A Few of My Ladies

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Mildred over at Nalley Valley asked her readers the other day what they like to collect. I collect salt & pepper shakers, souvenir bells (from our travel) and figurines. These I 'm showing today are Made in Occupied Japan.

Right click on the pictures and open in a new window for a larger view if you wish.

This is a pretty lady that I wish I had a little gentleman to go with. I just haven't found the right one. I haven't looked lately... my cabinets are so full I'm not sure I could find room for one more thing.

A little lady sits near the pretty lady on the shelf.

This lady is being serenaded it seems

It seemed funny that today when I opened my email from my friend Martha that her word for the day is Lady. I for sure had to post my ladies.

Lady

In Anglo-Saxon times most families were quite large, so there was much work to be done around the household. Custom decreed that special tasks should be allotted to various female members of the group.

Unmarried girls usually looked after such matters as milking and spinning. But the privilege of making bread, one of the most important items of their diet, was reserved by the housewife herself. She was called the "lae-dige," meaning "the bread kneader." Later centuries modified the term to "lady." Etymologically speaking, no woman is entitled to be called a lady until she has learned to make bread!

Hey! I qualify :-)

I have seen a few of the things that y'all collect and sure do enjoy them.

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Today I talked a long time with my Mama. She saw her orthopedist surgeon earlier this week. The x-rays showed that her fracture was healed. Mama is still in a lot of pain, so the doctor has ordered a MRI to check a little closer. She has that Friday morning and sees the surgeon again next Wednesday. A little prayer for her would be appreciated.

Stubbs Acres-- Mama -- Blog Designers, Clip Art and Blog Help

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Stubbs Acres --

Frank and I traveled out to my parent's old homestead one Friday. Frank had some work he wanted to do there. I just wanted to get away from the house :-) My parent's old homestead is about 35 miles from our home and is in Baker County Georgia. It is about 23 acres. The only buildings there now are a shed that houses the well pump, a glorified outhouse and a shed that my parents used to park their van under... now it houses the old John Deere tractor.

I could get carried away with pictures.... here are more pictures: Stubbs Acres and More Stubbs Acres .

My parents moved to this land back in the early 1970s. By that time we were living in Hawaii were Frank was stationed with the Army.

The acreage contains a stand of pine trees and many live oak trees. There is one oak tree that Mama calls a "crazy oak". Mainly because it sheds its leaves in the winter. I used to know the correct name for this oak tree, but I can't pull it out of my head today.

My Daddy passed away in January of 2000. My Mama along with my 2nd eldest brother moved away from the old homestead in 2003. The main reason was the odor coming from their neighbor's land. The Cows and Hogs were not the neighbors that were there when my parents purchased Stubbs Acres. The flies were very bad at Stubbs Acres because of the animals. There are always about 22 cows and about a fifty sows with all their little pigs. They are on about 6 acres of land for these animals. So it is crowded. Unfortunately there was no one to complain to that would do anything about the conditions on the neighbor's property. Since I have been taking pictures of the cows and hogs the neighbor has been feeding the animals better and he is down to about 10 sows with their pigs. With all these animals there is an abundance of flies. When the wind comes from the direction of the animals it is awful.

While at Stubbs Acres on Friday I walked around. I took my camera, but there wasn't much of anything to take pictures of. I stood still as a common green darner (dragonfly) flew round and round the area I was standing. He would not pose. He was torturing me... I think he knew that I'm no good at manual focus with the camera... and since the camera couldn't auto focus on him that was the only way that I could possibly get a decent picture. Well no decent picture... this is what I got:

Pretty much a blur, but I have a record of what one looks like :-) It took me about 20 minutes and several pictures... just blurs and can't even make the dragonfly out pictures... to get it.

After chasing the dragonfly I sat down at the picnic table to rest a bit. Then I walked for about 30 minutes passing by the wet-weather pond which is dry right now. I saw lots of deer tracks on the fire break. Then I sky-watched a bit. Here is the cloud picture I took:

What do you see in the clouds?

By the time I reached where Frank was working at... the tractor shed.. I was tired. There wasn't a chair there, so I walked up to the pump house and got a lawn chair... I was really tired by time I did that. Then the skies were very cloudy and were getting darker. Soon rain would come. Frank finished what he was working on and put his tools away and we had a pleasant ride home.

Saturday my back muscles were sore from the walking I did at Stubbs Acres. There is a bit of a sloping hill there and a much different terrain than I walk at home. We had thought about taking our travel trailer down there for a few days, but Frank says no... that I'm not ready yet. He is probably right.

Mama --

I talked to Mama yesterday. She said she is doing better with her back (she had back surgery a few weeks ago). She went to her family doctor on Thursday and was given a steroid shot and a presciption for Methylprednisolone. Mama said that the medications are working and easing her worst pains. This is a relief to me. She has been spending some nights in her recliner because she couldn't get in and out of her bed.

Blog Designers, Clip Art and Blog Help --

In the column just to the right of this post you will see: Blog Designers, Clip Art and Blog Help. These are links to places I've landed in search of getting my blog the way I want it. I will probably add to them as time marches on.

Change your thoughts and you change your world. -- Norman Vincent Peale

Busy, Procrastinating, Prayers, Give

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Busy...

I am doing more. I had a second outing this weekend. We walked around Super Wal*Mart early Sunday morning. They were a little busy in there, but it wasn't too bad. It was a pretty good walk around the perimeter of the store... so I was a bit tired by time we got home. Later in the day I did our regular walk. Frank measured it on the way home and it is 8/10 of a mile.


Yesterday I was very busy. I manage to do a small load of laundry by myself. I helped cook dinner. Dinner was very good. I got some butter beans going with a smidgeon of a piece of hog jowl and some ham flavoring and a bit of salt & pepper. When Frank cooked a Boston Button the other week I had him freeze the left over juices. I took the juices and mixed them with a can of cream of mushroom soup (the healthier variety). I added a small amount of Kitchen Bouquet and I thickened the gravy with corn starch. The gravy was awesome! ... this is coming from a gal who is not fond of gravy. We had some already cooked pork loin slices in the freezer and I simmered the slices in the gravy. Frank cooked rice and reheated leftover biscuits. I washed dishes twice, which Frank thanked me for... it felt good to be able to accomplish a little bit.

Frank and I did a longer walk yesterday. We walked around the block which is right at a mile. It took 30 minutes which is about twice as long as it used to, but that is okay with me. I'm moving and getting stronger.



Procrastinating...

I printed out the Christmas card address labels on Saturday. For some reason I can't seem to get in the mood to get the cards sent out.... maybe later this week :-)

Prayers...

Our daughter and her boyfriend still don't have jobs. Continued prayers for them and others in their positions are much appreciated.

This afternoon my Mama is having back surgery. I would appreciate prayers for her too. Mama is 80... 81 next March. She had back surgery last June and had a hard time. When she did her pre-op physical a couple of weeks ago and they found she was anemic and put her on iron pills. They checked her again yesterday and her red blood count was 10. I can't remember the good range for red blood count... I know it varies from lab to lab. The surgery is still a go, so I assume that 10 is good enough for the surgery. The reason this part of the surgery wasn't done in June is because the surgeon didn't think Mama was strong enough to stay under anesthesia long enough to do it all. Bad backs run in my family. My eldest brother will undergo surgery in January... he said if he lasted through the pain that long. He had his first surgery back in 1993.. the same year as my first back surgery.

I need your prayers to help me get through all this stress. I used to handle stress a lot better.


Give...

I know most of you are tightening your pocket books. Please don't forget those that are less fortunate than you. Give what you can to your favorite charities.... especially those in your own communities. If you can donate food and clothing do so. If you can't give money give time. Help out at the food bank. Visit residents in nursing homes. Donate old blankets to your local animal shelters.

When our children were at home we would make bread and cookies and take them to members of our church. These members had husbands at sea and were strapped for money... so bread and cookies made the holidays a bit special. We did it anonymously. Our children loved it. We did this other times of the year too.

Our Children also went caroling with their friends in the local nursing homes. They and their friends put together personal hygiene packages for the residents of the nursing homes. It was wonderful seeing smiling faces in the nursing homes.


It will probably take me a few days to catch up on blogs and Flickr. Do know I think of y'all and have y'all in my prayers.



We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers. -- Seneca