Being so far from relatives, it’s rare that we get to see them. Being at my husband’s family home this year brought many changes.
Of course the kids are growing up, us and the grandchildren. There were battery-powered cars (my husband’s as a boy) being driven and a helicopter that he broke, his nephew’s birthday present.
The rough stone flooring throughout the living areas is gorgeous, and was hand-placed by Jim’s folks. They also had granite countertops installed and a new, more efficient ell (with corbels) where people can sit and where a buffet can be served. It’s beautiful.
This home was hand-built over 30 years ago on land that has and will change dramatically over the next few years as it is flooded, not the house, to provide water for the Dallas metroplex.
I’ve spoken of Jim’s mom’s frugality. That is a trait to be treasured and I measure myself against it every day and fail. Jim’s parents built a fantastic house that has lasted decades. Now the river will be forever dammed (see Bio channel) and they’ve bought land a ways away.
Right now, I know that asparagus will show up next Spring near the front walk, and a Cardinal will sit on the fence post. Not much of a herd left, sold during the drought, so there won’t be cattle looking in at me through the bathroom window.
Years have been spent on house plans, with minute changes every time. I envy that. We are mobile. Perhaps we are too mobile. We are stable job and relationship-wise but are able to move without kids changing schools or even our own furniture, as it is in air-conditioned storage elsewhere. My husband lived in that home since he was about six years old. My family moved, often, as my dad moved up the corporate ladder.
What is really cool is to have his family as mine, too, an inherently stable dairy/ranch family who instilled those values in my husband. And they encouraged his college education and then let him go where his brain took him, away from the farm.
These are folks who make improvements for a home they’re going to sell. At least they get to enjoy them, and we enjoy flying in for a visit every once in a while.
Tonight it’s my ten minute lasagne (check the blog) but with my own bolognese sauce, nearly defrosted and ready to assemble. The bolognese is a riff on Silver Palate, the strangest concoction I’ve seen for a one-hour sauce but it cooks down and works. Cheers! Dee
Cooking with Dee 