Travel meds for Mabel

Most of the things I need over a weekend at Highlands fits into my hanging organizer.  But occasionally I would rummage through there and not find something either Hubby or I needed...and it seems like I was running out of room.  Sometimes I would run across something I needed in one of the trailer's overhead bins.  Or the big first aid kit in the barn. But there had to be a better way to get organized.

My toiletries hanging organizer is a great place for a couple of things for me, and Hubby has his own overnight tote, too.  But it would be better to have a central stash of stuff we could keep in Mabel - things we seem to need every weekend.

I found this cute first aid travel case at Target and thought "PERFECT!".  For $3, I could put together some basic meds that can live in the trailer - things we wouldn't forget if we were just up there for a day.

It's pretty flat, so I organized the meds in zip locs.  I pulled out an assortment of the things we seem to need most often:

Ibuprofen, acetominophen, Rolaids, Sudafed, Benedryl, omeprazole, Alka-Seltzer, and some other miscellany that is good to have on hand.  While we do have a full-out first aid kit in the barn, it's a pain to go digging through it late at night when you just want headache or tummy or allergy relief!

I labeled all of the bags and wrote expiration dates - very important.  Then placed all of the ziplocs into the pouch.  Had I had those snack ziplocs it might have been less snug.  But I didn't - haven't bought those since my peeps were little!

 All packed up!

 

 And loaded into my travel tote - ready to be taken to Mabel!

Weekend re-cap - Bell Springs

I had pretty high hopes for a relaxing and fun Saturday with my peeps - I was so happy it was finally Friday!  The crock pot pork tacos for dinner were wonderful and I got to sit and chat with The Girl and Firstborn for awhile afterwards.  I went to bed at a reasonable time and didn't feel particularly tired or bad at all.

Then Saturday arrived.  I felt a little worse after eating, so I lay down for a little while.  But I got up and packed our picnic tote with snacks, and we headed out to Dripping Springs.  We got all settled in at the winery, got our wine, got our lunches, and I thought "I really feel terrible".  And that was all she wrote. 

We stayed for a little while longer, but I was fading fast.  Hubby picked up our wine and we headed home.  I lay down in my bed at 3 p.m. and was asleep until 8 the next morning.  Hubby and The Girl went to a local craft brewery for the rest of the afternoon on Saturday, then he grilled some bacon wrapped burgers and corn on the cob. On Sunday we did nothing but relax, and The Girl headed back to Houston around lunch time.  And I was back in bed by 6 p.m.  So I didn't work Sunday as planned, and I called out for Monday, too. 

I feel like the weekend as a whole was a bust, but at least I was the only one sick!  The Girl assures me she will be back in a couple of weeks, so I can look forward to a do-over.  

Gina

Mealplan Monday #199

Monday - Shredded Korean Beef Tacos, chopped salad
Tuesday - Pork Fajita Alamo Bowls
Wednesday - Easy Chicken Enchiladas, veggie
Thursday - One Pot Spaghetti*, salad
Friday - Tuna Salad on butter bread, chips, fresh fruit
Saturday - YOYO
Sunday - Garlic Parmesan Chicken, Corn Casserole, Carrots (all in the oven)

Gina

5 thing Friday - breakfast, movie popcorn, jewelry contest, backyard view, Mojo Pork

 I've been really good about not eating breakfast out on my way to work lately.  We have plenty of food here, I just need to give myself 10 minutes to put something together and eat it before I get dressed to go.  My favorite thing to do is add egg and cheese to two waffles and eat it like a sammie.

But one morning I used up a too ripe banana, some peanut butter, and some chocolate spread.  It was divine.  It's such a long time until lunch (3 p.m.) so I really need to make time for eating breakfast each day!

Large popcorn for one, please.

I have a thing about popcorn - I could eat it every day.  I took myself to see The Incredibles 2 on Monday.  I wasn't the only single lady there eating popcorn, fyi, and the movie was just "ok" but the Pixar short made me shed a tear.

My favorite jewelry store is having an Instagram giveaway this summer.  There will be two winners every week for a $250 gift card and you can enter as many times as you want.  I posted this blurry pic on Instagram as my first entry, but I will take a couple more.  How great would that be to win?!  I always have a list of things to want from James Avery.

The view of the backyard from the den is much improved with the new deck.  I still haven't planted new grass, but I may wait 'til Fall. I love looking out there now.  And those bamboo blinds are still my favorite thing.

Tonight The Girl is coming home!  We will take she and Firstborn to Bell Springs for the pick-up tomorrow and eat delicious snacks, but for tonight I made Mojo Pork in the crock pot to have as tacos.  It called for fresh orange juice, lime juice, cumin, garlic, and oregano.  Smells so good!  And now that the crock pot is going, the house is clean, and I am dressed, it's off to work. TGIF!!

Gina

Weekend re-cap - Johnson City eats and drinks, Highlands

On Saturday, I purposely ended my hard stop early so that we could leave around 11 a.m. and grab a bite to eat in Johnson City, on our way to try out a couple of new-to-us wineries.

 We landed at Pecan Street Brewing Company, apparently just before the lunch rush!

Hubby and I enjoyed a Red Devil Red Ale.  I wish I had taken a pic of our food - I always feel silly doing that, but it was so good!  He had fresh seared tuna on a bed of arugula, and I had the Korean pork ribs with Caesar salad and a side of baked squash.  

Just next door is a very tiny winery, owned by a gentleman whose family were close friends to the Johnson family.  As in President Johnson.  In between free tastings of his wines, the owner pulled out memorabilia and photos to show us.  The wine was good and the mini history tour was sweet!  We were the only ones in there, so we had it all to ourselves.

Mr. Hahne is a former attorney who switched gears, studied viticulture, and now grows grapes on his land in Mason. He told us that he handmade all of the wine racks on the walls, and he put that very unusual ceiling in.  He was a nice guy.

 His mother crochets these crosses, and he let me pick one out from a shoebox full of them.  There are several of her crochet tapestries hanging on the walls, and several more in churches in the area.

Next stop was Hye Meadow Winery.  Not nearly as quaint and cozy,  but a very pretty place with much wide open space in the back, friendly people, and live music on the patio.

Lots of big, shady oaks, too. The tastings were pricey, so we elected to have a glass only, enjoyed out in the back.  I had a nice Dolcetto, Hubby a Montepulciano.  They have a decent wine club and look like a great place to hang out - we will visit again.

 I so love big oaks and wide open spaces!

Next stop was Lewis Wines. Set off 290 a bit, down a winding road.

As you round the corner, you come into this massive covered area with lots of seating options and check out that chandelier!

Inside, I loved the lighting and the dimensional shiplap wall - in fact I really enjoyed everything about this place.  We had a mini taste to compare two reds we were interested in.  Tempranillo won out.

 

We took our bottle and some water to a shady spot overlooking the vineyards and watched storm clouds move past the area. 

 We will definitely visit here again, too.

Far off tables and chairs = perfect spot to sit and eat a brisket sammie picnic with your wine.  We could have stayed in this neck of the woods - there are many more wineries to try - but it was getting late in the afternoon.

From Johnson City we headed back towards Burnet for a stop at Save The World to put a little bling on our beer club glasses.  They had a New Orleans style food trailer out front, so we bought some crawfish mac and cheese to enjoy with our dinner.

We grilled salmon, butternut squash, and jalapeno poppers.  We saved some of the salmon to enjoy with cheese and crackers the next day at lunch while we sat in another random meadow and drank Mr. Hahne's Blanco wine.  On Sunday, we ate at El Rancho and got zero chores at Highlands done since it was Father's Day, however, we did bop around the area a bit.

We found a tree that dropped fruit that looks very much like a pomegranate - I will have to look up some info on it.  There is only one tree, but it's pretty big!  We were home by 5 p.m., and I made Mexican Lasagna with a salad and guacamole for Father's Day.  Scout and Dutch came over and we all enjoyed dinner and each others' company.  A nice weekend, and an even better Monday since I was off! 

Gina

Mealplan Monday #198

Monday - Burgers, chips, cantaloupe
Tuesday - One Pot Tortellini and Sausage
Wednesday - Leftovers night
Thursday - Swiss Steak, rice, zucchini (we never had this last week)
Friday - White Chicken Chili, with shredded cheese, onions and cilantro
Saturday - Bell Springs Pick-up, so we will get takeout
Sunday - Baked Mexican Tilapia, garlic green beans, mac and cheese

Gina

Weekend re-cap - Save the World, Highlands, Camp Rustown

On Saturdays and Sundays we have a "hard stop" rule at noon.   What doesn't get done by noon can be picked up again the next day.   At noon thirty we hit the road, stopping in Liberty Hill to buy ice, then Bertram for a burn barrel.  Then we drove through Chicken Express to get lunch for our next stop:

Save the World Brewing Co.  

It wasn't crowded inside in the A/C, but its easier to have a conversation out in the tank room.  We played some cards, ate our chicken, met some new folks.

We enjoyed some Peach Saison, some Coconut Milk Lux, and Cherry Bonus Pastor.  All very delicious on a hot day.  And its nice to meet new people from the area and learn more about the place where we will someday live.

 That evening we sat out at Highlands to watch the sunset .

 We heard an owl, a boat now and again, traffic on 2341.

 

We did end up building a fire and went to bed late because we wanted to make sure the fire was burned down sufficiently.

The next day Hubby got the burn barrel going.  He used materials found in the property dump (some odds and ends of rebar and steel fencing, as well as an old A/C drip pan), and we proceeded to burn some things.  

We didn't see many critters this time around - they are probably hiding in the shade - but I did find a snake molt near the barn.   We again stopped at noon, ate lunch, got some sun, took a shower, and headed to Sonic for a cold drink.  And we ended Sunday on an tired but happy note.

Gina

Mealplan Monday #197

Monday - Crockpot BBQ Pork Roast on buns, chopped salads
Tuesday - Leftovers from Sunday - a night off from cooking!
Wednesday - French Bread Pizzas, Avocado Tomato Salad
Thursday - Cowboy Casserole
Friday - Lemon Garlic Crockpot Chicken, couscous, carrots
Saturday - YOYO
Sunday - Mexican Lasagna, salad, ice cream and cookies for dessert
*I'm really trying to keep oven use down - this set of menus calls for about an hour and a half of it, but I really want to try the lasagna recipe for Father's Day!

Gina

Weekend re-cap - Cooper's, Perissos, Highlands, Save the World

Hubby's last day at his old job was Thursday, so we both took Friday off.  It was our plan to spend time in Burnet and get a few more things done at Highlands - just in time for summer heat to hit full force.

We started out by stopping at the storage building place.  We intend on purchasing a storage unit that we can use at Highlands.  It will be handy for the riding lawnmower, dump cart, and camping equipment.  Plus we will need to load it up while we finish out the barn.

 After that, we traveled to Llano for some BBQ.  The ribs were huge and delicious!  We might have also had coleslaw and some jalapeno cheese sausage, but I didn't get pics of that before we inhaled it.

Apparently this place is famous - and as we left a line was forming.  We will definitely eat there again!  We were going to enjoy some beer at a new place Hubby found, but got pulled in by the siren song of wine to Perisso's.  We enjoyed a tasting inside, then sat out by the vines with some chilled Bella. 

The owner happened to be out there and did a little show and tell about the happenings in the vineyard. I'm not a gardener by any means, but I find all of it to be fascinating.  This year I want to be sure we are available to help with the harvest! We spent the evening at Highlands, then grilled pork tenderloin and summer squash and hit the hay early.

Because the next morning we had this beast to unload.  It's been sitting here since last weekend.  We cooked a quick breakfast and got ready to work.

Here is a better shot of all those red pavers which will become a patio of sorts in front of the barn.  Each one of them must weight 35 pounds.  And here was what we started with:

Plans included:  moving the swing to a meadow, removing that stump (why is it even there?), removing the smoker and a plastic barrel to the left (not in the photo), and moving those gray pavers to the back of the barn to extend the "floor"  where we stand for tabletop cooking.

It was a mess back there, too, but we cleaned it up before moving the grey pavers back there. Note to selves: must buy burn barrel to take care of that green box of old files. (that sort of thing cannot be stored out there - scorpions love to live in it.)

And those gray pavers were very heavy as well.  Thank goodness for the dump cart.  I don't have a pic of the finished area in the back, but we got it all arranged.

 Anyhoo, returning to the front, once we removed all of the crap, we raked the gravel out as level as we could.  We had play sand on hand to help with low spots.

 Then we placed the pavers, tasking our time to get it all even and level.  By the time we finished, it was 104 in the shade!!

Those pavers had been the BBQ area of the backyard in Rustown for about 5 years.  They need to be powerwashed for sure!  We moved the patio table over from under the trees, and added a couple of folding chairs that had been in the back.  Not fancy, mind you.  But it will be nice to sit out here under shade for a meal.

The patio table had an umbrella frame and lights strung above it - the frame had broke, but the lights worked fine.  Those got moved to the pergola, then we purchased another extension cord to plug them in at night.  They are Disney Frozen C9 lights - they twinkle and glow softly and were a steal on clearance.

(see the sun up there?  It is not kidding around)

We were pretty spent by Saturday afternoon, but we got a shower and headed over to a brewery Hubby wanted to try.  (So we might have joined...)  It was a family-friendly place with picnic tables in the tank room and lots of smiling people.  We ate our last two ribs from Cooper's, played cards, and met new friends.  Then we left for catfish and live music at Doc's and I have zero pics of that.  But we were, again, in bed early for the day.  Whew!

It was our plan to eat breakfast in Burnet and get back to Austin early - Hubby started a new job on Monday.  But we still had to empty the trailer of things that were going to the dump.  We also found a suitable meadow to park the swing and we got the empty trailer stored.  We spent the afternoon parked in our chairs under the shady pergola, eating lunch and just trying to cool off.  We visited TNL on the way out of town and had a glass of wine on their deck.  Then we headed home to make dinner and get ready for the week.  I'm still pretty tired as of today...we need a weekend of no building things for sure - it's just getting too hot.

Gina