October 12, 2024

It is a good morning here in Hewitt as I am able to get out of bed, eat a breakfast sandwich and start this uninteresting posting.

I will start with some of yesterday’s events: the morning was cool, so I went out to the ditch behind the house hoping to knock down all the weeds. As usual, Tres needed to get into the ditch and review it before I was allowed to get started. Tres usually fines a place to deposit some Poopa-Loopa and then he comes out of the ditch and allows me to get started.

It took a little over 2 hours to get the ditch cut down. the weed trimmer ran out of gas one time but the string on the trimmer lasted the entire time. The difficulty with trimming in the ditch is that it is uneven and has trenches running through it. These trenches make it hard for an ole person whose ankle hurts a lot, to stand on solid even ground and work. While I was working, I discovered a plant blooming against the fence.

             My favorite wife reviewed this plant, she has three of these plants at different places around the house, but none in the back 40. We assume that a bird may have planted it. It is odd, there has been no rain and yet this flower is growing and blooming.

            Ditch completed I was able to drag my ole body to the house. I undressed in the garage, and it was a good thing as I had weeds and dirt all over me, yes, I swept the floor of the garage after I undressed. The shower was good, and I was able to get some rest.

            I did get to do my bible reading and the homework after the rest period. A little later my favorite wife explained that the flowers needed to be watered, so, I watered the flowers in the pots. Since I had the hose on the driveway to water the flowers, I decided to clean up some oil that had dripped from my pickup. Why did oil drip from my pickup, I had the oil changed a few days ago and they spilt some oil on the motor during the process. They did attempt to clean the motor, but they did not get it all.

            The oil spot wasn’t too large, so I poured dishwashing soap on the area. I allowed it to set for a while then I took an ole broom and scrubbed the area. I then use the hose to wash the oil and soap away. 

We did set outside yesterday afternoon, and our friend came over as usual. Some good discussions and yes, we did have some discussion about things we have been reading in the bible.

Today is Saturday: we plan to get Alex from school, he is practicing with the ROTC for the homecoming. We hope to take him to lunch with us and then when we bring him home, he will do the yard work for us. Yep, we will pay for lunch and for his labor and we will be broken.

Well, I guess that is all I have today, we hope you have a good day and that everyone stays safe.

Ditch trimmer.

Senior ole retired person who is still tired from the work yesterday, Don the Ford

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

October 11, 2024

            What a day for day dream, or maybe it is just a good morning! The sun is up and I am sitting here in front of the computer as opposed to going to get Alex and take him to school. Yep, you got it right, school is out today, and also on Monday. I guess the teachers just needed a day off.

            We did go to the freshmen football game yesterday and the game was a close game but watching the game, “sucked”. Please allow me to explain the reason for the word sucked. The game started at 5:00pm, the sun was shining brightly on both sets of the stadium seats. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the sun had been shining all day, the seats were hot to the touch, and the sun was shining directly into our faces.

            We picked our seats and a few minutes later several people from the other team set down behind and beside us. The game started and a couple of the women were screaming at every play. These were not young ladies they were senior but they had very loud voices. We put up with the screaming until half time and then we got up and moved.

            We had an umbrella that I opened and held when we chose the other seats, and it became a problem for my wife to see as I would get it in front of her. During the last quarter of the game the seats on the other side of the field were actually in the shade as the sun had moved some, we were still in the direct sunlight. We lost the game in the last quarter 20 to 16, and as I inferred earlier, the game was good but being there in the hot sun sucked.

            Game over we drove back to Hewitt Texas on I-35, it was about a 25-mile trip. I set my speed to 75 mph and most of the other vehicles were passing me, I guess they were in a hurry. I decided to get a sandwich on the way home so I ordered two spicy chicken sandwiches. The sign indicated the price per sandwich was $6.29. when I pulled up to the window the fellow said the price was $6.50. I learned that the two sandwiches priced at $6.29 each, were two for six dollars. Wow some good news and they were very spicy.

            We did not get to sit outside for our rest period yesterday so I did not get an adult beverage.

            Today’s possible actions: since it is cool this morning and it will be hot later in the day, I may go out and spray some off on me and then go to the ditch and cut the weeds down in the ditch. We hope you have a good day and stay safe in all you do.

Good game crummy conditions.

Senior ole person who don’t want to work but I guess I will, Don the Ford

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

October 10, 2024

            Good morning to all, as I sit here at the Ford’s ole desk, I can see on the security monitor some neighbors motion detecting lights go on and off, but I am not seeing anything in the area. Sometimes a cat or dog can set them off but I am not seeing anything.

            We get to go to a freshmen football game this afternoon. This game is in Temple Texas which is about 30 miles away. My plans for the day are very few, I need to get Alex to school on time and safe, I need to drop by the teller machine for the weekly stipend, and I hope to take the Tres for a walk. I could pull some weeds but that is real work.

            For some reason I had an ole thought come to mind this morning and it was about events in 1971. I had interviewed with HWI for a job at their new distribution center that was being built in Cape Girardeau, Mo. I remember the interview and the math test, and some of us were interviewed a second time. They asked a lot of questions like are you married, and I remember one question was do you have a car, and I said yes, and then he asked how much did I owe on the car. I told him it was paid for and he seemed impressed.

            I was working at General Electric supply company doing a little bit of everything. My experience in all things done in a warehouse and counter sales provided me with the opportunity for a new job.

I received a call in early May 1971, wanting me to come to work on May 31^st, which was a Monday. I explained I could not as I was in the Missouri National Guard and we would be on a 2-week training starting May 31^st. they then asked me to start on June 14^th, two weeks later which I accepted.

I remember my first day at work with HWI. After checking in with the office and doing the paper work the Manager asked if I would help another employee who was working on a shipment in the back of the building. By the way, the building was not yet complete. I found the fellow in the back of the building and he had a shipment of pipe fittings, this was a trailer truck load of boxes on pallets. He told me he had been working on it for a couple days. He was taking the PO, that is purchase order, and the first item on the PO he would go around all the boxes looking for that item. Then he would go to the second item on the PO and go through all the pallets and boxes. I looked things over and I said let’s start over but he did not want to do that.

After some discussion I convinced him to erase everything he had done and start over. We checked in the items on the first pallet, then I said, “move that pallet to another area”. then we did the second pallet and moved it away. He had been working on this shipment for two days and was not finished, we completed the entire shipment in half a day. From that time on I became a go-to person for advice.  

Yep, an ole thought from me. Well, we hope you have a good day and please be safe in all you do.

Memories.

Senior ole person who needs to check the flower blooms out back, Don the Ford

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

October 9, 2024

            Good morning to us all, we all should have a good day and be productive in all we do.

I went into Waco to get the tag for the Ford's ole pickup and it cost $75.50, my vehicle indicated the tire pressure was a little low, and where I got my tires from, they will put air in the tires for free and I would not need to get out of the vehicle. I did not go past the tire store on the way into Waco, I thought I could stop there on the way home, but, I forgot. 

Back at home I needed to remove the old sticker and put the new sticker on the windshield. After removing the sticker, I decided to clean the entire windshield, and it needed it. I got the new sticker installed and the windshield cleaned.

I decided to check the air in the tires and add needed air. My air hose would not reach the truck without me moving it, so I went to the shed and got another air hose to connect to the first air hose. I added air to all the tires and then decided to check the spare tire. I had to get on the cement drive and crawl under the truck to add the air. Yep, I got my jeans dirty. 

When I returned the extra air hose to the shed, I decided to water the berry beds. As I was watering the beds I did pull a few wire weeds and I found two more new black berries starting to grow outside the #2 berry bed. I did water the new black berry plants which might make it easier to dig them up later.

I found something else in the #3 berry bed, a pair of glasses which were dirty and partly covered with leaves. I brough the glasses in the house and showed my favorite wife. They were dirty but in good condition, we have no idea how long they have been in the bed, possibly a couple years. My favorite wife cleaned the glasses and tried them on, she said she could see and read clearly with them, and they had no scratches on the lenses. Wow, that was odd!

Since I had cleaned the windshield, I decided to get the vehicle washed, and I have a free coupon. I had never had the vehicle washed in a drive through while I sat inside the vehicle. It was an experience but it did a good job. Now I don't know if I will use it again but the truck is clean. No, I did not vacuum the truck, just the wash. Wash done I did get gas and return home.

            After feeding the dog we proceeded to go outside and sit for a while yesterday afternoon. The weather was nice and the crows were making some noise as they were in the street in front of the neighbor's house. I think the crows and doves were eating the crushed pecans on the street.

            I have no plans for today other than I may try to get a repairman over here to look at the refrigerator, I heard a small sound this morning that may or may not be a problem. We hope you have a good day and please stay safe in all you do.

Repairman. ☹

Senior ole person who has a clean vehicle, Don the Ford

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

October 8, 2024

            Good morning to you and that other person too, we hope everyone has a good day.

            Very few activities yesterday: I was able to get the oil changed in the Ford’s ole Chevy and it was also inspected. The oil change place was very busy, and I don’t like it when they are hurrying to get the work done on my vehicle. I want the work to be done right, and with an oil change if they hurry, do they get all the oil out before starting to add more?  With the oil change they give me a free coupon for a car wash, but I have never tried the car wash.

            Back at the home front I went out back and reviewed some of the weeds that are popping up, so I got the round up out and sprayed a couple areas, then I began the work of pulling weeds. Now I call these weeds “wire weeds”, I do not know if that is their official name but that is what I call them. When these weeds are growing, they have small white blooms which makes it easy to see them. The bending over pulling these weeds is difficult for ole senior persons like me so I took my seat / knelling device with me. As I was pulling the weeds along the fence, I looked at the neighbors back 40 and it is covered with these weeds. The neighbor’s yard has at least 50% of the area covered with these weeds. That is why I have them in my back 40.

            While in the back 40 I noticed a new black berry starting up and I have a photo. This new black berry is 5 to 6 feet outside the berry bed. I will attempt to dig it up and put it in a pot. If it survives in the pot then I can give it away or plant it in one of the beds. You must look close to see the new plant.

            I went to the front yard to look for these same weeds and since it had been mowed lately there was no white blooms to be seen. I being very observant, was able to fine these weeds in the front yard because they look different from grass. There were only a few in the front yard, thank goodness. 

Our bible study was very good last night, and our discussion group must be getting use to being around each other, as there were several lively discussions with differing opinions. I think we all learned something from the discussions.

Today I plan to go into Waco and get the tag for my vehicle. This is a long drive for a senior citizen, and it cost too much money.

I just looked at the clock so I need to get ready to get Alex off to school. I guess I will finish this when I get back.

I am back and Alex made it to school safely. We hope everyone has a good and safe day, please keep the people in Florida and in the Carolinas in your prayers.

Hurricanes bad.

Senior ole person who will spend all his money on the sticker for the truck, Don the Ford

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

October 7, 2024

            We are starting a new day, and we wish everyone a good morning. It is still dark outside but the sun should come up in about 45 minutes.

            The Don and his favorite wife did very little yesterday although they did go out for breakfast at the Hop restaurant. The food and service were good but we both agreed that the breakfast at the George restaurant was better.

            As usual I did my daily reading from the bible and I also did my homework for the bible study class. I also did what we call “cheating” in bible study, I read the notes that we are supposed to read after the lecture. They have what they call 4 parts to the bible study; part one is the home work, reading the bible and answering the questions, part two is our in-class discussions of the questions, part three is the lecture that follows the class study, and part four is the reading of the notes from the book, and they are all supposed to be done in that order.

            I did not work yesterday but we did sit outside yesterday afternoon for a little time away from the TV and normal house hold duties.

            I need to get the Alex and take him to school safely and on time. I do need to get the truck inspected and have the oil changed and that cost money, and the new sticker will also cost money. Wow everything cost money.

            That is all I have for now, so we hope you have a good day and that you are safe in everything you do.

Everything cost too much.

Senior ole person who needs to get going, Don the Ford

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

October 6, 2024

                  The morning is still dark as I start this soon to be wonderful article, but we want to offer you a good morning and hope you have a bright and cheerful day.

 

Some of yesterday’s events: We learned that Patrick and Karla made it to Mississippi safely yesterday, to visit Karla’s Dad, who will have a birthday real soon.

Our lunch yesterday at the sandwich shop was good, and we learned the lady who takes the orders, talks without listening. She starts talking and even if she pauses for a moment, she will continue with her thought so don’t try to interrupt her.

Leaving the sandwich shop we went to the store and returned the battery powered vac. They only asked one question, do you have the receipt, there were no other questions. We were totally surprised that they did not ask any questions, and did not look through the parts to see if everything was there. My favorite wife purchased the vacuum two months ago and paid cash for it, they gave us cash back for the returned vacuum. We did shop their store and purchased a new vacuum yesterday, and it is all charged up and ready to go. 

Later in the afternoon we did wash the dog and he did seem to enjoy the bath. Tres does an odd thing when we wash him, after we get him wet and soaped up, we are supposed to let the soap stay on him for several minutes before rinsing, so we let him run around the yard all soaped up. The odd thing he does is find some dirt and roll in it. My favorite wife tries to stop him, but he doesn’t listen. When we rinse the soap off him and turn him lose, he doesn’t try to roll in the dirt.

Since I had the hose in hand I decided to water the potted plants.

We did get some time yesterday to sit outside and enjoy the quiet time. We had no visitors and the main topic of conversation was how easy it was to return the vacuum. I came up with an odd thought, could we return this vacuum after a couple months and get another one, and how many times could we do that before they caught on to what we were doing, not that I would do anything like that. Sometimes you have to think like a thief to stop a thief, but that is another story from my days in the distribution center.

Well, I think I should stop for now and let you rest, we hope you have a wonder filled day and that everyone stays safe in all we do.

Sunday Fun Day.

Senior ole person who was concerned about returning the vacuum, but… Don the Ford

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

October 5, 2024

            Good morning to you all, we have a garage sale, or is it a driveway sale, going on next door. We hope they sale it all and that our dog doesn’t bark at everyone who stops by. 

Yesterday’s uninteresting events: as usual I do my bible study homework and read from the bible. I usually read from the Old Testament first, then when finished with the first book I switch to the New Testament and read the first book then I go back to the Old Testament. For some reason I decided to read from the New Testament and not go back and forth between them this time. I read Mathew and am now reading Mark and I feel as if I am reading the same thing again just presented by a different person. When I finish Mark, I will start going from the old to the new and back again. 

The wife’s battery powered vacuum cleaner has a problem so I took the book and followed all the instructions. The vacuum is now clean and looking good but it is still broken. The problem has to do with the bearing that allows the rotating brush to work. I had everything apart and back together but it still doesn’t work.

I called the number in the instruction book, (and by the way the instruction book isn’t that good), and told them of the problem and that I needed a new part. That fellow told me to go on line for replacement parts and gave me the address. I went on line looking for help, and communicated with chat screen. The chat screen sent me to another on line address which appeared to be trying to sell new items. Long story short, “I got nothing from the phone call or on line”.

The book with the so-called warranty information suggested to take the device back to the store where you bought it. I called the store, and no one answered the phone. I hung up and called again and some one answered this time. I explained what my problem was, and his comment was to bring it back to the store. I explained that we had bought it 2 months ago and he said he thought it could be returned within 90 days.

We did sit outside yesterday afternoon; we had planned to have Pizza for supper after sitting outside. Our friend came over as usual on Friday’s and guess what, she brought a pizza with her. We had pizza and did not need to heat up the oven. Conversations were good and the pizza was good too. 

            Today’s exciting plans: go to the sandwich shop, go to the Target store and see if we can return the vacuum or get a replacement, then go to the cheap store to see if there is anything we need, before returning to the homestead and washing the pot hound Tres.

            Wow, I am now tired of all this data entering so, I will say to you and you alone, “have a good day and please stay safe in all you do.”

Saturday’s events presented.

Senior ole person who needs to go to the potty, so I say, “I got to go”, Don the Ford

 

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