December 8, 2022

            Well, I am back. For that one person, and we know who you are, saying I am back means I had posted to the blog yesterday, and I am back posting again today!

            Let us start with the thought that some neighbors might think, the Don is, “Crazy grandpa”! well I am here to say, “I am not crazy grandpa, I am silly grandpa!

            For that one person who is wondering what the Don is talking about, allow me to enlighten. I did remove the leaves from the front yard again, and yes that is the second time this week. I have been asked by neighbors why I don’t wait until they all fall, and then remove them.

            I guess there are a couple reasons. First it is easier work removing a small amount of leaves, when compared to all the leaves possibly 6 inches deep all over the front yard. When I remove a small amount, I usually get one trash bag full of leaves, in the past when I have removed all at one time, I would get 10 bags. Second, it gets me out of the house and gives me something to do. Third, it gives the neighbors something to talk about, you know, crazy or just silly!

            We did wash the dog yesterday, yep it was warm enough to get out in the back 40 and wash the Tres. I think he kind of likes a free wash job.

As I sit outside yesterday, I noticed the moon was coming up and it was full. The term full moon, for that one person, does not mean the moon had a lot to eat, it means you can see the entire face, of the man in the moon! I have a photo for my enjoyment.

            Adjusting the topic: I hope to get my hair cut today, and I usually tell the hair stylists that I want to look younger, smarter, and richer when she it finished. Would you believe, I have been told if that is what, I want I should go somewhere else.

            Well, I guess I should stop for now, we hope you have a good day and please stay safe.

Crazy – silly!

Senior retired person who might be a little crazy and a lot silly, Don the Ford

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

December 7, 2022

            I would like to say hello to you, on this fine Wednesday morning. There are 18 days till that day is here, have you got my present yet? In truth I have told my wife and others that I don’t need or want anything for that day, except I did say to my spouse of more than half a century, I could use a pair of shoes. I have three pair of these ole walking shoes, [I don’t know what real people call them so I call them walking shoes], and they are all falling apart, but that is all I need or want.

            Swapping the topic: I sat outside yesterday afternoon when I heard the fire trucks sirens sounding very close to the Homestead. As I listened, I noticed that there were several dogs barking and or howling due to the sound of the sirens. These dogs all sounded like small dogs’ voices, none of them sounded like large dogs.

            It actually happened twice, as the fire trucks stopped sounding their sirens, then I, along with the little dogs, could hear the ambulance on its way to the scene. Yep, the little dogs began singing a second time. 

            That is not all I observed yesterday afternoon, as I sat there in the Ford’s ole rocker considering the world's problems, I noticed that our neighbor has a broken tree limb that is still hanging in the tree. I will let him know asap, and I have a photo for you.

            That tree has had other broken limbs recently, maybe the tree needs to be removed.

            Let’s talk about cats: Yesterday, as I sat here in front of the Ford’s ole computer, pounding the keys to a point of exhaustion, this ole senior person happened to look at one of the security cameras monitor, where I observed an orange-colored cat crossing our driveway in the direction of our front porch. I immediately alerted my present spouse and we both went to the front door in an effort to see the cat. 

            We observed the cat heading for the street, then he / she crossed the street and went straight to a neighbor’s tree, and without any delay he /she climbed the tree. This tree still has leaves, it grows mostly up, it doesn’t branch out much, and we could not see the cat.

What we did see was birds flying in and out of the tree, we assume getting away from, and then attacking this cat. Later the cat came back to our yard, crossed the front porch and headed toward the new neighbors back yard.

In the afternoon, let’s say about 2:00pm, as I was watering the #2 berry bed, this same cat ran past me, jumped over the fence and up a tree in the ditch behind our homestead.

Oh, did I say that our pot hound Tres was right behind the cat until he jumped the fence?

New neighbor: we have spoken with the new neighbor lady, and I did help them move a very heavy carton from the front porch to the garage a couple days ago. Well, the new neighbor lady came to our front door about 7:00pm yesterday evening. My first wife and I went to the door and the new neighbor had two gifts, one for me and my favorite wife, and one for Tres.

Yep, she had cookies for the humans and dog treats for Tres. She had seen Tres in the back yard earlier and he reminded her of the Shepard she use to have, so she wanted to give him some treats. We asked her to come in, but she declined saying her twin sister and mother were at her house helping her unpack.

And that is about all that happened at the Fords Homestead yesterday. We hope you have a good and safe day.

Treats and cookies!

This ole senior couple have nice neighbors, even the new ones, Don the Ford

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

December 6, 2022

            I am sitting here trying to think of what I did yesterday, or, if I did anything. I did activate the lawn sprinkler system, it watered everything this morning starting about 3:45am. I now think I should deactivate the system and use the hose to water certain areas of the lawn, and not water everything.

            I did get Dave from work and the kids from school yesterday, I was able to get them home safely.

            The wind blew a lot yesterday, and the yard that I removed the leaves from, is now almost covered again. There is no rest for ole retired people. The sprinkler system made every thing wet, so I will not be removing wet leaves today. 

            I did go to bible study last night and I enjoyed our group discussion.

            Some of the stories in the bible are very interesting, and even though they describe what took place, I often wonder if there were other details. Last week study was, about a fellow who was a prophet, who was told to go to a big city that was evil, and tell them that in 40 days their city would be overthrown. Now this fellow did not like the city, or the people who lived there, and in his mind if he went there and made the announcement, the people of the city would change their ways, and they would not be destroyed, so this fellow, let’s call him Jonah, decided to not listen to God.

            Jonah, got on a ship and headed the other way, ignoring Gods instructions. It wasn’t long until a storm came up and the sailors were afraid. The ship rocked back and forth, and they started tossing the freight [heavy items] overboard in an effort to lighten the ship. They were all praying to their gods asking for help, and while this was going on the captain found Jonah asleep in the bottom of the ship.

            To make this story a little shorter, Jonah told them if they would toss him over board the sea would become quiet. They did toss him over board, and the see became quiet, while Jonah went under water. The story indicated that the weeds wrapped around his head and he went deep in the water.  

            Now the story gets interesting, a large fish swallowed Jonah, it must have been a big fish and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and nights. At some point he prayed to God and said he would do what he was instructed to do. Then the fish spit him out on the beach.

            Now this story goes on for a while, and if you want to know how it ends you can read the book of Jonah, it is only 4 short chapters. I did not use the terms that were used in the bible but I hope you understood what I was saying.

            My point is, there are some very interesting stories in the bible. Some of these stories could be as interesting to young people as their video games, and when one reads them, it may cause one to wonder and to believe.  

Read the bible!

Senior ole retired person who enjoys reading the bible, Don the Ford

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

December 5, 2022

            Well, I have a couple photos from the Ford’s homestead that were taken yesterday. We have a couple flowers that are blooming.

            Yes, they are both roses.

            I worked to remove debris today and also some of the leaves. Photos to follow.

           Above, the first photo shows the enormous amount of leaves on our yard and the area was not raked.

            #2 shows where I raked the leaves away from the blocks and the string of lights that are against the blocks.

            #3 shows the finished work, after I used the mower to vacuum the leaves. Wow, back braking work for an ole senior retired person!

            I didn’t do much more yesterday, I did sit outside with a friend and talk for a while.

            My favorite wife did make a very nice meatloaf for our dinner! Yes, there was other vegetables to eat with the meat.

            I have another photo of the Ford’s ole cat, she was wanting me to pet her during the time I was raking the yard, so she got on the scrap wood manger making it much easier for and ole senior person to reach and pet. 

             At some point in the afternoon, it began to drizzle some rain, it isn’t hard rain, but the driveway was all wet. Speaking of wet I did water some of the flowers in the hot house, some were wet and did not need the water.

            Well, I guess that is it, we hope you have a good day, filled with love and kindness.

Christmas is coming!

Senior ole person who might get a lump of coal for Christmas, Don the Ford 

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

December 4, 2022

            I am not sure, but I think something exciting should happen in 20 days, what could it be? Now I said exciting, possibly I should have said, expensive.

            I think we now have all the decorations that we are going to display, displayed. I did put a decoration on the mail box, and some colored lights on a bush yesterday. I then moved excess items from the Ford’s ole garage to the Ford’s ole shed. We can now once again park the Ford’s ole van in the garage.

            There was some debris in the front yard and back 40 that needed to be picked up, but it was too cold and windy yesterday. Possibly today, my ole body might get outside.

            Topic change: this morning as I was enjoying a cup of homemade coffee, and watching the religious program on the TV, the minister made some comments that brought back a couple old thoughts.

            He was more or less saying we should believe in the Lord and always follow the 10 commandments. As an example, he said, if you are paying for something and the person who gives you change makes a mistake, and gives you an extra 20-dollar bill, and you keep it saying, wow I have extra money, and your child is with you, what kind of example are you setting.

            That reminded me of an event from more than 70 years ago. I was probably 4 years old; I was with mom at the Ruth’s Grocery Store, [back in Missouri] buying groceries. As mom was shopping, I saw the grapes, and I reached up and took one. Mom did not see me get the grape but noticed that I was eating something. She asked what I had, I told her I had a grape, and I showed her where I got it from. She told me that was stealing and she took me to a store employee and told them what I had done.

            The above event where Mom turned me in for stealing at the age of 4, may be why I have tried throughout my life to not steal anything and to be as honest as possible.

Two events came to mind when the minister was talking about someone getting 20-dollars in error and keeping it. I have on two occasions received and extra 20-dollars from the teller machine at my bank, and both times I took the 20-dollar bill back into the bank. Both times the person I gave the money to, looked at me like I was a little crazy, I think they were surprised that anyone would be honest. It was not my money, and I was not going to keep it.

I am just pointing out that being honest and not taking something that isn’t mine helps me feel better.

Well, it is time for another cup of homemade coffee, we hope you have a safe and productive day filled with honesty.

Honesty is the best policy!

Senior ole retired person who tries, Don the Ford

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

December 3, 2022

            Happy Saturday to you! Hay, it is not raining this morning, maybe it will not rain today. The temp this morning early was 54 degrees, and it is not supposed to get any warmer during the day.

There are leaves on the ground from the pecan trees in the back and front yards, and they need to be addressed. [Addressed means, “gathered and disposed of”] The pecan tree in the front has started dropping leaves, while the tree in the back 40 is almost finished.

I need to waterproof a couple electrical connections on the decorations today, and I think that should be the last. I may be allowed to move items from the garage to the shed today which will allow my present spouse to park her vehicle back inside the garage. 

The neighbor on the south side of our homestead was putting some Christmas decorations on his roof yesterday afternoon. His granddaughter was supervising the work, and she talked with My favorite wife and I several times. I have a photo of the decorations on the end of their house.

            We were sitting outside enjoying the nice weather as the neighbor was putting the lights on the house, and that is how and why I got a photo. Ok, I may have wanted the photo for this posting.

            As we sat outside observing the neighbor, I was made aware of what may have been a ghost in the ole pecan tree. Yes, I do have a not so good photo.

            My favorite spouse noted that it may have not been a ghost, it may have been the moon.

            On the north side of our house, the new neighbor has moved in, at least we saw the truck bring the furniture yesterday, and someone stayed in the house all night last night. I have met the lady one time when I helped her, and father move a very heavy item from the front porch into the garage. As usual, I do not remember her name.

            Well, we hope the day goes well for you and your family today, stay safe and have fun!

Decorations finished?

Senior retired person who is almost ready to relax, Don the Ford

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

December 2, 2022

            Well, we got through yesterday and we are now starting the second day of December this year. What! You say you know it is the second of December, well I say, “I am glad you know, because I have noticed that you quite often, don’t know what day it is!”

            The grand kids came to this Ford homestead, from their Ford homestead yesterday morning about 7:00. We all decided to go to the Star coffee place and get a cup before school.

            Arriving at the drive through I ordered my coffee, then Gabi’s coffee, then Alex’s coffee, when the lady asked, “Is this Don?” The grand kids were surprised that the lady knew my name.

            I did get the grandees to school safely and on time, and that afternoon I got them home safely. My favorite wife and I went to Alex’s orchestra concert last night, it was good. 

            On a decoration subject: I repaired two deer yesterday; in truth, I was able to replace some of the lights that were out, and it isn’t easy, but I did it. Then I was allowed to locate one of the deer near a Christmas tree. That deer has a head that moves.

            Subject me: I have a wonderful photo of the Don, sitting at the ole desk in the ole little office. Since it is worth a thousand words, I will not comment on the photo. You’re welcome!

 

            We did not have supper last night due to going to the concert. I am hoping that my best wife will take me out for breakfast this morning.

            Did I say it is raining again this morning? Well, it is raining again this morning!

            Wow, everything going well, and we will have a great day! We hope you have an outstanding day, filled with the things you like.

Breakfast connoisseur!

Senior retired person who needs a breakfast break from all that work, Don the Ford

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

December 1, 2022

            Ok, for that one person, and we know who you are, the month has now changed from November to December, and counting today there is 24 days until Christmas.

            This morning, I will be taking the grandkids to school as their mother needs to be at work early as it is “the end of the month”, and all the records must be updated.

            Let’s talk about me for a while, what was the Don doing on his knees in the front yard yesterday? I am sure he was praying, while he was installing the lights around the flower beds. Was it cold and was the wind blowing? Yes! Did the Don bundle up? Yes! Did he eventually get all the lights installed? Yes!  Is there a photo? Yes!

            Well, the question now would be, are all the outside decorations now installed? No! If all goes well, I will be working on a couple more outside decorations today.

            While I was on my knees observing the neighborhood, I noticed a pickup truck with a female subject sitting in it. This truck sat in front of the rental house next door, for almost 3 hours, and at one point I walked over to the truck and asked if she was ok. She noted that she was a cleaning lady, and she was waiting for someone to come with the keys so she could get in and clean. No one came, I observed her leaving about 30 minutes after I spoke with her. 

            Later I observed an older male subject pull into the driveway at the rental house, so not being inquisitive, I went over to talk with him. What did I learn?

            His first name is Dennis, he is from Indiana, his daughter will be moving into the rental house on Thursday (that it today), she is 40 years old, she has two children, and they will be attending the local schools, the items in boxes on the front porch, (that have been there for about a week), are furniture that she had sent to the house. There was no mention of a husband.

            It is odd how much you can learn from a short conversation when you seem to be friendly, not nosy!

            I thought I had lost my ole money clip, which I have had for probably 25 years or more. It is from HWI, aka Hardware Wholesalers Inc. I thought I had lost it, but this morning after basically giving up on finding said clip, I reached in the pockets of a coat which I thought I had not worn, and there it was, photo to follow.

             It is ole and not worth anything, but I like it and don’t want to lose it. I guess it is a reminder of the olden days!

            Well, there are things I need to do now, as I understand it there are a couple items, aka Christmas decorations that I can work on in an attempt to repair, and then install in the front, I still need to put straw in and around the manger, and there are two sets of colored lights that are normally put on bushes at either end of the house. We are getting closer to finishing.

            Odd note: there is a small Christmas tree and a wreath on the front porch which are connected to the same outlet, controlled by the same timer. My present wife has explained that last night when the outside lights were automatically turned off, that the little Christmas tree stayed on. Now I told her that cannot be, unless the Christmas tree has a battery backup, which she indicated that it did not. Then I said, “we may have a ghost!”

            Well, I guess that is it for now, hope your ghosts are all happy, and we hope you stay safe and are friendly.

Decorations, yay?

Senior information gathering person in the neighborhood, Don the Ford 

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