Cotter, AR

Last week my family and I traveled to West Plains, MO to spend a week of vacation with my extended family. We stayed with my mom and step dad in the home where I was raised. Trips back home always bring back so many childhood memories! I love the Ozarks and find beauty in so many places so close to Mom's home.

Mom and I made many plans for places to see throughout the week. She and I have long loved to take walks, enjoy nature, and of course take photos!

We arrived on Saturday with a big family get-together on Saturday night (photos and post to come soon!). Sunday most of the family decided to join us to travel to Boxley Valley, Arkansas. Mom had told me of a valley where she had hiked to a waterfall and watched elk. She thought it would be beautiful with the fall leaves turning colors. She was so right!

On the drive to Boxley, not far into our journey, we stopped just outside Cotter, AR to enjoy a pretty view. We all decided to take a closer look and drove down to the bridge we could see. My sister and her husband knew the area well and led the way.







We ventured up onto the train tracks for more photos...


.....and then down the tracks to the tunnel we could see in the distance. Of course not one of us was brave enough to cross the bridge so we climbed back down, drove back across the river to a campground where my sister Regina knew the way to the tunnel on the other side.


My daughter Heather and my husband Marty:




The view from inside the tunnel:



Silhouette of my mom:

Pinterest

I've joined the Pinterest craze. And I'm hooked! There are so many inspiring and creative ideas! I've found ideas that I want to try, ideas I'd love to be able to afford, funny and touching words, inspiring photography, recipes I want to try...the list goes on and on.

It occured to me today that something my husband created for me might inspire someone else. I have a lot of costume jewelry and needed somewhere to organize it, somewhere that it wouldn't become so tangled I'd never wear it because it takes too long to UNtangle! My husband is brilliant!

He bought a full length mirror, attached hinges to one long end and a handle to the frame of the mirror and built a wooden box full of hooks for necklaces. It hangs on the back of my bathroom door and it's PERFECT!

(I apologize for the phone photos but was too lazy to use my real camera)

At first glance it seems I just have a regular mirror on the back of the door:

Open the handle and voila!

Lots of little hooks perfect for all that hangs!

Happy Sweet 16

Today is my sweet niece's 16th birthday! Happy Sweet 16 Danielle!




Danielle is a sweet beautiful girl. I'm proud of her, proud of her morals and values, and proud of who she is. Danielle plans to one day attend ORU in Oklahoma and carry her love of music into a ministry of music. I have confidence she will do well and I believe in her 100%!

A Reminder of Grandpa

Saturday as we visited with one of the couples from our church they happily showed us the many fruit trees and plants growing in their yard and on their property.



When they showed us the persimmon tree it reminded me of fall days when my Grandpa, in the Missouri Ozarks, would pick a persimmon and cut it open to see the shape revealed inside. He'd say the shape would predict how hard the following winter would be. The shape of a spoon would predict there would be much snow shoveling. The shape of a knife would predict a lot of ice to be cut. The shape of a fork would predict a mild winter. My husband asked if the predictions were ever accurate and you know, I don't even remember if they ever were! I just remember Grandpa always did this, and then would always invite us to taste the persimmon, which would always be so bitter we'd spit it back out and he'd grin just as if it were the first time he'd played the trick on us. When I shared the story with our friends, Fermin went to pick Marty and I each a persimmon so we could cut them and predict the winter. Since winters are always rather mild here in South Central Texas, I'm not sure the same predictions apply, but it's been fun to remember Grandpa in this way.

A photo of Grandpa and me taken several years ago:



When I cut open the perimmons this is what I found. Not sure if it's a knife shape or how Grandpa might predict a Texas winter, but it was fun to relive a memory that I hadn't though about in years.