Granny School

 B has been visiting me for a couple of hours when I am off work while his big brothers have school. It's nice to have one on one time with them... and also easier to get some photos! On this day, we worked on separating colors.

 He likes the ABC song. I put a bunch of songs on my MP3 player, but he only wanted ABC so I put 26 versions on there. Some of them he likes better than others. This is the primary reason he likes to come to Granny's house.
One day, we went shopping and took the ABC song with us. It was "old people shopping" day at Walmart and they were very interested in his little machine.
One lady saw his ear bud and asked me, "what is at the other end of that?" (Papa said she might have thought it was a hearing aide) Several asked me, " how old is he?", and just shook their heads.

 After a few minutes, he could slam the puzzle together in seconds. He has a specific order for each piece placement.

 He likes to walk around the house and look at my family pictures and name everyone. He knows all his cousins, aunts,and uncles. He recognizes them even in pictures taken long before he or his brothers were born.
He likes to look at scrapbooks, too. (if you want to be Granny's favorite, that's all it takes) He is naming all the family members from our reunion last fall here.

Sometimes we look at the alphabet when we listen to the ABC song. These letters are from one of my many versions of scrabble.

We also read books. This is one of his favorite. (mine, too) I had this book when I was a kid. We shake our fingers, say tzzz, throw down our hats and stomp our feet with the cap salesman. I get our stuffed monkey out and wear a silly cap. I'm not sure what "tzzz" means. This book was translated from Swedish and I guess the translator didn't know, either.








 He also likes to play with my spool nativity set that Aunt Jenny made me and read a Christmas story book.

 I love to play games, but when everyone is here, it is hard, so I had the idea to have the big brothers over one at a time to play Scrabble with me. It is my favorite game, but I have never had anyone in my whole life who liked to play with me. The first thing I did when I got my phone was download it so now I always have someone to play with me. I don't like Phone's dictionary.
This one does not look like he likes to play with me, either. (He really does like playing the game....but not having his picture taken.)

This one came over to play Scrabble, too, but he had an agenda. He knew he had to play, but his real goal was to watch TV...a favorite activity at Granny's house that is limited at home. He did play, though... almost as long as his brother.

His real objective, though was to watch Yogi.

While he watched Yogi, I colored his homework. This is his handwriting practice paper. He writes one scripture for a week, then he can choose someone and gives it to them. Last week he chose his pastor and he was thrilled to get a thank you letter in the mail in return.

When the new central air was being installed, they came over with their real teacher and had school at my kitchen table. She confessed to me that she bribes them to do their work. (I hope that wasn't a secret) I am a big believer in bribes. My mother bribed me, I bribed my kids and I still bribe myself.

Is it OK to just goof off sometimes?

Things have been very slow at work and I have had some extra time off this month. I have not been very productive but I have had fun. I have been working on scrapbooks and now I'm caught up and out of anything to scrapbook. I reorganized my "leftovers" and found some old favorite pictures. This is Jenny not scrapbooking because that was not a word then.
My husband keeps asking me, "When are you going to work?" I'm not sure what he really wants to know. 

Here she is with my other "old" hobby, sewing. My mother- in- law gave me this sewing machine when we got married. She had a new one. I made a lot of clothes for all of us and Jenny made her wedding dress on it. I still have the cabinet. One of my girls said to me once, "Mama, all you ever do is sew and read, sew and read." (anyone want to confess who said that? I wasn't sure what you were trying to say.) Check comments for an explanation. I'm sure someone will have one.

Here is Wendy and her poodle skirt I made. I just ordered one for Z. It's really not cost effective to sew any more. Patterns and fabric prices have gone way up and it is rare to be able to sew something for less than it would cost to buy it.

 Ok, I didn't make this, but isn't she cute? Her shirt says, "I'm going to be president, just as soon as I'm allowed to cross the street." I wonder if Sarah or Michelle had one of those shirts? Awww..look, there's our favorite cat, Pepper, over there

It makes me happy to walk by my table and see happy memories displayed. I took a picture of the latest one because I am about to change it. This one began with finding that plate at Salvation Army. I couldn't leave it there. The summer after high school my 2 best friends and I worked at Glorieta Baptist Assembly and it was a very happy time. I got out my pictures taken with my mother's Brownie and scanned them and made a collage. The tiny little black bible is one I bought while I was there and 2 years later gave it to my boyfriend for Christmas. (That would be Basil Frasure.)

OK, this is getting kind of mean,but here is said boyfriend. (Before I knew him) This is the only picture I have of him where he is not especially gorgeous. He doesn't read my blog so he will never know.

 We went by there and had lunch a few years ago and everything was a little different, but much the same, too.

The entrance with the flags was new and they had a new auditorium. Texas Hall where I worked was the same. Our dorm was the same, too, and I could see through the window our tiny room with 4 bunk beds.

We are at the bus station in Ft. Worth about to leave for the 18 hour trip to Glorieta. Me, Charlsie and Lucy.

We were all together in that tiny little room with Catholine McGhee from  Magnolia, Arkansas. She became a wonderful friend and we all loved her. I wish we were still in contact. I only know her maiden name. I wonder if she's on facebook!

Mr. and Mrs. Barton were my bosses at Texas Hall. They were very nice, too. We could have babysitting jobs at night for extra money when the guests asked us. We cleaned every day, but the big work day was on Wednesday when the conferences ended. Every other day was very easy.

I love all the flowers.

Recognize this? There was one of the eastern hemisphere, too. Missionary flowers!

 I could use some of that cool Sangre de Cristo Mountain air about now.  Jesus Regino, who is repairing our roof today, told me we had 8 more days of this over 100 degree Texas summer.

My 18 year old self. I loved to be non productive then, too. Things really don't change much, do they?

I Wonder

If my kids have seen this picture of the church where I was baptized.

Ridgecrest Baptist Church   Ft. Worth, Texas 1951

These are my friends from High School. We all grew up in this church and were in the same class at church as well as school. This is our picture taken at our graduation party at church.

Oh, this is a problem. I don't know the first girl's name. She must be a "new girl". I hope Charlsie remembers her!

Pink Kitchens

 This is the house where I grew up. After I saw a thread on my favorite message board, (http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/) about "things in your mother's house", I looked for this picture. It was taken in 1960 after my parents remodeled their kitchen. I remember my high school homemaking teacher had to do a home visit to check on my homemaking project right after it was completed and she was pretty impressed. She liked my project, too, and gave me an A. Maybe I will find a picture of it.

While I was looking for that picture, I found this one of me and my grandmother on laundry day. This was a very modern laundry room and was a big step up from the rub board which most women in their community were still using . She and my mother always made sure I had on my bonnet when I went outside to prevent freckles.  I also remember my grandmother was always worried I would get my hand in the "wringer" and she did not put bras through the wringer since it messed up the hooks.

This is my mother when she was in college. She majored in music at Southeastern Oklahoma State College.

Dog Days

I never knew what that phrase "Dog days of summer" meant until this year. I am counting the weeks until these 108 degree days will come to an end. Maybe 5 more weeks, I'm hoping. We got to go to Big Springs with our Texas branches of the family  to this new water park last weekend. I have been off work a lot lately and that was a good result of getting an unexpected weekend off.

Our 5 year old lost his first tooth last week. He consulted our family tooth puller, Papa, and took this one home to put under his pillow.

Don't you love it when they start to talk and smile and laugh ?

I have been scrapbooking a lot. It's too hot to go anywhere or do anything. I got my Alabama book done and have been working on all the grandchildren's books.

It was exciting to start the newest member of our family's book.

His mom is a great photographer!

I am working on Judi's book today. This is my next page. I found this old picture of Aunt Wendy when she went to help Judi's mom when she was born in Illinois and I can put it with the pictures of Judi helping Wendy's family. They were the same age..17.

While I scrapbook, I like to listen to library books on my MP3 player. I'm almost finished with this one.

Florida

My boss is going to Key West and famous photographer that I am, he asked me if I had been there, so I looked for some of my fabulous photography to show him.
I did not find many interesting pictures of Key West. We were only there a few hours and had been clicking away all day on the highway and it seems we were mostly just fooling around taking pictures of each other. This one reminds me of the vivid colors you will see there and all over the Keys.

If you drive up the Overseas Highway, you will be very close to Everglades National Park. It is worth a visit if you have time. I wish we had known about Dry Tortugas National Park. I would love to go back just to go there.

The thing that makes Florida so unique  to me are the amazing varieties and abundance of plants and birds. Right before we got this picture, that heron was standing on that turtle.

Near Everglade National Park is Key Biscayne National Park. It is also worth a visit. I love that you can see Miami from there.

We stayed at Key Largo.

Sunsets are spectacular. This is Lido Beach.

We liked Hamosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. It is primarily a wildlife rescue park and they have a lot of education demonstrations. We had never seen Manatee.

We loved the Keys, but the most exciting thing was the drive. There is not a way to get a photo of it that really shows what it is like except an aerial view. There are some of those on the Internet

I enjoyed the Glass Bottom boat at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. My companion could not recommend it, however, if you have a problem with sea sickness.You can also scuba dive on the reef.

This is my favorite: Bahia Honda Key. It is also a state park between Key West and Key Largo. This is an old railroad that  that was destroyed by a hurricane.

Vicksburg, Mississippi

This is the last of my photos of Alabama. On the way home, we got on the Lookout Mountain Scenic Parkway and stopped in Gladsen, Alabama and walked around their city park where they have this beautiful waterfall. It is named after an Indian Princess, Noccalulu, who jumped rather than participate in an arranged marriage.

Mama and her chicks were wandering around the park.

 

All over the south, it's all about the Crepe Myrtle.

We got up early and walked.

The Corners Bed and Breakfast: Vicksburg, Mississippi

A neighbor's rose

 

The backyard

The front porch

Our room was "The Library". The pizza delivery guy took our pizza to the public library.

The Parlor

The Mississippi River was across the street.