Tuesday! You Know the Routine......

Today started a bit earlier than our normal Tuesdays!

I picked Ruth Ann up at 11:00 for an 11:20 showing of our movie of choice!

We arrived early enough to get the Senior Combo of a popcorn and small drink plus a $1 hot dog!

$6.75 for lunch AND a movie!

This was a pretty funny one and we enjoyed it!

Next week we hope to see Hot Pursuit (filmed in Texas!) with Reese Witherspoon!

Next stop Goodwill!!

Well, actually third stop since we swung by Lowes and loaded the trunk up with the 5 bags of mulch for $10 sale they had going on!!

I found a BUNCH of good STUFF!!!

All sorts of things ranging from a denim jumper for me and two nice pillows (which are now on our front porch bench) and a toy cash register - which was just $2!!

I scored on a brand new canvas baskets and bought four of them - new in the package.

Amber brought the kids over so she could go to a doctor appointment. She spied them and said that while she wasn't a BAG lady, she DID love baskets! I gave her all four!

I also gave her these brand new spa booties that you can freeze or put in the microwave.

I am just weeks away from bringing out all my sunflowers!

This one is already living in Louis Dean's bathroom - and I'm sure he's THRILLED!

Trystan posed with this Children Are poster!

The cash register was the best $2 purchase I've made in a long time!

Amber brought home several new packets of 'money' when she picked them up tonight!

I started not to buy these cute dishes from Williams-Sonoma - but at just $0.59 each for the little plates and $0.79 for the bowls - LESS 25% - I could NOT pass them up!!! I will use them for a tea party tomorrow with the quads and then put them up until next year's Valentine time.

I know this is blurry but this sweet music box will be stored away for next Easter.

It plays Easter Parade.

I am REALLY excited about this set!

Cabernet hand painted collection featuring a three bowl compote - or whatever you call it!

I also got four small bowls and four smaller bowls and what is so nice is - I already have three LARGE bowls! I just think these are so pretty and I am going to do a table scape with them after the 4th!

This set of brand new Sarah Peyton glass coasters will be a Christmas or birthday gift - and I will add photos to them first in the small insets.

I know it's summertime but FALL really IS coming!

The whisk is battery operated and works!

As soon as I got home and unloaded, the quads arrived!!!

At first they gathered around Granddad and watched Paw Patrol while I bustled around getting things in order.

We went out in the front yard to water things and each other!

See what I mean?

Mike met up here and went to get pizzas for our supper.

Late afternoons under the shade of the pecan tree is a nice place to be!

Mike returned with a stack of pizzas and Amber arrived back from her doctor appointment.

The girls were already in 'art mode' with their coloring......

so when Ruth Ann and I started painting,THEY wanted to paint, too!!!

So here's Kailey adding some burnt umber and Payne's gray to the background......

while Logan painted in some cadmium red and alizarin crimson on Santa's hat.

Trystan worked on the white trim on his hat!

Harrison did a bit of painting on the lower corner of the canvas but he didn't last long!

After Kailey's turn, she sat on Ruth Ann's lap and watched her paint.......

paying VERY close attention!!

Amber and Mike loaded the kids up and left for home.

Sherry arrived shortly after they left, just barely missing them!

Louis Dean has not had a good day. His blood pressure has been on the high side and he has felt achy all day from his waist down. He has spent most of this day in bed.

We agreed that it would be best to go down to the ranch next week after he gets his stitches out - so that's what we are going to do!

I have to tell you - I am so disappointed but I am a big girl and can deal with it!

There are many reasons I love going to the ranch.....

I love my step son and he is SUCH a delight!! He's funny and witty and smart and entertaining - a total charmer! It's beautiful down there - in ALL seasons. I work really hard here at home. That's my own doing! I live in a high maintenence house and there is SO much to do - always!

When I am at the ranch, I live in a 31 foot camper with great A/C and comfortable in every way for me. AND I do NOT work!!! Sometimes I help Sherry with her projects but that is NOT work for me.

I've always been a Type A person and I can't seem to help myself - I work.

It's beginning to make Louis Dean feel guilty since he's been in bed so much.

I tell him I only do what I can do - and he does all the things I can't!

Still, I get tired and I am SO looking forward to getting away and RESTING!!

Down at the ranch we wake up, drink coffee, read and then it's just a little of whatever until late afternoon when we sit sipping wine and then we eat, talk, sit out under the stars and finally go to bed.

Life seems to revolve more around meals there and we are always talking about food.

HEB is my favorite store so we always stock up on groceries on our way down.

There's a specialness to nearly every day down there - whether feeding the goats, going berry picking, fishing, walking, exploring, or just sitting in the shade with a glass of iced tea.....life is good on the ranch. 8 days and a wake up and I am THERE!!!

Hymns, Gospel Songs, Bird Watching and Other Monday Things.....

The gazebo is the perfect place to have our coffee while we read the Bible and have our morning devotions. We also do out loud reading and this morning we skipped our Doris Day book and read extra pages in this one!

We started Chapter 2 / Religious Songs and learned something I think we knew but it was still good to hear again - the difference between a hymn and a gospel song.

"A hymn is a prayer set to music. A gospel song is a testimony, or exhortation, set to music......the distinction between the hymn and a gospel song is quite important, for the determining of how the song should be sung.....Sing a hymn with the same reverence and solemnity and humility with which a prayer would be offered, and sing a gospel song with the same enthusiasm and earnestness and victory with which a testimony or exhortation would be delivered."

This book was written in 1975 and church music has changed ever so much since then.

 I personally  prefer the old ones. My favorite as a child was and still is 'The Old Rugged Cross.'

Louis Dean singing 'This World is Not my Home.'

Another thing we do while sipping our coffee is watch the bird feeder to see who is visiting.

I am so NOT a photographer but we DO get many birds and  a great variety of them at the feeders on any given day.

I bought a good many bird books back in our homeschooling days  - and still have them!

These entries are from 1994 and were written by Amber and Benjamin.

I love seeing their writing and reading their descriptions again!

This essay by Benjamin was tucked in the back of the book.

Such good memories!

While we were reading and chatting, Maddie was sunning herself on a garden stone.

She does love getting outdoors!

Today was Louis Dean's first, last and only Physical Therapy session.

He was in there an hour and came out TIRED but got a very good report as well as pages of exercises to do as Homework - for the next two weeks!

While HE was getting his stretches in, I did a little shopping at Big Lots and found this cute personal size water pitcher - perfect for the infused water so popular these days. I have a TON of fresh mint so I added a couple of lemon slices to it and set it in the fridge. Great to gulp down after working in the yard as I have been doing this afternoon and evening!

I also picked up a simple and old fashioned sprinkler ring at Lowes. The younger grands will love playing in the water! They will be here tomorrow afternoon while their mama has an appointment here in town.

I also bought myself a new sander!

I HAVE one - and OLD one - but I CANNOT FIND IT!!

Now that I have a new one it is sure to turn up!

I meant to have this table from the den sanded and stained and ready to put back in the house tomorrow. That didn't happen! It was all those weeds and chores in the front yard that delayed me in getting back to this.

Plus I had to plant my 'reduced for quick sale' plants from Lowes.

So far everything I have bought there has survived and is thriving.

Louis Dean wanted me to thank Susie for the get well card!!!

We had just come in from his PT and he was dragging.

He went back out to get the mail and came in smiling from ear to ear!

Thank you, Susie! Of course he calls you SUSIE Q!!!

To  close tonight I found what was actually Harrison's first selfie!

I thought the one he took yesterday was but NO!!

This was an even better one and he took it nearly 3 weeks ago.

Louis Dean is already fast asleep.

This recovery is taking a lot of rest plus he got stuck right under his left eye yesterday morning as he was walking back to the gazebo after chasing off some squirrels.

It swelled up and I gave him Benadryl.....but that poison still got in his system and his eye is still swollen. Poor guy.

Our Weekend.....

Life has slowed down quite a bit over here lately. Louis Dean continues to recover well; he naps a lot and stays in the bedroom reading for hours on end. I kind of miss him.

The house has stayed pretty clean - not much damage control since he's not been UP much!

It's really summer weather now - even though it hasn't officially hit 100 degrees yet. Saturday evening, after the heat of the sun went down, I went out in the backyard to pretty things up a bit.

Louis Dean had left a wheelbarrow and ladder on the upper kitchen deck - and I MOVED them!!

I also strung up some more lights.  I just love little lights! They make me smile.

I pulled weeds and watered, spruced up the gazebo and used the blower to 'vacuum' the floor.

Then I built a fire and added two Pinyon Pine pieces to make it smell really good!

FINALLY Louis Dean came out! He didn't last long, though, so I sat out there and read several of the essays in the book I'm reading now - 'At Home in Vermont' by Marguerite Hurrey Wolf. She wrote this back in 1990 and I purchased it when Amber and I were visiting Vermont after a synchro meet. That must have been in the late 1990's and would you believe I am just now reading it?

This morning I woke up at 7:00 and hurried to get my pot roast in the oven!

Amber and Mike and the quads would be here right after church and I wanted to have Sunday Dinner all ready!

This old pan was used when I bought it over 35 years ago!

It has cooked many a Sunday pot roast!

This time I added some rosemary stems.

A one dish meal + salads - a garden and a 'fluffy.'

Louis Dean especially likes the fluffy one!

It's just cottage cheese, Cool Whip and a package of Jello or instant pudding and a can of drained crushed pineapple. Today I didn't have pineapple so I added a can of peach pie filling to the instant vanilla pudding and threw in a handful of pecans and maraschino cherries!

Dessert was carrot cake from a box and cream cheese frosting from a can.

Easy and delicious!

The table was already set for six so I just added two more places and the silverware.

I knew the kids would enjoy eating at the big table and I was right!!

Logan wanted to sit by her MeeMaw - and so she did!

Only Kailey ate the carrot cake, the others opted for the strawberry donuts!

Trystan had powder on her nose - powdered SUGAR!!!

Harrison ate so many he finally handed me a half eaten one and said, "I'm done."

We ALL honored the tradition of taking naps on Sunday afternoon!

Granddad and Harrison napped in the guest room, Amber slept in the den, Mike stretched out on the living room sofa and I took all three girls with me in our bedroom!

Logan and Kailey were side by side with me while Trystan slept across the foot of the bed under my denim quilt. We ALL like to sleep in a cold and dark room!

They were asleep as soon as I finished reading The Cobbler in Farmer Boy.

I slept in a twisted shape angling my legs to the left of Trystan's body!

Must not have been too uncomfortable because we all slept for over and hour and a half!

Look how sweet they were when they woke up!

I love these little girls and they love their MeeMaw!!

Tea Party Time followed naps!

We left the other grown ups asleep in the house (and Harrison was still asleep as well) and went out to the gazebo with tea cookies, china tea cups and a pitcher of iced tea.

They wanted an ice cube in every cup!

I was tickled that Trystan just as a matter of fact assumed we would be having a tea party after naps!

Such big kids to dink out of china cups.

We played out there for nearly an hour!

I used a fogger for mosquitoes and turned on the fans AND used OFF!

The citronella plant at one corner of the gazebo is huge and I also have a pot of lemon balm.

With this mosquito season, we need all the help we can get!

We all gathered in the den before they got ready to go home.

Trystan has the most adorable giggle!

She was teasing Granddad because he's been sleeping so much.

He claims he needs his BEAUTY sleep!!

These kids all love a camera!

I'm used to finding photos Kailey has snapped without me knowing but this is Harrison's first 'selfie!!'

I wish I had recorded them driving off this afternoon. Little arms were waving and little voices were calling, 'Good BYE! Good BYE' through the open car windows.

It seemed so still and so quiet when I came back inside.

They bring such joy and energy with them that when they leave it takes a minute to adjust!

I smiled as I found a baby doll here and a tiara there and a little toy car under a chair.

I'm already looking forward to their next visit!!

Louis Dean brought his guitar in while I was working on my journal post.

He asked, "Is this a good time for a little LOVE music?"

I recorded a whole song although he said he sang the wrong words a time or two.

It's the thought that counts!

It's been a good weekend!

Tomorrow Louis Dean starts his Physical Therapy.

He is doing SO well!!

I think we will go down to the ranch mid week and he can finish his recuperation there!