Music - The Beat Goes ON

We have been to some great concerts since my March blog about the concerts that we have attended. Rick is concerned that we will not remember all the concerts that we have attended - with good reason. So here is our list:

• Ronnie Milsap
• Merle Haggard
• Kenny Rogers - Sounded better than ever!
• Jersey Boys - Every bit as good as the first time we saw this show.
• Alabama
• John Fogerty - We were up close and personal - right in front of a speaker. 

Thanksgiving 2013 - The Cow Barn

Streetman and Co. decided to use this holiday weekend to build a cow barn out at the farm. Streetman and Co. forgets that I am not as strong as he would like for me to be. So the third day we called in the reserves for Streetman and Co. - Mindi, Cade, and Cali.

Day 1 - The Beginning

Streetman and Co. - CEO and BOSS

Almost Finished

The Reserves - Mindi, Cade, and Cali

Ditzy Dolls - On The Road Again

Early in June we took another girls' trip. On this trip, we visited four more states a - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota and Canada. We saw so many beautiful sites. 

One day we had breakfast in Minnesota, lunch in Wisconsin, and dinner in Michigan. However, the highlight of the day was Chocolate Almond Wine Bread in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

Just a few highlights.... I got to have dinner with my son, Greg, and Lisa's mother in Brainerd, Minnesota.

We were at Judy Garland's birthplace on her birthday. We had cupcakes.

We were in Bob Dylan's home town. One day we crashed 4 weddings and fire. 

Wisconsin -- Apostle Island Cruise; saw the sea caves

I couldn't get over how large Lake Superior is; we followed it for miles and miles! 

We did the North Shore Drive along Old Highway Scenic 16

Itasca State Park -- Minnesota's oldest state park

32,000 acres and over 100 lakes.

The beginning of the Mississippi River.

I am now to five states left on my bucket list - Ohio, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska.

(Some of this was copied from my sister's site).

Retirement - Part 1

It has been four months since I have written a post, so you might say I am A LITTLE behind. The post that has stopped my writing is this post - the one about my retirement. It has been a bittersweet process to get me mentally where I am today. Last year at this time was the talk of the RIF at school and process of reducing the number of teachers. From the very beginning I said I was not leaving that I loved my job. By December I had changed my mind and decided to take the money, and let some teachers that needed a job keep theirs. God gave me a peace about this that it was my time to retire. However, I still was in denial and could not or would not talk about me not coming back to work.
May was the hardest month ever in my working career. I had to go through and either pack up, throw away, pass on, or leave behind 35 years of teaching memories. My heart was very heavy during this time. Then on May 31at about 2:00 I turned my keys in. I was no longer employed by Gunter ISD.
I was very busy during the summer so not much thought was really given about my retirement, except on Fridays I was no longer counting down how many weeks were left until I went back to school. Then it was the first day of Teacher Inservice. It seemed as a dark cloud hung over my head all day. It passed until the Friday of the first week of school. This cloud soon dissipated!
I have had many things going on to occupy my time, so I am now like all the other "retired" people that say they do not know how they had time to work.
(I am going to post this even thought it is not finished. At least by getting this much out there, I can continue with my blogging.)

Mother's Day - another busy day

We have been busy as usual. Any one who knows Rick, knows that being busy is an understatement for Rick Streetman. He truly is the "Energized Bunny."  Mother's Day was no exception. We did church and a quick lunch - then the work began. We had heifers in the corral to take to Decateur to the sale. However, as we ran them down the chute they broke out. Next on the list was to mow and weed eat. I mowed with BAD BOY and Rick weed-eated. Then he finished painting the pipe and cable fence. After this we went to Tractor Supply to get some panels for the corral. We then went to the farm and started welding the place the cows broke out, then we welded the panels in. Next it was time to finish our yard work - watering and a little weeding. After almost 8 hours of work we got to sit down. He made the comment that his butt was dragging. I wanted to laugh at him, but I didn't out loud. I am so fortunate to have someone that is not LAZY and is so willing to work.

God blessed us with such a beautiful day to be outside.

Music to my Ears

      Hello, world. I am still alive. I have just been busy. There are several things that I need to write about to catch up, but I decided that I would catch up on the great music experiences that we have had the last month. It all started with the Broadway Musical - The Jersey Boys that we went to see while we were in Vegas. Rick and I have seen Frankie Valle in person, so I did not know what to expect to see a story about his life. It was great. A few times the language was a little rougher than I like, however, the reason the different songs were written was the highlight for me.

       Next we went to see a Chicago concert. It might make one of my top ten concerts of all times. The music was very loud, and your chest did vibrate. I love brass in a band - and Chicago has brass. After this we saw Terry Fator, who I have seen several times before. He and his dummies are so entertaining. While watching him and his dummies, you forget that he is only one man and is responsible for all the voices and songs.

      This weekend we went to see the Doobie Brothers. The song "I'd like to hear some Funkie Dixieland Pretty Mama, come and take me by the hand......" is still in my head. I am lucky that music is a huge part of my life, even though I have NO rhythm and cannot sing. I am blessed that music is something that Rick and I both share a passion for.

Spring Break 2013 - Charleston

The trip for Spring Break this year was to Charleston, South Carolina. I had been told by many it was great; and they were right. Charleston ranks up there in the top sites I have visited in the United States. It was another fun-packed trip by the girls. In the five days that we were there, we experienced all the following:

Four plantations – Boone Hall, Drayton Hall, The Charleston Tea Plantation, and Middleton Plantation

Six Historical homes

A 3 ½ walking historical tour of the city with Ed Gamball – Rainbow Row, Battery Park

The Market

Two Forts – Fort Moltrie and Fort Sumter

Two Museums – The Slave Museum and The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon

The Angel Oak – two times

Two neighboring towns -  Beaufort and Sullivan Island

The bridge - Arthur Ravenal Bridge

Citadel

Rainbow Row

Pineapple Fountain

Drayton Hall

Boone Plantation

Some our trips food is not important, but this one was different. We did have one good meal per day. I ate seafood at a well-known restaurant in the area every day. Another slight difference that got me in trouble was that I noticed that we did spend more time this trip looking for our personal things – keys, cameras, glasses, tickets, etc. 

As I always say, I am so blessed to have the opportunity to travel and to learn history. It is a shame that I just can’t remember all the wonderful details and facts I hear on each of our journeys. Also I am fortunate to travel with my sister and a good friend. What great memories.