Another Sunday...

...after serious time has passed, somehow, remarkably, I am still here.  Same interests, same goals and now I have time.  After working like crazy outside of the home for several years things are settling down and I am a little freaked out trying to commit to those goals:  a small homestead -- garden, chickens -- so easy to dream when there isn't enough time -- so hard to put those dreams into action (at least for me). For fear of failure basically. No excuses now! But I must remember that these are the dreams of so many others that cannot take action due to so many other commitments (like kids and family!).  

So we moved back to Oklahoma, after a couple of years in Colorado.  We both had missed our old house in Oklahoma but it had sold to someone just a few months before we returned.  At first, that seemed like a very bad omen and we kind of drifted about looking for places.  

We lived (and Traveled!) in our new little travel trailer.  This was in Coos Bay, Oregon, at Bayside RV "Resort" (so funny!).  

Now it all seems good.  No quick decisions.  

We have moved into a house in a country subdivision - a little weird - with just over an acre of land.  We didn't commit to buying it so we still have plenty of time but I have decided to not "put off" my dreams and goals just because we may move on.  

Goal #1 - Get chickens.  I would like heritage breeds.  Not only to do something good but also because they lay wonderful eggs.  I am considering a business where I would sell chicks rather than try to compete in an "egg" market (of which many small farmers are interested in).  

Goal #2 - Start thinking about gardens.  This property has many huge oak trees but without the horse being here, I don't have the manure for the wonderful compost I had before.  (The horse is still with us but boarded at a friends place.)

Goal #3 - Start driving my old truck!  YES!  One goal underway!  The truck is up and running and I can drive it around the farm country now.

Happy Father's Day Captain!...

...lets remember this one.  First of all, we are on the mark with weather - looks like it will be clear and warm, with a little breeze...no rain in sight - a miracle!

Secondly, it is going to fun!  (After you get your truck's air conditioner fixed..but that's the only real chore of the day.)  We can work on stocking the pond...shiners and blue gill, maybe even a bass.

And now this is the way to Grandpa's house...and who will be there?

Madge and Annie looking out on the lake in the early morning...

Madge, in a classic McNab pose...(with her milk jug)...

Annie, being sweet, and staying cool in the moist Oklahoma clay...

And we can't forget the biggest Friskie's eater of all!...Cassius...back in the winter...

Now onto the people that visit!

Precious granddaughter Ivy and Grandpa...

Can't forget Ivy and her chickens!...

Grandpa's little redneck, baby grandson, Devlin Alexander...

And last but not least, the daughter who made a lot of happiness in our lives, Holly Elizabeth...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY KAROL ROBERT MARX AKA WHITEY AKA CAPTAIN OF THIS SHIP WE CALL HOME!

Farewell sweet 2014...

...you are ending as you began...cold and a skiff of snow.

But that is what winter is supposed to be all about, at least on the plains! This was the best Christmas ever.  Not about the gifts (well, if you were 8 years old, it WAS about the gifts!) but for the rest of us, just being together and enjoying one evening ~ 























...maybe...a little about the gifts, even for the adults, come now, it is a beautiful sacred holiday but it is also a celebration, isn't it?  We spend so much time crafting or selecting our gifts that we give in love, I do believe it is also about the gifts. 

Speaking of gifts, guess what I received from Holly?...a hand drawn picture of Pope John Paul II - drawn by Sister Helena from the Carmelite Nuns convent in Oklahoma City.  The convent was closing so they had a giant estate sale and Holly got this for me plus two music books.  The 'singers edition' and the music for the Kyriale - Missa pro Defunctis - Published with ecclesiastical permission in 1937 ~ all in Latin...very cool.  But isn't this drawing just lovely, especially the eyes...

I need to get it framed right away so the wood smoke from our stove doesn't destroy it.  

Next project for winter creative endeavors ~ a few new clothes!  

(Another Holly gift!) Not sure which one - I love the upper right full skirt - but know it is not stylish now!  But it was the style in the 1950's and my Grandmother Glass wore that look to work everyday.  She favored dark colors with small polka dots and contrasting white colors.  (Or at least that is what I remember!).  The lower right short sleeved version could be really cute for spring and the way my sewing progress moves that is about the right timing!

But ending on a note of what is even way more special to me:

...til next year!