Church Party at Almosta Ranch Yesterday

This picture is from a couple of years ago. It is our zip line starting point. Terry is talking with his niece, Monika here and Tramp is the pretty horse in the background. This year the grass is very green because of the recent rains.

We don't have current pictures from this party because I was upstairs in the house with a stomach bug. I didn't want to expose anyone else to it and needed to stay in bed. I am glad Terry agreed to continue with the party. He is, too.

He said they enjoyed the zip line, trampoline, and playing horseshoes. The go-cart was also a hit. When we moved out here over 20 years ago, we purposed in our hearts to share it with our friends and family.

(We call it Almosta Ranch because it isn't big enough to be a real ranch. lol)

Picture of the Day

Free today and tomorrow
If you haven't read Book I in the Nashville Series, Six Miles from Nashville, here is your chance to get a free copy of the Kindle version today. Book II, Christmas in Nashville is already available on amazon in e book form and print. It won't be on a free offer in the foreseeable future. (A girl's gotta make a little money, huh?) It is priced at $2.99 in the Kindle version and just a few dollars more in print. I hope you like these books set in the 1970s.

I wanted to write about those days because they were the days when I was in high school and college and began my life with Terry. The ways those days have been portrayed does not reflect the attitudes and way of life of the people who live in the area where I grew up. Middle America's people had a different outlook on life opposed to what people think of when they go to the 1970s stereotype. Maybe it was only the way I saw things and maybe not. It is a different view from the heartland.

Excited About Today

This is a picture from a few years ago. Today I will join some author friends at Hooker, OK to meet with the Friends of the Library at the Olive Warner Memorial Library. I am excited to listen to Carla Stewart and Sherilyn Polf as they speak to the members. I am hoping to go last for my speech. This event is one of my favorites. The people here are so KIND. I was trying to think of a perfect word for them, but there isn't only one. They are warm, friendly, and much more, but mostly kind.

The View from My Chair - Picture of the Day

 

This is the view from my chair in the living room. My sweet family is so dear to me. I was going to take yet another picture of a laundry basket to represent my day today, but this is  much better view. Sometimes the every day chores are overwhelming, but I look at the faces on this wall and knowing how blessed I am with these people who own my heart, helps me go on.

Knitting - Picture of the Day

I finished working on knitting a scarf. It has been years since I have knitted with knitting needles instead of using the knitting thing for making hats. I had to relearn how to cast on and off and watched videos on Youtube on how to do it. After getting started, I remembered a lot of it.

Now I am starting a project that is a little harder to do, fingerless gloves. One of my friends asked me if I was going for the "homeless" style. lol. We will see how this goes. I have started. It is the red that has knitting needles stuck in it. If it turns out okay, I will post a picture.

New Hair Do Picture of the Day

I haven't grown out my hair for years and years. You see the before and after pictures here. It is funny that my makeup was the same in the face forward picture. A couple of hours of pampering and a smile makes a difference.

My Latest Project from Pinterest - Pictures of the Day

When my mother passed away, I inherited some of her furniture. I already had a china cabinet that I love and I didn't want to do away with this one. In fact, one of my daughters in law wants it when she has a home large enough to house it.

I have used this in one of the guest rooms to hold books and book research, marketing, and speech things. You can see that a view through the glass isn't that pretty.

I saw a pin on pinterest that showed a good solution for my problem. I didn't want to do anything permanent in case it is going to be used to display china again.

 

This looks messy doesn't it?

 I used glue stick to hold the fabric on the frame surrounding the glass. I think wrapping paper or scrapbook paper would also work. I thought I found this fabric at half price, but when I paid out, it was mega expensive. I do have enough for several pillows. I bought 2 yards, but I think I only needed 1. (60" wide)

Scroll on down and see the finished result. It looks so much better now. It would have been a pretty curio display, but I really did have need for my book storage. I know that some people paint these. This one is about 47 years old. What do you think? Should I? :
1) paint it
2) stain it darker
3) Do nothing.

If painting...what color?

 

The Last Chore on His Working Vacation - Pictures of the Day

 

Years ago, Terry, our boys, and I made this patio with a "stream" running through it. Terry constructed a 'waterfall' later on. The stream goes to a nice-sized pond and recirculates back to the waterfall. I love the sights and sounds of it.

Terry was concerned about some issues with all of them. The steam overflows its banks and needed to have the edges built up. The waterfall had dirt that washed out into the stream causing the water to be very muddy. The pond's liner has a slash in it, but for now, we decided to leave it that way because it waters the tree line slowly and deeply. I think that is what has saved our Elms these past few years.

This was the last project Terry took on for his working vacation. He started taking the top of it off a rock at a time. It is made from sandstone from the pasture.

 

After removing some of the rocks, he saw where the fill dirt had washed out, leaving a cement shell. He dug the remaining dirt out and filled the space with more rocks, cement, and sand.

 

He restacked the stone and built out the north side so that it wouldn't splash out on the patio.

 

The foreground is the North side. This is the side Terry and I did. The South side is more level. That is the side our sons did. (hmmm) The patio rocks were made from a form that is put on the ground and a sack of cement added. (quickcrete)

Terry is building up the sides of the stream with more cement in this picture.

Terry also added rocks to cover the hose. We are going to put some cement stain on all of this because it looks like everything is made of cement, even though the waterfall is made of sandstone. More pictures coming later.  

Picture of the Day- My Babies and Newest Baby

 

These are our sons as they were in the 1980s. Sometimes I miss them at this stage of life even though I am crazy about the men they are now. I am so happy I had the opportunity to be their mother.

 

This is the latest creation. This week it will be available on amazon in ebook format and print. I will have print copies on hand within a couple of weeks. It was a labor or love and I hope you enjoy it.

It continues the story of Betty Barnes and branches out to tell her brother's story. The setting is Guymon, OK- Spearman/Perryton, TX, and Nashville, TN in 1977.

More Rain and a Wonderful Man- Pictureof the Day

 

It rained 4 1/2 inches yesterday. I got a shot of the rain pounding on the deck. We do need gutters!

 

The screened in porch was filled with water. Terry was happy to have an excuse to use the wet/dry vac.

He is so helpful in doing this kind of thing. I could never keep up with these kinds of extra chores. We are so happy with the wonderful rain.

Raining Buckets...Picture of the Day

The sun peeked out for a minute and made the leaves shine. Things are greening up.

On the deck over commercial they said you could dance on it...yep.

Sometimes Meme Gets the Translation Right! Pictures of the Day

 

Eli is at the age that he wants to communicate a lot. He says a string of things in baby gibberish and is very excited for Meme and Bop Paw to understand.

 

This is the face he makes when we are telling him what we think he said.

This is the grandparent indulgent look for trying. Also, we did translate the word 'Batman'. That made him pretty happy. There are no attempts at deep thought coming from me today. I am stuck in translation. lol

Shaving with Bop Paw - Picture of the Day

 

Bop Paw is teaching Eli the fine art of shaving.

Picture for Today

Eli is growing up.

Time to Rest - Picture for today

Pictures for today. Spray paint makes a difference!

 

The work I did today took six cans of flat black spray paint. I used Krylon.

These are the 3 rusty chairs I painted today. They have been painted several times before. We inherited them from the previous owners of our home. I used to have a more colorful pallet, but this time...black is on the menu.

 

This is how far 1 can of Krylon went.

This is after 3 cans.

The final can count for the 3 chairs was 3 1/2 cans.

 

Terry put the picnic table on a tarp for me so that I could spray paint the legs.

 

The table legs just needed a little touch up.

 

1 1/2 cans of paint did the trick.

The finished product. It looks sharp, huh!

Now I need to get the spray paint off my hands. Yes, I had plastic gloves that I forgot to wear and I also have one of those handles that make a rattle can like a paint trigger...only I couldn't find it. I got most of the paint off, but I am going to work on it until the paint is gone.

I have another project for the remaining 2 cans of black paint.

We Take Care of Things We Want to Last

This summer has been the summer of taking care of things. My husband and I have been working diligently on resurfacing decks, tables, chairs, and the bed of our flatbed trailer. We have repainted a lot of trim on our house too. The idea is to extend the life of everything so that replacements won't have to be made.

At the big box lumber store, the guy mixing the surface coating for our decks etc. told us that the product we were buying was guaranteed for the remaining life of the wood it is put on. Hmmmm. That is interesting. If the wood is rotten, there isn't much guarantee, but if we caught it in time, the guarantee is really good.

The bottom line is that we take care of the things that are costly to replace, sentimental, or otherwise important to us. Relationships are some of those things. Our three boys graduated high school in 1996,1997, and 2000. After they started college, they were never around here much. They are all married and have a family of their own to take care of.

Like I said before, this summer has been a summer of taking care of things. We arranged to spend a week in the beautiful mountains of Colorado with all of our sons and their families. We camped...tent camped...roughed it...(I am definitely looking into getting a camper for next time.)

We rebuilt relationships around the campfire and sightseeing. Some rough edges were knocked off of us and we remembered life together was not always idyllic. We did remember that close relationship with one another is worth it. Worth working through everything even if it is hard.

Our boys are worth it. Every prayer prayed asking God to remind them of His glory and every tear for the things that sometimes come up is worth it. I love those people. They are my people. I will take care of those relationships.

I have been on the Potter's wheel this summer. The Lord has shown me things in myself that need reshaping. I have been pounded and reformed into a closer relationship than ever with Jesus. I have realized that I have let some things go that should have been worked on. The closeness with God is definitely worth taking care of.

"Watch Out, If You Hold Still Around Here, I'll Cover You with Deckover," said Terry Littau

Yay! The decks project is done! Terry is the kind of guy who adds 3 coats when the bucket says 2. I am proud of the job he did on these decks. I did do quite a few of the railings, but not all of them.

 

This is looking West from the South side of the house. If you look closely, you will see two decks on this side. The one further in the distance is a small one like the one pictured in the first frame.

 

It was pretty hot, so Terry took off his shirt again.

 

Two boards were in such bad shape, Terry replaced them. They had shrunken by over an inch each in length from the dry conditions we have been struggling with.

 This is the third coat looking to the East.

He coated 3 decks, a picnic table, a swing, a serving table, and the bed of his flat bed trailer. I coated the wrap around tree deck. It has been a marathon an I have shared a lot of pictures of the process with you. (Do you see my clothesline next to the deck? It is so great to dry bedding on as well as swim towels. I don't consider it an eyesore. lol)

Terry told me, "Don't hold still, or I'll cover you with this stuff!" I am on the move, that's for sure.

 

This table was thirsty!

 

I still need to spray paint the legs of this table.