small town rambling

Sharen

2011-08-26T09:37:00.004-05:00

Today we will lay to rest one of the best people I have ever known. She has been my boss for the past 6 years or so and for a couple of years before that with a break in between. I came back just to fill in for someone who was sick and just kept increasing days until I became full time. She was a great boss. Oh how I'm going to miss:

Having a customer at the counter and looking her way and saying "What do you think?"
Her at the computer turning to me and saying, "What do you think?"
Hearing "Treasurer's Office, Sharen speaking" many times a day.
Watching her make a piece of cake last for hours eating it 1 bite at a time.
Eating her famous beef salad.
Listening to her talk about her family.
Watching her go to bat for her customers over and over.
Discussing the previous evenings tv shows.
Hearing stories of her younger life.
The way she talked to my family when they called.
Having her listen to my ideas not always agreeing but always listening.
Her brightly colored clothes.
Going to meetings with her.
That vast knowledge base that was her brain.
Her laughter.
and oh so much more!

I have learned so much about the job and about life from her. She would go out of her way to help anyone with a problem. She truly knew what the term public service meant. Sometimes we would shake our head but always we were proud to work for her.

From her I received respect that I always cherished. Thoughtful gifts. And most importantly friendship.

She spent the last 2 months in the hospital in Wichita. I was so fortunate to get to visit her while we were there for Teddy's birthday. I know she knew we loved her because we got to tell her. And we know she loved us too because she told us.

Terry will be doing the service. It will be one of the harder things he will be honored to do.

Birthday present

2010-09-27T23:32:00.005-05:00

The back story:

My husband LOVES Suzy Q's. (The chocolate cakes with creme filling.) Suzy Q's are not available where we live. I don't know why. There are other Hostess products available but not that one. He has a co-worker who knows how much he loves them and always buys him SEVERAL boxes whenever she goes to a store that sells them. They NEVER last long in his hands.

My husband has high tri-glycerides. It is better when he takes medicine but he doesn't always remember. The last time he had them tested he had not remembered enough. He works in a lab. They know what his blood looks like. Apparently food like Suzy Q's are not the best for people with high tri-glycerides.

His boss told him that he has to stop eating Suzy Q's because he might be the one on call when he has a heart attack and it would be hard for him to take his own blood and test it. He listened to her!! (What is up with that? I'm going to have her tell him everything from now on.) So he told the co-worker that he couldn't have any more of those little cakes he likes so much.

The front story:

It was Terry's birthday last week and his co-worker took a little trip. She got him a present. This is it:

A framed picture of his love telling him that she misses him. Isn't that sweet.

Yes, it seems that Suzy is lonely now. Maybe it will help me not be lonely later. Of course there are probably a few other things in his diet that are not so good for him either.

News!!

2010-02-04T23:12:00.002-06:00

Robin called on Sunday and said that Chris was going to be home Wednesday and wanted to know if we could do a Skype call while he was there. He will then be headed off for a month for more training. We made arrangements for me to let her know when we were both going to be home.

I went to work and told everyone how sweet it was for her to let us have some of her time with her husband as he has already been mostly gone for a month.

Last night when I got home from play practice and Terry got off from fire class I sent her a text and we all got on the computer with the cameras. Chris said he had a file to send me. It started coming through and I looked at Terry and said "I'll bet it is a sonogram". And yes it was!

They looked so good as we discussed how excited we are about their news. They are going to be great parents and we are going to love being grandparents.

We did have to talk about how she was pregnant while they were here at Christmas which is why she couldn't help refinish the cabinet. I can't believe they had those who has to have the first grandbaby conversations without telling us they were. They are so sneaky!!

So now Terry and I have to put our house up for sale so we can get the fifth wheel and live in their driveway. We are sure they won't mind. Everyone who knows Terry knows how much he loves to hold babies! In fact today I was talking about holding the baby at Jeremy's wedding which will be soon after the baby comes and my boss said. Oh you know better than that. Terry isn't going to let you hold that baby! When I told him that he said "oh yeah you can hold it while I am getting settled in the chair so you can hand it to me."

almost finished project

2010-01-09T21:43:00.003-06:00

Back in about 2002 I decided that I wanted to take a carpentry class that was being offered at night by our Industrial Arts teacher. I had always wanted to do that kind of thing. I decided that I wanted to make myself a china hutch. The first night I went to the class the teacher told me that I needed to pick out my wood. Who knew there was a difference in wood? I went home and told Terry that I was supposed to pick out wood. I asked him if he knew there was a difference. He decided that he should take the class with me. So we set out to build a china hutch together.

The one time Terry didn't go to class was the time that I messed up with the table saw and sent a board sailing across the room. I was lucky that I, or someone else didn't get seriously hurt. Terry never let me go alone again, and I have been a little leery of power tools ever since.

Anyway, we didn't get finished before the class was over so we took everything home to finish. Well really we took it home to take up room in the garage. Later, I can't remember how long but it was more than a year my brother came from Arkansas. He does woodworking for a hobby and is very good so he agreed to take it home and finish it for us. Last year before Thanksgiving he brought it back finished except for the final sanding and staining. It went in our garage again.

I can't really remember why except that the thing is extremely heavy we decided to have the guys who were here for Thanksgiving help Terry carry it in the house where it wasn't right in the middle of the floor but almost. Chris said to Terry "I want that moved before I get home for Christmas." Which of course meant he wanted us to finish it. As Chris was driving into the driveway at Christmas Terry moved it a couple of inches.

So, there it sat. This summer Chris called and asked if he and Robin could finish it for our Christmas present. Of course they didn't realize that Christmas was going to be so bitterly cold. The hutch made another trip to the garage for sanding and staining. Chris and Robin, bless their hearts almost froze out there sanding, staining, and varnishing that thing. It took several days and the weather didn't warm up.

After they left and it had time to dry a friend helped Terry carry it back into the house. Today I got it loaded with the stuff that I took out of the entertainment center we had been using. (Which of course is now in the way waiting for a new home.) It doesn't have handles yet because there were not any in Leoti that would work. I hope to get some next weekend when I hope to be in Lincoln. The top doors are not on because we didn't have the right size screws to put in the "glass holder in things".

So here is the almost finished project. I am very excited!

Ashley

2010-01-03T17:12:00.004-06:00

So it seems that I have trouble getting myself to put my thoughts together for a long enough period of time to blog. Facebook of course is so much quicker. However on Facebook it is hard to really cover ones thoughts. So here I am after more than a month of no blogging at all getting around to blogging about one of our new favorite subjects: Ashley.

In October Jeremy took Ashley to Missouri so that they could share the experience of sitting in the rain watching her Huskers beat his Tigers. After that they went on to St Louis, he told us to look at Grad school for her and for him to propose in the arch. (We used to talk about that kind of thing when we took the kids there back in the day.) Anyway I guess the school thing will have to wait until another day because the brewery was a better draw but the proposal went off with only a small almost hitch. He had also arranged for several of their friends and her sister to meet them there for a celebration after the proposal. Isn't he a sweetie?! Good thing she didn't say no.

Anyway I briefly mentioned on my facebook that I was the proud mom of an engaged son but I have not taken the time to really put into words how I (we) feel. We are so very happy that he has found such a nice young woman to share his life with. I guess I can quit begrudging the "I have to go to Nebraska because I want to be a sports journalist and I wouldn't be caught dead at KU." One week of school passes: "I hate journalism, I'm not going to do that!" Yep I guess whatever out of state tuition one's parents must pay to get them a wonderful keeper girl like Ashley is worth it.

She is perfect for him. She has a mind of her own which will come in handy when he tries to always get his way. She can hold her own in a good sarcasm discussion which will help a lot when she is in our home. She is very smart and extremely hard working. She is caring and considerate of others. She loves to cook although after finding out his criterion for a wife was one that he could say "woman, get in the kitchen and bake me a pie" didn't think that would work. She spoils him rotten and is taking extremely good care of him with his broken leg. He will tell you much better than his mom would have. They even both took French.

Most importantly though: SHE LOVES COLLEGE FOOTBALL, NASCAR, AND HOCKEY. Probably all of those other sports things he likes too. I tell you a match made in heaven!

All of our children were home for the holidays and it was very special to us. I doubt they will know for many years how much it meant to us. Ashley and Robin even got initiated into the family Christmas play. Ashley got to play Mary since she and Jeremy are engaged.

They will marry in September - on his birthday. And we are looking forward to that.

Are you done yet?

2009-11-29T01:46:00.002-06:00

I was raised in a house with 9 people and 1 bathroom. Needless to say there was a lot of standing outside said bathroom yelling "are you done yet?" Last Sunday I looked on my back porch and saw this and thought about that. It seems to me that the 2 hens not on the nest are saying to the other one "Are you done yet?" We have 2 nest boxes and they use them both but I sure did laugh when I saw this.

There is a floor

2009-11-29T01:20:00.005-06:00

Our house has an area that I am not sure what to call. It is a hallway to the garage that looks like it could be the hallway to the backyard also except that there is no door. I believe that there maybe used to be a door there because there is a light switch that controls a light on the back porch. In the '70's the house was added onto and I imagine that the door was lost. Anyway this small area had some of the accordian style hooks on the wall when we moved in and we have always kept our coats there. It has a closet that I keep my cleaning supplies in and some sliding door shelving that we keep light bulbs etc in. The floor in the area that the coats are kept in has been missing in action since we moved in. Some stuff we didn't know what to do with got dumped there and has been there ever since. Over time more stuff was added. It got so bad that with just Terry and I, we could not find enough space for our coats.

Soooo today I remedied that. I cleared everything out and started over. Some items found homes, some found the trash. While I had it empty I painted the walls with paint that was purchased as experiments for painting the exterior of the house. A quart is the smallest amount you can buy at our hardware so I have a quart of 4 different colors. So Terry's dark green that i vetoed is now on a couple of walls in the hallway. I also finally got around to using some actual hooks that I had purchased some time back and took down the accordian things that didn't work very well. I even cleaned the cleaning supply closet and installed a broom holder that I bought several months ago.

Here are the results. I would show you the before but I forgot to take a picture and I would have been embarrassed to show it anyway.

Before the stuff was all loaded back in.

After the stuff came back in. Cleaning supplies. The broom holder slides in and out but I didn't have a good place to put it to use that feature so it is just a bonus.

Coats. The lunch box collection eventually made it's way to the garage to make way for the coats that were in the drier during this shot. The step stool has never really had a home. It is usually the last place I used it.

The recycling bins and bags. Notice it is not even overflowing.

Terry did get home in time to help hang the hooks and redo how I had hung the broom holder. It was nice to have a second set of hands for that but I would have gotten up without him.

I'm not sugar

2009-10-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

Last weekend our daughter-in-law Robin ran in her first marathon. We are so proud of her!

After it was over and she had time to rest Chris had a BBQ to celebrate with her friends. Amongst those in attendance were 2 very cute little girls. At first they were quite shy but they got over that. Before long Terry was off collecting leaves and various other things with the oldest one. When we got ready to leave Terry said "goodbye sugar" which is what he calls all children. This cute little girls said "I'm not sugar, I'm salt." It cracked me up. I asked him about it on the way home. He said that the first time he called her sugar she said that. He has never had that reaction before. Such a cutie.

noticing

2009-10-02T22:47:00.003-05:00

Every once in a while I notice things that happen in towns like ours that I think probably don't happen everywhere. Today was one of days of noticing.

We closed our offices at the courthouse to go watch the homecoming parade which was short but sweet. We had kids in football uniforms playing in the band.

After work I stopped to buy some fruit from somebody passing through and decided to cross the street. So right there in the middle of the street I crossed and the traffic waited for me to do so. I didn't worry about my safety and they weren't upset that I was there.

At the ballgame there was a tailgate party sponsored by a local bank. The food was fabulous and money donated to the school. The homecoming attendants came around the football field and were announced as usual, except that this year instead of riding on the front of cool cars they rode on the tailgates of very nice four door pickups. How country is that. Actally I thought it was very cool. I worked the concession stand again and people with nothing to gain showed up to work and have a good time.

I like living in a small town and on days like today I remember why.

State fair

2009-09-21T11:01:00.002-05:00

I love going to the state fair and every year I say I'm going to but seldom do. This year I just decided that I was going to make it happen and called Theresa to see if she wanted to join me.

Friday night I had started feeling a little dizziness so I wasn't sure how Saturday would be. I got up early Saturday morning. Not as early as I wanted but early enough. I stumbled around the house getting ready trying to decide whether to go or not and decided what they hey so off I went. Once I got in the car I was fine except when I got out to get donuts in Scott or to use the restroom I was a little wobbly.

Theresa and I arrived at almost the same time and we were making plans to find each other when she discovered she locked her key in the car. Oh well plenty of time later to work on that. I caught the tractor goving rides to the gate and met her just inside. There she was wearing her "say no to scurvy" t-shirt in honor of "talk like a pirate day". We had a nice day and didn't buy hardly anything. That is good for me.

We had asked the highway patrol about the key and they gave us the number for a locksmith. When we were ready to leave we tried to call them but no answer. By this time one of Theresa's roommates was off work and after a quick phone call she agreed to meet us part way and bring the spare key. Later we took her out for brick oven pizza to thank her. It was really good!!

Yesterday after church we drove to Mulvane to eat at Luciano's a nice little Italian restaurant we have read about and seen on the news. It was a good way to prepare for shopping which was the next item on the agenda. I love shopping with Theresa. Hideous was one of her favorite words for the day.

I left much later than I should have but made it home safely having 5 minutes to get my Braums ice cream before they closed. It is always good to pull into the house. Thank goodness for radio stations that play old country music to keep me company during those 5 hours on the road.

Happy Birthday Jeremy

2009-09-17T00:05:00.001-05:00

23 years ago the wonder of wonders that is Jeremy came into our lives.

Jeremy is an incredible young man who works hard and lives up to everything we knew he would be. He has been taking over things since he was young and that comes in handy as he runs the yard in a recycling center. He seldom does just one thing which is why it is good that he was born quick witted. He can sum up a situation in a short period of time and have a plan before I have figured out what is going on. He is at home in casual conversation with the top people he works for as well as being able to discuss any sport any time with anyone who knows anything. (Which leaves me out because I don't know anything.) He has high expectations of everyone around him and yet is understanding of those less fortunate.

I don't know what we did to deserve this fine young man as our son but we are so glad that we were blessed with him. And we are very proud of the young lady that he brings to family dinners. They make a nice couple and she gives him a run for his money. Good for her.

And by now if he has read this (which he probably won't) he will be upset that I wrote it. However he knows my motto. I went through all that stuff having you and I deserve to embarrass you. We love you Jeremy! Happy Birthday.

Terry

2009-09-15T09:22:00.002-05:00

Don't you just love a man who is happy getting nothing for his birthday except for Frosted Chocolate Chip Bar cookies to take to work for his co-workers. I think I even surprised him which means he must have actually gone to sleep when he went to bed before me. I tried to be quiet but you know those beepers are so loud at night when the house is quiet. I left them on the stove with a note written on an old envelope that said Happy Birthday. Now how romantic is that!! He did come in this morning to tell me thanks and that he almost missed them with his early morning tunnel vision. I don't know but am betting that they went to work with a piece missing because there was some time passage before I heard the aluminum foil being torn to cove them for the trip. I hope he brings some home. He is lucky there wasn't a piece missing when he got up because I love them fresh out of the oven.

Happy Birthday Terry! 51 years of gracing us with your presence. I hope it is a good one.

Time with the kids

2009-09-13T22:43:00.004-05:00

For months we (I) have been planning a camping trip with the whole family. Last weekend was the fruition of my fretting (not that I fret). We met at Kanopolis Corps of Engineering campground on Friday night. We picked this location because it is centrally located. Amazingly we left Leoti, Chris and Robin left Stillwater, Ok, and Jeremy and Ashley left Lincoln Neb all without discussing the time with each other and probably at different times. Chris and Robin arrived with Jeremy and Ashley following them in and we were just about 5 minutes behind!! How is that for timing. Of course we arrived at 10:30 so it was set up in the dark.

The camp area was fabulous except that there was no space that was flat. We had a whole hillside to ourselves. It was great.

Theresa arrived the next day after she got off of work.

We had a whole weekend of doing nothing. The kids went for a hike. Theresa and I got in the lake for a few minutes. We played Apples to Apples. Several of us read a bit. Mostly we just spent time together. It was one of the best weekends ever. It was so nice to all be together and not have to go anywhere or do anything.

At the end we took a picture and Terry told everyone that they had to take off their sunglasses. Here is the picture.

Notice Terry's automatically darkening glasses!

lightening storm

2009-08-26T00:05:00.005-05:00

We had an awesome lightening storm tonight. This is a video that I shot from my back yard.

Then we went to the shop to get the pager that Terry had forgotten and took this one.

My camera wouldn't let me get the whole panorama but it was really great.

We saw the weather mod planes flying. It is the closest I have ever seen them working and it was really cool.

Fruit sellers

2009-08-13T20:01:00.002-05:00

This is one of our favorite times of year because the it is time for Colorado Peaches, Olathe Sweet Corn (heaven on a cob, sigh), and various other fruits and vegetables. Peaches are one of Terry's favorite things and corn mine. I went this morning to pick up my weakly purchases and really noticed the boys helping to sell. The man who comes used to live in Colorado but since his wife passed away last year he moved to Kansas. I believe the people who help him are his daughter and her children. Let me tell you they are the cutest little boys. So polite.

Can I help you mam?

Can I get that for you?

Let me carry that for you.

Now this is all good but these boys are probably only 5 and 7 or something like that. Today I bought a half a bushel of peaches and the older one carried it to the car for me. I told him he would have to push over my shopping bags but it shouldn't be hard. He said, "If it was I couldn't carry the box." Way too cute.

The mother is also helping with a toddler in a pack on her back.

What a great experience for these children. And for me.

Eggs

2009-08-09T22:45:00.003-05:00

Terry LOVES chicken and noodles so we saved 3 chickens to let them mature and get more flavorful. While we are waiting for this to happen they have started to lay eggs. Terry made them a nest out of a box right on top of the hot tub which we haven't used for several years. It now has a purpose. I am not sure how many of them are actually laying. Yesterday was the first day we got more than 1. We don't get one every day either.

This morning I used the eggs that I have been collecting to make scrambled eggs for breakfast.

These are the eggs to start. I put the white boughten "large" egg beside them to show how small they are.

Aren't they pretty. Again notice the difference in the size of the egg. I won't use them to bake until they are larger.

Day 4 and more

2009-08-09T21:18:00.003-05:00

I'm finally rested up and caught up enough from day 4 to post. Normally on Saturday it is really hot and most of the people go home. This year the weather was spectacular. I think it is because we were prepared with misters. Oh well if that is all it took.

The rides started right after the parade and never quit. Terry said from the first ride he gave he never had an empty bucket. Thank goodness Chris was home to relieve him because he didn't line up help again. He ran it for rest time and so Terry and I could ride together. Chris and Robin also did a shift at the Muffin Tin and Robin helped with the money counting.

Terry even took a little time and went a little ways out of town and took some pictures. He moved the camera but I love the effect. This is the Ferris wheel with the Round-up behind it.

At about 9:00 Susan started worrying that we would run out of tickets. I kind of laughed at the idea. By midnight I had to admit that we almost ran out of tickets. I had bought 120,000 tickets. When it was all said and done we sold over 115,000 tickets in 4 days. On Saturday we took back over 56,000. That is an overwhelming record for us.

Theresa and Melissa were home and I conned Theresa into helping me count money a couple of times and then they worked the Muffin Tin booth for awhile. That was nice of them. I hope they had fun.

Day 5 at 8:00 am we were down doing the count prizes and money and tear down the rides to store for the next year. We had a pretty small crew this year but the new rides are fairly easy so we were done by about 3:30.

After the tear down and before the naps we went to Mom and Dad's to visit with my aunts and uncles who were visiting from Illinois. I love it when I get to be around them. They are funny, smart, and kind. We would have loved to stay but the eyes weren't staying open very well so we went home to sleep.

I love the fair and am ready for the next one but it does take some time to recuperate.

Day 3

2009-08-01T00:21:00.007-05:00

Rain again!! This time we made it to 8:30 before the sky opened up. It was shaping up to be a good night too. It is really disappointing for people who come a long way. My niece brought her kids along with her sister-in-law and her kids from Colorado. That was nice. My sister also came. I think she probably went to the rodeo.

Chris and Robin got in last night so we did some sidewalk sale shopping and looked over the exhibits. That was nice. Terry had to go on an EMS call right before the carnival started and it was nice that Chris was here because he stepped right in and ran the Ferris Wheel. That was great. Chris also helped work on directing traffic in the lines by putting up barriers.

Chris, Robin and I took in the sidewalk sales and then Robin and I looked over the displays while Chris and Terry toiled in the sun. It was a good time.

These guys are watching the trucks go around. The one in the middle is in charge of the ride and refurbished 3 of them. We are thankful for them and he is proud of them. He should be.

Day 2

2009-07-31T08:29:00.003-05:00

Since I worked all day yesterday I am assuming it was the men who worked diligently to drain most of the water off of the carnival grounds keeping the mud holes to a minimum. The crowds came!! I was expecting ticket sales to be low early in the evening because of the rain out but I was really wrong. The lines were long! The people were talking, laughing, courteous, and patient. The fair is a time for people to meet up with friends from now as long as long ago. It is a time for families to get together. It is a time for eating food that is not good for you but hey it is not that expensive!

There are 2 coveted jobs at the carnival. The ticket booth is one of them. People love working the ticket booth because it is the way to see lots of people and briefly speak to people not seen for years. The train - well duh you get to wear a conductor had and striped overalls. Or whatever else you want. A friend of mine said she thinks we should let the kids ride for free and make the men pay to drive.

We have rearranged the grounds and I think it is working quite well. The crowd is not all congregated in one area now. That helps a lot.

The weather last night - FABULOUS!!

Terry had help with the Ferris Wheel so we even got to walk around hand in hand a little bit. AAAHHHH.

This morning I hurt from my feet to me ears. I need to start getting in shape early for this! It will all be better when we get going. Maybe some cotton candy will help - hmmm.

I entered an item in a contest sponsored by the local quilt shop. Didn't win but love the item that did. Actually I knew if they looked at the sewing I wouldn't but at 1:30 am the night/morning before who cares and what is a contest without entries.

Day 1

2009-07-29T22:59:00.003-05:00

The carnival got off to a fabulous start as we had a high school girl sing the national anthem and boy did she nail it. It brought tears to my eyes. People were already lined up at the ticket booth by that time. The weather was cool. The new rides were hopping. Life was good.

Terry called me to tell me that the people who we bought the rides from were here so I went and met them. They were thrilled with the new paint jobs on the little trucks. (We all are!) Then Terry and I stepped away and the sheriff showed up to tell Terry that he thought we should start shutting down. I could hear the reports on his radio of a bad storm just 6 or 7 miles away. So we went into get the people out of here mode. It is always hard to shut down before the storm because people get a little unhappy. Luckily we could see some nasty looking clouds.

So at 8:00 we were finished. But I am so glad we did what we did because it really chuncked it down out there. Once again it is a lake. So thankful that Randy came and told us when it did or it would have been a much bigger mess.

The good thing about a rain out is that we were home by 10. I would rather have had the rain wait until about 11:30 though.

Our new rides.

the kids

2009-07-29T01:53:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is the first day of the fair which means that tonight was frantic getting things ready for the carnival. Test swirls of the rides. Carpet put into booths. Onions and tomatoes sliced. Water put in to cool. Misters installed. Storage building organized. Ferris wheel buckets brought out and mostly installed. Ferris wheel slowed down. :( And on and on and on.

One of the things I like most about set up is the kids. The excitement is evident on their faces. They learn early in life that when the carnival starts going up that good things are going to happen. They learn that if they hang around and make themselves available to help but don't get in the way (too much) that they will probably get rides. The carnies love giving kids that first ride. Terry does it as a way to reward the kids for their help. John did it to see how long he could make the ride without everyone getting sick. (They rode a lot.)

Yes they can at times be a nuisance but mostly they try to help. The carnies know that it is in letting the kids help and get free early rides that future carnies are made. From this they will grow into Tilt-A-Whirl car catchers, who get free rides during the whole fair when their friends get on, booth operators, and eventually parents who bring their children and hopefully full fledged carnies when we are old and tired.

Hundreds of former kids come home for the carnival with their children in tow. Chances are many of them hung around helping a little and hoping for a free ride a lot.

Out and about

2009-07-24T23:18:00.002-05:00

We are home from a week of traveling and church. Once a year our church has a general assembly that I have only missed a couple of time in 30 years. It is always a renewing time for me and this year was no different. It is good to worship, learn, and see people I haven't seen since last year. This year 2 of our children made it the 3rd didn't have any vacation.

On the way home we went to see him though so it was a good trip. Any trip is good that we get to see our children.

The weather was fabulous. I always worry when I think Missouri in July but I kid you not 95 was the hottest day and hotter than most. It was wonderful!!!! Today was hot but we were in the pickup.

We were hoping to be home to help with carnival setup tonight but it didn't work that way. I did get a chance to ride the 3rd and final new ride though. It was fun. Tomorrow we will be setting up most of the day. Mom and dad are providing noon meal for the workers. We have lots of new changes for returning fair goers. I know people will be really excited. Anyway if they are not they need to keep it to themselves because we are excited.

Theresa

2009-07-14T13:07:00.002-05:00

25 years ago today God blessed us with the most wonderful daughter a set of parents could ask for. She is a beautiful person inside and out and has brought us much delight. I don't know of anyone with a kinder heart than Theresa. She is the one that can find good in anyone. She is the one who brings treats to work. She is the one who can see the sub-pains that pains bring and tries to compensate for them. She is the one who cares for people up when they are sick. And quietly goes to bed when she is. When asked about what she likes best about work it is the opportunity to do community service, which she does more than most.

She is adventurous. She has been to England 3 times all without her parents including one college semester. During that time she ventured out to other countries. Fortunately for us she didn't find a guy who would keep her there as we need her here. She is not without fear but has learned to take a deep breath and plow ahead.

Although she was never a star athlete (or athlete at all) she has learned to enjoy running (how is that possible), hiking, and most other outdoor activities. She loves the city and is very much at home in the country. She delighted in riding in the combine with her dad and is entranced at a Broadway show. She can sit for hours on end on the side of the mountain completely at peace with herself and God. Or tell a story with so much excitement I can barely listen that fast.

Happy Birthday my pretty girl!! I miss having you here.

chokecherries

2009-07-12T21:08:00.002-05:00

My chokecherry trees produced nothing that came to fruit this year. This is no real surprise as this is only our 2nd year of having them. They are fairly large but probably still adjusting. Mom and Dad's however are loaded. Today Terry and I went and helped ourselves to them. The juice in on the counter waiting to be made into jelly. Too bad I didn't have it ready with fresh rolls and the fresh chicken. Oh well my belly probably couldn't have handled it.

Other than that and a couple of trips to the hospital for on call work Terry has taken a day off. His first in about 2 months (with the exception of when he was in Oklahoma). I'm glad he finally got to relax. If no one has an accident or gets sick in the middle of the night all will be well.

Impromptu invitation

2009-07-05T00:18:00.002-05:00

My sister had suggested she bring food and we have a bbq and watch the fireworks. I told her food was good but Terry was working the ambulance at the ranch rodeo. So she made plans. Terry invited a friend and we were set.

I got up early (for me on a holiday) and went to Twilla's where she and I picked cherries. She even helped me pit them!!! Good time. Terry was working at the shop and I went out and helped him by running the cherry picker for a short while. On the way home I stopped at the grocery store.

As I was pulling in a biker pulled rode up in front of me. I got out of the car and did that thing we do out here. "Hi. How are you." He said hi back, then asked if we had a pool. I told him yes and directed him that way. I asked him if he was staying in Leoti for the night and he said yes. I told him about the ranch rodeo and fireworks then while I was at it I invited him to the bbq. He said he had 3 friends. I said ok no problem.

I went in and bought more meat along with what I was after. Talked to him again telling him about Terry's home made potato chips. When I left I called Terry and said I think I need you to come home I just invited 4 more people and the house is a mess. Then I called Linda and told her and she came early too.

I didn't know if they would show up but they did and we had a very nice time. They were very nice young men from San Diego. They went to the ranch rodeo with us and are now sleeping on the floor in our front room.

I love random meetings. Nothing makes me happier than to truly meet people from other walks of life. I hope they enjoyed their time here.

They are heading west tomorrow. I hope they have a great trip.

Happy Birthday Chris

2009-06-17T08:54:00.004-05:00

26 years ago some poor lady that I didn't know was told by the doctor " You'll have to wait a bit I'm going to do this cesarian then we can deliver you." Of course it was somewhat said in jest but it was a one doctor hospital and he was going to be a little bit busy delivering Chris. 5 days later when I was getting ready to go home the same lady whose labor had stopped while I was in the operating room came back in. That day they delivered 3 babies the normal way in 1 hour. She was in my room and told me that she had told the doctor she wasn't waiting again. That day there were 4 of us in the hospital with babies. My first, one second, one third, and one fourth. They were so busy the cleaning lady brought me Chris and said can you take care of him the nursery is busy!! Probably it was the only 4 born that month.

For 26 years we have gotten to be the proud parents of that boy. We have gotten to see him be a grown person at the age of 10. We have seen the boy who had very few friends be in more weddings of friends than I can count. We have seen him graduate from college with 3 degrees. We have seen him marry a lovely young lady who makes him very happy.

We are looking forward to seeing him this weekend (if all of the cards get played right). We look forward to being the grandparents of his children. We look forward to seeing where he goes from here.

We are proud of his committment to his wife, job, school, church, and others. What an honor to be the parents of that boy.

Happy birthday!!

Disclaimer: I stole the picture from his facebook page. It made me think of when we used to take him to the ballgame for his birthday.

wheels up

2009-06-14T17:55:00.005-05:00

When Chris is telling me when he is going to fly somewhere or about a trip he will often say we are or were wheels up at a certain time. That tells me when the the plane is going to or did take off. Terry and I were on our way to Garden today and saw this. In this case "wheels up" is not a good thing. These are center pivot irrigation systems that were ruined by a storm.
This entire system was on it's side.

These 2 were across the road from each other.

This one was interesting because it was all turned over except for one section. Terry thought that it was interesting also because they were not facing the same direction which meant that the wind came from more than one direction. We saw some crops that looked really bad too. They were harvested by what people around here call the white combine from the sky which means hail. We talked to a friend of ours and he said they were almost completely wiped out. Very sad.

Here in our town there has been a good rain this week but no hail that I have heard of. Some earlier in the year but I don't think anything like this.

I'll be right back

2009-06-13T20:40:00.002-05:00

I stopped at the local Dollar General yesterday to pick up a card for a bridal shower I was going to. Anybody who reads this knows that there are a lot of little quirks about small town life that wouldn't happen in the city and for the most part I like those little quirks, but this one irritated even me.

As I was getting ready to check out there was a man in front of me. He said something to the girl who was checking him out and she rang up his purchases. He wrote a check and gave it to her. Then he said "I'll be right back". I knew that the dollar store has a new policy about showing your drivers license and other things when writing a check so I figured he went to his car to get his ID. Not only did I wait but so did the 2 people in line behind me. The clerk said nothing to me. Another person who works there came in and then left after saying a quick thing to the clerk. Finally I asked "where did he go?" She said "home".

HOME!!! I was standing in the store waiting for someone who had gone HOME!!

I said, "I don't think I will buy this then." Put the card back and left. I don't know how long everyone else stood there.

I hope he didn't live too far away.

Finally

2009-06-10T09:18:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was election day for our 4th school bond election!! Finally it passed. By 76%!!!! Several things went into that vote most of which I would give credit to our wonderful Superintendent. He has done a fabulous job of connecting with the community. He has had meetings too numerous to mention where he said the same thing over, and over, and over, then listened to what people had to say. He compiled lists of wants, needs, wishes, then gently had to tell people that everyone couldn't have everything they wanted. Then he worked and will continue to work very well with the architect who truly has our best interest at heart to come up with a plan that met the needs and as many desires as possible to come up with a plan that people felt they could work with. He managed to get the community organized in a way that we have not been able to do lately. He convinced with his gentle persuasion many people to contribute in various ways.

The fact that our insurance company said we wouldn't have insurance on our buildings if we don't have a plan by December to replace the current grade school helped to convince some people that we weren't lying about the need to have a new building.

LOTS of people who were disappointed by our 5 vote loss last time came out to help this time. That was good. It truly was a community effort and the board did less than ever before. That was probably good too.

We are spending the same amount of money as last time only in a different way. We are remodeling the old building that people feel attachment too (me too actually). We are moving the kids around which many people wanted. Truth be known many other people didn't want that but it goes back to everyone can't have what they want.

We received $500,000 grant money from our Economic Development for part of the project. That helped a bunch.

Monday night was my last board meeting as next month we will have new board members and I didn't run so I won't be there. I am sorry that I won't be in on the building after all these efforts. In the same sense I am probably glad I won't be too, there will be lots of meetings, decisions, and scrutinizing money being spent. I really needed to eliminate something from my schedule and if I had stayed that wouldn't have happened.

Richard's family

2009-06-09T01:03:00.002-05:00

I just realized tonight I didn't post pictures from my neices graduation. I really didn't get any great ones but here is one of his family. His is trying to hide behind them. He has such great children.

Picnic

2009-06-06T20:32:00.001-05:00

Tonight the doctors had a picnic for EMS week which isn't this week. Sadly there weren't very many people there but the food was good and God let the weather turn out beautifully. A nice time was had. For Terry it is always a good night when he gets to hold a baby.

It runs in the family

2009-06-06T11:31:00.003-05:00

Right after I got to work today I was talking to Terry and his phone started ringing with Jeremy's ring. Then mine did too so we knew it was a text message. (We have old phones and can't have a different ring for a call and text.) Before we opened our phones Terry said "Happy D-Day". I opened it up and sure enough it said "Happy D-Day". Terry said "he beat me to it".

That history thing must be genetic or something. Which in our families case would make it is the dominant gene.

tables

2009-05-25T13:11:00.002-05:00

Thought I would post pictures of the tables for the luncheon Friday. They turned out better than I expected. Kind of by accident. The buckets were smaller than I expected but bigger ones wouldn't have worked as well. I wanted beer flats to hold the sand but the plates I thought of last minute worked really well.

We honored a teacher who has been teaching for 30 years and is retiring so her family came. I saw her son and pouring the sand out so is daughter could shovel it back in. It was really cute.

The end result

2009-05-22T00:21:00.004-05:00

Because I don't seem to have enough to do I set myself the responsibility to make items to give the school staff who are having a milestone year. This year we only had 8 so I thought it would be not big deal. Of course I have known about it for a long time but did it this week. In order to make the job easier, and luckily for me the budget line for the right account had the right amount of money that I got one of these
So after getting no work done at the shop I got these done.
They are portfolios with an inside that looks like this.
They hold a small pad, a sticky note, and a Sun-Set Trucking and Repair pen.

We are having a beach party theme luncheon so I tried to represent a sand bucket full of knowledge. I finished tonight. The meal is tomorrow. Hours to spare.

Now what am I going to say?

I should have been a chicken

2009-05-17T18:01:00.002-05:00

If I had been born a chicken I could spend my life taking one or two steps stop to eat take a couple more stop again. I could ruffle my feathers at other chickens whenever I wanted and not get hurt. I could sit down and rest anywhere and any time. I could roost day and night. My fellow chickens would like to huddle with me all night long and loneliness would not be a problem (unless I was alone). I would never have to clean up my own messes and boy could I make some!!

I am a chicken person. I don't do things because i am afraid. I run when strangers come around (although sometimes just inwardly). I try to fly but can't seem to get very far off of the ground (without the help of a pilot). I think I even cock my head to the side to watch people. Or at least Terry tells me I look at him funny.

Of course there is that downside of a short life span and ending up in the skillet. Maybe I'll stay a person who likes to eat and is chicken.

Graduation

2009-05-16T22:47:00.002-05:00

Today was the high school graduation. We had a beautiful day for a deserving set of kids. Out of 26 kids this class had 6 high honors and 4 honor students. Pretty good statistics I would say. They had a very nice ceremony with the Jr High Science teacher giving the speech. She had a nice speech. The kind kids like - short and personal. The student speeches were nice and the music was beautiful.

Congratulations Class of 2009. I wish you all much happiness and a good life.

Congratulations

2009-05-12T19:54:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to Sharla Krenzel for winning a We Kan award from the Kansas Sampler Foundation. I am glad to see her get recognition for all of the hard work she does for our community. Sharla is our economic development director, a founding member of the Wichita County Community Foundation Board, part owner of our new fabulous quilt store, great idea person, and used to play alto clarinet with yours truly back in the WCHS band before I got smart and realized I could quit.

I'm very happy to see you receive this award that you so deserve.

For Pat

2009-05-12T16:02:00.003-05:00

My friend Pat pointed out to me I must not be doing anything because it had been a long time since I have posted so this is for her.

Time is speeding by going from one activity to the other. Terry started his new job and I went to work full time at mine. We still have the old one so he starts at 6:30 and finishes somewhere between 8 and midnight. When I don't have some type of meeting I finish when he does.

We have a young man from South Chicago who has come to stay with us for a while. He was having a hard time finding a job and we have an extra room. He is the grandson of some good friends of ours. It has been a culture shock for him but I think he is enjoying it. He has a job with the city which he seems to love. He also has a girl in Chicago which he seems to love so we don't see him much. Thank goodness for unlimited cell phone minutes! He is working on his wave. (Out here most people wave at everyone.)

We are doing the end of school things. Next week I will again speak at the 8th grade graduation. I am working on things for the staff party next Friday and I am down to one last regular board meeting before the new board members take over. Of course before that happens we will be having the election for our latest new school effort. I have probably not done as much for that effort as I should have but it is nice that we have community members who have stepped up to help as well as a fabulous superintendent who is doing a great job communicating with the community.

Theresa came home to run in a 5K. In support of her and because someone had to be last I walked it. She did very well AND she came back and walked the last part with me. I am proud of her and the stroll was good for me. We love it when she is home.

We have had a crowd for chicken dinner 2 weeks in a row. Missouri style chicken fry for her and fresh fried chicken from my own chickens for mothers day. Oh was it good. Jeremy will be home in a couple of weeks and we will probably do it again.

Yesterday was the last day to pay taxes without penalties so it was busy. I enjoy that time of year. It is good to see people.

Maybe next time won't be so long.

shower and touristing

2009-04-21T00:28:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I got to enjoy a lovely shower given in honor of Marks daughter Elizabeth who will be married next fall. She received some very nice gifts including some nice tools from her Aunt Carol. Every woman needs a hammer etc!

Isn't she gorgeous?!

View from the hill top park in the town where Mark lives.

Today Mark and I enjoyed a nice Bavarian style village, lunch with his long time friend Michelle, and a small bit of Seattle. More tomorrow.

This is such a cool place.

Designs off of the above building from the sun.

Require for a trip up here.

traveling

2009-04-19T13:13:00.003-05:00

Friday morning I actually made it out of bed at 4:15 in order to be at the airport for a 6:30 flight. After being at the airport for about 45 minutes they told us that we were on a 1 hour pilot rest delay. Oh if I'd have only known at 4:15!!

I was originally scheduled for a later flight but the airline called a couple of weeks ago to change it. It turned out that was a good thing because my connection was in Denver. Later in the day Denver got hit with that big snow and luckily for me I was already out.

I was met by my brother Mark and we had a nice drive home. I have been here only once and that was at Christmas time. I really enjoyed the drive visually as well as time with Mark. When we got here he had a meeting which gave me time for a nap! Yeah!

Yesterday was a t-ball game and trip through the canyon to buy fencing for his horses. The canyon was beautiful. The game was fun.
Today there is a wedding shower for my neice and chilling out and relaxing. Can't beat that.

Tomorrow we will head to Seattle to be tourists.

Poor Terry is home working. I miss him though.

We need one of these. The food was good.

my firefighter

2009-04-05T17:00:00.007-05:00

The local fire department sponsored a training this weekend.

Fire fighters from several surrounding towns attended.

This is the first training that they have had since Terry joined the force so it was really good for him. He said that he learned a lot. Today they actually set a car on fire to practice putting out a car fire.

And then they had what they call a burn trailer which helps them to practice the to do and not to do's of a house fire. People were allowed to come watch (from a distance) if they wanted to. Of course I did.

Suited up.

Masked up.

Going in.

Coming out.

Talking about it. I could tell that he had a really good time. Of course it would not have been so fun if it was the real thing. It is so good to see him having a good time.

Isn't that the cutest thing ever. Terry said that the green boots have eyes on the front.

It;s show time

2009-03-28T11:09:00.002-05:00

Tonight is the opening night of the community theater play I am directing. It has been a lot of fun and I hope that the audience enjoys it. We got a nice write up in the Garden City Telegram. Stephanie who came to interview did a good job and we are thankful for the publicity.

If your in the area come have a good time with us.

telephones

2009-03-26T23:58:00.002-05:00

The church that we are having the play in has an old rotary phone on the wall. Tonight one of the kids who is in the skits needed to call her dad. She looked at a friend of mine and asked "how do you work this phone?" I had a hard time not laughing out loud. So he showed her how to put her finger in the hole and move the dial to work the phone. Then he said "I wonder how you text on it!" Too funny.

Fork in the road

2009-03-25T15:57:00.003-05:00

Every once in a while a person's life journey comes to a fork in the road. Such is has been the case for Terry of late. An opportunity has arisen for him and he stretched his neck out to see where each side of the fork was open and where each might lead him. He has now made a decision as to which road he will be taking. Well actually for a while anyway it will be like being on the new road that has just been completed while keeping one foot on the old road at the same time. Confused yet?

We have been trying to find an opportunity for him to do something different as his job is very hard on his body. Back in 1976 he was in a very bad accident and was told he would never walk again. After proving them wrong he was told to get a sit down job because he would be in a wheel chair by age 30. This year he turned 51 and the aches and pains from that as well as the normal diesel mechanic aches are keeping him in pain most of the time. However that owning a business thing kind of keeps you tied up. It is not like one day you just decide not to do it again. There are obligations, bills, taxes, property, etc and it is not easy to walk away.

Several weeks ago my friend Twilla suggested that Terry apply for the job at the hospital in the lab. He has been enjoying everything about the EMT thing including the hospital portion. Before he went on his last trip we talked to the head of the lab to decide if it would be viable for us. We asked about pay, time, etc. While he was gone I picked him up an application and he turned it in when he got home. A couple of weeks later they called him about an interview but the pay was not what we were told. A couple more weeks and they offered him the job.

After a lot of praying, pencil sharpening, pondering, talking to various people, and considerations this week he told them he would take the job. For the time being he will also be working at the shop until we find a buyer for it. After that he will continue to mechanic on the side although hopefully not as much. We are praying for a buyer soon. He is excited because he really thinks he will like it. Since he has been taking the EMT-I class he has been putting in some shifts at the hospital and has gotten to do some needle work and he really enjoyed that.

One of the beauties of this job is that it is literally across the street from where we live. He has been joking about the commute time. After he is not doing both jobs it should help with the gas expense.

We are nervous as who knows how things will turn out but in the same sense I am very much at peace. I am anxious for him to be doing something that brings a smile to his face. I miss that smile.

pictures

2009-03-22T22:43:00.005-05:00

Random pictures from the last month.

Last month Terry took a trip to do some work for our church. On the way he visited his family in Southeast Missouri. This is his Aunt Billie. She never had children of her own so she did everything she could to spoil Terry and his siblings rotten. At Aunt Billies house there was always popcorn and ice cream. She would let them hide when their parents left because if their dad got to the bottom of the hill before he noticed someone was missing they got to spend the night.

She is very special to our kids too. When we went to her house there were always cookies and lemonade. She also would have a dollar or two saved up because she had sold pop cans or had given their cousins money so saved some for them too. I am so proud of my kids Jeremy in particular who call her up every so often to find out how she is.

Last weekend when I didn't want to clean I decided to finally make myself this purse. It is my first actual purse project. I had a pattern but modified it a little by adding pockets. So far I am liking it.

Last weekend 2 of my nieces from Texas came to visit their grandparents. How sweet of them. It was good to see them.

They brought Easton so Terry gave up an hour of much needed sleep to do what he loves most.

This is the last week before the community theater play. This is a partial cast. I am not in it this year. I am directing. The jury is still out on how I am doing at that.
This picture is for the Chris. He will know what it means. I believe he will be trying to visit in a few months. There are 2 times I like chickens. One is when they look like this the other is on my plate. There is of course that time in between also.

Thoughtful people

2009-03-09T00:55:00.003-05:00

As I am sitting here at 1:00 AM waiting for my over 600 page report for the accountant to print out I am finally going to get to write about a couple of nice things I experienced the last couple of weeks.

First there is the stool. When I go to meetings as the technical college I sit in this big board room chair that is made to make big men feel comfortable. They are nice chairs but I am very little in them. The table is high to go along with the big chair. A long time ago one of the board members as a joke asked me if I wanted a paint can that is stored in the closet to put my feet on. He thought he was being funny but I thought it was a wonderful idea. When I can't reach the floor my legs hurt because of where the chair rubs on them. So from that time until now if we are both at the meeting he gets me down a paint can (stored at the top of the cabinet) to put my feet on.

At the last meeting last weekend when I arrived they had a new footstool made just for me by another board member. Apparantly he had brought it in January but I couldn't make that meeting. They all signed it which makes it even more special. I love my new stool!! It is perfect. We put it on a lower shelf in the closet so it will always be there when I need it.

Second:

Last Monday was Dr Seuss' birthday and Terry was invited to read to the 2nd graders. We almost had to resusitate me when I discovered that I don't seem to have Harold and the Purple Crayon which he was going to read to them. It is one of our family's favorite books. Since we couldn't find it he had to read Sammy the Seal which worked out all right too. The kids enjoyed making animal noises with him.

So here he is with his Cat in the Hat hat reading to the kids.

I got one child's face and didn't want to put it on like that so covered him up.

Sabrina Bryan

2009-02-26T14:33:00.003-06:00

The Wichita County Junior High held a dance-a-thon fund raiser earlier this year. Their goal was to raise awareness about healthy lifestyles and to raise money for games they could use while the gym is out of commission. They did such a good job raising money that they were the winners of the national competition sponsored by Healthy Kids Challenge. The prize for that was a day of dance with Sabrina Bryan!!

Now I must admit I didn't know who Sabrina Bryan was but that apparantly is because I don't have any children about that age. They seemed to know.

There was an assembly where Sabrina and Vici James the head of Healthy Kids Challenge talked with all of the district students about eating healthy meals. The cheerleaders had learned a couple of her dances before she came and they performed those. They got letters of congratulations from our local legislators. Our representative from the state school board was in attendance and the kids got a lot of kudos for the job they did. Then Sabrina spent time with the students in small groups and taught them a dance. I believe at the end of the day they got together and did their dance. I was working and didn't get to see that.

They have been mentioned on the television news a couple of different times the latest one here. We are very proud of these few students who were able to raise over $4000. And we are proud of the way they conducted themselves yesterday. It's not often (like never except for when Steve Tasker comes home to visit his inlaws) a tv personality comes to our little town. The kids will remember it for a long time. And hopefully they will be inspired to live healthier lives too.

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday

2009-02-16T00:17:00.002-06:00

February 16th must be a magical day because at least 3 great people were born on that day.

Happy Birthday to my brother Glen who lives in Little Rock. We got to see him a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. When we lived in Missouri we saw each other a lot more. I miss that.

Happy Birthday to my brother Mark who lives in Washington. I always call him my little brother because he is younger and he always calls me his little sister because I am shorter. I get to see him in April and I am looking forward to it.

Happy Birthday to Ashley who is Jeremy's girlfriend. She is turning 21 today. I know that she is excited about that. I had already thought she was pretty great because she is pretty inside and out but when I found out she was born on my brothers' birthday that just sealed the deal for me.

I love all 3 of these people and wish them all a very Happy Birthday!!

where did it go

2009-02-14T19:40:00.002-06:00

Where has the week gone? Terry is gone this week. He spent a couple of days with his parents in Missouri and then traveled on to the Chicago area to do some people seeing for the church. I always have such great plans for what I am going to do when he is gone but I mostly just sit and watch tv. So here I am Valentines night still at work catching up on the things I should have done earlier.

Before he left he reminded me that the last time he was gone on Valentines he rolled a truck. He traveled today but didn't have any mishaps besides the people who were going with him not being ready when they said they would. That frustrated him.

I miss him but yet I do enjoy the alone time. I love not having to cook. Not that I do that a lot but he does eat 3 times a day. I eat when my stomach complains enough to get my attention. Then of course I don't make wise choices so I will probably gain stupid weight.

more evidence

2009-02-05T20:45:00.002-06:00

Just in case any one needed more evidence toward proving that I am a bad mom this week I presented more.

I had Jeremy's Christmas present from Theresa which came here by mistake. I also had something that I bought for him a long time ago but forgot about in time for Christmas. I had intended to sen them both to him. I was looking for a box. Finally I decided that I had to just make a big box work but then I couldn't find what I did with my gift. So Theresa's waited longer. On Monday I decided I was sending Theresa's no matter what.

I wrote a letter (on my computer but in script so it looked hand written), found a box, put present and letter in, taped it up and labeled it. Terry came in and said "did you put in candy?" I told him I had forgotten but I could open it back up and put in some bar cookies. He said no, took the box and added more tape. (In Terry's opinion if one of something is good 3 or 4 is better - same with tape.) We took it to the post office over lunch.

Last night Jeremy called. He had gotten the box. I didn't get to talk to him but is sounds to me like he was upset because 1. I didn't hand write the letter. Apparantly too impersonal. My letter wasn't good like the work order letter's that Terry puts in, and 2. no candy. Terry said he didn't tell Jeremy I had offered bar cookies. He didn't want to hear the wrath of Jeremy.

So there you have it more proof of my lack of worthiness to be called mom. Terry said that he offered to send Jeremy some M&M's to try to pacify him. If I find the other gift I will have to make sure Terry packages it. I will have to go back to my humble send money and bills. Packages are Terry's domain.

Memorial

2009-01-31T14:01:00.002-06:00

The person who was our girls basketball coach until last year passed away this week. Steve Rapier was a hometown boy, went to college, came home and taught school and coached basketball. He died after a long struggle with West Nile Virus which got the best of him due to a weakened immune system from kidney disease.

Steve LOVED basketball. I worked for a while in the school that he taught in. During basketball season you could always find him discussing it with anyone who would discuss with him. He was the kind of coach who could pull a good season out of any group of girls that he had. He worked them hard and they would do anything for him. Jeremy told me one time that Steve was such a good coach because he really understood the game, the strategies, the personalities etc.

Not only was he respected in our community but by his peers in the league. It was always unbelievable to me when he was so sick that on game day if you didn't know it you wouldn't know it. He gave his all to his girls and the game. No matter how bad he felt he was there coaching, instructing, and letting the ref's know his opinion.

Last night after the girls played they stood in the middle of the floor holding hands and gave tribute to their former coach. There was not a dry eye in the place. I can't imagine how hard it was for those girls to do that and am so proud of them for doing so. The opposing team was lined up on the end of the court and paying their tribute by their actions.

Today will be the funeral and many "girls" will be there to pay their respects. He was only in his 40's and he will be missed. Our prayers are with his family. It has been a very long HARD road.

tickets bought

2009-01-30T10:01:00.002-06:00

For a couple of years I have been telling my brother that I have enough free airline miles to come and see him. This year he said "you have been saying that for years" so the challenge was on. So for a couple of months I have been having Kayak daily e-mail me the price of tickets from here to Seattle for a couple of different dates. I was going to go in February but apparantly the weather where he lives is not so good at that time of year so I changed to April. I could get up to $350 worth of ticket for one amount of miles and anywhere from 350 to 600 with the next amount of miles. For all of the time I was looking the price was $399. Last week for one day it went down to $312 and I snatched it up. Now for the same amount of miles I will get 2 trips. Well actually I will get one and Terry is getting the other.

He was planning on driving to the Chicago area next month to do some church work and I was able to get him flights that would save him a lot of time. And the best thing is I have enough miles to pay for both.

So In April I will be in the Seattle area. I am going to be in Ellensburg most of the time with my brother but have promised myself at least one day in Seattle. I have wanted to go there for years. Any suggestions of what I should do while there are more than welcome. I don't want to get home and think "I should have done that". Of course I will because you can't ever do everything, especially in one day.

Maybe I will get to meet a blogging friend. Lunch anyone?

The trip that just won't end.

2009-01-26T21:58:00.003-06:00

We started home Saturday night and still aren't there.

That night we traveled until about midnight and stopped in Arkansas. That was as per plan.

Yesterday morning we had hoped to get up in time to be in Stillwater to visit Chris and Robin by time for church. We just couldn't get ourselves awake so got a late start. We stopped in for a late lunch and went to Eskimo Joe's. Apparantly that is the place to eat in Stillwater. It was good. Chris took us for a drive through the college and out by the airport. Pointing out the plane he used to get his ATP rating on Saturday. We are very excited to be the parents of an ATP pilot which is the highest and last rating that he can get. Now there is nothing he can't fly (although each specific plane requires certification for that specific plane). Mostly he can now fly commercial passengers.

We went by the Wal-Mart to buy a new set of knitting needles and milk and journeyed on towards home. We knew that we would be arriving home quite late but hated not to stop and see Theresa as we drove through Wichita so we called her and invited her to join us for pie at a local place known for pie.

As we were arriving at the restaurant she called and told us she had just wrecked her car. So we turned around and went to the bank parking lot she was in. She had cut the corner too tight trying to avoid a car that she thought was going to hit her and ran up on the median. It was a high median and she high centered her car. She got backed off of it and managed to get to the bank which just happened to be a bank she worked at not too long ago. She had bent the frame, was losing antifreeze and it didn't look good. So we went on and got our pie, (which wasn't that good) and discussed the alternatives.

We decided that since it was so late and there was no way her father was going to leave her without a car we would stay the night and help her today. So we made phone calls and made arrangements to be gone. Searched the internet for car deals. And played with her new Wii Fit.

Today Terry took her to work, went to a u-haul place and got a car dolly, took the car to a body shop, was told that it could be fixed but it sounded like it would be quite costly for an old car that we have already put too much money into. At noon we picked her up, went to Old Chicago for lunch and a strategy session. She had done some research at work and got the name of a salesman that was recommended as being honest.

We went to that dealership and spent the WHOLE afternoon buying a car. She bought the one she knew she wanted when she walked in the door. I think more people would buy cars if it wasn't so excruciating to do all of the paper work. So now she has her very first car that she got to pick out. It should be a good car for her and has a warranty. We are proud of her and how she handled the whole thing.

It was late when we started home and had started to sleet. We are pulling her old car home to scrap out and the road was really slick. We made some phone calls, checked the road conditions, and decided we had better stop. So here we are in Hutchinson. Tomorrow hopefully we will make it home. I told Terry you can tell we are getting old. In the past we would have just gone on down the road not caring if we had to go only 40 the whole way. But with the car back there and the defroster not keeping up with the ice on the windshield we decided to be safe.

Maybe tomorrow we will make it home.

On the road

2009-01-24T01:37:00.002-06:00

This has been a week of work and travel.

Wednesday several people from our community traveled by air to Geronimo, OK to look at some school buildings that are being built in a manner that we are considering. A local business paid to rent a plane and 2 local pilots volunteered their planes so that we might do in completion in the time it would have taken us to get to our destination if we drove. It was a very educational trip for all of us and I think we all learned a lot. It was good to see the buildings in person instead of in photographs.

Last night Terry and I left on our way to Mississippi where we are now. Tomorrow Terry will be officiating at the funeral of the father of some very good friends of ours. Today we stopped in Tulsa to drop of and pick up truck parts, Beggs, OK to look at more of the type of buildings we looked at on Wednesday (these are 4 years old), and in Little Rock, AR to have supper with my brother and his family. The stops are nice but they do make it arrival time late.

For my kids: We did make note of the Toad Suck Park sign.

Out with the old

2009-01-19T11:44:00.003-06:00

Today our carnival grounds are beginning to look different. We are going from this:By way of these:

(Terry said it I was getting them doing what they do best - standing and talking.)

Going away on this:

And soon we will have this:

I'm so excited!! I love this ride.

There are more changes to come. This is an exciting year.

Community Theater

2009-01-14T21:09:00.002-06:00

This is the time of year that something in me says "I don't think you are so busy to sleep yet". So I decide those last few hours of time with community theater. This year I am not going to act. I am going to be the director. That should be easier right?

We are going to do a true actors in the audience mystery theater. I think it will be and it should be fun. We are looking for a couple more men. Anybody know of any men who still have time to sleep? And aren't afraid to act silly in front of many people in town? Terry is really good but he will be taking the EMT-I class at the same time.

appreciation

2009-01-13T22:49:00.002-06:00

Apparently this is national school board appreciation MONTH. I have never heard of this before but I have this week reaped the rewards of someone's efforts. Monday night at the board meeting we were met with cookies, cake, and thank-you cards. Tonight at the basketball games we were recognized in the middle of the court and given nice certificates from the STUCO thanking us for our service. AND no one threw rotten tomatoes! Things are looking up.

In all honesty I am having a hard time with the month thing. Day or week would have been plenty. It is nice to have someone say thank-you and it is really appreciated. Maybe the recognition will bring forth people to run for the next term. There are 3 open spots available.

getting his money's worth

2009-01-11T14:52:00.004-06:00

Terry had some nice western shirts that he had bought in Montana before I married him. 2 of those he still wears. I have been married to him for almost 27 years. Today he put one of them on. It is so thin that when he wears a t-shirt with writing on it the writing is very visible. As I sat here at the computer he came in and asked if I would sew the pocket. It has come unsewn on the bottom and he wants me to repair it. This shirt would make a nice cheesecloth it is so thin and he wants me to fix it!!!

I think I might send it to Theresa. She has a nice rabbit that her Aunt Linda made her. It's name is Strawberry and Theresa carried it everywhere. The ear kept coming unsewn and I told her that if it happened again we would just put it on the shelf and not use it because I wasn't going to sew it again (I'm a bad mom like that). Of course it came unsewn so she gave it to her dad who not only sewed it back on but put a bandaid on it while it recuperated (he is a good dad like that). Then she brought one of her friends rabbits home from school because she had told the little girl that her mom could fix them. I believe Terry did that one including the bandaid too.

So maybe Theresa owes her dad a sewing job.

Edited by Terry: But I am retiring the oldest one of them because the shoulders don't fit anymore. They just don't make shirts like they used to.

I want to be the IRS

2009-01-05T12:30:00.002-06:00

Due to issues with past and present accountants I filed my taxes in October. I had filed the extension. My business paid the penalty (well actually the accountant did) for paying after April 15th on those taxes. I didn't owe any additional personal ones. Soon after that I received a letter telling me that I should receive my stimulus payment by October 31st but no more than 6 weeks later. Today I received a letter saying that they didn't get the check written so I can not get a payment!!! However I might be able to claim a credit on my 2008 Federal return!!!

Really! Does that mean that if I just don't get around to writing my check by the date they say I don't have to do it? Then during the next tax period I can take into consideration if I want to pay it or not. Yeah that is the way I want to operate.

Do you think they will pay me a penalty for not paying in time? Do you think I will get interest? I have posed these questions to my legislators. I suspect I know what my answer will be though.

They did send me my $7.98 refund though. Sweet of them isn't it.

Prairie Flower Quilt Shop

2009-01-01T14:45:00.002-06:00

Our small town has a very nice new quilt shop which opened up just today. Mom and I are neither one quilters but took the time to go in and look around. It is so cute. The women who are behind the effort are all very creative and it is obvious when walking around. It almost inspired me to quilt but then I think about time and bought a card. Maybe some day.

Visit them at their blog, I'm sure they will have updates.

Finally I can write January

2009-01-01T12:25:00.002-06:00

My mind works like no other. Which is good for the rest of the world. For some unknown reason yesterday I had decided it was January already. Almost every time I wrote the date I had to cross out the J and put in the D for December. I guess I was in a hurry for some reason I don't know to get into the new year. So today no doubt I will write December all day.

In the vehicle office we operate a year in advance so I have also been struggling with the 2008 - 2009 thing. I switch back and forth between the 2 so much that sometimes I really have to think about which one it is.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T17:51:00.002-06:00

Wishing each of you a very happy, prosperous New Year, filled with joy, love, and peace.

We will be sharing the evening with like believers and then ...... wait for it ...........

sitting and watching the clock waiting for midnight so we can say happy new year and go to bed.

Exciting isn't it?

Look

2008-12-27T20:55:00.002-06:00

Look who came to see us.
We have had a wonderful few days with Chris and Robin. It has been nice to have them in our home and share time with them.

Happy Birthday Dad

2008-12-22T22:28:00.002-06:00

Today is my dad's 80th birthday. We went out yesterday for a little cake and ice cream. He is getting along well after his knee surgery. I am happy to see that.

Happy Birthday DAD!!

Fire things

2008-12-18T20:20:00.004-06:00

There is now a firefighter for the volunteer fire department living in our home. Last night Terry was voted onto the local firefighting unit. I am happy for him to be able to do things that are not work related. It will involve more training but I think he will like it. He even has a badge. Wow. Apparently the thing it is best for is possibly getting a person out of a speeding ticket. Of course not speeding would do the same thing.

Last Friday the state fire marshal's office called to tell us that we had until January 5th to evacuate a portion of our elementary school. Just like that out of the blue. They were basing their information that we have had since last April when they told our unhappy patrons who voted against our new school that the fire marshal's office is not in the business of shutting down schools. So in the last few weeks we have had the insurance decide to cancel us but then give us a year to pass funding for a new facility. (They stated in their letter that the current building is not cost effective to repair.) And now this. When the Superintendent protested and asked for the boss, then their boss etc he got to the Attorney General's office who sent us a letter telling us we had until December the 15th!!

The supt. finally got a hold of the main fire marshal on Monday and explained how we had been working with the engineer, getting the building inspected and how it will be inspected after every major weather event. We were told to have the engineer write a letter and they would let us continue as long as we don't have kids in that part of the school during said weather events.

We are moving students around so as not to disturb any more than necessary when there is weather and making arrangements to cook in the community building during those times. We are spending a month listening to our patrons tell us how they think we should fix the problem. In January we will take that information and start making more plans.

I wish I could say that this whole thing doesn't make me sick to my stomach and anger seep out of me but that would be a lie. However nothing can be done about the past only the present and future. We must as a school keep our students and staff safe. They are our top priority. So here we are jumping in with all feet. I am praying for a better attitude for me at the same time as I am thanking God for the Superintendent that he sent us. He is a wonderful, trustworthy respected, honest, HARD WORKING man. I think and hope things will be different this time.

It's been a while

2008-12-15T21:00:00.002-06:00

Time just keeps going on and I just keep going with it. Since I last posted I have been to Wichita for a school board convention, decorated a planter downtown for the Christmas season, worked extra to collect taxes (this is the last week), worked at the shop, tried to find my house, decorated the tree, dad had his knee replaced, the amusement association bought a couple of new rides, started the "healthy check challenge" with my co-workers and the magistrate judge (we are a team, and somewhere in there I slept.

I am looking forward to a visit from Chris and Robin, more tax collecting, end of year books, finishing the decorating, 3 or 4 Christmas parties, and maybe a little sleep. I love this time of year.

football and airplanes

2008-11-29T22:31:00.005-06:00

When I was a girl the big football rivalry was Oklahoma - Nebraska. We always rooted for Nebraska in that rivalry. Years later my favorite youngest son decided to attend the University of Nebraska and started talking about attending Nebraska games. Yesterday Terry and I went to our first (probably last) Nebraska game. We went early to tailgate. I'm not that good at that. Then went to find our seats. We had pretty good seats. 26th row on the south side. This is what we saw the most. I even got the kids to get their picture taken.

I was hoping to see the band perform and did. I enjoy a marching band that actually marches. These kids were pretty good.I took this picture just to prove I was there for the game.
When they score for the 1st time everyone releases baloons. It looked so awesome.
Today after shopping with Jeremy we went this museum:
I have lots of new airplane pictures. We only had 2 hours which was plenty for me but not quite enough for Terry. Jeremy and I rode the simulator. That was fun.

Tonight Jeremy cooked the steaks that we brought with us. He cooks a mean steak!

Nice Thanksgivin

2008-11-28T10:23:00.002-06:00

We spent yesterday with Jeremy's girlfriends family in Omaha. It was a very nice day with very nice people. They have a lovely old farm house. You know the kind with a fabulous stairway.

On the way over we notice the Strategic Air Command Museum and made plans for Saturday. Something Terry and Jeremy will enjoy together.

Last night we watched "No Country for Old Men" I wouldn't recommend it. Jeremy liked it though.

Hockey

2008-11-26T23:23:00.002-06:00

We are in Lincoln, Nebraska tonight spending the Thanksgiving holiday with our favorite youngest son. We took the day off in order to leave early enough to get a tour of his work and to attend our first ever hockey game. Jeremy is a season ticket holder for the Lincoln Stars. His friend also has tickets so we were able to all go with the friends tickets. It was a fun time. It was amazing how fast they all moved and got up and down. There was only one fight but lots of hitting the glass.

We both but especially Terry really enjoyed touring the scrap yard. Terry said he kept thinking of the things he could do with those materials.

Gifts from afar

2008-11-24T23:46:00.002-06:00

Our friend Robert who lives in England has been sending us Classic farm machine magazines that has stories about the Clark brothers who visited us this summer and about a photo shoot where they got 6 classic combines together to remake a picture from when he and Terry were on harvest together. Today we received a new selection of magazines and there tucked inside of the package (which didn't travel well) was a lovely English garden magazine. Gardeners World it is called and it has wonderful pictures and stories. I love English gardens, well any gardens actually. Now if only I could get a small portion of the wet stuff from above that the English are blessed with and a lot more time maybe I could grow wonderful things like that. I love the magazine!

chili cookoff

2008-11-20T22:42:00.003-06:00

Once again Terry and I managed to not win the chili cookoff. This year we had "EMS Chili" in honor of Terry being an EMT and us being "1st Aid for your truck". He borrowed an old unused cot from the EMS and made a person out of various truck parts. I don't know why I didn't get a picture of our booth. It was not as good as we have done in the past. Our chili was not bad but obviously not the best.

There were 10 different chili's 4 business, 3 school, and 3 organization. The winner of each category got to give their money to their favorite charity. Usually they tell who the charities are but didn't this year. The entertainment was a cowboy poet. It was a fun night.

Here are some of the other tables. Not great but you get the hint.The Sr. Class went a little wild. They even had a motorcycle back there. They won their category.

I'm proud of the kids for taking part.

geocaching and wind towers

2008-11-17T22:18:00.003-06:00

I took the day off to spend with Theresa. We did some of our favorite things. Slept until almost noon!! Cleaned all of the recycling stuff out. (Theresa is an avid recycler. I just don't want to pay for a new landfill.) And went geocaching.

We only got 3 caches in because we started too late and went to a couple that were quite a ways in the distance. We put them in the car GPS for general area and used the hand held one for specific spot. The car one (Winnie) doesn't like Kansas dirt roads very much. It was hilarious the route it wanted us to go on. We had a really good time. Once it wanted us to go so much in a round about way that the map looked like Idaho. The caches were good too. I only took pictures at one but the location was cool.

Today we have been honored to have William and Ken who are friends from North Carolina stop by. They worked on their truck and helped Terry get caught up on some stuff in the shop. After we got back from geocaching we went to look at the construction of the wind towers that are going up east of here. I took a few pictures. Not very good but kind of interesting.

Terry has already commented on how sad it will be tomorrow when everyone leaves because his eating will probably go down hill.

thankful

2008-11-17T00:39:00.003-06:00

We had a wonderful day today.

Chris and Robin and one of Chris' students flew in from Stillwater. They came bearing rolls. A stranger would not have guessed that Jason was not a member of the family. We loved having all 3 of them. They arrived shortly after noon. The men went to look at the Jag and other local landmarks while Theresa, Robin and I finished preparing for the meal and talked.

Mom and Dad came in, dad earlier than mom so he could visit. She was finishing the dressing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie she was bringing.

I was the first to welcome Dusty and Addie from Las Animas, CO so I was the first one to hold 7 week old Pace. I knew if I didn't get him then I wouldn't get a chance. They brought a fabulous relish tray and intertainment in the form of Pace and Kree who loves trucks. We were all thrilled they could make it.

Linda and Willard brought ham and my favorite green jello from Scott City. And of course the 2 dogs.

Marilyn and Mac came from Deerfield with hominy. Chris' favorite vegetable. We almost forgot that.

Richard came from Sunray, TX right on time. He had said 3 would be good and that is when he came. He was glad to see his daughter and grandchildren. He is a really good dad and granddad.

With everyone bringing things all I had to do was turkey, potatoes, and pie. When everyone brings food it is easy. Cleanup is easy and everyone gets to enjoy.

I'm thankful for many things. Great days like this one are just one of them.

Theresa

2008-11-16T00:15:00.003-06:00

Last night our lovely daughter Theresa came home. She had some days she would lose if she didn't take them and all of her friends and siblings were busy so she has come home until Tuesday. We are very excited. Today she and I went to Garden to get some things I needed and parts for Terry. Tonight we went to the school musical.

They did Cinderella. It was enjoyable. They had most of the kids mic'd so we could hear well.

A couple of weeks ago Theresa called and asked if since she wouldn't be able to be with us for Thanksgiving and she had no solid plans could we have the turkey dinner while she was here. I sent out the word that I was cooking a Thanksgiving dinner if anyone wanted to come and I am now sitting here waiting for about 19 of them to show up. We are all excited. Would only be better if Jeremy were one of them.

Thank-you

2008-11-11T19:31:00.003-06:00

It is with honor that I sometimes get to give a veteran a plate for their vehicle that says veteran. I always struggle to find the words to show them the respect I feel. Today as I sit thinking about what to right I still struggle. So here it is.

Thank-you!

catching up

2008-11-10T22:09:00.002-06:00

Life keeps moving on doesn't it. Just a short recap of things that have happened since I last wrote.

Thursday morning Terry got up early and took the bus to Dodge City full of FFA kids for a competition. It sounded like they did pretty good. The wind was ferocious that day. He said that he really had to fight to keep the bus on the road on the way home. After work I quickly made the rounds of the stores to see what they had for their Christmas preview sales. I was sorry to have to make it quick. Then we left for Goodland for a scholarship banquet, which we left early to go across the street to see the Army Field Band perform. Terry and I are both real suckers for military bands. We love them and always get teary eyed when they play the songs of each branch and invite people who served to stand. At this performance 9 Goodland high school students got to play with them for a song. What an honor.

Saturday Terry got up early and left for Pleasant Hill, MO. I was supposed to go with him but our friend I always visit with while he is in meetings was in the hospital. Reason won out and I stayed home to start working on the new house that Twilla and I bought last week. We didn't make as much progress as we would have liked.

That evening I went to my first hispanic wedding. I forgot when I went that as the girl I was sitting by said "Mexican parties always start late." I got there on time and was the only one there. The DJ was setting up. People started coming at about 10 after. At 5:30 the groom asked me if I knew where the judge was. She was supposed to be there at 5:30. It just happened that she had called me earlier in the week and so I had her number. I called and left a message. She called back and said she was sick and had taken medicine and laid down and my call woke her up. She said she would be there as soon as possible. Even after she got there it was another 10 minutes or so before they started. The ceremony was nice, the decorations were beautiful, and the food was great. The music was LOUD! Two nice girls who went to school with my oldest children were kind enough to invite me to share their table. It was a little akward for me so I didn't stay long. I am really glad I went though.

Sunday Terry came home and I spent the day thinking I should have been working more.

Today we got very down to sending out taxes, or as Sharen calls them our greetings. I hope I get mine done this week because Theresa will be home next Monday and I don't want to be working. I had school board meeting tonight which was pretty short. That is always nice.

It doesn't sound like that much but it feels like it.

Reading

2008-11-03T23:58:00.001-06:00

During lunch today we went to the school where Terry was a guest reader for the 2nd grade. Hopefully tomorrow sometime I will get the pictures uploaded. He did a really good job. The kids seemed to enjoy it. I am so proud of him.

favorite day

2008-11-02T22:50:00.003-06:00

This is my favorite day of the year. The day that I wake up, look at the clock and say oh I get to sleep for another hour without feeling guilty. I know that it leads to my least favorite day of the year that comes in the spring, but oh for just one day I am a happy person.

workers

2008-11-01T20:36:00.003-05:00

Tuesday the High School students took the afternoon off from studying and did community service projects around the county. Anyone who had something for them to do could call the school and sign up. I was thrilled when I read it was time for this, I called and had them come and help me spread the pallet of mulch and the put down the watering hose for my last planting bed. They were originally supposed to come the Thursday before but it was COLD and WINDY that day so they postponed. The only difference it made was that I had taken Thursday off of work. Tuesday I just went out from the office.

My boss also called and we got a lot of boxes of old papers we don't need anymore taken out to the recycle. We keep them in a basement that has an awesome metal spiral staircase. Awesome unless you are trying to carry something up or down them. Then they are narrow, steep, and have small steps.

We could not have had more cheerful, get right to it workers. I was proud of everyone of them!! We truly appreciated their help. They gave me permission to put their pictures here.

This guy just happened to be at the courthouse when they were working. He said he would supervise. This girl was trying to dig out a root. The guy didn't like the way she was doing it so he came to show it. They both worked for quite a while but they got it.

excuse me?

2008-10-26T01:07:00.002-05:00

I stopped at Wal-Mart tonight on my way home from a tech college meeting. As I was putting my cart away a man on the other side of the cart garage said.

"My wife puked in one of those carts."

I said, "what"

So he repeated it.

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say then so just shook my head and hurried to my car. I did notice that there were several people in his car and none of them were small children.

I of course first thought that she had probably been drinking or something but then remembered standing in the parking lot of the Home Cafe in Valentine, Nebraska throwing up everything I might have eaten or was thinking about eating for the next 9 months. Terry and I talked at the time that people would think I had been drinking all night because I wasn't looking pregnant yet. So I guess there is that possibility but I'm still thinking the drinking would be the best explanation.

I have no good idea why he thought he should tell me. And imagine the poor kid(?) who had to find that.

schedule change up

2008-10-23T14:02:00.002-05:00

I traded days with Twilla so that I could be free this afternoon. In the fall the high school kids get out of school to do community service projects. I had arranged for them to help me with putting in the irrigation system and mulch for my last planting bed at the courthouse. So what happened. Really cold, wet, windy day!! They have postponed it to next week which is a day I have to work. I think I can work it in on that day anyway.

We are also going to have them carry boxes of old unneeded stuff out of the vault basement. I love circle stairways but carrying stuff up them is not all that fun!

What are they thinking?

2008-10-20T19:04:00.002-05:00

Today I received an advertisement in the mail with coupons for Marlboro cigarettes. Why would they think I would be interested in that?

Let's see.... "oh look, cigarette coupons! Watching people spend thousands of dollars trying to quit smoking, seeing people hack and cough, smelling the smoke on their clothes, watching people standing in the street in terribly cold weather because they can't smoke on the property. I think those are things I want for myself. After 48 years I think I will start to smoke. After all I can save $3.00!!!"

the trip home

2008-10-18T21:42:00.007-05:00

With our training over and time spent with Dan and Twilla's daughter and grandchildren today it was time to come home. Twilla wanted to stop in Abilene to show us the Seeley House which she had toured in the past. It was quite fabulous. It is actually a private home that a man lives in but he also gives tours.
I loved how the windows actually curved. And the porch and balcony were such a cool design. You should check out the link. There are 2 pages and show some of the awesome things we saw.

We went to old town but it is in disrepair and is being fixed up so is disappointing.

Then we continued home. I wanted to stop in Salina at Sam's to buy paper so begrudgingly Terry obliged me. The traffic was really slow on I-135 when we turned off and we thought there was going to be construction. Then we saw this.Robin told us that if you need to land the interstate is a good place. I don't know what happened but the airport was only about 1 mile away. It wasn't a K-State plane so at least it wasn't one of their students. Didn't look like anyone got hurt.

Sally

2008-10-16T22:14:00.002-05:00

After work yesterday we got ready and left with Dan and Twilla to travel to Topeka to take driver's license fraud training. It was their anniversary so we stopped in Hays for a dinner at Whiskey Creek. When I went to the rest room I noticed that that they had a coin operated horse. I mentioned it to everyone at the table and said it was too bad that I didn't have a quarter. So of course Dan pulled out 2 quarters. Before we left we all went back there and lo and behold there were a whole table of men sitting right beside the horse. Twilla said she knew I would chicken out so I had to ride the horse.

We put the quarter in and then we noticed it wasn't plugged in so Terry plugged it in and had to use a 2nd quarter. It was fun looking at the faces of the men and the waitress. I finally decided the thing wouldn't quit and got off. Terry took pictures but didn't get the horse so I'm not including them. It was a good thing that we were with friends because Terry made comments about Sally's (the horse) eyes were bugged out because she had so much weight on her. They saved him.

Tonight we took Twilla's grandson out for pizza. He is a real cutie. We had a good time.

rain

2008-10-14T13:48:00.003-05:00

We are getting rain!! 2 days in a row. Almost unheard of. It even rained in the office (which is not such a good thing). The roof leaked - interesting considering we are on the middle floor. Apparantly the water got behind the brick or something. It has stopped. The bosses brand new computer is fine. The copier is drying out. All is good because we are getting a nice rain. Yeah!

calf fries

2008-10-12T18:38:00.002-05:00

Terry quit early last night so that we could go to the annual FFA Calf Fry. They are nice and have hamburgers for people like me who are not fans of calf fries. It was cold and rainy so they cooked in the Vo-Ag shop which is across the street from where they were serving. That made it hard for them to keep the supply up with the demand. We had an enjoyable time talking with people in the community that we don't see very often. Of course Terry did a little business too. That is always good. Wait a minute..... I think that means I can use that as a write off.

Drivers License

2008-10-10T20:08:00.003-05:00

For the first time today our office processed drivers licenses. Last week the trainer came to show us the ropes but it is not something you can do pretend so we were to recruit people in need of a license so we could practice. We told our friends, put a notice in the paper, and had a friend put it on his community service website. Then hoped that we got a few.

Whew!!!

We had them lined up in the hall waiting for us. Everyone was so patient as we stumbled through. It was chaotic and fun. We had to turn a few away for various reasons. Mostly because we can't do CDL's. They were disappointed and we were truly sorry.

Because of new 911 addresses some people had a hard time finding something with their current addresses on them. That will get better as we get our new addresses out.

The picture taking was fun. One person had us take several because she didn't like it. That was fun.

Next week we have to go to Topeka for more training and then we are going to be doing them 4 days a week. I am sure it won't ever be this busy again. I hope I don't forget how to do them in the next week.

towers

2008-10-07T22:14:00.005-05:00

Today we traveled 2 hours to attend the SW Kansas Association of Counties meeting. It is a meeting of all county agencies and gives us a chance to talk to others who do what we do. On the way we saw this:

I know it doesn't look like much with this cell phone picture but these are sections of our new wind towers that are going to be making their way up here on trucks. It was quite impressive to see them there all together. I talked to a friend of mine who is having some put on his land and he said that the crane is here and was erecting sections today. I hope we get out to see them before they are done.

That second one is a pretty nice picture of the old wind mill too. Kind of an interesting idea the old and the new. The crane in the back is what they unloaded them from the train and loaded them onto the trucks with.

The company putting the farm up has a blog here.

Birthday

2008-10-01T22:25:00.002-05:00

Today I celebrated my birthday by getting up EARLY to go to a meeting about how school districts can save money on energy costs. It was 3 hours to the meeting so we left at 5:30!! That is waaaayyyy early for me but it was well worth it. I learned a lot about some options. I don't know if they will work for us but it is worth looking into.

When I got home Terry had made me dinner. Yesterday he sent me flowers. And all 3 of my kids called with their greetings and love. What more can a mom ask for. It brings a smile to my face thinking about it.

Jeremy even texted me a happy birthday greeting at midnight. Normally I would have been up but there was that go to bed early for the early wake up. Terry had gotten up to go on an ambulance call and I kept hearing the phone beep. I couldn't figure out what it was so had to get up to look. I loved that he wanted to be the 1st to wish me a happy birthday.

Thanks Eliza for your birthday wishes.

check up

2008-09-23T00:06:00.002-05:00

Today I took Terry in to have a follow up scope of his ulcers. They were all clear. It went well and he even got to eat Chinese before coming back to work. They told him not to drive, use a chain saw, or a lawn mower for 12 hours. He followed through on the chain saw and lawn mower. I am afraid he will use the lawn mower one for months to come.

Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame

2008-09-21T22:51:00.004-05:00

Saturday we took my parents to Dodge City for the ceremony where I grandfather was inducted into the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Members of our historical society took it upon themselves to submit his name for this honor and we were proud to go to the ceremony. My dad did a very good job of accepting the honor, thanking those who put so much time into it. They have a very nice plaque on the wall with a short bit of his story.

Several people from Leoti which was also an honor for our family.

(If you click on the picture of the plaque you can read what it says about him.)

homecoming

2008-09-21T22:39:00.003-05:00

Friday was homecoming in Leoti. One of the people who work in the board office told me that they were going to ride their bicycles in the parade. They had a tandem bike for the superintendent and the clerk, a 3 wheel bike and a regular bike. We decided that I should ride my motorized bike with them. So here we are.Our bank had a tailgate party as they always do and donated the money to the school. It was good. Terry went and ate with me then went back to work. I stayed for the game.

The football game was good too and we won. The announcer did a good job of getting the crowd going. The boys did a good job and a good time was had by all. Well maybe not the opposing team.

It is always nice to win homecoming.

Happy Birthday Jeremy

2008-09-17T22:30:00.008-05:00

22 years ago Terry was disappointed when the Dr. told us that he could not deliver Jeremy on the 15th but would instead do it on the 17th. To this day Terry is still disappointed that Jeremy was not his birthday present and is mad at the old woman with the emergency gall bladder surgery that caused the delay. At the time I said I didn't care as long as it wasn't on my birthday (which was 2 weeks later).

I married a man who wanted 11 kids. I asked him how many wives he was planning on having because this one was not doing that. I wanted 2. God knew more than both of us. He gave us 3. Chris says we quit because we gave up on getting another him, Theresa says we were afraid we would get another boy, and Jeremy says we knew we couldn't improve on perfection.

What we did have was just what we needed. Jeremy was a wonderful baby, who turned into a good little boy, then became a confident, opinionated young man, and now a hard working, loving, adult.

Happy Birthday - thanks for blessing us.

new rides

2008-09-17T22:30:00.007-05:00

This is my new ride.
This is Terry's.
Both need work. Both bought very inexpensively. Both bought at auction.

I actually rode mine tonight only not in town. It needs a new headlight and front brake. I ordered them today.

Terry's has had a fire and needs a lot of interior work. He hopes to get it fixed because he really wants to see what a V12 engine will do. I hope he gets it fixed because I am sure that this is the only way he will every get a Jaguar. So far his was cheaper than mine.

Theresa wants mine. Jeremy wants Terry's.

Mine will get better gas mileage! But Terry will have more fun (he thinks).

Happy Birthday Terry

2008-09-15T19:44:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Terry got his first AARP advertisement. I really never thought that 50 was old enough that he could be entering the "retired persons" league. And of course with a wife like me he is far from that league.

At the same time I do think that maybe he is looking at least 40 or so and on a really bad day he might get close to that 50 year old. Someone told me that it was because he is young at heart. I am sure it is the genetic factor. Although he is pretty young at heart most of the time.

Jeremy sent him a text message that said "happy birthday old guy". It's a good thing that Jeremy is a long way off. Otherwise Terry might have been calling him and asking if he was going to come help him with "old guy" stuff. He might have to start doing the pull your pants up "old guy" thing.

game day

2008-09-12T17:46:00.003-05:00

Our new booster club got a grant to purchase flags to fly on days when something of interest is going on at the school that the community might want to support. Today is the first day they are flying. I think they look very nice.Of course they would have looked nicer in the picture if I had gone to the other end of the street to take the picture so the words weren't backwards.

Quoted

2008-09-07T14:19:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I received a call from a reporter who was asking questions about a new law in Kansas that regulates carnivals. We were aware of the law but not until after it was passed. I answered some questions and gave her the name of a person I knew was more involved in the reaction to the bill than me.

Last week she called me to tell me that it had turned into a bigger story than she had originally believed and would be in today's paper. This morning I bought the paper to see what she had written. I was surprise that I was quoted because I hadn't told her much more than the other person's name. It is a nice story although I am quoted as saying some things that I don't remember saying. I don't disagree with the quotes just don't remember saying exactly that. I guess people who tell me I don't know what I'm talking about might be right. Next time I talk to a reporter I will need to take notes.

I don't like that one of the people who was quoted insinuated that if we don't have certified training for our operators we are providing an unsafe ride. People come from hundreds and even thousands of miles away to take part in our carnival specifically because they think it is safe. We are providing these rides for our children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, next door neighbors, etc. Safety is our biggest concern. We inspect the rides daily. We have people who are in charge of each ride who make sure that the operator knows how to run the ride. We have around 20 people circulating the grounds who can be contacted if anyone needs help.

Because of the environment that we sustain people have no problem letting us know if they think something is not safe. We have no problem looking into their concerns. Yes we do carry insurance but it is affordable because after more than 20 years we have not had to use it.

Our legislators are looking into getting us exempted from the training aspect of the bill. No one will know until after the new year if they will be successful. We will have to make an effort to invite the Eastern Kansas legislators who slid the bill through to come and see why their citizens come to our fair.

A first for me

2008-09-07T00:53:00.003-05:00

At the age of 47, almost 48 I have now attended my first rock concert. Tonight Styx was in Garden City and I took Terry as a celebration of his birthday which is next week. They were the first concert he saw when he was young and he has told me about it many times. (Because of lifestyle changes he has made he might remember more of this one.) So when I heard they were going to be in Garden I just had to take him.

First we went out to eat where we saw several other groups from Leoti that were also going. We got there in time to see the opening band which had won the right to open by winning a battle of the bands earlier in the year. They were pretty good. They opened with a Leonard Skynard song so that won Terry over.

Then when Styx came on Terry got a very nice smile on his face which stayed there the whole concert. He is not a really showy emotional person so that smile really meant a lot to me.

Now as a die hard country music fan the concert was interesting to me. Styx was popular when I was in college so I recognized about 3 of the songs. About half way through I told Terry that I could not understand a word that they were saying. He laughed and said that is the way it is for him when he is listening to country songs. I have never liked long guitar licks but did not really mind them tonight. I can't say that I would yearn to go back but I did enjoy it. Mostly I enjoyed watching him enjoy it.

The lead singer was not there as his wife is very ill but of course I didn't miss him :). They did a very good job and if they hadn't have mentioned it probably Terry nor I would have known.

It was probably also the first concert I went to where it rained lingerie from the front row. That must be a rock thing.

So last year we celebrated my birthday with Riders in the Sky and this year his birthday with Styx. Who knows what next year will bring. This concert was a fundraiser for a Garden City charity called Mosaic which helps those disabilities. They said they are planning on having annual classic rock concerts. We can't wait to see who it will be next year. ZZ Top?

This post would have been much more interesting if Terry had written it.

New Store

2008-09-03T23:20:00.002-05:00

We have a new store in our small little town. I am thrilled that once again we have a florist. I of course am excited about it because now Terry can send me flowers. :) He used to do that all of the time but since he got off of the road and is home I don't get them very often anymore. If I had to choose I would rather have him.

The really good news about the new store is that it is right across the street from the courthouse. That means I can go in often.

The 2nd really good news is that it is in a building that was looking really dumpy and now looks really nice. That is always good for a small community.

In other exciting for Terry news. There was a meeting to organize the Christmas open house and because I knew I don't have time to do any thing else, as a business there is nothing to profit me, and that I never have the ability to say that little word "no", I called a person that I knew would be going and explained those things along with the fact that I was not coming to the meeting. I explained that if anyone said "Carol did this last year, let's ask her" that she should tell them that Carol is too busy. She was very understanding and happy to do that. Whew!

chicken fry

2008-09-01T23:48:00.002-05:00

After many years of wanting to, tonight Terry and I had a chicken fry. We love a good chicken fry and when Terry is doing the cooking it is always good. We had almost 40 people and way too much food. It is always fun when people get their first ever home made potato chips ala Terry. More than one had 3 plates full.

I had told everyone not to bring anything but a friend called and asked if they could bring home made peach ice-cream. How could I say no to that!? Everyone was glad I didn't . My fresh peaches on top of it made it even better. I had wanted to make that but Terry rightfully knew I wouldn't have time.

The kids and a couple of men really enjoyed the pool. The kids even ate their ice-cream while in the pool.