Well i am in arlington tx, sub of the Great State of DALLAS

On the sixteenth floor over looking Six Fags over Tex... Azz.

All the kiddies are running around down there..saying Momma I am thirsty.....i want a cold drink.

I am on my way to Santa Fe.....tomorrow I will be in Lubb Butt Tex ..Azz

I will post some pics of everything as I go on.

Ya'll be good.

Ya Hear !!!

Go West Young Man Go West

As Horace Greely once said.

So, I am head west to New Mexico

Actually to Tesuque NM right north of Santa Fe

To see the sister's new house on the hill.

So, I will be posting pictures from there on my adventures Going West.

Happy Trails to me...until we meet Again !!!!..Did Dale or Roy start that song off....cause its just me in the Roadster heading West.

The painter by the end of today has been here five weeks. He is painting the first of three coats on today. Then he will wet sponge (type of sanding) the first coat next week, place a second heavier coat on, wet sponge again, then put the final coat on.

As I know, this is about three weeks to the final end.

Its going to be a fine job. All the neighbors has been coming by and cking out the work.

"A true restoration job of the first degree" as one of my nieghbors commented the other day.

The crepe myrtles are starting to bloom. My Natchez whites are beginning to hang low. Its a beautiful sight.

Summer is fast approaching ....... we are getting there..the heat is coming.

Tomorrow its off to Iatt Lake to paddle and have lunch amongst the trees.

Picture 1 Picture 2


The painter has finally removed all the paint from the house. His restoration work is about half complete. In removing all the paint, he took away 22 gallons of paint chips. This left the wood siding in a mostly natural state as it had been place on the house in 1925. He has counter sank all the nails on the entire outside of the house, glazed them over and is preparing to but the first coat of primer on. (picture 1)

The man who built the house was named C M Waters, he built the house for the Barksdale family. I brought the house from the son of the senior Barksdale. The son was 78 at the time of the sale to me. I am very proud that I am the only second family to have owned this 1925 classic bungalow on this red brick street.

As you can tell he (Waters) marked all the windows with roman numerals but wrote them backward. See picture 2.

The siding is all red heart cypress. I priced some of the same siding just in case I had to do any repairs to it. Glad I had no repairs to do. Red Heart Cypress is selling right now at $4.50 a running foot for a six inch wide board.

We paddle yesterday down on Cocodrie Lake in south Rapides Parish.

Li, ms. muffett, the bro, and i.

no pictures tho.

so here are some pics of a paddle two weeks ago. The tupelo gum are sort of late leafing out, but a good pic of the moss tho.

well not much on this saturday morning.

cool down here in the deep south. we should be at 85 to 90 degrees right now, but had a cool front pass thru.

weather is great.......its 74 right now .....

just working in the yard.....that is it.

Happy Mother's Day ....Momma

Even tho you are not with me today, six years have passed since you departed this world to the arms of Our Father.

In your long life you accomplished many things,

survived the Great Depression,
became a woman working in the corporate world,
fought in WW II,
married a cattleman,
had three children,
widowed with the oldest being only eight yrs old,
set your mind to running a 900 acre farm,
influenced three children,
devoted your life to "raisin' your brood",
saw all of your children receive a college degree,
worried about the lives of your grand children,
saw the death of your sisters, son in law, and others,

stood proud in the remaining years of your life as an independent woman

Hugs Momma........ I love you

I have made the decision.

Set the date.........gone by Feb 1, 2008.

I am starting to wind down a lil' bit. Letting loose of the control is another thing. Feeling responsible for the operation of the place is still another thing.

but the thing is.....i will be gone....moved on...by 2-1-2008.

its been 30 yrs with the same agency.....32 total in the field of business.

as i draw close....i am going to write about my profession and how i have survived the bubba world in which i have worked.

...." I believe men should feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave. "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle"-

Things are ok down here in the deep deep South.

Summer time is approaching ..its not creeping for sure...its on it's way.

I walked out the door of the house this morning and got hit with 76 degree heat and 100% humidity...at 7 am.

The painter has been here two weeks. I will post a picture of his progress. He is removing all the paint and bring the wood back to the orginal siding. circa 1925. All siding is heart cypress, no knots...pure red tones in the grain. He is a restoration specialist and he is doing a great job.

Not too much on the home front or the bedroom front.....

Chris continues to stop by every other week or so. He graduated from college last week and headed to Austin Tx soon. I will miss his company.

Other than that.......Life is good here on the Red River.