Today's Quote

Today's Quote

We are not here to be successful. We are here to be faithful.

-Mother Teresa

Uncle Ivan sent this along, but it sure fits for a lot of us!!

Uncle Ivan sent this along with a note attached...... "Loving flowers, I am now turning into a snap dragon, my back has snapped and my tail is dragging!" .... and I understand!!
Posted by PCCPA; Please, click on image to enlarge.

Ok.. this one will work right I think. Click on the photo to make it larger!! Andrew and Austyn came over to visit this weekend and we had a blast! Austyn is really growing up, and can play for hours.. well, so can Andrew, haha!! Austyn had figured out Grandma's spinning wheel and how to make it go fast and then he had a belt he could pull against the wheel and stop it... kinda cool we thought. On Sunday the new sherriff in town dropped by. Sherriff Andrew Paul Blankinship that is. He was shooting Grandma's ducks in her boat on the wall, and then he thought he ought to walk around in Jake's boots, haha, well, he has big feet, but not quite that big! Anyway, photos online now.. videos later as I get time! enjoy! oh yes, one of the pics has Andrew and his mom and his new sister Madison who will be here in a month or so.. too...
Posted by PCCPA; Please, click on image to enlarge.

New photos of grandsons online...

Not sure this photo will work correctly if you want to make it big. Hope it does...
There are new pictures of the grandson's at Grandma Moffat's playing from this past weekend... Will tell more later.. but right now this site is not working correctly.

A friend of mine was at Honor Heights Park in Muskogee

Aaron Moore was in Muskogee this weekend to photograph the Red Dirt Rangers Concert there for us (PCL), and took some nice shots of the foliage there... cool pics.. These photos were shot at Honor Heights Park in Muskogee... a really nice park on the west side of Muskogee and on tAwesome Blossom's by Aaron Moore, from Red Dirt Rangers in Honor Heights Park, Muskogee.... Enjoy these park photos...

Today's Quote

Today's Quote

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.

-Bill Gates

From Uncle Ivan comes another gem.... THE MAMMOGRAM ......

THE MAMMOGRAM ......
I actually kept my mammogram appointment. I was met with, "Hi! I'm
Belinda!" This perky clipboard carrier smiled from ear to ear, tilted
her head to one side and crooned, "All I need you to do is step into
this room right hereee, strip to the waist, thennnn slip on this gown.
Everything clearrrr?"
I'm thinking, "Belinda ... try decaf. This ain't rocket science."
Belinda skipped away to prepare the chamber of horrors. Call me crazy,
but I suspect a man invented this machine. It takes a perfectly healthy
cup size of 36-B to a size 38-LONG in less than 60 seconds. Also, girls
aren't made of sugar and spice and everything nice.it's Spandex. We can
be stretched, pulled and twisted over a cold 4-inch piece of square
glass and still pop back into shape.
With the right side finished, Belinda flipped me (literally) to the left
and said, "Hmmmm. Can you stand on your tippy toes and lean in a tad so
we can get everything?"
Fine, I answered. I was freezing, bruised, and out of air, so why not
use the remaining circulation in my legs and neck and finish me off?
My body was in a holding pattern that defied gravity (with my other boob
wedged between those two 4" pieces of square glass) when we heard, then
felt a zap! Complete darkness and the power went off!
"What?" I yelled.
"Oh, maintenance is working. Bet they hit a snag." Belinda headed for
the door.
"Excuse me! You're not leaving me in this vise alone, are you?" I
shouted.
Belinda kept going and said, "Oh, you fussy puppy ... the door's wide
open so you'll have the emergency hall lights.
I'll be righttttt backkkk."
Before I could shout "NOOOO!" she disappeared.
And that's exactly how Bubba and Earl, maintenance men extraordinaire,
found me, half-naked and part of me dangling from the Jaws of Life and
the other part smashed between glass!
After exchanging polite "Hi, how's it going" type greetings, Bubba (or
possibly Earl) asked, to my utter disbelief, if I knew the power was
off. Trying to disguise my hysteria, I replied with as much calmness as
possible. "Uh, yes .. yes I did, thanks."
"You bet, take care" Bubba replied and waved good-bye as though I'd been
standing in the line at the grocery store.
Two hours later, Belinda breezes in wearing a sheepish grin and making
no attempt to suppress her amusement, she said. "Oh I am soooo sorry!
The power came back on and I totally forgot about you! And silly me, I
went to lunch. Are we upset?"
And that, Your Honor, is exactly how her head ended up between the
clamps........

Ward and Melanie sent this lil' note along to us and it kind'a fit us too.. so we share...

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.

Old age, I decided, is a gift. I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body­- but I don't agonize over it for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.



Whose business is it if I choose to read until 4 am, and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50's & 60ies, and if I at the same time wish to weep over a lost love, I will. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten ­ and I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. I can say "no", and mean it. I can say "yes", and mean it. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer the question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. For the first time in my life, I don't have to have a reason to do the things I want to do. If I want to play games on the computer all day, lay on the couch and watch old movies for hours or don't want to go to the beach or a movie, I have earned that right. I have put in my time doing everything for others, so now I can be a bit selfish without feeling guilty.

I sometimes feel sorry for the young. They face a far different world than I knew growing up, where we feared the law, respected the old, the flag, our country. I never felt the need to use filthy language in order to express myself. And they too will grow old someday.

I am grateful to have been born when I was, into a kinder, gentler world.


Yes, I like being old!

Austyn came over and stayed a bit today... he's growing up!!

Lookie who came to see us today! Austyn came over and stayed while Phil and Tammy went to the funeral of Carl Tarver, who was killed in the wreck early in the week. Phil reported it was the biggest funeral he had ever been to. But Austyn was wound up and was having a big ole time making Grandma's spinning wheel go fast! So wonderful to have the grandkids around! And another one is almost here! Heather is a month away from adding Madison Ann to the Blankinship lineup! We are all getting very excited about her arrival... needless to say... And then Jonathan called night before last and let Grandma Ann listen to one extermely wound up Kaitlyn jabber on and on.. how cool is that! Anyway.. enjoy the day, God is Awesome, things are going well, and all is good!! 

Today's Quote

Today's Quote

There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win.

-Elie Wiesel

Today's Quote

Today's Quote

The only way to find the limits of the possible is by going beyond them to the impossible.

-Arthur C. Clarke

from the tulsa world.. different take..

School bus, truck collide; 2 killed
By PATTI WEAVER World Correspondent
3/30/2005

View in Print (PDF) Format


CUSHING -- Two people -- one of them a student -- were killed Tuesday in a crash of a Ripley school bus and a truck pulling a stock trailer at Oklahoma 18 and Eseco Road, eight miles southwest of Cushing.

Another student aboard the bus and the bus driver were injured.

The truck driver, Carl Edward Tarver, 58, of Cushing, was killed in the crash and his passenger, Linda Tarver, 55, was injured, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol communications officer told The Associated Press

Ripley Elementary School Principal Lisa Pitts said that Sandra Combs, a 10th-grader who recently turned 16, was killed.

"Her dad, Carlos Combs, was driving into his driveway when he saw the bus spinning" on the highway less than a half-mile away from his home, Pitts said.

"It's sickening. It breaks your heart," Pitts said, fighting tears as she stood across from the Ripley school bus, with its front end demolished.

"We had nine kids on the bus -- a sixth-grader, junior high and high school students. This is the end of the route," Pitts said.

Parents arrived at the accident scene quickly, she said. "Kids passed around a cell phone and called their parents," she said.


Another girl, a 10th-grader, was also injured in the crash, Pitts said.

"She was taken to the Cushing hospital. She'll be all right. She's in fair condition," said Pitts, who did not release that girl's name.

"Both girls were in the front seat. Sandra was behind the driver; the other girl was on the other side," Pitts said.

Ripley School Superintendent Kenny Beams said that the bus driver, Jimmie Sue Blose, who teaches music in the elementary school and was driving a substitute route, "was hurt pretty bad."

Blose was flown by helicopter to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, where she was in critical condition, Pitts said.

A witness, Eric Sams, 21, who works as a car fabricator at Wheels of Past Restoration directly across from the accident scene, said he had stepped outside at 4:03 p.m. for a smoke break when he heard "a loud screech."

"I heard a big boom, like a bomb. I ran for my boss, Dennis Francis, for help, to call 911.

"The truck loaded with cattle hit the front of the bus," which was going east on Eseco Road crossing Oklahoma 18, while the truck was traveling north on the highway, Sams said.

"The bus had stopped and went on," Sams said.

"The bus was taking off. The truck hit the front end of the bus. The bus spun completely around. The front axle of the bus bounced off, onto the road.

"The axle bounced, hitting the front of the bus," Sams said. "Four of us moved it, about 40 feet, out of the road."

He said he, his employer and co-workers, Michael Talent, 18, and Andy Johnson, 21, all worked together to move the about 500-pound axle.

"Four or five of the kids got out of the emergency exit of the bus. The bus driver looked slumped over in the seat.

"The girl who died was lying in the stairs of the bus. Her leg was caught under the bifold door.

"Michael and I jacked the bus up trying to get the door off her leg. Some men were yanking on the door," Sams said.

"It's the worst thing that ever happened that I've seen. It happened so fast."

Cushing Deputy Fire Chief Brent Kerr said, "This is one of the worst accidents we've had here in quite a while; a lot of people, a lot of chaos."

Neither Kerr nor Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Jerry Coyle would release the names of any of the victims.

Superintendent Beams said that Wednesday "will be a voluntary day" in which students would not be required to be in school.

Counselors will be there for students who attend classes Wednesday, he said.

Update on tragic wreck last night....

School bus crash victims identified

By The Associated Press
RIPLEY -- A school bus collided with a flatbed pickup truck near this small Payne County community, killing a 16-year-old Ripley High School girl and the driver of the truck and injuring at least two others, officials said.
Sandra Deann Combs, 16, of Agra, a passenger on the school bus, and Carl Edward Tarver, 57, of Cushing, were killed in the 4:05 p.m. crash on Tuesday, said Diann Warnock, a communications officer with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Combs was pinned for about 1 1/2 hours by jammed bus doors before Cushing firefighters were able to cut her free, troopers said. She suffered massive head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Another passenger on the bus, Halli McKintire, sustained head and internal injuries and was taken to Cushing Regional Hospital in stable condition, the OHP said. Her hometown and age were not available.

The bus driver, Jimmie Sue Blose, 50, was flown by helicopter to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, the patrol reported. Media relations coordinator Hether Haddox said Wednesday morning she could not release information on Blose.

Firefighters worked for about two hours to free Tarver from the wreckage of his truck, but he died of massive head injuries at the scene of the accident, the patrol said.

A passenger in Tarver's truck, Linda Lou Tarver, 54, sustained head and leg injuries and was taken to Cushing Regional Hospital before being transferred to Deaconess Hospital, the OHP said.

There were six other passengers on the bus but information about them, including names, ages and hometowns, wasn't immediately released.

The bus was eastbound on a county road when it failed to yield to the pickup, which was pulling a cattle trailer northbound on State Highway 18, Trooper Steve Burrows said in a report on the accident. The truck crashed into the bus on the front passenger side, Burrows said. (This means she ran the stop sign!!)

Eric Sams, an employee of an auto shop near the intersection where the crash occurred, witnessed the crash.

"The bus was spun completely around," Sams said. "The front axle of the bus bounced off onto the road and onto the bus."

The impact mangled the front end of the truck all the way up to the driver's side windshield and tore off the hood of the bus. Yellow debris from the bus and wheels were strewn about the area.

Ripley softball coach Tony Cazzelle said classes would be voluntary Wednesday and that counselors would be on hand to meet with students. "It's just a little town, and something like this touches everybody," Cazzelle said. "I know that everybody here knows everybody, and half of them are related."

Cazzelle was coaching the girls' softball team when he found out about the crash.

"We finished the game, and I told the girls after the game," he said. He said Combs "was a real good friend to several players. We all prayed..."

Students were encouraged to arrive about 9:30 or 10 a.m. Wednesday. Buses were not scheduled to operate, officials said.

The Ripley district has about 300 elementary pupils and 125 high school students.

The community is about 16 miles southeast of Stillwater and about eight miles northeast of Perkins.

Today's Quote

Today's Quote

Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present.

-Unknown

Death comes knocking.... close by... and touches our family....

2 Die In Ripley High School Bus Crash
Female Student Among Dead In Ripley School Bus Accident

POSTED: 5:11 pm CST March 29, 2005
UPDATED: 12:58 am CST March 30, 2005

RIPLEY, Okla. -- A school bus collided with a pickup truck near this small Payne County community Tuesday afternoon, killing a 16-year-old Ripley High School girl and the driver of the truck, officials said.

2 Die In Payne County School Bus Crash



Sandra Deann Combs, 16, of Agra, a passenger on the school bus, and Carl Edward Tarver, 58, (Carl is the brother of Kathy Tarver Hanks, wife of Randy Hanks of Ripley. Phillip is very close friends with the family, and Randy and I and Phil used to race pigeons together!) of Cushing, were killed in the crash, said Diann Warnock, a communications officer with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

The driver of the bus, Jimmie Sue Blose, 50, (Jimmie is a dear friend of Sharon Robinson, a close personal friend of our family. Jimmie is also a former client of ours at the Feed Barn. She is a super super lady who would do anything anytime to help ANYONE! I can still hear her wonderful voice and see her big ole smile... ) and a passenger in Tarver's truck, Linda Tarver, 55, both were transported to area hospitals, Warnock said. Their conditions weren't immediately available.

The pickup, pulling a cattle trailer, was headed northbound on State Highway 18 and the bus was headed east on a county road when the crash occurred, according to OHP Lt. Brandon Kopepasah.

Eric Sams, an employee of an auto shop near the intersection where the crash occurred, witnessed the crash.

"The bus was spun completely around," Sams said. "The front axle of the bus bounced off onto the road and onto the bus."

Ripley softball coach Tony Cazzelle said classes would be voluntary Wednesday and that counselors would be on hand to meet with students.

"It's just a little town, and something like this touches everybody," Cazzelle said. "I know that everybody here knows everybody, and half of them are related."

Cazzelle was coaching the girls' softball team when he found out about the crash.

"We finished the game, and I told the girls after the game," he said.

He said Combs "was a real good friend to several players. We all prayed..."

The Ripley district has about 300 elementary pupils and 125 high school students.

Ed's Note:... please remember these familys in prayer as we go about our lives this day. They will be struggling to understand, as we all are, why, when, what, how, but in the end, it's all God's plan.... The only thing we can do is be ready to go... when the knock comes... on our door, and pray for guidance and understanding of the events... and help and grace and care for the familys... Carl was a wonderful Christian man, as is Jimmie. Sometimes in these deals, those that survive, really don't.

LET'S JUST SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU REALLY ARE... Ann sent this in this am..

LET'S JUST SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU REALLY ARE.

Here we go!
1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?

2. How many states are there in theUSA? (Don't laugh, some people don't know)

3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty's torch?

4. What six colors are on the classicCampbell's soup label?

5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?

6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg?

7. How many matches are in a standard pack?

8. On the United Statesflag is the top stripe red or white?

9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?

10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise?

11. Which way does a "no smoking" sign's slash run?

12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial? (does anyone have
one of these anymore)?

13. On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons?

14. Which way do fans rotate?

15. What is on the back of a Canadian dime?

16. How many sides does a stop sign have?

17. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?

18. How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?

19. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?

20. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?

21. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?

22. On which playing card s the card maker's trademark?

23. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening between the slats?

24. On the back of a Canadian $1 coin, what is in the centre?

25. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no digits?

26. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?

27. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

ANSWERS

1. Bottom
2. 50
3. Right
4. Blue, red, white, yellow, black, &gold
5. 1, 0
6. Right
7. 20
8. Red
9. 88
10. Clockwise (north of the equator)
11. Towards bottom right
12. 12 (no #1)
13. Left
14. Clockwise as you look at it
15 The Bluenose
16. 8
17. Left
18. 5
19. 6
20. Bashful
21. 8
22. Ace of spades
23. Left
24. Loon
25. *, #
26. 3
27 Counter

Today's Quote

Today's Quote

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.

-Victor Borge

Carried by a horse drawn cart, the caskets of Indian officer Daryl Lussier and his companion Michelle Sigana go past the Red Lake High School in Red Lake, Minn., Saturday, March 26, 2005. Jeff Weise, a 16-year-old student at Red Lake High School shot his grand-father Lussier and his grand-father's companion Michelle Sigana along with seven others at the school and himself on Monday. Funeral services were held for Lussier and Sigana today. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

 

Today's Prayer from Uncle Ivan ~ Thanks...!

"Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives, and email friends that are reading this right now.
Show them a new revelation of Your love and power.
Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment.
Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy.
Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace.
Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings.

In Jesus' precious name. Amen."

Sweet Hawaiian Baby Burgers

Sweet Hawaiian Baby Burgers

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef chuck
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 canned pineapple slices
Salt
12 Hawaiian sweet or small dinner rolls, split
Lettuce
Sauce:
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup pineapple preserves
1 tbsp packed brown sugar

Instructions:
Combine ground beef and Worcestershire sauce in medium bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Shape into twelve 1/2-inch thick mini patties.

Combine sauce ingredients in small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Place pineapple slices on rack in broiler pan so surface of pineapple is 3 to 4 inches from heat. Broil 3 to 4 minutes, turning once and brushing with sauce. Remove pineapple; keep warm. Place patties on rack in broiler pan so surface of beef is 3 to 4 inches from heat. Broil 7 to 8 minutes to medium (160°F) doneness, until not pink in center and juices show no pink color, turning halfway through and brushing with sauce. Season with salt, as desired.

Cut each pineapple slice into thirds. Line bottom of each roll with lettuce; top with a burger, then with a pineapple piece. Close sandwiches.
Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 583 calories; 30 g protein; 64 g carbohydrate; 22 g fat; 480 mg sodium; 107 mg cholesterol; 4.6 mg niacin; 0.4 mg vitamin B6; 2.3 mcg vitamin B12; 5.4 mg iron; 5.4 mg zinc