Times Are A'Changing

Growing up across the street from my current house meant I was here all the

time. 

Plus, the only kids in the neighborhood lived here. 

And I was a latch key kid. 

And I was bored a lot. 

And, they had a pool. 

So basically, I was here all the time playing with Jeff and John. 

Oh, and Harold, my second Dad, made amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies.  And Martha, my second mom, would set a place for me at the table with no question or invitation needed.  The only way they could keep me away was on sauerkraut night.  I could smell it at the porch and would just head back home.

I played basketball, rode bikes, skateboarded, and just about anything else to pass the time in their extra long driveway.  But what two of my girls and a neighbor friend did over the weekend never happened when I was growing up here.

Makes me wonder what their children will be doing in the driveway.  Not that my girls will ever be allowed to grow up and get married....

More Guinea Info

My sweet sweet lifelong friend Jani sent me an e-mail about my guinea post. You see, she lives on the street where the guineas spend the most of their time.

Here's what she had to say.

Just read your blog about the Guineas. Anytime you want to see them just come park on our street. They wander from house to house all down our block. The lady next door to us feeds them so they hang around her house a lot. But I have to tell you...if they get separated from each other...oh my...the noises that come out of those birds can be SO annoying because they don't stop until they are back together! They also get on our front porch and peck at our storm door. One time my youngest hadn't shut the storm door all the way and I came
walking by the piano and see a head sticking in my house. Scared me to death!!!!! LOL

Anytime you want to hang out on our street...you are most welcome too. :o)

Isn't that hilarious? I'd completely forgotten about the sound they make. Probably because I had blocked it from my memory. As soon as I read her words I could hear it. And now I can't shut it off.

But, they're still cute. If they'd eat mosquitoes around the pool during the summer, I might consider getting a pair for our street!

Bird Brains

I grew up with a pet peacock. Have I ever told you all that? Her name was PeaChick and we had breakfast together every morning on the front step. She'd knock on the door with her beak and I'd come out with two pieces of toast. One with butter and jelly for me, and one plain for her. Considering I live smack dab in the middle of a city, and grew up across the street, that might be confusing to some of you. You see, I spent all school vacations living in the country with my grandparents. They lived just outside of a town, but with several acres around them, I considered it the country. When my uncle decided to be a veterinarian, my grandparents bought two of several animals, and started a zoo. Well, not really, but you know what can happen when you buy two of something. Soon you have 15 of everything. Mostly birds. Peacocks of course, chickens, ducks, pheasants, turkeys, quail, and one of my favorites, Guinea hens. During the day most of them wandered around the yard eating and um...making a mess. As the sun would set each night my Uncle Kevin (who is now a doctor, not a vet) and I were in charge of getting everyone back where they belonged. Most of them were easily to corral but the peacocks liked to fly into trees and it usually took a hose and some well placed water hits to get them out. But the Guinea Hens, they were just too dumb. They'd run scared and usually in about 20 different directions all at once. Bless them, they're funny looking and not too bright. They're handy to have around though so I guess it was worth the frustration.

I'd kind of forgotten about Guineas until we moved to a small town after we got married. There was a confusion (that group name is so perfect for them) of guineas that fed right next to the main highway. I always loved to see them there. They tend to go where ever they want and I never did figure out where those lived.

Over the last year since I started parking on the other side of the school to pick up the girls, I've been seeing something. I'd catch glimpses of what I thought were guineas and a few days ago they finally proved me right. Let me just say, in a school system with 1500 students and no bus system, there are tons of cars around this area every day. How these bird brains have survived this long, I'll never know. But aren't they cute? Okay, I know some people might not agree, but I think they're adorable. Maybe because we bonded when I was young. I don't know where these live, but I hope I get to see them again:c)

Update!!

Well lookie here!

Maybe the rotten service will improve.
The drink I ordered today did come out right...but I had to correct my order twice.

Hope hiring goes well...

...and quickly.

TP'ing Is So Old School

When I was in middle school and high school tp'ing was the thing to do. If you woke up with your house done you knew you'd arrived. Been accepted.

I was taken tp'ing for birthday parties, on a date, and with a group from church in the church van!

As I was in college tp'ing was changing. Ever been forked? Or signed? The plastic fork thing is hilarious. I've heard it takes a while to clean up though. And the signs? That one I don't like. I've seen a yard with a hundred real estate for sale signs in it. To me that's more like stealing. And that would be so hard to get taken care of! Imagine either returning them to the realtors or having to call them all to say you have them.

But this?
This had me laughing. Okay, cackling. Election day was over and since this house is right by the polling place for our community I'm sure they didn't have to go far to pick the signs up. I know it was still a bunch to pick up, but it would just involve picking and pitching in the trash can.

Luckily they left it up for two days so everyone could enjoy it:)

It's A Campout!

Just walking up to this building at our church you might think people were just hanging around the building talking....until you see the tents in the background.Also the list of considerations on the door is a bit confusing. And then you see it. The list of hopeful parents with their children's names and grade they'll be entering next year. Yep, it's open transfer day!! Well, actually open transfer day is Wednesday, September 1st.

Since our school district is less than a square mile we should be a small school. We were when I was a student. Now because it's 'the' school to be in, we are almost 70% transfer. We are a big school, but you still get a small town feel. Teachers don't come to start off at a small school and go bigger, they come and stay. McKinley has one that's been there 24 years. I had three that taught over 30 years there.

The only way to get in as a transfer student is to come to open transfer day, fill out the paperwork, and hope the grade your child will be in next year has an opening. So it makes sense to try and be the first person to get your name on the list for that grade. The doors open on the 1st at 7:30 a.m. About 7 years ago parents would get in line at 6 in the morning. But each year they get earlier and earlier. This year, 6 days early. The tents were new about 3 years ago. The school has no guidelines about it, and no control over what happens until they open the doors that morning, so the list of considerations, some camper wrote and posted.

The lady in this picture looked a little older to me...when someone asked her how old her children were she said her older 3 were grown and gone, but the two boys they'd just adopted from Haiti were in elementary. How precious is that? Although the school has no guidelines, they are nice enough to provide port-a-potties. I hope this lady is on the right side of those! I wonder if our local stores are out of tents....I do like the colors:DI am so thankful for my address at this point! We are a few of the coveted in district owners. Who needs a tent?? This dad just pulled out his sleeping bag at night and climbed into the back of his truck on his cot. Hope there's no rain in the forecast.As I walked away I was so proud of our school. This is what people are doing to get in. I'll be back every day to take more pictures. I'm loving this!

Why I Love My Church

Hello friends. I have been so busy over the Christmas week that I haven't blogged. My apologies. I have missed you all and have honestly been going a little stir crazy without the release that blogging brings me. Well, that and the 14" of snow and ice. But that's another post for another day.

I have been wanting to blog about my church's 100th birthday for a while and haven't taken the time. The two day event was something so special to be a part of. Many people in my generation of church goers didn't really get into it. I am such a history buff that I was all about it. I have attended the church for 36 of 36 years and was dedicated there, baptized there, became a member there, was married there, have dedicated all three girls there, and watched one become a member. As you can see, it holds a special place in my heart.

To commemorate the anniversary several artists starting planning a mosaic to be placed on a wall. After three years of planning and almost a year of construction it was ready to be unveiled. A reception was held in the room where Shawn and I were married. I actually came through a doorway where the mosaic now is to walk down the aisle to marry him. Here's the view from up there. I walked down two sets of stairs and past a string quartet to get to him. He was worth it:c)My favorite teacher was at my wedding and at the 100 year celebration. I love her. I had her for 5th and 6th grade and I wish I could have taken her with me for every year from then on. We sit down the row from each other at church. If I don't look down and see her smiling face it just doesn't feel like church.And finally the unveiling. It was beautiful. Over 45,000 pieces of glass and tile. Each item has a story behind it and it ties into our town and church history.But my favorite part of the whole event had to be the pictures. Almost every wall in the church had huge pictures from the last 100 years. Our church, town, and school system are all turning 100 so there was a lot to cover! I couldn't get enough of the pictures. Here are just a few of my favorites.

The lady that is circled is the daugher-in-law of my favorite teacher. She's also the mom of my best friend. Small world, isn't it??This circled lady is my beautiful Aunt Janis. She's also the girls voice teacher.Shawn and I sang in The Messiah one year with a giant chicken apparently.This one cracks me up. Was that creepy guy supposed to be in the picture? The fact that the screen or curtain was pulled down is just confusing. This is just another reason why I love digital photography. Take the picture, see the creepy guy, call the cops, put all the kids back in place, and take another one.Here's our little McKinley singing in a Sunday night service with her choir.One of the two ladies circled (I don't remember which one) lived in our house. She was an elderly widow when I moved in across the street when I was 4. Her niece is one of my good friends.This one has to be my favorite for three different reasons.

1. Jeff is a friend of mine. I watched him win a Guinness world record for the most free throws in a certain amount of time. I remember his hair looking like that.

2. I don't believe that June is wearing any shorts in this picture of a church group.

3. Honda. Bet Rhonda re-thought those braids after seeing this picture.This is one of the buildings that our church used to be in. It is where I went to Sunday school when I was young and chapel when I was in college. It's also where my mom's office was when she worked for the college we both attended.I just love old pictures. The expressions, the clothes, the hair. I want this hanging in my home even though I don't know anyone in it.This is my Uncle David when he was cute. And nice. Enough said.Our church has had group vacations in Colorado for years. There's still a family camp that's held there.I didn't know that our neighborhood had seen a tornado in 1930. Our house location is just a few blocks from where this picture was taken. Luckily our house hadn't been built yet.That clump of trees where the arrow is pointing is where our house would be built six years later.After a wonderful centennial service on Sunday all the children 5th grade and younger were asked to go to the pulpit. Poppers were handed out and on the count of three they were released. What a fun event it had been. And I was really wishing that I'd had a popper. Oh well, I have the wonderful memories.

Oklahoma Land Run

April 22, 1889.

12 noon.

People lined up early. With hopes and dreams.
They started planning their claims.

There was quite a crowd.

Choice claims were pointed out and discussed.

When the shot was fired the men took off, running to grab their claims.

Women and children followed slowly with the wagons and all their possessions.

Some taking in the scenery on their way.

When the men found their choice property they grabbed the stake and ran for the land office.

They anxiously waited their turns as the land officers marked their claims and handed them their deeds.

After their deeds were filed some started setting up temporary houses.

Family photos were taken.

And smiles were everywhere.

School teachers visited homesteads to meet the children.

And meals were eaten.

Games were played.

And friends were made.

And a new state was born.