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Election Time "What If" List
 Have you ever written a "what if" list? With all the politics going on I thought this would make great subject matter for a "what if" list. If you have something you would like to add to the list just park your remarks in the comments spot (please keep it clean).
What if:
The candidates will not leave Washington to campaign.
We only had to listen to 1 debate and 1 speech on tv before elections.
Candidates could only spend their own money on campaigning or limit their funds to $5,000.
The Democrats and Republicans hold their conventions in a Washington stadium with no frills .
The candidates would stop promising things they can't make happen.
The president would be elected by the vote rather than the electoral college.
The candidates spent all that campaigning money on something worthwhile.
clipart from FreeClipArtPics
Collecting Is Making Me Crazy
 I absolutely will not buy another imitation tree.......!!!! i have to keep that promise because I am going to have to move out if I don't. I love those trees and have been getting really pretty ones at garage sales for $2 to $5. They are $75 or more at Hobby Lobby. For awhile I was collecting pieces of Bela Casa by Ganz. The plates, candle holders, clocks and dishes only, until I was being forced out onto the porch. I gave about 3/4 of my collection to my daughter and told her to sell it back on eBay (where I got most of it in the first place). Another of my collections are the old Nancy Drew books with the yellow bindings. I have been trying to get four full sets, one each for my granddaughters. The problem with that is by the time I get four full sets I will probably have about 500 books. I do have a spoon collection with spoons from every foreign and major US city I have been to. Fortunately they hang on the wall so they aren't pushing me outside yet. Why do people collect so much "stuff"? I keep trying to clean out things so my kids don't have to go through all my stuff like we did my moms. My mom was a very sweet lady but she had this problem, she collected things and sure didn't throw away much. She had a store full of material that she was "going" to make patch work quilts out of, which she did but she had enough material for about 7000 quilts. I think my mom and my grandmother were of a generation that just didn't throw things away. During the depression they didn't have much to start with. I don't have an excuse unless you call a lack of will power an excuse.
Complainers Can Pack Up and Move
Enid, Oklahoma is a neat place to live. We don't have a sea shore or mountains but we have really friendly people, no large traffic problems, good schools and nice stores. We have lots of parks, an air force base, and we are close to a major city. There are several nice lakes for fishing and boating nearby. We have a city government that is working hard to help our town encourage businesses and more families. They have started a town wide clean up program and put into place some new codes for the good of all. They are looking to stop people from parking in yards, having inoperable vehicles parked in driveways, stopping open storage, making sure yards are mowed and homes are not in need of repair. They have divided the town into areas and do extra trash pick ups from limb trimming, garage cleanup and more. This has become a major operation towards making our town look nicer. We, unfortunately, have a local forum of people who are constantly gripping about the city government and what they are trying to do. They want old cars left alone, claiming the vehicle sitting in 3 feet of grass, with 4 flat tires, and the family of cats living under the hood, is a hobby. They don't want to mow yards or fix up their homes so they are making comments that the town is living under a dictatorship and is being forced into doing the cleanup. They use terms that I would rather not repeat. I feel these people have nothing to do but sit home all day and make nasty comments about what the city is trying to do. The local newspaper that monitors the forum does remove comments that really get out of hand but I think they could do more. Yes, there is freedom of speech but a group of people are constantly knocking the mayor and city commissioners, isn't a very informative forum and should be shut down. People who are looking to move here, often check out the newspaper forums for a chance to see what is going on in the town. This group of people are not making our town look very inviting to someone just dropping by the site for a short visit. Every time we go in and make a rebuttal they gang up and always have an answer that makes you wish you had gone to the store instead. This group is often led in some of the discussions, by a man who is an identified sex offender so that shows you what kind of judgement this group has. I get so mad when I see what they are saying and I agree with a recommendation that if they are so unhappy, why don't they move to another town. A couple of the people on this forum don't even live here, so they really have no right making comments. I really wish this complaining group would get a life somewhere else or give our city officials a pat on the back for their clean-up crusade which seems to be a truly good idea.
Memories of Turkey
 When I was watching the Olympics and saw a runner from Turkey, memories of that wonderful country came flooding back. I lived in Izmir, Turkey in the 60's for three years. My, then husband, was in the Air Force and we were stationed there. I loved those people and to this day still have a Turkish friend that I hear from every now and then. I even went back in the 80's for a visit and vacation. I think about that country a lot and what a great time I had when we lived there. I loved going down into the old market place. It was like you see in the movies, dark narrow alleys with little shops by the hundreds. Some alleys were called "Gold Alley" with shops full of gold jewelry. When you looked down the row of shops it was a solid row of gold. When you shop for jewelry, carpets or clothes they offer you a chair, and send for hot tea. You sit, shop and drink tea and visit with the owner. What a neat experience. The alleys are much more fun to go to than a regular store on a downtown street. I also loved the open air vegetable markets. Their fruits and vegetables are just wonderful. They are perfect. No early picking but perfectly vine ripe and wonderful tasting. They have, what they call "string bags" that are made out of white string. You put your items in the bag and it will get bigger and bigger the more you put in them. You have to buy a loaf of their bread that is sold from a push cart and is so good. A great meal is shish-ka-bob (which is tiny pieces of lamb on bamboo sticks), tomatoes, cucumbers and bread. I am sure some things have changed after all these years but there are some things in the Middle East that never change. You can pass a camel train on a main road along with cars. You see ruins from bible times every where. Cities on the Aegean Sea or resorts are delightful places to visit. We would ride downtown on a horse drawn cart for a quarter. Izmir sits right on a bay and is a beautiful city. It is the city that in ancient times was called Smyrna and not far in different directions are ruins of cities mentioned in the Bible. A couple of neat web sites are http://www.mersina.com/Turkey/Aegean/Izmir/index.html and http://www.dikomarine.com/turkey/index.html. The people are so very friendly and kind.
Help! How do I do that?
 My image is copyrighted!I am always needing things like "how to" and a friend recently sent me these. I'd like to pass these useful facts on in case you haven't seen them. (I don't guarantee any of these but they sound legitiment). If these are the property of someone let me know who to give credit to.
1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair
2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish
3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes
4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair
5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see the dead skin and blackheads if any
6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea
7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water
8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste
9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!
10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too
11. Bee stings - meat tenderizer
12. Chigger bite - Preparation H
13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H
14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)
15. Stinky feet - Jello !
16. Athletes feet - cornstarch
17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub
18. Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)
19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!
20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper
21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray
22. Pam will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby
23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls
24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on
25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar !
26. Body paint - Crisco mixed with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, pour in to an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!
27. Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak
28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia , soak for 20 min. and let dry, will last for many years!
29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!
30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste
31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.
32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.
33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter!
34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce towel will cause the baked on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets , soak overnight!
35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate toothpaste and brush it!
36. Dirty grout - Listerine
37. Stains on clothes - Colgate toothpaste
38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup
39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola , it will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!
40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.
41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer add a little Clorox , or 2 Bayer aspirin , or just use 7-up instead of water.
42. When you go to buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie
They are:
Monday = Blue, Tuesday = Green, Thursday = Red ,Friday = White, Saturday = Yellow. So if today is Thursday, you would want red twist tie; not white which is last Friday's (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue- Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. The bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors.
43. Don't forget Gatorade for Migraine Headaches. PowerAde won't work.
Pass this information on to friends so they can be informed.
Hunters First Day in Pre-K
  Hunter finally got to go to "real" school. This was his first day at Pre-K. Is that a smile of a happy kid? This is his school, McKinley ELementary and this was the same school attended by his sisters, his mother, and his great grandmother (circa 1919 - the actual building). I was the only one who didn't attend McKinley. There is another "little red school house" in Enid that is further west in town, that my grandmother attended (circa mid 1800s). It is the actual building but is attached to a newer school building. It is so neat that the town has been able to preserve a lot of older buildings for generations to experience.
P.S. When asked how he liked school, his reply was, "I love it so much!"
Posters Block
I'm having a hard time trying to get a post done. It shouldn't, as I really don't have any "have to" things to do. I was doing PT for a few weeks but it wasn't helping my back any. My doctor wanted to see if I could strengthen my back. I have some nerve damage and deteriorating discs and have trouble walking a distance or standing awhile. I have run out of things to try except for acupuncture. Might try that one of these days. I have been watching the Olympics and am so proud of our athletes. If you haven't been watching you have really missed some nail biters. I need to confess Monday and Tuesday I did a lot of porch sitting as it was raining and drizzling. It was such a nice break from the triple digit heat.
Tomorrow Hunter will be here for the day. He starts to Pre-K on Thursday and he is so excited. To him, going to a real school is a sign of being a big boy. He wants to learn to read and play on the playground with the other kids. He is going to the grade school where his sisters went and that is a big thing also. I had to laugh the other day when I asked him what was he going to do at school and he said "roll the ball, be nice, don't cuss, don't hit and do what the teacher says." (The cussing comes from being around two teenage sisters and all their friends.) He is like a sponge and he never forgets a thing. He can repeat a conversation he heard two weeks ago. This child has such a personality and says the funniest things, he had to have gotten it from his granny!
The Tree That Bent
 My favorite tree. If you look closely
you can see that the tree in the center
has bent totally over like a bridge. (Click
photo to enlarge) It sits down in a low
spot off a neighborhood street.
Is Your Family Tree Missing Some Limbs?
When my uncle died his daughter gave me the family tree that he had spent years doing. He had drawn the squares and connected the names all by hand and connected sheet after sheet of paper and rolled it up. He had been a teacher and was one of those people who did things fully. He had, for years, gone to towns where relatives were buried, scoured the cemeteries and dug through many a book in libraries here and there. I had been moving that huge roll of paper around for years and finally about 10 years ago I decided to transcribe that tree data onto a family tree computer program. I bought Family Tree Maker and began to copy the information into the computer. The more I did, the more interested I became in all those people. When I finished that I got in touch with a cousin who had done a tree, in text form, on another "limb" of my family tree. I took all her information and added that. By now I was becoming addicted to finding people. I joined several sites that had search capabilities and the more I did the more I found. Genealogy is HUGE on the internet. There are so many sites that have information you would be amazed. During the time I was doing searching I got in touch with a cousin who I have never met but that was from another part of my family. He told me to contact this lady who gave me information on people who are related to me that I didn't even know existed. It seems my grandfather and his brother had a falling out many, many years ago and neither side of the family spoke of the other. I know he had never mentioned hardly anything about his father and absolutely nothing of his brother. I knew very little of my great grandfather until I started researching him and his family. He was a true cowboy and businessman. He started the first packing plant west of the Mississippi and would herd his cattle from Mexico and Texas up to St Louis where they were butchered. I found he had many children, most of whom died young even though he was a really wealthy man and had lots of advantages for the day but they also had to contend with many diseases that killed a lot of people back in the early 1800s. My grandfather had had lots of money when he was a young man but was not good at keeping it or passing it down like his brother did. I went as far as I could finding ancestors and finally hit a brick wall in England (but catch this, I found some people with the same last name in the town where my great grandfather came from and they are trying to see if they are related!). I gathered as many photos as I could find and was surprised at how much information I came up with after doing research, mostly on line. I put the tree together by family and passed out copies to family members who helped me gather information. I am really proud of what I came up with to pass down to my kids. They will know far more than I did. If you ever get started on a family tree plan to keep going because you are sure to get hooked and the more you find the more you want to find. It is a wonderful hobby. Following are some of my favorite sites if you are interested in looking for your ancestors.
http://www.cyndislist.com/
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/get_started/charts_forms.html
http://www.genealogy.com/index_r.html
http://geneasearch.com/research.htm
http://www.daddezio.com/records/room/
http://www.ancestry.com/
http://www.geni.com/
More Memories of Growing Up in the 40s
I was born in the Texas panhandle, out where there is not too much to look at besides tumble weeds and dirt. There is probably more now than when I was little. I remember my mom talking about the dust bowl and having to wear a bandana over her mouth because the dirt was coming in, between the cracks of the house. I was a baby and of course don't remember that, but I know my folks had to endure a lot back then. I do remember growing up and having a phone that hung on the wall. You had to hold the ear piece to your ear and talk into the phone part. We had a party line for awhile which meant there were about three other people who could pick up their phones and hear what we were saying and vice versa. Just imagine hearing someone breathing or sneezing that wasn't who you were talking to. If you were calling someone, you had to tell the operator what number you wanted her to dial. Funny the things you remember, but our phone number was 407. My town was small and you knew just about everyone. We had no television until I was about 11 or 12, so we played outdoors a lot, rode bikes and did family things. I remember listening to the radio in the evenings. I liked "Mr Keane, Tracer of Lost Persons" and "Inner Sanctum". I would lay on the floor in front of the radio and draw while I listened. We often sat on a fence at the corner and counted out-of-town license plates that went by. Can you imagine your kids today with that for entertainment? You know we were really lucky though, we never worried about locking our doors or riding our bikes after dark. We could trick or treat and never worry about someone putting pins in our candy. The elections coming up remind me of elections when I was young. The whole family would go downtown and sit in front of the newspaper office and they would post the election results on a board in the window. Candidates had to depend on their party lines being heard in person or in the newspaper. I guess sometimes they probably were on the radio but I don't remember. They sure didn't spend much money running for President.
Great Sites to Visit
Are you ever sitting around and wishing you had some neat websites to look at? I'd like to take you on a short tour of some of our family websites and perhaps you will find one that you really like or could use some of the advice found on one of them.
I'll start with Free ClipArt Pics, which is a place to find some really neat clip art for FREE. If you need just one of those little pics to make a newsletter pop or something to add to a letter or email to the grandkids. Be sure and check this out.
Next is a real favorite and a hot site: Baby Dog Names. Yes this is the place for dog lovers. Lots of names for a new puppy, articles on dog and puppy care, breed information and pictures. If you are wondering about what kind of puppy to get, the right size and attitude, this site will fill the bill.
Have you got a grandchild that you need to find a really special gift for? The Classic Baby Store is the exact place to go for the latest and hottest baby and toddler items. We also have the neatest baby, celebrity, unusual and unique names on the web.
Curtoons is one of the hottest, hippest custom cartoon logo designers on the Internet today! As the mother of a cartoonist and illustrator, I would like to invite you to browse through my sons cartoonists portfolio filled with funny cartoons, cartoon pictures, business logos, unique comic characters and clip art images. If you need a logo this is the place to go.
Not interested in sending an electronic birthday card but need a really funny paper card? Chuckleberry's is the place to find just what you are looking for. The recipient will certainly wonder where you go that cute card!
Now this is a neat website: The Diamond Engagement Wedding Rings Site. Here you can find all kinds of information on what the 4 c's of picking a diamond are, the different cuts of diamonds, how to clean rings, famous diamonds, wedding gifts, tips and flowers. Also you can read how to find a wedding photographer, choosing a gown, wedding invitations, building a wedding website and much, much more.
Wedding Snoop, will help you continue with wedding ideas and information like, vows, cakes, planning, hair styles, honeymoons and more.
How about Zoinkies? We personally select every site that goes into our directory. We choose only those sites that represent the best content and write a short review of each selection. We pride ourselves on filtering out spam sites and non-relevant information. You will not believe how many topics we have found for you and the information contained on those pages.
I will tell you about more sites later and I hope you enjoy these. Let me know if you find a favorite?
Take Time To Smell The Honeysuckle
 Other than the smell of a new baby, does anything smell as good as a Honeysuckle bush?
Another Saga of "The Trip"
There we were riding along on Highway 81 North about 10 PM, we had retrieved one of my granddaughters who had been visiting East of Oklahoma City with her Dad. The conversations were running with the usual subjects: turn up the radio; turn down the air conditioner - I'm freezing; what time will we be home? Then my daughter said "Oh Oh he got us". At that moment, the Highway Patrol blinked his lights and here he came, all colored lights rotating. As we stopped and he came up to the car, 4 year old Hunter just knew his mother was in trouble. He was starting to cry in the back seat and saying "I love you mommy, I love you mommy!" The Patrolman was very nice and talked to Hunter to calm him down while Connie got her license. Seems she had been driving 74 in a 65 zone. He just gave her a warning and was extremely polite and concerned that Hunter was so upset. Since we are always saying to him that he should wear his seat belt, I guess we will have to use different words so he won't be so scared if it ever happens again. Poor little guy has now appointed himself as the Speedometer Monitor and every few minutes the rest of the way home told his mom she needed to slow down!!!!
Go here for the first "Trip" blog
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