Jeff & the Hen

Jeff let the chickens out today-he decided he wanted to have free range chickens(hehe)-and you can see right where one decided to spend her time-on the bed of his truck!

GET OFF MY TRUCK!!!

Well-we didn't have much luck with the egg hatch-only 8 of the 20 hatched and we had to help each of them out of the shell. Three have since died and one doesn't get around too good by itself. Neither of our eggs hatched-I don't know what happened this time-several of the eggs were rotten! Anyway-I'll take a picture of the remaining ones in a day or two.

We went into Lowe's on Monday and bought a new stove and ordered the microwave/ventahood to go over it. The micro combo was out of stock and should be in tomorrow-so that means a trip into Conroe. Then as luck would have it-our TV in the livingroom died yesterday-we couldn't remember what year we bought it in! So now we are owners of a new flat screen.

We are still waiting on an answer from Social Security on Jeff's back-we really hoped to hear by today-the mail is running late today! We are planning to go spend New Year's Eve with Sheila & Alfred at their cabin on the Trinity River. The sun has FINALLY come out and it is beautiful out right now-it has even warmed up-although another front is due in by midnight and it'll be cool again tomorrow. Jeff plans to butcher Freckles tomorrow-we'll keep the meat on ice for a few days to bleed out-then we'll grind all of it into hamburger. I bought some 1 lb meat sleeves from an ebay store-1's for venison, pork sausage and hamburger. They should make packing up the meat alot simpler.

Have a safe & happy New Year!!

Jeff & Rascal

These 2 are just like best friends! She is actually chewing on the snap on his shirt!

I'm finally feeling much better!-still coughing some and feeling a little weak, but I got outside yesterday and piled some limbs and helped Jeff hang his deer feeder(that I got him for Christmas) and move the game camera. He got 132 pictures last night of the does-we haven't seen the buck since Dec. 17th.

The eggs are due to hatch any hour now-I did find 2 pipping this morning-I know-I'm not supposed to open the incubator-but I can't help it! I was thinking they were due yesterday-but we didn't set the eggs until bedtime-so that does kinda throw it to today. I have seen some of them jumping around in there-just can't wait to see what we get!

I'm missing the cows a little bit too-it's bad enough getting rid of them-but the insult of getting such a pitiful amount for them-they were worth SO much more than that! I know-I get just a little too much attached!

We had another COLD morning-but the sun is shining. The weather we got before Christmas tore up the greenhouse-broke the pvc pipe in several places-it'll have to almost be totally rebuilt-don't know when we'll get to it.

Well-I've been invaded by grandkids-Grandpa went and bought doughnuts for everyone this morning! Have a great day!

Rough Week-so Far!

Well-I'm still sick! I finally gave in and went to the urgent care clinic yesterday and got 2 shots and 2 prescriptions. I really don't feel too much better today-but I did get a little bit of my cooking done today. Christmas Eve is tomorrow-no stopping it!
We got the check from the sale barn yesterday, too. What a HUGE disappointment!! Mama cow only brought a little over $100! Total of only $739 for all 3 of them. It will pay our taxes for the year-but nothing left over to repair the fences and buy the goats. :( I weaned the pen of bunnies this morning and bred another doe. This is the last day to turn the eggs-they sit now for 3 days before hopefully hatching!
We are supposed to have rough weather over night-another cold front coming through. There have been some tornados way north of us.
Kaytlynn lost one of the caps off her front teeth yesterday-so Alana had to get her in to the dentist this morning to get it fixed before the holidays. Randy works half a day tomorrow-Julie works the whole day-but does have an earlier shift. I believe everything is in place and we are ready for Christmas!-as ready as we're gonna be!
Merry Christmas everyone!!

Rough Weekend

Well-the cows are gone. :( Jeff took them to the sale barn on Friday afternoon. I came in from work sick and running fever-so I didn't go with them. We still have the 3 calves-the heifer will go to Jeff's brother-in-law. We've had a pretty good cold snap around here-it was 29 degrees this morning. Jeff tried to run the saw for a few minutes yesterday-but it nearly killed his back! He suffered all night with it. I'm not much help at the moment-feeling like I do-the flu got me good! I do feel a little better this morning-but still have a little fever and coughing. Jeff's been taking care of everything and says if I'm not better tomorrow-I'm going to the Doc-I'll be better! I have all my Christmas baking to do!

Doc Visit

Well, I took the day off and went to the Doc with Jeff. It went very well! He is continuing to keep him off of work-until Feb. 15th, but he does have another appointment in Jan. He let us know that he wanted Jeff to do anything and everything he felt up to doing-on a day to day basis-even minute to minute. He DOES NOT want him sitting around in the house-wants him to keep as active as he feels like-so his muscles don't atrophy and get weak. And he said the hot tub was a really good place to do his stretches.
I'm sick again-feel like heck-coughing-was scared I'd coughed up a lung last night! I've taken Nyquil and am going to bed real soon. I did get the rest of my Christmas shopping done this afternoon-well-only a few things left to pick up-but I know what I'm getting-so it's just a matter of getting them.
And the sun made a few small appearances today-HEH!! It is supposed to be a really nice weekend-so I can't wait-hopefully it'll dry up a little! I bought bitty feed today-I told Jeff I hope I didn't jump the gun-and now none will hatch! The day after Christmas will tell!

Another Week Goes by!!

Our visit with Granddaddy on Saturday morning-It was Kaytlynn and Jordan's first visit to the Nursing home-they did great! And he was SO glad to see them! Does his 95 year old self good!

We have had WAY TOO MUCH rain, drizzle and fog-I have had enough-thank you!!! I don't even mind the cold as long as the sun is shining. Everything is just saturated around here!

We separated the calves on Sunday-so it was a pretty noisey night here last night! The cows bellered more than the calves-Randy has gone to spend the night at a friends-he said he was about ready to get a gun last night! He said it sounded like they were standing over his bed-hehe! The eggs in the incubator are doing well so far! Less than 2 weeks left-Jeff has been the mother hen this time!! He gets to turn the eggs!

Jeff went to Houston last Friday for the annual Work Comp visit. It went well-it is only an evaluation visit. We have been filling out SO much paper work! His case is now in the hands of the group in Austin-we sent more papers to them today. He goes back to his Doc on Wednesday-I'm taking the day off to go with him this time. We have so many questions to ask!

Jeff's company Christmas Party was Saturday night. They served bbq-it was really good. We had a great time visiting with friends and Jeff actually won a prize this year!

We have decided to go ahead and take the cows to the sale this weekend. We will keep the calves for the freezer-but our hay isn't good and at this point in time-we really cannot afford to keep them. We will be really sad to see them go. We have also been trying to sell the boar and sow-but no takers yet. Our plans are to use some of the money to fix the yard fences and get a few goats-they will be easier for us to handle. Rainbow got in the garden the other night and ate everything and the brocolli was finally starting to make heads!

Well-that's enough for tonight-gotta check on the deer in awhile!

Weekly Update

Randy and Ricky grinding the pork-with their advisory board looking on!

The eggs I won off of ebay-including 2 of my own!

This week would be easiest described on a somewhat daily basis:

Monday-Back to School and work! Jeff set the whole day waiting on a phone call from Social Security that never came!

Tuesday- He finally got the call-they got all his paperwork-but he was denied for SSI because I make too much money-now that's a joke!! Rainbow went over the fence and woke us up at 4:00am. We are getting 100 pictures on average a night of deer! Mostly 2-3 does-but every few nights we get some of different bucks!

Wednesday-Jeff took his Dad to the Doc-they wanted to admit him to the hospital-but he wouldn't have it!. Jeff met me after work and we went to New Waverly and picked up a barrel of corn.

Thursday-Jordan rode with us to Dewey's for feed-he almost managed to get one bag in the back of my truck by himself! Randy's friend Justin shot a sow in his Grandpa's pasture and they brought it here to us. The guys got it all skinned and on ice.

Friday-Jeff went into town for sausage seasoning and casings. At 10:00-it started SNOWING!! It really stuck in Coldspring-it was beautiful!! But-it didn't stick at all at home-so the kids and me-were very diappointed when we got home! So I wasn't able to get any pictures!! Got the pork off the bones-bythat time Jeff was in so much pain-he had to sit down and leave the grinding and packing to Randy and Ricky and the rest of us! He is just so not used to giving up and having someone help him out! And I forgot to count the packs of sausage and we just left it all in pan.

Saturday-I won an ebay auction for eggs early this morning. The seller is in Livingston-so we'll meet her later this afternoon. And boy did we have a freeze this morning! It was totally white this morning-19 degrees on the back porch! We got all the Christmas stuff out and started decorating the livingroom. We went into Livingston and got our tree-what a bummer-we just got it at Wal-Mart this year. We've decided to just get an artificial one at the end of the season to use from now on. We met Helen-the lady with the eggs-so sweet!! I won 12 and she gave me an extra 6. They are a barnyard mix with 1 aracauna and several marans-the really dark ones! So they went into the incubator before bedtime. I really didn't think this one through very well, though-because the eggs won't be ready to hatch until the day after Christmas. So-we'll have to be very careful of them with a houseful of kids!

Sunday-We have a 50% chance of rain today-so I really don't know what's up for today. Our yard looks awful-FULL of leaves. We need to put up the outside lights and I haven't had the chance to check on the garden since all the cold and snow! We haven't even gotten in the hot tub-although we have talked about it! We've just been too tired to do much of anything different!

Have a great week!

Thanksgiving Week

Well, not much to report here! Jeff & I spent the first of the week just hanging out-not doing much. The doe and 2 yearlings continue to show up almost nightly in the front pasture. They had a birthday party at Curtis,Jr.'s last night-so nothing other than the rabbits on the camera last night. Randy & Ricky got alot of firewood stacked for us while we were at the beach-we left Thursday evening-took the tractor-and went to the beach. It was really wet-so we didn't get much work done. Didn't even fish! :( We came on home yesterday morning. We have all the paperwork in to apply for the disabilty insurance and had a call from the Social Security Office in Conroe-so Jeff will have to call them on Monday.
We have a cold front headed our way that is supposed to drop quite a bit of rain over the next few days-temps might get to 50 here tomorrow-And today we have the doors open and it should reach 76-Good ole Texas weather! Have a great day!

Eventful Week!

Jordan had a busy week! It started with a trip to the ER on Sunday night-A BIG cousin was playing a little too rough with him-as nearly everyone does-he's SO tough-and he ended up hitting his head on the coffee table-no stitches-only super glue. Then yesterday he lost his first tooth! and the one next to it is loose, too! He hasn't been over yet this morning to let us know about the tooth fairy!

I didn't realize that a whole week had passed again! Alot has happened around here this week! Jeff wasn't able to stay at work for more than 4 hours on Monday due to the pain in his back. He came home and called the Doc-who wanted him to come into the office in Houston on Tuesday morning for x-rays. After the x-rays-the Doc has taken him off work intil Dec. 16th and told him to go ahead and start filing for his Social Security Disabilty benefits. He said he wouldn't be able to work anywhere-and no lifting or bending! So---We spent nearly 8 hours filling out all the forms and getting them submitted. He has had to get in touch with finance companies to see what to do about the disabilty insurance that we had purchased on those loans.

Anyway-Jeff has had a time trying to stay away from doing any kind of work! He is not one to just sit around doing nothing. I am now off for Thanksgiving week and will go back to work on the 30th. We plan to go down to the beach on Thursday afternoon and spend the rest of the week down there. We went into Conroe yesterday and nearly got all the Christmas shopping done-YEAH! Just a few more things to pick up-it'll be a slim one around here this year-Jeff will be getting a very small paycheck from now on!

We had rain yesterday-but the sun is shining now! And the hot tub is WONDERFUL now! It was nearly 50 degrees warmer in it than the outside air the other night when we got in. I'm sure it'll be used sometime today as well! What a great way to relax!!

The garden is finally picking up a little-I can find beets, some snow peas and carrots, and lots of lettuce. We haven't put the top on the greenhouse yet-but other than a stray cucumber and some stuggling tomatoes-there's not anything in there.

Well, Jordan just came over with the $5 the tooth fairy left him! Needless to say-he's excited! They're eating pancakes now-a Sunday morning tradition-Grandpa fixes pancakes for breakfast!

Deer!!

These 2 does showed up Wednesday night-and ate ALL the corn!

And this buck showed up around 7:30 Friday night-he didn't stay around as long as the does did! He's not the one we got pics of earlier-this one appears to be a 6 point!

We spent nearly the whole day yesterday looking for the parts for the hot tub! The new pump and heater came in on Thursday-but all the fittings were wrong. We finally found a place in the Woodlands that got us all fixed up! Jeff and Randy got it all set up and going again-the water was 66 degrees! This morning it was up to 84 degrees-so if it's not raining this evening-we might get in it tonight for the first time in over a month!

The garden seems to be picking up ever so slightly! I have 2 squash that finally came up and lots of lettuce-a few of the snow peas are appearing. We only got the 1 litter of bunnies-so I'll have to rebreed the doe who didn't kindle.

Well-only 5 days this week and then we have our week off! I'm looking foward to getting a few things done here in the house the first day or 2. We'll go down to the beach on Thanksgiving afternoon or early Friday morning. We are gonna take the tractor and get some dirt work taken care of and Duane needs to use it some, too.

We have a pretty strong cool front headed our way-it won't get out of the low 60's for the next couple of days-it was 80 yesterday and will be today again. We have leaves all over the ground-I was just looking around last weekend and thinking that they hadn't started falling yet-what a difference a week can make!

I hear a hen cackling-must have an egg! Have a great week!

Bunnies!

One of the does had 7 babies! The other is the larger of the 2 and she did pull hair-but no babies yet! I put the 3rd one back in with the buck yesterday-so another litter is due Dec. 12th. The garden just will not grow-I don't know what's up with it! By this time every year I usually have beautiful brocolli coming on and it looks awful this year! The cabbage has not grown at all since I planted it. The beet seeds have come up and are the only thing that looks like it might do something!
The new pump and heater for the hot tub are due here today! They went out a few weeks ago and Jeff has been trying to get them to work-he had a spare set a guy at work had given him-piecing the 2 sets together. Then the light bill came in -YIKES!! Our usuage had more than doubled!! And everytime we turned it on the light meter just spinned like crazy! So we broke down and ordered a new set. Hopefully this one will get nice and warm-not just tolerable. And not make the bill go up so much!!
Still no word from Jeff's Dr. He actually is at a conference and will not be available until Monday. So he has to wait til then to see what's gonna be done. Jeff said yesterday he would have come home if he could have afforded to-he was hurting that bad! We just don't know what's gonna happen with his back!
I ate Thanksgiving lunch with Hailey at school yesterday. GOOD! We are all waiting for the end of next week-we'll be off the whole week for Thanksgiving! Then back to school for 3 weeks-then off for 2 for the Christmas break. It just doesn't seem like we are that close to Christmas!! I really haven't done any shopping at all! Better get busy!!

Way Too Much Time!

We made a quick trip to the beach on Saturday-just to check things out-We had a beautiful hibiscus bloom!

Yes, I let too much time slip by between postings.It's not that we've been that busy-just different things out of the ordinary going on! Halloween saw only 4 of our grandkids trick-or-treating. We've been working on gathering up firewood-we've had a few cool mornings-enough to light a few fires in the heater-just to take the chill off!

Jeff went to the back Dr on Wednesday and hopefully finally got through to him! He put him off work until yesterday. So he did NOTHING for 4 days-boy was it hard for him! He just is not used to doing nothing! But he did a really good job of trying! But when he got back to work yesterday-he found out that since he was only off 2 days-work comp wouldn't pay him for those 2 days-he has to be off over 8 to get paid. We are still waiting on the new Dr. for his evaluation appointment. His Dr has ordered new x-rays-he has had no tests run in over a year. He had a really bad night last night-the only thing we can figure out is the fact that he went to work yesterday after being out for a few days.

The sow has come back into heat-so something is up with her-Jeff says she'll be sausage! We'll probably go ahead and sell the boar. We are also considering taking the cows to auction. Feed has gotten SO expensive and with Jeff's work pattern possibly changing-we are going to have to make some drastic changes. I have already sold all but 4 of my rabbits-I have 2 litters due today-and we have all the chickens-they have started laying again-a little! And with the time change-it is so hard to get out and get anything done before dark!

Well-better go and get ready for work! Have a great day! :)

RAIN!!!!

Look what showed up on the game camera this week!!! We got 32 pictures of him-he left in the early morning hours, then came back at nearly 10 pm that night!

Boy-have we had rain this week! I have poured out 6 inches from the rain gauge in the last 24 hours or so! We had gotten the rest of the seeds planted in the garden on Tuesday-don't know where they are now! :( Hopefully at least a few will sprout somewhere we can find them. It was SO bad that when Jeff moved the cows yesterday-Rainbow sunk up to her belly in the yard-right by the garden! She managed to get herself out-but really scared Jeff!

Jeff didn't work yesterday-the first day the job has told him not to come in! Randy was rained in and several others-Tim & Candy were stuck-Jeff had to take the tractor down to get their road where they could get out. Then broke their waterline!

We are on our way into Cleveland-Jeff has an appointment to get his eyes checked-then on into Conroe-I have to find a pair of shoes to wear to work. My feet are so weird shaped-I have a hard time finding something to fit. For some reason-flipflops just won't work for work or in the winter-unless I wear them with socks! Have a safe and happy Halloween-I'm sure I'll post pics of the grandkids tomorrow-in costume!!

A-Not as Planned -Weekend!

We had another one!! Our plans were to go to the beach-Sheila and Alfred were going down, too. Then on Friday afternoon-I got a call at work that Jeff's mom had been taken to the ER with chest pains-thank God she is fine-all the test came out negative! We worked in the garden all morning on Saturday-it was SO bad-I wouldn't even take a picture of it! Jeff was murder on a few remaining things-he accidently broke the main stem to the gourd vine off at the ground and cut down both of the grape vines with the lawnmower. I did manage to save a few tomato plants-although they look awful! I got the beets and some squash seeds planted in the greenhouse. Saturday we met Sheila and Alfred and went out to eat-we had a great time!! Sunday we spent cleaning up and gathering firewood. It was SUCH a beautiful weekend-then the rain started in again this morning! Hopefully it will be nice when I get in from work tomorrow-I want to plant the rest of the seeds I have. We are supposed to get another round of rain and cool weather towards the end of the week-then another beautiful weekend ahead. We'd love to head back to the beach-but with Halloween-I don't think the grandkids would forgive us for skipping out on them! My dad had knee replacement surgery today-so he'll be down for awhile. But he never allows any of us to help him out! Ricky sold 6 rabbits for me on Saturday-sure was glad to thin them out a little-the feed is $10.50 a bag now!! So I'm down to 3 does and a buck-there are still 3 fryers that need to be butchered and I have a litter due on Thursday or Friday!

Beautiful October Weekend!!

Yeager Farm's fall scarecrow!! He welcomes you from the driveway-while he moons you!!

The fish we caught Saturday-minus the 2 Jeff cleaned before he realized we hadn't taken any pictures yet!

It has just been the MOST beautiful weekend!! We went to the beach on Friday evening and spent the evening around a fire with Anne and Duane. Saturday morning was quite cool-but we went fishing anyway. Jeff caught a nice speckled trout-the one I caught was only 13 1/2 inches-so back in he went. Later in the afternoon, we went down to the end of our road and Jeff caught a nice red and then we started catching bull croakers-I have never seen croakers this big!! They were SO much fun to catch! We came on back home this morning-got home about 10:00am.

When we got home, Jeff went to work on the scarecrow. After that was finished, he decided to mow a little, then royally broke the brush hog. Someone had put a chain on it and it slipped into a hole on the deck and twisted the yoke until the u-joint broke. Don't know what that's gonna cost us!

I'm making a pot of homemade chili for supper-no Wolf brand here(Jeff can't stand the stuff!) We might even start a fire in the heater for the first time tonight! We are so glad that the cool temps are finally here!!

Bedroom Remodel

We almost finished it this weekend!! After getting in and OUT of the hot tub Saturday night, we decided really quick that the door had to be put into the bedroom for quick access into the house!! It was nearly 60 degrees outside-but it really feels COLD when you get out of the warm water. So the door went up yesterday-and it looks So good! Now we need to hang the closet door and finish getting things put back in their place. Next-finish the bathroom!

With all the rain we've been getting-our boar's pen was deep in mud. So on Saturday afternoon-we halfed up the sows big pen and gave him half of it. He was really glad to get out of all that mud!! The hen's were laying pretty good again-but with this cool-rainy weather-they have completely stopped laying-again! I bred 2 more does on Saturday afternoon and Ricky sold 2 and delivered them on Friday. We need to get up to Mom's and bring the bull here to service the cows before they start coming back in heat. And we will be needing to start hauling the hay home before too long.

Jeff hasn't gotten anymore pictures of deer on his camera yet. He did get a few of a rabbit and one of Tim's dogs-have to check it again this afternoon. Have a great day!

Deer!!

Jeff got his first pictures of a deer! It was late Sunday night/early Monday morning in the pasture across the road-between our house and Jeff's parents. We are so excited! He doesn't have a good rack-but it is the first deer we've captured on the camera!

And Sheila-I locked my keys in my truck yesterday!!! I don't know when I last did that!! Luckily, Jeff was on his way home from work-so he came to my rescue-my hero! But I couldn't help but think of you-all those times in Cleveland!! hehe

I'm still working on my bedroom-with the wasted time yesterday afternoon-I didn't get much done-but I'm slowly making progress! Mostly need to get the dressers cleaned off and find some place to put blankets and other things!?!

Jeff has a big meeting at work today-it's finally here-Rumor has it they are cutting part of the plant to 32 hours-today will tell which sections and for how long. They have very little work-so it's not gonna be good! Belt-tightening time!!!

Big Red!!

Jeff & me went on down to the beach on Friday evening-Friday was just the most beautiful day!! Rain was due to start-but we needed to go down and check on things down there. The sun came up on Saturday morning with a beautiful sunrise-but the clouds quickly moved in. It never rained on us-but was cloudy and a little cool. And boy was it crowded down there this weekend! No one was on the beach-but you couldn't get in sideways at Rollover or any other of our favorite fishing spots! We ended up at the end of Tuna Drive-but weren't getting any bites. Jeff had one of his big fishing rods out and was fishing with a lure. Tim and Candy had come out and Candy and I were sitting and talking-when I saw Jeff's pole just take off! I hollered and took off after it-nearly slipping in the mud and falling down! I could hear Candy laughing behind me-I had to jump a small ditch before I could get to it-But I caught it! I have the bruises under my arm to prove it! I had to fight that big fish to even get him landed and then had to sit down-I was shaking from trying! A guy down there had a net-so Tim and Jeff helped get the fish out of the water-there are big rocks down there and we were scared he'd pull off against them. What Fun!! He was 32 inches long!!

The rain really seems to have set into a pattern here! We stayed home all day yesterday-we came home on Saturday-and worked in the house-the bedroom mostly. We have some remodeling that we never finished-from years back-so I started the cleaning process so we can get in there! The bathroom needs some electrical finished and the tub surround needs to be replaced. The bedroom needs major help-cleaning and the closet door needs to be hung-and not to mention that it needs to be cleaned!! We bought a new bed-in-a-bag and curtains-so it is looking a whole lot better! And we are going to take out the window that is on the deck and put a door there so we can come straight into the bedroom from the hot tub!

The hens are beginning to lay again-We were just about down to having to buy a dozen eggs-whew! I really didn't want to eat those sick looking eggs! They really do seem to be enjoying their new pen! And Jeff's camera picked up just some glowing eyes early yesterday morning-so we put fresh batteries in it last night-we'll check it again this afternoon-hopefully it's a deer! Have a great week!!

September is Gone??

What happened to this month? Was I so busy-probably doing nothing-that it just quietly slipped by? WOW!
We stayed home last weekend-other than a trip into Conroe Saturday morning for fencing supplies-I never have been able to figure out Tractor Supply knows just how much money I have to spend? Anyway-the cows are pushing part of the newer-of course, fence down-We have to get the bull here! and the chicken pen had huge holes in it! So Sunday-they got a new pen-We enclosed the rabbit shed and gave them the old garden area. We haven't been getting but maybe 1 egg a day and go figure-we got 4 Monday and 3 yesterday! Do you think they like their new home? Jeff butchered 3 rabbits yesterday-7 more to go and I bred 1 doe on Monday.
And our weather is just wonderful!!! We've had rain and cooler temps! The first strong front came through yesterday and it is 58 degrees this morning on the back porch! It will warm back up to the low 90's tomorrow-before te next front comes through Thursday night and cools us back down for the weekend!
Work is going great-Jeff is hearing rumors of a lay-off again and cutting back to 32 hours a week-we'll just roll with the punches-it'll all work out!! Have a great day! :)

Wonderful Weekend!

The flounder & the golden croakers we caught!

Me & the red fish that I caught! The tall palm tree on the right we bought as an anniversary gift to ourselves-it'll replace the big one we lost after Ike!

We had a great time this weekend! The only drawback from the whole 3 days were the MOSQUITOS!! OMG-They were awful! At times you couldn't even breathe without them getting in your nose! And at dark-OFF! was no deterant at all! I believe it was actually an attractant! Anyway-we spent Friday over in Galveston-walked the Strand and drove down to west beach where my grandparent's house was. We ate at Guido's-then rode the ferry back to Bolivar. It was already dark when we got back-we were planning to walk on the beach-but did I mention mosquitos?

Saturday we fished at the beach in the morning-the water was clear as a bell all the way up to your waist and slick as glass! It was beautiful! And I caught my first shark! It wasn't quite big enough to keep-I think Jeff caught 2. Later in the afternoon we went down to the end of our street and fished in the Intercoastal canel. I caught a big red fish! Then Jeff caught a flounder! And between the 2 of us, we caught 8 golden croakers-all in less than an hour and a half! What fun! Then we went down and set on the beach with Anne and Duane until the mosquitos got so bad we couldn't stand it!

Sunday morning, Jeff caught a shark big enough to keep-so we brought it home with the other fish and grilled it last night-yummy! He gave the flounder to his Mom-she loves it baked. And my Mom is STILL in the hospital-she now has gout in her feet-and the foot Doc just won't release her to go home! Hopefully today-he never came in the whole weekend! She is not going to rehab either.

Our first cool front is making its way towards us-it will be a rainy week for us. I'm looking forward to the cooler temps-I just don't want any rain with it-I'd like to get out and enjoy the cooler weather. The hot tub felt really good last night-can only imagine what it will feel like when it does get cooler outside!

Ready for the Weekend!

This is gonna be a LONG day! We are SO ready to get to the beach this afternoon! Both of us are just totally worn out from running! I even went in and laid down for about 20 minutes when I got in from work yesterday. Then after we ate supper-Jeff fixed some left-over brisket and made potato salad-we went out and reset the camera-Jordan and Kaytlynn got in the hot tub and it started raining again! It's become a daily event-but I'm not complaining!
Mom is STILL in the hospital-they now say she has gout-so I don't know if she'll go to re-hab or not.. She does NOT want us to change our plans this weekend-so we'll go on tonight -spend tomorrow on the Strand in Galveston-but we might just come back home on Saturday-depending on what's going on. Shorty now has to have cateract surgery-probally down at the VA in Houston.
Jeff has decided the sow is definately bred. I'll have to look back and see around what time she'll be due. He went to the back Doc yesterday and got the normal run-around and a new script for pain meds. He called the Work Comp manager and let her know what was going on and she assured him that his Dr. is one of the best-but he was way past his review time-which we already knew-it's normally in January! So I'm sure we'll be getting a letter in the mail shortly saying that he'll have to report downtown Houston for his review. Just another day!
Guess I'll go-still have a few things to pack and gotta get ready for work! Have a great weekend-we'll sure try to! :)

HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY!!!!!

We did it!!! We made it to 30 years! And talk about time going by fast!! It just doesn't seem possible that that much time could go past-but then when you look at your kids-adults themselves-you know that it must have!! We married so young-Jeff was 19 and I had just turned 16-Julie was born almost 2 years later-but we have each other for a best friend and can hardly stand to be away from each other for any length of time! We don't have any big plans for tonight-but we are taking Friday off from work and leaving for the beach on Thursday afternoon. We stayed at my Grandparents beach house for a few days after we got married-funny-we always migrate to the coast!
Mom is still in the hospital-they are worried about her leg now. She said she will have to have home health care when she goes home-they don't want her up on her leg at all. The bruising is pretty bad and they are afraid of blood clots. So we'll see what happens with this. Shorty has to go to Houston today to the VA for a Doc appointment-he'll ride the bus from Livingston.
I managed to get more of the garden weeded yesterday-it was SO nice outside-a cool breeze would blow through every now and then. I got 9 tomatoes, 9 broccoli, and 9 red cabbage planted. I shoveled 3 five gallon buckets of rabbit manure and added to the beds. Jeff worked on getting a hot wire strung up at his parents so we can extend the pasture a little bit for the cows. Where they normally have their garden the grass is over knee high-Ike had torn up the front of the fence and when we rebuilt it-we just moved way back the other side of the garden. So this afternoon-we'll open the gate and let them in there for a few hours. We don't quite trust them yet to stay in there-they haven't been in a hot wire fence in some time-and the calves never have been-but they learn quick to stay away! We ended the evening with a soak in the hot tub-so relaxing and what a great anniversary gift to ourselves!
Gotta go! Have a great day!

Cameras, Cows & Casinos!

Jeff-checking out the camera-Hey-do you think it's working now??

Some of the cows-why won't they stay out of the hay??

Here's the picture from Friday-don't know what was up with the site that day!!

We had just a really great day yesterday!! We drove our friends Sheila & Alfred to Sulpher. LA to pick up their truck-it had to be put in the shop while their son had it over there for work. Once we picked it up we drove the next few miles to Isle of Capri-figured we just spend a few dollars and play the slots for a minute before coming back home. Jeff & I haven't been in quite a while-we never win anything anyway! We walked around for awhile-they'd already lost the money they's brought-when we sat down to play. I put a $20 in and played $7 of it and won $480!! I was so shocked-I NEVER win anything. That was enough for me-I cashed out and was ready to go home!

We stopped in Beaumont on the way home and I got Jeff a game camera for our anniversary. He's been wanting one for awhile-His brother has been seeing some deer signs at the back of our pasture-so we hope to get some pictures of something besides us! Jeff got me a beautiful anniversary ring. We also bought ourselves 2 new fishing rods.

Mom is still in the hospital-so we'll head to Conroe in a little while to check on her. They are worried about her knees now where she fell last Sunday-I just don't know!

We've had quite a bit of rain-the sun is coming out a little now-we've got alot of outside work -including work in the garden-that really needs to get done! The yard needs to be mowed and the pastures, too. Oh, well-there's always something to do!

Ready for Cooler Weather??

I caught this picture of Jeff yesterday splitting wood-He's soaked with sweat-so I figured he's waiting for that first cool morning when we have to light a fire in the heater. Actually-we heat our house with wood-so we have to put a good supply in every year!
Mom is still in the Hospital-She is supposed to come home tomorrow. Hopefully! She still doesn't sound very good!
And of course-today is 9/11-Do remember where you were? I do-I was in surgery and woke up to the images on TV screens everywhere in the recovery room! Thanks again to all the brave people who gave their lives and prayers for all who lost loved ones!!
Have a great weekend! :)

Ready for Cooler Weather??

Mom & Curtis

Here we go again! Mom is once again in the hospital! She called us at 3:30 am yesterday morning-she was sick with a spell with her stomach. By 8:00 she was still feeling bad-but shortly after-she begin bleeding again. So I had to leave work around 11:00 and take her into the ER in Conroe. We finally got into a room at 2:00 and they began running tests. It was just as we suspected-her Diviticulitus had flared up again-although not as bad as back in July! By 6:30pm they had decided she could go home-of course Jeff and Shorty were aready on their way up there! But then the PA came back in and said the Dr. said no-she'd have to stay over night due to blood in her stool. They were still trying to get her in a room when we left to come home. Hopefully she had a good night and will come home this morning!
And Curtis fell again yesterdayand bumped his head and hit his ribs pretty hard. I haven't seen him-but Jeff said his Dad is bruised up again! He is having such a hard time, too!
Just keep us in your prayers-as we will you-We are all facing difficulties right now!
Have a great day!

Great Labor Day Weekend!!!

Jordan and the stringer of catfish he helped catch!

Me & Jeff on the jet ski's for the first time in our lives!! Thanks Duane for the help!

We had the BEST time this weekend! And it only rained once-about 4:00am on Saturday morning-and the sun came up at 7:00 just like normal! We only fished one time-didn't catch anything. We just spent the weekend hanging out with old friends and taking naps in the afternoon!! Tim's house is up now and it looks great! He's painting it a really pretty blue. Ann & Duane were down the whole time and we spent most evenings down on the beach with them. Their daughter and her husband brought down their jet ski's and we got to ride on them-a first for us! Thanks Christi and Brandon!! We had a ball! And thanks Ann for the pics!! When we got back home, we decided to take the boat to the lake-we hadn't run it in over a year! Jordan went with us. We decided to do a little fishing-and that little stinker caught 2 catfish before Jeff got his hook in the water! He caught a total of 3 and Jeff caught 2-So we had fresh catfish for supper last night! Yummy!!

We have 50% chances of rain daily now through next Monday-we need it-but this morning the weather guy is saying we have to watch for an area down the coast to develop-this is the 7 day window when we have had a hurricane the last 3 years in a row!! We DON'T need that again!!

Have a great day!!

Hot Tub & New Truck!

It took me a week-but I finally took a pic of my new truck! And got a pretty bad one of the new deck-sorry-I'll try again later!

We're heading to the beach this weekend for the long holiday-but there is a pretty good chance of rain. I just would like to go and sleep for awhile! I'm just so tired!! Ready to relax for a few days! Jeff is taking tomorrow off, too and him & Tim are going fishing! Hope they catch some!

The cows have been drivivng us crazy this week! All they do is beller constantly-so that leads us to believe they have started coming back into heat again. And our livestock trailer is up in Coldspring at Mom's. We've got to remember to bring it back home with us and get them loaded up and back to Mom's and to the bull for next years calves!!!

Have a great Labor day Weekend!!

Weekend's Gone??

Grandkids in the Hot Tub-They LOVE it and can't wait to get in after they get home from school!!

How'd that happen SO fast? Anyway-we got LOTS done here! Jeff worked ALL day Saturday on the deck-and got it finished! It looks great! I worked on cleaning the house-not that you can tell it! We are fighting a battle with the sand-and I think it's winning! We went out and ate with our friends-Sheila & Alfred and then spent some time in the hot tub-what a wonderful visit with them-catching up and just relaxing!

Yesterday was spent with continued cleaning and with Randy moving back home with us. Try putting 2 households into 1 already full one-ain't fun! He has rented out his house and decided to move back in with us for awhile. He just has no need for a 4 bedroom-2 bath house all by himself. And it just takes some of the stress off. He still has a few things to move this afternoon and has to get his major appliances out.

And I did finally get my truck-I've just been so busy-I haven't taken any pics of it or the deck or anything else around here! I did get the blue one-it's really pretty! We also have gotten a little cool front through here!! It should be about 65 here in the morning-but still up to the 90's during the day-so we still have to run the a/c for awhile! I can't wait to turn it OFF & open up the windows!!

Have a great day!!!

Phase 2-Complete!!

OK-Let's get this thing off the trailer now! (Didn't we just put it on there a few days ago?)

Easy does it-Is it really gonna fit in that space?

OK-Now it's in there-Now what??

I tried to post this yesterday morning-but my internet was giving me MAJOR fits-so let's try this again! We did pick up the hot tub on Thursday-met some really nice people! Jeff had to work on Saturday-a few hours turned into a 10 1/2 hr day! So Sunday he got to work on it! He decided to tear out part of the deck he had already built and redesigned it! Then he got Ricky, Randy, Jacob and Justin to help him get it in and leveled up. Thanks again, guys! Between Randy, Jeff and Tim-they got the pump to finally come on and it works great! I have to find a place that sells the filters-we only have 1 at the moment! We still have to find out what's wrong with the heater-hopefully it's something as simple as a corroted connection. We didn't get in it last night-way too much lightning going on! We did put the cover on it-even though it's in pretty bad shape-we are worried the little ones will try to get in it when no one is home. As soon as we finish the deck-we can put up the railing and be able to keep them off the deck.

I'll be waiting on a call about my truck today-can't wait to see if they can find me one! Have a great day!

First day of School!!

Jordan, Hailey and Cayden-ready to get to school-back packs and all! Look at those smiles-can you tell they were excited??!!

Well-the first day is over! Hailey made it through her first day of 4th grade and James Street Elementary survived a full day of Jordan and Cayden! Actually they had a wonderful time on their first day of Kindergarten and they plan to return tomorrow! Jordan almost missed his bus-he said he was playing on the computer in another class. Cayden said she learned how to play with Playdough and how to sleep! I'll take all 3 to school starting tomorrow-I just hope they decide to get out of the truck when we get there!

I'm trying to get a new truck, too. The dealership is looking for a blue one-but with the Cash for Clunkers program-stocks are very low. They even starting looking for a red one today. The nearest blue one is in Temple. They seem to think they can get one in for me tomorrow-sure hope they can find a blue one-they sure are pretty-Oh-it's a Dodge Ram quad cab.

We did get the hot tub last week and Jeff and the guys got it in its' place in the deck yesterday! The kids are having a ball-they played in it before they got the pump going! The heater isn't working-Jeff wants to run some tests on it-but it feels good-even being cool at the moment. We all got in last night-Randy stayed in it for hours-he even drained the water heater for the house into it!! We still have alot of work to do on the deck-I'll try to post some pics of the hot tub going in tomorrow morning-I tried this morning-but my internet was acting crazy!

Have a great evening!

Phase 2-Complete!!

Phase 2-Work In Progress

Well-the deck is going up! Jeff has the frame up and the deck boards down as far as the door and water heater. The water heater will have to be drained, disconnected and raised up to the level of the deck-we're gonna just put it up there and build a little shed-with a vent on top-to close it in. And the best news of all-we found a Hot Tub! We will take a truck load of guys with us this evening and go into Houston to pick it up! It is 7'8" square and they said it took 6 guys to move it into the backyard. We really didn't want to put up many more of the deck boards until we got a hot tub so we'd know where to put all the extra bracing underneath where the tub will be. So here we go-another adventure!!

We have a busy day today! Alana will have to take me to work-her car engine overheaded-so now she's without a way to go. She needs to go get Jordan a haircut and buy groceries. She'll pick me back up @ 4:00-with Jordan, Hailey and Cayden-so we can go meet their teachers and drop off their school supplies. Boy-are their worlds gonna change in a few days!! Then we have to rush on back home so we can hook the trailer up and get into Cleveland to pick Ricky up from work and the dollies to move the hot tub and head on into Houston.

We've been getting rain showers-some heavy-almost everyday since the weekend-but it is still very dry. We are already feeding hay to the cows-but the grass seems to be turning green again with the rain. Jeff has to work again this Saturday-inventory-so we won't make the trip to the beach-maybe next weekend! Some of the hens seem to be coming out of their molt-so we should start getting a few more eggs. I haven't walked out to the hog pens in a few weeks-I'm sure the feeder pigs are really growing-the biggest ones' days are getting numbered-I'm sure! The first really cold front we get and Jeff will be ready to make sausage!

Have a great day!

Great Weekend!

The stringer of Gaff-Top all the guys caught-the boys caught some of them,too. And Jeff caught a nice shark-it was big enough to keep the kids out of the water for awhile!

We had a GREAT weekend at the beach! And I almost talked myself out of going! I was just so tired-I didn't even want to make the 2 hour drive. Jeff and I talked almost the whole way and the time flew by! And the beach was just beautiful-the water was calm and just so peaceful! We walked down and talked to Duane and Ann until dark-the builders put the walls and roof on their house this week-it looks SO good!

On Saturday-Tim and Candy and kids-including girlfriends and friends-came down-they put the awning up and we all but stayed down on the beach all day. The guys fished and the kids just hung out in the water.It was so warm-I went out a few times and Candy even went out once. Tom, Angie and Dusty came down, too. It was her first time to come down and they stayed til it was getting dark. Everyone else headed back into Winnie to the hotel rooms they had rented.Tim and crew came back yesterday morning-but nearly everyone was so sunburned-they really didn't want to spend anymore time in the sun! They went over to Galveston and spent a little time over on the Island before coming home.

When we got home-Jeff got to working a little on the deck-It is all level now and ready to start putting the joists in. We got the banana trees dug up and transplanted. Jeff had to start working 10 hour days today-possibly 12 hour shifts. He has to get up at 3:45 am to get ready for work-Yuck! And still no luck on finding a hot tub-but I'm not giving up! Have a great day!

Family & Farm Update

Ok-Let's see-Jeff's dad is still in the hospital in Conroe-Hopefully he will get to come home today! We went to see him last night and he did seem better. He will be going home with a new nebulizer and the wheel chair has finally been delivered. They are also going to get some help at home for Henrietta with him. What a blessing!! And Bubba did NOT have a heart attack-they don't know what happened. Kelley was able to get him into a Doc in Conroe-Monday he had a stress test-it was OK-Yesterday he had the echo-don't know the results and today he will have the heart cath done. His blood pressure was lower yesterday-but still a little high with all the meds he's on.
We've been getting a little rain on & off! None yesterday,though. The hens have all but quit laying-might get an egg or two everyday. The calves are growing like weeds-They had me so tickled the other evening-they were playing-pushing on each other and running around with their tails up in the air! Just too much fun to watch! It's so hot-the rabbits are just miserable! Some days they hardly eat at all!
Still no luck on finding a hot tub-but I'm in no hurry-the right one will pop up! I just don't want to have to drive all the way to the other side of Houston into neighborhoods I know nothing about!
Have a great day!

Phase 1-Complete!

Shed still attached to the house

Almost in its new place! Can you find the nosey cow in the background?

Boy-it looks different now!!

With all the craziness this weekend-we did get something done! The shed is no longer attached to the house! It wasn't easy-and the propane line got broken-so we had just enough hot water to take our shower last night, So-Jeff will have to stop on his way home and get the stuff to repair it-I can't cook, either!

Jeff's Dad is back in the hospital-having trouble breathing again. Hopefully they will get to come home soon! They had to take my older brother to the ER on Friday-his blood pressure was off the charts-they thought he had a heart attack-but now are saying they don't know-He has to have a stress test today or tomorrow. Kaytlynn's party was Saturday night and Jeff took me to dinner afterwards in Livingston. We went to Conroe yesterday to see Jeff's dad and went by Lowe's and picked up the deck material-in the RAIN!!! We got some here-but it is so dry-it just soaked up! Then-Jeff got stuck in the SAND in the yard trying to back the truck and trailer up into the back yard.

Gotta get to work-I hear it's gonna be a crazy one around there this week!

Phase 1-Complete!

Phase 1-Complete!

Happy Birthday, Kaytlynn (& me)!!-Yesterday!

What a busy-crazy week! It went by So fast-I didn't even realize I hadn't posted anything this week-although nothing much is going on-Does that make any sense?? After working for hours on Monday-Jeff, Randy and Tim FINALLY got the satelitte back up and running-it was the coax under the house the whole time!
We have decided that instead of taking a weekend trip for our anniversary-and spending way too much money on a hotel, etc. ,that we would spend the money on something we could enjoy anytime we wanted. We are going to put in a hot tub at the back of our house.We have an old shed built on to our house that we have used for a utility room for years-thanks Alfred for helping us build it all those years ago!! It only has the freezer, meat grinder and LOTS of junk in it now. So the freezer will be moved back into the house in the new utility room and the shed will be taken off and moved against the back fence in the yard and set up for Jeff to do his butchering in! YEAH! Everything will be in one place!
Next, we will extend the back porch with a deck that runs the length of the house. We have a bedroom window that opens onto that new deck and we have a brand new exterior door in the barn that we bought for the beach house last year-2 weeks before the storm. So that door will be put in so we can walk right out of the bedroom and in to the new hot tub! Sounds like a plan, huh!
I have a few leads on hot tubs-just waiting to hear back from the owners. Jeff had to work again today and Randy is supposed to come haul off Alana's old van from the shop. Kaytlynn's birthday party is tonight at her other MeMe's-she has a big pool-so the pool party is ON!! We have a chance of rain this evening-we really need it-but I don't want it to rain on her party!
I'll take pictures as the work on the house begins-I know it's gonna look SO different when that shed come off! It blocks my view from the kitchen window to the left side of the yard and we put the garden window above the sink after the shed was put up-so it'll open up my world view from the kitchen!
Have a great weekend!!!

Kinda Slow Weekend

Heh-that's the way it went. I was off on Friday-the last one-we go back to regular hours today! I just don't like 10 hour days. Anyway-I went into Conroe on Friday and got some shopping done-didn't make it everywhere I had planned-I just plain ran out of time! Then that evening while watching TV-Jeff decided to adjust the DTV-and somehow zapped the eye-we believe. Our setup is SO old-he tried to get it back in alignment-no luck. Jeff had to work on Saturday and was gonna try to fix it when he got in-but my Aunt Linda called and they wanted to go to the beach-so when Jeff got in from work-we went and picked them up in Tarkington and headed down there! I'm really glad we went-the grass wasn't looking so good. We gave it 2 good soakings-it doesn't looklike we'll be getting much rain-hopefully onee of those sea breeze showers will kick up!
We came on back home around noon and Jeff went to work on the satelite-still no luck. Randy called and has a new setup coming for us-so we've had no TV since Friday-but we really don't watch it much-it's just on for the noise and the news! We did finally watch a wonderful movie last night-Fireproof-it's a really good Christian film! We just never take the time to sit and watch movies.
We moved the cows back into the pasture here-since last weeks rains-the grass is growing nicely again! We will need to brush hog the front pasture-maybe this evening-it has lots of weeds poking up in it. I'm still working on getting the garden cleaned up-it's coming along slowly-I have 2 and a half beds cleaned out now-I really need to rake and shovel rabbit manure and top them off with it!
Have a great day!!!

Vacation Pics #3

The new outside shower at the beach! We still need to get a curtain for the opening and I need to finish decorating it! Cold water only this time!

5 of the 6 Gaff top that were caught on Saturday-Gotta get that clothes line painted!

Jason & LeAnn-I do believe she out fished him!!

I think this will be the last of the pics that I'll post from last week. We had such a great week! Anyway-when I got home from work yesterday, Jeff had butchered 3 rabbits. I was wondering what I was gonna fix for supper-but mystery solved when there is fresh meat in the kitchen sink! I lightly browned one, then smothered it in gravy to finish cooking-good eatin'! One went in the freezer-it was kinda big- so I'll have to slow cook it and Jeff's Mom wanted one-so we later took it up to them. The hens have all but quit laying-it's just so hot and dry! We checked out the fence across the road yesterday and will move the cows up there this afternoon. Rainbow somehow got out last time-but we couldn't find anyplace that the fence was down. There is a little grass up there and a roll of hay that they didn't touch last time they were in that pasture. The grandkids helped us clean up the garden a little-they love throwing the old cucumbers over the fence to the chickens and cows-Jordan can throw a pretty good way, so he had the cows really searching for them! I got all the grass out of one of the beds and started on another-I may have to get the lawn mower and weedeater in there to get it back under control!

Well-I need to go get ready for work-Have a great day!

More Vacation Pics!

Jeff & Tim with the speckled trout they caught. They were both the same size-but Tim's was a little meatier!

Jeff, Tim & Jason seined at the beach and caught a LOT of bait shrimp! They weren't quite big enough to eat-but were perfect to fish with!

Jeff-in Jason's boat- with his big speckled trout!

Well, we made it through the first day back at work! Mine went very quickly in fact and Jeff said his did, too! I'm still working 10 hr days this week and my supplemental pay sheet was turned in yesterday for all the extra time I have worked-around 75 hours-HEH! Our 30th anniversary is Sept. 15th and we are trying to decide what we want to do. We have checked into Fredricksburg and might go there-but we had such a good time at the beach last week-we really thought about just spending some time there. But we would only spend the weekend working! And since it is such a big milestone in our lives-we really want to do something special. The main problem-other than money!-is time. School will be in full swing by then-but my boss has already told me I can have some time off. We'll probably take a Friday and Monday off-but nothing's set yet!

Jeff had fish fried when I got home yesterday-I had him grill some for me-they were SO good! We put several bags in the freezer on Saturday from the ones that were caught. Finally-fish in the freezer again! We had bought some table shrimp right off the boat last week and froze them,too-so now we can have fish and shrimp down at the beach again!

We are back to needing rain again! We have only had little hit and miss showers lately and it's getting dry. I haven't even paid any attention to the garden lately-it's nothing but weeds-although there are still a few tomatoes trying out there. I have been thinking a little on a fall garden and what I might want to get planted. Gonna have to get on that one soon!

Have a great day! :)

Great Vacation!

Jeff & Tim putting down the pallet of grass we bought-you couldn't believe how much a little bit of green in the yard makes the place look SO much better! We had such a pretty yard before the storm!

The flounder I caught and the 3 croakers we caught early in the week! I was SO excited-I haven't caught a flounder in a long time!

Jeff coming out of the new shed-we still had LOTS of stuff piled around-it looks much better now-still have to finish that painting, though!

We had SUCH a great week!! We did have lots of rain-about 5 inches on Saturday evening after we got settled in-then nearly that much again on Thursday evening with scattered rain showers through the week, but we really didn't let it stop us much! We got the shed finished-minus the paint due to the rain-and still need something permanent for the roof. It does have a least 2 coats of white-but needs a few more. We did get some fishing in-better at some times than others! We rode the ferry on Tuesday and went into Galveston for awhile. Tim & Candy came down on Wednesday-David's girlfriend had to be back home in the Woodlands by 4:00 on Thursday for work-so they took the kids home and then drove back-Bless their hearts-that's way too many miles for me! Then early on Friday morning-Jason & LeeAnn came down with their boat and the fishing really got serious! They had a hard time finding bait on Friday-so Saturday they got after it and caught 3 BIG speckled trout! Tim and me went with them that evening and Tim caught a big one too. They started catching really big gafftop, too. I caught a hardhead. We were fishing several of the reefs in the bay and had a wonderful time!

All the animals here seemed to have grown a foot while we were gone! Jeff will definitely have to butcher rabbits this week! The turkeys surely are a pair-one is now alot bigger than the other. We took the hen away from the bitties-they are completely feathered out now. The calves are growing very nicely! Alana and Ricky did a good job of taking care of everything! Thanks!!

Boy, is it hard to get ready to go back to work this morning! But we were both ready to get back to it this morning. Jeff had stumped his toe on a brick yesterday and scraped it pretty bad. I knew it wasn't gonna feel too good in his steel-toe work boots this morning. When he left for work he said it wasn't just the boots-he'd only worn flip-flops all week!-but that his work clothes hurt him everywhere they touched him!!

Since my internet is SO slow-it'll take a few days to post my pics-so stay tuned for more fish pictures-some are really great!! Have a great day-gotta go get ready for work!

Happy Birthday, Jeff!!

Jeff doing one of his favorite things-tending to his cows!

Today is Jeff's 49th birthday!!! My vacation starts today and Jeff's tomorrow! We'll be leaving in the morning for the beach. The grandkids have been in VBS all week and the end party is tonight-so we'll go and see their plays and songs.

It RAINED yesterday! It started to sprinkle when I got in from work and rained steady for nearly an hour! We got almost 1/2 inch and the weather radar is showing more getting close this morning! I told Jeff that it looks like we might have a wet vacation-but we need the rain SO bad-it's OK. If it starts to rain too much at the beach-we can always come home. We have LOTS to do around here, too!

The calves are doing great. The little heifer was really feeling good this morning-running all through the pasture-tail straight up in the air! The turkeys are growing-but are still very scared of every movement. One of them is quite a bit bigger than the other-maybe we will end up with a pair! Alana and family will feed for us while we are gone and are in daily contact with us. hehe You would have to know Alana to understand that comment!

Well-it is getting a little dark and windy here now and of course-I have to go into Porter to look for some bamboo fencing we are wanting for the beach. Sure don't want to complain about the rain! Have a great week!

Productive & Fun Weekend!

Jeff & Tim finishing up on the door of the new shed. We'll put the siding up next weekend.

They took a break on Saturday for awhile and we all went down to the beach. They seined for some bait-didn't catch much-but did catch a big crab. No fish and it was really hot-we went back top the camper and took a nap.

We had a really work/relaxing weekend! Tim & Candy made it to the beach before us on Friday-and after some looking around-came up with a MUCH better setup for us-THANKS!!! The way we had the trailer parked on the lot-we were NOT getting any of our wonderful sea breeze. So--they hooked up to it and Candy & me took everything down and then Jeff got it backed between some of the remaining pilings-almost TOO nerve wracking to watch! There is about a foot on 1 side and 6 inches on the other-but we have our wonderful breeze back-and with this heat-believe me-you want it!

Then on Saturday morning-they got busy on the shed-revised again! We decided to go with only half the size of the original plan. After putting the trailer in facing the road-it left the backside-where the shed was going-completely on the slab. So-with the shed cut down to half size-it gives us a patio area behind the camper! It is in the morning sun-but will be shaded in the late afternoon. The front side will once again have a porch swing-Jeff bought me a new one last week-but didn't tell me. He didn't bring it with us 'cause he knew there wasn't a place to hang it yet! The gazebo is still helping to shade the front of the camper and serves it's purpose wonderfully well to have someplace to get out of the unrelenting HOT sun!

The calves are doing great! I didn't get out in the pasture with them yesterday-but they seem to be getting to know each other-can't wait until they start running throught the pasture together playing-so much fun to watch! The garden is gone-When it cools off a little-I plan to get out there and plant a little more-get some tomatoes in where they will end up being covered by the greenhouse come winter time.

Have a great week! And stay cool!

Another New Calf!!

Momma Cow finally had her calf-a HEIFER!! She was born around 3:00 yesterday afternoon. She is close to the most active one we have ever had-only 4 hours old and she was running and bucking in the pasture-SO cute to watch!

The hen and her chicks are doing well-I just wish we could put her back on the ground so they could scratch around, but I can't take the chance of something eating them! The 2 turkeys are growing-but they are just SO skitish-I'm scared they are gonna have a stroke when someone walks by their cage.

We are heading down to the beach some time today-don't know how long Jeff will have to work. I have to go into Cleveland and pick up a few groceries and buy birthday presents. This is our busy month for family birthdays-8th-Curtis; 10th-Hailey S.?; 13th-Kip; 15th-Bubba; 16th-Brandy; 17th-Jeff; 20th-Cayden; 24th-Randy;31st-Jamie & Kelley-Then a week later on Aug. 7th-Kaytlynn & me-I don't think I left anyone out! Anyway-this is the only day I have to pick out gifts-So I have to get it all done this morning! We leave for vacation next Friday-It's the week that the whole school district is closed down for the summer, so we'll head on down to the beach. Don't know if we'll stay the whole week or not-just depends on what's going on here and the weather. It is still just SOOOO hot here! 100 degrees plus EVERY day and little or no rain in sight. Our pasture was starting to look a little better after the rain the other day-but it's getting crunchy again.

Have a great weekend!