Bits and Pieces

Yep. It's been a while since I posted, hence you get the title of this post. Just bits and pieces of this and that. Makes me think of all the bits and pieces of fabric I have stashed that are desperately crying out to be made into a quilt. Must make time to get that done.

So apparently summer has arrived. Didn't someone once describe them as 'the lazy' days of summer? Hmmm... Kind of makes me wonder what kind of life that person led because 'lazy' doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight around here!

No complaints though...well...one...and it's a biggy - I am going to voice my complaint about the lack of RAIN! Things are looking quite dismal around here. There was, and still is, a pretty good sized fire burning on a place just to the east of us. DH drove over there the other day. They've got 60 people from various departments working on getting it extinguished. It's in a difficult spot. Lots of sandy ranch land that you can't get to easily. They even had numerous planes dropping fire retardant in the area. The good Lord is receiving a continuous flow of rain prayers from our little corner of the world. In fact, he's probably being bombarded. But, we're also sending up prayers of praise and thanks because we are always abundantly blessed.

We actually got away last weekend! First time DH has been away from the ranch overnight since last August. I think a night away was long overdue! We made a quick trip to Albuquerque and browsed the aisles of a gun show, watched some friends compete in a hunter/jumper horse show, and spent hours at Guitar Center where DH was very serious in making his selection. DH and I bought him an electric guitar for graduation. The kid is crazy about his guitar. He has an acoustic that he plays all the time and loves, but when one is addicted to the guitar, one can never have too many. Or so I have been told! Grin!

It was a fast, but wonderful trip. We pulled into town at 7:30 on Saturday night and drove right to the rodeo arena for the PRCA Rodeo. DH's cousin is a saddle bronc rider as well as one of the pick up men and we always look forward to catching up with him when he's in town. He lives in Nebraska so we don't get the chance to see him other than when he passes through. Saturday was his night - he won the whole thing! Very cool!

Then my SIL and her new husband and my nephew stopped by on their way home and ate dinner with us. DD also had a friend out that day so I had 9 for dinner. We really debated when we were making the decision on getting a dining room table. I'm so glad we got this big one. I love it and heaven knows we've always got extras gathered around it!

So now we're back on track and our days are filled with ranchwork, yardwork, and housework. I love getting out in the early morning and making the rounds in the garden and yard. The garden is coming along well although I have no doubt that it would benefit greatly from some rain. I have decided that I'll start next year's seeds indoors in order to get a head start because it would be nice to be harvesting something from the garden before the end of June.

Yesterday DH and I made a 300 mile round trip to Hereford, Texas to take a load of cattle to the slaughter house. That's such a sad place. It would be a depressing place to work. I'm too much of a softy, but DH cheered me up with a stop at a quilt store in route. Sweet man! I didn't linger long though because I was planning on meeting some people in town later that afternoon and as soon as we arrived back at the house, DD, who was a dear and made dinner and cleaned the kitchen, and I headed to town. I met up with a neat couple from Virginia. A is on a scrapping site I frequent and yes, I met someone from the Internet (don't scold), but what a fun couple they are! They were traveling cross country and meeting lots of people from our group. We enjoyed a couple of hours visiting and lingering over Cokes and Mexican food and BLTs before they headed down the road. I love making new friends!

DH and the kids are out sorting cattle and working on their roping skills. One of DD's friends asked to come out for a bit so I guess we'll have company this afternoon. Goodness, that girl and her social life! She pretty much puts the 'homeschoolers are lacking in socialization skills' argument in the dirt.

So that concludes my rambling for the day. Hope ya'll have a good one! I've got to head into the kitchen and get some cookies baking for Cowboy Church tonight before it gets too hot!