is supposed to snow all night. The weather predictors are saying more on Thursday. I think we've moved to Colorado without anyone telling us.

Merry Christmas to All!

We're having a White Christmas this year!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAGE!!

Hope your 10th birthday is full of fun, laughs, & pizza! Love you much!!!

Mighty Merle!

I'm back to Merle Haggard again. This is my favorite song by him and it didn't get a lot of air time. Enjoy!

Christmas Mood

This calm, peaceful scene is sent to all the Christmas shoppers out there because if you're like me when I go shopping it is not calm and peaceful. I went Saturday looking for Chinese Christmas gifts for Thursday night. I walked the mall from one end to the other with no luck. 3 stores, frayed nerves, and a headache later, I finally bought 2 crappy gifts that I'm not happy with but settled for them anyway.

Can you tell I'm really in the Christmas mood? Maybe I am in my Christmas mood. I love the reason for the season but this year I can't seem to get into it. Usually, I love looking at the decorated trees and finding new ornaments, but this year there aren't a lot to look at and nothing has captured my attention. I'm not sure I'm even going to put up a tree.

Just call me the Grinch...I do look a little green around the edges today. Maybe by Christmas I will be totally green!

Catalogs

Looking through an old catalog from the 70's brings back lots of memories. Not only the fashions but the household items have changed. Although some of the styles then are in now. I remember spending hours looking through the Christmas catalog every year. We weren't as bombarded with commercials pushing every toy as we are today, but those pages were filled with all sorts of neat toys you thought you just had to have!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wonder if these guys will be having turkey for dinner today?

Sweet Paper Dolls

I have always loved paper dolls. I had tons of them when I was growing up and spent hours playing with them. I even had two that had real hair. Tall ballerinas, Barbie, sisters Cindy & Sue (which is ironic because my cousins had the same names & are sisters), and 4 special ones that Grandma Kinney bought me. These had holes in the dolls and the clothes were attached with buttons of different shapes placed inside the holes. I found some like them on eBay several years ago and bought them for Mia to play with. I never realized how much trouble Mama went to cutting out all the clothes for these dolls. I don't ever remember cutting them out. She was probably afraid I'd cut myself with the scissors!

Whoo's That

Lurking in the garden during daylight hours? He's back! I just love to see this owl. He makes me smile when he hoots and he is loud!

I don't know if he was cooking something on the grill or just hoping it would keep him warm.

Communication

Today's technology is great! With a touch of a button you can see and hear what's going on anywhere. In the 1930's or 40's, Grandma Kinney's sister and her family moved to California from Texas. The only way of communication was by letter. Now Sonya and her family are in Oregon & a phone call or a click of the mouse keeps us in touch.

When Sandi was in college at Stephenville, which was in the 90's, our main source of communication was by letter. Occasionally, there would be phone calls. Cell phones were too expensive to own then.

Sometimes the technology gets above my head, but I'm thankful for the giant steps we've made in communication!

Clint Strong

The guitar player I talked about earlier is Clint Strong. I thought it was Carl Straughn, Behm thought it was Clint Sterling. At least we had the initials right! I searched the internet for Carl Straughn, but couldn't find anything. Daddy had Merle Haggard's autobiography and in it was a picture of The Strangers with Clint as a member. With the right name I found videos & a web site for him. If you're interested, go to YouTube & search for Clint Strong & Merle Haggard. I would put the video on here, but haven't figured out how to do that yet!

Late Night

This cow's eyes and mine have something in common. The dark circles under them! To celebrate our 13th anniversary, Behm & I went to a concert in Bowie. Branson Comes to Bowie! Tommy Horton & Leona Williams were the stars and they did a great job, but the guitar player was awesome! They introduced him as having played with Merle Haggard & I believe he did. If he didn't, he should have. He had Merle's sound down perfect. It was really a terrific concert! We may become groupies!

Angel Signs

Have you ever found a penny while walking along, even somewhere you just passed by earlier and there wasn't anything there? That's a sign an angel is thinking of you!

Small pieces of copper only worth one cent, not even enough to buy bubble gum anymore, but oh those pennies from heaven are priceless! Signs to us to remember loved ones who have gone before us and remind us that God will be there for us to help us through whatever trials may come.

Next time you find a penny think about the angel who sent it to you. It will bring a smile to your face!

Same Name Blues

When I was growing up I always looked for my name on things to buy. You know the little license plates & hair barrettes you find at amusement parks and variety stores...I could never find my name anywhere. All my cousins names were there, but not mine.

When I moved to Jacksboro in high school, there was another girl with the same first & last name as mine. Our names always had our classification after them... Soph. & Junior.

After my divorce, my ex married a woman with the same first name as mine. Then I was #1.

Now after almost 13 years with a different last name, it's happened again. Someone with the same first & last name as mine was in the paper for getting an occupational driver's license. Usually these are for people who have gotten a DWI & need a license to drive to and from work only. We didn't see it, but Behm's boss asked him about it the other day. Subtly of course. First he asked what an occupational driver's license was. A little later he mentioned I was in the paper for getting one. Behm assured him it wasn't me.

Everyone around here has been wondering why I haven't driven the new pick-up. I guess now they think I didn't have a license! So for all of you who might have read that article, it wasn't me!

Any suggestions for a new first name that no one else has?

Progress

In Jacksboro, lots of buildings are being torn down or moved. New schools were built and the old depot is being restored for the Chamber of Commerce office. A new bank & Dollar General store have also been built. Are we growing?

Go West Young Family

My Coloradoans are now Oregonians! They left yesterday & Sonya called last night from Salt Lake City. They are all excited about the new step in their lives. Good luck Ryans! Love you much!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

I love Halloween! It's the one day of the year you can dress like an idiot & nobody cares. Here's proof:



Can you guess what I am? Here's a closer look that might help.



I'm a (w)rapper! I know kinda lame, but hate spending money on costumes and have a reputation at work to make people think about what it is I'm trying to be.

By the looks of the background, I should have spent time cleaning the room instead of digging up a costume!

Hope everyone has lots of treats and fun today!

Greetings

I bought donut holes the other day & when the guy handed them to me said, "Have a day!". Not have a good day but just have a day! I guess we all need to think that way...just be thankful for the day, good, bad, or indifferent.

I hope everyone reading this will "Have A Day!".

Windmills

Past and present, the windmill is still being used to provide water and electricity for us. There has been much controversy in Jack County over the wind turbines. We saw a lot of these in West Texas and I wondered if everyone was in disagreement over them there also. Maybe not as much as here because it isn't as populated, even though Jack County isn't that large in population.

The new ones are huge and I still am in awe over them when I see them up close, but I love the old ones more! There's just something about the old ones that brings a smile to my face every time I see one!

RANCHING, RODEO, & ROCK- N- ROLL

Here's my new home



and windmill!



Not really, but aren't they wonderful? These were at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock. We planned to get there when they opened at 10, but my navigational skills and map reading ability made us a little late. We could see the windmills, but had a hard time finding how to get to them. But we finally made it and it was great!

They had a spur collection we wanted to see and the hostess greeted us and told us all the exhibits on one side of the building were closed because they were preparing for a directors luncheon later. I asked if the spurs were on that side and of course they were. Behm told her we had driven 400 miles to see them and she told us to go ahead and view them because they were removing them for a new exhibit. After that we went outside and walked through the exhibits. Two couples started after us & finished a long time before we did. I love old buildings and windmills, so I was in heaven! I told Behm I was a cheap date...take me to an old building and I'm happy!

While trying to find the ranching center, we saw the CBR truck parked outside of one of the buildings at Tech. I ordered tickets for that night and it was great also. I can't handle live events though, too much to try to look at. I would be watching the screen to see what was going on in the chute and miss part of the ride. We didn't get back to the hotel until midnight which is a very late night for us!



Saturday afternoon we went to the Buddy Holly Center after my map reading skills failed again. It was full of memorabilia & was worth the frustration of trying to find it. I think next time I need to drive & let Behm read the map.



After that we looked for the Buddy Holly Statue, map reading failure this time! We ate lunch & went back to the hotel room. Sunday morning we finally found the statue before we left town. We drove by it at least twice Saturday & didn't see it. The restaurant where we ate lunch was about a block from it. It was quite a distance from the Center, but they are moving it across the street from the Center.



We had a fun weekend and all the people in Lubbock were very friendly and helpful! The weather was perfect Saturday for outside activities. Despite my lack of navigational skills, the town was easy to drive around in without huge traffic problems. There were a couple of more places we would have liked to have seen, but didn't want to wait until after lunch for them to open. We might have to go back there again!

Jumping Around

Time to catch up! My uncle Jack, one of the hosts of the reunion, was admitted to the hospital Thursday and we all insisted they cancel the reunion. I know if it had been my parents, the last thing I would want to do is worry about the reunion. He was supposed to go home yesterday. My thoughts and prayers are with them all.

Behm & I went to Lubbock anyway for our once every two year get-away. We had a great time and I will post pictures and more later.

We were sitting on the front porch Thursday morning and a big ball of fire came flying out of the security light outside. It didn't do any damage or so we thought at the time. All the lights, clocks and tv were working. The electric company came out and looked at it. A wire had shorted out. After we came in from Wichita that night, I tried to turn on the computer but it had been zapped! It was plugged into a surge protector but I guess that wasn't enough protection. The printer and monitor were okay.

Tuesday night around 9:00, we were on the porch again and I heard leaves rustling and thought it was probably the calves and then remembered they weren't here anymore. I heard it again & then a snake came slithering out. Behm went to get the gun while I watched it. I was pretty sure it was a rattlesnake by its tail and when Behm shot him I was sure. Those rattlers are such a scary sound!

I think we need to quit sitting on the porch!

Is Lubbock Ready

for this?



Getting ready to pack up & leave for West Texas! It's that time of year again when the Jackson family gets together to laugh, talk and eat. Need to get my auction items ready and try to figure out how to dress. Texas weather is so unpredictable I don't know whether to take short sleeves or sweaters. As cold natured as I am I probably will go with the sweaters!

Packing lots of batteries for the camera. New country with lots of photo ops. At least I'll be riding and won't have to worry with driving and taking pictures!

Happy 13th!

Happy Anniversary Sonya & Joel! Have a wonderful day!

You thought I forgot didn't you?! I've thought about it for a week and did forget until I got to work and looked at the calendar.

Flying Away

I guess the hummingbirds have flown south. I haven't seen any for the past week. Even though our winters are not that cold or snowy, sometimes I envy the birds that fly south to warmer weather. I am not a cold weather fan!

Things To Do

I have many unfinished projects around the house. For some reason I just can't seem to get them finished. Even daily or weekly chores are never quite done completely. I'll wash dishes and leave one pan, do laundry but wait to fold it, and cleaning the house is never done all at one time. Maybe that's why the garden was so rewarding to me, because I finished something every time.

As if I don't have enough of my own projects to finish, I buy other people's. I have paintings half finished and needlework in various stages of unfinishedness (Be sure to add that new word to your vocabulary!).

Most of the time it doesn't really bother me that much, but after days or months of this it just mushrooms and drives me crazy!! I'm at that crazy point now. I think I need to finish all of the projects now, today, this very minute, but will I? With my past record, I'm sure I won't.

Gotta run! I see a stack of clothes that need to be

Cowboys & Bikers

What do bikers & cowboys have in common?

They both have chaps,







and head gear,







and steel guitars in their bands!

Smokey Bear Ride

Joy VFD had a Smokey the Bear Bike Run this weekend. There were 60 riders that descended on this small quiet community Saturday. Great photo op!

I had been taking the back of the motorcycles with all the flags and stuffed animals strapped to the back when I walked around to the front of a few and found these!





Lots of ornamentation on these things! I found the one I want, as if I would ever have the nerve to get on one, but if I did I think this would be the one!

One Year Anniversary

Today is my one year anniversary in blogland! I truly have enjoyed telling bits of my life and mind on here. You can read my first posting and tell I didn't have a clue what I was doing and still don't. The connection to family and new friends has been great!

I want to thank all of you who follow or lurk (as I do on many blogs). To celebrate I am giving away this cookbook (no, not Pioneer Woman's).



It was published in 2004, but is unused. Just leave a comment to be able to win & I will draw the winner randomly. Deadline is Friday at 7:00 p.m. Central Time. If you don't cook, you can always give it as a Christmas present!

Tearing Down

The revitalization project is under way. Not sure what's going to happen, but they are doing something.

Hitchhikers

This grasshopper hitched a ride to work. He stayed there for a long way, but finally lost his footing.

Yesterday morning while driving to work, a cow was walking along the highway. I stopped to see if she needed a ride. She came running. I drove down the road and she followed a while but finally decided it wasn't worth the effort and stopped. I turned around and got back on the highway hoping she wouldn't follow me. She was a little large to ride on the hood of the pickup.