News from the Fremont House

Last weekend we stayed home from the lake so that David could work and I could have a small garage sale with friends.  I decided I needed a little apron to hold money and such, but didn't want to pay for one.  I haven't sewn anything in several months, but it was fun to put this together out of supplies I already had.

 We didn't make a fortune, but had a great time!

 Early Friday evening I'd realized that the upstairs AC wasn't working.  A professional diagnosed our fears...it was time to retire the nearly 40 year old unit.  In the few days between diagnosis and replacement, it was too hot to sleep upstairs, so we set up camp in the living room.  Now that it's fixed and we can move back upstairs, I can say that camping in the living room was kind of fun!

 We also attended an anniversary reception for my friend Christina's parents, who were my second parents growing up.

Then on Monday, we saw James Taylor in concert!  He was a great entertainer and we really enjoyed it!

One STRESSED-OUT puppy.
Thanks for the sail T.H.

Lake News

We missed very few weekends at the lake since Mom and Dad bought the cabin, and we're loving it!  We spent Father's Day weekend here last weekend.

Mom and Dad got beautiful new furniture for the porch.  Perfect for taking a nap under the ceiling fan!  Or at least it will be once it cools off a bit!

 The other pennant arrived - Portland, ME - to go above the window.

This guy isn't too sure about getting around on Todd's boat, but I think he enjoyed it!  He leaves behind enough dog hair to build another dog!  Sorry Todd!

Hill Country

We had some time before the reunion, so after pondering our options, we decided to explore the little town of Salado.  

 This is just what a church should look like. :)  It's the Methodist church chapel.  They had a much larger newer sanctuary as well, but are clearly taking great care of this older one.

 There were quite a few antique stores and we had a good time exploring them.  I found this neat fishing creel and David got an older Coleman lantern - both are cabin-bound.

 David had been looking forward to seeing his Grandad's old truck.  It had been sold to a neighbor long ago, wrecked, and eventually bought back by one of David's cousins, who has it more or less running.

 Lots of time was spent looking under the hood and checking it out.  It was great to see so many of David's cousins, as well as meet an uncle and a cousin I had not met before.

 This is David and his Aunt Evelyn, and her little dog Heidi.

I took lots of pictures of the truck and have had fun working with different filters to make them look old.

Hope we get to go back next year!

Just Like a Fool, When Those Sweet Goodies Cool, I Eat 'Til I Eat Way Too Much

Last weekend we traveled to Central Texas for a family reunion of David's mother's family.  We ate really well the whole weekend, starting with lunch at Swadley's BBQ in OK City.  

 The food was so very good, and as you can see, plentiful!

 By Waco, TX, we were getting hungry again, and found this sweet place called Health Camp.  It's been there since 1949, serving burgers and shakes.  I've love to know the history of the name, because I wouldn't exactly call it healthy.  It was tasty though, and a fun place.

 Our first morning in Salado, we had sausage kolaches at a great little donut shop called Creamy Donut.  I ate it in such a hurry though that I didn't get a picture.  The next morning, we stopped there again for another kolache, then we headed to Round Rock for the best donuts you'll ever eat.

 They were almost too hot to hold, and SO delicious!  That's what reminded David and I of Jimmy Buffett's song about beignets.

More to come from the reunion (where we also ate very well) but we had such a great foodie few days, I thought it deserved an honorable mention.

Meanwhile At The Lake

We been able to spend the last few weekends at the lake, where it's warm enough now for dogs to swim.  

 Dog swimming results in dog napping in the sun to dry off.  Mom and Dad were able to finally spend the night at their cabin Memorial Day weekend.  I'd promised that Lake Riley was much more calm than Home Riley.  He just a step above comatose unless he's in the water. :)

 Before going on vacation, I'd found this dresser that I liked.  It was 2-3 times more than I was hoping to pay, and we were headed on vacation, so I mostly forgot about it.

Until, that is, I saw it's twin in a different store.  I paid 36% of the price of the dresser above for the one below.  It's just perfect!

 We went for a boat ride with Todd and Emma to check out the lake Memorial Day weekend.

 It was so nice out on the water!

 Dawn, Sam, and Sophia came one evening, and Connie and John came for lunch the next day.  We had a great time, but I managed not to get any pictures. :(

I decided some travel pennants would be fun above the windows, and found this cool Camp Ellis Beach pennant on ebay.  Another one is on it's way for the other window.

We're having a great time at the lake - playing with the dogs, eating, napping, decorating, and eating again!

New Floors

We've talked for some time about having our floors refinished.  They were in bad shape and getting worse all the time.  What better time to have them done than when were were going to be gone for a week+ on vacation?  Gracie went to stay with her grandparents and Riley went to his usual place, so the house was emptied and ready.  The whole first floor has wood floors, so everything had to be moved out.  The floor people moved the big furniture, but we had to empty everything and have it ready.  It was way too much like moving for my taste and may have cured any crazy moving thoughts I had.

  Here are a couple of "before" shots.

As if by magic, we returned home to this!  I should have taken a picture, but near where David is standing, someone before us had started to paint a PINK quilt on the floor.  It's been covered with a rug since we moved in, but it's nice that now it's really gone.

 It took a while to get everything put back where it goes, and we had to wait a month to put the big rug back down.

 It rained a lot in that month's time, and we spent a lot of time obsessively cleaning dirty paw prints off the floor.

 I invested in a couple of new rugs to help protect the floor.  One at the back door where we go in and out, and another at the front door.  Maybe it was just a good excuse to buy new rugs!

 It seemed like no time at all before we could put the big rugs back, and now it feels like home again.

Williamsburg - Jamestown - Yorktown

Somewhere between Charleston and Williamsburg, it began to rain.  The rain settled in and stayed with us the rest of that day and all of the next.  We walked around and ate dinner at one of the restaurants that he been recommended to us.

It was apparent the next morning that my sandals were not going to work well in 55 degree rainy weather, so we made a little detour for socks, rainboots, and an umbrella before setting out to see Colonial Williamsburg.  Once we were properly outfitted, the rain really wasn't so terrible.  I loved all of the buildings and think our reproduction saltbox would fit in pretty well.

 Even in the rain, the flowers were beautiful!

 Every now and then, the rain would let up for a little while.

 We bought the pass that let us into all the buildings and demonstrations and I think made it to most of them over two days.

 Isn't that red house neat?  Some of the houses are owned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation but are private residences.  Only one house on the main street is still privately owned.

 The rain finally let up enough for the afternoon march.

On our second full day in the area, we went to Jamestown and Yorktown.

 I was surprised at Yorktown to find a beach on the York River.  We ate across the small street from the beach at a little cafe with outside seating.  The food was okay, but the view was great!

 Yorktown also had some really neat houses.

 We finished the day back in Williamsburg, trying to see anything we missed.  While we were admiring the sheep, a little boy was trying to pet one.  His mother shrieked "don't touch those!  They look like they haven't been bathed...ever!"  We had to laugh.  I'm guessing she didn't grow up any where near the country!

 The general's rousing speech had to be canceled the previous day due to the weather, but we got to hear it this time, along with the gun and cannon demonstration.

I'm so glad to finally get to see Colonial Williamsburg!  David had been when he was about 10, so it's been a few years.

The weather didn't always cooperate, but it was a great vacation!  We headed home the next day and made it as far at Mt. Vernon, IL.  After lunch at our favorite sandwich place in St. Louis, we made it home.