Bees, Mud, and Home Again! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

Monday was our last full day at the ranch.....although we spent part of that day in Waco.

It was the first time Louis Dean had been off the property since we arrived 8 days ago.

We ate a big lunch at Luby's and did some errands - as in picking up a prescription refill for me.

We use Walgreen's - both at the ranch and at home.

They are very kind and helpful in refilling whatever we need at either location.

We  got back in time for Sherry and I to do our October beekeeping chores.

First, we put together some new frames to replace some of the damaged ones as well as fill the vacant space when we took out the internal feeders.

I'm always excited to go out and work with the bees.

We were both in really good moods and it was wonderful that it wasn't hot!

We checked the supers and Sherry lifted the bottom brood box.

It should be heavy with honey and bees and it was. 

Beekeeping is a fascinating thing to do.

I've learned so much but nowhere near as much as Sherry has.

She does most of the work - like bucket feeding them once a week.

Everything looked good!

The bees were calm and I even took my gloves off to take the pictures this time.

Some beekeepers do not wear full suits and I have seen some videos where they wear only a headpiece and maybe the top part of a suit. Others do not wear gloves. I guess they may be more experienced and know their bees.

One couple in our group have several hives and one hive was so aggressive they were nearly afraid to go near them. Our president said he would switch out hives with them because they were fearful of their grandchildren getting stung. I asked them about that at the bee meeting last week and they said the bees calmed down and are no longer a problem. They think they were re queened.

Sherry is always learning and reading and keeping notes about what is going on in the hives.

She's going to print out hive inspection papers for us to keep track of all that we do.

We celebrated our job well done with a bottle of Red Cola from the Dublin bottling plant where Dr Pepper used to be bottled - before they sold it.

This is a different recipe but still uses pure cane sugar.

Dean brought it back for me when they got home on Sunday.

He likes it but this was our first time to try it and we like it, too.

Tuesday morning I woke up in the girl bunk to the sound of water dripping.

I opened the window thinking something was leaking only to realize it was raining.

We knew it was in the forecast but thought it would be later in the afternoon.

At first we were taking our time getting up and having our coffee fully expecting the little shower to go away - but it just kept raining. Not heavy but still.......it was getting muddy and that's not good when you are trying to get out. We decided to get a move on and it didn't take us long to pack up, load up, turn everything off and get in the truck.

We were a little worried about driving in the mud but if we didn't leave now it might be days before we could get out since heavy rain was coming that way.

We made it!!!!

Yay!

He got a LOT of mud on the tires!

But most of it came off as we drove down the gravel County Line Road spinning those tires!

We stopped in HIllsboro for a late lunch and Louis Dean was one happy guy!

It had already turned cold and rainy so he kept his big coat on and ordered coffee.

There's just something special about onion rings!

We ate those and took most of our meal home with us.

We left the ranch at 1:30 and arrived home at 5:30.

No surprises!

By 7:00 I was in the den with my feet up sipping a cup of Earl Grey tea by the fireplace.

Louis Dean took a nice long hot bath - with bubbles!

We watched back to back episodes of Bull and then went to bed with the sounds of rain, thunder and lightning. That makes great sleeping weather!

The front yard was littered with 'kindling' from the pecan trees this morning.

It was still raining so I went outside during a break and put the gutter extenders on.

So far so good! NO water or damp places in the house!

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon filling all our pillboxes for the next four weeks.

It's best if I concentrate when I do this so Louis Dean was in his music room and I had Alaska The Last Frontier on TV.

Mine....

I'm thankful that we are relatively healthy and grateful for modern day medicine.

Our boxes have both prescriptions, over the counter, and vitamins and such.

His....

I'm also thankful we only take morning and evening medicine!

I keep all of it in a small suitcase I can roll in and and then store away - taking out only a week at a time. It put me in mind of the nursing home where Lillian lives and the one who wheels this huge cart with every one's medicine in it and dispenses it door by door as she goes down the hall.

I had not thought before what an enormous responsibility that is.

I've taught Louis Dean to take his own medicine and by that I mean I do not even hand it to him.

He has to get it and take it so he can be responsible for himself.

And also to LOOK at it before he takes it.

His blood pressure pills are the size of a piece of lint so he's learned to count how many pills and make sure there's not two of something.

Even though he is borderline diabetic - he's not on any medication for that.

Over all we are both in pretty good health....although you wouldn't know it to look at our pill boxes!

It was 4:00 before I left the house today to shop for a few groceries at Aldi.

I'm fixing Hungarian Goulash for lunch tomorrow and Kimmy and June are coming.

Summer will be here later in the afternoon so she will sit outside with us to hand out candy.

We may need a heater for the front porch!

I like shopping at Aldi and the unique items they have seasonally.

Today I bought an assortment of cookies plus this wine from France.

It was only $5.99 a bottle while the supply lasts.

I decided to chance it and bought four bottles to fill up my wine rack.

Sure enough - it's really good!

While Louis Dean brought the groceries in, I went out and covered some of the flowers with blankets and towels. It's to be 31 degrees here tonight!

Louis Dean hauled his monster Aloe Vera plants in from outside and they are all in his music room.

I guess they will live there until spring.

Tonight we went over to Brenda and Billy's house and picked up the Rainbow vacuum I bought from the estate sale for Brenda's parents. My Rainbow was seriously crippled up and this one is smaller and not nearly as bulky as my old one. I'm so happy to get this! I am going to try to keep it as clean and nice as Mary did.

I wish I had taken pictures of Brenda's house.

It is beautiful!

She has incorporated lots of things that were her mom's.

For every item she brought in - she took one out.

What a great idea!

Next week I will be changing out my closet to the winter season and I am going to be ruthless!

Critter Chores Day #3 -and a Goat Rescue!

We went down for a last round of critter chores this morning.

I start off with this pic of the chickens in the peacock pen.

They live companionably with the peacock and peahen.

Guineas used to live in here but they would peck at the peacock's feathers.

The wild peacock hangs around the place but they can't put him in the pen because there's only one female and she's already spoken for!

I had gone in to let Rufus out and feed the mops and cats plus fix the medicine for Rufus and let him back in. I gave him the last steak bone so he was a happy dog.

I went out to check on Louis Dean and finish feeding all the chickens.

Oh, MY!!! This goat had got himself in a major tangle with some wire tomato supports.

He was hysterical and I didn't blame him one bit!

Louis Dean found some wire cutters and he calmed right down.

That was some sturdy wire and he had really got himself in an awful mess!

Happy to say it was a successful rescue operation!

Pretty soon they were all out in the meadow looking all innocent and chomping away at the grass.

We were too late to eat breakfast by the time we got back to the camper so I started a steak lunch.

I never did get tomatoes that awful I Love Lucy day so we went with a green salad.....lettuce, celery and avocado.

Dean and Sherry are home from Roy and Ruth Ann's 50th wedding anniversary and the renewing of their vows.

I just love this picture their daughter posted on Facebook today.

Ruth Ann looks so happy!

She was excited that she had every bit as much of her family as Roy did of his.

We were sorry to have missed this milestone occasion but I talked to her last night on the phone and then Dean and Sherry told us all the highlights this afternoon!

I have pretty much finished this dozen of painted ornaments.

I need to fix a few more things - the big bird's eyes and other details but they are all mostly done except for the red truck.

These are all based in and I am packing it all up to take home with me on Tuesday and I plan to finish it all next week. My goal is to have all my art projects finished by November 16th. That's when I take fall down and start putting Christmas up. This year I am only getting out one quarter of my Christmas decorations. We plan on doing more Christmas activities like attending Christmas programs, maybe a trip to Big Spring to see Chandy and her family, a Bee Meeting pot luck and some other things. Maybe some of the grandchildren will be in Christmas programs. Less decorating and more going places, I think. My knee replacement surgery is scheduled for January 6th and I want all of Christmas to be packed away and the house clean before I go to the hospital.

I took a break between  'putting my pictures on' and 'writing my words' by the campfire with Louis Dean. We were talking about all that we accomplished while we have been here starting with that electric and plumbing problem that hit us the minute we came in.

Electric is fixed and I am so proud of Louis Dean!

Tomorrow we are going to Waco and get the parts to fix the plumbing. 

It's working for the time being but we are having to use the pump.

This has been the most challenging visit to the country this year but we did it!

For every problem we face - there is a solution.

We just have to find it and not panic.

Sometimes that's hard for me!

My motto is usually.....

When in trouble and when in doubt....

run in circles, scream and shout!

And usually I am very good at this but I am learning to ...

"Be still, and know that I am God......"

Psalm 46:10

Critter Chores Day #2 - Saturday

It was another chilly morning here on the ranch and we bundled up to do the critter chores but not quite as much as we did on Friday. The wind was blowing icy cold like it did yesterday. 

It wasn't all that muddy either.

The wild peacock was up on the top looking down at the ones in the pen.

All three of them are sporting fresh new feathers and are such pretty colors.

When we walked down I noticed the baby goats in the garden and then realized all the goats were in there!

So we shut the gates and left them stay since the garden is spent anyway.

Just look at all that salad they can eat!

They were chomping away as happy as they can be.

We did have a fowl fatality. 

One of the pretty black chickens was dead in the hen house that held five of them. 

It may have died a natural death as its eyes were closed and there was no damage done to it.

That particular hen house has a low ceiling so I was pretty proud of myself for picking it up by its feet and taking it out. Louis Dean took care of it after that.

Speaking of Louis Dean - for whatever reason he had a rough night and didn't get to sleep until 5:00 this morning. He said every muscle on him ached. It was from lying on the floor in awkward positions for hours yesterday working on that wiring.

Today he took it easy and worked on organizing his music notebooks.

I forgot to brag on him about something the other day. On that awful I Love Lucy day.

Remember the red spray paint on the toilet seat and porcelain? Well, he got it all off!

Scrubbed it with Comet and steel wool! But guess what? I went in his workshop room looking for a screw driver and he had found some guttering and tin to fix over the camper door where the rain just poured down the other day getting the carpet all wet. He had hung it up in there and spray painted it!

Brown! I asked him why he did that inside the house and he said it was too chilly outside!

I have  requested that IF he insists on painting inside - to keep it in that shop room. NOT the bathroom and certainly not in the front room.

It's been a slow day here and I have rested much of it.

I think I will go out and do some art before bed.

I'll close tonight's journal entry with the most beautiful 'witch' I've ever seen!

Amber and Mike took the kids to a Fall Festival this afternoon and sent me this pic.

And I can't close without wishing my first born a Happy Birthday!

We had planned to be together today but that didn't work out.

She did feel a little better and was able to get out of the house.

I love and admire her so much and we will celebrate next week!

So that's it, folks.

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.

Want to share what y'all are up to? 

I would love to know.....

Critter Chores Day #1....Friday

The wind and rain made wonderful sleeping weather last night!

Even though my bed was a modge podge of rumpled up sheets and quilts - I slept snug as a bug in a rug. It was wonderful to at last have our electrical problem figured out! My dreams were much less chaotic and I woke up feeling ever so much better!

As soon as we had a good cup of coffee down, we were layering on our clothes and going down to do Critter Chores.

It wasn't all that cold but the wind felt like ice.

I had my jeans and shirt on with a jacket and then a country apron. 

And socks on my hands because I couldn't find my gloves.

Louis Dean bundled up even more that I did.

He kept his pajamas on and then his overalls and a flannel shirt and a big jacket that Amber gave him for Christmas last year and he has worn it so much!

All critters accounted for and we were back up at the camper cabin within and hour!

I made us a big country breakfast for our lunch.

The eggs are such pretty colors.

Then Louis Dean went to work on fixing the electric.

Seems there was a break in the wire from the converter which is under the kitchen cabinet to the box which is under the girl bunk. Not hard to fix once you know where the problem is.

My Knight in shining armor worked all afternoon and right up until it was time for the evening chores. But he got it done!!

My sweet Rufus!

He is loving the T-bone steak bones!

I had three and he got one this morning and evening with one more for tomorrow.

I worked on my art today.

This was my second session on this one and I have two more sessions to go.

Plus I based in another half dozen ornaments and will do the other 6 tomorrow.

I cooked a pot of great white northern beans all afternoon and they smelled so good.

Perfect food for this cold Texas day! What a difference from a few days ago.

I made a box of Jiffy cornbread mix and sliced up an onion. Good eating!

Louis Dean looks tired and rightly so.

I'm proud of him for being able to fix so many things.

We are warm and toasty thanks to Summer and the electric heater she gave us last year.

I have started putting the camper back together.

Sometimes I just need candle light and fragrance.

And a well made bed with flannel sheets and warm blankets - and an open window right beside the bed. I love sleeping in cool air while staying warm and cozy under the covers.

I'm a happy camper tonight!!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

An 'I Love Lucy' Kind of Day!

This has been a long day.

Last night just as I cranked myself around and pulled my feet up in the girl bunk - I heard a hissing sound. The toilet was pouring out water at the connection! Louis Dean raced out to turn the water off and we were back where we started. No water. At least we still had water in the big bathroom. 

So I made several trips out there Wednesday night.

This morning - for the third time - I pulled all the bedding off the girl bunk including the mattress.

Louis Dean started back to work trying to get that water problem corrected.

This time it was a hose and he managed to make that work - for awhile anyway.

I left the bedding off since Don, the electrician, was coming by later.

All the time Louis Dean was working on the bathroom, I seemed to get in his way. 

No matter where I was!

So I fixed a big glass of tea and sat in my pretty corner in the front room and, either read or stared into space. It was 80 degrees today and at least that corner has a cross breeze so it wasn't too bad.

Seemed like every where my eyes looked, there was either disorder or chaos or just plain ugly and dirty. So! I gave myself a good talking to and ventured back in the camper to get some Comet and Pine Sol and took them to the big bathroom and started scrubbing the laundry sink in there.

Wouldn't you KNOW- Louis Dean said he needed to get to that sink!

"Of course, you do," I said - in my NOT most loving voice!

Back to my chair and I read several pages before thinking the coast was clear enough for me to try cleaning that bathroom again.

I scrubbed and cleaned both the sink and the toilet.

I tried my best to get the red paint spatters off the commode lid and noticed it was also on the porcelain in front. Where did that come from, you may ask??

Louis Dean spray painted a tub inside the bathroom!

I know!!! When we were first married, he spray painted a desk IN the house!

It was in his music room, thank goodness. Now you know why I seldom take any pictures in there.

Y'all wouldn't believe it even if you saw it!!

I digress. 

It was now about 1:30 and I decided to take myself to town and cheer myself up.

I also thought that if I left - maybe Don would come.

You know how you wait for food in a restaurant and finally get up and go to the bathroom - and then the food comes! I had called him earlier and he said he would be by after he fed his horses, which are not far from the ranch.

Louis Dean asked me if I would pick up a bottle of Gorilla Glue - the kind that works on metal and plastic. He handed me the bottle of old dried up glue - dry due to not having the lid on - so I would know which kind to get. I dropped it in my purse and put myself in his big white truck and was on my way.

It was a pretty day and I started to feel better about things.

I stopped to take a couple of pictures and decided to go the back roads and come up beside the Dollar General store and shop there before going on down Texas Avenue to Read's Grocery for the fresh vegetables I needed.

They had just set up their Christmas display.

This isle is in the very center of the store and is always fixed up so pretty.

I needed 'pretty' today!

I fished around and found the glue bottle in my purse and, sure enough, they only carried the Gorilla Glue for wood. I went ahead and got it along with another small Gorilla something that you combine two bottles together to make it work.

I checked out and loaded my stuff in the back of the truck and then just sat there in the truck and ate a snack of cheese and crackers that I had just purchased. Life was feeling much better.......until.....

I fished out my phone and a pair of glasses and noticed sticky stuff on the phone.

I got my cloth hanky out - I had taken the insert out of my purse before going in the store since it was so heavy - and tried to wipe what I thought was honey off of the phone. WHY did I think it was honey? Same color and I had just had honey dripped down on me yesterday when I was sitting on the couch. Alas, it was the not-so-dried up Gorilla glue!

I took my shoulder wallet/bag and went back in the store and purchased some Goo Gone that said it removed lots of things including glue! I had to ask the checker to open it for me. Everything I touched got glue on it because my hands were covered. Glue was even on my credit card so she poured some of the GOO on a rag and wiped my card off for me and then put it back in my wallet.

The truck keys were sticky. What a mess! The wallet/bag had been inside my purse and the strap had glue on it so that meant where it touched my shirt was sticky. I decided to forget about the tomatoes at Read's and go straight back to the ranch!

And, NO, Don had not come while I was gone!

Louis Dean helped me unload. Praise God that I had taken the insert out of my purse.

Still, some things were a total loss. I put the ruined purse in the fire pit and was grateful I had bought it at a Goodwill.

That's when it hit me that I was living like I Love Lucy and I started to laugh - much to Louis Dean's relief! It was now 4:00 and we were friends again sitting out on the deck visiting when we saw Don up at the gate.

Long story short - Don finally ran the problem to ground but it took awhile.

He had a flat bed trailer behind his truck loaded with horse feed.

 He has 50 horses! 

Well, the 3 down here were out there eating like they were at a Golden Corral buffet!

So, Louis Dean had to stay out there and guard his truck so I sat in the camper and acted as a gopher for Don. Guess what I did while I was sitting there? Picking dry glue out of the hair at my temples....where I had slid that sticky pair of glasses on!

Like I said, he found the problem and hooked up a temporary fix so everything works now....

if you don't mind the big coil of wire running from under the built in fridge over to under the girl bunk! Louis Dean will do the permanent fix himself which involves getting underneath the camper. 

It's a good thing the pump works now because the repair to the toilet is not going to hold so we have to turn the pump on whenever we need water in the camper and then turn it right back off again.

I was going to ask Louis Dean when that is going to get fixed since he needs to buy a certain kind of hose.....but I have decided to come in and write this journal entry and go to bed.

I didn't make the bed up very well since I have to tear it all apart again in the morning.

The girl bunk is right on top of the water reservoir and the toilet place he is going to fix is inside that area.

Dean and Sherry left this evening for the 50th wedding anniversary celebration for Roy and Ruth Ann this weekend. Our Critter Chores start in the morning.

Sadly, Summer is in too much pain to make it down here for her birthday.

Everything is in such a mess anyway, it's probably a good thing she won't be here but I hate that she's hurting so much. She has an appointment next week for the pain management doctor and will know more about the upcoming surgery then.

I close tonight's journal entry with Rugar and Remmie.

The cold front arrived along with some rain.

And with that, I am signing off and going to bed.

Just hoping most of what I've said made some sort of sense!