rain baby

I am so glad that my little neice, Lainey, likes to dance around in the rain and wear boots with dresses. And that I got a picture of it. She's even cuter than her reflection!

oreo cows

Anybody know what kind of cows these are? For a couple of years, they've been in a pasture I drive by just outside Fredericksburg. Upon describing them to you-know-who, I was given a look of total skepticism. So, I stopped and took a picture and someone, who shall remain nameless, said he was sorry for not believing me.

thank you, lady bird...

I travel frequently to the Hill Country region of Texas and the carpets of wildflowers along the highway never cease to take my breath away. Lady Bird Johnson and I would have been friends, I just know it.

trying to post...

I am trying really, really hard to post pictures of our trip to the ft worth botanic gardens, but I can't find them. I used my new camera and I think the images downloaded into outer space. Actually, I can see them on the computer, but when I try to find them through this posting thing-y, they're not there. So, I will have to wait until my daughter comes home and can fix it. I wonder if she's sorry yet that she made a blog for me. Probably getting close. Oh, well, yesterday was her birthday and I am suddenly reminded that she owes me! Forever!

the gang

I believe it's time to introduce the animals. We'll start with Bonnie aka My Birthday Present. She is a Yorkie, a big Yorkie. We're glad, though, because she needs to be sturdy. After all, she's not living the fu-fu life - she's a country dog and in charge of everything and everybody. One of her favorite places to take a nap is under my bed with her face peeking out from under the bedskirt. I think she knows how pretty she looks there. But, don't let looks deceive you; she can be pretty and sweet, but mostly she's rough and tough. A terrier through and through.

Next, but really first, is Maggie. She is definitely head dog at 14 years old. She's a Springer spaniel and as sweet and loyal as a dog can be. Stroking her head is like running your hand over the softest velvet imaginable. She's having a hard time getting around these days; her back legs don't work very well and she can hardly see or hear. She has no duties, just enjoying her twilight years and "mothering" any kitties that come along. Dooley is in this picture with her. Can you tell where one ends and the other begins?

My youngest daughter found Dooley in the street, almost dead, and brought him home in a box. He was tiny and could hardly lift his head. I nursed him back to health and then Maggie took over. Then, we all got ringworms, but that is another story. A very funny one, by the way. Oh, and Dooley has 6 toes on each front paw.


Here's Minnie Mae. She is head cat at 15 years old. She has no patience for the other cats (that's putting it nicely - she hates them!) I always wanted a Calico cat and we found her at the lake. She was wild as could be, but I caught her with some turkey lunch meat and she's been with us ever since. I am sure she has no regrets!

This is Raggs. He appeared in our backyard as a teeny, tiny kitten and was raised by Maggie. He hardly lets us touch him, but he's cute and sweet - and huge. He's a great, big baby and still sleeps with Maggie. We haven't seen him in a while, though, and I fear the worst.

And, Jack. Black Jack is how he started out. Then, he went to live with my future son-in-law and became Black Jack Brown. Now, he's back with us. But, he's still Black Jack Brown because I like it that way. We found him at the lake, too. He was smart enough to endear himself to my husband which guaranteed him a new home. He is one of the most affectionate cats we've ever had. He's big and feels like mink. We love him. Even after the night he spent locked up in my car. Need I say more?

I have to include Rocket. He belongs to my daughter and son-in-law, but is part of the gang while they are in school and living with us, but looking for a little house to buy or rent. He is a Cairn terrier and looks like a little wolf. He is a good, funny boy and we will miss him when he moves.

So, that's the gang. They are so much fun - and so much trouble!

he loves me...

Okay, I knew it already. But, now, I'm 100%, absolutely, positively, no-doubt-about-it sure...I married the right person. The other day, he walked in, opened up his work-gloved hand and said, "Here's a dead thing for your dead area." Most of the things in the picture were "gifts" he brought me because he knows me. I like collecting things I find outside and have a little place I keep them (I had always thought of it more quaintly as my nature collection, but now it will forever be my dead area because it makes me laugh.) True love...


PS...he also brings me things like this

...and this

...just so you don't think he only brings me dead things.

my chair

I don't think anyone has ever sat in this chair but me. So, I guess that makes it mine. It is in a corner of my bedroom and I sit here in the morning with the window open, the curtain pulled back and praise the Lord with the birds, the wind, whatever is raising its voice at the time. On a perfect day, I have a devotional (usually with Oswald Chambers), read my Bible (I'm reading through the Gospels), sing a hymn (or five), memorize a Psalm (just finished Psalm 33) and write in my journal. This is the way I always wanted to start my day, but life just wasn't sympathetic to my plan before. Now I have time to take better care of myself spiritually and physically. Which seems backwards. I wish I had had this peace and strength while my girls were growing up. Looking back, did we just fly through childhood by the seat of our pants? Yes. But God heard our "Help me, help me, help me! Thank You, thank You, thank You!" prayers and we made it. Maybe, somewhere in my heart, I had a chair where I met with Him and that was good enough for a loving Father who understands us better than we do ourselves. Who forgives, forgets and covers it all with His grace. Thank You, thank You, thank You!

Well, during the writing of that first paragraph, all three kids called with a problem or question, Bonnie barked frantically to be let outside, when I went out with her I saw that a cat had thrown up in a chair on the porch, the concrete truck is on its way to pour sidewalks around the house and because of a heavy rain it will ruin the yard, all the animals are in the house to be kept out of the way of the workers, Rocket wants to eat Minnie Mae (the cat in the utility room)...I will sit in the chair in my heart today.

jewelry

I had these sterling silver sets and crosses made years ago and keep trying different things to finish them. Making a tiny collage inside is my most recent idea, but I have more to try...wait and see. These can be found at It's About Time in Abilene.

things I saw on my walk

Sometimes I take my camera with me on my walk. I NEVER regret it. I ALWAYS regret when I've left it behind. There is always something pretty, interesting or amazing. Like the other day when my neighbor's white peacock had his tail fanned out in all it's glory. Why didn't I bring my camera?! Or, on my way to town early one morning, when I had to stop in the middle of the road to wait for a cattle drive. Bringing up the rear was a little cowboy, about 6 years old, in his Wranglers, boots, spurs, cowboy hat. I almost cried over not having my camera. Well, I could write pages and pages on pictures I didn't get. Better just be glad for the ones I did get. And ALWAYS take a camera!

my studio

Ahhhhh. Just looking at the pictures makes me feel like I do when I walk in the door. My own space to work, dream, make a mess. It has a story...we moved this building into our backyard in town. It was an empty shell and my sweet husband worked for months to make it just like I wanted. Then, when we moved to the country and I couldn't bear to leave it behind, my very sweet husband moved it for me. Now, it sits in the meadow behind our house where my very, very sweet husband is helping me make a rose garden in front of it. I will post pictures of the outside when we're finished.

tick tock

I love clocks and come from a long line of clock-lovers. One aunt had 33 antique clocks ticking and chiming away in her old log home. I've been wanting to make clocks for a while and this is what I've come up with so far. What's next? Time will tell...

wildflowers

"To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wildflower." Flavia


This quote hung on the wall in my bedroom most of my growing-up years and I wonder how much it influenced my love of wildflowers. I love ALL flowers, but wildflowers are such a gift. They just come up and thrive without a thought or any effort from a living soul. It is undoubtedly my favorite thing about country life. (Except for the birds, the trees, the sky, the butterflies, the lightnening bugs...) Every spring, there they are, right outside my door. A walk to the mailbox takes forever because I must hunt for the blue-eyed grass, a particular favorite and not so easy to find.

I love the gift, but even more, the Giver.

house guest

This little froggy lived on my studio door last fall. He was there for about a month and hardly moved even when I opened and closed the door. By the end of the season, there were 3 more. I guess they knew how good they looked on periwinkle. They were gone just before the first cold snap and I hope, after their long winter's nap, they'll be back.