We came across some family of our father's a while back. They were living in an abandoned barn that was clearly on its last legs. They said they lost their home about six months prior and fled for the hills. We found them with only the clothes on their backs. All the emergency supplies they carefully planned and gathered were stolen about 3 days before we found them. They had been living on fish. We loaded their things with ours and left that old barn. We found nothing of use except the wood the barn was made from. We started pulling the planks off and sawing them into smaller pieces. Each horse was loaded with a few planks. We will use it to fortify our next home. The next day we made it to camp and prepared the beans to cook. The men, now four instead of three, rode off to secure the area. We women talked and the kids played. They have been ecstatic to have new people to talk to and play with. My aunt's boys have grown so much...it makes me miss my family. They wouldn't listen when we tried to tell them what was on the horizon. The day we left as California broke out into riot, they were still convinced it wouldn't happen in Texas. I still wonder how they're doing. Someday we may go back to Texas, but not anytime soon. We traded some animal pelts and some ground meat to a couple who, in return, traded us a large sack of yarn. My father fashioned knitting needles and a crochet hook out of wood for my mom and she has been spending every spare moment knitting hats, scarves, mittens and sweaters for the children. She is also knitting dolls and things for our daughter. The men are carving toys and things for the boys as Christmas is coming up again. Remind me one day to tell you about our first Christmas after we left Texas....its quite a story!
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