A Couple of Country Days....

Monday was a rainy day here at the ranch.
 I had intended to go into Waco and get my hair cut and have a pedicure...
but it turned out to be a rain event so I did art instead.

I had started several projects the last time we were here so I picked up where I'd left off.

Second session on all of them....

One more at least to finish ....maybe two. And then a glaze after it's dry.

It's a step by step process.

It never starts off looking like the desired painting.

Now this bee was a fun thing to do!

The background was dry (painted last time we were here) so it only took 15 minutes or less to paint in the bee! I am loving palette knife painting!

This painting was hanging in our den and it just bothered me.

Something wasn't right.

So I brought it down here with us and I 'fixed' it.

Took the white off from the center of his coat....

shortened the white cuffs all around and added shades to the white critters.

Much better.

We have been eating simple meals.....easy meals.

I like to bake potatoes in the ashes of the prior evening's campfire.

This trip - for me - has been about doing art.

It rained all day Monday and Tuesday was cloudy but dry....until it wasn't later.

Mr. Jackson has some new calves and I slip shodded over the wet field to get a picture of this baby.

It's amazing but there was another baby right behind this one. I couldn't believe it doesn't show up in this photo. When I moved a few steps over to snap a pic of it - the mama cow noticed me and they all took off!

The mesquite trees are so plentiful over there that they can easily hide out in them.

Mr. Jackson mowed down all the mesquites in this pasture last year - and they multiplied many times over!  That's NOT the way to get rid of them as I am sure he knows by now!

I painted right up until 4:00 on Tuesday and then showered and cleaned up for our monthly bee meeting. I did NOT want to smell like turpentine!

We meet in China Springs, Texas at an open air church pavilion.

Plenty of space for social distancing.

Hopefully, by January we will be back at the college in McLennan County.

The best thing about our monthly bee meeting is going out to dinner with Rosey and Sherry!

Friends and family are so very important and Rosey and I connected almost immediately.

We met 13 months ago and our friendshipcontinues to grow!

Don't you love the way God brings people into our lives?

Rosey is so special....she's rather a private person as far as social media goes.....but to know her is to love her. She is a 30 year military veteran and I am in awe of and appreciate her service to our country.

She is so much FUN! Every once in awhile, God blesses us with special friends.....and Rosey is one of God's blessings to me.

We had dinner at El Conquistador in Bellmead and it was delicious!!

Sherry and I came home and left the vehicle up on the gravel road while she walked me down to our camper/cabin. Louis Dean saw us coming and turned the truck lights on to light our way.

Turns out he had such a trauma evening and was so relieved that I was back home.

The electricity had gone off in the front room - and then blinked back on - and then went off again.

In trying to figure out the problem - he managed to turn the electricity off in the camper!

Then he really went beserk!

While trying to resolve that - he was in the shop next door to the camper where the meter box is - and when he came out the door - he slid down in the mud.

By now he was at the point of no return - at least for that day!

He tried to call his son but couldn't remember how to use his new phone.

Not that it would have done him any good since Dean had left his phone in his truck.

SO Louis Dean walked down to Dean's place in the dark and in the mud to ask him for help.

Dean is always willing to step in and help in any way he can. For friends. For family. For anyone.

He managed to get the lights back on in the camper and they ran an extension cord to plug in one lamp in the front room. Thank the Lord for Dean! He was a lifesaver to his dad.

Louis Dean did NOT want me to come home to NO electricity!!

Sherry walked me down to the camper and then Dean walked Sherry back to her truck while Louis Dean and I sat in the front room and visited by the light of that single lamp.

It took two hours for Louis Dean to calm down enough to go to bed.

He was so discombobulated I was beginning to wonder if he would ever calm down.

I prayed before going to sleep that he would wake up with a clear mind and be able to figure out how to fix it.....and so he did. It took him less than an hour this morning and all was back to normal!

This was  my last day to do art and I managed to paint on every one of my projects.

What I didn't do the other two days - I did today.

I really had fun painting this one!

My second session on this still life.

The bag will be filled with lavender and there's many more details to paint in - next time!

I didn't spend as much time on the last two Santas......

twins to the ones I did earlier this week.

This time of year is hard for me with my allergies.

Today was one of those days.

I felt flat and lifeless but I pushed on for awhile and then I went to bed in the girl bunk....

and I stayed there for a few hours. Not really sleeping but at least resting.

Around 4:00 I finally got up and started supper....

a roast with veggies....butternut squash, potatoes, onions, celery, mushrooms and carrots.

I used a packet of dry Ranch dressing and a whole can of beer.

It was delicious!

My first real cooked meal since we have been here.

In other news......

Amber is taking care of Tabitha and Samantha while we are gone.

That's Ginger (Amber's kitten) on top of the tower.....

and Samantha below and Tabitha on the bottom.

Amber and Mike also have an adult male cat - Bandit.

This morning, Amber noticed Tabitha had been blinking and shutting her left eye.

Upon looking at it, Amber noticed it was swollen and looked cloudy.

She immediately called and got an appointmemt with her vet -who sees ALL of our kittens...

my two and Amber's Ginger and Benjamin's Klaus.

Turns out she had a pretty deep scratch on her cornea.....probably from playing with her sisters.

Praise God that was all it was and she was given numbing drops and a couple of medicines to reduce possible infection and help with the pain.

Amber took her home and here she is with Bandit.

He's the adult among them and seems to enjoy the kittens and is there for them when they need him.

Amber is so good to her critters!!

She really pays attention to her pets as well as her children and family.

You can see Tabitha's left eye is a bit cloudy.....

More so in this photo and Amber said this was even better than before.

I am so thankful for her taking care of my sweet kitty!

We are missing them but they have had so much fun with their sister and the quads.

But you know what?

I think both Tabitha and Samantha love Amber best of all!