SUDS 'N SPURS

I'm afraid, very afraid of what may be delivered to the ranch one day soon as a house-warming gift.

One of our sons (and, I won't say which one but he lives north of the Mason-Dixon line) thinks this fountain would make a mighty fine statement in front of Ma and Pa's ranch house.

Please, please, I beg of you........no yard art from any Yankees. Your taste is tacky. I've already secured a tractor tire to use as a planter out front. Gonna put it beside the cowboy silhouette cutout leaning against a tree.

Nervous Nellie

A PEEK AT 7-R

From emails I've received, I get the idea that many of you think Tex and I are moving way out west, going it alone without indoor plumbing, never to be heard from again.

Well, yes, the closest city of any size, and therefore the closest grocery store, is 34 miles away. Actually, there are TWO cities within that distance, just in opposite directions. And, yes, in my book that does count as "going it alone." I'm famous for coming home from the grocery store and discovering I got only 2 of the 3 items on my list and going right back to get the forgotten item. This is going to be a challenge for me.


Actually, we are not going to be alone on the ranch. 7-R is an active, 5,000 acre community with many homeowners already living there, some full-time and some weekenders. The smallest homesteads at the ranch are view lots at just over an acre and I know of a couple who live on 40 acres and have cattle. It just depends on what you want. Tex wants a view.....I want out!


The 7-R web site has pictures of the first amenities built at the ranch but no pictures of the latest jewel in their crown, the ALR Rec Center. As one friend said to me, "There's no excuse for you not losing weight when you move out there. No food for miles around and the only thing to do is go to the rec center to exercise." NOT TRUE! There is a stable with horses so I could go horseback riding, but me learning to ride a horse would be another blog subject! I don't have time to learn to ride a horse or do another blog.


Because we are a couple weeks away from posting any pictures of activity on our lot, I'll take you on a tour of the 12,000 sq. ft. ALR Rec Center. There are two buildings and a connecting pool. For some reason I have no pictures of the interior of the one building which houses the movie theater, game room, food court, commercial kitchen and private party area. I have pictures of parties in that building but they are only of people and I will not publish them in order to "protect the guilty."

ALR Rec Center just after completion

Rec center



Rec cener - down hall to sauna, whirlpool, massage room and locker rooms



Ladies' locker room - don't ya just love the bluebonnets?



Just one side of sink area

Ladies' locker room

Men's locker room - I'm not a pervert - open house and we got to peek in

Very masculine, huh?

I like the LOUNGE areas - there's one downstairs and upstairs. Does just lounging and watching people exercise burn calories?

"Ride 'em Cowgirl" - exercise machines will be the only thing I'll ride at the ranch.

FUGET about the horses!

Resistance pool. Is Tex going to jump in with his clothes on????

Looking down from upper lounge to resistance pool and lower lounge. Did I mention that I like LOUNGE areas?

Rec center pool

Rec center pool

Volleyball court

A place for the grandkids

Sunset by pool - aaaahhh - glass of wine, anyone?

Tex at the back of our lot visualizing the floating deck we are going to build out over the boulder in the tree tops

View of the Club House and Lake McIntire from the deck of a home at 7R

You can check out the club house and the other amenities at the 7-R Ranch web site HERE . Tex assures me that I am going to like living out there!

Nervous Nellie

WILD, WILD WEST

Rattlesnakes, shootings in bars......all part of living on the 7-R Ranch in the wild, wild west of the Metroplex.

This is a rattlesnake hiding under a boulder on the cliff at the back of our lot. Look closely, you might be able to see it's markings. Four of us were standing on the boulder and we thought we heard a very loud insect. YIKES! That wasn't an insect...it was the rattle of a very bothered snake. Brave Tex took this picture.

This is the Mule Lip Bar in Mingus, just a hop, skip and a jump from the ranch, which is Texas lingo for about 7 miles. Mingus is the "Las Vegas Strip" of Palo Pinto County. The original bar at the front of the building burned and they built on the new one in back, never bothering to get rid of the burned out part.









Tex and I have been in the Mule Lip just one time. One weekend on a visit to the ranch, we stopped in for a beer on a Saturday night on our way back to the motel. It was very quiet with a middle-aged, friendly clientele. I sure am glad we left well before closing time. Apparently, they shoot you if you don't. This is an article that appeared in the Ft. Worth paper in January.





Rattlesnakes, shootings in bars......WHAT AM I THINKING? I'm outta here. Tex can live at the ranch by himself. This is what I'm gonna do.


I am going to design and manufacture a line of haute couture snakebite-proof, bullet-proof body suits. I will call my invention the "Fang-Bang-Thang," made especially for whiny, scaredy-cat, reluctant ranch women who don't want to be snake bit or killed by an errant bullet. (Thang is how we say "thing" in Texas)


I will make millions and then I can live in a condo in Ft. Worth and helicopter out to visit Tex on weekends wearing my fashionable body suits. There is a helipad at the ranch. All I need is the helicopter.


Any investors out there who want to back me? This could be a very lucrative business adventure.


Nervous Nellie


EXTRA, EXTRA! More pictures of THE STRIP in Mingus, Texas, population 246.



WHITE HOUSE LOUNGE







TRIO LOUNGE



CITY LIMITS BAR


TJ'S




THE BOAR'S NEST


CITY HALL, WHERE I'M SURE THE JAIL IS FULL ON ANY GIVEN WEEKEND



For a special treat, if you want to take a peak inside the Mule Lip Bar and listen to live entertainment click HERE