A Solo Black and White Wednesday

Terri has mentioned a couple of times how she enjoys looking at the old photos to see clothes and hair so I thought today I would focus on a few from the 40's and 50's. 

This one actually goes way back before the 40's, but I am including it because of the long dress and the flowered hat. I have no idea who the lady is, but she is with my Grandpa McCoy and so this was taken before he married Grandma. (Of course, silly!)

Brrr!! 

Mom with a friend. I've always liked jumpers and I hope that is a warm sweater she is wearing under the jumper. Her friend looks really cold in that cotton dress. I like her hair though!

Looks somewhat like a rickety photo booth

with the little fake picture background.

This outfit reminds me of our glee club outfits in junior high.

I don't know who she is, but she

has pretty features. I don't understand the hair.

Curly Top Cutie.

Mom with a rat in her hair! Yikes!

They also curled their hair in rags.

She seemed to favor dresses with cute bows.

A nice little Sunday suit.

Cute little ankle strap heels!

My Aunt Nancy still wearing braids and holding her doll. 

When her hair was finally cut, Granny saved the braids still with the red bows on each one.

I was always fascinated with those braids which Granny kept in the box of old photos and

still remember the feel of the thick braids and satin ribbons.

I like this photo because of the different expressions.

My Dad never enjoyed having his picture taken and they've interrupted his smoking time.

(He is also probably ready to head for home.)

I'm just kind of there while Mom looks adoringly at my little sister.

Grandad isn't enjoying the moment either. I wonder if he is ticked at Nancy.

Granny just keeps on smiling and wearing that interesting hat.

Nancy is pouting because she didn't get to hold the baby.

She is wearing a silk jacket Uncle Sonny brought back from Japan.

Great Grandma Sanders looking fairly pleasant. Her clothes style never changed.

Cousin Elaine looked pretty much the 50's teen here.

Aunt Nancy ready to graduate with a shorter hair style and her

pretty white dress and pumps.

Granny dressed up for church … wearing another little hat!

Up until the 70's when pantsuits became popular, my mother always wore dresses … when working in the house, working in the yard, going shopping or to church she wore dresses. She welcomed the pantsuits because "they cover my legs." Whatever she wore, she always looked nice and she always accessorized. When I was little and played dress-up, I too wore a dress, "because Mothers wear dresses."

Dress up wearing one of her old dresses and heels.

I imitated my Mother in many ways, including enjoying the feel of a pair of scissors in my hand ready to cut off the hair of any willing or unwilling victim!!! LOL!! I got in trouble for cutting my hair and also the dolls' hair! And a few years later, I cut my sister's and my brother's hair! Oh boy! I never did learn.

And here my Mom is getting ready to plant a few flowers … wearing her flowered skirt for the occasion.

I think she is holding the seeds and spade in one hand. Notice she's even wearing flats. No tennis shoes! Personally, I liked that flower bed for making roads and hills and little ponds for playing with all my cars and pretending I lived on a hill!

Weekend Recap, Grandparents' Day and Ninjas!

We were delighted to be invited

to Grandparents' Day 2018 with Kate!

#1 Grandpa and according to Kate,

spoiled by Nonnie!

Her little notes to us have made their home on the fridge now!

It was a fun time. We had lunch, visited, watched the 4th graders perform their folk dances and I even did the Cotton Eye Joe with Kate! And then, to our surprise, Kate asked informed us that we would be checking her out early from school and coming home with us! She did and we had a great visit with her the whole weekend and Saturday afternoon, her brother Jack joined us. 

Mom and Dad had a date to a boxing competition … 

fire department vs. the police department … 

Guns and Hoses facing off!

Can you guess who won? Firefighters rock!!!

After church on Saturday night, the gym was all set up for the Ninja course and the small gym with an obstacle course and bounce house for the little ones. And free food for everybody! 

This proved to be a more difficult course than the Ninja Warriors they are used to, but they still had fun and always like a challenge.

All in all, it was a lazy, rainy weekend. Sleeping late on Sunday morning, pancakes and bacon, and iPad time. Gee, I remember this.

Seems one day they're right there with you in the middle of everything … 

Now it's this!

Sweet!

Last, but not least, Kate shared with me how she was sick the week they had Daddy Daughter Dance and she was so disappointed to miss out. So Daddy took Kate on a special date.

Friday Foto Friends

It's Friday again … so soon? And time to join Deb at Breathing in Grace for Friday Foto Friends!

Pretty skies this week and now it's pouring rain, we are under flash flood warning, and the lightning and thunder are scary!! The house is shaking! Annie is hiding under the desk at my feet! I'm so glad they finished working on our water leak today, filled up the big hole and hauled away the excess dirt before this rain came. They even re-planted the shrub they tore out.

A new lake is forming behind our fence!

We have been needing this rain.

He sits outside and enjoys the show!

Earlier this week, we went out for breakfast and saw a family with this dog that looks just like Annie! I had to go ask what kind of dog this is, since Annie is a rescue and no one really knew for sure. This dog is a Shiba inu and I believe Annie is mostly that, with some other mix that gives her the wavy hair.

Their dog

Annie

I stopped again this week to get a pic of those Longhorns and as soon as I pulled in, they turned again and headed to other parts of the pasture. Hmmmm. Wondering if it is feeding time since I'm usually there at lunch or dinner time.

And this little fella ended up on the hummingbird feeder! I don't know how he did it. And I wondered how he would get down, but I turned around and then back and he was gone!!

My fotos are taken with my iPhone so they aren't as nice as all the others, but I still enjoy taking pictures and sharing them with you! Happy Friday!

We will be going today for a grandparents' luncheon with Kate. I'm so looking forward to that! And this weekend, they will be staying with us. Our church will be having a ninja course outdoors for the kids, a food truck and other fun things. Here's hoping the skies clear up!

Pretty exciting stuff for these kids!!

Thankful TBT and Deja Vu

Back in March, 2012, DH was scheduled for a quadruple bypass surgery. Going into that with a little apprehension and wow, we had a little something happen the week prior to the surgery to occupy our minds! Unbelievable! A leak in the foundation right in the middle of our house and it took digging a few holes before they finally got to the heart of it!

Well, that was taken care of and we ended up having new flooring throughout downstairs.

There was a good outcome after all that mess and the outcome for DH was even better!

Now, here we are eight years later waiting for the call to find out when the next procedure to repair the leak in DH's aneurism will happen. Can you believe it? A leak was discovered last week in the foundation and the repairs are happening now. 

I am truly thankful that it wasn't necessary this time to break up the foundation. And again, I am trusting for a good outcome on both leaks!

She's Wrappin' Up the Hodgepodge, Folks!

It will be fun to read what Joyce is going to share with us today! Join in this momentous occasion and answer the Hodgepodge questions on your blog and join the others!

1. What has been the highlight of your summer so far? (It's still summer people!)

It has been a good summer and I can't say it was THE highlight, but getting up and skiing was a big deal to me! I was so proud that at age 69, I could still do it and the grandkids witnessed it! (Oh, and, of course, all my Facebook friends saw and were also impressed! Especially my high school classmates!)

2. What do you wish you'd done more of this summer? 

Wish I had worked up the nerve earlier in the summer to ask for the chance to ski and had several more times of it. Also, I wish I had completed the bucket list made earlier in the summer.

Less of? 

Sitting and reading, but truth is, this summer was a really HOT one and we just wanted to stay inside. It may also be I could have eaten less ice cream.  

3. Something you're looking forward to on your September calendar? 

One thing is coming up this Friday and that is Grandparents Day at the kids' school. We received a special invitation and I am anxious to attend and see what all it will be about. I'm also excited for Bible Study Fellowship to resume next week.

4. Best/favorite book you've read this summer?

I read many good books this summer and I guess that's because so much time was spent inside. A toss-up between the memoirs of Barbara Bush and a book Hiding in the Light by Rifqa Bary, the true story of the young lady from Ohio who converted to Christianity and escaped an honor killing by her dad. Both books were very good. Lots of smiles and sweet tears in the Barbara Bush story and great passion and boldness in the other.

5. Share something positive, encouraging, or uplifting here.

I believe that God is working all things together for my good, no matter what the circumstance or trial that is going on in my life and I believe He will for you, too as you put your trust in Him. 

"Look beyond your pain, current circumstances and what you’re feeling right now. Find comfort in God’s truths, knowing that He uses all things for good – that there’s a purpose for your pain. In adversity, you have the opportunity to shine Christ’s light brighter and louder than ever before. The darker it gets, the brighter His light shines. The more impossible it gets, the more it becomes evident that the only answer is Jesus." Ashley Terkeurst Hodges

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It is impressive that you have been writing the Hodgepodge questions so consistently for nine years!! That is amazing and I am glad I got to participate in it for the past few years. It has been a great way to meet other bloggers and read their stories, thoughts and ideas in their creativity. 

It's Been a Week!

And I'm not even going to try to remember it all or tell about it. It was a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly! So there! But it is all about perspective, right? The good is good. The bad can bring positive, and out of the ugly, can come beauty! Remember the Ugly Duckling? Well, that remains to be seen about the ugly.

Last Monday I followed through on my resolve to go exercise at the Senior Center here. They have a walk strong program three days a week. When I got there, most all the ladies were there to do some line dancing, so I switched over and had a great time. Next morning and through the week, I paid for that fun with sore everything! On Friday, I joined the walk strong and lasted about 10 minutes. Something has got to change here! I will try again next week!

But, Saturday evening was the Ladies Rejuvenate at church, which is an annual event meant to encourage and bring all the ladies together, hopefully bringing in new people, too, to share in the love of Christ and each other. The theme this year was encouraging yourself in the Lord and encouraging** one another and the evening was fun, filled with laughter and the sweet times of worship!

My old friend Victoria

A new friend, Trish!

A mix of other sweet ladies … it was standing room

only in the center and the Chapel!

There were over 300 ladies there! Great fun!

The bad was waiting on pins and needles all week long, we finally heard from the doctor and will be waiting this week to hear from another doctor as to the procedure that will be taken for my DH and the leak in his aneurysm. The good is, it sounds like a minimally invasive procedure and should take care of the problem. That will be good.

The other bad was my dear friend, Kay, who went into hospice last Tuesday and on Wednesday, I went to visit. It was shocking to see how quickly she had gone down from the few days before when I saw her. It was difficult to know what to say, but I just prayed with her and rubbed her arm and hand and head. She was so fragile. Another gentleman came in with guitar and songbook. He played, he prayed, we sang. A very sweet spirit of peace in the room. And the good: dear Kay is now resting from all her labors on this Labor Day as she went into her rest with Jesus early this morning! 

Last week, I discovered the ugly! Some kind of water leak going on in the front flower bed. Long story short, everybody gave their opinions and thoughts, but it was a mystery until I got the plumber out who said there is a leak in the water line. The good is they will be out to fix it this week and I pray it is an easy fix. The flower bed is going to be a mess and I am wondering how much will be torn out. My plan had been to put in a few shrubs, but now I'm thinking, hmmmmm, a makeover?? That could turn out quite nice. We will see.

Yesterday morning, I had the preschool kids. Two little guys were having that "my Daddy is stronger than your Daddy" conversation, only this was about the number of guitars! So funny.

Today DH and I had breakfast at the Biscuit Bar! (Libby, I had the chicken and not a waffle!)

This afternoon we are going to go see the Operation Finale movie which is about the hunt for Adolph Eichmann! It may be hard to watch, but I was always glad when they caught those Nazi criminals.

And maybe … just maybe … we will have lots of rain this week!!!!!

Happy Labor Day to all!

** If you are going through a painful time, this is an excerpt from Ashley Terkeurst Hodges When Good Goes Bad:

"Here are the three things I must do every day to fix my eyes on the Lord:

1. Get in His word.God will speak to us so tenderly, powerfully and perfectly through His written word. I especially love the book of Psalms in this season.

2. Worship often.Turn on your favorite praise music (really loud) and get lost in praising God for who He is and who you are because of Him. I am determined to walk through this trial with praises, mixed with my tears, so that others can experience Jesus through me. My tears will turn into a victory for the cause of Christ.

3. Look beyond.Look beyond your pain, current circumstances and what you’re feeling right now. Find comfort in God’s truths, knowing that He uses all things for good – that there’s a purpose for your pain. In adversity, you have the opportunity to shine Christ’s light brighter and louder than ever before. The darker it gets, the brighter His light shines. The more impossible it gets, the more it becomes evident that the only answer is Jesus.