December 18, 2024

            Kind of back on a normal schedule but a little different, so is it a good morning, of course it is a good morning, we all woke up this morning, so be happy today. By the way, next week on this day (Wednesday) something will happen, are you ready?

            What did we get done yesterday, will I did very little other than watch and ask questions while a plumber worked. My first job after high school was working for a plumber. Now I was not a plumber but a helper. I will say by the time that job ended I was able to do a lot of the work without supervision.

            Back to the work yesterday, after dropping the kids off at school I came home and took a short nap then I did my daily bible reading, not homework for the bible study, I read from the bible which is different from the bible study reading. I decided to go to the bank and cash a check that our insurance company sent me, $25.00, then I went to the star coffee place for a cup. While I was sitting in line, I got a call from the plumber saying they would be on their way shortly. I explained that I would be there in about 20 minutes. I made it to Dave’s house before the plumber and I got the garage door open and waited outside for him to arrive.

            He came up and looked at the ole heater, then went back to his truck and got a couple tools. I explained to him that the breaker was tripped but he should check the wires with his tester before he started, he agreed. He started taking things apart and draining the heater. Once the heater was emptied of water, he was able to get it out of the closet in the garage and set it on the driveway, photo to follow.

             Someone brought the new heater to the house, and it was in a big box. The plumber was able to get the big box off the new heater, and he moved it into the closet where he was able to get it on the water overflow pan. The pan is there in case of a leak and it has a drain that keeps the water out of the house.

            He connected the water lines to the heater and ask that I open the hot water on the kitchen sink which helps get the air out of the heater as the water fills the heater. He connected the electric lines and ask that I turn the breaker on. I said I would, but I reminded him not to touch the wires when I turned the power on. He said he would test with the voltmeter. When I returned the power was on. I got the air out of the pipes and the job was complete. I have a photo of the new heater as it was completed and heating the water.

            MY wife and I did sit outside for a while yesterday afternoon as the weather was very nice. It the yard gets dry enough, we will try to remove the leaves this weekend. 

            Today I will take the kids to school and since they are having finals, I will pick them up at 12:30 and take them home.

            Well, I guess that is it for now, we hope you have a good day and please stay safe in all you do.

Heater installed.

Senior ole retired person who is happy for Dave and family, Don the Ford

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

December 17, 2024

            I will say good morning to all, even the young students who are getting ready for finals this week. We hope everyone has a good day.

            As we start this day I have basically the same plan for the day as yesterday, get the kids to school safe and on time and then go to Daves house and wait on the plumber to come and put the water heater in. I was there yesterday and when no one showed up I called the office, they gave me the phone number to the person who was supposed to come and give me an estimate. I did not want an estimate I want the heater replaced. I now have another appointment today to get the heater installed, let’s see if they can do it.

            My favorite wife and I did sit outside yesterday afternoon for a while enjoying the warm weather, before I got ready to go to the bible study. Molly the cat wanted to be petted so she got on the swing with me, photo to follow.

             We had pizza and got to sit around with others and talk about anything and everything before the actual bible study meeting started yesterday evening. It seemed a little odd, this is the second time when our class only had 5 attend (not counting the leader) and we had very good discussions on Revelations. Now we have a 3-week period without any classes, I think I told you that yesterday.

I guess I should get going and get the kids off to school, we hope you have a very good day and stay safe in all you do.

Molly likes attention.

Senior ole person who needs to check the hot house thermometer, Don the Ford

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

December 16, 2024

            Well, I got an early start of the day so I wish you a good morning even though it is still dark outside. We have some lite rain going on right now just a drizzle but it is wet outside. Speaking of rain, yesterday afternoon my favorite wife and I did go outside to sit and enjoy the nice weather, shortly after we sat down it began to sprinkle rain, so we headed for the front porch. It did rain some while we sat on the front porch, but not a lot. Back in the house I had chili for supper, and yes ours has beans in it.

            We did very little yesterday, we did go out for breakfast and the service was fair but the food was verily warm. I did attempt to finish removing the mark on the side of the Ford’s ole Chevy, I think I have removed over 98% of it but there is still a small mark on the fender.

            Not a lot to do today, I plan to get the kids to school this morning, and at some point this morning, I am supposed to meet a plumber at Dave and Claires house. They need a new water heater so I will be there and hopefully for the install.

This evening, we have our last bible study for the year, we get a 3 week break and will start again on January 13, 2025.

            Well, I don’t have any more to present so I will say have a good day, please be safe in all you do, and be a blessing to all you are around.

After today 9 days.

Senior ole person who would like a real cup of coffee but, Don the Ford

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

December 15, 2024

            Hello, and a warm good morning to you. It is 68 degrees this morning and it was 78 degrees according to the temp gage in the Ford’s ole Chevy yesterday. We did sit outside yesterday afternoon with a friend, and it was very warm, and the neighborhood was very quiet. We did see the moon come up before it got dark, and I do have a photo.

            We also observe the cat Molly when she decided to get on top of the little manger. She seems to like to get up there, but I don’t know why, photo to follow.

            What else happened yesterday; we did go out to meet Gabi and the family for lunch yesterday, we were to meet at the restaurant at 11:00am. When we arrived, there were no vehicles in the parking area at the restaurant. We learned later that the restaurant did not open until noon on Saturday. Everyone went to the restaurant next door, it was open. We enjoyed the time together.

            After lunch we went to the cheap store, they did not have the large round dog beds that we had wanted to get for Tres, so we left with nothing in our hands. We did go to the sandwich shop and get sandwiches to-go, we had them for our supper.

            I did work on removing the mark on the back fender of the Ford’s ole Chevy, I got about 90% off yesterday and I hopefully will get the rest of today. it takes a lot of rubbing with a damp cloth. I think the mirror of another vehicle rubbed alongside our pickup leaving a black mark that is difficult to get off.

            I, as usual, have no big plans for the day, I might go to the hot house and see if I have trapped any mice. We will likely go to the cracker store this morning for a quick breakfast and then back home for some restful doing nothing.

            Different subject: an ole friend from Missouri called yesterday and left a message on the house phone, and then he forgot to turn his phone off, so when I checked the messages on the phone, I had a couple minutes of listening to his TV. Us ole people forget to do thinks at times. I will call him today and see how he is doing.

            Well, I guess I will stop for now, we hope you have a good day and be safe in all you do.

It is coming, get ready.

Senior ole person who needs to get ready for breakfast, Don the Ford

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

December 14, 2024

            Hey it is a good and wet morning to all. We have been getting light rain and mist on and off yesterday and it rained last night. There is almost ½ inch rain in the Ford’s ole Free rain gage and we have more rain coming.

            Our big plans for the day; we will go out to lunch with Gabi and the family in celebration of Gabi’s 18 birthday. Gabi has picked a restaurant that she wants to go to, and we have never been to this restaurant but it sounds like a good place to go. We wonder if the lady at the sandwich shop will miss us, as we go there almost every Saturday.

            We will likely stop at the cheap store after lunch as we have a 20% off any one item. If we don’t find something that we want or need, I will suggest we get a new large round dog bed for the Tres. We have a rectangle dog bed for him on the back patio but he does not get on it even when it is cool outside. We have a round bed for him in the house and he uses it.

            I did very little yesterday, I did go to the harbor store and got a tubeless tire repair kit, it was on sale at half price. The back tire on the Ford’s ole riding lawn mower has a tac in it and when I pulled it out the air came out, so I put it back in. The tire is only a couple months old and cost a bunch of money, so I decided to attempt to repair it. Our neighbor use to work at a tire place so I will ask for advice before attempting a repair.

            We all hear comments that catch our attention, and if the comment is something like, “Stop Talking”, then maybe the comment should be followed. Unfortunately, these comments are not always understood, and if understood, not always followed.

            I have been hearing a comment over and over here at the Ford’s homestead and it is being presented by my favorite wife. Now my favorite wife often says, “Stop Wagging”, and I look at her thinking that she can say it all she wants but the wagging will not stop. Let me explain a little more, she is telling the Tres to stop wagging, not me.

            Now one would know that a dog wagging his tail means he is happy, feeling good, or is excited about something, so why would she be upset with Tres and say, “Stop Wagging”. Well, I will enlighten you the reading public as to the reason for this repeated comment, “Stop Wagging”. My favorite wife only says this to Tres when he is near any Christmas decoration or Christmas tree. He has a big tail and when it is wagging, it will knock anything over even a cup of coffee.

            Tres does not listen and my favorite wife must often put decorations back on the Christmas trees or coffee table.

            Well, I guess I will stop wagging and get ready for lunch with the Gabi. We hope you all have a good day and while you are staying safe in all you do, be positive and also nice to ole I mean all people.

Thankful for the rain.

Senior ole person who is to ole to wag his tail, Don the Ford

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

December 13, 2024

            Well, it is Friday the 13^th and we wish you a good morning. Today is my favorite granddaughter, “Gabi’s” birthday, she is now 18 years old. It seems like she should be in grade school not graduating high school, time fly’s by and the kids grow up too fast. We plan to celebrate her birthday Saturday by going out for lunch. I plan to get a breakfast burrito for Gabi as a birthday present and Alex also, just because he is there this morning, when I take them to school.

            Yesterday’s workload: after dropping the kids off at school I returned home and taped up a carton which we needed to send across the country via UPS, but it did not need to be there before Christmas as it is not a present. After dropping off the carton, I stopped at the Star coffee place and got another cup of warm coffee. I don’t know why the coffee is always warm and not hot. I then went to the cleaners and picked up some of my clothes. Back at home I did have lunch and then took a short nap before heading outside.

            Outside, my first project was to cut the two flowers down to ground level and cover them with leaves. I decided to pick up sticks from the back 40, and during this project I learned that I needed to remove the dog Poopa-Loopa. I did take a photo of the #2 berry bed; it is doing good.

I decided to water the flowers in the hot house since it is supposed to be rainy today and I do not want to be out in it. As I was getting ready to water, I observed that something is digging in the flowerpots, so I put out several mouse traps. I assume these are mice, but I can’t prove it yet.

All the work completed in the back 40 I proceeded to the front yard and decide to pick up some acorns. I was able to get several acorns before it was time to go to supper. We went to the George restaurant for supper, and we were both full when we left.

Back at home I noticed that our Christmas decorations were lit up and looking good, heck they look better than most of the decorations I have seen when driving around. Our decorations are somewhat conservative, but still present the Christmas themes, both the birth of Jesus and the Christmas with Santa Clause. Most of the other homes with decorations seem to overdo it with their presentations. Yep, I am bragging.

Well, I will attempt to close for now and hope that you have a good day filled with friends and positive thoughts, as we stay safe in all we do.

Gabi’s 18^th Birthday!

Senior ole person who might sing happy birthday this morning, Don the Ford

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

December 12, 2024

            I am getting a late start this morning and I will be leaving soon to get the grandkids for school. Late or not, I still wish you a good morning and a good day.

            We have another cold start to the day, but it is said to warm up this afternoon into the 60s. my favorite wife and I did sit outside for a while yesterday afternoon, the sun was shining on the Ford’s ole swing where we were sitting, and we had no breeze. A nice quiet afternoon but we did go in, when the sun began to not shine directly on us.

            Big plans for the day are, after dropping the kids off at school I plan to tape up a package and take it to the UPS store, go to the cleaners and pick up some items, stop at the star coffee place for a cup, cut down two plants for my favorite wife and cover them with leaves, and later this evening go out for supper.

            While sitting outside yesterday afternoon we observed the moon in the sky and the sun was still shining, photo to follow.

            This photo is similar to another recent photo, but this one has the moon in it, and it is still day time.

            I did get the kids to school on time and safely and made it back home safe and sound. Evidently finals start next week and then when that week is finished, they will have a two-week vacation time.

            There was a buzzard in the back 40 yesterday and when I walked out on the back porch, he / she flew away. I, wondering what the buzzard might have been attempting to ingest, I walked over to where he / she was on the ground. There I found a partially eaten dead rat. I then removed said rat to the trash container. I wonder if Tres had killed the rat.

            Well, I need to get started, and then stop, and then go somewhere, then come back, then take a nap, then read from the bible, then have lunch, not necessarily in that order.

            I guess I will say have a good day, be nice to ole people, and stay safe in all you do.

Rat remover.

Senior ole person who needs to do what? Don the Ford 

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

December 11, 2024

            It is a cool good morning today (32 degrees) but it is still a good morning if you are reading this, and we hope it will be a good day for you. 😊

            What to do today? no plans for the day other than try to keep warm. I do need to get the grand kids to school safe and on time, but other than that no real plans.

            Bible study comment; this Monday will be our last meeting until next year (three weeks break) and I am trying something different this week. Normally I write my answers in the study book and then at times I find it difficult to read what I have written, poor hand writing. Yesterday I printed the questions for this week's meeting and I am entering the answers using the computer. Hay, I can read the answers, and I will not need to carry the big book to class, just a few sheets of paper. Wow, if this works like I think it will, I may continue doing it.

            We haven't sat outside lately for a rest period due to the cool, windy or wet weather. Molly the cat has came and is up on the desk wanting to be petted, she will not leave me alone getting into my way asking for some petting.

            I just looked at the clock and I need to get started to get the grandkids off to school.

            Back at home, kids at school and I still have little to write about. We hope you have an interesting day filled with fun and good ideas. Be safe in all you do and as usual, be nice to old people, ok, to everyone.

14 days and then???

Senior ole person who wonders if we will have a white Christmas, Don the Ford

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