Monday 09/30/2019

            Our grandkids are off from school today, so we are honored with their presence at the Homestead. Computers in their hands, we may get to talk with them when it is snack or lunch time.

            Saturday afternoon, following a well-deserved nap, I popped out of the Ford’s ole recliner and headed outside. What could a senior retired person do, that would not cause him pain later on? This senior person decided to remove the grass that was hanging over the edge of the driveway, curb, and side walk, along with a top layer of grass from the yard.

            As I was mowing close to the neighbors drive, I noticed she was sweeping grass off her drive, as she had just mowed. I shut my mower off and I explained that I had a blower to remove the grass from the drive when I finished mowing. She asked if she should mow the grass along their drive way next to our house, or if I wanted to. I noted that they own about 2 feet along the drive, and it didn’t matter to me who mows it. I usually mow it even if she has mowed it.

            She then said she broke their mower while mowing. I asked what had happened and she explained that she had knocked the grass deflector off. I asked where the mower was, noting that I can probably fix it. We walked to the mower and I replaced the deflector by first raising the cover that holds the deflector on, when this cover is down, it makes the mower a mulcher. She didn’t know the mulcher cover could be lifted. My good deed for the day! 

            I did mow along their drive way, and I did blow the grass off the drive.

            I also loaned her husband my post-hole digger, so he could put a new mail box in. Wow, another good deed!

            Why are ole senior people so nice?  

           

            Since no one asked, I will not tell you, that I received an email from the DVR Company saying they will ship a new one, asap. I am not going to tell you, I should get a tracking number in 5 to 7 days. I am not going to tell you, it seems to me as if they are not in a hurry!

 

            A long time ago, I made a decision. Actually, it was 16 years ago when I executed this decision. I had made plans to move on this very difficult decision about 2 months prior to execution.

            Back in 2003, I was general manager at the facility in Waco Texas, while at the same time temporary general manager at the Cape Girardeau facility. I would spend a week or two in Missouri and then return to Waco for a week or two. This went on for a while as the company looked for a new general manager for the Missouri facility. My last day as general manager at the Missouri facility was Friday October 3^rd, 2003. Actually, I flew home from Missouri on October 3^rd.

            During this same time my son David, and his soon to be wife Claire, were in the process of planning a wedding. The wedding was to take place in Dallas Texas on Saturday, October 4^th, 2003. I had decided to put my plan into action on Sunday at mid night, October 5^th, 2003!

            I feel reasonably sure that at least one of you may understand what my plan was, and why I needed to wait until my trips to Missouri had ended, and the wedding was over. The stress from work, and getting to the wedding, could have possibly caused me to fail!

            I had decided to stop using tobacco, and kick the nicotine addiction. This was not a, “I am going to try to quit”, I decided “I was going to quit!”

            On Monday, October 6^th, 2003, when I put the trash can out at the curb, I also took a carton which had almost half a case of chewing tobacco, and set it on top of the trash container, the carton was open. Why did I have so much, I bought the tobacco wholesale?

            For about two weeks I wanted to hurt everyone. I was in a very bad mood. I had told many people that I was quitting, and that was a good thing for me to do. Several of these people would ask me how I was doing and tell me they were proud that I quit. I even received phone calls from people in the corporate office asking how I was doing. Having friends ask and encourage me was very important.

            Things got better as the months went by, but for the first year if I was around someone who was using chewing tobacco, I had the urge to backslide. Thank goodness I didn’t.

            If you are addicted (trust me if you use tobacco you are addicted) and decide to quit, it will be one of the most difficult things you have ever done. If you do decide to quit, let me know, I will be there for you!

 

Don’t try to quit, decide to quit, set a date, and tell everyone.

 

Nicotine free for almost 16 years! Don Ford

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Saturday 09/28/2019

            Another week has passed and we are entering another fun weekend. A couple days for rest and relaxation from all this week’s tedious work. We can use the weekend to prepare for next week’s work load. We all know there is no rest for the retired senior citizens.

            As you may know, I have watched some of those TV shows about aliens from other planets. On these TV shows they are always questioning whether life exists elsewhere in the universe. These people do not believe in God, and do not believe in the Bible. If one believes in God and the bible they already know there is life elsewhere in the universe. Angels are beings, and they come from somewhere other than earth. There is your proof and if you are a believer, you know I am right.

            A slight deviation from the afore mentioned subject;

            When I was at the post office Friday, mailing my defective DVR, I was given a receipt for the shipment with a tracking number. I noted that the tracking number was very long. The postal employee noted that it was 16 digits long. The fact that there were a lot of digits reminded me of my theory. Since there was no one behind me in line, I asked of the postal employee, would you like a religious comment. She smiled and said yes. I said in the bible there are comments about the mark of the beast, 6 6 6. I noted that I believe 6 6 6 means, 6 digits, 6 digits and 6 digits, a total of 18 digits.

            These 18 digits (numeric and alphabetic) would be used as identity numbers. She looked as if she was considering what I had said, so as I was leaving I said, think about it, I could be right.

            Let us switch to a warm subject! I was given a very nice gift Friday, and the only reason I can think of is, that I am such a nice person! We have a neighbor who is very creative, she makes all kinds of nice things. I have a photo of the gift which I received. Click to appreciate.

                                               

            The picture of the dog on the comforter looks a lot like Tres. I will use it on my recliner when, or if, the cold weather ever gets here.

If you were nice, you might get a nice gift too!

Senior nice retired person; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Still not working 09/27/2019

               The DVR Company has sent me an email stating they will exchange DVRs if mine is still not working. They stated, “Once we receive the return information, we will send you the new DVR.” That sounds like I should receive a new DVR and not a rebuilt DVR.

            I disconnected all the wires from the DVR this morning, and have put the unit in a box. I then learned I had no clear tape to seal the carton. I went to the store to get tape. After taping the carton I took it to the post office. It seems as if I will get no reimbursement for the shipping, tape, gas to and from post office and store, and no compensation for the days the unit has not worked. That is the way they treat ole senior retired people.

            The unit is heading for;

        The Fill Mill C/O Winfinite8,

       83 Irons Street

       Toms River, New Jersey

            I have taken photos of how the wires were attached to the DVR. All the wires, at least most of the wires, are marked as to what they do and where they go, so I should be able to reinstall when I get the new DVR. I also have photos of the unit front, back, top, bottom, and inside. I just want to make sure I get the same unit.

           

 

Got to go to lunch.

 

May your lunch be almost as good as mine!

 

Lunch connoisseur; Don Ford 

Virus-free. www.avg.com

I don't understand 09/26/2019

            Today, I dropped my favorite granddaughter off at school and as we left the parking area there was a boy walking to school. He was a tall slim person, he had white shorts on. He also had a white hooded sweat shirt on, and the hood was up. I can’t understand why young people, or anyone, would want to wear a sweat shirt in the summer, and why they have the hood up. I know some people do this to hide their identity. Some of these people think they look, “cool”, in a hot hooded sweat shirt.

            Tres barked at him as we drove past him. Tres’ opinion is like mine!

            Each generation has their own so-called styles. I being from a different generation do not need to like a different generation’s styles. Hooded sweat shirts to me, should be worn in cold weather, and to me they are not, Hoodies”.

            DVR is still not working! L

           

            I watered an area in the back yard approximately 10 X 10 foot. I will later go to that area and attempt to pull wire weeds. Watering makes it easier to get some or all of the roots. Hopefully this ole senior’s body will be able to get down and pull those weeds.

May your day be as good as your best!

Senior ole retired weed puller; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

I cannot believe it 09/25/2019

            This happened to me yesterday, and I will sit here and say to you, “It will never happen to you”! The big question is, what is the Senior Fellow at the Ford Homestead referring to?

            I had given in to my spouse of half a century’s request, for me to go to the tax office and renew her license for her vehicle. Going to the tax office is similar to going to the motor vehicle office to get a new, or renew, your license. They both have a machine that you enter your info in, then it gives you a number. You then sit or stand in line for an hour or so before anyone will help you.

            I arrived at the Tax office at 10:00am on a Tuesday. I went to the machine and entered my info and received a number. My number had an “r”, for registrations, and I was number 1998, “r1998”! I took the number and walked into the office area and there was no one waiting! There was no line. They got me in and out in about 2 minutes. I say that only happens once in 2,460,000 times. It will never happen to you. J

Let us change the subject!

          My security camera DVR (digital video recorder) has stopped working. I had purchased it, along with 5 new cameras and new wires in June. It had worked fine until a message popped up, indicating there is an update. I did not down load anything, I went to the menu of the DVR and clicked on update. The unit stopped working. I have went back and forth with the ZOSI people. They have suggested several down loads with updates, none have worked. I sent them requested information today and have not yet heard back (Tuesday).

          I use the security cameras a lot, to observe the goings on outside while I am here at my desk. Not having the security cameras working, is kind of like, not having your smart phone! I hope they find a fix, I don’t want to try and find the money, to purchase another. If I must purchase another I will look at different vendors.

          Wednesday morning, I have another suggested update, from the vendor, for the DVR. It did not work. They have indicated they would exchange the DVR it that update did not work.

Changing the subject again.

          I have a photo of flowers blooming, the photo isn’t real good as the flowers were supposed to be blue, and the sprinkler had ran, so the flowers were wet. The white flower is a fungus, but it looks pretty dog gone good. Photo to follow.

                                      

          Fungus or not, it looks as good as the flower blooms.

Change the subject again.

          After a grueling morning walk, The Tres and Molly were taking it easy on the drive way. Photo to follow, yep we walk before the sun gets up.

                             

The ole red rocker is the best we have, being on a fixed income isn’t easy!

May your day be filled with someone as nice as me!

Senior nice Fellow at the Ford Homestead; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Fall not yet 09/23/2019

            First day of fall and the temp is still at summer levels. I have noticed a few leaves falling from the pecan trees. I daily try to clean an add water to the bird bath in the back yard. As I was adding water I observed a small flower of some type blooming. Photo to follow, click to enhance.

                                               

            Sunday as the CEO and I were returning from brunch I observed an unusual cloud. Photo to follow, click to enjoy.

                                               

            What do you think about that? It wasn’t lightning, and not a tornado. I believe the two clouds were communicating with each other.

You should have asked why was the senior Ford looking up and not looking at the road. When he took the photo was he driving in a distracted manner?

            Reply’s to the, should have been asked questions. I am observant and can occasionally see things other than the road. I was on a street with no traffic, I had stopped when I took the photo.

May your day / week be safe, productive and blessed!

Senior outstanding photographer; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Take a little time 09/19/2019

          There is a good chance that many of us never take time to smell the roses. By that I mean, we go through our normal day doing normal things never seeing all the nice things that are there. For that one person who reads my posting (if someone actually reads it), I am saying, people should occasionally break or change our habitual ways, and just see how nice we have it.

          The above statement applies to those who are employed, and those of us on a fixed income.  

          This morning after Tres and I went for a walk, I procured a cup of real coffee and went outside sitting on the ford’s kind of new swing. Sitting outside in the morning, rather than sitting in front of my ole computer and having the Fox TV on, is a break from my habitual actions.

          At first I was just sitting there taking an occasional sip of the coffee. Then I began to notice how nice and relaxed I felt. My spouse was exercising in the garage with the ole time religious music on. That ole music takes me back to the good ole days in church, when I was a kid.

          Molly had come up and found a place to lay just inside the garage door. She was stretched out on the garage floor, not a care in the world. Then Charlie assume the prone position in the middle of the drive way, he also seemed very relaxed. Tres was laying in the grass near my feet and he was zonked out.

          The sky was changing from a very dark gray to a very light gray, as sunrise would occur in a few minutes.

          It was obvious to me at that moment that we have it pretty dog gone good, and the best part, I was actually aware of it!

          I suggest you break a habit, look around, and take a little time to enjoy! This can also be done at work.

 

Take time to see and smell the roses!

 

Senior rose smeller; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Birds 09/18/2019

            I was involved in my morning exercise program, you know, that is where the Tres and I had completed our morning walk, and I was exercising my arm and hands, lifting that cup of real coffee as I sat on the Ford’s kind of new swing. You are correct, that is definitely a good work out each morning.

            I was also exercising my legs, moving the swing back and forth, when I observed this flock of black birds flying over. There appeared to be maybe a couple thousand in the flock. As they flew over I began to observe that they all flew at the same speed, and they all turned in the same direction at the same time.

            Now I have observed flocks of flying birds many times in the past, but today I actually began to consider what I was seeing. All flew at the same speed. Is the speed and the distance this flock is flying set so the oldest bird does not fall behind? Do older birds get slower as they age, or, is it possible that they are able to stay energetic until the day they die?

            One theory is, that there is an older bird who is in charge, aka, “Leader of the flock”, and he, not she, sets the pace for group flights.

            Let’s consider communication for a moment. When all the birds are nested in trees and on power lines pooping on people’s cars, are they communicating? One theory is, the leader of the flock tells one bird and then it is passed on to the next and so on. That is when it is decided what time they will start this flight, and that they will all fly as a group out to a certain place like a pond of water for a drink. 

            If they do not have a leader, could there be some type of unseen force that brings them together for the group flight, and then at some point the force evaporates and they go their own way.

            If you would like to receive a detailed study on, “Flight guided by the Force”, send $87.34 plus $12.13 handling and $5.78 shipping to, The Ford Homestead Studies of the Force! Allow 4.7 years for non-delivery. 

            I did see four crows fly over this morning. I wonder what significant that has?

            Speaking of birds, I have a photo that I will share with you, the reading public.

                                              

That is Charlie in the small chair. Charlie knows more about birds that I ever will. My spouse of over 50 years and I have been doing some work on this little chair, it usually sits on the front porch and has some type of decoration in it, depending on the time of year. Charlie may think he is a decoration!

May all birds nest away from your vehicle!

Senior bird academic; Don Ford             

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Home invasion 09/17/2019

            This is a true story of a home invasion, nothing is made up! This is not one of my ideas for a blog posting this really happened.

            One doesn’t usually think about things like home burglaries or home invasions, and even though there is a lot of talk about guns these days, we normally do not think that we will be involved in a situation where a gun is needed.

            I personally listened to the news reports about robberies and break-ins in Waco, but we don’t usually have a lot of crime in Hewitt. Let me tell you this, and you should consider what I am saying. If you don’t have a gun and there is a home invasion you will want to get one. There is a, “Stand your ground law” which in part says, you don’t have to retreat from anyone who may be threatening you.

            Our home invasion happened during the night around mid-night. My wife stays up until midnight most nights and when she starts turning the lights off and shutting down everything she will let the dog out the back door, leaving the door open until she gets him to come back in. He is usually outside for a few minutes while my wife tries to round up the cats and get then in the house for the night.

            On this particular night my spouse was at the garage door calling the cats. The home invader came in through the back door, Tres never barked, so we believe Tres must have known this invader.

            He made his way into the house and we believe he may have hid in the dining room. My spouse let Tres back in the house, unaware that we had company, and she locked the back door and was coming to bed when she saw something on the floor.

            What was that and why was it there? She hadn’t noticed it earlier, where did it come from? She walked over to it and when she started to pick it up it moved. Surprised she more or less stepped back. Imagine if you will, having an uninvited frog in your house. When and how did this invader get in?

            Now that she was no longer surprised she attempted to catch the frog but this little rascal was fast and he got away.

            The next morning as I was getting dressed, I observed the uninvited frog going into our bathroom. I had him cornered. Captured, I removed this invader from the Homestead and turned him loose outside the back door. As I turned to come back in the house there was a second frog about the same size on the door step, ready and willing to enter the house. 

The names have not been changed as there are no innocent.

 

Senior invasion analysts and responder; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Tres photos of me 09/16/2019

            The Company party was nice. I got to see some ole friends, there was even a couple retiree’s other than me, present. The VP presentation was good, the entertainment was good, the food needed help.

            I have Tres photos (that means there are three photos, and not photos of my dog named Tres). In the first photo notice I had a tie on, and the tie pin is an HWI pin, which I wore to the DIB party.

                                               

            The next photo is of a shadow, it is from a mighty man, who had just finished watering the birds!     Me?                I like to keep the birds happy so they do not poop on my vehicle.

                                               

            The last photo may be of an angel, there appears to be wings.

                                               

Do shadows tell stories?                          

Story teller; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Dog 09/14/2019

            I took a photo of Tres bringing his Frisbee to me. He always carries it in a manner so he is looking through the hole in the center. When I looked at the photo it shows his teeth. I would not want to be bitten by Tres. Click to amplify.

                                               

            Our dog Tres does not understand that today is Saturday. He is sitting at the door to the garage wanting to get in the Ford’s ole Chevy and take Gabi to school.

            About the Ford’s ole riding mower. On Friday, I mounted the mower and mowed the back 40. It was so nice, there was no vibration, and the noise of the mower was at least 75% less than before the repair. I did not need to have the over the ears noise cancelers. WOW, I am a good mechanic!

            Today is Saturday, our son who lives in Pflugerville TX, (near Austin) will be coming up to Hewitt today. We will have lunch with him and his wife along with her parents.

            Then there will be more food as we plan to attend the DIB profit sharing meeting this evening.

           

            It seems as if we have a full schedule today.

Have a safe and restful weekend!

Never resting senior person; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Finished now I start 09/13/2019

            Today is Friday, it is the 13^th day of the month, and there is a full moon.

            I put the Ford’s ole riding mower back together yesterday afternoon. There was a lot of crawling around on the floor of the garage by me, as I put the deck back on.

            Once the deck was on, I took the mower to the back 40 away from people and Tres. With the motor running, I engaged the mower blades, nothing flew off! I mowed a streak through some tall grass and it was mowing level. I must have put it back together correctly.

            Finished with repair work, now I start mowing! When the grass gets dry today, I will again mount the Ford’s ole riding mower and mow the back forty. There is no rest for the retired senior person.

            I have noticed several sticks in the front yard that need to be retrieved and the darn acorns are falling continuously. I will pick up the sticks and as many of the acorns as possible, that will be my second project for today, mowing is first project.

            Even though no one asked, the garage door opener seems to be working properly.

            There is a company sponsored party that we plan to attend Saturday evening. This meeting / party use to be called the profit sharing meeting, I think it may now be known as Employee Appreciation meeting. Either way, the meeting will be somewhat less enjoyable as Mr. Don Wolf, president emeritus has passed recently.

            One of my memories of Mr. Wolf is, when we were opening the Center here in Waco Texas back in 1979 (for the math impaired person, that is 40 years ago) Mr. Wolf had a meeting with the Board of Directors and their spouses, along with me and my spouse.

My spouse and I sat next to Mr. Wolf. Don began the meeting with comments, then he allowed each of the board of directors to comment. The last director had commented and it was my turn to comment, and I was very nervous. Don asked if he could interject something prior to my comment. He spoke for a couple minutes and as I listened to what he was saying I forgot totally that I was going to speak in front of the group. Don finished his comment and allowed me to comment. I have always believed he knew I was nervous and he made those remarks in an effort to allow me to calm down. It worked!

 

Always be mindful of others!

 

The mindless wonder; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Next step 09/12/2019

          Today is Monday, I am almost ready, and I am waiting for the parts to arrive, then the re-construction of the Ford’s ole riding mower should begin. Notice I said should begin. If I need a nap when the parts arrive I will prioritize the two, and the nap will win!

          I know the blades are coming by UPS, and they usually deliver late in the afternoon.

          It is a cloudy morning at this time, I should get the Ford’s ole walk behind mower and mow the front yard. Cloudy goes and comes but I will still try to mow.

          I went out and brought the mower to the front yard, then I noticed the grass was still wet as the sprinklers water the yard this morning. I will wait until after lunch.

          The front yard was manicured after lunch, nice job Don!

          I picked the Alex up from school as usual. When we arrived home, I noticed that the echo dot had a green light going in circles. I knew that meant there was a message available.   I said, “Alexa what is the message”. It then said your item was delivered. I then went to the front door and opened it, there was my order on the porch. It arrived at some point before 4:00pm, unusually early for this carrier.

Tuesday: for some reason the garage door opener is not wanting to work properly. I hope I still have the instructions as I do not remember how to adjust the opening and closing.

          Well, I had the instruction for “a” garage door opener but not the garage door opener. It did not make a lot of difference as the problem was not in adjustment, it was in the, “Rubber chain belt”.

          I checked around for the best price for a new garage door opener, and found it at one of the big home stores. We will probably not be able to eat real food for several months as the cost of the new opener was very high. I might need to get a job.

          I have a photo of the garage area, the old opener still installed, the new opener was out of the box on the table, the instruction hanging at the back of the garage. I had two ladders for the removal and install. The Texas flag has been attached to the door with magnets for at least 20 years.

                                       

          All I wanted to do on Tuesday was put the mower back together, but that did not happen. I did get the old garage door opener down, and the new unit up. I have some adjustments to do to the unit. I also need to install the wiring for the door opener and the safety devices that keep it from closing on something. I am hoping to get this done Wednesday morning before it gets hot.

          Tuesday evening early I took a break and had supper. Not wanting to continue on the unit I want out back and gave the birds some water, watered some of the plants. As I was watering I felt a drop or two of rain. I looked up and saw a rain bow.

                                       

          We did not get any rain except for a few sprinkles.

Wednesday:

          I, in my all-knowing way, had decided that I would need about 3 hours to complete the work on the door opener, that didn’t happen! I worked all morning, stopped for lunch and a short nap, then continued working until time to go get the Alex. I put in about 1.5 hours on this project after Alex headed for home.

          A few interesting points, at least I find them interesting. 

1.       When I was taking down the old opener I cut the old wires, there were new wires that came with the unit. Later in the instructions it said something to the effect, “Install the new wires or you can use the wires that are there”. If only I had read all the instructions first, I could have save at least an hour.

2.       I was standing on a ladder two steps above the floor attempting to put a wire into an electrical connection. All the lights were lower than where I was working, thus it was somewhat dark. I thought I need a light to see, and then it happened! The sun came out from behind a cloud shining on the floor which produce all the light I needed. I believe that to be a blessing!

3.       I had completed the project, cleaned up the garage, returned all the tools to their storage areas, and it began to rain. The rain held off until I finished. (Between half and three quarters inch of rain.)

          I did get the unit up and running. The door opens and closes very quietly. Nice Job Don, even if I do say so myself. 

That is it for now, maybe the mower today!

Senior non-workaholic; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Review 09/09/2019

               This may be a review of Friday, Saturday, Sunday and or, whatever else I want to toss in!

            Friday morning I decided to mow the back yard. First I de-pooped the back 40 and then I got on the ole riding mower. I need to emphasize that the ole rider has developed problems, mowing lower on one side than the other. It has been very noisy, and it has been shaking more than it should, but I did not take the time to see what might be wrong.  I gave up on the riding mower and went to the ditch behind the fence and mowed what I could with the walk behind, and then string trimmed the rest.

            Tired, from this strenuous work, I took the ole rider to the garage for a well needed inspection.

            There is a spindle with bad bearings that will need to be replaced. I have check the price and find that one spindle from the original manufacture will cost $88.99 plus tax. I then looked around at that one shopping place on the internet and found a replacement spindle (not original mfg.) for $35.99, no tax and free shipping.

            Tomorrow I will again bring the mower back to the garage and pull the mowing deck. I will make a final determination of needed parts. While I had the deck off I will also sharpen and balance the blades. My step father Jess, showed me how he sharpened and balanced blades so I know I can do it.

Different subject:

            I picked The Alex up from school today (Friday) and I had a sweet tea from the chicken place for him. He noted that this was the third time this week, and he said, “You are the best grand pa! Kind of makes me feel good! Finally, “I am the best at something”, even if it is buying sweet tea.

Back to the mower demolition:

          “It was Saturday, 9:00am, it was hot, no chance of rain, I was working the weekend shift, I am senior mechanic at the Ford Homestead”.

          Now let me enlighten, I had taken the time (Friday evening) to read through the hand book that came with the mower. I felt I knew how to remove the deck and the parts that have failed. Actually I have removed the deck in the past.

          I brought the Ford’s ole riding mower up to the garage and got everything situated. I lay down on the floor but I was not taking a nap, I had trouble removing the, “Hair pins”. These hair pins do the same thing as cotter keys do, but look somewhat different. They were difficult to remove but I prevailed.

          I lowered the mowing deck to the floor, and pulled it out from under the tractor. It kind of looks like a little tractor without the mowing deck. I removed a couple items without any trouble, and then I tried to remove the blade from the bad spindle. The spindle is attached to the blade and a pulley, the bearings in the spindle had gone bad.

          I could not remove the mower blades. I became irritated and headed for the shower. My ole senior body all clean, and some clean clothes on, I was able to talk my spouse of 50 years into going to town for lunch.

          Lunch was good and my spouse went to a couple stores to get a couple things. Finally we arrived back home and I jumped into the ole recliner for a nap.           ZZZZZZZZZZZZ

          I awoke and headed for the garage, where I again launched an attempt to remove the mower blades. The ratchet did not give me enough leverage, so I went to a breaker bar. As the name indicates, this breaker bar is used to break loose stubborn nuts. I tried for more than an hour, I even used a hammer beating on the end of the breaker bar, with no progress. I was very unhappy. I took a short break and my mind began to work. A part of my normal prayers is, that we all make good decisions due to a divine presence, seeing that each of us have all the information we need, to make a good decision. I took a few minutes to consider what I can do. I decided I can’t do this alone. I called my son David and he was at a store, he said he would come over when he finished shopping.

          Before Dave arrived I considered what we could do to break this nut loose. (The nut was not me this time!) I went out to the back 40 and procured a piece of pipe about 8 feet long. This will be used as a lever when Dave arrives.

          After a short while, Dave arrived and I told him of my plan, he would hold the deck still and keep the blade from turning, I would use the pipe as a lever on the breaker bar. The nut on the mower blades came loose easily. Having help is very nice.

          I have ordered two new spindles and new mower blades which should be here in a couple days.

                                        

          Maybe I should clean the deck and the mower prior to an attempt at rebuilding the unit. Hopefully this thing will go back together, and once again be a mower. If my senior memory fails me when reconstruction begins, I have taken several photos which could serve as reminders of where to put what. Saturday evening begin, with me entering this soon to never be read info, into the computer.

          Sunday after lunch;

          I worked on cleaning some of the parts along with the bolts and nuts. I guess I would say I made a small difference. I did get an email today saying the mower blades will be here tomorrow, the spindles should be here on Tuesday.

          Photo of one of the ole spindles to follow.

                                      

          For that one person who noticed that there is an arm in the upper right corner of the photo, it is the arm of my first wife. She has been putting together her fall decorations along with a bunch of fake pumpkins. I suggested that it was not fall yet, but she ignored me.

          Later in the afternoon as my spouse of 5 decades was working on her fall decorations, I decided to wash the dog. Have you ever washed a large dog by yourself?     I have!         Actually, Tres stands still for his bath, I think he likes all the rubbing, but he don’t like water being sprayed on and around his head. After his bath he likes to play tug of war with a towel. Photo to follow.

                                      

          Tres is attacking the towel after his bath.

May you be safe, cooperative and productive all week!

Senior safety supervisor; Don Ford

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