Bro-hawk...

Week before last Bro and I went into Norman to get our hair trimmed up for THE WEDDING... I had gotten mine trimmed up and shaped up a bit and it was Bro's turn... He had evidently talked to the guy that gives us our cuts while I took a bathroom break. Charles had the clippers out and hair was falling in the floor and Bro was grinning like a 'possum... Then I watched and realized why he was grinning...



To be real honest, I had thought about me getting a faux hawk and Bro and I had talked about it but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to disguise it well enough at the wedding... I was feeling a bit cantankerous but had finally settled down enough to maintain propriety for the wedding and what did my brother do???



Stole my thunder, he did. But I'm still gonna do it.

Maybe for my 65th birthday along with my tattoo...



But on this Sunday, Bro, this one's for you... and for every 69 year old that has enough hair and enough enjoyment of life to 'go for it'!

THE Wedding, Part Two…

I know it’s awful to put yet another photo of the wedding cake but we are moving on to the reception momentarily… But first… a word from from her parents… (D. Menard)

My brother Ben and his wife Diane after the ceremony… note the big smiles… no words, however, I fibbed about that part... but the picture says a thousand words.  They do both love Tyler and that’s great.  They know he will love and honor Laura and she’s as crazy about him as he is about her.   (D. Menard)

The groom’s cake.  Tyler, besides being a huge OU fan since he graduated from OU and was president of his fraternity, is a huge Red Sox fan.  The  cake was chocolate… and despite his choice of teams (being a Texas Rangers fan myself) the cake was almost as good as the bride’s cake.  Yes, I ate a piece of both.  My job is to share photos with you and to report things as they really were, keeping it real, you know.  (D. Menard)

I think that the kids are having too much fun… which is totally as it should be…  (D. Menard)

Tyler is doing such a good job of  getting out a piece of cake after he and Laura made the first cut. They were so sweet to each other, not shoving the cake in each others faces… (D. Menard)

The toast… now we are getting something to wet the whistle and wash down the cake…  (D. Menard)

Shall we dance? Shall we dance with each other, shall we fly?  (name that movie)  They look so right for each other and so at ease… I think the rest of the world could have disappeared at this moment and all would have still been right in their world.    (D. Menard)

The first dance with Pop.  Bless his heart, he had been dealing with a bad back for several weeks, but he managed to not only walk Laura down the aisle, give her away and pull off  his dance with her.  Brother of mine, you came through for the Baby Girl… (D. Menard)

  The dancing commenced.  The girl in the front green dress is my niece, at least I more than claim her since she is married to my nephew Paul… And is the mother of the incredible Max… I’ll introduce you to him one of these days.  I think they were doing the Cotton-eyed Joe here.   Those line dances fascinate me… probably because I have two left feet.

Mom was boogeying down while getting her cake…

Now get me some iced tea to wash it all down…

Diane and her best friend for many years and my friend that let me swipe some of her photos for these wedding posts, Devonna Menard.  I so thank you for sharing with me, Bonna, so I could share with everyone that wanted to read about this shindig. You  snapped a bunch of good photos and they have sure helped me put my thoughts into the words I wanted to share…

Pop and their beloved pastor, T.C. , in deep conversation at the reception.  I don’t know what it was all about…

But this photo looked to me like the caption should be, “Don’t tell me that it’s not legal!”  Most likely they were swapping golf stories and it was so loud they had to huddle up to hear.

You want to see the most handsome fellow at the wedding? 

The man that stole my heart?

The one I can’t leave out of this joyous post? 

The grand finale?

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We all celebrated and this boy said it all without a word…  He’s Laura’s nephew, Elijah,  just walking good and he was such a good boy during the wedding.  He was dancing around at the church while all the photos were being taken after the wedding and I managed to get these photos and I had to share…

I hope I’m still around to see him grown up, in love,

And dancing at his own wedding… even though it will break my heart that it won’t be me he will be marrying…

TTttthhhhhat’s all folks.  Thank you for letting me share my joy and happiness about this union.

Laura and Tyler walk hand in hand and hand in hand with their Father and his son Jesus so they will have the Great Counselor guiding them through their long, loving, life together.

O.M.G. What A Wedding!

I know you are supposed to see the wedding pictures first, but this cake was so awesome!  And soooooo good!  I just felt that the cake was represented the total sweetness of the whole night.                   (Photo by D. Menard)

I love this young man.  He has the most incredible personality and a wonderful singing voice.  Right here he was needing an itch scratched… Brandon and his beautiful wife, Chastity, who was also the Matron of Honor, and also has a beautiful singing voice…

sang at the wedding, a duet for starters, and then Brandon sang and played the piano during the time that Laura and Tyler shared their first communion.

This group is an ornery mess… and the most loving family of the bride and now the groom… My baby brother, Pop, sister Rachel, brother Josh, mom Diane, Laura the bride and Tyler the groom, brother Will, brother Benjamin and brother Paul.  We all clean up pretty good.

Me, before the wedding. My momma would be telling me to stand up straight!  People didn’t recognize me which could come in handy in the future. (Photo by D. Menard)

  The bouquet…                    (Photo by D. Menard)

Getting blessed.  Matron of Honor, Laura and Tyler and the Best Man. 

Exchanging of the rings. (Photo by D. Menard)

Pastor introducing  Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Merchant.                                                                                   (Photo by D. Menard)

Tomorrow the reception… and more photos, because this is the stuff that dreams are made of…

Going To The Chapel…

And she’s gonna get ma-a-arried…

I’m in Ft. Worth, TX, this weekend for the wedding of one of my many nieces… And it’s quite the wedding.

Laura came to Bartlesville for a visit and she, as well as her mom and myself, loved watching Little House On The Prairie.  One of the places that the Ingalls family lived in Kansas was about 45 or 50 miles from Bartlesville So I took Laura up there on one of the day trips we took while she was visiting with us. The above photo was taken in one of the school seats…

This photo was taken inside the log cabin… Not great shots, but you will have something to look back for a comparison when I update with wedding pictures.   When we left and headed for home and were about a quarter of a mile from turning on the main highway to Bartlesville a school bus turned off the main road and stopped to deliver a child to home.  We stopped and waited and a little girl jumped of the bus and was running up the drive and her dog came running down the drive to meet her, jumping with excitement and her momma waved to the bus driver.

It was one of those memories that sticks in your mind like a photograph.  I know that it was a special moment for Laura and I was so glad that it happened just shortly after we had left the little house and the little school room on the prairie.

Ring Of ‘Rooms…

We’ve had a buttload  quite a bit of rain. Probably about 6.5 inches in the last week.  I went outside yesterday to take a look around and get me and the pupsters  off the couch.  I saw something out in the south part of the plantation and went to investigate… (Cue eerie music)

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A ring of mushrooms…

What was odd to me was how they were growing in a big ring…  Is this the redneck version of Stonehenge?

And on top of that mystery… WORM HOLES…

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All over the place.  Carol’s sister is not quite bright on things that are not logical. She came into the living room and asked if we’d seen all those little brown mounds all over and wondering what made them… I looked her straight in the eye and told her they are wormholes…  Really?  Yep… when we get a chunk floater  the worms dig up to the surface so they won’t drown underground… If it’s a toad strangler they have to learn to swim.

I think she thinks I make this shit stuff up but with Carol sitting there and not saying, “Oh, Helen!!!” she realizes that I’m telling the truth…  at least about this.

Just A Snippet...

Does anyone else find it odd... The first time the temperature gets to 60 degrees F. in the spring how it feels like short sleeve weather but the first time after a hot summer when it gets to 60 degrees F. you start looking for a jacket?

The Last Corn Report… Maybe…

Except for when I eat it… Then I will have to tell you about the taste…

The corn on the top was the first one on the tallest stalk of the good day corn.  The next one was on the next biggest stalk also good day corn.

This was on one of  the smaller ears on the good day corn, but the silks had gone brown which means it’s done.  All of  these ears were on the small side but as I said they were planted about a month late for Oklahoma weather and all would be bigger but I still am glad I participated in Tipper’s planting trial.  The Blind Pig and The Acorn, Tipper’s blog site is a lot of fun to read and she really has good planting info, she does canning, makes art, tells good stories and her daddy and brother make really good music.  Drop by her place and read a bit when you have a moment.  It is well worth the trip.

The bad day corn is still trying to get there and there are two or three small, small ears still trying to come out on the good day corn but with all the rain and the milder days I really think that they are all about done for this year. This has been a lot of fun for me, I’ve learned a lot and hope that I’ve passed good information on to you and been entertaining to you all, too. 

Dang… now I’m going to have to figure out which of all the fun stories running around in my head I’m going to share next.  I’m going to try to do at least one more post before I head south to Ft. Worth for the wedding this weekend and I’m thinking I’m going to have to do a give away next week after I get back.  I’ve passed my 200th post mark without even realizing it and, besides that, it’s been a while since I’ve had a give away.

Stay tuned…

I Don’t Recognize My Toes…

A week ago my niece treated me to my first ever pedicure… It was wonderful.  As I’m sure most of you know… but I didn’t… they put your feet in a warm whirlpool type of tub.  Nancy Lu told them to give us both the “deluxe” treatment.  They scrubbed and they massaged and the girl nipped with the nippers and worked on the calluses on my big toes and around my heels but she didn’t have a whole lot to do past the rough spots.  I’m a toe-picker like PW, even though we aren’t related.  I keep cuticle nippers by my love seat and I keep my feet as well as my fingers cleaned up because I hate hangnails… and are they called hangnails when they are on your toes?

Anyway, what is really interesting to me is when I glance down at my feet, even after a week, it’s like whose toes are those? Who stole my toes and stuck these on my feet?

I think they call these French Nails, even though the young woman who did them for me would not be guessed as a French girl…   There are little flowers, little pink flowers, painted on my big toes and in the center of each little flower is a rhinestone! for pete’s sake… Who would have thunk it! 

Shall We Dance…

I’m in the mood for love…  garden love that is.  I wondered as I wandered with my camera yesterday what is it that makes the strings of my heart go zing every time I go outside. 

It’s almost like soul food.

It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s one impressive big flower…

Or a mass of flowers.. I just gotta have me some Flower Power.

Even plants with no blossoms…

Or lots of blossoms. It doesn’t seem to matter.  The fascination is there.

Climbing plants…

mixed with flowers that need to have there feet in the dirt and grow to their individual glory, or masses of morning glories. 

These make my mornings. And good mornings help my day.

These are my ‘crepes’… better than the cooked ones.

Feed my soul.  The rest will take care of  itself.

Even The Internet Is So Done…

I think it is a conspiracy.  I want to do a corn report and I’m already late… Now I’m having “internet communication” problems.  Windows cannot communicate with primary DNS server (75.105.128.61).  Bullshit… Windows Vista can’t communicate with anyone or anything, I’m thinking.  I’m going to write this s.o.p. (silly old post) anyhow.  Because it’s coming down to the end of the season and my corn is about ready to pick.  I think…

Good day on the right…

Bad day corn… Little ear but there is an ear.  If this stalk hadn’t been knocked over it would be up about my waist.  And there is an ear and the stalk is still growing.  The other two bad day corn bit the dust.

This is the biggest of the good day corn and the first to produce an ear.  I think that the ear is about ready to pick.  The ears aren’t very big, but I attribute that to being put into the ground about a month late for our area.  Next year I’m going to plant corn again because it has been so interesting to me, and hopefully, to all of you on this experiment about planting with the signs.

 I keep reiterating that it takes so little to entertain me…

This is that poor little bad day corn that is still growing that got knocked over by the wind and yet hung in there and is producing an ear despite it’s travails.  I was in the mood for a bigger word, one of those fun words to say and sad in the things it describes… travails.  Try saying it a bit slower and rolling the rrrrrr…  sounds kind of  Shakespearian… But I digress, sort of.  This is, after all is said and done, a ‘c.o.r.n’. report.

This is the littlest of the good day corn.  It is a short little thing but it’s still ‘gittn’ ‘er done’.

How about a couple of non-corn shots…

Black eyed peas are still coming on… And a surprise, even for me…

Okra!  I got the okra plants in late and I wasn’t sure I was going to get any home grown okra this year… And I still may not, but at least I got the photo of  one okra pod and I will use this picture to remind me to get it planted earlier next year.  But at least I can I show you all one photo.  Now I’ll try to get pictures of the flower because they are really beautiful… I guess I could post pictures from last year, but that wouldn’t be keeping it real.

And you all deserve everyone keeping it real.