Auburn/Alabama

Fall seems to bring out all the turds doesn't it? Football season opens and everybody goes nuts....at least here in Alabama....if you are a supporter of the University of Alabama or Auburn University. And no where else are a state's people so hateful and critical to each other over two football teams. I don't understand why a person believes that THEY have actually accomplished something because their particular team as won a FOOTBALL GAME. It is really great for a team to win all their games but it doesn't mean a thing. After all there will be another game, another year, another win, another loss and another Championship. We idolize these football players who run up and down the field going NO where and paying them all kinds of money to do it and never give the deserving people in the world a second thought. Deserving people being men and women in the military fighting for the freedom of the country and getting paid a small fraction of what an athelete makes. Not to mention people who devote their lives helping less fortunate people in devastating situations....for instance rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. There is something really wrong here.
I like football games and the excitement of a game but when it is over I don't really think about it again. I sure don't base my life on whether or not MY team wins the championship for the year. I support my team whether they win, lose, or don't even show up again. Who cares?
It is a game folks! Grow up and put your priorities in a "mature" place!

Another Tiger on the Rise

This fall we have played a lot of football...in the backyard as well as in Auburn, Alabama. Tooter thinks he will be a football player at Auburn a few years from now. Notice the orange and blue he is wearing and the Auburn football. How does a six year old decide if he is an Auburn or Alabama fan? Maybe it is the family influence. But then why am I an Auburn fan and my brother is Alabama....same family. Paul is Alabama and I, again, am Auburn but all the boys are Auburn....same family. I think it may be the colors....we just like orange and blue better than red and white. Tigers are better sounding than The Tide. War Eagle is catchier than Roll Tide. And a flying Eagle is more impressive than a fat elephant. It has to be those things. Both schools are exceptional in academics....does that count for anything? Both places are beautiful....does that matter? And both are loads of fun if you are lucky enough to go to school at one or the other. Yeah has to be the other stuff that is the influence. Anyway Tooter has been after that Auburn football position for six whole years now and doesn't seem to be backing off any. And you know he doesn't even write with a red crayon unless his teacher makes him. You go little Aubie.....WAR EAGLE!!! Oh yeah and that is Alabama, Roll Tide Poppy helping him along.

Bankhead Hike

Sunday, Paul and I took Tooter on an adventure in Bankhead Forest. We stopped along the road and Paul got out with Tooter to climb up a steep little hill. It was slippery so they had to put forth a little effort to get to the top. Once they got up they discovered a small cave. Tooter didn't want to go in it though. Then we found a spring and a pipe that ran the water out. Of course Tooter had to take a swig of that but he said it just tasted like "regular" water. We saw a deer standing by the road. No snakes, thank goodness. I guess they are finding a winter hole by now.

Later we stopped at Pine Torch Church. It was built in the 1800's. Cool building with old wooden pews and floor. I can't imagine church goers sitting on those for long these days. There was a very old graveyard there also. Lots of infant graves and tombstones so old the writing was gone. There were lots of Confederate soilder graves too. Tooter loves old graveyards and buildings. Here are some pictures of the day.

Making Cupcakes for Tooter

O.K. I started this morning making cupcakes. I wanted to decorate them like Vampires. The directions seemed to be really easy. I also made Witches in a Ditch and Ghosts. Now the ghosts did pretty good....they were just pretzels dipped in white chocolate with mini chocolates for eyes. The witches boots got a little more tricky....they were made from Tootsy Rolls on straws turned upside down in the cupcake. The boots drooped somewhat. Then we got really creative and tried to draw a vampire face on the cupcake. As you can seen...we need more practice. They sort of look like an Elvis needing braces. However, me and my sisters had a laughing good time making them....so it was worth it. Tooter is taking them to school tomorrow...so we will see what the major critics have to say.

Halloween or Fall Festival

When I was growing up I looked forward to Halloween so I could play dress up, go trick or treating, eat candy and go to my school Halloween Carnival. I remember the Scarry House at my elementary school where the scarriest part of the room was a "room mother" dressed in a witch's costume would pat you on the butt as you walked by. Terrifying, even though my mother was waiting and watching right outside the door. Another room was the Fishing Room where you threw your fishing like over a little wall and the "room mother" (again) put a prize on your hook, gave it a jerk and you hauled your "digs" back over the wall. What a thrill. Really!! For a 6-8 year old it really was.

Was I worried or actually scared of Halloween? Did I worry about razor blades in my candy? Did I think I was celebrating the Devil's Holiday.????? NO Never thought about those things until my children started the Halloween scene. Then the only thing I worried about was tainted candy....so we did the trick or treat thing at people's houses that we knew. I was even the "room mother" several times and played the wicked witch. I never gave a thought to Halloween being a "Devil's Holiday"...not until all the church folks went nuts and started calling attention to that idea. As a matter of fact the church scared the crap out of my youngest son talking about the evilness of Halloween. I never considered the fact that Halloween was evil. All we did was dress up and collect candy.

I tell you what is nuts is all this "going to hell" stuff. Having people go through the Sunday school rooms and acting out what a horrible life after death experience you will have if you don't get your act together. Sure makes me want to run to my nearest church and join up!!

Cooking With Two Moon's

Adam and Chip (Joey) have been cooking up some fine dishes for the past several weeks and having me and Paul down to eat. These two brothers love to cook...got that from their grandmother....not me. So tonight we had Shrimp and Grits. Fantastic!!!! Chip was on his own ...Adam had to work late and didn't get there until time for the taste test. I went on down and sat in the den and watched HGTV while he was cooking....he needed to be alone he said 'cause he was making it up as he went. It turned out great. We cleaned the pot.

Halloween Pumpkins

Tonight I went by Tooter's and he and his mama were getting ready to carve a pumpkin. The insides of a pumpkin stink to me. Just does. But after she got all the seeds and slimy, stringy, yucky insides out of the pumpkin, it was time to make the carving. Silly me....I thought we were going to do eyes, nose and a mouth with snag teeth. Tooter opted to carve GraveDigger, which is one of the many popular Monster Trucks kids are playing with these days. So we drew the outline of GraveDigger on the pumpkin and Tooter took his little carving saw and carved out a truck. You can actually tell it is a truck with a little flag on the back end. We had a ceremony of putting the candle inside and taking it outside in the dark and pretending to be scared. Tooter was proud of it. It was a fun time. BOO!

My Molly

Molly is my sweet angel Yorkie. She is about 5 years old and she takes a LOT of attention. She has me and Paul trained very well. She always has her sweet little bow in her hair and her feet hardly ever touch dirt. She does not like to get in the grass or step on anything dirty. UNLESS she is after a squirrel, rat, or bird. I don't understand it. As you can see here she is in hot pursuit of "something" that has dug into the ground. She dug until half of her little body was down in the hole. She had dirt smudges all over her nose and on her toe nails. I had to bathe her, trim her nails, brush her teeth and repaint her toenails (she prefers pink polish). She was so exhausted after that little adventure, she passed out asleep and slept all afternoon. I guess even the most prissy can have a dirty day.

Whizzing

I know this picture is blurry but it just cracks me up. Brings back so many memories of when my boys were little. Why is it little boys love to take a whizz outside? I have three boys and any time they could hang it out and pee out side that is what they would do. Jump out of the car in the driveway with the bathroom just a couple of steps away and they always ran to a tree instead. My youngest son and my nephew, whom we called Nitro and Glycerin, like to draw pictures in the dirt with their stream. It got really creative. They had contests to see who could pee the fartherest, the straightest, the most, no hands, and who could guess what picture they had drawn. And the fun was endless when it snowed. This was so entertaining, I don't know why we even bought toys. By the way, the names Nitro and Glycerin, they were o.k. when apart but when you put them together, it was a disaster.

Tooter and Soccer

Last night I went to Tooter's soccer game. It was one of many games going on at Point Mallard Park. His third game and my first. I loved it! I don't know much about soccer. All I knew to holler was "kick it"!!! I am sure the folks next to us thought I was an idiot but I enjoyed "root root rooting" for my team.

Tooter looked really professional in his soccer duds and played a lot better than I thought he would. He actually ran up and down the field and managed to get several kicks in. This may be the game that supports his talent and above all his interest. He keeps saying he is going to play football and be a quarterback...and he might....he sure loves to fall and roll around on the ground. I think he needs to play the tuba in the band. He just looks like a tuba player to me. At least he might not end up with broken bones for nothing. I am going to keep encouraging the tuba whether he likes it or not. And maybe soccer!

Trail of Tears Ride

This past weekend was the traditional motorcycle ride to Waterloo in honor of all the Native Americans that were herded away from their homes to reservations and such. I think. I do know that Indians were gathered up and moved to Oklahoma so as not to cause any trouble for the white men that were taking over their land. Once a year, everybody gets on a motorcycle and rides all day to the Waterloo destination in memory of all the suffering, dying, and hardships that were endured by the Indians. I think you are supposed to say Native Americans but I always liked the word Indian. Makes me think of coal black hair, feathers, loin clothes, teepees and beads. I went through an Indian phase where I wore clothes and decorated my house in Indian decor. I like Indian names. We even made up a few Indian names for our family...for instance...my sister who is skinny, she is called Walks On Sticks. My name is Blowing Wind...you can imagine why. A few others are Flying Buzzard, Rising Moon, Cheeks On Fire, etc.

My sister-in-law and her husband traveled from Centre Alabama this past Saturday to Waterloo. They left at 6:30 in the morning and rode along with hundreds of other motorcycle riders for this event. On their way back they stopped at the cabin late Saturday afternoon and spent the night with us.

Crying Babies

Last night Chip and I went to eat at the Cracker Barrel. I don't know if it was Kid's Night Out or what but the place was running over with children and babies. Babies in high chairs and those little swinging seats....you know the "punkin seats" with handles on them to carry it. I hate those things. People don't pay attention to what they are doing swinging that thing with the baby sitting inside. First of all it is sort of bundlesom and heavy so the carrier is in a strain to start with swinging it and bumping it against their legs...not to mention bumping it into whatever else they pass. Little Leroy is being jarred to death and no one is even aware of it. Parents, pay attention to what you are doing or at least get the baby a Crush Helmet so he doesn't have brain damage from being banged around. Good Lord!
Well anyway back to the restaruant....I have never heard so much squalling since I took my kids to school for the first day. Every year on the first day of school my boys had a squalling fit when I left them at school....(it got pretty embarrassing when they got to Austin High School too). So again, back at the restaraunt (I keep getting sidetracked) these babies were howling all through the meal. I am not one to be put out by a crying baby except that I think they need to be tended to. Evidently something is bothering the child.....DO SOMETHING! You could actually pick them up and hold them or even take them outside for a minute. No one will take your food away while you are gone. At least find out what the problem is. He might have a gas ball and just needs to be moved around a little. People kill me sitting there, continuing to eat, oblivious to their screaming kid while the whole restaraunt is gawking at them wondering when anyone is going to do something about the child's meltdown. I don't understand it. Now I am not talking about a little "boo hoo" that lasts maybe a minute....I am talking about that constant bellowing that lasts all through the meal. This baby, last night, cried the whole time we were in there with one or two small breaks. I feel sorry for the child....not the parents. I wanted to go over and pick him up myself. I have to say I think the parents who ignore such situations are idiots. What do they do at home....hmmmm??

Nose Rings

I have my ears pierced....ONE hole in each ear....not half a dozen going up and down my entire ear. Clip earrings cut the circulation off in my ear lobes. I hate clip earrings. Women have worn ear "bobs", as my mother called them, forever. So why are we all in an uproar over nose, eyebrow, tongue and boob piercings???? Here is the way most people think about those:
Nose: Boogers and slimy snot stuck all over the stud or ring. How do you blow your nose without blowing your ring off?
Tongue: How do you lick an ice cream cone without making little valley's in the ice cream? How do you kiss without making little clanking noises on the other person's teeth? How do you quote Peter Piper without busting out your own teeth?
Eyebrow: For those of us who "pluck" I can't imagine putting a hole in my eyebrow. And how do you "pluck" around that ring? Plus eyebrow rings are usually all puffed up and and looks like you have been in a fight.
Boob: Or Nipple Rings!!!! I cannot begin to imagine why anyone would want that area pierced. You want a thrill....nurse a baby. Most people wear shirts so no one can see it. Might be cute though to pierce your nipples, and your nose, run a chain through both and then every time you shake your head, your boobs would flop up and down.
Next comes whether we should allow kids to come to school with these areas pierced. Is it a matter of safety? Could be if it is gang related. Is it sanitary? Only if the kid takes a bath...still not to sure about the nose ring. Does it keep them from being Honor Students? It shouldn't but probably does. Is it a cry for attention? Probably!! Does it benefit anything? NO May be like it was in my day when men/boys were expected to take their hats off when they entered a building. RESPECT!! Is it disrespectful to wear your rings and studs? Or is it just different and most people don't handle "different" very well.

Mom's Birthday

September 6 (no year) was my birthday so tonight two of my wonderful sons made dinner for me. Josh lives in Montgomery so he couldn't be here....only in our hearts and thoughts of course. Joey and Adam cooked roast with potatoes, carrots, onions, and mushrooms. Adam even cooked fried corn....cut the little suckers off the cob and everything. I was impressed. Ain't they handsome?

Labor Day

Poppy helping Tooter get his fishing tackle ready for a fishing trip with Papaw and Mom. Tooter has enough tackle for three people. He loves to change baits....actually that is about all he loves to do when fishing. Papaw took some time to show him how to throw a fishing lure. And he found some time to float with Mom.

We had a large time at the cabin this Labor Day. Tooter being there automatically makes it a large time. He also got to play with his buddy Payden who lives next door and they had a big time swimming, fishing, roasting marshmallows and sliding down the hill behind the cabin.

The most fun Tooter had was when Papaw was teaching him how to strike matches and throw them on a pile of leaves to burn. I never knew that "match striking" was so important but to Tooter it was the greatest thing since toilet paper.

It was a cool weekend. The water was to cold for me and Dump and Flo to float. Needs to be hot water for us old girls. We did karaoke one night and that was very entertaining....some folks actually believe they can sing....funny. All in all it was a fun weekend.

Fall Is Not Good

Hello Moonblogger Fans....

I can't believe it has been 3 months since I posted a blog. Where does the time go? I will tell you where....to my saggin butt, neck, face, waving arm flab and spongy looking legs. That's where. Seems like summer just got started and wham it is over. Had a really busy summer trying to keep grass cut everywhere. But had a good time too on the river and playing around.

Leaves....I love leaves....as long as they stay on the trees. Falling leaves get on my nerves so bad I could spit nails. Work yo butt off all day raking and next morning they are right back. Leaves used to be all "sucked" up by Thanksgiving so you could get Christmas lights and decorations out on the lawn and bushes. For the past several years I have been putting my wreaths out on top of dead brown leaves. I hate that! Why can't there just be a day that they all just....fall off! Why does it drag out like that?

People running around saying "oh I just love the fall....it is cooler....football.... the smells! Makes me want to puke. First of all there are those leaves cluttering up the whole town, then that cooler weather turns into FREEZE YO BUTT OFF COLD, and it smells like someone has farted a fire ball...cause everybody has those fire pits flaming and they all are standing around the things trying to get warm drinking beer trying to be cool. And football....all them goofy car flags flying on folk's windows.....grow up. Get yourself a good old fashion bumper sticker that says My Kid Was Inmate Of The Month. Fall....worst time of the year besides winter.

Happy Birthday Flo

Last night we got together at the Caddo Cafeteria for Flo's (MaryBeth) birthday. I think she was around 40 OR SO! Anyway...little Lewis and Shirley (Flo's son and daughter-in-law) asked every one to come out for the celebration. Sweet sweet young'uns! Anyway Happy Birthday Flo!

A Week With Josh and Kimmie

A week ago Paul drove me down to Montgomery to stay with Josh and Kimmie. We got there on Saturday and spent the night. The next morning Paul got up and hurriedly got ready to leave before anyone changed their minds about me staying on for the week. I worked around the house everyday moving and rearranging stuff so Josh and Kimmie can't find anything. That way they have to call every day or so and say "Mom where is our...."?

Kimmie goes to work at AWF early every morning but Josh doesn't have to be at the radio station until 12:00 every day. He usually spends the morning writing his column for the newspaper. A couple of days I rode in with him and dropped him off at the radio station and I went shopping until he finished at 2:00. Then we would knock around a little while, if he didn't have a meeting or something to do for work, waiting for Kimmie to get home to eat dinner. We went to Jim n Nicks, Outback, Olive Garden, and Sa Za's or something like that...a pizza place downtown Montgomery.

We painted one of the bedrooms that Kimmie is turning into a office/craft room. She is really a talented designer. They both are busy busy people. They are entertaining and energetic. I really enjoy being with them.

As you probably can tell, Paul and I are very proud of all our children.

Fred-O

This past Sunday we had a get together at Adam's house for Father's Day. He grilled his famous beef tenderloin that is deeeelicious! That boy should have been a chef or at least a good fry cook somewhere. Flo(MaryBeth) made her wonderful Nanner Pudding...Daddy took what was left over home with him. Dump (Beckey) even made Dirty Rice AND it turned out good. We got started around 4:00 in the afternoon and closed up around 10:00. We had the rare but wonderful presence of our oldest son Josh, who was on his way through to Nashville. Kimmie was puking sick so she didn't make it. Feel better Kimmie! Little Lewis (Matt) and his wife Shirley (Shaina) were able to be there also. They work the graveyard shift and it is hard for them to attend some of our events. We were also blessed with Joey and TeraBug....Tera works the graveyard shift also. Anyway the only father's we had were Paul and Dad....two Dandy Dads. Daddy *Fredo* is still as goofy as he always has been. Most people remember Daddy and his wonderful "goofyness" when he modeled my mother's swimsuit at one of our Family Reunions. We all were so proud! We love you Dad...One of a KIND!

Dad...Another Year Older

May 15 was another birthday for Paul Moon. Last year, if you remember, was the big party when he turned the big 60. Well even after all that, he had another year to go by and he turned 61. The numbers just keep going up. This year Adam and Chip (Joey) and an adopted brother Lance, cooked a wonderful dinner for Daddy-o. I tell you what....Adam needs to be a grilling chef with Chip and Lance as his assistants! That was the best meat I have ever had. The whole meal was great. I guess they get their cooking skills from their mother. It was a really nice evening. We missed Josh and Kimmie and Tera but we talked about them.LOL We appreciate all that cooking and trouble you guys went to. WE love you!

Tooter's First Field Day

Tooter is in kindergarten and this was his first time to participate in Field Day at his school. Good ole Field Day. The Sack Race. The Three Legged Race, Tug o War. They didn't have any of that for kindergarten. Had those blow up bouncy things and blow up slides....no races, no ribbons, no squalling cause you didn't win a ribbon, no cheering your classmates on. What is going to happen to these kids? Look at Tooter drinking his water like he just ran the 220 relay race. He had just kicked a ball and ran after it, picked it up and brought it back to where he kicked it from. It was a challenge. Wore him smack out. They had a snack trailer with pop corn and drinks. The kids were only out there for about an hour but I guess they needed refreshment. Remember when we were kids and sat out on our "brought from home" towels all day in the hot sun watching race after race. We might have had a grape or cherry popsicle before we all went back into our classroom stinking like sweating horses, red faced, with our hair plastered down on our heads from sweat. Some of us had puked we got so hot after running our race. But we didn't care. Had rope burns for three days on our hands from Tug o War. Half of Tooter's class checked out and went home after they had jumped in the jumping tent. Used to be that was the only day we had everybody at school and no one would have thought about going home before the day was over. Now that was Field Day. What has happened?

Johny 8,9,10 Golf Benefit 2010

This huge golf benefit was held this past Friday for Johny Etienne at the Point Mallard Golf Course. It started early that morning and lasted until late that evening with with more than 150 so called golfers playing. It was a beautiful day for the tournament. One group of golf teams played in the morning and one group played in the afternoon. I am not sure who won in either division. It was a tournament mostly done up for our wonderful friends Johny and Hilda....to show our love and support for them and their family. I know if anyone made a hole in one they would have won a tractor from Case Tractor in Tanner Alabama. Do golfers make holes in one out on a golf course? I hardly ever made a hole in one at the Putt Putt. By the way that is Josh and Adam with their dad, Paul and their grand dad, Fredo. Those four made up a team. I can just imagine how that went. I think Josh ran their golf cart into Adam and Paul on the first hole. It was all "pay backs" after that....and lots of laughs.

Sleeping Horses

That is Lady, our beautiful Quarter Horse. She was five years old when we stumbled upon her in Auburn Alabama. Some guy had dumped her off at this lady's farm and never came back. She is a sweety even though she is a mare and can be moody. She has calmed down a lot since the early days when she first came to live with us. We could never catch her. One day when we were going on a trail ride, it took four guys to run her down and get a rope on her. Now she just walks up and gets her halter on and waits to be saddled.

Pud is the baby and the "cut up". He is a Saddle Horse which means his gait is a little more bouncey but nothing near as bad as a Quarter Horse. Pud is a sweetheart all around. He sees Paul's white truck coming down the road and he takes off to meet him at the gate. He loves for you to throw your arms around his neck and love on him. And he would stand for hours and let me brush him if I would do it. He loves to nip Lady on the butt and take off running to make her chase him. When we first got him, he was afraid to let anyone touch his ears so it was almost impossible to get his halter or bridle on. Now he lowers his head and gets his halter on with no problem. Takes lots of time and patience with horses because they are so scared of everything.

No Bo is my baby. My baby. I have had Bo the longest. Bo is a Tennessee Walking Horse. Your butt will not bounce at all when riding, even at a trot. And he could probably out run Lady's full gallop just in his walking trot. He is long legged and he takes long strides. Bo is the same today as he was a year ago and will be the same a year from now. He is steady. He has never had a problem getting his halter on, coming to me, grooming or riding. He takes care of me when we are riding. If he stops when we are riding, I always wait to see what he is checking out...and there is always something that has gotten his attention. He is careful. He doesn't like to get his feet wet. He stops at a creek or ditch and then tiptoes across. Or he will try to jump across. I love this picture of him laying down with his feet tucked up under him. Hard to think of him weighing about a thousand pounds when I look at this picture. There will never be another horse like Bo. He even smells different than the other horses. I love all our horses but Bo was my first love and he will be my last.