Fall is Here

 Burning Brush. Flannel. Crispy Air.

 Fall Flowers.

Simmering Pinto Beans on the Stove & Cornbread in the Oven.

No Gifts Please

Farmer and I have discussed this and thoroughly agree on this one matter with sharing our ceremony with all of ya'll.

We do not want any gifts. Please. Really!!

I'll give you some great pictures that explains why. 

Do you see why we need nothing? and this is just one barn on his property plum full of STUFF! We both understand that most newlyweds do need gifts to give them that boost in creating a home. Us tho? Nope! We do not need the boost..look at all the s#!t we have. We really do not need a thing! That is why instead of gifts, just bring a dish! How fun is that anyways?! I would much rather cook up a dish than go to the mall and find that "special" something.

 oh boy....these pictures were taken several years ago before I got to dive into this barn. It had not been touched in over 30 years. Sadly tho, after cleaning it out and even sweeping it out..it looks about the same as Farmer is related to the ones that stuffed it to the brim! :)

It is a very rare thing to inherit many generations of 'stuff' so do not feel guilty in giving zero of a gift. 5 irons, 2 blenders, 4 sofas, 8 end tables and 12 bed frames...we beg of you not to go out and buy us a thing! Your presence and a dish is the best thing to ever ask of you!

Save the Date

 

Farmer & I are getting more details nailed down for our wedding. We have decided to get married either under an Oak Grove or under  a Pecan Tree that his great grandfather grafted when it was a young buck. He named it Eleanor's Tree or Nurse Tree. *am I right farmer?*

There are Pros and Cons with these two spots. 

In April, will the Pecan have its leaves yet? We can count on the Live Oaks to have them. 

Eleanor's Tree is on level ground compared to the Oak Grove..it is a bit rocky and is on a slope. If people sit, it will be a bit awkward and views may be blocked. It will probably be an all standing ceremony with maybe a couple of chairs for the elderly.

Decisions Decisions!

This winter we are going to work on both sites and I guess decide later on.

If you don't know, then I bet you are bit confused on why there is an airplane on our save the date! There is a big significance of the J-3 Piper Cub. 

It is a WWII airplane that Sam's dad, Buck, learned to fly in when he was a young man. He then decided to buy it from the Stephenville Municipal Airport. So he built himself a hanger on the farm and flew it for fun. Many years later, he decided to get into the crop dusting business and converted the cub to have a sprayer and painted it silver. Ever since Farmer was a kid, his dad would take him up flying. He eventually learned to fly and helped his dad spray crops (and impress the ladies!)

When I was a little girl I heard about there being an old plane in a barn somewhere around Bluff Dale. I would always look for that barn when I would drive around with my mother. I decided on a particular barn in Bluff Dale that housed it. And always thought that must be it when we drove by. 

Many years passed and I kind of forgot about that "legend" of the plane in the barn.

After college, when Farmer and I started dating, he showed me his airplane...in a barn.  

The memory came back. 

No way! You are the guy I heard about so long ago?

The barn was actually just up the road from the barn I always thought was the one that held the airplane. I was about 1/2 a mile off :) 

So as you can see with this long post, there is a bit of significance with this plane.

I am getting a quote right now on how much it will cost to print these save the dates. 

We are getting pretty excited about it all!

Anything is Possible

While doing a much deeper clean than I usually do to the ol' farmhouse. I found something that quickly reminded me that anything is possible with persistence and perseverance! 

Nature is always there to remind us!

 

While taking a bit of an evening stroll yesterday, I came upon these little guys!! At first I thought they were bones...and then when I came closer I realized these bones were antlers! Only five feet a part from one another, I scooped them up and called Farmer (interrupting his movie) and told him about my rare find!

Pretty neat to find an actual pair! 

If you are even lucky to just find one, then you are having a good day.

This will be my 3rd antler to find at the ol' Gaddy farm. 

Okra-Palooza

Last year Farmer and I sowed a long row of okra seeds. I had never had grown okra before (i think I tried one year but the seeds never germinated). So we planted lots!

If you remember, and how can you forget, how awful the drought was last year and nothing really fruited. My tomatoes finally started putting off fruit in the fall and everything else followed. But the okra...oh the okra prevailed through the hottest year on record. And I was up to my eye balls in Okra.

I learned a pretty good lesson...do not plant so much next year!

So that's what I did.. I sowed about 4 or 5 okra seeds and waited. They had a slow start but I can guarantee they are making up for lost time.

Now it will not be the year of the okra this year (thank goodness) but I am still overwhelmed with it! They grow so fast and before I know it they are too hard and woody to eat.

I just found this out the other day while looking through one of Farmer's Grandmother's gardening books that Okra is called Gumbo (or Gombo) in Africa.. and last year I learned that Okra is a big part of the Cajun's dish, Gumbo (don't judge me for my ignorance!). 

Never knew the background of the word! Pretty neat!!

So this year I will be making a lot of Gumbo :)  And probably some pickling too!  

Elope?

 

This is me several years ago hugging THE tree...

 

The Wedding Oak outside of San Saba, Texas. 

Farmer and I daydream about eloping...it would be so much easier than the big hubbub that goes with getting married. Our dear friend that is going to marry us, Carlton, and his wife, Becca, have a ranch not to far from the infamous tree. Last time we all got together we joked about just getting it over with and making it official at the Wedding Oak...if only we had the papers handy we probably would have done it!!

....and here is a picture of Farmer a bit scared of the whole scenario.. but not anymore!!

Is this the Same Person?

 

Do you think this is the same person?? 

The first picture came from the green locked box and the 2nd picture came from Ancestry.com

Way Up High in the Peach Tree

 

For the past couple of weeks I have been very busy pickin' peaches. The raccoons and other varmints and me are in competition for these tasty little treats. I gather as many ripe'ns as I can during the day and then the night critters come out and try to sneak and eat (waste) as many as they can at night. The next morning is a mess with peach pits and half eaten peaches on the sidewalk and in the yard! 

But my o' my are the peaches GOOD this year! Last year, due to the drought, we only had THREE peaches. I was able to get one and the raccoons got the two. 

It was a miserable summer, last year! 

Not this year tho! I have canned and froze peaches so I can enjoy them in the winter time. I have been making peach smoothies and today I made peach salsa. I am also thinking about making a peach cobbler (even tho I am not a big fan of sweets but I am running out of ideas!)

I am very thankful for such a wonderful summer we have had. It has been so much more pleasant than the previous. Even today I am hanging out on the farm without any air conditioning. Yes, it is a bit warm, but it is nothing compared to what usually happens in a Texas July. 

The best part of no A/C, and the reason why I will endure a bit of heat, is so I can have the doors open to hear the hummingbirds fly, the cows beller', and even the salt trucks go by. It is nice to have that fresh air and even better when it is rather cool! 

Happy Summer to Everybody. 

P.S. Now that I am about plum tired of peaches...the figs are bountiful and are almost ready for pickin'! On to more canning and freezin'! -which is a great problem to have :)

Galveston Isle Mini Vacation

 Ship Elissa

Pleasure Pier at Galveston Island, Texas

Farmer and I in the Gulf of Mexico

 

Fly 'Em High !!

Which picture is your favorite?

A True Treasure Chest

Due to a mouse that decided to live the last of his life in the only closet in the house...we had to dismantle everything that was in the enclosed space to find the rascal.

It is a pretty small closet but it is amazing how much STUFF can fit in there. It is mostly all of Farmer's family's things. His grandmother's nick nacks from High School, His Grandfather's hats, great grandmothers shoes... you catch my drift.

During the cleaning phase I got caught up in the moment and started going through all the stuff again. Reading Eleanor's Love Letters from when she was young. It is amazing how things really do not change. (comparing to my youth. Nowadays I am not sure if they still write love letters or just send texts?!) After awhile, farmer found the dead mouse so it was time to start putting everything back in a more orderly fashion. He also repaired the hole that mice have gnawed out throughout the years to get into the sun-of-a-gun with an old tin can lid (we are retro!!).

Well, while we were stacking and sorting there was that green box staring at me again. See, I've wondered about this green old box for awhile. It has a big green lock on it and no key attached. I asked Farmer if we could break into it because I have about had it with my curiosity. So later that evening while settling down in the living room he got his stash of keys. He went through one lump of keys but none worked. Then he remembered he had another set of keys that we had found several years ago in the barn. the second key opened the box.

I about jumped a mile outta the sofa.

What could be in there...ohhh lemme look!

It was what I have always wanted to find...

Another stash of old pictures!! More pictures of Sam's Family's Past. And the best one I could find where of his Great Grandfather's Grocery Store in Dublin, TX. We still have some of his grocery things in the barn (dated about 1920s to late 1930s). But never have seen a picture. Maybe this will give us a clue to see if the building is still there. I believe it was on Grafton Street. So next time I go to Dublin, I'm going to peak into the windows and see if any look similar to the pictures!

 

What a find!

All thanks go to the dead mouse!

A Night at Heavenhill

 

Last night I spent my first night at Heavenhill! 

What a milestone! 

This little home has not been lived in in ELEVEN years! The sweet little lady that lived there before moved to a nursing home in June 2001! Can you believe this home has been so alone for so long? I always felt an energy with Heavenhill.

 A type of friendship. 

For ten years I have talked and talked about the day she will be fixed up and we can have so much fun together.

Well we had our first sleep over last night and it was a blast!

I mopped the bathroom floors

took pictures of the interior at twilight

I hung roller shades in the bedrooms & bathroom. Also in the utility room (west sun hits that room pretty hard---I will put up an awning soon)

I am so excited about the upcoming times that will be shared here. 

Spending time here creates a sense of calm and nostalgia. She has been around for over 120 years and has seen a lot of changes throughout the years.

 Good times are ahead and she is just as excited as I am about it all!

Short Bio

I had to write up a short bio for a position I may be
 elected for in my
hometown of Granbury. 

I figured I could share a bit more info to the folks out there in blogland.

Collage of Us

Farmer and I have been together for almost 5 years now! 

Here's a little photo collage of what we've done throughout the years!

*Psst*
Click on the picture
for a larger view

Old Letter ReAppears

I wrote a letter to an elderly lady that grew up in Heavenhill...way back before Heavenhill was ever called Heavenhill.

Way back like in the 20s-50s.

But I never heard from her...I was hoping to at least find the old letter she wrote to my mother. 

This is a little nutty but this lady married my grampa's very good childhood friend. They grew up probably about 100 miles from Granbury.

Ten years ago----somehow the stars aligned----my gramma figured out that my grampa's friend's wife  grew up in the SAME house my mother had just bought! WEIRD!

So my mother wrote a letter to this lady and received pictures and a floor plan sketch of the house from her memory (50 years prior!)

 Just the other day while rummaging through the barn at Heavenhill...this letter fell out of a folder. It was the letter I was hoping to find. I had gone through that folder before but never saw it. I feel like the universe heard my wish and found it for me. Things like that happen to me..does it happen to you?

Just Call Me McGyverette

I have been working full time at HH and we are at the trim & tile stage! 

I got a group of guys that have been very diligent and hard working. I am very impressed with what has gone down in the past couple of day. I do have my frustrating days (i.e. this Monday and Tuesday!) but I am now very pleased with the progress. 

I suppose I get most frustrated when I am working at HH alone and things are just not working out so well. I work better with other people...not necessarily helping me, but I just like to have the distraction and a bit of convo here and there. It helps!  

 

We have been reusing material that came out of HH and also from the barn on site. I think it's lotsa fun to find and seek old wood that will work for trim or for this or that. I also enjoy seeing the inventory pile decreasing bit by bit. More room for other stuff! 

We are in need of a couple more pieces of trim for the windows. Farmer has a couple of houses on his property that are falling down. (side note: a house mover used to own part of his land and "inventoried" buildings on the property). So I drove the four-wheeler over to "Perts" to go scrounging. I had a lot of fun (had to keep my eyes peeled for snakes!) and found some great trim...it is amazing how your eyes see new things now that I am in the trim business. I never noticed a lot of good stuff that are in those houses. They are a little scary b/c they could fall down any time...i wish we could salvage more stuff out of it before it falls. (but that's another story!)

I was quite the site going down the county road with my 1X4s. I even had to get creative and McGyver-ish to keep the boards from falling off the four-wheeler. 

Good thing I wore my trusty head scarf today! 

I also found some wire on the ground by the gate that I picked up in habit..but then I thought... Perfect! 

This can hold the other lumber in place! Just tie it to the milk crate and we are in business! 

I had somebody pass me on the road..I bet they thought I was a nut!

Engaged!

Now that we have told our close friends and family...I can share it to the world.. 

Farmer and I are engaged! 

We will be married next year around this time at the farm when the flowers and the green is at its best. We are also excited to have Farmer's dad's best friend, Carlton, officiate the ceremony!! 

We are so excited to share this special time with our very special friends!

Little Big Kitty on a Tin Roof

Oh Me Oh My!

Oskie's on The Roof and He's about to Cry!

I'm in the Garden. Farmers in the City.

I've got to get some help for this little big Kitty!



He doesn't seem to care. He doesn't seem to fret.
He just wants to watch another Texas Sunset.








The sun's gone down and now he needs to too.
Quick! Down the Trellis he goes fore it's past his curfew.

Roses

I cannot get over this Spring. More color keeps popping up!