Home, Sweet Home

We made it back home late Wednesday night. It is a long drive from New Orleans. Had a slight mishap on the way home when I was driving through heavy traffic in Houston on I-10. Someone lost a wrought iron patio chair that was in my lane--Don yelled for me to dodge it but when I checked the lane beside me there were cars so I could not avoid hitting the chair unless I pulled in front of a car. So it put a nice dent in the rental car's fender. We reported it to Red Cross the next day but they weren't too worried about it. I guess that happens lots with all the rental cars they have out on a disaster.
We made it to Josh and Kara's in time for a wonderful supper. They had picked up our car from the airport where we left it when we got the rental which saved us lots of $$. Was so good to see them---and poor Sunny, the cat, who was in hiding recouping from her dental work. Poor thing.
It is just so good to be home. Our dogs and cats were so glad to see us--well, the cats had to act very nonchalant at first but then they were all over us. And my, how my chickens had grown. They are babies no longer. I have enjoyed just watching them and today let them out of their yard to roam where they wished. They had a grand day.
Spent the first two days home doing laundry and getting things back organized in the house. I am always energized to do housework when I return from being gone. But yesterday afternoon I sat down and went through the huge laundry basket full of mail to unearth my birthday cards at the bottom. Lots of wonderful cards and gifts. And then Amber, Hayden and I went to Supertaco to get my Mexican food fix. I have missed Mexican food something awful. Sure was good--and talk about growing--Hayden is such a big boy. I can't believe how big he has gotten.
It is so nice that it is so cool in the mornings. I just love it! Fall is in the air. And Starbucks has declared it fall and has their scrumptuous pumpkin cream cheese muffins out. I discovered a Starbucks near our hotel--wouldn't you know I didn't find it until the last day--and celebrated the beginning of fall with one. Sure was good---so Marme, ya better get out and get one soon. I thought of you the whole time I was eatin' mine.
Amber and Tammie gave me the Learn Spanish game to go to my Nintendo DSL so I am off to see how I do.

Homesick

We are still in New Orleans and I am so ready to come home. We got talked into staying and closing down the kitchen. There are only a handful of us left. Don spends his days on the forklift (which delights him) loading the big 18 wheeler trailers and I spend my days in those trailers inventorying what he puts in them. Not too exciting. At least the weather has cooled off some. It is just not the same as when it is a busy bustling place. It has been three weeks and I am missing home. I want to hug my cats and dogs and just go sit in the chicken yard and watch my chickens. I want to sleep in my own bed. I want to wear something besides a Red Cross vest. And I want a big glass of milk and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And I want to go to my Bible study. And I need to hug Hayden, and Grant, and Blaine, and Morgan, and Brock--who all (but Hayden) have had or will soon have birthdays that I missed. I even missed my own birthday and still have cards and presents to open. YIPEE!! I miss my plants and the hills of home. I miss my friend Leslie who already flew back to Washington. Ok--enough of that. I guess it is plain to see I am looking forward to coming home. We should leave here on Wednesday and get home that day.
We have really enjoyed the Louisiana cuisine. Did you know that it is traditional for Louisianans to eat red beans and rice every Monday and fish every Friday? We have eaten lots of red beans and rice, and seafood gumbo, and crawfish etoufee, and catfish, and shrimp and OYSTERS. I don't think I have ever eaten oysters before but since I have been here I cannot seem to get enough. I love fried oysters and oysters cooked any way they do it. Can't say I have gotten as far as wanting raw oysters yet--but Don has enjoyed those. I even went to the grocery store and stocked up on Louisiana spices that you cannot buy at home so I can try and cook some of these delicious dishes.
We are staying in this fancy hotel now and it is nice and all but not very convenient. The valet has to park your car and there is no quick cheap or free breakfast to get close by. We miss the staff shelter.
Just thought I had better blog to let you know we were still here. Hopefully next blog will be from home. It sure is heartwarming to get to read everyones blogs and get a touch from family and friends. I love all the photos, too. And the laughs.

Day of Changes

This is inside of kitchen.

Don heard they had the world's best fried chicken here but it was closed.

Looking down a French Quarter street

Paddle boat on the Mississippi

Our little part of the shelter

I got to refresh my skills at operating the forklift again.

The other day the governor of Louisiana came to see our kitchen but he never got out of this helicopter--we were all disappointed.

Our friend, Leslie, from Washington.

Don having fun on the forklift.

Our two kitchens are those trucks. They are really amazing.

Today was our day off. Had the best meal ever down in french quarter. I had an oyster poor-boy--and I am not an oyster lover but this was the best sandwich I had ever had and the oysters--fried ones--were scrumptious. And a cup of the best seafood gumbo to go with it--ooh, it was sooooo good. Don had the seafood platter and loved it, too. We walked around and I took pictures of the neat little buildings. We walked along the Mississippi but the winds---oh my gosh--it was near tropical storm winds--I felt like the weather man on the weather channel when they broadcase during a storm--it nearly knocked you down. In fact, while we were out there we got word from our kitchen that they had called in all the ERVs and sent them all back to our shelter and were closing down our kitchen until Sunday. We felt really guilty we were not there to help with all that work but our boss told us all was under control and to enjoy our day off as we would be on lock down over the weekend in our shelter.

The staff health nurse is driving us all nuts. Oh, please, don't let us be on lock down with her. She is way over the edge on cleanliness and everything--a real stick to every rule kind of person. I got fussed at for putting my gator aid bottle with my name on it in the same ice chest as the bottled water. Cross contamination, you know.

I have a few pictures to post. Then we are going to escape and go out and eat as a group before they lock us all in. Everyone has been buying games--and at least we have a blockbuster next door so we can rent movies. It should be a fun adventure. I must say I am shocked at how bad the winds are with this storm still so far away and not expected to hit Louisiana. Ike is a big bad boy.

I don't wanna move

We just had a meeting in our shelter and we can ask to be moved to a hotel if we want to. I don't want to. I love our shelter--I like to be with my fellow workers and have a chance to visit and laugh and live together. It is a great shelter. I guess it is crazy to like sleeping on a cot or air mattress in a room with 50 other people from across the country, and to have to wait in line for the shower--but I love it. One thing nice, though, is that you can also just choose to have a motel room for your day off--ours is tomorrow--so you can sleep late without the lights coming on at 6am. That would be nice. But we have a day off tomorrow and this does not begin until tomorrow night. Frankly, the way I feel right now, I just want to do nothing--I just want a day off to lay around here and rest up and maybe later in the afternoon go see some of New Orleans and eat at a nice place downtown---maybe my birthday dinner.

It is just too much trouble to move around again. And besides, I think we are winding up here within the week and with a new storm about to hit Texas, I think we will be moving again soon enough. I want to stay put.
Speaking of storms--our home is right in the projected path of the hurricane. Which is great if we get some good rain but not so great if we get some strong winds. Kinda scary.
Almost time for lights out.

I Wanna throw Helen in the Mississippi river

I have really had it with Helen. Helen is our GPS and she is nuts. I kept hearing that the French quarter was only 10 minutes from our work site so when looking in the yellow pages for a drop-off laundry I saw there was one on Bourbon street. Everyone said it was just a straight shot down highway 90 and across the Mississippi and we would be right there. So I programmed the cross streets into Helen and off we went to drop ours and other's laundry off. Thank goodness Don decided to ride along with me. We went over bridges and across toll roads and down dark alleys and scary places and made so many u-turns we lost count and we seemed to be only getting farther away. I mean, before we left work, Helen said it would take us 13 minutes. We had driven untold miles and twenty minutes and she still said 14 minutes. I really wanted to grab her and toss her out the window on one for our trips over the Mississippi but Don saved her. We turned her off and on our own found Bourbon street and our little laundry.

This trip was in the morning. I loved the french quarter--such quaint, pretty architecture and houses. Enjoyed the drive once we were there. We managed to find our way back to work on our own, too, and it WAS just a straight shot down business 90 to the west bank where we work.
So you would think that the trip back to retrieve our laundry would be a breeze. WRONG! We decided to use Helen again. What a STUPID idea that was. We were lost less than a mile from work. I don't know how she does it. We were making so many turns and u-turns it was driving us both crazy. We were turning around in really scary places in downtown New Orleans. I just knew we would never find our laundry again and it closed at 8 and we were so FRUSTRATED. Then we finally found the french quarter-- but it was the famous part of Bourbon street that was blocked off for foot traffic and loaded with people---not the quiet, quaint part where our laundry was. It took forever going down tiny narrow streets and turning and backtracking until we finally got there right before 8.

We got the laundry and Don turned Helen off and said he knew how to get back to work and that was how we were getting home (even though we knew we were only about 10 minutes from our shelter--we just did not want to trust Helen to get us there. So it took us another 45 minutes to get home. Boy were we tired and disgruntled. I am still not speaking to Helen.

Our Senior Tail-gate Party

Today was a very busy, but fun day. I, along with another guy was sent to deliver 50 meals and serve them at a senior center. We got lost getting there but did go right through the middle of downtown New Orleans in the process which was a fun side trip. When we got to the senior center it was locked up. It was kind of in a housing authority kind of area and the residents were very excited to see us drive up. They wanted food badly. Since we thought we would be serving in a senior center kitchen we had brought no serving utensils. Several women heard that and quickly wheeled themselves back to their apartments and reappeared with a whole bag of utensils. But then we had no table to serve from. And we had delivered these meals in an SUV that belonged to our boss. So we backed up the car into the shade of the breezeway, opened the tailgate and set up our serving area there. It was amazing how these folks got the word out to all their neighbors that there was food and we soon had a long line forming. We were serving barbecue sandwiches (more like a sloppy joe), green beans and an apple. We served every last drop of food we have--made 68 servings out of what was supposed to be 50. They were just delighted with us. We cut up with them and had such fun. And it was much cooler serving in the shade outside than from inside a hot ERV. It made my day.

We are staying in the nicest staff shelter we have ever been in. The shelter staff (Red Cross volunteers also) fixed us eggs and pancakes for breakfast--made to order. And tonight the pastor of the church we are staying in fixed us authentic Louisiana jambalaya and boy was it good. And the members of the church have offered to take our laundry and wash it for us. How blessed can we be? And tonight I just walked into the bathroom and right into the shower with no wait at all. Life is good.

Still no word on if we will have to evacuate our kitchen. Have not got to listen to the weather channel tonight as the guys are all watching football on our shelter TV. I hope it does not hit New Orleans as these people will not evacuate again I don't think.

Well, it is lights out so I must go.

New Orleans Bullets

• We are in New Orleans with Red Cross at a big mobile kitchen. Today we served 14,000 meals to people in several parishes who have been affected by Hurricane Gustav. Power is still out in much of the city. We are located in the west bank. These people are so gracious and appreciative of our help. I know they must be tired of no power in this intense humid heat--and because the pumping stations need electricity they can't use their toilets either.
• It is very hot and very humid. We feel like we never dry out. Have lots of work to do and not enough staff but the ones we do have are the greatest. Everyone works and works and cheerfully does whatever asked of them. A great group of people working in less than ideal conditions. We are staying on the gym floor of a Baptist church--but there is power and AC here so it is wonderful. Only two showers for about 60 folks but somehow the hot water never runs out (probably because we are so hot we don't want much of it anyway) and the line is never too long. It is kinda fun in a shelter as you get to visit more with everyone.
• Our friend, Leslie, from Washington state is here--we worked with her in Katrina and last year in San Diego and love getting to laugh and work with her again. It is always fun to see familiar faces from previous disasters.
• We are all wondering what Ike will do and if we are going to have to suddenly dismantle our kitchen operation and evacuate. Time will tell. That will be a big job.
• There is an alligator that lives in the small pond/swamp near our kitchen. The park people feed her and I am hoping to get a picture of her--with my telephoto lens......
• Don is supervising the yard--all the trucks that have our food and supplies--driving the forklift and all--he is happy--except for the intense humidity. We are having great difficulty getting our supplies here--in fact we have been out of bottled water for three days now so we can't even offer water to folks out on our ERV food routes. Even FEMA has no water to pass out--don't know what is up with that--usually we have tons of it. That is not a good situation.
• Somehow I got assigned to be the assistant to the kitchen site manager so I do a little bit of everything. Mostly putting out fires--trying to fix stuff that goes wrong and just helping things to run smoothly. I guess I am learning new things. We have a great manager. And our kitchen manager--she is awesome. She ran mobile kitchens when she was in the Army and she sure is amazing. Tell her the meal count has gone from 500 to 14,000 and she just says ok and does it--and that with the limited food supplies we have since our food trucks have also been delayed. I just love watching her work. She has such a pleasant but commanding way about her. She sure gets the job done.
• On my birthday everyone sang to me at our morning meeting which was nice. And I got to go out on an ERV and served 300 meals so that made me happy. We have chefs from the culinary institute cooking the meals and that night we had really good chicken and rice and green beans so I had a wonderful birthday meal on the ERV. And had a package of Lorna Doone cookies for my birthday cake.
• So many little things happen I wish I could remember to blog about but I am tired and it is almost time for lights out so I will sign off. Just wanted to let you know what is up with us.

Another Sad Farewell

Today we made the tough decision to say goodbye to Alice, our beloved dog and family member for the past 15 years. It had just become too sad to see her so "lost" in her own home--stumbling around, crying, and bumping into things without a clue where she was. Each day she seemed to become more disoriented. We feared she was going to hurt herself or wander off outside and get truly lost. We both just felt the time had come so we took her to the vet today and stayed with her while she went to sleep and then brought her home and buried her beside Crackers out in the orchard. She will be greatly missed.

Alice wandered up to our yard as a stray back when Beki was only seven years old. Beki and the other kids immediately fell in love with her and asked to keep her. Being saps for stray animals we said yes and Beki immediately named her Alice because she had watched "Alice in Wonderland" that day. Alice immediately took to Beki and became her shadow and decided Beki's bed was to be her bed also and that is the way it was until Beki left for college.

But Alice loved all our kids and wherever they went, so did she. I honestly think she could count them--she was frantic wanting them to all be together where she could keep an eye on them. It nearly drove her crazy if part of them were playing outside and the others playing inside. She had to constantly go back and forth checking on them and if one was missing she would try to hunt them down. She was a "kid's dog" and merely tolerated us adults as only good to see that she was fed.

As the kids grew up and left home for college she became closer to us and enjoyed going with us to the ranch and just growing old along with Don and I. But when one of her kids came back home for a visit she would cry and leap for joy and be all over them. She never forgot a one of them and would express sheer delight to have them back home again. She loved us all as we loved her.

I am just grateful to God for bringing Alice to our family that day, and especially to a little girl who had lost so much and desperately needed something to belong to her. Someone who would love her unconditionally and stay beside her. Thank you, God, and I pray Rick and Crackers are greeting Alice in heaven right now.

Hayden

I got to have Hayden for a few hours today while Amber was at school. He is such a doll--has the most expressive faces. He sure loves his daddy and smiles so easily for him. I had a really hard time coaxing the smiles out of him. And ever so often he gets his sad face, and the bottom lip sticks out and begins to quiver---it is just so sad...and so cute. But when I tried singing to him that bottom lip dropped out and I thought the crying would begin. So much for Gema's singin'.....

He's a chunk, too. I thought Grant was heavy but I must say Hayden is a close match. We sure had a nice time with him today. It was so cute to watch his elation when Jerry got here to get him--he lit up the moment he heard his voice and kinda started crying and wanting his daddy to hold him. I remember my own babies doing that when I would come to get them. I guess it is a cry of happiness and relief that their parent is back mixed in with a complaint of "how dare you go off and leave me". Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with him.

Grand-Parent Thoughts

Don expressed something yesterday that made me think. His birthday was on Wednesday and he expressed his disappoinment that none of the grandkids called him to say Happy Birthday. This comment made me think that in our family that was something I never emphasized----and how wrong and sad of me not to do so. I guess you do things mostly how you were raised and I honestly never remember calling or even talking to either of my grandparents on their birthdays. I mean, awful as it sounds, that thought never occurred to me. My mother was very diligent in training me to write thank you notes but I do not ever remember being encouraged to remember grandparents on their birthdays. How sad that is to me now and that I have gone this long without even considering it.
Consequently, I never encouraged or trained my children to honor their grandparents on their birthdays. I guess we might of absent mindedly done it with Nona and Grand-dude if we had them over for supper on their birthdays---but I never made a big deal of it and that was wrong.
So right now, for the record, I would like to encourage all of you who read this to remember that birthdays ARE important and especially so the older we get. Everyone likes to be remembered and know they are thought of. Not a fancy gift do they want, just contact with loved ones--a phone call and a nice newsy note or a pretty card. I know that for me, now that my kids are grown and living away from home, I miss them all something awful, and I love those notes and cards waiting for me in my mailbox---they are tangible items I can hold in my hand, savor, and read over and over, and use as bookmarks, and keep them all safe to read again when I need a touch from that child. So, do this for me, train your kids to call their grandparents on their birthdays AND send notes or drawings or a card. Make up for the training I neglected to give you. Believe me, you will appreciate this when comes the day you are the grandparent or mother whose chicks have flown from the nest.
And please do not take this as a scolding as that is not what it is. Just a realization on my part that I neglected to train you in something so important in families. It is never too late to make up for your mistakes so I am trying to do that now.

Making Progress

The wonderful reward at the end of a long, hot day.

Yea! First section of fence is completed.

Don hard at work stringing that first bottom wire on next section--3 " from ground.

I'm really stylin' here!

Well, I must admit that whether I like it or not I am getting better at this fencing work. I have finally mastered the clips that go on the T-posts and can do 2-3 per minute. We finished our first section of fence--the longest one so we are half done with the job. Yea!! We have three wires strung on the next section--bottom wires--they are a pain to put clips on because you have to kneel down by each one, get up, move down 8 feet, kneel down for the next one and so on. Plus it takes me lots longer because I just can't get the leverage to twist the wires that close to the ground. But at least we know more of what we are doing than on the last one. The last wire we strung on the first section broke in 4 different places and had to be spliced. I guess we pulled it too tight. It was sooooooo frustrating for Don--I felt so bad for him.

So we have seven more strands of barbed wire to put on this section then on to the last. This section runs up and down a gulley so the wire is much tighter and harder to work with. I am taking the morning off--too much sun from the days before. Must say it is cloudy and very humid though. Sounds like we have a chance for more rain in the next few days. We sure can use it.

We are going home for the weekend as we have a Hope for Haiti meeting tonight. Don is vice-president of the board on Hope for Haiti. Also, Beki will be down and it will so good to see her. There is a storm brewing out in the Atlantic that I have a bad feeling about--like it might turn into a hurricane---maybe it is just wishful thinking for a break from fence building.......Who knows? I will be happy to go out on Red Cross or happy to return to the ranch and continue building fence. As for Don, once he starts a project he wants to keep with it til its done so he is hoping to get back to ranch quick. Think we will bring the goats at home back to the ranch as there is absolutely nothing to graze on at home and their hay does not seem to satisfy them.

We were so amazed on Wednesday, Don's birthday, when we went into town how green everything was so quickly after our 1" of rain. What a contrast from before!

I am including some photos here of our fence and us working. You will love my "glamour shot" of me in my fence working clothes!

One Word Answers

1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your significant other? watching golf on TV
3. Your hair? dusty
4. Your Skin? sweaty
5. Your mother? in heaven
6. Your Favorite Thing? the ranch
7. Your dream last night? can't remember
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream/goal? a pretty garden
10. The room you’re in? ranch cabin
11. Your ex? thoughtful
12. Your fear? loss
13. where do you want to be in six years? healthy
14. Where were you last night? building fence on ranch
. What you’re not? artistic
16. Muffins? blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? to learn photography skills
18. Where you grew up? San Antonio/Corpus Christi
. The last thing you did? shower
20. What are you wearing? nightgown
21. Your TV? on golf channel
. Your pet(s)? 3 dogs and 1 cat all sleeping on floor, couch, or bed
23. Your computer? love my laptop
24. Your life? never a dull moment
25. Your mood? good
26. Missing someone? Jenny
27. Your car? very dusty
29. Favorite Store? bookstore
30. Your summer? HOT
31. Like someone? yes
32. Your favorite color? yellow
!33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
34. Last time you cried? this morning building fence
35. Who will/would re-post this? family
36. Whose Answers are you anxious to see? anyone

Photos from around ranch and Fredericksburg

I always see this sweet old donkey by the road on the way to town.

This is the helicopter that was helping put out the big grass fire near us yesterday.

These are just some pretty flowers at Wildseed Farms. I love the yellow ones below.

Big ole jackrabbit I saw early in the morning.

Wild turkeys just down the road from us.

What a pretty fawn. There are so many deer out--they are so hungry---not much to eat around here.

Ranch Bullets

It’s HOT! I mean, hotter than I ever remember it being. And we are out in it building fences. Thank God for a good breeze--we usually are blessed with that for which I am so very grateful. But the heat is just so intense it sucks the energy and your brain right out of you. I try to convince myself I am getting a good workout--I walk up and down the fence line so much, and it is a LONG fence line. And I am getting a good tan. And maybe we are losing weight as it is just too hot to want to eat very much.

Even the two dogs who love to be with us have the smarts to stay in the shade of the pens instead of in the sun with us--or they come back to the coolness of the cabin yard.
I really should not be complaining because Don does 4 times the work of me. He is like a big engine that never quits--he just keeps on working. On his knees tying fence, up and down in and out of Bob, manhandling the fence puller. It is hard work and he is the hardest worker I know. I feel bad when I give out so much earlier than he does.

I feel sorry for Don having me as his helper. I try so hard, I really do, but sometimes I just don’t get it. I mean what seems so easy to him just goes right over my head. He gets so frustrated with me when I don’t understand but sometimes it is like he is speaking a different language. I just wish I knew more “man language” and could be a better , easier to communicate with helper.

UH-OH!!! There is a big grassfire not very far from us. I am sitting out on the porch of the cabin and noticed that there was more air traffic than I have ever seen out here. Then a huge yellow helicopter keeps flying back and forth--it has a hose so it is going someplace and sucking up the water and carrying it back to the fire. Forest service planes are circling the area. I called my neighbor who said that she had talked with fire department and the fire is on Pecan Creek and Walking Plow road. Some of you who have been here will know where that is and that it is not all that far from us. We can see the smoke from here. Very scary. I think I will stop writing and spend some time making a list of what I would grab quickly if we had to evacuate. It is so very hot and dry I am not surprised for there to be fires.


It is later now--the fire is out. Have not heard what the damage was.


We worked from 6 to 8:30 tonight on the fence. I confess I had a rotten attitude. I do not like fencing. We are putting 10 strands of barbed wire on this fence. There are something like 264 T-Posts that have to have the wire attached to them with these little clips that ARE NOT EASY TO PUT ON. Don shows me how and it looks so simple when he does it……I struggle and struggle--he does 10 or more for my one. I keep telling him he needs to hire someone to help him--someone who is a REAL help but he insists I will get better at it. I’m not sure I want to get better at it. See, my attitude stinks!!!


I am tired. Want to write more but am just too weary. I should not be complaining so much. I got the morning off and got to go to tons of garage sales. It was fun--not huge treasures to report except a new quilt for our bed at home. I did enjoy myself though. Best part was drive into town at 7--lots of wildlife out to photograph. Will include some of my pics when I have the time.


Oh, I had a good report from dermatologist. I had been worrying about a few suspicious moles I had so went to get them checked out and all was normal--nothing cancerous to worry about. Thank you, God.


Don’s cat , Pete, got bit by a spider and has to be kept in his cage again with that nasty ole collar thing around his neck to keep him from pulling his stitches out. He had such an ugly abscess on his leg from the bite and had to have some surgery on it. He is not a happy camper but healthwise is doing fine. One more chore for Alisa to take care of at home. God bless Alisa. What would we ever do without her??? She is such a huge blessing to us.


I stopped at the Wildseed Farms to take pictures of their flowers. So many pretty ones. I love that place!
Strawberry Farm in MF also has a pretty field of zinnias.
Ok, I really gotta get to bed. Night-night.

Night-time Thoughts

It's HOT! The early mornings are a bit cool but it gets hot so fast. There is not much to do about it but do our work and sweat. We tend to eat light and take an afternoon siesta. Cold watermelon is a wonderful treat for a mid-afternoon snack. So refreshing. then back to work until dark.

But I want to share our delightful secret for cooling off to get a good night's sleep. First, I take a good shower in our wonderful outdoor shower. Then I walk across the yard and climb into our old galvanized stock tank full of really cold well water. It is so cold it takes my breath away and I let out a scream when I get brave enough to sit down in it. But I force myself to stay under the water and oh, it is so wonderful, and cools my body down to the core. It is just so serene and peaceful out there in the dark with the stars twinkling above and the night sounds all around me. Just such a special, almost magical time. I stay in about 5-10 minutes and just enjoy the coolness, then get out and dress for bed. It is amazing how cool you stay all night long after doing that. Makes for such a good night's sleep.

This ranch is just such a blessing to me. I just love the closeness to the outdoors--even if it is hot. There is almost always a good breeze blowing, and we are so blessed to have so much shade on the cabin and yard from our big Pecan trees. And the creek is just so pretty--I never tire of just sitting beside it and gazing at it and all the little critters who live there. I love all the little birds who come to my feeders and watching the hummers squabble with each other, and just watching the sheep and goats graze. I love hanging our wash on the clothesline and seeing it blow in the wind and sun--and that fresh, clean smell the clothes have. I love early morning walks all around the ranch--seeing the deer run before us. I love this cabin filled with items from my childhood home--it is just filled with memories. It is just neat to sit at the dinner table I grew up eating on as far back as I remember. And cooking with the same pots and pans and utensils that my mother used. I just love it. I love hearing the sounds of Don working not too far away and fixing a good supper for him to look forward to. God just blessed me immensely when He gave us this ranch. I am so blessed.

Girl's Weekend at the ranch

This past weekend was so much fun! Alisa and Tammie arrived at the ranch on Friday afternoon for a girl’s weekend. I had the upper cabin all ready for us to stay up there so we would not “bug” Don and so he could watch his ball games and we could watch our “chick flics”.

We headed into town about 4:30 to go to the rummage sale at St. Mary’s church. It is an annual event that we love to go to----lots of good stuff and really cheap prices. Last year Alisa and I got some great quilts for $3 each. There were not near as many treasure this year but we had fun looking and found a few things. Then we headed for Mamacita’s for the best Mexican food around. Boy, was it good. We were thoughtful and brought Don a nice fajita plate home so he wouldn’t feel too left out. He was thrilled with the food but rather glad to be left alone to eat it and watch his Ranger’s game. So we headed up to our cabin, got settled in and watched “Nanny Diaries” and then off to bed early as we were getting up at 6:30 because there were 20 garage sales to hit the next morning and the first one opened at 7.

We got up , ate a quick breakfast, made some sandwiches for lunch to take with us, packed some cold drinks and off we went. We were all over the city of Fredericksburg and down pretty country roads we had never seen before. Lots of fun, a few good treasures, just a great day. Also, spend some time at Dooley’s old time 5 and dime store and walking around main street. Ran a couple of errands for Don and headed back to the ranch. It had just been a fun day. We ate the Monterrey Spaghetti I had made for our supper and talked and talked--you know, solved all the world’s problems, then watched “27 dresses” and fell asleep.

Sunday morning, all to early, my friends had to go back home. But it was such a nice weekend. It had been so long since we had done that. We all needed it!

Just Stuff

WARNING: a really long blog (but it has been a really long time since I wrote.......)

I miss blogging something awful. Have tried several times but give up as the words just won’t come but tonight I’m determined so here goes.

I am sitting out on the porch of the ranch cabin--only place it is cool enough to tolerate. Nice breeze, lots of little birdies above me enjoying their feeders totally unafraid of my presence; sunflower seeds scattered all over the porch from the squirrel who raids the feeders; sheep and goats grazing along the creek….I put a collar with a bell on Bucky, the lead goat. Just something about the tinkling of that bell I like….plus it makes us easier to locate the goats when we are looking for them. It is just a pleasant evening--nicest part of the day is when that hot sun finally sets. Let me tell you, it is HOT down here these days. Much cooler to be outside in the shade in mid-day than in the cabin even with tons of fans running.

Today I took on the tasks of washing all the bedding in the cabin….couldn’t remember when I did it last. Sure did not take long for it to dry on the line---even the quilts flapping in the wind with the hot sun on them were dry in a jiffy. While I was doing that chore I also was tending to defrosting the old frig in the store-room. Another task I cannot remember when I did it last. This is the frig I grew up with as a child--way over 50 years old and just keeps on going. BUT….we left here in a rush last fall when we were called out to the San Diego wildfires with Red Cross and I had left a watermelon and several other items that I could not distinguish in there. Needless to say, it was NOT a fun mess to clean up. And there was a ton of ice build-up so I was glad I did the job. It is all sparkly clean now and just humming a nice tune it is so happy.

We have been at the ranch for about 10 days now--a very eventful 10 days. We came suddenly after a phone call from a neighbor telling us our goats had gotten out of the fence, jumped the cattle guard, and were headed up the road. Thankfully, they were able to get them back in our fences before we got here. Mind you, Don had just left here the day before after fixing several holes in fences and thinking he had the problems solved. But unfortunately, the grass is indeed greener on the other side of the fence so the goats were very motivated to break out. Don found another hole and repaired it but the next day the goats were out again--but they were still on our land and not causing problems so we just let them stay out and sure enough they came back in at dusk and we fed them. It was hard to blame them for wanting the taller grass in the unfenced portion of our ranch. We put the cows out on that side, too. That left only the sheep in here. A neighbor told us of a trick you could do to your cattle guard that would keep the goats from crossing it. So on Sunday afternoon Don and I worked for hours in the hot sun repairing the sides of the cattle guard and putting this little “trick” up. What it is is bungies with a rope tied between them that stretch across the cattle guard about 4 inched above the road, where a car can just run over it, but for whatever reason, goats are afraid to cross over it. We were pretty pleased with ourselves. A little later we were sitting in the yard relaxing and the cows were bellowing at us, which we ignored, and a little bit later we heard a loud crashing and it was the cows breaking through the cattle guard on the side of it and there they went running up the road. So we hopped in the truck and went to round them up. They were rather wild and not at all inclined to go back home. We finally had to tear down the side of the cattle guard we had just repaired so we could herd them back in. Don was so mad I think he could have shot them. We got them back in our fences and called it a day.

We had already made the decision to sell some of the goats and now were seriously thinking of selling the cows. There just is not enough grass here to support them. It is so hot and dry. And cows are a pain--and more expensive to feed and care for, etc. etc. But we didn’t even have a trailer to haul them to auction in. My neighbor suggested calling the auction house and asking them for names of some livestock haulers--that they would come to your ranch, load them and take them to auction. Sounded wonderful to me so I got a name and called one who was real nice and agreed to be here Wednesday to get them.

This was great news but now we had to fortify our pens so we could contain the cows and have them penned when he came. Remember my blog from last summer when the vet came and we had quite a rodeo in the pens whenthe stupid cow jumped the fence twice and escaped…….Well, on Tuesday, we rounded up all the goats and selected the ones we wanted to sell and got them easily loaded in the goat trailer and took them to the auction. We stayed at the auction for most of the day just to see what things were going for. Sheep and goats are sold on Tuesday and cattle on Wednesday. Don and I both love the auction but just wish we understood it all better. How we would love to just be mentored by one of the buyers. They just don’t miss a thing. Livestock auctions are just a great piece of Americana that we love--it is like stepping back in time. There were LOTS of sheep and goats being sold that day. The prices were down as due to the dry conditions and high costs of feed ranchers are having to sell off lots of their stock. We got an ok price for ours but not as good as in times past. But it was a relief to have less animals to feed.

We now have just 10 goats and 21 sheep. The sheep are the easiest and bring the most money. We will wait until September to thin some of them out as we have heard the best time to sell is around the Jewish holidays.

Back to the cows---after we got home from the auction we took on the task of fortifying the pens to hold the cows and be able to get them down the shute and into the trailer. We put up cattle panels and tied ratchet straps around the posts to give them extra support. We were up at the crack of dawn and out trying to find the cows to get them in the pens and our hauler was supposed to be here at 8. We got them all in and fed them a little bit of cubes at a time to keep them happy. We have two cows and two bull calves. We were toying with the idea of keeping our longhorn calf and raising him for beef for ourselves as he sure was pretty and we were kinda sorry to see him go. The hauler arrived and did an excellent job--very smooth and trouble free--of loading the cows. No crazy shenanigans from our crazy cow. We discussed our thoughts of keeping the calf and he pretty much discouraged us from doing so. We really liked him and he had lots of experience so we loaded all four of them up and sold all of them. I have to say that it was such a big relief to us both to see them go. It is so nice to be able to leave the yard gates open and not to have to fight off cows every time we go to do something. The goats seem happier and are staying in the fences.

All is well---well, we sure could use a good long rain and a decrease in temperature. We got a half inch of rain from “Dolly” for which we were grateful but sure do need more. Red Cross asked for us to go out on Dolly but we just had to take care of our livestock problems here on the ranch so we said no. We’ll catch the next hurricane.

So we will be at the ranch for awhile as Don wants to get back to work on the fence he began last fall. We do love it out here in spite of the heat.

A New York garden

Good Mornin' from New York

Just some rambling thoughts on my mind this morning:

• Coffee is just the greatest thing to greet me in the mornings. It is just sooo good. I only have one cup but it sure is something I look forward to daily.
• I have been sick most of the time I have been here---just a nasty upper respiratory infection--just feel lousy--sore throat, that awful tickly feeling on the back of your throat that makes you cough constantly--can't sleep good and just don't feel myself. I think I am at the end of it though as each day gets better.
• This is our last day in New York. Has been a nice, long leisurely visit. We managed to help Barb get some projects done around her house: built an outdoor shed from a kit; Don cut down two huge dead trees; Don installed the icemaker in her new frig; and he built and installed new hand rails for her back door. So we feel we have somewhat earned our keep.
• Barb, Carol, Don and I went to the Yankee game on the 30th and watched the Rangers beat them. It was just fun being at Yankee stadium--had great seats--what a fun evening. I love baseball! And for us it was a win/win situation since we are Ranger fans as well as Yankee fans.
• Last night Barb and Don went again to the Yankee vs Red Sox game (Barb has season Sunday home game seats). This time instead of driving into the city they took the train and subway since the end-of-holiday-weekend-traffic was so awful. They are still asleep after getting home really late that I do not know who won or how it all went. Carol and I stayed home, rented "Little Miss Sunshine", and watched that. What a hilarious movie!
• We celebrated Barb's 60th birthday on Saturday with a big family party in the back yard at their house. Wally's son and family from Texas were here also so we enjoyed the visit with them--had not seen them since they came to our wedding. Then after all the guests had left Barb pulled out the patio fireplace from the shed and we sat outside around the fire just talking and laughing until late. How nice that the weather is cool enough to enjoy doing that. We even made s'mores.
• Weather has been in the 80's for highs--windows open in house--so nice--so DIFFERENT from our furnace blower intense heat back home. And it is so pretty and green and lush here. It isn't brown like home.
• Barb and Carol have two friends who have a beautiful old house on about 3 acres with grounds and gardens that are out of this world. They are in Georgia on vacation so I went with Barb to help water things and was just in awe. I mean this place should be on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens or Country Living of should be a place that hosts wedding receptions or something. It is just breathtakingly beautiful and decorated all country like with old antique farm implements, etc. I took about a jillion photos and will post them when I get home. I loved their home--inside and out--exactly my kind of decorating and tastes. Just so comfy cute and cozy. I absolutely loved it. I cannot begin to imagine how much time it must take to keep these gardens so gorgeous. I never saw one single weed. I just can't wait to post the pictures and share the beauty with you.
• I am actually looking forward to getting home tomorrow. I miss my dogs and cats and my baby chickens and my goats and my gardens and all. I hear we got a little rain, too.
• It feels weird to be in New York and not go spend a day in New York City like we always do but neither of us had the desire to do it this time. Though I did see that Taylor Hicks is playing in Grease on Broadway and I would have loved to see that. Another time. We like the city best in the fall.
• So that is all the news I have for now. Hopefully, we will be home tomorrow.

Just Stuff on my Mind

• We are in Stony Point, NY at Don's sister's home right now just relaxing. And how very good it is just to relax. It has been a very busy past two weeks and I was nearing the total exhaustion point.
• We had a wonderful week of keeping Mason and Grant. They were sooooooo good, could not have asked for better behaved boys BUT...they are 9 months and 5 years old with boundless energy and I confess, uh, I am just not as young as I once was....and that Grant--he is one big boy who is a load to carry around. Let's just say that my bedtimes were very early that week--between the extreme heat and playing with those boys I was glad to see the sun go down. But I loved every minute of it and miss them something awful.
• Also, had Tammy, Brian and Ariel for the week after that with our family reunion sandwiched in between. All the extra folks at our home along with still spending time outside in the heat keeping stuff watered wore me out. I loved being with family so much but I think we have gotten used to such a quiet, routine life with just the two of us that it is such a change. Our 100+ degree heat for weeks and weeks just saps my energy so quickly. It is sure nice being here in NY where it is in the 80's.
• Family Reunion: We had a wonderfully fun, simple family reunion held at Tammy's home in Leander. She had just the greatest swim pool--one of those above the ground blow-up kind. It was a grand hit with the kids. They lived in it. Jess put on a superb fish fry--ooh, that catfish and Tammie's hushpuppies, and Jennifer's potato salad.....WOW! that was some good eatin'. I just loved watching the kids play and listening to the different converstations going on in little groups all over the yard. I loved taking pictures of our family just being together and enjoying each other. I made my first "photo story" of pictures Jenny and I took put to music and I could just watch it over and over. As one of the song lyrics goes: "...I could not ask for more" just expresses my feelings and how thankful I am for family and the chance to gather together.
• my baby chicks: The snake saga continues. One more snake appeared and this time I was too late--he had already gobbled up 4 of my babies and another lay dead. We were in the process of murdering the snake when Jenny and boys arrived. Such a great welcome, huh? So Don got to work the next day and dug a trench all round the chicken house, installed hardware cloth a foot underground and up the wall of house a foot, then poured a concrete footer all around. There is no way a snake or any other varmit can now get in from the ground and we hope most of the other holes are now sealed and the chicken house is safe. All my chickies and baby ducks are growing fast and just so cute.
• Our trip to NY: We flew stand-by using our "parents of a pilot privileges with American Airlines". We left for the airport at 5:30am so we would have the day to try for seats and hopefully get to NY sometime that day. But we were blessed with actually getting on the first flight to Dallas and then directly on the flight to Newark. Only hitch came when due to bad weather in Newark our plane was held in Dallas for an extra hour. Our seats were in the very last row against the back of the plane--weird as we could not see anything but plane engines out the windows. It was really a tight fit for Don--no leg room at all, but we were thankful to have gotten seats and be on our way. This was our first time ever not to check our luggage. We each had one carry on suitcase and our backpacks and that was all. Those of you who know me well, must be shocked. I even left my beloved laptop at home. But it sure was nice not to have to go wait for your bags and all that. We caught the train at Newark airport and made it to Seacaucaus where we managed to miss the first two trains headed for Ridgewood, NJ, where we were being picked up by Don's sister, Claudia. But we finally made it there at 7pm--had a nice supper and visit and then Barb (his sister we are staying with in Stony Point) and Carol picked us up at 10 (they were at a party). It was soooooo good to get to our bed. I was so very tired. Slept until 9 this morning and am enjoying a quiet, restful, stay at home and watch the rain fall day here in New York. We made it clear we do not need or want entertaining--just to visit and enjoy family and be here. We love their house but I have never been here except in fall (remember those pretty autumn tree pictures I posted last November?) and winter. It is nice to see it all green and flowery and pretty in the summer. So that catches you up with me.