Country Things.....

 Louis Dean has been shelling and 'peeling' pecans since we arrived down here in the country!

It's therapy to him and a blessing to me.
I love pecans but I don't have the patience he does to harvest them.

He's bagged up well over a gallon since we arrived on Friday.

This morning I fixed us an oatmeal breakfast using the instant oatmeal cups Louis Dean got from the 

'grab a bag' breakfast at our Galveston hotel.

It was extra delicious with the addition of some pecan meats!

We had a couple of visitors this afternoon!

The door was open so two black cats strolled in.

I thought this was the Mama cat - but it turns out this is one of her kittens.

Sherry pointed out to me that the ear was not notched.

Once they are 'fixed',  the vet notches their right ear.

I found the mama cat on the counter in the camper kitchen!

You can't tell from the picture but her ear is definitely notched!

See what I mean?

The sunset tonight on February 1st!

Dean stopped by on his way in from work and then Sherry came down after her work day was done.

This is one of the reasons we love being in the country.....knowing Dean and Sherry are here and getting to visit with them from time to time. I love our relationships. There's no pressure for them to entertain us nor we them. We are family and go with the flow. I still marvel at the blessing of  having this refuge from the world and the city. This is our happy place where we can come and just be. 

AND there's always the food!!!

We pooled our resources! 

Dean fired up the grill and Sherry gathered her ingredients as did I, 

and we made a meal!

We combined our dishes into a wonderful country meal!

I have never liked lima beans.....until I tasted the ones Dean made!

Sherry contributed tonight's wine and it was delicious!

Pacific Fruits Sweet Pineapple from Aldi....

We love all things Aldi!

On MeWe, there's a whole group devoted to everything Aldi!

I noticed Facebook has added groups I had not noticed before....one being Trader Joe's.

I think these two are related!!

Yes, they are~

Recipe for the Gouda Potatoes....

4 medium potatoes, sliced thin

1/2 onion, sliced thin

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup of smoked gouda cheese (Other cheeses work as well)

milk or half and half

Sherry came down and cooked these for us tonight.

She cut up the potatoes and onions, salted and peppered them and then barely covered them with water before cooking them until tender.

Drain them slightly and add the butter and cheese.

These melt into the potatoes and then Sherry added a little milk (or cream) to desired consistency.

Delicious!!!

Best thing about this - she let us have the leftovers!!

I love potatoes and especially these!!!

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Recipe for Golden Cornbread......

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 t salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

I pour a bit of oil into an iron skillet and put it in the oven while I mix the cornbread recipe up.

I don't have an iron skillet here at the ranch - shame on me and I will have to fix that - so I used a Corning Ware dish.

I dump all the ingredients together and mix them up well, pour into the hot oiled dish and bake at 375* for about 20-25 minutes! Cut in pieces and serve with real butter!

*source*

Louis Dean loves leftover cornbread and eats it crumbled up in a glass of milk for a middle of the night snack!

We have enjoyed our days here at the ranch and don't really want to leave.

We have medicine through Wednesday so we must go home then.

Sherry and I still need to inspect our hives but it has been either too cold or too windy to do that yet.

Hopefully tomorrow.

I have been writing on my book some each day since we got here.

It's been - what?? Maybe 5 years or more since I started writing my memoir?

I purposed to finish it last year.....and that didn't happen.

I prayed that God would guide me and give me direction.

I am a writer. I've always written. Everything from lists to diaries to journals to planners to prayer journals and everything in between. But now I need to finish writing my book - and that in itself is overwhelming - and I have been flagging in this endeavor.

Eva is an angel sent from God in answer to my prayer.

She graciously offered to be my editor and I am so happy to have her expertise and imput into what I write. Thank you, Eva, from the bottom of my heart!

Everyone has a story......