(Mother's trip to Ireland) DAY 1, Bed & Breakfast in Bunratty, Ireland

 First night in Ireland. Nice trip across the big pond from DFW. London's Heathrow Airport was BIGGER than I remember. A big walk for an old woman with leg and feet and back problems. Was late getting into Shannon due to an electrical/mechanical problem with Air Lingus plane. But everyone in all 3 airports were so nice and helpful (with one exception). Got lost on the way to B n B because I forgot to write down directions. It is only 7 Km from airport but it took us an hour to finally get here. We were starving and finally got to a pub about 8 pm but it was worth it. Had fish and chips with great atmosphere in a building that was first built in 1827 (I think) and live music with Irish singing, pub musicians with guitar and fiddle and patrons singing too. A great first night here. 10 pm here and we are just about ready for bed. This is Bunratty Castle just a few Kms from where we stay all week. Irish country  breakfast in the morning and we will decide then where we want to go on our first day trip.

July 4th, 2023

 My older daughter and my grandson came over to spend the day with us.

We didn't do anything special. I cooked out, just as I usually do on July 4th. 

Here are some pictures from this year. 

Our new kitten who I call, 'Baby', likes to climb trees.

Of course I put the flag out, like every good American should. 

I grilled broccoli, Brussel sprouts, and asparagus. 

I also grilled shrimp, hamburgers, and smoked sausage. 

I thought I would also share some pictures from last year's July 4th meal. 

Grilled steak and different kinds of sausages. 

Barbecued chicken.

Roasted potatoes, onions, mushrooms, peppers, and carrots. 

Barbecue baked beans. 

Macaroni salad. 

I am enjoying some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream at the moment while watching a movie, and thinking about taking a nap after. Happy 247th birthday United States. 

April 30th memorial.

White Hydrangea

Gardenia Jasminoides

April 30th, 2014, started out good enough. I was getting divorced, a much happier time in my life than when I got married. But, the day took a turn for the worst that afternoon when my grandmother died. Seven years later, almost to the hour, the man who raised me, my step-father,  died. Now, two years on, we gathered together with several of his Christian Motorcycle Association friends, we planted two memorials for both him and my grandmother. 

Bird / squirrel feeder.

I put out a bird / squirrel feeder that I can see from my office desk out the window, or I can remotely watch from my wireless Wi-Fi camera.

I use a mix of sunflower seeds and peanuts. There is one main squirrel and two or three others. And I have seen many different bird species. 

I have seen Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, European Starlings

Northern Cardinals, American Goldfinches, House Finches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Dark-eyed Junco, Sage Thrasher, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Cowbirds, House Sparrows, Carolina Wrens, Lazuli Bunting, Gray Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Robins and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

I think this squirrel is pregnant. 

Destiny has a new kitten that loves to sit and watch the birds and squirrels.

Birds like feeder in the daytime, and this raccoon at night. 

 

Spring break 2023 camping.

It was below freezing the first night, and I couldn't get the heater working, but we stayed warm in our sleeping bags which are rated to -20 Celsius. 

Office.

I have been working from my bedroom for the past seven years since starting to work for EF.

I finally have a proper office. Since my older daughter moved out to live with her boyfriend, and this space wasn't being used in the house, I have converted it into an office.

I still have a nice red Persian rug coming to fill in the middle of the room.

I especially like working with two monitors, and not having to share with my television in my bedroom.

Campfire

It's been a while since I have posted anything.

We had a simple Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years with just my immediate family.

I tried three times to get away to go camping for a well needed rest, only to have to cancel each time for weather.

So instead, we have started having Sunday evening campfires in the backyard.

Father's birthday and death.

This is my father. This picture was taken in April of 2018 when Destiny and I visited him on Spring Break vacation, and went to church with him.

His birthday was on Thursday, September 29th, the day before my older daughter's 25th birthday. He called to wish her a happy birthday, and we got to talk to him and wish him a happy birthday. He told us how he had not been doing too well during the past few weeks. He had been in the hospital on two different occasions for separate issues, and they had adjusted his medications, also, but said he was doing better.

He lives two hours drive away, and is very involved with his step-family, church family, and friends. And, because we stay busy with our lives, we don't see each other as often as we would like.

On Sunday, October 2nd, three days after he called, he collapsed onto the floor at his home. The ambulance was called, and on the way to the hospital, his heart stopped three times. They put him on life support, and one of his two sisters was called, who lives in Louisiana, about four hours drive away. She called me on Monday to let me know that she was on the way to the hospital where he was.

My father had made arrangements with his sister that if anything happened to him, that she would have the power to make decisions for him, and made sure that he was not to be kept on life support.

When she arrived at the hospital, she had them turn off the life support, and when his heart stopped again, they were not to try to revive him. He died on Monday, October 3rd.

My father had already made preparations for his death; who would handle the funeral, where it would be, who would officiate, what songs would be sung, and even where he would be buried; with his second wife, who had died in early 2013.

The funeral was held on Monday, October 10th, a week after he died.

This was not an easy time for me, especially since my step-father, the man who raised and provided for me, had died only about 18 months earlier.

There were not a lot of people at the funeral, family, step-family, and some friends and church members.

I got up and spoke:

I am Carl's only biological child, although he was father to his second wife's children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I had a step-father who raised me, and I am proud to say he was my dad, but Carl was my father. Now, I have only God the Father, Abba, in heaven. Carl knew, accepted, loved, and served God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. He would wake every morning to study the Word of God from the Bible, and speak directly to God through prayer. He often expressed to me when we spoke, how the world we live in is filled with sin. He would pray for not only himself, in fact he was very humble in this aspect, but he would pray for his family and his friends. Carl was ready to join God in heaven, but knew that until God was ready for him, Carl would continue to serve God here on earth. He continued to teach about God from the Bible, and share. Carl always wanted for those around him to know God's love and joy and to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior, just as he did. As with everything in life, when it is no longer possible, I regret not spending more time with him, but I am so thankful for the time that we did spend together, because, even though he did not raise me, he was my father, and had a great impact on my life. I not only look, and act very much like him, but I too believe in Christ. It is too late for me to spend more time with Carl. And the time is coming when it will be too late for many people to accept Jesus into their lives. Don't wait. When God's Son returns, there will be no time for regrets.

This is the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, because my father served in and retired from the U.S. Air Force.

David was his step-grandson, who he loved, mentored, and cherished, so it was only fitting that my father chose him to receive the flag.

Suzanne's birthday.

My older daughter, Suzanne, will be turning 25 years old soon.

Because her birthday is going to be on a Wednesday this year, and I have more free time on Sunday's, I decided to cook one of her favorite meals, pork, eggs, green onions, and rice, the Sunday before her birthday.

I also bought a chocolate cake.

 

Birthdays

My family usually has many birthdays in June, starting with me, followed by my several family members who are now, no longer with us, and ending with my mother.

No, my mother is not two years older than me. But she didn't like the numbers the true way around. I bought the flowers, but made the cake.

My younger daughter, Destiny turned 13 yesterday, and she wanted brownies for her birthday, instead of cake. She also wanted cheesy chicken spaghetti, which I also cooked.

My older daughter's birthday is next month, followed by my grandson turning three in November.

This is her last week, ready for her first day of school.

 

Happy Birthday to me.

I turned 55 today. 

I bought a sugar free chocolate cake mix and sugar free chocolate frosting, along with some semisweet chocolate chips. 

My younger daughter, who is almost a teenager, made the cake with my mother's instructions. 

I also bought and cooked a frozen lasagna, garlic bread, and green beans. 

My mom, two daughters, and grandson helped me celebrate.

I had already worked six hours in the morning, and relaxed in the pool for two hours in the afternoon. 

This was exactly the kind of birthday I like, simple. 

Wright Patman Lake, Texas, summer vacation 2022

So this year for summer vacation, we went to Clear Springs campground on Wright Patman Lake in Texas. It was an easy two hours drive. Because this was early summer, and in Texas, there was the possibility of it being a little on the hot side, so I got a campsite with electricity to have a fan in the tent.

It turned out to be wonderful weather, even though it did rain the second day, the temperatures weren't much above 90F/30C during the day, and about half that at night.

 

We only explored the campground a little before and after the rain, but we went hiking at Atlanta State Park across the lake on the third day.

On the forth day, after returning to camp from taking a shower, we discovered that the wind had some fun with our gazebo. There were several tears in it, so I have already ordered a replacement.

We always try to have a big campfire our last night camping, and this one was perfect with the sunsetting behind the trees on the other side of the lake.

I always say that a camping trip isn't memorable without a problem to laugh about in the future, and this time, not only did the wind damage our gazebo, but we had a tire blowout on the trailer on the way home. I heard a roaring noise over the music playing in the car and the air conditioner, so as soon as I pulled off the road as soon as I had a place to do so. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was an easy fix, since we had a spare tire for the trailer. Destiny learned how to change a tire. Now I just need to buy a new tire.

Graduation to middle school.

Destiny graduated to middle school.

EASTER

Easter is celebrated by many people and cultures around the world in different ways. For many Americans, including my family, Easter is about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Please enjoy the videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLyXE9QN6d4

Grand Adventure from YouTube.

If you click on the picture above, it will take you to one of my favorite YouTube channels about traveling by camper in the United States.

The host of this channel has been doing this for several years, and has a lot of very useful information when traveling by camper in the United States. And his videos and photos of the places he visits are fantastic.

Since this is basically what I plan to do when I retire; to live in a camper and travel the United States; I have found Grand Adventure to be an invaluable resource.

Thanks Mark.

South Arkansas thunderstorm and tornado watch.

This is one afternoon sitting on the back deck of our home, just watching and listening to the thunderstorm. We were also under a tornado watch, but thank God, we didn't have a tornado this day.

 

Ghost pepper chimichanga

Mount Magazine

 It's Spring Break in Arkansas this week, and we went camping to Mount Magazine, which is the highest point in Arkansas. They just completed a prescribed burn last summer, and because it was still early for spring, nothing had grown back. You can read more about a prescribed burn, and how it can help a forest, by following the embedded links.

I'm first going to share with you several links to other peoples videos of Mount Magazine on YouTube, and then I will share a few of my own. Each video offers different perspectives and tidbits of history and information. The last video shows the highest points in each state of the United States. I have now been to two of these points. The first was last summer when we went to Clingmans Dome in Tennessee. You can see that at about the 9.5 minute mark of the video. The second was this trip to Mount Magazine, which you can see at about the 5 minute mark of the video.

Mount Magazine video 1

Mount Magazine video 2

Mount Magazine video 3

Mount Magazine video 4

Mount Magazine video 5

Mount Magazine video 6

Mount Magazine video 7

Mount Magazine video 8

Highest points in each state

Mount Magazine is 275 kilometers from our home in Camden, Arkansas.

Camden is only about 60 meters elevation above sea level. While Mount Magazine is about 780 meters elevation above sea level. So, Mount Magazine is 720 meters higher than Camden.

Because the weather was predicted to rain for the first two full days of our four days stay, we put up the gazebo tent to have a place to cook, eat, and watch movies in the evenings, and stay out of the rain.

And because it got down to freezing, or near freezing each night, we tried out my new thermal heater fan. It worked great.

We went for a drive along the north ridge of the mountain, on a very overcast day before it started to rain.

Lodge.

Cabins.

Blue Mountain Lake

After a cold morning seeing the north side of the mountain, we went to the lodge, which is located on the south side of the mountain, and had some hot chocolate in the restaurant.

We were told that there are about ten black bears in the area, although it was still too early in spring to see any.

On the third day, after the rain cleared out, we took a drive down the north side of the mountain.

This is a lovely lake we saw on the way down.

Looking back at the mountain we had just come down.

There are 23 towns in the United States named, 'Paris'. This one is in Arkansas. (population 3,413)

This is some kind of mushroom.

We spent our final day hiking and exploring, followed by a bonfire that evening.

Sympathetic sentiments.

We are coming to the time of the year that Christians remember the sacrifice of our Lord God's Son, Jesus dying for our sins, and rising from the dead, so that we may be able to approach God, and some day bow in His presence, because of His grace and mercy.

This is copied from a post on Facebook that has been shared:

Today, I found myself complaining about the rising cost of fuel and then I remembered I have never had to run from missiles. 

I worried if I needed to stock up on a few staples and then realized I have never had to send my children to school with their blood type taped on their backs. 

I shook my head at the thought of our young men and women headed overseas and then remembered that for the Ukrainians war showed up on their doorsteps. 

Then I decided- I won’t sit in my house and brood over the downward turn of the stock market while people are literally facing death. 

Instead I’m going to pray. I know that God will hear me - He will lean down to listen when I pray. The Bible tells me that. I’m going to pray that whatever evil intends that God would turn it around for His glory. I’m going to pray that good would overcome evil and that it would happen sooner rather than later. I’m going to pray that God would hear the cry of every lost soul facing a war they didn’t want and come to their rescue. I’m praying for the overwhelming, supernatural presence of God almighty in every corner of the world tonight. 

I came here to ask if you’d pray with me. Let’s fill the throne room with our voices as we call out for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. May God hear our prayers and turn this whole thing around. 

If He can shut the mouths of hungry lions, split an entire sea in half and raise the dead- He can surely save Ukraine. 

Day before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving.

Tis the day before Thanksgiving, and in one part of the house, we've decorated for Christmas.

We tried something different this year, by stringing lights in the shape of a tree.

We also put out all the usual; a Christmas village, stockings, Elf, Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, and more.

This is the hand made and painted ceramic Christmas tree and Nativity my mother made.

Since I'm working on Thanksgiving, and it's just me and my two daughters, I cooked lasagna, green beans, and rolls, for today.

So if you think you know the history behind Thanksgiving, now learn the truth.