My Granny was an Indian

Today was throw back Thursday and it made me think of my Granny because I put a picture on facebook of her and my sister Janice. My Granny was an Indian although I don't know how much. She had long black hair and was really dark so she looked full blooded. Her maiden name was Byrd which sounded like an Indian name. I kind of favor her with dark hair and dark complexion.


I spent my summers at her house and I have such good memories of that. My sister Janice stayed with her a lot even during winter. But I mostly stayed in the summer. When she got her social security check we would ride a taxi to town. We would have a day of  going to stores and eating lunch at a drug store. Back then they had soda fountains and grilled or pimento cheese sandwiches. That was such a treat.


Then we would go to a book store and look at magazines. She loved Debbie Reynolds. At that time   Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor had just  got together. She hated Liz. You would have thought she knew Debbie personally because that is what she called her.


Last stop we would go to the grocery store. She bought me bottled sodas  which I wasn't used to getting. Pickle loaf for sandwiches. I usually had one for breakfast. It was such a fun day and then when we got home we would read our movie magazines and drink pop. At home we never got to do that.


Back then there was no TV but what you don't know about you don't miss. We just had a radio. No air conditioners. Just fans. Granny would sit a pan of water in front of it to make it a little cooler. It didn't seem as hot as it does now without air.


She always had a pack of Kool menthol cigarette's up in her cabinet. She hid them from my Grandpa.She would ask me if I wanted one but I always declined. I was only about 13. Back then they knew nothing was wrong with tobacco.  


I inherited one thing from my Granny. I got the table I always sat at as a child. It was a square wooden table. It has a round big leg in the middle. One side had a bench. My Granny sat at the end and I always sat next to her. My daughter Jana has a bench at her table too. I had told her about Granny having one. It is just a tradition. I am fixing to redo that table and use it in the house in Sweetwater. My Granny was one of my favorite people in the world. I hope my Grandkids can say that about me.

Oil Changed Once Again

I got my oil changed in my Jeep yesterday. I have had my car for a year and three months and it has 14,000 miles on it. That is good. I used to go 2,000 miles a month when I had my cleaning business. So glad I don't have to  do that anymore.


I go to Moritz of Fort Worth . They sell Chevrolet-Chrysler-Jeep. They check everything under the hood plus rotate the tires and I just feel confident when they get through that everything is in fine shape. I got right in and went to the waiting area while they done it all. There was an older lady and her grandson and then an older man who looked like he just came off of a ranch. He had a Cowboy hat on and some expensive boots. Just the way he talked you could tell he was a real Cowboy not an imitation. Like Guy always says. "It don't make you a Cowboy by putting on a Cowboy hat and some boots."


I listened to there discussion . It was pretty interesting. The lady was saying how she had raised her kids and when her kids had kids she ended up raising them too. She said they wanted to have kids but then they wanted to leave them with her. Then her grandkids had kids and they left them with her too. The grandchild that was with her you could tell he really had respect for her. She said she had fell down stairs and broke her back and her neck but now she was working again. When they left he was holding her hand where she didn't fall.


The Cowboy was a cussing man. He was saying how all these kids wanted to have kids and then after having them they decide they want a career. He said why didn't they do the career first and then have kids last. Which is a good statement. But I could have done without the cussing part.


I guess it is good if you can get the career first but that is not always the case. Sometimes that can't be helped.. I have known some people that couldn't go to college until late in life. I done college online when I was 60. And my daughter Jana gave me a surprise graduation party that made me feel like I had really accomplished something. I made excellent grades after forty years of not going to school too.  Better late than never.

Killer Bees

I have never really thought much about bees. I know  a lot of people are allergic to them. My daughter Julie was. I have always stayed away form them as much as possible.


My son John called me last night from Sweetwater where he lives. He is buying this house and redoing it all over. Taking sheetrock off the walls and almost starting over. He took off the sheetrock in the bedroom and there was bees coming out of the walls by the hundreds he said. He wanted me to look online and see what he could do as a home remedy to get rid of them.


One thing was one of those zappers. That kills any insects. Another said to put Mountain Dew  in a plastic bottle cut off. They don't like it. Moth balls in panty house. Vinegar in a cup. Insect spray. Lots of different things to do but any would be hard without a professional bee keeper  doing it.


I contacted a bee keeper. He charges $400 for two hives. More is $500. He said most bees this year are the African killer bees and they are very aggressive if agitated. He said the only way to get rid of them is to remove all the comb and catch or kill the bees. Best time is late in the evening when they all return home. Fog bombs does work putting them in the walls if they are there.


He says in a house like where these bees were they hide in walls that are not insulated . My son was tearing down sheetrock off the walls and ran into them. They like it even better if no one lives there. John had just recently moved there.


Now he has a problem how to get rid of these bees. I would not want to be there!

To the Movies

My grandson Kaiden and I went to the movies yesterday afternoon to the Rave. We went to see "And so it Goes" with Diane Keaton and Michael Douglas. I love both of them. Not much of a kid movie but it was a comedy. Mostly old folks were there but Kaiden didn't care long as he had popcorn and coke. I just take me a bottle of water and I am fine.


The movie was funny and a couple of times I had tears in my eyes. It was good. Well worth the time and effort we took to go see it. I don't go to movies very often. I usually just see them on DVD when I can get the thing to work right. I am not good on electronic things.


I have always loved Diane Keaton movies. I think I have seen every one of them. She was still looking good but Michael Douglas was looking old. I read that she has never been married. She adopted two kids. And of course he has that lots younger wife. Is she wearing him down? He will always be good though.


Kaiden is the oldest of Jana's kids. He comes over lots of times and spends the night with me. Guy is gone for 41 more days so it keeps me company.


That is why I decided on a movie on the weekend. Weekends seem so long sometimes. We went late in the afternoon so by the time we got out it was almost 7 so that day was gone. Kaiden was saying for two days how excited he was about going to the movies.


He was real good at the movies too. Little bit hyper but he had sugar. When we were leaving he says," Next time we come lets see a kid movie."  As we were leaving the mall he said, " Who is your favorite kid? Connor, Colton, Kaylee or me?"I told him I don't have favorites. They are all the same.

It started with Nancy Drew

My love of mysteries first started with Nancy Drew. I loved the Hardy Boys too. I don't even know what age I started reading them now but I read the whole series of both of them. Now they have new ones that somebody else actually wrote but I haven't read them. I have started trying to get a collection of the old books just because I loved them so much.


I have loved reading all my life. Now I have graduated from Nancy Drew too Mary Higgins Clark, JoAnne Fluke , Carol Higgins Clark, Mary Jane Clark , Judy Alter and Laurie Moore. Lots more too but there are just too many authors. I always have a book I am reading on.


I really love to read a mystery that is set here in Fort Worth in places I know of. Judy Alter and Laurie Moore both write about Fort Worth. I got a book on my kindle I am reading right now because it is not in book form that is called "Ghost of the Axe Grinder" by Jon L. Brown. He grew up in Sweetwater  back in the 60's.That is my hometown.  He moved away in his sophomore year but Sweetwater stuck in his mind. He based his book on Sweetwater and it was years later that he wrote it. Another one came out lately too. "Opening the Windows of Time" set in Sweetwater too. His are a little more scary than what I am used too.


I have always wanted to write a mystery since I love them so much. Maybe one day I will. But not yet.

My friend Jane

Something made me think about Jane today. I guess the throw back Thursday on facebook. I was looking through old pictures and found one of her family.  I put it on facebook.


I met Jane  at Roby High School in the 9th grade. I lived in Longworth at the time. That is 12 miles outside of Sweetwater not far from  Roby. It only had one post office and two little stores when I lived there. Now it has even less. And that is where I got that country twang I got even today.


Jane has a sister and a brother. I spent the night at her house lots of times that year. I kind of had a crush on her brother. My family moved a lot back then. In the 10th grade we moved to Brownwood.


I don't remember exactly when I met Jane again but when I married my first husband and we lived in Sweetwater I seen her again. She came over to see us pretty often. She let me use her J.C.Penney card to get all new curtains for my house.


Then I moved to Fort Worth. My husband and I were not getting along very well . One day I loaded up the car with the kids and took off for San Angelo where my parents lived. I had three kids and I didn't know it then but I was a month pregnant with the 4th one. I stayed with them for a few months until I was able to get a house. Working at A&W Root Beer carrying frosty mugs when I was 6 months pregnant.


I got me a small little house with three kids in one bedroom. That was all before Melanie was born. I started taking the kids to church there and got baptized pregnant. After Melanie was born I met Jane again. She was living in San Angelo. She was single, I was single. We decided to move in together. I stayed home with the kids while she worked. She had two boys. It was the ideal arrangement. We stayed together for about a year or so then I decided to move to Sweetwater.


I met my second husband and we got married. A few years down the road Jane ended up getting married and she moved back to Sweetwater. I seen her often. She had twins, a boy and a girl. My husband and I ended up getting a divorce and then I moved to Fort Worth.


While I was there I got a call form Jane one day. She had an accident and was paralysed from the waist down. I felt so bad for her. We kept in contact by phone calls. I was single still and needed a car. She loaned me $2,000 and I got my first new car. It was a CRV Honda. I made payments of a $150 a month to pay her back.


Jane and Doug came down to see my new house I had just gotten. It was so good to see my friend again. Her husband waited on her hand and foot. She had a van she could drive her wheel chair up in.
They left the next morning and we still talked on the phone.


One morning Doug called me and said Jane was gone. He said she just gave up. I liked one payment on the car to her and I paid him. I sent flowers for her funeral. She was the best friend I ever had.


With all the moving around we both done I don't know how we kept in touch all those years but we did. I miss my friend Jane.

Some People are Small- Some are Not

Have you ever noticed in the same family some people might be big and some are little? In my family my sister weighed like 89 lbs. I used to weigh 95 lbs. even after having 9 kids. My brother Wayne was always small too but brother Butch was kind of chubby. My Dad was kind of chubby and my Mom was not big or small. She was about the normal size.


My grandparents on my Dad's side my Granny was kind of big, my grandpa was tall and skinny. On my Mom's side Nanah was kind of big, Granddaddy was a little guy. I think that is who we took after.  I have several grandkids that are very small like me. Take Tiffany, she is very small like me. Tobi she is very small and short. Kelci is small too. Jagger is very small too.  Most of my kids were kind of small. Darla and Jana were a little bit bigger but not that much. They thought they were and always going on a diet.


Some of my family was real dark too. My Granny was Indian with long black hair and dark. My Dad was the same. My brother Butch and I  had real dark hair and dark skin.  I need to research that. I never did find out from my Granny what kind of Indian she was. Her last name was Byrd. That even sounds like an Indian name.


My Dad was short. Both my brothers were fairly short. My sister was 5'3" and I was 5'5". One of my sons was 5'6". But the others were taller. My youngest daughter is 5"2". Isn't it strange how some in the same family are dark? Some are tall. Some are short. Some are little. Some are bigger.


And then there is the color of hair. My hair was almost black like my Dad's and Granny's and Grandpas. My sister had brown hair. Wayne had blonde hair and Butch had kind of black too. My Mom's was brown. My kids five of them had blonde hair. Three had dark hair.


Writing this I just now realized that my brother Butch and I were the only one of the kids that had real dark hair and had a dark complexion. And in my kids there are only three that had dark complexion. The same three that had dark hair. I need to research my ancestors.

Finding Things -Returning to Owner

Soon the guy that lost his senior ring back in 1982 will be getting his ring back. A lady friend of his came by my son's last night and picked up the ring. It was just amazing that the ring still looked like new after 31 years of being lost. And it is an amazing feeling to be able to find the person it belonged too and get it back to them.


This all happened in Sweetwater and when I was trying to find who it belonged too so many people thought it was great that this all happened and I went to so much trouble to find the person it belonged too. It was just the right thing to do. My son sent me  a text last night after the lady picked it up. He said  and I quote, "The lady came and picked up the ring to mail to that man. I sure do feel good! Thanks Mom! Love u. "


It is still a mystery to me how that ring got in a bag out at the dump. It was wrapped in a cloth so still looked like new. The guy the ring belonged too said that he broke up with his girlfriend. She gave the ring to a friend of his and it disappeared out of his console. I guess we will never know what happened.


Then today my daughter who was vacationing at Port Aransas found a cell phone buried in the sand. She texted someone that had texted on that phone saying she had found the phone. He was already in Corpus leaving town but he came back after it. He said he had been there four hours that morning looking for it. She said he offered her a $50 reward but she declined it. She said she would hope that someone would contact her if she ever lost hers.


So two things in one week was returned to the rightful owner. I am proud of my kids!

Anxiety and Stress

Sometimes I have a lot of anxiety. It comes less and less these days. For three years I took anxiety medicine. I don't take any medicine now but every now and then it comes back. When it does I just look out the window and take some deep breaths. Relax.


It all happened about three years ago I guess. I was at a restaurant eating and all of a sudden I couldn't swallow. I didn't think much about it at the time. Then a few weeks later it happened again. Then next thing I knew it was happening all the time. No explanation. Just out of the blue. I went to a doctor and he suggested I see a therapist. He put me on anxiety medicine too.


I went to the therapist for about six months. He helped me so much. I really didn't think it would help. He said I had a lot of anger built up maybe from when we had the fire and my daughter died.
I do have a temper. I try to control it but sometimes it comes out anyway. I also had two flashbacks of my brother who had epilepsy when I was a child. So maybe something about the seizures was bothering me.


The therapist  had me write in a journal every day and look out the window and think peaceful thoughts. My kids got me a big fish aquarium because that can be peaceful. He said when I eat take a small sip of water and little bites and I did and that worked.


I really didn't think I would get over it. But to this day I have a glass of water by me at all times. It took a long time to get over it. It was so bad I was almost afraid to eat alone. If I was eating and the phone rang I couldn't answer it.


It had to be something in my head because it did get better. The therapist said I had the stress syndrome like soldiers got in the war. I guess that was caused from the fire we had . It also made me have an irregular heartbeat which I still have today. It's been thirty years.


During this time I got down to 93 lbs. I have always been small but that is ridiculous. Now I weigh 111. I am on the road to recovery.


Don't ever let anyone tell you that a therapist can't help. He saved my life.  That is when I got off the pills. I thank God every day for my health. No one thinks about it until it happens. Eating is something that we do naturally. When all of a sudden you can't that is a very scary feeling.

Vacation Time

I am dog sitting for Jana and family for six days . They left yesterday to go to Port Aransas and to San Antonio on vacation. With five kids. I know they will have fun on the beach. They go there every year. This year they have a new addition though. Charlie, their dog. She is dachshund and miniature pincher.  Usually I watch Kaylee while they go but this year she is almost three so they decided she is old enough to enjoy it too.


I had rather watch Kaylee I think than the dog.. I have to take this dog outside all day. It barks at me and licks my feet. My two cats do not like it. She chases them barking. They just stare at her. At least she does have a crate and she just gets in it sometimes.  But she is a little hard to train to go potty. I am a cat person myself , not a dog. I don't dislike dogs and dogs always love me but I don't want one.


Since I am alone most of the time I was used to going over Jana's almost every night and eating dinner with them. She is a good cook too. I am missing that. Now it is just eating with the cat's and the dog.


I know they are having a good vacation though. It is good to get away from the big city sometimes. I went to Florida for my grand daughter's wedding and that was my vacation. I never seen such white sand. It was really great. I will tell about that another time . This vacation is Jana's and her families. I think they are spending two days at the beach. Then they are going to San Antonio and see Ripley's Believe It or Not. Then to Water World. I know the kids will love all of that.


I had never taken a vacation my whole life until about five years ago when Jeff and I went to a bed and breakfast in Buffalo Gap. It wasn't far away but we enjoyed just getting away from the big city. When my kids were young they never got to go on a vacation, just to their Grandmother's for the summer.


I am glad they all get to go on a vacation every year. It is good to just take off  and see new places. Change of pace with new places to see and lots to do.

West Virginia in the Oil Field

 My finacee works in the oil field out of Midland. Lately there were no jobs to do in West Texas  so they sent him to West Virginia for 60 days straight. Not a day off for 60 days but after that he should get a few weeks off.


He had to fly to Houston and then on to Pennyslvania where someone was supposed to pick him up and take him on to West Virginia. They were late so he had to wait a few hours on them. Then they had someone with them they had to take home and that took hours. He didn't actually get to his motel until 4:30 am .


This job wasn't too bad. That kind of work can be dangerous and sometimes they have to wear masks. Sometimes they have no phone service where we can't even keep in touch. This job was okay and phone service was okay and it was supposed to last for a few weeks. Everything was great.


Today without warning when it was almost time to go to work they call him and tell him he has to go to Ohio for a few days to work. No notice or anything. Just go. So he went with little directions . Went wrong way because they wasn't telling him much. Tuned around and went part of the way back. Finally made it. He said the work is easy and the phone works so we are in luck.


The work is called Flo Back and it can be dangerous. Poisonous gas comes out sometimes and you got to be on the lookout for that. He has seen people  die before they can make it to the hospital. Most of the time though it is easy. Just sitting for 12 hours straight. That would be kind of boring I think. But  you can't make money like that anywhere else. No days off though and work at least 26 days straight.


It doesn't make for an easy relationship but you just got to figure out if that is what you want too do or do you want to find a job where you are home every night with less pay. Right now it is working in West Virginia. Maybe later it will change.

A Senior Ring Found after 31 Years

Today an amazing thing happened and that give's me hope that anything is possible. My son called me this morning from Sweetwater. He said he had been out to the city dump throwing some stuff away as he is remodeling his house. He said he found a beautiful senior ring and it had the name, Brent Fite- 1981 on it. It was yellow gold and had a clear stone and had a red  S in the middle of the stone (for Sweetwater). He ask me if I would put it on facebook and see if anyone knew this person.


I got on facebook  and put it on several groups that sell and buy stuff. Two ladies contacted me that they knew this person. One lady talked to him and he said he hadn't seen that ring since 1982. This lady said that was awesome that someone could find it after all this time. I told them to ask the guy if he would get in contact with me.


He did and we chatted a lot tonight. He said the story is he had a girlfriend that he had given it too.  After they broke up when he moved to Big Springs where he was roughnecking, she gave it to a friend of his to give to him. That friend said it disappeared off his console of his car. That was in 1982 and he never heard about it again.


The next year he was in a car accident and broke his neck a week before his 20th birthday and has been in a wheelchair for almost 31 years. That was a horrible thing to happen and this made me even happier to know we found his ring for him.


How a ring ended up in the city dump and my son found it today when it hadn't been seen for 31 years is just amazing to me. That is just such a coincidence that my son was at the right place where that ring fell into his hands. It needed to get back home to Brent.


I don't know if we can ever figure out how it got to the city dump. And still be in great shape. Maybe somebody had it in a box or something they took to the dump. What do you think Judy? Your the mystery writer. I am the wannabe one.

Almost Locked in the Mall

I am sure there is a movie about someone getting locked in the mall . I know there was one about this girl getting locked in Wal Mart.  My daughter told me when she was about 14 her and a friend got locked in the Hulen Mall. They finally found someone to get them out. That would be kind of scary to know you had to stay in there all night.


Anyway I went shopping with my daughter Jana tonight. She pretty much is a shopaholic. She says she had a good teacher. I assume she is talking about me. I do love to shop. But I also know my limits.


Jana and her family is going on vacation and she was trying to find bathing suits and clothes for the kids. They are going to the beach and to San Antonio to several places. Five day trip with five kids should be fun. I have always kept Kaylee every year while they go on vacation but they decided since she is almost three now, she is old enough to go. I bet she will love it.


We went to J.C.Penneys first and she found a few things. Then we went to Old Navy and then to Sears. By then my feet were hurting bad. I am not used to all that walking. Just when she went in the dressing room to try something on they said over the loud speaker" Five more minutes until closing".
She got checked out and by then the manager had closed the doors going into the mall. Our car was closer thru the mall so the lady waiting on us ask him to open the doors. He said there was another way to go which was all the way around but we finally made it. There were a few people still inside .And we made it out the doors.


When I got home I was very tired. Too much walking for me. I sat down and watched "Rizzoli and Isles" with a glass of ice water. Just to relax felt good.

Long Distance Relationships

I wanted to say a little bit about long distance relationships and I also researched a little about them because I need all the help I can get. I have been having a few problems lately with my long distance relationship. Some people say it is easy and some people say it is hard. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. But I don't know about that.


I have had a long distance relationship  for five months now. I didn't think much about it when I first met Guy and he told me he worked in the oil field and sometimes they had to stay away for months. He said he hadn't been home for Christmas in six years. Most of the time he works 26 days at work and then off for 6 days which isn't too bad. Right now he is in West Virginia for 60 days though. And I am finding that hard. For some strange reason we don't get along that well when we are apart but when we are together we are fine.


Thank God for cell phones and computers Just think back in the day if you were having a long distance relationship how you could communicate. By calling from your house or motel or using a pay phone. Technology is really a good thing. Now we have text messages, facebook, Skype and talking on cells.  Sometimes  texts don't sound like they should. People take texts wrong. Sometimes facebook can be bad too. It is a good way to keep connected but sometimes you can be too connected with other people.


It is good if you can go where the other person is sometimes but I really don't drive too far and no way will I ever take  a plane so that is out for me. It is exciting to get to see that person when you haven't seen them in awhile.


Another way to make  a person happy when your gone is too surprise them with a card, gift, letter or flowers. That would be nice for either party. Unexpected gifts will always spice up your relationship a little regardless of how far apart you are. There are many ways to show you care.


You can always exchange pictures of anything or event with the cell phone. That is certainly a good thing. That can keep each other informed about what is happening in your life despite the distance. Take a picture of the area, of the sunsets, of yourself.


It takes a lot of commitment to make a relationship like this work. You have to try on any relationships all the time to make them work. But a long distance one you have to try even harder. You have to believe that this relationship will work. And it is worth every minute of it. And the time away won't last forever.


Here are a few quotes I found by people that have had long distance relationships.


Missing someone gets easier everyday because even though you are one day further from the last time you saw them , you are one day closer to the next time you will see them.


Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It's for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It's for those that know a good thing when they see it , even if they don't see it nearly enough.


We are the perfect couple, we're just not in the perfect situation.


Distance never separates two hearts that really care, for our memories span the miles and in seconds we are there. But whenever I start feeling sad, because I miss you , I remind myself how lucky I am to have someone so special to miss.


The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. - Helen Keller


Distance means so little when someone means so much.

No caffeine for Me

Why me? Why am I the one who can't have caffeine? Even Kaylee can have caffeine. I haven't been able to have very much of it for 30 years now. Ever since I found out I have mitral valve prolapse. That was at the same time we had the house fire. I was also three months pregnant with Jana at the age of 40. So I don't know which one contributed more to it. Maybe all of them.


When I was a teen ager and carhopping at 14 I had a coke for breakfast and a Reese's cup. Both had caffeine. At that time it didn't bother me. Even when I got older and I drank a six pack of cokes a day it didn't bother me.


I never noticed it at all until I found out after the fire that my heart was skipping beats like every five seconds. 130 beats a minute. I was put on quinidine and then I could have anything I wanted long as I took those four pills a day. I did that for 15 years until one day I noticed my heart rate was 55. I had to get off the medicine. It was like a crutch and without it I felt like my crutch was gone. Last fifteen years has been without meds. Doctor wanted to put me on beta blockers but they slow your heart rate down plus they slow your blood pressure too. I don't need either one of those any slower.


I had never realized how many things have caffeine until I started having to do without it. At parties everyone knows not to have chocolate cake when I am there. Tea has caffeine and lots of kind of sodas. I love York Mints. I can eat a few but if I eat very many my heart starts quivering around until I cut way back on those. It is very hard to not eat chocolate. I love brownies and fudge. So why me? What did I do to deserve this?


I have had holter monitors and EKG's and sonograms of my heart and they always say it is very mild. If it is so mild how come my heart has such an irregular heartbeat? And I know it makes it worse worrying about it. But I have always been a worrier.


Anyway I guess I will just keep on trying to eat a little chocolate. I know I can't drink coffee and never liked it anyway. They do have caffeine free coke and tea so I can have some of that.


If they would just make chocolate now without caffeine I would be in heaven....

A Saturday with Kaylee

This morning when I got up I knew Kaylee would be here in a little while. At least I knew I wouldn't be bored as I usually am on a Saturday. I haven't really figured out why Saturday is more boring than any other day during the week. The mail still runs. All the stores are open. They have good mystery  movies on Lifetime or Hallmark. Although this week it is Christmas movies.


Kaylee showed up around 10 with that big smile she has when she sees me. She loves her Ma. When we tried to turn on the TV we found it wouldn't work. Oh no! No SpongeBob. I kept messing with it though and finally figured out the stuff I had dvr'd would work. Thank goodness I had recorded lots of SpongeBob. Most of the day that is what we watched too.


Lunch time I made Beanie Weenies and found out she loved pickled beets as I do. For dessert we had vanilla ice cream cups. After all that I tried to lie on the sofa and take a nap but she sat on me and woke me up. We had a good time but I am tired tonight. I know I could not take care of a two year old every day. Makes you appreciate your alone time.


I have been around Kaylee since day 1. I was at the hospital when she was born. I kept her when they went on vacation every year. When she was a month old Jana had to have surgery and I kept all four kids for a few days. Last two years I have kept her while Jana went to  college. This year I cant though. I plan on staying in Sweetwater some . I know I will miss her .I will come see all my grandkids at least once a month. I will keep my house here so I can come down anytime I want too. That is the best of both worlds.


After she left though then I felt a little sad.  Had chili and crackers for dinner and strawberry shortcake. Then I watched a movie. And now it is about bedtime. This Saturday is gone. Thanks Kaylee for making the time fly.

So thankful for my Life Today

This morning when I got up the sun was shining and as I raised all my blinds it looked like a beautiful day. The first thing I do every morning is raise my blinds. I always have. I know some people that leave there blinds closed all the time but that is not for me. I am  a lot happier if the sun is shining thru my windows.


I got my sprite that I have  for breakfast since I don't drink coffee and sat down and was thinking about all that I got to be thankful for. Thankful that to be 69 I am pretty healthy. I know a lot of people my age take a handful of pills or can't walk alone. I walk fine except when my flip flops give me a little trouble in the summer. Doctor says not enough support for the ankle. I wear them anyway.


Another thing I got to be thankful for is I have 7 healthy kids. They are all different but each one is unique in his or her own way. They don't have any bad health problems to speak of. One daughter does have epilepsy but long as she takes her medicine she is fine. Two of my kids lives in Carrolton. Four live here in Fort Worth and one lives in Sweetwater.


Another thing to be thankful for is my house. I got this house brand new 12 years ago. No one has ever lived here but me and the kids that keep moving back in. My son in Carrolton got this house for me. I was single and he decided I was going to stay that way so he got it for me. I have changed every room in this house. It is nice to get up every morning and say to myself. "This is my house. I can live here the rest of my life if I so choose to do so. "


I might not get everything I want. But I do have the necessities . I got my health and I got a life. I got lots of family around. Tomorrow I keep Kaylee and she is a handful. She keeps me on my toes. We will probably watch SpongeBob all day. Jana and her husband have to go help his step sister move stuff because her house got flooded in Granbury.


So I better get a good nights sleep tonight. Tomorrow will be busy. And I am thankful for that....

Today is Gone-Tomorrow is coming

I have to say today went pretty fast. Maybe because I didn't go to  bed until 2 am last night. I was writing my first blog and it took me  awhile . Not to write but to figure out what the name was going to be . I had started one back in January which I never finished and I couldn't get that name off. I finally figured it out. Sometimes it takes me awhile but I finally get it done. Staying up that late I slept until 9 am.


If I didn't have kids I probably would have never figured out how to do things on computers. Kids are way smarter on computers than older folks. My grand daughter, Kaylee who is only two years old knows more than I do about my phone. She grabs it every chance she gets and starts scrolling down. She will go to a game and it will have two options on there. Free or pay .99 and I swear she can't read but she goes straight to the free one. Thank goodness! Then she goes to the pictures. She loves looking at her Paw Paw singing at the  VFW. She knows how to go straight to that.


I was trying to get my desk and file cabinet organized today still. It is really a mess. The more I do the messier it gets. I got so much to throw away and that is so hard for me to  do. I go thru things and think I need them. Memories! So hard to throw away. I really need to clear off some spots on my desk where I will have more room. I got an L shaped glass desk . And there is not a spot to be found vacant. There will be though after I get thru. Less stuff sure looks better.


This afternoon I went with Jana to get ice cream cones at McDonalds. That was a nice break and the kids all enjoyed it. After I came back it was time to fix dinner. Most of the time I don't cook but today I did. I made meat loaf. I do love meat loaf. I am not much of a meat eater but hamburger or fish I eat. I don't like eating alone so most of the time I go eat with Jana and family. I usually don't eat out much unless Guy is here.


Now this day is almost gone. I always finish my night by getting in bed with a good book. Reading a little while, then off to dreamland. Goodnight folks....

First Day of 60 days

Today was the fifth month anniversary of when I first met Guy. We couldn't share this anniversary together because he was on his way to West Virginia to work. He didn't want to go. I didn't want him to go. When you have to work though you don't have too much of a choice. Sixty days is a very long time too.


Guy had a very hard time today. He had to get a plane in Midland and ride it to Houston. Then on to Pennsylvania. After finally getting there he had to wait on his ride. Then they had to take someone else home. And now he is still driving to get to where he has to go. That was a very tiring trip I know.


 I tell myself I am going to keep busy. First of all I will write this blog every night. I plan on getting my office organized where I can write more efficiently. I got file cabinets to clean out and a desk to clean off. I started on it today but I am not thru. I got so much to do around here I could stay busy every day for a month. But it is hard to just stay busy by yourself all the time. I need a break! I need to hear a voice besides just my own. I need to see a face.


That is where my grandkids come in. Kaylee was going to come home with me tonight. She is my 2 year old grand daughter. I went to Jo Ann's with my daughter Jana and when we got back she was standing up with her head on the sofa sleeping.  I came home alone needless to say.


It is almost 12 now. I am still writing. I need this practice every day. I used to write for Sweetwater Reporter, Abilene Reporter and Blue Ridge Tribune. The more you write the better you get at it. For two years I wrote as a columnist in the Sweetwater paper. I know all my friends read it every day. I wrote something about Bucks Steak House one time and I guess it was a bit of a criticism . I didn't mean it that way but I guess that is how it came out. I guess they complained to the paper and I didn't have that writing job anymore. Here in Fort Worth there are writer's saying things about different restaurants all the time. I guess small towns are different.


Anyway I have always enjoyed writing and that is what a true  writer does. Enjoy your work. You will be seeing me a lot more here. And lots of other places....