Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Picking Pecans and other Wednesday Things.....

We haven't had a good pecan crop in several years and this year will not be a great one - but we are getting some! This morning I woke up to beautiful cool fall weather!! With the doors open, I could hear the squirrels chirping away and I just KNEW they were going to eat up every pecan on the tree!


They did that one year! 
So Louis Dean and I go out every afternoon like little old farmers gathering in the harvest - albeit a meager one.


In years past, the harvest would be so great it would fill a couple of big galvanized trash cans plus baskets and baskets full of pecans!
I'm just hoping for enough to make a couple batches of Fruitcake Cookies for the holidays.

This afternoon we rallied around and went out to finish getting the rain curtains up in the gazebo.


It's all quite comfy in here now. 
We couldn't find new garden chairs that we liked and could afford. 
Louis Dean held on to his old OLD chair that was well over 25 years old for the longest.
After the gazebo came down for repairs - I hauled it to the curb and Louis Dean never said a word.
We are using a chair and a double seat glider that we already had for now.
Making do with what we have is something we are both pretty good at.
Do you see my charming Witch tree?


Here she is!!
I found a shoe for her in the guest room - alas - I only had one!


This is the comfy glider and I am loving it!
A great place to read! 


When it came time to tighten up the curtain rods Louis Dean made (from PVC pipes he spray painted to match the gazebo and hung along the perimeter) we couldn't make the seams meet.


No problem.
I took one of our old rain curtains, measured it out to allow a bit of extra room and stitched a seam down the length, cut off the excess and hung them up. The zippers matched easily and now we can close it all up in bad weather!

I came in to do some art and Louis Dean took a long hot soaking bath.
Then he went to bed.
Neither one of us slept well last night.
At 3:30 this morning I had gone into the guest room after finally getting up and fixing a hot toddy to curb the coughing fits that had kept me awake. I had just got to sleep when Louis Dean came in and flipped on the lights and was about to crawl into bed - not yet realizing I was already there!!!
He had got cold (AC in the bedroom was on) and decided to sleep the rest of the night in the guest room. He backed out when he found me there but I decided it was best to get up and switch beds with him. Sure enough, he was back in the bedroom heaving blankets around with the big light on and turning the AC off. We are a pair at night never knowing which one of us won't be able to sleep. I'm sure my coughing didn't help him get to sleep! Tonight he hugged me goodnight and said he was going to start out in the guest room. Wise man. 
He's so funny. This morning I found a big white bowl, his big spoon (he uses big spoons - not the teaspoons in the silverware set) and a box of frosted mini wheats.....in the bathroom! He gets up and takes it all in there where it is warmer and eats. One night I got up to go to the bathroom and I heard this clicking sound. It was the spoon hitting against the bowl as he ate his cereal. I just went back to bed. That's why I wasn't surprised to see the cereal box this morning. He keeps it in his clothes cupboard right there in the bathroom!


I'm still painting Tipsy Donkeys!


And I started a few small fun canvases and hope to finish them in time to use as door prizes for the Bee Meeting this month. It's next Tuesday so I better finish them tomorrow and hope they dry in time. Reds and blues are the slowest oils to dry so I should be okay.

That's it for tonight's journal entry!
I'm going back to the dining room and paint for awhile longer.
It seems it is late afternoon before I really get going. Guess that's why I stay up so late!

16 comments:

  1. You and LD are quite a pair. You remind me of Joe and myself. We get up at all hours and I often find myself on the sofa for the rest of the night. Glad you are getting some pecans this year. Something is better than nothing. Your gazebo looks so cozy and inviting. I would love to sit out there reading and sipping a cup of tea. Hope you have a good night tonight and get some sleep.

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  2. Inside your gazebo is beautiful! To me, it looks like an English country cottage living room. We do not have a room with a spare bed in it, but if we did, we may be just like you two! Your donkeys are so cute! And this picture of the witch tree is so much better!!

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  3. Your cozy outdoor space looks so inviting and comfortable. Closing the curtains and lights and decorations - just right !
    Hugs.
    Joy

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  4. The gazebo looks so inviting, good for you sewing on the old curtain! Surprised Louis let his chair go so easily.
    When you finish your paintings, I'm always amazed and admiring! You know when to lift your brush!

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  5. Your gazebo is wonderful! Making do works.

    Between you and Louis Dean crashing around in the night, it’s a wonder either of you get any rest.

    Happy painting and baking and cleaning and shopping and whatever else (pecan shucking) you get up to!

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  6. Both of you have made your home so comfy. Hope the cough is healing.

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  7. Seems odd that the pecan tree doesn't produce like it use to, hope you get enough for your baking. Yes it is true it is a talent to not only make do with what you have but to make it nice as well!

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  8. You ew blessed to have your won pecan tree. They are my very favorite nut. Lots of back breaking work picking them up though. Looks like you got enough to make it worth it. Your gazebo is an extension of your home, cozy and welcoming. It's Like having an extra room to enjoy. Sorry though that you are both having sleep issues. I'm one that once I go to sleep, stays asleep the whole night through. You're like ships that pass in the night getting settled there. Hope you both had a much needed rest last night. Happy Thursday!

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  9. Hope your cough is getting better. No fun to be kept awake with something like that.
    Your gazebo interior looks so inviting, and LD was an amazing good sport about his chair. I know how hard it is to get rid of something you've loved for years and years. Not sure I would have been able to let it go like that.
    I love pecans--and I love fruit cake. Any chance you might be willing to share your recipe for the fruitcake cookies?

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  10. Hi Linda :)) I LOVE your gazebo! Oh it's so cozy, I want to have a nice warm mulled wine with a good book in there! Love the decorations and your witch tree!!! Oh that's cute about Louis Dean's cereal clinking lol...made me smile! Your paintings are so pretty! Alex and I have issues with sleeping too. Sometimes he goes to sleep in his office on the lazyboy because he has acid reflux some nights. I'm just a terribly light sleeper and anything wakes me up. I usually just keep lying in bed and eventually nod off again. I take lots of naps!!!

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  11. Oh Linda, you two are quite a pair. It seems like you and LD do the bedroom, guest room "dance" a lot.
    I do understand that, Hubby and I do that sometimes too.
    Hope your cough and issues get well quickly.
    I love your rain curtains and how they make your gazebo so cozy and snug.
    Love your paintings also and hope you get those door prizes done for the Bee get together.

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  12. I'm a night owl, too, Linda, but once I fall asleep I usually sleep deep. I'm also like LD and don't like to be too cold, so my warm wool blanket is already on my side of the bed. Your mini paintings are wonderful! The donkey is so cute and funny and the bees so pretty! I hope your cough goes away soon--my husband is fighting a similar constant cough these days.

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  13. I hope you get feeling better - we keep trading colds around here and coughs.
    your gazebo is beautiful! I love it. Who would have thought of all that with the lights to look so pretty. You two are so funny when it comes to sleeping and wonderfin around at night. Eating in the bathroom and all! Love it, sandie

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  14. Love the background colour on those little paintings. Just fab. Cheers

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  15. I love your gazebo!

    That is so funny about LD and his cereal eating!

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  16. LOL I can't believe LD eats his cereal in the bathroom. But if he's a happy warm man who cares. We have a big pecan tree here the native pecan kind. I see some pecans but not a lot since we've owned the property.
    My CPAP machine tunes out most noises so I never realize if David gets up unless Lilley makes a movement or sound and lets me know.
    Hope that cough goes away soon. And that gazebo is so inviting. Love the wonky tipsy donkey. Hugs

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