Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Chicken Fried Steak and Country Roads.....Tuesday and Wednesday...

Tuesday Treasures were on my mind yesterday! Louis Dean worked all morning and into the afternoon before I managed to haul him away to Waco where I hit up a Goodwill. I saw that he was getting WAY too tired and grabbed the opportunity to give him a much needed rest.

I found a few treasures.....t shirts and a beautiful Texas themed wind chime and a set of coasters that are really important when you drink tea in the country! We do not set our glass on them.....we COVER the glass with them! Keeps the critters out!


While we were out we decided to eat an early dinner at Cotton Patch Cafe!
A trip to Walmart can be a bit of an adventure. The meal out helped us recover.


On the way home, Louis Dean told me to stop the truck - I did the driving yesterday....including all the wrong turns and getting lost and ending up in Woodway - and he hopped out and with his pocket knife, cut a big bouquet of fresh sunflowers for me. Ahhhh.....my hero!!!
To me, sunflowers are the happiest of ALL flowers!!!
They always face the light and never see the shadows.
 I want to be like that!

Today we needed to go to Belton to get some parts for our AC.
We left around noon.


On our way up County Line Road, we turn here.
It is the prettiest little place.


They have the neatest farm with goats and chickens and lots of pretty flowers!


Wide open spaces in the country!


I was along for the drive!


My handsome driver! I did the driving yesterday and he did it today. We take turns - depending on who is most tired.


We pass so many abandoned homes and they seem to haunt me.
I wonder at the lives they have had and wish I could redeem them and cause new life to return.
I will return to take closer pictures of that tree on the right. It is fern like with small green nuggets.....I have no idea what it is but I have not seen any others like it anywhere around here.


Blue skies, white clouds and green fields. 
This is country.


Here I am snapping pictures!

We left shortly after noon today heading to Belton, Texas which is south of Temple.
We went by way of Hwy 84 so we could catch the Tomato Man - which we did.
Then I told Louis Dean I needed to go to the bathroom and he turned off at Loop 340.
Bathrooms were less than a mile away -IF you headed north and I35 was so very close!
INSTEAD, he headed SOUTH. We went a very long way before he finally found a bathroom.
After an hour and a half - we were 9 miles from Mart - where we started!
I must admit that neither one of us have enough sense of direction to find our way out of a brown paper bag with one end open!!! 
During our scenic drive, we saw Reisel, Otto and Marlin, Texas!
I was under stress and forgot to take any photos.
At long last - over three hours after we left for a one hour trip - we arrived at Sunbelt RV Center in Belton and picked up the two remaining parts we needed for our camper AC! Now it will ALL be new!
Praise God the trip back - along the Interstate - was less stressful than the trip there!


We were happy to be back in Waco where we had to stop to buy building supplies.
My purchase was this cool tool for building a charcoal fire.
Everyone seems to know about it but me and Sherry showed me how it works when we grilled out the other night! Now I have one of my own!


At long last - we were home!


See the beautiful tomatoes?
I am looking forward to seeing our very own tomatoes when we go home next week!


I came in and started cooking dinner - Sweet and sour chicken!


Louis Dean had not worked much today so he was making up for lost time.


Progress is being made every day!


Step by step. Little by little.
We are......


And that feels good!!!


14 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

The roof is all up and now the walls are going up! I am glad you are feeding Louis Dean big he-man meals! It is so hot and he works so hard. And I know he loves every minute of it! I feel the same way you do about old run down and deserted houses. Wondering who lived in them, and wishing they could get fixed up and have a new owner.

Linda said...

Nice report. Those sunflowers are gorgeous. I've never had good luck getting up close with them. They seen to have critters crawling on them, best not get close I say, but they are beautiful. This is probably the longest you've been away from your city home in a very long time. It's amazing to see what you've accomplished.

Judy said...

Moving right along! It seems to me you two always have a way of getting things done!

Susie said...

Linda, I love the blue skies and white clouds. That was good for you to get LD away from work, for a break. I love the tomatoes sitting next to the sunflowers, what a pretty picture.Blessing to you both, love, xoxo, Susie

Vee said...

That's what was called a working break. ☺ Your meal looks fine, your driver is fine, your addition looks great. Say, is that tree you question a cedar tree? We have many of them here.

Gypsy Heart said...

I must join you in not having any sense of direction! The other day I had to go to the Euless Police Dept for a security system permit. With so much construction, blocked roads, etc., a simple little trip turned into me being on the edge of Dallas, then Coppell and finally back to where I needed to be! My daughter wanders all the back roads to avoid traffic on Hwy 114/121. It amazes me when I'm with her 'cause I'm just as lost as a goose! :)

I also share your curiosity about abandoned homes. It always makes me sad and I wonder why? Did the occupants pass away and no one cared about the house...was someone in ill health and couldn't return...who knows? I am concerned about the heat and you two being out in it, especially LD. Just keep the water flowing! The tomatoes are beautiful and I'm sure delish. You two take care!

xo
Pat

Changes in the wind said...

Like you I am mesmerized by old abandoned houses. Always wonder what they would say if they could talk. Love the sunflowers and your man for thinking to get them for you. You will enjoy your added on room when it is done and glad that you can have it.

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Despite the getting lost, you both needed a day out together! 😊

Maybe you need a gps?

Arlene G said...

I love your picture of the tomatoes and the sunflowers...looks like a painting to me!! It just says Summer.

MadSnapper said...

LD is getting things done for sure... I feel the same way about sunflowers, they say JOY just looking at them. I love daisies for the same reason.. old buildings are a sad sight for me to and your photo of the house is just beautiful. that tree is nothing that I have seen either.. I can feel the old sad feeling staring at the blank windows of the sad old house

Carole said...

Hi LInda, love your tomatoes. In my family we do a side dish of tomatoes at Christmas time - it's summer here at Christmas - and it's really nice and simple - just sliced tomatoes with tiny slivers of raw onion on top - so thin they meld with the tomato and then sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with a little olive oil - let it sit for at least half an hour before eating. Cheers

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

Yes you have a handsome driver! It is fun to make trips like yall did and see the country, well after you find home. I take pics the same way often lol.

Blondie's Journal said...

After that ride we would have come home and eaten Oreo cookies!

Love the pics of the Texas countryside. I hope to see it one day.

Jane x

Unknown said...

I find it funny you hauled your hubby off to Goodwill and I just came from there. Those abandoned homes look like great investment opportunities. What is that contraption you got there for building charcoal fires? Those tomatoes were huge and looked juicy. I see you're slowly coming along remember a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Arthur Bryant @ Contractor Express