Friday, July 19, 2013

Way out in the sticks

We live way out in the sticks.  I guess it's really not that far.  We're only 20 some miles from the nearest town.  The miles are what is fondly referred to as "hill miles".  A hill mile takes longer than a straight mile, mostly because there are curves 


and inclines and more curves 


 

an a couple of STEEP inclines thrown in.






There is a beautiful creek.....




something that is called a soft shoulder.



What the sign really means is there is NO SHOULDER ahead.



To make things extra interesting there is a half mile of gravel country road that leads up to our home.

  (keyword Up).  

The drive into town is one of the new things in my life that I am getting used to.

This past week was the first time we drove from "town" back to our house in the dark.  There was a women's event at James River that I wanted to attend, but I (the coward that I am) did not want to drive back home in the dark, alone.  I mentioned to Lyn that I'd like to go to the event and then dangled our grandson in front of his heart.  I said "You know, if you dropped me off you could go hang out with Ki."

If Lyn saw through me taking advantage of him, he never said a word. He just agreed to drop me off and pick me up and drive home in the dark!  That man sure does love me a ton a much!

It was an uneventful drive home.  It was dark, there were curves and steep inclines and winding roads that my husband navigated just perfectly.  It was a beautiful night.  The stars were out and the sky looked just beautiful.  I think I can manage it, maybe, one day on my own.


Living the country life, down the winding road, up the steep incline and off to the left - Ingrid

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Only 5 boxes left to unpack.......

It's just over a month since we moved to Missouri.  The actual moving part went quickly it's the unpacking that has taken time.  I keep asking myself, why didn't I get rid of that in Wisconsin?  Why did I think that was so important that I needed to move it?  It's not just me, my husband - Lyn is asking the very same questions.  What was so important that I couldn't get rid of this?  These questions just lead us to the local Goodwill to donate the items we couldn't let go of.  I keep telling myself - No More Clutter.  Check back with me in 10 years and we will see how I am doing.

Now about our new place.  My friend Deb was right, she warned us about the night and the quiet.  It gets really dark out in the country and I DO need nightlights (Lyn laughs at me about this).  The quiet is also deafening.  There is no traffic noise whatsoever.  I am getting used to having a farmer for a neighbor, this means waking up to cows mooing or roosters crowing depending which sound hits my waking consciousness first.

My favorite view from our house is overlooking the Ozark Mountains.  I can't wait to see what happens in the fall.


We have inheirited a dog with our new place.  His name is Bennet.  He actually lives down the road.  He comes up to our house for breakfast and to lay around on our front porch.  This really is the best way to have a dog.  No responsibility. No picking up afterwards.  Just a head to pet.  In repayment he semi-protects our house.  



We've found some snakes around the property.  So far the count is snake's 2, Gunther's 4. My husband thought it would be funny to place this snake on the garage floor for me to find.  It worked, it scared the bejeebers out of me.



Fake Snakes.  It's still there, in the garage, my daughters tell me I should cut its head off.


This friendly turtle came to visit us.  We've also had a few lizards which are interesting to me, having never really been in an area where they live. 



If you look very carefully inbetween the spindles there are two deer in the meadow.

So far we are enjoying the country life, and we're about ready to start Lyn's business.  That's a whole nother story.  I'll keep you in the loop.