We celebrated Earth Hour 2009, so did the kids, even though they only used it for nap time, LOL. It was nice...kind of romantic, all the lights out and only candles. It seems as though not too many people participated, though we told our neighbors and they did. (I'm so proud of them!) Maybe more will catch on next year....
Have a great night!
Christy
I feel like I should repost this, just in case anyone missed it. Jennifer and I were not close friends, but we did go to school together and we talked on occasion. I just absolutely cannot wrap my head around this brutal murder! I can't see Jennifer in this kind of situation, as I remember her as a sweet, quiet, polite girl who always had a smile for everyone.
Rest in peace, Jennifer, you will be missed!
Jennifer A. Stafford, 29, 708 N. Eastwood Ave., was found beaten to death inside her mobile home about 8:30 a.m. Friday by her mother, Debbie Stafford.
Debbie Stafford told The Star Press on Friday afternoon that Muncie police were looking for a man who had lent money to her daughter's ex-boyfriend.
City police on Friday night identified the suspect as Robert A.C. Murphy, a 40-year-old convicted felon from Muncie. Debbie Stafford suspected her daughter's slaying was related to the debt because her daughter's car, Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation were missing from the home Friday.
"Jennifer had no enemies," Debbie Stafford said. "She was a good, loving girl."Police on Friday morning issued a be-on-the-lookout for Stafford's missing silver 2004 Grand Am. Murphy was not publicly identified as a suspect until several hours later. "We have some things we are following," Muncie police Capt. Mark Vollmar said Friday afternoon. "But nothing I can release at this point." Family and co-workers became suspicious that Jennifer Stafford was in trouble after she failed to show up for work Thursday at the Ball Memorial Hospital Pain Clinic, where she was a medical assistant.
Debbie Stafford last spoke to her daughter by phone Wednesday evening. In that conversation, Jennifer told her mother that Murphy had stopped by her home that evening asking for her ex-boyfriend's new cell phone number. The suspect, according to Debbie Stafford, had been friends with Jennifer and her ex-boyfriend. Debbie Stafford said she spoke with Jennifer's ex-boyfriend by phone Friday and he was cooperating with the investigation. "He was very upset," she said. The couple had met online last year. He moved to Muncie from Ohio to be with Jennifer, her mother said. The pair lived together at Jennifer's home on Eastwood from December until they broke up in February, Debbie Stafford said. Stafford said she believed the ex-boyfriend might have borrowed money to move back home. did not know how much he owed.
Jennifer Stafford was believed to have been about three months pregnant by her ex-boyfriend, Debbie Stafford said. Jennifer Stafford also leaves behind a 7-year-old son, who lives with his father.
Neighbors didn't report seeing or hearing anything suspicious recently. The home is at the end of a dead-end street in an isolated neighborhood bordered by cornfields to the north. Jerry Walker said Stafford was quiet and once returned his dog when it got loose. "She was a real nice lady," Walker said.
Stafford's death is the first homicide inside Muncie city limits since Daiwaun Walton, 15, was killed by a stray bullet in a shootout on South Ebright Street on May 30, 2007.
*****The prime suspect in a Muncie woman's beating death is in police custody after surrendering Saturday at a local church.
Robert A.C. Murphy, 40, was being held without bond in the Delaware County jail, preliminarily charged with murder, auto theft and theft. Authorities allege Murphy killed Jennifer A. Stafford, 29, in her Eastwood Avenue mobile home. The victim failed to show up for work Thursday at Ball Memorial Hospital's pain center, and her body was found Friday morning by her mother.
The victim's car, a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am, was reported missing from her home, along with two video game systems.
"We know he was in her car on Thursday," Muncie police Capt. Mark Vollmar said shortly after Murphy's arrest.
Vollmar said investigators had not yet found the car, but suspected it might be in Flint, Mich., where Murphy reportedly visited his mother on Friday.
Police Lt. Al Williams, who was among the investigators questioning Murphy on Saturday night, said other items taken from Stafford's home had been recovered.
Williams said investigators believed the attack on Stafford had been prompted by "non-payment of a drug-related debt."
The victim's mother on Friday told The Star Press that her daughter's ex-boyfriend owed Murphy money.
Asked whether police believed Murphy had acted alone, Williams declined comment.
Before his arrest Saturday, Murphy had contacted local pastor Kevin Woodgett of Church of the Living God, 1120 E. Washington St. Woodgett said Saturday night he had talked to Murphy about the need to "clear his name, if he was not guilty."
The pastor arranged for Murphy to surrender, at the church, to Jason Walker, a sergeant with the Delaware County sheriff's department who also worships there.
Murphy was placed in custody about 4:20 p.m. by Walker, who drove the suspect to Muncie Police Department headquarters at city hall.
Walker said he had seen Murphy at church services but was not acquainted with him.
"He said, 'Brother Jason, I didn't do it,'" Walker recalled a few minutes after the surrender.
Earlier Saturday morning, Wayne County police chased, then stopped, a vehicle on U.S. 35 that they believed might contain Murphy. After eventually pulling the vehicle over near Economy, however, it was determined Murphy was not inside.
The vehicle involved in the pursuit was a Dodge Durango even though authorities were looking for Stafford's Grand Am.
In a Friday interview with The Star Press, the victim's mother said Stafford had told her in a Wednesday night phone conversation that Murphy had stopped at her home a short time earlier, asking for her former boyfriend's cell phone number.
According to Vollmar, Murphy told friends on Thursday that he intended to leave town.
Murphy was released from prison last September after serving time for a 2004 criminal confinement conviction. He was convicted of possession of cocaine in 2002, and has faced other drug-related charges that were later dismissed.*****
Hi all, Happy Spring!
I was so busy that I didn't even realize that Spring arrived Friday morning. I'm so happy to see it come this year, and we are having really nice Spring weather right now too! I am however worried, as it is still March, and it is still basketball tournament time in Indiana, which normally produces a crazy snow storm. So.......for now I'm enjoying it to the fullest! I've been working in my flower beds, cleaning up winter's yucky messes, straightening up all of my birdhouses that have gone goofy from all of the wind, and we've even grilled a couple times! Oh my, how I have missed that little grill of ours! There isn't a better burger in the world!
So I have some pictures to share...
Robins, Robins, everywhere are ROBINS! That's a sure sign of Spring!
One of my little squirrels just HAD to have a drink, especially now that the birdbath is thawed out all the time! (And look at that GREEN grass behind her!)
And the almighty Crocuses! Nothing says Spring like pretty little bouquets of Crocuses!
I love the first days of Spring, it's like an awakening for me. I get so down in the dumps around here in the winter time, so getting outside and getting mobile again really lifts my spirits! I love to hear the birds singing and the chatter around the neighborhood. Beautiful, just beautiful weather!had a moment in time when you just had to stop and say, "DUH!!!"? I had one of those moments this morning. I have been having one hell of a time with my camera taking blurry pics for some reason. Well, today, out of nowhere, I realized why. And it's not something obvious like having my finger over the flash or in the picture either! I had been using it on the indoor setting to take pics of my CQ and things, (which normally would work for anyone--but me), and suddenly it dawned on me that I should be using the close-up setting. Oh what a world, what a world! My pics are FINALLY clear! Well, what do you know, I managed to get something right for a change! So, I took some more pics of my precious little flutter-by heart that Ing finished for me, and I'm gonna share them...right here, right now! And the best part...you can CLICK on them to see them even larger! I've finally gotten the hang of that, so clickity click away!
Oh Man! Have you ever seen anything more gorgeous in your entire life????? Click on it to see it up close!
This is the heart that I made for Ing to embellish for me! Holy macaroni, she did an amazing job!!!! I almost didn't recognize it when I opened it up! She really went above and beyond on my little Flutter-by heart! Look at all of those delicate stitches, just amazing, simply, amazing! I can't stop grinning, she has me all shook up today! I just love the dark blue patch, that metallic thread is gorgeous, and it really makes that butterfly pop, I couldn't believe it, (and even had to look!), but that is all stitched, not a trim or a ribbon, it is all little tiny stitches! Oh and that SRE butterfly, breathtaking! I tried doing something similar to that....didn't turn out nearly as gorgeous as hers did! And get this....that big pink butterfly in the middle, she MADE that. Yes, she did! Isn't it perfect? And the black roses and the spider, wowee...they fit together so beautifully. And my absolute favorite part is that little tiny pineapple, to always remind me what wonderful gal made it for me! I just love it, and can't say enough about it!!!!!!!!
Thank you so very much Ing, you are one very, very special gal, and soooo talented! Now I'm worried about my work! ;p
I hope you all enjoy, this is going in a frame to hang on my wall for eternity! LOVE IT!!!!!!!
Hugs and Happy Sunday,
Christy
PS. Don't forget to set your clocks up an hour for DST! (Bleh.....)
Happy Friday all!
I finally got the ONE seam on the Bible cover that I have been working on for like, oh I dunno, seems like forever, done. I decided to try and cover that funky polka-dotted patch with a grape vine treatment...as recomended by my dear friend JK. She always knows what to do when I get into a place I can't figure my way out of! And that goes for everything!!!
So here it is, for some reason it looks kind of blurry, sorry about that. I think it took up enough real estate to work, of course, I'll have to add some butterflies or something to it as well, but those will have to wait!
I thought my dang fingers were going to fall off before I got all of those french knots done. It has been quite a while since I have done this treatment, and now I think I know why. I do love it though, it is such a gorgeous seam now! Hideous before.....
In other news, life is crazy as usual, and yesterday was no exception. I was up and down all day, as the people 2 doors down had a busted water line that had to be dug up and replaced. I know it has to be done, but damn they were loud! Kept me up most of the morning, and when I finally crashed, Ing called, and I totally missed it! So, Ing, I am so sorry, I promise I will get back to you! They had dug up one of my neighbor's trees that she planted and nursed from a 10 inch tall sapling into a 10 foot tall tree as well. And I had given it to her, so she was intent on saving it, (in my opinion, they SHOULD have replanted it, but alas, no one does quality work anymore.), so I just finished helping her dig a hole big enough to get it back into the ground. I only hope it was in time. We have a ball doing stuff like that, and I swear, if anyone could hear us, they would think we have lost our marbles. In fact, I think we did, or at least we found a couple out there while we were digging! HA! So, if I sound more intelligent, that's why, I have a couple more marbles than I had yesterday.
Cherokee is doing well, we're past wrapping his foot now, so he is soooo much happier. I can see signs of new growth in the frog, so I'm sure we're getting the Thrush licked now. Ew, no, not licked....whooped. That's a better word. We're getting it whooped! Plus, spring is in the air and for some reason, he and the horse next door just noticed each other and the male ego is hanging out on both of them. They crack me up! Chance, (the horse next door), was actually whinnying at us yesterday. Sheesh....4 years on the same property and they are just now noticing each other? Give me a break, I know better than that!
Spring is in the air at home too, I have tons of flowers popping up every where! I'm so excited to see my Crocuses, Daffy Ducks and Tulips again. I love spring! And there are Robins singing all around too, that always lifts my spirits! I can't wait to start seeing all of the baby critters running around, that makes all of my hard work feeding in the freezing cold so worth it to me!
Well, I guess I have written enough this morning, I need to get some emails off and head for bed!
Have a super weekend!
Christy
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