This past week, Michael and I had to make an unplanned trip to Texas to clean out his Mother’s house and get it ready to sell.
While it was sad to be going thru 60+ years of her life in that home, it was enjoyable to learn a few new things…..
…..like the fact that Michael was named a “Favorite” in his 4th grade class…..
He is so cute in his dark suit and super white socks!!! I also loved this photo of him…..
It was also fun to find his Mom (Esther’s) pages and pages of shorthand. Apparently when she was doing her Bible Studies, she would revert to the form of writing that she had used for MANY years when she was a secretary at a local bank…..
We found handmade horse saddlebags that Michael and his brother had made from green canvas……
Maybe this was the impetus for his current leatherwork…..
I came home with a few favorite items that I am looking forward to decorating with…..
Clint’s Shaving Mug & Brushes 
Candle holders made from old spools 
Welcome sign that I have liked for the 44 years that I have been in the home
I found a lap quilt that I made for Esther many years ago. Unfortunately I didn’t put a label on it (shame on me!!!) so I dont know when it was made…..
We spent a little over 20 hours working thru the 4 bedroom house and ended up with 66 boxes (mostly filled with the 700 books that we moved off of the shelves and the 100+ family photos sitting in frames around the house), 10 large garbage bags filled with bedding and clothes, and a dumpster FULL of unusable items.
We enjoyed our favorite Texas foods…..Tex-Mex, BBQ Brisket and good old Whataburger…..
We had one exciting event……
And yes, that is a small tornado!!! We watched it for about 5 minutes as it wandered around in the field and then dissipated. The winds were amazing!!
On the last day, I drove past the house that I grew up in and was excited to see that it looked great. Even more exciting was the kids swing hanging in the tree!!! I hope that they have as much fun in that front yard as I did!!!
It was good to get home again yesterday and get back to a bit of normal life…..and hopefully some creating soon!!!