Musical grands.....

My "musical" grand-daughters - Harmonie and Melodie

Mental Feng Shui

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their
conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you
want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams
don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the
only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly.. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! .. When someone asks you a question you don't want to
answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve
great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN.. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for
others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps
to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in
your voice.

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

Cut-backs....

No one is immune to the new way our lives are having to be lived now. My changes are minor as compared to others, but still I feel the effects greatly by them. Less money + more hours = cutting way back.
Oh, well, as I said I am more fortunate than many - I at least have a job.
I will be learning to "live small" again. I know --- gripe, gripe, gripe...

Frolic on Fremont - Las Vegas....

I'm in the middle....so much fun!

Vegas here I come....

Saturday I am going to Las Vegas --- fun!!!!

National Pie Day??

Okay, why is it just now I have discovered that there is a National Pie Day? I would have baked a pie!! As if I need a reason.........

From my friend Eloise ....

'Twas the month after Christmas, and all through the house,
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste at the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store(less a walk than a lumber).


I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt---
I said to myself, as only I can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man! "
So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,


Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chips
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
" Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.


I'll want to chew only on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, my stomach growls like never before!
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet! "

Cowboy Code....

Gene Autry’s Saturday matinee saddle pals wanted to be just like their hero. Gene responded with the Cowboy Code, sometimes known as the Cowboy Commandments. They are as relevant today as they were then.



1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.

2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.

3. He must always tell the truth.

4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.

5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.

6. He must help people in distress.

7. He must be a good worker.

8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.

9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation's laws.

10. The Cowboy is a patriot.



© Autry Qualified Interest Trust.

Happy New Year....

Merry Christmas Eve....

Alrighty! Christmas is here again, and I am last minute shopping as usual --- what fun!!! I love it!

From Good Old Days magazine:

The Night Before Christmas has been a favorite of children in the 19th, 20th and now the 21st centuries, providing "visions of sugar-plums" dancing through the heads of youngsters of all ages. It certainly remains the standard bearer for yuletide verse. Here are the words to Moore's classic poem:

'Twas The Night Before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap;
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Choo, choo.....

Tomorrow is our "red hat" train ride from Cedar Park to Burnet ....What fun it will be...over 200 ladies riding on this train. Super-fabulous!

Update: It was so much fun! If you ever get a chance to go on this train ride, do so! And take the kids!

It's getting closer....

and, as usual, I will wait until the last minute. Isn't that part of the fun?!

Walking a rainbow trail....

"Walk on a rainbow trail; walk on a trail of song, and all about you will be beauty. There is a way out of every dark mist, over a rainbow trail." -- Navajo song

A better place ....

Come along inside... We'll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place.
—Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows

I'm glad the Thanksgiving holiday is over....now we can buckle down and get ready for the big one -- CHRISTMAS!!

Tomorrow, tomorrow, we'll have pie tomorrow....

I've been baking for two evenings...almost finished.

It's getting closer.....

Thanksgiving is near and I am preparing my shopping list for this weekend. Oh, my, I am going to need a u-haul to carry all the groceries home. And two days to cook.

The election is over...let's concentrate on Thanksgiving now

Crustless Pumpkin Pie
from Coming Home with Gooseberry Patch©

4 eggs, beaten
15-oz. can pumpkin
12-oz. can evaporated milk
1-1/2 c. sugar
2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 t. salt
18-1/2 oz. pkg. yellow cake mix
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. butter, melted
Garnish: whipped topping, chopped walnuts,
cinnamon or nutmeg

Combine eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, spice and salt. Mix well and pour into an ungreased 13"x9" baking pan. Sprinkle cake mix and nuts over top. Drizzle with butter; do not stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour, testing for doneness with a toothpick. Serve with whipped topping sprinkled with nuts and cinnamon or nutmeg. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

So very true.......

During this election year let's be reminded of these words:

* You cannot help the poor, by destroying the rich.

* You cannot strengthen the weak, by weakening the strong.

* You cannot bring about prosperity, by discouraging thrift.

* You cannot lift the wage earner up, by pulling the wage payer down.

* You cannot further the brotherhood of man, by inciting class hatred.

* You cannot build character and courage, by taking away men's initiative and independence.

* You cannot help men permanently, by doing for them what they could and should, do for themselves.

Do you recognize the author?


It was Abraham Lincoln

Very, wise words, written years ago and we still don't get it.....

Happy Halloween!!

Boo!!