January 31, 2023

            Well, it is cold and rainy, there is ice on a lot of things, but our walkway and drive way are both wet but not ice covered, yet. When I say not yet, there is ice on parts of the driveway and other parts are just wet. That makes it difficult to maneuver, so I am attempting to stay off the drive.

A lot of activities have been canceled for today, most, if not all the schools are canceled for today including Midway schools. That means we don’t need to get out and drive around to get the kids today. Dave took a days’ vacation today, assuming the kids would be out of school. The bible study class was also canceled last night.

            It seems as if the roads in our local area are not ice covered, but they are wet and the temp is below freezing. The newspaper delivery people did not have any problems delivering the paper this morning. I am hoping to just stay at home inside the house today.

            That is all for today, it is too cold to even attempt to think about something to write, although I did remember something that happened many years ago, and if you will allow me, I will attempt to relate the story to you.

            In the olden days I rode a bus to and from school. On this particular day, it had been snowing and we were on our way home from school. The route home meant that I was one of the last to get off the bus. This particular day the bus with about 10 kids still on the bus, was coming down a hill and needed to stop at the cross road to let one of the kids off. Well, you guessed it, the bus slid off in a ditch. No one was hurt but the bus could not get out of the ditch, we were stuck.

            There was a house where one of the kids on the bus lived, and we all got off the bus, and the kids mother invited us all into their house. I remember we were all kind of enjoying goofing around while we waited on another bus to come and get us. Not a bad winter memory, just a memory.

            I just went outside and the drive still does not seem to be ice covered, although there are spots of ice. I did go out to the shed and the steps going into the shed is ice covered. Yes, I was careful!

            We hope you have a safe and warm day today, be careful if you must get out and drive.  

Winter weather!

Senior ole person who might just get a cup of homemade coffee, Don the Ford

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

January 30, 2023

            Well, it is here, it is the day that I have a dental appointment. The appointments are ok if they are just a cleaning, but if there is other work, then I don’t like them. My allergies are acting up this morning, I hope they clear up before I head over to the dentist.

            The dental appointment isn’t the only thing on our minds today, I guess everyone is aware of the weather concerns for the next couple days. They are predicting possible freezing rain and I have heard it could be up to ½ inch. Now a little snow is ok, even Texans can usually drive in a little snow, but I don’t know anyone who can drive on the ice, if we get it.

            They are saying we may have some freezing rain this afternoon, when it is time to pick up the kids from school, I hope they are wrong.

            I am wondering about two things right now, one is, will the school be canceled tomorrow, and the other is will my surgery be canceled for tomorrow. It there is ice on the roads I do not intend to attempt to drive to either.

            Tonight, is Bible study night, and with this cold weather and the possibility of freezing rain, I doubt that very many will show up, (there are a lot of us seniors in the study) I guess it could be canceled if the ice is prevalent.

            Topic swap: the big light over the garage door is not working, and when it quits it is usually the fixture and not the bulb. Replacing a bulb is fairly easy, even though a person who is ¾ of a century old would need to climb a ladder. It is replacing the fixture that is difficult. One will need to cut the power to the fixture, climb up there and remove the fixture, climb back up there to replace the fixture, insert the light bulb, reconnect the power, and hope it works. Did I mention one would need to find the funding to purchase said fixture.

            There is a normal light by the garage door which is a motion detecting light, so if there is any movement the smaller light will come on. I like the big light but repair can wait until the weather is better.

            Well, I guess I should brush my tooth and get ready to go to the dentists, we hope you have a warm day, without freezing rain and that everyone stays safe!

Tooth doctors…

Senior ole person who don’t want to go but will go, Don the Ford

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

January 29, 2023

 

            I just walked outside with the Tres to get the so-called newspaper, and when I looked around, I thought I was back in southern Illinois. It is very foggy this morning. Back in the olden days the fog that would come up on those flat river bottom lands in southern Illinois, right next to the Mississippi river, it was almost unbelievable how dense those fogs were. Well, it isn’t that bad here, but on the security cameras it looks like it is snowing with all the fog floating around.

            Allow me to go back to yesterday: Patrick was here to celebrate his birthday, we all went out to lunch, which was good, there was some interesting conversations. Patrick was asked to see if he could get a computer running at David’s house, and he was going to work on computers at Karla’s parents' home. It was Patrick’s birthday and we all wanted him to work on computers. There is no rest for the Nerds.

            I have a photo showing how difficult it is for the dog Tres to live here at the Ford homestead. He has a very difficult life with much stress.

            With all this stress, we are considering getting him some drugs to help him relax.

            Well, it is not cold right now and it is supposed to get up to 60 during the first part of the day. The second part of the day the arctic cold is supposed to arrive, and the temps will start down. I think we are expecting cold weather for the first part of the week.

            Topic swap: I noticed that the remote control in the bedroom was not working properly, naturally I assume the batteries were getting low, so I investigated. The batteries were covered in a white crap that leaks from old batteries. Now I need to clean the battery case and replace the batteries. It is a dirty job, but I can do it.

            Sitting here looking at the camera monitors, it appears that the fog is lifting. Maybe I need to do a real life visual to see if the cameras are correct.

            Well, with the wet drizzle and fog, I assume outside work for today is a no go. I did put bird food out yesterday and the squirrel said thank you. I know the squirrels need food just like the birds, but I wish they would go elsewhere to get their food.

I am now in need of a cup of coffee so I will be ending this very short posting. We hope you have a good weekend, stay safe and dry.

Tres Stressed?

Senior ole person who needs a cup of coffee to keep going, Don the Ford

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

January 28, 2023

            It is Sat-all-day again, and some refer to it as Saturday, and it is raining. Now in the olden days when I lived in the “Show Me State”, there was a comment used occasionally about the amount of rain falling, “Like pouring water out of a boot”. Now as I sit here considering all the world’s problems, I am wondering how much water would one need to pour out of the boot, and how would that compare to the actual rain fall?

First off I have never put water in my boot, and I guess if I did have water in my boot I would poor it out. If there was a cup of water in a boot would that be equal to ½ inch of rain, and would a quart of water be equal to an inch of rain? Where can we find the answered to these troublesome questions?

Swap the topic: yesterday, I went to the adult beverage store to get a bottle. If you remember last time I was there, they did not have the brand I like, so they sold me a more expensive bottle. I pulled up to the drive through window hoping that they would have my brand, but the lady that worked there did not come to the window. I sat there for about a minute then I seen her coming and she had my bottle in hand. Yep, she never asked me what I wanted she just went and got it for me. I have been going there once a month for the last couple years. 

A different story; we here at the Ford’s homestead have two battery powered vacuums, I guess that is so we can both work at the same time. Well, mine stopped working. The motor would run but it was not picking up anything. I took it apart and cleaned the filters and did not find anything that caused the problem. I had decided to start removing some screws that hold the motor in when it came to me, to again check the part that rolls on the floor. Now I had previously looked at it and did not see any problem, this time I turned the air compressor on and attempted to blow air through the unit to no avail. It was clogged so bad that no air went through. I had to use a small bar to force the crap out of the tube. There was a bunch of dog hair and some kind of string that tangled together causing the clog.

Our favorite grandson is camping out in the cold and rain this weekend. I think the cold would have been ok but the rain makes it really bad. We hope they stay warm and dry.

My favorite wife and I along with a friend sat outside for a while yesterday. It only took about 30 minutes and we decided to go inside. Even though we were inside, there were lively conversations.

Today we plan to go out to lunch in celebration of Patrick’s birthday (I sometimes refer to him as Pete).  Don’t ask how old he is, as it makes me feel even older when we say he is 52. There you go, you made me say it now I feel old. 

            I guess that is it for now, I need to put some bird food out, they seem to be hungry. We hope you have a safe, warm and kind day!

Happy birthday Pete!

Senior ole person who needs to feed the birds and get coffee for himself, Don the Ford

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

January 27, 2023

            Please allow me to update you, my favorite reader of this blog. About a week ago I was presenting you with info about an extra charge that went against my gift card at the Cracker store. There was an extra $5.15 deducted from my gift card and when I spoke with the managers (two of them) they determined that a 20% tip had been taken from the gift card, even though I had left a cash tip on the table. I was told I could call the card company to get the payment stopped.

            Yesterday afternoon we went to the cracker store for supper, the food and service were both good. I use the same gift card as last time, and some how the $5.15 was put back on the card. We don’t know if the managers were able to do that or not, but it was there. I am no longer crying myself to sleep at night over the loss of money! 

            After we finished eating and as we were leaving the dining area, and ole friend called out to us from the table where they were sitting. This lady use to work with me at the distribution center and we knew her and some of their family. It is nice to see ole friends and I do mean ole as her husband is 79 and she is 74 years old.

            Prior to going to the cracker store I had been delivering the kids home from school and during that time I was sneezing and snorting a lot. So as soon as I dropped the kids off I put a face mask on to help me get away from the pollen, yep my allergies were popping up. Knowing that we were going to the cracker store I did not want to be sneezing during my meal.

            For me, if I wear the mask for about 15 minutes, it usually stops most of the pollen and my allergies subside for a while. It worked, and I ate with out sneezing. Oh, I have a mask on now as the allergies are here this morning. Now I need to decide how I will drink my cup of homemade coffee with this mask on.

            Today is Friday and it is cold again today, as with the last couple days I have no real plans, although I might go into Waco and see if I can get a bottle of adult beverage. I also should put some bird food out, as I can see them on one of the monitors at the feeder.

            Tomorrow is Patrick’s birthday and they will be coming up so we can celebrate with them. We plan to go out for lunch with Patrick and Karla, Dave, Claire and Gabi also plan to go with us. Alex will be on a boy scout camping trip, I think they call it the freeze, since it is done in the winter time.

            Well, I think that is all for today, we hope you have a good day and please stay safe.

$5.15 came back!

Senior ole retired person who needs his allergy meds, Don the Ford 

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

January 26, 2023

            Well, we have made it to Thursday and even though it is freezing outside, we are still kind of warm inside the homestead. My main plan for today is to stay inside and try to stay warm. Past that, I do need to get my hair cut today and, I need to go to the teller machine and get our $5.00 stipend. Yep, I need some funding for the hair cut an I have an appointment with the dentist on Monday, and the surgeon on Tuesday.

Usually, the dentist is paid for by the Medicare, so that probably will not cost me any out of pocket money, but going to the skin doctor and letting her cut on me will cost me $25.00. the last time she cut on me there was a 2-inch cut on the side of my face and after she removed the stitches there was no scar. I assume that is what will happen this time. Last time it took a couple hours for the surgery, reviewing, and the sowing me back together.

The big problem for me with this type of surgery is keeping a bandage on for a week, especially when I am sleeping. It is difficult to get tape to stay on a face that is growing hair, aka beard. Now we know why I need to get my hair cut this week, I don’t want to go to the hair person with tape and bandages on my face.

Swap topics; I left the homestead yesterday at 2:30 to get Dave from work. After I dropped him off at his home I went to Alex’s school and got in line to wait on him. Alex gets out of school at 3:55 and it takes a couple minutes for him to get to the Ford’s ole Chevy, then we head over to the high school to get Gabi, she gets out at 4:00.

Since they have opened Mars drive on the east end, the traffic at, and around school has been much better, aka less wait time in line at school and faster exiting school property.

Yesterday Alex and I arrived quickly and found a parking space, we tried to call Gabi several times and no answer, we assume her phone was off. When Gabi and her boy friend came to the vehicle, we had waited about 15 minutes. I guess they were talking with friends.

Now the point in me telling you the above, by the time I dropped the kids off at their homes and then made my way back to my home, it was 4:30pm. I had been sitting in the Fords ole Chevy for 2 hours. When a person who is ¾ of a century old sits that long, their ole body get stiff. I like getting the kids but I don’t like sitting that long.

Well, I guess I should stop writing and get a cup of homemade coffee. We hope you have a good and safe day, filled with kindness to you, and from you.

Inside warm outside cold!

Senior ole person who is not an admirer of cold weather, Don the Ford

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

January 25, 2023

            I just wanted to let everyone know we did get an inch of rain yesterday. I did get a photo of the rain gage with an inch of rain in it, and I have dumped the water out just in case we get a freeze, I don’t want another broken rain gage. Thanks to the mysterious person who provided it.

            We even had a little water standing in the back 40 yesterday, it is all gone now, and the ground said, “thank you”! There was water standing more than an inch deep in the new jasmine bed, it gets rain from the house roof plus normal rain, and it has already been absorbed into the ground.

            I was able to get the kids picked up from school and it was not raining. They have opened Mars drive on the east end, but the west end is now closed. For some reason today, the traffic seemed much better than usual, not only around the schools but on normal streets.

            As I was heading home after dropping the kids off at their home, I noticed the price of gas at the 7-11 was $3.15. Yep, the prices are heading up again, I did purchase gas for $2.33 per gallon a few weeks ago. That is over 80 cents increase in a short period of time. I guess we will need to stop eating out, and I will need to drink only homemade coffee.

            Speaking of increased prices, the breakfast burrito price has increased (25 cents) so I guess that means we will not be able to afford breakfast anymore.

            It is cold again today, and I have no plans to get outside and do anything. If I could bundle up enough, I might allow Tres to take me for a short walk later in the day, when the sun is shining, but it is supposed to be windy and that might halt the idea of walking.

            On these cold days I attempt to put extra effort into my bible study homework. I did put extra time in yesterday into my personal reading of the bible. I fine the reading both informative and encouraging.

            Topic swap: I am now using one of the small wood boxes as a pencil and small miscellanies item holder. Yep, there are photos to follow.

            It is difficult to see the open box in the second photo as it blends in with the desk. The small box is useful, and no I do not leave pens on top, it was laid there for the photo.

As usual, I guess that is all for today, we hope you have a productive and safe day.

Gasoline, electric, can’t afford!

Senior ole person who may need to stay home more due to gas prices, Don the Ford

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

January 24, 2023

                                                It’s raining!

            Now that it is raining, I guess we can assume (ass/u/me) the rain gage is not jinxed. I am in hopes that later today we may be able to see how much rain we receive. Everyone knows I can’t go outside while it is raining, if I did, I would melt, because I am as sweet as sugar.

            This topic is about the olden days: if you have knowledge of the subject I am attempting to present, then you are probably old! Yes, it is also possible that one of you are not old, and some one like me has informed you of this in the past, but I am not buying that! You are old!

            Wow, I am sitting here in the Fords ole office and I have the TV on and all of a sudden the rain was coming down hard enough I could hear it, NICE!

            Ok, back to the olden day story. In days past, TVs and Radios were big, and were considered as furniture. These furniture items were made of wood and took up space in the house, unlike the TVs of today that stick to a wall like a picture in a frame. As I consider this topic, does anyone have a radio other than the one in your vehicle? Ok, I know what that one person is saying, he can use his cell phone as a radio.

            Anyway, when this story took place we lived on Big Bend Road just inside the city limits of Cape Girardeau. We had a big wooden TV and it had stopped working. Now my dad was a repairman at a cement plant, he repaired big machines, not TVs. Dad knew that the TV had tubes in side it that made it work, so he took the back off the TV and turned the TV on. Looking at each tube, he found one that did not light up. He then pulled the tube out of the TV and we got into the Ford’s ole Comet (the comet was a car) and went into town.

            Now this is where I find this story a little more interesting, we went to what we call the drug store, it was located on the corner of Sprigg street and Broadway. Well, we went inside and they had tubes for sell. They had a device that you could put your ole tube in to verify that it did not work. After verification, dad found the tube we needed, paid for it, and we returned home.

            Back at home Dad installed the tube, put the back on the TV and turned it on. It worked! Unlike today, a person could make minor repairs to a TV or a Radio by replacing a tube. 

            Ok, back to the future, or I mean back to now: we are still getting the needed rain, and we could possibly get as much as an inch.

            I did very little yesterday, I did get the kids from school and I did a little more work on the walking stick, I need to look it over again, but I think I have completed that project.

            I assume that there will be little work done by me today, the rain will keep me inside the homestead. We hope you have a good day, be safe and take several naps.

not jinxed

Senior retired person who is happy it is raining, Don the Ford

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

January 23, 2023

            It is cold outside, I do not like the cold, why do we have to have cold? I guess I should say that the weather person said it was 24 in Waco, and Alexa says it is 28 in Hewitt, either way it is cold!

If you are expecting me to have anything to talk about in this post, your expectations will likely not come to fruition. I did almost nothing yesterday.

I did go to get a cup of coffee yesterday afternoon. I had been doing my Bible homework yesterday afternoon, and after that, I spent some time reading the bible. I think I have explained my reading and homework in the past but I will try to enlighten one more time. I read what they want us to read, to do my bible study homework, then I read from the bible what I want to read. 

Basically, reading is a lot of sitting for me so I wanted to get out of the house for a few minutes, thus a coffee run! I was driving on a street with a speed limit of 20 mph. I was attempting to stay at or below the speed limit, when suddenly, a very large hawk or eagle flew up from the yard at the side of the street and landed on a big tree limb and just sat there. It was a very interesting opportunity to see a large bird that close. I did not see what he or she had in the yard. The rest of the coffee run was not interesting, although there were only a few cars in front of me at the coffee place.

I did work on a cane and a small wood box yesterday. My favorite wife came up with another small wood box and I needed to get it ready to stain, so there was some sanding on the small box and I also put a coating of a sealer, like a varnish, on a cane that I have been working on. That was all the outside work that I did yesterday.

            My favorite wife and I did sit outside yesterday, it was cool but not too cold. As we sat there she got a call from a friend and she talked to the friend during most of the time outside. As we sat there yesterday, I noticed the Grackles were not in the tree making noise, there were a few doves in the top of the trees getting the last bit of sun light to warm up, before night fall.

            That is it for today, we hope you have a good day, be safe and smile a lot.

Too cold to have fun!

Senior ole person who don’t remember what fun was like, Don the Ford

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

January 22, 2023

            Sunday is here, are you ready for another day of rest? Well, you may not be but I am! A few naps, and a few cups of coffee a nice lunch provided by my favorite wife, todays lunch will be meatloaf and all the fixings, tell me that isn’t a day of rest.

What? Well, it is a day of rest for me! My first wife likes to work all day just to make me happy, if you don’t believe me ask her!

Let us talk about something that is interesting: as my present spouse and I were sitting outside yesterday afternoon enjoying some time together. Things yesterday was somewhat different as it was not a quiet afternoon in the neighborhood.

In our neighborhood things are supposed to stay the same, as most of the retired senior people don’t want a bunch of change! We would take change if it were money change, but this change is not money! The change is a bunch of Grackles, these are large black birds that kind of look like Crows but aren’t as large. There must have been 50 Grackles in the top of the neighbor's tree, and they were all making noise. It was kind of like a club meeting where everyone was talking to each other. I should note, these Grackles were also drinking water from our bird watering station, aka a bird bath, and searching our back 40 for food.

As we sat outside, I noticed some lite clouds passing by and I thought they were pretty.

            Now clouds are not the only thing that caught my attention yesterday, I heard a noise which turned out to be the new neighbor's kid in their back yard. While I was assessing the noise from the kid, I saw something that caught my attention, a glowing light. I assume it is one of those ghosts floating around in the back 40, what else could it be?

             Since I am into photos today, I would like to present one other photo that was taken this past Thursday afternoon.

            That photo of the sun set was taken as we were leaving the cracker store on Thursday after being over charged $5.15 for a meal.

            Well, I guess that is it for now, we hope you have a good Sunday.

Sunny day Sunday!

Senior ole retired person who enjoys a good photo, wish I had one, Don the Ford

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

January 21, 2023

            Well, no one has asked about the $7.00 solar powered rope light that I have installed on the #1 berry bed, so I will not tell you that it works from dusk to dawn. I am not going to tell you it flashes all night. If you wanted to know you would have asked.

            I did go out to the Cracker store yesterday and asked about the extra $5.15 that was taken from my gift card. The manager looked at the receipts and said that a tip was taken from the card for the server. I explained that I told the person at the checkout that I leave cash tips, yet they without my permission, took the tip. The manager said I could call the credit card company and deny the payment of the tip. That is way too much trouble.

            Note, the manager who came to work while I was there had a cup of coffee from the Star coffee place, even though the have coffee in the Cracker restaurant, he said he needed some coffee on the way to work.

            I did do my homework yesterday before going and picking Gabi up from school. I asked Gabi what she was going to do this weekend, she said homework. I asked what kind of homework and she said school homework. I then noted that I do bible study daily, I am not good at studying, and at times I have a problem that I can’t answer, so I stop for a couple minutes to allow my brain to clear, maybe get a drink of water and then get back at it. A lot of the time it works and I can come up with an answer.

            Oh my, I just looked at one of the monitors and it is raining! It would be nice if it rained enough so I could see some rain in the new rain gage.

Well it looks like it was just a quick shower and it seems to have stopped. You don’t think the new rain gage might have a curse on it, keeping the rain away from the Homestead?

Maybe this gage just doesn’t want to have water in it. Possibly I should take it down and put it in the garage, just to see if the rain would come. I think we will leave the gage up until Wednesday, it is predicted that we have a 70% chance of rain Wednesday. If we get rain then, the gage will be approved for use and can stay.

            Me and the SEO (Senior Economic Officer) here at the homestead did sit outside for a short while yesterday, it was cool and there was a light breeze. It only took about 30 minutes and we decided to get back inside the homestead.

            Well, I guess that is it for now, we hope your weekend is restful, safe, and we hope you have a little fun.

Rain terminator? 

 Senior retired person who would like to see and nice rain, Don the Ford

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

January 20, 2023

            Wow we made it to Friday again. It is a cool day but right now it is not windy. I am hoping that the wind stays low so I can work on the #1 berry bed, aka kill some of the grass and weeds but not the berries. I am going to try to use some weed killer and then in a couple days, see if the dead weeds pull out easier.

            I really did not do much yesterday, Alex was here as he was sick, I did not need to get Dave from work, but I did get Gabi and her boyfriend from school. Alex is home again today but he is at his own house with his dad. I will get the Gabi this afternoon from school.

            I did do my homework for the bible study class, and I finished reading the Old Testament yesterday. I read from the bible every day, and I also do my bible study homework. Today I will start the New Testament, I do find the New easier to understand.

            Topic swap: my best wife and I went to the cracker store yesterday for our evening repast, the food was good the service was also good, and I have left over chicken for lunch today. We paid with a card that we had gotten at Christmas and it seems as if we paid more than we should have.

The card was $50. The bill was $25.73, we now have on the card $19.12, we are missing $5.15.

The receipt shows they took $25.73, so where is the $5.15?

I checked the card on line and they indicated that $19.12 is the balance on the card, and the recent transaction (one transaction) was for $30.88. Why doesn’t the receipt show $30.88 if that was what was taken from the card?

I would like to know if it was the store, or the card company that caused this to happen.

 

Topic swap:

If you haven’t sent a request to stay on the email list, you will be removed today.

 

Well, I guess that is it for now, we hope you have a nice safe day. Be nice to ole people, even if they are not nice to you.

Cash, better than cards?

Senior ole person who needs some cash, Don the Ford

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

January 19, 2023

            What did the Don do yesterday, almost nothing. As I sit here trying to think of anything I did yesterday, little comes to mind. I did homework for the Bible study class, we have daily homework, I did go get the grandkids from school and delivered them home safely, my favorite spouse and I sat outside even though it was rather breezy.

            So, what can the Don do today, that is a good question. I would like to work on the #1 berry bed a little, and I need to clean the Ford’s ole office. Notice I said, I need to clean the ole office not that I want to clean the Ford’s ole office. It is amazing how much junk, or should I say items, I have in here, and everything would need to be removed, shelves, desk, and floor cleaned, then each item cleaned, and all the items returned.

            I guess since there is nothing I want to do, I may do what I need to do, darn it!

            Today is Thursday: Did I say that we are trying to use a coffee pot here in the office. I am attempting to learn how much ground coffee to make good coffee.

            Yes, that is a kerosene lamp behind the coffee maker. Poor people can’t afford electric, so they have kerosene for lighting. 

            We just learned that Alex isn’t feeling well and has a slight fever, so he will be staying here today. We will ask him to stay in the back bedroom as we do not want to share the sickness. My favorite wife has had this crud already and she don’t need it again.

            Well, I guess I need to get started or I will never get finished. We hope you have a safe and healthy day.

Need to do it!

Senior ole retired person who will try to geter done, Don the Ford

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

January 18, 2023

            Wow, I am still here (alive) and we are looking at another day. Yesterday was a little different from some normal days. Now some one might want to know how it was different. Possibly, I may have taken a nap at a different time, that would be different!

            Earlier in the day (yesterday) this ole senior person was on his knees praying in the back 40. What was he praying for, that one person might ask? He prays for many things and many people, and he was also praying that he would be able to pull all the weeds from the #3 black berry bed, and then be able to get up and walk again.

            Yep, the Don attempted to remove the weeds from the #3 bed, and I would say he was 95% successful, photo to follow.

          Then what did the Don do? He opened a bag of the mulched leaves that he had removed from the back 40 the day before and he placed leaves through the entire berry bed. Pick up the stuff one day, dump the stuff out the next day! This was done in hopes of helping keep moisture in the ground if it ever rains. Photo to follow.

            After I was able to get up off the ground, my favorite wife and I washed the dog. It was 80 degrees yesterday and we set a new high temp record for the day. Previously there was a tie for high temp of 79 degrees, and those occurred in, 1907 and 1952. Wow, who knew, they had climate change in the olden days too.

            Pick up the kids at school: well 3:00pm came and Dave had not gotten off work yet so I got in line to get the grandees and Gabi’s boyfriend. Yep, her boyfriend rides home with us most afternoons. That is ok as his house is on the way to Gabi and Alex’s house.

            Dave called while I was waiting on Alex, there was nothing I could do other than wait. My first spouse was working on cleaning and rearranging things in the homestead, so she could not go get Dave, so he waited at work. After getting the kids we headed for the work 20 (aka location) to get Dave. I was able to get every one home safely, but I will say, “the Ford’s little ole Chevy was loaded full of people”!

            Back at home I did sit outside all alone yesterday, as my present spouse had not yet finished her rearranging and cleaning. Alone and lonely, I sat there wishing I had another adult beverage I mean someone to talk with.

            Today: Hopefully I will be able to get the kids and Dave in a timely and safe manner. My work plans are limited to my ole body recovering from crawling around on my hands and knees. I might get the weed killer out and spray a couple weeds.

            They have called for the possibility of rain, and there is some rain in the air. I have a photo of the rain gage at its first encounter with rain, nope there isn’t any water in the gage yet but there are some droplets on the gage. Photo to follow.

            Rain, rain, don’t go away, little Donnie don’t need to play (aka work outside today)!

Check the rain gage!

Senior ole person who would like some rain in his gage, Don the Ford

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

January 17, 2023

            As I sit here in my ole tired body, I am attempting to come up with something that might enlighten you, and the reading public. Since I have nothing that is interesting, I will just write about anything that comes to mind.

            First topic is income. Income may be defined as, a payment received for products or services rendered. Now who decided to call it income, I believe it was the IRS. They were referring to our money coming into their hands, so it is income. 

            Let's add to the word, “ing”, then we have incoming, and if you were ever in the military or if you had watched any TV shows about the military, you would know what incoming means, and the meaning is totally different from money.

            The word income can be divided into two words, “in and come”. Neither of those two words in or come have anything to do with money. If one switches the two words, you get come in, now that, I understand. They should check with us ole people before they make up new words.

            Topic swap: I had presented info about the black cat and the orange cat, in a previous post. It was pointed out to me by a wise person who reads my blog posting, that I may have interrupted a mating process. If so, “Sorry cats”!

            Subject alteration: yesterday the wind was low, so I decided to work on the back 40. It turned out to be more work than expected. First, I needed to get the dog toys picked up, then I need to remove the extension cord from the patio to the green house, then after providing water for the birds, dog and berries, I needed to remove the 100-foot-long hose from the yard.

            I then needed to bring the air hose from the compressor to the gate where I hoped to put air into the mower tires. I then uncovered the mower and checked the oil and added gas and brought it to the gate and put air into the tires.

            Then I acquired a rake and raked the leaves away from the fence. I then mounted the riding mower and began to blow the leaves into one of two areas. The riding mower does not mulch the leaves, but it does blow them fairly good. When I had the first group blown into the first area, I then got the walk behind mower and mulched and bagged the leaves.

            That completed I used the riding mower for the second area and after blowing the leaves, I vacuumed them up.

            Blowing and vacuuming done I put the equipment away. Due to all the dust from the work I needed to get a shower before going to the Bible study meeting.

Speaking of Bible study, in our group about half the people were not there. If you want to read something that can be interesting, read Hosea. His wife’s name was Gomer, and that’s not all.

            Well, I guess I am back on a normal schedule today, the kids are back in school so I will get them after work today.

            We hope you have a safe and interesting day, be nice to at least one person.

Lawn work…

Senior ole retired person who is re tired again, (play on words) Don the Ford

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