A worthwhile trip, weekend plans

It was good to get home last night. I got to the farm a little after 7 pm having driven from Perryton, TX – about an hour north of Borger. I drove a little over 780 miles on this trip but all the visits I made and all the reviews I had with my staff were very productive. I have my own review today as well as the remaining two members of my staff to review, and then I will be done for the year; at least with that task.

I was able to go to the church in Dumas that Mama and I had gone to several months ago. At least a couple of the people there remembered me from the last time and everyone that did remember me asked about Mama. It is good to have a second church to go to when we are on the road. They too are gearing up for the coming holiday season.

They are doing something they call a Turkey Trot 100. The church buys one hundred turkeys to be given out to families in the community. It is up to the church members to suggest the families who will receive those turkeys. The focus is as much on encouraging a family as it is on meeting a physical need so any family, whether they are in need or not, can get a turkey from the church. I thought it was a great idea.

I asked Mama and Victoria what they had done in the apartment while I was gone. Both of them were a little slow to answer; not a good sign. Mama blamed her lack of activity on the books Victoria had found for her to read – so her evenings were too full to get anything done. Victoria took offence but did not offer her own excuse on her lack of effort. It was another very clear reminder of just why this is going so slowly.

This weekend I will concentrate on getting some winterization things done at the farm. There is a sizable list of items but through this weekend and next week I think I can get most of them done. I too, will not give much time to the apartment this week but even when I do not give it my full attention, I will still clean up the floors and get the cabinets finally set.

I was very disappointed last week when I tried to put the doors on the cabinet we bought for the sink. The cabinet and sink are from IKEA and the hinges to mount the doors require a specific type of screw. I could not find those screws; hence, I could not mount the doors. I did not exhaust myself looking because in the midst of so many little projects it is impossible to tell just where they had been placed while waiting on the drain lines for the sink to be done.

Lee Davis, the plumber who goes to church with us, was able to get the drain line done in about fifteen minutes. I had worked on it about three hours one evening before I gave up. He produced one part that I did not have in the basket of parts I had been using to accomplish the same task. All the leftover parts will be added to the accumulation of parts I have already accumulated; for future plumbing jobs.

On a farm, you can never tell when you might need them.