Rat Rods

For those of you who know us at all, you know that Gary always has a new toy and this time he has one that I really love. You may think I am crazy when you see this, but it is just darling! I have always loved the old original Fords and Chevrolets from the Depression era and now we have one! This is a 1929 Ford Roadster Truck - convertible and all!  Do you notice something strange about it other than it being rusted out?  Look close.

Do you know what that shovel was for?  Maybe the next picture will give you a clue.......

It was a grave diggers truck!  That is why the shovel is mounted on the side of the truck.  That makes this truck really something to talk about!  Does this look like a big project to you?  Not at all.....it will be a Rat Rod.  For all of us laymen out there, that means it will never have shiney new paint on it.  He will leave it rusted except for the wheels........

Gary says the wheels always have to be clean and new looking.  He can't take the rusted look on those.  He will have G.W. Strickland Custom Homes, Inc lettered onto the truck in a rusted process so it looks original to the age of the truck and he will get it running and put new brakes on it.  Not sure how far he will take the engine......to chrome or not to chrome.....ha

And what to do on the inside.....dashes have come a long ways!!!!

A lot of Rat Rods have Mexican type throws on the seats...ha We wouldn't want to make it look good for sure.  Gary has always wanted a Rat Rod...after all, he has had plenty of the shiney street rods and antiques......

his current two shiney models, so now for the fun one.

Notice the convertible top!  Let the Rat Rodding begin.  Oh, if anyone has one of those turquoise and orange striped Mexican throws, we will take it off your hands! LOL

Have a Blessed day!

Oh Mercy Me!

This weekend was a real working weekend.  No rest for the weary.  I helped to get a new kindergarten classroom set up for the first time.  Wow!  That is a major undertaking!  No more are the classrooms with rows of desk and a chalk board at the front.  Where is the front of the classroom anymore?  Where are the desks?  Little round tables have replaced them.  Gone are the days that the room had to be painted pale blue, green or yellow to keep the children calm.  Primary and bright colors are in!  Polka dots abound!  Every single inch is filled with absolute awesomeness.  The teachers wear microphones now so the students can hear better.  What happened to teachers straining their voices or talking soft until the kids got quite?  There are computers, electronic listening centers, ipads, digital cameras and the over head projectors are now called Elmo and a lot fancier than we had.  No more transparencies......it uses paper!  It is just amazing!  For free reading time, there is a tent in the middle of the room for two students to curl up in to read.  Everything is done in "centers" - two here, two there, and two more here.  Times have changed.

But the real change that totally took me off guard was when I needed to relieve myself.  I was told I could go use the restroom in the teacher's lounge or use the one for the kids which was right across from the classroom.  Since there aren't any kids using it now, I thought to myself, I will use it because it should be clean.  (I do not like dirty restrooms!)  I know I lead a sheltered life and don't get out into the real world much, but this totally took me off guard.  A sea of purple on the floors and walls!  When you open the door expecting a blah bathroom, this totally took me by surprise......a PURPLE MONSTER!

Never in my life have I seen this much purple in a room!  The school colors are purple and white.  And this greeted me when I opened the door along with these scenes......

The paintings are adorable - it was all the purple that almost sent me running for my life.   I think this is something you have to see in real life to get the whole affect.  It just hits you in the face - BIG TIME!  I never liked purple to begin with and now everytime I see purple again, I will think back to the moment I opened that door.  It was life changing.  One of those moments that is implanted on my brain until the day I die, I am sure.  Pure culture shock to this little old lady that leads her sheltered life.  Bless ALL the dear teachers in our world.  It is a whole new ball game.

Have a Blessed day!

My Addiction

OMG!  Why did I start this!?!?!  It is the most addicting thing I have done in a long time! LOL

My lovely husband got me an i-phone for my birthday in April.  I was the last hold out among all my friends and family.  I was kind of scared that I might not be smart enough to take advantage of this phone since I had listened to a group of ladies (who shall remain nameless) ask 1000 questions at lunch to the one person that knew the answers.  I sat there absorbing all the info and began doubting my skills.  Now I am the one that sits at a computer all day drawing houses and admit that I am fairly good at figuring things out on the computer for myself, but this i-phone thing had me wondering.  Well, after Gary set it up for me and I used it a couple of hours, I could see that an i-phone was not a scary object but loads of fun.  Texting became our way of talking in this house!  So about two weeks ago, I decided to venture on out into something a little more fun and even educational - Words With Friends.  Why on earth did I do that?  The phone is always making that little noise that someone has played and it is my turn.  And I surely can't keep my friends waiting!  It doesn't matter that I have houses to draw, bills to pay, house to clean (well, I do pay to have that done, thank heavens), yard to mow, etc, etc.....I MUST STOP and ANSWER that DING!  The funny thing about playing is that you feel like you have seen that person today and everyday.  It is a connection!  Last week we had a car of five gals headed for Tulsa.  All but one had the i-phone.  Since I was driving, I let the one person without an i-phone use mine to play Words With Friends.  They were all playing and not until we hit the Indian Nation Turnpike where there wasn't any cell service for a little while, did anyone talk to me.  They were lost in getting those triple letters, double words, etc.  When all the service was gone, I thanked them for starting to talk to me again. :) 

(Just had to answer that little call to play...sorry....spelled FRIED for 16 points)

Where was I?  Oh yes, so if you feel the need for interaction with friends and don't really want to get dressed to go out, just start a game or several games of Words With Friends and you will have constant companionship! 

I am even thinking now about getting an i-pad.  That would be easier on the eyes for playing Words With Friends, oh yes, and for reading books too and maybe even chatting with friends on Facebook.  And don't forget, you can download Pottery Barn catalogues now with their app! 

(Just had to answer that little call to play again....WARREN for 11 points.  Not as good but used up a bunch of those R's!)

Oh, and one last thing.....I even read everyone's blogs on the phone and could on the i-pad if I had one.  Now we all know that is a whole lot of fun and a great way to catch up with everyone and what they are doing.  I wonder what our parents did without all this modern technology for keeping up with friends.  I remember when we had a party line and a 3 minute limit with the one telephone that was in the hallway where everyone heard everything you said - even your neighbors if they wanted to pick up and listen on the party line! Those were NOT the days, believe me!

Guess I better sign off......Words is dinging again!

Have a Blessed Day!