taken from a great email :)

 

A Layman's 10 Commandments. Great Reading.

Someone has written these beautiful words. Must read and try to understand the deep meaning of it. They are like the ten commandments to follow in life all the time.     1]  Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in  trouble, but it is a "steering wheel"  that directs the right path throughout.     2]  So a Car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the Rear view Mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, Look Ahead and Move on.     3]  Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes years to write, but only a few seconds to burn.     4] All things in life are temporary.  If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last long either.     5] Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a Base of Gold!     6]  Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!     7]  When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.     8]  A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!"      9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them, and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.     10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES, it takes away today's PEACE.

Sunday Serenity....

Ok so I actually took these pics on saturday with the exception of the first which was last month that I hunted down to show Helen ... the plant closest which is a bit blurry is the little round leaved plant that bloomed yellow that you sent me . The other I have a pic somewhere but it will be easier to take a new pic than to try to find in the hundreds of folders ...

my front flower bed needs to be weeded so badly ... maybe I will feel up to it this morning... since I am up so early... I apparently have the time to go do it before Bradley comes... He is spending the day and night here :)

 I have managed to get sick... have not been sick in ages... but apparently have a summer cold.... GAH... I took vit C with rose hips, zyrtec, sudafed, niquil, tylenol and my glucosamine last night and by 11 pm was out cold.... I woke sometime in the night in a puddle of sweat but... felt pretty good. and once I get all this built up gunk out of my head will probably feel even better.  :)  It was kind of funny to see me sitting trying to watch a movie last night with my jacket on and a blanket because I have been freezing for two days... in 100 degree heat... only me! 

Years ago... when stephanie first got pregnant before we knew he would be a boy I found this adorable pink dress that has "animal" from the muppets on it... Cory is an animal fan, has an animal tatoo ect... anyway after "swimming" the other day I put it on Bradley LOL... its still too big and as you see he wore it HIS WAY...
He was saying "cheese".

 I think we pretty much have the pool the way we want it... any "LITTLE" project around here turns into a BIG project pretty quickly but ... its all fun!   just follow the green carpet road to the cooling off spot!

 ALL projects around here also have some sort of redneck engineering involved as well....

 you can click to embiggen all pics.. but the one below especially ... as if you do you might find the hidden dragon fly in the pic :)

 my pathetic garden... was so pretty and so full of blooms... two hail storms and 15,  100 degree heat days ago.... its hanging on but... my hopes are lagging on it really doing more than be another exercise in futility...

 Diamond, Bogie, and Bullet say Hi.... speaking of fish I had to laugh at my sister... we were in academy sports getting some stuff and she came across these toy fish for pools... they are pretty good sized and you put batteries in them and they will "swim" in your pool... she said you can get these and then have fishies in your yard.... I laughed and said I already do !  they were adorable though the little NEMO and the TURTLE might would have come home with me had I not previously spent my allowance on books :) 

 and lastly just because it is so purty.... one of the blooms in the pond yesterday!

Hope you have a blessed Sunday and week coming.
Love n hugs ME!

it has been one of THOSE weeks...

It all started early Monday Morning.... when I was out watering the garden about 630 in the morning.

Michael called me and asked if the police were in the neighborhood as, when  he has gone to  work he noticed this car sitting beside the neighbors house, it had been FLYING on our road lost control going around the curve jumped the fence and nearly landed in the house.

*what he actually said is... I just want you to take your pistol with you when you go out they could be hiding in the woods!  Yeah thanks honey I am already out here!*

 

SO.... Me being me...  I had to go see what the HECK he was talking about.

When I got around the corner and looked NO ONE was around not the people who live in the house not the driver of the car no police no one... so I called the non emergency number to see if anyone had called...

NO ONE HAD CALLED! .

Since I could not see into the car and was not going to try to FALL down the hill into the briar's to see I just told the dispatchers what I saw...

Dispatchers are plural as I live in the county and the house where the car landed is in the city!!

anyway very shortly my neighbor stopped and said she had seen someone just after the car wrecked and she went down the hill to see if they were still in the car... they were not BUT, the car was still running!!!

Turns out the car was STOLEN (big surprise there huh?)

the thief got away but what was more crazy was the people in the house DID NOT WAKE UP when this guy crashed into their yard and did hit the house knocking the pole down and knocking the mirror off the car on the corner of the house!!

 they actually got into the car and backed it up to be able to winch it out of the mans back yard

 its a very steep hillside and no one was too sure how hard or easy it would be to get the car out.

My sister observed the bald tires on the flat bed truck... you'd think they would keep better tires on their working trucks.... OK I think they would....

anyway the car actually came out with relative ease....the frame was popping and cracking and a couple times we were all sure it was going to flop over on its side...

But onto the truck it went... I felt so bad for the owners... the tag was a handicap tag and I hope it didn't belong to someone on a fixed income with only liability insurance....

the Buick impressed the fire outta me with the little amount of body damage after flying through the fence and clipping the house.... but I am willing to bet it had to be totaled

and finally they were off.... it was so hot and so humid that morning that we all were puddles of sweat out there... just watching what was happening....

we have spent alot of time in the pool.... it is finally nearly full and not greenish tinted any more since we finally got it deep enough to run the filters!  BRADLEY LOVES the pool... we ALL love the pool!

its got about 5 inches to go to be full and has only taken over a week to get it there... we can only add a few gallons at a time with the well... the pump is 35 ish years old and not working at full capacity and its a shallow well... we have run it out of water many times over the years....
its been HOT HOT   HOT here... storms many nights some nearly as bad as the one last week that took out power... and many places have lost power... thank God we have not....
we have been cooking out a lot... it is just too hot to cook inside...
on today's plans... to clean the grill... YUK  and Michael is getting some indoor outdoor carpet to put down to help keep dirt out of the pool :) FUN FUN
hope your week has been as fun as ours...
ps... Blogger has been not helpful with their issues this week It has taken several days of trying to create a post. 
Hope you have a wonderful weekend...
God bless :)

after the storms

Of course you already know from the prior post we were without power for 39 and a half hours and truely believe that if not for the neighbors Dr. sending the fax of his medical needs we would still not have  power.

I spoke with the power guys who removed the tree from the lines and they had come from Clayton Ga to help out here in this area because the outtages were so wide spread... the other  night of the 10 or so friends in a 20 mile radius only ONE had power.  we all live in different areas some in the country some in neighboring towns and counties. YET across the street from us had power as of 7 am Thursday morning.

We were ok, for us the heat is a bear but, when you live in the county like us if you have no power you also have NO WATER and that is ROUGH.

you can't shower to cool off you can't flush toilets you can't add water to the fish pond.  It stinks.

I had taken these pics one day last week when we still had the easy set pool with a couple inches of water and Bradley and Lori and I had been playing in the water ... Bradley got bored and decided to play in the yard.  (some pics are all wonky as in size and placement but you can click them to make them bigger )

Bradley loves his swing ... he giggles and says WEEEEEEEE WEEEEEEE when you swing him high...

 

I cracked up when I loaded the pics and the look on his face said it all to me.

 this pic (above) is my favorite of all time of him I am hoping to be able to have a big print made of it someday.

 when lori was going through her stuff she had this notepad and I claimed it ... it is totally me :)

 this paper is from the storm,  its high up in the tree above the fish pond... the winds were whipping in alldirections like crazy... the paint pan and cans from the front were up by the well in the back and the 5 gallon bucket from the well that we use to wash the autos was down in the front... I dont recall ever seeing anything quite like that storm ever in my life.  it was super scarey!!!!!

 this tree fell across the road in front of our house... the tree that was keeping our power off is up the hill from this in a clear cut place in the woods... it was a BIG tall tree that took the power guys about 30 minutes to remove once they got here.

 at the top of the hill heading out from our house is where this house sits... the tree nicked the house but no real damage,  they were so lucky!

 this house is on the corner the pine tree really tore up the top and right side of his roof ...

 this house it about 2 miles from us as the crow flies ... I could not get a better view as traffic was pretty heavy heading out to fort gordon... they had a lot of damage out there too...  dad do you remember where the old garys hamburgers is???  I took this from thier parking lot.

 Last night I had a pork loin that HAD to be cooked... I had taken all of the food in our freezer to my cousins in town and had stuck the loin in a cooler... anyway when Schlena called I asked her if she wanted to come to supper and so she did... we always have a blast when shes here... and the smoked pork loin and fresh corn was awesome... I love my grill OOPS MICHAELS GRILL that I cook on LOL...

 Later in the evening we got out the monster Marshmellows and started playing .... and laughing and choking and laughing more.... Lori  was working on getting it all in her mouth...

 Of course this had to turn into a contest ... there is no way it couldn't have....

 Schlena is so cute no matter what shes doing and I just love this photo :)

 things were getting quite messy as the contest rolled on...

 YEAH shut up.... we all knew I would WIN!!!

 a few seconds after this pic (above) The marshmellow SHOT out and Lori got caught in the spray... amid much much side splitting LAUGHTER... *see the marshmello on her glasses LOL*

and that is the short version of the last 5 days in our house. :)
Have a fantabulous weekend and keep all who still dont have power here in thought and prayers as the heat is brutal... but THANK GOD it was not a tornado like so many have suffered through in the recient past.

39 and a half

hours without power... in 100 degree temps ... makes me a cranky girl...
powers back shower will be happening in a few minutes...
will be trying to catch up soon!
God bless!

it's another one of those....

days where I have so much on my mind and heart that... I manage to get pretty much nothing done.

needless to say my mind is never far from Martha and Halo...
Martha sent some pics of Halo for me to post...

 pretty little sweetums... needs to see grandma I am sure...

 I see smiles are still hard to capture on camera....

 such pretty deep eyes...

and squishy squeezy legs and arms.....

Sister finally got here... been working SLOWLY on cleaning out the spare room so she has a haven to hide in when necessary... got a lot done but  have a lot more to go...

Michael finally finished draining the pool today so tomorrow it should be dry enough to fold/ roll back up and return to the store... the metal frame pool will arrive one day soon.

anyway have tons more rattleing about in my head... it would probably scare you all away so will keep it to myself for the time being....

Hope you have a good weekend.
God Bless.

Nothing does the heart more good than...

a nakie baby playing in the yard

 using his skills to "mow the lawn" and being somewhat comfortable in 99 degree temps

 makes one wish that they could be as comfortable and free

 to enjoy the simple things life has to offer

even when the bubble mower wont blow bubbles....

more on the great pool adventures

Yesterday we drained most of the water out of the pool... but there was 6 inches or so left in it so I decided that  Bradley and I should play in it...

He had a ball and we spent 3 hours or so playing today.

 He would run and slide then fall and jump up and laugh...

 The little swimmer was just in the way... little boys love their toys... (note to parents of girls... they love theirs too)

 I took a bunch more pics of him playing about the yard nakid but have to do some cover ups to post them... so  this is all you get for now....

so now the search is on for a pool the right size (small enough for us) that has supported sides ... I found what I want on amazon.com  but would really love to find it locally and save  the shipping costs.

anyway Grandmas Tired.... Hope you have a great rest of monday ! :)

well let the trauma ...

the pool simply will not work... two days and close to a thousand gallons of water later we are draining the waste of pool space into the fish pond and gonna return it and purchase a pool WITH SIDES that have support as even though this pool is actually level it has decided on TWO sides of the round pool to lay on its sides and not go up. 
 the so called, what used to be the high side and low side of the other day are perfect... anyway I dont want to risk Bradley getting injured by something happening ...so  Michael and I are pool traumatised and have learned a pool lesson.... we are not ready to give up however which is a miracle as normally we would say F it and simply give up on having a pool.

*Martha, I recieved Mikes messages... am not quite ready to respond to either of you but when I am will send you an email.
Have a great rest of sunday ya'll ... from the super hot, unbelieveably muggy, pool less back yard of Ga.

ok... sooo...

I don't stay in my corner long and "licking my wounds" thank you caution... made me laugh out loud...

So I have not really slowed down much since last blogging... we have been working in the 95 plus degree heat watching our garden burn up in spite of watering it daily... GAH... its INSANE  we do this every year plant a garden put what ever it cost us into it and watch it die... usually its much later into the year when it burns up though.... it is not dead but it sure looks sad...

My darlin hubby... in his infinite wisdom brought up to  ME ... something we had decided would never happen here... the week before Kerrie died he said out of the blue... we should go get this swimming pool for the grandkids... we have always said there would never be a pool here because of the lack of water .... well me being me knowing I DID NOT BRING IT UP ... went last week and got said pool with Cory and Bradley... well... lemmie tell you the box it came in says EASY15 minute  set up ... THEY LIE!   first of all you must have LEVEL ground... PEOPLE WE LIVE ON A HILL SIDE!!! there is not a level place on the entire acre and a half... NO WHERE... so we picked what LOOKED to be pretty level... (I really tried to get him to read an pay attention to the instructions I SWEAR I DID)

Anyway last night he put it where he thought would work and proceeded to put some water in... the weight of the water kept pulling the pool OVER and down the hill... so I, being me. knowing that he is NOT READY to stop and do it right yet... said I thought that if we simply built up under the walls that were low it would be ok... well MY BAD first of all I had NO CLUE how bad it slopes... I mean really it looks pretty flat when your cutting the grass...right??

eventually we moved the pool and tarp and filled in the area

well... 4 truck loads of sand clay from the pile in the front later... much cussing and ok I was cussing too... it is pretty level... but the water tells the tale... HE had to pull the pool to where he thought would work best do after all that shoveling ect.... there is now a high side AGAIN.... not nearly as high of course as we built up over a foot!!!!!!!!

we also finally figured out this pool holds 1100 gallons of water... OH MY ... the pond either holds more than We think or... cause the pond is way bigger .... well actually I think we finally guesstimated it between 3800 -4000gallons so ... anyway it can be done... will take longer than we want but .... in the end... a pool :)

this photo is blurry because I took it with my phone... so I  have to identify some things for you... so you can appreciate the humor involved with OUR projects... (SHUT UP LORI AND DAD cause I hear you laughing and wishing you were here to play witness)
Anyway... far right front of pic is our redneck A/C unit which makes sitting outside bearable in summer... yes it is on... above it on the tree is the thermometer... which read 90 at 1030 am.  centerish is Michael blowing up the top ring of said pool with the leaf blower... and under the blue and to the left of the blue is the 4 loads of sand clay hauled by said man... which in the middle of the process caused a cussing laughing fit...
see said man is brilliant but dear dumb wife is MORE BRILLIANT :)  cause dear hubby was determined that he needed a 12 ft SQUARE leveled area for a 10 foot ROUND pool... and I had suggested to get a 5 foot string and stick a pole in the center and see EXACTLY how far it needed to be so when I went inside to find some string (without telling him what I was doing) he decided to put a stake out and use his tape to see.... I smiled said nothing and laid my string on the wall... he asked me a bit later what that string was for knowing FULL well what it was for... then shot me a bird said bad words and told me I am a Bud Ritter looking something.....all with a big grin on his face...

see I know this man who is Brilliant... and he is one who must screw up, then screw up a bit more before convincing himself that reading *because he actually DID read them* AND following the instructions  and DOING IT RIGHT the first time might have been a good idea....oh and there must be some sort of RIGGING involved as well or it simply wont do...
but he is one of the best carpenters/ brick layers/ jack of all trades in the world...but like his children who shall remain nameless ...must do it the harder way first....

anyway to cut the saga a bit short... I think that this evening there will have to be a small bit of digging out to make the damn pool level enough to rise when the water gets high enough or else it is all going to sag and go to the low side... AGAIN. 

so if your inclined say a prayer... that the pool eventually gets up and we get to enjoy it with at least Bradley for now...and that we don't go off the deep end while making it happen LOL.

for most things in life require hard work, lots of laughter and in our case a lot of cussing!

what do you do when....

you want to give up... you want to so damn bad but, you are unable to give up because that stupid survival instinct is too strong in you?? you know from past experiences that... this too shall pass. (like a pinto, right dad?) and given time things will get better or at the very least on an even keel.... you know that acceptance is THE ANSWER... because it is out of your control and not your decision to make in the first place... yet somehow you manage to feel responsible at least in part for the way some things are. 
you want to kick and scream you want to hit something or someone... yet you know that wont solve the problems... If you still drank you would be a blathering gutter drunk... because you would want to stay numb all the time...and you know that is not the answer either because eventually you do sober up... least I always did... you want to put it out there so you dont feel alone yet you dont want to because, well because it effects or is it affects, never am sure with those two words which is the right one, others that you love.
you try to laugh and smile and carry on because you know thats just what has to be done... but you really dont want to. 
you can see the answer or solution as plain as the nose on your face but, the others involved cant or wont see it ... damn here we are back at that freakin ACCEPTANCE again arent we?  
sigh... guess I will go back to my corner now... nurse my wounds ... and come back swinging later....