The smell of death 06/25/2019

            It was one of those days, you know, the temperature was 97, the humidity felt as if it was over 100%. When I stepped out of the Ford’s ole office into the garage the smell hit me like a small sledge hammer. I thought the smell was being caused by a melon that had been setting on the floor for a couple days. It wasn’t a water melon nor was it a cantaloupe, it was a spaghetti squash. Ok that isn’t a melon but it looked like one. 

            The squash was tossed out and my present wife did a walk around through the entire garage and she found nothing. I got a flash light and looked under the deep freeze but found nothing. I even look in the cats litter box but it was clean.

            Finding nothing, we went on with our daily chores. Later in the day I could not stand that smell, I again began a complete review of the ole garage. I found the problem. It was a dead dove. I retrieved the ole broom and trash picker upper, and as I attempted to sweep the body into the picker upper, the body fell apart. There were maggots all over the body. I reached for the bug spray as we do not need and more flies around the Ford house. The bug spray did not seem to affect the maggots, they were crawling away. I continued sweeping them in to the picker upper and I decided to get the raid bug spray. That worked much better than the bug spray I use for ants.

            I did get the area cleaned up and removed the unwanted smelly things.

Different subject:

            My spouse of 5 decades and I had gone to one of the farm stores Sunday after brunch to get some Tres Food (aka dog food). While we were there we asked about a swing set they had. We learned they had one in a box which meant we could hall it home in the Ford’s ole Chevy. I asked what the price was and I said that is a lot. I was speaking to the manager as I enlighten him that I should get a senior discount, and a military discount, and a first responder discount. He replied that I should get one of those discounts but not three discounts.

            They dropped the price $40.00 so we bought the swing.

            At home I went to work attempting to read the instructions, I reviewed all the parts making sure everything was there for the erection of said swing and frame. My present spouse was assisting me as we attempted to put the frame together. We soon learned that we could not get it together. The top piece, which is the part the swing would hang on, was for lack of a better term, “Twisted”. Each end has a place to attach and bolt the legs on, but being twisted if you were to get all four legs on, one would be off the ground. We tried by attaching the legs on one end, but they could not be attached on the other end.

            The instructions said, “Do not return to store”. We called the vendor and explained the problem. They said they will send us a replacement for the top piece. I asked how long would it take and she said a week to ten days. The top piece must weigh 30 pounds and is a little over five feet long. Now we wait. L

Different subject:

            If you recall I thought I had a bad security camera so I ordered a new one. I then found it was not the camera it was the wiring. I ordered new wire. I had all the parts when the ole DVR decided to stop working.

            I had ordered a new DVR for the security cameras. All day yesterday I waited for the delivery. The tracking stated it was out for delivery at 8:00am. I guess I was kind of anxious and I checked several times but no package. At 8:00 pm I gave up assuming something had happened and we would get it tomorrow. I was lying in bed watching TV when a thought came to me, why was I concerned about the DVR? It is just a project, when, or if it gets done, is not a big deal.

            At 8:30 I went to shut and lock the front door, and there was the box, sitting on the porch. I ask my spouse of 50 years if she had heard the door bell, she had not. I brought the box in and sit it in my chair. I did not open it, I went to bed. I like the idea that most projects are not very important and when I tell myself, “It’s just a project”, the apprehension seems to leave.

            Follow up; the new DVR works much better than the old DVR.

 Different subject:

            On my way home from getting my hair cut, I observed this cloud. I stopped and took a photo. Click on the photo to increase your pleasure.

                                               

If it is, “Just a project”, treat it as such, you may be happier!

Master project manager; Don Ford

                        _{They could still deliver packages to me earlier!}

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Change, will it work 06/24/2019

            Now that summer is here, and we have had the longest day of the year, are the days getting shorter? I hate to say this, but if the days are getting shorter that means that winter is on its way.

            This posting has nothing to do with the weather, so let’s get to the actual subject, change will it work? Here at the Ford homestead we occasionally have situations that we would like to change. Now I know it is difficult for you to believe this, but sometimes we are less than enthusiastic when it comes to change, even if it is something your spouse has been complaining about for several months.

            The problem was with Tres. He had a tendency to jump up on the door that goes from the Ford’s ole office into the garage, he would do this any time I went out without him. When he jumped on the door, his feet would slide down the door and scrape paint from the door. The paint scrapings would for some reason stick to the ole floor, and the CEO at the Homestead would complain that she had to scrape them up from the ole floor.

            Now that was the problem that I kind of ignored for quite a while. One day I was allowed to paint the cabinets, walls, and door in the Ford’s ole office because we were going to get a new floor. It was suggested that we need to do something to keep the Tres from scraping the paint off the newly painted door. The CEO decided that we should put a clear plastic sheet on the door, which would keep the door from getting scratched if the Tres jumped on it.

            Now you see the change that I have been forced, I mean have been allowed to make. The CEO priced a single sheet of plastic cut to our requirements, but that was too expensive for a senior retired couple on a fixed income. We looked around and found the plastic that we could afford, but it would be two sheets instead of one. I would need to do some modifying too the plastic and then install the sheets.

            Here is the conundrum, the Tres has not been jumping on the door since it was painted, but we already have the plastic. Why has the Tres stopped jumping on the door? I believe he has learned, if the door is not shut good he can push it open with his head. He now tries to push the door open rather than jump on the door.

            We made the change, we put the plastic on the door, but the change hasn’t worked because the culprit changed. Spent the money for the plastic for nothing!

            When I was installing the plastic sheets on the door, there was another modification. Photo to follow! 

                                                                           

            My spouse of 5 decades purchased the letters for the door. She had also purchased me a Tee shirt not too long ago, with the word Ford on it. Do you think she is doing this in an effort to help, “A poor ole senior retired person remember his name”?

            If you click on the photo you can see a larger version of the blue square hanging on the door. It is a very true statement!

            Danger in the refrigerator!

            I had thought about writing a short story about, “Danger in the refrigerator”. What are the dangers in the fridge, and why would I write about them? That is a good question, and if you will stay with me for a few minutes, I will attempt to enlighten you, the reading public.

            Yes. I know some of you can’t read and you just look at the photos, but as this renowned author has stated in the past, “A photo is worth 379 words”! Ok, maybe I hadn’t stated that in the past, but now that you have read it, it is in the past, so the statement is now correct. 

            What? No, I don’t have a photo of a fridge with dangers in it! Don’t get ahead of me. Your interruptions make this short article mush longer. Now, if I may return to the subject, “Danger in the refrigerator”, you will be enlightened.

            Last night, I believe it was about 11:30pm, I had been sleeping for some time when the Ford’s ole cell phone rang. I answered the phone and there was the, “Cry for help”, or maybe it was, “A request for assistance”. Either way I was needed. I had learned that a jar of strawberry jelly had been found to be dangerous, and did cause my son David to need to go to the emergency room.

            I know, it sounds unbelievable that a jar of jelly would cause my son to need emergency care. I popped out of bed and quickly dressed. I drove over to another Ford homestead where I loaded Dave into the Ford’s ole pickup and headed for the emergency room.

            The doctor who saw David turned out to be someone he had gone to school with. We were at the emergency care facility for about 1.5 hours, although the wait seemed twice as long. Finally David emerged from the operating room in what seem to be good health.

            We again got into the Ford’s ole Chevy, not in a hurry this time, and headed for home. I advise Dave that we would call him tomorrow, I mean today since it was 1:30 am, to see how he was doing.

On a different subject; the fertilizer here at the Ford’s homestead (fertilizer is equal to BS) must be good, as the blooms on the bush near where I sit in the afternoons are pretty. Photo to follow, _{a photo is worth 379 words}!

                                              

            What! Oh I see, you need a little more information about the dangers of the strawberry jelly. It seems that David had gone to the fridge to put something back in the fridge. The Jelly jar fell out and hit his foot. He received a cut that required stitches, so I took him to the doctor.

Be careful with those jars, they can hurt you!

Senior first responder; Don Ford

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More water work 06/21/2019

               Now that I have looked at the title line, I remember a restaurant that use to be in Waco, many years ago. The restaurant was named, “The water works”. The restaurant was inside the old Waco water works building. There was part of a Train Caboose, which you could have your meal in it. The restaurant was considered an excellent place to eat, we liked it.

            This posting has nothing to do with food, that was just an ole memory.

            I had to go to the hardware store today and it was named after a card. I needed a few fittings for the second part of the sprinkler system. I will be working on the second part today, and this afternoon when the shade is over the area I will try for an install. The photo below is where this above ground sprinkler will be placed.

                                                                 

            Below is the pipe that will be placed in the flower bed. It is not yet glued together, I will do that as I am installing it. I will also try and camouflage the pipes as much as possible.

                                   

            I now have the second system installed. I will need to install a shutoff valve which I have, so I can use one at a time, or both at the same time. Photo to follow. Do not look at the grass and weeds laying on the ground that I had to remove in an effort to get the pipe installed.

                                   

            Wouldn’t you know it, I get the above ground sprinklers installed, and it rains Wednesday evening! Yep, we had a storm blow through that evening and we received about ¼ inch of rain.

            Why did I do all the work? Never a thank you for all the work one does! You know what I am going to do? I am going to thank myself with a cup of coffee. Finally, a thank you that means something.

            In the last photo taken Thursday afternoon, we see water coming from the sprinkler heads.

                                   

            As my last comment for this wonderful posting I will say, the black berries have almost given up. There are very few on the vines and the birds are taking their share. We got plenty berries this year, according to my spouse of half a century, close to 3 gallons.

Say thank you to yourself, you deserve it!

Senior use to be hippie; Don Ford

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Outside work 06/19/2019

            I got in a good mood so I decided to go outside and put the above ground sprinklers together. I had cut all the pipe yesterday and temporarily put them together, so todays work should have been easy. I had several problems but eventually got it put together. I have also camouflaged most of the system. I was testing the sprinkler and adjusting the spray of the heads, when a connection popped open. Yep, I had forgot to glue that fitting. OK, I am not perfect, although I am pretty, and sometimes good!

Here is a photo of the installed sprinklers. Click to enjoy.

                                   

There is a photo of the water flowing from the heads.

                                   

When I finished working on the, “Above ground sprinkler”, in the back yard, I decided to mow the front yard. The grass in the front yard was about 8 inches high. I did my usual manicure, by mowing in one direction and then in the other direction. Finishing the mowing, I headed inside and jumped into the shower. My ole body now clean, I came in here to the computer and have been writing this posting. I do have an adult beverage on the desk. J

All things are possible if only you believe!

Senior sometimes Workaholic; Don Ford

 

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Work can be fun 06/18/2019

            Working on a project can be fun, or at least it can cause one to be happy that they are doing something that they like. This morning I gathered my tools and supplies, then I headed out back to actually put the above ground sprinkler together and install it.

            I had noticed that the pipes which had been laying on the ground during the two inch rain, had some dirt and other debris, like grass trimmings in, and on the pipe. Obviously I needed to clean the crud out of the pipes before putting them together, as the crud would clog the sprinkler heads.

            As I washed the crud out of the pipes, I realized I had become irritated. I was just not happy, not in a good mood. After washing the crud out of the pipes I returned all the tools and supplies to the Fords ole garage. If I am not going to enjoy the work I am doing, I am not going to do it!

When I get in a better mood I will return to the project.

Grumpy ole man: Don Ford

Sun on the flowers, that should make me happy!

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Who works as hard 06/18/2019

            I am the person that works that hard. Everyone knows I am retired, and a good nap taker, they should also understand that I am a hard worker, “after the naps.”

            This day, Monday, June 17, 2019 after a well-deserved nap, I went outside and decided to work on one of the Fords soon to be, above ground sprinklers systems. Prior to working on the pipes, I needed to clean out the flower bed of weeds and a bunch of mint that continues to grow there. I have a photo that shows what I have done but not a, before photo. Consider that there was mint, which was knee high through the entire bed. I removed the mint and weeds.

                                              

            After I removed the weeds and mint, I then cut and temporarily installed a sprinkler system of pipe and heads in front of the bed. I did not glue any of the fittings as I wanted to be sure I have the system ready and then I will permanently install the system. I also need some paint to spray on the pipe, to camouflage the white pipe of the system. I want it to work but not be seen.

            As I was working, my spouse noticed a car that was not a neighbor’s car, parked near a neighbor’s home, and they were not at home. I walked over and the vehicle was empty. I took a photo of the vehicle and the license plate then I called the police. I reported it as a suspicious vehicle. The cop came and said, it was not reported stolen and he would keep an eye on it. Later we learned that the driver was walking up and down the street trying to sell stuff.

            A neighbor and his wife came over after the police person (notice that I am being politically correct by not indicating gender, man) left to learn what had happened. When they walked up the first comment was, “Have you been working out, you are all sweaty”! I explained that I had been working in the back yard. Tom said, “You are retired, you should not need to work”. I explained, the difference between being employed and retired is, “I don’t get paid but I still have to work”.

            No schedule! It is difficult for senior citizens to be off their schedule.

During school I took the Gabi to school each morning and I would pick up the Alex after school. As scheduled!

When school ended, I was taking the Alex to Cub Scout day camp each morning, and picked him up each afternoon.  As scheduled!

Then, when the day camp was over, I would go to my son’s house each morning and feed the fish and check on the  other animals, returning in the afternoon and feeding again. As schedule!

That has all ended and I don’t have a schedule. What should I do? Now I feel as if I need actually to do work around the Homestead. I need a schedule!

May your schedule meet your needs!

Senior retired non-scheduled person; Don Ford

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Ford's ole office 06/17/2019

            Friday June 14, 2019 is the day that the floor installer was to come to the Fords ole office and put in a new floor. The owner said they would be here around 8:30, I guess 10:00 is around 8:30. The owner Tony usually does the actual work, the young man usually helps. They switched and the young fellow did the work and the older fellow was the gofer.

            The young fellow did a very nice job and they took about 4 hours doing it.     

                                                          

            Photo above is of the old floor, below is the new floor, I like it!

                                               

            I have started bringing things back into the office, not everything is coming back.  

                                                          

            Tres has again started to sleep under the desk.

            Saturday has come, and almost gone. My spouse of half a century has gone through a bunch of items in the garage, some got tossed out.

            I have most of the office back to normal. I also planted a couple flowers for the first wife, and watered the plants in the back yard, that were not in the sun. When the sun gets low in the sky I will attempt to water the remaining plants.

            I need to go check a couple neighbors’ homes just to be sure all is ok.

            Homes were checked and all is ok, I did water the flowers at one of the homes, and feed all the animals at the other home.

            Problems are something that we all need to deal with. Problems are more difficult when you are a senior retired person on a fixed income. For some reason the DVR that records all the movements from the security cameras, has kind of stopped working. The DVR turns on, and all the cameras can be seen on the monitor, then a message there is no signal and the DVR goes off. It resets itself and comes on then goes off and resets again.

            The unit is over 10 years old. Sometimes when you move or handle an old electronic device, things happen inside, in this case it decided to give up the ghost, that means stop working properly. I will continue to try and find the problem, but if I don’t find the problem I will need to purchase a new DVR.

            I have checked on prices and availability, most of what I found come with cameras and have twice the storage of the old unit. I guess having some new cameras would be good, the color on some of my old cameras is not good, and improved night vision would be ok too.   

            I purchased this unit years ago when I started working from home. The little ole office area did not have a window so I bought a camera and connected to the TV, which allowed me to see outside. I like that so I purchased the VCR which came with 4 cameras. That made five cameras and the DVR was capable of handling eight so I purchased three more cameras. When you are working, and have an income, you can get all the nice things.

            That is my problem, donations will be accepted and they should be gift cards of $100 or more.

                                                            Thanks

            We received a little rain yesterday (Sunday) evening. At the Ford Homestead the rain gage showed a little over 2 inches, at the Waco airport they had 3.10 inches. Now the grass will need to be mowed again. L

Working or retired, be safe, productive, and cooperative!

Senior all-knowing retiree on a fixed income; Don Ford 

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Water not lest ye be wet 06/14/2019

            Thinking about my plan to create a better sprinkler system in the back yard, than the so-called Pros did, I changed a couple heads I had laying around. Having a 360 degree sprinkler head at the edge of the flower bed provides water for the flowers and between 8 and 10 feet out in the yard. That part of the plan will work!

            As I surveyed the above ground sprinklers I had a thought. I know, some of my thoughts are way out there, and this one is also. The professionally installed sprinkler heads are the type that spray a stream, as the heads turn back and forth attempting to cover a large area. My thought was, why not replace some or all the heads with the type I have in the front yard. The heads in the front yard spray 90, 180, 270, 360 degrees, or anywhere in between. The 360 degrees covers about a 15 foot circle.

            Changing those heads in the underground system, would obviously affect my plan for the above ground system, as some of the underground heads are in good locations. I am so glad you brought this up, I mean I am glad I had this idea!

            I decided to run the professionally installed system, so I could see where the heads are, and what each head covered. After this investigation I decided to leave those heads as they are, for now. After the install of, “The Ford above ground system,” I will re-evaluate the in ground system. Why am I telling you all of this? This is for my benefit, you are not required to read this!

            New subject: floor for the fords ole office has arrived and the installer said they would be here tomorrow morning. That means I will need to remove any and all items that are on the floor. I have a ton of wires for the security cameras that will need to be secured and out of the way. My computer will be down until they finish, unless I decide to set it up on the Ford’s ole desk, out in the garage. The Fords would have a garage office and not a garage sale!

            Different subject: here at the Ford’s Homestead we planted a couple gourds in hopes of getting a couple to use for bird houses. Gourd plants have a tendency to climb on anything. In the following photo, if you look at it, you will see what I consider to be an aggressive gourd plant. This plant had climbed up the fence post, which is at the end of the black berry patch, and then reached what appears to be a couple feet to a tree limb.

                                               

            I think it would be interesting to see a gourd hanging out of that little Live Oak Tree! I am happy the gourd did not grow into the black berries like the gourd at the new black berry patch did. I will have a lot of work removing the gourd vines from the black berries this fall.

            Another photo from the same area is of a wise ole owl. He was placed there last year to help keep the birds away. He worked initially but the birds learned fairly quickly that he is a dummy. I know, since I called it a Dummy, you think it is related to me (second cousin)!

                                              

            Today is Friday, the floor installer is supposed to be here about 8:30. I have already checked both of the homes (friends on vacation) this morning, I have gone to the past employer and picked up my retiree order, and I have been messing around here on the computer. Heck I have done more this morning that you might do all day!

Well it is coffee time and the installer should be here in a few minutes.

May you be as industrious as I am, or maybe you will get some work done!

Senior retired Workaholic; Don Ford

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