I might not be a hardcore Jane Austen fan, but

and this 2009 adaptation of Emma remains one of my favorite ones of her work, which I go back and watch almost annually, and the soundtrack is just so delightfully lovely.

Loving the Steve Moments

When the (now) young man was little, we would watch Blue's Clues, with Steve.  

However, Steve later "went off to college" and got replaced by his "brother", Joe. 

By the time the reboot with "Josh" came along, the little boy was already a little young man, and we never caught any of it.

Steve will always be the OG host for us, and that little video he made a few years back, where he told us he never forgot us, gave me, a fully grown ( er, middle aged?) woman, quite the feels.

These days, I have started listening to Steve's Podcast, "Alive with Steve Burns", and I hardly listen to podcasts. To be fair tho, I WATCH it on YTube.  There have only been 2 "episodes" so far, but they are sweet, quiet and reflective, and I like them. 

In the episode with Jamie Lee Curtis, he talked about being someone who "morphs" ( my word, not his ) to fit in with the crowd he is in, for acceptance and like that .... and I often feel like I am that way too. I shall not elaborate more, but just leave it here. 

Takeaways from that episode, i.e. Steve's notes from his conversation with JML, who obviously adores him as well... :

"Be where your feet are"

"What other people think of you is not your business"

"Maybe it's not about giving no s**ts,  maybe it's about deciding which s**ts to give. "

"Your attention ( a finite resource) is your currency, and what you spend it on, matters."

Looking forward to the ?weekly Podcasts and insights. Keep 'em coming, Steve.

Moo Cow

I sometimes post about the neighbor's horses, but today there were cows!

Don't be a hater - I live out in the country. I have to work with what there is out here.

MORE Snakes.

The Young Man and I were talking one of our walks around The Plantation when he suddenly stopped me in my tracks with an outstretched hand. You know, like the things that go up and down at parking lots that let cars in and out.

Apparently I was about to step on a snake on the road. 

Doh. 

The Dimply Watermelon

The watermelon that came today with the groceries had a belly button!

A Thunderhead and the Papa-Razzi Strikes again.

Welcome to Summer, Texas Style.

Snakes Alive!

So I'm minding my own business, doing stuff around the yard, and come smack face to face with some molted snake skin.

Hanging off a tree limb, no less.

Yoiks.

Around the Yard

 Randomness around the yard.

I hurt myself

I was doing some work outside, fell backwards against something, and got a big angry scratch on my back.

I am thankful it wasn't too deep or needed stitches. 

The Grasshopper Scourge

This year has been a good year in terms of The Dreaded Grasshopper Scourge.

Must have been the timing of the rains with their hatching or something that drowned a bunch of eggs.  We are counting our blessings, but still can't help but scowl when we see the ones that made it.

To Patch a Hole on the RV Roof

Can you believe that this little hole has been causing such a leak in the RV? I'm glad we got up there and patched it up.

A New Air Conditioner

The air conditioner we have has been used to death, literally, and we even though we have a window unit in another room, it is hardly making that much of a dent in the brutal summers that we experience.

Now our fingers are crossed as we rely on this one to take up the slack and keep it at least liveable in here.

Another Spectacular Sunset

The Hubs always says that Clouds give the Sunset so much more Character. I would agree.

Never Have I Ever..

... come across a Millipede so gigantic.

Those Magical Moments..

....when you catch a deer unawares and watch it for a bit.

Misdelivered Toilet Paper

We had a bunch of toilet paper that were mistakenly delivered to us, and which we tried to return, but were told that we should just hold on to.

Not quite the type we would have gotten ourselves, but hey, not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

edit / update : We used the last roll on March 2026.

The Double Whammy Mouse Trap

We had been having a little bit of a mouse trouble at The Little House, our outdoor shed.  We had caught a few, but this both head and tail business was a first.  

The Hubs and I had Birthdays one day apart.

I didn't want to have to bake myself a cake, so we got me a carrot cake and the hubs a chocolate cake from The Walmart. :)

All 54 years of me.

Field Bindweed

I had to take a pic of this one because I truly do not remember ever having seen it on the plantation.  It's very cute, tho.

The New Microwave!

Alas, the old one died and microwaves being so "vital" these days, we had to go get a new one.  We decided upon one from Walmart.

The Galanz model that we decided on also does air-frying and baking, among other things. 

Fancy Schmancy.

Crepe Myrtle

Another burst of blooms that we look forward to as the season progresses.

The Enormity of the Sky

I love that our home somewhere where I can see so much of the sky, and its many moods and facets.

That's one crazy sunset.

Maintenance Mode

Being a homeowner who er, owns things, means that some things will need to be maintained now and again.

This is a small-ish thing, but when I went to change the batteries to the outdoor temperature sensor, I found a large Mud Dauber nest on it. 

I had to destroy someone's home to keep up with mine, but to be fair, I think they had moved out.

Dumpling/Dragon Boat Festival

So I bought some Bak Chang online to share with the boys for the Bak Chang Festival, and they were pretty good!

Texas Lilacs

So pretty :)

AnotherWest Texas Sunset

Look at all that Texture.

?$%^& Walmart Delivery.

A couple of the tires of our trusty wagon aren't doing too good and need to be replaced. Meanwhile, we try not to put too much weight on it, and have to pump it up all the time. 

SO, I try to put notices on the wagon as to how the delivery should be "arranged" within the wagonz so that the weight doesn't flatten the tire before I can get to retrieving it.

Makes me seethe silently when I see this.

Mother's Day Flowers from The Boys 💐

The boys went and picked some fresh wildflowers for me :) 

This one's from a cactus the boys dug up from out in the "meadow".