Before your feet hit the floor...

Happy Sunday!  I pray you have been blessed.

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Grace and Peace, Pam

Stroll along with me

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous this week.  Lots of sunshine, a gentle breeze and not a wildfire in sight...at least not around our home.  It has been almost perfect so I wanted to grab my Big Girl camera and invite you to come on a stroll around the place.  ALLONS-Y (let's go)!

The ornamental Crabapple Tree is really showing out this year.  She always does, though.

Beautiful flora!  I am always intrigued by the random pink blossoms and the green leaves mixed in with the white.  So are the bees!

Remember the tree that fell a couple of weeks ago...during all the chaos with the wildfires?  This is how it looks now.  I found a guy who came and cut it up and hauled it off for only $400!  He did an outstanding job and I will definitely be using him again.  My husband wanted to leave the stump...said I could make a ginormous mushroom or fairy house out of it.  Well, we'll see.  If I'm lucky maybe the fairies will do the work for me!

Pretty tiny blooms...you say weeds...I say food for the bees!  These are the tiniest things but they have quite the impact when they are in bloom all over the yard.

Oh look!  Two of the four pampered pooches!  Geez!  I wish I could stretch like that, don't you?

More bee food!  I don't know what this is.  I suspect it is chickweed.  I know for sure it must be really tasty because the bees love it...so do the deer!

These white blossoms are new to the place this year.  Probably blew in from the South.  They are pretty so...Thanks, Texas!

Ahhh!!!  Dandelions...or future "Fairy Wishes".  I love the yellow flowers even if my husband says it's just weeds.  Pshaw!  More bee food and that's a good thing!  Wait!  Did you see, that!?  I thought I saw something fly into that tiny door!  Look closer...maybe it was a fairy friend!

Oh the imagination of a 62 year old kid-at-heart Granny!  LoL

I hope you enjoyed our stroll...and a bit of silliness.  One is never too old to be silly or to daydream, my love.  Just laugh and make the most of it!  I hope you will join me again and maybe next time we will see some of the deer neighbors or my birdie friends.

Grace and Peace,

Pam  

Naming our home...

Hello Friends...

I would like to ask for your help.  I want to give our humble little home a forever name.  For 18 years I've called her "Osage Rose Cottage" but that just doesn't fit.  Perhaps it is too fancy or too modern.

This old gal was built in 1905.  Added onto in the '50s.  She has hand sawn lumber for rafters and she sits on piles of rocks for piers.  Her floors slope and her roof sags a bit.  She creaks and groans when the weather changes. Perhaps the brick would make one believe differently but she is a simple little lady although she is truly a Grand Old Dame.  She isn't fancy at all, a bit on the small side.  She tends to be a bit moody some days and nothing is straight or plumb.  Her doors drag, occasionally, and her windows leak... but... she is strong.  

She has grit and she is tough!  She has been through hurricane force winds, sand storms, earthquakes and floods.  She has seen the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and more disasters than I can count.  She has lived through poverty and riches.  She has seen many generations pass and many loved ones going on the Heaven.  She has seen tears and heard laughter.  Many children have played within her walls and she has watched those same children move on to new lives.  

Through it all, she stands firm, protecting and loving my husband and I, as well as our furbabies.  If a house could have a heart, this old lady's would beat loud.  I know she has a soul...it is made up of all the people who have called her home.  I can feel it every day, so I know it's true.  

Oh, I get frustrated with her many quirks but I love this little lady and I want to honor her by giving her a name...a proper name...befitting a beautiful old lady.

Let's name this Grand Old Dame!

(Pick a name from the poll list in the box below.)

Also, if you want to share ideas to spruce her up(this was taken in the winter so she looks a bit tired).  Usually there are roses blooming but she needs a bit of refreshing.

Hmmm...well, then.

Well...that's new.

Stressful time

Hello, Friends.

It has been a stressful time around here.  We have had multiple wildfires all around us.  Many homes have been lost and four souls were lost, as well.  I know we aren't the only ones, around the country, who have had fires, tornadoes, and blizzards.  It has been horrible all over.

Last Friday, we came close to being in the line of fire, literally.  The wind was blowing over 80mph.  Fires were being set off by electrical lines and other reasons.  I was inside, with all the doors and windows closed, when I suddenly smelled smoke...heavy smoke.  I looked out and smoke was billowing up from the horse training fields across the road.  I immediately called 911.  I was a firefighter/EMT-I for a long time.  I knew what I was looking at wasn't merely a trash pile or BBQ pit burning.  Oh no, it was something much bigger than that.

It was bad.  I couldn't see anything over there.  I know there is a house and horse barn but I couldn't tell if they had ignited or if it was just grass, hay bales, or just what.  Suddenly, the fire flared up and started moving across that field so fast, I wasn't sure if the fire department was going to get here in time.  You can't see it but just to the left of this picture are two duplexes and another barn.  The fire had quickly turned into a fire-nado and was hell bent on getting to those duplexes.  Fortunately, the people living there had seen the smoke and were evacuating themselves and the horses.

The fire department got there just in time.  I mean JUST in time!  The fire was only about 30 feet from the back of those duplexes.  I looked back towards the largest barn and the trees were flaring up. 

I know it seems like we were in the path of those flames but we weren't.  It was moving east and our home is north.  I mean, yes it could have changed directions in nothing flat but I never felt we were in danger or I would have gathered my animals and evacuated, as well.  There were four different fire departments fighting this fire.  I am thankful to live in an area where all the departments work together.  I thank God for each fighter that was there because these are all volunteers...they don't get paid one penny.  Yet they put their lives on the line for their communities.  My son was a member of one of these departments and would be still if he lived closer.  These men and women have worked all weekend and through the past two days, fighting fires.  They are tired.  I know because I've been there.  Never take for granted the small volunteer departments.  They save more property and lives than the big paid fire departments...for free.  Anyhow, I got off on a tangent.  They got the fire under control only to have another one break out just over the mountain behind my house.  Again, I wasn't worried because of wind direction.  BTW...these same firefighter are working other fires, in other communities, out of our area, today.  

So anyways, that was stressful but then I turned around and this happened...

Granted it was dead and was due to be cut down but...the wind took it into it's hands.  Like I said...80mph winds.  So we have to deal with that but before that could be done we lost several shingles and my husband had to fix that before anything else.  We will get it all done, one day at a time.

Oh...good thing!  I went to see my Grandblessings and took them shopping for their Easter outfits and shoes.  That is what I do.  We always dress up for Easter...I mean everything from stockings and hats for the ladies to suits and ties for the gentlemen.  It's a tradition.  I started that when my granddaughter was born and we love doing it.  I hope her and my grandson will carry that tradition on when I am no longer here.

So...that's all I have.  Thanks for sticking with me through this long post.

Grace & Peace,

Pam

Spring...maybe.

 Hello Friends!

I'm so glad you are here.  I've been taking short walks around our place and am happy to report that it looks like Spring starting to come out of it's shell!  I snapped a few pics while walking my dogs.  Nothing special but I am soooooo, so, so, so happy to see these little signs.

The Privet Hedge is showing it's little leaves.  I can't wait for these beauties to bloom.  They have the sweetest smell.  I get the perfumed air blowing in my bedroom windows somewhere around June.  Mmmm...

Oh, and just look at the Hawthorne Tree!  This tree is such a "thorn in our sides"-pun intended.  It has thorns 4' - 5' long and it gets us every single time we mow.  I just know I'm going to look out the window, one day, and see my husband cutting it down!  Even though it is awful to get stuck with those thorns, it is such a beautiful, blooming little tree!  I will have to post more pictures once it fills out and blooms.  The bees sure do love it and that's very important.

Aren't these the sweetest little leaves!  They reminded me of a string of leafy pearls.  Each little cluster is about the same distance from the other and just make me smile.  This is a native shrub in Oklahoma.  I occasionally has a bloom but more often than not, it doesn't.  It's still a pretty bush when it fills out.  It also gets tall.  I almost looks the same as the Privet but it isn't.  You can tell when you compare the leaves.

Look who decided to sit still for a minute!  Ms. Mavi Louise! She is never not moving when we are outside.  And she absolutely hates the camera but she was very interested in the treats I had in my pocket so she was on her best behavior.  She trusts no one...Sometimes, she is even skiddish with me, but considering what she went through when she was a baby, I get that.  She tolerates my grandblessings but she grumbles the whole time they are here.  That is probably more a bit of jealousy than anything else.  She does not want to share me.  She is my constant companion...and I mean constant!  LoL. I have no doubt she is trying to thank me for saving her life...But I will never be able to thank her enough for saving mine.

Oh have you seen a lovelier bud?  It will be fully open by the weekend, I suspect.  I always know when Spring is near.  These never fail to tell me, "See there! Spring will come again.  Just you wait!".  

Some see weeds...I see something that is beautiful and full of life!  Our little place is nothing but a big weed field and that is just fine with me.  Oh to have a beautifully manicured lawn!  Oh! But what would the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds eat?  Oh, but look how pretty those lawns are with all the perfect flower beds and grass that is cut just so!  Nah...I'll keep my weeds.  You don't know what you are missing!

Sorry, if you were bored with this little post but it made me very happy!  Why don't you go out and see what is coming to life right outside your door!

Grace & Peace,

Pam

Yummy and Birthday Boy

Hello Friends!

I hope you are enjoying the weekend.  Tomorrow is my husband's birthday, which he won't be home for it because he is spending the weekend with our Grand Blessings!  That's what we do.  Instead of making a big "To Do" over our birthdays, we go see Grands!  Anyhow...  I decided, since he isn't going to be home, that I would go ahead and make his birthday breakfast today.  We don't eat hotcakes or waffles very often and certainly don't go to the trouble of making them from scratch but I did this time.  I made Banana Pancakes and they were so delicious!  I thought maybe you would like them as well so I'm sharing the recipe.  It really isn't that difficult and I dare say, after these, there will be no more pre-fabbed(that's what I call everything not made from scratch) hotcake mix!

******

Banana Hotcakes

Ingredients

  

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder aluminum-free

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup mashed overripe banana (about 1 ½ large bananas)

1 large egg

¾ cup milk

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In another, larger bowl, mash the banana with a fork until smooth. Add egg, mixing together until blended. No need for a mixer with this recipe.

Whisk in the milk until combined, then whisk in the dry ingredients. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray or use butter to grease the pan.

Using a ⅓-cup measuring cup, pour 3-4 circles of batter into the pan. Cook until the pancakes are puffed on top and golden brown on the bottom, 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side until risen and cooked through, 1-2 minutes more. Makes 8 pancakes.

**Serve with banana slices, berries, chocolate chips or whatever you like. Top with maple syrup, honey or ever jelly or fruit preserves.

********

These were really good and will become a thing from now on. Birthday boy sure seemed to like them!

Grace & Peace,

Pam

Love and not-so-much.

 Hello Friends and Happy March!

I have been enjoying the past few days filled with sunshine and warmth.  Oh my, after last week, it has been so good for me to have this weather.  Does it seem like February lasted for six months and ninty-nine days?  It's usually the January's that do me in but not this year.  

I was scrolling through the pictures on my phone and decided to do a little thing I call, "Love it & Not-so-Much".  

Love It!

Starbuck's Midnight Drink with Oat Milk.  It is made with blackberries, sage, and coconut milk but I opted for oat milk for some reason.  I don't really like oat milk ever but I wanted something other than my normal soy.  I should have stuck with the coconut milk.  While it isn't my favorite Starbuck's drink, it was really good.

My sweet dogs - all four of them!  These two stay in the house because they had issues when they came here and never moved outside.  They love each other so very much.  Duke protects Mavi as if they were actually litter mates but they came from different places and are four years apart in age.  She is the "pain in the tushy" one but he tolerates her so well.  Anyhow, I just don't think she gets that he didn't want to play with the ball of strings.  

This monkey!  I took this back when he had his birthday weekend.  He loves the indoor playgrounds/climbing walls.   He had to show out for his favorite person - ME!  Well, I don't know if I'm his favorite person or not but he sure makes me feel like I am!

And the sister and cousin loving on him...well, I hope it was loving and not trying to strangle him.  With these two, one never knows!  He is blessed to have cousins who love him so much and a sister who will fight a bear for him.  She loves, loves, loves, her little brother and he loves her right back!

Simple Lunches!  I am working on being conscious of how and what I eat.  I have become infatuated with the way French women enjoy their food and really...their life.  I hardly ever eat breakfast or lunch but recently I read an article(I don't remember where I read it) but it was about how the French linger over their meals and truly taste the food.  We are always in such a hurry to scarf down as much as we can in the shortest amount of time, it seems, here in America.  I decided, I didn't like doing that.  I never eat a lot but I want to savor the food, I do eat,  and enjoy the moments...now if I could get my ex-military husband to slow down, it would be awesome!  LoL

And apparently I have a creepy peeping-Tom stalker!  Yes, I love him too...some days though!  LoL

The "NOT-SO-MUCH" category -

Confetti Canons!  Yes, they are a blast and my grandson loved it when we had his birthday party, earlier in the month BUT... There were pieces of tissue paper everywhere and I do mean everywhere!  I am still finding it, here and there.  Actually, this could go in both categories.  I love confetti canons but also..."not-so-much" when it comes time to clean it up.  Will I use them again?  You bet your boots I will!

This is most definitely a "Not-So-Much" thing...no make that a flat out "Despise" thing.  This was at the very beginning of the snow and ice that came through last week.  Y'all do remember that I am a Southern Belle and not a dang snow bunny,  right?  UgH!

A definite "not-so-much"!  I am not going to pay this much for eggs.  At Walmart no less!  Our one little chicken with her one little egg, everyday, will do just fine for now.  Ridiculous!  However, I had to stop a Sam's and found 18ct cartons of brown eggs for $6.22.  REALLY!?  Talk about something being wrong in the Hen House!

I had such high hopes for this face cream.  I should have known better but I gave it a try.  Immediately, my skin started burning!  I know it is the hyaluronic acid but it also was very sticky and then dried like a dried up piece of meat.  It was uncomfortable.  I couldn't wait to get this junk off my face.  I don't think this is a good product for younger women much less us older women.  Love it?  Yeah...not so much!

And lastly...I am definitely loving the sunsets we are getting right now!  I know it will get cloudy and cold again so I am enjoying it while I can!