August 23, 2023

            Well, it is the start of another day and as usual I have things to do and I don’t want to do them. I do know, if I do one thing and get it done then it can inspire me to do a second task.

            This morning Tres and I started walking in the dark, and I did have a flash light in hand. We did not need the flash light on the way home, even though the sun was not yet up. Yes, I got the flower pots watered before coming in here to work on this posting. I did warm a breakfast sandwich in the microwave which I have now ingested.

            That just caused me to think, I haven’t had a real cup of coffee for several days now, wow what is wrong with me?

            I did have lunch yesterday with a few of the men who were in our bible study class last year. There were 6 men there and we all ate lunch and talked about many topics. Baylor basketball and football popped up a few times. Our next bible study starts on 9-11, that is September 11, 2023. We will all be in new different groups which allows us to get to know others.

            I got an email a couple weeks ago from a person who said they have put viruses on all our devices that work with email and they wanted money. I deleted that message and did not send them money. Well, I got another message today saying, since a I have ignored the previous message, I need to send them $750 or else. I deleted the second email. Heck this computer I have isn’t worth $750, so why would I pay.

            My first wife is going to allow me to go to the store with her today. I have pointed out that I do not shop, and if she were to injure her leg and not be able to walk (aka shop), then the shopping would fall to me, so I need to learn how. Wish me luck, ok wish her luck!

            Well, I will stop for now, you may have noticed that I have been keeping the posting shorter, that is due to criticism from readers. We hope you have a good day, please stay safe and please pray for a wide area rain in Central Texas.

Senior shopper?

This ole senior person might learn something today, Don the Ford

 

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

August 22, 2023

            Hello to one and all, we hope your day is proceeding even better than expected. Not a lot going on here at the Ford homestead, I have walked the dog, or maybe he walked me, I have watered the potted plants, and I have some water being deposited at the trunk of the pecan tree. We only hit 107 yesterday and it may be only 105 today.

            Speaking of 107, when I went to pick up Gabi at school yesterday I found and open parking spot with the sun behind me. I know that one person wants to know why I comment about the sun being behind me, I don’t want the sun shining on me through the wind shield or side glasses. In other words, a little less heat. The parking spot had a sign that stated, “for the midway teacher of the month”. As I looked at it, school hasn’t been open for a month yet, so they can’t have a teacher of the month.

            There was a vehicle next to me and they had the motor running the entire time we sat there, and I was there for 30 minutes. Personally, I try to not let my vehicle idle that long. So, there I sat with the 107 temp, and also the heat from this person’s motor, so I rolled up the windows on that side of the truck to keep their motor heat out. I did have my little battery powered fan with me and that helped.

            There are probably 150 to 200 cars there waiting to pick up kids, and I bet most of them let their motors idle all the time they were there, can we say air pollution?

            Topic swap; I do need to change the air filter in the air conditioner, and maybe check for some ants in the front yard. There are areas in the front yard that need to be mowed, but our yard man is in school, and has football practice after school, yep in the heat!

            Some of the men who were in our recent bible study group, will be getting together for lunch today, yes, I plan to go even though it is a long way into Waco, probably 5 or 6 miles. This will be the last lunch before the next bible study session begins, and one never knows how many will be there. At the first lunch there was 11 men present, and at the second there was 5 or 6. I have no idea how many or who will be there this time.

            Well, I guess I should stop for now and see if I can find something else to do before lunch. We hope you have a good day, please be safe and also pray for rain.

What does rain feel like?

Senior ole person who needs many things, especially rain, Don the Ford

 

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

 

August 21, 2023

            Yesterday was Sunday, and it was also sun day, as the sun was shining and we reached a record temperature for the day of 110 degrees. Here at the Ford homestead, we would appreciate temperatures at normal. Heck the 90s sound great when compared to what we have had, and could we have some rain? 

            My favorite wife and I did go to town yesterday, we got a few items from the Wally world and then we went into Waco to see about getting me a pair of glasses. I understand they mark up the prices of furniture and vehicles by 2, 3 and 4 hundred percent. I think they mark up the price of glasses even more! We had a 50 % off coupon and it was still a ridicules price.

            Leaving the overly priced eye glasses place we wanted to get something to eat, and we knew it would need to be either free, or cheap, after what we were charged for the glasses. We were able to scrape together enough for a cheap sandwich, and then we headed for home. It was so hot that we did little until about 5:00pm, when we ventured outside for a break from the TV. I did run the sprinkler systems for a few minutes as we sat outside, in the areas that had shade. Yes, the entire system ran before sun rise that morning.

            Today, aka Monday: we have gone through the normal schedule for the morning hours. Now during the morning walk with Tres there was a fellow who lives a couple houses away up the street, and he was getting into his work vehicle. I, being a good neighbor said, “Morning,” as we walked past him, he said nothing and got into his vehicle. This is the same person who has his personal pickup truck parked on the street and the blue rag is laying on the street below his front door, and it has been there for a couple weeks. Let’s see, is not friendly and litters! 

            Well, there are things I should do today, but I am not sure I will do any of them. We hope you have a good day, stay cool and be safe.

Neighborly greeting?

Senior ole person who needs a cup of homemade coffee, Don the Ford

 

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

August 20, 2023

            Ok, let’s see if I have anything to say. I have been told that I often start my blog out by saying I have nothing to write about, or that it is a short posting, and then it becomes long. Today I say, “I do not know how long this article will be”, so I suggest that if you are short on time, you should stop reading now.          

            WOW, everyone but you stopped reading, I am glad you are still here, it kind of hurts when everyone leaves and I only have you, “Thank You”!

            Yesterday our family did go out to lunch together, and I think we all enjoyed the food, the service and the conversations. Gabi had a chicken sandwich that was so big she had to cut it in half and then still had trouble eating it, (she took half of it home). Alex had a T-Bone steak, and he had some difficulty cutting it, so it finally was picked up and eaten by hand, photo to follow.

                                             

            Patrick and Karla came to the house after lunch, and we sit around and talked about everything and everyone.

            My favorite wife and I did sit outside for about an hour with the fans blowing on us, and while we were out there, I was running various parts of the sprinkler system. Basically, if an area was in the shade, I ran the sprinklers for that area.

Now that is the end of the story for yesterday, and I have nothing for today. was it short enough? Have a good day, stay safe, and pray for rain.

IS Shorter better?

Senior ole person who needs a break, Don the Ford

 

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

August 19, 2023

            Good morning to you, but to the others who may read this, I just say morning. Well, we had another do-nothing day, so I will provide some information about doing nothing.

            First, yesterday:  Tres and I did go for a walk and there was an unusual situation that occurred. We were in the 200 block and were enjoying our walk when I noticed a multicolored cat laying in a dust pile. This cat appeared to be young, and he or she did not move as we were approaching the yard, he or she was in. Normally, Tres is the first to see any animal, then I see where he is looking, and I see the animal. Well, yesterday I saw the cat and he did not see it, the cat lay very still as we approached, and we walked past, Tres did not notice the cat.

            Today as we walked past the same house, the same cat was out there but this time she had four kittens with her. 

            Back to yesterday, I did water the flowers in pots and the black berry beds, and I worked on yesterday’s blog posting. About 10:00 my favorite wife headed to town, and I decided to go and get some drugs. Maybe I should say, I went to the pharmacy to get my prescription. While there I asked about getting the shingles shots. Now my doctor suggested I should get the two shots, but she said that the second dose often causes a person to feel bad for a while. I asked the pharmacist and he said there seems to be more problems with the second shot if it is taken two months after the first, but if taken 3 or 4 months after the first the effects are usually not as bad.  He asked if I want to take the first shot while I was there, and I said no thanks. 

            I got a cup of coffee from the Star coffee place and started for home and that is when Dave called for a ride, so I altered my route and picked him up at work.

            Back at home I had a quick lunch and a short nap then I ventured out front to identify the sprinkler heads that needed some grass removal. I ran each of the systems for 2 minutes and during those runs I placed a flag next to each head. Then I got the string trimmer and trimmed around the areas where the flags were located. I have a photo of a trimmed area, it isn’t very good, but you might get the idea.

            The sprinklers run on Saturday morning so we will see if there is any better distribution of water.

            I did go and sit in the parking area at the high school to get Gabi and Brice. It was 107 degrees, and I had the windows rolled down sitting there in the heat for 30 minutes. There was a slight breeze, and it wasn’t too bad, the sun was behind my vehicle. I got the kids home safe and returned to our homestead, where we sit outside in the heat for about an hour. Time away from the TV is good, for some reason I was relating some ole childhood memories to my favorite wife.

            Speaking of ole memories, in the olden days my best friend was Steve, and he drove a 71 Chevy two door hard top with a hopped up 409 cubic inch motor. I drove a 73 Chevy two door hard top with a stock 409 cubic inch motor. Steves vehicle was set up for drag racing, mine was for street driving. One night I had gone to the movies and had parked my car in the parking lot. After the movie I came out and my car was gone. Steves car was there so I knew he had taken my car, so I got in his car and headed out to get a hamburger. This situation happened a couple times, when Steve wanted to go somewhere that was several miles away, because my ole Chevy was geared for road driving and his was geared for drag racing. Also, his keys worked in my car and mine in his car. Friends who trusted friends!

            I did not clean the office yesterday, maybe I will get to that this weekend. I might attach the trailer to the Fords ole Chevy and take the limbs out to the dump site, that is if I am in the mood to work. I had thought my first wife and I would go to see about getting me some glasses today, but I remembered that Patrick and Karla will be coming up, and we will likely go out to lunch, along with Dave, Claire, Gabi and Alex. 

            Well, I guess that is about it for now, we hope your day is enjoyable, cool and safe. 

Lunch for the bunch!

Senior ole retired person with nothing to do, Don the Ford

 

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

August 18, 2023

            Allow me to get started on the blog today, as I did not get started yesterday. I did go to the eye doctor and while there, I learned that he was going to retire in a couple months.

            Now yesterday started out nice, the temp was 70, yep it was cool outside. I was able to water the flower pots before heading to the doctor’s office, I had a 7:40 appointment. They dilate my eyes for the exam so for most of the rest of the day, things are too bright for this ole person, so I stayed inside and much of the time I had sun glasses on inside the house.

            In the afternoon I had some ole bread that I took outside and tossed across the fence for the birds to eat. Tres goes with me and he usually gets at least one piece of the bread. Now I have noted that the temp that morning was 70, well it was now 109 degrees. It was literally like walking into an oven!

            I went to get the Gabi from school and I found a parking place with my back to the sun. The thermometer in the vehicle was showing 109, and I was determined to not run the motor with the air on for the 30 minutes while I waited. All was well until this person parked beside me, and he let his motor run. The heat from his running motor was coming in my open windows. I shut the windows on that side of the vehicle which blocked the heat from his motor but it also blocks the flow of air in the Ford’s ole Chevy. I did take a fan with me and was able to survive using the fan and drinking my cold root beer.

            Arriving back at home I quickly changed shirts and my favorite wife and I headed out to supper. This time we went to the cracker store. Food was good and service was also good. When we arrived back at home it was still 109 so we decided to not sit outside.

            Today’s happenings: After the Tres and I had cone for our walk, which was a little later than usual, I proceeded to enter the watering stage of my morning duties (aka water the flower pots) and I was out at the #2 berry bed when I heard a phone ringing. Now I should note that we have our new house phones and there is one located in the garage. Well, the garage door was open and I could hear it ringing out in the back 40, nice!

            Around that same time, I noticed a neighbor from down the street driving past our house, that means it was 8:45am. This neighbor lady heads out to work at 15 minutes to nine each work day. Now I wonder, is it good or not that I know her schedule?

            Back to the new phone, we seem to have one problem, I do not understand how to set up a voice mail box, heck maybe it doesn’t have a voice mail box. Maybe I will be able to find it in the instructions.

            I have a couple things I need and or want to do today, one is run the sprinkler system and flag the sprinkler heads. Some of the grass is taller than the heads, so I need to clear the grass away from a few heads.

            I also need to go get a prescription and maybe I can get a cup of real coffee while I am out. I also need to clean the office area and that is a lot of work.

            Wow, who knew I had so much to do. Well, I guess I should get started, we hope you have a good day and please stay safe.

Too much work!

Senior ole person who might get half of the things done, Don the Ford   

 

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

August 16, 2023

            Well, here I am again attempting to provide the reading public more personal information about my daily activities, or the fact that I have no daily activities.

            For some unknown reason I woke up a few minutes early this morning, and having nothing better to do, I got out of bed. Now I would like to infer that I hopped out of bed, but ole senior people don’t do a lot of hopping. Going through my normal morning routine I was dressed, Tres and I went out front, but it was too early to go for a walk, it was still dark.

I decided to beat the school traffic and go to the star coffee place for a cup of coffee. During this early morning adventure, I also got gas for the Ford’s ole Chevy.

            Back at the homestead I completed ingesting the cup of real coffee, and then decided to go outside and water the plants out back. That took some time as I also watered the black berry beds. Work completed I came inside and warmed up a breakfast sandwich which I have been eating as I am attempting to enter data into this ole computer.

            I just thought I have a photo of a bug that I found lying on the Fords ole driveway. We think it might be a baby Dragon Fly!

            I did get Gaby and her boyfriend home from school safely yesterday; Alex has football practice after school, so I don’t need to retrieve him.

            I think Tres and I may go for a walk after this posting, it is remarkably cool outside this morning, 70 degrees! Walking the dog just caused me to think about being outside and a photo I took. The photo was taken the other day and it is of a cloud. I know, I do find a lot of clouds interesting, but this one you might also find interesting.

            Could that cloud be a covering for a giant spaceship? You decide.

            If we were to get a bunch of those clouds at the same time, we might get some needed rain. If you are a person who prays, pray for rain here in drought-stricken parts of Texas!

            Well, I guess that is it for now, we hope you have an exceptionally good day, and please stay safe.

Ole time watering boy!

Senior ole person who needs to get Tres out for a walk, Don the Ford

 

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

August 15, 2023

            Well, I guess I was able to get through another birthday, I am 38 years old again, for the 38^th time. I stated in yesterday’s post that I got a free cup of coffee from the star coffee place, now I have to wait another year to get another free cup for my birthday.

            I did very little yesterday, the things I did were on yesterday’s post. What have I done today, I have done the usual things, and I sprayed some wasps, and swept some bird poop off the driveway.

            It was 107 degrees yesterday, so we sat outside for a while yesterday afternoon, waiting on the cold front that was coming our way. They said today the temp should only get up to 99 degrees today and tomorrow, so we should break the 100 plus temperature streak.  

            School starts today and I am sure that traffic is crazy. It will take a few days before everyone gets use to the new schedules, but the traffic will not get better until school is out for next summer.

            Tres and I did go for an early morning walk today, the temp is in the mid-70s. the walk would have been longer, but there was a female person walking her dog and coming in our direction. Tres and I turned and started for home. I do not like to meet other people walking their dogs, and she was walking on the wrong side of the street (we should walk facing traffic).

            I guess I will take a break for now, we hope you all have a good day, and please be careful driving in the school traffic, that is another way of saying, “be safe”!

Wasp eradicator!

Senior ole person who needs a cup even if it is homemade, Don the Ford

 

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