Does Siri paint for you?I can't remember where I got this pretty  still-life painting but I thought it was nicely done.  I can't forget the signature on it, however. Siri has become a part of our lives in the past few years.  And is Siri a she or a he?So I am wondering what all she/he can do!  So can she paint a picture??  And how would she do it?  This picture looks like an original but may be a print.  Can you help me with this picture? 10/22/2025

Here's a neat old post card showing a very historic Harding College, now University, building.  It was built in 1949 and was a re-purposed WWll airplane hangar!  Google told me that.  Next is the address side of the card.It is rather hard to read but says that it had facilities for many sports including roller skating, seating space for 800 spectators and the playing floor was large enough for 3 basketball games to be played at once.  It was named for the late B. F. Rhodes, Professor Emeritus of History.  The name is now Rhodes-Reaves Field House and below is the way it looks now!Wasn't that a good history lesson! 10/12/2025

Strange! Weighs almost 2 pounds! Don't be under the tree when it falls! The tree is shown below.  The sign is calling it the Tree of Month in Searcy AR and is located right behind Mayfair Hotel which has just been sold to new owners.  The third picture shows parts of my car parked amidst the dropped fruit and shows how big the fruit is and some that has been crushed by traffic.  I picked up one and brought it home with me.Here is what City of Searcy facebook entry says about the tree.'"This month, the Searcy Tree Board is proud to recognize the Osage Orange, a uniquely American tree with a fascinating history. Also called bodark or hedge apple, it is instantly recognizable by its large, wrinkled green fruit often found scattered beneath its branches in the fall.Key Features:Fruit: The t... 10/06/2025

A long ago pictureAll of the real estate agents in Searcy AR loved Lorene.  She was one of the first lady REALTORS in this town.  I began real estate in 1979 and she was already a successful agent in the business.  She was among the first women to serve in the profession in Searcy AR and helped pave the way for other women to be in the profession.  In the above picture she worked for POWELL REALTY and is pictured with several other agents, including me!   I neglected givng a date when I saved the picture but it was good while ago.  Her obituary is found here. https://www.powellfuneralhome.net/obituaries/lorene-smith-9/#!/TributeWallShe helped start all of us female agents in a great direction and we all loved and respected her.  We thank her for her great guidance and will miss her! 10/01/2025

Ok.  I admit it.I have a white vehicle.My husband had a white truck.Most of my friends and his friends have white vehicles.  Seeing a bright yellow or baby blue or red vehicle will make you blink several times from surprise.So, what happened to cars like these in this old picture above of our beloved North Spring St. in Searcy AR?  And what happened to parking meters?  Did double-color cars cost more?  And notice the lack of pickup trucks above?  The vehicles above are attractive, aren't they?  I'd kinda like seeing them again.Now, here's the way parking lots look today! 09/30/2025

Lovely new shop at 814 Holmes Rd, Searcy AR.  Just head out Hwy 16 North and turn left on Holmes RD, just hehind Sonic, and there you are!  Here's the yard sign.Now I know you have a question.  That's a strange name. Here's a closeup of the sign on the front of the building.So I agree.  That's a different name.....tell us about it. Molly answered me and I quote her.Molly answered me and I quote her. "The meaning behind out sign, Ivory & Oak Design, is more than a name.  It is a reflection of our vision and who we are.  The Oak represents strength, dependability and sustainability-----qualities  we bring to every piece of furniture and design.  The Ivory symbolizes warmth, grace, and the joy of meaningful gifts, much like those chosen to celebrate life's most cherished moments together. ... 09/22/2025

A gift (unexpected) for me!A few days ago       https://activerain.com/droplet/Jzv4    I wrote a blog about over-large mail stuffed in mailboxes, at least in mine.  Click above to go to the blog and see a picture.WELL....  Now the largest ever has come.  I practically had to pry it out of the box and I wish I had taken a picture of its coming out of the box.  Inside my house I put the objects on my table and above is the picture of the contents.      1.  A 20" x 18" heavy plastic carrying bag (possiby good for grocery loading when they outlaw little plastic bags).         2.  Box opener.  I've never seen one but boxes have become numerous  since                              so many folks are now ordering and getting free shipping!         3.  Cleaning cloth.  Maybe for air fryers?      ... 09/15/2025

                      I love this picture!  I married the boy years later and he passed away 3 years ago this weekend.  All who knew him loved him and miss him.  This blog is in his memory.  Here's the original one.  https://activerain.com/droplet/7S5bLook at the little boy standing there strutting his stuff.  Never mind that his pants were too big, his shirt a bit small.  His smile was large and genuine.  One little girl is holding on to him. I think of words to describe him in this picture!     Join me.    Over self confident,   cocky,   proud,   bossy, happy,   leader,   show-off,   bold,   protective of girls.......a great fun picture!!The people in the picture, in case you are curious, are Rodger Duncan, his cousins Sandra Lynn Joyner Johnson and Carolyn Holmes Swindle.  Barbara Du... 08/31/2025

This is lovely! As is everything in this Searcy Art Gallery Historic home located at 300 E. Race, Searcy AR.Gifted by old Phoenix Club heirs is this china cabinet plus desk space.And this chair that has this plaque on the back of it, shown below. The plaque says ARKANSAS SEARCY  1803 LA PURCHASE EXPOSITION 1903.So what's the story?  Back in 1896 a group of Searcy ladies decided that Searcy needed more culture, like a Cultural Club, and established one that later became the Phoenix Club.  They also established the first library in Searcy and met in the building every month.  It was in Spring Park and the china cabinet was in it and was for their convenience.Around 1903 they were concious of the 1803-1903 Louisiana Purchase Exposition celebration so they commissioned a chair to be made co... 08/25/2025

 Too much oversized worthless mail! It will not easily fit in mailboxes.  Mail carriers must not like carrying the oversized mail.  Makes me think of the history of mailboxes.  My older house and most of our Searcy Arkansas older subdivisions still have little hanging mailboxes beside the front door and the "mailman" still walks through the neighborhood and delivers the mail.  Wonder how they like this big stuff?That made me start thinking.  Betcha you have paid no attention to mail boxes.  Older subdivisions in Searcy like Cloverdale and Lambert Terrace all have the little front porch mailboxes.  Later there were lots of mailboxes on posts beside the driveways of the homes.  Much better!  And now we have those huge brick pillars  with the mailboxes built in! They cause more damage for ... 08/15/2025

Buttons!!In my blog career we have never talked about buttons.  What can you say about buttons?  I just read an interesting article about buttons. First Security Bank's weekly email had an article about buttons that I found interesting and had never heard of.  Keisha Pittman McKinney wrote about "The Hidden Story of Arkansas's Pearl Button Boom." In the early 1900's, Arkansas was at the center of a pearl rush and by the mid-century was producing lots of buttons.  Soon, Arkansas had button factories that were active.  The author gives great detail about the beginning and the progress. So I thought about my button collection!  It was not a planned collection but had been going on for probably 50 or more years.  I used to sew and when you made items, you needed buttons.  And when you bough... 08/12/2025

Looks bad, doesn't it? I was driving by this old house and noticed the condition of it.  Built in 1901, so says the Course House info about it. That means it is about 124 years old!  What is going on?  Is it another one getting prepared to "bite the dust"?  So I hurry home and start my research about it.  It sold a few months ago.  It had been sitting there empty for years and going down.  I found that it was to be renovated!!!!  Hooray to hear that!So let's continue to drive by and watch its progress and hope for great results!  I hope they don't change the original looks of it very much!  08/09/2025

What's next?  Mayfair Hotel is changing hands.  Here are a few of the old pictures and one made today!  It is almost 100 years old!    I put this view on a blog a few years ago. 2009 I believe it was.  Pull up that blog and see the pictures and read an interesting story about one of its original owners.  click here.........    https://activerain.com/droplet/74XQ And possibly this is the original look in the picture above.  Fancy, fancy, and the vehicles reveal the age.  No, I don't know what age they were.  But some Searcy Sleuth will tell us.  BTW, that historic street light is still on the corner!!And this one was taken today, July 30, 2025!  It still looks pretty impressive and I hope it continues to be impressive.  Wonder what the new look might be?  Stay tuned in and tell us your M... 07/30/2025

Cattail DitchA few days ago I stopped at a store, opened my car door, stepped out and saw this grown up ditch with what in it!!!  Cattails!  You often see them while traveling down a road but don't stop.  This time I was already stopped!  They were very attractive and a few, very few, were reachable from the edge of the ditch.And then the memories began.  The ditches were always too messy for a mom to go in and pick but not for a kid to go in and pick some for mom!  The pleasure of having your child hand you a mess of cattails fresh from the ditch was always nice and made a pretty vase of cattails.  I can even remember painting pictures of them when I was a beginning artist!Here is a picture of what I picked!  With permission, of course! 07/26/2025

Old Junior HighSeems as if I spend a lot of time now going through old saved things.  Sometimes the memories are delightful and other times the memories are not pleasant at all.  So it was with these two discoveries.  Way back on Dec. 30, 1981 the Searcy Junior High shown above burned.  I had a son who was very close to the school  and I had taught there just a few years before.  My son prowled around after the fire and brought home these two objects.  Look at this damaged poster that evidently was displayed someplace at the school.And then add this item.  A giant ruler that must have been plastic to still survive because it is still here and must have been used to teach math.  One thing printed on it is "10 MILLIMETERS (mm) = 1 CENTIMETER (CM)" something that I never learned!  It was m... 07/23/2025

Baths in Searcy AR??Public Baths?  Searcy AR?  Surely Not!!But look at this old, old postcard!  See the sign on the side of a building on the left side?  If you are confused about where you are it is Spring Street looking North.  Imagine that on the left side, just before the first building, would be Mayfair Hotel!  Reportedly, the vehicles are about 1920's.  The street looks very wide and there are quite a few people.  In small towns folks went downtown on Saturdays so maybe it is Saturday.BUT BATHS???  Note the partial ad saying BARBER SHOP and BATHS!!  Gotta research that!  Muncy's book!!  A Frontier Town Grows Up With America. Raymond Lee Muncy, published in 1976.  He says that in 1871 there were two bathhouses in Spring Park.  Spring Park was like a health center and Muncy reports ... 07/14/2025

South Georgia kids about 75 years ago. Check their outfits and compare with our students today.  Of course, girls could not wear pants to school.  And they sure loved those saddle oxford shoes and bobbie socks.  The skirts had to be the same length and might change from year to year.  Boys were crazy about blue jeans rolled up and apparently plaid shirts and skirts and dresses were the chosen style.Now look at the middle student on the front row.  Is she a boy or girl?  She has on forbidden pants for a girl but shoes like a girl.  And she must have been brave with different hair style (bangs) and a scarf around the neck.  My thinking is that she probably turned out to be a leader with the courage to break the dress code and wear different hair style.What's my connection?  I attended tha... 06/27/2025

Here is our Norma Young again.I discovered a National Chicken Cooking Contest Recipes book this week and it was  written in 1971 for the 23rd annual contest winner's recipes.  And there she was!  Our Searcy Arkansas queen, Norma Young with her signature!   We think she discovered and made famous Chicken Nuggets. Go to this earlier blog and read more about her and the recipe. And the recipe is easier to read.  Click below.                 https://activerain.com/droplet/JpqmWASN'T THAT FUN!  06/24/2025

According to Zillow, the average home in Arkansas takes around 52 days to sell once it’s listed. That doesn’t include the prep time, negotiations, or closing delays. For many sellers, especially those facing a job relocation, divorce, foreclosure, or an inherited property, that’s simply too long to wait.The good news? With the right strategy, you can beat the average and sell your house in less than 30 days. Whether you're in Little Rock, Fayetteville, or Hot Springs, these five realistic steps can help you get a fast, hassle-free sale — without leaving money on the table.1. Price It Right from the StartOne of the most common mistakes sellers make is overpricing their home, hoping to “leave room for negotiation.” Unfortunately, that strategy can backfire. Listings that start too high of... 06/21/2025

Rediscovered. Painting of my mother from 1966.Well, yes.  It was done by little me and it has resurfaced.  It is still located in Georgia, where I grew up.  It was painted in 1966 in Searcy AR with my signature.  She was probably in her 20's at the time.  She does look young and pretty here.  What I have noticed this time and probably before about her hair covering.  It looks a lot like this style.  Seems as if ladies could use a hankie or scarf to hold back the hair and tie the wrap above the forehead.Like this very famous poster.  I believe it is called Rosie the Riveter and dates back to WW 2 when the men were called to war and women became defense workers during the war.  It stood as a symbol for women in the work force and for women's independence.  I vaguely remember my mother hav... 06/13/2025