Wedneday Words for Weight Loss

Today is the day for Wednesday Words for Weight Loss.
Hosted by lovely Patrice at Everyday Rurality. She came up with some
really fun questions today. I can't wait to get to them. So here we go.

Questions1. Has your diet changed a lot since the warmer weather came?

Yes, we are BBQing more and eating lots more fruit. They had really nice
watermelon this week so I bought the first one this weekend. We just stood
and ate it like starving people. I love all of the fresh strawberries and the fresh
blueberries. So I am really in dare I say it Hog heaven.


2. Did you do anything interesting over Memorial weekend?

No, it was cold and rainy and windy. Who knew we would be having a Memorial Day like that.

3. If you could plan a get together with your blog friends, what would that look like?

I really liked this question as I have thought about it so much. I would invite all of them over
and I would have a big tent in the front yard. I would have lots of food and we would sit and
talk and sew and laugh and cry if we had too. We could stay up all night and tell funny stories.
Then we could watch the sun come up and drink lots of hot tea and coffee and have a camp fire
and have incredible food for breakfast. Sorry, Patrice you would have to cook breakfast. :)
It would be like a giant slumber party with all of the best people in the whole world. :)


4. Do you like yogurt? What's your favorite kind or favorite way of eating it?

I love Greek vanilla yogurt.
I love it with strawberries and blueberries right now. My lovely girls make yogurt in their crockpots. Talk about wonderful smelling, so much better than what is at the store. I keep going
to make it myself too. I just haven't done it yet.

5. What's the most important quality or character trait in a friend?

That they want to be my friend. I don't have the foggiest idea about how you make them.
I remember when I started school I was a bit backward. I thought you just walked up to someone and said, " I would you like to be my best friend?" On the day I wore white leotards
to kindergarten I asked a girl on the school bus would she like to be my best friend?
She said, sure, but I had to crawl under all of the bus seats until I reached her seat. So I did,
knowing I was going to get in so much trouble for my leotards getting dirty. I got up to
her seat and she started hitting me in the head with her lunch pail. I turned around and
crawled back.
She laughed and laughed and told everyone in school. So I still remain amazed that
people want to be my friend. Just as long as they don't hit me in the head with their lunch pail.


Thank you so much Patrice. I love Wednesday Words for Weightloss.
I love reading everyone's answers too. So if you get a chance, stop
by and visit some of the ladies.
Have a lovely Wednesday!

Summer Days

I love flowers because they are always a surprise.
I have these growing in the flowerbed and I suppose I planted
them when the kids got married but I don't remember it.
When you have two weddings are your house, 3 weeks apart
and it is your two oldest children, you tend to forget things
like who planted these flowers. So I have a nice surprise every year.

We were outside working yesterday. I went to turn on the water
to water my chickens and this is what I saw.

This water balloon hanging from a tree, well the rope
between the trees. I looked around and I saw this.

A much bigger water balloon. It was tied to a branch
and it was really hanging down filled with water.

Then up in the middle of the arch was another water
balloon. My first thought was why the boobie traps.
Later I asked my sons, what are you guys up to with all
of the water balloons.
They were doing a science experiment. They wanted to see
how long it would take the sun hitting the rubber in the balloon
to deteriorate. They wanted to see if the weight of the water
made any difference and if being in the sun or in the shade made
any difference.

It always makes me ponder why do I home school anyway. They
do things on their own without my input.
Oh and the yellow balloon, the one with the most water.
My husband was out there working by himself and all of a sudden
he hears a loud explosion and the sound of water and he looks to see
water gushing out out the tree.
I overheard him describing to the boys how cool it looked and the sound
it made. The boys wanted to know about the way the sun was hitting it
and all of that.

I just laughed.
I love summer.

~Kim~

Decoration Day

When I was a kid that is what Memorial Day was called
Decoration Day.
This is what Wikapedia said. "Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. Service Members who died while in the military service.^[1] First enacted by formerly enslaved African-Americans ^[2] to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War – it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

I didn't know that it was for the Union soldiers who died in the Civil War. Then World War I so I learned something. I thought I would share with you a picture of my grandfather after he was back home from Europe from World War I


I never knew him as he died the year before I was born. I would have liked
him I think, he was known for his praying. He was a very strong man of God.

What I always think about on Memorial Day is that maybe for a month when I was
a kid, my Mom would collect tin cans. She would very carefully take off all of the paper from
the outsides and scrub them clean. She would stack them on the back porch on a table.
We lived in a very old farm house then and the back porch was screened. So they would
sit out there all shiny like small silver sentinels all lined up for a special job.

Then she would begin to cut flowers and she would wrap the stems in wet newspapers
and buckets of water. When we moved out here the people who had lived here had
planted lots and lots of old fashioned flowers. There was all kinds, of Delphiniums,
and Oleander and Trumpet Vine and Stalk and ever so many that I didn't know.
She would take tin foil and wrap each can ever so lovingly.

Then she would begin to make flower arrangements. Then when it seemed like
she had made hundreds she would put them in the trunk of our car. You know how
big the trunks of cars were in the sixty's it would be all filled up and she would have some cans at her feet and in her lap. She would yell when Dad would take a curve to fast on purpose. She would get all dressed up with white
gloves just like we were going to church and we would have to get dressed up too. It always seemed about a million degrees too.


We would drive to Green Lawn Cemetery. She would go find a man who worked there
and he would have this giant book and in it listed all of the names of the people
who lived there. We would walk to each grave and we had to be quiet and not run
around or make jokes. We were supposed to carry the cans of flowers and heaven
forbid if we dropped them. So we would go stand as she said words to each
grave just like they were there. Some people would have BBQs and things like
that. Not us, we spent the whole day being quiet and she would always be so sad.


I never understood her sadness until it came time for her to go live there too.
She lives under a Angel of Heaven tree with the Rock of Ages over close to her.
When I go visit I sing The Rock of Ages for days. She lives next to my grandparents.
Do you ever think about the dash? You know like in my Mother's case, 1938-1969,
The dash, do you ever think about how much life is poured into that dash. I was
born inside of that dash.

My family has served in the wars that have changed this country. Every one of them.
My husband's family has a land grant from General Washington for serving in the Revolutionary war.
My family was in the Trail of Tears when President Jackson wanted the land. He sent
them to Oklahoma.
I always think that is what I love about history, reading it in a book isn't what it is about.
History is what changes us and makes us and gives us roots.
Celebrating Memorial Day, helps us to remember those who have paid the price
so we can live the life we have.
Bless all of the people who have given of themselves to keep us free.

I hope your days is one full of blessings.

~Kim~

The other morning I was out in the garden and way
up high in this tree were these sunflowers. I couldn't figure out
how in the world they got up there but as I walked closer I saw
that this volunteer sunflower had grown up on the other side
of the fence, in the shade of this tree and it had to grow this tall to
get to the sun. I thought it looked pretty and it told me, " That is why
you never, never give up. " Somewhere up there is the sun.

I haven't had much time to sew lately. Most of my time is spent
gardening, or cleaning or taking care of something. In the evenings
I have been watching, my favorite show. It is on the History Channel
and it is called Swamp People. I can't sew and watch T.V. so that is why
I haven't sewed much. It is a little like walking and chewing gum, I can't do
that too good either. :)

I did get this finished but as you can see I haven't made it
into anything yet. I got this as a freebie from Betty
at PrimitiveBetty's

I will show a picture of my rug. I started it in wool rug hooking,
and I didn't like it so I ripped it all out and started using the punch needle
on it. Not happy about how it looks either but I will stick it out just and finish
it. I found that I don't have enough skill yet to get the look like I want.
Kim this picture is for you. :)


This stitchery is called Olga by Plum Street Samplers.

This is my other project I am in the process of working on,
I have done a little but not much. I just need to sit and get busy
on it, I love doing it, I just haven't had time to sit and get it done.
I told you I would be baking pies out of that book. I did I made the
Chocolate Banana cream, and it was good. But I would make my own
pudding next time. No pictures again, as it was gone. I am going to stop
making pies for awhile. My jeans are getting tight so no more goodies.

Oh I thought I would show you the picture of what this cat is supposed to look
like. It really is cute.

I hope you have a great weekend.
My youngest son will be 16. I am very thankful
that I have one teenager left. Weird feeling to not have more.
Some people dread the teenage years, I have enjoyed all six
and if I had a favorite age I would be hard pressed but I would
say, right now in my life, this is my favorite age.
Have a lovely weekend,
~Kim~

Housework

Did anyone ever tell you when you were growing up that
house work is a gift? Or even a ministry. I have thought about
housework a lot as I see destruction again in the south, the Midwest,
just about everywhere it seems. I have thought about
people who's lives are now buried in rubble. Where do you start?
I go through one tiny trial and I am a basket case, what do you do
when all of your things, your house everything you have worked for
all of your life is just gone.

I am at a loss in my mind at what to say or do. My life seems a bit
like Disneyland right now. I know one tiny earthquake and I could be in
the same place, but still. So today as I was going about my business, of putting
dishes away from the dishwasher, loading it again. Having electricity and windows
to even open. I struck me as how blessed I am that I have a house to clean.
I have a house to get dirty. I have a house.


All of the simple things I take for granted seem like such huge blessings to me today.
Clothes to wear, chickens to feed and a car to drive. Food to cook and people who
are safe.

" So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted
and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and
overflowing with thankfulness."
(Colossians 2:6-7)


My prayers are with the people who I don't know who have lost everything as well as family.
But God knows each and every one by name and He is there.

So I will go about my business of housework with a lighter heart, serving those I love and
doing my job because when it all comes down to it, I am so thankful for this gift of life.
Have a lovely day,
We are having beach weather again, cold, cloudy, but maybe it will burn off. I guess
I should have never put my winter clothes away. :)

~Kim~

Wedneday Words for Weight Loss

Here I am back at Wednesday. Wow, was last night
wild or what? My sister lives in our parents house in Oklahoma.
My cousins live in Chickasha. They got hit but are safe.
My sister was in the path both for the house and then where
the little grocery store is that was my Dad's in Wapanuka.
There is the beauty of texting that I have come to really appreciate.
I was here in California with the Oklahoma radar up on the computer,
texting my sister who was in the storm cellar in Oklahoma.

I at least felt I was with her and she was not alone. My parents moved back
there in 1991 and it has never been this bad of a tornado season that I can remember.
So I am very thankful that my family is okay.

On to the question, thank you Patrice for doing this, I had no idea you have 500 chickens!
You are so busy. Patrice is a Everyday Rurality.

Questions:1. What's your favorite day of the week? Why?

I think it has to be Friday, it is also my busiest but it is the day when I can
get finished with my Monday- through Thursday work and look forward to
the weekend and a different kind of work.

2. What was your favorite thing to do in the summer when you were a child?

Swimming and climbing trees and riding horses. Then as I got older we
were really into 4H and showing sheep, beef steers and dairy cows. I showed horses just not as much as the other things. My Dad started raising show cattle so
we were lots busier as my siblings started on the show circuit.

3. Are you reading this on a laptop or desk top computer?

Desk top.

4. Do you enjoy going to thrift shops/consignment shops or do you only purchase things new?

Both I love antique stores and Good Will but I also enjoy going and looking at new things. I don't go very often though.

5.When was the last time you listened to a songbird singing?

Every day, I like trying to identify the bird and the song. The meadow larks are the most vocal and they will be leaving soon when it gets to hot and won't be back to the fall. So I listen real close so I can try and remember their song.

Thanks to Patrice for hosting another Weight Loss Wednesday.

Adventures in Gardening

This Saturday my husband and myself worked getting
things in shape, we hula hoed this stretch down one
side of our property. It is one of my favorite places
to walk. I love how the trees are starting to make
one continuous tunnel.

This is some of our peaches. I was surprised at how
big they are now. To bad that lots of them will be
pulled off and thrown away because the tree is too
loaded and we would rather have nice big fruit rather
than lots of tiny peaches. It is my least favorite job.

I just had to show you a picture of my pumpkins.
This year I ordered 2 ounces of Cinderella pumpkins.
I am so excited because I love them so much. I love looking
at them and wish somehow they could turn into a coach.
I have also planted this year the jack-be- little's and a pumpkin
just for canning and white pumpkins and giant kind and some blue
ones. I think because I love pumpkins so much I would love to grow
nothing but pumpkins.

The boysenberries are starting to turn red now.
We were able to add to our little tiny row another row
and double our amount of vines this year. I need about
3 times what I have now to keep us in berries I think.

I would call this the doorway into my field of dreams.
This is my onion and beet area. I had to replant my
beets yesterday. We have had such a cool spring, things
are just not coming up.


This is Mr. Gopher Snake. He came out and looked around
at what was going on yesterday. I didn't take the picture.
My husband did, my hands were shaking so I couldn't get
a good shot. I am very content to let him be and I hope he stays
out in the pasture and doesn't come any closer to visit. He was
about 3 feet long.

This is our early plum tree. It gets ripe early in June.
This is the one that our grand children come over and stand
and eat plums and it makes me so happy to see them with
their hands full of plums with their little mouths filled.
I know no greater joy.

As I was getting ready to write this post, the verse that
came to me was this.
"Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its pleasant
fruits."
Song of Solomon 4:16

You know I love that God loved gardens first and
then he put man in the midst of it. One day I am going to do a study
of all of the places that God talks about farming, sheep, and gardens.

I am so thankful to have ours.
Have a lovely Monday,
~Kim~

Joy In This Life

One of the things I love is the feeling of joy. Joy is not
the same as being happy. Happy is because of happenings.
Joy is what comes after the storm, joy is like the tiny light in a
dark room. Joy comes when we least expect it. As C.S. Lewis
has the title on one of his books he was " Surprised by Joy."

I read today, " If we were never afraid, how could we know God
as a refuge and fortress? It is our very weakness that gives
us occasion to call on Him."

You know how sometimes life is so hard and it seems you are walking in a dark, dark forest
and you just keep walking
because you know you have too and you can't stop. Then, all of
a sudden as you emerge from the darkness of the trees, you find
a meadow, filled with sunshine, flowers growing in the midst of the
green and the birds are fluttering down to the meadow grass and the
deer are grazing, they turn and look at you but continue on as if you weren't there and as you stand there you feel the warmth on your cheek,
and the sun feels so warm. As you turn to look behind you you see the path
that you have traveled and you see the gloom, but you know the way
to get home is to go forward and not back?


Yesterday as I was working in the yard and cleaning outside," I told my husband,
I just wanted to so badly to get back to who I used to be."
As he chopped weeds and was quiet for a bit he looked up and said, " You can never
go back to who you were, you can only go forward to something new."

As I thought about that as I chopped weeds, and thought it over in my head, I knew
it to be true. Looking back is a waste of time. Going forward is how we conquer new lands
new places and become new people and learn to try new things and even, yes,
come to a place where there is sunshine and joy.
To accept the place that I am and yes, trust God to be God and to work things
out for good.

I hold onto the past to tightly, I want to open my hands and embrace the future.
God chose this week to do huge things for my family. Things I have prayed and prayed
and begged and cried and pleaded for years it seems.

So I gave up, I mean I really gave up. On Friday, I told God Iwas about to break and
I would just give up and I would just accept what I saw as my fate. Friday afternoon,
He parted the Red Sea. I sat and sobbed and felt so ashamed at my lack of faith.


Sometimes I feel like life is tiny steps for me mostly backward. Then God does
something I can't explain and it is so big and I do look back and I see that He did
know what He was doing and I of course, being in the trees couldn't see the wonderful
meadow up ahead.

Today, I am thankful I am in a meadow and hopefully next time I am wandering
around in the gloom, I might have the faith to trust and not be afraid.

"God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble."
Psalm 46:1

I hope your day is filled with joy.

~Kim~

Easy Apple Pie Foldover

I am back with the recipe. It is easy to make it just looks
like there is more work and ingredients. I will be
making this again and again I think. It is easy enough
I could make it when my kids have company over this summer.

Easy Apple Pie Foldover

Filling
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced peeled apples. (1 1/2 medium)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Crust
A double pie crust from your favorite recipe
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In 2 -quart saucepan, mix apples, brown sugar,
1 tablespoon water and the lemon juice. Cook over
medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly. Reduce
heat to low; cover and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring
occasionally, until apples are tender.

2. In small bowl, mix flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and
the salt. Gradually stir into apple mixture,
cooking and stirring until mixture thickens. Remove from heat; stir in butter
and vanilla. Cool 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees Unroll pie crust on ungreased
cookie sheet. Spoon cooled fruit mixture evenly onto half of crust to
within 1/2 inch of edge.

4. In small bowl beat egg and 1 tablespoon water; brush over edge of crust. Fold
untopped half of crust over apple mixture; firmly press edge to seal. Flute
edge; cut small slits in several places in top crust.
Brush top with remaining egg mixture. In another small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon granualted sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over crust.

5. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on cooling rack at least 10
before serving.

It didn't last that long when I made it. The boys were waiting as I took it out of the
oven. I was going to take a picture of it so I could post it but as I cut it they
decided they needed samples and I was laughing at them eating this hot stuff right out
of the oven I forgot the camera.
About that time my husband came in from work and he ate it too. The boys were all
trying to figure out how they could sneak it to their room and eat it all by themselves.
So it is a good recipe. It is worth trying again, I just don't know how I would ever
make enough to make a few to even freeze them.

So this one is a keeper.

The next pie in the book is a Black-Bottom Banana Cream Pie.

Have a lovely Friday!

~Kim~

Getting Caught Up

It has stopped raining for a bit so I went outside and took
a few pictures. My flowers have all been beat down because
of the wind. Not to mention the rain. The good thing about rain
this late in May is that it has the hint of summer in the air.
I think it shouts to me of promises yet to come, of sunshine,
of the smell of the warm water in the pool with the hint of chlorine.
I love that smell. The smell of hot grass as you walk over it in bare feet.
Even the sounds of chickens muttering to themselves as they take
dust baths .

I finally got my rug drawn out. I used Stitch Witchery
to draw out the pattern and then traced it onto linen.
It bled through with my sharpie and then I went back over it.
I was kind of excited how it turned out. I can't wait to start it
which will be today. My husband who isn't a big fan, well not a big
fan of primitive at all, was very nice as he looked down and said,"
you did a nice job of tracing." I laughed and laughed because he was
trying so hard to be nice. I had to show him the real picture of
what it is going to look like when it is finished.


I am sorry but this is all that is left of the fold over
my next pie in my book. It went so fast that by the time
I got my camera this is what it looked like. They ate
it as it came out of the oven. I will be making this again.
This is the picture in the cookbook.

It was fun to make. A cross between a fried pie and a pop tart.
I will give you the recipe tonight. I have fooled around this
morning and I am out of time and writing out recipes takes
me a long time. I also have a recipe for Rhubarb-Raspberry tart
I made yesterday too.
It feels nice to be baking again.
Bye for now,
Have a lovely day,
~Kim~

Wedneday Words for Weight Loss

It is Wednesday again. Time for the meme from Patrice
Called Wednesday Words for Weight Loss. She has a lovely blog
called Everyday Ruralty.

Now on to the questions for this week.

Questions1. I've heard it said that you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. What are your meals like?
If my husband makes breakfast for me, I eat like a king, but normally, my breakfast is yogurt,
whole wheat toast and a piece of fruit. I only eat what I can grab for lunch and my dinner is our largest meal I think, I always cook dinner. My husband likes dinner to be on the table when he gets home. :)

2. Does eating out include all of the trimmings (appetizer, meal, dessert, beverages)?
We don't eat out very much, but when we do it is just the meal no extras.

3. What's your favorite season of your wardrobe?
Fall of course, I like the sweatshirts and the boots and all of that.

4. If you could take a class or course in anything, what would it be?
I really would like to learn to spin and learn how to use a loom. I would love to
take lots of classes like that.

5. Optimist or Pessimist? Optimist.

Thanks to Patrice,

Have a great Wednesday!

This is my tiny flock of bantams. I have one Silkie and
three Mille Fleurs. I really do enjoy having a flock of bantams.
I think maybe in the fall I might order some more Silkie's
from My Pet Chicken. That way I can be sure I get hens
instead of roosters. Last year, I got straight run Silkies and
all of them were roosters. I had five roosters and they started
crowing at 2:30 in the morning and kept it up. I feared for their
lives so I gave them back to the feed store. I try not to think
where they end up but you know, chicken is made of well, chicken.

This is my girls being disappointed that I have a camera
instead of a treat. This was this winter when they looked
pretty and had all new feathers. I was looking at my hens
this morning and they are starting to look very ragged around
the edges. The youngest ones my new layers looking the worst
they lay eggs every day where as some of the older ones don't
so they look still very pretty.

The one thing I love about Silkies is how sweet they are,
I could sit and hold them all of the time. She knows it too
and just stoops and waits for me to pick her up. I have lost
two chickens this spring. One of my bantams and one of
my older hens. With the bantam she was fine one day and
the next morning she was gone. I never know why that happens.
She didn't act sick.

This is the trouble maker group. Only three of them are
sitting. With no eggs so a couple times a day I go take them
off the next and put them outside. I have been tempted to go
and get some chicks and put them under them at night.
I think though, I like raising my chicks myself it makes for calmer
hens.
Now that school is out, I am hoping for more time outside just
watching the hens. My mind seems more tired than usual this year.
I have always felt this way at the end of they year but this year maybe
just a bit more tired.
I was listening to a pod cast today as I walked and she was talking about
how not trusting makes a person not happy. I think I have become that person
I don't trust God and I need to get back to that place again.
I keep trying to do things myself instead of stepping back and letting Him be
God and trusting Him to do what is best as I stay out of the way.

It is funny how sometimes just walking and thinking seems to put life in focus.
My children are God's not mine and I forget that. It is time to let it all go and
open my hands, because they aren't chickens.

Have a wonderful Tuesday. I hope where ever you are the sky is blue.

~Kim~

Getting Caught Up

My hollyhocks are blooming to beat the band. They just make me
happy to see them. I love these pink ones with the reddish centers.
These hollyhocks are so prolific I tried to save the seeds so I could
plant more. After I filled a 5 gallon bucket with seeds I stopped.
I like them but not 5 gallons worth.

I wanted to give a book report today.

Dear Amy at Verde Farms had these books listed in her
sidebar. I finally remembered to reserve them at the library
so I picked up the first one the other day.
I don't like books usually when someone else tries to continue where
the author stopped. I am very picky too about books I recommend.
In fact though I read so much I have not come across books that I would
say is a keeper.

This series of books by Susan Wittig Albert, I am not
familiar with her other books but I know she had written a lot of different
books.

I didn't think I would like a book where the animals talked either. You can hear
them but not the people who are in the book. Does that make sense? They
have a tiny mystery going on and Beatrix Potter is always sketching but
it makes for a very nice quiet, peaceful kind of book. I am drawn in and
find myself thinking about this village and of course Hill Top Farm.
I don't know how the author did it but she has written so well that
it seems more like the Eighteenth century rather than published in the
last couple of years. I have been quiet impressed with her use of language
and of her ability to write this book as if I am watching a movie rather than
reading.

I think I will read the rest because this being the first sometimes the books get
better as the series goes on, so I am in high hopes. I haven't read books in awhile
that I might buy as I might be reading them again. I have gotten picky about books.
Watch a couple episodes of hoarders and you will see why.

I took this the last day it was sunny. We are going to have
rain until Thursday. This flower is but a memory because
a parrot found it and ate it all up. I went out trying to get
a picture but they are wise. This one was so blue green and
his tail was about a foot long. This one had a purple ring around
it's neck and if I can ever get close enough you will see why
I grow sunflowers for these silly parrots. They are just
beautiful. They do eat my plums so I do get a bit bothered by them.

I am glad we are having stormy weather. I am going to start hooking a rug
this week. I am working on a cross stitch that I want to finish up and I have
a needle point rooster I want to work on. It is nice to have a needle and a hook
in my hand instead of a hula-hoe.

I hope you have a lovely Monday,

Blessings,
~Kim~

Today On Saturday

I have been meaning to post this picture for awhile.
It is a picture of my Great grandmother. She is on the left
Her name was Alice and her sister on the right was named
Florence, but we called her Flossie. My great-grandmother
went to college and taught school. She was always a great
reader and she told me one that she read the book Ivanhoe
once a year. She also loved Scottish Chiefs. Her grandmother
was born coming to America, in a hold of a ship from Scotland.

Her parents, Mr and Mrs Robbins were first cousins and left their
family and moved west. They did not grow up knowing each other,
one brother lived on one side of a mountain and she lived on the other.
They left Virginia and moved to Paul's Valley Oklahoma.

She was always a strict kind of woman. My grandmother, always had
one of us in her lap, but I couldn't imagine crawling up in Granny Hayes lap.
She grew the most beautiful flowers. She went to a barbershop to get haircuts.
So her hair was always extremely short. She also dipped snuff.
It had to be triple 000 snuff. In a brown bottle. She would spit into
old cans with their labels removed. They were always clean and drying
in the kitchen. She would take a dip about 11:00 in the morning just before
she had supper. I would sit and watch. It always amazed me to watch her spit.
She would put it in front of her bottom teeth resting the can there. My Mom threatened death if I ever so much thought of dipping snuff.

She had a dressing table in her room. One day I was looking at what was there
and in a glass plate was some glasses and some change and they looked as if
the had been welded together. I asked her what it was and she told me, that,
On July 14, 1919, her father Zachery Robbins was out in the fields trying to get
the hay in before a storm. It started thundering and lightening. As he went
to crawl through a barbwire fence lighting struck and the electricity traveled
down and hit him. The stuff on the dresser had been what was in his pocket
at the time. She let me hold them and they were black maybe with age, but
the glass in the glasses wasn't broken. I have always wondered what happened
to them after she died.

I came in to do another kind of post today but I ran across this picture when I was
looking for something else. I wish now, that I might have known her from the vantage
point I am at now. She might not have seemed so remote now. I might have understood
her ways better.
Just something I thought I would share on this Saturday.

Have a lovely day,
~Kim~