Happy New Year New Friends and Seven Random Facts

This is a picture I took at the new farm. It's pretty far out in the country and it is so pretty there that when the weather is better, I have considered camping out, or at least a picnic and fishing.

I've been tagged by Hope at Second Time Around for a meme. Seven weird or unusual facts about me, limiting it to that will be the trick.

1. I went to 35 different schools before graduating high school, and no my dad was not in the service, but that's what I told everyone.

2. I wish I could have been a set designer for movies or a detective.

3. I know how to train a bird dog.

4. I love to laugh, I make fun of everything and everyone, especially me.

5. I have turned into a sci-fi geek, I have been caught watching Battlestar Galactica and have adopted the words 'frack' and 'godsdam'.

6. The stranger something is the better I like it, I have turtle shells and feathers in my china hutch.

7.When my dad would ride his cutting horse, I would be his cow, for training purposes. Very good aerobic workout.

I am tagging Wanda at Snapdragon Antiques, Brandi at Order Envy, Holly at Sweetheartville, Kali girl, Jackie Sue and BBC.

Sherman Marched and Santa Burned...

...what? Oh, Atlanta? Nevermind. I TOLD you I was losing it.

Is It Here Yet?

Alright, I've read everyone's beautiful blogs, with pictures of their beautifully decorated homes ready for gracious entertainment of friends and family. I've tried, really I have tried, but personally I am officially pooped and ready to wrap this up. I've decorated, cooked, shopped, had snow, had ice, gathered evergreens, etc, etc, and that's just about enough holiday for me. I've been tagged by Kali girl to list my Christmas favorites so here it is:
1. When people say Christmas you immediately think...
I hear Mexico is nice this time of year.
2. Favorite Christmas memory...
Any holiday without drama or trauma.
3. Favorite Christmas song...
Judy Garland singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, because I think of little Tootie,
tearing those snow people all to heck. I also like Cheech and Chong, doing the Santa Claus and
and His Old Lady.
4. Favorite Christmas movie...
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
5.Favorite Christmas Character...
The Grinch and Jack Skellington
6.Favorite ornament, object...
I like deer not necessarily flying deer.
7.Plans for Christmas...
Staying home and not cooking one thing all day.
8. Is Christmas your favorite holiday...
No, I love Halloween, not nearly as much stress.

I've Been Cooking Christmas Treats

...and sampling way too much.

I Took a Little Trip

A little guilt trip that is, and but only a little one. I really should feel bad about doing some shopping today, for me! But I did and I don't. I picked up this little glad sandwich bag of crochet potholders which I thought held two or three and it did, and a few more, like nineteen! So I started my collection and almost have enough to call it completed for $7. Then I came home and put up a tree in my kitchen, I've never ever had two Christmas trees at once, what extravagance and indulgence. I've never been this cheerful during December, usually I am located somewhere in the vicinity of melancholy, exhaustion and hacked off. I don't know what has gotten into me. Is this the holiday spirit of which you speak?

I Had a Few Friends Over Last Night...

...after yoga class, we just sat around and visited.

Remembering

Here are a few of the things I have asked for in the past and received for Christmas. I've seen and heard other women's childhood favorites, which included beautiful frilly dresses, fuzzy stuffed kittens, tiny teapots and cups, and lovable little baby dolls. Not me. You can't even say that I was a 'tom boy' and wanted boy things (well, some were boy things), but mostly just kind of strange things. The two I thought I would die without was the creepy crawler machine, which lasted only about as long as the liquid. I used some of this liquid to mark lizards, I was catching and releasing, why I don't know. Must have been watching too much Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Then there was the Man from U.N.C.L.E. spy kit. This kit included more than the cap gun, it came in a plastic briefcase and had all sorts of spy equipment, used to send and decipher secret messages, periscopes to peer around corners, actually everything necessary to fight and win the cold war. I was just a regular little Valerie Plame before my time. I did have dolls, I don't remember asking for them, but was given a lot of Madam Alexander dolls, and I did like the Liddle Kiddles. And this year what do I want, what every beauty queen asks for, "like, such as.....", world peace of course. What a powerful word and wish: PEACE.

Not Your Mama's Sleepytime

With these short, cold, winter days, I no longer finish having this,

before it's time to have this,

barely squeezing in a cup of this. And let me tell you 'Sleepytime EXTRA' , with Valerian is nothing like the old fashioned Sleepytime, with this stuff you won't need Lunesta or Ambien. It's good stuff and with a cup of Morning Thunder you won't need a Red Bull. Besides all that the Perfectly Pear White Tea smells and tastes wonderful. When you brew the Sleepytime the scent of Spearmint wafts through the house. These have become my cold weather, ice storm rituals. I don't even work for Celestial Seasonings either.

Every Now and Then

Every now and then I come across something that makes me think, yes ya'll, I can think (sometimes.)
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid271557392/bctid666401814

This is for Hope

No really, this is for Hope. She begged me not to do this, use this mammal in this way, that is. But I couldn't help myself. I just have a certain affinity for creepiness. I saw Kimberly's things over at www.edgarandedgar.typepad.com and loved it. So here is my take on it. I also added the other pictures of my sparkly shiny wreath, and this picture of my tree at night to try to offset the creepy factor. We went to Stillwater this morning as my daughter had a final to take and it rained on us all the way. Thank goodness it wasn't ice. I really feel for those without power. OG&E have people out working 24/7 and power crews from all over the US have come to help. So hopefully things will be better soon.

Word to the Wise

I love my blog, I love sharing glimpses of my life, my family, my home and of course my vast expanse of knowledge. Oh, and did I mention we are virtually socked in by an ice storm? Lots of ice, ice on utility wires, roads, trees and my yard. My yard is a sheet of smooth, glossy, slick ICE, approximately 1 acre of ICE. I decided that I could not live without venturing across said ice to storage, leading (being led, or dragged) by one chubby, overly excited and amazingly strong pomeranian to retrieve this (pictured above), a mangy, moth eaten boar's head and not Christmas colored ribbon, that doesn't match any wrapping paper I own. Well, this expedition obviously doesn't have a happy ending, I am now acquainted and intimately familiar with the "hiney tingle" of which thepioneerwoman.com speaks. My hiney tingle is NOT a good thing. Furthermore, what in the HELL am I going to do with this pig head and ribbon now that I've got it! So much for my 'vast expanse of knowledge'.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

...and the ice is still coming down. On the bright side we still have power and it's cozy warm. My daughter and I had to go get hay for her horse, Earl, and where we get it is kinda far away and not a very fun trip. Until, I found the best ever store for junk. Look at these cute babies, in their original box for a mere 25 cents. They did have a couple of cracks, which I think is great, cause they are still adorable and if I break one, it's not the end of the world. Here is an old picture I found from 19 sixty-something or other. It is me (standing) and my favorite peeps, my aunt, uncle, cousins and mom. Gosh I have so much to be thankful for everyday. I am the luckiest girl!

Our Tree and Photoshop 101

Here is the first version of our tree, a lot needs to be tweaked. I'm also trying to learn Photoshop 7.0, not as easy as I thought it would be. I'm hurrying to do my blogging and e-mailing as the freezing rain has started here. Last time this happened we were without power for a week. A LONG, COLD week. The best part was listening to old radio shows while huddling under piles of goosedown blankets. That was fun, but I'd rather not do it again. So our fingers are crossed. Guess we take things for granted, but I LOVE electricity!

Maybe, Just Maybe...

It is possible that I have enough deer and reindeer, but I absolutely need more tiny colored bottle brush trees, and MORE GLITTER, more glitter, more glitter, more glitter, more glitter....

I'm Being Watched

As I was untangling Christmas lights and swearing vehemently, while looking for the light causing half a string not to work, I was being watched. I love the way Christmas lights look, but I HATE putting them up. Guess I was making a spectacle of myself with such bad behavior that even the cows looked on disdainfully. I'll bet I'm not on that nice list.

Tumbleweeds

Isn't it strange the things we remember ? My grandparents lived in the Texas panhandle where the winters can be cold and windy. The old timers used to say that the only thing between the Panhandle and the North Pole was a barbed wire fence and there were times it felt that way. My Nana would get us to go out and find the perfect round tumbleweed. She would take it spray it white then cover it with canned snow. After that little tiny twinkle lights and little bitty ornaments would be added. Then the stickery bit of Texas Christmas was set atop the TV, there it made an indelible memory for me. When I saw these tiny boxes of ornaments I had to have them, a tangible piece of a perfect memory.

Christmas Zombies

Okay, I'm doing it, getting in the holiday spirit, decorating, thinking about baking, listening Christmas music, really trying to get in the mood. But is it just me, or are these the creepiest little ba!@#$ds, you've ever seen?

Careful Consideration

I love to read and watch movies and have a list of interesting characters and names. I really like unusual names...so why is this cat named "Browntail"?

A Few Good (Little) Men

Would you look at these cute little guys that I found amongst all my 'junk'? I have so much left to unpack and find and so much I need to clean out and de-clutter. But these little fellows, well, they are just treasures, I could never throw them out, could you?

Me and My Dad

This is my dad and me and my dog, Caledonia. He passed away four months ago. Everyone in my family is hoping that I'm feeling better because I know they hate to see me so sad. But I don't, believe me I am trying. In spite of the fact that we had our ups and downs, I loved him and being his only child I know that he loved me too. We were really good friends and did a lot of things together, we rode horses, trained bird dogs, fished, hunted, well a lot of guy stuff. Oh yeah, we embroidered together once. He wasn't perfect, no one is, but I loved him and I miss him. He carried this picture in his wallet. It said, "This is my favorite," on the back.

Thanksgiving

New Old Locks

We finally got new doorknobs. They are not as fancy as I had been looking for, but after installation, I like them a lot. They were complete sets with keys included. We needed one for every door in the house. When we moved in there were none, zero, zip, nada. Now I need a new closet door, maybe...

Foreign Exchange Students

My foreign exchange students are here and I think they are just the cutest! It obviously doesn't take much to make my day.

First Frost

These are the last of the season's tomatoes and ironically they are pretty much of the first of the season's too. We just had too much rain for so long it kind of stunted them. Now what to do with so many green tomatoes.
Here's also a picture of the "March of 1000 Flaming Skeletons" from the Ghouls Gone Wild parade in Oklahoma City.
The grand marshal was Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips. He got his street there in the city (well, alley actually, tomato, tomata.) "Flaming Lips Alley"

Halloween Visitor

I have company to stay with me for the Halloween holiday. You can't believe how long it took to style his hair and get him ready for this glamour shot.

Bubble Tea

We went to Oklahoma City today for errands, but stopped off in the Asian district first. We looked around the grocery store at all the different products, too bad I don't know what they all are or how to cook them. Then we stopped at the Cafe Oasis for Bubble Tea, but got a Bubble Coconut Smoothie instead. See the tapioca balls in the bottom of the drink? Yummy!

Colors of Fall

I recently painted my door orange, everyone in town thinks it's because it's Halloween, my kids think it's because I love the OSU Cowboys, but it's really because I like orange. The table got a coat of paint because it was "Worse than Pepto Pink". I need something spooky on my porch, (other than the real spiders who live there and a scorpion I saw yesterday and the old bat who lives in the house.)

I AM the Luckiest Halloween Girl

Yes, indeedy I am. Why just today our postman delivered these sweet goodies to me. This adorable witchy hat from my swap friend Molly. Thank-you, thank-you! And from my girl Shirl, (my baby girl), these cute 'Coffeemate Creamer' cat mugs, how sweet is that? Yesterday, while walking we came across this really spooky house, with giant spider, mummy and skeleton in the window, I loved it! Does anyone know what these beautiful purple berries are? So pretty. It was all topped off with this gorgeous sunset. Told you I am the luckiest.

Fat Cat on a Little Chair

This cat knows how to enjoy a beautiful autumn day.

What Witches Are Wearing

Brown is the new black for witch attire this year, this may be part of my new ensemble for the Witch and Warlock Ball.

Do You Like My Teapot?

Here's my teapot, just perfect I think for a Halloween party or some Hogwart's related event. Everyone here at my house declares that it's just plain creepy, but creepy can't be all bad can it? Now if Miz Smoochie would just make the tea.

Is This Better?

Okay Nita, how's this? I already had the candles and river rocks, I just keep unpacking a box at a time.

Best Ever Day

Okay, I know I spend way to much time griping about the weather too cold, too hot, too humid, too windy and today was TOO PERFECT! Well, yesterday was too. The past two days have been absolutely wonderful, with just a hint of cool in the breeze and the the sun actually felt warm and comf0rting, instead of murderous. (I am waiting for an emergency appointment with my dentist tomorrow and it could be the endorphins coursing through my system causing this fall euphoria.) And what do I do today while anxiously awaiting my turn for some painful and expensive dental treatment? Make a Pineapple Upside Down Cake, with extra brown sugar, of course. Could be just the means by which I arrived at this situation. There's no particular reason to write the recipe, because it is just the yellow cake mix, butter recipe, prepared according to instructions. I prepare my pans by buttering them, putting a little more butter pieces in the bottom, a generous layer of brown sugar, pineapples, cherries and then the cake mix. Cook according to the instructions on the box and then leave it in a little longer, till the ingredients on the bottom look how you like them. I use glass pans so that I can see them. I was going to post pictures of some really noisy woodpeckers who kept carrying on in my oak tree all day, but they were uncooperative, so here's the cake. I also use two pans, so I can give one away. Twice the fun.