Well, We Are Changing Our Moving Plans!

The State Department has informed us that we are now headed to Germany where my husband will serve in the same position he is presently serving in!  This is a disappointment to us, as we were pumped and ready to move to the Middle East together.  I guess we will have to put our dreams of living in the Middle East on hold for awhile...

Guess I will pack some snow boots!

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful!!!

There are just too many beautiful photos to share!

I still haven't even had time to capture the Japanese Iris which grow wild in our woods!

Very Old Song, Still Loved in Texas!

Everybody likes this song and I certainly do! 
My husband sings it to me all the time!

I Keep Wondering What My New Home Will Look Like

I love my humble little home on Soldier's Heart Ranch.  We certainly don't live in splendor, or even in high style, but the things we have done to our little 2700 square feet, and the things we have arranged there please me.  I wonder often now what my new temporary home in Kuwait will look like, and I look so forward to decorating it.  The work and art of furnishing a home so that it is a comfort to those who live there as well as those who visit is something I greatly enjoy.  Here are a few pictures to share what my home in Texas is like.  I spend time day dreaming now of how I will arrange my home in Kuwait to provide comfort to guests, and invite them to stay awhile and visit.

These are just a few of the rooms of our present home, I will post more later.

Chance is Defiitely Going to Kuwait!

I have an adorable addition to the household, and he is the other pet which will go to Kuwait with us. His name is Chance, and he has a personality that won't quit!   He is almost perfectly mannered, and is as charming as he can be.  Who couldn't love a face like this! 

However, he does have one little bad habit...

He wants out this door, really badly every morning, well really all day long!

In and of itself, that is not a point of contention...

There is a lot of little details however which serve
 to make it a little problematic...

First there is the fact I like to get up at 5A.M.  I do that because I like to start my morning slowly.  I like to make my eggs, bacon, and coffee with International Delight's Sugar Free Caramel Macchiato Gourmet Coffee Creamer, and set a pretty table in the kitchen. I watch the sun rise through the french doors and windows which the table sits in front of as I enjoy my breakfast.  (I am trying to stay off the sweets, and truly that concoction from International Delight in my coffee is an adequate sugar fix for the whole day, and I don't get a bit of sugar!)  I check my email, work on my blog, and read books as I eat slowly, and sip my coffee. The eagerness with which Chance approaches every day isn't slow in any way, hence the conflict in our two morning routines.

Chance just  cannot wait to go outside... and before the first ray of daylight, along about 4:30, he begins begging to go outside. First he paces... going to the window and using his nose to push the curtain aside, and peeking out.   He jumps around, "noses" me, and seems to be able to whine in several different languages. If that doesn't get me up, he puts both paws up on the bed, completely forgetting his limp from the night before from racing around chasing the horses, and does something akin to singing.  With his head thrown back, making vocals such as I have never heard from man nor beast, he sings of his desire to "live free."  In his favor, he is such a little gentleman, as when I tell him no, he is quiet for about 5 minutes. Then it starts all over again until I get up and let him out. (I guess persistence is a virtue... in some cases...)  It was so chilly this morning, about 42, and I have to stay out with him before the sun comes up, because there are huge packs of coyotes that come through the property during the night.  They would have him in less than thirty seconds.

So a brief time for morning routines, then we go back inside and it is now time to get up... sigh...  I start my own routine... but it isn't quiet and peaceful any longer.  The next round of desiring the outdoors begins just about the time I set down to breakfast, and the rounds end when he naps, or we go to bed at night.  Who cares, he is a wonderful little companion, dashing through his days in complete joy at having found a home at the ranch!

When he saw the cat go by when I let him in for breakfast, he immediately deduced there could be amusing things going on inside the house too! I can't wait to watch him explore Kuwait, I know he will love it!

I Like Winter Weather, As Long As I Don't Have to Get Out In It

I will miss the winter weather when we move to Kuwait.  It is sleeting for the third time at my house this year. I live an hour from Houston. I can't believe this. While I love the snuggling in front of the fire place with my computer, I hate feeding the horses and other animals in the cold, the ice, and the mud. 

The cold weather also makes me miss my husband Randy. When we were going to military balls, I remember one where we were at the command in Chicago, and attending General Anson's celebration ball upon his receiving his first star.  Brigade business kept my husband at the unit up til the time we had to leave for the ball, so I had dressed in the unit lady's room.  That wasn't particularly desirable, but I was always a good Army wife, and it didn't ruffle my feathers the least bit.  

We arrived at the front of the hotel where the event was being held, and I was as dressed up as I get... long formal... long white fur coat, the whole deal... Like the "eight grade boy trapped in a man's body" that he is, we get out to allow the valet parking and my husband began throwing snowballs at me... he was in his "dress mess," I was in my long WHITE coat... long formal with a "fan tail," which I was holding up with my right hand to keep it out of the snow.  For a bright man... sometimes... he runs with scissors. Ladies, that is just one of the reasons we love a man in uniform, isn't it?

Sometimes I just love being out in the winter weather... 

I Just Don't Know About Patriot Going to Kuwait With Us

Patriot is the sweet Australian Shepherd which I rescued at Tony's the local restaurant in Sealy, one day after church.  I named her Patriot, and shortened that to Patti.

 She was soaking wet from being out in the rain with her two siblings, (I talked two other folks into taking the sibs,) and covered in fleas.  After a warm bath with flea shampoo, she snuggled down and got warm.

She became the newest member of our household.  She didn't housebreak well, so soon she became an outside dog.  She enjoyed being outside, because there was more room to run.  She loves to run, to jump, and to herd...

I will confess, I have neglected the training part.  Health issues, and another of those scorching hot summers in Texas kept me inside for much of the summer.

You be the judge, where do I start with Patti in her present state of mind?

Is she a good candidate for life in Kuwait?

Would she be welcome at the Embassy?

       

Texas Castle, Yes, I Said Texas Castle!

Mike Newman, of Newman's Bakery fame, built his own castle near Bellville, Texas.  It took him 12 years, and hiring a helper on occasion, but he built the castle by himself.

 

Texas Doesn't Have Just Horses, Cows, Wildflowers, and Rodeos

They have castles too, like this one in Bellville where we live!

 It took Mike Newman 12 years to build this castle, and he did it mainly by himself.

Sharing My World With Kuwait

Posting pictures of the birds of Soldier's Heart Ranch is something I enjoy doing, and as in a previous post, I am adding these to the blog to share with Kuwait some of what my world has been.  I enjoy so much looking at the images and photos of the wild birds found in Kuwait.  There are many water fowl which I have found, but others which are desert dwellers too!  Can not wait for the opportunity to photograph your birds!  In the mean time, here are photos of some birds that frequent our ranch I wish to share with you.

This is a female Cardinal, isn't she a beauty!

One of the water fowl of Texas, the always elegant Great Egret.

This bird is known as an Eastern Phoebe.

This is the Eastern Blue Bird, red, white, and blue, just like a Texas flag.

This is a Great Blue Heron, which is very difficult to get a photo of.  One dark and gray winter day I caught this one fishing in our pond.  He frequents our pond, but they are very shy birds, and I have had a hard time getting  photos of him, he has a small fish in his beak, which he has caught in the pond.

I have seen images online of some of the beautiful birds of Kuwait, and as I have said, I am looking forward to becoming familiar with the birds, and capturing photos to share with the world.