From the Ranch

From the Ranch

Friday, March 29, 2013

My Husband is Home From Baghdad, and I Have Been Busy, But Taking Lots of Pictures!

For about a week the full moon made for some absolutely beautiful photos!  Thought I would share some with you...












   




Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Randy is Home, and We Are Enjoying Spring!





I have been pointing out the blue birds to him.  They are in the backyard every day playing in the water, and sitting on the utility pole.  The female is always with this little blue bird.



    

 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

My Husband is Coming Home on Leave Today!

"A woman's heart must be so hidden in God, that a man has to seek Him to find her."   Maya Angelou
















       



Monday, March 18, 2013

I Love Watching These Little Blue Birds From the Kitchen Window



They are growing more rare as people take up more space and resources, I try to accommodate them in ways they appreciate.



Sunday, March 17, 2013

Whistle Blower From the Veteran's Administration

Your average disabled American service member who has served in our most recent conflicts, and come home with health issues will tell you that the  Veteran's Administration does not act in a timely manner and appears to actively fight accurate assessment of health matters and disabilities that are directly related to their military service.  Now an individual, who worked for the VA until he quit because of ethical  concerns, has come forward, and is testifying to congress as to what he observed while working as a researcher for the V.A.  He is claiming that results that prove connections to health issues are buried, or ignored.  I believe him.  I find Military.com to be without bias, accurate, and factual in their reporting.  This article is worth reading.






   

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Now Here We Go, an "Army" Easter Basket


 The gold spotlight looks great on this Army/Marine basket.  It is in a camo hat turned up-side-down! 



It has a cute fuzzy rabbit in a bright yellow, a bunch of green beads, a giant plastic egg full of "pop rocks," a Texas chocolate bar, a green water whistle you can wear around your neck, a green water whistle shaped like a bird which you can wear around your neck, a yellow rubber ducky, a yellow hoppy chick, a cool Easter game in a box, little tiny eggs in little tiny cartons which are sour chewing gum,  and of course a bag of toy Soldiers, 

                                     


Now you have to know, every little boy is going to want one!


Friday, March 15, 2013

Everything a Cowgirl Needs, Including a Trusty Pony






























If you are going to be a cowgirl, you need a trusty pony!  This little pony is just adorable, her name is Snowball because she is all white, with a black mane.  She whinnies and makes a galloping sound when you saddle her up and squeeze her ear, and her reins are good for riding many a mile!  You can load up you pink cowgirl hat with all kinds of goodies, but you will have to leave all the goodies that come in this pretty and velvety soft hat shaped basket.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 



Riding the Trail on Snowball, a girl needs a loyal saddle buddy riding in her cowgirl hat, and you know Pinky is up for the trail ride!








Pinky the rabbit is beyond 
cute and made of that soft material that every child loves in the velor fabric.  Chocolate candy bar in a billion dollar yellow wrapper, a sweet little wind up hoppy chick, and a lollipop toting, bicycle riding pink plastic bunny is sure to please!  The pretty little keep sake tin holds a delicious chocolate cookie, and what little girl won't be adorable in the pink fuzzy rabbit ears wearing her various pretty colored beads, while she eats her white chocolate bunny with the other treats she finds in her special plastic eggs in very shade of  pink and all the complimentary colors!  Snowball and Pinky, along with all this cowgirl gear can be your little cowgirls this year!  Come on by in Sealy and visit our booth in front of Palais Royal!  We will love to see you, and come by the ranch to see all our beautiful Barbies, drink our lovely tea, and visit with Rocket the Peek-a-Boo Goat!


Rocket just doesn't know how to be a good hostess, but she does love her pony Carmel!


               
                                      

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Cowboy Easter Egg Basket From Texas



I really stuffed the cowboy basket with so many fun things for about a four to seven year old boy.  Of course it had to have a set of Cowboys and Indians to start it off right!  A yellow "tattoo" design plastic wrist band is "tough" looking.  For fun the soft plastic "blinking chick" will be a cool fun thing, and  gold plastic "bling" chains are fun too.  A large gold egg holds the best prize, and camo, leopard, and an assortment of other plastic eggs each have treats in them as well.  The big orange egg is full of "pop rocks."  The wind up bicycle riding duck is cute, and makes a fun friend for the two stuffed ducks.  There is a yellow water whistle with string for wearing around you neck, an Easter tic-tac-toe game with rabbits and ducks, egg gum that comes in little egg cartons, and a specialty iced cookie.  A cute little yellow chick sucker, a chocolate bunny trimmed in yellow, and an ice-cream shaped covered cup with a "crazy" straw wrapped around the cup will make for a nice snack time!

Any little boy would have so much fun with this Easter basket, and it will hold a lot of eggs when he goes to all the Easter Egg Hunts!








       

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Gentle Little Birds Playing in the Yard

These little baby ducks are so much fun to watch!  They are exploring the world now.  Whatever the stresses of my day are, interacting with the sweet little residents of the ranch melts pressures and deadlines into a sweet warmth.


            


         

I See the Moon

I love photography, even though I have never had 
any training or instruction in the craft.  Recently I captured some really cool pictures of the moon.  They remind me of a little poem my dad used to tell me.  I don't know where it came from, and could not find on the internet where this very old and popular lullaby originated, but I can still hear my dad reading it at night from a very worn nursery rhythms book that came from my Paw Paw Murphy's house when he died.


I See the Moon, the Moon Sees Me

 I see the moon, the moon see me,
shining through the leaves of the old oak tree.
Oh, let the light that shines on me, 
shine on the one I love.

Over the mountain, over the sea,
back where my heart is longing to be.
Oh, let the light that shines on me,
shine on the one I love.

I hear the lark, the lark hears me,
singing from the leaves of the old oak tree.
Oh, let the lark that sings to me,    
shine on the one I love.

Over the mountains, over the sea,
back where my heart is longing to be.
Oh, let the lark that sings to me,
sing to the one I love.   


I loved the way that book smelled, the pages were very old, yellow with age, and there were cracks in the pages, and some little pieces were missing where the cracks had turned to torn parts.  The back of the book was gone, long ago ripped away in some accident or the other.  The book was officially titled The Mother Goose Book of Nursery RhythmsThe illustrations where just single line drawings in black ink, and mother allowed us to color the drawings with our crayolas.  There was great competition between my sister Lydia and I for who would get to color in the most beautiful of the drawings.  I do not know how old that book was, but I suspect it came from the childhood of my grand-mother. 

I don't know either what ever happened to that book, but I wish I still had it.  There was magic in that old book... just like there is mystery and magic in the moon.

 
                                       


       

Rocket Just Has Trouble Socializing!

Rocket wants to be friends, but she isn't sure how to entertain rabbits when they visit her pen...
      
                                 

Monday, March 11, 2013

More of the Easter Baskets!



This fun Easter Basket started with a cool sock monkey design basket, approximately 10 inches X 10 inches in hot pink and purple.  To start with, we added all kinds of purple an pink beads.  Next a cute little Ice Cream Cone covered cup with a crazy twisted  straw.  The ice cream part is hot pink!  The bird shaped water whistle is on a cord, and it is yellow, matching the wind up white and fuzzy hopping bunny.  There is a giant chocolate chip cookie in a keepsake purple tin, and big iced chick shaped iced cookie too.  Three sugar powder orange carrots add flare, and the pop up chick over-sized egg is full of treats as well.  The wind up bicycle riding rabbit is a hoot as he peddles his wares, (a cute little sucker,) and the light up soft chick twinkles for several seconds, even after you stop shaking it.  There is a little 5 inch light up rabbit, and a purple boa to wear around her neck just for fun!  Tiny cartons of bubble gum eggs are fun too!  Easter would not be complete without a chocolate bunny!  A small heart shaped glitter picture frame, and a giant purple pen, along with silver and hot pink fingernail polish finish out this basket!  A little trim with pink and purple Easter grass, a golden prize egg, and several assorted plastic eggs with treats inside round out the basket.  The basket will come wrapped in hot pink netting, with a big bow.   If you have any questions just shoot me an email, and make sure you look at the other baskets that will be going up soon!  We have been having fun with this project!



 This basket is yours to present to that special little girl for $45.99!

Shipping is always free!

          

If This Isn't Fun, I Don't Know What Is!

Sponge Bob Square Pants For Easter!





You can have Sponge Bob and friends for 
$69.99 plus shipping.

Here is a list of all the goodies that come in Bob!

Sponge Bob Basket (Soft and sturdy fabric construction, which will make a great year round storage and room decoration)

Sponge Bob Chocolate Bar.

Fuzzy Wind Up Hoppy Chick.

Cute little Plastic Bunny on a Bicycle, (He is a wind up toy which pumps his legs as he rides his tricycle to transport his sucker to the boy or girl receiving this basket.  

A good size sippy cup with a crazy crooked straw, which is shaped like an ice cream cone.

What basket it complete without a rubber ducky!

Pop rocks in a large yellow egg.

Large metallic gold egg with a special treat inside.

A large yellow bird shaped water whistle.

A crazy little soft light up chick with  flashing colored light that activate with shaking.

A large carrot shaped bag of candy with orange and green jelly beans.

A necklace with a duck shaped bottle of bubbles.

Two packages of PEEPS.

A crazy frog with wild rubber hair which deposits candy in a poddy from it's rear, (this is definitely a little "boy basket."     

A stuffed yellow light up duck about 6 inches tall.

A egg dying kit in camo colors!

Several bead necklaces, and several plastic eggs filled with treats!

We had to leave the grass on the sides of the basket... the basket was just stuffed too full!


Call Us at 979-865-8919 to place your order, or you can go to E-bay at:

 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=121080075143