July 28, 2026

                Good morning to all our friends…

                Yesterday’s great events: I went to the store for a few items yesterday morning about 8:00am and I learned that there are plenty of parking spaces early morning and no one in my way when shopping. Back at home I did my bible reading after a short rest period (nap). I tried to stay out of the way of the cleaning lady.  

                Later in the afternoon we sat outside on the front porch. It was hot but there was an occasional breeze, and I had a fan in my hand. As we sat there a neighbor drove by in a new Ford pickup truck. Wow our neighbors get new vehicles, it must be nice to be rich.

                I did prepare supper and after eating and cleaning up I was allowed to go out back and water the plants.

Today: my big plan is to take Alex to ROTC at school and pick him up later.

               

                Addiction is the topic: I do not know who among you may have been or is addicted to something and I am not attempting to find out. Most people do not want to admit that they are addicted, and some may be addicted but not understand that they are addicted.   

          Let’s start with my addiction, I am addicted to nicotine even though I do not use the tobacco products anymore, my body is still addicted to nicotine. Many years ago, I smoked a pipe even though at that time the main items for smoking were cigarettes and cigars. As time passed, I changed from the pipe to chewing tobacco. I chewed tobacco for many years, and I stopped the weekend that our son David got married, 21 years ago.

          Stopping is very difficult and for a while I was not a good person, there were times that I literally wanted to hurt someone. I made a statement when I quit and it was, “if I learned that I had 3 months to live the first thing I would do would be to get a pouch of chewing tobacco “.

          Now I occasionally get a cigar or two when family or friends go on a cruise. I enjoy these cigars, usually taking 5 days to completely smoke one cigar. I call it playing and enjoying. I see it as fun but not as a part of my addiction, but it is a part of my addiction.

          After the last two cigars that were brough to me by a friend from his cruise, I have been wanting to have more cigars even considering going to a smoke shop to get a couple cigars.

Now I have been thinking about this, and it is not just that I have fun with cigars, even though I do, it is that my addiction is working to get me back into the daily intake (use) of nicotine. I have considered the situation, and I have decided that I will not go to the smoke shop and buy cigars. I know it is my addiction that is tempting me and I will not allow it to bring me back to nicotine!  If you are addicted get help to stop because it isn’t easy and many who stop only stop for a while and then return to the addiction.

If one stops using, the addiction is still there waiting to temp you back…

 

          I will stop entering data now, we hope you have a blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do. Pray for friends and family.

          Donnie the Ford

July 27, 2026

Good morning to all, we hope you have a cool day.

                Yesterday was a normal Sunday I watched the church TV program and then after a cup of homemade coffee and a rest period I began my Bible reading. After that, my favorite wife and I headed to the cracker store for lunch. We needed to wait for a table; the food and service was good.

                After lunch was finished, we went to the Wally World store for a couple items which my favorite wife wanted to get. One was a motion detecting light that will be placed in the bedroom so us ole people would have light if we needed to get up during the night.  

Back at home it was again time to rest. Later in the afternoon we did as usual set outside. It was hot and even though there was a slight breeze we did activate the big ole fan. We also had cold drinks with lots of ice in them. As usual the neighborhood was quiet, heck one might say it was dead. During the couple of hours that we were out there we may have seen a couple cars and one fellow who was walking.  

I was allowed to do some work during our outside venture; I was washing clothes. Now in truth I was not washing the clothes, I was just putting them in the washer, and the machine did the washing. Yes, I had done some housework earlier.

When we went back inside, I was allowed to warm up our supper. As soon as I sat down to eat, I received a call from my sister in Missouri. We talked for a while and during the conversation I received another call from an ole friend which I did not answer. I did call him back after I had eaten my supper. Yes, I was allowed to wash the dishes.

Today may be another exciting day for the Fords of Hewitt as I need gas in the car, I could use a few things from the store, and if it wasn’t too hot, I could mow the back yard. The cleaning lady should be here around noon.

Wow always an exciting time at the Fords Homestead. We hope you have a blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do. Please keep family and friends in your prayers.

                Donnie the Ford

July 26, 2026

                We are into a nice Sunday morning here in Hewitt, so we wish you a good morning and a blessed day.

                Yesterday was an interesting day for my favorite wife and I. The day started out with us bringing our yard man Alex over to mow the front yard. When I went to get Alex I was able to procure a cup of coffee from the star coffee company. While Alex was mowing in the front yard I did yesterday's so-called blog posting.

                Alex was compensated and taken back to his home, and I returned to our home where I was allowed to take a short nap. Rest time completed I did my bible reading.  

                Later in the morning at about 10:30am we headed out in the so-called new Chevy determining that we wanted to go get some BBQ from a little place that we used to go to years ago. Would you believe we drove 30 miles one way to get the BBQ sandwiches and a couple of unsweetened teas. I then decided to take a back road on our way home. This road is one that we use to ride when we were on motorcycles. I thought I knew the road that we wanted to go on so I headed South from that town and evidently, I missed the road that I wanted to use. I ended up on some little old road that just kept going forever and ever out into the country.

                I'm glad the car has GPS on it to show me where I was and how to get somewhere because finally I told it to take me back to Hewitt TX and it popped a map up and showed me where to go. It was nice to see all the country farms and ranches out there.

Back on the main road I was going to take a different road that I also remembered when we used to ride motorcycles. I started down the road, and I saw that it was blocked, they were working on the bridge so I couldn't take that road. I had to use the highway to get back home. We did make it back home safe and sound and the sandwiches we bought at the BBQ place were excellent and very large.

Later in the afternoon as we sat outside in the heat, I was allowed to trim some of the flowers as they were so big that we could not walk without them rubbing on us. Work done I was allowed to sit on a chair and that is when a friend dropped by. This friend brought a small bottle of wine with her which the ladies seemed to enjoy in glasses filled with ice as it was very hot outside where we were sitting.

Note; the birds seemed to have left the bird houses, and the drones were continually flying over our house.

Today; we will probably go to the cracker store for lunch as usual and then do very little the rest of the day. I am attempting to stop for now, but I do have a photo for my enjoyment.

                We hope everyone has a safe and blessed day. Keep your family and friends in your prayers.

                Donnie the Ford

July 25, 2026

                Good Saturday morning if you are seeing this in the morning…

                I have already been to the Star coffee place for a cup, and I have already been to Alex’s home and brough him to the Fords homestead. I have commissioned him to mow the front yard today; the back yard seems to be ok for now. I can observe the work he is doing from the security monitors, and he is following instructions that I gave him when he first started mowing for us.

Instructions: When mowing you should have at least three directions to mow. Each time you mow, mow in a different direction. Examples of The Ford method; one mow in line with the curb (aka north and south) two away from the curb toward the house (aka east and west) three on and 45-degree angle aka (northeast to southwest).

Mowing in a different direction keeps your yard from having lines where the wheels of the mower have been. In other words, your yard looks better. When using a riding mower, one should be sure the tires have the correct air pressure and one should make all turns at a slow speed, which reduced the marks the riding mower leaves in a yard.

Wow, I am done with the preaching, let’s see if I have anything else to present. My favorite wife and I did go for a ride in the Fords new Chevy, the main reason for this ride was to get Tres into the vehicle and see how he would react. I will need to take him to the vet next week and I wanted to get him familiar with the vehicle. He did fine.

We then sat outside yesterday afternoon, and I later learned I did miss a couple of calls. We did not have the Fords house phone on the front porch with us, so we did not hear the phone rang.

We have discussed the possibility of going to a small town about 30 miles away for some BBQ today. BBQ sounds good and getting out of the house seems to be good for our morale. Seeing places that we have not seen for a couple years is actually interesting for ole people.

Well Alex is almost finished with the yard work so I guess I should also stop with my work, yes this is work for an ole person. We hope we all have a blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do. Let’s keep our friends and family in our prayers.

Don the Ford

July 24, 2026

                Good morning to all…

Allow me to start out with photos of flower blooms. These are located near the driveway where we sit in the afternoons.

            We did have supper yesterday afternoon with friends. I know you thought we did not have any friends but surprise, we do have friends. We all met at the restaurant at the same time, and we very much enjoyed time together. We have all lived in this neighborhood for many years. Larry and Janice have been here for 48 years, and we have lived here for 47 years. When we were younger the neighborhood was full of kids.  

            I should note that there is a thing known as the “Ford Curse”. This curse has to do with food and the fact that if you eat with the Fords someone will get food or a drink on their clothes. Yes, it happened during our supper, and I will not say who was cursed.   

            Back at home my favorite wife and I sat outside for a while. It was hot but there was a very good breeze blowing. I would say we had a good breeze for 80% of the time and 20% of the time we had the big ole fan blowing. Talking about the wind, as we sat there, I could see the grass in the front yard moving in the wind, which means the grass is taller than it should be. I looked at the neighbor’s yard which is shorter than ours and it did not seem to be influenced by the wind. I guess I should consider mowing or maybe getting the yard man Alex over to mow.

 

            Big plan for the day; attempt to get Tres into the Fords new chevy, He has never been in the car, and I will need to take him to the vet next week, so I need to get him in and use to being in the car.

            Well, I guess that is it for now, we hope you have a blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do. Let’s keep our friends and family in our prayers.

            Don the Ford

July 23, 2026

                We are looking at another hot good morning, and a hotter day.

                Yesterday we did get the door inspection for the two storm doors. He did some measuring and took some photos, then he said they would send me the info on price and when they could do the work.  

In the afternoon we were bored just sitting around in the house, we decided to get in the car and go for a ride out in the country just to get out of the house for a while. The drive was on roads that we use to travel often but as we considered the situation, we had not been out of the city limits of Hewitt or Waco for a couple years. In the olden days we would get on the motorcycle and go for a ride on many country roads. Now we stay home or stay in town. We very much enjoyed the drive in the country and many things have changed.

Back in town we stopped and got some food for supper then headed for home.  

Back at home we sat outside in the extreme heat “106 yesterday” with the big ole fan blowing on us and we did have drinks with a lot of ice in them. It was too hot for the Tres to be outside during our drive in the country, so he stayed inside.

We did have blackberry cobbler with out ice cream last night and it was good!

Today’s big plans, take and get Alex from ROTC meeting. Wow old people have too much to do.

We hope you have a blessed day keeping friends and family in your prayers and that we all stay safe in all we do.

Don the Ford

July 22, 2026

                We wish you a good morning and an even better day.

                Yesterday I was able to get Alex to school (ROTC) and then pick him up afterword. After school we went to the grocery store together as we both needed some items. I needed a few usual things for the house and Alex needed some things as he said he was going to make cookies today. Alex had gotten some cookie recipes from my favorite wife last year and he has made cookies using them. Alex also cooks at times, so he is learning how to do many things.

                We have contacted the home store to get someone to give a price for new storm doors. Yes, we need two storm doors. He will be here today, and we have a photo of the person who is coming so we know he is the right person to give us a bid. It will cost too much but we need to have them replaced.

                Yesterday afternoon my favorite wife and I went to town to do some shopping. We went to a grocery store where we purchased a package of cookies for Tres, a frozen pizza and a couple of other items. Then we went to another big store where my favorite wife walked through many of the aisles and I was getting tired following her. She did get a couple small items which cost about $6.00 then we headed for home. We did get a couple of unsweet ice teas on the way home.

                We did not sit outside yesterday as the heat was too much, I think the temp was 102.

                We had blackberry cobbler after supper last night that was made by our daughter-in-law Claire, and it was very good. We put a little ice cream on top of the cobbler.

                I again have no plans for today as it is going to be too hot for ole senior people.

                I am stopping for now and I am going to do as little as possible. We wish you a blessed day, and we hope you stay safe in all you do. Keep your friends and family in your prayers and us too please, as we do the same.

                Mr. Don the Ford

July 21, 2026

    Good morning and good day…

Yesterday started out early and for some reason my favorite wife also got up early. I did go to the star coffee place in preparation for picking up our grandson and yard man Alex. On the way I took a photo of the rising sun.

We made it to the homestead and Alex started in the backyard as I started to remove the Poopa-Loopa. During the process of Poopa-Loopa removal, I noticed some blooming flowers we call “Four O’clocks”. I was told by an ole friend that they only bloomed at 4:00. It was 7:30, not 4:00 when I took the photo.

I had decided to cut off or reposition some of the black berry limbs as they were hanging out into the yard and that made it difficult to get close enough to mow, in this process I also started removing some trees from the number three bed.

I knew there were trees that were growing in the bed but until I began to remove them, I was unaware of how many there were. As this removal activity continued, I was also more aware of some dead black berry vines which I also removed. There is very little work around or in black berry beds that do not cause injury. I did have some cuts on the ole arms and I was sweating almost as much as the yard man Alex.

I had a trash container filled with cuttings and the larger cuttings were on the Ford’s ole red wagon. I finally discontinued the cutting and removal process and took the trash container and the wagon to the trash cart that was at the curb. Our neighbor lady was mowing in her front yard, and she came over to talk with me. I now know she was sweating as much as me, she is going to have her house foundation leveled again, and she wants to go back to work (she has not had a job since her husband passed away a year ago).

As our conversation was completed, I then put the cutting from the blackberries into the large trash cart. I then went to the back yard where Alex had started cutting the weeds in the ditch. We had decided to remove the weeds from the close side of the ditch for now and do the difficult side later. The difficult side has trenches in it from the city employees when they got their vehicles stuck in the mud about two or three years ago. I also got the other string trimmer out and started trimming. The battery went dead on the trimmer Alex was using so he came and took the gas-powered trimmer from me and finished the job.

Tools were put away and the gate to the ditch locked we decided to wash the dog Tres. I have a photo of him all wet from the washing, and he had rolled in the cut grass.

All the work completed I compensated Alex for his work and took him to his house. I then returned to the homestead and was able to take a highly needed shower. I was allowed to have a little time on the Fords ole worn-out recliner. When my eyes again opened, I warmed up in the microwave some lunch for my favorite wife.

Lunch eaten I was then able to get the bible out and begin my daily bible study. I no longer read just to be reading; I now read to learn and consider what is being said. I do enjoy reading the bible.

Even though it was extremely hot yesterday we did go outside to relax. We sat on the driveway near the garage door, and we did have the big ole fan blowing air on us. As usual it was a quiet afternoon and there was almost no traffic on the street.

I heard one drone going over so I looked up to see it and there was something that looked like a bird flying at the same speed, same direction, to the left of the drone but it was higher than the drone. If it was a bird, why would it be going the same direction and same speed as the drone?

Today’s big plan: take and get Alex to and from school ROTC meeting. Go into town for some groceries, my favorite wife wants to go to a couple stores.  

Please allow me to stop and you can do something interesting. We hope you have a blessed day and that we all stay safe in all we do. Keep all your friends and family along with us in your prayers.  

Donnie the Ford