Deliveries, travel plans

Victoria and Mama were out doing a second round of last-minute shopping yesterday afternoon while I was in class through the work day so, I had to wait until I got home to find out which delivery I was supposed to make that evening. Whether we were taking the goats to Rick’s or taking the stock trailer to the Cantrell’s. When I got home, Mama was napping, and Victoria was out feeding. I got changed and helped get the feeding done. By the time I was back inside, Mama was up with instructions. It is always a little funny because Mama assumes I know what the plan is because she has talked it out with someone other than me so, she was a surprised when I asked her which we were doing of the two choices. We were taking the trailer to Gainesville. I should have guessed that. I had a 50/50 chance of getting it right. But with Mama, I remain open to changing plans as needed.

Once I ate a quick dinner, we headed out to hook up the trailer. Fortunately, where we park the trailer, we do not normally have problems with the ground being soft. If I had left the trailer in the barn, I would have had problems. But as it was, I was able to back up and make the connection quickly and we were out the gate and headed down the road by 5:20. With the round trip and a few minutes visit once we got there, the delivery took a little over three hours. We did not stay long because we needed to get back home and get Victoria situated to pack up the car for an early morning departure to the airport. With that early drive ahead of me, I was in bed as soon as I could make that happen.

Mama woke me this morning just before the alarm went off at 4:20 am. Victoria was already up making her coffee. We were out the door at 4:35. Her flight was scheduled for 7:15. We were in plenty of time. However, on the way to the airport I asked Victoria to check her itinerary for the return flight information. Just to make sure we were all on the same page. When she looked, we discovered that her flight this morning had been cancelled. We were only about twenty minutes from the airport when we made that discovery. If I am remembering correctly, that is only the second or possibly third time we have had that happen. But severe weather in Houston caused the cancellation. Whether the flight from Houston to Honduras was also cancelled is a question I will not spend any time worrying over. There was no alternative way to get her to that flight. Victoria is now booked on a flight leaving DFW at 5:40 tomorrow morning.

That will be a lovely Saturday morning drive. We will need to leave the house at 2:30 am. The round trip plus time taken to help get all of Victoria’s baggage checked should put me back at the farm in time to feed before Mama and I need to leave for Chappell Hill. Since we are making the trip to Chappell Hill a day trip – there and back on the same day – we will not get back to the farm until 9 pm at the earliest. Our animals will be hungry Sunday morning. I just wish I could be home this morning when Mama discovery that Victoria did not leave. That will be a surprise. Savanna will be very disappointed – for a few minutes. Such are the challenges in international travel.

Brittany was trying to find a way to make it down this weekend to go to Chappell Hill with us but that is not going to work out. I-35 was completely flooded about twenty minutes south of Brittany’s. As of last night, there was one southbound lane opened to traffic. Both northbound lanes were still closed. Overnight the forecast was for continued rain in the area. They have gotten far more rain than we have here, and we are dealing with flooding in certain areas. Brittany has even gotten water in the house during the periods of heavier rain because the sump pump was unable to keep up with the water accumulating in the basement. That coupled with the fact that the girls have been running fevers and have been generally cranky because they do not feel well, has taken a toll on their Brittany. Hopefully, Andrew getting home this weekend will help her through this rough patch before he leaves again to go to Washington State for more training. Britany is booked on a flight out of DFW to meet Andrew in Seattle so they can spend a couple days together there. We will see if she is able to make that happen.

Life is full of surprises.