Happy New Year

                                               

                         

  

Wishing everyone in AOL J-Land a safe, prosperous, and Happy New Year. All those partying please remember to designate a sober driver...

--Images courtesy of Moon and Back Graphics and Pat's Web Graphics

Spirit of Christmas

Nothing like children's faces on Christmas morning...even littlest Dylan was getting into the WOW! of things... too cute.

A Very Merry Christmas

           

From our home to yours.... a safe and festive holiday!!! May all your wishes and dreams come true. Christie

Nick Nack the Google Bear

Nick (or "Nack" as Shelby calls him)... gettin' his giggle on....

and kicking back showing that serious side... love how his little feet are crossed!

Shelby Nicole

Good times, laughs, and giggles tonight as Shelby (Google) and Nick Nack (with mommy and daddy, of course) came to visit for awhile. Grabbed this grin during a wild pony ride...one that made mommy high step it across the room (hehehehehe, 'Chelle...) It was wonderful to be off of work for a minute to spend time with my family. I love and miss you guys!

Precious

Meet Emma... this is the daughter of one of my co-workers. The photo was taken tonight at our Christmas Party, and let me tell you---she was the belle of the ball. So very sweet....I fell in love in an instant.

Lo and Behold...

Tree with an angel theme. This one was VERY pretty...

Awwwwww

For all you pet lovers out there.... Click here: Christmas Puppy. This is tooooo cute! Have a good one, I am off to flourescent hell....i mean work....

Nicky

Brat spitz extraordinaire...

Christmas Diamonds in the Red

The Mother's Red Hat Society Chapter in all their Christmas glory. They posed for the local paper yesterday in this convertible on the way to Bessemer for a day of tea and shopping. I tackled venturing with the "Diamonds in the Red" yesterday, and was EXHAUSTED when we got back. It was a lot of fun though. I hope I have an iota of the festiveness of these women when I reach their age. There was laughter heard by one or more every minute of the trip. This wasn't the best posed candid, but it was my favorite---as it was one of those moments when laughter rang out instead of a stiff pose...like the one that will probably grace the front page of the Star in the near future. Don'tcha just love the boa fan? Mom is in the front seat of the car with the dealership owner (the one with the big ol' light reflection across his face...I told you, not the best pic---but the most fun).

Snowfolks

Adorable, yes?

Frosty Cane

White tree, white lights, red decorations...  way cool.

Santa, Baby

Santa Doll from our collection... ho ho ho!!

Mistletoe

Mistletoe hanging from a tree in the back yard... there's a huge bush of it, only about 10 feet off the ground. Unusual for it to grow that low, it is usually about 40-50 ft up.

Tree

Christmas tree display in a local shop window. These night shots are really hard to take without being a spot fuzzy. Christmas will be a good learning experience...

Christmas Cactus

My mom's Christmas Cactus... thanks, Deborah, for reminding me that I was supposed to take a shot of this about 2 weeks ago....

It's Beginning to look....

a lot like Christmas.... bridged lights in the DeArmanville area.

Bartlett Pear

Rush

Rushing whoooosh.... symbolic of the next 24 days.... <sigh>

Bets

My best buddy Betty....more popularly known as Connie's Scarlett... <grin>

Dylan

Favorite Reading Spot...

Quiet Lane

CL

Happy Birthday, Christy! Feel better.... I love you, my friend.

Happy Thanksgiving, All

Happy Turkey Day, Everyone!

 

I had the Mother all talked into going to Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving Dinner on Saturday, since no good police dispatcher is available for ACTUAL holidays (bah humbug? 10-4!). She has since taken it into mind that we will have a huge feast on Saturday, and whomever wants to show for it.....will. <sigh> Since I have heard from no one in my family reference the invitational emails I sent out,  I envision the two of us looking at each other over miles of food and a trip to the Salvation Army via vehicle buffet later in the evening...

 

Here’s hoping all my friends out there in J-Land have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. If you are traveling…safe journeys there and back. Don’t forget to tell everyone for whom you are thankful just how much you love them.

 

Gobble Gobble!

Gurgle Gurgle

Photo of the rapidly rising Choccolocco Creek....er...RIVER on the way to work this a.m., and it has continued to steadily rain since then...and will continue to rain until Thursday morning, I am told. It should cease at that time. Something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving....lol

Wow, just in time for the most travelled day of the year... hehehe Luckily, when Cider Ridge was born, a pump station was put in to control the flooding in this area, and the houses closest to the creek were built on brick 'stilts'. Before that happened, this road was nonexistant during high rains, and would probably be at least 6-7 feet under water at this point...

Red

Rain, rain, go AWAY. It is hard to take photos under water.....the rain has been steady for three days now, and has even become a work trauma. Nothing like tying up zone units to "guard" the main streets in town that are flooded, especially when there are actual CALLS to be answered. Just because there are some people in this town that don't think..."oh, that lane is flooded....perhaps I should use one of the remaining two to drive in...." Nahhh, that would be waaaay to simple! Instead, it's WHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEE through the flooded lane and into whatever is standing near to stop the hydroplane....  Yes, work made me cranky today....or is it the unrelenting wave after wave of monsoon day after day? Man, I could NOT live in Washington State.....hehehehe

This is one of the prettier trees that still have leafage despite the rain...even though it is dark (taken between waterfalls), I hope you can still see the breathtaking red.

Beacon

Steeple on the Golden Springs Church of Christ...can be seen for miles, especially from atop any mountain around here...

Yeah, Baby!!!!

                                Florida Gators 20 --- Florida State 13

White

Gorgeous whiteness out for a chilly, late afternoon swim.

Rustic

Rustic General Store near Delta, Alabama

Cuz

Little man Christian by the pool...

Old Fella

Don't let that grey hair fool ya....this old man still has the utmost respect from his peers in the pasture. They treat this stallion with almost a regal air. He rules the roost. I don't know how old he is, he moves a little slower than the others but holds his own---he has the most soulful eyes...

GroupHug

Group hug from three of my favorite folks...Beth, Timothy, and Shelby Dawn. I love you guys!!!

Country Dusk

Veteran's Day

The soldier pictured above is not one of my photos.... I recieved it in an email and it touched me beyond belief. In honor of Veteran's Day, I decided to post this photo and all it represents.

Here is a photo of a soldier stationed on foreign soil---one big sandbox. He asked his wife to send him the soil, fertilizer, and some grass seeds so he could have the sweet aroma and feel the grass beneath his feet. If you notice, he is even cutting his grass with a pair of scissors. Sometimes we are in such a hurry that we don't stop and think about the little things that we may take for granted. This photo, and a call that we recieved last night, put this in perspective for me today. The call was for an officer to be dispatched to an address in our city with a message to give to a young soldier's mother---to get in touch with his seargent reference her son in Iraq (she did not have a phone). The news was not good. So today and all days, send up a prayer to the higher power that you choose for those on foreign soil giving (and giving up) so unselfishly for us, and for those who have fought wars before them in the same spirit. They have my utmost respect...my heart breaks for them.

Red

Pine Glen

Pine Glen, primitive camping area nearby (used mostly by hunters during season).

Talladega National Forest

Near one of the man-made dams that created the lake.

Spatter of Color

Just a little spatter of color from the woods...most of it is gone now.

Little Red Schoolhouse

Little Red Schoolhouse, Choccolocco (1885).  This is on the golf course at Pine Hill, I thought it was really cool. Can you imagine having gone to school in something this small??

Higher, PawPaw, Higher!!!

Shelby Dawn and her PawPaw Pat on the swings at Weaver Park. She had a case of the bossies (swing me HIGHER, PawPaw!) and started giggling so hard he had to stop her for a minute, we were afraid she would fall out because she was instructing with one hand instead of holding on... she is TOO cute...

Simple

Keeping it simple with a small burst of color in the flower garden, in the last grips of warm weather. The election didn't go with my choice, but hey---there's always 2008, right? I am extremely proud of the way our country got out and exercised their right to a voice. I am pretty much silent on other aspects of the election, keeping with the old addage "If you don't have anything nice to say...." Which I don't. Period.

Busy Day....

Sunset on Mountain View Road in Oxford, AL. Wow, what a busy day. First off, the Mother fell and broke her arm early this morning. She said her knees just gave out. Methinks it may be time for a walker...bummer. She INSISTED that we go by the poll to vote before going to the doctor, in case it took the normal 18.9 hours to be processed and seen at the local fixer upper doc-in-a-box.  That done, we went and had her arm put in a plaster splint until the swelling goes down, then the plaster cast will be fitted next Monday. ::::::sigh::::: She is happy on Darvocet, watching Hollywood Video's finest rentals...and I have been called into work due to lack of personnel. Such is life.

Happy news on my friend, CL. We got to Atlanta yesterday and a battery of tests were done. We have found a Georgia surgeon who is willing to take her case and try to fix her truama (a botched GP with added complications). So that was great news, since no one in Alabama would come near her case. We are ecstatic over that... Well, I am off to APD hell for a few hours....

Take advantage of your right to be heard...

                       November 2nd, 2004

 

The ability to choose who leads our nation is one of the most basic rights of our democracy. The power is given to us, the people. Make sure to take advantage of that opportunity today. No matter who you choose to back, make your voice heard. Every ballot counts...

                                                          

Image credit: http://www.2004dnc.com