The Brod Abode ~~ Where life's a hoot!

Okay Klubees: Tomorrow is May 25. We are almost halfway to Christmas again and need to get in gear. Anything you do prior to December will help make your holidays more organized and enjoyable. Movie suggestions for tomorrow while you work are A Christmas Story or The Muppet Christmas Carol. I just love the Christmas Story. While I wasn't even born during the time the story was set, at one time or another I heard just about every warning used in that flick growing up. Starving kids in China, I'll give you something to cry about, don't play with your food, you get the idea. It's a comfort to me to watch and remember a time in America where The Wizard of Oz rocked and you listened to the radio instead of fixating on a TV, or worse, video game. I love the Muppets too. Such a sweet story and ofcourse, I always cry LOL. Or, listen to Christmas music and work on something. One thing that is good to start this time of year is your yearly Christmas newsletter, if you do that. Sc...

Tough girls come from New York. Sweetgirls - they're from Alabama. But us TEXAS girls, we have fire & ice in our blood! We can ride horses, be a debutante, throw left hooks & hang with the boys; all the while making sweet tea and pecan pie, calling you Darlin'...& if we have an opinion, YOU KNOW YOU'RE GONNA HEAR IT!! ...Nothing like being a TEXAS GIRL!! If you are a TRUE TEXAS GIRL, repost this!

I spent 2 hours in the house this morning and 1 in the back yard. I'm beginning to see the light of day in the den and the kitchen and dining room are getting back to normal. Now, the granite comes in on Tuesday and for a person who was totally against granite (that would be me) I'm excited beyond belief. I still am so grateful we found exactly the right blends I needed to make it work in my colonial style kitchen. When I go shopping for counters, furniture, etc. I tell the sales people to think east coast sea captain's house...in the 1700's. You can see their brains rapidly working on how to get me out of there, LOL. I went in to Lazy Boy and told them that all of their furnishings were lovely, I didn't like any of them and to show me austere wing back recliner selections. They were shoved in a little corner all by themselves begging me to take them home. And so, we did. They are unbelievably comfy and exactly what I was looking for. I put them on either side of th...

As promised, here are a couple of recipes for Christmas as well as ideas for Christmas preparation this month. I always have thought at this stage of the game we have TONS of time. Not necessarily so. The months fly by as I get older. It's summer and I barely remember last fall. For the Brod Abode, the holidays really kick off after Labor Day. Because our family is so crazy about All Hallow's Eve, I start decorating for fall/Halloween the first of September. I've been known to start in August. We pull out all the stops for Halloween (see my Facebook page) and when that is over, Nov. 1 is takedown day and I begin decorating for Christmas. I have 4 different villlages and each of them can take a day alone because I'm a tweaker. And they are my favorite decoration. So, whatever you get done now, you will appreciate so much as Thanksgiving approaches and you have all your shopping done and wrapped and are ready to decorate. Ofcourse, it is a bit awkward at my house as I don...

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I haven't blogged in a few and haven't even posted the recipes yet. My apologies to all. My remodel angels finished up their part (for now) last Wed. late. I kind of let the clean up go Thursday and Friday waiting to find out about the granite. So, I'm behind needless to say. Remember, I'm the one that doesn't/didn't want granite in the first place. Mike said if, God forbid, we had to sell the house one day people would think we were cheap not putting in granite. Now, I don't give a rat's rear about that, I don't plan to move. But he is right and I have major back surgery looming in my future and we never know what can happen. I wish I would just happen on a burning bush like Moses and God would tell me which doctor to use. Basically, they are going to have to rebuild a portion of my spine and I'm sure it's gotten worse since my last tests. Surgery can last up to 6 1/2 hours which for me it will probably take longer, LOL. Sooooo, w...

Let's give our troops a hand

Tuesday at the Brod Abode: Kitchen and dining ceilings are being sanded and textured today. Paint tomorrow and hopefully some decisions about the countertops. And then, the cleanup. Oh my goodness....I can't even begin to deal with that thought. But our home is being updated and I am grateful we can do this. We had lovely thunder showers last evening and everything looks happy from the natural watering. The new pond filter is amazing. I wish we had had this in '01 when we begain a larger scale of this venture. My pond days started in 1999 with a 150 gallon Rubbermaid livestock tub. I put dwarf plants and a little fountain in there and it was good for a couple of years. But, the fish grew and grew so Mike and the boys, mostly Mike, dug and picked and axed and swore and carved out by hand a 1,250  gallon hole in Texas clay for our finned babies. The fever became more intense. Ponding is addicting and isn't always cheap. There are do it yourself filters and smaller/cheape...

A precious friend of mine, Janet, lost her husband last month after a long illness.  His funeral was one of the best celebrations of a life I have ever attended.  Our church was so packed that Mom and I had to sit in the fellowship hall and watch it via the tv.  We really didn't get to see the slideshow very well but heard the beautiful piano music composed by his daughter Heather.  Today they posted the slideshow on Janet's Facebook page and I finally got to see it.  It filled me with such a joy and hope to know that we have the promise of eternal life through the death of our Savior.  And it's free.  I will be honored to spend my eternity with Hal Newsom and the lovely family he temporarily leaves behind.  God is good. I missed Dad quite a bit today...perhaps thinking of the way the world is going and knowing no matter what God is in control.  I'm thankful Daddy isn't suffering any longer and that, along with Hal, he has a perfect body in ...

Somehow I have deleted the post about Lauren and Jordan's new dog Jasper. It may be floating around somewhere above my addled brain. I'm not going to repeat the whole "doll" thang so here are a couple of pics of the proud parents and their furry acquisition.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds-and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, Where never the lark, nor even eagle flew - And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod The high, untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand and touched the face of God. John Gillespie Magee (1922-1941) A Canadian Spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britian

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