Shamrock Voice Mail, Final Chapter

That's right, after 4 different people (Kelly, Danielle, Dan & myself) couldn't get it set up I told them to please take voice mail off my store phone! On Monday Danielle started the process. She did exactly as Dan and I expected and in about 45 seconds she was yelling at the phone and making huffing and puffing noises. Then to top it off she finally got to speak with a real person and she is sure he was eating little Debbies. She swears she could hear the plastic wrappers. This may be when Dan took over to no avail. At one time we were just passing the phone back and forth between the three of us. Finally I was able to speak to a human, Manuel, we're friends now. He lives in Denver but would love to be in the south (of course). Manuel worked with me for about 2 hours telling me different things to do to try to set up the voice mail. I think he was relieved when I told him to just cancel voice mail from my package. He did say he was going to have a couple more techs work on this problem and I may be hearing back..... I haven't.

This is just a quick update before I take off to mother and daddy's to make the dressing for our Thanksgiving Dinner. We always make it on the Wednesday before and let it season itself overnight. If I say so myself it is delicious!

I hope all my blogger buddies have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I challenge you to take a few minutes to count your blessings! My family and my friends are my greatest blessing! My list of blessings grows daily as I continue to be blessed more than I deserve!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from the McGee's!

voice mail, round 2

Well, Kelly came down on Friday. She had a jewelry party Friday night ( photos coming soon). Friday night she tackled the voice mail dilema at home. She had the voice mail activated in nothing flat. She says "dial so and so number and you can listen to your voice mail, you're gonna love it." Okay, this is the good part. The voice mail that I was so upset about not being able to retrieve was from AT&T telling me they were going to send me some info in the mail explaining to me how to set up and retrieve my voice mail. And I thought I was a moron!!!!

Unfortunately the voice mail dilema at the store is still ongoing. Kelly worked on it for a while but the "lady" kept telling her to enter a 4 digit pass code. Kelly would enter it and the "lady" would say "you must enter at least 4 digits". This went on forever. I tried it and they finally told me they were sorry I didn't understand what to do, to try back later and goodbye! I have already told Danielle that today is her turn! Maybe three is the charm. Technology......it's a killer!

Voice Mail

Tuesday was my follow up visit for my root canal. Yuck!!! I go back in 2 weeks for my temporary crown. Now you know what I'm getting for Christmas! LOL

This has been a terrific week in the store for embroidery. I've stayed busy every day!

In case you are wondering about my Weight Watchers.... this is the deal. I realized, with the help of my friend Glenda, because I am a "lifer" I don't have to weigh every week. I can weigh and pay once a month. Makes a lot more sense to my wallet. ( I do have a crown to pay for now) So, I will be weighing again next week.

Kelly is coming down today. She has a jewelry party at my girlfriend Trina's tonight. We are going to go the sewing center and buy more thread and supplies. Have lunch and enjoy the day together. Friday is usually a busy day at the Shamrock so she can help out. She is suppose to figure out how to access the voice mail for our phone at the store. Yes, I am electronically challenged and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I got a letter in the mail from AT&T and they offered us a cheaper rate on our home phone. I called 'em, told 'em to sign us up. This new rate came with voice mail. Okay, in 30 + years of marriage Dan & I have never even had an answering machine. I know, we're challenged. I did ask the sales lady if she would be sending me something explaining how voice mail works, she assured me she would. Last night when we came in from the barn I noticed there was a red light flashing on the phone. I now know this means you have a message. What I don't know is how to retrieve it! I finally found my instruction manual for the phone and followed the directions. Got it all set up, or so I thought, and when I followed the directions to retrieve the message all I got was a busy signal! Now I'm totally confused. This is why I haven't even attempted the voice mail at the store. Thank goodness Kelly is coming today! Moral of this story is....if you call the house don't leave me a message, just call me back!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is my jewelry show at the store. If you're reading this you're invited. It's a come and go from 10am to 1pm. This invite is for guys too. Come and pick out something for your wife or girlfriend (or both, LOL) and you won't have to go to the mall. You'll be a lot more comfortable in a feed store! See you there!

Bling, Bling at the Jewelry Party!!

It was all about the bling and having a rip roaring good time. I knew anything that April was a part of would be a blast... she didn't let me down. The jewelry is amazing. Everybody got to put some on and model it! oh yeah! You know I loved that! You really have to see this jewelry in person to appreciate how nice it is. Catalogs just don't do it justice. April had a great party and will be well rewarded for it with a lot of free jewelry. My jewelry show will be Saturday, Nov. 29th at the store, Shamrock Feed & Tack. It will be from 10am to 1pm. I'm really getting excited about this adventure after being at April's party. So if you're close enough to come by I expect to see you on the 29th. This is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. If you want to have your own party and get free jewelry too get in touch with Kelly at nksmith05@gmail.com . This Friday is Trina's party. She won't let me down either. I'm figuring it will be a blast too, especially if her other friends are as crazy as the ones I know!

It was a cold day for a wedding, but....

the bride was beautiful and the groom was handsome and everyone had a great time! Below is a random assortment of shots from the wedding and reception. Ben, the groom, is the grandson of Daddy's sister Lois. Ben's parents are my cousin Cathy and her husband Larry Rodgers. Cole ( the handsome young man in the vest) is Aunt Lois' great-grandson. My favorite shot is the one where aunt Lois is blowing bubbles in Daddy's face and he has his hand up. I guess baby sisters never outgrow aggravating their big brothers!! Lois and her daughter Connie took a great picture. Connie is Cole's grandmother. I know what you're thinking I think she looks too young to be a grandmother too! It was a great afternoon visiting with my kinfolks. We don't get together often enough and I really hate that because we have such a good time when we're together. Enjoy the shots!

cold weather on the way.......

and Shamrock Embroidery is ready for it! We've worked on winter scarves, sweatshirts, stocking caps, ear warmer head bands and winter coats this week. Today the temp was around 70 degrees but probably won't make it out of the 40's tomorrow. bbrrrrrrr!!! I guess it is November and cold weather is to be expected but that doesn't help me to like it!
Tomorrow is my cousin Ben's wedding in Lawrenceburg, Tn. I will be taking Mother and Daddy. Ben is Daddy's sister Lois' grandson. I know I'll enjoy being with my aunts and cousins for the afternoon. Check back next week for wedding shots! Luckily for Mother the wedding is at 2pm and the Alabama football game isn't on tv until 6:30 pm. My mother never ceases to amaze me with her love of football. She can watch it all weekend long and Alabama football is her absolute favorite.
Sunday is the jewelry party at my buddy April's. I know this is going to be a fun afternoon. April is always up for a good time and, like me, she loves to laugh at just about anything.
Next week we will have an ad in the weekly paper announcing that we have added embroidery and monogramming to our business. Keep your fingers crossed for good results from this ad. It will run for 6 weeks which will take us to the week of Christmas. Can you believe it? Christmas is right around the corner. These shots are from some of this weeks embroidery projects, enjoy!

Fall Photos

Sunday morning Dan & I took off for Rock Springs, on the Natchez Trace. I was there back in September and wanted to go back and get some shots with the fall colors. There are a lot of beaver dams here and we saw quite a few trees that the beaver had been working on! When I was there in September one of the favorite shots of mine was of the foot bridge crossing Colbert Creek. Sunday the water was actually over some of the stones. We crossed anyway and took the hike and I took tons of photos. When we left there we went on down the trace to the Colbert Ferry Crossing named after Chief George Colbert who operated a Ferry across the Tn. River at this location. This was Indian Territory and Chief Colbert was Chickasaw and Scot. It was a fun morning despite being a bit chilly. I've posted a few of my favorite shots, enjoy!

Update....

Debbie Bidwell called me earlier today to let me know how much Quinlan was loving her new pony! Her name isn't Tillie anymore it's Bonnie! Quinlan told her mom this morning, "you're not going to lead me around anymore. I am a big girl now and I can ride Bonnie by myself." Don't you just love it?

Pony riders, flea mkts. & baby showers

Saturday was a busy day. We had a good day at the store and then went to the barrel race at Iron City, Tn. They had a good turnout, but unfortunately due to bad ground a lot of people got their entry fees back and left. They still had about 70 in the open and Kelly won the 4D with her new 5 year old gelding. It has been a challenge for her having a young horse and not having enough time to ride him everyday but this Friday is her last day at the bank so she will be able to ride during the day. When we got home Kelly set up her embroidery machine and did some more stuff to take to Ashley's baby shower. She really has a neat machine. It does all the licensed Disney stuff. Sunday morning we got up early [what time change?] and went to Crump, Tn to the flea mkt. Dan found some wheels that he will use to make some carts for his ponies and I bought us some more socks. I figure the more socks in the drawer the less often I'll have to wash. Sounds good in theory, we'll see.

On the way home the Bidwells called and were on their way to look a ponies for their daughter Quinlan. Note to self....when the Bidwell's are at the house have camera in hand!!!! Quilan is an absolute cutie and Shawn is a nut! What I wouldn't give to have a shot of him trying out a saddle by putting it on the pipe rail of the roping box and balancing. Now mind you he is a former bronc rider and can ride but this was hilarious. Debbie was trying to video it and Ned was trying to hang on to the back of the saddle to help balance it. That is why I like the folks so much it is always something going on when you are around them. Quiland tried two ponies and decided on the paint pony mare. When they left she was calling her Tillie. She was infatuated with all the chicken feathers she saw laying around so Dan helped her collect some and then they went over to the stall side and saw the setting hen. She was impressed. I think Willie was what really stole her heart though. He has that effect on people though.

After the Bidwell's left Kelly and I headed out to Selena Daniel's for Ashley's baby shower. It was a blast! You would not believe all the cool stuff you can get for a baby these days. Maybe I had mine to soon.....NOT! Selena is Ashley's sister and the shower was at her and husband Steve's brand spanking new house. It is gorgeous. Saw a lot of old friends that I just don't get to see often enough. The food was great too and Ashley's sister April made a "dirt cake". I was just crazy about this little creation!

Finally, April [one of my absolute best buds] bought her a new truck Saturday and I will be the first to say she needed one! It is a beautiful truck and I am so happy for April. She also told me she was going to quit smoking and this savings would help make the payment! For this I am really, really proud!!!

wild weekend coming up!

Tomorrow will be a busy day for Dan and myself. We will be working at the store until 1pm. When we close we will go home, load the horses and go to the barrel race at Iron City, Tn. Kelly will meet us there. We have tentative plans to go to Crump, Tn first thing Sunday morning to the flea mkt. Dan has a couple of things he is looking for. I need a new stool for the store. With the new machine and a new computer we need more good seats. We must be home by about noon. Kelly and I are going to a baby shower for our buddy Ashley Parker later in the afternoon. Ashley and hubby Clay are expecting their first baby in late January. It's a boy! We are pretty excited about this little fella! Next week I will publish some of the shots of some of the presents we made for little Hesston.

The comcast installer spent about 3 and 1/2 hours with us today. When he left he told me I could talk on the phone, watch tv and run 4 computers all at the same time. WOW! We probably won't watch a whole lot of tv unless the weather is bad or something. We don't watch much daytime tv. [ I used to watch Oprah but haven't in so long I don't know if I could get in the habit again.] I can tell you this....... I love Hi-Speed internet!! I might have a slight case of whiplash from the pages loading so fast!!!!

We did a couple of jackets and a couple of bibs and I did the cutest little pink bag with a ballerina bunny on it today. Needless to say we love embroidery! If things get a little slow at the store on Saturday I will upload some pics of our newest projects.

Well it is almost 11pm on Halloween and just like the last 17 years no trick or treaters at our house. Isn't that weird. When we lived in Cedar Hill, Mo we were on a major hiway and didn't have any trick or treaters there either. We've have never had trick or treaters our whole married life. I don't know why I keep buying candy.....okay, I do know but don't tell my weight watcher leader!

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to "fall back" with your clocks Saturday night!

WW, Hi-Speed, Warming Trend & Embroidery!

First off, Weight Watchers didn't go that great today.... I only lost .2 pounds. Yes that is a point in front of the 2. I am beginning to see a pattern. Good week, not so good week, good week, not so good week. Now we need to work on 2 good weeks in a row.

Friday is the day Comcast is supposed to come to the store and hook up our hi-speed internet, cable tv and telephone. Yippppeeee!

Finally warmed back up and will be in the 70's for a few days. Still no rain though.

We were busy today embroidering. Did a little boys jacket with his name, elephant, and roll tide on the front. Also got some more bibs and starting doing them up for sale. I have also included a shot of one of Dan's pullovers that we did a couple days ago. Enjoy!

$1.36 a gallon!!!

We can dream can't we? This is a shot I got at an old abandoned store in Tishomingo County, Ms. I was taking shots of the store and decided I had better get one of the gas price too. It goes to show how long since the store has been in operation. Gas prices are falling, thank goodness, just not this low!

Dan & I are making good progress with the embroidery machine. Danielle has been a blessing to us as she has figured out a lot about the computer program and then taught us.

I mailed my Outdoor Alabama photos yesterday. Keep your fingers crossed that at least one of the six places in the contest. My shots included 2 gulf fritillary butterflies, one praying mantis, one bumble bee, the foot bridge at Rock Springs on the Natchez Trace and of course the "award winning" mushroom. I entered the mushroom in the "wild flora" category. Just between us it is not a plant. Nor is it an animal. It is just fungi! I contacted a mushroom expert via email to get a scientific name for my mushroom. The website said feel free to email and ask for an ID but it might take 2 to 3 weeks for a reply as the "expert" is very busy. You can imagine how shocked I was when I got a reply the very next day. He wanted to know where the picture was taken in the US and in what type of area as he had been researching and tracking this particular mushroom, the amanita thiersii. I responded and told him we lived in the northwest corner of Alabama and the mushroom was growing in the horse pasture. I took my shots to mother and daddy's when I picked them up so they could see them before I mailed them. Mother's favorite is the foot bridge shot! Check out my Flickr Photostream [link on the left] to see these shots and more.

Next contest is the Wildlife Wilderness Week in Pigeon Forge, Tn. Still have some logistics to work out on this one though.

What A Weekend....

It was definitely a busy one. We were very busy at the store Saturday morning. Dan was sewing on patches for a biker, I was embroidering names on jackets and we were selling a saddle all at the same time! Saturday afternoon we went to Decaturville, Tn to the barrel race I won the 3d in the adult and didn't do anything in the open.

Kelly has started a new adventure and is selling Premier Jewelry. She got her kit with all her display jewelry in it Saturday. She brought it to the barrel race and we had a ball looking at all the beautiful jewelry! This stuff is really nice and is priced great too. My buddy April is having a show November 16th. I have already picked out what I plan to buy at her show! Having a show is a great way to earn free jewelry and I expect April will be getting quite a bit of cool jewelry. If you are interested in hosting a party contact Kelly at nksmith05@gmail.com. [There are several options including having a catalog party.] Or, if you would like to look at a catalog and order some nice jewelry let her know and she can get you fixed up.

Dan had a rough day today and unloaded 415 bales of hay. All but about the last 100 he did by himself. Our good buddy Joe came by when he got off duty and helped finish the last load. We thought we had a couple of young boys lined up to come and help, but they didn't show up. Dan can still work a lot of younger men into the ground. I'm proud of my 52 year old husband. He is one tough fellow!! He said the satisfaction came from knowing we have plenty of hay to get us through until next year.

Tomorrow will be cold and blustery with a chance of frost Monday night. I got our oil filled radiator heaters out today and cleaned them up, we may need them this week!! This is shaping up to be a busy week at Shamrock, can't wait to embroidery some sweatshirts. Hope to have some shots of my handiwork later in the week.

more embroidery projects

cowboy kitchen set

Chili pepper dish towel

I have had so much fun working on these projects. With learning something new comes a great sense of satisfaction.

Weight Watcher update.....today was my weekly meeting and weigh in. I am pleased to say that I lost 2 pounds and 6 ounces this week. Yippppeeeee! This really boosted my spirits! All I need to do is keep that up for 15 more weeks. Sounds simple enough.....

Barrel race this Saturday at Decaturville, Tn at the Triple P arena. I love going to these barrel races. Keeping my horse rode is what keeps me moving in the evenings, otherwise I would spend way too much time in the recliner, especially when it is cold!

School Party!!

That's where I'll be Friday evening from 5:30 until 7:30 pm. My photog buddy Charlotte has been asked by her niece to come to Weeden School and take pictures of the children at their Halloween Festival. Soooooo, Charlotte asked me to come with her and I can't wait! I think it will be alot of fun. It's been a long time since I was at one of these school functions. My kids are old, [ahem] I mean mature. Anyway, Charlotte is a lot of fun so I'm sure we'll have a blast.

Dan will be gone Thursday afternoon so Danielle will be working with me at the store. We will attack the embroidery machine once again. We have some winter scarves to do. Not a minute to soon. The weatherman said next week we will have temperatures in the 30's at night! BBBRRRRRRR!!!!
The older we get the less and less we like cold weather. Sometimes I wonder how we ever made it in Cedar Hill with temps so low and snow and ice constantly throughout the winter. Snow days were so common the kids would be in school half way through the summer. Matt doesn't seem to mind the cold and every once in a while he mentions that Dan & I should move back up there.....no way! We've decided that 40 degrees is cold. We might consider moving to the edge of Tennessee if we found some acreage but that is as far north as we want to go! Did I mention we're gettin old?

October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Today Mother and I ran some errands and one of them was to go to Helen Keller Hospital for my yearly mammogram. I have been having mammograms for almost 2o years now. It's very important to me. My mother and my aunt [daddy's sister] are breast cancer survivors!! This puts me in a high risk group. My doctor in St. Louis had me start getting mammograms as soon as mother was diagnosed even though I was only 30. I have had one every year since without fail. Early detection is the key to curing most cancer. Mother is living proof. She has had cancer twice. Both were found early enough and surgery saved her life. If you haven't had a mammogram and you are in the age group to have one I urge you to get one now! It may be a little uncomfortable but is doesn't hurt.
I started to have a disclaimer for this post that it was for women only, then I decided no.... I want my male readers to encourage their wives, sisters, daughters and any females in their lives to take this seriously and get a regular mammogram, it might save their life!!!!

Embroidery 101

I spent the whole week learning the ins and outs of our new machine, still have tons to learn.....Saturday Kelly and I went to the computer store and each got a refurbished computer. Sunday we went back over to the store to set mine up and load the design software. Kelly got everything set up and was trying to load the software only to find out the sewing machine store had given us the wrong software. They had given us an upgrade when we didn't even have anything to upgrade. I went back over today got the correct software and Danielle, [my neighbor, my friend, my part-time employee, & my photog buddy] installed it and started learning how to use it so she can teach me. Danielle has been really interested in the new machine and I think she is going to be a great asset to us because of her design talents! Below are a few of the things we have done so far that I've gotten a shot of. I have plans to do several more things tomorrow and feel I am getting better at this every day.
Update on comcast.... installation won't be until October 31st. Apparently AT&T won't release our phone number until then. [We chose to keep our same number] Danielle and I are both excited about having hi-speed at the store and the computer I bought will burn CD's and DVD's. We're moving on up!!!!
Sorry about being a blog slacker, some days I just can't get it all done. I am finishing up my entries for the Outdoor Alabama photo contest and have been in contact with a mushroom expert from the UK getting the technical info for my mushroom shot. He is very interested in this particular "shroom" as he has been researching and tracking it for a while now. I am also getting tech info on my butterfly and praying mantis. Lots of correspondence that has taken up a lot of time.

WW update and more......

WW was a dissapointment today. I gained the 1/2 pound that I lost last week. Bummer! I'm blaming it on the antibiotics, I'm on day 16 of antibiotics with 9 more days to go. Double Bummer! The weight gain culprit may be that we are eating supper at 9:30 and 10 o'clock every night. Tonight we got in early and ate at about 8:30, the earliest this week. Anyway I have had a serious talk with myself and have vowed to do better this week! Hold me to it!

I'm still learning the ins and outs of the PR 620. My brain is still intact, I think. There is a lot of info to learn and my ability to process new info is dwindling fast

I signed up for the Comcast "triple play" for businesses. We will be getting high speed internet, phone service and basic cable tv for $99 per month. I hope it's as good a deal as it sounds like.
I went to the computer store down the road that I have used from time to time and they have a refurbished desktop pc that I will be picking up Sat. It will be used solely for embroidery programs. I am excited about having high speed internet and plan to do my blogging during the day from the store. We will also be able to do more with online sales. When we change over to Comcast phone service we will illiminate our toll free number but will be available through email. kmcgee99@aol.com . I kinda feel like we are being transported into the 21st century. Not bad seeing how we're almost a decade into the new century! I did 2 potholders today with a horsehead on 'em. Dan assured me at that rate we'll be wealthy in no time flat! LOL
Hope to have shots of some of my embroidery work tomorrow, check back!

The PR 620

This bad boy is our new embroidery machine! I spent yesterday trying to learn how to use it.... my brain didn't explode, but there were a couple of times when I thought it might. I mainly used the different fonts and practiced setting it up to do different things. I also practiced hooping. This may be the hardest part. Today I will practice some more.

Did you by any chance see the beautiful full moon last night? I would have loved to have taken some photos of it but we were hauling hay 'til about 8:30 last night. Then we had to feed and I fixed supper. We finally ate about 9:30 which isn't much later than normal for us. That is one thing WW emphasizes.....don't eat late! Oh well..... I'll work on it.

Today is Pilates, thank goodness, I really need the stretching exercises. Our instructor is really good about doing what we need. So I'll just say, Marilyn, I need to stretch today and she will have us do a lot of stretching. I like that!

I hope to go get some sunset shots at the Tennessee River this evening. I have to get my shots ready to send in for the Outdoor Alabama contest. Time is running out. I have about 6 so far and the limit is 10. Maybe Dan will go with me and it won't take us to long. Dan is pretty good about helping me find some good spots to shoot from.

Have a great Wednesday!

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy!

That's been our weekend! Friday, Mother had her colonoscopy and got a good report. We were there and back home by 9 am. Dan and Bradly and Joe left about 12:30 and Danielle and I were in charge. We stayed busy all afternoon. Before Dan left I walked down to the credit union to make a deposit and who should come driving up by my Daddy. The one who swore he was through driving. When he saw me he kinda did a double take then I said, "caught you didn't I?" He just laughed. When we closed I headed downtown to Legends and got Mother, Daddy and myself some supper. Brought it out to Mother & Daddy's and we had a nice meal together. Daddy's insistance on driving again has us all upset. He thinks it will be okay to drive close by the house...... he was 2 blocks from home when he totaled the car.
Saturday we went to Decaturville, Tn to a barrel race. Didn't win a darn thing but had a good time anyway. It was good to see some ole buddies that I haven't seen in a while. Dan was pretty tired since he got home Sat. morning at 3am and got up at 6am to feed and go to the store. We got home from Decaturville about 1am after driving around Savannah, Tn for an hour looking for Diesel! Never a dull moment!
Sunday was catch up day at home, doing those projects that we'd been putting off. Ned and Kelly came down in the afternoon and we went to Russelville to meet a fellow with a horse trailer for sale that they were interested in. They bought it.
Monday morning Ned, Kelly and I headed for Ken's Sewing Center to purchase our new Embroidery/Monogramming machine. It's really nice. Ned & Kelly put everything together and put it through it's paces. It is soooo cool. I did one item myself and will work with it more today. It's a lot to learn and my brain could explode before I "get it". We're hoping this will add a new dimension to our "awards" business. And we look forward to doing some cool items for sale and custom orders for our clients. We never left Shamrock until 5:45 pm last night. Ned and Kelly had to unload their old trailer and put all their stuff in the new trailer and then get their horses. I don't think they got gone 'til well after 7pm. Bradly and his folks had come over so Bradly could help Dan ride the horses they traded for over the weekend. We came in the house about 9pm, ate supper, watched "Dancing with the Stars" and went to bed!
That's my weekend update.....stay tuned for an embroidery machine update. Don't bother listening for a loud explosion when my brain blows up....it won't be that loud! LOL