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

Camden, Maine

Oh how I wish I could pick each and every one of you up in this beauty and we could leisurely explore the Coast Line of Maine.

The pictures I am sharing with you on this post were taken in Camden, Maine.

One reason Christi and I chose Camden as one of our must see spots while visiting Maine was I had read years ago that this is where the movie Peyton Place was filmed in 1954. Of course the TV series Peyton Place is the one I remember and even as a teenager I fell in love with this little town.

Like most of the New England towns they are very touristy and full of specialty shops.

The main attraction though is about two miles out of town at the state park Mount Battie where you can enjoy the spectacular view of Camden. I wanted to spend hours just sitting on these rocks and taking in the beauty of this gorgeous state. 

According to the pamphlet we picked up about the area this is where in the movie that Allison would go and hide out and then if I remember correctly she ends up sharing this secret hideaway with Rodney.

Here Christi and I are posing before we left here and headed for Bangor where we visited Stephen King's house which you can read about in an earlier post of mine.

Behind Christi is a Memorial that was built for the local war hero's who fought in World War II.

I know a lot of the pic's are very similar. If you would like a better view just double click them and you will see a lot of the beauty we experienced that day.

The weather was prefect all week. Only thing missing was the leaves were not changing yet. Can only imagine what we missed in seeing the fall foliage.

At the airport in Portland on our way home I bought a magazine about Maine. Too bad I did not find this magazine Down East before my travels were over. Actually though Christi and I did visit most of the little villages that the magazine talks about. According to a poll they took asking their readers to vote on their favorite prettiest of them all villages of Maine.... Camden was voted number One.

Dave Ahlers, from Omaha, Nebraska wrote, "So much about Camden represents Maine at its most iconic - the harbor, Mount Battie, the Village Green, lobster rolls on the deck at Marriner's Restaurant. Camden is the best way to show someone 'from away' what a unique and special place Maine is."

I could not agree more with Dave about Camden but if I had voted it would of been for the village that came in Second which was my favorite Boothbay Harbor.

Susie Saudek, Capitol Island, Maine wrote this about Boothbay Harbor. "A laid-back village far from busy Route 1, Boothbay Harbor features authentic charm, a working waterfront, drop dead natural beauty, and a great mix of restaurants, cultural events, and artisans. It's surrounded by islands and lighthouses, while the village itself shines, thanks to brick sidewalks, handsome hand-painted signs, and a gentle hilly terrain."

Exactly how Susie describes Boothbay is how I found it to be. It is where I would love to spend my life now. To me Boothbay Harbor has the real feeling of village life.

Another time I will share with you the rest of the top 10 prettiest villages of Maine according to the magazine Down East.

Before I close tonight I want to thank you all for sending me your potato soup recipes. I knew I could count on you to come through with some yummy recipes. I can't wait to try them all. You are the best.

Soup just seems to sooth my soul and for weeks now or longer I need something to rescue me from myself. Been feeling completely lost and not connected. I get really angry at myself when this happens because I know truly how Blessed I am and that God has always been there for me.

Not sure how to describe what I am going through except I feel I need a purpose in my life other than what I am doing now. I don't know why maybe it's knowing winter is coming on but I sometimes feel that I could not be more lonelier than I am at the present.

One would think as busy as this place out here keeps me I would not have time for being lonely. So what is it? I think a lot of it is how fast the months are flying by and I am growing old alone without a spouse. Never thought I would face the problems of old age alone.

Also I miss being creative and I don't have time to create anything.

My kid's must of sensed my feelings because they came Sunday and spent the day with me. My oldest son Chad made the BEST pork bar-b-qued ribs and potato salad. He saved the day with bringing them for us to pig out on. I laugh every time I think of my two grand babies cleaning their ribs completely clean. lol

I made green beans and baked beans along with a delicious easy chocolate cake. Of course, we had to cover the cake with our famous Blue Bell Ice Cream that has made this little town I live in famous.

After the kids left I browsed the classifieds for apartments or houses in their area but I know I can not afford moving there. It would take a really fantastic high paying job and at my age I think those days are over.

Perhaps it's just what I wrote that has me down. "Those days are over."

Sorry did not mean to end this on a low note. I just felt I needed to share with you one of the reasons I have not been blogging. I want to write about happy things not depression.

Much love to all of you

Sweet Dreams

Maggie

Indulge An Old Woman!

Once upon a time I was a pretty good cook. I actually enjoyed fixing big meals for my family and after my babies left home I still gladly cooked for the idiot.

Skip years ahead to the present and my cooking habits are nothing to write about even on my little site here. I have either forgotten how to cook a good meal or my taste buds have completely gone south along with everything else on me. Lucky for you I won't go into those unsightly changes tonight. Another time perhaps.

When I do indulge myself in my tiny kitchen and try to make some of my favorite meals the way they turn out seem like a night and day difference in the way I use to prepare them.

It's frustrating to the point where I have just about given up on cooking and eat a lot of sandwiches or a bowl of cereal.

What I have been wanting and can't seem to get it right is a big huge bowl of potato soup.  Is there a secret to making a great potato soup and do you know what it is? Would love to hear how you make yours

Now I am going into blogger and see if I can change my settings where you can reply to me by email because I have had several friends tell me I don't have that activated so let me see if I can figure it out.

Hope you have a gorgeous week.

Love to all
Maggie

My Yard and Porch!

Today I planted a few mums!

Added a couple of pumpkins.

                                            
                                    I put away my vintage tablecloths and covered the small tables
                                          on my porch with bright colored oil cloth.

                                         

Hung some pretty hanging baskets but somehow walked inside without taking their pictures.

My porch is like my home inside full of colors

Just wanted to say hello and show you what I enjoyed doing today.

What did you enjoy today?

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Sweet Dreams

Maggie

Day of the Dead Room!

                                You have to be thankful that today's post has nothing to do with my vacation to Maine.
Before I left on my trip my girlfriend Sharon ask me to take pictures of the room over her garage because she lives near the Round Top/Warrenton Show and wanted to rent this room out.

Sharon and I have similar taste for decorating both of us loving pink and bright colors.

This room has plenty of both.

The little table and chairs are pink and green. Several years ago I spotted this set at Warrenton and almost bought it. Later I happened to pass the booth where these were for sale and they had sold on them.

I told my friend Janie that it had to of been Sharon who bought them and years later here they are in this room.

Sharon and her husband Lew spent maybe four years building this country home.

They now live in it and one day maybe I can show you the main house.

It is decorated all pink too but I don't think she has her Day of the Dead collection anywhere inside it.

Here I caught Sharon telling me not to take her picture because she had her apron on.  It is a darling apron too and she fixed the best chicken fried steak that night for supper.

She takes a good picture no matter what she is wearing.

This picture was quite a surprise to me when I saw it because it was painted by my friend and artist Mary Ellen Shipnes who painted my headboard picture for this blog.

Now let me share with you how different friends taste can be. Sharon loves the Day of the Dead stuff.

Not this ole grandma! I find it spooky and depressing.

Every year she travels to Mexico for months at a time and plans her trip around the Day of the Dead Celebrations.  Probably some of these pieces she has in this room are from Mexico but they could of been bought  from the Warrenton Show because they have everything out there. In fact Sharon bought several pieces this past week to add to her room.

If I am not mistaken she has lots more Day of the Dead in storage that along with her new pieces she will be adding them to this room.

It is one of those things I believe you either like it or hate it. I told her it might keep her from renting the room but she did not agree with me.

So what do you think? Would it Spook you out to stay in this room or is it just me?

Hope you had a great weekend. My day was spent trying to duct tape one of the mantle's in the living room to the wall. Our first cold front blew in during the night and the mantle that has been separating from the wall for a while now really is separated . I have tried and tried to get a carpenter out here to fix it but no one wants to do small jobs.

Cold air was blowing inside like crazy. I could not believe how wide the gap was when I did finally see it this morning. At first I panicked thinking what kind of creatures might have crawled in during the night while I was sleeping. Then I stuffed paper and old material all around it but I could still feel the cold air so I got out the trusty poor man's fix for everything and started taping it.

I guess duct tape works on everything. I started calling around to everyone that I thought might reconsider the job and found a guy I have never used. Thank goodness he told me he would come tomorrow.

Also I have the bee guy coming back also Monday. In the back barn there are two yellow jacket nest hanging from golf carts that are as big as a football. Talk about scared that scares me.

Have a wonderful week! Thanks for stopping by and

Sweet Dreams

Maggie

PS.  Sharon decided not to rent the room out this last show because she wanted to use a different bed. But if you need a room for the next show I think she might be ready for guest then.

Ms Pearl in Booth Bay Harbor!

                            Booth Bay Harbor is my new favorite place! I told Christi while we were there that if there were two of me ONE would live here. It is like no other place I have ever visited and I fell in love.  My sweet blogging friend Cathy over at Acorn Hallow mentioned in one of her comments that she was born and raised in Booth Bay Harbor. If I am wrong please correct me Cathy. 

I have to tell you Cathy I am envious of anyone that was raised in such beauty. I do realize the winters are probably harsh but oh what a breath taking place to live.

While visiting with some of the locals there they did tell us that the coastal towns did not get as cold as the rest of the state. I laughed when one told me their snow there was maybe just six inches compared to the rest of the state.  Six inches in my area is a lot of snow. lol....I bet I am miss quoting him because I would imagine they get more than six inches of snow in Booth Bay.

The picture above is one of my favorite pic's I took on our trip visiting Maine. This photo was taken during a Whale Hunting  Cruise that we went on from Booth Bay Harbor. I have it as my back ground picture on my computer now but I am sure that another picture of the trip will catch my eye and it will be changing it again.

If you click on any of these pictures and make them larger you will see why I love this place. Feel free to
copy them and print them out too.

Maine has almost as many light houses as the state of Michigan.

We sat on the top deck of the boat most of the trip but the ride back we moved inside where I snapped

this of Christi enjoying the day.

Have you ever seen such a gorgeous harbor.

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If you enlarge this picture you will see Lobster traps out on a small barge in the water.

I thought you might like this picture of our American Flag flying on the back of the boat.

The Captain is doing a great job of guiding his boat back into port.

The trip was a fun outing but disappointing to us because not a whale within miles of us.

This is a quick picture I took walking down one of the busiest streets of Booth Bay.

Christi and I need to share pictures because she managed to get some good pictures of

the gorgeous homes in this little village.

Tried to take nice picture of the water from where I was sitting having breakfast at a cafe.

My breakfast date Christi is looking at me like Please Mother not another picture!

These pictures were from the deck of the cafe.

Booth Bay Harbor is a tourist village in the summer time. They have numerous little shops to visit and spend your money. I have to tell you a quick little story of what happened to me in one of the shops.

I can stand for hours looking at beautiful scarfs. It is funny how when I see a display of scarfs I head straight to them and have to fill each and every one. Yeah I know strange right?

Anyway I am doing my scarf thing and I feel this hard pinch on my rear end. I jump and immediately turn around. There standing behind me is an older man just waiting for me to slap the ever loving crap out of him.

I was furious. Furious maybe is not the right word. I recognized him from earlier in the day as the husband of a woman that had spoke to me while we were waiting on a table at the little cafe for breakfast.

Just when I was fixing to knock his lights out his wife walks up. I stopped Ms Pearl from making mince meat of this guy but later in the day Christi told me that I should not have let his wife being there keep me from slapping him. I have tell you Christi was as mad at the guy as I was.

I told her I just felt empathy or something for the wife and just could not embarrass her for something so stupid that her husband did.

We hung around the area for a little while wanting to catch the guy by himself so I could turn Ms Pearl loose on him but funny how he managed to never leave his wife's side after the pinch.

I know what you are thinking! No wonder Maggie fell in love with Booth Bay. lol

Don't even go there. I already have heard that from all of Christi's friends.

You have to be tired of all my Maine pictures but I promise I won't share too many more.

Hard to believe that it is already October! So much has been going on out here on the North Forty that I have not been able to be inside long enough to play on the computer. By the time I come in at night I am so tired I head straight to the tub and sometimes fix me something to eat or just collapse without it.

Yesterday I had my kitten Billie Sue fixed and her mother goes in the morning for the same treatment.

Every time Momma Kitty gets pregnant I stress myself out trying to keep her and the babies safe from predators out here on the North Forty. The last time Billie Sue was the only survivor so I made up my mind to end at least one stressful thing in my life.

Also have been working on my house in town that was left a mess the last time a renter left it. I am seriously thinking that Monday a For Sale sign will go in the front yard. It has drained me both mentally and physically every time some one leaves it like this young woman did.  My problem is I can't afford to let the house sit empty while on the market and yet renting it is a dead end so what's that saying, "I am between a rock and a hard spot!"  I keep praying about what I should do about it so I know the answer will come.

The Warrenton/Round Top show has been going on too for several weeks now. I have not been able to go out to enjoy it like most years. The weather is in the high 90's most afternoons so they are having a very HOT show this time around.  Sharon wants me to slow down and go out tomorrow but have not decided if I will or not.

Been worried too about one of our blogging buddies Marydon from Blushing Rose. I need to check on her and see if she is doing better.

Hope you are well and enjoying the fall. I am looking forward to planting some mums over the weekend and maybe buying a few pumpkins for the porch.

Pumpkins make me smile. I love them. Every fall I am wishing that I had a Pumpkin Patch out here.

Do something for you this weekend! Remember be gentle on yourself cause I love you!

Love to all

Maggie