Rain, rain...go away

It rained most of yesterday and last night.  I was still awake at 3 am and it was really raining hard.  I think that the photo below is what our back yard looks like now with all that rain we've had. :)  (Actually, the pic was taken at the Lake of the Ozarks a couple weeks ago)

Hubby got called to work at 3 am.  I guess that is the reason I couldn't sleep, just knew the phone would ring at some point and he would get called out.  He got back home around 6:30.  They had a electric line that burned up that crossed a rain swollen creek and it took a bit of time to get that line replaced.

I'm just getting over one of the worst cases of the "bug" that I've had in a long while.  I'm much better but still coughing some and still just very tired.  Hope to get caught up on blogging soon and see what everyone is up to these days.  I didn't feel much like being on the computer or commenting if I was.  


Some good news and some bad news...my son and his girlfriend broke up recently.  We all really liked her and thought she might be "the one" but things happened and it was not meant to be, I guess.  I'm sorry for both of them that it didn't work out as they hoped it would.  The good news is that my son, who lives in Texas, has talked to his boss and he is going to be able to move back to Kansas City to be closer to his friends and family.  Yay!  We're really happy about that, we'll be able to see him more often. 

My good friend from Oregon will be here tomorrow.  We're going to lunch before I have to go to work at 3 pm.   Looking forward to seeing her and catching up on news.  

How is your weekend?  Are you enjoying sunshine or coping with spring storms?

Until next time...

Hugs

Is there anything sweeter than a hug from a precious one?  Especially when you are feeling sick or maybe just plain ole weary?  The photo shows a hug of the feet by Stormy, our sweet kitten.  (Please excuse the unmade bed and dirty socks!)

This is day 5 for me trying to get rid of this nasty virus I've picked up.  Went to the doctor this morning and got a shot and some medicine.  I've had such a sore throat and non-stop coughing, some chills and of course the ever-present achiness and general miserable feeling that accompanies such ailments.  The nurse told me that this particular ailment is going around and is harder to get rid of than usual. 

I'm really in a dilemma because one of my dear friends is supposed to be here from Oregon this Thursday on her way to see relatives north of here.  We been friends since school days and I really want to see her, but hate for her to walk into this house of germs!  We were planning on her spending the night Thursday.   Of course, Thursday is a few days away, but the worst thing is that I haven't felt like sprucing up the house!

My daughter mixed up a concoction that she read about on the web last night.  I think she thought I was about to cough myself silly.  Anyway, the stuff had  apple cider vinegar, honey, ginger and cayenne pepper in it!  It worked for maybe 10-15 minutes.  I told her that the reason it worked for that time is because it paralyzes your throat and you can't cough!  I did appreciate her trying to help, tho.  


Well, 'nuf said about that.  Just wanted to check in and share the sweet photo of Stormy.  Hopefully, things will get back to normal here soon.


I hope your week is off to a great start!


Until next time...

Flowers and Trees

 

The lilac is one of my very favorite flowers.  The scent is heavenly.  This particular lilac bush (below) was a start from a bush we brought with us when we moved from our former home.  It was just a very small bush for years and I had almost given up hope that it would ever bloom, but after 20 years it finally has reached a good size and is blooming nicely this year.  Most lilacs have "shoots" that grow up around the base of the original bush and they are very easy to dig up and start...usually.  I'm not quite sure what took this particular one so long to get going.

My wish is that they would bloom all summer, as well as the beautiful redbud trees and other spring bloomers.

 

The tree just above is the same as the one before it, just taken in the light of the setting sun behind me. 

 

This large oak tree is in the "Back 6" as we like to call it.  Just to the right of it was another oak of the same size at one time.  During a severe storm, several years ago, that was so bad we had even gone to the basement, we were looking out the back window watching in amazement as the trees were nearly bent over and just happened to witness the wind take down one of the mighty oaks.  It was quite a sight and later on when the storm died down and we went to view the aftermath of the crash, we could see inside the enormous trunk...it was hollow.
   

It's not funny really, but sometimes you just have to laugh...we seem to bring bad luck to oak trees.  At our previous home, we had a large oak that got some kind of borers in it and it died and had to be cut down.  The same thing happened here to another large oak we had between our house and the building we own next to it and it had to be cut down.  Then the storm took out one of the mighty oaks in our pasture!  What's going on?   

As you can see by the photos, the weather here this week has been wonderful.  Hope you are enjoying great spring weather where ever you are!

Until next time...

Girl's day out

As I write this, it still is Monday night to me but in reality it's Tuesday.  Anyway, when I refer to yesterday...I'm thinking of Sunday.   Did I lose you yet?  

My daughter and I had a girl's day out yesterday.  We ended up going to Columbia and did a bit of shopping and then we ate at the Red Lobster.  I wanted to go to the Olive Garden, but it was much too busy.  The Red Lobster was very good, tho.  Here's a photo of what I ordered:  

 

We really enjoyed our meal.  My seafood platter was scrumptious.  I love the bread they bring out.  There is a copykat recipe and I remember trying it once, but it didn't taste nearly as good.  

The weather here is still just wonderful.  Very warm for spring, too, I wanted to turn on the a/c today but just turned on a fan instead.  

I really didn't want to go to work this afternoon.  I work from  3-11:30.  They are asking us to work extra days because we are behind.  Not what I wanted to hear.  

 

Have you seen the movie "Blindside" yet?  We watched it last night, it was very good.  I think Sandra Bullock is even prettier with blond hair and Tim McGraw looks very different with hair! 

Sunday was a very good day and hearing that Phil Mickelson won the Masters made it all the better.  Yay for Phil.  I'm not a golfer (unless miniature golf counts...LOL), but I enjoy watching golf sometimes.  My son golfs and when he comes home and has his golf clubs with him, he will hit some practice shots from the house out into the pasture.  I'll try a few swings, but I can barely get the ball off the tee.  It's quite funny, really.  I think I'll stick with miniature golf!  

Hope you are enjoying some wonderful spring weather, too!

Until next time...

A Beautiful Day

Hubby and I went day-tripping Friday.  We drove to the Lake of the Ozarks.  It was a beautiful spring day and the redbuds and wild plums were all in bloom.   Here is a shot of part of the lake near Bagnell Dam.  I didn't take as many photos that I would have liked...the traffic was pretty heavy and moving fast, so by the time I spotted a good photo op it was too late to find a place to pull over.  The redbuds are one of my favorite flowering spring trees.  We have a few in our yard and several down by the small creek at the edge of our pasture.  Don't you just love spring?  I say that it is my favorite season...that is, until autumn comes around! 


Hope you have a wonderful weekend. 


Until next time...

The Tree

I think that I shall never see/A poem lovely as a tree

That is a quote from a poem that most of us probably remember from our school days.  I have always loved trees and this particular one is on the road from my town to the small town where my father lived in his later years.  I would pick him up and take him back down this highway to another small town where he loved to get his hair cut or just for a ride past the farm he lived on for so many years or maybe to our house for lunch.  Anyway, we would be passing this tree on the trip.  Each time, without fail, he would comment on the lovely shape of this tree.  It became known to us as "dad's tree".  Even though dad has been gone now for 6 years, I still think of him when we travel down this highway and pass this stately tree.  It will forever be "dad's tree".  The picture above was taken last spring and the picture below was taken last summer.  

Until next time...

Spring Fever

I have spring fever!  It's time to do some spring cleaning and rearranging things for a fresh new look.  This blog is no exception.  So if you've stopped by and thought you've gone to the wrong place, I've been trying out new backgrounds and headers.  This header will probably not stay long.  I really haven't found a background that suits me yet, either.  

We had a nice weekend.  We just had a simple lunch and then we went to Columbia to visit my husband's father in the nursing home.  We took him a chocolate bunny and a pretty pot of cheerful yellow tulips to brighten his room.  This was our table setting for lunch:

Well, it was a good weekend until the storms blew through.  We have had a lot of rain and there has been some damage in the area causing power outages.  Which means work for my lineman husband.  He was called to work at 10 pm and hasn't returned home yet as I write this (noon).  Well, this is something I've gotten used to over the 30 plus years that he has worked for the rural electric cooperative.  One Thanksgiving week years ago, I was out shopping for groceries for Thanksgiving dinner and when I got home I found  my husband's note that he had packed his suitcase and was headed to the southern part of the state to work an ice storm.  Those were the days before we had cell phones.  He was gone several days and missed having Thanksgiving with us.  

I'm not working today, I took the day off and so far have been very lazy.  I've  pretty much just played with the blog so far and it's time to move on to a new project.  Not sure if I want to tackle anything too strenuous today.  Hope the rains are over, my spring fever is calling me to get out and go shopping.  And enjoy the spring colors busting out all over...I love spring!  


Hope you had a nice Easter weekend and that you escaped the storms we've had. 


Until next time...