Thursday, July 9, 2020

Quick Trip Home and Back to the Ranch!

We only spent two full days at home but they were busy days!


Tuesday I made spiced pumpkin muffins to take to friends.
First to Kimmy whose birthday is the 4th of July.
I also dropped some mini muffins off to Ilene - our sweet neighbor who keeps an eye on our front flower beds while we are gone. Then to Virginia, another dear friend, who loaned me a book that I recently discovered having left it at the ranch.


Pam came by to play with the kitties for a few minutes.
They were so tiny when she first met them.
They are still pretty little.
The collars I bought were the smallest they had but they were still too big.
Pam came back by and left new smaller ones for them!
She had gone to Pets Mart when she left and bought the very last two they had!
Pam got some pumpkin muffins, too!


Wednesday I stayed home all day and we ate easy meals.
Lunch was a taco salad with tomatoes and peppers from our garden.


My goal was to finish Piercyn's denim quilt before we went back to the ranch.
I am a crafter not a real quilter. I can make the tops but putting them together is a trick for me.
I managed to mess this one up good by cutting the backing too small. 
I woke up at 3:30 Wednesday morning fretting about that quilt so I went ahead and got up and started sewing. Three hours later I knew I had redeemed it enough to go back to bed.


I managed it get it done before I went to bed that night.
All I have left is to stitch the top to the backing here and there.
I also made Piercyn a little pillow to go with it and I will need to stitch the seam closed! 
Then I am DONE!
I figured the time I spent on it - cutting the denim out, making the top and sewing it all together will total 13 hours! I need to sew faster!


Before we left to come back to the ranch, we gathered all the ripe or soon to be ripe tomatoes from our garden. I think the next round of ripe ones will finish off the vines. 
We did not get many cucumbers after all - even with all that Louis Dean planted.
He printed off information about a fall garden and intends to get that started on this trip.


We drove to Waxahachie to fill up with diesel at the QT which is at Exit 405....except that exit is closed due to construction on I35. I do believe there has always been and always will be construction on I35!
Anyway, this time we remembered to get off sooner and then from there we came in on the back roads avoiding the Interstate altogether.


The lay of the land is different.


There had been rain and everything was so green!


It was 5:00 when I unloacked the gate.


Back to my Happy Place!


Arriving is always a lot more fun than leaving.


That way!!

It didn't take long to settle in. Our sweet kittens take this going back and forth between city and country like champs. They headquarter in the guest room at home and I give them free run of the house most of the day. Then in the evenings, I shut the door and leave them in there until I go in right before we go to bed to out them in the kennel that holds their two beds. Last night they had already put themselves to bed! Sweetest little kittens I have ever seen! At the ranch, they headquarter in the front room but at night we put them in their carrier and they sleep inside the camper.



The Golden Hour is also time to do Critter Chores.
Dean and Sherry are away this weekend and it is our pleasure to take care of the ducks, geese, cats, kittens, Great Pyrenees, peacocks, horses, chickens, roosters and baby chicks.


The ducks are my personal favorites.


The geese remind me of the Three Stooges!


We checked eveyone for water - it's so hot that we need to water them morning and evening.


I thought Louis Dean looked mighty handsome as he stood talking to Amon.
Dean and Sherry asked him to take care of the goats.
At nearly 84, they didn't want Louis Dean to do this anymore.

So we are done for the day and it's time to sit out on the deck with a glass of wine and just BE!

And it's really good to BE here!!












16 comments:

Kathy said...

You always have such a good time no matter where you are. Now I want pumpkin muffins.

Ginny Hartzler said...

You look so pretty in your blue top. Your quilt looks like LOVE, cozy and pretty!

BeachGypsy said...

Linda I just love those pictures of you at the gate!!---so fun, so cute! You sure looked pretty that day for sure. Love seeing all the country pictures....so much OPEN SPACE and such big pretty sky!! Love seeing it all. The animals too, love all those fun pictures. I'm so glad y'all are back now. Those little kitties will sure be travellers for life, you started them off young and they will always be just fine now. I also love having travelling pets, we take us when we go. MERCY, our dogs LOVE TO GO. Our Kitty Beckie is fine with it as well. Love those sweet little baby kitty collars in the picture!!! Wow, y'all go alot of "maters" we don't have any yet!!!!!! we are way behind y'all. Glad you liked my post and yep, I sure do love people watching, it's fun isn't it? Gosh, yes, I DO REMEMBER that "tater salad" story....ha ha LOL!! Well, I always make a big big batch, then we have lefovers for a day or two. I can consume ALOT OF TATER SALAD. HA HA

BeachGypsy said...

PS... i plum forgot to tell you that quilt is BEAUTIFUL. I love it. And i was glad to hear you've read the "sweet tater queens"---funny funny books! LOL and you were talking about the pork chop story.......and now you've got me craving FRIED PORK CHOPS.............ha ha. I will have to fry some up this next week.......

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Bluebird49 said...

Nice to have tomatoes. Haven't had a fresh one yet.😥
I know you loved being able to get back to the ranch so quickly. Hard to believe it's been 6 months since your surgery.
So glad Louis doesn't have to deal with those stubborn goats. 😘
Sure hope you all have a great weekend!

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

The quilts you make are made with love and care and that makes them beyond price!

I’m glad you are back in the country. So sweet that the kitties transition well from city home to country home.

Enjoy your time!

Susie said...

Linda, Staying hydrated in the heat is important for man and beast. So take care when working in the heat. Wow, nice haul of tomatoes . I have not seen a home grown one in awhile. The kittens sounds like they are getting trained. So nice. You look so cute at the ranch gate. Please stay safe and be careful when out and about. Blessings to you and LD, love you guys, xoxo, Susie

MadSnapper said...

We need someone to write a country song called back to my country home or we could just use country road! Haha I love the picture of the geese and the Ducks the sun is just perfect and it's also perfect on LDN that last photo.

Vee said...

You two are the cutest people! Keep having fun!

Changes in the wind said...

The quilt looks great! Love to go the back roads, don't get that opportunity here in the city. Had to laugh at your three stooges.

photowannabe said...

I do love that "Just BE"...That's my favorite thing to do after a busy day too.
Adorable photo of LD...handsome in his overalls.
Great photo of the 3 stooges too. Geese kind of scare me...
Fantastic job on the quilt. Piercyn is going to cherish it.
You Miss Linda look fantastic and I can tell you are in your Happy Place.
Sue

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

The quilt looks great, Linda, and sure it will be very much appreciated and treasured by Piercyn. really enjoyed seeing the photos of you back in your happy place. Back roads are our favorite way to travel anywhere when we're not in any big rush to get there. The kittens are obviously enjoying their city to ranch travel as much as you and Louis Dean.

Wanda said...

Linda I never get tired of going to the ranch with you. You look adorable at the gate and truck. So cute. More work finished. The denim quilt looks great. Like the back side.

We eat healthy too, but wish it was from my garden instead of the store. But we do what we can with what we're given. And rejoice in it!!

Love the critters. Wish I could see them in person. Louis Dean is looking healthy and handsome!

Love and Hugs. My dearest has started blogging again. If you have time down the road, check it out. He's on my sidebar as "Reflections"

Suemn said...

That's a great picture of the three white geese. I love it.

Carole said...

Just be - fantastic idea. Cheeers