quote of the day

Even very recently, the elders could say [to the youths]: "You know, I have been young and you never have been old."  But today's young people can reply: "You never have been young in the world I am young in, and you never can be."....This break between generations is wholly new: it is planetary and universal.

--Margaret Mead

storm

Just as the region is recovering from the Joplin storm the weather service forecast an explosion of storms with potentially equal deadliness.  The super cells started popping up in the early afternoon west of Oklahoma City so we had sufficient time to get prepared.  We haven't taken shelter during a storm for the last thirty years, but things are changing.  Dorothy and I picked up Tara and her baby and met Kelly and her family at the First Baptist Church in Siloam Springs, AR.  The church is built into the side of a hill and the lower level affords ample protection against a tornado.

When we arrived we were surprised to see so many people already there.

                                                 Sunday School class rooms were filled.......

                                                             As were the hallways

This morning I went outside to check for damage. Some yard furniture had been tossed about and some branches were on the ground so we were very fortunate.

quote of the day

If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character....would you slow down?  Or speed up?

-Chuck Palahniuk

kelly turns 40

Birthday Dinner

Kelly displays her choice of birthday dinner: chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn bread.

Blowing out the candles on her blackberry cobbler.

Gracen always enjoys a party.

what I'm reading now

Hard Laughter was a quick read. I decided to read some of Anne Lamott's books after reading this quote in a magazine: "Part of me loves and respects men so desperately, and part of me thinks they are so embarrassingly incompetent at life and in love. You have to teach them the very basics of emotional literacy. You have to teach them how to be there for you, and part of me feels tender toward them and gentle, and part of me is so afraid of them, afraid of any more violation."   Hard Laughter is a novel about a young woman and the family she loves. It covers an emotionally wrenching time for the family members when their father is diagnosed and treated for a brain tumor. Ms. Lamott reveals insight into the human condition as she creates believable yet eccentric characters who are trying to make their way through life the best way they can.

quote of the day

There is a philistine and an aesthete in all of us, and a murderer and a saint.  You don't reconcile the poles. You just recognize them.

--Orson Welles

what I'm reading now

Ten Degrees of Reckoning is a true story of survival at sea. It chronicles a family's adventure of sailing around the world and then the tragedy of shipwreck and the survival of one of its members. It was a very interesting book. It describes what it's like to sail a vessel, navigate with GPS and charts, the hazards of weather and coastlines, and all the other things that are necessary to know in order to safely keep on course. It's also a story about a woman's search for justice after she loses her family at sea when a commercial freighter broadsides them and leaves the area without rendering aid. The book will keep you turning the pages with anticipation.

why medical care is so expensive

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

what I'm reading now

The Mystery of 2012, Predictions, Prophecies, and Possibilities is a compilation of essays dealing with the fundamental change that is supposed to occur on Dec. 21, 2012. The ancient Mayan calendar marked time starting at around 3000 B.C until 2012. This book brings together all of the Mayan, Christian, and New Age theories, myths, and philosophies about what is to become of this planet and its inhabitants. Evidently the sun is in the process of aligning with the equator of the Milky Way. This will signal the end of the present age and the beginning of a new one. Some theorists think that there will be catastrophic earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, etc. Actually, that’s already beginning to happen. The part that intrigues me is that mankind, according to these experts will experience a shift in consciousness and will have the opportunity to turn things around and start being good stewards of the earth and it’s resources. It may be a time when wars end, greed will no longer hold sway, and people will begin to work in harmony for betterment of all mankind. Personally, I don’t see that happening . I think the human race will allow itself to become extinct before they will put aside greed, ambition, and aggression. But that’s just my opinion.

climate change

The floods of recent weeks were just the insult added to the injury of the winter cold. The frigid nights of January and February damaged or killed plants that have grown well for me for the last 20-30 years.

This dwarf Yaupon Holly has been a beautiful part of my garden. It was easily shaped and pruned. It didn't survive the -19 degrees.

This is an Euonymus Japonica.  It is usually an evergreen maintaining it's green leaves throughout winter, but as you can see it's been heavily damaged.  It will take several years to recover.

This one is a Crape Myrtle. The frost killed it dead to the ground.  There are some small shoots growing from the roots so I may be able to start over by cutting all the top dead wood.

flood

We were driving by this place yesterday so I took a picture. The building is being cleaned out after the flood.

Here's how it look a few weeks ago

mothers day

This is the breakfast I made for Dorothy this morning. Southern Pecan Frenchbread sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and cinnamon, with bacon, and a hot cup of coffee. After breakfast I took her outside and showed her a new Dogwood tree that I'll be planting for her tomorrow.

are you looking at me?