Thursday, June 13, 2019

Painting Cows on Wednesdayand Rayne and Summer Visited on Thursday!

We started the project of adding a front room to the camper making it a camper/cabin back in April of 2017. I innocently thought that adding a full size working bathroom complete with a large shower, deep laundry sink, normal toilet would be a top priority. It made perfect sense to me. I forged ahead and we bought said shower, laundry sink and hot water heater. We already had the toilet. We have had them nearly 18 months. Sitting there. Alas, I was slow coming to the realization that Louis Dean is not anywhere nearly as confident when it comes to plumbing as he is to just about any other project in our world of adding a cabin to the camper. However, he finally came to terms with his fears and insecurities. Come to find out - he was petrified to cut a hole into the fiberglass shower we bought.
Never mind that I know with a certainty that he could have even fixed that - if he had cut it wrong and it came to that. Praise God he finally faced up to it all and we had a nice talk and Lo, and BEHOLD.........progress is being made even as I type this on getting a working bathroom here!!
Now, I have had all along a working 'ladies' bathroom. And he has had a men's bathroom with working toilet. But I wanted MORE!! A shower! A sink!!!
Ladies and gentlemen........it is now a working project!!!
It won't be completely done until we get a master electrician out here but we even have a plan for that. In the meantime - that's what Louis Dean is working on......a bathroom!!!

Wednesday morning I did not get up until 11:00 and then I went back to bed at 2:00 for a long nap and reading. I have been in Ireland and England during the 1950's to 1962. It's hard to close a book after reading the final page and return to this present time. Kind of a culture shock. 


But it's read and done and now I'm MOOING on......
By the way - if anyone would like to read this book , I will be happy to pass it along.


I've been painting cows. Lots of them! And having a good time doing so!


We closed Wednesday night out listening to Willie Nelson music on our Echo.....aka Alexa.

I went to bed early on purpose because I wanted to get up early. Or at least at a more normal time.
Company was coming and I wanted to be ready!
Alas, I woke up at 5:00 to the sound of hammering.
I went out to the front room and found Louis Dean in his workshop working!!!
He said he woke up at 3:30 and decided to get up and do something.
Since he was okay - I went back to bed until 6:30 when I checked on him again.
He wasn't anywhere in the front room, the camper or the truck.
I found him across the road in the garden weeding with a hoe.
We had been over there Wednesday evening watering and planting and he noticed it needed some weeding. Good Grief! I went back to bed until a decent time - 8:30 - and got up and made him a second pot of coffee and started our day. Or my day. He had started his long hours ago!



Summer and Rayne arrived in Summer's new van!!!


I love it and wish I had one just like it!!!!


They came bearing gifts!
Shipley's glazed donuts!
Louis Dean's favorite!

Rayne and I took a tour of the ranch.


Her first choice was to feed the horses!
Carrots and sugar cubes.


She loves the horses and they love her!


She loves any and all 'critters.'


This one held back and never came to the party until all the food was gone.


These two ate it all.
No worries......I will feed the other one extra tomorrow.


Rayne and I did all sorts of country things.
We fed the horses and picked a bouquet of wild flowers to take to her Aunt Sherry in Rowlett.
We checked out the garden patch up here by the camper. Lots of green tomatoes and a few sweet peppers.


We walked on down the road to check out Dean and Sherry's garden......
this is right outside the peacock pen. I told Rayne to count the peacocks - she counted one peacock and one peahen inside the pen. I said, "Keep looking!"


This is the wild peacock that hangs around here.
We watched him fly over the garden fence!


Then we walked down to see the baby goats.......


......and the pups! 
Two Great Pyrenees.
Remmie and Rugar.


The baby goats were her favorite!


It's beautiful down here.


The black eyed Susan's are everywhere.
They weren't here last year.
I guess you get new wildflowers every year.



I heard my first locust of the season!
June 13th, 2019 at 11:30!


The dogs heard it, too!




Then we walked up to Lake Toguchi.


The ducks are so pretty.
I have a new painting to start tonight of them.


We came back to the camper and I made us a big pasta salad with just about everything you can think of in it! Olives, carrots, celery, sweet peppers, tomatoes, roasted chicken, bacon......you name it - it was probably in there!


And I made pepper poppers with Rayne's help.
By the way......I took the seeds and membranes out and they were still HOT!!!


Asparagus with butter.....

After lunch Summer and Rayne played games and then we all did a crafting project.
Summer and I each had a needlework and Rayne traced off my duck pond painting to canvas.


All too soon it was time for them to go back to town.


It was a WONDERFUL visit!!!
I do so love my Rayne Roo!


We will be seeing her again next week!!!




17 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

What a really special tour you gave Rayne!! She must have had a ball! I really like your cow paintings!! By the way, your hair looks so good, even in the country!!

Chatty Crone said...

Hey you did great on those cow paintings. Can you believe I have a cow photo in my kitchen - I will have to take a picture of it for you. It looks a little like yours.

Wanda said...

Just love the cow paintings. My friend just gave me a dishtowel when a jersey cow wearing a bonnet. I was thinking what a cute painting it would make.

Love your farm pictures and the visit from family.

Bluebird49 said...

Yay! I know the shower will be finished before long!
I'm so glad Summer and Rayne could visit! I know youall had a great time.
Loving your paintings!❤❤

Vee said...

That was a cute video bomb! I hope you continue to teach her to hold her cute little fingers together and flat when feeding the horses. Scared me for a minute there. The lake~pond is so pretty! Everything is with the rain you’ve had lately. Louis Dean cracks me up! Working at all hours. I am so hungry for breakfast, which is hours away, that your pasta salad has me wishing that I had a big old bowl full! Happy crafting, happy painting, happy pulling that bathroom together!

Lorraine said...

I love your cow paintings!!

Carol said...

Oh my she is adorable! I love to see a child that is not attached to a phone or video game and that is walking with nature and spending time with animals. It is perfect!
The horse with the red halter looks identical to my previous horse, Fancy. She was a wonderful horse and I truly miss her.
Your cow pictures are so good. I LOVE the round one. It would go great in my kitchen!

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

What a fun day for you all!

I hope LD had a big nap! 3:30!

Susie said...

Linda, What fun to see Rayne at the ranch with the animals. She is so cute. I remember how our Emma enjoyed the goats the neighbors had for awhile. Kids are with animals most often. I bet Rayne liked seeing the peacock fly. Wow, LD must have had things on his mind to get up and work that early. Blessings to all, be safe there. xoxo,love you, Susie

MimiG said...

Rayne is so cute and you can tell she had such fun with you at the ranch. Good to see the smile on Summer's face too!
I really enjoy Maeve Binchy's books. Haven't read that one, will look for it at the thrift store where I buy most of my books.
Happy for the bathroom coming along - sometimes guys just don't understand how important they are to us. LOL
Have a great weekend!

Are you still coming to see your sister this summer?

MadSnapper said...

i wish i could have been on the tour with you and Rayne.. what a critter tour.. so glad you will soon have a real bathroom and so glad Summer has her van..... i do love a book that when i am done i want more and wish i was not

Changes in the wind said...

How fun they could come for a visit and happy you are getting your bathroom. Nothing more special then time with your loved ones.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Good for Louis Dean bravely tackling that project for the bath. Hope it all turns out the way you want it. It would be wonderful for sure. And wonderful you got company to share the joys there at the ranch. So much to see and do there. Looks like the weather is holding out for you! Thankfully no rain and mud! Hard to believe it's Friday already, Hope you have another great day!

Rain said...

Your cows are AMAZING Linda!!! Such talent! I love them!!! :) And congrats on the working project! A full size bathroom is something I certainly take for granted!!! And to have a deep laundry sink would be a dream. Your ranch is so beautiful. I love the photos of the animals, the photo of the dogs melted my heart!!!

Arlene G said...

Go Louis Dean Go!! I know he can do it. Tell him to watch a You Tube.:) I agree about the electricity. That is best left to a pro. I am amazed at how many things LD can do!! Especially being an Older American.( The US Forest Service had a program called that where they employed older men) My Daddy said the older men out worked the young ones!! I love your cow paintings but my favorite is the group of cows standing together. Can you show a close up of it Linda? So glad you had a good time with your girls.

photowannabe said...

Awww. sweet times with your precious family.
I can definitely see why you love the ranch so much.
Yippee on the bathroom improvements and oh my LD sure got an early start to the day...
He's a keeper for sure.

jujupage1 said...

Rayne is so cute. Hope she visits you soon! I love the wild scenery that surrounds your camper.