Back to Work

I started a new job last week.

It's a 4 month temporary assignment at a local oil and gas company.

Here's the view from my new office.

Downtown Tulsa.

Looking south from the BOK Tower,

down Boston Avenue.

The people I work with are very nice.

The work is repetitive.

 Some folks would consider it boring and tedious. 

I don't agree.

 I am learning new things about the oil and gas industry.

I like learning new things.

How about you?

Fall Decorations

I put out fall decorations this morning. 

My sweet 7 year old niece helped me.

The genie bottle belonged to her great granny, Jewel (my granny).

She was fascinated by the fake acorns.

She asked me two or three times,

"Now, where did you get these Aunt Cindy?"

When her mother arrived to pick her up, she had to show her the fake acorns.

I think a trip to Hobby Lobby or Michael's is in their future.

Have you decorated your house yet?

Do you decorate your house?

Celebrating the Freedom to Read: September 22-28, 2013

Did you know it is Banned Books Week next week?

Why don't you plan to read a banned book to celebrate? By clicking on the link above, you will see a list of the 10 most frequently challenged books in 2012. I've read two of the books, Fifty Shades of Grey and The Glass Castle.

I have not read The Kite Runner, but I have a copy of it. I believe I will read it next week as my protest against book censorship.

What will you be reading?

Wildflowers

The Husband and I drove from Tulsa, OK to Taos, New Mexico in August.

We drove through the Oklahoma panhandle as we have done 

for years and years and years.

We were very happy to see wildflowers 

along the side of the roads and in the pastures.

The drought in the mid-west has been so bad for many years 

that we were shocked to see the wildflowers.

Honestly, we couldn't remember the last time

we saw them on our annual drive to NM.

In Taos, we also saw fields full of flowers.

A close-up. 

(Professional photographers we are not!)

The bright yellow flowers everywhere made me happy!

A Magnificent Tree

The Husband and I ran errands a couple of days ago and, on a lark, we meandered through a mid-town Tulsa neighborhood. The Husband loves to meander.

Lo, and behold, what did we find?

A magnificent tree.

It's huge.

It is fantastic that this tree is still standing tall and proud.

Especially given:

the great Tulsa ice storm of 2007

the multi-year drought

the derecho of 2013

Thousands of trees have been lost because of these events.

Thanks to the owners of the property were the Pin Oak is located.

Trees need good guardians and you are doing a great job!

Remembering Daddy

Billy Wayne Carnahan

July 17, 1928 - September 10, 2001

Photo taken August 27, 1994

27, 54 and 81?

I was born on September 4, 1959.

My 27th birthday, in 1986, was not good. I was desperately unhappy.

I made a number of difficult decisions that year and changed my life for the better.

The milestone birthdays that people struggle with?  All were good for me!  29, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 - fun, fantastic, lovely!

54?

Not so much.

I think a lot of my feelings have to do with my Mother's increasing age. She had her right knee replaced a couple of months ago. She needs her left knee replaced. She has a shoulder bone spur that requires surgery. We are taking her to physical therapy twice a week. She has other, miscellaneous, issues that require one-off doctor's visits.

It is exhausting.

She's 81. I'm 54.

27 was a bad birthday for me.

27 + 54 = 81

Is my 81st birthday going to be bad?

I guess 3 bad birthdays in a life span of 81 years isn't bad at all.

Is it?

I think I'm just whining.

Labor Day and Gooey Butter Cake

Hi. How was your holiday weekend? Ours was great. We were invited to cook outs on both Sunday and Monday. My contribution on both days was Mom's Macaroni Salad.

A few years ago, my sister-in-law started making Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake. My niece had a piece at a family function and the rest is history. I believe the quote from the niece was, "I want to marry this cake, I love it so much!"

The cake was made today:

A happy niece!

Funny thing, when I googled "gooey butter cake" to find the recipe I found a Wikipedia page about the history of the cake. Very interesting!

The Sister also wanted to make Mom's Banana Pudding. She tricked Mom into standing and stirring it for her. (That's the B-i-L in the background.)

Finished product. The individual servings of pudding without the bananas or the wafers are for me and the little niece. We are picky.

This is a long standing family favorite.

Mom's Banana Pudding

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
dash salt
3 eggs
2 cups cold milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Nilla Wafers
4 or 5 bananas sliced

Mix sugar, flour and salt in a cast iron skillet. Blend in 3 eggs and milk. Cook, uncovered, 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

Layer custard, bananas, Nilla wafers on the bottom of a 1 1/2 quart dish. Repeat layers twice.

Cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with Nilla Wafers just before serving.