Thank you, friends, for all your sweet comments while I've been getting the three kiddos into their new school year. It is amazing how exhausting it has been. Last week was filled with back to school shopping, meet the teachers and celebrations, and the past two days have been filled with back to school committee meetings. Whew!!! I already need a vacation. Throw in this baby puppie's potty training, and I'm almost certifiable!! Good news, the Travelin' Mister starts a couple weeks of heavy travel tomorrow, so I'll be down one child! LOL!!!
In response to several comments on my grandmother's up-coming 100th Birthday celebration...

Meet Dorothy Kate Fry McDonald, or Cockle Mommy, born August 31, 1909 to Nanona and Bill Fry in Burnet, Texas. This beautiful picture is dated 1926. She would be 17, the age Tripp is now. Her hair is auburn and her eyes are blue.

This first picture I couldn't help but post. It is one of my favorites of my grandfather, Johnny McDonald, Poppy, as boy with his dogs. Cockle and Poppy were high school sweethearts. Poppy passed away in 1987.

The second photo is my great grandmother who passed at age 101 in 1986 (talk about stories!), and my grandmother in January of 1910. The back of the picture is printed below. I love the Gibson Girl look and the beautiful gown. We still have this gown.

Cockle and Poppy moved to Burkburnett after they were married and built a life around the oil fields. They rented a property from my grandfather's mother until they could pay cash for their own home in Wichita Falls, while paying cash for all their automobiles and sundry items. My grandmother had to take out a credit card after Poppy died to have "credit" as an independent woman. Can you imagine?? She still pays cash to this day, and will lecture you about the evils of owing a bank or credit company. She loves to travel, and has been to many, many foreign lands. She told my mother recently that she has been traveling again, but has been unable to get to Mexico. Only we know these travels are in her mind or maybe her heart. She has a very creative and artistic soul, one of her traits I am most proud to have inherited, and loved to garden. She always brought a rock home from each of her travels for her rock garden. I think this is one reason I love the Lucille Ball movie "The Long, Long Trailer". Do you remember the scene??? She taught me most everything I know about the kitchen. To this day I miss waking up at her house on Thanksgiving morning and smelling the goodness that was in store. She has always been a modern metropolitan woman. She worked out several times a week at the "Spa", she was an avid reader, a faithful Baptist playing the organ at Sunday services, a member of countless bridge clubs, and did her shopping in DALLAS! There are so many, many stories she could tell of the changing times. Automobiles, Oil, Travels, Fashions and Friends, but these are some of the things that come to my mind most immediately.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my original post of Cockle's Birthday for my party favor drawing. I will be drawing the winner on Saturday (my Birthday)!