Family Friday - Favorite Family Photograph

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

FOLLOW FRIDAY FOUR FILL IN FUN - 11 December 2015

Please play along with this Friday Fill In. I hope to be a regular participant from this point forward!

The statements:

1. Being ___ is _____
2. I _____ to ______
3. If I could_____ I would _________
4. I cannot live without _______________


My Answers:
1. Being allergic to everything is frustrating.
2. I like to photograph flowers.
3. If I could talk to my daddy again, I would tell him how sorry I am for missing his last birthday.
4. I cannot live without the letter "B", for it starts (my) babies and books and both are a big part of my life.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 9 December 2015

1. Many families have a story they love to tell every year around a holiday. Does your family have one? Are you the star of that story, or does another family member take center stage? Share your story if you want.

I cannot think of any particular stories that have to be told in our family around the holidays. However, we do have two shows that we have watched every year for as long as I can remember: It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street (the version with Maureen O'Hara and Natalie Wood). These are great, classic movies and this season just wouldn't be the same without them.

2. Are you afraid to speak your own opinion?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on the situation. Mostly, though, I figure I am fifty years old now and beyond having to have someone else's permission or blessing to state my feelings on this or that. If they don't like it, they can get over it, much as I've been expected to do over all these years.

3. Pantone has announced the color of the year for 2016, and for the first time have chosen two shades-rose quartz and serenity. Hmmm...did you know serenity was a color? You can read the thought behind their selection here, but essentially it's blending the warmth of rose quartz with the tranquility of a very soft shade of blue. So what do you think? Are these colors I'd find in your home or wardrobe? Will you add something in these shades to either place in the new year?

I think that these are very pretty colors and look great together. I especially like the color that emerges when the two colors are blended together. Blue (Serenity) is not a color that I wear, but pink (Rose Quartz) I would wear. I love pink!  I think that these colors and their blending would be very beautiful in a nursery setting and baby layette. It works no matter the gender as pink used to be the color for boys and blue for girls. Read this very interesting article about colors at the Smithsonian website: When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?

4. If you could be in a Christmas carol, which one would you choose? Why?

I would choose Oiche Chiun, Enya's version of Silent Night. It is a beautiful, peaceful song and I would love to feel that peace, to go to the place that it takes my heart when I close my eyes and soak it all in.

I found it on YouTube for you:


5. December 9th is National Pastry Day. Will you celebrate? When did you last purchase something from a bakery? What's your favorite treat that falls under the heading of pastry? Do you make it yourself or buy from the professionals?

I experimented making little packages with blueberry pie filling and pie crust. It didn't turn out quite how I had pictured, but it was still edible. I had pictured them remaining like little packages, but they decided to flatten themselves instead. Naughty crust!

We love Toaster Strudel, and definitely leave it to the professionals at Pillsbury. I don't think that I could ever compete with the dough boy!

6. When it comes to holiday decorating_____________________________.

We don't start any holiday decorating until our oldest daughter's birthday, which is exactly a week before Christmas. We generally just have a tree, not any outside decorations. This year it will be hard looking at the tree and remembering how much in intrigued our little Xerxes last year.






7. When did you last laugh so much it hurt? Explain.

It was not too terribly long ago, a few days maybe. David and I were playing a trivia game and I kept getting tickled, which made him laugh, which tickled me all the more.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Jimmy Ray Gunter 12/03/1941 - 12/09/2012

I sure do miss you, Daddy…















NOTE: The link to Oiche Chiun is an affiliate link. If you click this link and purchase the CD, we will financially benefit from your purchase. Thank you for your support of PS Annie!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 2 December 2015

1. Did you watch The Charlie Brown Christmas special Monday night? Who's your favorite Peanuts character and why?

"Most psychiatrists agree that sitting in a pumpkin patch is excellent therapy for a troubled mind."~Linus

Would you agree?

No, I didn't watch The Charlie Brown Christmas special. I haven't seen it in years. I don't know that I have a favorite character, but my favorite character name is Peppermint Patty. I think that it is a cool name for a tomboy-ish girl. She's all rough and tumble, but her name is sweet.

Yes, I would agree that sitting in a pumpkin patch could be good therapy. Personally, though, I find a cemetery far more therapeutic. There are lots of things to contemplate there, wondering about the folks around and their families. It makes one realize how really quickly time is passing and what we should just do rather than wait for the "perfect" time. Often, waiting for the perfect time sees us getting there too late for the ones to whom it would mean the most.

2. Describe a sound from your childhood. What does this sound bring to mind?

Most men that I have known in my life never really matured beyond junior high. My daddy was no exception in some situations. One of his favorite games involved the phrase, "Pull my finger", which would be followed by a particular sound and smell that would leave the children around gasping for breath and giggling.

3. You've won a trip to a winter wonderland...would that excite you? Which one of the following would you most want to experience (or which one would you dislike the least)-see the Aurora Borealis in Norway, stay in Sweden's Ice Hotel, go dogsledding in Lapland Finland, take a winter wildlife safari in Yellowstone or celebrate Winter Carnival in Quebec?

I would love to see the Aurora Borealis someday, but out of those mentioned, I would most like to go on the safari in Yellowstone. What a wonderful photographic opportunity that would be!

4. Who or what keeps you humble?

We have been at rock bottom, so to speak, having to start over from the ground up, on several occasions during our 31 years of marriage. Knowing that it could happen again, that nothing is guaranteed, keeps me grounded, I believe.

5. What part of preparing for Christmas do you like the most? Explain.

I like decorating the tree. Our oldest daughter's birthday is our traditional tree decorating day. She was born exactly one week before Christmas. We didn't want her birthday to be lost in the Christmas rush, so no decorating is done before her birthday. Putting up the tree on her birthday is an important part of the day to her and we wouldn't dream of doing it ahead of her birthday.

I also love cooking the big dinner (and eating it!). In some ways, it is almost like Granny Gunter is still here with me, although I'll never be the great cook that she was. Rest in peace, Granny.

6. Gingerbread-yay or nay? Is making a gingerbread house part of your family holiday tradition?

I like gingerbread okay. It has never been a part of our family tradition, but I am contemplating giving it a go. Maybe it will become a tradition in future years and be a fun thing to do with future grandchildren.






7. What's one thing you want to start, do, or complete before the calendar rolls into a new year?

I would love to get my new business idea off the ground. I am working on some details and when it launches, I will share it here with all of you. Wish me luck. 

8. Insert your own random thought here. 
 

Mo wigi…because it makes us giggle!

Free Christian Books!

Do you like to read? Do you like free books? The answer to both questions for me is YES! I was very happy to learn of the Tyndale Rewards program back in mid-October. Since then, I have redeemed points for two books: Restless Faith by Winn Collier and One Year Daily Insights with Zig Ziglar. Both came well within the 2 to 4 weeks delivery estimate given.

I started reading Restless Faith today and look forward to spending a year with the words of my favorite motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar…may he rest in peace!

If you love to read (and love it even better when the book is free!), please check out the Tyndale Rewards program. If you click here, Tyndale Rewards, you will enter the site with my code and we will both win. For each of you that signs up for this free program, I will earn 10 points toward free books and you will earn 25 points toward your own free books right at the start just for signing up!

My library shelves thank you in advance. Have a blessed evening!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 18 November 2015

1. What's surprised you most about your life or about life in general?

I guess what surprised me the most is the fact that I ever got married. I figured it would never, ever happen for someone like me. Since I didn't think that anyone would ever marry me, I also didn't think that I would ever have babies. David and I have been married for thirty-one years now and I am thankful for all of my beautiful babies.


2. Among others, these ten words were added to the Oxford English Dictionary this year...awesomesauce, beer o'clock, brain fart, buttdial, cat cafe (apparently this is a real thing), fatberg (gross-read the definition here), fat shame, hangry, Mx (gender neutral), and skippable.

Your thoughts? In looking over the list, which word do you find most ridiculous? Which word would you never in a million years say out loud? Which word would you be most likely to use in conversation?

Hangry and skippable are alright by me, and I kind of like the idea of a cat café (assuming that the definition that I found is actually what it really means! http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/cat-cafe). I love cats. "Buttdial" has become a way of life around here as folks are always calling us that way. We've heard some very interesting conversations due to this. I think several of the other words sound either crude or downright rude.


3. Do you like gravy? Is there a food you'd rather not eat unless it comes with gravy? Do you make your own or buy the canned or store-made variety? Turkey and gravy, sausage gravy, mashed potatoes and gravy, country ham and red eye gravy, biscuits and chocolate gravy, pot roast and gravy...which one on the list is your favorite?

I love gravy! I would be one guilty of having everything swimming in gravy. However, we buy the jarred or packet variety because I still have not mastered making home-made gravy. If you want gravy that you can slice, I have you covered!


4. Do you have a plan? Do you need a plan? Have you ever had a plan fall into a trillion pieces? Explain.

I always have a plan, but there is always something in motion to show me that I shouldn't have bothered with a plan in the first place. Things very rarely actually come together as planned.

A prime example would be our twenty-eighth wedding anniversary. We saved all year to go out and splurge on that anniversary weekend…hotel, nice dinner, and the works. The day before our anniversary, David was admitted to the hospital, on death's door, and entered our anniversary with one less body part due to the amputation of one of his toes. He came out of surgery just before midnight, just in time for us to bring in our anniversary together. This started two months of stays in hospitals and a nursing home, not at all what we had planned for our anniversary.


5. November 19 is National Play Monopoly Day. Do you own the original or some version of the game? Do you enjoy playing Monopoly? How likely is it you'll play a game of Monopoly on November 19th? Ever been to Atlantic City? Ever taken a ride on a railroad? Is parking in your town free? Last thing you took a chance on?

I like to play Monopoly, but not necessarily for as long as it takes to play the game all the way through. In the past, we've had the original game, but now we have the My Little Ponyversion and we enjoy playing it with our children (now all adults) whenever they are home.
It is unlikely that we will play it on November 19 as none of our kids will be home then.

I have never been to Atlantic City. I have ridden the trains in various theme parks, if that counts. I have been in real train cars, but not while the trains were operating. If there is paid parking in this town anywhere, we haven't come across it. Everywhere that we park is free. Driving to Corpus Christi, I guess, would have to be the last thing I took a real chance on. I just knew I would have to drive across horrendously long bridges out to the island, but it wasn't scary at all.


6. A song you like that has the word (or some form of the word) thanks in the title, lyrics, or meaning?

The Old Rugged Cross has been my favorite hymn since childhood. It very much speaks of thankfulness for the sacrifice made for our salvation, for the gift that Heavenly Father gave to us.



7. In keeping with this month's theme of gratitude....what is something you're taking for granted that when you stop and think about it, you're grateful for?

At this point in my life, I can't think of anything that I take for granted. However, during my childhood, I would have to say that I took my grandparents being alive for granted. I never imagined life without them and thought they'd always be there. Obviously, no one lives forever and they were no exception. I am very thankful for the time that I had my grandparents in my life, for the lessons that they taught me, and most of all for the love that they freely gave to me.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

More of a question than a thought… Why does life have to be such a challenge for someone in my age group? I turned fifty this year and that in itself doesn't really bother me. What bothers me is being compared to 20-somethings and always falling short, regardless of my knowledge or experience or their lack thereof.

Also, am I the only one that gets indigestion from just drinking water? If I laced it with jalapenos, I would understand. But just drinking plain old Dasani or any other bottled water gives me indigestion. The tap water here causes an entirely different problem!



NOTE: The My Little Pony link above is an affiliate link. If you click the link and purchase the My Little Pony Monopoly game via that link, we will financially benefit from the transaction. Thank you for your support of PS Annie! Have a blessed weekend!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 11 November 2015

1. In two or three sentences tell us what Veteran's Day means to you?

Okay, this is more than two or three sentences, but it is what I have. :)

David, Jr., saluting the Veteran's Memorial, Wharton, TX.

To me, Veteran's Day is a day for remembering those that have fought for our freedoms, some giving the ultimate - their lives- for that freedom. It also means seeking out veterans and thanking them for their service to this country. I think that this thanking needs to especially be done for the Vietnam veterans. They endured horrendous things in the field, only to come home to such hostilities on their own American soil. Not everyone is perfect and maybe some of them did bad things, but they had to do what they were ordered to do by their government. Who are we to scorn them and treat them worse than garbage? They should be thanked for their willingness to serve and not dodging the draft like many others did.

Veteran's Day hits home to me especially now as we have two sons in service. Our oldest son has been in the US Navy since 2004. Our youngest son left us for the US Marine Corps on 1 June 2014. Hopefully, they will always return safely from their duties…The "ultimate price" is not something that this mama would be able to endure.


2. What's your favorite film with a patriotic theme woven into the storyline?

It depends on your definition of patriotism. I count it as loyalty to one's country. In that respect, my favorite patriotic-themed movies are: Gone with the Wind, Braveheart, and Rob Roy.
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3. Flu shot-yes or no? If you answered no, do you plan to get a flu shot? If not, why not? Have you ever had the flu?

No, I have never had a flu shot nor do I intend to ever have one. Everyone that I know that has received a flu shot has ended up with the flu, so what was the point in getting the shot? I'd rather just take my chances. I don't think that I have ever had the flu. I have lost many past family members to the flu, many during the pandemic of 1918 and several since then. Still, I would rather take my chances than pretty much guaranteeing that I will get it by getting the shot.


4. I've seen lots of people posting pictures of their Christmas trees up and decorated. Many stores have had Christmas on display since well before Halloween. Red cups are back at Starbucks, sans the holiday decor, and that has some people up in arms. What are your thoughts on all the holiday ruckus this second week of November?

Personally, I think that Christmas has become far too commercialized and the season starts way too early these days. I understand why retail businesses have to order things for Christmas back in May. That just makes sense. But, to start the Christmas madhouse before Thanksgiving is ludicrous. The day after Thanksgiving is supposed to be the start of the Christmas season. Thanksgiving just gets totally by-passed in all the mad rush to get to Christmas.

I think that everyone just needs to slow down and remember what it is all about. We should be thankful for the Gift that Heavenly Father gave to us on that peaceful night all those years ago, a gift that doesn't run out; a gift that you don't have to camp out for and no one can snatch it out of your hands. It comes to you, no queue lines or credit cards involved, just your willingness to accept it.


5. What 'critter' are you most afraid of encountering unexpectedly? Why that one?

Snake in our driveway. Broad-banded water snake.

This might sound odd coming from someone that photographs snakes and loves it, but the answer would be "snake" these days. Having one hop off of our dining room table and land at my feet unnerved me to no end. I don't know what kind it was, but I do know it wasn't a coral snake. At this point, they are all considered poisonous and will be dealt with accordingly unless it has a note saying otherwise!


6. Do you like building things? What's the last thing you 'built'?

Yes, I like making things. Or rather, I like assisting David as he makes things. I am scared of the drill and the saw. I would likely drill or saw something that wasn't supposed to be drilled or sawn - like my hand. I think the last two things that we built were a screen for our recording studio setup and a climbing/scratching toy for our precious Xerxes…may he rest in peace.


7. In keeping with this month's theme of gratitude...what are you most grateful for that brings beauty to your daily life?

I am grateful for my family, most especially our children. They are unique individuals and I can't imagine our lives without any of them. Laynie is our sensitive spirit and animal lover. Davey is our quiet, reserved, steady one. And Maggie, the youngest, is our wild child, our little hippy. They all have a sense of humor to varying degrees.

I am grateful for David and our 34 years together (31 as husband and wife). It has been an interesting rollercoaster of a life together. I can't imagine spending it with anyone else.

I am also grateful for the variety of flowers that grow around here and the extended growing season. There is almost always something pretty in nature to photograph around here. I just don't always have time or opportunity to photograph them.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

Have you ever noticed that nothing fun is open on Monday? Yesterday, we tried to go again to Varner-Hogg to video the grounds. Closed. We had passed a museum that we hadn't noticed before, so decided to stop by there to see what they had. Closed. We came back to our town and went to the railroad depot museum. Same notes again - CLOSED. We don't have anything against little kids and families (we think they are cute!), but it would be nice for things to be open throughout the week so that us old people can go and be leisurely, not hold anybody up, and not get caught in the middle of a toddler (or parental) temper tantrum, or have to worry about tripping a little one with the cane or getting knocked down by a rambunctious youngster. AND actually get to hear what the tour guide is saying.


NOTICE: There are affiliate links in the post above, specifically, the links to the movies. If you click these links and purchase an item during your visit to Amazon.com, I will financially benefit. Thank you for your support of PS Annie!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's Day to all of you out there. Have you thanked a veteran today? Find one, shake his or her hand, give them a hug...whatever you and they are comfortable with. Let them know how much you appreciate the sacrifices that they have made for the freedoms we often take for granted.

As I study my family's history and that of my husband, I find more and more men that have served this country in one capacity or another. I thought that I would share some of our family's military history with you here today.

Jared, US Navy. David, Jr., US Marine Corps

We do have two sons serving. Jared is in his 11th year with the US Navy in the silent service under the ocean somewhere. He is stationed in San Diego. Davey has been in the US Marine Corps for about 17 months now and will possibly be promoted to corporal in January, ahead of schedule...that's my boy. :) He is stationed in Okinawa and should be there until sometime in 2017. I don't know where he goes from there.


Both of my brothers were in service. Ray was in the Air Force and then the Navy. He was severely injured in Afghanistan earlier this year. Robert was in the US Army.

Uncle Bobby Joe Gunter

My daddy went to sign up. He was rejected due to a bad back caused by a motorcycle accident when he was 19. His big brother, my Uncle Bobby Joe, died in a streetcar accident in Germany in 1963. Uncle Bobby Joe was 24 years old when he died. His picture sat in a place of prominence in my Granny's living room for as long as I can remember. My papa kept a box with the letters that he received after Uncle Bobby Joe died along with the letters he had written to him.

My uncles, my mama's brothers, were in service. The oldest, Uncle Billy, was in the US Navy. Uncle Jerry was in the US Army in the 82nd Airborne. He got a medical discharge due to an injury he received jumping from a helicopter. I don't know how long Uncle Billy was in service, but he brought home husbands for all of his sisters. Aunt Carolyn got Uncle Earl Moore, who was a chief petty officer by the time he retired after 20 years of service. Aunt Brenda got Uncle Billy Moody (Navy) and I don't know a thing about him as they divorced when I was very little. The one that he brought home for my mama didn't work out. She was devastated. She met and married my daddy. Aunt Judy got Uncle Ken Bostain, also in the Navy. They had 5 boys, some of which also served.

To my knowledge, neither of my grandpas were in service. They were too young for WWI (less than 10 years old at the end of it). Grandpa Spence would have been 31 and Papa Gunter would have been 23 at the beginning of US involvement in WWII, but I have never heard any stories about them being in service. I have seen Papa's draft registration card, so I know he registered.

My great-grandpa William Perry Fowler, my Granny Gunter's daddy, was also in the US Navy. The ship that he served on, the USS Cincinatti, was born the same year that he was. His brother, Robert E. Fowler, was in service, too. Both served during WWI. Robert didn't survive the war. The flu pandemic of 1918 got him.

There are many others in my family that served, all the way back to Andrew Pickens, my sixth great-grandfather and a revolutionary war general.

My husband David was unable to serve due to diabetes. His brother was in the Army then in the Navy. His brother's son is now serving in the Navy.

Robert Bruce McClendon, Jr. (David's daddy) and his brother Carl E. McClendon, were in the US Air Force.

Robert Bruce McClendon, Sr.

Robert Bruce McClendon, Sr. (David's grandpa) served, but we do not know what branch. We have a picture of him in his uniform, but can't find anyone that can identify the uniform for us because the picture isn't crisp and clear. Aunt Gloria was only 9 years old when her daddy died and she doesn't know what branch he was in. Aunt Gloria's husband Franklin Mitchell joined the US Marine Corps, but did not make it through basic training due to a problem with his feet. His heart was there; his feet just didn't cooperate. David's maternal grandfather did not serve as far as we know. David believes his blood pressure kept him out.

I have located the draft registration cards for 7 of our great-grandfathers. The missing one is my Great-grandpa Andrew J. Gunter. I do not know if I just haven't located the registration card for him or if one does not exist. He had some significant health issues that took his life in 1927, but still I think he would have been required to register even if they didn't take him into the service. I do not know how long he was sick, so his health may not have been an issue at the time of World War I.

That's enough of our family for now. Thank you to all of you out there that have served and those that have donated your children to the service of this country. May Heavenly Father bless them and they all return home safely!

Varner-Hogg Plantation

Today, David and I went to the Varner-Hogg Plantation in West Columbia, Texas. You can read more about the plantation here: Varner-Hogg Plantation.

Here are a couple of the photos that I took there today. I have posted them on Instagram, but wanted to share them here, too.

A visit to the Varner-Hogg Plantation in West Columbia, Texas was today's adventure. We have been there several times over the years, but this is the first time that we have toured the mansion. Although it is furnished in 1850s style, members of the Hogg Family lived there until the 1950s. The two oldest children never married. The two younger children married but never had children. It was thought that tuberculosis was hereditary. If I remember correctly, their mother died of tuberculosis while in her early 40s. They didn't have children because they were afraid the children would have it. What a sad scene this cradle makes, knowing that the last residents of this home had no children.

What a cool bath tub! However, I know that neither David nor I, nor any adult that I know, could fit in it for a bath. The tour guide said that people were much smaller in the 1850s than they are now.

It was a great day!

A Visit to the Past

As I have battled depression over the last year, there have often been far more moments of tears than of smiles. Today, though the weather has been dreary, wet, and overcast, had more smiles. I have wanted for a long time to visit the graves of Elias Wallis Roberts (one of David's maternal great-grandfathers) and his second wife Margaret "Maggie" Gotthardt Roberts. Papa Elias's first wife Johnnie/Jonnie Cooper Roberts died when their only child - David's maternal grandfather- was about 8 months old from complications of childbirth. My goal was to see the graves of all of our great-grandparents before I joined them and today that goal was reached. Nona and Papa were the last. Now, on to the great-great-grandparents!

On the way back from Beeville, we stopped in Berclair. The Berclair Mansion looks like a fun place to tour, but they were not open today. They are only open on the last Sunday of each month...so, we were a week late. Maybe next time. This will give me some time to research the history of the house and town.

The last fun thing of a history nature that we did today was stop in the town of Goliad. We saw a really cool old Victorian house that is being used as a funeral home now. I didn't get a picture of that, but was able to get one of the beautiful courthouse there.





 I love the vintage filter in Snapseed. This app is available at the App Store on iPhone. It was a free app when I got it and is one of my favorite!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 28 October 2015

Please be sure to visit Joyce over at From This Side of the Pond to play along!


1. Are you comfortable with silence? If you're home alone, do you like silence or do you need regular background noise? Do you seek out times and places to be silent? What's your favorite place to find silence/be silent?

I am comfortable with silence sometimes, but I do like to have conversations with my husband more often than not. I do not need background noise or noise just for noise's sake. If I am home alone and it is not silent, I am very uncomfortable. If I am alone, I *want* silence. This isn't a safe town in which we live and if I were home alone and heard something, I would be sure that someone had gotten into the house. Yep, I'm a chicken! My favorite place for silence is a cemetery.


2. October 28th is National Chocolate Day. Can't let that go by without a mention now, can we? Will you celebrate? How? Let's say you can have one of the following right this very minute... a cup of hot chocolate, a strawberry dipped in chocolate, a bowl of plain chocolate ice cream, or a slice of chocolate pie...what's your pleasure?

I would choose the strawberry dipped in chocolate! I love both chocolate AND strawberries.



3. How do you feel about blue jeans? Favorite thing in the world to wear or nope, don't own a single pair? How often do you wear blue jeans in a typical week? Do you own a blue jean jacket?

I don't own any blue jeans, not because I dislike them, but because I can't find any that fit me properly. I am overweight, but beyond that, I have scoliosis. Because of the curvature of my spine, I have a huge gap in the back waistline if I wear jeans. So, I wear knit pants instead, to reduce the gap. I would much rather wear jeans.


4. Are you superstitious? If so, in what way?

No, I don't think so. I do believe in ghosts/spirits, but that isn't the same as being superstitious.

The friend that David and I are working with at the moment is very superstitious. He has a major hang-up about the number 13. He sells lottery in his store and will not label one of the bins "13". He just skips from 12 to 14. He adjusted our start date by a day to avoid having to write a 13 in the records for the check.


5. If you had to come up with a costume using only things you have on hand right now, what could you come up with?

I could be a horse wearing a huge whoopee cushion with a St. Patrick's Day beer stein hat.


6. What scares you a little? What do you do when you feel scared?

The "grandparents" in our living room, well, one of the grandpas, scares me. Since we lived so far away from my parents and my father-in-law passed away 28 years ago, our kids made their own grandparents with some old people masks and old clothes. They sit in the living room together beside the piano. The other night, I went to make sure the door was locked before we went to bed and I heard something in the living room. I looked over at the grandparents, and the head of one of the grandpas had turned to face the door. I didn't see it move, mind you, but it was still creepy!

When I get scared, I either start praying or start singing "Jesus Loves Me", and get out of the area where I was scared as soon as possible. Sometimes it isn't nearly as quickly as I would like.


7. Perhaps today will be the day I ______________________________.

Perhaps today will be the day I hit the best sellers list on Amazon…NOT! Poetry isn't a topic nearly as popular as making money and going into business, but it is what I have.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

"Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them." -Jodi Picoult


Notice: The image link to the book Shattered is an affiliate link. If you click this link and purchase this book, I will financially benefit. Thank you for your support! 

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 21 October 2015

David and Suzanne McClendon with Jared on-board. 1986.

1. October 21, 2015 is Back to the Future Day.  Did you see the movie? The sequels? In the second film, Doc takes Marty into the future to prevent Marty's future son from making a mistake. They leave 1985 and land on a 'skyway' on October 21st, 2015. So tell us, what were you doing in the fall of 1985?

We saw the first one and the second one, and not the third one. I know exactly what I was doing during the fall of 1985. We found out that I was pregnant with our first child during the third week of October and I was puking my guts out! I was sicker than I'd ever been in my life and on top of the world at the same time.

Our first anniversary photo shoot had to be put off until about March 1986 because I was way too sick in November 1985 to sit for it.

2. If time travel were possible, would you want to go to the future? The past?

I would want to go to the past. My passion is genealogy. I would love to meet the ancestors that I've only heard about from other relatives and also meet those that I've found in my research over the last 36 years.

3. We're not flying cars, but some of the technology imagined in the 80's film has indeed come to pass in real life 2015-flat screen TVs on the wall, tablets, fingerprint recognition, video conferencing, online banking, 3-D movies, motion controlled video games, drone cameras, and smart glasses (Google glass). Do you worry technology is growing at a rate so fast we'll soon be unable to keep up with its demands? Do you think the Internet does more harm than good?

I figure that eventually we'll be able to keep up with it, at least as far as we want to keep up with it. The programs and social sites that change more often than I like or make changes that I do not like, I leave, so no having to keep up with them. Gone are the days when I could handle an AOL chatroom and 10 private messages at a time!

I think that maybe there are some good parts to the Internet, but overall, it has done more harm than good. For all of its "connectedness", people are less connected than ever. People spend more time posting to Facebook than actually interacting with the people right in front of their face. It has lured people into temptations that they might not otherwise have come up against. These temptations have been the cause of many broken marriages and families. I have seen more times than I can count groups of people walking into stores or sitting at tables at restaurants and texting or surfing the web or doing FB on the phone, and not saying a word to the people that they went with into the store or restaurant. They may as well have gone out to dinner alone for all the interacting that went on between them!

4. Your favorite dish prepared in a slow-cooker? Your favorite fast food?

I love roast beef with potatoes, carrots, onions, and broccoli! A pork roast is okay, too. My favorite fast food is the chicken strip dinner from Sonic.

5. No time like the present, down time, face time, pressed for time, in the nick of time, make time, mark time, or just in time...which timely saying most relates to your life right now?

I would have to say pressed for time at this point in my life. Although the work that we do only takes about 5 hours a day (most days), it feels like 48, and I am exhausted in every way by the time we get back home. Then, there are home chores to do and food to cook and clothes to wash and having to go to bed again to start the whole bit over. There's no time for the fun stuff like blogging every day or genealogy research.

6. Tell us about a place you went as a child or younger person that's no longer there or is now something else. How does that make you feel?

I don't know about places that I went as a child. What stands out to me is that most, if not all, of the houses that I lived in as a child no longer exist. The last home that I lived in with my parents was destroyed by a tornado several years ago…with my daddy in it at the time. He survived that, but died of a heart attack 9 December 2012. The home that we lived in before we moved to that last one burned down at some point after we moved out, as did the one before that. How does it make me feel? It makes me realize how easily parts of a person's life can just be totally obliterated and forgotten, like they never existed.

7. Describe your comfort zone.

My comfort zone, for the most part, is anywhere without crowds of people. I would be a good hermit. I have always been extremely shy and I am introverted as well (two entirely different things). I do my best work when it is just the two of us together. If anyone else gets into the mix, then it makes me anxious and stressed and unable to function to a degree. I would love nothing better than a house out in the middle of absolutely nowhere, where I could go outside and breathe something other than the neighbors' cigarette smoke, and have a beautiful yard that we could enjoy, beauty around me that I could share with my blogging buddies through posts and photographs.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I do not like that our daughters are so far away during all of this flooding. Both campuses are flooding and the one has had a tornado. One of the campuses is at sea level and the other one is on an island. They're in opposite directions and we're too far away to help either one of them. Meanwhile back at the ranch, the ranch is under water, too!

Free Christian Books!

Do you love to read? I do! I am always looking for ways to save money and a few days ago while reading a blog post on Snail Pace Transformations, I learned of a way to save money on books. Please check out their site; it has lots of great information!

Tyndale Rewards, a part of Tyndale House Publishers, offers opportunities to earn free books. You do various activities on their website, such as answering surveys, sharing about their site on social media, and posting reviews about their books to earn points. You can get free books with these points.

I earned enough points on my first day in the program to order a book titled Restless Faith by by Winn Collier. It cost 65 points and should be here in 2 to 4 weeks.

They offer various types of books: Bibles, non-fiction, fiction, children's books, parenting, etc. The books cost various levels of points. The fewest that I've seen so far is 50 points and the highest I've seen is 175 points. I haven't gone through all of the categories yet, so some may be even fewer than 50 points or higher than 175 points.

Check it out! If you use this link, Tyndale Rewards, and sign up for the program (free to sign up!), you will earn 25 points automatically and I will earn 10 points for each of you that joins. Thanks in advance. :-)

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 14 October 2015

1. What's something that has recently 'tried your patience'?

Two things fit this category for me.
1. The lack of modesty in today's society is something that is really, really trying my patience and sanity lately, and…
2. Our neighbors are always smoking like dragons, morning, noon, and night. I have COPD (thanks to the first 18 years of my life in a smoking household) and cigarette smoke causes me a great deal of hardship. While they are able to enjoy their entire yard, I cannot be outside in our own yard for any length of time at all because of their constant smoking. Our yard is a wreck because I can't do any yard work thanks to their smoking. Granted, it would be an exertion trying to get things done with the COPD even if they were not smoking, but at least I would be able to do it, a little at a time. It is impossible for me to do any work out there when they've basically smoked our yard up like a bloomin' pool hall. Yes, I am cranky over this and just short of going over there and screaming my head off at them to just cut it out, if not for the health of their neighbor (me), then at least for the health of their own children.

My right to breathe trumps their right to pollute the place!

2. Do you think patience comes to us naturally or is it something you have to learn as you grow? On a scale of 1-10 generally how patient are you (1=I blow up at the drop of a hat and 10= I've got all the time in the world).

I do not think that patience is necessarily a natural trait, though some folks seem to have a great deal of patience without having to work at it. One thing that I learned a long time ago about patience is that you never, ever, ever, ever pray for it. If you do, you'll get it alright…you will get tested and refined in the fire until you get it.

It depends on what I have to be patient about. I cover both ends of the scale pretty well. I can be really, really patient if I am, say, waiting to go to the dentist. I am not so patient when it comes to visiting graveyards for family history research. I do not enjoy the former and totally love the latter, so I don't like having to wait to go!

3. Share about a time when you felt like you could fly. Or a time you wished you could fly. Or a time you felt like you were flying.

That one's easy. I have felt like I was flying as I went to sleep pretty much each time that I have been put under for surgery. One time that I remember the most is as a child at the dentist's office. I think that I really was flying then. In my hallucinating state, I was on one tooth and the dentist was on another tooth across a huge gorge (my mouth haha). I hollered across the gorge to him, "Who are youuuuuuuuuuuuu?" "Who do you think I am?" he yelled back to me. "Bo-bo" was my reply. I don't know who "Bo-bo" is or was, but he is forever ingrained as my dentist now.

4. Your favorite song with the word fly in the title or lyrics, or your favorite song that relates to flying in some way?

One of my favorite flying songs is "I'll Fly Away". Here is "I Saw the Light" and "I'll Fly Away".


5. What's in your fall picnic basket and where are we picnicking in your neck of the woods this time of year?

I do not have a picnic basket nor am I planning on any picnic, but if I had one and were planning to picnic, I would pick the cemetery in Beeville, Texas. This is where David's great-grandfather Elias Wallis Roberts and his second wife Maggie are buried. I have visited the graves of all of our other great-grandparents and all of our grand-parents. Papa Elias and Nona are the only ones left to visit.

6. Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, landscaping....which skill would you most like to possess and how would you put that skill to use today?

More choices, eh? I would choose carpentry and landscaping. I would love to have a beautiful yard/garden around a house that I built myself filled with furniture that I built.

7. What's something you think is too expensive to justify buying lately?

I would have to say clothes. They cost too much for what you get and I don't like the styles of most clothing today anyway. It either is way too tight or shows off more than should be shown.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My ponderings for this week involve needs. I can't understand why meeting one need, fixing one problem, has to cause other problems, why a fix can't just be a fix all the way around. It is like we can have A at the expense of B, or B at the expense of A, but never are we able to have both A and B. A and B are both needs, not wants. It isn't a matter or prioritizing, I don't think. Both are necessary, but taking care of one destroys the other. I don't understand why this is.

Wednesday Hodgepodge, 7 October 2015

1. It's October so let's get this out there first thing...have you jumped on the all-things-pumpkin bandwagon? How so?

No, not really. I like pumpkin okay, but I don't seek it out. I much prefer cheesecake...or shrimp. Rather AND shrimp.


2. "We have more power than will; and it is often by way of excuse to ourselves that we fancy things are impossible." Francois Duc De la Rochefoucauld

What's something you once thought impossible, but in hindsight see as more a matter of lack of will?

I can't really think of an answer for this one. There are many things that I once thought were possible, but now I feel are impossible, so that's completely opposite from the question asked!


3. The rose is America's National Flower, but every state also has its own (click here to see the list). Are you happy with yours? If you were in charge what would you declare your state's flower? If you're outside the U.S. what bloom would you like to see labeled as your country's national flower?

Yes, I am very happy with the state flower of Texas. It is the bluebonnet and they are really a big thing around here. Folks drive from miles around to see this flower every spring, plopping their babies down in fields of them for photograph sessions. This makes me cringe because of snakes and spiders, but they make beautiful photographs.

My favorite flower is a pink rose, so that is probably what I would choose if I were in charge of choosing state flowers. All of them would have pink roses. :)


4. What have you lost interest in recently?

Pretty much everything. At the moment I am in survival mode.


5. In your opinion, who's the best living musician?

I can't pick just one. There are lots of good ones out there.


6. S'mores-love 'em or no? Ever make them indoors? Last time you sat around an outdoor fire? Are making s'mores and sitting round a fire pit on your autumn bucket list? Do you have an autumn bucket list?

I like them pretty well and, yes, I have made them indoors. I can't remember the last time I sat around a fire. It was probably back in South Carolina, which was 11 years ago.

I do not have any type of bucket list at the moment.


7. Your favorite small town? Why?

I have many favorite small towns, but the first ones to come to mind are Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, and then Edgefield, South Carolina. My grandma's sister, Mae Pressley Worley, lived in Calhoun Falls and my family visited her very often. I spent several weeks with her during a few summer vacations. She was one sweet aunt. I sure miss her. Edgefield is a town that is important to the history of both of our families. Many of our family lines lived there at one point. It is in Edgefield that I believe I will find the connection between our families.



8. Insert your own random thought here.

Why do men have to be so stubborn? A friend of ours has had a stroke and will he go home and rest? NO! He was back at work within an hour of being released from the hospital Tuesday. He worked a couple of hours Tuesday and closed last night and tonight. We've all tried to tell him that he needs to just let go of the store, let others handle it, and just concentrate on getting well. But, nope. He's got to be in the thick of it...just like my late father-in-law, always worrying about the store. While my father-in-law was laid out in their back yard, his heart ripping apart from an aortic dissection (spelling), he was worrying about someone opening the store. That someone was me, when I should have been at the hospital with my husband during this awful time. But, I did what he (my father-in-law) wanted and he was able to go without that worry on his mind.

A Family Timeline

Have you ever created a timeline for your family? David and I are working on one that includes our great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, us, and our children. I wanted to see which of our various ancestors were alive at the time of our births and the births of our children. Something that David said yesterday prompted this particular quest, but at the moment, I can't remember what that was. I have a big case of CRS (can't remember stuff)!

Five of our grandparents were living when our first two surviving children were born. Both of our paternal grandfathers and David's maternal grandfather had passed away already. David never got to know his paternal grandfather (Robert Bruce McClendon, Sr.) as he died before David was born. His maternal grandfather (Leon Wallis Roberts) died the year before we got married. My paternal grandfather (Andrew James Gunter) died the year that I turned 15.

Between our first two and last two children, we said good-bye to three of our grandparents. Both of my maternal grandparents (William Howard Taft Spence and Maggie Pressley Spence) and David's paternal grandmother (Ruby Fowler McClendon) left us during this "between" time. Yes, both of our paternal grandmothers were Fowlers before they got married. Finding their connection, if any, has been a quest of mine since I learned they had the same maiden name!

By the time our last two surviving children were born, only my paternal grandmother and David's maternal grandmother were living. His maternal grandmother (Mary Bushnell) died in 2006. The last of our grandparents, my paternal grandmother (Evelyn Fowler Gunter), died in 2010. Our oldest son had been in the US Navy almost six years at this point. I was very fortunate to have grown up living near all of my grandparents and had them long enough that I would be able to remember them. Not everyone is so blessed.

Like David, our children grew up without their paternal grandfather. David's daddy (Robert Bruce McClendon, Jr.) died just two weeks before our oldest son's first birthday. He has no memory of his Papa Bruce. Unfortunately, due to misfortune in our family, our youngest children have no memory of my daddy (Jimmy Ray Gunter). He lived until 2012, but the last 15 years of his life were taken from us. At the time of his passing, we lived over a thousand miles away. They do not remember him. This saddens me greatly.

David created a chart for me in Excel (this program hates me…the feeling is mutual!) to show where our lives intersected with those that came before us. It will be fun to add world events along the timeline as well. Boy is it going to take a lot of paper to print this and a lot of wall space to display it!

Have you ever created a family timeline? How did you lay it out? Please share your feedback and ideas in the comment section. Thanks!


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Wednesday Hodgepodge - 30 September 2015

I'm trying to get back in the swing of things by blogging again. I have enjoyed linkies in the past very much and decided to participate in one again. Please visit From This Side of the Pond for their weekly Wednesday Hodgepodge.



1. Something on your October calendar that makes you smile?
In late October, we'll be going to get our youngest daughter from school for a couple of days. She wants to see a play at the college here in town. We haven't seen her, except via YouTube and Skype since August 21.

2. Food for the soul or music for the soul...which camp are you in? Tell us why.
I would choose food. For all of my childhood, family gatherings involved food, mostly at my Granny Gunter's house. It grew in me a love of various foods and family. I can't remember any holiday during my childhood not spent at Granny's house. I never had to question where we were going for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I also cherish the memory of Sunday dinners and fights with my siblings over the vanity chair at Aunt Mae's house.

3. What are two or three things you've learned recently as the result of an online search?
a. I learned about feline leukemia. Our kitty Xerxes was diagnosed with it a week ago. I have been researching natural ways to treat/cure it, all the while praying for Heavenly Father to heal him.
b. I learned that you can use bubble wrap as window insulation…just don't do it if you have kids in the house!
c. I also learned the definition of ratiocinated (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ratiocinated). It is a word that was in one of my puzzle books. I had never seen it before and had no clue what it meant.

4. Share your favorite game day recipe. You can describe it, post the how-to, or add a link to the actual recipe.
I do not have any favorite game day recipes. I am not a sports fan, so games are no big deal to me.

5. What are your five essential steps for creating the perfect morning routine?
a. Setting the alarm and not ignoring it when it goes off (very tempting!)
b. Getting to the bathroom on time.
c. Medicating the kitty.
d. Taking a bath.
e. Getting out the door by 6:30 a.m.

What I listed was more my actual routine than how to create a morning routine, but I don't know how to create one other than just getting up and doing what has to be done, whether I want to or not.

6. What small thing have you taken note of today?
Small, in the literal sense here…I couldn't find our newest newborn kitties. The mama cat never leaves them in one spot. Once she realizes that I have seen them, she moves them.

7. Sum up your September in seven words or less.
It was a very emotionally exhausting month.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Do you ever make plans, feel hopeful that they will get accomplished, get everything in place only to have something come along and just wreck the whole thing? That's where we are right now. I guess what I have at the moment is very guarded hope, or almost hope, or with a lot of work could be hope.

An Update on Xerxes

We went to visit our Xerxes a little while ago at the vet's office/hospital. He is much improved over yesterday, but not out of the woods yet. We got lots of nuzzles and purrs from him. :)

They gave him a blood transfusion from a girl kitty...I told him that it was okay. He wouldn't turn into a girl. He wasn't impressed!

His hematocrit was at 5 when we took him in and his temperature was 9 degrees lower than it should be. A cat's temp should be 101.5 and his was 92.4. He was one cold baby. He is severely anemic. His platelets were basically non-existent. He was considered bottomed out across the board and pretty much not expected to make it through the afternoon. But, he had a very positive response to the transfusion and has started eating again. Whereas he couldn't even lift his head when we took him in yesterday, he was up sniffing around and being a curious kitty today. He is eating again. Still not a lot, but way more than he has been eating over the last week.

He gets to come home tomorrow afternoon unless there is a negative turn. We do not know how long we will have him with us here on this earth. We're hoping for a long, normal kitty lifespan, but without the suffering that he has endured in this acute episode of onset.

Thank you for continued prayers!

Please help us save Xerxes.

A Horrible, Rotten, No Good, Very Sad Day!

We have a sweet little kitty, about 16 months old now, named Xerxes. Over the last couple of weeks, we have watched him go from being a wild child to a listless bundle of fur, just skinnying away.

At first, we thought that he was sad and missing our Marine and the girls because they weren't here anymore. Then, he stopped eating and drinking and just slept all the time.

We found out a few hours ago that our baby has feline leukemia. The prognosis is very grim.

Please pray for Xerxes to recover and to be fully healed and restored to the active kitty that he once was. Thank you.

Our daughter set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with his treatment expenses. He is at the hospital and has responded positively to the transfusion, praise the Lord! Help Us Save Xerxes! What he needs most is prayer and we appreciate every one of those that you could send up!