Words will never be enough......from the bottom of my heart....Thank You.
"All gave some and some gave all.
Some stood through for the red, white, and blue,
and some had to fall.
And if you ever think of me,
think of all your liberties, and recall,
Some gave all."
Arlington"I never thought that this is where I'd settle down,
I thought I'd die an old man back in my hometown,
They gave me this plot of land, me and some other men, for a job well done,
There's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road,
The man inside he cried the day they brought me home,
They folded up a flag and told my mom and dad, we're proud of your son
And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,
I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've done,
I can rest in peace, I'm one of the chosen ones, I made it to Arlington
I remember daddy brought me here when I was eight,
We searched all day to find out where my granddad lay,
And when we finally found that cross,
He said, "son this is what it cost to keep us free"
Now here I am, a thousand stones away from him,
He recognized me on the first day I came in,
And it gave me a chill when he clicked his heels, and saluted me.
And every time I hear twenty-one guns,
I know they brought another hero home to us
We're thankful for those thankful for the things we've done,
We can rest in peace, 'cause we are the chosen ones,
We made it to Arlington,
Yea dust to dust, Don't cry for us,
We made it to Arlington."
Happy Mother's Day Nanny Buns!! Love you and miss you and sending HUGE hugs your way.... CATCH!!! *RBG*
In my opinion it is one of the absolute coolest things ever! I just came from the Pioneer High School Sports Banquet - at the beginning of the banquet one of the Coaches said a brief prayer of thanks for the athletes, the families, the food, etc. At the very end of the banquet, after the seniors had received their letter blankets, the senior athletes led everyone in the Lord's Prayer to end the evening. The HS Principal announced that it would happen, the District Superintendent simply nodded his head as if to say "Of course", and no one batted an eye much less stood up in protest, gave a disapproving look, or even muttered a derogatory comment. These are not church fanatics nor are they religious zealots. These are working people - farmers, ranchers, teachers, military (active or retired), business people, etc. I'm quite sure, because I've heard many of them do it, that they take the Lord's name in vain on occasion - honestly I've heard some of them swear like sailors on leave! They aren't always "good Christians" - I've seen some of them be total jerkwads. There's a high rate of broken families around this area, and probably a higher rate of dysfunctional ones. But a prayer is said at the beginning of every sporting event and the start and end of every banquet. And if you don't care to join in, you don't have to...but don't tell them THEY can't do it...reaction will run the gamut from your being politely ignored to being the recipient of a few very "un-Christian" words to feeling like you've been smacked with a wall of ice. Rural schools and NASCAR - the last bastions of "religious freedom"! *LOL* And the last groups of people you EVER want to tell that they can't pray in public.
Last week was the Tri-State Music Festival in Enid and Saturday was the parade. The first thing you see in this parade is the color guard from Vance Air Force Base carrying the American Flag, the Oklahoma State Flag, and the Air Force Flag. Everyone...and I do mean EVERYONE stands until the flags have completely passed by. The gentlemen remove their hats and most everyone puts their hand over their heart. Our veterans proudly wear their caps and ribbons and salute. And parents bend over and make sure their children are standing too. A granddad not far from us stood a little one up, pointed at the American Flag, and said (quite kindly), "That's our flag.. you ALWAYS stand up for our flag." And then proceeded to teach his grandchild to applaud as she passed by.
These are just a few of the many reasons I love rural life...even though I'm not REALLY all that rural. Sometimes I miss being in a bigger city...and then I visit OKC and remember why I like Enid. Being back in Baltimore was exciting...at the risk of sounding like an advertisement or an old song, there's a pulse in a big city that just makes your whole body/soul/mind vibrate...and it's a great feeling. But there's also a comfort in knowing a good portion of the people in your city, by name if not any other way, and feeling safe and secure when you go out or go to sleep at night. Don't get me wrong...Enid has it's share of crime...and I still lock the doors and watch over my shoulder and hold my purse close. As they say, "You can take the girl out of the city but....etc." It's still a very peaceful feeling that I've come to enjoy.
And now I will step off my observational and opinion soapbox and go and listen to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"! *ROTFLOL* Just kidding of course...my favorite song at the moment is Brad Paisley's "I'm Still A Guy"...that song is hilarious!!!!!!! Anyways...good night...God Bless (if you choose to let Him)...and a have a good tomorrow regardless.
What is it about Lowe's lately that I can't seem to walk in there without walking out having bought some new living thing???? *L* Yesterday we went in for sandpaper and a water filter and left with two rose bushes, a pot of tarragon, and a pot of rosemary - but forgot the sandpaper! *LOL* I did get pics of the new roses and the new herbs and they've been added to the photo album site in the House Flowers album.
We took a good long look at Lucy (the bush I was growing from a cutting) and found that she wasn't rooting at all....absolutely nothing. In fact, she was drying up before our eyes. Luckily we saw her at Lowe's yesterday so...yep...back to Lowe's this morning. *G* Remembered the sandpaper this time and, of course, came away with a new Lucy. We found out that she is actually a Golden Euonymus and in the winter the golden edges of her leaves will turn red! She's a beauty and she had a nice dense root ball when I transplanted her so I'm hoping she'll grow like crazy. I'll have to keep her well pruned since I have her in a container - I'm going to try keeping her sort of round. We've discussed having Richard build another planter and maybe putting an azalea bush in it. I've loved azaleas ever since the house on Bedford Road.
I wasn't able to find any thyme but I'm still looking. I'd also like to grow some sage. That would give us a very nice basic selection of herbs to cook with. I've really gotten into fresh herbs thanks to the Food Network...especially Rachel Ray. She's annoying most of the time but she has some decent ideas and she almost always works with fresh herbs. I've become quite addicted to the taste in my foods anymore. *LOL*
And Aunt Cawnin...the sunflowers wouldn't do well in a container so we're deciding where we might like them in the yard. Once we pick a spot we'll have to check the drainage and such but our goal is to get them planted when we can!
I reckon that's about all for now. Just wanted to update everyone on the new plant babies. *L* Oh...and the yellow roses look like they're about to burst into bloom....once they do I'll get some photos.
Okay...finally got it done. I was going to put the pictures of the house flowers here on the blog but in my opinion there are a few too many for here. Anyways...I've put them into an album on our photo site:
http://no1shome.myphotoalbum.com
Just look in the album titled House Flowers and you can see pictures of all the gals and guys that are growing around here! Or at least....the leafy ones. *LOL*
Let me know what you think! Here's a little sneak peek! *G*
Whew...yesterday was a scorcher...hot and humid and totally ICK. The kind that makes you feel queasy whenever you step out into it. Today we've got the "Oklahoma breeze" going though and the temps aren't quite as high. A MUCH more pleasant day! *L*
The flowers and plants are undecided about the weather right now. I got a cutting from a woman I work with, Starla, of a bush that she has in her yard. It has pretty little leaves that are yellowish-green with a thin dark green border and I named her Lucy....not sure why but the name seems to be perfect. Richard built a wooden planter for her and though she's kind of small right now, she seems to be quite happy in her new home. She's on the back patio just outside the sliding doors and I think when she grows her color will be beautiful against the brick of the house. Laura put her tomato plants out and I think we'll be 50/50 on those. The smaller plants seem to be getting a bit wilted but the larger ones are enjoying the sun. We also put several different kinds of flowers and leaves in two pots in the rock garden out front (where the lighthouses are). Those plants look like they're doing well so far - they get a break from the sun in the afternoon when it drops behind the house. And the pansies on the other side of the garage door are doing fantastic. They seem to just eat this warmth up and bloom like crazy. I'll see about getting some pictures and post them up for everyone to see. Now all I'll need is for my little gardener man on Lookout to plant his sunflowers again and I'll be a happy girl! *L* Still pretty envious of Pete and Linda's tulips though - I just can't seem to get tulips to grow for me. Linda's are gorgeous - she has them planted all along the fence on the side of her house and she has colors ranging from a deep butter yellow to a black-red. Pete also got some pretty lavender and pink ones to bloom this year. Some teenaged girls walking through the neighborhood picked a few of them and Linda wasn't too pleased with that but she's still got plenty of blooms.
Hmmm.....maybe I should have titled this post something with flowers....."I'll give you a daisy a day Dear, I'll give you a daisy a day...." *LOL* I'm out for now! SNOOTCHIES!!!!
Aunt Cawnin wrote, "Wish they would get these windmill things up and running so everyone can just pay a price yearly for the maintenance of them. Did anyone think of that?"
The Daily Oklahoman had a headline today: " T. Boone Pickens to import water, wind power to North Texas"
Boone is known around here as "Mr. OSU" - an alumni and staunch supporter of Oklahoma State University - their football stadium is named for him and he's invested more money in this state than God could count. He made several fortunes in the oil and gas industries and while this project, a 1.5 billion dollar investment of his money, is slated for Dallas and the surrounding areas, he has a history of trying things in Texas (lives in Dallas at the moment) then bringing them up to OK.
So Aunt Cawnin, your foresight is working overtime! *L* Boone agrees with you and is working to make those thoughts reality.
Another little tidbit I thought ya'll might find interesting!
