Words...

Have you experienced lately how offering a little kindness can refresh your very soul? All around you are opportunities to do just that.
Kindness is its own reason. Kindness is its own reward.

Are you weary from all the anxiety, frustration, worry, anger and confusion that seem to continually build up within your life? A little kindness can quickly help to melt all that away.

You can tell people all day long that you really care, and many will still not believe you. Yet give some genuine kindness on a regular basis and you won't have to tell them anything; they'll know.

Are you strong enough and confident enough to give of yourself out of pure kindness? Just do it, and you'll discover that you are indeed.

There can never be too much kindness in the world. Create some more today, and find real joy in its warm glow.

-- Ralph Marston

Grandma Ann's Poultry Farm!!!

From one pumpkin to another!!!!!!!

A woman was asked by a coworker, "What is it like to be a Christian?"

The coworker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin." God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.

He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

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auction today

Austyn... your guitar teacher is playing Cains...

can u tell who makes the money?

my office

Lots of excitement here this afternoon

6 folks spread eagle in front of office! COOL

Father Ted Nudgent speaks...

Got a note from ole' teddy.... with this link attached...

the note............ he must have good eyesight, haha...

Stan,
This is my best yet. Interview with Texas Monthly. It's strong but it's what I believe. Please, post again if you like it. It's going on the net.
Keep up good work and thanks for supporting music artists and old cats like me.

Rock on

TN

here is the link - http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/attachment.php?attachmentid=129214

Dumb and Dumber.......

On a trip to Britain while he was President of the United States , Bill Clinton had a meeting with Queen Elizabeth. During that meeting he asked her, "How does one manage to run a country so smoothly?"

"That's easy," the Queen replied, "You surround yourself with intelligent ministers and advisors."

"But how can I tell whether they are intelligent or not?", asked Bill.

You ask them a riddle," she replied, and with that she pressed a button and said, "Would you please send Tony Blair in."

When Blair arrived, the Queen said, "I have a riddle for you to answer for me. Your parents had a child and it was not your sister and it was not your brother. Who was this child?"

Blair replied, "That's easy. The child was me."

"Very good," said the Queen. "You may go now."

Sizing up his wife's chances in her presidential bid, and thinking back on that meeting, Bill Clinton spoke to Hillary. He said to her, "I have a

riddle for you, and the answer is very important. Your parents had a child and it was not your sister and it was not your brother. Who was that child ?"

Hillary replied, "Yes, it is clearly very important that we determine the answer. Can I deliberate on this for awhile?"

"Yes," said Bill, "I'll give you four hours to come up with the answer."

So Hillary called a meeting of her campaign team, from top to bottom, and asked them the riddle. But after much discussion and many suggestions, none of them had a satisfactory answer. She was quite upset, not knowing what she would tell her husband, the former President.

As Hillary was leaving her meeting she ran into her most formable challenger to her presidential nomination, Barack Obama. So she said, "Mr. Obama, can you answer this riddle for me? Your parents had a child and it was not your sister and it was not your brother. Who was the child?"

"That's seems pretty easy," said Obama, "I think the child would be me."

"Oh thank you," said Hillary. "You may just have ensured my nomination for the democratic candidate for the Presidency of the United States !"

So Hillary went back to Bill and said, "I think I know the answer to your riddle. The child was Barack Obama."

"No, you dumb Broad!" shouted Bill. "The child was Tony Blair"

The bottom line... guess where we're headed with the two of them running the Country again ! sigh....

What does your weather forecaster say....

We cut open a persimmon seed other day.. knife showed up....

Folklore and forecasting

By Kevin Myatt
The Roanoke Times

Gary Blackcloud Foutz says that he can tell how many days to the next rain by how many stars are inside a ring around the moon.

Most of us have heard of this saying or a version of it before. Many roll their eyes and dismiss it. But is there truth in it?

High-level cirrus clouds often precede large-scale rain-producing weather systems by several days. These cirrus clouds disperse the moon's reflected light, producing a large halo. Mid-level clouds that would occur a day or two before such a system can produce what appears to be a tighter halo around the moon.

So more stars would be inside the halo the farther out the rain system is. Admittedly, the exact number of stars would depend on what part of the sky the moon was in, and this method would have less applicability to the daily summertime showers than it would to large-scale weather patterns.

Still, long before there was Doppler radar and geosynchronous satellites, many cultures developed sayings and lore about the weather. Many of these are based on observation and have at least some basis in scientific fact.

Foutz is a weather enthusiast who sometimes chases local storms and utilizes both modern and traditional techniques in forecasting weather. He is a descendant of Delaware Cherokee Indians, and he helps organize the annual Gathering of Veterans Pow Wow each June in Salem.

We've all heard old sayings about weather. Most of them relate to what kind of winter is ahead, such as the thickness of coats on woolly worms.

Foutz offers three of these from the Indian folklore he was taught.

It will be a snowy winter if:

>Squirrels accumulate huge stores of nuts.

>Beavers build heavier lodges than usual.

>Hair on bears and horses is thick early in season

In my own childhood in Arkansas, I frequently heard a saying of Ozarks origin that persimmon seeds could foretell the winter. Cut open a seed longways, and there is a white formation inside, actually the plant embryo. If the formation is shaped like a knife, a bitterly cold winter is ahead. If it is shaped like a spoon, there would be lots of snow. If it's shaped like a fork, then a mild winter was forthcoming.

While we're on the subject, I would say that as far as western Virginia is concerned, the "fogs in August equals snows in the winter" theory is out the window. Fog develops much more commonly in valleys during August; snow falls much more commonly on mountaintops.

This raises an important point about weather folklore -- often, sayings are location-specific. What my have validity in one area may not in another. An evening rainbow in the east means the storm has probably passed here, since our weather generally moves west to east. A sailor in the north Atlantic just above the equator could well be headed into a storm, though, with the same sight: weather generally moves east to west in that area.

With that, I offer some of Foutz's nuggets of wisdom today, for your own consideration:

>If the bull leads the cows to pasture, expect rain; if the cows precede the bull, the weather will be uncertain.

>Dandelion blossoms close before a storm.

>When the leaves of trees turn over, it foretells possible severe weather.

>The sky turns green in a storm when there is hail.

>The first frost in autumn will be exactly six months after the first thunderstorm of the spring.

>If the raven crows, expect rain.

>Fish bite best before a rain.

>A reddish sun has water in his eye.

>Tobacco gets moist before a rain.

>When ropes are tight it's going to rain.

>Campfires are more smoky before a rain.

>When stones sweat, rain will soon come.

Feel free to let me know about the weather sayings you have found to be reliable, or perhaps, not so reliable.

NO Grandpa... I have NOT been in oreo's ... why do you ask???

hehe

finger licking good... haha...

of course, Madison ate.... and ate....

Madison Ann and I had tea and coffee....

Grandma Ann and I had company...

Jake and Trisha stopped by... and Heather and kiddos came over... so we had a GREAT Sunday......

Grandma Ann and I had a wonderful Sunday with kiddos... from grown to kiddos...

Words for the day!

A staircase composed of very small steps can reach just as high as a staircase made of large steps, and the climb is much more manageable. Every little step counts. Doing just a little is infinitely more rewarding than doing nothing. And just a little can quickly lead to just a little more. Five minutes a day adds up to two and a half hours a month, and thirty hours over the course of a year. If you spend those five minutes each day making minor improvements, they can steadily bring about major accomplishments. Offer one small gesture of kindness each day and multiply it over the course of a lifetime. You'll find your world filled with rich, rewarding and genuine relationships. Every little step counts, because the little steps are usually the ones that actually get taken. There's virtually no risk, and yet the rewards, over time, can be enormous. What one little step would make life better for you this very day? Get in the habit of taking small positive steps, and you'll create big, lasting success. -- Ralph Marston

The Bird Feeder

The Bird Feeder

A man bought a bird feeder. He hung it on his back porch and filled it with seed. Within a week he had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of his patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.

Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table... everywhere.

Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb the man and try to peck him even though he had fed them out of my own pocket.

And others birds were boisterous and loud: They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that he fill it when it got low on food. After a while, the man couldn't even sit on his own back porch anymore.

Well, the man took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone.

He cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.

Soon, the back yard was like it used to be ... quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.



Now let's see . . . . .

Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.

Then the illegal's came by the tens of thousands.

Suddenly . . . . Our taxes went up to pay for free services, Small apartments are housing 5 families:

. You have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor:

. Your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English.

. Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box;

. I have to press "one" to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than "Old Glory" are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.


Maybe it's time for our government to take down the bird feeder .

Nancy sends this along...

	Words for the day!
	When you're too busy to take a break, that's when a taking a break will do you the most good. Sometimes you reach a point at which the fastest way to go forward is to slow down a bit. When you rush through your work, never pausing to catch your breath, you're likely to make all sorts of mistakes. Then you'll have to spend time later correcting those mistakes, so the time you gain by hurrying is quickly lost and then exceeded by the toll it takes. Consider taking a break, clearing your mind and energizing your body. The work will still be there when you get back, and by getting away from it for a while you'll be in a much better position to handle it effectively. It's great to be ambitious and eager to get the job done. Yet there is nothing to be gained by working until you drop. The more you focus on the deadline itself, the less likely you are to meet it, so put your focus on getting the job done at a steady and sustainable pace. Instead of worrying about running out of time, completely let go of the worry and make calm, deliberate use of the time. Don't put yourself behind by attempting to go too far too fast. Move at a pace that enables you to be your best, for that is what will move you ahead most quickly. -- Ralph Marston

Stolen images, and a rockin' Grandson....

Stolen from Phil's blog..... Jammin' away....

Direct to you from Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater native son Austyn Lee Moffat......

be sure and check out some great photos from phils blog at....

Phil's Blog

they went to Stillwater Blues Festival last weekend and he was impressed with talent that was there.

Prayer .... oh, it's against the law......

This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School, Kingston, Tennessee, by school Principal, Jody McLeod.

"It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and Country."

Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a Prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law. As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it "an alternate lifestyle," and if someone is offended, that's OK.

I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it, "safe sex" If someone is offended, that's OK.

I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a "viable! means of birth control." If someone is offended, no problem...

I can designate a school day as "Earth Day" and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess "Mother Earth" and call it "ecology."

I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depicts people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as "simple minded" and "ignorant" and call it "enlightenment."

However, if anyone uses this facility to honor GOD and to ask HIM to Bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated.

Link sent to me by my red dirt 'mom' Patsy Berry....

Twinkies...

Enjoy... I did...

Ms. Nancy sent me this note this am... she was one of Jake's biggest fans....

Words for the day!

You could curse and complain about your feebleness, or you can get busy and make yourself stronger. You could see the with resentment about the past, or you can make the choice to let go and move forward.

You could worry endlessly about what might or might not happen, or you can take steps to successfully prepare yourself for anything that comes along. You could make a long list of all the things that will perhaps go wrong, or you can accept the fact that there will be obstacles and decide to deal with them as they come.

You could hide away from the world inside the walls of your comfort zone where nothing challenges you. Or you can make use of every second of your precious time to explore and experience, to get cold, wet, and dirty, and to feel wonderfully alive.

You could let the smallest defeat turn into a big, imposing excuse for giving up. Or you can learn from what went wrong and then step enthusiastically forward with your newfound knowledge and determination.

You could smugly blame all your troubles on something or someone other than you. Or you can take a long, deep breath, then take full responsibility, and feel how empowering it is to be in total control.

There are lots of things you could have been, could have done, could have seen, could have known, and could have experienced.

Yet nothing compares to the wondrous places you'll go when you do what you know you can.

-- Ralph Marston

balloon booging down Memorial in okc

He was really bugging along... winds were about 35 mph from the east.. and he was headed west just north of Lake Hefner....

another good thing... Mercy Hospital was just about two miles in front of him.. haha....
We ran into Chris Blankinship and family, who had been to the Oklahoma State Fair all day.... and were worn out... needless to say... they must not have found all the food booths.. ahah...

later .. have a great day... and smell the flowers...

ummmmmm ummmmmm good... when will Stillwater get one???

When we rounded the corner, we saw a hot air ballon....

Then we headed to the Olive Garden for dinner... and as usual, I am bringing up the rear....

If you know Madison, you know she is saying to Trisha, Again... again....

both ladies and their pony tails...

and of course, first she needed to eat...some of Grandma's Grapes....

Maddie ran out of gas.....

Andrew Paul Blankinship and his new uniform

and it did bring us luck!

Look who stopped by and saw us..... a new boy scout, Or .. Tiger Scout. (I truly don't know, but I bet I learn before long... since now both grandson's are in them....

lady bug and toad stool.. hummmmmmm

oh my ... Grandma, look ... a lady bug.... next to a toad stool....

Got to be lucky, right???

All dressed up and no where to go??

was thinking of that when I saw these this am... they got all pretty and no one saw them... now they are just about gone...