Health update and general catch-up (from the old folks of the farm)

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I want to say "Thanks" for the concern many of our blog friends have shown for both C. and me recently! I'm happy to say we're both feeling better and back to our more usual and known aches and pains (the ones we've grown accustomed to) -lol- SO...that's a good thing!

~~

I got this in an E-mail recently ...and I pretty much agree with Maxine on this!

Oh,well~ that's life!

~

The weather we're having now is very nice.  Haven't needed the heat at all today and...hopefully, have seen the last of our really cold days and nights... about time, too!
(but maybe not- since it's just the end of January!)

  The cold has been harder for me this time. Lol-I know my northern friends must think I'm a wimp...and I guess I really am!  Can't help it... I don't like to be cold..  :)  but I don't like the HOT either!

  I'd love to live in a place where it is '72' all the time!  ;)  Guess that's asking too much- but I can dream, can't I? 


~~

OK- back to reality...today I started a clean up- clean-out- fix-up project on the house...Lots of painting in the plans for the next few days, starting with all the doors and  door frames.

   I did a lot of cleaning out in my bathroom today!  How does so much useless junk accumulate in those drawers? One of life's greatest mysteries...at least I have no clue about it!

Anyway- I feel good that I've made a start on doing something beneficial in our life here!...Oh! I intend to tackle closets too...Goodwill, get ready! 


Junie Rose

Shadow Shot Sunday~Jan 30, 2011~ "Lucy And Her Shadow"

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Shadow Shot Sunday

~ Find more SSS posts here. ~

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This is Lucy and her shadow, 

strolling in my back yard this week.

Junie

Weekend Reflections...Winter Flowers

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It's time to share our Weekend Reflections...

  

~Visit James for more 'Weekend Reflections' posts~

  

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Again, I will show you what's on my marble shelf in our entrance hall.

Red Camellias

When  winter comes and lingers on- making most things dead and brown in north Florida- that's when the Camellias start their show!  They  bring me joy to these gloomy days!

I picked these yesterday from the 3 red bushes we have out front. To get a feel of the size of these bushes/trees... if I were in this picture I'd not come more than half way up on this biggest one!

(well...but I am only 5 ft tall!-lol)

Anyway, they grow BIG and have a LOT of flowers....but  are only in bloom for a short time!

We also have a pale pink one  but it is always a little bit later  with it's blooms! (I mean, just a few days) Have a pure white one and a peachy color one in the back yard...new plants which only have had a few blooms  each the past year or so! The white one is blooming now, too, but I haven't cut any of those yet.

Junie

Sad 8th anniversary

 Remembering Mom on this sad 8th anniversary

~1909~2003~

( my Mom blog )

~~~

The Log House 

(posted Jan 2006)

...in my young years we lived in several different houses - in Alabama and later in Florida.(I remember living in 7 different houses, in Alabama, alone, in my early years)
This is one I remember well, as it was kind of scary place with woods all around. I remember being with Mom at the spring where she washed our clothes. We were always aware of the possibility of snakes around that place. Snakes were one of Mom's greatest fears.
She told of an encounter with a rattle snake, when my brother was a young boy!(he's 13 years older than me) Between the two of them they managed to kill it! Thankfully, I never had any close calls with snakes!

~~~~~~


The Log House…


Nights in the log house were scary,
with lights that were extinguished with a puff of Mama’s breath
-not a switch on the wall.

After our prayers were said,
in which we went through the list of all our loved ones to be blessed
and kept safe through the night,
Mama would then look under each bed,
making sure no SNAKES had found a way into our house!

…Just an extra measure, of Mama’s-to keep us safe! :)


Remembering Mama…
on
Jan.2004


Love,
Junie

Mark Knopfler~ "Darling Pretty"

  Another  great song by Mark Knopfler~

enjoy it with me!

Lyrics:

Darling Pretty

(Mark Knopfler)

It's time to come away, my Darling Pretty
It's time to come away on the changing tide
Time to come away, Darling Pretty
And I need you darling by my side

Heal me with a smile, Darling Pretty
Heal me with a smile and a heart of gold
Carry me awhile, my Darling Pretty
Heal my aching heart and soul

Just like a castaway
Lost upon an endless sea
I saw you far away
Come to rescue me

Cast away the chains, Darling Pretty
Cast away the chains away behind
Take away my pain, my Darling Pretty
And the chains that once were yours and mine

There will come a day, Darling Pretty
There will come a day when hearts can fly
Love will find a way, my Darling Pretty
Find a heaven for you and I
Love will find a way, my Darling Pretty
Find a heaven for you and I

Junie

Some thoughts from Maxine!

..

...and me!

Junie Rose

Shadow Shot Sunday-1-23-11 (Lacy shadows at 'Our Place')

Come see my

~Shadow Shot Sunday~

at

'Our Place'

Junie

Not a good weekend!

~~

Charles and I are having one of the worst spells we've had in a long, LONG  time!

We've both been sick for  several days-different things-equal misery, I'd say!

My malady is a cold or flu type thing that has developed into a full blown attack on my whole body. I've coughed until I'm sore, through and through...I've gone through a lot of tissues and cough meds...drank a lot of tea and honey, too! All to no avail...

Charles is suffering from a different set of afflictions that  include the GI Tract... He went 2 days without eating-except what liquids he could tolerate and keep down...

Soooo... (more)

Last night when I went to secure the back sliding door before bedtime....the dang lock broke! There was nothing my poor C. could do at that late hour...  and we have no kind of backup/double lock on that door...just the little flimsy, standard lock that sliding glass doors are equipped with! At best they are not the most secure locks...but ... I , at least, could talk myself into believing we were safe-if I could push that little slide thing into the right position!  Last night I couldn't do that-as the whole thing had broken apart! :(  Hated to tell Charles that news with him being sick...Of course, sick or not, he tried to fix it - but couldn't do a thing in solving our problem... He saw right away  that the whole thing would have to be replaced!!

Try  getting a restful sleep-knowing your house is open to any intruder who might take a notion to visit...

 (this always helps some)

Sleep I did, though, after taking my  Nyquil....that magic medicine that's  for  those multi-cold symptoms AND...

(best of all- for last night)

  helps you sleep! OK-I slept but not very restful... I remember some disturbing dreams- but only in bits and pieces...

We awoke this morning- safe in our house- but still sick.

(Some might say, 'Sick as a dog' ... or 2  sick dogs, in this case!)

By mid-day C. knew he'd have to get on over to Lowe's and find a replacement lock. He took the broken one to try and duplicate it to make the switch over easier...  He got it home and found it was too complicated a task for him...with him being worn out from his days of being so sick.

 

He did the only thing he could do...Yep ... had to call Ted- our  'do-it-all' rescuer of the 'Old Folks!'

Oh, my, C. hated to call Ted on a Sunday. Well, at least he had  got the lock set- so all Ted had to do was install it for us!

Ted and his wife came right over and within a few minutes Ted had the job done! Wow-a life saver...

(maybe I'm being overly dramatic....but not by much!)

OK-am feeling better- at least my anxiety is eased about sleeping in an open house.... though I am still coughing my head off-figuratively speaking... and C. is still not over his problems either...

(Sure hope Ted and Sandy don't get sick from helping us!)

Why is it things seem to usually happen on weekends...  and why do things keep piling on...one on top of the other?

Junie Rose

Happy Birthday to Tina

~~~

~

Today is our dear daughter's birthday!

 

~Tina was my littlest girl in the pink skirt-about age 4 here~

Happy Birthday, sweet Tina!

 
Love,
Mom and Dad

Midweek Blues~ Jan 20, 2011

UPDATE at end of this post

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*Go here to see other Midweek Blues posts*

***

This is a Black Potato Art bowl  given to my daughter, Tammy, from her sister, Tina, as a Christmas gift!

I had never heard of this Art.

  ( and, indeed, just recently became familiar with black potatoes)

~ a bit on this potato ~

~~~

http://www.foodsubs.com/Potatoes.html

purple potato = purple Peruvian potato = blue potato = black potato  Notes:   These purple-fleshed potatoes have a medium starch content, so they're good all-purpose potatoes.

~~~ 

(back to the bowl)

This was the most unusual art object I had seen in awhile.... or maybe ever! The color is much more intense than the pictures show. It's a deep purplish-blue.  It appears to be very fragile and will only be used to 'look at!'

Here is my daughter, Tammy, showing off her unique gift from her sister!

I tried to find info on this but was not successful.

  :(

Does anyone have any info on this art form to share?

Junie

UPDATE  on the bowl:

Talked to my daughter after posting the above and she gave me this website that was in the package with her bowl!
 

http://margaretdorfman.com/margaret-dorfman-galleries/index.htm

Also a FB friend found the very same Website and put it on FB!  :)

This is fascinating art  to see and read about!

Junie

Junie...Lost in space!.....LOL

 ~~~

Got this in an Email today-and find it... AMAZING!

( Hey ~YOU might understand this - but I DON'T,

so can someone explain this to me?)

~~

 (The E-mail)

This year we will have 4 unusual dates.... 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11

Now take the last 2 digits of the year you were born, plus the age you will be this year and it will equal to: 111

Junie

Memorial service

~~~

  Today we attended a memorial service for our neighbor's father who passed on earlier  this week.

  I didn't know the old gentleman at all but my husband had met him.He was 96 years old and had lost his wife of 69 years a few years back.

Clearly, he was well thought of and well loved by a lot of people as the chapel was packed full and lots of good things were said about 'Mr Smith.' The words, "He was a good man," were often used in describing him; the highest of compliments, IMO.

This is one of a few songs that were chosen for the service and the best one.

~I recently posted a vid of this Brooks and Dunn song but this is a different one with the lyrics.

I love this song!~
 

 

 

Junie

Ruby Tuesday~Jan 18, 2011- Tea break

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~Visit Mary/Teach for more RT posts~

~

This may be just what I need on this dreary January afternoon...

Junie Rose

...and...speaking of Coop...

~~

Last night our daughter Tina invited us down for dinner. She served us a delish meal of 'Blueberry Chicken!'  I had never heard of or imagined blueberries and chicken together but it was very good. We also had some light and flaky thing filled with fresh spinach and Feta cheese- and a dish of some other fresh, steamed veggies.

For dessert we had fresh strawberries and blueberries with angel food cake- topped with low cal cool whip!

(but I forgot to get a pic!  :)    )

WOW! Weight Watcher recipes have come a long way, Baby!! Everything was super good! Thanks, Tina!

'Coop' wanted to show off his new shirt but I couldn't get that little guy to be still long enough for a real good picture!... What it says is..."Mommy's Spoiled Boy"...

  YEP!!

Junie

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ 1-16-'11 (from the Way Back times)

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~Find more Shadow Shots here~

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This is a shadowy picture from our Way Back days in south  Florida.

I'm not sure of the exact time/date but it was mid 1950s

This is  my little sister, Joy, my dad and me - holding our little nephew, Phil!

*Oh-how we loved that little boy!*

Junie

Camera Critters~ Jan 15, 2011 ~ Cassie and Cooper

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*Go here for more CC posts*

Poor Cassie only gets home for a few days about every 6 weeks or so.

She's my Son-in-Laws riding partner. They drive a big Crete truck from coast to coast. Cassie has been riding with Marc since she was a pup so it's routine to her now, however, she is always happy to be home for a spell.

With Cooper being added to the family, Cassie's down time at home has become a bit more complicated!  :) 

  (These pictures were at my house during the Christmas season.)

Cooper is quite an energetic little guy - always in Cassie's face!

 

While Cassie may not always be thrilled with Coop's overly zealous actions, she is very courteous with him; seldom growling or smacking him down!

Cassie is a sweetie!

Junie

(Ginga) 

Today's Flowers~ Jan 13, 2011 ~ Christmas Flowers

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*For more Flower Posts, click here*

*

Every Christmas season I buy several Poinsettia plants.

 

  The dark reds are my favorites but I usually add some white ones also. Sometimes you can buy them in pretty shades of pink but this time I only had the red and white!

When we lived in Miami I had lots of these plants growing  in our yard. Oh, what a beautiful display they made!  I miss that!

We are a little too far north here for these plants to thrive for long, though one year I did have some grow and bloom nicely. Recent winters have been too cold...and if they reach the blooming stage -which they usually do- a freeze is sure to zap them...as it did in 2009 AND this past season, too!

This bloom somehow escaped the freeze this time!

(I cover the plants when possible)

I end up buying more plants every year-for decorating the house-and then plant them in the yard, come spring!

(picture with antique finish)

I don't give up easily...and in the early spring - all things seem possible!

Junie

Sepia Scenes~ Jan 12, 2011- The Kid And The Granny

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~~

*Click here to find more Sepia Scenes posts* 

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The kid and the Granny

Time is a 'Thing!'

I just came across this picture in my i-photo files and was shocked to see the date of this pic is 2005!

Doesn't seem that long ago when we took this photo... and Alli was still our little teen-girl at home!

Well, the 'Ole Granny' is still here but Alli is all grown up now and away at college...well on her way to becoming a nurse

or perhaps something else in the medical field! Lots of options there for a girl like Alli!

Alli 
(now)
on her way!

Love,

Ginga

(Junie Rose)

Midweek Blues~Jan 12, 2011 ~ Blue project~

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~Find more Midweek Blues posts here~

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This is a bathroom make-over project  that we have going  with the house our son and daughter-in-law rent from us.

I like the accents of blue glass tile with the white. 

This is a built in storage area  with a tiled shelf.

(cabinet to be painted white)

I especially like the way Ted (our worker) did the window.

It's too pretty now to be cluttered up with a curtain so it's good that it's a frosted glass!

  :)

Junie