#102 - Come Sit for a Spell

Living out in the country will provide so many joys. Sitting outside will no longer involve staring at a fence that is 10 feet away or having no choice but to see the neighbors' houses directly in our view, in the country, sitting outside will mean you can kick back, relax and watch the tree limbs blow in the wind.

As far as sitting goes...we do know that we will be spending a great deal of time outside on our land. It's addictive. You don't want to be inside when you are surrounded by the beauty of a natural landscape. We will have a wrap around porch or at least a front and back porch, one of which will be screened-in for night-time enjoyment.

This means we will be needing outdoor seating unlike ever before. These days, we stack the plastic chairs and those come in handy. They get dirty, we hose them down. If they get too scuffed up, we can spray a coat of specialized plastic paint spray on them to freshen them up. But, in the country, the views are to be enjoyed in better seating.

Deputy Dave is thinking about trying out his construction skills in a different way...to make a few chairs and table sets. After all, when we have gatherings, we do not have small numbered gatherings. Our home is open to friends, family, neighbors and to THEIR friends, family and neighbors. My mother taught us to have a welcoming attitude with home and my husband is ex-military and he always maintained deep compassion for those who were single, lonely military members on special days. In addition to opening our home to those around us, we've helped to raise quite a few kids who were Wards of The State of Texas, so we know what it means to open our home to others. Before we could think too hard about doing it, we just did it.

So, as usual, even though our kids are grown which means Deputy Dave and I are often alone, we still have regular gatherings. Therefore, we must have ample seating always on hand. Moving out to the country will change this arrangement for us. Instead of being mindful of having ample indoor seating, we'll need to make sure there is plenty of comfortable all-weather seating outside year round, so everyone can sit out of doors and enjoy the forest as the ceiling fans on the porch and the huge industrial fan at the end of the porch blow cool air. Comfort with a great atmosphere and beautiful views are a few of our main goals to go along with the outdoor seating. Plus, we want the furniture to be unique. So, I think Deputy Dave will probably create a customized brand for us and every time he builds something, he can brand it. Heck, even when building our country home with the wood harvested from our land, he can brand the wood.

Here in Texas, branding is a big thing. And not just for your livestock.

But, we will have one of the table/chair sets designed with our names, "Mee-Mee" and "Pappy" so it will be clear as to whose seats those two belong to. Yes, we're preparing for the grandchildren...I think we're in the decade of grandchildren and we will be ready!

On our outing to the local hardware store, we came across these metal benches. I especially loved the bench with the "WELCOME" sign scrolled across the back section. Yes, I think I will have to add one of these to my seating collection.

And we might have to put out a couple of these on the front or side porch for our dogs and for visiting dogs. Pretty cool. I could see Howdy and Lyla, each with their own dog house. They love to find places to crawl under or a corner to cuddle in and snooze, so I'd imagine a dog house like this would be a slice of Heaven to their doggie psyche.

I guess Deputy Dave better get to work figuring out how to build these things. At the store, they were pricey. We'll buy the "WELCOME" bench since it is metal, but anything that is constructed out of wood is a challenge for Deputy Dave to not only replicate, but to somehow improve the design as he builds a similar piece.

So, it will seem that the outdoor portion of our country home will likely be the most enjoyable. Maybe you can come sit for a spell and occasionally listen to the roar of a logging truck passing by in the distance. Mostly, you'd hear the songs of a hundred birds, the croaking of frogs in the evening, the echoing drills of a wood-pecker busy with his tree nearby, the wind rustling the forest around us, and my chickens clucking...I think it will be unique sounds, so different from the sounds I now hear at my city house, so different from being surrounded by mostly artificial sounds of refineries, heavy traffic, the kicking on and off of everyone's air conditioning units, the continual sounds of someone doing their lawn, and the lack of huge trees to really feel the wind's power can sometimes drag you down. On those days, I focus on the Heavens with the passing clouds always taking the shape of something surprising, the blue skies have no boundaries...the eye is not intruded upon, but can keep seeing and seeing and seeing.

It's kind of nice to have your own space. I love our space here in the city because it has its own advantages and bonuses, but if I compare it to our acreage in the country there is no contest, the land in the country wins every time.