Norris Family Blog

Light Snow And Cold

Yesterday evening it began to snow with the sun shinning just before sunset. We ended the day with a little less than an inch of snow and the temperatures headed lower. This morning the news was reporting that it was 12 degrees in Burkesville. The wind made it feel even colder. I restarted the fire in the wood stove and kept it burning most of the day. I took the trash down to the edge of the road and then loaded Daisy in the Mule. We were just about to drive away when three guys in a minivan stopped. They were estimating the value of our property for the highway relocation. I put Daisy's leash on her and we walked down to talk with them as they looked around. After they were through, I took Daisy across the creek and let her run a little. It was too cold to stay long, so I put her back in the barn and fed her. The water was frozen, so I set the bucket out in the sun to thaw and went inside. Stacey, Linda and I went to Albany and ate lunch and then stopped at Brown's to let Linda buy a couple pair of shoes to wear around the farm. We came back home and put more wood in the stove and I walked down to pickup the garbage cans and give Daisy a bucket of fresh water. The sun had been out all day, the water in the bucket had thawed out and the snow was mostly all melted away.

Posted by Dave at 4:00 PM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Beautiful Weekend

Oh my, what a change for the better. It was extra nice weather this weekend. Stacey, Linda and I were outside quite a bit. We cut a tree that was leaning out over the edge of the hay field Saturday. Loaded it on the trailer and hauled it to the wood shed, then went to town to eat lunch. After a few stops in town, we came back home, split the wood and stacked it in the shed. We took Daisy for a run around all the hay fields and back in the 'holler'. The nights were even mild with the temperatures in the mid 50s and the daytime high today was 74 degrees. Nancy and Steve rode their Mule to our place and we drove both Mules to the top of the hill behind the house, then walked down the ridge towards their house. Steve was wanting to check on the condition of the fence around Nancy's Mom and Dad's field. We walked about half way down, then went back to the Mules and drove to the bottom of the hill and down the road to their house. We went back in the 'holler' behind their house and found where the fence came down the hill and tied into another fence. It looks like there will need to be some fencing done before Steve can let cattle graze in there. Some one on Topix was asking about which business had the best tanning beds in town, so I posted that the best deal was to buy the tanning canopy we had. Well, we worked out the details, they came and looked at it and paid for it, then came back about an hour later and picked it up. The warm weather is supposed to continue until Wednesday I guess.

Posted by Dave at 9:00 PM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Game Meeting

Linda had went to work and Stacey was watching the wrestling show called RAW that the DVR had recorded the night before. The phone rang and it was Jason on the other end wanting to know if Stacey was going to the basketball game later. She said that she would have to ask her Mom when Linda came home from the day care. I guess I didn't have authority to give or deny permission for that activity. Anyway, Linda came home and Stacey called Jason and we were all going to the game. We quickly loaded in the car and drove to the school in time for the start of the game. Stacey and Jason sat behind us as the girls began the first game.

The Cumberland County girls lost and then the boys won. Stacey and Jason were happy they were able to see each other for a while during the game.

Posted by Dave at 10:00 PM
Categories: Current Events

Farm Implement Show

I picked up Steve on the way to the bank in town about 6:15 AM. We had a biscuit with ham provided by the First and Farmers National Bank in Burkesville, then loaded a bus they had chartered for the ride to Columbia. More people were waiting in Columbia to board the bus for the ride to Louisville. After about a two hour ride, we arrived at the KY State Fair Grounds and exited the bus and went inside the Exposition Center around 9 AM. There were several buildings filled with displays and vendors.

We ate lunch a little earlier than we usually would have so that we could beat the rush. In past years the lines had been ridiculously long, so we wanted to avoid standing in line an extended time. It worked out well, as we were done eating the lines were getting longer. We finished and gave up our seats for others to use, then we continued our walking tour. We managed to make it up and down each aisle in the entire area, which was a major accomplishment. The Louisville show is the largest in the country and there were people from many other states and Canada that we talked with during our rest periods. We loaded back on the bus, tired and ready to rest at 3 PM. I had been overwhelmed by the amount of machinery and size of the equipment on display. The bank employees handed out snacks and bottled water for the ride home. We dropped off the people from Columbia and ended up back in Burkesville slightly before 6 PM. I dropped off Steve at his house and drove the rest of the way home.

Posted by Dave at 7:30 PM
Categories: Current Events

Stacey's Checkup

We left the farm around 8:30 AM and drove to Bowling Green. I exited the interstate and headed up Cemetery Road towards the Graves-Gilbert Clinic but must have been going too fast. A city cop pulled out behind me and turned on his blue lights. I pulled off the road into a parking lot and stepped out with my driver's license ready. He asked me to remain in the car, so I sat back down and waited for him to come to the car. He took my license and insurance card and returned to his vehicle after asking me a few questions. I remained seated and he returned with a printed ticket, my license and insurance card. I asked a couple of questions, then took the speeding ticket. Linda read the ticket, he charged me with 52 mph in a 35 mph zone and the fine and court costs totaled $177. He also said I could pay through the mail with a money order. Hmm, don't even have to go to court, they just need my money. OK, on to the clinic for the doctor appointment. I checked Stacey in and Linda and her were already waiting outside the office in the hallway. We waited about 10 minutes and were called into the exam room. Dr Zhu came in about 5 minutes later and began talking to Stacey about how she was feeling. After Stacey said OK, Linda and I reported on how Stacey had been doing since her last appointment and Dr Zhu was pleased things had went well. I mentioned that Stacey was a little heavier than before and Linda asked about some of her hair coming out. Dr Zhu stated that both those conditions were side effects of her medicine. We all agreed that it was better to have Stacey happy and her seizures well controlled and we could deal with her side effects if they worsened. Alright, we were out of there without blood tests or any lab work. We went to Aldi's and picked up some groceries, then to Double Dawgs for lunch. We also stopped and shopped at Hobby Lobby, then over to Sam's Club before starting the trip back towards the farm. We stopped at Ben & Elmer's Tractor Sales in Glasgow and checked the prices on a Rolabar hay rake and a disc mower, then drove on home.

Posted by Dave at 6:00 PM
Categories: Current Events

Columbia Business

Linda had training in Albany most of the day, so Stacey and I were together. We took Daisy out and let her run around the hay fields across the creek from the house as I checked for trees or limbs that might have blown down. Lucky for me, we didn't find any. Stacey put Daisy back in the Mule and took me to the equipment shed where I started the tractor and we headed down the road to the hay fields by Regina's old house. Stacey stopped the Mule when we had crossed the creek and let Daisy run again. I drove down the edge of the field and pushed a fallen tree over to the edge of the field. Once I had cleaned up the debris with the scoop, we headed back to the creek crossing. Stacey loaded Daisy back in the Mule then we drove back to the shed and put the tractor away. I checked and a piece of the tractor was missing, so I took off the other piece and took it with me to buy another one when we went to Columbia. We drove the HHR and the first stop was at the Post Office to buy a money order to send for payment of my speeding ticket. Then I drove to the tractor shop and bought a new piece to replace the one that had fell off. After picking up that, we went to Wendy's for lunch, then stopped at the grocery store and back home. We put away the groceries and then checked our messages on the answering machine. I returned a call to the guy about the hay rake and disc mower and he gave me a better price than he had the day before. I told him I would let him know if I wanted to buy them next week. I can't decide if I want to buy that much work or not?!? The door bell rang and it was one of the police officers from town, Scott Daniels. He was there to deliver a vase of flowers, a large stuffed animal and a helium filled balloon to Stacey.

Stacey read the card and it was from Jason. Stacey and I drove the Mule down the road to Riddle's house to see how Steve and Steve were doing on the fencing. They had made fairly good progress. When we went back home, Linda had come home from her training.

Posted by Dave at 8:00 PM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Valentine's Day

Pauline, Brent and Julie came over early with their dogs. We caught up on what each one had been doing as we watched Julie and the dogs play. We took the small dogs for a long walk around one of the hay fields, then took Julie with Linda and I to let Daisy run around the fields. Julie likes to watch Daisy and will call her name as she sees the dog go flying by the Mule. Stacey called Jason and invited him to have lunch with us, so after Linda and Stephanie made the arrangements, Linda and Stacey went to pick up Jason and then meet the rest of us at the Pizza Hut in town. We ate and returned to the farm. Jason and Stacey watched the NBA Slam Dunk special that was on TV for a while, then went out and drove around the fields in the Mule while Brent and I used the back hoe on the tractor to dig out some small tree stumps in the ditch between the hay fields. Pauline and Linda were walking around with Julie while we were doing the digging. After we went inside, Stacey and Jason played a few games of pool. Slightly before dark, Stephanie and Gloria came inside to pickup Jason. They had went to dinner in Cookville with Tommy and Hoy for Valentine's Day. Stephanie brought a helium filled balloon for Julie and wanted to see how much she had changed. After a few minutes, they left for home with Jason. Pauline worked on a quilt a little while before we ate supper and called it a night.

Posted by Dave at 9:00 PM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Another Checkup

Stacey had another checkup with Dr Rice and it was a long wait in the office. We waited almost two hours for Dr Rice to finish his rounds at the hospital and get to the office. He checked Stacey and said that Stacey must have been doing better since he had not seen her at the hospital lately. He was glad to hear she had been doing well. He had us schedule an appointment in three months and then we went to eat at Subway. We talked with our neighbors while eating and then returned home. Stacey called Jason to find out if he was going to the ballgame later in the evening. They made their plans to meet at the game, so when Linda came home from working we went to the ballgame at the high school. The Cumberland County girls beat the Glasgow team, but the boys took it tough in their game with Glasgow out playing them the entire game.

Posted by Dave at 10:00 AM
Categories: Current Events

Julie Visits The Farm

Thursday morning, Stacey and Linda left in the HHR to go to Pauline, Brent and Julie's house. They stayed the night and then brought Julie to the farm Friday about noon. Julie had a little bit of a cold and has been coughing. Stacey and I picked up the sniffles and have been coughing too, so we've been fighting a cold right along with Julie. The cold doesn't seem to bother the younger ones as much as it does me though. Julie keeps on playing and Linda keeps her runny nose wiped most of the time. Julie almost ready for bed in one of Stacey's Cabbage Patch nightgowns is a trip down memory lane for Linda and I.

Julie and I have taken the Mule for rides and Daisy for several runs around the hay fields while she has been here. She likes to watch Sesame Street and is learning to say the numbers along with the characters on TV. Our neighbor, Steve, stopped by and we talked about a couple of hay rakes that were for sale in Columbia at G&G Tractor Sales. He thought they were in fairly good shape, so on Saturday, Stacey, Julie, Linda and I went to Columbia and looked at the rakes. I ended up liking one of the rakes and put money down on it. I told them I would come to pay the rest and pick it up Monday or Tuesday, depending on the weather. After we returned home, it began raining and overnight the rain changed to snow. This morning we have a light covering of snow on the ground.

Posted by Dave at 8:00 AM
Categories: Current Events, Farm

Cumberland Boys District Champs

It misted rain off and on most of the day, but Stacey and I took Daisy for a run and fed her. Steve stopped by and chatted a while until Linda came home from working at the day care. A little after 6 PM we left home and went to the Cumberland County High School to watch the District Championship game between the Cumberland County boys and Russell County. Russell was ranked as the number one team in the district, so they were in the light colored uniforms and Cumberland County was the visitors on the scoreboard. The gym was crowded with people that didn't have seats standing near the doors as the announcer introduced the teams.

The tip was controlled by Cumberland and most of the first half was fast paced with Cumberland enjoying at least a 5 point lead. The Russell boys closed the point spread near half time and with an out of bounds tip in play with just 3 tenths of a second on the clock, managed to pull within one point at the break.
During the half time, Kendra McIntyre was honored by the school for scoring over 1,000 points in her career and her coach presented her a commemorative basketball.

When the game resumed, the Cumberland boys pulled away and led the entire third and fourth quarters. Russell County began putting in their subs with about a minute left in the game and Cumberland also substituted their players as the crowd applauded for both teams. Cumberland County won the game 57 to 41 and then the kids ran onto the floor in celebration when the final buzzer sounded.