February 8, 2025

            Good Saturday morning from us to you unless it is afternoon then good Saturday afternoon. Well, I do get tired of the same things on TV news all the time, and I am now tired of the Superbowl announcements.

            What happened yesterday, you did not ask but I will provide the happening anyway. I received a check in the mail for $16.00, and since I was doing nothing here at the homestead other than thinking about Saturdays work, I decided to get some gas for the string trimmer and some gas for the Ford’s ole Chevy and also stop at the bank and cash that check. Cash in hand I got gas and then went to the Star coffee place for a cup.

            I was able to get back home safely and I then decided to cut a few more pieces of scrap wood and then put the saw in the shed. I also removed the ole red wagon to the back yard and now I have some room in the garage. I have enough scrap wood cut to make 7 more bird residents. I did put half a bird residence together to show Alex how I do it, and maybe, if we have enough time after leaf removal he can build a bird residence.

            Alex is scheduled to be here today and help remove the leaves from the yard, yes, he will get paid and also get a free lunch.

            We did sit outside yesterday and a friend came over and sat with us. We had some good conversations; one was about the mark of the beast. We had sat outside for almost two hours and I was attempting to move my ole body into the house when the neighbor kids came to the fence and they wanted to play in our back yard. I suggested they could play in their own back yard and they said our yard was cleaner than theirs. I said you need to get your grandmothers approval, which they did for 15 minutes, and they began to run and play in our back yard. I had Tres in the house and he was not happy.

When the 15 minutes was up, they came out and wanted to know where our cat Molly was. She was on the front porch and they went running to her which panicked Molly and she out ran them to the garage. She went under the van and hid from the kids.

That was quite a day. Today we will attempt to remove the leaves from the yard, maybe Alex and I will have time to make a bird residence, then go for lunch, maybe stop at the cheap store and then come home and do nothing.

We hope your day is fun, and that you stay safe in all you do, while being positive and nice to someone.

Yard man Alex.

Senior ole person who needs to go get Alex and a cup of coffee, Don the Ford

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

February 7, 2025

            It is an early good morning to you, I have gotten started early as I will attempt to go get burritos this morning before heading over to get the kids. Yep, they asked that I bring burritos when I pick them up today.

            Now you know why I have an early start for this posting. I did nothing again yesterday, other than blowing leaves and raking leaves in an effort to get them out of the flower beds, so my yard man Alex can come over Saturday morning and remove the leaves from the yard. The new leaf blower worked as expected.

            My favorite wife and I did sit outside yesterday for more than an hour. It was very warm and the sun was shining on us. The temperature set a record yesterday, the old record was set in 1911, (and that was before I was born) of 80 degrees, the new record set yesterday is 82 degrees.

            There are a couple things I might do today, like finish cutting parts for bird houses and put the saw back in the shed. We have an area that needs to be caulked, I will need to find the caulking gun. Never any rest for ole senior people.

            We hope you have a good day, and stay safe in all you do.

Record high 82. 😊

Senior ole person who needs to go to the burrito store, Don the Ford

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

February 6, 2025

            Hay, it looks like another good morning here at the Ford homestead. I just changed my mind; the day is starting off not so good. I am at the ole desk and I have a half glass of milk along with a breakfast sandwich. The cat jumped on the desk, so I move the half glass of milk and sandwich placing it on top of the shredder. The cat jumps off the desk, so I reach for the half glass of milk, and I knock it over onto the floor. Then I began the clean-up. What a start to a day.   

            Yesterday I did nothing again, well I did a couple things starting with a haircut. The lady who cut my hair was the first to ever comment on my neckless. Photo to follow.

            I made the cross out of a piece of scrap wood and I where it most of the time in an effort to let others know I believe in God. This lady was the only person who ever commented on the neckless. Oh, by the way, she did an excellent job on my hair, I now have about half as much hair as before. 😊

After the haircut I went and picked some clothes up from the cleaners. My favorite wife and I went to the Wally world to see if we needed a flu shot, we learned that we did not need it, yet. On the way home I stopped at the chicken place to get some lunch, and I forgot to ask for the senior discount. Back at home I had lunch and then rested from all the morning events.

Resting over, I decided to continue the removal of leaves from the flower beds in the front yard. I was using the leaf blower and a rake. The wind was also blowing so when I used the leaf blower some of the leaves would stay air born and float away. Yep, the street and neighbors got a few leaves. The photo shows some of the leaves that have been removed and there are more to remove.

Tres and I went out into the back 40 to get an item from the shed when Tres began to growl. It was as if he saw a stranger in the yard, so I looked around and I saw it. There was a buzzard in the tree about 10 feet above us. Then the buzzard flew off and Tres ran barking at him.

            After the battery on the blower went dead, and the things put away, my favorite wife and I decided to sit outside for a while. I got a call from Dave saying they were off from work, and he would get the kids from school, so my favorite wife and I decided to go to town and see if we could get another leaf blower. I had checked the prices on the blowers and the price of the battery. We were able to get a leaf blower, battery and charger for $179.00 plus tax, and the battery online was $169.00.

            Back at home I put the blower together, it is mostly like my ole blower, and I put the battery on the charger. Then we decided to change things and go to supper, aka date night, on Wednesday instead of Thursday. The food was good, and the service was also good.

            Food eaten we returned to the homestead, and I did a little testing of the new blower, it worked as expected. We did sit outside until about 6:30 yesterday, the weather was good, and the days are getting longer.

            That is all for now, we hope you have a good day, please stay safe in all you do.

Person who moves leaves.

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

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

February 5, 2025

            Good foggy morning here in Hewitt, we hope your day has, or is, starting well.

            Yesterday’s activities: I did take Alex to school, and I made it back home safely. I was able to do my daily bible reading, and I got started on the bible study homework.

I also did some outside work, and I was hot and sweaty during the work. I did removed leaves from one of the flower beds using the leaf blower and rake. I can’t say it was perfect, but it is much better. My battery went dead on the leaf blower, so I stopped and put things away. Then I decided to do some painting. Yep, I painted the roofs on three bird houses, and on one house I painted the entire building white. Photo to follow.

            Later in the afternoon I went to pick up Claire from work as Dave was getting the kids from school. During this process I did get a cup of coffee before I got Claire from work. Arriving at work I did sit outside the building waiting on her to get off work.

            Back at home my favorite wife and I did sit outside enjoying the nice warm weather. 

            Today, I hope to again attempt to remove leaves out of another of the flower beds. If I can get the leaves out of the beds I will attempt to get or yard man Alex to come over, and using the mower, remove the leaves from the yard. I wish I had two batteries for the leaf blower, I could get more done. A new battery cost close to $200. 

            I hope to get the clothes from the cleaners and to get my hair cut today.

I need to get going and get the Alex to school, so I will say have a good day, be nice to someone, and be safe in all you do.

House painter the Don. 

Senior ole person who has too much to do, and no time for naps, Don the Ford 

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

February 4, 2025

            It is a good morning even though it is still dark, yep, I am at the computer a little early. I do get to take the kids to school this morning and I might get to bring them home this afternoon.

            We had a good bible study last night and it was good not just because we had pizza, but the study was also good.

            Yesterday I did very little, I did need to open the hot house door due to the sun heating it up, and I went to the cleaners with some clothes. I was able to get a cup of real coffee while I was out.

I did work on a bird house and I can tell you that scrap wood can be difficult to work with. Screwing a screw into the scrap wood can cause it to crack or break. I was able to use a drill and make a hole just a little smaller than the screw and that reduced the number of times the wood would break.

Driving home from the bible study last night I observed a bright star, heck it was the only star I could see due to the lights from the city. When I arrived home, I went out in the back 40 to see the star and it was low on the horizon. It was to the west and the moon was higher in the sky. I took a photo but it isn’t very easy to see so I will not post it but I wonder what the very bright start is. Is it a star or a planet, and I could not see any other stars in the sky.

Well, you know everything I know, and probably more then I know, so I will bring things to a halt and say have a good day while you stay safe in all you do. 

Scrapper!

Senior person who when he was a child had a dog named scrapper, Don the Ford

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

February 3, 2025

            Good morning from me to you, we had a very nice day yesterday with that 82-degree temp.

            We did go out to breakfast at the cracker store, and we had the worst service ever. Later in the day I opened the hot house as it was 100 degrees inside the hot house.

            My favorite wife and I went outside after lunch and did nothing but sit there in the warm sun. The neighborhood was very quiet even the birds were being quiet yesterday and there was a very lite breeze. After sitting there for a while we discussed washing the pot hound Tres. It was 82 degrees, so we headed out back and washed the stinking dog, and he was stinking. I would like to say Tres smells better now.

            I decided to draw patterns on the scrap wood for bird houses, so I brought the wood to the driveway, I set a table up and I stated drawing patterns on the ole scrap wood. I drew enough patterns for 6 more bird houses, then I got the saw out and set it up on the driveway. I tried to place it so the saw dust would not get on my favorite wife as she sat on the swing. I cut all the pieces for 6 bird houses, but I did not put anything together.

            After the sawing was complete, I got the leaf blower and blew the saw dust off the saw and away from the driveway.

            We then again sat outside in the sun and it was very quiet, no friends came over. I did not drink any of that bad adult beverage and as I have said, I will give it away. 

            When I put the trash out to the curb, I noticed the moon just over the flag, photo to follow.

             The moon appears to be a new moon.

            Today’s events: I will not be taking the kids to school as their mother and father are both off work today. Their employer is making changes to some of the programs used by receiving, stocking, order filling and shipping. They had to shut down to make these changes.

            I will take some clothes to the cleaners today and maybe stop by the start coffee place for a cup, then if I have the energy after a nap or two, I might attempt to put a bird house or two together. I had better be sure I have the homework completed for the bible study class this evening, and we are supposed to have pizza at bible study to night. Wow, too much for ole people to do.

We hope you have a good day and that we all stay safe in all we do.  

Winter and 82 degrees?

Senior ole person needs to take a break from this data entering, Don the Ford

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

February 2, 2025

              Good Sunday morning to one and all. The sun is shining, and it is supposed to be a nice warm day.

            Yesterday’s activities: we did go to the sandwich shop for lunch, and the food was good as usual. We then went to the Big Lots store that is closing, and walked through looking for anything that we might need. We did get a couple boxes of coffee and then we headed to the cheap store where my favorite wife purchased a couple pieces of greenery, aka fake flowers. After that we headed to the home store where we purchased some screws for the building of the bird houses, and we purchased a costly rain gage. It looks a lot like the free rain gage, but it wasn’t free, and I did hang it on the swing frame, photo to follow. 

            I did gather the scrap wood pieces now that they are dry and put it in the ole red wagon ready to bring it to the driveway. I want to use the patterns and mark the wood then use the chop saw to begin cutting. I will need a table so I can sit down and do all the patterns. Maybe I will start that today. I just thought I have not completed the last day of bible study homework; I better do that before I do any wood working.

            I was allowed to remove and trim a couple flower beds near the ole swing, now the trash can has a lot of trimmings and leaves in it. After all my work, we did go to our friend’s house down the street and visit for a while, she has a birthday coming this week. We had a nice visit and even talked about some ole memories.

            Returning home we decide to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather. I did make a drink using an adult beverage that I don’t normally use. I made the drink as usual, and it tasted terrible. This adult beverage was a Christmas gift, and it is not good, I tossed the drink out and I will not make any additional drinks from this bottle (Tom Moorer 100 proof). Yes, I would give it away.

            Topic change: I am willing to bet that you have never said, “Ugly Bad”, when describing something. Wow that is ugly bad, where did you get that, or, wow that is ugly bad, who made that? I am sure I have not made that statement, and fairly sure that you have not. If I am correct and we have not said that, why do we make the opposite statement?

            We have all said the opposite and will probably continue to comment one way but not the other. What?  Did I just hear you say this blog is ugly bad? Well, that is your opinion, and you may be correct, but I think it is “Pretty Good.” Oh, I just used the opposite comment to ugly bad when I said it is pretty good.

            That is enough for now, allow your brain to calm down, and we wish you a happy Sunday, please stay safe in all you do.

Flower bed trimmer.

Senior ole person who might go out for breakfast this morning, Don the Ford

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

February 1, 2025

            The sun is shining this morning, and I think it might turn out to be a nice day, so I will wish you all a good morning.

            Let's see if anything interesting happened yesterday. Now that I have thought about it, nothing interesting happened yesterday so I will present the uninteresting.

            I did get the plants in the hot house watered, I did spread out the scrap wood I use for the bird houses, in an effort to allow the wood to dry, photo of scrap wood to follow.

            Yes, there are bags of leaves on the trailer too.

I did take the chop saw from the shed to the driveway and set it up to test cut a few pieces of scrap wood, photo to follow.

            I then sawed a few pieces of scrap wood and laid them on the ground so you can see how many pieces of wood it takes to make a scrap wood bird house, photo to follow.

            When I say scrap wood that is what it is, but for the birds it just has to be something for them to build the nest in and stay safe and dry. My scrap wood bird houses have vents on the side to allow some air to get in during the hot summer months.

            I did take the pieces of scrap wood in the previous photo and put them together to create a "vision of loveliness" for the reading public, photo to follow.

 

            The house on the right is the new creation.

            Now after all the above strenuous work, I was able to take a break with my favorite wife and a good friend sitting outside in the warm sun light for a while. We always have fun and interesting conversations.

            Today's possible activities: I had thought about having Alex come over so he and I could build bird houses, but I learned that he was going to have fun with some friends. We will likely go to the sandwich shop for a bite, not sure if we will go to the cheap store or not, I plan to go to the home store as I need some screws and paint. My favorite wife seen an E-bike on sale while she was out and about yesterday, but I don't think it is the kind I want, but the price was right. When we get back home from all that running around, I might take a nap. If there is still time after the nap, I might bring the scrap wood to the garage and get it ready for the saw.

            Did you get tired of me using the words "scrap wood", I did. 😊

            We hope you have a good day; stay safe in all you do and have positive thoughts.

The ole scrapper.

I know, that is too much activity for and ole senior person, Don the Ford

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