Minor repairs, fishing guests, services

Friday evening Alex and Leslie invited themselves over to go fishing again. Mama told them about the upper lakes, and they were anxious to see for themselves. I went with them, but we did not have an overly successful evening. In all we caught ten keepers out of the three lakes. For them, the greater portion of fish came out of the lower lake we normally fish. They were excited about it, but it was so windy it was difficult to cast. Still they fished on. After an hour or so, I abandoned them to the lake, and I went home to feed the calf and do some much needed watering. They always drive their own vehicle and I supply them with a key for one of the locks on the gate at the entry to the property, so they were not left completely abandoned. They did not leave the lake until after dark. I felt a little bad for them. I almost went back over after tending to things at the farm to see if I could help them increase their catch, but I was worn out. Fortunately, they did well enough to give them another few fish meals. I am sure they will be back soon.

Early Saturday I made some little repairs here and there in the house and around the farm. I had to swap hoses at the chicken coop so that we could start watering the garden properly. We are planting more and more vegetables as our seedlings mature and the plants we have in the garden – mostly potatoes and sunflowers – desperately needed a drink. Mama and I have to buy a new 50’ hose about every year to replace a degraded one. They last about three years on average. Inside I made a couple quick repairs that I had been putting off for no good reason. It is too often the little things that fail to get our notice until they are not little things anymore. Mama never complains, but when the handle of the front door comes off in her hand when she tries to close it, it is frustrating. Especially when all that is required is a small screw to affect a repair. Shame on me!

Saturday afternoon, Kenny and Kimberlyn came over to go fishing. According to Kimberlyn, it has been years since the two of them went fishing. They were very excited about the outing. They had to buy a couple poles at Walmart on the way over and I supplied line for the reels in that combo package. All of us caught fish. Mostly in the small upper lake. Mama caught her first large bass. That was an interesting moment. I wanted to commemorate the catch by taking a picture of Mama with her fish. So, once I got the fish off the line, I handed it to Mama. The fish immediately fell from her hand because she did not want to really hold the fish as needed. She wanted to kind of pinch the lip of the fish in two fingers. That did not work. It took a moment to catch the flopping fish on the ground and get it back in Mama’s hand for the photo op, but we got it done. She happily gave me her catch and went back to fishing. Kenny caught two large bass and several small ones. I caught five small bass and one large one. I also caught a sizable crappie. So, we went home with a full basket of fish which I filleted out while dinner was prepared.

We were given all the fish since Kenny and Kimberlyn are not any meat right now. They had a seasoned bean, corn and tomato mixture served cold on tortillas for dinner. We added a salad to that and will had a nice dinner together. Victoria spent quite a bit of time talking to Kimberlyn. More than ordinary for Victoria. That was nice to see. Our visitors did not stay too late. Kenny is an early riser which often translates into an early bedtime. It was very pleasant evening. One we will repeat sometime soon.

Sunday services went well. The Pastor had been working with an internet provider and a missionary who is stuck in our area who is very computer savvy, to increase the speed and consistency of our online services. We are making very good progress. Broadcasting the services online will be one of the most beneficial outcomes from this chaos we are enduring. Pastor preached two very poignant sermons. One on what made Daniel stand out in God’s eyes and another on the lists that God keeps. Which list we want to be on. Which list we do not want to be on. Which list we can never be taken off of.

Sunday evening, before the service, Pastor met with the deacons to discuss how we could restart our services while still meeting the guidelines that will ensure we cannot be  accused of infecting anyone who might come to our services. It is a difficult balance in the very fearful environment that has been created around us. No decision has been reached yet, but we all agreed on how to approach populating the church once we open the doors for congregants to attend.

We will know more Wednesday.