knackstedtfamilyblog

Updates (it's about time)

2012-02-08T17:03:00.003-06:00

Well, I was very embarrassed to see that I haven't updated since 2010. I did continue my landman career until Dec. 3, 2012. I worked in Oklahoma, Texas, and Illinois. It was interesting and financially rewarding but I was not here when Grandma Knackstedt died and ended up being fired because I wanted to come home. Duh!

So I am back at the Library--really bored out of my groud. I like the challenge of the landman work but now I need to be here so we can finish remodeling our home in order to sell it or rent it. Lar will be in San Antionio (maybe--fingers crossed). He's been told for many months that the store will be opening down there. We'll see.

I did go to Charleston, WV when little Chloe was born in September. That was a great time being with Kimball and Holly's darling family.

I have been able to spend some time with Kris and Emily's family and the kids are so darn cute and smart. They will be moving to Ft. Collins, CO in March so I will be very sad.

Bright spot is that Chanda and her kids are here. However, don't see them much. They are so busy with their animals and shows.

Grandma K died following a massive blood clot on the brain. She came through the surgery fine but just couldn't sustain. Lar and Kris were there when she died. She is buried in DFW National Cemetery. She and Ali the Dog were buried the same day. We had to put Ali to sleep because of her colon cancer which was really making her miserable. It was an awful day altogether. But Ali is comfortin Grandma. Grandpa is very lonely--they were married almost 71 years.

That's the major stuff-now hope that I can do better since I'm home.

FALL is here

2010-10-07T18:13:00.001-05:00

It's finally cooling off. The last few days here in Oklahoma have been beautiful but I wouldn't know since I'm working inside all day. I love my new career. Being a landwoman is fun--lots of research and lots of details and lots of thinking and reading legal papers. It makes my brain exercise every day. Now I am in a courthouse where everything is not on computer and I'm lifting 40-50 lbs. books and climbing steps with them. Anyway, maybe I'll lose weight doing this. I've been in Stillwater for 3 weeks but will probably be in Guthrie next week. It's the oldest town in OK. Anyw got to download my photos of deeds etc. so I can work on them.
That's all for now.

Summertime in the country

2010-07-22T09:52:00.003-05:00

Except for our tomatoes, our garden is gone. It has been hot, maybe I should say HOT! However the rain has been coming and Larry is mowing the grass 2 & 3 times a week. We haven't done anything this summer--just work, work, work. I really need a break. Any suggestions? Maybe a trip to West Virginia. Haven't been there yet.

I must be getting old. I don't have any energy except when I wear my energy chip. I have the" don't want tos" I did, however, go to Shreveport yesterday with Granny and James and I was worn out at the end of the day. James and Granny were like the energizer bunny--go, go, go. Of course, James was winning. Granny was losing and trying to get into the winning column. I stopped when I lost what I was willing to lose. So it was fun but would have been more fun if I had won something. Had a great meal thanks to Granny.

We are trying to buy out the store. Owner is willing to sell and we're talking with the leasing agent. To start we need $100,000. Once we retain the lease and remodel we will make money. In 18 months we will get an SBA loan and pay back the $100,000. Anybody want to invest $25,000?

Well, got to get ready for work--not looking forward to it.

It's Official!

2010-06-26T17:49:00.003-05:00

Summer is definitely here. It's too darn hot to do anything. Our garden is producing lots of summer squash, lots of green tomatoes, spaghetti squash and 1 giant sunflower.
The sunflower was a story time project from the Library. Each child planted seeds. then when the seeds came up, kids took theirs home. Colton's is the only one that survived transplanting. It is now 10 feet tall with one good sized bloom. I will put photos on later.

Tonight we will be going to the fireworks in city park. We try to get a jump on July 4th. There is a live band. About dark time we'll have fireworks.

It's almost summer

2010-06-17T08:53:00.004-05:00

In a few days it will be summer officially on June 21. And you know what it will be as well--our 37th wedding anniversary. That is so hard to believe. Time just flies by and if we don't do something (like scrapbooking, journaling) it will all be lost. I know that I had great times at Baylor but only a couple of people and events standout. The rest are mush. Actually, I can't remember what day it is. JK. I'm really sorry that I don't have my 3 oldest kids' baby books (they burned in our house fire) but I do have Karey's. It's truly sad that I haven't journaled so that I have every day memories. Wonder if this bit of insight will help me to journal? I do scrapbook (not very well)and will pass those books on to whomever. There is great joy in looking over those books.

Oh, yes, Summer. We have a garden and are enjoying the bounty. So far squash, peas, potatoes, a few tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, radishes and strawberries. We're waiting on carrots, spaghetti squash, watermelons, and cantaloupes. Then we're going to do our fall garden. Kris has been the worker in all this bounty. Wouldn't have had it without him.

I've got to go pick some more blackberries and some blueberries to freeze. They are wonderful to have in the winter--a taste of summer.

Today I'm having a nanny day with Caitlyn. Will start having days with each grandkid again this year. Those will be good days to write about..

Ahhh Spring

2010-03-12T19:02:00.002-06:00

I really think spring is coming. Wednesday when Lar and I went to Dallas to look at apartments for Karey & Jodie, all the trees were bare--I mean bare--not a hint of green. Today, there are tulip trees blossoming and ornamental pears plus the trees have a green haze around them. And I've seen daffodils, jonquils and narcisses (sp???). All this happened in one day. I feel rejuvenated.

Winter--Who needs it?

2010-01-05T08:46:00.001-06:00

It's so cold here--22 degrees. That's cold in Texas. We had so much fun over Christmas--driving Kimball's car to Utah (in snow in UT), walking on Temple Square in the snow while it snowed, (Texans are not equipped to do that), skidding into DFW early (1 AM) Christmas morning, going to Granny's for a great meal, getting together with my two Texas kids the next day. Ahhh the holidays.

I've actually put up my tree and stuff before the 6th of Jan. Only the lights are still outside but it's been too cold plus Kris and Emily have moved in while they build their house. The Lord provides the means of helping us overcome our shortcomings. Lar & I and Ali dog were very stuck in our own little spot. Now, patience and tolerance and putting ourselves out for the 4 grandkids is making us change our ways. Thank you, Lord.

Summer was good

2009-09-23T12:17:00.003-05:00

Summer was a very busy time for us. Our garden was a big success for us--things actually lived and grew. I canned some tomatoes & salsa. We ate lots of fresh veggies. I will post a picture of the flop that our watermelons were later.

The most exciting event of the summer was Karey & Jodie's wedding. They got married at the Logan Temple, had the formal reception at the Jerome, ID chapel and then had a very informal reception at the Tyler, TX chapel. They honeymooned in Cancun. They are so cute together. Really like my new daughter-in-law and her family. They are wonderful. Also enjoyed ID.

Summer Time

2009-05-28T08:44:00.002-05:00

I love this time of year, so green (for a while anyway and things are so beautiful.) I'm so proud of my garden. It's better than I ever dreamed it would be. We're eating lettuce (4 kinds) and squash plus carrots. Our potatoes are ready to dig. Our tomatoes are getting ready and our cabbage is ready and the cauliflower is getting there. We've even started another garden. My whole yard could be garden as far as I'm concerned. No mowing but there is the hoeing. This is just exciting. Doesn't take much for me to have an exciting and happy life.

It's a sad day

2009-04-22T22:59:00.001-05:00

Well, we had a funeral today. Cutie Pie, the Library fish, died. He was going on four years old. We've done lots to save him. (See earlier posts.) But for the last month, he's been puny. We diagnosed swim bladder disease and treated it. He was doing well but not super peppy. He's gotten droopier and droopier. For the last three days, he's lain on the bottom. He's moved around some and eaten but...Today was the day, we said goodbye to him. I finally told him that it was alright to go (truly.) So he kind of gasped and that was that. We lined a little wooden box and dug a hole by the waterfall and buried him. It was a sad service. I know that it's hard to believe but that little fish was smart and funny. He knew us and he responded to us. We'll miss having him. His tank sat on the counter to the right side of my monitor and I could watch him. It looks very sad now. We'll get another but there will never be another Cutie Pie.

Ali's Pictures

2009-03-11T23:04:00.007-05:00

Yep, that's Ali on the roof of the garage checking it all out. That's our garden spot--that brown patch.

More about Cutie Pie

2009-03-11T11:48:00.004-05:00

I know that everyone must be wondering how our library fish is. He was spending his days upside down. I finally decided that that's not a good position for a fish. Well, I figured out that he has swim bladder disease. He can't not float. He's all bloaty and has a hard time just swimming. (Kind of like me--I float whether I want to or not) Anyway, I put him on a fast for 4 days. Then I soaked his food so he wouldn't blow up from eating the dry food. Didn't work. He bloated again. So I got 2 frozen english peas. I put them in his tank. After 2 days, he finally ate one. He didn't float. Supposedly the peas cure his impactation--yep, constipation for want of a fancier term. So now got buy more expensive food for him. You know, I sure have learned a lot of different stuff since I've worked at the Library. Oh, that's what a library does--help provide knowledge.

My Day Off

2009-03-05T10:16:00.002-06:00

I actually put my foot down and took Wednesday off. (It is supposed to be my day off, but someone always poops out and expects me to cover for them. I finally learned to say NO!) I went to the temple. I learned some new things at the temple. Isn't it strange how it's always the same but you learn what you need? One thing saddened me but the rest made me happy. I enjoyed my time with Mya, Aiden, and Holly. Kimball came home just before I left to drive home. It was a good day for me. I feel rejuvenated.

And better I was released from being the Meeting House Librarian. People were asking me why I was smiling so much. So much relief.

That Nutty Dog!

2009-02-22T11:18:00.005-06:00

Well, Allie the Dog has surpassed herself in doing crazy things. Larry has been working on our new (yes, new!) back deck (2nd floor). Allie accompanies him every where. When he was working last week, Allie walked up our steep garage roof which you can reach from the deck. She went up there, checked out her view of the neighborhood and sat herself down while Larry worked. She was right on the peak. Larry took a picture on his phone which he can't send. I hope to get one while he's working on the deck this week. She's a total hoot. Maybe I can get video and send it to AFH. I'd win!

Now why am I not at church? I'm sick. Got that stomach virus--not nice at all. Keeps me from eating. Only dry toast, sprite, and weak soup and crackers. Hope I can lose some weight.

Cutie Pie Lives!!

2009-02-16T19:15:00.002-06:00

Well, I got to work and the fish was swimming all around. I think he was overfed (he looked really fat Saturday and was maybe bloated). He looks slimmer today but he had a line of fecal matter trailing from his body. According to the goldfish books that's a sign of overfeeding. I had to warn Frances and Tricia that his tummy is very, very small and not to give him so dang much food. Besides it makes his tank get dirtier faster. So he is ok and I am so happy. A good Monday.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T21:43:00.003-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! We had a quiet day. We both worked then agreed that we wanted a light meal--fruit for me and Lar was still full from eating at China Cafe last night with the Wests. I made Lar strawberry shortcake for Valentine's Day and will take him to dinner later on. Ali the Dog gave him Double Stuff Oreo cookies. She knows the way to his heart. Lar gave me a snuggle--the blanket with sleeves and a reading light. We'd just gotten comfortable and all set to watch Mama Mia when this rather dramatic storm hit--horrible hail and lightning and lights out. For the second time in a week we had to rely on our emerency supplies. I have lots of candles and Lar had bought a case of those light sticks that last for 12 hours and they do. Oh, yeah, I had (notice I said had) a kerosene lamp which we used the first night that it stormed. But as I was putting it away, I dropped it. It broke spilling a full base of kerosene. Anyone know how to get the smell of kerosene out of the floor or out of your washing machine? I've mopped a dozen times. Used towels to sop it up and washed the towels in my machine. It's been 4 complete washes now--not getting better. But I will prevail!!! My house downstairs smells like the old houses from back when which used kerosene lamps all the time. Yuckie!!
Anyway, the storm passed and the power came back on about 2 hours after it went out.

I have a great concern that Cutie Pie, our library pet and mascot, might be dying. He is a beautiful goldfish with magnificent tail and fins. Today (but he's done it before)he was swimming on his back. Yeah, he lies on his back moves his fins a little, opens his mouth ocassionally and blinks. And then he'd go racing all around the tank and swimming straight up and diving down. Then he'd just float up. It was kind of wild. I love that little fish. I've saved his life 3 times now--once with CPR. Anyway, we are planning to get him a bigger tank and maybe a friend. Who knows what I'll find on Monday.

Happy Birthdays

2009-01-14T15:58:00.006-06:00

December has rolled on by and I haven't even posted any pictures or anything to commemorate it. I'll scrapbook it (have a retreat this weekend). It was a rough season. Beginning in October I had the death of a friend each month, Oct., Nov, and Dec. All were unexpected.. Yeah, all death is unexpected. But having a recent physical where everything was perfect, no problems and then having a massive heart attack (2 of them) and then one just went to sleep. Well, that's unexpected. It was an interesting time this year.

But we can celebrate this month. We had Grandpa K's 90th birthday this month, Colton's 7th birthday and Karey's 24th. Can't believe that they're all that old, especially Karey. Where has the time gone? Have to go to the Mexican Market on Beckham and get him some vanilla so he can make good ice cream. We did find the Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce that he liked and had it shipped.

Christmas Blahs

2008-12-17T23:34:00.002-06:00

I've always loved Christmas. I love the glitter, the excitement, everything over the top. Not this year. I have always decorated each area with its own theme--trees, poinsettias, a blue room, snowmen, reindeer, angels, nativities--you get the idea. I always put all the ornaments from years of kids' school ornaments to family purchases on the tree. I've always put out every strand of lights I could find and then bought some more. This year I bought red and silver balls, put out some poinsettias and my xmas tree collection. I put out lights down the fence and on the front of the house. I did not put garland on my 3 flights of stairs Don't know what the problem is but it's something--maybe the recent deaths of 3 friends, my misperception of attitudes of those around me, the state of the world?? Who knows but I'm not even going nuts cleaning because Karey is coming home. Oh, well, life will continue to happen.

Truly it happened

2008-12-17T23:28:00.002-06:00

You know crazy things happen sometimes. On the 11th we had a small birthday celebration for one of my library volunteers. We had a cake with candles. We couldn't find any matches. Imagine a library without matches. Anyway, I'm creative. I went to my car with a candle. I pushed in my cigarette lighter. Simple, huh. I would light the candle. My lighter did its popout and literally flew past my ear and landed somewhere. I looked for it. I still haven't found it. That's the only time I've ever pushed it in. Guess it was so excited to be used it just got over exuberant. Anyway, I'll look for it one of these days.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T22:09:00.014-06:00

SKUNKED!!!

2008-11-25T23:08:00.002-06:00

I got home to the most horrendous smell. It was everywhere. The darn dog, better known as ATD, got sprayed. The air was malevolent with the smell. She ran into the house for just a minute and the whole house reeks. The cars reek. I've got a dozen candles lit, spraying Oust. The dog has been bathed but I don't know. If the weather weren't a bit coolish, she'd be OUT! The joys of pet ownership.

More on ATD

2008-11-19T09:22:00.004-06:00

ATD (Allie the Dog) is just too funny. She always sits with us when we read in the morning. She lays on the couch with her nose touching Larry. Today she was kind of manuvering to get more comfortable on her back and her hind end fell of the couch. She was so embarrassed.

Then when Larry left for work, she refused to go outside because it was too cold. This is a dog raised in Oklahoma and Utah. So she's on her little rocker while I'm in the shower. Next thing I know there's whining and whimpering at the bathroom door. I look out and she's dying to go outside. She's standing, rather hopping up and down on her hind legs to go outside. I open the door and she's an immediate brown streak over the patio and around the garage to bark. She's having to bark at the neighbor who walks his little pekinese-mix. She barks at them really good and now she's wanting back in. However, she'll stay out until they come back from their walk (so I don't have to let her out again.)

Allie actually is very smart. Even if she's in the front yard with us and there's a need to bark at something, she runs through the gate to the back yard and her barking corner inside the chainlink fence. She's learned nothing can attack her there behind her fence. She got beat up and chewed up by a pit bull who also attacked our neighbor's little dog (had extensive surgery to save its life). Anyway, since then Allie barks from the back yard.

Sorry about so much dog. My life is not too exciting.

That darn dog!

2008-11-11T09:48:00.009-06:00

Sunday night was a diaster for Allie Dog. Kris invited us over to watch "Get Smart". Earlier in the day I had placed my almost empty serving plate of cookies left from the cookie exchange on the sideboard. I had even pushed it to the back of the sideboard. All that was on it were semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips plus some coconut. When we came home, my plate (which I use a lot) was in a billion pieces scttered everywhere. There were 3 chips left. How she ate those chips and left the glass I don't know. That was a long way for such a short dog to get to. Don't know how she did it. She was scolded. I cleaned the mess up. I still managed to get 2 tiny pieces of glass in my foot. Anyway, that was Sunday.

Monday, because of the bad weather she was left in the house. Monday is also Lar's day off. Lar went to the store for about 30 minutes and didn't take her. She left him a gift--a huge pile of poo. He spanked her. He cleaned up the mess. She wouldn't even look at him until about 10 PM.

Today is Tuesday. Allie is in the house because of the rain and messy weather. I said she couldn't stay in if she didn't potty first. Just as Lar was leaving for work she went into the rain and did her thing. She look sulky the whole time. She knew I would leave her out on the tiny back porch. So now she is licking the rain off and making big slobbery noises.

The Election

2008-11-04T22:52:00.003-06:00

I am really devastated about the results. I have great concerns for this country. We are truly on the road to destruction when people cannot evaluate and recognize "misspeaking" or lies, when the youth of our country only follow pop stars and their immorality. And raising $650 million for his campaign. He talks well but why couldn't that money have been used for poverty programs. His talk doesn't match his walk. I think that Obama will turn on those millionaires who supported him or maybe not. They are above the $250,000 tax limit. And that's what he claimed he will tax. Or maybe that is just another lie. What is going to happen now? I have seen many historic events--Kennedy's election, assination, men walking on the moon, 9/11, Challenger explosion, etc. We survived everything in the past but I fear that the future has already been detailed in the Book of Mormon. We are those people. Well, we'll see what happens and pray for God's help.

The Day After Halloween

2008-11-02T23:01:00.006-06:00

Kimball, Mya and Aiden in the bouncer

Gramps and Mya watching "Kung Fu Panda" along with Layla and Kris

Jack sits all by himself.

Kimball and Holly came down to Kris and Emily's today. Emily taught Holly how to make those fancy, fancy petticoats that's the rage for the little girl right now. Lar and I went over after work. Kimball and Kris went to look at new pickups. Kimball is the only person I know who can run out of gas on Loop 323 while on a test drive. So I though I'd throw in some miscellaneous photos.

It was a Happy Halloween

2008-11-02T22:31:00.012-06:00

A Little Hen (Peacock that is)

Kind of appropriate

It's Master Gage

Who does she look like?

Chanda, Earnie, Barbie--no Caitlyn and Buddy

Holy Ghosts? Bishop and wife

You know that costumes are really good ones when you don't recognize the people. Well, we went to Trunk or Treat at the Bell Family Farm. We needed photos for the ward newsletter. So Lar suffered through it. I went as my usual self--a witch (that was my costume for the library too). Anyway, Chanda & Earnie and the kids came. They were too cute. Buddy really got into being a werewolf even showing how they walk. I think he saw that on a Harry Potter movie. Afterwards we went to Kris & Emily's to see their kids' costumes. You know, when our kids were little, we took them to the grandparents trick or treating. So what's the deal with us having to travel? We're old, we should be staying home.

What I've been doing

2008-10-30T09:15:00.009-05:00

I went to Ft. Worth to babysit Mya and Aiden while Kimball and Holly went to the BYU/TCU debacle. I just loaded the pictures I took of Aiden and one of Mya saying goodbye. She was so busy that every picture I took had her turning away. I really like Holly's front garden decoration.

I also included the pictures I took of our "cookout". Larry just decided that we needed to cook hamburgers and so invited K and E and GrandPa and GrandMa and E & C. They didn't come because C was at a volleyball game. We sat in the garage. Lots of atmosphere but the weather was nice in there. Burgers were good too.

TAG??

2008-10-24T21:58:00.017-05:00

Thanks Hannah for tagging me. Here it is:
1. Post the Rules to your blog
2. Answer the six 8 items
3. Let each person know they have been tagged by commenting on their blog.

My 8 Favorite TV Shows
NCIS
CSI New York
CSI Las Vegas
CSI Miami
Criminal Minds
The Mentalist
Eleventh Hour
Without a Trace

Things I Did Yesterday
I got up and dressed.
I read the scriptures with Larry
I went to the Library and worked even though it was my day off
I printed 50 barcodes and put them on books
I put Grandma's cooking stuff in storage until they build a house
I worked on cleaning my office throwing away a lot of stuff
I watched a movie.
I played on the computer.

Thins I look forward to.
Pedicure
Massage
Being slimmer
A new job
My kitchen being finished
New flooring
A new book
Time to do what I want

My favorite restaurants
Legends
Chickfilet
La Hacienda
Julian's
Stacy's BBQ
Red Lobster
Texas Road House
China Cafe

Things on My Wish List
More Grandkids
More time with Grandkids
New Decks
Karey's Bedroom painted
Beautiful flower beds
McCain to Win
Being paid what I'm worth
Whole house painted

People to tag
Since I only know 2 people with blogs
I tag
Holly
Suzanne

Oh, the 4th picture of the 4th folder

This was taken this past summer at Sonny's Farm in Mineola. It was a family shower for Max and Kristi. Everyone was there except Kimball, Holly and Mya. It was on a Sunday afternoon. The weather was great. It was wonderful.

Our Big Camping Trip

2008-10-24T21:21:00.013-05:00

Larry has been wanting to go camping. He mentioned it to the kids. Holly wanted to go but Kimball's schedule doesn't allow for much free time. Kris was ok but Emily likes to camp in the Sheraton.

So I left work early in order to go camping. Larry got everything ready--a cooler, no jackets (it's gotten much milder here--60s to high 50s), hot dogs, condiments, Propel, and chairs. We stopped at Kris's to pick up fishing poles. We stopped at Brookshire's to buy buns, chips and water. All the necessities. And then we were off to Brook's place. We fished and we caught some in spite of the cold front that had come in. Everyone caught fish. Then we went to our camping spot. We ran the cows away, gathered firewood, and built our fire. We put out the chairs and waited for the fire to get ready. Kris build the fire. That's a boy scout skill that he hasn't lost. Anyway, we roasted hotdogs, looked at the beautiful sky (no highway noises or lights to mar it) and got cold. Although I did observe that a fire out in the open was much warmer than one in a fireplace. Of course, there was a lot of warnings about falling into the fire, playing in the fire, etc. The hotdogs were really good! The marshamellows was wonderful. Then we put out the fire and went home. Allie had a good time until it got dark and then she stayed right by Larry and Kris. She's afraid of the dark. Brave watch dog.

I just hate housework sometimes!

2008-10-22T16:33:00.002-05:00

Ok, I am on a real cleaning kick. The house is dirty. I have been sweeping the downstairs rooms and am still not finished. I pick up, sweep and mop. And I find all kinds of work to do. This is it. I'm getting rid of stuff--all kinds of stuff. If you want some bargains, be prepared to come by and get it. I want my house to reflect our time of life--no kids anymore. We're much more sophisticated. (Are you hooting yet?) Allie and her shedding is about to do me in. Oh, my gosh, you could make another dog from all her hair. I think Lar got nervous about Allie and the house because I came home and he had just finished giving her a bath. He bought a $30 (really!!) brush for her and he's got to brush her everyday for 5 days and then she won't shed so much. I threatened to have her shaved from her eyebrows to the tip of her tail. MMMM will I do it? Also, Lar and I worked and got our food storage all organized and put on a spreadsheet. Then I'm cleaning in his office and found 3 more cases of food. Will have to buy another set of shelves. DANG. One step forward and 3 back.

Anyway, my downstairs is as big as the average house. I still have to clean the upstairs. It's not too bad--just the kitchen needs attention. Oh, well, it will still be there tomorrow.

It's really fall. It's cool here. Kind of nice. Maybe I would rather work in the yard. Nah! I just want to be lazy. I think I need a vacation. I'm even tired of the Library. Wow, I must be having a bad day. Guess I'd better get back to it. Still have my office, one bedroom, and a bath to sweep and mop. Then upstairs.

A Fishin' we will go

2008-10-14T22:08:00.007-05:00

Last Wednesday was a perfect day to go fishing and we went to Brook's pond in Frankston. Kris, Emily and kids went too. Larry and I were flyfishing. I didn't do too well. I don't know how many fish Lar caught--a lot. Kris's kids used a rod and reel with red and black worms. I think the last count was 42 for them. Layla managed to fall into the pond and Emily grabbed her by her ankle. Gage, the fisherman, couldn't have cared less. He got a couple and quit. He played in the weeds and one weed really accosted him. Colton, the non-fisherman caught a ton. It was a relaxing day. Even Jack got to participate. He didn't catch any fish though.

Wild and Woolly Weather

2008-10-07T09:01:00.005-05:00

Well, move aside Hurricane Ike. We had a typical Texas storm last night. Winds higher than Ike's, hail, torrential rain. Tornados on the ground and headed toward us and Chanda and Kris's. Well, it thundered and "lightninged" and rained like crazy. No hail, no tornado. Allie the wonder dog, was a quivering mass of jelly. She doesn't like thunder. She was glued to Larry's side. She just couldn't lay still. She cringed every time it thundered. Actually, it was really funny watching her. She really expects Lar to protect her.

We worked outside on the crepe myrtles yesterday. We're getting them all cleaned out and will cut them back in February. A while back, Allie learned how to get under the chain length fence. We attached a pet electric fence to it. She loved it! She just chewed on it. So we put in a heavier duty fence. She touched her nose to it and jumped back about 50 ft. She didn't get out any more. We took it down. She started getting out again. We reattached the power. She avoided the fence at all costs. Yesterday she wanted to follow Larry and he went through the gate in that fence. She just ran around and barked. When I went out the other gate, she followed. Larry was riding on the lawn mower pulling the wagon with all the branches in it to the back yard burn pile. Allie was going nuts, how could she follow him through the fence? She was almost hysterical. She finally plucked up her courage and lined herself up right in the middle of the back of the wagon and slunk through. It was funny watching her watch the fence. She made sure she didn't even let one hair near that fence. She doesn't know we unplugged it. Anyway, I'll have to post some pictures of her.

Aiden's Blessing Day

2008-09-29T21:56:00.009-05:00

4:00 AM is not my favorite time of day but Larry and I got up to go to Ft. Worth. Kris drove us in his car. I slept. We got there in plenty of time. Kimball and Holly's church starts at 8:30 AM.

Aiden cried and Kris said that they couldn't hear for Aiden. Actually, that is one noisy church. We only stayed for sacrament.

Holly had prepared a lovely lunch and invited a ton of people. They all came. There were lotsof kiddos for Mya to play with. We left at 1 PM. and got home by 3:30 PM. I slept coming home and when we got home. I was worn out and didn't do a thing.

I got skunked

2008-09-26T21:59:00.003-05:00

Today was a beautiful day. Lar wanted to go fishing shen I got off. I really enjoy flyfishing. When I'm not catching a fish, I practice my casting. It's so graceful if done correctly. Let's see, when we did our float trip down the Green River, the guide posted my picture on his website for the worst knot he'd ever seen. My claim to fame. Obviously, I'm not very good, but I try. Tonight I practiced a lot. Got one fish on and he spit my fly back at me. Had one other get on and missed him too. Then just had a couple of swishbys. The mosquitos were eating well though. Lar did snag about a 1.5 lb. bass but that's it. This was the worst night we've ever had fishing at Kevin's place. So we just went to La Hacienda and ate away our sorrows.

The Bell Family Farm Train

2008-09-16T22:28:00.001-05:00

The One and Only Family Reunion

2008-09-16T22:23:00.001-05:00

A Success

2008-09-16T22:15:00.002-05:00

We did go to Legends and it was wonderful--really busy. I think GPa & GMa really did enjoy it. GPa wore his name tag that the Assisted Living Facility gave him. His title is Community Response Officer. They made a big deal out of presenting it to him. They really seem to like him and he does help. Kris, Emily and kiddos came to eat with us. The kids like to see the G's. Layla was decked out in play high heels. Those shoes are at least 6 inches too long. Anyway, we did have great hamburgers. The G's shared a 1/2 lb. burger--that's 1/2 lb after cooking plus french fries made from "scratch" like you do at home.

I forgot to take my camera in so didn't get any pictures. But we all had fun.

Ooops

2008-09-16T09:21:00.003-05:00

I goofed. Karey's good knee is the right knee, not the left.

Oh, the weather after the vicious hurricane is absolutely marvelous. It is in the 70's--sunny, crisp--wonderful for doing anything. I'm cleaning my car because we're taking GPa & GMa K to Legends to eat the world's best hamburger. Of course, they'll probably be awful tonight because we have raved about them. Asi es la vida.

Ike Aftermath

2008-09-15T09:56:00.002-05:00

Well, Ike was a big fizzle for us. We've had regular thunderstorms worse than that. I know that further south there was a lot of damage. Galveston is devastated. But that' s one of the negatives of living right on the beach and a low one at that. Galveston though has survived much worse and comes roaring back. Right now Larry is out raking up the leaves and small limbs that got blown off the trees--our big damage. Oh, we were without power until 4 AM Sunday morning. We were prepared--had our 72 hour kits.

We have a lot of evacuees here. Some were at the YMCA. We (the Library) sent over a ton of paperback books.

Just wondering--What did we do 15 years ago before the media determined our lives? How did people survive these natural events? Why does everyone want their faces on the TV? Some of the evacuees probably won't like how they came across on TV--greedy, lazy and ungrateful. The people from Katrina were much nicer.

Chanda is docking in New Orleans. They're trying to get home. Their friends' cars are parked in Galveston--they're gone. They got an extra day in Cozumel because they couldn't follow Ike too closely and couldn't dock in Galveston. Hopefully they can get home today.

Oh, yes, news about Karey. He took a fall on his bike and broke his elbow--upper radial fracture and hurt his good (the left) knee. He's had a rough four days--couldn't do homework etc. He's so good and tries so hard and this kind of stuff happens.

I Need Help

2008-09-13T21:38:00.000-05:00

Somehow I have managed to mess up and put one of my entries in the blog archive. It was about our handsome Aiden. Well, he's here and we're so happy. Hope to have pictures soon. So I removed it. I need Holly or Emily to show me how to do this.

Oh, yes, I'm slightly anxious because Chanda and Earnie are on the Carnival Conquest on a cruise to Montego Bay and other ports right in the path of Hurricane Ike which is battering Cuba. I stay on ship tracker watching how close they are to each other.

101 Moves

2008-09-13T21:36:00.004-05:00

Well, last Friday GrandPa and GrandMa made it to 101 moves. They moved from one apartment to another down the hall. They want to be independent so this move will actually save them money. Besides, they're now working on 200 moves.

NO. 8

2008-09-13T21:36:00.001-05:00

So now it's mid August and we have another beautiful grandson (delivered by his Daddy) making our count 8! Wow, who would have believed we'd have this many little ones. And there will be more to come I'm sure--well, maybe. Have to find my camera cord so I can post a picture or two of our new one.

Family Reunion

2008-09-13T21:34:00.000-05:00

We are having a family reunion for the family of G.C. and Frances Knackstedt. It's going to be July 5th, 2008 at the Bell Family Farm. We're excited because between the two Knackstedt offspring there are 31 offspring and 2 of the grandkids aren't married yet. This is the first ever and was requested by GrandPa and GrandMa. They're looking at going into a retirement home--they're in their late 80's. Keeping up a house and yard is just getting to be too much.More later about this.

Larry's Doing Fine

2008-09-13T21:31:00.001-05:00

Larry just had cataract surgery this morning. Already colors are brighter and he's seeing better. He cannot, however, lift anything over 20 lbs, bend over except for putting on socks, no pushing etc.

Oh, No!

2008-09-13T21:28:00.000-05:00

Karey called very upset last night. He failed his first ever final. It was in a physics--a subject he's good in. He was advised to go to the Professor and talk. I feel so bad for him. That's after a 4.0 semester. Ouch!