Chapter 15....the edited version

 

Chapter 15

 

               We had been living in the new apartment for just a week or so when it snowed!  I was sitting outside on our tiny little second story balcony on the second floor on a chilly March day watching the street when big fat flakes of snow began to fall. I ran over to knock on Gloria’s door and she came out to see. We were as excited a couple of kids to see snow in March. Truth be told, we were a couple of kids! We each sat there with a baby on our laps taking in the beauty of a spring snow.

  Every weekday afternoon, I would put Summer down for her nap--leave the door open so I could hear her if she cried--and I would go downstairs and watch soap operas with Mrs. Morrison. She left her door open, as well, and she always had a glass of tea waiting for me when I got there. I loved Mrs. Morrison dearly and she loved us.

               We watched several programs together and Mrs. Morrison called them her "stories."  The first one was Search for Tomorrow followed by The Edge of Night and then our favorite, As the World Turns.  Summer would wake up and I’d go upstairs to get her and bring her back down as we finished watching The Secret Storm and General Hospital.

               We didn’t watch all of the shows every single day and missed them completely on Tuesdays when we went to WMU, but we saw enough to keep up with the story lines. Once again, I was looking for normal even in the television shows I was watching and never seemed to discover it.

               When I was younger and still at Mother's, I would watch shows like Ozzie and Harriet and Leave it to Beaver. They were wonderful and I longed to have that kind of family but, even I knew that was never going to be. Mother was nowhere near being a Mrs. Nelson or Mrs. Cleaver and, Daddy was gone and he had never struck me as a big personality or wise father figure like the ones I saw on TV. Clayton was a wild card and didn’t fit into any of the family scenes, to say the least.

                I was a mother and wife so much younger than the ones I saw portrayed on the soap operas and Jesse was unlike any of the male characters in the storylines, so I was still left searching for what life should be like for me.

               I did notice the couples on TV would go out to dinner and perhaps take in a movie. I suggested this to Jesse, reminding him that he went with some of his friends twice a month without me. I asked him if he could take me to a movie or something once a month. Mrs. Morrison was only too happy to babysit Summer for us so, we had a date the next Friday night.

               I will never forget the movie. We went downtown to the Majestic theater and saw Sean Connery in Goldfinger.  Aside from our monthly date nights, our usual Friday nights were spent buying groceries and going to the washeteria. Sometimes we would get a hamburger and maybe some fries.

               I told Jesse one day that I didn’t have much to do during all the long hours he was working. Summer was still taking two naps a day and, our neighbor Gloria, had more family around than I did so we didn’t visit all that much. I tried cooking and slowly improved but, our lack of money to buy all the ingredients for a recipe prevented me from doing more than prepare basic meals.

               I watched Julia Child in The French Chef and yearned to be able to cook not so much like her but just to be able to cook at all. The one thing I could do was set the table and make things as pretty as possible. I did that when Jesse was home. Most meals I ate alone and always had a book next to my plate.

               Since my only education extended to 7^th grade, and I knew it wasn’t likely that I would be going back to school, I tried to figure out how I could somewhat educate myself. I read somewhere that if you read the Reader’s Digest from cover to cover every single month, you would be able to talk intelligently to absolutely anyone. So, every month when we bought groceries, I would pick up the latest issue of Reader’s Digest for fifty cents and proceed to read every single word on every single page.

               One day, Jesse came home with a couple of packages under his arms. He had been to a dime store looking for things I could do to stay busy and had found some craft kits. I was so excited! I had never done crafts before and quickly opened one of the packages. It was a picture plaque you could make by glueing on small, colorful stones and various other beads and such. The picture was outlined for you and everything was included from plaque to pattern, stones, even the glue!

               Inside the other package was netting, pipe cleaners, ribbon and materials to make poodle dogs. After I completed these in the following weeks, Jesse brought home paint-by-number kits. It was kind of him to think of things that would keep me occupied, and these first projects initiated my lifelong interest in arts and crafts.

              

               I had suffered from toothaches since I was 11 years old, especially the front tooth. It had been chipped to the nerve when I fell off a bicycle four years ago and had turned black with an infection. I coped with the pain better during the day but at night it would hurt so much I couldn’t sleep. I would wrap up in a quilt and lie the kitchen floor underneath the open windows trying to get cold enough to fall asleep. I kept the door to the other room shut so Jesse and Summer could sleep comfortably but I needed the cold air.

               Jesse finally called a dentist and took me in. The dentist said the tooth was too abscessed to pull immediately and gave us a prescription for antibiotics. He also gave me some pain pills to help get me through the following few days.

               I had been so embarrassed by the way my smile looked with the black tooth, and after the dentist was able to pull it out, I was even more embarrassed to not have a front tooth at all. We didn’t have the money for a partial plate that had a false tooth which the dentist suggested, but Jesse promised we would save up and get it as soon as we could. That’s when I started wearing earrings every day from the time I got up in the morning until I went to bed at night. I didn’t want to be ugly so I thought if I looked nice all over except for my smile, I would feel better. I also learned not to smile as often.

               It took him nearly a month but Jesse made good on his promise to get my tooth repaired, and I was so grateful. I continued to have toothaches nearly every day but none were quite as bad as that front one had been.

 

               When Jesse started working for his boss, Kenneth, as a mason’s helper. He was making $1.25 an hour and would do manual labor as in moving stone, mixing cement, put up scaffolding and cleaning up.  On rainy days when he couldn't work, Jesse would clean his boss’s house and do his laundry. I was proud of Jesse being such a hard worker and doing whatever he could to provide for Summer and me.

               He had just been given a fifty cent raise so he now made $1.75 an hour and Kenneth began to teach Jesse how to lay stone. Jesse was a quick learner and when a job came in that was out of town, Kenneth decided to send Jesse and a helper named Claud. That meant leaving me at home alone. Jesse knew I would be upset about him being gone so he didn’t tell me until the very last minute when he was walking out the door. He said he would be gone a week. I cried and cried at the thought of being left alone for all that time. He promised to come home on Friday. I tried to be a grown up about it but I couldn’t help being depressed.

               I continued to take care of Summer and one evening we were walking up and down the big spiral staircase just for something to do when the lady who lived in apartment #1 opened her door and invited us in. Her name was Ann and she lived alone. She was probably about 50 years old. She could have been younger because at my young age of 15, nearly everyone around me those days looked older.

               Ann was cooking dinner and invited us to stay. The smell was wonderful! She was frying potatoes and onions. I don’t remember what else she was cooking that night but I never forgot those potatoes and onions. I had fried potatoes since I was nine years old, but I had never thought to add onions. It tasted so good that night and forever after, I would cook potatoes and onions just like Ann did.

               Friday came and went and Jesse didn’t come home. I was hysterical. Saturday was a long lonely day and he still didn’t come home. Finally, on Sunday afternoon, Mrs. Morrison came upstairs to tell me I had a phone call. We didn’t have a telephone but she was gracious to allow us to use her number as long as we didn’t abuse the privilege. She stayed with Summer while I ran downstairs to the telephone. She had already told me it was Jesse. He apologized but said the job had run long and it had rained twice and that had stopped work. They still had another two days and then he would be home.

               I was so relieved to hear from him that I didn’t cry or get upset at first. In my mind, I had begun to think he had left and would never be back and I had been wildly wondering what I would do and what would happen to me and my baby.

               As it was, the only real and true concern I had was that we were all but out of groceries. We lived from Friday night to Friday night as far as food was concerned. I was finding out on a Sunday afternoon that it would be Wednesday before he would be home. He suggested I borrow $5 from Mrs. Morrison. But that wouldn’t really help since she didn’t have a car to take me to the grocery store and there wasn’t one within walking distance. I didn’t know how to ride the bus or know the schedule and routes that would take me to a grocery store. Plus, Summer was getting too big for me to carry her for long at a time. I only weighed 100 pounds and she was nearly 18 pounds herself-- plus I would have to carry the groceries.

               I started to cry and Jesse began to get angry. He said he would be home as soon as he could and hung up on me. I sat there a minute or two composing myself before slowly walking back upstairs. I tried to be cheerful about it and Mrs. Morrison pretended not to notice my red swollen eyes. She stayed a few more minutes and then went back to her apartment.

               Summer wasn’t on formula anymore so I checked to see how much milk we had left. I hadn’t used any of it and I was glad for that because there was enough for three more bottles. She would need more than that, but I also had a box of powdered milk that we kept for emergencies. I figured that if I mixed real milk with both water and powdered milk, there would be enough for at least three or four days.

               There was no baby food left in the cupboard, but I found a package of spaghetti dinner and two cans of spaghetti plus a couple cans of soup, a tin of tuna fish and a few odds and ends that were in the refrigerator. We could make do. All at once I was grateful for that good meal we had at Ann’s a few nights before.

               I knew without a doubt we wouldn’t go hungry. I could always ask Mrs. Morrison for some food. But I didn’t want to have to do that. I was supposed to be a grownup now and not have to ask for help or for someone to take care of me.

               I made our food stretch and Jesse came home late Wednesday afternoon. I already had Summer in her high chair feeding her spaghetti – again. It was a good thing she really like spaghetti. The first thing I did was clean her up and insist that Jesse take us to the grocery store right then! And he did.

 

               Two weeks later, he had to go out of town again. But this time he decided it would be better if I went over to Fort Worth and stayed with Mother. Clayton had left her for another woman, and Mother and my siblings were living with Aunt Viola. I went downstairs and asked Mrs. Morrison if I could use her telephone. I called Mother and she asked Aunt Viola if Summer and I could to stay for a few days. My aunt agreed and Jesse took us over the night before he headed out of town.

               I was excited to be able to see my family again since I had been banned from their house after I married. Clayton told Mother if he ever saw my baby, he would kill her. He must have thought that would make me stay away and it did. When Mother left Clayton, she had nowhere to go and it was kind of Aunt Viola to take her and Lloydine, Lanita and Lonnie in. It was even kinder for her to let Summer and me stay with her for a few days.

               We arrived with a diaper bag, a sack of clothes for me and $10 to buy groceries. We would be there nearly a week and Mother didn’t have extra money to feed us and Aunt Viola was otherwise footing the bill for all of us to be there.

               Sadly, Mother had taken up with an alcoholic named Benny. Lanita and Lloydine begged and begged Mother not to let him stay with them at Aunt Viola’s but she let him stay anyway. Benny scared all of us every bit as much as Clayton had, just in a different way. We had been traumatized by Clayton wielding his gun and shooting randomly out of the car window as he drove along with all of us kids in the back seat. And we remembered the time he shot the light bulb out in the bathroom and then shot a hole through my book. But Benny was even scarier if that was possible.

               For one thing, he stayed drunk most of the time. At least Clayton didn’t drink. Thank God for that. Plus, Benny was self-destructive and threatened to kill himself and would wave a gun around so wildly that we were afraid he would accidently shoot one of us. I was surprised that Aunt Viola let him stay there but our aunt was extremely partial to Mother and put up with a lot more from her than she would have from even her own daughter.

               The first night I was there, things weren’t so bad. The second night, Mother uncharacteristically started drinking and got drunk. Mother and the four of us kids were all sitting on the bed in the spare room talking and playing with Summer, who sat in the middle of everyone. Mother was acting silly with Summer and slurring her words, which was very strange to us. We had never witnessed this before. Pretty soon she went to sleep and we all crept off the bed and sat bewildered in the living room not quite knowing what to do. Aunt Viola worked nights as a nurse so Summer and I eventually went in and slept on her bed and my siblings made themselves beds on the floor with quilts and blankets. Benny didn’t come to the house that night and we later realized that was probably what made Mother mad. She had drunk up his liquor to get even with him.

               The next morning, Mother acted like nothing had happened so we played along and pretended just as we always did. In a way, I was sorry I had brought my baby into this situation. On the other hand, I had missed my brother and sisters and it made me sad to see that their life wasn’t any better than it had been and perhaps was even worse.

               School was out for the summer so I did enjoy being there as long as it was just us. Aunt Viola stayed in her bedroom during the day to sleep and Mother was working at the answering service company so as long as Benny didn’t show up, we had a good time.

               Summer wasn’t quite walking on her own yet so the kids took turns holding onto her and letting her toddle around the house. Lloydine took care of Summer while Lanita and I walked to August Pie Factory just a few blocks away and I bought us all some day-old baked goods. When we got back, I fried some bologna and potatoes and opened a big can of peaches for a good meal when Mother got home from work.

               The next night Aunt Viola made a big pan of goulash for supper since she didn’t have to go to work and we had the apricot pie I bought for dessert. That was a nice evening until Benny showed up-- drunk as usual. Mother left with him, and Benny was driving much to our dismay. We wondered why she would go anywhere with a man who was so drunk he couldn’t even walk straight. Mother said, “The more he drinks, the better he drives.” Now that didn’t make sense even to us. But the good thing is that they were gone and that meant we were safe and happier.

               Jesse arrived to take Summer and me home just one day after he said he would. I was glad to get away from Mother and Benny but sad that my sisters and brother had to stay as there was nowhere else for them to go.

              

               One week later, Mother brought Lanita over to stay with me while Jesse once again went out of town. After Mother left, Lanita told me that Benny had threatened to commit suicide right there in front of all three of them.  Mother had been at work and Aunt Viola had been asleep. Instead of shooting himself while they watched, he shot holes in the floor of Aunt Viola’s living room. That did it! Our aunt told Mother she had to leave. And Mother took the kids and moved back to Bewick Street where they had been living with Clayton. Turns out she didn’t leave Clayton, after all. He had left her for a 22-year-old school teacher. Mother was now 38 and had been married to Clayton for less than six years, all of them filled with trauma and drama for her children and her children. Somehow life had managed to go from bad to worse for my siblings: Benny had moved in.

               Now that Clayton was gone, money was even tighter than it had been. They lived on rice and beans and little else. Grandma Collins would help out by taking food over from the Food Bank whenever she could. As a nurse, she knew more about what resources were available to needy families. Even so, there was never an abundance of nutritious food in the house. Mother used the fact she had so little money as the reason she let Benny live there. But the kids didn’t see how he was much help since he was too drunk to hold down a job.

               One afternoon Mother told the kids to get in the car with her and Benny. They were going to the grocery store. Apparently, Benny had a bit of money and Mother wanted to use it for a bill of groceries before he drank it all up. Lanita was sick and didn’t want to go but Mother insisted. They had just gone a mile or two when the car died. They were on a side street, Benny avoided major roads and highways because of his drinking. Everyone got out to push the car except Lanita. She was lying down in the back seat and when she felt the car start rolling and picking up speed and heard everyone screaming and yelling, she jumped over the seat and got behind the wheel. However, her legs were too short to reach the brake pedal so she crouched down in the floor board and pushed down on the brake with both hands and managed to bring the car to a stop. When she raised herself up, she saw that the car was inches away from plowing through a plate glass window of a business. Mother, Lonnie and Lloydine ran up to the car and when they all looked around for Benny, they found he had fallen flat on his face in the road. He was so drunk he just passed out and lay there without even realizing how close they had come to wrecking the car with Lanita in it.

               Mother never seemed to be able to attract a decent man and she seldom gave up on a bad one.

Even after all the shenanigans Benny pulled, she did not make him leave. Not long after the car incident, Benny took Lonnie with him over to see a buddy. They started drinking and when it was time to go home, Benny was so drunk he couldn’t see to drive. He sat eight-year-old Lonnie in his lap and told him to steer the car. Lonnie did and they made it home. Mother didn’t seem to think there was a problem with that at all.

               Thankfully, Benny left one afternoon to go to the store and didn’t come back for several months. The kids were so relieved. However, Mother managed to hook up with a couple of other losers while she waited for Benny to return.

Mother's Day Weekend....

It's been such a good weekend!

I worked in the gardens and house and spent some time in the kitchen preparing a good meal for Saturday night. Ilene came down for drinks, dinner and a movie!

Our cocktail was really good.

I found a bottle of lemon wine --only 5% alcohol-- and added lemonade--which made the drink only 2.5% alcohol-- and it was delicious! I added mint sprigs and lemon slices for garnish and used two dainty stemmed glasses with flowers painted on them.

Ilene and I took our drinks out and sat at the driveway table and chatted.

Oh, the blessings of visiting with a friend.

I pray I never take my friends for granted and I thank God for each one of you.

Some are neighbors and some are ones I've gathered through life and some are family while others are like family and all my loved ones in our Blog community. 

Dinner was street tacos, beans, homemade Spanish rice, pepper poppers and homemade guacamole with chips. Dessert was Cinnamon Churros.

Ilene picked out our movie and it was such a GOOD one!

We had a lovely evening in the den while Louis Dean occupied himself in his music room.

At this point, he can't stay focused for a long period of time. Maybe 15-30 minutes?

However, he can entertain himself in his room or in his workshop area for hours and hours.

The key to our life right now is to keep him engaged with whatever he's interested in - music, projects, repairs....whatever! Louis Dean is still a happy and charming man! Sometimes he is brilliant and othetimes he doesn't have a clue about what is going on.

Right now he is focused on getting batteries for his pocket watch and his wrist watch.

I'm dragging my feet because I know the Battery Plus place we usually go to for things like that had a fire and I think it's closed to rebuild.

Things are changing and I must keep changing with them.

Sometimes I seem to be lost in grief over the 'disappearance' of the man I love.

And then I realize what a blessing it is to still have him in my life.

At night, I stretch my feet over to his side of the bed and give thanks that I can touch his leg with my foot and hug his back.

Then he turns over towards me and rubs my neck and shoulders as I drift back to sleep.

I admit that he is losing ground.

He needs a cane most of the time now.

He can't keep even two thoughts in his mind and is confused about what he is supposed to be doing.

That's where I come in - giving him direction, encouragemt and purpose.

God has a purpose for both Louis Dean and me.

We wobble now and then, stumble some but we keep going and will continue as long as God gives us life here on earth.

Mother's Day morning I took my first cup of coffee outside to pray, praise and meditate as I walked around the gardens.

The trumpet vines are blooming!!

This is the view under the trumpet vines.

Louis Dean built an arbor several years ago using vintage bedsprings from an old family home.

The arbor makes a shady place for plants.

This herb garden is in front of the arbor and is thriving..

Love having the asparagus! It's in its fourth year and has survived being stepped on numerous times by you know you! It is a survivor!

Our back pond and I love it and so do the birds.

English ivy from my son, Jesse's, first home.

Doesn't everyone decorate their faucets?? I do!

We watched Fellowship Church online this morning and Louis Dean said, "We need to GO to church!"

So next Sunday we will be there in person.

I'm trying to do the right thing in taking LD places and since he ASKED to go to church - that's what we will do! It's a huge church with lots of people and loud music so we usually go in late when the sermon is about to start. I need to keep some ear plugs in my purse for when we need them.

We went to Plano to see Harrison play a hockey game early this afternoon!

I absolutely LOVE watching my grands play!

It was his first high school hockey game and they won!!!

The girls were also playing their first high school game, as well.

Harrison and his granddad!

US!! So thankful for being able to do things together!

I dearly LOVE this photo of Harrison and Amber looking at the pics I took of them on her phone.

He is precious and she is so beautiful!

After the game, Amber and Harrison went to pick up fajitas for a late lunch and Mike was with the girls at their hockey game. We all met back at the Bells for lunch and a Stars game on TV!

It took some time for the kids to get out of their hockey gear and get home so LD and I stopped at Central Market. He stayed in the car while I went in and enjoyed walking up and down every single isle -- and returned to the car without buying a single thing.

I enjoyed the ambiance of the market but I wasn't really looking for anything inparticular.

The prices seemed high compared to Aldi so our next stop was Sam's Club where Louis Dean stocked up on boxes of wine.

We joined the Bells in a great lunch Amber and Harrison had picked up from Fajita Pete's!

Source

It was SO good!!

Then we all settled down to watch the Stars hockey game together!

It was a great game and we won!!

5-2!!

I heard from all four of my children today and am so proud of every one of them!

I always wanted to be a mother and am grateful for Summer and Jesse and Amber and Benjamin.

My daughter, Summer,  born in 1963 and my son, Jesse, Jr, born in 1966.

Then 19 years later, my daughter, Amber, born in 1985, and my son, Benjamin, born in 1988.

They are the biggest blessings of my life as are their children....

Sam, Faith, Levi. Raynie, Trystan, Kailey, Harrison and Logan.

God has been so good to me and redeemed so many areas in my life.

Thank you, Lord, for all Your blessings!

And now for past Mother's Day memories..... 

2024

Jesse took me to Kansas City to see my siblings, Rita and Buster, for a day trip.

2018

2014

2009

Jesse made this card for me.

Happy Mother's Day from me to you!

Catching up on the Week....

 

I don't know exactly why I haven't posted a journal entry since Sunday.

Nothing is wrong but for some reason I haven't had the mojo to write and I haven't even taken enough photos for what Louis Dean calls Blog Fodder!

I drove us home on Monday in the pouring rain and sometimes it was much like a dense fog where I could barely see. Thank goodness Louis Dean was with me and helped by watching the lane lines and giving me directions. "A little to the right --just curve to the left--stay straight--you're doing good!"

We left the ranch around 1:30 and I drove straight through the two hours to home.

All was well when we arrived and we went into our routine of LD unloading and I put things away and started laundry.

It's always good to get down to the ranch and then it's good to come home.

It helps to know that we will be back in the country in just a few weeks.

We have our forever home here in Irving but the ranch and the hospitality of Dean and Sherry feeds our souls with the beauty of all things country - from critters to the wild flowers and morning birdsong to night sounds. Campfires are always special and we love just being there.

I seem to write better when I am at the ranch.

So we made it home and had a nice salad for supper when we finished unloading.

That and a loaded baked potato made a good meal.

Tuesday was a rain event with serious downpours until 2:00 in the afternoon.

Brenda and I met up at Texas Thrift and we each found some treasures.

This was my haul!

Not huge but a few things of good quality.

Love the sunflower and bee pillow - $3.

A brand new Cafe Ole candle from HEB made me smile.

I paid $15.99 for the Texas lamp and was happy to buy it!

It is now in our den and I love looking at it!

Our dishwasher went out so I'm doing the dishes the old fashioned way so I was really happy to find this dish drainer! My pot holders have see better days so I have been replacing them one by one.

I wear an apron every day  and all of them have a pocket for my cell phome.

I have a thriving herb garden and will be drying some using this rack.

Love this pillow and it's in my favorite chair in the living room/

Louis Dean isn't able to do all the things he used to do so when I saw this insulation tape for $3.29 a roll - compared to a price much more than that at Home Depot - I stocked up. Come winter I think I can protect our pipes all by myself.

Don't you love the unique and unusual find??

This artichoke candle holder was instant love - and only for less than $1!

Brenda found this Chico's size 2 gorgeous top for me and it was only $4.50!

Thursday morning Louis Dean called out to me to bring my camera and come out!

We both love the geckos and like to watch them stalk for prey!

Amber came over on Thursday afternoon and I loved every single minute of the nearly five hours she was here. Just the two of us visiting and being together.

With her busy life as a quad mom and so many plates she is twirling in the air - this was a very special visit!

Amber dearly loves cats! ALL cats but she has a special place in her heart and life for Tabitha and Samantha.

Amber and I shared memories of our life together and she remembered the time she went to the bathroom and found a baby possum in the bathtub. She freaked out and I went in and carried him outside. She went back to the bathroom only to see a green gecko on the laundry hamper. Once again, I went in to get the critter - only to pull it up and discovered it was in the process of mating! So I pulled both geckos up and carried them to the front garden bed in order to give them more privacy.

It was such a special time to spend with Amber!

I had potato soup and some great bread for dinner that night and we enjoyed our meal together!

Amber said it was good to have a mom meal!

That made my heart happy!

So it was funny that on Thursday night - we had a possum come visit.

It's the same kindergarten possum that came in the house the other day.

I'll tell that story another day.

Today I had an appointment with my urologist and received a good report!

I baked brownies last night and added half a cup of crushed pretzels to the batter just make it more special.

Dr. Bloom is my urologist but now I see Dr. Ly and I bake for her as I did for Dr. Bloom.

I am so grateful for good insurance and even more so for such good doctors.

I love it when they ask me for my insurance cards!

At the age of 65, my son, Benjamin - whose job was in the insurance/medicare industry at the time - signed me up for the best insurance money can buy.

I am still grateful to him for that!

I truly celebrated my birthday that year!

I rode a motorcycle on the beach in Crystal Bay and will forever remember that memory!

And I am happy my friends, Sabrina, Linda , Lisa, Summer , and sister Luann helped me celebrate!

I still have a scar on my leg from accidently touching the whatever the HOT thing is called on a motorcycle! 

Still....a happy memory.

I love all my memories.....

I  Immediatley sought medical help when I got home now that I had coverage.

And I am grateful for the care of  Dr. Keith Bloom and his staff in treating the horrible UTI's I had suffered with for so many years.

After getting a good report from the doctor, I came home and changed clothes before Louis Dean and I went to pick up his lawnmowers. $350 to repair two mowers because he put the wrong fuel in them.

I wrote down the instructions for fuel and etc.....

LD had been using fuel that was a combination of gas and oil.

NO! So I will be watching to make sure he uses regukar gasoline in the tank and oil in the other place.

We stopped at Subway on our way home and I ordered two foot long subs.

His was teriyaki chicken and mine was a ham sub with all the veggies and no dressing.

Tomorrow Ilene will be joing us for dinner and drinks and a movie.

Summer was supposed to come on Sunday but she is having some serioud health issues.

As in a staph infection and cellulitus all in her toe.....

Prayers are appreciated.

I'll most likely post a journal entry tomorrow or Sunday and then Monday I will post the edited version of chapter 15. Amber had already done the edits for chapter 16 so that will be the next Monday.

Writing the last chapters of my book while editing and publishing the earlier chapters is a bit of a challenge. Once again, prayers for my writing is so very much desired and appreciated.

Our Weekend in the Country.....

We have been here at the ranch for a full week now and we will be heading home tomorrow.

I've enjoyedevery single minute!

 

The spring flowers are starting to fade and a few summer ones are popping up now.

It's been fun to watch the goats frolicking around.

I like to watch them but they will eat any and every thing if they get inside the fence.

The golden hour on Friday.

Louis Dean has been tending the campfire every day we've been here except one.

Friday I gave him a good pedicure.

His diabetic feet have been giving him quite a bit of pain and I thought the footbath might help him and it did. 

Tabitha has never been a lapcat but for some reason she hopped up Louis Dean's lap and stayed there for 45 minutes! He was ready to go to bed but waited until she jumped down before he would get up.

Tarzan came up to see us. He is a brother cat to our Tabitha and Samantha!

He knows he can get free food when we are down here.

I also give the mops treats like leftovers and lunchmeat.

I can usually scrounge up something for them. 

When Rufus was alive, he would come to the door and bark while the mops very quietly and politely come up and stand there waiting for me to notice them.

When I woke up Saturday morning, LD told me Tabitha had got out!

She's not bad about doing that down here as I think she knows instinctively that it's not safe.

He said he hated to tell me because he knew I would be upset.

Turns out she was lying in my chair all curled up and asleep.

It was Tarzan that had streaked past him when he was on the deck and he just thought it was Tabitha!

I made a good pasta salad the other day andit made for a couple of easy meals.

Saturday night Rosey came over for dinner and we had the very best visit!

I had cooked a big pork shoulder and divided it up for street tacos and for BBQ.

I served BBQ, beans and pepper poppers and Rosey brought wine and potato salad.

Dean and Sherry arrived just a few minutes after she got here.

They had been in Stephenville doing a karate event, The sat on the porch with us and visited but didn't stay to eat dinner since they were so tired.

Louis Dean was taking a long nap so Rosey and I  sat in the comfy chairs and ate and visited.

It was just what I needed and she was and is such a blessing to me.

Sometimes you just need to have a good talk and we did.

Just as she was driving up to the gate, I realized that I had forgotten to serve the strawberry cheesecake I'd made for dessert!

Louis Dean was reading a book in bed when I came in to check on him.

He said he felt like Rosey and I needed some time for girl talk and I thought that was very sweet of him.

 I slept so well Saturday night and it was nearly 10:00 when I woke up this morning.

Louis Dean had already been out working on projects.

I've discovered it doesn't really matter what he does as long as he has something to keep him interested and focused. 

I watched church online and then did some writing on my book.

Meals were easy today as we ate leftovers.

I made homemade guacamole and served it with chips and pepper poppers from last night for our late lunch.

For supper we had BBQ, beans and the potato salad Rosey had left for us.

Before we go to bed tonight we will eat a slice of cheesecake.

Louis Dean worked on the fence for several hours today.

He's used his weed eater a good bit since we got it.

Slowly but surely he's managed to whack down a good many wildflowers but he knows better than to touch the sunflowers that are growing up!

I have been doing some writing and have finished chapter 39 with 2,790 words and started chapter 40 with 982 words so far. I will pick up from 2003 next week and am going to try my best to write at least a half hour every day!

I won't be publishing chapter 15 tomorrow as I wrote it back in 2019 and I need to proof it and see what edits it needs. Amber has been super busy and I feel guilty asking her to keep up with the chapters.

Once the book is totally written, it will require more editing so I'll just see how things go.

This is only the second time I will have missed posting a chapter on Mondays.

At least I think it is!

Goodnight from the country!