Your Never Too Old!

Just a lazy day out here on the North Forty. Old Man Winter has a way of keeping this old grandma inside with the cold wet temps we have been experiencing since Christmas Day.

While catching up on a few things this after noon on the computer I found this lovely amazing woman.

I hope she does not mind me writing about her but after this past month being depressed over what cruelty in this world I just had to share a little about her.

                                   You can read more about Tao Porchon-Lynch 
                                 on this site   By Rick Schindler, TODAY.com.    Listed below I copied from his article some of her life experiences.

·                 She marched with Gandhi — twice — in her native India.

·                 She fought in the French Resistance and underwent an emergency appendectomy during the Blitz after escaping France to London.

·                 She was a model for fashion house Lanvin and a contract player for MGM, appearing in such films as “Show Boat” (1951).

·                 When her friend Leslie Caron injured her foot, threatening to delay production of “An American in Paris,” Tao fixed it with a Coke bottle.

·                 To get a part in a western, she pretended to know how to ride a horse (after she took off the saddle and rode bareback, Tao told me, “the horse and I got along fine”).

    She is now 94 but at 93 she was awarded certification by the Guinness World Record for the oldest Yoga Teacher. Yep she is still teaching Yoga and Rick Schindler is one of her lucky students.

What I would give to know this lady and to be able to take her yoga classes. Knowing her would be such an inspiration. She teaches in New York so I will just have to admire her from afar.

This picture is from a dance competition with her 24 year old dance partner.

What a remarkable woman! I need to think of her often when I am complaining about working out here on the North Forty at my age. hahaha

I am though the luckiest Grandma in the world to live only a few hours from these two special cutie pies.

I celebrated with them Christmas Eve night and was lucky enough to see them get their Santa the next morning.

It was a great evening. My son Chad gave Kaci a WI game which was dancing competition. I snapped this picture of Kaci and Chad dancing to one of the songs.  I actually captured them and some others on Video from my camera but I promised I would not post the videos but oh how I wish I had not made that promise. lol

They would not give up until I got up an danced with Kaci to Jail House Rock. It was a scream! You see your suppose to follow the animated people on the game and do as they do. Well my family did not understand I can't follow anyone watching them. Believe me it just does not work for me. I have been thrown out of classes for not being able to follow their moves. hahaha

So knowing it was hopeless to do this I just started dancing like crazy to Jail House Rock. My grandson Bailey hollers from the balcony seating GRANDMA You Can't Just Go Crazy. You have to follow the people on the game. hahahaha

They didn't have to watch me too long I gave out right before the end of the song.  I did manage not to score too low. I even got some Prefects but not many.

If you want to loose weight I think this game on WI would be prefect for that.

The next morning after seeing what all Santa left Bailey and Kaci I drove over to Chad's home. He invited Christi and I for brunch.

As I have told you before Chad can cook. Oh my gosh. Christi and I never ate the rest of the day after his huge brunch.  I wanted to take pictures but after some of his friends arrived for the beautiful meal I was too  busy running my mouth to take any more pictures other than the one of Christi and Chad.

Chad served Mimosa's to drink with our meal and these drinks added to my mouth going non stop. I am sure if I had not partaken in these Mimosas I would of been a lot quieter.

One of Chad's guest was a friend Matthew from Australia. I loved meeting Matthew and fell in love with his accent. He was the sweetest young man and a delight to spend Christmas morning with.

I hope he enjoyed his visit here from Australia and comes back again soon.

Bailey and Kaci have been really sick since Christmas. Running a 102 fever and with Kaci being a Juvenile Diabetic her blood sugars have been running as crazy as my dancing to Jail House Rock. Only she is miserable and I wish that they would hurry and get well. I hate they spent their Christmas Vacation sick

in bed. Christi text me earlier and wrote she thought she was getting sick. I have been praying no one else would get this.

I hope you are well and not sick. Yesterday I went to the store and every where I turned someone was coughing or sneezing. I hurried out of the store as quick as I could.

Please tell me about your Christmas! I hope it was a special day for you.

Sending you much love

Maggie

Texas Angel!

Texas Angel

This little Texas angel

is feeling mighty blessed,

Because she comes from Texas

Where everything is best.

There are cattle on the prairies,

and oil in the ground;

Bluebonnets on the hillsides,

And sunshine all around.

The folks are always friendly,

The skies the deepest blue.

They do the Texas Two Step,

And have a barbeque.

This little Texas angel knows,

No matter where you roam,

That when you are in Texas

You'll always be at home.

Merry Christmas Ya'll  from Texas! 

Christi joins me tonight to wish You a Very Merry Christmas!

Love to all

Maggie

My Niece's Wedding!

On December 8th I attended the beautiful wedding of my niece Erin in Boerne, Texas. The wedding was held at a Wild Life Reserve and would you believe I captured no pictures of the wild animals.

Also very few pictures of the wedding. We were ask not to snap pictures while photographers were taking theirs.

Actually I was so busy catching up with family members that I only saw one animal when we first drove up there was a huge giraffe standing near where the wedding was fixing to start. lol

Erin grew up in New Braunsfel with her mother Roseanne and is the daughter of my younger Brother Tommy who lives in the Houston area. Tommy and Roseanne were divorced when Erin was just a baby but Tommy was a big part of her life. Roseanne did tell me at the wedding how much she appreciated Tommy being such a good Dad to Erin.  In the picture above it is Erin with her Mom's side of the family.

I have not seen the one of Keeton's posing with Erin.

Here is my daughter Christi posing with the mother of the Bride Rosanne. They are standing in front of a wall that my brother made for the reception. It was sitting at the gate where you went into the reception.

My brother Tommy grabbed my hand and led me over to it and I would have loved to have taken a picture of that moment. When we walked up to it there were to white gloved hands sticking out of two different openings with a glass of champagne to greet you. I don't know about you but I have never seen anything like this. It turned out it was the only glass of champagne I had all night and it was darn good.

Here is Rosanne posing in front of the wall. Tommy did a great job making this for Erin.

Turns out I was told he also hung all the lights in the enormous tent where the dinner was held. We are talking a lot of lights.

The tent was decorated with the most beautiful flower arrangements.

Let me tell you they spared no expense for this celebration After the sweet ceremony held under a oak tree the reception was held on a pretty rock patio where finger foods were served along with the open bar. 

Then we were invited into this huge tent where caterers served us a delicious fancy chicken meal. You know this ole country girl I did not even know what I was eating but it was really good.

In picture above is Father of the Bride my brother Tommy visiting our table. Here he is talking with my oldest Brother Billy and Sister-in-Law Linda.

Sitting next to me is my darling niece Connie with her precious daughter Leslie.

I laughed at this picture of Linda serving us some of the many desserts they had for us to enjoy.

Got lucky and snapped a picture of the Bride Erin with her Mom.

After dinner there was lots of dancing held in a barn.

I could not help but wonder what the wild animals thought of all the noise late into the night.

The next couple getting married in June is my Nephew Gary with his fiancee Elizabeth. She is from Lansing, Michigan where the wedding will be held. So I guess I need to start saving my money again for a trip. I love love Michigan and it would be so much fun to witness the wedding of these two.

It was a fun night and wanted to share some of it with you.

I know you are just as busy as I am trying to get everything done before next week. Time has a way of getting by us way to fast.

My life is really going to change in the next six months. It seems my landlady sold her Hotel/Casino in Laughlin, Nevada and she came by yesterday to give me the good news. Her plans are to make a lot of changes out here on the North Forty and not all of them I am wanting but I only work here.

Her biggest plan is to build five or more small houses out here that she calls Cassita's. She wants to rent them out to women who want to have a business in them and also for them to live there too. I can't imagine that happening but I do think she will build the houses. 

I am use to living by myself and when Spring gets here I have a feeling those days may come to an end. She is a hands on person when something big is going on out here so can you imagine how long it will take to build five or more houses. lol....OMG.....

She thought all my furniture that I have moved into my living room out here is way too much. Busy I believe is the word she used. haha....

Well it is late and I need to do a few things before turning in for the night. It was in the high 70's today but in the morning we are suppose to wake up to freezing temps. Too much of a difference. Texas weather is like that though so nothing new.

Take care and slow down everything will be done by Christmas Day. I promise!

Sweet Dreams

Maggie 

And The Winner IS

Like all of you this morning my heart is absolutely breaking for the families and friends of all in Newtown, Ct.
I could not sleep last night thinking about those precious children taken so young and got so angry that I thought of things I was going to say this morning but have decided not to do so. It won't bring these angels back to their families and I may say things left better unsaid.

How do these families recover. They won't and it just is killing me this morning. May God Bless all of these families and heal their hearts.

Now for Happy news I do have a winner for my Candy Giveaway. I put in 1 thru 29 at the Random Generator site and Number 4 came up. Well I can tell you I was quite surprised and happy
that our very sweet friend Cathy over at Acorn Hollow won. Yep you won! So a big Congrats to you and  glad you came back again because it paid off. lol  Looking forward to hearing from you and finding out if you want the Fudge or the Peanut Clusters.

Thank you all for entering my giveaway. I would give anything to be able to send out candy to each and everyone of you that entered. Hopefully next year I can have more giveaways and you might be the next big winner.

Be safe this weekend and know this ole grandma thinks of you often and sends Love to All
Maggie

My Lucky Winner/Another Giveaway!

Hello to all of you! It has been a wonderful weekend at my neices wedding. I did manage to snap a few pictures. They had ask that no pictures be taken while the photographers were taking theirs so that left little time for me to take pictures. lol.....Hopefully I will share these pictures in a few days.

It was a beautiful wedding and I pray that Ross and Erin have a long and happy life together.

Returned home a little while  ago and could not wait to use the Random Generator to choose my lucky winner.

I put in 1-37 and the lucky number was 12. Came back over to my site and counted down to find that our darling friend Shirley of  Shirley Stiches has won my Candy Giveaway.  Congrats Shirley I am so excited you won and if you will send me your address I will make your candy and get it in the mail to you.

Since it is Christmas and I love you all dearly I am going to have another giveaway of  my chocolates.

Just leave a comment on this post and your entered for some of my famous Ms Ruby's Fudge or Chocolate Peanut Clusters. This giveaway will run through Friday, December 14th at midnight. Good luck to all of you and Love to All


Maggie

Upstairs Bedroom!

Hello! How are You? Are you ready for Christmas? It sure is getting here fast.

As promised I am sharing with you my upstairs bedroom that is finally coming together.

Months ago I showed you how I papered the ceiling by buying just a big roll of rose colored paper from Home Depot and tearing the paper into whatever size I wanted to use and then smother it with wallpaper paste before placing it on the ceiling. This paper comes either in brown or rose. Since it was for the ceiling I chose the rose color.

My sister-in-law Linda did a bedroom in her home in the brown. I was amazed at how beautiful her room turned out so of course I had to try it. The reason I used it on this ceiling is because there was paper up already but it had been torn in a lot of different places and I had too much trouble trying to remove this old paper so I could not figure out what to do. Hiding it with this paper seemed the easiest and cheapest way to go.

It's not hard to do but time consuming if your doing it yourself. Especially in a room like this that is all ceilings.

My bed belonged to my Mama who I adored! Last year when Christi was living with me I painted it and the dresser to match black. We also did an antique bed of Christi's too. Her's turned out really pretty.

Not sure if I will keep mine black.

As you can see by this picture I am not near finished with decorating the room.

All my wicker up here is different colors. So my hold up now in painting the wicker is trying to decide what color I want to paint it. Of course you know I want your ideas.

I spent hours today trying out different materials for the wicker couch and chase but not sure what I will end up using to cover their cushions. Maybe I should wait til I pick the color of the wicker first.

I do love my new comforter. It is from Target and since it was pink and green it goes prefect with this room.

See how the ceiling comes down almost to the floor on this side of the wall. If I had a nickel for every time I have bumped my head I could buy some more wicker. lol

Excuse the big ladder. It is not part of my decor. Too heavy for me to move downstairs so when my son's come for the Holidays I will have them take it to the barn.

Here is an old pink chase that needs some tender loving care. Before the new roof I had problems with leaks and this poor piece was dripped on one night. So I am trying to figure out what to use on it to remove the stains.

I brought this bookcase upstairs from my closet. It has to be painted also. Again not sure what color.

The dresser fits between the two little windows and beside it I have a mini microwave for my hot chocolate and a small refrig for my drinks.

Behind the screen is Tinkerbell's litter box and my porta potty. Yep I share to much with you.

My granddaughter had a fit when she saw the porta potty. She told me Grandma Yellow Hair don't you dare use that thing. You go down those stairs take a left and walk down the hall and take a right. There you will find your bathroom.

I told her when she gets 64 years old and needs to potty during the night and has to stumble down a flight of stairs walk through two rooms and a hall then let me know if she makes it on time. lol

She told her Dad that I could not do this because there was no sink to wash my hands. I told her I will put a bottle of hand sanitizer up here by the potty.

She then remarked well then I know what I am getting you for Christmas A Years supply of hand sanitizer. lol  Love that girl!

When you walk into the room this corner is to the left. It is the only space in the room with a full wall. Sorry not sure how to explain it. I bought this closet from Wal Mart to use as a closet...lol....but it is too big. Clint put it together for me when they came after Thanksgiving. It's a great piece for a room without a closet but I am not sure if I will keep it. Since it is so tall this is the only place it fits.

Everything seems to be pushed to one end of the room so that is one reason I might take this closet down and use this corner for a sitting area where I could read or write.

On the right side of the pink chair is where the bed is located.

This room is still a challenge to me but it is slowly falling in place. I chose to stick with the same colors through out the house my pinks and green. Yep I know too much pink.

Hopefully soon I can finish it and boy will that be a good feeling.

My Candy giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight. If you have not put your name in the hat be sure and scroll down to the post before this and leave a comment so you can be entered for your choice of Fudge or White or Milk Chocolate Peanut Clusters. Good luck to everyone.

I am leaving in the morning for my neice's wedding near San Antonio so I might be late announcing the winner but I am hoping my Sunday night.

Sorry these pictures are not that great. I hope by clicking them on you might can see the room better.

I hated showing it to you before the final touches but I wanted to show you what I have been doing in my spare time.

Enjoy your weekend! Don't over do it with shopping and getting things done for Christmas. As always I appreciate you visiting me and letting me know how you are doing. Cause you mean a lot to this old Grandma Yellow Hair.

Sweet Dreams

Maggie

My Living Room/Candy Giveaway!

Please come in and make yourself comfortable! I now have plenty of places for you to sit and prop your feet up.

As I mentioned in my earlier post I finally got my old living room furniture from my brother's house in town.

I was told when I moved out here that it was too big to go through these small doors on this farm house.

Turns out the movers did not know what they were talking about because the guys that moved it for me had no trouble at all.

In the picture above and below is my large sofa with a matching ottoman. The trouble is everything matches which makes for too many flowers in one room. lol

In the corner by the book case I put the over sized chase that I have longed for all these years. Talk about comfortable. I can remember many times falling asleep in this piece.

On the other side of the big room I put the love seat which I put the pink sofa I had in here already across from it. Before I had my dining room table and chairs. I moved them into the dining room which I will show you another time.

I took this picture while coming down the stairs from the bedroom that is finally finished. Soon you will see all the hard work I did in this room so I can finally sleep where it is warm.

Here is the pink sofa across from the love seat. Yep way too much furniture but maybe when I get the two Christmas trees out of this room and move a couple of pieces somewhere else it will look better.

Why I bought all the same matching pieces years ago is beyond me. I wish now I had went with some solid colors to match the sofa.

Never thought I would ever get my pieces back but now their here and I am happy.

Today I made some of my Ms Ruby's Chocolates and I thought of how long it has been since I had a giveaway of my candy so whoever leaves a comment on this post will be entered to win either the Fudge or the famous Peanut Clusters.

How about we end the giveaway on Sunday the 8th which will give me time to make Lot's more chocolate and time for everyone to have a chance to enter.

Whoever wins can tell me their preference of what kind of candy. Good luck to everyone!

Love to all

Maggie

Catching Up!

So much has been happening and no time to blog about it. We all have weeks like this and yet most of you find the time to sit down and write a post. Me I crawl in bed thinking I will do it first thing in the morning and before I know it morning turns into evening and I am exhausted again.

I still have not recovered from whatever bug I got two weeks ago. Most days I feel sort of like this big bear here. Just let me lay down and see if I can get over this crud.

Sad I had to ask a girlfriend today was it Tuesday or Wednesday. lol She probably thought HOW could she not even know what day of the week it is.

My house closed on the 19th and I managed to keep my britches up for the signing. I made sure I wore a different pair of pants. lol  I was too sick with the crud to cry but the young man could not hold his tears back. I begged him not to do it because I did not want to start. I have not even drove by there to see it. I will take him a gift basket of sweets for his kids though sometime before Christmas.

Enjoyed my Thanksgiving in Austin. Wish I could share pictures with you of the day but would you believe my camera was never taken out of my suitcase. You can tell just by that how much I have fallen as a fellow blogger. All good blogger's carry their camera around their neck, pockets or if all else fails their bra.

The way my body is swifting I would never get by with putting anything in my bra. It would be like pulling something from around my waist line. Yep too much information.

Back to Thanksgiving. My son Chad fixed an incredible feast for us. Never in my whole life have I fixed a meal like he set before Christi and myself. I was surprised that he had my grandmothers dressing recipe and it was every bit like hers. He fixed sweet potatoes that would have made me slap my Momma if she had been sitting there with us. OMG I actually let out some kind of noise when they touched my senses. Delicious squash that I still can not figure out how he did them. They were cut up like small potatoes and I actually thought they were potatoes when he took them out of the oven. I am not a squash eater but if I had not been still feeling sick I could of ate the whole bowl of them.

Now for dessert he made a pumpkin pie, pineapple upside down cake and a chocolate pecan pie. He surely missed his calling by not being a chef.

Then Friday Christi and I braved one store Bed Bath and Beyond for about an hour before heading over to my other son Clint's house. He was busy making his home light up like the movie Chevy Chase Christmas Holiday. Clint really does an excellent job of putting up his decorations. I can remember when he was a boy trying to decorate our home too.

This year he had Kaci out there helping him string lights. It was fun way to spend the day. They had all kinds of snacks and goodies for us to munch on through out the day.

Saturday I drove home with my grandson in my back seat. Never have I got to do this with Bailey. His Dad followed about thirty minutes later than us and then two hours later his wife and Kaci came to Brenham.

Clint had sold his big truck that he never drove to my nephew and he brought it to him. So I got to spend a little of Saturday with them too.

It was a blast visiting one on one with my grandson coming back home. We had a neat time at least I know I did.

The past two days I have been moving furniture all around the old farm house because after six years I found a way to get my living room suit from my brothers house. You see when I moved out here this house was smaller than my home in town and I have furniture scattered at different brothers houses.

I was told by the movers that my large couch, love seat and chase would not go through this old country door. Well everyone agreed with the movers and for years it set at my brothers. Every time I saw it I wanted it. So last week a guy was fixing some things out here and I ask him how much trouble and money would it be to take the frames off my front door so I could move my furniture here. He told me it would be easy and his crew would get the furniture for me.

Well this morning they arrived with it and all I had to do was open the front door. That furniture went in without one bit of trouble. I stood there in complete shock. There I had done without it for all those years because I believed everyone about how it would not go through those doors. So take it from me when you want something go after it.....do not waste years like I did. What really shocked me is he only charged me fifty dollars for moving it. I had to give him more because that was too cheap.

Maybe tomorrow I can find my camera and show you my old furniture that is like new to me. lol  I now have one large front room with two different living room suits. I had them move my dining room table out into the room next to the kitchen and the bedroom set that was in there they moved to the back. Well they moved just the bed and left the two amoires that match the bed in the dining room. lol When I can make room for them they will be moved to the back room with the bed and dresser. I am furniture poor.

The idiot and myself went through a period of collecting antiques. So I am lucky to still have most of them. I do have a bedroom set over at another brothers. He probably heard about me rounding up my living room set from his brother and is thinking I am coming after him next. hahaha I would if I had room for it.

Right now I am cozy upstairs. Yep I finally got all the paper on the walls or ceilings in this case. So can't wait to get my wicker repainted and curtains for the windows. But I will show you what I have so far. It was near freezing last night and I was actually kicking off covers up here. Wish I had you here to help me decorate it.
So I now have to share those pictures too. I promise I will dig the camera out and download them for you.

Oh and another thing has happened this past week. The Round Top Library has ask me to teach ceramics at their library. What happen is in my early life I owned a ceramic shop and I still had my commercial kiln in the garage of the home I sold last week. I called the library to donate it to them but they already had two plus a potters wheel. She then told me that they have never been fortunate to find anyone to teach ceramics. Since I had a kiln she thought I would be prefect for it. I told her I would think about it because it has been so long since I picked up a brush. I do need to get back with her and find out more about these classes.

Gosh I have wrote a chapter tonight. Just wanted to let you know I am still around kicking but not as high as usual. I need to mow at least once more before putting the tractors away for the winter. I keep thinking I will get that done but every day something prevents me from crawling up on the tractor. Believe me when I say I am not missing all the mowing at all. I feel like I am doing something wrong by not mowing.

Hope you are well and staying warm. Take care of yourself and know I am thinking of you.

Sweet Dreams
Maggie

Droopy Britches!

Sitting here tonight thinking about how lucky I am that tomorrow I leave for Austin to spend Thanksgiving with my children. Chad is fixing Thanksgiving Dinner for Christi and myself on Thursday then Friday I will spend the day with by son Clint and his family (my two darling grand babies.) Does not get any better than this.

So many reasons to be Thankful this Thanksgiving. The list is long and you of course are right at the top of it. Another year of friendships that have meant so much to me. Thank you for always being here for me through thick and thin.

Your such a dear for all the precious comments about selling my home. I have been out of the home for a while now living out here on the North Forty and renting it out. It still hit me hard though when I signed the papers Monday morning. Funny how you know its the best thing for you but yet your emotions run wild.

It truly did help knowing that the young man that bought it was thrilled to have a bigger and nicer home for his four children. He has a rough road ahead raising them alone but buying my home will make things a little easier.

You are probably wondering why the picture of the pantie looms in this post. I am sitting here thinking about how much food Chad will be fixing for me and Christi and I just hope that after this week is over I can still fit in my britches. lol  Isn't it amazing how much weight one can put on between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So here's hoping we all can fit into our panties after December.

Well enough on that nonsense. I have to tell you a quick story before I have to get off of here and pack my bag for tomorrow.

Last week I went to town to run a few errands and to meet the buyer of my home at the Title Company. While running these errands I noticed I kept pulling up my jeans. Something odd for me since I usually have trouble buttoning them up.

The first two times I pulled them up I did not think much of it. But by the time I arrived at the Title Company I noticed that my pants had slid down to the point of almost falling off. Talk about weird. Here is an old lady walking on Main Street America with pants down her back end like the young people you sometimes see at Wal Mart and you want to go up and grab their pants and give them a big tug. Then lead them to the belt section and purchase one for them.

I kid you not it was scary thinking that my pants were to the point of falling off. Yet I have wore these jeans more times than I can count and yet all of sudden I am close to loosing them. I know the ladies at the Title Company thought there was something strange about me because I kept slipping behind different things in their office so I could give my pants a huge tug. I even slowly eased behind one of their big potted plants to give them a boost up.

The real strange thing about his story is I honestly don't believe I have lost any weight. Pretty sure the scales are the same. So why would these pants all of sudden be so droopy. Maybe their worn out. All I know is I don't think I am brave enough to put them on again. lol I kept thinking how in the world do those kids walk around like this every day. lol

Actually they might just fit after Thanksgiving Day. I might should pack them tonight.

Over the weekend I came down with some kind of bug and it wiped me out. I laid in bed all day Sunday which is something I never do. Of course I panicked thinking it might keep me from the closing but I managed to get dressed and make it. Several of my friends told me that I was going to the closing if I had to crawl there. Do you think they might be tired of listening to all my complaints about horrific renters.

Thankful for you and Thursday when I am giving Thanks for my Blessings You will be there in my thoughts and prayers. Please know I don't take you for granted and I do think of you often.

May You and Your Family Be Blessed this Thanksgiving and whatever your plans please be kind  to yourself. Looking forward to visiting your sites and reading about your special holiday.

Love to all
Maggie

Good News!

Gosh these weeks are flying by! I keep hoping things will slow down and I will have time for writing on here and visiting with you.

Lot's has happened since we last chatted. The election was held and it only sent me into deeper depression even though I figured it would turn out the way it did.

Most people in Texas would have preferred the end of Obama years but not to be.

Now enough of depressing news that I can not change. I have good news tonight to share with you. Just hope I don't jinx myself for putting it out in the universe but I have a buyer for my home. A young man with four young children has made me an offer and I accepted. 

Just before he made me the offer I knew in my heart that he was fixing to and a flood of memories took over and the tears began to fall. This was totally unexpected and truthfully embarrassing.

He had brought three men with him from a Realtor Company, his mother and a friend so tears flowing in front of all these strangers was very uncomfortable and quite surprising.

The day before I showed the home to him, his children and mother. The kids ran through the house telling him how much they liked it and were picking out their rooms. Turns out they had been looking at several homes but my house was the first one that they all agreed upon.

They have been through a lot this past year I found out from his mother that his wife died in July. Sad to think of him raising those children by himself.

He ask to meet me the next day and when I arrived  I was disappointed when I saw the group of people with him because I figured they would talk him out of the house but on the contrary they told him he was getting a steal. I knew then that he was probably going to make me an offer and that's when I pictured me and my kids running around in the backyard playing.

Then when the young man gave me an offer and I accepted he started crying. Oh man what an experience. Never thought selling my home would be like this.

I know it's silly of me to cry most of the weekend thinking of selling my home especially after praying for a buyer. Makes me wonder if I really have lost it. lol

Like my son told me my memories are in my heart and I will always have them.

It does help knowing that someone as nice as this family will be buying it and making their own memories.

In the picture above taken many years ago are myself and my three kids Chad, Clint and Christi.

I think we were visiting my brothers home in Deer Park when this was taken but not sure what year.

Look at how skinny I was here and how dark my hair was many moons ago. lol

Don't the years fly by fast?

Thank you for all the great comments you left me about wanting to help our neighbors on the East Coast. My heart still breaks every time I think of them. Just tonight I was watching 60 minutes and the tears flowed. I don't know what is up with me and all these tears.

You were right about donating now to the Salvation Army and the Red Cross. I don't know what I was thinking that I could just load trucks of stuff and take it to them because like some of you mentioned a lot of them have to rebuild first. I have not given up though on raising money. Every little bit does help so we just have to send what we can.

Tomorrow I am taking the morning off and volunteering at my favorite place near here Festival Hill. Every year the foundation mails out thousands of Christmas cards and I usually try to save a day or two to help them with the stuffing of envelopes.

Sending you much love and good wishes for a wonderful week. I do love and miss you.

Sweet Dreams

Maggie

How Can We Help So Many Left Homeless by Sandy!

Just had to share with you the big Halloween Bash that Pea had at her place last night. Just click on Peas Corner and join in on a fun party. Look what I showed up in.

When it comes to celebrating she knows how to throw a party. I bet you will find yourself in costume too.

Pea is one of the reasons I love blogging. When your feeling down you can visit her and leave smiling.

I have not forgotten about the pictures I promised of last Sunday at Kaci's Juvenile Diabetes walk. Andrea was kind enough to email some to me so hopefully over the weekend I can share them with you.

Been really busy this week with the landlord out here. She and her sister drove down from Nevada and we went over a lot of things that are need of some repairs. Yesterday the tree guy removed ten more of her lovely old oaks and cedar trees. She is just beside herself that so many are dying.

Today an exterminator came out and we walk around the property with him discussing how he might could save some of these trees. Most have died from the drought last summer and she finally realized today that was what has been killing them.

Like you I have been watching the sad pictures being aired about our neighbors on the East Coast. I have to say it has just broke my heart watching this and not knowing what to do to help them.

I have lived through some horrible storms here on the coast when I was a teenager but this storm is something none of us ever want to see again. Incredible what our friends are going through.

All night I tossed and turned trying to figure out a way to do something that would help some of these suffering. I pictured myself asking for help on my blog and then loading big trucks full of  all kinds of things they are in need of to just survive.

Right now it breaks my heart that I have a generator sitting out in the barn not being used by a family that so desperately needs one. At four o'clock this morning I was still awake trying to think of how I could at least load up a few big trucks and me drive one of them there.

Then I thought of a friend of mine who admits being a hoarder and her sister too and I thought we could solve their problem of what to do with all their stuff by backing up trucks to their houses and storage buildings and taking loads of  unused items and furniture to all the families who have lost everything. I would even give up some of my things if I thought I could get it to them.

So what do you think? Can all of us bloggers unite and figure how to make life better for our neighbors who have lost everything.

What about you! Are you a hoarder? Do you have rooms stacked to the ceiling full of clothes, furniture, cookware, dishes, sheets and God knows what. Would you be willing to give it to those in need? It might be just what you need to do with this stuff.

I know your thinking well Maggie it's not your stuff so sure it's easy for you to give it away but the same friend who admits to being a hoarder just told her brother-in-law that she has never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul to Heaven so with that in mind. You might could end up helping a lot of homeless people on the East Coast.

I know me I will lay in bed tonight again and try to figure out how to get people to donate generators, beds, food and medicine to name of few of the necessities.

My problem is being so far away but that should not stop us from helping.

Once again Any Ideas?

Love to all

Maggie

What Are The Chances?

Hello Dear Friend and how are you today? My day was a memory making day spent in Austin at the Juvenile Diabetes Walk For a Cure.  Great turnout and I am so lucky to have made it again to be a part of Kaci's team.

You are so sweet for leaving such wonderful comments about Kaci on my previous post. I adore all of you. She is a true grit kind of girl and I will do a post about her soon.

Some of you may remember this picture of Kaci. Several years ago she posed for a fund raiser for Juvenile Diabetes and this picture was used on the invitations.

Would you believe I left in such a hurry yesterday I forgot my camera but my son Chad and my DL Andrea promised to send me pictures so I will wait on them to share the day with you.

After the walk Chad and I who is also a Juvenile Diabetic since the age of 13 went out to lunch together. It was great spending some quality time alone with him. He is such a good man and a terrific son.

Wow while sitting here writing this post my Son Clint, Dl Andrea, Kaci and Bailey phoned me on Skype to see if I wanted to watch them carve their two pumpkins. DID I? Well of course and what a delight! It was a wonderful surprise and can not thank them enough for including me on their pumpkin carving. Amazing that you can join in on family and friends with your computers.

Thank you guys for thinking of me and making that Skype phone call. I loved it and their pumpkins turned out too cute. If you have not tried Skype you must do it. I need to learn how to adjust my computer where I don't look like a squirrel on the other end. lol

While visiting with them I mentioned to Andrea about her pictures she took today and she is sending me some and agreed that I could share a few with you so YAHOO and I will do that next post.

Tonight I want to tell you about my experience yesterday. It totally blew me away so of course I have to share it with you.

Last week I put a For Sale sign up at my home in town. Homes are not selling in our area but who knows miracles happen every day and I have put my name in for one.

A young lady saw the sign the very same day and ask if she could see the house. I was more than happy to show it to her and much to my surprise she fell in love with it. We visited for almost an hour and she explained to me that a life long friend was willing to finance a home for her if it was in a certain price range.

This was good news to me because it meant I would not have to wait to see if they were cleared for a loan.

Yesterday we met again but this time she brought along the lady who will be loaning them the money. I was anxious to meet this lady and see what she thought of my home.

They were in the back yard when I arrived so I walked through the sun room to open the back door for them. I immediately thought the woman looked familiar but when she turned to shake my hand I said, "Mrs. Lauter and she said, "Yes!"

I just stood there absolutely in shock. I asked if she had taught elementary school in Deep Water, Texas and her mouth flew open. Pretty wide too. lol

What are the chances that standing in my back yard fifty something years later in my life was my third grade school teacher who was now 84 years old and I have not seen since grade school. Plus she was there to look at a home I had for sale in a town some 140 miles from where we once lived.

Not only did that blow my mind but the fact that I recognized her without any hesitation. The surprising part is I don't remember but two of my elementary teachers and she naturally was one of them. Never thought I would ever see either one of them again but to meet up with her this way has totally been weird.

You see I am one of those people who has very limited memory of child hood so me recognizing her has me wondering what happened yesterday. lol

It amazed her that I remembered her but I think the fact that I recognized her after all these years was the real mind blower. Truly she did not look 84 years old and still had red hair which had to be maybe help from a bottle. lol

She of course did not remember me which I totally did not expect her too. Well maybe I did! I told her that I still had a picture of her and myself taken in my front yard way back then. I don't think she really believed me there but I do remember seeing that picture in some old black and whites my mom gave me years ago.

It was quite an experience and one I want to tell you more about once this thing about the house is completed. She wanted me to come down twenty thousand dollars on a price I have already set as really low so I told her I could not see me doing that. I hardly slept last night thinking about this strange encounter with a old school teacher.

Well sweet dear friend is that not a story. My feet are starting to get cold so I need to get up and see about turning on some heat. I do think I will try the electric heaters for a while to see if they are cheaper and maybe this week I can call the electrical company.

I doubt I can tomorrow because my landlady is suppose to be here going over some problems out here. One is the cowboy's house. We still have not solved the water coming inside his home. Another big issue is two more huge trees have fallen again. The property is full of old Oak and Pine trees but the rate their dying
is scary. I just hope she is not too disappointed in how the place looks but this ole grandma is doing the best she can to keep up but that's a problem too. lol

Just had to spend a few minutes with you tonight because I do miss you and think of you often.

Thanks for always being here for me. I appreciate all your helpful comments. I know with your help and advice I can not go wrong.

To all of you in the path of horrible Sandy my thoughts and prayers are with you. I have been praying that Sandy will fizzle out and not cause the damage everyone is afraid of. Please don't take any chances where you live. If they tell you to leave then please do. Hurricanes are not our friends and we can not stay home waiting for them. It is best to go to where you know you will be safe. Take it from one who was born and raised on the Gulf Coast. Just be Safe and let us know how you are doing.

Love to all
Maggie

Lazy Kind of Day!

Brrrr.....Baby it's cold outside!

Tinkerbell and I were awaken this morning by a rainy cold front moving in the area.  Temperatures dropped from high 80's yesterday to 50's this morning.

It made for a lazy day! After all the mowing this past week I am not complaining.

I am looking forward to the weekend because my precious granddaughter Kaci's Walk for the Cure is this Sunday and I am planning on attending. It is a major function for raising funds for Juvenile Diabetes. As most of you know Kaci was diagnosed at the age of seven and will be eleven in November.

Kaci is an inspiration to all who know her and spends a lot of time raising money for Juvenile Diabetes. I know I brag about her a lot but I just can't help myself.

Last Sunday when my kids came to see me my son Clint fixed several things for me and one was he hooked up my DVD player in the bedroom for me which was something I tried but failed to do.  So sweet of him because now on days like today I can watch my DVDs I have not watched in a while. Right now I have the crazy funny movie Somethings Gotta Give with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. I do enjoy watching this movie. It has some pretty funny parts in it. If you haven't seen this old movie I highly recommend you rent it and be prepared to laugh and shed a few tears.

If I have a problem I always post it on here and you do your best to help me solve it. What an amazing friend you are to me. My question for you today is What do you do to keep your outside cat's safe and warm during the winter months?

I have a Momma Kitty and her six month old kitten that I named Billie Sue since she was born on my brother's Billy's birthday. lol  I worry so about them at night because of the coyotes out here. The last month I have been moving them inside at night and putting them back out in the mornings. I really can't keep doing this because the upstairs room I am putting them in is the room I am trying so hard to fix up where I can be warmer this winter. It is almost finished so any suggestions on how to keep them safe and warm at night.

I don't have a garage out here or any outside buildings close to the house so that is not an option. I have a small dog house but they will not go into it. Been racking this ole brain of mine for weeks now but can't seem to come up with the solution. Love to hear what you do for yours.

It has to be something a coyote can't get into. I have been told that they will come up inside my yard so that upsets me thinking they would.

A friend of mine told me to stop fretting over outside cats but I can't help myself.

Another question I have for you is about saving on the utility bills. This ole farm house gets so cold in the winter and I usually try to live in one part of it. One reason why I have been trying my best to finish the upstairs room because they say heat rises. I bought a Lasko Electric heater that is suppose to heat a large room. I was wondering if I turn off the central heat and just run the this heater do you think it will cost less. It says 1500 Watts on the box. I have heard that electric heaters cost more so I thought I should ask you what you think. 

Today I did this in the back room and the room stayed fairly warm with it in low 50's all day. I may have to see if the utility office can give me an idea of which is more.

I have had a better week. Staying busy does help and knowing my boss/landlady is coming Monday or Tuesday has given me no time to feel lonely. I feel like the place out here looks bad because of all the rain the weeds grow faster than I can cut them. Also my big tractor is broken again which has me mowing only with two small ones. Gosh I am boring. Mowing is in every other sentence here lately.

Hope you are well and that your week was a good one. Enjoy your weekend and let me know how you are doing.

Love to all

Maggie