Down at the Creek.

When I was driving to town yesterday I noticed that one of the farms I pass along the way is up for sale. It made me sad to see the realty sign. I have seen the older couple who live there working outside along each other for the last seven years I've taken that back road to and from home. There is another older farming couple along that road that I see out together taking care of the cattle. For some reason I envisioned Wade and I doing that one day when we retire but then I realized that probably the main reason the farm is for sale is because they are too old to do it all now.

Then all that made me to think how I would feel if my parents sold their house and land. It's the home I grew up in. We moved in when I was 2 years old so it's all I've ever known. They have done so much to the house over the years since I've left and I think two other people have called my old bedroom (and my sister's because we shared until she left for college) their own (my niece lived with them for four years and my nannie has lived with them for a couple of years now) so it has lost its sentimental value many years ago. I know the thing that I would be saddest about losing is the very lower edge of my parents property - the part of their land that is bordered by a large creek. Lots of trees skirt the sides and provide shade and the perfect environment for young kids to use their imagination and play. It holds the most memories of home for me although in reality I'm sure I didn't play down at it but an insignificant part of my childhood.

My parents' house sits up on a hill with three and a half acres of land. Catching the school bus growing up we had to walk down the hill and back up it after we were let out. Occasionally if it was raining my mom would be kind enough to meet us at the bottom of the road to give us a ride. ;) The main part of the creek that our family enjoyed the most growing up is directly behind the house at the bottom of the hill. I'm not sure if I've explained that well enough for others to visualize. When I was young we had a swingset about 50 yards behind the house and then a large garden by that and then you reached the creek. Probably half of our land has always been fenced it and used (for free of course!) by one of our neighbors for his cattle. He owned land across the creek and then beside us so that made for a nice roaming area for the cows. This part by the creek though was flat. We kept it mowed. There were several large rocks that were always fun to play on - some stuck out from the earth and some were flatter and almost level with the ground. Grapevines hung down and we could swing like apes. I found a tool left from Native Americans who had lived in that area many years ago. There was a vein of flint in one of the rocks by the creek that had been chipped away by what we presumed were the same previous inhabitants.

All that mystery and history made for some "adventures" while playing "down at the creek". Everything I wrote to try to share what my parents' property means to me took a few minutes but yesterday when I thought about it all, it flitted through my head in just a matter of seconds. Crazy how that happens, isn't it? I do want to take some photos of the creek some time though. The kids spent the night with my parents last week and they spend most of the time they were there playing down at the creek. It made me happy to hear all about it. They are creating their own memories there.

I got confused in my head today when the church emailed and asked if we could host a pastor's family at our house inbetween services on Sunday. I had been cleaning a lot this morning before the email but realized after I accepted that I HAD to get my refinishing project FINISHED. Andrew and I worked on them this afternoon. I did stain them last night and liked the color so that part is done. We got the first coat of flat black on all the chairs. That means they need a second coat, a light brush over with steel wool, one last coat of black and then a coat of polyurethane. Maybe two coats. But guess what? The confusion happened when I realized the email said not THIS Sunday but the Sunday after. Hallelujah! LOL I told Wade I was going to pretend it was this Sunday anyways. I needed a kick in the rear. The table hasn't even been touched yet. It. will. get. done.

Tonight we had Wade's favorite way I cook baby back ribs - dry rub style. I plan on sharing the recipe soon. After such a delicious meal he wanted something sweet so I whipped up fudge pie which is one of our favorite desserts. It's easy, pretty quick and you probably have all the ingredients already in your pantry. He had to run to the store for ice cream, but it is needed to soften the richness of the chocolate. It's almost like a super rich brownie recipe. It's best to keep the middle just a tad bit soft so it's yummy, fudgey, and gooey.

Fudge Pie

1 stick butter
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
¼ cup flour
1 cup sugar
dash salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Melt the butter and chocolate in sauce pan together. Sift the flour, sugar and salt; add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla, butter and chocolate to mixture. Pour into greased pie dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until set in center. Cut into pie wedges and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!