Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day

Here is a story I thought I'd post for Memorial Day, 2011.





Only Ike Did It...All

   Flood time in Kansas, and a boy with his brother whirling helplessly about in a flat-bottomed boat in a rampaging stream...until a cowboy hurled them a line.
   Then, another time, as a boy, in bed ill, floating in and out of consciousness, with the doctor saying it's going to be the boy's life or the leg, one or the other. But the boy, stubborn, said no to amputating his infected, blood-poisoned leg.
   Two weeks later, for whatever reason, he recovered.
   Many years later, now grown up, he was almost lost still another time. Flying from North Africe to the British base at Gibraltar, he was told visibility was practically nil, the landing site ahead was difficult, and there wasn't enough gas to turn back. Even so, the military aircraft landed safely, and Dwight David Eisenhower continued on with life-with an extraordinary and historic career.
   If, at any of these crisis points in his life, he had not survived, someone else would have been in charge of the Allied landings in North Afria. Someone else would have planned and directed the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy. Some other general would have been the Supreme Allied Commander for Operations Overlord-the Normandy invasion- and the subsequent conquest of  Nazi-held Europe. Surely, too, someone else would have been the thirty-fourth U.S. President.
   But could someone else really have done all that?
   Maybe, as the critics sometimes have argued, George C. Marshall should have been the SHAEF commander instead of remaining in Washington as army chief of staff. Maybe some British general would have been better. Maybe "Monty" was another Duke of Wellington whose advice should always have predominated in the Allied councils of war. And maybe Douglas MacArthur was the most brillant of American generals, and maybe George S. Patton was unfairly chastised and so on. Many were the criticisms of good old affable "Ike," sometimes dull-looking and be the time he died at age seventy-eight, retired president, a kindly, worn-shoe sort of face.
   The critics, with all their maybes and implications, sometimes forget that the war was won, the invasion of Europe ultimately was successful (as were those other invasions earlier), and the man at the helm was, indeed, Eisenhower.
   He was born October 14, 1890, in Denison, Texas, but the family moved almost immediately to Abilene, Kansas, where he spent his boyhood. That was where the cowboy rescued him and his brother Edgar with a lasso, where a very young Ike refused to allow amputation of his leg (and brother Edgar slept at the bedroom door to keep the doctors away!).
   Like Napoleon, Ike considered a naval career. But, too old for the Naval Academy at Annapolis, he went to West Point instead. He was a football star, a running back, until a ruined knee sidelined him. Her then became a part-time football coach, a sideline that nearly ruined his post-World War I army career, since he often was assigned new duties based on a commander's need for a good football coach.
   Along the way, though, he befriended Patton and served happily under both Marshall and MacArthur.
   Only a fair student in earlier years, but always an avid reader of military history, he began to shine as a career officer-first in his class at the Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and a widely publicized star at the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941.
   After Pearl Harbor, he served in Washington as chief of was plans for the War Department. Named Commander of Allied Forces in North Africa in the fall of 1942, he could boast in one year that all German forces had been driven out of Africa...and Sicily. Further, Italy had declared itself out of the war, although at the cost of German occupation.
   In the end, it was former aide Eisenhower who was chosen as Supreme Allied Commander, rather than Marshall or MacArthur. It was "Ike" who had to grin and bear it during the bombing or civilian rail yards in France as preparation for D-Day. It was "Ike" who sweated through those two eleventh-hour decisions that "made" D-Day- one holding back the Allied invasion force due to bad weather, and the other unleashing that massive force one day later, despite gossamer-thin predictions of improved weather.
    Someone else might have done some of  it, perhaps even all of it, but they didn't. Only Ike did.

                                                 First published in World War II magazine, November 1990



This story was taken from the book called Best Little Stories From World War II.

    If you have not read this book, I would highly recommend it. There are over 150 true stories from WWII. It is a favorite of mine. I picked the story because I like Dwight Eisenhower and also the fact that he came from Kansas, my home (and favorite) state. Another reason I picked it was because WWII history is my favorite to read about.
 So, if you don't have the book, you better go out and get it. Amazon has it for $12 or cheaper.

~Susanna

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Beautiful...

Yesterday I went to a surprise lunch for a friend who is leaving for the summer. At the end the girl who planned the whole thing gave eveyone roses.  They are so pretty.


I guess roses are one of my favorite flowers.

While I was taking the photo, our dog Shyann was sitting on the porch so I took one of her too.


Almost as pretty.


~Susanna

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Grilling...

One of my favorite things to do is grill food. I think I would grill about anything......maybe.

Yesterday Mom decided to have hamburgers for supper, which was great because I had been wanting to grill something all day.


This is my nice 4-burner grill. Let me rephrase that, it is my Dad's grill but I'm the only one who uses it.
The grill works great, except every time I've tried to start it this year it has taken me awhile. Don't know why.

 Hope raw meat doesn't gross you out. 


The only seasoning I put on hamburgers are Season Salt and Garlic Powder. By the time you get ketchup on it you can hardly taste it though.

They're still kinda pink.

I don't have a picture of the finished product (hamburger, bun, ketchup, mustard, curry pickles, lettuce, onions, etc.) because my brother took me out for supper at Redrock Canyon Grill.

In the end I didn't get to eat my cooking, but who cares when you get a supper like I got.


~Susanna

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Things I like...

These two things might seem odd together, but I think they go very good with one another.





Just for the record, Arthur Conan Doyle and WoodWicks are two of my favorite things.

So, what is your favorite Sherlock Holmes story and/or candle scent?


~Susanna

Friday, May 13, 2011

Strawberries...

Not only are these strawberries, but they're chocolate covered strawberries.

I made these the other day and they turned out awesome!!!









So, what your favorite chocolate treat?


~Susanna


Thursday, May 12, 2011

And The Winner Is...

  
   ...SaraLee                     

 Congratulations!!!  You just won 4 free cards of your choice from Lily Lime Creations!!!!

Thank you to all of you who entered my Giveaway.  I really appreciate it.  
I also plan on doing it again in awhile.


For all of you who would like to know how I picked the winner. I used random.org.


~Susanna

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

One Day Left!!!!!

There's only one more day left to enter the Giveaway.

If you're thinking about entering, better do it soon.
The tip doesn't have to be something fancy. It could even be your favorite tape. :)

Have fun!

~Susanna

Monday, May 9, 2011

L.L.C. Giveaway!!!




I've decided to do a giveaway for Lily Lime Creations!!!!

Here's the deal. I want your best scrapbooking or card making tip. Then I will randomly pick
someone who will win 4 cards of their choice * from L. L. C. for free!!!!
This giveaway is open now and will close at 12:00 P.M. on Thursday, May 12th.

One more thing, if you post about this giveaway on your blog, website, facebook, etc. you
can enter another tip! That's two chances to win!!

So, post a comment with your tip and then head on over the Lily Lime Creations and look at the cards. 


~Susanna


This giveaway is restricted to non-family members and to USA and Canada residents only.  
* Some restrictions apply



Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day Banquet

My Mom was in charge of the Mother's Day Banquet at our church. Of course, we all got to help.


This was part of the decorations.









The food was awesome.




 This was the punch. I think it looks pretty.


We had a really good evening. It was full of fun, good food, and great teaching from a lady we've known for years.

I also have to give all the photo credit to Elaine Cook. She did a awesome job on all these photos.


~Susanna

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Half-Price Frapps

Don't forget to stop by a Starbucks on May 6 - May 15th for the Happy Hour. Its from 3-5p.m.





Makes me want one...

~Susanna

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Bradrick: Crisis Leadership Network






My brother Isaac works for this guy. You should check this promo video out.

While you're at it you can see their website too.
~Susanna

Monday, May 2, 2011

Topeka...


On the 28th of April my brother Titus and I had the chance to be pages for Senator Ty Masterson at the Capitol Building in Topeka, KS. We also brought along our friend Angela Lingg, who was paging for her Senator. (The Senators happened to share the same office.) I had an awesome time, even though there wasn't much going on that day in the Senate that day.
I borrowed my sister's camera and had it with me the whole time. So, I thought I'd share some of the photos. Enjoy.



This photo (and the next 7 photos) was taken in the Senate Chamber. That room was amazing.




The designs on the wall are so cool. If you look close at the photo above you can see the 
flowers coming down beside the pillar.


The base of these pillars (pictured above) are air vents. The pillar itself (if I remember correctly) is hollow and brought air from the outside to cool the room down. I'm not sure if they use them anymore.


There are 40 Senators in Kansas.




This photo has a interesting story behind it. The view is from the floor, looking up at the ceiling. Unless your camera has a screen that can be flipped, you have to lay down on the floor to get this view. 
I was taking some photos like this for a lady, when my dad walks in and asks "What are you doing?"
I about jumped.

~~~


At one point during the day we were allowed to take photos sitting at the desk of the President of the Senate. This is Titus.



Angela Lingg in the same place, only this time it shows more of the desk.

and me too.

~~~
At 11:00 all the  Senate pages went on a tour of the Capitol building.

I really liked the marble staircases...until I had to go up and down 3 or more flights of them 2 dozen times.



This is the House. Obviously a lot bigger than the Senate Chamber. There are 125 Representatives in the Kansas House


Angela and I got our picture with Miss Rodeo Kansas 2011, who happened to be there that day. I guess that's not something that happens everyday.


Titus and I with Senator Masterson. We did a photo of us with the Kansas Governor, but it  isn't on the computer.


~Susanna
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