Seeing Mother through the window...

My dear son and his family got to visit with my mother recently.
Her assisted living facility is in quarantine, so they got to look through the window.

Look at this treasure....

That's little Liam with his hand up to Mother's.
That is a priceless picture to me.

Here is Mother talking to Bailey while little Nell is getting ready to do a cartwheel.

They talked on their phones as they couldn't yell loud enough
to be heard through the window.

I know. That was a silly thing to say.
I get silly sometimes.

Anyway, I think that is a super sweet picture.

 Next up is Will talking to Mother (his grandmother)...

 And here are the kids playing outside her window...

Fun, Fun, Fun.

The next day Elizabeth and her kids went for a visit...
(Elizabeth is my dear twin's daughter.)

I love that picture.

And here are Caroline, Andrew and Anna with their great grandmother.

Everybody was happy to see each other!!!
(Yes, Anna wore red lipstick for the occasion!
Well, it WAS a special occasion!)

So now we're going to have to schedule a window visit for Grammy and Daddy Pap (me and Sam). We're also called Aunt Nancy and Uncle Sam.
I mean, I really think we could all be in the same space together, but a window visit would be fun.
It was for Mother. 😃

Trivia Tuesday

Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin Lookalike Contest. Not only did he NOT win, he placed in 3rd place.

You can click HERE to go to the official Charlie Chaplin website.

 Where is a lobster’s brain? If your answer is “in the head”, you would be wrong. A lobster’s brain is located in its throat. In case you are wondering what is located in a lobster’s head, that answer would be its kidneys.

——-


Who popularized the white wedding dress?
Queen Victoria

 You can click HERE to read about that. 

Say hello to the Andean Condor, the largest flying bird on Earth. Found in the Andes Mountains of Peru, the condor weighs in at approximately 27 pounds, stands 48″ tall, and has an amazing wingspan of 14 feet.

Which river flows through the most national capitals? Danube River

What instrument did Paul McCartney primarily play as a member of the Beatles?  Bass

A restroom in Britain doesn't usually contain a toilet — it is simply a place to sit and rest.

What is Sphenopalatine Ganglioneuralgia? It is the scientific name for a quick and brief freezing sensation that effects the nerves, tendons, and blood vessels that lead to your brain. In other words, it’s a brain freeze.

 

That is all for today.

Have a great week.

It is a special day in more than one way.

It is Memorial Day today.
Soldiers died for us, so that we could be free.

I don't think anything is more wonderful than that. 


And also today, May 25, is my dear mother-in-law's birthday. She was born in 1914.
I don't think anyone was (is) more wonderful than she.
(Few daughters-in-law can say that,)

That is Oleta, and her husband, Robert S. Carmack.

Here she is, Oleta Stephens Carmack
- with little Samuel Carmack V (my husband)
and his older sister Patricia.
(I don't know where brother Steve was.)

Here they are many years later...

From left, Bob (Daddy Bob), Sam, Patricia, husband Ken with daughter Jennifer
and Oleta (NanaWee).

And here are DaddyBob and NanaWee.

And here they are on a mission trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, which they funded 3 years in a row,

From left, Charles Carroll, Peggy Basden Johnson, Bob Carmack, Lee Johnson,
Nancy Carmack, Sam Carmack, Oleta Carmack

And NanaWee and DaddyBob with baby Laura Carmack in 1986 in Lawton, OK.

And NanaWee with little Laura later...

And NanaWee with little Will ...

And DaddyBob and NanaWee at their 50th wedding anniversary....

 
 And then in 1993 - at their graveside  - at the Hinton, OK cemetery,

Oleta Stephens Carmack was one of the most wonderful women I have ever EVER known... and I am so proud to have been her daughter-in-law.

THANK YOU, LORD.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

This Just In...

I am not going to be playing the piano in the LoneStar Antique Mall Tea Room for a while, well, until there is a vaccine for the coronavirus.

Now you may think that is crazy - and WAY overprotective.
Do I care what you think???
OF COURSE!!!
My whole life I've cared what people think...
UNTIL NOW!!
(Well, I still care.)

Anywho, my hubby does NOT want me to play till there is a vaccine for the coronavirus.
Of course I humbly submit to my hubby. 
Well, usually.

Frankly I was needing a break.
I've been playing background music for over 14 years!  I have LOVED IT!!!
Last fall, though, we found out I had to quit playing tunes that were written after 1924. OR pay a big price to play them, OR pay a big license fee to play them.
So I was playing "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain When She Comes" in many different styles.  (You know, you really can vary any song up a bit. Yeah.)


Here's a picture of the last time I played in the tea room.

Little did I know it would be the last time for a long while.


DO I MISS IT?
YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!
I particularly miss my dear friends there!!

Bu now I'm on hold.

I talked to Ronnie, the owner/manager, telling him that I might need to just quit playing period. Ah, but he told me to take one day at a time, and the piano will still be there.
He said "We are family." And he also said he could appreciate Sam's not wanting me to play until there is a vaccine. After all, I am of the older set of people nowadays. I'm 68 1/2.

So there you have it.

'Course this news may make no difference in your life, but well, I am missing playing, but I can play at my house.
Since we've downsized  we've made our dining room into a piano room. We weren't eating in there anyway. And it's kinda like playing in the shower - lots of echos.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
So far.

Trivia Tuesday

At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.

---------
Cherophobia is the fear of being happy. It comes from the Greek word 'chero' which means to rejoice.

What city's legendary art museum has about 70 cats living in it? Saint Petersburg, Russia
Click HERE for an article about that.

Which Agatha Christie novel was partially inspired by the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby?
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

Ants stretch when they wake up in the morning.

That is supposed to be a picture of an ant waking up.

What state has the most lighthouses? Michigan

In the medieval days of Germany, they had an interesting way of curing a toothache. They would kiss a donkey. You read correctly. Somehow, the dentists of back then convinced their patients to kiss a donkey whenever they had a toothache.

The ancient Mayan civilization used chocolate as currency. Technically speaking, they used cacao beans to purchase goods.

 

That is all for today.
Have a great week!!!

My Dear Dad Would Have Been 95 Today!

I have put up some pictures of him that warm my heart.  

(Sadly he died from cancer at age 81 in 2006.) 

Look at darling Daddy with his dear mother, my Grandmother Jennie...

He started reading at an early age!

What a handsome little boy he was.

And he was a proud Texas Aggie (Whoop!) and a proud Marine...

He fell in love with this Dallas gal whom he met on a blind date...

Daddy grew up in Seagoville, TX and Kaufman, TX. Mother was born in Beloit, Wisconsin and her family moved to Dallas when she was twelve. They lived in Oak Cliff.

He and his dear wife had twin girls in 1952!
(I'm so glad they did.)

Here we are playing with our Granddaddy Andy and Daddy. Giddy-up!

Here we are years later, when Mother and Daddy had their 25th anniversary!!

And here I am on my wedding day, feeling loved...

Here is Daddy on El Cid, whom he got when Cid was an old horse. Daddy loved horses and when he and Mother moved out to his grandfather's homesite in east Texas, Daddy had about 5 horses in all - during those 27 years.

Here is Granddaddy Andy with his youngest grandchild, Laura. Fun!

Here he is with his oldest grandchild, Cap. Boy did Cap learn to ride horses! Oh yeah.

Here are Grandmother and Granddaddy with their four grandchildren, ready to go to church.

Here are Mother and Daddy in London years ago...

And outside somewhere...

Here they are at their 50th wedding anniversary at First Baptist Church, Canton, TX...

Daddy started taking violin lessons when he was 70! For the next 10 years he played in nursing homes and for his Sunday School department's 'opening exercises'.

What a dear dad Daddy was...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!!

 I  MISS YOU!!!