A Good Friday and Saturday....

 Friday was my first 'normal' day in nearly two weeks!

By the end of the day I was basking in the glow of a mostly clean home!

I don't know why I love looking in from outside - but I do!

The Santa walls remain but hopefully not for long.

The living room looks so much bigger now that the Christmas tree is down!

I love my Angel wall.......

My sister, Nita, will always be in my heart and on my mind.

I love all my pretty things.

And I love feeling better!

It felt good to be cleaning and fluffing again.

No more sick days in bed!

Between eating healthy and being ill - I've lost 13 pounds!

It was a beautiful Saturday morning and I took my first cup of coffee out to the side deck to enjoy the greenery.

Everything is so green and growing fast!

The honeysuckle should be blooming any day now.

I love the overgrown English garden look.

When the ground cover and honeysuckle is thick enough - the weeds can't grow as easily.

I'm not a natural gardener so I love anything I plant that survives.

Three skinny asparagus plants have been stepped on by Louis Dean more times than I can count and yet have hung on for a couple of years. I put the wire basket over them to give them a little more protection.

These survived the winter and I plan to plant a whole lot more of them!

I planted this ground cover years and years ago - like maybe 20!

It grows no matter what! I thought it had been wiped out more than once and yet it always comes back!

English ivy is my all-time favorite!

I spent a good part of this day in the kitchen.

My pecan pie smelled delicious.

Lemon pound cake with glaze.

Smoked chocolate chip cookies with chopped cashews.

The last thing I made was dilly bits!

Saturday night salad supper!

Tomorrow is Easter and I am so thankful for my Risen Lord and Savior.

A String of Sick Days and Tuesday Treasures!

Louis Dean and I have been in bed for nearly a week!

It started on our way back to Texas from New Mexico - we drove through a lot of mountain cedar and our allergies grew worse day by day.

 After my colonoscopy, I felt like doing a few chores here and there.

Our  medicine closet was a mess and I threw literally half of the stuff away and then we proceeded to use the Vicks and other remedies as our allergies continued to worsen.

We stayed hydrated and swabbed with Vicks Vapor Rub, sucked on cough drops and used up a good supply of tissues. I haven't been this sick in such a long time!

Most of the last 5-6 days I have spent the better part of 24 hours in bed and so has Louis Dean.

Our symptoms - Louis Dean and mine - were the same. 

Copious clear sinus drainage, coughing, and feeling miserable.

No fever and oxygen levels good.

I admit I started to get a bit depressed. 

We just weren't getting better.

Louis Dean would rally round and spend some time in his music room - armed with his Gorilla Glue and a repair project before going back to the guest room to nap.

We spent day after day in sick mode,

 Sunday I was feeling especially needy and that morning I took a cup of coffee out to the kitchen garden  and lo, and behold, I found my very first sunflower of 2024!

I accidently tore off one of the petals - but  it is my special sunflower of the year!

I admit to being weary and was feeling seriously depressed by so many days of being sick,

Monday night I received a text from Logan saying she was praying for us and hoped we would be better soon.

During the early hours of Tuesday morning, I woke up and I could tell I was better!

I could breathe and I wasn't coughing  and knew I was on the mend!

I was excited to be  BACK!!!

Earlier  Monday night I texted Brenda that I  could not go  for our Tuesday Treasures ....

however  - 

I was thrilled to be back to a little bit more of myself.

These are my Tuesday  Treasures!

Brenda and I shopped at two Texas Thrift stores....

one on Irving Blvd and the other on Beltline Road.

It is such fun to find treasures!

Louis Dean loves thus brand new pair of shoes!!!

I am so happy to be be feeling better and I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

 

Wednesday Words

 Amber picked me up for my procedure and all went according to plan!

The staff and doctor was wonderful and I enjoyed my 'nap!'

We stopped at Jason's Deli on our way home and Amber picked up some truly LOADED baked potatoes, fruit and tea - and wile she was in the deli - I scarfed down a packet of trail mix!

I was famished!

On the way home I noticed I had missed a call from Louis Dean - he had left me a voice mail asking, "Linda, where ARE you?? Your car is here but you're not."

We decided we need to leave notes from now on!

He was happy to see Amber and she showed him videos of their ski trip and Harrison skiing into a snow drift!

Lunch was delicious and we could only eat half of it so we saved the rest for supper.

After Amber left I went to bed for a good long nap!

When I got up I found this scratching post she left on the porch for the kitties!

Our cats are scratchers and they seem especially fond of our dining room chairs!

Here's hoping this will be more entertaining for them!

It's been a good Wednesday.

Louis Dean and I went out in the front and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Blue sky and fluffy clouds and perfect temperature!

I pulled weeds and planted bulbs while Louis Dean moved some planters for me.

Our friend and neighbor, Ilene and I have been walking together in the evenings - although I have missed a few lately. Anyway, she dropped by to see how we were doing and we all enjoyed a sit out on the driveway. Our neighbor a few doors down saw us and walked up to join us - Gloria and her daughter Savannah. Such a comfortable neighborly time together.

While Louis Dean took a hot bath, I grilled up a couple of steaks!

It was a good meal to end this Wednesday.

Tuesday Treasures....

We woke up at 5:00 Saturday morning and started in cleaning the cabin and loading up the truck.

Jesse's truck lid was frozen and wouldn't open - so he had to crawl in to store the stuff away - and we had a LOT of stuff! He's always thinking ahead and had taken photos before we left the driveway in Irving so he used that as a guide to how to put it all back in!

 

Jesse organized an assembly line where the young people and Rachel carried the things out in the order he had lined them up and he made it all fit!

Just as Louis Dean was making his way to the truck so we could leave - he fell in a big drift of snow.!

No big deal! Jesse and Sam were right there to help him up and into the truck!

I spent a couple more minutes admiring the scenery and thanking God for the wonderful time we had.

Jesse and Rachel were amazing and her daughters and their fellows along with Sam and Nora were sweet and kind!

It was a magical week for all of us - so much so that we hope to do this again next year!

Jesse and Rachel had one final surprise for Louis Dean!

This set of John Wayne CDs features 25 films and a documentary!

We watched McClintock on the way out of New Mexico!

We left the cabin at 8:00 Saturday morning and pulled into our driveway at 7:30!

It was good to be home!

Having fun can be exhausting so we spent the next couple pf days doing laundry and getting back to the business of taking Christmas down.

Yes, the big tree is still in the living room - all lit and decorated!

However, I focused on the foyer and finished it yesterday - nearly!

Today (Tuesday) I met Brenda around noon and we spent a couple of  hours of thrifting ending with tea at Whataburger - since I am fasting today and have barely eaten since we got home - all in preparation for my colonoscopy.in the morning. If all goes well, it will be my last one!

I scored a few finds!

Two green towels for Louis Dean's bathroom, and two spring wreathes ..

I found a king size flannel sheet to leave at the cabin next time we're there.

Now I will be looking for a fitted one.

I'm thinking about giving this charcuterie platter and two appetizer plates as a gift.

They are Rosanna AMUSE BOUCHE and I think they are so pretty.

This will go down to the ranch with me when we go back.

I was so happy to find this marble cheese slicer for just $3.50.

I had one before and absolutely loved it!

Brenda found all four of these tops!

I may wear the top right one in the morning with a pair of Chico pants.

Easy on and easy off .

Right now I am watching movies on Netflix before I take a shower and sleep for a little while.

My alarm is set for 4:00 when I will drink the rest of my 'concoction' and Amber is coming to take me to the clinic - I need to be there by 9:00.

I'm so looking forward to EATING when this is over!!

Friday! Snowday!!!

We woke up to a splendid snow experience!!

It must have snowed all night! 

So beautiful!

 

And so DEEP!!

Here's Rachel's daughter going back to the small cabin!

Wow!

I'm loving this and taking note of how to paint snow scenes.....

I love how the snow is resting on the branches.....

and how the snow 'clumps' on the evergreen branches.

It's a winter wonderland!

This is a great snow day!

Rachel and Jesse cooked up a huge breakfast of bacon, sausage, biscuits, gravy and eggs!

Mimosas made it even more special!

This is a great day for eating, board games, books, movies, naps, and just hanging out in front of a roaring fireplace!

Neighbor Steven was out plowing the roads leading out of Loma Linda and then turned to plowing out the driveways of all his neighbors!

What a blessing he is!

Later in the afternoon, Jesse and I drove down to Mora to pick up a few things and for me to visit a gift shop that Rachel discovered that had some pretty turquoise jewelry. Plus we needed cilantro for the street tacos Rachel is making for dinner tonight! 

Once out of Loma Linda - the roads were good!

Alas, when we got to Mora, the businesses were closed due to no power!

But it was a beautiful drive!

Rachel made street tacos for our last meal and it was delicious!

(Even without the cilantro!)

Good Friday night from the mountain cabin in Tres Rios, New Mexico!

It has been a week we will always remember!!!