I got tagged

I found a 'tag' in my mail from Brenda. After reading a few posts, I saw that some people were posting answers from the whole "family" and decided to do the same so here goes:

1. Describe yourself in 7 words: 

Me-  Mom / honest / loyal / punctual / dedicated /  spirited / easy-going

Kimmy – wise / loving / calm / cute / patient / tolerant / protective

Pandora –beautiful / regal / elegant / sophisticated / royal / graceful / stylish

Macy – cunning / fast / playful / vocal / hungry / sneaky / devious

2. What keeps you up at night?

Me-  life in general

Kimmy – those dang felines that think they’re royalty

Pandora – Macy, she needs to  go away – far – far away

Macy – thinking up ways to annoy her highness the Queen

3. Who would I like to be?

Me-  Me, myself, and I

Kimmy – Vagrant, my friend from where we used to live, he still gets to run and play in the country – I’m trapped in the backyard

Pandora – Why would I want to be anyone else, I am the queen you know!

Macy –  Kimmy, then I could go outside

4. What am I wearing now?

Me-  casual business attire

Kimmy – my collar

Pandora – why my beautiful diamond necklace with the heart pendant and my luxurious fur coat

Macy – It’s a collar and nametag Pandora, just like mine!

Pandora – it’s a necklace and it has diamonds! Yours doesn’t have diamonds - peasant!

5. What scares me?

Me-  I fear that my kids/grandkids will have to face challenges that we don’t even know about today.

Kimmy – I’m not afraid of anything. I am the protector of the house and will protect my family, even those pesky felines, from anything!

Pandora – that mom, my personal servant, might go away and leave me alone with this peasant!

Macy – any human other than mom or Biz – and an empty food bowl

6. The best and worst of blogging:

Me-  The best would be all the people I have met and the worst would be trying to find time to comment on as many others as I would like to

Kimmy – I don’t really care

Pandora – Why the best would be mom posting pictures of ME, and the worst would be her not paying attention to me while she’s typing

Macy – I’m with Kimmy

7. The last website I visited:

Me-  work

Kimmy – none

Pandora – whatever mom was on when I got up on her lap to try and make her pay attention to me

Macy – I’m with Kimmy again

8. What is the one thing I would change about myself

Me- I’d like to be a little more outgoing

Kimmy – I’d lose some weight so I could have my girlish figure back!

Pandora – why would I change perfection?

Macy – I’d get bigger so I could overthrow the “queen”

9. Slankets yes or no?

Me- Nope

Kimmy – I prefer my pillow on the floor

Pandora – What’s that? Does it have diamonds?

Macy – It’s a blanket your Highness - why would I want a blanket

Pandora – Is it one of those vellux ones? I like those, they're soft, perfect for royalty to lay on.

10. Tell us something about the person who tagged you:

Me-Brenda from Fiction with a Purpose is a friend that I found a couple of months ago. Since that time, we have discovered that our lives have gone in many of the same directions. I love reading her posts and seeing the similarities. I have also discovered that she is an author and have absolutely devoured her first 4 books and will definitely be getting the rest of them. You can find them listed  here and I highly recommend them - I know I enjoy reading them!

Kimmy – he’s a dog, looks like he’s just about my size – I’d like to play with him.

Pandora – another dog! Would he let me get away with walking on him and playing with his tail like Kimmy does?

Macy – You’re nuts Pandora – one of these days Kimmy’s going to turn around and take one bite of you – I’m not going near her – or any dog her size.

I am supposed to tag people now, but I have no idea who to tag so I guess I'll tag everyone who reads this!

We got snow!

I just finished writing one paper so I thought I'd take a break and show you what it looks like here!

 It snowed last night - great big, really pretty snowflakes. I tried to take a picture of it coming down out by the flagpole but this is what I got :( .  Photographer I am not!

  This one was taken through my kitchen window this morning - need to clean my window!

  This is out the side door. By tomorrow it will probably be all gone.

Ok - break over - I'm off to write another paper! Hopefully won't take too long - seems like once I sit down and get that first sentence typed, the rest of it just seems to flow. It's making myself write that sentence that sometimes proves to be the problem.

Six Word Saturday

To participate all you need to do is describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. For more information, go to Show My Face. and Cate will explains it....feel free to explain or not explain. Add an image, a video, a song, nothing.

 

Thursday's post made me really homesick!

6 of Granny's 8 kids in front of the old house - probably around 1980

My parent's house

A little cabin that used to be a Post Office-it sits between Sneedville, TN and Morristown, TN

Compromise Church - past Kyles Ford on the way to Clinch Mountain

The old Miller Place - right beside Compromise - close to the old home place of my dad's family. When I was a kid, there was a goldfish pond in front of this house that fascinated me. Us kids would walk down the road from Grandpa's and watch them for hours.

The next 3 pictures are views from one of the hairpin turns on top of Clinch mountain

The rest are were all taken at the Natural Tunnel at Duffield, VA - just 15 miles from my parent's

5 Question Friday

Time to head over to Mama M's for 5 question Friday! She's back from vacation and I hope she had a great time!

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear and LINK UP!

This weeks questions are: 

1. Do you swim in the winter?

No - but I would love to be able to! As long as I could swim in an outdoor pool/lake/ocean - never cared too much for indoor pools, just not the same without the sun beating down on you.

2. Do you love or hate winter?

Both I guess - I love to see the trees all full of ice and snow on the ground but I hate driving in the stuff! 

3. Do you put makeup/actual clothes on when you know you're going to be home all day with just family? 

I haven't worn makeup since my son's wedding - what you see is what you get and I often spend the whole weekend in nothing but sweats.

4. How old were you when you had your first alcoholic beverage?

Very young - I grew up in a place where moonshine was still common and my granny would keep some in a pint jar for medicinal purposes - does that count? She would give us a teaspoon full when we had a bad cough. Otherwise, I've never really been into drinking that much, although I do enjoy a glass of wine at times.

5. How many ill calls in a 12 month period do you think are acceptable?

Well - I've always had the attitude that if I'm sick I'm going to be miserable no matter where I am so I might as well go to work. I did however miss two days last week - the first sick days I have ever taken on this job that I've had for 2 years. Does that mean I'm getting old?

Follow Friday Four Fill-In

Welcome to the 47th weekly Follow Friday Four Fill-in Fun Blog Hop!

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Each week, Hilary over at Feeling Beachie lists four statements with a blank for you to fill in on your own blogs.  This week’s co-host is ME! The last two statements are mine!

Hilary would LOVE it if you could please help her spread the word about this hop…. So, please tweet, FaceBook share, and add the linky to your post…

This week’s statements:
1. Nothing is better than.____
2. I ___my ___ in ___but never ____
3. Those _____ that are always _____ make me want to ___________
4. My favorite _________________ is when __________________________.

My Answers:

1. Nothing is better than the smell of sheets dried on the clothesline.
2. I put my garden in early but never before Good Friday.
3. Those snobs that are always acting like they're better than me make me want to slap them.
4. My favorite time of year is when the flowers first start poking their heads out of the ground.
   

Pondering with a Purpose

Thursday is here again and it's time to do a little "pondering" with Brenda from Fiction With a Purpose.

Her rules are really easy:

1. Grab the Pondering with a Purpose Badge (in her sidebar)
2. Look at the week's prompt
3. Post something on your blog that relates to the prompt - it can be a story, a poem, a picture -- anything you want it to be.
4. Go back here and add the URL from your post to the linky list on Brenda's.
5. Go check out the other bloggers who have added their links to the list.
6. AND most of all.... Have fun!

This Week's prompt is:                             Home?

Home to me has always been in the hills of TN/VA. My parent's house sits on the side of Powell Mountain in VA - just 6 miles from the border of TN. My Grandma's house is about 7 miles away (in TN) and was my childhood "home" - the house now sits empty with the yard all grown up - it's really sad.

My parent's house in VA

Granny's house as it stands now - this was taken last summer.

Granny - in front of the house - probably in the 1960's

 But as you know, I sort of got stuck here in IL when I married and had kids.Those were days before digital cameras and I don't have any pictures handy. This picture was of my daughter's Junior Prom and  was taken in front of the house I lived in right after I got divorced. It was in town and was located halfway between the grade school and the high school. It was perfect and was our home for 8 years.

Shortly after that picture was taken, I found the "perfect" spot out in the country! I loved that place and it was "home."

My kids said it was in "BFE"-they hated it at first but grew to love it as much as I did.

It was in the middle of nowhere

It was beautiful

No neighbors - wonderful views - but a lot of work for a single woman without any help once the kids grew up and left.

Sadly, I had to leave it due to circumstances beyond my control and in August of 2010, I bought my little house here. It's the same distance to work and 40 miles closer to my daughter but it is in town (if you can call 400 people a town). The longer I'm here, the more I love this place - the more it becomes "home."

I miss my truck but I really don't need the 4 wheel drive any more - and I don't miss trying to keep the gas tank full!

Just a little house - but it's plenty for me.

I have a great garden spot!

And a fenced in back yard for Kimmy!

So now this is home and I'm working on making it the way I want it. I do have a little help now from the Biz but the place is MINE and only mine and I LOVE it! So I guess, for me at least, "home" is wherever you choose to make it - although I have to admit that 9 times out of 10, when I say "home", I'm usually still referring to my granny's house in TN!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Wednesday! Time for hodgepodge over at Joyce's - From This Side of the Pond.

1. The NFL playoffs were held this past weekend and this year's Superbowl will feature the New York Giants versus The New England Patriots. How do you define 'patriot'?

A person who openly loves his/her country and is willing to serve that country in any way they can.

2. What's something in your life right now that feels like a 'giant'?

Trying to figure out the details of getting to England to see my grandson when he gets here - financially, when, work, school.........................

3. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think back to being 18?

Young and dumb!

4. Coconut-mashed potatoes-vanilla ice cream-mayonnaise...which white food would be the hardest to give up?

I'd have to say potatoes - they are one of my main go to staples - you can do so many things with them.

5. Describe an incident or a day you remember as being the coldest you've ever experienced.

The winter of 1977 when I was going to ISU - wind chills were -70 and I had to walk all the way across campus to classes - I'll never forget it.

6. You're hosting a brunch....what's your favorite dish to prepare and serve?

Meatballs! So easy and everybody loves them.

7. How do you combat negative thinking?

I simple tell myself that I don't have time for that and try to ignore it.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Looks like a busy weekend stacking up for me - have to write 2 papers and do an online test in one class - not sure what has to be done for the other yet. Saturday night we're having a benefit at the VFW that I have to work which seriously cuts into my time. Oh well - that's life!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

It is once again time to head over to Patrice's from Everday Ruralty for our weekly chat.

Questions

1. Kimberly asks: How long have you blogged?
2. Lana asks:What is the most difficult part of taking care of chickens?
3. Susannah asks: Would you prefer to live where it's hot or cold?
4. Farm Girl asks: What sort of things are you looking forward to in 2012?
5. Dreaming asks: What's for dinner?

My Answers

1. Since 2009, when my son and dil were stationed in England. It started as just a way of keeping in touch with them.
2. Chickens! Well, I'd say probably keeping the other critters out of the pen. Way back when I had chickens, there were always coyotes and one time we had a weasel!
3. Right now I'd say hot! I don't really mind the cold if I don't have to fight my way through ice and snow though.
4. My new grandson!
5. Well, I just picked up the hog from the meat locker so I'd have to say it will probably be pork of some sort - maybe some chops with green beans, potatoes and I just got some new bread flour so maybe I'll make some homemade bread - although it wouldn't be ready for dinner.

It's Getting There

This is  what the living room side did look like.

Living room side in process

Living room side as of today

Kitchen side - uncovering

This is what we found!

Stripping!

Stripped

Kitchen side today  - still a long way to go.

 This project is taking a looooooooooooong time! But I think it will be worth it - we're going to put some kind of onlay in the middle of the two white panels and leave the woodwork and doors natural. Have to have the bottom drawers and door built - which of course, takes money - hopefully with my tax refund!

Six Word Saturday

Every baby needs Fairy Tale Books!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

It is once again time to head over to Patrice's from Everday Ruralty for our weekly chat.

QUESTIONS

1. What's your favorite kind of chili?  - Just my regular chili - deer burger, my own canned tomatoes and juice, onion, kidney beans, chili beans and lots of chili powder.
2. What do you usually do when you feel a cold coming on? - Not much you can do for a cold - I'm fighting one right now - just try to get extra sleep and drink lots of fluids
3. Rice, potatoes, or pasta? - Either potatoes or pasta will do for me!
4. What kind of camera do you use? - I have a little point and shoot that works well - would like to get a nicer one but can't really justify it yet.
5. Are you a night owl or an early bird? - I guess I'm an early bird - Early mornings seem to be when I can get the most done.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Wednesday! Time for hodgepodge over at Joyce's - From This Side of the Pond.

1. A new Miss America was crowned on Saturday night-did you watch? If you were a contestant what would your talent be?

No - I never watch them - and talent - maybe something on the piano?

2. Do you have houseplants? Real or fake?

I do have a lot of houseplants, real ones, that I'm trying to keep alive until they can go back outside on the porch where they do really well.

3. When you were in school did you speak up or were you more of the hide your face, avoid eye contact, and pray the teacher didn't call on you type of student?

I was more of the avoid eye contact kind of girl unless nobody else would speak up and then I thought I had to.

4. Next Monday marks the Chinese New Year....what do you order when someone suggests Chinese food?

My favorite is cashew chicken.

5. How would you define a miracle? What would it take for you to consider something a miracle?

Something miraculous  that cannot be explained without belief in God and his power.

6. What's your favorite Disney song? If you're stuck you'll find a list here.

I'm going to have to say that mine is also Feed the Birds-Mary Poppins.

7. I should have __________yesterday.

stayed home ( I have a terrible head cold and went to bed last night at 6 pm and got up at 5:30 am.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Classes start today or I would have stayed home!

Making home-made noodles

Every time I do this I have to wonder if it's really worth the mess - but then when I eat them I know that it is!