A Glimpse in time...

...Wrapped in a nutshell....

 We were Texas bound June 1, 2012 and it was a bittersweet time.

I was vacating my "forever home" ~ for the unknown.

May 29, 2012

We were giving up the only lifestyle we had known...

for the "Promised Land"...

To be close to our Son and his soon to be wife.

Jobs with security and consistent pay...and Grand-babies!

An EASY and fulfilling life!

Besides...it was Texas! Home to Cowboys, right?

Balderdash!

We ventured out of the city, further and further each weekend...

in search of a world similar to what we were used to!

To no avail....

In those parts...those who own a "ranch", as they call it...

are little 2-5 acre parcels tucked into sprawling neighborhoods.

My Cowboy was getting 'soft'.  And grouchy. And sad. 

And...yep..Lazy!

Callouses were disappearing and the dusty cowboy boots parked at the doorway....

just kept gathering more and more dust! City Dust! 

(totally different than working dust!)

His saddles hung on the garage walls...

sadly...

I'd catch him every so often out there dusting them..

gingerly and meticulously applying leather oil...

...and I'm pretty sure...

I could hear him whispering to them...

promising them the warmth of the rounded horse's back to be cinched to...

and an eager, jean clad Cowboy butt sitting upon them...

Promising them that someday... 

they would be experiencing the rugged wilds, the rush of chasing cows, 

the satisfaction of a long days hard work. 

...I'm pretty sure...

I SO loved to garden....

I never once had the chance to get my fingers in the dirt!

Nor dig my barefeet in the grass...

Never to be graced with blossoms and veggies...

that I nurtured into life...

May 29, 2012

"You can lead a horse to water....but you can't make 'em drink"

...

"Can't teach an old dog new tricks".

..

Well.....I reckon those two phrases of wisdom certainly applied to us!

A lot of changes came for us in San Antonio,Texas that we just could never get used to.

Here are only a FEW!

Wayyyyyyy too many people!

(and truthfully? Not the friendliest bunch we've ever came across!)

Wayyyyyyy too much humidity!

(Being 'sticky' 24/7 wears you down! It adds to the already prevalent crankiness~quite easily)

Wayyyyyyy too costly!

(Just because there are a lot of jobs to be had, does not mean they pay more than minimum wage, including government (Keith's job) and Texas education system (Mine at a college) yet everything there, except gasoline, was more expensive than we were used to!)

The long awaited for wedding in August was beautiful. 

There was friends & family from all over the country.

Four days were filled with lots of fun, laughter and food! 

The only sad note of that time, was my Dad was not there to celebrate his ultimate dream...

to see Chad finally get married!

And my older sister, who had just passed away the month prior, 

could not share in this beautiful time as she had planned.

There were 'tough' times for us, from the moment we arrived in Texas.

Truthfully? The WHOLE time.

Emotionally.

We had our home rented out to a young couple with a brand new baby.

They had hopes to someday buy it.

So half our mortgage was paid. We had to pay the other.

We both got jobs with benefits and retirement.

On opposite sides of the massive city. Traffic is horrendous!!

Some of our favorite food staples were not available there.

And shockingly...cuts and quality of beef was very sub-par!  

Mexican cuisine and BBQ are #1 on the states mandatory menu!

(the Mexican food is Tex-Mex....which is way different than anything we've eaten before~and not our cup of tea)

(smoked/BBQ brisket? Where we come from, brisket is turned into hamburger! Not a savored menu staple!)

Life plugged along....

ever so slowly....

Our brains began to wither...

The work ethic in "normal" jobs, was NOT what we were used to!

There is nothing ethical about doing nothing!

We desperately missed our home...our lifestyle.

We were becoming more and more despondent.

We met no one that we could relate to, sit and have a cup of coffee with, never felt "at home"!

More like ducks out of water.

We were withering away...mentally, physically and relationship wise.

and the last thing I wanted in life was to be buried in Texas!!!

In October, a young vibrant co-worker of mine committed suicide.

The ultimate shock! 

My world became even worse in Texas!

A week later, Jessica's husband committed suicide too!

The spiral just seemed to be going downward fast and getting out of control.

Going to work was more of a chore by the day.

Spending 8 hours a day as Assistant to the Dean of Arts & Sciences, 

meant nothing because she was an extremely intelligent, diligent and independent woman!

She didn't really need me! 

My brain and my butt were idle 99% of the time.

....Yielding to more time to ponder and dwell on how much I hated it there....

Then.............

***

January 4th, 2013...

at  1 a.m. (3 a.m. Texas time)...

The phone call comes...

***

"Your house is on fire!!"

***

The baby had awaken the Mom...oh so thankfully!!!!

She saw a spark on the back wall.

They scrambled and were able to get themselves and a few belongings out.

The Volunteer Fire Dept. arrived 20 minutes later.

They fought it until 10 a.m. (noon TX time).

It was 110 yrs old with all kinds of nooks and crannies that kept them hopping.

January 4, 2013

January 4, 2013

So much for that young couple ever buying it!
Who would?
We settled with the insurance company at the depreciated amount as we had no intentions....
at that time...
of ever moving back.
 We paid off the mortgage.
The neighboring farmer wanted to buy it, as it was part of his families original homestead.
Not to rebuild. Just to have the land back in the family.
And not at a price we were willing to let it go for.
Another young couple came along and thought they would like to buy.
They would rebuild it back to what it once was.
There is very little ground in this country for sale, so this was their chance!
And their price was more to our liking. 

April 28th, they called and backed out.
We were to close the deal April 30th.

The stars must have been aligned perfectly for us!

May 1, this county posted a position opening, which Cowboy would qualify for.
It was in our tiny town's shop!
He applied, flew up for the interview on May 30, operated their large equipment...
came out to see our "home" for the first time....
...and while sitting, gazing at the devastation, they called!
 Could he start work on June 24th?
Of course he had to call me...
My answer... "Well DUH!!! Of course I want to go "home"! 
So...by the time he got back to Texas on June 2nd...he walks into the house...
90% of the house was packed and ready!!
We each gave our 2 weeks notice.
Luckily...since we had no "home" to come home to, the neighboring farmer offered us his bunkhouse.
Not much of a place...but we didn't care.
The grandkids from California came, as planned the month prior, on June 12...
 and despite the fact that everything was packed, we had a wonderful time together!
They left Saturday the 15th.
We were scheduled to pack up on the 16th and head out the 17th.

As our luck would have it....
Friday the 14th....I found that our bank account had been hacked into!
Not good when you are about to head down the road and need access!
Let alone, the bank is in Arizona! And it's a Friday!
Cowboy had to take the Grandkids out for a day of fun,
 while I dealt with the bank, faxes, and issues!

That evening, we get a call from the farmer who was going to let us use his bunkhouse.
Ever so apologetic....his hired man had quit and he had to hire another before harvest!
The young man he hired did not live in the area...
hence he would be needing a place to stay!
Yep! The bunkhouse!

Ok now...
THINK!!!
Two days until we are on the road.
I got the bank issue 1/2 settled so we would at least be able to fuel, eat and sleep for 4+ days.

Four days on the road...plenty of time to ignore the "illegal talking while driving" thing.
Solution searching is more important!
We cannot live in the U-Haul!

And Lo and Behold....
a solution was found!
We arrived in the pouring rain
unloaded all of our belongings into both garages, 
slept in our car....
Yep! Even oldsters can do what ever it takes!

We woke early, drove another 3 hours....
towards our solution.....
*
*
*
*
Cowboy started work on the 24th....
I began to assess what we were up against...

My backyard....as I remembered it....

May 29, 2012

My backyard....in January....

January 4, 2013

and my backyard that greeted me....

June 29, 2013

Life goes on....
and we are blessed...

Today is our anniversary...
we are "home again" ....
and almost starting from scratch as we did so many years ago!
We began our lives together in an old homestead...no power, no water.
A wood cookstove, an outhouse....no phone, no neighbors....
And today...we are HOME!
We've come a long way...in a round about way..
to where we began!
This time, many years later...

We own our property outright.
We have power!
Sort of.....we managed to do it properly and got a temporary power source approved and 'connected' this past Friday.

No washboard laundry days as I did years ago...

a garage, long power cord and a hose work great!

Of course I have a clothes line for drying...

And................

Just yesterday...the local phone company hooked me up with temporary phone and internet!

What else do I need?

Obviously...I can't live here!

But this works out just fine!

And....I've been able to do what I love!

Trying to tidy up my yard!

Do you think I've made progress?

This is almost 4 weeks of work...

Cowboy keeps telling me how I'm wasting my time...

Once demolition begins....there will go my yard and all my efforts!

But for now I get to get my fingers dirty...

and walk barefoot on the grass!

Life is good!

Cowboy Wife