Catching Up on the Days.....Tuesday ~ Saturday......

 There's always something to see down here at the ranch!

From peacocks to bees to all manner of critters and the odd happening now and then,

I was sound asleep in the girl bunk on Tuesday morning and woke up when the AC went off.

Sherry had walked up to the camper cabin and told Louis Dean the electric company was here to put in a new power pole and the electricity would go off soon and stay off for an hour or two.

That's when he switched my coffee pot ON and then came in and turned the AC OFF.

Our timing was good and the coffee was ready just before the power went out.

We took our cups to the front deck and settled down to watch the action from there.

It was pretty cool seeing a new and taller pole go up and the old one come down.

Sure enough, the power was back on in under two hours!

I spent most of Tuesday afternoon doing my art projects with this patriotic one finally based in.

It's for a friend and former neighbor, Tim. I'm hoping to have it to him by Thanksgiving.

All my art supplies are here at the ranch and it's the only place I paint these days.

After this session, I cleaned my brushes, packed up the art supplies, and put the table settings back in place. Then I cleaned myself up and got ready for our September bee meeting for the Heart of Texas Bee Keepers. I was ready when Sherry picked me up shortly after she got off work. 

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We met Rosey at Casa Ole for our favorite part of the night.

We talked and caught up with each other and the minutes just flew by.

Since we arrived in two vehichles, I rode with Rosey to the meeting.

I suppose, when you come right down to it, our friends are the most important thing about these bee meetings. We learn more from each other than we do from the speakers and visiting with each other just fills our buckets up.

While Rosey is a dear friend to both Sherry and me, Larry is a bright spot to us, too.

He's always smiling! We sit with them down in the front row seats  of the auditorium. I used to be a 'back seat sitter' but over the years I've become fond of sitting up front and center. That way I don't miss anything.

It wasn't even 10:00 when we got back to the ranch.

Louis Dean had the most fragrant campfire waiting for me.

He had timed it perfectly!

We poured our wine and sat out for one last September evening in the country.

It was the perfect last night!

It was about 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon when Louis Dean swung the gate outward and we left the ranch.

The ranch is only two and a half hours from home.....in time.

But it's like a completely different world.

We came in, unloaded, I started the laundry, we took our baths and went to bed.

I had to be up early for a post op doctor appointment in Arlington on Thursday morning.

September 30......one last cup of coffee while listening to Neil Diamond sing September Morn.

I baked a batch of cookies to take to the doctor and Physician's Assistant and put chicken wings in a crockpot for our lunch. Louis Dean loves Hot Wings!

The doctor offices occupy the complete upper level of a savy strip shopping area and even the parking lot is landscaped nicely. I got a good report and will see Dr. Nuss in a month or so and then I can return to normal life with no limits on lifting, twisting, and exercising.

I dropped Levi's painting off for him - he was in school - and headed home after a short visit with my sweet daughter-in-law.

Louis Dean had brought in the mail and I was so excited to see a box from our friend, Dawn, in Florida.

I think she and I have been blogger friends since the beginning - back in 2010.

That bee hive in the lower left is already hanging by our front door. It's a door knocker and perfect for us since we do not have a door bell. Thank you, Dawn!! You are so sweet to us!

That day seemed to last a very long time. So long that when we went to bed, it didn't seem like it should STILL be Thursday. It was a good day.....just long.

Summer arrived back from her road trip to New England to stay with us for awhile.

I had meant to cook a steak dinner and yet we were all so tired, we all three went to bed early.

Friday morning was a whole new day and we all felt better.

Summer had brought back syrup from her visit to Vermont.......

So I made waffles!

And we had a syrup tasting from the three kinds - delicate, rich and robust.

Jenna - a family friend - had sent these by way of Summer to us and that was so kind of her.

Louis Dean and I both liked the 'robust' best of all!

Next fall, we are planning a trip up to New England for my birthday.

I have been before but he has not.

Summer brought back lots of brochures for us so we can start planning our trip now!

LD is a spontaneous kind of guy while I am a planner.

Summer and I spent Friday afternoon in Rowlett packing up some things that she's going to put in a storage unit for the time being. While we worked inside, it was pouring down rain outside.

The temps cooled and it was wonderful

We celebrated when we finished by going to Chili's!

This is a Spider Bite 'Rita and it was good.

Except that glass rim was dipped in sugar instead of SALT.

Summer is so much fun to be around!

She and I were taking pictures of the same thing across the table from one another.

Look how cute she is!

Food was good!!!!

Since it was chilly, I had a bowl of chili!

And a salad......I could live on salads.

We came in and, once again, we were all so tired, we went to bed early.

That accounts for us getting up on the early side this Saturday morning.

Our friend, Jutta, has visited us a few times when she would make her annual trip to the USA in November....usually spending the last few days of her time here very other year.

Covid interrupted our tradition.

She and I keep in touch daily by Messenger so this morning, Louis Dean sent her a video greeting!

Will the world ever get back to normal again?

Or has that normal disappeared forever to be replaced by a new one?

It's been a 'keeper at home' kind of day today - my favorite!

I've cleaned and puttered, quilted and finally cooked that big steak dinner.

I'm going room by room doing some fall cleaning.

So far, I've cleaned our bedroom, my bathroom, the guest room and the hall.

 I heard a big crash in the hall Friday morning and when I opened the bedroom door, I saw that most of the paintings had been knocked off and were svcattered on the floor. Louis Dean later told me he had lost his balance and pretty much bounced off the wall into the opposite one like a pinball machine. Short of screwing the frames to the wall, I'm not sure how to keep this from happening.....because this was NOT the first time!.

I went ahead and put the wall back up this afternoon. - adding some new things and taking away some old ones so it now has a new look to it.

So now it is late and I will close this journal entry.....

but before I go, I would like to ask prayer for an unspoken request.

Thank you, my dear friends......