Even if you don't read the entire posting today, please be sure to scroll past all the postings so you can see the poem Neccy wrote about her little Granddaughter, Jackalynn. It's very good and quite touching.
It was a very busy weekend even though we had no plans... LOL That always seems to happen, right? Friday night it was pouring down rain when I left work. I waited for it to slack off a bit but that never happened. Of course, my umbrella was in my trunk...ha ha ha so I got soaking, sopping wet. I think the only time I got wetter was one day when Kathy and I were car-pooling. We were so completely soaked all we could do was laugh. It was a fun day :)
On my way home there were flash flood warnings out for the two counties that I happen to have to drive through. I'm sure this was precautionary due to the flooding from a couple weeks ago because it wasn't really raining all that bad on the roads I take. I was out of work pretty early but traffic seemed to be backing up and I couldn't figure out why. No one was driving any faster than about 20-30 mph. I felt the old road-rage creeping in so I took a look around me and I soon realized that these folks up here may very well know how to drive in the ice and snow but they have no idea how to drive in the rain. This wasn't a typical FL downpour, I had my wipers on delay if that tells you anything, but they were driving like the retirees on I-4 at 5:00 pm. LOL (sorry Mom, it was the best description I could come up with).
Needless to say I put the road-rage aside, after all, they really couldn't help it and I'm going to need them to be considerate of me when it snows...
I stopped at the Food Lion to pick-up something for dinner and ended up with chuck-eye steaks for $4.49 lb (thank you Kris - they are still a favorite after all these years) and some sweet potatoes and a pork loin (for another recipe). I got rained on again leaving the store.
Back on the road it was much nicer now that the traffic (not really even a lot but more than I'm used to up here) had gone all separate ways. I saw some poppies blooming and some kind of spiky looking plants with tall spires that have buds on them but no blooms (seems to be the thing with me). The spires are probably about 4 feet tall so I'm looking forward to seeing what they will come out looking like.
When I got home, the gate was open for me but I still had to get out and close it so the horses wouldn't escape. I got rained on again closing the gate. I think I had had about all the rain on me that I could take at this point. It was time for dry clothes, a cold beer, some Archie on TV and major relaxing. That's about the order my Friday night went in... lol Well, I did get the steaks marinating in some "Dale's" seasoning, the low salt version, and put the rest of the groceries away.
We had more rain for a little while, then a sun shower and then it was done for the time being. Dinner was pretty easy. We had the steaks cooked in the cast iron skillet because it was too rainy to go outside. I can cook a mean steak in a cast iron skillet just ask Jarrett & Rebecca or Dizzy Debbie for that matter. She'll even eat hers medium rare nowadays...I'm a good influence. We had corn and some okra (just cooked in a little beef broth and some Old Bay) to go with it. It was a darn good dinner if I do say so myself. The best part was having enough steak left over for breakfast :)
Saturday we went to the "dreaded" Wal-Mart... ack! I had to get contact lens stuff and they have the best deal otherwise you wouldn't have caught me there - seriously, where is Marcia when I need her????? Well, we picked up a few other things (of course, did you read the quote about picking up a loaf of bread?) and guess what? They were out of contact lens stuff...how dare they? This is the second time I've been to this Wal-Mart (always against my wishes) only to find that they are out of the solution I need. I'm beginning to think it's a conspiracy to get me to come in every day hoping to find what I need...talk about annoyed. That's why I don't like Wal-Mart.
They had Wally's diet Mt. Dew on sale so we got a couple cases of that if it makes you feel any better. It didn't make me feel any better. LOL Home we went and when we got there, Daryl was at the gate waiting to get to work on whatever Wally had planned for the day. I worked inside and I boy did I get a ton of things done!
I moved the remaining Christmas boxes over to the door so Wally and Daryl could get them in the trailer. I unpacked the candles I have for everyday use and repacked those used only during the holidays (yes, there are special ones for special holidays). They won't be going to the trailer since the probability of them melting is fairly high. I'm not taking that chance. I also found the little ornaments Dizzy Debbie made for me... a little "Dizzy Devil" and a little "Darcy Angel." They are so cute and I can't wait to hang them on my tree this year!
I moved all my candle holders upstairs so they would be out of the way. I will figure out where they're going at a later date. I moved this buffet table that was Wally's Grandma's over to the wall by the love seat. It fit perfectly. Prior to my being there, he had piles of junk stacked on top of it. It's a really pretty table and I knew it could be put to use in a couple different ways. On it, I spread out a runner that belonged to my Great Grandmother and then put two candle holders on either end (ones that used to belong to Rebecca and Jarrett) with a candle house in the middle. You saw the candle house when I was in FL. It was sitting on the speaker closest to my room. I'll post a picture once I figure out my new phone.
I put the candle house that looks like a cabin upstairs on my dresser. You may not have seen this one as it was a gift to Wally a long time ago. He never put it on display (imagine that) and I figured it was time. It matches the walls of the real cabin and will be used while I'm sitting in my Grandma's chair reading. I almost found time to do that this weekend but not quite...keeping my fingers crossed. The cabin candle house looks really warm and inviting when candles are lit in it. Just like a cabin should be...
So I did a bunch of laundry and cleaned the floors downstairs - they were super horrible to say the least. I swept and swept and mopped and mopped and wished and wished that you were here :) ha ha ha ha ha. I made some egg salad for the guys and when an hour went by and they didn't show I ate my sandwich without them. It was yummy - just a pinch of garlic powder and some salt.
I have to clarify something while I'm thinking about it. The other day I said Wally was using the back-hoe. Well, that wasn't the back-hoe. That was the tractor with a bush hog attachment on it. Francis, you probably know what I'm talking about. I get these things confused. Anyway, Saturday he was on the tractor with the box grader (grater?) attachment and went up and down the driveway over and over in order to smooth it out. This way we don't have to bother with FEMA. At least not for the driveway. The driveway looks like brand new - it's so nice and so easy to navigate whether you're coming down the hill or going up. Trust me, there's a big difference depending on which way you're headed. He did a great job on it!
I had to rake the bigger rocks out from around my mystery plants and boy did that make me realize how long it has been since I worked in the yard/garden. I got a blister and I was only raking for about half an hour - what a weeny. I'm getting some gloves until my hands get tough again. lol It was worth it because the mystery plants line the driveway up by the cabin so it looks really nice now. I still have some weeds to pull but a lot of them came out with the raking of the rocks.
Saturday came to a close with us getting cleaned up and having egg salad sandwiches with a pickle slice for dinner. Yeah - I had a sandwich for lunch and another for dinner but there were hours in between :) and besides, I said they were yummy.
With my boxes out of the way we could see the view of the front yard again. We sat there eating and looking out the door and it was a very pleasant, if early, evening for us. We showered and headed upstairs before dark and crashed out exhausted from our days work on the farm.
Guess what, Sunday - it rained. LOL We didn't feel like going anywhere anyway so we weren't bothered by it one single bit. Wally brought in his Grandma's cabinet (in her day, it was called a pie safe) for me so I could put my canned goods in it and make some room in the kitchen cabinets. He should have done this for me a long time ago - I was in hog heaven rearranging and organizing not just his Grandma's cabinet but the two in the kitchen as well. I think he knows to keep me busy when he needs to relax and Sunday was one of those days. I'm pretty sure cabinet and closet organizing are a couple of my favorite things to do, especially on a rainy day. I've gotten pretty good at getting a lot of stuff into a little space. You'll see my pantry situation when you get here.
I did make the Shepherd's Pie and I used sweet potatoes instead of regular ones. It turned out really good. Neccy told me how to do it and I followed her instructions to the letter... ha ha This is a joke because she uses no instructions, she just mixes stuff together and it comes out good. Of course, that's if you can get her to do it :) I don't think cheese is necessary when you use sweet potatoes though - it kind of gets lost in the other flavors. It made the house smell good and it made our tummies feel good so it'll be on the list of things to make again someday.
Sunday was rainy on and off. It rained enough to keep my clothes out on the line but the sun did shine and the cloudy mist moved across the mountains throughout the day. After my crazed organizing efforts, I grabbed the binoculars and headed to the front porch. The horses were out grazing and a bunch of little brown birds were hanging out real close to the horse's mouths. I wanted to see what they were up to by getting so close but not getting eaten - turns out they eat the bugs that come up when the horses pull the grass out of the ground. Smart little birds - they don't have to work for their dinner, the horses bring it up for them!
No blooms except wild roses. I picked some and took a picture of them in the vase on the kitchen table. I have to get Wally to send it to my phone so I can post it. They are a real pale pink color and each petal is heart-shaped. I have so many that I'll be clipping these guys for as long as they bloom without even coming close to running out.
I found out that horses like broccoli. I had the stems left over from making my salad so we fed one to Rebel. He loved it and came back for more. Of course Smokey wouldn't come to us but Wally threw a stem over towards him and he ate his too. We gave them some sweet feed and while they were tied up eating we rode around the property on the 4 wheeler. Mostly we were checking out the driveway but we took our time and enjoyed the sunshine while it lasted. Maybe just maybe they'll get shod this Friday so we can ride, rain or shine, this weekend. More finger crossing!
It's Monday and I hope yours turns out to be all you expected it would... in a good way :)
"Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground." ~Author Unknown
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