Adventures in the Country!

Monday was a good day here at the camper! Louis Dean worked hard on that pesky door and finally took the framing down and rebuilt it!

He did some serious sawing right here on the red rugs!

I even found sawdust on my art table. None got on the wet paint, thank goodness!

I remember painting outside at the RV park in Katy and there are tiny specks of grass on one Santa painting -  I painted red over them!

I decided to paint this THIRD Sledding Santa using the palette colors of the original artist.

I think I like it - a lot!

We ended Monday night with music! 

Louis Dean sang and played for a good long time.....

and I loved every minute!

Tuesday Treasures!!

Tuesday was special because Sherry took the afternoon off from work and she and Dean took me to Waco. We did some serious Goodwilling at two Goodwills.....one you pay by the pound and the other was an 'upper scale' store next door. Win! WIN!!!

We ate lunch at a new place Sherry found the other day when she was driving down Mary Avenue.

Their soft opening was Friday - which is when I think she spied the restaurant - and the grand opening on Saturday. So we visited in the first few days of business.

It was delicious and I ate WAY too much!!!

We opted to sit outside on the deck as the day was just gorgeous AND we could keep watch over their truck which held a lot of our debris treasures in the back.

After we finished eating, we decided to browse through some of the new shops.

***Note***

The location is a few streets over from the Magnolia Market and Silos.

The Iron Willow is a mom and pop business and they do amazing work!

They have been in Canton for a dozen years and decided to open this shop which is closer to home.

We wandered around admiring everything!

So unique! It's all handmade by the owners!

We stopped at a Pie Shop right next door and I bought a Blackberry Pie to share with Dean and Sherry.

On our way back to the truck, Dean said there was a hawk on a blue car in the adjacent parking lot.

There it was and it was HUGE!!

I accidentally deleted the better photos I had of it but it was magnificent!

If you are ever in Waco - this is a good place to go!

And THESE are my Tuesday Treasures!!!

I was planning to go to Mart on this Wednesday afternoon when Dean came down on his way to town. He was going to the auto supply and feed store so I asked if he could drop me off at Reads Grocery.

Win! WIN!!! Going to town is even more fun if I don't have to drive and Louis Dean was grateful to keep his truck right there with him! He uses the back with the tail gate down as a work space.

It was an exciting drive into Mart!!!!

Be still, my heart!!!

They are harvesting the cotton!!!!

It.was.awesome.

I am a city girl and seeing this just made my day!

Who KNEW this was what it looked like???

My favorite 'Cotton' movie is Places in the Heart.

I watched it by myself in late September of 1984.

I will always remember that day.

I had tried to get pregnant for five years and I was 'late' that month.

As I sat through the movie, I experienced what felt like premenstrual cramps.....

and after the movie I went home and rode my bicycle through the neighborhood....praying that IF I was pregnant....I would get to KEEP this one. I had suffered two miscarriages the year before. 

As it turned out - Amber was born on June 6th, 1985.

She truly was and IS an answer to prayer!

We drove on in to Mart and Read's is right by the Auto Supply place so Dean and I both did our shopping there.

Then we stopped at Watson Feed Store ......

here's what I found on the Internet......

 Watson Feed Store has operated out of the same polychrome-brick building since Ruff Watson opened it in 1905. It’s the nation’s oldest continuously operating Ralston-Purina feed store.

“We have a lot of people who come in and take a deep breath and say, ‘Yeah, this is a feed store,’” said owner Murray Watson Jr., 84.

Read’s Food Store, known best for its butcher shop, will celebrate its 91st anniversary in August.

“We are kind of a dinosaur,” owner Jim Read said. “There are not many independent grocers left.

We took the scenic route back to the ranch.......

More harvested cotton fields!

There's plenty of 'scraps' left by the side of the road and I hope to get out tomorrow and 'harvest' them for a cotton boll wreath! Maybe I can make one for the Family Reunion Auction at the end of September!

I had heard of this awesome and palatial Tree House that a Dallas Judge had built for his grandchildren! 

This is the judge's house.

Dean has worked on that scary steep metal roof!

You never know what you're going to see on these country roads!

Like an old abandoned gas station - aka 'filling station!'

I arrived back at the camper and enjoyed watching Louis Dean and his son visit for a few minutes.

These will become precious memories for both of them and I am so glad they have these times together. And I am happy to be be here to share in them.

I fixed Louis Dean a really good steak dinner this afternoon!

I cooked peppers, onions and mushrooms in butter to top the rib eye steak I bought at Read's.

It was actually a late lunch/early dinner and I gave him a piece of that blackberry pie for dessert!

I finally found a couple of movies that both of us would enjoy!

We watched the first half of this one while we ate and are looking forward to the second half tomorrow!

(I was predicting the plot as it went on and LD accused me of seeing it before!)

Then we went out to do some clean up on the new room.

I used the blower to clean off all that sawdust and finished by hosing it down with water.

Louis Dean put up a temporary shelf and I am using it for my art projects.

'Glamping' at its finest!

A little bit rustic and a whole lot cozy......

Might as well enjoy every stage of construction!

Closing tonight with this great photo of Louis Dean by the campfire.

We sat on the deck with our glass of wine and enjoyed all the night sounds and the howling of the coyotes as well as the little lights from the fireflies.  The country is a special place and we are so glad to be here.

I don't think the 'new' will ever wear off for me!