Sister Talk

My sister and I had a short visit with each other minus our children and grandchildren and we had so much fun. Without a big crowd we get a lot of visiting in together. Of course, the way we visit is to get out and do some shopping. I love to shop with her because I know she will tell me the truth about how something looks on me. We talk non stop and catch up on
stuff" that we normally don't get to talk about. She brought her Yorkie along with her and of course, her hubby. The hubs and the dogs stayed home and watched football and they like it that way. No shopping for them. LOL

We have become best friends and wish we lived closer. Then again, if we did live closer to each other we'd be broke most of the time. There was a time when we just tolerated each other. You probably remember those days when you were a teenager and your sibling was a nerd. We each had our own friends and didn't "run around" together as kids. Now, we talk every other day on the phone just to talk and hear each other's voice. 

On another note, I'm going to be busy this week undecorating and redecorating the house. Leisurely.  Like I said in another post, I'm not going to stress out, I'm not going to stress out, I'm not going to stress out this holiday season.

Praying you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Christine

The Day After

It's the day after Thanksgiving and all I've done is rest and rest.  We had a fantastic meal with family and friends and talked, ate, laughed and talked some more. Good times.  My sister and her hubby are coming in this afternoon for a short visit and I need to be all rested up. This gal loves to go junkin and I'm sure we will spend the entire day tomorrow doing just that, so I need to be in shape.  I won't get into decorating for Christmas until next week. Why hurry and get all stressed out for something that is suppose to be enjoyable.  While everyone is shopping til they drop and fighting the crowds on Black Friday, I'll just wait until the middle of the week to do my shopping or shop online. Less people to run into that way. That is one of the many perks of retirement. I love it.

Don't wear yourselves out and enjoy the holiday season. That's my motto and I'm sticking to it.

Christine

Rocky's Antics and Rowdy Says

O.K. I give up.  What is it?

It's what?

A turkey?

Doesn't smell like a turkey.

                       That young pup will believe anything I tell him.  Hehe!

                                            Happy Thanksgiving.

Words of Hope

Do not fear to hope...Each time we smell the autumn's dying scent, We know that primrose time will come again.              Samuel Taylor Coleridge


Autumn is my favorite time of the year.  After a hot summer the weather begins to cool down and the trees are vivid oranges and reds.  I enjoy brisk walks with my two dogs in the neighborhood where I live.  Yet, autumn is also the time of year that I lost both my parents four years apart. So, as you can see, I now have mixed feelings about this time of year.  My dad will be gone two years this Tuesday. He and I were running buddies. We'd hop in the car and go here and there and have a good ole time.  I miss that the most.  The first year after he died I spent adjusting to him being gone. The second year has been easier and I know that as each year passes I will lose the sadness in my heart.  But, I will never lose hope.  Hope that I will see both my parents again. That we will laugh and talk as we use to. Hope that I can hug and kiss them any time I want.  Those that believe in Jesus Christ have that hope that others are missing out on. Can you imagine living each day without it? I can't.

"And the scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled."    Romans 15:4

Today I am thankful for Godly parents who passed on that hope to me. Who instilled in me the love of my savior, Jesus Christ.

Blessings,
Christine

My New Favorite Place to Shop

Last week my hubby and I went to Tulsa to do some shopping. My birthday was coming up and he wanted to get me something. He's sweet that way. He said that this birthday he wanted me to pick out something rather than him surprising me with something I didn't need. (Remember the tool set he gave me for Mother's Day?)  I gave him a hard time about that. LOL

                                 


He wanted to make a stop at Bass Pro Shop in Broken Arrow before we continued into Tulsa. I agreed because, believe it or not, I've never been to one of their stores. Just let me say that we never made it to Tulsa that day. I absolutely love that store. We stayed a couple of hours shopping and ate lunch there too. The food was surprisingly good and I found a cute jacket to wear this winter. I will be making more trips to Bass Pro in the near future to shop for Christmas presents.

After shopping there we went across the street to Lowe's and he bought me a  composter for my garden. Yes, you read right. I've always wanted one and I figured while he was in the spending mood to try my luck.  Actually, he never says no to anything I want.  Did I tell you he's sweet that way?

The weather here in northeast Oklahoma has been crazy. We woke up to freezing temps for two days and then today it is to reach the low 70's. Tomorrow the high will be 55 degrees with rain. I'm not complaining though. It's better than some places in the states that are already having snow and ice. Hope you are having pleasant weather in your neck of the woods and you have a great weekend.

Blessings, Christine

Homes for Sale

The other day I was taking my dogs for a walk and with my camera along I took some pictures of homes in our neighborhood that are for sale or in foreclosure.  The one above is in foreclosure and has been spruced up after I took this picture. It is fixing to go on the market. It is across the street from us two doors down. Someday soon I hope a nice family moves in and is able to do some much needed TLC on the house.

Most of the homes that are for sale are anywhere from 1700 to 2000 square feet with three to four bedrooms, two baths, some with formal dinning and some with just a kitchen dinning area combined. All have two door garages with utility rooms. The yards are medium size and most are nicely landscaped.  The one above is listed at $169,500.

This home is at the end of our block and has been empty for three years.  My understanding is that the owner walked away from it and left the state.  What will ever be done with it I don't know.  It's a cute little house though.


                            

This beautiful home is one of my favorites in our neighborhood.  Sits on the end of a dead-in street with a beautiful city park that backs up to the backyard.  The listing price is $190,000. 

We have seen three other homes sell in our neighborhood this summer.  We live in a highly desireable area because there isn't much traffic.  I think Oklahoma has the best prices when it comes to homes.  When I watch House Hunters on HGTV I am astounded at the price of homes on the east and west coasts.

The home above is NOT for sale since my husband and I own it.  It is a three bedroom, two bath, kitchen,dinning/livingroom combination. It has a utility room with a two car garage.  Last summer we built a screened in deck with an extended deck off of it.  It has a nice size shed in the back for extra storage. It was built in 1987 and has 1800 square feet. In a couple of years we would like to remodel and update the kitchen. We were so lucky to find this house in this neighborhood. 

Hope you enjoyed this little tour. 
Christine

Rocky's Antics

I'm trying to help my mom fold clean sheets but she says I'm just in the way and something about having to wash them all over again. That's the last time I'm going to offer to help.  Sheesh.

Rocky

Oh Yes He Can, And He Does!

I've got to brag on my husband just a little bit, so just bare with me, ok.  When I was teaching my little heart out for 31 years and raising two boys (most of you know what all that entails), my husband did as little as possible around the house.  Not because he didn't want to, but because he had little time. He was a teacher/coach and worked longer hours than I did.  He also refereed ball games a few nights a week to make ends meet. He didn't help much with cooking, washing clothes, cleaning bathrooms, etc.  I didn't complain too much.  He did, however, do much of the yard work. Now for the bragging part of this post.

                                        He does his own ironing.

My husband retired three years before I did and by that time our boys were grown and married with families of their own. He had a lot of time on his hands and needed something to fill his day so I would leave a "honey do" list each morning on the bar.  When I'd get home from work everything would be done on the list plus supper would be on the stove. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.  Then, when I retired a few years later, I was so spoiled that I kept up this arrangement. Worked fine for me.  Don't you think I deserved it? Now he does most of  the cooking and he does his own ironing and he washes his own clothes.  He will clean bathrooms if asked. 

                                                                Washing dishes.

This set up has worked for us for the last ten years. He still takes care of the yard and will do any project I ask of him. I do have to gradually mention the project a few weeks prior to wanting it done because he procrastinates. But it will eventually get done.

Now, if I could just get him to make the bed.

Smiles, Christine

A Taste of Heaven

Most of you might think the title of my post today will be about food. In a way it is. Food for the soul. This weekend I was fed with Heavenly food that nourished my soul. It was like a shot in the arm, so to speak. If you have never attended a Women of Faith Conference, you've got to go if one is in your area. The one I attended was held in Oklahoma City for two days and this was the last one on the tour. Next year, the conference will kick off the tour in OKC in August. I am already anticipating the next one. 

The arena was filled with around ten thousand women of the same faith. ( Sixteen in our group.) Although our doctrines were slightly different, we all believe in the same Lord God and were there to praise and worship Him.  What an awesome sight. There were five speakers over the two days and three well known christian singers.  Mandesa, Sandy Patty, and Amy Grant.

                                                                      Sandy Patty

                                                                    Amy Grant

                                          All speakers and singers on stage singing.

The speakers were women who shared personal experiences of how God has worked in their lives and how he can work in our lives today. They spoke on christian values and how we should let God's light shine in our everyday lives using the Bible as our guide. The singing was absolutely beautiful, especially when all music stopped and only the singing voices of ten thousand women were heard throughout the arena. What a melody!  Like I said, it was a taste of Heaven.

Blessings,
Christine

Autumn Bling

One of the blogs I follow calls her decorating, "bling". I'm going to copy that phrase Carol if you don't mind.  The following pictures are some of my decoratng or "bling" that I've set around the house for fall.

Welcome to our home.

There is a lot more "bling" but I don't want to bore you with all the pictures. One side of our big shed in the backyard is mine where I store all my "bling". If I didn't have that storage space I don't know what I'd do.

On another note, I will be gone a few days.  I am going to OKC to the "Women of Faith Conference"  for a couple of days with one of my daughter-in-loves and some other ladies from our church.  I am looking forward to meeting with women from all over the state and sharing our faith with each other. If you've never been to one of these conferences you must give it a go. I always come back spirit filled to my eyeballs and edified in the faith.

Talk to you when I get back.

Christine

Signs of Fall

Yesterday I took the dogs for a walk in our neighborhood and took my camera along.  Within the last week the trees have gotten into full gear with color changes. Even though it was cloudy the colors were striking.

This picture and the next were taken this morning. The sun was out and really made the trees pop with color.

You have to admit that the fall of the year in any part of the country is the prettiest season God created. I also love the weather. Cooler temps are right up my ally. Hope you share some pictures of fall in your area with me.

Christine

My Pups Aren't Spoiled!

 Many of you that follow my blog know that I am the proud owner of two dogs, Rocky and Rowdy.  They are all boy,if you know what I mean.  Into everything, play and fuss constantly.  You would think that they would have a healthy appetite but they stick up their noses when it comes to certain kinds of food. Dry dog food is one of them. Won't touch it.  I've also tried canned dog food and they will eat it a few times and then they stick up their noses at that. I have spent more money trying to please them and I am at my wits end.

I knew they would devour people food so I got online and read everything I could on homemade dog food versus store bought.  What I found out was that they need protein, carbos, certain nutrients found in veggies, and calcium. I decided to give it a try and found a recipe that was fairly simple. 

1 pound ground turkey
2 cups brown rice
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1/2 pkg frozen vegetables (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower)
6 cups of water

Place the water, ground turkey, rice and rosemary into a large Dutch oven. Stir until the ground turkey is broken up and evenly distributed throughout mixture.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add veggies and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and let cool. Refridgerate until using.

My husband came home from some errands while I was in the middle of cooking and instantly asked me, "What is that smell?"  It wasn't to his liking but I could tell my pups were in fine tune with the smell. Noses twitching and under my heels the whole time. When I finished I packed the dog food in containers and froze them. I kept one out to try on Rocky and Rowdy.

I think I have finally found something they will eat. They loved it! They eagerly await the next feeding. I have found some other recipes I can't wait to try. I have slowly added the dry dog food into this recipe and they eat it as well now.

My kids and my husband think I am spoiling them and can't believe I am actually cooking now for my dogs. It has taken them a while to even comprehend that I have dogs that live in the house with me and now I am cooking homemade dog food for them. My family thinks I am going through my second childhood I think. LOL

Excuse me so I can take a homemade peach pie out of the oven for my two legged dog that I know I definitely spoil.

Christine

Words On Hope

I avoid looking forward or backword, and try to keep looking upward.

                                      Charolette Bronte

Rowdy Says

Rocky and I are so glad Halloween is over!  That was one crazy day. Humans are so silly.  If they could just see themselves through a dogs perspective. And they think we're funny?????

Rowdy