# 484 - God's Canvas - Storm Clouds

Living in the country and getting to experience a life with increased solitude and privacy is definitely good for the person who is not afraid of being in touch with nature, with themselves or with God. For me, I need a good balance of socializing combined with moments of being alone.

I guess the "alone" time is beneficial to me since I feel close to God when I am alone, and I feel His presence when I am in the midst of raw nature.

This week, storms rolled in, but the beauty that comes with a storm cannot be discarded from the experience of a storm. And as I looked to the Heavens and admired the clouds rolling in, I felt awestruck at the natural beauty that surrounds us.

Man cannot compete with God's beautiful, ever-changing works of art, always on display...free to behold. God holds a universal canvas in his possession, yet He shares its captivating elements with us, every day. He is a generous artist.

It's up to us to decide whether or not we will take notice of the beauty in front of us.

I notice, and I celebrate the beauty He unselfishly provides.

# 483 - California Visitors & Stefie Volunteering

This momma is glowing. My youngest daughter, Stefie, is working on her Master's Degree as a Child Life Specialist. These days, she focuses on her studies, on a part-time job and upon volunteering.

For Halloween, Stefie volunteered at a hospital here in Texas so the children could participate in festivities. She did not really have a costume, so she made a wonderful outfit of her Houston Texan apparel along with the football player smudges under the eyes...but I think she's so darn cute!

Stefie is 23 years old, has her B.S. degree, and I know I am her mom, but she is a beautiful person, inside and out. I have been beyond blessed with my two daughters.

It's wonderful to see my youngest enjoying the start of her career path, working with children in hospital settings. Stefie is a professional trained to help children through some of life's most challenging difficulties...sickness, surgeries, injuries, etc., A noble profession.

Another bit of Fall beauty I get to feast upon electronically is my grand-daughter, Coraline. Here she is in her little Mermaid costume!

My oldest daughter, Heather, is doing a great job with her first baby.

Heather and her friend - Heather's face is painted
with Halloween whimsy.

She's learning how difficult and incredible it is to be a mother. It's a never-ending position that has more rewards than can be expressed.

I sure wish I could have been there to give her some sugar from grandma!

And here is my son-in-law, Henry. He's having a tad bit of trouble seeing during this photo.

As for me, I found Halloween this year to be odd as I am usually handing out candy in our old neighborhood, usually to approximately 200 kids. So, this Halloween in the woods, by ourselves, with no neighbors, was kind of odd. I truly missed seeing the kids dressed up and having fun.

However, this week I did get somewhat unexpected visitors from California --- my UNCLE JOE and my AUNT JOYCE!! My Uncle Joe is my grandfather's brother, so it makes me feel comforted to be with my Uncle Joe...that man is the most "grandfatherly" man I've had to fill that roll. I adore him. And my Uncle Joe is a God-fearing man who is against drinking, yet he is as tough as nails. I love how he says, "I've never seen any one's life improve because of alcohol, but I've sure seen a lot disintegrate; men become mush on alcohol and a real man doesn't have time to be mush."

I think Uncle Joe owns half of Orange County in California; he's 84 years old and still works for the water district full time, and he runs his own plumbing shop. Over the years, he built over a dozen homes and he rents those out, so he owns a few blocks in his neighborhood. He's a true representation of American success that follows hard work and stoic diligence. And, he's a LOT of fun. He's a practical jokester, which always brings me delight, especially because he gives me GREAT IDEAS.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Joyce called me a few days ago, to tell me they were about 15 miles away and should be at our house soon.

WHAT???

I FLEW into action trying to prepare. Sgt. Dave had to meet them at the local Walmart to lead them to our rural property, which they were having trouble finding. They had an old fifth wheel with them and they parked on the other side of our acreage and stayed a night, but the rain had them heading out early this next morning...before the rain made the ground too mushy.

So, I had a great week, but as for Halloween, I didn't get any candy, which is a traumatic experience, but I hope everyone else had a great time this past week!

# 482 - First-Time Canner Preparations

Personally, I've never canned.

I grew up with a mother who would make jars of home-made pickles. For YEARS AND YEARS I refused to call it "CANNING" because the preserves and such were in jars, so I called it "JARRING." My mother would get so frustrated, "My dear, it's not called jarring, it's called c-a-n-n-i-n-g."

Well, if canning involved actual cans, I would be happier with the term. Finally, in my late thirties, I relented and began calling it "canning."

I've never seen anyone go through the entire process of canning other than when I was about 17 years old and half-way observed my husband's grandmother slicing her peaches, getting them ready for canning. Oh how I wish I'd been wise enough to be glued to her kitchen while writing down her every step to PRESERVE HER RECIPE!

Grandma Ester with my husband on her lap.
His feet are still huge.

 

My husband's grandmother had a peach tree in her backyard, the best peaches in Texas, and she'd make a heavenly jam that the family reunion would include in their auctions, and those jars fetched premium bids.

Lord, I miss those peach preserves.

For years, I have wanted to learn how to can. I admit, the process seems daunting to me. It's foreign to me, but I yearn to give it a try.

In my thirties, before my mother passed away, she presented me with a gifts for canning --- the big pot, jars, and books.

This week, I purchased some Liquid Pectin and a set of canning tools. I could not find the metal grate that is supposed to go at the bottom of my large canning pot, so I had to buy another one. I don't know how to use any of it, but I've GOT IT ready!

Now, I must go into over-drive to make my lists of seasons for certain veggies and fruits, so I can know which foods will be at their prime for canning, depending on the month for our Southern state of Texas.

Right now, we are exiting October and heading into November, so I will have to check the local Farmer's Market to see what they are selling. Down the street from our residence, they have days of "pick your own berries" and I need to participate so we can have very fresh, grown on the vine fruit ready to be canned berries. We get enough blackberries on our own land, so I will be ready for summer 2014 to do my own blackberry preserves.

I suppose jars of strawberry or raspberry jam will be the gift I will be handing out to everyone at Christmas 2014, well, if they are edible.

Since I don't have anyone in my family alive who is experienced in canning, I have been searching on-line for instruction and found this great site:

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html

No pressure-cooker for me, not yet.

This week, I'll be exploring my options. Pretty soon, I will be a pro at jarring...I mean, canning.

# 481 - Hens Adjust to Daylight Savings

My five remaining free-ranging chickens on our acreage are happy and healthy. They are approximately three years old and this new lifestyle of having land to roam has made them more physically fit. Moving to the country has benefited all of us.

Over the past couple of weeks, their egg-laying activities have seen a reduction in the number of eggs laid every day because of the time-change and seasonal difference in daylight hours. Last year, we figured it out and rigged a heat lamp into their coop to offset the cold nights and to increase their laying business.

It's not consistently cool enough to add that heat lamp because our Texas weather remains rather warm for a longer period of time...as the rest of the country is starting to shovel snow, we are still wearing shorts. Even so, the reduction of daylight hours makes a significant difference upon the hens egg-laying routine.

This coming Spring, I am truly thrilled about the prospect of getting some chicks to add to our growing farm.

Once we've added more full grown chickens to our farm, I will not worry about having too many eggs because extras are cooked up as a treat for the dogs.

For now, we are preparing for cooler weather on a consistent basis. Our chickens will hopefully adjust and begin laying a bit more frequently. This bit of getting 1-2 eggs per day from our five chickens is rather embarrassing.

Girls...we love those eggs, don't let us down!

# 480 - Country Socializing & Country Peace

Taking a walk through the forest is always interesting. This week, we took the dogs with us on a walk and they were so happy that they wore big smiles.

Liyla and Howdy are my babies.

And, on our walk this week, we make a fun discovery. These bricks will hopefully be used for another project on our land

Me, my man and my dogs, walking through the tall grass and wild flowers; peaceful is nice.

Howdy loves play-time outside.

I love play-time outside as well. We both wear straw hats since we live in Texas and need protection from the punishing heat, yet the straw allows any breeze to flow through the woven fibers, adding to our comfort. Gotta have my hat.



In fact, last week I found a great place to sit on the lake and laugh with some friends AND get some wonderful food! The views are beautiful; it is probably going to be one of my favorite places to slow down, enjoy the water and to see some friends in a relaxed atmosphere.

In my ENTIRE LIFE, I've not been a person to go to a "bar" but this hang-out is an all-round location to sit with friends, you can have a drink if you wish, but most are ordering food and boaters can pull up. Since I'm from the Bay Area of Houston, this place definitely makes me feel more at home. I am adjusting to not living close to the bay, so getting some time on the water while sitting on this deck makes me feel a sense of relief.

However, on most days, I savor being at home. Some of the best days are when my husband and I go on a hike through several acres. This weather has been so nice, our walks are even more enjoyable.

We are settling into our new hometown a bit more. It's nice that we are finally making time for some fun, for some socializing because that is needed for a person to keep their sanity --- being with family and friends is important.

We are blessed!

# 479 - Guest Cottage a Priority!

The weather has changed and I am LOVING this crisp air. The Texas heat can be oppressive and we have had to enter the month of October before the edge of melting high temperatures made an exit.

This is one of my favorite times of year in the South! It's a time of year when we are able to get our forest growth under control and do chores that are almost unbearable during hot summer months.

Yesterday, I mowed the residential-zone of our acreage until I ran out of gas. I had a great time. The dogs relaxed under the sun as I mowed.

I did laundry in between mowing sections of land, so I had a great time multi-tasking, but that's what we women do...

And my chickens had a great time looking for juicy critters as I moved stepping stones from one spot to another. Moving a stepping stone is sort of like unwrapping a big Christmas gift for a chicken...usually there are delicious, slimy goodies under the stones.

However, we've hit the time of year when our hens are laying much less often. I can clearly see that come Springtime, it's definitely time to add quite a few chicks to our growing farm. In fact, I hope to have fencing in place to add chicks and perhaps for my husband to add a few pigs to our farm as well. And one day, I will get a few goats, mostly for the goat's milk. But, I'm not ready for those, not just yet.

However, we might need a rooster. Our chickens are free-ranging, so a rooster might be a good addition. Unlike our city backyard chicken experience, when we get a rooster by mistake, this time around we have the option to keep them.

And yesterday my husband went on a walk and came across these two bones. I hope they are related to the other deer bones we find on our land and are not of the human variety. Howdy took a big whiff, then walked away, uninterested.

Another chore that I am mostly responsible for handling is keeping the chicken coop cleaned of poop. Living in the country makes this job much easier because my backyard size has expanded, considerably.

I still don't have a house. Am living in the RV. It is cramped.

Since the main house will take a lot of time to build and I'd like to jump-start the process of moving out of the RV, we might go ahead and build the guest cottage that has a screened-in outdoor room with utility room. 

After that is built, we will have more room to spread out, can again use some of our own furniture, enjoy a bath-tub again, and savor a full-size refrigerator once again!

After it is built, we can also sell the RV and put money into more structures to improve land value.

The timing for all of this is critical. We need to have the guest cabin constructed before Spring hits because that is the prime-time to put the RV on the market.

I ADORE the front of this cabin with the big windows and double front doors.

This cabin does not have to be large, just big enough to allow for comfortable living and with great views of our beautiful wooded landscape. I would love this cottage combined with the photo above decking around the cottage.

Another great benefit of building a small guest cottage FIRST will be the opportunity the project will give us in learning about constructing a large home on our own. Ideas and building methods can be explored on a smaller scale. And if the guest cottage turns out to be a disaster, then we know to stick with a builder from start to finish for the main house.

Since our children are grown and our oldest daughter, Heather, has blessed us with our first grandchild, she and her husband and daughter will be cottage guests that have priority.

Heather and sweet baby Coraline as they appear in today's photo.
My beauties, my loves that make life a joy.

The guest cabin will provide an enjoyable, private space for the kids to know is theirs, plus we'll have space in the main house as well. I will be putting up a sign at the guest cottage in humor, yet as a serious warning, that the guest cabin provides PRIORITY HOUSING for our grown children and grand-children before anyone else, period.

Last minute call? The kids get the cottage.
Holidays? The kids get the cottage.
Weekend jaunt? The kids get the cabin.
Need a break to catch up on sleep?
The kids get it. They reserve it, they get it.
Period.

Our children have always been our priority, and this commitment will stay with us until we walk through Heaven's gates. However, this "in-between" phase of moving has been difficult. We've always found a fixer-upper or beautiful home to call our own within a short search, but this is an entirely new ball game --- raw land, rural acreage, all from scratch.

As for houses, here is one that I found on Pinterest that I fell in love with ---

--- so many decisions and options to make the deciding process in itself SO MUCH FUN!

As for an off-topic add-on to this post, I saw this interesting kitchen idea that I could not bypass and chance forgetting, so I share with you. The guest cottage kitchen will be small, yet organized. I loved this metallic peg-board idea, but I'll take it on the wall! It would also hold my metallic spice containers.

Well, this week, we will be focusing on the guest cottage plans and getting started. I know where it will be built. I am ready to get moving. The weather is great, the time is right and the issue is settled. We have a certain project and it will be our focus. I want to get the guest cottage built before February, so we can put the RV on the consignment lot in Houston by March 1st.

Here we go!

# 478 - She Makes Life Better!

Heather, my oldest daughter, is awesome. She just had her first baby on September 1st.

Having a daughter has brought out different creativeness in my child because she's now carrying on a family tradition by making her daughter's hair-bands.

Here are a few that Heather has made this week...

Heather took this shot of Coraline wearing one of the hair accessories she made, and I had to share.

These are the moments in life that are simple, yet powerful for a Nana like myself.

Yes, I'm Lana the Nana, and I love my grand-baby girl.

I am now waiting for the day I get to see my daughter and her daughter, both wearing matching hair accessories. And this is the reason that having a baby girl is sort of like getting a beautiful gift, every single day.

So, when the crappy, yucky, depressing parts of life start to press down upon me, I take a few minutes to gaze at my grand-daughter's image, with her tiny features, her sweet little smile, her rosy cheeks

She makes my world a better place!

# 477 - Big Fire

Every now and then, we have to burn piles of debris around our acreage.

First of all, let me state, unequivocally, that I do not like to tempt fate. The debris fire that was recently started on the property was in absolute opposition to how I deal with life...I don't want to be burned, so I don't play with fire.

Well, not unless I am roasting marshmallows.

As for this latest and greatest fire, our puny water hose was useless.

And most of us know that a fire does not stay with the mother-flame, which has power beyond our imagination.

My husband likes to feel as if he is "controlling" the fire, which is humorous. (Hi Honey!) These roaring flames made my husband look like a tiny, little morsel that was in danger of being roasted.

 

I stood back, listening for potential fire trucks heading our direction so I could point them directly to my husband, "There's your pyromaniac...right there...making steam with that water-hose!"

 

As I was running back and forth on the property, looking at the water valves, checking for kinks in the mile long connections of water hosery, and trying to get my puny fire extinguishers ready, my father-in-law pointed to large chunks of black embers blowing directly over my RV and my new deck and he said, "That's what I'm worried about, those embers are our real danger right now, this fire can jump so easily."

 

And I remember the words of my grandmother as we'd burn trash on her land; she'd tell us to beware of "Flying Fire."

 

Oh great, we've got Flying Fire. I glared my husband's direction and imagined a size 6 1/2 -7 shoe in his rear as my RV burned to the ground. Hey, my temporary home as we wait to build a home cannot be burned down! I need this RV to remain scorch-free because it contains my FAVORITE PILLOW!

 

I cannot sleep without my FAVORITE PILLOW!

 

And as I watched magical pieces of Flying Fire whirl directly around my temporary residence, I had a sick urge to sing a highly inappropriate song that was released when I was about sixteen years old...the chorus goes, "The roof, the roof is on fire...we don't need no water, let the ***** burn!"

 

Yes, it was a moment tinged with crazy thoughts to match the crazy situation.

 

# 476 - Old and New Country Sights

Moving out of the Greater Houston area to the country has been quite a culture change. Even though Houston is approximately one and half hours away, we are far enough away to make life much more peaceful and very different.

Downtown Livingston has a great mix of old and new buildings, both retaining historic architecture. I must say that the historic architectural committee in town is doing their job.

One building I love is the Polk County Courthouse.

Here is another building that has external metal beam supports that have been painted to blend in with the surroundings. It is nice that the construction of the beams and installation were thoughtful enough to make the beams interesting.

 

To be honest, it has always been a dream of mine to own one of these historically rich buildings in the heart of town, to run some sort of business at ground level and to live above in loft-style accommodations, or to at least have a sleep over pad ready at all times. It would be nice to have a place in the middle of it all, but not on the Downtown Houston congested level.

 

And let's be blunt, in a major metropolitan area, you have freaks on the street. In the downtown center of a country town...not so much.

 

 

Here are a row of buildings located just behind the Polk County Courthouse that are rather new construction, but built with respect to the area's historic architecture. I love it!

 

Of course, there are huge differences between living in a large city and a small country town. Mostly, we lack an almost unending variety of restaurants and shopping. Last weekend, Shaye and I had fun going to Walmart and listening to the high school band play music outside in their effort to raise money for a trip to D.C.

 

 

Yes, we contributed. It was a HOT day and those kiddos were playing music and selling BBQ. 

 

Even though we don't have big city conveniences, our small town does have a nice Walmart, an HEB, Brookshire Bros., Lowe's, Sonic, El Burrito, Taco Bell, MacDonald's, Jack in the Box, Whataburger, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars' Pizza, Bodacious BBQ, Joe's Italian, a CVS, Payless Shoes, Radio Shack, Dollar Tree, and a few other places we've not yet tried that makes life easier.

 

However, out of all the stores available in Livingston, I am very grateful to have a Palais Royal here in town! They city girl in me clings to that Palais Royal in the hopes that a few more nice restaurants and stores will eventually make their way around this area. Oh yes, we do have an Outlet Mall that I've not yet visited. 

 

The one Southern restaurant with a drive-through that we really miss is Dairy Queen. Obviously, there was a Dairy Queen near the center of town, once upon a time, but it appears to have been set too far back to benefit from townies needing a bite to eat.

 

 

I sure could go for a Blizzard.

 

Well, I am about to sign off. But, I want everyone to know that we've gone from such hot days, mostly in the high 90's to even about 100 degrees, to much more tolerant weather. Saturday, it felt so great that I used the hand-hoe to dig a few rows in my brand new vegetable garden, and I planted lettuce and broccoli. Sunday, I'll dig a few more rows and get some more seeds in the ground for a Fall harvest. Tonight, it's already 62 degrees and tomorrow should be in the 80's again. Heaven for Southerners.

 

The past few days have been spent listening to the rain constantly pour down upon us to give our acreage a good soaking. Since we're still "living in between" with our temporary residence being an RV as we prep the land for home-building, I found it very nice to lay back and hear the rain tap, tap, tap on the roof of the RV. Sometimes, the best things in life come from simplicity.

 

 

We really needed this kind of rain, but I didn't like being in a Tornado Watch yesterday. I've already lived in a house hit by a tornado; it's a scary event. Thank God, no tornadoes came our way.

 



 

Life holds such beauty, and I gladly take time to notice it and savor it. Thank you Lord for loaning this piece of dirt to me! I hope 2014 will find a new home waiting for us to bounce new memories off the walls.

 

 

# 475 - Country-Style Education

Livingston, Texas is a wonderful community that has country charm. Livingston is the county seat for this area, and the county's history has wonderful tales to tell.

In town, there is an old cabin that has been moved from Kickapoo Creek to the center of town, as a historic icon. This cabin was built in 1933 by one of the last Pakana Muskogee Indians in Polk County. Actually, he built it with his wife.



We're Home!

I grew up going to family land owned by my parents that led to Kickapoo Creek. I grew up swimming in Kickapoo Creek. I saw my grand-father catch catfish with his own hands from Kickapoo Creek, which no one outside of the family wanted to BELIEVE happened until today's reality-tv educated the viewing public about "noodling." Certain tv shows now film people doing EXACTLY what I had witnessed my grandfather doing over thirty years ago.

Back on track...

Getting to know this town that I've known all my life, in a deepened manner, has been fun.

Evidently, this cabin is an example of the Native American's effort to replicate the "white man's" way of home-building. No matter the background, I think this cabin is a beauty and a work of art. Later, I will post more up-close photos of this cabin from different angles.

So, last weekend, I was able to have a wonderful visit with my niece, Shaye. She is now seven years old and is a stinker-poo that I adore. For our outing on Saturday, I took her to this historic area in Livingston, and we had a ball.

Picnic area behind historic cabin.

Shaye loved this little house, but wasn't quite ready to move in.
 

Just around the corner from the historic cabin is the No. 5 train. This train took the county to new heights, economically, because it was able to transport timber.

BOOM, the train changed this county's economy. Today, the timber industry in this area is still running strong; this region's timber business contributed to the building of America.

When driving to town, you can bet that we will see a logging truck roaring along the same road. I don't much care for logging trucks, but I will take those over the Hazmat Highway our old house adjoined and that had the highest number of big rigs carrying hazardous materials than any other stretch of freeway, especially since Hwy 225 is lined, on both sides, with refineries and chemical plants that make up the majority of Houston's petro-chemical industry.

America needs both the petro-chemical area and the timber harvesting area. However, I won't be in danger of hearing a "Shelter in Place" alarm for a timber truck spill that has occurred twenty miles down the road.

I have always found it fascinating that the timber industry is the main industry for this area. Natural resources that are harvested and replenished is an amazing process.

As for the train, it has a steam engine --- see the bulbous steam output thingy sticking out of the engine of the train in the background?

Back on our acreage, Shaye was trying to relax on the deck. She was playing with a new toy from Walmart, watching Netflix streaming onto her tablet via WiFi, and drawing in her construction-paper folder. I viewed this moment as a weird combination of country-life mixed with high-tech capabilities.

Soon, we would go on another adventurous hike through the woods.

By the end of the day, this smile had disappeared as the kiddo was begging me to let her go to sleep! Country living combined with her aunt's back-to-back activities had worn her out to the core.

"I AM SO EXHAUSTED," she pleaded at dusk.

Next time, we might go to the local library and save some energy.