what’s in front of me

This is what I see sitting in Bill’s Grandma’s old overstuffed chair in our wee barn-house. A bit messy (and I didn’t even include the tracked-in grass and pet hair on the floor!) but such a comfortable space to live.

Sometimes Bill’s chronic nerve pain keeps him up at night, though it has improved in recent months with an adjustment in medication. He’ll come out here to watch TV, using those earphones on the table to avoid waking me (he hasn’t learned that just his being gone from the bedroom wakes me up). The quilt folded on the back of the couch and pillows end up all over the place.

Inside the hinged cover of that table is a pair of binoculars to go with the bird field guide laying on top. We enjoy watching and identifying the birds outside the French doors and windows. Even in the midst of winter we have quite a variety, including the brightest bluebirds I’ve ever seen.

the goats’ new friend

Our neighbors to the west are not very good at keeping their animals at home. Their two Great Pyrenees roam the roads on a regular basis (avoiding our long driveway after our donkeys warned them off). Last month their rooster found himself in our front pasture — none of us went near him as he can be quite mean. He eventually left.

This past week, one of their hens wandered into our yard where she was chased by our Pyrenees-Golden Retriever mix, Bradley — losing a few tail feathers in the encounter. She tried Sierra’s pasture, where she was ignored by both cow and her cat buddy, Egret. Later I found her in the south pasture with our goats. Occasionally one of them would nudge her, then go back to grazing. She seemed perfectly happy to be in their company.

Happy Valentine’s . . . Anniversary, Birthday, etc

I recently had 2 unexpected upgrades in mobile devices. First, my iPhone 7’s battery needed to be replaced. A new battery only cost $50 but our son Jason found a really good deal on an iPhone 12-Mini, so I decided to get that instead.

Then I accidentally dropped my iPad Pro — facedown on a very hard rough stone floor. The screen was shattered and a replacement would cost $380, more than a brand new iPad; I don’t need a “Pro”, it was an older hand-me-down from Jason. I still had my old iPad 4 Mini so I chose not to repair or replace.

Until last week when my iPad Mini’s battery stopped holding a charge. I suddenly had to recharge it twice a day instead of every 1 1/2 days. It gets used a lot, for reading multiple books, email, texting doctors’ offices, moderating posts in a private Facebook group, using crochet or knit patterns, blog posts, shopping, and playing the odd game or two. The device is over 6 years old and has been used well.

I decided to just live with it for now, keeping a power cord handy. But Bill conspired with Jason — this past weekend I was given a new iPad 9th generation, trading in my old iPad Mini for much more than we had expected it to bring.

Bill told me it’s for Valentine’s Day . . . and our wedding anniversary in May and my birthday in July. They got me the larger capacity one (256 GB) so maybe even Christmas by the time I add a more protective case!

looking forward to warmer days, camping

We had to cancel our camping reservations for early December due to Bill experiencing re-occurring heart problems. After trips to doctor, cardiologist, hospital and labs, they have determined that the issue is medication-related. Several weeks trying one drug, then another followed and he now seems to have the right balance and has been released to resume all normal activities as before.

Great news! Except for that frigid weather rapidly heading our way. But we sat down and made three reservations for camping in March, April, and May at 3 different parks — two in area forests and one prairie along the Brazos river (at Stephen F. Austin’s Texas homestead!).

Area State Park reservations for travel trailers are filling up fast; the one we booked in May only had 2 sites available for the number of days we wanted. Covid-19 has made camping in travel trailers and motor homes the #1 vacation for families, and used campers of all kinds are hotly in demand around here.

The above sketch is one style of fire pit at area parks, though sometimes there are burn bans preventing their use. We usually just cook on a small charcoal grill we carry with us.