HERBACIOUS DAY

Today I worked from home and at home. This beautiful fall weather is going to snap into freeze mode any night now and I have plants to rescue. Black Elephant Ears, Desert Rose, Mandavilla, and my herbs all begged to be taken inside. The Basil plant has been gorgeous and creeping thyme has spilled out of an old galvanized wash tub all summer. I dried Basil in the microwave, some in the regular oven, and then tied several bunches and hung up to dry. The little thyme also made lovely little bunches tied together to dry. Elephant Ear bulbs will spend the winter in paper bags and the others will set in a sunny basement window until warm weather comes again.

HUNGRY MEN

On Sunday afternoon our church traveled a portion of the 23 mile scenic Glade Top Trail to the Caney Mountain Picnic area. Two hay wagons were filled with the younger more adventurous ones and then there were several carloads of us "older folks". Although dozens of hamburgers were cooked over the open grill, for some reason these men all seem to be keeping an eye on this one lone burger. I don't know who got it.

FRIDAY AGAIN?

I can hardly believe it is Friday again, seems only a few days since last Friday when I pulled the all night scrapbook event with Ashton, Erin, and Cheyenne. We stayed home tonight and watched a Hallmark movie with PaPa Rick. We are going to visit Aunt Reba tomorrow for her birthday so both girls made cards on the computer. They are so creative! Rick hunted again today, morning and evening. He saw turkeys during the morning hunt but no deer at all today.

BLOGGER'S COMMENTS

Some of you who visit the site have found your way through the maze of getting registered with a Google Account so you can leave comments. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that. I enjoy knowing that you have visited Dogwood Acres OnLine and I know that others enjoy seeing that you have been here. Dogwood Acres OnLine is becoming a virtual community and I am glad you are all a part of it. Visit often and leave a note now and then.

VACATION

Rick took a break from bow-hunting and I took a break from the office - all of about 48 hours but we did a lot! Less than two hours south of us is Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and Rick had only been there once, maybe twice that he remembers. Forty years ago when we were teen-agers, we went with my folks, brother and sister. The Christ of the Ozarks statue, weighing just over two million pounds, had just been completed and buildings for the Passion Play were under construction.
We got into Eureka Springs about noon on Tuesday and rented a quaint victorian cottage before heading off to the historic Crescent Hotel. After a drive down Spring Street we found our way to the Great Passion Play. Although the play did not start until 7:30, we had a busy afternoon with two-hour tour of the "New Holy Land", visit to the Sacred Art Center and Bible Museum.
It was a cool day, breezy enough to wear a jacket and gloves. We took blankets to cover up with during the play and drank hot cappuccino. What a beautiful evening, sky was clear, moon was round and stars were bright.

WILD THINGS

In the spring of the year Rick looks for wild morel mushrooms out in the woods. Some days he comes in with barely a handful, then other days he may fill a grocery bag full. After soaking them in salt water and washing out all the teeny-weeny bugs, I batter and fry them. They are a delicacy that we enjoy a lot. Until Saturday we did not realize there is a fall mushroom that is equally delicious. Brother-in-law Bill gave us a bag full of Coral Mushrooms, so named because they resemble coral found in the ocean floor. They were kind of a pain to clean, so I only cooked one batch, using similar method as with the Morels. LeaAnn had given us some big white duck eggs, so I cracked a couple of those, whisked with some milk. After dipping them in that mixture, then I coated them with a Bisquick/flour mixture, added salt and pepper, then fried in hot oil in a large skillet. Plenty of fat and carbs to be found there, but we enjoyed every bite.

DAKOTA & THE SEVEN DORKS

I received an email from sister Christie telling me that she is the grandmother of seven Dorks. .... and just what is a Dork? Her grandson, Dakota, has a little Dachshund that had puppies. Daddy dog is a Yorkie belonging to Dakota's sister, Vanessa. Cross a Dachshund and a Yorkie and you get a DORK!!!! They must be tooo cute. I'm afraid to see them for fear that I will be tempted to add a dog to this mess of cats that Rick has.

TOURIST

Since Cousin Debbie is visiting with us this week, we took her to see the Tillis Family performing in Branson tonight. Mel, his son and daughters, Pam and Carrie April have had a limited engagement at the Welk Theater. It was an awesome show, so glad we went. I visited with ladies from Canada who were there on a tour bus. They were so excited to be there, said they had waited their whole lives to go to Branson and Nashville. I told them they could now say they had met a real Hillbilly in Branson!
We did a little sightseeing on the way over, going over Tablerock Dam and up to the Chateau to see the sunset lakeview from there.

LONE STAR DAY

We have had a good day with family and friends at Lone Star Church. Rick's cousin, Debbie, came to be here for the homecoming and will stay with us for several days. She and Rick enjoy watching movies and playing with the cats while I go to work. Rick helped me fry Wall-Eye and Large Mouthed Bass with fried taters & onions for supper tonight. He told Debbie it will probably be the last home cooked meal they get from me this week & he is right!

YELLOW BRICK ROAD

With brother-in-law Bill at the wheel we followed the Yellow Brick Road to Kansas. Total of ten hours on the road and almost as many spent with family in Wichita, Augusta and Fall River, we were back home on Pine Ridge by 1:00 a.m. Sunday! Great Trip, Precious Memories Shared and New Ones Made. Since we visited three different locations, couldn't get Just One picture of all together, so here is one with Jim, Christie and me -and- cousins, Becky, Paula and Ellen.

Another Short Night

Quick note before a busy weekend. I am going with brother and sister to Kansas Saturday morning to visit two uncles who are not well. They are picking me up at 5:00 a.m.....alarm is set for 4:00 a.m. UGHHHHH
Rick is staying home to greet company coming from Kansas City to stay for a few days. I have a pot of bean soup bubbling on the stove so that he will have some real food to feed our guest. When I am not home he eats fried hot dogs, frozen burritos, or chicken noodle soup.
Lone Star Homecoming is Sunday, so I am thawing a couple pkgs. of frozen deer burger to prepare a hot dish for dinner on the grounds there. Rick's cousin, Pearl, usually brings gooseberry cobbler, hope she had a good crop this year. I stopped by the store for paper plates, cups, etc - also got toilet paper for the outhouses. There is a His & Hers, so want to make them as convenient as possible.
Rick mowed the cemetery for Homecoming, I do hope he thought to sweep spider webs and wasp nests out of the Outhouses. hmmmmmmm....maybe I will take a broom just in case!

Long Day - Short Night

It is after midnight, time to be in bed but there is too much too do and so little time! RE/MAX Success Conference at The Chateau on the Lake got me up early yesterday and will again today if I ever get to bed. What a gorgeous place, I always love going there. Here it is mid-October in Missouri and folks were swimming in the pool and sunbathing. I am one of the few local Realtors there as most came in from the large mid-western region. Sessions are good, food is excellent and I broke a board today! Yes, you read right, I broke a 1 inch 8x12 pine board with the heel of my hand - first try!!!!. One of our speakers used this "training" technique to teach us to focus. I watched Neal break hundreds of boards with his hands, feet and even his forehead, throughout his years of Tae-kwon-do and Black Belt training. You can be sure that I took my board to church tonight and showed him and the kids what "Grandma" did. I think they were impressed.

Soggy Toast

I just fixed a quick Sunday morning breakfast for Ashton and Erin....corn flakes & soggy toast. When Ashton was just a toddler she got to spend a lot of time with Aunt Reba Ragsdale. Of course Aunt Reba loved to feed her and she introduced her to Cinnamon Toast. Loaded with butter, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, then heated in the oven or microwave, Ashton called it Soggy Toast. It has remained a favorite food and a snack to be eaten any time of the day. We still call it Soggy Toast.
My childhood bread and butter memory comes from Uncle Hosea and Aunt Thelma Bilyeu's house. There, my cousins showed me how to take a piece of light bread, spread it with butter, sprinkle with sugar, fold it up and Eat! That is still a comfort food for me and one that always takes me back to those sweet days in Dry Holler.

Camping Trip

Our Friday night has been quieter than usual as the granddaughters have gone camping with Aunt Dawn. Rick picked them up at school today then when I came home from work I dropped them off at the Roeder's farm on Swan Creek. There is much traditional about this camping trip, tents, campfire, camp food and THEN, there was a real Port-a-Potty. They were both pleased to see that. Being country girls, I don't know why it mattered so much, but with more than 2 dozen little girls, it is probably better that way. When I left there was much scurrying about building a fire and getting tents set up before dark. I appreciate Dawn including Ashton and Erin with her group of Missionettes from Tri-Lakes Church in Branson. Here is a picture of Dawn with some of the little girls (Erin in orange shirt).

Well, it's time for another post to Dogwood Acres OnLine. Funny thing about this blogging stuff. There are no deadlines, I can write whenever I feel like it or not at all. Funnier still, is that so far nobody (well, almost) even knows about this. A blog is supposed to be interactive, kinda like email, but when you reply to my blog, it becomes public for others to see. Because it is "my" blog, I can log in and write about whatever....then when you read it,there is a place for you to "post" a response. So, if blogging is new to you, never mind, it is new to me too, so we can learn together.
I have had my sister and my son look at the first blog which was a dedication to Mother - had hoped they would post a profound response, even tried putting words in son's mouth, but so far nothing has come of it. I may write a few more times before letting others know it's here....just for practice you know.