Blow Out The Candles And Make A Wish

Ma, a member of the “Red Hats Club” was told she was going to a Red Hats Society meeting where she was to be honored as the “Queen Bee”. Instead, a number of her family and friends were waiting for her at the Community Center. Ma was so surprised to see so many old friends and family there to surprise her.

She arrived sporting her favorite red hat, thinking it was a “Red Hats” function in honor of her. Bobby and I found a “Birthday Girl” pin/ribbon and added that to her blouse. She was so cute, happy and thrilled and has thanked us over and over for making this a very special Birthday. It was obvious that she truly enjoyed her day.

Are You Ready For Some BINGO

A party for ma is never complete without BINGO. Bobby is always a great host and enjoys doing anything he can to make his mommy’s special day a happy one. We picked up prizes enough for everyone to have at least two each.

Ma’s rules for BINGO:

Once you’ve called BINGO, your card is cleared and you begin again with another card.

All the others continue with the same card and it’s not cleared till they call BINGO.

That gives everyone a chance to win at some point which is really nice.

Group Shot

We had a total of 23 friends for the surprise birthday party. We gathered as many as we could to get a group picture but unfortunately we missed two of the guests.

Quilt History

Anna Lue brought and displayed her quilt on the history of the Community. The quilt was started in the 1930’s and finally pieced together and quilted by Anna Lue in 2005 & 2006. The friendship blocks were made by the ladies of the quilting group. The Endless Circle Club in the 1930s.

The blocks were kept by Ollie who lived in the community. She never set them together, but passed them down to her daughter (Hazel). Hazel kept them in a box and did nothing with them and one day the blocks were sold at the estate auction of J.T. and Hazel in March of 2005. Anna Lue bought the old box of friendship blocks. Anna Lue was so surprised when she discovered names on the blocks that she recognized, especially her mother’s name, Irene and her grandmother, Mary. She shared how she cried a few tears over her special find.

After sending Anna Lue an invitation to ma’s birthday party she wanted to make that quilt special for ma as ma’s name is woven into that special quilt as well. Thank you Anna Lue.

Truman & Bonnie

Ma’s School Teacher From The 1930’s

Truman was ma’s school teacher in the late 30’s. We have a very old picture of ma with Truman when she was in the 5th grade. Truman was 21 at the time so that means he’s in his early 90’s now. It was a pleasure meeting them, they are such a darling couple.

A Pic of Little Rock as we cross the river.

Bobby and I pass by this beautiful Church in Little Rock several times each year. We marvel at its beauty each time we pass by. This time I had my camera ready and window rolled down to get a shot of it. It was pretty cool that we passed by just as the service ended and people were leaving the service to go their separate ways.

The Texans proudly wave the Lone Star and this flag was a reminder that we just crossed the Arkansas/Texas border.

I spy Dallas in the distance and begin to feel like I’m almost home.

This natural gas well is a sign that we’re almost home. Texas is filled with many oil rigs, but this natural gas well is just a mile from our home. I love the old country roads that lead us home, the interstate is great getting us from one place to another in record driving time but the country roads with pasture as far as the eye can see and ranches that have those long winding white picket fences are truly a site to behold. It’s so good to be back home again, yes it is.

The St Louis Cardinals won the World Series Friday evening winning 4 of the 5 games that were played. We arrived to our destination on Friday in time for dinner and to get back to the hotel in enough time to watch the big win. Bobby’s brother (Jim) from St Louis brought Bobby the Saturday morning paper and I’m sure Bobby will be taking very good care of that.

A side note… When Bobby and I were dating, I found an empty cereal box in his pantry and without giving it any thought I folded it down the sides and rolled it up like my mother always did and the way I continued to roll up empty boxes. When Bobby noticed his prize possession was missing I told him that it was in the trash and by that time to the dumpster. Little did I know it was a cereal box from the World Series that he had been saving for a long time. Thank goodness he loved me enough that he didn’t throw me out nor yell at me. I’m so thankful that when I mess up, he never belittles me nor does he yell or scream at me. He continues to treat me like I’m what matters most and I love him so much for that.

While picking up Ma’s birthday cake, the little shop next door had this gorgeous vase in the window. It was calling me like you would not believe, so I began to take picture after picture of this beauty. I don’t plan to copy it exactly but I love it so much and plan to add my spin on it sometime this week or next.

Today is catch up day for me. I’ve got to get the house cleaned, laundry done, and a few last minute errands before our trip tomorrow. We leave for Arkansas for the surprise 80th birthday party we’ve been planning for ma (Bobby’s Mom). Bobby and I are taking care of the ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, cake, ice cream and all the paper goods… but we’ve made this pot luck luncheon so everyone can bring their special dish and not leave all the cooking on us, which would be hard for us to prepare. We’ve rented a hall in her little town for this event where there is a refrigerator, stove and such so we should be able to pull this off without a hitch. This is working out really well and looks like we are going to have such a yummy meal with what the others have signed up to bring.

The really cool thing is that while visiting with ma last year she had her address book out when I offered to type everything up nice and neat for her as well as make the font large so that she could read without a struggle. Bobby and I were already planning to have a surprise 80th birthday party for her so that address book came in handy. We hope to make this a special day for her and hope her day is as special as she is.

I didn’t get that nap as planned yesterday and I suffered for it last night. I was able to stay awake all the way through the 7th inning but my heavy eye lids gave in after that.

By the time Bobby got home last night I had all the candles going and dinner was just about ready. Bobby put a log on the fire and we settled in for a nice game. Our team won 5 to 0. The Cardinals have won 2 of the 3 games so far in the Series and we hope to bring in another win tonight.

Bobby left for work before daybreak this morning and I tried going back to sleep after he left but that wasn’t in the cards for me. Hope I can stay awake for the game tonight.

After my regular 6 month visit to the dentist (Dr. Hargrave) today I was given another thumbs up. As I was listening to Dr. Hargrave tell the hygienist about a filling that needed to be watched, he was saying that it appeared to be pulling away from the tooth. I immediately asked the Dr how long ago it was that he put the filling in. He said he had no clue how old it was and that he was not responsible for that filling. I then brought him up to speed that I only had one filling in there and he most certainly was the one who did the work. After further checking it out and a little embarrassment on his part, he admitted that indeed it was not a filling but just the natural groove in my own tooth. I’m happy to say I still only have one filling in there period. I’m a firm believer that it’s all in the genes; I went to the dentist for the first time right before starting kindergarten and didn’t walk back into a dentist’s office till I was around 22. I had my first and only cavity at 35 and don’t think it has anything to do with brushing, flossing, seeing the dentist, it’s all in the genes if you were to ask me.

 We are having such a great weekend together.

Today was the Harvest Moon festival where Hubby and I enjoyed a good part of the day. Our friend Ron, a potter buddy, had his display out there and was so good to see him in the show. He’s been like a mentor to me always happy to provide information and always willing to lend a hand. He taught me how to use the sprayer to spray the glazes on pottery and has given valuable information regarding shows, pottery, the business side of things and just an all around great guy. Ron is a great friend and an awesome potter. We appreciate all the advise he’s given over the years.

Friday evening we went to a BB-Q where we had a great time with some of the guys Hubby works with. I finally got to enjoy some really good sauerkraut and bratwursts. It’s been at least 10 years since I’ve had good sauerkraut and what a great treat! Mom used to make the kraut with pork chops along with mashed potatoes but I don’t get around to making it in our home. Hubby is not a kraut fan so it’s out the door and I only get it when someone else makes it, what a yummy meal and fellowship last night.

The Cardinals didn’t do so well last night as they lost the game. The Mets and Cardinals are now one for one, playing at the home of the Mets. Bobby and I were getting anxious for the Cardinals to pull through, his friend Dan from California kept calling as he and Bobby are from the same town in St Louis. Those two were as funny as can be, they decided to put their rally caps on adding a little more spirit to the game from home. I couldn’t help laughing as it was too funny, who knows maybe they will wear their rally caps for the entire game tonight. Bob’s other friend Mike from St Louis lives here and all 3 of those guys had a three way call going the other night. We are serious Cardinal fans doing our best to hold up our end of the fan club.

When I took private oil painting lessons years and years ago, my teacher would call these type errors ‘happy mistakes’. Yesterday while in my studio throwing vases and platters I went to make a smaller vase when all of a sudden things didn’t go the way I wanted them to. The clay got a little too dry and my fingers created a drag on the clay causing the clay to fold. I normally wad the clay up right then and there but before I had the chance, the clay spoke to me. It wanted to do something so I began to pinch it with my fingers allowing the clay to fall and drape where it wanted. I was pretty pleased with my little happy mistake, so here it is.

You may notice my brand spankin new red clay body. I’ve just changed to this color clay body because I like some of the effects if gives under certain glazes. You may not realize this but the glazes are different shades of color depending on which clay body that’s used.

Dave and Pam’s son Ryan has been taking Tae Kwan Do Lessons under Steve for 5 years. Ryan was 6 when he started and at 11 he received his black belt. Ryan teaches a few classes and helps out quite a bit in the class. He earned his black belt this past weekend and had quite the big ceremony there. Ryan was Steve’s 1st student to receive a black belt and we are all very proud of him. I wish we could have been there for that awesome event.