I will be away from computers for the next ten days so I am not sure if I will have the opportunity to do any blog entries. There will definitely be a lot of things going on which would be worthy of note. I may attempt to write in the evenings to keep all of you posted but I cannot make any promises.
We did not get any gravel delivered yesterday but the company promised to be there early this morning. Grandpa continued working on the fields in order for us to be ready for seed next week. With running water lines, electric lines and traveling to Dallas to pick up an order of fertilizer and lime from Amsoil, there will be limited time to plant – but we are making plans to get it done anyway.
Mama, Victoria and I went to a little church in Nocona last night; Bible Baptist of Nocona. Victoria liked the atmosphere really well. The pastor and his wife are foster parents. They have three adopted and three foster care children. Two of the children in their care are two and under. That was right up Victoria’s alley. She kept the two year old quiet through most of the service which did not last long.
Honestly, it was pretty pitiful. The pastor who has been there for fifteen years had trouble with common Bible words as he preached out of Romans; words like dissimulation, abhor and recompense. He did make a good point on eliminating our enemies by making friends of them through the good works of the Gospel - leading them to salvation. I do not know if Victoria will go back, but at least we went and checked it out. Mama was slightly bothered because the entire time he preached, he did not make eye contact; he looked over the heads of the congregation at the walls around us. It was a little different.
The church is only a few minutes further than going to Bible Baptist in Bowie but the facilities are vastly different. The Nocona church is a very humble, older building. The pastor and his wife and children more than doubled the congregation last night. There were four quite elderly women and a middle aged couple in the pews – not counting us. The pastor’s twelve year old daughter played the piano while he led singing. In Bowie things are much nicer building wise and the shrinking congregation still boasts twenty or so in a mid-week service. They are a rich congregation but poor in spirit; like they are waiting for someone to die so they can get on with their lives. Victoria can sense that when she is there.
The Nocona church is going to a sing on Saturday – the Rochesters will be the main attraction, but we probably will not be able to go. I would encourage Mama and Victoria to go just to get to know some of the people of the congregation, but we will be pretty busy. There is also a Mission Conference going on at a sister church, but that too is difficult because of our workload. They seem interested in the community, doing door knocking and visitation, so we may have to give them a chance.
On the way home Victoria remarked that everyplace we have moved, Mama and I have found a good church to attend – all except here. In that I feel I am making the same mistake my parents made when they moved to Chappell Hill. Now they are living where they have always dreamed of living but have no good place to go to church. That has been a real burden to them in their later years and they have lost some of their children and grandchildren to the world as a result.
That itself is frightening enough to me that I will need to set aside some time soon to fast and pray for direction in the matter so that we do not lose sight of the need for service and growth in the Lord.
P.S. Mama called me when she got to the farm to tell me we have a little filly. She is a palomino with a white star on her forehead. It took some effort to get the mare to let her nurse but Mama got it done. Mare and filly are doing fine.
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Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Green and growing, opinions, unclosed gates
Mama was right; everything at the farm is beautiful. She and I went around and checked all the trees, vines and bushes and there are signs that we will have to pluck back some of the fruit the young trees are setting in order to protect them from damage. The garden is doing very well and Grandpa bought a tiller yesterday which he used on the garden within minutes of unloading. That’s the way to get things done.
Grandpa was weed eating around the garden later in the evening and I did not want the heavy cuttings to be left to kill out the grass so Mama and I got pitchforks and started picking it up. I am sure it would have made a full bale of hay – and he only did about a quarter of the area that we will have to trim back. Since we do not have a mower at the farm he has brush hogged everything else. Down here they call that “shredding”.
The driveway is cut and ready for gravel and the area where we are looking to place the mobile home is prepared for its arrival late this week. We are still debating how to set the home because Grandma and Grandpa have never seen it – and Grandma seems to have some very definite ideas about how to set it. When it arrives I think they will understand why I want to do things the way I do, but it is a small matter, really. The real issue with Grandma is where the front door will be, but in many homes the front door is seldom used.
I think that the home we had on 6 Gifford Road was about the only place we have lived that the front door was the normal access point to the house. So, whether we come in the front or back door is really a moot point. We will have a place on the farm to live in. That’s what is really important. Now, when we get moved here, we can really save some money.
Victoria’s hand does not look as bad as I was led to believe. There are no broken bones; however, it would be difficult to diagnose a fracture by any other means than x-ray. There does not seem to be the need to spend the money on that at the moment. Like any jammed finger, this one will take a good deal of time to heal. Until then, she will have to deal with the pain.
We had dinner at the farm last night. Victoria had to put up the dogs. It is impossible to eat when they are around. When we are sitting they are tall enough to have their faces right at lap level so you either have to eat standing up with your food kept at chest level or you have to constantly be pushing them away. Both ways make for unpleasant eating arrangements and Grandma really put on a show until were are penned up, but we got through it even though Victoria was grumpy about her babies being disparaged.
We stayed out until almost dark last night in the hope our gravel would arrive, it did not, but we were not home very long before our neighbor called to tell us a horse was out. It was Tio. We were told she is an escape artist disguised as a horse. It happened because Mama had left a gate open; which is funny because she is always fussing at me because I close the gates behind me. I do that because they are meant to be closed - for that very reason.
“Timothy Owen,” she will huff, “Why do you insist on closing the gate every time you go through it? It just makes for more work!”
“Because” I will answer, “the gate is here to keep the horses in this area and out of that area. Keeping it closed is what makes that plan work.”
“But the horses are all the way over there.”
“That is not the point. This gate keeps them in this area and I don’t have to waste my time trying to get them back where they belong as long as I keep the gates closed.”
“I don’t see what difference it makes since they are all the way over there.” That’s usually muttered under her breath as she walks away while I am latching the gate behind us.
Besides, if I do not close the gate behind me, I will probably forget to go back and close it later. I would rather open and close a gate many multiples of times as I am required to pass through it than forget it and have to track down a wandering horse the entire next day; or after dark that evening.
Being this close to vacation is very distracting. There are so many projects that I need to get done and I can almost get started – almost.
Grandpa was weed eating around the garden later in the evening and I did not want the heavy cuttings to be left to kill out the grass so Mama and I got pitchforks and started picking it up. I am sure it would have made a full bale of hay – and he only did about a quarter of the area that we will have to trim back. Since we do not have a mower at the farm he has brush hogged everything else. Down here they call that “shredding”.
The driveway is cut and ready for gravel and the area where we are looking to place the mobile home is prepared for its arrival late this week. We are still debating how to set the home because Grandma and Grandpa have never seen it – and Grandma seems to have some very definite ideas about how to set it. When it arrives I think they will understand why I want to do things the way I do, but it is a small matter, really. The real issue with Grandma is where the front door will be, but in many homes the front door is seldom used.
I think that the home we had on 6 Gifford Road was about the only place we have lived that the front door was the normal access point to the house. So, whether we come in the front or back door is really a moot point. We will have a place on the farm to live in. That’s what is really important. Now, when we get moved here, we can really save some money.
Victoria’s hand does not look as bad as I was led to believe. There are no broken bones; however, it would be difficult to diagnose a fracture by any other means than x-ray. There does not seem to be the need to spend the money on that at the moment. Like any jammed finger, this one will take a good deal of time to heal. Until then, she will have to deal with the pain.
We had dinner at the farm last night. Victoria had to put up the dogs. It is impossible to eat when they are around. When we are sitting they are tall enough to have their faces right at lap level so you either have to eat standing up with your food kept at chest level or you have to constantly be pushing them away. Both ways make for unpleasant eating arrangements and Grandma really put on a show until were are penned up, but we got through it even though Victoria was grumpy about her babies being disparaged.
We stayed out until almost dark last night in the hope our gravel would arrive, it did not, but we were not home very long before our neighbor called to tell us a horse was out. It was Tio. We were told she is an escape artist disguised as a horse. It happened because Mama had left a gate open; which is funny because she is always fussing at me because I close the gates behind me. I do that because they are meant to be closed - for that very reason.
“Timothy Owen,” she will huff, “Why do you insist on closing the gate every time you go through it? It just makes for more work!”
“Because” I will answer, “the gate is here to keep the horses in this area and out of that area. Keeping it closed is what makes that plan work.”
“But the horses are all the way over there.”
“That is not the point. This gate keeps them in this area and I don’t have to waste my time trying to get them back where they belong as long as I keep the gates closed.”
“I don’t see what difference it makes since they are all the way over there.” That’s usually muttered under her breath as she walks away while I am latching the gate behind us.
Besides, if I do not close the gate behind me, I will probably forget to go back and close it later. I would rather open and close a gate many multiples of times as I am required to pass through it than forget it and have to track down a wandering horse the entire next day; or after dark that evening.
Being this close to vacation is very distracting. There are so many projects that I need to get done and I can almost get started – almost.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Mama’s other world, transportation issues, small worries
When I called Mama yesterday evening I had to wait over three minutes while she talked about things she was seeing or doing or planning on doing before I got a turn to ask her a question. So be warned, when she is at the farm she is VERY distracted. For the next two weeks it will be difficult to communicate with her. If you have very important topics to discuss with her, you might want to hold off a few days.
She told me about the strawberries – only two of the bargain plants we picked up at Wal-mart on the 50% off table and planted on the farm actually lived. She told me about the garden and the potato patch and the grape vines, etc: all of which I am going to see later today. She was on her way down to the big tank, what Victoria calls the “Great Pond”, when I called last night. It was hard to hold on to my thought as I waited my turn to talk but in her hurry she had forgotten several things and I needed to know if they needed to be brought today as I go over; they do and I will.
I got a call from Victoria yesterday concerning a pump Grandpa wants me to pick up on my way out of town today. She was mock complaining that she and Grandma had been left behind by Grandpa in his hurry to get to work at the farm. “He abandoned us cripples” was how she described the situation. Grandma has not been moving very fast for some time now and Victoria fell pretty hear last week and sprained her hand to the point of concern that she may have broken her thumb. It is swollen, black and blue and not quite functional. So I know Grandpa is no Marine because he left the wounded behind. Maybe it is a good thing I am taking my own car. With my back in the shape it has been in lately, I may have to find my own ride to and from the farm…at least until we are all living there.
I went to bed a little after 9 p.m. and as I was almost asleep I realized I had not called Mama before I lay down. I debated getting up, which meant waking up and losing the time I had already been in bed, to make the call so I did not. I will get fussed at this morning when we talk, but I know she had plenty of conversation going well past the time I was asleep.
I got a ride to work this morning rather than leaving Chase’s truck parked in Borger for two weeks. I was supposed to pick up a company truck at a shop in Amarillo last night but it will not be ready until late today. I drove our truck to Borger on Wednesday of last week thinking I would drive the company truck to the shop for a two hour repair. At the shop someone drove it into a pole in the parking lot and the bumper had to be replaced and the passenger side had to be repaired and repainted.
Now someone else will have to pick it up but all our vehicles will be where they should be and I will not have the added worry of one being parked at work for two weeks. We have someone coming to the house to keep an eye on things in our absence but we are taking most of the plants with us this time. They will have to be kept inside so the pups do not chew them up – they are murder on a garden or anything freshly planted. If you plant it they feel compelled to dig it up or chew it up. My patience is wearing very thin with them but Mama wants to give them one more chance – they are still pups.
I just want to give them their shots - .22 caliber.
She told me about the strawberries – only two of the bargain plants we picked up at Wal-mart on the 50% off table and planted on the farm actually lived. She told me about the garden and the potato patch and the grape vines, etc: all of which I am going to see later today. She was on her way down to the big tank, what Victoria calls the “Great Pond”, when I called last night. It was hard to hold on to my thought as I waited my turn to talk but in her hurry she had forgotten several things and I needed to know if they needed to be brought today as I go over; they do and I will.
I got a call from Victoria yesterday concerning a pump Grandpa wants me to pick up on my way out of town today. She was mock complaining that she and Grandma had been left behind by Grandpa in his hurry to get to work at the farm. “He abandoned us cripples” was how she described the situation. Grandma has not been moving very fast for some time now and Victoria fell pretty hear last week and sprained her hand to the point of concern that she may have broken her thumb. It is swollen, black and blue and not quite functional. So I know Grandpa is no Marine because he left the wounded behind. Maybe it is a good thing I am taking my own car. With my back in the shape it has been in lately, I may have to find my own ride to and from the farm…at least until we are all living there.
I went to bed a little after 9 p.m. and as I was almost asleep I realized I had not called Mama before I lay down. I debated getting up, which meant waking up and losing the time I had already been in bed, to make the call so I did not. I will get fussed at this morning when we talk, but I know she had plenty of conversation going well past the time I was asleep.
I got a ride to work this morning rather than leaving Chase’s truck parked in Borger for two weeks. I was supposed to pick up a company truck at a shop in Amarillo last night but it will not be ready until late today. I drove our truck to Borger on Wednesday of last week thinking I would drive the company truck to the shop for a two hour repair. At the shop someone drove it into a pole in the parking lot and the bumper had to be replaced and the passenger side had to be repaired and repainted.
Now someone else will have to pick it up but all our vehicles will be where they should be and I will not have the added worry of one being parked at work for two weeks. We have someone coming to the house to keep an eye on things in our absence but we are taking most of the plants with us this time. They will have to be kept inside so the pups do not chew them up – they are murder on a garden or anything freshly planted. If you plant it they feel compelled to dig it up or chew it up. My patience is wearing very thin with them but Mama wants to give them one more chance – they are still pups.
I just want to give them their shots - .22 caliber.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Loading our home, waiting on horses, hatchlings, checking churches
Mama held off rushing down to Bowie. We had a great weekend taking furniture items as well as a washer and dryer to the mobile home to be delivered this weekend. Since we signed the papers on Thursday we were allowed to put some of the more bulky items we were going to send to the new home, into the home so we did not have to make an extra trip to get them there. Mama and I made two trips by ourselves and we made one trip with help to deliver the washer and dryer.
We had a line on a washer to buy for the mobile home but that did not work out. It was a used washer in the style Mama really wanted to try out, but it sold while we were at soul winning on Saturday morning. I guess it was not the one the Lord wanted us to have, so to make sure there was a set in the mobile home, we put ours in there. It may cost me a small fortune to replace them when we get back, but it made some practical sense to give ours up to meet the need.
Mama called my sister Sarah to ask her some questions about the washer we were going to look at since she has a similar one. While they were talking Sarah told Mama they were trying to hatch eighteen guinea eggs. Fabian’s mother has a flock of about seventy guineas and they had collected some of the eggs to hatch for us so we could start our own flock on our farm. Why she has been able to accumulate so many is beyond me, we are 0 for 4 so far on our attempts. Maybe that’s why Sarah and Fabian are starting with eighteen.
Mama will be heading out to Bowie some time this morning. The horse is waiting on her to get there before she delivers – or so it seems. If the foal did not come last night, which we will find out this morning, then Mama may well have her wish to be there to witness the birth. At any rate she will be in Bowie this afternoon. I will follow tomorrow afternoon. After working Wednesday and Thursday in the Decatur office, I will have Friday and the following week off. I am looking forward to that.
Plans are for us to go to a church in Nocona on Wednesday night to check it out. Victoria is not happy with the little church in Bowie so we will check out one she found online. She was excited about the website since it reminded her of Somerset Bible Baptist. Going on Wednesday night will give a better representation of what the church is all about. Mama and I are not church hoppers, but since Victoria is there for the long term it makes sense to help her find a church she can stay with for the long term – without having to drive an hour or more each way to services. We may end up with that commute, but we will work our way out to that option.
I am meeting with our accountant today to look over and sign our tax return for last year. It is not as bad as it could have been and I am rearranging deductions and withholdings to cover the bulk of the debt in a two year period. It seems almost certain that I will have to be paying taxes from this point on in my life so I had better get used to it. If the farm generates as much income as I am anticipating, there will be no way around giving my “fair share” back every year.
We had a line on a washer to buy for the mobile home but that did not work out. It was a used washer in the style Mama really wanted to try out, but it sold while we were at soul winning on Saturday morning. I guess it was not the one the Lord wanted us to have, so to make sure there was a set in the mobile home, we put ours in there. It may cost me a small fortune to replace them when we get back, but it made some practical sense to give ours up to meet the need.
Mama called my sister Sarah to ask her some questions about the washer we were going to look at since she has a similar one. While they were talking Sarah told Mama they were trying to hatch eighteen guinea eggs. Fabian’s mother has a flock of about seventy guineas and they had collected some of the eggs to hatch for us so we could start our own flock on our farm. Why she has been able to accumulate so many is beyond me, we are 0 for 4 so far on our attempts. Maybe that’s why Sarah and Fabian are starting with eighteen.
Mama will be heading out to Bowie some time this morning. The horse is waiting on her to get there before she delivers – or so it seems. If the foal did not come last night, which we will find out this morning, then Mama may well have her wish to be there to witness the birth. At any rate she will be in Bowie this afternoon. I will follow tomorrow afternoon. After working Wednesday and Thursday in the Decatur office, I will have Friday and the following week off. I am looking forward to that.
Plans are for us to go to a church in Nocona on Wednesday night to check it out. Victoria is not happy with the little church in Bowie so we will check out one she found online. She was excited about the website since it reminded her of Somerset Bible Baptist. Going on Wednesday night will give a better representation of what the church is all about. Mama and I are not church hoppers, but since Victoria is there for the long term it makes sense to help her find a church she can stay with for the long term – without having to drive an hour or more each way to services. We may end up with that commute, but we will work our way out to that option.
I am meeting with our accountant today to look over and sign our tax return for last year. It is not as bad as it could have been and I am rearranging deductions and withholdings to cover the bulk of the debt in a two year period. It seems almost certain that I will have to be paying taxes from this point on in my life so I had better get used to it. If the farm generates as much income as I am anticipating, there will be no way around giving my “fair share” back every year.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Papers, pressures
Mama and I spent about 45 minutes signing papers related to the purchase of the mobile home. I think it was much easier to buy a house although it was definitely more expensive. Anyway, the delivery is still scheduled for March 30th. We have some site preparation to do in advance of the delivery but not too much. Grandpa already has it mapped out. I will get the full picture after I get there.
Mama talked with Victoria last night for some time. It appears Rain could be within only hours of delivery. Mama is stressing out over it. She wants to be there so badly to witness the birth, but life has her wrapped up in prior commitments. She may still talk herself into leaving today – she was almost ready to go last night – which would put me in a very awkward position of having to arrange coverage for Children’s Church on very short notice. It would be awkward because I could not do Children’s Church by myself and I would not be permitted to work with two female helpers when one of them is not Mama. I would still be in church, unable to do what I normally do.
Somehow it will all work out.
I had a productive day yesterday but the outcome was overwhelmingly negative. I spent the morning talking with two of my peers on organizational restructuring. The outcome was what our boss wants but it will cause a lot of transitional frustration and the loss of several very qualified people. I will have the unpleasant privilege of telling those unfortunate persons that their job with us is done. It will not necessarily swell the ranks of the unemployed, but it will dramatically affect their households. The stress is compounded by the fact that I am keeping a weak performer in my group while I release strong performers who work on a contract basis for our company.
I was informed by one of my peers that years ago he had experienced some debilitatingly severe back pain. After missing several days of work he went to the doctor who diagnosed the problem as stress related. A month later he switched jobs and has not had any pain since. I will have to look into that very carefully although I do not see a job change in my future – at least not soon. On the bright I do get a job change for one week the first week of April.
Mama talked with Victoria last night for some time. It appears Rain could be within only hours of delivery. Mama is stressing out over it. She wants to be there so badly to witness the birth, but life has her wrapped up in prior commitments. She may still talk herself into leaving today – she was almost ready to go last night – which would put me in a very awkward position of having to arrange coverage for Children’s Church on very short notice. It would be awkward because I could not do Children’s Church by myself and I would not be permitted to work with two female helpers when one of them is not Mama. I would still be in church, unable to do what I normally do.
Somehow it will all work out.
I had a productive day yesterday but the outcome was overwhelmingly negative. I spent the morning talking with two of my peers on organizational restructuring. The outcome was what our boss wants but it will cause a lot of transitional frustration and the loss of several very qualified people. I will have the unpleasant privilege of telling those unfortunate persons that their job with us is done. It will not necessarily swell the ranks of the unemployed, but it will dramatically affect their households. The stress is compounded by the fact that I am keeping a weak performer in my group while I release strong performers who work on a contract basis for our company.
I was informed by one of my peers that years ago he had experienced some debilitatingly severe back pain. After missing several days of work he went to the doctor who diagnosed the problem as stress related. A month later he switched jobs and has not had any pain since. I will have to look into that very carefully although I do not see a job change in my future – at least not soon. On the bright I do get a job change for one week the first week of April.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Rain makes mud, the car, the anticipation
Rain continued through the night here and things are quite wet; however, the ground is not what I would consider soaked. It seems to have only penetrated the first ½ inch or so. Beneath that the ground is still packed very hard. I know the farmers and ranchers are pleased about the moisture; can’t say I am complaining either.
We have a family at church that has a house in the semi-country area Amarillo and they have a dirt driveway. They have lived in the house for years but have never put down any gravel. The ruts they call a driveway are more than twelve inches deep but their Suburban navigates the obstacle with little effort. I find it a little hard to understand since the ¾ of a mile access we had to our property in West Virginia took me several years of continuous work to build a base to hold the gravel we eventually were able to put on it.
The ruts were so deep on that road that I had to roll boulders that had been shed over the years from the rock cliffs above the road, onto the road to be busted up with a sledge hammer in order to begin to fill the ruts. It took almost a year to fill the ruts to the point that we could drive to the house. Mama and the kids did a lot of walking, rain or shine, muddy or dry or frozen. It was a great character building experience; too bad the kids were so little at that time.
Anyway, our friends with the dirt drive do not like the rain too much. Fortunately they home school so travel can be restricted during our rare wet times, but if I asked Mama to live there I would be buying some gravel even if I had to (as I did years ago) spread it out by hand using a wheelbarrow, a shovel and a rake. But that’s just me.
I have driven the Nissan the past couple days and it is hard to tell if it is getting good mileage or not. I filled up yesterday and when the gas gauge was at ¼ tank, it took only eight and a half gallons to fill it up. It is only a twelve gallon tank so I may see it move a lot more than I am used to as I drive one hundred miles per day. I will check it in the next couple days to see how it is doing.
Mama could leave for the farm at any minute. I am hoping she stays until Sunday. The foal’s birth seems eminent but we are only guessing. When the horse was examined by someone who knows such things, it was guessed that she was closer to nine years old vs. four as we were told. It does not matter too much since we are going to send her down the road as soon as the foal is weaned and doing well on its own. Rain, since she has not been fooled with too much in her lifetime, is a little too temperamental for my liking. I hope we do not have difficulty in the birth because she really does not like being fooled with.
I am at the point that I think my back is getting better, then I get up the next morning and it takes hours to get past the pain. If I get called to the closing tonight, I will try to see the chiropractor afterwards – if possible. I need some help before I take time off the week after next.
We have a family at church that has a house in the semi-country area Amarillo and they have a dirt driveway. They have lived in the house for years but have never put down any gravel. The ruts they call a driveway are more than twelve inches deep but their Suburban navigates the obstacle with little effort. I find it a little hard to understand since the ¾ of a mile access we had to our property in West Virginia took me several years of continuous work to build a base to hold the gravel we eventually were able to put on it.
The ruts were so deep on that road that I had to roll boulders that had been shed over the years from the rock cliffs above the road, onto the road to be busted up with a sledge hammer in order to begin to fill the ruts. It took almost a year to fill the ruts to the point that we could drive to the house. Mama and the kids did a lot of walking, rain or shine, muddy or dry or frozen. It was a great character building experience; too bad the kids were so little at that time.
Anyway, our friends with the dirt drive do not like the rain too much. Fortunately they home school so travel can be restricted during our rare wet times, but if I asked Mama to live there I would be buying some gravel even if I had to (as I did years ago) spread it out by hand using a wheelbarrow, a shovel and a rake. But that’s just me.
I have driven the Nissan the past couple days and it is hard to tell if it is getting good mileage or not. I filled up yesterday and when the gas gauge was at ¼ tank, it took only eight and a half gallons to fill it up. It is only a twelve gallon tank so I may see it move a lot more than I am used to as I drive one hundred miles per day. I will check it in the next couple days to see how it is doing.
Mama could leave for the farm at any minute. I am hoping she stays until Sunday. The foal’s birth seems eminent but we are only guessing. When the horse was examined by someone who knows such things, it was guessed that she was closer to nine years old vs. four as we were told. It does not matter too much since we are going to send her down the road as soon as the foal is weaned and doing well on its own. Rain, since she has not been fooled with too much in her lifetime, is a little too temperamental for my liking. I hope we do not have difficulty in the birth because she really does not like being fooled with.
I am at the point that I think my back is getting better, then I get up the next morning and it takes hours to get past the pain. If I get called to the closing tonight, I will try to see the chiropractor afterwards – if possible. I need some help before I take time off the week after next.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Baby horse news, loan officers, my pains
Rain, the mare due to foal, was examined by our horse expert friend and he said that we would have a little one in less than a week. Mama is seriously contemplating going over to the farm after church on Sunday. I will not go until next Thursday evening as we have planned, but she wants to be there for the birth – if possible. It was also mentioned that we may come to the farm and see a new baby at any time between now and this time next week.
Really, the only thing keeping Mama here is the fact that we have to sign papers on the mobile home – probably tomorrow. Though not absolutely necessary, it would be better to have both of our names on the title. We got the call late yesterday that we should be closing on Thursday evening, but if insurance inspections hold us up it could move out to Friday.
Mama got a call from the sales lady who has been helping us with the financial negotiations warning us that Mama was overheard saying that Grandma and Grandpa will be living in the mobile home and paying for it – as well as other details, you know Mama. Turns out, it offended the financial officer there and she was prepared to deny our loan if this was not to be our primary residence. Petty people have petty ways. We were warned to answer correctly if we are asked about that issue.
I told Mama to be sure and let me handle it. We do not need any explanation, any incidental details, and expansive answers. The truth is that the mobile home will be the only habitable residence on the farm. By default it then must be our primary residence at 548 Van Bebber Road. They do not need to know any more than that and if pressed, I will tell them so. All the finance people need to know is that I can pay for the home. Anything beyond that is none of their business.
I can still count on one hand the number if times I have seen it rain in Amarillo. This morning is one of those mornings. We have seen more snow here than rain so it is good to see the gentle soaking rain that seems to have been falling through the night. Mama watered the weeds we call a front yard late last week and the growth response was phenomenal. I can’t wait to see how much things will grow when the sun comes back out. Even if Mama mows the grass/weeds tomorrow I am sure I will need to mow twice more before I leave next week. We could be coming back to a mess since we will be gone two weeks.
Although I am looking forward to going to the farm next week – I have even scheduled vacation for that time – I am a little worried since I have been suffering some severe back pain lately. Working an hour out of Amarillo presents some scheduling challenges when attempting to see doctors, dentists and chiropractors; ergo, I have not seen anyone yet, but I really need to. There are projects waiting on me when I get there; projects I cannot do while I am hurting this badly.
The pervasive attitude at work is not a happy one. I am not adding to the glee in the things I have been asked to do; shuffling people around, letting contractors go, taking trucks away from people who have had them for years, etc. Those of us who have been through the same readjustments several times are becoming convinced that we are being positioned to be sold. No one can be sure, but the signs do indicate that is the path we are on.
God is still in control and He has allowed me to position myself to be ready for such an event. If I do lose my job it will be interesting to see if I have thought it through clearly enough.
Really, the only thing keeping Mama here is the fact that we have to sign papers on the mobile home – probably tomorrow. Though not absolutely necessary, it would be better to have both of our names on the title. We got the call late yesterday that we should be closing on Thursday evening, but if insurance inspections hold us up it could move out to Friday.
Mama got a call from the sales lady who has been helping us with the financial negotiations warning us that Mama was overheard saying that Grandma and Grandpa will be living in the mobile home and paying for it – as well as other details, you know Mama. Turns out, it offended the financial officer there and she was prepared to deny our loan if this was not to be our primary residence. Petty people have petty ways. We were warned to answer correctly if we are asked about that issue.
I told Mama to be sure and let me handle it. We do not need any explanation, any incidental details, and expansive answers. The truth is that the mobile home will be the only habitable residence on the farm. By default it then must be our primary residence at 548 Van Bebber Road. They do not need to know any more than that and if pressed, I will tell them so. All the finance people need to know is that I can pay for the home. Anything beyond that is none of their business.
I can still count on one hand the number if times I have seen it rain in Amarillo. This morning is one of those mornings. We have seen more snow here than rain so it is good to see the gentle soaking rain that seems to have been falling through the night. Mama watered the weeds we call a front yard late last week and the growth response was phenomenal. I can’t wait to see how much things will grow when the sun comes back out. Even if Mama mows the grass/weeds tomorrow I am sure I will need to mow twice more before I leave next week. We could be coming back to a mess since we will be gone two weeks.
Although I am looking forward to going to the farm next week – I have even scheduled vacation for that time – I am a little worried since I have been suffering some severe back pain lately. Working an hour out of Amarillo presents some scheduling challenges when attempting to see doctors, dentists and chiropractors; ergo, I have not seen anyone yet, but I really need to. There are projects waiting on me when I get there; projects I cannot do while I am hurting this badly.
The pervasive attitude at work is not a happy one. I am not adding to the glee in the things I have been asked to do; shuffling people around, letting contractors go, taking trucks away from people who have had them for years, etc. Those of us who have been through the same readjustments several times are becoming convinced that we are being positioned to be sold. No one can be sure, but the signs do indicate that is the path we are on.
God is still in control and He has allowed me to position myself to be ready for such an event. If I do lose my job it will be interesting to see if I have thought it through clearly enough.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
We go the car and the mobile home, ancillary projects, Joshua
We got a call from the bank yesterday afternoon that we had been approved for a loan on the little car. We are going to meet with the bank today to sign papers and take the car home. Chase’s truck will be put in reassigned parking in back of the house by the detached garage, but it is really a place of honor since I parked my company vehicle there for the short time I had one.
We met yesterday evening with the mobile home people to review that loan. It comes with an exorbitant interest rate and what may turn out to be expensive insurance, but we will have to deal with that as best we can. It is not a large loan, it is not a long term loan but it is difficult financing to arrange so we will accept it and pay it as we look for other options and seek to pay it off early. The payments with insurance and taxes will be about $380 per month. Since the rent Grandma and Grandpa are currently paying is $675 per month, it should be fairly easy for them to keep up with.
While we were out yesterday we found the tubing Grandpa needs to put together the sprayer. He needs about one hundred feet and we were able to find forty six feet at a farm supply store. They are ordering another seventy five foot roll that we will buy when it comes in. Grandpa is getting really excited about his sprayer project. So far it has cost me around $900. I think the final cost will end up at about $1400; for a five hundred gallon sprayer with a thirty foot reach, that’s a bargain.
Mama has a company lined up to do the septic as soon as the trailer is set and Grandpa and I are already planning the electrical and water connections. They plan on paying rent through April so they will have the whole month to make the move. We have tentatively set up the delivery of the mobile home to the farm for the 29th of March. By May Grandma, Grandpa and Victoria should be living on the farm. Hopefully, our turn is coming soon.
Mama spent some time talking to Joshua on Sunday. He is doing quite well after his relocation to Victoria, TX. He is living with Master Joskie’s father who is in his mid eighties. It is a good arrangement for everyone. The father has a sound car which Joshua is free to use and may be given at some future date since the elderly gentleman cannot drive. Joshua has been going through a series of interviews with Sam’s and has a very good chance to get a job there, however, there may be better options.
Somehow he connected with a man who runs a safety company that does oversight for several oil companies in the Victoria area and he was impressed enough with Joshua to offer him a job. From what I know of the oil field, that would be a VERY good job; not only from the standpoint of pay, but also from the standpoint of advancement potential and marketability. It is an aspect of the industry that will not be going away, regardless of economic influences.
As he pursues work, Joshua is making arrangements to complete his Black Belt and take courses that will translate into a private practice of alternative healing; pressure point therapy, massage therapy, magnetic therapy and herbal counseling. I hope he makes it there much sooner that I have been able to.
Meanwhile, back on the farm…The pigs are on the mend. The horse is getting very close to delivery. The trees, vines and bushes are flowering. The onions, peas, beans and corn are poking through the ground in the garden. We should be able to see the potato plants introducing themselves to the north Texas sun when we get there next weekend.
Grandpa will access the hail damage from violent thunderstorms yesterday when he goes to the farm this morning. The heavy rains are predicted to continue through today, minus the severe thunder storms. The plowing is done in the meadow but we will have to wait until things dry out to disk and put the seed in the ground.
We are very close to seeing our vision for the farm become a reality.
We met yesterday evening with the mobile home people to review that loan. It comes with an exorbitant interest rate and what may turn out to be expensive insurance, but we will have to deal with that as best we can. It is not a large loan, it is not a long term loan but it is difficult financing to arrange so we will accept it and pay it as we look for other options and seek to pay it off early. The payments with insurance and taxes will be about $380 per month. Since the rent Grandma and Grandpa are currently paying is $675 per month, it should be fairly easy for them to keep up with.
While we were out yesterday we found the tubing Grandpa needs to put together the sprayer. He needs about one hundred feet and we were able to find forty six feet at a farm supply store. They are ordering another seventy five foot roll that we will buy when it comes in. Grandpa is getting really excited about his sprayer project. So far it has cost me around $900. I think the final cost will end up at about $1400; for a five hundred gallon sprayer with a thirty foot reach, that’s a bargain.
Mama has a company lined up to do the septic as soon as the trailer is set and Grandpa and I are already planning the electrical and water connections. They plan on paying rent through April so they will have the whole month to make the move. We have tentatively set up the delivery of the mobile home to the farm for the 29th of March. By May Grandma, Grandpa and Victoria should be living on the farm. Hopefully, our turn is coming soon.
Mama spent some time talking to Joshua on Sunday. He is doing quite well after his relocation to Victoria, TX. He is living with Master Joskie’s father who is in his mid eighties. It is a good arrangement for everyone. The father has a sound car which Joshua is free to use and may be given at some future date since the elderly gentleman cannot drive. Joshua has been going through a series of interviews with Sam’s and has a very good chance to get a job there, however, there may be better options.
Somehow he connected with a man who runs a safety company that does oversight for several oil companies in the Victoria area and he was impressed enough with Joshua to offer him a job. From what I know of the oil field, that would be a VERY good job; not only from the standpoint of pay, but also from the standpoint of advancement potential and marketability. It is an aspect of the industry that will not be going away, regardless of economic influences.
As he pursues work, Joshua is making arrangements to complete his Black Belt and take courses that will translate into a private practice of alternative healing; pressure point therapy, massage therapy, magnetic therapy and herbal counseling. I hope he makes it there much sooner that I have been able to.
Meanwhile, back on the farm…The pigs are on the mend. The horse is getting very close to delivery. The trees, vines and bushes are flowering. The onions, peas, beans and corn are poking through the ground in the garden. We should be able to see the potato plants introducing themselves to the north Texas sun when we get there next weekend.
Grandpa will access the hail damage from violent thunderstorms yesterday when he goes to the farm this morning. The heavy rains are predicted to continue through today, minus the severe thunder storms. The plowing is done in the meadow but we will have to wait until things dry out to disk and put the seed in the ground.
We are very close to seeing our vision for the farm become a reality.
Monday, March 19, 2012
More shopping, some spending
Mama and I had a very busy Friday evening and Saturday. I had her looking at new cars on Friday since we were considering buying the 2009 Saturn Versa from relatives of someone we know at Happy State Bank. I wanted to see the difference in both equipment and price before we even looked at the car; which we had scheduled for sometime on Saturday. So I met Mama at the house and we went to the dealer and test drove one of the little cars. It was better than I expected for a little car.
After we saw the dealer we went to 2J Motors to test drive a 2004 Dodge 2500 Diesel Crew Cab. I really liked the way it drove but I noticed later that evening that I had some suet on my boots. The only place I could imagine it to have come from was the diesel truck. On the same lot they had a 2008 Versa with 40k miles on it that they wanted $8950 for. So Mama and I are pretty convinced that the one we are looking at is a good buy. We will talk to the bank today about it.
I have to meet Mama at 4 p.m. today to take her to the mobile home dealer so we can sign the closing paperwork. I have yet to find out the finance charge we have been accessed or how long the term of the note will be. We are told all that will be worked out at closing. It is not a show stopper either way. We plan to pay off the note in only a couple years. I am actually more concerned about pulling together the money for the septic system than anything else.
I have spent very little time wondering if Grandma and Grandpa will like the mobile home. I suppose it is important on some level since they have agreed to make the payments on it, but I keep remembering that the money being spent is for a purchase rather than rent and all the items in the home will be ours. Where they now rent almost all of the furniture belongs to the owner – as well as plates, cups, bowls, pots and pans, etc. We will have to unpack quite a bit of stuff to outfit a home of our own now.
On the way home Friday night I let Mama look at a furniture store she really likes and we found a sofa she liked in the clearance corner. After we agreed to pay the $350 for it we discovered it was also a double recliner; an added bonus. We also found the corner piece of a sectional in the same fabric, same color, for $33. With the lack of furniture in Grandma and Grandpa’s possession we bought it to go in the trailer. To it we will add the two recliners we have in Amarillo so they will have some living room furniture when they move in.
When I got up Saturday morning my back was pretty sore so we contracted help to get the furniture rearranged. The tan love seat which is a double recliner was given to the De La Garzas in exchange for the sofa being moved into the house. As it turned out, it matched the sofa they had been given earlier. It displaced Rosie for a moment but she found a new spot to nest on the new sofa.
Mama is happy for the moment. Rosie is happy. It makes very little difference to me. I am pleased to have the cash to make it happen. Since we will have to make payment on the taxes we owe, I elected to use some of the money I had set aside to pay taxes to make the purchases.
I hope it will be money wisely spent.
After we saw the dealer we went to 2J Motors to test drive a 2004 Dodge 2500 Diesel Crew Cab. I really liked the way it drove but I noticed later that evening that I had some suet on my boots. The only place I could imagine it to have come from was the diesel truck. On the same lot they had a 2008 Versa with 40k miles on it that they wanted $8950 for. So Mama and I are pretty convinced that the one we are looking at is a good buy. We will talk to the bank today about it.
I have to meet Mama at 4 p.m. today to take her to the mobile home dealer so we can sign the closing paperwork. I have yet to find out the finance charge we have been accessed or how long the term of the note will be. We are told all that will be worked out at closing. It is not a show stopper either way. We plan to pay off the note in only a couple years. I am actually more concerned about pulling together the money for the septic system than anything else.
I have spent very little time wondering if Grandma and Grandpa will like the mobile home. I suppose it is important on some level since they have agreed to make the payments on it, but I keep remembering that the money being spent is for a purchase rather than rent and all the items in the home will be ours. Where they now rent almost all of the furniture belongs to the owner – as well as plates, cups, bowls, pots and pans, etc. We will have to unpack quite a bit of stuff to outfit a home of our own now.
On the way home Friday night I let Mama look at a furniture store she really likes and we found a sofa she liked in the clearance corner. After we agreed to pay the $350 for it we discovered it was also a double recliner; an added bonus. We also found the corner piece of a sectional in the same fabric, same color, for $33. With the lack of furniture in Grandma and Grandpa’s possession we bought it to go in the trailer. To it we will add the two recliners we have in Amarillo so they will have some living room furniture when they move in.
When I got up Saturday morning my back was pretty sore so we contracted help to get the furniture rearranged. The tan love seat which is a double recliner was given to the De La Garzas in exchange for the sofa being moved into the house. As it turned out, it matched the sofa they had been given earlier. It displaced Rosie for a moment but she found a new spot to nest on the new sofa.
Mama is happy for the moment. Rosie is happy. It makes very little difference to me. I am pleased to have the cash to make it happen. Since we will have to make payment on the taxes we owe, I elected to use some of the money I had set aside to pay taxes to make the purchases.
I hope it will be money wisely spent.
Friday, March 16, 2012
The funeral, the farm, crazy schedules, Chase
The funeral yesterday was pleasant and unremarkable. It was officiated by a female pastor of a local church who was so afraid of offending that she spoke in vague platitudes and veiled religious comments; nothing of substance. Nothing of Christ – whom the woman obviously knew personally from the testimony of her heirs. Her prayers were so short, so aloof and so unfamiliar with God that I left wondering if she knew him.
I am glad I attended the event. The woman who works for me was very glad to see me there. I sat with her friend and another employee of mine through the service and learned the family and extended family’s names and associations to the deceased. That made it a little more personal. It reminded me that we all leave a heritage, whether good or evil, we all leave a heritage. Hers seemed to be a good one. The Lord knows.
I put one of Victoria’s pictures of our overflowing pond on my computer as a desktop background. I am starting to wonder if that was a good idea. All the time I am working on my computer it is peeking around the open program, reminding me of where I would much rather be. I do not think it is a bad thing, but it may end up being distracting. Fortunately, the background is easily changed – the heart is not so quick.
Mama and I will be headed that way in only a couple of weeks. This time I have scheduled vacation for a week. The only caveat is that my brother Steve and his wife, Diane, will be visiting my mom and dad during that week so I should take the time – two days – and drive down to see all of them. I really do not want to give up two days on the farm but it is a rare opportunity. The added benefit is that we could stop by Discount Trees in Brenham and get several pecan trees on our way back to the farm – if any are available.
It will be especially difficult to get away if the mobile home is delivered during the week I have off. We did get approved, by the way. No surprise there. Mama and I go on Monday to sign the papers and arrange for delivery. If we are able to get the septic system done quickly, we should be able to move Grandma, Grandpa and Victoria by the middle of April. The end of the month would be very doable. That would thrill all of them and it wouldn’t upset me either.
I am glad I attended the event. The woman who works for me was very glad to see me there. I sat with her friend and another employee of mine through the service and learned the family and extended family’s names and associations to the deceased. That made it a little more personal. It reminded me that we all leave a heritage, whether good or evil, we all leave a heritage. Hers seemed to be a good one. The Lord knows.
I put one of Victoria’s pictures of our overflowing pond on my computer as a desktop background. I am starting to wonder if that was a good idea. All the time I am working on my computer it is peeking around the open program, reminding me of where I would much rather be. I do not think it is a bad thing, but it may end up being distracting. Fortunately, the background is easily changed – the heart is not so quick.
Mama and I will be headed that way in only a couple of weeks. This time I have scheduled vacation for a week. The only caveat is that my brother Steve and his wife, Diane, will be visiting my mom and dad during that week so I should take the time – two days – and drive down to see all of them. I really do not want to give up two days on the farm but it is a rare opportunity. The added benefit is that we could stop by Discount Trees in Brenham and get several pecan trees on our way back to the farm – if any are available.
It will be especially difficult to get away if the mobile home is delivered during the week I have off. We did get approved, by the way. No surprise there. Mama and I go on Monday to sign the papers and arrange for delivery. If we are able to get the septic system done quickly, we should be able to move Grandma, Grandpa and Victoria by the middle of April. The end of the month would be very doable. That would thrill all of them and it wouldn’t upset me either.One of the problems I am having is maintaining the proper focus on all of the very large projects I have going – at work, at home and at the farm. Graduations, weddings, planting, setting up a home at the farm, construction projects, equipment purchases, vacations and travel planning all tend to mount the pressure. Although I think of myself as a fiscal conservative, it has not reflected in my financial dealings of late. We will get through all this and probably continue to run from one series of crisis to another. Such is life when there are multiple families involved. The fact that I have not gone completely broke amazes me…only by His Grace.
Mama told me Chase was none too pleased about being gone a majority of the month of June. He is anxious to get back to work so his checking account balance does not go to zero. I admire the drive to earn money, but it may be sidetracked by the family plans, from which he is too young to escape. We will be in Florida during the latter half on the month of June and I plan on being in Bowie for the first week of July. That puts us back in Amarillo the second week of July. With college starting soon after he is already feeling the heat.
College is something we still need to spend quite a bit of time talking about.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Confidence; sort of, our new lake, updates
Mama got multiple calls yesterday concerning items on our credit report as the finance company looks it over. Robert Kiyosaki says our Credit Report is the only report card we have as adults and it tells the bank if we are a genius or a moron. I am somewhere squarely in the middle. I am expecting word either late today or tomorrow. I do not foresee a problem, but I always leave room for one so that I do not become overconfident. Since we were allowed to finance the farm for considerably more, I don’t think the small amount we are asking for will create an issue, but we will know for sure soon.
Victoria sent some pictures of the tank we have been watching closely. It is now a lake. I am guessing it to be over twenty five feet deep now. To think I walked last week on ground that is now under ten feet of water is impressive. The brush Grandpa piled at the edges of the fingers of the gullies that the water now fills has been converted from rabbit sets to fish habitat. I am tempted to get a hatchery to deliver a load of fish next month. At least at this point it would be easy access.
None of us have any idea how long the water level will remain this high, but we can now be sure the enclosure can handle it. It lends an air of confidence to the planting we hope to do since we have gone from extreme drought to overflowing tanks. If nothing else, water should be available through the summer and well into the fall. Grandpa and I both have confidence in the overflow system built into this tank. I only regret we did not build some hiding places for small fish while the level was lower.
Mama and I are planning on attending a garage sale this weekend being held in the Civic Center. I have heard how big this thing is but it will be fun to see it first hand. It will be much more pleasant than cruising different neighborhoods in the fierce winds we are expecting Friday and Saturday. We have no real needs but, who knows, we might find some things we did not realize we needed as we look around.
I do know one thing I would like to have more of is canning jars. We are seriously short on supplies for that activity and it will be upon us all too soon as the garden, fruit trees, grape vines and berry bushes start to produce. Sadly, we were not able to buy any pecan trees. The drought limited production to the point that there were none for sale in this area. It will put me a year behind on the plan I am rolling out, but we will survive.
Maggie is almost half way through the seventy day absence of Aaron’s most recent tour of duty. She is encouraged that the countdown fell below forty. She is looking for a job in the area and has met with little success so we have to continue to pray for her.
Victoria is vacillating between liking her job because it gives her something to do that she gets paid for and not liking her job because the “something to do” comes at times when she does not want to be doing something, or would rather be doing something else. Such is life.
Today I am planning to attend the funeral of a family member of one of the ladies who works for me. Her mother passes away last Sunday. I have no idea if her mother was saved. I have no idea if she is saved. I do want to express my condolences and support her in her loss. I am saddened by the thought that her mother’s eternity could be an eternity without God.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Reality
As soon as I stepped in the door yesterday evening Mama blindsided me with the “need” to spend $1000 on plane tickets to get her, Chase and Jake from New Jersey and to get her to New Jersey so they could make the trip back together. I thought I had come home to get her so we could go test drive a truck – little did I know. It took me a good half hour to get my head wrapped around that as reality set in.
I will put $3500 down to purchase the trailer we are buying. I will have to spend $3500 on a septic system to make the trailer livable. I will need about $3500 to put a metal roof and concrete floor in the shop so it will be ready for hay. To finish the hay I will need a baler which will cost about $3500. Added to all of that, the trip to and from Brittany’s wedding as well as my part in it financially will be somewhere close to…you guessed it, $3500. It will be interesting to see how this all works out but reality is such a wet blanket.
If you have not guessed we are going to have to pass on the truck and it is probably a good thing. The more I thought about it the more I saw it as an accident waiting to happen. Besides, I explained to Mama that it would be very unwise to make payments on a used vehicle that would ultimately raise our fuel consumption by $150 to $200 per month on top of the loan payments.
All in all, I feel good about that decision. I am not nearly so thrilled about the air fare costs – especially since I am not able to go. It is something that Mama needs to do for Chase, especially since I am not able to afford to go. It is his graduation, after all.
When we get back from Brittany and Andrew’s wedding I will have time to lick my financial wounds and see how to survive the remainder of the year. We are half way through March, thinking about June and July and planning for the last half of 2012.
No wonder it goes by so fast.
I will put $3500 down to purchase the trailer we are buying. I will have to spend $3500 on a septic system to make the trailer livable. I will need about $3500 to put a metal roof and concrete floor in the shop so it will be ready for hay. To finish the hay I will need a baler which will cost about $3500. Added to all of that, the trip to and from Brittany’s wedding as well as my part in it financially will be somewhere close to…you guessed it, $3500. It will be interesting to see how this all works out but reality is such a wet blanket.
If you have not guessed we are going to have to pass on the truck and it is probably a good thing. The more I thought about it the more I saw it as an accident waiting to happen. Besides, I explained to Mama that it would be very unwise to make payments on a used vehicle that would ultimately raise our fuel consumption by $150 to $200 per month on top of the loan payments.
All in all, I feel good about that decision. I am not nearly so thrilled about the air fare costs – especially since I am not able to go. It is something that Mama needs to do for Chase, especially since I am not able to afford to go. It is his graduation, after all.
When we get back from Brittany and Andrew’s wedding I will have time to lick my financial wounds and see how to survive the remainder of the year. We are half way through March, thinking about June and July and planning for the last half of 2012.
No wonder it goes by so fast.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Shopping
Mama came to Borger to get me yesterday since I had to return the truck I had been driving for a couple weeks. I do enjoy driving the loaner that I have available to me at work – especially since the company pays for the gas. I suppose that is why my boss is so aggressively pursuing the mandate from his boss to get rid of all trucks not being used for company business. Many of these vehicles are being used as nothing more than commuter vehicles and have no work related purpose. I am starting to gather the information on costs (about $38,000 per month for fuel) so I understand the drive.
Anyway, Mama and I went to a used car dealership to look at one particular truck to see if we could get it at a cheap price. When we got the keys for the truck we had come to see I gave them to Mama and asked her to start it as I popped the hood. She stretched over from the passenger seat, put the key in the ignition and turned it. When the truck started she screamed and scared the salesman to death. Turns out the exhaust from the header back had been removed so it was pretty loud. I am guessing the catalytic convertor had been sold prior to taking the truck to auction. Nothing worked well on it and all “improvements” the previous owner had done were yet to be completed.
It was not a difficult decision to walk away from that one. It was not worth near the money they were asking for it, but we did find a Dodge diesel that we are interested in. It was so low on fuel that I was hesitant to drive it. We will go back tonight to test it out and see of we can negotiate a reasonable price. When I gave the particulars to Grandpa, he was very interested.
On our way back into Amarillo we stopped at a mobile home dealer to see if they had something we would be interested in for the farm. We have decided to get a used mobile home to set on the farm to house us until we get one of the two houses livable. We did find a single wide trailer that we were interested enough in to put a deposit on it to hold it until we investigate financing. It is both exciting and frightening.
Mama and I need a dependable second vehicle and we need to buy one that will meet our long term needs. Since we can only do this once we have to be careful to choose wisely. Grandma and Grandpa need to lower their expenses. Moving onto the farm is the option of choice but there is no habitable dwelling. Buying a used mobile home is a good stopgap; rent becomes a purchase and that at one third the price.
But there is a scary little four letter word associated with all of this: debt. I do not have sufficient cash in hand so I have to leverage the purchase with debt. It stretches out our cash, but it does make us a slave to the lender – even if it is short term. Grandma and Grandpa would happily make the payments on the mobile home and when the little house is ready we can sell the mobile home so they will recoup a large portion of the cost. Sounds like a pretty good plan. We’ll see how it plays out.
As for the vehicle purchase, things are not nearly so clear cut. Buying any vehicle, new or used, truck or car, it is always an expense. Such a purchase should never be made with the thought toward recouping expenses. Some consideration can be given to resale value but that is always iffy. If you dwell on that you will not really enjoy the vehicle because you will tend to limit the miles driven, limit the activities it is used for, and frustrate yourself with every little splotch, stain or scratch. You will resent the purchase and so will everyone else in your life.
I buy vehicles to be used up. I have to look at this purchase through that same prism. With that thought in mind, the truck we will hopefully test drive this evening is the same size as the one I owned in New Jersey. I liked the truck, but Mama would not drive it – ever. If that is what will happen with this truck it would be a terrible waste of money. So I have to find out if she would really drive it, otherwise we pass on it and anything like it.
So many decisions.
Anyway, Mama and I went to a used car dealership to look at one particular truck to see if we could get it at a cheap price. When we got the keys for the truck we had come to see I gave them to Mama and asked her to start it as I popped the hood. She stretched over from the passenger seat, put the key in the ignition and turned it. When the truck started she screamed and scared the salesman to death. Turns out the exhaust from the header back had been removed so it was pretty loud. I am guessing the catalytic convertor had been sold prior to taking the truck to auction. Nothing worked well on it and all “improvements” the previous owner had done were yet to be completed.
It was not a difficult decision to walk away from that one. It was not worth near the money they were asking for it, but we did find a Dodge diesel that we are interested in. It was so low on fuel that I was hesitant to drive it. We will go back tonight to test it out and see of we can negotiate a reasonable price. When I gave the particulars to Grandpa, he was very interested.
On our way back into Amarillo we stopped at a mobile home dealer to see if they had something we would be interested in for the farm. We have decided to get a used mobile home to set on the farm to house us until we get one of the two houses livable. We did find a single wide trailer that we were interested enough in to put a deposit on it to hold it until we investigate financing. It is both exciting and frightening.
Mama and I need a dependable second vehicle and we need to buy one that will meet our long term needs. Since we can only do this once we have to be careful to choose wisely. Grandma and Grandpa need to lower their expenses. Moving onto the farm is the option of choice but there is no habitable dwelling. Buying a used mobile home is a good stopgap; rent becomes a purchase and that at one third the price.
But there is a scary little four letter word associated with all of this: debt. I do not have sufficient cash in hand so I have to leverage the purchase with debt. It stretches out our cash, but it does make us a slave to the lender – even if it is short term. Grandma and Grandpa would happily make the payments on the mobile home and when the little house is ready we can sell the mobile home so they will recoup a large portion of the cost. Sounds like a pretty good plan. We’ll see how it plays out.
As for the vehicle purchase, things are not nearly so clear cut. Buying any vehicle, new or used, truck or car, it is always an expense. Such a purchase should never be made with the thought toward recouping expenses. Some consideration can be given to resale value but that is always iffy. If you dwell on that you will not really enjoy the vehicle because you will tend to limit the miles driven, limit the activities it is used for, and frustrate yourself with every little splotch, stain or scratch. You will resent the purchase and so will everyone else in your life.
I buy vehicles to be used up. I have to look at this purchase through that same prism. With that thought in mind, the truck we will hopefully test drive this evening is the same size as the one I owned in New Jersey. I liked the truck, but Mama would not drive it – ever. If that is what will happen with this truck it would be a terrible waste of money. So I have to find out if she would really drive it, otherwise we pass on it and anything like it.
So many decisions.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Full to overflowing, church vs. life, work issues
Grandpa reported yesterday afternoon that the big tank is almost full to overflowing. There is a very well engineered overflow and I am anxious to see it in service. The creek that was dammed up across the road is now flowing from the overflow of that tank and in only a couple days we should be seeing the full promise I received of the Lord in the height of the drought. He promised He would fill the tanks to overflowing when the level of this particular tank was about twenty feet lower than it is now. Maybe this summer we will stock the tank and be able to fish from it late in the fall.
All this wet weather has given Grandpa a chance to see where our fields hold water and he is devising a plan to ensure better drainage. With the way all the collection areas are laid out we should have water where we want for a couple months. We will have to work on the areas where we do not want water to stand. It will be interesting to see if we have to deal with mosquitoes in the smaller collection pools. Right now we are elated to have an abundance of water knowing full well it will not last long.
Mama and I will go back late this month and I will take vacation the first week of April after which I will stay in Bowie and work from the Decatur office through the following week. That will put us in the church in Bowie for Easter Sunday. We will miss seeing the little ones in their Easter clothing at our church here in Amarillo. I spoke to the pastor last night to tell him we would be out quite a bit through the months of April, May and June. He was not pleased but Mama and I are obligated to many other family events through that time and there is little way to get it done from Amarillo. We will probably be replaced in our Children’s Church functions for that time.
Mama and I have always placed a high value on church attendance and we do hate to miss. We will be in church during every one of the services we will miss at our primary church, but we will be missed at Central Baptist Church in Amarillo. It is very often not Mama and I who suffer the loss but the congregation we normally worship with feels the empty place we leave behind. Our little ones in the Children’s church will miss Mama Kim.
I have been given several more unpleasant details to manage at work. The least palatable is to offer to my boss a more streamlined (read that smaller) organization. I have been asked, along with two of my peers, to take my group from twelve people to eight while they shrink their groups also. It is starting as a paper exercise, but it will not stop there. Our boss feels compelled to get rid of any contract employees in order to absorb a financial cut he sees coming. Sounds prudent - but painful.
Before I forget, the pigs have been given shots to fight a serious worm and parasite infestation. Grandpa is very unhappy about it. That kind of infestation can easily spread around the farm. Victoria took the lead on cornering the pigs one at a time so Mama could play nurse. Grandpa was very impressed with them both. Next week we will have the vet look at specimens again to see if further medication is needed. He told Mama it was one of the worst infestations he had ever seen, leading us to believe we may have more work on our hands. My one worry is that the dogs tend to lick around on all excrement – the infected poop was no exception.
Sasha is now fixed. She is almost fully recuperated and was returned to the farm from her hospice care in Grandma’s house. Both Sasha and Grandma are relieved.
All this wet weather has given Grandpa a chance to see where our fields hold water and he is devising a plan to ensure better drainage. With the way all the collection areas are laid out we should have water where we want for a couple months. We will have to work on the areas where we do not want water to stand. It will be interesting to see if we have to deal with mosquitoes in the smaller collection pools. Right now we are elated to have an abundance of water knowing full well it will not last long.
Mama and I will go back late this month and I will take vacation the first week of April after which I will stay in Bowie and work from the Decatur office through the following week. That will put us in the church in Bowie for Easter Sunday. We will miss seeing the little ones in their Easter clothing at our church here in Amarillo. I spoke to the pastor last night to tell him we would be out quite a bit through the months of April, May and June. He was not pleased but Mama and I are obligated to many other family events through that time and there is little way to get it done from Amarillo. We will probably be replaced in our Children’s Church functions for that time.
Mama and I have always placed a high value on church attendance and we do hate to miss. We will be in church during every one of the services we will miss at our primary church, but we will be missed at Central Baptist Church in Amarillo. It is very often not Mama and I who suffer the loss but the congregation we normally worship with feels the empty place we leave behind. Our little ones in the Children’s church will miss Mama Kim.
I have been given several more unpleasant details to manage at work. The least palatable is to offer to my boss a more streamlined (read that smaller) organization. I have been asked, along with two of my peers, to take my group from twelve people to eight while they shrink their groups also. It is starting as a paper exercise, but it will not stop there. Our boss feels compelled to get rid of any contract employees in order to absorb a financial cut he sees coming. Sounds prudent - but painful.
Before I forget, the pigs have been given shots to fight a serious worm and parasite infestation. Grandpa is very unhappy about it. That kind of infestation can easily spread around the farm. Victoria took the lead on cornering the pigs one at a time so Mama could play nurse. Grandpa was very impressed with them both. Next week we will have the vet look at specimens again to see if further medication is needed. He told Mama it was one of the worst infestations he had ever seen, leading us to believe we may have more work on our hands. My one worry is that the dogs tend to lick around on all excrement – the infected poop was no exception.
Sasha is now fixed. She is almost fully recuperated and was returned to the farm from her hospice care in Grandma’s house. Both Sasha and Grandma are relieved.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Weather reports, dogs, Becky’s bathroom, Brittany’s wedding
It is really difficult to know any more just how much faith to put in the weather reports we have been getting. There were predictions of very heavy rain for the Bowie area. We had some but it is not turning out to be as much as predicted. There were predictions of snow and rain for the Amarillo area. We got nothing. Now the weather forecasters are saying the storm will come in late today into tonight. We’ll get up tomorrow and see.
As far as delaying the planting of our meadows, it was probably a good decision to wait through yesterday. Whether or not we should wait any longer is another question. One forecast is calling for an 80% chance of rain Saturday and Sunday while another is predicting a far less chance. One report is predicting more rain Wednesday through next Saturday. Another is calling for very little chance of rain on those days. I will leave it up to Grandpa. It is really too much information.
Our Great Pyrenees female was operated on yesterday. She has been fixed so we will not have to worry about any unexpected pups being born. The dog is only about six or seven months old, but Mama insisted it was the correct time to do this. We will do the male also as a precaution against him breeding any wandering females. At least our dog population will be under control.
Mama and Victoria are still talking about breeding mini Dachshunds. From my current perspective, there is no pleasant way for me to avoid that. Rosie is showing signs of age and Mama’s little companion may not be here for her much longer. Dodger is definitely not a replacement, neither are the large dogs, so I suppose that breeding stock will be the next canine purchase. As long as we do not have a place of our own to live in while staying in Bowie, it will be problematic. Grandma is opposed to any dog in the house. She tolerates Rosie, but that acclimation has happened over years. Any new dog will have to earn her acceptance – which has proven difficult.
Dodger has been all but barred from the house. He really is more of an outside dog but Victoria likes to have him close. She will keep him in her bedroom to avoid the scolding about how bad he smells, how dirty he is, how Victoria is probably sick because of allergies to him, how he touches Grandma’s leg with his cold nose, how he is always in the way, etc. The pup is pretty much house broken. He has very few accidents any more, but he has learned that all food originates at the stove and all treats are dispensed as we sit at the table, so when the stove is lit, he camps out underfoot – which Grandma also finds annoying.
Victoria tolerates it. Grandpa sits back and watches. There is really not the extreme danger that Grandma superimposes on keeping the dog in the house, namely, the germ infestations and the tripping hazard, but they are both things to consider. It will all work out soon enough.
Becky called yesterday to announce that they were about to complete an additional bathroom in their house. Her father-in-law is there to help Charles put the sheetrock up and set the fixtures. Her choice of colors for the small room are true Becky; yellow, green, some other color with gold hardware. Her idea is that since she lives in a predominately Latino area, the color scheme will add to the resale potential when that time comes. Interesting thought.
Mama tells me Brittany’s wedding plans are coming together. All I know for almost sure is the date – June 22. I think that’s right. I will be in the general area around that time so I should be able to get to the wedding on time even if I have the date wrong. What I remember is that it was moved from Thursday to Friday of that week for reasons I am not sure I was ever told and if I was I do not remember. I have full confidence Mama will get me there on time.
In case you have not noticed, when Mama is on the farm she is somewhat disconnected from her normal thought processes. She is more distracted than usual, more occupied than usual. So, if any of you need to tell her anything particularly important, you should wait until she is back in Amarillo. If you need to tell he something that needs to be relayed to me, it is better if you call me to tell me directly.
Just make sure I write it down.
As far as delaying the planting of our meadows, it was probably a good decision to wait through yesterday. Whether or not we should wait any longer is another question. One forecast is calling for an 80% chance of rain Saturday and Sunday while another is predicting a far less chance. One report is predicting more rain Wednesday through next Saturday. Another is calling for very little chance of rain on those days. I will leave it up to Grandpa. It is really too much information.
Our Great Pyrenees female was operated on yesterday. She has been fixed so we will not have to worry about any unexpected pups being born. The dog is only about six or seven months old, but Mama insisted it was the correct time to do this. We will do the male also as a precaution against him breeding any wandering females. At least our dog population will be under control.
Mama and Victoria are still talking about breeding mini Dachshunds. From my current perspective, there is no pleasant way for me to avoid that. Rosie is showing signs of age and Mama’s little companion may not be here for her much longer. Dodger is definitely not a replacement, neither are the large dogs, so I suppose that breeding stock will be the next canine purchase. As long as we do not have a place of our own to live in while staying in Bowie, it will be problematic. Grandma is opposed to any dog in the house. She tolerates Rosie, but that acclimation has happened over years. Any new dog will have to earn her acceptance – which has proven difficult.
Dodger has been all but barred from the house. He really is more of an outside dog but Victoria likes to have him close. She will keep him in her bedroom to avoid the scolding about how bad he smells, how dirty he is, how Victoria is probably sick because of allergies to him, how he touches Grandma’s leg with his cold nose, how he is always in the way, etc. The pup is pretty much house broken. He has very few accidents any more, but he has learned that all food originates at the stove and all treats are dispensed as we sit at the table, so when the stove is lit, he camps out underfoot – which Grandma also finds annoying.
Victoria tolerates it. Grandpa sits back and watches. There is really not the extreme danger that Grandma superimposes on keeping the dog in the house, namely, the germ infestations and the tripping hazard, but they are both things to consider. It will all work out soon enough.
Becky called yesterday to announce that they were about to complete an additional bathroom in their house. Her father-in-law is there to help Charles put the sheetrock up and set the fixtures. Her choice of colors for the small room are true Becky; yellow, green, some other color with gold hardware. Her idea is that since she lives in a predominately Latino area, the color scheme will add to the resale potential when that time comes. Interesting thought.
Mama tells me Brittany’s wedding plans are coming together. All I know for almost sure is the date – June 22. I think that’s right. I will be in the general area around that time so I should be able to get to the wedding on time even if I have the date wrong. What I remember is that it was moved from Thursday to Friday of that week for reasons I am not sure I was ever told and if I was I do not remember. I have full confidence Mama will get me there on time.
In case you have not noticed, when Mama is on the farm she is somewhat disconnected from her normal thought processes. She is more distracted than usual, more occupied than usual. So, if any of you need to tell her anything particularly important, you should wait until she is back in Amarillo. If you need to tell he something that needs to be relayed to me, it is better if you call me to tell me directly.
Just make sure I write it down.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Leaving Bowie, green and not green, Grant
I left Bowie yesterday about 2 p.m. I can assure all of you that the trip is much more pleasant to make when Mama is with me. She still has big plans on going to Denton to take Victoria to Chipotle and to return a wheelbarrow we bought at Sam’s that turned out to be a piece of junk. If Mama and I had looked it over better we would never have bought it, but that is another lesson learned and it provides a good excuse for her to go to Denton.
I met Mama at the farm before I left and got to see how they had used the cattle panels Grandpa had bought in West Virginia. Some have been used to fence off the open side of the garden although it will not keep the dogs out. Some have been set up to extend the lot where the donkeys are being kept. It gives them access to some fresh grass. The remaining panel or two have divides the calf lot where Rain was being kept so the lot is now split between Rain and Toi. The older horse seems to enjoy the enclosure. Rain is still very aggressive toward Toi, but after all, Toi started it when she kicked Rain during their first few moments together.
I got into Amarillo too late to go to church but Mama did go to the service in Bowie. I miss our church but I am feeling more a part of the church in Bowie than I did at first. I will have the unpleasant duty of letting our pastor here know that this summer we will be out of town quite a bit. With Chase’s graduation, Brittany’s wedding and the normal time I spend in Decatur we will miss quite a few services and may have to give up our Children’s Church ministry for the summer. I will present the issue and let the pastor make the decision on that.
Mama has had a friend taking care of the plants in our house here while we have been away and they all look very good due to her efforts. We are even seeing some bulbs send their foliage through the rough ground at the house. I was not sure if the ground here would produce any vegetation but it is. It is not desirable for the most part but it is green – of sorts. After leaving the lush grass of the farm it is saddening to look at the yard here.
Snow is predicted overnight with up to two inches forecast for the area. The temperature when I got to town yesterday evening was almost eighty degrees. It fell over forty degrees through the night and will continue to fall through the day today to end up in the twenties. The winds are steady at twenty miles per hour. It feels cold. The “feels like” temperature is predicted to be six degrees by tomorrow morning. I am not sure knowing the forecast is a good thing in this case.
I talked a long time with Cori yesterday about Grant who seems to consider spanking a recreational sport. She has on the one hand Mykenzie who will burst into tears at the mere thought of having disappointed her mommy while on the other side is Blake who is still learning the difference between naughty and funny. Grant, the middle child, appears to think rules are made to be broken and any imposition of boundaries is a challenge to his authority. It still amazes me that children at three, four and five years old, a child can think that they should be in charge of their own lives.
How do you successfully discipline, and when that fails, punish such a child? I am reminded of an episode in the Gospels when the disciples could not cast out a particular demon. When the child was set at the feet of Jesus, He was able to rebuke the demon and cast him out – healing the child. Later the disciples asked why they were not able. His answer; Mark 9:29 “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
Do I think my grandson is demon possessed? No, but I do know that there is sin in his little heart and he feels it is more “just” to disobey his mommy that to obey her. Even at his very young age he feels it is his right to do whatever he thinks is best and is willing to endure whatever punishment comes to exercise his will over his parents will. At four years old, he is wrestling with pride; his will vs. anyone else’s – especially his mommy.
Understanding what is in the heart of a child can only come through a prayer life that is agonizing to the point of fasting; burdening the spiritual, limiting the physical, begging God for wisdom. God will not give me the insight for this child that he will give the mommy and daddy, but I can help as I pray for them to have that wisdom and in my deep concern for them and the child, I will fast.
God still answers prayer – especially intercession.
I met Mama at the farm before I left and got to see how they had used the cattle panels Grandpa had bought in West Virginia. Some have been used to fence off the open side of the garden although it will not keep the dogs out. Some have been set up to extend the lot where the donkeys are being kept. It gives them access to some fresh grass. The remaining panel or two have divides the calf lot where Rain was being kept so the lot is now split between Rain and Toi. The older horse seems to enjoy the enclosure. Rain is still very aggressive toward Toi, but after all, Toi started it when she kicked Rain during their first few moments together.
I got into Amarillo too late to go to church but Mama did go to the service in Bowie. I miss our church but I am feeling more a part of the church in Bowie than I did at first. I will have the unpleasant duty of letting our pastor here know that this summer we will be out of town quite a bit. With Chase’s graduation, Brittany’s wedding and the normal time I spend in Decatur we will miss quite a few services and may have to give up our Children’s Church ministry for the summer. I will present the issue and let the pastor make the decision on that.
Mama has had a friend taking care of the plants in our house here while we have been away and they all look very good due to her efforts. We are even seeing some bulbs send their foliage through the rough ground at the house. I was not sure if the ground here would produce any vegetation but it is. It is not desirable for the most part but it is green – of sorts. After leaving the lush grass of the farm it is saddening to look at the yard here.
Snow is predicted overnight with up to two inches forecast for the area. The temperature when I got to town yesterday evening was almost eighty degrees. It fell over forty degrees through the night and will continue to fall through the day today to end up in the twenties. The winds are steady at twenty miles per hour. It feels cold. The “feels like” temperature is predicted to be six degrees by tomorrow morning. I am not sure knowing the forecast is a good thing in this case.
I talked a long time with Cori yesterday about Grant who seems to consider spanking a recreational sport. She has on the one hand Mykenzie who will burst into tears at the mere thought of having disappointed her mommy while on the other side is Blake who is still learning the difference between naughty and funny. Grant, the middle child, appears to think rules are made to be broken and any imposition of boundaries is a challenge to his authority. It still amazes me that children at three, four and five years old, a child can think that they should be in charge of their own lives.
How do you successfully discipline, and when that fails, punish such a child? I am reminded of an episode in the Gospels when the disciples could not cast out a particular demon. When the child was set at the feet of Jesus, He was able to rebuke the demon and cast him out – healing the child. Later the disciples asked why they were not able. His answer; Mark 9:29 “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
Do I think my grandson is demon possessed? No, but I do know that there is sin in his little heart and he feels it is more “just” to disobey his mommy that to obey her. Even at his very young age he feels it is his right to do whatever he thinks is best and is willing to endure whatever punishment comes to exercise his will over his parents will. At four years old, he is wrestling with pride; his will vs. anyone else’s – especially his mommy.
Understanding what is in the heart of a child can only come through a prayer life that is agonizing to the point of fasting; burdening the spiritual, limiting the physical, begging God for wisdom. God will not give me the insight for this child that he will give the mommy and daddy, but I can help as I pray for them to have that wisdom and in my deep concern for them and the child, I will fast.
God still answers prayer – especially intercession.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Planting, weather, Victoria, edible mistakes
Poor Mama was worn out last night. She and Grandpa had been at the farm planting potatoes from about 8:30 to after 4 p.m. For her that is a very long day. With the winds steady at 20 to 25 miles per hour with gusts up to 40, it was a brutal day to be outside all day. All told, they planted 300 pounds of potatoes along with two rows of peas and one row of corn. The potatoes took up only about one third of the total area Grandpa and I plowed so we will fill the remainder with field corn so we will have our own chicken, hog, horse, donkey, and cattle feed next winter – if all goes well.
I planted a row of peas and a row of half-runner beans in the garden at the house. It will be interesting to see how they come up because my hands do not do well with the motions required to meter out an exact count of seeds in a certain area. My rows will be a little more sporadic than those done by Mama and Grandpa. But if the Lord blesses we should be able to gather from the unevenly spaced plantings also. I got to plant another seedless grape, two more blueberries and a hyacinth last night before working in the garden.
All seeding of the meadows and fields is on hold due to the weather. The forecast is for severe weather over the next several days –starting this evening. We are afraid that there will be too great a chance for washout of the freshly planted seed if we do get the volume of rain predicted. Flooding is expected in the Dallas area and we are expecting up to five inches locally through the weekend. Rain has been forecast for much of next week also. So whatever we get in the ground today will be all that gets done for many days. At the very least, God will have made good on His promise to fill the tanks on the property.
Victoria was in good spirits when we picked her up last night. She even said she was glad to have her job and very glad to be able to go to work after missing so many days. She was hugging Mama last night, not letting her go, and happily remarking on the fact that she loved feeling better. Mama kept saying, “Okay Victoria, let me go.” But it was all in fun – and it is good to see her feeling better.
I will travel back to Amarillo today, leaving Mama here through Saturday. With the weather predictions and the need to be back in my office, it seems like a workable solution. We drove separate vehicles when we came because I was expecting to go to training in Odessa, TX. She is in no hurry to leave but I have work I need to be doing and the best place to get it done is in Borger.
She is holding out to go to Trade Days this Saturday. I am not sure why but I do not relish the thought of sitting around for the next several evenings with nothing to do except watch the rain. That can make for a very long evening. I turned over to Grandpa the $200 I have been saving for pecan trees we are planning to buy at this months Trade Days. Mama was disappointed that I did not give it to her, but I know Grandpa will be in Bowie this weekend even if Mama is not. I also know that Grandpa will only spend the money on pecan trees so I am more certain of my purchasing power with the current arrangement.
I ordered a catalog from a hatchery I had found through reading an ad on Craig’s List. We were all looking through it last night because of the tremendous variety of all types of fowl they offer for sale. What attracted me to this company was the text offered with each fowl offered, listing weight, hardiness, egg size and color, temperament and a brief history of the breed. It was more thorough than anything I have seen yet. I asked Victoria to study up on the various breeds of chickens to see what we could try to raise after we kill off the roosters we now have.
Grandpa as been very disappointed in the hogs we bought. We will find someplace else to buy pigs next time. We should be able to fatten and eat these, but they are not the temperament of animal we would like to have around.
One of the blessings of a farm is that you can eat your mistakes…horses excluded.
I planted a row of peas and a row of half-runner beans in the garden at the house. It will be interesting to see how they come up because my hands do not do well with the motions required to meter out an exact count of seeds in a certain area. My rows will be a little more sporadic than those done by Mama and Grandpa. But if the Lord blesses we should be able to gather from the unevenly spaced plantings also. I got to plant another seedless grape, two more blueberries and a hyacinth last night before working in the garden.
All seeding of the meadows and fields is on hold due to the weather. The forecast is for severe weather over the next several days –starting this evening. We are afraid that there will be too great a chance for washout of the freshly planted seed if we do get the volume of rain predicted. Flooding is expected in the Dallas area and we are expecting up to five inches locally through the weekend. Rain has been forecast for much of next week also. So whatever we get in the ground today will be all that gets done for many days. At the very least, God will have made good on His promise to fill the tanks on the property.
Victoria was in good spirits when we picked her up last night. She even said she was glad to have her job and very glad to be able to go to work after missing so many days. She was hugging Mama last night, not letting her go, and happily remarking on the fact that she loved feeling better. Mama kept saying, “Okay Victoria, let me go.” But it was all in fun – and it is good to see her feeling better.
I will travel back to Amarillo today, leaving Mama here through Saturday. With the weather predictions and the need to be back in my office, it seems like a workable solution. We drove separate vehicles when we came because I was expecting to go to training in Odessa, TX. She is in no hurry to leave but I have work I need to be doing and the best place to get it done is in Borger.
She is holding out to go to Trade Days this Saturday. I am not sure why but I do not relish the thought of sitting around for the next several evenings with nothing to do except watch the rain. That can make for a very long evening. I turned over to Grandpa the $200 I have been saving for pecan trees we are planning to buy at this months Trade Days. Mama was disappointed that I did not give it to her, but I know Grandpa will be in Bowie this weekend even if Mama is not. I also know that Grandpa will only spend the money on pecan trees so I am more certain of my purchasing power with the current arrangement.
I ordered a catalog from a hatchery I had found through reading an ad on Craig’s List. We were all looking through it last night because of the tremendous variety of all types of fowl they offer for sale. What attracted me to this company was the text offered with each fowl offered, listing weight, hardiness, egg size and color, temperament and a brief history of the breed. It was more thorough than anything I have seen yet. I asked Victoria to study up on the various breeds of chickens to see what we could try to raise after we kill off the roosters we now have.
Grandpa as been very disappointed in the hogs we bought. We will find someplace else to buy pigs next time. We should be able to fatten and eat these, but they are not the temperament of animal we would like to have around.
One of the blessings of a farm is that you can eat your mistakes…horses excluded.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Plowing and planting, riding bareback, news on Norman, only the best
I took off yesterday as soon as I got a good look at the forecast. I was not planning on it but the opportunity was presenting itself to be the best of all the remaining days we have left this week – and for me and Mama, this month. It turned out to be a really good decision. I was there to help Grandpa get the plows set up for the tractor we have and outfit them with some new parts he bought it West Virginia. I was able to do a portion of the plowing and later was able to help get the disks he brought back put into use.
Grandpa re-plowed the garden by the house ~ ¼ acre, then plowed about two acres by the shop to be seeded for hay this year, then he and I plowed about two more acres for a potato and corn patch. Mama, Grandma and Victoria cut potatoes and we planted fifty pounds of Red Pontiacs in a couple very long rows in the garden at the house. I planted onions and garlic an another row and today, after the larger potato patch is planted and hilled, they will plant corn in a couple rows in the house garden and another 2/3 of an acre in corn in the large potato patch.
If all goes according to predictions we will get up to five inches of rain in the next couple of days so Grandpa was planning on being up early this morning to plow the meadow (about 12 acres) and hopefully get the seed in the ground by tonight. I think it is doable, but there will not be any slack time. We can all rest after it starts to rain. Unfortunately, I will not get the cover on the log kit because we are being pressed by the weather, but that too will eventually get done.
As Mama and I were picking up Victoria’s prescription last night at Wal-Mart, we looked in the garden section and picked up a couple more blueberries, a seedless Concord grape and a hyacinth plant. They will also be put in the ground today. If everything continues to grow as it is now we will be overloaded with produce this summer. It will be an enormous amount of work to get it all picked and prepared or sold – which ever is best. What a great problem!
Victoria and I saw the doctor yesterday. I felt there was something missing from the first visit so I wanted to be there when he saw her this time. She has had a fever and cough for several days now and I know the doctor was not expecting that. It turns out that Mama and Victoria missed part of the instructions when they last saw him. They were supposed to get an over-the-counter antihistamine of some sort to relieve the symptoms of the sinus pressure and congestion. That part they missed.
This time we got an antibiotic and the sinus congestion relief. I did not hear her cough too much last night so she should be on the mend very soon. I think she has to go to work tonight but she should be up to it by this evening. She was out on the farm for a couple hours yesterday but we did not allow her to stay too long. During the time she was there we did get a chance to get her up on Toi so Mama could walk her around while she rode bareback. She was ecstatic! She kept saying that the horse’s legs were trembling under her weight, but I think it was her imagination. With a twenty year old steed, it is hard to tell. Later that afternoon the horse took off at a gallop and kicked up her heels around the pasture near the shop. It is good to see both horse and rider feeling better.
Norman had a preliminary hearing on his divorce from June and things seem to have gone well for him. It is very difficult to say until things are finalized, but the hope of reconciliation is pretty much dead and it will be a relief for Norman to get on with his life regardless of any financial cost that may be accessed to him. Right now it looks like both of them will just walk away after twenty plus years, but we will know the final verdict on the 14th of this month. Grandma recounted a great deal more detail than this but most of it is not particularly relevant.
We have a skinny, tall pear tree that is putting out at least seventy flowers. If it survives any late frost we will have to pluck some of the flowers to limit it to one fruit per branch. At this early stage in its fruit bearing life it would be broken to the point of irreversible wounding to allow it to bear all it is attempting. So it is with us. We make glorious plans and God lovingly plucks them away until we are able to accomplish what remains without being wounded and overwhelmed. If we do not become discouraged, if we remain faithful, we will soon be strong enough to accomplish so much more than we even began to attempt at the first.
When you feel the Lord is plucking away your dreams, be thankful for the fruit he allows to remain. He allows only the very best to mature and ripen.
Grandpa re-plowed the garden by the house ~ ¼ acre, then plowed about two acres by the shop to be seeded for hay this year, then he and I plowed about two more acres for a potato and corn patch. Mama, Grandma and Victoria cut potatoes and we planted fifty pounds of Red Pontiacs in a couple very long rows in the garden at the house. I planted onions and garlic an another row and today, after the larger potato patch is planted and hilled, they will plant corn in a couple rows in the house garden and another 2/3 of an acre in corn in the large potato patch.
If all goes according to predictions we will get up to five inches of rain in the next couple of days so Grandpa was planning on being up early this morning to plow the meadow (about 12 acres) and hopefully get the seed in the ground by tonight. I think it is doable, but there will not be any slack time. We can all rest after it starts to rain. Unfortunately, I will not get the cover on the log kit because we are being pressed by the weather, but that too will eventually get done.
As Mama and I were picking up Victoria’s prescription last night at Wal-Mart, we looked in the garden section and picked up a couple more blueberries, a seedless Concord grape and a hyacinth plant. They will also be put in the ground today. If everything continues to grow as it is now we will be overloaded with produce this summer. It will be an enormous amount of work to get it all picked and prepared or sold – which ever is best. What a great problem!
Victoria and I saw the doctor yesterday. I felt there was something missing from the first visit so I wanted to be there when he saw her this time. She has had a fever and cough for several days now and I know the doctor was not expecting that. It turns out that Mama and Victoria missed part of the instructions when they last saw him. They were supposed to get an over-the-counter antihistamine of some sort to relieve the symptoms of the sinus pressure and congestion. That part they missed.
This time we got an antibiotic and the sinus congestion relief. I did not hear her cough too much last night so she should be on the mend very soon. I think she has to go to work tonight but she should be up to it by this evening. She was out on the farm for a couple hours yesterday but we did not allow her to stay too long. During the time she was there we did get a chance to get her up on Toi so Mama could walk her around while she rode bareback. She was ecstatic! She kept saying that the horse’s legs were trembling under her weight, but I think it was her imagination. With a twenty year old steed, it is hard to tell. Later that afternoon the horse took off at a gallop and kicked up her heels around the pasture near the shop. It is good to see both horse and rider feeling better.
Norman had a preliminary hearing on his divorce from June and things seem to have gone well for him. It is very difficult to say until things are finalized, but the hope of reconciliation is pretty much dead and it will be a relief for Norman to get on with his life regardless of any financial cost that may be accessed to him. Right now it looks like both of them will just walk away after twenty plus years, but we will know the final verdict on the 14th of this month. Grandma recounted a great deal more detail than this but most of it is not particularly relevant.
We have a skinny, tall pear tree that is putting out at least seventy flowers. If it survives any late frost we will have to pluck some of the flowers to limit it to one fruit per branch. At this early stage in its fruit bearing life it would be broken to the point of irreversible wounding to allow it to bear all it is attempting. So it is with us. We make glorious plans and God lovingly plucks them away until we are able to accomplish what remains without being wounded and overwhelmed. If we do not become discouraged, if we remain faithful, we will soon be strong enough to accomplish so much more than we even began to attempt at the first.
When you feel the Lord is plucking away your dreams, be thankful for the fruit he allows to remain. He allows only the very best to mature and ripen.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Grandpa, more planting, Joshua, Victoria
Grandpa made it in to Bowie late on Saturday night. It was almost midnight when he pulled in but Mama and Grandma were up to greet him. I woke up but did not get up. Rather, I got up early Sunday morning and looked out the window to see the trailer and how it was loaded. He spent most of the day unloading the trailer at the farm and I was able to help him after church. We got done in time to go to church that evening – and I even got about thirty minutes nap before we had to get ready for church.
Mama and I had spent most of the day on the farm. It was the very fist time I had been able to spend a full Saturday in Bowie. Every other time we are there on Saturday we have to break in the early afternoon and head home. I finished putting in the posts I had bought for the cover I want to put over the log package and later that evening Mama and I planted strawberries and a grape vine we had bought. This evening I hope to plant the remainder of the strawberries we bought.
All of the plants we bought recently have been on the discounted rack so I do not really know how viable they are, but it is worth the time and effort to experiment. In the event that any of them bear fruit we will be glad we did. The fun part is that the ground is so easy to work it takes only a few moments to plant anything. The soil pH seems perfectly suited to the types of plants we are putting in it. All of the berries, vines and trees are doing very well and Grandpa told me there are elderberries coming up by the shop.
I thought about taking today off but elected to come to work since the day will be a down day at the farm as Grandpa makes repairs and sets up equipment for plowing and planting. It is supposed to rain in the middle of the week, but we will take that as it comes. I want to make sure the days I do take off are the days when he really needs help – days we plow all day long or days when we plant and have a lot of team required tasks. Any time I am there to help is appreciated, but I want to make sure the time is maximized.
One of the items Grandpa bought was a sprayer; at least, it will become a sprayer. The 250 gallon tank is mounted on wheels and has some attached structure from which to hang the boom arms to deliver liquid fertilizer to our fields. There are some parts missing which Grandpa will outfit according to some plans we found on the Amsoil website. He is quite excited because I had suggested some time ago that he and Victoria start a business of spraying AgGrand fertilizer on fields in the area. We are now getting the idea put together and may have it actually in practice in a month or so. Spraying fields is big business which goes on all year long; with and repeat business they could be very busy.
Joshua made it safely to Victoria, TX. He loaded all of his stuff in a mid sized U-Haul truck and headed south on Saturday – I think. He will be living temporarily with his karate instructor but already has an interview at Sam’s either today or tomorrow. I wanted to call Pastor Parrish yesterday to tell him Joshua is in town, but I got too caught up in the unloading efforts at the farm. I will try to rectify that oversight today.
Victoria is still sick. She still has a fever and a bad cough. She missed work and church this weekend - spending the majority of her time in bed. I have asked Mama to take her back to the doctor this morning so she can be reevaluated.
Obviously she needs a little more help.
Mama and I had spent most of the day on the farm. It was the very fist time I had been able to spend a full Saturday in Bowie. Every other time we are there on Saturday we have to break in the early afternoon and head home. I finished putting in the posts I had bought for the cover I want to put over the log package and later that evening Mama and I planted strawberries and a grape vine we had bought. This evening I hope to plant the remainder of the strawberries we bought.
All of the plants we bought recently have been on the discounted rack so I do not really know how viable they are, but it is worth the time and effort to experiment. In the event that any of them bear fruit we will be glad we did. The fun part is that the ground is so easy to work it takes only a few moments to plant anything. The soil pH seems perfectly suited to the types of plants we are putting in it. All of the berries, vines and trees are doing very well and Grandpa told me there are elderberries coming up by the shop.
I thought about taking today off but elected to come to work since the day will be a down day at the farm as Grandpa makes repairs and sets up equipment for plowing and planting. It is supposed to rain in the middle of the week, but we will take that as it comes. I want to make sure the days I do take off are the days when he really needs help – days we plow all day long or days when we plant and have a lot of team required tasks. Any time I am there to help is appreciated, but I want to make sure the time is maximized.
One of the items Grandpa bought was a sprayer; at least, it will become a sprayer. The 250 gallon tank is mounted on wheels and has some attached structure from which to hang the boom arms to deliver liquid fertilizer to our fields. There are some parts missing which Grandpa will outfit according to some plans we found on the Amsoil website. He is quite excited because I had suggested some time ago that he and Victoria start a business of spraying AgGrand fertilizer on fields in the area. We are now getting the idea put together and may have it actually in practice in a month or so. Spraying fields is big business which goes on all year long; with and repeat business they could be very busy.
Joshua made it safely to Victoria, TX. He loaded all of his stuff in a mid sized U-Haul truck and headed south on Saturday – I think. He will be living temporarily with his karate instructor but already has an interview at Sam’s either today or tomorrow. I wanted to call Pastor Parrish yesterday to tell him Joshua is in town, but I got too caught up in the unloading efforts at the farm. I will try to rectify that oversight today.
Victoria is still sick. She still has a fever and a bad cough. She missed work and church this weekend - spending the majority of her time in bed. I have asked Mama to take her back to the doctor this morning so she can be reevaluated.
Obviously she needs a little more help.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Pray for Grandpa, good ground, unwanted assignments
Speculation is that Grandpa will be leaving West Virginia this morning. Be in prayer for him as he travels especially since the area he will be traveling through is forecast to have some very severe weather. I heard reports this morning of tornado warnings and watches for Tennessee and Virginia. Even in the early a.m. storms are developing that could spawn the “super cells” that commonly breed tornados.
Mama and I were on the property late yesterday evening and it was wonderful. The temperature was about 80 degrees and the winds were moderate ~ 20 mph. She had dinner for the two of us – braunschweiger sandwiches and tortilla chips. It may not sound like much but it was a very pleasant dinner after we got situated so the pups would not be licking at our food. It is hard to call them pups since, at six months, they are the size of the largest dogs we have ever owned.
Mama fed and watered while I was working on lining out some posts to build a cover for the logs that we are planning to build into our home. I do not know if we will be able to do it this year but I need to get the logs covered in a way that is more wind resistant. For the moment we are using tarps – now pretty well shredded – and tin roofing panels being help in place by discarded tires. Neither of the combined methods will suffice long term and since it is a considerable investment, I would like to do a better job of protecting it.
We did manage to get the holes laid out but I did not have the keys to the shop where the posthole diggers were stored so I used a regular shovel to begin the work which I hope to complete this evening. The ground on the farm is wonderful – easy to dig loamy soil with a fair amount of clay. It is more than I could have hoped for. I told Grandpa as we were planting trees several weeks ago, my mother would have done about anything for ground like this instead of the black clay she has wrestled with over the years.
We are seeing buds on all of the fruit trees, grape vines, berry bushes and various other plants we have put in the ground. Last night I looked at the native blackberry plants and they are opening to the coming spring also. I have several stands of elder berry around the farm that I will check on next month, but I am excited to have them. Victoria could really use some elder berry syrup right now. She will be in to see the doctor today at 10 a.m., by the way.
Even though I may go back to Amarillo in the middle of next week, Mama is insisting on staying so she can go to trade days next Saturday. I do not have to hurry back, but there is no urgency in my being here either and it is a slight interruption in the work I can do to have to sit in borrowed quarters. But my boss sees no particular downside to my being here. I will see today what I can schedule for next week to see if the extra time here would be justifiable – even if marginally.
In a meeting with my boss yesterday I was given two pretty big assignments as well as three monthly reports to fill. The monthly reports are on the budget for the entire asset and the responsibility to track the vehicle use within the asset. In our staff meeting yesterday, my boss announced that all personally assigned trucks not being used according to policy will be taken away and be set up as “pool” vehicles. That means about fifteen people lose their company vehicles immediately and as I track the usage, perhaps fifteen to twenty more will have their trucks taken away.
It is great to be assigned such important tasks.
Not!
Mama and I were on the property late yesterday evening and it was wonderful. The temperature was about 80 degrees and the winds were moderate ~ 20 mph. She had dinner for the two of us – braunschweiger sandwiches and tortilla chips. It may not sound like much but it was a very pleasant dinner after we got situated so the pups would not be licking at our food. It is hard to call them pups since, at six months, they are the size of the largest dogs we have ever owned.
Mama fed and watered while I was working on lining out some posts to build a cover for the logs that we are planning to build into our home. I do not know if we will be able to do it this year but I need to get the logs covered in a way that is more wind resistant. For the moment we are using tarps – now pretty well shredded – and tin roofing panels being help in place by discarded tires. Neither of the combined methods will suffice long term and since it is a considerable investment, I would like to do a better job of protecting it.
We did manage to get the holes laid out but I did not have the keys to the shop where the posthole diggers were stored so I used a regular shovel to begin the work which I hope to complete this evening. The ground on the farm is wonderful – easy to dig loamy soil with a fair amount of clay. It is more than I could have hoped for. I told Grandpa as we were planting trees several weeks ago, my mother would have done about anything for ground like this instead of the black clay she has wrestled with over the years.
We are seeing buds on all of the fruit trees, grape vines, berry bushes and various other plants we have put in the ground. Last night I looked at the native blackberry plants and they are opening to the coming spring also. I have several stands of elder berry around the farm that I will check on next month, but I am excited to have them. Victoria could really use some elder berry syrup right now. She will be in to see the doctor today at 10 a.m., by the way.
Even though I may go back to Amarillo in the middle of next week, Mama is insisting on staying so she can go to trade days next Saturday. I do not have to hurry back, but there is no urgency in my being here either and it is a slight interruption in the work I can do to have to sit in borrowed quarters. But my boss sees no particular downside to my being here. I will see today what I can schedule for next week to see if the extra time here would be justifiable – even if marginally.
In a meeting with my boss yesterday I was given two pretty big assignments as well as three monthly reports to fill. The monthly reports are on the budget for the entire asset and the responsibility to track the vehicle use within the asset. In our staff meeting yesterday, my boss announced that all personally assigned trucks not being used according to policy will be taken away and be set up as “pool” vehicles. That means about fifteen people lose their company vehicles immediately and as I track the usage, perhaps fifteen to twenty more will have their trucks taken away.
It is great to be assigned such important tasks.
Not!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
March weather, our purchasing agent, Victoria
I do not know about where you are but March here is coming in like a lamb; I think. It will be over eighty degrees here today which is officially “unseasonably warm”. The winds will be calm with relatively high humidity. That seems like a lamb to me. It will be interesting to see if it goes out like a lion.
By the weekend it will be in the fifties and sixties and rain will be in the forecast by mid next week. Things will be back to normal – at least as normal as it gets. It is better to have Grandpa’s attitude toward weather; get up and look out the window. Do this several times per day and you will always be up to date, maybe not prepared for a sudden shift in atmospheric conditions, but then again, who really is anyway?
With all the technology we have available to track and forecast severe weather conditions there was still tragedy in Missouri and Illinois this week. I am not blaming anyone. It is a sobering fact that we are not now nor will we even be in charge of the atmosphere. That is why I am glad to have a storm cellar at the farm. We may never have to use it for anything other than a cellar but it is available to us in the event of such severe conditions.
Last report I got on our purchasing agent abroad, is that Grandpa is building side boards on the trailer to contain and cover the hay he has purchased. He had better hurry. We are about out of the great deal Grandma got on hay the other day. She bought a bale for $9 then got a busted bale for free as well as being allowed to gather some of the hay that was littering the trailer in which it is stored. A young boy from the store helped her load it all into the trunk of the Lincoln. She was proud of the purchase even though that same money would have bought three full bales in West Virginia.
My training next week was cancelled but we plan to remain in Bowie through next week as planned. It will be no hardship on me and Mama was really planning on it since Grandpa will need the extra help as soon as he gets back. I may try to squeeze a day of vacation into the tight work schedule I currently have, but I will have to work that out with my boss.
It will be like Christmas in March to help unload and look through all the things Grandpa is bringing back. Most of the items are for the farm but Grandma is more excited about the apples he is bringing back from their favorite orchard in West Virginia; being able to maintain the familiar is always comforting. Since Mama introduced her to the mini pie maker I bought, Grandma is doubly excited about the possibilities. She told me last night that she could make two chicken pot pies and two apple pies at the same time and have dinner and dessert ready for Grandpa in less than twenty minutes. The unspoken translation to that is that I now have to purchase another mini pie maker so Mama and I will have one.
Where I have set myself up to work in the Decatur office is not a quiet spot but I am convinced there is not a better spot for me. It is not a quiet office no matter where I would choose to work, but at least where I am is more private than many areas I could choose. The major drawback is that, of the four cubicles in this wing, three are occupied with women who chatter all day long.
Almost thirty years for marriage and the privilege of raising five daughters – four of whom were quite chatty – has equipped me with the ability to get work done in spite of the noise. At least there is no one looking over my shoulder. In that way it is somewhat private.
I have asked Mama to take Victoria to the doctor today to help her get rid of the bronchitis she has been wrestling for several weeks. The weather conditions here – constantly vacillating between cold and hot and always windy – have wrecked her immune system. Add to that her “tough it out” attitude and you have the breeding ground for rampant viral multiplication. I asked Mama to suggest that Victoria be given a shot of antibiotics to speed the healing process.
We will deal with the side effects herbally, but right now she really needs some help.
By the weekend it will be in the fifties and sixties and rain will be in the forecast by mid next week. Things will be back to normal – at least as normal as it gets. It is better to have Grandpa’s attitude toward weather; get up and look out the window. Do this several times per day and you will always be up to date, maybe not prepared for a sudden shift in atmospheric conditions, but then again, who really is anyway?
With all the technology we have available to track and forecast severe weather conditions there was still tragedy in Missouri and Illinois this week. I am not blaming anyone. It is a sobering fact that we are not now nor will we even be in charge of the atmosphere. That is why I am glad to have a storm cellar at the farm. We may never have to use it for anything other than a cellar but it is available to us in the event of such severe conditions.
Last report I got on our purchasing agent abroad, is that Grandpa is building side boards on the trailer to contain and cover the hay he has purchased. He had better hurry. We are about out of the great deal Grandma got on hay the other day. She bought a bale for $9 then got a busted bale for free as well as being allowed to gather some of the hay that was littering the trailer in which it is stored. A young boy from the store helped her load it all into the trunk of the Lincoln. She was proud of the purchase even though that same money would have bought three full bales in West Virginia.
My training next week was cancelled but we plan to remain in Bowie through next week as planned. It will be no hardship on me and Mama was really planning on it since Grandpa will need the extra help as soon as he gets back. I may try to squeeze a day of vacation into the tight work schedule I currently have, but I will have to work that out with my boss.
It will be like Christmas in March to help unload and look through all the things Grandpa is bringing back. Most of the items are for the farm but Grandma is more excited about the apples he is bringing back from their favorite orchard in West Virginia; being able to maintain the familiar is always comforting. Since Mama introduced her to the mini pie maker I bought, Grandma is doubly excited about the possibilities. She told me last night that she could make two chicken pot pies and two apple pies at the same time and have dinner and dessert ready for Grandpa in less than twenty minutes. The unspoken translation to that is that I now have to purchase another mini pie maker so Mama and I will have one.
Where I have set myself up to work in the Decatur office is not a quiet spot but I am convinced there is not a better spot for me. It is not a quiet office no matter where I would choose to work, but at least where I am is more private than many areas I could choose. The major drawback is that, of the four cubicles in this wing, three are occupied with women who chatter all day long.
Almost thirty years for marriage and the privilege of raising five daughters – four of whom were quite chatty – has equipped me with the ability to get work done in spite of the noise. At least there is no one looking over my shoulder. In that way it is somewhat private.
I have asked Mama to take Victoria to the doctor today to help her get rid of the bronchitis she has been wrestling for several weeks. The weather conditions here – constantly vacillating between cold and hot and always windy – have wrecked her immune system. Add to that her “tough it out” attitude and you have the breeding ground for rampant viral multiplication. I asked Mama to suggest that Victoria be given a shot of antibiotics to speed the healing process.
We will deal with the side effects herbally, but right now she really needs some help.
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