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

Weekend progress at Highlands

This last weekend, Hubby and I decided we would go ahead and purchase the beadboard for the barn's restoration.  {"The Barn" is the name we've given to the tiny apartment-like room under the metal building at Highlands, so named because its painted red.}

We got a late start on the morning, so we didn't make it to Home Depot until after lunch.  Burnet has one family-owned hardware store, so if you need something more, you have to travel to Marble Falls or Lampasas.

I think we bought something like 8 sheets of the stuff, plus various widths of trim.  It was a process just to purchase and load it - that should have been my first clue that we were in for a hard weekend.  But this project is a big one and we need to get moving on it  so we can finish well ahead of winter.  Hubby has already done so much to the space - completely re-working the electrical and plumbing, installing lights, a TV, water filtration system, storage... 

When we are done, all of the walls of the barn apartment will be white with white trim above and below, the floors will be a light grey, there will be a sleeper sofa against one wall, and the A/C will vent out through the building itself so that we can free up the window.  One half of the apartment will be sleeping and relaxing (bedroom), the other will be eating and storage (kitchen).  There are screens on the doors and windows, plus a ceiling fan,  so cool breezes can be enjoyed in fair weather.  The view from our barn apartment is lovely and there is space for Mabel {the T@B trailer} out back.  And eventually, we will be able to live here on site as our new house is constructed, if only for a month or two.  And afterwards it can be guest quarters or Hubby's home office.

The shower and potty are in the pumphouse just a short walk down the road - it will have to do for now!  Anyway, as usual I do not have loads of photos of the process this weekend - it was very very hot out and there was a LOT to do, meaning we spent most of the time actually working.  Summers at Highlands are brutal with 100 degree temps.  We took lots of breaks to stand under the outdoor shower to cool off and drank gallons of iced tea and water.

But a fire was built and enjoyed at sunset on Saturday.  

Two full days of building and nailing and lifting took its toll on us - we are not spring chicks any more.  We left the place picked up and clean, but breaking camp seemed to take us forever!  We ate take-out cheeseburgers for dinner on Sunday and called the weekend done at 10 p.m. - late, even for us.

Every now and then a weekend really wears me out - this was such a weekend.  Though we have loads of work to continue at Highlands, I have a list of things I want to do at Camp Rustown and my peeps will be here for dinner on Saturday, so I am staying put at home this coming weekend.  In a couple of weeks, we'll be back at Highlands and I will have more photos to share of the process.

Gina

Weekend re-cap: BBQ, wine, barn cleaning, haircut

Last weekend wasn't all work - we traveled to Marble Falls and filled up our growler at Save the World, ran by Lowe's for I-forget-what, then stopped at a favorite BBQ place in Burnet and picked up some sammies to go.  

 To 7 Creeks we traveled next, eating our sammies on their breezy porch, then enjoying a bottle under their oak grove in our favorite chairs.  It was windy and cool and really relaxing.

The vines love the Texas Hill Country!

Like many other folks, I am happy that things are starting to go back to some sort of normal.  I ordered some face masks from my favorite wine blog so that we can be stylish on the weekends!  I'm ready to get back out there and explore.

Back at Highlands we had a short list of putseys to do - I cleaned up the cushions for these chairs and gave them a touch-up of black spray paint.  I ordered some citronella votive candles last summer that smell really nice and seem to last a long time.  The cute jar they are in is from Dollar Tree.

 A recent storm had blown the cabana lounger several feet away and we had to put that back, but everything else was unscathed.  Hubby hooked up some lighting that he strung in the trees out front and I put new chalkboard labels on the dry storage lockers.  We mostly relaxed the rest of the afternoon.  I made a skillet sauce with fresh tomatoes to eat with fresh ravioli pasta by the campfire. 

The next morning Hubby did a bit more mowing.  Then we cleared out under the barn overhang in prep for power washing.  It had never been done, I guess.  So full of dirt, spider webs, bird nests.  

 Maybe this weekend I will give everyone "the tour" of the barn. 

We enjoyed a BBQ charcuterie - sliced beef sausage, leftover BBQ sauce, buttery crackers, muenster, proscuitto mozzarella chunks, and a random sliced banana.   

And also a mimosa!  We used ruby red grapefruit in ours.  We hooked up the trailer in prep for helping Firstborn and LA move into a new apartment today, then headed back so I could cut his hair.  I guess when he's a bit further away, he won't be driving all the way to me for haircuts?  I don't know, but I don't mind doing it - I save him some money and get to chat with him.  

Busy weekends mean not too much time to feel bored but they do wear us out!

Gina

Weekend re-cap: work on the Barn

Hubby has been burning through some PTO that he either has to use, or lose.  So, he's been working on finishing out the inside of the Barn.  I went up there last Saturday to see the progress and take him for lunch and a beer at Save The World.  I don't have a set of befores, but here's the progress:

*insulated all of the interior and did some electrical repair
*cleared a nice open space for camp cots and brought in a footlocker for blanket storage

*re-arranged the kitchen {but we will likely move that table out from underneath the TV, and store that camp kitchen (large green and tan box) and I think I want to move the microwave, too}

 *installed a ceiling fan and lights system, mounted the TV and an outside antenna

 *added a few hooks for jackets, repaired screen doors so that they will snap back
{you can see Mabel out of the back door}

Now we move on to installing a floor, sheet rocking the walls, and adding ceiling panels.  We will add pegboard to the kitchen wall, and get a new A/C unit.  So this is definitely a work in progress.  There are a lot of small home storage features we want to add like hooks to hang things, a way to disguise the pee potty, and open wire shelving.

On Sunday I had a list as long as my arm of things to get accomplished at Camp Rustown since I was on call.  The Girl was getting ready to head back to Houston, packing, playing with Teddy and giving him a bath.  So I busied my self with getting all of Christmas put away and getting the front room cleaned up.

I still have (almost) all of Christmas fitting nicely into four boxes since some of it lives on high shelves in the laundry room.  After The Girl headed out, we cleaned up the guest room and bathroom, worked on laundry, vacuumed the house, and made a couple of sandwiches out of the freezer leftover Buffalo Chicken. It wasn't an exciting weekend, but we got a lot done!

Gina

Travel meds for Mabel

Most of the things I need over a weekend at Highlands fits into my hanging organizer.  But occasionally I rummage through there and not find something either Hubby or I need.  And it seems like I was running out of room.  Sometimes I run across something I need in one of the trailer's overhead bins.  Or the big first aid kit in the barn. But there has 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 ziplocs.  I pulled out an assortment of the things we seem to need most often:

Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, 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!

 

 

 Ready and loaded into my travel tote to be taken to Mabel!

Gina

Wednesday Menus #8 and Highlands

It's been 5 months since we purchased a little piece of property we call Highlands.  I've only been out there a handful of times, but each time I go I find something new.  Last week I discovered several small springs bubbling up, patches of bluebonnets springing up everywhere, and a fossil of what looks to be a plant, trapped in one of the cliff walls.

 

 

 

Wednesday - Turkey Apple Quesadillas, sweet potato fries
Thursday - Pork loin chops, broccoli rice casserole (freeze half)
Friday - Quiche Lorraine, skillet potatoes, sliced pears
Saturday - YOYO - Mon and Dad in Burnet
Sunday - Meatball Lasagna, broccoli
Monday - Biscuits with sausage gravy ('cause I never made it a couple menus ago...), eggs
Tuesday - Fish with parsley lemon breadcrumbs, carrots, garlicky noodles
Dessert this week is Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Looking at this menu I feel a tad bit guilty over not having more veggies - I'll do better next week!

 

Hubby's little piece of heaven and a nice place to spend an afternoon.

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