Jumpin' Outta My Skin!

If any of y'all have ever been to the Big Shows, you know first hand how hard it is to find decent accommodations.  We have stayed for years at what I lovingly refer to as the La Grange Hilton.  It's clean, has a microwave, fridge, running water and it's relatively cheap....all things I hold dear.

Trust me...not every motel is clean!  Oh the horror stories I could tell!

This time I needed and wanted more.  With our children coming with their families for Cat Daddy's birthday bash, I wanted us to all stay together.

Now as much as I love my kids...there is such a thing as too much togetherness.  I knew our motel room would never work...not unless we threw down a coupla Baptist pallets and hung the two little Trashettes from some nails on the walls.

So I just did what I always do when I need help...I prayed.

I started by looking online for cabins or cottages to rent.  I found one I just loved and thought would be perfect for us, but it was already booked.  No surprise there.  Things book six months in advance...even the La Grange Hilton.

Shelley suggested I contact the Round Top Chamber of Commerce.  (BTW...if you're looking for a cottage/cabin/B&B to rent in the spring...this is a great place to start.)

E-mails started coming in, but unfortunately...my pocket book had gone out.  We decided it wasn't going to happen...at least not for this show.

Why would anyone ever question the power of God...including me?

The evening before we were set to leave, I received an e-mail.

Are you waiting for it?

Yeppers!

The e-mail was from Sue...the first cabin I had inquired about.

Amazing?

Yeppers!

They had received a cancellation and the cabin was ours for the full two weeks if we wanted it.  Did we still want it?

Did we?

Not just yeppers...but Heck Yeah Yeppers!

The best part?

The cost for two weeks was the same as one week at the LGH!





He knew my heart's desire and He fulfilled it...just as He does every day.  God never ceases to amaze me His wonders to perform...down to the smallest of details like our budget.

This cabin was perfect.  A cozy living room, two bedrooms,a complete kitchen...and indoor plumbing!  The only thing missing was a television and while I thought that might be a deal breaker for Cat Daddy....turned out...he couldn't have cared less.  He knew we were being given a gift and he was not about to thumb his nose at such a blessing.

Sue and Al were wonderful and so was their little cabin.  Charming is the only word to describe it.

Rustic, cozy and sitting in the middle of silence...just what we needed to unwind.  After a hot, hard day at the fields, it was so nice to come home to.

All the kids got to stay at least one night with us and loved it...although they were a little taken aback when we first led them to the back of the woods with only the light of the silvery moon to guide us.  I'm pretty sure I saw Misty leaving a trail of bread crumbs to find her way back to the real world!  I ain't gonna lie...it was a tad spooky at night.

Under different circumstances, it could have been like a second honeymoon.  Fact is...we were so tired by the end of each day...moonin' and spoonin' was the last thought on our minds...or at least mine anyways!  Him...he was so busy snoring, I'm not sure he had a thought or if he did...he fell asleep before he had a chance to give it a second one.

We did have a couple of stray kittens (the two-legged kind) come and stay a night with us....again complete with...ahem...redundant witty remarks about serial killers, Lost, Salem's Lot, etc. etc.

  The back deck overlooks a very wooded creek bank.  'Course there was no water in this branch, but it still was a gorgeous view during the day.  At night...let's just say it was more than just a scoch scary.

Kristi (my first little hobo-ette) and I were sitting out on the deck late one night and the subject of Sasquatch sitings came up.  Now while I did see a huge raccoon the size of a Chow dog one night (and may I add...I scurried inside quickly upon said siting!) and a possum who made a habit of a regular nightly stroll...Big Foot had not been seen....not that I was lookin' mind ya.

We kept laughing and talking about ol' Mr. Sasquatch when I swear up and down...we saw yellow eyes in the woods.  All of a sudden...we were really tired and thought we better take ourselves on indoors where the light...and Cat Daddy, our big ol' he-man...was! 

Not that we scared ourselves silly...by no means.  We really were tired.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

See...not scary at all!

Then a certain little red-headed Red.Neck (my second little hobo-ette) came and stayed on Friday night.  She and I were sitting out on the deck talking...'cause that's what we do ya know and I was telling her about how goofy Kristi and I had been about Sasquatch.

(I just love saying Sasquatch.  Has a nice ring to it...wouldn't you agree?)

Anyhoo...she starts talking about Yeti.  Now I know for certain there are no Yetis in Texas.

 (Yettas, yes...Yetis, no...it's too dang hot!)

I thoughtlessly mentioned I didn't know if there were any Jasons or Smoke Monsters running around in the woods.

Oh yeah...one thing led to another...when suddenly...she and I decided we were really tired and needed to go indoors where the light...and C.D...was.

I'd like to add if (and I'm only saying if) I needed to change my britches after either of these nights, it was from all the laughing you understand...not that I was scared pea green.

And again...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Somehow two attack cats didn't seem like quite enough protection against things that go bump in the night.  We needed our resident big, strong, manly-man to go out and see if there was anything or anyone lurking just beyond the light.  Plus we figured if IT got him...he would keep IT busy just long enough for us to make a fast get-a-way...and double plus...I knew IT would let him go as soon as daylight hit!

In spite of the heat and being bone dead tired at the end of each day, we were happy for two weeks in our cool, little cabin...even with Sasquatch breathing down our necks.

I want to say thank you to Sue and Al for sharing their "Little Hut In The Woods" with us.  Having it made our show more endurable and certainly more memorable.  It provided not only shelter, but the opportunity to be with dear friends and family, to create memories that will keep us warm and laughing for a long time...all without having to sleep like stacked cord wood.

Before I close this fish tale, I would like to thank Robelyn for sharing her photos and allowing me to share them with y'all.

(Aren't her photography skills Fab U Lous?)

Now I think I better go check the trailer to make sure no hoboes in the form of Sasquatch followed us home!