Trace and the truck, weather changes, coaching

While we were in Kansas we left the truck for Trace and Krystal to use. They had a better weekend with it this time. We dropped it off to him on Thursday evening since we were leaving Friday afternoon. I am not sure what they used it for over the weekend, but I know they have been without a vehicle, so I expect there was some catching up to do with all the little things we take for granted when they are merely an inconvenience; grocery store runs, for example. We had not made any plans to get the truck back, but I was going to need it Monday morning. Perhaps in anticipation of the question, Trace called while we were on the drive home – about three hours out. We all agreed that it would be good if they brought the truck to the farm after they got out of church Sunday evening. We would end up arriving about the same time if all things worked out as expected. And they did.

As we were pulling up to 1810 from Fortenbury Road, Trace drove past. He and Victoria must have made eye contact, because she laughed and told me that the truck that just passed us was our truck. Trace must have made the connection because he stopped on the shoulder of the road. I was not thinking that far ahead but it made sense for me to let Mama and Victoria take the Sequoia home while I took Trace and the boys home. Krystal was home sick. So, that’s what we did. But first, I had to take them to Walmart to buy a loaf of bread. We talked on the way home and I asked if Trace was looking for work or if he was happy with what he was currently doing – working for Norman. He let me know that he really needed something more reliable, but they were getting by for the moment. I got his permission to start asking around with some of my contacts. We’ll see what the Lord does. I am not sure of all the issues Trace is dealing with or his history, someday he might tell me, but I do understand what it is to struggle to provide for a growing family. Right now, Mama and I are in a position where we can help a little and we would foolish not to do what we can for them.

We got a lot of wind and a little rain yesterday morning. Along with the storms that blew in we got overnight temperatures in the sixties. That was a pleasant change. It will still get into the nineties today, but the daytime high temperatures will stay below 100° F. That will also provide a welcome respite from the extreme heat. It will not last long, but we will enjoy it while we have it.

Mama and I had our final coaching session with Thresa last night. It was a quickfire session. Mama tried to drive as I took notes but that did not end up working out so well. I did the best I could to keep up as we flew through Michigan, Arkansas and Florida. Theresa helped us make some links to the county websites we will need in the future and took time to show us how to research the houses available on lists that are less well known. It was encouraging. Even Mama felt like she could figure it out as we work through the lists we tagged for future reference. Theresa insisted that we contact her when we find a deal we are serious about – before we buy it. She also insisted that we stay in touch. We have all her contact information and she admonished us to use her insights whenever the need arises in the future. Now it is up to Mama and me to keep going and eventually, with the Lord’s help, make this business work.

Boy do we need it to work. We are getting bombarded with medical bills from her surgery. From what we can gather at this point, we will owe close to $15,000. Fortunately for us, God has not run out of money, nor is He short on the resources we will need to help us get through this. That’s encouraging, because in October we have to do it all over again.

One year old

The entire weekend was devoted to the twins and their first birthday. Andrew’s brother Peter and their mother came down from New Jersey to participate in the event. We all had a great time. When Mama and I go to Brittany’s house Friday evening, the girls were only a few minutes away from being put to bed. Brittany had kept them up a little longer than usual waiting on us to arrive because she knew Mama would not rest well until she had seen the babies. Since we had been with them only a week ago, they both dived right into our arms. Sophia into my arms and Zoe into Victoria’s arms. Sophia has a special attraction to me – she always has. Mama got one of them once she was safely settled into a chair in the living room. From that point on, through the remainder of the weekend, every time I entered a room, Sophia would struggle to reach me. The only caveat was that as my whiskers grew, she was none too pleased by my kisses. Sunday morning, after I had shaved, I kissed her cheek. There was only a moment of hesitancy before she leaned into my face for me to kiss her again.

The birthday party was Saturday morning. Brittany had the event scheduled for 10 am. That was a very good move. Two neighbor families came and several friends. It was not a large gathering, but it filled the house with fifteen or so adults and seven or eight children. We had brunch – breakfast casseroles and fruit followed by cupcakes. One of the invited guests was Grandma June. She was an interesting person. She asked me if I would move our vehicle and park it behind hers. She had parked across the street on the main thoroughfare into the neighborhood. She explained to me that any errant driver would now hit my vehicle and spare hers any damage. Never mind that we had to make a 350-mile trip to get home. Her vehicle would escape any damage if mine were hit. Brittany explained that that in not an unusual thought for her. Late that afternoon she offered to swap husbands with Mama. Fortunately, Mama did not accept her very generous offer.

The twins were given smash cakes to celebrate with, but it took them few minutes to figure out the game. Once they did, they made Brittany proud. At one point a guest baby was allowed to help them smash the cakes. She did so with relish. Obviously, she knew a bit more about the process than the Zoe and Sophia. We also played a traditional Korean game of having the babies crawl to the center of the room where a selection of items was placed for them to choose from. A gavel, a stethoscope, a microphone, a football, a Bible, a $20 bill and a roll of yarn. The idea behind the game was that the choice they made of an item from the mix would foretell their later profession in life. Both of the girls chose the shiny microphone at first but then later gravitated to other items. Sophia ended up playing with the stethoscope and Zoe played with the ball. Both abandoned their choices when someone activated the microphone and it began to belt out a song from the movie, Frozen.

I made a soup for lunch – for those of us who wanted something more like an afternoon meal. Later that evening we went to a Korean restaurant for dinner. The food was delicious. The portions were huge. We took home four containers full of leftovers. (Which we ate for lunch on Sunday.) We were late getting the girls to bed and even later getting ourselves to bed. Which made for a rushed morning Sunday morning because we had to be at church at 9 am to attend the early service. Very contemporary. More like participating in a performance and listening to a motivational speaker. Nothing bad, just nothing filling. My expectation is that once Brittany and Andrew get hungry for the things of God, they will find another church. But they are safe for now.

The trip home was uneventful – after we found our way back onto the interstate. This morning, Brittany will be on her own with the twins again. Not a bad thing. Just a little sad.

Moving all of us, packing, perception

I failed to mention in my blog yesterday that before Danial began his sermon/lesson Wednesday night he had all the people in the front of the church move to the back of the church. His reason for doing so was because he wanted to condense the crowd. It makes broadcasting a message and making eye contact easier when the crowd is more condensed; much more so after the move than when we started out. It brings the speaker closer to the hearers. It changed the atmosphere of the service in a good way. The reason he asked the folks in the front to move to the back is that it is nearly impossible to get those who always sit in the back to move to the front. Bro. Danial moved to the back of the auditorium also, using a music stand for his pulpit, and moving about as he preached. It was a great service. He also issued a challenge toward the end of his message. Why is it that when the Pastor opens for service for testimonies, it takes so long for someone to stand? And why do the same people take the opportunity almost every time while others rarely if ever do? Do we not all have something to praise the Lord for? Something recent? It was a perfect challenge based on the sermon dealing with the names of God – and His continual blessings on us.

Mama and Victoria are packing the Sequoia this morning. I drove Victoria’s car to work because I took the truck to Trace last night. His van is still in the shop getting the transmission replaced and will not be ready until sometime late next week. After all the effort he went through last weekend getting tires replaced on the truck, I thought it only right to let him enjoy the rewards of that labor while Mama, Victoria and I are with Andrew and Brittany. I am working only a half day today, so we will hopefully leave about 1 pm. Another six-hour drive each way. Fortunately, Mama and I love to travel.

Mama reminded me yesterday that Andrew’s mother and brother will be at Brittany’s also. I had forgotten for some reason. This is, in Korean terms, one of the most important birthdays in the life of their children. A tradition stemming from the time when many children did not make it to their first birthday. It will be fun to see them again. Andrew’s mother, who has been in the United States for more than thirty years does not speak much English at all. I am not entirely sure how that is possible other than the fact that she just never had the desire to learn. She is a very quiet person, so I suppose she has not felt the need to interact outside of the group who shares her language. I cannot imagine a life like that, but she seems content. I worry for my trees during our absence. It will be Sunday night – probably late – when they will be watered again. But they can be replaced if necessary.

I was listening to a podcast called EconTalk yesterday and the guest, Teppo Felin, was talking about perception. It was a fascinating discussion. I spend a good deal of time in one course I teach talking about our ability to be so focused that we lose sight of many things around us. Often missing very important things. A focus leading to a blindness. Teppo Felin quoted someone, I did not catch a name, but I caught the thought.  On perception: The universe is full of dots. Connect the right ones and you can draw anything. The important question in not whether the dots you chose are really there, but why you chose to ignore all the other dots.

Why do we see what we do see and not see what we do not see? The host and guest referenced a short video I have seen multiple times where we the observers are asked to count the number of times a team of players passes the basketball within their group. There are two groups doing the same activity, so you have to focus. Meanwhile, a person dressed in a gorilla suit walks into the group, dances around a bit and then walks off camera. Ninety percent of those watching, counting the passes, do not see the gorilla. I have been in a room where the video was played and explained and when the video was replayed, and the gorilla was seen, many in the room swore that they were watching a different video. After all, how could they have missed something so obvious?

My caution, especially to myself, stop, look, listen. Be in the moment. You will enjoy the journey that much more if you are not fixated on singular issues; most of which would have sorted themselves out without your expenditure of emotional energy. So, this weekend, it is all about Zoe and Sophia. And by extension, their parents (our children).

I promise I will try to focus more broadly.

What’s in a name, too dry

Last night at church, Bro Danial preached/taught on some of the names of God. Some of the information he got from a series of lessons we had in FBI and some were added through internet searches. All the names of God, when studied in parallel, add personality and dimension to the character of God and allow us to know Him more intimately. No one name can do that. That is why the Bible gives us so many names we can call God by; each emphasizing a different aspect of His willingness to interact with us – His children. Sometimes in pleasant ways - in blessings. Sometimes in painful ways – in trails and chastisement. It was a good lesson. A reminder that we too often do not give God enough credit (praise) for all He does for us. Both seen and unseen.

The lesson reminded me of a name I heard recently, Abcde. Seriously. Pronounced Ab-sa-dee. The first question is, why would a parent give a child a name that is certain to be problematic throughout their life? It may seem cute at birth, but the effect over a lifetime would be less than cute. Another that popped into my mind was La-a. Pronounced La -dash -uh. I would be curious to know just how many times the owner of that moniker had to tell someone how to pronounce it as a name. By definition, a “hyphen joins two or more words together while a dash separates words into parenthetical statements”. But La-hyphen-uh would be even more confusing. On the hand, a three-paragraph name would be more in line with a name given in the language of the Ents – the “tree herders” of Tolkien fame. (Note the hyphen and dash used in the preceding sentence.) I thank the Lord my parents picked a recognizable Bible name to label me. Although when I state my name in introductions people hear Kent, Ken, Ben and the like. The good part is my name is easy to spell out for those who misheard. My parents could have named me Dodo or Ichabod – both Bible names. But I would have had to repeat then just about as often as my given name over the course of a lifetime.

Very early on in the course of our engagement I changed Mama’s name. Or, at least, I gave her a pet name that has stuck with her over all these years. I think she is more apt to answer to my name for her than to her given name – especially when I say it. Early on in our courtship, a friend of ours heard me call Mama by her pet name and he later used that name to address her. She was none too pleased, and she let him know. It was, and still is to her, a term of endearment. Now, 36+ years later it would not be as offensive to her, but I am the one who calls her by that name; very few others know or use it. I think it still rankles Grandma when I use it. I think it still lets Mama know how dearly I love her.

On the farm front, the number of trees I will likely lose this year is climbing. Neither of the peach trees is responding positively to the care we are giving them. The miniature in the garden is almost surely a lost cause. The large one in the back yard is very nearly dead – or going dormant. I am not sure which. Both of the plum trees in the garden are looking bad. All of them will be cared for through the remainder of the year to see if they will come back to life in the Spring of next year. The blackberry bushes are drying up no matter how much water I give them. Again, I will not know until Spring if there is any life remaining in them. But it is looking doubtful. At this point, the only plants doing well are the thorn trees and the cactus. And even they are starting to show signs of heat stress. One year when we lived in Bowie, even the cactus shriveled up and went dormant. We are not there yet but we are only in late July. We may get there soon.

Hopefully, the wells hold out through the drought.

Little gains, little setbacks

Mama and I – mostly I – tested out the internet connection at the house last night. As it relates to our business, it will be adequate for us. If I can get Mama to learn the process for accessing the information via the internet, we should be able to invest considerably more time in our research. In just a few minutes last night, I was able to find a property that is worth a little further research. What I cannot seem to do is find an auction that is worth going to that I can coordinate with the vacation I have available. And it feels like time is running out. Oh, well. Patience is often its own reward and we have had to exercise that emotional muscle extensively over the past few months.

Our coaching session with Theresa was very informative. She has been a valuable asset to Mama and me in our research. Next Monday will be our last session with her but she admonished us to run our first deal by her, so she can look it over with us even if the paid sessions are completed. We have one more session with her because she set us a session on the day of Mama’s surgery. When we did not show up for that session, she ticked off that appointment as a “no show.” She forgot what was going on in our lives on that particular Monday – but she restored the hour to our account when we reminded her. We have managed to stretch the ten sessions out over five months, but in doing so, we have gotten to explore more options because we have had the time to become proficient in our research in several states through those extended pauses. Some of those who started the training when we did have told us that their entire ten week coaching focus was in only one area of one state. Theresa was more accommodating toward us. I think, in the long run, it will serve us well.

Mama has had several good nights of sleep lately. Me, not so much. I am not sure how it happened, but I caused some injury to my left shoulder while we were in Victoria. It may be because I slept on the floor that night, but we are not sure. I have a painful knot at the base of the deltoid in my left shoulder. It has caused some serious interruption to my nights since we got home. It does not seem to limit my activity, but it has certainly limited my range of motion in that shoulder. The pain is a deep, constant bone ache accompanied by the inability to get comfortable no matter what position I choose. This too shall pass, but not before we spend the weekend with Brittany, Andrew and the twins. At their house, I typically sleep on the floor because the bed is too soft for me. I’m not sure how that is going to work out.

Mama and I talked about getting the boy goats weathered (emasculating them) but when she called the vet the price was pretty high. It seems we have waited too long, and the surgery required is more extensive than we thought. If we could have done the procedure we would have been able to run them with the girl goats without the concern of them interbreeding, but alas, they will remain fully equipped as males and Mama and I will have to deal with the complications that brings. As is true in any negotiation or sale, price solves everything. We just have to accept the fact that they are not going to bring us much money when we sell them, but we cannot keep them. If Mama will allow, we could always eat them.

I love that part of running a farm.

The aftermath

I got a good look at the trees and bushes last night. The last time I got to water them was Friday evening. The Saturday and Sunday we were gone the temperatures were 106° F and 110° F respectively. Because we missed those two evenings of watering I am afraid I will lose the dwarf Peach tree I have in the garden. I will also lose one of the two plum trees in the garden. I have been unable to get it to come back to full strength since one of our cows got into the garden and ate all its leaves last spring. Other than that, I am fairly confident that we will be able to save the rest of the trees and bushes. However, when we are out of town this weekend, I may have to ask Brittany Wycoff to water for me on the evenings she will be staying at the farm. I do not think they can survive another long, hot weekend without help.

Also, while we were gone, one of the older chickens succumbed to the heat and died. The problem is that it died under the coop building. I will have to rig something up this evening to reach the carcass and get it removed. It is putting off quite a smell. I did not get it last night because Mama and I were coming to the office and I did not want to lay in the yuk of the coop yard and stretch myself under the building to try and drag the carcass out. Mama reluctantly granted permission to delay the extraction, but I will not be able to put it off any longer than today. The forecast for this coming weekend is for temperature to barely reach the 100° F mark. That should make enough of a difference that I will not stress over the stress the weather will put on the plants we are struggling to keep alive through this summer. Ultimately, if I lose any of these plants, they can be replaced. It is just a pain to have to start over when we have invested so much time to get the trees and plants established.

It almost looked like it was going to rain yesterday evening. The skies have been very overcast. Almost dirty looking. Yesterday evening, it clouded up to the point that you could almost smell rain in the air. Almost. That lasted for about three hours then things cleared off, the clouds dispersed, and the wind died away. The humidity has hovered at 35-40%. Not exactly the atmosphere where rain would be expected. The dewpoint – the temperature at which dew will form – is somewhere about 65° F. Since our overnight temperatures are in the high seventies and low eighties, we have been without even a morning dew for several weeks. Things are dry. One of the old-timers around here told me recently. “It’ll rain. Eventually. It always does.” And as my friends would have said years ago, “True that!”

Since these drought situations often require a severe atmospheric condition to get resolved, I have been watching the Atlantic radar for signs of a tropical storm or hurricane, but nothing yet. Despite the frantic predictions of the alarmists. No, I would much prefer a slow moving gentle rain like we got in West Virginia, but we are a little far south for that. Or the predictable afternoon shower, we used to get when I was growing up in Houston. But we area not in the right area for that either. Oh, well. We will take what we get and supplement water to the plants as long as we are able.

The weather is not the only area in our lives where we need a big solution right now. Right away, if possible. Fortunately, we have a big God.

Western Hills, Trace and the truck

Friday evening after work, I dropped off the truck at Trace’s, so he and Krystal could use it for the weekend while Mama, Victoria and I traveled to parts south. I drove straight to their house from work and Victoria picked me up on her way home. I visited for about fifteen minutes with Krystal and the boys while I waited on Victoria. Once we got home, I started on the farm chores while Mama and Victoria began packing for the overnight trip we were making to Victoria, TX to visit Western Hills Baptist Church for their 30 Year Anniversary. It was the first extended road trip for Mama since her surgery, so there was quite a bit of thought put into where and how to place her in the vehicle.

The trip to Victoria was an uneventful six hours on the road. We had to stop fairly regularly so Mama could stretch or bend depending on the pain she was having from periods of idleness as we traveled. There was not much ground we covered that was unfamiliar territory to us as the trek brought back a lot of memories. We unpacked the car at the hous

e of a friend from the church, took her to dinner and then walked around the mall for an hour or so. At least, Victoria and I walked around the mall. Mama and Cindy shopped at Hallmark while Victoria and I got some steps in. We had eaten at Olive Garden and needed to walk the food down a bit.

Sunday morning, we got to surprise the folks at church. Pastor and Wilma Parish had no idea we were coming – nor did anyone else except our host and Martha Robinson, who had sent out the letters of invitation. It was a wonderful reunion. As best we can remember, it was fourteen years ago that we moved from Victoria, TX to New Jersey. That is how long it has been since Victoria has been back to Victoria, TX. Lots of hugs. Lots of catching up. Lots of reminiscing. I believe it is the one church that Mama and I could happily return to. Don’t get me wrong. We have church friends in all the churches we have attended over the years – especially West Virginia and New Jersey – but Western Hills is special to us both. Partly because of the way we were so desperately needed but mostly because of the way we fit in that body of believers.

There was a short video shown of pictures that had been taken over the years. We were in so many of them. The kids were so young. Some of the pictures were of those we remember so well who have now gone on to Heaven. Some have moved on to other areas of the United States and the world. Many are still there. Much older. Like I said, so many memories. We enjoyed lunch at the church after the service. It gave us a lot more time to visit. But like all such moments, the time came when we had to head home, and about 2:30 pm we had said our final farewells and headed back north.

It was on the way home that Trace called me to let me know how things had gone with the truck. As Trace tells it, they were headed somewhere Saturday evening and a motorist flagged them down, letting him know that the front tire was low. He pulled off the road and, sure enough, the tire was nearly flat. He headed back home and once there discovered that both of the front tires were losing air. Now he had a problem. One flat is manageable as long as there is a spare. Two is more than most vehicles are equipped for. He called for help from family and was told he would have to wait. So, he called around Sunday morning and was not able to find a shop that was open. However, online there was a tire shop that advertised being open seven days a week. The caveat. There was not a phone number provided.

So, he called a friend who took him to the shop to investigate in person. Sure enough, they were open and had two mismatched used tires that would fit the truck. He bought them both. Managed to get enough air in the tires on the truck to get the truck to the shop and was finally back home late Sunday evening. What they discovered was that the tread had separated on the tires. The mechanic on duty told Trace that he has seen an increase in that problem with the temperatures as high as they have been recently. He felt bad about the whole incident. I felt bad to have put him through such an ordeal, but both of us were grateful to have the truck operational.

Somewhere along the way, the Lord will give us opportunity to repay the effort spent on our behalf.

The party, traveling

When I got home yesterday the driveway was full. Grandma, Grandpa, Norman, Seth and Gabriella, Trace and Krystal and the boys had all come over for a party to visit with Joshua and Alicia and her children and Brittany and the girls. It was not a quiet gathering. What struck me immediately was that the noise did not emanate from the kids – although there were eight of them. The noise, or rather, the level of volume required to speak to be heard, came from the adults. For those who know Grandma and Norman, that is not an unusual thought. Pizza, the staple for such events, was being consumed at various settings throughout the dining room, kitchen and living room. The twins were less overwhelmed than I thought they might be and were happily trying to pinch bites of avocado that their mommy had put on their trays. The “chase” that ensues almost every time they try to capture a chunk of avocado in their tiny fingers is fun to watch. Their determination to accomplish the task is amazing to observe. I often wonder how long it has been since I possessed the singularity of focus.

Everyone was having a good time getting reacquainted or newly acquainted in the case of Krystal and the boys and Alicia and her three children. It was interesting to see five boys crowded around on iPad giving input to the person who was actually playing. When Sophia and Zoe were placed in the mix, the boys made room for them until they tired to touch the screen whereupon, the moved and re-huddled. The girls would skootch themselves over into the mix yet again and the process would be repeated. Meanwhile Grandma did her best to engage everyone in conversation – often at the same time. Part of the volume level came directly from those efforts. Everything was going well until Grandma got the hairbrained idea to have Alicia sit on one of the stools at the counter in the living room and have Joshua propose to her. She somehow thought that would be a great skit to add to the party. Even going so far as to ask Mama to get her an engagement ring to use for the “proposal”.

Alicia, not knowing Grandma, had to be rescued by Brittany and Mama as they tried to deter Grandma from her grand plan. As is common with Grandma she was unrelenting. So next, Grandma went to Joshua and asked him to help her orchestrate the mock proposal. Joshua, kindly, but flatly refused. More than once. Eventually, it all blew over, but not before Alicia had been mortified by the thought of having this happen in the crowd that was gathered at that moment. I believe Joshua plans to propose, but he will do so in his time, at his choosing, when he feels there is the makings of a memory that can be shared for many years to come. That is as it should be. You have only to ask Mama about my proposal to her, almost 37 years ago at this point, to understand the significance of the moment; of the memory. The moment will come but such a moment is not to be forced upon the couple for the purpose of amusement.

When Norman announced that he was leaving, the Bowie crew packed up to head home. He had already helped Brittany pack for her pending departure and he and Grandpa were anxious to get things staged for jobs waiting on them this morning. Suddenly the house was quiet. Even the twins noticed. It was not long after that Mama and I were given the privilege of feeding the twins their bedtime bottle. Me with Sophia. Mama with Zoe. We prayed with Brittany, helped her put the babies in their car seats and waved our goodbyes. I was then free to begin my nightly watering duties.

When I was at the peach tree, I noticed that it was starting to shed its fruit. I picked one and took it to Mama suggesting we use the labor we had available to clean what remained off the tree and do whatever we could with the tiny fruit. The peaches we picked were about the size of a small apricot – but they had a good flavor. All the kids joined in the process of gathering the peaches - with a lot of chatter about who was tall and who was not. It did not take very long but I think it will be a good memory for them. We could not have left the fruit on the tree through the weekend without losing all of it, so it was time well spent.

Joshua, Alicia and the kids will be leaving sometime this morning. Heading yet farther north to see a friend Alicia has not been this close to geographically in several years. From there, they will head back home to Victoria. In an unusual twist of life, Mama, Victoria and I will arrive in Victoria, TX before they do. We will head there tomorrow afternoon to attend an anniversary service for Pastor Parrish at Western Hills Baptist Church – 40 years as their pastor. We will only be there for the morning service and the lunch following. We are looking forward to seeing everyone.

We will be back at the farm before Joshua and his crew get home.

Guided tour, Grandma approved, partings

When I got home yesterday everyone was in rest mode, but it did not take long for that to change. Since Joshua had taken kitchen duty, I changed and got ready to do the evening feeding. Alicia and the boys went out with me. Alicia wore a pair of Mama’s crocks – which were way too big for her – and each of the boys managed to find a pair of boots that fit. It was immediately obvious that they were not in any way used to a farm setting. When I led them into the upper goat enclosure where we keep the bucklings, they were very hesitant to enter. “Can we just go in there?” was the question. “It’s okay”, I assured them, “Goats have tiny mouths so when they bite you it does not leave a big mark.” Just kidding. I let them know the goats would not hurt them other than to get so much underfoot that they trip you as you try to walk.

Although the bucklings are used to us, they did not respond the same way with visitors, so I held Patrick in place, so Alicia and the boys could pet him. The boys were reluctant to do even that. They were a little more familiar with the chickens but not much more so. They would not enter to coop yard without serious encouragement from their Mama. It took me a bit to get the watering and feeding in those two areas done. By the time I had collected the eggs, they were starting to loosen up. With the female goats, we have several that are quite friendly – especially Aspen. The sister to the two bucklings. It did not take long for the boys to become comfortable handling her. I was finished a long time before they were. I am not sure how much of all that they will remember, but it was good first exposure. They were noticeably relieved to get back inside. I was too, but for a completely different reason.

It was 107° outside. Uncomfortable weather. Almost dead calm. Which made the fierce wind I had been battered by on the way home all the more perplexing. It did not last long. Only a second or two but the perpendicular blast rocked the truck violently as I passed through it. The gravel hauler passing me in the opposite direction a few seconds later must have been shocked by the force because I saw the truck suddenly swerve and then correct its direction. Some type of a downburst I guess. I have not experienced one of those since we moved out of Bowie.

Joshua and his crew went to church with me and Mama last night. Grandma met us there. Going to church with Grandma can be interesting. If she approves of the message, she preaches along her agreement. If she does not agree, she preached along her disagreement. Either way, it is a clear and ever present distraction to Mama – and those near us in the congregation. Last night the distraction included Ethan Burns, who was sitting directly in front of Grandma. She felt compelled to whisper her acknowledgement of every agreeable point into his ear. Or poke him and tell him to listen up to the truth. Poor Ethan spent the entire service with a red face. For my part, I am glad it was a “grandma approved” message because the content of the sermon was not something I thought she would agree with; centered on the importance of church attendance and sitting under good preaching, accountability to our local New Testament Church and the family we have there. Grandma asked for a copy of the recorded sermon, but it may be next week before I will be able to deliver it to her. She wanted to take it home right them and share (confront is the operative idea) it with Grandpa. Joshua and Alicia helped Grandma to her car – a lengthy process involving slow forward progress accompanied with seemingly inexhaustible chatter. They met us a little later out back of the church but by the time they had walked through the church Grandma had driven around back and parked beside us. She held us in conversation for ten minutes longer. Grandma thoroughly enjoyed the evening. So did Joshua and Alicia.

Brittany and the girls will leave tonight at the girl’s bedtime. They will spend the night with Andrew and all drive home Friday afternoon. It will be sad to see them go. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with the twins – and Brittany.

Yesterday

Joshua and his crew arrived at the farm late yesterday morning. They stopped in Waco on the way up – too worn out to go any further. I went home for lunch so we could visit for a bit and so I could meet Alicia and the kids. I did not get to visit with them other than to introduce myself, but Joshua and I spent the entire time talking while I ate. Hopefully, tonight and tomorrow night we will get a longer time to visit. I had originally planned on using my lunch break to run errands for Mama and the farm, but Joshua, Alicia and her three kids, Victoria and Brittany were all going to Mid-evil Times for dinner and a show. They were planning on leaving before I got home so, lunchtime was the only opportunity I had to connect with them yesterday. They all left about the time I got off work, leaving Mama with the twins. I made doubly certain she did not need me to come home right away and she assured me she would be okay. The errands I had to run did not take too long and I was home a little after 5 pm. Mama was ready for me to be there.

I had wondered if she had bitten off more than she could chew in volunteering to keep Zoe and Sophia by herself – hobbling about as she is currently doing. When I did get home, I put all my plans on hold until after the twins were put to bed. Mama was hurting badly. It seems holding a twenty-pound child and walking without assistance was too much for her in her present stage of recovery. We quickly reverted to using the walker because her right knee (the one that has not been operated on) was giving her too much pain to walk without the assistance of her upper body. At one point in the evening, the girls were on the floor in the kitchen while I cleaned up from dinner and Mama headed down the hall towards our bedroom. Both of the girls started crying after her. “Well, come on” Mama encouraged them whereupon both of them started their army crawl in that direction. Their determination was evident. Their ability to cover the distance, somewhat lacking. Before they had made it out of the kitchen area, I stopped what I was doing, picked them up and took them to see Mama. For tiny ones, “out of sight” is “gone”. They were happy to discover that Mama was still there – and they made their relief evident to Mama.

The time passed quickly with feeding the girls, playing with them after dinner, changing and redressing them for bed, feeding them their bottles, singing songs and telling stories and finally laying them down for the night. All done by 7:30. I strongly encouraged Mama to follow the girls example and get in bed as soon as she felt like she could lay down for the night. Last night was not a good night for her because she woke every time one of the twins cried out. Which was often. None the less, it was a pleasure giving the twins time to memorize our faces and voices while we were able to monopolize them for an evening. Those times come all too infrequently even with Brittany’s diligence in trying to keep us connected.

I spent the next hour distributing the feed I had purchased, filling water containers for all the animals and watering the plants and trees I hope to keep alive through the summer. As much as it pained me to give up on the vegetables we were trying to grow, the garden is bare. That alone saved me a half hour of time watering. When I got back into the house, Mama was about ready to go to bed. I had to cool down and wait until the chickens were on the roost, so I could close them up for the night. That generally happens just before dark, which right now is about 9:20.

I do not know what time the revelers got home, but everyone was snoozing when I got up to come to work. From the texts and pictures sent to Mama throughout the evening, I think they had a great time.

So did Mama and I.

Visitor updates, cutting our losses

Brittany and the girls got to Decatur about 11 am. It was quite the interruption at the office – albeit a pleasant one. Brittany needed a good place to change the babies and I had a few minutes of fun showing them off. It did not take long for the girls to warm up to me, but Zoe was pretty standoffish with some my coworkers. The ladies at work loved the interruption. We followed that up by meeting Mama for lunch. Mama was in town for her physical therapy appointment. We all met up at an Italian restaurant. One of those local hole-in-the-wall operations that has really good food at really good prices. The twins loved the rolls but were less than enthusiastic about the ravioli Brittany ordered for them. They did however, get excited about the spinach calzone Mama ordered. I think the two of them ate about a third of that. They love their vegetables and fruits.

While we were still in town, Krystal and the boys were at the house cleaning. Krystal is amazing when it comes to cleaning a house. She had everything sparkling but the time Mama and Brittany got to the house. Mama was thrilled! They were all still there when I got home. Neither Krystal nor the boys were in any hurry to get back to their house. The boys watched some of our movies and Krystal enjoyed the company of Mama and Brittany. She has not been able to get out much lately because their vehicle is still in need of a transmission repair. Mama took her and the boys home a little after 5 pm. I was outside working with the animals when they left. Brittany was cooking and watching over the girls as they ate a little after-nap snack. She lets them feed themselves mostly. They do fairly well at that activity. Brittany has special bibs for them that have a pouch that meets up closely with the tray of the highchair. Most of the food that does not make it into their mouth is caught by that pouch. That way they get a second chance at it. It is a bit disgusting to scoop the droppings out of the pouch and deposit it back on the tray, but it seems to work, and it limits the mess on the floor.

We took some time and set the house up for Joshua’s arrival. None of us were planning on staying up to welcome then into the house. We had not heard any changes to their expected arrival time – sometime after midnight. So, we made sure all the airbeds were inflated and the spare bedroom was outfitted for use as a bedroom. Lately it has become a collection point for sundry items unrelated to its use as sleeping quarters. However, when I got up this morning, all the beds were empty. I am not sure what happened, but they had not arrived overnight. I began to wonder if they could not find us in the wee hours of the morning. Or, if they did find us and were not totally certain they had the right house. We will find out sometime this morning. I just hope they are okay. Mama had big plans for this morning, breakfast-wise.

I took a few minutes last night to pull up vegetable plants in the garden. With the forecast temperatures for the next ten days I decided it would be better to conserve water than to try to keep the struggling vegetable plants alive through the heat wave. It was probably more of an emotional decision than a practical one. I have too many items demanding my time and taking that one duty away from each evening reduces the load a little. It will be enough of an effort to keep the trees and bushes alive through the remainder of the summer. We might reach 110° F by the weekend. It seemed like a good time to cut our losses and focus on battles we could win. Mama was disappointed by my decision, but I needed the respite.

We are planning on traveling this weekend, so I was not sure what we would have come back to after missing two evenings of watering. Oh, well.

Training, Mama, the business

I have been in class for the past two days. Wednesday I was an observer as an instructor I have been getting prepared to teach the class got his first opportunity to do so. He was audited on his performance and although we had a couple hiccups in his overall presentation and preparedness, he passed the audit. That means that he is certified to present the class whenever an assignment comes up. That helps me, especially as I focus on backfilling my role with this company in preparation for Mama and I going fulltime into business for ourselves. On Thursday I taught a class. It is one we do only once per quarter. It is one class that I thoroughly enjoy teaching. I was hurting by the end of the day, but it was a good class. When I got home that evening, I did not want to do anything but sit and rest my back; which does not get any of the chores done at the farm. However, I did sit for a little bit.

Mama has been very diligent to go through her exercise routine every two hours throughout the day. I can see only a slight improvement in her ability to bend her knee, but she is certainly building up her muscles in her shoulders and forearms as she struggles to pull the knee into a bent position. I have been driving the Sequoia so that Mama can sit on the tailgate of the truck and swing her leg back under her. With the release of weight on the knee and gravity to gently pulling the lower leg downward, she is able to move the knee a little more freely. It takes all the tension off the joint and allows her to rest it as she can in no other way provided in the house. I miss my truck but right now it is serving a greater purpose for Mama.

Mama has her second appointment with the physical therapist this morning. Fortunately, Victoria is off and will be able to take her to the appointment. Since she is scheduled to be there as 10:30 am and be there for roughly an hour, we are planning to meet for lunch after she is done with her treatment. I am curious to see if the therapist is pleased with the results of all the effort she has put in doing the exercises. We are still very early in the program, so we know that Mama has a long way to go before we are through. Still, there is noticeable progress. She walks through the house without the walker; sometimes outside also without assistance. We only have the walker with us when she is going to be out for an extended period. After about twenty minutes up and moving, she is pretty much done for the next hour or so. Also, she is walking more normally – slightly raising the foot, lifting the toes and planting the heal with each step. She is still very awkward with bending the knee and lifting the leg for each step, but she is getting there. In my estimation, for being 25 days out from her surgery, she is doing pretty well.

We are still slowly working our business. I spend roughly fifteen hours per week doing the required research and Mama makes most of the required phone contacts. All the houses we have wanted to purchase have been unavailable to us in one way or another, but we are still in the hunt. Eventually we will succeed. Mama is calling a realtor today about a house in Philips County, AR. From what we can in our research, it looks like a good prospect but until we get confirmation that the structure is still viable, we will not move forward. One house we looked at multiple times was still available after the auction in Hot Springs we got Becky to drive by to take pictures. It was burned to the ground. I thought is rather conspicuous that the house burned a few weeks before it would have been sold for taxes, but it could be a coincidence. Anyway, I still owe Becky a fee for her help. 

We are not seeing any great things happen on any front right now; but we are not far away from them happening in our lives. Meanwhile, I got this photo of the sunset through the storm clouds as I was going home after a couple hours at the office last night. it was worth stopping for.     

Mama’s session, Victoria, Maggie

Everything worked out for Mama to make it to her physical therapy session yesterday. She was picked up at the farm by one lady from our church and picked up after the session by another lady from our church. I picked her up at the home of the second lady – Betty. Betty is a little over eighty years old but in very good health. She has a condo in Decatur and insisted that she could get Mama and keep her comfortable until I got there to pick her up. Mama did not get any rest while she was with Betty. Betty is a sweetheart, but she is a talker. I think it worked out well. Mama needed the extended conversation after having been cooped up for the last several weeks. Mama has recurring appointments on Monday and Friday each week for the next ten weeks. On some of those days I will have to go to work an hour early, so I can go to the house at 10 am and pick her up for the appointment at 10:30. I will then have to take my lunch break to take Mama home from the appointment. On some days Victoria will be available to help. On other days there will be help provided from others, but at least we now have a plan.

Mama’s session went well. The therapist was not overly concerned about Mama’s current lack of flexibility. He used a TENS unit to get her quadriceps stirred up, but Mama could not feel the muscle at the knee. She still has very little feeling around the knee; especially on the inside of the joint. The therapist assured her that was normal for this point in the recovery. We will be monitoring it as we progress through the treatments. I still have an area on the outside of the left knee – the lower quadricep area – in which I still have no feeling from an injury to that area when I worked odd jobs in West Virginia thirty years ago. But I am hoping better things for Mama. She was encouraged overall. The therapist loaded her up with exercises. I believe Mama will be faithful to do them. She really wants this to be a full and complete recovery. So do we. The therapist told Mama that if we were not able to establish the full range of motion, the hospital could put her under anesthetic and bend the leg fully while she was asleep. I’ll be that sounds horrible. We are hoping to avoid that option. It is there if we need it.

Pray for Victoria. She is trying to stay close to Grandma and Grandpa but is rapidly approaching the time when she will have to put them at arm’s length. Lately, they have both begun to hound her about spiritual issues – on which they have come to differ with us in some dramatic ways. They will not go to church and consider us to be hypocrites because we do go to church. They are convinced that no one in the churches of today are really saved. They are just playing church. Part of a social club. Sadly, there is an element of truth to that argument. According to Grandma and Grandpa, if they really knew God they would not be a part of the churches of today – they would separate themselves from “the unclean thing”. Grandma and Grandpa are starting to delve into areas of mysticism as opposed to Bible doctrine. It is starting to wear on Victoria and she is very attached to Grandma and Grandpa so letting go is going to be painful. If she has the strength to let go. Right now, she is hurting – and I know Grandma and Grandpa do not know how much they are hurting her - because of the daily debates so please keep her in your prayers. In their minds, they do not want Victoria lost to the hedonistic churches of today. In our minds, we are asking, “Where sis that come from?”

Pray for Maggie. Maggie’s surgery is scheduled for Friday. She was debating even having the surgery, so I am not sure if the plan is to follow through or postpone, but it too is a matter of prayer. Any time the belly is cut into, there is a long recovery and for a mother of little ones, that can seem an interminably long period of time. There is a special membrane, the Mesentery, that keeps our intestines and belly organs in place. Even the tiniest piercing of that membrane is an injury of the highest order to the body. It heals slowly. Once it has been cut, there is a period of time in which you cannot lift any significant weight. To do so puts pressure on the abdomen and the Mesentery which could reopen the wound. It is that long recovery time that has Maggie worried. And she is a long-term worrier. She has help scheduled for the first two weeks but not for the following additional ten weeks. I am sure there is help available. It is just not scheduled the way Maggie would like it to be. If she postpones the surgery, the conflict will not change, but perhaps Aaron will be available to help. He is not available right now. I am sure it will all work out if she does have the surgery, but it is her and Aaron’s decision to make.

God is still good.

My epic fail, Mama’s excursions

Saturday morning, after feeding the goats and chickens, I lured the cows into the corral. Friday evening, I had parked the stock trailer at the loading chute so I could load Daisy and Mellow to transported them to Norman’s acreage. That was the plan. I had even taken the time to rewire the trailer lights because the cows had chewed the wiring in two. My challenge would be to make sure the calf was safely loaded. When they are that small, they can fit through some spaces that only they recognize. My hope was that I had eliminated those spaces. As it turned out, I was able to get the calf onto the trailer first. She almost squeezed through the small space between the trailer and the corral fence, but I was able to get her into the front of the trailer and shut the center gates of the trailer. What I forgot was to make sure the small gate at the front of the trailer was secure.

As I was getting Mellow loaded I found out that the front gate was not latched shut and the calf jumped out. She ran out like she had been stung and I knew I would not ger her back easily. So, I opened the trailer gates and let Mellow out. I would have to try again later. I was very frustrated. So, frustrated in fact that I hollered at the top of my lungs which resulted in my losing my voice so that I could not sing Sunday. A total fail. However, later that afternoon, after the events I will describe momentarily, I was able to get Daisy, her calf and the steer loaded and delivered to Norman’s. We needed to separate Daisy from her larger calf, but now Mama is worried that Daisy will not have any shade where Norman has her penned up. I will let the two of them work that out.

Since I had failed with the first attempt loading the cows I changed and Mama, Victoria and I went to Denton to do some shopping and to see if we would get our cell phone service moved onto Victoria’s plan. That took several trips to the Sprint store, to the Cricket store (our current provider) as well as calls to both Customer Care centers. We also called Apple Support for advice. We stopped at the AT&T store to see if they could help. No go. Five hours later we were not able to get anything accomplished. Mama’s phone, in three hours, did not fully back up to the iCloud and my phone could not be unlocked normally because the number I have was once registered to a corporate AT&T account and I do not know that account number. We could have bought new phones to make the swap, but our goal was to save money, not spend more. It was a very disappointing day for me, but it was a nice outing for Mama and Victoria since we had to stop at Chick-fil-A for lunch trying to kill some time while we waited for Mama’s phone to back up – which it never did. If it had, we could have made that sitch.

We were back home about 3:30. A couple hours later – after the coop was cleaned - I was curious to see if I could try again with the cows. I took the other half of the bag of cubes and walked into the corral with Daisy and her calf, the steer and Mellow hot on my heels. The skittish heifer stayed out of the corral. That worked out well for me. Since Mama told me after my morning failure that she did not want to send Mellow. I got Mellow out of the corral and moved the feed bucket into the loading chute area and closed in the steer, Daisy and her calf. A few minutes later they all walked onto the stock trailer and I closed them in. All gates were secure this time. I was able to get the trailer moved with the tractor, hitched to the truck and ready to roll a few minutes later. When I went to the house to let Mama know my progress and to have her call Norman, I found her already on the phone with Norman. Victoria had looked for me and had seen me connecting the truck to the trailer. I was back at the farm with the empty trailer by 7 pm. Just in time to water everything before I sat down for the evening.

Yesterday, Mama was anxious to go to church, but I asked her to wait until the evening service. It would be a shorter time at church in case she was too uncomfortable there, and there would be less children to bump into her. She agreed. Everyone was very happy to see her and she was thrilled to be there. It really filled out her weekend.

Today she has her first physical therapy session. One of the ladies from church will pick her up at the house and take her to the appointment. Another of our church ladies will collect her from the appointment and take her to her house where I will pick her up this evening. Mama was looking forward to the appointment last night but not so much so this morning. She was hurting badly when I was leaving the house this morning.

Please pray it goes well.

Minor setbacks

Mama has had a couple bad days. The pain she is experiencing is not centered in the joint but rather everywhere around the joint and especially down the calf of the recuperating leg. Her nights have been rough, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. Her days have been lonely – confined. We were toying with the idea of going to Hot Springs for the county tax auction but have at least had to abandon the idea of Mama making the trip. It is too much too soon. As much as she would like to get out, it would be an exhausting trip for her. I am less than enthusiastic about going without her. Too many snap decisions to be made without some consultation. We were told by our coach that we had to learn to be patient and that is definitely proving to be true. I have until tomorrow to decide if I will go to the auction without Mama, but I am leaning heavily toward not going. If I am away Monday and Tuesday I am not sure how we will get Mama to her physical therapy appointments. I am sure we can find help, but I must decide on my travel plans before we conscript helpers.

We have to decide where when can attend an upcoming auction if I do miss this one. With my schedule filling up at work, it is becoming more and more problematic to fit this business into our lives. Since we do not have internet at the house Mama is not able to help with the research, so I have to squeeze out time after work to get all the computer work done; after I feed, water and otherwise tend to our flocks and herds. I spend an hour almost every evening watering the plants just before dark, close up the chickens a little after dark, clean up the kitchen to keep the ants from invading full force and then go to bed.  It has not been an easy road. That, and we are having a hard time finding realtors willing to help us when we need pictures taken of houses we are researching. Small considerations, but they add up to make our cumulative net gain of 0 feel like a heavy loss when, in actuality, we have lost nothing so far. We’ve just not gained anything. That will come eventually if we stick with it.

Meanwhile, back at the farm. We are going to try to get Daisy, her calf and our steer loaded up and delivered to Norman this evening. Mama and I found out that Daisy’s ten-month-old calf started nursing her again. We are not sure how long that has been going on, but it would account for the way Daisy is looking – gaunt and boney. My back is screaming at me right now. It has been worsening for several days but there has been nothing I could do to appease it – especially with Mama down right now. I would appreciate your prayers for a quick success getting the three bovine loaded and an easy time getting the trailer hooked to the truck. It is never an easy task when being done alone. Hurting as badly as I do throughout the process will be an added level of frustration; however, these things normally work out just fine if we have the tenacity and patience to keep working at it.

Brittany did not make it down for the 4^th. One of the twins got sick the day before she was scheduled to leave. It probably worked out for the best since Mama is not in shape to hold the little ones now. Hopefully soon.

Quiet 4th, auction ready?

Mama and I had a quiet 4^th of July. Fireworks, we found out, were done on Sunday evening. Not that Mama would have been up to going out to watch the display, but she was a little sad to have missed it altogether. I was off for the day, so I used the morning to water out plants, replant some vegetable plants in the garden and to weed eat around the house and in the garden. I took a lot of extra time with the animals. Victoria has had to hurry through the morning feedings and neither of us have been diligent about cleaning out the waterers like Mama normally does. So, yesterday, all of them got scrubbed clean. Fresh water was given in the morning as well as in the afternoon. Maybe the chickens notice. Maybe they don’t. But Mama wants it that way.

I spent the afternoon in the office working on our current list. I have to decide today or tomorrow if Mama and I will attend the auction coming up next week, if I will go to the auction by myself, or if we will wait until she is able to go to an auction with me. When I was just about finished with the research I needed to get done, Mama called. I was going to grill hot dogs and hamburgers once I got home and we needed a couple things to complete the dinner. Mama suggested that I could either go to Walmart and get a few items or we could go together to Brookshire’s. I chose the latter, but the outing would require that Mama be able to get into and out of the Sequoia. We experimented once I was home and Mama was changed.

She was able to get into the back seat from the passenger side using the rails on the vehicle. It was not a quick process, but it did not seem too cumbersome. With her foot propped up on the console, we headed out.  At the store she was able to scoot across the vehicle and exit from the driver side; once again stepping onto and down from the rails on the vehicle. The little power scooters at the store were in far better condition than those we normally find at Walmart, so Mama was able to get around easily. Unfortunately, the aisles were not as wide as at Walmart and she almost took out a couple of endcaps. Everyone was quite forgiving. Once home, Mama rested a bit. I fired up the grill, chopped up onions, jalapenos, mixed the ground beef with ground turkey and got Mama setup to make potato salad, chili and slaw.

I put some chicken on the grill and pattied out the meat. Mama finished the potato salad and sat down to rest. Once I got the meat on the grill I started getting the kitchen cleaned up. Mama got up and made the chili for the hot dogs. Then she sat back down and rested. Once up again, Mama made the slaw. Then she sat back down and rested. She fussed about having to rest so much. It is to be expected. I explained that the body does not react well to the extent of surgery it has been put through and resting equals healing. After all, she is recovering from a surgery in which the doctor as much as cut her leg off and reattached it. Not a small procedure and the body recognizes the extent of the injury far better than we can understand. We really are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”  Right now, I can see that she is doing more than she was even a few days ago. Whether or not she will be up to making the six-hour trip to Hot Springs, spend the next day in the car searching out properties and then sitting through the auction the next day followed by a six-hour ride home after the auction, we have not decided. It all seems a bit much.

There is one outlier. There is a home on the left-over list that we are trying to get a realtor to look at for us. It is in the same general area, so if we go – or I go by myself – we can look at the property ourselves, but we need to see it before we take any action. It alone would be enough to get us started but we are not getting our hopes up. A property of this caliber on the leftover list generally means there is something physically wrong with the house – fire damage, a serious structural issue or the like. That is why we need to see the property. So far, we have not gotten a realtor to look at it for us. Maybe Mama can get that done today.

So, for now, we are making slow progress on various fronts. It is not the pace either of us hoped for, but it is still progress.

Keeping up

Mama did okay her first day on her own. I went home on my lunch break and ate a quick meal with her. By the time I got ready to head back to work, she was ready to go to bed for the afternoon. That worked out pretty well for both of us. When I got home after work, I saw the bedroom door open, so I knew she was up. When I go to the bedroom door I saw her sitting in my desk chair leaning forward on the walker; lost in thought. My greeting startled her so badly I got soundly scolded. You know Mama. She got over it almost as fast as the fright passed and I got my usual “welcome home” kisses. I could tell she was hurting. I could also tell there was something else bothering her. She told me later that the meds were affecting her. She was having bad dreams. Seeing things that were not there. Catching glimpses of people who could not possibly have been in the room with her. It is clearly time for a change in prescriptions.

I fixed myself some soup, quickly tended to the animals and shaved and showered to go to a viewing for the family of a friend of ours at church who died on Sunday morning. It was one of those expectedly unexpected deaths. Walt was in his mid-eighties, failing health, asthmatic. But he was faithful to church. I had talked to him, as I did every week, Sunday a week ago. He went into the hospital Monday of last week and had a rough week of better and not better days until Sunday morning. Now he really is better. It was not a somber gathering at the funeral home. What a hope we have! I only stayed for about a half hour before going to the office to work on a list for the auction coming up next Tuesday.

As I worked through the list I have to admit to being a bit discouraged. Since Mama and I went to the auction in Oklahoma, it has been obvious that there is a serious competition for the houses available on these lists. With the current level of competition, Mama and I are at a slight disadvantage financially. Don’t get me wrong. We have enough money if we can end up at the right auction. I am not sure if the one coming up is the right one. I will finish my research on the list tonight and make a decision whether or not to take the vacation days from work to attend this one – or wait for another. With limited vacation time, I can only attend one more auction this year. I need to be pretty confident about the chances of getting a property to bet it all on this auction. I am not there yet. Besides, I want Mama and I to be a team at these auctions. We do better when we are together and right now, that is not an option.

When I did get home – a little after 9 pm – I went out to close up the chickens. My normal nightly routine. It was only then that I realized I had not taken the time to water the vegetable plants in the garden. It was late. I was tired. I let it go. I have a soaker hose on part of the garden and it had run the entire time I was in town, so that part of the garden will be okay. I will see tonight if any of the plants I normally water nightly survived. I am not optimistic, but if they did, I will pick up tonight where I left off - when I get home from my extra time at the office. Tomorrow, the 4^th of July, is a work holiday for us. If I still have live plants remote from the soaker hoses, I will transplant them to benefit from the soaker hoses. It will seriously crowd things, but if we can help them survive and produce, it will be worth it.

I still have to water the fruit trees, berry bushes, the grape vine, and the flower beds. It is becoming a challenge to keep up as Mama recuperates.

Brittany, Andrew and the twins will be here tomorrow. That should be fun.

Catching up

Thursday evening, I was planning to go to Norman’s to pick up a couple bales of hay but got a call from Bro Danial asking if they could borrow the utility trailer to get some hay. Since I have the gooseneck trailer, I let Danial take the utility trailer. It was only after I finally got hooked up to the gooseneck trailer that I noticed that the tags were out of date. I knew I had a sticker for a trailer on my desk, so I retrieved it only to discover it was for the stock trailer. No current stickers for the gooseneck. I left the truck still hooked up to the big trailer knowing I could use the Sequoia to get to and from work the next day and called Norman to let him know I would not make it over until at least the next evening. When I got to looking around at the things that needed to get done for Mama and for the farm, it was obvious I needed to take a day off to get those things done. There were too many to squeeze into lunch breaks or rush around after work hoping to find offices open when I got off. I called in to work the next morning and spent the entire day running errands.

At 8 am, I headed to the tax office in Decatur to get the trailer tags. I thought I was going to have to go to the driver’s license office to get Mama’s handicap placards and I was not looking forward to that. That office is always packed. But while the lady was working on the two stickers I needed for farm trailers, I asked about the handicap placards and was told that I could get them there. Praise the Lord. I paid for everything and was home again by 9 am. Once the stickers were in place and I had eaten some French toast with bacon, I disconnected from the gooseneck and headed to Muenster for feed a little after 10 am.

Once the feed was loaded, I swung by the meat processing shop in Muenster and picked up some pork breakfast sausage. Mama and Victoria really like that sausage and we have been out for quite a while. Next time we are able to process a pig, we will have to request more of the meat be processed into sausage. Anyway, they only had nine packages available, so I bought them all. From there, I swung by the dairy and got two gallons of fresh milk. We have not made that trip in many months. Although none of the sausage got eaten over the weekend, almost half a gallon of milk was consumed. Once I got home and put all the feed away, I set up the truck and utility trailer to go to Normans and got busy on little chores at the farm. I did not get to pick up the hay until about 8:30 pm but it all worked out because I had to work on the lights on the trailer. I needed them in working order to be able to travel home after dark. That took me some time but by the time I left everything was working properly. I got home a little before 10 pm.

Saturday was almost as much running, but we started the day with Mama’s biscuits. Victoria and I took Mama to Walmart for her second outing of the week. I teased her about her hairy legs as I helped her get into and out of the back seat of Victoria’s car. That night she had had enough, and she and Victoria concocted a plan to get Mama into the shower. We wrapped her leg in Saran Wrap and duct tape and I set up a step for her into the shower in the hall bath. Grandma had helped her get cleaned up and get her hair washed several times over the past two weeks, but this was her first shower in that time frame. She was delighted. I fretted the entire time. Some in play but mostly seriously. Any little slip would have been disastrous. Fortunately, we got through the shower without incident. Mama took great pleasure in the fifteen minutes under the running water.

Today, Mama is on her own for the first time in two weeks. I will go home at lunch and check on her. Other than that, she is her own caregiver for the day. Tomorrow we go to get the staples out of the incision. She is relieved and terrified all at the same time. It should be over quickly and once that is done, we can start physical therapy.

We just have to figure out how to get her to and from those appointments.