Iris' Time

In my friends yard, the Iris are blooming.
I love the yellow ones.

Old Houses have Character!

I took this in March as I pass this house on
the way to my School. The yard blooms with
all kinds of flowers. The front door is an orangie
red color. I knew the lady that lived here once
and she sold out and moved to a little brick house
in a nearby neighborhood where all the houses are
about 1000 sq. feet and look just alike. I know you
have seen them. This house has 12 foot ceilings
and she said she could not afford to heat and cool it.
The person who bought it has worked on several
aspects of the house. Bet it is still hard to heat and
cool. I think, Patsy, as we get old we have character
like this house and are more interesting that the
youngsters who all look the same...with their bellies
showing between their shirt and low swung pants!

Ernst Photo of Crag!

I really like this photo. I want to sit on the
crag and look below to the valley. I have a
picture of Erin standing on it.

This came in the mail yesterday.

A woman my husband worked with 30 years ago
sent this photo to us yesterday. It was taken in
1974. She said she was going to die soon and her
kids would just throw this away and she wanted
us to have it. It was sort of neat after all these
years hearing from her. She is over 80 years old
and was the bookkeeper where my husband worked.
When Larry came in, I told him a woman sent me
a picture of a handsome young man! He asked "who?"
and I said "you!"

Time & Talent!

If I had time and talent, I know 1000's of wonderful
stories, I could write. Many are like Steinbeck and
Faulkner tales. They would make you weep. The
books are in my head. If I could get them on paper,
I would be a rich woman. You could say, I know an
old lady that got rich writing true stories of old.

The picture is of Lidia Margaret Standridge. She
married Charlie Cagle in 1865. She was Granny
Renfroe's "own" Aunt. Granny said Aint. What
Granny meant was Lidia her father's sister and
of direct kin.

In 1879, Charlie and Lidie left Newton County for
Oregon with a wagon train of Newton County hill
folk. By the 1880 census, they are out west. Lidia
is working washing clothes for miners. No pot
of gold was found at the end of their rainbow.
All the families decided to trek home. At Americus
Kansas, the wagon train contracted typhoid fever.
Several were sick. Lidia died there. By this time,
Charlie was flat broke...not even a dime, but He had 7
little children, one born 2 weeks before Lidia's
last breath. Charlie sold Lidia's long, dark, plaited
hair to a Kansas buggy whip maker. Her hair was
braided into buggy whips to crack the back flanks
of horses. And Charlie used this cash to give Lidia
a proper burial there in a cemetery!

Potatoes did not die!

I took this Monday, but I am rejoicing that
my Irish potatoes did not die when we had
the cold snap in temps two weeks ago. They
were up and looking perky, but turned black
and were gone. Well, here they are back again.
Now, they even look better. The garden needs
warm temperatures at night to grow. We planted
some corn, big boy peas, improved pintos, and
squash yesterday right before our good rain.

I will take a photo of the potatoes this weekend
and show you how much they have improved.
I will have several bushel of potatoes if anyone
wants to visit around July 15th.....

Good Gas Milage!

Toyota passed Chevy in car sales. This car is a good
one. It has had more than three owners. Astrid, Ingrid,
and Sigrid have drove it and it bought second hand at a
"carport" sale. It is the wave of the future!

My Sweet Potatoes

The top sweet potato is one of my Georgia Jets

and the bottom the Beauregards. The Beaus

don't look like they will even live. But the Georgia

Jets already are taking off. I have went over and

watered them everyday right before sundown. I

have to carry the water from the pond. I think I

may have to call this Tater man back about the

Beauregards....they don't look like they are going

to make. I guess anything from Georgia is tough...

right Dot?

Carroll County, AR

I notice this farmer in Carroll County wants his fence

rows clean like I do. I bet he is kin to me.

Perfect Frame and Picture

Erin found this perfect frame at KMart

for her perfect picture. She even said

the frame was on sale. Lucky gal!

Henry Clay Renfroe Saga

This house in Russellville on Erie Street (I
think this is a good name for where the guy
lived) was built by Henry Clay Renfroe.
He was a lawyer for People's bank at a time
when you purchased law books, studied and
passed the bar exam to be licensed. He was
Grandpa Renfroe's Uncle, but Grandpa did
not claim him. Poor Henry Clay Renfroe
was in charge of foreclosures for the Bank and
during the depression too boot. Grandpa thought
he had sold his soul to the Devil and did not
acknowledge him as his Uncle. I would love to get
inside the house. I knocked on the door and a
shabby lookin' guy answered; he did not invite me
in. They did not have running water in this house
when Henry and his wife lived here in the 1920's
and 30's. So each morning Henry dressed in a white
suit and headed downtown where he paid for a
bath and shave. When he came home he honked
his horn signaling for his wife to run out and open
the garage door where he kept his car. Once
Grandpa said he buried her in the yard and
only left her head out over some disagreement.

Before becoming a lawyer, he was a deputy U S
Marshall for the Searcy Co. AR. He arrested
moonshiners mainly. He and Benjamin Franklin
Taylor sent out to arrest Harve Bruce and destory
his still. Harve killed B. F. Taylor and sent a bullet
through Henry Clay's hat missing his brains an inch.
After this Mr. Renfroe moved to Russellville and became
a lawyer. Mr. Bruce went to the State Prison for 6
months. The Prison Superintendent made Harve a
guard and posted him on the wall with a Winchester
rifle. He arrived at the Prison on his own to serve out
his sentence being his 70s at the time of his arrest.
Old man Bruce said he felt he had as much right to make
whiskey as his wife did to make bread from his corn,
worth 30 cents a bushel. When made into whiskey, the
slop was worth as much as the corn and they got $2.00
a gallon for the whiskey. He said it was the only way to
get by in the Mts. but he would make no more whiskey
as he wanted to die in peace.

Sweet Potatoes Planted!

Onions and Irish Potatoes are on the one side of

our garden. Yesterday, we set out the sweet

potatoes on the other side. In between we will

put beans, squash, tomatoes, okra and corn.

We plant our sweet potatoes in a bed. Half

the row is Georgia Jets (because of Dot I

thought they would be tastey and sweet)

and the other half is Beauregards. The Beaus

are a type we have planted before. My Aunt

Thelma told me a sweet potato was one of the

most nutrious foods one could eat. I like to bake

a cookie sheet full, put them in sandwich bags, and

take them to school in my lunch. I save the honey

pkgs. from KFG and put a little bit of butter and

honey. Nothing could be better.

Mrs. Harris' Place

This homeplace is about a mile from me. A Mrs.
Harris lived here all her life. She was called the
flower lady. She would pick flowers and take them
to town and sell them on the street corner. After I
knew her she was the age to get social security and did
not peddle in town anymore. Her old two story house
is torn down. A former politician bought her place when
she died. Mrs. Harris had no children and lived to be
past 80. You can see her work still.

County Dumped this on me~!

Each fall and spring our county cleans the

ditches by the gravel roads. Larry said they

could dump the extra dirt on the side of our

meadow. Now it all needs to be spread out

with a bulldozer, but in the piles this pretty

bush grew. I am sure it was at the side of an

old lady's yard and the county scooped up a

piece of root. I was trying to get up to it and

see if we might move it to Laura's yard....and

yes, there was another snake. I decided this

would have to wait until fall when Mr. Snake

was in a hole!

Above the Clouds!

Withdrawing from the Savings!

All about me!

I am important here in Galla Meadow, but in the world I
am not not even a shadow. Can you see me there tall
in the Meadow-- taller than even the trees. I stretch
way across the land. I am somebody here at home!

Well, Dot wanted me to do this and I did. I saw a long
list of stuff there and not one word about it being the
day I entered this world. As Old Sister says we are
important mostly to ourselves and soon after we pass
away we will be forgotten. Most who are remembered
long do evil deeds so I would just as soon be remembered
less.

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in the month
and day you were born. (For me--June 14).
2. List three events that occurred that day:

1777 - Stars and Stripes adopted by Congress as the
Flag of the United States.
1648 - Margaret Jones is hanged in Boston for witchcraft
in the first such execution for the Massachusetts colony.
1942 - Anne Frank begins to keep a diary.

3. List two important birthdays:
1932 - Joe Arpaio, sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona
1811 - Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author (d. 1896)

4. List one death:
1801 - Benedict Arnold, American general (b. 1741)

5. Tag five friends to do the same: (If they want to!)


I better not do this but if I did it would be:
Sister Patsy
Sister Helen
Sister Fleta
Daughter Laura
Daughter Erin

The 14th day of June,
was famous for which
birth of me, US Flag,
A sheriff or a witch?
Anne started her diary
When I was not!
Lots happened June 14th
Me...just a tiny dot!

Kayla Loves Isack!

This was on the wall at School. It is
graffiti, but not gang stuff. I know
Kayla and Isack. He spells his name
this weird way. Isack said.."Mrs. R...
they've (don't know who they are)
been sayin' someone likes me, but I
did not write on the wall." I told him
I knew he did not do it as it was in the
girl's room. Kayla was totally
embarrassed and I know she did not
do it either. So......I just cleaned it up.
All the time thinking, I am glad that
this is what we are writing on the wall.
The handwriting was a neat script, too
and I am glad someone loves Isack for
he drives me crazy!!!

Astrid likes simple things.

Astrid likes simple things. She asked
for a homemade cake again. White cake
with horses on top. Her sister, Ingrid,
designed this cake. I think she did a great
job.

Flag over Old Folks Home!

This flag was flying over an Nursing Home
at Jasper, AR. I was born on flag day. We
share the day.

Why I don't Kill King Snakes!

This is why I let the King snake live.
I took this picture several years ago
at the edge of Galla Meadow. The
snakes rose up and faced each other
in a fight. They moved around in a
circle, never letting their back be to
the other snake. Finally the King
struck the the Copperhead biting
him behind his head. Then quickly
he wrapped his body around and
around. After about 30 minutes
he moved his mouth over the
Copperhead's head and swollowed him
then crawled away to rest. The snakes
were almost the same size. I took this one
picture with a cheap camera. I am proud to
have witnessed this struggle of nature. It
really made an impression on me. I never kill
a King snake.

Sheepshear!

I remember eating the clover off this little
plant when the Sisters were growing up. I
suppose Daddy told us to taste it. Some of
the things that come back to me....I wonder
did this happen or am I just imagining it. I
hope Patsy will tell me if she remembers
tasting this clover.

I have learned a lot from my Sisters and
Cousin Winnie about our family from our
blogs. I never new my Grandmothe Powell
was the one who made the long, thin,
homemade egg noodles. I would have never
been able to imagine them drying over a tea
towel on the back of her dining chair.

Have you ever tasted this clover? Is is
sheepshear?

Ham was sooo good!

The ham turned out really good. We want

to thank Greg and Erin Jones for giving it

to us. I did not know that Petit Jean Hams

were as good as those advertisements say,

but they surely are.

The best part of Easter was the girls in blue.

Before we sat down to eat, they moved their

plates around to different spots. I think they

were figuring out how 3 girls could sit on 2

sides of Pop. Now, that is a math problem.

Ingrid said that my rolls were the best she

had ever eaten. I bought those brown and

serve kind from Kroger. She said I was the

best mash potato maker! She sang in

Church in front of the few regulars that attend

and a bunch of visitors.

Easter was a good day for me. Pop did hide eggs

for the girls, but it was cold so I watched out the

window of the dining room. I had a nap in

the afternoon! Refreshed today for the new week.

Wanda's Dumplins!

This is my friend Wanda. She worked in the
lunchroom at my school for over 20 years.
When she retired, she gave me a little recipe
book of some of her favorite things to make.
Now, I have made several of the recipes and
have to admit the stuff I make is not as good
as Wanda's...but still good. I made her chicken
and dumplins yesterday because it was cold
here and it sounded good.

You boil a whole chicken. Wanda is health
minded. She said the recipe was better without
chicken skin. So after the chicken is done,
you take all the meat and none of the skin.
Put the meat and broth in the refrigerator and
cool it. This way all the fat will come to the top
and you can skim it off. Wanda said to cook the
chicken stock one day and the dumplins were
for the next day's meal.

To make her dumplins you simply put:
2 cups flour
1 t. salt
1 cup chicken broth
1 whole egg
Roll out the dough until it is 1/8 inch thick
cut into small squares

Drop into the broth/chicken mixture which
needs to be boiling. Cook until the dumplins
are tender. Do not cook with a lid. You can
thicken the mixture with some milk and
flour when the dumplins are tender.

It is really good. The Sisters grew up eating
chicken and noodles. Our mother made
homemade egg noodles. Her mother was from
a northern state and I guess there they eat
chicken and noodles. Mom's were out of this
world. My husband was born in the Arkansas
and he does not like the noodle dish as he
grew up having dumplins. So my kids have
had chicken and dumplins. I guess this is how
traditions die out.

We are having Petit Jean ham today! Laura
is cooking it with apricot sauce, I think. Catch
you later!

Happy Easter!

Astrid is Seven!

Last year, Astrid was six!
Turn around, turn around,
Asrid is seven!
Turn around, turn around!
And Astrid is grown!
Turn around, turn around.
Oh, time don't spin so fast
Slow down this day
'Cause Astrid is seven!

New Lawn Mower!

Our first riding lawn mower was a Sears. It lasted
a long time. So we got another Sears 2 years ago.
It's torn up most of the time. We decided to
get a more tractor type mower. This one we
found on the radio trade show. It is 20 years
old, but is more what we need to mow a meadow.

Are you mowing your yard yet? We have one time.

Ozarks ~ God's Country!

King Snake!

One of our Feists bayed this snake. He is a King Snake

and part of his diet is poisonous snakes....so I thought

well, just let him stay around Galla Farm. Well, he went

staight to my chicken house and under the sill. So I guess

he will be eating my eggs too! Sometimes you try to be

hospitable and look what happens!

My Neighbor's Wisteria!

I know you don't covet your neighbor's wife,
but........how about their Wisteria?

Into the Deep Wood!

Laura posted about our rock hunt where we

harvested trees. At one time (even tho I

grew up on a farm), I could not tell one tree

from another, but I have learned what

basic trees look like. We could not find the

old house place deep in the wood. It is still

there just hidden for a while, but we decided

to dig up trees and plant them. I pushed the

wheel barrel down into the wood to Laura's

"Mom, I will do that". Coming out of the

wood going up hill with the barrel loaded

with trees, I told her she could push now!

Hope some of the trees live. It is nice to

remember tree planting in the yard like

Old Sister and her Box Elder in our yard

at home on Douglas Road. Now 60 years

later it still attests to the day that she and

Daddy planted it there!

Usin' Up the Eggs!

I was trying to use up some of those dozens

of eggs I have been getting. So I made

german chocolate cake with the home

made icing that takes egg yolks. Well,

then I had all those extra egg white so

I had to make a lemon pie so I could use

the whites to make the meringue.

Holy buckets, finally I came out even

or I would still be in the kitchen.

Remembrance!

What will the Rids remember about Pop and Gigi--
Gigi was grippy and Pop was the top!