quote of the day

Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.
--Edgar Bergen

garden helpers

While I was planting beans, Lizzie patroled the furrows looking for grubs recently unearthed. But where are my helpers Marley and Hunter? Is that them under that tree over there? Let's go over and take a look.

I asked them if they were digging for buried treasure. Marley said she thinks it's a dinosaur bone.

It turned out to be an old metal trash can lid.

down to the barren fork

It was a warm day and we couldn't spend it all in the garden so we took a break and drove down to Barren Fork Creek. But, first we stopped at James' store for a soda and a little conversation.

I couldn't persuade Hunter to change out of his pajamas.

We were the only ones on the creek that day and it was so restful with the sun on our backs and the wind whistling a lonely tune as it blew over our pop bottles.

Marley said she wished she had all those rocks in her back yard.

Here she's examing rocks in hopes of finding a fossil. Every once in a while we get lucky and find a good one.

samantha, queen of the prom

Our grand daughter Sam with her date for the prom, Ben. She was elected Queen which was a natural choice because, and I might be biased, where would you find a prettier girl that my little brown Sam?

The Queen and King of the Prom.

The Queen and King of the Prom dance.

Sami and her mom

quote of the day

"I never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with a lot of pleasure."
--Clarence Darrow

cousins

Dorothy and I attended the funeral of my uncle John Calvin today. There were seven cousins there and we only see each other at funerals it seems. I took several pictures but this is the only one that turned out. This is me and my cousin Betty.

quote of the day

Dr. Karl Barth was one of the most brilliant and complex intellectuals of the twentieth century. He wrote volume after massive volume on the meaning of life and faith. A reporter once asked Dr. Barth if he could summarize what he had said in all those volumes. Dr. Barth thought for a moment and then said: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

source

cold easter

On Easter morning we woke up to 18 degrees. Next week I'll replant my garden because everything was destroyed by the cold. That's the first time that's happened. We had an Easter egg hunt in the chilly air.

Kelly helps Alec find more eggs

Dorothy

Dorothy's brother, Bill

All the cousins in a row

Gunner and Alec

Jenna is pleased with her find.

Hunter, wrapped up against the cold, searches for eggs.

coloring eggs

Marley concentrates as she colors her eggs

Jenna holds an egg in one hand while she colors her other hand.

Hunter contemplates the nature of the universe as he colors his eggs.

Jenna finds a bowl of jelly beans

Tara and marley

brrrrrrrrr!

What's going on here? Yesterday, Dorothy and I were in Tulsa and it was snowing big ol' snow flakes. The wind was icy. Today it was sunny yet the wind was sharp and cold. I don't think the Easter egg hunt is going to be as much fun as usual. The forecast is for an overnight low of 15 degrees.

quote of the day

"I'm not an atheist. I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws."
--Albert Einstein

phantom of the forest

I look forward each spring to seeing the dogwoods bloom. To me they're like a phantom that floats through the woods or huge lace doilies adorning the trees. The problem is I'm allergic to dogwood pollen. As soon as they arrive my eyes itch and water and my tonsils feel like I need to scratch them with a back scratcher.

I never need medicine and it's a rare thing for me to even take an aspirin, but when the dogwoods bloom I'm off to Wal-mart for some Claritin. It's hard to believe that something so beautiful can make someone so miserable. But it will all be over in another three weeks.

As a side note: A weather bulletin just came over the tv. Snow is moving into our area. We had frost this morning and will be getting it for the next two mornings. Last night I covered all my tender plants. Yet, next week I'll be planting all the rest of my garden. Only in Oklahoma.

miscellaneous notes

Yesterday I went to the SSA office to apply for a replacement social security card. I carried the same card with me through all of life's phases: school, military duty, work, travel. For 45 years it was tucked away safe in the inner recesses of my wallet. As each wallet wore out the card made the transition to the new one intact. A few years ago we began receiving advice to the effect that your social security card is no longer safe in your wallet. The risk of identity theft and all that. So I put the card away in a safe place. It's so safe that I don't know where it is. I've left no stone unturned or file folder unopened in my search for that elusive document. Did I file it under 'A' for abyss, or 'B' for black hole? I told that to the SSA employee who accepted my application. She said that was a familiar story. Familiar? But, were the other stories as entertaining?
I'm concerned about my social security card because I'm going to apply for benefits next month. Until now I've been a person who was fortunate enough to retire early. Now, I guess I'm officially a geezer. A social security recipient. Does that bother me? Not at all. I embrace each phase of life as it comes. While it's true that certain windows of opportunity have been permanently closed, others have opened. For instance, it's too late to become an Airborne Ranger but there's a world of opportunities available now at this stage of life that were unthinkable just a few years ago. I have to be careful and not get too busy with the unimportant things so that I can do the really good stuff, like playing with the grand kids, reading, teaching ESL, painting, learning languages, writing poetry, learning a musical instrument, and most important of all, sitting on the front porch and doing nothing but listening to the birdsong and watching traffic go by on the highway. Idleness is very important for good mental health and I'm not going to give it up. I wonder about people that think they need to be busy at something all the time. If you're one of those, try this experiment. Take at least ten minutes every day and stare off into space. You'll be glad you did.

a finished project

At long last I've finished the bathroom project (except for some trim). I won't tell you how long I've worked on this, but now I'm almost ready to move on to the next phase. I had more before pictures to show but for some reason Blogger is not allowing me to do so. I've been having trouble posting here so I may have to go shopping for a new server. Anyway, here are some photos of before and after.

hog fry

Our community is raising funds to build a community building where we can hold social functions and provide activities for the youngsters in the neighborhood. Yesterday we held a good old fashion hog fry. A hog was donated and bits of pork were cooked in a huge cast iron kettle. We also had beans, cornbread, coleslaw and potato salad, not to mention all the desserts.
Some of our local talent put together a great musical presentation for us. Most of us sat outside in our lawn chairs enjoying the music while we ate our meal.

Hungry people line up for the meal.

The dinner was held at a local sale barn.


Volunteers help serve the meal.
We also sold chances to win this hand made quilt commemorating the centennial of Oklahoma statehood.