Packing, feeding, planning

Yesterday was the girls last full day at the farm. This afternoon Mama and Victoria will meet Brittany in Oklahoma City to begin a slow paced four-day trip to New Jersey. We had tentatively planned to go to Cabela’s last night but abandoned those plans in favor of just hanging out at home. Mama had a lot to do to get ready for today’s travel, packing, repacking, and double checking that all the required items make it into the Sequoia for the trip. Not just for the three girls but also for Mama. Victoria will bring the Sequoia back to the farm after the transfer of occupants takes place late this afternoon and Mama will ride along with Brittany and the girls – with Andrew bringing up the rear in a separate car - to New Jersey. Mama’s flight home is now scheduled for the 5^th, which works out better for me since that is a holiday for me. Plus, it gives Mama the chance to go to church at Somerset Bible Baptist to say hello to all our friend there. I suppose we will now have a more urgent reason to visit New Jersey than we have had in the past ten years or so since we moved to Texas.

So, the farm will be mine alone to attend to for a week or so. That is not a problem except for the fact that I cannot do a morning feeding Monday, Wednesday, and Friday because I have classes to teach all three days next week. Victoria will be here during Mama’s absence, but I will not ask for help unless I need to do so. I will be able to open the coop for the chickens to get out before I head to the office in order for them to get to their water dishes. That is generally the most urgent morning task regarding the animals. All feeding will have to wait until the evenings when I get off from work – unless Victoria wants to participate in that before she gets ready for work each day. Once per day feeding will cause the animals some angst, but it will do them no harm. Also, as Mama travels, Lilly will deliver her kids. I was a little surprised she did not do so last night, which would have been fun for the girls – and for Mama – but she is definitely close.

I was hoping to test out my little pontoon craft this weekend, but it is looking like that will be a bust. Winds are forecast to be high and thunderstorms are forecast to begin tomorrow mid-day, about the time I will get home from bus calling. I will still watch closely this evening, but I do not have high hopes. I am anxious to see how easy or problematic it is for me to launch the craft once it is outfitted. One of my concerns is actually getting into the seat of the pontoon boat while it sits on the water. The problem is my back. I need to find out if I can step or maneuver myself into the seat while the boat moves around in response to my getting onboard. The one advantage of the jon boat I have access to is that it provides a large, rigid surface to me to use as I enter the boat. The pontoon boat may not be solid enough on the water to enable my mounting the seat as it sits on the water. It may turn out to be a moot point. I just do not know yet.

Last night when I went out to close up the chickens, I found all of them camped out on the porch of the coop. Earlier in the afternoon, while feeding with Zoe and Sophia’s help, Mama had closed the gate at the back of the coop to allow her younger chickens to enjoy the treats she had provided without the larger, older hens beating them out. Mama forgot to go back and open the gate, so the chickens did not have access to the coop to get inside to roost. I ended up herding the flock through the gate I opened to let them into the coop for the night. It took a few tries, but eventually all of them got inside and settled in for the night. What was funny was to watch the ones that went into the wrong side of the coop and had to quickly reverse course to ensure they got into the familiar side of the building. They each have a specific spot on the roost that they aim for. They definitely know where they belong. The old adage, the chickens will always come home to roost, was playing out before me.

While the girls were here

The girls on the farm

While I taught class yesterday Mama and a friend from church traveled to and from Oklahoma City to meet Brittany and get the girls. They had a easy trip to Oklahoma City, a great visit with Brittany and a good trip home with the girls. They got home about 5:30 yesterday evening. Mama was worn out. The girls were fired up. Zoe and Sophia greeted me with their usual exuberance. Audrey was, and still is, much more reserved towards me. With Mama and Victoria, she is quite comfortable.

So, our normally quiet house was alive with high-pitched voices, continuous words of caution not to run so fast and the ongoing rattling of boxes of toys Grammy has available for entertaining young ones. It seemed imperative that all the boxes be inspected in one evening – as is typical. It was a delightful cacophony…and remains so. The twins need to express themselves verbally provides a continuous stream of chatter in the atmosphere, some of which is quite entertaining, and some of which is enlightening. A portal into their little minds. Again, quite delightful.

This morning the girls went out with Mama to feed the chickens. That is not as simple a process as it sounds. It requires that hen scratch be gotten in the scoop used for that purpose alone. That hen scratch (a treat for the flock) is then scattered on the ground in the coop yard in a specified manner. (Some of the scratch grain must be scattered under the coop building on the East side to allow the smaller chickens that are beaten away from the main mass of gran to feed quietly away from the melee of their fellow flock members.) Water dishes are then filled as needed to ensure the flock has plenty of clean water to drink – even though they prefer to drink from the mud puddles we intentionally create for them beside their water dishes.

Only then are the coop doors opened at the back of the coop. The chickens, well aware of the routine, are poised and ready to pour out of the little coop doors into the yard and get a quick drink before they consume the treat provided. Feed is added to the feeders stationed inside the coop and the nesting boxes are opened. We close up the nesting boxes at night to prevent the hens from sending the night in then. When that happens, they dirty the nesting boxes making the eggs laid in them dirty from the residue left by the overnight interlopers. Mama does not like that at all. I tried to get a picture of the twins in their pajamas observing the process as Mama worked, but it did not turn out because of the continuous action of the girls.

Victoria was able to help with the inside routine this morning and will be off tomorrow to provide support to Mama. That is a huge help, especially since Mama will have to take care of all the feeding on her own tomorrow. For today, Mama is going to have to take care of the girls mostly on her own even though I am working from home. I will participate when needed as I listen to the squeaky voices pose question after question to Grammy. It is always fascinating to me what little ones notice and how they try to describe what they see in relation to what they know. That often works out to be extremely funny. I will be watching for those moments as I listen in from my desk.

This will be the last time we have easy access to our granddaughters. They will be moving to New Jersey later this week. It is a move back home for Andrew and largely the same for Brittany since most of her memorable (preteen to late teens) years were spent in New Jersey. They will be in a great church. The twins will be in a great school, one that their mama attended. It seems like a really good move on their part. Brittany invited Mama to make the trip to New Jersey with them as they drive their vehicles from Kansas to New Jersey and we agreed that that was a good idea. So, Friday Mama will be driving back to Oklahoma City to meet with Brittany. From there she will go along for the ride back to Wichita and on to New Jersey. Victoria will drive the vehicle back home from the rendezvous I OKC. But that is not until Friday. Mama will be flown home on the 2^nd of July.

 

I will be teaching a class tomorrow so my participation with the girls will be limited, but I will enjoy what I am able of their visit.

TopGolf and Joe T’s, scraping, my boat, Mama’s conference

Friday, I spent the majority of the workday at a venue called TopGolf. It was a fun outing even though I could not fully participate. TopGolf is more or less a driving range with different traps set the field you are hitting into from one of three levels in the structure. We were on the second floor level as our group tried their “skill” at hitting the golf balls into the waiting traps. The further from the building the trap was that your ball rolled into the more points you could accumulate.

Each trap had an outer area that looked like a web, with a set of inner rings toward the center. The closer you made it to the center, the more points you would score. Our group was not particularly a high-scoring group, but it was a fun group. There were fifteen of us and only twelve slots on the score card. That gave me an out. I could not have made the needed movements to actually drive the golf ball as required, but I had a great time watching and coaching. It was not something I will go out of my way to do again – especially at thirty dollars per hour/per person to reserve the space – but everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

After embarrassing ourselves at the golfing venue, we went to what I was told was a famous restaurant called Joe T Garcia’s. We chose the patio dining because of the ambience. I have to admit that although the food was not that impressive, the atmosphere was. We were seated on a large patio with various spaces isolated from each other by fountains, pools of water and walls of plants. There were dozens of umbrellas to shade us while we talked and ate. I shared a table with five of my coworkers and we visited as we ate chips and dip and them our meals. Three of the young men at the table with me were brand new to EWN so it was a great opportunity for us to get to know each other. We got back to the office a little after 3 pm and were dismissed for the day. All in all, it was a good day in spite of being out in the heat for the entire time.

Saturday, I started off the day by cleaning the goat barn. As we feed the goats hay day by day they tend to scatter the uneaten portion on the floor of the barn. That accumulation can be impressive over time. So about evert two weeks I have to scrape that offal from the floor and let the dirt beneath the amassed hay air out. I put lime on the dirt before I take the chaff that packs into the base of the stand we use to put out the hay and restraw the floor. I ended up getting two full bucket loads of residue in the cleaning process, which we let rot for compost. My focus of this cleaning was that Lilly will kid very soon – this week I am hoping – and I wanted the barn as clean as possible in case she gives birth in the barn. I am hoping for the first kids to come this week because we will have Brittany’s girls with us for a few days as the movers pack their house. It would be fun for them to get to handle the little goats when they are only a few days old.

After I cooled down a bit from cleaning the goat barn, and mounting license plates on our two trailers, I finished assembling my pontoon boat. All I needed to do was to inflate the pontoons and figure out how to attach them to the frame – which was not difficult. However, one of the pontoons will need to be looked over because it will not hold air as well as the other one. That is going to be an issue if I cannot get it addressed properly, but it should be something I can figure out easily enough. After loading the pontoon into the back of the truck I took careful inventory of my back strength and overall strength and decided I did not have the back strength available to offload, equip the pontoon with the trolling motor, battery and fishing gear, try out the pontoon then retrieve it, offload all the accessories, and load it back into the truck once I was done. So, it has sat in the back of the truck through Sunday and into this morning. I may try it out this evening, but I will have to reinflate the pontoon that is no longer sufficiently inflated.

Mama managed to make it to her Meet-and-Greet conference Saturday, but she came home feeling very poorly. The get together was a great benefit to her so she is very happy she went. Thought she was not feeling well she was excited about what she had learned about growing her business. When she is able to meet her goals, we will have a goodly income from her business, and I can retire very comfortably.

That will be nice.

Dental challenges, fishing

After visiting both the periodontist and the local dentist, there is agreement that one of my teeth needs to be removed as soon as possible. The second molar on the lower right side of my mouth. That tooth is the one that is causing me all the discomfort. Not only is there a lot of recession of the gums around the tooth, but it also has a large cavity which is infected. Thus, the pain. On the bright side, I do not have any other cavities so, all that was recommended was to get a normal cleaning and keep doing what I am doing. The tooth just forward of the one that needs to be extracted will need to be pulled also but there is no urgency in getting that done as far as the pain is concerned.

When that tooth is extracted, I will make arrangement to have it replaced with an implant – a very expensive dental remedy. Both dentists were agreed on that as the best option. I suppose I do need to be able to chew for a few more years and since I am already missing a tooth on the lower left side of my mouth, I cannot lose any more chewing surface in my mouth. Right now, I need to find out if I need to have both teeth extracted at the same time and begin the implant process, or if the extractions need to be done at different times. While I am on an excursion with my work team today, Mama is going to try to get the appointment scheduled. We will go from there gathering the needed information for what will follow. A lingering question is whether I replace the tooth on the left side of my mouth with an implant as well. The cost is more than a little staggering, so I have avoided making that decision yet.

For today, my team has scheduled a day at TopGolf. I feel like I need to go because they scheduled this outing with me specifically in mind. I have bowed out of the last two team building events because one centered around touring bars in in Ft Worth by bicycle and the other culminated at a pub for the close of the activity. This one, we are avoiding the drinking part of the activity and closing out the activity at a supposedly famous Mexican restaurant. I do not know how much I can actually participate in the golf portion of the outing, but I can tag along. It should be fun. At least it is a day of activity – not sitting at a desk. The team likes it when we are all together so I can accommodate that whether or not I can fully participate.

Mama is going shopping with Victoria today and spending the day tomorrow in a conference for Color Street tomorrow. I will spend the weekend working around the farm and completing the assembly of my pontoon craft. I do not know if I will get to use my new watercraft tomorrow, but I at least want to get it put together so I can see if it is manageable on my own. I also need to test the trolling motor mount, as well as determine the best way to place the battery which will run the trolling motor. The craft is set up for that service, but I need to see how to fit everything together in a way that suits me. I have ordered a wheel kit for the boat, so transport to the water will be easier but I still need to load the boat into the truck, offload it from the truck and get the motor and battery attached every time I use it. It may be a little awkward at first, but I will eventually figure it out. Since I caught two large crappie from the bank the other night, I am anxious to get out on the water to catch more.

Mama is excited for me to have the little craft – she is really liking the fish I am catching.

New “boat”, dental needs

For several months I have been looking for something I could use on the quarry lakes that was large enough, stable enough and light enough that I could handle the “boat” by myself. I could find two of three of my desired traits, but I did not seem to be able to find all three at a price that was workable for me and Mama. Then I stumbled onto a pontoon craft that looked like it met all the requirements at a workable price. When I found the little pontoon boat that I have now bought I held it in the cart on my Amazon site for several weeks before I finally went ahead and bought it. It arrived yesterday. I was at work when the delivery was made, and the driver simply dumped the box in the middle of the driveway from the back of his/her truck. That is where it sat until I got home and put the box (a large one) in the shop so that I could work on assembly.

Because Mama had gone to get feed yesterday, I took time to offload the truck of that feed and make sure it was distributed out for the chickens and the goats. I did not eat anything last night other than a handful of nuts because I was discouraged by the information, I had researched on the right foods for my blood type. As it turns out, I have been eating almost exclusively in the “harmful” category in regard to my blood type. According to the listed foods, my blood type thrives best on basically a vegetarian diet. No red meat of any kind (all are in the harmful category), virtually no dairy (with the exception of goad cheese), limited fruits (only two specified as beneficial) and nuts (only two specified as beneficial).

Additionally, many of the vegetables we have been eating are in the harmful category for me. Even some of the fish and seafood we have been eating are in the same category. The bottom line is that I have been about 90% wrong on my diet. We have been eating well for Mama’s blood type but all wrong for mine. In large part, what is beneficial to her is harmful to me. The news was disheartening. Mama and I will eventually come up with a plan for a diet we can share, but we will have to prepare meals where we overlap in foods neutral to our blood types and cook separately the foods beneficial to our disparate blood types. Eating a healthy diet has never been the easy path to take.

Once the farm chores were done, I opened the box and began assembling the pontoon boat. I am impressed by the design. It is made from tubular steel and predrilled to be assembled with hitch pins. If needed it can be completely disassembled in only a few minutes. Last night, I assembled the metal frame and hopefully, Thursday evening I will inflate the pontoons and attach them to the frame. The pontoon boat weighs about seventy-five pounds. It is about five feet wide and nine feet long. It is not a small craft, but it should not be too big for me to use easily. It is outfitted to mount a trolling motor – which I have. My only concern is what may happen if one of the pontoons is punctured while I am on the craft. I do not know if there is a double bladder or if the pontoons are only one large single walled bladder. I will do more research to find out and be prepared for the worst. With that in mind, I will wear a life jacket when on the boat. It just pays to be safe. If a pontoon does fail and I have to recover the craft from the lake, I can always use the aluminum boat I have here. I will need help getting that boat into the water, but it is a reliable backup. It is just too heavy for me to use on my own.

I have a dental appointment this afternoon. This dentist was recommended by the endodontist I saw last week. In this initial appointment I will learn the fate of the tooth that is causing me the pain I have been enduring for months. The endodontist pronounced the tooth unsavable. I have no doubt he is correct. Where I will go and when that extraction will happen should be one of the outcomes of this appointment. Most often the general dentist will not perform extractions. There are too many potential complications. I should also learn how many – if any- other cavities have developed and the requirements of ongoing treatment. I will also get a feel for the expense of that treatment. I am not looking forward to any of that. But I have put it off for too long and cannot wait until we are in Honduras to get the work done. Mama and I have talked at length about using a dentist in Honduras for our dental needs, but the logistics of that have proven impractical. Absorbing the cost of travel into the treatments we would receive there just about balances out against the cost of getting those treatments here. So, here we go into the expensive world of dental medicine.

I will be teaching a class tomorrow and traveling with the Education team on Friday. 

Interruptions, trimming and watering, fishing, business

Yesterday was an uneventful day until Mama went to the Chico post office in the early afternoon. She called me from the post office – I was working from home – to tell me the car would not start. No lights. No clicking. No nothing. I went to see if there was something I could do and we decided to have the car towed to Roger’s, especially since Victoria had had the same problem a couple days ago when she was using the Sequoia. My first thought was that it was the Park/Neutral switch that tells the ignition that the vehicle is safely in Park. I got some contact when I fiddled with the gearshift, but not enough to start the car. As I waited for her, Mama made the calls to Triple A and Roger and was trying to lock the car when she told me the locks would not work. Then it dawned on me that the problem might be the battery.

I popped the hood one more time and looked at the positive cable connection on the battery and found that it was loose enough that I could easily twist the connector on the battery post. Once that was found I started the car and we both went home. Mama called back to Triple A and Roger and cancelled those requests. When I finished with my normal work schedule, I cleaned, greased, and tightened the connection to eliminate further issues. Now I need to get some fuses to correct the absence of dome lights in the Sequoia. That seems to be an ongoing issue, but it is easily dealt with. I could have fixed it yesterday when I was correcting the battery issue, but I did not have a replacement fuse. I will purchase those today on my lunch break.

Once I had repaired the car as much as I could, I worked around the farm getting some weeds knocked down. Where we had kept the pig, the weeds growing in that rich ground were taller than me. It was easy work with the wheeled trimmer and after I got that knocked out, I went to the garden and trimmed the grass and weeds growing there to clean up that area. There was more to be done there than I had anticipated, but once it was done, the garden looked like a garden again. Now we can see what we intended to grow in that area. It certainly made it easier to water the vegetables when they could be clearly distinguished from the unwanted volunteer invaders of our little garden patch. After I put all the tools and implements away, I started watering both at the house and in the garden. By that time, it was almost 8 pm.

Since I still had an hour or so of daylight, I walked over to the lower lake and fished for an hour. I was not having much luck until I meandered to an area where I could cast out a bit further into deeper water and I caught a huge Black crappie. In the same area I also caught a smaller one (still a keeper), but I had to give up for the evening because it was getting dark. Once home, I quickly filleted the fish and packaged them for Mama and me to eat this evening. I am anxious to show the pastor that catch. He will be even more anxious to test his skill at the lake. Black crappie are his favorite fish and the size of that one speaks to a good supply of them in the lake. His granddaughters visiting from Virginia for the summer have already been after him to take them fishing at the lake. This catch might be the motivation to do so.

I am in the office this morning, so Mama has the feeding all on her own today. I always feel better when I can take a few minutes to help her with the morning feeding, besides, I like getting the exercise every morning. This afternoon I will have to do extra to make up for the loss of steps this morning. Mama will be going for feed later this morning. We typically go to Tony’s Feed in Muenster, but Mama has been told by the Wycoff’s that the Tony’s Feed in Gainesville is a friendlier bunch to deal with. So, she is probably heading that direction to get the feed and to visit with Kimberlyn in the same trip. I have not received this morning’s update to confirm that excursion, but as of last night, that is where we stood.

As for her business, Mama has been doing very well lately. It is exciting to watch her accomplish her goals and help others get their businesses growing in the process. The income she wants to attain, will follow soon, but for now, she is seeing lots of little successes. We continue to pray that the Lord would guide her and bless her business.

It is very encouraging to watch that happen.

Trade days, lawn care, back in church

Mama and I went to Trade Day’s Saturday morning. I have not been to Trade Day’s in several months, but Mama makes it a regular monthly outing. From what I saw, I have not missed much by my absence. This time Mama and I focused on the vendors that have permanent stations at the market, most of whom sell older stuff. Some people loosely refer to their wares as antiques. I do not see them that way. Mama was specifically looking for spools to use in her crafting. We were not having much luck until I veered out of the flow of pedestrian traffic and into a booth to look at a Conestoga wagon miniature. It was not in particularly great shape, but it had caught my eye.

Tucked behind that wagon were a couple of large antique spools. I did not recognize them, but Mama did. She bought them for $4 each. That was a bargain because of all the old junk we looked through, those were truly antiques. Most of the other things that we looked at had prices that were too high to even consider making a reasonable offer. Something I find particularly frustrating about people selling low quality items at prices that are unreasonably high is the hallmark of such flea markets. If it eventually works for them, good for them. I will not indulge them in their quest to gouge customers. Mama also bought two doilies for $1 each. I came home empty handed.

While at Trade Day’s we spent some time visiting with the Wycoff’s. They were in their reserved spot selling crafts and candles. I do not think they were doing very well. In fact, in the time we were there only a couple people stopped to smell the candles or peruse the wares being offered. Daniel was a little worried about the temperatures. The candles do not do well in the heat and the temperatures were forecast to be in the mid-nineties. At least there was a breeze blowing – hard enough that Brittany was having difficulty keeping some of her craft items on the table and shelves she had set up. Mama and I did not stay long but when we got back home, both of us took a short nap. We are still not functioning at full capacity and tend to wear out very quickly.

It had rained a little overnight Friday night, so Mama and I had decided to let the grass dry a bit before she fired up the mower. That was the one reason I decided to visit Trade Day’s that morning. Once our naps were over, I got the edger attachment on the combo unit I use and edged the patio and sidewalks. I had not done any edging for months, so it was a mess, but I slowly cut away at the overgrowth around the edge of the patio. That done, I got out the weed eater and trimmed around some of the obstacles Mama has to avoid when she mows. I cannot last very long with the weed eater so I did what I could before she started mowing. By that time, I was thoroughly soaked. The temperature had not topped out yet, but it was above 90°, so it was quite warm. Doing the yard work was about as far as Mama and I got other than the cooking I did on the grill – smoked meatloaf and beef cutlets with vegetables. Both of which turned out well.

Sunday Mama and I finally got the chance to go back to church and we got to get Cheyenne and Aubrey as well. We had missed two complete weeks of services due to our illnesses, so it was very nice to be back in the services again. I lead the singing and even sang a special for the morning service. Pastor let me know that we could start the choir again, so next Sunday I will get to see who wants to sing in the choir. We will start regular practices the following Sunday evening. At some point we will be back to the order of service we used to keep. Tat will be a refreshing return to normal. A statement that we are comfortable enough to do things the way we used to. That has been a long time coming.

We ate lunch at the restaurant after church. We had to leave the girls at the restaurant because Grandma was helping out at the restaurant. The girls were not overjoyed at spending the day sitting in a corner at the restaurant, but Mama was not prepared to bring them home with us. As a reprieve, we picked up the girls for church Sunday evening and they sat through the service with us only to be dropped off at the restaurant after the service.

It was a good day overall. 

Sasha, my dental visit, vehicle news

Wednesday, I took time away from the class I was attending to take the truck to Mama (we are still one vehicle short) so I could help her load Sasha for a trip to the vet. The evening before Mama had noticed that Sasha’s breathing had a distressed look to it and early Wednesday morning, I had to move Sasha out of the middle of the county road where she had most likely laid through the night. She was a soaked, muddy mess, hardly able to move on her own. I put her at the entrance to our property and headed to class to meet Red, who would be teaching the class.

Mama told me when I called from the Conference Center where the class was being held, that Sasha had made three different moves of about thirty steps each, resting between each move for fifteen minutes or so, and was now laying in the garage. That is where she was when I drove home to help Mama load her up to visit the vet. As we suspected, there was noting that could be done for her and Mama was able to be with Sasha as she was put to sleep and then put down. After twelve years of hard work guarding our flocks and herds, Sasha will be missed. All of us were shocked by her very sudden death. We were all expecting Sam to be the first Great Pyrenes we would lose. In fact, we bought Gemma with that thought in mind. But Sasha was the first to go and as sad as that may be, we are fairly sure Sam will not last through the next winter.

I have cautioned Mama and Vitoria about buying another dog the backfill for Sasha because Mama and I are not certain how many more years we will live on the farm, and I do not want to make the decade long commitment to keeping another dog until we are certain that we will live out our days right here. Sasha died on this farm and Sam will likely do the same. Were Mama and I to sell the farm, we would hope the new owners would allow Gemma the same fate because she would not be content elsewhere, but that is all speculation for now. I just do not want to add another dog to the mix just yet, but Mama is correct when she argues that the dogs do better in pairs versus being on their own.

I will be going to an endodontist this afternoon to be evaluated for full dentures. I am embarrassed and frustrated with the shape my teeth are in, but I need to find the right solution to the pain I am experiencing. I do know that I cannot let my teeth go untreated much longer, hence, the evaluation by a dentist who can answer my questions about the best plan of treatment going forward. I am not looking forward to the visit for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is the cost of such care. But, at this point I am out of options. Grandpa had had dentures for longer than Mama and I have been married, so I know it is a workable solution, I just do not know if it the right solution for me at this time.

Mama is taking Victoria to Roger’s this morning is she can retrieve her car. Roger is certain that he found the issue and fixed it for the foreseeable future. We are very hopeful that that is the case. It has been a great car for Victoria and should be for another couple years if we continue to take care of it. Having her car returned to service will give us all our vehicles back. Mama will be glad for that. From my point of view, Mama being stuck without a vehicle has limited her trips out which always cost us money. The savings have been noticeable so, having her vehicle back is going to end that trend.

Not a big deal, just a part of living with Mama.

Better by bits, births, our second month

Mama and I are getting better a little at a time. She is recovering her sense of taste and smell and both of us are slowly recovering our strength. We are still dealing with a cough – although to a lesser degree – and lots of mucus. Mama managed to haul Sam to his yearly sheering yesterday as well as make half a dozen stops at various merchants in both Bridgeport and Decatur while she was out. Since Sam has to be lifted into and out of the vehicle every time he needs to be loaded or unloaded, it is not a simple chore to accomplish. Though Mama had help moving Sam at each stage of the transfer, she was worn out by the time she got home, but she did get out for the first time in a couple weeks. That felt like an accomplishment in and of itself.

As for me, I am working from home today on my scheduled day at the office because I am still snotty and coughing enough to cause concern to those in close proximity to me. Those who work with me would rather I stay away when there is a risk of infecting them and I would rather not be blamed for the illness should they get sick. Even if I am not the vector for that sickness it is too easy to place blame. Fortunately, the internet began working properly just before an online meeting I was scheduled to attend. I am attending a class tomorrow, but I am not teaching. On Thursday I will be teaching a class. Fortunately, my management relieved me of the class tomorrow, an in-person class, so that I would have enough voice for the class Thursday.

We will pick up Victoria’s car this evening. It has been with our mechanic in Bowie for about a week. He was able to finally identify the issue Victoria has had starting the car and hopefully, that has been fully resolved. The issue has been a challenge for almost a year, but it is one of those intermittent problems that has to get bad enough in order for a clear diagnosis to be made. Time will definitely tell whether Roger was able to actually correct the problem, but we are hopeful. It is not a hardship for us to share a vehicle, but it seems to make things operate more smoothly when all our vehicles are in service.

Also, this evening, Mama and I are going to do some of the chores that have been waiting on us to feel better. One of those chores is cleaning the coop. That takes Mama me and about an hour to do when we work together. It has needed to be done for a week or more, but it has waited until we had the spare energy to accomplish the task. Yesterday evening, we caught up to what was ripening in the garden and in the containers where we have vegetables and berries growing. It was encouraging to harvest several kinds of peppers, tomatoes, and blackberries. We did not go too far into the garden because it is too soft to access due to the recent rains, but we were able to collect zucchini, spaghetti squash and green beans. Watermelon, pumpkin, beets, and okra are maturing nicely as well.

Within the next week we will have kids born to at least one of our nanny goats. Kidding will continue with the other four nanny goats that were bred at a later time over the three-month period we had Midas with the herd, but we should see all the kids by the end of the summer. Temperatures have been very mild so far but are forecast to get hot through this week. Since the goats like hot, dry weather, that should help them in the first few days after the babies are born. It looks like our timing was good as far as our breeding program is concerned. Chalk up a success for Mama in her planning.

Mama and I are one month into the special diet we are observing in order to beat the Candida overgrowth in our bodies. So far, the struggle has been worth it. Both of us have lost a significant amount of weight and I am seeing other subtle signs of healing in other areas related to our physical health. Mama is starting to see some gains as well both physically and mentally. So, as we begin our second month of this diet and herbal regimen, it is good to see some rewards for our efforts, enough to encourage us to continue.

Another small victory.

Results, rain, teeth, writing

 

Mama was a little disappointed when the results from our COVID test came back from the lab. We were both listed a Negative. Mama is still certain that what we have been suffering is COVID, but the results – thankfully for social reasons – do not bear that out. Anyway, we let work and church know that we are not spreaders of the pathogen du jour, so that we will be less of a pariah upon our return to those companies respectively. We still did not attend services Sunday because neither of us are recovered sufficiently to sit in a group of worried fellow citizens, but we are getting better – very slowly. I was relieved by the negative result. It saves me a lot of uncomfortable conversations at work and eliminates the need for my HR department to track down all the potential contacts I had with fellow workers had I been infected. For now, that is behind us. We need only to recover. That is proving challenging enough.

After a relatively dry day Saturday we got a storm in the late afternoon which dropped almost two inches of rain on us in less than an hour. That was exciting. Today we are expecting another two inches of rain through the morning. To say the least, we are thoroughly soaked. However, when the downpour comes the way it did Saturday, it washes away most of the softer ground in the areas where it runs off. Where it pools, it makes for some soupy messes. Right now, we have plenty of both. Thankfully, all the animals have dry places to stay while the rain continues. The goats are not venturing outside the shelters they are in; however, the chickens do not seem to mind the rain. While the outside dogs are hiding in the garage, the inside dogs are hiding under tables and in corners of the living room as the thunder booms and the lightening flashes. Our bees will not be venturing out this morning. They will wait until this stops before they resume their excursions. As for Mama and me, we are not in need of any urgent trips out of the house and by the time Mama does need to venture out, the worst of this storm will be past us.  

Among the exciting things that happened this weekend in spite of Mama and I not being able to actively participate in the busy world around us, Walter lost his first tooth. Maggie was thoughtful enough to video chat with Mama to let him share the big news. It is always humorous how much that void in the teeth changes the looks of a young child that is passing through that phase. A fun part of growing up. A not so fun part of growing old is that I may have to forfeit my teeth to get my health back. I will find out this Friday as I consult with an oral surgeon about the need to forego any other mitigation processes and get full dentures. It is only a consultation, but at least I can get some answers to the pain I am dealing with.

All I know for sure is that I need some relief and either course of action I take concerning my dental health, it is going to be very expensive. Regardless, I am not looking forward to the process of switching over to manufactured teeth – especially since my job revolves around speaking for hours at a time. During the consultation, I should be able to discover how my ability to speak will be affected by the process and for what time it could be affected. On the funny side, Mama told me years ago she always wanted to kiss somebody with no teeth. I may get to provide her that opportunity on an ongoing basis. I just hope she likes it. Otherwise, I will have to make sure my teeth are in before I kiss her.

Recently I signed up for a course via Audible books, that covers the “how to” for writing creative non-fiction. As I have progressed through only the first two lectures, I am not sure about the content of the full course (23 lectures), but from what I have heard so far, it is the genre that I have been looking for as I pray about actually writing stories or books for publication. Creative nonfiction is story telling of real-life events. One of the hurdles to writing fiction (a made-up story) is creating a good plot and fleshing out great characters. In telling the true story about an actual event, your plot is supplied via real life events and your characters are actual people. The key to success is telling the story in such a way that, while the author never deviates from the truth of what happened, the author can supply details from any relevant angle that will fit the narrative chosen as the story is recounted.

I am looking forward to learning more.

An encouragement, testing

The class yesterday was a very good class. There were eight people in the class and almost to a person they were involved in the class from the beginning. Lots of anecdotal storied were added to the class from the participants. On several occasions, stories were shared that confirmed what I was presenting. That is always a power reinforcement to the material I cover I the class. Every now and then, I get to lead one of these classes and it is always encouraging to get such supportive feedback through the class. It was especially encouraging because I was coughing quite a bit through the class. Everybody took it in stride and even thanked me for leading the class when it was obvious I was not feeling well. By the time I finished up at work and got home, I was exhausted. So much so that Mama offered to close up the chickens so I could go to bed early. With Daylight Savings Time, it is not getting dark enough for the chickens to go to roost until a little after 9 pm. Thanks to Mama’s offer, I was in bed an hour before that.

Mama and I are both on the mend, but since she told the pastor yesterday that she suspected she had COVID, I insisted that we both go and get tested to make sure one way or the other. Her pronouncement more or less forced me into a corner as far as my responsibility to those I work with and those we attend church with. There are still many in the church who are paranoid about COVID, so we have to be able to say yes or no when asked if we were infected with that virus specifically. If infected, there is a protocol I have to follow to be in compliance at work. It is necessary to be sure if I am required to do so or not. Thought I certainly will do so if needed, I am not going to go through the isolation and rescheduling required of me if I do not have to.

Since we were able to schedule the tests at the CVS here in Decatur, it was a pretty easy appointment to set up. What was a bit challenging was getting the test scheduled online. I got mine scheduled via the computer and while Mama tried to do the same on her cell phone, she ended up scheduling herself for a test at a CVS almost a half hour away.  So, we had to cancel that appointment. I was then able to get online via the computer and get her test scheduled for the ten-minute slot following mine. Even though it took twenty minutes to get the test kits once we showed up, it was easy to do since we administered the test to ourselves. Not knowing where we stand as far as infection, we came straight back home. Hopefully, we will know the results tomorrow. Once the results come in, I will let persons responsible to deal with COVID protocols at both work and church know the results as recorded Although I am not thrilled about the accuracy of such testing, it is the best we can do for now.

For obvious reasons, Mama and I are not planning much this weekend. We will not be going to church – just to be on the safe side. Besides if we are still coughing, that would be too distracting to everyone in the church, not just to those who sit near us. How much work is done at the farm Saturday remains to be seen. Mama wants to mow later today and that is feasible since it is mostly work done by the mower. I need to check the progress the bees are making on the honey supers. That too is feasible. How much else gets done – chores which require more energy than those listed - is questionable. I told Mama that if I have the energy, I will go fishing for a couple hours this evening.

Even that is questionable.

Teaching, recovering slowly

My voice held up through the four-hour online class I had to teach yesterday, but just barely. I had to mute my microphone several times per hour to cover my cough, but other than that, I got through it. Not only was I still suffering from the tail end of the illness that has kept me, and now Mama, down for over a week, but I was going on less than four hours sleep. Victoria’s return flight from Honduras routed through Houston on the way to Dallas. With the storms we were having in this area coupled with mechanical delays of the plane that was flying to Houston then on to Dallas, her 9 pm arrival time was pushed back to 12:30 am. Since Mama was not feeling well at all, I drove us to the airport to pick Victoria up. Fortunately, she arrived safely at DFW after all the delays, and, once back home, I was able to lay down for a few hours sleep at 1:45 am. Up again at 5:45 am – the same morning. I did not change as I laid down to rest. I just slept in the cloths I was dressed in to go to the airport, boots and all.

As far as our restricted diet is going, the only effect I can track is the weight loss Mama and I are experiencing. I am down over fifteen pounds in the three weeks Mama and I have been on this diet. Mama is down thirteen pounds so far. Neither of us feel well enough to celebrate that little victory, but it certainly is one that we need to recognize as a success. The fever blisters that covered my entire lower lip down to my chin are finally clearing up. The pharmacist at the Bowie Walmart, someone Mama knows well, recommended an expensive lip balm designed specifically for fever blisters and it worked better than anything I have ever tried before. When I taught class yesterday, the sores on my lower lip were visible but they were not as horrible as they had been for a week. When the blisters were at their worst, I told Mama I felt like I had a zombie mouth. She did not like that comparison.

Tomorrow I will be teaching a full eight-hour class. Typically, I lose my voice by the end of the class, so I am not sure how much of a difference my current illness will have on my voice. Hopefully, by the end of this week, I will be recovered. Especially since next week I will be teaching an in-person class. I have been trying my best to keep up with the schedule set out for me at work, but it seems like one thing after another keeps interfering with that effort. As I struggle to do so, there is a growing recognition that I cannot keep this up indefinitely so there is an effort within my company to find the additional instructors we can pull from when the pace is too much for me to keep up on my own. So far, that effort has been muted at best, but at least it is a recognized need and several candidates have been identified.

Neither Mama nor I are well enough to go to church tonight. Hopefully, this will be the last service we miss due to our current illness. For me at least, it should be. With the remaining heightened health awareness, (read that people scared to death about any cough or sneeze) it is best to avoid congregating while we are coughing and sneezing. As I understand it, there are multiple families out with the same bug, so it is not like we are case zero for the current bug effecting the area. Still, it is best to not worry those who may still be worried. Our pastor’s wife is one of those still terrified of getting any germ, of which COVID-19 is the newest favorite sinister pathogen. Neither Mama nor I have COVID, but it is best not to cause questions. I am avoiding the office at work for the same reason. So far, my schedule has kept me largely secluded from my coworkers. That is for the best. I cannot be held responsible should any of them fall sick with the same illness Mama and I are now contesting.

While both of us struggle to get well, the issues of broody chickens taking up all the nesting boxes so other chickens cannot lay, the recent invasion of squirrels, Gemma digging up our flowerbeds and planters, Samson having to practically be dragged out of our way when he lays on the driveway as we need to get out (he is suffering from hip problems) and water leaking into our living room from under the slab, seem to be more irritating than normal. In dealing with these issues while having limited emotional resources to do so, I told Mama I have adopted the philosophy that I can be angry, or I can be thankful.

Being thankful has a lot better outcomes than being angry. For instance, Mama and I are actually getting better and are not in the hospital. We have so many healthy chickens needing to lay that twelve nesting boxes are barely enough. Squirrels are amazing creatures which are entertaining to watch. Gemma is a fine guard dog for our animals and property.  Sam has been a faithful guardian of our property for almost twelve years, so he deserves his down time. We have gotten enough rain that the ground is thoroughly soaked. All points of blessing.

God is good.