More work 03.16.2022

            It seems as if the Don has to work even when it is not needed. As an example, yesterday the Don had been enjoying taking it easy, while sitting on the Fords ole recliner, when he decided to go out in the back 40 and feed the birds.

            Once he was out back, he noticed there was some weeds growing around flower beds and fence. After feeding the birds, he decided to get the string trimmer out and eliminate some of the weeds. This was not necessary, but it did give him something to do. While trimming the weeds the Don noticed that there were areas that have weeds growing in the back 40, so he may need to get the riding mower out and clean up those areas. The Don also took the string trimmer to the front yard and trimmed a couple areas. 

            The Don has ordered a couple items from his past employer and these items will cause him to do more work. What are the items, they are trellis for two rose bushes? Yep, when I get them, I will need to install them, there is no rest for the ole people.

            Today, I get to take the grandkids to school, I guess I am back on the normal schedule again.

            I still need to do a little work on a couple of the lawn sprinkler heads. I don’t like that work because I will need to be on my hands and knees. Yes, I might be praying while I am down there. I might let the sprinklers run this morning; the yard needs it.

            I get to take the Tres to the vet Thursday, and I have to give him some downers before I take him. They want him to be calm during his visit. The vet still has most people stay in their vehicle while they examine the pet. I do not like that, and Tres does not like that!

            I guess that is it for today, maybe I will have more tomorrow.

 

Do something today!

Senior ole person who needs a break from all this work, Don the Ford

I fixed it 03.15.2022

            Yes, in today’s article about me, “The Don”, we will learn that The Don was able to fix it, actually, I replaced it as well as a professional could have, and at a much-reduced cost. To have a professional replace it, I was told would have cost $99.00. I rejected the offer.

            Before we get into today’s topic, allow me to comment on, “the pronunciation of words”. Now last evening as I was resting on the Ford’s ole bed, having nothing to do since the TV has nothing that I want to see, a three-letter word ending in, “at”, came to mind. I began to wonder who decided how we should pronounce these words, ending in “at”? 

            Bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, eat, pat, rat, sat… why don’t they ask me before they make these decisions?

            Let’s see, what can we present to you now? Today is Tuesday, and I did go to the star coffee place for a free cup of coffee, and then to the Mexican restaurant for a burrito, on the way home, this morning. No, I did not go to the rose restaurant, I went to the one next door to the rose. The burrito was good, and their hot sauce is outstanding!

            Now please allow me to respond to the title line which is, “I fixed it”. As stated earlier, you may say I fixed it, when in actuality I replaced it, which in reality I did fix the situation.

            If anyone was reading this article, they might wonder what the Don replaced. I have a photo of what the Don replaced, which should be better than 1,000 words.

            That is the security light that gave up the ghost (stopped working). I had installed that light several years ago, and I have replacement bulbs which only work in this type of light. Evidently the fixture failed, and I tried both replacement bulbs and they would not work. 

            That is when I decided to purchase a new fixture. I found several similar fixtures but none that use the same bulb, so I decided to go to the home store and see if I could find a new fixture. Being on a fixed income, those eighty to one hundred dollars fixtured did not interest me. I found a fixture that cost less than ten dollars. Photo to follow.

            I did remove the big none working light, and I installed the small working light. I have ordered a couple LED bulbs which are dusk to dawn, meaning they will turn on and off by them self. If I were rich like you real people, I could have gotten the larger fixture. This light worked as expected last night, it provided plenty of light and it only used 9 watts of power.

            We got a little rain yesterday, about 1/8 inch, we need more but we are not complaining about the amount. I may run the lawn sprinkler today. I do need to put some bird food out. 

Todays goal, smile often!

Senior retired person who understands electricity and plumbing, Don the Ford

I broke it 03.14.2022

            It was old, I had it for several years, probably 12 years, and then I broke it. Ole people and ole things often break. What was this wonder filled object that broke, it was the handle on my coffee cup? This ole cup's handle was large enough that all four fingers could fit into the handle, and I like a handle like that. The ole cup had a grandee photo on it!

            Yes, I have other cups, but only 3 fingers will fit into the handles. Smaller handle means smaller cup. Yes, the other cups have photos of the grandees on them and I will use them, but I will miss the ole cup. "My cup runneth over"! Where did Reverend Don learn that statement?

            Let us alter the topic; the light on the back patio has, "ceased to provide illumination". This light is there to provide light in the back 40 at night. It should turn on at dark and off at day light. Saturday evening, it was providing ample illumination, Sunday morning, it was not illuminating the area. I am hopeful that I might have a light bulb in the shed for this fixture, as it is not a normal light bulb. Wow, something else broken.

            When I am out at the shed, will I get the earth quake out and play with it, I mean learn how to properly use it? Who knows what, the Don may do, if the weather is good?

            Well, it is now Monday morning and the above was written Sunday. I did go to the shed and procured two light bulbs that are made for that light, but to no avail. It must be the fixture that has given up the ghost! That fixture uses a fluorescent bulb.

            My favorite wife and I went shopping yesterday, I was looking for a new fixture, and she was looking for something else. Neither of us found what we needed. ☹ I may try the other big store today, if I don't find a fixture there, I will order it from my ole employer.

            I do not get to take the grand kids to school today or tomorrow, as their dad is off work those two days, I will pick the Alex up from school each day. There are a few things I can do outside this week, if I can remember, the weather is supposed to be good. Heck, we don't have any grass growing but we do have some weeds in the back 40.

            Our black berries look very bad, there are almost no leaves on them, and the ones that are there are not green. I have watered them through the winter, but it may have not been enough. I don't know if they will survive this drought. 

            Coffee would be nice, got to go!

 

Yes, the time changed! 😐

Senior retired person who might work some today, Don the Ford

Flight problems 03.13.2022

            Yes, you may have guessed it, Dave and family had their flight canceled yesterday morning, due to weather. They were then allowed to stay in the airport all day and into the night. They were on standby, hoping to get back home. We got a call at 11:00pm saying they were now back in Texas. That did not mean they were home; they were in Dallas. From there they had to drive home during the early morning hours.

            Wow, spring break having fun all week, and then, the weekends like that!

            Well, I guess we are kinda on normal schedule this week. Yep, I will be taking the kids to school this week, but we are not back to normal schedule, due to the day light saving time. Getting up earlier, happy hour coming at a different time, is not good! How long will it take for me to enjoy a nap on time?

            We have no plans for today, just stay home and save gasoline. Other than feeding Tres, I will not be feeding animals today. Do you think my favorite wife will feed me today? If she does not feed me, we have a can of soup that I can warm up. Hay, that might mean I am on a soup diet.

            Hope you have a good day.

 

Doing nothing, good or bad?

Senior retired person who can do nothing as well as anyone, Don the Ford 

Too cold, I did nothing 03.12.2022

            Well, I did very little yesterday, although, I did go through some files on my computer and update them. I have a list of each internet account and password. One list I keep here at the ole computer, and it has the accounts but the pass words are shall we say, masked. I can look at them and know what the entire password is, but I doubt that you can understand it. There is a second list that shows the passwords in their entirety, that list is kept in the safe.

            Anyway, when I open another account (like for the earthquake, which is now registered) and have another password, I hand write the information on the list that is kept here buy the computer. Anyone who has seen my hand writing knows that it isn’t very good. Occasionally, that is not very often, I attempt to update my two lists. That is what I did yesterday.

            One might think that would not take much time, but for this ole senior retired person it took too much time. I spent over two hours comparing both lists, then adding to both lists, then saving them in secure locations on an SD card, and in the safe. I have told myself, any new passwords or information must be written carefully, and clearly, where I can read them two months later.

            I am writing this part of the post the afternoon of 03/11/2022, and I do get to go and feed the animals at David and Claire’s home in a little while. It is cold outside and I know that because I went outside to feed the birds and almost froze my nose off. I had my hood up on my head, so my ears were ok. I had looked out back and saw many birds trying to get food around the areas where I feed, and feeling sorry for them, I had to venture out and feed them.

            Before that one person asks, yes, I did get burritos and coffee from the Rose Garden this morning. That is not the name but it is close to the name, I do not advertise for companies unless paid.

            Saturday; I have just returned from the morning feedings, and all went well. Dave and family will be home from their spring break this afternoon, and they will take over the feeding. Wait a minute, did I get a spring break? After some careful thought, I believe I did get a break, from taking the grand kids to school, and that was replaced with feeding the animals. When you keep a senior retired person busy, he might forget that he is still getting older.

            I talked with my sister in Missouri last night and during the conversation my age came up. I noted that I would have the big one this year, I will be 75 years old in August (that makes me 74 and a half now). I remember what my mom said on her 70^th birthday, “in my mind I am a teenager, but my body says I am 70”. I understand that statement.

            The sun is shining here today, and the temp should get up into the 60s. I just looked at the security monitors and the birds are having a feast at the feeding stations. I did good!

            Last topic of the day; I just looked at the clock that is above my desk (photo to follow) and it has already been set one hour ahead. Yep, day light saving time will be activated Sunday morning before we get up, so set your clocks ahead one hour (spring forward, fall back). 

 

            I thought that was the last comment, but that statement was incorrect, I was not wrong, there is a difference between wrong and incorrect. It seems as if Dave, Claire, Gabi, and Alex’s flight has been canceled due to weather. I might get to feed the animals one more time.

Enjoy the sun today!

Senior retired person who is now a feeder of the animals, Don the Ford

Did he do it 03.11.2022

            Did he do it, why would you even ask? You should know, the Don will do anything that he sets his mind to do. Wait a minute, does the Don have a mind, now that is debatable. What was it that the Don says he did yesterday?

Let’s see, he wrote an article for his blog,

he got the new small earthquake tiller running and played with it in the back yard,

he fed the birds,

he watered the three berry beds and the flowers in the hot house,

he installed a battery on the riding mower,

he took a nap,

he and his favorite wife went out to supper,

he and his first wife sat outside and enjoyed the nice weather, knowing that this cold weather was coming.

            Not a bad day for an old retired senior person.

            I have a couple photos to share, the outhouse is being used by both birds and squirrels. I know you see the alien in the background, so I have a photo showing why they stay on guard in the berry bed.

           These three aliens are keeping an eye on their eggs.

            I also have another Easter photo.  

            The crosses are on the old church bench which sits on the front porch.

            Well, I need to get ready to go feed the animals, so-long!

Do your to-do list!

Senior retired person who doesn’t want to go out this morning cause it is cold, Don the Ford

Earthquake at Fords 03.10.2022

            To the best of my memory, this is the first time we have had, “an earthquake”, here at the Ford’s homestead. I do remember when I was a teenager living at home in Missouri, I was talking on the phone, it was a wall phone in the kitchen, and the dishes in the cabinet began to shake, and rattle. I dropped the phone and ran like a scared cat out of the house. The quake only lasted a few seconds, and it was over.

            There is a fault line that kind of follows the river a little south of Cape Girardeau, I think it is, the New Madrid fault line! One of the worst earthquakes in the United States happened there.

            Changing the topic; I did go feed the animals this morning, and we are running low on crickets. Yep, the lizards like crickets, we are not out, just running low. As I drove to the feeding this morning there was a nice sun rise, and I wanted a photo. The photo is not as nice as the actual sun rise, and yes, taking a photo from the vehicle, even though I was at a stop light, is distracted driving.

             For the one person among you who is observant, yes there is a government spy camera in the photo. Yes, the light was green when I took the photo. Big deal, get off my case!

            What? Why is that any of your business? I shouldn’t answer that question, but I will, “yes, I went to the new restaurant and got a couple burritos this morning at the drive through, are you happy now? Ha ha, you didn’t get one!

            A different topic: My favorite wife has been decorating the Homestead for the coming Easter, and I took a photo of one area of decoration.

            Before that one person asks, the truck in the photo is old because, we are retired and on a fixed income, and we can’t afford those new trucks. I will attempt to get another Easter related photo for the next posting.

            Topic change: yes, we went to the grand opening at the new store in Hewitt yesterday, we bought a couple items, and they gave us a $20.00 gift card. Not bad, we got to shop and got a gift card. The new employees at the checkout were a little bit slow but that was ok.

            Topic change: it is supposed to be warm this afternoon, I will need to water out back and I plan to run the lawn sprinklers today also. 

            What? You want to know more about the earthquake? Well let’s see, possibly I can tell this story better with a photo. This is the first time I have taken a photo of the earthquake!

            If one will look closely, you will be able to see the name of the unit is, “Earthquake”. This is the first photo taken of the earthquake. It is a very small tiller. I got it in hopes of not over working My ole body when I start on the new flower bed in the front yard. I might rent it out to a trusted friend, after I am done using it.

            I don’t need a cup of coffee, I got one at the drive through when I got the burritos this morning.

Suns up, get to work!

Senior retired person who might work later today, Don the Ford

Just the opposite 03.09.2022

            Here we go again, the Don has an ole memory he wants to present to the reading public. Now he knows you don’t care about his ole memories, yet he continues to present them. I would bet that he does not have any new memories, so ole memories are all he has. Ok, let’s see what this, “Ole memory”, is.

            This memory goes back to the early 70s, (that is 1970s, that is over 20 years ago…) and it has to do with one of the big topics of the present-day world, “Gas”. Now I can see that none of you are the slightest bit interested in what I am about to present, so, you are now excused from today’s lesson, you are now allowed to stop reading and go do something interesting.

            By the way, the info that will be provided after this memory subject, will also be less than interesting, so you are now excused from reading anything after this statement.

                        STOP READING NOW!

 

            Now that everyone is gone, maybe I can enjoy entering this into my ole journal.

            Yesterday, as I was trying to not think about the items being present on the news stations, an ole thought came to mind. Back in the early 1970s there was a gas war in Cape Girardeau, Mo. I can’t remember if this gas war was just local or not, possibly it was due to a new gas station that was trying to get a lot of attention for their opening.

            I asked my favorite wife if she remembered this event and she does. She noted that the price of gas per gallon went down to 19 cents per gallon. We both remember cars lined up around the block, trying to fill their tanks with the cheap gas. At that time, the normal price of regular gas was about 30 cents per gallon. The price war only went on for a few days and then things got back to normal.

            Now you see, just the opposite of what’s going on today. Yes we have a Gas war going on, but instead of reducing the prices, they are increasing the prices, and instead of it ending in a couple days, it will continue for a long time!

            Topic alteration; since you are not reading this I will note; I went to feed the animals today and once inside the house I found it to be very cool. I checked the thermostat and found that it was on air conditioning, I moved it to heat!

            The cat named Mars is very cautious around strangers like me, but today he came in and eat breakfast with the other two cats. All the morning feeding is complete, I did notice that one of the cats must have been having fun destroying a Styrofoam cup last night, there are pieces all over the floor.

            Different subject; the new store in Hewitt opens today, and I plan to take my $3.00 with me when I go over there. Who knows what they may have on sale, wow, this will be fun.

            The termite man is supposed to be here today, to finish something they started in November. In November the fellow was here, he looked over the bate devices around the house. He noted that he needed to replace them all, but he did not have the needed items with him, he said he would come back. I had to call them to remind them. Can you say excellent service!

            Well since you are not reading this, I will not let you know I and stopping now.

 

Save money, don’t drive!

 

Senior retired person who might have fun at the new store, Don the Ford