Imagine

                                                                                         
What a weekend!  Friday and Saturday I went with my "sistas" to the Women of Faith Conference in Tulsa and came home tired but refreshed in the Word of God. It was a wonderful experience to sing praises and hear the word of God taught by some awesome women. Around 5,000 women were in attendance including my "sistas". The conference was located in the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa.

The theme this year was imagine what God can do for you. It focused on trusting God and leaning on Him to take care of you even in the worst of circumstances. Trusting God is a major feat for most of us, especially in times we find the most difficult just to get through each day. I've experienced a lot of those haven't you? We tend to burden ourselves with worry, anxiety, stress and anger because we want to take care of troubles we are experiencing ourselves, instead of just doing what we know we should do all along. Turn it over to God. Why is it so hard to relinguish our troubles to Him? I struggle with this all the time. I tend to want to be in control of all aspects of my life and try to take care of everything. With the help of lessons I heard this weekend and immersing myself in the word of God and the support of my church family and my "sistas", I am learning to give my troubles to the Lord and let HIM take care of them.

Well, I'm off to my sisters' at Ninny's Notes for a few days to wind down from the weekend and share some "sister" time with her. Have a great week blogger friends and put your trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. It feels so good!

Christine
                                                                                   

Gettin Out of Dodge

The weather here in northeastern Oklahoma is now in the low 80's. It has been a wonderful reprieve for flowers, pets and  people from the oppressive hot weather we've had for the last month or so. I actually had my cup of coffee out on the patio this morning. The weather forecaster says that although this won't last, we won't be getting up in the high 90's or hit 100 degrees for the rest of the summer.

For the next two days I will be going to the Women of Faith Conference in T-town which will last most of the day with a group of friends. Then after church services Sunday I will be going to visit my sister at Ninny's Notes and spend a few days with her. We are having some new flooring put down in half of our home and the dust will be flying. Thought this would be a good time to visit her because dust and workmen are not my idea of a good time. Hubby will stay and endure all the noise (tearing up of tile) and the mess. So you may not see me until sometime next week unless I show up on Ninny's blog. I will post pics of our new floor and tell you all about it when I get back.

Have a blessed day.
Christine

Sign of the Times

                                                   and that's the truth.
Kisses,
Christine

Blogland

When my sister at Ninny's Notes told me a year or so ago that she was blogging and starting a blog of her own I was wondering to myself why she would want to try such an undertaking, and a time consuming one at that. As I began to follow her blog and then to visit other blogs I found myself hooked, never thinking that I would eventually jump on the bandwagon myself. For a while I was content to just visit blogs without ever leaving comments, but found it fascinating reading what others had to say about their day to day lives. I found myself amazed at the friendships that were developing in Blogland with people who had never met face to face, but had shared interest or were just interested in someone else's way of life in another part of the world.

I found myself chuckling at Christine's postings at I'm Not Old, I'm Vintage, (she's a hoot), touched by Jeff's affection for his adorable little girls at The Path Called Life, to Kim at Life at Golden Pines, who has a heart of gold when it comes to taking in and adopting Golden Retrievers. Then there is a new one I stumbled on, Happily Ever After, where Stephanie, a young christian mother, is raising her young family following the Lord. And how could I get through the day without my Daily Dose of Jack? I found myself hanging on every thread during the tramatic illness and eventual death of Digby the Pon at Wilf and Digby discovers France and actually cried at his passing.  I could go on and on. The comments on each of these blogs showed actual interest and caring for one another. Amazing!

My sister kept encouraging me to participate but being somewhat shy at trying new things, especially anything to do with technology, I hesitated. Who would want to read anything I'd have to say? And the biggie question, who would be intersted in MY life??? Ninny continued to prod me and eventually I relented to giving it a try. She spent one weekend teaching me the ropes and I dove in. I've been at this for over a month now and it has been a blessing in my life to have these new friendships and I want to thank everyone who has left comments. It has encouraged me, to say the least, to keep sharing my life and having the opportunity to peek into yours. I still have some tweeks to work out but eventually I hope to have it all together. Also,  I have realized that I must be a true blogger because I carry my camera with me everywhere I go. My husband has made the comment that I must be addicted since I seem to be on the computer most of my free time. (Which isn't all that much.)  Could he be just a tad bit jealous? No, I don't think so. He's never blogged so he doesn't understand. I didn't say it out loud but was thinking, "Yes, dear hubby, there is more to life besides football!"

Have a rosy day.
Christine

Back to School

With school starting this week I was reminded of my first class of primary students way back in 1972. I was only 23 years old and I had 30 more years to go before retirement. (actually retirement wasn't even on my mind back then). Most of these kids are now in their early forties. I'm not good with names from that long ago and, thankfully, I wrote their names on the back of the picture, but I do remember most of them and I can still tell you what kind of students they were and the problems they had either in school or at home. Now considering that I taught around 600 students during my career that's a lot of remembering.

It's funny when I bump into one of my former students they will always ask me if I remember them. Now if their face looked like it did back in second grade I wouldn't have a problem. But of course, over the years they've aged and look nothing like I remember them. I'll ask them their name and then I know who they are. I even keep up with some of them on facebook. Teaching was a wonderful profession for me and a part of me will always miss it, especially this time of year.

Christine

Ready for Fall

I usually put up fall decor the first of September but I am so ready for cooler weather that I thought I'd get a head start by decorating our front door in autumn colors. Am I jumping the gun? I have so much more in the shed but will get it our later. My project this week is to paint that bedroom.

Have a great and hopefully cool weekend.
Christine

Painting Dilemma

Last November my father passed away and I inherited a bedroom suite that at one time many years ago was my sisters'. She didn't want it so I moved it to my house to go in our third bedroom. This room has served as a playroom for my grandchildren for about five years. I thought that by using it as a playroom they wouldn't drag toys out all over the house. Boy was I wrong. They still want to be where the action is and that is in the livingroom. So, I decided to scale down with toys and turn this room back into a bedroom. Now I need some help from my blogger friends out there. I want to paint the room a different color. It is now a boring creamy white color. The bedroom suite is a creamy yellow so the paint would need to coordinate with that color. I can't decide what color I should paint this room. That's my dilemma.

The room is divided with a chair rail aound the whole area, so two colors of the same color spectrum could be used.  Below I've pictured the comforter on the bed. I thought about using one of those colors.
                                                                       

Please recommend a paint color if you have an idea what would look best. It is so hard for me to make a decision.

Thanks, Christine                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

No More Dish

For some time now our youngest son has told us we need to get a DVR for our TV so we can record shows we don't want to miss. You can also pause in mid showing and then return and not have missed a thing. How that works I don't know but I don't question technology anymore. We have been a loyal customer of DISH Network for many, many years now and my husband called them about receiving a DVR. (My hubby had seen an ad saying new customers could get one free for signing up.) He was told that he would have to buy one (but not actually own it) and then pay a fee each month. It wasn't free for those who were already customers. This did not go well with the hub. His comment was, "You mean some Joe Blow can come off the street and get one free, while a loyal customer for some odd years can't get squat." He was told this was correct. After talking to four other people (each one higher up in the company) he got the same answer. I"ve got to admire his perseverance. This tirade went on for most of an hour. Another note, he had gone through this same routine last month and got nowhere.

This man was bound to have a free DVR! He cancelled DISH and went with Direct TV. They were offering a free DVR to new customers. So problem solved. He is a happy camper! So is mama. I'll miss him when the day comes he is not around anymore. He does come in handy. Ha!

                                                                                   
Have a good day.
Christine                                                                                                               

Rowdy Says

   
                                        Mama, follow me. I know where daddy hides the treats. 

                                                                         

Empty House

On and off for the last two and a half years we have taken care of our two year old grandson, Rhett, during the day while his parents were at work. We also had his big brother, Cade, during the summer while school was out for break. It has been a long summer for all of us. We love our grandchildren dearly but Cade was getting bored so he would pester Rhett to entertain himself and Rhett would squeal and cry. If you have had children you know how that is. We found ourselves having to seperate them or talk to them in a very serious manner, instead of  being loving, doting grandparents. Yesterday Cade started school and Rhett started daycare. Needless to say, our house seems so empty now. In a way we welcome the free time to do more of what we want to do and the peace and quiet but in another way we miss them terribly.

                                                               Rhett in time out                             

I don't miss having to discipline them and I don't miss keeping up with a two year old. But I miss the kisses and hugs and the spontaneous "I love you Nana". I miss my naptime with Rhett. He's a singer. He sings himself to sleep. That sound is the most precious sound to me. Papa has already mentioned several times in the last few days how much he misses both boys being around.

                                                               Hugs and kisses for Nana                                                                                                                         

                                                          Watching cartoons with Papa           

 I'm sure we will see them often because they live about 20 minutes away. They also attend the same church that we attend. Our family gets together often for dinner and special occasions and Cade likes to have sleepovers with us so we will see him on weekends for sure. When the boys are sick and can't go to school we have offered to let them stay with us.

So a new chapter in our lives. More time to travel, do volunteer work, movies, shopping, reading, yardwork, more time with friends, etc. AND more quality time with our grandchildren.

Eat, Pray, Love

I had the opportunity to go see the movie, Eat, Pray, Love this weekend with some friends. I've never read the book but had heard about it and had seen the author on some talk shows. I was somewhat skeptical about the premise of the book and movie. Someone who divorces her husband and travels half way around the world to find a spiritual balance for her life. Trying to find happiness and peace. One of those "finding myself " movies. But I love movies and thought this would be a fun thing to do with friends, so I went thinking I probably wouldn't like the movie. Well, I loved it. That's all I can say, except go see it and find out for yourself.

Christine

Oklahoma Sunrise

Early this morning this is what I saw when I took Rowdy out to sniff the grass. A beautiful Oklahoma sunrise.

 

The weather forecast for today predicts a high of 104 degrees with a heat index of 112.

                                                                                                                                                                
 But I don't mind if God continues to bring beautiful mornings like this one to show his glory.

Christine                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Not To Hot for Okra

The tempertures in Oklahoma have been over 100 degrees for the last eight days and everything is suffering from this unrelenting heat. My husband and I water the grass, plants and flowers every day to keep them somewhat alive. We've lost most of our garden despite our efforts and we are almost to the point of giving up. There is however one plant that seems to thrive in this heat. Why I don't know. Our row of okra is producing like mad. Everyday I have to pick okra pods from the stalks or they get to big to eat. When they get to big they are to tough.

These okra plants I grew from seed and they are on the far left of the picture. They have gotten huge. They also produce a beautiful yellow flower with a red center.

                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
I don't care for pickled okra so I wash, slice and freeze them in freezer bags and place them in the freezer until we are ready to eat them.  The best way to fix them is to coat them with flour and/or cornmeal and deep fry them until golden brown. Some people like them boiled with tomatoes but that's not for me. Too slimy. Maybe next summer I'll forgo all other vegies and just stick with growing okra. I can always give it away to my neighbors and family when we've had our fill.

                                                                    Fried Okra

12 tender okra pods, 4 inches or smaller
one half cup all purpose flour
1 large egg, beaten
one half cup cornmeal
one half teaaspoon salt
2 cups peanut oil or canola oil

Slice each pod crosswise into one half inch rounds. Place flour, egg, and cornmeal in separate shallow bowls. Coat the rounds with flour, then drop them into the beatern egg. Use slotted spoon to transfer the okra rounds to the bowl with the cornmeal. In a deep-fryer or large skillet heat oil to 350 degrees F. Lift the okra out to the cornmeal, again using a slotted spoon, and shake off the excess cornmeal. Carefully drop the okra into the oil piece by piece so it doesn't stick together while cooking. Don't overcrowd the pan; you will need to cook 2 or 3 batches. Cook until light brown, about 15 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt.

Okra is an Oklahoma favorite with any meal. But it's great with brown beans, stewed tomatoes and corn on the cob on the side. If you've never had okra this way you need to try it. Yum!

Christine                                                                                                                                                                            

Rowdy Says

                                                                 
                                                                   ROWDY SAYS....

                                                                                
                                                      Wake me up when summer's over!
                                                                              

Battle of the Bulge

In this mornings newspaper I saw a headline that said, "Belly Bulge Can Be Fatal to Some."
The article claims that a study has revealed that if your pants are getting tighter, then you might be afflicted with this condition. (Belly bulge.) This summer I have noticed it is getting harder to button and zip my jeans and capris, so I decided to keep reading further. In adults over 50 the chance of having dementia, heart disease, asthma and breast cancer are higher in those with a spreading waistline, even if you aren't overweight or obese. In fact, a bigger waist increases ones chance of dying with these diseases. Evidently, body mass has nothing to do with it.                                

To find out if you are suffering from "belly bulge" you are to check your girth by wrapping a tape measure around your waist at the navel.  And no fair sucking in your bulge. Men should have a waist circumference no larger than 40 inches and for women the limit is 35 inches. So I hopped right up and measured my waistline. I just knew I wasn't going to like what I saw on the tape measure.

                                                                                   

I was thinking about all that ice cream I've been eating this summer, not to mention all the sweets I devour on a daily basis. I will admit I have no willpower when it comes to sweets. Now I do have willpower when it comes to eating oysters, frog legs or anything that crawls. So in my mind I'm thinking it's time I start eating better and exercise daily and lay off the sweets if I want to eliminate my belly bulge.                                                  

                                                                             
Much to my relief I came in a few inches lower than the 35 inches reccomended for women. So does this mean that I can continue my eating benge of ice cream and sweets? How about if I add fruits and veggies and start out slow on exercise? I think we all know the answer to that.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Kissin' Cousins, Or Not

I had a very enjoyable but tiring weekend with two of our four grandchildren. If you read my previous post you know that our oldest granddaughter and I spent some time Saturday shopping for school clothes. Then on Sunday after church services our oldest grandson (her cousin) came home with us and spent the afternoon and the night with us. Somehow it is Nana's job to entertain these two. (I must admit I'm more fun than Papa when it comes to entertaining.)    

                                                                             

                                                                                

                                                                                
  Watching movies, playing the game Walk the Dog, making mud pies in the sandbox, playing in the sprinkler and baking cupcakes were just some of the activities I had planned for them.  They both had a good time but when it came to bedtime they had their first disagreement. Who gets to sleep with Nana?  They drew straws and the grandson ended up in the sleeping bag at the foot of the bed.  (They don't want to sleep with Papa because he snores.)                                                                                                                                                                                                             These two are one year apart and get along well the first day but the second day gets a little testy between them. If I hear "it's my turn" one more time it won't be too soon.  You would think they were  brother and sister instead of cousins.  Anyway, I am glad they came and had a good time together but I think the next sleepover I will let Papa entertain the grandkids.  Or not.  

Christine

P.S. I promise the postings on my grandchildren won't come to frequently.  I know that someone else's grandchildren aren't all that interesting as one might think.                            

Sunny Gone But Not Forgotten

Recently I read in the paper that Bobby Hebb passed away. He wrote and sung the song "Sunny" back in the late 60's or early 70's. This was one of my favorite songs. So this post is in his memory.
                                             
                                               Sunny, yesterday my life was full of rain
                                               Sunny, you smiled at me and really eased the pain...

I  don't know much else about him except for this song.  I got to thinking about what I'll be remembered for. I ask my six year old grandson what he would remember about me when it's my turn to leave this earth and join others in our Heavenly world.  He had to think a minute and then finally answered that he would remember me playing with him a lot. What else I ask, thinking he might come up with a long list of things and he answered, "I guess that's about it."  Maybe Mr. Hebb's grandchildren will remember the same thing.

                                                                             

Shopped Till She Dropped

I took my oldest granddaughter, Cailynn, who just turned seven in May, shopping for school clothes today. This is something I always did with our two boys when they were kids still at home, but I took them one at a time. I made it special for them by doing it that way. Now I get to do it with my grandchildren. I love it. It gives me joy to watch them pick out clothes and shoes. Shopping with girls is definitely different than shopping with boys. Girls like to shop no matter what age, but little boys don't like to shop at all. When you say "mall" to my grandsons they think the play area. When I say "mall" to my granddaughter she knows what I'm talking about. This is what we bought in a matter of two hours.

                                                            

                                                                               

                                                                                 

Cailynn knows what she likes and doesn't like.  She has great fashion sense and has been taught what is appropriate and not appropriate.  She likes anything that sparkles. Sparkles on  shirts, jeans, shoes, belts and scarves.  Shopping with Cailynn today showed me that sparkle and plaid are both in style big time. As long as the clothes are modest and don't have skulls on them, then whatever makes her feel good is what we get. Looking at what she got today she should feel great when she starts back to school next week. We both had a good time but I think I wore her out. About half way into our expedition she complained that her feet and legs hurt.  She should know that when she goes shopping with Nana she is in for a real workout. So I guess we will spend the rest of the weekend watching movies and playing with cousins. I know she won't get tired of that.
                                                                                  
                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                              

Lemon Chess Pie

Let me make myself clear. I don't like to cook. Much. I did all the cooking at our home while our boys were growing up and after thirty years of it I let my husband take over those duties. He retired three years before I did and he enjoyed having the time to try out his talents. It was so nice to come home from work and have supper ready. After I retired I continued to let him do the cooking. Now we eat out as much as he cooks. But once in a while I get the bug to get in the kitchen and try out new recipes. In fact, I have recently bought some new cookbooks and have enjoyed trying out some.

Sometimes I find good recipes in magazines or the daily newspaper.

I found this recipe in the morning paper yesterday for lemon chess pie and decided to try it. It was so easy and delicious. It's real lemony and rich. So if you like the taste of sugary lemon this is for you. It's not a pretty pie but the taste makes up for it.

Lemon Chess Pie

One third cup butter, room temp

One and one half cups sugar

Three whole eggs, room temp

One and one half lemons, juiced

One half teaspoon salt

One unbaked pie crust

 Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in lemon juice and salt until smooth.

    Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees until the filling starts to brown (about 13 minutes), then reduce

the oven temp to 300 degrees for about 20 minutes until the pie is set. Let pie cool.  A

footnote was added to this article: In testing the recipe the writer thought the filling was a bit short so he tweeked it by adding an additional egg and an additional one fourth cup sugar to the recipe above. Either way I found this pie very good. Especially with a big glass of cold milk.    

Did you notice the big chunk of the pie missing in the picture? My youngest son stopped by before going to work and helped himself to a piece. He loved it. He told his wife about it and when she came to get   the grandsons after she got off  work she had to try a piece. Thank goodness my other son and his wife live 30 miles away or there might not be any left for me.

                    Christine             

                                                                            

Rowdy

When my dad passed away last November I inherited his dog, Rowdy. He is a four year old male Shih Tzu that lives up to his name. He is a very calm dog until someone comes over, then watch out. He gets so excited and if I don't pick him up he'll torment whoever his attention is directed to until they acknowledge his presence. He will eventually calm down but in the meantime he acts just like an unruly child. 

When our boys were small we had outside dogs but not an "indoor" dog. It has been a big adjustment for me.  My dad had him paper trained but not house broken. It took us about a week to train him but once in a while he has accidents. He's smart enough to hide when he does that. He knows that mama won't be happy. He also hides when he's chewing on something he's not suppose to have. Those "somethings" are usually the grandkids toys they've left laying around. 

I bought a book on Shih Tzus and it's really helped me out.  I'm learning how to be the "pack leader" .  Sometimes it is his will against mine. You see, my dad had him since he was six weeks old and spoiled him rotten. He's used to having his way and pouting if he doesn't. He loves to play "fetch the ball" and he runs in circles around the livingroom when we play "I'm goin to getcha". He can be quite comical at times. I know he made my dad laugh a lot. He was a good companion for my dad. He's also turning out to be a good companion for my husband and me. I think my dad would be happy about that.                                                                            

A Fishy Story

A few weeks ago our oldest granddaughter, Cailynn,now seven, enrolled in a church music day camp. Over sixty children participated in this annual event. The mornings were spent practicing for the musical performance they presented the following Sunday night after a week of rehersals. The afternoons were reserved for movies, swimming, picnics, bowling, etc. She enjoys this camp so much and it gives her something to do during the summer months she's out of school. This year the children presented, Under God's Sea in 3D, Daily Diving Deeper into God's World and Word. The music, costumes, and set designs were all created by parent volunteers.My husband and I attended the performance and thought it was great considering they had just one week to practice.

                                                                             

Cailynn was a pink fish with a small speaking part. I don't know if the director let her pick the color of her costume or if it just turned out that way. She was so nervous during the whole performance knowing she had lines to say toward the end of the program. Now she's not a bit nervous singing and dancing in front of family but with over 500 in attendance she was a tad bit nervous to say the least.

She did a fantastic job with her one liner and you could even understand what she said.
Once her part was over and the performance was winding down you could tell she was feeling much better about the whole thing. Afterwards, cake and punch was served and the entire cast signed autographs like real movie stars. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a star wasn't born that night, even though she was just a very nervous pink fish. Fish today, diva tomorrow.

Christine