Art and Life! 'You Can Until You Can't'....

We had a good trip home on Thursday afternoon - leaving around 12:30 and arriving her before 3:00.

There was an accident on our way slightly in front of us that slowed us down a bit and we had prayer for those involved.

Whenever I hear a siren - police, ambulance or firetruck, I always pause and say a prayer for those who are involved and those who are helping. 

It's the one of the things I love about being in the country. I have yet to hear a siren .

I spent Friday being a homebody! I was up early enough to take out the trash and when I did - I spied 3 white wooden barstools on the curb across the street.

(I secretly set trash out that I have sacked up from Louis Dean's room or outside or in tubs and such and put it on Stephanie's curb. He has yet to go through other people's trash but he has been known to go through what's on our curb!)

I digress..... I walked over and took one chair back to our place and then a second.

Louis Dean later cut the barstools down to dining chair height and that is a Win! WIN!! for us.

These will be temporary but are better than what we have now.

Plus they are wood so the cats can't claw them to death!

We are reading through the Little House book series and was ready for Little House on the Prairie - the third in the series.

Louis Dean could NOT find the nice boxed set we had been reading from nor could he find any copy of that book - though he has several. He spent many an hour that day searching  for them and finally found the set on a top shelf behind a stack of other books.

No rhyme or reason as to where he puts things but it's good therapy and I think he truly enjoys 'hunting' for things!

Saturday morning we both got out in the back yard and worked on our fall garden!

LD has done a lot of work preparing the beds and I planted a row of sunflowers along the back fence and then put pepper seeds and tomato seeds in the ground of the 'new' garden. The dill and parsley are already springing up as are the radishes!

I have more seeds to plant but will wait until the first week of August after we get back from the cabin in New Mexico.

That's perfect timing to be there sine it will be triple digits here in the DFW area over the weekend.

We spent the rest of Saturday with son Jesse and Rachel.

I am loving ever minute I get to spend with this amazing lady!

Rachel used to babysit my niece Leah and her mother worked for my sister, Nita, in the grocery store she and Leah's dad owned.

They met online but really and truly - God brought them together!

They had no clue that they already had family 'history' together!

We had our second session on the painted horse and Rachel is such a gifted student!

My instructions was to push paint around as you see it in the picture we were looking at.

This was originally a jigsaw puzzle but it was an original painting from someone at some time!

After we cleaned up the art table, Rachel and Jesse prepared dinner for us.

Homemade guacamole and pico de gallo.....to go with her chicken enchiladas with sour cream sauce.....

and the Spanish rice she taught Jesse to make!

I brought the makings of Jalapeno Margaritas and it was fun like a party!!!

I ate more that night than I had in the last three days!

I hope I can learn to cook some of Rachel's recipes!

Home to water....in Texas and in the summer....if you miss a day of watering - things die.

They do not flourish but if you can keep them alive - then after the intense heat - they will regain their strength and be pretty again.

Sunday I went to church and arrived at the same time the Bells did.

What a blessing to be able to worship together as a family!

After church I decided to do all my errands. LD was tired so I had gone to church by myself.

I shopped Aldi for the week's groceries and Walgreens for Rx's and dropped bags off at Goodwill and lastly the Dollar store for reading glasses - 325! 

Sunday's (late) lunch was a massive plate of chili dogs!

He ate every bite!

The mild weather is now heating up day by day....I am writing in my book, doing art and cleaning and decorating for fall.

Dean and Sherry are here tonight (Monday) and Dean will be dropping her off at the airport early Tuesday morning.

We all had a nice evening together - Dean and his dad in the den watching Northern Exposure - and Sherry and I bagging up trash from the back yard and hauling it to the curb and then I painted on the dog canvas for our friend Bill - neighbor to the NM mountain cabin and such a blessing and help to us when we visit there. Sherry has a good eye for art and helped me with my art!

I think she and I need to paint together!

I close tonight's journal entry - actually this morning's - with a beautiful post from Facebook.

Debbie Freeman McAnally

“You can, until you can’t”

You can call your mom or dad, until you can’t.

You can hang out with your brothers or sisters - until you can’t.

You can hug your kids and tell them you love them one more time - until you can’t.

You can hang out with your grandkids and have sleepovers and messes everywhere - until you can’t.

You can text a friend, until you can’t.

You can tell someone you love them, until you can’t.

You can do A LOT of things, until you can’t -

So why waste a SINGLE moment of ANY day being mad or angry. Resentful or bitter?

Why choose conflict over grace?

Bitterness over love?

Stubbornness over compromise?

We have absolutely no control over this life and how many days we will get to live it.

So don’t waste it.

Because before you know it, all the things you let get in the way of what’s important, won’t seem so important anymore when you “can’t”…..

This morning I called my brother Lonnie before I even got out of bed. We talked. We laughed. We choked up a bit . We connected! I purpose to call him every week...because I can.....until I can't.