Monday, April 20, 2015

In My Happy Place......

Saturday morning Louis Dean and I decided to push the 'Pause' button.


We STOPPED to smell the roses and just BE instead of DO.


We have lots of roses to smell and they really are so very fragrant!
He LOVES roses!!!

Louis Dean actually slept until 11:00 Saturday morning!!! He had 12 HOURS of redeeming SLEEP!
We have been tired! Guess our age is beginning to show......we need more rest than we used to need!
Speaking of rest......



Just look who I took naps with Saturday afternoon!!!
Amber was in the neighborhood attending a bridal shower and decided to stop by afterwards with Trystan and Logan. We all snacked on cheese, crackers, fruit and veggies before taking naps together. Amber even napped in the den while the girls and I sacked out in the guest room. They were so excited to sleep in the BED as opposed to the den where I usually pile up quilts and blankets for the four of them on Wednesdays.
Trystan reminded us that MeeMaw needs to read! I asked her what book and she said, "Farmer Boy!!" Normally on Wednesdays I read TWO chapters before everyone is asleep. I only had to read ONE chapter before they were sawing logs. I snuggled right down beside them and we slept for over an hour and a half!


After naps we all hung out together for a little while and I loved every minute!
Amber and I were talking about all that time when the babies were so young and fragile and how scared we all were and how EXHAUSTED we all stayed!! Round the clock bottles and diapers and sleeping in snatches! We SURVIVED and are now enjoying these beautiful opportunities to simply enjoy the kids and these moments and each other.


Logan loves to POSE!!
Does she have a southern accent or what?
Trystan's is even more so!
How does that even happen??


Granddad is a pecan shelling addict!!
He spent HOURS shelling pecans!
Thank GOD he emptied that basket and thinks he has shelled them ALL!!
***Secret****
I have another very LARGE basket full - but I hid them!!
It's not SAFE!!

Last night I went to bed fully expecting to get up this morning and leave for Oklahoma.
The husband of my dear friend, Melba, passed away Thursday night after suffering a stroke.
The funeral is Monday afternoon and - since I usually run late - Louis Dean thought we needed to leave this morning so we would BE THERE and just stay in a motel tonight.

Well, I slept SO WELL I did not wake up until 10:00 this morning.
No problem. I walked into the den with coffee in hand and Louis Dean said, "Let's just wait until in the morning to leave." He kind of snookered me! By the time I knew we weren't going - it was too late to go to church. SO - we did an extra long Bible reading and decided to enjoy a FREE day with no agenda and no plans.
I loved it!!!


Louis Dean suggested Whataburger for lunch and I jumped on it!
As we ate, Louis Dean recalled all  those 2 AM Whataburger runs we used to do in the summers.
I looked at my phone and informed him it was 2:00 PM now!!!
"Dear Diary, Have we grown OLD???"
No! We will be back to the late night/early morning runs this summer!
Maybe at least ONE!
We ARE night owls!


This afternoon I decorated my water faucets!
They are all wrapped up for cold weather and Louis Dean didn't want to UN wrap all that stuff.
No problem. I just wrapped OVER it with burlap ribbon and hung a fun sign on the knob!


The PERFECT cover is mint, honeysuckle and lantana.....WITH another clever sign!


This one is my favorite and was THE ugliest!!! Not any more!!
Thanks to my friend, Lynne at Dreams on 34th Street for the great idea of 'dressing' the ugly faucets with some greenery!

You know, we ARE who we ARE and even as we REST - we accomplished a little something.


The wall is progressing nicely.
LD did NOT work on the wall today but he DID measure the board for the ceiling!
I am SO glad we didn't put it up because I need to stain and/or paint it first!
I do NOT need to crane my neck to work on it!


Today was a good day!
Feet propped up.


Listening to the mockingbird!
This one sits high in our neighbor's tree and sings his heart out every night!
He was still singing at 9:30 this evening!


As we sat there, I looked up and saw that the pecan trees are sporting their beards again!
I dread the mess but it IS a part of Spring in Texas!

While we didn't do a lot of work today, I DID clean up another section of the camper.


We are making progress!
The curtains and denim covers have been freshly laundered and the place is smelling all fresh and clean!


This marks the half way point of my work in cleaning!


Louis Dean said, "Cheers!!" as we did a little camper sitting tonight!


Once again, feet propped UP!


Lights were on outside in the back tonight.


While we meant to spend the evening in the gazebo, all we did was sit in it long enough to finish our wine. It was too windy to have a fire so Louis Dean made an early evening of it and took a hot bath and went on to bed.
Since HE is driving in the morning, I stayed up to do some things I wanted to do.
I do so love a little bit of alone time.
But that thought brings me back to my dear friend who will be burying her husband tomorrow.
I shall treasure every moment Louis Dean and I have together! 
Melba treasured every one she and JW had.
Theirs was a true love story.
They each loved one another more than they loved themselves.











17 comments:

Aloha Acres said...

I often read your blog to my hubby and I make him promise to ONE DAY, when life slows down a bit, he will wait on me with a glass of wine and we'll sit and enjoy it in the gazebo, too. :) He was pretty excited to see LD's pic and to know there's also a RV in our planned future. Ha!Ha!

Ginny Hartzler said...

Your poor friend, I feel so sorry for her. I know you will be so good for her! Your roses are beautiful, and your signs cute! The set up table in the camper is SO pretty!

Kathy said...

So sorry to hear of your friend's loss. We will be praying for her. Love your roses. Mine aren't blooming yet, but soon. I think a nap is the perfect thing to do on an afternoon. Wish I had time to do it everyday. But I take them whenever I can.

Hootin Anni said...

I too love roses!!!! And What-a-burger....and having a good quiet day that is all fun. Even napping in the den would be good.

But most of all, reading your blog posts gets a jump start to my day Linda. You're always so very positive...in attitude, love, family, and devotions.

Hootin Anni said...

ps....oh ya....I don't like 'uglies' either, but the water faucets aren't the one I usually cover up. MY pet peeve is wall outlets!!! How, pray tell, can I fancy those up?!!!

Nita said...

I'm so sorry for the heartache Melba must be going through. Safe travel.

Estelle's said...

I want to come sit in the gazebo and share a glass of wine with you too! Always fun and festive at Miss Linda's......have a great week love!

Susie said...

Linda, You two worker bees need to take a break every once in awhile. LOL I love at the end of the day you prop your feet up. You took care of those ugly faucets...but then again that is one ugly bunch of bearded men. You talking of the trash that falls off your pecan tree makes me think of our trees...I think everyone of them give off trash of some kind...but oh guess what...the redbud, weeping cherry and crabapple trees are flowering out. Now if the wind doesn't blow the blooms off before I can get a picture. Always something girl. Blessings for a safe trip to your friend's , and please accept my condolences. xoxo,Susie

Arlene G said...

I am glad yall took a day to yourselves...those are fun every now and then and very restorative. Safe travels on your way to be with your friend Melba.

MadSnapper said...

love that foot picture and am still giggling at dressing up the water faucet.. only you and of course the person who suggested it.. my first ever decorated faucet... glad you had a down day and smelled all those roses

Vee said...

I am sorry for your dear friend's loss. Such things give s pang...no one is growing younger.

Oh those faucets are great! Bet they make you smile every time you see them. I smiled to see the camper coming to order. Baby steps, baby steps...they get you where you want to go. We raked this morning until we ached and that's plenty long enough!

Sweet nap time with the girls! Love that they enjoy the reading time.

Sweet Tea said...

Such a sad day for your friend. We must all "seize the moments". Good reminder. Have a safe drive.

Carole said...

Hope your trip goes ok. On another topic - I have never even heard of anyone decorating outdoor taps (which is what we call faucets) let alone seen one! You are full of endless surprises! Cheers from Carole's Chatter

Wanda said...

Hi dear Linda. What an enjoyable post. So glad you had a couple of days to rest and just do what you wanted too. I too treasure every day I have with my dearest, when I hear so many of my friends and other's friends are losing there spouses to illness. Every day's a bonus.
Don and I did some thifting today and I found some new kitchen utensils and a special cake server that matches some other serving pieces I had.
Old fashioned meatloaf and scalloped potatoes tonight... Just been in the mood. Love and Hugs BTW Got my new summer bedding on...posted a couple days ago...so fun to crawl into new stuff.

Linda said...

We are in El Paso right now and have seen many Whataburger, haven't stopped at any though. Sorry about your friend passing away....we are getting to that age, I guess :-(

Carla said...

Only you would think of decorating the outside faucets. They look great. I have a hard enough time decorating and cleaning inside. LOL I am glad to read that y'all took time to smell the roses.
Sorry for friends lost.
Hugs

Penny said...

So sad when a friend loses a loved one. Your garden is looking really lovely Linda, and your camper can is a delight X