Home Again!

 We left Snyder at 11:00 Monday morning and only made two stops in the 254 miles to home. 
That's nearly unheard of for me!

First stop was the Cracker Barrel in Abilene.

I count that as one stop even though Louis Dean filled up with diesel right next door.

I just love Cracker Barrel! 

The ambiance and the fragrance is different from Starbucks but it feels the same - if you know what I mean! I sigh and have an 'ah' moment when I go in the door of either place.

We then trucked along until we got to Thurber, Texas where we ate lunch at The Smokestack.

I don't know what I'm looking for in that margarita but it sure was good!

Louis Dean was a happy man with his chicken fried steak that was more than enough for two full meals!

He ate the rest of it tonight!

I had a turkey sandwich and onion rings and brought half my sandwich home and ate it for my supper.

Those onion rings were really good and not at all greasy.

They must have used an air fryer.

I don't have one of those but I'm thinking about it.

We arrived home before 5:00 and unloaded.

Before I even put things up - I went to bed and took a nap!

Not a deep sleep but a nice restful one.

The children that live behind us were out in their backyard and I loved hearing their voices as they played and laughed. We don't have many children in the neighborhood any more so I am happy for the few we do.

Summer had things so nice for our homecoming.

Music was playing and some of my little lights were on.

The AC was off and the attic fam was on - we LOVE our attic fan!

The French doors were open for the first time in months!

She fixed chicken pot pies for our supper that night and we ate them in the gazebo.

I came in and had sacked up a bag of trash to take to the curb before we went to bed when I saw a critter foraging around it.

A raccoon!!!

THAT'S what's been around here!

I thought I had been feeding cats and maybe a possum.

This one is pretty big!

It had paid a visit to Stephanie next door as well.

Louis Dean found his critter cage and has it primed with cookies and apples tonight.

We hope to catch it and then take it to a more appropriate habitat!

It was wonderful sleeping COLD with no AC!!!

 That attic fan pulled all the cool air in  and we slept like babies!

This morning I read all the birthday cards that had come in the mail while we were away.

I have truly celebrated all month long!

My neighbor, Tamara, had dropped off this super cool top and I just love it!

"Life is fine with a glass of wine."

I am embracing my short pixie haircut and am allowing the back to swirl around my natural - what do you call it??? I can't find the word for it in my brain but it's where you hair wamts to go on its own.

COWLICK! That's it!!!

I also bit the bullet and ordered a short blonde pixie cut wig.

I got to the checkout on line three times and closed it out every time.

Then Louis Dean came in and said, "Just DO it if that's what you want."

So I did!

Summer has been staying here all month and this afternoon she packed up her things and went home to Rowlett. Before she left, she gave me two new warm white candelabra lights.

I have one lamp that is simply perfect for them!

Love the pretty glow!

I spent some time this evening pulling up some of the jungle overgrowth that happens when I am not home to keep it in check.

This Wandering Jew is so easy to grow! You don't even need to plant it!

I have broken off pieces and literally just threw them on the ground and the next thing I know -

they are everywhere! I gathered up two grocery bags full of pieces to take to Amber tomorrow.

Tabitha's eye is all better now.

She bought a new toy and all the kitties love it!!

I sure do appreciate her taking such good care of them!

And sending me pictures and videos of their shenanigans!

We are going to pick these two up tomorrow after the kids finish their school day.

They wanted to keep them as long as possible. 

But the quads are coming over this Friday to spend the entire weekend with us and can continue to love on Samantha and Tabitha while they're here.

I have had such a wonderful Birthday Month and made so many great memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Tomorrow will my last September Morn of 2020.

I'm listening to Neil Diamond now as I write.

One last day......one last morn.

I have decided to celebrate the last September Morn much as I did the first one this month.

I am going to make Fruitcake Cookies and Pumpkin muffins.

I'm loving all my fall decorations and the scents of pumpkin and spice.

At the Smokestack yesterday I spied a display pf Morenici candles - 

so I bought one! Orange and spice! Smells delicious.

Reminds me of the Applejack and peel potpourri I used to have long ago.

Guess what??

I stopped writing and ran over to Amazon and ordered a bottle of the Applejack and Peel oil!!!

I have chatted long enough! Louis Dean is already in bed asleep so I am going to enjoy walking through my fall decorated home wearing a sweater and sipping my evening glass of wine while I think about all my September Blessings.....

One more September Morn!

The first and the last ones are the MOST special.

Spending Time With Chandy And Her Family....

 We were excited to see Chris and Chandy's new place. 
They are literally in the country just outside Snyder.

It was a beautiful Saturday evening.

Here's Louis Dean's first meeting with great-grandson Jaxon Dean!

He's one month old and just precious!
Chandy had him at 38 weeks and he weighed 5 pounds.

Look how he's already grown!

Love his expression and he looks up at Chandy while holding the baby!

I should have snapped Chandy's face as she looked back at him.

Piercyn and Bella helped get the gifts out of the back of the truck.

I had a tub of snacks that we pulled forward and the kids ate chips and queso using the tailgate as a table. They loved the bag of Clementines! Bella asked me to peel hers and she ate two and her brother ate five! Piercyn asked me why I brought them and I said, "For YOU!"

Kaitlyn is so beautifu!! 

She and Chandy blew balloons up as fast as the kids could play with and pop them!

We all sat around outside and visited.

Except for Chris!

 He is a hard working man and stayed busy the entire time.

He had the four wheeler up so Kaitlyn could give her siblings rides.

He had pulled his huge BBQ set up from Big Springs along with bedroom and living room furniture.

Before he set all that up - he was cooking hot dogs for everybody.

I'm glad I got a picture of Piercyn opening his quilt.

Chandy and the kids spent the night there in the new house with Chris last night and she sent me a pic this morning. Piercyn had the quilt up beside him.

Saturday night's sunset in West Texas!

Chandy sent me this photo of Jaxon Dean this Sunday morning!

He is absolutely adorable!!

Chandy has such beautiful children!

Piercyn is a prefect blend of his mama and daddy.

Love those dimples!

He and I had a lot of fun playing Knock Knock jokes this afternoon!

I had my phone and was belting them out right and left - much to his delight!

Bella's third birthday has been a two day weekend event.

I think she liked her pillow and comforter.

Uncle Dean sent his 55+ years old  metal firetruck from the early 60's with us.

Chris is handier than a pocket on a shirt - as my old friend Jean used to say.

We had a good weekend with the family!

They are in the process of fixing up their recently acquired country home and are moving in as Chris and his crew are working. Chris reminds Louis Dean of himself when he was younger.

Working until he can't go anymore and then sleeping. Then doing it again as soon as he wakes up.

They have some unique pieces of furniture!

Chris has an artist friend who makes these amazing chairs from truck grills.

Here's another one!

Now Louis Dean wants one.

Chandy Girl rolls with the flow and made this whole weekend a success even though the house has no running water yet and the electricity is on a generator that Chris has ingeniously hooked up in such a way as to run his equipment and keep one section of the house that is the most finished cool.

By the time we visit again in December, they will be all in although the house will be 'under construction' for a long time. They got a great deal on this property which is on 4 acres with not one but TWO houses! 10 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms! Chris owns his own flooring company and is a master of so many trades it makes my head swim! He can do it all - electric - plumbing - carpentry - painting - flooring - welding- I don't think there is ANYTHING he can't do and do well!!

The smaller house will serve as his shop - at least for the time being.

To top it off - he's a mean rattlesnake killer!

Last night he killed three!

Plus he killed a really big one by the front door on Friday.

One of the first things he did when he got the keys to the property was to mow!

And cut back the low hanging trees in the front.

He constantly scans the place with his eyes as he walks and works looking for snakes.

He cut the rattle off of this one and gave it to me!

I thought that was so cool!!

*Source*

West Texas is a different kind of place.

Not only does he have to watch for snakes but centipedes and scorpions abound.

He showed us a centipede today that was huge!

While not fatal - they are poisonous.

Another problem critter is the scorpion!

It was like a game Saturday night spotting them on the outside walls and killing them.

Texas, fortunately, does not have any medically dangerous scorpions, it's still a good idea to stay away from them. Removing brush and debris from overgrown areas is the first bit of business when you get a piece of property that hasn't been lived in for a few years. And that's exactly what Chris has been doing.

And finally......

they have bees!!

Honeybees in the side of the house by the bedroom they are using.
Chandy got stung last night so that's another issue Chris is forced to deal with.
I looked up a local beekeeper on the list of Texas Beekeepers Associations in Texas.
There are two listed for Scurry county.
While our association will do cut outs and bee removals in order to keep the bees - as we had done at the ranch a few years ago and that's how Sherry and I became interested in beekeeping - the one I called charged $275 for the removal.
In this day and age you don't want to be killing bees since they are so essential to our crops.
I hope they can find someone who will just come out and relocate the bees.

We have had a good time with Chris and Chandy and the kids.
But now it is time to go home.

And we are going home with new memories to treasure!

Exploring Snyder, Texas!

 We are staying in a no frills motel room and we are fine with that.
However, we didn't realize we didn't have a small coffee pot in our room or coffee available in the lobby. Covid 19 has changed so much.
Even though a complimentary breakfast was included in our room - due to Covid - it really wasn't.

We slept in, dressed and was out and about shortly before 11:00 looking for breakfast, and more importantly, COFFEE! I used Waze to locate coffee shops and we spent some time driving to first one place and then another only to discover the coffee shop or cafe is no longer in business.
We've seen first hand how Covid 19 has affected this small West Texas town.
With a population of 11,165.....there has been 646 reported cases of the virus and 4 deaths.

We eventually gave up on finding a comfortable coffee shop with real coffee cups and a friendly waitress keeping them filled. Instead we parked at the McDonald's and arrived too late to have breakfast. But we did get our coffee! I order a small coffee - half coffee and half hot water with 6 creamers! - while Louis Dean ordered a large black. You have to admit - McDonald's has really good coffee!

Next stop - Walmart to buy a coffee pot, coffee, filters and more to fit into a new tub that we will keep in the truck for when we travel. We can transfer it to our car when needed. Plus a coffee cake for in the morning and a box of donuts just because!

On our way back to our motel, we spied the Scurry County Republican Party Headquarters.

We parked and went in!

What a fun place!

They had a great photo op set up and we had a lot of fun taking pictures.

This window display was just a few dorrs down at a shop.

We were headed back to our motel when we passed this!

The Scurry County Visitors Center!

How unique and special!

All sorts of vintage 'debris!'

My brother in law, Mike, loves Sinclair!

Who wouldn't love this cool truck??

My friend, Rhonda, remembers her dad always said, "Take care! Buy Sinclair!"

It was a another good photo op!

We are headed to the country this evening to Chandy and Chris's new place to celebrate Bella's third birthday! And to meet Jaxon! And to deliver Piercyn's April birthday gift!

When I talked to them on the phone earlier, Piercyn said that Granddad needs to bring his guitar because he's been practicing a song to play for Bella's party tonight!

Guitar loaded and we are heading to the country to PARTY tonight!!

My 72nd Birthday and the Day After!

 Yesterday I woke up to my first day of being 72 years old.
I didn't feel any different than the day before.

I think age comes slowly......as in one day at a time.
My goal is to live each day to the best of my ability....try to keep my sense of humor intact....not sweat the small stuff and take advantage of every opportunity for new experiences. I pray and read my Bible every day....eat healthy meals most of the time...get plenty of sleep and exercise, and spend time with those I love and who love me.

Louis Dean drove me to town so I could get my hair cut and my nails done for my birthday.

This corner on County Line Road is covered with pretty morning glories.

I consider them weeds when they grow up and over my landscaping plants at home - but here in the country - they are spots of beauty!!

After my appointments, we had lunch at El Conquistador - again.

I love that place!

Not fancy but oh, so good!

Potato nachos! Ate a third of them and took the rest home.....

and I had them for lunch today!

We had a lot to do to get ready to leave this morning so it was actually after 1:00 this afternoon when we left.

We picked the melon garden last night after we got home and I hosed these down to get all the dirt off before we loaded them up to take with us. I thought we may eat a couple of them this weekend when we visit Chandy and her family.

And that's where we headed this morning!

ETA was off by an hour and I am shocked we were not even later than that!

We stopped at every rest area on the way.

But we had fun!

We spent a little time walking around and snapping pictures and getting the kinks out of our legs!

Louis Dean did a good job driving.

I can't help with that since my legs are too short and I can't move the seat up for fear that it won't go back! And I'm not too sad about that situation, either! I actually don't LIKE driving all that much.

I do it but it's nicer when someone else can do it for me!

WE are checked into our modest little motel room.....the old fashioned kind where you park in front of the door. This way you don't have to unload everything and if you need something - just open the door and take a few steps and get it!

We arrived before dark and touched base with Chandy.

Since we are tired and they are still in Big Spring, we decided to meet up tomorrow.

We are so excited to get to see everyone!

We found a Mexican restaurant less than a mile from our motel!

Really good - but not nearly as good as El Conquistador!

We are back in our room and locked up tight.

Looking forward to all the excitememt of meeting our newest great grandson and celebrating Bella's third birthday - which is officially today - visiting with Kaitlyn and Piercyn - and seeing Chris and Chandy's new place!

I will close tonight's journal entry with an updat on Tabitha.....

her eye looks so much better!

Amber says she has been taking her pills wrapped in a bit of cream cheese and she's had no trouble putting her eye drops in. I think Tabitha loves Amber and I know Amber loves her!!

I sure am missing our little kitties!!

Our friend, Dawn from Florida, posted this chart on her Facebook page this morning.

Dawn LOVES words more than anyone I know!

I am familiar with all but a couple of these!

Fibbertigibbet???

Kerfuffle?

How many of these do YOU use???

Goodnight from Snyder, Texas!!!