Oops.... I did it AGAIN!!

Another late night   early morning (1:30!) run to Whataburger! The evening started out just fine....after art class we settled in the gazebo for an evening glass of wine and some catch up writing in my journal. Just about the time we were thinking of heading off to bed I realized I had not watered my flowers/plants....so I proceeded to do just that in the back area. We then sat out in the front yard while I gave everything out there a good drink.  One of us.....OK! OK!! I said how good a hamburger, french fries and onion rings would taste and before we could change our minds we had flung ourselves in the car and headed down MacArthur to I635 to the WHATABURGER!!! And they WERE!!! Louis Dean ordered the biggest one they had  and a JR. Whataburger for me. We split the fries and onion rings......and to be healthy we drank water!! (smile) By the time we got home we were SO ready for sleep.....and SLEEP we did!! Like a couple of teenagers! We did not wake up til nearly NOON today! And as of 2 pm when I am writing this......we are STILL full! I am glad it doesn't take much to give us a thrill of adventure! Even if it is just a late night Whataburger run!

Out and About!!

This morning we woke up to the same Winter Wonderland we did on Friday morning!

I went out on the side deck and took a few last pics!

The sun has come out and the weather has warmed up a bit so hopefully this will all melt away!

Although as I write this on Saturday evening there is still a good little bit of snow and ice around the back side of our house! At least the sun and warmer temps today melted it all from the trees and sidewalks!

As I stood on my front porch in the early afternoon it sounded like all the waterfalls we have were running full blast! NOT! The back ones were still frozen and the only one in the front was unplugged. It was the musical sound of melting ice and snow dripping down the gutters. Beautiful music!

We waited until the streets were all clear.....then.....

  WE LEFT THE HOUSE.

This was our first time out in SEVEN days!

Can you tell I am excited?

We had a whole list of errands to do!

First stop: Post Office to mail an eBay package.

Second Stop: "The STINKY Store".....at Finley and Beltline.

It is 'TNL' and STINKS to high heaven! They have a fresh fish market inside and all

manner of international foods! They also have fresh and inexpensive produce so Louis Dean

braves the smell in order to have his veggies for salads!

(I refuse to go in there! The odor clings to your clothes!)

Next Stop.... Goodwill!!

I had  half  a trunk to unload!

THEN we went in and filled our cart with all sorts of treasures!

These place mats were still in their package and BRAND NEW!

16 of them for $4.99.

I can seat EXACTLY 16 people for dinner if I use all my dining areas.....dining room, kitchen, game table in den and table in sewing room. These will look great with my Pfaltzgraff Village Dishes of which I have OVER 16 place settings!

I could NOT pass up this fall wreath for $1.99!

Now I have something 'New' to add to my fall season's decorations!

This really good sized basket was $3.99 and STUFFED FULL of artificial flowers!

Most of them were trash. We sorted and emptied all but a few into the trash bin before putting it in the car.

I bet we looked funny out there in the parking lot!

I have enough 'debris' without bringing MORE in the house!

I picked this 'shower' curtain up for a couple of dollars.......

This will be hung in the gazebo to protect us from the showers that fall outside....

and keep them from blowing in on us!

A few other finds from the Goodwill:

A pair of comfy black velour pants from Talbot's

A pair of nice black casual pants

A nice black fitted shirt

A pair of oxblood  Bass loafers that fit PERFECTLY and were brand new!

We were off to the Home Depot next....

We really didn't buy much there but I was checking out options for my bathroom walls.

WHEN I GET bathroom walls!!

I have decided to do the stucco look which I can achieve with Texture paint or joint compound.

Since I usually wallpaper my walls and have never done THIS before....

 I shall have to consult my friend, Carla, who has perfected the technique!

Louis Dean also priced and looked over the small hot water heaters.

After being without hot water in our kitchen since Monday night due to freezing temperatures,

he thinks he will install a small one in the cabinet area below the sink.

This will be AFTER he finishes my bathroom!

Walmart was the next shopping adventure! I was never more excited to go there!

I needed a crib quilt batting as well as the odd assortment of groceries.

We got everything we needed in one place.

It was rather surprising to see so many empty shelves!

Louis Dean bought the next to the LAST package of eggs!

All they had left were FIVE DOZEN count cartons so we brought home 5 dozen eggs!!

He also picked up the very LAST bag of potatoes!

I bought a bag of glass 'pieces' to glue on a 'Lighted Wine Bottle.'

 Placed in a grape cluster pattern on the bottle and with a sprig of grape leaves at the top

 I think it will be pretty!

I could not resist a bottle of Lavender Vanilla Scent.....

I love a house that smells good!

The sun was setting and a sliver of moon appeared as we loaded our purchases

and headed to our last stop.....

WHATABURGER!!!

Our favorite late night hamburger place!

Though THIS was an early evening DATE!

We have recently joined Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas.

We also joined a Home Team group and our first study with them is

'The creative Marriage.'

Our assignment was to go on a 'date.'

Since we have been housebound all week....and more bad weather is in the forecast....

and our next meeting is this coming Friday.....

WHATABURGER was our date night choice!

USUALLY we eat very healthy meals. Louis Dean had a heart attack 2 years ago.

But every once in awhile we yearn for greasy food!

Whataburgers, fries and onion rings!!

Last spring we were out late one evening watering the yard and sitting out in the gazebo.

We talked and talked and as we were very late going to bed we had managed to get hungry again!

It was 2 am and both of us had the same idea! WHATABURGER! I did a post titled...

Oops.....I did it AGAIN!

SO that was the way we ended our Out and About Saurday adventure!

We will continue to enjoy a bit of it in the morning.

In spite of Louis Dean thinking we could eat all he ordered at dinner.....

we were stuffed!

(Just so you know.....I get  the Whataburger JR!)

We opted to bring our Strawberry Pies home with us!

We will enjoy these with a cup of coffee for breakfast!

Hope all of YOU had as much fun today as WE did!!

Country Adventures!!

We left Irving along about 1:30 - so much for getting off before noon! 

We were hungry but decided to get through to the other side of Dallas before stopping for a Whataburger!

SO good!!

I had the Jr. Whataburger and was all smiles!

Alas, I had carried my current book in with me and accidently left it there!

I hope someone found it and is enjoying the read!

Son Dean had asked me to stop a Dollar Tree if I came across one as he was looking for peat pots.

It just so happened that one was right there across the street from Whataburger!

I bought all they had plus $10 worth of seeds as they were 4 for a dollar.

We were rolling along as happy as we could be when the truck started shaking!

Louis Dean was quick to react and pulled over to the shoulder.

It wasn't safe to get out (on I35 just south of Hillsboro) so he drove slowly with his flashers on until he could exit the Interstate.

We had a blow out on the inner tire in the back driver's side

It had ripped the wheel well cover off and Louis Dean had to get the rest loose before we could continue driving slowly to a tire place.

I looked up tire places near me on my phone and found Gabino Tires and Truck Repair, LLC located 4.3 miles from where we were. It was now 4:30 and they closed at 6:00 so we headed over there.

They are the nicest people and we knew God blessed us in sending us here.

Turns out four of our six tires needed to be replaced.

They had the tires delivered from another location and set to work getting ready to put them on while they were on their way.

It was a GOD thing all the way around.

No stress as we sat all comfortable like and visited with Luis and his family and pets!

Such a sweet dog!

This was the culprit but the other three could have gone out at any time.

In their inspection, Luis found a few other issues that need to be addressed -

The ball joint on the right passenger side was wobbly and the tie rods were loose AND the front brakes were all but gone.

God worked so many details out for us before hand.

Our bee meeting is in Hillsboro on Tuesday so we have an appointment to bring our truck back there on Sunday when Dean and Sherry can follow us and take us back to the ranch.

We can pick the truck up on Tuesday when we come for our bee meeting.

AND Luis and his family is interested in putting some bees on their property!

He has several acres and his home is next to his business.

So they may go to the meeting with is!

It was an all Win! WIN!! adventure just getting down to the country!

So much for getting there before dark!

We stopped at HEB on our way and we are here to stay until Sunday.

It would be dangerous to drive the truck unnecessarily. 

Long day but it's done  so we unloaded and let our cats loose - they'd been in their carriers nearly 8 hours without a peep!

Since it was chilly, Louis Dean and I sat with our glass of wine in front of the Dearborn heater in the bathroom. Isn't that a novel place to end our evening?

I was reading an article from the AARP magazine out loud to him when - in a split second - he fell backwards in his chair!! 200 pounds of masculine male falling backwards and landing hard.

He had a hard time getting up and I helped as much as I could.

He finally managed to pull up on another chair and he made it to his chair in the front room.

We rested and I gave him his medicine and he went to bed.

I admit this scared me good so I sat up awhile and calmed down and then went to bed beside him.

Normally I sleep in the girl bunk when we are down here but I wanted to stay close to him.

We both slept well and when I woke up around 8:00 - I went to the girl bunk and slept until nearly noon. I heard voices and went to the door and asked, "Is there a party going on?"

Dean and Sherry were with Louis Dean in the bathroom - because that's where the heater is and there's enough room to put a few chairs in front of it!

I joined them and we all had coffee and a good visit - though Sherry doesn't drink coffee!

She was on her break and had to go back to work but it was SO GOOD to see them.

I had been missing them more than normal lately.

Louis Dean didn't remember falling last night and I was surprised that he wasn't even sore.

He was out mowing while I was figuring out what to do next.

He also forgot that we can NOT drive the truck which I had to remind him of when he decided to go to Waco for engine fuel for his tiller, mower and whatever.

Dean happened to come by about that time and I told him his dad wanted to go to town.

He is so patient and gracious. No problem. Let's wait until after lunch and he would be happy to take him!

Sherry brought down two dozen farm fresh eggs and I fried up six of them along with some think cut bacon and four slices of toast.

Breakfast for lunch!

Father and son went off for the afternoon and I busied myself with housework and putting up the laundry we had brought back.

Sherry gets off at 4:00 so I dressed and walked down to her house just as she was closing up her computer.

On the way I stopped at the peacock pen.....

he was shaking his feathers at me.

Then he slowly turned around......

and there he is in all his glory!

The roosters and a few chickens were running around.

Most are in their hen houses.

Sherry has such a green thumb!

Her deck, living room, kitchen and bathroom all have such beautiful healthy plants!!

She and I had a nice visit and then we went out to see the goats.

One mama and her two baby Billy goats.

Sweet!!!

'

SWEET!!!

There are four babies altogether - 3 Billy goats and 1 female.

Today was the BEST!!!

I'm so happy to be  here - have I said that already???

Everything feels better when I'm in the Country!!

Dean and Sherry came down to join us in a spaghetti with meat sauce dinner along with garlic bread and a spring salad. Sherry and I make a good team - she cooked the spaghetti and donated the bread and sauce while I cooked the meat and made the salad and garlic toast.

Our trip down here did not go as we planned it but God had a better plan in mind and it was perfect!

Monday and Tuesday With Summer.....

It was a week ago on Monday that Summer had her SCS surgery.

That's Spinal Cord Stimulator.

She has done remarkably well in her recovery and has been an ideal patient.

For the first few days she slept a lot but has not taken much in the way of pain medication.

Perhaps she's grown so accustomed to pain that she tolerates it better than some could.

We celebrated the one week date with a good lunch.

Summer put together a really pretty garden salad while I made up a fresh fruit one.

I took what I thought was a chicken cheese enchilada dish out of the freezer for our main course.....

only to discover when I was dishing it up - that it was mashed potatoes!!

I had made rice and beans as side dishes but put those in containers while Summer added ham to the salad! Monday night we had mashed potatoes and fried ham!

As soon as the sun goes past the pecan trees in the late afternoon and early evening, we've been going outside to work in the front yard.

Summer took this photo as I was working hard at chopping back the jungle growth of Asian Jasmine!

She used my nifty propane weed burner to deal with weeds coming up through the cracks in the driveway and between stones.

After it started getting dark, we went inside and began our evening of sewing face masks.

She had bought some clever fabrics to make up a couple of dozen. 

There are lots of dog lovers in Summer's life and Rayne and Sabrina are part of the fostering program for Palmas Del Mar Animal Welfare in Puerto Rico.

Here they are wearing the masks I sent them!

They are going to LOVE the ones we made last night!!

Louis Dean got way too tired yesterday so he took a hot bath and went to bed early.

Summer and I stayed up late sewing and then sat out on the driveway for an hour before we went to bed about 1:00 this morning!

Monday was a perfect day!

This morning we got ourselves together and packed up Summer's things and it was time to head to Rowlett. We grabbed a couple of pics together before we left.

Here I am modeling the honeycomb fabric Summer got for my special face mask.

What makes it even more special is the Honeybee button she bought!

I toyed with sewing it in the middle of the mask so it would be more noticable.

However, once I looked at it, my first thought was the cover pic of Silence of the Lambs.

NOT doing THAT! So by the ear was perfect!

We loaded up in the truck and did a few errands with Summer after we got to Rowlett remebering that she cannot BEND, LIFT, or TWIST!

She's getting good at squatting!

She has such a great sense of humor!

She ordered this mask for fun!

It's true!

We wear masks and we may be smiling but people don't see that!

Of course, Summer clearly smiles with her eyes, too!

Here's another mask she ordered for me!

I will be wearing this at our next bee meeting!

Wonder when that will be??

We stopped at Whataburger and took lunch back to Sherry's house (the wonderful lady Summer lives with) to eat. It had been a long time since we had enjoyed a Whataburger! Summer ordered on her phone while we were in the parking lot and they brought it to us curbside. Win! WIN!!

Whataburger is a 'suthern thang.'

You have to live in one of the 10 states in the south to eat a WHAT a BURGER!!!

Arizona, New Mexico, TEXAS, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia,or Florida! It started in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1950 and most of the store are IN Texas with a total of 805 locations in all!

That one meal lasted us all day!

I close tonight's journal entry with the note I found beside my laptop tonight.

Made me tear up.

I am so very thankful to have Summer Dee in my life.

Daughter of a very young mother, there is only 15 years difference in our ages.

In many ways we have grown up together.

I'm grateful for all of you out there who have prayed for her during thes last four years as she has been on this journey with pain. 

We are filled with hope like we have not had before that she will get her life back.

I don't think anyone could have handled the adversities she's had and the horrible pain she's been in for as long as she has suffered any better than she has done.

I am so very proud of her!!