I promised to tell you. . .

about my "Bloggy Friend Meet-Up".

If you inhale deeply I'm pretty sure you can smell this Chicken Fried Steak.
Mmmmm!

And how about this beautiful Salad Assortment?!
A feast for the eyes and the waistline. 

What a great time we had at lunch!

But it all paled by comparison with actually  getting to "Meet Up" with one of my very favorite Bloggers, "Nonnie"  over at "Nonnie's Random Thoughts".  If you've never visited her Blog you'll want to. She's an amazing, beautiful, funny, humble, Godly person who has traveled far and wide and has a life story that will  make you realize just how very special and unique she is.  Nonnie and I go back far beyond our blogging days.  We went to high school together!  Who knew we would reconnect through blogging after all these years?!  What a fun surprise!!

We had a great lunch.
We each drove 100 miles to "meet in the middle".
The "middle" was Tyler, TX.

My Mister and her Dear Heart were instant friends.
(I just KNEW they would be!)

Both of them are funny, chatty, and have an air of mischievousness about them.  Perhaps that's how they manage to put up with their Bloggy wives who like to share information on line.  Gotta love a guy with a great sense of humor!

So glad we got to do this!  This was something we'd been wanting to do for some time.  Time, schedules, and distance made it a bit tricky to pull off.  It was worth the planning and scheduling to make it all happen.  The lesson - don't put off things you really want to do. There's no time like NOW!

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

  

 I'm enjoying the last rose blooms of the season.  Tonight we're supposed to have our first freeze, so my roses will probably be history by tomorrow.

Backyard roses.

Good bye to this beauty too.

Front yard roses.

"Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile."

~William Cullen Bryant

AWOL

I have been AWOL from Blogging, tho seldom a day passes that I don't think of my Bloggy friends.  Life takes "time", doesn't it?!  With my Mom visiting in Tulsa I've been working on some things I've neglected for a while.  Still much to do, but moving forward.

Haylee Kate takes a great deal of my time now that she no longer sleeps most of the day.  She is a busy girl, which means I am an especially busy YaYa on the days her Mom is at school.  Busy, but fun times!

I've also been working hard on losing weight and getting fit.  It takes "time" to walk, but most days you'll find me walking in the neighborhood at some point.  I've also been working on my "diet".  I've been in diet mode for a month now and have lost 6 lbs.  It's a slow process (after menopause,) but I'm DETERMINED.  I want to take off 14 more lbs!!

I can't end this post without at least hinting at something I'm really looking forward to - a "meet up" with a Bloggy friend!!  It's scheduled for next weekend and you can be sure I'll be posting photos and sharing the fun with you here.  That's all I can say.
I LOVE having a secret!

Thanks for stopping by!

"I Wanna Talk About ME, Wanna Talk About I. . ."

280!
No! That's not my weight,
but it IS my cholesterol number.
I've been forced to "step up" and take notice.  The test confirmed what I already knew  in my gut.  All the ice cream I've been eating with my Mom has caught up with me, via cholesterol and "poundage".  I have seen the error of my ways and am working hard now to get things under control.  I'm adhering to a fairly strict diet and trying for some scheduled exercise each day.  It takes a LOT of time and planning to do things the healthy way, doncha think?!  Just sayin...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I also went to Target to get my dreaded "Flu shot".  I went there because they advertised the new "micro-needle", which is 10 times smaller than the original.  Let me tell you - it's a bunch of advertising bunk.  I don't know about the needle, as I didn't look, BUT, it hurt as bad, or maybe even worse than the "regular" flu shot.  She stuck me once and the injector didn't dispense the medication, soooooooo, we had to do it again.  If you follow my blog then you're familiar with me and my "needle-phoebia".  I lay sprawled on a bench to the side of the pharmacy for 30 minute (no exageration) trying to get steady enough on my feet to leave.  Lil' Mama was with me.  She waited. She waited. She waited.  The room spun.  My stomach ached. I prayed I wouldn't throw up - prayed hard. Finally I was able to "get out of Dodge" by pushing a shopping cart to the door and get into the car that Lil' Mama had brought curbside. 

I.HAD.BETTER.NOT.GET.THE.FLU.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Lest you think we're all about "things medical" let me show you a few Fall things here on the bayou.

This Star Jasmine was growing in a pot on the porch.  I transplanted her to the front of the house, with a few pansies to keep her feet warm.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

(The grass is still green and growing and not a single leaf has changed colors.  Fall comes late in the South.)

What is it?

 Riddle:  What is it?

Family.

More Family.

Food.

Cake & Ice Cream. . .

and public embarrassment.

Answer:  It's a BIRTHDAY!!

Happy Birthday to our family Cutie, 

Paige,
who turns 13 yrs old today!!

We made a speedy trip to Tulsa over the weekend so we could celebrate this special birthday girl!!  Worth every mile we traveled!  This is our middle Tulsa Granddoll.

Rosie

Mister and I have toyed with the thought of buying a new car.  The time was right, so I'm now driving around in my new ride.  We are a Honda family, so the choice of cars was easy once we decided to "take the leap".

"Rosie"

"Oh, I love my Rosie child

You got the way to make me happy

You and me, we go in style

Cracklin' Rose, you're a store-bought woman

You make me sing like a guitar hummin'

So hang on to me, girl

Our song keeps runnin' on."

Neil Diamond sang (and wrote) this song.  If you're of a certain age then I'm sure you remember it.  The song was written about a a deep, red, wine, Cracklin' Rose'.  Given the color of my car, I thought it was fitting.  I'm hoping "Rosie" lasts a very long time and gives us mile after mile of safe travel.

Just wonderin'. . .
"Do you name your car"?
I'd love to hear your vehicle's name and why you chose it.
Also, is yours a male or female?  *giggle

Ketchup

I KNOW you can identify with this.

I'm not complaining, just simply stating a fact.

Everything is going fine in my little corner of the world, tho time is a luxury.  Nothing big or even important that I can say is "eating" my time, just the everyday "gotta do" that is chomping away.  I don't really mind, but I do miss getting to blog as much as I'd like...Sooooo, here's a quick "Catch-Up".

No, not this kind of "Catch-up"!  

*snicker

#1

I made a cake to take to a Dinner Party we were invited to.  I went totally WILD (real wild, huh?!) and tried a new recipe for chocolate frosting, rather than using the one our family has used  my complete married life.  WELL, as things turned out, the new recipe was a "throw-back" to my youth.  It was much like the old time FUDGE frosting my Mom used to make from the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box, just updated & simpler now.  I'm gonna share it with you - it's tastes like real FUDGE, but doesn't set as hard as fudge.  Now, put your apron on and run to the kitchen and give it a try.  You can thank me later.

         Fudge Frosting

1 stick Butter

2 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cup milk

1 Cup chocolate chips

1 t. Vanilla

Bring butter, milk and sugar to a boil, add chocolate chips and vanilla.  Beat until cool.  

* I beat this for a bit then set it aside to cool - it thickens as it cools and doesn't set hard enough to become difficult to get out of the pan.

#2

I went to the doctor for routine stuff, which included a blood draw.  If you've followed me for any time you know I am a total "needle-phoeb".  I couldn't leave the Dr.'s office without passing out and making a big scene.  I can't tell you how embarrassing this is for me. Let's just say I came to with some "smelling stuff" (?) being waved under my nose, and they had placed ice packs all over my chest, and a cold rag on my face.  It felt wonderful to this menopausal woman, but I wanted to slither out the door on my "wimpy belly" - SO EMBARRASSED!!

#3

Mom is doing very well and that makes me so happy.  She forgets things, so I repeat things.  I think perhaps I am developing a slight stutter from all the repeating, (smile), but that's OK.

Mom is doing very well and that makes me so happy.  She forgets things, so I repeat things.  I think perhaps I am developing a slight stutter from all the repeating, (smile), but that's OK.

Mom is doing very well and that makes me so happy.  She forgets things, so I repeat things.  I think perhaps I am developing a slight stutter from all the repeating, (smile), but that's OK.

#4

Lil' MaMa is not only enjoying her college classes, she is excelling.  Out of 280 students in her Science class, she scored the highest, 99% (on the first test), the next highest was 65%.  Yes - I'm bragging.  On the other hand, Haylee Kate, is growing and also getting smarter each day.  All the little tricks we've used to ease her into sleep, have now become nil - she's onto us.  She fights all efforts of putting her to bed pleasantly.  It is a nightly coup in our house to help her find sleep, but once asleep she'll sleep sometimes 13 hours.  It's humbling to be out-played, out-witted, and out-smarted by a 6 month old baby. 

#5

Thankful for the 32 hrs of rain that just ended.

We've been hovering around *100 for 6 weeks with no rain.
YAY for the RAIN!!

Thank you! Thank you, Blogging Friend, for reading this marathon post.  It seems that posting once a week is about all I can do at the moment.  I hope to get to come "Blog visiting" on Sunday.  See you then!!

This & This.

There's this -
Mister went on a business trip this week.
He had to get up in the wee hours to make the drive.
I left him this note on his mirror.

(ah, the joys of being married to a wanna-be poet)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And there's this -

This car was in front of us.

The license tag caught our eye.

What d'ya think?

All we could come up with was "Pea Brain Girl".

Surely we're not right.

Thanks for letting me unload my brain on this

gorgeous, sunny, stifling HOT day

here in the bayou.

"Diapers and the Old Wet Hen"

Lil' Mama has recovered from her bout of Strep so things are back to some form of normalcy around here, whatever that looks like.  *insert my photo here with a puzzled look in my eyes*

Yesterday Lil' Mama came in from her classes waving a piece of paper in her hand, and as my Daddy would say, "she was mad as an ol' wet hen".  She had gone to her car after classes and found a parking ticket waiting for her.  She was livid!  She says she arrived early for her class, still all the parking places were taken.  They're in the midst of a building project at the school so some of the parking lots are not in use right now.  Sooooo, what to do?  She parked in the Teacher's Parking Lot, which she says always has lots of open spaces.  OOOOhhhh, what a mistake!  Anyone who has spent any time around a college campus knows that faculty parking is considered "hallowed ground".  Still, Lil' Mama says she paid for her classes, she bought a parking permit, and it's not her fault that there's no place for her to park so she can attend her classes, though she did mumble about how she wasn't gonna park waaay out in the field because she didn't feel it was safe. (?)  She plans to take this up with the campus security on Monday.  Can she win?  No way, but it never hurts to calmly let your complaint be heard.

How much is the ticket?, I asked.

"$15 - that's a box of diapers", she snapped.

I hear versions of that reply very often these days, ie, "I could buy a box of diapers for what it costs to do that". . ."Why, that's half the cost of a box of diapers". . ."That's a lot of money, I could buy diapers for that". My how her world has changed.  Now that she has a child, all discussion of money is made in comparison to the cost of diapers. I gotta hand it to her, that girl can budget, and she can sniff out a bargain in town or online - she knows what things cost and she's not gonna  buy anything that's not clearly a bargain, and give her a coupon and you've made a friend for life!

BTW, here's our little Grand Diva, user of said diapers.
She doesn't seem to be worried about the availability
of her diapers, does she?!

I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.

"I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was."  Do you remember this Toby Keith song?  I'm humming it today as I tend to things around the house.

Lil' Mama is sick.
She went to the doctor Friday and he diagnosed her with strep and said she was to stay far away from Haylee Kate for three days.  I understand that.  She's taking her meds and beginning to feel like a person again.

DAY #1
I tended to Haylee Kate with nary a "hic-up" in the day from morning til bedtime.

Day #2
I let a lot of things around the house ride, and spent my time caring for HK.

Day #3
Mister is helping.
I'm still in my pajamas,
and counting the hours till tomorrow morning when Lil' Mama will be freed to take care of HK!
We didn't make it to church.

Yes, it's true, "I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good [one day} as I ever was".  Day two and three?  Not so much.

Cake, anyone?

I got this text from my sister.

She's at Mom's house cleaning out her freezer.

Mister and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary in May.

I think we'll pass on the cake.

Miley Cyrus

What has gone wrong?

The entire world seems to be slinging a lot of trash talk toward this young woman since her admittedly "raunchy" act at the VMA awards. 

 Did she have it coming?  Yes.  

Did she ask for it?  Yes.

Was this the first time we've seen young Hollywood starlets behave in this manner?
NO!

Unfortunately we've seen this this sort of thing waaay to often.

Like most everyone else I was totally disgusted by such behavior, at first.  But the longer I thought about it the sadder I became.  I'm sad for her.  I'm sad for her parents.  I'm sad for everyone who loves this young woman and wants nothing but the best for her.  Somewhere along the way Miley has lost track of what makes her so special.  We've seen lots of teens do this, though most of these "melt down's" don't take place on a national TV stage.  It would be simplistic to point the blame finger at her parents.  If the truth were told I'd bet their heart is breaking to see their daughter behaving like this.  If you've ever parented older teens you know that after age 18 there's not a lot a parent can do regarding their child's behavior.  If a child is determined to self-destruct often a parent is forced to stand by helplessly and simply be there to "pick up the pieces" when the child tanks.  

This young woman is tanking.

And it's sad.

The Blame Game:  

1. Shame on everyone in the audience who applauded her.
2. Shame on every magazine who will write about this for their financial gain.
3. Shame on the network that aired her act.

                             

Sweet August

The school bus goes by each afternoon.
And, the sales fliers in the paper all shout "back-to-school".  I must admit that I miss all the excitement of having a school girl and/or school boy in our house.  Those were sweet times.  Lil' Mama had her first day today as a full time college student.  I love it, but it's just not the same.  She did all the prep - bought her own supplies, as well as her clothes.  Rightly so.  But I still miss it - having little chicks with school lunch boxes and new pencils - If you have this in your life right now, enjoy it.

Enough time spent on nostalgia, there's always somethun' happening around here to keep me occupied.

Here's the condensed version of our weekend. . .

Friends we haven't seen in 15+ years, or even talked to in probably 7 yrs. contacted us to say they were in Houston and would love to stop by that afternoon to spend the night and go to church with us the next morning.  They had their own plane so making a stop in LA would be sort of "on their way home" to Okla.  They came, we visited, and then they were gone.  It was so good to see them, but it all seems a bit surreal right now - sort of like I heard about it, but am not sure it really happened.  Know what I mean?

The weather is still hot and humid here, but change is in the air - our evenings are beginning to be a little cooler.  I can actually "smell" Fall in the air, even in the daytime. Whoa, sweet August!

Please slow down and stay a bit longer!

  

That's it from the Bayou on this mid August day.
Did I mention this is my very FAVORITE time of the year?

Happy Birthday to ME!

So very thankful for yet another year!
Woo! Hoo!

Well, the truth about a mirror
Is that a damned old mirror
Don't really tell the whole truth
It don't show what's deep inside
Oh, read between the lines
And it's really no reflection of my youth

  ~SATCHER, LESLIE / HOLMES, MONT
     fROM "tROUBODOUR"

On Edge

I'm a little "on edge" today.

It's a toss-up as to who's the "fussiest" today, Me or HK (she's teething).  I'm still nursing this darn "eye thang" and I'm not a good patient, or a "patient patient" (love the double words!).  My eyes sting and they itch and are raw - they're not any better than they were on Tuesday when I first went to the eye doc.  Today my doc was "not in" so I went to see a different doc and I liked his attitude (hand holding) much better.  New meds now and hopefully my peepers will be much better in the morning.

I have figured out lately that Mister and I are no longer "TV compatible".  His hearing has declined and now the TV is cranked loud enough to be heard in Heaven's attic.  I hate to say anything since he really can't help the decline in his hearing, but after a few minutes of SCREAMING, SCREACHING, BLARING TV, I have to leave the room.  Can I get an "amen"?! (no, I don't like the bedroom TV)

And then there's my cooking. (or lack thereof)
I.Am.So.Tired.Of.My.Own.Cooking.
Do you ever feel that way?
Same ol' same ol'.  Blech!
I've only cooked twice this week and don't plan on cooking this weekend.  I may get fired.

My eyes.
My ears.
My cooking.

I must pull myself together.
Tomorrow.

Itty Bits

"Eye, Eye, Matey  Doctor!"

Eye had to go to the  eye doctor today, as I have a raw, itchy, very red, eye.  Eye have an eye infection.  I thought perhaps it was an allergy, but nope.  AND, earlier in the day, before going to the doc my contact lens began to bother me.  I went to take it out and only 1/2 of it came out of my eye...Suffice (love that word) it to say that the other half of my lens is now out of my eye and I have some magic eye drops that I hope will make it all better by tomorrow, if not sooner.  Bizarre day.

I also got my hair cut today.

That in itself is not news, however, my hairdresser had quite the story to tell.  She had been walking across her yard and was bitten by a copperhead snake.  (I know, now my sore eye pales by comparison.)  This gal spent 5 frightening, painful days in the hospital, but has recovered.  Scary stuff!!  This IS Louisiana.

I really want to eat healthier.
Really, I could begin to try to do better in any area of my diet, as there is so much room for improvement. I decided to work on improving my bedtime snack.  Yes, I have a bedtime snack.  Are you judging me?  Don't judge me.  Pleeeease!   (remember I have a sore eye and I'm very delicate today).  Anyway I  decided to make a healthy smoothie, rather than eat the usual bowl of ice cream.  Go ahead and judge me, I deserve it, who eats ice cream every day?  *hanging my head in shame*  Anyway, I washed the strawberries & blueberries, added the non-fat Greek yogurt, and even threw in some Kale.  Then I cranked up the blender to "Puree", only to have the pretty pink smoothie liquid begin to ooze from the bottom of the blender.  What's that about??!!  Guess the blender is on the blitz.  I cleaned up the sticky mess, ate a cookie, and went to bed.  *sigh*

I will end on a positive note - it rained today!
YAY!!

Right Here. Right Now.

A once a week post of what I'm thinking about in regards to my faith.

I'm not a deep-thinker, nor a Bible scholar,
so you can be sure this "Sweet Tea" sippin' girl
is just thinking simple truths.

* * * * * * * * *

I can go with this.
How about you?

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for each and every person who reads these words.  Please love on them and grant them special favor and blessings today.  Strengthen them where there is weakness and give them peace where there is distress.  Gladden their heart with the kind of joy that can only come from you.

~Amen

The "Fab Four"!

"Really Dah-ling, I have other things I'd rather be doing".

"Does this swim suit makes me look fat"?

My baby with her baby.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The "Fab Four"!

What a joy to get all my Granddolls together at the same time!

Paige, Kaylee, Grace, Haylee Kate

Love! Love! Love! Love!

Face time.

On our trip back to Tulsa last weekend I had the rare opportunity to see my Bunko GF's.  I simply can't imagine my life without these girls in it.  We've been doin' life together for 25 years and each of them is special to me in a variety of ways.  "Oh the stories I could tell!", but I won't.  *smile*  Marriage, divorce, birth, cancer, moves, job changes, death, and every other challenge and celebration you can imagine. We've been though it all together. Nothin' better than spending "face time" with special friends!!

"And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see, the biggest gift would be from me
and the card attached would say,
Thank you for being a friend".

~Andrew Gold

Right here. Right now.

A once a week post of what I'm thinking about in regards to my faith.
I'm not a deep-thinker, nor a Bible scholar,
so you can be sure this "Sweet Tea" sippin' girl
is just thinking simple truths.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We are so much more than our flip-flops.
More than our bank account.
More than the car we drive.
More than our job or our house.
We judge/and we are judged, each time we interact with people, like it or not.  Our appearance, our vocabulary, our attitude.  It's all out there for the world to see.

I hear someone slinging obscenities.
I make a judgment.
I see a pregnant woman smoking or drinking.
I make a judgment.
I see people leaving trash in public places.
I make a judgment.
I mention these things because these are things that come quickly to mind.

No.  I'm not proud of my list.

Wouldn't it be great to have a "Super Power" that enabled us to look at the heart of people.  Bet we wouldn't be making nearly as many judgments if we only knew the path that other people walk and all the things & people they are dealing with at the moment.  It would probably make for less judgment and lots more love.

This verse both comforts & stings when I think about it.
It's true, the word of God is a" two-edged sword".

*The Preacher has left the building.*  (giggle)

Thoughts?  Observations?