There's A Freeze Coming

Just when I need to plant some colorful flowers in the planter boxes out front so the realtor can take pictures, the news says a freeze is coming to Texas. Saturday and Sunday it was 73 degrees, so I got suckered into thinking I could plant these petunias and marigolds.
I got out early this morning and prepared the dirt to plant, and then bought two flats of flowers. Home Depot had petunias and marigolds, Lowes had pansies. I was thinking Texas weather will be too hot for pansies in no time at all, so I went with Home Depot.

I did get them planted though...Planted right on top of the washing machine until the freeze is gone in a day or two. For now, I can get perked up every time I do some laundry.

Come on back any time you need to get a peek at some bright cheerful flowers. I'll even let you do a load or two!

Little Shops Of Salado - Garden Spirits

Down in Salado, which is about 10 miles from us, there are many little shops to discover. One of my favorite shops is this little original log cabin next door to the Stage Coach Inn. The name of this place is Garden Spirits.

I love how they mix housewares with old furniture and garden things. Next time I'm down there, I'll ask to take some pictures inside. For now, we'll just have to peek in the windows.

I took a close up of the old logs and chinking. Ladies, this is the real thing! On the outside wall is an old washing machine. How would you like to use this baby each week?

On top of the washing machine is a scrub-board, which predates the washing machine as the latest laundry asset. My ex-mother-in-law is a jewell of a woman, and besides being the best cook I ever knew, she still used one of these scrub-boards to get her grand children's socks as white as the snow.

When I was a young girl in the 50's, I remember we had a washing machine with a crank wringer on top, not much newer than this one. WOW...did I just admit that publicly???

These old stone blocks look like they've been here as long as the cabin. I love the way the old things are just lying about and no one bothers them. I love the haphazard plantings too.

These benches are as cute as can be. I'm sure they wouldn't be hard for you handy women to make if you can find the aged wood. Here's some closeups for you guys, in case you feel a project coming to mind!

So ladies, if you find yourself half-way between Austin and Waco on I-35, stop in to the little town of Salado. You'll find some wonderful shops to explore. If you can't get to Texas, well drop by my blog again and I'll be featuring more Salado shops from time to time.

Don't Miss Debbie-Do's Pet Party Going On Now

I've enjoyed seeing all the posts on pets and their owners at Debbie Do's Pet Party. Just had to make sure you've all seen it.

Check it out here

And thanks to my darling daughter Jenny for patiently explaining to this newbie how to do this link!

Chilly Enough For Chili

Baby, it's cold outside! Here's an easy way to 'MIX' up some chili and pass it off as homemade. If you've been here before, you know I don't cook much, but I am the master mixer. So if you want to "cook" up some chili the easy way, try this:

Get out your crock pot and a couple of cans of chili without beans. We like Wolf Brand Chili here in Texas. I buy one can of "hot" and one can of "regular" and mix them together in the crock pot. I add one can of pinto beans, a can of Rotel tomatoes with green chili's, chopped onion, and any leftover cooked meat I might have, like hamburger, roast beef, or chicken, etc.

Then I put the crock pot on low and let it simmer for about 3 or 4 hours. By the time Wild Bill gets home, I have the garbage taken out so there's no cans as evidence of my subterfuge. The man actually brags to people that "...mah wife makes the best chili in Texas!" (Yes... he really does talk like that. The daughters always go to stitches when he says "Buur-rith-toe" when ordering his favorite fare at Dos Hermanos Burito Shop.)

To top off your chili, add any of the following to your bowl:

shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes. I also like saltine crackers and a glass of ice cold milk with mine, to cool down 'the heat' as they say down here.

Come On February...

A while back, I wrote about the house that Wild Bill (AKA Gampy) had his heart set on. Well, come February, his little dream castle will be ours.

Other blogs have recently been posting about their 'favorite things', so I thought I'd put up the kitchen again and point out the things I love about it.

I'm not much of a cook, but I can just picture myself in the middle of this kitchen looking like I can cook.

And I so love the cabinets as there will be many places to hide the pots and pans. So many that I'll be perfectly honest when I say, "I can't find the pots and pans, so no cooking tonight dear!" Above the refrigerator space, the empty space is wired for cable and has electrical plugs for a built in TV. We don't need a TV there, so I plan to use the space to plug in lights and decorations galore. And I can't wait until next Christmas to put a little lighted tree in the space. I will probably have to jump the gun on decorating early for Christmas so I can enjoy it longer than usual, like maybe the day after Halloween? Or perhaps the 4th of July wouldn't be too soon?

I've always wanted seeded glass cabinets, so this little glass one will be my favorite cabinet. In fact, we have plans to use the same type glass in doors that we'll be adding to enclose the dining room. Come on back and we'll do the whole tour when we get moved in. I'm hoping to have a better camera by then so you can see the true colors!

Hey Chicagoland...What's Missing?

If you're living in the Midwest right now, I'm sure you know what's missing when you look outside here in Texas...it's the piles and piles of SNOW you're under.

Yes, we do get some snow about 2 or 3 times per year in Texas, but it disappears within a few days to a week usually.

We took these pictures when we were house hunting last month. I really like the way the builder used rock and brick to make the planter areas. I think it looks pretty good for late December and can imagine how beautiful it will be in late Spring.

The cold weather kinda wilted the plants a little, but it still looks good to me.

The builder even fixed up the area between the driveway and the walkway, cute I think. What do you think?

Grass goes dormant here in Texas, so this grass is probably brown by now, but even before Spring the green will come back.

...So, for those loved ones of ours in the Chicago-area, take a look at what you could be seeing if you weren't under all that snow!

The PAR-TAY Animal

It's embarrassing to say, but 87-year-old Pop was the only one of our group young enough to go out and party on New Year's Eve. He went down to the dining room for dinner at their retirement community and was missing for 2 hours. When he returned, he was dressed to the nines and had high tales of dancing and partying with the other senior residents.

I guess you know I'm really sorry to have missed such a rousing party. And since it lasted from 6 to 8 pm I might have actually been able to stay awake through it!

...Well, maybe next year? How 'bout you? Did you stay in like Jessie, Gampy and me, or were you a wild child who partied like Pop?

Mirror For The Mantle

Here's the new mirror I bought recently down in the tiny shopping mecca of Salado Texas. I have to go down every few days and visit the one they have hanging on the wall until the one they ordered for me arrives.

I hope it bugs them that I stand in front of it and take pictures...maybe it will hurry them up.

I love the rumpled finish on it and the decorations on the corners. I really need this soon, to hang over the fireplace to stag the house for selling. Once the house we live in sells, I'll move it to the new house and hang it over that fireplace.

Have you ever longed for something as much as I'm longing for this? If so, then you know why I'm going to bug them til they get mine in or take this one down and let me take it home!