Long weekend events

I took off an extra day last week. Since Friday was a holiday I took off Thursday also- hoping to get some work done on Victoria’s house. It did not turn out that way. Insurance let me know on Wednesday afternoon that they wanted more cosmetic repairs done before they would write a policy so that was on my mind for Thursday morning, until I found out how sick Mama was.

She woke us with some stomach issues and it rapidly got worse. All day Thursday she got out of bed only to stagger to the bathroom. I stayed close so I could keep an eye on her and worked around the house on small projects; one of which was a new door for her coop, another was putting on the front door knob that we had bought some months ago. She ate nothing that day and I ate very little since my stomach was little touchy also.

Friday she was only a little better so I worked in the garden and on the load of used wood I still have on the flatbed trailer. I built a couple boxes that became home to our strawberries and asparagus (we have only a few of those) and planted vegetables along the outside edge of the garden area.

We are able to tell for sure that the two trees that survived in the garden area are both pear trees. We can see the fruit forming in abundance. I pruned both of them back pretty severely over the winter and hoped they would be better for it. I cannot be certain it helped them but they will give us some fruit this year in spite of the abuse.

By Saturday morning Mama was feeling fairly well and could move about with little nausea or dizziness so I felt confident to go with Victoria and work on her house to satisfy the new requests of the insurance company. All in all, we accomplished the task in a little over two hours. I will submit the pictures today for further consideration. I hope we get this done.

While we were at Victoria’s house the lady that delivers the mail stopped us and asked if we would put up a mailbox. She has been holding mail for that address and would like to get it to the recipient as soon as possible. So we went to Decatur and got what was needed and planted a mailbox for the house. We will check it today – for the very first time. Hopefully it will not become the focus of people who go about smashing mailboxes.

Saturday afternoon as I was rounding the corner of the house to give some old lunchmeat to the big dogs I saw something out of the corner of my eye that looked a bit strange. I thought it was only a small branch that had fallen in the flowerbed but it seemed to move. As I looked in a more focused manner I noticed that it was a cotton-mouth snake.

What I saw moving was the head as it followed my every move keeping its mouth fully open and ready to strike. I killed it with a shovel we had nearby. Once I brought it to the dog’s attention they were on high alert even though it had been mere inches from Sasha’s head when I killed it. I suppose it is that time of year again.

Brittany and Andrew came over Saturday evening and after we ate a dinner of charcoaled meats and salad we went out to plant the landscape plants Mama had been collecting for weeks. It took us less than three hours to get everything in the ground. Overnight it rained heavily and wet everything thoroughly. It was great timing.

The rain was welcome even though it brought back the swamp to the back yard.

Work news, old diet, garden news

The first quarter of the year has come and gone. I have to look back to keep that in perspective since I am already making plans for events at work that will happen in August. April is already fully booked and May is slightly overbooked with meetings and activities. June and July are still open for the most part with the activities picking up again in August and September. These next two months will be very busy months for those of us who get to keep our jobs. Announcements to those who will be laid off start this week.

I still have not heard from the hiring manager for the Licensing position. That is not unusual. He tends to be very prolonged in his interviews and subsequent selections. My current boss and my pastor are not looking forward to a positive response on my being offered the position. It would definitely be a life changing work schedule which would interrupt church activities. That’s the biggest drawback I can see at this point. As far as my boss is concerned, he would have to manage my group in my absence. He really does not want that.

Mama has determined that today is to be the first day in our new diet. Victoria and I are completely on board with the diet. It is mostly being done to help Mama but there will be long term benefits to all of us if we will follow this course of action. I think it will be most difficult for Mama because it eliminates all sugar from our meal and snacks for up to a month.

Mama did this same diet one time before in New Jersey and the results were amazing. Not only did she lose weight but her memory improved greatly. For some reason we lost the initiative to keep with the diet so all of us – especially Mama – have fallen back into old habits; not necessarily destructive habits, but non-profitable habits health wise. The first week will be the most difficult; especially with it being Easter week; cakes, candies, little yellow marshmallow bunnies and all.

Victoria is off today and Mama told me yesterday that Victoria and Erin are planning a shopping trip somewhere. I probably heard that too but for some reason it did not register. We had planned on the two of them doing some planting today – in the garden and around the house – but thunderstorms rolled in this morning and that will probably wreck any outdoor activities.

So far everything we have planted has done very well. The trees I recently put out are looking very good, especially the little fig tree. The blueberry bush I put in an open spot in the patio out back just to get it into the ground looks like it will give us berries this year. Our vegetable plants are struggling to perk up after planting but I think they will be okay in a few days if we baby them along. Mama and I will probably finish up the garden this weekend.

We still have beans, beets, squash etc. to get out as well as starting a strawberry bed. I hope also to put in asparagus, rhubarb, garlic and horseradish beds in this garden that we will gather from for years to come. This is much better ground than we had in Bowie. It is also shaded from direct sun and protected from the harsh winds we had through the growing season there.

Brittany and Andrew are thinking about coming over this weekend. It will be nice to have them.

Distractions, escapees

Mama has never been a fan of flies. Lately we have been dealing with some huge ones. Fortunately we see then only one or two at a time. When we see them in the house a murderous attitude comes over Mama and Rosie and until the buzzing pest is sent to the fly afterlife there is no peace in the house. Such was the case last night at FBI; only multiplied by seven since there were seven women there including Mama.

It is not surprising that a fly got into the fellowship hall where we have our class since we sit right by a set of double glass doors. The doors are not opened too often during class but it happens often enough that bugs find their way into our private meeting. Last night we had one fly swatter and ten attendees whose distraction because of the fly buzzing about caused a very aggressive spirit to come over the meeting.

I am one of three males in attendance and young Ryan had the fly swatter in hand when things almost got out of control. We sit in three rows of two tables per row. Mama, Victoria and I sit in the middle row with Erin Echavarria and Ryan sits on the back row. While chasing the poor creature, Ryan ran to the front of the class and performed the most unusual ballet moves for us in his attempt to strike the fly in flight.

Ah, the benefits of youth. I would not have been able to get out of bed this morning if I had tried the leaps and pirouettes Ryan performed for us. Needless to say the mood instantly changed and we should have paused the instructional DVD we were watching but we were so captivated by the moment that no one thought to do so.

Mama kept saying, “Give me that thing! I’ll kill it!” She did not get her chance to exercise her lethal desire because Ryan chased the fly to the far side of the fellowship hall and smashed it into the floor – from mid-air. We all had a good laugh; until we discovered there was a second fly among us. Fortunately class was almost over. I have to assume the second winged intruder died of natural causes.

While she was home yesterday Victoria let the pigs out. Their enclosure is surrounded by chain link fence with a gate at the building; however, the gate does not quite meet up with the gatepost so we have access blocked by a cinder block and a piece of plywood. Once Victoria moved the block and the plywood and opened the gate they happily began to roam the property.

My greater concern is that they will end up eating the bulbs we are hoping to put in the landscape. Mama obviously shares the concern because as they slowly made their way around to the front of the house Mama had Victoria put them back in their pen, close the gate and replace the block so the gate could not be opened outward.

But pigs are pretty smart and it did not take long for them to figure out that the gate could be pulled inward allowing them to roam freely once again. They did not go anywhere they were not supposed to but the rest of the day was a repeat performance of putting them up only to find them free once again. The pigs rather enjoyed it.

I put a bungee cord on the gate last night but I would not be surprised if they meet Mama at the door this morning.

Insurance, RU news, a full day

We will find out today if insurance is to be reinstated on Victoria’s house. I am certainly hoping that we get the policy in force otherwise we will have to scramble to get coverage before the bank has to act “in their own interests.” I am not quite sure what that means exactly but it not good for us. The Lord is still in charge of how things turn out so we are hopeful that the issue is settled.

Friday evening we had a new couple show up at RU. It was very exciting for all of us in that ministry but especially for Lee and Laura. They are an unusual couple; one of the “live off the land” type but without the hardness that excludes those of us who are used to buying our milk and our meat. Mama and the new lady talked tanning hides, milking goats, cooking raccoon stew, caring for chickens, etc. I do hope they continue to come. That has not always been the case with those who visit RU.

Mama and I had a long profitable, hard day on Saturday. I got the tractor early and moved the stock trailer – which was still loaded with items from the old farmhouse in Bowie – and moved it out from under the carport so we could unload it. I honestly expected the belongings in there to take more room in the garage than they did but ended up pleasantly surprised by how little it swelled our accumulation.

Of course, some of the items went to the well house and some into the house, but still, it is done and we can finally work through the rest of the stuff that we originally packed in New Jersey – four years ago. Most of the items that have never been unpacked are pictures. Mama was very excited to see the ones we did unwrap. I will work on getting all of them placed over the next several weeks. It will be good to have them out on display again.

After we were about two thirds of the way through the stock trailer Mama had to go to Bowie to rescue Victoria – she had forgotten her wallet. I also needed a can of Fix-a-Flat so I could use the dolly to move  a couple heavy items to a new storage location. I got the trailer emptied and moved while Mama was gone and used the tractor to park it in the lot with Daisy and her calf.

When I brought the trailer into the lot to park it Daisy came over and started hopping and spinning as though she were very excited to have the trailer back. She anxiously smelled all around it for over half an hour. The only thing I can guess is that she may have thought I was bringing back Baby Huey, but that would be giving a lot of credit to her memory of him having been loaded in the trailer.

I worked on getting stone and brick put into a hole Terry Cobb dug for us for that very purpose. There were a lot of brick in the back of the property that I did not want to have around so it was nice to have the tractor to move them to the hole – three loads worth. I have room for plenty more.

After Mama and I rested a few minutes we started working in the garden. We were just finishing up on that when Victoria came home about 8:30 pm. It was a long day.

Roof repairs

I am back in the office after two days off. I had to take the time off to do some repairs to Victoria’s house so we could get the insurance reinstated – thereby keeping the loan active at the bank. I think Mama found out about the insurance on Monday when she went to the office of the writing agent to ask why we had not gotten notification about the ongoing cost of the coverage.

She was told by the agent that he had written the policy for the closing and only afterwards had gone to look at the house to get the particulars. When he saw a large patch of shingles missing from the porch roof he cancelled the policy without any notification to us. The bank called the next day. That was Tuesday.

I was thinking about taking off Thursday and Friday but when I got up Wednesday morning I was so worn out after having a very rough night that I moved the timetable up. So Wednesday we got the supplies and I started really evaluating the job – after we had visitors.

Wednesday Erin and the kids were over at the house to watch Big Hero 6. Victoria had set up the play date before she knew I was taking the day off. They had a good time while I was getting tools and supplies together for Victoria’s house. I think Mama and Victoria were finally available to help me somewhere around the two o’clock mark. Mama insisted that I not even attempt to do the work alone – that is, without her supervision.

As Erin and the kids were leaving I told Mama I was headed over to the house to get started whereupon she said, “Okay. But don’t do anything until I get there.” When I just looked at her with a characteristic smirk Erin was really amused. So she added, “Just stand there and stare at it until she gets there.”

When I got up on the roof on Wednesday  (properly supervised) I realized I would not be able to keep from sliding off the roof without some help, so I had to regroup. Yesterday I got some two by fours and attached them to the roof to give me the stability I needed to stay up on the roof steadily and I began the repairs in earnest.

It took me all day to get the repairs done as well as to patch the one offs on other parts of the roof. All in all it took a little over four bundles of shingles to make all the repairs. But now they are done; and I have the pictures to prove it.

Mama is coming to collect the pictures this morning and take them to the insurance agent who promised her that upon receipt of those pictures he would reinstate the policy and appease the bank. I certainly hope that is true.

She spent all day yesterday watching over me. She even insisted that she could bring me things as I needed them to save me trips up and down the ladder but one trip up the ladder convinced her otherwise. Her knees are in no shape to make that climb even a few times. I have no idea how many times I was up and down the ladder. I did not keep count but this morning I am convinced that my legs kept pretty accurate record of the total use.

They remind me every time I stand up.

Our sunny swamp, job news, lost bird, stretching

Yesterday turned into a beautiful day. It was the first warm, sunny day we have had in the area for quite some time. Today is predicted to be the hottest day we have had in over four months. The temperature will get to 85®F with abundant sunshine. The fact that it will only last one day is arguably irritating, but those days are soon to come in abundance. By Wednesday evening another front moves through that will drop the temps back into the sixties.

Since our back yard will take several months to dry out sufficiently to get rid of the swamp, it was at least nice to have a sunny swamp to look at. The hole we will make into the koi pond holds water pretty well. If the calculations are correct – and I have no reason to doubt them – it contains over one thousand gallons of water. At least, it will when I finish it to the specified dimensions. I had to re-borrow a pump from Lee Davis so I can empty it after the rain pass through tomorrow evening.

I have been hearing little bits of news on the progress my company is making in notifying persons of their job losses. So far my division as a whole has not been in the mix very heavily. It is a good time to let poor performers go, so they have been the first names on the lists. Several areas of the company are going to be offered for sale. Again, none of the areas in my division.

I have had several communications from the hiring manger of the posting I applied for back in early February; mostly to keep me abreast of the ongoing developments as people are interviewed and considered. I am still a contender for the post so we will see how it all plays out over the next several weeks. The timing would be good for me to get a new assignment.

Yesterday evening Mama and I went to the barn to check on our little bull and found him in good health – we are not able to even get near him, which troubles Mama a good deal. While there, we discovered that another one of the loose, barn chickens is missing and presumed dead. We have gone from three to only one over the past several months. It will be sad to lose this last one but it appears inevitable.

Both Mama and I are having trouble sleeping lately. She has a persistent cough and I am having trouble with my legs. The best night sleep I remember getting was after we all got on the rug in the living room and tried to stretch out our backs and legs. Boy, would a video of that have qualified for America’s Funniest Home Videos?

There was no hope of me being able to touch my toes. It was all I could do to bend at the waist, keep my legs straight and touch my knees. Victoria did slightly better. Mama could actually put her open hands on the floor. (Showoff!)We will have to go through the exercise again to see if it helps me sleep but I will have to make sure all phones are turned off.

A grown man can suffer only so much embarrassment.

Kitchen work, babysitting, fire, more rain

I took off half a day on Friday and cut up the kitchen cabinets to put a microwave above the stove for Mama. We have had a microwave sitting in the butler’s pantry since November but it proved to be too large to put over the range in the kitchen. It would have required me to cut out a portion of the wall behind the cabinets and that turned out not to be possible since it was carrying the wall on which the cabinets were hanging.

So Mama and I met at Lowe’s and bought one that would fit and I spent the all the time I had that afternoon to get it into place. I had everything but the plug ready to go by the time we left for RU. I asked Mama if Victoria would notice it when she got home later that evening. How could she miss it – especially since I had a power cord strung across the counter?  As it turned out she did not even go into the kitchen when she got home.

I spent two hours Saturday morning after bus visitation getting the power to the unit in proper fashion. It turned out that when I tore out the cabinet over the stovetop I found a wire stubbed into the wall that made a perfect connection for the plug I needed to install. So while Mama took Gracie and Luke to meet Misty – Wes still has her in Bowie – I kept the napping baby and finished what I had started.

It is always a fun experience to keep young ones on the home but Mama is not in her prime anymore and it always taxes her more than she expects. Had Victoria not been home it would have been too much for Mama because the littlest one, Joseph, is still petty afraid of the dogs; especially Kira. I would be surprised if Joseph weighed less than twenty five pounds so he is a lug for Mama.

By the end of the day Joseph was less timid around Kira (although he still preferred to be carried around)and Kira seemed to understand that her presence was intimidating so she tried to keep her distance from him – for the most part. When we all went outside late in the day Joseph did not even react to Sam and Sasha. That was good because both of them really like to do a close inspection of little visitors.

About three o’clock we started a fire in the front yard and burned the unusable branches of one of the trees we had laid over last week. The kids really enjoyed that. The fire lasted for several hours but was eventually extinguished by the rain that had gradually increased through the evening. We were all worn out by the time Sam and Erin came for the kids.

When we woke up Sunday morning the entire patio was flooded, the koi pond hole was completely full and there was at least three inches of water on the outer edges of the patio. I told Mama that the line we cut out that was put in to drain the area really was doing something after all. I will have to do something to help the water get out of the yard but I will not replace that pipe.

We have something larger and more permanent in mind; reshaping the back yard.