Arkansas, Part 4

This will be the last installment of the photos I took while in Arkansas earlier this month. These are all from West Memphis where my aunt & uncle own a feed store.

Here's a shot of their store front. They have animal products, some tack, and western wear but the main business is feed.

Here's a shot inside the store. At one time they had several horses and I remember riding them as a youngster. I was kinda scared of them but I did it anyway. Nothing agaisnt horses but I prefer dogs :)

Another inside the store photo with Kunkle Bob on the left, mom in center, and Aunt Joyce on right sitting on stacks of dog food.

You can get a hat in any color you want as long as you want black or white. LOL I think these are for people who show horses. Funny, I was browsing around and saw horse treats. Now I buy dog treats but had no idea they had horse treats.

Stacks of feed in the back room. They had all kinds of stuff including food for koi fish.

I wasn't even sure what some of this was. I guess I am a city girl. Nah, more like a small town girl that has traveled tot he big city a time or two. LOL

Joyce & Bob's daughter Vickie Lynn. Guess who she was named after ;) She is a dog groomer and, like me, has gone back to college as an adult. I wish her all the luck in the world because I know how difficult it is. I would explain why there is a star coming out of her head but sher might kill me if I posted that her Christmas tree was still up. Oops! Did I say that outloud?!?!?!? LOL Seriously though, that made me feel good because I tend to leave mine up what other people would call too long.

Uncle Bob's big rig. He drives this to go pick up feed from the mills. Vickie Lynn's son Justin has helped his grandpa do a lot of customizing inside the truck. It has two beds in there and lots of chrome. When I was up there the truck was running and making lots of noise doing so and it scared me. Felt like that truck wa going to lunge and go at anytime so I made my tour quick!

Handsome young man and good kid. Likes spending time with his grandpa and grandma.

Dang Fleas!

IT'S WAR!!

I've been fighting fleas since Nov'08. We've had spurts of no/low flea population but they are few and far between. Last night I bathed all three dogs and it went something like this:

First, Eddie. Got two off of him as soon as I sprayed water on him. Applied flea shampoo #1 (chemical type) and got two more off of him. Second flea shampoo (a natural type), nothing. Regular shampoo, none. Conditioner, none. Toweling off, one. Total 5 fleas on Ed.

Next was Jake. Nothing until the natural shampoo and got two. Honestly though, he is mostly a solid color (grey) so perhaps I didn't see them.

Daisey the flea bag. As always, Daisey had the most. I quit counting at 7 but there were more, likely 9 or 10, and got them off at every stage of the bath.

Now, before you say "use a flea preventative" I have to tell you what all we have done. Frontline at the first of the month (it kills adult fleas), mid month we do sentinal (kills flea eggs), spray the yard, prene them everynight, bath 2 days before the Frontline. Got rid of carpet & fabric furniture.

Tonight I'm sitting here watching the olympics and looking through their fur. Got 2 off Jake's feet, 3 off Eddie, and 5 off Daisey.

I'm at my wits end!

Manning Cemetery

I stopped by my family cemetery when I was in Arkansas last week and took some headstone photos. I only took photos of those named Manning or people that I knew personally. I'm always fascinated with the genealogy of a cemetery so I will share a few of my direct relatives (I took many more photos but these are my closest relative)

GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTSFrancis Marion Manning & Emily Elizabeth Kitchens-Manning - the patriarch and matriarch of the cemetery. These are my dad's great grandparents so my great, great grandparents. He was born in Georgia, was a farmer in Alabama (where they were married), served in the 28th Alabama infantry volunteers during the war between the states, was a coal miner in Kentucky before finally settling as a farmer in Arkansas in the 1880's.

GREAT GRANDPARENTS

My great grandmother Sarah Maryann Whittaker-Manning and great grandfather James John Manning. He was born in Kentucky where he worked as a coal miner before moving to Arkansas and farming. She was born, raised, and died in Lawrence Co Arkansas not far from where she is buried. Her family were big-time farmers.

GRANDPARENTS

My grand parents Andrew Jackson Manning and Rose Cleo Truxler-Manning. Both born, raised, and died in Lawrence County Arkansas. The cemetery is on Manning farmland so grandpa is buried where he spent his life basically. They went to school together and I have the cutest photo of their school class when they were in probably 1st or 2nd grade.

AUNTS & UNCLES

The first three monuments are for children of my grandparents who died at birth or shortly therafter so obviously I never met them. All together my grandparents had 11 kids.

This child was a twin and the other child (Barbara Jean) lived to adulthood. They were #10 & 11.

This child was #9 and born 4 years after my dad and 3 years before the twins.

This boy was child #6 between my Aunt Mary and my Uncle John.

Aunt Elsie and her husband Durward. Aunt Elsie was child #3. Another redhead :)

My Aunt Barbara Jean who I do not remember because she died when I was a toddler. But, she gave me my cousin Linda who I love dearly so thank you Aunt BJ. She and my dad were really close and it was devistating to the family when she died at only 23. Oh, she is the surviving twin so she is either #10 or #11.

Aunt Barbara Jean's husband Uncle Earl. I always thought he was an interesting man because he was a musician. I believe he was also a carpenter or a builder but it was the music I remember. He was always very nice to me although I didn't see him very often.

My Dad & Bessie's headstone. I should have taken the photo AFTEr I cleaned it up. It had stormed and since Dad was recently buried there were lots of arrangments that had blown over and all around. It was sticky mud too so I couldn't reach everything without sinking. Dad was child #8 out of 11.

Uncle John and Aunt Lola Jean. He was #7 and he and my Dad were close growing up. I could tell you stories of the mischief those two got in but this is a cemetery post ;) I just adore my Cousin Diane and these are her parents.

My Uncle Melvin and Aunt Iva. He was a veteran of WWII and the oldest of the Manning kids. He was a very nice man and according to my mom's sister, a real looker when he was young. I was able to spend a little time with two of their kids when I was in high school because they lived in Jonesboro too.

This momument belong to my Aunt Mary (child#5) and Uncle Melton who most people called Todd. The headstone is also for my cousin Mernie but luckily she is still with us :)

Uncle Raymond was my first uncle that I recall passing - he died when I was in high school He farmed the land around the cemetery and was child #2. His wife, Aunt Mildred, lives in Memphis. They had one son, my Cousin Danny, who died way too young (age 38) on the farm. He is buried with them in front of this large monument.

Somehow I did not end up with a photo of Aunt Flossie's headstone but that's OK since she is alive and kicking in Arcadia Florida. She is child#4. She is a very fun aunt.

COUSINS

Sadly, I've lost several cousins (my generation). I mentioned Danny above but there are others who are not buried in this cemetery.

This is my Cousin Evelyn who is my Aunt Elsie's daughter. Very funny person and I will always remember her laugh. At the time of her death she was planning a cousin's surprize party for my cousin Mernie.

Raymond Jr. is my cousin Mernie's son, meaning he is the grandson of my Aunt Mary, so he is my first cousin once removed. Another one gone too young.

I hope the weather is better next time I go so that I can do some clean up and photograph the rest of the headstones in the cemetery (allt hose that don't say "Manning"). My online genealogy pals/relatives are loving these photos!

Green Thumb Sunday

While green thumb Sunday is still on hiatus, er, more correctly I am on gardening hiatus, I do need to report the death of about a dozen orchids and the critical condition of a few more.We had some dangerously cold weather (by orchids standards) during one of my many trips to Arkansas and they were not brought into the house quickly enough.

So what I have now is a group of survivors and they do deserve more respect and care. The saddest part is that some of those lost were my favorites and that I lost the bloom on some once-a-year bloomers. I will be better, I will be better, I will better.......

Wicked!

The play, not my mom! LOL We went to the matinee performance at Carol Morsani Hall at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Tampa. We met a coworker and her boyfriend there and it is always a pleasure talking to him because he lives in Alaska. Then we went to a restaurant called Sideberns, modern Mediterranean cuisine.

I took this photo at intermission but my camera needs charging so photos today are not great. The map has "Oz" in the center in green :)

This is a shot of the building after the play. I don't know the temperature when we got out (around 5pm) but it was perfect! And, the sun was out today after a few dreary days.

Here's my coworker, her boyfriend, and my mom. The sun was low so it was difficult getting an outside photo much less driving west to go to dinner.

This has got to be the most unusual "bread basket" I've ever seen. Those skinny breadstick were spicy and good. The flat bread made me think of the communion host. The yeasty bread was excellent. No idea what kind it was but it was kinda grey.

Mom and I shared an appetizer (Myakka Valley Brushetta - local heirloom tomatoes, almonds, pecorino toscano fresco, anise). It was nice that they served a half portion on two different plates.

Mom and I each had the Poached Filet Mignon (smoke potato, mushrooms, raisin green peppercorn chutney, horseradish jus). The potato was odd. Not bad, just odd to me. The sauce was sweet which was also odd.

My coworker had the Mari Montanya (organic chicken breast, lobster chorizo rice, shishito peppers, catalan mole sauce).

And her boyfriend ordered the ribs. Sorry, the description is not on the online menu so can't tell you about it. He ate it and said it was good.

This is a photo of their patio for those who want to eat outside. It was probably in the 60's so there was only 1 couple out there - possibly smokers.

All in all a very good day with excellent entertainment, gourmet food, and nice people!

Jakey Boy & Other Rat Tales

We had someone fill out an application for Jake; however, when I corresponded with the person I had reservations about the match because they live on a 75 acres farm and were hoping for a dog that would follow them around the property from barn to porch, etc. More important, they were concerned about his age. Jake is 8 years young. This has me thinking about the value we place, or don't place, on maturity.

When I say "we" I guess I really mean American popular culture. Obviously the value of elders changes by culture, family, geography, etc. I tried to recollect television advertising where a mature American is used without a reference to age. Sure, they play grandparents, people using "geriatric products" such as denture cream or arthritis medication but do they ever just show up as a "plain ole person" who just happens to be senior? The most diversified TV ads that come to mind for me are Stein Mart ads. Can you think of any? There are so many products that I would call generic products (cars, cell phones, food, office supplies, name a thousand more) that don't necessarily need a young, thin, tall person as a representative of the user but, to me, I don't see many of them.

The same is true for Jake. He is a great dog and it is a shame that he is may be seen as less valuable because he is 8. I'm not slaming the people who initially inquired about him because for that one couple (who at least owned up to their hesitation) there may be a dozen others who read his age and moved on without inquiring about him. Well, those folks are missing out on a wonderful pet. He goes potty on demand and goes quickly because he much prefers to be inside the house than out. He's a good watch dog (typical rat terrier trait), very loving and devoted. He is the rare dog that would fit perfectly into an apartment or condo and I truly hope that is where he ends up. Hopefully someone will recognize a wonderful little dog and not place too much value on youth but, instead, quality. Who knows, perhaps someday we will feel the same way about humans. **POOF - I woke up but it was a wonderful dream**

And before I forget my other rat tale, I was elected to the board of directors of Ratbone Rescues!

Arkansas, Part 3

Crossing the Mississippi at Memphis. Couldn't take my eyes off the road to snap a photo of the muddy water.

Bypass near Hardy Arkansas. The town road is so narrow that large trucks were knocking the side mirrors off cars so they blasted through the moutains to make this road to bypass the little town. The town is a shopping Mecca - full of antiques and quaint stores.

The school where my mom and her siblings went to school in Paul's Switch near Bono Arkansas. I couldn't get close enough to get a photo where you can read the name etched in the arch above the door opening - it was just too muddy. My Aunt Joyce said there are three different rooms in the school. (Paul's Switch is not to be confused with Ponder Switch which the area where my Dad grew up. LOL)

This used to be Knight's grocery store at the end of the road where my mom's family lived in Paul's Switch. My dad's parent's owned a similar store up the road a piece near Ponder Switch.

I saw this bumper sticker more than once. There were many more photo opportunities that I missed that would have spoken to the local culture.

Cool old house in Imboden that my mom and I want to restore after we win the lottery, LOL.

I couldn't believe how many abandoned, run down houses I saw on my trip. This one was in Mountain Home. I just want to go in there with a crew from HGTV and fix em up!

Love old barnes. I used to see more near the road but on this trip I would have had to get out in the mud and snow to get photos and I just didn't have the right footware for that.

Old water wheel somewhere in the Ozarks. One of the few photo ops with a safe place to pull over. Remember, these are mountain roads curving up and down through the hills all the while snowing. Wasn't willing to pull over in an unsafe spot for a good photo.