Annie Oakley'in It

I had the opportunity to go shooting with my Dad and his cousin again last weekend.  I must say that I LOVE shooting.  And, PS ~ I am pretty good at it.  Surprised?  Nah, you shouldn't be, it's in my genes... Got it from my Dad I tell ya.  I am ready to jump on board some hunting trips this fall.  Doc?  Josh and Katie?  Dr. B?  Who will take me on my maiden voyage?  This girl is ready to shoot her guns.  PPS ~ I jumped to super hottie status with my husband now that he knows he is married to Annie Oakley's great great granddaughter.

(Just kidding, my great great grandmother was not Annie Oakley, but how cool would that be if it were true?  Here's a little FACT for ya... Annie Oakley's given name was really Phoebe Ann.  Sound familiar?  It should.)

Sarah went along with us this time around.  It was cold outside so Sarah mostly sat on the cart for the first part of the day and watched us.  She was bundled up in her hat, hoods, coat, layers of clothing, a blanket, and my coat.  

There were moving targets to shoot in the air going away from you and coming right at you.  There were targets rolled on the ground and some that were bounced off the ground a few feet in the air  Some were in the trees and some in the open.

Dad was his usual sharpshooter self.

I love that I can go and do this with my Dad.  It is fun, a little competitive, and helps me practice my skills with tips from Dad and his cousin who have been doing this for a lot of years, hunting, shooting ranges, and Military.

Pictured below, Christopher, Jerry (Dad's first cousin), Steve, and Julie.

Thanks Dad.  It was a fun day.  Sarah and I will be ready to go again when it gets warmer outside.  And, start looking for those Father/Daughter shooting contests.  I think we'd make a great team!

Torquay Hunting

Towards the end of January I decided I wanted to give my Torquay Pottery eyes a try.  I went to a antique mall southeast of our house and started looking around.  There were well over 150 booths to browse through, but I was on a mission and hopeful that I would spot at least one piece of Torquay.  And I did!  I found two pieces in the same booth, down on the bottom shelf of a glassed cabinet there they were, sitting there waiting for me to find them!  What I found was two pieces of Watcombe with mottos on them.  A hot water jug handmade around the 1930's and a sugar bowl.

For those of you who are new to our blog or who may have forgotten I am a member of the NATS, (North American Torquay Society).  My Aunt Judy introduced me to this pottery back in 2006, when she invited me to go to the annual NATS convention with her in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  You can read more about the 2015 NATS convention, held in Rogers, Arkansas, by clicking HERE.  

And, you can read more about Torquay Pottery and its history by clicking HERE.

Below, is the hot water jug.  Its' motto reads, "Sweep before your own door first".  The picture below that is the mark on the bottom of the jug.

Below is the sugar bowl.  Its' motto reads "Speak less than thou knowest".  Pictured to the bottom right, is the mark on the bottom of the sugar bowl.

 

I was very excited after finding these two old pots.  I couldn't wait to get home and send my Aunt Judy a message with some pictures of my two new hunting finds.  About a week later I decided to "hunt" again.  This time I headed to a large well-known antique mall northwest of our house.  I had made it about a third of the way through the mall when all of a sudden as I approached a booth filled with glassware I saw it.  A small table top filled with Torquay! I absolutely could not believe what I was seeing in front of me!  I stood there in awe for a moment and then came back to reality and realized I either would have to buy every piece of pottery on that little table or get a hold of my Aunt Judy on the phone immediately.  I got my phone out of my purse and called her, hoping that she would answer.... She did!  She then gave me a little pep talk and got me snapped out of my awe and into shopping for great pieces of pottery mode.  She asked me all kinds of questions about the pieces in front of me, and prepped me on the check-out process, then asked me to take a picture and send it to her.  I did and then I called her back while she had the picture in front of her, and we discussed which pieces I should purchase for her and for myself.  I found some GREAT pieces of Torquay again!  Yay, go me!

I bought 6 pieces of Torquay Pottery from the table, two for myself and four for Judy.

Below, a Torquay cheese tray.  The motto reads, "Eat well of the Bread Be easy with the Cheese".

 

 Below, is my favorite find... a large Torquay Rosy Sunset Jug.  The motto reads, "May the wing of friendship never moult a feather".

I see more Torquay hunting trips in my future.  It was a lot of fun to hunt, and so exciting to call my Aunt, and for her and I to share this excitement together.

Tribe Of Levi Church Services

**GUEST BLOGGER**

 ~ Eric Hendrickson ~

We had a Tribe of Levi event on Saturday, January 23rd at Westview Baptist Church in Wichita, Kansas.  We have started to do Saturday evening services for churches throughout Kansas.  If you would like to host the Tribe Of Levi for a service at your church, please contact Carl Carnnahan, the band's General Manager, or Stacee and I, and we will gladly help arrange your event.

It was great to see Billy Soverns (in red).  He was in my IFI (Innerchange Freedom Intiattive) group, #26, and was recently released from prison after serving 30 plus years. 

The band has a few new members and they sounded great. 

The band did not play, "I am Free", which was not to Silas's liking.  Silas voiced his displeasure after the event to Carl so Carl rectified the situation by playing the song just for Silas.  Silas and the girls ran around the church as is the standard procedure when this song is played.

Cameron (above) was the one who decided they should not play the song during the event.  Cameron did apologize to Silas.

Rob (above) gave his testimony.  I met Rob that day and got to spend some one on one time with him prior to the event.  I appreciate your heart and your efforts with prison ministry, Rob.

Gary (middle) is contemplating doing oversees missionary work (Mark 16:15).  God bless you brother.  It was great seeing all my brothers, worshiping Jesus, and enjoying our freedom in Christ. 

Please follow the TRIBE OF LEVI on facebook.  (Click HERE)

We invite you to watch for band updates, new pictures, news, and upcoming events by "liking" the Tribe of Levi on facebook.

Nicklefritz

**GUEST BLOGGER**

 ~ Eric Hendrickson ~

I got a package in the mail yesterday.  It was my "Nickelfritz" trophy that I received for winning our family fantasy football league. 

The inspiration behind the "Nickelfritz" is my grandpa George Bowers (my mom's dad).  He used to like to say that word.  He also made the statue that sits on top of the wood platform of the trophy.  It is fabricated from horseshoes, a railroad spike, a washer, and some formed metal.  Grandpa liked to make these along with many other items made of metal and wood.

You can see the past winners are all from the Schroeder family.  I am glad I was able to break the Schroeder dominance.

I am impressed with this trophy, and I have it sitting in my office at work.  It complements the trophy I received for winning my work fantasy football league.  I like that I can look at it and remember a great man, my grandpa. 

Upward Basketball 2016 Season - Games 1-4

**GUEST BLOGGER**

 ~ Eric Hendrickson ~

Game #1 - January 9th

Coach Ro and I are coaching our daughters again this year for 1st-3rd grade girls in Upward Basketball.  We are the Nuggets.  After only two practices, we had our first game.  Sarah is jersey #3.

Our first game, as will be the remainder of our games, was against the Suns.  Like last year, there are only two teams.

We have three girls that returned from last years team:  Cari, Bella (Coach Ro's daughter) and Sarah.  New girls include Nienna, Addison, and Kylie.

Our girls know to race up the court after a steal or rebound.  The other team wasn't prepared for this.  We ended up winning the game 44-21.  Sarah had 20 points. 

Game #2 - January 16th

The other team was much more prepared for this game and started making picks for their best player Hannah (who is also one of Sarah's best friends).  Our help defense was not so good.  We will be focusing on this at next week's practice.

Coach Ro was out of town on business, so I coached by myself. 

We ended up tieing the game 30-30.  Sarah had 12 points.

Game #3 - January 23rd

So, we practiced help defense this week and our defense was much better.

Sarah being a tree,  (This makes Mommy really happy when Sarah plays good defense and blocks shots.)

Coach Ro providing instruction to our tall girls.

I have been working with Sarah on her shot as she has picked up some bad habits playing basketball at school recess.  As you can see from the picture above that her shot looks good.

Coach Ro and I (above).

Above, are some of Sarah's biggest fans and part of her cheering section.  Popee and Nanee have made to all of Sarah's games so far this season.  Grandma Great and Mike made it to the second half of this game (Sorry the games are at 8:30 in the morning).  They watched a well played game where our girls won 24-20.  Sarah had 16 points.

Game #4 - January 30th

Our 4th game was probably our best game.

We have been working on help defense and it is evident from the pictures that the girls are getting it.

Hands up, Help Defense!  Good job girls.

I guess Stacee wanted to take a picture of my butt.

#5 - Nienna, #12 - Cari, #3 - Sarah, #4 - Bella, #1 - Kylie, #2 - Addison

We won 44-32.  Sarah had 18 points.