The end, closure, plans, Merry Christmas

If you are reading this, the world did not end today – at least not yet. I can only hope the suicide rate is at a minimum as the dooms-dayers prepared for the dawn of this morning. Actually I got up thinking about the predictions and realized if I was waking to think about it, it must not have happened...yet. The matrix continues. My prediction is the “scholars” who have interpreted the Mayan calendar to reflect the end of time will rework the numbers and come up with a different day; kind of like Harold Camping. I really likes this picture by Dean Reeves.

Today is my last workday for 2012. I am not sure if there will be opportunity to make any entries into this blog during the time I am off. I have a computer at the farm and I have access to it. What I do not have is the forty minutes or so with enough privacy to get my thoughts written out. I will try because there will be a lot going on and it will be fun to relay it, but I can make no promises.

My back is still very tender and stiff so I am not sure how much work I will be able to get done over the week I am off but you can pretty well bet I will get something done. Mama has already begun fussing at me about working with a sore back and I have already been giving her those “you must not be talking to me” faces, but I will have to be careful.

If my accounting is accurate, we have already bought and sent out all the gifts we are going to buy. The groceries have been accumulated for Christmas Dinner. Travelers are already on the road and I have most of the materials I will need to get the roof done on the shop and apartment. This week is pretty well gone and the next is pretty well planned. We will have to wait and see how well those plans unfold.

Grandpa is weaning three of the calves this weekend. That will leave us with seven or eight to keep on the bottle. So far everyone is doing better. The sick ones are starting to show signs of recovery and even our little blind calf is progressing. We have decided to raise him until about April whereupon we will have him converted into hamburger and such. Sometime in the next couple weeks I will need to have the vet sew his eyelid shut on his right side. He is pretty sad to look at.

As we plunge headlong into Christmas the wow factor of the world’s interest in the date has greatly diminished. The wow factor from faith’s perspective has definitely grown. We all must go out of our way to repair broken relationships at times. None of us will ever go as far as our God has gone to repair our broken relationship with Him. Thankfully, pride did not get in His way.

I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas!

High wind benefits, more travel, feeling rich, Mama news

The winds roared through last night with gusts near sixty miles per hour. The mobile home has a roof on it that is referred to as a floating roof. It is sequentially sealed pieces of metal held on to the structure at the top of the outside walls. It is somewhat flexible. In the winds last night it sounded like thunder as it flexed and returned to shape. I do not remember hearing much from the time I went to sleep until I woke, but at those times I was awake, it was impressive.


What I discovered when I got to work is that the wind had cleared the pecan trees of all fruit and leaves. The nuts were neatly plied up against every curb on the parking lot. I got a small trash can with a new bag and hurried to fill it to the top. I did not even make a dent in the amount of pecans on the concrete. I am sure my office mates will finish what I got started. The better news is that I got almost all of the best pecans – the ones Mama and Grandma like best.

Mama and Victoria are going back to Denton today. This is the day the ultra sound is scheduled. I know Victoria is not looking forward to it but I think it is a needed diagnostic evaluation. I am not completely sure but we will go along and see what the results might be. I do know that we are chewing through some money with all the extra travel. Not only does it cost me quite bit extra in gas but it “requires” that Mama and whomever she is with go out to eat at least once (if I am lucky) per trip. I get those “It was only..” reports from her after each jaunt.

On those days when Mama needs to do a bit of driving I get to bring the little truck – the ‘94 Ford Ranger - to work. I prefer it to the Lincoln. In fact I do not think I have ever driven the Lincoln. Victoria and Grandma like it so it gets quite bit of use; especially now that the weather is cooler. It does not have air conditioning which can make it quite uncomfortable in the summer. I do not mind driving the little truck other than the fact that the seats are broken down, it rides very rough and we are lucky to get twelve miles per gallon. It has come in very handy with Grandpa’s truck sitting idle.

Grandma and Grandpa got paid yesterday so they are swimming in money for now. Grandma made an emergency trip to town as soon as the banks were open. She is excited to be able to buy anything. That last a couple of days until Grandpa puts on the brakes. He manages to make the little they get last through the month. He makes sure some of it gets spent on supplies for the house and farm. They use most of it for monthly medications, health insurance, auto insurance, and the electric bill. He is also hoping to buy the parts for the truck to begin fixing it. I am not sure if there will be enough for that.

Mama shared an audio she made by mistake yesterday. She had taken her phone to the calf barn to record the bawl on one particular calf. She did not realize that the phone was left in video mode when she put it in her pants pocket. It is hilarious to hear the chatter. It is even funnier to hear her instruct Grandpa on which two calves he can feed while she get exasperated at the nipple on the bottle she is using to feed the calf she is working with. I asked her to email it to me but I did not take the time to do it myself last night. I will get it today if possible.I do not know if it is possible to include in this blog but those of you who know Mama would thoroughly enjoy it.

As we were on our way home from church Sunday night I told Mama I missed hearing her read to the kids at naptime and night time. It is something every child she has ever gotten to share that gift with has enjoyed. It is now spent mostly to our grandkids when we visit them. I told her I would begin to pray that she could begin to use that gift again. The next night Jake called Mama. He asked if she would read him a book as he went to sleep. They have kept up the routine for several nights via Skype.

It was not the answer I expected but the two of them are thrilled with the arrangement.

Training, Christmas week, doctor news

I have to admit that the training I took yesterday was well done. The day passed by very quickly because the instructor took his time with the material and he kept us engaged in the discussion. It was not new material to me but it was a very useful review of a skill I developed some years ago and have since gotten pretty rusty with. My back was killing me by the end of the eight hours of sitting through the training but that was only because I was too vain to wear the back brace during the day.


Things are falling into place for the Christmas break. Brittany and Andrew are coming down for a few days. They are going to spend the night in Amarillo with Chase on the way here. (Aaron is going to get to go home to Maggie for a few days.) We did not have a lot planned except working on the apartment until my sister Sarah called to invite us to a birthday party she is throwing for Grandpa Kline. He will be eighty eight years old if I remember correctly. If not I am not off by too much. So we will be going to Chappell Hill for that. It will be an overnight on Sunday the 30th, coming home Monday the 31st. It will require another day of vacation for me but a visit to my Mom and Dad is long overdue.

Victoria’s visit to the doctor allayed both her and Mama’s fears but she is scheduled for further testing tomorrow. She will go to the office for an ultrasound of the cyst she is getting evaluated. My only concern is that the ultrasound itself will aggravate the cyst which is already causing her some pain. Since we bear the entire cost because of the insurance I have chosen to carry, it will be pretty expensive for us also. Although that comes into play, it is never a restraint to getting care.

I have to admit to being a little bummed out about Christmas. It happens every year as my schedule tightens and the bank accounts dwindle, but this year it seems especially disheartening. I am not sure why other than the fact that I will not be able to get Mama anything and I cannot give her what she really wants – the apartment. I will continue to push forward but as we roll into the New Year I know that our finances will tighten up even further and progress could be painfully slow.

Knowing that our stuff will arrive in a few days is also weighing on me pretty heavily since I do not have the roof on the shop and apartment. We have a place to put the items that need the most protection but some will have to be covered with a tarp on the open slab. I know it will all work out but I am still trying to find ways to get all the things done in order to make it a little better; the roof being the main thing.

We are still trying to get the two heifers well. Mama went to the vet again yesterday to get more meds to try to bring down the fever and put them on the path to healing, but the entire ordeal has left a sour taste in Grandpa’s mouth about raising bottle fed calves. I am okay with continuing the process, especially after we have learned the pitfalls and the remedies for those pitfalls. It has been a costly lesson to learn. It would be a shame to waste the money spent on that education – regardless of hassle.

I am hoping if we get a good price for the calves we have succeeded in raising, that he will want to try again.

Rosie, healing up, more projects, work

Rosie is back to her old self now. When I sat down to eat a sandwich last night she was at her usual spot begging. I had seen yesterday morning that she was at least moving around. That is something she had not done for days. Grandma and Mama were very relieved; Mama probably more so than Grandma but it looked like a draw to me.


My back is getting better. It usually does over the course of several days but we are still going to have a doctor take a look at Mama’s knee. Unfortunately she comes from a long line of persons with serious knee problems. Almost every person on Grandma’s side of the family has bad knees and several have had both knees replaced within the last decade; some quite recently. I am hoping to escape that with Mama but we will have to get a more professional diagnosis than I have gotten to date.

I was almost feeling good enough last night to put up a couple of pieces of OSB we are using for the exterior of the apartment, but I talked myself out of it pretty quickly. Mama and Victoria were all gung ho to help, so I guess we could have done it. It is almost a guarantee that it was better to wait a little longer so I can hopefully be at full strength when I am off.

Grandpa has let our calves into the upper meadow to eat what they could of the coastal and alfalfa there. Now he has given them access to the big meadow to eat it down. He is trying to conserve the hay we have in the barn to ensure we can feed all our livestock through the winter into the spring. If we get some rain we will still get some growth in the meadows, but we have not gotten enough to encourage the grass to keep growing.

He feels, and I agree, that what we have in the barn will go largely to the horse to keep them fed through the winter – unless there is some growth in their pasture. They require a lot of feed to sustain those large bodies. I tried to tell Mama we were a little early in getting them but she is only now beginning to realize how poorly equipped we are to keep them.

On my days off next week I will have to take the time to build a shelter for the two horses. Mama is worried about them getting wet when it does rain and she wants a place to shelter them from the very hard, and now cold, winds we have in this area. It will not take more than a day but it will take me away from the project I really need to be working on. Grandpa could do the construction, but he is not interested in wasting his time on the horses. So it will fall to me and Mama.

After having completed all the scheduled interviews I am left with the feeling that I did not get the right person for the job. The people who will be taking over the training are satisfied with the candidates we interviewed but I am coming up short of that. I suggested we start over again but there is some push to get the responsibilities away from me and on to the person who will lead the effort going forward. I am just not sure we found that person. Time will tell.

I will be in training all day today and most of the afternoon tomorrow. Today is some refresher training I elected to take to prepare myself for an interview with licensing early next year. I am still praying for direction in that but I felt it will be better to prepare for the interview even if the Lord directs me other wise. Tomorrow will be normal monthly meeting.

My last work week of the year is flying past me.

Busy times, bad back, medical issues

This was a busy weekend. On Friday the lumber was delivered for the apartment, it rained (which complicated everything) and Mama, Victoria and I went a Sunday School Party at the church. Friday at work I had my last interview for the position I am trying to fill and as I was moving a table out of the conference room I must have lifted wrong because my back started to feel tense.


On Saturday I got out of bed and could tell I was going to ache but I started working on the apartment anyway. As I build the bathroom walls, I was starting to limber up but when I tried to do an overhead portion of the wall in the living room, I could tell I should quit for the day. It was when I got out of bed Sunday morning that I knew I was in trouble. It was a struggle just to get to the bathroom.

I went to church and enjoyed the services and by the end of the day I was in a little better shape. Today I am better but not good. Between the problems Mama is having with her left knee and the problems I am having with my back we make a real pair. I am less apt to let the pain keep me from continuing to work on the projects I know are in need of my attention, but it will slow me down and require that I get help rather than working alone.

I was hurting as we went to the Sunday School party but we had a good time anyway. I did not participate in the Chinese Christmas portion of the party but Mama and Victoria had a great time. It was only because Victoria got off early that she was able to make the party, but Mama and I were both glad to have her there.

For those of you who are wondering, the gift giving portion of a Chinese Christmas is handled by number. Everyone who brought a gift is given a number. One by one the gifts are opened. However, as each number is called, if the person taking their turn has their eye on a gift someone already has, they can take that gift and let the person losing their gift take another turn. That person can steal a gift from someone else or open a new gift. A gift can only be taken twice. The person who possesses it for the third time gets to keep it. I think everyone was happy with what they got. Mama and Victoria both stole the gifts they took home.

Mama went Saturday and settled up with the vet. It was a little over $150. We were given clear directives for the continued treatment and we have followed through but now Grandpa is worried that we are overmedicating the calves. I am willing to trust his judgment but I am struggling with getting professional help if we are not going to follow the suggested regimen. Eventually it will all work out, but the work continues trying to get all the little ones well.

Mama and Grandma are worried about Rosie. Since Saturday afternoon she has been immobile. She will not eat or drink and has thrown up several times. Not a good combination of actions. Our guess is that she has something stuck in her intestines. We have seen the symptoms before and the prognosis is not good. She actually got up and had me let her into Victoria’s room before I left this morning. I am not sure if that is a good sign or not. I will get the rest of the story later today.

Today Mama and Victoria are going to a doctor in Denton. The visit is for Victoria and a cyst she is having some trouble with. Based on the recommendations of some of the ladies at church they scheduled the visit with a particular group of doctors who office near the hospital there. The exam is probably long overdue and none of us are sure what the prognosis will be, but it is almost always better to know than to wonder.

The problem is, with Victoria, all we can do is wonder.

A working vacation, adapting to changes, vet visit

I took off from work early yesterday since I had a pretty light load. My main push for the extra time was to get to Nocona Lumber and trade some of the lumber I had already paid for in order to get the materials to prepare the roof for the metal roofing. I needed fifty six sixteen foot two by six pieces for the rafters and lathing as well as thirty three for the ceiling trusses in the apartment. As it turned out it was a pretty close trade as far as money was concerned. I will end up paying about fifty dollars difference.


Grandpa convinced me to make a change in alignment of the ceiling joists which required the longer material. But I can make the span in sixteen feet across the apartment, so it is a savings overall. As for the roof, I have to have the longer pieces in order to cover the distance between the rafters I will have to build to accommodate the increased depth in the apartment. Stretching the apartment out the extra five feet changed the roofline to be above the existing metal pipes. On the short side of the shop roof I can attach the wood to the existing pipes. The roofing can them be attached directly to that. The materials will be delivered today along with the windows we ordered. I hope to have it all used up by the time our stuff is delivered.

We are back to expecting rain today. All in all, the predictions are for a little less than half an inch today and through the night. We will take all we can get for the sake of the ground, but I am happy I cancelled the delivery of our stuff for today. I am praying that we can get a least a large portion of the roof on before our things finally arrive on the 27th. Now, in addition to a lack of funds, the pigtail for the trailer on the little truck is not working so we have no lights on the trailer when towing it with that truck. I do not want to take it to get the metal if I could get a ticket for using it without lights. The big truck, Grandpa’s diesel, is still down and could be for some time.

As it turned out, it was a very good thing I took the time off yesterday afternoon since Mama scheduled the vet to come to the farm to doctor our ailing heifers. It was not until we were on our way to Nocona that the vet actually got back to us, but since I was sitting beside Mama in the car she got the okay for the visit. He came out about 2:30. Both of the calves were examined and both had a lot of congestion in the lungs with a high fever. Their temperatures were above 106 degrees. The vet explained that a black calf in the sun on a day like yesterday will have a normal temperature of about 101.

Each calf got two shots with extra meds left with us to give each afternoon for today and tomorrow. We were told if the fever had not come down by Saturday afternoon to give him a call. We have the calves separated and have sanitized the water trough they were sharing with the rest of the herd. We did not see that contamination point until yesterday which is odd since Grandpa and Grandma have been irritating meticulous about keeping things clean and separate. I have no idea how much the visit actually cost us. Mama will settle up today at their office. I plan on sitting down when she tells me how much but it was one of those unavoidable expenses associated with the business of raising cattle – especially such young ones. If each of them produces only one calf, we will be amply rewarded.

Mama and I are going to dig out all of my EMT gear to put into use for the calves; stethoscope, thermometer, gauze and bandages, sterile dressings and gloves, etc. We have more than enough to set up shop for ourselves. All I will need from the vet are the meds since I know what to look for and what to listen for during an examination. All Mama’s and my clinical training will finally be put to use.

In all the things we seem to be short of on the farm, I did not think we were short on doggie beds. But I stand corrected.

Shopping sympathy, adoption, still medicating, reversal

Mama and Victoria went shopping in Wichita Falls for most of the day yesterday and by the time they got home her knee was bothering her pretty badly. She contemplated not going to church last night because of the pain. She went anyway. After all, if you can shop all day you can sit for an hour in a church service. Once we got there I would not let anyone give her any sympathy – but the ladies snuck behind my back and did any way.


We were both glad we were there. The pastor preached on prayer and the conditions under which we come to God in prayer; that our petitions are given to the Lord who hears every one. He then takes those requests to the Father, under certain conditions. 1) That they are asked in His name, 2) that they line up with his character, 3) that they line up with the Word of God, and 4) that they are Spirit directed.

Christ will ask nothing of the Father that goes against His character, as in asking to win the lottery or be successful at the casino. We are to pray about everything, but we cannot fail to realize that we are asking the Son to go to the Father on our behalf and in that capacity, He will not ask for those things that are contrary to the Word or will of God, to be consumed on our lusts and often times, just plain silly. It was a good message and very timely for Mama.

On the way home I brought up the subject of supporting one or more of the children in the orphanages run by the Murillo family in Guadalajara. I suggested that the effort be something dedicated to that purpose alone. I do not have any ideas on a separate task to earn the money but I think it should be out of our routine so that there is a specific focus on the child and the ministry.

I suggested that I could work the first hour of every Monday with the gift of supporting that child in mind. For Mama and Victoria it could be selling eggs or doing some craft or baby sitting, anything that would keep the reason for the gift in the forefront of our minds.

The focus then shifted to adoption. Victoria has stated several times that she would like to adopt. I asked her to consider very carefully. In essence, she would be a single mom. Granted, she is near Mama and Grandma right now, but who knows how things will be in the future. Taking on a lifetime commitment for which you are ultimately, and often solely, responsible is a little daunting. I think the way I put it sobered her a little on the idea.

It did not change Mama’s resolve in the least. She is still pursuing the idea of adopting; possibly an older child. That could be an interesting augmentation to our simple life.

Please continue to pray for our herd. The weather is warming up slightly and that will be helpful to the continued healing of the two or three that are still struggling to get well. One of those still a little snotty is a heifer. Since we have big plans for her it would be very upsetting to lose her, but we will take that as it comes. For now we are continuing to doctor her and her cousins – hoping for a full recovery.

Becky texted me last night to say that Charles had reconsidered. My guess is that he found out that a divorce is not free and based on the effort and expense required to follow through with his threat, slammed his attitude into reverse. Seeking for wisdom in how to pray for their situation will require more effort on my part than I have applied heretofore.

Other than for his salvation, I am not exactly sure how to pray.

Becky, Mama, farm trials

Becky called me yesterday morning to tell me Charles was headed to the courthouse to get divorce papers. It is often difficult to tell what is going on in their marriage because Charles does not talk to us any more and Becky has an odd way of communicating. Her immediate take on the issue was that she had made a C in Algebra and Charles felt she had been hiding her grades from him because she was doing poorly.


I am not really sure, but I told Becky that with her working nights, fulltime, and going to school part time, a C was a good grade – especially in Algebra. Considering that Charles had been going to school fulltime, not working at all, and he flunked out of his classes, she was doing okay. So there has to be something else. I do not know what that something is, nor do I want to, but we need to pray for them. Right now we need to pray especially for Becky.

Mama is hurting pretty badly right now, physically. Her left knee is giving her fits. Sometimes it bends painfully, stubbornly. Other times it seems to give out on her. We are going to get it evaluated after the first of the year but she would appreciate your prayers for strength to keep going for now.

I realized as I was driving home last night how disengaged I have been from the farm lately. It is in part due to my focus on the building projects and the financial strain associated with that. It is also because the workload associated with the farm has slowed. Winter on the farm is the time to plan for the spring and repair the equipment needed for that plan to be activated.

I obviously miss the morning feeding of the calves and I have not made it home in time to help with the evening feeding for several days now. Grandpa and Grandma have been experimenting with feeding schedules and amounts for several weeks to try to get the calves we have past the illnesses they are struggling to overcome. I think they have been having great success but it has been a strain on them – especially Grandpa.

Mama had been doctoring chickens and has met with some success there. We have had trouble getting the medications for them locally so I had to do some research to find what we were looking for and order them. I have been constrained by money in ordering them. Everything seems to come up at once. You know the routine. But now the meds are here and she has started to apply them. We will see how it turns out.

The horses do not seem to like the cold but God has gifted them with the ability to endure it. We have to feed them supplementally since they have chew down to nubs the pasture where they are kept. Honestly, it looks like Mama has mowed and trimmed it. We are very new to horses so our tendency is to over feed them. Right now I feel confident that is not happening. If you were to ask the horses, you would get the sense that they are certain that they are on a starvation diet. They look good, healthy, trim and slick.

Grandma and Mama have both been very concerned about the two big dogs lately. They do not seem to be interested in the dog food we have been getting for them. I went to great lengths to find out what they would eat and we have stuck pretty close to that and that alone, but Wal-Mart ran out of the preferred type. The substitute does not seem to interest them. Grandpa solved the mystery yesterday. They have been eating on the bodies of the calves he buried.

No wonder they were so dirty.

Weather issues, decorating, Jake

I had high hopes of getting some little things done on the apartment in the evenings through the week but last night was not as profitable as I had been anticipating. It was cold and getting colder by the hour when I got home and it took some time to say hello to Mama and drink a hot cup of tea before going back out.

When I did go out I only had about an hour of good light left – sunset is at 5:30 pm) and the temperature was already at 36 degrees. I had to get out the tools I needed and make some measurements for square and plumb before anchoring any of the walls. I ended up getting one anchor in at one corner before I needed a tool I could not find. I did get something done, but not much. By the time I put the tools away it was dark and the temperature was nearer to 30 degrees. It got down to 18 degrees over night.

Mama spent the day making cookies. I guess the colder weather made her feel homey. When I got home the bed was still unmade and she was dressed in some sweats she had pulled over her pajamas. It was obviously not a day she was planning on getting out; or at least not getting off of the farm.

She did go out with me to get Victoria when she got off at 7 pm. We needed to find a star or some type of tree topper. I had stopped at Lowes to pick up some lights for the tree since I rescheduled the delivery of our stuff until later in the month. They were almost completely sold out but I did find several stands of multi colored lights that would work. (All of our decorations are in storage in Bartlesville, OK and I am trying to delay long enough to get a roof on the shop – where we intend to off load the truck when it does come.)

Mama bought a couple of clip on decorations for a dollar each to make up a tree topper since all of the lit ones were about ten dollars and looked cheesy. We did string the lights and put together a topper and Grandma put candy canes on the tree also. It looks pretty good but it is short of what could be on it if our things were here.

Rain is predicted for this weekend, which is why I delayed the arrival of our items in storage. I did not see a way to get them out of the truck into the dry without a great deal of maneuvering and I worry about the truck they will be bringing to make the delivery. Semis do not do well in our driveway when the ground is softened by rain. I am hoping this Saturday will be a dry day so Grandpa and I can build the trusses for the roof and get the ceiling joists in place. Then we will be ready for the roofing – and for the delivery of our stuff.

Jake called last night and he and Mama talked for some time. He found out Mama has an iPhone so he went around the house taking pictures of their pigs, goats, dogs, cats, his mom and dad, etc. He practically flooded Mama’s phone with pictures. Then they had to review each one. Today Mama is supposed to take pictures of all the animals on our farm and send them to Jake. Those of you who know Jake know how this works. At eight years old, he is hard to keep up with.

He asked Mama the name of the little filly we have. Mama reminded him her name is Misty. He told Mama he needed to come back to the farm because he was already forgetting the names of the horses and dogs we have here.

I have a feeling they are getting geared up for a visit next summer.

Winter, sickness, party, church

Saturday was spent winterizing the well house and the chicken coop. It turned out to be a good thing we took the time to do all of the insulating and wrapping of pipes and the well tank. The temperature dropped to 28 degrees over night and we had a dusting of snow on the ground when I went out this morning. It was in the forecast but we never know what parts of the forecast will actually happen. This time they were right. Tonight is predicted to be 17 degrees.


Grandpa and I finished all that work pretty early so we laid out an electric fence across the upper meadow in order to let the bigger calves graze on the alfalfa and coastal that managed to grow through the drought. I am not sure if the fence charger that Grandpa has is working but they are cheap to buy new and it will be a good use of what we have to offer the growing heard.

Only late in the day on Saturday did I build a wall for the shop. It is better in this area to have the wood in place than to have it lay around. The sun here is brutal enough but the wind accelerates the drying process in a maddening way. So rather than let the boards warp and bow, I nailed them together and stood them into a twelve foot high wall. It looked pretty good when I got it done. I had to build it to fit the bracing on the steel pipe structure of the building and it took two tries to get it in place, but it is there now and hopefully will remain in place for a long time to come.

Grandpa is stressing over the calves. We seem to be fighting a respiratory infection among the little ones and all the remedies we have tried have had little to no benefit. We have lost two baby calves so far (in total – not recently) and none seem near death at the moment, but the condition appears to bring them down pretty fast. Pray for him to have the wisdom to pull us through this bout of sickness and for his physical strength to keep up the vigil.

On Friday night Mama and I went to the office Christmas Party. It was okay until about 9 pm. Then the alcohol kicked in and the karaoke got a little out of hand. It started off with the oldies, Crocodile Rock, Peggy Sue, and the like. Then it migrated to Eminem. Mama and I left when that change took place. We did win a Kindle Fire in one of the drawings. We were able to trade it for a KitchenAid Mixer. It had been won by one of my direct reports but she had traded it for a tool set. Another of my direct reports had made the swap and when she learned that we were interested in getting it they made the offer to exchange gifts. They have a seven year old boy that will be very happy on Christmas morning.

Every Sunday God seems to reinforce the fact that we are in the right church. I was telling the Pastor yesterday that the pastor from one of the bigger churches in Bowie came to visit Grandma and Grandpa. While he and his wife were there he asked Mama if she had a good church. She told him we were going to Immanuel Baptist Church in Decatur. “Decatur”, he almost choked. “That’s a long way to go just for church. You passed up a lot of good churches on that drive.” Mama just smiled.

Blah, Christmas Parties, Dodger, farm news

Yesterday seemed to be one of those days that you just maintain; no forward progress but thankfully, no falling behind. I am not sure why it turned out that way but it did. I was busy at work and busy at the farm but there were no outstanding moments or events to point out that anything had actually been accomplished.


Tonight we have our Christmas Party for the Decatur office. It is not one of those events that I look forward to. It will be a chance for Mama to meet all of the people in the area and it will be a chance for all of us to meet the spouses of our coworkers. There is a nice meal planned, with little activity required of my group to pull it off. So we can relax and participate in the festivities.

It should be fairly enjoyable aside from the drinking that will go on. Fortunately, this is a company event so the object of the event is to socialize, not to get drunk. With our area manager in the party with us there should be some restraint, but there are always the one or two that feel they need to consume their “fair share” in order to make the event endurable. We should be able to manage that.

Mama and I missed the Thanksgiving Dinner at the church but we will be here for the Christmas Party. I am looking forward to that. I know most people in the office here do not have a clue why that gathering is more enjoyable for me and Mama but it is; the difference in people, the difference in attitudes, the difference in focus, the “others” orientation.

Construction will be at a slow pace this weekend. I will not have the money to get some of the lumber I need to progress so I will have to use what I have purchased already and move as far forward as I can. There are plenty of little winterization projects to be done on the farm and they should take precedent in light of the cold weather we have coming. The well house and the chicken coop are at the top of the list for work, but Victoria and Mama want to build some sort of shelter for the horses before the weather gets too bad. This weekend should be a good time to start on those upgrades and repairs.

Last night as someone was leaving the property up the lane from us, we heard Dodger start yelping as thought he had been injured. When I got to the door to go out and see what might have happened, he was at the top step looking to come in. He was not badly hurt but he was strongly favoring his right rear paw. I am not sure the extent of the damage or how he may have been injured in the incident, but we will watch and see.

It at least should serve to slow him down a little. His propensity to chase after shiny objects and dart after every light was sure to get him in trouble at some point. I am not sure if Mr. Allen who is an older gentleman, even knew he somehow struck the dog. He and his crew tend to drive very fast when they are on the lane that runs in front of the house; at least it seems fast to those of us standing by watching.

Mama’s chickens are doing much better. She lost another of the ones we purchased most recently but the remainder of the flock seems to be doing well. As I got home last night I had to avoid chickens when I parked at the house. Mama said that a couple of the red ones were visiting the calf pens cleaning up the dropped grain below the feeding boxes. That is good news. I would rather them get it than for some rat or mouse to get it.

Grandpa, Grandma and Mama are feeding the calves three times per day until tomorrow in hopes of getting them healthy. Grandpa has been doctoring two who are just now responding to the care. One in particular, Little Bit, looks like he is improving but the progress is slow. I hate shooting him full of antibiotics but there is no other remedy we know of at this time.

Grandpa is going to get him out of his little pen today and wrestle him around to get him stirred up. That will be a telling moment for us.

Good news, travel, misplaced items, seeking closure, sick little ones

I got some pretty good news yesterday as I talked to our accountant. We went over the preliminary tax numbers for 2012 and it looks like I will have paid off the tax debt in full by the end of the year. I may owe a few hundred dollars but the $17960 will be paid in full as we settle our taxes in the coming year. That will be a huge financial burden off of me and Mama.

I met Mama at church last night so I could drop off the company truck at the office. It keeps her from having the make the trip into Decatur to pick me up. If we had not met there I would have missed a great service. I was a little late since I did not get to leave Amarillo until almost 3 pm, but it was worth the extra effort. The visiting evangelist preached a great sermon on the fact that, contrary to what we are teaching our children these days, God expects us to win and He has prepared a way to enable us to always be victorious.

I feel like I got a lot done while I was in Amarillo and Borger but it is becoming more and more difficult to make the trip. There are compelling business reasons to go but there are compelling farm and home reasons to avoid the time on the road. Thankfully, it is the only area I need to visit on a regular basis – and due to company drivers (reorganization and realignment), that need may change. I will have to wait and see.

I was going to stop and see Chase at the Mall on Tuesday evening after I got off work but when I got to the mall I could not find him. I texted him and found out he was being shuttled from the mall to his apartment and back in hopes of finding his spare car key at the apartment. The key he usually uses was locked in the car. The spare, it turns out, was still in the glove box from the original transfer.

I have not talked with him to see how it turned out but as I left he had help on the way. A person working with him at Sears was a security guard in the past and proclaimed himself proficient at using a Jimmy to unlock a car. I hope the bragging was supported by a successful demonstrating of the skill. I suggested he put the other key in a safe place in his apartment. I would suggest giving it to Makaila, but I do not know if she is any better at organization than he is.

When I worked at the Pilot Plant in South Charleston, WV there was a young female engineer who came to work one cold morning wearing a hoodie rather than the heavy coat she normally wore. When I asked about it she admitted that she could not find the coat. She bought another one that day and I thought nothing more about it. Months later, she told me she finally found her missing coat. It had been wrapped up in some blankets. When she and her husband finally made the bed, they came across the coat.

Mama and I talked more about the Licensing job and I will apply for the position in January. It is the only way I can have closure on the issue. At this point I do not know what the demands of the job will be and there is the potential for several deal breakers in the assignment – required move to Houston, multiple short assignments abroad without Mama, etc. I need to find out the particulars before I completely dismiss the idea. So I will talk with my boss and put I the application next year – Lord willing.

Mama tells me we have several steers that are getting colds so we are doctoring them. We also have one particular little one, Little Bit, who is not doing very well. Grandpa is in high gear trying to get him past whatever is ailing him, but as of last night Mama was not sure of his condition. He is among my favorites; born more than two weeks premature, he is a perfect miniature bull.

It would be a shame to lose another one, but especially him.

Interview news, expanding the herd, repairs, coming up short

Yesterday flew by and it was after 3 pm before I knew it. I was in scheduled meetings for the majority of the day and I had several informal meetings through out the day so there was not much free time. Mama found that out early in the morning when she tried to call me about something urgent she needed to get done that did not actually get done until after 4 pm.


I interviewed one of my former employees for the Training Coordinator position and she did very well. Both of the gentlemen that were involved in the interview via phone thought so as well. She came back to my office here later in the morning after she had visited her way around the building to confirm that she was not disqualified by anything she had said. I reassured her and told her I will let her know as soon as a decision was made. I realize it is always a difficult thing to do when you interview for a job.

Speaking of interviews, Chase got the job with Sprint. He will start after the first of the year. He asked to be allowed to continue through the Holidays with Sears so they would not end up being short handed – and so that his sales would not be subject to the loss of commissions that result from the returned items normally coming back to the store after Christmas. He is pleased with the offer made to him by Sprint and in reality it should be a good job for him on a more long term basis.

We now have three more calves. That brings the total on the bottle to fifteen. It is a handful. Grandpa is slowly getting all of them lined out and healthy but he is fighting against unexpected opposition. Grandma, who is our milk mixer, decided that the problem the calves were having was the result of the milk being mixed too strong. So, she watered it down without telling anyone. When the calves continued to loose weight even thought they were being fed twice per day Grandpa began to put two and two together.

Now we are doctoring the needs and feeding the proper diet and the whole group looks better, healthier and stronger. Even the most gaunt are filling out and their energy levels are picking up. Every day he puts them out onto the lot so they can run around, soak up the sunshine and begin to eat a little grass. I am learning that the calves must develop a taste for grass. Once they do, it is their preferred food source. If only we had more to offer.

I am hearing the weather reports that offer the model analysis to try to prove that we are not actually in a drought, but it is hard to feed the cattle on supposition. They require something more tangible. I am hearing that the winter rains are coming. I am ready. I hope it will be well before the first hard freeze so there is time for some growth. We have enough hay to make it through the winter and into the early spring so we will be able to retain our herd. Many others will not.

We still need the steel and beams for the roof, but short of a miracle, it will not happen quickly. So on the flip side, the dearth of rain is a blessing of sorts. I am about $2500 short at the moment for that particular need but I have a feeling things will begin to work out pretty soon. Regardless, our stuff is coming next Friday. We will find the best way to deal with that after the fact.

Grandpa tried the last thing he could try to get the diesel truck running and it was not successful. We will have to do major repairs – about $1200 - on the clutch to get it operational again, but for the moment we are able to work around it. I am getting thousand dollar-ed to death right now.

Oh, for the days when I worried over $100.

Travel, Chase, ready or not, Christmas blues

I drove to Amarillo late yesterday so I could work out of the office here in Borger this morning. I have three meetings and an interview to participate in today so it should be a full day. I got into Amarillo a little after 5 pm yesterday and ran some errands for Mama before I went to the hotel. I called Chase to see what he was doing but he was on his way to class to take a final. We spent some time together after he got done with the test but it was getting pretty late for me.


He did okay in his class. He made a A for the semester, which is as good as it gets but he was a little disappointed by the lower than expected grade he got on his final. All in all it worked out pretty well for him. I think he is on the right track as far as career related course work. Time will tell. He took time to help me set up my new iPhone before I called it quits and started to get ready for bed.

He has an interview with Sprint today. I think it is the second interview. He is hoping to get the job with the expectation that cell phones will provide a more regular source of income over the long term vs. other retail electronic devices. It is also more of a hands on service required than sales that can be easily made via the internet. When commissions count, the web does not seem to be the salesman’s friend.

I will not get to spend much time with Chase today. He is working until 8 pm or so, so I told him I will come by the mall and see him there. Maybe we can have some dinner together. I am always up for Subway. If I was there with Mama it would be Chick-fil-A, but I think there are other acceptable fares with Chase.

We have made arrangements for all our things to be delivered to the farm on the 14th. I am not ready but I am praying the Lord comes through in a big way to allow us to get the roof on the shop. Otherwise we will be covering our items that can be moderately exposed to the air with a tarp and hoping for the best. All the items that will require more care will be squeezed into the front room of the farm house. It will be an interesting time.

At least there are enough walls up to break the wind so we will have fighting chance to keep stuff covered and well protected. Grandpa is going to build one of the shop walls with materials we picked up from the lumber for last Saturday. That should be a big help but without a roof, everything will be pretty much out in the open on the shop slab. At least it is on concrete. In West Virginia, we never had that. It was always dirt or gravel – and we were happy for the gravel spots.

More calves should be on the farm this afternoon. They are the three that I talked about the other day. That will bring us back up to fifteen sucklings with the older seven growing well on the grass we have remaining on the drought withered pastures. It is amazing to watch the growth process happen in real time – real slow time. All the little steers need is grass and water and they grow bigger and bigger; I am still amazed by it.

Things are starting to aim toward Christmas now. I suppose it is inescapable since we are in the first week of December, but I do not feel ready at all. I will not have any extra money to get anything notable for Mama or anyone else this year. We will not go without, but the usual fanfare will be somewhat subdued.

At least we got to have a little Christmas with the grandkids while we were in Florida for Thanksgiving.

Working sick, progress, more calves, missions

After being sick for several days it is nice to feel better. I started feeling badly on Wednesday last week and almost did not go to church that evening. By the following morning I was undeniably ill. I had a pretty good idea it was the same thing that Victoria had been dealing with for several days; a stomach virus. I let it run its course for a day and then I treated it with Imodium. I was much better by Sunday.


Even though I was feeling bad I used the time away from the office to work on the apartment. Grandpa and I went for the first of the lumber on Thursday afternoon and by Saturday had made trips three return trips for supplies – all of which are paid for. What was not on the paid invoice I paid for in cash as we got it. By Saturday evening we had all the walls up with the cutouts for the doors in place. We had even put up three ceiling joists to stabilize the walls on the long sides and we nailed up some of the OSB on the corners to hold everything square and plumb. It looks pretty good.

Mama took pictures but I have not got any of them to share with you. I did discover a new found superpower – the ability to walk through walls. Hopefully it will be short lived as we complete the walls, but it is nice to be able to use every opening for now. The only frustrating part of the construction is the eminent need for the roofing materials.

Unfortunately it will have to wait for several days as I am out of town. I have to travel to Borger today so I can conduct an interview with a candidate for the open position I have been backfilling. The candidate is one of my past direct reports, Judy Calhoun. It will be interesting to interview her for the job. I would like to do the interview with less of an audience but I will be sharing the time with three other interested parties so it could turn into quite an event. Friday I will interview one of the ladies who works for me here in Decatur. It will be much the same type of show.

Grandpa and Grandma were invited to a shindig in Windthorst, TX yesterday. The man who had gotten us most of the little ones we now have wanted them to come over and meet some other farmers and dairymen in the area. I think they had a pretty good time. I do know that Grandpa is going back today to get three more little bulls, one of whom Tom thinks is blind. He is giving him to us because he does not have time to nurse him along but does not want to put him down. A blind steer will still produce something for us, we just have to get him acclimated to the area where he will be raised. It should be an interesting project for Grandpa.

There was a missionary at church on Sunday morning from the Murillo ministry in Guadalajara Mexico. That is where Victoria spent the first three months of 2007 working in the children’s home. Mama went to go get her to see the slide presentation but she was too embarrassed to leave class so we arranged to see the DVD after church. She and Mama looked over the pictures and remembered a great many of the little ones. I think it brought back some good memories for the two of them. I know God was in it.

It was something I think Victoria needed whether she would admit it or not.