Memphis here we are

So we arrived in Memphis yesterday around 1:30 pm CST.  Long drive, and the last 3 hours in snow flurries. 
Amazing how cold it is when there are snow flurries flying around.  Seems colder than without them
Anyway, got checked in to the Hotel and off to Beall Street downtown for the Liberty Bowl parade.  After almost getting lost in the downtown area, found a parking spot on the street that didn't have a meter.  and only 3 blocks from where we are to meet Kevin and Michele and Travis.
Parade watching was interesting, at one time thought we were in New Orleans with all the beads being thrown about.  Of course we were surrounded by Iowa State Fans (the only blue in a sea of red).
But everyone was having fun.
Steph,Derek and Jaycee finally got to town and we all met up for dinner at the Cracker Barrel.  Close by the hotel and good food.
K,M,T and Jay headed downtown again to see Shawn and visit with him.  V and I went to bed, exhausted after two 14 hour days traveling.
So it is New Years Eve, V's birthday, she's 39 again, and we are getting ready to head to the Liberty Bowl to partake in the festivities before the game. 
Shawn plays for Tulsa, is # 11 on defense side.
Ed and John - there are two players with # 11, one on offense, Shawn is on defense. 
Iowa State is 1 and 1/4 favored (whatever that means), but we hope Tulsa wins.
But from Missouri, Tulsa is on one side, Iowa on the other, so doesn't matter who wins.  We'll freeze our butts off but have fun being with family.
So see you all later.
Tom and Viola
from Memphis Tennessee
ps:  it's 47 outside and we are coldddddddddddddddddd......lol

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi!  If you didn't notice by my amazing title, we have snow!!! Earlier in the season, we had a small amount of snow in the mid-morning, but it was melted by the time I got out of school....

This is a picture that I took to show off the great Missouri snowfall of winter 2012-2013.  As you can see, we have anywhere between a half inch and two inches, I don't really know..... :)

I walk out the front door to see if I can get a good picture, and this is what I saw. I was too great an opportunity to pass up.  Especially considering the little bird did not move the entire time I was out there.


I just figured I would share with y'all the joy of this "first" snowfall.

With Love,
Pixie
 

JTE&V

Just had to laugh at the thought "what did you do today?:"

Well Viola and I headed south again, Daytona Beach Florida to be exact.
for a Christmas tradition.

EAT at the Ormond Beach IHOP...........

why??   it's the only restaurant that has good food and service, yet is reasonably priced, and is open on Christmas Day.

we sat at a different table this time though.

JTE&V =  John, Tom, Ed and Viola.

Viola took the following picture for prosperity.

 

So that's what we did today.

 

tom

Hi Ya'll

So.. I have not posted any blogs in a long, long time. I have decided to change that.  I told Papa that I wanted an account so I could keep everyone up to date of happenings here in Missouri..

Us hickabillies, rednecks, hicks, and hillbilliies, decided that our Christmas will be spent in warm weather... Well, it was going great until yesterday, when the chill set in.  Blah.  Today we were supposed to have a white Christmas but that didn't work out. 

Speaking of Christmas, ours went great!  ;) We had our "Christmas" on Saturday, because that is tradition, we always have Christmas.  (Ask Papa later!) Doodle, the youngest kid, got Nerf guns, Nerf bullets, legos, and a Bronco.  Junior, the middle child, received Nerf guns, Nerf bullets, legos, and a Tank.

Now to Pixie, me, (we changed my nickname for a reason Papa) I got an Olympus camera.  Along with other miscellaneous stuff.  But that is the big present.

These are a couple of the pics I took the day after when friends came over.

 This is one of my favorites.. :)

  Now, as I have completed my tale, I wish every one a very Merry Christmas!! And a Happy New Year... don't forget to watch the Liberty Bowl on ESPN!!

Another thing, we are starting our own blog to tell stories of our chaotic life in Missouri, I will update you later with the details... 

Celebrate Life,
Pixie

Merry Christmas to all

Viola and I send our warmest Merry Christmas to each of you out there.

May your day be a pleasurable experience, and may your new year be full of pleasant surprises and warm friendships.

We are thankful for all the new friends we've met over the past year, of the times we have spent with brothers John and Ed, phone calls to family out of state.

So thanks to Ron and Amy, Pat and Kathy,  Wes and Sabrina, John and Ed, Ed and Jen, and all the others.......

and more golfing in the next year.

Tom & Viola

ps:  Memphis on New Years Eve here we come, watchout BigFootLodge, we're a coming. although I doubt I'll try that 72 ounce hamburger..............

YOUR NEW YEARS EVE ASSIGNMENT

OK ALL YOU FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS..........

THE BARNGODDESS HAS SPOKEN............

YOUR ASSIGNMENT ON NEW YEAR'S EVE IS TO TURN THE TELEVISION ON,

FIND THE FOOTBALL GAME BETWEEN

THE TULSA HURRICANES AND THE IOWA STATE CYCLONES

THIS GAME WILL BE PLAYED AT  "THE LIBERTY BOWL" situated in Memphis, Tenn.

THE GAME STARTS AT 2:30 PM.

WHY??????

Well you will be looking for the Tom Lee clan ......... we'll will be on the Tulsa side.

Alas to say that I would rather be on Iowa State's side (as the Gentleman farmer was a graduate of that great college).

Grandson Shawn Norman (# 11) is a member of the Tulsa Hurricanes Varsity Team.

Viola and Tom are driving up from Florida.
Michele and Kevin and Travis are heading down fm Kansas City.
Stephanie, Jaycee and Derek are coming in from Marionville.

Shawn comes in early with the team to get climatized to Memphis.

So we will be somewhere in the stands watching.  

Let me know if you see us!   The last time I was on national TV, Steph and Jaycee were watching and saw brother John and I at the racetrack.

Later all, and keep us posted if you see us...................

tom and viola

ps: I am bringing my carharts so I can stay warm.... maybe a couple blankets toooo.
I hear it snows in Memphis.

Tornadoes in our life

Now the Barngoddess and I moved to Florida for the warmth and sun.

WE are aware that hurricanes sometimes come through, but they are easy to get ready for and you have a few days preparation.

So what happens????

Night before last a front came through that reminded us of the weather in the Ozarks on the farm. Lots of rain, 2 3/4 inches in 3 hours, lots of wind and at times I reall thought it was hailing. But just big rain drops. So then a tornado hits down near ORlando.

So to keep everything in perspective.... here are a few pictues of the farm.... yep, the farm with a tornado........

Jeep - let your crew know "THIS IS A TORNADO IN THE MAKING!"

 

 

it starts this way, and then it goes on to this

 

 

and pretty soon, it is becoming this

 

 

 

and it gets better....... it's about 2 miles northwest of us in this shot

 

 

notice how we keep getting more of the buildings in the pictures,

well we are heading for the tornado shelter

 

 

lucky for us, it turned and headed north of us.

Barngoddess and Little Assistant finally came out to look.

 

Just to show what really happens when it hits:

this is our hay barn in the previous two pics,

 

here it is after getting hit

 

 

So keep them tornadoes out of the east coast area of the

Oldest City in the Nation.

 

we've had our share.

 

tom



What did you do Thanksgiving Weekend, 2012????

This ole Horsefarmer  and his lovely bride the Barngoddess ventured down the vehicle packed Interstate Highway 95 from the Nation's Oldest City to the Birthplace of Speed.   (hey olelongrooffan = how was that for paraphrasing your style of writing???).

Anyway, thanks to my little bigger brother, I was able to get an infield pass to the annual Thanksgiving Weekend Turkey Trot at the Daytona International Racetrack.  That means that I was able to drive my little mule into the center of the action, where there were more hotrods, restored old cars and trucks, unrestored....you name it, it was probably there and all were for sale.

So I went down Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.  WALKED MY legs off.  Figured I walked over 5 hours each day.  Needless to say I had to take Monday off to rest up.

Here are some of the pictures I took over the course of the weekend.
First was Friday night we went to my brother John's house and met up with him for the annual "Gaslight parade" down Highway A1A thru Ormond Beach.  We got excellent seats on a 3 ft rise that allowed us to see every vehicle that went by.  WE also met up with a good friend of John's from over at "Hooniverse.com"  he's web name is "The Mad Hungarian"  funny, I never did get his real name, but between Theolelongrooffan (John) and the Mad Hungarian, Viola and I were treated to the name and year of every vehicle that went by.  Really neat, just like ABC or NBC doing the Rose Bowl parade (sic).

I only got one pic that I can find of the parade, and it was out of focus,

so rather than bore you with more, here are some of the vehicles at the Turkey Trot

as a kid growing up in Jefferson Barracks and later Shrewsbury Missouri, we had one of these Jeep wagons.  I loved it and over the years since retirement, I have entertained getting one, but would rather leave it in my bucket till later

I did find this really neat RV hauler that I was actively looking at.  Put on a early GM one ton frame, it was cool.  The only problem with it, not an extended cab and only had seating for two......... wouldn't work for us.  But it was a really well done rig, including the diesel engine, auto tranny, and ps/pb/pw..... and air conditioning.  

then came this guy, a huge and I mean huge CAT 550 hp engine with an allison automatic tranny.  This rig brought a big smile to my face as I would pull anything, except of course a fifth wheel home like ours.

I joke about items in my bucket, but I really like this year Ford Station Wagon.  It is the ranch special, two seats, two doors.  I just like the looks and the styling.  This one was all original (except it had power steering, a/c, small block 302, auto tranny)  Perfect for the Barngoddess to go shoping with.  Alas 25K was a little too much....

So there are a few pics, the station wagon was taken over by turn 3 and in the back ground you see turn 4, and that area was packed with cars, and I mean packed.  also over the back of the wagon is a 4 door GM that was about 5 feet off the ground.

So enjoy, and one of these days I upload some of the other cars ....
go to this website for a real view:
http://www.turkeyrun.com/Turkey_Run_Home.html

so folks have fun.  Yesterday and today I have off, and the weather reminds me of Gales Ferry Connecticut.  Foggy, cool (in low sixties), and really damp.
So turn on the fireplace and stay inside.

later all and remember to Celebrate Life in everything you do.
tom and viola

Fishing KOA Style

So what happens when you go to Bass Pro shop and get the right lure?

 

 

You catch this monster out of the KOA pond.

 

JC, he caught it from the same place you were fishing from.

 

 

 

 

IT MUST BE AT LEAST 24 INCHES LONG, AND WEIGHS A LOT, THE FISHERMAN IS OVER 6 FEET TALL.

 

don't ask me what kind of fish it is,

IT'S A FISH THAT I DIDN'T CATCH

THAT'S WHAT KIND IT IS!

SO THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS.

DID play golf yesterday and on the par 5, I chipped in from about 50 yards and made an EAGLE.   Yep but rest of game was just ok.

tom

fm THE LONGROOFFAN

A MAN IN A FLORIDA SUPERMARKET TRIES TO BUY HALF A HEAD OF LETTUCE.

THE VERY YOUNG PRODUCE ASSISTANT TELLS HIM THAT THEY SELL ONLY WHOLE HEADS OF LETTUCE. THE MAN PERSISTS AND ASKS TO SEE THE MANAGER.
THE BOY SAYS HE'LL ASK HIS MANAGER ABOUT IT. WALKING INTO THE BACK ROOM,
THE BOY SAID TO HIS MANAGER, 'SOME ASSHOLE WANTS TO BUY HALF A HEAD OF LETTUCE.'
AS HE FINISHED HIS SENTENCE, HE TURNED TO FIND THE MAN STANDING RIGHT BEHIND HIM, SO HE ADDED, 'AND THIS GENTLEMAN HAS KINDLY OFFERED TO BUY THE OTHER HALF.'
THE MANAGER APPROVED THE DEAL, AND THE MAN WENT ON HIS WAY. LATER THE MANAGER SAID TO THE BOY,
'I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE WAY YOU GOT YOURSELF OUT OF THAT SITUATION EARLIER. WE LIKE PEOPLE WHO THINK ON THEIR FEET HERE.

WHERE ARE YOU FROM, SON?' '
GREEN BAY , WISCONSIN , SIR,' THE BOY REPLIED. '

WELL, WHY DID YOU LEAVE GREEN BAY?' THE MANAGER ASKED.

THE BOY SAID, 'SIR, THERE'S NOTHING BUT WHORES AND FOOTBALL PLAYERS UP THERE.'
'REALLY?' SAID THE MANAGER. 'MY WIFE IS FROM GREENBAY.'

'NO SHIT?' REPLIED THE BOY. 'WHAT POSITION DID SHE PLAY ?'

Sunday 12/2

Folks,
Aafter a cold week, the weather has finally cooperated and is now more like Florida weather should be.
TEmp now is in mid 70s, and its 1030 am.
Nary a cloud in the sky,
think I will go to the golf course and see if I can hit that little white ball.

I remember DAD one time told me that golf is a wonderful walk in the country side spoiled by a little white ball.

I also remember my Daughter Sam telling me golf courses are a perfect waste of a good pasture.

So being howse I am almost retired, I think I'll take a walk in the country side thru that perfect pasture and hit a few.

I do remember when Vi and I first got our small acreage near Republic MO, I mowed a golf course in the grass.  I think it was 4 holes, don't remember exactly, but we had the family out and all played golf.
Now taking that ten acre pasture and mowing didn't help, I think we lost about 50 golf balls that day.  Was finding them for months after.

Anyway, what's going on in your neck of the woods????

tom and viola

BEEN TOO LONG

So My Noble Assistant sends me an email the other day saying that I have been very neglegent in keeping her posted as to what the Barngoddess and I have been doing. So I am back to writing again.

  Truth is I forgot my password and JC had to find it for me. Being the Nobel Assistant that she is, I am now back online.

We spent Thanksgiving at the Daytona Beach Racetrack, yes the famous Daytona 500 race track. It was Turkey Trot days and there were so many cars down there, we spent 5 days walking around, and I finally got to see all the infield.

here is pic of Barngoddess at that famous infield. She even spent one day walking with me for about 6 hours.

This was probably my favoritest vehicle down there.

Then I did meet Marvin Panch. google his name and see how many races he won. I got to visit with him for awhile. My brother, TheOleLongRoof even had a blog about him over on Hooniverse.com.

So that is all for now. I am still working on loosing weight, and am now consistently below the 207 lbs mark. Thats about 20 some lbs since June.

So there you are.
More later
Horsefarmer

How about surf camp

JC is spending the week learning how to surf, not using a power boat, but the nature action of the ocean.  A few for your viewing pleasure.

that's the group warming up, notice Grandma under the umbrella.......

waxing the board getting ready to head out....
thanks Uncle Ed for the wax.....

catching that first wave,  well maybe the third or fourth,

but she's doing it

a really tired kid after a long morning

a few more

and more later about surf camp

dolphins and jaycee

So what does one do during the day in St Augustine??? Well just go swimming with the dolphins

Here are some pictures of the adventures of my granddaughter while visiting Florida over the past few days.

First is her bedroom, yep the living room of our 40 ft Fifth wheel travel trailer:


Next is a pic of what the local girl friend of my wife did to her nails and toenails:



So today being Saturday before Father's Day, Viola and I decided to take JC to the racettrack at Daytona Beach. But frst we had to meet up with the expert at the Race Track and doing at the Birthplace Speed, John-John (aka: Longrooffan aka Bythenumbers) So once intros were made we were off to the track:



What track, why the big 500 track
And all thewhile I have problems downloading pictures to this blog. more later But we had a blast and more pictures ot come. tom

Message From The Noble Assistant....

Hi everyone! Seems like you haven't heard from me in a while, so I thought I would check in. So, later on today, (it is really early in the morning,) we are heading down to Daytona, Florida to see the jeepjunkie, the olelongrooffan, and their families. Cannot wait!!!! Haha. In case you are wondering, yes, I have hacked my grandfaher's blog. But, what he doesn't know will not hurt him. Mwahahaha. I love it down here in the "Blue Hair State". I might have to join in on the name too, except probably purple. (Do not worry Mom, we will get it to where it comes out before school.) To all the people whom I have sent here to keep up with our little adventure, we will eventually have more pics of the life down here. I promise. If Papa will stop procrastinating. Well time to get off of here... Celebrate Life!!! The Noble Assistant

The Fort at St Augustine

So while the Beachgoddess was resting, the Noble Assistant and I headed downtown St. Augustine for a couple hours of touristing and exposing her to the area. Our first stop was at the Fort, a great place to visit, one of our National Parks, and well worth the trip to spend a couple hours at should you ever be in this Great Nation's Oldest City. The Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. Construction started in 1672 and completed finally in 1756. First thing that happened upon arriving and walking into the fort, was a loud BOOM that scared the beejees out of Jaycee. During the weekends the reenactors shoot off a cannon every couple hours at the fort. So to enter the fort, you have to ask permission of the gate man

so after getting a pic with a reenactor, we headed for the fort





I caption this one: "my granpa doesn't need a shotgun when he has one of these - boys better beware"

The main courtyard:

A pic with the sign that addressed the fort:

of course, after the fort we needed to rest, so we went to the one place where you can rest, and still be a tourist:
Then quit and back to visit with the Beachgoddess. And that's how we celebrated life on Saturday. tom

The Mamooth Springs Trip

So the trip from Missouri to Florida involved a stop a Mamooth Springs at the Missouri/Arkansas state line. A first for the Noble Assistant, but here are some pics for your viewing pleasure. This first thing was sitting on tree roots, just the perfect height to rest on


The map:



More views




So that is the stop at Mamooth Springs, ARK, on the way to Florida. More later on days in Florida. tom