5 thing Friday - mug, getaway, wine, pizza, shepherd's hook

The hospital system I work for recently had a cyber attack event (it was in the news) and after a few tense weeks, it was resolved, much to everyone's relief.

In appreciation, they sent everyone one of these insulated mugs.   I ordered a vinyl decal for it from my favorite Etsy lady, but I'm not sure I will take it to work.  I've been on a mission to drink more water, so this might live at my reading chair.  In any case, I would never spend $40+ on a mug for myself, so this is a very nice gift!

Dry cereal makes a good snack to munch while you read, btw.

I took a short-ish trip to the Hill Country for an overnight stay.

A place to relax in peace and quiet.  It was lovely.

I enjoyed a glass of wine* from a winery that Mark and I hadn't gotten around to visit - Sangiovese, his favorite.

I packed my own dinner, which was a great idea as the roads leading out to this place were narrow and winding - at night I would have been lost finding my way back!

Along with just sitting and enjoying solitude, I enjoyed time reading and journaling.  At night I lay on the top of the picnic table staring at the stars.  I had great cell service, so I was even able to attend my telehealth appointment.  Then at 11 a.m. the next day, I headed homeward.

I stopped at a favorite pizza place and may have enjoyed some beer* along with my lunch.

Along with the decal, I'm thinking about ordering this shepherd's hook for a gold chain I already have.  I think it would be a neat way to wear a jumble of gold charms.  I always feel nervous ordering jewelry from Etsy, though.  And for sure, its not something I need, strictly speaking.

All in all, it was a good week.  The break was needed, mornings are cooler, the weekend is here!

Gina

*I think I am officially over wine.  I've noticed that, as I age, it tends to affect my sleep and make me feel dicey the next day.  Really, same with beer. One is nice, two is too much, and I really value my overall health more!

Another big clean - attic

I took a few days off from work to deal with the attic in advance of big trash day.*  And really, just to get a break from work.

This is pic of the first load of crap I tossed down - there was no nice way to do it.  Many of the boxes were up there disintegrating.  The whole time I talked out loud.  I'm sure the neighbors think I have lost my marbles, and maybe I have. 

I cleaned up the first mess, ate lunch, then proceeded with throw-down #2.  Literally threw crap down from those stairs you see in the background.  That was in the piles you ask?

*High school love letters and photos Mark kept.

*All of his school work from high school, including all of the planning for his 10 year reunion.

*His college work.  His transcripts.

*Random work-related files.

*(his) Bank statements from college.  (our) Bank statements from the early '90s and 2000s.

*Bike tires from bikes we haven't owned in years.

*Two Christmas tree stands.

*8 bed elevators.

*2 Samsonite suitcases full of air.

*Two trash bags of styrofoam peanuts that I had to painstakingly clean up because the bags disintegrated.

*Clay targets, empty shotgun shells, a child's life vest that was 30 plus years old.

*Empty boxes for all the electronics he bought over the years.

*Much more.

All of it made me feel so angry.

After 8 hours of tossing and sorting, I cleaned up best I could for the day.

I stacked the cardboard, loaded up the recycle bin, and created piles of things to deal with.

Things to shred.  Things to recycle as soon as the bin is empty again.

Things to donate.

Things to place outside for big trash day.

Then I went inside and drank wine.

The next day I hauled the giant BBQ pit, and the rest of the big trash out and placed it all at the curb.  I was in Beast Mode.  My neighbors have got to be wondering what is happening over here.

I'll tell you what is happening:  I am gaining control over my life.  I'm getting rid of things I cannot use or don't want.  Organizing what's left.  Apologizing to no one.  Not leaving my kids with everything we've ever owned.

The garage still has too much in it.  But I will work on this in stages.  And as each "kid" gets their own house, I will drive up with a housewarming gift for them - all of their stuff.  Because Mom cannot store it here in her garage forever.  And none of it will go back up into the attic.

Once all of the recycle stuff has made its way to the curb, this side of the garage will be free.  It will be free space.  Space to move.  Space to breathe.

Space that isn't choking on the past.

The shredding continues.  Loose ends are being tied up.  And I feel like I am dealing with all that I was left to deal with in the best way I can.

The kids can thank me later.

Gina

*otherwise known as Bulky Trash Pick-up where the city comes and hauls away the crap that doesn't fit in your bins...and usually the junk men with their trailers get here first and haul a bunch away so that it never reaches the landfill.

Empty Nest Menu #93

{One last pic from Mabel}

Summer time fun time is here! 

Hopefully we can do some sight seeing this summer in Darby, aka our new ride!

Monday - Indian-spiced Chicken Bowls (with garlicky spinach over rice)

Tuesday - Salmon, fresh green beans, small twice-baked potato

Wednesday - Tomato Basil Gnocci, garlic toast

Thursday - Turkey Chili Crockpot, low salt Fritos

Friday - Honey Garlic Chicken, corn on the cob, roasted red potatoes

Saturday - TBD

Sunday - TBD as well, but we have a wine club pick-up in Fredericksburg.

*I just noticed how often garlic is mentioned in this week's menus...

Gina

Saying goodbye to Mabel

 We collected Mabel from Highlands last Friday, to take her home and get her ready to sell.

We've been very happy with her, but its time for us to do something a little different. {stay tuned}

She's in great shape as she's been under The Barn's overhang for the last 5 years.  We haven't taken her anywhere - just used her for a cozy place to sleep on the weekends.  So its time to upgrade a bit.

Can you believe we used to haul her with the Baja?  We loaded her up and took her to Canyon of the Eagles in Burnet for her first trip out.  She was also our anniversary B&B one year in Dripping Springs.

She attracted attention wherever we went.  People were drawn to her - she's a cutie.  See the big rig in back?  No more comfy than Mabel I will bet you!

Then later she took a trip to New Mexico, via West Texas.  She saw Palo Duro, 

Angelfire, 

Cimarron,

 and Caprock Canyon.  

We probably didn't use her to travel as much as we should have...

Here she is all cleaned up, after her spa day last weekend:

Every inch of her got emptied, then vacuumed and wiped down.

I never realized how much SCHTUFF was stored in her!

Her upholstery got a good wipedown, too.

We reconfigured a cabinet so we could add a microwave and still have the door open.  Her stainless steel backsplash got polished, her cutting board bleached, everything is spic and span, down to her floors.

Her little fridge is clean, as are all of her cubbies and cabinets.

She is ready for her new owners to love her.

She looks pretty sweet for a 12 year old RV - we have taken good care of her.

Wonder what her first adventure will be?

Gina

A place to shower at Highlands

 This was the shower up at Highlands:

A propane heated outdoor shower at the corner of the barn.  Highlands is pretty rustic.  Until there is a house built there it will be like camping.  But Hubby knew that in the winter months that just wasn't going to cut it. And while the house is being worked on, a place to shower off will be needed.  Enter the pumphouse:

 

It literally houses the water pump for the well.  And has plenty of space to put a small shower and a camping potty.

 

The inside of it is composite board with a window and high ceilings.  There is a lot of potential in this little space - we envision it being useful as an outdoor privvy for when we are working at the property.  It will need some sprucing up, to be sure.

But you gotta start somewhere and it has a sweet view.

I didn't take any pics of the process of building the little shower the day we did that.  It was so hot and we worked on it all day, literally making up the project as we went along.  And this is what we did:

We bought a heavy duty plastic tub, drilled a hole in the bottom and inserted a drain, attached it to a box to lift it up off the pipe underneath, drilled a hole in the pumphouse for the drain pipe, cover all the drain holes with screen, bolted the tub and platform to the wall, made a shower rod out of pvc pipe and attached to the wall and ceiling with brackets.

I ordered heavy duty extra long clear shower curtains that overlap, and added a shower organizer and some hooks to the back of the door.  I would love to paint over the composite wood and make sure the pumphouse is adequately sealed.  Plus, the floor is textured concrete so we will need some sort of mat - maybe slatted wood? - and a new step stool leading up to the tub would be nice.  We are simply going to move the propane tank and the shower contraption in here when the weather cools.  This has got to the be shabbiest reno ever, but if it helps us get out of the elements to take a shower, then it will be well worth our efforts!

Gina

The rest of Mabel's trip, Summer 2016

It's been three months since we returned from our adventure in Mabel, and seeing as Fall is upon us I really need to blog the rest of our adventure!  We traveled from Austin to Palo Duro, then on to Cimarron, Eagle's Nest, and Angel Fire, then through New Mexico to our next stop: Caprock Canyon State Park in Quitaque. 

After leaving Bubbie In Cimarron, we headed back to Angel Fire and enjoyed some beer and calzone from a local joint. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing at he RV resort - hung out at the lodge listening to Dale and Gayle (live music), enjoyed being the only ones in the very large hot tub where we watched the sun go down, then headed to the firepit to enjoy adult beverages until about 10 p.m.  We probably shouldn't have stayed up that late as we had to hit the road so early the next day - July 4th!

We got up in the morning (to temps in the 30's!) and cooked up some leftover pork chops and eggs in Mabel - I love that we have a functioning kitchen with fridge - makes breakfast easy.

Leaving Angel Fire, even when it was overcast, it was still pretty.  At each drop in elevation I was able to breathe a little easier - I never did adjust to the elevation, sadly.  Hubby kept saying "wouldn't this be a beautiful place to retire?".  Not without an oxygen tank for me!

 Pretty soon, we were out of the mountains and back into wide open spaces.

 It was a lot like West Texas - miles of flat scenery, the two lane highways bordered by ranches.  But we actually saw very little cattle - or other vehicles, even.

I think this is Lake Sumner - we traveled through Las Vegas, Santa Rosa, Fort Sumner, Clovis...we pretty much powered through until we got to the canyons.  We had only stopped for gas along the way and there was very little choice in the way of places to eat.  So, we snacked on almonds and Gardetto's until Muleshoe, then stopped at a grocery store for things to fix for dinner.

We cooked pan sauteed salmon, some leftover potatoes with bacon and red pepper, and a chopped salad, with white wine.  It was soooo good after a long day of driving.

Both of us, utterly exhausted, cleaned the kitchen up, finished the wine, and passed out!  At some point during the night I remember hearing it raining hard, but I barely moved the whole night.  Hubby said there was torrential rain, wind, and lightening!  The next morning we awoke to a peaceful scene:

There were bunnies hopping around and birds chirping and it was peaceful and calm.  I wish we could have stayed here longer.  It's such a beautiful park.  But we were trying to get to Austin in time to pick up Bubbie from the trip.

We loaded up the trailer and took ourselves to the showers to clean up.  And just down the road from the showers...

 ...we saw the resident bison herd.

 A calf was perilously close to the road!  There are signs everywhere telling you not to fool with the bison - they weigh up to 350 pounds and can outrun you.  

Caprock is as beautiful as Palo Duro, in my opinion.  And the park was far less crowded, even with it being a holiday weekend.

 

It was hot as blazes for the trip back, and due to a problem with the trailer connections we were late getting Bubbie.  All of us were hot, sweaty, and tired when we got home, so all of that is a blur!  We made notes along the way about what we will do differently next time - no hard and fast timelines, for one.  We cleaned and stored everything back in Mabel, go ready for the week ahead.  Whew - what a trip!  So, where can we go next summer?

Gina