July 10, 2026

Good morning to all, and I hope it is a good morning as it is still dark outside as I enter this info.

                Yesterday morning was a normal morning with nothing real exciting. I took Alex to the ROTC meeting, and they got their photos taken for the upcoming year. It was 12:30 when he called and was ready to go home.

                One of the neighbor’s grandkids came over and brought us a painting she had made. She has made a couple of other paintings for us, and this one had hearts on it.

                She will be a real artist in the future if she continues painting.

                My favorite wife worked on separating a bunch of things she had on the kitchen table which took quite a while.

                I did go outside with my cigar and puffed on it for a while. The neighbor lady came over and said she didn’t know I smoked. I explained it is only a few times a year when I can get a couple good cigars. She noted that she did not smoke but she did like the smell of a good cigar.

                We did go out for supper, and the wait staff were excellent. They kid with me and we did get good service. The food was very good, and we both have leftovers to eat today for lunch.

                Back at home we did sit outside as usual even though it was another 100-degree day. While we were outside, we could hear a train going through Hewitt. It was a couple of blocks away and we both agreed it sounded like we were back in Missouri. When we lived just outside Scott City, we were near a train track, and the trains made noise often day and night.

We did wave at a couple of neighbors as they drove past us while we were outside, but no one stopped to talk with us. Our dog Tres barked at one of them. I did get a photo of the rain cloud as it was approaching or was the sky clear as could be with only one small cloud in sight.

  

Today we have no plans yet. My favorite wife had said she might want to go into Waco to the Hallmark store.

The weather people have said we should not make it to 100 today but that doesn’t mean it will be cool when we sit outside.

 

            Note: if you do not want to receive these emails send me a text message or a email saying STOP and I will stop sending to to you.

 

            Speaking of stopping, I will stop for now, we hope you will have a blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

 

       Donnie the Ford

July 9, 2026

                Morning

                I was able to get the post finished yesterday morning and then get dressed before my favorite wife and I left the homestead heading into Waco. Most of the time when I say we went into Waco we do not go downtown Waco, but yesterday we went downtown. The tax office is located downtown and that was where we went.

                We arrived at the tax office, and we found a handicapped parking space which was a long way away from the entrance. We walked to the ramp that we had to go up instead of the steps, then into the building. After a short wait period we went into an employee.

                We were there to get a handicap license plate for our vehicle. I had to remove the license plates from the vehicle and the tag that was on the windshield and take them along with the paperwork that I had filled out at home and all the info about our vehicle into the tax office. Since my favorite wife was considered handicapped, she had to be there to sign the paperwork. The lady took all the forms and old license plates and then gave me another form to fill out, finally she gave us the new license plates and some forms that we are supposed to keep. Wouldn’t you know I would have to pay a fee for the new license; it was 50 cents.   

                Back at the vehicle I had to install the license plate before we headed for home.

On the way home I thought we should stop for breakfast. My Favorite wife was in agreement, so we stopped that George’s Restaurant for omelets and coffee. Food ingested we headed for home where I took a short rest period before going to the store for some groceries. It was nice when I arrived at the store and I found a handicapped parking space and I did not need to put the tag on the mirror. Yes, I park in handicap spaces even if my favorite wife isn’t with me.

Later in the afternoon we sat outside even though it was 100 degrees. Our conversations centered around riding the motorcycle, places we liked to go on the motorcycle and food we liked to eat while out riding (olden days events). If my wife thought, we could get on and off the motorcycle without any problems she would be insisting I get another cycle.

As usual when we reentered the house, I was allowed to create supper. The ice cream was prepared at the usual time and enjoyed by both of us.

                Today I need to take Alex to the ROTC meeting they will be taking photos today. This is our usual day for supper out this evening. We have no other plans for the day, we will see what happens. I will now stop entering data, we hope you have a blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

                Donnie the Ford

July 8, 2026

                A nice good morning to you, it is a sunny morning with temps in the mid-70s that will progress to the upper 90s this afternoon. I saw a prediction of 99 for this afternoon and we have not yet hit 100 degrees.  

                Did not do a lot yesterday: it was another hot day and at one point I took the cigar and went to the front porch for a few puffs. The neighborhood as usual was very quiet. There was a small dog a few houses away that would bark and then our dog Tres who was sitting inside at the front door would bark back. The little dog was not very loud, but Tres has very good hearing.

                Back in the house I decided to go to get something for us to eat and while I was out, I also got gas in the Fords new Chevy. After eating I did very little, my ole body is a little sore from crawling around on the ground and getting up and down when I pulled the weeds Monday. My favorite wife was again working in the front bedroom.

Later in the afternoon we did go outside to sit. It was very hot and the big ole fan was providing us with some breeze. We were surprised by the drones that were flying over. There were 6 drones that flew over where we were sitting, one at a time in the same direction and then back. That all took place in about 15 minutes, they may have been going to the same place.  We also noticed many jets flying south. With nothing else to do while we set outside, we look up at the sky a lot. One thing I considered while sitting there looking at the clouds, no two clouds are the same. Yep, not very interesting and that was one of my thoughts while doing nothing as we were sitting outside.

Today’s plan: we will attempt to go to the tax office and get a handicap license plate for the Fords new Chevy. I tend to forget to put the handicap tag up on the mirror when I park and with the license plate, I will not need to remember. After the visit to the tax office, we might get something for lunch. Wow, that is a lot of plans for two ole senior people.

Hay, this is a short post, and I made it short just for you. We hope you have a blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

Don the Ford

July 7, 2026

It is a bright and sunny good morning here in Hewitt. All the sunshine tells me I will not be working in the yard today.

Early morning yesterday I thought I should do some yard work but decided I was old and lazy, and I did not want to get dirty. So, I just kicked back in the ole recliner for a while with a cup of homemade coffee. The Star Coffee card has no money on it and poor old people don’t have the funding to add to the card. I haven’t received a Star Coffee gift card lately which I use to transfer to the old Gold Card.    

After a period of rest, I then read the bible. As I sat at the ole desk I looked at the security monitors, and it was cloudy with no sunshine outside, so I decided that I should pull some weeds. This work only took a little more than an hour. Some of the grass that grows like weeds in the flower beds are over 3 feet long. You start pulling it in one place and you find the root is several feet away.

Weed pulling done, I was able to get my old body into the house and take a shower. Once I cooled down, I went to get a couple spicy chicken sandwiches for our lunch. Lunch was eaten, my favorite wife started working in the front bedroom and I rested.

It was 5:00pm before we went outside. I did have an adult beverage, and my favorite wife had a glass of wine. While we sat outside our neighbor lady came over, she had a water problem. She had a dish washer delivered today and they were supposed to install it and take the old one away. They turned the water off under her sink, they did not install or remove the old washer, and she could not turn the water back on. I asked if they had disconnected the water line from the old washer and she did not know. If they had disconnected the ole washer water line and she turned the water back on there would be water spraying out. She said she has water in the bathroom, and she decided to call them and get them back today to finish the job.

Back in the house I created a couple of salads and a sandwich for supper. Dishes washed, I rested and started this document. Ice cream was a little later than usual, it was almost 9:00pm before we had our ice cream.  

I just looked at the security monitor and there is a truck and trailer in front of our neighbors house so I assume they are there to finish the job.     

 

Today’s plan: I will need to take Alex to ROTC at school today about 8:30 this morning and then bring him home later. I also want to call the tax office for some information about a handicap license plate for the car.

Well, I should stop and get some rest from all this data entry, we hope you have a blessed day nd that we all stay safe in all we do.

                Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

July 6, 2026

                Good morning to everyone, our day seems to be starting off well, I actually slept in this morning and that is unusual.

                Nothing interesting happened yesterday, we went to the cracker store for lunch and as usual it was good. Returning home I tried to get a little rest on the ole recliner but that did not happen. I then decided to take the clothes to the washroom and begin the washing process. I loaded the whites first and then I decided to use the little boy’s room, (aka toilet).

                Have you ever sat down on a toilet and as you were getting comfortable the toilet seat broke, well I have. Yes, that is an odd feeling. As you may have considered, I then needed to go to a store and purchase a new seat for the toilet. Did you know there are different seats and different sizes?

                At the store I found the plumbing supplies and I picked a seat. Now in truth the ole seat was showing that it was ole, so the new seat was a good idea. Have you ever installed a toilet seat, it isn’t difficult if you know what to do. I learned quickly by removing the old seat. In truth I did a good job of it. Work completed, I sat on the new seat, and it felt very nice…

                I was allowed to continue the washing and the drying of the clothes. Do you remember having a clothesline in the back yard and the fact that clothes would be hung on the clothes lines to dry. Olden days!

                My favorite wife and I did sit outside yesterday afternoon and since there was little or no breeze, we had the big ole fan blowing on us. No visitors dropped by and most of our conversations were about the number of jet planes that went over, and the hawks that seemed to be flying everywhere.

                We returned to the house, and I finished the drying of and putting away the clothes. I was then allowed to cook supper. Please allow me to define, “Cooking by The Don”. Cooking means putting it in the microwave and heating the items. My favorite wife brought about half of her lunch home from the cracker store and I purchased a $5.00 to go lunch from the cracker store. Our suppers were heated and then eaten.

                Today’s plans: …   I do have a photo of one of the rental properties that we have, and yes, we have several properties.

                This particular property is on a 5-foot post and has a musical device next to it.

                Well, this is Monday and I have no real plans yet, so I will stop and see what happens. We hope you have a blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

                Donnie the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

July 5, 2026

It is Sunday and we are having a good morning here at The Ford Homestead and we wish you a good morning too.

                Yesterday’s events illuminated: we did get our yard man Alex to come over and mow our lawns. It takes him a little less than two hours to mow and trim both the front and back yard. Since we had a little extra time Alex and I washed the dog.

Mowing and washing done, we decided to go to lunch at the sandwich shop in Waco. We drove into Waco and they were closed due to the 4^th of July. We then were attempting to determine where we might go to have lunch. We drove all the way back to Hewitt and stopped at the Georges restaurant. We were surprised that they were not packed with customers and there were plenty of parking spaces close to the door. Food was good and service was also good. Eating done we dropped Alex off at his house and returned home.

My belly was full, so I took a short nap on the ole recliner before we went outside to set on the front porch. There was not a lot going on in the neighborhood, very little traffic on the street. The sky was mostly blue, (aka clear) and we were talking about the small number of little clouds we could see. I have a photo of where we set on the front porch, yes I took the photo and my favorite wife was sitting on the porch.

As usual, when I am sitting outside, I find a couple things to do. First, I watered the potted plants out front, and I filled the bird baths with water. You might see the water on the bloom in the photo below.

Then I remembered I wanted to get the trike out and ride it a little, as it had not been used for probably a month. I road it up the street for a few blocks and then back home, yes I have a photo.

                You may notice that the trike has some items in the back carrier, one is a bag of dog food. The bike ride was very enjoyable; it does need to be cleaned.  

                We had supper at about 7:00pm and shortly after supper, our neighbor and her son came over and wanted the ole lawn mower I had offered her a couple weeks ago. I told her I had given it away already. She noted that her son was wanting to mow the back yard, but the mower would not run. I said let’s look at it.

                In their back yard we went to the mower, and I pulled the starter rope one time and the mower started. Her son took the mower and tried to mow but the mower started to slow down and then stopped. I asked him to restart the mower and let me try it. Instead of mowing the full 22 inches that the mower is wide, I mowed half that much and the mower was able to continue to run. I should note that the grass was knee high, I am not kidding it was knee high and too thick to cut a full path. Cutting a small path will take longer but it will work.

                Today’s plans: we will likely go to the Cracker store for lunch and other than that we have no other plans.

                I should stop for now and let you have some time to yourself. We hope you have a very blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do.

                Donnie the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

July 4, 2026

                250-year birthday, nature is on the side of the United States with the red, white and blue in the photo below.

            The 4^th is here and we say, “may the 4^th be with you”. Did you think about Star Wars with that statement?

This morning I ventured out into the backyard to see if I could get a photo of a blooming flower. The bloom is pretty even though the sun was not shining on it, and the flower is next to a wooden post that is about 5 feet tall which has a bird house on the top. I also noticed the tomato plant which had several small green tomatoes on it yesterday, has none on it now. Something is taking the tomatoes.

            We did set outside yesterday afternoon; we did not receive any visitors. There were many drones flying over making deliveries yesterday afternoon. The weather was hot and we had the big ole fan blowing air on us.

            After our time outside we proceeded back into the house where I was able to make supper. That is I was able to microwave a couple items, and they were our supper although we did have a homemade salad with small pieces of tomatoes cut up on them, and that was good too.

            After I was allowed to wash the dishes, I did get an adult beverage and watched some TV.

            Today's possible events: we have asked our yard man Alex to come over and do the yard work this morning. We will likely go into town for a sandwich for lunch after the yard work is completed and Alex usually goes with us.   

            Change of topics: my sister Becky sent me an old pome that my Mother had written many years ago. I have a photo which isn’t very good and I have also typed the words from the pome below.

Mansion In the sky

Ive got a mansion in the sky

That I’ll inherit when I die

No rent or taxes will come due

In that home that’s away beyond the blue.

                                                                               

I’m just a pilgrim and a stranger

I have no place to call my own

But I am going up to heaven

I’ll have a mansion all my own

                                                                               

My name is not on security record

I have no riches in this world

But I am wealthy if you just look

You’ll find my name in Heaven’s book

 

I am not sure if there was more to the pome, that is all we have. We know that mom did occasionally write comments like the above.

I will stop for now we hope you have a safe 4^th of July, and we hope all have a blessed day.

Don the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.

July 3, 2026

                We are having a bright and sunny good morning here in Hewitt.

                Let us see if yesterday had any interesting events. It was another basic day here at the Ford house not a lot went on during the morning, I did go out and water the potted plants and the black berry beds as we have not had any rain lately and the lawn sprinklers to not cover the black berry beds. I was also allowed to go to the bank and ask a question, then I went to the grocery store for a few items. Note: one should not go to the grocery store a day or two before a holiday as everyone was there getting the items needed for the celebration.

I did enjoy the reading of the Bible, and later in the afternoon we did go out for supper. The food was good, the server was also good, the table was not cleaned properly. We did have the waiter come over and clean the table. The problem seemed to be that someone had spilt a drink on the table and when they left it was not completely cleaned as there was still some liquid at the end of the table.

After our evening meal we returned home and decided to set out on the driveway with a big fan blowing on us. It was hot and there was no breeze. One of our neighbors from down the street stopped by to talk and that's always good. We all had some interesting conversations.  As we were talking another neighbor came walking over with her boy, the boy was on an electric scooter. We got an additional chair for her. Her son was having fun with the dog, photo to follow.

                I think Tres and the boy liked each other.

                It is always good when a friend stops by to talk when we are sitting outside. Without a friend our discussions are based on birds, drones, airplanes flying over, no traffic on the street, the quiet neighborhood and the grass in yards. I have two photos of grass in yards conversations.

                I will assume that by looking at the two photos you may understand what the conversations about the grass in the yards were about.

                Different topic: I was provided with a copy of something my mother had written many years ago. I know mom tended to make notes and write things she was thinking about. I will add the note in a few days.  

                Today there are no major plans currently. After composing this soon to be informative but not interesting article, I will head to the Ford’s ole recliner for a break (nap).

                I will stop for now, we hope you have a very good day filled with blessings and that we all stay safe in all we do.

                Mr. Donnie the Ford

May today be better than your best day, but not as good as tomorrow.