Hello, friends!

I’ve been away from the Blogosphere for awhile, but I think I might be back in the loop again.
So, anyway… here is the picture I would have posted for Ruby Tuesday, if I could have:



This was taken on a lovely day last July, when the Blogstock 08 folks were at the Silver Hills Vineyard. Did you notice the rose bushes at the end of each row of grapes? Anyway, it was wonderful to walk around amongst the vines. As I recall, it was a bit breezey that day, but very sheltered and quite peaceful in between the rows.

And here are the pictures I didn’t get put up for f-Stop Friday:
A Feline


This is Patchless, one of our cats. (Jerry, I think she must be a Republican, because she catches her own mice :) ).



We named her Patchless, because her mother's name was Patches. Patches was a similarly colored calico who had a big patch of orange tabby on half her face and one of her front legs was also orange tabby. Patchless doesn't have those patches like her mother did, so what could we name her other than Patchless?

We had the outlaws… I mean the In-laws over for Thanksgiving on Thursday. 24 people squeezed into my teeny little house for turkey and all the usual sides. It was nice enough that we were able to go outside and play after we ate ourselves into a stupor.

It’s snowing here today and it’s got me to thinking about Christmas, so I guess I should go find the little fiber-optic tree and get it put in it’s spot in the living room. On the other hand, I need to go bloghopping and see what my pals have been up to.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Simple Pleasures in Life...
Been very busy with work the last couple of weeks and falling behind on everything! What I did manage to do is catch up on downloading pictures from this summer. Given the outside temps, they will just warm you up.

1. Dad & lil Joe throwing rocks in the Fox River
2. Dad & lil Joe doing bus driver Bob from Doodlebops
3. Mom & Joe @ petting zoo
4. Lil Joe on a steam roller (every truck lovin little boy's dream)






















Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

F-Stop Friday

Friends!




These are two of my "non-virtual" friends: Janene on the left and Dolly on the right. This was taken at the store where I work on Janene's last day there.

She got married and decided she'd rather move to Omaha and live with her groom than stay in Fremont, live alone, and work with us 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. Can't figure that one out.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun working with Janene. People were always getting us mixed up, and calling me Janene and calling her Janell. We'd just look at each other and chuckle.

Dolly is still at the store. She is probably the best Manager I have ever worked for. And I've been in the workforce for 40 years now.

Dolly and I miss working with Janene a lot.

So there you have it; my Friends for f-Stop Friday.

54 Things About Me For My 54th Birthday Inspired by Nora
(Most of you probably know all this stuff, but here it is anyway.)


54. I’m a terrible procrastinator, so in order for this to be done by November, I’m starting it in August.

53. Every once in a while, I get the feeling that I’m actually quite retarded, but I’m kept blissfully unaware of this fact because the people around me are good at covering for me.

52. I was amazed and astounded that, when I had to have my mare, Jasmine, put down, I grieved her loss with the very same grief that I felt when my brother died.

51. I don’t like talking on the telephone. I’d rather chat in person, so let’s do lunch some time.

50. I don’t like to eat out any place where I have to unwrap my food.

49. If I try to sleep past 5:30 AM, I start having nightmares.

48. I have four recurring dreams quite regularly. One involves a tornado, one features a firing squad, one involves a house I’ve never seen, but is apparently mine that only has three walls, and the other has me remorselessly committing a heinous crime.

47. I really miss John Denver.

46. I’ve lost 37 pounds since January 7, 2008.

45. I always wait way to long to replace my worn out underwear.

44. I have only owned four horses in my lifetime: they were/are Glory, Jasmine, Bubba and Lucy.

43. It is one of the disappointments of my life that I was born too late to be involved with my dad and grandpa when they owned and trained Thoroughbred race horses.

42. I gave birth to my children using the LaMaze method and no medication. (Does anybody do that anymore?)

41. I breast-fed my babies until they were about a year old. And I used cloth diapers. (Don’t be blaming me for the overflowing landfills!)

40. I am very easily startled.

39. I hate – and I do mean HATE – mice.

38. I own too many cookbooks.

37. When I am away from home overnight, I miss my cat, Webber, more than anything else.

36. I have written two books and am looking for a publisher.

35. I collaborated with a good friend and we self-published a collection of WWII memoirs of veterans back in 1995.

34. I am extremely introverted and easily intimidated.

33. I want to ‘handy’ a pair of oxen. (some of you city slickers might need to look that one up.) This is on my Bucket List.

32. I sing in a Gospel Quartet. I prefer to sing Alto, but sometimes sing Tenor.

31. I play guitar and piano; but (usually) not in public.

30. I love River City Roundup and hope to go on the Northeast Ride for the next ten years.

29. I am medically diagnosed to be in Menopause – or as I like to call it “Mental Pause.” It’s weird. More about that later.

28. I snore.

27. I talk in my sleep.

26. It’s now September and this is as far as I’ve gotten.

25. Every once in a while, someone calls me “sir.” I HATE that. Even more than mice. (And BTW, if you’ve met me, please tell me why anyone would think I am a man?)

24. I LOVE living in Nebraska, but if I had the opportunity, I would like to live in Australia for a few years. I will, however, end my days in Nebraska.

23. I love the Chicago Cubs.

22. I cheer wholeheartedly for the Nebraska Cornhusker Football, Volleyball, and Baseball teams.

21. It makes me sad that I can’t play softball anymore.

20. I hope that there will be another Triple Crown Winner in Thoroughbred horse racing during my lifetime.

19. I love to sew. Quilts are my favorite thing to make.

18. Blogstock and meeting some of my blog buddies was the highlight of my summer of ’08.

17. Is this boring, or what????

16. It’s October, now and I’m running out of me stuff.

15. My favorite Christmas Carol is “Silent Night.” Second favorite is the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s “Christmas Eve in Sarajevo.”

14. I drink way too much coffee.

13. I home-schooled Jack and Emily from 1996-2002. On our very first day of school, we stood outside on a jewel (rare and precious) of a fall day and watched a Monarch butterfly migration.

12. I gave birth to a stillborn son, James Lee, January 1, 1980.

11. Because of #12, I used to dread the Christmas Season, but Jack and Emily taught me how to love it again.

10. It’s November 19th – 6 days after I was supposed to be done with this and I’m still working on it. Told you I was a procrastinator.

9. My favorite type of music is Country & Western.

8. I’m a big fan of Sean Hannity.

7. I am pretty certain of the “new direction” and “change” Barack Obama is going to bring to this country. I hope with all my heart that he proves me wrong.

6. I love going to early church (8:00 AM) and then coming home to make a traditional Sunday Dinner for my family. (Meat, potatoes, vegetable, dessert…)

5. It is by Divine Intervention that I’ve been married the best man on the planet for 32 years.

4. I am deeply offended when I hear the phrase “Oh my God” used as an exclamation. It demonstrates a complete lack of respect for a Name that should only be held in the highest regard. Back in the day of Orthodox Scribes, the name of God was considered too Holy to even write it on paper and now we toss it around like a piece of verbal clutter. I’d like someone to explain to me why the ACLU will defend anyone’s right to use profane language in public or in any broadcasting venue, but object to public displays of Christian faith.

3. My Life Verse is 1 Peter 1:3 “Praised be the God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance which can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in Heaven for you who, through faith, are shielded by God’s power.”

2. I love God with all my heart and I am grateful that He has forgiven me and for the Gift of Eternal life He gave me through His son, Jesus Christ.

1. I want all of you to find that Salvation in Him, if you haven’t already.

Ruby Tuesday

I almost saved this fire hydrant for f-stop Friday, but it is such a nice red, I decided it was better for Tuesday.



It's in downtown Fremont.

f-stop Friday

Fences












These are all on my place.

New stuff...

Check out my "Shift Work Bowls" over at Nellie's and tell me what you think.

Ruby Tuesday
Featuring Photos that have red in them:



A bowl of Red hot Chili Soup.
It's very cold and rainy today, with winter driving conditions predicted for later, so it sure looks good to me!

f-Stop Friday
Featuring photos of things that begin with "f"

FUN!



This is me on Lucy and Sebastian on Bubba.

Seb's grandfather (Gayland Smith) was a jockey who rode thoroughbred racehorses for my grandfather (TW Gatewood). The picture was taken by Seb's Mom in July when their family was visiting here from England.

Sketch away, Scarlet!!


I wanted to add this before I forgot about it:
A Wonderful Moment

A few days ago at the store, a mom and two little girls were drawing attention to themselves. The preschool aged girls were perched in the “driver’s seat” of the kiddie grocery cart and as they were driven up and down the aisles of the grocery store they were singing. When they neared my end of the aisle, I caught snatches of “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “Twinkle Little Star,” and the Veggietales’ “Where is my Hairbrush?” song. Mom finished her shopping and settled in to wait her turn at a cashier’s line. The two little girls launched into a near perfect rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.”

As busy as the store was, everyone – and I do mean EVERYONE - within earshot stopped what they were doing and a respectful hush fell over the area. When they finished with “…O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave” a rousing round of applause broke out.

“The future’s so bright, I’ve got to wear shades….”

This came in an email from my Pastor, Chuck Larsen, at Country Bible Church:
(I added the bold italics at the end.)

When Bush was re-elected four years, Katie Couric dressed in black in mourning for the nation. She expressed her massive depression and it took some time to get out of it.

That's one way those who voted for McCain can respond to the events last night. However, there's a biblical example that is much better.

You might remember when David's child through Bathsheba became sick, he wept and fasted and prayed for seven days. His assistants were afraid for him and when the baby died they were afraid to tell him. But he saw their faces and he knew. The bible says in 2 Samuel 12:20, "Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped. He then went to his own house." David
asked for food and his servants fed him and asked him how he could respond so.
He explained in so many words that when the issue was still undecided he did all that he could to influence it, but now that it was over he could only trust God and get on with his life. That's what McCain supporters should do; worship God and get on with life.

Daniel 2:21 tells us that God "changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings."

Ruby Tuesday from Janell




An image of the red white and blue. This flag flies over the northwest corner of the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. I don't know it's dimensions, but it's huge. It's really a graceful thing to watch on a breezy day.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! Get out there and vote FOR McKain / Palin!!!

I really mean it. Cliff and Mr and Mrs LZ;- And all of you local people out there who read this blog but never reveal yourselves (I believe Cliff calls them "blurkers") stop reading right now and get to the polling places. Vote for McKain / Palin.

Really, there is nothing more interesting to read here... so get going...!

Really; it gets totally boring from now on.

I'll leave a light on for you if you have go late in the day...

God bless America!

ON Halloween, we were encouraged to dress up to come to work. I went as Rosie the Riveter, but I discovered that many young people had never heard of her. So I wrote this little essay and handed out copies of it to those who didn't know Rosie.

I also included images of the two paintings that I refer to, but I can't get them to paste into this post. If you want to see the paintings, Google or Yahoo! search "Rosie the Riveter" and "Norman Rockwell."

Rosie the Riveter

20 years before John F. Kennedy delivered his famous lines, Rosie the Riveter lived by the statement: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

“Rosie the Riveter” represents the more than six million women who entered the American work force when American men left to fight in WW II. A Michigan factory worker by the name of Rose Will Monroe was the inspiration for J. Howard Miller’s poster painting in 1942.

Miss Monroe worked as a riveter in the Willow Run Aircraft Factory in Ypsilanti. She starred in a promotional film about the home front effort in the US and it is her image that was used in the accompanying poster campaign.

There is another “Rosie” who appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post May 29, 1943 in this painting by Norman Rockwell.

Note that under her foot, is a crumpled copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
Mary Doyle Keefe posed for Rockwell for this painting when she was 19 years old. She worked as a telephone operator in Arlington, Vermont.
When American wives, mothers and sisters began to see their men go off to fight in the European and Pacific battle fronts, “Rosie” went to work in American industries, such as munitions factories, shipyards, lumber mills, steel mills, farms and foundries.

During the years of WW II (1941-1945) the real “Rosies” produced 269,429 airplanes; 102,351 tanks; 372,431 artillery pieces; 47 million tons of artillery ammunition; 87, 620 warships; and 44 billion rounds of small arms ammunition.

Rosie had a job to do and she got it done. When the fighting men came home, most of the Rosies vacated their traditionally male dominated jobs and returned to homemaking. Many, however, had proven to themselves and to others that women were more capable of tackling heavy industry jobs than had been previously been believed. She is said to have paved the way for women who wanted to pursue employment outside the home.

A Sunday Funny from Janell

I was visiting with Merry T., our County Clerk at church this morning and we were discussing the voting. She said that in our county, she has had over 1,900 early voters so far. The most she's had in the past is 14. (That's fourteen).

Mary Lou asked her, "Where is everyone coming from? Is ACORN bringing them in?"

She said, "No, we haven't seen any ACORNS."

Mary Lou's husband said, "No? But I'll bet you've seen a lot of nuts!"

Merry had to agree with that!

f-Stop Friday
(One day late - my bad)

A view of the Forest behind my back yard



It's not really a forest, it's actually a windbreak. But windbreak doesn't start with "f", so today, it's a forest. Bubba and I like to ride through here. It's nice and shady. But in deerfly season, it's nearly unbearable. We really get swarmed.

The fallen ones you see got blown down in the early spring when we had a windstorm.

Have a good weekend, everyone!