Our short visit to the ranch is done and it was time to go home.
We have a routine for our arrivals and departures.
Within one hour of saying 'It's time to go,' I can have the camper cleaned and packed up and ready to leave. I set the things out and Louis Dean loads them into the truck and we are pretty much a done deal. Practice makes perfect and we are getting this down pat!
I made one last visit to the goats with watermelon rinds I had cut up this morning.
All three goats received a share as well as the peacocks......but only Thumper got his picture taken!
We said our goodbyes to Dean and Sherry and Grandson Robert.
I can't tell you what a blessing Dean and Sherry are to us.
Can you imagine having a place like this to keep our camper and put down roots?
Their hospitality is amazing.
We pay for the utilities we use - at least we hope we do.
They are so gracious it's hard to get them to let us pay our own way.
Dean has been amazing in doing ALL the plumbing for our bathroom as Louis Dean became so overwhelmed with it all that his son stepped in and rescued his dad!
Having this 'Country Home' is a dream come true for me and I love to see father and son enjoy being together. And I enjoy both of them!
Our drive away from the ranch is always a bit melancholy......
This is the cotton field we picked earlier this fall.
Louis Dean says they have sowed it with winter rye grass.
My goal has long been to be here on the ranch every single month of the year.
I made it in 2017 except for the month of August.
We will be back here in just two weeks so I can claim 11 out of 12 months!
We left earlier than we even planned and arrived home shortly after 3:00 - or closing bell - according to Louis Dean!
He was surprised to find a gift fruit basket from his daughter, Annell and family, for his 81st birthday!
He also opened this one of a kind birthday card from our friend, Sharon, in Florida!
We frame and display all her beautiful handcrafted cards and this one is going in his music room!
Thank you, Sharon!!! You are such an artist!
As in our departure from the camper - so is our arrival at home.
Louis Dean unloads and I put up!
Laundry started and I went out to open up the gazebo and check the garden.
The pepper plants were loaded!!!
Marigolds were happily blooming along!
I am going to plant a lot more of these next year!
I pulled up the 'dead' lights around the back pond.
Pretty soon we will be stringing up new ones.
I bet you didn't spy this sweet teeny tiny rose from the pond pic.
I found this small rose bush in the trash a few years ago when I was walking in the neighborhood and brought it home and planted it.
It has continued to bloom its teeny tiny rose buds ever since!!!
My herb garden continues to thrive....
Sweet yellow mums......
After we were unloaded and unpacked.....
we took a glass of wine to the gazebo.
Happy Birthday to my Louis Dean!!!!
My card to him......
Ahhhh.....
I cannot tell you how much I love this man!
My years with him have been the happiest of my life.
When we married - he told me he would always put me FIRST!
I promised him the very same thing!
I think that must be the key to a successful marriage.....put one another first....above all others.
This was a whole new thing for me.....a husband who believed in me and 'had my back.'
I will never forget this one moment that lives on in my mind...
We were walking across Sam's parking lot in Irving and I was fretting about something.
Truth be told - I thought Louis Dean was too good to be true! I was waiting 'for the other shoe to drop.' He was holding my hand and pulled me to a stop - looked me in the eye and said - 'Remember, Linda! I am ALWAYS on YOUR side!!'
Be still, my heart!!!
Writing here tonight.....from my heart.....
Happy Birthday, Louis Dean!!!
Happy Birthday Louis Dean...you have many fans here in Blogland.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Louis Dean! I’m so happy for both of you in your sweet marriage! God is good!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Louis Dean! You are the perfect husband for Linda, as she is your wife! Some people never find love once---you two are blessed to have love that "has your back".
ReplyDeleteDid "our stubborn goat" give Louis any trouble this time!? ;)
I know you will be ramping up for the holidays big time now!
Oh, our David (grandson diagnosed with Crohn's last year) is finally on Humira---and in three short months, he's like a new kid. Not in remission yet, but I pray he will soon be! We're staying with them from next Weds.'til the Monday after! I just pray this old body can handle the stairs, and help out in the kitchen. And spend time with our little, precious family.
Did I tell you we are expecting our first great-grandchild next spring? So much to be thankful for.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, and we'll catch up on FB and here, too! You're welcome at my Wandering Thoughts blog if you ever find yourself with free time anytime, my Texan friend friend! (As if your life has free time!) ;)
Happy Birthday, Louis Dean!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your guy.
ReplyDeleteI love the story of him reminding you that he's always there for you. So sweet. You both are such beautiful people. I'm so glad you found one another.
Tell Louis Dean happy birthday from me, and that he does not look NEAR as old as he is!! He looks about 60 to me! The card is adorable! Your garden is still doing so well! Here, we have had nights in the twenties.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Louis Dean! You sure do not look your age. I hope you had a wonderful birthday. So glad the two of you got home safely. I can't believe how much you got out of your garden. It's way too cold here.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday , Louis Dean !
ReplyDeleteGoats likes Watermelon rinds? We use the rinds to cook curry .
First....love the name Thumper!!!
ReplyDeleteNow, your routine for leaving, I think I should get some pointers from you both about organization.
Love all the Autumn decor where L D is sitting, at the end of the day.
Linda, I am so glad you had a fun time at the ranch. I can feel how much you love by your writings. Hope LD enjoyed his birthday. I stole your picture of him and asked others to wish a happy birthday. He is an outstanding man...yes, you convey that to all of us too. You are both blessed to have found one another. Wishing you more blessings, xoxo,love , Susie
ReplyDeleteI too am sending birthday wishes for Louis Dean. How wonderful to have that man at your side always !
ReplyDeleteAm hoping for many more years for the two of you...
ReplyDeletewe are the opposite, we bicker and aruge and fight all day long. we love each other but are so much alike we butt heads every day of our lives... you are truly blessed, both of you and I love that card from FL.. happy belated birthday and I love thumper tooooo... I think a story title would be Inlaws in the Cow Pasture
ReplyDeleteYou have people on your side all round the world, Linda! LD is the cutest - hope he has a lovely year. Cheers
ReplyDeleteOh darling man...I am so glad that you two found each other. You needed each other and God worked it out. Yours is a beautiful love story. Happiest of Birthdays to Louis Dean! May this year be the best one yet!
ReplyDeleteA very happy birthday to your Louis Dean! God bless him richly this year.
ReplyDelete