"Finding Uncle Leroy"

Please join us for Mosaic Monday at Little Red House hosted by our friend Mary...


On a hot summer afternoon...
looking around at the historical society..
in Oklahoma City...I found him.
Just his name...carved on a slab of marble...
but it meant so much to me..so very much to me.

The wiggling infant just there on my grandmothers knee...
grew up on a farm tall and red headed and freckled and free.
everyone said he had such a sweet nature...
was helpful and kind...he was just 19 years old when
a bullet caught him in the back and laid him down
forever...somewhere in France.

I saw the little area I had never seen before...
a statue of a soldier guarded it...tall and imposing..
it said to me "this is hallowed ground."
an eternal flame tower was standing there..
and a wall. Something like the Oklahoma War Dead.

I walked inside to look around..
and then I saw the names,
hundreds, maybe thousands of names.
as I scanned thru the a's and the d's and all the others.
I finally found him..there on the wall was his name...
the lad that loved my mom so much he carried my bassinett
down Main Street on top of his head...can you see it..
carried it home for me.
Just a few months before...he went to war.

He's tucked there safely between
C.J.Wewerka
&
Joe Wharton...
my uncle Leroy...who gave his life..
for you and for me.
They buried him in France...
So far from his home..
and the red clay of Oklahoma.

We'll bring him home...the Army said..
Pop Whaley told them...
"No"..in a voice cracked & gruff with grief...
"Leave the boy lay...where he fell."

I wish I could have known him.

"My Own Personal Hero"

I wanted to take time this Memorial Day to honor my own personal hero.

He saw no war, thank God.

But while he was in the Army they built the Berlin Wall, and we wondered if there might be a conflict.

His service was extended three months just in case something flared up over there.

Lots of bad things happened to the people there in Berlin when they tried to cross that wall...

People can be so unreasonable and mean...I hate war...I still hate war!!

Hubby has been a hero in many ways during our lifetime...always faithful, strong, and upright in his thinking.
Dependable, fun, a good, easygoing man, he has been a good husband and father and grandpa and now we find ourselves great-grandparents to 6 and one on the way.
He has been a good friend and he spoils me.
I love him so much...for a long time now...this pix was made in 1959....and he's my own personal hero.

"Finding Beauty"

                              
One purple orb...
reaches for another
orb...
for nourishment and light.
sunlight...bright magnet in the sky.

"Pink Saturday in my window"

Happy Birthday...Pink Saturday!!!!!!!! Yay!!!
We have a small door at the back of the house in the hall...
it was so dark back there I asked hubby to put a window in it.
It's so nice with the extra light back there.
The door is recessed, so I put a little planter under it and put some pink silk flowers in it...
I'm quite proud of the way it turned out.... and submit it for Pink Saturday this week.

The view is of the back deck which is undergoing construction, too.
But work is getting done on the new deck, and I am happy.

Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting this all this time... 
"Two Years Old"
You deserve a medal*
Congratulations!!!!
I'm proud and happy to be at the party!

"One Purple Thistle"

Hubby and I found beauty the other day...so simple & beautiful*
Tall and elegant and graceful, she was the only one we saw anywhere around...alone!

we walked out there today to see if it was still there...
to get a closer look &
for me to get some pictures of this elegant beauty.

We stood for awhile and just looked at it in wonder...

There really is amazing beauty in our everyday lives.... if we look around we will find it...

I am joining up with Claudia at Friday~~Finding Beauty...

Thanks, Claudia!

"Finally Beautiful"

Well, we finally got the old trunk brought back to life...we decided not to do anything major, we just cleaned it up real good, and I put a coat of sealer on it to give it some shine and life...the lighting in the house is terrible, so you can't tell too much about it, but it's nice.

I think she would approve.

Linking to Colorado Lady and her Vintage Thingy Thursday.
I'm also hooking up with The Shabby Chic Cottage for her "Transformation Thursday"
Come see all the changes she has made in her world....
and it's very late or very early...
whichever way you see it..
at our house tonite..
tomorrow is another day!

"Red Wednesday in the yard."

good morning...this morning I will take you around my piddly little front yard...
 and show you some reds I have out there.
If you know me, ya know I gotta have my red, that's the best color in the world...
I have heard that it's known to be an angry color...a color that makes you hungry...and a passionate color..
the first two are true, never mind on the third one...

let's just say it makes me happy to have a lot of red in my life and in my vision...
everywhere I look around here I see red...
and that's the way I like it...uh huh...uh huh!!!!

red tables and bathtubs sitting by a fence....yummmm!!!!

And a bunch of old falling apart birdhouses of red and white and other insignificant colors..
 are hanging on an old tree in the side yard.
I do love me some birdhouses...I am always on the lookout for them....uh huh!!!
I hope you enjoy your Wednesday...I am wishing I can start taking each day one day at a time....pray fer me, will ya?

I am going to join Rednesday over at It's "A Very Cherry World" today...come on over and see...

It's a red hump day Wednesday...
at our house today..giggle...

"Shades of White in a Small Town"

We went for a drive a while back, and we wound up in the little town that is listed as hubby's birthplace.
Course he was born in the country, and his poor mother...(they didn't know his birth weight, but when the doctor came by 3 days later...he weighed 13 pounds.
So he must have been a handful from the beginning, so to speak...he's still a handful. LoL

I took some pictures of the older houses, just because I love old houses and barns. Looks like some of them have been left to the elements.
No-one loves them any more, and they have begun to wither away...like old houses will when they are neglected & left alone. It's pretty sad to see.

But then I saw their little wooden church,
I don't remember what denomination it was...does it really matter...
When people that live in little white houses gather to worship...they remember that white is a sign of purity and hope...and life is sweet for them in their small place.
Everyone is everyone's neighbor and everyone's friend in a small town.
They probably can walk anywhere they need to go. That's nice...and kids can play a little more freely...

Proud to join "White Wednesday" again this week...Over at Faded Charm Cottage...Come on over!!!
There will be lots of pretty whites to look at there...I promise....
I am also linking up to Miss Connie's "Collection of Romantic Blogs" at her Living Beautifully blog.
I don't think I am a romantic, but what the heck! She's my good friend....grin!
that's the way it is...
at our house tonite.

"a little green goin on"

I guess you noticed I changed my blog again...ahem!!! I just wanted to have one that would let me have frames and roses...
Do you like it, or do you hate it...check yes....or no....
Not you Annette, I know how you will feel about it...lol Love u anyway.

Oh, and I used the new Blogger Template Designer..
.they need to work on it a little, I think...
And I absolutely, positively have more tweaking to do on my end of the deal...I changed the dimensions on it so many times, they finally quit talking to me...and said they could'nt do that. How Rude!!! I reckon they didn't figger on bloggers like me....ha/ha

I thought I might show you some of the things that have been garage sale or Salvation Army finds that I put out on the fence I painted in a moment of impulsivity...a moment that took all day to finish...ya know those kind of jobs...where you just happen to think...
that old fence looks pretty puny, I think I'll whitewash it...yeah, uh huh. I love the way it looks now, but this old gal suffered over that one.
That cute as pie shelf I found at a garage sale outfit...gosh, I'm a sucker for shelves, and birdhouses and...wellll, you know the drill.....

Thus this birdhouse...it was with it, and you know my heart went pitty-pat when I saw a set of something there waiting for me.
btw...on someone's blog this weekend, they were showing a friends garden that had the cutest arch and a white picket fence...we are about to fence off this fence area just to give honey more problems when he weed eats...anyway...if you saw that post...could you email me and tell me where in the world it is...

I have been having fits trying to find it again...you won't believe how many  blogs there are on here with cottage in the title...or maybe you do know..
I just want to see it one more time...is that too much to ask...there's only three kazillion blogs to pick thru...man!!!!

Linking up to Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays  at Coastal Charm today...do something fun, Okay?

guess that's just the way it is...
at our house today.

"Wallflower Row"

The inspiration for doing these pictures of a row of chairs of different kinds against the fence arrived early this morning.
I didn't know I would be doing a Mosaic of them tonite...LoL
It's time again for Mosaic Monday over at the Little Red House...and Mary will be waiting.
Waiting for all the entries to check in for the week. So here I am with my lowly contribution...
I finally dubbed it Wallflower Row.
I just found out about Sepia Saturday from a friend, so I am hooking up with them too...
Check out these two sites when you have a chance...grin!

The monotones and sepia tones of old crinkly & delicate...
pictures intrigue and move me in deep places
of my heart.
I touch the long ago faces gently and wonder if their lives were
monotone as well...
Some of them were...and yet not all.

I know that they had roses red...
and skies of brilliant blue.
They had dresses made of calico and velvet...
and slippers and jewelry, too.
Some of them did...and yet not all.

Do you ever look at pictures of the beautiful past...
and wonder what the colors were
in their world?

"Pink Saturday Pretties"

This will be my first Pink Saturday post if it makes it thru...I have seen some of the most beautiful pink pretties on here, and decided to join the party.
Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting this weekly party to fill our weekends with pink whenever we feel like it.

Old dishes with this rose pattern are my favorites...I'll be found doing the happy dance when I find a piece of it. My Granny had these.

This little vase was found in Colorado and begged to be brought home to Oklahoma with me. grin!

And the elusive plates that I find one or two at a time. The thrill the hunt....the dance of victory.

and that's the way it is...
at our house tonite.
Friday nite in the country...
blessings~

"An Oil Painting for Grandpa"

I painted this oil painting for my hubby's Dad in the last year before he lost his long battle with bone cancer. They lived in California but he never lost his longing for Oklahoma. I was still painting with oils when I decided to take him a little bit of Okie when we went to see them for what would turn out to be his last Christmas here. He loved it, and said so...said it reminded him of Okie, so we hung it by his bed for him. I painted a pretty good amount of pictures in different sizes over the years, lots were gifts, and I sold some. I really enjoyed painting, and then developed an allergy to the oil...so I had to quit because I don't like working with acrylics.
I have heard they are making acrylics now that stay wet longer similar to oils...
I may fire back up and paint again.
So what do you think? Should I invest in all the tools to paint again?
Just a memory for "Memory Thursday"
It's good to pause and remember Grandpa again...I still miss him...he was a good man and grandpa to our girls.

and that's the way it is...
at our house today.

glenda

"Outside my Window"

Outside my window today...

ruffled rain clouds play in the sky...

and a tiny white bird keeps watch from an enamel pan.

Hens and chicks long for sunny days in their enamel pot...

A plaster puppy that reminds me of Jack keeps the new Lavender plants company...

While a silly white duck plays in the hosta plants...

Life is good.

Today I am hooking up with White Wednesday over at Faded Charm Cottage...

Please don't forget my giveaway!!!

and that's the way it goes...

outside at our house.