Jesse set up his coffee bar in the small cabin and when I woke us, Louis Dean was walking down the short path holding a fresh cup of coffee in his hand.
Talk about FRESH coffee!
Jesse roasts the beans, grinds them and makes the coffee one cup at a time.
It's all in how you do it!
He used the expresso machine and turns out a perfect cup from start to finish in one minute!
Delicious!!!
I made a good breakfast for all of us!
I watched a movie while Louis Dean took a nap and when he woke up - I took one!
We had a late lunch around 3:00 of tuna salad sandwiches and iced tea.
Easy peasy meals this week!
Louis Dean and I took a little walk down to the creek late this afternoon.
So pretty!!!
It was around 70 degrees at the time.
Louis Dean is enjoying being here as much as I am.
It is a wonderful break from the intense heat back home.
Everywhere I look is so peaceful.
Walking down this section of the road was a lot easier than walking back UP!
Louis Dean has spent some quality time 'loafing' as he calls it.
He's seen deer, hummingbirds, teeny tiny bees, and more!
We did our reading out on the deck early in the evening instead of this morning.
It's been a luxurious day of rest and relaxation.
I have had a slight headache all day due to the altitude I think.
I took some Motrin a little while ago so I think I shall go right on to bed.
We skipped supper tonight because we weren't hungry.
"Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax."
Louis Dean and I had come in from watering at 11:00 last night so I pushed the SNOOZE button just ONCE!!
We were up and loading the last bit of our STUFF and on the road at 3:30 this morning!
See!!!! I really CAN get up early and get going when I need to!
First stop - Potty Break at Allsups!
We did, indeed, make it to Amarillo by morning!
Paradise Coffee Roasters is Jesse's traditional place to stop and so we did!
I was enchanted by the brioche!
AND this scone!
I tasted the brioche - which was delicious!
Louis Dean finished it off in record time!
I had the scone and it was good to the very last crumb!
Jesse helped us order our coffees and the last drop in the cup was every bit as good as the first!
Third stop was at.....
Russell's Truck Stop on Historic Route 66!
The last Sibling Trip Deanie, Charlie, Nita, Mike, Lonnie and I took together was to Arizona for Nita's grandson's wedding!
Louis Dean is back to taking photos with his fancy camera and he got some really good ones today!
We are IN New Mexico - The Land of Enchantment!
And it IS!!!
Such beauty everywhere!!
We stopped to pick up a few groceries in Las Vegas, NM and then headed up into the mountains to Tres Ritos - elevation 8,755 feet!
Tomorrow I will take a pic of the sign!
And here we ARE!!!!
I love going through gates!
Knowing I am welcomed and seeing the locked gate swing open to grant us entry causes my heart to squeeze in joy and anticipation.
The guys unloaded us and I put things away.....
the perishables, groceries, staples we brought from home and things we bought in Las Vegas at the Walmart. Our Bible basket is in the big room beside the chair which is beside the fireplace.
All our things are in the proper places as if we live here - and I am honest in pretending that for the next 5 days - that's exactly what I plan to do - play like I am living in this amazing cabin - which is the truth! I will be living here and I rejoice in that reality!
Louis Dean has some memory issues - .and he came in and saw this wonderful cabin and all the beautiful surroundings - and he said, "I forgot how amazing this cabin is!!! I didn't remember until I came in!"
It's going to be a wonderful week!
Very low key. Jesse will be working from his cabin next door.
We have NO agenda!
Coffee in the morning - and Jesse brought his entire coffee bar set up so we will be drinking excellent coffees! - and wine in the evening - with meals and music and reading and writing filling in the other hours of the days. And maybe a movie or two and a possible nap - or two!
It is so good to BE here!
After we settled in, we took our wine out to the deck and had to go back in for sweaters and a pair of wool socks for me - and sat and enjoyed the peace and calm of this place.
The peace and ambiance is so thick here, I feel like you can reach out and cut off a slice, put it in your mouth and let it melt.
This is a beautiful place to be.
As LD and I were sitting on the front balcony, this bird came to visit!
I went in to prepare dinner and LD took a good long soaking bath.
Then we all regrouped for dinner together.
This is the temp when we sat on the balcony....
and now it is 48 outside and 68 beautiful and chilly degrees inside!
God bless and keep you in his perfect wiil and give you peace.....
The day of the Front Door Rescue and Repair was Thursday and it was a big job!
Summer is absolutely amazing! She has studied YouTube videos and researched how to do this thing so she was gung ho on getting it DONE!
Only one side of the door (the side with the lock!) was so badly damaged that there wasn't anything solid enough to hold yet another 'repair.' They decided to cut that side off close to the top and cutting the new piece to fit.
It was another 100+ day and the porch is in the sun until 4:00 in the afternoon - so this was a hot and sweaty job!
We put the cats in the bedroom so they wouldn't 'escape' and I left Louis Dean and Summer to it!
Summer was the leader in this project and Louis Dean did a lot to help her.
I went off to my hair appointment with Yulisa!
She said my hair is in the 'growing out stage' which meant it was long in the middle back and shaped like a V. She could trim it up like that or cut it all off straight - which she said was the RIGHT thing to do. and so she did!
I told her I would love to wrap my hair in Saran Wrap so it would look good the next day!
When I got home - much progress had been made to the door!
I had set up a huge golfing umbrella to keep Summer out of the sun and plugged in a box fan as well as kept rotating big bottles of water in and out of the freezer - serving them when they were just icy but not frozen yet.
By day's end Louis Dean was crying UNCLE and went in to take a bath while Summer labored on.
It was nearly 10:00 when she pronounced the lock DONE!
More tweaking would be made the next morning but for now we could lock the front door knowing we were secure for the night!
It was so late and we hadn't eaten dinner yet!
I have put two huge steaks in to marinate earlier and had baked potatoes ready in the crock pot - so I fired up the grill put the steaks on to cook!
Now I am NOT a good griller as most things I cook are slightly burned.
Sometimes they actually catch on fire!
Now these were expensive $50 steaks that LD had bought on sale and I did NOT want to ruin them so Rayne went out to check and said all was well.
We sat in the living room visiting a few more minutes when I went back out to check and there was FIRE coming out from the bottom of the grill and when I raised the cover - the steaks were on fire!
I turned off the propane got a big glass of water to pour over the steaks to put the flames out - and you know what? They were still tender! Cooked medium well with plenty of pink left!
We ate and went right to bed.
Summer asked Rayne, "When was the last time you had dinner at 10:30 at night??"
Only at Bella's!!
I turned the light beside my bed off at midnight and fell right to sleep and did NOT wake up AT ALL for 7 1/2 hours! First time I have slept that long at one time in over 20 years!
Friday morning Summer was back working on the front door!
We stopped in time to meet up with the Bells at McAlister's Deli.
The food was amazing!
I am eating lots of veggies and low calorie things as I have gained a few pounds.
I ate the veggie sandwich and took the salad home and had that for dinner just a little while ago.
I was in line ordering when Amber and the kids came in and at first Amber didn't even recognize me from the back! They all liked my new hair cut!
Tables for 10!
Mike joined us, too!!
It was fun like a party!
Lots of photo taking!!
Mt sweet daughters!
Rayne-Roo and Bella!!!!
Harrison is growing up!
Mike took Harrison off to a private hockey lesson while Amber and the girls came back here to pick up the kitties!
Amber sat down at the piano and ran through a few of her pieces from when she took lessons.
She printed out some sheet music and practiced a few minutes .....
then played Somewhere in Time all the way through!
Kailey showed me some different ways I can wear my hair and then she went in to see her Granddad.
Next thing I knew - he had handed her a violin and she was making some beautiful sounds on it!
There's always something to see or do around here and the afternoon just flew by!
Summer loaded up her things and headed back to Arkansas and Amber and the girls had a pool party to get to. I am so happy to have spent an entire afternoon with them all.
Louis Dean went in to a very quiet house and regrouped.
Around 6:00 we picked up some pizzas and went over to Kimmy and June's for a pizza and music party! I had a strawberry cake and took fresh berries and whipped cream for dessert.
Louis Dean played music while Kimmy cut up all the strawberries and fixed our plates.
It was a fun night!
I had a good time even though I developed a headache and the back of my scull was hurting!
My doctor tells me I can take Motrin and it just so happened that Kimmy had a packet of two..
We lingered long over there and by the time we got home it was dark!
I need to start watching the time when we are out now that the days are getting shorter.
We spent today (Saturday) packing and getting ready for our trip up to the mountain cabin in New Mexico.
Son Jesse is here and is spending the night so we can get an early start in the morning - as in the first wee hours of the morning!
SO with that being said, I am closing this journal entry and packing up my computer!
I'll take a quick shower and hop right into bed. Louis Dean is already there!
We plan to leave at 3:00 so we will make 'Amarillo by Morning!'
