Around the Property

Bluebonnets





Pomegranate



Walnut Tree

Harry and The Bass

Oliander

 

This is what's hapening in my yard....

 

I hope you' all have a wonderful and profitable weekend.`

~~~Happy Mother's Day~~~~

 

Till next time,

Bonjour



Out For A Sunday Drive, Corsicana, Texas

 

Hubby wanted to go to Gander Mountain in Corsicana to

check prices on sausage casings.

I was like, yeah, OK, sure.

 

 

The ride in was on the interstate, lots of cars going way too fast!

 

 

When we got finished at the Gander,

we headed into town proper to hit the local Walmart.

 

 

My suggestion for the ride back was to take the back roads.

Out came The Roads of Texas Atlas.

(I love that atlas).

 

These photos were taken on FM 1126, just outside of Emhouse.

A beautiful drive back home, wouldn't you agree?

 

How was your Sunday?

 

Till next time,

Bonjour

Busy Little Bee, DIY Aprons

SO.....

Found these lovelies at my local thrifty shop and just had to have them!

One 23" table cloth, six 9 ½”  napkins and six 6" coasters.

All for $1.00, all in good shape. WOW!

I was thinking of pinning them all together to sell but I started thinking!

The little ones look like pockets, or doll clothes, or clothing embellishment....

So I started with a pocket.

I had this dusty rose color, toile fabric in my stash and decided to make an apron.

At one point, dusty rose color, toile fabric was used to make my bathroom curtains.

 I'm telling you, I definitely recycle fabric.

 This apron is flat across the waist with no gathers.

Finished size is 22 x 22 with the ties being long enough to wrap

around and tie in the front.

I made a pocket out of the toile fabric, then sewed the coaster onto that.

I sewed the pocket onto the front of the apron in a

diamond shape and left it open on the outer side.

This is a reversible apron so I used a doily to embellish the other sides' pocket.

Added this cute, pink, pearlescent button from my button stash,
some lace and pink ribbon.

Wish I had someone here to take a picture of me wearing it,
the hanger photos don't do it justice!

This apron is gathered at the waist, also reversible.





I hope to sell these at the market tomorrow.

 

Wish me luck!

 

Till next time,

Bonjour

                                                                         

Rural Texas, Is It Disappearing?

SO....

I've been playing Taxi to my youngest daughter Ginger.

Her 1995 Honda is on the fritz and since she's on the way to my day job

I've been  transporting  her to and from her employment at Target.



Cotton



I noticed this scene several days ago and thought it was photo worthy,

just didn't have the time to stop, (I also drop my husband Steve at his job). 

Anyway,

This stretch of highway is mostly farmland but I have noticed,

FOR SALE SIGNS!!!

Seems highway frontage is more valuable than farmland.

Glad I can grow some of my own stuff!!!!

Notice the neighborhood in the background, the movie theater sign?

Soon my ride to work will be nothing but neighborhoods and businesses.

I'm sad!

All I can do is preserve my little 10!

Do you notice subtle changes in your landscape?

Is modern society creeping up on you also?

Till next time,

Bonjour

Karma

After the break in down the road

we've been trying to

better secure the property.

Steve had been buying T posts here and there in preparation for the fence,

 but it's time to step things up a bit!! 

SO... 

Today after work I was in my local Home Depot

purchasing a few more T posts.

I was in the line waiting my turn when the man behind me said,

"I have about six of those in the back of my truck if you want them".

"No way I say", "way" he says. "Awesome" I say.

"Funny how Karma works out" I say.

He just laughed.

I purchased three and got nine total.

At $3.89 per post  I was in the positive at

$23.34!!!

How cool is that?

Turns out he's a rancher from Avalon who raises Black Angus.

Thank you Randall, I'll be talking about you for quite some time!!!

People can be, and, are generous.

I wasn't even going to stop at the Depot because of time issues,

I wanted to check out at the complete opposite end of the store,

Karma had other ideas!!!

Got to go,

Steve got the new lawn tractor stuck and I have to

try and pull him out!!!

Till next time,

Bonjour

What Little Red Found In The Road!!!

OMG.....



Poor Little Guy

Nathan and I were out flying his kite this evening and we decided to check the mail.

The dogs followed us to the mail box and

Little Red (Black Lab mix) found this Cardinal lying in the road.



Little Red

She had it in her mouth and I think she had plans to eat it! 

I told her to bring it to me and

surprisingly, she dropped it in front of me.

Nathan was freaking out!

To be honest, so was I.

The poor little thing looked dead.

Miss Lady (German Sheppard) came over to see

what all the fuss was about

and pushed it with her nose as if to say "get up".

Miss Lady

I picked him up and he chirped, cried, I don't know,

but I did know he was still alive.

Nathan and I brought him into the house and placed him

in the old bird cage along with some dead grass,

water and some johnson grass seeds.

One of his eyes is not so good and 

I figured he wouldn't make it past the night.

An hour or so later he is hopping

around the cage looking for an escape.

I had to clip mesh around the watering bowl holes

lest he get stuck trying to get out.



Poor Little Guy Looking Much Better

Steve thinks he might be blinded in that one eye, it does look bad

but, he does seem to be feeling better.

I've turned down the lights and

now he's resting more comfortably.

What should I do?

Let him loose in the morning into the trees where they hang out?

Keep him a few days to see how he's doing?

I'm afraid he'll hurt himself  more trying to escape!

He does look better than when we found him!

HELP!!!

Bad Boys, Bad Boys, What You Gonna Do.......

Whoa!

This happened Tuesday May 24 less than a mile from my house.

Ellis County

2 suspected burglars shot inside home

An Ellis County man shot two burglary suspects in his son's

house in the 2800 block of FM85 near Ennis

shortly after noon Tuesday, officials said.

One of the suspects was dead at the scene

and the other was in surgery hours later at a Dallas hospital.

His condition was unavailable.

Ellis County Sheriff's Department spokesman Lt. James Saulter

said a neighbor saw the two men knock on the front door

of the single-family home, then drive around back.

Suspicious, the neighbor called the homeowner's

father, who lives next door to his son and was on his way home.

The homeowner's father, who Saulter said has a concealed handgun license,

confronted the two men inside his son's home, where they were in the process

of carrying some of his son's guns toward the back door.

The homeowner's father called 911 after the shooting.

Saulter did not identify any of the men involved in the incident, pending
notification of next of kin.

Story written by Richard Abshire, for the Dallas Morning News.

This happens all too often in our neck of the woods,
it's remote and criminals know you're most likely at work.
I've been burgled at two different residences and let me tell you, it feels awful!

We do have the Castle Law but...

I don't know about killing someone over possessions.
Then again, I wasn't there, maybe the criminals had their own guns!
These Texans do seem to love their guns.
What would you do?

Till next time,
Bonjour

Sofa Completed And I'm Still Here

Recovered Sofa

I guess I'm a heathen, cause I'm still here!

I was a little concerned today,

I knew I would be LEFT BEHIND

but,

what about my loved ones?

Would they be gone?

Everyone I know is still on Planet Earth,

so, 

I guess the nut doesn't fall far from the tree!

Really!!!

On to the sofa.

I purchased a total of 13 yards of fabric for this project,

1 bolt of each print. ($22.50 plus tax)
I like to purchase more than I need just in case I screw something up!

Happens, believe me...

I did all the cushions and pillows in the sham method to eliminate zippers, 

and still had enough fabric to make throw pillows
and cushions for the park bench.

In a previous life the seat cushions for the park bench

were the back cushions on a second hand love seat .



Park Bench

Even had enough fabric left to cover one of the chairs on the front porch! 

The pillows on the park bench and the front porch chair

were 50 cents each at the thrifty shop.

Free front porch Chair

What to do about the other chair on the front porch?

The cushion for this chair was purchased from Wally World

about five years ago....

Really bad shape but the top half was savable.

Snip, snip....

Another fifty cent pillow combined with the savable top half and,

VIOLA!



Other free chair

The covers for this chair were pillow shams given to me by my mother- in- law.

(Yeah, I know, I need to paint the front porch ....again).

So here we have it,
the deck is in useable condition,
(AKA entertainment worthy)
complete with seating for twelve,
dining area for six, bath for one, and dominoes for two.
Nathan always kicks my a.. at dominoes!!!

Lower half of deck

You're welcome to come over for some B-B-Que and dominoes,

just get here before July!!!
 
Till next time,
Bonjour

Windy, Wildfires And Normal Texas Weather

DALLAS - State officials said Tuesday that wildfire burning about 70 miles west from the Dallas-Fort Worth area has blackened an area twice as big as previously estimated, and that strong wind gusts prompted the evacuation of the entire town of Palo Pinto.

The fire at Possum Kingdom Lake has grown to nearly
150,000 acres from estimates a day earlier of about 63,000 acres,
according to the Texas Forest Service.

About 150 homes and one church have been confirmed destroyed in the area.

Tuesday afternoon the entire town of Palo Pinto was evacuated after wind gusts helped the massive wildfire jump the river. Residents were told the fire was possibly an hour away and they were ordered to leave.

Deputies hooked up garden hoses to wet down the roof of the sheriff's office and Department of Public Safety, troopers armed with rifles surrounded the sally port as prisoners were evacuated from the jail.

Only members of volunteer fire department stayed behind to defend as much of their town as they could. They were joined by other firefighters who, with the help of dying winds, were able to keep the fire at bay.

The fire is the fifth in Texas to have burned at least 100,000 acres in the past two weeks. Most of the state is in extreme drought, and wildfires in the past week alone have burned more than 1,000 square miles of parched Texas ranchland -- an area that combined would be the size of Rhode Island.

The Texas Forest Service has ordered additional aerial support to help battle the wildfires. In addition to what is already being used on the ground and in the air, four MAFFs (Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems) and a DC-10 airtanker will join the fight.

From what I've heard this wildfire was caused by a camper who went to get beer

and left his campfire unattended.

Today, Nathan and I went to survey what the 100 MPH plus winds

did to the local park in our area of Ellis County.

Massive old growth trees downed, but you have to realize.....

It's like the Native American  Chestnuts,

once the disease from the imported Oriental Chestnuts arrived here

and killed the Native Chestnut Trees, that left room for other species of trees to flourish.

Mother Nature will always have her way.

And this little squirrel apparently likes french fries

Thanks to Brendie for getting me to think about Chestnuts.

Till next time,

Bonjour

Natures Bounty



Common Sage



The New-ish Berggarten Sage




The Yellow Irises



The Irises At The Dead Tree Garden







Wild Garlic





Lemon Balm And Chocolate Mint



Wild Blackberries













The Harvest



Sage leaves and flowers, dill, lavender flowers, thyme, yellow roses and rosemary in the back.





What say ye?

Till next time,

Bonjour

How We Grow Lavender

Well....

Let me just start by saying, lavender doesn't grow well in North Texas!

If I lived about 3 hours south down interstate 35 I would have fields of it.

Down around Austin there are real lavender farms, acres upon acres of lavender.

It's the new cash crop!

Austin is hilly... read.... loose, drainable soil.

We have tight, not so drainable soil.

What grows well here are cotton and maize, useful crops I'm sure,

but...

 cotton and maize don't make for a good soap or bath tea....



SPANISH LAVENDER



So,
What to do, what to do?

We've tried and failed with the elusive lavender

until we talked with a master gardener.

She was one of the speakers at the lawn and garden expo a few years ago.

Her advice was....

Dig a large hole, add about one gallon of pea gravel, 

insert the lavender plant,

backfill halfway with pea gravel,

backfill remainder of hole with your native soil,

ring your lavender from the stem out, about two feet,

with a layer of white marble chips.

Viola....

 The dynamics are...

the pea gravel mimics the rocky soil, aiding in drainage,

the ring of white marble chips reflect the sun into the plant center

aiding in faster dry time of the foliage during wet weather.

Seems to be working, we have eight lavender plants all doing great.

As to the type of lavender,

we have one spike, huge plant but the flowers are very elongated,

the other seven are Spanish,

it's more compact, with bushier (fatter) flowers.

I prefer the Spanish.

Lavender it seems, likes loose, rocky, well drained soil.

Don't over water.

I hope you give lavender a try, it's a lovely plant and our bees love it,

 they also love the buford holly and the rosemary.

Let me know if you have success with this method.

And, as usual, it's way past my bed time.

Till next time,

Bonlour

The Way We Were



Pensive



First Communion 1963?











Mem'ries,

Light the corners of my mind

Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we? Could we?
Mem'ries, may be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
So it's the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember...
The way we were...
The way we were...
The Way We Were,
Lyrics by Barbra Streisand

So...

My sister Carol was going through Mom's things and ran

across these antiquated photos of me.

Like most old pictures, they had no names or dates on the back.

I run across old photos like these all the time when I'm out thrifting and wonder,

who is this person, where were they from, what kind of life did they have?

It's sad really, no one will ever know who or when they were.

Well, I got busy putting info on the back of all the photos she sent me.
Can't have my photos floating about without any info,
people need to know who I am, who I was!!!

School and special event pictures are always fun to look at because

someone took the time to fix your hair and make sure you had decent clothes on
and generally looked presentable.

And isn't it funny how one year you think you're looking pretty good

and the next year your thinking OMG what happened???

7th grade 1965
(check out the bad eye)

8th grade 1966



Sophmore year 1968

Kind of like this one!!!

And I really thought I was stylin with that hair!
I like the First Communion one,
I wish my hair was still red like that, not this gray stuff.


1972- ish. Chicago beach



2010 Ren Fest with Nathan

I still feel young, my body doesn't hurt, no arthritis happening,

 not too many wrinkles yet, generally feeling ok.

I was supposed to be wearing my glasses in all of these photos,

notice they only show up in one?

Looking over these photos I realize, I was a dreamy child,

not really connected to the real world.

Not much has changed in my 57 years! 

Sometimes when I'm sad, I wonder,

what have you done, what have you accomplished,

will anyone remember you?

What about you?

How has your life been?

Till Next Time,

 Bonjour



My Sweet Valentine Gift

COFFEE ON THE PORCH

The best time to have coffee is...
When the sun is coming up and the birds are starting to chirp and tweet and do whatever else birds do. It's so peaceful at this point in time. I have a chance to think, muse and generally prepare myself for the day to come. The rabbits are out and about scurrying here and there, and the bees will soon be buzzing around feeding on the rosemary flowers.