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This sight greeted me when I got home today! Landon had his truck parked in a sunny spot… window rolled down with his muddy cowboy boots displayed in all their glory.

I snuck up and took a peek inside. Sure enough… sound asleep and oblivious to the world around him.

After a chilly day of working hard on the farm, there’s nothing like a good, warm nap!

I absolutely love the various textures and reflection of the bottom of his worn boot in the muddy truck window.

Where’s your favorite place to take a nap after a long, hard day?

Interested in buying the fine art photography print? Here’s a peek at the dominant colors:

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Photo Credit: ©2013 Mary Kaye Spain (a.k.a. KayeCee)

Yeppers! Take a really good look below. It’s sleeting here at the house! UGH!

Sleet Falling in Arkansas!

Waaaaaahhhhhh! But… but… but… I don’t like ice! I’d rather be outside puttering around in nicer weather! I’d rather be seeing this:

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So what’s a girl to do on a nasty, dreary day when she’s stuck indoors because of icy roads? Plan her next gardening adventure, of course!

Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know… I know… but KayeCee, there’s ICE on the ground for gosh sakes and you’re planning a garden???

Now is the PERFECT time to plan for a beautiful crop. Here’s a nudge to get you started:

7 Winter Gardening Tasks

Decide What You Want to Grow – To decide what you want to plant for this year’s garden, think about what things you and your family will actually enjoy and how much of it you’ll eat. There’s no need to plant forty tomato plants if it’s just you and the two cats living in your household. By the same token, if you have 7 kids that all love fresh ‘mater sandwiches in the summer, you probably don’t want a lone tomato plant sitting in a pot on the patio either.

Research – Now that you have a list of possibilities, it’s time to do your research. You’ll need to find out which plants are best suited to grow in your area and planting dates.

One great source of information is your local County Extension Office. Oftentimes, the Extension Office not only has employees that are generally very knowledgeable about gardening, but also carry things like fact sheets about a variety of crops or gardening techniques. Some offices will even offer free gardening classes to the public.

Map Your Garden Out – Now that you have a good idea of what you want to grow, it’s time to sit down with a paper and pencil and make a map of your garden. Graph paper is great for this.

Recycle – Throw all of those fallen leaves on the compost pile. Also, save fireplace ashes to use as fertilizer for alkaline plants like Iris.

Turn the Soil – Pick a mild day when the ground isn’t too frozen or wet and get that soil moving. This will not only expose insect eggs to the birds for a delicious wintry snack, but the freezing will help to break up the big clods of dirt.

Prune – Now is a good time to prune those deciduous trees and shrubs.

Get Your Tools Ready – Did you break the handle on your favorite garden hoe last season? Gardening gloves seen better days? Need extra hose to reach that far corner of the garden?

Don’t wait until the last second to get your gear together. There’s nothing worse than realizing you can’t find a necessary tool when you’re in the middle of a job.

So gather up all of your equipment now and take inventory. Is there anything missing? Broken? Need something new?

Sharpen and oil things like shovels and shears.

Tune up power tools like weed eaters and mowers. Change the oil. Check the air filters. Get new spark plugs.

What are you standing there for? Gather! Gather!

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That about wraps it up, my minions! Your turn! What are you doing to prepare for this year’s gardening season? Have a great post about it? Add your link below!

Photo Credit: Mary Kaye Spain (a.k.a. KayeCee)

It’s funny… when we’re younger, all we can think about around Christmas is all of the cool gifts we’re going to receive under the Christmas tree… the latest techno gadgets… hippest clothes… best video games…

As we get older, we finally come to the realization that all the best gifts for Christmas can’t be bought in a store… the best gifts are things like family, friends, good health, a close relationship with God… those wonderful intangible items that make life worth living.

This lovely thought inspired the latest fine art photography print from Life by KayeCee.

Merry Christmas to all of you adults out there!

Shown at 24″ X 24″ With Frame #SM2- Framer’s Choice- Black With Gold- No Mat- Watermark Not On Final Print

Dominant Colors In Print

Shop for Fine Art Photography Prints by KayeCee

Christmas 2012 has come and is fading fast. The KayeCee Crew had a wonderful time! Take a peek below for a glimpse of the season over the past two days with us!

From left to right: Landon, Kenzie, Vallory, Heather, and Mark. They were all squinting or wearing shades because it was so hot and sunny outside, but today we’re under a blizzard warning… go figure! LOL

My niece, Heather, and her husband, Mark, on the left… my son, Landon, and his girlfriend, Kenzie, on the right… aren’t they cute couples?

Everyone had a blast opening gifts!

Vallory was hiding in the corner refusing to share the icing bowl with me! The best Christmas gift? Getting the kids to pose together nicely with no rabbit ears in sight!

We hope everyone had a great holiday! How has the season been for you and your family?

Photo Credit: Mary Kaye Spain (a.k.a. KayeCee)

Click Photo to Purchase

Photo Credit: Mary Kaye Spain (a.k.a. KayeCee)

After a wonderful performance at the Christmas Concert on Sunday, our Jr. High Choir went caroling at a few local nursing homes today. (Sorry for the soft pictures… I decided to try out the new iPhone instead of hauling my full-sized camera around.)

The Jr. High Choir from Manila Public School!

After singing, the choir mingled with residents and gave well-wishes to all.

Wave everyone!

Ok, Mrs. Humway… step AWAY from the chocolate… that entire tub is MINE! *rolls up sleeves for fight*

Look at all the lovely smiles!

Mingle… mingle…

Vallory and friends before we all left and went to eat at one of the favorite local restaurants, La Cascada!

We’d like to thank the residents of the Manila and Monette nursing homes for allowing us to sing for them! We had such a great time and hope to do it again next year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!!

Photo Credit: Mary Kaye Spain (a.k.a. KayeCee)

Dear Minions,

Vallory has been doing a fundraiser for her FBLA club… selling Krispy Kreme donuts! I had to pick them all up yesterday and it was a donutpalooza around campus!

*sigh* The family wound up with 3 dozen around here, so now my mom’s kitchen island looks like this… healthy on the sides… sweet fun in the middle…

I’d say it’s a tough choice, but we ALL know that would be a lie because that middle area is getting TONS more traffic… LOL

Of course, I haven’t been near it… at all… I swearz!

Ok… so who’s buying me that Weight Watchers At Home Kit for Christmas???? *adjusts halo*

Photo Credit: Mary Kaye Spain (a.k.a. KayeCee)

Our local water company has been around since 1966. My mother remembers carrying in water from the wash house out back when she was pregnant with me. My dad would pump the water into this big pot-bellied barrel and break it with lime for drinking water. The addition of a local water tower was such a blessing to them.

For the past few months, our water association has been updating our tower. In the process, it got a fresh coat of paint. I was pleasantly surprised when I ambled past a few nights ago and realized that they had honored our past by adding the words, “Home of the Missco Tigers” to the front. Missco may be closed, but the community still remembers the wonderful times we spent there.

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This photo was taken from Hwy 77 just as the sun was setting. I gave it an antique finish to reflect the glimpse into the past we’re taking when we read the slogan. The finish paired with the failing sunlight and dancing trees in the foreground makes this such a moody photo.

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Another shot from Hwy 77. This time, I used a water color pencil effect. The vintage finish is actually my favorite, but I thought this one was pretty cool too.

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This is the back of the water tower. It features the initials LRWDA. I believe that stands for Little River Water District Association.

All right… come on… fess up! Anyone climb the tower in their younger days? LOL

Photo Credit: Mary Kaye Spain (a.k.a. KayeCee)

Everyone that knows me understands that I have a fascination for shoes. When I look at a pair of shoes, whether new or tattered, I often wonder about where they’ve been and what they’ve seen in their lifetime.

Have they attended fancy parties? Trekked through mud to get to their favorite deer stand or fishing hole? Danced with joy across a crowded room? Tread the mall in search of bargains? Splashed happily through puddles on a rainy day?

Where, oh where, have you been my little shoe? If only you could use that tongue of yours to talk and whisper your secrets in my ear.

The recent story about the kindness of the police officer who purchased a pair of boots for the homeless man piqued my interest. Thinking about the story made me take a glimpse at my own favorite pair of shoes… the little vintage slippers we fondly refer to as Andy’s Shoes…

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Aunt Lois gave these to my mother for her first-born son 40 years ago. They’re yellowed with age… the strings are long gone… the fabric is frayed a bit… but they’ve had a happy life…

My baby brother, Anthony, was the cute, chubby ball of joy who sported these striped slippers for the first time… he quickly outgrew them, but 18 years later, Andy proudly held a daughter that donned them… his only child… Heather…

Two years after that, he cradled his nephew, Landon, in the same striped shoes.

Sadly, Andy passed away 3 years later before he could meet his niece, Vallory, wearing them.

Fast forward… twelve years have passed since Vallory’s birth… twelve years… almost thirteen… has it really been that long?

But the little striped shoes are patient… residing in Mom’s curio cabinet… old soles patiently awaiting the family’s next newborn child to enter the world.

And so it goes…

Photo Credit: Mary Kaye Spain (a.k.a. KayeCee)

Manila, AR celebrated the holiday season today with a Christmas parade… floats, motorcycles, vintage cars, marching bands… it was a sight to behold! I thought it was cute that one of the kids in this photo saved their Halloween pumpkin to store all of the candy they caught.

The Grinch made his entrance in a spiffy green race car!

Whoville wasn’t putting up with any nonsense from troublemakers!

Of course, the grand finale was Santa himself! *whispers* He assured me that I’m on the Nice List this year! *pause* NO! He wasn’t drinking eggnog! Why do you ask???

After the parade, the community retired to the school cafeteria for the annual Lion’s Club Pancake Supper. We spent a lovely evening visiting with friends while enjoying a delicious meal of pancakes, bacon and sausage.

Great food… great friends… great time! <3

'Til next year, y'all!

Photo Credits: Mary Kaye Spain (a.k.a. KayeCee)