Greta Celebrates

 These pictures are of Greta at her school party and watching Elf while her Daddy snoozes.  Before the hearing aides, Greta did not like tv.  Now she enjoys many shows.

 Astrid got a new phone for Christmas.  She took this selfie with it.  She had used the other phone since 6th grade so this one will have to last until she graduates from high school!  She surely is a lovely girl!

Visiting An Old Friend

 I talked my friend Kay into going to visit our friend Mary who lives on top of the world near Hagarville, AR.  We got lost 3 or 4 times but finally found her place.  I told Kay that I thought Mary was 84, but come to find out she is 85.   She lost her husband about a year ago.

 Mary gave me a neat bird feeder.  I hate to hang it outside.

 Granny Renfroe's Uncle Joe Humphrey lived on this place until he died in 1944.  He bought the house at auction on the court house steps in Russellville.  The place was homesteaded by will Tumbleson.  His son got sick and he got the Doctor to come out to see the sick boy who died. He shot the Doctor.  He was tried and said--I did not mean to kill the Doc or I would not have shot him in the knee I would have hit his heart. Will's family had to sell the place to hire a lawyer to defend him in his trial!   Mary and her husband bought the place in another auction on the court house steps.  Joe's kids could not settle on how to divide the place when his wife died and the place was sold again.  Bill and Mary bought it that way in 1984.  They built a small house and moved there.  Mary is still there surrounded by Ozark  National Forest in the middle of no where!

Mary's chickens.  Below is about half way up the mt. to Mary's place.

Piney Creek is below us there.

Mary's daughter was visiting from San Antonio.  See the wood stove. Mary heats with wood.  Kay and I taught with Mary about 15 years.  She retired in 1989.  Our last visit to her homestead was about 1990 almost 25 years ago.

 Granny's Uncle Joe's house still stands on Mary's place.

Eagle In Galla Meadow

 Today I saw an eagle swooping around Galla Meadow.  He was gone before I could capture him with my camera.  I finished Jonell's throw.  It turned out nice and big.

I now have two woodpeckers that come each day.  Below is Patsy's hand showing off the sunflower.  Seems she called this tick weed.

 Erin put snickers and almond joy candy in this jar with a straw for Greta and Clayton's teachers.  Kids have lots of teachers now days.  Greta has several because of her hearing handicap.  Greta called last night wanting Pop.  She was telling on her Mother, Father and Cayton (that is how she says his name) as they were all being really mean to her!

Lego Table

 Clayton is getting a lego table that Erin and Greg have fixed for him.  She thinks it will fit at the foot of his bed.  The table will give him a place to leave what he is putting together...off the kitchen table or out of the middle of the floor.

Below is Fleta in 2007.  She had just had the liver cyst and was still sort of sick.  We were at Patsy's and I was getting some chickens to bring home.   Time flies.

Surprise Or Not?

 Above is the kitchen on pentress or whatever they call it.  Below is the one Erin and Greg created for Greta for Christmas.  Greta keeps peeking in the garage.  She said "when do I get my kitchen?"  Remember she is 4.  Erin told her the kitchen was for her friend, Emory!   Greta pondered a while and said "why does Emory's kitchen have a G on it for Greta!" Greta is a smart cookie!   Erin has made Clayton a table to put legos together on.  I will post the picture of it later.

 Here is a letter that was on Laura's refrig.  To Mother From Sigrid....

Ring Those Bells

 Sigrid's class went to Capitol yesterday and say Christmas caroles.  Afterward, she came over and she and Pop fixed bird houses to give to a few of her friends for Christmas.  Sigrid made all 4's (A's) on her  Amazon presentation.

 This is Astrid and her cousin from Nebraska.  Astrid had 2 three pointers in the basketball game last night against Bryant.  Wow!

 The whole bunch of cousins!

 Here is Merle who had the 90th birthday.  I searched her name on the internet and found this picture!

Greta Bake Me a Cake

Erin said her window slipped and is crooked but other than that she is finished.  Surely, is a great kitchen.

December Half Gone

 Erin, Clayton and Greta made this ginger bread house.  When Helen visited, Erin said the house was bit of a mess.  She cleaned yesterday if Helen hurries down there she can see Erin's place all spiffy, but if you wait til Monday, Helen, too late!  Clayton wanted to know what in the world happened to Gigi's sister's hair.  (Fleta is the sister he is talking about.)  And how did that little girl (Hannah) grow so big so fast.  He also thought Gigi's sister had put on a little weight (I made that one up, Helen).

 The Christensen's are in Nebraska.  Grandma Merle turned 90.  Eric has been telling me about her getting forgetful.  I just look at him wide eyed and say nothing.  At 90, you have some rights and one is to be as forgetful as you wish!

Ingrid turned 13 and I gave her cash.  All my Grand kids are old enough to love getting cash except maybe Greta.  Ingrid got two new outfits and they look good.  Ingrid is a twig!  She is a very smart girl and has the reading bug like the Powell sisters do.  Sigrid and Astrid are good readers but they don't read as much as Ingrid.

Finding Way Home On Google Earth

 I just finished a really good book.  I think Fleta would like it.  It is about Saroo, an Indian by birth but adopted by a family in Australia where he grew to adulthood.  Saroo is part of very poor family in India.  He has 2 brothers (older than he) and a sister.  His mother was a Hindu who married a Muslin man.  In India, a Muslin man can have more than one wife.  Shortly before Saroo's mother's last child was born, his father took a new wife and moved to live with her in a nearby city.  Saroo's mother worked at construction sites to support herself and her 4 children.  His father virtually deserted them.  Saroo's older two brothers took jobs too and spent their days searching for food if they could find no work.  Saroo was to stay in a tiny house (about 9 square feet) and take care of his sister.  When he was 5, he went with his brother to a city near his home.  They hopped a train.  This was a larger city where there was more work for young children.  He left Saroo at a train station and said he could come back.  He did not. Saroo (only 5) decided he would get on a train and go home.  When he got in a car, he was trapped.  The train started moving and he was on the train a long time.  He finally got off in Calcutta, India.  He spent a long time on the streets, hiding, stealing food, trying to escape wild dogs.  Finally, he ends up in "New Life" orphanage.  He is able to tell them his mother's name and the names of his other family members.  He tells the city his brother and he went to.  He tells his home town city.  The orphanage can not find any of these places.  They can not find his mother.  The Australian family adopts him and he moves to Tasmania.  His new parents help him remember the facts he knows about his Indian family and the places he lived.

When Saroo becomes an adult, he becomes acquainted with the computer program Google earth.  He starts his search following train tracks out of Calcutta.  He knows he came by train and the tracks can lead him back to his mother and home town.  He makes a compass circle from Calcutta out the number of miles he thinks he could have road the train.  He searches and searches.  Sometimes he is without a fast internet connection and will give up a while, but always he returns to the Google program and tries again.  By 2010, he has a fast connection in his home.  He travels down each rail road finding nothing.  The one city he knows starts with a B and he looks at every B city in India.  He was on the train longer than he thought and his village was actually farther away than he thought.

His book is really good and interesting.  His new parents are wonderful.  Sometimes the worse thing in our lives is the best thing after all.  We don't understand God's plan, but as Patsy would say "it is written in stone".  Hope Fleta can download this to her new computer and read it.

Jonell's Afghan

Decided to make Jonell and Kenny an afghan for them to keep in the travel trailer they live in part of the year.  Just started and it will probably take me a month.  When finished I will send it to the address in Green Forest I have for her.  Jonell is really a special friend.

Ring Of Fire

 This picture was taken in 2007 when Patsy gave me chickens.  I recall some were those Red Sex Linked ones which are my favorite chickens.  Richard was checking them out.  Once when I went there he had me watch a show about mules that he recorded or ordered from RFD tv.  He loved that channel.  It was a great show.  At one time a team of good mules would cost about the same as a farm!  Can you imagine!

Richard told a story of going coon hunting with Frankie Powell and Billy Joe Rudd.  The dogs often chase a coon around and around.  Coons are smart and will go through water and around in circles to try to escape.  Squirrel hunting like we do goes fast.  The dog hits the trail and soon trees the squirrel. If the dog sees a squirrel on the ground it will go up the tree quickly as on the ground the dog has an advantage and can catch the squirrel if he stays in the chase.  But coon hunting is a night time adventure.  I have gone a few times and it was not very exciting to me, but brother Richard loved coon hunting.  Richard said they were sitting under a big oak and listening to the dogs track a coon.  They bark on track and you tell where the dogs are.  Squirrel dogs are quiet on the track and bark when they are treed.  Coon dogs bark differently on the track that when they are treed.  Also, of course they bark more vigorously and in one spot.   Making the way to the tree is a treacherous walk.  Always through briars and bushes!  Remember it is pitch dark and the only light when I went was on Richard's head.

Billy Joe was a jolly sort.  Under the oak, he just went to sleep knowing Richard and Frankie would wake him if the dogs treed.  Richard said they made a ring out of oak leaves and lit it on fire in several places.  Billy Joe woke in a ring of fire and you could hear the ring of laughter even over the dogs howling in the distance!

Santa's Elf--Erin

Greta's kitchen is progressing.  Santa's elf has to work after Greta goes to sleep!