Back And Forth

Ann loves her chickens–she has a very colorful rooster who guards his hens carefully!

Christmas is over, the decorations are being taken down, a bit of after Christmas shopping is being undertaken and we are still eating. No one ever gets hungry on Barnes-Hill!😆

Thursday Mom and I made a trip to Little Rock. We left paperwork needing completion at the office of Chuck’s primary physician. We took the opportunity to have lunch at PF Chang’s and do a little shopping. Thursday evening I grilled a couple prime sirloin roasts. My sister Ann and her husband had asked the butcher at a Kroger store in Little Rock for tri-tip roasts. At home when unpacking the groceries I realized the roasts were not tri-tips but sirloin. I had never cooked a sirloin roast on the grill but forged ahead, marinated it as if I were cooking tri-tips and slapped them on the grill. The meat was absolutely delicious! Juicy, tender and very flavorful–so good!  Niki made Pioneer Woman potatoes and beer bread; Ann contributed a salad. We ate well that night!

Friday Ann, Niki, Leah and I once again traveled to Little Rock to do a little after Christmas shopping. It was a gray, rainy day so shopping was a good activity. We enjoyed pizza for lunch to fuel our shopping. My sister Ann had never been to Trader Joe’s so that was one stop we made–it was busy! I had never been in an Ulta–makeup–which I love, so that was a stop. My 15 year old great niece Leah was wearing a mascara that made her eyelashes look miles long and wasn’t goopy. So, I needed a 15 year old to tell me what new mascara I needed to try!😘 I love shopping in the “big” city with my family! Elizabeth had plans on Friday and had to work on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday I spent time with Mom and Chuck–researching various VA home care programs, visiting and feeding them–as I’ve said, we eat well on Barnes-Hill! It’s another gray, rainy day–common winter weather in Arkansas.

Sunday we enjoyed a huge pot of jambalaya Danny and Ann concocted and it was so incredibly good–that recipe is a keeper! We spent the afternoon going back and forth between the two houses visiting. My cousin Mary Ellen and her Dad, Uncle Frank Lee stopped by to see Mom and Chuck.

Monday morning bright and early I board an airplane and fly back to the Cowboy and Emmi. I’ve had such a good time in Arkansas and so appreciate my sister and her husband putting up with me for this long. I have the best family without a doubt. 😍😍

The house where I grew up. I was 12 when we moved to this house. My sister and her husband built a house across the road 31 years ago. The rest of the family live within less than 2 miles of these two houses.

My last Arkansas sunset for a while.