Memory, or not

Have you ever put something away in a place where you were sure you would never forget it? And then did? I cannot count the times I have done that very thing and it is often touch and go as to whether I can remember what my reasoning was for choosing the “place I would never forget.” In fact, I am sure there are still things I have put in safe places that I have yet to rediscover. Such a moment happened to Mama yesterday.


She called me in a panic asking if I had a flyer she and Grandpa had gotten at a local feed store. As luck would have it, it was the last one they had in the store and she could not find it anywhere in the house. It spelled out the planting schedule for just about everything we wanted to put in the garden this year. She and I both remembered looking at the flyer/brochure as I was eating dinner over the weekend – or one evening last week. Since then no one has seen it. Since I trust her memory over mine (on most occasions) I told her I would look in my stuff to see if I had picked it up. I did not have it. She and Grandpa were both very disappointed.

She called me some hours later to tell me she had found it; right where she remembered putting it. It was in a booklet that she and Grandpa have been keeping on our garden – hence the reasoning for putting it there. They recorded planting and harvesting dates for our garden last year and are continuing the practice this year. She was laughing at herself over the lapse of memory and the recovery of the pamphlet. Grandpa was relieved.

On a different memory note, I have remembered events that, when I relate to Mama, she is sure never happened. She is so sure in fact that I begin to doubt myself. But as I struggle with the details of the memory (that may or may not have happened), she will suddenly remember, correct one or two minor details and refresh my memory. Making that connection is the difficult part. I feel vindicated and confused at the same time during those rare successes in cognizance.

Over the thirty plus years we have been married we have shared millions of memorable moments and each of us has a slightly different take on those occasions. I have found that if I do not get certain details correct in the recounting, she will not connect to the occurrence of the event in her cache of data. But the opposite can also be true. She can have vivid memories of which I have no recollection, at all – even when she goes into great detail. I am sure I have slept since then.

Boy, do we have a future to look forward to.

Hen party, rain and hail, extra effort

Mama and I managed to be out late last night. The church had a get together for the women and I took Mama to it since she has problems driving at night. Last night had her especially worried because of the severe storms we were getting. While I was at work yesterday we got over an inch of rain which was accompanied by marble sized hail. It was very impressive but something Mama did not want to deal with in transit.

I spent some extra time in the office as she ate and studied with friends. Each person attending last night’s function was to bring something that was made using a new recipe. Mama took some lemon cookies and a banana cake. They are studying the cults in America and what exactly makes them a cult along with a brief overview about what they believe. It is good information. A little understanding can eliminate a lot of confusion.

We did not get much of the rain at the farm yesterday but we are thankful for what we did get. At this point I think we could use about four inches a month for several months to bring us back up to some semblance of life supporting moisture in the ground. As for the tanks, they are lower than when we bought the farm over a year ago. When I look at the picture of the big pond overflowing, taken last spring, I can at least pray it will be at that level again. I am not sure if it will ever stay at that level, but I do not want to lose all hope.

In a herculean effort to help it remain at a higher level Grandpa cut out all of the creek willows that have grown on the pond dam for years. His reasoning is that each one was pulling hundreds of gallons from the pond every year. Cutting them down will stop that draw of water from the reservoir. He also worries about animals using the roots of the trees as a framework for burrows that will eventually weaken the dam. I have to agree with both ideas although they are not east to quantify.

I have developed a habit of being at work early and on many mornings I am the only one in the Decatur office for at least the first half hour. I have noticed lately that several other workers are starting to adopt my practice of getting an early start. Two of the operations bosses regularly arrive a 6:30 a.m. and I think the intent of those here as early as I am to get into place before their supervisors get here. That is a good practice. I hope it gets noticed by the people who can reward the extra effort.

I will certainly put my two cents worth in.

Answered prayer, missing out?

The Lord did answer Mama’s and my prayer to hear something from the licensing group yesterday. The information came to us after I was already home. The hiring manager was responding to an email sent out by my boss, whom I had informed that I had not heard anything since I put in my application. He is also curious for reasons of his own. This was the response:


Here's where we stand on the position:

- So far we've interviewed a handful of candidates from a list of those who had applied through early December (prior to Tim's application).

- As of yet, we have not made any offers.

- Jim is working with management to determine the number of positions we will fill this year.

- Once the above item is resolved (should be in the next few days) we will decide whether to make offers. Concurrent with that, we will evaluate the applications received between early December & now (including Tim's), and decide whether to conduct more interviews.

We should be able to give you more information sometime next week at the latest.

All I can really glean from the note is that the position is still open. There is really not much information other than that, but at least we know that much. It may not be enough to satisfy my boss who would like to make plans for the coming year and is not sure what assignments to give me based on my interest in the other job. Such is the life we lead.

On my calendar, I had set aside time this week for the interview but according to the note above that is not likely to happen – at least not on my time table. While I am looking at the convenience to me and my workload, God has entirely different plans and I always like the outcome of His plans better than mine. So we will wait. I do not have a choice there, but I do have a choice on my attitude as I wait.

After I had eaten dinner with Mama yesterday evening, I called on a tractor I saw advertized for sale on Craigslist. A very nice elderly gentleman (at least he sounded like an elderly gentleman) answered the phone and I told him why I was calling. He told me he was getting the cash put in his hand at that very moment but he was really happy that I had called. He went on to tell me he had gotten several dozen calls and that another was buzzing in as we were talking. All I could say is congratulations on the sale. I was impressed by the fact that he was so tickled by the entire chain of events. It must have meant a lot to him.

I did not have the cash to purchase the tractor so my call was for information only but we seem to have the same results when we are making a serious call on an item we do want to purchase. Grandpa refers to it as being “a day late and a dollar short” but it is generally poor timing on our part; or lack of prayer about the matter. When the right deal comes along we will have our turn. God always gives us what we need.

No rights, two less is better, Victoria is home

The big news for last week is that the mineral rights that were found and assumed to be available to us as the owners were quickly claimed by the sellers. As soon as they were discovered the sellers contacted the title company to see of the retention of all mineral rights had been written into the sales contract on the farm. It had. In fact, it was such a point of contention for me that I almost did not sign the contract when I saw that they had been written in at the last minute.


Like I had said before, the money was of little consequence to me. The avenue to protect the surface rights was the draw. Now that is gone. The fortunate part of it all is that I never signed anything to claim either the mineral rights or the money. It was an honest mistake which will be easily remedied. No harm, No foul. But it was a disappointment to me and Mama.

I did find out a lot about the property through the unfortunate happenstance and I got to talk to the person who will probably be our contact in the future when there is activity in the area. I am praying that that activity does not include drilling through our little property but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. It is a little sad that the financial jump start I thought we were given was so quickly reversed but we will make it up soon enough.

I am praying that the call from the licensing group comes today. This would be the perfect week for me to travel to Houston and points south since I will be on the road all next week. It will all work out whenever the call comes. It will work out if the call never comes. It is a relief to know that God is still in control and that all things work together for our good; especially when the circumstances cloud our vision.

As if to add to my consternation, the Training Coordinator job will be reposting. This time I will not have to do the scheduling of the interviews, nor will I have to make the selection of the persons to be interviewed. That will be done by the new Supervisor. I may be called upon to participate since I will be handing the job over to the person selected – unless that person turns out to be me.

Having not heard anything from the licensing group I am growing a little restless. I guess Maggie and I are alike in that we like to see a little further down the road than most people do. Not hearing anything at this point feels a little like rejection. If I am being rejected I would like the chance to get upset about it. So I am practicing by worrying. Strange how our minds work through problems over which we have no control.

Saturday morning Grandpa and I buried another two calves. One died on its own, the other we put down. It was a sad loss but a necessary part of raising calves in this area. The one that died had a busted chest from something that happened at his birth. The other was blind from a fever he had just after birth. Neither one was going to survive but we gave it our best effort. It is better for those we have remaining to put out the sickly ones. That does not make it easier.

Yesterday Mama and I went to Chipotle on our way to the airport to get Victoria. (It is the first time we have eaten out in quite a while; what with no extra money and all.) When we dropped Victoria off last Saturday we had a pretty bad time. I had a pretty bad time because I was worried about getting her to her flight on time and we were using it up pretty quickly be taking some wrong turns. None of us had gotten enough information on getting around the airport and I was not prepared for making the twists and turns required to make it to the correct terminal. Plus, we only found out what terminal Victoria needed to be in when we stopped to ask someone doing a curb side bag check. It was not the terminal where we made the inquiry.

Pastor Horton told us at church the next morning that it was the easiest airport anywhere. He has obviously never been to Amarillo or Pensacola. But it was much easier when we took the correct exit and knew what we needed to do to park and meet Victoria. We were walking to the baggage claim area and she came out the door a few feet from us. We were not in the airport for fifteen minutes.

It will be much easier from now on.

Fog, sickness, planting, waiting for answers, no coincidence

When I left the farm this morning the fog was very heavy. It was not until I got to the little rise on our road that I saw that if I had stretched a little I could have seen over it. It was no more than six feet high. It looked as if the car was riding on a cloud. Texas is the only stare that I have seen fog like this. It is often suspended several feet off of the ground, no more that a few feet thick; hanging like lace in the air. It was a blessing to see how this fog had wet the ground. Maybe some of that will sink in before the sun evaporates it.


Mama and Grandpa are setting out onions today. I saw when I got home last night all the seeds we had accumulated last year had been pulled out of their storage places and were being evaluated against the planting chart Mama and Grandpa had gotten at one f the local feed stores. I think we are ready for a garden this year – especially since we are all here fulltime. We have learned a lot about the area; just how well we have learned it, our gardening success or failure will tell.

I plan to take tomorrow off so I can work on the apartment. I have had ambitious thoughts of getting something done in the evenings but I am not at the stage of building that that it practical. Extra days off make up the difference and I do need to make up for some lost time when my back was hurting too badly to do what needed to be done. I think I am better now. We will see tomorrow.

Hopefully, Mama is feeling better also. Last night she stayed home because her belly was hurting pretty badly. Her head cold has begun to heal but something she ate did not agree with her. I have a feeling it was one of those times when no matter what she ate it would not have agreed with her. I do know that she missed a great sermon from one of our missionaries to Ghana.

All indications are that we are going to lose another calf. If we do it will not be for lack of trying to get him healthy. He is one of the three that Grandpa nursed through some very high fevers and strong coughs. Of those three, he has never regained his strength and yesterday he looked pretty pitiful. All of the other members of our herd seem to be doing well and we are learning new information weekly to keep them that way.

On Tuesday evening I attached the surface addendums to the lease paperwork and sent them to the land guy for review. I have not heard anything back yet. I did pray about it before I sent the package along, but I can never be sure how the additions will be received. It is in God’s Hands. I would not want it anywhere else.

Mama and I have talked about buying additional land. One place we are interested in making that purchase is in West Virginia, so I began looking. I picked out a piece of property near Norman and made the call to the realtor – whose name looked very familiar. As we spoke I asked if he was the person by that name who used to attend Ripley Baptist Temple. He replied that he is that person and he still does attend there.

I love the way God puts those things together.

Sicknesses, singing, sighing, seeing

Mama did not feel well last night. She had not felt badly through the day but she has the queen of all runny noses. When she bends over it produces a constant flow of mucus. I was genuinely impressed. Needless to say, that is not her preferred method of removing the contaminant. She prefers tissues; of which she has used two entire boxes in the past few days. She does have a bad habit of leaving the spent wads of used tissue lying about the house. Yesterday she collected them into a box. Of that content, I was really impressed.


I asked Mama last night as we were on our way to Wal-Mart what she has taken out of her diet or what she has added to it lately. I was asking because I have not heard her complain about her left knee hurting in the manner she had been up until several weeks ago. I would really like to find out if the swelling and associated pain is from something diet related or if it is a function of activity only.

We heard from one of the ladies at church Sunday night that her husband is not the best patient. He will sit and look forlornly at her and say, “Oh, I don’t feel good.” That, in and of itself, is not too overwhelming. It is the constant repetition that wears her down. He will apologize for complaining then continue. I can’t wait until he gets better so I can tease him about it; what are friends for?

With the drastic changes in temperature we are experiencing right now there are a lot of people sick. Most have a head cold or upper respiratory infection, but there are a few cases of the flu. None of the ailments are pleasant but, generally speaking, none is life threatening.

I woke up this morning singing “It will be worth it all”. Sometimes, being convinced of that truth is the only strength we can wrestle from difficult days. Fortunately, it is always enough – depending on where your focus is. A case in point, Maggie called me the other night to unload a little. She does not usually have trouble dealing with the times she is alone but that night seemed to be a little different.

She had found out that some work will be required of her to vacate the apartment once they get the news of Aaron’s future assignment. Maggie was complaining that now the “pregnant lady” has to do all this work. I assured her it was not a conspiracy to make her pregnancy difficult. It is a standard list. Mama and I have had to work off of that list on several occasions –twice when she was very pregnant.

To Maggie’s credit, I was close by Mama during all of those times but if I had not been, Mama had a wealth of friends who would gladly have helped her had she asked. As it stands, so does Maggie. She always comes around to the same conclusion during the times of feeling slighted, she needs to refocus. My mantra in life is “It is not about me.” I have tried to teach that to my children as I have tried to keep it in practice in my life. (Often I am a poor witness to my own beliefs.)

Maggie, like me, has discovered that when our focus is on us, nothing seems good enough. When I am the object of my greatest concern I begin to feel that I deserve better than I am getting. I need more than I have. I am more noble that those around me. I am more spiritual than those I look out upon. I am the only one really working hard. Though any of those thoughts may in rare instances be true, if I act upon any of them, the results are deeply damaging and always disastrous. So we started to count Maggie’s blessings; salvation, a good husband, a child on the way, etc.

Her future looks pretty bright to me…and to her.

No news, full barrels, planting plans

Sometimes no new is not good news. I suppose you could call me impatient but I have not heard anything from the Licensing group yet. It has been three weeks now but I should not be too concerned. I interviewed people for the Training Coordinator position in early December and only this week heard through the grapevine that a training supervisor has now been selected – but not officially announced. That selection is critical to the coordinator position I am looking to fill. The candidates I interviewed are really not enjoying the suspense.


Today is chocked full of meetings and we have an additional twenty or so people in the area for a major meeting on a safety initiative we started over three years ago. Meanwhile, our boss is off site in meetings with his peers and their bosses to set goals for the year. We will get most of our goals from the outcomes of that meeting. So I am not the only one who is anxious for some news – any news.

Mama and Grandpa went yesterday and bought enough feed to get us through the month. I am not sure why the urgency or push to get that done, but it makes very little difference to me if we spend the $400 in one day or over the process of two weeks. It costs the same to buy. It does save time and gas if the errands are run in one day rather than making three or four trips. So now our feed barrels are full to overflowing.

Grandpa and I bought two large round bales of good hay to put out for the calves that are on the pasture full time. We had thought about leaving the one we put in their pasture open so the calves could get to it from all sides. That idea turned out to be a bad one. The young steers burrowed their heads into the bale up to their shoulders and began shredding it almost instantly. We had to rig up a fence around it to limit their access in order to ensure they ate the hay rather than using it for bedding.

Additionally, Grandpa wanted to introduce the donkeys to the calves but that idea too, proved an error in judgment. The donkeys were interested in the fresh hay but seemed terrified of the calves. While the calves were at the hay, they stood back but once the calves filled up and went away to rest the donkeys moved in for the kill. They were worse about dismantling the bale than the calves. We had to separate them back out in order to protect our investment for the calves.

Mama and Grandpa are going to set out onions today. They too were bought yesterday. Before anything was out I wanted to know the dimensions of the garden so I got my big measuring roll and when out last night to check it out. It measured sixty by one hundred feet for the garden portion of the fenced in patch. We have decided to use the upper forty by sixty foot section for a fruit orchard.

That will give us room for about fifteen trees depending on the selections we make. We decided to move the fruit trees into the fenced area of the garden plot because the horses destroyed all but four of the fifteen or so trees we tried to get started last year. We found out too late that short trees make good belly scratchers for the horses so they bent over and otherwise trampled or broke off the entire orchard.

I am still planning on planting pecan trees in a grove with the hope of having twenty five trees. I am glad we learned before we bought any that they are not landscape or garden friendly. They need to be planted away from other trees and shrubs because they secrete a poison around their roots that will kill most other plants. They would not have worked out near the fruit trees or the garden.

The last thing we need is another way to kill our fruit trees.

Miracles, intruders

Friday I took a ½ day vacation but before I left the office I was able to get with one of the right-of-way people in the office to have him look at the paperwork I got from the oil company. He looked everything over and asked me to call the person whose contact information was on the lease agreement paperwork. I did and got a lot of questions answered.


The first is that we do – by their research – own the mineral rights to 17.5 acres of our farm. It is almost unheard of (i.e. miraculous) so they did a thorough job of tracking it down. They went through the records in the Montague County Courthouse, all of them recorded in books – hand written – back to 1924. The property and mineral rights were tracked through several owners to me and Mama.

Only by the grace of God did that little patch of property and mineral rights get overlooked until January 2013. By Mama and me buying the property eighty nine years later, they transferred to us. It is not much but it is enough to control what happens on the surface of out 58 acres. I can include some exclusions that will make it work mostly in our favor when any drilling is done.

I was told that it is not in any of the newer plans being drafted at the moment to include our property in the drilling plans but we can not know for sure at this point. All I can do is make it less attractive for them to choose our little farm for that purpose. I should be able to complete the paperwork and get it sent out today or tomorrow.

Several days ago Mama suggested to Grandpa that he try one more time to get the tiller repaired. It was not getting gas through the carburetor so we were going to have to take it to a shop and pay whatever was required to get it operational again. I walked out on Saturday afternoon and he had the tiller out of the shed and was starting to take the carburetor off for one more try. It took about an hour and after we got it back together, after about the fourth try, it started running properly; another answer to prayer.

We praised the Lord and walked it over to the garden and put it to work. It was good to have it working again and Grandpa and I ran it for a couple hours getting the garden ready for the early plants we will begin to set this week. Onions are the first to go out here since they are frost tolerant. They are so tolerant that I picked about a dozen that were still growing in the garden from last summer. Mama and Grandpa will go to work on that today or tomorrow.

When Mama and I were on our way home from church Sunday morning we stopped at Brookshire Brothers in Bowie to get some things Mama needed to get her Friendship Bread prepared for baking. As we got out of the car Grandma pulled up. She was on her way to the nursing home to visit. She told us to make sure and look at the little birdhouse Grandpa put up at the corner of the driveway. We would see what he had been working on that morning.

When we got home, we did see. At the base of the cedar post on which the birdhouse sits was a huge raccoon. It turns out that the dogs had treed the coon that morning in the tree in the front yard of the farm house. Dodger was trying to climb the tree to get to the intruder and there was such a commotion that Grandpa decided to shoot it. I am glad he did since a coon that size would decimate our chickens in a couple nights. If it had not been Sunday, I would have tried to skin it but I did not want the clean up associated with such a task.

We saved the tail for Grant and Blake.

Job news, farm news, Victoria

Yesterday was an interesting day. I was told earlier this week, as I discussed the Licensing job with my boss, about another person in our area who was interviewing for the position also so I called that person yesterday morning. We talked for about an hour about the interview and his general impressions of the process and the people he met. He is more interested in relocating for a term of years, so his focus is a little different. It was an encouraging conversation for both of us and should both of us actually get the job, we will at least have a familiar face in the group.


I have waited this entire week without word but I have used the time to get the answers prepared for the formal part of the interview. I have also learned some of the very specific needs of the group; where they are having problems at the moment, what specific skills I have that I need to highlight for them to address those problems, and what mobility concerns they have for the candidates they are currently seeking. Hopefully, I will be well prepared when they do call.

When I got home last night and looked through the mail I opened a letter from an oil and gas exploration company in which they were offering to lease the mineral rights on a portion of the farm. Our immediate reaction is to discount the offer but I am going to have the Right of Way people at the office look it over and tell me if it is legitimate. I would also like to know if my company would be interested in the lease – if it would not be a conflict of interest. It is something I have been praying about but I am not sure it the answer to that prayer.

One of the problems with buying rural land in Texas is that the mineral rights are rarely available for purchase with the land. It does not seem like a big deal until a drilling rig is set up in your back yard and there is nothing you as the surface land owner can do about it. You end up with all the headache of trucks and noise without getting any of the benefits of royalties associated with a producing well. I am relieved that at least a portion of the mineral rights are ours to control; even if it is only 30% of the total. I can tie the rest of the property up by putting up little structures for the cattle.

The vet is coming today. He will have ten little bulls to steer. I feel sorry for the little ones but it is the natural course of events for them. The last batch healed up pretty quickly without the hint of problems. But the last batch did not have the sickness issues that we have had with this group. I have no idea what the vet will charge this time. Last time we got off pretty cheaply because we were there to help. We will wait to see the bill after it is generated.

The three new arrivals are nice looking calves. The one is as big as we were told. He stands as tall as the two month olds in the lot we are putting through emasculation today. Grandpa will have to keep him separate since it will be hard to tell him apart form the more advanced group due to his size. When they are that big it is difficult to remember that he is only a few days old. Mama could not think of a name for him but I am sure Victoria will take care of that today.

Speaking of Vitoria, she will be flying out tomorrow. Mama and I are planning on leaving the farm at 4:40 am. I do not remember the time of Victoria’s flight but I do remember my travel instructions. It will be the first time we will be going to DFW Airport. I am a little nervous about the trip but I realize, if I get the licensing job we will be making the same trip many multiples of times in the coming months and years.

It will be good practice for us.

Job news, planning ahead

Yesterday, I had the chance to converse with my boss concerning the job I applied for. The Licensing group has already has discussions about me with my manager and they are very interested in me. He is not sure why they have not officially contacted me but it should be coming soon. It was an interesting insight into how he feels about me and a short look into his background.


My current boss used to me the Licensing Manager so he is very aware of the job scope and he assured me that the process is much simpler than any of the technologies I already know. He said that he told the hiring manager that my temperament and background would be uniquely suited for working with certain ethnic groups with whom they are currently having issues. That was encouraging; unofficial, but encouraging.

I only broached the subject with him because I have heard from two separate sources now that there are rumors that I will be moving to Houston. My boss was a little concerned about the rumors because he was able to quickly pinpoint the source. Somebody might get in a little bit of trouble. I can appreciate that person’s interest in my case a little better after my boss explained that one of this person’s supervisors is in Houston right now interviewing for the same job. If both of us were to get hired into Licensing, he would have to deal with five of my female direct reports and three of that manager’s female direct reports. That is not something he succeeded with in the past.

Mama and Grandpa will go to get the three new calves this morning. The two of them cleaned out and sanitized the stalls required in the calf building yesterday afternoon. Mama was groaning through the evening as a result of the work. It is not an arduous task but it is difficult for both her and me because of the way we have things set up. We are amassing quite a heap of offal from the small herd. It will work well on the meadows and on the fruit trees this spring – provided the Lord sends enough rain to dissolve it so the ground can absorb it. Grandpa is looking for a manure spreader right now. I am praying for rain.

Mama and I talked about the farm, the job and Grandma and Grandpa’s travel plans on the way to church last night. I asked her to carefully express the concerns I have for the coming months. With Grandpa gone for a month I suggested that we get no more than three more calves after this lot. By mid-March Mama will be doing almost all the bottle feeding on her own but if we plan carefully, we can be close to weaning this lot by then. If I get the job in Licensing, March will be the month I will be reporting to that job which will require that I be in Houston during the week. I will be home only on the weekends during my indoctrination sessions.

One of the benefits of the jobs I am currently working is the need to learn to plan very far out. I have developed training plans for the next three years, a budget for this entire year and am coordinating the time off for nine people for the year. I have learned to look ahead. I hope we can put together a plan that will not stress Mama during Grandma and Grandpa’s working vacation in West Virginia.

One day we will be wholly responsible for the farm. We have a lot to learn so hopefully, that day will not be soon in coming.

Repairs, new babies, sunsets, eyes

Grandpa should hear about his truck today or tomorrow. He put it in the shop last week to have the clutch replaced. You know if Grandpa put a vehicle in the shop to be repaired it was really a hard luck case. He usually does all the work himself but with the repairs that were needed it was more than he could handle alone. The clutch plates alone weigh over seventy pounds and we are not set up to lift and hold that in place to make the repairs. I am not sure what the total will be for the repairs but I am prepared to help with the bill. It will be a small price to save us from potential injury.


One thing is certain; if Grandpa would trust his truck to a shop, he must have a very high level of confidence in the people there. We have always been fortunate in being led to someone in every area where we have lived who could be trusted to do the repairs needed to any of our vehicles. Grandpa having found someone here answers that need for us also. I am praying it all works out as he expects.

Mama called me late yesterday all excited. Tom, the dairyman who we have gotten the majority of our calves from, called to offer us three more; one little bull and a set of twins. I think Mama said the twins are a heifer and a bull. Grandpa will go and get them tomorrow. We will not keep the little heifer since twin calves are considered infertile.

I was a little surprised by the announcement of the new additions because Grandpa has been pretty discouraged by the sicknesses we have had to battle with the ones we are raising right now. But I could hear the seeds of thought I had planted when he explained that we have learned a lot of valuable lessons in both the successes and failures to this point. It would be a shame to give up when we have got a good understanding of what it takes to make this work.

Grandpa told me Tom had apologized to him because he had been selling his calves to another gentleman and he had begun to feel guilty about not offering them to Grandpa first. I told Grandpa it was of the Lord because we needed the break – physically and emotionally. We needed the time to reconsider the plan we were working with the bottle fed calves and decide if we wanted to continue or not. Take note. As soon as Grandpa and I talked – two nights ago – and decided it was all worth the effort, Tom called to get us going on another batch.

We are planning to sell most of the lot (16 little bulls) we have in April after Grandma and Grandpa get back from West Virginia. They are planning on being there for most of the month of March. It will be a slow time on the farm – hopefully. Grandpa wants to help Norman get his business up and running again; both for Norman’s sake and for Seth. They have not been able to get Seth a job anywhere in the area and Norman’s job may be playing out as the economy tightens. It is amazing how much we all depend on this seventy year old man.

Last night we had a spectacular sunset. There was a beam of red that looked like it was shooting out of the horizon where the sun was trying to set. It is not something created by the camera as the picture was taken. Mama and I got several pictures. I have not seen anything quite like it before, and we get some pretty amazing sunsets here. I tried to enclose a picture but was not able.

Building on the thought of darkness and light, the grandchildren have discovered that not all eyes have the same color. Several nights ago they were all looking into Grammy’s eyes via Skype. She has brown eyes. They are dark in color. Papi, they were told, has blue eyes. They are light colored. They have been discussing the light and dark colors of the eyes but to a little mind the connotation is different than it is to ours. Cori found out last night how the thoughts were registering as Grant explained to her that he could see in the darkness with his blue eyes.

They are, after all, “light” colored.

Waiting, good news, travel, training

Yesterday afternoon I started working answers to the interview questions I have used for candidates I have interviewed. Regardless of the source, the questions vary very little. I have not received a call to come for an interview but as Edna says,” Luck favors the prepared, Darling.” Besides, as I wait on several dozen other answers and call backs I have the time at the moment.


I did get to give out some pretty good news to my staff yesterday. The payout amounts for the annual company bonus were announced to managers yesterday. I had promised to let everyone know what those awarded amounts would be as soon as I was made aware. In the midst of significant change within the company, it was good to give some encouragement to some very stressed out people. I have not heard from my boss where I stand on the same news, but I will know by default on Monday the 21st.

As I got home yesterday Mama and Victoria were on Skype with Cori and the kids. I do not know what prompted the initial call but they were into books by the time I arrived. Blake was showing a book of animals to Grammy. She, in turn, was showing the pictures from a calendar she had picked up at a farm store in Bowie. The pictures were of farm animals. Grammy’s favorite was the pigs. Grant shot the deep picture several times when it was showed. (There were no animals actually hurt during this Skype exchange.)

Blake seemed very happy to see me. I got to see the booboo that sent him to the emergency room last week. It is good they took the time to get it treated. There were no stitches used to seal up the wound. They used glue to close the skin over the cut. It reminded me of an older gentleman in our church here who was purchasing an air boat in Louisiana last year and ran the boat through a barbed wire fence. He used super glue to close some pretty significant cuts from the accident. His family thought he was nuts. Turns out he was right on track.

I was told that the visit Nate, Cori and the kids were planning in the spring is now postponed due to weddings they have to travel to Ohio to attend. If I am remembering correctly there is one in March and another in May. I know just how much such events can cost the required attendees so I can understand the delay; Grant is a little less prepared for the setback. Depending on the schedule I may be required to keep, we will find a way to work around the deferral.

Victoria is scheduled to be there on Saturday. She already has several assignments; one of which is to be the dog whisperer for Sarge. I wish she could have spent more time around her cousin Trish, whose psychology degree has expanded her ability to communicate on so many levels, not the least of which is canine behavior intervention.

Recently, she tried staring down Fabian and Sarah’s miniature Dachshund after an episode of “bad behavior” and almost got her nose bitten. I think the owners would have happily paid for the treatment of the injury had it occurred, but fortunately, it did not. That small setback was attributed to a “lost cause” case. I hope Victoria’s less educationally rooted techniques will be more productive for both pet and owner.

Time will tell.

Horse sense, the work continues, Maggie’s news, what’s in a name?

Mama and I did not take too long to come to the conclusion that we could not take Wes up on his offer to give us two more horses. In cutting down his inventory of horses, fifteen or so, he is giving away his mares. He is being selective and we are happy to have been offered the horses, especially since these are finished horses, ready to ride and young enough to keep for many years to come.


The problem is that we are not doing right by the horses we already have and sometimes struggling to feed the calves off of which we hope to make a profit for the farm. With that in mind I called Wes on Saturday morning to let him know we could not accept his offer. Realizing how generous an offer it was, it was even harder to ask him to take Jazz back also. We are just not set up for multiple horses yet. We still have Misty and although it will be at least two years before we can do anything with her, for the moment, we have made the decision to limit our herd in order to afford what we have.

Since he was out and about Saturday morning, Wes came by pretty early to get Jazz. We talked for a little while and he loaded the horse and was gone. He did offer to set us up to ride anytime we wanted and in the future, when we are better prepared, we will get our horses off of him. I was sad to see Jazz load up and go especially since he so nonchalantly walked right up into the trailer.

It will make Grandma happy to have only the one horse since for some time now she has been lecturing us on proper horse care (which we have not been doing according to her thinking) and scolding us for letting Jazz be so mean to Misty. I am not sure what we will hear now that we are down to the young filly. On the positive side, Misty is good to work with, loves our attention and without the larger horse, there will be plenty of grass for her in the pasture where we keep her.

As for the calves, all but six are weaned. Of the most mature group we have, we lost one last week. None of us are sure just what happened but he died suddenly one morning. It is another of those unpleasant parts of living where we do now. Grandpa has never before had to deal with the losses we have experienced with bottle fed calves. I am not overly concerned, but I did not learn their names. We are still way ahead of the average.

Maggie announced last week that she is pregnant. The due date is September 22nd. Does that date sound familiar to anyone? The funny part is that if the baby actually comes in that time frame, its birthday could fall on any one of four birthdays; Cori, Nate, Becky and I were all born between the 18th and the 22nd. September really is a busy month, or maybe December was.

Maggie told me Aaron has already assigned a nickname to the child; Bob. I told her that could work out either way. The connotation is obvious if the child is boy. If it is a girl, they could name it Bobra.

The spelling would be insignificant as long as the name is spoken with a Southern accent.

Things out of place, falling behind

Mama went out in the late evening to check on her chickens and asked me to go with her. I told her I would rather not since it was so muddy. Her thoughts were that since I lived on a farm I should not be worried about the mud. I do have foot ware to compensate for those conditions but they are in the old farm house and I really did not want to make the extra effort.


While she went to the chicken coop I walked over to the apartment – it is nicely graveled between the mobile home and the apartment. Mama, however, unwilling to do anything by herself found a reason to call me over to where she was attending to our farm animals. She could see the pig building from where she was and noticed that Jazz had figured out a way to open the door to the pig building and had gotten inside. He was happily helping himself to the hay we have stored inside.

The little building is not set up for horses and it could have been a bad situation if the floor in the building was not able to hold him, but she was able to get him out without too much effort. I then had to go and rig up something to latch the door that opens into the attached area where we have the horses set up for winter shelter; so much for trying to keep my boots clean for work today. Honestly, I did not get too muddy; the ground here dries out very quickly.

Today is the last time another group of calves will get two feedings from a bottle. Grandpa is beginning the weaning process for another six of our last batch of little bulls. Somewhere in the middle of the month we will get the vet to come and steer the little guys. From then on they will be in the pasture. He will give them grain every evening, but no more milk. That takes a lot of the daily work out of having them. We will still have the little heifers and four little bulls on milk for two more weeks so we are not done with this batch but we are getting close.

I should be looking forward to the weekend but I am not. There is so much work to be done and I am not sure I will be able to do any of it. I am still hurting badly and I am not sure if I will be able to maneuver in the way I need to continue with the construction projects. I gave up last weekend to take care of the horses so I feel like I am falling behind.

I really have no reason to feel that way; no one is aware of the schedule except me. Even though I may not be able to get on the scaffolding or ladders I am still moving ahead with the power company. They came out Wednesday and looked at what we will need to get the shop wired into the grid and I will go today and pay the hookup fee. We should have a meter placed by mid next week. We will run the wires underground from the pole. In the windy conditions we have here, having the wires buried will be a great advantage structurally and it will eliminate some of our safety concerns.

I am thinking about taking a half day vacation today. Mama and I had originally talked about taking the time so Grandpa and I could go and get the metal for the roof but I am not ready for the metal so I may postpone any vacation until next week. I do not know if the little truck has been rewired so it could be used to pull the trailer. That is something I could help with this weekend.

Besides, it is not like there is a shortage of things to do at work.

Rain, company news, Victoria’s birthday, wet dogs

I believe the windshield wipers on the company truck I was driving were used more hours yesterday than since the truck was manufactured. I drove most of the four plus hours of the commute in the rain. I am not complaining, it is just an observation. Even with that, we got less than one inch at the farm; less than half of what was originally forecast.


The company announcement yesterday was a pretty big one. It will indirectly affect me and those in my business unit but it will have a very direct impact on several hundred employees in the decision to move the company headquarters to Houston from Midland. One office near Midland will be closed as personnel repopulate the building being emptied in Midland. All this is scheduled to be complete by September.

Along with the relocation, the asset groups within the larger business unit of which we have been one part have been broken out into three business units. We are now realigned with a group in west and south Texas. This will require a restructuring of many levels of management and will directly impact how the training part of my dual role is going to be structured.

At least now I know why I have not heard about the job I have been interviewing candidates for. The person in charge of that decision has been working issues related to yesterday’s announcement. I expect an update soon, but I have no idea how the plan will play itself out. I am as ready as I will ever be. For the group in Borger, the announcement was well received. I am not completely sure what they are expecting.

Today is Victoria’s birthday. It is hard to believe that she is twenty five years old. I am pretty sure Mama and I got her something for the occasion but I cannot remember what. I guess it will be a surprise for me too when she does open the gift. She is very difficult to buy for. Even though her needs are not unique, her likes and dislikes seem to be quite specific and extremely dynamic.

She is looking forward to her trip to Florida which is a little over a week away at the point. I am not sure what she is anticipating in the trip other than to spend a few days with her niece and nephews, but I hope her expectations are met in abundance. I think Cori and Nate will be going to some function during that time so she will get to be the “head child” in the home for a night. Hopefully, not too much spoiling goes on in that twenty four hour timeframe.

With the rain we have been getting the big dogs are no longer white. I know a few days of dry weather will allow them to get back to their original color but for the moment they seem to be in camouflage. Dodger, on the other hand, does not change color as he gets wet and dirty, he just stinks. Mama is after me to get some of the magic ointment that my sister Sarah is using on her dog to get past the wet smell. That will require a special trip to a specific store – one I was right by in Amarillo without being aware of it.

For now, Dodger will have to smell bad, which is normally not a problem for Victoria. Her nose has been plugged up for weeks now. Grandma on the other hand, has no restriction in her nasal passages and tends to be very sensitive to such odors; especially in her house.

It is a good thing she really likes Dodger otherwise he would be on a chain connected to a dog house…outside.

Amarillo assignments, change and trails associated with it, grandchild news

Last night before I went to bed I made a run to one of the cabinet shops in Amarillo. We have gone there in the past to get pieces of plywood that the shop puts in the dumpsters. Sometimes there are some fairly large pieces; large enough to be made into shelves. This time the pieces were somewhat smaller; about the width we need for feed boxes; still quite usable.


While we were in Bowie last weekend, Mama and I were across the street from a cabinet shop there. I saw a couple getting pieces of wood from a trailer that the shop has setting beside a dumpster. Most of the prices were too long to fit in the dumpster. Mama and I went over to check it out. The wood that was being discarded was premium quality oak and ash. I got a few pieces wide enough and long enough to be used for trim and cabinet spacers. I was quite pleased. Some of the long, thin pieces we took home will be used in the garden this year.

After a difficult meeting yesterday, we are faced with another potentially difficult meeting again today. The meeting yesterday dealt with changes my boss wants to be made in the Borger office; basically we are forcing them to fend for themselves in the required training and safety meetings. Today’s meeting will deal with the restructuring within the larger part of the company of which we are one part out of four divisions. I have had no advance warning of the proposed changes. Now is not a good time to be resistant to change; sometimes drastic change.

During times like these it is east to find the people among you that have a strong faith in the Lord. When moments of uncertainty creep up on us, those whose hope is in the Lord ready can relax and rest on the promises of God. He is still in control. He will never leave us or forsake us. He will not tempt us above what we can bear and even in those trails will provide a way of escape.

Out pastor was saying the other day that he is a “cry-baby Christian.” He goes to the Lord almost instantly when a problem arises. He said his first prayer is, “Lord, where is the way of escape you promised? Whatever you need to teach me help me to learn it quickly and get out of this mess!” Not a bad way to pray.

Rain is moving into the Borger area this afternoon. The expectation is for more that an inch. In Bowie the expectation is also for an additional inch of rain to fall today. The forecast called for an inch last night with the added inch to fall today. It is badly needed so you will not hear too much complaining.

Cori called last night pretty soon after Mama called me. They were on the way to the emergency room when Mama called. They were in the emergency room when Cori called. Her question had to do with the need for stitches on Blake’s chin. He had slipped when trying to climb out of the bathtub and split it open in the resulting fall. I am not sure at this point how it worked out, but in the picture she sent it did look like a good candidate for several stitched to me.

Nate was being held up from work and the emergency room attendants did not see the emergency of the situation so tempers were starting to stir and Cori and Mate wanted to go home and doctor the injury themselves; quite understandable. The two problems of infection and scaring were providing some restraint to their departure.

Mama also told me that Grant has been constantly asking about a return trip to the farm. Cori and Nate have patiently explained that it takes a lot of money to make the trip and that they are saving up some money right now. He then asked how long it takes to save up money and Cori explained that it sometimes takes quite a while. He has heard the explanation of a lack of money for the trip so often that as his Daddy kissed him goodbye as he left for work one recent evening Grant blurted out a goodbye assignment of, “Make lots of money Daddy!”

Sharp kid.

Today, Chase, stresses and strains

Today may only be Tuesday but it feels like it should be later in the week. Mama called as I was nearing Amarillo yesterday evening and I told her the drive over was not as fun as I had remembered it in the recent past. I suppose that is because it is no longer our home, but also because my back was hurting. She called the chiropractor to see if there was an opening last night but he was booked up for the evening so I have an appointment tonight. When she is with me the trip always seems more enjoyable.


With the work load at the farm and the need to conserve our money we decided I would travel alone again this time. When I take the company truck they cover the expenses but when I take Mama I have to pay for the gas and food. Right now, it is better to have my company pay the fare so I can continue to but feed and milk replacer.

Chase came over to the motel last night after he got off work. It was almost 8 pm. Sadly, that is my bedtime during the week. We visited for about a half hour and I went to bed soon after we said goodbye. I did get the impression from him that he was not happy in the church here, mostly because of one person, but I explained that in every church you will find that one person that tends to provide repeated uncomfortable moments.

There was an individual in Somerset who delighted in introducing Chase by name followed quickly with the defining additive statement, “he’s adopted”. Why that was a defining characteristic to that person I still do not understand. Similarly, there is an individual at Central that repeatedly teases Chase by treating him as though he had not been to church recently, even though he attends every service. Those members are unavoidable. We have at least one where we attend now. So I advised him to put aside any irritation, consider the source and follow on until God gives him very clear direction to find another church.

Chase was telling me that he got over twenty Christmas cards, many of which he has yet to open. He said he will open a couple and they all say the same thing, “Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year”, or something along that line. So he will look at a few at a time and move on to something else. I share his sentiment in part. I still have not read or looked at the cards received at our home even though they are on display right inside the door.

Maybe my life is too electronically based to see the value of the thought that goes into the giving of the cards. If there were real thought attached to the note, if it were a letter about the significant events of the past year, if there was something personal about the card, maybe I would be more inclined to give them more attention. I do like the ones that have the family picture on them; at least I know who they are from.

As I talked with a friend in the Borger office this morning he noticed how carefully I moved and asked where I was hurting. When I told him he had me lay on the floor on my back. He picked up my left leg and after making sure I was relaxed, he pulled it towards him and I felt my back pop back into place. That was a relief.

With the strain at work, the financial strain at the farm and the continued need for more and more spending to keep things going there as well as in every other obligation we have, I have felt more than a little overwhelmed lately. I am confident we will make it through, but I am ready for some relief. I am convinced that the pain in my back is exacerbated, if not caused by that stress. I will have to find a better way to deal with it until our farm starts to produce as we are anticipating.

I still think working the farm is fun – for the most part.

Resolve, horses, gardening

I have always liked to think that I am resolute when it comes to making decisions and subsequently following through on those decisions. I guess that was another me; something in my distant past. Mama was chiding me a little as we drove home from church about my decision to pursue the licensing job. I had told her on the way home one recent Sunday night that I would not apply based on the relocation.


I did not want to have to move to Houston having just arrived at the farm. We could have worked it out. I could have stayed in Houston during the week and come home on the weekends; not a perfect world by any means. Excessive time away from Mama was something I wanted to avoid since neither of us do well in those circumstances. However, when I found out that I did not have to relocate, the job took on a new light. So here we are. My application will be reviewed this week and I should know something by the end of the week; so much for my resoluteness.

Speaking of which, Mama and I have been going back and forth on the issue of owning horses. She is disappointed about the lack of time we give to the horses and we were even considering taking to Wes to see if he wanted to get Jazz back. Well, Wes called yesterday to see how we were doing and to see if we were interested in getting Flashy back. Of course, Mama was delighted with the prospect. The only problem is that we are just now set up for two horses, getting a third would reintroduce the problems we were able to resolve only this weekend.

I did not get to work on the apartment at all this weekend. I was hurting too badly and there were other very pressing projects on the agenda. I spent a good portion of the day Saturday getting the horse shelter built. After about an hour working on my own, Grandpa and Mama came out to help. We will use little stalls we put together only for the winter at which time the shelter will be reconverted to house hogs, but with the rains and snow we have been getting lately, it was necessary to do something for the horses. (Grandpa does not worry about mixing horses and pigs since he believes they do not get the same diseases.) It does not look like much. It is not the vision I had as I began to put the pieces together, but it will do for now.

I also spent several hours making measurements and doing repairs in the cellar/storm shelter. I had to do a major overhaul of the outside door. It had been damaged almost beyond use by recent heavy winds. Thank the Lord for screws. They are the “velcro” of construction providing a way to make constant revisions to your work. I could not have driven a nail in any of the places I was able to repair with screws. I still have a lot to do but it will be usable soon.

Mama and I were planning on making it our little hot house but in listening to Neal Sperry – a North Texas gardening expert – that is not the most successful way to get seedlings started. His opinion is that the seedlings need full sun from the time they are sprouted, otherwise they are not strong enough to thrive in the dry windy conditions we have here. In order to do that I will need to build some hot boxes using the windows I got from my Mom and Dad. I have always wanted to have some of those anyway and according to the experts I have about a month to get it done.

I have to travel to Amarillo today for meetings tomorrow and Wednesday. Weather permitting; I will be home late Wednesday night. I am planning on seeing the chiropractor there while I am in that area. There are some recommended chiropractors here but we have not gotten around to seeing them yet. At least this is a person we have seen before and I know what to expect – especially the cost involved.

I am at the point of really needing help.

Job news, calf news, weekend projects

I spoke briefly with my boss yesterday about applying for the job in licensing and he agreed that it would be a good idea. He almost apologized for moving me over to Decatur to take the training position because of the ways things have worked out – the position is being taken away from me due to company restructuring. In his mind it is almost like doing all this under false pretenses and he regrets the way things have worked out. I do not, but there is nothing either of us can do about it.


So, yesterday I applied for one of the open positions in licensing. I am not at all sure how it will work out but I will go as far as the Lord allows in the pursuit of it. I do not think Mama and I want to relocate to Australia at this time but that is an open option at the moment. Shuttling back and forth between continents is not the most appealing idea but it would rack up the frequent flyer miles. Besides I would probably start off my apprenticeship at one of the plants being built in Louisiana which would accommodate trips to nearby Florida – following several months in Houston for indoctrination and training.

I still have to pass the interview and the physical. I am not concerned about the interview. I have been given ample opportunity to develop those skills in my current role. I am not overly anxious about the physical either, although at my age there is always room for concern. The good news is that I will still have a job here for the foreseeable future if the licensing job does not work out.

Grandpa, Grandma, Mama and I sat down for a while last night – a very rare occasion – and discussed the sale of the first lot of steers we will have ready in late February. I was finally able to track down the market information Grandpa was looking for and it seems that our plan for raising and selling the calves will work out pretty well. Now we really need a stock trailer.

Grandpa and Grandma were visited yesterday morning by the man who used to be their landlord here in Bowie. His name is John and he usually travels in the company of a fellow named Charlie. Charlie reminds Grandpa of his brother Charlie who died many years ago. Anyway, John was looking over the operation Grandpa has going with the calves and he was very impressed. He, John, has eight head of Angus heifers he keeps on the farm he has here in Bowie. All eight gave him calves but only three survived. We are sitting at about 90% survival rate (88% actual) versus his 37% survival rate. It was a real encouragement to Grandpa. We have learned some hard lessons, struggled with some disappointments and spent more than we expected, but, all in all, we will come out okay. By any measure, Grandpa has put us way ahead of the curve.

This weekend as I work on the apartment - my back willing – I have to take the time to work on the horse stalls and the cellar. I threw out the idea of converting the cellar (actually, a storm cellar or “Fradie Hole” as my last boss referred to it) into our plant nursery this winter and I get the impression that the idea was well received. We need to get the seeds in pots pretty quickly if we are going to make the spring planting – late February and early March.

It will require a good door, a heater and some grow lights. Sounds like a good weekend project, but the ones that sound easy are the ones that cost me the most money and the most time. But with my back as tender as it is I cannot see the possibility of spending too much time on the scaffolds so I will have to concentrate on ground-level work. There is still plenty to do without getting above ground-level, but it is not the type of work that shows much progress.

The really encouraging part of the plan is that I have all my tools here so I will be well equipped to tackle the projects.

Angry calves, job openings, work assignments, building

Grandpa is weaning some of the calves. I am not sure what his criterion is for the timing but I trust his judgment. As I got out of the car last night at the house, two of the calves which were not fed their usual evening bottle were bawling pretty loudly. They watched my every move as I got my things out of the car and walked toward the mobile home. When it was obvious to them that I was not headed their direction they really put the volume to their complaints. Mama was feeling sorry for them. Grandpa was telling them to get over it.


I actually got to talk to the manager of the licensing group yesterday morning. I asked about the need for relocation to Houston and was told that that was not a requirement for the job. Every candidate selected would be required to stay in Houston for three to six months to learn the process prior to deployment but each was being allowed to maintain their current home base.

I was also told that the assignments were two weeks on and two weeks off while on assignment. I am not sure if the two weeks off included a trip home or not. That will come up as I explore the job more. I have all year to get it done. I was told the job would remain open all this year as they bring people on board. I will be available in February – or earlier. I will be talking with by boss today or tomorrow.

Meanwhile I am already looking to July and August this year for project completion dates. It is a puzzle I have to work out with the offices we have scattered in the Texas panhandle and it has a hard stop date of August 31. In order to get some of the things done to make it happen, the groundwork has to be set by the end of this month. If it did not have a direct and negatively perceived impact on so many people’s lives, it would be a more interesting project.

As much as I had hoped to get some little things done every evening on the apartment, I have not been able to accomplish that. With my day starting at 5 am and getting home about twelve hours later, I have not had very much energy to work in the evening. In these winter months I have less than an hour of daylight to work after I am home and it takes about twenty minutes to get set up to do the work I need to do. With an additional twenty minutes to put away, it does not leave much time; besides it has been unpleasantly wet and cold outside.

So, everything waits until the weekend – Saturday specifically. I usually get started after the morning feeding and work most of the day. So far that has proved productive. I have gotten past most of the very difficult cutting and fitting for the roof and am moving to the less complicated parts of assembling the structure. When we get the metal for the roof it will take less than a day to attach. At that point, I will feel like I have conquered a giant. There will still be a lot of work to do, but the roof is the key to any forward progress inside the structure.

Since I hurt my back a couple of weeks ago I have not ever gotten past the pain. Some days are more tolerable than others, but the pain is always a restriction to the activity I need to be able to do. I grunt and groan a lot while I am maneuvering around the ladders and scaffolding; partly because I am getting older but mostly because I hurt as I move about – especially bending.

All in all, it is a blessing that I am going slowly because it gives me a chance to catch my mistakes before we get too far along. For example, I let a friend who is doing our rough in plumbing run the water lines for the kitchen sink right where I was planning on putting a window…oops! It is not difficult to redo since we are running PEX. It is just an example of not paying attention. Cutting in the windows will follow getting the roof installed. Most of it is part of my plan. I just have to amend it now and again because I forgot something or Mama makes another request.

I am working by myself for the most part so I am pretty pleased with the overall progress. I am still, at times, a little overwhelmed by the scope of the work yet to be done.

Back at work, the delivery, Dad’s party, my back

I have been away for over a week and it is a little unfamiliar to be back in the office. I am sure the routine will begin to exercise itself on me over the next few hours but for the moment I am trying to get my mind settled around the idea of beginning a new year and all the planning that goes along with that.


While we were off all of our stuff was delivered. I was pleased with how it fit in the old farm house – all but a few items that we had planned on putting in a shed near the apartment. I had to put several file cabinets full of tools and my big table saw on the slab to be covered with a tarp, but that was part of the plan also.

Christmas Day we got an inch of rain and over half an inch of snow. I was up the next morning scraping snow and ice off of the slab in preparation for the delivery. It was barely above freezing the next several days which was a blessing when the large delivery truck pulled up to begin unloading. With the ground saturated, it was nice that it was frozen. Otherwise, we would have had serious problems with the truck.

The old house is once again full from floor to ceiling with boxes of stuff. This time I think the quality of the items hoarded there are superior to those we discarded in cleaning out the house, but that is a matter of opinion. At least this time all of the stuff is packed and stored properly. We will see how long it takes me and Mama to go through it and inspect it. Some if it I am sure will also end up in the dumpster. For now it is safely stored.

Chase and Makaila drove over from Amarillo Saturday evening the 29th so we could travel to Chappell Hill for a birthday party for Grandpa Kline. His 88th birthday was on Monday the 31st. To our surprise Chase showed up Sunday morning with Joshua. He had bought him a ticket to fly from Houston to Dallas and had picked him up at the airport in Dallas Saturday night – after he begged an early leave from us. The two of them had gotten a hotel room in Bowie since we did not have the room to house both Chase and Makaila with Brittany and Andrew already there.

On Sunday the 30th we drove to Sarah and Fabian’s house in Rogers. The idea was to leave from there to go over to Chappell Hill. We ended up being the first ones to show up for the event. Grandma Kline asked Mama when she first saw her, “Did you bring any of the kids?” Mama answered in the affirmative. “How many?”, was Grandma Kline’s next question. Mama proudly answered, “four.” I think that was one of the best moments for both of them.

Even though the Flex is a very comfortable vehicle to travel in I am hurting from the hours we spent on the road this week. Joshua worked on my back a little when we were at Sarah and Fabian’s. He did provide me some relief, but it was short lived. That is the way things are with an injury like this. I have been unwilling to spend the money to go to the chiropractor; too many other needs at the moment.

I was doing a little better until I helped Grandpa clean out the calf stalls yesterday. It was too cold and too windy to work on the apartment but sitting around the entire day did not appeal to me either. When I saw him working I pitched in – literally. It was all done with pitchforks. Today I am hurting pretty badly.

I was able to make a lot of progress on the apartment over the time I had off. We got the plumbing run and I was able to finish up almost all of the work required to attach the rafters that will hold the metal roofing. By next Saturday, I should be completely ready to put up the metal – provided the Lord gives us a way to go and get it. There is still a great amount of work to be done, but it is coming together well so far.