September 26, 2023

            Good morning to you, my favorite reader of this blog. We hope you had a good night and we hope your day is productive as well as fun and safe. I guess our day will be a normal day with the exception of the football game this evening. The game will be an out-of-town game which can make it a little more stressful. As for as we know now, we, that is my favorite wife and I, will get in the Ford’s ole Chevy and go to the high school about 3:15, to get a parking space so we can wait on Gabi this afternoon. We assume we will get Gabi and Brice at the normal time, 4:05pm. We will then take Brice to his house and after dropping him off, we head out of town to the game. 

            It will take about 30 minutes to get to the game depending on traffic, and the game starts at 5:00. We hope the game is good (we would like to win) and all the players enjoy learning more about the game.

            Different topic: the next-door neighbor has a small tree limb laying in her yard and it has been there for a while. I have noticed a limb in that same tree that is dead and appeared to be cracking. I have been looking at it almost every morning when the Tres and I walk. I have now seen another limb that has broken off the tree and is hanging on part of the other limb that appears to be breaking. Yesterday, I showed the neighbor the broken limb which is hanging over part of her driveway. 

            By the way, while she and I were looking at the tree, we saw another limb broken and hanging. Am I a good neighbor or a nosy neighbor?

            Heck, I have a tree in the back yard that has some dead limbs that need to be trimmed. I need to find a good tree trimming group, that don’t charge too much. I know, there aint no such thing!

            Bible study group: we had a good meeting last night, everyone seemed to participate. Our group is supposed to have a fellowship meeting with Pizza next week, before the real meeting begins.

That is it for now we hope your day is pleasant and safe.

Good or Nosy?

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

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

September 25, 2023

            Today is the first day of the week, at least it is the way I look at it.  Monday, and I have learned that school is out today, so I will not need to pick up any of the kids today.

Hay, I will not need to water the flowers in pots today, my free rain gage has almost 2 inches of rain in it this morning. We had some hard rain last night and I think I heard a little hail. I looked out back and even though we had all that rain, there is no water standing in the back 40.

It was a record day yesterday; the record is now 102 degrees. It was very hot, and I did sit outside for a while with a fan blowing on me. During the overheated sitting outside, I was able to install a fire extinguisher, no photo available. 

As I sit outside, I received a call from a neighbor lady asking if I had a few minutes to come and help her put a rack together. This lady had a garage sale going for 3 days and was now attempting to put things back into the garage and fold the tables. I said I would come and help, so I went to my favorite wife and explained what I knew, and she went with me.

Arriving at the house I was able to help her get the rack together. Now it was thundering off in the distance, so my present wife and I helped the lady to pack up items and put them in her garage. As we were helping another lady, and her dog came up and she started helping too. Together our 4-person group got all most all the items, not including the tables put away. When the thunder became louder, I said we should not be outside when it is lightning, my favorite wife and I excused ourselves and went home.

When we arrived home, it was sprinkling and in no time, it was raining hard. The rain and thunder had both of the animals in the office with me. They, like me, do not like the storms.

            I went outside this morning about 6:00 to check the amount of rain in the gage and I also moved the trash can out to the street, and that is when I observed the open garage door, at the neighbor across the street. Later I saw that neighbor putting his trash can out to the street, so I commented on the open door. He said I forgot to close it. It is very unusual for garage doors to be open at night. 

It was too dark to walk this morning, so I decided to work on this posting and walk a little later. It is better when I can see all the things that Tres sees, he can see in the dark. Heck he may be half cat. 

I did have the yard man Alex over yesterday to mow the front yard for me. He does an excellent job and I do appreciate his help.

I will stop for now; we hope all is good at your home and that you will be nice to at least one person today. Please stay safe and enjoy the cooler weather.

After garage sale helper.

Senior ole person who tries to be nice to our neighbors, Don the Ford

 

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

September 24, 2023

Today is Sunday, and I have done nothing this morning, but I still need to get outside and water the flowerpots. Tres and I have not walked this morning as this is a day of rest, or maybe I am too lazy to walk this morning. It was 100 degrees here yesterday and they are predicting it could happen again today. 

Let us see what the ole Ford’s did yesterday, which we are sure would not be interesting to you, “real people”. We left the homestead with no real destination in mind, I kind of thought we would get a bite of something for lunch. As we discussed where we might like to partake in some food, we did not come up with a location that we could agree on.

Not being in agreement, I headed the Ford’s ole Chevy towards the Harbor store, where I proceeded to get out of the vehicle and go inside. I was very surprised to see a female subject who had a meny dress on, at least I think it was a dress, which covered very little of her body. She was leaving as I was going in. I guess that was all the excitement for this visit, I did purchase a new stool with rollers on it. This stool is adjustable from 15 inches to 20 inches high, which in my opinion makes it more usable and more comfortable.

Note: The Harbor store had a coupon for 30% off, anything in the store, no exceptions, the coupon also stated, “the 30% off was for items under 20 dollars”. As I was checking out there was a fellow and his wife trying to purchase an item using the coupon and the checker was explaining that the coupon was good for items $20.00 or less. I had a 25% coupon that worked for my item.

Leaving the Harbor: I suggested a location that we might consider eating at, Short John Silvers. We have not had fish or shrimp from there in a long time, and my favorite wife was in agreement. To make a short story long, the food was actually good, the service was very slow even though the staff seem nice.

After the noon repast, we headed for home where I put the new stool together. In truth, there were three parts to the stool, the bottom, the seat, and the post that connected them. There were no screws no tools needed.

            It made it to 100 yesterday and it was 99 here at the homestead at 3:45pm yesterday when I was writing this part of the posting. Will we be able to sit outside in the heat?

Why am I writing Sundays posting on Saturday, no one asked, so I will explain. I have the broken washing machine running and I wanted to be in here where I could hear it and keep an eye on it. So far it is working. I have taken the items out of the washer, and they are in the dryer now, maybe I will have some clean and dry undies to wear tomorrow.  

Speaking of washing, we did wash the dog yesterday afternoon.

New exciting subject: I have a photo of me with the HWI tie on. I also have the HWI 35 years of service ring on, but it can’t be seen in this photo. I did not get a 40 years’ service ring…

             I was the only person at the company party with a tie on, “ole people be different”.

            My favorite wife and I did sit outside yesterday in the excessive heat, we did have the fan blowing air on us when a friend came over. As usual, we did not solve any of the world’s problems, but being outside together was enjoyable. We are now expecting rain possibly tonight and tomorrow. I did get a photo of a cloud which I will present to you. Everyone heard what you were just thinking, “Another photo of a cloud, why don’t he stop it with the clouds”. You do know you don’t have to look at the photos!

            The cloud has holes in it, does that make it holey, or holy?

            Thats it for today, and yes, have a good day and please be safe. You can look up the words Hole, Holes, Holey and Holy.

Fall? 100 degrees?

Senior ole person who needs to water the flowers, Don the Ford

 

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

September 23, 2023

            It is a good Saturday morning here in Hewitt Texas. The temp is said to be 78 degrees, but it feels a lot warmer due to the humidity. We did do our morning walk, we started a little later and even though the sun was not up, it was light enough to see without the flashlight.

            We did not get to sit outside early yesterday evening, although I did sit outside all alone, and long enough to have a cold drink before I got ready to go.

            We did attend the company employee appreciation party last evening, and it was not too bad. They did not serve a meal, they did have some snacks to eat on, and the snacks that I got was not good. I should also say they had baked potatoes in the snack line, and they were good. We did get to talk with some of the few people that we knew, most of the people who were there, we did not know. I did wear my HWI tie with the HWI tie tac, and I proudly showed it to all who would look. All it all it was a good party, my favorite wife gambled and I watched.

            Today is the first day of fall, at least I was told that it is, and it is supposed to be 99, or possibly 100 degrees today. We may get some rain tomorrow or Monday, we still need it.

            Altered subject: we, that is my favorite wife and I, usually end up getting a sandwich for lunch on Saturday, so I suggested that we could go to the George restaurant and get and omelet later this morning and have that instead of a sandwich. I did not get approval of my idea.

            Speaking of the George restaurant, when we were there Thursday afternoon for our evening repast, I noticed that the young lady who worked behind the bar was not very busy. This bar is inside and the other bar which I consider to be outside, it is usually very busy. Well anyway, I noticed the young lady who was supposedly working at the bar, had a large Styrofoam cup and was drinking from it. Now this cup was from the Bushes chicken, so she was advertising for bushes tea, in the George restaurant.   

            Another matter: not one of the reading public has asked if I had a photo of the little roll around stool that I have repaired, so I am not telling any of you, not even you, my favorite reader, that there is a photo attached to this posting.

             My present spouse had suggested that we could put a soft cushion on the new wooden seat, but that has not yet started.

            Today, we have no real plans. That is all for now, we hope your day and weekend is fun and safe.

Stool repair person!

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

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

September 21, 2023

            Let us see what has happened at the Ford Homestead. Tres and I got ready for the walk this morning and as we started out, he gave me the look, you know, like something was wrong. I did not see anything, so we started walking to the street and he kept looking at me. We started down the street and then I also felt as if there was something wrong. We stopped and I looked his lead over, and I found the problem. Somehow the lead was around his neck, but only one leg was inside the lead. We quickly corrected the error, and the rest of the walk was normal.

            Yesterday’s workload: I have a short stool that I can sit on and move around when I am working on something down low. Now I was on this the other day and the seat broke. Do you think the Don is too heavy for the stool? Anyway, I took the broken seat off and replaced it with a bigger board, which I hope will not break. I just got up and went out to the garage to get a photo of the stool, and I left the cell phone in the office. I am not going to make two attempts, I am tired.

            Let’s talk about tired: For some reason I feel extra tired today, yes more tired than usual. Now I have a suspicion that it has to do with the shot I received yesterday for the shingles. The spot where they gave the shot is a little bit sore, but I am tired. I was tired when I went for the walk, and all the time I was watering the flowers. They told me that the second shot will likely make you feel sick for a day or so. For the second shot one must wait 2 months. The one doctor said If I wait 4 months for the second shot there should be fewer ill feelings.

            Topic swap: today is Thursday and we usually go out for supper on Thursday, I feel that I will not be too tired for supper.

            Photos for you: I have a couple photos taken this morning during our walk. The first is of the blue rag that has been laying on the street for a month or so.

             The second photo is of the early morning sky, I like it because it has blue sky, gray low clouds, and some clouds lit up by the morning sun rise.

            Well, I guess that is it for this tired ole person, we hope your day is enjoyable and safe, and as always be nice to the old people.

Old photographer!

Senior ole person who is going to rest for a while, Don the Ford

 

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

September 20, 2023

            It is “Mid-Week”, it is Wednesday, that is as of now a correct statement. What if all these union people, and a bunch of other people who want to get paid but not work, have their way, and they get a 4-day week and 5-day pay.

What will a 4-day week look like?

Will it be like some of the schools that have gone to a 4-day week, they get off Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Maybe the 4-day week will be work Monday and Tuesday, take a day off, work Thursday and Friday, then have the weekend off.

I think I know the best schedule for this 4-day week. They will have the weekend off and also Monday off, (to recover from there weekend parties) then work Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  

            Topic swap; My dad was a union man, he was head of his local union for a while, so I understand the need for unions in the olden days, not so much now.

            Different subject: Tres and I did get to go for a walk leaving the house with a flash light in hand (it was dark). For the last few walks the neighborhood has been very quiet, today the bird seemed to be having fun making a lot of noise, and yes there were sounds from the crows.

Another fact: we did attend the 8-grade football game yesterday, Midway lost 13 to 14. It was an interesting game, but we lost.

Next issue: I need to go get the shingles vaccine today (it is a two-shot vaccine, a couple months apart), they did not have it available yesterday when we got the flu shot. We have been asked how we fill after we got the Flu shot, no problem for either of us.

One more thought: we are scheduled to have a repair man here today for work on a couple appliances. If he gets here and leaves, I might be allowed to go to town. I might get to go to the harbor store and if that happens, I might get a real cup of coffee while I am out of the house. I must remember to do my homework today, I did not do any yesterday, so I am a day behind.

Last focus of the day: I did mow the back 40 yesterday, and even though a part is not in good condition (aka dead) some of the back 40 looked better after the mowing. Yep, I guess I am a good ole yard man! Photo to follow.

Vaccine or virus?

Senior ole person who has things to do, Don the Ford

 

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

September 19, 2023

            We had an early morning walk and it was nice. Yes, it was a little warmer this morning but there was a nice breeze which made the walk nice. At one point the Tres turned and we walked across the street, then we were on the way home. I often just follow him.

            Today is sprinkler day but I forgot that I had turned them off due to the rain. I turned them on before we headed out for our walk and they were getting close to being finished when we got back. I still need to water the flowers in pots, some of them get water from the sprinklers some do not. I just thought, the black berries need to be water today, more work for this ole yard man.

            We plan to go get our flu shots this morning and we may be able to stop at the George restaurant for breakfast. We have not had breakfast there so this will be a first.

            The bible study was interesting last night. I find it interesting that most of us describe the same bible information in a slightly different manner. By that I mean, some have a very simple description while others provide a more detailed description.

            We have a football game this afternoon, it is a home game at 5:00.

            I also need to mow the back 40 but not sure I will get it done today.

            This is a very short post; I need to get started or I will not get done. We hope you have a safe day filled with goodness.

water person?

Senior ole person who is looking forward to the breakfast not the shot, Don the Ford

 

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

September 18, 2023

            Good morning, at least I think it is a good morning. I started out with Vertigo when I was getting out of bed. Now I have had vertigo in the past, but it is never fun. I have gone to the doctor in the past and they gave me instructions as to how to lay on the bed and position your head. So, I followed the instructions along with praying for relief.

            I can see that one person is wondering, “which helped relieve the vertigo, the head positioning, or the prayer”. Well, I would say prayer first and then head positioning. I pray to God for help, and it comes to me to do the head positioning and things will get better. Sometimes prayers are answered by us doing something ourselves, to fix the problem.

            Enough preaching: Tres and I did go for a walked this morning, and we encountered two things. One there was a lady out for her morning walk. It was obvious that she was overweight, and we hope she continues to walk for exercise. Then I saw a leaf from a Cottonwood tree of which there are many, but this one leaf looked like a turtle, was even colored like a turtle. The rest of the walk had no excitement.

            Sunday: we decided to go to the cracker store for lunch, that way my favorite wife did not need to cook a meal here at the homestead. The food was good, the server was nice, the place was crowded!

            Returning home, I tried to take a short rest after eating and then I proceed to get outside and work. First, I got the string trimmer out of the shed and went to the front yard. I trimmed the grass in the front yard, the grass was getting very tall, in part due to the watering and the nice rains we have had. I then proceeded to the back 40 where I trimmed around just about everything. I got a big glass of water and took a short 5-minute break, glass of water in hand.

            I brought the Fords walk behind mower to the front yard and began to mow. I was cutting in an east and west pattern which takes a little more time due to the shorter rows and more turning around. Then I looked at the cut grass and decided to mow it a second time, this time north and south pattern. The grass was so thick that I wanted to mulch up the piles of grass that were remaining after the first mow. The yard is now manicured.

            That afternoon as we were sitting outside a neighbor lady from up the street dropped by. This lady takes care of dogs and helps find them a permanent home. She commented on how nice our yard looked. This lady’s husband died recently, and she is still trying to do all the things they did as a team. She has a lot on her plate.

            I have a photo of the red bench and the decoration that was set there after we removed the scarecrow.

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

yard man, the Don!

Senior ole retired person who doubles as a yard man, Don the Ford

 

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