Maternity updates, walks and hikes

Maggie is still keeping Walter all to herself. Mama and I think it is a little selfish of her but we know that she cannot hold out much longer. She lost her mucus plug this morning so she will go into labor pretty soon. Then she will have to share. Mama is certainly anxious to meet her new grandson.

There are several women from the church that check up on her each morning. They are all rooting for her so Mama and I are certain that there will be adequate help once the baby arrives. They have been waiting longer than Mama and I have for all practical purposes since they have been tracking Maggie’s progress on a more visual basis for longer than Mama and I have. It is kind of fun to share the experience.

The weather has been beautiful today. Early this morning Mama and I took Cathryn and went to the glacier this morning. It seemed like a good opportunity to get some sunny day pictures – and that is exactly what it turned out to be. It was very crowded at the visitor center and every walkway around it but it was still beautiful. We got pictures of the mountains, the glacier and Mama and Cathryn. We even had the opportunity to have someone take a picture of me and Mama – at several different times. It was fun.

One particular couple we talked to told us that they had come in on one of the cruise ships and had rented a car for the day versus taking the tour being offered by the cruise line. The cost of a bus ride to the glacier was $50 per person; just to ride a bus to a free National Park. He rented a car for the day for the same money. Mama and I suggested they go to the harbor so he could see the sights from that vantage point – since he had the car for the day.

When we got back from our morning out Maggie took us to a burger joint at the harbor right next to the area where Aaron works. It was almost right on the water so after we waited for our food – almost an hour – we took some pictures of the harbor. The tide was out when we took the pictures but you can only tell by the level of the docks on the huge guides that keep them in place during the changing of the tides.

Later when Aaron got home Aaron, he and  I went on a walk on the back side of Mendenhall Lake and got some panoramic pictures of the lake and glacier. The trail we were on took almost two hour to cover. It was quite steep at some places as we wound our way to the top of the small mountain to the overlook. That was the only disappointing part of the hike. The overlook was hemmed in by large trees obscuring the view that may have once been there.

It was worth the hike and the pictures we got on the way.

Church, birthdate updates, merging timetables

Church yesterday was good. It is a small church but we had four visitors and that along with Mama and me made the attendance right at thirty people. Mama and Maggie did not go to the evening service because both of them felt poorly but we had a good service anyway. The attendance was about twenty that evening. Four year old Abby – one of those little ones that had never met a stranger - picked up a Bible that was sitting on the front row and asked permission to look through it.

Once she did receive permission, she opened it to the very back of the Bible to the maps. She ambled up to the pastor’s son, Jeremy – who’s Bible it was – and put her finger on the map and asked, “Okay, where do we start.” He looked at her confused but told her that that map was not a map of Alaska so we could not start from it. She was terribly disappointed but quickly found another subject of interest.

This morning we went to Costco while Maggie went to the doctor for her appointment. The doctor stripped her membranes and told her she was 1.5 cm dilated. The baby has dropped and he could feel the head. She should be ready to go within the next 24 to 48 hours. We are all pretty excited about the news; Maggie most of all. I think Walter is feeling a little crowded in there right now.

Meanwhile, as I understand it, Cori went to the hospital this morning to get the meds to stop the contractions that started in earnest yesterday morning. She is supposedly at 32 weeks. Mama and I had planned on going south for her delivery sometime after we get back from Alaska – but the timetable seems to have advanced on us. There is no expectation that she will reach her due date with the baby seeming to have slid into position for her introduction to the family. Our guess is late July at best. A date I will not be able to make because of the time we are spending here.

Mama will probably go over ahead of Victoria and me. If I can get the time off in between the things that are happening at work I will drive over for a week but all that is up in the air at the moment. While I am out there are many things happening that I am keeping up with as best I can but at some point soon they will require my full attention. So rushing from one delivery to another in rapid succession may not work out.

Cathryn is pretty well adapted to Mama and me so caring for her should not be a problem when Maggie goes to the hospital. Maggie calls her Grammy’s little sidekick. That is pretty normal when little ones that age are around Mama.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Victoria is juggling being back at work, making it to job interviews, settling in a new housemate and caring for all the animals at the farm. Yesterday she had to don gloves to move a setting her in order to get the eggs she was determined to keep beneath her. She was in conversation with Mama throughout the ordeal. Mama could hear the chicken squawking in the background throughout the call. I thought it was pretty funny.

It is good experience for Victoria.

Timing, close encounters, needy people

Maggie and Mama are a little worried about the timing of Walter’s birth. It could very possibly extend past the time we are scheduled to be here- and that would leave Mama most upset. So I asked Maggie yesterday if she would mind us praying that the baby comes tomorrow night. Of course, she is okay with that. I fully realize we are not in control of the timing. It’s all in God’s hands. On the other hand, it never hurts to ask.

Yesterday evening Aaron and I went for a two mile walk on one of the trails at the end of their road. It roughly follows the base of the mountain so it curves along toward the national park where the glacier meets the lake. It was raining off and on so we were wearing rain gear under which I tucked Victoria’s camera in case we found something photo worthy – which we almost always do.

We took a couple side trails for very short distances but stuck to the prepared and maintained trail for the most part. I was on the lookout for wildlife and interesting plants. We saw nothing out of the ordinary on the way out but we did stop to pick wild blueberries and an interesting raspberry that they call salmon berries. The small blueberries were tart but the salmon berries were much sweeter.

When we reached an intersection of trail that would have led to the glacier we reversed course and headed home. It was shortly after that that we came across a mama bear and her cub. I pulled up the camera and the auto focus would not stuttering in and out long enough for the camera to take the picture. I barely got the focus set when the cub darted across the trail from the brush on one side to the brush on the other.

All I got in the three second encounter is a blurry image in the undergrowth. But it was pretty cool – especially since the mama showed no interest in us. We made it home without further incident but we took time to warn two young ladies who were taking the trail with their dogs about the bear in the vicinity. They wisely elected to take another trail for their evening walk.

Mama and I went out late last night so she could walk around for a while after eating too much at the Mexican restaurant where the ladies had met. It was her time to slow down and really look at the clothing in the store we had hurried through earlier that day. We did not buy anything but groceries but I am sure there were some purchases set aside mentally for future purchase.

This morning Aaron and I went out with the church group to hand out fliers for their upcoming Vacation Bible School. It was a pretty productive time. We had several interested people that the pastor will follow up with. One young single mom really lit into us for being there. I felt compelled to pray for her. Such anger is rarely generated by the person on whom it is released.

As we were finishing up she found us and apologized to us for her outburst. She is struggling with sobriety issues, being single with two kids and God know what else. I gently let her know that there are people near her that would help her – especially with her loneness. So I was able to leave a packet of information with her so she would have the number to call for the pastor’s wife.

I pray she does call. She needs it.

 

Working Maggie, Juneau

Yesterday Mama and Maggie and I went out (with Cathryn) just to get Maggie walking around in order to get the contractions started. We mostly went to Wal-Mart and Fred Myers in order to stay out of the rain but it was still good to get out. Mama and I went later in the evening to the glacier to see if any wildlife was moving about. (As usual we got some great pictures.)

All we saw was an abundance of two legged creatures though we were hoping for more hairy four legged life forms; bears, beavers, etc. The visitor center was very crowded with visitors from the cruise ships that arrive and depart daily from Juneau. When we were here last year it was at the end of the season so there were not so many people about. In fact, the shop owners were packing as we shopped. This time the seasonal retail section of the town in in full swing. Mama and I cannot wait to go join the throng.

We enjoyed the shops last time we were here. We got into some interesting conversations with the owners and employees. If you remember, we found one gentleman who lives most of the year in Victoria, TX and another shop owner who has a year round jewelry store in Dallas, TX. It is interesting to get a sense of the dynamic that brings them to Juneau for the running of the tourists that floods the town daily for the cruise season with people ready to spend a lot of money.

If I remember correctly there can be as many as four cruise ships in the harbor at one time – changing out daily. Each ship will deliver between two and three thousand passengers per vessel. There is a daily schedule maintained for the local merchants that announces the ships coming to dock and the number of passengers per ship so everyone knows the people load the town will be hosting through each day. It is very interesting but it is nothing I wish to participate in on a routing basis.

On the good side, most of the people who come on the cruises are pleasant enough. But they also tend to feel very entitled – as though everywhere they go is part of the cruise which is set up for them because they paid for the experience. We met only a few people shoving their way to the front but we differed in most cases because we did not know what schedule they were on or how hurried their visit was. Mostly it was fun just to watch and get into conversations with the travelers when a good opportunity arose. They are from all over the USA and many foreign countries.

Mama and Maggie are going to a dinner with the church ladies this evening. Aaron and I will have Cathryn for the evening but I do not anticipate the evening to be long since Maggie is almost always uncomfortable. But she has Mama with her so it should last longer than if she were going by herself. Mama enjoys the company of the ladies of this church.

I have to admit that the conversations before and after church here are far different than in any other fellowship I have been in. There is talk almost exclusively of hunting and fishing – more fishing right now since the salmon are running in the streams and rivers just south of us. We, unfortunately, may not see and salmon here in Juneau during this visit. It will happen soon after we get back home.

O, well. We will watch expectantly while we are here.

 

Updates on Alaska

Yesterday was a bit of a blur since Mama and I were still worn out from our night in the airport. I was able to get about a three hour nap while Mama and Maggie went to the doctor for her weekly appointment. When they got back home they all laid down for a nap also so we all got some rest. Mama slept a bit more than I did at the airport but not that much more. Bright lights, cycling announcements, cleaning crews at work and multitudes of milling people as the arrivals began around 4 a.m. did not make for a pleasant setting for sleep. We did sleep well last night; in a bed, in a quiet home.

Mama, Maggie, Cathryn and I went to Fred Myers after we got a bite to eat a McDonald’s yesterday morning when Maggie picked us up at the airport. It is an upscale super store with more of a focus on higher end products – both in the grocery and sundry areas of sales. Mama really likes the store because it has a mall feel to it more than a Walmart feel and the prices are just as good if not better considering the quality.

We did not go out after they got back home because we had church last night but we are in no particular rush to take in the scenery. For Mama and I the view from Maggie’s townhouse is pretty spectacular. There is a mountain into which their street dead ends. At the base the angle of rise is almost too steep to climb and less than a tenth of the way up the climb becomes nearer vertical. It is covered in green – trees, low bushes, flowering plants and almost tropical looking broadleaf plants. Blue sky above the height only adds to the picture.

Their home here is only a few miles from Mendenhall Glacier and we are able to see a portion of the glacier every time we drive toward their home. On sunny days the upper portions of the glacier are a beautiful aqua color framed in by the snow on the higher peaks and the verdant green of the lower slopes. When you get to the park the whole view is reflected in the lake blow the glacier. It is a stunning sight.

Cathryn warmed up to Mama very quickly. A few books read out load and they were best buds almost instantly. It took a few more hours for her to warm to me because I typically wear a hat and she is not a fan of headgear on men. But we overcame that pretty quickly and she was comfortable with me by the evening. I got her when she woke from her nap and she was happy to see me – until Mama came into view. Then I lost her attention pretty quickly.

This morning we will run errands and get things set up for meals for the next few days. The focus of our attention is getting things lined out for the moment when Maggie will be heading to the hospital to introduce Walter to the world. It should not be long. Her belly is hard as a rock. She is very uncomfortable, ready to get the delivery over with.

At that point Mama will really be in her element.

Travel prep

I slept very late this morning. We did not have a very late night but I took a muscle relaxer as I went to bed and those always knock me down for more than a night. Mama had already run to the feed store and eaten breakfast with Victoria before I left the bedroom. It was probably a good thing since we have to spend the night in the airport in Seattle, WA waiting on our connection to Juneau.

We did a few things around the farm and house this morning to get Victoria set up as best we could for the next two plus weeks without us; enough feed, enough food, a clean house and empty washer and dryer. On Thursday this week Brianna will move into the house with her and probably stay there until Grandma and Grandpa return – whenever that is. She is currently homeless waiting on her pending nuptials. It worked out well for her and Victoria to have her at the house in our absence.

Pastor Horton got us to the airport in plenty of time and we breezed through security as though we were in the airport in Amarillo. Of course, it was almost 6 pm. We were hoping that meant that the flight was not full. Boy, were we wrong. It was a completely full flight so they started boarding almost forty five minutes before the scheduled departure time.

We ended up sharing the row with a very interesting gentleman. His name is Joseph Castleberry. It did not take but a few snippets of conversation to know that he was a believer. He is the president of a college in Seattle – one I have never heard of – but prior to coming to that position he was a missionary in Ecuador and El Salvador for over twenty years. When Mama mentioned that I speak Spanish he began using the language in conversation. Having had to use it to translate to Daniella while she was with us made it easier than it would have ordinarily been to converse with him.

He was reading a book on his laptop and suggested that Mama and I would like a paragraph he had just read. He read the paragraph out loud to us and we asked who the author was. It was his work he had read to us; a work on the idea that the current immigrant influx into the US will eventually lead to a revival of faith. In his current position he tries to write a book per year. I have not read any of his work but I will probably get this one. As a gift he gave me a promotional publication from the Spanish version of the upcoming book. It is quite well written. It was a surprising pleasure to share the time with him.

Mama and I will catch our flight out sometime after 5 a.m. We are not sure where we will have to be to make the connection but we are at least at the correct airport. According to the staff here we will not know the gate to be at until about the time we need to be there. The information has not been made available yet.

So we wait through the night; uncomfortable and weary, but in pretty good spirits.

Weekend highlights

What a delightful weekend. Mama and I picked up Alfredo and his wife Daniella at the airport Friday morning. They spent the weekend with us and we had a great time with the two of them. Mama got to show Daniella pictures from Alfredo’s time with us twenty years ago. Many of those moments had been forgotten by all of us. That is the value of pictures, though they may only capture a moment in time it is often enough to be able to recall that moment – and much more. Such were the many memories we got to relive this weekend.

Alfredo found my much neglected guitar and played it every evening he was with us. We sang together and Daniella posted one of the videos of the two of us to her Facebook page almost immediately after the song was done. Alfredo told me late that evening that I was now very famous in Brazil. People were asking who this professional singer was and where could they get his albums? Right!

Poor Daniella was a little overwhelmed because she does not understand much English. Alfredo was the only other Portuguese speaker present and he was all too often engaged in very animated conversation with Mama. He divided his time well to keep her in the conversations and as the hours together accumulated she began to pick up more and more of the conversation without translation.

They went to both church services with us yesterday and enjoyed them thoroughly. Alfredo translated to Daniella throughout. No one seemed to mind. They both enjoyed the services because they are very different from the Catholic services they normally attend. Between services we brought Alfredo to the church to get in on the picking the men do almost every Sunday afternoon. He had a great time strumming along with the group. Many good, new memories.

Victoria drove back home on Saturday. Other than being held up in traffic at one point for a couple hours the trip went well for her. My truck is a hair covered mess after she traveled with Kira the entire round trip but other than that is was a good time away for her. She has an interview at Decatur ISD this morning for a bus driver position. Please pray for that.

Brittany and Andrew flew out to England on Thursday. Mama and Brittany had to meet Andrew at the place that was shipping their car to the UK and then get them and the bags to the terminal in time for the flight. It all worked out and we got a note from Brittany the next morning that they had arrived safely – even Lucy. That very afternoon they were able to get their housing arranged and it looks like a very nice house – one they had been praying for for several weeks.

Brittany was able to call Mama this morning and give her some updates. She and Andrew are very excited. They will be traveling to Scotland this weekend to visit a friend from the Air Force Academy who has been living in Scotland for more than a year. I am sure they will enjoy many such weekend excursions in the Mother Land and Europe in the years to come.

Mama takes Alfredo and Daniella to the airport this morning. They will fly to Miami and catch a direct flight back to Brazil. It will be a very sad goodbye.

Flooding, departures and arrivals

The remnants of Tropical Storm Bill reached us yesterday morning – at least, the rain did. It started raining just after I got to the office yesterday and continued to rain until after 6 pm. At times the rain was very heavy and water accumulated to the point that we had to let some people go home early because the roads they needed to pass through to get home were already flooding.

Seeing that there was going to be no letting up of the rain I arranged to get the belt on the van replaced as soon as the shops opened. I was at a shop by 9 a.m. and out by 9:45 a.m. That turned out to be a very wise move since the entire road we live on had twelve to fourteen inches of water on it when I headed home. I would never have made it without the new belt on the engine.

All the roads around us were flooded. The one nearest ours had at least four feet of water on it and the road to Victoria’s house had more than a foot of water covering it where it joins 1810. All this had Brittany and Andrew a little worried – me and Mama also. But by about 7 pm the rain slowed to the point that Andrew was able to do some last minute cleaning of the car they will ship out today and our patio, which floods with each rain, began to clear. By the time we all went out this morning all the flooding had receded off of the roads and all the closures had been lifted.

Brittany and Andrew left for the airport with Lucy at the same time I was getting up because Lucy had to be at the staging area for her flight by 6:30 this morning. On the way back to Chico they will stop by and pick up the van so it can be loaded with their luggage. It will not be too much later that they will head to the freight yard to drop off the car and then on to the airport to head to England. It has been a whirlwind week; for them and for Mama.

For me and Mama it is just beginning since tomorrow morning we head to the airport to pick up Alfredo and his wife. They arrived in Miami on Monday for business Alfredo had there. He called Mama as soon as he could activate his US phone. They will be with us for the weekend, flying back out to Brazil on Monday morning. It will be a long, fun weekend for all of us. I am taking tomorrow off to try and extend that time a little.

Victoria will be back Saturday evening –driving home from Florida where she has been staying with Cori and Nate and the kids. Monday morning, while Mama is taking Alfredo to the airport she will be at an interview with the Decatur ISD Transportation Department. She applied for a job as a bus driver and this interview will be for that position. I believe it is something she really wants so please be praying for that.

The following day, Tuesday evening, Mama and I will be dropped off at the airport to head out to Juneau so we can spend some time with Maggie, Aaron and Cathryn before and after the Walter comes. We will be there over the 4^th of July so we get to celebrate that with our Alaska brood.

Maggie and Aaron have some fun activities planned for our time there but mostly it will be nice to slow down for a few days.

Travel, rain car issues

Tonight is the Brittany and Andrew’s last night in the United States for the rest of this year. If all goes well they will board a plane bound for England tomorrow evening. I believe Andrew is stationed there for three years. That should give them enough time to see most of Europe as well as visit many places in the UK. We are praying that it is a very enjoyable time for them – at least, that they make the most of the opportunity before them.

We were very blessed in the delay of the heavy rain so far. It gave Brittany and Andrew the time to get to Wichita Falls and get Lucy (their Chiweenie dog) certified for the journey. That’s what we hope. Brittany should hear today from the man meeting them in London whether or not they have met all the paperwork requirements for her entry into the country. It is more trouble and expense than I would have ever gone through but that is the only way to keep Lucy with them.

They are feverishly packing today. Brittany bought two large suitcases the other day to augment their traveling storage space. They are bigger suitcases than I have ever bought because I know Mama. The bigger the suitcase the more she will stuff into it until it becomes too heavy to lift. When we were younger it was not much of an issue but now it is something I have to consider even more.

Beside travel is not about taking every article of clothing you own – except if you are doing what Brittany and Andrew are now doing. When we traveled it was always with the clear intent of coming back home after the time was spent away so I bought smaller suitcases so all of the children and Mama would have to choose what to take – sufficient but not excessive.

This time our two travelers will have to take everything with them. They will not be returning for several years. Maybe that is why I could not lift one of the suitcases Brittany has already packed. Fortunately the suitcase has rollers so it will not have to be lifted very often after we pack it into the car. Hopefully the rain will let up so we can get the car packed this evening.

I am down to one vehicle right now - the Uplander - and it is giving me a little problem at the moment. The belt slips when I drive through any standing water; which causes me to lose power steering momentarily. As you might be able to imagine, there has been a good bit of standing water over the past few weeks. With it as my only source of transportation it has been difficult to get time to have the work done to replace the belt – which will not take long.

But I am at the point that I need to figure out how to get the repair done today. In all likelihood Mama will need to take me to work tomorrow so she can carry the excess baggage to the airport for Brittany and Andrew. I do not want her to have to deal with the power steering issue as she navigates DFW traffic.

That is my challenge for the day.

DFW run, storms brewing, trip prep items

Mama met Brittany and Andrew at the airport yesterday morning and had them home before I was out of my morning meetings. They were both worn out from their extended time at Disney World – poor babies. They slept most the afternoon. They really did have a good time and a good goodbye visit with Andrew’s immediate family. It was a good way to get that closure.

Today they have to take Lucy to Wichita Falls for her exam by an Air Force approved vet so they can get the proper paperwork to fly her to England with them. As I understand it, Lucy will be taken to DFW early Thursday morning and will catch an earlier flight than Brittany and Andrew. They have someone in London on standby to receive Lucy once she lands and that person will not only reunite them with their dog-child but will take them to the hotel where they will be staying while they look for a house. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

The tropical storm churning in the Gulf threatens Houston with flooding as bad as or worse than the flooding they are only now starting to recover from. For us, it could mean several inches of rain in the next two or three days but we will not see the intensity of storms that they will see south of us. However, in anticipation if heavy rains I got on the tractor last night and completed filling the hole in the patio.

It was nearly full of dirt so I only needed to add a little more but I made two trips down our county road to a pile of gravel that had been washed up by past heavy rains and was able to quickly get two tractor buckets full of gravel to put on top of the dirt. Otherwise we would have had a muddy mess as the water flooded the hole carrying the silt onto the patio. Mama did not want that because it makes it doubly difficult to keep the dogs clean as they come and go from the back yard.

With the forecast of heavy rain coming up from the Gulf of Mexico we decided to make a run to Denton last night. Mama needed to go to Sam’s and Brittany and Andrew needed to go to TJ Max to look at luggage. Mama has been after me to buy new luggage but I have stalled because it galls me to pay for new luggage only to have it scuffed and torn on its very first use. But Brittany did buy two large pieces of luggage and will leave her discarded ones with me and Mama to use for our flight to Alaska.

While we were at Sam’s Brittany and Andrew found a Cannon T1 for a very good price. With the trip they are making such a purchase makes good sense. It was more money than I was willing to spend for something less than what I really wanted but Mama and I need a camera right now also. The one we gave Cori is now defunct and Victoria’s camera is on the fritz. So after we got our necessary shopping done we looked at cameras.

We found one that will work very well for Mama for about $250. We will both use it but I have my eye set on something more advanced for purchase sometime in the future; potentially way in the future. Mama and Brittany will be playing with the cameras as Brittany packs today. They are not leaving for England until Thursday morning but it will take that long to make sure they have everything properly arranged for the journey.

Mama and I will probably pack just before we leave next Tuesday. Heaven knows we will be very busy until them.

Victoria’s car, Danny’s fall,

I left work early Friday to help Mama get Victoria’s car back to the mechanic. Even though he had replaced the part we all believed to be the one causing us trouble the problem repeated itself as Mama drove the car that morning. He has an idea what to do next and I hope he can make the final repairs, but we will have to wait and see.

While we were out that way we decided to go look at the old farm in Bowie. We were very surprised when we got there. The mobile home was gone. We knew it had been sold. What caught our attention was that the shop roof was missing some pieces of metal. It looked like a storm had blown through and caused a good bit of damage. Since there was a ladder set up I used it to look at the roof.

Several sheets of metal roofing were completely gone and several more were damaged but one in particular alarmed me. Just past the laundry room a sheet of roofing was caved into the shop; as if someone had fallen through. I called Danny Benson and found out that is exactly what happened.

While he and a friend were making repairs he stepped wrong and fell through the roof onto the concrete floor of the shop- about twenty feet below. He was very lucky (blessed) in that he ended up with a broken arm and nothing more. He told me he remembered being on the roof but he does not remember the fall – only that he woke in the hospital. He did hit his head but there was no evidence of a concussion. Praise the Lord!

He’s quite a guy. In all this he is praising the Lord for the good friends that checked up on him when they did not see him at the farm, for the obvious protection he had from the Lord in the fall, and for the time he has now to spend with his daughter. He will heal quickly and be back at work too soon for his liking. God is good.

After we got home Friday afternoon I took apart a portion of fence so I could get the tractor into the yard. Once I had the tractor in place I moved the mound of dirt that had been taken out of the hole in the patio for our koi pond back into the hole to fill it back in. With the gooey mud I discovered I the bottom of the hole I knew it would not support the water required to fill it and make it my koi pond. Oh, well. The yard looks completely different without the dirt mountain there.

Even though I moved all of the pile back into the hole it was not enough to fill the hole completely. I will have to move more dirt from another mound that was left for us to get the hole filled to the level I need. Then I will put gravel on top of the dirt to prepare for concrete – at some point. The koi pond will reside somewhere else.

When I got to the office this morning there was more activity than normal. I did not know we had visitors this morning. That is not a problem but the man who was supposed to let them in the building locked himself out when he went back to his car for a second load of equipment. He met me at the door this morning to get back in.

Once in the office another of my fellow office mates sought me out to unlock a door for him so he could find a spare key to his office door. He had left the house without his set of keys.

It’s a good thing I did not take today off.

Vehicles, abandoning the koi pond, the week ahead

Mama and I went to Bowie to pick up Victoria’s car from the mechanic and were there for over an hour. After I paid the bill and we were driving off the same alarm that has been pestering us showed up and Mama turned around to take the car back to Roger. The car was operating properly but the alarm was illuminated.

He had to set up the computer diagnostic machine to evaluate the car and that took a good bit of time. Once all the alarms were cleared and the codes reset we headed home. All seemed to go well because I had a hard time balancing keeping up with Mama and obeying the speed limits at the same time. Mama now has her transportation back – watch her go.

Since it has been dry for about ten days I got into the hole we are calling the koi pond and dug around a bit to see if I could deepen it so we can move ahead with the project. As I stood in the hole I noticed that the ground was still very soft – sort of gooey. I sank into the clay – which looked crusty from above - and did not like what is was seeing so I began to dig in the soft parts. The smell was pretty awful and it kept getting wetter and wetter. I did not waste too much time or effort after I discovered that the soggy clay would never be able to support a koi pond.

With that project abandoned I need to get the tractor into the back yard to put the mound of dirt originally dug from the hole in the patio back into that hole to refill it. The problem is that the garden shed took away that passage through the fence for the tractor so now I have to make a new one. It should not be a problem but it will require a bit of work.

With that in mind I worked a gate very near the garden shed that has been wired shut since we bought the place- and appears to have been in that state for many years. It will give us a passage to the garden without having to go around the front of the well house. I was also able to get a gate from the garden shed into the garden by rearranging the panels we had there. I will complete that work tonight and hopefully fill the hole on Saturday.

Next week is the busy week. Brittany and Andrew will be coming back from Florida on Monday and leaving for England on Thursday. They will have to make two trips to DFW for that; once to drop off Lucy for her transatlantic flight and once to make their flight. We may have to take the van and follow them for their departure because their car may not be able to accommodate all their luggage. Their car will also be shipped to the UK. I do not know how those arrangements are handled but Brittany has it covered.

On Friday Alfredo and his wife will be coming into DFW. We will pick them up some time before 10 a.m. They are staying the weekend, leaving Monday morning the following week. Tuesday morning Mama and I will get dropped off at DFW for our flight to Juneau; actually, not quite to Juneau. We will have to spend the night in the airport in Seattle and make the 6 a.m. connection to Juneau on Wednesday morning.

But why worry over it. That’s still nine days away.

 

 

Travel, reviews with a forward look, home

I got to spend Tuesday and Wednesday traveling through the panhandle of Texas. It is time for mid-year reviews and those are always best done face to face. I have tried to be as honest as possible with the ladies in my group as we have reviewed their goals. It will probably not be me giving them their end of year review. That could either be because I have been laid off or because I have gotten the Licensing job. Either way we needed to take a different approach to the process so they could prepare for someone else to finalize it with them. They all took the news well. What can we do but wait in the Lord?

I have to be careful how I word things so that I do not create a problem in the rumor mill but at the same time I do not want to hide what I believe I see on the near horizon so that my staff are as prepared as possible for the coming changes. Being as clear as possible has its own challenges because the hearer is always the determiner of the message.

For instance, Bubby and John were hunting one day and John started having serious breathing issues. In a panic, Bubby called 9-1-1 and explained to the dispatcher that he did not think John was breathing. The dispatcher calmly instructed John to listen carefully to her instructions. “First”, she said. “We need to make sure that John is dead.” After a momentary pause interrupted by a rifle shot, Bubba came back on the phone and said, “Okay, now what?” 

I had planned to stay in the panhandle through this morning and drive back home today but I got finished early and headed out yesterday afternoon instead. I got back home about 7:15. Mama and I had prearranged to meet me at the office so I could return the truck without her having to make the afternoon trip pick me up at work. I was too late for church but meeting after she got out of church seemed to be a good plan.

What I had not counted on was that our friend Lee Davis was preaching in the pastor’s absence – he and the group of volunteers are still in Nazlini, AZ helping in Vacation Bible School. Lee is not a short topic preacher. He tends to go over what is considered the “normal” preaching time. I had expected to get picked up at about 8:15. It was closer to 8:40 when Mama pulled into the parking lot.

 This evening we are going to pick up Victoria’s car from the mechanic. He is confident that what he has done will take care of the problem that has been pestering us for several months. So with Victoria’s car back on the road and Brittany and Andrew‘s car parked at the house Mama will have her choice of vehicles to travel around in. The truck is still in Florida with Victoria and we miss having it at the farm.

For instance, when I was unloading the water bottles I had bought at Texas Tea in Amarillo, I noticed there were two large bags of trash sitting in the garage. They were pretty ripe so I can sympathize with Mama’s reluctance to put them in the Uplander to get them to the dump. It would have taken a day or so to get the smell out of the vehicle. So I took them to work with me as I drove the truck back to the office.

It’s the small things.

Dog woes, building in the heat, shopping, trips to DFW

When I got home yesterday I was glad Mama was not home. I got very upset with the dogs because of their continual digging trough after trough across the front yard, in the flowerbeds, beside the driveway; everywhere they take a fancy – but rarely in the same spot twice. Our sidewalks are filled with dirt slung onto them daily by the constant digging. The flowerbeds are unusable for flowers or plants even though I placed stones – large ones – in them to try to make them unavailable to the dogs.

 The place is a mess and the only response to the irritation I express is, “Well, Honey, they’re just hot.” Pretty soon they are going to be just dead. I do not know why I take such annoyance to it but I do. So it was good that I had exercised my frustration working on the garden shed for about an hour before Mama go there. I would have hated to something sharp to her because I was angry. By the time she got home I was a sweaty, much less frustrated, somewhat agreeable mess.

Working in the hundred degree heat was possibly not the smartest way to exercise and expunge my frustration but it got the job done. It put me pretty far ahead on the project by the time I finally quit. The most difficult part was getting the 4x4s in the ground. That required a heavy crowbar to break and remove the rock that hindered me on all three holes I needed to dig. I can at least be reasonably certain the posts will not be easily moved.

Mama, Brittany and Andrew spent the day shopping yesterday. It wore out Andrew and Mama – both of whom collapsed when they got home - but I think Brittany could have kept going. They came home with relatively little for the time spent but I believe they were all satisfied with the excursion.

I know Mama got a pair of shoes in the purchases. Not the ones she has been telling me she needs to wear around the house to support her feet better than flip-flops. She got a “badly needed” pair of dress shoes – I can’t remember why she needed this pair – because they were buy one get one half off and she was buying a pair for Brittany for her birthday, which she will be spending in Paris. Poor Brittany!

Brittany, Andrew and Mama mustered the strength to look at the garden before the evening wore away. They were able to pick, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes and peppers during their inspection. This is the first garden we have ever had that Mama enjoyed showing off. That makes it even more fun for me.

Later today – around 5 pm - Mama will be taking them to the airport. This will be the first of six trips to DFW this month for Mama; three times for Brittany and Andrew, twice for Alfredo when he flies in to visit us for the weekend of Father’s Day and once for me and Mama to get to the airport to fly to Juneau. We will rack up the miles, the tolls and the parking fees this month. I am not sure the other times of day we will be required to make the trip but tonight will be one of the most frustrating due to the rush hour traffic.

You know how Mama loves that.

Brittany and Andrew, farm news

Friday evening while we were at RU Brittany and Andrew made it to the house. They are making their way to Mildenhall Airforce Base in England but before that Andrew’s family is taking them to Disney Land for a going away party. Mama and I are not planning any such a party for them so I really hope they enjoy the park thoroughly.

Saturday we went to Trade Days in the morning but we did not stay very long. It was almost ninety degrees by 10 a.m. and the humidity has remained very high for the past several days. As things begin to dry out I expect that to go away but for now it is pretty uncomfortable. We did not spend much money but rather used the time to visit with friends we always see there.

When we got back home I started working on the area where we will build a garden shed while Mama and the kids slept. I got the tractor and moved more of the washed out gravel from our road onto the little plot for the shed. It will be helpful to have the space for our gas implements. That way I can get them out of the well house and begin using it as a cellar. We need a cool dark place to store our canned goods and our other harvested vegetables.

So far we have potatoes on one rack in the well house. What we dug last week covers three shelves on a wire shelving unit. It is not a lot, but it will be fun to eat our own produce. Depending on how we do storing this crop we will look at making a bigger garden next year. In spite of the almost thirty inches of rain we had last month I will have to water the garden this weekend, if not before.

Daisy and Dash were moved Saturday morning. Wayne Berg showed up, as he promised, at 8 a.m. and backed his trailer up to the loading chute. He was parked in position by the time I got out to the barn. I had already penned up the cow and calf so it was only a matter of herding them into the chute. The pair of them walked into the chute and hopped into the trailer, with very little prodding, as if we had trained them to do so. It took all of five minutes.

By the time Mama got out there to say goodbye to Daisy, Wayne was ready to crank up the truck and pull away. Now, every time we drive past the barn lot Mama laments her missing cow and calf. If the Lord will bless, we should have a calf on the way for next spring. And if Mama will allow, we will have a little bull ready to sell by the time he comes back to the farm with his mama – if Mama will let him go.

Mama, Brittany and Andrew are going to the outlet malls today. Brittany needs some special cloths for her excursion to Disney – and a pair of new shoes. Mama just likes to shop but I am sure there will be a new pair of shoes that will catch her eye. She keeps talking about needing a specific pair of sandals to wear around the house and so far we have not found them. Maybe today is her lucky day.

I will be traveling for the next couple days and Brittany and Andrew will be headed to the airport tomorrow morning. This is becoming a very busy month for Mama.

Garden work, Mama’s business, Victoria

Last night, after five days without rain, the ground had finally dried out enough that we could get in the garden and work. Mama has been worried over the potatoes for a couple weeks now so last night we dug them up. Her concerns were justified. We had some rotten ones among the lot but overall we got a pretty good crop. Much longer in the moist ground and we would have lost them all.

We put out five short rows and they looked very good until a week ago when the plants started to die off quickly. But, like I said, it had been way too wet to get into the garden to dig them up. We ended up getting about twenty pounds of potatoes per row. So, even with a few rotten ones, which had a very sickening odor and snotty consistency - Mama and Victoria thoroughly enjoyed that part -we did pretty well. By next week we will have to water the remaining vegetable plants.

Our neighbor got tied up last night so he did not get the chance to come to get Daisy and Dash. He left us a message that he will be over on Saturday morning to get the pair and put them with his herd for a couple months. He cuts hay as a side business and with the dry weather we are having he is going to be very busy for the next several weeks. Hopefully, his bull will too.

Mama has started quite a business selling eggs. There are five or six very regular customers at work and the Chinese restaurant we have occasionally gone to will buy all that we can bring them. At first they fed them only to their toddler but now, they tell us, there are enough that everyone in the family can eat them. They are quite fond of them. As for the people at work that we sell them to, there is sometimes a friendly quarrel over who gets the available eggs when I bring them to sell.

Mama was very excited the other evening when I took her to buy feed for the chickens and pig. She told the lady that runs the feed store (a friend from church) that she was using her egg money to make the purchase. Both of them let out a celebratory cheer. Of the $47 needed she was only $.85 short. Not bad at all.

Mama and Victoria were in town yesterday to get the camera from Danny and to print the photos they will need to make a collage for Danny as a thank you. On the way home Victoria’s car had the same malfunction that we thought we might have fixed. So it will go back to the shop for a real repair. That will preclude her taking it to Florida this weekend.

That being said, Mama and I have to make the decision to loan her the truck to make the trip. At first I was opposed to the idea. The truck is almost essential to us for use on the farm, but I hate to deny Victoria the trip she exercised so much effort in setting up. So Mama and I will do without it for a couple weeks. It only serves to add to the stress of a single woman making such a trip – in my only truck, Mama’s favorite vehicle, her mechanical pal.

We will pray and trust the Lord. It all belongs to Him.

Travel, friends, little extras

Mama had to meet Brittany and Andrew in Wichita Falls yesterday to get some big luggage pieces from then. With the move now a sure thing – Andrew having completed his last tests – they are living out of suitcases. Those that they have packed were too bulky to fit in only one trip into the car they are driving. So they met Mama to give her the overage. They will bring the rest, along with Lucy, today when they come.

They will have to make two trips to the airport as well. One to drop Lucy off so she can be prepped for the flight to England and one to get themselves to the airport so they will be there to get Lucy when they arrive. Fortunately Brittany has been to England before so the culture shock will be minimized somewhat but they will still have to navigate the difficulties of getting their dog-child and their vehicle after they arrive. That should be loads of fun for a couple of Yanks fresh off the plane.

While they are packing to come to the farm, Victoria is packing to leave. She got home too late to go to church with us but when we got home she was at the table making a list to follow as she plans for the trip ahead. It should not be a difficult trip for her because we have made it numerous times in the recent past. However, it is still a little worrisome to Mama and me to have her traveling so far by herself.

Add that to the fact that I will be traveling for work next week and you have a very worried Mama. I will only be gone Tuesday through Thursday but Mama is not looking forward to being in the house by herself. It may a portent of times to come if I get the Licensing job; which will keep me out of the house for a couple weeks at a time. We’ll figure that out as we go.

Today, while Victoria is off she and Mama are going to get some pictures from our trail riding trip printed to make a collage for Danny Benson. He paid for the house we stayed in for the weekend there on the ranch and provided horses for us to ride. I know he is not expecting anything in return but since we have the pictures and he had asked for copies, it seems an appropriate gesture.

The only caveat is that he will have to meet Mama and Victoria in Decatur – or somewhere nearby – to give Victoria her camera. She left it at the ranch house when we left. If not for Kelli searching the house for misplaced items I do not know if we would have discovered the loss until too late. The truck was packed so full when we left the house and traveled to the restaurant for dinner that we could not have noticed is anything was missing. Fortunately, we live close to the friends we shared the weekend with.

This morning as I left the house the birds were especially vocal. The dogs were barking idly into the noise and the donkeys in the neighboring pasture were braying along with the cacophony. It made for an interesting backdrop to the coming dawn. It was no less so when I got to work. In fact one of the coworkers that usually arrives about the same time I do each day told me he paused at the door to take it all in.

It’s one of God’s little extras.

Busy June schedule

If their schedule holds true, Brittany and Andrew should be in tomorrow. They are vacating Altus, OK and packing to relocate to England. They have several things to do before then but that is the overarching goal. They will be with us on and off until the middle of the month – about the same time Alfredo and his wife come for a visit. It is going to be a busy month for me and Mama.

Meanwhile, Victoria is planning to leave for Pace, Florida this weekend. She has gotten a leave of absence from Walmart and will be staying with Cori, Nate and the kids to help Cori through the next couple of weeks. I have not heard how long she plans to stay but Mama is quite jealous. Mama hopes Victoria will bring the grandkids back with her so she can have them for a week or so when Cori is in the final weeks of her pregnancy.

Speaking of pregnancies, Maggie is doing fine in her second pregnancy. Mama and I will be heading that direction at the end of the month to be with her and Aaron and Cathryn when Walter is born. Mama planned more days there than I would have originally liked but that is how her mind works. Not that I do not want to be with Maggie and Aaron and the children. I just hate to come back to work after being gone that long and try to catch up with everything. To my way of thinking, ten days would have been better than the seventeen she has set up for the trip. We will enjoy it none the less. It will just give us more time to explore Juneau and the surrounding area.

Alfredo will only be here for the weekend of Father’s Day. He made the travel arrangements to fit in with a business trip he was required to make for the company he manages so it will be quite brief. Joshua is traveling up to join in the reunion so we should have a great time together. Joshua will have to leave Sunday afternoon due to his work schedule. We will take Alfredo and his wife to the airport Monday morning and have to return to the same airport the next morning to fly to Alaska. All in all, we will make five trips to the airport this month.

In light of all the extra attention the house and farm will get this month, Mama and I are working to get things set up at the farm and in the home to prepare for both the arrival of visitors and our departure following the visit. It has quickly become a very full month. Adding to the hectic schedule is the travel I have to do for my work. It will all work out but we are scrambling right now.

On the bright side, our barn will be empty in our absence since Daisy and Dash will be in the pasture next door. Still, Victoria will have all the dogs, the chickens and the pigs to tend to in Mama’s absence. We were hoping Grandma and Grandpa would be back this month but it does not look like they are planning on returning until the middle of July – depending on how many “good” jobs Norman lines up.

Grandma says this will be the last time they make this trip but that remains to be seen.

Garden news, chicken cleaning, good friends

While we were on the Polk Ranch over the weekend the owner asked me if I would like some garlic. There was patch in the front year of the old ranch house that she wanted to get rid of but did not necessarily want to throw out. Her husband dug them up Saturday morning as we were out for our ride so I packed them in the bed of the truck and hauled then back to Chico.

I planted them in the garden yesterday evening as Mama and I were straightening up around the house and in the back yard. There were more than I had anticipated. All in all, there were about twenty bulbs. If Mama and I are careful we should have garlic for our personal use for many years to come.

Speaking of the garden, Mama and I will have to dig potatoes this week. The plants are dying above ground so we know they are finished below ground. The last time we dug just two hills we ended up with enough potatoes for a couple meals. I do not know how many pounds of potatoes we will get out of the five rows we will dig this week – but it could be more than we are prepared for.

Mama will also have to pick strawberries in the next couple days. We put out thirty plants and now have about seventy five. If the weather holds for a few weeks we should be able to make our own strawberry freezer jam with the strawberries from our own garden. That’s exciting! I will get to pick figs shortly after we get back from Alaska – probably enough for a couple jars of preserves. That’s exciting too!

Mama and I took time last night to dust the chickens. We found mites on one bird so we treated the whole flock. We got a pretty good dusting ourselves as we tried to put the Seven Dust on each of the birds. I believe we mostly succeeded but next time we will wait until after dark when the birds have settled on the roost. They may be less prone to fight us at that time.

As Mama and out were out working in the yard our neighbor to the south stopped by. He had invited us to put Daisy and Dash with his cattle so Daisy could get bred by his bull. We were going to let down a patch of fence so she could mingle but he told us that he has the cattle on a second separate pasture right now.

In order to get her to the herd he is going to come to our barn and load her and Dash up in his stock trailer and take her to the pasture where he is keeping the bull. That is a kindness way beyond what we would have expected – or would have ever thought to ask. The Lord has given us very good neighbors here in Chico. That should happen Thursday night.

Mama and Victoria are going to pick up Victoria’s car today. It has been at the mechanic in Bowie. He found the problem she was having and corrected it in the most economical way he could find. We now know the root problem and can quickly address it if the same issues develop again. That’s a good thing since Victoria is heading to Florida to stay with Cori as she struggles with issues with her pregnancy.

Victoria got a leave of absence from work so she could get the time off. It will do both sisters good to have that time together.

Trail ride

Mama, Victoria and I thoroughly enjoyed this past weekend. We traveled to Quitaque, TX  which sits at the southern edge of Caprock Canyons. There is a ranch house on the Polk Ranch about five miles outside of the town that is rented out to trail riders with access to the 7,000 acres of the park as well as the 2,500 privately owned acres of the ranch.

We traveled in caravan with Danny Benson and a couple from Decatur who run a horse training facility just a few miles south of town, Ben and Kelly. Each trailer had three horses and all the tack to outfit them and at least two more. There was not much time wasted after we got to the ranch. We unloaded, got the horses ready for a ride and headed out into the juniper trees. The weather was beautiful. The mosquitos were horrible.

Ben gave me and Mama some pointers along the way and I think I picked up more information on proper handling of a horse on that one ride than ever before in my life. We headed into the creek that runs across the property through a small canyon – enjoying ourselves thoroughly in spite of the mosquitos – when Mama’s horse decided to lay down on her. The horse realized his mistake and quickly got up on all fours but not before he spilled Mama off.

Mama was able to get off while the horse was down and did not suffer any harm but it provided an awkward moment for all of us – especially Danny who owns the horse. The fact that the horse chose a soft sandbar for his attempt to roll was a blessing for Mama. The horse had been chosen for Mama because he was felt completely trustworthy for the ride. Danny was embarrassed and apologetic for the remainder of the time we were there. But is goes to show that there is no perfect horse. They can be unpredictable even if what they do is without malice.

Mama had to walk for a few minutes to calm her nerves but we found a spot for her to remount and continue the ride. One of the challenges us newbies faced was that all of the horses we were riding were very tall. Mama, Victoria and I were all too short or too stiff to remount without a small step to give us a leg up. Every time a hat blew off or Victoria dropped her lens cap someone else had to dismount to pick it up. All of the riders were very gracious about it.

Saturday mornings ride was plagued by mosquitos. The horses were suffering terribly from the pests even though we sprayed them with a strong repellent before we left the corral. Danny took Mama, Victoria and I back to the farmhouse early because he felt bad for the horses. Even at that, we were out for a little over two hours. Since we were a little saddle sore from the ride the day before none of us complained.

After a late dinner Saturday evening we headed home. It was a good trip. Good fellowship. Good food. Great horses. Beautiful scenery. New friendships with solid believers. Lots of pictures and even more very good memories.