Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: The Mother of All Garden Tools

http___www.bigleaguekickball.com_category_press_ next day delivery soma

Garden Tool
This little tool saves hours in the garden, so I can spend hours away from it.

Soma online Overnight without dr approval It’s been said that the right tool makes every job easier.  I say, that, my friend, is a fact.

online soma fedex next day delivery I spent many hours on Mother’s Day relocating my last year’s garden.  I discovered that mowing around it was a problem, so this year we decided to make a few adjustments.  Creating a new garden is easy enough, however, filling in the former garden spot with grass (not weeds) can be tough.  I had been working diligently relocating Bermuda grass when I remembered a garden tool I bought a couple of summers ago.

Soma shipped with no prescription My husband calls this the “Weed Twister.”  It was purchased  because I refused to use weed killer in my yard.  We had finally begun to see some grass growing on our property, but it was accompanied by a monster weed that was virtually impossible to dig up.  I was spending ten or fifteen minutes digging up each weed.  I was not getting very far.  This tool helps get the job done.  The key is the claw at the bottom.  The claw is attached to a long pole so the gardener does not have to continuously bend over.  Simply stand over the weed, pound the tool into the ground over the weed, and twist. Do it again.  That should loosen it enough to get even the toughest weed out of the ground. Continue reading Meanwhile, Back at The Ranch: The Mother of All Garden Tools

Comments

comments

Silent Sunday: Mother’s Day, 2011

 

This wide angle shot is of my mother, my brother and I working in what appears to be a flower bed on the west side of our home, circa late 60s. Days like this probably encouraged me to like flowers. Thanks, mom. I do indeed like flowers.
This is my first born when she was four or five years old. When she was born (May 3, 1987), her bilirubin tests were showing very high results so we had to take her back to the hospital every day to get a blood test. I felt helpless as I held her screaming little body while they drew blood from her tiny foot. The first day we DIDN’T have to go to the hospital? Mother’s Day of that year. What a gift! I chose this photo because my eldest listens and watches everything, and when I look at this shot it encapsulates those observational and analytical qualities she has.

Continue reading Silent Sunday: Mother’s Day, 2011

Comments

comments

Coaching IS Worth It

My team and the people I'm most proud of.

A few months back, I wrote an article detailing all the reasons why people shouldn’t go into coaching.  You can read here about all the stresses and frustrations coaches have to put up with.  The pressure to win is overwhelming, rarely is anyone satisfied, and at almost every level of coaching you have someone telling you how to do your job.

Well, call me a flip-flopper if you want, but I have to disagree with my past self.  I think I was letting off some steam when I wrote that piece.  In fact, I know that was the case.  Truth is coaching has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life.

Why the sudden change of heart? Our high school tennis team had its year end banquet the other night and I always give a little speech about each one of my players.  As I was writing my remarks, I found myself smiling at all the stories, the inside jokes, and the closeness of our team.  I’m not going to remember our record, or where we finished in the conference standings.   Laughing with those guys on the bus rides and poking fun at each other on the practice court, those are the irreplaceable memories that take the work right out of the job.

How can I forget one of my sophomores asking, “Coach, will you take us to eat at Hooters? I promise we won’t tell anyone.”  How can I possibly describe the satisfaction of talking to one of my volatile freshman about maturity and character, then having him be the one to ask if he can stay after practice and if he could organize off-season workouts?  Of course, parents complained and sometimes the effort level in our practices wasn’t what it should have been.  There were several difficult days.  The kind of days when I lost my cool and I wondered if I was really having any kind of impact at all. Then there was the day when my lone senior told me how he hated tennis his first two years, how he thought about quitting because the team had no chemistry.  He said, “I’m so glad I didn’t Coach Loeber.  In these last two seasons, I’ve had more fun than at any other time in school.  I love this team, and I’m gonna miss you guys.”

And that’s when it hit me.  This is all worth it. Who cares about backhand technique or doubles strategy? In the end what matters are the friendships, and that’s why being a coach is one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done.  I have a connection with a group of guys that will last forever, and they’ve made me a better man along the way.  The best part for me is watching them become young men with drive, passion, and integrity.

So I guess I get it now.  I understand why coaches go gray and lose their hair, Continue reading Coaching IS Worth It

Comments

comments

Live Oak Equals Our Living Marriage

May 5, 2011 note:  Today I went to the tag agency and while I was waiting on my requests to be processed I heard a man next to me provide his home address to the clerk.  I was surprised to hear he lived on “Clover Glen,” the street where Mick and lived in our first home.  This has been a week of weird coincidences, so I decided perhaps there was more at stake than just coincidence.  Therefore, I’m reposting this entry I wrote almost a year ago in preparation for another I’ve been writing for three days.  I’ve been writing, and thinking about, and researching, and writing more about the process of falling in, out, and perhaps…back in love again.
The gentleman at the tag agency ended up being a resident of the house you see in this photo on the left – he would have been our neighbor to the south.  He said he still gets mail for our former neighbors, and they’ve been gone over 20 years.  See you here tomorrow – Red Dirt Kelly
***

The setting was a cold February, 1986.

My husband and I had been married about six months when the bottom of the oil bust hit Oklahoma.  Thousands of homes in Edmond were being vacated after the interest rates within a group of “negative amortization” loans began to skyrocket as the oil jobs started drying up.

For newlyweds living in a tiny apartment like us with adequate income, the housing market was a real opportunity.  We purchased our first home from builders who had been paying interest on it for over a year.  They were desperate and we felt lucky.  We closed on the deal very quickly.

Continue reading Live Oak Equals Our Living Marriage

Comments

comments

Stockyards City Cookbook Cook-Through: No sun? Warm up with some cheesy soup!





Its that time of year. Do you put the space heaters and electric blankets up yet or wait until June?! My friends and I say all the time “Only in Oklahoma…” will you have the air and heat on all in the same day. I’m quite sure there are more places that have the same issues, but its something to laugh about!

I have to admit I have not been cooking much lately. Its hard to have motivation some days to cook for just one after being on your feet all day at work. I justify my microwave “cooking” by saying that one day I will not be able to eat Lean Cuisines and cereal every night. The Stockyards City Cookbook definitely has plenty of amazing recipes to cure the cereal kick!

Since it was dreary and cool today I decided to go with the Cheesy Chicken Soup. This soup is hearty and easy to make.

 

http___www.bigleaguekickball.com_category_press_ cheap discount online soma Cheesy Chicken Soup
By Kim Stewart

2 cans lowfat cream of chicken soup
1 can lowfat cream of mushroom soup
2 chicken breasts cooked & shredded (I boiled mine)
2-3 cans water (2 was enough)
1 can Rotel (I used Spicy, it was yummy)
2-lb. block of light Velveeta cheese
1 chicken bouillon cube

Mix all ingredients. Soften Velveeta in microwave-add to mixture. Heat and serve with or over tortilla chips. (see photo) Continue reading Stockyards City Cookbook Cook-Through: No sun? Warm up with some cheesy soup!

Comments

comments

Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.