It's raining, it's pouring...

It is still dark as I write this.  I'm afraid to look outside when it is light.  You see, it has been raining all night long.  I just know everything will look waterlogged.  

My hubby just left on his third call to restore power somewhere out there in the county since the heavy rains began last night.  I decided I might as well get up and await the morning light.  

This potted Knockout rose won't need watering today.

 I can't wait to see pretty blue skies with white fluffy clouds,

instead of gray, rain-laden clouds.

If it isn't raining too hard, I will see this pretty boy 

at the feeder today.  He, and his friends, will be

a pretty spot of color in the dreary, wet day.

Now that makes me feel more cheerful already.

I think I'll go see about fixing breakfast.

Here's hoping your Monday is a good one,

rain or shine.

Until next time...

Flowers for Leontien

~ Love and Hugs to Leontien ~

Just know how much we love you and are 

praying for you during this difficult time,

sweet Leontien.  

Linking to A Rural Journal for this special blog event.

A nice surprise

 

I took my aunt to our nearest big city, Columbia, yesterday.  We ate Chinese food for lunch and then did a bit of shopping.  We ended up at a digital photography studio where she wanted to get copies of a charcoal drawing.  To my surprise, one of the 16 X 24 copies was a gift to me!  This beautiful drawing was done around 1900, give or take a few years, by her husband's (my uncle) grandmother.  She was quite an artist in her day.  After she got married, I'm told she just quit drawing and painting.  She left some beautiful pieces behind and many relatives are enjoying her artistic endeavors today.

The white streak you see in the above left corner and other strange markings on the poster are from the plastic sleeve the poster was put in.

                          

I didn't get much commenting done yesterday.  It was a long day and when I got home, I sat down in the recliner with my laptop and started reading blogs and....fell asleep!    I'll try to get caught up on what everyone's been up to soon, I've got to clean house today.   Enjoy your Friday and have a great weekend!

Until next time...

While I was sitting on the patio last evening, I heard a Meadowlark start singing his distinctive song, "seeoo, seeyeer".  Or you may call it a whistle.  Soon after, I heard another song from a bird I was fairly certain was a Red-winged Blackbird.  His song goes something like, "o-ka-leee".  I just happened to have my camera with me in hopes of catching another bird, but I was very entertained by what I called the "Bird Sing-off."

Mr. Meadowlark came out on top in the 

best of song category.

Mr. Red-winged Blackbird got high marks

for being brave enough to compete with

Mr. Meadowlark.

I watched and listened for quite some time.  Finally, their performance came to an end and they flew off.  In the same direction.  Maybe they had to perform for another lucky audience elsewhere.

Until next time...

A Missouri I-70 Barn

 

This white barn with a quilt block can be found along Interstate 70
going west toward Kansas City.   Luckily, I got a shot of it the last time we went by without the tractor that is usually parked in front! 

Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm

Until next time...

Best Laid Plans...

My plans were altered last week.  I'd planned to get a lot done.

I had to make a trip to the doctor's office on Thursday.  It was an unscheduled visit.
   

Without going into too much detail, I'm on antibiotics and am feeling better.  I'm waiting for test results to come in, but am hopeful all will be fine.
 

The funny thing is that before that happened, I had just gone to my chiropractor for my back and he assured me that I was going to feel like a new woman.  Maybe he was joking, but I wanted to believe him!  Anyway, I am hopefully on the mend and I will start to tackle those things that I'd hoped to do last week.  So, I'm off today to look for flowers and a few other things.  Wish me luck.  

The birds and flowers above are from my yard over the weekend.

Until next time...

Thursday's thoughts

How is your week going?  It's going fast for me.

We've already passed the halfway mark for this

month.  I've much to do this spring and I need

to spend a bit less time on the computer to get things

done, if I am absent from blogland some

days you will know I am working on a project

of some sort.  You know, one of those fun
projects like cleaning out a closet or finally
putting away the winter dishes and getting out
the summer ones or sweeping up the gazillion 
whirlybirds on my patio or painting downstairs.

When looking through my photos for this post, I

ran across this one from our visit to the 

World-Fest at Silver Dollar City in Branson.
I'm glad I don't have to work with that much hair
on my head!  Her gown was beautiful, though.  
 

I'm leaving in a few minutes for a little shopping
trip.   I will be looking a flowers for my pots and 
for a few other household items that are needed.
I've gotten a few new plants for the house and found
some planters at a flea market/antique mall 
recently.  I've been thinking about a couple of
other things that I saw and liked so I'm stopping in 
and see if they are still there.
'
Spring definitely has me thinking about
making a few changes inside and outside the
house.  What projects do you have planned 
this spring?

Until next time...

Missouri Hwy 65 Barn

Not sure of the nearest town for this barn, but it's along Hwy 65 going to Branson.  I've always thought the shape of it was interesting.  This shot was taken quickly from a driveway along the busy highway.
  

 Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm

Until next time...

Our Spring Break

We packed our bags and headed to Branson last Wednesday.  The scene above is from the deck at our condo.  As you can tell, the weather that day was very nice.

The next morning, we prepared to go to Silver Dollar City even though there was a chance for rain.  I had internet connection problems the whole stay and had to rely on the TV for weather reports.  So with an eye to the sky, we headed out the door.  We were lucky that it only rained a small amount early one morning.  Back here at home, we had plenty of rain but thankfully no storm damage.  I thought of all my bloggy friends who live in the areas where the weather men were saying the storms could get bad with tornadoes.  I hope everyone stayed safe.

I wanted to see SDC during their World-Fest and Thursday was the first day.  The flowers above were in the Viva Italia area. 

These guys were a hoot.  The chef caught me taking a pic of him and came over and gave me a big hug and air-kissed my cheeks.  He asked where I was from and I said "Oh, about 200 miles from here" and I asked where he was from and he said in his fake Italian accent "Little Italia"  and then, lowering his voice, "Eureka Springs."  Ha!  Eureka Springs, AR is only about 50 miles from Branson.  He did a good job on rolling his R's, though!

The Scissor Dancers from Peru were fun to watch.  I'm not sure about the significance of the scissors, but they had them in their hands while performing.  

The food was delicious as always.  We had a skillet bowl, a potato which was sliced and deep fried on a stick, and later an apple dumpling with cinnamon ice cream.  There is just so much to choose from and I couldn't possibly eat as much as I really wanted to.

 

These young men performed with flags.  It was a very good show and not a flag was dropped while thrown high in the air and caught by another.

You might hear a lot of corny jokes while in SDC.  Here is a funny sign on the side of one of their buildings.  And speaking of corny jokes, we got to see the Homestead Pickers and heard their jokes and listened to their music.  They were fun to hear, as always. 

We had a great time.  A trip to Branson almost always includes a visit to SDC.  We didn't go to a music show this trip.   We were both a bit tired from all the walking we did up and down the hills and hollers of the park at SDC, so we were happy to just relax and sit on the deck and enjoy the peaceful, wooded setting.  I did get out one afternoon for some shopping.   All too soon, the mini-vacation was over and we headed back down the highway.  It was fun to get away, but there's still no place like home. 

Until next time...

Seen on my walk

Whirlybirds.  Helicopters. The Maple seeds are 

everywhere this year.   They are covering our patio 

and roof top, filling the gutters.

 The seed pods on the Redbud trees are plentiful, too.

I'm not sure what this tree is, but I think the limbs are interesting.

This webworm has pretty much taken over this young sapling.

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

My internet connection has been very sporadic where

I am the last couple of days.  If I haven't been to

your blog for a visit, that is why.  Have a great

weekend and thank you for visiting!

Until next time...

Kitties and a book

Stormy, who is ignoring my telling her to

please get off the kitchen counter top.

She had a mission in mind.  That was to

fish out a chocolate egg to play with before 
they were all gone.  

I've been reading a delightful book by Gladys

Taber featuring her tiny Abyssian kitty, Amber.

She says "Amber and I have had many 

conversations on many subjects."

My Stormy, although not tiny like her, has a lot

in common with Amber. 

Stormy has such an expressive little face that

I just know she understands much of what I say

when I'm talking to her.  For instance, she pins her 

ears back when she sees me spraying on my 

perfume and I'm telling her that I'm going out.

She knows that means I'm leaving the house and 

she doesn't like that.

  She would rather be by my side

and watching over what I am doing unless

she is napping.  Very often, her napping interferes

with my blogging when she is curled up with her

head on my arm in front of the computer.

 Here is her look of aggravation.  She

wasn't too fond of a visiting puppy and

was asking for help.

If you love kitties as much as I do, I know you would 

like Conversations with Amber.  I found it while 

browsing at the library and have enjoyed it immensely.
 

Until next time...

Small Missouri Barn

This barn is rather small as you can tell by looking at the door.  I've always thought it an interesting little barn and can't help but wonder why it was built so small and what it's use was/is.  

The editing, Frost, was done in PicMonkey, a new editing site I read about on a blog.  I tried it out and I think I'll like PicMonkey as well as Picnik, especially when they add the collage-making feature.  Right now, all the editing features are free.  I'm sorry to see Picnik go, but there seem to be several good editing sites to choose from.  iPiccy is another one that I think I might like.  I don't do Photoshop, but occasionally use PhotoScape.  Anyway, I thought this photo of the little barn sitting in the middle of a pasture needed something extra so I went to PicMonkey for a little frosting.
 

Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm

Until next time...

A pretty sparrow

I saw this White-crowned Sparrow a couple of weeks ago.  I haven't seen him again.  Maybe he was just passing through.

I'm glad he stopped in for a visit and stayed long enough for me to get his photo.

Isn't he pretty?  I love my feathered friends.  They are so much fun to watch at the feeders and I love to hear them singing.  The pesky Grackles are still waiting on me to refill the suet feeder and put out the new sunflower seed block so they can quickly devour them.  I'm waiting a bit in hopes they will fly elsewhere for their dining pleasure.  But I'm thinking they haven't gotten the memo that they are not wanted.  All other song birds are more than welcome.

Until next time...

Happy Easter!

Easter means that this life on earth is not all there is. Jesus went “to prepare a place for us” in His Father’s heavenly mansions for all eternity. Jesus died for our sins, paying our penalty, so that we could be forgiven. He was resurrected, to prove that death has no hold on those who repent and accept Him as Savior. This life on earth is a prelude to eternal joy with our Lord. Easter is a celebration of our eternal destiny. ~ Joanna Fuchs

May each of you have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Easter!  I'll see you next week.

 

Until next time...

ABC's

Last week, I was given an award by Dianna at  These Days of Mine called the ABC (Awesome Blog Content) Award.  Thank you, Dianna, for choosing me as a recipient and for thinking my blog content is worthy of this award!

To accept this ABC Award, you are to list 26 things about yourself in alphabetical order.   So here we go:

A - Animal lover

B - Bird watcher... I love to watch them, listen to them and photograph them.

C - Christian.  And a country girl at heart, living in a small town.  

D - Determined. 

E - Easy going. 

F - Fun-loving.  I love to laugh and refuse to let growing older change that!

G - Generous.  Girly.  I've always been girly as opposed to tomboyish.

H - Hardheaded.  Yes, I admit it!

I -   Interested...in many things. 

J - Jeans...I wear them all the time when I'm not in capris or sweats. 

K- Kind-hearted.

L - Loving

M- Music lover...especially the oldies.

N - Nice.  Nearsighted. 

O - Oldies lover...I love old things, people and music

P - Photographer wanna be...I love taking photos and have so much to learn.

Q- Quiet...most of the time.

R - Reader...I love books, magazines and blogs

S - Simple...I love simple things (see side bar).

T - Tidy...I like my home clean and hate clutter.  (Don't look in my closets right now!)

U - Understanding

V - Veggie lover

W - Wife, of nearly 41 years to a lineman

X - X-rayed...I've had a lot of them

Y - Young at heart

Z - Zilch...I couldn't think of a word for Z so I'll use Zzzz.  I love a good night's sleep and they are rare lately.

I must now pass this award on to 10 other bloggers.  These bloggers all have great content, their photos are wonderful...check them out.   Here they are, in no particular order:

Marti's Musings

Let Your Light Shine

The Adventures of Old Alice

My Loves, My Life

Grandma Barb's This and That

View From The Castle

The Brick Street Bungalow

Chatty Crone

Cow Patty Surprise

Aunt C's Place

If any of you I've named don't wish to participate or don't accept blog awards, that's quite all right!   This post accidentally (fingers hit the wrong keys) posted before I finished.  Hopefully, you will see your name here!    Thanks again, Dianna, for this award.


Until next time...

A Barn With A Quilt Block

My barn this week features a quilt pattern.  It's a very nice barn but I wanted to ask if they would move their equipment from the front.  I bet that would have gone over big.  This barn is not on a working farm and probably just used for storage.  And this was a drive-by snap, so the focus and lighting wasn't the best.

I did a post in 2010 about quilt barns in this area and told what criteria barns have to meet to be selected to have a quilt block placed on them.  If interested, see that post here.

Linking to Tricia's Barn Charm.

Until next time...

A redbud, one last time

The redbud trees are rapidly fading now and the leafing out has begun.

So this is probably my last photos of the redbuds this year.

Here's a closer look at the same tree, zooming in.  

I took these photos yesterday evening as the sun was going 

down and the sun glow turned the tree into a 
lovely bright pink. 

We had a nice weekend with beautiful weather. The lawn 

was mowed and trimmed.  Flower beds were inspected

and a few stray weeds pulled.  Mulch was bought for needed

areas.  And I remembered the seed block for the birds.

The roses are looking great.  Of course, I mostly have the 

very easy to grow Knockout roses.  They already have several

 buds.  If you look closely, you'll see them in the photo below.

Our son came by Friday evening and stayed until Saturday 

afternoon.  We always enjoy his visits.  Saturday mornng, he went 

walking around the Back 6 with his dad, looking for morel mushrooms.  

Many in our area have found them by the bucketfuls, but they didn't

have any luck.  We grilled some steaks Friday evening and

Saturday at lunch time, I fixed a very good salad that I'd seen

on the Pioneer Woman's website.  

I'm sure everyone has heard of PW by now and if you'd like

this yummy recipe, you can find it here.  The only thing I

did differently was that I bought the croutons instead of making

them as she does and I didn't have a red onion so used a white one.

It still turned out very tasty.  I'd made this recipe one other time before 

and it was declared a keeper.  Many of her recipes are keepers!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Until next time...