Boys Just Want to Have Fun

Sometimes there isn't a lot to do for kids living in small towns. We all know kids with nothing to do can get in a lot of trouble. Kudos to our town for having the foresight to build a skateboard park ... it's going to be well worth the investment.

Teach Your Children Well

I never understood why some folks don't value their stories - where they came from - who their ancestors were. I think it's fascinating to know about past generations - not just your own childhood - that is so limiting!

I love it when my mother tells my daughter that she has the same shape head that her great-great grandmother had (as she strokes the back of her head and neck). Then, she tells a story, of course, of how her grandmother used to wear her hair, etc...

We have a lot of Native Americans around here and this girl in the photo was caught off-guard during a pow wow recently. She is learning the ways of her ancestors even if she does live in a brick home and ride the school bus to school. Equal energy is spent learning the old ways.

May you share that connectiveness today with those whom you love... and drink a glass of sweet tea for me!

Favorite Leisure Activities

Around this part of the country, paddling is a sacred tradition. Children are initiated at a very young age, ususally squished between the ice cooler and the tackle box. And nobody is too old to enjoy the soft rhythm of the streams and rivers, and lunch is always some Ritz crackers and a chunk of cheese with some summer sausage or vienna sausages (pronounce VEEena) with Saltines, and don't forget the GORP - or trail mix for you other folks out there!!!



Most people go for the day floats while there are the hard core folks who spend several days or more camping along the shale creeks and limestone bluffs.


Here are a couple of seniors who have won gold in the masters division at the nationals. What makes us so proud is that they mentor kids to follow in their footsteps and have done so for years.


They learned paddling together as youngsters and never gave up on the sport. They have sentimental bits and pieces of broken paddles and ancient boats. Their legacy, though, is living through the generations of kids who call them "Coach".


Here's hoping you have the opportunity to teach some young person a talent or skill which will serve to enhance their life. Be not surprised that you receive the greater blessing. I'm sure you have a touchstone yourself, someone who made a difference in your life. Why don't you take time today to thank them....and drink a glass of sweet tea for me!

Talk to Your Children - Tell Your Stories

One of my main regrets is that I never recorded my grandfather telling his stories. Just to have captured his slow southern drawl, and to be able to replay that would have meant so much to me.

His name was Alvin Fowler and he was one of six boys in his eastern Tennessee family of loggers. One day, he just laid down his ax and hopped on the train as it curled through the mountains. He ended up on a different mountain range altogether in Arkansas, and in like manner, his other siblings dispersed to the cattle lands of western Texas and the urban lands of opportunity in Chicago and New Orleans.

His Scotch practicalities and staunch independence runs through my blood along with my mother's Spanish passions and energetic optimism.

Just one of my many stories, but what I wouldn't give to hear his voice again. Check out this storytelling blog and tell your children, no matter how old they are, one of your stories today...

for the thrill of listening to storytellers http://thestorytellersblog.blogspot.com/
for info re: storytelling http://storyteller.blogpsot.com/

The Fish are Biting

The weather has cooled off a bit what with some rain over the last few days. I was never one for fishing much (unless I could take a good book and a big pillow, but folks around here have been fishing away at the local watering holes. Caught this gentleman fixin' to take his boat out on a small mountain lake. He looked happy to be going.

Here's hoping that, wherever you are, and wherever you plop in your fishing line, you find the fish are biting!

Southern Recycling

In our little town, the realities of recycling are slow in materializing. Although we have a drop off service, the nearest facility is 25 miles away, and curbside service hasn't knocked on our door yet- but, heh, a town only 20 miles from here still doesn't have a sewer system...

Yep, change comes slowly around here, and somtimes that's a good thing.

Ran across this old VW standing in as a planter, and it brought back so many youthful memories.

Good Day, Sunshine!

Dancing Queen

Whoohoo! Look at this marvelous remnant hanging under the clearance tent! Just think of the bridesmaid or prom story that goes with this hot pink confection! Couldn't resist showing a little slice of the goodies I took a gander at during the Bargains Galore on 64. I saw cow skulls and old timey washing ringers (machines)- and even an outhouse! Now, who in the world??? Well, guess that's our version of the British red telephone booth. Shop in Arkansas and get your very own outhouse! We have one of those double decker versions up Highway 7. I posted a picture of it a while back.

Take a look at your own treasures.....and drink a glass of sweet tea for me!

Bargains Galore on U.S. 64

We have an annual event here known as Bargains Galore on 64. It is advertised as 160 miles of yard sales, flea markets and antiques & collectibles spanning much of the state of Arkansas. Even if you're not a second hand kind of gal, there is something for everybody. I bought 8 new Pier One glasses still in the boxes for $12 and four Laura Ashley baby blankets for $5 apiece. Unfortunately, I don't have anybody to give them to... but that's another story.

Found these interesting folks shopping along the highway. Looked to me like he was describing his finds to someone over the phone. Buy! Buy! She flies in all the way from Phoenix, Arizona every year just to shop the sales. Gee, didn't know Arizona was so lacking... :)

Hope you find cheap ways to keep youself entertained during these hot days...
and drink a glass of sweet tea for me!

Freedom (Nip it in the Bud)

Those who remember how it was when their children were home can vividly recall the first day of summer. Yippee!!! We were all thrilled.

I have three teenagers remaining at home and the oldest of those has just begun to drive. He has assumed an attitude that must come from having that independence, for there is no other reason. We are fortunate we live in a small town, so that a trip to the high school is less than three miles, and the grocery store is 1 mile away. Those are pretty much the parameters of his universe, but what joy!

I remember when I was out of town some years back, and a friend called me on my cell phone to ask me who my elder son (he is twenty three now) knew on Jenkins Lane because he was driving that road at that moment. I looked at the clock - it was 11 p.m. on a school night, and I didn't know anybody on Jenkins Road.

I called my son and later my husband. To say my son was shocked is an understatement. He was incredulous! "How did you know?"

To this day, I thank that friend of mine every time I see her. It takes a village to raise these kids, and here, in the Ozarks and River Valley, folks still keep an eye on each other's chittlin's...

Here's hoping you find that same sense of neighborhood.