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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A Boy and His Pepaw

Memories...memories...memories...

Like a boy and his Pepaw.

I don't know about you but for me potatoes have limited, albeit important, uses.  You can eat them and many teachers of young children have uses them to make stampers.  Although I like me an order of good french fries as much as the next person, that is about all the uses I can think of for potatoes.

But not  Mr. Jacob and Pepaw (alias Danny).

They decided to use potatoes for ammunition.  For a cannon.  To shoot.

Well alrighty, then.

First, they had to visit the local Lowe's to purchase the necessary materials to assemble the cannon.

Aren't those to two handsome guys?
Yessiree Bob.  That is going to be a fine cannon.

Next you, of course, pay for all your raw materials.

I'm sure Mr. Jacob just whipped out his debit card to pay for the materials.

Next lots of sawing, sizing, grinding, gluing, and measuring took place.
Sawing the pipe to just the right size.
Gluing the pipes together.
Grinding the edges to be JUST right.
When all the parts were assembled, potatoes were cut to the correct size, Aqua Net was added for a propellant, and the cannon was fired!

And memories were made.

Of a boy and his Pepaw.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Rules? What Rules?

When you go to your grandma and grandpa's house, rules don't seem to apply.,

You can eat Rice Krispie Treats, honey buns, and Dr. Pepper for breakfast and it's okay.

Television ALL DAY?  That's fine.

Highlights in your hair? Wonderful.

Popsicles any time you want.

Rules just don't apply to grandbabies.

Photo by Danny

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Of Memories, Chairs, and Neckties

I have many precious memories of growing up in Kentucky and I want Miss Emily and Mr. Jacob to have a similar storehouse of memories.  So one of the activities we pursue actively while in The Land of My Youth is Making Memories.

Making Memories has been things like picking blueberries.  Making Cherry Cheese Pie.  Making a quilt square.  Making Memories can be almost anything.

This year, Miss Emily's Making Memories activity involved neckties and old chairs.

 We started with an old chair that you can find for a dime a dozen in West Kentucky.  The one that Miss Emily is working on was purchased at the Restore in Mayfield, KY for the whopping price of $5.00. 

She begins by cutting out the woven bottom part.  Before anyone chides me for destroying a perfectly good chair let the record show that the bottom was already falling out of the chair and Miss Emily is only hastening the process.
After she removed the woven part she began to weave the ties on the bottom.


And as a sidenote, isn't that little jewelry box in the background just too cute for words!

Miss Emily would put the ties around and the seat frame and tie them on the back. And since I know that is about as clear as mud here is a video of Miss Emily to show the process.


She seems very focused on her task, now doesn't she?  And my skills as a videographer are outstanding!  I will be expecting a call from Hollywood any time now.

Miss Emily continued in this manner until she had finished tying the neckties in one direction.

The two people trying out to be foot models on the right side of this photo are my mother and father.  I will let you guess which is which.

Next, Miss Emily starting weaving the ties in the opposite direction, sort of like a basket weave. Until she had a complete seat in the chair.

Miss Emily with my completed chair.  That chair now sets beside my fireplace holding a family picture.
All those cords you see on the floor lead to my computer, phone charger, etc.

Oh, did I mention that Miss Emily is twelve years old? 

I don't know who made the more precious memory...Miss Emily or me.

Monday, July 18, 2011

I've Been There and Back

So Danny and I are back from our two week tour east of the Mississippi River and lived to tell the tale.  For those of you who don't partake in car trips, it is 1300 miles and 24 hours car time ONE WAY.  And since we did come back home, it was double that. But far be it from me to complain, but let's just say my booty may never be the same.
 
Being back in Kentucky revived many memories from my childhood.  One of my precious memories is of my late grandmother is that she had hydrangea plants beside her front porch.  When I was small I didn't know they were hydrangea plants, I called them "Snowball Plants" because to me the blooms looked like snowballs.  I don't know how I reconciled the pink and blue ones with my snowball theory but logic never was my long suit.
My grandmother also had a dishpan  of Methodist Plants that sat on her front porch. I remember the dishpan was of those white metal ones with a red stripe around the rim.  Methodist plants (according to the internet) were a Southern Passalong plant.  You were to pass them along to friends.  In the case of the Methodist Plant, you were to pass them along to show how you share God's love.

Well, while I was in Kentucky, my mom told me that she had the last surviving specimens of Grandma's Methodist Plants and she offered to share them with me.  I was planning to get my plants from her on the last night we were in Kentucky.

My mom kept the Methodist Plants on a screened area near her back door with her other plants. The plants were sitting on a ledge beside some brick steps that led to my mom's basement. On the next to the last night we were in Kentucky, a rather large storm came through the area.  There was rain and strong wind. The wind blew all her plants down onto the brick steps and their destruction  EXCEPT the Methodist Plants.

It was as if Grandma was protecting her plants for me.

But the plants were safe and I put my share in a little pot and put them in the cup holder for their trip to my house in New Mexico.


Which, if you remember, was 1300 miles and 24 hours car time.

Thank you, Grandma.  I love you.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling. Keep Those Wheels A'Rolling

So, we loaded up the Family Truckster and headed out from New Mexico to Round Rock to pick up the precious cargo of Miss Emily and Mr. Jacob.  We loaded them in the Family Truckster and headed to Kentucky to see their great grandparents.







I discovered a wonderful invention...the car DVD player.  Both kids watched movies for the entire 14 hour car ride.  Trips when Baby Susan was little would have been MUCH more easier if this electronic baby sitter had been invented back in ye olden days.


After we arrived in Kentucky, Mommy Grand and Daddy Grand surprised Mr. Jacob with a surprise belated birthday cake...


I took this picture with my cell phone so I love the way the entire top of the cake looks like it is on fire.  We KNOW how to celebrate in these parts.  No namby pamby cakes for us!  No Sirree!



And for extra effect, here is a video of the occasion.




I think hearing  Danny prompt us to say Yeah is real special.  Maybe we were so blinded by the flaming birthday cake we forgot.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Of Beans and DannyGrand

Once, several years ago, Danny and I took Miss Emily to Kentucky to visit the great grandparents in Kentucky (sort of like now.  Except Miss Emily was about 2 not 12 years old, like now.  And Jacob wasn't born, like now. But other than that it was just like this year).

While we were there she had adventures with Bernie the Dog (that will be the subject of another post), loved the lake, and helped the best she could.

One thing she really liked to do was help break beans. 


I'm sure those beans tasted extra specially good that night!