Found the window

Our church was asked to provide desserts for the funeral of a 17 year old boy this very morning. I just happened to have several cakes and several dozen cookies prepared to be dropped off in the name of Harriett Baptist Church.

Thanks again, Lord, for the wake up call.

When God closes a door .....

So, last Saturday we got up early and went to the Farmer's Market. We spoke to a couple vendors and to the secretary/treasurer about the market and becoming a vendor there. The secretary asked what I would be selling and I told her no produce at this time, only baked goods. She said ok and gave me an application. She told me about their hours and fees and looked forward to seeing me when I was ready.

Thursday I spend 5 hours baking and making signs. Friday I spend another five hours baking. I make more signs and slip them into plastic covers. I dig out a table and table clothe. I give Bubba a big shopping list of things from town to finish up baking and ask him to get me cash to make change. Bubba loads the table and lawn chairs into the truck with the tub full of breads, cakes and cookies. We tell all the neighbors we see that we will be selling Saturday morning and they promise to stop by if they can.

Saturday morning we get up, shower, slam coffee, inhale breakfast and hit the door for town by 6 AM. We pull in, find we're likely running well behind most vendors but there are still a few spaces open. I take my application and money to the director who asks me what we will be selling today. When I tell her baked goods she asks me what produce I will be offering with it. When I say no produce she says .................................... you may only sell baked goods if you are also selling produce, unless you have a health permit.

:-(

We pile back into the truck and head home. Emotional, needless to say, and frustrated to the extreme. Did I want to go to the secretary/treasurer and educate her on this issues? YES, but I didn't. She was standing within ear shot of my conversation with the director and I pray she understands how this affects me.

So ........................... later this morning I will call pastor Mike and ask if church families in need could use care packages of baked goods. Later today I'll take treats to the neighbors and I may even let Bubba dig into one of the saffron loaves he's been drueling over. ;-)

For now I'll set here with a tear in my eye and look for the open window. In a bit I'll head outside and start working on my chicken coup. More info on that later.

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH

I love my life

Getting ready for my first day of sales at the Farmer's Market. Everything from fruits and veggies to eggs and baked goods are offered. Saturday morning I intend to have a table loaded with Parmesan Herb bread, Ginger Snap cookies, Braided Saffron bread and Kentucky Sorghum cake. I broke out the ledger to track my progress and make sure its more than just fun. ;-)

As you can see Munchkin is really hating life these days. She's learned a great distain for her new Daddy too. HA HA HA

This is what I saw from my front porch the other night. Amazingly enough it was rising from the ground, not dropping out of the clouds. Regardless, there were some anxious moments and some fervent prayers.

This one is kind of rugged, but one of my favorites; the mockingbird.

Who said inter-species relationships would never work? HA HA A fowl is a fowl when you need a friend. Two Buck, after a few weeks of excercise and being herded to and from the pond, is freely mobile. YYIIPPEEEE

I got a little closer to my beautiful friend, the scissor tailed fly catcher.

More later ..........

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH

I must be an adult; I'm repeating myself. HA HA HA HA

A beautiful day

Sunday is my favorite day of the week. As I sit here reflecting on this past week I think of several things that I consider blessing.

This week we were able to stock our freezer with a hind quarter of beef. What a great feeling. Its something I've never done before and that I remember from childhood. Buying meat in volume gives a great feeling of security and affords a great savings in the grocery bill. We are well stocked with extra lean ground beef, T-Bone steaks, Sirloin steaks, Round steak, Rump roast, Liver and a nice rump roast.

Thursday night we went to the annual meeting of the Concho Valley Electric Coop. We became members when we moved into the house. It was my first experience like this; a business meeting, dinner and door prize night. The barbeque was awesome!! The meeting was sort of interesting and the door prizes all went to other people. ;-)

Its very silly to, at nearly 43, be saying I really felt like an adult this week. HA HA HA The things we did and the conversations we had brought Mom & Dad to mind over and over. Then, in church this morning, Mike preached about respecting our elders and taking care of family members. It all seemed to fit together like a faith puzzle again.

My life is so blessed. I see it and feel it every day and it is simply amazing. My life just keeps getting better and better.

In your prayers tonight please remember Lorenzo Luna. He is a very, very dear and precious man who needs our well wishes to support him through a brief trial in his life. Please ask for strength and peace for him and his family.

More later ...........

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH

Amazing blessings

I remember a time last year when I was surprised by God's blessings and how the timing can be simply amazing. It happened again yesterday. Sunday we decided to contribute to the Vacation Bible School at our new church. I simply felt compelled despite the fact that it will, at this time, not work well in our monthly budget. Yesterday, in the mail, we received an unexpected financial surprise just a smidgen (?) larger than the amount we gave to VBS.

Pastor Mike also asked for volunteers to make a meal for a couple families from our church who are in need. I wanted to help but don't know the families and would have to rely on someone else to make the food delivery for me. Well, as it happens when the Lord is in control, when I stopped by the church to drop off the check for VBS the pastor was on the phone trying to find someone to make a meal because his volunteer had backed out. I offered and was able to go home and cook up a pan of lasagna for this family of five. I was able to offer wheat bread and Amish cinneman bread from my freezer as well. It felt SO GOOD!!!!!!! Kathy, Pastor Mike's wife was able to pick up and deliver the meal for me.

GOD IS GOOD!!!! Keep your eyes open for ways you can help your fellow man, in whatever way is best for you, and you will be rewarded ten fold!!!!!!

More later ...

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH

In Texas, any building that will house animals is considered a barn .. You can tell by the weeds, we haven't purchased any grazing animals yet.

This is the back side of a structure that used to be a chicken coop. You can see the nest boxes still hanging on the walls. We are going to fortify it and use it as half a dozen stalls for goats. It should work well because three stall open to the Middle pasture and three to the Northwest pasture.

This is a picture taken across the NW pasture, facing West. The structure on the fence line is our well house.
This is a view of our NE pasture from the gate next to well #2.

This is the driveway into the Middle pasture along the East fence line.

More later .......

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH

This fence separates the driveway from the middle pasture.

I'm anxious to get the 5th wheel cleaned up and sold so we can put a car port over the driveway and actually park next to the house.

I've removed several bushes from the flower beds in front of the house. I still have more to go and then I plan to fill the beds with rock and possibly potted plants.

These Century Plants parallel the house on the East side of the driveway. Its said they bloom once a century then die......... maybe. They also put out babies like an aloe or hen & chicks.

This gate closes our drive. This is the East side of the driveway lined with palm trees ..... we would love to get rid of. The truck and building you see in the distance are our neighbor's, the Greshams. They are the sweet folks who took care of our place while we were in Iowa.

The West side of our driveway is lined with Rose bushes. They bloomed and bloomed for months this spring. I haven't done any pruning on them yet ......

More to follow...

This is for you, my beloved aunts of the North. ;-)

This is a personalized survey of our property. I whited out a bunch of information they thought was important and penciled in information we think is. I gave an approximate location of the cross fences that devide the property into four pastures and some desert style landscaped area.

I'll have to post pictures later ................... Bubba's hungry.................

Worm ID

From what I can find about it, the "worm" is the caterpillar of a big moth. Its either a one-eyed sphinx, hawk or hummingbird moth larva.

Mowing today and trying to make progress on kitchen cabinet doors and drawers. Bubba is tired of them covering his work shop table.....

More later ........

PRAY OFTEN

LIVE WELL

LAUGH OFTEN

LOVE MUCH