SHOWERS AND STORMS

#3 and her good Ruston friends gave a "Baby Shower" for her best friend this afternoon. We had a wonderful time with ML and lots of her family. She left here with her vehicle loaded down with "Baby Necessities & Goodies". The shower was a success-now we brace for the storm.

There will be plenty of books to read as this little princess grows up.

Table full of goodies and LOOK ducks floating in the punch!

Here are the high school friends-minus one. It seems the MIA had delivered her own babino yesterday. These girls have been friends for a long time-including being in each other's weddings. Old friends are Gold Friends.

Momma To Be, Grandmother To Be, & Great Grandmother To Be

# 3 is excited to meet the "Wee One" when she arrives-but for now she is content to just pat her Momma's tummy.

The town is loaded with evacuees. We have our #1 DIL's Mother up from Baton Rouge. The ironic twist is that # 2 has gone to Baton Rouge to work in food service during the storm. I have vivid memories of Katrina and the lives I crossed during that time. We are all praying for a quick passing of the storm with a minimum of damage. Very proud of our state for the orderly way that this emergency is being handled. My friend, Mona works for the Louisiana Social Services. She is working 12 hour shifts in the largest shelter in Shreveport which includes a 45 minute drive. A few of the local churches with shower and large gym facilities are serving as shelters as well as the local civic center. All of the hotels and restaurants are full and the road still have a steady stream of people headed North. There is LITERALLY no room in the Inn in Louisiana. Tomorrow will bring the storm-but we are prepared and pulling together. All for one and one for all!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU to the Obessive Food Critic for offering us a place to stay! You meet the nicest people on these blogs!

LIFE GOES ON AS DISASTER LOOMS!

We are getting ready for ML's Baby shower, while impending doom is hanging over us. We have National Guard units passing through on their way to South Louisiana. The local emergency situation units are meeting and organized. We have all volunteered to help when needed. The pantry is stocked and the tanks are full-we are as ready as you could ever be! Meanwhile life goes on!

Tomorrow is the day for the shower. I have spent my day giving orders and lining things out for the party. ML came by today and she and # 3 went for a walk. Shades of yesterday!

Thought you might enjoy the latest creation by Lora's Floras. I even surprise myself sometimes with the ideas that I come up with. Gerber daisies and ducks-HOW MUCH MORE BABISH COULD YOU GET!

SOOOOOOO-WHAT DO YOU THINK??????

WHO'S BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR???????

Who's been sitting in my chair? Who's been eating my food? Who's going to sleep in my bed?

IT'S NUMBER ONE DAUGHTER!!!!!!!

Home for a weekend. Time for best friend Mary Lou's baby shower. How in the world did these girls EVER get old enough to be married-----much less having babies!

Welcome Home, CCCJ----I Know you have missed this heat and humidity & we ordered up a hurricane to make sure you felt really at home!

As "Herself" would say GOOOOOOD TIMES!

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES!

Here we go again! De Ja Vu to three years ago this weekend. Louisiana seems to be in the direct path of Mr. Gustav. As life time Louisiana residents, we realize that a hurricane is a very unpredictable monster. You never know, for sure, where it will hit. Mother Nature likes to be in control and she is definitely in control when it comes to hurricanes. Here is the latest posted picture of Gustav bearing down upon the Gulf of Mexico. If you have ever been to the beach on the Gulf, you know how warm that water can be. Hurricanes love warm water and feed off the tropical weather that we live with day to day.
This image provided by NOAA taken at 3:45 a.m. EDT Thursday Aug. 28, 2008 shows Tropical Storm Gustav located about 80 miles east of Kingston Jamaica.

Here is the potential track of Mr. Gustav-but you will note how large the potential strike zone is. The latest weather report has the hit to be more in central Louisiana and not New Orleans, which is on the East side of the state. No matter where it hits-it is trouble! If the hurricane continues North, we could feel the effects with large amounts of rain and possible tornadoes which spin off the storm.

I well remember three years ago when Katrina and then Rita hit. I worked in the local Red Cross shelter for four weeks at which time they moved the remaining residents to Shreveport. There is no way to tell you about that experience. I watched displaced residents day in day out try to sleep in a room with around 250-300 people in it. As much as we all tried to make it a tolerable situation, it was horrible at best. I had to take a bank of immunizations since there was a danger of all kind of health problems with people jammed together like that. I have a memory of cars packed tight with all that the evacuees had left in the world. Babies crying, sick children, the elderly with numerous health concerns, some less than upright citizens, and on and on. The school age kids had to attend school locally since there was no way to know when they could go back home, much less back to their schools-new home, new school, no friends-HOW SAD. Their were no showers in the local shelter, so they bused the evacuees to the local university to use their showers. Think about it-you have to get your stuff all together, climb on a bus, and go across town to shower. This meant laundry-LOTS of laundry-towels and linens that had to be washed, dried and folded. The entire process was beyond any words that I might have to describe it all.

Pray for our state and the South Louisiana residents as the storm bears down upon us. Three years after Katrina and Rita-we have still not recovered and now another storm is bearing down. PRAY FOR LOUISIANA!

MY GOOD DEED FOR THE DAY!

I wish I had a scanner. I would show you the ad I saw in the local paper tonight. An avid paper reader, I was spending the 15 minutes it takes to read through our local daily (why is it a daily when they do not have a Saturday issue?) When I came across the following ad-

LOST DOGS

MISSING SINCE

AUGUST 14th

THEY WERE LOST NEAR COOK BAPTIST CHURCH

IF FOUND,PLEASE CALL ........ OR .....

They had the pictures of these 2 really cute dogs named Toula and Delilah. Since I read EVERYTHING in the paper, I also read this ad. WAIT,........I think I saw this dog in my driveway yesterday. Yes-I heard a dog howling and went out and looked and saw the little fellow. He ran off, but when I saw the ad, I knew it was him (or her). The dog had disappeared, so I just thought if I see him again, I will call.

Our neighbor walked over a few minutes later with his grandson and when I went to the door- TOULA was with him. We agreed this was the lost dog and I called the owner. Noone was home, so I just left a message. "I may have found your dog, call me". Within 5 minutes, I received a call and here comes the owner.

You have never seen such a happy reunion after a two week absence. Toula had managed to get about 2 miles -as the crow flies-and down a BUSY US highway. I thought the man was going to cry. That made my day! I had reunited a dog and his owner, a REALLY thrilled owner. The sad thing is Delilah was not with Toula which was slightly distressing for Mr. Owner. As they drove off in the blue truck, though, headed to see Toula's Mistress, all seemed to be right with the world.

For ONCE it truly paid to have read the paper and hopefully someone out there did the same thing and Delilah will soon be home also.

Once a Girl Scout-Always a Girl Scout

OPEN LETTER TO MR/MS SPAM

Dear Special Friends in the World of Spam,

Your continuous flow of several hundred emails each and every day have me in a state beyond flattered-more like a state of flabber-gasted. The obvious interest you have in me and concern for my betterment have me in a state of bewilderment and wonder. What I am wondering is why in the world you keep sending all of these emails when I never read them, much less respond to them and certainly have no intention of buying any of your products. Really-if I spent the entire day everyday reading, I might could peruse all of the information you are bombarding me with. Since that will never happen, let me clear up a few things about me for you and perhaps you will see the futility of your efforts.

Your concern for my education is quite amazing. Since I now am counting the days until I can finally draw a monthly check from Uncle Sam and have been retired from gainful employment around 10 years, I have no plans to change careers. Your mention of a degree for a creative mind did prick my interest, but I once again realized-I LIKE TO PLAY & DO NOT WANT TO GO BACK TO WORK!

I really appreciate your multiple offers for new credit cards, but am a little confused since you also want to help me with debt relief including bankruptcy counselling. Perhaps it is just me, but I find it a little mystifying that you want me to charge on additional cards, but then knowing that I am over my head in debt, want to offer some relief to me with a repayment plan/stick it to the credit card companies.

Your offer for a free dinner at Outback, Red Lobster, Chilis,..........sounds wonderful. Will the free dinner come before or after I try the scores of Diet plans and schemes that you send each and every day? First you need to fatten me up-and then you tell me I am fat-WHICH IS IT?

I guess you have spotted my picture somewhere on the World Wide Web since you have made an offer for free cosmetic samples. I really make an effort to keep my picture from being seen for this very reason. You also must have recognized the fact that I wear work out gear a great deal of the time-except when I am in blue jeans. This must have resulted in your offer for the gift card to Macy's and Sears.

The many and varied vitamins, minerals, and wonder supplements are actually quite enticing. You do realize that I take three handfuls of these very products already on a daily basis? As my doctor friend has informed me, I have the most expensive liquid waste known to mankind. Speaking of waste, while the berry colon cleansing is certainly a novel idea-I prefer to ingest my berries the old fashioned way-by mouth.

Your countless emails concerning my making money on-line are really entertaining. As yet, I have not seen one red cent from any advertiser or product-not even an offer for a free product or discount on said products. The computer you have offered while tempting seems redundant-HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT YOU ARE SENDING THIS TO ME ON MY COMPUTER?

Finally let me just close with the fact that I AM MARRIED and therefore am not interested in Single Dating. While I am sure that Marie and all of her counterparts are quite lovely girls, I am not interested in seeing their pictures. I will not be needing any Male Enhancement Products-FOR OBVIOUS REASONS!

Again let me thank you for your incredible interest in me and my life. Perhaps though you should do a little research into your advertisement target and quit filling my Spam Box with your cheery little emails.

In short-GIVE ME A BREAK!

Sincerely,

Your Faithful Deleter

NAPOLEON COMPLEX-A BUNCH OF BALONEY?

One of my favorite things to do is "People Watch". I love observing fellow travelers in the world around us. This weekend I spent a lot of time observing the Grands' dogs. Here they are in all of their glory Big Sugar, a Great Pyrenees and Henri, a dachshund-the Mutt & Jeff of the dog world.

Henry does not seem to understand that he is a little dog or that Big Sugar could take him out of the picture in one swift second. Henry is the most aggressive of the two and only admits his height and size difference when it brings him the advantage over Big Sug. I spent a lot of time watching them "play" and laughing while visiting the grands.

This started me to thinking about the Napoleon Complex of the Short Man Syndrome. There is a school of thought that short men become aggressive due to their size, in an effort to assert their dominance in a taller society. Named for the notorious ruler, Napoleon, I found this interesting article on the net about the misconception about Napoleon's actual size:

Napoleon complex
British propaganda of the time depicted Napoleon as of smaller than average height and the image of him as a small man persists. However, confusion about his height has arisen as the French inch of the time equalled 2.7 centimetres, whilst the Imperial inch is 2.54 centimetres.[110] According to contemporary sources, he in fact grew to just under 1.7 m, around average height for a Frenchman at the time.[111][note 24] Napoleon's nickname of le petit caporal has added to the confusion, as non-Francophones have mistakenly interpreted petit as its literal meaning of "small". In fact, it is an affectionate term reflecting on his camaraderie with ordinary soldiers.[note 25] Whether truly short or not, Napoleon's name has been lent to the Napoleon complex, a colloquial term describing a type of inferiority complex. WIKIPEDIA

BC is not a tall man in statute, but I have never known a taller man when it came to being a real man. He is my hero, my rescuer, and the man of my dreams. I never think about how tall he is or isn't. If I need something up high, he knows how to climb the ladder and he has always been my staunchest defender-taking on painter, carpenters, yard men, you name it-he comes to my rescue and makes sure I am not mis-done. While certainly an extrovert, he is not aggressive toward others and never a bully-well except for maybe political discussions. (That is another subject). A kind and generous man-I don't think he ever feels the need to compensate when around others of greater height.

Henry consider Big Sug his playmate. To pursue his friend, he has to leap straight up in the air, but that he does. He grabs for jowls, ears, tail, anything sticking down far enough to grab onto and starts the game. Big Sug is a gentle giant, but almost always lets Henry get the best of him. Henry has learned that when he has pushed too far-he can just run under the coffee table or anything else lower than a small horse and get away from Sug. Henry has also figured out that he can just get up under Sug and attack from that vangate point and Sug can not get to him, as shown below. It is quite the sight to behold.

You will note in the picture below that Henry's entire paw is inside Sug's mouth, yet he seems unaware and is going in for the kill. Occasionally you see Sug pick Henry all the way up off the ground and start to walk off with him. The humans always come to Henry's rescue then. I know Sugar wonders why in the world no one ever says anything when the little dickens is hanging on to his jowls and biting away. Henry doesn't realize how small he is, but Sugar does not realize how big he is.

Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if we all focused on each other's personalities and became unaware of the physical traits we all possess. How great would the world be if we only looked into the eyes of each other and searched for the hearts and souls instead of the outer man? Sadly I don't think this will ever be-but for now I will continue to watch and wonder about those that I pass on my journey through this world. How big are you?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY GRAND!

ohhhhhh-I've been sneaky! We made a flying trip to Austin for #2 Grand's 6th BD celebration this weekend & I didn't tell you. Not only that, but Saturday was SUCH a full day that I did not get anything posted. As the kids would say, "My Bad!"

We did not get to leave until almost noon Friday which put us well after 7 getting in Friday night. A full day of BD celebrating Saturday and a long trip back home today. It was all worth it and then some! Here are some pics from the weekend:

We went to one of the local party places that have all the games and rides for the celebration. Here are # 1 on the right and a couple of the friends waiting to get to the fun while Mom pays the tab.

Here is California Girl-Co-Worker-Horse-Rider-Mom & Son also waiting.

Such serious faces! BC seems to be scoping out what he would like to do next. #1 is on left and friend from school.

And They are OFF! As the checkered flag is lowered to begin the race.

The girls loved spinning in the tea pot. Personally I got sick just watching!

I KNEW bc wouldn't be able to withstand the temptation. Here is #2 grand giving him a little lesson in shooting.

Hand-eye coordination and brute strength seem to be the name of the game here. This could be the next Olympic Sport.

Three musketeers. Don't you love the looks on their faces!

This is one of those dance things where you put your feet on the lighted cube. The girls were quite good at it. I did not want to show them how you loose all of that agility and quick response time in your old age-so I stayed off of it.

DEAD SERIOUS-Brothers in a shoot out at OK Corral.

This thing just keeps going up and down and down and up and up and down and down------------NO THANK YOU ----Serious inner ear problem!

WHAT TO WISH FOR---------------------------------------------

A little "Happy Birthday" chorus with added words led by Big Brother that seem to be amusing everyone!

The Paparazzi (get it Papa).

HEY WHAT ABOUT US???????????????? Said Big Sugar (aka-El Whoppo) and Henri (aka Henry)

Part of the loot a Laser Tag that #2 is setting up as #1 watches on.

GREAT WEEKEND! The thing dragging behind me, if you should see me tomorrow-is my tail!

I'LL TELL YOU A STORY!

I have a story-a fairy tale- of a sweet young girl and a handsome wonderful boy. Their paths crossed-as if all planned. They met, they courted, they fell in love & they lived happily ever after. Would you like for me to tell you that story some time? It is a dear and lovely tale and I would love to tell it to you. Would you like to hear it?

The Handsome Prince & Lovely Princess-The Eve of The Big Day

I am always at a loss for words when I see this picture.

Still having fun and loving each other.

A boy, a girl, and a dog transformed into a sweet family.

Would you like to hear the story?

NOW I JUST NEED A BUTLER!

My 2 week project is FINALLY over after 6 months. BC asked will I be happy when I remodel this part of the house. I quickly told him, "Yes-for now." I do not want to even THINK about remodeling anything else for a while. Actually this completes the downstairs and everything is new and updated in the part of the house that we spend all of our time. You would never guess that you are in a house almost 40 years old when walking through it today.

The foyer had the wallpaper ripped out, new paint, new front door, and remodeled closet. What was a "coat closet" since we have been here has had a transformation. Who uses a coat closet anymore?? We certainly didn't and it was a very inefficient use of space. I had shelves built and I now store my cleaning stuff (part of it anyway) and lots of stuff for my flower arranging. The picture below shows the end result. The shelves are movable-so if my hobbies change later-I can adjust accordingly.

The kitchen had a closet in it that served as a utility closet with a work bench. I used it for storage of various stuff and not very efficiently. It also had the MUCH HATED Louvered Doors. Those things are just dust catchers. I finally have replaced every louvered door in the down stairs with solid wood panel doors. My brilliant idea was to take the doors out, case in the opening, add a cabinet and shelving and with a little lighting-A Butler's Pantry.

This is one of my favorite things about my remodeling. So much more efficient use of space. I plan to use this for serving drinks or coffee when we have parties, showers, family gatherings, etc. There is under the counter lighting under the shelves and track spot lights in the ceiling. The cabinet gives storage for serving pieces, linens, napkin rings & silver. I REALLY LIKE THIS PART OF THE NEW KITCHEN!

The cabinet and drawers will have black hardware which matches the kitchen hardware. Mr. Painter ran off with the hardware, but is coming tomorrow to put it in its' place.

I will save the kitchen for a later post after all as long as this all took-it should be more than one post!

NOW ALL I NEED IS A BUTLER!

I NEED SOME OF THAT TAPE!

In the countless hours that I have watched the Olympics this year, I have grown to love the above duo. What great athletes! I have decided in an effort to "Look" the part of being an athlete I need to score some of that Tape! If you can't do the deed, at least look the part of being able to do it. I think this tape may make me at least "Look Faster".

The tape is called kinesio tape. The latest and greatest tape invention-support, etc. without constriction and remaining flexible. DAH DAH DAH DAH! I don't care what it does-I just want to look like Kerri! I thought about using some black duct tape, but decided the plastic shiny finish might not be the desired effect.It does come in multiple colors as you see above, just like duct tape. The fact that once I got it on I might not ever get it off had nothing to do with my decision. I would go to great lengths to give the illusion of being able to really run!

WEDNESDAY'S SUMMER SUPPERS

I am not a snob about many things BUT I am a snob when it comes to banana pudding. I only eat "Real Banana Pudding". I do not want it made from pudding mix and I always want a meringue on top. It is just not worth the calories otherwise. I found this recipe in cooking light, but you can use "Fully Leaded" ingredients. I believe it is delicious both ways.

1/2 c. all-purpose flour
dash salt
2 1/2 c. Low Fat Milk
1-14 ou fat free sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
2 t. vanilla extract
3 c. sliced ripe bananas
45 reduced-fat vanilla wafers
4 egg whites
1/4 c. sugar

Combine flour & salt in medium saucepan. Gradually stir in milks & yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 8 minutes or until thickened. (CAREFUL-the pictures below I over cooked the pudding) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. THIS MY NOVICE FRIENDS is an old fashioned custard.

Arrange 1 c. bananas in bottom of 2 qt. baking dish. Spoon 1/3 pudding mixture over, top with 15 vanilla wafers. Repeat layers twice, ending with pudding, arrange 15 wafers around the inside edge of the dish, gently pushing wafers into pudding.

Beat egg whites at high speed with electric mixer until foamy. Add sugar 1 T. at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves. Spread meringue over pudding, sealing to edge of dish. IMPORTANT NOTE-separate your eggs one at a time and then put into bowl for whipping-EVEN 1 DROP of yolk will run your meringue-as I discovered when making today's pudding.

Bake at 350 deg for 25 minutes or until golden. Let cool at least 30 minutes. BEST WARM!

No explanation needed for these pics & they were made with the old camera last week when cooking this for the Boersma clan. I have promised Helen another one-without mistakes this time!

KITCHEN REDO-FINAL PAINT TOUCH-UP

The "King of Local Painters", Mr. Reynolds has come back to do the final touch ups on the kitchen, foyer, dining room remodel. We have a Baby Shower in a couple of weeks and he has arrived just in time to finish up. # 1 made a punch list when he was here Memorial Day and I have finished getting the cabinet people and now the painter back. One last step is the floor people for the final coat of sealer.

Mr. Greg on the right is the "Boss Man". I found out last time they were here that the entire group is related. When I laughed as he gave who was who and told him that I thought you had to go to Arkansas to find that kind of deal, he laughed and said-well BIL, Donnie, is from Arkansas. Insert size 7 in Mouth, Lora.

High level strategy meeting concerning paint.

Mr. Greg and niece, Brandy, putting the switch plate back on. He seemed to think she needed help with this. She indulged his need to be needed.

Donnie is the man that seemed to always be working. No moss growing on Donnie.

Greg is installing the cabinet door's to the new butler's pantry.

One of the "kin folks" putting the finishing touches on the kitchen wall.

Wiping the paint up off the stone floor.

I like to see a man that knows how to operate a broom.

Once I get the final seal on the floor, I will post pictures of before & after. It only took about 6 months from start to finish. I will say that I was only out of the kitchen about 4 weeks. BC asked me would this make me happy-I must say this has made me happy. THANKS BC!