Fun climbing on the rocks.

Tonight's picture is Grace and Mason climbing around on the rocks at the lake. You can see Raynie over to the left; she's on Nate's shoulders, so that gives you a clue how high up Mason and Grace have climbed. This was really nothing. They are awesome climbers! They really love the reserve, as do we. I hope they can come back, again this summer and go climb some more. I thank God that nobody was hurt. Well, Grace wore two blisters on one foot and one on the other foot, too, but that didn't hinder her hardly at all.

Tom left this morning and he called awhile ago to tell us he'd made it to 75 miles west of Memphis. He'll make it home tomorrow and I know that will be a happy reunion! We sure loved having him, but I know it was hard for he and Linda to be separated for so long.

I've got all the sheets clean and we're ready for more company. Y'all come!

Back to the reserve.

Tonight's picture is of Don with Trish and Rob and their family (minus Gabe) at the heart rock. The heart rock is one of our favorite places at the reserve. Tom's sweet wife, Linda, asked, "Did someone make it?" Someone probably found it, but God made it! We're so blessed with a great heart rock, and loving family and friends. Grace, Raynie, and Mason are sitting on the rock. The row closest to the rock are Don, Sadie, Nate, and Ryan. Then Trish and Rob are in the back. As soon as I got this picture they all scattered all over the rocks behind this rock. I'll put some more pictures of this on the blog in the next few days. Tom opted to skip the reserve and he stayed here for a great Premium Beef steak dinner downtown, and then he went to the parade and got great pictures to share with us.

We took a picnic lunch to the reserve and then came home and had hamburgers. Trish and Rob talked to Gabe on the way home and decided to go on home tonight. We sure missed him being here with them, but it was great to have all the others. They had a great time with Tom, so it was an extra blessing to get to have them all here at the same time. We just missed Linda and Gabe so much!

It's been a great weekend of counting our blessings and freedom is sure one of the best! Family, friends, and health are some more. Thank you, God for so many blessings!

Too much fun!

Tom couldn't resist Grace and Mason when they talked him into taking them to the lake to hunt frogs and whatever wildlife they could find. Grace found tons of goose feathers, so Tom is wearing one in his hat in this picture. Bless his heart; he's missing his grandkids, so we're fixing him.

We went to the Celebration of Freedom on the square today. Tom participated in the Poker run with 298 other Harley riders. I think he had a great time. It's been a big day. There is a street dance tonight and I think Trish and Rob will go to that. We've played canasta this evening already; maybe we'll get in another game before bed.

What a fun time to have the kids here and Tom, as well. Notice Grace's hair; she had it done at the Arts on the Square and it's called a halo; tomorrow her hair will be all curly!

God is great to give us this time. We thank our troops for this freedom! We thank Linda for sharing Tom with us.

Welcome home, Dot!

Our good friend, Dot, came home from the hospital after having a hip replacement this week. I hear she is tucked into her own bed and resting peacefully. I hear she has a shiny new hip, so with some therapy she'll be walking pain free really soon, we pray! Hang in there, Dot, Frazier and Janie!

The picture tonight is one Don took the other day when we were at the reserve. This buffalo was pretty close to the rest room and we got as close as we could comfortably get. While we were watching another lady got a little too close to him and he lunged at her. We all jumped, but she REALLY jumped. I had no idea that lady could move that quickly! She went the other direction from him and he calmed. We went the other direction, too!

Tonight Trish and Rob and the kids are coming. Gabe isn't coming because his band is playing at a couple of different events this weekend and he didn't want to miss that. We'll sure miss him, though!

I thank God for our troops. Remember that freedom isn't free and our troops pay a huge price. My thanks to all of you!

Tom is the handy man!

Tonight's picture is one Tom took of Don and I on top of Mount Scott at the reserve. The wind ALWAYS blows up there, but it wasn't as bad as usual yesterday. Sometimes you can't even keep on your glasses, much less a hat. Who would have thought we had a mountain like that in flat Oklahoma? They may be short mountains, but they feel like mountains when we are climbing around on them! I thank God for the reserve; it's a great playground for us.

Today we've stuck close to the house. Tom fixed the commode in our bathroom; it had a leaky valve, so he was sure handy! Don mowed the grass and I made quiche, chocolate chip pies and chex to have to eat when Trish and Rob and their kids come this weekend. We're looking forward to their coming.

I'm still packaging the herbs and vitamins. I've got to get them done tonight before the kids get here tomorrow or someone will surely bump them and that thought is overwhelming!

At Meers, again.

Tonight's picture is one Tom took of Don and I at Meers today. When we go to the reserve, we always like to eat at Meers. We were pretty tired and hot (that's sweat on my top!) from hiking all day, so we were so ready to eat. We were so grateful that there was almost no wait, too! In front of us was a group of 11, who were seated quickly, and then a couple. We went in within 5 minutes, I think.

We had a wonderful time at the reserve. We didn't see all there was to see, but we're saving some to do when Tom is able to come back and bring Linda. It's really fun to take people who visit us to the reserve! We thank God for giving us a wonderful playground and also great friends who will go with us!

We got plenty of exercise today, but I'm going to go power plate to be sure I shake everything back to where it belongs! Then it's bath and bed time! We should sleep really good tonight!

Doing crazy things!

Can you believe we just went for a couple hours' ride? DON'T believe it. I only sat on it for the picture; if he'd started it I would have flipped. I was so afraid it was going to turn over, anyway. Of course it's very steady and there was nothing to fear. These machines are for someone else to ride besides me, though. Tom loves it, so it's just up his alley.

We went to the Kiowa County Museum today and then to General Tommy Franks' Leadership Museum. Both were very interesting. Tonight folks are coming here to play cards, so it's going to get really good tonight. The women won 2 out of 3 games last night, so the guys are going to be aiming to whip us. We'll tape the finale of Dancing with the Stars and watch it after the canasta game.

Great friends are such a boost to life. I've known Tom since I was 15 or 16, so he's about like family. Then the folks we love here are so close, they feel like family, too. God blesses us with precious people in our lives. This weekend Trish and Rob and the kids will come, so we'll be over run with family; it's our favorite thing and we wish the whole family could be here!

Card playing!

Here it is! We taught Tom to play Hand and Foot Canasta! How fun! I can hardly wait to teach Linda, now. It was way fun. We went out to Jo Ann and Frank's house and took Dorothy and David with us. Their daughter, Kristy, was there; she's on Tom's right in the picture, then Tom, then Jo Ann and Frank. What fun!

We're home now, watching Dancing with the Stars, which we taped. Then it's off to bed!

I'm working on getting our herbs and vitamins thrown for the next month (as we watch). I thank God that I can keep them straight enough to get them done. It's a challenge for me, but it's getting better each time I do it. It used to be so very hard for me to do; it's still a real difficult thing, but I can do it.

Windy, windy!

Tonight's picture is one of Dorothy and I at the Indian Cemetery. Look at my hair and Dorothy's and the trees; do you think we get enough wind here? It's a wonder that any of those flowers stay on the graves!

We had a really fun day yesterday. Then last night we went to a block party, which was fun, too. Tom doesn't ever meet a stranger, so everyone enjoyed meeting him and getting the answer to the question that was driving them crazy: who was it that pulled up to our house on a Harley and wasn't leaving? This neighborhood doesn't miss much.

My magnolia had it's first bloom last week, but it was way up on the top and I couldn't reach it. Today I got to cut my first bloom, and it's in the dining room giving our house a wonderful scent!

My H20 Mop arrived Friday and I got around to putting it together and using it today. ICK! If you are ever tempted to buy one, I'd suggest you FORGET IT. I'm returning this one. It sounds like a good thing, but I'm not the least bit impressed. I'm grateful that I was able to use it, but not for the mop; it's a joke, but I wasn't laughing!

Fun, full day.

This picture isn't the greatest scenery, but it has sure been a lot of fun. Tom and I were leaning against the wall at the dam, which we explored today. We drove out to the lake and around the lodge, etc. It was a fun day. It's so much fun to have Tom here to take him on 'Don's tours' of southwestern Oklahoma.

This morning we had breakfast at the Kozy Diner with David and Dorothy. Then we went out to show him David and Dorothy's place out in the country, just south of town. David had work to do in town, but Dorothy jumped into the car with us and showed us all around her grandson's huge pig farms. That was way interesting; one has 1200 sows and the other has 1500 sows! We couldn't go inside because they have to be so careful of disease (for the sows!); I was happy to smell them from outside and absolutely believe there are a bunch of sows in there! We drove out to the Indian cemetery, too. We got pictures of Dorothy and I out there, which I'll post one day before too long.

We're having the best time. I so thank God for life long friends! And, thank you, Linda, for sharing Tom with us; we sure miss you!

Surprise!

Tonight's picture is me sitting on the sofa with our surprise visitor: Tom Rose! We were floored today when Linda called to tell us Tom was coming by to see us. He has been to see his son in Texas and was headed this direction. I was talking to her on the phone when Don saw him outside! What a cool surprise and we've had a great time visiting with him! We want to persuade him to stay through next weekend when we have our Celebration of Freedom weekend, which we think he will love. We'll see if we can talk him into it. Trish and Rob and the kids are coming and we'd love for him to meet them.

We left him here tonight while we went to graduation because a really good friend's daughter was graduating with honors, so she was speaking. Then they had a reception for her, so we went to that, too. Tom was asleep on the sofa when we got home, so I guess he needed some rest. We look forward to showing him around southwestern Oklahoma as long as we can get him to stay. Linda, we MISS you! Tom and Linda and I graduated from high school together and Tom and Linda are great friends who have been to Hawaii with us twice. This is really a treat and we so thank God for Tom's safe trip and this time we can spend together. It's a good thing the weather is nice, so he's not experiencing storms with us.

Congratulations Nate!

Good grief. I thought I posted this last night, but here it is still on the computer, today! I just failed to hit 'publish post,' I guess. Chemo brain strikes, again! Hope nobody was worried! All is good here; I just slipped a cog or something.

The picture tonight is Nate leaving to go to his graduation ceremony. I got a few pictures of the other kids and a few of him as he was getting ready. Then when we got to graduation my batteries died in the camera. When will I ever learn to take extra batteries with me??? We were too far back to get any pictures at the ceremony, but I would have taken one outside after it was over. I wanted to put this one on, though, even though it's not his best expression; but, it shows his medal that he was given at their awards ceremony. It's the faculty award and only three were given in his class of 216, so we think that's pretty good. He had to be there at 5, so Don took him while the rest of us got ready.

We were able to get there in plenty of time and enjoyed sitting with Rob's mom and step-dad and Trish and Rob during the ceremony. It was a joyful time, and we were all very, very proud. I thank God that Nate has done so very well; he has blessed us.

I thank God for a safe trip, too. We got to visit very good friends early this afternoon; I'll post pictures of that visit another night. We saw all the kids except for Sadie and Ryan who were both busy with their own 'stuff.' We'll see them next week when they come here. Our lights served us just fine coming home, so my cleaner worked pretty well. They aren't perfect, but we could see lots better, so I thank God for that, too!

Self photo.

Don seemed deep into TV so I took a picture of myself with today's flowers. This is a bit of yarrow and my first echinacea bloom! I don't like me up so close, but my arm won't go any farther away. So, you get to check out my teeth with no gaps! Woo hoo for teeth bands!

How does time go so quickly? I candled Don's ears today, cleaned off the lights on the van, and packaged up the chicken and burgers I froze yesterday. Oh, yeah, we had to put new bulbs into the florescent lights in the kitchen. Man, it's always something.

Tomorrow we're going to Nate's graduation in Oklahoma City, so we'll be driving home at night. We have the worst film on our lights, so it has been really hard to see at night. I found a great solution to clear it, but it's taken me all day (many applications) to do it. It's working, though. Trish will be so glad to read that because she drover our car when we were in Branson and nearly grounded us. We thought we couldn't see because we're old, but it was the film on the lights. Anyway, we'll be safe tomorrow.

I thank God for people who invent good things. No kidding; there are some really sharp people out there, and I'm sure grateful for them! I thank God for my flowers, too. They make my days bright. I broke off all my old dead iris stalks today, but the re-bloomers will return! Woo hoo!

Ear candling.

Relax! There is nothing wrong with me; in fact I have clean ears for the first time in over 3 years! This picture is one Don took of me as he 'candled' my ears today. He used to candle my ears about every 6 months, but with all the cancer treatments since November of 2006 I forgot all about candling my ears. My ears have been itching a bunch lately, so I remembered candling and ordered some candles for my ears. They came yesterday, so I was delighted that he could candle them for me today. If you've never done this you should do it once. You'll be amazed at what it does for your ears! You have to have a buddy who can light the candle for you and take it off when it burns down to the bottom. You don't feel a thing as you lay there; it's so amazing to finish it and find a bunch of wax that has come out of your ear without you even feeling it. It sure feels good to have clear ears!

I know. You're thinking I'm some kind of nut. I zip line,climb mountains around buffalo, and I candle my ears! Yep. I do all that and I may be some kind of nut, but I love life and I have clean ears! Woo hoo! I thank God for health and a wonderful partner who will share life and help me even with ear candling!

Need new pics!

Tonight's picture is one Mary took of us when she and Steve were here and we spent the day at the reserve exploring nature and especially hunting birds. We finished up our day with supper at Meers a hole in the wall restaurant out in the middle of nowhere, but close to the reserve. http://www.meersstore.com/history.html It's really a life saving place: we go to the reserve and take a picnic, but after it's long gone, we're sure glad to have something great from Meers. It was the least line we've ever stood in at Meers, too. You can tell from the picture it's been a long day, but it was GREAT. We ALWAYS have great times when we explore with Steve and Mary.

Today we went to Lawton and returned 6 boxes of Pergo that we didn't need on the floors. That was a nice refund, so we're feeling better and better about the floors. I'm really enjoying them and I'm so glad that we made the change. I came home and did 3 loads of laundry. We must be the sweatiest people alive. I guess all the exercising we do, work in the yard, etc. makes for sweaty people. I dated a guy in the 9th grade who says that girls don't sweat, they glow. Bless his heart; it's a good thing we dated then and not now, because I sure sweat, now! Anyway, I thank God for letting me be alive and well enough to work up a sweat. I'm thankful for my washer and dryer, too. I love the new floor in my laundry room, too. Woo hoo; every day is a celebration!

Laundry room . . .

Tonight's picture is looking from the kitchen into the laundry room. Right behind the fridge and to the right is the washer and dryer and behind that is the little room that used to be a half bath. We took the commode and put it into our bathroom when we added onto the house, so now it's a little room with a cabinet and drawers and a sink and cabinet. I keep my herbs and vitamins stored in there. To the left are two doors; one goes out to the garage and the other goes down to the basement which is the same size and right under the garage. Straight ahead (a little jog to the left of the 'SMILE') is the door to our room. Don's dad used to ask where we lived and I'd say, "Behind the refrigerator; do you want to see?" Bless his sweet heart; he'd go back there and say, "This is keen; how could a fellow get something like this?" Bless his heart, he had the whole rest of the house and he liked our spot. We treasure the years we lived here with him even if he didn't realize we were right here. We thank God for the time we got to spend with Boone. We learned a lot we never wanted to know about Alzheimer's, but we also learned a lot of wonderful stuff about Boone. He couldn't help himself from being a gentleman, even when he didn't know who we or even he was. I sure hope I can be as graceful as he was if I ever get Alzheimer's!

Anyway, now you've toured from the kitchen back to our place, so come to see us! We're watching the finale of Survivor tonight if we don't get stormed. I'm shutting the computers down to go to church because we have storms all around. It's Oklahoma spring! Praise God!

And, the bedroom:

Someone asked about the bedroom floor, so here is the picture. We use the term 'bedroom,' loosely. When the house was built it was designed as a bedroom. We have a bed in there and Sadie usually sleeps in there when she comes. However, the kids use it for a playroom when they come; all the toys are in here (in the closet and that chest at the end of the bed. When the kids aren't here, we use it for a gym (they do too!). Notice the Power Plate on the rug; that's a thing I use every day. Anyway, the floor is the same one we used in the kitchen and laundry room. We have gold carpet in the other two bedrooms and the living room; I think it will never wear out and it is wonderfully soft, so I like it in spite of the color. Our bedroom and bathroom has Berber (sp?) carpet that is white with speckles in it. The hall, living room and dining room have parquet with rugs (the living room rug was made out of the same carpet that is in the bedrooms. I hope our floors are in good shape for as long as we live here; I'm content, now that this Pergo has come to live with us and it's guaranteed for 25 years.

Today I went into chopping and cooking mode. I made quiche to last me for a week and a batch of tabouli. I'll share the tabouli with Dorothy; she and I love it and this batch makes a bunch. Ruthie, wish you were here to share with me. Don won't eat tabouli and he usually won't eat quiche, but I forgot the cheese, so maybe I can tempt him with it? I cleaned a couple of pounds of carrots, so we're good for carrots for the week, too. We eat carrots like rabbits.

We went yard saling today and hit a bonanza on shorts and shirts for Don. It was so fun. Then I had to come home and wash it all, though. There's always the down-side. It's all done, though. I have a couple of buttons to replace and a hole to mend; that's easy stuff. I thank God for yard sales; I would hate to pay full price for stuff.

Ta da!

The floors are done! The kitchen is back in order and so is the bedroom. I've still got some 'stuff' that needs to go to the attic and I'll get that done tomorrow. Whew! It feels so good to have my kitchen in order!

I found some things I want to go through and get rid of a bunch of it, but I'll do that when I get to it. I really like the floors and am so grateful for them.

We went to play cards with friends tonight, so it was nice to get a break from a pretty hard day of working. I changed our sheets today and we even turned over our mattress. It feels good to get some chores behind us. I sure thank God that I feel good and have great range of motion in my arms. I also thank Him for quiet rain and mild thunder storms instead of scary tornadoes!

Very close. Here's a preview.

This is the new floor. I took the picture before they got the trim done, but it's the best I could do. You know, they have all their 'stuff' all over the floor and then it's done and it's all I can do to get it swept before they bring in the washer/dryer and fridge! Then they got that all inside and the water line is leaking on the fridge. You know, it's one of those things that work fine until you move it and then it leaks! Ugh. So, the fridge is in the kitchen, but sitting in the middle of the floor so they can work on the water line tomorrow. The washer/dryer are in the laundry room, but not up to the wall because they have to be able to get back there to hook up the water line to the fridge. (The fridge backs up to the wall you see to the right and the water line goes through that wall to the laundry room which is through that door.

The pantry is through that open doorway straight ahead. The floor is just enough higher that the cart I kept in there won't fit ~ no problem, because I had another one in the closet in the laundry room and it would fit, so I traded them. So, I did get to put the pantry back together and the closet in the laundry room. The hot water heater closet is done, too; that's where I hang my clothes to dry since I don't have a clothes line. The hot water heater closet is my alternative to ironing; I have an iron and an ironing board, but it's against my religion to use them. (Religion is my opinion is a bunch of silly rules; Christianity is a whole other thing that is VERY important to me, by the way.)

So, there is some more of how this week has gone. It's been a wonderful week and I really am mostly enjoying it. I'm excited about things getting back like they should be. The bedroom floor is almost done; they'll finish it tomorrow and I THINK they will be done with the whole thing tomorrow. It'll probably take me all weekend to get the house in order, but I'm loving this! I thank God that I am able to do this and alive to enjoy it. How richly blessed I am and the new floor is a happy bonus and wonderful mother's/father's day present.

Old, really icky floor.

This is the picture of where the grape juice stained the floor. Ick; now, it's gone, though: Woohoo! These guys have really been working hard, but there are so many angles to challenge them. This floor adds about 3/8 to 1/2 inch to the floor, so the cabinet doors on my pantry had to be trimmed. The pocket door going from the kitchen into the laundry room has been another challenge. In the closet where the hot water heater and our water filter are, they couldn't put this floor (because the floor has a drain and it has to be flat for this flooring), so I spent all morning cutting some left over vinyl to fit around the hot water heater and the filter. That was a challenge, but I got it done; they went right up to where the vinyl stops with this floor, so it looks good. Where this new floor leaves off and the parquet begins (in the kitchen) or carpet in our room and down to the basement they have to put transitions: that is strips that hide the edges. The transitions are tricky because of the concrete floor, so they'll finish that and all the rest of the trim tomorrow. They got a lot of the trim in the kitchen done and they put my stove back in it's place, so I was able to fix dinner. The kitchen table and the fridge and the island are still in the living room, so we are still way mixed up around here!

We took the final pieces out of the bedroom, and I've mopped in there, so it's really ready for them to do tomorrow. Man, I hope they finish it all tomorrow, but that's asking a lot, considering it's been two days already on just the kitchen and laundry room. There are lots of corners and tricky spots with those rooms, though. Tomorrow the washer and dryer can come inside and I'll feel more like I'm at home. I really am eager to get everything put back like it belongs in this house, but I'm so happy to have this new flooring!

We haven't been able to get to our equipment to do all our exercises, so that's frustrating. I'm pretending that we're traveling and I just can't do it. I feel like I'm committing a crime when I don't do these exercises. I could power plate until tonight; now the power plate is sitting in the hall . . . I might be able to pull it close enough to the bathroom to reach the plug in there. I did power plate today, though, so maybe they'll be done in time to do it tomorrow night. I've going to go see if I can find the space to jiggle as soon as I finish this.

Again, we're thanking God that we have no tornadoes here tonight. I thank Him for a wonderful home, too.

A work in process . . .

The picture tonight is our old kitchen floor. See how it has yellow spots in it? That has been driving me crazy for years. If you could see closer there are many dug out places that really drive me crazy because I keep wanting to clean it and it won't clean. I keep my island over most of this yellow stuff, so it's not noticeable, but I know it's there! When the electricity was off for 5 days this winter, some grape juice thawed in the freezer and ran out on the floor and made stains that look like we killed a chicken in the kitchen or something. So, that was the deal maker; even Don said we should fix that! Thus the new floor. Tomorrow I'll post the grape juice stains. Soon the new floor will be done and I'll post a picture of it.

The floor is mostly done in the kitchen, but the trim is yet to go back where it belongs. The stove and washer and dryer are still in the garage and the fridge is in the living room. It's been a wild day. It feels a bit like we're moving; enough to make me know I don't want to move! We moved all the furniture out of the bedroom, so it's ready for the guys to work in there when they finish the laundry room and kitchen tomorrow. We've got things all out of place all over the house, so that's wild.

The best news is that I found my dad's baby dress. (If my dad were still alive he would be 92 this August, so that baby dress is pretty old !) It was in a plastic bag that had fallen behind the washer and dryer! It's been lost for over 3 years, so I was in shock to find it. I had looked all over this house including the attic and basement for that dress and could not find it. I never pulled out the washer and dryer, though. Duh. I'm thrilled to find it!

It's sure a nice mothers day present to get a new floor. And to find Papasan's dress is a real thrill and relief. I was up until 12:30 getting everything ready for them to do the kitchen. I'm headed to bed as soon as possible tonight. I thank God we aren't having tornadoes tonight!

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

The picture tonight is one that Don took when Steve and Mary were here and we went over to see Joan's garden. She, too, has a beautiful garden. Her irises weren't in full bloom, but they had a really good start. This is the same Joan who helps Hazel with her garden and also helps me a lot in the yard. She's a dear, dear friend, and we sure thank God for her!

Now, what's happening tomorrow??? They guys are coming to lay our new kitchen floor! They will probably do the bedroom (gym) the next day; I imagine the kitchen and laundry room will take all day tomorrow. I am so excited! I've moved everything that has to be moved out of the kitchen. I'll do the laundry room after Dancing with the Stars. The guys will move the washer and drier, but I have a wealth of 'stuff' stashed in the laundry room and it's closets. I'll get some things sorted while all this is done and we'll put it back together neater. I am so thrilled to get it done this soon!

Today we went to Altus and David and Dorothy went with us. They had a couple of things to pick up and we needed a few accessories to help the guys lay the floor. It was a fun day. We had a huge, late lunch at the Western Sizzlin, so we're not eating supper. Uh oh. We aren't seeing Dancing with the Stars because we have tornadoes all over the state and that's all over the TV. We don't have any problems here; it's all past us. The kids are safe; it's past them, too. Tennessee watch out; you usually get our weather the next day or two after us. There is baseball size hail and horrible winds in lots of places; many trucks and cars overturned and many houses destroyed. We've had wind that was over 50 mph, but that's all for us. Anyway, it's a big weather night around here, so I hope we can DVR Dancing with the Stars. I'll go get busy with my getting ready for the new floor tomorrow. I thank God that I'm able to take care of business and ask Him to bless those folks in the paths of tornadoes.

Happy Mother's Day!

This picture is one Don took today of me with the last of my irises. Of course the re-bloomers will bloom again, but for now it looks like the irises are mostly done. There are still a few out there in bloom, but the big hoorah is over, I think. I cut one of the white ones with a yellow beard and put it into the corsage carrier that I saved from the Easter corsage Heather and Brett gave me when we were in Houston. I forgot to get a picture of that beautiful orchid, but I loved it and could only throw out the flower when it died. I enjoyed wearing the bow again with an iris today. It smelled so good and made me well aware that it was a good day to recall and cherish all the kids in our family, as well as all the great moms. We're so blessed to have wonderful moms currently and as far back as I can remember. God has sure blessed us!

Don and I shopped Friday for flooring for the kitchen and our bedroom that we use as a 'gym.' We'd left it all in the car and today we hauled it into the dining room. In the morning the guy who is going to lay it for us is coming to talk about it and schedule the time to lay it. I hope he can do it before the kids come for Memorial Day weekend, since it's in the dining room! Besides, I am so READY to replace that kitchen floor! It's our Mother's and Father's Day present to each other.

Celebrate every single day the mothers and children in your lives.

Hazel and her clematis.

Tonight's picture is the final in the series from Hazel's garden. This one is her beside her beautiful clematis.

Tonight we went out to Jo Ann and Frank's to play cards. It was a last minute thing and I forgot to take my camera, again! Anyway, it was fun; I'll have to get pictures another time.

It's late and Don is already in bed. I'm headed that direction, too. It's amazing how fast a day can get away from us! We're thankful for friends to share fun times. Thank you for keeping an eye on us! Don and I both are feeling really good.

Another of Hazel and her garden.

Here is another picture of Hazel in her garden. My sister asked, "Does Hazel do all that by herself?" She has a lot of help from our friend, Joan. When Don and I lived across the street from Joan, she was like a shadow: If I went out to dig a hole, she'd show up beside me with her shovel! If I went out with the ladder to trim a tree or something, she'd be right there to hold the ladder for me. If I went out to trim the hedge, she'd be there with a big bag to help clean up what I cut. We did so much work on our yard, it's a wonder we both lived through it. We had lots of barren spots in our yard and whenever Joan dug out a new part of her yard to plant more flowers, she'd call me and see if I wanted the grass she was digging. Of course I did, so I'd dig out holes for her grass and roots, and wheel it across the street to trade. We were infamous around town for wheeling dirt and grass back and forth across the street. One time she decided she didn't want the sidewalk that went from the back of her house out to the alley. She never used it and it was 'in her way' when she mowed. So, she called and asked me if I wanted that sidewalk to make a patio. Ha! So, we dug out a big hole in our back yard and wheeled many loads of dirt over to her back yard. Then we helped her dig up that sidewalk, which was made of 3 foot squares of about 6 inch concrete. Then we wheeled those across the street and 'planted them in our back yard. It must have been such a scream for the neighbors to get up every day and watch whatever we were wheeling across the street that day! That's the kind of friend Joan is, and she's a friend like that to Hazel, too. She still helps me a lot in my yard, too. I'm sure Hazel joins me in thanking God for Joan!

Today we did our walking all around Lawton looking for flooring for our kitchen and one of the bedrooms. We have vinyl we want to replace in those rooms. So, we picked out our Mothers Day and Fathers Day floors. A friend is coming Monday to give us an estimate for putting it down. Woo hoo! I am so ready to have these new floors! I'll go jiggle and power plate before bed, so my back won't get stove up, again!

Hazel's garden from another angle.

Tonight's picture is Hazel from the other side of the gate. This garden is in her side yard. In her backyard, there is another beautiful garden, but the irises are in this garden. She's very creative with her design and very picky with everything. I hope you are clicking on the pictures so that you can see the flowers better.

Today it was 91 here! The wind wasn't horrible, but it was nice to keep us alive out in the yard. I love it!

This is our storm season and I thank God that we aren't having many, yet. We aren't getting lots of rain, but we've had enough to keep the farmers happy. With all the flooding in Nashville, I'm reminded that if we get a lot of rain our basement will flood and we'll go into 'pumping' mode. I thank God we haven't flooded since 3 years ago and pray that we won't this year. God, bless the folks in Nashville!

A beautiful place!

Tonight's picture is another shot of Hazel in her garden. It's such a beautiful place and so suits such a beautiful lady. We're blessed to have her as a neighbor and friend, and we thank God for such abundant blessings.

Today has been a gorgeous day, again. I love this wonderful weather. I'm going out to deadhead all the irises as soon as I finish writing this. I've done all my exercises except the power plate and I can do that when I come inside. It's sure a challenge to get through it all every day. Then there's also laundry. That I've got to get done yet tonight, too.

I call it Hazel's dress up garden.

This is Hazel in her garden. See how organized and beautiful it is? She has great flowers and it's just like her: organized and beautiful, inside and out. You may recognize her from pictures I've posted previously because she plays cards with us sometimes. She's a great friend and neighbor. She lives across the street from us and her daughter lives next door to us, so we live in a great spot! I'm going over to her house tonight to show her how to forward emails and put pictures on FaceBook. She just bought a laptop a few months ago, so she's learning all the time. I'll post more pictures of her garden over the next few days; her garden is a treat!

Today was a great day for us. The weather was beautiful. We collected sun and then cut Don's hair. As I cut his hair I said, "This is twice I've cut your hair and not David's; he must need a haircut." I called to see if he did and he said, "Come on!" He didn't look woolly to me, but he has curly hair, so curly hair has a way of laying nicely. I managed to cut off quite a bit. I trimmed Dorothy, too, so we're a neat bunch for a couple of weeks. I love it when I can trim some hair; that must say something about me, but I don't know what. Maybe a shrink out there can tell me what it says that I love to cut hair.

I am so grateful to be feeling so good. I keep repeating that I sure thank God for making our bodies so that they heal and repair, but it's a constant thought.

The last iris patch.

This is the last of my iris patches. You've seen the back yard, and the last two days and today are the ones in the front yard. These pink ones on the left are called October Splendor; maybe because they re-bloom nearly until Thanksgiving. It's a really thick patch that must be thinned this year. Right in front of me is the yellow one that is called Corn Husker. I thinned it last year and it's struggling to produce. It has a few blooms, but I'm glad I started a new patch in the back yard because this one is struggling. It's a re-bloomer and usually produces really well. All the ones on the right side are different shades of blue that Hazel gave me because she didn't like them. I love everything, and these have been beautiful this year, I think. Tomorrow I'll begin a series of posts from Hazel's dress up garden and you'll be impressed. She's really picky; she won't have anything that has any hint of orange, even in the beard; so I get those toss offs! I'm not crazy about orange, either, but I love the flowers and I can appreciate a tad of orange on the beard. I have Roney's Encore in the back yard, which I call peach, since I'm not crazy about orange. :)

On learning of Lynn Redgrave's death after a 7 year journey with breast cancer, I am a little overwhelmed. I feel so good and thank God for a wonderful life. I know that cancer can always return, but I am doing all I can to discourage it; and I trust Him to take care of what I can't control. And, I trust His timing. I look through the slide show she created with her daughter about her journey and find it interesting. You might, too:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2004/04/15/magazine/20040418_REDGRAVE_1.html

The major differences that I see in our treatments were that she had surgery first and then chemo and radiation; I had chemo, then surgery and radiation. She had one mastectomy and I had two. She was more attached to her boobs than I was to mine because she felt some sadness and I've never missed mine. She was a very brave lady to do this slide show and journal open to the world. I've done this blog, but you never see my journal. I think our kids might have flipped if I'd taken pictures of my scar for the blog, although mine look much like hers. I can sure relate to that awful bandage they put on us after surgery and those pesky drains! God, bless her family in their loss and thank you for my life and health.

Not our trampoline!

This picture is of some of Don's mother's irises that I moved up close to the house. This is right at the edge of our yard; the preacher's house is next door and that's their trampoline. I am so happy that the irises are blooming. I have gobs of them in the house; I thank God for them.

We are way past abundance in our lives! God doesn't do anything in a skimpy way; skimpy is a concept we've introduced, I imagine to God's disappointment.

Today has been another gorgeous day. This is the Oklahoma I enjoy so much. I need to report that my back is back to normal; more abundance in my life!

Original Iris patch.

This picture Don took today of me out in the original iris patch. These are irises that his mother planted MANY years ago, probably 25 year ago, or more. I was just dead heading them, so if you look close you'll see they needed my attention. It's such a wonder the wind didn't ruin them! Notice the pasture behind me; we're right on the edge of town and there is nothing to stop the wind when it whips through here. These irises and that little redbud take a real whipping.

Joan and I had a great time garage saling with Carol today. We found some good bargains and came home happy and exhausted. We celebrated Joan's birthday at Montana Mike's in Clinton.

Don took pictures of me in all of my iris patches today, so they'll be on the blog for the next few days. Then I went across the street and took pictures of our neighbor, Hazel, in her iris garden. Oh, my! She has a 'dress up garden.' You'll see what that means; it's so perfect! She gives me lots of starts from her awesome irises, so it's another blessing to me! Great neighbors are a gift from God. Hazel used to keep an eye on Don's mom and dad for us before we moved here and she was Don's sister's best friend when they were in high school. It's wonderful to have good friends who go back a long, long way!