Our Town

I thought I would show you some pictures of our little town.We are right by a big lake and are surrounded by Sam Houston National Forest.I know a lot of folks who have never been to Texas think it all looks like an old west movie,scrubby and barren.Not so ,the whole east Texas side is piney woods.Very lovely forest of hardwoods and pines.It is a beautiful,long drive which ever way you come into town.


Our town has an interesting history.The original court house burned.They blamed it on some Indians.Was it them,who knows. People blamed lots of stuff on Indians.The town folks decided to move to a little higher ground to rebuild.I have heard some of these buildings are not the original old buildings of the town,they are still old though.Some were moved in from surrounding communities.One was a post office from another town. Believe it or not we have another area called Old Town.The original jail is still there and a few buildings.The jail has a historical marker and is rumored to be haunted.I don't have a picture,I will get one later.It is a museum,we've been several times.

It is like taking a step back in time.The shops are all decorated for Christmas.We have a town lighting,it was last Saturday,when all the town turn on their Christmas lights together.



This building just got a new paint.



We also have a Christmas on the square.These little shops are across from our court house.The town is set on a square around the Court House.



Venders set up booths and our town more than doubles in size!Our population is only 691 ! It will be in 2 weeks.

We will be working a grill selling kabobs and taking pictures with Santa for our scout troop.We have a terrific Santa and Mrs.Clause.Our Santa has a real beard.I will hopefully take some good pictures of the day.

This is the Methodist church,lovely old building.It is the oldest continuously active Methodist church in Texas!



This is our Baptist church.The building is obviously not as old as the Methodist,but the church itself probably is.It was organized in 1848.The last building was destroyed by fire in 1950 and this one was built the same year.





Both churches have historical markers,as does the Court House.Our little unpopulated county has 24 historical markers.Of course,unless you are way cool history buffs like us, this is not that interesting! Like I have mentioned before, we will drive far,far out of our way to read one.In fact Hubby will come to a screeching halt from 70 mph to turn around if we miss one!I told you ,way cool!
I will try and take more pictures away from the farm.We live in a beautiful area in a historic,quaint Texas town.Pictures really don't do it justice.We have had gorgeous Fall color this year,something we don't always get.I never think to take my camera to get photos when we leave the house,I will try and do better!
Well,you've seen our town.I guess it is as close to Mayberry as you can get in these modern times!

Grandma's Quilt

Many of my pictures of things are taken on a quilt on my bed.I have a love for old things. The bed is an antique iron bed Hubby bought me years ago.I would rather live in this 102 year old house that needs years of work than a brand spanking new house any day.We have already established I am crazy!He had it sandblasted and I painted it.Yes,it is a just a full size bed.We are snugglers,even if we had a bigger bed we would sleep right up next to each other,so this one suits us fine.



I tried to get just my bed in the picture because I am woefully behind on my house work.So if you can make out the over loaded nightstands and funky carpet please ignore them.Also this room has not been touched since we moved in,it needs a lot of work, like every thing else around here and is on the infamous list,so that is why I have not put up curtains.I used to be a stickler for a perfectly clean house.In my old age and growing wisdom,I have learned it is not so high on my list of important things any more.Don't get me wrong,the board of health won't close me down,but Martha Stewart probably won't be calling me up for a visit either!



Anyway,back to the quilt.The top was made by Hubby's Grandma before we were married.She made this while Hubby was in the Navy in the Persian Gulf during the first Gulf War.It Is hand sewn with wrapped seams.She stayed glued to CNN and sewed until he was back in the states.Grandma's passion was making quilt tops.She made many in her time on this earth.She is gone now.I loved that old woman. She didn't quilt them though.She gave the top to me to quilt.It took me 10 years! I didn't start it until I was pregnant with The Boy.I didn't get it finished before he was born and put it away for 10 years .Finally I finished it.



I did it by hand and will not win any awards, sewing is not my strong point.Hubby lived with Grandma when we met, when I was 16.Grandma was sometimes a hard woman for a lot of people to get along with.She was a red head.Hubby got that hair from her.I met her when she was older and possibly more mellow and no longer a red head.I got along fine with her.That does not mean she did not occasionally push my buttons!She was the first person to encourage me in crafts.She started me off with quilting,I love quilts,but have no talent for it.She led me to crochet which led mt to knitting which is definitely my thing.Grandma always spoke her mind,whether she was right or not,and you always new where you stood with her.I liked that.I think of her often,fondly.
Yes, that is a gun on my night stand.Like any good hillbilly woman I know how to use it!Without remorse I might add.Come on,this is Texas after all!

Dogs Like Christmas Too !

If you are slightly ..well..crazy like we are,and you have annoying little house dogs that you make Christmas stockings for every year, you will want to enter this free give away.
Yes,I said it .We make Rascal and Weenie Christmas stockings filled with doggie toys and goodies.You see, The Boy is an only child,so the dogs are kind of substitute siblings and it is fun for him to pick out goodies to fill their stockings for the holidays.The spoiled Pooches know they have goodies in their stockings because we've been doing this ever since we've had them.They get quiet excited when it is time to open presents.

So, here is the give away.It is from Broken Teepee and Lucky Dog Treats Company.If you win you will receive an order of dog treats of your choice.These are yummy,for dogs of course,homemade doggie treats.I know our pooches would love to get these in their stockings!

Homemade Giving

A lot of crafty folks have been posting about their homemade Christmas gifts.Next year I want to try and make most of my gifts.I am learning to knit,I love it!My dream is to one day have my own fiber animals and spin my own yarn.Yesterday,I spent the day watching T.V. with The Boy and knitting.As a general rule, all day TV is a no-no unless you are sick.It started with the Thanksgiving Day parade and snow balled from there.I knitted 2 large dishcloths so the day was not a waste.







I got the pattern from Homespun Living. Click here to go right to the pattern.







I really like this pattern.These 2 are going to be part of a gift along with a jar of my homemade organic strawberry jam.


I am tickled pink at how cute a gift this is! I love homemade gifts.The time and care that goes in to them far surpasses the money aspect of gift giving.A gift of love.Isn't that what it is supposed to be about, giving a gift as a symbol of the greatest love gift ever given to us.

Last year I gave out a lot of homemade soap,but this year I am behind an didn't get extra batches made in time.It is nice to have a little something for the nice people in my life like my Sunday school ladies,the people who help with scouts,the mail lady.I think I will give little jars of homemade jam this year.Anybody out ther have a good holiday jam or jelly recipe,like spiced apple or something else that sounds festive, that they would like to share?

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

Butter Bean

Butter Bean is goatie #1.



Don't let yourself be fooled by his cute little goatie face.He knows he is cute and uses it to get away with all sorts of mischief.



Look at him gnaw all over my britches leg.He left cud smelling slobber all over them.OK,maybe not all over since he is only knee high!



I do not know what he hopes to accomplish by nibbling off my pants leg.Maybe he thinks I have tasty leg stubble growing underneath?


When he realizes I am aware of his sneak attack he just looks up innocently,using his all powerful cuteness to woo me!



Yeah...it worked.Really, how could anyone resist that face!

In case anyone out there doesn't know Butter Bean has his own blog A Day in the Life of Da Bean.The Boy types it for him because it is hard to type with hooves!

Goatie Goat Updates

It has been awhile since I have posted about our goatie goats so I thought I would give everyone an update .



Butter Bean and Nibbles love The Boy! Any time he is around they are all over him like dogs!They want pettin' and scratchin' and to be in his lap.They were bottle babies and you can tell a difference in them and the other goats for sure.Not only are they extremely affectionate,they are bad and mischievous!


Nibbles is the worse, she lives to squeeze out the gate every time one of us come through it,then run around like a chicken with her head cut off! Feeding time is like trying to tag team wrestle.The two of them see you coming with that feed bucket and it is like a bell rang in their heads to start a cage match!
I am glad Butter Bean is a weather because this Fall he came into rut and was horrible! I can not imagine what the little toot would have been like if he still had ...money in his coin purse.He was after Doodah constantly,and she wasn't even in heat! Her luscious booty drove him crazy! He was relentless,we had to separate them! Every time I saw him after her the "I Like Big Butts" song played in my head!Doodah is bigger than him.
We love these crazy little goats! Here he is giving us "the goat eye"!

He is the only goatie that turns his head around to look at things,he does it real slow,it is silly looking!


Nibbles is also jealous of little Sweet Pea, who lives up to her name.She is just the sweetest little thing,wants petting all the time,but Nibbles likes to chase her off so she can get all the scratchins'.


You can see how big she is getting.I think The Boy is going to pop before Sweet Pea does.He is for sure we were giving the wrong due date and she is going to have her babies sooner!It is worse than waiting to open Christmas presents!


I have to admit,I am more than a little excited about babies myself!

Doodah has officially had a date night! Things are so much quieter when they get a date night! Last time she was in the mood we didn't let her visit Mr.Tumnus.You would have thought the Banshee was a visiting!The wailing and moaning,geesh!

I don't know if she is passed out or pigging out here !

She is defiantly eating in this one!



Doodah is great goatie.She is friendly and well behaved unlike the before mentioned heathens!

Guinness is still a little standoffish.Here she is mid-cud chew.

She will come up to see if you have anything for her to eat,but doesn't like scratchins'.All in all she is a well behaved goat,never acting bad.The Boy is a little disappointed because he wants all the goaties to be like Butter Bean and Nibbles!He thinks he will win over Guinness though, with a little time and patience.

Last but not least Mr.Tumnus.Here he is in the wheelbarrow,the boy was cleaning out their houses and he had to check it out.Usually, it is Nibbles the Mischievous who dumps over the wheelbarrow!


I love his color.He also does not like to be scratched.He is not mean or aggressive and comes right up to us.

I can not wait to see what kind of babies he makes with our girls.We will see in the Spring! So there you have,the official goatie goat update!

Weenie Roast

This is Weenie roasting herself!



It's the time of year when most folks houses smell like cinnamon,fresh baked goodies and holiday scents.Not my house.Nope. You walk in my door and smell gently roasting dog! You other pet people know what I am talking about.No matter if they just had a bath, 10 minutes next to and open flame and it bakes out that doggie essence!



Ignore the no trim along the floor and cables and chords running all over.We put the floor down over a year ago and bought some nice wide old fashioned looking trim to go along the wall.Hubby still has yet to do it!Not that he hasn't been doing anything else,he works constantly.He just has problems finishing things completely,because there is always so much to do and if it is "good enough"he moves on.If only one person is like this it can be OK,but,I must confess,I have trouble finishing things too.I have umpteen craft projects started,three different paint schemes on the porch and the kitchen too.
Anyway,back to Weenie.I know, we were real creative with her name.She is weenie dog mixed with something unknown.Actually, we theorize, she was some other small dog that ate a weenie dog whole and it is living inside her giving her an odd,slightly weenie dog appearance.If you knew this dog that would make prefect sense.She has a deep,deep desire to kill.Weenie dogs were originally bred to kill badgers.She only has access to her back yard and the house,so her murderous tirades are limited to lizards,butterflies, clumsy squirrels,baby birds,wandering rabbits,stray chickens.....Why do we keep such an unappealing dog you may ask.Because The Boy loves her.Where we lived before,there was a housing addition being built not far away.This one,um.. ding bat, yes, that is a family friendly word, family adopted Weenie as a puppy, brought her home and promptly threw her out in an unfenced yard and expected her to stay there.Well she made her way over to our house.The Boy was 5.We were in the back yard and he sees something wiggling in the weeds and being a boy,quickly runs over to poke at it.Then I hear in a voice so joyous,as if he had found a pot of gold,"Momma! Look ! It's a baby weenie dog!"
You would've thought it had fallen straight down from heaven sent from the Good Lord Himself!
My first response,as I think all mom's would be was ,"Don't touch it, it may bite!"
Too late.He had touched it.Every mom knows,once they touch it trying to get rid of it is going to mean tears and fit throwing! Actually,The Boy never threw fits.He was as near perfect as a child could be, still is.Don't think I am just one of those moms,who think their child walks on water.I know he is not really perfect ,but he is a really good kid.
I tell him we have to try and find it's owners.No luck.Then a week later the ding bats show up and claim it,um..I mean her.They take her home and throw her right back out in the unfenced yard.In all of about 3 minutes she is back at our house.I have The Boy take her back,she beat him home.After about 2 weeks of this I decide enough is enough and she is our dog,'cause I needed another dog like I needed a hole in my head! They never came looking for her after that first time and that was only because we left a note on their door.
We already had Rascal,but Weenie was extremely playful and loyal to The Boy.What every only child-boy needs.We had to be careful because she couldn't tell when we were rough housing and would try and protect him from us!


It isn't long before The Boy tells me Weenie has a bald spot.If you have ever had a dog with mange you recognize it right away.Terrific!I take her to the vet,get the medicine and start the long treatment.By the time the medicine overtook the mange Weenie looked like some deranged mutant Yoda! Did I mention how bad dogs with mange stink! What I do for that Boy!Then when she is done with that and reasonably hairy again I get her spayed.There is no way the ding bats are getting her back now.Not that they ever tried.I dislike people like that.
Even though Weenie is a few years younger than Rascal,she looks and seems older.She has had many names over the years,Meanie-Weenie,Queenie-Weenie ,Dog with the Evil Tail.Our theory was only her tail was bad and it made her do bad things! These days she is Weenie Gray Beard.Her whole chin is gray.She is plump,sometimes when she lays on her side her legs no longer touch.Instead of spending her days patrolling the back yard like a maniac for intruders,lizards and squirrels,she naps under my bed.If the weather is cool she will lay on the back porch and, if we come out,will make a token effort at chasing some invisible critter from the yard as to show us she is still on the job.I figure she still has some time with us but is is sad how fast the little evil tailed dog has slowed down.My boy's childhood companion.The dog that took every step by his side,protected him from the booger man and went on every make believe adventure.She still has the energy to come running when he calls and play for awhile.Although,it usually ends with her panting in the corner taking a rest.She is not decrepit yet,but just like I can see the day when The Boy is no longer here,the day that makes me misty eyed,I can see also we will be without our mean little mutt.Seems like yesterday they were both just pups.Not to sound too much like an old fogey,where does the time go?
The Boy realizes she is slowing down.Just yesterday he had said it was too bad that dogs don't live as long as their owners.A child's way of saying he is going to miss her one day.
The Boy is going to be 13 in a few months.Teenager.That doesn't bother me,he is a good kid.It makes me realize my time is growing short.I have only 4 or 5 years left before he starts his life on his own.Of course that is my goal as a mother,to have him ready to have a life of his own,but still...he is my only one.Gosh, I must be hormonal today! I started this post talking about the roasted dog smell and got to pre-emty nest syndrome! I miss a few days blogging and my mind apparently is like a derailed train! Oh well.......change of subject before I have to cry. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

Throwback Thursday

Today I am only going back a little way,to after hurricane Ike.


These are some photos of what it looked like around here after it passed through.These trees were huge,the pictures don't capture how big they really were.So I put in ones with The Boy standing next to them.I painted him on a shirt! He would be mortified if I put a picture of him on here with out a shirt on!


I miss this tree.It was getting rotten so I am not surprised it fell.It's not the tree itself I miss, it was ugly.I miss the red headed woodpeckers that always lived there.They would come and eat suet from my feeder and take back a beakful back to their nest.



That roof did not get smashed,it was already laying there.That is the roof we recycled.
We are nowhere near the coast.We are 112 mile driving distance from Galveston.



This was one of my favorite trees,I was sad to find it was not strong enough.



This was the Boys tree house,which is now recycled into the turkey coop.These are just huge limbs on it, not trees.



I am so thankful one of these trees did not fall on our house.We have a huge one that leans towards the back of the house,if it fell it would get most of the house.



Most everything is cleaned up now.There are a few big logs and a few stumps,but the scars on the land are still visible if you know what to look for.Me and The Boy road this hurricane out by ourselves.Hubby made it home a few days later.We lived in Pensacola when Hubby was in the Navy.There we went through a couple of small hurricanes, in a mobile home no less!They were nothing.This was scary.I can not imagine having been closer to the coast and riding this out! Lots of folks did though ! So, there you have it! This probably set us back 6 months working on our place,but we were all OK and we didn't have anything significant smashed.I say we did pretty good!

Wordless Wednesday

Hard Workin' Hubby!!!

More Turkeys Pictures !!!!

The boys finally decided to start showing off !



I have been waiting ever since they got their freedom to get a fluffy turkey shot.



I think they knew.This whole time they were teasing me.They would halfway raise their feathers,just enough to get me all excited and ready with my camera,only to deflate themselves again.I was turkey teased!



We got a cool front in this morning,I don't know if that made them feel frisky,but all they have done this morning is regally fluff out their lovely feathers.It worked,because I am in love with them! Really, who couldn't love this face?

Their tail tips are a little ragged from rubbing against the wire in the coop,but still they are gorgeous don't you think?


Did you know Bourbon Reds are not only good looking they were rated the second tastiest of all turkeys?Yep,good looking and tasty...

It's a win win,.....well,for me anyways!

Freeee-ee-ee Bird......

Just play a little Skynyrd in your mind as you read today's post :) ! The Bourbon Reds are finally free.





Well, in theory any way.They can leave their coop but their wings have been clipped so they will stay in their yard.


The Boy hated having to cut their beautiful wings! It was a matter of their life or death though and given the choice I am sure they would choose not being eaten by dogs over their wing tips! The turkeys are so funny, they will follow us every where.We can be standing there watching them and turn and walk away.Then we will here all this rustling and wing flapping behind us and turn around and there they are! They follow The Boy all over just like dogs,it is so funny!

We had a very hard time with these turkeys.I ordered 10 the first time.They we're nice healthy little things.I kept them inside for about 2 weeks.

Then I moved them out to the rabbit hutch.It is about 3 and half feet off the ground and,of course, covered in rabbit wire.The next morning only 3 remained.Possums climbed up and got their little toes and pulled their legs thought the wire.I was crushed,my sweet little babies.I have wanted these turkeys ever since I read about them several years back.They are nothing like baby chickens.They are not afraid,they do not run or scatter when you come near.They will come right up to you, curious and friendly.This was probably my second hardest loss of our life on the farm.Things die on farms,it is just how it is.I accept that pretty well.For some reason loosing these sweet little things in such an awful way got to me.

So I tried to order more but everyone was sold out.I finally found one place that I had never heard of and order 15 more.Some of these were not so healthy.One had a deformed leg and one was a weak little runt and died right away.6 in total died over the next week or so.Then we put them in their coop,which was apparently the possum buffet.No matter what we did we could not keep the possums from some how getting them.Every morning one less turkey.Finally this coop had multiple kinds of layers of wire around it and on the ground and layers of boards around the bottom.When we finally got it like some kind of turkey armored car we were down to seven.Seven out of 25.You want to know how many turned out to be hens?Two,just two.Guess what we are having for Christmas dinner?Yep,excess tom turkey!


I really have my heart set on raising these beautiful,friendly birds.I hope my 2 hens make it so I will have eggs this Spring.If they laid eggs all year round those chickens would be in trouble!I would keep turkeys instead of them!
So, it took me and The Boy all week to get their area done. That's one thing I can cross of my list! Now only 99,467,382,736 more things to go !