Friday May 24, 2024
I woke up at 5 am. I had slept through the night again. I wrote my blog until 6:30 am. I had gotten a couple days behind on my blog and I’m wanting to get caught up. When it got light out, I let out the chickens, ducks and geese and let out the yorkies. The yorkies were going home this morning. I gave them each a bath, which their owners had asked me to do. I dried them off and put them in their kennels so they wouldn’t get dirty. I figured while I was at it, I would bathe our dogs as well. I bathed Bits first and he didn’t like it one bit. Then I bathed Christopher’s dog Jake who was really dirty and he thought he was being tortured. Lastly, I bathed Healer who loves water and he thought it was all fun and games. I didn’t bathe LacyJane because the minute she saw that it was bath time, she ran off and hid in the woods.
Once dog bathing was over, I took a shower and made tea and a smoothie. Finn and Angel were up and I made them waffles for breakfast. After they ate, Angel started on her schoolwork and Finn watched. I went in the banana hut and stripped the bedding off of my bed and the trundle bed. I put on fresh sheets and blankets and cleaned the floors. My friend Carolena was coming over from New Braunfels to spend the day with me and we had plans to go thrifting. Then this evening my friend Sarah was coming from Cedar Park to spend the night and we planned to go thrifting tomorrow. Two days of friends visiting and thrifting. Yay!!
At 9 am the yorkies went home and I wrote my blog until Carolena arrived at around 9:30 am. It was great to see her. She’d brought her adorable chihuahua dog Frannie with her but Frannie wouldn’t play with Bits. Carolena had Frannie in a big purse and Frannie stayed in that purse next to Carolena’s side the whole day. I didn’t hear a peep out of her. We greeted each other and the kids and I took her out to the goat pen to see the baby goat Rain.
Carolena and I sat in the banana hut and talked for a while catching up on each others lives. Then we headed out to go thrifting. We planned to go to the little thrift store in Rockdale that’s only open until noon and then go to the bigger thrift store in Cameron that’s open until 3 pm. We took the back roads to Rockdale so Carolena could see the beautiful scenery. About halfway to town my truck gave me a low tire warning for my back right tire. I had brand new tires and wasn’t sure why one would be low but I made a mental note to check it when we got to town.
We arrived at the thrift store 15 minutes before they closed and quickly got out. We checked the tire. Air was hissing out of it and it was almost flat. We quickly got back in the truck and I drove straight to the tire store. The guys at the tire store took care of us right away. Something had slit the tire open on the county road but it was a small slit that could be fixed. The tire was fixed and put back on all within 20 minutes and cost $15. Carolena and I chatted with the guys while they fixed the tire. We all became instant friends and gave each other hugs and blessings when we left. Carolena was enjoying the difference of small town life from city life. She said that she would have had to wait a long time in the city to get her tire fixed and it would have cost way more money.
Since the thrift store was now closed, we went to Moon Brew to get something to eat. I got a chia pudding and we chatted with my friend Rita who was working there. A friend of mine came in. He’s a young guy who goes to Columbia to live a few months out of the year. I asked him when he was going to Columbia next and joyfully he said in 6 days. Excitedly he showed me pictures of the apartment he is going to rent and told me he has enough saved to stay there 2 months. I was so happy for him. I told him I was thinking of going to Ecuador in January for a fruit festival. He encouraged me to go for it and shared more about his previous experiences in Columbia and how much he loves it there. I’ve been to Mexico and Costa Rica and it’s easy to fall in love with those places. I used to go to Mexico every winter and I haven’t been since 2019. I think it would be great fun to visit Ecuador since I haven’t been there before. The fruit is amazing in tropical countries and I love the people and culture as well. While I had been chatting with my friend, Carolena had been chatting with Rita. They became friends and exchanged contact information. We were all having a wonderful time of encouragement and sharing.
We left Moon Brew and stopped at the bookstore on our way to the thrift store in Cameron. I showed Carolena around and we looked at a few things. It’s such a cute bookstore that also sells unique toys and gifts. It was a beautiful drive to Cameron and we had a lot of fun at the thrift store. All household items were half off and we both found a few treasures to take home. For Angel, I found a wooden do-it-yourself kit of putting a wooden tool box together with the tools that go in it. She loves putting things together and building things.
We left the thrift store and drove back to Rockdale to the Episcopal church. It was my turn to set up the altar for Sunday and I thought Carolena would enjoy seeing the inside of the church because it’s so beautiful. Carolena did love seeing inside the church and took pictures while I set up the altar. That church has great energy and I might start attending there again every once in a while. I love the Episcopal service, it’s very reverent and peaceful. We stopped attending there when the church got a priest that didn’t like Angel and also because she was the only child there. We started attending Baptist churches that have children’s programs so Angel could be around other kids and she really enjoys that. The Baptist church services are wonderful in a different way, they do a lot of praise and worship.
After setting up the altar, we drove through town looking at houses for sale. We stopped at the store and then I did a drop in pet sitting opportunity of feeding Chance and Sofia and letting Sofia out to use the bathroom. The dogs were happy to see me and I gave them lots of pettings.
We arrived at my house around 5 pm. Carolena and I hugged goodbye and she headed home. We’d had a most wonderful together. We’d had heart enriching, deep talks while in the truck going from place to place and our connection was strengthened. I love that I can be real with my friends and our bond goes beyond the surface. I’m not the type of friend who just wants to have a good time. I like to get to the heart of what’s going on inside of people.
I showed Angel the do-it-yourself kit that I had bought her. She wanted to put it together right away. We sat on the couch and she put the wooden toolbox together with a little bit of help from me. She had so much fun doing it that she took it apart and put it together again. She did that over and over several times until it was time for dinner. She really enjoys building things.
Christopher made me a salad for dinner and we all shared our gratitudes around the table. Finn had gone home while I had been out thrifting with Carolena. I started a bath in the outside tub and while it was filling up, Angel and I walked to the gulley. I dug up some poison ivy that was near where the kids walk and play while Angel climbed around. We didn’t stay long and the bath was full when we got back. Angel and I took a bath together and I combed her hair out with a comb while it had conditioner in it. She liked me doing that because it didn’t hurt to comb it with the conditioner in it and she didn’t have to comb it herself when she got out. Angel had really long hair that tangles easily and she doesn’t like to comb it because it hurts. So I am always searching for easy ways to keep it combed.
Shortly after we got out of the bath, my friend Sarah arrived. She came inside and chatted with me while I organized the fruit storage shelves. While I was at it, I also organized the top of my desk. It all looked fantastic when I finished. Sarah and I made some tea and went out to the banana hut to get ready for bed. Sarah slept on the trundle bed and we chatted until 11 pm.
Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I dearly appreciate you.
Love,
Victoria
P.S. This blog post was inspired by the Holy Spirit.