Turkey day, lazy day, packing

Sometime Friday Mama got word from Brittany Wycoff that she would have frozen turkeys to give away Saturday morning. Walmart had donated the turkeys to get rid of them since sales of the turkeys had fallen off sharply and they were taking up a lot of freezer space. Brittany told Mama she was expecting to get one hundred or more of the frozen birds, she ended up getting four hundred. Britany, Mama and several others were making frantic calls to find people willing to get the free food but had not made a significant dent in the supply by the time we picked up fourteen to take home. Mama and I barely fit the birds into the freezer space we had available. We had to rearrange the chest freezer to accommodate nine of the very large turkeys – all were at or over twenty-pound birds. The other five were taken by Red and his wife to be donated to the church she works for as secretary. Two more were given to Kim and Kenny Sunday. So, we ended up with seven out of the fourteen. Plenty of turkey for us. By the early afternoon, all the birds had been taken, the last hundred or so going to a Reformers Unanimous shelter in the Ft. Worth area. All in all, she gave out the 400 turkeys in less than five hours including the two trips to the Walmart in Denton to get the turkeys. Quite a feat. On top of the space the turkeys are now taking up in the freezer, Trace told me last night he was going to give me a supply of pork shoulder because he had bought too much (sixty pounds) and could not store it.

Other than the turkeys, I did not get a lot accomplished Saturday. I spent an hour or more grinding up leaves near the goat paddock. The leaves in that area had accumulated into drifts that were almost two feet deep. The leaf blower/vacuum combination tool I was using does a fair job of chewing up the leaves, but it takes a lot of time to get it done. I have needed a large leaf vacuum for several years but have hesitated to part with the money to purchase one, so I bought the blower/vacuum tool instead. When I use it, I leave the bag attached to the unit open, so the mulched leaves accumulate on the same ground in a much more manageable volume. That creates a lot of dust. I was double masked while I was using the vac, but I got covered with dust and the masks only helped as much as they were able, so I ended up firing up my allergies in a big way. That made it a little challenging to lead the singing Sunday, but I got through it with the Lord’s help.

Mama was supposed to get together with Kimberlyn today but that fell through. She was planning on the two of them going shopping in Sherman, TX. She likes the way the stores are laid out in that area, but she will have to satisfy herself with getting those errands done locally. What she does not get done today, she will do when she goes out with Grandma and Grandpa on Wednesday. I was able to do my part on a couple crafts she is assembling so she has those projects to work on as well as continuing to pack for our upcoming trip to Honduras.

Some of that packing took place Saturday as Victoria started to get the items we have to take with us for Nate, Cori and the kids into suitcases so we could test both the volume and the weight of all those necessities. I spent a bit of time Saturday evening at Lowe’s looking at miter saws. Nate could use one and I wanted to get one that would meet his needs as well as being compact enough to fit into a tote or a large suitcase. I found one that I thought would work but I have yet to test whether or not I can fit it into a piece of luggage or a tote. Either way, it will present a challenge for us to transport, but making the extra effort will be a huge blessing to Nate and the ministry there. I will have to use the saw a few times to dirty it up in order to avoid paying steep taxes on a new tool being brought into the country, but I am looking froward to trying to out to see if it is what I anticipate. I have always wanted one of the type I bought for Nate but have continued to use what I have because it meets most of my needs.

While we are in Honduras, I may get to help the medical team that will be there as our trips overlap. I am looking froward to that.