Two Little Boys

This is a short post this morning, but I just had to post this picture. I went over to my great Aunt Doodle's house Saturday and she let me borrow some old photos to make copies of. This was one of them. It was a very small photo. Probably less then 2" so I wasn't sure how it was going to copy. It copied fantastic!
The little boys in the picture are (left) my daddy, (right) his brother, Ivy (aka: Uncle Junior). This was in about 1936. Daddy said he was about 5 and Uncle Junior was 6.
Their dad had taken them to a carnival that was in town. Notice the kind of angry look on my dad's face. He said they made him take his gumball out of his mouth to have the picture taken and he didn't want to. He then said he wondered where the gumball was. I told him to look in his hand! I had wondered what he had in his hand when I first saw the picture! I just think this is the most adorable picture!

Fall Festival

This past Saturday my town had it's annual Fall Festival. They have crafts, food, antique cars, lumber jack contest, games for the kids, and music. It is an all day event. A friend of mine and I had a booth in it this year. This is the first year I have been in it in years!

Below is a picture of me and the baby booties, hats, and bonnets I had for sale.
Here is a close up of my booties and hats.
This is a picture of my two Christening sets I had for sell. I sold both of them to a lady who goes to my church. Her daughter-in-law is having a baby girl in late February.
In the upper part of this picture you see some ribbons that my friend made. She embroidered the different school logos on them. Also there is a bonnet I crocheted. In the lower part of the picture are some little Japanese bags I made to sell.
These are some scrub tops and little pajamas my friend made.
These are some pillowcase dresses my friend made.
Here are some jumpers, diaper bags, blankets, bonnets and little slips my friend made.
This is one side of our booth. It is my friends canopy and "Sew On & Sew Forth" is what she calls her business.
We did not sell very much stuff, but we had a really good time seeing and talking to lots of friends that we don't normally see very often. The crowds just weren't very big. In the past few years the fair that comes to town yearly has been coming the week of the Fall Festival and a lot of people go to it. I really wish they would schedule it in October like they used too!

Amber and Keith spent the day with me at the festival. Keith actually sold a pair of baby booties for me! I had gone to get us something to eat and left him in charge. He said a lady told him she did not have any babies. He told her they make great gifts and so she bought a pair! I was so proud of him!

12 Days of Christmas Ornaments

I am looking for a pattern for some ornaments. This is not just any old pattern. But a very old one. When I was 16 (some 33 years ago!) my then sister-in-law and I made there 12 Days of Christmas Ornaments out of paper. They were the neatest things! The paper was pleated and some of the ornaments used Styrofoam balls in them. I don't know where I got the pattern. I am thinking it must have been in a magazine as I was always buying Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, and any other magazine that had Christmas crafts in it during the Christmas Season. Needless to say I no longer have the pattern. I so bad want to find this pattern and make these ornaments again. I have done a search on the Internet for it, but have not been able to find it. Does anyone remember seeing this pattern? If anyone out there has seen it and knows where I can get it please let me know!

Fire Prevention Week

I had to put this picture up of my son with his Mohawk haircut! Several of the football players were having the coach cut their hair like this and he called me and asked me if he could do it. I told him yes. But he has to grow it back normal after football season!
I think I have mentioned the fact that this is his first year to play football. He is on the Varsity team and the Junior Varsity team. He does not get to play very much during the Varsity games but this past Monday at the Junior Varsity game he got to play the whole game! He did really good and I was so proud of him! He was one happy boy when he got home!

Sunday I went over to visit with a friend of mine. She has the neatest dog. He is huge, but just like a big baby. He loves to be petted. He had the lightest blue eyes I have ever seen! I just had to take his picture. My friend's son is sitting on the swing with him.
This has been Fire Prevention week in my town. On Wednesday of this week they always have a parade. I can still remember watching this parade as a very little girl. This year I just sat in the store where I worked and watched it go by. It was so hot outside I did not want to be out there. Not to mention the loud noise of all those fire trucks! I used to stand out there and watch it with my little children, but they are all grown now and so I don't have to be outside anymore.

See the little children right outside my window? They kept looking in the window at me and waving at me. They were so cute. Notice the little red fireman's hat the little boy has on. I can remember getting one of these every year when I was a little girl. I loved it!
There were firetrucks in that parade of every shape and size! They came from every town around! Even one as far away as 60 miles! Sure glad there weren't any fires yesterday!

I did not get a good picture of this, but there was Raggedy Ann, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and a Dalmatian puppy with this go-cart.
This policeman had the street running along beside my store blocked off.
These guys were from a Military School.
Here's the hook and ladder from our neighboring town.
The horses are always a part of every parade in Jackson!
And last but not least is Smokey the Bear!
It was nice to sit in my nice cool store and watch the parade!

Crochet

It is so strange how I go through these phases. Sometimes I will be in a fabric mode and make lots of quilts and other little things out of fabric and want to buy lots of fabric. Then other times I might be in an embroidery mood and want to do nothing but embroidery. Right now is my crochet mood. I have been crocheting for several months now. Whenever I go anywhere I am always wanting to look at the crochet thread and yarn. Fabric holds no interest for me right now. Isn't that odd?! Maybe I am just odd. Before you know it I will be in a mood to do something else and put down the crochet for a while.

I have really been enjoying the crochet, though. I have found some blogs where the ladies do gorgeous crochet! They are not American and although some of them I can translate the language on it is still hard to understand some of what they say or the patterns they post. But I have been able to look at the pictures of some things and figure out what different words in the pattern mean.

Here is a picture of the latest pair of booties I have crocheted.
This is a sachet that I got off one of the blogs I was telling you about. I just love it!
Here's a side picture of the sachet.
This is a little bracelet I made using purple and gold, our school colors here.
I am going to put some crocheted flowers on this bracelet.
This is a coaster.
Not really sure what this is. I think it kinda looks like leaves and will probably put a crochet flower in the middle of it.
This is a rose I crocheted out of size 20 thread. I just love the size it turned out.
This is a purple rose I crocheted out of size 10 thread. The color in the picture is not it's true color. The picture does not do it justice.
And here is a little loopy daisy.
I have lots more crocheted flowers and I need to take group pictures of them and post them.

Right now I am crocheting on a baby hat, booties, and sweater that a lady ordered. I hope to finish it this week.

Everything else here is going good. My son's football team has won every game they have played so far. They have played 5 games. Last Friday was the big game against our rivals across the river. Every year it is a big event. The stands were packed and it was so hot I was about to melt! We were so excited we won. It was the first time we have beat them in four years. We have a new coach this year and he has really done a lot with the team. I am not a football person at all. I am not a sports person at all. But I have enjoyed going to these games and am finally learning some about football. I still don't understand the downs thing. My husband has tried to explain it to me, but it just doesn't make sense. At least I have learned how to tell which team has the ball!

I sang in church again yesterday. I was more nervous this time then the last time. I think it is because my husband was there. Last time he was not there. This song also had more low notes and since I am high soprano and my mouth was really dry I kinda had a problem with that. Still after church everyone came up and told me how beautiful I sang. It sure made me feel good. But I sing for the glory of God and I know to Him it is perfect no matter how bad I think it is.

It is another Monday morning and I feel so sleepy. I could have just stayed in the bed. But, alas, I have to get my son to school and go to work. Ugh! I hope you all have a great day and week!
Diane

Good Monday Morning!

I hope everyone is having a great Monday Morning! I did not want to get out of bed this morning, but once I did I am up and ready to go. Things here have been pretty much the same. I know I lead such a dull life compared to most bloggers. I just take care of kids, go to work, take care of the house, take care of my dad, go to church, and do handwork, of course. As I've said before I have been crocheting a lot lately. I'm making baby booties and such to sell in our annual fall craft show. Below are a few pair of booties I have finished recently.
This one is a Christmas T-Strap:
This one is just a plain white one that will work for either a boy or girl:
These are done in antique white:
These are some of my favorites! Christmas booties:
This is actually made from a 1946 pot holder pattern. But I decided not to make it into a pot holder. I just use it as a doily on my dresser.
Remember a while back I put this picture of my great uncle, James Frank Dumas, on my blog? I have been trying forever it seems to get his military records and find out exactly what happened to him. He lungs got messed up in the Navy and he died just 8 months after being discharged from the Navy. He was only 23 when he died. Well, I finally got his records. They did not tell me what happened to him, but at least they tell me what ships he was on. I am sending off to get his medical records now. I don't know if I will be able to get them as they say most medical records over 50 years old no longer exist. And it has been over 60 years since he got out of the Navy.
I went up to visit my great Aunt Doodle (his sister) yesterday and take her a copy of the records. She enlightened me a little more about him. In his records it shows where he was put into the hospital twice not long after joining the Navy. This was a puzzle. The length of the hospital stays were pretty long. Well, when I told my aunt she told me that he had gotten the mumps and chicken pox not long after joining the Navy. So that explains those hospital stays. I am determined to find out exactly what happened to him in the Navy to cause the damage to his lungs. I just need to find out more information about the ships he was on. If anyone knows how I can find out information about the Merchant ships that the Armed Guards were on please let me know.

Has anyone ever gotten an email from this site, SeoBlogReviews.com wanting to pay you to do review of different websites on your blog? I got one today and just don't know whether they are legitimate or not.

I am off to get my stuff together to leave and take my son to school and then go to work. Hope you all have a great Day!!!
Diane

Football, Football, Football & Baby Booties, of course!

I uploaded these pictures on Saturday, but never got around to making a post with them. Below is a picture of my handsome son. How do you all like his Mohawk? Crazy, ain't it?! He called me from football practice almost two weeks ago and asked me if he could have a Mohawk. He said several of the football players were doing it, so I said OK. One of the coaches cut it. It's just a football thing and will be gone before long.
So far I have been to all of Keith's football games. Hubby hasn't gotten to go to them all because of work. Last Friday night we drove about an hour and a half to sit in the rain for nearly three hours to watch the game and Keith never even got to play! This is Keith's first year and so he does not get to play a whole lot. Monday afternoon when I picked him up from practice he informed me that he had a football game on Tuesday night. He told me that he will be playing on the Junior Varsity team as well as the Varsity team. So we had to go to the game last night. The good thing about Junior Varsity is they don't play as long of a game and Keith got to play more since it is younger kids on there. We were happy about that and he did really well. Of course he was happy about that, too! Keith is a good size for a football player at 6'1" and 195 pounds. He will get better as he goes and get to play more at the Varsity games. He weight 220 pounds when he started football this past spring. He has really trimmed up and looks good!

Tara is in college now and doing good. She came home yesterday for a dentist appointment and so we got to see her for a little while. It was nice. I sure miss my baby girl!

I have still been crocheting baby booties. Below is my latest pair. What do you think of them? I have a little crocheted wreath pin that I wear at Christmas. I made it several years ago. One day I was sitting here thinking that a pair of booties with tiny wreaths on them would be so cute. I think they really turned out nice. Every year our town has a Fall Festival on the first Saturday in November. My friend usually has a booth in it. I asked her if she wanted to share a booth this year and slit the cost and she said yes. So that is what we are doing. I have been working like mad to get booties and other things crocheted. I also have my booties in my ETSY Store. So check them out!
Other then football and crocheting and work not much else is going on. I'm hoping to get my computer looked at here shortly. It has been really slow and acting really weird. It also keeps uninstalling my printer, which makes me insane when I want to print something and my printer is not there! I sure hope this guy can do something with it! I've only had it 7 months!

Well, I am off to take Keith to school and go to work! Have a great and blessed day everyone!
Diane

Keith starts 10th grade and Tara starts College!

Here is my handsome some son, Keith! He started the 10Th grade on Aug. 10Th. Ever since my oldest daughter started kindergarten I have taken a picture of my kids every year on the first day of school. It started out with only Amber in the picture. Then the pictures were of Amber and Tara. Finally the pictures were of Amber, Tara, and Keith. Then when Amber went off to college the pictures were only of Tara and Keith. This is the first year that the picture was only of Keith. Doesn't he look sad not to have his sisters in the picture with him? It's sad to think I only have two more years of taking pictures of him the first day of school and then he will be in college:(
Aug. 15th was Tara's moving day to college. Below is a picture of her getting in her car for the trip. Amber rode with her and Keith and I went in my car. We had both cars loaded down with her stuff! We got to the college and got the cars unloaded. We were so glad that big, strong Keith was with us! Tara's room is on the 2ND floor and Keith carried all the heavy stuff up to her room for us. Then we all went shopping for some things she needed and some groceries for her. Her room is an efficiency apartment and so she can cook in there. That is good. It will save her money.
Here she is sitting on her bed. Her roommate is a girl that she has been friends with for about 7 or 8 years. Can you believe they got the exact same comforters for their beds without knowing that the other was getting that one! We could not believe it. So their beds matched which I think is nice.
It was really hard to leave her there. I cried coming home. I really miss her so much. She is only a little over an hour away so will be home often. She says she is coming home this weekend. I just miss having her here every day. I cried a lot yesterday, too. I am doing better today although I have cried a little.

I have to tell you what she did last night. You have to understand that Tara has no sense of direction whatsoever. I printed her out a map and highlighted the way to Wal-Mart. Now all she had to do was leave campus, turn right on the road that runs along the campus, go up a couple miles to this other road, turn left, go a few blocks and there is Wal-Mart. Still I was worried about her going there in the dark for the first time without me. She called me about 9pm last night and told me that she and her friend were going to Wal-Mart. I asked her if she knew how to get there and she said she thought so and her friend said she knew. In just a little while she called me and said they could not find Wal-Mart and almost didn't find there way back to the dorm! I had to laugh. I told her she should have taken the map I made for her. She told me she could not read the map and drive! I told her that her friend could read the map while Tara drove! I am worried about her driving home by herself this Friday. I know she can make it once she gets on this certain highway as it is a straight shot from there. It is just getting her out of the city and to that highway that worries me! Of course the map I gave her shows her the way to go, but who knows if she can read it and follow it. I did not have time to go over it with her before we left her as the guy she is dating came to the school to take her out.

She was really nervous about getting to her classes today, but she did just fine. I told her she would get the hang of it soon.

Sunday Amber and I spent the day getting a lot of her stuff moved into Tara's room. She still has more stuff to get moved in there, but it is nice to get her out of the den. Our den was overflowing with her stuff. And I know she was tired of pulling out the hide-a-bed every night and having to make it up. Plus the frame on that thing was falling apart and hard on her back. When Tara comes home she will sleep in the bedroom with Amber.

Crochet & Trip

I have still been working on crocheting baby booties. Below is a pair I finished up today for a baby boy.
This is cute little pink and white pair for that sweet little baby girl in someones life.
Be sure and check out my ETSY Store to see all my booties and bonnets!

My dad and I went to Meridian this past weekend to visit relatives. My cousin had called and told me that my dad's younger brother, who lives in Miami, Florida, had came up with his son to visit. My dad and him have not seen each other in over a year and I have not seen him nor my aunt and cousins in over a year. I was so excited to go! My dad was really worried about going as he has dementia and can't stand to be out of his little world. But I finally convinced him that it would only be for one night and I would take everything he needed with us. So I packed up all his juices, crackers, bananas and everything else and we went. He really seemed to enjoy himself while we were there.

I had a blast! It was so fun being with my cousins again. We all grew up more like brothers and sisters as we were over at each other's houses all the time while growing up.

Below is a picture of my cousin Sandra, myself, my Aunt Rachel, and my cousin Janet. Sandra and Janet were born on the same day exactly one year part. Sandra is 4 years older then me and Janet is 5 years older then me. My Aunt Rachel does not look so good as her health is not good at all. But I tell you we couldn't slow her down! She insisted in helping cook and can that woman cook! We ate so good that day. Sadly the day after we left she fell and fractured her shoulder. I just feel like crying. She is like my second mama. I just love her so much.
This is a picture of my dad, my Aunt Rachel, and my Uncle Goat (Jerry), who is my dad's brother.

Here is Uncle Goat, his son Darrell, and my Daddy.
Here is my cousin Darrell and me. Darrell is exactly 2 months older then me. When we were really little we did everything together. I learned to walk before Darrell and my mama used to tell me that we would be under the table and I would be walking and telling Darrell, " 'm on, Darrell". Which means come on Darrell. She said I taught him to walk! I used to have to cut his paper for him too as he had such bony fingers that he couldn't hold the scissors. Him and me still laugh about all this!
This is a little pouch I made to wear on my arm and keep my ball of crochet thread in so I can carry it with me and crochet where ever I go.
I love to use it at work.
Close up of my little crocheted bag.
Saturday is the big day. My baby, Tara, moves to college! How sad I am going to be. I will tell you all about it after we get her moved in.