Meet our oldest son. We call him Mad, but on www.youtube.com/mjblaxton , he is M J Blaxton. He has several original songs on you tube to share, and a couple of covers, also. This one was “born” this week. Please take a listen. (and share!) Have a great Friday, friends. ♥ And be nice to people ~we never know what other folks might be going through…
I like chairs. No, I LOVE chairs. But chairs take up a lot of space and I didn’t plan on collecting them! Maybe they collect me? Because like most things collected, there is meaning and there are memories in each and every piece. Why didn’t I collect buttons instead? Oh, but wait! ~ I did that, too.
My sister, Renae and I, had these matching chairs when we were little tikes. Imagine my delight when I was crawling around in Mom and Dad’s attic last fall, and I found the other one! (I left it in the garage for her to pick up….with 2 or 3 more chairs!)
My hubby still has his childhood chair, too!
This was a Christmas gift chair from my kiddos. Extra special because they did the refurb on it themselves! Great job~ 😉
This chair came from an antique store in Skiatook, Oklahoma. It needs a fabric uplift. And it will get it ~ some day!
This chair came from the McAlester, Oklahoma courthouse. It also went for a bumpy ride down the road and survived! Oh if it could only talk ~ I use it as a side table to a bed.
We picked this one up for 10 bucks at a garage sale. A little clean up and recovering a piece of wood, and it was good to go!
This is an old sewing chair and it has storage inside. One day I will tackle recovering it. (any volunteers?)
This rocking chair was a Christmas gift to me from my boyfriend. Oh…. I might mention that was over thirty years ago. He said I could rock my babies in it some day. So I married him. ♥
Probably our favorite chairs of all time. Yep, old beat up metal rockers. I attempt to sand them and repaint them each Spring. My old Tuttle friend, Larry Gambill, found them for me years ago. From house to house and state to state these chairs have moved. Hubby and I have rocked on many a front porch and sipped a few drinks in them. We have almost solved all the worlds problems. Not to worry, we’ll keep working on it~
(Now tell me what you collect?!?!)
Last week we were honored with a guest post from Ms. Kacie Creswell, Attorney, explaining to us the difference between a will and a trust. (https://stuffitellmysister.me/2012/03/14/last-will-and-testament-or-trust/) For our personal dealings, she suggested we might consider adding an addendum to our will and trust to give further detailed instructions on our wishes. Wanting to have everything completed, I typed what I thought was necessary and then asked my hubby to listen to the addendum, for his input and adjustments. When it comes to things like this, I’m a no-nonsense person. Death and the details thereof are not morbid, but simply the circle of life. This was just business.
I made it through the reading of the particulars of cremation/burial details, etc, and then I began reading the last paragraph to my husband…..intended for our sons one day. By the time I reached the end of the second sentence, tears had filled my eyes and were streaming down my face. All practicality set aside now, these would be the last words our sons would know from us….
“Guess that’s about it for now. If you are actually reading this, well ~ bummer. But handle it with grace and integrity: remember only the good stuff, always keep us in your hearts…and know that you, our dear boys, have always been our entire life. You have filled it with love, joy, pride, much laughter, music, some trials, but just so many good times. Always remember your upbringing. Pray daily for each other and your family. Think before you speak, love your Bubba and family with all your heart…..go out and make a difference every single day. ALL OUR LOVE FOREVER~ (and never forget Uncle Eldon’s words ~Life is short, PEACE is SWEET~) Ma & Pa ♥ “
Today I started thinking about this. What are we waiting on? I need to remind my boys of this NOW. Not later. And now we have ~
I love you Mad and Chi!
Have you ever thought about travel by train? I’m not a huge fan of flying. (but yes, I’ll do it) At the time of this trip, I’d just been in an auto accident and was a “nervous” driver AND passenger. Translation? My hubby didn’t want to ride with me and I didn’t want to ride with him! So, he came up with a terrific idea! Let’s take the Amtrak to San Antonio. What a wonderful trip, people! If you like a slow-paced trip, visiting with people, walking & trolley-ing once you get there, and beautiful relaxation, this might be something to check out. Our first train, The Heartland Flyer, was from Norman, Oklahoma to Fort Worth, Texas. In Fort Worth, we boarded the Texas Eagle where we had our own private “roomette”. This included a nice meal in the dining car with several other travelers; a lively and fun server; and afterwards, in the viewing car, time spent railing through Austin, Texas at sunset. Upon arrival at San Antonio, Texas, taxis were waiting to take us to our temporary abode. We are SOOOO gonna do this again!!!
The pictures are not perfectly clear, as they were taken through the tinted windows, but the scenery was beautiful~
The Red River ~
Hubby had his map AND his GPS. He was ready if they needed any help. While visiting with another “wife” in the dining car, she was laughing that her husband had brought his GPS. Oh yes, I told her!
I loved that the cars had to stop for us!
My hubby and I took a short road trip this weekend to Inola, Oklahoma. It’s just about a thirty minute drive, but neither of us had ever been there before. We had heard they were having a city-wide garage sale and celebrating “Paint Inola Green” for Saint Patrick’s Day. A scenic drive took us to the Inola exit where, before entering town, we came upon a derailed train. This had occurred about a month prior and fortunately there had been no injuries or evacuations.
There were a few sales in town, but in one downtown area of Inola, there were several friendly folks gathered together, selling inside and outside, and proudly wearing their “green”.
I had the pleasure of visiting with Carolyn Dormier, who was one of a few town’s people who had organized the event. You could tell she was proud of her town and shared that they plan on having a similar event monthly. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inola-HayDay-2012/311179052275474)
Ms. Carolyn and her committee incorporated the live music of Beau Powers for this day. He and his sweet guitar entertained the shoppers with country-style rocking music. You couldn’t help but stop and even sing along with his familiar songs. His lovely wife shared that he also writes many of his own lyrics. This is one guy you’ll want to watch for in your area this summer. (www.beaupowers01.webs.com) We plan on visiting him at the Coleman Theatre in Miami, Oklahoma in the near future! I think what really impressed me with this couple is that their shows are family oriented. They entertain for Senior Center luncheons, and anybody that will do that gets a great big THUMBS UP in my book!Hat’s off to you, Beau Powers and to your Mrs., too!
Now back to Inola! They have several fun cafes for a small town, so if you go, plan on eating there. You’ll also want to stop at Mike Fuller’s Auto and Gas Museum. Ms. Carolyn told us about it. Yes, I know, typically, you take me to a museum and I fuss the entire way through. But when you see this building, you will want to go in. It’s an old highschool gymnasium, rock on the outside, old wooden bleachers on the inside, built in the 20’s or 30’s. And FILLED with history ~ : http://mikefullersautoandgasmuseum.angelfire.com/
Inola, Oklahoma, is small town America. These people embraced us like we lived there, and when we told them we didn’t, they wanted to share their town and its history. We got a good laugh at the old guy that yelled out of his truck window while I was taking pics, “WHERE’S YOUR GREEN?” Yep, I was sporting hot pink on St. Patty’s. Glad he reminded me of that, and made me feel like I belonged there. We will be back, Inola ~ Thanks for the hospitality. ♥
Well, we have survived “turning the clocks forward” this week! Slow down today, and take in all that’s around you. Rest. Sundays are made to be special ~
Here are a few pics taken this week to celebrate “almost” SPRING!
Notice the man and bucket on the side of the bank ~ yikes!
Several Amish ladies and their children were at a sale we stopped at yesterday. This was their transportation~
My eagle friend was showing off! HaPpY SuNdAy !
For this special occasion, I looked up a couple of OLD IRISH BLESSINGS! They were “anonymous”, but so awesome, I just had to share them with you. But FIRST…..a heart felt Irish Blessing by ME, just for YOU….
Paula’s Blessing ♥
Here’s wishing that you find a four-leaf clover,
And hoping that your special dreams comes true.
Maybe someday we will get to meet in person?
And if we do, I’ll buy green beer for you! 😉
An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again.
A Wish for a Friend
Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!
I couldn’t watch last night without reflecting on that Sunday on May 22, when this storm hit. Our town of Owasso is just a couple of hours away from Joplin, but the storm didn’t threaten us. With a big storm, you usually have a couple of days warning to be head’s up. We had the television on and CNN said Joplin had been hit. Being from Oklahoma and being so used to tornadoes, a “hit” can mean a barn or an outbuilding, it’s not usually so bad. But then they showed the before and after air shots of that area in Joplin, that is when we sat in absolute disbelief and tears. Everything was gone. How could this be? Then we both kinda snapped out of it, and started making phone calls, checking on friends and family. Our youngest son and his wife had just moved from there a month prior. Our eldest son and his wife lived just a few miles from Joplin, and had family there. When tragedy strikes, you just have to know where your loved ones are! It wasn’t too long and phones calls to the “417” area wouldn’t work. My husband still had a 417 cell phone number as did all of our kids. We spent the next ten days or so texting & facebooking until temporary cell phone towers could be placed. We wanted to help do something, yet we felt so helpless.
We watched every moment of news coverage for days after that. We connected with friends there through facebook and determined their immediate needs. We were able to pull a few things together for them, with the help of friends & family, and our kids delivered the items. They didn’t ask for much, Rubbermaid totes (for salvaged items), water, snacks, gloves, tape, markers. Driving on I-44 through Joplin that first Saturday after, you could see crumbled disarray everywhere. On Rangeline Road, if it wasn’t gone, it was broken. There were MASH like tents set up and everywhere you looked, people were offering food, clothing, water and more with big signs that said “FREE”. Joplin had pulled together. Neighboring towns and states were jumping in….giving Joplin people help and hope.
The media is gone now. They got their stories for the time being. The thieves jumped in and took what they wanted until they got caught. Fake contractors came in and took people’s insurance money. Devastation brings out the not the bad in people, but the BAD people. But it also brought out many GOOD people. People that are STILL volunteering and helping. The churches took on roles they never thought they would be playing. They turned into shelters, help and supply stations.
In August we stopped at HUNAN’s on Main Street in Joplin to eat. A couple of years ago this place had a burned to the ground. This was our first time in their new building. The Pizza Hut next door was gone, the gas station up the block, gone. The audio store next door was leveled….but showed their sense of humor by having a sign out that said “WE’VE MOVED”. I will never understand how Hunan’s was not leveled also…..
SO…..back to Extreme Home Makeover last night….yep, it was a pretty good show.
I love trees and sparkly things. My mom gave me some antique crystal knobs from a house we lived in when I was a kid. I didn’t want to throw them in a drawer because they were beautiful AND sentimental. So I was inspired one day while I was ironing and staring towards the kitchen window. I strung them on clear jewelry wire and added a prismatic glass bead base. The added bonus to the window was the cast iron bird feeder my daughter in-love (Erin) had given me.
And the next thing I have an abundance of and seem to “collect” are old chairs. But did you ever think about removing the back of the chair? Me neither, until I bought one at a garage sale with the back already removed. There was enough indentation to make it a shadow box table.
I painted the inside black and attempted to line with some fabric I already had. I enjoyed placing treasured notes my boys had written to me when they were little guys.
I bought a glass table top (CHEAP at half price!) from Hobby Lobby and wallah….a little display table. (not the greatest photo angle, but hopefully you’ll get the concept)
GIVEAWAY TIME!
I think I mentioned earlier in the week that we would be having a GIVE AWAY! Today is the day. Our give away is a one year magazine subscription to your choice of: Allure, Health, Coastal Living, Inc, or Smithsonian! How do you enter? 1. Either “LIKE” us on Facebook or 2. Follow us via e-mail (you can do either of these things from this page ~ in the righthand column) and/or 3. Tell you friends about us and get them to follow by either sharing one of our posts on your Facebook page, or sharing our link via e-mail. 4. THEN ~post in our comment section below to let us know what you’ve done! We’ll do a random drawing this weekend. ( If you “LIKE” us and “SHARE” us….that’s TWO chances instead of ONE! )
HaPPy FriDaY, Friends!
Welcome to “The Ides of March”! Since studying William Shakespeare’s tragic play in highschool, this has been a revered day for me. I don’t know why, it just stuck in my brain. The word “Ides” in Latin, simply means middle. So that’s what the Ides of March refers to, March 15 ~ today!
I turned to www.wikipedia.org to refresh my memory on some details of the event. Caesar was said to have been brutally murdered on this day in 44 B.C. He was stabbed to death in a Roman Senate led by Marcus Brutus Junius. That’s the sad part, Julius Caesar never saw it coming. He trusted Brutus. But Brutus was drawn in, some say by fear, to a conspiracy against Caesar. Julius Caesar was cautioned by his soothsayer, but he ignored him. And this lead to one of the most famous lines in Shakespeare’s play, “Beware the Ides of March”. Do you recall the other famous line? He had arrived at the Senate and the stabbing commenced and then he saw Brutus. I can’t imagine what went through his mind? He must have been in shock and felt so deceived and betrayed. And then in his last breaths he said, “Et tu, Brute?” This loosely translates to ~ Even you, Brutus?
I don’t know about you, but this leaves a lump in throat. Even sadder is that sometimes, we are no different. We walk into our own demise even though we’ve been cautioned. Et tu, Brute?
Beware the Ides of March ~
stuff i tell my sister 