Leaving the LE

 Whew! I honestly have not been on the computer since my last post. I've been itching to get back to this space to catch up so I'm backtracking here a bit and I apologize in advance if I get a little long-winded. I'll try and just touch briefly on the things I want to record here because I want to catch up.

To add to the move, my Amazon account was hacked so I haven't had access to anything, including photos. Someone ordered a farmhouse cabinet, sticky notes, and a huge reptile enclosure. 😒

As for packing. 

SO. MUCH. STUFF. We were at this ranch for almost 20 years so I suppose some accumulation is to be expected, but it always looks like more when you have to box it up and move it. 

Some of you would cringe if I shared some of the things I took to the dump. We burned it before we left and I donated a lot to the Salvation Army and various thrift shops in town, but I made myself be kind of ruthless and that's hard when you get sentimental about some things. It was still and quiet as we stood at the edge at 3 a.m. that morning.

We have made this old, falling down ranch house, home and some things that are perfect here, won't really fit in our new home. I love how this old cabinet from Walmart fit into our kitchen, but it's seen better days so it's off  to the dump. 

We never close curtains here, but I do have them on the windows. However, the new house has beautiful wooden windows with wood blinds and 10' ceilings so the curtains here won't fit. Out they go.

Our girl came for a few days (she was a huge help) to take the beautiful antique piano we bought for her 18 years ago...and a horse. I wondered what else I could convince her to take. 😉 She spent many a hour combing witch's knots out of manes and tails out at the barn through the years - one last time

Before she loaded up as one last desert sunrise made it's appearance

And the books! There is a bookcase in every room. Plus I still have 2 or 3 very large bins of books from when the kids were small. I have sent them a few here and there since the grandbabies have arrived, but we pretty much have a collection of books that would qualify as a small library. I am respecting DH's decision to keep ALL the books, but reserved the right to cull  my high school and college yearbooks. And honestly, if he was packing them, he would realize just how many we have! 

He came in one day and said he had started going through his tack room and he tossed 20 wore out saddle pads. He gets Brownie points and a gold star. 😂 

My kitchen here is super small. I only have things that have proven to be workhorses so I'll take almost everything to the new house. I love this rack that DH made for my cast iron and I was concerned there wouldn't be a place for it, but there's a perfect spot in the new house.

So I've been in tossing and packing mode for the last few weeks. I'd feel much better about it all if my knee wasn't compromised, but I'm managing.

DH has a tack room, barn, shop, and shed to clean out while still running the ranch, so I tackled the house. 

When we've moved in the past, we've always just moved everything ourselves, in horse trailers, but now, at 60, this frugal girl is splurging and hiring movers. We still moved a lot on our own, but I thought having movers to move the furniture and freezers would be so helpful. OYE! That was a fiasco, but I'll just leave it at that for the sake of my mental health. 😬 

There was lots they didn't move so we made multiple trips Beverly Hillbillies Style. 😂

We probably made 10 trips ourselves with the flatbed and horse trailer. 

And yes, we are moving to the mountains, but we still moved a rock. DH dug this rock out 25 years ago when we lived in Texas. It's an old metate and we were not leaving it behind.

I talked about the duffel bags on Amazon for quilts and I am very pleased with how they worked out. I can fit 5 big (bed-sized) quilts in each bag. There are A LOT of quilts in this house. A reader had asked if they were mouse proof and I'd have to say no. I don't think I would use these for long-term storage. They aren't heavy duty, but they're perfect for a short-term move.

We weren't sure about how to move the guineas and chickens, but once again, DH proved his brilliant ingenuity. He built a heavy duty cage with 2 compartments (1 for guineas and 1 for chickens) that fit perfectly into the horse trailer. We have 1 baby guinea and he is in the little live trap at DH's feet.

They free range, but I had been feeding them in the chicken yard for a few weeks in order to corral them easier when the time came to move them. So the night before, I shut them in and DH and I went out about 3:30 that morning and snatched them from their roosts by their feet and put them in the enclosure. It worked like a charm with only a few squawks and a bit of wing flapping. We managed to slide the cage out into the barn at the new property and we fed and watered them in there for a week. They didn't like being cooped up, but they were fine and I even got a few eggs.

I had 1 last day at the sale barn, After 10 years, it will be strange to not be spending Mondays there. I made good memories, lasting friendships and left with a parting gift of COVID.  It was such a great place to work and Cindy, my boss, is the poster child for the best boss ever. She's kind, thoughtful, and supportive and just a lovely lady. I enjoyed being a part of the team.

 It's funny, the things you think about. We've been very happy in this old, leaky, falling down ranch house. It needs a lot of work, but the new family is already moved in. I hope they'll be happy here too. We've worked hard to keep a nice yard here. A huge challenge in this desert, but we've babied some new little trees and I hope the new occupants will put forth the effort so that they will continue to thrive.

Skeet has of course been by our side for all of this

He kept a watchful eye as we loaded and cleaned

We tried to keep things somewhat routine, but this is the only place he's ever known

But Skeet, being Skeet, is always up for new adventures

And as we close the door on this era and bid it a fond farewell

We are excited to see what lies ahead

Too Many Quilts?!

 I know. I know. No such thing if you're a quilter, but with this eminent move, my perspective is shifting. You can organize and live with your things and be perfectly happy, but when you move, suddenly it all becomes too much and I am approaching the age of 'less'. 

I currently have 5 quilt ladders (made by my FIL). This one has been in our dining room

Our girl has two others and one of these here, will go home with our boy next time they visit. Then there is the armoire - time to start doling them out

Add to that the quilts on the beds, on the back of the couch and loveseat, and the napping quilt. And no, I haven't counted them, but I wasn't sure how to pack them. I thought boxes would be heavy and cumbersome so I looked for duffels and found these HERE (no affiliate link - just sharing something I like)

                                         

I looked at a lot of them and I like these because the strap runs along the bottom, providing more support and strength. I can fit 5 or 6 big quilts in one without overloading it.

After filling all 8, I bought another set. 😂 I have about 8 bolts of fabric and these fit perfectly.

I won't need all 8 so I'll let DH use a few for his hunting clothes. Once we're moved, I'll store them flat in a bin, but they worked so well that I thought I'd share my moving tip with ya'll.

Besides quilts, there are books. SO MANY BOOKS! 😂 

Buy Dirt

 I wouldn't change a thing about my life. Strong faith. Good man. Wonderful kids. Treasured grandbabies. Healthy family. Cherished life. As you know, if you've read here for any length of time, we ranch on 128,000 acres in New Mexico. We don't own it - we just manage it, but we've been with the same owner for 29 years and have stayed when they sold the ranch last year. The ranch wasn't for sale, but the folks that wanted to buy it called every month for 2 years so they finally sold it. It wasn't a surprise. We were always kept in the loop. 

 

They've been very good to us and we've always treated the land like it was our own, but it never was. We don't see them often which is a shame because they are a wonderful couple. It's been 15 years since they've been here, but they've always trusted DH to make all the decisions and we've built a good life. I can't imagine a better one.  We've always tried to be good stewards of the land and animals entrusted into our care. But somewhere, in the back of our minds, we always prayed for a small place of our own and recent circumstances and blessings have allowed us to take a turn in that direction...down a new dirt road.

To be completely honest, it's been stressful. Last year was WILD. Both kids married! We celebrated a new grandbaby! Lots of traveling for showers and receptions and ceremonies. The ranch sold last year and we've been tied up with all that that entails. Then our North Camp man passed away and we were wrapped up in that as well as helping his widow and still running this place by ourselves for 7 months. Then in December DH ran all over Texas, putting things in place to start a little cattle venture. We both couldn't be away at the same time so I stayed and kept things going here.

 So looking for a place of our own has been a challenge. And we're not sure which direction we ought to go. We'd like to be closer to grandbabies, but with DH's parents in their mid-80's, we can't really abandon them and they absolutely refuse to even consider moving. They've been there for over 20 years. DH's sister drives up 4 times a year from Texas, but DH and I will be much closer to help and enjoy spending more time with them.

So the Good Lord opened doors and we have closed on 163 acres in the mountains. Not one single step would have been possible without us leaning on Jesus. I often felt like Peter...just stepped out of the boat in faith.

 We lived in the mountains 20 years ago and honestly, moving to the desert was a rough transition, but God has blessed us greatly here. But those first 3 years were hard as we all yearned for the mountains. I was definitely the most stubborn about it until I learned to bloom where God had planted me. And now He has set us back into the mountains.

Our first big project will be to build fence...about 2 miles of it. OYE! I told DH that I hated to ask Jesus to build fence, but there was no way that I was going to be able to do it unless He was part of the crew. 😉 Well, maybe that's the 2nd project - we'll need to clean up old fence and set up temporary pens for the horses. DH took down the round pen he made 30 years ago

                             

 

and we hauled it up to the property on the flatbed:

So, posting in this space may be sporadic for some time, but I've enjoyed documenting my days here for almost 17 years and I don't plan on stopping although the content will shift a little with this transition. Currently, we are in chaos mode.

DH continues to run the ranch and I'm doing my best to sort and pack and haul what we're not taking or donating to the newly dug dump. After 20 years here, we've accumulated too much and I'm not even a shopper. A torn meniscus and cartilage damage is making that a big challenge.

                                 

I guess technically, after over 37 years, I won't even be a ranch wife anymore, but adventure lies ahead and together we're going to jump (jumping may currently be a bit ambitious) into our golden years together...just don't forget to pack those fencing gloves! And label the box so you can find them!

I'm sure many of ya'll will laugh, but we're really excited about the fact that we bought dirt! 😂

So stay tuned, I'll still be lovin' life at the end of our new dirt road! 

Under the Needle: July

 My knee has kept me from bellying up the the sewing machine this month. I gritted through adding the binding to the front of this quilt because I was desperate to have something to do while I was resting my knee in the evenings, but I will say, that Cortisone shot made a huge difference.

I had picked up another quilt from Jackie and got the binding stitched to the front of it as well

I had a huge stack of blocks to trim for another quilt and I worked on those in small increments of time because I could stand for a while. 

Then I picked up 2 more quilts from Jackie on Monday, after work. So at some point, I'll try to get those trimmed and binding stitched to the front.

We're not big tv watchers, but I'm a huge fan of the Olympics so it's good to have something to bind in the evenings and last week the Cheyenne Rodeo was on too; although I probably spend more time watching than stitching.

Even if both of my knees were healthy, sewing would be taking a back seat because we're putting all of our time and energy into other projects, but I did finish that binding so I have one finish this month...the Longhorn Quilt for our son-in-law.

August is going to be crazy and I don't see any space for sewing so I'm not even making plans, but we'll see how things play out. A few stitches added to binding may be necessary to instill a bit of order to the coming weeks.