Watermelon Easy Cubing

It just wouldn't be July without a watermelon cooling in the fridge. Of course, the fourth of July has passed and soon August will be in full swing so this seedless watermelon will probably be the last one I cut and cube this season. I've discovered a way to prepare the melon that is easy for me and makes the fruit disappear quickly. Here it is in picture form.



Step 1) Cut the melon lengthwise down the middle and turn it cut side down on a cutting board

Step 2) Make horizontal cuts across the fruit from one end to the other and separate the slices

Step 3) Turn one section on its side and make a cut between the rind and the fruit to separate the rind from the good part

Step 4) Cut the block of fruit into one inch strips lengthwise and then across

Step 5) Using a flat spatula is an easy way to scoop up the cut pieces

Step 6) Place the cubes into an airtight container and continue on to the next slice. Repeat.

I like to cut up the rinds and add them to my compost bin for next year's garden soil.

Easy peasy!





The Drought Hits Closer to Home

The morning's surprise when I went out at 7 am to feed Brian Williams the cat, was to find a utility truck parked fifty feet into the front yard.
For the past few days, the utility sub-contractors have begun to use our property as a staging area for their trucks as they perform telephone pole inspections on our street. We have watched their "progress" as they've inched closer and closer to the heart of our privacy.

Today's encroachment resulted in an unfortunate event: an 18 wheeler, laden with telephone poles ran over and broke the main water line that feeds into our house.



At 4:35 pm, I contacted Farmer's Electric Company (FEC) to let them know their trucks were parked along the front of our property where our water meter is located. And sure enough, within moments after two trucks drove away, the water flow in the house diminished to half its normal flow. We have NO water. That's right, supper is cancelled, forget flushing the toilet and my thirsty tomato seedlings will just have to wait as the first triple digit heat of the season courses through the Dallas Metro plex.

I immediately called the Special Utility District (SUD) to let the water supplier know. Unfortunately, their office closed at 4:00 pm. So I dialed the emergency number and reached a very courteous worker, Terry, who promised to do a drive-by and check out our pipes. And he did, within minutes of my call. Sure enough, he announced that the main water pipe was broken.

Coincidentally, on today's NBCDFW News at 5

A short while later, I received a call from the sub contracting company who apologized for the inconvenience and suggested we call a plumber. After several emergency calls to various plumbing companies, at this very moment, there is a plumber (Cowboy Plumbing) working on fixing the damage. Of the many plumbers I called, they were the only ones willing to put in the effort outside the standard 8 to 5 work day. The bad news is it is now 2:00 am and he's still out there trying to repair the pipe.

It's been a day for minor disasters, starting off with me losing Grandma's credit card when shopping for her groceries this morning. Then J broke off the key in the front door lock and later the knob broke off Grandma's washing machine.

All in all, I'm still grateful. Things could have been worse. When I finally drift into the slumber chamber and seek a little rest, I'll have much on my mind about today's events. When it rains, it pours. Or not.

Off for a Sunday Morning Drive

Living in the country has many advantages, one of which is the proximity of the old time neighboring communities. In just a few short miles and within minutes, I can be immersed in landscapes that take me back to a simpler time; a place where railroad tressles, onion sheds and grain silos dot the neighboring fields.

Downtown Farmersville Square

Two of my favorite places to spend a weekend morning include Princeton and Farmersville, Texas.

Today I set out early, heading north on one of Texas' picturesque highways to Farmersville's Historic Downtown Square.

To the right is a glimpse of the park adjacent to the Onion Shed pictured below. Today's unseasonably cool temperatures in the low 70s are the perfect pairing to a stroll through the grounds.

The Onion Shed and entry to Audie Murphy Trail Head

The Onion Shed is where Farmersville Farmers and Fleas monthly produce market is held. I missed yesterday's festivities, when the locals bring their handmade goods, vegetables and crafts for sale and display on the picnic tables under the tin roof.

Recycled Playground Equipment

South view of town

Although it is a colorful display that I've participated in as a one-time vendor, I enjoy the quiet on a Sunday morning when the local crowd is absent.

None of the merchants have opened their stores as most wait until after noon when church is out.



Main Street early on Sunday morning

This is Main Street where my favorite Antique Store is hidden away among antique buildings, many in the process of restoration. Its proprietor knows me by name and greets me with each visit, inquiring about my mother who is her age, yet the two are worlds apart. She brings baked goods and serves coffee and Mimosas to the visitors who patronize her store. Doris, at 87, has just completed the renovation of her building where a variety of consignment booths are housed, dedicating the building to her late husband.

Farmersville Visitor's Center - Chamber of Commerce



Galvanized horse troughs and farm supplies

Scenic Overlook - View of Lake Lavon

The journey on the return trip is refreshingly familiar as I gaze off into fields lining the road and stop at a Scenic Overlook.

Now it's time to head home and wash the produce purchased at a familiar stop in Princeton, Sally's Produce. I came away with a nice assortment of summer squash, green snap beans, tomatoes and a canteloupe along with a beautiful jar of red rasberry jam, the basis for a Rasberry Walnut Vinegrette dressing I'll serve on spinach salad. Sally wanted to know how to prepare the dressing, and I share my recipe while butterflies land softly on the produce resting between us.

All in all, it was a lovely trip.



Major Milestones after Two Decades

After

The month of May marks the anniversary of when we moved out to the country twenty-three years ago. Yes, I remember it as if it were yesterday. All I have to do to remind myself is look at the items still on our "To Do" list.

Here is some of the best advice I have about building your own house: Never, ever move into a house that's still under construction.


That being said, I add with pride that our guest bedroom has finally received carpet. After all this time of Swiffering plywood sub floors, we have carpet! Whoo hoo! The beauty, smell and the newness of it brings back all the joy of home ownership and the delight of a project that has at long last found its completion.





Before: Tony liked the way it was.

For the past week I've been moving everything out of the guest bedroom slash office into the living room. It is incredible how much stuff can accumulate in just 23 short years.

I worked a corporate job out of that room when I telecommuted, ran a business out of there when I sold on eBay and shared both sadness and joy as old dogs slowed to a stop and new puppies were raised at my feet in that room.





At long last,we will start a new journey as we move into the downstairs bedroom to be with 12 year old Cookie Doe who can no longer make it upstairs to the master suite.



The carpet padding



As they rolled out the padding

Ready to install the carpet

I'm delighted that I saved several hundred dollars by comparing cost on the carpet installation. They don't make it easy to compare, since some sell carpet by the foot and some by the yard. Some charge for padding and others include it in the cost. Some add for tack strips and padding separately. Go figure. Literally.




Lowe's charged $35.00 to come out and measure, but you get that back (only) if you buy the carpet from them. Their estimate took nearly a week between waiting for the guy to come out and measure, then three days for Lowe's guy to calculate the estimate. Their "carpet specialist" was off duty for one of those days. Hey, everyone needs a day off.

The winning vendor, Wylie Carpet and Tile, used my own hand drawn measurements, gave me a prompt estimate in writing in 5 minutes and was $633.00 less than Lowe's, which had been $300.00 less than Home Depot.

Doing the comparison resulted in a 33 percent savings which turned out to be well worth doing the math.



Rolling out the carpet



Cookie tested, Cookie approved.

Barns, Banks, Bridges and Birthdays

We celebrated Aunt Louise's 93rd birthday this past Sunday. She's still incredibly self sufficient, able to manage her daily needs despite her fading vision and loss of mobility. She makes the sandwiches for lunch and washes the dishes after meals. Her cat Sugar is her best motivation to keep her up and going.
My cousin, Auntie's great niece, drove over from Fort Worth to spend a few hours with us. We drove into town and picked up KFC for lunch and celebrated with birthday cake. Saturday night we celebrated at our favorite Chinese food place and Asian Bistro, Mr. Wok's where she ate sweet and sour shrimp. Yum.

This morning Dallas had a record breaking low temperature of 37 degrees. For this late in April, it's amazing after the 89 degrees we had a few days back.

The news on TV is filled with the disaster at West, Texas where a fertilizer plant exploded killing at least 15 people and leaving over a hundred injured. Others have lost their homes, possessions and loved ones. The explosion cut a crater 93 feet wide and 10 feet deep. The blast could be heard for 50 miles and measured 2.5 on the Richter Scale. West is 80 miles south of Dallas.

NBC DFW Channel 5 says, "The town of West is still struggling to its feet after the April 17 explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. plant killed 15 people, injured hundreds, destroyed 140 homes and wrought havoc on the town's infrastructure."



Old Bank Building in Lavon, TX on the Detour

I headed out early this morning to run some errands; stuff I used to get done on my lunch break now seems to take half a day. Started the morning dropping off the cardboard and plastic at the Recycling Center which is located in the fenced lot that houses the Cellular Tower and the RBS Shelter.

It brings back memories of my old days as a project manager to be this close to telecom equipment.




Cell Tower and Shelter across from the Recycling Bins

Last week's detour that reduced Highway 78 to intermittent one-way traffic is new and improved with a different detour that routed me through the City of Lavon. For a town with such a small population, they sure have the fancy police equipment. Very impressive.

The winding road led me to some picturesque views of the area and thankfully, I had the time to snap a few photos.

It was a gorgeous day.



Old Barn on the Detour



Detour on Hwy 78

New Bridge on the Overpass

Birthday Muffins on Income Tax Day

It's that time again; the deadline for filing tax returns. Thankfully, ours are finished and ready to be picked up at the CPA's office. We've been delighted with his services and he has filed our taxes for us since 1999. What a benefit to be assured that it's all done correctly with the latest changes in the tax rules. The bonus is that the fee is deductible on the next year's returns! Whoo hoo.

Today we celebrate two birthdays: one is my wonderful but dearly departed Buckwheat who would have celebrated her 35th birthday today if only dogs lived longer. Wow. She had a good long life for a large dog and made it to her sixteenth birthday. Not bad for a Flat Coated Retriever who weighed nearly 90 pounds.

The other birthday is the hubster who said he wanted chocolate chip muffins today rather than his usual yellow cake with chocolate icing. I got busy early and stirred them together. Here they are. Hope you enjoy these virtual beauties!



Yesterday's trip to Cosco yielded this box of Krusteaz Muffin mix with four packages included. Hubby wanted the big muffins and it made six huge ones or 12 regular sized ones. They're cooling now on the counter and the house smells delightfully of chocolate and baked cake. Can't wait for him to see them and taste test them.

We were tempted by the ready made muffins sold by the six pack in Cosco. But this package cost less for four packets of mix that make six muffins than cost of six muffins ready made. It doesn't even require a mixer to make them, just 3 eggs, a little liquid shortening and water. They baked in just twenty-four minutes. Yummo.

In The Misty Morning Fog with My Brown Eyed Dog

Morning fog

Patchy day

Sun comes out

Fog goes away.

 

 

Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison

 

 



Trees Bear A Closer Look

Our little road in the country

Last week another change altered the view that has remained the same for 22 years of living on a forsaken country road. The county has decided to improve our street, so in anticipation, they've planted these colorful signs announcing the changes we can expect over the upcoming months. They actually sent us a letter to announce the road improvements, which was nice to know.

Another routine venture into town turned into a chance to view strange and creative yard art during the voyage.

Heading into town, we made it through the treacherous construction zone that has recently transformed our little two lane highway into a dust bowl and headed into North Plano where our accountant's office is located. Yep, here it is the end of March and we finally gathered up all the forms and documentation for him to file our 2012 taxes. After all, there are still a couple of weeks left until the deadline...



On the way I happened to look over and spotted this unusual sculpture that someone has created in their yard.

It is a bear carved out of a tree trunk!

I had to get a closer look and so when our task was done we circled back and took these pictures.


What a fabulous idea. I'll have to go back to see if they paint any more detail.

Spring is in the Air

Bradford Pear Tree

This is the first year the Bradford Pear trees have flowered since they have been planted in my yard. I've wondered over the past few years why they haven't bloomed like the ones I see lining the driveways of the neighboring houses. They are truly beautiful and bring the promise of spring, just around the corner.


The warm temperatures tempted me to pick up a few annuals at the Home Depot where I returned some unneeded things and received a gift card in exchange.

Had to go ahead and pick up these lovelies and get them in the containers on my porch which were so lonely with last year's leftover lifeless twigs.

The first robins have begun to feed in the back yard. One year I counted over thirty five of them all within the fenced area for the dogs. My shy Cardinal can be heard chirping his distinctive call and drinking from the water dish perched on the roll of garden fencing. I'm hoping he'll get within range and let me take a closer look at his gorgeous red plumage.

The recent rain has already brought a tinge of green to the brown grass of winter. It won't be long before the hum of lawn mowers will be cutting a trail in the new growth.

What a gorgeous time of the year - spring.

A glorious renewal of life and color, shedding the drab, sad colorless past and beginning anew.

We thank Thee oh Lord
For these Thy gifts
And more because
Of Jesus' love.
Let manna to our souls be given,
The bread of life sent down from Heav'n.

©  _{A song by PegCole from a prayer of Rev. James Armstrong}

On The Road Again in Texas

Last week, when we were on our way to Cosco's, once again, we headed down Parker Road, there was this cowboy riding his horse along the side of the road. Only in Texas? Maybe not, but it was a sight to see. Luckily, there was very little traffic so we slowed down and I asked if I could take his picture. He cheerfully agreed.

Cowboy

What a sight. It was across the street from South Fork Ranch, no surprise there. Of course, like most of the streets in the Dallas Metroplex, the street is under construction.

Our main access road is also under construction. After twenty plus years out in the sticks, the City of Lavon is finally widening Highway 78 which is a 60 mph zone to two lanes in each direction. No doubt, once the highway is improved, the speed limit will be reduced to 45 mph. Hard to figure that one out.



South Fork Ranch, turn here for tours

The morning traffic has increased exponentially over the years making the commute to get through the city of Wylie to around an hour from our house. Meanwhile, the road is treacherous since they have barricaded half of the old road with concrete dividers along the right side while they remove the asphalt and lay down concrete.

The lanes are dangerously narrow and one lane has been created right next to the pylons that used to parallel the shoulder. There are no street lights in the area so the travel at night is downright dangerous.

The junction at Hwy 6

Not much room to maneuver around

Anyhow, give it a few years and they'll be done. Stick around.



Driving Past South Fork Ranch

Yesterday we drove into town to pay the property taxes. They weren't due yet. In fact I had until today which was a good twenty-fours left. So I paid them early, thankfully and gladly, grateful that they are not included as part of our mortgage payment.

It makes me stop and think about the math. We've been out here over twenty years and in that time our taxes have quadrupled. I keep telling myself that we are lucky. If taxes were added to our mortgage payment I'm not sure we could manage the payment. It is hard to set aside that amount every month for the inevitable invoice that comes due.

But that makes it easier to keep tabs on how much they increase over time. Still, it is a small price to pay for the freedom and beauty we enjoy every day of the year.

So anyhow, on the way into town I passed by South Fork Ranch, and stopped to take a new picture of the view from Parker Road. Next time I'll get a pic of the front but they had street construction going on.

South Fork Ranch from Parker Road

Thirty years ago my friend from Florida came up and we drove over to South Fork after visiting at Miss Jeannie's horse ranch. We found out it cost $4.00 each just to go into the house, so we stood outside at the gate and took pictures of each another instead. I'll have to dig those out and scan them in.

Okay, on the way back home I decided to stop in at Target and fill up the wagon with supplies, you know. And when I parked and went inside, I noticed how unusually dark it was in the store. I asked the guy by the door why. When I noticed that the entire shelf that usually holds the specialty cheese and ready made containers of deli food was totally empty and he was wiping it down.

He told me that their power went off the night before and didn't come back completely on.

"Well, wouldn't the food spoil? I asked.

"Yep. That's why we had to throw all this out. Meat and everything. All we've got is what came in on the truck this morning." He seemed sad about the whole thing. And so was I.

I couldn't begin to imagine the cost of the lost merchandise and then I thought about all the hungry people in town and why didn't they hold a free barbecue or something. But the lawsuits would rule that out just in case someone were to get sick. So they tossed out a fortune in meat, dairy, deli and more. It was sobering.