ANOTHER TRIP TO 'TRAIL OF TEARS'

Hey neighbor! Hope you've had a great weekend. I've had a very long, but enjoyable one. My daughter went to Vegas to help celebrate her best friends wedding, so Thursday I drove 45 minutes to pick granddaughter up after school, in Springfield, then on to her house to pick up my grandpup ( my granddaughter informs be this is my relationship to him ), and then 45 minutes back home.

Well, let me tell you. My grandpup is like havin' a two year old. And havin' a two year old when you're not use to havin' a two year old, well just let me say, I AM POOPED. Grandpup Clyde is a handful.

He never rests. He never slows down. He aggravates Sadie (yorkie) and battles constantly with our kitten, Skitty. I was kinda glad to take him home but now that I'm back home I kinda miss him.

I meant to get this post out Friday but I'm sure you can figure out why I didn't. So even though I've got to go rest so that tomorrow I can mop all my floors I'm gonna do a quick post.

We went back to The Trail of Tears old amusement park on old Route 66. If you remember we went last summer and everything was grown up and we couldn't really get back in there to see things because I'm sceared of snakes, ticks, chiggers and MOMO.

We went two weeks ago and it was a beautiful day.

This guy had water runnin' out of his mouth and ice too.

See the red in the background?

It's this old buildin'. I'm not sure what they would have used it for. Last summer you couldn't see it for all the vines. I didn't even know it was there.

This was so cool. Water comin' out of the guys mouth and ice was hangin' off of him. I guess the water use to make the wheel turn.

Here's the gazebo. I'd like to have this table and rock seats at my house. Somebody would probably just run over it with a tractor though.

Hmmm, kinda interestin'.

Hoochie Mama! She would have been stolen a long time ago if she hadn't been set in stone. Don't you think she's a hoochie mama? I mean I kinda thought this was a family type place, and back in the 60's and 70's no less.

I'm not real sure what this is suppose to be. Had red glass in the little windows. Maybe the hoochie mama lives in there.

Here's where water runs through. Hard to tell what it was suppose to look like. I'm sure this place was beautiful in its day. A lot of work was put into it. And wait till you see the house. I'm not gonna show it till next time. Yeah, this is a two parter!

Rock walled fences all around the place.

Terraced rock walls. I bet a lot of flowers and plants grew there. I'm just thinkin', I really don't know. I searched on the web but never found any pictures from back then.

Here's that Indian girl and Buffalo again. They're still runnin' and she's still holdin' onto his tail.

More terraced walls. I wish you could see it in the real. Much more impressive. You just know some major time and effort put into this place.

Cool shot lookin' back down to the entrance.

Up near the top of the hill, was a lane that branched off and you can see another Buffalo.

Hope you enjoy lookin' at the winter time pictures of Trail of Tears.

If I knew how to link to a previous post I would do that for you but since I don't know how and I'm too tired to try and figure it out, just check out on the right hand side under labels, Trail of Tears. You can go there and compare what I saw last time durin' the summer and what I saw this winter. If anyone wants to tell me how to link to an older post I would forever be grateful and I'll name my next child after you.

Goodnight and I'll post the rest of the pictures later. Too cool, what's at the top of that hill. I had no idea.

R.

LATE AGAIN!

Well, I've gone and done it again. I've been very remiss about postin' awards and prizes I have received. I honestly do appreciate the awards and prizes and don't want anyone to think I don't. So ......

I received an award quite some time back from Jodi, over at It's about food family and life. She honored me with A Lovely Blog Award. Please check out her blog, I know you will enjoy it. She does a Movie Madness Monday that is a lot of fun and posts lots of good recipes. She shares adorable moments with her little girl and she is just a very sweet person. Go on over and visit a spell with her.

Thank you Jodi, and forgive me for takin' so long to write this post.

I received another award just last week from Tardevil over at Confessions of a 40-Something Mama Queen. She honored me with the Nobelpris Mom Award. She said this is an award that comes over from Norway and is suppose to read:

This is an award for being a wonderful Mom
You do fantastic work
Be proud of your accomplishments

If you haven't ever visited her, be sure and go check out her blog. She has a great blog and she's always got somethin' fun goin' on. She has a new I Wonder Wednesday that's great.

Thank you Tardevil for givin' me this special award.

Susan over at Raisin Toast had a I Pledge To Make A Difference giveaway on Election Day. She gave away a t-shirt with the Pledge of Allegiance printed on it, and I WON! Too cool!

Susan has a great blog and she has some awesome giveaways. Go check out Susan's site.

Thank you Susan!

I just won some Josh Ritter music from Muddywaters over at The Greasy Skillet. So mosey on over and visit with Muddywaters, he'll make you laugh and he posts some really good recipes.

Thanks Muddywaters.

Well I think I got everybody but wait, I just remembered
I got tagged by Lynette over at Crazed Mind. I've never been tagged before but I love readin' other peoples posts when they've been tagged. I really enjoyed readin' about you, Lynette. It's so fun to get to know new things about people you blog with.

I am suppose to provide 25 random things about me, Oh boy, I better be careful so I don't get censored or give the wrong impression.

1. I am a rebel, really. As a senior in H.S., I caused the whole H.S. to walk out. My Mom was so proud.

2. I have known my husband since 4th grade. I knew I wanted him way back when.

3. I knew the sex of my first child before she was born and I bought everything for a girl (drivin' everyone crazy. My Mom said, 'you're gonna be sorry) before her birth. They didn't do ultrasounds at that time.

4. I am a true middle child, third of five kids.

5. I drive a jeep.

6. Neither of my parents are livin'.

7. I am 5' 2 and 1/4 inches short.

8. I am a book worm.

9. I use to be addicted to coffee. Now I drink chicory, all day long.

10. I love to fish.

11. I was born in Yakima, Washington.

12. I knew the sex of my second child before he was born, and bought everything for a boy before his birth. I wouldn't let my doctor do an ultrasound. It was too new and I didn't want my baby to be a guinea pig. Even though I do like pigs.

13. When I first lived away from home after H.S., two men came into my house and held me and friends at gunpoint for a couple of hours while they were hidin' from the police.

14. I have over 200 cookbooks.

15. I love snow.

16. I am still best girl friends with my H.S. best friend. My husband is my best friend. He makes me say that. But he really is my best friend.

17. I have had several ESP episodes throughout my life. I don't like tellin' people this, because now you think I'm some kind of kook, don't you? Admit it!

18. I was on our local School Board for 6 years. This totally blew away people who knew me back when.

19. I love wine.

20. I baked cookies for Jefferson Airplane/Starship (60-80's rock band). They said my peanut butter cookies were awesome.

21. I broke my toe leapin' out of bed while dreamin' a spider was leapin' at me. I hate spiders.

22. I found out I was related to my husband, right before I married him. His great-great uncle was my great grandmothers cousin. Or somethin' like that. I know, hillbillies. We like to keep it in the family if we can.

23. I am really, seriously addicted to chocolate to the point I have to stay away from it because if I eat ONE piece, I go on the awfullist binge. It's not pretty.

24. I love to travel and go on road trips.

25. I wear a size 7 shoe but a size 9 feels so good, I buy a size 10! I have a solid foundation.

Now, that was fun.

I know I am suppose to pick other bloggers to present these awards to and pass them on but I feel that everyone who reads my blog deserves an award! So please everybody take any of these awards on my blog. You deserve them, you are all such great bloggers.

I am also suppose to tag 5 people to post 25 random things about themselves.

I tag:

Mary at My New 30

Muddywaters at The Greasy Skillet

Jal at JalsKitchen

SuzyQ at SuzyQ's Ramblings

Petals Yoga at Petals Yoga

Mary at Adventures in Housesitting

I know, I know, that's six not five.

Well now I'm caught up.
Youn's come back dreckly, ya hear?

Rebel

DID YOU LOSE SOMETHIN?

A couple of weeks ago CD and I took a little drive east on the old Route 66. We decided to check out the old Munger Moss Sandwich Shop, which is now a bar and eatery called Elbow Inn. It is located outside the old town of Devil's Elbow. We had passed by last summer and the place looked packed with people, and it looked like it was mostly bikers. I don't know if you are aware of this or not but anyplace bikers like to hang out and eat is usually a good sign of a great place to git some good vittles. So we'd been wantin' to go back and try out some of their grub.

I took my camera in with me because I figured a place this old would probably have somethin' interestin' to snap some shot's at. Little did I know.

As we walked in the door out of the bright sunlight I was a little blinded, I still had my sunglasses
on and it was very dark inside. Which brings me to a question that has puzzled me for years. Why are bars so dark on the inside? I've always wondered that. Is it because if they git you in there and if you don't know when it gets dark out you just might spend the night?
But back to my story. As I walk in, I take off the glasses but I stop immediately in the doorway because I still can't see any thing and CD is comin' in behind me and bumps into me and then he's tryin' to get me on in through the door and by now my eyes are adjustin' and I'm startin' to be able to see and I stop. Dead in my tracks. My mouth drops to the floor and then I start laughin'. Loudly.

This is what I saw.

Bras. Bras hangin' from the ceilin'. Lot's of Bras hangin' from the ceilin'.

Evidently this is the thing to do if you are a biker chick. And I mean no disrespect, honestly. It's just somethin' that got started and I guess they can't stop. I mean, there are a lot of bras hangin' in this bar. Maybe 200 plus. Seriously.

I didn't get very good pictures, sorry about that, so you can't tell but each bra has a name on it and the date she pulled it off and they hung 'er up there, the bra not the chick.

There were itty bitty bras and bras with a cup size to be envied and then there were some honkin' big breasted bras. Now, I don't know about you but I think that would have to be mighty uncomfortable, sittin' on the back of a bike, bouncin' down the road with no support when you're a cup size EEE. But I guess they were proud to add their contribution to the cause.

Anywho, the place was great, and the food was delicious. I mean really good. We had the ribs that were prepared with a dry rub and smoked and then you had barbecue sauce you could put on 'em and it was really good. The meal came with fries, coleslaw, beans and Texas toast. We were stuffed.

There were so many neat things to look at besides the bras. I took some pictures while we were waitin' for our food.

This rattlesnake skin was above the juke box. I forgot to ask the waitress if it was locally killed. Good thing I know rattlesnakes don't have ribs or I woulda been worried.

This is a picture of a picture hangin' on the wall. The Munger Moss Sandwich Shop was built around 1929 on the bank of the Big Piney River, it was a favorite stop for motorists travelin' on Route 66. When the highway was realigned through the Hooker cut, in 1946, the Munger Moss moved to Lebanon, MO. The new owners renamed the old buildin', Elbow Inn.

Not a very good picture because of age, but you can kinda see what it looked like way back when.

This must have been when it was operatin' as Munger Moss.

And this is what it looks like now days.

You can see the old steel truss bridge in the background that goes across the Big Piney River and on into Devil's Elbow.

They had the flag hangin' across the road.

This is a beautiful old bridge and I hope you get to come to the Ozarks to see it some day.

Just be sure to stop and check out the sites at the Elbow Inn Bra, I mean Bar, and maybe you'll even want to make a contribution to the cause.

And before you ask, NO I did not make a contribution.

Rebel

ICE ANYONE?

Here's what it's doin' in my neck of the woods, right now.

This is ice not snow and you can't tell but it's comin' down out there as I write, I just took these photos.

Some people have more than us. Fun, huh?

NOT!

WHERE DID I PLANT MY BAYAM CALALOO AND MY KIWANO?

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.

Written by the poet Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Early 1900's. This sets the tone for a gardener's New Year

January. Bleak, frigid temps, barren.

This is how I usually see January. It's after the hustle and bustle of the holiday's. It's purty much a let down. It's hibernation time and one of the boringest (is there such a word?) times of the whole year!

I feel like I'm waitin' for somethin'.

Spring, but that's still a couple of month's away. Even if the Ground Hog doesn't see his shadow, it's still gonna be a little while. No, I definitely feel like there's somethin'......

And then it happens! I go out to the mail box and there it is!

My first GARDEN CATALOG! That's it. That's what I've been waitin' for.

No more drudgery. No more bein' bored. No more, 'woe is me'.

I can dream in color once more!

I can plan my garden for this year! Oh, happy me, happy me.

When I start receivin' my garden catalog's it fills me with hope and excitement for the growin' season ahead. I enjoy lookin' through my garden books, makin' my lists, checkin' 'em twice. I can start figurin' out my plantin' schedule and what I'm gonna grow this year.

There is somethin' I can recommend to you, if you don't already use one. A garden journal.

A garden journal is a great place for all of your gardenin' information and all your thoughts and ideas. You can list the seeds and plants you grow or purchase, when and where you have planted them and how they grew,

or didn't.

I use to put my plants in the ground and use the little markers the greenhouse put in the pot, to mark what kind of vegetable I was gonna get. Markin' my plants like this was such a joke. I have a cat that loves to chew on those little plastic tabs. I went out one day after plantin' my garden a couple of years ago and everyone of the little tabs I had so lovingly put in front of their little namesakes was either gone or layin' askew.

One of my sisters was always askin' me what kind of pepper or tomato she was eatin', 'cause she really liked it, and I'd always say, "you're eaten a green pepper" or "you're eaten a red tomato".

Now I draw my garden out in my journal and label everything there. I cut out pictures of new items I haven't tried before and paste the picture to a page and make notes about the plant.

You can write in a garden journal like a diary, keepin' track of dates and observations. You can note weather events that may affect your plants as well as record dates that you fertilized your plant's or applied pesticides and so on.

If you keep an up- to- date journal, you have an excellent record from year to year to help in diagnosing problems or successes.

Sometimes I cut out pictures of how I want my garden to look. I pretend that I will keep every weed pulled and every vine tucked, every row hoed.

Ha! I can dream, can't I?

Now, if you've never put in a vegetable garden, let me tell ya, it doesn't have to be big to put out a lot of food. Here's a couple pictures of my corn and green beans from last year.




These rows were about 24 feet long, three rows of corn and two rows of green beans. I put up 14 bags of corn and about 50 pints of green beans. Plus we had fresh beans and corn to eat during the growin' season.

CD and I don't put out very much of any one thing, just a good variety of several veggies.

So you can see that a garden journal is a good thing and it's not just for vegetable gardens. You can benefit from keepin' a journal for your flowers too. And it's great to keep track of an orchard.

So let's all have a happy growin' season this year with our diaries for our garden's.
R.

SUNSET

So last Sunday we were sittin', watchin' football when I notice the room had a pink glow, my livin' room is facin' west. I looked out the window, jumped up and grabbed my camera (I leave it sittin' on the dinin' room table) and out the door I went.

These are straight out of the camera shots. I did not use photo shop because I don't own photo shop or anything else. It was just a really beautiful picture perfect sunset. I used different setting's and kept takin' 'em as the sun went down.

I just had to share 'em with you.
R.