Clyde died and other news...

Last week we had an ice storm that for most in the area was worse than the "Ice Storm of 2000". For us, we didn't really suffer too much from it until the day after! It was kind of neat to watch, and a few days after Don went for a drive with our neighbor, Bill and saw some of the areas that were still in ice mode. I took quite a few pictures of some of our plants, roof, lights, etc. that had ice on them (only one of those here). The day after the ice storm we lost our power for about 8 hours but it came on before we went to bed. Many in the area were out for the week and there are still a few in the surrounding areas that have no power because of the severe number of power poles that were lost.


We had brought my mom over in case, but there was never a real time when she could not have been at her own house! We were afraid if we lost power that the road between us might be too bad to go get her!

Since we have fireplaces and a gas stove, we knew that we could manage a little better. It was o.k. though since we enjoyed some yummy breakfasts and got in some tole painting and card making!


I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the weather, but Clyde (the camel pictured here) died at some point and was on the front page of the local newsaper. We used to look for Clyde on a daily basis when we were staying in Shirley and driving back and forth everyday! Both Ashleigh and Shae got to stop and see Clyde as well! Bonnie is still there, but Clyde loved to come to the fence when anyone stopped and you could see he had a very personable personality...even if he was a camel!

One thing about Arkansas...if you don't like the weather today wait until tomorrow because it's sure to change! The few days before the ice storm Kim, Tim and Ashleigh were here and we enjoyed appetizers on the deck! Don had to take off his sweatshirt and Tim was in his shorts for the entire day!

I haven't been too good about blogging lately and hadn't mentioned that we've had visitors lately! Dave and Marie Ostrander were our first "campers" after we've moved back in the house! I forgot to get pictures so the night before they left I went out in the bitter cold (the temps were in the teens at night) and took a picture of their coach in the dark! It was VERY cold while they were here and they stayed an extra day because of the cold temps but I had fun trying out some new recipes on them during their stay and a few days Marie and I enjoyed some beading!

Last week we had our first "official" house guests (family doesn't count) when Glenda and Ray Roe stopped to visit while traveling from Iowa to Arizona. Glenda's brother had passed away and they had driven their truck to Iowa. On thier way back to Arizona they made a detour through Arkansas to see us and the house! Glenda and I always have fun and we made a quick trip to Hobby Lobby! I think they enjoyed the downtime after their very busy and stressful few weeks! We had some nice weather while they were here so that was an added bonus! The last time they had been here we had been in the framing stages...the first time! They couldn't believe the change in our view after the tornado!

And just because I still haven't finished with my "mega" update from last year (!) I'm including a picture of Rick and Joanne Stone (well, actually of their motorhome) who were some of our last visitors of 2008 before we were able to move back into the house!