My Busy Busy Year! Slow DOWN!

Wow, it's time to rest a little!

Well, maybe after the holidays...

Two weddings this year, keeping my grand baby some, helping two grown kids move.  Whew!!! I guess I just THOUGHT I'd been busy before!

I miss blogging!  I miss my blogging friends!  I keep saying I'm going to try harder, but it just hasn't happened.  My daughter just got married two weeks ago and she moved home and lived with Tony and I for two months before the wedding so we could work on that. It was a glorious affair and she told me after the wedding before they left for their honeymoon that it was perfect and a dream come true!  So I was happy!

It was a wonderful wedding - kept growing as we went along. Cody's family is big and they have lots of relatives on his side of the family and one cannot leave relatives out, you know!  Hayley & Cody have lots of friends they wanted, too.  The best thing we did for this wedding was catering BBQ from one of our local favorite BBQ places.  They came, they set up, they served, they cleaned up - it was great!  And since we had a very rustic outdoor wedding, good ole Texas BBQ was a hit!  I'll probably show y'all more pics as they become available.  They went to Belize on their honeymoon and had a great time!

Bella Boo is growing like a weed - she'll be walking soon and is saying a few words - well, at least WE can understand them.  She is so cute and happy most of the time and grins real big when you tell her "no".  Maybe it's just girls, but she loves to scream just for the fun of it!  She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she hums when any music is playing.  She had her first birthday the day after Hayley & Cody got married! 

Her mommy & daddy threw a big birthday party for her - we had young parents and little ones all over their house - it was mass chaos, but OH SO FUN!  To be able to celebrate our little one's birthday was such a blessing!

Well, gotta run!  I have 4 paintings to do before Christmas!  I've got to get busy again!  Like I said....

Maybe after the holidays.... 

Pallaverin'....

Sunday past, the 14th, was the one year anniversary of my sister's going to be with the Lord after her bout with cancer.  We spent the day at church with her husband and went to the cemetery.  She is not there, but it IS a place that we can congregate and rejoice over her victory and remember and reflect on her life and how important a part of our lives that she was.  Her memory and her love will go on with us in our hearts until we are reunited with her someday!

My darling kids sent me this beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas, peonies and lilies in remembrance of my sister.  I was so touched.  Isn't it just so wonderful when your kids are so thoughtful when they get grown?  Makes me feel like I did something right!

Here we are waiting on all that rain from the Hurricane Bill. (who in tarnation gets to name the hurricanes?  who in tarnation named it Bill - that's the dumbest name for a hurricane that I've ever heard. just sayin'.)  We are just east of the line of fire, but in the danger zone for tornadic activity should there be any.  It's been showering off and on the last couple of days, but they say we're going to get a bunch over the next couple of days.  I was actually about ready for some more rain.  This sugar sand where we live doesn't not hold water for the grass and vegetation and it was getting rather dry.  I do pray for the folks that live in those already flooded areas that really don't need any more water.  How tragic about the lives lost in the last floods here in Texas and elsewhere...

I have been making plum jelly for the last two weeks. Right now I'm up to 11 dozen 4 oz jars.  Why? Because my dear daughter is having these little jars for her wedding favors in October! Her idea. I don't know if it's saving me any money, as I still have to buy sugar and S*re-Jell and jars.  Atwoods had tons of the little ones.  I'm thinking we're going to need about 10 or 11 dozen MORE to make sure we have enough for all guests... On Pinterest, there are such cute ideas for decorating the jars - ribbon, tea-stained tags, burlap, cute printed stamps. 

You'd have to know my daughter.  We had to find a venue that NONE of her friends had used, bridesmaids' gifts that nobody had thought about, flower designs, engagement pics, wedding favors.  Everyone wants to be original - I do understand that.  Last September, I helped my daughter in law and her mom make little lavender soaps for her favors.  That was fun, too.  So, when the peaches ripen, I'll add some peach preserves to our stash!

Bella Boo getting her bath.  LOVES her bath time!

Bluebirds had made their nest in here and laid eggs. Some nasty sparrows ran them out and took the eggs out. Now the baby sparrows have hatched.  GRRR.....  they eat my chicken feed....

A stinkin' ole chicken snake tried to get into my coop/pen.  I have chicken wire all over but had to cover the whole thing with bird netting to keep the sparrows out.  If you look closely, you might can tell that Mr. Snake has trapped himself trying to slither thru the bird netting to get the wire and is stuck tight!  Haha!  Tricked you again!  Remember the golf balls?

Now, Mr. Tony, my husband was gone to work, but I've learned how to deal with these varmints.  I got the loppers that Tony uses to cut limbs with and neatly clipped Mr. Snake's head in two places.  Takes 'em a little while to die cuz he was still trying to bite. He couldn't do much wriggling because of the netting.  Easiest snake I ever kilt!  A 12 gauge hoe or a 10 gauge set of loppers will do the trick!

TIP:  If you ever see a snake crossing the road (and there's not a car behind you), speed up a little and right when you get to the snake, slam on the brakes and skid over it.  Gets 'em every time.  If you just run over snakes with without skidding, they don't always die -  they just slither off.  Gotta skid.

And I'm skiddin' on outa here.

Just Catchin' Up...

Hello again!  Sorry I've been  MIA!  With a grand baby I keep a couple of days a week and planning TWO weddings, it's been CRAZY-busy around the farm!  Yep, TWO weddings!  My oldest son, Adam, got married three weeks ago in Nashville, and my daughter is getting married in October here in E Texas.  I'm a very busy gal!  My son, Adam, and his new bride, Bre.

I have no veggie garden this year either - I'm so sad!  Guess I'll be going to the Farmer's Market a lot this summer.  When we had the big tree cut down, the garden fence, etc., had to be taken down and everything moved - my raised beds, too.  Then I got "wedding-busy" and it just didn't happen this year.  So sad...  I had planned on maybe having some patio plants, tomatoes and such, but that's not happening.  So, I've had to let it go for this year.  It IS what it IS.  Trying to prioritize this year...and not stress myself out overly much.

I've been looking for photos to show of our little farm this year, lo and behold - there are hardly any pics that do not include my little granddaughter!  I have thousands already!  She's sitting alone now, jabbering up a storm and SO curious about every little thing.  And still no hair!

This picture of my daughter, my granddaughter and myself was taken in Nashville at Cedarmont Farm where Adam's wedding was held.  It was a gorgeous place and threatened rain all day, but the sun broke out towards the evening and everything was perfect!  Bella is my middle son's baby girl and Hayley is such a proud Auntie!  Bella is sporting wedding attire along with her smallish hair bow (not).  I told her mommy and daddy that she looked like she'd been to the Kentucky Derby! either that, or she is a sweet little Ganache Cupcake!

Daddy and I did do our usual ritual of jelly making last week.  This has been going on for many years now, and we were sure missing our Lisa being there to help.  Just wasn't the same somehow, but we are carrying on.  I did not think I could go on at times without my sister, but I have.  Some days are better than others.  I know the Lord in heaven is working His healing touch on our family and I'm so thankful to have Him to lean on.

Notice something different?  I cut my hair.  I decided to go short.  I am really enjoying it a lot - so much easier to care for except my hair grows fast and I have to go to the salon just about once a month...  grrrrr.  But I'm liking it.

Hope to be back soon amidst the wedding planning for my daughter and keeping my baby. She's the delight of my life right now and she makes this troubled heart happy!  Take care and keep your dress down!

End of an Era...

Well, the Colonel is dead.  Our big old backyard oak tree has bitten the dust. 

As I sat watching its demise, my mind wandered to thinking about the 150 years or so that this tree has lived on our little farm.  It's kind of sad if you think about it.  

We know about the last 75+ years or so when my husbands relatives lived here and built our little farmhouse.  When we first got the property about 7 years ago, there was an old, old tree swing hanging out of the Colonel - much to unsafe to use.  We took it down to prevent any young'un's from hurting themselves.

No telling what stories this old tree could tell!  Kind of like an old house, I suppose.  Tony's great uncle Claude built this little house by hand and he was not much over five feet tall.  He and his wife raised two little girls here.  The girls were old maid sisters until they died and left the farm to Tony's family.  I didn't meet them until they were in their 70's, and they went on to live and do everything together until their deaths at 80-90.  They always reminded me of the "Sisters" on the Waltons.  Probably even had some of the "recipe", too!

I think about those little girls growing up here on the farm, probably playing under the shade of this old tree and maybe even climbing it! Who knows - perhaps it had low hanging branches at one time, perhaps they played dolls or had tea parties, or perhaps they were tomboys... I know our little garden shed held Claude's gardening and farming tools.  He raised crops out here, and the road was little more than dirt than runs in front of the house.  As we have gardened here, we've found bits of harness and tools - metal plow parts, bits, horseshoes, gears and stuff that who knows what it was - all buried in the dirt.  When I till my garden, there's no telling what might pop up.  One side of the garden shed used to be a chicken coop. It now stores my own chicken feed and pine shavings.

I wonder if the girls helped their mom and dad out with chores as they got older. Surely, they fed the chickens, helped in the garden, learned to can and cook and sew with their momma - of course, in the OLD ways of doing things.  I have the original pie safe that Claude built for his wife in my little kitchen still as well as other items that he built and that were saved through the years.

The Cherokee Indians were native here and roamed parts of East Texas in our area at one time. Wonder if they ever saw this old tree? Wonder if they ever had to hide behind it or in the top of it?  Our pastures have raised crops and cattle, and at one time in Tyler's early history and rose boom, our fields were covered in roses. I would love to have seen that!  Nowadays, the big product from our area is oil.  There's drilling going on all around us and has been since back in the early 1900's.

Our family has enjoyed this little farm place for the last few years.  Tony and I moved out here about 3 1/2 years ago.  We've enjoyed the Colonel shading our deck and back yard and just being such a conversation piece.  We hoped to be able to put up another tree swing for our grand babies someday, but that is not to be now.  Rest in peace, Colonel - you've seen a lot of history in your years!

This 'N That...

Hey people - y'all still with me?  Sure hope so!

Not really much going on around here. It was in the 70's here yesterday in my part of Texas, close to 80 in some parts south last week.  Our daffodils are out and the trees are beginning to get those little fuzzy things on them where they'll bud out.  But before we think it's spring --- caution!  We will probably get a couple of cold/freezing cold spells before winter has moved on.  I'm telling my fruit trees to please not bud right now. Last year's late freeze got my plum blossoms - but not the peaches.

We had a 150+ year old oak tree in our back yard behind the house.  I say HAD.  It's dead now.  I hate it like the dickens as it shaded our deck and most of the back yard.  About 4 years ago, we had a drought here with 100+ temps and no rain for months during the summer.  It took until just about now, but it's been slowly dying.  I think it was weakened, and it's got some kind of disease now.  We've had limbs cut out of it several times, but it's about to bite the dust.  It borders my garden and we try to walk around its spread mostly.  We can see some dead limbs hanging in it and it's just downright dangerous now.  The tree service is coming tomorrow to cut it down.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they're going to do it!  It's huge!

It's so sad - we had lots of trees die in the woods on our place and we've taken to not walking the trail or riding our Mule through there either.  The dead ones are falling across the path and just waiting for a strong wind to knock more huge branches and tops onto our heads. My guys need to get in there with chain saws and take care of some trimming and burning...

I've been painting some when I'm not keeping my little grand baby.  I don't have time when she's here and I'm not pulling out the turpentine and paint thinners for her to breathe.  When it's just me, I open the windows by the spot where I paint and turn on a fan.  If it gets chilly I just add a sweatshirt or light jacket and keep painting.

Here's my latest....

This painting is from Turner Falls, Oklahoma.  Went on a painting trip a few years ago with some fellow artists - as you can see, this is not a painting of the falls, but of the river that leads to the falls. We went at just the right time to see the autumn colors. It was beautiful and I have plans to do more paintings from that trip!

Baby Bella-boo is growing and changing every day! She is so precious!  I love being a Mimi, maybe even more than being a mommy!  The kids bring her and let Tony and I enjoy her for a day or so here and there - AND it lets them get out and go on a date! Win-win for everybody!

Yep, you can see that our little grand-daughter hasn't a stitch of hair.  My kids didn't either.  I rather like little onion-headed babies myself!  She's got a purdy head, too, so it just doesn't matter!  Plus- it's fun to kiss and rub her head - funny how baby heads have wrinkles in the skin.... (giggle-giggle) gobs of  baby hair is highly over-rated if you ask me - it usually falls out anyway.  And then you have to stick it down with spit if you get a baby with shocks of stick-up, little gorilla-lookin' hair.  But those are cute, too!

OK, that's all I got today, guys. Gotta rustle up somethin' for my Hongry Man for supper! Bye!