Home on the Ranch!

 We left the cabin in Mountain View at 7:20 Wednesday morning.

Getting up wasn't too hard since we went to bed with the chickens the night before.

Louis Dean drove us in on twisty curvy Highway 9 and I drove us out.

We headed for Little Rock and then Texarkana before turning south towards Shreveport.

I had my WAZE directions and HE had paper maps and insisted I was going the long way to the camper at the ranch.  We didn't want to add HANGRY to our already sensitive nerves so I found a place to stop for lunch.

It looked like it would be just what he would like - JUMBO shrimp! Cajon food!

I ordered a salad that was HUGE.

He ended up with chicken fried steak with French fries and extra gravy!

Alas, his meal was awful!

The gravy was NOT the white cream gravy he was expecting but brown gravy made from a mix.

Louis Dean took paper towels and tried to wipe it off the steak - but the steak didn't taste good either.

Our waitress was the one who impressed us.

Her name is Janet and I gave her my email and promised to pray for her.

She listened to several of Louis Dean's stories and told how much she had always wanted to be close to a granddad. Janet was born with cystic fibrosis and has really been struggling the last few years. She's 32 years old and you can tell she's had lots of challenges in her young life - but she still smiled and my heart went out to her.

While we were at the restaurant, we went over our maps and I pointed out where we were heading and why we were going that way. Louis Dean said, "I got it straight now. My thinking wasn't right."

Then we got back in the car and on the road - and he went right back to 'NOT thinking right!'

By this point, my WAZE voice wasn't working and I could NOT figure out how to make her 'talk' to me. HE was still telling me I wasn't going the right way and then the SUN started to go down.

I am short and the sun visor doesn't block the glare so I had a hard time seeing my directions on my phone and driving the one lane country roads with the sun in my eyes.

We have a yellow visor that helped but wouldn't stay up so I had to drive with one hand and hold the visor thing up with the other. It was extremely stressful!

It was 7:20 when we got to our camper door - a full 12 hours on the road.

We came in on Highway 164 from Groesbeck and I had meant to stop at the grocery store to pick up milk, bread, and eggs. But NO! I wasn't in any shape to shop plus that would have made us get here in the dark.

When I got out of the car - even my feet were shaking!

Sherry brought supper down for us and gave me a big hug and I started calming down.

Next trip we take, I'm going to be sure to forget the maps!!!

As in hide them if I need to do that!

I was so grateful to slide into the girl bunk Wednesday night!

Sherry had turned the AC on for us (plus she and Dean had done the permanent fix on the AC condensation problem for us) so we slept like babies!

We drove into Mart the next day and I bought these two pair of weather driving glasses!

They fit over my eyeglasses and I do believe they will help me.

Night driving and driving into the sun are things that I can't do.

We have chilled right out and Louis Dean doesn't even remember the stress of the trip down here.

That's a Win! WIN!

We sat out with our wine Thursday evening - manning our weapons!

Matching fly swatters and coasters for our wine!

We are in the COUNTRY!!

I didn't bring my oils and brushes with me so I am enjoying my table setting.

Normally, I would be using this for my art table.

Instead I am reading my diaries from 1990 - 1994 and making an outline for chapter 27.

I'm thinking I'll go through several years in just 2 chapters.

Life changed seriously in the spring of '94 and again in '97.

This is Tarzan, the ranch cat that is brother to our cats and he loves it when we are here.

I give him food he doesn't have to work for and he loves that!

Plus he loves the attention!

It's good to take breaks from all this reading and history and the emotions it brings back.

Lunch today was a good plate of spaghetti!

I cooked up some pasta to add to the leftovers and I had a jar of sauce.

Last night I grilled a T-bone steak and baked potatoes.

We are doing easy food for the few days we are here.

Louis Dean has been as happy as he can be with mowing and tilling and cleaning up things.

Next month when we come, I will plant my wildflower seeds and put in some things around the little pond. Louis Dean picked enough okra for me to fry up for dinner tomorrow night.

Saturday is our last full day here and I'm grateful for this time.

I'll close tonight's journal entry with photos from my diaries.

1991

1992

1993

This last one was Thanksgiving at Mother's and an ice storm rolled in.

We ate fast and drove back home before the roads got too bad.

I'm glad we always took the time to get a photo.

And I love that there's so many of us all four together.

I miss Nita every day and just when I think I've turned the corner and doing better, I fall apart again.

It's all part of grieving according to a good book my friend, Rosey, sent me.

It's a journey.....