It’s me … Meredith
I was raised in the heart of Austin, Texas. Actually, I was raised in South Austin, which would make me a “Bubba” (umm…a “Bubbette” that is), if you’re from around here. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with living in the country when I was growing up. I loved the mall and going to the movies, hanging out with my friends and driving around town. When my sweet daddy suggested that we move to Lockhart, I immensely disliked the idea and wanted no part of it.
Little did I know that by the time I was 24, my husband (Johnny) and I would be living in the middle of Nowhere, Texas – about 30 minutes from the closest grocery store, 60 minutes to the nearest mall and 45 minutes to the nearest movie theater. Needless to say, I loved it. I truly enjoyed the solitude that we had. Every morning we woke up to a beautiful view of a valley outside our window and at night we fell asleep to the owls’ hoots who frequented the trees outside our bedroom window. Both of our children were raised in the country and have only experienced “city life” for six months.
We have since sold our property in Nowhere, Texas and moved a little closer to town. Although we are still in the country, we’re only 12 minutes to the nearest grocery store. I would prefer to live farther out, but we are working on that. Right now we are blooming where we’re planted. My in-laws live a stone’s throw from our home and my children love being so close to their grandparents. My daddy and stepmother now live only 20 minutes away instead of over an hour away.
Life is wonderful in our little country home. We never run out of projects to work on, whether it’s adding on to the house, extending the garden or simply quilting. It’s a wonderful life and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
The Man of the House … Johnny
Johnny was raised on the land we now live. He’s a country boy at heart and would prefer to spend his time hunting, fishing, clearing brush, BBQing or training our labs. He’s not one to be cooped up and grew up roaming the land with his brother, raising ruckuses and trapping (which is now unheard of in this part of the United States). Thirty years ago this neck of the woods was considered the boondocks and not many people lived out this way. They had run of the place and definitely took advantage of it.
Along with help from his brother and dad, Johnny built our little cabin on the hill. We call it our testing home as we have discovered what we want to do again (wooden interior walls) and what we will avoid the next time we build (two stories). He’s our builder, architect, plumber, electrician (except in the cases when we call out my brother-in-law to help with troubleshooting), and the head of the home.
By day he is a real estate agent in our hometown of Liberty Hill (www.johnduke.net) and just like everything else, he shoots it straight with his clients and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He knows Liberty Hill better than most since he’s lived here the majority of his life (from the people, to the land, to the current real estate market conditions).
He loves a good laugh and is often the one causing us to laugh. He’s definitely the man and spiritual leader of our home and he holds our little homestead together. I’m sure we have a new project coming up soon. We’ll keep you posted as we work through the details.