Weekend

Saturday I have been working a little bit on a "Adult/Student" coloring page....

and I posted it for FREE in my TPT store.

Also just a note that TPT and I are hosting a major sale this next week....

it may help but as with most passed TPT sales, for me, it never helped.

Friday and home alone again

It's Friday and I should be saying TGIF but with it being the last day of Harp Camp PLUS the Harp Camp concert is late this evening...I am simply "Home Alone".

I have a few things I have planned to do but nothing major.  I need to go to Wal*Mart to get some extra dog treats plus maybe some cat treats. I will check on my cereal to see if it is back in stock, and I plan on getting a Subway sandwich. But other than that, I will just waste away the day....

The day has been boring already. I did get the trash out for pickup, I did walk the dog, I did sit on the porch for a bit. I have piddle around on a few TPT items.

Thursday & TPT

It is Thursday and all is going well. Plus I am creating new TPT items - or as I may say, recreating and 'old' item into a 'new' version of it. Plus I adding more new sheets to this old 'non-seller'...

and I have been a labor of love in a small bit.

TPT has been sending out emails tells us of an upcoming 'sale opportunity' next week. Guess I better get ready then.

Yesterday

I started working on several TPT items last night or evening as my wife spent her time up working painting faces at CiCi's.

And I completed this one after thinking about songs in history such as the Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton back in the 50s.

Plus I also worked on another item as it got dark and I thought about all the hot sauces I had collected over the years....

and I really liked this one. But neither of these will make me much money. But they do fill my selves with items and ideas. I am up to 502 products for this new school year.

Today things seem a little better. No head spinning - however, it did start spinning about 5AM this morning but it was gone just as quickly.

Other than that I have a few ideas of TPT to work on today.

Tuesday morning headspin

This  morning I got up to a spinning head. I am not generally having problems but this time I feel weird. It's not major just constituent. I have done all my 'testing', eaten breakfast, read my emails, read the paper, taken my pills, I done it all but my head still spins.

It's like right now - I HAD TO STOP, CLOSE MY EYES, AND REST FOR ABOUT TEN MINUTES TO STOP MY HEAD FROM SPINNING - it has gone away, for now. I don't like this feeling at all. Here - IT GOES AGAIN,.....

Ok, so I sat and waited it out. I eventually did go walk the dog, sit on the front porch for a while, then fed the dog and cats and came back to my blog. I'm still just a bit woozy but it is better. I do have to go to Kroger's since I did not go yesterday due to the rain.

Here - IT GOES AGAIN,.....I ended up taking a mid-morning nap of about two hours. I got up, walked the dog. changed my clothes and then went to Kroger's were they did not have what I went for. WalMart did not have it, Brookshire Bro's did not have it. Finally I went to Market Basket and they had my cereal and I bought four boxes of it.

Now going to have breakfast for lunch. What cereal you ask?

My all-time favorite - dry, no milk. I much them like candy. And THEY ARE GOOD! And to top it off, I am drinking a Crystal Lite Peach Mango drink. GREAT lunch/breakfast.

after ALL THAT, I feel better, but I best not say it to loud.

It's 4 in the afternoon and I am having my "lupper" - just a Steamers veggies. But hey, at least I'm feeling better. Been watching Glenn Beck on TV while the cats and dog are napping. I just feel very comfortable right now.

Just found this on Facebook. I am reposting this in honor of my very dear friend and next door teaching partner at Vinton Northside Middle School - Harry T. Methvin. I miss you Harry....

Monday morning smiles

I have just hit 500 items in my TPT store and it feels so good. I just uploaded my more resent item - a writing exercise on history....

and I know it will sell but it will not make me a 'killing'. But then again it made ME happy to just present it.

My sister came over for a visit and had a nice talk. My dog had a brief seizure which he has about once a month but I understand dachshunds have from time to time. He was ok in about 10 minutes and went back on his merry way.
 
Got to get out and run to Krogers to check on my cereal because WalMart does not carry it anymore it seems.

Sunday/Monday morning and all is good

Sunday morning

Sunday morning and all is good. Last night things went really well - all but the service at Applebee's, Our server got my order completely wrong then had to re-order it. My wife got her order on time and was 3/4 finished with it BEFORE I ever got mine. When done, the bill was not corrected or compensated - he charged use the FULL amount.

Other than that, the night was a success. My wife found and bought all the items she went to look for. Jewelry items for her upcoming project plus shoes she wanted and shoes for our grandson.

This morning all went well and church was great. The sermon talked to me.

Monday morning

This morning my wife took off for her teaching part in the university's Harp Camp for adults. She will be teaching at it all week.

Saturday morning and it is all good......

Saturday morning, the weekend, meaning another day of normality. I have had many of these days  over the past 3 years. In them, I have come to realize that things will NEVER go back to the way they once were. I wish they would but I know that won't happen so I need to just move on to the next chapter in my life.

The middle 27 chapters were interesting just like the first 20 chapters were. Now I need to move on the next chapters. These last 4 chapters have moved on VERY slowly and right now I'm not looking forward to this section on the book. But if it is like the past sections it will get better and more interesting. At least that's what I am hoping for.

My 'teaching' part of my life has come to an end and I looking forward to whatever God has in store for me now. I don't know what's out there but I am just waiting for what He sees fit for me now. He knows I have done all the things He has asked so far. I have worked for a LOT of different companies, run my own business for nearly 20 years, coached other peoples kids for 32 years, taught for 25 years, worked with the university with student teachers for 20+ years, been a faithful church going person for 50+ years, took care of my mom and dad has they got to the end of their lives, a loving father for 40+ years and faithful husband for 45+ years.

I just need to stop and listen to what He is telling me about the next chapters of my life.

Friday morning.....

Friday morning is a good morning. I have done all the usual plus a few not so usual but hey, it all made it a good morning. It is hot outside and in a few minutes I will go outside and rock while I wait for the Suddenlink guy to come 'fix' my TV and hook up my WiFi. I fially decided it was time to make the change to cable WiFi instead of AT&T Averse WiFi.

Basically Suddenlink 'forced' me into the change but I had been thinking about it for months. I have been getting snail mail, emails, seeing commercials for a long time and suddenly they did the unthinkable - they changed the area's digital cable programing which made me have to change. If I have to change one thing I may as well change it all.

The guy is supposed to be here between 10-12 so who knows. I'm looking forward to an all new system with a much more 'speedy' connection rate - 30-50 mbps.

I need to work on several more TPT projects today as I get closer and closer to the beginning of school. I have been working on....

but it's just got finished about noon.

Got more for tomorrow.

Still WAITING on the Suddenlink guy. He was supposed to be here between 10-12 but here it is 1:20 and I'm still waiting........

Wednesday morning

I just heard from one blogger that she "made some major systemic changes this week with technology and it has been trying at times - for every knot untangled there are two more found." I know the story. After yesterday's fall, my worries have doubled. I spent a couple of hours last night worried about my life and how things have gone and are going.

I worry that if I fall it might be somewhere where there is no help. I worried that I might need the LifeAlert necklace  if not now, very soon. 

I know it sounds weird but I am just beginning to wonder. I am now worried about going out in the country by myself to cut grass.

I worry more about my weight now than I used to, I worry about my left side(my mini-stroke) than I used to...all of this kept me awake for hours last night.

I finally fell back to sleep about 4-ish and was out till 7:30AM. I got up, read my email, read part of the paper, then put my shoes on and took the dog out....then all of it came flooding back....as I began to put him on his leash, I began to think - make sure to hold on the step railing, make sure to make that last step on SOLID concrete, make sure you hold on to railing UNTIL both feet are on solid ground. All of this ran through my brain in about 15-30 seconds. I did it all and things went normally as usual.

We came back up on the porch, I sat in my rocking chair, the dog laid at my feet and all was good. we staid there for about an hour before my wife came check on us. Just another 'near perfect' day.

What a BAD start to the day

I went out early to walk to dog and let him do his business since I got up late today. Got dress and took him out on the porch before I did my BP reading etc. All was going well as we went down the steps ......then it happened....my worse fear..... I stepped on the very last step; stepped wrong, twisted my foot; and feel on the concrete. I went down HARD, falling on my butt trying to keep from landing on my cell phone. Like a cat, I  did twist and turn so that I landed on my butt knowing that there would be 'more padding'.

I tried to get up or roll over to crawl to the steps but my knees but work well on concrete. I began to cry with the pain on my knees. I rolled over to my back and texted my wife. She came almost immediately but she could not help me with my weight vs her own. She did clean up my bleeding arm.

With no neighbor's home, she called my sister and found out that they were in Shreveport, but my sister called her neighbor, who came to help. She helped me get back on my feet and such a GREAT help.

Once on my feet, I was OK, but ringing wet from sweat. I climbed back up the steps and when inside to cool off. Then I  went to take a shower. Things began to look better and my wife iced my left knee which took the brunt of crawling and pain. We sat for a while watching a movie till it felt better.

Then I came and began working on a TPT project....

which came out fairly good. From there we had lunch and I started working on this blog.

What is going on?

I see and hear the news and I wonder about our country. I seems like it is "going to the dogs". The country has turned to hate. Venom is coming out of everyone's mouth. All I can say for me is that "
I am still in the NO WAY IN HELL AM I VOTING FOR HILLIARY OR TRUMP CLUB !"

But does that make me a bad guy?

Why does the cable company think you need a new cable box after having their service for the last 20+ years? They required us to get a new box or/before they 'redid' our area's digital service. This morning I got up a screen that said "scrambled". The screen was totally black.

Now I could still get our wireless Netflix's/YouTube/Vudu/Hulu etc...just NO TV.

We have had my grand-daughter since about 6:30AM today.

Lives Matter

All I have heard this year is Black Lives Matter - from the TV, to social media, to newspapers, to the internet and I am just tired of all of it. It should be LIVES MATTER, from God Matters, Jesus Matters, to simple All Lives Matter. No color, no race, no ethnics, no uniforms, nothing - simply ALL LIVES MATTER.

But as a white dude I will be called a racist for say that ALL LIVES MATTER when in fact that's all that counts. My brother was a cop for over 20 years and I always worried about him but now I'm glad he retired. I would worry even more so today. His daughter lives just two blocks from the shooting in Baton Rouge and I now have to worry about her.

I worry about my own small town police officers each day and I hate hear the wail of sirens in the distance along nearby streets, the interstate, my own  neighborhood, because I fear what they are going into.

I hate turning on the news and seeing the conventions because I DON'T LIKE either candidate. If it is not on Netflix's, I would rather not watch it.

Hot Sauces

Over the years of teaching Louisiana history I began to travel and collect Hot Sauces - not just any hot sauces, but Louisiana hot sauces. I slowly began to amass a huge amount. I generally bought two - one to try and one to display. The collect grew and grew and GREW until I just simply did not have space for it any more. But I still kept collecting. See the edges of this blog.

I ended up being on TV showing off my collection PLUS my collection of everything else I was hanging on to as a history teacher.

Granddaughter

We have our granddaughter again today. Actually, my wife has her since she is a "mawmaw's girl". She normally does nothing with me. Not that I don't want too. She just favors her grandmother because "she plays with her" and I don't - at least that's the way she has always THOUGHT. Even with that I still love her big time.

Her grandmother swimming today at SPAR  then my sister came over and asked if my GD want to swim this afternoon with her GD. As soon as she got home from SPAR she 'told' me I was taking her to my sister's to swim some more.

She spent about a total of five hours in the water today.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 50's

First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were Pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, and tuna from a can, and weren’t tested for diabetes.

Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads.

As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick-up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren't overweight.
WHY?

Because we were Always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was Able to reach us all day. --And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill; only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not Have Play Stations, Nintendo’s and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies Or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from those accidents.

We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand, and no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms, and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, 22 rifles for our 12th, rode horses, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and -although we were told it would happen- we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had Tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and Inventor ever.

The past 57 To 66 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas..

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. 
   
If you are one of those born in the 50s, CONGRATULATIONS, you survived! 

I got this as an email this morning and thought I would just pass it along.

Sunday morning

It is so odd that I have been spending my Sunday morning watching "Kid President" youtube videos. I got started after seeing a KP link on my Facebook page which lead me to the Youtube which lead me to this page....I feel scatter brain to say the  least.

My wife told me last night that she wanted to get up up at 8 AM so that she could go wash her hair. Her 'alarm' started going off at 7:30, I went in to talk to her at 8:30, and again I went back in to get her up at 9. So much for getting up to wash her hair. She finally got up and RUSHED  to get dressed and ready for church. As I was heading out, she was fixing herself some coffee to take with her.

It may be Saturday

It may be Saturday but I am STILL slaving away trying to fish all my TPT stuff before August. Today I am working on several Manifest destiny items to upload. I am finishing my MD bingo game...

Which still needs lots of laptop time before it is ready but I am working towards that end.

There is never any comments, Not one word. I'm glad that it does not really bother me that much.

Back to uploading

I am finally uploading to TPT again.

It took a while to finish this one, but it is all done and complete.

 

Now I can get on to some of my other projects again. It has been a very quiet afternoon since my wife and granddaughter left for "The Quad". Almost TOO quiet.

 

What I am "working on" at this point....

 

 

back to normal

Things are back to normal this morning. My wife's sister left and headed back 'home' to Fort Worth this morning. She has no 'home' since she sold it before she came down but she went 'HOME'. She will be staying in a hotel while her apartment is being made 'ready'.

My wife and I knew there was no way she was going to stay three weeks down here waiting on the apartment. There was no way her dad could stand her. He's 90 and very set in his ways. She is 63 and very OCD and set in her ways. She came to spend 'some days' with us but even that did not work. She and my wife clashed.

My SIL does not work at all and can't get alone with people. Add all the above to the fact that she brought her dog with her did not help matters. She is VERY over-bearing, is bipolar, 'self assured', demanding, and always 'knows everything' and is always RIGHT.

It was TIME for her to go home.

I got nothing done. I tried to 'teach' her home to post things on TPT since she was a math teacher for a while but she didn't want to do that. She would just rather live off her dad's money - which is running out. She knows he has more money that he says. She has been taking his money for years and years and years.

Something new

I was just watching a rerun of the Ellen Show Monday and this idea for a project hit me...

it would involve a whole class participation but it would be fun.

I ended up dog-sitting again as my wife plays in the community band Red, White, Blue and you concert this evening. I really don't mine. I have been so many years, that I don't need to go to the same concert again.

???????

I have been searching for my ancestors for more than 30+ years. I have written to family members, emailed people, joined ancestry.com, LDS family search, everything. And for all those years I could figure out NOTHING.

 This morning I was sitting out on the front porch looking at various flags along our front four. There is the USA flag, the Acadian flag representing her French family, my pre-civil war Mississippi for my G-G-G grandmother and the Texas flag representing my G-G grandfather.

then something hit me. Me the longtime history teacher. My GGG grandfather was born "in what would become Texas" but he was born back in the early 1830s - BEFORE TEXAS BECAME A STATE!

DUH!?!

 

 That then made me think about my GGG grandmother. I know her father and they were born in Illinois. But there is no record of her birth in Mississippi.

As I rocked there on the porch I got to thinking about where they came from.

 

Murder Saturday

As I was looking thru various emails, webpages, and other TPT middle school projects and ideas; I started thinking about the old TV show "Murder She Wrote". It made me start thinking about a historic murder in Louisiana history, the one of LaSalle back in the late 1600s.

I began to slowly put things together, the history, the questions that might have been asked, etc. The project is far from being ready but it's another idea in the works.

I did get all the grass cut this morning at our city house. Now LATE  this afternoon I need to weed-eat the fruit trees, fence line, mailbox, edge of house, etc. It is just to hot right now to do any of that.

Friday's Blog/post

While I was looking thru some of my emails, I came across this idea....

I had used a  type of this project years ago with lots of success.

Just flipping thru my other emails to see if anything else slaps me. :-)

I'm up to 494 items in my TPT store.

I just added another one this afternoon...

so my number is up to 495.