A Week of October Days and Nights in the Country.....

We left early Sunday afternoon and I was a little agitated when I went to load my things in the car,

Louis Dean had filled the back with all manner of debris. His kind. Not mine.

Traffic was heavy all the way to Belmead and I tried to focus on the music from my Country playlist.

It features songs from the '80's and '90's.

Normally I turn on classic oldtime country but Sunday I did NOT need to listen to Lefty Frizzel or even other legends. There were enough Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson so Louis Dean and I were BOTH happy.

We stopped at the HEB in Belmead and I was in a better mood by then.....

and then I wasn't. This may have been my last time to take Louis Dean grocery shopping.

He piled so many things in our cart it was overflowing!

He bought a ham and two huge pork roasts and a humungous roll of hamburger meat as well all sorts of things I did not notice until we unloaded everything.

I had left him at the check out with my credit card and went to the ladies' room.

He was already checking out when I got there so I had no clue of all the extras he had stuck in the basket. We spent exactly half of our entire month's grocery budget in one fell swoop!

Talk about roller coaster emotions - I had them!

There had been a major accident at Hwy 84 and FM 939 so I said a prayer for those involved and thanked God we were not. It looked bad but no ambulance and people were milling about.

We had followed the flashing lights that were ahead of us for th last 4 miles up 84.

Do you pray when you hear sirens?

I do and have since I was a small child.

If Mother wasn't home and I heard them, I stopped to pray.

Later in life I continued this as my children would be out and I've just kept up with the practice.

At home in the DFW area, we hear sirens every single day.

In the country I have only heard them once in all the years we've been coming here.

It was good to get to the gate and know that Dean and Sherry love us and we are always welcome here.

I love the moment I drive through the gate!

                                                 This was the last time we were here!

I always turn the calendar when we leave.

And after six months away - we are BACK!

The mops never fail to come up  to greet us.

Such sweet HUGE babies!

Things have been dry here like all of Texas!

The fig bush that Nita's sweet neighbor gave us years ago continues to hold on.

We've never had figs but hope springs eternal.

And my hardy rosemary bush is still doing well.

I had two in my front flower bed at home that did great for years!

Alas, they are both gone now and all the ones I've planted since have not thrived like they did.

A beautiful moon to welcome us back to our country home.

I have been busy cleaning up six months' worth of dust, dirt, critter droppings and cobwebs ever since I got here. Thnakfully, cleaning is my go to therapy and while I won't get it ALL clean - at least it won't be so overwhelming when we come back after Christmas.

Mice had a field day in the big bathroom and I need to bring nearly ALL my clothes home to wash them.

Sherry and I met our friend, Rosey, in Marlin at the Mexican restaurant and we had a lovely long visit as well as delicious food!

I had not planned on cooking that much this week and put most of what Louis Dean had put in the buggy in the freezer! Summer has been taking care of our house and watching the cats while we've been gone AND she cleaned our freezer there one more time to get that rotten smell out. It was awful to lose our entire freezer full of food but it will good to start filling it up again.

She also ordered a new seal for it and I will be keeping my eyes open and checking it every day or two from now on.

I brought potatoes from home and made a rich soup with cream, onions, cheese, rosemary and Jalapeno smoked sausage. Hot honey cornbread, cucumber salad and the pepper poppers Summer prepared for us rounded out the meal.

We ate well and I froze the rest of the soup and plan to take it to Bingo on Monday night.

One morning I woke up and Sherry was out doing road work with her tractor.

She loves running heavy equipment plus she's really GOOD at it, too!

Every day the mops stop by to say Hello and get a treat.

Louis Dean cleaned up the rose garden and tossed it all over the fence for the goats to eat!

We sat out there the other afternoon and watched them every bit of the fresh green weeds he'd pulled as if  they were strolling down a salad bar!

There is a reason we have our yard fenced in!

They would make short work of my rosemary, rose bushes and fig tree!

We laughed out loud when two of the goats locked horns and struggled to get loose!

I nearly always buy a rotisserie chicken for an easy meal and used the rest of it one night for a big salad.

I put lots of things in there and son Dean likes to call them my 'weed'  salads.

It's been good for me to be here this week as I have spent this time recalibrating this journey Louis Dean and I are on and finding my balance again.

Things are constantly changing for all of us and it's a good thing to have special time to ponder and pray and prepare our hearts and emotions for what may be before us.

Dean and Sherry have both spent time with Louis Dean and they brought fajitas down for dinner tonight. After we ate, Sherry and I went out on the front deck to sit and visit while Dean and his dad sat in the front room chairs to drink a beer and talk.

I get a lot of comfort from being in the country.

We leave tomorrow  to go back home but willl return in 59 days!