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.