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My Great American Town Tour
  My Great American Town Tour is of Enid Oklahoma.
President Grover Cleveland designated September 16, 1893, as the date of the "run." On that day, an estimated 100,000 people rushed in from the borders to stake a claim. They came by horse, train, wagon, and even on foot, all trying to claim the best farmland or town lot. Many of the hopeful settlers remained landless, shunning the rough terrain in the western part of the Outlet. By the end of the day, farms were being established, and the cities of Enid, Perry, Alva, and Woodward had risen out of what had been virgin prairie the day before. Enid is located in Northwest Oklahoma approximately 87 miles NW of Oklahoma City. We are located in Garfield County,
estimated population of about 47,045, and Enid sits at an elevation of 1,246 feet
Garfield County Courthouse Downtown Enid
on the National Register of Historic Places.
Some of Enid's Landmarks, the giant grain elevators that dot
the towns skyline. They are some of the largest in the world
check here for continued tour
The BIG 200
 I know, you thought this was my birthday! What can I say? This is my 200th blog post, one year to the month from when I posted my first. At that time I thought, "Now what am I going to post about?" I really thought I was going to have a hard time finding something to say that someone might read. I feel like I have found some really great friends who have as varied a blog as I do. I really look forward everyday to reading their blogs and seeing what their homes, towns, families and hobbies look like. We all seem to have a sense of humor that can give each other an occasional chuckle or give support when needed. I feel my life is enriched by having such nice blogging friends. I thank my son for getting me into blogging. I wish I had his sense of humor and way with words. (I also wish he had taken me along on their trip to Cancun. Can you imagine him leaving his mom at home in the Oklahoma heat while he, his wife and friends lounge on a beautiful beach?) On this momentous occasion, I thank all those who come to my site to see what I have to say or show you.
Humor All Around Us
 There is so much humor all around us in our daily lives that I really don't find much need to make things up. It just takes practice to learn to focus on spotting that humor, especially the stuff that so many people miss because they are too busy thinking or worrying about other things.
author unknown
Pour a can of Coca-Cola
 * In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
* You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.
* To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.
* To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
* To clean corrosion from car battery terminals. Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
* To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
* To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the ham is finished, Remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.
* To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, And run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.
FYI:
* The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. Its Ph is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days. * To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.
* The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years
Drivers License Please
 I pulled into a space in front of this vehicle, at a
garage sale and when I looked up, see what I saw?
Look Closely!
Curtain Rods - Priceless
 She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases. On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things. On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candle-light, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of spring-water.
When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left. When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days.
Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out.
Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned.
Air fresheners were hung everywhere.. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting. Nothing worked!!! People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit.
Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move.
A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local Realtors refused to return their calls.
Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place. The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back.
Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork.
A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home...........
And to spite the ex-wife, they even took the curtain rods!!!!!!
I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING, DON'T YOU?
Get "Christmas Ready" NOW
 I know most of you have already been to a yard sale, redone a piece of furniture or bought yourself something you collect. Have you ever thought about having a Christmas that cost you next to nothing, everyone has fun and you don't have any bills to pay after the holiday. Well here is your answer - tell your family that this Christmas no one is allowed to buy a new, expensive gift for anyone! Yes, I really said that. Tell them that all presents must be from garage sales, tag sales, yard sales, auctions, handmade or made over. You really need to start now, spring/summer, hit all the garage sales, auctions, and thrift stores, that you can. Find items that your family collects, things from sports teams that they like, such as T-shirts with silly sayings, posters, glasses, etc. Pick up craft items that will look cute around someones home. You can find games for the kids and puzzles abound. You won't believe how many golf clubs you can find, bicycles, tricycles, baby toys and clothes. You can find records, cassettes and videos (old classics make great gifts). Think how many gifts you can collect over the summer for a quarter to a dollar. The person who collects cats or bears can double their collection just from items you find. You will be amazed at the silly things you can find at garage sales for brother, sister or best friend. Look at items as they will look cleaned up or painted. Even old scratched furniture is popular. Cabinets, bookcases, dressers can look terrific if sanded and re-stained or painted the color of someones room theme. You can make them match by adding wood cutouts, decals, or ornaments. Cute 2 and 3 drawer end tables for playrooms, a home office or kids room can be painted with each drawer a different color or painting stripes. Knobs can be painted or replaced. Old trunks, foot lockers, old part metal suitcases can be made into neat storage or toy boxes. Be sure to fix lids so they won't fall on children when they are open. Decoupage the inside lids and bottoms with wallpaper, newspaper or wrapping paper. When buying clothes out of season, buy them a little larger for next year. Also if you find a really good buy but it is a little large get it anyway. Almost new bed spreads, comforters and sheets are great gifts. This is a good buy if you find your color or design. Used sheets, etc.,are also great for a college student, camp or in kids rooms. Educational toys are always at garage sales. Carry a couple of batteries with you and try them out if the toy doesn't work. My family did this several years ago and the floor was covered with gifts, hundreds of them. What fun you can have opening something silly or watching the face of a family member as they unwrap a collectible. The people in your family who are crafty can present everyone with a beautiful handmade item that they will treasure for many years.
You can find nice things on eBay but be sure of the seller and their feedback. Also you can find lots of second hand stores where you can find perhaps a small piece of furniture and redo it. Used book stores will have some nice books that are good for coffee table books, on art, travel or other books with lots of colorful pictures or even on "how to" books are great. A store like Hobby Lobby will have books showing you how to redo furniture pieces in cute ways with a little elbow grease and paint. If your city has book stores that are part of your city library you will find great books. This time of year keep your eye out for church craft sales and even home baked goods are great gifts. Just look around your town and see where you can go besides the mall or expensive stores. Look for thrift stores, even the Salvation Army thrift store, is a neat place to wander around in. You can find some interesting items there. You might not think of this but go through your grocery store and fill a basket full of things like tea, specialty coffees, unusual jellies, fruits, cheeses, and neat canned meats that people don't buy a lot. Try baked goods or try some items from the oriental or Mexican shelves. Put all your items in a basket with a bow and see the smiles on the face of the recipient. One other easy gift is a scrapbook or photo album full of family pictures or have each child do a personal drawing or painting and frame them - grandparents will love these. Imagine how your children will feel if they make your presents and you display them in a prominent place. They will be so proud. This is a very good way to teach your children that the purchase is not as important as the thought.
The year we did this, we had several hundred packages under the tree and we laughed all morning at some of the presents. It was a really fun time and the kids loved it and we had absolutely NO BILLS, NO CREDIT CARD DEBT or empty bank accounts. Try it one year and you will be hooked!!!
Attention Ladies
 Be the kind of woman
that when your feet
hit the floor each
morning the devil says
"Oh Crap, She's up!"
Today's Thrifty Treasures
 See what a lot of others got this last weekend As you can see there wasn't much out there this weekend.
Friday it poured down rain and just about everyone took their things in.
Saturday wasn't a whole lot better (no last weekend for sure).
I got the two birdhouses for $1 each, two brand new photo albums for $1 each
and the cute 4th of July box of solid wood for $3. Some weekends "got it"
and some "don't"!!!
Fridays Foto
 1989Taking a break at the ruins of the public toilets (biblical days) at Ephesus, Turkey.
L to R, Me, my daughters friend and my daughter.
Do you have a great Foto for Fridays? If you do post it and let us all take a look!
America's Problems Solved......
 This is from an article in the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper on Sunday (or so the person who sent it to me said). The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?"
I think this guy nailed it!
Dear Mr. President:
Please find below my suggestion for fixing America's economy.
Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:
Pay attention!
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings –
Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered –
Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage –
Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!
If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...
Reheating Tips
 Reheat Pizza. Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza.
Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster. I also put a half teaspoon of water on the plate if I am reheating a piece of meat (steak) in the microwave. This makes the meat be a little more moist.
Tops U.S. Car Sales
 I wonder if you are ready for this one?
According to FOXNews.com
Tops U.S. Car Sales Little Tikes Cozy Coupe
Sunday, June 07, 2009
A classic toy car is being inducted into an auto museum in Cleveland - and it outsold every other car in the U.S. in 2008.
The Cozy Coupe, a plastic cherry-red sports car, allows toddlers to sit on a bench-style seat and poke their legs through to the ground. When they start walking, the car begins to go. On Saturday, it will take its place next to historically significant automobiles at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum. The Cozy Coupe sold 457,000 units in 2008, topping the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. In the '90s, it outsold both the Accord and Ford Taurus. It would land in the top-20 best-selling models of all time, if considered, having sold more than 10 million units in its 30-year history. The museum will house one of the first Cozy Coupes to come off the production line in 1979. The Cozy Coupe is made by The Little Tikes Co. in Hudson, Ohio.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Weekend Garage Sale Treasures
Does This Work?
 I saw these solutions and I have NOT tried them. They sound plausible. If you have ever tried one of them let us all know how it worked. If you haven't, try it and lets see if they work.
No More Mosquitoes: Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth.
Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
Dish Rack- Organize childrens coloring books and art supplies in a dish rack. Stack the books like plates, between the prongs. Store markers, crayons, and pencils in the utensils caddy.
Sand- Fill a large bucket with builder’s sand and pour in a liter of motor oil. Plunge spades, hoes, rakes, and other tools into the sand a few times to clean them and lubricate them. To prevent rust, you can leave the tool blades in the sand for storage.
Sponge- Sponges aren’t just for wiping up spills! Another use is to keep potting soil in place. Simply trim a sponge to a square slightly larger than the drainage hole of a pot. Put the sponge over the hole before filling the pot with soil. Excess water drains out, but the soil stays in!
Caption That Photo
 Here is the June photo for your clever captions. Give it your best try!Jim: "Get me outta here!!" grannyann: "I can't remember a thing that happened last night!" Retired One: I thought I was in the World's Greatest Model Show... "either you're IN or you're OUT".... Sharon: Presto Kitty wonders where his magic wand went. Julian: Weird! I got through here yesterday. Does my arse look big in this fur? Marissa: Christopher Robin, Eeyore, just push a little harder and I can make it!
Are Your Kids Bored Already??
 More Works-For-Me Wednesday tipsAre your children already proclaiming they are BORED?
Did you know 60% of nursing home residents have no visitors at all? A
weekly visit from someone could help these folks have a much more satisfying life.
We have a place called Leonardo's Discovery Warehouse, it is a hands-on arts and sciences museum located in downtown Enid. It was started by Astronaut Owen K Garriott's mother and the Garriott family. They have 7 weeks of summer camp with themes like Modern World Wonders, Middle Age Wonders, Ancient Wonders, Original Wonders, Universe Wonders, Underwater wonders and Natural Wonders. My grandson is going to this. Learn while you play at Adventure Quest, the outdoor science park that's also one of the largest playgrounds of its kind in the world!  See if your town has a museum with classes or camp. Check with your local Library for classes.
You might try lessons like horseback riding, swimming, dance, tennis, golf, Scouts, skating, Community theatre, Tae Kwon Do, Cheer, Twirling, Gymnastics, etc.
Another Tooth Fairy Visit
 Had to post the latest....Grandson's other loose tooth came out yesterday. He called and told me about it coming out with some food. He did promise me he would go to sleep early so the tooth fairy could come by and leave money.
A Bird House Day
I thought at first my couple of Saturday garage sale treasures weren't worth showing
but I changed my mind so here they are: The bonnet has "Annie" in wooden letters glued to it
The yellow bird house is metal. The little Uncle Sam is made of metal and so
is the bottom bird house.
They all did come out cute on the little narrow
metal bakers rack (a previous garage sale)
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My Great American Town Tour is of Enid Oklahoma. 
