Dog 09/14/2019

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

                                               

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

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

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

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

           

            It seems as if we have a full schedule today.

Have a safe and restful weekend!

Never resting senior person; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Finished now I start 09/13/2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Always be mindful of others!

 

The mindless wonder; Don Ford

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Next step 09/12/2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                                       

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

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

                                       

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

Wednesday:

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

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

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

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

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

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

That is it for now, maybe the mower today!

Senior non-workaholic; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Review 09/09/2019

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

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

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

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

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

Different subject:

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

Back to the mower demolition:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                                        

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

          Sunday after lunch;

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

          Photo of one of the ole spindles to follow.

                                      

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

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

                                      

          Tres is attacking the towel after his bath.

May you be safe, cooperative and productive all week!

Senior safety supervisor; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Before and After 09/06/2019

            If you read the title line, you are likely going to be disappointed. I do have an after, but I do not have a before, sorry.

            I had to call the air conditioner people to come out and check the unit. He didn’t really find anything wrong but he did put a couple hours in.

            After the noon meal and a short nap I went to the front yard and removed weeds and Jasmin vines from the blocks that provide a border in the front yard. I used an ole pair of scissors to cut the vines and I now have a blister on my hand. An after photo to follow.             Yes I need to mow, get off my case!

                                     

            When I was cleaning up the clippings I found some acorns. One is a single and the other is a twin, photo to follow. Why do the acorns come as twins?

                                               

Acorns, are not a blessing, are a curse!

Senior non employed person who must do his own work: Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Error # 1 09/04/2019

               As the title line indicates, there was an error, and would you believe, it was my first! Error number one (#1) was, I had placed the wrong date on my previous posting. Now as I consider this, I look at it as half an error. I did get the date wrong on the posting but I did get the date right when I save the file on the Ford’s ole computer. So one right and one wrong equals half an error.  I am glad I have that cleared up.

            This morning I sat on the Ford’s ole worn out recliner with a real cup of coffee in hand. I had the so-called news on, and I was becoming irritated as the so-called news was the same crap, I mean information that was on yesterday. Even more irritating than the so-called news are the same commercials that will be displayed several times in a 30 minute period. Same so-called news, same commercials!

            You are correct! That must make you feel good, actually being correct for once! I should not watch the so-called news and I would not see the repetitive commercials. Thanks!

            I started to say, “I will try to stop watching”, and then I remember that Yoda said, “Try not, do or do not”. I will stop watching, or stop complaining.

            It is a hectic day at the Ford’s Homestead, and I have a photo as proof. Tres and I had already taken our morning stroll very early, I even carried a flash light as it was dark. Returning I was able to have a cup of real coffee while swinging on the Ford’s somewhat new swing. The photo shows just how energetic we all are as we face this coming day!

                                              

            The real cup of coffee was good, and it was nice to not have the morning sun shining in my senior eyes.

            Well I guess that is it for now, hope your day is all you want it to be.

Try less and do more!                                               Try more and do less!

Senior Purveyor of much needed knowledge; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

I tried it 09/04/2019

            I popped out of bed and headed for the boy’s room, that part of the morning over I began the dressing process. For that one reader, I will explain the term, “dressing process”. Dressing process does not mean I was going to be making dressing to cook with a turkey, it means I was going to put my clothes on.

            When I got to my socks, I started with my right foot, which by the way for me is the wrong foot! Then the left foot. It felt completely odd. When I started to put the shoes on, it was actually difficult for me. I did it, but I don’t think it is anything I want to continue. I like my old habit.

            That brings me back to, “being thought of as being annoying or silly”. I tell the grand kids that I want them to remember me as being silly. You might think that is odd, but I do not!

            What do I remember about my grandpa?

 He was old.

 He had hair growing out of his ears.

 When we would pick him up each Sunday morning to go to church, he would get into the car, passenger side of the front seat and as he got in he would knock his hat off.

 In his home, he sat in a rocking chair next to the pot belly stove.

            I have no memories of him telling me anything, or even talking to me, which I assume he did. When I am gone I would like for my grandkids and others to have a larger memory of me.

            Consider the memories of your grandparents.

            Different subject; yesterday a neighbor lady as she was walking down the street said to me, “You look like Poppa Bear sitting in the rocking chair”. She went on to say “The chair is large and you fit into it well”. I thanked her and she continued on with her walk.

            She is correct, the chair is large and I fit into it well. I guess we could say, “She has a larger memory of me”. Wow, it is working and I didn’t even do anything special other than sit.

            Different subject; yesterday as I sat at the fords ole computer I happened to notice movement on one of the security cameras. I clicked on that camera view and it opened to full screen. The lady next door had moved her trash cart onto the drive way. She had a hose and was attempting to clean the trash cart.

            When I cleaned mine, I took it to the curb so that any of the disgusting crap that came out would be on the street and if it ever rained, or if I wanted to, it would be washed down the street in front of someone else’ house.

            I went on with my computer time but I check back a couple times to see how she was doing. At one point the trash cart appeared to be full of water. I then got up and went to the window for a better look. She had filled the cart with soapy water. I also observed that she was at the end of her hose, so if the hose had been longer she might have taken it to the curb.

            The trash cart is large and I estimate it would hold about 50 gallons of water. We all know that water has a weight of 8.3 pounds to the gallon. Rounding the 8.3 off to 8 and multiplying it times 50 would give us…     Ok I know math is not your strong point so I will tell you, there was approx. 400 pounds of water in the trash cart.

            Have you ever watched a 130 pound woman try to push a 400 pound trash cart over to drain it, I have. The cart is made of a strong plastic, it did bend some when she pushed it. Some of the water was out when she tried again. This time the cart went over with a loud noise sending a bunch of water down the drive way.

            My last comment is true, and then I will close.

            The neighbor on my south side has a 4 door Ford 4 X 4, his name is Steve.

            The neighbor on my north side has a 4 door Chevy, 4 X 4, his name is Steve.

            If I change my name to Steve would I get a 4 door Dodge 4 X 4? 

Be known as something, even if it is Silly!

Silly and annoying Grandpa; Don Ford

Virus-free. www.avg.com

Labor Day 2019 09/02/2019

            As I have stated previously, Labor Day is a day set aside for each of us to Labor all day. You get the day off from your normal work, and this is done so you can find other work to keep you busy all day long.

            I have started my Labor Day by walking the dog. Completing that task, I am in front of the Ford’s ole computer laboring at this article. If I am able to complete this article, I will then head out and manicure the front yard. As you may see, I am attempting to keep the Labor Day Holiday spirit alive!

            Now to a different subject:

            I have been told, by my spouse of half a century, and others, that I can be annoying. Now many of these annoying attributes are due to habits I have developed over the years, such as making up words, or just making odd noise when I am doing normal things.

            I have examined the validity of these comments and find them to be true. I personally enjoy my uniqueness, I understand that others do not. Thusly, I have set out in an attempt to stop, or at least reduce the annoying situations.

            As Senior Fellow over Situational Reviews here at the Ford Homestead, I have appraised a few of the annoying situations and have learned, “They are HABITS”. With this information in hand, I have considered how one would change a habitual behavior.

            First I needed to pick one of the habitual behaviors that I have identified, and address it fully. I chose one that would seemingly be easy to obliterate. I learned that when I am making a cup of real coffee, I make certain noises. With this one habitual behavior identified, I will eliminate said noise from the process of making of a cup of real coffee.

            I intentionally headed to the coffee making area and began the process, all the time telling myself to be quiet. I was able to not verbally make any noise as I put together the cup of real coffee.

            It was about 30 minutes later when I again approached the coffee making area and I again remember, “I was not supposed to make any noise”. About half way through the coffee making process I suddenly realized, “I was making noise”. How could this happen I thought, and then it came to me, “It is thoughts that distract me from the goal at hand”.

            To change a habitual behavior one should stay focused on the needed change!

            As I was making the second cup of real coffee my thought process changed from avoiding the noise, to what I was going to do later in the morning. As soon as I lost my focus, the old habitual behavior returned.

            Now I can see that some of you have lost interest in this subject, while others believe that they can change a habit easily.

                                    Here is a challenge!

            I challenge you to change one habitual behavior. I have picked a habit that we all have, and each of you can address without too much mental effort, or can you?

            First determine which shoe you put on first (left or right). For the next week, each time you put your shoes on, I challenge you to put the other shoe on first. That also applies to socks. At the end of the week let me know if you were able to, “Change your habitual behavior”!

            Don’t attempt to fib to me about the results, and if I were a betting man, I would bet that you will give up attempting to alter the habit. I would also bet that out of habit you will not remember to try to change the habit.

            Got to go now, the front yard awaits the man in manicure!

We do most things out of habit, make it a habit to like other people!

Senior challenger and manicurist at the Ford Homestead; Don Ford

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