Arts and Craft Festival, Bastrop, La

Mama and I had a booth at the fall festival in Bastrop where we not only sold many books, but reconnected with many friends in the town where we had lived years ago and where I attended school 12 years. It was so much fun seeing everyone again. The festival was wonderful with many vendors and live entertainment by one of the locals who has made a real name for herself.

There was also a car show in the center of the building. At lunchtime about 35 of my BHS classmates met for lunch in a nearby building. We really did have a good time catching up with each other since our school days.

More Fall travels

Last weekend in October I drove to Ruston, La, to the Louisiana Tech tailgate party prior to their 'Homecoming game' and to visit two classmates whom I had not seen since we graduated high school in 1965 at Bastrop High. Beverly Leachman Johnson lives in Ruston and met me at Starbucks prior to the tailgate party. We then drove to the campus and walked to the tailgate party to meet another classmate Susan Odom Pincus who lives in Florida.

It was a fun time at the tailgate party and catching up "somewhat" after so many years of not seeing each other. I also met her handsome husband, Howard and her son.

Trip to Bella Vista and into Kansas and Missouri

After Colors rally, we headed north and spent one night in Bella Vista, AR, to visit my classmate Prissy Shoulders and her husband Dave. What a wonderful time I had reconnecting with Prissy. We had a delightful meal on her beautiful deck and Gil and I were delighted to get to know Dave. He too is retired USAF (pilot) and rides motorcycles so the guys had a lot in common. Prissy and I had a lovely talk catching up on the past 45 plus years. She is working on a book about her twin grandchildren's survival of a premature birth and illnesses afterwards. What a testimony to her faith and God's grace to bring these children and their family through some really rough times. I am eager to see the book published as it will be a help to other families who are going through a similar time of testing.

Then we had a delightful visit with Gil's family in Ft. Scott later that week. Glenda prepared a lovely dinner for us and Doug and Dianna, along with us and Bill had a special time of fellowship. Seeing Helen in good health after stints last spring was a delight and we had a good visit with her. Carol and Dan had us out for a meal too and we got to visit with them and their daughter Kim and her two delightful children. Helen joined in the family affair that evening as did Doug. We truly had a wonderful visit.

One day while in Kansas, we took the opportunity to drive into Independece, Mo., to visit our dear pastor friend Bro. Stewart Wine who had just lost his wife the previous week. We were unable to be at the celebration of Miss Norma's life but enjoyed so much the visit with Bro. Stew. He looked very well considering he was recovering from open heart surgery not long ago. He is getting physical therapy at the Golden Living Center due to a stroke he had recently suffered. Soon he will be entering his 57th year in the pastorate. What a testimony he has and what memories we have of serving with him at Friendship Baptist Church in Melton, England. He is now on facebook and there is a special fb page for FBC friends who attended that lovely church and were blessed under his pastorate. We love you Bro. Stew and will miss you greatly Miss Norma.

2011 CMA Colors Rally

Our annual vacation to Mena/Hatfield to the CMA Colors Rally was just the respite we needed this year after a teribly hot summer in Arkansas. The weather was wonderful on Sunday for our trip there and our Monday ride across Wilhemena Mountain into Oklahoma. We rode with Todd over to Rune Stone State Park and had a picnic lunch before returning to Iron Mountain. The trees were just beginning to turn and it was a wonderful ride on a beautiful sunny day. Just what the doctor ordered!

Then on Tuesday we had much needed rain which allowed us to have a camp fire later that week. There had been a fire ban due to the excessive hot and dry summer. On Wed. our trike began to have a problem and we ended up on foot most of the rest of the week as it will need some repairs before next spring. We had a wonderful visit from our CMA buddy from McKinney, TX, who stopped by to see us. She let us borrow her truck to go to the annual lunch in Oden.

The church services were wonderful as usual and the gospel singing Friday night was really special. But the sad part of the rally was the loss of CMA's dear founder Herb Shreve. He had not been well after open heart surgery earlier this year but had been able to attend his birthday party earlier Sat. afternoon. I had a chance to speak to him briefly Sat. evening in the pavilion just prior to his going home before the evening service. He appeared very tired when we spoke. We found out later that evening that he went home to be with the Lord. Praise God for his obedience and his service to the Lord all these years. We will never forget him and his special ministry to bikers that begun in 1975 with him and his son and is now a ministry around the world in 26 countries with thousands of bikers "riding for the son."

Louisiana Art & Folk Festival, Columbia, LA

Mama and I attended our third book signing at the Schepis Museum in Columbia during the 2011 Art & Folk Festival there on Oct. 8th. Joining us this year was Janie Wilkins, former resident and native of Columbia. Janie signed and sold her books "Janie's Unblievable Journey" volumens 1 and 2 and was joned by her sister Mary French and son Eric Pierce.

It was a fantastic day for us all, visiting our hometown once again and taking photos of our favorite places, one of which was the First United Methodist Church, Circa 1910. Mama and I drove by my grandmother's house on Lakeside St., up to the family plot at the cemetery and down Pearl Street where we lived when I was a little girl.

The festival was very well attended this year and the weather was absolutely beautiful. Janie and Mama and I had friends greet us at the Museum. We had a great day for sales and a super visit with friends. Thanks to Janie, Mary and Eric for joining us on this special day.

Canton's First Monday Trade Days Book Event

Two other Tate Publishing authors joined me for a book event Sept. 29 and 30th at the world's largest flea market in Canton, Tx. Grace Lundmark from the Tyler, TX, area and Cara Coffey from the Austin, TX, area brought their books to the Trade Days and we set up book tables in the food court. What fun we had getting to know one another and talking about our books and the experiences we have had writing the books.

Grace's book, Chloe May Daughter of the Dust Bowl is based on her mother's family as they experienced the dust bowl of Oklahoma during the Great Depression. I really enjoyed reading her book prior to the book event and then getting to visit with her during those days in Canton.

Cara's book, Uncovered No More, tells her experiences of her childhood and early married life as she searched from one denomination to another finding God's will for her life. She was attacked by depression just about the time she began writing of her experiences and tells in the book how God saved her from that terrible illness. Cara's husband and eight of their ten children joined her in Canton that week. They camped at a nearby state park and made a vacation of the time there. What lovely children she and Curtis are rearing.

Aunt Margie also joined me at the book event two of the three days. She kept me company and releived me from the "sitting" chore. We both enjoyed roaming the Marketplace visiting other booths and meeting other vendors. It really was a lot of fun and I had such a good time staying with Aunt Margie in her home in Fruitvale. The weather was wonderful, rather cool in the morning and mostly sunny. As much as I enjoyed the time in Texas, it was good to get home.

Gil will be going later this week to Mena/Hatfield, AR, to camp on Iron Mountain to help clean up the CMA campground in preparation for the annual Colors Rally mid-Oct. and I will also be leaving town once again to join Mama and another Tate author in Columbia, La. for a book event at the Schepis Museum. Janie Wilkins, a sister to my Dad's best friend in school in the 40s will fly in from Florida to join us in Louisiana for that event on Oct. 8th. I look forward to seeing Janie and showing her around our hometown of Columbia this weekend.

Book Event scheduled Canton, Texas

Two other Tate authors will join me at a book event in Canton, TX, for the First Monday Trade Days Sept. 29-Oct. 2nd in the Marketplace food court. This is the world's largest flea market so we are excited about the opportunities to meet and visit with new friends during this time. Grace Lundmark will share a table with me and she will sign and sell her book Chloe May Daughter of the Dustbowl. Also joining us will be Cara Coffey who will have her book there to sign and sell, Undercovered No More. Her son Patrick will also join us those days to sell his CDs. Please join us if you are in the area. We look forward to seeing you there.

My Aunt Margie Buffington will be helping me at my table with the book Mama and I wrote about her life growing up on cotton farms as a sharecropper's daughter. Margie is the middle sharecropper's daughter and will be quite an asset to our table. This will be a fun book event and I really look forward to this special time with the other authors and spending several days with Aunt Margie who lives near Canton. See you there!

September 2011, Camping

After a long, very hot summer, some cooler weather has finally come to Arkansas. Gil and I took the RV out to White Oak Lake for a couple of days. We were not prepared for the low water level at the lake. This was not due just to the very dry conditions and no rain to speak of recently, but also to the fact that there has been a leak in the gate at the dam at the lake. It was sad to see no water around the boat dock near the camp sites at the park.

On the other hand, it was a surprise to see how many campers were at the state park. There was a group Good Sam's campers there as well as some local people and a few folks just passing through. One motorhome parked near us one night housed a very young couple with a small child. I walked over to meet them and speak to the child who was a 9 mo. old little girl with beautiful blue eyes and a lovely smile and laugh. It turns out the couple is from Switzerland and had borrowed the RV to travel from Florida and up into the Smokey Mountains before they returned home. This was not their first trip to the USA as they told me they have already seen the Rocky Mountains. It seemed odd to me that they would leave such a beautiful country as Switzerland to see our country but they stated they wanted to see something different and they enjoy America and the sights here.

It was not long before Gil and I returned to our normal routine at home and Gil prepared for one of his prison ministry trips with the CMA group. I have busied myself with reading, posting reviews of the latest good book authored by another "Tater" (fellow authors of Tate Publishing, & Ent.) and catching up on facebook friends. Friday night will bring another evening of dominoes and fellowship with friends, Loretta and Terry.

In just two weeks I will be co-hosting a book table at First Monday, Canton's Trade Days in Texas with fellow authors Grace Lundmark and Cara Coffey and her son Patrick. I will be staying in Fruitvale with Aunt Margie who will help me at my booth those 3-4 days. I look forward to meeting Grace and Cara and Patrick and pray God's blessings on our efforts at his book event. There are 100 acres of vendors at this flea market, the world's largest. I know we will have a wonderful time.

Hot summer in south Arkansas!

Gil and I have not traveled much this summer because of the drought and heat in our state and across most of the southern USA. Texas especilly has suffered this year and still is in drought conditions. We had 10 min. of rain July 4th and then about an inch in early August but the ground is so dry that we need much more. The temperature has been in triple digits much of July and August. Lord knows we need the rain and He will send it in His timing.

I attended a funeral in July in Haynesville, La., for the father of a dear high school classmate. Debbie Swartz Burge' father passed away and several classmates attended his funeral. I had not seen Debbie since we finished school 46 years ago. It was a pleasure to see her and her sister and their children and grandchildren.

Gil went to the watermelon festival in Hope this month and had a good time. He road over with CMA friends. He also attended Teen Challenge in Hot Springs this month. Gil did have one prison ministry in July as well. Other than that he has only ridden his motorycle around town some this summer due to the heat. I attend water arobics most weekday mornings and Gil walks each day early before it gets hot. We have a nice church parking lot near our home that makes a good place to walk.

June was a special month

So many of our family members have birthdays in June. My son starts off the birthdays on the 12th (he was 44). Then Gil was next, on the 17th. Mama's birthday is the 22nd so we took our motorhome to Bastrop and camped at the City RV Park for four days so we could visit with her and my sister.

Some ladies from my high school graduation class decided to have lunch with me while I was in town. The lunch group grew quickly to 11 of us. What fun we had that day trying to catch up on each other and our families. We hope to get together more often and invite others in the area to join us. Thanks to Jeanette for setting up this first gathering of the "Girls of 65" for us BHS graduates from 1965.

Daddy is birthday was June 26th and he would have been 88 had Alzheimers not taken him from us in 2004. I know he probably does not celebrate birthdays in heaven, but we think of him often on this planet and the loss we had when he left. Mama, Judy and I visited the cemetery there in Bastrop where he, my sharecropping grandparents, my dear aunt and uncle as well as my brother-in-law were laid to rest.

Then after we returned home, I had my own birthday on the 28th (I was born on Grandpa Clarence's birthday) but it was a rather quiet day for me. I am just very grateful for family and friends

May travels

Gil and I just spent five days on Iron Mountain, CMA campground, just south of Mena. We helped fold and pack hundreds of t-shirts in the workshop/warehouse of CMA. Workers there told us they had already printed over 22,000 shirts this year - half of which were for mailing out to Run for the Son participants this year in the annual fundraiser. The rest are for various rallies and to be sold in the Goodie Store. We had such a good time meeting some folks from Texas and other CMA chapters who were also doing volunteer work that week. It was also good to get back home.

On Sunday before Memorial day we rode our trike to Benton, AR, to attend the wedding of Sammie and John Cleveland. Gil has known them for years as they are part of teh CMA prison ministry. The ride there was great, the fellowship and food at the wedding was wonderful and the ride home was hot. All in all, it really was nice.

After we got home we made a skype call to our granddaughters in China and had a good visit with them. DJ is talking more and more, using her hands to emphasize what she is saying....problem is, we don't have a clue what she is trying to tell us. One of these days, it will all be clear to us.

Spring 2011

We have had some very unusually cool temperatures this month in our area. It has been unusually windy as well. Gil and I have been on one short camping trip recently to White Oak Lake State Park and plan another one to Iron Mountain, near Mena, AR, soon. We will be helping fold t-shirts for the Run for the Son annual fundraiser. All Run for the Son participants receive one.

Our little garden has produced lettuce abundantly and the tomatoes and peppers are blooming. We have squash on all six plants but they are growing slowly due to the cool weather.

Gil has been to one prison ministry this month but has also spent some time getting our deck restained. He has refinished an old gun cabinet for our family room as well. We had the CMA Charity Riders at our house for our May meeting. We cooked out on the deck and enjoyed the fellowship.

Last month several of my Sunday School members and I went to Hot Springs to see the traveling Tabernacle. This was a fantastic experience. Then the class came to my house for our May meeting/fellowship. We enjoyed various salads made by us all. What fun we had.

Our church has had several fellowships this month. The Ristaurante Italiano was a lot of fun. The fish fry for the senior adults was also a great tme for all. The church-wide tailgate cookout was really nice, especially since the weather was so nice and cool.

Ooops, I see a pattern in our meetings/fellowships....most of which include eating. Guess we all better get busy walking, swimming or pushing back those plates!

Visit to Columbia

While Aunt Margie was visiting us, Mama and I drove to Columbia and revisited the area where Mama and Daddy met in 1945, where they married in 1946 and I was born in 1947. We also visited the Duff family cemetery plots there and drove around the town to see how it had changed. The United Methodist Church there (circa 1878) has been recently repainted to celebrate the centenial of that building being built in 1911.

We also visited the Martin Homeplace near Columbia and enjoyed seeing the old buildings on the farm and many old farm implements used there many years ago. We really did have a lot of fun that day reminiscing "old times.'

Mangham Book Event

Mama,Aunt Margie, Aunt Sue and I spoke to the Mangham Jr. High and Sr. High recently about our book. There was a lot of interest by the students and we all had such a wonderful time. Mama attended Mangham High from 1938 until graduation in 1944. Aunt Margie attended there from 1942 until 1951 and Aunt Sue from 1944 until 1952. We read from the book, then answered questions the students had. Aunt Margie told the students about some memories she had of attending school there. She also led a cheer for them against their arch rival, Rayville Hornets. What cheers and claps and whistles she received from the Mangham Dragons!

Rayville Book Event April 2, 2011

Mama and I were invited to have a book signing at Rayville recently at the first Antique Day. What fun we had that day meeting the people of that very nice little town in Northern Louisiana. We sold lots of books and enjoyed the quilt show and art display. The local people are very talented and very friendly. This town is very near the area where Mama grew up and talked about in our book.

Mama displayed two quilts and two of her lovely oil paintings. There were antique cars, a bike show and political speeches outside of the Civic Center. The weather was perfect and we had such a good time. Hope to make it again next year.

Spring 2011 get-away

After the new room was completed, we unpacked most of the boxes in storage and then took a break at the near-by lake to "drown a few worms." The fish were not biting, but we had a good time relaxing at the state park. The park was full because it was spring break in our area.

Construction at our house

We have added about 500 sf to our home in Camden and decided not to move to Mena. We also had doors put on Gil's shop and had an RV cover built in the back yard next to the shop. Now our motorhome does not sit out in the weather. Gil really likes this. I really like the new family room on the back of the house. We still have the deck out past the family room and I now have a laundry room that I can enter from the new room in the house instead of going out in the carport to wash. NICE!

So here are some pictures of the construction which was done from 14 Feb. to 21 March. It really has added a lot of appeal to our home and we are enjoying it very much.

Camden's Snow of Jan. 2011

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