Hello. It was supposed to get to 80* here today but it got to at least 83*, which is believable, since I went outside earlier and had to take off my jacket. I guess you got all the wind, Lil0. This is the first day in a while that it's been still here. I hope you don't get any damage. Any big trees near your house?
Kat, I wonder if you may have cracked some of the little bones in your foot. But it's good to hear you are getting better and you seem to be taking care of it. I hope you don't overdo though.
Kris, take a deep breath. Lol.
Robin, I have to laugh about Vinnie barking at the door instead of using the doggie door. I'm glad I can be entertained by other people's pets and not have to take care of any myself. My niece has an old dog with dementia. (Her animals are so pampered they live extraordinarily long lives). The dog goes to the door constantly, wanting to go out and do her business but when she gets outside she stands there looking around, as though she forgot what she was doing there. It goes on and on and on.
Poirot, it sounds like winter has probably settled in around you. I don't know how you face that each year. Yes, definitely be safe rather than sorry! Seems like the butcher shop would do something about the ice. If that entrance is in the shade, they must know about it.
After sleeping over 2 1/2 hours yesterday afternoon, I went to bed at 1:15 a.m. and slept until 8:15 am. The past few weeks have been unusually busy for me, which is probably a good thing. I could easily become a hermit. I had to get out of my comfort zone to get a ride to the ceremony on Sat. with a lady who is a casual acquaintance. People think I live in the middle of nowhere but the place we were going makes my location seem like 5th Avenue! It's all on private property but the ranches over in that area are huge, and the pastures around the river are rugged, with big, rocky hills and in some places, impenetrable brush, trees, etc., similar to here but more extreme.
The ceremony centered around a Texas Ranger who was killed by Indians back in the 1850s, when this place was a significant frontier Army camp in Texas. They never built a real fort because of the Civil War. There are some graves and a couple of monuments, and just recently they've had some people come in to uncover the foundations of a few rock buildings. The property was owned by a reputed "outlaw" (murderer/cattle thief), who married into one of the families who owned much of the land in that area. My grandmother came out of this family. There have been books written about this supposed outlaw but accurate information has been hard to come by, since all the people in the area were tight-lipped for generations, after the man was arrested and put in the tiny, primitive jail and chained to the wall, then during the night Vigilantes came in and shot and killed him. There's been a lot of mystery surrounding the story. Some are still trying to put the pieces together. Most of the researchers now believe that the man was not a murderer/thief but rather that the neighboring ranchers were envious of his success and trying to put him out of business but he knew some of them were in the Vigilantes (because he had previously been one of them) and was about to name them so they silenced him. I guess we'll never know for certain and it's not of much interest to anyone except those of us who have family connections to the area and the story. There is a wonderfully preserved ranch home, built by the "outlaw" on the property. His grave, and a a couple of others are out behind the house. The meeting on Saturday was by invitation only. I'm guessing there were around 30 people present.
The most exciting part for me was crossing that river. I was nervous about it because my niece and I had been taken across a few years ago by the lady who owned the property then (she's now deceased). We weren't prepared for driving down a steep path cut through the river bank and driving right through the water. It scared both of us but apparently the people who live around there think nothing of it. So the lady I was with Saturday had never driven across it before but she had lived on the other side of the river for most of her life and had ridden horses across it. She seems to have nerves of steel. Nothing gets her excited. As we were coming back across it on our way out, we got out of the water okay but then the road on the other side was muddy and we got stuck! After making several unsuccessful attempts, she switched her truck to 4wd and still couldn't get it going, so I was getting uneasy. She never said a word or gave any indication of concern. Finally, she backed down into the river and got a bit of a running start and made it through the muddy spot. It was nearly dark when I got home and I'd had enough excitement for the week. I hope I can stay home this week. Lots I need to do before my son's family, and my daughter come next week.
