Music! MUSIC!

We SO enjoyed celebrating our 8th anniversary in Abilene! 

We are now home filled to the brim with good memories and happy experiences!

Louis Dean worked at Mrs. Baird's Bakery for 12 years.

It's a shame the bakeries are all in Mexico now. He loves going down Memory Lane and seeing his old stomping grounds.

Our car automatically STOPS at all Goodwills!

Books and coffee cups for $0.25 each!

Saturday was a fun day! We enjoyed a late lunch at Chili's....

where the Margaritas are delicious and then took a nice long nap back at the hotel.

Louis Dean and I chuckled over this sign every time we drove in and out of our hotel parking lot!

I think they need to work on their wording.

Refreshed from our naps we dressed and walked the short distance to the Paramount Theater.

The play was WONDERFUL!!!!

The theater is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Louis Dean sold newspapers in the lobby when he was a little boy.

He remembers it all being MUCH bigger back then!

OLD movies are still shown here as well as musical productions like Young Frankenstein. We will definitely be back!!

This morning we packed up and headed to Buffalo Gap - a short 12 miles from Abilene.

This steak house was a great experience!

Another 'MUST come BACK!' place!

Next stop was the Buffalo Gap Historic Village.

I felt like I had stepped back in time!

Life was hard back then.

I must have a THING for distressed wood!

I just LOVE it!!

I should have painted the wood and trim on my house white!

Then when it aged I wouldn't even WANT to repaint it!

As much as I think I would have loved living back in the 'old days' -

I'm pretty sure I'm more comfortable living right here in the present.

God has a way of blessing us with the unexpected.

Doesn't this look like a quaint little shop?

They had me at the boots nailed to the railing!

(I found out they usually have flowers in them but the owners are going out to California in a couple weeks so will wait to fill them with plants after they get back.)

Live music most Sunday afternoons, huh?

They invited Louis Dean to play with them!

Good thing he ALWAYS travels with a guitar!!

He was delighted! This is the shop owner and her husband is back over there behind the counter.

After they played a song or two another Dulcimer Diva arrived.

And then another! And then a bass player!

Let me tell you Louis Dean was in HOG HEAVEN!!

That lady can really SING!!!!

Louis Dean has a song in his head MOST of the time.

He absolutely lives and breathes MUSIC!

God delights in giving us the desires of our heart.

 It was a total surprise gift from God!!

You can tell they were enjoying themselves!

It was as if we were all old friends!

They invited him to come back as often as possible.

A group of musicians play every Friday night just around the corner at a restaurant.

Then every Sunday afternoon at 2:00 they gather in the corner of 'The Purple Buffalo' and practice.

I see more trips to Abilene in our future!

Adventures All the Way to Abilene!

Our life seems to be one adventure after another. I'm not sure how that happens.

We started our day EARLY loading up the car and closing up the house.
Just for the record - taking 183 to 161 to I20 is THE way to get to Fort Worth!

Even though we are celebrating our anniversary weekend - it WAS Friday and Mother was waiting for us to pick her up at the beauty shop! Our lunch of choice today was The Olive Garden!

The food was wonderful and the lemon dessert provided the perfect ending!

Mother even had enough leftovers to take home for her supper!

After I showed her my Facebook pics and recent blog posts we were ready to hit the road WEST to Abilene! Louis Dean drove and I snuggled down in the back seat for a lovely nap!

He stopped in Eastland for gas. Just after filling up and driving off he noticed the 'Low Tire Pressure' light flashing so he pulled across the street to check it out. It was FLAT!! No 'low' about it! It was also about 3:30 in 100+ heat and NO SHADE!!! As he surveyed the situation - almost IMMEDIATELY! - a truck pulled up and a young man jumped out and not only OFFERED to help but went right to DOING it!! Just as he was struggling with the tire, ANOTHER truck pulled up and ANOTHER young man jumped out and started helping the FIRST one!

We are here to tell you chivalry is alive and well in West Texas!!

As they shook hands with Louis Dean and were directing us to the local Goodyear, one of the young men said, "You had no business being out here in this heat! I have a Granddad, too, and I would want someone to stop for him." God is good to us and if you HAVE to have a flat tire - Eastland, Texas is a good place to have it! Although the first young man is from Cisco. His sister was driving the truck so she was the one who pulled over. When her brother got down on the dirty pavement and LD wanted to put a blanket down for him, she said, "He's a good ole country boy and not afraid to get dirty!"

Those young people sure were a blessing to us!

We drove to the Goodyear just up the road and for $12 and in 30 minutes we were back on the road.

But not for LONG!!

It was my turn to drive and I made a left when I should have made a right and we ended up in the town square.

How could I not stop HERE???

It was OPEN and we needed a little FUN after our tire ordeal.

I found two vintage hankies. I may the last person in the country but I carry a REAL fabric handkerchief in my purse at all times. I've had them for years and years and years and now I have two more!

I was the one who spied this bread pan! Louis Dean was a professional baker and has been looking for one.

Of course it won't fit in our oven! Nita, YOU have a big oven! Will it fit in YOURS??? Louis Dean could bake at YOUR house!!

The shop was cute with all it's little what knots everywhere.

The gal has fun displaying all her wares. You can tell!

I want to buy a screened frame like this! 

Decorating possibilities would be endless!

This shop keeper had a huge selection of 'yard art.'

She stacked and glued all sorts of glassware together. 

A novel idea. Kind of quirky.

I just may make one! Although I think I would spray paint them all the same color. 

I think I'll do a WHITE one. 

We not only shopped and found some treasures, we also enjoyed a nice visit with the owner.

SUCH a sweet lady!

She even gave us chive, snapdragon and other seeds from her garden.

We plan to share them with Louis Dean's son.

I drove us on in to Abilene stopping at the grocery store for a few things we forgot. 

I called the motel to let them know we were arriving later than anticipated.

The lady at the desk answered, "Hello."

Made us nervous as to just WHAT the motel would be like!

Not to worry. It is a nice room with a fridge and microwave and COOL and CLEAN!

That's all we want. Easy in and easy out. Louis Dean is old fashioned and wants to park in front of his motel room! He got it!

We brought an ice chest with the makings for a picnic supper which we have already enjoyed.

I have a book I am finishing up tonight and Louis Dean is over there in the corner playing his guitar.

It is a wonderful thing to be away from all the routine of home - as wonderful as that 'routine' will be by the time we return!

In the mean time we have a few things to do while we are here in Abilene!

At least FOUR of these things are on our list!

Tonight's QUICK Journal Entry

I have not felt very well today. NEARLY thought we would have to delay our weekend plans but by napping and resting a lot I began to kick whatever was getting me down. Perhaps a few days AWAY from our house will be just the ticket! It's a vicious circle being a homeowner. While we LOVE our projects and we ARE accomplishing a great deal, it sometimes seems overwhelming at all that is STILL to do!

Our energy level isn't what it used to be! Once when Louis Dean was in for a check up his nurse was scolding him about working so hard. She said, "Remember!!! You're not 65 any more!!"

Well, I nearly am and I have to remember I'm not 55 any more!

All that being said, I did manage to paint Louis Dean's sink cabinet. It took all day because I kept going back to the guestroom for nap breaks. I didn't take before pics of the dark dungeon interiors! 

Necessity is the mother of invention - or so the saying goes.

I was running low on the light cream paint so I based in the first coat using the darker color.

I sanded it then painted a coat of the cream.

I promised Louis Dean that I would only put HIS stuff in the cupboards and drawers and I kept my word!

There were all manner of STUFF that had lived in there years before Louis Dean ever arrived!

I still need to do a final sanding, wipe on some of the beige color and wax the whole shabang.

Louis Dean is going to paint all the pulls and knobs black.

Later! For now 'it is good enough for who it's for' as I used to say!

Summer came by to get Lucy this evening. They will keep her for the weekend and I know Lucy will LOVE being around Raynie and Shadow. Shadow is a sweet dog and I hope she doesn't mind having a guest.

Summer brought a Sonic Cherry Limeade to cheer me up and help me feel better.

It worked! She also loaned me her favorite cup. We are a family of heavy drinkers known as 'BIG Gulpers!'  I always have a big cup of iced tea or water at hand. My bag is packed, alarm set, dog gone, cat food and extra water out, book bag packed, plants watered. I usually leave my house spotlessly clean. Not so this time. Actually this is the first time EVER I have not vacuumed before leaving. Sometimes you just have to GO!

A Day FULL of 'Specialness!'

The most special thing about this day is that - as of 3:00 this afternoon - Louis Dean and I have been married 8 years!

Life with Louis Dean has certainly been an adventure!

This is the moment I said, "I do!"

I am so happy I did!

I was 55 years old!

While TODAY is our anniversary - we're not really celebrating until this weekend. We have reservations for a play in a historic theater in Abilene complete with an overnight stay! A TWO night stay!

I married a romantic man! Who KNEW 'Romance' was alive and well for senior citizens!!

I am here to tell you age makes no difference!

Today was special in other ways......

My mother and Deanie came over to see Amber's new house!

She calls it her 'Forever Home!' 

I love that!

I promised Amber I won't post pictures of her beautiful home until SHE has a chance to do it!

(She DOES have her hands full with FOUR one year olds!)

THIS is a snapshot of Amber and Deanie taken from her back yard!

It's like a CITY in the front yard - and COUNTRY in the back!

(Using Deanie's description!)

I just LOVE this spot in the new house!!!

I won't say any more than THAT!

I love THIS spot, too!!

Actually, I love the WHOLE house!!!

It is a 'Linda Friendly' home!

That means I can reach the bottom two shelves in ALL the cabinets AND the towel racks in the bathrooms!

There are LOTS of rooms as well as nooks and crannies where you can get off by yourself and 'hide!'

 Amber's New House and Progress Report!

We left Amber and her lovely new home to pick Summer up at her office and headed to El Fenix for lunch!

What a fun time we had!

As my sister, Nita,  mentioned when she saw this pic on Facebook -

 Not one Margarita on that table, & you're all smiling??? What's wrong ? (:

Mother had a good time! We ALL did!

After all the FUN was over and Summer was back in her office and Deanie and Mother had headed home -

I did some routine bill paying and was just getting ready to go over to see the quads when what to my surprise! I got a phone call from Amber that she was on MY street! Babies in tow!

YES! The quads came to see Grandma!!!

AND Granddad!!!

Welcome to Grandma's!

It was a great day FULL of  'specialness!'