Replacement Car

Last May we were lucky enough to find a 1st car for our sixteen year old Granddaughter, to get her to school and to work. It was a white Pontiac Grand Am and she loved it! On January 31st she was broadsided, on the driver's side of her beloved Grand Am, and it totaled the car. For 26 days she was without a car and had to drive her Mom's suv or my van....not cool for a sixteen year old! For 26 days we have had to listen to her whine about the guy running a stop sign and hitting her car so hard it spun and ended up in the opposite direction from which she was going.



Granddaughter and her brother "Granny's Love" in her 2nd car in less than a year!



Finally we got the reimbursement for her car and even though we had been looking for 26 days, it is hard to buy anything when you are waiting on the money to arrive. We had not found anything anyway. Her Aunt Kennda came and got her on Friday night and took her to OKC to look for cars.

Her Poppy and I started from Western Oklahoma hitting every car lot on the way to OKC on Saturday. OH MY ACHING HEAD. Used cars are way over priced! Seems that lots of folks had got their tax refund and wiped out the used car lots. We stopped at Smart Choice Auto Credit at 1100 West Main in Yukon, Oklahoma.

Curtis Ray the owner had been on the Rodeo Team at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford! Small world. He had one tan Pontiac Grand Am and was such a nice young man. He stayed open an extra hour and a half to let her test drive the car and do the paperwork. He is in the business of financing autos, but he was ok with us paying cash.



Granny's Love and our only Granddaughter "on the road again."



This car is tan the paper work says tan and depending on how I take the photos it changes from tan to gold. Granny's Love and I decided it is two colors depending on if it is day or night. LOL

Thanks to the car search committee for hitting every car lot in Oklahoma City and Norman and from Sayre to Yukon. For the hours spent over newspaper classified ads and on the computer. Searching for an affordable used car is absolute torture. The only thanks was a Wendy's burger after we finally found the car! YUKON, OKLAHOMA

Brush Your Cat

Brushing your cat not only removes dirt, grease and dead hair from her coat, but it helps to remove skin flakes and stimulates blood circulation, improving the overall condition of her skin. One or two brushings per week will help kitty to keep her healthy glow and you’ll find that regular sessions are especially beneficial when your cat ages and is no longer able to groom so meticulously on her own. I captured these RARE photos of Callie Ann in my husband's lap and allowing him to brush her! Callie Ann is NOT a lap cat, but she was loving the attention. It was her idea or it would not have been happening!

Brushing your cat also cuts down on the number of hair balls they have from grooming themselves. My husband brushes both cats, but usually just a stroke or two and they take off.

Look at Callie Ann's eyes....she things this is so wonderful. She is so relaxed.

Notice her tail up on my husband's t-shirt. When she comes walking into a room she has that plume tail straight up and does her ROYAL entrance.

When brushing your cat you should start at their head and go all the way to their tail. Remember to brush their tail too.

I think Callie Ann would have gone to sleep if I had not been snapping photos of her.

Callie Ann was rescued by my grandchildren from the barn of a local farmer. Now look at this cat and you will agree she was meant to be the Queen House Cat and not a barn cat. We think she is just beautiful. Of course we are the only ones who ever see her, because she runs and hides under our bed the minute she hears a strange voice in the house. I am still in shock that she was in his lap and that she allowed me to snap this many photos. Brush Your Cat.

Happy Pants

Ree the Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com/ is forever taking photos of the back side of her Cowboy Husband's Wranglers, so I thought I needed to do a little parody and take these photos of my Cook Husband's Happy Pants while he was cooking.

He wears these pants most weekends and of course he is usually cooking something. Ree's husband is always rounding up cattle and my husband is always rounding up something good to eat! We are both lucky to have husbands that tolerate our crazy ideas and help us with our blog photos.

Plastic Bag Saver

Everytime I try to take a photo to show you something on this blog I have at least one "helper," but today I had two...Callie Ann on the left and Lizzie Tu on the right jumped up on the bed the minute I flipped the comforter up to provide a solid background for the photo! Cats are worse than kids. They have to know everything I am doing and think they should help. Then as I try to type they are up here walking on the keyboard. If something strange gets typed, and I do not catch it, you can bet it was my kitty helpers.

Plastic Bag Saver....just take a empty kleenex box and stuff your plastic bags down in the box. It makes a nice looking plastic bag saver and recycles both the bags and the box!

SPAM the food not computer mail

SPAM is a canned precooked meat product made by Hormel Foods Corporation. It consists of chopped pork shoulder with ham added, salt, water, modified potato starch and sodium nitrite. SPAM is a wonderful staple to have in your cabinet for those times you want to fix something fast. We love SPAM we do not like the other similarly canned product Treet..yuk! SPAM introduced on July 5, 1937 was "Shoulder of Pork and Ham". It has also been called many other things over the years: "Spiced Meat and Ham," "Specially Processed American Meats," "Supply Pressed American Meats," "Something Posing as Meat," "Specially Processed Artificial Meat," and "Stuff, Pork and Ham."

SPAM can be found in a variety of different flavors. There is even a Hormel SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota! World War II introduced SPAM to consumers around the world. US soldiers carried SPAM in their K-rations. Many of them had SPAM for every meal and grew to hat the product. Today Hawaii leads all state in SPAM consumption. You can find SPAM festivals, SPAM sculpting contests, SPAM cooking contests, SPAM cookbooks, and a SPAMMOBILE! There are also SPAM products such as t-shirts, mugs, etc. Go to www.spam.com to find recipes, recipe exchange, fun and games, SPAM shop, and products. In the SPAM shop you can find clothes, toys, kitchen & housewares, and more things than you would ever imagine. You can also join the SPAM fan club on the site!

This can of SPAM shows to just add SPAM to your Mac and Cheese which is a good way to eat it. We love to slice SPAM and brown in a skillet to have as a quick meat for a meal especially with eggs and toast. We dice SPAM and add to omelets or other things we are cooking to get that meat flavor. We slice it and eat it cold on sandwiches. We put it in our lunches cubed with a little barbecue sauce poured on top. If you watch the sales a can of SPAM can be found for $1.99 and depending on how you use it the can will feed two people one or two meals. That is a good deal in today's economy. Don't knock it till you try it!

BARBECUED SPAM SANDWICHES

1 CAN SPAM

1 CUP BARBEQUE SAUCE

1 CUP PREPARED COLESLAW

1 LOAF FRENCH BREAD, CUT INTO 4 PIECES, SPLIT AND TOASTED

Slice the SPAM into thin slices. Combine the sliced SPAM and barbeque sauce in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until heated through. Spoon meat and sauce onto the bottom halves of the toasted bread. Top with coleslaw, and then the other half of the pieces of bread.

GRILLED CHEESE SPAM SANDWICH

1 CAN SPAM

4 SLICES OF BREAD

8 SLICES KRAFT AMERICAN CHEESE

BUTTER

Slice the SPAM into thin slices. Pan fry SPAM until lightly browned on both sides. Butter bread slices on one side. Put buttered side of bread down in hot skillet. Put a piece of cheese on top of the bread. Put two slices of SPAM on top of the cheese. Put another piece of cheese on top of the SPAM. Top with piece of bread butter side up. Toast both sides of sandwich until golden brown. Cut sandwich diagonally and serve with chips and dill pickle spear. OMG GOOD!!!



Elk City, OK - Awesome Displays

These are a few of the displays set up at the National Route 66 Museum and Old Town Museum site in Elk City, Oklahoma. These displays are set up so that you can look in the window and take a look back at history. They have put together some really awesome displays. You need to take a trip to Elk City, Oklahoma on Historic Route 66 and see these displays for yourself!

These two photos show the outside and the inside of the barber shop.

This next photo is suppose to show the inside of the land office, but the glass front display captured me taking the photo and my husband waiting patiently in the van. Bless his heart he never knows when we are going to suddenly stop and I jump out to take a photo of something to use in a blog post.

I love love love this Campbell Kids clock.

The general store display contained several things I thought were neat. Note the S & H Green Stamp machine in the photo. I remember my mom and grandmother collecting those stamps. You were given so many stamps per percentage of items purchased at lots of stores. It was their way of getting people to shop at their business like the bonus points are today. My sister and I were "allowed" to lick them and stick them in the books. Well, it took years before I figured out they just did not want to lick those nasty things themselves. I also remember the excitement of getting the new S & H Greenn Stamp catalog and pouring over it for hours to see what we might get with our green stamp books when we had filled them with the stamps.

This display shows the watch maker F.L. Kelley.

Kelley Jewelers is a three generation store on Main Street in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

 F.L. Kelley, David Kelley and Kristen Kelley have all operated the family owned business.

Look at these office machines! Wow! They were state of the art in their time.

I must say the NATIONAL ROUTE 66 MUSEUM AND OLD TOWN MUSEUM are both something worth taking the time to visit in Elk City, Oklahoma. These displays are only a small part of the several blocks of buildings and themed displays.              Get your kicks on Route 66!

National Route 66 Museum Elk City, OK

These are a few photos from the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma. This place is awesome if you ever traveled Route 66. It has so many different things to see that I can't get them all in one blog, so I will be sharing more photos with you in my next post. 

My husband is so wonderful to go with me to get "blog material" and be in the photos.

This Myrtle statue is awesome and really big.

Check it out tepee and train!

Apple Pie

Apple Pie

1 deep dish premade pie crust

1 premade pie packaged pie crust for the top

8 apples - peeled & sliced (half Granny Smith, half Macintosh)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter - chilled and sliced

1 1/4 cup sugqar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

3 tablespoons flour

preheat over to 400 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, combine cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar and flour. Add the apples and toss to coat with spice mixture.

 

Pour apple mixture into the pie crust. It will be heaped full.

Put the sliced butter on the top of the apples.

Lay the top crust over the pie mixture and crimp the sides to seal the crust.

Add four slits to the top of the crust.

Lightly brush egg wash on top of dough. Sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on top of dough if desired.

Place on a baking tray and put in preheated oven for approximately 50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Be careful removing hot pie from the oven. Allow pie to rest until cool before slicing. Refrigerate any uneaten portions.

Valentine Sale Alert!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! This is a AFTER VALENTINE'S DAY SALES ALERT tomorrow and the next few days the stores will be putting all of the leftover valentine stuff on half price.

Think about events you might have coming up for the rest of the year. For example last year I purchased pink plastic 54 inch by 108 inch tablecloths for 35 cents each and was able to use them for my granddaughter's birthday and a baby shower we gave for a mother expecting a little girl.

I purchased red plastic 54 inch by 108 inch tablecloths for 35 cents each to be used at my grandson's birthday. Red tablecloths go with just about every kind of cartoon character or super hero theme. You will also find solid color pink and red cups, plates and napkins on half price that can be used for other occasions.

I also purchased valentine sacks and lots of little toys to put in the sacks for my grandson to take to his school party this year. I love half price items and being prepared ahead of time!

Do you plan on giving a bridal shower? Well check out the after valentine half price sale for items you can use to decorate for the shower. Lots of the heart stuff will be in white that works well for wedding showers.

When my sister was planning her wedding she purchased Dove chocolate heart candies and put them in the freezer. When it was time for the wedding reception she took them out and unwrapped them an put them on a beautiful tiered serving tray. These could also be used for a shower.

Think outside the box as you look at the half price items after valentine's day. There will be baskets, gift wrap, candles, flowers, stuffed toys, cookie cutters and all sorts of things that you can use for other events if you think and look ahead at the rest of your year!

25 Uses for Coffee Filters

My friend Dee Ann sent me this e-mail and I thought it should be shared on this blog post. Some of the ideas for using coffee filters you probably already know, but some of them I had never thought of before. Coffee filters are really cheap.
#26 Uses should be............ If you have house guests that overstay their stay, replace the toilet paper in the guest bath with coffee filters. That will run the buggers OFF !
COFFEE FILTERS
Coffee filters ..... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Store for almost nothing even the large ones.
1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter..
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.
18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.
20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..
25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.


OH YEAH THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS TOO.

My grandchildren have made butterflies out of a coffee filter, pipe cleaner, marker, clothes pin and magnetic strip. Color on the coffee filter with a marker, gather up the outer edges into the middle, clip together with the clothes pin, make antennas with the pipe cleaner and clip in the clothes pin with the coffee filter, attach magnetic strip to the underside of the clothes pin. This is a easy craft project for even the youngest children.

Do you have any other ideas for using coffee filters? Leave a comment on this blog post and share your ideas.

Bird Tracks/Snow

My husband saves the ends of loaves of bread and sticks them in the freezer. When this snow storm was predicted he got out the bread and lightly toasted it and broke it into chunks. When the snow ended he took the bread pieces and tossed them all over the front yard for the birds.

Our cats have laid on their tummies at the front door or on the back of the couch to look out and watch the birds eat. The birds know the cats can't get out to get them, so they really put on a show for the cats hopping around the yard.

I only caught a couple birds eating, because when they saw me in the doorway they flew away.

Look how the snow is sparkling in the afternoon sunlight.

I took these photos from standing on the front porch!

From the number of tracks there must have been lots more birds when I took my snow day nap!



Snow! Wind! Cold!

I am taking this photo from INSIDE the house! I scraped the frosty window to show how COLD it is in Western Oklahoma. Cold is when your storm door frosts over on the inside! I was up checking to see how much snow we had and how bad the roads were to determine if I needed to get ready for work. Thank goodness I received a very wonderful text saying we were closed!

Then I decided to stick my head out the door and snap a couple snow photos.

We have been having 40 mph winds, so the snow is blowing everywhere and making big drifts.

These three photos were snapped at the same time, just using different camera settings.

Snow is pretty and we need the moisture, but burrrrrrrrr minus15 degrees wind chill.

They are forecasting temps in the 60's just three days from now....Oklahoma weather!

In the flat part of the front yard we have five inches and it is too cold to measure any more!

Good day to stay in, drink too much coffee and find something to bake in the oven.