Tammy and Joel

It was so sweet. Tammy one of Denise's bff's from high school and the love of her life Joel Ramay got married on Sunday the 21st of September.

Tony, Stacy and I attended, and Denise was the maid of honor. The wedding was held at The Garden Room at the Ozark Mountain Smokehouse. The garden is behind the Smokehouse, and has a lovely little fountain and stream that runs through it, with a little bridge over to more dining. A canopy of grapevines cover the pergala above the patio, and tall trees. Japanese lanterns in red and white (the brides colors)

The reception was held inside at the same location. There was a buffet of pasta and salad and of course barbecue beef and pork. A tablecloth was hung on the wall with markers for us to write loving messages to the new couple. This was a neat idea. Tables with lovely centerpieces in red florals.

Dancing with music performed by Darren Ray (lead singer of Big Uns a great local band). Lots of fun. A toss of the bouquet and garter and then the cutting of the cake and a few photos. It was great Tony and I had a marvelous time with these two young people on their special day.

Congratulations Tammy and Joel many happy years together!

Rough Night in Fayetteville

Broken tree limbs just a small example of the damage last nights rain and winds brought to our neighborhood. The weathermen said it would be rough last night and they were definately right. Mostly we just have to clean up the large
amount of leaves that blew from our many trees

we have in our yard and the neighbors. So much
rain the ground couldn't hold it all. We have approximately and inch to two inches of water

standing in the yard.

Limbs blew onto the patio and of course many leaves and the worms uuugh! Those poor creatures came crawling out all over the place. Here Joxer just finished checking out our new foilage on the concrete.

This was a hole Joxer dug in the corner. Just look at the amount of water that accumulated in it overnight. It will be there for days the ground is so wet.

All lined up in a row. Here's where I put all the loose pieces of furniture from the patio. With the wind warnings that were given we wanted to make sure no damage was done from something blowing around.
Tony had put that cover on the barbeque grill yesterday, as you see it blew right off.

Last night the wind blew and the rains came and came and came and came. The leaves are all over our yard. Joxer is splish splashing around in our saturated yard.

This was my backyard patio before last nights rain and wind blew in. Very clean neat. The after photos however sure do show a windy mess.

It could have been worse but it wasn't and we are thankful to God for that. I pray for those that were in Ike's devastating past. I pray they find those that are missing. God bless all, peace, love, and joy to all. Debra

This week

My husband and I have been married 24 years now. We enjoy simple things. Sitting on the patio, playing with the dog. Watching the birds in our backyard. Of course the rain on Monday and Tuesday kept us from doing anything in outside, but we went out to eat on Thursday to Penquin Ed's. It's right up the street and we love the smoke chicken breast salad they serve there. We like to go out at least one night a week and eat someplace we enjoy. Then we usually drive around town or up the highway a little to talk and see what's going on in the community. We heard about some changes at TGIFridays and so last week we went there and really enjoyed the food. Tony loves the sports he can keep up with on TV's they have around the resturaunt.

We have this funny little bird feeder in our front yard. Tony's father gave it to us and we hung it on a limb we could few from our living room window. Tony has loved this little feeder. He loves seeing the different birds that come to feed from it. The cardinals have had a field day with this thing. Tony likes to watch the big obnoxious blue jay. They're pretty but they overwhelm all the other birds around. Well anyway this little feeder has a phrase on it that says Front Porch Cafe.
If I had seen this at a craft fair or anyplace I would not have purchased it myself, it's not my taste. But this simple little gift has been such a joy. Funny isn't it, most people spend a fortune to have fun and the most joy can cost so little. We spend what amounts to less than a couple bucks a week to receive so much pleasure

Saturday Tony and I went to Old Navy and the mall and picked up a few new tops for each of us us. We have to put our stuff together and see what kind of outfits we need for the trip to Seattle next month. I'm still not sure what to wear to the weeding itself I've looked at several things. I need to make a decision in the next couple weeks.

We listened to the Razorback game last night on the radio. What a nail biter. This team knows how to bring on the suspense. Just when I thought we were doomed to loose. This team of hogs pulled out a win. Not a big win but a W is a W.
This team is going through a transition not a lot of return players, due to several legal issues with some of our main players. Also injuries have caused us to loose some players. The new head couch Petino is obviously making a huge difference in our teams capability. He has the knowledge to help the team win even in a time of hardship.

Everyone have a wonderful week and love to all Debra.

Usher

Made it through another day at the game. Last year I worked as a usher for the Razorback ballgames. So I decided to do it again this year. I have a position where I patrol up and down a walkway. Just reminding smokers not to light up. And making sure the aisles are clear. The game went well and we won a nailbiter 28-24. The fans stayed till the bitter end. Casey Dick ran the ball several times and made a real difference. Petrino coached a good game and I congratulate him on a great win.

Petrino has the hog fans fired up for an exciting football season. I say GO HOGS GO! Have a great season.

Meatloaf

Not the group, I made meatloaf. No big deal right except its been forever since I made this everyday staple. Many folks make it every week. Not me. Oh once a long time ago it was a fave in my household but not so much anymore.
So what spurred my need to make meatloaf. My daughter Stacy. At 21, Stacy still can't cook. Well no that's not true because she never has really tried to cook. So she is finding her domestic side. She's curious about how to make different dishes. So even though I had not made this in a long time she said she wanted to know how I make my goood meatloaf, that it tastes great. I told her how I make mine. Gave her different ways she could change it up. Told her you can take this basic recipe and go any direction you want. Mix up all kinds of things in it. Even went online to check how some of the celebrity cooks do theirs. I take a simple basic recipe that I got years ago from the Quaker Oats box. Through the years I to have gotten creative with my recipe.
All day long I could only think about coming home and making meatloaf. It sounds silly but it was the only thing I wanted for dinner. I got home and pulled out all the ingredients and mixed it all up. Got out my loaf pan, placed it in the pan and placed it in the oven. An hour later it was smelling great. Hot and delicious. With the mashed potatoes and the spinach with a little garlic and onion and some bacon to season it up man was it all good.
Tony and I had a great meal together and tomorrow I plan to take a meatloaf sandwich for my lunch. MMMMMMM Good! Simple and basic, sometimes you gotta go there. May all your days be great, and don't let life get you so caught up in more, more, more, sometimes we need to revisit simple and basic. Now where are those ice cream bars we bought, yum.
God Bless all, Debra