Country livin!!

I absolutely love living out here. We have been so busy and loving every minute of it. Last weekend we did a lot of shopping on Saturday. On Sunday, Charles started working on the French drain and I worked in the garden all day. The previous owners had just kind of let the water dig their own ditches out here. Because of the garden, we are trying to direct the water to go where we want it to go. Charles dug out the first drain by the garage and put in a real drain instead of the bricks that were there. He also dug out the one closest to the house and got the pipe that was under the side walk out so that he can put that one a little bit deeper. He is putting all the pipes a lot deeper than the ditch was because it will all be running under our patio. I have been weeding the garden a little bit every day this whole last week. I still have a long way to go though. The garden is big, and it was nothing but weeds before we tilled it up. This weekend we continued what we were doing last weekend. Friday we worked in the yard until the transcripts were done running, then went price shopping for the filter and water softner for the house. We did a little shopping at WalMart also. Saturday we got up and Charles went to Home Depot and rented a stump grinder. Jack was going to come out and help for the day, but he got side tracked when he found someone to help him move there trailer. The stump grinder was so heavy, I couldn't help Charles get it off the truck. I had seen Cliff and Kippy out working in their yard, so I asked Cliff he could help. He was happy to come over and help Charles get it off the truck. Charles worked on four stumps that we had in the main yard that really needed to go. That machine is amazing. It turned the stumps into almost sawdust. I worked in the garden all day again and did some laundry and cleaning. By the last stump, Charles was really worked out. I had to make him stop and rest for a while. He scares me to death when he pushes himself too hard like that. When he was done with the stumps, he stared gathering all the sawdust up with the wheelbarrow and added it to the compost pile; which is doing great now. Cliff came over and helped him load the stump grinder back in the truck and we chatted a little bit. Jack finally made it out about then and Cliff headed home. Jack and Charles talked about different ways we could install the filter and water softner. We had a nice visit and then headed to town to have some dinner at our favorite diner. Jan had gone to a class yesterday and had decided not to make the long drive out here, but we still had a good visit with Jack and we all agreed that Jack and Jan would come out today and we would do the charcoal then. After we ate, Jack headed home and we went to Home Depot to return the stump grinder.

This morning we got up and went at it again. Charles working on the french drain all day and me in the garden. We worked till about 3:00 and then stopped and got cleaned up before Jack and Jan got here. Charles got the camera out and tripod and set up to try to catch some pictures of the birds, but we didn't get any. I worked on the cross-stitch a little bit sitting on the porch. The phone company came out this week and marked where the phone lines are for when we put up the fences. They marked it with a bright neon orange, which Charles can't see at all; so we went back over them with white paint. Jack and Jan got here and Charles fired up the grill. We had chicken and fried potatoes. Jack and Jan brought desert and some beautiful mums that I plan on putting in my long flower pot on the front porch. My step dad loved mums, so I am happy to have them out here to remember him by. We had a wonderful evening with Jack and Jan so it is the perfect ending to the weekend. Nice hard work all weekend, and great friends to wind it down with. I am still praying that they will decide to move out here closer to us so that we can do more stuff together. It would be great to have them close enough to have a Friday or Saturday night card game or something every week.

My blood pressure has been playing hell with me again lately. I have no idea what is causing it to do this. I have never been happier in my life, or felt more relaxed. I am going to talk to the doc again about it and see if maybe we need to switch meds or something.

I plan on working in the garden again all week. It still needs so much weeding done. I swear it will take me at least three years to get it all gone. The weather got a bit chilly again and it looks like it got to the garden just a little bit. I don't think it will do any permanent damage though. Charles got the solar powered electric fence to put around the garden, but he forgot a couple of things that we need to go with it so he hasn't put it up yet. Next weekend we are going to work on getting the permanent grass planted. We have decided on Bermuda grass. It is what daddy always used on our yards when I was young and I love it.

We were finally able to get a few pictures of the possum that likes to steal the outdoor kitties food. Not very good pictures as we were trying to take them through the window. It has been a long weekend, but I have so enjoyed every bit of it. I dread when the Texas summer hits and we are stuck with the humidity. We did finally get the portable a/c unit we were looking for to use in the office. It works really well. At least for the two warm days we had before it cooled down again. I so wish the summers weren't so hot down here.

For now, I think I will play one of my games for a bit, and maybe work on the cross-stitch some more. It is turning out beautifully this time..:)

Wow!!! What a couple of weeks we have had. Our weekends have been so busy. Last weekend we both did a lot of clearing of underbrush. Charles worked on the area around the front gate, trying to get it ready for the entrance we plan on putting out there. There will be a much better gate than we have now, with a column on each side that will have a dragon on it. Dragons Weyr will go over the top between the two dragons. I worked on an area in the side yard where we have three trees that are perfect for two hammocks. I got about 2/3 of it cleared. We both got about 1/2 of what I cut down, cut into small enough pieces to throw on the burn pit and burn it. I still have a huge pile of stuff out there that needs to be burned. Charles has about 1/4 of what he cleared that still needs to be burned.

Last Saturday night we went to our first horse auction. We met Jack, Jan, and Will there and really had a good time. We got there too late to see what the tack was going for, but it was very interesting and we learned a lot. I yearn for the day that I can talk to them with 1/2 the knowledge they have about horses, farms, .. hell .. country livin in general.
Sunday we spent the day planting the garden. We were able to plant about 3/4 of all that we wanted to plant; thinking it would take a couple of weeks before things really started growing so we could get the fence up.

During the week, the garden just took off!! We had no idea that all would sprout and go to town like it did. This weekend we realized we HAD to get the fence up. Friday we spent the day running errands and going to our eye doctor appointments. (We both have to go to tri-focals now). Saturday we got up and went to the hardware store and got everything we needed for the fence. Charles got all four corner posts put in and one side of the fence put up. I helped with all I could and weeded the garden when he didn't need my help. The day went pretty well and we were both exhausted by the end of the day. We decided to try out a different Mexican restaurant in Egypt that one of Charles co-workers told him about. It was okay. Still haven't found a 'good' Mexican restaurant around here though. Since we were already in Egypt, we decided to stop by the horse auction again. This time we were early enough to see what the tach and stuff were going for. Kevin, Charles' boss, was there again. This time with his wife and daughter. I got to meet them and chat a little bit before we left. They have some really nice purses there that run about 35.00 to 40.00. I am going to get one of them soon. Just wanted to think about which one I want for a bit.

Sunday we got up and went to work on the fence again. We have a few small problems with the posts. The one in the back right corner is in mostly sand, and didn't hold just right when we went to tighten the fence. It is leaning a little bit, but not really a problem. Then, when Charles was digging the holes for the two gate posts, he hit water at 4'. Only about 2" of water, but it still kind of freaked us out. He had to put support posts on those two because they weren't holding right either when we tightened the fence down. My role was pretty much the same Sunday as it was Saturday. I helped with the fence when Charles needed me and weeded and planted the rest of the time. I got the potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers all planted along with the raspberry and grape vines that we bought. Charles really did push himself too hard on Sunday and I got really worried about him. Once he had to come in and lay down on the floor and then took a shower to cool down. I had to keep reminding him to take it easy. We finally got the fence up and took a break to run to town and get some laundry detergent so I could do some laundry and pick up something for supper. When we got back, Charles went to work in the garage making the gate, I started a load of laundry and started cleaning the house up. We finally both got done about 9:30, with Charles using the flood light to get the gate put up. He still needs to put a latch on it, but it is done.

Today I am going to try to get the latch on for him, and put a couple more staples in that we missed yesterday. I still need to do a lot of weeding also, and get the cataloupe planted. We didn't get to finish cleaning up our clearing mess from last weekend and didn't get to do any burning. I am going to be putting up some pictures of the garden on the website this afternoon, so watch for them..:)