September's Eve......

I spent this September's Eve with both of my daughters!

It was such a good day!

All three of us love a good movie and we jumped at the chance to see one all together!

The Meg was pretty exciting!

We were at the 10:55 showing so it was just 1:00 when we got out.

Where to go now? 

Target, of course!!

I needed a few items to take on our trip and Amber was picking up pizzas for tonight and Summer is always up for a Target run! We were in two cars so while we waited for Summer, Amber went off and found a motorized cart for her!

Summer has had a string of rough days lately but nothing was going to stop her from being a part of this day - not even the fact that she didn't get to sleep until 4:00 this morning!

Amber timed it perfectly to ride right up to her as she walked in the door!

We shopped her and then Summer and I went on to Michael's - I found my fall candles and they were 3 for $10!- and to Sprouts for some fresh fruit and Raspberry Zinger Tea - Kailey's favorite - while Amber picked the kids up from school.

I found so much comfort for my soul spending all these hours with my daughters.

And the day was not done!

Granddad came over shortly after we all got back to Quadville.

They all love him but one little girl was especially glad to see him!

I heard Kailey ask him, "Have you hurt yourself??" 

And he said, "No! Have you?"

The kids were all so excited to have MeeMaw, Granddad and Aunt Summer all there!

Summer had to go to bed for awhile and the kids were watching a TV program about Legos.

They have moved on in their programs but Granddad's favorite is still Paw Patrol.

So they all decided to watch what Granddad liked!

I love this photo.

Even Amber is watching it with them.

Afterwards, the kids and I played Crazy Eight card game while Amber put the pizzas on.

And guess what Kailey accidently called me?? Grandma!!! I got all excited but she said she was confused and had started to say Grandmommy and stopped at Grandma-.

She said, "I like you better as MeeMaw! Not Grandma!"

Friday Night means Pizza, Popcorn, Coke and Movie!

And that's what we did!!

It was a great day and evening!

Granddad thought we were going to watch the original Cheaper by the Dozen but he really enjoyed this one. We all laughed and had fun.

Aunt Summer stayed the night but Louis Dean and I came home after the movie.

I had things to do to prepare for September First!

It may be a little silly but I am savoring these last hours of August in delicious anticipation of the very first September Morn of 2018.

I assured the quads I would be back over to spend the night tomorrow - but I wanted to be home on September First!!!

Thursday Visits.....and Fruitcake Cookie Dough!!!

Thursdays are our 'Visiting' days and on this one we purposely started out later than usual.

I had baked the Salted Caramel Brownies and Summer's recipe for Sour Cream Pound cake last night.

This morning all I had to do was package the brownies up and give the pound cake a light dusting of powdered sugar.

The first thing we did when we left the house was to have lunch at Uno China - Louis Dean's favorite Chinese buffet. I haven't been cooking a lot lately and he was hungry so it was just easier to take him to a buffet! Win! WIN!!

We visited Reaoma first since I knew we would be staying late in Fort Worth.

I visited with her and told her all about our week at the ranch and then Louis Dean started playing some music.

She was awake through much of our visit today.

Helen - Reaoma's next door neighbor - heard the music and was hovering outside the door.

We invited her in and assured her she was more than welcome.

Louis Dean does love an audience, you know!

Louis Dean is packing up his music which he had put on the bed.

In the morning they are bringing in a hospital bed for her.

It is the next stage in her disease.....

We next drove the 40  miles or so to Fort Worth just ahead of rush hour traffic.

Stopped for fuel and - well - you may have seen my post on Facebook but I had to take it down.

Louis Dean asked me not to say anything about it publicly - but I had already posted it!

It was rather funny and perfectly harmless - although there was a police car and city workers around when we left - but I honored his request.

However.......send me a private message and I will tell you all about it!!!

He didn't say anything about PRIVATE conversations!!

Hahahahahaha!

We picked up the malts at Braums and I went down the hall handing them out.

Louis Dean hauled all his music stuff in and set up in Lillian's room.

I took Mother her chocolate malt just as they were leaving her dinner.

I sat with her while she ate - although she didn't really eat.

The dementia is increasing and it was an uneasy visit for me at the beginning.

Then I showed her some pictures from my phone.

Pics from messages from Amber and Summer and some from my blog.

This seemed to capture her attention and she calmed down and the visit became much easier.

Louis Dean was already down there singing so I asked Mother if she wanted to go listen to him.

She did and I do believe she had a good time.

We all had a good time in the end.

Roberta wasn't feeling well - she's our 100 year old friend - and said she regretted it but she was going to bed right after she finished her dinner. I was sitting in Mother's room a little later when I saw both Roberta and Brenda wheel their way down to Lillian's room.

When I brought Mother in, Roberta said she decided it was a pajama party - and she had her pajamas on! As did Mother!

We all loved this song!

Meet the cook!!!

She calls Louis Dean 'The Big Guy!'

We laughed and took pictures and I sent them to her phone.

She was so much FUN!

It was after 8:00 when we left.

We pass this old police car on our way and I finally stopped and took a pic!

Pretty cool!

Traffic was light until we reached the Bush Toll Road exit and Louis Dean was in a lane that could go straight or turn onto the Bush. He drove straight. There had been an accident AND construction work so it took a good long while to get off, go down and under I20, get back on I20 going West and then get on the Bush!

It was after 9:00 when we got home and I immediately started making the Fruitcake Cookie dough.

I was out of rum so I opened up the bottle of Texas Bourbon Whiskey and gave the dough a healthy splash!

The dough is done and ready to bake on September First!

I got confused last night! Counting days to the first and counting days to the cruise!

I am going to close now and go in the living room and get the Neil Diamond CD out and set it on the stereo. I have lots of pumpkin and fall things to get together - from my new dish soap to coffee to my special cup to room fragrance, candle and body spray.

I plan to be home all day Saturday so if you are in the area, stop by for a cup of coffee, glass of tea and a fruitcake cookie or pumpkin muffin! We will celebrate together!!

I'm going to do my best to......

Make it a September to Remember!!

And we are back HOME!

We are home again!

It was after 1:00 when we finally pulled out on the road.

Sherry and Dean were just coming in.

 Sherry hopped out of their truck, opened the gate, and waved us through!

That's why Louis Dean is smiling so big!

This is right across the road from the ranch.

These are Mr. Jackson's donkeys.

The cotton is growing - but not as well as last year.

To the left, not so good.

But right across the road - that field looks a little better!

Our big white truck was heading home.

See what I mean about the cotton not looking good?

The drought has been severe.

We saw a few fields that had already been harvested.

It will probably all be gone by the time we get back down here.

And just like that - we are back home.

Louis Dean is in charge of unloading and I put it all up.

We make a good team.

I gave him a haircut before he had a good long hot bath and then I found him napping in the guest room. He will probably get a second wind later tonight but I am about to go to bed.

Tomorrow we will visit the nursing home so I'm pretty sure he will practicing those Marty Robbins songs he's been working on. Lillian called me on the way home this afternoon and said she had a 2:00 doctor appointment - and could we come an hour later than normal? It really touched our hearts that she didn't want to miss our visit.

I baked a sour cream pound cake for the nursing home staff.

They have a hard job and Mother is requiring more attention lately.

They are so kind and professional. I didn't want to leave any of the workers out so I baked a whole cake just for them. No, Louis Dean! You may NOT have a piece of the cake!

But I DID cut a small salted caramel brownie for him.

I'm taking these to the ladies.....Mother, Lillian, Roberta and Brenda.

The washer and dryer have been running ever since we got home at 5:00 and they are still going.

However, I am going to cry Uncle and call this a day.

Only 9 more wake ups until September Morn!!

An Extra Day at the Ranch!

My heart was much lighter today!

Louis Dean woke up this morning like his normal self!

 All happy and energetic.

I woke up in the girl bunk to the sound of voices outside my window.

It was nearly 3:00 AM when I finally fell asleep. 

Not too bad since it was 1:30 when I went to bed.

I turned the water on to fill the camper reservoir about 10:30.

I sat at the table in the front room cutting the denim squares out while it filled - which takes less than 15 minutes. However, I started paying more attention to writing last night's journal post and then making plans and looking at maps regarding our trip to visit Bev and Brian who live in Canada just a couple of hours away from the Idaho border - that I forgot all about the water. I never heard the gallons upon gallons pouring out and running on the ground and then down the side of the road.

As I was turning the lights off in the camper before I went to bed - I finally remembered!!!

I traipsed out there on the now muddy ground with my sparkly black house shoes on and turned the water off.....and then followed the flow to see how far it went. By this time it was nearly half way to the goat pen! I was ever so thankful I had turned it off before I went to bed or it would have been all the way past Dean and Sherry's house heading to the creek along the eastern edge of their property!

I went to bed dreading having to tell them what I had done.

Then I woke up to those voices!

The water reservoir is right under the girl bunk. They had seen the dark water edge along the road and came up to investigate what they thought would be a broken water pipe.

I flew up out of that bunk like my hair was on fire!

One look in the mirror showed a mad woman so I slapped a cap on my head and grabbed a pair of sunglasses as I lurched out the door and raced around the camper. 

Dean was already hiking across the field to where the water meter is located.

I yelled out really loud, "Hey!! I left the water on last night!!!!"

Bless their hearts. They weren't mad or anything. They were just glad there wasn't a water break.

I explained myself and apologized and before I staggered back to bed, Louis Dean suggested we stay an extra day! Sherry was wanting to go to a beekeeper's meeting at the college in Waco tonight and he knew I would want to go, too! Win! WIN!!!  'One more day' are three of my favorite words!

When I got up the sky was beautiful and it was another hot day but not quite 100!!

Later when I went down to invite Sherry to eat dinner with us (Dean was teaching a Karate class) we stopped by the peacock pen and I met the new male. Sherry said, "Watch this." 

He ate right out of her hand!

This is the peahen and she is sitting on a nest of eggs. 

We're not sure how many but we are all hoping for some baby peacocks!

We left the guys here at the ranch and we drove to Waco for the meeting.

Sherry has been interested in beekeeping for the better part of this whole year.

Before the meeting started - and after it finished -

there was a honey tasting.

Oh, my goodness!

I had no idea how different the honey taste.

It depends on what flowers the bees choose.

Some honey is dark - some are light.

Every single one tasted different.

It rained in Mart and at the ranch while we were gone.

When I got out of the truck to open the gate, I caught a wonderful fragrant whiff of country hay mixed with rain! Probably my favorite smell in all the world!

It was the sweetest gift of this day......right after seeing Louis Dean feeling so much better!

We go home tomorrow! 

This time I mean it!

Our Time at the Ranch.......

The days have gone by quickly on this short visit to the ranch.

My goal is to be here for at least a few days every month and so far we have met that goal with the exception of February. Last year we missed August.

Sherry's been moving a lot of dirt down here with her shiny new red tractor.

The horses were out on what will become the road that goes in front of where we are.

They are mother and daughter.......

I had some celery for them Saturday.

There are all manner of critters down here.

This guy kept trying to get in my paint bucket when I was working in the front room.

When I wasn't looking he fell in!

**Source**

Then there's this velvet ant! I didn't have my camera so I got this picture off the Internet.
He's actually not an ant but a wasp. That can't fly.

Louis Dean had been eyeing the steps and Saturday he built new wooden ones.
He simply folded up the metal ones that are attached to the camper. This is the first 'step' to closing up this one last opening. He will work on that next month.

These are really sturdy and they don't make the noise that the metal ones did.

I'm going to paint them white and put carpet pieces on the treads.

Sherry had spent the weekend in Dallas and her truck broke down.

Fortunately, Roy and Ruth Ann were at home instead of at their farm and he rented a trailer and brought Sherry and her truck home late Sunday afternoon. Ruth Ann has been purging things after living in the same house for 40 years and sent some pretty fall 'debris' that she knew I would love.

She knows me well!!

TWO wreaths!!

The Snowman couple are sitting out but I'm going to put them up until December.

I painted around the windows Sunday and then I washed them inside and out plus the screens.

Sunday night I put the room all back together and cleaned it up!

While I was working inside, Louis Dean called me to come out on the deck - quickly!

The moon had risen as an orange glow through the trees and the clouds had covered it and then drifted upwards. So very pretty!

I took a warm shower outside with the water from the hose that had been heated by the sun all day.

Louis Dean told me it would be warm but I was still surprised when it was!

We sat on the porch for one last little sit before bed.

Keeping those windows clean makes all the difference!

I love how they sparkled!

Louis Dean has been what he calls 'beat' the last two days.

Just tired to the bone.

I get that way sometimes but when it happens to him, I get worried.

Monday is Senior Citizens Discount Day at the Goodwills so we decided to go in to Waco.

Louis Dean got up and dressed and then went back to bed for another nearly 2 hours before we left.

I found this little Witchy girl and I may take her home with me so she can greet the trick or treaters at Halloween. For now she's standing behind that green chair.

I'm a sucker for fall decorations.

I bought this swag for $3 and hung it between the two fall wreaths from Ruth Ann.

The LIVE LAUGH LOVE sign and the pumpkin picture were each $4.

I need to redo that little tree.

Louis Dean knocked it over and I need to pay it some attention.

My best treasure of the day!

Two strands of grape lights!!

I think they are beautiful and will probably hang them in the gazebo.

Lastly, Pitch Perfect movie (which I watched some of tonight) and a book for Amber and one for me.

Louis Dean and I will probably read Megyn Kelly's book out loud.

We left the Bible basket at home by accident so I have been reading Proverbs since we have been here this visit. For our out loud reading, we started The American Sniper.

We stopped to eat a very late lunch at The Catch and even that didn't cheer Louis Dean up so we came back home and he went back to bed. I did all the driving - he was too tired.

I never get tired of this view.

I sat out there with a nice breeze blowing and whacked up blue jeans until it got dark.

Then I came in and cut them up in squares while Louis Dean slept on.

He had gone to bed at 5:15 and didn't get up until after 9:00 and only then because he got hungry.

We had a sandwich supper and I went inside to clean things up while he sat out in the front room.

I came back out when I heard him singing.

That's always a good sign!

He stayed up about an hour and a half before going back to bed.

He insists he's not sick - just tired.

And he has every right to be!

We head home tomorrow......