A few things plus a November 2013 Corsicana trip

The weekend has come and gone. So sad. 

If you ever wonder where children learn to be tattle tales, look to their parents. Parents can be really obnoxious tattle tales. I don't like a tattle taler. They aren't cool at all.

Winter has decided to rear its head in very early November. It's bitter outside. 

The time change is kicking people's butts today. 

The Hallmark channel is showing Christmas movies constantly at the present time. And even though most of them are not good, I'm very pleased with their decision.

Thanksgiving is coming so fast and then Christmas will be here! What are we gonna do???

Now that I got all the paperwork out of the way, lets read about the trip some people had last fall to Texas. 

November 1, 2013

Maggie wanted to make a trip over here and this was the best weekend so Maggie, Olivia and John decided to make a quick trip over. Addy, Maisy and Maya also decided to come. 

Maya ALWAYS gets shotgun. 

But she really thinks she could drive better that John. 

These two are always relegated to the back.

There was a ton of water in the pond and by the tree, and the dogs really enjoyed that.

We went to Old Mexican Inn for dinner. The sunset was fab.

This picture is awesome. 

Maggie took this epic picture of the farm on this trip. 

We got ice cream and went for a ride and we saw an owl, a barred owl to be exact. We also saw a heron that was sitting in a tree which was weird. There wasn't much else to see on the ride so we went home and went to sleep. We also made a fire. 

Addy spent most of the night barking for no reason. It wasn't annoying at all. Also the timers on some of the lights were weird on some lights and they came on at 5 AM.

November 2, 2013

Today the weather is perfect. It's a little cold but it's warm in the sun so it's not bad. We had a lot of things to cram into one day so we had CSB for breakfast and then started doing things. First we had to find a place for the owl box (in the tree by the gray barn) then we had to get things to hang the owl box from Home Depot. John put the box in the tree and me and Maggie held the ladder and watched the dogs and the horses. 

We threw the football and kicked the football and flew the kites and let the dogs swim and got something for lunch because we had no food in the house. 

Addy the kite flying dog. She looks so pumped. 

Maya might have become airborne if a kite was attached to her. Then she would fly across the land and be super Maya. That's what she's always wanted. 

We hung out for the rest of the daylight hours.... 

A blue October sky in Corsicana. Nothing better. 

Crawfish from the pond.

Another great pic.

Ugh Buster.

and then built a fire and got something to eat for din din. 

On the way to get din din we saw an owl fly out of the big pasture and into a tree by the road. After we came back the owl was sitting on a post between the pastures

We ate dinner and then bathed Addy (after much deliberation) then decided we should probably bathe as well and then got ice cream and went on a ride. We saw the same owl from last night but nothing else. Maggie saw a mouse. Then we went to sleep early and got an extra hour because of the time change. 

November 3, 2013

Leaving today and it's so sad. The weather is great and we all woke up at 9 because it felt like 10. Also because Addy was barking. We're getting everything ready to go and enjoying the morning and then we're off. It has been the most perfect fall weekend ever. See ya in the spring Corsicana. 

John, Olivia, Maggie, Addy, Maisy and Maya

I'm down for the count like a tree in a tornado.

Goodnight to most people.

But not to the tattle talers.... 

Coming up

Gonna be posting some old Corsicana journal entries soon.

Come back and check em out!

The week that was and a Thursday evening with the Herrocks

I'm currently somewhat uninterested in blogging. It usually ebbs and flows and it's presently ebbing. I just don't have anything interesting to talk about so I'll give a few bullet points and get out.

Emma came over and cooked Tagine last Friday night. 

We went by to see the boys last Sunday night.

William did some cool moves with my umbrella.

James....

Is all about getting his hands on the phone.

What's your problem? Gimme the phone!

Imma bout to make this cake.
Just did.

Due to the tornado we've gathered quite a bit of firewood in the last week and we are now chainsaw owners. We saw with chains...well..John does at least. The other evening he and I went back to get more wood...and don't forget...wood is heavy, and I had picked up some and remembered it was heavy and then got distracted as he was sawing and I went over to look at this oak that had fallen. These pictures don't come close to depicting the enormity of this tree. And I started thinking about how people call oaks mighty and strong. Well, I've decided that's just not the case. In the last few weeks since the tornado, I've seen oak trees laid down on their side all over town. And while I love an oak tree, they aren't so sturdy when faced with a very large wind. That's just a fact.  

This particular tree is so huge I just can't explain it. I guess I should've had someone stand beside it to emphasize how big it really is. 

Super tall and has so many branches. Jared said he bet there was 20 cords of wood in it. 

This hole it left is about 4 feet deep.

But those aren't very deep roots for a tree that size. That said in my most expert tree person voice.

I don't have a deep philosophical discussion in my head about all this. I just know if a big wind hits an oak at just the right time and angle and trajectory, that thing is gonna tump and go kerplunk. It's a terrible thing to lose a tree this size, but in no time flat that tree went down. It never ceases to amaze me when I see something like this. 

It rained in the night/morning on Wednesday. That matters to this final story.

Yesterday John and I discussed whether or not it had rained enough to make the woods muddy and we both decided it had not. On Thursday afternoon John and I went back to the woods to cut some cypress rounds for me, not sure what I'm gonna do with them, but I wanted them just in case. The girls had ordered our pizza and we were gonna zip into the woods, cut cypress and zip out. And we almost did. Almost. 

We found a piece of cypress and John cut what I wanted. FYI even small cypress rounds are heavy. After the cutting we made it back to the truck and then John decided to go cut a few pieces of wood before we left. He's got the chainsaw fever....then I got a call from Caitlin who informed me they were locked out of the house. All three college educated daughters had gone to get the pizza with not one house key amongst them. I then told John our college educated daughters were locked out and we had to leave, so he gathered his stuff and we hopped in the truck and started to back out. It was then we immediately became stuck in a medium fashion. I say medium because there was still some hope we could get out with a little bit of ingenuity. So John told me to get in the driver's seat and he went to the front of the truck to try to push us out. It was then that we became a little more than medium stuck. So I called the girls and told them we were stuck and they felt really sorry for themselves because they couldn't get in the house to eat their supper while we were stuck in the woods. 

While I was having this conversation John was looking around for some flat pieces of wood to wedge under the tire for traction. Once he had everything in place he went to the front of the truck and said, "Put it in 2 and hit the gas." I immediately said, "Isn't 2 gonna make it go forward?" (Knowing it would but I asked anyway.) Now John doesn't have too many blonde moments, but that sure was one. And he said, "Yeah put it in reverse." Thank you to me for not killing him. It still stuns me. 

So I put it in reverse and hit the gas and the wheels started spinning and he yelled, "Stop! You're smokin the tread off my tires!" That statement, while I was doing what he told me to do, wasn't annoying at all. Nor was the fact that we had been stuck for about 10 minutes and the girls had not called or come. So I called Caitlin back to discuss it and her response was, "You were serious?!" No not at all...not serious at all. So I hung up...not annoyed in the least. By then it was time again to "smoke the tread" off John's tires while doing exactly what he was telling me to do. And sure enough he said it again. And I thought, can I put the car in 2 this time? 

After a few more attempts to be free, the wood under the tires, plus John's pushing got the truck unstuck. As we were leaving the woods I called to tell the girls we were unstuck....don't know why. And that's when I found out they were STILL at home...their only concern was their inability to get inside the home. For some reason...that sent me over the edge. BUT. THIS was the phone call that guilted Caitlin into ending their pizza party in our carport and come help the people who gave them breath of life. 

Us and God of course.

Exhibit A.

While talking to our eldest I accidentally left out the part about us being unstuck and on our way home. I waited until I was sure they were IN THE CAR and DRIVING AWAY FROM THE HOUSE. Then I told her.

And that was Thursday evening at our house. 

Today it's a blustery chilly day in Louisiana. 

Lets all go get stuck in the woods somewhere. 

A Winnie the Pooh moment

The first time I saw these photos I thought they were delightful. The more I looked at them, the more they reminded me of something. And then it hit me. Winnie the Pooh. William certainly looks like Christopher Robin here, which makes Olivia Winnie the Pooh in this scenario. But like I told her, "Winnie the Pooh is wonderful. Who doesn't love Winnie the Pooh?" 

Lets read some Winnie the Pooh quotes and sigh...

"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever."

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you."

"A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference." 

"It's always useful to know where a friend and relation is, whether you want him or whether you don't."

"And by and by Christopher Robin came to the end of things, and he was silent, and he sat there, looking out over the world, just wishing it wouldn't stop."

"Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

"His dress told her nothing but his face told her things she was glad to know."

"Friendship," said Christopher Robin, "is a very comforting thing to have."

"We will be friends until forever, just you wait and see."