Author: Sherry Ruddell

A Trip to Justin, Texas

We visited Justin, Texas. What a cool town!

What do you think about, when you hear Justin, Texas??? I always think about Justin Boots. That must be where they originally made the boots, right? Nope. Think again. Did they name the town after the boot company? Nopity Nope.

Justin, Texas was actually named in honor of Justin Sherman, a chief engineer with the Santa Fe Railroad. Justin was once a center of salvage companies. After Western wear became very popular, in the 1970’s, the Wallace family started focusing on Western wear. The three major salvage companies closed and the salvage industry disappeared.

Justin is a town of about 4,500 people, close to Denton, Texas. It is really close to the Texas Speedway. In fact, years ago, the town almost bought the Texas Motor Speedway, but didn’t have enough money to run and maintain it. So the Speedway ended up with a Ft. Worth address.

We decided to visit Justin, on Saturday. It’s a nice town, with that down home feel. There is a pretty park, on the south side of town, that has a veteran’s memorial. I had my veteran stand by the memorial. The lighting wasn’t very good, but I’m so proud of him! On the west side of town, there is a Municipal building and another municipal park. The Municipal complex was really nice.

We stopped at an Antique store. There was a fun Halloween display, right outside of the store. We found lots of treasures within, but, alas, no heads! Next door was a Mexican restaurant, and there was another restaurant that was close to that one.

We decided to look inside the Justin Discount Boots & Cowboy Outfitters. Oh my gosh! There were rows and rows of boots. They actually have three buildings, with over 90,000 square feet of displays. WOW! I fell in love with a pair of toddler boots. So, SEE??? They DO have a ton of Justin Boots in this town!

Before we left town, we decided to get something to eat. We found the The Mule Barn. It was a sports bar and restaurant. What a fun place! The food was delicious, a band was setting up, and the place was huge. This was where you saw people coming in, and waving to others, because everyone knows each other. I love that kind of atmosphere.

Where have you been lately? Any fun, little towns? I like to explore the little towns around my area. I’m thinking a day trip to Hico will be in our future. Every time we go through there, it appears to be a happening town.

Please , if you please, leave a comment on here, and a Like.

Grandma Sherry

TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT SEPTEMBER

I LOVE: The arrival of fall! I hope you’ve had a great September. We also had our trying times. My hubby had covid. My backyard weeds are ridiculous, in my flower beds. It’s just been too hot to bother with them. That’s my next goal. But, overall, it was a good month. There’s something about … Continue reading “TEN THINGS I LOVE ABOUT SEPTEMBER”

I LOVE:

The arrival of fall!

  • The Texas State Fair begins.
  • I can open my windows to let in a breeze.
  • I’m able to go for a walk, and not die of heat within a minute.
  • School has began again, giving us good schedules to work around.
  • My piano students are all back from their summer relaxation.
  • Making pumpkin pie and hearty crockpot meals.
  • Decorating for Fall and Halloween.
  • Spending time with my grandkids.
  • Seeing the change of seasons in the garden.

I hope you’ve had a great September. We also had our trying times. My hubby had covid. My backyard weeds are ridiculous, in my flower beds. It’s just been too hot to bother with them. That’s my next goal. But, overall, it was a good month. There’s something about Fall arriving that makes me want all things cozy.

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Grandma Ruddell

    The Yin and Yang of a Week of Covid

    We’ve just been through a week of covid. It was a time to think, rest and feel better.

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    This past week was going to be one of our busiest weeks of the month. On Sunday morning, at church, Dick was liturgist and I taught Children’s Church. We both enjoy doing these things. I had my two grandkids with me, which made it extra fun. They had spent the night with us, on Saturday night. They are like two peas in a pod. I love how they play together! They were both going to go home, right after lunch on Sunday.

    I believe every school district in Texas must have scheduled Grandparent’s Day at their schools, for that week! We had one scheduled to attend, in Waco, for our Granddaughter, Libby. That was on Wednesday. But first, I went to the Dentist, on Monday morning, and that evening, I went to Bunco. When I returned home from a fun night of Bunco, Dick and I figured out what time we would leave for Waco, on Wednesday. It’s an hour and a half drive, so we were going to leave about 9, with a stop at Buc-cees for a gift. Not only would it be her school’s Grandparent’s day, but the next day would be her birthday.

    Tuesday afternoon, I gave my two piano lessons. One is a beginner, and is quite enthusiastic! This day, she brought four of her stuffed animals to listen to her lesson. One of these, she sat on the edge of the piano, because he had “a big, fat butt that would sit there nicely.” Yes, yes, I know, my child. We can barely fit on the piano bench, for duets, because of my big, fat butt.

    That evening, Dick was sitting in his recliner, with an afghan wrapped around him. Now let’s be completely honest here. I am Woman, He is Man. He always complains about how freezing cold it is in the house. I thought he was trying to make a point. I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t THAT cold! But then, later, he told me he had the chills. Hmmmm. Didn’t sound good.

    Wednesday morning, we are 15 minutes from leaving for Waco. Dick said he felt like he was coming down with something. Uh Oh. I suggested we both test for Covid. We had heard, by then, that six other people from church had covid. Dick’s test came back positive. Mind came back negative. I banned him into the bedroom, which also has a couch, the master bathroom, and let him go into the office to watch the news. While he went and laid down, I made phone calls and sent text messages. Here’s most of what I cancelled: My other 10 piano lessons for the week; the Grandparent Lunch with Libby; Choir Practice; the once-a-month Cleaning Lady; Dick’s sister and hubby coming to stay all night with us on Thursday evening; going to my grandson’s (Isaac) Grandparent Day at his school; and heading to OK for the weekend, to celebrate Dick’s sister’s 80th birthday at a big party. There had been a lot of plans for that week!

    So, we both stayed home for the week. Dick was feeling sick for several days, though not severely. I used my Freezer Meals, watched TV, and thought about doing yard work, but that thought passed. When Dick was feeling better, past his 5 days of isolation, I had him change out some pictures for me. I got out the decorations for Fall, and have been slowly decorating. We’re slowly venturing out. Dick has gone swimming, and rode his bike for 30 miles. My piano students are back this week. That’s good! Not only did I miss them, but so did Bill, our Black Lab. He LOVES piano lessons!

    Sometimes we just need to slow down. We had packed so many things into last week’s plan, that I was wondering how we’d get it all done. I’m sorry we missed out on the activities. But I enjoyed the rest. Kind of. I don’t think Dick enjoyed it. Bill was bored.

    And so, God said, “I have given you rest. Now, GET WITH IT!”

    Have a good day. Happy Fall.

    Grandma Sherry

    Bargaining Chips

    Wow! The last two months have been full of things needed for our house . And I’ve used some bargaining chips with my hubby. If it were up to him, we’d sit and think about something new needed for awhile, and he’d save up for it in the budget. That’s not a bad thing…unless we need something immediately! Hmmm.

    About two months ago, hubby had finally decided we could get a new hardwood floor in the music room. The carpet was old and stained and embarrassed me when anyone came over. That room is generally a living room, in most houses. I give piano lessons, so it is my music room. Directly across from that room , is our dining room. That carpet was 20 years old. The area rug, under the dining room table, never laid down properly. I wanted to have hardwood in that room too. But Dick wanted to wait and save up for the dining room. He had saved for the music room. When the rug people came, she said it would only be another couple of thousand dollars for the dining room, since it would be done all at once. Here comes my bargaining chip!!! I said I would pay for the dining room, which they said I could pay it gradually for a year. It would come from my piano money. Grumble, grumble. Finally, that’s how we did it. I also bought the area rugs. Oh, it looks SO MUCH BETTER!!! And that, folks, was Bargaining Chip, #1.

    We had planned a sibling trip to NYC, for the second week of August. I had saved up about $900 for that trip. However, I barely spent any of that. When we returned , with our suitcases of dirty clothes, our dryer worked for one load. When Dick tried to put his clothes in the dryer, it wouldn’t even start. He ended up going to the laundromat to dry his clothes. (Yes, I know I’m lucky that he does his own laundry.) We were having two groups coming to our house, in the next few days. For some reason, I received a $400 check in the mail, the next day. It was for overpayment to our health insurance. I think it was a God thing, that that came when it did! I signed my name, and put it on Dick’s desk.

    So the next day, I went to Lowe’s, took a picture of what I thought would be good…mid-range…and texted my hubby. Well, he thought maybe we needed to think about it for awhile. WHAT??!!! I let him know I was taking back the check, and he would be doing laundry for the household, at the laundromat, for the rest of time. I know, I know…I am not a patient woman!!! The next Sunday, we went out to eat. Across the highway, was a Best Buy. I suggested that we check out their appliances. There we found a great dryer, that could be delivered in two days. And it was time for my Bargaining Chip, #2. I told him that he could use the $400 check for this. In addition, we only had to pay about $300 to buy the dryer. So that was Bargaining Chip #2.

    At the last Church garage sale, I sold our kitchen chairs and bar stools. Our round table has a glass top. It has a ton of scratches on it. It looks pitiful. We’ve been sitting on folding chairs. Wondering what to do with that scratched up table. I think we’re going to put it out for bulk pick up. The last thing we put out, was gone by early morning, by the pickups that come around.

    Yesterday, I convinced Dick to just shop around for table and chairs, during the Labor Day sales. I said I’d pay half. We ended up at Rooms to Go. We found a table that we could order, but didn’t like the chairs. We ended up sitting on every chair in the store. I am getting old…I need Cushy on the Tushy!! Finally found a kind that we liked. So we ordered the set. I still had some of my $900 savings. We divided up the cost, 50/50. That was Bargaining Chip #3.

    I am now out of bargaining tools. But the house is looking so much better. And Mama is a happy woman! I’d better start saving again.

    Have a good Labor Day weekend. Let me know what your bargaining chips are! Please press the LIKE button and leave me a comment.

    Grandma Sherry

    A Mess up and a Blooper In My Bread Machine!

    It’s been a very cold few days, here in Fort Worth. I decided to get out my bread machine and make some bread to go along with our chili. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve used my bread machine, mainly because it’s hard to find any of the box mixes at the grocery store. But I found a recipe, for making it from ingredients on hand.

    I put all of the ingredients in the machine, and found my yeast. However, it expired in 2022. I took a chance and put it in. Then I turned it on. I watched it for about an hour, and it did NOTHING! Next, I found I had two current pkgs of yeast. So I scooped out the old yeast, and put the new in. It still did nothing. Was I frustrated? YOU’RE DARN TOOTIN’!!

    Finally, I threw it all out and started over. It did call for so many teaspoons of yeast, but my pkg was just a smidgeon over that. I added it all. When I put the inner container back in the machine, I turned it a different way, and it clicked into place. Ahhhh…maybe that had been my problem! It started up and did its thing. Woohoo!!! The house smelled so good! I took my chili out of the freezer, and shortly before the bread was done, I heated the chili up. You know how much I love my freezer meals!!

    When I took the bread out of the machine, the top of it was caved in. I think it rose too much , hit the top of the machine, and fell back down. The rest of it was fine. Weird.

    After I cut the top off, I got to the good stuff. My hubby and I both agreed that it was very tasty. Accompanying the chili, it hit the spot!

    I’ve decided to master the homemade mixtures and use it more often. AND…I went to Amazon, and they had a lot of mixes for bread machines. I ordered a mix for Sour Dough bread. We’ll be trying that soon.

    Are you a fan of bread machines? Do you use a recipe or do you buy a box mix?

    Have a great day. Spring is coming soon. Let me know if you liked this post.

    Hugs, Grandma Ruddell