Month: December 2016

Glen Rose Town Square - Courthouse Building A Tourist In My Own Town
Adventures Away From the Farm · Farmtastic Stories

A Tourist In My Own Town

My Farmtastic Life8 Comments

I’ve had a love affair with adorable town squares for as long as I can remember.  Cowboy has often said the unicorn I am hunting in life is a grand old farmhouse on a hundred acres in the middle of a town square.  (Yes, most definitely a unicorn!)

Glen Rose dinosaur bench
Sit a spell in Glen Rose.

But I have to say that where we live now, just outside our quaint little town at the tippy top of the Texas hill country, is just about perfect. We’re just a hop, skip, and a jump from the Glen Rose town square – filled with delightful shops, good eats, and quirky findings that make it special.

Track in Time Too
Tracks in Time Too is one of my favorites – filled with industrial, farmhouse, and just plain fun finds.

Whenever Cowboy and I have guests, we often take them into town and show them all that is Glen Rose. Heck, we used to be those tourists dreaming of finding our own spot. So on this gloriously sunny, albeit slightly windy day, with a little time off, I decided to be a tourist in my own town. Just me, myself, and I.

I drove on down to the square, promptly parked the Jeep, and hopped out with a spring in my step.  No time clock. No agenda.  Just me and the town I’ve come to love.  I wandered from shop to shop – trying on clothes, laughing at funny signs, looking through stacks of old books and farmhouse antiques.

Paisley Reese
New to the square – cowgirl chic Paisley Reese was filled with unique and fun clothes.

The shop keepers were all gracious as they asked if I needed help, shared their post Christmas sales, and wished me Happy New Year.  There were quaint little parks and tucked in between buildings and historic old structures still decked out with holiday flair. And when you really looked, you could see that our little treasured square holds genealogy secrets, dinosaur footprints at the museum (yes, we are the dinosaur capital of Texas), and art galleries.  How perfectly farmtastic! There is just something about a square that makes this farmgirl’s heart sing.

River House Grill
One of my favorite good eats – The River House Grill. The Harvest Flatbread is DIVINE!

Sometimes it’s easy to miss what’s right in front of us with all the glory of the Internet and ease of Amazon.  (Don’t get me wrong, I’m the first to admit that Amazon Prime can change a farmgirl’s life. You can even order a muck rake online; trust me, I’ve done it).  But today was not about the pure task of shopping, it was about the act of experiencing where I live.  Talking to people, supporting the town, and basking in gratefulness.  Because I am exactly where I am meant to be.

As you get ready to jump into 2017, I encourage you to take a look around at where you are and become a tourist in your own town.  Maybe you live in a big city and have amazing museums or restaurants.  Maybe you live in the suburbs with walking and biking trails that just spur the imagination.  Wherever you are, find the beauty.

And if you ever find yourself in Glen Rose, stop by the square and do a little strolling.  It’s good for the soul.

The historic ice house. Oh what stories this sweet little building could tell.
Miss Dixie’s Cottage is filled with the farmhouse finds. And how can you not love a store called Miss Dixie’s Cottage?
Dig up a little dirt on your ancestors as Somervell County Heritage Center.
I love these little parks tucked in and around the square. Any little spot can be a pretty spot.
Lessons & Thoughts From the Farm

Christmas Cards, O Christmas Cards

My Farmtastic Life10 Comments
2016 My Farmtastic Life Merry Christmas card
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from two- and four-leggeds on the farm!

I read a blog post today by a dear soul who was lamenting the guilt heaped upon her when she receives Christmas cards, and it got me to thinking.  At the farm, we’ve been hit or miss with the sending of cards.  Some years I stock up on boxes of them only to pack them up with the Christmas decorations, unsent. And sometimes I’ve unpacked them the following year only to pack them up again. (Please tell me that I am not alone here!)  Other years we’ve designed them online and sent them out.  Woohoo!  Right now we are batting two years in a row of getting them out – and that feels like some sort of record.

But what really made me lose a little of my holly jolly was thinking that this fellow human felt guilty for not keeping up.  I get it. In the age of Facebook, Instagram, and heaven help us Pinterest, it’s easy to go down a spiral of feeling less than – less crafty, less joyful, less, less, less.  Let’s face it, we could all give ourselves a little break.

So why do we send out cards from the farm?  Mainly, because we want those near and far who have touched our lives in some way to know that during this time of year we are thinking about them.  It’s really just that simple.  There are folks on our list who I worked with in my 20s (not yesterday folks), and others who I knew as a child, and still others who help us with this crazy farm life.

Our lives our not perfect by any stretch. Holy cats just read our blog to find out what crazy antics these critters keep us busy with.  If we’re not scooping poop, we’re stepping in it.  But the truth is, in this big crazy world, we are blessed.  Blessed because there folks who care about us.

So when you open your mailbox and find a Christmas card, or (gasp) a Christmas letter, know that the sender just wants you to know they are thinking about you.  That you are not alone. You are not forgotten.

Listen, I’m not saying that Great Aunt Sally isn’t bragging like a maniac or waxing poetic in her Christmas letter about her kid’s promotion to head fry cook, or her granddaughter’s successful run for band president, or sharing how her cheeseball took first place at the county fair, or heaven forbid sharing her third husband Larry’s latest ailments. But let out a big guffawing laugh, be grateful for your less eventful 2016, and find comfort that she thought about you – in her own crazy way!

So if sending Christmas cards is something you find joy in, then get out the stamps and the glitter stickers. And if not, that’s okay too.  From all of us at the farm, we wish you a very merry Christmas and a blessed New Year! Cards or no cards.