Happy New Year!

Wow! Another year come and gone. Time is a flyin'!

Bear with me...

I will be changing my blog soon. Trying to figure something different out.

Q: What goes Ho, Ho, Swoosh, Ho, Ho, Swoosh?
A: Santa caught in a revolving door!

We Have A New Family Member

On Saturday we went and let John get an early Christmas present. He was feeling kinda left out because his brothers each have a cat and so we took him to the animal shelter on Saturday and let him pick out one. I think he made a good choice. On the way home I told him he needed to think of a name and I suggested Missy and my hubby suggested Misty. He replies "I like Mississippi". Well it's his cat he can name it whatever he wants. The next day hubby was talking about it and said "how about Mississippi Rose?" The name Rose was on her collar provided by the animal shelter. Anyway to make a long story short I present to you Mississippi Rose:

White Christmas - André Rieu

Our Christmas Tree

I am not a photographer as you can see. I took a picture of our tree with flash and without flash. Where did I put my tripod? :o)
With Flash

Without flash

Santa Claus Live!

I put this on a couple years ago and thought I would share it again for those who don't know about it or have forgotten.
Santa Claus Live

Yay!!

It's suppose to snow (OK flurry) on Thursday. The first real snow is so exciting!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am looking forward to Christmas!

This is my favorite Christmas movie. I had a friend once who had never seen "It's A Wonderful Life" and I couldn't believe it. At that point she was going to keep it that way. Do you know anyone who has never seen this movie? It's been a few years so maybe she has had a weak moment. How can you not watch it at least once? I love Jimmy Stewart and I love Donna Reed. I watched "The Donna Reed Show" on Nick at Night, it was a wonderful show. And Jimmy Stewart was good in everything he did. So enjoy the trailer. I did...now where did we put that movie?

I went to Kansas a week and a half ago for my Uncle's funeral (he is so missed). My cousin gave these kitchen towels to me that she embroidered. Don't you just love 'em?! They are so special I am not sure if I could bring myself to use them.

You know Christmas is close when...

The radio station that plays Christmas music every year has already started playing it. They had a vote on their website to see when people wanted them to start playing it and one of the options was "now", and yes that is what I voted. Although, this is the time they usually start so they must have been seeing if they need to change when they start. I would listen to Christmas music all year long if my hubby would let me. Actually, he tells me he doesn't care if I listen to it when he is at work, he just doesn't need to be listening to it until the day after Thanksgiving.

A great giveaway at Apron Memories

I have been following along with Apron Memories for a while now. I love how EllynAnne takes us back with the history of aprons. It is wonderful. Hmmm...that has me thinking about the wonderful aprons I have gotten at auctions...if they could talk. Click to go leave a comment for this great giveaway. Scroll down to see what you will get if you win, lots!
Apron Memories

I Can Hardly Believe...

Thanksgiving is 13 days away. Where does the time go. It is the best time of year. Mark made sure we have a place for our Christmas tree in the living room. He kids me about me wanting the tree up now since we have the place prepared for it. We have seen houses that do have their trees up and the Christmas lights on outside. The Christmas Spirit seems to be hitting people early this year. I don't have a problem with it. Makes me think of the Nat King Cole song that goes
"...far away across the sea in sunny Italy, there's a quaint little town, not a clock has been wound for over a century. They don't know the time or year and no one seems to care, this is the reason the Christmas season is celebrated all year. Buon Natale..."
I love the Christmas album we had by Nat King Cole growing up it was played over and over again. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

My Mother passed away 4 years ago today.

Today 4 years ago my mother died. I will never stop missing her.

H1N1?

I know this has become a little on the controversial side but I have done a little research and this is what I have found. Celvapan is the name of the H1N1 vaccine and from the European Medicines Agency it says this:
"Which measures are being taken to ensure the safe use of Celvapan?
The company that makes Celvapan will collect information on the safety of the vaccine while it is being used. This will include information on its side effects and its safety in children, the elderly, pregnant women, patients with severe conditions and people who have problems with their immune systems."
The company that makes it "will collect information on the safety of the vaccine while it is being used"?
Go here and read the EPAR For the Public for yourselves. EPAR Summary For the Public

You Are Crisp Autumn Morning Air

You love to feel alive and awake. For you, fall is somewhat of a rebirth. Even though autumn brings some death, it always makes you feel vibrant and excited. Something about cooler days, longer nights, and changing leaves deeply touches you. You feel motivated and driven in the fall. You feel like you can start over and be whoever you want to be.

What Autumn Smell Are You?

Blogthings: Our Quizzes Weren't Written By Bored 12 Year Olds

Happy Birthday, to my Matthew! (turned 8 yesterday)

I started laughing and could hardly sing Happy Birthday to Matthew. He is so funny.:o)

My Sister's Birthday is today!

Ok, I have already shared these with my sister but I thought I would put these quotes here, too. I think my favorite of these is the Groucho Marx one. Terri, hope you have a great day today! Here are some fun quotes for you.
Love you,
Cheryl

The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune. English Proverb

Sing a song of Birthdays Full of fun and cheer And may you keep on having them For many a happy year. - Anonymous

"I mean, what is an un-birthday present?" "A present given when it isn't your birthday, of course." Alice considered a little. "I like birthday presents best," she said at last. "You don't know what you're talking about!" cried Humpty Dumpty. "How many days are there in a year?" "Three hundred and sixty-five," said Alice. "And how many birthdays have you?" "One." - Lewis Carroll

You make me chuckle when you say that you are no longer young, that you have turned twenty-four. A man is or may be young to after sixty, and not old before eighty. - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

# To me, fair friend, you never can be old, For as you were when first your eye I eye'd, Such seems your beauty still. - William Shakespeare

You will recognize, my boy, the first sign of old age: it is when you go out into the streets of London and realize for the first time how young the policemen look. - Sir Seymour Hicks

The first hundred years are the hardest. - Wilson Mizner

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. - Mark Twain

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. - Reverend Larry Lorenzoni

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. - Groucho Marx

Middle age is when your classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald they don't recognize you. - Bennett Cerf

We went to Springhill yesterday and picked up a few things. Mark picked out an ornamental pear tree (to go with the one he received from his Mom on his birthday) and we got this butterfly bush as well as some little butterfly bushes, a couple rose bushes, a shasta daisy and mint.

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary a week early. Last night we went and saw Firefall and Poco in Newport, Kentucky. It was a dinner show that we both enjoyed. Here is a video I found on Youtube. I took video with my digital but the sound did not turn out, these are better. Couldn't find any good videos of Firefall. I really like Poco more, anyway.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Started homeschooling on the 17th. Have all 3 this year. Can you say "challenging"?! I feel like that is all I do, probably because it is pretty much. I find homeschooling difficult and really have to fight envy of those it seems to come easy to. I had my doubts and suggested we send the boys to public school but hubby is pretty set on me doing this, so this I do. Anyway, I say all this because I will be posting even less now. You are thinking "less? How can you post less than nothing?" :o)

Have to say that John loved language arts today. He is in kindergarten and today we acted out Jack and the Beanstalk and of course at the end I was the ogre (yes, that is right) and he was Jack and I chased him. Being chased was his favorite part, lol. He wanted to do it again so we did and we would probably still be doing it.

Oh, and I am having a yard sale tomorrow. Too much work but need to do it. I am praying it doesn't rain. No rain would be nice.

Well, I gotta go there's a history lesson with Matthews' name on it.
Take care.
Cheryl

Here is another purchase from the auction.
I think it must be an apron given at a bridal shower. What do you think?

Here are a few of the things from the auction a week and a half ago. Tell me what you think.
This is a vintage kitchen curtain. I have the set.

Another Auction

Yep, in the pouring down rain. We bought oodles of stuff and when I have time I will share a few things from this auction. I love when we get bunches of stuff for a buck! Of course, they didn't have things covered very well, which is very sad, some paper stuff is drying out. We didn't get that much paper things, though, thankfully. Some that I bought before the down pour I immediately put in the car so those things are good. In the car to and from the auction I was listening to a radio station that was doing Christmas in July. What fun! Every other song or so was a Christmas song! Loved it!

My oldest turned 9...

...where does the time go. Actually he has been 9 for over a month, his birthday was June 8th. I have been a day (ok a month) late and a dollar short a lot lately. This is his 9th birthday. Can you tell he loves strawberries?

This is one of me and my husbands favorite baby pictures of him, I think he was about 4 months or so in this one.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

This picture is from one of the books I got at auction a couple weeks ago. The copyright is 1892. So sweet! I love it, don't you? The only thing I did to it was crop and scale. Maybe when I have more time I will do more. Oh, yes,and take a better picture. :o)

Our Place in Tennessee

Click on it to get a better feel for what it is like.

OK...

...what do y'all think? I will probably be tweaking my banner here and there, for the most part this is it, though.

still working...

...on banner and background. I will have to have my hubby help me, obviously I have a lot to learn.

Making progress on my header

Here is my header again. Still not quite done. If you have a suggestion for it please leave a comment with the suggestion. I would appreciate it, thanks!

We will be in Tennessee

I won't be able to change my blog until the beginning of next week so please bear with the red, white and blue until then. I am working on a new banner. Here is the incomplete version. I used pictures from sheet music I have. Remember I am still working on it.

We went to an auction!

I know, I know. That's nothing new. But we did and Mark was wanting to hit another so I wasn't able to stay at this great auction that had this purse I bought and I bought some cool old books I haven't gotten pictures of, yet.(How's that for a run on sentence?)
This is a lamp Mark bought at the auction he wanted to go to.

Cool video I took

This is my sister feeding a squirrel by hand. This was taken at Ballard Locks in the Seattle area. It has a different name now but Ballard Locks is easier to remember.

My Baby Turned 5 Last Month

I have been waiting for pictures (my hubby put them on his computer and I needed to wait until he had time to move them to mine) and hooray! I get to share these with you. My youngest turned 5 on May 21st (my dad's birthday). Where does the time go? He will be in kindergarten this year!
John on his 5th birthday.
And his 1st birthday

Hey, I am still waiting on pictures. Hopefully by the weekend I can have more to share on here. Take care, everybody!

My 3 Sisters and I

This is of my sisters and I. Terri, Tammie, Me, and Kim.

We enjoyed our time together the end of April, beginning of May. I got Tammie going with Facebook and when we were in Wenatchee we got Kim going with it and then Terri. Now we 4 can go on Yoville and Farmtown and chat with each others' avatars. Not the same as in person but fun, when we are in different states.

~side note~ I am working on my blog so bear with me for the next few days.

Hmmm...March 9th

Sorry to be so neglectful of my blog. I am hoping to have pictures to share soon. Check back and see if they are here.

One Lovely Blog Award!

I received this award from my dear friend, Lori over at Paper Sunshine. Thank you, Lori! Check out her blog when you have a chance she creates beautiful cards and other things made out of paper.

Rules of this award:

1. Add the logo to your blog.
2. Link to the person from whom you received this award.
3. Nominate 7 or more blogs.
4. Leave a message on their blog, letting them know they are “One Lovely Blog”

So here are my nominees:

Shelly at Shelleys Vintage Variety
Becca at Of Bluebirds and Roses
Katie at Katie's Place
Regina at Simple Is, Simple Does

Fun Video

I like Star Wars and this is a fun song by Wierd Al.

This is so sweet!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hey!! This is my 300th post! Yay!!

Happy Birthday Abe!

Picture Copyright Don Wheeler, used by permission.

Abraham Lincoln our 16th president would have been 200 today. I have put together first some things from a history book that was published in1882 and then some of his quotes that I have found on the internet. The book is titled History of the United States-Discovery of America to the Present Time. The next few paragraphs are from that book, beginning with Chapter LXL (61) titled Lincoln's Administration and the Civil War on page 482. I know it's long but I thought it was interesting enough to share on my blog.

"Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States, was a native of Kentucky, born in the county of Larue, on the 12th of February, 1809. His ancestors had emigrated thither from Rockingham County, Virginia: his father and mother were Virginians by birth. The childhood of the future president was passed in utter obscurity. In 1816 his father removed to Spencer County, Indiana-just then admitted into the Union-and built a cabin in the woods near the present village of Gentryville. Here was the scene of Lincoln's boyhood-a constant struggle with poverty, hardship and toil. At the age of sixteen we find him managing a ferry across the Ohio, at the mouth of Anderson Creek - a service for which he was paid six dollars per month. In his youth he received in the aggregate about one year of schooling, which was all he ever had in the way of education. In the year of his majority he removed with his father's family to the north fork of the Sangamon, ten miles west of Decatur, Illinois. Here another log-house was built and a small farm cleared and fenced; and here Abraham Lincoln began for himself the hard battle of life.

The uncleared forest, the unbroken soil,
The iron bark the turns the lumberer's axe,
The rapid that o'erbears the boatman's toil,
The prairie, hiding the mazed wonderer's tracks,

The ambushed Indian, and the prowling bear;-
Such were the needs that helped his youth to train-
Rough culture!- but such trees large fruit may bear,
If but their stocks be of right girth and grain!

After serving as a flatboatman on the Mississippi, Lincoln returned to New Salem, twenty miles from Springfield, and became a clerk in a country store. Then as captain of a company of volunteers, he served in the Black Hawk war. From 1833 to 1836 he was engaged in merchandising, but a dissolute partner brought him to bankruptcy. Turning his attention to the practice of the law, for which profession he had always had a liking, he gradually gained the attention of his fellow-men and soon rose to distinction. His peculiar power - manifested at all periods of his life - of seizing the most difficult thought and presenting it in such quaint and homely phrase as to make the truth appreciable by all men, made him a natural leader of the people. As candidate for the office of United States senator from Illinois he first revealed to the nation, in his great debates with Senator Douglas, the full scope and originality of his genius. Now at the age of fifty-two, he found laid upon him such a burden of care and responsibility as had not been borne by any ruler of modern times. On the occasion of his innauguraion he delivered a long and thoughtful address declaring his fixed purpose to uphold the Constitution, enforce the laws, and preserve the integrity of the Union."

Abe quotes

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”

“If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.”
“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
“To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men”
“Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
“I walk slowly, but I never walk backward”
“Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.”
“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right”
“I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.”
“You can have anything you want - if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.”
“With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die”
"Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them."
"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day."
"I have not permitted myself, gentlemen, to conclude that I am the best man in the country; but I am reminded, in this connection, of a story of an old Dutch farmer who remarked to a companion once that 'it was not best to swap horses while crossing streams'."
"Perhaps a man's character was like a tree, and his reputation like its shadow; the shadow is what we think of it, the tree is the real thing."
"In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Reply to Loyal Colored People of Baltimore upon Presentation of a Bible" (September 7, 1864), p. 542.

"Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser - in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough."

"I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VIII, "Letter to Mrs. Lydia Bixby" (November 21, 1864), pp. 116-117.

"It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: 'And this, too, shall pass away.' How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"

"Property is the fruit of labor...property is desirable...is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."

"Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."

~ I regard no man as poor who has a godly mother. ~
The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read.

Do not worry; eat three square meals a day; say your prayers; be courteous to your creditors; keep your digestion good; exercise; go slow and easy. Maybe there are other things your special case requires to make you happy, but my friend, these I reckon will give you a good lift.

Freedom is the last, best hope of earth.

Here is a video done by a friend's daughter with her friends. Kinda fun I think!

This is going around the internet. Look at the picture above and you can see where this driver broke through the guardrail, on the right side of the culvert, where the people are standing on the road, pointing. The pick-up was traveling about 75 mph from right to left when it crashed through the guardrail. It flipped end-over-end bounced off and across the culvert outlet, and landed right side up on the left side of the culvert, facing the opposite direction from which the driver was traveling. The 22-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger were unhurt except for minor cuts and bruises.

It is not in Flagstaff, AZ on Hi 100 (as the email originally stated,) it is in Utah. See the Snopes account of this: www.snopes.com/photos/accident/culvert.asp

Now look at the second picture below...

If this guy didn't believe in God before, do you suppose he believes now?

Cheryl's note: Click on the 2nd picture to see it bigger and get a better feel for it. Kinda makes me dizzy.

A link

Here's a fun blog I found. Big Pink Farm mentioned it on her blog.

Did you all see this? Check it out! ebayphone# Got that song stuck in my head...

Can you spell pirate?

Luke was in a spelling bee a week and a half ago. It was a great experience for him. The word that got him was pirate. He couldn't understand why they said it was wrong when he was sure he had spelled it right. Later he mentioned to me that he was sure he spelled it right and I let him know he forgot the silent 'e'. The interesting thing is he knew just about all the words that the kids had to spell he just happened to get the one he didn't know. Another interesting thing is if they didn't have a practice round the girl that won would have been out of the game the first round. I am proud of my Luke!

You Belong in the Silent Generation

You fit in best with people born between 1925 and 1942. You are a person of high values and character. Family, your country, loyalty, and hard work all important to you. You are willing to do what's right, even when it's difficult.

What Generation Do You Belong In?

OK, so I was maybe exaggerating a little bit on the snowstorm but we did get close to a foot of snow. It stopped snowing at about noon and the sun came out. Yay! Sun!

It's still winter!

We are having a major snow storm here! My hubby went to work, wish he didn't have to.

see more puppies
see more puppies

Hey, today is my birthday!!! Happy Birthday to me!!

You Are a Cashew

You are laid back, friendly, and easy going. Compared to most people, you have a very mild temperament. You blend in well. You're often the last person to get noticed. But whenever you're gone, people seem to notice right away!

What Nut Are You?

Joy in the Snow-y!

Went sledding on Saturday! Here's my hubby....
Continuation of the same ride...
My husband has a great sense of humor, he wants to dub the audio with the agony of defeat. I will share it when it is done.

Vintage postcards

Bought these at the last auction we went to. There are a lot more about 120 more with pictures of different places on them. From the early 1900's. E-bay

Happy New Year!!

Before it gets too far into the year, I wanted to make sure and post this.

We're in Tennessee!! Yay!! Happy New Year!

Yep, here we are in Tennessee! We will be headed back tomorrow. Haven't taken any pictures, yet.