Have you ever 01/13/2020

            As you may see, the title line could be referring to many things. What could the title line mean to the wonderful author of these unsurpassed articles? 

            Heck, in the mind of a retired senior person who is on a fixed income, it could mean anything, or nothing. In this particular setting the title line does have a meaning. At Christmas Mr. Ford (me) was given a puzzle of the lamp that was in the TV show, A Christmas Story.

            I happen to like the TV show, A Christmas Story, as it in some situations reminds me of when I was a kid. Knowing that I like the TV show I was given a puzzle of the lamp. When I opened the box I notice a couple things. First, the plastic bag the puzzle should have been in, was opened and the pieces were not in the bag. Second some pieces were still together, which caused me to think that someone had put the puzzle together and then put it back into the box. The wooden box it came in was not sealed shut.

            I removed the pieces from the wooden box and place those pieces that were still together in order on the table. My spouse who is a very good puzzle worker started putting the puzzle together. She was possibly 90% done when she told me that some pieces were missing. The puzzle could not be finished as the last pieces did not seem to fit anywhere.

            If it was meant to be a real gift, it wasn’t. If it was meant to be a joke, it wasn’t. If the person giving the puzzle paid for it, they were cheated. I haven’t been asked by the presenter if the puzzle was put together, and I will not address the topic until or unless the presenter asks me about it.  Photo to follow.

                                    

            Changing the subject; we went to Alex’s basketball game on Saturday morning and they won by two points. It was a good game with a close score. During the half time I noticed something about the ceiling of this gym, photo to follow. You may need to enlarge to see what I saw in the ceiling. Knowing someone will not see it, there is a ball stuck in the ceiling.

                                               

            After the game his parents took Alex home for a quick shower, and then we all went to a restaurant to celebrate our youngest son David’s birthday. We all enjoyed lunch, there was a free dessert for the birthday boy.

            We returned to the Ford’s homestead and we got a photo of David with his birthday cookie. Donna gets a birthday cookie for our sons at their birthdays. Photo below.

                                               

            Sunday was a noneventful day. Brunch as usual at the usual restaurant. I did watch the end of one Star Wars movie, then all of a second Star Wars movie, and then most of a third Star Wars movie before I dozed off to sleep Sunday night. 

Hope your week is safe and fun!

Senior all-round nice guy; Don Ford

Under foot 01/10/2020

            Before I get into the subject of the day, I would like to tell you a true tell of an event this morning. As usual, Tres and I went out front for his morning escapade. We both walked out to the street curb, the sky was cloudy, and the humidity is still super high, the temperature was 65 degrees, there was no breeze, and the so called weather people are predicting storms for tonight. We are hopeful for rain but, it has not yet came, another dry morning.

            Tres and I re-entered the Homestead and walked directly into the kitchen where we observed a trash bag still in the trash can, which needed to be taken outside. Tres would not help me carry the bag, but he did go out the garage door with me. Guess what we were surprised with! It was sprinkling rain at the garage door, but it was not sprinkling at the front door! There is not more than 100 feet between the front and back doors, one area getting rain and the other not. Odd things happen in Hewitt Texas.

            For those of my reading public who have had children, they know of the term, “Under foot”, referring to the kids always being in the way when one is trying to do something. As you should know, our kids are not under foot any more, but the term still applies here at the Ford Homestead. No, it is not the grand kids who are, “Under foot”, grandees are never classified as being under foot by grandparents.

            Tres and Charlie are the ones who are often under foot. I have a photo of Tres laying where my feet should be under the Ford’s ole desk.              Click to be impressed.

                                   

                                    Above is Tres, and he is truly under foot.

As a person who supposedly reads these postings, one should know I was commenting on two meter hand held radios (Ham radios) yesterday. As Gabi and I headed for school this morning I commented on the ham radios and the possibility of storms tonight.  I explained that I use to be one of the hams who would watch and report on stormy weather. I then noted that I was also an amateur TV operator. I explained that a few of the hams could transmit TV to each other, and that we could see and hear what was happening at the other hams station. 

            I noted that one day a person who worked at DIB told me that they were going through the channels and had seen me on TV. In the olden days most of the TV signals were by broadcasting. I knew the other hams could see us on amateur TV, I was unaware the non-hams could see our transmit ions. 

            Let me change the subject again. The other day I set a small solar panel up in the top of the shed, and hooked it to the battery on the Ford’s ole riding mower. This will provide a small charge to the battery during the months of non-use. This solar panel has a small blue light which indicates it is making electricity.

            This morning before day light as I was letting the Tres outside, I saw a blue light on top of the shed. It was dark except for the outside night lights. I wondered how the panel was able to get enough light from the night lights to make electric. The light from over the garage door does slightly light up the shed.

            New subject, Alex has a basketball game Saturday at 11:00. Later in the day, we will be celebrating David’s 45^th birthday. 45 years old, that is half way to 90, wow we get old quick! He has picked a restaurant and now all we need to know is when we will go.

Hope you have a good weekend!

Senior retired person and all around good guy; Don Ford

Work more rest less 01/09/2020

            As I sit here in front of the Ford’s ole computer, and I did mean old computer, I am thinking about the work I need to do. At first I was kind of bored as I thought, I have nothing to do today, and I have nothing to write about. That is a boring situation when you have nothing to do on a day when the weather is cloudy, it is drizzling a very light rain on and off and there is nothing on your mind to write about.

            As I sit here tears swelling up in my ole eyes, I remembered that my wife had said that I could defrost the freezer portion of the refrigerator in the garage. Wow, there is something for me to do! I would still be bored as defrosting that unit is not fun. The refrigerator in the garage is the old one from the house, which was considered as defective. They gave our money back we got a new unit for the house, and they told us we could do whatever we wanted with the unit.

            I have to defrost this thing about twice a year. This time is different from past defrosts. I think we have a bad seal which is allowing some outside air to get into the freezer unit, and that has built up a bunch of frost. I will need to go to the fords ole shed and get a cooler to put the frozen items in. I will need the hose pulled around to the drive way so I can wash each item, or maybe I can just use a bucket of water.

            Please excuse me as I begin another drooling episode in, “The life of the senior Ford” part 28,417. If I am able to sit in front of this ole computer after the epic work load, I will inform you of my tiresome and often demeaning process. Yes, it will also be a demanding process.

 

            Hours have passed and I am slowly recovering from the tedious work load.

            Here is a brief version of this encounter.

First I had to move some Christmas trees that were too close to the work area. Then I had to bring a cooler from the shed to place the frozen items in. As I removed said frozen items I was brushing off the frost from each bag before locating them in the cooler. Then I removed the front shelf, the upper drawer and the lower drawer.

            I hand washed each of the drawers, removing the ice and frost that was present. I then carefully dried each item, not wanting to put any moister back into the freezer.

            Then I got down on my knees in prayer, before placing a portion of my body in the freezer. I could have removed the front using a wrench but I was not sure I could get it back on properly. It was difficult to squeeze my muscular body into the space but I persevered. I removed the ice from the bottom, the ice was thick and hard.

            After removing the last pieces of ice I reentered the unit with a clean dry towel. Again I wanted to remove all water before reinstalling the drawers and shelf.

            Being a smart person, I decided to turn a fan on and blow air into the freezer compartment to help dry it out. That was a very dumb move. After a few minutes I looked into the unit and there was moister everywhere. The humidity today is at about 100% and the insides of the unit were still fairly cold. That equals condensation. I again got on my knees, after turning the fan off, and again dried the inside of the unit. 

            Once I was happy with the drying process, I replaced the drawers and shelf. Seeing that I had completed that portion of the work, I then tossed I mean placed all the frozen items back into the unit.

 

            We are supposed to have some storms here tomorrow so I decided to get a 2 meter walkie talkie, some of the hams just want to call them hand held units, and charge the battery so I can listen in to the storm chasers if the weather gets bad. My Yaesu unit, which like the best has lost its memory (I hope I still have the instructions to reinstall the frequencies). The unit is about 28 years old.

            I have a couple other units so I have them on chargers now.

 

            Anyway, as you can see, it is another boring day with nothing to write about, I guess I will get a cup of coffee and do nothing.

 

May your day be interesting and filled with projects!

 

Senior non-worker, Don Ford

Fruit or not 01/08/2020

            Before I get to the title line, I want to comment about our dog Tres. He has been very disappointed for about two weeks now, and today he should start being happy again.

            Not only have we stopped receiving the so call newspaper, school has been out for two weeks and the Tres has not gotten to ride in the Ford’s ole Chevy for those two weeks!            

            We took the Gabi to school yesterday morning and Tres not only enjoyed the ride, he gave Gabi a kiss when she got into the truck. He is happy again!

 

            I think I need to get one of those fruit phones or tablets. If someone would give me one of the eye products, then when those robot calls came to me, I could send them money to keep my nonexistent fruit product running.  Seniors on a fixed income can’t afford those Fruity products. Heck, senior retired persons almost can’t afford real fruit to eat.

 

            My spouse of a half century is daily removing Christmas decorations from rooms inside the homestead. When she completes that process, we will need to bring all the boxes from the Ford’s ole shed to the garage, repack all the outside decorations along with the Christmas trees from inside the homestead, then I get to use my skill at storage, and attempt to properly place these items in storage until next year.

            One should understand, there are items for different decorations for different seasons and holidays, and I need to place them in a proper order, allowing me to get to the next needed season without moving everything around.

            I am good at this type work, but I don’t like doing it. Even though I don’t like doing it, I am glad I can still do this work.

 

            We went to Alex’s first basketball game last night. Yep, it was at 7:30pm. I would say the game was a learning experience for Alex’s team. They lost the game, but they were playing much better at the end of the game.

 

Eat your fruit, don’t talk through it!

 

Senior warehouse and storage person; Don Ford

Doctor visit 01/06/2020

            A doctor’s visit, by author Don Ford.

            I went to the doctor’s office at 8:20, my appointment was for 8:40. I waited a few minutes to be taken back to a room. The nurse or technician, you should be able to tell the difference if you look closely at their ID card, took my info and vital signs.

            I then waited one hour for the doctor to arrive. I noticed that the room had a light switch that was motion activated. I sat still for as long as I could but the light did not go out.

            I thought I was there as a follow up for the possible skin cancer that was not a cancer. I was wrong, I was called back in for my blood pressure. My blood pressure was normal during this visit and tests at home. Now after talking with the doctor I find I may be getting old. I told him that my neck muscles often hurt after working, he noted that I am getting older. 

            After checking my past history, it seems I need a colonoscopy. That sounds like fun. He also had them take blood for a PSA test, results show all is good on that end.     Get it?

            I removed most of the decorations from the yard today. During the grueling work I noticed a new rose attempting to bloom, photo to follow.

                                               

As I sat on the Ford’s ole rocker, I observed the Ford’s dog and cat, napping. Photo to follow.

                                               

Was Tres and Charlie having a ball, or just relaxing in the shade?

Well I need to go and get an adult beverage, yes it is 5:00 here in Hewitt.

We hope your work is non-strenuous!

Senior work procrastinator, Don Ford

January 3, 2020

            I have a couple photos to present to you, the reading public. One of the photos was taken from the Ford’s ole Chevy as my spouse of half a century and I were going to supper. What? You want to know why we were going to supper and not eating at home. I do not believe it is any of your business as to why we were not eating at home, but in an effort to be transparent (note, I am being politically correct with the word transparent) we found it would be less expensive to eat out.

            We had been given a gift certificate that would cover an evening meal, so we decided it would be less expensive to eat out rather than at home. Another point, when we eat out I am not required to wash the dishes!

            Now please allow me to get back to my story.

            My first wife and I were driving east when we observed a sky that I found to be very interesting. A non-professional photo to follow, taken through the windshield of the Ford’s ole Chevy, click it if you want.

                                   

            As I understand it, what you are seeing in this photo may be the smoke and fires from Australia, or it could be, the sun shining on clouds in the east as the sun set in the west. Either way, it is an interesting view.

            As we entered the restaurant I quickly observed some items with their company name on them. I have been trying to get the manager at a different location to give me a cap with their name on it for probably a year, but with no success. There were two young ladies working as hostess. For my one reader, a hostess takes the customer to a table and tells them who their server will be.  

            We had a good meal and we also talked with the manager of this location. We have known this manager for several years. After eating I decided to get a cap even if I had to pay for it. Cap and the bill for our meal in hand, I walked up to the two young hostess and asked jokingly, “if I want to get out of here without paying, how would I do it”. They quickly said, they would be watching me, and the cameras would record me leaving without paying.  I walked away and along with my present spouse we continued shopping.

            I looked back at the young ladies and one of them said, “We are watching you”! I walked back over to the young ladies and said, “Thank you, it is nice to have two pretty, young ladies watching an ole man like me, it makes me feel good”!

            I was surprised when the manager gave us a friends and family discount on our food and cap. There is a photo of the cap, and a handsome ole gentleman wearing it.

                                               

Click not, and ye will not be enlightened. Click and your day will be filled with happiness!

            Tres wants me to take some shirts to the cleaners and he wants me to get a cup of coffee this morning at the star coffee store. Do you think maybe he just likes to ride in the Fords ole Chevy, and don’t care about the shirts and coffee?

May your day be filled with thoughts of me!

Senior good person and new cap owner; Don Ford

Here's looking at you Jan. 2, 2020

            Did the title line get your attention? Here’s looking at you kid, is my message to you.

The photo is an attempt at a selfie. It was taken while sitting in the doctor’s office. You might notice that my eyes do not seem to have any pupil’s, my eyes are dilated, if you hadn’t noticed.

            

            I am sitting here at the computer entering this data with sun glasses on. It takes a while for my eyes to get back to normal after they are dilated.

            My eyes look a little crossed, which is due to looking at the camera very close to my face.

May all your selfies be taken away from a doctor’s office!

Senior self-photographer; Don Ford

January 1, 2020

It is the first day of the year, 2020. I must learn to right I mean write a new day on my wonderful blog posts. Change does not come easy to the senior retired people, and it will not come easy to me either! Speaking of change, that is all us senior retired people on a fixed income have, is change. It would be nice if we had some paper money, you know $5, $10 and or $20 dollar bills. Heck, if we had some paper money we would be just like you, rich and happy.

Now that you bring that up, how can senior retired people on a fixed income have a Happy New Year without some paper money? If you are going to wish senior retired people a Happy New Year, you should also hand them some paper money!

I don’t know how you got me on this subject, but you did. I wanted to present information as to what I did on the last day of that other year. What was the year? My memory must be getting bad.

Yesterday, the last day of that year, I believe it was 1920, I sat at the computer that morning and entered a Blog message. After completing the blog article I waited until about 10:00am and I headed outside to attempt to rake some of the acorns from the front yard. I have previously raked the entire yard twice, and a couple areas have been raked four times.

I worked from 10:00 until 11:00 at raking acorns. I took a break for lunch and followed the lunch with a well-deserved nap. Upon completion of my short siesta, I again returned to the front yard and began scraping the yard for acorns.  It was my intent to rake the acorns along with and leaves or other debris out to the curb and leave it there. The forecasters have been saying it was going to rain, and a good rain would wash it all down the street.

My ole senior body had completed the raking of the entire front yard at about 4:00pm. Every part of my body was hurting, and I wanted to go inside and set on the Fords ole recliner, but I did not.

I looked at the debris along the curb and decided to clean it up. I took an ole broom and gently swept the leaves and dead grass off the top of the acorns. When I could see acorns I would shovel them up and place them in the Ford’s ole red wagon. I continued along the curb doing this until the Ford’s ole red wagon was full. I then pulled the Fords ole red wagon out through the back 40 to the ditch behind the Ford Homestead where I dumped the acorns.

Now I see the environmentalists in this reading club are becoming upset because I dumped that wagon load of acorns in the ditch. May I say to the so-called environmentalist, I dumped three (3) red wagons loaded with acorns in the ditch, and at previous times I have dumped more wagon loads! As I see it, I am helping fight the climate change by placing tree seeds in a location (Ditch) that when it rains it washes these seeds downstream into a river or other large body of water. These Tree seeds will be planted along the river banks creating thousands of new trees and they will help with the climate! 

Consider for a moment Mr. or Mrs. Environmentalist, if I had sent those seeds to the dump they would have added to the landfill problems and those thousands of trees would never have been planted. Darn it, now I am an environmentalist!

After I had removed the acorns I then began removing the leaves and dead grass. There were three bags full! That just reminded me of an ole nursery rhyme, Ba Ba Black Sheep have you any wool, yes sir yes sir three bags full, one for the master, one for the dame, and one for the little boy who lives down the lane. 

To make a short story longer, I was able to get everything put away at about 5:00pm. I was so tired I did not have an adult beverage, but I went to my Homedics back massager and allowed it to loosen the ole back muscles up. Then I was able to drag my ole body to the shelf where the adult beverage is stored and I procured a small but enjoyable amount.

                    The End

We wish you a Safe New Year!

When you are safe,

you will likely be happy too!

Senior tired yard worker; Don Ford