Happy Heart Day 2016!!

It's the day for sweethearts!  Happy Valentine's Day!!  These are for my very own sweetheart:

Got to go start the Valentine's Day feast. Yep, we learned years ago never to plan a celebration dinner on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, or New Year's Eve. So, scallops and White Chocolate Creme Brulee it is!

Cheers!

Life Goes on at Moogie's Manor

Christmas Cheer from (a not very happy looking) Yappy!

She had two reasons to be unhappy. First: Pepper and Mysti went duck hunting on Thursday for two days without her (where Mysti apparently specialized in whining and knocking over her water bowl); and, Secondly: I made her wear that Santa headband.

She's not really much of a very girly-girl.

This is one shot from this year's Christmas card. Don't you just love the stare-down?

And another, from the back of the card, with the caption, "Remembering our Bouie, sleeping in heavenly peace . . ."

May your holiday season be blessed with warm memories and the opportunity to make many more.

Thinking About Thankfulness

I am thankful for having had a great dog in my life. I've had plenty of wonderful dogs, but only Bouie was great. And, I'm thankful for having his "lady" and his offspring in our home to love.

I kinda like my husband, too. I'm thankful he has been in my life these many decades.

I'm thankful for our healthy children and grandchildren, and for the opportunity to see them regularly without having to drive 7 or 8 hours.

I'm thankful to have my father, now 86 years old, still with us. And, I'm thankful to be able to go to doctors' appointments with him so he won't have to walk so far. And, I'm thankful to be here in Little Rock to support him as he begins radiation therapy for lung cancer. I'm truly and prayerfully grateful that his prognosis is good.

I'm thankful for good friends.

I'm thankful I don't have to move anytime soon.

I'm thankful for my Senior Discount at Krogerville. And, I'd better go use it before all the other geezers get all the good stuff.

A Labor Day Weekend to Remember

The joint is jumping at Moogie's Manor!

The puppies are growing!  They're so very smart! At 3 1/2 weeks they figured out to go to the far end of the pen to do their business so they don't soil their sleeping area. We had to abandon the puppy pool because it ceased to be a containment area -- more like a mild obstacle to freedom. Several have been spoken for (including ours!), so I have no doubt they will all find good, loving homes -- many nearby, so we'll be able to follow their progress. They recognize us and want us to play whenever they're awake -- it melts my heart to see a puppy looking at me with affection. And probably hunger! We'll start them on cereal this weekend. Here's a little puppy playtime from this afternoon -- their 4-week birthday (featuring the escape artist I have nicknamed "Dora, the Explorer."):


I was spirited to a friend's cabin on the Little Red River last Friday (Elder Daughter volunteered to spend the night here to watch the puppies) for a delightful evening complete with good food, good conversation, and a long, heavy rainfall which we enjoyed from the screened porch. Pepper got to do a little fly fishing on Saturday morning, and we had a nice lunch at The Red Apple Inn before heading back to Little Rock to watch the Razorbacks "entertain" the Auburn Confused Mascots at The Son's House.

Except, we didn't watch the game at The Son's House. We watched it at Moogie's Manor along with a large number of our friends at my Surprise Sixtieth Birthday party!

To be honest, I had deduced that there was going to be a party, but I had no idea it was going to be here! Daughters cleaned nicely (thank goodness!) and moved (read, "hid") all kinds of tchotchkes so they could do a Moogie-centric decorating scheme, with Razorback flourishes. (I'm still locating stuff!) There was good food, lots of laughs, and semi-decent football (at least until the fourth quarter).

Is that a fabulous cake, or what!

The book is one I gave my mother years ago -- The Southern Lady. I love that my girls think of me that way.

 

Elder Daughter spent a lot of time in contact with the yearbook at the U of A. They sent her several pics of me that appeared in a Volume from a "few" years back. This is my favorite. It proves to me that I didn't really just make this up in my head. Here is Moogie, calling the Hogs, along with a few friens. Do you see me? There was a lot less of me to love back then:

And, as Younger Daughter pointed out, even Buddha was calling the Hogs!

I have a wonderful, sneaky family!

And, at age 60, I have nine puppies who need to be entertained several times during the night. So, I. Am. Tired!

Happy weekend!

Independence Day 2014

Let us enjoy and celebrate our freedoms while we still can. Happy Independence Day to us all!

Memorial Day 2014

And, we remember all those who gave their all.

With admiration and gratitude.

I've known several service-trained dogs. They're pretty special.

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is always a solemn time for me. An uplifting thing occurred on Friday, though -- Pepper found a spot on the house with enough wood ( instead of Dri-vit) to support a flag bracket!  So now Old Glory is proudly flying at Moogie's Manor, just as it did at the Mansion in NOLA.

Pepper and I joined friends on Friday night at Riverfest so we could turn back the hands of time at a "Chicago" concert! Man, those guys are genuine musicians! Then, last night, The Son and his group went back to Riverfest so that #1 could do a little volunteer work (yay, #1!!), but we had a family cookout anyway with Daughters' families, including 2/5 of the grandkids (##4 and 5).  Don't they look like they're cooking up something mischievous?

Heh.

Tonight we'll have Swedish food (smorgasbord of leftovers!), and think about what to grill tomorrow. Ah, tomorrow.  Memorial Day.

Never forget.

Thank God, indeed.

Seis de mayo

Oops. I seem to have neglected Cinco de mayo in the blogosphere.

I might have been a day late and a dollar short in posting, but not in the eating department! I made some pretty spectacular Latin-ish food last night. This is a Blackened Shrimp Taco with a Buttermilk Avocado Herb Sauce (using cilantro and parsley from the garden) to kill for:

This is a pretty nifty Taco Casserole (made with ground turkey, lots of cheese, and my own taco seasoning blend that is never the same twice -- I don't like all the salt in commercial seasonings):

Ole!

Plus, in preparation for this weekend's Mother's Day celebrations, there is this Mexican-themed message:

There were indeed moments. I think I'll have a martini instead. Feliz Seis de mayo!

Happy Easter!

May the blessings and promise of Easter be with us all.

Love, Pepper, Moogie, Mysti, and

Bouie Cottontail.

April Showers and April Flowers

Have I mentioned before just how very fascinating the yard is at Moogie's Manor?  Spring has been a season of continual discovery.  Something new pops up every day!

There are several varieties of Maple.  This is the flower/seed pod from one of them. How pretty is that!

The Harry Lauder's Walking Stick that was featured here so prominently during the ice storms is interesting in the Spring, too.

My herb garden survived the gully-washer of a rain that we had a few nights ago -- and the dips into sub-freezing temperatures.  I think I'm going to give peppers -- both bell and jalapeno -- a shot. Bunnies and chipmunks don't eat peppers, do they?  After that rain, we now understand why it is so difficult to keep mulch in the downstairs flower beds.  We could have done a little white-water rafting if we had been so inclined!

Wishing you a glorious day before Easter.  I hope you get all the jelly beans your little hearts desire.  I'm off to babysit with #4 so his parents can have an early 4th Anniversary celebration.  Can you believe it's been FOUR years?!?!

Landscaping, Spring?, and St. Patty's Weekend

Spring has been teasing us up one side and down the other at Moogie's Manor.  I spied a bunch of daffodils about to bloom before we left for New Orleans a few weeks ago.  They burst into flower shortly after we left, according to our friend, the Dog/House sitter.  Then came the sleet, and they never quite recovered. Here are our disabled daffodils:

And, today, I noticed for the first time that we have a Flowering Plum tree.  A BIG one!  It is sneaking into bloom in the side yard:

I am still so enthralled by the landscaping around The Manor. Every season delivers something new. Pepper and I are plotting how to add to it without detracting from any of it.  I know I want herbs and probably some tomatoes and peppers.  And daisies. He'd like a spruce or some other Christmassy evergreen. One thing we'll plant for sure, probably in the fall, is the Gardenia I rooted from a cutting of JB's huge plant in the yard at Moogie's Mansion.  I was sooooo excited to be successful in rooting it! It's presently sitting in a sunny spot in the entry hall in Moogie's Manor -- I figured that would be a good place to strengthen it before we transplant it outdoors since it's already demonstrated a liking for the sunlight there.  I wasn't able to get back to the Mansion before we left New Orleans to take another cutting, even though the new owners said we were welcome to cut as much as we'd like, but there's always next trip.  Look!  It has set flowerbuds!  (One of which has been decapitated by Mysti's excited tail. *sigh*):

And, here's my favorite pic of the day! Elder Daughter and family headed to New Orleans yesterday so that SIL#1 can join his family in the Irish Channel St. Patrick's Parade tomorrow. You read a little bit about it here once before. They split the trip into two days because they had to leave so late yesterday (and because #5 Grandchild's transportation attention span hasn't reached a full Little Rock to New Orleans length yet). So, today's second leg was filled with electronic entertainment and traffic, hence:

The Jack Kaleidoscope!

Elder Daughter can make electronics sit up ad do tricks. I think that's just too cool for school.

And, I'm still a little under the weather, so I'm easily entertained.

Happy Friday!

Presidents' Day PTSD

Presidents' Day will probably never be the same after 2016.  If there are future presidents.  I mean, other than the Emperor who occupies the White House at present.  I just don't see him willingly packing up and moving on. There's still a lot of Hope and Change to be bulldozed out there, and he is so very skilled at operating the bulldozer.

In just a few short years he has managed to throw a sixth of the nation's economy into turmoil with a few deft strokes of his magic Executive Order pen.  I ran into an old friend at last week's wedding who recently retired from the health insurance biz. She says she left just in time -- clients have been increasingly asking her what's going to happen to this or that provision under Obamacare, and what's the cost going to be for this or that policy, and the only answer she could give them was, "I don't know.  I don't know.  I don't KNOW!!!"

Apparently neither does the White House. Nor Congress.

So, on this Presidents' Day, to let the current occupant of the West Wing know what we think of him, I think we should encourage him to stay in good health by exercising.  Toward that end, we should send him a little gift -- how about a warm-up suit made by a small American company that sells its products in France?  Here is the label that provides cleaning instructions:

Don't you think he'll love it!

Quick!  Someone hide the keys to the heavy equipment!

Valentine's Day With a Twist

Well, here's a distasteful little twist on Valentine's Day/Presidents' Day:

This billboard is located on I-30 in Little Rock.  It advertises AshleyMadison.com, a "dating service" for married folks whose copyrighted motto is "Life is Short. Have an Affair."  For real.

In a recent press release, the founder of the site explained the connection among the former presidents and her "service" --

"Throughout history powerful men, particularly those in politics, have sought out the romantic company of women who weren't their wives. We chose to honor these three men as each had well-documented affairs during their time in office." In addition to their wandering eyes, Noel Biderman says the men have another major thing in common. "Despite their dalliances, they were still considered heroes by the American people, who never stopped viewing them as great leaders."

The website includes a link to "Infidelity News" and an online Adult Toy Store "by popular demand." And a freakin' blog!

"Great leaders" my foot.  Great politicians, yes, but I'm not so sure about the leader thing, and Bill Clinton is certainly not a hero by any stretch of the imagination.  Maybe JFK, but he went off and got all dead and stuff, so we never saw his full evolution.  I'm not even going to acknowledge that Progressive FDR.

If this is a legitimate business and not some colossal, cosmic joke, then as a society, We. Are. Doomed.

Or, perhaps you may call me "Pollyanna."

It is kind of a clever ad.

Happy Valentine's Day.

A Little Holiday Cheer, and Welcome!

I've been incredibly pre-occupied lately, with the house and Christmas and something else kinda exciting that I'll share in a few weeks, so I've been kinda neglecting Moogie's World and the blogosphere.  I'll try to do better, but I can't make any promises, seeing as how I have done very little shopping, and we're getting ready to travel for the holidays, and we have a 10 week old black lab girl puppy!!! 

This is the visual definition of cute (and hell on four large paws!):

 

 

Say hello to Mystic Roux (her mama's name was Roux), more commonly known as Mysti (or other "colorful" pejoratives, e.g., "you little fill-in-the-blank"):



She's getting the house training idea insofar as piddling goes, but we're still working on the poop angle.  Bouie is very good with her -- he plays so gently with her.  Perhaps he understands that she is his email-order bride and he needs to treat her right if he expects to wed her in a year or so.

She has gained over 3 pounds in two weeks, so she has an insatiable appetite.  It's been pretty much a sleep-deprived, multi-ring circus around here since Thanksgiving (we picked her up on the way home from Arkansas).  So, this video that appeared in my Inbox today was a calming, welcome pleasure.  Just look at the children watching in awe. 



I think the puppy needs to watch this. Often.

It's Veterans' Day

The day that we formerly celebrated the termination of WWI on the western front -- Armistice Day.  Many still recognize the Armistice with two minutes of silence at the Eleventh hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh month.  I did, turning my thoughts to those who served, those who lost their lives, and the families left to keep the home fires burning.

And I am grateful to each and every soul who dons the uniform, voluntarily, with pride, to serve and protect American interests both at home and abroad.  I am grateful to those who serve today as well as those who have hung up the camo of whatever hue.

Thank you!  Wholeheartedly, thank you.

My father (USNR, 20+ years), my father-in-law (Army Air Corps), my son (ARNG), my great-uncle (WWII).

And that fella I live with:

Army and Army Guard (34+ years).

My children have a pretty good gene pool!

Is this guy saluting with his left hand?  I just noticed that.  Hmmm.  But, you get the idea, right?

A Post-Isaac Labor Day Tribute

You see what I mean about there being no hope for Moogie's hair? This was pre-restoration of the AC.

So.  As we await the refrigerator repair guy (yep, the ice chute cover keeps opening and closing all by itself, and the control panel keeps flashing -- the fridge either blew a circuit somewhere during all the plugging and unplugging for generator respites, or it needs an exorcism.  Or both.), and the roofers (who arrived yesterday to replace the fallen chimney cap and discovered enough shingle damage to require a big blue tarp), and the insurance adjusters who will tell us that the repair costs don't quite meet the deductible, we come to that annual contemplation of Labor Day.  And the Second Annual re-telling of What Labor Day means to Moogie (and, I imagine, to Elder Daughter, the new Mommy):

Monday, September 6, 2010

What Labor Day Means to Moogie

As I prepare to bake an apple-blueberry pie to take to a potluck this afternoon, my thoughts drift to the true meaning of today's revered holiday observation.

Labor Day -- the day we recognize and acknowledge all those hours spent in a hospital gown that exposes our backside to the world, hee-hee-heeing and blowing, then straining to push a human being out of our bodies and into this world. (Often described by male physicians as "experiencing some discomfort.")

What's that you say? Union labor?!?!

Oh.

In that case, contact your senator and congressperson today -- and tomorrow -- and explain just exactly why the Employee Free Choice Act is no more than a communist mechanism to screw the rank-and-file employee and the employer simultaneously, and a device to take contractual bargaining out of the hands of the real parties in interest and hand it over to not-totally-disinterested third parties, among other unpleasant things.

In the meantime, go have a picnic -- and call your mother.