Love, Love, Love this weather!!

So, I think October is my new favorite month. Today is a cool, cloudy, fall day and I just love it. My windows are open, my AC is off and I am a happy camper. The trees are just beginning to turn a little, nothing dramatic yet, but I suspect a trip to the Talamina drive is in my future. According to the weather guys, we are going to get some really cool temps later in the week. I might have to make chili for the first time this season. Yummm, can't wait.

We had a fun night Saturday at the 2nd annual Martin Oktoberfest party. I made my German potatoes and they were all eaten. I even doubled the recipe this year. They were pretty yummy. Had a good visit with friends we had not seen in a while, all in all a fun evening. Our friend Gary spent the night with us. The boys left on Sunday for a ride into Missouri, they should be home tonight sometime.

Kaci called earlier, she was excited to have just met Barry Switzer. He came in to her office and sat at her desk. I asked if she had photographic proof, but she said she was trying to be professional.

Not much else going on. Making chicken spaghetti for dinner tonight and making an extra batch to take to Daryl Oliver. Elaine is in the end stage of her breast cancer, so I wanted to try and help in some way. I will get that over to them tomorrow. I know how this family feels right now.

Enough for now. Will try and be more interesting next time!!

I saved a life today...

Oh yes I did!! Now before you get too excited, it wasn't a HUMAN life, but hey, a life is a life, right? Ok, it was a hummingbird, but I still saved it's little life...

We were having breakfast on the deck ( do you notice a trend here?) and just as we were finishing, 3 little hummers flew up to the feeder. Now if you know hummingbirds, you know they are very territorial. So one of them started chasing the others and one of the poor things got hit by the ceiling fan and thrown into the french doors!! He dropped to the deck and I thought he was dead. At first I couldn't look at him and when I did I saw that his little feet were still moving. I decided that maybe he was just stunned, so I got a towel and scooped him up. He just lay in the towel, not moving and looking at me. I was talking to him the entire time, telling him he was going to make it, I just knew he was!

I put him on his tummy on the table and went to get a box to put him in to protect him from Miss Kitty and Einstein. When I came back, he had struggled to his feet, but wasn't going anywhere, so I got the hummingbird feeder, and scooted him up to the perch. He clung to it and actually dipped his little beak into the food! I was so excited. But he couldn't get close enough, so I took the top off in order for him to reach it a little easier. After a few minutes, he fluttered his wings and flew up into the cedar tree!! I saved his life!! The kitties would surely have eaten him up if he had stayed on the deck where he fell. I love watching my birds and am very happy to have been able to give a little back for all the joy I gain while watching them.

I saved a life today! : )

A very good day

Yes, today was a very good day. It was beautiful and the temperatures were just about perfect.

The day started out early with a trip to the optometrist to pick up my new glasses. They are going to take some getting used to. Evidently my "bifocal vision" has gotten much worse since the last time I had new lenses. I went with the no line style and they are really challenging me. I had to take them off earlier and put my old ones on. I had a really bad headache and was getting very nauseated. Hopefully I will adjust to them soon...

After getting my glasses, I went to Fort Smith to pick Ed up. He needed to leave his VTX at the Honda dealership to have some work done while he is out of town this week. We went from there to Tom Bull Furniture and bought the television credenza! I am so excited. I think it is a really nice piece of furniture that can have many more uses than just for the tv. We will get it next weekend. Now I just have to decide how I want to rearrange the living room...

We picked up some things at the market and came home to get some things done around here. I put some steak and chicken in to marinate and started the laundry. We grilled everything and roasted some green chiles. I baked some potatoes and corn on the cob and made a salad. We took it all outside and had dinner by candlelight on the deck. It was a wonderful meal and the evening couldn't have been nicer. I really love where we live right now, just wish it was closer to my girls....

Tomorrow is the Pollard family reunion. I don't think I am going to go. Ed will be leaving for the airport around noon and if I am going, I will need to leave really early to make the drive. Since I just saw many of my family at Uncle Don's funeral, I think I will skip this year. I will be going to Eufaula later in the week to see Daddy and spend some time with Cindy and I really don't want to be making so many trips that direction.

I spent Friday with my Dad. We went to the cemetery and I put some beautiful fall flowers on Mom's grave. It is still so hard to believe she has been gone for 7 years now. When we arrived at the cemetery, my cousin Peggy was there. She is getting things ready to move Harvey to the Sapulpa cemetery. She decided she wanted to be buried where her son Keith is and that means moving Harvey from the Checotah cemetery. They plan to move him late October. After I finished with the flowers, Peggy joined us for lunch. We had a really nice visit with her and I am glad we ran into each other.

Well, enough for today. I am tired and will probably be heading off to bed before long.....

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my Daddy's 71st birthday. Wow, 71! It is just so hard for me to believe he is this age. I guess all little girls see their father's as invincible and forever young, so it is hard to see them begin to age. I am very happy Daddy has decided to come back to Oklahoma and be closer to me, my brothers and our families. Hopefully we will have many more years with him.

Tomorrow will be seven years since we lost Mom. She was only 61. Ten years younger than Daddy is and ten years older than I am. I miss her so very much. I have so many things I want to talk to her about, so much advice I still need from her. I know she would be able to help me with so many things that are going on in my life right now. I just wish I could talk to her and she could help me understand it all. I know she would have all the answers, she always did.

She's 92

Today is my Aunt's 92nd birthday. 92!! She is still going strong too. I saw her 3 days ago at my Uncle's funeral and even after hip replacement surgery a few months ago, she has not slowed down. I want to be just like her when I grow up!

My Mom would have been just like her, had she lived. But Mom only made it to 61. That wasn't long enough. It is only 10 years older than I am right now. As strong as my Mom's heart was, if she had not gotten lung cancer, she would probably have lived until at least 100. And sassy! She would have been so sassy! One of those little old ladies who said whatever she wanted and who cares what people thought.

Did you ever see the Fruitcake Lady on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno? My Aunt and my Mom could put her to shame! My Mom delighted in embarrassing me every chance she had. I think she loved to see me blush and tried her best to loosen me up a little. So, since her death almost 7 years ago, I have tried to be a little more like her. Not so concerned what other people think, wearing red more instead of my safe blues and making sure people know I love them. There are no guarantees in this life. I have learned that for sure. My mom should still be here and I hate that she isn't. I miss her so much.

Happy Birthday Aunt Inez! I love you and hope you have many more birthdays.

51

Wow, I am 51 years old today.

I find that shocking, since I don't feel 51 years old.

But I am.

51 years ago today my mother, who was only 17, gave birth to me. My father, who was only 19, was thousands of miles away on a Navy ship and wouldn't see me in person until I was 5 months old. Even when I almost died when I was 3 months old, they couldn't get him home to see me.

My wonderful Aunt Mary likes to tell the story of being at the hospital with my Mom while she was in labor and being relegated to the waiting room with the other "Dads". She was able to go in with my Mom for a while and didn't think Mom was getting enough attention because Mom wasn't making any noise or complaining. Aunt Mary told her she needed to yell out to get the nurses to come and check on her. Mom said "Mary, I didn't yell when I got this way and I am not going to yell now". That's my mom for you. Aunt Mary was who the nurse came out and told " you have a little girl". I love her very much.

I am missing my Mom so much today. We were at the cemetery yesterday for Uncle Don's funeral, the same one she is buried in. In fact he is just a few spots away from Mom. It is just so hard to believe she has been gone almost 7 years now. 7 years ago today I came to Arkansas for the first time to see my new home. Ed closed on our house by himself on Friday the 13th and I came here with Kaci on Sunday the 15th to see it. I had only seen it once before we bought it. My Aunt Phyllis stayed at the hospital with Mom so I could come here for one night. While this house isn't what I originally was looking for, as it turns out, it is exactly what I needed.

Happy Birthday to me! My wish is for many, many more.

It's my Birthday Week!

I have started getting birthday cards. Not as many as I received last year, that was a record number. So far I have three and my gift from Alissa. She remembered the book I found while we were in California and ordered it for me. It's called The Heirloom Tomato. Beautiful book, all about tomatoes! I know, doesn't sound interesting, but it really is a gorgeous book with some wonderful recipes and photography.

We spent the afternoon looking at refrigerators. Too many choices, think I will just get the old one repaired and hope it lasts a while longer. Maybe by the time I am ready for a new one, they will have something new and cool out.

We had dinner with friends after shopping. Of course they told the wait staff it was my birthday, which meant singing and cake. Oh well, it is that time of year.

Tomorrow is Uncle Don's funeral. Not looking forward to that, but I will go.

Loved the rainy day we had today, I think it is supposed to last through tomorrow.

Can't wait for the mail to run tomorrow, more cards for me!! So hard to believe I will be 51 years old. Just doesn't seem possible....