Grant, haircuts, coming together

In the past week, Cori and Nate have been given a little more potential insight into the problems Grand has been having with fainting spells. The family that they, by change, got the opportunity to visit with have lost two children to a genetic heart condition that seemed to appear suddenly to claim the lives of their children. The parents were unaware of the condition until the first child died from the condition. As they all discussed the symptoms evidenced prior to the eventual fatal episodes, the symptoms were eerily similar to what Grant has been experiencing for several years. Fortunately, there is a medical test that can be done to diagnose that genetic condition.

Unfortunately, there is no medical facility or doctor that can perform the test in Honduras. There is a doctor available in Costa Rica and Cori has made a online appointment with that doctor to see what can be done – first from a distance, the, if necessary, onsite at the Costa Rican facility. That appointment is set up for the end of February, the first available date. Bear in mind, that we do not know if what Grant has been experiencing is a result of this newly discovered possibility, but it will certainly help continue to diagnose Grant’s condition. Since there has been no other insight offered to help Grant, this lead will be followed through until we get an answer of either “yes” or “no”. Remember that even a “no” on a potential diagnosis is still progress toward a workable solution.  We will be praying for guidance and wisdom for Nate and Cori as they pursue this new information.

Kimberlyn came to the farm today to serve as a beautician. She made quick work of Grandpa’s mop of hair – the envy of all the males in my lineage – and did a great job of it. After a short rest, Mama was next. That haircut took a good bit more time, not because of the amount of hair, but because of the far greater importance of the final outcome to Mama. Grandpa is not hard to please. Mama is much more interested in how her hair looks. All turned out well, and the ladies enjoyed the visit.

Mama is very pleased with her haircut. I was informed that all she needs now is a pedicure and she will be ready for Honduras. I am certain that the home salon today was better for the three of them than a trip to any beauty salon. I am pretty well convinced that the trips women make to the salon is more of a social event than a required beauty exercise. To finish out the visit, Mama and Kimberlyn went to lunch prior to Kimberlyn going home. It was a good visit for both of them and Grandma got to participate in the visit as well.

As for our trip, things are coming together. I spent a little time on the phone this morning talking to a vendor of travel insurance. I could have bought the policy without the conversation, but the helpful agent answered all my questions and even provided some insights I did not know were available to me in the purchase. With the condition of our airline industry at present and the potential interference of poor weather conditions, I feel much more comfortable having the insurance in force. Also, Mama and I have scheduled our COVID tests for next Tuesday morning. Sadly, a negative test result is still required for entry into the country of Honduras. Online pre-entry forms have been filled out and submitted to the Honduran State Department, so we should be ready as far as paperwork is concerned.

Norman will be returning to the farm Monday so Mama will have time to acquaint him with all the little things she does for her flocks and herds twice daily. It is a process I have difficulty following and I get to participate in that process several times per week. My take on secondary care for our livestock is only that they all be sufficiently fed and watered, and that they are reasonably secured in their enclosures each night, not that every little detail is carried out. With almost every night in our absence forecast to be below freezing, providing water will, as always, be the challenge. I have confidence, with Grandpa and Grandma to provide oversight, all will be well.

The morning we are leaving, Wednesday the first, the forecast is for freezing rain overnight and through the day. That means that the trip to the airport that morning, at 2:30 am, will be a potentially hazardous one. Norman, is a very good driver who is familiar with the type of conditions we may be dealing with that morning. Time will tell, but it is a nagging detail as we plan our trip. Nevertheless, we are doing all we can to get packed and ready.

I am definitely looking forward to the trip, especially the time we will spend in Roatan, which for now, is scheduled to be four days. Mama and I have always wanted to visit the island but have not been able to do so in the past. This trip is providing us that unique opportunity. We will do so with Nate, Cori and the kids. That will make the memories created in that time very special. Our island-hopping part of the trip will come after the Get Away Conference01272023 Nate and Cori’s church. We are also looking forward to that three-day conference which is conducted wholly in English. Mama like that.

So we have a full itinerary if all goes as scheduled and less than a week to wait.

Good fireplace weather, partial packing, struggling voice

Since the temperature is falling towards freezing and the rain is falling softly – giving us the potential for several inches of snow – it seems a good time to have a fire burning in the fireplace. In preparation for the need of a fire, I spent the evening yesterday making sure we had a good store of firewood in the sunroom. The only caveat is that the wood we now have available is not nearly as dry as the several years old firewood we have fed to our recent fires. That made it a little difficult to get the fire started this morning, but thanks to Grandpa’s ministrations and diligence there is a fire burning brightly now. With a good bed of coals forming under the grate, the wood we have available will burn well as we add it to the fire.  Fires in the fireplace eventually warm the room and the house but mostly they warm the heart. It is distractingly peaceful to simply sit and watch the fire. Grandpa and Grandma will spend the majority of the day doing just that.

The softly falling rain is a boon to the ducks. They always enjoy the rain. They seem completely unaffected by the temperature. On mornings that the pool is frozen over, the ducks will climb onto the frozen surface and peck at the ice until they break through and then happily bathe in the nearly freezing water. It will be interesting this afternoon when the rain is forecast to turn to snow. We have never seen how they will react to that type of precipitation. If it gets too bad, they will resort to their enclosure which provides a dry shelter from all storms. The goats, meanwhile, have sequestered themselves inside their respective shelters. The chickens are ambivalent. If the rain is soft, they will forage around as usual. When the rainfall increases, they seek shelter until it lessens. When it snows, they will also congregate in the coops away from the snow.  

When, of if, the snow begins to fall the goats will stay inside their respective shelters even doing without water for the day. They do not like wet ground but they really do not like snow. When we feed this evening, I will carry five-gallon buckets of water to the goats in their shelters so they can drink. Tomorrow morning, if I am allowed to work from home once again, I will have to swap out the frozen five-gallon buckets with buckets of fresh water. By late tomorrow we should be above freezing and the rain is forecast to have ended, so things will thaw and dry out pretty quickly. Nevertheless, the goats will be hesitant to venture out of the dry shelters until the ground firms up. They are funny animals that way.

With our trip only a week from today, Mama and I are getting ready in little steps. We can only pack up so much at a time, but we need to be able to fit all that is going with us into the allotted suitcases. So far, we have only one half of a suitcase packed with many the items we are taking specifically to Honduras for Cori, Nate and the kids and the weight of that suitcase is already thirty-nine pounds. With a fifty pound limit, it will need to be filled with light items – shirts and undergarments – in order to meet that requirement. Since there are more than an equal amount of items yet to be packed and weighed, the challenge remains for us to arrange everything wisely in the small cubit footage of three suitcases – one of which we will have to pay extra for on the trip down. Being partially ready is better than not being ready at all but the days will pass quickly as we add time and energy to the effort.

One of the major challenges to packing the sundry items being stowed specifically for our Honduran children and grandchildren are two particularly oddly shaped pieces of doll furniture we are taking to Savanna. One is a beauty shop chair, and the other is a double stroller. The beauty shop chair is going to be difficult to pack even if I disassemble it, but Mama is determined to get it to Savanna so I will go as far as I can to make that happen. It remains to be seen if we will succeed, especially with that one item.

I was supposed to be teaching a class today but had to pass it off to a colleague. My sinuses flared up in rebellion against the contaminants they were exposed to because of ashes I cleaned out of the fireplace as well as the leaves I raked and mulched. Because of the tickling cough and profusely runny nose, I missed church Sunday, office work on Monday and presenting a class today. Perhaps by Thursday I will be well enough to teach the class I am scheduled for. I hate to pass off too many classes unless it is absolutely necessary. This one today was necessary. Mama is very concerned that I be completely healed by the time we get on our way next Wednesday morning. To do so, I will need to be very careful to avoid irritating my sinuses again.

That is easier said than done during the Winter.

Chicken secrets, fumbling in Spanish, beautiful forecast for little things

For the past few days Mama and I have suspected that the Banty hens in the small coop were finding alternate places to lay their eggs, but we had not been able to find those places. Each evening, Mama and I would explore one potential location or another. Since we cannot think like chickens we had no success – until Wednesday evening. What Mama found was an accumulation of eighteen eggs that had been laid together in a corner of the most recent compost bin I had built. Obviously several days accumulation from multiple birds.

For months now, I have kept the chickens out of the areas under the coops because they were laying eggs in those areas which we could not access rather than in the nesting boxes. Now we get the majority of eggs from the nesting boxes – except in the little coop. So, to resolve that, I am covering the kennel attached to the little coop this weekend, thus keeping those chickens in until late in the afternoon. Hopefully, that will train them to lay in the nesting boxes we have provided. Hopefully. Chickens like to find hard to access places to lay so they can continuously challenge or ability to find their secret stashes of eggs. That is a game we do not always win, so, I try to tilt the odds in our favor.

Last night, I went with twelve others from the church to a Missions Conference in Ft. Worth.  At that conference there was a couple on deputation to go to the field of Romania. The husband is from Peru and the wife is from Argentina. Neither of them speaks English well. I was not sure if the older of their three children speak English with any proficiency because I did not have time to converse with them. So, in their deputation they mainly focus on conferences at Spanish speaking churches. This conference was an exception in their routine because attending the conference were a lot of individuals who were fluent in Spanish. Because of access to multiple, fluent translators, they were able to engage with the attendees and other participating missionaries.

My pastor’s wife was excited that I was going last night so that I could speak to this couple. She had tried to communicate with them but was aware she as not connecting. Almost as soon as we were in the gym/fellowship hall, Joyce steered me over to introduce me to the couple. They were delightful. We spent about a half hour conversing. Mostly them helping me with Spanish and but also me helping them with English. When dinner was announced, we separated into our groups, but not before they encouraged me by telling me that my Spanish was very good, that my pronunciation and diction was better than many Spanish speakers they had spent time with lately, and I should practice more often to get more comfortable speaking.

After the service was over, I connected with the couple once more to let them know I would be praying for them as they continued their deputation. We spent another fifteen minutes together, but before we parted the husband told me that I should consider a ministry with Spanish speakers. There are not many Americans, he told me, that seem to care that the Spanish they speak is spoken in such a way that the hearers not only understand the works being spoken but feel pleased at the way in which those words are being spoken. I was honored because my speech to communication with them (in my opinion) was halting and strained as I struggled to find the right words and phrases. Nevertheless, they heard my heart. That is what matters most.

The weekend forecast is a pleasant one. Days in the high sixties and nights in the in the thirties. Plenty of sunshine with light winds. That should allow me to get a couple small projects done – like putting a roof over the kennel part of the Banty yard. I would also like to get the door put on the West end of the barn loft, but that door is pretty heavy so getting it into place will be a bit of a load for me to accomplish on my own. I have not made a list of chores for this evening and Saturday and I will probably regret not being better prepared but I did not want to shortchange Mama as she requires my participation in general household chores – especially as we prepare for a two week absence.

One of the other little things I need to see to is taking enough boards off the ramp to the nesting box in the duck’s shelter so I can inspect the nest a couple of the smaller ducks have made outside our reach. I thought I had enclosed the area under the deck the nesting box sits on, but the smaller ducks still manage to get into and out of the insufficiently sealed off area. Eventually, I will open it up to the ducks, but I did not want the ducks to get into the habit of laying in that space. If they do, I will have a difficult time fetching eggs from the void under the deck. We will cross that bridge when we get to it.

There are still mountains of leaves to deal with before the Spring but I have never had a good way to handle that immense accumulation, so I work on it in batches, never more than an hour of raking or shredding at a time. I am always careful to mask myself because there is nothing that disturbs by bronchial more than the dust and mold in leaves. Hopefully, this weekend will allow me to keep my lungs clear as I mulch a bit more of the leaves. That chore is something Mama and Grandma can and do help with, so in a couple weekends we should be able to clear the ground quickly.

Time will tell.

Soup day, bad practice, payday

Yesterday was National Soup Day, so my company had anyone who was willing to do so prepare their favorite soup to share at a luncheon for all who were in the office. There were eleven soups on the table, and I am sure all of them were delicious, but I was not able to sample each one. I did manage to sample six of the offerings and enjoyed each one I did taste. It was a potluck lunch that was right down my alley. I love soups. I sampled chicken chili, minestrone, broccoli and cheese soup, tomato soup, seaweed soup, and of course, I tasted the soup I had taken to make sure it was okay.

I made the chicken and dumpling soup that Mama and I enjoy. I was pleased when I went to get my crock pot at the end of the day and found it completely empty. I was told a few minutes later that three ladies had had a spirited discussion about who would get to take what was left of the soup home for dinner. I do not know who won the argument, but it was made easy to collect because I used a crock pot protector bag when I put the soup into the crock pot after I had prepared it in another pot on the stovetop. To get the remaining contents to take home, the lucky winner simply gathered the plastic liner like a bag and knotted it. Mama was hoping for leftovers of the soup but that did not happen.

Twice now, Grandma has witnessed the outside dogs chasing cows in the field across the road. I do not doubt what she has seen but I had not, to date, witnessed it myself. However, this afternoon at lunch I saw the cows coming into the far corner of the field where there had been chased by the dogs and the dogs, Gemma first, began to bark and move toward the field. I yelled to the both of them and thankfully they stopped immediately. Dolly came to me in a very submissive way so I fussed at her and fussed over her for a few minutes. A few minutes later, a truck towing a field feeder came down the road to spread cubes out for the cows in the quarry area. Again, I stopped Gemma and Dolly from responding and waited outside as the bull – last in line of the cattle returning across the field – lumbered up to and then followed the truck back onto the larger property. I do not know if I made any difference in the dogs newly discovered game of cow running, but I tried.

It is not allowable for dogs to run cows for fun. So far, the two of them have been tolerated by the landowner and the lease holders, but chasing cows will be so poorly viewed that we might lose both of the dogs if Mama and I cannot stop them from continuing to do so. I myself have shot dogs that were running cattle on my own property back in West Virginia so I would not have protested if one of my own dogs was shot when engaged in the same bad practice. I hope we can win this little skirmish with our dogs, but I am not overly confident.

Mama had to take Grandma and Grandpa out for their monthly ritual of getting money orders to pay bills as well as doing some banking that is carried out every month after payday, the third Wednesday of every month. It is the one-time Grandpa has to be stern with Grandma. They have only one check coming per month and they have many little bills to cover with that fixed amount, so even though there is money in the bank, there is not enough to blow on little shiny things that catch Grandma’s eyes. Most of Grandma’s trinkets are things that can be given to others – cards, knick-knacks, mementos. The challenge is that there is not the required money to cover all of her requests as well as the postage needed to send those items to their recipients, so they work out how much they can do this month and leave the rest undone until next month. It is amusing to watch the interactions each month when the two of them are dealing with their limited money income.

I am continuously surprised by how much Grandpa is able to do with that little income.

Private goat rodeo, Sunday, welding school

Friday evening, I put the racks on the truck so we could haul a goat to the sale early Saturday morning. Once the truck was ready, I had Norman wait on the outside of the paddock as I got the collar on the goat. That generally happens inside the shelter as I offer feed to attract the goat to the trough. What I do is put the dog collar around the neck of the goat to be moved and wrap the leash under the front legs to allow me to grab both the collar and leash on top of the goats’ shoulders like a halter. That enables us to hang onto the goat as we steer it to the proper destination. With the youngest of our bucks, I assumed there would be no real problem, I was wrong.

When I tried to get the collar over the head of the buck, he reacted very decisively and almost managed to get his head free of the collar before I could get the leash behind his front legs. He was struggling against me so fiercely that I lost my balance and was dragged on top of the buck out of the shelter and almost all the way around the shelter before Norman caught up to the two of us and lended his weight and strength to mine in corralling the buck. Once we had the buck under control, we headed for the gate out of the paddock. As we were heading out of the paddock, Julian, one of the larger bucks repeatedly tried to mount the smaller buck so Norman and I had to fight off the older, larger buck as we continued to keep the smaller buck headed to the gate. It was a real clown show. We did eventually get the buck into the truck but nor without a lot of effort and a bit of comedy. I was exhausted and hurting for the remainder of the evening.

I was expecting to get only $120 for the buck from the stock sale but to our very pleasant surprise, I was offered $197. The market where we took the buck changed their practice and instead of doing a head-by-head auction through the day simply buys the livestock themselves at a fair market price from 7am until noon then separates the livestock per buyers requests and offers the stock for buyers to purchase after 2 pm the same day. With that set up, I walked away from the market with a check in hand for the goat we sold. I liked that arrangement really well. The one sale will net us enough to buy feed for the farm animals for one month. That is a great tradeoff.

Saturday evening, I went with Norman, Mama, and Victoria to look at a couple RV’s. I was shocked that Victoria was even considering any of the RV’s Mama and Grandpa had looked over because the one they were most interested in Victoria considering was being listed at $42,000. Granted, it was a very nice, very large and very well-equipped RV, but it was still a travel trailer. I cannot imagine going into that much debt for temporary housing. Something that is not built for constant occupancy – to be parked and lived in for months or years. These are built for weekend use. Not for permanent dwellings. I was staggered by the price and fortunately, so was Victoria. Grandma and Norman were all in on the purchase and I tried to bite my tongue until Victoria asked me to offer any advice. She did not need to. She was able to make what I felt was the right decision on her own – much to the disappointment of some.  

Sunday was unusual this week because our Pastor from Amarillo, Bro. Chadwick came to our church to preach. It was good to see him and his wife after almost nine years. Mama and I moved from Amarillo to Bowie in 2013. I loved the teaching style Bro. Chadwick had in pastoring the church we attended in Amarillo, so it was good to hear him once more. Because of our connection to the Chadwick’s, Mama and I were invited to have lunch with them and our pastor and his wife Sunday afternoon. That gave us even more time to catch up and visit. Both Pastor Chadwick and his wife are entering into their eighties but still going strong. They are a great example of loving the Lord, loving each other and loving life together after more than sixty years of marriage.

This morning, part of my work team got together to watch one of our peers do some welding. It was a fun way to spend the morning. Claude, our experienced welder, gave us a chance to not only watch him do some welding the company had requested him to do, but he used the morning to give us tips on welding as well as a chance to take some photos and videos of the project. Many of those images will eventually find their way into our training courses. I ended up in several of the images and am sharing a couple of those. Several small things I learned this morning will serve me very well as I continue to weld on fences, braces, and equipment repairs around the farm.

When everyone in our group had left but me, Claude and Russel, my compatriot instructors, I was asked about retiring in June. I had to answer honestly that I am not sure. I would like to, but I do not feel peace about it yet. They would just as soon I did not retire, so it is good to know that there is still a spot for me to continue as we have been in sharing the responsibility of instructing classes.

There is no urgency, but mid-year will be here very quickly and at some point in the very near future, I will need to say yea or nay.

Grandpa, Victoria, packing

For those of you that have not heard, Grandpa got a relatively poor prognosis in his appointment with the kidney specialist yesterday. The finding of the doctor was that Grandpa was showing no more than 30% kidney function. That, in and of itself is not an immediate threat; however, when that function falls to 15% or less, his body will shut down quickly. No one can predict how rapidly the degradation will happen. Grandpa, because of his ongoing heart issues, is not eligible for dialysis – which would be a remedy to someone in better health.

With that diagnosis, we are left with waiting for the kidneys to wear out. The doctor told Mama that for someone with this condition, the vast majority of patients that die of kidney failure simply fall asleep one day and do not wake up from that final rest. It is not an unpleasant way to go home, but there are few indicators that that moment is at hand. So, we strive to enjoy Grandpa’s good days and hope we have many more of them.

Grandpa shared with Mama a few mornings ago that he feels like he is dying. Translating Grandpa is difficult but what we are hearing is that he has the underlying sense that his life will be ending soon. Recently, he has about two to three low days in a row followed by one good day. On the good day, he will walk, do some little thing outside and sit up most of the day. On the low days, much of his time is spent lying in bed. Yesterday, following his and Grandma’s normal breakfast routine (coffee and pecan rolls) he left the bed only to make trips to the bathroom. He endured the ride to and from the doctor’s office, but he did not feel well.

He is mostly satisfied with his life. He is ready to go home. How much longer he will allow himself to live at 30% capacity is difficult to predict, but his work passion and his active spirit will not be satisfied to do so too much longer. If you have something to say to Grandpa, now is the time. If you feel the need to spend a few hours visiting with him, now is the time. All are welcome. Mama and I will do our best to accommodate anyone who comes. For calls, mornings are the best times to connect with Grandpa.

Last night was cold, so I started a fire in the fireplace and it has been kept going through the night and into today. We have a Windsor chair facing the fireplace which is Grandpa’s favorite place to sit while enjoying the fire. He typically takes on the responsibility of tending to the fire – getting the wood from the piles stacked in the sunroom, arranging the logs on the grate and making sure the fire keeps going. It is not much but it gives him something to do that he can do. Plus, we all enjoy the fire, especially Grandma and Grandpa.

The only challenge in maintaining the fire is that, in Grandma’s mind, if there is not a significant flame, she does not consider it to be an actual fire. A glowing bed of coals, though they generate significant heat, is not a fire to Grandma. Grandpa therefore is constantly urged to put another log on the fire, stir up the fire, rearrange the logs on the fire, or some other effort to get the flames to burn more fully. When Grandma is dissatisfied with the outcomes of Grandpa’s efforts, she will try her hand at getting the flame to dance a little higher. Mama and I let the two of them work it out. It is a fun dynamic to watch.

Victoria’s appointment, as I mentioned before, left her with the option to have the lumps removed from her breasts or monitor them on a six-month recurring basis. After doing an analysis of the cost/benefit of the two follow-up pathways and having found out that the surgery is affordable, quick and fairly easy to recover from, she has tentatively decided to have the surgery. Several of our lady friends have advised Victoria that since there is a real danger that the lumps have the capacity to become cancerous, it is best to eliminate that risk completely if possible. So, that is being mapped into our future scheduling of activities, which for now revolves around the trip to Honduras. That will be happening in just a couple weeks.

As I look over the stack of boxes and loose items Mama and I are taking to Honduras, I am thinking that we will need to take an extra suitcase or tote to ensure we have room for our personal items as well as the gifts and purchases that we have accumulated to be included for transport. It is not a big deal, but it is something we need to plan carefully for. Some of the most difficult items to pack are ones that Mama and I have bought. Cori and Nate tend to be far more thoughtful about packages that have to be fit into suitcases, considering both the dimensions of the purchases and the weight of each item. Mama, not so much. I tend to do what I can to accommodate Mama in those decisions. Sometimes it works out easily. Sometimes not.  Fortunately, Victoria just made a trip to Honduras, so the stack we are following up with is considerable smaller than it might have been.

Hopefully, Mama and I can figure it all out.

Victoria’s birthday, Norman, Grandpa, pig inspection

For Victoria’s special birthday present today, she got to go to an appointment with a surgeon to get a prognosis on the lumps in her breast. What a unique gift for the person who is very difficult to buy for. The outcome of that visit is that the lumps are not problematic as long as they are not causing her any discomfort. They are non-cancerous, but can he removed if Victoria would like to do so. I think she will not. Anyway, she can finally rest easy with a definitive diagnosis and a clear prognosis of the issue. I believe both she and Mama are relieved. Getting someone in the medical community to commit to a prognosis as a challenge.

Since the appointment was in Denton, Mama and Victoria have scheduled several shopping stops with the appointment. Mama’s operating philosophy is to make the most of every trip she takes off the farm, especially to an area that has ample shopping opportunities. Today will be no exception. Shoe shopping. Sam’s shopping. The Bread Day Old Store and Panera’s. At least one meal at Chick-fil-A. Whatever else can be reasonable added into the circuit they will take through the city – while avoiding I-35. Hopefully, it will be a good day for both of them. Something pleasant and memorable for Victoria’s birthday.

Norman was able to complete a repair and remodel job he started Sunday in Bowie so he will be gathering up all his tools and personal items and heading to Florida for some small jobs there. His original plan to return to Wet Virginia was postponed because of the inclement weather they are having there. There are far more work opportunities right now in Florida. He will probably wait until Sunday to leave but he has not made and hard plans yet. The hope is that he will return to the farm the last week of January to hold down things here while Mama and I are in Honduras. Mama and I are not completely convinced that that will happen, but we would love that arrangement if Norman is able to follow through.

I have to give Norman credit for the amount of time he has spent just talking with Grandpa. All of us are aware that he could be gone very quickly. Now is the only time he has to share with us and if we do not take advantage of that it will be an opportunity lost. Grandma is not overlooked in those chats, it is more that she spends a lot of time in bed listening to music played on her phone. She is thus less available to spend time with. Plus, Grandpa is easier to visit with especially for those of us that do not mind long pauses in the conversation. Something Grandma is not good at dealing with.

Grandpa did take the tractor this morning and work an hour cleaning a corner of the barn lot. That is the first time he has done so in many weeks. Sometimes he just laid around because of weather but mostly he did so because he as felt too weak to work. Today he cleaned a small section of fence, picked up some limbs that had been recently shed by the tree guarding that corner and brush hogged a portion of pasture once the deadfall had been cleared away. I am always very appreciative of him doing the little things he sees that need to be done. He cannot do much at once, but little by little, his efforts make a noticeable difference on the farm as well as providing something to do that gives him a sense of pride in the doing of it.

Grandpa goes to see a kidney specialist Thursday afternoon. We are concerned about the continued swelling he is experiencing. Primarily in his left foot and hand but to a lesser extent in all his appendages. Partial swelling we are told is indicative of a heart issue while equal swelling overall is more indicative of a kidney issue. The doctor’s appointment in a couple days should point us to a prognosis that can then be treated. A further follow up with the cardiologist will fine tune that prognosis but that appointment is not until sometime in mid-February. Soon after Mama and I get back from Honduras.

Mama and I went to the Foxx’s house last night to look at a pig they were assuming was close to delivering a litter of piglets. Upon inspecting the sow, we all agreed that the due date was still some weeks out. With pigs is can be difficult to tell, but in her case, based on the possible breeding date and how she looks right now, we have to assume she is still a good ways out from dropping her litter. She was a delightfully calm sow and Mama rekindled her love of pigs. We will probably buy two of the litter when and if she does successfully deliver them. Sarah will be on pins and needles until they come so we know the sow will be carefully tended to.

In looking over the setup the Foxx’s have for their goats, chickens, pigs and ducks, Mama once more thanked me for the shelters I have built to house her animals. Most of the chickens and ducks are barely sheltered from the wind or rain but they are thriving nonetheless. Perhaps over time they will build more enclosed structures, but I am glad we started off with ours more akin to houses and barns.

I know Mama likes it that way – and so do I.

Trade Days fail, men’s meeting, trip prep

Trade Days was mostly a failure as far as sales were concerned. The rooster I took sold quickly. He was a beautiful rooster and I am glad it found a good home. At least, I am pretty sure it did. That sale covered the cost of the spot at the animal side of the Trade Days area. I would have made $5 on the day if I had not spent twenty dollars on a portable scaffold. None of the goats sold. Compared to the prices other vendors were asking for their goats and sheep, ours were very fairly priced, but I did not see any animals change hands. I cannot be sure except for the animals I off loaded back into the areas we had taken them from the evening before. On the positive side, I did make three contacts with potential buyers of our goats at some future date. Two of the three were very interested and honest in their interest. With the third, I was not convinced we will hear from him again. But I tried.

Mama made a little money but did not sell any of her bundles of Color Street products. She did sell some individual nail sets. I did not get a sense that she did well on her craft items she spent so much time and effort preparing, but she came out in the black financially. Norman sold a couple of his $5 totes of junk and a few dollar items but walked away with most of his stuff still in his possession. It was not a wasted day, but, from my perspective, it was very nearly so. I got the sense from the vendors near me that people were not spending money unless there was a very unusual offering. Something specific they were looking for at the offered price, or something novel for a cheap price. We were offering neither.

I was surprised that some of the puppy vendors were unyielding on their prices. Dachshund puppies were priced at $900. Golden Doodles were $1300 each. French Bulldogs were $1800. That is horribly expensive. When I compare that to current news articles about local Animal Shelters being flooded with abandoned dogs and cats – due to the high cost of feeding and maintaining the pets – it is hard to believe that there would be an active market for “designer” dogs. Mama let the seller know that a contact she has is selling her Dachshunds for $500, the seller wrinkled her face and energetically shook her head in a negative, almost offended, response. I was both amused and relieved that she did not accept Mama price. I would not have paid it anyway as badly as Mama thinks she thinks she wants a puppy.

Sunday evening before church, I attended a men’s meeting to discuss awarding raises to our church staff. Several of the positions have not been given any raise for many years and it seemed like a good time to address the shortfall. It was not a friendly meeting, and I was disappointed in some of the participants critical spirits as they expressed their views. When the business of addressing the pay increases was finished I faced off with the men and asked if they would be willing to provide a solution to address their concerns. None were willing to do so.

They were willing to complain, but not willing to outline the expectations that would need to be met to address their complaints. I was sorely disappointed. My question to them we, “How do we address your concerns?” “What do we tell the pastor about your concerns.” No suggestions were offered. I asked if any of them had ever gotten a negative review. In that review, were they given a list of deficiencies they needed to address? If so, what are the deficiencies we need to address to meet your expectations or were we just there to air grievances and see how many shared those grievances? Not wanting to provide a remedy, but only to complain. That is wholly unproductive.

Fortunately, those who had complaints were a small party. The feelings of that few were not shared by the larger body of the men in the group, but it did have an impact on the whole group. We will pray and work our way through this little spat, but it will take some time. My hope is that it will affect beneficial changes that eventually bring unity as God changes men’s hearts. Time will tell.

Mama and I have a busy week ahead. Hers is full of appointments. Mine is full of little work projects and little farm projects. In the background, Mama and I will be making the final preparations for our trip to Honduras. I have all my duties at work covered during my absence and Mama and I have potentially covered the routine at the farm by having Norman stay at the farm during that time. That would provide the oversight needed for the farm and for Grandma and Grandpa. Both are a relief to Mama.  So, things are almost ready for our visit to Honduras.

We are praying and planning for all the other little details as the days fly by prior to our departure on February 1^st.  

Blood work, errands, weekend prep, longer delay

It appears that this morning Mama and Grandpa were successful in the second attempt at the doctor’s office for Grandpa to give blood for tests requested by his doctor. Yesterday morning, Grandpa was turned away from the lab because he had had his usual pecan twists for breakfast along with his coffee. Mama and I had agreed that it would be best for Grandpa to be fasting yesterday (just in case that had been required for the specific blood tests), but somehow that was not successfully communicated to Grandpa. When Mama and I got back in from the morning feeding, Grandpa was eating his second of the little sweet rolls. So, once again, this morning Mama ran Grandpa to the lab for blood sampling. This time Grandpa was fasting. Those are the little things that consume enough time to become frustrating, especially when multiple trips are necessitated by improper preparation or small oversights.

One of the challenges Mama and I are having keeping our goats is the lack of available hay at a price we can afford. However, Mama found out yesterday that Tony’s Feed in Gainesville has some good quality Sudan hay for twelve dollars per bale. They have a limited supply, so Mama and Norman are driving to Gainesville to pick up fifteen bales of that hay. Another of those trips that require both time and gas. Necessary but unplanned. Norman is along on the trip because he needed to make a run to Home Depot to pick up some specialized screws to be used to finalize the repairs to the trailer he has been fixing up. It works out well for both him and Mama and gives me a bit of relief that Mama is not required to load and tie down the bales of hay to make the trip safely.

This evening, we will spend the majority our time getting ready for Trade Days. I will get the truck ready to display our goats and at least one rooster. That necessitates putting the livestock racks on the truck and gathering a couple cages for the rooster and the one little doe we are selling – to keep her isolated from the little bucks. Norman is finishing up his trailer repairs (mostly to the skin on the exterior of the trailer) and will load it with all the items he is interested in selling as well as those he is returning to West Virginia with – many, many items.

Meanwhile, Mama is finishing up a lot of little crafts that emphasize Valentine’s Day. She has spent a fair amount or time getting ready for this weekend, both in preparing crafts and in getting displays ready to sell Color Street. Honestly, it has stressed her out trying to get enough done to feel like she is adequately supplied with craft items. The weather is forecast to be very nice. Saturday morning will be in the low forties but will warm into the mid-sixties.

Victoria will be working tomorrow so Grandma and Grandpa will be left to their own recognizance. But that should work out fine. They are both able to fix simple meals for themselves. I do not like giving up a day on the farm, but I need to do my part to sell some of our livestock. I will be very disappointed if there are no sales, but there would assuredly be no sales if I do not at least show up with the goats for perusal by the crowd that will come to Trade Days tomorrow.

From my perspective, it will be very nice to get my garage and shop freed of the numerous crates, boxes and totes that have been sitting in all available spaces to accommodate Norman’s surrender of his storage unit in Bowie. Putting all those containers into the repaired enclosed trailer will free up a lot of space in both areas those containers have occupied. It will require a lot more work than either Norman and Mama thinks it will, but it will be very nice to have it done. The consolidation has been facilitated by two trips to the dump in which the bed of my pickup truck was overflowing with discarded items. Thirty dollars paid to the dump to off load two truckloads of trash was the best money I have spent in a long time. And lately, we have spent a lot of money.

Mama and Norman went to look at a large RV yesterday afternoon. As they tell it, the RV was probably an excellent purchase but a little bit high for Victoria. So, the search continues, but Victoria has adapted her bedroom to have the feel of her own private space, complete with coffee maker and small refrigerator. I am okay with the adaptations as long as the breaker can handle the increased load. Just those two simple appliances have delayed the urgency of having to create the space for an RV along with the huge expense on Victoria of purchasing one.

I am okay with waiting a lot longer and so, it appears, is Victoria.

Recent falls, Rosa Lee, health, selling goats

Although Grandma has fallen several times over the past months, we had not had the same issue with Grandpa. However, yesterday evening, Grandpa fell in their bedroom. He, unlike Grandma, is able to pick himself off the floor when he recovers his balance and senses. We only discovered his falling episode when he came into the kitchen with both of his arms severely skinned and profusely bleeding along the forearms. He had, by that time, washed the wounds as best he could and allowed me and Mama to apply gauze over the wounds and wind the arms with elastic bandages to keep the wounds from bleeding onto furniture and bedding. It will take some time for the wounds to full heal and we will have to change the dressings at least daily, but Grandpa is not one to complain even though I know the deep scrapes have to be painful.

Not to be outdone by Grandpa, Grandma fell once again this morning. At 6 am to be exact. Mama and I did not find out about the fall until after we talked to Norman who Grandpa had waked to help get Grandma off the floor. Grandma always requires assistance to get up from a fall. She cannot even pull herself up if she has something to grab hold of because even that would require her to be able to use her knees in support at some point. My difficulty in helping Grandma is that she has to be literally dragged onto a couch or bed or stood up on her feet to regain mobility and my back keeps me from lifting her over 200 pounds of helpless weight from the flood. So, it was very fortunate that Norman was here to help her get sufficiently upright this morning.

Rosa Lee helped Mama do the watering and feeding morning and evening for several day. If you can imagine the help a 3-year-old provides when that extra distraction is inserted into Mama’s routine. Nevertheless, Mama loves having a little one around her in spite of the distraction. Only two eggs were busted in the several collections made from the coop and only a few chickens got out the gate opened longer and less carefully than normal. The broken eggs were cooked and fed to the dogs. The escaped chickens were replaced into the proper coop after dark. It was pleasant overall to have the little one with us – especially for her Paw Paw, Norman. I have trouble referring to Rosa Lee by her given first name, Astrid, so I am pleased that we can refer to her in her secondary name.

Lately, my health has been questionable. I have had some pretty extreme elevations in my blood pressure. That without any reasonable explanation. I have been careful in my diet, faithful to the medications I have been prescribed and yet still, my blood pressure has been out of control. In my visit with my doctor Tuesday afternoon, he agreed that something was not right. However, the remedy he leaned toward was to add a third blood pressure medication to my regimen. As much as I want to get this in control, I did not want to add a medication to my list of drugs to be taken. Perhaps, there is an underlying condition that has not been diagnosed yet, but high blood pressure is not an indicator of any specific deleterious condition. Time will tell.

On the bright side, Mama sold two of our mature nanny goats yesterday. That will bring some money to the farm – after Mama repays Victoria the $500 we owe her for her loss on the scam Mama fell for. If I am able to sell a few of our very adorable little buck at Trade Days Saturday, not only will we have some income to declare, but we will have far less goats to feed. A win-win. Of course, we can hope and wish to make those sales, but until the buyers show up, we can only try to sell the little goats. At least, at Trade Days there is a concentrated grouping of buyers available. Maybe some of those buyers will want to take a baby goat home with them – for the right price.  

Not only did Mama make the sales of the two nanny goats but the buyer also toured the farm and spent a good deal of time with Mama teaching her about what to look for in our goats. Leoni, the buyer, shows her goats and is a consistent winner in those shows. What Leoni, did say was that we have an exceptional crop of bucklings and does. That will give Mama a lot of confidence in selling our goats at a fair market price. Those potential buyers who truly know what they are looking for will not be overly alarmed at the price we will need to ask for these little ones. Those who are alarmed at the price will pass us up without comment because they do not know the quality of the goats we are offering. Mama was encouraged by the complements and the instruction.

I am encouraged as well.

So many little things, repairs, Grandma, Rosa Lee

Over the weekend and into the holiday yesterday there were so many little things to do that it is difficult in retrospect to see what we actually got done. From helping Mama get Christmas decorations put away, to helping Norman sort through thirty totes and boxes, to relocating the Banty house so the quail could get more sunlight, to making little repairs around the house so that doors could close properly, to trying to repair the sliding glass door only to discover that I had ordered the wrong sized roller replacements, to splitting firewood in preparation for more cold weather, and on and on.

The weather could not have been more perfect to tackle all these little projects. We had afternoon temperatures in the mid to upper seventies. Warm enough for us to have the windows open and warm enough for Grandpa to sit on the porch or be on hand to help Norman through several consecutive days. Considering that many of the containers Norman had to sort through were sitting outside at the front of the shop, it was a good thing the weather was warm and largely rain free. We did have a couple sparse sprinkles of rain, but not enough to wet the ground – or the boxes left in the elements.

Yesterday Norman recovered an enclosed trailer that Seth had been using for storage. The trailer had fallen into disrepair and Grandpa and Norman began to make the required repairs once the trailer was moved to the farm. I was surprised to see just how bad the exterior of the trailer was due to the years of neglect. Conversely, I was surprised to see how quickly Norman was able to make the needed repairs to get the trailer roadworthy. It was interesting that Norman had left for Seth all the materials needed to make the repairs to the trailer when he had loaned it out, but none had been used, so all those materials were available to Norman to affect the repairs over two years later. the interior of the trailer was in surprisingly good shape. That was a blessing.

Monday, I looked into repairs that I thought needed to be done on a waterline leak at the garden but upon careful investigation I found that the majority of the water was leaking from the faucet which was not sealing properly. A very quick repair to that faucet eliminated most of the leakage. The further repairs needed can wait a while, although I am anxious to make the line repairs since I have gotten a specialized clamp to secure the connectors in the waterline and I want to see how well that clamp will work for me in handling the little line leaks I am experiencing at those fittings in the line.

Saturday night we had a get together at church to celebrate New Year’s Eve, but Mama and I did not stay very long. The party started at 6 pm. Mama and I were there for the start. Norman, Victoria, and Grandma came along about 7 pm. They stayed for only an hour to allow Grandma to visit. She has been in a lot of pain recently and was not able to endure on the chairs provided in our fellowship area. Mama and I were on our way home before 9 pm. None of us except Norman saw the midnight hour come.

Grandma’s pain is unusual in that Friday last week she received treatment to deaden the nerve causing the majority of her back pain. However, since that procedure she has complained of hurting from head to toe without relief. I am not sure what the pain is, but the doctor was certain that the nerve pain would be gone after the procedure. Grandma will visit with the pain doctor next week, so we will get his opinion then, but for now, Grandma seems to be hurting far worse than before. I am concerned that she may have interpreted the ending of her nerve pain as ending all her pain. That was never to be the outcome, but she may have truly thought that. Time will tell.

Norman kept Rosa Lee overnight last night and will keep her again tonight. She definitely adds a busyness to our routine at all levels. As I worked from home today while Mama was out running errands, I had to run outside several times to herd the little tike back to Norman and Grandpa – who had forgotten about her – ensuring she left the chickens alone. On the bright side, for a three-year-old, she is very careful to keep the gates secured behind her. I am not sure what trouble she could have gotten into on her own, but I did not want to run the risk of her entertaining herself unsupervised in the coop area.

I will be teaching my first class of 2023 tomorrow. My employer has been very conscientious about keeping my schedule lighter than last year. In fact, my coworker and I did a retrospective survey of 2022 to determine just how many classes were needed and when was the prime time to offer those classes. What days of the week worked best for attendees. What months were busier and what months were lean. Lean months from last year were scheduled lean for this year in anticipation of that process being repeated. We will see how that works out.

I will be ready whenever needed until I retire.