~Here Piggy Piggy~

We were checking the Game Cam out in our pines on Saturday, to our surprise this pic popped up. We about lost our teeth. Yes, there are 8 piggies (one just inside the tall grass), in our pines, just inches from our yard. There were several more pics on there. They were snapped on Thursday, July 9th at 6 AM... This can be a disaster if they decide to come into the actual yard... The pine straw out there is all ROOTED up all the way past the back of our property line. IF we don't get them out of there I am afraid my yard will look like that and we have worked too hard to get it growing good and have finally gotten good grass coverage over all the yard to let this happen... Yesterday Rocky brought over his live trap and we put it up. We have the door tied open at least for a few days so they can get used to coming and going in it for the food and then we will set it to trip when they come in and hopefully catch most of them. Then we will put them in the freezer, should just about fill up all our freezers. Maybe we will butterfly one of the smallest ones and throw it on the grill.. That would be a GOOD BBQ! Larry heard one snort at him a few mornings ago and decided to come back to the house before he had to RUN back.. Which would not be a good thing for him to do right now.. Bruce killed one there last year and we have not seen any since until now. So not sure what has driven them up there, but hopefully we can get them out of there.. Well I will keep you updated on this adventure...

~Thinking of Grandma~

It was 10 years ago today, that we said "GoodBye for Now" to her. We will meet again on the Other Side someday.. I did not get to be there, but most of her Children were there, except Uncle Leonard (he was in the hospital in LR). I was at my brothers, helping take care of his children so that my mom could be with her mother. I was leaving Tony's to go sit with my mother for a little while, when I got the call that she was gone, so I just turned around and went back to my brothers. That way were we not alone, we had each other. It was a very sad time in our lives, so much sorrow and pain, yet so much joy with a perfectly healthy premature baby girl just 6 weeks old, boy did she out grow that premmie stage quickly.. I believe within 3 months we lost 6 family members including the mother of my brothers baby girl.

The preacher conducting her funeral had asked that the grand kids write something that stood out to them about her. Well, there were several of us that did that. I got them all and printed them out on paper that would sorta match something they said about her in their letter. I had talked about her quilting so I did a backdrop of a quilt on mine, I think I also did some kind of quilt thing on Sheri's, she talked about what did she say about a woman she barely knew(Grandma), but raised the strongest woman (her mother) she knew and about the quilt that Grandma had made and literally fell out of the closet when one of the kids opened the door at the moment she was writing her letter (coincidence, I think not). Then, one of Rosie's boys (Not sure which one) wrote about the Legacy she had left us. Grandpa had died at an early age (about 42 I think) and left her to raise 8 children the oldest of which was about 16 or so, not only did she never re-marry, but she never gave up Grandpa's name, on all her bills and accounts she listed her name as Mrs. Lloyd Brown, not Maggie or Lou, but Mrs. Lloyd. She was very proud of that name. I can't recall any of the others right now, but I still have them ALL saved on my computer. I printed 2 copies, one for the preacher and one to put in her casket, so she would always have them. One strange thing, NEARLY EVERY ONE of those letters mentioned her Fried Potatoes, how we ALL LOVED them and NONE of us can cook them like she did, they just do not taste the same, my sister had mentioned in her letter, that she had borrowed grandma's skillet, oil and POTATOES, and they just did not taste like hers. Maybe it was her knife she used, who got the paring knife, I want that knife.. She was an awesome COOK, as my mother is (and her sisters). She always had something cooked when we came over or she would get in there and cook something, as if we had not eatten in days, But you have to eat when you go to Grandma's house, my own grand daughters do the same thing, and I catch myself asking, can I fix you something to eat. I can see so much of my grandmother in my own mother (Compliment)... The preacher made the statement if he read about fried potatoes one more time, he was going to have to go eat it was making him hungry. Several talked about Sugar (Her Chihauhau), she loved that dog, but at times hated him too. But she was lost without him.. How we all miss her, but we will see her again.. What a legacy that she left for ALL of us to follow.

Her Birthday was July 2nd and she went to be with the Lord on the 10th, living "8" days after her Birthday, one for each of her Children... I know Aunt Jeanette, you only got half a day, but you were the baby that never grew up (weight wise) much from birth (HAHAHAHA).

Love you much, Grandma....

~New Treasure~

I finally found a cookie jar for my Kitchen. I wanted a Teddy Bear one, but all the ones I found at "Junk" stores were $30 and up!!!!!!! I was not willing to pay that for a cookie jar to sit on the cabinet. Then this weekend, I found it.. I fell in love with it and it was in perfect condition and only "$8.00". I grabbed it... As soon as we got home, it was promptly washed, dried and placed on the cabinet, right next to the "healthy tray" (I keep fruit on this). It looks GREAT!! even if I do say so myself..

What do you think?? I thought of each of the girls sitting on my lap when I saw this. The only thing that would have made it better is if there had been 3 little bears... I am so ready for a girls nite.. Maybe week after next.. We will have Larry's Pizza Buffet on Tuesday nite, Then I will take off Wednesday and we will spend the day at the POOL.... That will be SO MUCH FUN!!! Can't wait.

I LOVE looking in old junk shops, never know what you may find in there.. Larry found 2 single trees (who knows what that is) for the old Cultivator that used to belong to his brother in laws father. That will be yard art when restored.. By the way, we can start working on the Wheel Horses now according to the Doc. Larry said if we work hard on them, they will be ready for the girls to drive in the parade.. I am not holding my breath on that one, I do not want him to work that HARD! He is trying his luck at cutting the grass today, he promised he would take it slow and take lots of breaks.. I have to "Trust" (Sheri's word for the year) that he will take care of himself.. The Good Lord has brought him this far, so I have to "Trust" he will carry him on.. I am so blessed to still have him..

God's Blessing to ALL

~All Systems GO!!!!!~

As per the Cardiologist, Larry can return to work part time on Monday, July 13th, that will be 7 weeks, 2 days post-op. He is kinda guardedly excited.. He is mentally ready to get back to a schedule, but not sure how he will hold up physically. While we were in the office, Larry had an episode with his blood pressure. It bottomed out and he passed out... SSSCCCAAARRRYYY!!!!! Everyone scrambled,, fanning him, taking his BP, getting him back too and up drinking COKE to get his vessels to constrict and raise his Blood Pressure... So now we have to take his BP prior to meds and only take what is needed at that time. So that will be twice a day, until we get him regulated. Now that he has good blood flow, he may not need as much meds as previously. Just have to play with it for a while.. But we can do that.
We tested him this past weekend. We went to Branson. We had a wonderful time, but he did get really tired. But when he got tired, we rested... We walked in the mall, ate, shopped in the junk stores,... Sat on the benches and watched people.. It was really nice. The weather was not too hot, there was a breeze blowing and lots of people to watch. We even ran into a couple that I knew a long time ago. Our boys were in Story Hour together at the County Library (Pre School age), so that was a LLLOOONNNGGG Time ago, being my oldest just turned "30"... It was good to talk to them again. We were on our way to have dinner and they were on their way to a musical show of some sort. We chatted for 5-10 minutes and then on our ways we went..
We found lots of "Treasures" in the Junk Stores. I found a Teddy Bear cookie jar, Larry found a Brace and bits for it, We found IH Farmall signs that we fell in love with, that will go in the pout house with the tractors. And we found another tractor, it is a 36 Farmall F-20. You can independently lock in the L or R Rear brake and make it do donuts. It is kewl. It does not have a battery, it is hand crank.. Now we just have to find an 8 ft wide trailer to haul it home on. That has not been an easy task. We will have to have a flat bed trailer, and a 1 ton pick up to pull it with, of which we have neither.. What a pickle we are in with this right now. Larry is weighing out some other options, keep in mind he cannot hand crank this nor can he bind it down on a trailer.. Why does he find such things when he is really not able to mess with them. Oh well, this too we will can handle..
Talked to my Uncle Roy yesterday, He is doing well, I asked about the tiny hen he had sitting on all the eggs when we were there a few weeks back. well,,,,, she hatched out "18" babies.. Wow what a family for one mother to take care of. This little hen is so TINY herself, it was all she could do to cover all those eggs, now she has all these babies. Roy says they are so CUTE and some of them are to little, 3 of them I think he said were regular size baby chicks, almost as big at birth as she is... I want to go see them, but not sure when we will have time. Now that Larry is going to work, we will probably spend most weekends resting at least for awhile.. We will see how that goes.
Mom and Dad are headed to the lake for another couple of days. (Thanks for having lunch with us yesterday after the MD appts...), then home on Sat. and back to the lake on Sunday for 3-4 days.. I am so thrilled that they go to the lake as much as they do.. I am just jealous I cannot do that, but hopefully my day will come..

Well I gotta get back to work..
GOD BLESS ALL...